HSS_2020_Q1_EP02

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

I'm excited about this new series

of studies we've just started

on the book of Daniel,

powerful lessons for our lives today

and as we prepare

for the soon coming of Jesus.

And I'm especially excited

to welcome Tricia Lee, one of our team

who's going to be teaching today.

And it's such an encouragement

to hear from you viewers around the world

who are starting interactive Bible studies
in your area,

multiply it by 10,000

and see what God can do.

So, welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

welcome to the team,

good to be back again.

And isn't it amazing what God's doing?

Now 212 countries around the world.

And we're always happy to hear from you,

our Hope Sabbath School family
around the world.

From the Grand Cayman Islands,

Paulette writes and says, "I'm writing

from the Grand Cayman Islands.

I watch Hope Sabbath School every week.

I look forward to sit back, relax,

and enjoy the interaction of the team."

Well, I hope you don't relax
too much, Paulette.

Get your Bible open.

We want you to be part

of the interactive Bible study;
I know you are.

"I attend church here," she says,

"but I have to watch Hope Sabbath School

because you go in-depth

into the Word of God.

I'm learning so much.

I hope to continue this program

so my children will get accustomed

to these programs as well,"
what do you say?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) That's awesome, right?

Train up a child in the way

he or she should go.

"God bless you, Hope Sabbath School team."

Well, Paulette, thanks

for your encouraging note,

wonderful to hear from you
from Grand Cayman.

Here's a note from Peterson, a Haitian

living in the Dominican Republic;

we're an international team.

"My name is Peterson Moise Petit.

I'm Haitian, but I live

in the Dominican Republic.

I discovered Hope Sabbath School

on YouTube through the Holy Spirit."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) "I found it; it's like a treasure.

I thank God every day

for letting me find Hope Sabbath School.

It helps me to study the Bible

and learn more about God's Word.

May God keep blessing you all."

We say, bless you, too, Peterson.

Thanks for writing to us

from Dominican Republic.

Here's a note from a donor

in Kentucky; I love this.

"I love Hope Sabbath School.

I love the team, and I watch you

on the weekends and during the week.

I go to a church; I'm 82 years old,

a widow on Social Security,

but I want to do something,

and it comes from my heart,"

and a gift of 10 dollars

for Hope Sabbath School.

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) Praise God, that can be multiplied

many time over when we give

with that kind of commitment

to the mission of God. Beautiful.

Here are two more,

one from Clemenceau in Madagascar.

Madagascar, where's that?

That's a large island off the east coast
of Africa, right?

"Clemenceau, I'm from Africa,

I'm so happy to share with you.

We have an English Sabbath School
at my church."

Now, English is not

Clemenceau's first language,

"but I'm the leader

of the Sabbath School class.

We use Hope Sabbath School to help us

understand the study each week.

I share the links with other members

to help them increase their faith

and help us improve our English,"
isn't that great?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "It's good to see you every week.

Thanks to all of the members

of Hope Sabbath School."

Well, Clemenceau, you've got
a ministry there.

It sounds like it may even be

a college or university

because he's sharing with people
"in our dorm."

So, thank you for your ministry there
in Madagascar.

One last note, from Juliet in Kenya.

Juliet writes and says,

"I love Hope Sabbath School

because I can watch it

from anywhere on my phone."

By the way, if you haven't downloaded

our Hope Channel app,

you can download it free

from the App Store or from Google Play,

and you can access any language.

You can choose your priority.

It's amazing, and like I said,

212 countries are using that app,

including Juliet in Kenya.

She said, "It's great to see people

even from my own country."

Remember Liza is from Kenya;

she's part of our team.

"And we're all called to share

the Word of God everywhere we go."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, Juliet, thanks for writing

to us on Hope Sabbath School.

We're glad for everyone,

and we'd love to hear from you.

You can write to us at [e-mail].

But right now we're going

to sing a Scripture song,

and I'm excited because I found someone

about the same age as Daniel.

The song's taken from Daniel,

chapter 2, verses 20 to 23.

He was about 20 or 21

when he prayed an amazing prayer.

And I thought, Adison, come on up here;

you're about 20 or 21,

and would you lead us

as we sing the song together?

(Adison) Absolutely, be happy to.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Amen. Thank you so much.

Tricia Lee, this is going

to be an amazing study.

We're talking about From Jerusalem
to Babylon

and how God is right there
with His people.

Why don't you lead us in prayer

as we begin our study today.

(Tricia Lee) Let's bow our heads.

Heavenly Father, thank You

so much for this Word.

Thank You so much for the life of Daniel

and the example that he is for us today.

I pray that Your Holy Spirit is with us

as we open this Word,

and that we can make this

real application to our lives.

We thank You, oh, God.

In Christ's name. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Tricia Lee) So Daniel finds himself

in a very uncertain situation.

He's been taken from his home;

he's a prisoner of war;

he's a captive in a strange land,

and though many things

are happening to him,

the first question might be,

how could God let this happen?

Is God really still in control here?

Let's turn to the book of Daniel,

chapter 4 and verse 17.

And, again, remember, we are reading

the account that Daniel himself
has written.

Daniel, chapter 4, verse 17,

Jason, would you please read that for us?

(Jason) My pleasure, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) These are Daniel's own words,

written and recorded, that he made

in response to the king.

We'll learn later in this series

that there are many amazing situations

Daniel found himself in,

but here we have Daniel's own words

acknowledging that God, in fact,

is in control of this situation

and all of our situations.

But the question is,

how did this all happen?

Let's just get right back to the beginning

of the book of Daniel itself.

Let's start in Daniel, chapter 1, verse 2.

Jason, would you read that for us?

(Jason) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Daniel, chapter 1, verse 2:

(Tricia Lee) So, in addition

to being taken captive,

having human captives,

the temple of God was ransacked;

the very spiritual system of God's people

was under threat here,

and, again, you wonder

how could God let this happen?

How could God let His holy people

be taken by a wicked nation?

How could He allow

His holy articles of the temple

to be taken as well?

We're going to kind of do

a little history lesson.

We're going to go back in time,

and we're going to realize that it wasn't

the first time that God's people

had encountered Babylon.

We're going to look

at one king named Manasseh.

The book of 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Kings,

as well as 1 and 2 Chronicles,

give us all sorts of wonderful history

about the leaders and rulers

of Israel and Judah,

but we're going to look

at one king in particular.

Second Kings, chapter 21,

I will ask Laurel if you would read for us

verses 10 through 16.

(Laurel) All right, I'll be reading

from the New American Standard Bible:

(Tricia Lee) Wow, this is God,
heavenly Father,

our loving heavenly Father,

making such a harsh and strong
pronouncement on His people.

It almost seems uncharacteristic

of Him to be this way.

However, we understand that God

is a God of justice and mercy,

a God of love, and love doesn't mean

that we turn a blind eye

to bad things when they're happening.

So it seems difficult to understand,

but what are some of the things

that we can see needed to be corrected?

And the reason we're looking at Manasseh

in this story is that the situation

for God's people started at the top

and went right down

to the everyday citizen, right?

It was a pervasive wickedness

that was going on.

What were some of the things

that needed to be corrected? Adison?

(Adison) One of the texts says

that Manasseh shed innocent blood.

(Tricia Lee) It says that he

filled Jerusalem with blood,

and it's hard to imagine,

what does that mean

to fill the land with blood? Jason?

(Jason) Basically it almost sounds
like massacre,

like he's massacring a large amount

of his own people.

(Tricia Lee) Gary?

(Gary) I was going to say idol worship

is mentioned as one of the sins

that they were conducting.

(Derek) You know what started it,
Tricia Lee,

is it says they were more wicked

than the pagan people.

I mean, it's just like...And I think

God is in a place...

Again, you talk about His character,

a loving God who says, "What do I

have to do to get their attention

because they are heading toward darkness."

(Tricia Lee) Let's not overlook that

in verse 11 when it mentions

that he was doing more abominations

than even the Amorites

who were before him.

There's this phrase that we have here;

it's "doing the most."

And doing the most means

that not only are you trying to keep up

with others around you,

but you go so far in advance of everyone

that you're literally doing
above and beyond.

And this is what was happening.

They were trying to be like the people
around them.

They wanted to have gods and idols,

but they were also adopting

the evil practices that came with that.

When you look more closely

at Manasseh's life in other verses
in the Bible,

you'll see that he got the people
into child sacrifice.

It says he sent his sons through the fire.

They were doing the most,

more than the nations around them,

and how could a loving God stand by

and watch that take place?

And so we see that something had to happen

to arrest the attention,

to get the attention of His people,

not because God is angry

that they're no longer

paying attention to Him,

but He sees that the path

that they're going on

is a path that will not only
destroy themselves

but destroy the whole nation.

How long can a nation be in existence

if you're sacrificing your own children?

And that's what idolatry does.

It has us doing things

that aren't even in our own best interest.

Let's skip over; we're going

to look at another king, King Zedekiah.

One thing to remember

is that the conquest of Babylon,

it didn't happen all at once.

There were a number of instances

where the people of God

came into contact with the Assyrians

and with the Assyrian Empire.

And so each time you'd think

would be an opportunity

for the people of God

to realize, "Maybe bad things happen

when we don't follow God.

Maybe bad things happen

when we don't do things God's way."

Let's turn over to the book

of 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, chapter 36,

and I'm going to ask Charity

if she would read for us verses 11 and 12

and then read verses 15 and 16.

(Charity) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

2 Chronicles 36, verses 11 and 12:

Verses 15 and 16:

(Tricia Lee) No remedy.

God was pleading for these kings

and the whole nation to turn to Him,

to follow the statutes.

Again, not just because God wants them

to just do as He pleases,

but because He knows

that doing as He pleases means

that good things will happen,

that righteousness and prosperity follow

when we follow God.

And, unfortunately, they continued
down a path.

So we're told that they didn't heed

the warnings of the prophets.

One of those prophets was Jeremiah.

He was contemporary to the siege

and destruction of Jerusalem,

and he was a faithful witness,

calling and pleading to the people

that their actions could only lead
to one end.

Let's look at one of the warnings
from Jeremiah.

Let's turn to the book of Jeremiah,

and let's read chapter 3,

verses 13 through 15.

I will ask Michael if he

would read those verses for us.

(Michael) Yes, Jeremiah 3:13-15

from the New King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Praise God, praise God.

God used the prophets

to send warnings to His people,

and every warning was not just "beware,"

but there was always

a promise in those warnings

that good things will happen,

"I have good plans for you,

if you would follow My Word."

(Derek) That's right,

and I really appreciate that

because some people could misunderstand

the character of God.

But right here He's pleading with them,

that He desires only their good.

(Tricia Lee) Absolutely.

Let's turn over to Jeremiah, chapter 29,

and again another wonderful promise

that God sends to His people

in the midst of their captivity
at this point.

Jeremiah, chapter 29, and I'll ask Elise

if she would read verses

11 through 14 for us.

(Elise) I'm reading

from the English Standard Version:

(Tricia Lee) Amazing promise of God,

amazing promise of God.

God truly is a God of love.

Now, let's make this real

for ourselves today.

Let's see if we can put ourselves

into the shoes of this group of people.

They have sinned; think about times

that we've messed up,

and we end up reaping the consequences,

the unfortunate consequences
of our choices.

We are all still here today

because God did not give up on us...

(Derek, Team) Praise God. Amen.

(Tricia Lee) ...because our
unfortunate choices

and those consequences are not bigger

than God's plan for our lives.

And that, even in the midst of everything

that they were going through,

God still had a plan for them!

It did not matter; God still had
a plan for them.

And that should give us hope,

that if we find ourselves in situations

where we are reaping

the consequences of our actions,

that we can call on God,

that He will hear us,

and that He can restore us

to what He wants for us. Jason?

(Jason) I think this is amazing

because particularly here in Jeremiah,

some of the times we were talking

about what happened before captivity;

they were given the warnings,
the warnings,

and then there's this idea, "Well,
once the remnant's gone,

once you're destroyed, that's it."

But, no, this is saying, even afterwards

there's still hope, even after captivity.

"Even when you think everything
is destroyed,

guess what, I can restore you."

(Tricia Lee) We're going to learn

later in this study that God

can even work through our captivity;

He can work through our unfortunate
circumstances.

One of the things God's people

were charged with doing was doing what?

Spreading the Word,

spreading the truth about who God is.

Unfortunately they weren't

doing that very well,

but even in the midst

of this unfortunate circumstance,

we'll learn later in the series

that God could use this captivity,

can use a worldwide empire of Babylon

to help seed and spread that Word.

So even when we find ourselves
in dark places,

let's not doubt that God

can still work in our darkness,

that He can still shine through it all.

So, let's go back to Daniel now,
Daniel, chapter 1,

and we're going to find this young man

and some of his friends

who had been taken captive,

we're told in the account

that the king of Babylon

did something unique.

He didn't just grab individuals randomly.

He had a plan; he wanted individuals

that looked good or handsome,
were healthy,

people that were intellectuals,

people that he could use to his advantage,

and we're going to read

a little bit of that.

Daisy, would you read for us

the first seven verses

of Daniel, chapter 1?

(Daisy) I'll be reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Tricia Lee) So, these were

the cream of the crop, so to speak,

young men of intellect, some of them

from noble lineage, back home.

And clearly the king of Babylon

had a plan for these individuals,

that he would use them for his purposes.

What's the first major challenge

that we see in these verses

that we can tell that these young men

were under pressure to conform,

pressure to change and assimilate

into the Assyrian culture, Jason?

(Jason) I will have to say
the name changing,

basically because their names

meant something in the Hebrew.

Now their getting Babylon names

that mean something,

that identifies themselves
with the culture,

so that was a big thing right there.

(Tricia Lee) Huge thing,

and not only culture, Jason,

oftentimes the names were

associated with worship, with God;

Hebrew names were very commonly given

to show your allegiance

with the God of Heaven.

And changing that name was like changing

your own religion in a way,

or trying to change your religion. Travis?

(Travis) Just the language and literature

that they were going to be taught,

something definitely foreign to them.

They wanted to, I don't know, take

these smart men and train them,

educate them, probably for the purpose

of training the other captives
that were brought.

(Tricia Lee) Charity?

(Charity) They changed their diets.

(Tricia Lee) Yes.

(Charity) Made them have to eat, it says,

delicacies from the king's table
and also wine.

(Derek) We might call it today
"reprogramming."

And I'm so happy for what it's going

to say later in the chapter

because there are some people even today

who won't allow the culture
to reprogram them.

But I think you're right;

I think the king is very intentional

about erasing their past connections

and reprogramming them

as young leaders for his kingdom.

(Tricia Lee) Let's see

what their response to this is.

Jason, would you read

Daniel, chapter 1, verse 8?

(Jason) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Daniel, chapter 1, verse 8:

(Tricia Lee) It seems like

a strange thing to focus on.

Of all the things that are happening.

They're changing your language;

they're changing the way

they want you to speak;

they're changing your own name,

the name your parents gave you.

"Okay, I get to eat some really nice food

off the king's table,"

Why is that the focus of the verse?

Why is that the first response from Daniel

and, we'll find out, his friends, as well?

Why the food - why was that the issue

that he stood his ground on? Gary?

(Gary) I would say that the food

had some connection to worship, right,

because it could have been food

offered to idols prior to consumption
by the people.

Also, God had specified

what they should eat, right,

and you can change my name,

you can call me whatever you want;

that doesn't affect what God
has told me to do.

So even in this aspect of their lives,

they thought that this was important,

to stay true to what they were taught

as God's laws on diet.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Daisy?

(Daisy) I wanted to add that the food

they were going to eat

was going to affect their bodies,

and especially their brains

and how it functions.

And if we want God

to use us to do His work,

we have to make sure that our minds

are clear and able to function properly.

And so they knew that they

had to eat certain foods

to maintain that ability

to have a clarity of mind.

And just eating anything

could cause problems.

So they could control

what was going inside of them,

although they couldn't change

the language or whatever it was

the people wanted to do to them.

They knew they had a choice

as to what they were

going to put inside their bodies.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Pastor?

(Derek) Daisy is certainly right

that it does affect us,

but I think it was a small thing,

and I imagine the enemy saying,

"It's just a small thing."

You know, "You don't have

to bow down to an idol,

but just compromise in some small things."

And of course the enemy knows

(by "the enemy" I mean,

not just Nebuchadnezzar

but the enemy of our souls),

knows as we begin to make
those compromises,

we will find ourselves doing things...

How many were taken captive?

We don't know; only four are named.

What happened to the rest of them?

Small compromises, and pretty soon

they're doing things they never

imagined they would do.

(Tricia Lee) The key here in this verse

in the New King James Version,

it says, "He purposed in his heart

that he would not defile himself."

So, something about this diet,

something about eating

from the king's table

would result in defilement,

and we're all right.

There could be physical defilement;

oftentimes kings were known
for their gluttony,

and they would eat to excess.

They would consume things

that were harmful to the mind

and substances that would not

be good for health.

But also spiritually as well,

a lot of these ancient kingdoms,

their whole society was steeped
in idolatry,

and to your point, Gary,

and offering foods to gods

before they were served.

So Daniel and his friends recognized

that this wasn't just a small matter.

They could have easily
justified themselves

and said, "Well, after all this hardship

and being brought to Babylon,

of course, we get to feast," you know.

"We are the best and brightest,
after all,"

but they wouldn't compromise

because, to Daisy's point,

you can call them what you want,

but they had control

over what they would eat. Gary?

(Gary) I was going to say,

it was the same issue

at the Garden of Eden.

It was about appetite,

and it was a small matter;

it was just eating a fruit, right?

So it's amazing, you see the parallels

even in that story,

being brought here in Daniel's story.

(Tricia Lee) All right, so let's
bring it to today again.

Again, we're not captives.

No one's forcing us to eat

from the king's table,

and that may be a temptation for some.

It may not be a temptation for others.

But what does it really mean

to purpose in your heart,

to purpose in your heart

not to do something?

Because surely there are things today

that we're tempted with,

that, if we take that one step
down that path,

could lead us away from God

or lead us in another direction. Travis?

(Travis) Decided perseverance.

(Tricia Lee) Decided perseverance,

what does that mean? Explain.

(Travis) Decided perseverance

as a course of righteousness.

Don't, like Derek said,

don't even compromise

even in the smallest thing.

Decided perseverance, stay the course,

don't deviate to the right,

don't deviate to the left.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Stephanie?

(Stephanie) A resolute decision,

and that happens before you

get into the fire, right?

So you have to make that decision

before your emotions are involved.

You have to make it when your mind,

your intellect, is in control.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Adison?

(Adison) When we make a pledge,

and we say, "I pledge

my allegiance to the Lamb,"

we're saying, "Lord, I want

to be steadfastly devoted to You."

(Tricia Lee) Praise God. Pastor?

(Derek) One of the translations,

I think Daisy's, says the chief of staff,

but my Bible says the chief of eunuchs.

So they had already been damaged.

And now they're thinking,

"If I make a big deal about this food,

maybe they'll just kill me."

And the answer is, they might,

but I like what Travis said, you know,

and reinforced by Stephanie,

"I would rather die than dishonor God,

even in the smallest area of my life."

Now, again, they're not trying
to save themselves;

they've chosen to trust in God who saves,

but they've already suffered quite a bit,

and they know they could suffer more.

But like a later story with the three

in the fiery furnace,

they've just decided,

"We're going to honor God

in every area of our lives."

(Tricia Lee) Praise God.

Alessa, I'm going to ask you

to read for us Psalm 119,

chapter 119, verse 11, verse 11.

(Alessa) And I'm reading

from the King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Amen. I can imagine

that these young men

hid God's Word in their hearts

before they got to Babylon.

When you find yourself in Babylon,

it's not really the ideal time

to start trying to figure out

what you believe and don't believe, right?

Of course, sure, it might be
a test of your faith,

but what's already been put into you,

that's what's going to come out
in that moment.

And so, how do we today

hide God's Word in our hearts

so that we don't sin against Him?

Let's make this practical.

What can we do in this day and age,
in this year,

to hide God's Word in our hearts

so that we don't sin against Him? Elise?

(Elise) I was just thinking

about a verse in the Bible

that has really helped me.

It's Psalm 84:11, and it says,

"No good thing will He withhold

from those who walk uprightly."

And kind of back to the food thing,

I used to struggle with a food addiction
and with bulimia,

and so I had this serious problem
with overeating,

and it felt really out of control.

And I was afraid to give it up.

But that concept really helped me.

Like, God isn't going

to take something away from me

that's good for me.

He doesn't withhold good things;

He only gives good things.

And so I've discovered I
actually enjoy food

way more now than I did then,

and God wired us for pleasure,

and He knows how we can operate

in a way that brings the most pleasure.

So I think it's really important

when we talk about self-control

or temperance in Daniel

and all throughout Scripture,

that we don't think, "Oh, we're

walking the straight and narrow,
and denying pleasure,"

but really God is protecting our pleasure

in anything that He gives.

So that's just one example

of how a concept from the Bible

can play out in real life.

(Tricia Lee) Thank you so much

for sharing that, Elise. Charity?

(Charity) We were talking about food,

and I don't know if it was you
who mentioned the appetite,

but the approval of God far outweighs

the appetite or the favor of man,

you know, to be mindful that any appetite,

not just food, can defile us

and remove that approval of God from us.

(Derek) I think it's a daily decision.

I don't think he purposed

in his heart four years ago.

I think it's a daily commitment

that, "I'm going to honor God."

You know, that fully surrendered,

fully relying on God, that every day

the Holy Spirit is guiding us,

and every day we're going

to have to make decisions

of things that will honor God.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Travis?

(Travis) For me, it's been

for every challenge that I face,

it's find a Scripture verse

to claim a promise of God.

And so, you face new challenges,
it's a new verse,

and keep claiming these promises

one after the other,

and you start to build confidence in God.

(Tricia Lee) Praise God.

Back to Gary's point about in the Garden
of Eden,

the big temptation was that the devil

wanted Eve to think she was

somehow losing out or missing out,

that God was withholding something
from her.

Here they are in the midst of paradise.

They can eat from any tree,

but they were so fixated on the one

that they weren't supposed to eat from.

And the same thing can happen to us, too,

that we can get so fixated

on the one thing that is not for our good,

but God can bring those promises

back to mind to remind us

that He's not withholding anything good
from us.

He is only trying to keep us
in a safe place

and keep us from the things

that can destroy us.

All right, so, getting back to the story,

as Pastor mentioned, this was
not an easy thing now,

practically speaking.

They are in the charge

of the chief eunuch.

They have people who have

authority over them,

and it's their job to make sure

they are fit for the king's service.

And so, we can't have

any emaciated-looking,

weak-looking young men here

or else he'll be in trouble.

So let's read the wisdom

that God gives Daniel and his friends

to help navigate this other layer
of complexity.

Michael, would you please read for us

Daniel, chapter 1, verses 9 through 17?

(Michael) Yeah, Daniel 1:9-17

from the New King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Praise God. Okay, so it

seems like ten days isn't really

long enough to really show...

Is there something supernatural
happening here?

Is there a miracle at play?

Of course, God blessed

their faith and their effort,

but is there something truly beneficial

happening inside their bodies?

Of course, for sure, as Daisy mentioned,

they knew that their minds

and their mental acuity

would not be the same if they were

just eating and drinking anything.

And God blessed their efforts

in letting that be visible

within a relatively short period of time,
praise the Lord.

What blessings do we see

fall upon Daniel and these young men

from such a simple test like diet? Adison?

(Adison) Wisdom.

(Tricia Lee) Wisdom.

(Adison) Wisdom beyond their years.

(Tricia Lee) Wisdom beyond their years.

These are just young men,

and when you read through the books

and chapters of Daniel,

you will see how wise these men were.

What else were they blessed with?

(Charity) Physical well-being.

(Tricia Lee) Physical well-being,
strength, of course.

It's interesting because there are people

in my family and in my social circle

who are vegan; that means they

only eat things that come from plants.

And they're also very active.

And a big question that they get

is, "Well, how can you be an athlete,

and you don't eat meat?

You need meat and protein."

And the answer is that protein

comes from all sorts

of different sources, right?

Where does a big cow get its protein?

From grass, right?

And so they can show that you can

still be strong and healthy

by eating simple, nutritious foods.

And that is a blessing

that we saw in their lives.

What else were they blessed with?

(Jason) Spiritual gifts.

(Tricia Lee) Spiritual gifts, say more
about that, Jason.

(Jason) The wisdom in all visions
and dreams.

Of course, as we read along

we will see these things being unveiled

as God gave them these particular gifts.

(Tricia Lee) The Pastor asked

the question earlier that there were

a lot of other people taken captive,

but we don't seem to hear about them.

And it would appear that God realized

He can trust these young men

with these spiritual gifts

because they've shown faithfulness

in something so small

as what they choose to eat.

To whom much is given, much is required,

and to those that are

faithful in the little,

they can be trusted

to be faithful with more.

(Derek) You know, we often think

of spiritual gifts, as Jason mentioned,

like the gift of prophecy,

which was given to Daniel,

but I think of some spiritual gifts

given to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

as their Babylon names are called,

because they given, like,

the gift of leadership.

There were gifts that God gave them,
as we said,

were way beyond human capabilities.

And it's encouraging to know that God,

as it says in 1 Corinthians,

the Holy Spirit gives as He wills.

He knew what gift Shadrach needed;

He knew what gift Daniel needed,

but they're all connected with God,

and so they're not only receiving

mental strength and physical strength

but spiritual gifts.

(Tricia Lee) Praise God. It's interesting

to think that, you know,

at the start of this story,

Daniel and his friends

could easily have felt like,

"After all our people have been through,

the least we can do is enjoy
the king's palace.

Let's just enjoy...If we're going
to be captives,

let's just live it up, okay?" right?

"It's not our fault that we were

the chosen ones," you know?

"We were chosen for a reason."

But that's not the attitude
that they have

and realize that, if they didn't choose

what God wanted for them,

it wouldn't have helped them later on.

I mean, you just go over one chapter,

and you'll find out that there's

going to be a death decree.

And it's this wisdom and understanding

that God gives them in chapter 1

that helps them to survive that.

And so, for us today, we need

to ask ourselves, what are those

temporary gains that we're
compromising for

when we know God has a bigger plan?

Temporary gains today

that will not help us tomorrow,

won't help us down the line.

They may seem small to us,

like just the choice of what we eat,

but the blessings that can come
from following God

are the things that can keep us

through the trials ahead. Stephanie?

(Stephanie) Tricia Lee, I thought
it was interesting

that they were persistent.

It wasn't that they spoke to one person.

The first person said, "I fear the king."

But they were so committed
to following God

I have to believe they were

in much prayer together.

And they asked someone else,

and that person granted them
their request.

And it made me think that sometimes

we're not determined enough.

We're not confident enough

that God has a way out.

(Tricia Lee) Wow, and I love that you said

confident that God has a way out.

They didn't even have control

over their own persons at this point,

where they could be,

but they knew that God could have control

over how the story ended for them. Daisy?

(Daisy) I also wanted to add

to what she just said.

In verse 9 it says that, "God had given

the chief of staff both respect

and affection for Daniel."

So even if we desire to do God's will,

He places the right people in our path

who can help us carry out that desire
to honor God.

So we shouldn't fear

what other people are going to think.

God always makes a way to help us

fulfill our desire to obey His will.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Do you think

it was a witness to those in charge,

what happened, as well?

They'd probably never seen

anything like this.

There was a reason why everyone

was prescribed the king's diet;

they thought that was best.

And here are these captives

challenging that, challenging...

You can imagine it's like challenging

the scientific knowledge of the day,

challenging the medical science

that says, "This is a diet

that makes healthy young men."

And they're saying, "No,

there's a better way; there's a better way

and God blessed." Daisy?

(Daisy) It's funny that even back then

they thought that eating meat

and all those delicacies were better

than eating just plain vegetables.

Like, he said, "I'm afraid

you're going to be pale

because you're eating vegetables."

We still have that same mentality today

because when you say you're vegan

or you only eat vegetables and whatever,

they're like, "Ugh, you're
going to be weak;

you're going to lose weight;
you're going to be skinny."

But then, when we learn
from these lessons,

actually it makes you stronger and wiser.

So, the same concept applies for today,

that, if we follow God's Word

and obey His commands,

we would reap the benefits of it.

(Tricia Lee) Praise God, there are

real benefits to be reaped

when we make choices for God.

Let's keep reading because there's
more to the story,

because the king is going

to get involved now.

I'm going to ask Travis if you would read

for us in chapter 1, verses 18 through 20.

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Wow, ten times better.

I'm not sure what that looks like,

but it just sounds like,

they got a 99, then, you know,

Daniel and his friends got 999.

They were so far and above everyone else.

Now, is that because of the food they ate?

(Derek, Team) Partly.

(Tricia Lee) Partly, okay.

Laurel says it's partly; how is it partly?

(Laurel) Because, as Daisy was saying,

what we consume, what we

put into our bodies,

really does affect our minds,

so that's where the "partly" comes in.

But first and foremost, we need
to remember

that their focus was on God.

And that's what increased them
ten times more.

(Tricia Lee) So talk more about that.

It sounds like, what did God do?

What did God do?

(Daisy) He gave them power,

so it's like a spiritual strength

that was beyond human understanding.

So it's not just a physical thing.

There's a spiritual power attached
to their efforts.

(Tricia Lee) Stephanie.

(Stephanie) I think it was a miracle

that the king could see

they're ten times better.

(Tricia Lee) Ten times better!

(Alessa) And it wasn't focused on them.

It was focused on God, I think.

(Tricia Lee) Amen. Charity?

(Charity) He improved their understanding

of things and spiritual matters

because of their relationship with Him.

(Tricia Lee) Praise God.

So, yes, the food strengthened
their bodies,

allowed their minds to be clear

and not clouded, maybe with alcohol

or other harmful substances.

So they were functioning;

their bodies were functioning

in a healthy state,

but to be ten times better,

and to Stephanie's point,

and the king could see it,

God surely blessed their efforts.

God was putting a mark on them

and saying, "I am with these young men,

and what they're doing

is something that I approve of."

And isn't that something

that we want for us?

We don't want to just choose

a healthy diet just to choose
a healthy diet.

We don't want to choose to do right things

just to choose to do right things.

We want to do those things

because we are following God,

and we want to be in alliance with God.

And we want God's blessings

on our lives, right?

And so this is a beautiful example

of when we partner with God,

He partners with us

because surely the extent

of their knowledge was something

that seemed supernatural,

to be ten times better than the others.

God poured out a blessing on their lives.

Let's read the last verse of chapter 1.

Daniel, chapter 1, verse 21,

is the last verse of the book,

but it's quite profound.

And, Laurel, would you

please read that for us?

(Laurel) All right, I'll be reading

from the New American Standard Bible:

(Tricia Lee) All right, who's Cyrus?

(Derek) He's not a Babylonian,

which is kind of a strange thing,

that somehow what God did for Daniel

caused him to transfer

over even to a conquering empire.

I mean it's...again, it's divine approval

that's way beyond what a human
could accomplish.

(Tricia Lee) It was divine approval,

but when you read the book of Daniel,

you also realize it's divine appointment,

that God needs His faithful people

to be in these places because He needs

them to see through these kingdom changes,

to be a light and an example.

But, yes, as Pastor said,

Cyrus is not a Babylonian.

There is a whole change of empires
that takes place,

and somehow Daniel survives it all.

Even think about when companies
change leadership,

or even mergers, right?

Oftentimes some folks make it through,

others get laid off, right?

But to be a captive in a foreign country

and to still live through a change
in empires,

something's going on here, and it is clear

that God has His hand on Daniel;

God is in control
of this young man's life.

Isn't that wonderful?

(Derek) Amen.

(Tricia Lee) It's wonderful. Jason.

(Jason) I want to add to that,

that his reputation preceded him.

Word of his reputation had to get around.

They were like, "Daniel?

That's that guy right there.

You might need him

for this new administration coming in."

And I just feel like God had His hand

on that whole situation

and brought it full circle.

So, Daniel was blessed, definitely.

(Tricia Lee) He surely was.

Let's think about examples
in our own lives

where we've seen God's blessing,

His supernatural blessings,

poured out on us when we chose

to do something right.

And if we don't have a personal example,

share an example of someone

that you're aware of,

that when they chose

to do the right thing,

God blessed them, poured into their life,

and that we can see the benefits.

I'll start off with a Bible example.

I'm going to start off with Saul
who became Paul.

I think that he had a choice to make

to continue in what he was doing,

persecuting Christians at the time,

following in the traditions

of his fathers, of the culture
at the time,

religious elite in Judaism.

But he made a choice to do something

that would have been

very unpopular back in Jerusalem.

Actually, he was converted,

and he chose to follow Jesus,

and to follow the believers
and to support them.

We see the blessings in his life

because of all the wonderful books
that he wrote,

the lives and souls that he won
for God's Kingdom,

but certainly there was

a supernatural blessing poured on this man

because he shouldn't have been

as effective as he was,

having been someone that was killing

and imprisoning Christians.

And yet, for some reason, his ministry

is one that we are so familiar with.

God did that for him.

Any other examples of individuals

we know in or in our own lives? Travis?

(Travis) I just remember being in business
with my partner.

We hired a young lady,

and together we made like a pact

that we weren't going to cheat on taxes.

We were going to be deliberate

in making honest decisions in business.

And our business, when I look back,

grew so...it just increased

from that point on,

and we just didn't cheat at anything.

And God blesses when we step forward

and make decisions for good.

(Tricia Lee) I'm so glad

you mentioned that story because I think

business is a great example.

When I was in college,

there was a young woman and her family,

older than me but still a young woman
and her family,

and she was a beautician;

she owned a hair salon.

And she was becoming convicted

that Saturday is the Sabbath of the Lord

and that she needed to rest.

She needed to honor the fourth commandment

and close her shop

on the busiest day of the week.

Saturdays are a booming day for business

if you're in the beauty industry.

Folks get their appointments

and their hair done on Saturdays.

And she did it; she closed her business

on Saturday, on Sabbath.

Of course, others that knew her

thought she was crazy.

And she came to church and testified

that she doesn't know how,

she doesn't know how it's possible,

but God blessed her, that she was

somehow getting more business,

somehow doing so much better

in having honored God

by making that one choice, to close down

on the very busiest day of the week.

That's the God that we serve,

a God that partners with us

when we trust him. Jason.

(Jason) For me it became an issue

dealing with tithing.

I don't make that much money,

so to take that money that I could use,

God was pressing me on my heart to give.

And, of course, at home,

my wife actually was like,

"Why are you giving this money?"

And it was to the point

that I just felt on my heart.

Of course, giving was

the beautiful thing of it,

but the peace that I gained

from just obeying God,

that's the one thing that I treasure.

That was my reward.

I didn't tithe to get the money back

or any of those things,

but it was more of just being obedient
to God.

And as we read Daniel,

it was that obedience, you know,

that I can really see in his life.

And now I just thank God for allowing me

to purpose in my heart

to be obedient to Him.

(Tricia Lee) The beautiful thing

is that when we are blessed,

we're not the only ones who are blessed.

Your friend that you made that pact with

was blessed in seeing that.

Your family was blessed in seeing

how God multiplied.

The lady in the story, her colleagues

were blessed by seeing

what God did for her business.

And Daniel, the whole empire,

we'll find out, is blessed because one man

and his friends are faithful.

So, when we partner with God,

and we choose not to compromise
in little things,

God not only blesses us,

but the blessings extend

to those around us as well.

Thank you so much for studying with me.

(Derek) Thanks so much, Tricia Lee.

What a great study.

And we're glad you joined us, too.

By the way, if you want to study deeper,

go to Hopebiblestudy.org.

We have a chapter-by-chapter series

on Daniel and Revelation.

So much to learn, but what we've
learned today

is that even in the small areas of life,

when we purpose in our hearts,

when we make a commitment

to honor God in everything,

that God will bless us

in supernatural ways.

And we'll be a witness to those around us.

Let's pray we can be those

kind of women and men,

witnesses for God, even today.

Father in Heaven, we're inspired by Daniel

and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But we know You want

living witnesses today, men and women,

who will purpose in their hearts

to honor You in every area of life,

not to earn Your love

but because You love us.

You've redeemed us by Your grace.

We want to honor You

and be a witness for You.

Lord, may that happen for each one

as we've studied today.

I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) If you've been inspired

by the study today,

we're just getting started

with this series on the book of Daniel;
stay with us.

What you've learned today,

what the Spirit of God has taught you,

go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

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