Sunday Morning and Evening 10.9.11

[jmichaelwalls]

LEARNING TO STAND ALONE FOR THE LORD IN A WORLD THAT HATES GOD
PRESENTATION OF DANIEL
Daniel 1:3-8
Part 1
Introduction: I have entitled this short series of message learning to
stand alone for the Lord in a world that hates God. The world is an enemy
of God.
James 4:4
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the
world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God."
A saved person is the only one that can stand for God. Every time we do,
we don�t make friends with the world. But we must remember when we think
that we are standing alone in this world we are not alone. 1st John 4:4
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Our children are under attack. The world wants to destroy them
spiritually and if possible physically. They need to learn how to stand
alone in a world that wants to destroy them. We may live in this world
but we should not be like the world. The word "world" in this passage
means world system. We live in this world but we are not to be like this
world. We should not have their attitudes. Most of the world system views
abortion as acceptable. As a Christian, we view it as murder. But our
view is not some isolated belief but we have God�s word of the subject.
This means that we should teach them not to listen to worldly music.
Worldly music is music that does not glorify God. If your music makes
your foot move and does nothing to glorify the Lord, it is the wrong kind
of music. If you are watching American idol even if the person who is
winning is from North Carolina, you are watching and enjoying rock music.
Rock music is the devil�s music and you know it. You are sinning
willfully.
If you dress like the world, you are dressing wrong. A believer should be
ashamed to expose him or herself in the wrong kind of dress. If you have
to pull down your skirt when you sit, ladies, then your dress is too
short or it is too tight.
This type of preaching needs to be done. It is because I must show you
how a real man of God can help you to stand alone for the Lord in a world
that hates God. Daniel and his three companions are the example we will
see how to do so.
We find in these verses the presentation of Daniel. Remember the
compliment that was given the Lord in regards to Daniel. He is called
"greatly beloved". We will see part of why he is given this compliment in
this first chapter. The key verse of this chapter is verse eight. Let�s
look at it again. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king�s meat, nor with the wine
which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that
he might not defile himself."
That phrase "purposed in his heart" is how he started his life off right
and we know from this book that he ended right. Daniel and his three
friends had some remarkable changes in their lives. They had a change in
location. They were about to have a change in education. They were about
to experience a change in identification. They were getting a change in
separation.
Let me deal with one of these now. They were about to experience a change
in identification. Daniel and his three friends had good names. The name
Daniel means judgment of God or God my judge. His name is going to be
changed to Belteshazzar. This means "the prince of Bel". Bel was a
heathen god. Hananiah�s name means "God is gracious". His name was
changed to Shadrach. This name was the name of the moon god. It means
"servant of sin". Mishael�s name means, "who is equal to God". Mishael�s
name was changed to Meshach. Meshach means "the shadow of the prince".
Azariah�s name means "Jehovah has helped". His name was changed to
Abednego. It means "servant of Ishtar". Ishtar was a goddess in Babylon.
By changing their names, the "brainwashing" techniques had started. No
longer did Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to think of themselves as Jews but
as Babylonians.
We are going to see in this chapter what happens when a man stands for
right. Harold Vaughan said many times that we ought to do the right thing
every time until the right thing becomes the normal thing. Daniel must
have done the right thing at home before he was captured and taken to
Babylon. It was normal for him to stand up for what is right. His life
reminds me of something that Jesus told His disciples. John 17:14-16
"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." "I pray not that
thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep
them from the evil." "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world."
I. A CHALLENGE AND PURPOSE
Vs. 3-8
I am sure that Daniel gave conviction to the words of Jim Elliott when he
wrote them down in his diary while in college. What were the words? "A
man is no fool to give what he cannot keep in order to gain what he
cannot lose." Jim Elliott had purposed in his heart that he would do the
will of God. He was so in tune with that will that he did not even defend
himself or the lives of the missionaries that were killed by the Auca
Indians in Ecuador in 1956. Their fearlessness and the folks who followed
after them helped win hundreds of the Auca Indians to Jesus Christ. He
gave his life for his Lord. But he may not have done so if he had not
purposed in his heart first to serve God regardless.
There are very few accidental incidents in life. Most people get married
on purpose and most get a divorce the same way- on purpose. You did not
accidentally get saved. God spoke to your heart through the Word of God,
whether it was on paper or spoken to you. You repented and turned to God
for His free salvation and asked Him to be your Saviour. You will not
hand someone a gospel tract accidentally. You do it on purpose.
The devil was the driving force behind Nebuchadnezzar. (On the other
hand, God used Nebuchadnezzar to bring judgment on the land of Judea.)
The devil tries to get Christians to forget Christ, their conversions and
forget the completion of life in which we will face God to give account
of what we have done with this life since we were saved.
In the introduction, we looked at the change in these three men�s
identification. It was so that they would forget who they had been or
whose they had been. I want to add this very quickly. Daniel and his
three companions must have had some godly parents to instill these
convictions in them. I don�t know if you realize that Daniel�s three
companions were only addressed by their parent given names one other time
in this book. They were addressed by their Babylonian names after chapter
two. But Daniel is called Daniel in the entire book. In fact, his proper
name is mentioned sixty-five times in the book of Daniel. He is called
Daniel by all three of the rulers mentioned in this book. Why? It was
that Daniel commanded their respect by living and doing right the entire
time he was in Babylon.
It is important to realize that Daniel was over seven hundred miles from
his home. Mom and dad and his preacher were not there to check up on him.
In verse four, he is called a child. I looked this phrase up. It meant
that he was approximately thirteen to eighteen years old at the time of
his capture. Adulthood is not measured in chronically age but in
maturity. Daniel was mature beyond his years. We see that he was standing
for right even though he did not have anyone around to supervise him like
his parents.
This man was not a street child. He was not some dumb rich kid either. He
was royalty. He along with the others taken in captivity was among the
brightest of the bright kids of the land.
I want to give two thoughts about this man and the passage that we are
studying. Then I will be looking at the other side of the coin in the
next message in what he could have done instead of what he did.
His concern
His concern was that he would not defy himself with the king�s meat and
wine. He had raised on a strict diet that God laid down in the law. We
cannot review what this diet consist under the law. I can tell you one
item that was not included in his diet at home and that was pork. It is
highly possible that the king�s meat included pork.
I have noticed that most people get hung up on the meat portion of this
passage. But they seem to forget the last part of what Daniel would not
defy himself. That is the wine. I researched this word in the Hebrew and
it is the alcoholic type. The bible has much to say about wine. Let me
cite a few passages.
Proverbs 20:1
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise."
It is a strong possibility that the food was part of an offering to
Babylonian idol according to the custom of the Babylonian religion. Not
only was it the wrong food and drink, it was idol�s food. By eating the
food and drinking the wine, he would have been acknowledging the other
god or gods.
B. His Course
Daniel had the courage of his convictions. He could have started quoting
a long portion of the Law and why he should not eat the food and drink
the wine provide for him and his friends but instead he stayed on course
by offering a simple solution to the prince of the eunuch. He does this
with humility.
Over the years in my work career, I have learned a simple truth that has
helped me. You can complain about a problem and this will usually annoy
your superiors. Or you can show the problem and offer a solution or
solutions. This will show the person in charge that you care about your
work and will help them in solving the problem. It is possible that the
person in charge will appreciate your solution and may act upon your
solution. This has helped me more up in a few places that I have worked.
Daniel offered this solution to the problem facing him and his friends.
They would eat pulse. This is a diet of vegetables and drink water. Why
just ten days offered is a question that came to my mind. Let me offer a
few reasons. One, it was a reasonable amount of time. If it would not
have worked, it was not but a few days in the three-year course of study
that they faced.
Ten is a number that has meaning in the Bible. It is the number of
responsibility as well as the number of the Law. A tithe is one tenth of
a person�s income. When we tithe we show our responsibility to the Lord�s
work by paying our tithes.
So Daniel was showing he was responsible by requesting a ten-day period
of grace. He believed God enough to trust Him with these ten days of
testing.
I mentioned that that the diet was one of vegetables. Some folks take
this out of contents and try to make it say that man should be a
vegetarian and refuse meat. What do we find in the New Testament?
1st Timothy 4:1-5
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils;" "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with
a hot iron;" "Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which
believe and know the truth." "For every creature of God is good, and
nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is
sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
Daniel was concerned over his health but he was more interested in
obeying God.
Acts 5:29
"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey
God rather than men."
To disobey the plain teachings of the Bible is nothing less than
rebellion. In fact, in the sight of God, it is actually open rebellion
and invites the judgment of God. This is why God had allow Nebuchadnezzar
conquer the land of Judea.
Conclusion: We have seen how a young man purposed in his heart that he
would defy himself. What a refreshing thought that is! We need to more
like Daniel.
Have we purposed in our hearts to follow the Lord? You will not serve the
Lord by accident. You will only do on purpose.
You and I are the examples that our children see at home. What kind of
example are we?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JESUS HIMSELF
Luke 24:13-32
Introduction: Last Sunday afternoon has been a blessing to me all week.
Each testimony and tear was a blessing to me and I know many of you. This
week I downloaded a small book. Each time I was trying to go to the
subject that I chose for this week�s evening service my mind went to some
of the material I was reading combined with the service last Sunday
afternoon with that question "If Jesus was standing here right now, what
are the two things would you tell Him and why?" So today I want to pursue
this in a way that has already been a blessing to me and could be to you
also if you listen.
One person called the passage that we just read "from heartbreak to
heartburn". Many people are plagued with heartburn all the time. I rarely
get heartburn. I usually cause it. Let�s look at the progression that
Jesus was to these two men in this passage.
The incident recorded in Luke 24 concerns two people, Cleopas and
another, whom Jesus joined as they went on the seven-mile journey from
Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus had been cruelly crucified and, although these
disciples did not believe it, He had risen from the dead. As they
journeyed they were talking of the awful events that had to do with the
Saviour's death upon the cross, and then suddenly a very wonderful thing
happened! But they did not recognize Him and this bring us to the first
relationship that the Risen Lord bears towards men and women.
I. AT FIRST, HE WAS ONLY A STRANGER.
There He was, the Risen Lord Jesus, but they did not know Him, they did
not recognize Him, He was a stranger to them. This should cause us to
pause and ask the question: What is He to me? Is He no more than a
stranger? There are tens of thousands of good people to whom the Lord
Jesus is nothing but a stranger. They know about Him, they can talk about
Him but they do not know Him. They are in the same position as these two
travelers were in. Vs. 16-18
"But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." "And he said
unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to
another, as ye walk, and are sad?" "And the one of them, whose name was
Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem,
and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these
days?"
Here is the question that they asked, "Art Thou only a stranger?" Is that
how it is with you? You know about Him but you do not know Him. Maybe
there is one here today you want to know Him but He is still just a
stranger.
II. THEN, HE BECAME THEIR FRIEND.
Before long, they were treating Him as an intimate friend and were
confiding in Him. What do they confide in Him? In verses 19-24 we see
several things.
For at this moment they were living in the past and he was living in the
present (and still is). Imagine these two disciples telling their story
of hope and following despair to Jesus along that road to Emmaus. (Note
their use of the word "was.")
A. He was Jesus the Nazarene. There were many men who were named Jesus,
but this man from Nazareth was given his name before he was born.
B. He was a prophet who was. He was a prophet mighty in deed and word in
the sight of God and all the people. He was a mighty man of God who made
the Scripture shine forth so that we understood who God was, who we were,
and what God wanted of us. It was always an exciting adventure to be with
him. We were hoping that he was the prophet that Moses spoke of in
Deuteronomy, but unfortunately, he was a prophet who was.
He was mighty in deeds. He did many signs and miracles among us.
D. He was mighty in word. When he spoke his words rang with the power and
authority of God himself."
E. God loved him and the common people loved him, but the chief priests
and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified
Him. They crucified a good man, a great prophet, and a possible messiah,
shattering our dreams and hopes. The disciples viewed the cross as a
failure. He almost made it, but he failed. He got caught on two stupid
charges-the religious charge of blaspheming God by admitting he was the
Son of God in presence of the high priest and the political charge of
declaring himself the King of the Jews in the presence of Pilate, the
Roman governor. As a result they nailed him to a cross."
What they did not realize that this man who they made a friend was Jesus
Himself. What a friend He is! As these two disciples told the story of
their sorrow, how willingly He listened! And He is just the same in His
willingness to listen to us when we speak to Him of our problems,
difficulties and sorrows. He is "a friend that sticketh closer than a
brother". He is the friend of sinners. He is the friend who "knows the
worst about us and loves us just the same." No one was better qualified
to sympathize with these two disciples than Jesus, for He knew all about
them; He knew about their sadness and their problems, just as He knows
all about you and about your problems. What is He to you, stranger . . .
Friend . . .? But He was more than a stranger and then a friend to these
disciples.
HE THEN BECAME THEIR REDEEMER.
Vs. 21, 25-26
"But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel:
and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were
done." "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken:" "Ought not Christ to have suffered these
things, and to enter into his glory?"
The Lord Jesus came to die for us, in order that He might redeem us from
the guilt and penalty of sin. He came to die for us in order that He
might redeem us from the inward pull of self and from the power of Satan.
What a wonderful thing it is to be able to speak of Him as "my redeemer".
Is He your redeemer? Do you know Him in this way, not as a stranger and
not only as a friend, but also as your redeemer? These disciples knew Him
in that way. But notice again, He revealed Himself to them in a yet
fuller way.
HE WAS ALSO THEIR TEACHER.
Vs. 27
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in
all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
In the earlier part of their walk it almost seems as though they thought
that Jesus needed instruction, but they soon discovered that He was their
teacher. He was the one who could tell them all that they needed to know,
and it is well for us to remember the following points:
A. He is the Best Teacher. By the way, He can not and will not teach you
unless you spend time in this Bible daily. It must have been wonderful to
listen to Paul as he expounded the gospel, or to have been able to listen
to Moody or Spurgeon preach, but what must it have been to have Jesus as
their teacher?
He is the most wonderful of all teachers, and His teaching is majestic.
But we can, in fact, have Him as our teacher, for He ministers to us
through the gracious agency of the Holy Spirit.
B. He uses the Best Textbook. We get an illustration of this in verse
twenty-seven. Why did our Lord speak of Moses? It is because Moses wrote
of Him, look up John 5:46. Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the books of
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But why did the Lord
Jesus speak of "all ... the prophets" in verse twenty-five. It is because
all the prophets prepared for His coming and they prophesied the fact,
the manner and the circumstances of His birth, ministry, death and
resurrection. This must have been some Bible lesson that our Lord gave to
these two disciples on the Emmaus road! No wonder that their hearts
burned within them by the time He had finished expounding the scriptures
and revealing Himself in them.
His teaching centers upon the Best Theme. His theme was "the things
concerning Himself", that is, His birth, His life, His ministry but
particularly His suffering on the cross and His glory. Is the Lord Jesus
your teacher? From what or from whom do you take your standard for
living? When you want to decide the kind of person you should be, the
kind of way in which you should live, the kind of clothes that you should
wear, the kind of books that you should read, the kind of friends that
you should make, the kind of pleasures you should engage in, the amount
of money you should spend or the church you should join . . . to whom do
you go to learn about these things, to the newspaper, the television, the
radio, some modern writer or to the Lord Jesus? This is the test. Is He
your teacher and if so, do you submit to and obey His will? In other
words, are you a true disciple of Christ?
There is one more item to notice.
V. HE WAS THEIR LORD AND MASTER.
Vs. 28-31
"And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as
though he would have gone further." "But they constrained him, saying,
Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he
went in to tarry with them." "And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with
them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." "And
their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their
sight."
Jesus never forces Himself upon us, though He loves to have us invite Him
to draw near to us and to dwell with us. They asked Him to be their
guest, but He soon became host, for He took bread, and blessed it, and
brake, and gave to them. It was His right to preside over them and He did
just this, and that is just how it should be with us.
Conclusion: What is the Lord Jesus to you, Stranger? Or, Friend,
Redeemer, Teacher and Master? Is your whole life under the authority of
this wonderful Lord? Many times we are not under His authority. This is
what leads us to despair, discouragement and disobedience.
Are you recognizing and rejoicing in His Lordship? These disciples felt
Him giving them holy heartburn and did not realize why this was
happening. But once they realize who He was, they rejoiced in the Lord.

Pastor Mike Walls
Freedom Baptist Church Smithfield, NC
http://freedombaptistchurchnc.wordpress.com/
http://iglesiabautistalibertad.wordpress.com/