Resolving to trust the God who rules.

Good evening and welcome again to Church Online.

Can I just say, personally, thanks so much to people who have been in touch to encourage,

to say that they're praying, to say that they're appreciating the content.

It's really helpful when you're speaking into the ether to remember that we are a community, we are family.

Let me take the chance as well.

I've said it a little bit, but just to say thank you so much to Kellan,

whose music ministry and also his work on YouTube has been such a gift to us.

As a church, we're so fortunate to have both his gift and his willingness to serve in the middle of his own busy schedule.

So thanks to Kellan and thanks as well to Sarah, our administrator.

The gift of administration is so useful and valuable to a church.

And maybe never more so than in times like this and keeping us connected.

So thank you to Sarah.

Thanks to everybody who tunes in, who connects.

It's really encouraging that we can be together around God's word.

And to that end, let's begin our call to worship.

It comes from Lamentations.

Lamentations, a lament of the prophet Jeremiah.

Things were incredibly hard in his experience.

And yet there are words of hope.

Wonderful words.

Lamentations 3 at verse 22.

Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed.

For his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, the Lord is my portion.

Therefore, I will wait for him.

Let's wait on God with expectation now as we gather together that he would speak truth to our hearts and lives.

That he would do us good as we sing, as we pray, as we hear God's word, as we reflect on it.

Let's hear God's word.

Let's read in Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God.

These he carried off to the temple of his God in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God.

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king's service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility.

Young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king's palace.

He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.

The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table.

They were to be trained for three years and after that they were to enter the king's service.

Among those who were chosen were some from Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

The chief official gave them new names.

To Daniel, the name Belteshazzar.

To Hananiah, Shadrach.

To Mishael, Mishael.

And to Azariah, Abednego.

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.

Now God had caused the official to show favour and compassion to Daniel.

But the official told Daniel,

I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink.

Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age?

Then the king would have my head because of you.

Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,

Please test your servants for ten days.

Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.

So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the other young men who ate the royal food.

So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

To these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.

And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service,

the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

The king talked with them and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

So they entered the king's service.

In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them,

he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Amen.

Thank you both.

Now, if you've got your Bibles, keep them open.

Daniel, chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Last week we did an overview.

This week getting into the main text of chapter 1.

And our big idea is resolving to trust the God who rules.

Daniel is a book that begins when everything turns upside down.

Daniel and his three friends as teenagers are flung into unimaginable change.

Taken away from their family to a foreign country.

Exposed to a new language.

A radically different culture.

Now working for an emperor as part of an empire that has just attacked and defeated their whole nation.

Surrounded by a different religion full of other idols.

Experiencing a different diet.

And all the while, they're part of a nation facing exile.

Facing the judgment of God.

That's some significant change, isn't it?

What we see in the Daniel story, and it comes to mind because we recently studied the Joseph story, is the parallels.

Remember Joseph as a teenager?

He was taken a prisoner to Egypt and he spent the rest of his life there.

Well here, Daniel will spend the next around about 70 years serving four different emperors in Babylon.

So the story of Daniel is a story of national grief and national shock as exile has come.

And the question for the people in Daniel's day then was, how can we be restored?

And Daniel and his friends serve for them as a model to imitate.

Restoration would come when the people would return to serve the Lord.

When they would resist and reject idolatry.

And when they wouldn't compromise their faith.

Now Daniel's situation is not our situation.

But of course we recognise that our upheaval is still real and significant and life-altering.

And he is at the same time a model for us.

Daniel chapter 1 says to us,

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Resolve to trust.

Resolve to follow the one true God who rules.

So let's see that together.

The story begins starkly.

Because it reminds us that God rules in judgment.

You can read again verse 1.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

So this sets the scene for us.

Incidentally, knowing that some of you like museums and artefacts,

you can go online to the British Museum and you can search their database.

And if you look for the Babylonian Chronicle,

you'll find stone tablets that have been really helpful for dating the rule of Nebuchadnezzar,

which have helped people to set what happens here at the time of 605 BC.

So this is stage one of the fall of Jerusalem.

But the significant question that the Bible would have us answer is,

why did this happen?

And when we read the Bible and we read the history of the Bible,

we discover that biblical history is at the same time the theology of history.

It looks to show where God stands in relation to world events.

So verse 2 begins,

And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hands.

This is not an accident.

This is not down to the aggressive expansion plans of the Babylonian Empire.

No, the judgment of God has come on Judah through Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon.

And the reason for that is because of the people's covenant disobedience.

This is something they had been warned about from the beginning as the people of God.

But there were some particular warnings in the build-up to this.

So in 2 Kings chapter 20, we meet Hezekiah.

2 Kings 20 · chapter mention

Hezekiah, a good king, but he made an unwise choice in showing the treasury to the Babylonians,

hoping to forge an alliance or relying on an alliance with Babylon,

which was folly rather than depending on God.

And then the message of Jeremiah,

which gave warning after warning to the people against following false gods,

against turning from God's truth,

against their spiritual adultery,

where they were breaking off from being faithful to God

and were being unfaithful,

where they were guilty of great injustice.

So if you can imagine the picture,

the storm clouds have been gathering.

And what happens when storm clouds begin to gather?

Our instinct is to find shelter.

But the people of Judah,

they did not take shelter from the storm of God's judgment that was threatening.

There was no repentance.

You read a chapter like Leviticus 26,

and you see that God in His patience would give warning after warning after warning to the people.

And those warnings would be ignored,

progressively ramping up the pain and the suffering they would feel,

but still there would be no turning back to God.

Our story,

the story of Daniel,

begins with that warning becoming reality.

To reject covenant with God

is to receive God's judgment

and not God's blessing.

For the exiles,

the message is clear.

Your response to this crisis must be

to repent of your sin,

of your idolatry,

of your compromise,

and to return to the one true God.

And when we read stories like this,

there is no room for us to have complacency.

The Bible speaks of the day of the Lord,

which is coming,

the day of the Lord's judgment.

When Jesus returns,

He will judge the living and the dead.

And for us,

knowing that as reality,

we are to find shelter

in Jesus Christ,

in His cross,

in His finished work,

of Him taking the storm of God's judgment against sin

on Himself

so that we might be spared,

so that we might know blessing.

So here in verse 2,

we see God delivers.

God delivers His people.

God delivers the articles used for worship in the temple,

and they are taken off by their enemies

and put in pagan temples.

But still,

in this chapter,

we see glimpses of hope.

Just like in Eli's day,

Eli who came before Samuel,

when the ark was captured in his day

and was taken to the temple of the god Dagon,

what happened there

was a wonderful,

both comedy and the power of God.

Here's the ark of God,

and Dagon was,

believed to have defeated

and shown himself superior to the god of Israel.

But morning after morning,

when the people would arrive in the temple,

there was Dagon's statue

smashed on the ground in front of the ark.

Here,

God gains glory in foreign lands,

and God will gain glory in exile.

Here,

God will gain glory

through Daniel and his three friends.

Through their story,

the rule of God will become evident.

The glory of God will be apparent.

God's deliverance will take centre stage,

even as they are exiles living in a foreign land.

So there is judgment,

but even then,

there is hope.

For you and I today,

there is encouragement for us

to trust in Jesus,

the one who is God with us.

To trust to that new covenant

established in the body and blood of Jesus.

To trust that he is with us

when everything is upside down.

To trust that God is able to gain glory

in the middle of suffering and trouble.

It's an encouragement to us

to trust that God rules for the good of his people.

We may not know why God is doing what he is doing,

but we can trust that he is working out his good purposes,

saving purposes for his people and for his glory.

So God rules in judgment.

And we'll turn to the rule of God at the end of the chapter.

But in between,

we meet Daniel and his friends.

And what we see from Daniel in particular

is that he resolves to trust in God.

And he does that despite huge cultural pressure.

You begin to read verse three to seven

and you see some of that.

So those that were taken to serve in the king's palace,

they were to be taught in the language

and literature of the Babylonians.

The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine.

They were to be trained for three years.

And the chief official gave them new names.

There's a lot going on.

Nebuchadnezzar as a king had what we might call

a shock and awe approach to warfare.

The shock of a devastating conquest.

Nations submitting to his rule and power.

But then the awe as he sought to dazzle the brightest

and the best with Babylonian wealth and culture

to make them effectively Babylonians.

So for our four teenagers,

there are significant cultural pressures

that they are facing.

First of all, there's the mention of the language

and literature of Babylon.

Now, this is not the equivalent of,

you know, here's your book of Shakespeare in Babylonian.

Now, Babylonian stories and culture

was full of stories of the gods.

Many gods.

Not all gods were equal.

Lots of warfare among the gods.

Gods that were connected with nature.

So Daniel and his three friends,

they needed to have a strong faith,

a strong understanding of the truths about God

so that they would be able to discern

what was true and false

as they engaged with the culture of Babylon.

They needed wisdom and they needed truth.

In verse five,

they enjoyed the king's luxuries for three years.

Here was their taste of success.

As it were, if we stick in with this king,

the idea was, well,

wealth and prestige and honour will be ours.

Where will the loyalty go?

And we'll come back to that.

And they were given new names.

They wouldn't be spoken to

and identified as people of Israel's God.

Rather, they were given names

connected to Babylon's gods and culture.

Nebuchadnezzar's aim,

establish new identities,

establish new loyalties.

Let the influence of the glory of Babylon

pull people away from their ordinary

and previous allegiance.

Some of our American friends,

I guess, will be familiar with the idea

of pledging allegiance to the flag.

We'll hear for Daniel and his friends,

the pressure is on to pledge allegiance

allegiance to the flag of Babylon.

With no family support,

with no temple to go to,

with no Bible to read,

with no limits from a religious community around them,

how will they work hard and work well

and honour the emperor

but maintain their loyalty and devotion to God?

That's a real challenge.

That'd be a real challenge for any of us,

never mind for a teenager.

I guess it makes us ask some questions of ourselves.

Do I have a biblical worldview that is strong?

That as I look and read and watch

what's happening in culture,

read the novels, watch the movies,

can I see what is true and what is false?

Can I see what would agree with God's view of the world

and identity and values

and what is opposed to them?

Daniel had his particular pressure points in his day.

What are my pressure points and what are yours?

What behaviours or beliefs

do my friends and my colleagues hold to

that don't match up to

what the Bible teaches

but where we're being pulled in that direction?

Fundamentally,

does knowing Jesus define me?

Is that vital to who I am,

how I think of myself,

how I live

or is it an optional extra?

I can leave aside

if it doesn't seem convenient for the moment.

Like Daniel,

if we're Christians,

if we're trusting in Jesus,

we're citizens of heaven

but we're living in Babylon

and so we need much wisdom

and much resolve

to trust in God in that context

with all those pressures around us.

what we're going to see very clearly

is that Daniel resolves to put loyalty to God first.

And it all centres around verse 8, doesn't it?

In verse 8 we read,

So what's this about?

And again,

you can read

lots of different opinions

about this.

So some people will say,

well perhaps the food was sacrificed to idols,

perhaps it didn't have the blood drained,

perhaps it wasn't kosher.

I'm not persuaded

by that

because

later on in Daniel,

Daniel chapter 2,

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

we read,

at that time,

this is many years later,

60 or so years later,

I, Daniel,

mourned for three weeks.

I ate no choice food,

no meat or wine

touched my lips.

So three weeks of fasting

from choice food,

meats or wine.

Still in Babylon.

So what I think

is happening here

is that Daniel

is taking a stand

to say

my first allegiance

is to God.

In the ancient Near East,

to share a meal

with someone

was a commitment

to friendship.

And in a sense,

all this luxury

was Nebuchadnezzar

looking to

secure friendship

and loyalty

from those

who were now

in his service.

Daniel and his three friends

say no

because they want freedom

to be loyal

and to trust

in God.

So what they choose

instead,

verse 12,

very simple test,

very simple diet.

Please test your servants

for 10 days.

Give us nothing

but vegetables

to eat

and water

to drink.

They want to eat

what God provides.

They want to express

dependence

on God,

the creator.

And of course,

what's the outcome

of that 10-day diet?

Verse 15,

they looked healthier

and better nourished

than any of the young men

who ate the royal food.

This is not

an advert for vegetarianism.

This is

an advertisement

for God's glory

and God delivering

and God honouring

his faithful followers.

If covenant disobedience

has brought the people

under God's curse

and judgment,

then obedience

is bringing blessing

and favour.

Now when we think

about this for a moment,

this was a costly

resolve,

wasn't it?

We might imagine

some people

around Daniel

saying,

but Daniel,

you're risking

missing

important opportunities.

you need to stick

in with the king.

Don't stand out

as being different

or awkward.

Just eat the food.

You can still honour

God in your heart.

Look around Daniel,

it's no big deal.

Other exiles

are doing it.

But Daniel

and his friends,

they resolve

to trust in God,

to express their

dependence

and loyalty

to God.

And again,

it's important

for us to ask

ourselves,

do I have

the resolve

to put loyalty

to God first?

Now we will see

in the story

of Daniel

and his friends

that it's tested

in much more

significant ways.

Can I put God

first in the

little moments

and

in the big decisions?

when it comes

to family,

perhaps our

house feels

absolutely

chaotic

right now.

Can you and I

put loyalty

to God

first

so that we

want to

obey God's

commands

and to be wise

as parents

and wise

as children

and to respond

and live

for the glory

of God?

When it comes

to our work

and to our

studies,

are we resolving

to put loyalty

to God

first so that

we work with

integrity

and honour,

that we show

compassion and

care to those

around us,

that we make

time for them,

that we speak

truth and we

speak only

what is kind?

With our

finances,

do we

consider

that we

are stewards

of God's

money and

we are to

use it in

ways that

will love

and serve

others?

Crucial

for us

in resolving

to trust

in God

is that

we see

the glory

of God,

that we

see that

glory as

our great

treasure,

that above

all else,

we would

value his

welcome

and friendship,

that we

would live

for his

well done,

good and

faithful

servant.

Back to

the rule

of God

at the end

of the

chapter,

God rules

in mercy

and salvation.

Again,

there are

Joseph parallels

in this

chapter.

In verse

9,

did you

notice that

God had

caused the

official to

show favour

and compassion

to Daniel?

Same thing

happens in

Potiphar's house

and even when

he's in

prison with

Joseph.

And then

in verse

17,

to these

four young

men,

God gave

knowledge and

understanding

of all kinds

of literature

and learning

and Daniel

could understand

visions and

dreams of

all kinds.

God gave

knowledge,

he gave

gifts,

including

visions,

just like

with Joseph.

And Daniel,

just like

Joseph,

would come

to find

a high

place in

a foreign

court.

God raises

Daniel and

his friends

because they

are vehicles

for bringing

glory to

God.

God will

have glory

in Babylon.

God will

deliver his

faithful people.

God will

cause enemy

kings to

recognise the

supremacy of

the God

of the

Bible.

I really

appreciate in

verse 19

the simple

fact that

it says

there,

the king

talked with

them and

he found

none equal

to Daniel,

Hananiah,

Mishael and

Azariah.

So they

entered the

king's service.

They're not

Belteshazzar,

they're not

Shandrach,

Mishach and

Abednego.

Shakespeare,

asked what's

in a name.

For

Daniel's

friends,

there's a

lot.

They answer

to their

Babylonian

names,

absolutely.

But in

their hearts,

they belong

to God.

They keep

their identity

as the

people of

God.

Here, in

a sense,

is the key

to surviving

and thriving

in lockdown.

Here is the

key to

enduring with

joy,

enduring

suffering.

Here is how

to live

well when

the world,

our world

turns upside

down.

It's to

know who

you are in

Christ and

to live out

our identity

as a child

of God,

trusting in

our good,

good father.

But above

all else,

when we

recognise that

our resolve

fails,

we see

Daniel as

a man of

resolute faith,

but what about

when our

faith fails?

And sometimes

we know this,

we fail

miserably,

we let

ourselves down,

we let

others down,

and above

all,

we let

God down.

And we

don't want

the message

to simply

be,

work really

hard to

try and

be like

Daniel,

use your

own courage,

use your

own strength,

and be

steadfast.

that's not

what we

say first

and foremost,

we say

we must

look to

Jesus,

who is

our

greater

than

Daniel.

Jesus

left

home,

Jesus

perfectly

resisted

every

temptation

that came

his way,

Jesus

was

absolutely

loyal

and

obedient

to his

father and

pursuing

his

father's

glory,

trusting

in his

father's

plan,

even as

it took

him to

the cross

where he

would die

in our

place for

our sins

to secure

our forgiveness

and bring

us peace

with God.

He died

to establish

the new

covenant

and now

he's in

glory and

he prays

for us.

Jesus

is our

way

home.

In the

letter of

Peter,

he describes

Christians

as

exiles.

This is

not our

home.

Glory

is our

home.

Heaven

is our

home.

Being

with God

is where

we belong.

Jesus

is the

way to

God and

where Jesus

is now

in glory

we will

follow.

But while

we are

in exile,

Jesus

as he

prays for

us,

as he

sends his

spirit to

us,

as he

speaks in

his word,

he provides

guidance and

strength for

us in

exile as

exiles so

that our

faith and

dependence will

endure even,

even when the

world turns

upside down.

peace.

안에

n

하다

Hydra

n