RESOLVED!

Throughout scriptures we see the examples of men of God who resolved to live for God in a particular manner. I think of Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” The phrase “I resolved” means he made a conscious choice to do things a certain way. He didn’t fall into it by chance or by force of habit. For Paul the choice was clear: “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

I think of Barnabbas who went to Antioch and we read, “When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast resolve” (Acts 11:23). The Greek word translated "resolved" means to plan or will or purpose to do something. So to resolve or purpose to remain true to the Lord means that we set our heart on remaining true to the Lord.

I think of Daniel who when tested to eat the kings food and drink the kings wine we read, "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank…" (Daniel 1:8). That’s the mindset and posture that I am pleading with you, challenging you, and exhorting you to have as we enter into a year of many uncertainties. Be resolved to be resolved!

This is the crucial event of his life. Although it might not have appeared important at the time, what Daniel did shaped the next 60 years. Why do you think Daniel did what he did? Daniel's reluctance to eat the emperor's food was religious in origin, because the writer uses the word "defile" (1:8). This word strongly implies that he saw the issue as one of moral or spiritual pollution. It was not just that he was vegetarian or that he had trouble adjusting to a foreign diet. This was an issue of religious conscience for him. To eat of the king's food would have been, for Daniel, to compromise his personal holiness in some way.

Verse 8 says that he "resolved" That is, he made up his own mind. The Hebrew phrase suggests an inner wrestling with conscience that resulted in personal determination to make a stand of principle on the matter. He couldn't decide for anyone else, but he decided for himself what he would and would not do. And that changed everything. Daniels commitment preceded his achievement. Daniel made up his mind, and his three closest friends decided to join him.

What do we learn from Daniel about being resolved?
1. Being resolved is the result of choice not conditions or environment He made up his own mind. He didn’t ask anyone else what he or she thought. I am not, I will not period. He did it immediately. That was a great moment. “People don’t make commitments because the conditions are right; they make commitments to do right in spite of the conditions.”

2. Being resolved means our commitment must be settled before the moment arises Daniel didn’t get caught up in the emotion of the moment. He made the decision before the food was ever brought to him. there are two key principles that i have learned in this regard: First, The battle is won before the battle is begun. Second, The most important decision you ever make is the decision you make before you ever have to make a decision.

The key phrase here is "before." Some decisions can't be made on the spur of the moment. You have to decide in advance your commitments and that you will not compromise in the things that matter. For Daniel, that meant not eating the king's food at the king's table. It doesn't matter that we today don't fully understand his decision. What's important is that Daniel drew a line in the sand, planted his flag, and said, "This far, and no farther." Your line may be different from mine and mine from yours. But if you don't draw a line somewhere, sometime, you end up being just like the Babylonians all around you. Stand for something or you will fall for everything! Think ahead. Decide what you won't do. Then don't do it! Daniel decided what to do in advance and when it came time to do it, he did it! Get resolved! Get committed! Get settled! I look at people who are still trying to settle issues they should have settled years ago.

I read about a 400-year-old redwood that suddenly and without warning toppled to the forest floor. What caused the death of such a majestic giant? Was it fire? Lightning? A strong wind? A post-mortem examination revealed a startling cause. Tiny beetles had crawled under the bark and literally eaten the fibers away from the inside. Although it looked healthy on the outside, on the inside it was virtually hollow and one day finally collapsed. The same thing happens when we refuse to stand our ground for Christ. Every time we compromise something bad happens in our soul. Eventually the little decisions add up and we become hollow on the inside even though we may look great on the outside.

3. Our resolves will be tested by action Its one thing to talk about it, it’s another thing to do it. Nothing is easier than saying words; nothing is more difficult then living them day by day. Your commitments will be tested! Have seen more people cave in on this matter.

4. Being resolved begins with little things in our lives By standing his ground; he was risking everything over an issue that made sense to no one but him and his three friends. To the Babylonians it was just nutty, peripheral, and insignificant. But Daniel saw through the food to the bigger issues underneath and he knew that for him to eat that food at that table would be an act of disloyalty to God, and that was a line he would not cross period. "It's such a small area," you say. True and not true. Yes, it seemed small, but as we have seen, the outcome of Daniel's act of courage was huge. It changed his whole life. In the end it wasn't small at all. Jesus said in Luke 16:10 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. “

Little commitments are the foundations for bigger ones.” No one ever makes big commitments without first making little ones. Before Daniel said no to the king’s idol, he said no to the king’s food. When Daniel saw God helping on the food issue, it gave him courage for the idol issue. It works the opposite as well. Compromise once; it’s easier to do it the next time. Take stand once, it’s easier as well. We need to take stands at the front end of our lives not in the middle and I guarantee, you won’t on the back end.

Daniel Resolved! Are you? Have you made decisions and commitments or are you regularly wavering living by expediency, convenient, compromise, playing it safe, keeping your options open, impulse, and listening to and negotiating with the devil? Are your resolves full of conditions, qualifications, and reservations in the "fine print" of our "commitment?" Are you preoccupied with "exceptions" and "extenuating circumstances?"

Like Daniel, in 2009, you will find yourself from time to time in a crisis of your resolves. How will you know it's a crisis? You'll know it when you get there, and often you won't see it coming in advance. So make up your mind right now that by God's grace, when those moments come, you will purpose in your heart not to defile yourself. There is no limit to what God can do through a man or woman who is fully committed to him.

Today you need new resolve! I will be committed to Christ, His cause, His people, and His purposes. Make up your mind now! Right now become a part of the band of the resolved like Paul, Barnabbas, Daniel, and Joshua who stood alone and said in Joshua 24:15, “choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

John Maxwell says, The greatest days of your life are the days you sense your commitment to its highest degree. Your greatest days are not your days of leisure. Your greatest days are not even the times when you have your closest friends around you. When something has seized you and has caused you to have a high level of commitment to it, those are your greatest days. They may be your days of struggle, they may be your days of suffering, and they may be your days of your greatest battles in life, but they will be your greatest days.”

Resolved in 2009,

Pastor Bill