Daniel grew up in a protected environment. He lived in a religious and cultural cocoon. But then , “ In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it” ( Daniel 1:1 )
Daniel and his friends graduated all right , but they marched :
- With leg chains instead of cap and gown.
- On a dusty road to captivity instead of on a wooden floor to graduation.
- To receive imprisonment rather than a diploma.
What had been a cozy cocoon in a homogenous environment became for Daniel and his friends a pluralistic world where even their names were changed to identify them with heathen gods.
Their protected environment of restricted religious choices became a religiously pluralistic world that offered them a potluck of choices. Their religious school was exchanged for the secular world!
How were these young Hebrew men to handle being broken out of their isolated cultural comfort into the Babylonian world? We can see the equivalent of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion in our world today, only it has happened in slow motion. Our rich Christian heritage is being gradually but aggressively invaded by a Babylonian mix of Muslim, Buddhist, and New Age beliefs as well as a secularism that has no use for traditional values and ethics.
Today, we live in a heathen world. Our diabolically engineered society is :
- Philosophically opposed to our Biblical standards of morality.
- Theologically opposed to our understanding of God.
- Sociologically opposed to the lifestyle choices that Christians have believed in for years.
- Spiritually opposed to our Godly convictions.
The Christian church holds no monopoly in the world anymore. Today, many churches and leaders that were once PROPHETIC are now PATHETIC.
Chuck Swindoll in Growing Deep in the Christian Life writes about a man who bought fried chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The manager at the fast-food outlet, however, inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day’s business - a bag of money, instead of fried chicken. After driving to their picnic site the two of them sat down to enjoy some chicken. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken – almost $800 dollars! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back into the bag, got back into the car, and drove all the way back. When he walked back into the restaurant he became an instant hero!
By then, the manager was frantic. The guy with all the money looked the manager in the eye and said “I want you to know that I came in here to buy some chicken, but ended up with all this money”. Well, the manager was thrilled to death. "Let me call the newspapers!" he said. "I’m gonna have your picture put in the newspapers. You’re one of the most honest men I know." To which the man quickly responded. "Oh no, no, don’t do that!" He then leaned closer and whispered, “You see, the women I’m with is not my wife. She’s uh, somebody else’s wife!"
The Babylonian invasion of pluralism had produced schizophrenic spirituality. People wanted to sit at the table of religion and at the same time eat from the world! Nothing has changed.
Daniel could have mixed in with these heathenistic practices. BUT HE STOOD FOR MORALITY AND HE STOOD FOR GOD! HE WAS NOT PERSUADED BY WHAT BABYLON HAD TO OFFER!
At the time of Jesus :
- It was not the lawyers who lived morally courageous lives – it was the good Samaritan.
- It was not the Priests who were generous with the poor – but it was Mary the prostitute who gave her all as a gift to Jesus.
- It was not the religiously righteous who practiced evangelism – it was the six-husbanded Samaritan women who told her city about Jesus.
- It was not the educated who had the vision and moral courage to transform the pagan Roman world to Christianity - it was the uneducated fishermen who turned the world upside down!
Today, as we confront a Babylonian pluralistic world we will need moral courage, not just religious knowledge.
Karl Barth, one of the greatest theological thinkers of our time, was once asked what doctrine in the Bible impressed him the most. He answered : “JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO!”
Would you agree that he had good theology? What our society needs right now are DANIELS, who will :
- Stand for the right in a society gone wrong.
- Live right-side up in an upside down world!
- Live with self control in a world out of control.
- Change our neighborhood into a brotherhood.
- Show the power of love – rather than having the love of power!
We must move away from :
- Meandering in the murkiness of mediocrity.
- Tampering with the diabolical intoxication of material prosperity.
- Sleeping in churches that have no relevance to our communities.
God is challenging us to exchange mediocrity for moral courage, accept the calling of a principled life that is settled on Christian fundamentals and truth and, with courage, speak it everywhere. I am inviting you to partner with The Christian Civic League today!
There is a reading entitled The Fellowship Of The Unashamed that the men’s group at our church first heard from Dr. Edwin Louis Cole. Here is is:
"I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
"I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
"My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
"I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
"And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for 'I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..' " (Romans 1:16)
By Dr. Bob Moorehead
The Coming Persecution
Pro-Homosexual Corporations
Prepping Kids For Sex Change
Your help in supporting the Christian Civic League of Maine is very important at this time. Thank you for your prayers and support. You can also invite Michael and Paulie Heath to your church for a League Sunday. Mike is prepared to share a message on Christian Citizenship and Paulie is prepared to sing a few song specials. You can contact Paulie Heath at (207) 215-6886 to make the arrangements.
