1. WE MUST PURPOSE IN OUR HEARTS NOT TO DEFILE OURSELVES.
Daniel 1:8 - "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."
We must have the strength to say "no" to sin. We must be people of purpose & principle!
2. ASTROLOGY, THE OCCULT, ETC. ARE POWERFUL DECEIVERS BUT WHEN PRESSED ADMIT THEIR LACK OF REAL POWER.
Daniel 2:2-13 - "Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, 'I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.' Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, 'O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.' The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.' They answered again and said, 'Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.' The king answered and said, 'I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.' The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, 'There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.' For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought to kill Daniel and his companions."Nebuchadnezzar wanted to know the interpretation of his dream very badly. However, he didn't want some made-up explanation; he wanted the truth! So, he required that the interpreters first tell him what the dream was so he would know with certainty they were speaking the truth. In this case, Daniel will come to the rescue of all the wise men. Of course, he gives the glory to the Almighty and not himself. What is impossible for man is easily accomplished by God!
3. GREAT LIVING DOES NOT NEED AN ORAL DEFENSE.
Daniel 3:14-18 - "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?' Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.'"These three godly men did not feel a need to defend their convictions before the Babylonian king. Although they did reply briefly, their actions did most of the talking for them.