"Determined Not to Defile"

Today's message is where the rubber meets the road in the Christian life. Most of us know how to put our Sunday faces on. We know how we outta dress, the tone our voices should take, and all the other Christian trappings that we bring to our public worship. The question is... who are you when no one is looking?

Most everyone seems like a good person at first glance. Some of the children and teenagers brought up in a Christian home have good manners in public... because they have not been involved in the sins of others their age, because as loving parents, we have set limits.

But... are they the same when no one is looking? Will they stay true to the principles of Scripture when they are away from home?… Do we as adults stay true to the principles of Scripture when we are away from home? or away from Church…???

Daniel had a decision to make… was he going to follow the rest of the crowd, or was he going to stand up for his beliefs?

He was uprooted from his home, his family, his church, his life…everything that Daniel knew was now gone. He was now forced to live in a pagan environment where they would attempt to brainwash him into thinking and believing the same way as the Babylonians and he was constantly being tempted to compromise on his convictions.

Today we can learn from a young man who knew how to stand up for what is

right... even when no one is looking… as we read our passage today, I want to look at how Daniel was…

Determined Not to Defile

Read Daniel 1:8-16…

Meat:

This is a critical scene in the book of Daniel because this is where we see Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah all take a stand for godly living, when the rest of the young Jewish fellas are giving into the Babylonian luxuries.

H.A. Ironside said “It is Daniel and his three friend’s carefulness right here that moves God to give them tremendous spiritual enlightenment”.

Look down at v.17 for a moment… Daniel 1:17 “17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

This knowledge, skill, wisdom and understanding, did not come until after they took their stand… Pastor Thompson said in his notes “Obedience to God’s Word, in any situation or circumstance, will eventually bring great promotion and blessing from God”.

Notice the emphasis on the word “eventually”. It may not happen immediately, but it will happen eventually… And we will receive our full promotion when we are in the presence of Christ.

As we get into our text this morning, we are going to see…

Daniel’s Determination Demonstrated

And the first thing that I want you to notice is…

1. Daniel Knew His Life Purpose

V.8 is considered the most important verse of this first chapter and it gives us major insight into the heart and mindset of Daniel.

Daniel 1:8 “8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank…”

That word “defile” means to pollute or to desecrate. Daniel was not willing to desecrate himself with the King’s fancy foods or wine. It wasn’t just Daniel, it was also Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. All four of them were taking a stand.

We talked about this a little bit last week… If they ate the food and drank the wine, it would defile them in at least 2 different ways.

Some of the meat would’ve included unclean animals which were forbidden by the Mosaic Law… we won’t take the time to go through them this morning , but you can find the comprised list in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

Both the meat and the wine would’ve been sacrificed to an idol, and the indulgence of such food was also forbidden… You can find that in Exodus 34.

Daniel’s purpose in life is the exact same purpose that we all have… I have mentioned this to several people in the past couple of weeks… Our purpose is to…

1.1 Glorify God

When Daniel purposed in his heart, not to defile himself… He was saying, I want to glorify God with my actions… There are a lot of people today that would say “Me too!… I want to glorify God with my actions”, but as soon as glorifying God puts them in an uncomfortable or inconvenient situation… then it gets put on the back burner, or completely avoided.

Daniel and his buddies knew that if they were going to glorify God, then they needed to Glorify God...

1.2 Through Obedience

Daniel and his friends could have easily chosen to take the path of dis-obedience and ate the kings food. “I am here in a foreign country…and those pork chops looks really good”…

“I mean... everybody is doing it”

“I can always ask for forgiveness later”

Daniel and his friends knew that it was better to obey God rather than the sinful King of Babylon.

Daniel would rather be at odds with the whole world than to abandon the principles of God’s Word. When it came down to pleasing the King of Babylon or pleasing God… Daniel would choose God, every time!

As we will see throughout this study… God blessed Daniel and his friends for their obedience to Him… and because we serve the same immutable (unchanging) God today, we can know that He will continue to bless those that live in obedience to His Word.

He was so determined not defile himself that…

2. Daniel Requested A Test

Still in v.8… Read vv. 8-14...

Dr. Renald Showers from Friends of Israel makes an important point… He said “When Daniel decided to obey God, he did not go on some fanatical rampage.”

Daniel is approaching a person that is in a position of leadership over him… A person whose job is to make sure that all of these teenage boys are eating and well nourished… And Daniel, determined not to defile himself, approaches this “government leader”…

2.1 With A Respectful Attitude

He and his friends did not protest or picket the food and drink… They didn’t light the kitchen on fire… They didn’t look down on the ones that were eating the food… They didn’t threaten anyone… They didn’t even throw hot gravy at anyone.

Daniel simply and respectfully made his request known to the one who was in charge, from v. 3 we know that this leaders name is, Ashpenaz… In a situation that most people would approach with an arrogant attitude, Daniel humbled himself and respectfully makes his request… Why?… Because he knows that his purpose in life is to glorify God and he also knows that God would want him to approach this humbly and respectfully and not out of arrogance or anger.

v.9 says Daniel 1:9 “9 Now God had brought (This is God’s Sovereignty at work) Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.”

Because Daniel approached Ashpenaz with a God honoring, respectful attitude, God, through His sovereignty, His control over everything… God softened the heart of this heathenistic leader and Daniel was able to find favor and goodwill in his sight.

Again, it was Daniel’s Obedience and respectful attitude that prompted God to soften the heart of Ashpenaz. Daniel found favor with this foreign leader, because he first found favor with God.

Proverbs 16:7 NASB95

7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

This is a great example of the fact that if you want to receive God’s Blessings, then you must be living in accordance to God’s will…

(Repeat Proverbs 16:7...)

However, even though Ashpenaz liked Daniel, there was still a problem with Daniel’s request… this test had…

2.2 Fatal Possibilities

v.10… Daniel 1:10 “10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.””

Ashpenaz favors Daniel but he fears Nebuchadnezzar. If Daniel and his friends started to look less healthy than the rest of the group, Ashpenaz knew it was his life, literally his head, that was on the chopping block.

Realizing Ashpenaz’s fear, Daniel comes up with a…

2.3 Safe Solution

Daniel 1:12-13 “12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.””

Daniel's request was for a 10-day trial test. He pleaded to be allowed to eat nothing but vegetables and to drink nothing but water (now that is commitment). At the end of ten days their appearance could be compared to those who ate the king's rich food. If their appearance was healthy, Daniel requested that they be allowed to continue the diet of vegetables and water.

This was a safe solution because ten days would be enough time for the effects of their diet to be noticeable to the ones in charge, but short enough to avoid attracting undue attention from everyone else.

And because Daniel serves a sovereign God… The (thee) God that is in complete control of this whole situation… v.14 says...

Daniel 1:14 “14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.”

Daniel provided a safe solution and was taken up on his offer… Why?… Because God was working behind the scenes.

Some of you might recognize the name of Mark Lowry. He is a Christian comedian and wonderful singer. He travels around with the Gather vocal band and he is the one that wrote the song “Mary did you know?”…

Mark makes this statement… “It just seems to me like God is in the interruptions of my life and He’s seldom in my plans.”

Are you able to see God in the interruptions of life? Can you see God working behind the scenes or are you too focused on the inconvenience of the interruption to realize that God may be working on something extraordinary?

I think Daniel was well aware that God was in this life altering, interruption… I believe that Daniel could see God working… He continued to stay focused on God throughout the interruption and his relationship with God was strengthened because of it.

Bible Commentator, Ronald Pierce said “Intentionally becoming more aware of God’s work in our lives can help us to know Him better and make us more thankful for His gracious interventions on our behalf.”

Lastly this morning, I want you to notice the…

3. Results of the Test

Daniel 1:15-16 “15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. 16 Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.”

In the end… they didn’t just stay the same as the other guys… They were actually…

3.1 Better Looking

“at the end of ten days their features (their looks) appeared better… ” and then Daniel goes on to say… “… and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.”

So they weren’t just “Better looking” but they were actually…

3.2 Much Healthier

Than the ones who indulged in the King’s delicacies.

There are some that like to take this account and say that “Daniel Diets or Daniel Fasts” are required for healthier bodies and a healthier spiritual walk with God…

I will agree that eating more vegetables and drinking more water is a healthier life choice than several pounds of bacon washed down with a mountain dew. However, I don’t believe that just because this is your daily diet, you are in a closer relationship with God.

Now, I realize that there are some that have to eat this way do to dietary restrictions… I am not talking about that type of situation. I am talking about folks that look down on others for eating what would’ve been considered an unclean animal in the Old Testament… They are completely missing the point of the lesson...

The reason that Daniel and his friends were blessed after the ten day trial run… was…

3.3 Because Of Their Obedience

Yes, you have now had to write this word twice on your outline… That is because Obedience to God is an absolute necessity in order to receive His blessings.

Obedience to God is good for our spiritual health, our physical health and our emotional or mental health.

Daniel and his friends were determined not to defile themselves, even though everyone else around them were giving in to the new luxuries of life. As the other guys were compromising and conforming… Daniel and his buddies were being transformed by God, because of their obedience to Him.

Closing:

Romans 12:2 NKJV

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

There are going to be moments when we will have to make a choice… are we going to be obedient to God’s Word, His principles… or are we going defile ourselves with the pleasures of the world.

In order to make sure that you are living in accordance to God’s word… you’ve got to read it, study it, know it… Don’t take my word for it… It is your responsibility to know what God says is right and wrong… and here’s another kicker… you cannot pick and choose what areas you want to be obedient in…

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

As the culture around us starts to embrace sinful abominations such as

Homosexuality

Transgenderism

Pre-marital Sex

Abortion

and the list goes on...

Are we allowing the culture to influence us, are we compromising righteousness for pleasure or convenience??? Or are we doing what we can to take a stand, are we influencing the culture for the glory of God???

You want God’s blessing on your life??… It starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Repenting of your sin, asking for His forgiveness, and then living in obedience to God’s Word.

Pastor Thompson said in his notes “Obedience starts with one person, making a personal choice to believe God and obey God, regardless of what all others may be doing.”

God always honors obedience to His Word.

Prayer:

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