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Wisdom For Challenging Times · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship now, singing first of all in Psalm 106, in the Scottish
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Psalter, Psalm 106, that's on page 378.
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Singing verses 1 to 5, give praise and thanks unto the Lord, for bountiful is He, His tender
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mercy doth endure unto eternity. God's mighty works who can express or show forth all His
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praise. Blessed are they that judgment keep and justly do always. Psalm 106, verses 1
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to 5, if you're able to stand, please stand. We'll stand to sing.
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Give praise and thanks unto the Lord, for bountiful is He, their tender mercy doth endure.
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And to eternity. God's mighty works who can express or show forth all His praise.
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Blessed are they that judgment keep and justly do always.
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Remember me, Lord, with the love which thou do not bear.
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Remember me, Lord, with the love which thou do not bear.
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Remember me, Lord, with the love which thou do not bear.
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God's mighty gloriousaja das Heim hat alive.
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You are the only one who's ق добnahme an devotion which thou do not bear but earn.
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That thy right chosen's good mercy, and in their joy rejoice,
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and may with thy inheritance triumph with cheerful voice.
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Let's now join together in prayer. We're praying at this time for the Sunday School and for the Young Folks'
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meeting, so we'll pray especially for them at this time.
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Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks that we are able to come together of all ages to worship you today,
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and we give thanks for the way that your interest in us is not confined to any particular age group,
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but we give thanks, O Lord, for your grace that is extended to us all.
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We thank you today for the young people and for the children that belong to us as a congregation,
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and we thank you, O Lord, for the way that they give us such delight
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in seeing them come to learn the things of God, coming to join together in public worship,
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and coming to understand the importance as they grow up of those things that are foundational to life
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from the teaching of your Word.
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Bless them, we pray today, and give them as they learn more of you,
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and as they learn more of your Word and its meaning and its significance.
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Lord, help them today to increase in understanding and in the application of this to their lives.
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Bless them in their homes, their parents and families.
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We ask that you bless them in whatever else they do in life,
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and as they grow up especially, we pray, they will grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Receive our prayers for them, we pray, and help us to be a means of encouragement and help to them,
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and bless those who give up their time today to teach them or to look after them
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in creche or tweenies and in the Sunday school and Bible class.
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We thank you, Lord, for their dedication and for their commitment to these wonderful tasks
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of teaching our young people.
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Receive our thanks, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Amen.
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Well, you'll notice if you go into supermarkets these days that there's usually or almost always now
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a section of free from food.
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Anybody notice that?
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Any of the children here?
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Stick your hand up if you noticed free from food,
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or if you know anything about why free from food is now important for some people.
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Some people do.
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Okay, well, there's always a section now on free from food.
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Why is it necessary to have a section there on free from food?
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What is free from food, and why is it important to some people?
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Well, it's important because some people have a really bad reaction to certain things you find in some foods.
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For example, in ordinary bread that's not free from, it contains gluten.
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And some people have a bad reaction to gluten and can become very ill if they eat something with gluten in it.
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The same with dairy products.
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Those who have problems with dairy products can't eat dairy products because, again, they have a bad reaction to it.
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So nowadays, you get food that's free from those types of things.
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Nuts is another thing that people react badly to.
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Some people do.
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Don't panic if you know that there are certain things that people react to in that way.
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This is really something that affects only a certain number of people.
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But, of course, it's important to them that they actually can't take ordinary bread or any nuts or stuff like that.
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They need free from food.
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And our grandchildren, for example, a number of the boys have always had difficulty with gluten and dairy products,
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and they have a bad reaction to that.
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And that can actually be very dangerous if it's really quite acute.
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So they always need free from food.
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But their mom always has to check the jars or the tins of stuff she buys because the ingredients, the stuff that's in the food, is listed on the jars.
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And she has to make sure that there's nothing in that that can really prove to be harmful or would really cause a bad reaction or be dangerous even to the children that have these allergies and intolerances, as they're called.
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And the ingredients, the stuff that could be harmful nowadays, are highlighted in bold, bold letters, big black letters.
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So you can see there if there's anything that's going to be harmful, obviously you put it back.
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And it's important to check that.
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Otherwise, it could be very dangerous for children that have these problems or for adults as well that have these problems.
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Nuts, gluten, all that sort of stuff.
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Now, the Bible has nothing bad in it.
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Nothing in the Bible that will be harmful to you.
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Nothing in the Bible that will damage you.
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It's the other way about, in fact.
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Everything that's in the Bible is good for you.
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That's why we want to learn it.
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That's why we want the young folks as well to learn it more and more and to learn its teachings for themselves.
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And, oh, there's nothing bad in the Bible.
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It does tell us about many things that are bad for us.
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And just as you need to be careful with food if you've got allergies to nuts or whatever,
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so we need to be careful about what sort of stuff, spiritually or morally, we take into our lives.
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And we need to be sure that we have a free-from diet as far as possible with those matters that will harm us spiritually and morally.
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The Bible tells us very specifically at times things that we are to avoid to have in our spiritual food, if you like.
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When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, he listed a number of things that were really harmful.
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Telling lies was one of them.
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Always, he says, be truthful with one another.
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Bad language.
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Just because the world uses bad language doesn't mean it's okay.
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It's bad for us.
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It's not good.
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The same thing with hatred, disobedience to parents.
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All these things are mentioned in the Bible as harmful or bad for us and will damage our lives and will damage the lives of other people as well.
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Laziness.
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Laziness is mentioned in the Bible as something bad as well.
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Because God didn't make us to be lazy.
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He made us to work, to work hard.
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He made us to actually work so that it will benefit other people as well as ourselves.
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And bad company.
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Getting with or being always with people who hate God, who don't love God, who say bad things about the gospel, who don't like God's church.
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We want, of course, them to come to know the truth.
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But the Bible says that bad company corrupts good manners, good behavior.
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So free from is very important in foodstuffs.
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For those who have allergies and intolerances, free from is also important spiritually for us.
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Leave out of your life, young people.
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All the things the Bible tells you are harmful to you and harmful to other people.
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And that way we will live a life that's pleasing to God.
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A life of what the Bible calls holiness of life.
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A life that wants to get rid of all the harmful, sinful stuff and get God's help to enable us to do that.
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Okay, so next time you see in the supermarket, look for the free from stuff.
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And it reminds you of how important it is to live as far as possible free from everything that the Bible tells you is bad for you.
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Well, let's now say the Lord's Prayer together.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.
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Amen.
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Let's sing again to God's praise from Psalm 12.
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Psalm number 12.
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Again, it's in the Scottish Psalter, page 213.
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We'll sing the whole of this psalm.
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Lord, help, because the godly man doth daily fade away,
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and from among the sons of men the faithful do decay.
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And to his neighbor everyone doth utter vanity.
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They with a double heart do speak, and lips of flattery.
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Here is the psalmist, times when those who believed in God were becoming few in his day,
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as he saw it at least.
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And he's crying out to the Lord for help, not only for himself, but for the world in which he was placed.
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And that's what we too pray to God about.
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Psalm 12.
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Help, Lord, because the godly man doth daily fade away.
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Help, Lord, because the godly man doth daily fade away.
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And from among the sons of men the faithful do decay.
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And to this day let everyone doth utter vanity.
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God, Lord, because the godly man doth daily fade away.
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God, Lord, because the godly man doth daily fade away.
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And to this day let everyone doth daily fade away.
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God, Lord, because the godly man doth daily fade away.
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We'll with our tongue prevail our lips, our marches for your eyes.
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For the open stand for the sight of me, the right will I.
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Safe, fraud, and in vain safety set from such a sin he died.
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The words of God are words close pure, in divine silver dry.
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In heaven, by the seven times, the top finger high.
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Lord, thou shalt and bring seven feet forever from this grave.
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On its side walk thou wakest when I'll lend our high embrace.
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Our reading today of God's Word is from the book of Daniel, the book of the prophet Daniel in the first chapter.
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We'll read through the chapter from the beginning through to the end of the chapter.
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The book of Daniel, it should be run about page 890, 891 in your pew Bibles.
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So, reading through the first chapter.
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In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
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And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand and some of the vessels of the house of God.
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And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God.
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Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,
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youths without blemish of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning,
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and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
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The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank.
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They were to be educated for three years.
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And at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king.
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Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.
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And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names.
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Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
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But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank.
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Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
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And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.
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And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel,
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I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink.
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For why should he see that you are in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age?
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So you would endanger my head with the king.
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Then Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel,
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Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, test your servants for ten days.
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Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
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Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you.
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And deal with your servants according to what you see.
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So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.
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At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh
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than all the youths who ate the king's food.
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So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
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As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom.
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And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
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At the end of the time when the king had commanded that they should be brought in,
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the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
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And the king spoke with them.
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And among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
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Therefore they stood before the king.
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And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them,
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he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
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And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
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And we pray God will bless to us this reading again of his word.
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Let's join together again in prayer.
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Let's pray.
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Our gracious God, our Father in heaven, we have been reading your word and singing your praises.
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And as we now call upon you in prayer, we ask that we may be guided again by your Holy Spirit.
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The Holy Spirit whose presence and power we require to enlighten our minds in the knowledge of your truth.
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And also to guide our thoughts as we speak with you.
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As we bring before you our petitions and our thanksgivings.
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Our requests.
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Lord, we thank you today for this privilege we have once again.
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To gather here together to be a worshipping people.
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And to be known publicly as a people whose desire it is to worship God.
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And to bear testimony to him.
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And to bear testimony not only to the fact that he is and exists.
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But that he is our God.
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That he is our creator and our redeemer.
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That he is one to whom we owe our allegiance.
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Our very life.
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We bless you, Lord, today that as we come before you, so we bring our thanksgivings.
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We thank you, Lord, for all that you have been to us since the last time we met here.
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Every week that goes by, Lord, your goodness is made known to us in so many ways.
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Even throughout the matters in life that we see as ordinary.
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Yet we, Lord, I recognize that all the good things we do receive and are familiar with are your gifts to us.
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And we thank you today that we can come together to thank you for them.
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For there are many people we know in the world in which we live that have to do with so few.
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Indeed, sometimes without any of these things, even our basic footsteps.
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Help us, Lord, to realize that it is by your blessing that we have them.
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By your will that we enjoy them.
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And that we are answerable to you.
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And so as to give thanks as your word requires.
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Bless us, we pray, as we come here together once again round your word.
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Bless your word to us and lead us into these avenues of your truth that your word contains.
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Help us, we pray, to be mindful of our own native lack of understanding.
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Of our need of your spirit to open our minds.
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To bless your word to us.
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To enable us to increase in our understanding and knowledge of it and of yourself through it.
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Help us, Lord, today that we may lay to heart things which we need to know.
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And need to apply in all aspects of our lives.
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We bless you, Lord, today that you have taken account of all that we need to be in this world.
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And all the things that we will meet with in this world.
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And your word brings us counsel and teaching against them in relation to them all.
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We pray today that we may be thankful that you have remembered us, Lord, in that way.
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So as to provide for us this light for our path.
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This lamp for our feet.
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We pray today that you bless us as a congregation.
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Bless us, we pray, in our services of worship.
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Bless us in the activities that are related to them.
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Bless the children in their Sunday school classes and Bible class.
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Bless, too, those who are in tweenies and those who are in creche.
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And those who look after them and care for them.
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Bless us, we pray, in our homes.
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Help us, Lord, there to be faithful to you.
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Help us to be in public and in private the same.
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And help us to realize, O Lord, that you have given us your word so that we may apply it in all of these different facets of life.
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We thank you today, O Lord, for the way that you provide for us in our daily living.
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We pray that you would help us to be faithful to you in whatever calling you have called us to work in this world.
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And to be known to others as a people who love and value the Lord.
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We pray, Lord, for those who, at this time, are anxious over their work.
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For those who have lost employment during these difficult times.
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We pray that you would be gracious to them and provide for them and for their families.
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We pray that you would bless those today who have particular difficulties in their family circles.
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Those anxieties over loved ones.
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Difficulties, Lord, in coping with these issues themselves.
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Those who have problems in themselves, O Lord, of mental health or other types of challenges in life that we need to face.
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Lord, bless them all, we pray.
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Help us to be supportive to them.
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Whether they belong to us as a family or in a congregation or out with it.
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Help us always, Lord, to be mindful of the needs of others.
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And to bring all as we can to bear upon them in practical help and prayerful remembrance.
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We pray, too, for those who mourn the passing of loved ones today in our communities.
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In the congregation here, bless them, we pray.
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Help them, Lord, as they express their grief.
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And as they find the pain of parting.
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To be so real, help them, Lord, we pray.
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And be with them at this time.
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And comfort them and be their portion in life.
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We pray, too, Lord, for all those who serve you in public life, in public office.
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Remember them before you in our local government.
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Bless our local council and councillors and council officers.
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Bless, we pray, those who help with the administration.
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Help also those who take up responsibilities and duties.
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In regard to caring for others in the medical sphere.
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Remember, our hospital, our hospice, our care homes, our doctors, our nurses, and all the agencies that help them.
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Macmillan nurses and all others, Lord, who go about from day to day in our community.
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And seek to bring help to day in our community.
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And seek to bring help to those who are in need.
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We pray for the work of Crossroads.
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We ask that you bless them also.
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We pray, too, Lord, for those who are involved with pregnancy crisis ministry.
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And we ask that you'd bless them here in our own congregation.
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Bless them elsewhere as well.
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In a world that takes life, Lord, so casually and many times treats life so cheaply.
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Whether it be the life of the unborn or those who are old aged.
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Lord, we pray for them.
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And we pray for all who have different challenges with themselves.
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Whether it be in mental health or other disabilities.
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Lord, we ask that you'd bless them.
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Bless those who don't have the same faculties as most people have.
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The same abilities intellectually or otherwise.
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Bless them, we pray.
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Bless their families as they seek to continue to give them support and help.
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And we ask, Lord, that you would bring them as they come to be.
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Many of them familiar with your word.
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Bless that to them.
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And help them, Lord, we pray, to assimilate that in their own way of life and understanding.
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We pray your blessing too for our street pastors as they go out to help those who end up in need, Lord,
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at different times of the week, especially in the evenings and weekends.
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We pray for our street pastors and for all who help, Lord, in that regard.
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We pray that you'd keep them safe and enable them to be of help to those they meet regularly, Lord, each week.
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We ask that their ministry may indeed prove to be continually beneficial to many others.
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And that especially as they come with opportunities to speak about you and about their own faith.
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Bless that, we pray, to those who hear them.
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Those who bear witness to their desire to make Christ known, as well as being of practical help to others.
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Bless, we pray, our nation at this time.
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Bless, we pray, our nation at this time.
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We pray, O Lord, that you'd bless our government at this time.
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We ask that you'd be with them in Westminster, here in Holyrood.
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We commend them to you, not merely because we are required and commanded to do that from your word,
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but because, Lord, our heart is burdened that we be led in a way that would be exalting to us in righteousness
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and would be pleasing to yourself.
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Once again, we pray for those who are seeking office of first minister.
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We pray especially for Kate Forbes and her constant Christian testimony and witness.
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We pray for our Lord and her family and all the pressures that she has to meet with at this time.
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Whatever our political persuasion may be, Lord, we know that we have to pray for your people
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and we have to bring them before you, especially when they face such difficulties and trials as she faces in these days.
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And so, Lord, whatever the outcome might be, we pray that you would continue to be with her and to assure her of your presence.
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Bless us as a church, as a denomination.
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Help us, Lord, we pray in all the activity that we engage in, in gospel services, in outreach, in evangelism.
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And help us in all the church plants and all the other aspects of ministry that we are engaged in.
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Bless those who are training for ministry.
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We pray for Scott here with ourselves.
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We ask that you would bless him and bless all others with him at this time, O Lord,
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who are going through their period of training.
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We pray that you would be with them and assure them and make them, Lord, more and more capable and endowed with your Spirit
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so as to make known to others the beauty of Christ and the claims of Christ in our society.
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Hear us then, we pray now, and continue with us,
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pardoning all our sin and cleansing us freely for Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Once more, we're going to praise the Lord this time in Psalm 147, 147.
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It's in the Sing Psalms version on page 192.
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We'll sing verses 1 to 7.
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O praise the Lord, how good it is to sing him songs of praise,
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how pleasant to give thanks to him for all his gracious ways.
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Psalm 147 and verses 1 to 7.
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O praise the Lord, how good it is to sing him songs of praise,
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and blessed to give thanks to him for all his gracious grace.
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The Lord, how good it is to sing from ourp
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The Lord, how good it is to sing him ceux- жив in the world.
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Who reaches the children of Israel to bring his exiles for whole?
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He heals, he heals, he heals, broken hearts, which torches to salvation.
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He sets the number of persons and calls them each by name.
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Great is our Lord and great in power, his wisdom is profound.
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The Lord's substance can be cut out, the wicked to the ground.
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Sing to the Lord with thankfulness, with joy his faithful praise.
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And with the new shape of the heart, give glory to his name.
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Let's turn now to the scripture we read in Daniel chapter 1.
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Daniel chapter 1, we're looking at the chapter, especially the first seven verses of it.
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Daniel chapter 1, which we'll call Wisdom for Challenging Times.
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Now, the historical setting for Daniel, as I'm sure you know, as it says here, is during the days of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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This passage is certainly set in that context.
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Nebuchadnezzar ruled around about 605 through to 562 years before Christ.
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So it's going back a long time.
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But at that time, the Babylonians, over which Nebuchadnezzar was king, to which he belonged, was the superpower of the world.
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It was really the great powerhouse in the known world of the time.
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It had a magnificent city in Babylon.
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The hanging gardens of Babylon were the envy of the world.
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They were one of the seven wonders of the world at the time.
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But through the Bible, Babylon is more than just a geographical location.
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And the Babylonians, or Chaldeans, as sometimes they're called, are more than just a reference to an actual people who lived long ago.
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Although that is, of course, true.
35:14
That's what they were.
35:15
In the Bible, Babylon represents all that is contrary to God's kingdom, to God's reign.
35:25
Babylon represents evil, corruption against God's people, against God himself, against the known church, if you like, of the time in the people of Israel, Judah.
35:37
So, all that you find in the Bible about Babylon and that way of teaching is about powers and forces that are against God and against his people.
35:48
That's all the way through until you reach the end of the Bible in Revelation chapters 18 and 19,
35:53
in the judgment of God bringing us right through to the end of the world,
35:57
where Babylon is judged, where Babylon has fallen, and where Babylon is judged by God.
36:01
In other words, these powers of evil and corruption and anti-God coalitions of various kinds throughout the centuries,
36:11
they are actually brought under the judgment of God at the end of it all.
36:16
And the Lamb, Jesus, and his people prevail.
36:21
They are the ones whom God shows to have the victory on their side,
36:27
because God is on their side and they have his salvation.
36:32
In other words, Daniel really is a timeless book in this sense that although it is important that we remember it is talking about history,
36:42
it's history with a purpose in the presentation of this Word of God.
36:46
It's timeless in the sense that Babylon, if you like, and the powers that Babylon represented, as we've mentioned,
36:53
they're active in every generation.
36:56
Something to do with Babylon, with the powers of Babylon, with the powers of, if you like, of worldliness,
37:02
in whatever form, that's always present to battle against God's people,
37:07
to resist the call of God in the gospel,
37:10
to try and undermine the church, to try and infiltrate the church,
37:14
to try and overthrow the teaching of the Bible,
37:17
in whatever ways that's possible for it under God.
37:20
And it seeks Babylon's powers.
37:24
Babylon seeks to take captive the minds of Christians as well.
37:30
Let's remember this.
37:32
Because the powers that are represented by Babylon,
37:35
the powers of evil and corruption and ungodliness and worldliness,
37:40
everything that's opposed to the gospel in every generation,
37:43
it wants to take your mind captive and my mind captive,
37:46
to take us away from faithfulness to God, from allegiance to God,
37:50
and throw our lot in with Babylon and its so-called values.
37:57
And it uses ideologies, different types of ideology,
38:03
to actually carry out its plan and its purpose.
38:06
Institutions, individuals, nations, churches, schools, government systems,
38:15
they're all subject to infiltration and the powers and the persuasion of Babylon
38:23
in order to try and do more to undermine the gospel of Christ.
38:28
And that's why we must see the contents of Daniel and the passage we're looking at today
38:34
in that wider perspective, in that spiritual perspective,
38:38
that spiritual and moral dimension that Babylon in the Bible represents.
38:44
The first thing, I'm going to look mainly at the first point,
38:48
which is the king's three-year program.
38:52
The three-year program mentioned here that King Nebuchadnezzar set
38:56
for these young people that he had brought captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.
39:03
This three-year program you'll find in verse 5, this was his purpose.
39:08
He assigned in verses 3 to 5 these youths that came
39:12
and were skillful in wisdom and knowledge, understanding and learning,
39:19
and it was to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
39:24
They were to be educated for three years and then they were to stand before the king.
39:30
So this was a program deliberately set up to try and educate or really re-educate
39:37
these young people that had come from Jerusalem to Babylon.
39:42
The king's three-year program.
39:44
And then more briefly, although it's not unimportant, of course,
39:47
because the rest of Daniel deals with it,
39:48
God's faithful people in Babylon, in that setting, in those circumstances.
39:55
And you can see already how up-to-date Daniel is as we're looking out over the world in which we are placed,
40:02
as we're seeing Babylon represented by all the powers and the ideologies
40:06
that actually are in conflict with the gospel.
40:09
The king's three-year program.
40:13
Well, he wanted, first of all, the ablest youths that came from Jerusalem.
40:20
He brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God.
40:23
He placed the vessels there.
40:25
And then he commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch,
40:27
to bring some of the people of Israel,
40:29
both of the royal family and of the nobility,
40:31
youths without blemish of good appearance,
40:35
and skillful in all wisdom,
40:37
endowed with knowledge, understanding, and learning.
40:41
In other words, he wanted the very best.
40:43
He wanted the very best as a potential for the service of Babylon.
40:49
He wanted the choice young people of Jerusalem, of Judah,
40:52
to come and be in the service of the king of Babylon
40:56
and to take up the values of Babylon
40:58
and the aims of Babylon and the purpose of Babylon
41:01
and, as we'll see, even to come to be identified as Babylonians.
41:06
That was his purpose.
41:08
And only the best would do to serve the kingdom,
41:15
the intentions of Babylon.
41:17
Now, you can see in verse 4 there,
41:19
youths without blemish of good appearance,
41:22
skillful in all wisdom,
41:23
endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning,
41:26
and competent to stand in the king's palace.
41:28
And that actually involves both understanding and communication.
41:34
And these two are always important.
41:36
Because to the king of Babylon, to the aims of Babylon,
41:40
understanding coupled with communication skills
41:43
was always going to be an important combination.
41:46
And it still is an important combination.
41:49
That's why he wanted the best,
41:50
those who could understand,
41:51
those who could quickly assimilate the teachings of Babylon
41:54
and also be able to cogently explain them
41:58
or communicate them to the world around them.
42:00
That is what Babylon is still aiming to do.
42:04
That's why there is today,
42:06
in this very building,
42:08
an interest in you and in your minds.
42:12
An interest on the part of these forces
42:14
that oppose the gospel
42:16
of these satanic-led powers
42:19
that really have in their mind,
42:21
even if they would never associate themselves,
42:23
of course, with Satan
42:24
and with Satan's intentions
42:26
and plans and strategies.
42:28
Well, the Bible itself tells you all about that.
42:31
But here is what is seeking
42:33
to bring your mind today captive
42:36
and lead your mind away
42:38
from the teachings of Scripture,
42:39
of the Word of God,
42:41
of these principles and values of the gospel.
42:44
So, understanding and communicating abilities
42:48
are so important to the world,
42:51
so important in the world that we live,
42:53
so important to Babylon,
42:54
so important to all the ideologies
42:56
that oppose the gospel.
42:59
But this is the thing.
43:00
They are also important
43:01
to those who support the gospel,
43:03
to those who promote the gospel.
43:06
That's why our prayer is
43:07
that God will raise up
43:09
people of understanding
43:10
and able to communicate the gospel.
43:12
That's why we have the likes of Scott
43:14
as a trainee minister in training
43:16
and others like him
43:18
in different congregations
43:19
throughout the country.
43:20
That's why we're thrilled
43:21
when God calls people
43:22
to actually come to minister the gospel
43:25
by the preaching of the gospel,
43:27
but also, like many of yourselves,
43:29
to be living witnesses to God
43:32
in your own place of work,
43:34
whether it's in education
43:35
or wherever it is.
43:37
Learning and competence
43:39
in communicating those principles
43:41
that have to do with righteousness
43:43
and truth and integrity
43:45
are so important.
43:49
They are crucial to the aims of Babylon,
43:53
but they're also crucial
43:54
in resisting and overcoming
43:56
all that Babylon wants to bring about.
44:00
That's why you must give your mind
44:02
and I must give my mind
44:03
to Christ,
44:05
to the teachings of the Bible,
44:07
to the Holy Spirit of God,
44:09
to these things
44:10
that the Bible itself tells us
44:11
are absolutely crucial
44:12
and foundational
44:13
if we are to be
44:15
the kind of people
44:16
that bear witness to God
44:18
in this world.
44:20
The world needs you
44:21
and the world needs
44:22
that particular witness,
44:24
that particular understanding
44:25
and communication
44:26
of God's truth.
44:29
But secondly,
44:31
he didn't just want
44:31
the ablest youths,
44:33
he wanted them
44:34
to be turned into Chaldeans.
44:38
And three points
44:39
under this briefly.
44:40
First of all,
44:41
you'll see in verse 4,
44:43
the end of the verse there,
44:44
to teach them
44:45
the literature
44:46
and language
44:47
of the Chaldeans.
44:49
He wanted them
44:50
to be skillful
44:51
in both the literature
44:53
and language
44:54
of the Chaldeans.
44:55
In other words,
44:56
this was a curriculum
44:56
with purpose,
44:58
a curriculum
44:59
with a specific purpose.
45:00
He wanted to turn them
45:01
from being Jews
45:03
or being associated
45:04
with Jewishness
45:05
and turn them
45:06
into Chaldeans
45:07
effectively and practically.
45:08
He wanted them
45:09
to think of themselves
45:10
no longer as a people
45:11
of Judah,
45:12
but a people of Chaldea,
45:13
of Babylon,
45:14
who had taken up
45:15
the aims and the purposes
45:16
and the intentions
45:17
of Babylon.
45:21
He wanted to erode
45:22
their Jewishness
45:23
as they developed
45:25
an allegiance
45:26
to Babylon.
45:27
See how up-to-date
45:29
that is?
45:30
You see how relevant
45:34
that is to the world
45:35
in which you and I
45:36
are placed today?
45:38
Where education
45:39
is so, so important,
45:41
but where education
45:42
sadly all too often
45:44
drifts into indoctrination
45:46
because that's what
45:47
Babylon was about.
45:49
He wasn't there
45:50
just to educate
45:51
their minds
45:51
so as to give them
45:53
different things
45:53
to compare.
45:54
He was there
45:55
to bring their minds
45:56
over to the business
45:58
and the intentions
45:59
and the identity
46:01
of Babylon.
46:05
And Babylon
46:06
is still at it.
46:10
That's why we need
46:11
to pray for our teachers.
46:14
Not just for the
46:15
Christian teachers,
46:16
but especially
46:17
our Christian teachers.
46:18
Because they are facing
46:20
from the top,
46:22
from government
46:22
intentions
46:23
and government
46:24
provided
46:27
ideologies,
46:29
they are actually
46:29
infiltrating
46:30
the education
46:31
of our children
46:32
and in some parts
46:34
of the country
46:34
at least.
46:36
Our children,
46:36
even at their youngest
46:37
years in primary,
46:39
are being subjected
46:40
to teaching
46:41
that really belongs
46:43
only in the adult
46:43
field, sadly.
46:47
That is Babylon
46:48
at work.
46:49
seeking to win
46:52
young minds
46:53
over to these
46:54
ideologies
46:55
in order to provide
46:58
very skillful
46:59
communicators
47:00
for that particular
47:02
type of ideology
47:03
or teaching
47:04
to actually spread
47:05
that throughout
47:06
the world.
47:07
Now you can see
47:08
how dangerous
47:09
that is.
47:10
You can see
47:10
how important
47:11
it is to pray
47:11
against more
47:13
infiltration
47:13
of that type
47:14
into our system
47:15
of education.
47:17
Where all kinds
47:17
of ideologies
47:18
are seen
47:19
as acceptable
47:19
and where,
47:21
for some at least,
47:22
our very youngest
47:23
children have to be
47:24
subjected to these
47:25
things even from
47:25
their youngest days.
47:28
See,
47:29
that's Babylon
47:29
at work.
47:31
That's King
47:32
Nebuchadnezzar's
47:33
three-year program
47:34
being rolled out
47:37
in our society
47:39
to take minds
47:41
captive
47:41
in order that
47:43
they then serve
47:44
the values
47:45
and the aims
47:45
of Babylon.
47:48
to erode,
47:51
to normalize,
47:54
to normalize
47:56
what the Bible
47:57
says is not
47:59
acceptable,
48:00
is ungodly,
48:02
is contrary
48:03
to righteousness,
48:05
to uprightness,
48:06
to truthfulness,
48:07
and in their
48:11
place
48:11
to put the
48:13
values of
48:14
Babylon.
48:16
Friends,
48:17
please pray
48:19
for our
48:20
teachers.
48:22
Pray for our
48:22
education authority.
48:25
Pray for that
48:26
throughout the land.
48:29
Pray for all
48:30
our schools
48:31
where there are
48:33
Christian teachers
48:34
placed
48:34
Christians
48:37
are still
48:38
concerned
48:39
at having
48:39
or being
48:40
called upon
48:41
to teach
48:42
things which
48:42
they themselves
48:43
find unacceptable.
48:45
Pray for
48:46
Christian schools
48:47
wherever they
48:49
are.
48:50
Pray for those
48:51
who sincerely
48:51
intend to
48:52
bring children
48:54
up in the
48:55
values of
48:55
Christ.
48:57
Pray for
48:57
parents.
48:59
Pray for
48:59
parents who
49:00
have to actually
49:00
face this with
49:01
their children
49:02
from day to
49:03
day.
49:03
when they
49:04
come home
49:04
from school,
49:05
even in
49:05
primary school,
49:06
and say,
49:07
the teacher
49:07
today was
49:08
teaching us
49:09
to ask
49:10
questions about
49:11
ourselves and
49:12
who we are.
49:12
Are we really
49:13
male or
49:13
female?
49:13
Are we a
49:14
boy?
49:14
Am I a
49:14
girl?
49:16
That's what's
49:16
going on in
49:17
some of our
49:18
schools throughout
49:18
our land.
49:20
That's where
49:20
children's minds
49:21
are being messed
49:22
with.
49:24
That's Babylon
49:25
at work.
49:27
We have to be
49:28
aware of that
49:28
and pray over it
49:29
and also,
49:31
as we bring it
49:32
before the
49:32
Lord, ask the
49:33
Lord to bring
49:34
a change around.
49:36
So there's the
49:37
education that
49:38
sadly sometimes
49:39
becomes
49:40
indoctrination.
49:41
There's secondly
49:41
incentives.
49:42
You see,
49:43
verse 5,
49:44
he gave them
49:45
the incentives,
49:46
he assigned
49:46
them a daily
49:47
portion of the
49:47
food that the
49:48
king ate and
49:49
the wine that
49:50
he drank.
49:51
In other words,
49:52
they were made
49:52
to feel really
49:53
special.
49:54
They were singled
49:55
out from the
49:56
others as
49:57
favorites of the
49:58
king.
49:58
They were made
49:59
to feel that
49:59
they really
50:00
should surely
50:01
serve this
50:02
very kind
50:03
king,
50:04
this person
50:05
that brought
50:05
all of these
50:06
things to them
50:07
and made them
50:08
feel so special
50:09
compared to
50:10
others.
50:10
The design was
50:11
to make them
50:12
feel advantaged,
50:13
to make them
50:13
feel special,
50:14
to make them
50:14
feel this is
50:15
really the right
50:16
way.
50:16
We're surely
50:17
not wrong in
50:18
following the
50:19
king's requirements
50:21
and taking up
50:21
this teaching
50:23
that he wants
50:24
to give us
50:24
of the things
50:25
of the
50:25
Chaldeans.
50:28
And you can
50:29
see how similar
50:30
that is to
50:31
the idea
50:32
today that
50:32
if you follow
50:34
the Christian
50:35
way, if you're
50:36
especially open
50:37
about being a
50:37
Christian, you
50:39
can't possibly
50:40
get on in the
50:41
world if that's
50:42
what you commit
50:43
yourself to.
50:44
That's the
50:44
ideology of
50:45
Babylon.
50:46
That's what
50:46
Babylon will say
50:47
to you.
50:47
That's what
50:47
worldliness will
50:48
say to you.
50:49
It will say,
50:50
if you really
50:50
want to get on
50:51
in the world
50:52
and progress
50:52
your life and
50:54
make something
50:54
of a career
50:55
of it and
50:55
get promotion
50:56
in whatever
50:57
field you're
50:57
working, you've
50:58
got to take
50:59
on the world
51:00
as of equal
51:01
validity and
51:02
equal value
51:03
to the Christian
51:04
life.
51:06
You just have
51:06
to embrace
51:07
that.
51:09
And we're
51:09
being told by
51:10
certain ideologies
51:11
today, it's
51:12
not enough
51:13
in the old
51:14
style tolerance
51:15
of just saying,
51:16
well, I don't
51:17
agree with that,
51:18
but I leave you
51:18
your freedom to
51:19
believe that and
51:20
to live that way
51:21
of life if that's
51:22
your choice.
51:23
I don't agree
51:24
with it.
51:24
But I don't
51:25
agree with
51:25
persecuting you
51:26
for it.
51:28
Now, the new
51:28
ideology, the new
51:30
tolerance really
51:31
says, I think I
51:31
mentioned this
51:32
last week, it's
51:33
not enough to
51:33
say, well, I
51:34
don't agree with
51:34
it, but you're
51:35
free to follow
51:35
it if that's
51:36
your choice.
51:37
The new
51:37
ideology says,
51:38
you must see
51:39
this as of
51:40
equal value to
51:41
your Christianity.
51:44
You must take
51:44
it and celebrate
51:46
it the way you
51:47
celebrate your
51:47
Christianity.
51:50
That's Babylon
51:51
at work.
51:54
The idea that
51:55
you really must
51:56
embrace the
51:57
world in every
51:59
facet of the
51:59
world in its
52:00
thinking and in
52:01
its behavior.
52:01
If you really
52:02
want to get on
52:03
in the world,
52:03
that's what you
52:04
have to do.
52:05
And Daniel
52:05
teaches us
52:06
otherwise.
52:08
Daniel, as we'll
52:09
see, teaches
52:09
that God has
52:11
to come first.
52:13
That God is the
52:14
one who must,
52:15
at all times,
52:15
all times must
52:20
have allegiance
52:20
to Him.
52:23
And that, of
52:24
course, doesn't
52:24
mean hating
52:25
others.
52:26
That doesn't
52:27
mean being
52:27
obsessed with
52:28
and taken up
52:29
with phobias,
52:30
the way the
52:30
world actually
52:31
presents it.
52:32
Phobic this
52:33
and phobic
52:33
that.
52:34
We're called
52:35
upon to love
52:36
people, to
52:36
love people
52:37
whatever their
52:38
ideology, to
52:39
love people
52:39
whatever difference
52:40
there may be in
52:41
their way of
52:41
life throughout
52:42
Christian life.
52:43
love.
52:44
But love is
52:47
not that sort
52:48
of wobbly
52:50
thing that the
52:50
world presents
52:51
to you.
52:51
Love is love.
52:54
Love is
52:55
primarily
52:55
faithfulness to
52:57
God.
52:58
A love for
52:58
God.
52:59
A love for
52:59
His principles.
53:00
For His truth.
53:01
For His values.
53:02
For His people.
53:05
And so we
53:06
really resist
53:07
the idea that
53:08
to get on
53:09
in the world
53:10
you have to
53:11
embrace the
53:11
world.
53:12
God and
53:12
its values.
53:13
Daniel is
53:14
going to
53:14
teach us
53:15
that.
53:16
Again,
53:16
teach us
53:17
you that as
53:17
you work
53:18
your way
53:18
through the
53:19
book of
53:19
Daniel.
53:20
And especially
53:20
these opening
53:21
chapters.
53:23
So there's
53:23
education.
53:24
There's incentives
53:25
that are given
53:26
for them to
53:27
actually throw
53:28
their lot in
53:28
with Babylon.
53:29
But there's
53:30
thirdly,
53:30
identity.
53:31
Look at
53:31
verse 7.
53:34
Among
53:34
these were
53:35
Daniel,
53:36
Hananiah,
53:36
Mishael,
53:37
and Azariah,
53:38
tribe of Judah.
53:38
And the
53:39
chief of the
53:39
eunuchs gave
53:40
them names.
53:40
Daniel he
53:42
called
53:42
Belteshazzar,
53:43
Hananiah he
53:44
called
53:44
Shadrach,
53:45
Mishael he
53:45
called
53:45
Meshach,
53:46
and Azariah
53:47
Abednego.
53:48
What's that
53:48
about?
53:49
Is that just
53:50
saying,
53:51
well,
53:51
this is just
53:51
a change of
53:52
names and
53:52
nothing more?
53:53
Of course
53:53
it's not.
53:54
It fits
53:54
into the
53:55
teaching,
53:56
the theology
53:56
of Daniel.
53:57
And what
53:57
it's saying
53:58
to us is
53:58
part of
53:59
the strategy
54:00
of Babylon
54:00
is actually
54:02
to give
54:03
you an
54:04
identity
54:05
associated
54:06
with being
54:06
a Babylonian.
54:08
This was
54:09
a deliberate
54:10
part of
54:10
the strategy
54:11
because he
54:13
was concerned
54:14
that the
54:15
more they
54:16
forgot their
54:16
own native
54:17
names given
54:18
to them as
54:19
Jews,
54:19
and you
54:20
notice these
54:20
names,
54:21
as they
54:21
often did
54:22
in Judah
54:23
and Jewish
54:24
names,
54:24
had some
54:25
element to
54:25
do with
54:26
God in
54:26
them.
54:26
Daniel,
54:28
it has
54:28
the word
54:28
El,
54:29
the same
54:29
word
54:30
Mishael,
54:32
Mishach,
54:33
Azariah,
54:34
the name
54:35
Yahweh
54:35
or Jehovah,
54:37
and built
54:39
into these
54:39
Jewish names
54:40
you have
54:40
something to
54:41
do with
54:41
God,
54:42
something to
54:42
do with
54:43
a relationship
54:43
with God,
54:44
something to
54:45
do with
54:45
what God
54:45
is or
54:46
who God
54:47
is and
54:47
what he
54:47
is to
54:47
you.
54:49
They're
54:50
substituted
54:50
by thoroughly
54:51
pagan names,
54:53
and the hope
54:53
is that as
54:54
they forget
54:54
the significance
54:55
of their
54:56
Jewish name,
54:57
their Jewish
54:58
name that's
54:58
rooted in
54:59
the name
54:59
of God
55:00
himself,
55:00
so the
55:01
more they
55:01
will take
55:02
up these
55:02
pagan names,
55:03
the more
55:03
they will
55:04
be associated
55:04
with Babylon
55:05
and being
55:06
Chaldeans.
55:08
That's the
55:08
strategy.
55:10
That's the
55:11
three-year
55:11
program the
55:12
king set
55:12
for them.
55:16
That's the
55:17
aim to
55:17
gradually
55:18
incorporate
55:19
them so
55:22
that they
55:22
come effectively
55:23
to be
55:23
Chaldeans.
55:25
That's what
55:26
the world
55:26
wants you
55:27
to be.
55:29
That's what
55:29
the world
55:30
is calling
55:30
you to
55:31
today.
55:31
That's
55:33
what
55:33
worldliness
55:33
has as
55:34
its
55:34
intentions
55:35
through
55:35
whatever
55:36
ideology
55:36
that
55:38
wants
55:38
you
55:38
to
55:39
lose
55:39
sight
55:40
of
55:40
your
55:40
identity
55:40
as
55:41
a
55:41
Christian.
55:42
Where is
55:42
the
55:42
Christian's
55:43
identity?
55:44
What is it
55:44
that identifies
55:45
the Christian?
55:46
It's not
55:46
your name
55:47
given by
55:48
baptism.
55:49
It's not
55:49
your name
55:49
given by
55:50
parents,
55:50
important though
55:51
these may
55:51
be,
55:52
precious though
55:53
these may
55:53
be.
55:54
What
55:54
identifies
55:55
you as
55:55
a
55:55
Christian
55:55
is what
55:56
you are
55:57
in
55:57
Christ.
55:58
And
55:58
what you
55:59
are in
55:59
Christ means
56:00
what you
56:00
are to
56:01
God and
56:01
what God
56:02
is to
56:02
you.
56:05
That's
56:06
your
56:06
identity.
56:07
That's
56:08
who you
56:08
are as
56:09
a
56:09
Christian.
56:11
And
56:12
that's
56:12
who the
56:12
world
56:12
must
56:13
see.
56:14
You
56:14
are.
56:16
A
56:17
person who
56:17
belongs to
56:18
God and
56:20
to whom
56:20
by grace
56:21
this God
56:22
belongs as
56:23
your
56:23
Savior,
56:23
as your
56:26
King,
56:26
and
56:28
whatever
56:28
Nebuchad
56:29
and
56:29
Ezra
56:29
arrive on
56:30
the scene.
56:32
That's
56:33
the aim
56:33
of the
56:34
three-year
56:35
program.
56:37
He wanted
56:38
the
56:38
ableist
56:39
for
56:39
himself.
56:41
He
56:41
wanted to
56:42
educate
56:42
them
56:43
with the
56:44
element
56:44
of
56:44
indoctrination.
56:46
He
56:47
wanted to
56:47
give them
56:47
incentives.
56:48
He gave
56:48
them incentives
56:49
to help
56:50
them on
56:50
that way.
56:53
And he
56:53
changed their
56:54
identity,
56:54
at least
56:54
by name,
56:56
so that
56:57
gradually
56:57
they'd
56:57
come to
56:58
see
56:58
themselves,
56:59
no longer
57:00
us people
57:01
of Judah,
57:03
but people
57:03
of Babylon.
57:05
What's the
57:06
counter to
57:06
that?
57:07
Well,
57:07
this is
57:07
our final
57:08
point.
57:08
The second
57:08
point,
57:09
briefly,
57:10
has to
57:10
do with
57:11
God's
57:11
faithful
57:12
people,
57:12
because as
57:13
the chapter
57:13
goes on,
57:14
you can
57:14
see how
57:15
God gave
57:16
Daniel
57:17
wisdom,
57:18
along with
57:18
his companions,
57:19
to actually
57:20
not just
57:20
to offset,
57:21
but to
57:21
overcome
57:22
the strategy
57:23
of Babylon
57:24
and this
57:24
three-year
57:24
program.
57:27
In other
57:28
words,
57:28
what you
57:28
really find
57:29
in the
57:30
chapter,
57:30
as throughout
57:31
the book,
57:31
in fact,
57:33
is that the
57:34
main figure,
57:35
as always
57:36
really in the
57:37
Bible,
57:37
the main
57:37
figure is
57:38
not Daniel,
57:39
it's not
57:40
his companions,
57:42
it's actually
57:43
God.
57:45
God gave
57:46
Daniel,
57:48
he resolved
57:48
that he
57:48
wouldn't defile
57:49
himself,
57:50
God gave
57:51
Daniel favor
57:52
and compassion,
57:53
verse 9,
57:53
in the sight
57:54
of the
57:54
chief of
57:55
the
57:55
eunuchs.
57:56
Where did
57:56
Daniel get
57:57
his wisdom
57:57
from?
57:58
It wasn't
57:58
from the
57:59
ideology of
57:59
the Babylonians
58:00
or of his
58:01
own ingenuity,
58:03
it was the
58:03
wisdom that
58:04
was God
58:04
given.
58:06
God gave
58:07
this to
58:07
Daniel,
58:08
he gave
58:08
him favor.
58:09
God
58:09
arranged it
58:10
that the
58:11
chief of
58:11
the eunuchs
58:11
actually went
58:12
along with
58:12
Daniel's
58:13
strategy,
58:14
counter to
58:15
the strategy
58:15
of the
58:15
king of
58:16
Babylon.
58:16
And of
58:18
course we
58:18
know how
58:18
that ended
58:19
up.
58:20
And he
58:21
showed himself
58:21
superior to
58:23
all the
58:24
rest,
58:25
to all the
58:26
people that
58:26
belonged to
58:27
Babylon who
58:29
ate the
58:29
king's food.
58:32
Daniel and
58:33
his companions
58:34
turned out to
58:34
be ten times
58:35
more superior
58:37
than they
58:37
were.
58:40
You see,
58:41
God's favor,
58:43
Joseph proved
58:44
it before,
58:44
didn't he?
58:44
Daniel proves
58:47
it here.
58:48
Many others
58:48
have proved
58:49
it down
58:49
through the
58:50
years,
58:50
that God's
58:52
favor is
58:55
of so much
58:55
more value
58:56
than the
58:56
favor of
58:57
the world.
59:00
God's
59:00
favor is
59:02
the chief
59:03
thing in
59:03
your life,
59:04
surely.
59:05
To know
59:05
that you're
59:06
living a
59:06
life that's
59:07
pleasing to
59:08
God,
59:08
not because
59:09
it's a
59:09
perfect life
59:10
though you'd
59:10
want it to
59:11
be,
59:12
not because
59:12
it's a
59:13
better life
59:14
than other
59:15
people live,
59:16
not because
59:17
you see
59:17
yourself as
59:18
superior to
59:19
others,
59:19
but because
59:20
you know
59:20
this is what
59:21
God requires
59:21
of you.
59:23
That is your
59:24
privilege to
59:24
live as a
59:25
Christian life,
59:27
as a
59:28
Christian in
59:28
life.
59:29
That is your
59:29
privilege to
59:30
serve God,
59:31
your privilege
59:31
to be openly
59:32
on His side
59:33
because there
59:34
are so many
59:34
openly against
59:35
Him.
59:37
To have
59:38
God's favor,
59:39
friends,
59:40
is the most
59:41
important thing
59:42
in the world
59:42
for you and
59:42
for me.
59:44
To know
59:45
that you
59:45
have that,
59:47
to show
59:48
openly that
59:48
you have
59:49
that.
59:50
Nothing's
59:51
more important
59:51
than that,
59:53
that you
59:54
have the
59:54
favor of
59:56
God upon
59:56
your life.
59:58
And these
1:00:00
were people
1:00:00
of principle
1:00:01
in other
1:00:01
words.
1:00:02
It wasn't
1:00:03
just the
1:00:03
fact that
1:00:03
God gave
1:00:05
them this
1:00:05
favor,
1:00:06
that God
1:00:06
opened up
1:00:07
the way
1:00:07
for them,
1:00:08
that God
1:00:08
endowed them
1:00:09
with all of
1:00:10
these abilities,
1:00:10
which He of
1:00:11
course undoubtedly
1:00:12
did.
1:00:12
But they
1:00:13
themselves were
1:00:14
people of
1:00:14
principle.
1:00:15
They were
1:00:15
committed to
1:00:16
God,
1:00:17
by the grace
1:00:18
of God,
1:00:19
by the blessing
1:00:20
of God,
1:00:20
yes,
1:00:21
but they were
1:00:21
still themselves
1:00:22
committed to
1:00:23
God,
1:00:23
to the ways
1:00:24
of God,
1:00:25
to serving
1:00:26
God,
1:00:26
to be true
1:00:27
to God.
1:00:30
And that's
1:00:31
why Daniel
1:00:33
in chapter 2,
1:00:34
just flick
1:00:34
forward for a
1:00:35
minute,
1:00:35
chapter 2,
1:00:36
verse 48.
1:00:36
As they
1:00:40
came to
1:00:41
Nebuchadnezzar
1:00:43
following the
1:00:44
interpretation
1:00:44
of his
1:00:44
dream,
1:00:45
which none
1:00:45
of his
1:00:45
own
1:00:46
mystery men
1:00:47
were able
1:00:47
to do,
1:00:49
then the
1:00:49
king gave
1:00:50
Daniel high
1:00:51
honors and
1:00:52
many great
1:00:53
gifts,
1:00:54
and made
1:00:55
him ruler
1:00:56
over the
1:00:57
whole province
1:00:58
of Babylon,
1:00:59
and chief
1:00:59
prefect over
1:01:00
all the wise
1:01:01
men of
1:01:02
Babylon.
1:01:03
See what's
1:01:03
happened?
1:01:04
Here's a man
1:01:05
who's been
1:01:05
faithful to
1:01:06
God,
1:01:06
who has
1:01:07
made known
1:01:08
his allegiance
1:01:08
to God,
1:01:09
who has
1:01:10
not stepped
1:01:10
back from
1:01:11
being a
1:01:13
man of
1:01:13
Judah in
1:01:15
the captivity
1:01:15
of Babylon.
1:01:17
And yet what
1:01:17
happens?
1:01:18
The king of
1:01:18
Babylon promotes
1:01:19
him.
1:01:20
He sees that
1:01:21
he has special
1:01:22
qualities that
1:01:22
none of his
1:01:23
own people
1:01:23
have.
1:01:26
And not
1:01:26
only that,
1:01:27
but he made
1:01:28
a request of
1:01:29
the king,
1:01:29
and he appointed
1:01:30
Shadrach,
1:01:31
Meshach,
1:01:31
and Abednego
1:01:32
over the
1:01:33
affairs of
1:01:34
Babylon.
1:01:35
But Daniel
1:01:36
remained in
1:01:37
the king's
1:01:38
court.
1:01:38
Now chapter
1:01:39
3 tells you
1:01:39
the difficulties
1:01:40
associated with
1:01:41
that.
1:01:42
There's the
1:01:42
furnace.
1:01:43
There's the
1:01:43
fiery furnace.
1:01:44
There's all
1:01:45
the intimidation,
1:01:46
all the
1:01:46
antagonism,
1:01:47
all the
1:01:47
suffering,
1:01:47
all the
1:01:48
persecution.
1:01:50
Nevertheless,
1:01:52
you'd rather be
1:01:53
in that fiery
1:01:54
furnace with
1:01:55
the fourth
1:01:55
man, the
1:01:56
figure of
1:01:57
a son of
1:01:58
the gods,
1:01:58
a figure of
1:02:00
God himself
1:02:01
with his
1:02:01
people through
1:02:02
the fires of
1:02:03
persecution.
1:02:04
You'd rather be
1:02:05
there than be
1:02:06
in the service
1:02:07
of the king
1:02:07
of Babylon,
1:02:08
whose only
1:02:11
reward is at
1:02:12
the end of
1:02:13
the day,
1:02:14
death,
1:02:16
and open
1:02:16
shame before
1:02:17
God.
1:02:21
One of the
1:02:22
commentators,
1:02:22
a small book,
1:02:24
a brief
1:02:25
commentary on
1:02:26
Daniel by
1:02:26
D.S.
1:02:28
Russell,
1:02:28
and he
1:02:30
puts it this
1:02:30
way when he
1:02:30
speaks about
1:02:31
these,
1:02:31
writing about
1:02:32
these young
1:02:34
people of
1:02:35
Judah as
1:02:36
people of
1:02:37
principle.
1:02:37
He said,
1:02:37
to act on
1:02:38
principle is
1:02:40
sometimes an
1:02:40
expression of
1:02:41
stubbornness and
1:02:42
pig-headedness,
1:02:44
but that is no
1:02:45
excuse for
1:02:45
denigrating the
1:02:46
act itself.
1:02:48
People of
1:02:49
principle find
1:02:50
greater favor
1:02:50
with God than
1:02:52
people of
1:02:53
property.
1:02:54
They are
1:02:54
prepared to
1:02:55
pay the
1:02:55
price for the
1:02:56
stand they
1:02:56
take.
1:02:57
They accept
1:02:58
the penalty
1:02:59
of being
1:02:59
the odd
1:02:59
man out.
1:03:01
They are
1:03:01
willing to
1:03:01
be counted
1:03:02
among the
1:03:02
dissenters and
1:03:03
the dissidents,
1:03:05
whatever the
1:03:05
outcome may
1:03:06
be.
1:03:07
When principle
1:03:08
ceases to
1:03:09
matter,
1:03:10
then religion,
1:03:11
truth,
1:03:13
honesty,
1:03:14
and integrity
1:03:14
are all
1:03:16
at risk.
1:03:19
People of
1:03:20
principle,
1:03:22
in other
1:03:22
words,
1:03:22
people who
1:03:22
are true to
1:03:23
God,
1:03:25
come what
1:03:26
may as
1:03:26
Daniel himself
1:03:27
and his
1:03:28
companions
1:03:28
prove to
1:03:29
be.
1:03:31
And it
1:03:31
does give
1:03:32
the lie,
1:03:33
doesn't it,
1:03:34
to the
1:03:34
allegation,
1:03:36
to the
1:03:36
suggestion
1:03:37
that
1:03:38
Christian
1:03:40
people,
1:03:41
people who
1:03:42
believe the
1:03:43
Bible,
1:03:44
will never
1:03:44
make suitable
1:03:45
leaders for
1:03:46
a nation.
1:03:46
Daniel gives
1:03:49
the lie to
1:03:50
that.
1:03:52
Allegiance to
1:03:53
God,
1:03:54
publicly and
1:03:55
openly,
1:03:56
does not
1:03:56
make a
1:03:57
person unsuitable
1:03:58
to lead a
1:04:00
nation,
1:04:00
or a
1:04:01
people,
1:04:02
or a
1:04:02
church.
1:04:04
Indeed,
1:04:05
put it the
1:04:07
other way,
1:04:08
surely there's
1:04:09
nothing more
1:04:09
important than
1:04:11
to be a
1:04:12
person of
1:04:12
integrity,
1:04:14
a man or
1:04:15
woman of
1:04:15
God,
1:04:16
who will
1:04:17
be true
1:04:17
to God,
1:04:18
and will
1:04:19
lead people
1:04:20
in the
1:04:21
right direction.
1:04:23
May God
1:04:23
bless these
1:04:24
thoughts on
1:04:24
his word to
1:04:25
us.
1:04:29
Let's now
1:04:30
conclude by
1:04:31
singing to
1:04:31
God's praise
1:04:32
from Psalm
1:04:32
90.
1:04:35
Psalm number
1:04:35
90,
1:04:36
that's in the
1:04:37
Sing Psalms
1:04:37
version of
1:04:38
Psalm 90,
1:04:40
singing the
1:04:41
final three
1:04:41
verses,
1:04:42
verses 13
1:04:43
to 17.
1:04:44
Return,
1:04:44
O Lord,
1:04:45
how long
1:04:46
will you
1:04:46
delay?
1:04:47
Have mercy
1:04:47
on your
1:04:48
servants,
1:04:48
Lord,
1:04:49
we pray.
1:04:50
O satisfy
1:04:50
us with
1:04:51
your love
1:04:52
always,
1:04:52
that we
1:04:53
may sing
1:04:54
rejoicing
1:04:54
all our
1:04:56
days.
1:04:57
Verses
1:04:58
13 to
1:04:58
17 of
1:04:59
Psalm 90
1:05:00
on page
1:05:00
120.
1:05:01
Amen.
1:05:02
Amen.
1:05:02
Lord,
1:05:05
not away,
1:05:06
suficiente
1:05:07
p Ajax
1:05:07
maken
1:05:11
mgreen
1:05:12
ide
1:05:16
ed оно
1:05:16
Have mercy on you, serenity, Lord, we pray.
1:05:27
O satisfy us with pure love always,
1:05:39
That we may sing rejoicing on our day.
1:05:51
When place of love, affliction with us, God,
1:06:03
In joy for all the years you may not die.
1:06:15
Till all your strength and the earth is we shown,
1:06:26
And to their children make their glory known.
1:06:38
Now may the favor of Almighty Lord,
1:06:50
How by God of rich blessings, O our Lord,
1:07:02
Establish every work of us of God,
1:07:13
Yes, Lord, for us, Establish every one.
1:07:25
I'll go to the main door after the benediction.
1:07:28
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
1:07:31
The love of God the Father,
1:07:33
And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.
1:07:37
Amen.
1:07:58
Moses, строils so that there may talk,
1:08:05
And the grace of God,
1:08:09
As 있으eni,
1:08:10
Ashopabhin scripture,
1:08:10
In extra balance of love,
1:08:11
In the past fall in the past,
1:08:12
While desire to God,
1:08:13
As you may become means bigger,
1:08:15
In the future.
1:08:17
I will be able to emphasize everything.
1:08:19
In the whole world with power to a the Lord,