foreign
is a place
in Scripture it is also a metaphor
it stands for the Godless secular
systems of power in this world
the rise and fall of Babylon
is the story of History
[Music]
laughs
Babylon is proud it's rebellious
it says it has no need of God
it is Shameless
it corrupts
Lords debauchery it mocks at virtue
it cancels truth
[Music]
it is obsessed
and we feel helpless because it will not
be stopped
it rises and it rises and it rises
as every worldly weapon we raise against
it seems to fail
[Music]
I want to talk about this theme Babylon
and as you saw in the video just then
Babylon is a place
it is where the Prophet Daniel lived the
capital city of one of the world's most
prosperous Empires
but babylon's Empire
her government and her society that is
the kind of place that she was the kind
of power that she was it constituted an
anti-god system of power
and therefore Babylon in scripture also
became a metaphor and it was a metaphor
that was applied to places wherever this
anti-god system of culture and power was
found for example
scripture calls the city of Tire Babylon
at some point also Nineveh also in
second Peter it appears to refer to Rome
as Babylon and then of course we all
know and maybe some of you are a bit
disappointed right now because maybe
this is why you came because you're an
end times junkie uh there is a Babylon
in Revelation and you thought I might be
focusing on that and I'm not tonight
focusing on that but there's a Babylon
in Revelation a lot of debate about
exactly where that is exactly what that
is and all the rest of it I'm not going
to get into it tonight but it is another
one of these anti-god powers
and we learn from scripture what it is
like
um now the quote Ken Ham
which I'm told is a reliable source
everything begins in Genesis chapter 1
to 11.
even Babylon
because the first Babylon
was at a place called Babel
or if I may translate Babel
it was at the city of Babel or I will
say Babel because well I'm Australian
um
and scripture tells us about this first
Babylon at the city of Babel and it
tells us about the last Babylon in the
Book of Revelation and it gives us
several clues in those descriptions
concerning what this Spirit Babylon is
like
we learn a few things at Babel we learn
that Babylon is proud
this is the founding statement of her
Philosophy from Genesis 11 4 come let us
make a name for ourselves said the
people of Babel before they established
their City
let me start drawing some connections
straight away
it is interesting isn't it
that today
and now modern sophisticated City
one of the most influential political
movements
is a movement that marches under the
banner
Pride
a banner that says like Babel
I will exalt
myself
to make my self
my sense of identity who I am as great
as possible
and to make the world revolve around
that
and I will say I am proud
even
when it goes against what God has said
now that's not only Pride that's the
next step from Pride which is rebellion
and we learn also
that Babylon is rebellious at Babel
because in her Pride she was defying God
you remember just prior to the Babel
story what does God command He commands
the people to spread out
and of course what do they say they say
oh no no we're going to dwell here in
this place and make a city lest we be
scattered abroad across the face of the
Earth we're going to stay
put
and that is how proud they had become
that they would rebel against what God
had asked of them
it's interesting
when a culture defies God
in this way
it pretends to be confident
but actually deep down
it's very anxious
and that's another feature of Babel they
were actually anxious because God gave a
command and then once they said no let's
make a name for ourselves let's get God
out of the picture suddenly fear struck
because they looked out at the world of
big bad forces beyond their control
and they forgot God's providential care
and God's securing hand and God's will
in all things and they forgot therefore
his promise of Genesis chapter 8 that
while the Earth remains seedtime and
harvest summer and winter and so on if
they forgot that he was in charge and
once they had forgotten that they said
you know what in our own strength this
looks risky
in our own strength it looks like we
could be scattered brought across the
face of the Earth and we will face
trouble and risk and threats so we need
to stay put
without God they sensed their own
Frailty
you know today I see a parallel in our
own Society
today the issue isn't that we've got
this problem with the command of God
that says spread out
we've got a problem with the command
that God made in almost the same breath
which was to be fruitful and multiply
and increase abundantly in the earth and
multiply in it
you know God has never revoked that
command
God has never said whoa whoa whoa that's
enough abundance time to stop
we've seen that
but we've removed God because we've said
we want to make ourselves great
and all of a sudden we start to see that
that is only risk we go well hang on
surely the Earth can't cope
surely the climate system will Doom us
all
surely climate change will destroy the
place in a matter of years
surely overpopulation will ruin us
surely the resources can't stand it
and notice we're very scared
and all of a sudden we have this problem
and this is this issue in Australia you
know we have this phenomenon and the
child psychologist will tell you about
it where kids are walking out of the
classroom of course it's all the climate
extremist stuff and they're walking into
the psychologist's office and what is
this what are they doing they've got
existential anxiety about the future of
the planet
fear
but here's the thing
and by the way some of this is just
political power but some of it's genuine
like I just described
but the thing is um
there is a deeper anxiety that comes
when we throw God out of the picture
every Babylon if I could put it that way
has fears for their own security and I
think today we've got this phenomenon
where each one of each individual has
more fears than at any time in Western
history believe it or not and I know
that because I know that the statistics
tell us that this is the most depressed
and anxious generation that the West has
ever seen
that doesn't surprise me
because how can you have confidence in
anything
when God doesn't exist
how can you have confidence in anything
when it's all up to you and your
strength and your power and your ability
to scream your own identity and make
everything else submit to it
of course you're afraid
of course there's problems of course
Babylon is scared and we have no
confidence in anything deep down today
and although we are proud
we are afraid
another feature we learned from Babel is
that Babylon is in competition with God
you think to yourself gosh how could
that be it's interesting every time one
of these Babylon systems is judged in
the Bible whether that be in Revelation
whether it be in Isaiah I think it's 14
where God speaks a judgment against the
king of Babylon or whether it be what
God says to Nebuchadnezzar in the Book
of Daniel and I think it's in chapter
four any one of these places you will
see the same language
he will say God will say something along
the lines of your sins have reached
heaven
and or you have made yourself like the
most high
and here in Babel what happens they're
building a tower which is a monument to
their pride and their rebellion and
where's it reaching heaven
and what this is telling us is that
these people are so proud and so
rebellious that they're now trying to
get inside God's jurisdiction in other
words they're trying to do stuff that's
God's job
they're trying to do stuff that is God's
job let me explain what I mean by that
with examples
well let me put it this way what is it
that unites
critical race Theory radical climate
Politics the pride movement abortion
radical feminism euthanasia
transgenderism
and so many other things
in this category of concerns that we
have about the ideologies of our day
what is it that unites those things
because something does unite them
I put it to you
that all of them are competing with
God's Authority as creator
every one of them puts man
and man's systems of power
in God's place to Define what he has
already defined
trying to do so in our own strength
for example
who define marriage
God have we got the same I think the
same people in the room it's Tuesday
night here we go okay these guys know
the answers who defines marriage God
defines marriage exactly
and we said God said one man one woman
for life
do you know long before we got away with
the sexuality and the gender
requirements of marriage we did away
with the permanency of marriage and we
did away with God's command to hold
marriage and honor long ago
heterosexuals did that
we defied God
or indeed who says
who defines how many human races there
are
God defines how many human races there
are
and there is one race
but see once we get rid of God and we
look at our external differences we say
oh dear there's more than one race and
now we've got ourselves into this
horrendous position where we think that
our exp our shared humanity is so
limited
that we are actually unable to stop
oppressing one another and there is no
solution and I tell you you read any
book on critical race Theory and that
kind of thing by people like Robin
D'Angelo and that's what they teach
there's no ultimate solution
now that is a Lie from hell it's not
true
We Are All One race under God and we are
all equally saved in the Lord Jesus
Christ and conformed to his image and
that unites us but of course we do away
with that truth and we go all wrong
who gets to Define what is the or who
gets to control the ultimate Destiny of
the planet
exactly
and I can tell you we need to give out
Med prizes or something here I wish I
had brought up some lollies to throw at
you oh lollies you don't know what they
are sweets is that what you call them
candies candies
oh my goodness
Australian translation I can't do it
um you're going to think that's the
funniest word lollies right that's what
we call Candy lollies I'm not joking
um where the heck was I
oh yes
the reality is
it's not that the planet hasn't ended
yet
because we haven't destroyed it yet
the planet hasn't ended yet because
God's not done with it yet
simple as that Genesis 8 as I said seed
time and harvest cold and winter summer
day and night cold and winter et cetera
Etc shall not cease so long as the Earth
remains it's in God's hands
um
there is one preacher who says
this is a bit cheeky but if you think
we're messing up the planet now you wait
till you see what Jesus does with it
when he gets back
um
who gets to say when life begins
God
he made it he authored it and he told us
in Genesis make life don't take it I'll
require a reckoning for a life he says
but as for you be fruitful and multiply
and fill the Earth be makers and
nurturers and champions of life don't be
those who destroy it and take it away
I could go on
this is no surprise by the way see all
these things are people in their pride
and Rebellion competing with God
and the reality is that we are co-opting
all of our powers our education systems
our institutions our health care System
to try and secure ourselves in these
rebellions just like Babel tried to
build a city to secure themselves in
their Rebellion
I mean bluntly how can we behave
sexually the way that we do because of
the sexual health clinics right it's
technology it's Enterprise how is it
that they keep up this lie about gender
identity and that your gender is who you
are in your head because of the
education system that's an
indoctrinating young people
the systems and the powers of our day
are securing ourselves in a rebellion
against God himself
and that was Babel's sin
now that's what we learn
in um oh by the way
this is the teaching of the whole Bible
Romans 1 says this it says that we
worship and serve the creature rather
than the Creator
who's blessed forever and we seek to put
ourselves in his place that's why Paul
uses the sexuality example next because
he says we want to rewrite God's laws
God's rules God's creation mandate so
it's the teaching of the whole Bible and
also this is the clue as to why Babylon
every Babylon will tolerate many gods
every Babylon will seem very pluralistic
almost Democratic they won't mind
Muslims they won't mind Hindus they
won't mind atheists they won't mind all
sorts of ideals and philosophies and
ideas but there's one ideal they cannot
stand and it is the belief in the one
true and living God the creator of
Heaven and Earth that's what they can't
stand because it is with him that they
have a problem
and that explains to you why hostility
is often so specifically directed
against God and against sadly even
within churches sometimes without them
knowing it God as creator
that's the day in which we live
now we learn those things at Babel and
we say well that's pretty contemporary
I want to give you a couple of things
two things from revelation
in Revelation and you can go and read it
yourself
it's not very family friendly so we
haven't read it this evening
but I'll just make some references to it
and you can go and see that what I'm
saying is correct the first one is
um in Revelation we find that she this
Babylon thing is a great demonic
strongholds
it is a Dwelling Place of demons
it is referred to as she and she is this
demonic stronghold which infiltrates
Earthly systems of power to turn them
against God and it's a great battle of
the ages uh you know culminating in this
Revelation example
and we see two things about her we see
that she takes these human powers and
structures and societies and cultures to
do two things against the people of God
in particular
so we've got the basic structure in
Babel now you say well what is what does
Babylon do to the people of God number
one persecutes them
she is drunk with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus
she persecutes them now we're very
fortunate in Western countries that we
don't have Martyrs of the kind that many
societies have endured through the ages
including Daniel's Babylon
but I'll tell you what we do have
we have the same root hostility
just starting to rise again in our day
and I know that there are many examples
in this country of what we might call
cancel culture
there are many examples in this country
of people losing opportunities maybe
even losing careers
maybe even facing worse hostility
because of their confession of Jesus
Christ or their public testimony of
their Christian faith
um this is the sort of thing Jesus
talked about in Matthew 5 when he said
that
um we could expect to be reviled
and persecuted reviled means you know
people are angrily disgusted with you
you know you you bigot you're homophobe
all this kind of stuff you hater we hear
those insults and you know what they
they heard a bit
because it ain't true
this is very big problem in my country
or when people speak evil against you on
account of Jesus the Same root hostility
the Babylons of this world won't
tolerate the testimony of the one true
and living God and it's got so bad in my
country uh that you know I can cite laws
that have recently passed and our second
most populous state in Victoria where
the city of Melbourne is or Melbourne to
translate to American where the city of
Melbourne is by the way if you want to
talk like a local when you go to
Australia say Melbourne and they'll
think you're local it's just m-e-l-b-n
we like to shorten things where was I
um
if you go to the state of Victoria you
can see there that there is legislation
that has been passed
and this is the literal implication if
you are a parent and you have a child
who comes home from school where they've
been learning all about gender Theory
and all the rest of it and Harry says
mummy Daddy I don't think I'm a boy I
think I'm a girl
and I want to do this that and the other
and mummy and daddy say well how about
not today you know how about we just
wait and see because probably this will
pass
that simple act and I kid you not and
this is legally analyzed in the state of
Victoria can get you imprisoned for up
to 10 years
now that's the kind of root hostility
that's starting to emerge in my country
that's the kind of root hostility you
see in Canada
that's the kind of root hostility you're
seeing in California
that's the kind of root hostility that
is encroaching on Western Nations more
and more
but Babylon doesn't only persecute God's
people
she seduces them as well
notice the Dwellers of the earth and I
won't go into detail but for
family-friendly reasons but Revelation
17 2 we see that the Dwellers of the
earth become drunk with her wine which
is full of what basically luxury glamor
wealth Comfort The Good Life sin sexual
Temptations perversions money pearls
economic Prosperity popularity
reputation fast cars nice perfumes big
boats TV Hollywood YouTube
it's full of bread and circuses
the American dream
The Good Life
and Babylon says you know something I've
got a lot to offer you
all you need to do is drink this wine
and of course what happens when you
drink too much you go to sleep
and you will go to spiritual sleep
this is the spiritual scourge of our
time we're aware of the persecution
but we're not aware that there's a war
of loves in our heart
a love of this passing world and all
that she offers
and the temptation to compromise to get
it
and give up our love of the next world
and the kingdom of God
as Jesus said to the church at laodicea
he said you say I am rich I have
prospered I lack nothing
they probably were prosperous
but that created a deception in their
hearts he says you don't realize that
you are wretched pitiable poor blind and
naked you don't realize that you are in
a spiritual mess because of your own
comfort and prosperity
there's a war of loves in our heart
and you know one of the greatest
evidences of this in our day
I think a lot of us
sometimes are more concerned
about the about saving Babylon
than we are about saving Souls
we're more concerned about the loss of
the good things in our culture in our
culture that we've enjoyed for so long
than we are about the spiritual
condition of our neighbors we're more
concerned about living with people who
believe the same as we believe
politically
and less concerned about reaching them
with the gospel
there's a lot of that going on in our
day there's a war of loves in our heart
what will you go out of your way for
will it be
for Babylon
and all that she offers
will it be for the Greater King
ladies and gentlemen Babylon is rising
she's here in the modern West
and the question comes to us how shall
we therefore live
what shall we do it's no use just you
know there's a lot of this sort of
attitude the sky is falling attitude you
know everything's falling apart
everything's getting worse it's like
chicken little running around if you
know the reference saying the sky is
falling the sky is falling the sky is
falling well yeah maybe the sky is
falling but it's not good enough to stop
there you need to know what to do about
it
we need to know how to live and it's
great to have an example in this regard
it's great to have someone to look to
we've got Daniel
a man who lived in ancient Babylon in a
society that was surprisingly like ours
and Babylon was proud Babylon was
rebellious Babylon was in competition
with God and that's there in God's
dealings with Nebuchadnezzar who is
persecuting God's people I mean this guy
ended up in the lions den and trying to
seduce them with a good life
and Daniel shows us how to navigate it
all
and so much of how to navigate it all
comes out of Daniel's first day which we
heard in the scripture audio just before
and Daniel's first day is introduced to
us in the context of a crisis
and the context of the crisis is simply
this
God's Nation had been swallowed up
inside of Babylon
Babylon had come along and wiped out
Judah taken the remainder of the people
and those people were no longer living
in God's Society they were now living in
a Babylon Society
and that wasn't supposed to happen
because they were God's chosen people
they were special they were protected by
the hand of the Living God for so many
centuries and he delivered them from the
land of Egypt and he took them out
through the Red Sea and he preserved
them against the odds in the wilderness
he protected them in battles he gave
them victories against the odds he put
the fear of this little ancient Hamlet
and that's all it was into the Nations
and the empires of the world and they
were a testimony to the nations of who
God was and what God was like and their
existence seemed crucial to the world
order
this was the living God's people
and his Temple was there and no one
touched that and got away with it you
touched the Ark of the Covenant zap you
are dead
this is who they were
good Nations like this one don't go
under
to make it contemporary woke pagans
don't beat Christendom
that's not how it's meant to go
until of course it does
Babylon wins
that that wasn't meant to happen
and Daniel suddenly has to navigate a
Babylon culture an anti-god system and
he's quite alone him and a few friends
but the thing is God let this happen
it says God gave jehoiakim king of Judah
into Nebuchadnezzar's hands along with
some of the vessels of the house of God
in other words they walked in there and
took him and nothing went wrong
extraordinary how can Babylon rise
in a Christian Nation how can churches
fail
an anti-god institutions win how can how
can it get this bad
and maybe get worse do you know I think
Daniel's Faith would have been really
tested
because so much of the Jewish faith was
bound up in the fact that this shouldn't
happen
and I want to ask a question
how much of our faith is bound up in the
fact that this shouldn't happen
how much of our faith is actually the
Cry of Babylon that says Comfort peace
prosperity no hardship The Good Life how
much of our faith is actually in that
where did you learn that
I'll tell you this you did not learn
that in the New Testament
and I say this carefully the New
Testament teaches the Dead
offices
the New Testament teaches that
well actually we need to face
a world that will
give us trouble Jesus says in the world
you will have trouble
Jesus says if the world hates you
remember that it hated me
Jesus promises
that it won't be easy
Paul says to Timothy he says all who
seek to get live Godly in Christ Jesus
will suffer persecution isn't that tough
or
all
there's a test for us
how much do we suffer
and Daniel is able to admit long after
the fact that you know what
God isn't always like that
sometimes God allows the trouble
sometimes God has a bigger and a better
purpose through trouble
and this is a great comfort what Daniel
is actually doing is he's confessing
God's sovereignty in all things
and maybe it makes us wince when we hear
would God do this yes
we say partly because we've got a wrong
view of God but partly because we're
running away from one of the most
important doctrines
we're running away from the notion that
God is in Ultimate control thinking that
we're kind of saving God's character
somehow
but let me tell you this far from
needing to run away from that Doctrine
we need to embrace it
and we need to embrace it because it is
only then that you will have peace in
trouble
it is only them that you will have peace
when everything is I was going to say
going to custard I don't know if you
have that expression when it's all
falling apart right you could say it's
okay God's in control and do you know
what it means if God's in control it
means that evil will never serve Evil's
ends it can't God's sovereignty means
it's impossible
everything including evil itself will
serve God's good and perfect ends isn't
that awesome
and Daniel I'm sure in his crisis of
Faith was saying this can't happen is
God real all those sorts of questions
but do you know something as he puts
This Record down on paper he's quite
happy to say God did this because he now
knows that all this God had a greater
good to do
by bringing This Disaster upon his
people Daniel just couldn't see it at
the time
but he could see it after the fact
that was the work there was a work of
Grace that God was doing in the lives of
Daniel and his friends
and the work of Grace was seen in the
fact that he didn't liberate Daniel
from his Babylon experience
but he asked Daniel to walk through that
experience
by faith
and he asked Daniel and his friends to
prove his faithfulness to us in this
room tonight because we're reading his
story
through thick and thin and every trial
and every trouble and that's the
I think we might face tonight
that maybe God won't Deliver Us
from so much of what's going on in our
world but maybe he will ask some of us
or even maybe all of us to walk through
a Babylon experience by faith
and he will do a good work
and it'll be a good work that we look
back on when it's done and say God was
in that
and we'll have peace about it
this work of Grace
in Daniel's life
began
with a fake
a fake offer of Good Fortune
Daniel actually got an incredible
opportunity no
he got an offer of a place in Harvard
University
or the equivalent in the ancient worlds
he got an offer of a special King
sponsored education program
and what was the point of all that he
was to stand in the king's Palace at the
end in other words he was going to go to
Washington DC it was going to be one of
the powerful ones he was going to have
all the influence he was going to get a
lot of money he's going to have a good
life he's going to be very comfortable
everything Babylon could possibly have
offered Daniel it was on a silver plate
and they're saying here you go mate take
it
amazing
and I'll tell you what
as he comes from little old Judah and
he's going through the countryside
towards Babylon
it would have been quite a sight to see
he wouldn't have seen a metropolis like
that in all his days
I would have been 100 meter high walls
all around the city or if it was 100
meters high skyscraper in the middle of
the city called the ziggurat I think it
was called the house of the foundations
of the heavens and earth the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon were there
Nebuchadnezzar's great palace complex
one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world called The House of the
foundations of mankind the processional
way was a 20 meter wide paved Street the
walls I mentioned before phenomenally
High covered in Sapphire Blue tiles and
white dragon mosaics
this guy would have thought wow
look at the opportunity we've been given
come through all this hardship and God
is blessing us
God is giving us an opportunity here
it's the stuff of dreams and Babylon is
saying this could be yours
it's like Revelation isn't it
drink the wine of my luxuries and glamor
and opportunity
come on belong here look what you can
have isn't it enticing
and he gets brainwashed as well
he's trained in the literature and
language of the Chaldeans so notice
that's the important bit no longer
Jewish now cold Ian that's what they
want to achieve
a little bit like today isn't it the
education system what's it doing it's
replacing
effectively judeo-christian ideals
with a new set of ideals
and it's not about reading writing and
arithmetic it's really about philosophy
and politics and ideologies
and so there's a brainwashing exercise
and notices this brainwashing exercise
is so comprehensive
that these young people Daniel and his
friends get new names
I just want to show you the significance
of this
you know Daniel means God is my judge
his new name Belta Shazam means
protect his life
and Marduk is the chief of the
Babylonian Gods
hananiah means the Lord shows Grace
his new name Shadrach means command of
Aku
and Aku is the moon God
Michelle means who is like God
Meshach his new name is intentionally a
Blasphemous play on that name who is
like Aku
Azariah means the Lord helps and his new
name Abednego means servant of Nabu who
is the son of Marduk
language is being used to erase the good
and the true
and their Hebrew names even are gone
to replace with a new language that
promotes ideology
and lies and paganism
we're seeing a very similar thing in our
day
I was in Bangkok a while ago believe it
or not for a Christian Conference it's a
strange place to have a Christian
Conference but I was staying at a hotel
for this conference and over the road
there was a um it was like a bar and it
was called scene s-e-n
and the marketing slogan was sin and be
seen
it's extraordinary
that bar was not trying to repel people
they fully understood their Western
clientele
and they wanted to entice them in
you know Once Upon a Time sin was an
abominant abominable thing
but now it's something enticing
but it goes beyond that what about a
word like
gay or queer
completely changed your meaning what
about a word like Pride
once a the sin by which Satan fell from
heaven
is the legend attached to Pride right
what is it now what's a political
movement to be embraced
what about equality
hasn't that changed in meaning
what about truth
you know now we used to say the truth
what do you hear now my truth
by the way that's another one of those
competitions with God
to say that actually the truth is vested
in me
not vested in the Creator God who made
it
I think the first time I was talking to
someone about this the other day and we
both thought that the first time we ever
heard that phrase my truth was from
Oprah Winfrey
back in the like early 2000s late 90s
um and it's really caught on
or what about uh the meaning of love
love used to be all about serving
someone's highest and best interests now
it's about making them feel nice
right
it's about pandering to their feelings
tell that to Jesus who looked on the
Rich Young Ruler and loved him
then spoke to him and he walked away sad
how does that work with a modern idea of
love
all right Jesus loved him enough to tell
him what he needed to hear
which had very little to do with his
feelings
these words have all changed in meaning
and the idea behind them is to kill old
ideas
and maybe even in the realm particularly
at the moment of things like mother
father notice it's always parent or
you've got this rubbish about mothers
being birthing persons and all this
garbage
um
change of language Erasure of words that
are good and right to remove old ideas
and promote new ones but notice
something
all these words are being disconnected
from their god-given definition and they
are instead starting to be defined by
our own feelings
I'll give you an example harm
there's no longer anything objective
that's no longer that is now to harm
someone is to upset their sense of self
that's harm that's hate speech
you see how that the definitions change
so that it's rooted in the person or
gender it's now separated from
biological reality or God's creation
order it's now all about my state of
mind how I feel about myself
if you go through these words it's a
consistent theme
and the point is it's turning people
away from objective truth and The God
Who is the author of that objective
truth to subjective truth and the self
who is the author of that subjective
truth now that is a form of paganism
Babylon was a pagan society and that's
what Daniel was contending with and in a
pagan Society people worship created
things not the Creator right
today we also worship created things
we don't worship gods of wood and iron
and bronze and all that kind of stuff
like they did in Daniel's day and we
don't worship animals and so on our
Idols are not created things like
kangaroos and peacocks and dogs and
bears and all the rest of it our
creative thing is something else
it's a word and it's called identity
we worship our identity
our identity is the pillar and the
foundation of our whole life
our identity is the pillar and
Foundation of how we interact with the
world even of our politics and our
political activism and young people are
taught that in classrooms in Australia
so I know that they're taught it here as
well
that is a form of paganism
academics would call it Neo paganism to
worship the fact is today I am the
creature I worship
I am the creature I worship and that is
incredibly attractive to the young mind
that is incredibly enticing to a young
person it says that you can be at the
center it says that you can determine
your own life you can be you can be
whatever you want and moral boundaries
are minimal because it's your truth that
matters and you can redefine those
self-interest is Paramount it's all
about you it's all about your identity
you can rebel against whatever you like
in the name of pursuing that identity
and that is unbelievably attractive
that is unbelievably seductive to them
to the young mind and it is an
indoctrination therefore that exploits
the sinful nature that wants to rebel
and wants to love self over God and over
others
This Small Wonder that into this Society
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so
objectionable
because what is the first thing that the
Gospel of Jesus Christ says about the
identity
it is sinful
do you know the cross of Jesus Christ is
an absolute offense to the identity
because the very very fact that there
had to be a cross at all is a monument
to how sinful yours and my identity
truly was
therefore Christ had to Die For It
Christ had to die for who I really was
and when you come along with the gospel
into this generation and you say the
first thing you need to know is your own
sin
and your own need of Salvation and
repentance
that is objectionable
and actually our young people are being
immunized
against the gospel itself
which is a worrying thing
I say all of that just to say the
Temptation for Daniel was so real
and the Temptation for us today is so
real and we might not go in I was going
to say the whole bucket of chicken we're
not going to go all the way into this
ideology but we let it shape us we let
it color our thinking as the song
there's an old there's a song somewhere
that says it's a slow fade when you give
yourself away black and white gets
turned to gray choices are made people
never crumble in a day piece by piece or
as they there's an English expression
salami tactics one slice at a time
little bit by little bit the world
starts to impact you
and Daniel has the same voice of Babylon
saying believe our attractive philosophy
have everything that we offer it's all
here it's an easy life
if
that's the point there's always an if
if you play your cards right
and notice that threat of hostility is
just lurking in the background
there'll be a cost if you don't come
along with this buddy
you will stand out
you're gonna look stupid
you're gonna lose your career you're
going to lose your opportunity You're
Gonna Lose oh how about this the chief
eunuch says well actually the king is
going to have our heads
how's that for some hostility
there's always an if and Babylon is
demanding her price from us today
the university and college campuses and
all this rubbish about sororities and
fraternities what are they doing
demanding their price
young person you can be one of us if
if you sin
if you compromise if you show us that
Babylon is your lord and not Christ the
true king
or indeed your friendship groups
and sadly this is even in Christian
friendship groups
what's the price of belonging sometimes
what's the price of maintaining those
friendships just compromise
just go along with it you don't want to
be the stick in the mud The Fish Out of
Water you don't want to be the weirdo
or indeed corporations
and this is a big one corporations and
politics
so many people in corporations not
prepared
to make the right decisions
not prepared to stand on what is truth
because Babylon is demanding her price
most of these woke corporates they don't
really believe it they just know that
that's the price of belonging and
prospering in Babylon
why is it that in my country we cannot
get a single politician to stand up on
the fact that young people are going
into gender clinics by the teeming
thousands and thousands and thousands
and thousands and going on irreversible
hormone therapies that's destroying
their lives even up to the point of
surgeries and there is a humanitarian
crisis happening in the health
institutions of our country in every
city and it's out of control
why won't one of them even those who
agree with us stand up because babylon's
price is shut up
don't say it
that's the world we live in
Daniel said has a day where he has to
give such a small price
he just has to eat the food
and such a great offer Huawei couldn't
be greater
and Daniel said
no
he just said no
you imagine he would have had his
critics
it's your first day
not now
like come on man play your cards for a
while or this old one which you've often
heard wait till you're more influential
wait till you higher up the tree where
you can make change you don't want to
compromise this god-given opportunity do
you
right
you know what Daniel didn't make it so
complicated
and beware if you're making it
complicated
it might just be the voice of the old
serpent in yoria saying has God really
said
because it's very simple Daniel said you
know what
I can't sin
that's the line
and it is that simple
you know what they said Daniel stop
praying in your window
Daniel said
you know what if I decide on the basis
of that to stop praying in my window
that's a wrong decision
I can't make the wrong decision
I can't sin
and that was that
it's truly remarkable that he did that
it's truly remarkable that he found the
strength to stand because these days we
so often lack that strength
and I think it's for this reason
and this is one of Daniel's key
differences
Daniel didn't try to engineer
outcomes in his life
he let God do that what do I mean
you know sometimes you say well if I
take a stand there will be a cost
if I make that decision I'll lose
something
if I say that to that person I'll be ex
thrown out of that group
or I won't be able to run for politics
next year like I wanted to because it
might get in the media and so on and so
on and so on
those are the concerns that we have
and so therefore we compromise
sometimes it's wise to think about the
future but never in this scenario never
when it is a decision about doing the
right thing
especially a decision about resisting
sin
Daniel understood that in those moments
he wasn't the master of his destiny
he understood in those moments he needed
God on his side so he served God and
made God's decision and let God be the
architect of his destiny
and you know when he took this stand on
day one in the king's Palace he should
have lost everything
he actually should have not got past his
first 10 days in that program
and yet he actually became probably the
most decorated individual
from that program
he served six Kings he was there until
Cyrus he had an extraordinary place in
the Kingdom now why because God intended
that for him and so long as Daniel had
God on his side nothing could stop it
not even the Lion's Den
and that's the kind of trust we have to
have today that we can't plan our future
better than God can
and by the way if you think that your
life is the product of some master plan
cooked up in your own brain you're very
naive it doesn't work that way the
decisions you make often have unexpected
outcomes and better that you trust those
unexpected outcomes to God
by making the right decision today
and trusting God for tomorrow my
grandmother died over 100 years old and
her favorite verse in the Bible was I
was young but now I am old and I have
not seen the righteous forsaken nor his
seed begging for bread it's a great
testimony to us as kids
um
and it's true my dad always said to me
growing up you'll never be worse off for
doing the right thing
uh the first time that happened was when
I asked if I could stay home from church
to study for an exam
I was really stressing and he suddenly
he just stood there in silence for a
while and he goes well
I guess you'll never be any worse off
for doing the right thing
and then just went about getting ready
for church
and when he went down to the car to go
to church of course who was in the car
me
um and it was true
I was no worse off for doing the right
thing
Daniel's stand should have cost him his
opportunities in Babylon but he realized
that Nebuchadnezzar wasn't his King and
Babylon wasn't his true Allegiance and
that wasn't where his treasure was
but actually his treasure was in heaven
and God was his true king
we do a couple of practical tips before
I close because I actually have no idea
when I started I'm sorry I didn't check
um just a couple of practical tips
number one
notice something about Daniel this is
very important I think for the younger
people in the room it says about Daniel
that he purposed in his heart
in other words Daniel made a decision
and he stored it up
for when he needed it
he decided I won't do that thing
and when the day came and he was asked
to do it eat the food he sort of already
decided I won't do that
it's a very good principle of wisdom
because In the Heat of the Moment you
will often make bad decisions
In the Heat of lust and Temptation and
peer pressure and all these sorts of
things you will often make bad decisions
if you haven't thought about it first
make your decisions now
draw lines in the sand about what you
will do
about so many of these things about
money and alcohol and church and prayer
and and sexual issues and accountability
and stick to them draw lines in the sand
because it's always just a little
compromise and then days go by and you
you've compromised completely but if
you've got a Line in the Sand even if it
seems like a high bar
it's a great protector it's a great
protector
and I had to do that when I went out to
a big secular University
I had to draw lines in the sand and it
was because I had Drawn Lines in the
sand although I think God preserved me
on my first day at University
I remember going to the campus and it
was this orientation week thing that
they have before you get into your
program your course and you get up you
go to orientation week and there's all
these Market stalls and there's all
these things going on and I remember
stepping on campus and hearing this
awful music
um and I thought what is that all for
music anyway I walked into the main
Court of the university and there were
this band of guys up on stage dressed up
like just like Japanese geisha girls all
white face paint and hair and you know
and these um kimono dresses and singing
this perverse music and doing all sorts
of things and I thought to myself whoa I
don't know what I've never seen anything
like that
and I left the great court and then I
wandered through the market stalls and I
thought to myself
my goodness gracious this is brazen
and I wandered through those stores and
then a couple of other things I won't go
into happened which were quite shocking
and confronting to me and I got a point
of the day where I just thought you know
what I don't know what's going on here
but I'm not ready for this and I went to
my car hopped in the car and drove home
and I sat in my room at home and I
prayed to God and said I'm gonna have to
go back
and I need help and I'm going to make
these decisions one two three four
and you know God honored that and helped
me to keep those decisions
and a lot of you in this room are going
to be stepping into universities
workplaces friend groups opportunities
in life and you need to have those
decisions ready because the Daniel
moment will come where they will say
just come along with us and you can have
an awful lot you need to say no I trust
God
simple as that
another tip again before I close and
this is the last tip is it the last tip
better be
I'll go a bunch but I'll just choose one
and the one I want to choose is this
notice something about Daniel which is
really important
under Darius there was a whole bunch of
guys who wanted to bring Daniel down
and so they did a full-blown CIA
investigation against this guy
they got every single so every single uh
operation they could against him to find
out what was wrong in his life and you
know what they turned up
blank
it's a really important principle for
all of us
Christian Life is the life with nothing
to hide
Jesus talks in Matthew 6 about your
secret life
over and over again he says your
heavenly father who sees in secret you
know serve him honor him and it's the
important principle that Daniel lived by
which is that he lived for an audience
of one
right
I told this story on Tuesday there's a
guy in Australia who was the Deputy
Prime Minister of the country so the
second most powerful politician and he's
a Christian and he was Deputy Prime
Minister about 25 years ago
and he said he had a helpful moment
every morning when he was up in
Parliament House where a colleague of
his would bang on his door and no matter
what he was doing he'd throw the door
open and yell inside hey John remember
today you're playing to an audience of
one and he'd slam the door and walk away
and for a politician that's an
extraordinary thing because he's got the
media watching him especially as a
Christian he's got his constituency
watching him he's got the power Brokers
and the factional bosses in his
political party watching him he's got
everyone watching
but the reminder every day was you're
playing to an audience of one
that was one of Daniel's secrets
in those moments he thought of God
and he did what was right before him and
that extended into his secret life
a life of Holiness that was Without
Blame
it's really important thing for us to
work on
and now I'll give my closing piece
finish with a word about Daniel's Legacy
in Revelation 18 the angel Cries Out
fall and fall in his Babylon the great
come out of her my people
lest you take part in her sins
that's what Daniel did
he came out of Babylon not physically
God asked him to walk through that
experience by faith
but he came out of Babylon spiritually
by refusing to take part in her sins
and that was the secret of Daniel's
Legacy for God in Babylon he was salt
that means he didn't compromise and you
should always start there don't
compromise and he was light everyone
knew he was a Christian he was famous
for his faith right in the last king
belshazzar what did the queen mother say
get Daniel in that man is a spirit of
the holy God
everyone knew who he was
everyone knew him for those things
and God was able to work through Daniel
because of that King Nebuchadnezzar was
saved
because of Daniel's testimony yeah it
was a rocky road and there's some ups
and downs but he got there
and Daniel had to be a testimony to King
Nebuchadnezzar multiple times before
that man folded and confessed God as the
one and only true God isn't that
extraordinary don't forget to pray for
your leaders
don't forget to pray for Joe Biden
Carmela Harris yeah because it was a lot
worse believe you me he was saved I mean
emperor Constantine of Rome saved King
Manasseh the worst king of Israel or
Judah saved at the end of his life
it's extraordinary
God's grace is Limitless
Nebuchadnezzar was saved
and I'm sure many others were
transformed by the power of his
testimony in Babylon
but his testimony endures today because
we're reading his book
and he speaks to us
and he's testimony endured for hundreds
of years after he finished up his time
in Babylon because what happened when
Jesus was born
Magi came
from the East
what a magi
wise men
astrologers
interpreters of science
why would they be in the east
well in the Far East
Babylon
Daniel was the chief of the Magi
throughout the Babylonian Kingdom
why would they be interested in the
coming of Christ into the world
Daniel was a prophet
all the pieces fit
Daniel's Legacy lived on and there were
Gentiles in the Far East who were
waiting searching and yearning for the
savior of the Worlds
and you know Daniel lives tonight though
he be dead
because he built treasure in heaven
and he earned from Jesus the statement
well done good and faithful servant he
didn't own that statement from
belshazzar or from Darius or from
Nebuchadnezzar and he didn't build
Treasures on Earth
but he was one of those as it says at
the end of Daniel one of those who who
are wise and shall shine like the
brightness of the sky above and those
who turn many to righteousness like the
stars forever and ever
and he stood firm
and with this I really am giving my last
point I promise
um
you say but when I stand firm it'll be
hard
just note this from Daniel's life
God was at work most powerfully in
Daniel's life in the fires
there was a fourth man in the fire right
Jesus there was an angel in the Lion's
Den right who shut the mouth of the lion
Nebuchadnezzar was converted through
these fiery moments I want to make this
point we need some Daniels today who are
prepared to stand for Christ and with
Christ in the fires
because it's in those fires that you'll
very often find that that is God's power
at work in you to be a testimony to a
world who looks on and says that's
amazing
and God is at work and how do I know
that God works most powerfully through
the fires of our lives and the and the
pits and the troubles and these
high-stakes moments when we're called on
to make a stand and we say yes I'll make
the stand and God works I can tell you
from my own life I can tell you from
lives of friends I've witnessed but I
can tell you from the life of the Lord
Jesus Christ
because he went all the way to the cross
and he went through the deepest darkest
Agony of the soul and that looked like
the worst thing that the human race
could ever ever ever have done to
crucify the Son of God and to reject
their very own Creator and you say
that's the worst thing that could have
happened
but you know what that was God's moment
of greatest power in all of human
history because he worked through that
Dark Night of the soul of Jesus to reach
and save a world and he bore his cross
and we are asked to carry our cross
in this world it's shame and reproach
gladly bear
because when we face those fires we can
rejoice as the apostles would say
because he is at work in us and you know
when it comes to that final day
I think
one of the things we'll realize is that
he bore the cross
for me
in what fires did I stand
what crosses did I bear
for him may God Empower us to be more
like Daniel so that he can reach this
Babylon in which we live today let's
pray