In This World But Not Of This World

Introduction

We're going to read from Daniel 1 and go through verse 8, and then we'll speak about other parts of Daniel 1 as well and go, Lord will, into other parts of Daniel. But again, that's the message for today: in this world but not of this world. I do invite anybody that would like and is able to stand with me in honor of the reading of the word of God.

Scripture Reading: Daniel 1:1-8

Daniel 1, beginning in verse one, the word of God says, "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 gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his God, and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel, and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge, and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies, and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank." Thank you. May be seated.

Prayer

God, thank you for your word. And God, right now, as we just continue to worship you and as we dig into your word, I pray you speak to our hearts, God, that you work in each one here in the way that you would see fit. And God, I do pray, I echo that prayer we've already prayed. If there's one that's never given their life to you fully, Jesus, as Lord and Savior, I pray today would be the day that they place their full faith and trust in you, Jesus, as Lord and as Savior. And I do pray for all of us as believers, God, that you work in our hearts today. Mold us and shape us more and more into your image. It's in the name above all names, the name of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Living in the World, Not of the World

You know, as believers, we ought to be in this world, but not of this world. You know what I mean? As we go to Daniel 1, if you go back and you dig into what we just read, the way chapter 1 begins in the book of Daniel is we read about Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar, we read that he besieged Jerusalem. He attacked Jerusalem. Now there were stages of the way Jerusalem was attacked. The first stage was this one where Daniel and his friends were taken captive and many other people from Jerusalem and Judah, the surrounding region, were taken captive. It took place in 605 BC. There was another time that Babylon attacked Jerusalem, and that was somewhere in the neighborhood of 598 BC. I don't know if I have the exact year right. Gloria could probably tell us. She always gets the questions right on Wednesday night. But in that time Ezekiel was taken captive and other people. And then of course the year that many think of with Jerusalem being conquered was 586 BC. But so this time Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon, they had besieged Jerusalem and some people were killed, some people were taken captive.

Daniel and His Friends in Exile

And we get introduced to Daniel and his three friends. Often we know them by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But those were just the names given to them in Babylon, but we're introduced to them here. We see that they're in exile. Okay, Babylon was somewhere, I think, around 1,400 miles or so from Jerusalem, and they were taken captive. I mean, they're in a foreign land and many others with them, basically slaves in a foreign land.

Chosen to Serve

Well, what we see in chapter 1 is we see that the king of Babylon, he asks his master of eunuchs to gather up some of the children of Israel, the younger ones, the youthful ones, ones that are very smart, very wise that just might be able to serve in the king's palace there in Babylon. And what we see is Daniel and his three friends are chosen as some of the people that will serve in the king's palace. And it gives their names in verse 6. It says among the sons of Judah that were taken captive were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And then we see the chief eunuch gave them Babylonian names which we often refer to and know as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel’s Resolve

But where it gets real interesting to me, and I think a very pivotal verse in Daniel chapter 1, is there in verse 8. And by the way, before that in verse 5, we see that whoever's chosen to serve in the king's palace can kind of get spoiled. They're going to get the king's delicacies and they're going to get wine to drink while they get trained up in Babylonian literature and in the way they believe and everything. And you might not think much of it, but then Daniel, we see he does. Watch what it says in verse 8: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank." And you know, when I read that and I think about this entire chapter and I think about the entire book of Daniel, it fits with that theme about the fact that we ought to be in this world but not of this world. Daniel and his friends, they were living in a foreign world. And although they were in that world, we see this as one instance and we see some other times throughout the book of Daniel that all day they were, although they were in that world, they were not of that world.

Standing Apart

And you know, when I think about their example to kind of not partake in the delicacies and not partake in the wine because God was moving in Daniel's heart not to do so, I think about the fact that as believers, we should look different than the world. When I think about being in this world, but not of this world, I think about how we should look different, right? But a lot of times the truth of the matter is as Christians we don't always look that much different. Why should we look different? Because if God saved us and if God laid down his life for us and died on the cross and rose on the third day so that anybody who believes in him would be forgiven of sins and promised eternity in heaven. Shouldn't we want to live for the Lord and not for this fallen sinful world?

The Challenge of Temptation

See, when I think about being in this world, but not of this world, I think about there should be something different about a Christian than people that are not a Christian. And we've got in this world, there's a lot of sin. Amen. Both by non-Christians and Christians. Amen. There’s a lot of darkness. There's a lot of wickedness. There's a lot of evil, but as believers, we should look different. And you know what? We see Daniel and his friends, they were different. They were in that world, but they weren't of that world. You know, most people, I believe, in their shoes, if they were fortunate and blessed enough to get to serve in the king's palace as slaves before where they were at, because mind you, they got taken captive and they were in a foreign land. Well, now they're kind of being elevated, right? They're being elevated because they're smart, they're wise, they're chosen as people that are very brilliant to serve in the king's palace. And they're even going to get to eat really, really good. It says the king's delicacies and they're going to get to drink really good. They're going to get to drink the wine, probably the best wine from the king. Most people, what would have most people done? Most people probably been like, "All right, I'll eat this good food and I'll drink this wine." But there was something in Daniel's heart. It said he purposed in his heart that he would not partake of the delicacies of the king or of the wine because he didn't want to defile himself. There was something in Daniel's heart that saw if he did this, it was not walking as close to God as he could. Right? Have you ever had times where there's something that maybe you're tempted to do or something that you have done that you just know from the Holy Spirit that's not the best way you can walk with God? Have you ever had those times?

Reasons for Daniel’s Stand

Well, Daniel had a point where he just purposed. He decided, I'm not going to do this. There’s different views on why Daniel, why it says he knew he would be defiling himself if he partook of the king's delicacies and of the wine. There’s different views on it. I mean for one, Jews, you know, they were taught at a young age that there is such a thing as unclean food. So part of it could have been that. I don't know that that's the main thing. But I mean, for instance, they would have been eating pork and that would have been considered unclean under the Jewish law. They were taught at a young age that this is one way you can honor God. But there was nowhere in the Jewish law it said you couldn't have wine. So as far as why, I think different views are out there, but I think one thing is I think God just convicted them of this. But also you think about this. What do you think Nebuchadnezzar was trying to do to those captives? In my heart, what I believe, my opinion, I believe he was trying to assimilate them to their new culture. By the way, what did the chief of eunuchs do to Daniel and his friends? He gave them new names. Okay, let me say there's something important about that. There's something important about the name God gives you. But you know, Daniel, his name means God is my judge. Hananiah, Yahweh is gracious. Mishael, who is what God is? Azariah, Yahweh is helper. So all of these young men, all of their names invoke the name of God, of the one true God. You know what the Babylonian names, all of them did? All of those names were in some way linked to a pagan god, to a false god.

Resisting Assimilation

So when their names were renamed, it was as if part of their identity as children of God was being taken from them. And also when they're told to eat of the king's delicacies and of the wine, there's something to be said that they said, "No, you know, I think we're going to, or Daniel at first said, 'No, I'm going to withhold.'" And to me, I think part of that might have been that he wanted to remember that he's a child of God, even though he's taken captive. Even though he was ripped out of his land, even though he was in a foreign land where foreign gods are worshiped, he wanted to remember each day that he sacrificed and that he took of the vegetables and the water. He wanted to remember I'm a child of God. He didn't want his identity to be fully taken. Not to mention when you think about the delicacies and you think about the wine, you just think about temptation. And I think he wanted to stay true to walk with God the best he could. So he purposed in his heart.

The Power of Non-Conformity

Now, now I want to ask you, so you see one instance in the book of Daniel where although they were in that world, they weren't of that world, you know, and you think about this. Think about how easy it is to follow along with what the crowd is doing. Have you ever had times where you just kind of follow along, but they didn't want to conform to that world? I think about what it says in Romans 12:1 and 2: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." They were in a new land, but they didn't want to just conform to that sinful world. They still wanted to walk with the Lord and not with the world. They were in that world, but they didn't want to be of that world.

The Struggle to Be Different

Let me ask you a question. Do you ever struggle as a believer as you're in this world, being of this world? I would think that every one of us have had times that as we live in this fallen world that we've had times where we've been of this world, right? And what I mean by being of this world is really not living the way we need to live for the Lord. I believe we've all had times that we've been of this world and certainly been tempted to be of this world. One reason I think it's so easy to be of this world is there's so many people living for the world. Remember, the enemy is the prince of this world. The enemy wants to get us to not live for God, but to live for worldly things, for fleshly things. And I think a lot of times people struggle with being of the world. And in other words, not walking with God the best they can. Not that that saves us. It's the blood of Jesus that saved us. But when he saves us, we want to strive to live for him with his help.

The Role of Temptation

But I think a lot of the reasons people struggle is people just sometimes follow the crowd. Kind of like the king was bringing in all these people. "Hey, follow the crowd. Come on and eat these delicacies. Come on and drink this wine and just go on and before you know it, read about the literature of the Chaldeans. Learn about all our gods. Start to worship our gods." You see how that can easily just kind of change a person. I think a lot of the reasons sometimes that we struggle and we can be of this world is we follow the crowds instead of following the Lord. We follow the world instead of following the Lord. Daniel and his friends were different. They didn't follow the world. They followed the Lord. Another reason is because of temptation. Have you ever had times you've been tempted? The enemy. We have an enemy. And if you are a believer, the enemy will try all kinds of things to get you to sin against God and all kinds of things to get you to not live for God. They can be really subtle. It can be as easy as, "Hey, everybody else is doing it. Hey, Daniel, everybody else is eating these delicacies and everybody else is drinking this wine and before you know it, everybody else is learning about false gods and everybody else is living this way and doing this when you just keep following the crowds." That's one way the enemy works is being subtle where it kind of just maybe crossing just a little bit over getting in a little bit of a gray area but then it gets a little further and a little further and a little further until before you know it someone's just turned from God altogether not living for God.

The Enemy’s Tactics

Another reason I think we can struggle with being of this world is because the enemy will find ways to tempt us. The enemy will tempt us through what we see. The enemy will tempt us through what we hear. The enemy can tempt us through what we touch. We've got, it says, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." So, we struggle, I think, a lot of times being of this world. In other words, living for the world and not living for the Lord. One reason is we've got flesh and certainly another reason is there is an enemy. And you can see how with Daniel and his friends, they were different. They wanted to remain, keep their identity in God. They were okay with looking different. They would rather look different than the world and be totally off on their own than to just keep living and following what the world was doing.

Overcoming Temptation

Hey, but if you do, who's ever struggled with being of this world and living for worldly things? Maybe you are. Now, how can we be helped? How can we be helped while we're in this world to not be of this world? How can we be helped? I mean, there's sin and temptation all around, right? You turn on the TV, you look at your phone, you walk down the street. How can we be helped as we're in this world to not be of this world? Well, I think we get a really good lesson from Daniel. Daniel gives us a very good lesson. What does it say? He purposes in his heart that he would not defile himself. I think if we want to be helped to be in this world but not of this world as a believer, we've got to purpose in our heart and decide, I'm going to live for the Lord, not for the world. Have you ever had times where God's just convicted you of something? Maybe it's something you didn't need in your life and you just made a decision, purposed it in your heart. That's not who I'm meant to be. That's not who I'm meant to be as a child of God. I don't need that in my life because I know I'm not at my best if I have that in my life. It may, it might even be something that it's not clear as total sin. But you just know you don't walk as well with God with that in your life.

Purposing in Our Hearts

We got a purpose in our heart to live for the Lord, not for the world. That's what it says in verse 8: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank." In other words, he committed to the Lord. I picture Daniel who we know was a praying man, right? You read through Daniel, he was a praying God-fearing man. And he prayed three times a day. I would imagine more, but he was a praying man. And he purposed in his heart and committed to the Lord. I've got to imagine he prayed to the Lord in my heart. I've got to imagine that he said, "I'm, I'm, I'm going to despite this world I'm in, I'm going to live for you with your help, Lord."

The Ripple Effect

You know what is something that's so cool? When we purpose in our heart and choose to live for the Lord, it can encourage others to do the same. Amen. Your example God can use to help someone else that's maybe struggling, you know, because it's real easy to just follow along with the world. It's real easy and it can be subtle and it can not look that bad. You know what I mean? That's one way the enemy works. It's subtle, but before you know, you're way over there and you're way away from God. But one thing that can happen when we choose to live for the Lord, it can rub off on other people. And although the Bible doesn't tell us this, I kind of wonder if that's what happened here when Daniel purposed in his heart. In verse 8, it says again, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs, that he might not defile himself."

Daniel’s Influence

Now, when we go on and we read in verse 9 and verse 10, what do we see the chief of eunuchs does? Daniel's approaching him saying, "Can I not eat this stuff and not drink this wine and have something else?" The chief of the eunuchs is scared. Why is he scared? Well, when we read through verse 10, he's scared because he's worried that Daniel and his friends, if they don't eat what the king gives them, they're going to look sickly cuz they're not eating meat. They're just eating vegetables. And he's worried that he'll be killed. But what I want to hone in on here is notice what it says. It says in verse 10, "I fear my lord the king who has appointed your food and drink for why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age." So it started with Daniel. Daniel purposed in his heart, but now we're reading it's not just Daniel, it's also his friends because the eunuch says your faces. And somewhere along the lines, I don't know, the Bible doesn't tell us clearly what happened, but it seems to me what happened. When I read the Bible, it seems to me, most likely Daniel, God first worked on Daniel about this. And Daniel said, "I'm not going to partake in this. I'm going to be in this world, but not of this world." And somewhere along the lines, that example got through to his friends who we know as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they all came together and said, "We're all going to keep our identity in God. And we're all, although we're in this world, we're not going to be of this world."

The Impact of a Godly Example

And that just made me think about the fact that when we stand up for God and when we choose to live for the Lord, we choose to be as we're in this world, not be of this world, that example can rub off on others. Your Christian example, living out your Christian faith, God can use that without you saying a word. God can use that. God can use that in the life of your children when your child sees you living for the Lord. God might use that for your child when he or she's at school to not give into peer pressure of some type of sin because what your example is rubbing off on them. When you choose to be in this world but not of this world, God can use that in your spouse. When you choose to be in this world but not of this world, God can use that in other loved ones. God can use that in people in your church family. When you choose to be in this world but not of this world, God can use that for a lost person to say, "I want to know how they have that character. I want to know Jesus." God can use it when we choose to live for the Lord. God can use it for others to be encouraged to do the same.

Boldness in Faith

And you know something else I think about being in this world but not of this world. When somebody is in this world but not of this world, like Daniel, like his friends, God helps them to have a boldness. You know, when you're in this world but not of this world, you will have moments of being bold for the Lord. It says in verse 12, "Please test the chief of eunuchs, he does not know if he should do this cuz he's fearing his own life." And then Daniel says in verse 12, "Please test your servants for 10 days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you in the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies. And as you see fit, so deal with your servants." So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them 10 days. So in other words, Daniel convinced the chief of eunuchs, let us do this, and just test us after 10 days, see if we're not healthier. And you know something I thought about this. This took boldness.

Examples of Boldness

Now, there's some parts of Daniel that we see them being even bolder in Daniel 3. Boy, do we ever see them being bold there in Daniel 6. I'll speak about that in a minute. But think about the boldness this would have taken. Daniel's first going to the chief of eunuchs and the king is offering them all these good things. First, it's bold cuz you're basically a slave in a foreign land and you're saying, "I don't want to eat what he's given us." Do you think that king who had thousands and thousands of people killed could have possibly had Daniel killed just for not eating that food? Absolutely. I mean, there's a level of boldness that it took just to ask, can we not partake in this? Because it's kind of like you better listen to what this guy's telling you or else. Then there was a level of boldness the chief of eunuchs, who God had Daniel find favor with, it says. But there's a level of boldness because this chief of eunuchs, he was fearing for his life. Because he was fearing that Daniel and his friends, if they only ate vegetables and water, they would look weaker. They wouldn't look as strong. And the king would see it and the king would learn that they just ate vegetables and the king would kill the eunuch. So, it took boldness for Daniel to say, "Just test us." Cuz think about it, this other guy's life was possibly in danger. But Daniel had such confidence in God and it took boldness for Daniel and his friends to do it to believe that they would be healthier after doing this.

Growing in Boldness

But I tell you, that's what happens when you choose to be in this world but not of this world. When you choose to live for the Lord and not the world, even when the world all around you is living for the world, when you choose to stand up for God, God gives you a boldness. And we see it grows. I believe the more you choose to be in this world but not of this world, you just see that boldness keep growing because when you flip to Daniel 3, does anybody know what happens there? I might preach this next week. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, remember they wouldn't worship the gold image and they were thrown in the fiery furnace. They even had a chance. The king's like giving them a chance to worship. They're like, "We're not going to worship a gold image. We're only going to worship God." Talk about being bold and talk about being in this world but not of this world. They didn't care that it was an order in Daniel 3 for everybody to worship the gold image. They were not going to be of that world. They were not going to sin and worship a gold image. They were even willing to be thrown in the fiery furnace. Think about Daniel 6 and the boldness of Daniel. Even though he was not supposed to pray to anybody except the king, what did Daniel do? Daniel prayed like he always prayed three times a day to the one true God and he was willing to get thrown in the lion's den because he wasn't going to pray to someone that wasn't God. When you choose to be in this world but not of this world, something that happens as a result is you get more and more and more bold for the Lord. And that's what we see happen to Daniel and his friends.

God’s Blessings

I tell you what else, when you choose to be in this world but not of this world, God will bless you. We see that Daniel and his friends, it says in verse 15, at the end of 10 days, they've been eating vegetables and drinking water, their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. God blessed them with good health during that testing period of 10 days. And then in verse 17, as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. And then verse 18: "Now at the end of the days when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them. And among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all of his realm." In other words, they were faithful to God. They were obedient to God. They were choosing to be in the world but not of the world. And God blessed them.

The Promise of Blessing

And I do believe when we choose to live for the Lord and not the world, God will bless us. That's not saying you won't have trials. You will. The Bible tells us we will go through trials as a Christian. You will have hardships. But there is something about the Lord that when you are obedient, when you are faithful, he finds ways to bless you. Amen. Has anybody ever seen that in your life? God will find ways to bless you.

A Call to Action

You know, I just, as we leave today and we think about Daniel 1 and we think about the rest of the book of Daniel, I just hope that we're encouraged as we live out this life as Christians to look different. You know what I mean? To be willing to look different and live the way God wants us to live. And there's going to be times when the world does this and your world does that, but when you know that it's not of God that you and I would choose to say, I'm going to be in this world. Yeah. Cuz I'm here, but I'm not going to be of this world. And it's going to be times when it's not always easy. But when we know that we're living in this world and something just doesn't sit right, we know the Lord is not pleased with following the crowd. You know, it might be the crowd, following the crowd at school, it might be following the crowd at work, or we know the Lord is not pleased with doing this or with doing that.

Personal Challenge

I guess a takeaway, a challenge I have for myself, and I hope for y'all is that we would say, you know what? I'm going to strive with God's help to be like Daniel and determine in my heart that I'm going to, as I'm in this world, I'm not going to be of this world. And you know, when we think about determining that in our heart, I wonder today, there might be something in your life today where you just know you're living this world. There might be something as a believer today that you've got in your life that you know is sin, and you know it's not meant to be there. It might even be something that a lot of other people do and the world makes it seem like it's okay. There's things today that we look around and see that the world acts like they're okay, but we know from the word of God they're sin, right?

Repentance and Commitment

A challenge I would have is that we would want to be in this world but not of this world, and also that if there's something in our life right now that doesn't need to be there that we would want to do what Daniel said and purpose in our heart to say that's not me. I'm repenting from that. I'm getting that out of my life and I'm going to choose to live for the Lord, even if it means sacrifice, even if it possibly means some hard things that you go through as a result of it because you know ultimately I would rather live for the Lord than live for the world. It might be that it's some temptation. It might be that it's some kind of sin, the sin of anger. It might be the sin of lust. It might be the sin of pride. It might be some other sin that's in your life. It might be your thought life that you just know, I want to challenge myself today to determine in my heart that I'm not going to live in that anymore.