Aliens and Strangers

Today on Truth for Life is titled encore 2021 were revisiting the most requested messages from the past 12 months. Looking back were reminded that we live in a world that is changing rapidly. One of the ways it's changing is by moving away from biblical truth. So how do we live faithfully in an alien culture Callister bag explains by turning to the pages of Daniel begin today in chapter 3 we read verses 16 to 18 and Phillips paraphrase, not Phillips, I'm sorry Petersons this is how it reads Shadrach me shack and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar your threat means nothing to us.

If you throw is in the fire.

The God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up okay but even if he doesn't, it wouldn't make a bit of difference. Okay, we still wouldn't serve your God's or worship the gold statue you set up know the reason for this address is because I was invited to address a group of a few thousand people who are in the financial realm at a conference that was gathered under the heading of just one word fearless and I wasn't given any direction at all. And so as I sat and prepared. This is where I came and I came to this particular passage. What is it like to live in a society that does not like what Christians believe or how are we then planning to live with this new normal. How are we planning to understand what the Bible says in its timelessness in such a way that the truths that we seek to instill in the hearts and minds of the generations that are coming behind us will be sore laid hold upon that the convictions which undergird will stand for in the day when these things come to an even more striking collapse and as I move back to the sixth century BC there is a very important point to make here because I noticed in my address. I read people's eyes, and I could see them there that there there. They're coming along with me in coming along and are looking forward to the punchline. And there waiting for me to engage now and some great political explanation for what's going on explaining the answer. There how disappointed they all wear when I told him no. When I explained to them the United States nor the United Kingdom. Neither of them are Israel. We are all Babylon.

We are in the world which is represented as Babylon. Confronted by a kingdom that is being raise which is the kingdom of this world as members of a kingdom of another world that the issues of citizenship and political affiliation as significant as they are, they are significant are not the issues when it comes to this matter. The matter is we see in our friends here is God's kingdom and God's plan. Note let's go back to this because it is to this that we really want to turn red as I say and do what you will with my with my ramblings.

There the story of Daniel is incredibly relevant and it is incredibly relevant, but not for the reasons that we might immediately think it is incredibly relevant, not because it provides a strategy to deal with our new lack of status or certainly not to reverse our new lack of status, nor is it because Daniel was a great man and we need to emulate him. He was a great man. We should emulate great men and women, but he was not the hero of the story, God is the hero of the story. And so the relevance of this to be found in going back. In this way is in the awareness of the fact that the God who overruled the events of the sixth century BC for the exiles of his people that God has not changed in the subsequent 2 1/2 millennia that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the God who is called out of people for himself and the eggs the journey of that has been going on, sometimes dramatically, often quietly, but throughout the world today. Throughout the entire world, the spirit of God is moving and he ascended King, namely Jesus reigns and God is accomplishing his purposes in the world and he is not uniquely concerned with. Bragg said they are the United States elections.

He is supremely concerned with his church. Throughout the entire world. And so there you have in this context, if you like a microcosm of what we find today. Now Daniel and his friends were swept up when they were just boys, maybe teenagers, perhaps in their early 20s.

Daniel was in his 80s or his 90s by the time you get to chapter 6.

Therefore, he had lived an entire lifetime in an alien world. He was a pain in the neck in that world.

He was not with a big sign explaining however thing was wrong. He was known for pointing out this and pointing out that and showing what a massively was no use one of the brightest and the best he had an intellect. He had leadership. He was in a position of supreme usefulness, but as an alien, Shadrach me shack and Abednego the same reason these called lesions are able to come and see this to Nebuchadnezzar is because they are stable to Satan and there are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the nation. In other words, it's not that they can go and say we found a people and they're all protesting and there are real nuisance and that gummed up the traffic and the spoiling everything you can get your cherry apart for the whole crowd of them.

You know, it's hopeless. No no no no no dirt in positions of influence, but they're not going to bow down to your image.

They won't bow down to your image measure set this thing up 10 stories I understand stories I that's a big thing and all the people who come when you hear the sound of all these musical instruments is what you're supposed to do and I love the transition in verse seven it says therefore as soon as all the peoples hear the sound of that that that that… They all fell down and worshiped the Goldmans, you bet your life they did. You can either bow down or we have a nice fiery furnace for you. Choose your plan.

That was all it was set up nicely were not there yet.

Don't hold your breath. No, by way of summary in terms of learning from the response of these men I want to sit give you three words just under three expressive illustrations. First of all, in the opening chapter, it is clear that Daniel and his friends were entirely focused. They were focused and they they had been taken away into the heart of an empire that was set up to deny and to define God. That's the facts their parents would've raised them hero Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. They would've walked with them. Talk with them share the story and they would presumably agonized if the boys were separated from them, and is the end of the day in prayer. They restate all Yahweh look after our boys there weighing up in a strange and foreign land there if they're living in alien territory and wider and amazing thing because they were relocated. They were reeducated they were renamed. Yet, they drew the line drew the line fascinatingly, they did. They drew the line at dietary choice when Albany that stuff the set. I know you call me by a different name. I know you send me to a different university. I know that but there is a point at which I won't go beyond and it is fascinating and incidentally parenthetically we live to define and decide where the lines are going to have to be draw. I'm not here to tell you what they are.

I can help you, but I'm never to do for you. Why then the diet.

Why, because actually there there.I have three convictions work were grounded and in deeper convictions. If you like it was now by means of their diet that they had the thread that would tie them to their Jewish roots. Here was an opportunity for them sick. No weird we don't we don't do that and were not going to do that. They don't do it again and argumentative way to doing a very skillful way, but they do it and I love when he says, and they resolved.

They resolved resolution focus. We will not defile ourselves with that stuff to reminders and if you want stand for something you fall for anything I say to you again when you have to decide where the lines are where where's the line I mentioned education and having to put your children into an environment where they teach sex education without any moral framework et al. are you prepared to send them into an environment where there the prevailing educational framework tells them that they really don't know who they are as individuals and that gender is a construct and if you prepared to do that why you prepared to do that you wouldn't tolerate it yourself. Strange you happy that they live in an environment where there told essentially pantheism that we are the earth and the earth is ours and God is the earthenware part of the earth, and so on, that all roads lead to heaven, likely due to Timbuktu and on until you draw the line on Musil and raising the question focused focused a given chapter 6 and Daniel is now an old man and the challenge for him. There is if you like. It's the is now the age-old challenge. Please Darius to said over the kingdom. All of these people and as a result again of Daniel usefulness.

He's in a position so if they were focused in the beginning.

Daniel is faithful in the end you see is his faithfulness that causes the trouble. Incidentally, I love all these children's book suite we use them all the time and I love the pictures, but it struck me as I was preparing this talk that the story of Daniel in the lion's den is not really a very nice story to reach your little ones before they go to sleep because their clever children are clever, they realize when a minute.

What is this story about Wallace's story about an innocent man he's around 18 years of age, and he's condemned to death because he loves God very much and he doesn't want to do what the people tell them to do. The children are perceptive enough to say, do you thing that could ever happen to you. Pop what if the people told you you couldn't pray what would you do grandma, what would you do if the eating was no prayer for the next 30 days. Will he see what is so fantastic about this is if Daniels prayer life had been glandular. In other words, he only prayed when he felt like then this would have been a problem nobody could've caught them out. But when you read the story for yourself, you realize that it says that when the eating was made. He went back to his house and he prayed, and here's the key phrase as he had done previously in other was it. It was business as usual for him. He was just going to maintain where he wants.

He was a faithful soul and he was going to be faithful to the end, I say to again if his prayer life had been like mine and like some of yours. Perhaps we he would never been caught. And every time the cycle comes around the political cycle comes around.

Summary starts off again about prayer in the public schools. I love the idea of prayer the public to know that I love even more prayer in the church prayer in the church 3200 people in the morning service at 410 for prayer. What is that say it says we don't actually believe in prayer for Prayer in the public schools prayer in the church prayer between husbands and wives prayer in our families prayer not glandular committed we see God in prayer focused in the outset, faithful in the end and incidentally the story again is not. I want to be like Daniel, but rather I want to keep faithfully trusting the God that Daniel knew because I don't become like Daniel by copying his example, except in so far as we bow before Daniel's goal in total and utter dependence finally to end where we began. In chapter 3, because if they were focused in the outset, and Daniel was faithful at the end. These characters were fearless in the face of idolatry.

I would say what we don't have a problem with idolatry.

Pardon. Calvin says that the human heart is a is an idol factory. When I have a problem with a giant gigantic image in the middle in the middle of the public square where there are many things that arise in my selfish evil heart that invite me to bow down and worship before them, and since I know that you know then I don't really need to run through a list of but these fellas were prepared to face death for the cause of God's kingdom.

Both Daniel in terms of the prayer and these guys in terms of the bind on in each case the could've rationalized Daniel Kidder said what's the problem with Quicken for 30 days.

I'm 80 years old. I think about how many times I've prayed in 80 years. I'm sure the Lord will mind if I do skip for 30 days and I got a big backlog of of of of praying these fellas the same tempted to say you know what when I supposed to make a fuss anywhere that are best when we let them know that were just like them.

Managers me nuts when I hear people explaining it was so wonderful because you are just like because every time somebody says that to me. I say what I'm doing something wrong because I am not like you Wise have a nose I have two lies. I live here I go places. But essentially I am not like you can possibly be that I am because by God's grace, he is taken as out of the kingdom of darkness and placed us into the kingdom of light, and in my kingdom of light we live so that our citizenship is in heaven, from whence we await a Savior, even the Lord Jesus Christ who is the king so were not the same as me that where there were weird that we were plastic nose users or funny hats are suddenly got no here's the issue is the question of identity. We don't know who we are. The church doesn't know who it is. Are we a political Caucus. Are we our social agency. What the world are we talking church with big C now while the Bible tells us exactly what we are. When Peter writes to the scattered believers in his letter, remember recesses and let me tell you who you are. You are for you are a royal people, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you could show forth his praises.

There's your identity is your identity. What is he doing that he's taking Old Testament pictures of the people of God from the very calling of Abraham. They've always stood out is always dramatically different because of their identity and then he says, I beseech you, as aliens and strangers to live such good lives among the pagans see identity first then activity until the church embraces and understands its identity than all the calls to activity do this fix that be that, and so on are destined to complete failure. It is an understanding who we are in Christ to bring it right up to date. We are to be focused on the gospel.

We are to be faithful to the gospel and we are to be fearless in the face of opposition to that gospel. Jamie and Carol Owens did a wonderful job when in the 60s and early 70s the Rutgers musicals are running. Anybody listens to them anymore and I just used to have a big LP. I don't know where it is but I do remember their songs and I always love the one that goes.

You are the children of the kingdom of God.

You are the chosen ones for whom the Savior came really. Yes, you are his noble new creation by the spirit and the blood. You're the church that he has built to bear his name. That's who you are in a world of identity politics here is the identity of the believer.

And then, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you and the wards of darkness cannot quench your light and the hosts of God shall stand and fight beside you till your king shall remain triumphant in his night soon we are assuming as soon we are first and foremost middle and last who we are. You should all go home and dig out your old copy of chariots of fire and water before you go to bed tonight. Remind yourself about movie from 1980 or 81 when Eric little stood up to the king of the United Kingdom and told him flat out. I have another king I respect you sore, but I submit to a different king. His focus was absolutely clear his faithfulness was exceptional. He died as a teacher in mainland China and fearless fantastic. Remember when he left Edinburgh Waverley station right there. Some of you have been in behind the gardens off the side of princes Street and when the city of Edinburgh came out to bid them farewell. Because he was a huge hero because of his Olympic abilities because of his ability as a rugby player. He let the window down on the train and calling for silence. He shouted out Christ for the world for the world needs Christ and the people like what and then he led them in the singing Jesus shall reign where'er the sun dog of his successive journeys run his kingdom stretched from shore to shore to moon show wax and wane no more was his death. An abject failure to die, have a cerebral hemorrhage of whatever it was at such a young age now because it remains that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church's commission is your commission.

If you are in Christ your commission as a banker. Your commission as a teacher. Your commission is among your commission is at dad your commission in the medical world with all the peculiar ethical challenges that you face every day and about which I and others pray for you in that amazing environment. God is faithful and has asked us to be faithful to listening to Truth for Life with Alastair Begg learning today about how to live as aliens and strangers. That's the title of today's message are teaching today is reminded us that as believers we are called to live faithfully in a new and alien society that requires us to stay focused. Just as Daniel and his friends did these men could stand fearlessly in the godless culture because they knew the God they served and we can know him as well. That's why we've selected a book that is a brief study of all that God has revealed about himself in Scripture. The title of the book is none else.

31 meditations on God's character and attributes and today is the first opportunity I have to tell you about this new book. This book is a one month devotional that focuses entirely on different facets of God's nature. Like his holiness or his faithfulness or his compassion, request your copy of the devotional book none else you donate to support the teaching you hear on this program. The image of the book on the Truth for Life and call us at 888588788 Bob Lapine found yourself stuck in a difficult Bible passage trying to make sense of it can be like trying to work a puzzle. How should we approach our study of Scripture, so we can see how all the pieces fit together will hear from Alister about that tomorrow Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life Learning is for Living