Purposing to Serve

Introduction

Good morning. If you’ll open your Bibles with me to Daniel chapter 1. Daniel chapter 1. For some reason in my Bible, I marked the book of Haggai. That’s a good book, too, but not where our sermon’s coming from this morning. In Daniel chapter 1, beginning in verse 1, it reads, 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 gave Jehoakim, king of Judah, into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to a land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God. We find Daniel at a pretty sad time in the people of Israel or the people of Judah’s history, and that is because Judah excuse me, Daniel is one of the first captives taken from Judah.

This would be around 605 BC. We’re about to read in verses 3 through 5 or so. That Daniel is one of the what you might say, cream of the crop to be taken from Judah into Babylonian captivity. But perhaps it should first be noted that it was about over a century ago that Israel had fallen. And they had not just fallen, but they had fallen into Assyrian captivity because of their rejection of God. Because they did not serve him as the one true and living God that he is. And you would think that Judah would understand this lesson, and yet as time passes and the world empire changes, perhaps even the signature victory being around 612 BC, when Assyria was capital, Nineveh, fell to the Babylonian Empire.

Judah, who was God’s chosen people, perhaps even in a more particular way, than the nation of Israel who had already been taken into captivity, but they did not act better, whether or not they should have or did know better. And so they’re taken into captivity, and Daniel’s part of this first wave. Can you imagine being but a teenager and to be plucked from your homeland and everything that you know? Well, at least there was the shining the one shining light, which is why he was chosen. Will you read with me in verse 3? Then the king commanded Asphenes, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

You see, this is the best of the best. What the king wanted, the king of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar, desired was he wants the best. And what does he want to do with them? Did you see that? Well, in verse 5, the king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate. And of the wine that he drank, they were to be educated for three years. At the end of that time, they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Meshel, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names, Daniel, he called Belcheshazzar. Hananiah, he called Shadrach, Meshach, he called Meshach, and Azariah, he called Abednego. And so you have this wonderful news. At least if Daniel’s going to be taken into captivity, if he is going to be plucked from his homeland, at least he’s going into the king’s court.

At least he’s going to be treated well. Why all of that training? Why three years of knowledge? Well, because the king, as we know, the king was going to bring them up. He was going to allow them to serve him in whatever capacity he deemed best. We know that Daniel ends up being in charge of a great deal of the Babylonian Empire. But before we get there, consider this would be an honor, at least if you were to be taken out of your homeland, at least you have this desirable position in this new and budding empire. And this is great. He’s going to eat of what type of food? Did you see it in verse 5? What type of food was that? Well, the food that the king ate.

Well, what type of drink? Well, that which the king drank, and he was going to be highly educated. And yet we come to verse 8. And if there is a verse in the Bible that summarizes a way that we can take a stand for Christianity, you may find it in verse 8. 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. This morning I want to talk about purposing to serve. And to do so, I want to think about a case study of Daniel. Being January 24th, we’re already a couple weeks into this new year that the Lord has given us.

And I wonder if any of you made New Year’s resolutions. And if you did, I wonder how many of them have already gone by the wayside. Consider how has your service grown to God over the years? I think a lot of times when we think honestly of our service to the Lord, we kind of find ourselves doubting in one of two areas. That first area is why do I keep committing that same sin over and over? Why can I not master it? Why can’t I not get better? Or perhaps the second category or second bin that these ideas would fall into would be, how come I haven’t grown? How come I don’t get better over time in my service? It might be that I’m able to control some problems areas of my life, but I’m not serving God more each and every year.

I don’t know that I am pleasing to God. I think if we follow the steps that Daniel took in this exact chapter, I think we can learn a lot about how to grow ourselves in the service of God, and most importantly, like Daniel did, be pleasing to our Almighty God. If you noted with me, Daniel was one of the initial captives taken to Babylon, and we already noticed that. But he resolved to not file himself with the king’s food. Now, why would that be? You see that language in verse 8. He would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine that he drank. It seems unclear as to why that exact reason would be, but undoubtedly, whatever that food was, or wine that he was to drink, was going to cause a barrier to be erected between him and God.

Because you see that in the language they said he resolved that he would what? Do you see this in verse 8? This is so critical. That he would not defile himself. Some translations may render it might say, but Daniel purposed. Daniel resolved. He made a decision that he was not going to defile himself. And so he did not. So Daniel has this choice to make.

See with me in verse 9. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sign of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuch 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. Then Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mesha, 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.

So we listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. So Daniel had purpose within himself. He had resolved that he would not eat of the king’s food or the wine that the king drank. And so, you see, what did he do about it? He said, Well, this is going to be a really tough decision for me, but you know what? I’m away from my homeland. I’m right here in the king’s court. This is King Nebuchadnezzar of all people, the head of this budding Babylonian Empire. It really isn’t that big of a deal if I just participate in it for these three years. That’s not the path Daniel took. Nor did he take no for an answer. Do you see what was his response when fairly he’s told, I don’t, I would like to work with you, but I fear my Lord the King.

Because who would this chief of the eunuchs be reporting to? Well, ultimately it would come back up to King Nebuchadnezzar because who would that come before? Well, you have the youths who ate the king’s food, and now Daniel’s proposing this idea that him and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being their Hebrew names, or excuse me, their Babylonian names, they are going to do what? They’re going to be seen before the king. This is tough. If you’re that chief of the eunuchs that Daniel’s talking to, are you just going to say, well, okay, you want to try a new diet? That’ll work out fine. Let’s go ahead and go for that. That’s a tough call. So what did Daniel do, though? He’s facing this trial. He already is put in a bad position.

Now the person he’s reporting to doesn’t make it easy on him. So what is you do? What does Daniel do? What would I do? Well, you see, in verse 10, the chief of the eunuchs reported that, and then verse 11. Then the Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mesha, and Azariah. Daniel didn’t get the first answer he wanted by showing up in Babylon. He didn’t get the answer he wanted in terms of serving God with an open and pure heart by just speaking to the chief of the eunuchs. So he went a step further. And you see what happened was he made a deal, he made a compromise and allowed both sides to be fair. Allowed the chief of the eunuchs perhaps to be in good standing before the king, and allowed Daniel to not defile himself as he had purposed in verse 8 that he would not.

And so you see, you know how the story would go. God blesses Daniel with a successful test. Do you see that in verse 15? 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. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. I bet they like Daniel a whole lot for that. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found, like Daniel, Hananiah, Meshach, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus, a fun biblical name. When we consider this success that God had blessed Daniel with and his companions, we see that we know that would work out. We know God would be there for him. That is the God of the Old Testament, is it not? If you just serve God and you stick with your resolve, God will be there for you.

God would bless you. Daniel sees that through all of his life. We know Daniel perhaps most for the story of what? Daniel and the lion’s den. The edict had gone out to not pray anymore. Don’t pray publicly. Daniel finds himself praying, and he falls right into the trap. And what was God able to do? God was able to shut the mouth of those lions. Daniel survived the lions then. Why? Because his faith in God was found pleasing to him who had created all things. Daniel resolved in verse 8 of chapter 1 that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, and so he did something about it. And please, make no mistake, this was a tough decision for Daniel to make. This was not easy.

He is in the king’s court. This is very real world stuff. A lot of times we read the Bible stories and we say, we know that God’s going to make it work out. God doesn’t know about my boss. God doesn’t know about my employer or my situation. I can almost promise you that your boss and your employer does not have the problems that if you go up the ladder, King Nebuchadnezzar had with ego and pride. You may think so. But you read the accounts of Daniel and read accounts of world history, and you will quickly find that is not the case. Daniel was in a very tough spot, and yet he had purpose within himself that he would not defile himself, and so he did not.

1. Resolve Within Ourselves to Serve God

And I wonder, going back to my question from earlier, why don’t I do better? Why do I keep making the same mistakes? Why do I keep falling short? Why am I not growing as I think I should? I look back and really my service to God isn’t that much more than it was last year. How come I can’t do better? Or perhaps we need to be a little bit more like Daniel was. Did you see that? In verse 8, Daniel had resolved that he would not defile himself. I’m making a big deal about it because first and foremost, we must resolve within ourselves to serve God. A lot of times from this pulpit, you might hear the expression, let the Bible speak and be silent. Well, what do you got to know first?

Well, you’ve got to let the Bible speak where the Bible speaks. You gotta hear it. You gotta be silent where the Bible is silent. You gotta know it. It takes both aspects. It doesn’t do good just to know a catchphrase or to say, well, the Bible speaks here and the Bible’s silent here. You have to know the book. In Matthew chapter 6, turn with me there. In Matthew chapter 6, what do we learn about the treasures of the heart? Matthew chapter 6 and verse 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If we’re gonna speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent, we have to know the words of the Christ. Do you see in Matthew chapter 7, if you’re in chapter 6, turn a page over?

In verse 24, what was the difference between the man who built on the solid good foundation and that of the sinking foundation? That foundation that would not stand. In verse 24, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. You see, that’s a lot different from that man in verse 26 who hears these words of mine and does not do them. We’ll be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. That is the difference. You have to know what the words are, though. That takes a resolve. That means I have to decide these issues before I come to them. Can I give you a couple examples? If I’m gonna resolve to be a Christian, to serve the Lord, one such example is I’m going to be with God’s people no matter what.

I’m gonna resolve that whatever job I take is gonna be around people of the Lord. I won’t take a job and find out the church situation second. I will know what is best to serve God first. Then I worry about the earthly consequences. Second application. Maybe these things that we call prom, homecoming. Maybe these questions of character and intent would be better decided if we decided now, months apart from the decision time. Because then when we are resolved and we know what’s right, we can stick with it. Do you see all these questions that attack our faith? Do I speak to my employer about being at church on Sundays? Do I go to the high school prom? Do I do these things that frustrate the Lord are a lot less tempting months out, and when you zoom way out of your picture and your corner of life, I gotta tell you, when I decide to look upon sin, a lot of times I feel just like Eve did when I’m looking at the one fruit I shouldn’t be eating of, and when I look at it, it’s desirable to the eyes because it’s there in the moment.

2. Have a Plan to Serve God

I can have it, and so I want it. Daniel didn’t have to face that question. Yeah, absolutely it would be alluring to have the king’s food and the wine they drank. Absolutely, it would be tough to answer to the chief of eunuchs or all the way up to King Nebuchadnezzar, who had these expectations. But Daniel had decided before he got there, he was going to serve God. And we must have that resolve. And that takes knowing the word. But Daniel did this second step. And if there is anything that is most important in learning from Daniel, it might be this part. He had a plan to serve God. It wouldn’t have done Daniel any good to be a to be resolved, to not defile himself if he was going to sit back and say, I know I shouldn’t do this, but I’m just gonna have to grin and bear it.

That’s not serving God. That’s serving yourself and serving God when it’s convenient. Know with me, Psalm chapter 15. Will you look with me at the 15th Psalm? Know whom the Lord speaks to, who the Lord helps in Psalm chapter 15, we’re going to read all five verses of the Psalm. Know with me in verse 1, O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart? Who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord, who swears to his own hurt and does not change, who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent, he who does these things shall never be moved.

Now, if we’re not going to participate in those bad things, if we are going to uphold the justice and the mercy of the Lord, if we’re going to be faithful to him, that means, first of all, we have to know not to do those things, but second of all, we have to have a plan to do that. If you think about Daniel chapter 1 again, turn back there. What did Daniel do? He asked the question. He made an effort. How many of us are in situations that we don’t even take a step towards that goal we say that we want so badly? And Daniel chapter 1 and verse 9, God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuch 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 conditions than the youths who are of your own age, so you would endanger my head with the king? Yes, Daniel faced a rejection here. Because the chief of eunuchs, somewhat understandably, was afraid of his life. But in verse 11, then Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Meshach, and Azariah, test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Why did Daniel do that? Yes, he had purposed, he had resolved that he would not defile himself. What did Daniel know? He knew something. And he knew that very thing that we two can know. He knew that if he served God, God would deliver him.

He knew that if he just did what he knew God expected of him, whatever the consequence was, temporarily, eternally, that’s what he must do. Absolutely, the picture worked out wonderfully. Absolutely, as you go through the course of Daniel, you see how successful and mighty Daniel was. You see how Daniel, Sadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were ten times the magicians that Nebuchadnezzar could throw forth, according to verse 20 and 21 of Daniel chapter 1. But Daniel knew that it didn’t matter what the king or the chief of the eunuchs or the steward over the chief of the eunuchs would say. He knew he needed to serve God. We need to have that attitude. We need to have that attitude that says, I know what God expects, and I will do it, period.

Amen.

We need to have that attitude, brothers and sisters. Because if we don’t, we will fail. Daniel made it because he had resolved within himself that he would not defile himself. As Christians, we need to let love be without hypocrisy. We need to abhor what is evil. That means not dipping our foot in the water for any period of time. That means resolving, I will take a job that allows me to serve the Lord. It means that I will make decisions in my everyday life that will not sway me or my soul away from the God who blessed me with it. That is a challenge. It’s easy to have these biblical principles. That just takes studying the word, although we struggle with that. But to have a specific plan, that’s hard.

Everyone wants to love their neighbor better because we know Jesus said to do that. Everyone wants to do the will of the Father because we know that’s how we enter into the kingdom of heaven. Everybody wants to go down that narrow way. But if we don’t take steps towards it, we’ll never reach our destination. We need to be focused on serving the Lord and examining these characters like Daniel and other heroes of faith, as you might find in Hebrews chapter 11. See, how did Abraham do it? What made him go out not knowing where he was going? What enabled Abraham to raise the knife to slay his son, the promised son, Isaac. Faith in God. That very faith without which it is impossible to please him.

3. Be Persistent in Striving to Do What Is Right

Consider one final point with me. We need to be persistent in striving to do what is right. The point has been made, but if you examine the text in Daniel chapter 1, he did not receive his answer initially. And it would take a lot of courage. Can I add to this persistence, perseverance, and courage to do what’s right, even when it’s hard? It may be that we try to do something. It may be that we try to get better. It may be that we try to have more control. And it may be that we find ourselves failing. But those are the times we need to realize we serve an awesome God. We serve a God who wishes, who desires that all men be saved. We serve a God who wants us to confess our sins to him and knowing that we can be forgiven.

That takes persistence, though. We can’t just give up. We don’t just say, well, this plan didn’t work. Maybe it would have taken a second plan. Daniel got lucky. God immediately blessed his efforts in a physical, temporal way. Do I have that kind of persistence? Do I have the persistence that perhaps the Luke chapter 18 widow had? God’s going to hear us. If we’re going to pray without ceasing, maybe our prayers should be littered with ways of God. How can I get better? Help me in my efforts to gain this control, to gain this life that you wish for me to live. But first I have to know the book. I need to know what does God expect of me? God expects high service. You look in Luke chapter 9.

God expects my all. God expects my everything. He expects my complete and unfiltered devotion to him and his will. And it may come at a high price. In Luke chapter 9, know with me in verse 23. Luke chapter 9 and verse 23. And he said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever’s ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory in the glory of the Father and of the angels.

We need to deny ourselves. Do you see where Daniel did that? Daniel denied himself when he could have easily gone with the flow. It doesn’t get better. He had the great flow straight up to the king himself. He knew he was going to have this appearance with the king. All he had to do was go along with what everybody else was doing. Wouldn’t that just work out great? But Daniel had resolved that he was going to serve the Lord. But I want to look at this part of verse 23. How are we to take up our cross? We have to take up our cross daily. This is an everyday action. If Daniel didn’t know that which would defile him, he would have participated. If Daniel wasn’t resolved to not defile himself, he would have gone along with it.

If Daniel didn’t make a plan, he would have compromised his integrity for maybe just a small period of time. But Daniel would not do that because Daniel is a faithful man to God. If I want to be faithful to the Lord, I need to be always willing to crucify myself, to take up my cross daily and follow after he who’s called me. Jesus has done the heavy lifting. He has done the hard part. When I look at my life and I struggle with those questions, why can I not do better? Maybe it’s because I haven’t planned. We’re not going to just magically close our eyes and open them one Monday morning and say, Whew, I’ve got it all figured out now. Life doesn’t work that way.

If we’re going to enter into that way of bliss, if we’re going to take advantage of Jesus, we need to know that He is the way, the truth, and the life. And that no one comes to the Father except through Him. That same Lord, that same Jesus has told us here in Luke chapter 9 and verse 23. What does it take to follow you, Lord? You need to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow after me. That’s going to take sacrifice. It’s going to hurt. There was nothing pleasant about what Daniel did. That wasn’t a fun exchange. It doesn’t feel nice to go up to someone who is not a Christian and ask them to respect your Christian integrity. It’s not easy to be a light in a world of darkness.

Conclusion

But God has called us to it, and we must be ready to answer that call. How are we going to do that? We need to know the word. We need to make a plan to adhere to that word, those words from God, those words that allow us to be with Him forever. We need to stick with those with all of our mind. And it may take some failure along the way. We don’t just look at that and give up, fold our tent and go home. We pick up our cross again and we continue moving forward. We are going to be persistent in doing what is right. It takes knowing the word. It takes having a plan to adhere to the word and being persistent to it because we know these are the words of life.

You may find yourself failing God. You may find yourself not growing the way you think you should. But that problem isn’t on God’s end of the stick. The problem is because I am not devoting myself completely to God’s will. We need to be wholeheartedly in to this Christian life. Let’s be like Christ. Let’s have the faith that Daniel did, sticking with God no matter what. Will you purpose it in your heart with me? Will you resolve this morning to not defile yourselves with anything that the world can offer? Knowing that even if we gain the whole world and lose our life, we have lost it all. Let’s gain our souls. Let’s be with God for eternity. Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God and most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we praise you for your greatness.

And we thank you for your great love. We recognize that you are a mighty God, that you spoke, and this world came into creation. We realize that you are mindful of us, and yet we’ve done nothing deserving of that. Thank you so much for allowing us to be called children of you. Help us to take advantage of that blessing. Help us to be clear, certain, and persistent in understanding your will and applying it. Help us to be like the wise man who hears your words and applies them and does them. Forgive us of when we do wrong, O Lord. Help pick us up when we have failed you. Help us to pick others up when we notice that they need a lift. Oh Lord, you are so wonderful.

We pray that we will emulate your characteristics of mercy and love and forgiveness, likewise being merciful, loving, and forgiving towards others. Lord, thank you so much for showing yourself through your word, allowing us to see your good nature, allowing us to see your justice. We know that you were with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you were with Daniel for their faith. And Lord, we know that you have promised that you’ll be with us. Continue to, dear Lord, to keep your promise. Be with us each and every day, and help us to show that manner of faith that is found pleasing and necessary to be pleasing in your sight. Help us as we worship you this very morning to do so in a way that’s pleasing to you.

We pray, dear Lord, that we will worship you in spirit and truth, and if we are doing something that is found contrary to your will, that we will find it by knowing your book, and that we will change it that very day, because you are to be served, you are to be sought for. And O Lord, we are to deny ourselves in service of you. Keep us safe through this day, be with those who are unable to make it out, strengthen them, guide them. And dear Lord, perhaps at the 11 o’clock hour, even we will see many, and we can worship you in spirit and truth together. It’s in your son’s name we do pray. Amen. We’re now dismissed to the Bible class hour.