Study of the Book of Daniel (ish)
Book of Daniel.
Week 1: Stand out. (for God)
Week 2: Stand up (for what’s right.)
Week 3: Stand for. (for what matters most.)
Week 4: Stand against.
Week 5: Stand with.
STAND OUT
Next 5 weeks has potential to impact your life in a significant way. If you take a STAND for the right things, right time, right way—change course.
Compromise wrong things, wrong times, wrong reasons—cost you more imagine.
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.—Daniel 1:3-5
Intentional: Think, Behave, Believe
The Enemy: Think, Behave, Believe.
Full-scale attack: Seduces, lies, deceives. Media, Advertisements, Music—subtle messages.
Buy, Believe. Think.
We can’t passively be a christian in this world:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes… Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.—Eph 6:11, 13
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, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.—Dan 1:6-7
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 this way.—Daniel 1:8
Rationalization is Disobedience
Think, Behave, Believe…
Daniel didn’t fight when their names were taken—knew who they were. He took a stand when God’s name would be defamed.
Predetermined resolution. If you are going to stand out for God—make some decisions ahead of time.
“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 young men who ate the royal food.—Daniel 1:12-14
Instead of making a public protest, Daniel honors authority & creates a plan. You can stand out in the wrong way!
We need wisdom to stand out in the right way.
Daniel could understand visions and dreams!
The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah…—Daniel 1:19
If Daniel & buddies had simply blended in—nothing historic would have happened. Or—if they had stubbornly refused to eat—likely executed.
Time and again—you will be lured to blend in—or you can take a stand—stand out. I’d rather be remembered for standing out than forgotten for blending in.
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