Survival Skills in Exile
Teaching Notes
There is an upper story where God is faithfully and sovereignly working out HIs rescue mission to redeem the people of the world.
There is a lower story where we get to make our choices.
I want to talk today about survival skills in a time of exile.
We are in exile and we want, not just to survive, but to THRIVE.
Survival Skill #1
Know and obey God’s Word.
God’s Word: We live by it and die by it.
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
Daniel 1:3-8, 12-14
When Jesus was tempted by the devil, in his own exile, in the wilderness, Satan said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn to bread.
Matthew 4:3
But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Matthew 4:4
We need to get into God’s word daily, and we need to get God’s word into us.
Here’s a pro tip:
It’s best to pick
A time
A place
And a pattern
Expect the Bible to speak to you.
Logos
The Logos, the written word. The logos refers to the scripture, the spoken word of God (past tense)
Rhema
The Rhema is the speaking word from the Author of the written word, the Holy Spirit.
The Rhema never contradicts the Logos but it often amplifies it or applies it.
In your journal write:
What the scripture said
What it means
And what you’ll do with it
And who you will tell
At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
Daniel 1:15-17
You’ll hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it.
Isaiah 30:21
If anyone lacks wisdom let him ask and God will give it freely without shame.
James 1:5
Survival Skill #2
Pray, and expect to meet with God.
Prayer: We don’t move without it.
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
Daniel 6:1-5
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
Daniel 6:10-11
Daniel’s Pattern:
Got on his knees.
Gave thanks to God.
Opened his window.
And prayed out loud.
Daniel didn’t hide the secret of his success—It was a daily meeting with God.
You are too busy NOT to pray.
Prayer is intended to be a dialogue between two close friends staying in touch. There is speaking and there is listening in true prayer.
God inhabits the praises of His people.
Psalm 22:3
Draw near to me and he will draw near to you.
James 4:8
When you pray and praise, expect the Holy Spirit to meet with you.
God’s Plan for meeting with us
God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening.
The Garden was protected by an angel with a flaming sword.
God reached out to Moses through the burning bush.
At Mt. Sinai, God met with Moses and fire fell on the mountain.
In the Tabernacle in the wilderness God was surrounded by his people.
The tribes of Israel camped in the shape of a cross with the Tabernacle at the center.
God said he didn’t want a temple.
When Jesus died the veil of the Temple was torn top to bottom.
At Pentecost there were little tongues of fire on the heads of the disciples.
Finally, God was back with his people—in relationship.
God did all of these things to be with his people–to be with you!
Daniel met with God three times a day and knew God personally. God blessed Daniel.
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
Daniel 6:16-22
Jesus took the bread the night he was with His disciples and said, This is my body broken for you. As often as you do this, remember me.
1 Corinthians 11:23-24
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:25-26
Setlist
WFC Lenexa + WFC Anywhere
Goodbye Yesterday- Elevation Rhythm
I Believe- Phil Wickham
Believe For It- CeCe Winans
Nothing Else- Cody Carnes
WFC Speedway
The Joy- Maverick City
I Thank God- Housefires
Living Hope- Phil Wickham
Nothing Else-Cody Carnes
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