Introducing
The Daniel Generation Part 1
Dear friends,
Today, I feel a need to begin a conversation
with you; a conversation about our coalition as members
of Daniel Generation. For some of you, Daniel Generation
is a Christian online community where you can make new friends,
network with old friends, and grow your circle of influence.
That is absolutely right. Our online community at www.danielgeneration/members
certainly provides that unique Christian opportunity to
network with Christians from all over the world, literarily.
But the online community is only
half the story. As someone who was there when this movement
was first born, I feel a Christian obligation to share with
you the vision and mandate behind the Daniel Generation.
It was January, 2007; I had determined
to go through the book of Daniel during the first month
of that year. So, I began a personal study in the book of
Daniel in the bible. But as I read, it was as though I had
not read this book before (I had previously read the whole
book many years back). There was renewed insight and urgency
as I read that book. Suddenly, it was as though I was living
in the days of Daniel. And I could see the King of Babylon,
representing the rule of Satan, the culture of sin, and
post-modernism with its attendant humanism. I felt in my
spirit as I read the first six chapters, an orchestrated
plan by the king of Babylon to conquer the kingdom of Israel,
a type of the Church of Jesus Christ, and assimilate some
of her best men and women into the culture of sin and godless
humanism and relativism. I could imagine the king of Babylon
taking Israel to captivity, hoping they would forget or
renounce their God.
In his plan to achieve a total assimilation
of Israel into the culture of Babylon, he chose some of
the best young men that Israel could ever boast of, and
put them in a special school to be properly schooled in
the culture of Babylon. Listen to the story as the bible
tells it in Daniel 1: 1-7 (NIV): “In the third year
of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the
Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along
with some of the articles from the temple of God. These
he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and
put in the treasure house of his god. Then the king ordered
Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some
of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-
young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing
aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick
to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace.
He was to teach them the language and literature of the
Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food
and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained
for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's
service. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names:
to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach;
to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.”
The king of this world of sin, Satan,
is still out aiming to assimilate Church people into its
culture of sin and shame. And who does he go after to perpetuate
that agenda? The answer is right before our eyes: “Then
the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials,
to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family
and the nobility- young men without any physical defect,
handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well
informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in
the king's palace” ( vs. 3-4). The king of Babylon
went after the best that Israel could offer – the
young men and women, talented, educated and resourceful.
Is it possible that there is a spiritual battle raging over
our young men and women in the Church today? Could the kingdom
of Satan be fighting to gain the advantage over on talented,
educated and resourceful young folks? I sense resounding
yes, with an urgency that words can’t fully explain.
But notice the strategy of the enemy:
“He was to teach them the language and literature
of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount
of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be
trained for three years, and after that they were to enter
the king's service”(vs. 4b). He spent money to put
them into a particular kind of schooling. He fed them, clothed
them and met their needs. But with a definite stated goal:
to ‘teach them the language and literature of Babylonians’.
That is how the enemy is battling against the Church now.
Through education, through dissemination of ‘seeming
harmless’ information, videos, music etc that are
calculate to re-educate us into thinking like ‘Babylonians’.
It was in within this grand scheme
that we find Daniel and his friends became involved, without
their choosing. “Among these were some from Judah:
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official
gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to
Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah,
Abednego” (vs. 6-7). Daniel and his three friends
were among those chosen by the king of ‘this world’
to become agents who will do the evil biddings of the king
of Babylon.
But God has a different plan! God
is certainly wiser than the wisest of all persons, and mightier
than the mighty king of Babylon. For a period of three years,
Babylon paid for the upkeep of these men, but for those
three years, they were actually in God’s school of
determined consecration to the God of Israel, the living
and almighty One. Their head was learning the ways of Babylon,
but their heart was consumed with devotion to Jehovah God.
The men that were supposed to learn and submit to the ways
of Babylon became the men that God used to subdue the kingdom
of Babylon, and teach them the ways of the Only true God.
On that winter night of January 2007,
I saw a spiritual revolt in my spirit against the kingdom
and culture of Babylon, led by the same men and women that
it felt would propagate its cause. That was when God impressed
in my heart an urgent mandate: “Raise me a Daniel
Generation”. Oh, yes, there are coming upon the earth
men and women who will use their wisdom, education, beauty,
wealth etc to espouse the way of the Living God to everyone
within their sphere of influence. That’s right, our
young men and women may the target of satanic inventions,
but we can sure of this fact: God is raising a generation
of young people who are going take their culture by storm,
for God. They are not afraid of the culture, because they
are already immersed in it. But they will vow to become
God’s agent of change within their culture. These
are the Daniel Generation. I hope that there will arise
a holy fervor within your soul to become a part of this
movement; to glorify God even in our culture – at
work, at school, at home, online. Internet is one invention
that the enemy could use, but it is also one powerful tool
the Church can use to teach the nations of the world the
very wisdom of God. I hope that when next you are online
at the community you will have this in mind. Let’s
use the social networking tool to impact our world and glorify
Jesus Christ. I know some of you are looking to find life
partners, or simply a genuine friend to talk to. We are
praying that God will meet your needs at Daniel Generation.
But let’s keep it simple, godly and Christian. I do
believe with all my heart that you will find true friendship
in the midst of purity.
In the next letter, I will continue
sharing with you the vision behind this movement. For now,
let me invite you to 1) pray that God will use you in this
last days for His glory, 2) invite your friends to join
in this movement ( use the INVITE YOUR FRIENDS feature within
your member area to invite them), 3) check out our home
page to read more about this movement at www.danielgeneration.com
May the Lord bless and keep you,
and may your dreams come true even as you network with other
Christians.
Sincerely,
Administrator,
The Daniel Generation
Check
out the Part 2 of this newsletter
If you are not yet a member of the Daniel Generation community,
you may do so today. It's free, and any Christian can join.
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