Is it an issue or not?

This Sunday we looked at one of the best known stories in the Bible - Daniel in the Lion's Den, which is found in the Old Testament book of Daniel.

Daniel, three of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and hundreds of other Jews were taken prisoner and exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in about 605 BC. Daniel and his friends were soon picked out for special training and later entered into royal service.

We know the story of how Daniel continued to pray and had to survive a night with the lions as a result. There is the story of how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to a statue of the king and were thrown into the fiery furnace - and survived to tell the tale. But there are other areas where these four men seemed happy to compromise and not make an issue of things that they may have found offensive. They were given Babylonian names; they learned the magic arts of the enchanters and magi; they learned about Babylonian gods and goddesses; and although they had some say in their diet they still ate non kosher vegetables - as they were prepared by Gentiles... They fitted in well to Babylonian life and became a part of the system.

It is not that they were afraid to stand up and be counted - it is more that in their wisdom they saw a bigger picture. They could have disobeyed the king on day one - and been executed there and then, but then we would never had heard about them, and they would not have risen to the positions of influence that they did.

So when do we take a stand and when do we keep our heads down? Daniel and his three friends were known as men who prayed - and therefore they were in touch with God - they had godly wisdom. But there were two areas in which they were not prepared to compromise:

1) Being told to worship someone/something other than God (chapter 3)
2) Being told they could not worship their God (chapter 6).

When we are faced with issues that are built on values that are not in line with our faith we need real wisdom, to know whether to make it an issue, or just let it go - for the sake of a bigger picture.

The God who Guides

I'm sure that most Christians would agree that part of what it means to be a Christian is that now you try and do what God wants rather than what you want. But how do we know what it is that God wants? In some things the Bible helps. For example, Matthew 5:44 tells us that we are to love our enemies...Mark 8:34 tells us that the life of the disciple is the life of self denial...Leviticus 19:15 tells us that we are not to show favouritism but treat everyone fairly...Leviticus 19:19 tells us that we shouldn't wear clothes made with two different kinds of material! Okay - so maybe that isn't as straight forward as some people would want us to believe. But what about those questions of guidance that the Bible has nothing specific to say - which university should I go to...should I get married...who to...which job should I take...where should I live...?

This Sunday morning we're looking at Genesis 24. I'm sure some of us read this kind of story and wish that God would guide us as clearly. I'm also sure that when some of us ask about guidance what we really want is a quick and easy fix - the guide to instant guidance.

In Abraham's story so far we've found him to be obedient to God, someone who believed God, someone who feared God and someone who would not keep anything back from God. I think that this is the backdrop in front of which God guides Abraham and his servant. Romans 12:1-2 reveals that discovering God's will follows self sacrifice, resistance to the ways of the world and having a renewed mind that thinks God's way (e.g. the first will be last ... death=life ... )

Then we find Abraham and the servant planning and praying, and the servant got on the road and started walking and praying. Sometimes we're paralysed by the fear of doing the wrong thing and so we end up doing nothing. But we should be proactive. In order to steer a vehicle that vehicle needs to first of all be moving somewhere. But as we push doors to see what will happen we must remember that God will never ask us to do anything that is against His word. Then we should remember that we were created for community and God invented the church - we're not here on our own - and there are other, wiser, older, more mature Christians that we can talk to about what wethink God might be calling us to. If they all think it is a bad idea then listen to them.

But the context in which we push doors, write letters, go to interviews, go on a date must be that Romans 12:1-2 attitude. If that is our heart attitude then as we push doors I believe that God will guide us and keep us from those paths that He wants us to avoid. Some people will say that it was a coincidence that Abraham's servant found Rebekah but there is no such thing as a coincidence with God.

Click here to listen to this message from Pastor Keith, 14 October 2007.