Truth Matters 60

Dr. Cheryl Davis continues her teaching of the Book of Daniel on today's edition of Truth Matters. She begins on the topic of when God says no, we should listen.

Here's Dr. Davis and Daniel, the obedient servant of God. When God says no, we must say no, even regardless of the circumstance. When God says no, we must say no, even regardless of the circumstance.

But in a single moment, it really takes guts to say no. A lot of people think to be successful, you have to bend the rules. But when we compromise our convictions, we will lose. When we compromise our convictions, we will lose. Dr. David Jeremiah wrote a book, The Handwriting on the Wall, and everywhere we see compromise in the Bible, we see loss. Everywhere we see compromise in the Bible, we see loss.

I'm just going to read verse 28 out of this book. Adam compromised God's law and fell right in with his wife's son. He lost paradise. Abraham compromised the truth and lied about Sarah. He almost lost his wife. Sarah compromised God's word and sent Abraham to her servant Hagar, who bore Ishmael. We lost peace in the Middle East.

Esau compromised for a meal with Jacob. He lost his birthright. Aaron compromised his convictions about idolatry. He lost the privilege of seeing the promised land.

Samson compromised righteous devotion as a Nazarite. He lost his hair, his strength, his eyes and his life. David compromised the moral standard of God and committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah. He lost his child. Solomon compromised his convictions and married foreign wives. He lost the United Kingdom. Ahab compromised and married Jezebel. He lost his throne. Ananias and Sapphira compromised their word about giving. They lost their lives. Judas compromised his supposed love for Christ for 30 pieces of silver.

He lost his entire soul. Is it any different today? The message of our culture is that if you want to get ahead, you've got to break a few rules to do it.

So I just have a few questions at this point. Where in your life are you compromising your convictions today? Deep within your heart, if you are saved that, you know, the Holy Spirit does convict us of sin, where are we ignoring the convictions of the Holy Spirit?

And another question I'd like to have, just for you to think about, what have you lost in your life because of compromise? Moving on to verses 9 through 15. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuch said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king who has appointed your food and drink, for why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age?

Then you would endanger my head before the king. So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah, please test your servants for 10 days and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you and the appearance of the young men to eat a portion of the king's delicacies. And as you see fit, so deal with your servants. So he consented with them in this matter and tested them 10 days.

And at the end of 10 days, their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. I want to bring very close attention to now God. When we purpose in our heart and we are obedient to God, God will show up in our situation. And in Daniel's situation, he did in verse 9, now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. This is an example of favor of the Israelites and particularly Daniel, even in God's judgment, even in the setting of captivity. God is still with Daniel, even as he is punishing his people for idolatry and being unfaithful to him. Daniel's obedience to God demonstrated not only his faithfulness to the Lord in the time of uncertainty, but proved his love as well.

The same is true for us today. When we obey the Lord, refusing to compromise our Christian faith, then we are honoring God as Daniel did by refusing to bow and worship an idol. Daniel's suffering in Babylon was short because as he honored God, God honored him and brought many blessings into his life. God wants to bless you beyond your greatest imagination. But first, you must learn to obey him as Daniel did.

It's not always easy to obey when facing the crowd or peer pressure, but it is the best way to live life and to live it more abundantly. If God has been working in your life and you're not sure what he's doing, perhaps Dr. Davis can help. You can reach her by email at Cheryl Davis at ProjectTruthMatters.com or connect with her on Facebook at Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Or you can write to her at The Truth Project, P.O. Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project.