You will see, but Daniel purposed in his heart. Now, those are key words, and if you don't get to know any other verse in this chapter, verse 8 is the key one. But Daniel purposed in his heart. There was no way that he was going to assimilate with the ways of the Chaldeans and forget his upbringing and forget his faith or forget his God. Now there was undoubtedly a plan to school them in a way that they would forget their old ways and adopt all the ways of the heathen in Chaldea. Welcome to Let the Bible Speak. This is Ian Golliher, and I appreciate you joining with us as we open the Word of God and minister to you the scriptures of truth. We're coming to the book of Daniel today. This is an amazing story of young men that were taken off to a foreign culture, and yet they would not bow, they would not bend, and they would not burn. I want to read to you the opening verses here in Daniel chapter 1 as we get a gist of where these young men were coming from and what they were standing for. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. and besieged it. And the LORD gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house of his God. And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his God. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his 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 they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names. For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah of Shadrach, and to Mishael of Meshach, and to Azariah 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 favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And then we'll end our Bible reading in Daniel chapter 1 as we get introduced to this amazing story of Daniel. Daniel, the man who was braveheart, He was able to stand up when all the odds were fixed against Him. And from this account, we draw lessons. We apply this stand to our own heart, to our own lives, in our own day and generation. These are days of compromise in the 21st century. These are days of great departure from historic Christianity and from the commandments of God's will. And so, we are called to stand. We are called to stand up for the Lord Jesus, stand up for His Word, and to stand up against the madness of the vices of this culture in which we are living today. What madness it is! It's contrary to science, contrary to history, it's contrary to common sense, it's contrary to the values of marriage and contrary to the light that God has given us. And it seems that men have blinded themselves to go on in the ways of darkness. But I trust that you will set yourself and be a man or woman of purpose to stand up for the Lord Jesus and for the gospel and be unashamed. The Lord Jesus said that he that confesses me before men I will confess him before my Father which is in heaven." And so, this is the call to the Christian. And I trust that you'll stay tuned and listen intently to this message on Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. May the Lord speak to your heart today through His Word. Let me first of all recommend that you read the book of Daniel. You'll find that it is really the revelation of the Old Testament. It parallels with that final book in the Bible, the revelation of Jesus Christ to his church. And it is a book that looks very much into the future. We'll not be dealing with that tonight in chapter 1, but as we get through the chapters, you'll see there will be many references to the end times. And so this is what we call apocalyptic literature. Now, as a man of God, Daniel is up there with Noah and with Job. There's a number of times in the Old Testament that these three names are found together, Noah, Daniel, and Job. Daniel was a young man full of faith and full of courage. He is the one who would not bend, he would not bow, and he would not burn. even in that heated furnace. He rose to power several times to be an advisor to a number of different kings. Now in this chapter to King Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Chaldea. Then later to Belshazzar, and later again to Darius, and then later again in the Persian Empire to the king Cyrus, who is mentioned at the very last verse of this chapter. Now Daniel is the story of the little guy who makes it big in the palace. And because of all the events that come to and fro, and God's wonderful providence in his life, we see him mightily used for the kingdom of God. And so we have here tonight advice for young men, how to be useful in God's kingdom. Now, I know that we have young women here tonight as well, and the same principles will wonderfully apply. God can use ladies just as much as the men in various roles and in various works in his church. And so we pray that God will raise up a generation of young men and women who will be like Daniel. That we might sing that well-known hymn, Dare to be a Daniel. And I trust that tonight that God will have a word to inspire your own heart. Now, there were a number of things in this chapter one that we see about Daniel that made him useful. And I hope that they will be seen in your life too. I hope that you, whatever your age may be, and I can speak to the boys and girls here tonight just as much. because these are truths and principles that if you apply in your young life, you may become mightily useful in the kingdom of God. The first one, verse 3, Daniel was grounded as a Hebrew prince. And you'll see in the third verse that the king spake to Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of the king's seed and of the princes. Now this is really about all we know about Daniel is in this book. Where he came from? Jerusalem. He was of noble background and family. We don't know whose son he is. We know about Jehoiakim. We know who his father was. He was King Josiah. He was one of the best of the Old Testament kings. Jehoiakim, not so good. And now this young Daniel and his few friends, they are referred to as princes. They would have been nobility, they would have had many privileges, and it appears they would have had a certain and a fair degree of education. Now, I want you to notice something before we go any further. And in verse 2, you'll see the hand of God at work. The Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his Nebuchadnezzar's hand. This was not just played on the human level. God was at work. The Lord gave Jehoiakim, this wicked king of Judah, into the hand of the Chaldean Nebuchadnezzar. Why? Because of idolatry, because of sin. And this was God's way of teaching the Israelites and the people of Judah a very stern lesson. And so in the year 606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar invaded and the Lord gave Jehoiakim and these people into his hand. Now, 606 BC means before Christ. In this modern pluralist age, people refer to it as before the common era. But it makes no difference, because the reality is it was the coming of the Lord Jesus into the world that changed the world. What made the common era? Christ came into the world. And 606, before Christ, this event, the invasion of Jerusalem and the carrying off of these young men in what was to be the first of three deportations of the people of Jerusalem to Babylon in Chaldea. You'll notice also in verse 2 that the vessels of God's house were carried off, at least many of them. Now this was very apt because it was due to idolatry and false worship. They weren't making proper use of the house of God and its vessels, and so God in his judgment sent an invader to carry off these vessels into the pagan house of God in Chaldea. Now, in verse 3, this man called Ashpenaz, there's a newsreader on television and his name is Ash, and I'm just wondering, is he of Chaldean descent? But this is his name, Ashpenaz. And he was the head of the young teaching school to bring young men along to serve in the palace. And he was sent over to Jerusalem, I want you to look out for me, the youth that are well favored, handsome, educated, skillful, and I want you to prepare them for service in the palace." And so you'll see there in verse 4 that the children in whom was no blemish well-favored and skillful 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." They need to be good communicators. They need to be learned in languages. Let me pause here a moment. Let me speak to those who are still at school. How many people here still go to some kind of education or other, if it's elementary, high school, college, university, whatever, and you're still at school? Here is God showing that if you want to be used of God, You need to equip yourself with certain skills. Now, not everybody has the same aptitudes or abilities. Some people are good with their hands, some people better with their head, some people are not good with either, and they have to make do with a whole lot of other things. But if you're going to be useful to God, you need to equip yourself to serve Him. And one thing I would suggest that you should excel at, no matter what other career you may choose, is communicating, speaking, and writing. That is all important. It used to be thought that in the days of computers and technology, well, you don't need those skills so much. Well, you need them more than ever. And if you're going to excel and be useful in this world according how God may call you into a certain career, even into gospel work, you need to be equipped as a good communicator. and that will be God's way of using you. Now, there's a twist to this because this language education was really Nebuchadnezzar's idea, but it was really God's plan. And God put them into this language school for three years so that these young men would know the language of Chaldea, that they would be elevated, become the advisors, the leaders, the guides in a foreign nation. Imagine that! Little Hebrew boys who were brought into places of power in a nation that had invaded them. I have something of a long quote here I found in Mr. Spurgeon's sermon, and he is quoting a remark of Mr. Ruskin. And Mr. Spurgeon said he didn't have it written down, he was quoting it from memory. And he said, people often say, we excuse the thoughtlessness of youth. But he says, no, it never ought to be excused. I had far rather hear of thoughtlessness of old age, when a man has done his work. But what excuse can be found for a thoughtless youth? In other words, don't waste your time, your opportunities for education, for advancement in skills that God may use you in the future to come. These Hebrews were well-schooled. And there's something else we should know, that if they were well-schooled in science, if they were well-schooled in languages, they were also well-schooled in the law of God. They knew their Bible. And that's the best education of all. And when the hour of trial and temptation came for Daniel and his friends, and they were called to do things that were contrary to God, they were able to take their stand because they were well grounded in the Hebrew language in the Hebrew Bible, and they knew the Hebrew God, not following blindly the gods of the Chaldeans. And so, this is the reason why Daniel and his friends were useful, because they were well-grounded in the ways of learning and the Word of God. Now, the second thing, Daniel was guided by a purpose of heart. If you look at verse 8 in this chapter, you will see, but Daniel purposed in his heart. Now, those are key words. And if you don't get to know any other verse in this chapter, Verse 8 is the key one. But Daniel purposed in his heart. There was no way that he was going to assimilate with the ways of the Chaldeans and forget his upbringing and forget his faith or forget his God. Now, there was undoubtedly a plan to school them in a way that they would forget their old ways and adopt all the ways of the heathen in Chaldea. Now, you'll see that their names were changed. And it's very interesting to look into their names. Now, you probably know their four Chaldean names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That's the three friends of Daniel. And you'll know how to remember them, don't you? You shake the bed, you make the bed, and then into bed you go. And that's how you remember the names of Daniel's three friends. That's their Chaldean names. But their Hebrew names, well, one was Hananiah, and that means the Lord is gracious. And when you read a name with I-A-H at the end, that has the signification of Jah, J-A-H. And so Hananiah means the Lord is gracious. Michiel means God is strong. And then Azariah, the Lord is a help. Now they were changed, Hananiah's name was changed to Meshach, a Chaldean name, and that means the inspiration of the sun. How would you like your good Christian, solid Bible name to be changed into a heathen name? Because they want to change you. And then there was, Mishael's name was changed to Meshach, and that means the goddess of Shack, or sometimes alluded to Venus. Imagine having a name that's after some form of astrology. That would be Grievous. And then Azariah's name was changed to Abednego, and that name means the servant of the shining fire. Sounds nice, but it's wicked. It's evil. And these names were given to these young men that they might forget their past. Daniel, by the way, he was given the name of Belteshazzar, and that has the signification of keeper of the hidden treasures of Bel. and it has in there a form of beel. I'm sure Daniel shook his head when they gave that name to him, and he would have thought in his heart, no way that I'm going to be taking this name and enjoying it. You see, they could try to change these young men from the outside, but they couldn't change their hearts, because Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat or wine, nor the heathen ways of Chaldea." Now, tonight, if you're going to be useful to God, if you're going to do anything for God, you need to be purposed in your heart that you are going to be a separatist. A separatist, by the way, is a Bible word. Indeed, it's a Bible doctrine. There is ecclesiastical separation, which is the church separating from error. But there's also personal separation, where you as an individual desire to live pure, godly, upright, that you may have a testimony for Christ. And you will not do certain things, you will not go to certain places, you will not talk like the world, nor live like the world, because you have purposed in your heart that you will not defile yourself. Now that's the personal separation that you need if God is going to make you useful in His kingdom work. And if you're saying tonight, I don't like that strict way of living. I don't like this holiness. I want to just float along and let the world cause me to drift where it will. Well, let me tell you now, you'll never do anything for God because God uses young men and women, older too, who are purposed in their heart that they will not defile themselves. If you're in the battle for the Lord and right, keep on the firing line. If you win, my brother, surely you must fight. Keep on the firing line. There are many dangers that we all must face. If we die a fighting, it is no disgrace. A coward in the service, he will find no place. I know you must fight to be brave against all evil. Never run, nor even lag behind. You would win for God and the righteous, just keep on the firing line. God will only use a soldier he can trust, keep on the firing line. If you wear a crown and bear the cross, you must keep on the firing line. Life is but to labor for the Master, dear, Help to banish evil and to spread good cheer. Great you'll be rewarded for your service here, So keep on the firing line. You must fight, be brave against all evil, Never run, nor even lag behind. So there you have it. You have Daniel standing against the whole Babylonian empire, willing to endanger his life and deny himself that he might be faithful to his God. What about you? Are you willing to be a separatist from this evil culture, this world that is in rebellion to God? And what will you do about it? Will you take your stand? Will you pull back from the world and identify yourself as a Christian, a man or woman of God, and that you will worship only the Lord Jesus according to His Word? That, of course, is the great challenge that comes to the Christian today. And to do that, you need the Bible, you need a Bible-believing church, and you need to be faithful to the gospel itself, that Christ died for us, Christ died for sinful men, and that there is no other way but by faith in the Lord Jesus to be saved and sure of heaven. And there's no other way to live the Christian life but to walk in the light as he is in the light. And that light comes to you through the written word of God. And so I call you today to personal separation and to stand up for the Lord Jesus in this day and generation. And may God use you for His glory and make you a testimony like unto Daniel. He can do that. as you bow alone to the name of the Lord Jesus. Thank you for being a part of the program today. Stay tuned now for these closing announcements. You are listening to Let the Bible Speak, the radio broadcast of the Free Presbyterian Church in Canada. This is Pastor Ian Golliher. If you missed part of today's program or would like to hear it again, you can find it archived by program date on our website. Just go to www.ltbs.ca, CA for Canada. There you can read my blog, find my Bible study notes, audio and video sermons, as well as helpful articles. or you can go to our podcast on iTunes. We're on the air Sundays at 9.30 a.m. for our full church broadcast and Monday to Friday 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. on this station to bring you the gospel from our free Presbyterian church here in Cloverdale. We also invite you to our church services on Sundays 10 30 and 6 p.m. Through our website you can listen and view to our online services at 10 30 and 6 p.m. Make it your Sunday worship. click on the Live Now button on the home page of our website. Or if you would like to talk with me one-on-one as a pastor, please give me a call. The phone number is 604-897-2222. 2-0-4-0. The mailing address is 1-8-7-9-0-58 Avenue, Surrey, B.C., V3S1M6. We're located just two blocks north of Number 10 Highway on 188th Street. Our website again is ltbs.ca. You can join us Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. 5 p.m. here on this station as we let the Bible speak.