The Daniel Discipline V

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote... And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this. (Daniel 5:5 & 22)

It is ironic that Daniel and his friends maintained the lessons of their parents while here Belshazzar has failed to learn the illustrative lesson of God dealing with his father Nebuchadnezzar. How often it is that great lessons of one generation are many times left and lost in the next. How painful it is for parents to watch their children choose to do what they know will not and cannot turn out good. I heard one elderly lady remark about children, “When they are young, they are on your lap, but when they are grown, they are on your heart.”

The prevailing wisdom common to young people today is not unlike that of Belshazzar, “I’m young and have time…” “I have to experience the world for myself like my parents did, then I’ll see for myself…” “I should be out having fun right now, that’s for old people.”

On the other hand, what virtue, to simply pay attention, learn the hard lessons, do the hard work, and stand on the shoulders of those who have been through the trials and errors. There are some trips you don’t have to make. God has put a road-sign there, a warning, an example of its consequences. And if you choose to take a trip down that road, you just might not come back, and most certainly you won’t come back the same. They say “Experience is a good teacher.” Yet one must ask, “At what cost???” if mere inconvenience is the only price, then one might freely consider it as a alternate route to the same end; however, so-called experience often results in great loss, pain, deep wounds, scares, and even death. The fact is sometime experience does not give a second chance. The classroom of experience is often painfully unforgiving. Asked any single mother who is raising a child along, because she sold her body for an “I love you” instead of a wedding. Listen to the testimony of a young addict who felt that since his friends were doing drugs, he would try it just this once. Take the story from the graveyard of a fellow who thought a gang was security. Sin will always make you go further then you meant to go, make you stay longer then you meant to stay, and make you pay more then you meant to pay.

The frequently committed error is a failure to count observation as experience. Belshazzar chose to ignore his father’s experience with God. He saw his father come the know God and the change God made in him. And that counts too! God never wastes what he gives us. Whether taste, or touch, or smell, or sound, or sight, your every experience is jammed packed with meaning and significance to be examined in the light of God. Act 17 says, “God has determined your time before you were here, and the distance you would travel; That you should seek the Lord, if haply you might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from anyone: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being…” Your very existence is both proof and call to worship God. Rest assured, delay in pursuing and serving God is never profitable.

Belshazzar’s opportunity was greater than that of His father and so was his condemnation greater. He has more from the beginning, his father’s story. Instead he has to hear more, see more, smell more, feel more, taste more and then his end came into view. The handwriting was on the wall. There was no turning back.

If you have more, God requires that you do better. We presume upon God by assuming experiences are parallel. We are all dealt our hands from the same deck of life, but look closely, everybody’s cards are different. God judges each of us by what He has perfectly dealt to us. Nebuchadnezzar’s idolatry ended in his salvation while Belshazzar’s idolatry ended in his damnation. The person who says to himself or herself, I will go as far as I can until I see clearly, BE WARNED!!! By the time you can see the reality of your end apart from faith, it’s too late. -- The handwriting is on the wall!

The Daniel Discipline iv

And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. (Daniel 4:34)

In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar was saved. He acknowledged that the God of the Hebrews was the highest God. While Nebuchadnezzar was trying to break the will of three young Hebrew kids that belonged to God, God saved Him. In his immaturity however, there were still other lesser gods. The truth of the matter is, when we come to faith in Christ, we all still try to hold on to our other gods. We simply try to add the name of Jesus Christ to a pile of old gimmicks, good luck charms and idle gods.

You may wonder why some folk do the things they do, things that seem senseless, unreasonable, even stupid -- why your Auntie keeps on giving herself to no good men – in her dysfunctional mind, she’s got to have a man at any cost… the problem is God is not her only God… Why your uncle gambles check after check away -- God is not his only God… You may wonder why it seems that some people love using drugs more than living life and soaking their sorrows in Alcohol -- God is not their only God. God will keep your mind!!! Isaiah 26:3 says “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” Moses is a picture of the law, and he is also a picture of what observing God’s law will do for a man. Deuteronomy 34:7 says “And Moses was 120 years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” I am no health, wealth, prosperity preacher at all, but I believe that really and truly loving God will preserve not just your soul, but your mind and your body.

We want God’s salvation without God’s sovereignty. We want God’s security without His sovereignty. We want God’s sufficiency without His sovereignty. We love to sing “Christ is my all and all”, but we really hate to sing “I surrender all.” Nebuchadnezzar was convinced that Yahweh-God was a fiery-furnace delivering God. He confessed and worshiped Yahweh as the “highest God”. Yet he was not converted to see God as the only God. He was not converted to the point of abdicating the throne of his life, that God might be the king’s King and indeed, the only King. Nebuchadnezzar had been inducted into the people of God, but he did not want to act like a child of God.

This story is tailored to teach us that God knows how to turn a “NO Lord” into a “YES Lord”. It’s not that you make up your own mind, but God is the cause of all Christian mind-making up, both voluntary and involuntary.

In chapter 4, God has determined, for His own accord, purpose and pleasure to snatch this man’s mind, drive him into seclusion from men, feed him grass like an animal, wake him up with the morning dew of heaven on his body, let his hairs grow to cover him like the feathers of a bird, and his nails like claws, WHY: to break his will and sanctify him unto Himself.

Some folk today have lost their minds; because, they won’t submit to God; some right feel secluded and lonely; because, they won’t submit to God. Others are homeless, eating out of the trash can, living in the elements, and you can’t help them (and I’m not saying don’t try); the issue is they will not submit to God.

You may think that this is a strange story and exclusive to Nebuchadnezzar. The truth is that the more you resist God, the more insane you become. Romans 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind…” Did you know that homosexuality use to be on the insanity list, until it has become so accepted today? But just because it is accepted today does not mean it’s not still insane. It’s crazy for man to have baby after baby and not sense a personal obligation to rear and raise that child in a strong family home. It’s downright crazy to lie down and have sex, become pregnant with a baby and go down to the abortion clinic and kill that baby talking about you got a right to do it… that’s insane. That kind of stuff is not only crazy, it makes one crazier.

The only basis for good ration and mental soundness is submission to God. The mighty hand of God disciplined this pagan king into a preacher of the Jewish monotheistic God; He testifies, “I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High.” Peter says, “Humble yourself...” That’s your chance to do it before God does it personally.

The Daniel Discipline iii

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. (Daniel 3:19)

God wants to put your faith on display for others to see how much you fear Him and love Him. Fire in the bible often is indicative of one’s faith being judged. Did you study the word, pray, fast, attend church and take advantage of opportunity to strengthen your faith by using it while you had a chance? God never sends us any challenges, which He did not first send us opportunity to prepare for.

Paul states that we move from faith to faith (Romans 1:17) and glory to glory (2Co 3:18). Each faith level is only completed after having stood a testing of your faith and passing it by trusting God in matters that opposed your faith. In other words, no one can see faith in your heart; it can only be seen by what you do in test and trial.

Here, these three young Hebrew boys (around the age of 14 years old) had resist eating the king’s meat in chapter 1, overcame the king’s madness in chapter 2, and now would not bow to the king's music in chapter 3. Here, they are not only met with a fiery challenge to their faith, but the furnace is heated seven times hotter than normal. Their faith is tested to the 7^th power. The number “7” is the number of perfection, maturity, or completion, indicating that their faith was tested to its fullest extent. And what further extent is there when you are faced with death because you live for Jesus? How did these children stand? They determined that the outcome was ASSURED by God’s promises, regardless of the king's determination. God would either deliver them from the fire or through the fire to heaven. The ultimate goal was only AGREEMENT with God's word, will, way, and work. Thus their course was ABSOLUTE: "We will never serve thy gods!"

Yet as Christians, we could never have known the fullness of Christ without the cross. Jesus had His own fiery furnace experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. He says, “Father, I know you are able to make this bitter cup pass from me, but if not, not my will but thy will be done.” And God did not deliver Him. He went on to the cross so that humanity could see all the vigor, vitality, and virtue that adorned His love for God the Father. The cross squeezed out of Him every drop of the saving beauty that calls us to worship Him, like a wine press squeezes the juice out of the grape. John says, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

A young lady told me “Pastor I really want God to use me!” I said to her “You must be talking about use on your terms rather than His; because, every time the enemy’s music plays, you dance; every time the enemy voices a threat, you’re bending and bowing. Sweetheart, just don’t bow at standing time and God will be using you.” The old hymnologist wrote,

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus
Ye soldiers of the cross
Lift high His royal banner
It must not suffer loss
From victory unto victory
His army shall He lead
Till every foe is vanquished
And Christ is Lord indeed

Faith is not easy. Obedience rarely feels good in the moment. Your friends may not like it. Your family may not understand it. But if your faith in God never takes you out of your comfort zone, you don’t have any faith. Crosses always come before crowns, and crowns always come after crosses.

The Daniel Disipline

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 1:8)

The popular catch-phrase, "What would Jesus do?" could very well be recast "What would Daniel do?" and you would finish well! The book of Daniel is the youth manual of the bible. The practical book of Daniel is married to the principle book of Proverbs. Daniel puts flesh on the bones of Proverbs.

The Daniel narrative chronicles the entry of the Children of Israel, particularly Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, into Babylonian captivity. The ways of Babylon were quite contrary to the divine Jewish teachings under which Daniel was raised. Daniel simply refused to negotiate any of his godly principles.

The great failure of many Christians is that we have not mastered the Daniel discipline; that is, we have not learned to give up what feels good for what is good. Truth be told, many of us would have more money, more time, more talents, more skills, more degrees, a better marriage, better children and an all together better experience with life and God. If we do the hard work God will reward us with the good feelings later. The wisdom of genuine success is delayed gratification.

The king took the best and brightest of the youth. He commanded that they be fed the Kings meat and the King's wine that they may be broad before the King; that is, that they would experience the provision and the pleasure of serving in the King's court, so that they may embrace Babylonian philosophy. Daniel was determined that he would not compromise to gain the favor of the world. Daniel was determined not to be comforted by worldly pleasures, provisions and philosophy. Discipline is "the strength and wisdom to stay on the course regardless of distraction or temptation. Daniel was determined to consist with what he had been taught in his godly upbringing. Many people die young. The cause of death is stupidity, not the stupidity of not knowing, but the stupidity of not listening. As God told Joshua, "Only be strong and very courageous, to observe and do according to all the law turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go."

Like Babylon, no culture tests all that we've taught our children as does college life. The provision that it promises in the long run, the pleasure it tempts them with daily, and the philosophy it sets them up to buy into are but bate, lined with the trap of compromise. Yet the emphasis throughout the book of Daniel seems to be that even young people can stand for the Lord under political, peer and practical pressure, and they will be the better for it. In fact, it guarantees that they will be use mightily of the Lord.

The king's meat and wine has no place to hook in Daniel, because he is already hooked on God.