Develop Conviction

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Develop Conviction

• October 18

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Think about it

• When have you felt you were going against the
  flow?
• God calls us to live our lives with
  uncompromising conviction.
• Daniel and three other young Jewish boys faced a
  culture that was totally different
• They chose to do the right thing we should also

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Listen for how the king chose young interns.

• Daniel 13-5 (NIV) Then the king ordered
  Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring
  in some of the Israelites from the royal family
  and the nobility-- 4 young men without any
  physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for
  every kind of learning, well informed, quick to
  understand,

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Listen for how the king chose young interns.

• and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He
  was to teach them the language and literature of
  the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a
  daily amount of food and wine from the king's
  table. They were to be trained for three years,
  and after that they were to enter the king's
  service.

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Assimilate?

• What were the kings qualifications for choosing
  young Israelite men?
• What was the training plan for the young men
  chosen?
• What was the goal of that plan?
• Through the promise of a good education, the king
  wanted blend them in with Babylonian culture.
  How does our society lull us to blend in with the
  worlds mindset?

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Assimilate?

• How do we counter these cultural influences in a
  Christian home?
• We are going to see in the next passage that
  Daniel did not resist training in Babylonian
  language and philosophy. Why do you think this
  was the case?

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Assimilate?

• As believers, what are the positive aspects of
  identifying with another culture?
• What do you think should be the attitude of
  believers about the beliefs and customs of other
  religious groups?

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Listen for how Daniel takes a risk.

• Daniel 18-13 (NIV) But Daniel resolved not to
  defile himself with the royal food and wine, and
  he asked the chief official for permission not to
  defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused
  the official to show favor and sympathy to
  Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am
  afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your
  food and drink. Why should he see you looking
  worse than the other young men your

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Listen for how Daniel takes a risk.

• age? The king would then have my head because of
  you." 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the
  chief official had appointed over Daniel,
  Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test
  your servants for ten days Give us nothing but
  vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then
  compare our appearance with that of the young men
  who eat the royal food, and treat your servants
  in accordance with what you see."

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Draw the Line

• What was Daniels resolve?
• Why was the official over Daniel reluctant to let
  him change his diet?
• How did Daniel respond to the officials
  reservations.

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Draw the Line

• Daniel drew the line. In what kinds of
  situations might you have to draw the line to
  avoid adopting habits of the prevailing culture?
• What risks do we run if we draw the line over a
  cultural issue we think is wrong for us to do?

At Work? With Neighbors? In a Social Organization?

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Listen for the results of Daniels experiment.

• Daniel 117-19 (NIV) To these four young men God
  gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of
  literature and learning. And Daniel could
  understand visions and dreams of all kinds. 18
  At the end of the time set by the king to

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Listen for the results of Daniels experiment.

• bring them in, the chief official presented them
  to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them,
  and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah,
  Mishael and Azariah so they entered the king's
  service.

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Stand Firm

• What did God give to the four men?
• In evaluating the four men at the end of their
  training, what did Nebuchadnezzar conclude
  concerning them?
• What are some ways in which God equips you (as a
  believer) to make a positive contribution to our
  culture ?

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Stand Firm

• In what ways do you think their battle against
  culture was not over?
• How can we support one another when its
  necessary to stand against the culture?
• How might others benefit when we stand our
  ground?

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Application

• Evaluate
• Realize that we are continually adapting to our
  culture
• We need to discern what is OK and what is not OK
• Ask God this week to reveal areas in your life
  where you might be compromising His standards

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Application

• Memorize
• Memorize Bible verses that address specific
  temptations you often face
• For example fear, John 1633 lust, Gal.
  516 anger, Eph. 426

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Application

• Seek support
• Even Daniel needed the support of friends like
  Shadrach, Mesach, and Aednego
• Make an effort to build relationships that offer
  mutual support and encouragement to live
  uncompromising lives

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Develop Conviction

• October 18