Fresh Manna 2021

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Strong Tower Radio

Daniel

Ariel Roldan

Daniel Chapter 1

Fresh Nana fell to the ground as a gift from God while the Israelites were in the wilderness.

It was Fresh from the ovens of heaven, baked by the master baker himself.

How the Israelites must have anticipated the taste and the smell of each morning's delivery.

Just like the Israelites, you too can now enjoy the taste and smell of fresh manna.

Today you will be listening to Ariel Roldan, pastor of the Cadillac and Lake City Seventh Day Adventist churches in the Michigan Conference.

We're going to be going through a sermon series only on Daniel 1.

When we've heard the prophecies of Daniel, we quickly think Daniel 2, Daniel 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

But Daniel 1 usually gets skipped as the chapter that basically focuses on Daniel purposing in his heart to not defile himself.

I've been going through this chapter for morning devotions for over a month now, And there's a lot of things that I want to share.

So let's have a word of prayer, and we're going to be diving into Daniel.

I'm excited about what we're going to be looking at this morning.

Thank you for that song that is such a beautiful, simple prayer.

I pray that that will be our sincere response from this morning's message.

As we book in the Bible, that your son Jesus told us we needed to read and understand.

Bless us with your Spirit, that as we read, we will understand with our minds and hearts.

So, if you have your Bibles, and it's already open to Daniel 1, We want to focus this morning on the first 3 verses.

Though we looked at the first 8, we're not going to have time to look at everything that is in this first 8 verses.

Our verse, verse, chapter 1, verse 1 of Daniel.

This is the New American Standard, says, "...in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

The Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hands, along with some of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his God." The first 2 verses bring to our attention 2 cities.

Did you guys pick up the names of the 2 cities that are mentioned there?

I didn't know this until I actually went to seminary and someone pointed it out more clearly.

These 2 cities dominate the landscape of the Bible from the book of Genesis all the way down to the book of Revelation.

They are 2 cities representative of 2 kingdoms representative of 2 kings.

And these 2 kingdoms are in continual warfare.

If you go to Genesis, we're going to go through this quickly.

So Genesis chapter 11, this is the first time we see Babylon in the Bible.

Genesis chapter 11, you want to read verse 2 and then verse 9.

Verse 2 says, It came about as they journeyed east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar.

If you read Daniel 1, you see that the vessels were brought to the land of Shinar.

In verse 9, it says, Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them and brought over the face of the whole earth.

So now we know where the Tower of Babel was located.

It was in the land of Shinar, in the land of Babylon, And that's where everybody was spread out from.

So, the city of Babylon doesn't begin sometime when Nebuchadnezzar developed and established that kingdom.

It already existed from the Tower of Babel.

We go to Genesis chapter 14 verse 18 Genesis chapter 14 verse 18 says, And Melchizedek king of Salem.

Now that's how we translate or transliterate it from Hebrew, but it's actually Shalom.

The word for city in Hebrew is Ir, which we translate as Jer.

Have you guys heard that song Shalom my friend, Shalom my friend, Shalom Shalom.

That's what it means and Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem.

It was called Shalom but later on it just became more formalized as the city of peace, the city of Shalom, Yerushalom.

So Babylon and Jerusalem begin to be mentioned here in the book of Genesis and then they dominate the landscape all the way through the book of Revelation.

Revelation chapter 18, if you could open your Bibles there now.

Revelation chapter 18, very familiar passages.

Revelation 18 verse 2 says, And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is what city?

And of course, it's in the second angel's message, Babylon is fallen, is fallen.

So, both Babylon and Jerusalem are emblematic of the 2 kingdoms that are seeking to establish themselves on the planet.

But the more human history progresses, the kingdoms that Babylon represents and the kingdom that Jerusalem represents are no more attached to just a geographical location, but rather human minds, human hearts.

Jesus says that the kingdom of God is at hand, and He proclaimed Himself to be that king.

But He did not seek to claim territory, geographical location.

Jesus came to claim your heart and my heart to be part of His kingdom and make Jesus our Lord and our Savior, our King.

How many of you want Jesus to be part of that kingdom?

Now, we don't need to travel to Jerusalem to be part of God's kingdom and establish our homes over there.

Have you seen the war that has been taking place between Hamas and Israel?

It's because they are fighting, thinking God's kingdom is somehow linked to a geographical piece of land.

But what the Bible presents to us, and what Daniel begins to understand, In the book of Daniel, chapter 1, we'll see how Daniel transitions from thinking of the earthly Jerusalem as being the ultimate place where God's kingdom reigns, to understanding that the kingdom of God encompasses the entire universe.

And that He's trying to reclaim the planet, the rebellious planet, from the kingdom of Satan and darkness to the kingdom of light and light through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Thus, these 2 cities represent you and me today.

Human hearts throughout all of history, From the book of Genesis all the way down to Revelation.

This is just introductory material just so that we begin to see the importance of these cities, that they're not just tucked away in some historical book that has to do with a place that's far from us at a time that long ago that does not speak to us.

They are the 2 kingdoms, the only 2 kingdoms that you and I can belong to.

And according to the Gospel, you and I are born naturally Babylonians.

But we have someone seeking for us, wooing us, trying to compel us, awaken in us, desires to eschew, to reject, to not be deceived by the glitter and the gold of Babylon, by the delicacies and the pleasures that Babylon offers, and rather choose a city that has foundations, a city that has not yet been manifested on planet earth.

We're about to read it in Revelation 21, verse 10.

He says, and He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and show me the great holy city, which name is Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem.

And that will be a literal city that will occupy a literal geographical place in our planet, but the people that belong and enter that city now choose to be citizens of that kingdom, citizens of that city.

We will see that in the book of Daniel, and actually Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the rest of the minor prophets.

Daniel Chapter 1: Unstained Purpose

Fresh manna fell to the ground as a gift from God while the Israelites were in the wilderness.

Today you will be listening to Ariel Roldan, pastor of the Cadillac and Lake City Seventh-day Adventist churches in the Michigan Conference.

We're going to continue through the series on Daniel chapter 1 and I'm not really sure how long it's going to be because the more I study it, the more stuff that comes out and I'm actually thinking about going through the whole book of Daniel.

Even if it takes us about 2 years to do so, I think it'll be worth the time invested in understanding all the things that God has left for us in this book.

In Matthew 24, Jesus says that we ought to study the book of Daniel to read it and to understand it.

So this morning we're going to be looking at Daniel 1.8.

I've changed 1 word that Daniel would purpose in his heart not to defile himself.

That's where the sermon title comes from.

As I was looking for synonyms for the word defile, that word stain was way more meaningful.

We don't say like Char, you know, her ankle was defiled with that piece of wood.

What other word could we use instead of defiling?

And Daniel did not want to infect himself, did not want to defile himself, did not want to stain himself.

I will invite you to have your Bibles open, we will be studying that this morning.

So if you have Daniel 1.8, I was originally going to be focusing on those words, defiling and purpose, but another word stood out even before those words show up on the passage.

If you have Daniel chapter 1 verse 8 open, what is the first word in that verse?

If I were to say the sentence, my friends decided to play video games all afternoon but I decided to finish my homework.

Someone is doing something but I'm choosing to react against that.

My boyfriend asked me to stay out past my curfew but I called my dad and he came to my rescue." I like that 1.

Daniel purposing in his heart not to defile himself has a context.

Daniel is reacting to what has been happening prior to him making this decision.

This morning we're going to be understanding why Daniel purposed in his heart, why he had a determination that he would not infect himself, that he would not stain himself, that he would not defile himself.

And the word defile is necessary because it's very specific.

But defiling is exclusive in that it pertains to the spiritual realm but it conveys the idea of staining or infecting we can infect our soul we can infect our hearts with sin and Daniel purpose that he would not do so and because that word begins with but we need to go back to the previous verses and this morning at least I've identified 4 attacks of the enemy to try to infect Daniel, to try to defile Daniel, to try to stain Daniel's conscience, to try to stain his mind and his heart.

In Isaiah chapter 118, God likens sin to stain.

Though your sins be like scarlet, God can wash.

But we need to get to the point where we actually like unstained robes.

We need to get to the point where we like the stick out of the wound and not be putting it back in.

Thank you, Shar, for letting the Holy Spirit lead you in selecting that story because as I was listening, I'm like taking notes.

I'll make sure don't forget to point that out Because it goes so well with the idea of recognizing when something is polluting me, when something is be clouding, when something is distorting how I see reality, how I view life.

And Daniel, well, we'll be exploring this morning, number 1, the 4 ways that Babylon tried to infect and pollute Daniel and exploring how Daniel tried to counteract this intentional attack upon his soul, upon his heart.

So we're going to be looking at Daniel 1-4-7.

So if you have your Bibles open, I kind of like having volunteers reading.

So if there's anyone that would like to read Daniel 1-4-7.

Children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science.

And such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, in whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them 3 years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

Now among these were the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Meshach, and Azariah, unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names, for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belshazzar, and to Hananiah of Shadrach, and to Meshach of Meshach, and to Azariah of Abednego.

In these 4 verses, we can identify at least 4 main attacks on Daniel.

And Daniel recognizes them and responds and reacts to them.

The first 1 is that they will be taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

Attack number 3 is that the king had appointed a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine.

Babylonian food and Babylonian beverages were being offered and this was the third attack and the last 1 is the change of their names.

There are 4 attacks upon Daniel's identity.

Babylon is trying to eradicate anything and everything that would link Daniel to who he is.

It begins with language, followed by literature, followed by food and drink, and the last thing that is attacked on Daniel is a change of their names.

We're going to spend some time this morning exploring a little bit of these things.

We typically don't think much about our language until someone points it out.

And you can really identify this when you begin exploring idioms or sayings from different parts of the world.

I want to share with you an idiom, a saying, from Argentina.

And I want to see if you can figure out what we actually mean when we say this, all right?

Stop trying to get your dog into my house.

There's a common phrase that you will hear in Argentinian conversations.

Maybe other parts of the South America use it.

I don't know, but for sure, my parents have used this before.

I've used this before with my friends when I would tell my friends, stop trying to get your dog into my house.

Stop trying to put the wool over my eyes.

If I translate that in Spanish, I will get the same looks that we got this morning when I say, stop trying to get your dog into my house.

Well, in Argentina, at least when I grew up in Argentina in the 70s and almost 80s, We grew up in a very utilitarian mindset regarding pets, specifically dogs.

Daniel Chapter 1: The Power of Influence

It was fresh from the ovens of heaven, baked by the master baker himself.

We're going to be going to the second part of our series on the book of Daniel chapter 1.

So you may want to have your Bibles open there.

As we pray, we're going to be going through a lot of scripture this morning, so I hope that this will we'll be able to get through all of it on a timely basis.

Father, You know what You put in my heart to say.

It has touched me, it has convicted me, it has stirred me.

It is provoking me, Lord, to a deeper surrender to You.

And I'm praying for Your Holy Spirit, Father, that I can express this in a way that will do justice, number 1, to Your Holy Word, and number 2, that the Word spoken will be of tremendous blessing to Your precious Church this morning.

Bless us, please, and let Your Spirit be the 1 that is actually teaching us and guiding us through your word.

I like listening to things as I ride and drive, and because much of my young adult life was wasted in front of the television, I feel like I have to catch up to a lot of things.

So I like to listen to books like Desire of Ages, Great Controversy, I like to listen to audio books.

I seldom listen to music, though I do sometimes, but I'm always trying to learn.

And I've discovered these things called podcasts, and there's such a variety of them.

So I handpick a few of them to invest my driving time, my commuting time.

And I was telling Bruce I had inadvertently 2 additional hours of driving this past week picking up my in-laws.

There was a confusion with where I was supposed to pick them up.

I was almost at Grand Rapids Airport when they called me telling me that they had landed in Traverse City.

But that just gave me more listening time.

I was listening to a podcast on influence.

I just pressed play to an episode and the host had a guest named Professor Robert Cialdini.

He wrote a book called Influence and he has been studying influence for several decades.

Every part of that channel has been systematically scientifically developed to provoke you to call in with your credit card in hand and order that blender or vacuum or whatever it is that they're highlighting, they have studied what causes people to make decisions.

And it was interesting, he studied this for several years and he found that there's 7 ways that people get influenced.

And we're not going to talk about those this morning.

I thought about some of them, but I realized we need to focus on something else.

But in the middle of that podcast, the question was asked to the guest, to Professor Cialdini.

How can you tell the difference between when you are influencing someone versus manipulating them?

Because we think we may be influencing someone when in reality we are manipulating.

So I was eagerly waiting for the host to reply.

Maybe I need to read his book to get what he actually said.

Cialdini could answer, I blurted out motives.

I think motive really defines whether you are influencing someone versus manipulating them.

When I am seeking to influence someone for their own good, When I am seeking to influence someone with no gain for me and all gain for them, what do you think that is?

But when I am trying to influence someone to get something from them.

That little bird was trying to influence the guy with the camera to leave the eggs alone.

The bird was not trying to use influence for its own protection.

Rather, I was touched by that video, thank you Lloyd for that story, that the bird was actually putting itself at risk by pretending to be injured.

A predator that's faster than that bird could catch it as it's trying to lure it away.

That is good influence, that is not manipulation.

I would like for us to open our Bibles to Proverbs chapter 23 verse 7.

We want to read the first half, preferably in the King James or New King James version.

Newer manuscripts or other manuscripts that other translations have used translate this a little bit different.

But the New King James, the New American Standard, and of course the King James, I believe capture a tremendous truth from the Bible.

Proverbs 23 verse 7 the first part says that as he or she as a human being things in his heart so is he.

Very succinct but extremely true and powerful.

This concept that it is not your career that makes you who you are, is not the amount of income that you have in the bank that makes you who you you according to this verse.

According, for as a person thinks in there, this is who you are.

If I am a bad-tempered parent, can I teach my children to be calm and collected?

If I am a gossiping parent, can I teach my children to be discreet with things they hear from other people?

Because as a person thinks in their minds, in their hearts, so that person is.

And it is who I am that really has influence.

We tell this and we've heard this from people that tell us how to influence our children, influence other people, but mostly influence our children, that our children will not do what we say, our children will do what we do.

Our children will not do what we say to them or tell them to do, our children will do what we do.

If I tell my children, study your Bible, read your Bible every day, but I don't, what are the chances that my child will?

But if my children see me studying the Bible, see me open the Word on a daily basis, what is the likelihood that my children will too?

Actually, Michelle texted me earlier this week, Pastor, what is your scripture?

Because I would like Ezra to be able to practice it.

For me, that touched me deeply because it's not simply that he's prepared, but he's being modeled.

What a special occasion this is for the Lord, and we want to prepare ourselves to bring the best that we can for him.

Those are precious lessons that begin to affect how we think about church, about God, about worship.

And we need to remember throughout this whole sermon that as I think, so I am.

I am the makeup of the cumulative thoughts that I have in here.

We're going to pick up from our last sermon, when we were contrasting 2 sieges.

1 was under the kingship of Hezekiah, and we read that in 2 Kings 18-19.

And the other 1, of course, was from Daniel 1, under King Jehoiakim, when same process of Jerusalem being besieged, but 2 opposite outcomes.

Hezekiah doesn't lose a single soldier and he doesn't have to shoot a single arrow, yet there's total victory given to Judah at that time Jerusalem.

With Jehoiakim on the other hand, Babylon is allowed to demolish the walls, burn the city, and pillage the temple.

Same people, same city, same God, so different outcomes.

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