[0:00] Welcome to our service this evening. As we come before God in worship we pray that he would bless us together and make his presence known to us.
[0:16] We are going to begin our service singing to God's praise from Psalm 115. Psalm 115 and we shall sing from verse 10 through to the end of the psalm.
[0:34] Psalm 115. O Aaron's house, trust in the Lord, their help and shield is he. Ye that fear God, trust in the Lord, their help and shield he'll be.
[0:51] The Lord of us has mindful been, and he will bless us still. He will the house of Israel bless. Bless Aaron's house he will.
[1:03] Both small and great, that fear the Lord, he will then surely bless. The Lord will you, you and your seed, I more and more increase.
[1:15] O blessed are ye of the Lord, who made the earth and heaven. The heaven, even heavens, are God's, but he earth to men's sons hath given.
[1:29] The dead, nor who to silence go, God's praise do not regard. But henceforth we forever will bless God. Praise ye the Lord.
[2:09] mercough mercy. la world of practice and nós on board and пресс of mercy.
[2:25] And shield he'll be. The Lord of us A mindful being And he will bless us still.
[2:51] He will the house of Israel Bless him and say to you well.
[3:10] O small and great Without fear the Lord He will then surely bless.
[3:28] The Lord will give you And your seed In more and more countries.
[3:47] O blessed are you God of the Lord Who made the earth The heavenly heavens Are gone for thee Our two men's sons have given The dead not here To silence call God's praise Do not record The dead not here But hence, Lord, we forever will
[4:54] Bless God Praise ye the Lord Let us join together in prayer.
[5:08] Let us pray. Ever blessed God As we call upon your name Encourage us By reminding us That you are a God Who hears The songs of praise That are upon our lips Hears and delights in The children of men The children of men The children of men Acknowledging That you are God indeed That we are created For that purpose Is clear from the scripture We are created in your image And we are created In order to delight in you And to magnify your name Not just by your praises But by our very lives So help us to acknowledge that As we call upon you And wait upon you
[6:10] So that your word would speak to us And that your word would be married Against our particular circumstances That we would find ourselves Doubled as it were With your word According to the lives that we lead And the needs that these lives Who present to us Whether we are living with illness Or living with those who That we have a concern for Who are unwell Whether we are living in Straightened circumstances By reason of the The present pressures That this world brings to bear upon us Whether we find ourselves Within family situations
[7:12] That have tested us That have tested us And brought us to the very brink of despair There are often times in the lives of many Unbeknown to us Where they wrestle with you in secret Because of loved ones Because of loved ones going astray Or loved ones kicking over the traces Even within the family of God When they live before God And when they have covenanted with you In raising their children in the fear And admonition of the Lord And yet when they come to age They forget their God And forget the God of their parents Or the God of their grandparents And we see that so often Vex in the heart of your people And we pray for such And we pray for them Not only in this place
[8:14] But every other place Where such are made Waiting upon God As others who were suffering Because of their physical disabilities Who were placed beside the well The loch of Siloam Waiting for the waters to be stirred For the angel of the Lord to come And to bring healing So they wait upon you And wait for your coming And coming in a very particular way To minister to them In their time of need So we remember that There are many needs Presented to you In this place tonight Just as it is In all the gatherings of your people Wherever they are met in the world They have worries They have complaints They have fears They have concerns They have griefs and sorrows
[9:16] To contend with And we bring them all to you And ask that you would Remember them according to Whatever their need may be We pray for the broken hearted We are reminded even in the last week Of homes that have been visited By the most diligent of Of creatures and teachers Even death itself Reminding us that here we have no continuing city We have sojourners, pilgrims, strangers in the world And our fellows are taken from our midst Almost without notice of times Sometimes Sometimes they are taken from our homes From the bosom of the family And such sorrow that accompanies that Is hard to bear And we know that there are some Even tonight Who have such sorrows to deal with And they bring them to you
[10:18] And ask that you would assuage their sorrow and grief That you would speak to them Particularly your own people We pray for those who Have such a duty To minister to the needs of the sorrowful And the grieving Those who act in support of such situations Who have to bring a world in season And we give thanks for all Who are able to turn to the Lord And seek light upon such griefs And to do for those who are in need What others could not possibly do But with the light that you give You are able to uphold And to sustain all kinds of people In all kinds of situations So bring your word to bear upon our need This evening, whatever it may be Blessing your word to us Blessing your word to also gather in this world of ours
[11:22] In different situations Not just in these villages That appear to many to be so insignificant And because of their fewness in number To have little to say to this world And yet in this world There are all kinds of communities Large and small Whether they are in villages Or townships Or towns or cities We know that your people are found Sometimes in their twos and threes Sometimes in their hundreds Sometimes even in their thousands And they gather in your name With the desire to worship And to lift up their voices in your praise And when we find ourselves United in spirit to such May it lift our hearts To know that we are but a fraction Of that vast number That will rejoice in the presence Of their Lord and Saviour
[12:24] On that great day That day that beckons When Christ Jesus will come to his own To bring them To be with him forever And to bring this world And its ways to an end That is what your word Predicts will happen Promises indeed And the day is closer Than it ever was We pray for your blessing Upon the gospel So that those who are in the world Would not bring themselves To be under the influence Of a world that lives in denial A world that lives in Steadfast rebellion Against the truth of God For the day will come When all rebels will submit Every knee shall bow Every tongue shall confess That Jesus Christ is Lord
[13:25] Help us then to understand these truths Bring your spirit To bear upon us That we may know That he is at work That that which enlivens our heart That which quickens our soul That which stirs up our heart within us Is his work And his work alone So help us to know something of it Even this evening Remember those who have gone out with the word To the four corners of the earth Bless their labors And may they have souls for their ire Remember all who have difficult ministries to carry Just as Isaiah of old Who was given a difficult furrow to plough And yet he went out in obedience to the God who called him Knowing that whatever he did Whatever seed was sown Who knows what will prosper this or that But it will all be to the glory of God
[14:26] So bless us together as we wait upon you As your word is read May we be attentive to it May we hear what God the Lord has said to us Cleanse from sin Pardon us every iniquity In Christ the Redeemer's name we ask it Amen We are going to hear God's word as we have it in the Old Testament Scriptures And we are reading from the book of Daniel The Old Testament book of Daniel And we are going to read from the first chapter Chapter 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiachin King of Judah Came Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon Unto Jerusalem And besieged it And the Lord gave Jehoiachin King of Judah Into his hand
[15:29] With part of the vessels of the house of God Which he carried into the land of Sheenir To the house of his God And he brought the vessels Into the treasure house of his God And the king spake unto Ashpenas The master of the eunuchs That he should bring certain of the children of Israel And of the king's seed And of the princes Children in whom was no blemish But well favoured and skilful In all wisdom And cunning in knowledge and understanding science And such as had ability in them To stand in the king's palace And whom they might teach the learning And the tongue of the Chaldeans And the king appointed them a daily provision Of the king's meat And of the wine which he drank So nourishing them three years That at the end thereof
[16:31] They might stand before the king Now among them Among these were of the children of Judah Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Asariah And to whom the prince of the eunuchs gave name For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belshazzar And to Hananiah of Shadrach And to Mishael of Mishach And Asariah of Abednego But Daniel purposed in his heart That he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat Nor with the wine which he drank Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs That he might not defile himself Now God had brought Daniel into favour And tender love with the prince of the eunuchs And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel
[17:32] I fear my lord the king Who hath appointed your meat and your drink For why would he see your faces worse lacking Than the children which are of your sort Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king Then said Daniel to Melsar Whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel And Hananiah Mishael and Athariah Prove thy servants I beseech thee Ten days And let them give us pulse to eat And water to drink Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee And the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat And as thou seest deal with thy servants So he consented to them in this matter And proved them ten days And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh
[18:40] Than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat Thus Melsar took away the portion of their meat And the wine that they should drink And gave them pulse Thus for these four children God gave them knowledge and skill In all learning and wisdom And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams Now at the end of the days that the king had said That he should bring them in Then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar And the king communed with them And among them all was found none Like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Athariah Therefore stood they before the king And in all matters of wisdom and understanding That the king inquired of them He found them ten times better
[19:44] Than all the magicians and astrologers That were in all his realm And Daniel continued Even unto the first year of king Cyrus Amen And may the Lord at his blessing To a reading of his word And to his name be the praise We are going to sing now verses from Psalm 141 Psalm 141 From the beginning to the double verse marked 5 O Lord I unto thee do cry Do thou make haste to me And give an ear unto my voice When I cry unto thee As incense let my prayer be Directed in thine eyes And the uplifting of my hands As the evening sacrifice Set Lord a watch before my mouth
[20:45] Keep of my lips the door My heart incline thou not unto The ills I should abhor To practice wicked works With men that work iniquity And with their delegates my taste Let me not satisfy Let him that righteous is me smite It shall a kindness be Let him reprove I shall it count A precious oil to me Such smiting Shall not break my head For yet the time shall fall When I in their calamities to God Pray for them shall And so on These verses Psalm 141 1 verses 1 5 O Lord I unto thee do cry Do thou make haste to me O Lord I unto thee do cry Do thou make haste to me
[21:48] Oh Lord I unto thee do cry to cry to thou make it to me and give the unto my voice when I cry unto thee a sin sin and my will be I make it in thine eyes of the uplifting of my hand as the evening sacrifice said
[23:03] Lord thou walk before my mind keep off my list my heart can grind not not unto the ills I should afford to practice wicked myil war good shout to
[24:08] Let my tears let me not satisfy.
[24:19] Let him that righteous is my.
[24:32] Then shall my kindness be. Let him recruit thy scarlet type.
[24:51] How precious I to be. Such my chains shall not break my head.
[25:12] For yet the time shall fall. When I in their calamities.
[25:30] To God's glory for them shall. I'd like us to turn now to the chapter that we read in the book of Daniel.
[25:51] Book of Daniel chapter 1. You can read it verse 9. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
[26:07] As God will enable us and as we are spared.
[26:18] I hope to spend some time over the next number of weeks looking at the book of Daniel. I've been thinking about it for some time.
[26:31] I've had the books that I have in the study set aside for such a study for some time. But courage has failed me up until now.
[26:46] But with God's help I'd like us to attempt at least to look at some of the main parts of this book.
[26:58] It's not going to be a chapter by chapter study. But hopefully we'll consider the main part of it.
[27:10] As a book of Daniel. As a book of Daniel. It divides into two main parts. The first part would be considered to be narrative.
[27:25] And the final part would be considered to be more in the realms of what is considered apocalyptic writing.
[27:36] The visions of Daniel. But within that there is also the prayer or prayer of Daniel which appears there.
[27:51] Which is very much something which stands out in the book. Theologians tell us that the book is partly written in the Hebrew tongue.
[28:08] And partly written in Aramaic. And the reason for that is not entirely clear. It begins with Hebrew in chapter 2.
[28:22] It moves into Aramaic. And then at some point in the book it returns to Hebrew. Why that should be the case is not as I said immediately clear.
[28:35] But the initial discussion this evening. The sermon will focus on this opening chapter. And simply to highlight the...
[28:54] What I would imagine needs to be understood by us all when we read such a book. Many of us are familiar with the opening chapters.
[29:05] Because ideally they contain stories that we are familiar with. There are stories within it that we heard from our childhood.
[29:21] We taught our children. We ourselves were familiar with these stories in Sunday school. We know for example the story of Daniel in the fiery furnace.
[29:38] We know the story of Daniel in the lion's den. We know the story of his experiences as he interprets the dream of Nebuchadnezzar.
[29:54] But also later on in the book we come across the mysterious part of the book. That is very much otherworldly. The visions that point to a future.
[30:09] And the church enjoys trying to unravel the teaching of these mysterious visions. Some consider them to be entirely understood by way of the end times.
[30:26] What will happen in this world when the world is going to come to an end. And what lies beyond and so on. But for the purpose of this evening we are going to look at putting the book into a historical context.
[30:48] And then more particularly at what is said of Daniel in this opening chapter. As an individual we know that Daniel stands out.
[31:05] He is clearly somebody who was endowed with gifts that could only have come from God. He is somebody who stands out on the pages of scripture.
[31:22] He stands out in the history of this world. And for that reason we tend to look at the passion of Daniel. But the question should always come to our mind.
[31:37] Does God really mean us to focus on this person? We are inclined to look at individuals.
[31:48] We remember characters from the Old Testament. Characters in the New Testament. We think about them often. We think of Abraham. We think of Isaac.
[32:01] Of Jacob. Of Joseph. We think of Moses. We think of David. We think of Solomon. We think of Solomon. These are all strong personalities. Strong characters.
[32:13] But are we meant to be so besotted with them as individuals that we lose sight of what made these individuals stand out?
[32:26] What is it about them that makes them appear on the pages of scripture? What purpose has God given to them? And the same must be true of Daniel.
[32:38] So for that reason I think many say that it is not really Daniel himself that should be the focus of our attention. But the God of Daniel.
[32:49] And that's why I've chosen this verse in particular this evening as a text, if you want, a proof text that should grab our attention.
[33:05] Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love. In verse 2 we read, And keep this before our mind's eye is that what makes Daniel stand out to our attention is the fact that the God Jehovah was his God.
[33:54] Now not wanting to undermine who Daniel was or to in any way denigrate his faith because clearly he is a man of God.
[34:06] He stands out in the word of God as somebody that was exceptional as to his lifestyle and behaviour. James, one of the Philip brothers, I think it's James Philip or George, James I think it is, has written a book on the life of Daniel.
[34:28] And he wrote this. In the story of Daniel there is no recorded blemish. He was not a perfect man who never did wrong.
[34:40] But the fact remains that in the whole story of Daniel there is no black mark on this man's testimony. He stood blameless before God and no cloud ever rose between them in all the years of captivity.
[35:00] Daniel, without question, is an exceptionally holy man. He's somebody who knows the Lord, somebody who has the mind of God, somebody who is a pious individual.
[35:21] And yet, when it comes to looking at his prayer, his prayer on behalf of his people, while it is necessarily a prayer on behalf of his people, he includes himself as someone who needs to be remembered before God.
[35:41] Somebody who needs to experience the mercy of God. For there is no single individual who ever lived in this world who was without sin, baring the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
[35:55] And no matter how pious and how godly and how holy Daniel is, and he is all these things, he is someone who knows the grace of God in his experience.
[36:08] But he stands out because of that knowledge that he has of God. So our purpose is not to undermine him, to in any way belittle him, as some do.
[36:21] When you see modern biographies, many of them take delight in exposing the flaws that were in the character of these people that they write their stories.
[36:35] They want to expose the chinks in their armour. People who may have been elevated to status in the eyes of people around about them.
[36:53] And yet those who are later biographers will say, well, he did this wrong and he did that wrong. And there was this dark side to his character. And that's not the purpose of these services.
[37:05] We're looking at what the scripture says to us about this person and his relationship with his God that made him stand out. Now we begin with the history that lies behind the story of Daniel.
[37:24] And it's a sad history. And yet it's a history that we find replicated within the scriptures of the Old and the New Testament.
[37:36] God is the God of Israel.
[38:06] That he is in that incredible relationship with our people who betray their God, who neglect their God, who forget their God.
[38:18] And in many respects, the account that we have here, underneath it, behind it, lies this sad, sad picture of God's people following a trajectory away from their God.
[38:38] You know, when we think of history from a human perspective and think of it from a divine perspective, it's very different.
[38:50] When we think of history, we can look back over our life, perhaps our recent history, our past history, going back into decades, centuries perhaps, going back over many years.
[39:08] But we're always doing it at a disadvantage. We're looking at events as they unfold. And then we're looking at these events as they unfold, as they are interpreted by others.
[39:23] Even in our own experience, when we try and unravel the recent experience of our life, which we could consider historical, we're at a disadvantage because so many things involve themselves in our lives, and other people's lives are involved in it.
[39:45] Now, history is in that sense difficult to understand. But the history of the world in the eyes of God is something completely different.
[40:01] Somebody has said about the history of God is really his story. Somebody speaking about Christ, it is his story.
[40:11] And everything to do with Christ, there is nothing that is hidden from view, as far as God is concerned. There is nothing hidden from his view, as far as you and I are concerned.
[40:26] He knows everything that has gone on, that is going on, that will be in the future. Everything is known to him. And in that respect, when we speak of the history of the people of God, the God, who is Israel's God, knows everything there is to be known about them.
[40:49] And that makes what we have here so very sad, as I said. When we think of Israel as a nation, they bear the name of their father, Jacob.
[41:04] The nation emerged out of the lions of Jacob. They went from their home to Egypt, and they became a great nation.
[41:18] And Israel knew God, and they knew the favour of God. But then they decided they wanted freedom, to have a king of their own, just like the surrounding nations.
[41:33] And King Saul became their king. And God permitted that. God allowed them to go down this road. And almost from that point on, we see a story of abject desertion.
[41:52] Forgetting God. Denying God. Following a path where the God who gave them life, the God who gave them victory after victory, the God who gave them such wonderful benefits as his people is overlooked and denied.
[42:13] So we see Saul followed by David. David followed by Solomon. Solomon followed by his son Rehoboam.
[42:24] And then we see the division of Israel, which results ultimately in the destruction of that nation.
[42:38] The division, first of all, of Israel into the ten tribes and the two tribes of Judah. And then the destruction of the ten tribes, the disappearance virtually of Israel.
[42:56] And then maybe a hundred years after, just over a hundred years after that, we have the situation that confronts us here. A situation where the tribes of Judah under the king that we find spoken of here, Jehoiachin, is given over by God into the hands of his enemies.
[43:25] The enemies that are spoken of throughout this book, at least initially. And when you take that with you, when you consider that as a back cloth to what Daniel is dealing with here.
[43:46] The apostasy that exposes them to the displeasure of God. And God has reminded his people again and again, if they forsake him, he will forsake them.
[44:03] And that's what we discover when the reign of Jehoiachin begins. Within three or four years, the experience invasion from Babylon.
[44:15] And the experience results in them being taken, not instantly, but immediately into bondage. Now, when God works, we imagine that just because he can, that he will instantly carry out and execute judgment on an individual or on a nation.
[44:41] He is equally able to do that very thing. But he chooses, out of his mercy and his grace, to withhold his hand or to keep back his hand from doing that.
[44:56] In many respects, that's what we see behind the book of Daniel. But ultimately, it comes to this point where the king of Judah is brought under the power of Babylon.
[45:16] And Nebuchadnezzar is the tool of God. And I think we have to recognize that the way the story is unfolding before us here, that Judah as a whole is not brought instantly into captivity.
[45:39] Nebuchadnezzar appoints the son of Jehoiachin as a vassal king.
[45:51] And then he rises up against Nebuchadnezzar and he is replaced by another. And both times what happens is that Nebuchadnezzar brings still more into captivity.
[46:09] And all that is happening in the purposes of God. God is doing this. God is behind what is being done here. And it is something that we cannot escape from.
[46:27] It is so easy for us to overlook this fact that while there is an emphasis that must fall upon the relationship that Daniel has with his God, there is also in that mix the relationship that God has with the people that bear his name.
[46:47] And what takes place, the reason for Daniel being in Babylon, is because of God's displeasure upon the people of Judah.
[47:02] And, you know, that's something that we find difficult to understand. That if Daniel is as holy as the scripture describes him, if he is as perfect as we are inclined to believe, if he is in such a good relationship with God, then surely such a God would prevent Daniel from having to go into captivity.
[47:31] Surely he would in some way cocoon him and allow him to remain in his own surroundings, allow him to be a standout character where he is.
[47:46] But that's not the purposes of God for Daniel. That's not the purposes of God for Judah. And sometimes that is the kind of thing that we come face to face with in the scripture.
[48:00] God's purposes may be different to what we would envisage them being. And we would often say that in our own lives, surely God could work in some other way that would allow us to remain as we are without being affected by the wrongdoings of others, by the sins of others, by the disobedience of others.
[48:29] Surely, surely you say that's the way God should work. But the wisdom of God undergirds this activity in the world.
[48:42] And there are many things that would remain hidden from sight, that would be kept in abeyance, if you like, were it not done the way God wants it to be.
[48:56] And when we look at verse 3, for example, when you see these words spoken, there you see God's grace at work as well.
[49:32] In the choice that is made that has Daniel as one of those chosen. And the choice that is made is equally certain to be God's choice.
[49:47] And his choice of Daniel and his friends, which is something that we might think to ourselves, well, if God's purposes for his people is that they continue, that his name is resurrected as their God, that his purposes are brought forward to a powerful conclusion, surely he would in some other way preserve a greater number of people, even raise up a people from their midst, who would be the co-equal of the enemies that have influenced them and exerted that influence and overcome their power and strength.
[50:46] Humanly speaking, that's the way we understand it. If God is God, then why does God not do what he does in ways that we would best understand, that we would easily understand.
[51:03] But even in this we see that God is a God who will prove his power by using the meagerest of resources, but because they are his resources for making his power known.
[51:25] When we look at the passion of Daniel and those who are with him, what stands out here is that God is determined not to leave himself without witnesses.
[51:38] He is going to have witnesses regardless of how many they are. They will be his and they will speak his name and they will stand out as those who love the Lord.
[51:57] And when he does that, what do you think is more important? The God who says that it is not by might, not by strength, but by his spirit that he is going to overcome.
[52:16] Or the God who will, by dint of force, triumph over the enemies of this world. Again and again he teaches us that the way that he works is not the way that we work.
[52:32] Let me give you three examples. And one of them is found here. In the book of Judah, in the book of Judges, we read there of the man Gideon.
[52:45] And Gideon was a champion of the children of Israel. And he had to lead the people of Israel against the forces of Midian.
[53:00] Now we are told in the book of Judges that the forces of Midian were many. There were the armies of Midian where as many, the camels we are told, were as many as the sand in the seashore.
[53:17] There were numerous soldiers. And Judah, Israel of old, only had, I think it was, 32,000.
[53:29] 32,000. And God said, there's too many of you. He reduced the number, eventually reduced it to the number of 300 against these vast hordes.
[53:49] And it was God's doing that that 300 against the thousands upon thousands of Midian conquered them and drove them away.
[54:01] again, you find in the account that we have of Elijah. When Elijah was there and he was convinced that only himself, the only prophet of the Lord against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the grove.
[54:20] And he was convinced as a solitary figure that while things were against him and yet, following the instruction of God, he, he got the better of them.
[54:35] He got the better of them. Even though, shortly after that, he was in the grip of despair because of his solitary position or so he thought.
[54:47] And God reminded him of who he was. Now, in the story of Daniel, it's not numbers that count. What God is saying to us is that this group of select, elect people who are fearful of God, who fear God, who live as those who are servants of God, sell us for good works.
[55:19] Those who know the Lord and love the Lord and follow the Lord, they're few in number, but it is sufficient to do God's work.
[55:32] One of the commentators says this, Stuart Olliot, just four candles and a few more shone in the godless darkness of those trials.
[55:49] trials. Only a handful of lives remained true to God. And that's the scenario.
[56:02] A very few people, a remnant. But what we need to remember is that God will do great things with a remnant.
[56:12] God is not. We live in a society that is blatantly godless. We live in a society that numerically is atheistic.
[56:24] We live in a society that has no time for the Christian religion. Does that mean that God is not God? Does that mean that God is not able to speak in his own way, in his own time, to the society?
[56:42] Or if he has a remnant? If he has a remnant of his own choosing, like Daniel, or of the same zealous desire for God's glory that Daniel had, then God can still do great things and will do great things.
[57:02] In verse 8, we read, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.
[57:13] Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. We know that we are given in these words an insight into the determined spirit that dominated the heart of Daniel.
[57:35] he was somebody who was who lived for God and he was not prepared to yield himself to what God clearly forbid.
[57:52] And this is what marks him out. God's grace is seen in his courage. God's grace is seen in the wisdom that he possesses of which this chapter speaks.
[58:06] God is the source of Daniel's strength. God is the source of Daniel's wisdom. God is the source of Daniel's power. He looks to God to enable him to stand out in this way at this time.
[58:24] It is seen in the favoured disposition of the prince of eunuchs even that itself in verse 10. The prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king who has appointed your meat and your drink.
[58:39] And so on. But he still gives Daniel what Daniel asks for. Why? Where did this come from? If not the product of God's favour?
[58:53] Touching the heart and the mind of someone who knew not the God of Daniel. And yet by God's grace he is able to influence others in the same way.
[59:05] It's interesting the story is it not? How we see Daniel and his friends and all others with him they are subject to a strategy of indoctrination on the part of Nebuchad Neser.
[59:26] he selects these young men from a powerful background some who were educated some who were capable of being educated some who had power and influence over those that they belonged to.
[59:47] And Nebuchadnezzar said well give me these and I will teach them I will thin I will raise them up within our culture so that they are able to in turn affect others.
[60:05] Is that not a familiar strategy? Is that not something that you yourself might have witnessed in our day and generation?
[60:17] we should be able to appreciate it in our day. The power of the medium of television and film a constant stream of ideology whatever it may be political or moral economic we are exposed to it and we are exposed to it and we are exposed to it because we don't control the media but the media can present an idea and present that idea repeatedly so that you have no choice but to imbibe at some level what you are hearing and what you are hearing and what you are hearing again and again and again we all believe in global warming don't we we all believe in the way that the world has suffered because of the changes that are wrought in weather climate change is something that we recognise
[61:44] I believe that's quite right but it's quite another matter to explain what lies behind climate change if I dared for example if I was a newsreader to suggest that climate change was something that God was responsible for if I suggested that God was bringing his displeasure to bear upon our society upon our generation and that climate change was something that he is responsible for you would be laughed at but it's perfectly in order for you to repeat this as an ideology now as I said I don't doubt it but more and more what I am what I am discovering and I'm sure you would have noticed what is being said again and again and again without explanation without any argument to accompany it that the extreme heat that we have encountered in the south of the
[63:13] United Kingdom the floods that have occurred just recently in America the extremes of heat and cold are all down to the one thing and nobody dares because everybody wants to get on the bandwagon this is what is happening it's all down to man and I don't doubt that for one minute but you can see how easily when such a belief becomes heard
[65:53] God for King and I said Now you remember that you need as an individual to be discerning in what you are presented with in the media today.
[66:34] Because quite apart from anything else, I'm not just talking about the blatant abuse that there is of it.
[66:49] But that there is an atheistic attempt to take God out of our society.
[67:02] And it's so obvious to those who know God and know the Lord Jesus Christ as their saviour. But Daniel knew how to deal with this.
[67:16] Daniel knew how to resist this. His eye was on his God. And he determined to be in the favour of God.
[67:32] And that ensured that he prospered. That ensured that he not only survived as an individual, but that his faith survived.
[67:44] That his life as a child of God was something that made him stand out in the face of the endeavours that were there so clearly in bringing him to nothing.
[67:59] Has Daniel got anything to say to our society? Oh yes, we're looking. We all want heroes. We all want people to admire. We all want people that we can look up to.
[68:12] But Daniel is not there for us to look up to. Not merely. He's not there for us to admire from afar.
[68:26] He's not there for us to think of only. He's there for us to tell us what is possible for any one of us if we live in total dependence upon God.
[68:41] Resisting the false truths. Resisting the spirit of the age. Resisting the false truths.
[69:19] God may have many sides to it. Daniel is used servant. Daniel is someone who is a saint of God of the highest calibre.
[69:30] But he reminds us of the kind of wickedness that there is in the world. And the insidious nature of it. And how we are exposed to it even in our own generation.
[69:44] Help us to appreciate the truth that the word of God contains. Cleanse from sin. In Jesus name. Amen. The final psalm we are going to sing is Psalm 137.
[70:03] It's considered to be a psalm of the captivity. A psalm where the people of God remembered some of the things that they were deprived of.
[70:16] By Babel streams we sat and wept. When Zion we thought on. In midst thereof we hanged our harps. The willow trees upon.
[70:28] For there a song required they who did us captive bring. Our spoilers called for mirth. And said a song of Zion sing. O how the Lord's song shall we sing within a foreign land.
[70:42] If thee Jerusalem I forget. Skill part from my right hand. My tongue to my mouth's roof let cleave. If I do thee forget. Jerusalem and thee above my chief joy.
[70:56] Do not sit. We'll sing the whole of Psalm 137. By Babel streams we sat and wept. By Babel streams we sat and wept.
[71:18] When Zion we thought on. In midst thereof we hanged our harps.
[71:36] The willow trees upon. For there a song required they.
[71:55] Who did this calf to bring. Her fire come.
[72:09] For there a song. For there a song. For there a song. A song of Zion sing. O how the Lord's song.
[72:26] The Lord's song shall we sing. Within a foreign land.
[72:40] Lord's song. demorship bear.
[73:01] My tongue tonight must reflect free, if I do this forget.
[73:21] Church of woman's sky.
[73:51] The Lord in Christ's name Heed unto His foundation Recipes in white to see O God, the Lord of Babylon Near to His salvation Blessed shall He be That He rewards
[74:52] As Thou hast done Ye happy children Shall He be Thy tender Bind the world Who shall Check Old L Bre longest applications Will Se Still Of A Place to comunque où où Now may grace, mercy and peace God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all never and always. Amen.