PRECEPTS FOR LIFE
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The following is an actual transcript of the PRECEPTS FOR LIFE Broadcast. For the purpose of filling transcript requests quickly, they have received only light editing. If you have questions concerning the material covered in this broadcast, Kay has published a number of books explaining the Scripture in depth. These books may be ordered by contacting the telephone number or address printed above.
SERIES: Daniel (Dare To Be God’s Messenger)
TITLE: Program 4 – God’s Man
OPEN
Does it seem to you my friend as if there’s an increasing animosity in our society towards those who really profess to know Jesus Christ?
In other words it would be better for you not to let it be known that you are a Christian than to take a stand or to hold to absolutes, because our society really doesn’t like it. They want to push us in a corner. They want us to stay quiet. They want us to stay within the church. Is that what we’re supposed to do or does God have a purpose for us today?
PART ONE
It is good that we’re feeling animosity because you know what? It’s a sign that we are in the last of the last days. Because when you get to the last of the last days men’s hearts get harder. They get more antagonistic towards anyone who is living for Jesus Christ. Why? Because we are a thorn in their sides.
We are a, a thorn in their eyes and they don’t like that. They just want to shove us in a corner because they want to live in blatant sin. They want to be their own god. They want to do their own thing. They want to walk by their own knowledge. They want to walk by their own understanding, by their own wisdom. And they don’t want any interference. And so they just want to get rid of us. Now Daniel was in a culture that was in opposition to the God of Israel. They did not believe in the God of Israel.
As a matter of fact they thought that their gods were stronger than the God of Israel because they had just captured Jerusalem. They had taken away the king. They had taken away the king’s family, the nobles, and the young men from the royal court. And so they were in opposite, they were in juxtaposition with all that Daniel stood for. Now, when we come to Daniel, chapter 1 we find Daniel being educated in the ways of the Babylonians. And you don’t find him bucking this. You don’t find him saying I’m sorry, but I can’t study those books because they’re not Jewish books. They’re in opposition to our God. No.
He studied what they wanted him to study. He was the captive. But what he studied did not change his convictions. He lived under their rules unless their rules conflicted with his beliefs. And then when their rules conflicted with his beliefs he didn’t just throw himself into a tantrum, but he came up with a way and he persuaded the official to let him do it. Let me read it to you in the Word of God. Now, remember in our last lesson we looked at the fact that Daniel made up his mind. So that’s the verse that we’re going start with.
I hope that you’re doing your homework. I hope that you’ve read Daniel, chapter 1 and you’ve colored every reference to Nebuchadnezzar in one color and every reference to Daniel in another. So watch now in verse 8. But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s, (and so you would mark that like Nebuchadnezzar), choice food or with the wine, which he, Nebuchadnezzar drank. So he, Daniel, (that’s why you’ve got to mark your pronouns in the right color, so that you make sure you know who the he is), so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. It says, now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials.
Now what I want you to see is that they are in captivity because as chapter 1, verse 2 says, the Lord gave them, gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. Now you see God moving again, so you want to mark this. And as I told you, I mark anything in, as a reference to God in yellow. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. Watch the progress here. Watch who’s in charge. But watch the responsibility of man. All right, here they want him to conform and to eat what they eat etc. And so Daniel makes up his mind he’s not going to do that. Then God backs up Daniel. When God sees Daniel making up his mind that Daniel is going to do what God tells him to do and he’s going to be obedient to God and he’s not going to defile himself. See this is what I want you to understand.
For him to eat what the king was eating, for him to drink what the king was drinking was against the Word of God and therefore, if Daniel had submitted to that he would have been defiling himself. Now what is very interesting is you have Daniel mentioned, you have Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, his, his three cohorts mentioned, but there were lots more that came from Jerusalem all the way up along the river and down into present day Iraq, old ancient Babylon.
There were a lot more that came on that journey and went into captivity. But as far as we know there are only four men here, led and spearheaded by Daniel that have determined that they’re not going to defile themselves. The others fade into the background. But Daniel was handling it accurately. And because Daniel handled the Word accurately, because he wouldn’t put one foot in the Babylonian culture, he was going to stand. Yes, he may be living in the midst of this nation that did not know God, but he would not defile himself. And when he made that decision, when Daniel made up his mind, then God granted him favor. You say, but listen Kay; I have stood for God. I’ve stood for God in my office.
I’ve stood for God in my school. I’ve stood for God there and it has cost me dearly. I didn’t get that promotion. I didn’t have favor. I want to tell you something: God does not always deliver you out of a difficult situation. God does not always immediately let you come out the winner. But God has a purpose and when you determine that you’re going to be God’s man, God’s woman, when you determine that you’re going to serve God’s purpose in your generation, even as David and others did, then you can know this, that whatever happens, God is in charge.
God is covering your backside, so to speak. God is there and He is before you. He is behind you. He is on each side of you and He is inside of you and you’ve got it made. You say, but it’s not coming out in this fairy tale way. It doesn’t always come out in this fairy tale way, but listen; this is not the end of the story. This is not the end. There is a future coming and in that future God is going to reward. When Jesus Christ comes He’s bringing His reward with Him to give to everyone of us according to our deeds. So there is a day of recognition coming.
There is a day of reward coming. There is a day of God patting you on the back and saying well done, My good and beloved servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord. But God’s there. God’s there. And God becomes like your rear guard and He’s behind you protecting you. And so it says now God granted Daniel favor and compassion. And the reason that He granted Daniel favor and compassion was because He had a place that He wanted Daniel to serve Him. And Daniel had to prove that he was worthy of that place. And he proved it when he made up his mind not to defile himself.
You need to make up your mind and I need to make up my mind. I’ve done it and I’m sure you have to, that we are not going to defile ourselves with the things of this world, but we’re going to be obedient to God in every aspect. And so it says He granted him favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, I’m afraid of my lord and the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age?
Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king. But Daniel said to the overseer… See Daniel’s thought this thing through and Daniel has a plan and you and I need to think things through. And the best place to think them through is on our knees. And one of the things you’re going to find is that Daniel is a man of prayer. You’re going to see that as you go through and we study this book inductively. Verse 11: But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Remember their names are changed to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink, just herbs and vegetables and water.
Then let our appearance be observed in your presence, and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food. In other words look at us after ten days, compare us. And deal with your servants according to what you see. Now listen; did Daniel know that God was with him? Did Daniel know that God honors obedience? Yes, Daniel knew that. And Daniel knew that if he would do what God said, then God would take care of him. So he listened to them, the commander of the officials listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.
At the end of the ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice and wine that they were to drink and kept giving them vegetables. Now when you see the their, yes, it includes Hananiah, and Mishael and Azariah, but you want to include Daniel because it refers to Daniel. So I color it the same thing that I color Daniel. And what do you see? You see that as for these youths God gave them knowledge.
Watch God in this chapter. Because what you want to do is you want to learn everything about God that you can, because Daniel 11:32b says this: The people who know their God are able to stand firm and they’re able to take action. It doesn’t matter what society wants to do to you. It doesn’t matter that society wants to get rid of you. If you know your God, you’re able to stand firm and you’re able to do exploits, great things for Him. Now what are these? We’ll talk about it after the break.
PART TWO
Well let’s get back and let’s finish chapter 1. Let’s go to verse 17. And it says as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Now this word dreams is going to become a key word throughout this book and so you want to develop some way to mark it. I put a blue cloud around it and then I color it pink.
And so that’s my symbol for dreams. And you’re going to want to mark it because it’s a key repeated word. So you have four men and these four men have obeyed God. They determine that they were not going to defile themselves. They ate only vegetables. They drank only water and God honored that. Now watch what God is doing. It says in verse 9 that God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials.
Now it says in verse 17 and God gave them knowledge. So you want to mark God gave again. God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even, so you take Daniel and you separate him from the other three because this book is about this man.
And Daniel was even given understanding in visions and in dreams. And that understanding is what is literally going to save his life and the life of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, as we will see. And it says then, at the end of the days when the king and you would mark this, this is Nebuchadnezzar, had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.
And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. Now what has God done? God has caused these men to excel. God has done this and you’re going to see how much God has done when we get to chapter 2.
But God has done this because God has seen that their heart is set on being men of God, no matter what the culture wants to do to them, no matter how the culture wants to squeeze them into their mold. You know in Romans, chapter 12 God talks about us presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service of worship. And He says and do not be conformed to this world.
Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold, but be ye transformed. Be changed from the inside out. Metamorphid is the word, to go from being a little ole caterpillar to being a butterfly. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you might prove or put to test what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Here were men that had presented themselves to God as living sacrifices.
Here were men that were not going to allow the world to squeeze them into their mold. Here were men who are going to be transformed and God sees that and God honors that. And so if you would stop and summarize and this is what you should do, after you mark a word when you’re studying inductively, then make a list of everything that you see as a result of marking that word. So in Daniel, chapter 1 you would see the first thing that you learn about God is in verse 2, when the Lord gives the king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. In other words it’s the Lord that determines the outcome of the battle.
It’s the Lord that determines who wins the battle. And in this case God’s people did not win the battle because they had compromised, because they had allowed the world to squeeze them into their mold, because they went after the gods of this world instead of worshiping the one and only true God. And so God gives them over. So you can know this: it’s God who determines the outcome of the battle.
All right, and then you come down to verse 9. Now God granted Daniel favor. If you are granted favor with your enemies or with those who do not know the Lord, it’s because God has granted it. And then if you have wisdom or knowledge it’s because God has given it. There is a wisdom that comes from above. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 1 it says that God chooses the base things and the foolish things and the things that are despised and the things that are nothing so that no flesh can glory in His presence. And then it says but Jesus has been made unto us wisdom.
So when you believe in Jesus Christ, when you believe in Jesus Christ and become a child of God you get the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, you get the wisdom of God which is personified in the person of Jesus Christ. So it says God gave them knowledge and intelligence.
And consequently they shine above all the others and it says that as for every matter of wisdom, verse 20, and understanding about which the king consulted them. The king consulted these youths. It says he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. In other words here were four men that were ten times better than the others. And it says and Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.
What he wants you to know right from the beginning is as a young man, as a youth, although the world wanted me out of the way, although they wanted to push me into the corner, I stood for God and because I stood for God, I stood. And I stood all the way through the first year of Cyrus. I served God in a public position under the Babylonians and under the Medes and the Persians because why, because God honors those who honor Him. And God becomes our rear guard.
Now I want to take you to Ezekiel, chapter 14. And I want to show you something that you need to know and you need to understand for these days. Now remember, Ezekiel is taken captive in the second captivity. The first captivity, Daniel, 605 B.C., second captivity is Ezekiel and ten thousand others in 597 B.C.
The final siege of Jerusalem is in 586 B.C. and that’s where Jeremiah is shining as the prophet. Okay, now in Ezekiel, chapter 14 the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel saying this: Son of man, if a country sins against Me, by committing unfaithfulness and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast.
Now what I want you to see He’s saying if a country sins against Me… I want you to know that our country, the United States of America is sinning against God, blatantly sinning against God. And they’re sinning against God because they are rejecting God. They are rejecting the knowledge of God. They don’t want Christians around. They want them shut up. They only want them opening their mouth in church.
They don’t want them involved in politics. They don’t want them involved in the justice system and they certainly don’t want to hear what Christians believe because they think that there are no absolutes. And He says even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves, says the Lord God. Even if Noah was there, even if Job was there, even if Daniel was there, they could only deliver themselves by their righteousness. When you go all the way through here what you see is this, only the righteous will survive. He talks about three judgments that He would bring on a country if they sin.
In other words beloved, it doesn’t matter if the world wants to get rid of you; you stand fast. You be God’s man, God’s woman for this hour.
Michael James Stone
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