Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200002S
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00:02 The Bible tells us,
00:03 "In the beginning was the Word, 00:05 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:09 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:11 the implanted Word, 00:13 which is able to save your souls. 00:15 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:18 approved to God, 00:19 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:22 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:26 Our study today is the Book of Daniel. 00:33 Hello friends, welcome to the study 00:35 of the Book of Daniel. 00:36 We are continuing just in our second week 00:39 of an amazing book 00:41 where we're going to not only find out 00:43 who Daniel is all over again, 00:45 but we're going to look at the book again, 00:47 for the first time. 00:49 Think about that for a moment. 00:50 Daniel is an exciting study 00:52 and before we take a second look 00:54 at a very familiar passage, 00:56 we are going to do two things. 00:57 We're going to first introduce our panelists. 01:00 We're going to have prayer. 01:01 We're going to read our scripture, our memory text, 01:04 and then we're going to dive into the study. 01:05 To my immediate left is Shelley Quinn. 01:07 Good to have you here, Shelley. 01:08 Oh, it's always good to be here with you. 01:10 Thank you. 01:11 A lady of many hats and many hairdos. 01:14 Well, let's don't go there. 01:16 Pastor Kenny, good to have you here today. 01:19 It's always good to be here. I really enjoy it. 01:21 You would be the patriarch of our panel, maybe. 01:23 Let's not talking about that. I've got that feeling. 01:26 If you're talking about age, you know it's all right. 01:28 Okay, and Jill, undoubtedly the lady of lists. 01:32 Privileged to be here, Pastor John. 01:33 Thank you. Yeah. 01:34 And I think the new kid on the block 01:36 or the youngest one on the panel, 01:38 Pastor Ryan Day, good to have you here, Ryan 01:40 It's a blessing to be here. 01:42 Yes, we are going to have a good time. 01:44 I want to ask Ryan to have our prayer 01:46 before we go into this study of this wonderful lesson. 01:49 Absolutely. 01:51 Father in heaven, Lord, we are just privileged 01:54 and honored to be here, to be alive another day 01:58 to be able to serve you another day, Lord, 02:01 and it's such an incredible, 02:02 exciting feeling to be a part of this panel, 02:05 to be able to come together and study Your word, 02:09 dive deep into these amazing 02:10 prophecies of the Book of Daniel. 02:12 And, Lord, we can't do it without you, 02:14 and so we're asking for Your Holy Spirit 02:16 to be in each and every one of our hearts and minds. 02:18 Give us the spiritual eyeglasses, 02:21 the spiritual hearing to be able to see and hear 02:24 and the spiritual mind of Christ 02:26 to be able to understand all of this, 02:28 according to Your will. 02:30 May these messages go out to all of the world, Lord, 02:32 may someone be blessed and brought to Jesus Christ 02:35 because of these amazing studies. 02:37 We praise You and we thank You. 02:39 And we ask these things in Jesus' holy name. 02:41 Amen. Amen. 02:43 Amen. 02:44 And our memory text is found in Daniel 1:17, 02:48 Daniel 1:17. 02:50 And I'll read that in your hearing. 02:52 "As for these four young men, 02:56 God gave them knowledge and skill 02:59 in all literature and wisdom, 03:02 and Daniel had understanding in all of visions and dreams." 03:05 What an amazing thing to have. 03:07 It'd be nice for that to be said about us. 03:09 But knowledge is one thing, 03:12 wisdom is something altogether different. 03:14 You can have knowledge but you need wisdom to know 03:16 what to do with knowledge. 03:18 You know, when we think about Daniel, 03:20 we have undoubtedly in studying the book 03:24 have come up with the fact that Daniel is faithful, 03:28 but I'd like to take that to another level. 03:30 Go with me to 1 Corinthians 1:9. 03:34 I want you to see that very carefully 03:36 because Daniel is without doubt, faithful. 03:40 And as you're turning there, let me just encourage you 03:42 if you'd like to get a copy of this lesson 03:43 to follow along with us, go to the following website. 03:47 ABSG.Adventist.org. 03:51 That's ABSG.Adventist.org, 03:55 download a copy and then you could also go 03:57 to one of your local Seventh-day Adventist Churches 04:00 and they'll be glad to include you in the fellowship. 04:03 But let's look together at 1 Corinthians 1:9. 04:06 And I like the first three words 04:07 because Daniel is undoubtedly faithful. 04:10 And anytime we are faithful, 04:12 we have to come to the conclusion 04:14 that our faithfulness is not found in us. 04:17 Our faithfulness is found in God. 04:19 Amen. Amen. Notice what it says. 04:22 1 Corinthians 1:9, God, God is what? 04:24 Faithful. 04:25 "God is faithful, by whom you were called 04:28 into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 04:33 So as we go through Daniel 04:34 and all the prophecies that are revealed to Him 04:37 and through Him, 04:38 all the messages and visions given by Him, 04:41 they're all given through Him, not by Him. 04:45 He's the mouthpiece but God in fact is the instrument, 04:48 and the faithfulness of God translates into, 04:52 here's the beauty of it. 04:53 God is faithful all the time, 04:55 but He allows us to shine only 04:57 when He is resident in us. 05:00 You know, somebody once said, 05:01 that was a great sermon, wonderful song. 05:03 I always say to people "I'm only the lampshade, 05:06 God is in fact, the light." 05:09 You know, when Daniel begins in Daniel 1, 05:11 let's go to Daniel Chapter 1, 05:13 because it begins on a somewhat somber note. 05:17 And I've said before, 05:18 it's not always how something begins, 05:21 but how it ends. 05:22 And there are many pictures in the Book of Daniel, 05:24 where it begins on a somber note 05:27 but hold on long enough, like here in the Midwest. 05:30 When you're in God, the situation will change 05:33 and it will always change for the advantage 05:35 of the children of God. 05:36 Daniel 1, I'm going to begin with verse 1 and 2, 05:39 because it points out very carefully 05:42 how the somber note begins. 05:44 It says, "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, 05:48 king of Judah, 05:50 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon 05:52 came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 05:56 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah into his hand, 06:01 with some of the articles of the house of God," 06:03 remember that because they come back 06:05 as a significant point in the stories as we go on, 06:08 "which he carried into the land of Shinar, 06:11 to the house of his god. 06:13 And he brought the articles 06:15 into the treasure house of his god." 06:17 I think one of our former lessons 06:19 we pointed out that Chapter 1 opens with, 06:22 in fact, one point I want to make here is, 06:25 regardless of where the articles of God are, 06:29 they are still the articles of God. 06:30 That's right. That's good. 06:33 Regardless of where the people of God are, 06:35 they are still the people of God. 06:37 Now remember, it begins with a picture that 06:41 we often miss because Daniel Chapter 1 06:44 is a reflection of Revelation Chapter 18. 06:47 Yes, yes. That's right. 06:49 Good. Because they are. 06:50 The people of God are taken into Babylon. 06:53 But then there's a call later on to bring them 06:55 out of Babylon. 06:57 And Daniel asked the question, 06:58 how long are we going to be in this situation? 07:02 How long are we going to be here? 07:04 So make no doubt about it. 07:05 These books, I think we point out 07:06 these books are sister books, 07:08 one builds on the foundation of the other. 07:10 So right away, it begins with the people of God 07:12 being taken into Babylon. 07:14 And they never end up in Babylon, 07:16 except what's true about Jehoiakim, 07:19 king of Judah, is true about 07:21 many of the leaders that are leading them. 07:24 This is very important, because the children of Israel, 07:28 the tribe of Judah ended up there not because 07:31 they themselves were individually 07:33 totally always unfaithful, 07:35 but their leader was, and many people are led 07:37 into circumstances by their leader. 07:40 The leader determines a lot, 07:42 but God determines the end of the story. 07:45 So you find Jehoiakim is the one that it refers to. 07:47 It didn't say Daniel was a bad kid. 07:49 It didn't say Hananiah, 07:50 Mishael and Azariah did awful things. 07:53 They said, they ended up there because of their leader. 07:56 And so we find Daniel Chapter 1 going on, 07:59 and I'm going to reflect a little bit here 08:01 because rather than taking the latter parts, 08:05 if I look at my lesson carefully, 08:06 it didn't give me the responsibility 08:08 of breaking down the story. 08:09 I don't want to take any of your thunder, 08:11 because what happened while they were in Babylon 08:13 is going to unfold later on. 08:15 But let's talk about Babylon, where it found its inception. 08:19 Go to the Book of Genesis, because it talks about Babylon 08:24 being in the land of Shinar. 08:25 That's right. 08:26 And it's about 53 miles south of the modern day Iraq, 08:31 it's in that region. 08:33 But it's not the same location. 08:35 And we know that one of its former leaders 08:38 was hoping that Iraq and Babylon was synonymous, 08:42 but Genesis 11:1-4. 08:45 Shinar is the land where the rebellion began, 08:48 and notice, it began on the heels of a promise 08:52 that I'll talk about in just a moment. 08:53 Genesis 11:1-4, 08:56 "Now the whole earth had one language 08:58 and one speech. 08:59 And it came to pass, as they journeyed 09:01 from the east, that they found a plain 09:05 in the land of Shinar." 09:07 Now what is the direction that the Bible said 09:08 Jesus is coming from? 09:10 East. 09:11 East, so you'll find out right away, 09:13 I like to find symbolisms in a lot of hidden messages. 09:16 They are moving away 09:17 from the direction where God is. 09:19 They journeyed from the east. 09:22 When we meet the Lord will meet him in the east. 09:25 The wise men came from the east. 09:27 So you find east is so synonymous in the Bible 09:29 with good things, 09:31 when you're journeying away from good things, 09:32 you find yourself in the badlands. 09:35 So we find they came from the east 09:37 and they found a plain in the land of Shinar, 09:40 and they dwelt there. 09:42 Then they said to one another, 09:43 "Come let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." 09:47 Notice once again right away salvation by works. 09:50 "They had bricks for stone, 09:52 and they had asphalt for mortar." 09:56 And they said, "Come let us build 09:57 ourselves a city." 10:00 See, the Lord is building us a city. 10:02 But they said, "Let's build ourselves a city, 10:04 and a tower whose top is in the heavens, 10:07 let us make a name for ourselves, 10:10 let us be scattered abroad over the face 10:12 of the whole earth." 10:13 Now what is true about them then, 10:15 is also true about 10:16 the condition of the Christian Church 10:18 in the end time because it says, 10:19 let's make a name for ourselves. 10:21 Now the devil saw they didn't want the name 10:23 that God gave them, but look at the transition. 10:25 Isaiah 4:1 says, when the name for them 10:29 and this is how clever the enemy is. 10:32 They made a name for themselves that 10:33 Satan knew now labeled them as rebellious. 10:37 But watch this, go to Isaiah 4:1. 10:40 Let's look at this. Okay, Isaiah 4:1, I'm there. 10:44 Okay, notice what the Bible says. 10:46 And Isaiah is a powerful book. 10:49 I'm looking forward to the day when we do a lesson on Isaiah. 10:53 That's gonna be like, you better put on your boots. 10:56 Okay, Isaiah 4:1. 10:58 Notice what it says, "In that day seven women 11:01 shall take hold of one man saying, 11:03 we will eat our own food, or our own bread, 11:06 and wear our own apparel, 11:09 only let us be called by," what? 11:10 Your name. 11:12 "Your name, to take away our reproach." 11:14 Notice they said, "Let us make a name for ourselves." 11:17 Now the devil knows that that name 11:18 that they made for themselves 11:20 is now synonymous with rebellion. 11:21 So to cloak the intentions of the last days, 11:24 he says, we'll settle for your name. 11:27 But your name doesn't mean that we are connected to you, 11:31 because we will have our own bread, 11:33 we'll have our own apparel. 11:35 So the rebellion is the same, although the name, 11:38 the application of the name is different. 11:40 We have a name. 11:41 Now we have your name, 11:43 to cloak the true intent of deception. 11:46 Let's go back to Genesis very quickly. 11:47 Genesis Chapter 9, and find out why this city was built. 11:51 And I'll be very quick as I'm reading verse 12 to 15 11:53 of Genesis Chapter 9. 11:55 And God said, 11:57 "This is the sign of the covenant 11:59 which I made between me and you, 12:01 and every living creature that is with you, 12:03 for perpetual generations, 12:05 I set my rainbow in the cloud." 12:09 And he says, "It shall be for you, 12:13 the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 12:17 It shall be when I bring a cloud over the earth, 12:20 that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud. 12:23 And I will remember my covenant, 12:25 which is between me and you 12:27 and every living creature of all flesh. 12:30 The water shall never again become a flood 12:32 to destroy all flesh." 12:33 Now there was a reason 12:35 why I brought out the name comparison. 12:38 First the name was associated with rebellion, 12:40 the land of Shinar, Babylon, the city built in rebellion. 12:44 Now, the devil has taken that word, name, 12:47 and so okay, well, 12:48 we'll take your name to cover our intentions. 12:51 Now look what else he did. 12:53 The rainbow was intended as a promise of God. 12:56 Now he's taken the rainbow 12:58 to be a covenant of satanic activity. 13:00 That's right. Yeah, it's true. 13:01 Isn't that amazing? Cloak the name, rebellion. 13:05 Now the name cannot be associated 13:07 with complete faithfulness to God. 13:10 Took the rainbow that was a sign of God's faithfulness, 13:13 and now made it a symbol of rebellion. 13:16 Notice how that, he does that to cloak back and forth. 13:18 So, God's rainbow of promise 13:20 has been hijacked as a symbol of rebellion. 13:25 But there is still rebellion in the world today, 13:28 in place of God's promise. 13:30 I wish I had more time, I'll come back to this again. 13:33 But let's begin by, 13:34 let's just transition by saying this. 13:36 God is faithful in spite of man's rebellion. 13:40 Thank you, John. That was wonderful. 13:42 Monday's lesson is faith under pressure. 13:45 And I enjoyed this so much. 13:46 Think about this for just a moment. 13:48 When Daniel and his three friends were young, 13:51 they were brought up under good king Josiah's reign. 13:54 He was the reformer, but now he dies off. 13:59 Jehoiakim, his son is now king, 14:02 one of Israel's worst kings brought the whole nation 14:06 into decline and it was. 14:09 This is why Nebuchadnezzar came in 14:11 and was able to take them over and make them a vassal state. 14:14 So Daniel and his friends are now teenagers 14:17 and they witness the plunder of the temple. 14:20 They witness this being carried off not only that, 14:24 they're carried off. 14:25 As young teenagers, they were probably 15 to 17. 14:29 They're going on this 500 mile march to Babylon. 14:34 Just think how the harsh conditions 14:37 could have tested their faith as they are making this march. 14:41 They've been uprooted and plucked from their family. 14:45 Now, when they get to Babylon, 14:48 they are put into a three year training program, 14:52 because they are going to, they're being trained up 14:57 to be in service of the king. 14:59 This was an academic training program. 15:02 It taught the language 15:04 and the literature of the Chaldeans. 15:06 Now the primary language was Aramaic. 15:09 But for scholarship, 15:11 there was a Babylonian language and it was, 15:13 the ancient language was very complicated. 15:17 Their academics would have included math and history. 15:21 And it would include magic, 15:24 because that, you know, 15:26 their science and magic was important to them. 15:29 But to assimilate them into the culture, 15:32 they changed their names. 15:33 Daniel, which means God is my judge, 15:36 changed to Belteshazzar, which means Baal, 15:39 which was one of the major pagan gods, 15:43 protect his life. 15:44 Hananiah, the Lord shows grace was changed to Shadrach, 15:48 which means, under the command of Aku, 15:51 which was the moon God. 15:53 Mishael, who is like God, his name was changed 15:56 to Meshach who is like Aku. 15:59 Azariah, the Lord helps was changed to Abednego, 16:04 the servant of Nego, 16:06 he was the god of learning and writing. 16:09 So their original names honored the God of Israel, 16:13 but their new names honored the pagan gods. 16:17 So when you look at this, 16:18 these young teenagers were subjected to isolation. 16:23 They were in indoctrination, confusion and assimilation. 16:28 Isolated from their homeland, their family and their friends, 16:33 and the Babylonian strategy was changed their loyalty 16:36 from the God of Israel to the pagan gods. 16:38 They were indoctrinated and brainwashed 16:41 through their first class secular education. 16:44 Religion would have been part of their curriculum 16:49 because the Babylonians 16:50 had a pantheon of polytheistic deities. 16:54 They would have taught them the greatness of Marduke. 16:57 Confusion, changing your name. 17:00 I mean, that's the core of who they were, 17:02 a name meant a lot to them. 17:04 And assimilation, they tried to entice them 17:09 with delicacies 17:11 and the privileges of a new life. 17:12 So let's look at that. 17:14 In Daniel 1:5, it says, "The king appointed them 17:16 a daily provision of the king's delicacies, 17:19 and of the wine which he drank." 17:22 Now there were deep implications to eat 17:24 from the king's table. 17:26 One, that meant you had 17:28 undivided allegiance to the king. 17:29 But, number two, you know, 17:32 it would reflect dependence upon them. 17:34 But then these pagans ate some things that 17:37 just ain't kosher, 17:38 I mean, they horse flesh, they ate pork. 17:41 And so, and besides that, 17:44 their food was dedicated to idols. 17:47 So look at Daniel 1:8, 17:51 "Daniel purposed in his heart," 17:54 literally he said upon his heart, 17:58 not to compromise is what this is saying. 18:00 "He purposed in his heart 18:02 that he would not defile himself 18:04 with the portion of the king's delicacies, 18:07 nor with the wine which he drank." 18:10 So we see that there's a strong inner resolve 18:14 that Daniel has, 18:15 and he's going to honor God by obeying God's dietary laws. 18:20 So the young Hebrews 18:22 all remained faithful to their God 18:24 no matter what. 18:26 Compromise wasn't even a word that was in their vocabulary. 18:30 Daniel walked in holiness and humility. 18:36 That's what I like. 18:37 He stood his ground with grace, not rude, not stubborn. 18:42 His self discipline and integrity served him well 18:45 because he gains the favor of the head eunuch, 18:50 the chief eunuch, and he gains his trust. 18:54 And God intervened and gave him favors 18:57 what happened. 18:58 Daniel, when this food is presented to them. 19:02 Daniel wisely, and I mean, 19:04 you talked about knowledge and wisdom. 19:07 With wisdom he suggests a win-win proposition. 19:12 You know, he says, 19:13 "Hey, let us just eat veggies for 10 days. 19:19 And let's see if my God won't keep us healthier 19:23 and stronger than yours." 19:24 And God did. He gave them wisdom and skill. 19:28 He blessed them physically, mentally, spiritually. 19:31 And guess what? 19:32 They were found to be 10 times better than 19:34 all of the rest, 19:35 because they were faithful to God. 19:39 So the point is, the king thought to change 19:42 their thinking with Babylonian education, 19:46 their loyalty by changing their name, 19:49 their lifestyle by changing their diet, 19:52 but they gave Daniel and his friends courage 19:57 and hope in distress. 19:59 They persevered with strength through these trials. 20:03 So Nebuchadnezzar puts Daniel 20:05 and his friends on his staff and they maintained 20:11 their integrity and their allegiance to God. 20:16 They were a great witness to God's providence, 20:21 to see how God can bring these young people through, 20:25 even in times of trials and great opposition. 20:29 They remain faithful to God. 20:32 Daniel was God's spokesperson 20:36 to the Babylonian Empire for 70 years. 20:40 And guess what? 20:41 Because of his integrity, 20:44 and his uncompromising character, 20:49 he had far reaching results. 20:51 He was in the first line of captives coming into Babylon 20:57 and he outlived them all till the time, 21:00 he outlived his captors, till the time of the conquest 21:05 when Cyrus of Persia came in. 21:08 So, when we think about this, I had to stop 21:12 and think as I'm studying about Daniel, 21:16 young teenager, and I'm telling myself. 21:19 Go on. 21:20 And you know what they say, 21:23 "Confession is good for the soul, 21:24 but bad for the reputation." 21:27 When I first went off to college, 21:30 everybody called me Miss Goody Two-Shoes. 21:33 I was a wonderful, good little girl, 21:36 all through high school. 21:39 I never disobeyed. 21:40 I never got into any trouble, 21:42 never gave my mother any challenges. 21:46 And when I got to college, everybody was like, 21:49 you're Miss Goody Two-Shoes. 21:51 They didn't say that four years later. 21:54 I allowed the culture, 21:58 the peer pressure to change me, 22:02 I didn't stand up like Daniel did. 22:06 And I want to encourage you, you may be a young person, 22:10 you may be going off to a secular school as I did. 22:14 You may be hearing things that make you wonder, 22:18 is God real? 22:20 Is what I've been taught real? 22:22 I want to encourage you, to become like Daniel, 22:26 to hold on to God's truth. 22:29 Amen. 22:30 To know that God, if I had, I knew some things about God, 22:36 I just didn't have 22:37 a personal relationship with Him. 22:39 Knowledge isn't going to do it. 22:42 It has to be that intimate, personal, 22:45 daily relationship of depending upon God. 22:49 And if you will depend upon God, 22:53 He can use you as He used Daniel to be a voice, 22:58 His voice, God's voice for the kingdom of Babylon. 23:02 God can use you to be His voice for influence 23:07 wherever you are. 23:08 So stay strong and don't be intimidated, 23:14 don't be assimilated, don't be confused, 23:18 but held on to God's hand. 23:20 Amen, thank you so much, Shelley. 23:22 Wow, what a good start to our lesson, 23:24 and we want to encourage you not to go away 23:25 because we're just getting started. 23:27 And we'll be back in a moment 23:28 as we transition to the next day. 23:31 Amen. 23:37 Ever wish you could watch 23:38 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:40 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:43 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:48 A clean design makes it easy 23:51 to find the program you're looking for. 23:53 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 23:56 so you can follow along. 23:58 Sharing is easy. 24:00 Just click share 24:01 and choose your favorite social media. 24:03 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:09 Welcome back to our study. 24:11 And now we're going to transition 24:12 to Pastor Kenny, on the lesson, Firm Resolution. 24:15 Amen. 24:17 You know, Tuesday is good lesson, 24:18 and what you guys present is awesome. 24:20 I thank the Lord for that, because I always look at 24:22 the foundation on which to build. 24:23 Okay. 24:25 And all of us are looking for a foundation 24:26 which is the Word of God, 24:28 so we're building on that foundation. 24:31 The lesson here brings out that we need to read Daniel 1:7-20. 24:36 If you don't mind, that's an awful lot. 24:38 You both have you covered, really a good portion of that. 24:41 And so if you don't mind, I want to focus a little bit 24:43 because we're looking at the test that was given. 24:46 And I look at it as a choice. 24:49 So there's two points I think to look at here is free will, 24:53 because a lot of people have a difficult time 24:55 with that doctrine or teaching of free will. 24:58 And then the intervention of God. 25:01 So we realized as we looked at what we heard here 25:03 as we read these verses here, 25:05 that there were some things that 25:07 the Hebrews when they were in captivity, 25:09 they didn't have a choice such as in my life, 25:13 at least we still have a choice and everything. 25:15 But when their names were changed, 25:16 and you brought that their name was changed. 25:18 They didn't really fight that, 25:19 probably when they got together, 25:20 they went back and called themselves their 25:22 original name, you know, went back, 25:23 but those are some things that happened. 25:25 But when it came to the food they put in their bodies, 25:28 they made a choice. 25:31 We must make choices every day of our life 25:34 and to choose. 25:35 So they asked for intervention. 25:37 This is one of the first, sometime we look to man, 25:39 we look at things of the world 25:41 and we try to get help from every place but God. 25:44 First thing we should go is ask God, 25:46 that's what these Hebrews did. 25:48 They went and asked God for direction, 25:50 and not only did they ask 25:52 but they were willing to listen. 25:53 Yes. 25:54 I think it's very important, people ask questions 25:56 and then they won't listen. 25:58 You know, we asked question we need to hear the response, 26:01 and to go from there. 26:02 So and I like that, and I'll just read Daniel 1:8, 26:06 it says, "And they purposed in their hearts." 26:08 I like that and they purposed in their heart. 26:10 We have to purpose in our hearts. 26:12 We realize as the King Nebuchadnezzar, 26:15 king of Babylon, went to Jerusalem, 26:17 he had orders he picked those, 26:18 I think you brought it out rather nicely. 26:21 The ones who were taken into captivity were, 26:23 you know, in high fluence, maybe in the home or somewhere 26:27 where they were taken captive, 26:28 they came in there, why would he choose those, 26:31 you know, to put in his cabinet as it were, 26:33 why would he choose those there? 26:35 Because I think he realized it would help. 26:38 It would help the other ones 26:39 right there in the house of Judah, 26:41 and even chosen from the first families. 26:43 And so that would encourage the others in captivity 26:46 to follow along with the plan 26:47 so that they wouldn't just rise up against him. 26:49 So we look at Daniel, was he, 26:51 I think you were talking about from 15 to what 18 years of age 26:54 somewhere along, just a teenager. 26:55 And just to bring out that, notice it in Daniel, 26:58 when they would, these young men were chosen 27:01 to meet certain criteria. 27:02 It was interesting, kind of like the Lamb of God, 27:05 in the sense that it had no blemish. 27:07 So when they chose these men, there was no blemish in them. 27:11 They had to be in good health. 27:14 And one thing I thought was very interesting, 27:16 they had to be handsome. 27:18 They had to be good to look at, 27:20 what that all means, but it means, 27:23 when they pick no blemish, 27:24 they had to be in good health, they had to be good looking. 27:28 They had to have wisdom and certainly knowledge, 27:30 understand the sciences that you brought out, 27:32 speaking other languages, 27:34 you know, get into the royal school. 27:36 But I want to go back and spend a little bit time 27:37 on free will, 27:39 because I think that's very, very important. 27:40 Couple of reasons why God lets us choose, 27:44 you know, because, you know, 27:45 I hear that all the time, well, there's no choice. 27:47 It's just the way, 27:48 it's all mapped out and, you know, 27:49 and it's just going to follow this way, 27:51 whether I like it or not, 27:52 but God gives us free choice and I'm glad for that. 27:54 In Joshua 24:15, you know, the Bible says, 27:58 you know this very well, you know it at home, it says, 28:00 "Choose you this day whom you will serve." 28:03 That's right That sounds like a choice to me. 28:06 That's right. Yes. "Choose you this day." 28:07 You choose what you want to do, 28:09 you choose to serve God or you choose not to serve God. 28:11 Right. 28:12 1 Kings 18:21 simply says in that big battle 28:16 that went on there, it said, 28:17 "If God, you want Lord be God, follow Him." 28:20 That's right. "If Baal," then do what? 28:21 "Follow him." What's that sound like? 28:23 It sounds like there was a choice, again, 28:25 we're looking at the free will and divine intervention. 28:28 And God gave that to man. 28:30 And Acts 11:23 says, "When He came," 28:33 that was talking about Barnabas, 28:34 "and they seen the grace of God, 28:37 they was glad 28:38 and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart, 28:41 they would cleave unto the Lord." 28:43 Here I see purpose of heart, they made a decision, 28:46 there was a choice 28:47 when they heard the Word of God. 28:49 When you hear the Word of God, 28:51 it brings you to the point of decision. 28:53 We would have to choose either to follow Him 28:55 to accept that truth or not, 28:56 just like as they listen to this panel, 28:58 and things that are presented from the Word of God, 29:00 there's choices that you will make 29:02 and choices that I will make. 29:04 So there is, we have to make a choice. 29:05 Now, what if we didn't have this freedom to make a choice? 29:09 What would that do to us individually? 29:12 I jotted down a few things I thought was interesting. 29:14 Now remember, I believe this 29:15 Desire of Ages brings it, you know, clear. 29:17 Desire of Ages, 258. 29:19 It says what, "With the freedom of choice is given to all." 29:23 Everyone is given, given that power to do it. 29:25 But notice, if maybe somehow we're without this freedom. 29:30 If we didn't have this freedom, 29:31 man's obedience would be forced. 29:34 Obedience would be forced, God only accepts that 29:37 which we give from the heart and our freedom, right? 29:39 Number two, no development of character. 29:44 Without the freedom of choice, 29:46 there is no development of character, 29:47 we realize the only thing is going to right, 29:49 we take the heaven with us is what? 29:50 Character. Is our character. 29:52 So praise God. 29:53 He's given us freedom of choice. 29:54 We make those choices. 29:56 And now notice 29:57 if we were without this freedom of choice, 29:59 there would be no, man would be robbed 30:02 of his prerogative to be an intelligent human being. 30:07 That's a prerogative that God has given to us. 30:09 And, of course, all men decide their destiny, 30:13 by their power of choice, by the choices that you make 30:15 and that I make, you know, the things that we do, 30:18 it's going to be weighed out. 30:19 And so heaven can be our home or not be our home, 30:21 our destiny of all mankind 30:23 certainly is in the balance of a choice. 30:27 Praise God for that. 30:29 These young men, I love that, 30:30 they become part of the royal school. 30:33 They wouldn't eat what the king ate, 30:35 and there are several reasons why, 30:36 we'll do that in the few minutes 30:37 that we have, I thought was interesting, you know, 30:39 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 30:40 You know, there's several reasons 30:42 why the pious Jew would avoid eating 30:45 from the king's table. 30:47 Number one, Babylonia was mentioned there, what? 30:49 They were pagans, they ate unclean food. 30:53 And we find that certainly in Leviticus 11, 30:55 and certainly many other passage, 30:56 but notice, unclean food, 30:58 and so they had purposed in their heart. 31:00 They had made a choice to say, I'm not going to eat this. 31:02 Someone say, Well, I don't have any choice out there, 31:04 I'll starve to death. 31:05 Well, there's choice. 31:07 You know, eat what God said to do 31:08 or don't eat it, may come to that. 31:10 So we gonna keep that in mind, Leviticus 11. 31:12 And, of course, two, the Levitical priesthood said 31:15 that the beast must be killed a certain way. 31:18 That was in Leviticus 17:14-15. 31:21 So they weren't sure how it was killed. 31:24 And then they said, well, number three, they knew that 31:27 the animals would be often offered to a pagan, what? 31:31 To a pagan god, and Acts 15:29, they didn't want that, 31:34 there was contention back then in the Book of Acts, 31:37 so it was going to be offered to a pagan 31:38 god I don't want it, it's unclean, 31:40 God said not to eat it. 31:41 And number four, it was unhealthy 31:44 and against strict temperance. 31:46 They knew that, these were men that were raised healthy. 31:49 These were men who were raised, you know, 31:51 in the fear and admonition of the Lord. 31:54 They wanted to avoid flesh eating, 31:56 it might just be good for us to consider that today also. 32:00 We want to be what? 32:02 God wants us to be healthy in mind, body, soul, spirit. 32:05 And as the test that you brought out here 32:06 before it was all said and done, 32:09 they were 10 times in intelligence, 32:11 and strength, and looks, everything right there, 32:14 because they've simply followed God's plan. 32:16 Let's not say God can't do it, because God can. 32:18 That's right. He can certainly do it. 32:20 These men came in favor with those 32:21 who were in charge and praise God. 32:23 It all began to work together, divine intervention 32:26 and certainly free will. 32:28 Now, when they went to the king, I like this, 32:31 it's in Patriarchs and Prophets. 32:33 Yeah, Prophets and Kings, 32:35 page 245 said the "Physical strength," 32:37 I like that, "Physical strength, and beauty 32:40 and, mental vigor, 32:42 and literary attainment stood unrivaled." 32:46 No one even came close to them. 32:50 And I believe that's what God has in store for us today, 32:52 if we just simply follow what He has laid out. 32:56 See, they were sound to begin with, 32:58 they were in good shape to begin with, 33:01 they were strong to begin with. 33:03 Why? 33:04 Because they observe strict temperance. 33:06 That's right 33:07 Before they got there, 33:08 and they simply were following through 33:10 with how they were raised, what they taught, 33:11 what they believed, and what God said in His word. 33:13 They honored God. 33:15 And He said them that honor me, I'm going to what? 33:16 Honor. I'm going to honor. 33:18 God honored them. 33:19 And certainly as it was at the close 33:21 of this little 10 days, 33:22 I can't hardly see anything changing in 10 days... 33:24 I know, right? 33:25 If you think, well, we might gain 33:27 a little weight in 10 days. 33:28 But you know, there are things you say, 33:30 how could we just be changed? 33:31 How could they be 10 times, you see, because he had what? 33:35 They had free will, they chose. 33:38 They made a commitment, they purposed in their heart 33:40 that they wouldn't do anything against God, 33:41 they wouldn't eat anything that God wouldn't approve of, 33:44 and then with divine, right, vanity stepped in, 33:48 you had humanity and Divinity working together. 33:51 And when they work together, 33:52 I mean, it's very simple to look at. 33:54 God will do great things, He will work miracles out, 33:58 that the world will have to look at 34:00 as the king did and say, wow, there's something to this, 34:03 or those that were in charge said there's something to this, 34:05 the way they look, the strength. 34:07 And so whether it's acting right now, 34:09 we're going to keep them on whatever they were eating. 34:10 We're going to keep them on that. 34:12 And so I think today, we just need to follow 34:14 what God has said in His word. 34:15 Don't question it, just by faith accept it, 34:17 and God's going to bless abundantly. 34:18 Amen. Amen. 34:21 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny, 34:22 Shelley and Pastor John, 34:23 what a wonderful foundation as you mentioned, 34:26 and to see the firm resolution as it were, 34:30 of those four young men, Daniel and his three friends, 34:34 standing in the midst of corruption, 34:37 in the midst of paganism and heathenism, 34:40 in the midst of a foreign country 34:41 and yet still standing firm for God. 34:44 That is amazing. 34:46 On Wednesday, we look at unblemished 34:48 and wise and the principle of the Book of Daniel 34:52 is repeat and enlarge. 34:53 So we're going to repeat 34:55 just a moment as we move forward, 34:56 unblemished and wise. 34:58 First of all, we look at the lesson talked about 35:01 the qualities selected. 35:03 The qualities that Nebuchadnezzar was looking for 35:06 in the people that he's selected to be trained 35:09 to go through this rigorous three year training course, 35:12 to be, I like what you said, part of his cabinet. 35:15 I like that. 35:16 So we're going to read actually Daniel 1:3-4. 35:19 And we've gone over this before, 35:21 but we're going to review it one more time, 35:23 verses 3 and 4, "The King instructed Ashpenaz, 35:27 the master of his eunuchs, 35:29 to bring some of the children of Israel 35:30 and some of the king's descendants 35:32 and some of the nobles." 35:34 So first of all, what qualities do we see? 35:36 They're Israelites, 35:37 they're of the royal line, right? 35:41 "Young men in whom there was no blemish, 35:45 but good looking, gifted in all wisdom, 35:47 possessing knowledge and quick to understand, 35:50 who had ability to serve in the king's palace, 35:53 and whom they might teach the language and literature 35:57 of the Chaldeans. 35:59 They were Israelites of the royal line, young, male, 36:03 and I want to focus on that word no blemish. 36:06 Pastor Kenny brought that out beautifully. 36:08 No blemish, in the Hebrew, 36:10 that word specifically refers to no physical blemish. 36:15 There was no physical blemish in them. 36:18 Those serving God in the sanctuary 36:20 were to have no blemish. 36:23 Leviticus 21:17, "Speak to Aaron saying, 36:27 'no man of your descendants in succeeding generation 36:30 who has any defect, 36:33 may approach to offer the bread of his gods.'" 36:35 So the Levites, the priests administered 36:38 were not supposed to have any blemish. 36:41 Also the lamb, the goat, the sacrifice, 36:45 that the children of Israel were to bring 36:46 was to be without any blemish. 36:50 Leviticus 4:23, "He should bring us as offering, 36:53 a kid of the goats, a male without blemish." 36:56 And then, of course, as a sin offering, 36:58 he would bring a female without blemish. 37:02 And we know as you referenced, Christ was the Lamb slain 37:06 from the foundation of the world 37:08 but without blemish. 37:10 1 Peter 1:18-19, 37:12 "Knowing you are not redeemed with corruptible things like 37:16 silver or gold, from your aimless 37:18 conduct received by tradition from your father's, 37:21 but with the precious blood of Christ as of lamb 37:24 without blemish and without spot." 37:27 So these four young men were royal, 37:31 they were Israelites, young without blemish, 37:33 they were good looking in appearance. 37:36 They possessed knowledge, they were quick to understand, 37:39 quick to learn, able to serve. 37:41 When I think about it, 37:43 I think they were physically superior. 37:45 They were mentally superior. 37:48 And in a sense, you could even say 37:50 culturally superior because they were raised almost, 37:53 you could say a little bit in the upper echelons of Judah. 37:58 So then the test occurred 37:59 and they became even more superior, 38:01 after this 10 day test, which is amazing, 38:04 the results of the test, 38:05 we're going to read verses 15 through 17. 38:08 Daniel 1:15-17, 38:11 "At the end of 10 days, their features," 38:13 now the word in Hebrew features means their appearance, 38:16 so we're talking about their outward appearance, 38:19 "appeared better and fatter in flesh 38:21 than all the young men 38:22 who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. 38:24 Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies." 38:27 Verse 16, "And the wine that 38:31 they were to drink and gave them vegetables. 38:34 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge 38:37 and skill and all literature and wisdom, 38:39 and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." 38:43 So physically they looked better 38:44 because their features, 38:46 their appearance was approved, improved. 38:48 Mentally, God gave them 38:51 supernatural knowledge and wisdom. 38:55 And in addition to that, 38:57 Daniel was given something extra special, 38:59 because he had understanding with visions and dreams. 39:02 This is, as you can say, 39:04 the launching of his prophetic ministry that 39:06 we see later throughout the Book of Daniel. 39:11 Now, Shelley talked about 39:12 how they studied the Chaldean wisdom. 39:15 And I would imagine if you were Daniel's mama, 39:18 you would say, 39:19 "I don't want him learning that." 39:21 Wouldn't you say that? 39:23 You would say, "I don't want him going, 39:24 learning those, that pagan stuff 39:26 and the mysticism. 39:27 I want him learning the truth from the Word of God. 39:30 But even though he was deeply versed 39:33 in Chaldean wisdom, 39:35 just as Moses was deeply versed in some of those things 39:39 in his training, what happened? 39:42 "God put to shame the wisdom of the world 39:45 by the wisdom of God." 39:47 1 Corinthians 1:18, "The message of the cross 39:50 is foolishness to those who are perishing, 39:52 but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." 39:56 And 1 Corinthians 3:19, 39:58 "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." 40:03 Why did they pass the test? Why were they so improved? 40:09 When we follow God's way, His blessing follows us. 40:14 Deuteronomy Chapter 28, the law of blessing and curses. 40:19 What was that law? 40:20 God told the children of Israel, if you follow Me, 40:23 if you walk in My way, if you honor My law, 40:27 if you seek Me with all your heart, 40:30 I will pour blessings upon your life 40:32 physically and spiritually. 40:35 And emotionally, I'm going to pour out 40:37 My blessings upon you. 40:38 But by contrast, if you walk away from Me, 40:43 and if you say, "No, God, I don't want to follow You 40:45 and I don't want to listen to You, 40:47 and I don't want to heed Your voice 40:48 and I don't want to follow Your law." 40:51 Then those curses will come upon you. 40:55 Pastor Kenny mentioned God honors obedience. 40:58 Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord 41:00 is the beginning of wisdom. 41:02 And the knowledge 41:03 of the Holy One is understanding." 41:06 God is the one who gave them understanding. 41:08 Yes, they studied, but God is the one 41:10 who gave them understanding. 41:11 Proverbs 2:6, "The Lord gives wisdom, 41:14 from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding." 41:17 So Pastor John, what are the lessons that 41:20 we can learn from Daniel's tests? 41:22 Here comes your list. 41:23 Lesson number one, stand for the right, 41:26 regardless of the consequence. 41:29 We're called to do what is right, 41:31 Pastor Ryan, not what is easy. 41:35 We always know usually, we know the right thing to do. 41:38 The hard part is to actually do it. 41:41 James 4:17 says, "Therefore to him 41:43 who knows to do good 41:45 and does not do it, to him it is sin." 41:49 So you think about the others who were there, now, 41:51 I don't know, maybe they didn't have 41:53 the same understanding 41:54 or not regarding eating the pagan food, 41:57 regarding eating the king's meat. 41:59 If they didn't know, God wouldn't hold them 42:01 accountable for what they didn't know. 42:03 But Daniel and his three friends, 42:05 we clearly know, knew better. 42:08 Daniel knew what was right and therefore God held him 42:10 accountable for that. 42:12 Number one, stand for the right regardless 42:14 of the consequences. 42:15 Number two, don't be afraid when you stand for God 42:19 and His truth. 42:21 1 Peter 3:1, "Even if you should suffer 42:24 for righteousness sake, you are blessed." 42:28 Now it could just end there and you think oh, well, 42:29 praise the Lord, 42:31 even if I suffer for righteousness sake, 42:32 I'm blessed, but it doesn't end there. 42:34 It says, "Do not be afraid of their threats, 42:37 nor be troubled." 42:39 So don't be afraid, 42:40 you might be in a situation right now 42:42 and you're standing for God and the principles of His word. 42:46 Don't be afraid of their threats, 42:49 what other people say about you or to you. 42:52 Don't be afraid when you stand for God and His truth. 42:54 Lesson number three, learn to differentiate between 42:58 the true and the false. 43:01 Daniel was immersed in Chaldean wisdom 43:04 and yet he still knew what was true. 43:07 For everything God has created, Satan has made a counterfeit. 43:11 God said, "Remember 43:13 the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 43:15 it is sanctified and holy unto me." 43:17 And Satan said, "I'm going to make 43:18 another day of worship, Sunday." 43:20 God said, "When you die, 43:23 you sleep until the resurrection." 43:25 And Satan said, "I'm going to invent 43:27 eternally burning hell." 43:29 God said, "You're saved by grace through faith." 43:31 And Satan said, "I'm going to invent 43:33 some works that you have to do." 43:36 God said, "In the beginning, He made us." 43:39 And Satan said, "You evolved." 43:41 God said, "I made marriage between one man and one woman." 43:45 And Satan said, "No, cohabitation is okay. 43:48 And it's okay to be with people of the same sex." 43:51 So for everything God has created, 43:53 Satan has made a counterfeit, 43:55 there's false biblical doctrines. 43:57 There's false ways to find Jesus. 43:59 He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." 44:02 And yet the Babylonian gods had all kinds of different ways 44:05 to come to that. 44:06 So, learn to differentiate between the true and the false. 44:10 Study His Word, spend time in His Word. 44:14 Listen to His voice, 44:16 walk in obedience when He speaks to you. 44:18 And finally, lesson number four, 44:19 trust God to give what you need. 44:23 God is the one who gave Daniel 44:25 and his three friends knowledge and skill 44:28 and what they needed there in the Babylonian court. 44:31 Pastor Ryan. Praise the Lord. 44:33 That's amazing. Praise the Lord. 44:35 As Brother Kenny said last week, 44:37 he was sitting here, and I'm sitting here 44:39 and I get to hear each and every one of you 44:40 and it's just, it's powerful to hear 44:43 how powerful the Word of God is. 44:44 There's so much that we can glean from it and learn. 44:46 Thursday's lesson is entitled, The Final Exam, final exam. 44:51 And so, you know, as I was studying through this, 44:54 I started reminiscing because you know, 44:56 I was once was in college, and every college students 45:01 experience ultimately ends each semester 45:04 with a final exam. 45:06 You've been through all of these individual exams 45:10 and studies and lessons 45:12 that leads up to this final testing, 45:14 to see where you stand to be able to measure 45:17 where you are and how far you've grown 45:19 and how much you've retained. 45:20 And in this particular situation in college, you know, 45:23 much of your grade, 45:24 a large percentage of your grade, 45:27 you know, how you turn out in the end is dependent on 45:29 what you score on that final exam. 45:31 And I was just reminiscing through that 45:32 as I was studying this lesson, 45:34 because while it may not have been the exact same, 45:36 Daniel and his friends did indeed endure a final exam, 45:41 and we're going to see that there is also an application 45:43 that we can apply to our time, 45:45 because prior before the Second Coming of Jesus, 45:47 we also are enduring a time of examination, 45:51 and Jesus will come back for those who passed the test. 45:54 And so I want to start with Daniel 1:17-21. 45:58 These are the verses, 46:00 this is 17 on to the end of the chapter. 46:02 But this is what the Bible has to say. 46:04 It says as for these, of course, verse 17, 46:06 was our memory verse. 46:07 "As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge 46:10 and skill in all literature and wisdom, 46:12 and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 46:16 Now, at the end of the days, 46:19 when the king had said that they should be brought in, 46:23 the chief of the eunuchs brought them 46:24 in before Nebuchadnezzar. 46:27 Then the king interviewed them, 46:29 and among them all, none was found, like Daniel, 46:32 Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 46:34 therefore they served before the king, 46:37 and in all matters of wisdom and understanding 46:40 about which the king examined them. 46:43 He found them 10 times better than all the magicians 46:46 and astrologers who were in his realm." 46:50 And then the last verse here it says, 46:51 "Thus Daniel continued 46:53 until the first year of King Cyrus." 46:56 So again, three years in Babylonian University, 47:00 and I love how Shelley brought it out. 47:01 You know, you had to have known that 47:03 through these three years, 47:05 they had to endure things that were taught to them, 47:08 that they didn't believe, 47:09 that they didn't agree with that, you know, 47:11 the Lord had brought them away from 47:13 and now it seems like their minds are being saturated 47:15 with that again, 47:17 all of the paganism and they were in the epicenter, 47:19 the Mecca of pagan worship. 47:21 And so we see that 47:23 what the Bible might call wisdom, 47:25 what the king might have called wisdom and knowledge, 47:27 we know no doubt, 47:29 had been comprised of a lot of paganism. 47:31 And so they had, you know, 47:32 we know that during this time though, 47:34 while they had to endure that, you know, 47:37 they had an opportunity, 47:39 and almost certainly did endure the ways 47:41 and the customs and the culture of the Babylonians. 47:44 But notice, while King Nebuchadnezzar 47:46 and the Babylonian system intended for them to conform, 47:49 and to shape them into that Babylonian system, 47:53 we know that they just became more informed 47:55 about how that is not the will of God, 47:58 and how that is not the way of the Lord 47:59 and how they were to refrain from that. 48:02 And you know, that's a lesson for us today I believe, 48:04 that here we are, we are also living in a day 48:06 and time where all around us paganism 48:09 and the devil's ways 48:10 and his deceptions and his distractions. 48:13 You know, what does that say about us today? 48:14 Can we be informed but not conformed to that 48:18 of which the culture 48:20 and the world is trying to shape us in. 48:22 Through it all, Daniel and his friends 48:24 learn to further trust in God, 48:26 which ultimately led to their redemption, 48:29 promotion, and success. 48:31 And so, you know, I like to just kind of 48:33 do a little bit of a, 48:36 little bit of a recap of what we've learned through 48:38 Daniel Chapter 1 here, as we've all repeated 48:41 and enlarged or extended through this. 48:43 We know that God is in control of history. 48:46 That's what we have learned. 48:47 And we know that He knows the end from the beginning. 48:50 So He knows all things. 48:52 Number two, God gives wisdom, 48:54 so that we might navigate the hostile environments 48:57 of our culture and society. 48:59 You know, through all of this, I have to ask the question, 49:02 are we allowing culture to shape shift us away 49:06 from the Lord and His ways? 49:07 Are we affecting culture? 49:09 Are we standing as a witness against culture, 49:12 especially when it is not in harmony with God's ways 49:15 and His will. 49:16 And so which one is affecting which? 49:18 We learn from Proverbs 3:5-6, 49:21 "To trust in the Lord with all your heart, 49:23 lean not on your own understanding, 49:25 but in all your ways." 49:26 And that's what we're seeing 49:28 here from Daniel and his friends, 49:29 in all their ways they acknowledged God. 49:32 And, of course, because of that, 49:33 as Proverbs 3:6 says, "He directed their path." 49:37 And that promise still stands for us today that, 49:39 if we simply remain in the ways of the Lord, 49:42 if we acknowledge Him 49:43 and His principles and His ways, 49:45 He will obviously direct our paths. 49:48 God honors those who trust in Him, 49:50 through inner conviction and lifestyle 49:53 and that's what we see from Daniel 49:54 and his friends here. 49:56 This final examination as they're brought 49:59 before the king. 50:00 I could imagine, there probably was a little bit 50:02 of a nervousness on the human side of it. 50:05 But yet because they're full of the Holy Spirit, 50:07 there had to have been a spiritual boldness 50:09 and assurance to know that you know what, 50:11 my God is in control. 50:12 And whatever the outcome, I know God will see me through. 50:15 And you know, we see this final examination 50:18 that indeed Daniel had to go through. 50:20 And we see that, from that, 50:23 that we can apply and clearly see that 50:25 when you take that which we learned from Daniel, 50:28 and you come down to our time, 50:29 and much of what we're going to see 50:31 throughout the Book of Daniel, 50:32 and I just want to kind of give us a heads up from this. 50:34 As we study through this book, you're going to see 50:36 that as Pastor Lomacang said, 50:37 nothing is going to be refulfilled in prophecy. 50:40 But there certainly are applications 50:42 and elements of these prophecies 50:44 that we will see that will be repeated in our time, 50:47 as far as the experience spiritually 50:49 that we have to endure. 50:51 And let me just highlight a few in time applications 50:53 or parallels between Daniel's final exam, 50:56 and our final exam, 50:58 because we also have a final exam 50:59 that we shall go through. 51:01 You mentioned, Jill, 51:02 that Daniel had no blemish physically. 51:05 But, of course, the same will be true 51:07 to the end time generation, spiritually, 51:10 our character shall have any blemish or no fault. 51:13 Daniel was filled with the Holy Spirit, 51:15 the Bible says, 51:17 as will the end time generation, 51:18 we better be filled with God's Holy Spirit, amen, 51:21 in order to endure this final examination. 51:24 Number three, Daniel and his friends 51:26 were men of prayer. 51:29 We're going to see this come up many times 51:30 in the Book of Daniel. 51:31 They were men of prayer 51:33 and God's last day remnant people 51:35 will be people of prayer. 51:36 They will be in connection with the Lord constantly, 51:38 they will cease without prayer, or pray without ceasing. 51:41 Number four, Daniel and his friends 51:43 followed strict temperate habits, 51:46 as we learned there from Brother Kenny, very clearly. 51:48 In the last days, God is going to give us 51:50 the Holy Spirit that as we are becoming 51:52 more sanctified and separated from self, 51:55 Christ is increasing, we are decreasing. 51:57 We will learn to live temperate lives 52:00 and have tempered habits. 52:01 Number five, Daniel witnessed 52:03 in the courts of the king of Babylon 52:05 and Medo-Persia. 52:06 And, of course, in the last days, 52:07 God's people will also stand in the courts of the kings. 52:10 That's what we're told, according to Luke 21:12. 52:13 The sixth point here, the lives of Daniel 52:16 and his friends were governed by principle, God's principles. 52:19 They did not allow the circumstances that 52:21 surrounded them to influence their decisions and behaviors. 52:25 And so what does that say about us in these last days? 52:27 I think God's people are being called back to the standards 52:30 and the principles of God's Word 52:32 as not to become legalistic 52:33 but to become faithful and committed to Him. 52:35 Absolutely. 52:36 Number seven, the issues involved 52:38 in the final conflict will be the same 52:40 in the sense that in Daniel's day, 52:42 God's law and worship were at the center. 52:45 And we're going to see this down at the end of time, 52:47 God's law and worship is going to rear its head, 52:50 it's going to be the central issue, 52:51 also in the last days. 52:53 Number eight, a death decree. 52:55 We're going to see this as we read on through. 52:57 A death decree was proclaimed against Daniel 52:59 and will be proclaimed against God's people. 53:01 If you read Revelation 13, we're going to see 53:03 some parallels throughout these studies. 53:05 But again, we're seeing this final examination time period, 53:08 as it parallels from Daniel's time 53:10 to our time very clearly, 53:12 Daniel and his friends went through 53:13 a severe time of trouble and trial, 53:15 but came through victoriously, 53:17 as God's faithful remnant will in the end times. 53:21 We also see that Daniel was hated by 53:23 the religious leaders of the day, 53:24 which we'll see in Daniel 3 as well as Daniel 6, 53:27 and of course, the leaders of the day. 53:30 In the last days, 53:31 the remnant will also have to endure the same thing. 53:33 The religious leaders hate God's remnant people 53:35 who keep His commandments 53:37 and have the testimony of Jesus. 53:39 Number 11, Daniel denounced the placing 53:42 of unholy wine in unholy vessels. 53:46 And here we are, in the last days, 53:48 you'll read Revelation Chapter 17, 53:50 we see that there's a harlot who's making the world 53:52 drunk with her wine, 53:53 her false intoxicating doctrines, 53:55 but as God's holy vessels, we reject that unholy wine 53:58 as Daniel did. 54:00 Daniel was in an insignificant, faithful minority, 54:04 while the majority was in apostasy, 54:06 and the same will be for our end time. 54:08 And, of course, last here number 13, 54:10 Daniel and his friends were delivered from their enemies. 54:13 This is the good news. 54:14 They were delivered from their enemies 54:16 and their enemies were destroyed 54:17 with the very weapons 54:18 they intended to use on God's people. 54:20 We see this in Daniel 3, we see it in Daniel 6, 54:23 and we're going to see it again in the end times. 54:25 God will, He will show up and He will protect His people, 54:29 He will see us through 54:30 and I just want to give us quick appeal, 54:32 as we are preparing to close out earth's history. 54:35 May we learn to be more like 54:37 Daniel in that Daniel followed Jesus. 54:40 And ultimately may we learn to surrender to Jesus Christ 54:43 and have His faith, 54:44 exercise His faith each and every day in our lives. 54:47 Amen. Thank you, Ryan. 54:49 Thank you, Shelley. 54:50 I'm gonna give each one of you an opportunity 54:51 to just summarize what may your final thoughts be? 54:54 You know, I was just thinking that our secular culture 54:57 is constantly throwing challenges 55:00 that as to lead us away from God. 55:03 What occurred to me as we were going through the lesson. 55:07 Your friends matter, you know, 55:10 Daniel and his three friends weren't the only ones 55:13 who were captured and carried off, 55:15 but he was wise enough to surround himself 55:18 with friends who were following after God as well. 55:21 Paul says that bad company corrupts good character. 55:26 So we must know God's will and surround ourselves 55:31 with God's people, 55:33 and just be faithful and devoted to Him. 55:36 Amen. That's right. Pastor Kenny. 55:37 I'm just, I'm amazed at the four Hebrews 55:40 and faith and their love, commitment to Jesus Christ. 55:43 He said the four Hebrews had their name changed, 55:46 but not their character. 55:48 You know that the food and wine, 55:50 the king, they had a choice and they made the right choice. 55:53 They follow God's plan and not man's plan. 55:55 I encourage you to follow God's plan today, 55:57 you can't go wrong. 55:58 Amen. 55:59 When I think about Daniel Chapter 1, 56:01 it's the time of extreme pressure 56:02 for Daniel and his friends. 56:04 And you might be going through 56:06 a time of extreme pressure right now, 56:08 understand that God will use that 56:10 time of pressure in your life. 56:13 Now it might not feel like it right now. 56:16 But God is in the process of using that in your life. 56:19 I think of 2 Corinthians 4:17. 56:22 Paul says, "For our light affliction, 56:24 which is but for a moment, works for us 56:27 a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 56:30 So God is at work right now in your life. 56:33 Amen. 56:34 That's right, a part of my lesson that 56:36 I didn't quite get to, 56:37 but it was just right there at it. 56:39 I love the very last verse of Daniel Chapter 1. 56:41 Very short, very simple, but it says, "Daniel continued 56:44 into the first year of King Cyrus." 56:46 Now, that's good news. 56:48 Because the chapter begins it seems like 56:49 with doom and gloom, 56:51 and they're carried off in exile and bondage, 56:53 but by the end of this chapter, 56:54 you get a glimpse of the hope, and it also gives us a glimpse 56:58 of God's beautiful character. 56:59 In the sense that, you know, 57:01 we may go through trying times in our life, 57:03 we may be walking through the valley or seems like 57:05 we're beholding a mountain that seems impossible to climb. 57:08 But the Lord is still there to pull back that window, 57:11 to give you a glimpse that the light at the end 57:13 of the tunnel per se, to say, you know what, 57:15 if you trust in me, I will see you through 57:17 and I will rise above these clouds. 57:19 And I just praise the Lord for the promises of God's word, 57:22 what we see in this story. 57:23 Thank you all for the combination 57:25 of the starts for the lesson. 57:27 It's always exciting when we look at Daniel. 57:29 And we are just, as I say, getting started in this book 57:32 and it's going to get more beautiful 57:34 like an artichoke, 57:36 we're going to be peeling back 57:37 the leaves of His message until we get to the heart 57:40 of the message. 57:41 Don't forget, even as we discover the heart, 57:44 the heart is always Christ. 57:45 He is the central focus of the message. 57:47 He's the circumference of the message. 57:49 He's the only one to be exalted by the message. 57:51 Well, we talked about character, remember this. 57:53 People of character do the right thing, 57:57 not because they want to change the world, 58:00 but because they refused to be changed by the world. 58:03 May you be a person of character 58:05 and the Lord will be exalted in your life. 58:07 God bless you. |
Revised 2020-01-08