8 BUT DANIEL PURPOSED IN HIS HEART THAT HE WOULD NOT DEFILE HIMSELF WITH THE PORTION OF THE KING'S DELICACIES, NOR WITH THE WINE WHICH HE DRANK; THEREFORE HE REQUESTED OF THE CHIEF OF THE EUNUCHS THAT HE MIGHT NOT DEFILE HIMSELF.
20 AND in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, HE FOUND THEM TEN TIMES BETTER THAN ALL THE MAGICIANS AND ASTROLOGERS WHO WERE IN ALL HIS REALM."
Daniel 1:8,20 (NKJV)
• God will cause you to excel, If you keep yourself from being defiled—you defiled not your body. God will also favour you If you honoured Him by consecrating your body.
- Daniel and his friends purposed not to defile themselves with king's delicacies. Food can contaminate you spiritually, In fact, one of the major ways through which they initiate people into witchcraft is the eating of food. Many had been initiated through food eating, thus, you had to be watchful on what you eat.
- If a believer abstains from Sin, and honours God with his or her life, such would excel in whatever they do:
"GOD GAVE THESE FOUR YOUNG MEN AN UNUSUAL APTITUDE FOR UNDERSTANDING EVERY ASPECT OF LITERATURE AND WISDOM: "AND GOD GAVE DANIEL THE SPECIAL ABILITY TO INTERPRET THE MEANINGS OF VISIONS AND DREAMS" (Daniel 1:17 NLT).
• There are any number of things that can defile a believer; unlike Old Testament under which Daniel and his friends operated, where God gave them dietary laws—what to eat and what not to.
- In Jesus' teaching in the new testament, what actually defiled a believer is what comes out of him or her:
17 “ANYTHING YOU EAT PASSES THROUGH THE STOMACH AND THEN GOES INTO THE SEWER. 18 BUT THE WORDS YOU SPEAK COME FROM THE HEART—THAT'S WHAT DEFILES YOU. 19 FOR FROM THE HEART COME EVIL THOUGHTS, MURDER, ADULTERY, ALL SEXUAL IMMORALITY, THEFT, LYING, AND SLANDER. 20 THESE ARE WHAT DEFILE YOU. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you” (Matthew 15:17-20 NLT). - And what determines the quality of the words that proceed from your mouth is, the quality of what you feed your mind with (Proverbs 4:23). If you feed your mind with dirty things online, or on the television, or through the people you hang out with; you cannot but speak unwholesome words—defiling words.
- You guard your mind and sieve whatever goes in there: "BE VERY CAREFUL TO KEEP YOUR MIND SAFE. THE THOUGHTS THAT YOU THINK MAKE YOU THE PERSON THAT YOU ARE" (Proverbs 4:23 (EasyEnglish Bible).
"GUARD YOUR HEART ABOVE ALL ELSE, FOR IT DETERMINES THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE."
Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
- Open your mind to the Word of God. Let it purge and cleanse you. It is the Word of God that would sanctify or save your mind, soul: "SO GET RID OF ALL THE FILTH AND EVIL IN YOUR LIVES, AND HUMBLY ACCEPT THE WORD GOD HAS PLANTED IN YOUR HEARTS, FOR IT HAS THE POWER TO SAVE YOUR SOULS" (James 1:21 NLT).
- If you allowed the Word of God to preoccupy your mind, with Time, you become a vessel of Blessing to others (Daniel 1:17).
• Ability to exel is given by God. The gift or ability to interpret the meaning of visions and dreams which was given to Daniel had to do with his submission to God—His unwavering commitment and submissiveness led to it (Daniel 1:17).
- The room you give to God in your life, that He would fill or occupy. God would not go beyond what you do allow or permit Him to do in your life.
- A bachelorette or a bachelor who engages in sexual immorality, defiling herself or himself, has embarked or started on a journey to failure.
- Daniel and his friends counsel to the king; their answers to the king's questions when he tested them, were excellent. They were ten times better than all the astrologers and soothsayers in the whole Babylonian kingdom (Daniel 1:20).
- If you keep yourself for God, you defile yourself not, He would put what people would celebrate in you. Cause you to be ten times better than your mates, contemporaries, in whatever you are assigned to do.
• Christian life.
- Strive to grow in your walk with God.
Live right, that is, live a holy life (1 Peter 1:15,16). Let the Word of God be your standard in whatever you wanted to do, and wherever you found yourself. - Daniel and his friends were in a strange land but they did not throw away the things they were taught about the God of Israel. Some believe If you are in Rome, you behave like the Romans; Or If you cannot beat them, you join them.
- Daniel and his friends did not behave like the Romans, that is, they did not behave like the Babylonians, because they were in a strange land where they could not be seen by the people of their faith; but they held on to the doctrine of faith in the God of Isreal.
- What some believers portrayed to the people in the church is different from who they are at their places of work and the neighborhoods they live.
- Some who claimed to be believers could be seen or considered a disgrace to God and His Kingdom:
a. Can God be proud or boastful of you? b. Can He vouch for you? - If you were privileged to find yourself in government, like Daniel and his friends were, or in any public office; Would you not defile yourself with corruption? Would you not compromise your stand or faith when you are offered a bribe?
- You may think it does not matter, God also understands; you would be surprised to know that those things which you counted not, matters to God.
- Things you did which you think not to be mattered to God, are the things He watches and uses to determine whether a bigger responsibility should be given to you or not.
- He, God, got to know your faithfulness and Integrity and reliability, through those minor things which you counted not.
a. Are you faithful where you are?
b. Are you a part or among those believers who cheat, get involved in the examination malpractices; buying of results, to proceed to tertiary institutions?
c. Or you are part of some females who Use their body to receive marks from lecturers? - Doing such a thing, yet claiming to be a born-again believer, you have already sealed your doom. Because, God would not allow a person of such to be given an opportunity in great places, even with fake examination results.
- He would not allow you to represent Him and His Kingdom, because you would be a disgrace to Him, God, and His Kingdom.
- Repent now If you want to find yourself in pleasant and honourable places that God has prepared for you.
• You will not go down in Jesus' name. And your place will not be given to another person in Jesus' name.
- Should there be any ailment in your body, I declare your healing now in Jesus' name.
- I have the mandate to bless, and I declare you blessed in Jesus' name. You will live in health in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Peace!
STEPS TO SALVATION
• Take notice of this:
IF you are yet to take the step of salvation, that is, yet to be born-again, do it now, tomorrow might be too late (2 Corinthians 6:1,2; Hebrews 3:7,8,15).
a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and confess your Sins (1 John 1:9); And ask Jesus Christ to come into your life (Revelation 3:20).
b. Confess that you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that you confess it with your mouth, Thus, you accept Him As your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9,10).
c. Ask that He will write your name in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:8).
- If you took the steps As highlighted above, It means you are saved—born-again. Join a Word based church in your area and Town or city, and be part of whatever they are doing there. Peace!