Homesick: The Way Things Were
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Homesick
Homesick
Have you ever been homesick?
young on your first trip away from your parents
long trip away from friends (with your parents)
longing for something that you miss
time period
way of living
I remember when I was a kid stories...
up hill both ways in the snow
vintage - old and heaveily used - big market
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel,
This sounds kind of like going off to school at first but lets get the rest of the picture
The king of Babylon -Nebuchadnezzar
wanted to gain great power so he started taking out the competition - not on a date
1st went after the Assyrians
they were the ones who were usually winning the battles
Assyrians
big & strong & ruthless
Then Nebuchadnezzar
overtook the Israelites and held them essentially as prisioners in their own land
took things from their Temple so that he could maulk God and say look at what we did
Then he selects some of the best subjects to be taken from their land, family, culture, & faith
to learn a new language, culture, and faith
and to work towards helping the babylonians (ones who took over your families country & people) to be sucessful
Daniel and his 3 amigos were probably around 15 years old
they arrive and are given new names
we know his friends by their new names
shadrack, meshack, & abednego
but we know Daniel best by his birth name
I would say that it is safe to say that these boys were HOMESICK
could you imagine trying to hold strong to your faith and your roots in this situation
most would just be trying to survive
But Daniel shows us how to stand for God on enemy turf
Is it possible to really live for Jesus Christ in an ungodly world?
Decision number one: Commit to God regardless of the circumstances.
The first decision, you commit to God regardless of the circumstances. Now, as I told you, Daniel‟s in a tough spot. And his three friends are in a tough spot, because it‟s hard to live for God in Babylon.
They put some pressure on these guys to become like the Babylonians
Everyday you and I face pressures to become like the world… to compromise.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Do you recognize the pressure from the world to conform?
Daniel felt the pressure:
He had to learn all the new information & language
Learn their religion
their way of doing things
their customs
The king knew that he needed to brainwash these guys
he didn’t miss a detail
changed their names because their names glorified God:
Daniel: God is my judge
Belteshazzar: prince of Baal - the chief god of the Babylonians
Hananiah” God is gracious
Shadrach: illumined by the sun god
Mishalael: who is what God is?
Meshach: who is like the earth god?
Azariah: God is my helper
Abednego: servent of Nebo - god of fire
He changed their names
I heard of a man who was in the bank
woman came in
he saw her and his jaw dropped
came up to her and said:
“Mary Jones, I hardly recognized you. Why, you look so different. Changed your hair, glasses, clothes, and figure.
she looked at him and said “well I’m not Mary Jones”
He said well look at that. You even changed your name!
Daniel said you can change my name but your not going to change my character
you can call me what you want but you will not change who I am
They wanted him to change his diet
he drew a line in the sand
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
defile: pollute or stain himself
He knew God’s Word & that God had given him strict instructions for dietary laws
they couldn’t eat certain foods
no ham sandwiches in Jerusalem
no bacon & eggs
He knew that he couldn’t eat the food that the king was bringing him because he wasn’t supposed to eat that kind of food
more than that the kings food was offered to idols
in the OT God said not to eat any food that had been offered to idols
Daniel knew that to learn a new language and to learn about these people would not defile him
but to eat their food would be wrong for him
so he made up his mind not to eat the food
I read a little blurp this weeeK:
You know why a lot of Christians can‟t stand up for Jesus Christ? Because they haven‟t done what Daniel did, they haven‟t made up their minds that they‟re not going to do certain things. And they wait till they‟re in the situation, in the circumstances, and then they try and decide based on the circumstances. No! Commit to God regardless of the circumstances. Make up your mind. And have some convictions that are based on the Word of God about what you will do and what you won‟t do, because you desire in your heart to please God and to do what He says. Daniel had convictions.
do you know what convictions are?
pre-determined answers
if your going to stand you will have to have some pre-determined answers
do you know before you get into a situation how you will respond to that situation?
One time there was a guy that I knew who was getting married and they were going to go out for a bachelor party to a “gentlemans club”
I was invited but didn’t go because I had a pre-determined answer to that situation.
Another man who claimed to be a Christian went because he didn’t have a pre-determined answer
We need convictions
your influence for Jesus depends upon the choices that you make
we can’t wait until we are faced with a situation to see how it will play out
GOD HELP US HAVE CONVICTIONS!
but we are too often caught up with excuses
Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.
Our testimony for God won’t stand before those who need it
if we won’t stand for God
Not only does our influence for Jesus depend upon our choices
it also depends upon our attitude
When Daniel went to tell them that he wouldn’t eat the kings food
he could have done like a lot of Christians and went in with a holier than thou attitude
But he went before Ashpenaz very humbly & respectfully
I have a commitment to my God and I can’t eat this food.It’s great food but God has told me that there are certain things that I cannot eat. Can I please have something else?
Some people make the right choices with the wrong attitude
heard a story about a man who went into get gas
porn mags
spoke to the owner to tell him why he couldn’t do business with him any more
owner said “I guess that material offends you
he said no: I have struggled in life with viewing that material
it’s been damaging to my life
I just can’t go into a place that has that kind of pull and attraction to me
Daniel and his buddies stood for the Lord. Commit to God & make up your mind regardless of the circumstances
2: Stand for Christ & trust God regardless of the consequences
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”
Eat this and you’ll be a skinny runt & then the king will have my head
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
It would have been easy to say well I’ll just eat the food because if I speak up they will probably kill me
When you make the bold stand in front of the popular kids at school
they could make fun of you
stand up for what’s right to your boss
they could fire you
there is a lot of pressure to not do what is right but stand up for God dispite what might come
just TRUST that God will take care of you
God responds when we honor Him
Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
1 Sam
if we honor God
Daniel honored God
At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food.
Honor God & He will honor you!
What areas of your life need some convictions - pre-determined answers
What area of your life are you not honoring God?
Trust and honor Him & He will honor you