Marked By God: Part 5

Marked By God: Part 5 || Day 1

Daniel 1:1-21

"During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. But he responded, “I am afraid of my Lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others. 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. When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus."

Marked people understand the darker the days, the more desperate your anointing is needed.

Daniel refused to defile himself with the king’s food. It would have been very easy to say, “Forget it. We have been captured and I’m eating the best of the land.” He understood that the days he was living in were dark. But instead of allowing that to cause him to give up, he allowed it to cause him to RISE UP! He knew the only way for the next generation to make it out of this dark time. Someone had to have the mark of God on their life, an anointing that showed everyone, including the king, that Yahweh was the only true God.

Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

In Proverbs 24:10 we read, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”

Church, one thing I have found to be true in my years of serving the Lord and throughout this Bible. God doesn’t mark people so He can hide them in dark days. No! He marks people and reveals them during dark days. He places His mark on people and brings them to the forefront in dark days.

David was marked by God. Then he had to hide in caves and wander throughout the land until Saul died. Once Saul dies, God reveals David to the whole nation of Israel as king. What was the first thing David accomplished when he became king? He drives the enemy out of the city of God.

In one of the darkest times of Israel, the king of Israel and his sons had just been killed. The nation is wondering what are we going to do? In this dark time God reveals a man that He had marked 14 years prior. He waits for the time when the enemy thinks he has won to reveal the anointing that is going to defeat him.

Right now, God is marking and has marked many people in this ministry and in this land. The time in which we live is growing darker by the minute. Therefore, beloved get ready for God to reveal you in this time. Get ready because you are carrying an anointing that will defeat the enemies in the land. Know this, the darker the days, the more desperate your anointing is needed.