Sunday 11 August 2019 - Faithful under Fire

By the Rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. Play on the park place. We hung our harps. But then our captors office for songs ultimate has demanded songs of Joy. They said sing us one of the songs of Zion. How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, oh Jerusalem, my my right hand forget its skill made my tongue claim to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you. If I do not consider Jerusalem my highest Joy.

remember download with edomites date on the day Jerusalem fell turn it down. They cried tear it down to its foundations.

Autotroph Abalone doomed to destruction happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us who seizes your infant's and dashes them against the rocks. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

A second reading comes from The Book of Daniel beginning of the first chapter on the first bus. I can be found on page 883 of the church Bibles. Daniel's training in Babylon in the third year of the reign of how I came king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar. The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it have a load delivered your heart. I came king of Judah into his hands along with some of the Articles from the Temple of gods. They see carried off to the Temple of his gods and Babylonian and Persian the treasure-house of his gods. And the King ordered acting as chief his calls his officials to bring in some of the Israelites in the royal family on the nobility. Young man without any physical defects handsome showing apps to for every kind of learning well informed quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king's Palace. It was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king of sign them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and I forgot they were to enter the King's Service. Among these were some from Judah Daniel hananiah mishael and Azaria the name belteshazzar Shadrach Meshach and Abednego.

hold on rope

Well, it is great to be back as well as I said before and as you know, we went to the Lake District as a family and join the Simmons family as well for the kids at convention. We had actually books before the 2018 catch it to like the Lake District was was it didn't disappoint. It really was a wonderful. So I'm away to be with the thousands of brothers and sisters and of course their conventions up and down the country still with thousands of people are gathering to worship God. But at the same time, I guess I was longing.

And as you can imagine traveling with three children in the back by the time we passed Preston on the m6 we was tune longing. To arrive at a destination but speak very good couple of all, we there yet from the boys out here to defend themselves. But wonder what might you be longing for? As you sit here today, what are you longing for?

Outfits to see a family member who you haven't seen for a while.

Perhaps you've got an important event that's coming up that you've been a king for waiting for.

Perhaps you're close to retirement or you just retired. And you just can't wait to embrace this news season in your life.

If you've had young children recently or young grandchildren recently, maybe you'll longing for more sleep.

Maybe you don't have time to long for anything. What I'm busy I find it hard to think too far into the future. So often the immediate precious ground me in the very much the immediate the here in the now that one level. Can be helpful content because some it preoccupies on But on another level it does make it tricky doesn't have to keep a balanced view on life when we are immersed in the here and now I get so consumed sometimes the time I find myself forgetting to look up and look forward because I can't quite get my brain off. What has to be done right now. I'm so longing for me can be difficult.

Today we're going to work together at the Book of Daniel and hopefully that will become the clearest of wine, but I'm off to the initial. I'll go back from to have my whole time away and not so is it to resist getting back into things as much as I was excited to do that? And so come Thursday when I fish Ali came back after the initial Lord, what was I thinking?

I began to ask why. No, not one. Am I doing this to myself? The one I wanted was this book written? Why should we be interested in this book today a book that was written most people would say over two and a half thousand years ago some argue about that, but we're not going to get into that. We're going to believe that it was written two-and-a-half. Why was it written? What does it reveal to us as so we sit here today? Answer me. The Book of Daniel says an awful lot about our longings. It's written to encourage a group of God's people who might belonging that that life would be very different from the reality that I face from the circumstances that they found themselves in but they're also a group of people if they're not careful. Looking to find the bay longings. For the world that I've been led to believe is to come all completely overtaken by the culture and the society in which they now leave. Consumed by the worldly thinking and priorities of the day. The belonging that God has placed in that house is in danger of being replaced by a new worldview.

The book and today's a bit of an introduction, but the book is set during the Great disaster and Watershed history of Israel known as the XR. If you were cool out big picture as a couple years ago now we might need to come back to it sometime soon. But we had that big pictures when we the big picture look of the Bible and we remembered we followed the same of the Bible about God's Kingdom from the beginning biking Genesis. God makes his Covenant with Abraham doesn't he? He isn't it. So no plans become clearer as he promises to bring his people. Into his place into the land of his choosing under his Rule and he's blessing. And so we can go further. We find the Israelites find themselves in captivity in Egypt, but they rescued by Moses. They brought finally into the promised land just as God has promised they all asked for King and despite his reservations. God grants them their wish but of course, we know that doesn't sound very well and eventually the Kingdom of Israel is split into two the northern kingdom, which they're often becomes known as Israel with Sumeria as its capital and a small Southern Kingdom of Judah with a capital in Jerusalem. But you can see this clearly but this is the Bible Society. I had a great results to pull the Bible course and it just speaks to show that timeline. If you like you can see from your left there the Book of Genesis and then of course the people of Israel to Egypt I said it'll get there. Then I come out of Egypt. I spent 40 years that circular motion there 40 years in the wilderness and then we see the kingdom split is the northern and the southern Kingdom and then I'll Book of Daniel brings us to that place but other peak in the middle day, which says X all you can't read it. I'm sorry, that's not very clear. But the people now in X all they've been taken off.

And the reason is because for many many years the people of Israel have fooled into apostasy into. Teaching. They turn their back on the Covenant that I had to go out and she doesn't let them go through the prophets calling them back. His faithfulness is true. He keeps calling them back and used to hold on to them. If you don't come back to me. If you don't turn back, then you all going to be carried off once again and true tazewood the northern kingdom. Ashley to Assyria and then of the Assyrian Empire. Out a loan and buy 605 BC 600 five years before Christ Nebuchadnezzar was on the throne of Babylon and it becomes then you will power. And this time it's the people of Judah who are going to be carried off that happens over series of sieges is about 3 the Falcon the first one just a few people get taken away. And that's what we're reading about in the opening chapter Daniel with a band of nobility gets taken off the gold as well some of the worship the Implements of their religion on Temple worship, but mostly it's just a small band of people. But they didn't see the whole cities destroyed just as was foretold and the exhaust proper begins. So what are we to make of all of that?

Well in a multicultural very modern 21st century. We might not think very much of that.

But we need to put ourselves into the Jewish cultural mindset of the day.

This is an earth-shattering event for the people of God. Nicole's into question How basis of their faith? You see the very center of that belief is that yellow way the creator of Heaven and Earth or Montego the Lord of History who has shown his power in delivering his people through the Exodus from Egypt. is the one true God I'm not really in Egypt. Did he overcome Pharaoh, but he also overcame defeated and destroyed the gods of Egypt.

From the beginnings as a nation as they cooled out of Egypt. The nation of Israel has known in a very tangible way the presents and the protection of God himself. And despite the warnings, they find themselves now in a foreign land.

No doubt questioning what has gone wrong? What's happening? What has happened to that promise that God has made Abraham that he restated to Moses and sucking David what happened to the land that they had taken possession off the land that God himself identified as the one that he had sworn to given that it's full of office. How could they go on? How could I keep singing the songs as we read in Psalm 137 singing the songs of the Lord while they were under this terrible depression ripped away from the land that God has given them and from the temple in Jerusalem. What were they to do? And where was there gold in all of this?

Perhaps it was time to fall into line and adults this new worldview the wayra most in. These are the questions that the Book of Daniel grapples with. And perhaps in the Run concert Suites who are familiar with the same sorts of questions. Sometimes a soul-searching that comes upon us. Doesn't it at various times in life. Usually when there's a crisis we start to ask those similar questions. Where is God in all of this?

Unless we come to grips with the opening chapter of Daniel. We starts to get an understanding of the context of this book is written in. And we stopped so perhaps think about how it might speak to us to as so we live out our faith in the 21st century.

If you haven't changed to the Bible you might want to do that now as rope said we're up. We're up to page 883 of the church Bibles and we stopped at sintra introductory seminar on Daniel by looking at the opening verses.

And do you see that from the very first bus at the beginning of Daniel to stitches? coming into view

Jerusalem and Babylon

the Bible presents the story of History as the child of these two cities Will two kingdoms and throughout the scriptures and it starts early doesn't in Genesis chapter 11. We see the city of Babel or Babble on being built on human Pride out of human pride and God frustrates them doesn't he and they are in a position to go. Then he confuses their language is but right from the beginning in Genesis chapter 11, we see this city Babylon versus the Heavenly spiritual home of God's people which will become Jerusalem in verse 3. We begin to see a how Babylon is starting to show its power over God's people as I said earlier in the first wave of the conquest. It's going to get a lot worse for the people of Jerusalem, but at this stage, it's bad enough as that young men taken from Jerusalem and brought back to Babylon. We need to put this in perspective these young men were probably 12 13 at this time. Do you imagine what it must have been like for these youngsters? They would take in 500 miles from Jerusalem to Babylon away from old I had ever known from the parents from the friends.

Well in its simplest terms to indoctrinate them. Did you notice that from chapter one having sorts of humiliate that go up are bringing the temp temple utensils and lights at destroying the temple itself. The inviting power seeks to amongst these young and Future Leaders in the world view of Babel. What better way to prevent future leadership Basildon by educating The X-Files in the ways of those who conquered them? And then bringing them out to serve the king. Of course, it doesn't end there in verses 6 and 7 again we might skip over this but think about it from a Jewish cultural perspective. If you were Jewish your name wasn't given on the basis of the latest top 10 names that we often see on the on the internet now you can you can check to see what's the most popular name and take your pick from from that Jewish. Your name was given based on your identity and always pointed to the Lord. For example. Daniel means God is my judge. He becomes Delta Shasta which translates protected by Bill which was the chief Babylonian Gods.

In other words you're called is no longer in control of you. It's alcohol that protects you his name in the Lord is gracious. Beautiful, isn't it? Well, he gets a new name Shadrach, which means a true it was the moon God is the one who come on.

Michelle he who is Austin. No, maybe his parents had prayed for a son he who is Austin he becomes misiak the one who belongs to the king. And as a royal the Lord has helped. He becomes a bit encoder slave of the gold Neko.

You see what's going on in these opening verses? To all appearances the god of Israel that God Yahweh. The creator has lost. And the Gold's of Babylon have one.

So, how are we going to respond to such an assault on their face? Their identities their faith God's word has been replaced by Pagan literature and thinking they undertake his 3-year education program with one name in view conversion.

And it's so easy sitting here thinking that we are so far removed. from bat we are so far removed from that that is nothing like the world. We live in today, but seriously. I'm not so sure.

We live in a society.

I'm going to try not to get started on this cuz I've really cut it back.

We live in a society where the word tolerance now.

Has completely changed its meaning. Have you noticed that?

And as much as Christians, but let's just take a Christian's for an example with persecuted. Not for being against people, but from having a different View. two other people

if your parent or grandparent you might be wondering what is to become of younger Generations.

And if you listen to certain voices you would have no hope for the future. I could go on and on but I won't accept decided I've heard this is this is just to the parents in the room. I've heard parents say to me, but she clean relation to Faith. I don't want to influence my children. I want them to make their own decisions, but it sounds so Noble. But let's be under no mistake. Al culture will not wait for them to make their own decisions.

Instead lock the Babylonian world order. I know that sounds extreme. But I'll coach of 6th Street and alternates Us and Them children and to assimilate us into that way of thinking.

That postmodern Theory you'll truth is okay. My truth is okay is no longer true if you'll truth is not my truth, and there's something wrong with you and you need to change that's not tolerance.

It's no longer just respecting other people's view which is right and godly.

We now about tossing the proper expectation that we should all respect one another. And we're being told that with this is how we need to think.

What does it say? I'm in danger of digressing so we'll go back to the question of longing.

Friends, do you recognize the times that we living in?

Or are you so assimilated into the world's way of thinking that you are no longer living with expectation of the future that God has promised us. Is that what you loan for anymore? Do your lungs include those for God's kingdom to come and its fullness the go to be Vindicated in the world that he has created but in which he is largely ignored? Are you longing for your circumstances to change so much that you start seeing God at work in your circumstances?

Daniel speaks to us in several several ways and I hope over the next few weeks. We will see that because it warms us about the attempt to shape and mold us into its image Daniel and his friends. This can be quite easy to spot but more often than not it's very much more sample. Along with this bone in the Book of Daniel also reminds us that God's people are called to resist the Allure of this world the pulls us away from God.

And in turn leads us to abandon him. We will see for Daniels pot how he doesn't separate himself from the culture phone from it. He doesn't present himself as one talk of person in public and then a different person in private. He is faithful to who he is.

And yet he's still engaging is he still stays a part of what's going on? He uses the opportunities offered to him to speak out and to stand up for the things that are right.

It is supposed to let a pizza rights to Christians and he says difference would you as strangers and temporary residence? To abstain abstain from fleshly or sinful desires which war against you conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles say that in case they speak against you as those who are evil. They will by observing your good works glorify God on the day of his visitation The Book of Daniel. I hope we'll have much to say to us about A discipleship about who we are as followers of Jesus in the 21st century and what it is to live for God, even when the environment where it is hostile and even when Al circumstances of sucks that we cannot seem to see beyond each day and 24 hours that were in

If we feel God Has Fallen silent if we question with a gold he's even with us or where they'll situation. I hope as we look at Daniel. We will see the god of scripture. We will see as we journey through this book of the coming weeks that appearances are often very different from the reality. The sovereignty of God and his presents you have to look for it. But it's there. From this one notice. It's the Lord that hands. Jehoiakim. over to the Babylonians

Universe 9, it's God who causes the official to show favor upon Daniel? U-verse 17, it's God who gives Daniel the knowledge and elevates him to the position that he finds himself because of his wisdom and he's learning and his understanding. Open literature that he's a bigamist in.

Facebook friends is about power and who is in control? It's about appearances and it's about reality. It's about the way go it works out his purposes even when we can see it. Unless we are going but Daniel 7. It's about how Jesus the son of man.

is going to be Listening with your hopes Daniels hopes Daniels Vision the old going to be fulfilled. It's his return is going to usher in the Kingdom God's plans have not been thwarted.

So hold on.

Stay with it come back next week as we continue to open this book together. And may the Holy Spirit whisper God's words into out is and deep into our hearts. Tremont bring us back too long for his kingdom to come. I'm so alone for relationship with the one true and faithful God. Let us pray.

Father we thank you for your words. And we pray Lord that your spirit would continue to drive us back to your word help us to have a real thirst and hunger for your righteousness in pool. What you'll would tells us about the times that we living in Father. We thank you that you are always faithful and we pray as we grow in that knowledge and understanding of who you are that we would come to realize that then put away out hug and trust in you in Jesus name we pray.

Related Media

Related Sermons