i invite you to turn uh this morning to the book of daniel book of daniel page 875 in the bibles that are in front of you and as you know uh concluding our study in the beatitudes i was wrestling with what to to preach to continue on in the sermon on the mount and or to preach daniel and when i asked for a survey at the door i had a 50 50 presentation and i was determined to do the Sermon on the Mount. But God turns the pastor's heart. Somebody prayed, I think. And I'm going to show you how God turns the king's heart. And anyways, I couldn't get away from wanting to start the book of Daniel today. So we're going to begin Daniel and looking at the first eight verses this morning of Daniel chapter 1, page 875. Let's give our attention to the word of the Lord. 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 vessels of the house of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years. And at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names. Daniel he called, Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called, Shadrach, Mishael he called, Meshach, and Azariah. he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And there we'll end the reading of God's word this morning. One of my big challenges in preaching is always to begin a book. I find that like climbing a big mountain. And that's exactly what starting a new book is like. Because I get overwhelmed with all of the background information and the things that are provided. It's hard to know where to begin with especially such a book like this. And I believe it's most helpful to sort of let it fill out as we go and jump into the narrative. And that's what I plan to do today to begin looking at this. Because often the books themselves will set up the main theme and the main thesis and the details that are necessary for us to know and what they want addressed. But I say that this morning because I think it would be, I'd be remiss to avoid altogether the question of why this book is important for us today. That's an important question. In fact, it may be one of the most important books at the moment for us living in the times that we live. I've said before we've read these stories in Sunday school and living in the times we we live in and seeing the things that are transpiring and happening happening before us the book of Daniel takes on a fresh meaning it gives us a really clear insight into these things whereas in times where there was great prosperity and there was little persecution and there was little opposition to the faith and we didn't see these things on a widespread level the book a book like this may not be appreciated as much as it should be. And that's why I think the book of Daniel is really helpful for us. Its thesis is simple. Its main point is simple. God is sovereign over the rulers and the kingdoms of this world. That's a pretty basic thesis. It's one you already know. But it really wants to impress upon us that the Lord is the Lord of history and that He is bringing in the only everlasting kingdom. We all belong to kingdoms of this world, living as citizens in this world. And the claim of Daniel that we're going to see is that our Lord is bringing in the only everlasting kingdom, the one that will endure, the one that will not fade away. It will remain forever through the king that he has installed, who is Christ. That's what this book is going to aim to show us. That's an immensely comforting message in our age, particularly when the kings, we don't really deal with kings like they did, but you might even insert presidents or insert rulers and leaders. When they go beastly, what do I mean by that? When they go beastly, meaning when they attempt to overexert themselves and take glory for themselves beyond the position that has been assigned to them and set up kingdoms in their power for the glory of their name, for the advancement of their causes outside of the very ordination that God gave them for the purpose of ruling justly. No kingdom can or will exalt itself ultimately or last beyond Christ's kingdom. that's why every kingdom has fallen throughout time where's rome today and i've got news for you the united states is part of the beastly kingdoms of babylon it will fall it has to fall because christ's kingdom is the only kingdom that endures forever but this this book helps us to step back and see things from god's sovereign will and perspective how he is working throughout history to preserve his people to preserve his church especially when the kings and the kingdoms the rulers set themselves against the lord and against his anointed psalm 2 so we're looking at in daniel and they attempt to conform us to their rebellion that's what this book is really all about i think calvin says it well for god shows that all earthly power which is not founded on christ is perishing and that speedy destruction is threatened to all kingdoms who over-exalt themselves to obscure the glory of christ those kings who now rule over their wide dominion's will unless they willingly subject themselves to the rule of Christ at last find by sad experience that the fearful judgment refers to them also. You want an example of this, just think, it's all over scripture, it's the book of Revelation, but you want a good example of this, just think of Herod. In Acts 13, on the appointed day, Herod wearing his royal robes sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people they shouted this is the voice of a god and not a man it's not something you ever want to say about the king immediately because herod did not give praise to god an angel of god struck him down and he was eaten by worms and died acts 13 well we have a king who does that here we have a king in the book of Daniel who remarkably will suffer a different but somewhat similar fate and we're going to look at that as this book goes but this is all extremely helpful for us today because what it's demonstrating is that when God allows his people to go through the confusing times that we face the difficult times through the brute and are brutally treated by the governments of this world and we have forgotten how brutal the governments of this world can be do we remember stalin do we remember what leaders can do we've forgotten about hitler we've lived so prosperous we haven't known something like that it can get really brutal god demonstrates through it all as he is working through the governments of this world that He's sovereign and that He is working to refine His people and to test His people through all these things, even over the darkness that's experienced. This is particularly important for us living in the times that we do because we have come into a changing season. It kind of went from the time when Christianity was totally accepted and then in the last you know all the way up to about 2014 we were in the time of toleration and now the time of toleration is over so what will that look like and where is that going it speaks to us in a time where things are increasingly pagan and moving to hostility against the true king and this message applies the message of revelation that rings out applies babylon has fallen babylon is fallen that applies to america america is fallen it's a kingdom of babylon that's the the message of this and what you are experiencing in the confusing times in which you live in which great hostility is coming is god is intervening this is what's the book of daniel is going to be so exciting to study god is intervening to tear down kingdoms kingdoms that exalt themselves over christ but he shows us how he intervenes in surprising ways ways that we don't expect ways where we expect something greater to happen in our way it truly shows us his ways are not our ways his thoughts are not ours as hard as that is for us it's extremely comforting because the goal as jesus said is don't lose heart in the midst of all this it's the father's good pleasure to give you his kingdom that's what you belong to so this is what we're looking at and that's why daniel is important for us daniel and the people of israel have been taken captive into babylon mightiest kingdom of the day a symbol of all the luxury and powerful kingdoms of the world that ever existed are captured for us into this single kingdom called Babylon, a theme that will run through all the scriptures to help us understand the kingdoms of this world. A kingdom now they have been brought into that's not their home. During a time when everyone was asking a single important question, where is God? Has He abandoned us? How could things go this way? Where is God in the midst of all this lawlessness? What is God doing in the midst of all this wickedness? It seemed like the kingdom of God had been abandoned. It seemed like the kingdom of God was losing. It seemed like there was little help for the people of God. Where is He? What is He doing? With a deist right, did he wind up this world and step away and let it go whatever way it goes? Where was help from the Lord? Where was hope? And here they were now in Babylon facing all the pressures to conform. To conform. The king of Babylon claimed to be God and cruelly and viciously persecuted the people of the lord and yet the message comes to us that he was a chosen king for god's purposes god chose him we're going to look at all this today it sounds more familiar to us than before but what are we to do in the midst of living in the kingdoms of this world that turn, that go evil, a place that's not our home, that in all kind of satanic ways is pushing for us and our children to assimilate and to conform and to bow? How do we live in a way that remains faithful to Christ? What is our calling in times like this? More importantly, what is God doing? And that answer is found in the book of Daniel in surprising ways and the lord will show us that the good news is that god is sovereignly using the nations to accomplish the advancement of his kingdom now we're going to pick up then in verse one and i want you to notice in verse one of the book of daniel that the first few verses are very important to the whole book 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 vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God. Notice there the crucial little statement and the Lord gave the king of Judah into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. This is an important verse. It's really the theme of the whole book. The theme of the book is set up right here. We can imagine how awful this was. This wicked tyrant comes and he burns down the holy city he destroys the temple and in the process he takes all the articles of the temple think of all the holy things think of all the things that celebrated god's presence he takes all of the articles out of the temple and he places them in his temple well that's not unfamiliar that's devastating the temple was um where god had placed his name and now the whole thing has been burned to the ground and the pieces are taken if there was ever a time that those people wept and mourned and woke up to reality no more were the days of of eat drink and be merry those days were over it was then that they were mourning with a single great cry lord where are you help us psalm 137 by the rivers of babylon we sat and wept when we remembered zion there on the poplars we hung our harps for there are captors asked for art for songs our tormentors demanded songs of joy they said go ahead sing one of those songs of zion for us you can hear the mockery was in the third year of jehoiakim there were various invasions we know and the prophets were warning about this long before and 586 bc nebuchadnezzar would come and he would burn everything to the ground in jerusalem daniel and many of the jewish leaders and you'll notice here the emphasis on the royal families commanders the commanders of the great armies of israel were all taken captive by nebuchadnezzar and they were hauled off to babylon that's as bad as our churches being burned down all this prosperity and peace our churches being burned down and us hauled over the seas to serve the eastern gods and your children taken your grandchildren hauled off think of the parents who saw that the text emphasizes to begin that the articles of the temple were taken first that's thematic should ring a bell philistines tried this remember when they captured the ark and they took the ark and they put it before dagon in their temple and the imagery was clear we're subduing Yahweh we're subduing the God of Israel the God of Israel will bow to our gods and you remember what happened to Dagon Dagon fell over for headlong his palms were cut off he was bowing before the ark in the temple I mean what an irony God could have done that of course God could have done a lot of things here but he didn't there sat all the vessels imagery in subjection to the gods of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar himself that's where we are in this imagery that we're given that this God-like figure has been raised up and now he has challenged Israel's God as to who is sovereign and who should be worshipped. If these were dedicated to the Lord for service, Nebuchadnezzar is saying, now they will be dedicated to me for service. Now you kind of see in this backdrop what happens when kingdoms go beastly what ultimately is behind the spiritual in the spiritual warfare of what is happening in the kings and kingdoms of this world as they are influenced by demonic powers you know the scriptures say very clearly the ruler of this world has to do with demons well this is where we are in this particular section 70 years had been determined 70 years had been determined for them to go into captivity why well we know this history don't we the church didn't take anything seriously you read the prophets they were crying out because of their worship the whole thing had become silly that's the word in jeremiah my people are just silly they don't take me seriously there was a disregard of the lord hezekiah and the leaders even hezekiah who's a good leader in general these leaders were looking for strength they were looking for help they were looking for a deliverance they were looking for motivation they were looking to everyone else other than the lord political leaders always a sign something bad is going on so the real purpose here was to humble god's people and to deliver a remnant who would be brought back and worship the lord in truth but we have this dilemma what about the 70 years that's where daniel and his friends come in Daniel and his early deportees, these early deportees are finding themselves now living in Babylon, the first ones taken under this tyrant who thinks he's God. They're in the midst of sadness. They're in the midst of confusion. We don't read about Daniel's parents. Who knows if they were left behind? All we know is these young men, 15 to 17 years old, are brought into Babylon. Think about that. 15 to 17 years old. Your sons were taken from you. Would you be mad at God? No one has the right. They're living in this godless kingdom. This ruler is about to claim supremacy over all. He will do that. He's going to claim supremacy over all and your sons and your daughters will bow to me at the pains of death. How often do we say, it seems like we're losing. It seems like everything that is wrong in the world is triumphing right now. It seems like evil is winning. Where is God? What is He doing? And here's this figure who rises up. Is this not my kingdom Babylon that I have built by my power as built for my royal residency by my mighty power for my glory of my majesty? That's Nebuchadnezzar. The narrative begins in a way first of describing Nebuchadnezzar's strategy for Israel, for Judah. We see it and what it is is a great reprogramming strategy assimilating strategy it's it's powerful to study and that's where we're getting into the text here then the king commanded Ashpenaz the chief eunuch to bring some of the people of Israel both of the royal family and of the nobility youths without blemish of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom endowed with knowledge understanding learning and competent to stand in the king's palace to teach them the literature and the language of the chaldeans the king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wine that he drank they were to be educated for three years it says and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king the goal here was clear the goal of what nebuchadnezzar wanted it was clear he wanted total subjection of the jews in the kingdom and so what he does notice the strategy is he takes their nobles he takes their their finest he takes their most skilled their wisest the youngest of men and he brings them into his courts and his goal was clear his goal was very clear his goal was to recreate them into the image of babylon and nebuchadnezzar himself it's a reprogramming that is happening notice what he did he took their nobles this is daniel hananiah mishael and azariah of the tribe of judah 15 to 17 years old they're youths they're handsome they're good in appearance they're the best stock of judah they're smart and the first thing that he did, the first goal of Nebuchadnezzar was to go after their minds. He instructed them in the literature and the language of the Chaldeans. He conformed their minds to think like Chaldeans think. He conformed their minds to become Chaldeans. It wasn't just study in natural things moses learned all the egyptian uh wisdom and literature of the egyptians and and and and you know even to this day we learn all of the great literature and wisdom of the americans i mean this is what we do in america we learn these things we that wasn't just the goal here chaldeans were experts in astrology chaldeans were expert in the worship of constellations and of magic and he was conforming them to through the through the teaching through the mind through the ideologies to the worship of the chaldeans there was a goal to this he educated them for three years and was complete assimilation into chaldean culture was the goal and then in the process he he gives them the best food he gives them the best food in the kingdom and drink the king's food and drink he was softening them he was winning them with their through their senses through all the delicacies and the riches of babylon he's alluring them with whatever they wanted. He gave them whatever pleasures their hearts could dream of in the kingdom. These are boys. Could you hear it? This mighty God-like king who everyone reveres and is all-powerful in the kingdom, they finally see a king that is this powerful. Boys, come up here. Eat with me. Dine with me. I will care for you. I will provide for you. I will train you. I will instruct you. And then he commands the big thing. It is interesting to me that we all know them. It always has been. And I don't think it's wrong to make a point of this. We all know them by their Chaldean names. I think that's kind of shocking. Daniel he called Belteshazzar. And Hananiah he called Shadrach. And Mishael he called Meshach. And Azariah he called Abednego. They clearly had God-fearing parents. Hananiah means mercy from the Lord. Azariah means the help of God. Mishael means sought from God. He takes them and he renames them. After the Babylonian gods, Marduk, Bel, and Nebo. See what he just did. He erased them. He erased them as God's people by name. They were now to be thought of as Chaldeans, fully and truly. seducing them away, setting them up as models for everyone else and for all even of the parents of Israel to see. He would abolish anything having to do with their status as the holy people of the Lord. Complete conformity to Chaldean image, Babylonian image. Lured in with all the delicacies of Babylon, reprogrammed in their minds, and then to give them total and complete new identity. Isn't that interesting? He erased them. I think Calvin again is right when he says, this is the total snare of Satan. It's a demonic program. Now that's Satan's first strategy. This is, I think, where we begin to draw some initial conclusions today through all the background and the initial verses here. You see both here. If he doesn't persecute us, listen, this is such an important point. There's always been two strategies of Satan throughout history. If he doesn't persecute us by destroying us or murdering us, he first assimilates us into the love of Babylon. When that doesn't work, Nebuchadnezzar starts heating furnaces. I think we can see that that has been the demonic strategy throughout history. And think of the great truth today that we celebrate. Think of the separate identity that God has given to us. Think of what he's done in terms of identity. He starts out our lives by putting a sign on us, on our children. That's why it's important. To identify who we are. He marks us. He marks us by a sign of washing. I have washed you into my son with an identity. This is where the Lord starts with us. He sets a seal on us. He claims us. And then all through life, he calls us his special treasure. calling us to be separate from the world, calling us to enjoy our heavenly status, calling us to enjoy being recreated in the image of Christ. And he goes after, Satan goes after us and our children and especially our children with the godless ideologies that are meant to seduce. And then he works hard to erase identity. His goal is to erase, I say this particularly to our children and our young people today, There is a goal for you out there to erase your identity as a covenant child. It's a scary proposition, beloved. Do you know how much he has resource for this? Where is his greatest assault? Where is Satan's greatest assault? What are we all worried about? Our young people? Why, you think they're leaving the churches in droves? Have we taught them to value the means of grace? They are most, and I think James Boyce was right when he said, that our young people are impressionable, and they are, in general, impatient and undisciplined. I was. I may have been one of the most. impatient and undisciplined. What am I doing now? I probably shouldn't have told you that. This is a parent's worst nightmare. I told you about the pastor who wrote to me a few weeks ago and said, I have no idea how you're living in California. So many parents sacrificing their children to the godless pagan ideologies of the culture and losing them. Well, here you go. Here they are in Babylon. Listen to me. They didn't stand a chance. Do you hear what I'm saying? They didn't stand a chance. Look at the drive among young people for purpose, for meaning, for wealth, for fame. all of it's offered you think that's stronger think this is stronger do we now this takes us back to the purpose of the book God was humbling his people who broke his covenant can you imagine the confusion at the moment in the backdrop is god's sovereign power here is a 17 year old 15 to 17 year old who faces sex money power food a name in babylon serving at the king's table in the most in the best position famous in babylon money in babylon status in babylon verse 8 is where we'll end today but Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank well it's a little thing you know why not eat and drink wine of wine let me be clear none of us have the power to keep ourselves in Babylon. This was part of the problem that Israel never realized. Do you worry about your children? Do you worry about your grandchildren? Well, do you worry about your place in this world right now? Have we been lured in with all that Babylon promises us? Have we been lured in by America's dream? Oh, it's very real. We don't stand a chance. I mean, Pastor Contreras was right last Sunday night. Sin is like trying to slay a bear with our bare hands. But hear me today. God does. God does. someone once said, small matters are where big victories are won. It's not in doing the big things for God that we're all obsessed with. I just want to do something big for God. This is what everyone wants today, do something big for God. Where is God's power seen? Where is God's power observed? Everyone must have asked, Has God abandoned us? Has God left us? We're in this crucible and our children, and at times we're in distress because our children are influenced. Some of our children can be and have been led away. What can God do? Why doesn't he just send worms to eat Nebuchadnezzar? I mean, that would be a great story. Send the worm, God. Nothing's greatest happening right now in America. We just live in this place that it's just evil getting worse and worse. Nothing's happening. Where is this God we claim? He's doing nothing. Is He? What can God do for you in Babylon? What can God do for your son or your daughter? What power does He have? It rested on Daniel that day. And it was this. It wasn't bad to learn the wisdom of the Chaldeans. It wasn't bad to eat their food. He reasoned, and he thought to himself, I will not do that because I see what Babylon is doing. I see what the king's doing. Might I put it this way? After all this training as a covenant child of Israel, he said, you know what? I'm not my own, but I belong in body and soul and life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. I belong. I see what he's doing. I will not let the ideologies of Babylon make me captive to another god. I will not eat the food for the single reason that he's trying to submit me to make him my god. And there you see Christ's power resting on him. It was Jesus himself who was led into the wilderness and to Babylon for us to be tempted to eat the food of another God. The message is clear. We're temporary residents in Babylon. And God has purposed to try us and to humble us. And those may be hard at times, unthinkable, unbearable tests to us. I mean, he's about to go in a lion's den. there's nothing that they can do to us, beloved. Listen, this is such a good message. I just thank you for whoever prayed for me to preach Daniel. This is such a good message for us. There is nothing they can do to erase who we are and who we belong to and who we will worship. and to whom we will bow. That's how great His power is in our lives, and He's testing us to trust that. When it seems that we are in circumstances when everything says He's absent, and He's left us, or failed us, or abandoned us, it's in the little things. Open your eyes. It's getting up in the morning and deciding, I'm not going to sin today like I've been doing. because I belong to Jesus. I will not do that thing because I see what it's luring me into. I'm a child of heaven. And God's message is He will not lose me and He promises to keep us. It happens every time our children stand up and profess their faith. You understand that to our young people? Do you understand that that is Daniel? When you profess faith, that's Christ's power on you? Saying, I choose Christ over everything else that's trying to seduce me away. Why wouldn't you do it? When our children choose the Lord over Nebo. That's our first take today on Daniel. in times of the babylonian captivity of the church when things are dark and things are dreary and we worry about this and we worry about that remember this truth god is king over the nations god is going to show us he's king over every king and kingdom over this world and of all the peoples and he controls and is sovereign over it all he is king over the worst of situations and his king is coming at this point that's what the book's going to be about i tell you what i'm going to do oh israel i'm going to install my king in zion and that kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and his name will be great the messiah jesus and every knee and every tongue will confess and bow to him that's how powerful he is and he has promised his power will rest upon his people in our weaknesses to keep us from the allurements and the lies that the evil one is assaulting us with. May today then we bow to the king and the little things. Stop trying to do something big for God, please. Start in the little things. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and you belong to it. you are his. He has purchased you with the precious blood of his son. You are his people and nothing can take that away from you. Never forget it and begin to believe it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us today in this wonderful book. We pray for all insight and help as we work through it, that it would be a great blessing to your people, that you'd strengthen us through these things, that you'd keep our sons and daughters and keep us and may we have the spiritual eyes to see as Daniel did how wonderful our king is and to put aside all these things that seek to ensnare us into the lies of Babylon. Help us, O Lord, we pray, for we're weak, but you are strong. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.