1 00:00:30,099 --> 00:00:32,347 And I'm thankful I'm in the palm of his hand, aren't you? 2 00:00:32,483 --> 00:00:35,803 If you wouldn't your Bible tonight turn to Daniel, Chapter one. 3 00:00:35,971 --> 00:00:37,227 Daniel, Chapter one. 4 00:00:37,283 --> 00:00:41,755 And we have we started the book of Daniel the end of last year, 5 00:00:41,827 --> 00:00:46,907 and we've done two introductory messages on prophecy. 6 00:00:47,083 --> 00:00:50,955 And so but now we'll delve into the book itself. 7 00:00:51,147 --> 00:00:53,931 And so the first chapter, there'll be two messages at least 8 00:00:53,955 --> 00:00:54,683 on the first chapter. 9 00:00:54,731 --> 00:00:58,841 But then we we won't go verse by verse from here going forward 10 00:00:58,945 --> 00:01:00,137 for the most part. 11 00:01:00,273 --> 00:01:05,481 And so look to be about 13 or 14 messages on the book of Daniel 12 00:01:05,545 --> 00:01:07,577 throughout this year on Sunday nights. 13 00:01:07,753 --> 00:01:14,249 And so what a hero of the faith Daniel was, and what a great 14 00:01:14,289 --> 00:01:15,509 example he was. 15 00:01:16,209 --> 00:01:21,079 And then we'll delve into chapter two and many other the prophecies, 16 00:01:21,249 --> 00:01:26,279 and we'll define some terms and help you with some terms like 17 00:01:26,819 --> 00:01:30,491 what is the term, you know, times of the Gentiles or what's the 18 00:01:30,515 --> 00:01:34,987 term, the fullness of the Gentiles and the impact that these 19 00:01:35,043 --> 00:01:40,331 prophecies have on us and where we're at in these prophecies. 20 00:01:40,395 --> 00:01:42,091 And it's going to be a good time. 21 00:01:42,115 --> 00:01:46,523 So we kind of get a mixture, especially tonight, of preaching 22 00:01:46,571 --> 00:01:51,033 on character and doing the right thing, but then also preaching 23 00:01:51,081 --> 00:01:52,521 on prophecy. 24 00:01:52,585 --> 00:01:57,129 And again, just it'll be I'm looking forward to preaching through 25 00:01:57,169 --> 00:01:57,913 the Book of Daniel. 26 00:01:57,961 --> 00:01:59,209 So Daniel chapter one. 27 00:01:59,329 --> 00:02:00,713 Look with me in verse one. 28 00:02:00,801 --> 00:02:03,069 We'll be in verse one through seven tonight. 29 00:02:04,209 --> 00:02:07,849 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came 30 00:02:07,889 --> 00:02:11,593 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem, and besieged 31 00:02:11,641 --> 00:02:12,137 it. 32 00:02:12,273 --> 00:02:17,039 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah into his hand with 33 00:02:17,079 --> 00:02:19,599 part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into 34 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,655 the land of Shinar to the house of his God. 35 00:02:22,767 --> 00:02:26,899 And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his God. 36 00:02:27,319 --> 00:02:31,695 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, 37 00:02:31,727 --> 00:02:34,911 that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of 38 00:02:34,935 --> 00:02:39,839 the king's seed, and of the princes, children in whom was no 39 00:02:39,879 --> 00:02:45,114 blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning 40 00:02:45,146 --> 00:02:48,170 in knowledge and understanding, science, and such 41 00:02:48,194 --> 00:02:52,890 as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, in whom 42 00:02:52,954 --> 00:02:57,498 they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans, 43 00:02:57,658 --> 00:02:58,666 verse 5. 44 00:02:58,802 --> 00:03:02,234 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat 45 00:03:02,346 --> 00:03:06,518 and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, 46 00:03:06,658 --> 00:03:10,991 that at the end thereof they might stand before the king now among 47 00:03:11,095 --> 00:03:16,831 these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael 48 00:03:16,975 --> 00:03:21,199 and Azariah, unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names. 49 00:03:21,359 --> 00:03:26,591 For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, and unto Hananiah, 50 00:03:26,735 --> 00:03:33,219 of Shadrach, and unto Mishael, Meshach, and unto Azariah, Abednego, 51 00:03:33,709 --> 00:03:36,053 Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel. 52 00:03:36,101 --> 00:03:36,565 Let's pray. 53 00:03:36,597 --> 00:03:39,445 Heavenly Father, again we thank you for your word. 54 00:03:39,557 --> 00:03:44,021 I pray tonight that as we look at the life of Daniel here in the 55 00:03:44,045 --> 00:03:47,605 beginning, God, that you would again encourage us. 56 00:03:47,757 --> 00:03:54,709 And Lord, we would see again just the strength and what Daniel 57 00:03:54,789 --> 00:03:59,381 faced and the similarities, Lord, between what these four Hebrew 58 00:03:59,445 --> 00:04:01,413 faced, what we face today. 59 00:04:01,501 --> 00:04:04,729 And we thank you and love you in Jesus name, Amen. 60 00:04:05,709 --> 00:04:08,293 We won't do a complete Old Testament history, which I like to 61 00:04:08,301 --> 00:04:08,709 do a lot. 62 00:04:08,749 --> 00:04:10,117 We won't do that tonight. 63 00:04:10,293 --> 00:04:13,461 But I do want to go back and look at. 64 00:04:13,645 --> 00:04:14,501 We won't turn there. 65 00:04:14,525 --> 00:04:19,733 But Romans 15, verse 4 says, for whatsoever things were written 66 00:04:19,781 --> 00:04:24,069 aforetime or written for our learning, that we through patience 67 00:04:24,149 --> 00:04:27,193 and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 68 00:04:27,361 --> 00:04:29,961 And then first Corinthians 10:11 says that these things were 69 00:04:29,985 --> 00:04:33,369 written that were for our example, for an example unto us. 70 00:04:33,409 --> 00:04:38,749 In other words, the Old Testament historical stories. 71 00:04:40,049 --> 00:04:43,817 What was recorded in the Old Testament was written down for our 72 00:04:43,873 --> 00:04:47,549 learning, was written down for our example. 73 00:04:47,889 --> 00:04:50,841 That by seeing the lives of the Old Testament saints, their patience 74 00:04:50,905 --> 00:04:57,007 and reliance on God, that we might have hope to see again what 75 00:04:57,063 --> 00:05:02,607 they went through and how they overcame and even their failures, 76 00:05:02,783 --> 00:05:04,527 that we might have hope. 77 00:05:04,583 --> 00:05:08,751 And again, through this example, I also remind you that the 78 00:05:08,775 --> 00:05:12,207 Old Testament was written primarily for New Testament saints. 79 00:05:12,383 --> 00:05:13,375 How do we know this? 80 00:05:13,447 --> 00:05:14,735 Well, think about it again. 81 00:05:14,807 --> 00:05:18,549 Abraham had six or seven books of the Old Testament. 82 00:05:18,679 --> 00:05:20,069 Only six or seven. 83 00:05:20,449 --> 00:05:21,033 David. 84 00:05:21,081 --> 00:05:21,721 King David. 85 00:05:21,785 --> 00:05:22,745 We think about King David. 86 00:05:22,777 --> 00:05:25,961 We think, oh man, well, he only had 12 or 15 books of the Old 87 00:05:25,985 --> 00:05:26,749 Testament. 88 00:05:27,409 --> 00:05:29,113 And we could go on and on and on. 89 00:05:29,201 --> 00:05:35,193 In other words, these men, these great Jewish men, only had 90 00:05:35,281 --> 00:05:36,349 part of the Bible. 91 00:05:37,729 --> 00:05:40,229 Only had part of it, whereas we have it all. 92 00:05:40,689 --> 00:05:45,243 The Old Testament was primarily written for us. 93 00:05:45,411 --> 00:05:48,683 For New Testament saints, the Old Testament is the foundation of 94 00:05:48,691 --> 00:05:49,867 the New Testament. 95 00:05:50,043 --> 00:05:54,715 Again, remind you that your New Testament writers wrote in light 96 00:05:54,787 --> 00:05:57,519 of that you already know your Old Testament. 97 00:05:58,099 --> 00:06:01,451 So as the New Testament writers are writing, they're writing 98 00:06:01,515 --> 00:06:06,139 in such a way that they are writing that you already have read 99 00:06:06,179 --> 00:06:08,119 the Old Testament and you know it. 100 00:06:09,139 --> 00:06:10,267 So what does that mean? 101 00:06:10,323 --> 00:06:13,135 That means if you don't know the Old Testament, your Understanding 102 00:06:13,167 --> 00:06:15,059 of the New Testament will be incomplete. 103 00:06:17,159 --> 00:06:18,623 That's just a fact. 104 00:06:18,791 --> 00:06:21,471 And so we do live in a day and age, and this has been going on for 105 00:06:21,495 --> 00:06:24,895 years and years where some preachers and some of those believe. 106 00:06:24,967 --> 00:06:26,527 Well, we're just New Testament saints. 107 00:06:26,543 --> 00:06:27,615 We just believe the New Testament. 108 00:06:27,647 --> 00:06:28,959 We just read the New Testament. 109 00:06:29,039 --> 00:06:30,143 No, no, no, no, no. 110 00:06:30,231 --> 00:06:33,999 Again, the Old Testament is the foundation of the New Testament. 111 00:06:34,159 --> 00:06:36,431 In order to have a proper understanding of the New Testament, 112 00:06:36,495 --> 00:06:39,925 you must understand and read the Old Testament. 113 00:06:39,957 --> 00:06:43,349 That's why after, when a person gets saved, I encourage them, 114 00:06:43,469 --> 00:06:44,709 yeah, go read the Book of John. 115 00:06:44,749 --> 00:06:46,469 I think that's a great book to read, right? 116 00:06:46,509 --> 00:06:49,381 When you get saved, read through the Book of John, you get 117 00:06:49,405 --> 00:06:52,293 to see the life of Christ and read about the life of Christ. 118 00:06:52,461 --> 00:06:56,341 But after that, go back to Genesis chapter one and read your 119 00:06:56,365 --> 00:06:58,901 Bible through as it was intended to be. 120 00:06:58,925 --> 00:07:01,317 Read from Genesis to Revelation. 121 00:07:01,493 --> 00:07:03,269 And you may veer off from that from time to time. 122 00:07:03,309 --> 00:07:05,381 But I would tell you as a New Christian, you shouldn't veer off 123 00:07:05,405 --> 00:07:06,737 of that for several years. 124 00:07:06,893 --> 00:07:07,641 For several years. 125 00:07:07,665 --> 00:07:10,777 You should go to Genesis 1 and read to the end of Book of Revelation. 126 00:07:10,873 --> 00:07:13,881 Go to Genesis 1 and read to the end of Book of Revelation as 127 00:07:13,905 --> 00:07:14,697 you grow in the Lord. 128 00:07:14,713 --> 00:07:18,313 And if you want to do some of the other readings, such as reading 129 00:07:18,361 --> 00:07:21,785 a proverb a day or skipping around and reading the New Testament 130 00:07:21,817 --> 00:07:25,321 or reading maybe the Gospels four or five times in a row, you 131 00:07:25,345 --> 00:07:26,789 can do all those things too. 132 00:07:27,249 --> 00:07:31,481 But again, after you get a proper understanding, or at least 133 00:07:31,585 --> 00:07:35,729 a good understanding, the Old Testament, amen. 134 00:07:36,069 --> 00:07:37,357 That's Bible, that's biblical. 135 00:07:37,373 --> 00:07:39,341 That's the way it was intended to be read. 136 00:07:39,445 --> 00:07:41,117 So encourage you in that way. 137 00:07:41,173 --> 00:07:45,341 The Old Testament is a historical gallery, and I've used 138 00:07:45,365 --> 00:07:46,557 this illustration with you before. 139 00:07:46,613 --> 00:07:53,149 But if I was to drive or take you to Bowie, Texas, where I was 140 00:07:53,189 --> 00:07:58,189 raised 60 miles north of here, I could take you to places that would 141 00:07:58,229 --> 00:07:59,997 have significance to me. 142 00:08:00,133 --> 00:08:02,909 I could take it to the house that I was raised in. 143 00:08:03,029 --> 00:08:06,189 I could take it to the church that I was saved and baptized in. 144 00:08:06,309 --> 00:08:09,917 I could take it to the kindergarten, and I could take it. 145 00:08:09,973 --> 00:08:12,973 My dad and I were just having a discussion the other day or yesterday, 146 00:08:13,021 --> 00:08:17,693 whenever it was about my second grade, second grade teacher. 147 00:08:17,741 --> 00:08:18,557 Her name is Ms. 148 00:08:18,613 --> 00:08:19,421 Hankins. 149 00:08:19,565 --> 00:08:21,329 She was also the principal. 150 00:08:22,629 --> 00:08:27,421 And in that day, the second grade was housed all to itself in 151 00:08:27,445 --> 00:08:28,029 what was called. 152 00:08:28,069 --> 00:08:29,879 It was a building called the North Ward. 153 00:08:29,989 --> 00:08:33,799 And it was one of the old red, you know, school buildings. 154 00:08:34,379 --> 00:08:37,027 Of course, they don't use it anymore, but it was One of the old 155 00:08:37,083 --> 00:08:37,715 school buildings. 156 00:08:37,747 --> 00:08:38,179 And so. 157 00:08:38,219 --> 00:08:39,811 And I was a hyperactive kid. 158 00:08:39,955 --> 00:08:40,499 And Ms. 159 00:08:40,539 --> 00:08:42,579 Hankins, she had to whoop me about every other day. 160 00:08:42,619 --> 00:08:43,459 I don't remember. 161 00:08:43,619 --> 00:08:44,531 I feel for her now. 162 00:08:44,555 --> 00:08:45,759 It's like looking back. 163 00:08:47,019 --> 00:08:50,515 But I could take you to the place where, you know, I bounced. 164 00:08:50,627 --> 00:08:53,235 I can remember in the second grade bouncing my friend on the seesaw. 165 00:08:53,267 --> 00:08:57,171 You know, you're see sawing like that, and then you bounce him 166 00:08:57,195 --> 00:08:58,495 and try to bounce him off. 167 00:08:58,667 --> 00:09:00,631 I got caught doing that by Ms. 168 00:09:00,655 --> 00:09:01,175 Hankinson. 169 00:09:01,207 --> 00:09:02,419 She whooped me for it. 170 00:09:02,799 --> 00:09:04,215 I was constantly getting a whipping. 171 00:09:04,247 --> 00:09:08,499 But anyway, back when you could spank in public school. 172 00:09:09,119 --> 00:09:11,591 And I deserved every one of them that I got. 173 00:09:11,695 --> 00:09:13,303 I'm so thankful for some good teachers. 174 00:09:13,351 --> 00:09:14,391 My dad says amen. 175 00:09:14,455 --> 00:09:20,231 Yeah, but I could take you many places and talk about what happened. 176 00:09:20,375 --> 00:09:24,759 And I could take you to places where in my own life and even again 177 00:09:24,799 --> 00:09:29,087 with my wife, and had great victories and also failures. 178 00:09:29,183 --> 00:09:31,647 And you could go through all those things again. 179 00:09:31,703 --> 00:09:34,191 A gallery of events in my life. 180 00:09:34,295 --> 00:09:35,855 We do the same thing in the Old Testament. 181 00:09:35,887 --> 00:09:38,623 We walk down through the Old Testament. 182 00:09:38,671 --> 00:09:41,263 We look at Abraham, we look at Isaac. 183 00:09:41,391 --> 00:09:45,455 We don't only look, you know, again, God kept his word and God 184 00:09:45,487 --> 00:09:46,399 preserved his word. 185 00:09:46,479 --> 00:09:50,079 He didn't just save the good, he also preserved the bad. 186 00:09:50,119 --> 00:09:52,575 And we can look at Abraham's life, the good and the bad. 187 00:09:52,647 --> 00:09:55,217 We can look at Isaac's life, the good and the bad. 188 00:09:55,343 --> 00:09:58,141 And they're there for our example and for our learning. 189 00:09:58,205 --> 00:09:59,309 We learn from them. 190 00:09:59,429 --> 00:10:01,373 And so that's what we do here in the Book of Daniel. 191 00:10:01,421 --> 00:10:06,909 We're learning biblical truth illustrated for us by way of example. 192 00:10:06,989 --> 00:10:10,285 It's one thing to know the truth, another one to see it lived 193 00:10:10,317 --> 00:10:10,893 out. 194 00:10:11,061 --> 00:10:12,445 And so we know the truth. 195 00:10:12,557 --> 00:10:15,149 But now we see it lived out by Daniel himself. 196 00:10:15,229 --> 00:10:19,197 We see it lived out by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 197 00:10:19,293 --> 00:10:23,589 We see these wonderful biblical truths lived out. 198 00:10:25,009 --> 00:10:26,789 Look at verse one and two again. 199 00:10:27,489 --> 00:10:27,897 Again. 200 00:10:27,953 --> 00:10:31,309 This is the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 201 00:10:31,649 --> 00:10:36,505 Came Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, unto Jerusalem and besieged 202 00:10:36,537 --> 00:10:36,681 it. 203 00:10:36,705 --> 00:10:38,233 This was in 606 BC. 204 00:10:38,281 --> 00:10:39,869 This is the first deportation. 205 00:10:40,449 --> 00:10:42,217 There was three deportations. 206 00:10:42,393 --> 00:10:45,113 Nebuchadnezzar came in and carried them away. 207 00:10:45,201 --> 00:10:48,759 And then the final, the final siege. 208 00:10:49,499 --> 00:10:53,731 He destroyed the temple and destroyed the city, basically. 209 00:10:53,795 --> 00:10:55,411 Didn't leave a rock on top of each other. 210 00:10:55,435 --> 00:10:57,359 I mean, he just wiped it out. 211 00:11:00,139 --> 00:11:05,411 King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians, verse 1 and 2. 212 00:11:05,435 --> 00:11:06,323 Look at verse 2. 213 00:11:06,411 --> 00:11:12,141 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim King of Judah, into his hand with 214 00:11:12,165 --> 00:11:12,733 part of the vessels. 215 00:11:12,781 --> 00:11:14,221 I want you to notice the phrase. 216 00:11:14,365 --> 00:11:20,249 The Lord gave Jehoiakim, King of Judah, into what? 217 00:11:21,109 --> 00:11:21,741 His hand? 218 00:11:21,765 --> 00:11:22,649 Whose hand? 219 00:11:23,109 --> 00:11:24,529 Nebuchadnezzar. 220 00:11:25,269 --> 00:11:26,609 Nebuchadnezzar. 221 00:11:27,189 --> 00:11:30,605 The theme of the book of Daniel is God rules in the affairs 222 00:11:30,637 --> 00:11:31,449 of men. 223 00:11:32,709 --> 00:11:39,381 Understand that Judah would not have fallen unless the Lord had 224 00:11:39,405 --> 00:11:40,529 allowed it to happen. 225 00:11:42,669 --> 00:11:46,901 The Bible makes it very clear that it's God who sets kings on thrones 226 00:11:46,965 --> 00:11:48,849 and who takes them down. 227 00:11:49,789 --> 00:11:53,649 And that God truly does rule in the affairs of men. 228 00:11:55,789 --> 00:12:01,493 We can trust him no matter what comes to America understanding 229 00:12:01,541 --> 00:12:04,209 that God rules in the affairs of men. 230 00:12:04,869 --> 00:12:07,997 He determines who's president, who's not. 231 00:12:08,053 --> 00:12:10,569 I mean, he has the final say. 232 00:12:12,069 --> 00:12:17,901 And we see this here in this, that the Lord gave Jehoiakim into 233 00:12:18,085 --> 00:12:19,849 Nebuchadnezzar's hand. 234 00:12:20,309 --> 00:12:21,693 Into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. 235 00:12:21,781 --> 00:12:24,797 So we understand the two kingdoms. 236 00:12:24,813 --> 00:12:28,205 And again, that's why I'm not going to go back and do a history 237 00:12:28,277 --> 00:12:28,557 review. 238 00:12:28,613 --> 00:12:30,045 I might do that at a later date. 239 00:12:30,077 --> 00:12:30,509 Again, just. 240 00:12:30,549 --> 00:12:33,721 I love to review history with you, Biblical history because it 241 00:12:33,745 --> 00:12:36,505 helps you get the Bible within a framework. 242 00:12:36,697 --> 00:12:41,209 But understand again, after King Solomon, the kingdom split into 243 00:12:41,249 --> 00:12:42,281 two kingdoms. 244 00:12:42,425 --> 00:12:46,281 So King Saul was the first king of Israel, then King David, 245 00:12:46,345 --> 00:12:47,273 then King Solomon. 246 00:12:47,321 --> 00:12:51,129 Each one of those reigned 40 years after Solomon reigned and he 247 00:12:51,169 --> 00:12:51,673 died. 248 00:12:51,801 --> 00:12:54,569 The kingdom split into the northern kingdom and southern kingdom. 249 00:12:54,649 --> 00:12:57,305 The northern kingdom was carried into captivity by the Assyrians 250 00:12:57,337 --> 00:13:00,569 in 722 BC about 150 years later. 251 00:13:00,609 --> 00:13:03,305 125 years later, the southern kingdom, that's what we're reading 252 00:13:03,337 --> 00:13:03,689 right here. 253 00:13:03,729 --> 00:13:07,849 The southern kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, is carried into 254 00:13:07,889 --> 00:13:10,029 captivity again, defeated. 255 00:13:10,529 --> 00:13:12,269 Jerusalem is besieged. 256 00:13:13,009 --> 00:13:16,985 They are defeated and they're carried into captivity by the Babylonians 257 00:13:17,097 --> 00:13:21,145 in 606 BC they don't carry away everybody. 258 00:13:21,257 --> 00:13:24,217 They carry away, as we see here, as we just read, they carry 259 00:13:24,233 --> 00:13:25,189 away the best. 260 00:13:25,749 --> 00:13:26,649 The best. 261 00:13:27,349 --> 00:13:32,989 They carry away the princess and those who are of learning and 262 00:13:33,029 --> 00:13:33,677 those who. 263 00:13:33,813 --> 00:13:34,925 So forth and so on. 264 00:13:34,997 --> 00:13:39,181 Then they come back in 597 BC and carry away some more. 265 00:13:39,205 --> 00:13:41,133 And then in 586 B.C. 266 00:13:41,261 --> 00:13:45,501 nebuchadnezzar comes back and just obliterates Jerusalem, destroys 267 00:13:45,565 --> 00:13:48,169 it and they're done. 268 00:13:48,709 --> 00:13:53,089 And carries away all but the very poor Babylon. 269 00:13:54,389 --> 00:13:57,049 So that's where we are in this story. 270 00:13:57,349 --> 00:14:02,621 Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are 271 00:14:02,645 --> 00:14:04,129 carried into captivity. 272 00:14:04,469 --> 00:14:08,845 Again, the choice of those or the choice individuals were carried 273 00:14:08,877 --> 00:14:09,849 away first. 274 00:14:10,709 --> 00:14:15,405 Why did God allow Israel? 275 00:14:15,517 --> 00:14:19,789 Why did God allow Judah to be taken captive. 276 00:14:20,369 --> 00:14:21,561 The Bible points that out. 277 00:14:21,585 --> 00:14:24,329 And we're not going to turn there either because of lack of time. 278 00:14:24,369 --> 00:14:29,609 But 2 Chronicles 36, 13, 17, the Bible says they were warned and 279 00:14:29,649 --> 00:14:33,629 warned and warned about their idolatry. 280 00:14:35,969 --> 00:14:39,481 When the northern kingdom was carried off into captivity in 722, 281 00:14:39,505 --> 00:14:41,145 the southern kingdom laughed. 282 00:14:41,337 --> 00:14:43,561 And basically they said, in fact, you can go read about it. 283 00:14:43,585 --> 00:14:45,939 They said, God will never do that to us. 284 00:14:46,319 --> 00:14:49,047 We have Jerusalem, we have the temple. 285 00:14:49,143 --> 00:14:51,159 God would never allow the temple to be destroyed. 286 00:14:51,239 --> 00:14:52,419 They believed that. 287 00:14:52,719 --> 00:14:55,895 And God kept warning them through his prophets. 288 00:14:56,007 --> 00:14:59,015 If you don't turn, if you don't turn away from your idolatry, 289 00:14:59,047 --> 00:15:00,539 if you don't turn from your sin. 290 00:15:02,639 --> 00:15:07,383 And then finally Isaiah the prophet prophesied they would be 291 00:15:07,391 --> 00:15:08,539 carried into captivity. 292 00:15:08,879 --> 00:15:11,579 And then you go on and on, they were carried into captivity. 293 00:15:12,169 --> 00:15:14,029 God judged his people. 294 00:15:15,209 --> 00:15:16,001 Why? 295 00:15:16,185 --> 00:15:23,537 Because of their sin, because of their idolatry, because of their 296 00:15:23,673 --> 00:15:27,829 mocking God's prophets, killing God's prophets. 297 00:15:29,609 --> 00:15:31,589 Understand that God loved Israel. 298 00:15:31,929 --> 00:15:35,789 He warned them, gave them opportunity to turn. 299 00:15:37,299 --> 00:15:38,919 He does the same for us. 300 00:15:40,339 --> 00:15:41,467 Be not deceived. 301 00:15:41,563 --> 00:15:43,803 Galatians, chapter 6. 302 00:15:43,891 --> 00:15:45,307 God is not mocked. 303 00:15:45,483 --> 00:15:48,399 For whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. 304 00:15:49,219 --> 00:15:52,719 Understand that God judges sin. 305 00:15:53,779 --> 00:15:58,283 And again, that's not preached in a lot of the modern churches today. 306 00:15:58,451 --> 00:15:59,899 They like to skip over. 307 00:16:00,019 --> 00:16:04,347 And again, you have many pastors who say, well, I'll never 308 00:16:04,403 --> 00:16:05,163 preach on sin. 309 00:16:05,211 --> 00:16:06,321 Never talk about sin. 310 00:16:06,435 --> 00:16:07,689 Well, it's in the Bible. 311 00:16:08,909 --> 00:16:11,733 And we see the example in the Old Testament of those who were warned 312 00:16:11,781 --> 00:16:14,421 about their sin and the judgment that was to come upon them. 313 00:16:14,605 --> 00:16:19,557 And we see that for the most part, they did not turn and they 314 00:16:19,613 --> 00:16:20,693 were judged. 315 00:16:20,821 --> 00:16:21,845 Let me read it again. 316 00:16:21,917 --> 00:16:23,461 You can go read it yourself later. 317 00:16:23,565 --> 00:16:24,533 Galatians 6. 318 00:16:24,621 --> 00:16:25,849 Be not deceived. 319 00:16:28,109 --> 00:16:28,885 Be not deceived. 320 00:16:28,917 --> 00:16:29,557 God is not mocked. 321 00:16:29,573 --> 00:16:32,889 For whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. 322 00:16:33,329 --> 00:16:37,229 You reap what you sow, you reap more than you sow. 323 00:16:37,649 --> 00:16:44,073 And we as Christians need to remember that it's important to obey 324 00:16:44,121 --> 00:16:48,409 his word, to not put things in front of God. 325 00:16:48,489 --> 00:16:51,069 Again, the children of Israel were disobedient. 326 00:16:52,289 --> 00:16:55,869 They were disobedient to his law, to his commands, to His Word, 327 00:16:56,289 --> 00:16:57,721 and they were idolatrous. 328 00:16:57,785 --> 00:17:02,829 Now, again, idolatry is putting anything in front of God. 329 00:17:04,529 --> 00:17:08,713 Anything that we would do that would be more important than God 330 00:17:08,761 --> 00:17:10,909 in our lives is idolatry. 331 00:17:11,409 --> 00:17:15,909 We all, from time to time, allow that to happen in our lives. 332 00:17:16,849 --> 00:17:18,189 We need to be careful. 333 00:17:19,249 --> 00:17:22,953 So we have an example in the Old Testament of what happens when 334 00:17:22,961 --> 00:17:28,079 you allow yourself to and you do not correct the disobedient heart. 335 00:17:28,779 --> 00:17:32,679 When you allow yourself to put other things in front of God. 336 00:17:33,179 --> 00:17:34,563 Seek those things which are above. 337 00:17:34,611 --> 00:17:35,091 Amen. 338 00:17:35,155 --> 00:17:37,159 Set your affections on things above. 339 00:17:37,659 --> 00:17:40,719 We need to keep Christ in focus and keep him first. 340 00:17:41,339 --> 00:17:43,027 Dad's, that's in your family. 341 00:17:43,163 --> 00:17:44,499 Moms, it's in your family. 342 00:17:44,619 --> 00:17:45,959 It's in your marriage. 343 00:17:47,579 --> 00:17:49,267 We see this all the time. 344 00:17:49,323 --> 00:17:54,859 Things that get interfere with the things of God. 345 00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:58,791 I always come back to sports because it's just one of those things 346 00:17:58,815 --> 00:18:00,259 that weighs heavy on me. 347 00:18:00,639 --> 00:18:03,991 When our kids were little and some of you were in church, when 348 00:18:04,015 --> 00:18:07,099 our kids were little, we had a hard and fast rule. 349 00:18:08,399 --> 00:18:11,899 If they play on Sunday, we don't participate. 350 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:14,663 I mean, it's just the way it is. 351 00:18:14,751 --> 00:18:16,007 Now let me clarify. 352 00:18:16,103 --> 00:18:19,415 A Sunday afternoon rain out, we would try to make it. 353 00:18:19,567 --> 00:18:23,479 But if it's a church time, if it's Sunday morning, Sunday night, 354 00:18:23,519 --> 00:18:28,439 Wednesday night, our kids were in church because God was more important 355 00:18:28,479 --> 00:18:29,339 than sports. 356 00:18:30,559 --> 00:18:35,299 I know that's a, maybe a small illustration, but it's a big one. 357 00:18:35,679 --> 00:18:37,379 Are you going to put God first? 358 00:18:38,319 --> 00:18:41,191 And that could be said of many, many other things. 359 00:18:41,375 --> 00:18:42,663 Many other things. 360 00:18:42,831 --> 00:18:44,339 Put the Lord first. 361 00:18:45,049 --> 00:18:45,953 Put the Lord forth. 362 00:18:46,001 --> 00:18:47,713 God should reign in our hearts. 363 00:18:47,761 --> 00:18:49,829 He should sit on the throne of our hearts. 364 00:18:51,369 --> 00:18:55,537 We see again Daniel taken captive in verses three and four. 365 00:18:55,673 --> 00:18:58,385 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs, 366 00:18:58,417 --> 00:19:01,041 that he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of 367 00:19:01,065 --> 00:19:05,281 the king's seed and of the princes, children of whom was no 368 00:19:05,305 --> 00:19:05,713 blemish. 369 00:19:05,761 --> 00:19:08,109 And you see the list there we just read a moment ago. 370 00:19:09,609 --> 00:19:13,763 What happens here is the king takes of the royal and the nobility, 371 00:19:13,961 --> 00:19:17,659 he takes the princes, he takes the finest young people in the country. 372 00:19:19,079 --> 00:19:21,791 And really what we do see here in the title of this, if you had 373 00:19:21,815 --> 00:19:25,539 a title for it, would be when worldviews collide. 374 00:19:25,879 --> 00:19:27,859 When worldviews collide. 375 00:19:28,519 --> 00:19:30,111 And that's what's going to happen here. 376 00:19:30,215 --> 00:19:32,799 These young men are carried into captivity. 377 00:19:32,959 --> 00:19:36,379 The nobility are carried into captivity, and they're about to face 378 00:19:37,239 --> 00:19:38,079 some big. 379 00:19:38,199 --> 00:19:39,379 Some big stuff. 380 00:19:40,849 --> 00:19:46,749 Their worldview is about to be rocked by an opposing worldview. 381 00:19:47,649 --> 00:19:49,961 Boy, there's no similarities in our world today, is there? 382 00:19:50,065 --> 00:19:51,429 Man, let's just go home. 383 00:19:52,449 --> 00:19:56,281 Of course this is, I mean, if you could take a paper and just put 384 00:19:56,305 --> 00:19:59,081 it over here, modern paper and put it over here and say, man, it 385 00:19:59,105 --> 00:20:01,385 matches up perfectly. 386 00:20:01,577 --> 00:20:08,371 Daniel and his friends faced a worldview that was contrary to the 387 00:20:08,395 --> 00:20:11,235 worldview that their parents had taught them. 388 00:20:11,387 --> 00:20:15,619 That The Bible had taught them and so many things. 389 00:20:15,659 --> 00:20:19,011 And we're seeing the same thing, and we have been for several, 390 00:20:19,115 --> 00:20:22,279 several years, this worldview colliding. 391 00:20:23,579 --> 00:20:27,523 I've had many people ask me, preacher, why is there such a chasm 392 00:20:27,571 --> 00:20:30,649 today between conservative and liberals? 393 00:20:30,779 --> 00:20:31,741 I'll just go ahead and say it. 394 00:20:31,765 --> 00:20:33,133 Between Democrats and Republicans. 395 00:20:33,181 --> 00:20:34,029 Why is there. 396 00:20:34,149 --> 00:20:34,669 Used to. 397 00:20:34,709 --> 00:20:36,089 There wasn't such a. 398 00:20:39,349 --> 00:20:44,329 There was a better relationship between the two. 399 00:20:45,829 --> 00:20:49,277 Why is that the case 40 years ago, but not the case today? 400 00:20:49,413 --> 00:20:55,049 Well, if you go back 40 or 50 years ago, the disagreements we had 401 00:20:55,589 --> 00:21:01,729 that conservatives had with again on that side was more preferences. 402 00:21:02,069 --> 00:21:04,269 It was, how do you want the economy to be run? 403 00:21:04,309 --> 00:21:06,205 Or how do you want this to be run or that be run? 404 00:21:06,277 --> 00:21:08,973 And it was, you know, some social services and those type of 405 00:21:08,981 --> 00:21:09,149 things. 406 00:21:09,189 --> 00:21:09,773 But it was. 407 00:21:09,861 --> 00:21:11,133 But it was never about. 408 00:21:11,221 --> 00:21:11,837 If you were. 409 00:21:11,893 --> 00:21:16,529 I'm just saying here, it was never really about morality. 410 00:21:17,349 --> 00:21:18,301 It was never. 411 00:21:18,405 --> 00:21:20,009 It was never really. 412 00:21:20,949 --> 00:21:24,085 There was never really a contradiction or a. 413 00:21:24,197 --> 00:21:28,569 The party was never really opposed to biblical morality. 414 00:21:29,149 --> 00:21:33,573 And what's happened is once they made that step of becoming opposed 415 00:21:33,621 --> 00:21:37,909 to biblical morality, then it became a moral issue for us. 416 00:21:37,949 --> 00:21:42,529 It became a crucial biblical issue for us. 417 00:21:43,309 --> 00:21:44,309 Make sense? 418 00:21:44,469 --> 00:21:45,769 Let me clarify. 419 00:21:47,469 --> 00:21:49,227 Jesus loved everybody. 420 00:21:49,373 --> 00:21:50,179 Amen. 421 00:21:51,399 --> 00:21:55,183 And you can contend without being contentious, you can disagree 422 00:21:55,231 --> 00:21:56,591 without being disagreeable. 423 00:21:56,735 --> 00:21:59,807 And let me tell you, there's a lot on both sides who need to learn 424 00:21:59,903 --> 00:22:02,139 how to be kind to each other. 425 00:22:05,799 --> 00:22:06,447 Amen. 426 00:22:06,543 --> 00:22:09,391 It's terrible the way people are so mean to each other. 427 00:22:09,575 --> 00:22:16,259 We could be kind, but there is a divide, and the divide is bigger 428 00:22:16,729 --> 00:22:21,649 because of the biblical implications when it comes to Bible 429 00:22:21,729 --> 00:22:26,641 standards, Bible beliefs, foundational Bible beliefs, not just 430 00:22:26,665 --> 00:22:29,909 like little stuff, but big stuff. 431 00:22:30,969 --> 00:22:34,481 And so that's why I believe there's such a chasm. 432 00:22:34,625 --> 00:22:38,609 Daniel faced somewhat the similar circumstance when he was 433 00:22:38,649 --> 00:22:40,513 enrolled into Babylon University. 434 00:22:40,681 --> 00:22:45,403 He was enrolled into a university that was totally teaching 435 00:22:45,451 --> 00:22:49,211 him totally different doctrines and teachings than what 436 00:22:49,235 --> 00:22:50,359 he was raised with. 437 00:22:51,139 --> 00:22:58,399 Opposed to Jehovah, opposed to his law and his teachings. 438 00:22:58,979 --> 00:23:05,643 And Daniel and his friends stood in the face, stood for right, 439 00:23:05,731 --> 00:23:07,039 and stood for the Bible. 440 00:23:08,349 --> 00:23:09,829 They took the king's seed. 441 00:23:09,909 --> 00:23:12,677 Daniel would have been 16 to 18 years of age. 442 00:23:12,813 --> 00:23:16,805 And so would have his other friends again around that same age 443 00:23:16,877 --> 00:23:17,493 group. 444 00:23:17,661 --> 00:23:19,729 These were promising young people. 445 00:23:22,589 --> 00:23:24,249 It was a small remnant. 446 00:23:25,949 --> 00:23:27,929 I'm thankful for the small remnant. 447 00:23:28,429 --> 00:23:30,837 I'm thankful the Bible refers to the small remnant, that there'll 448 00:23:30,853 --> 00:23:33,129 be a small remnant when the Lord returns. 449 00:23:34,599 --> 00:23:35,979 I'm thankful for that. 450 00:23:36,999 --> 00:23:40,495 I want to remind our young people the devil is a roaring lion. 451 00:23:40,527 --> 00:23:41,859 Seeking who may devour. 452 00:23:42,839 --> 00:23:47,215 Let me remind all of us, the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom 453 00:23:47,247 --> 00:23:48,099 they devour. 454 00:23:48,839 --> 00:23:50,619 He wants to corrupt you. 455 00:23:51,559 --> 00:23:53,259 He wants to corrupt you. 456 00:23:54,279 --> 00:23:56,431 You notice in verse four, it gives their ability. 457 00:23:56,495 --> 00:24:00,095 It says they were well favored and skillful in all wisdom and cunning 458 00:24:00,127 --> 00:24:01,951 and knowledge and understanding in science, and such 459 00:24:01,975 --> 00:24:05,117 as had ability of them to stand in the king's palace and whom 460 00:24:05,133 --> 00:24:07,645 they might teach the learning of the tongues of the Chaldeans. 461 00:24:07,837 --> 00:24:11,869 We see their ability again to be able to appear in public. 462 00:24:11,989 --> 00:24:13,629 They had no blemishes. 463 00:24:13,789 --> 00:24:16,333 In other words, this wasn't just about their mental state or 464 00:24:16,341 --> 00:24:17,757 their ability and their intellect. 465 00:24:17,853 --> 00:24:21,341 But also they were physically good looking young men, pleasing 466 00:24:21,405 --> 00:24:24,861 in appearance, healthy and handsome, young, smart, athletic, 467 00:24:25,005 --> 00:24:26,489 whatever you'd like to say. 468 00:24:28,309 --> 00:24:31,511 That's the implications here. 469 00:24:31,615 --> 00:24:32,359 What the. 470 00:24:32,479 --> 00:24:37,959 Even in the Hebrews, what it's saying, they were smart, they were 471 00:24:37,999 --> 00:24:41,239 wise and they had understanding. 472 00:24:41,399 --> 00:24:44,459 They were quick to learn, poised. 473 00:24:45,279 --> 00:24:47,543 It says there, the ability to stand in the king's palace. 474 00:24:47,591 --> 00:24:53,063 In other words, they were cultured and now would be selected 475 00:24:53,111 --> 00:24:54,219 for special training. 476 00:24:56,729 --> 00:24:57,425 What happened? 477 00:24:57,457 --> 00:24:58,949 Well, they were immersed. 478 00:24:59,609 --> 00:25:04,789 Verses 4 through 7, they were immersed in the culture of the Chaldeans. 479 00:25:05,529 --> 00:25:07,809 Again, it says they may appoint them. 480 00:25:07,849 --> 00:25:11,121 Verse 5, a daily provision of the king's meat and the wine which 481 00:25:11,145 --> 00:25:14,561 he drank, so nourishing them three years that the end of they 482 00:25:14,585 --> 00:25:15,985 might stand before the king. 483 00:25:16,097 --> 00:25:18,469 And they were also given different names. 484 00:25:18,809 --> 00:25:21,441 They were immersed in the culture. 485 00:25:21,505 --> 00:25:24,229 They were given new food and new names. 486 00:25:25,409 --> 00:25:31,705 Today we see the same thing happening when worldviews collide, 487 00:25:31,817 --> 00:25:34,469 not just for our young people, but for us as well. 488 00:25:35,489 --> 00:25:38,137 We must remember that the Bible says in Romans 12, I beseech 489 00:25:38,153 --> 00:25:41,001 you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present 490 00:25:41,025 --> 00:25:43,753 your body, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which 491 00:25:43,761 --> 00:25:44,537 is reasonable service. 492 00:25:44,593 --> 00:25:49,561 And what Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by 493 00:25:49,585 --> 00:25:51,321 the renewing of your mind. 494 00:25:51,505 --> 00:25:52,841 John Phillips said it this way. 495 00:25:52,865 --> 00:25:56,749 He said, you'll either be transformed or you will be conformed. 496 00:25:57,329 --> 00:25:58,505 Conformed. 497 00:25:58,697 --> 00:26:02,425 And we are inundated with counterculture. 498 00:26:02,457 --> 00:26:11,049 We're inundated with culture that is against biblical standards 499 00:26:11,129 --> 00:26:13,229 and biblical teachings. 500 00:26:14,529 --> 00:26:16,469 We're immersed in it. 501 00:26:17,099 --> 00:26:17,939 Immersed in it. 502 00:26:17,979 --> 00:26:22,163 And that was the intention of the king as he brought these Hebrew 503 00:26:22,211 --> 00:26:25,363 children from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. 504 00:26:25,411 --> 00:26:26,355 He was going. 505 00:26:26,507 --> 00:26:28,643 They entered into an indoctrination program. 506 00:26:28,731 --> 00:26:29,999 Three years of it. 507 00:26:31,419 --> 00:26:32,719 Three years of it. 508 00:26:34,539 --> 00:26:38,419 I've seen this a lot, especially when it comes to young 509 00:26:38,459 --> 00:26:43,059 people going into college and entering college. 510 00:26:43,139 --> 00:26:46,659 And mom and dad come to me a year or two later. 511 00:26:46,699 --> 00:26:50,803 And say, you know, my son's become an atheist. 512 00:26:50,931 --> 00:26:52,079 I said, what? 513 00:26:52,619 --> 00:26:54,499 Your son's become an atheist? 514 00:26:54,659 --> 00:26:56,035 Yeah, my son's an atheist. 515 00:26:56,067 --> 00:26:59,043 What did I do again? 516 00:26:59,131 --> 00:27:03,379 Get into the college and get into that counterculture, get into 517 00:27:03,419 --> 00:27:07,107 that culture that's contrary to the word of God and get immersed 518 00:27:07,123 --> 00:27:12,049 in it and all of a sudden find yourself believing differently. 519 00:27:14,629 --> 00:27:15,709 We have to be careful. 520 00:27:15,789 --> 00:27:17,169 Young people, be careful. 521 00:27:17,829 --> 00:27:18,845 We have some seniors. 522 00:27:18,877 --> 00:27:21,373 I've been praying for you guys, by the way, as you make decisions. 523 00:27:21,421 --> 00:27:25,489 Greg, and many others, be careful. 524 00:27:26,069 --> 00:27:29,069 I don't think it's wrong at all for a young person to go to a 525 00:27:29,109 --> 00:27:30,445 secular college. 526 00:27:30,637 --> 00:27:35,405 But when you go there, know what you're getting into, especially 527 00:27:35,477 --> 00:27:36,269 Texas A and M. 528 00:27:36,309 --> 00:27:37,329 That's just terrible. 529 00:27:40,739 --> 00:27:42,279 But know what you're getting into. 530 00:27:42,819 --> 00:27:44,795 Know that you're going to have professors who are going to teach 531 00:27:44,827 --> 00:27:46,319 contrary to the word of God. 532 00:27:47,379 --> 00:27:48,955 You got to be a Daniel. 533 00:27:49,147 --> 00:27:50,091 You got to stand up. 534 00:27:50,115 --> 00:27:52,011 There's some of our church families. 535 00:27:52,075 --> 00:27:54,907 We have church family here that go to public school, private 536 00:27:54,963 --> 00:27:56,443 school, home school. 537 00:27:56,531 --> 00:28:00,219 Understand, just because you put your kids in a Christian school 538 00:28:00,259 --> 00:28:04,197 doesn't mean it's not going to be exposed to things they shouldn't 539 00:28:04,213 --> 00:28:04,769 be. 540 00:28:05,869 --> 00:28:11,589 Even at Heritage Christian Academy, you got to stand these young 541 00:28:11,629 --> 00:28:11,781 people. 542 00:28:11,805 --> 00:28:16,645 You got to stand mom and dad, of course, it's our job to protect 543 00:28:16,677 --> 00:28:17,253 them. 544 00:28:17,421 --> 00:28:18,101 I believe that. 545 00:28:18,125 --> 00:28:19,781 With that I've heard some parents, I don't think we should 546 00:28:19,805 --> 00:28:20,729 protect our kids. 547 00:28:21,389 --> 00:28:22,549 That's hogwash. 548 00:28:22,709 --> 00:28:26,805 I protected my kids as long as I could put boundaries around them, 549 00:28:26,877 --> 00:28:29,089 help them, protect them. 550 00:28:32,079 --> 00:28:37,899 These three Hebrew children, exposed at such an early age as teenagers 551 00:28:38,319 --> 00:28:44,791 to a new culture, taught a new language again, new learning a pagan 552 00:28:44,855 --> 00:28:45,735 philosophy. 553 00:28:45,847 --> 00:28:47,259 They were taught evolution. 554 00:28:48,799 --> 00:28:51,287 These were truths they weren't raised with. 555 00:28:51,343 --> 00:28:54,339 These were biblical truths they weren't raised with. 556 00:28:55,129 --> 00:28:57,149 Babylonian truths they weren't raised with. 557 00:28:58,729 --> 00:28:59,829 It was Bible. 558 00:29:00,169 --> 00:29:02,229 God's authority versus Babylon. 559 00:29:02,569 --> 00:29:06,069 And I would say today it's Bible versus society. 560 00:29:10,489 --> 00:29:13,509 Can I remind you tonight that the Bible is the absolute authority 561 00:29:14,329 --> 00:29:15,985 for all manner of faith and practice. 562 00:29:16,017 --> 00:29:17,789 We just went over that Wednesday night. 563 00:29:18,569 --> 00:29:19,309 Why? 564 00:29:20,579 --> 00:29:23,803 Well, do you want a man to determine the standards, or do you 565 00:29:23,811 --> 00:29:25,195 want God to determine standards? 566 00:29:25,307 --> 00:29:28,747 That's really what it comes down to when it comes to relativism. 567 00:29:28,843 --> 00:29:32,731 Again, as I said Wednesday night, we have this culture of relativism 568 00:29:32,795 --> 00:29:33,803 that everything's okay. 569 00:29:33,851 --> 00:29:37,179 And you may think this is wrong, but that's what you think. 570 00:29:37,219 --> 00:29:40,079 And I don't think that's wrong until somebody steals your tv. 571 00:29:41,379 --> 00:29:48,585 I love it when the person who's all about relativism Just until 572 00:29:48,657 --> 00:29:49,989 something happens to them. 573 00:29:50,529 --> 00:29:51,753 Who's the standard? 574 00:29:51,801 --> 00:29:55,993 You know, the man behind the bench with the gavel. 575 00:29:56,041 --> 00:29:57,241 Is he the standard? 576 00:29:57,385 --> 00:29:59,481 Our founding fathers believed differently. 577 00:29:59,625 --> 00:30:03,001 Our founding fathers understood that the man behind the 578 00:30:03,025 --> 00:30:06,857 desk, the hand behind the pulpit, the man behind with the little 579 00:30:06,913 --> 00:30:10,585 robe on and the little gavel was not to be the standard. 580 00:30:10,697 --> 00:30:18,035 That's why they based America and our system upon Judeo Christian 581 00:30:18,067 --> 00:30:18,759 ethics. 582 00:30:20,539 --> 00:30:25,491 And that there was a greater standard than man and that God is 583 00:30:25,515 --> 00:30:26,359 the standard. 584 00:30:31,179 --> 00:30:33,759 We all are facing lies every day. 585 00:30:35,419 --> 00:30:36,639 We need to count. 586 00:30:38,059 --> 00:30:39,283 We need to count on the Lord. 587 00:30:39,331 --> 00:30:40,241 Trust him. 588 00:30:40,435 --> 00:30:42,645 And then number two, the new food again. 589 00:30:42,717 --> 00:30:44,613 Three year scholarship, room and board included. 590 00:30:44,661 --> 00:30:45,889 How would you like that? 591 00:30:46,669 --> 00:30:48,741 The very best that Babylon had to offer. 592 00:30:48,845 --> 00:30:55,717 Well, also a lot of it went contrary to the Mosaic law about 593 00:30:55,773 --> 00:30:58,869 what a Jew could eat or not eat or what a Jew could drink or 594 00:30:58,909 --> 00:30:59,429 not drink. 595 00:30:59,509 --> 00:31:02,569 And these young men were taught the biblical standard. 596 00:31:03,069 --> 00:31:04,725 And we'll find out in the story. 597 00:31:04,797 --> 00:31:08,051 Most of you know the story that the they asked, could we not 598 00:31:08,155 --> 00:31:09,635 have pulse to eat. 599 00:31:09,827 --> 00:31:13,587 Basically we want to eat vegetarian style because they didn't 600 00:31:13,603 --> 00:31:17,639 want to eat, contrary to the biblical standard. 601 00:31:19,259 --> 00:31:19,811 Why? 602 00:31:19,915 --> 00:31:24,199 Well, because the meat of the king of Babylon was offered to gods, 603 00:31:25,019 --> 00:31:28,499 was offered to idols and so forth and so on. 604 00:31:28,539 --> 00:31:28,819 So much. 605 00:31:28,859 --> 00:31:29,999 We'll cover later. 606 00:31:30,379 --> 00:31:36,061 But understand that the devil wants to change our appetites. 607 00:31:36,125 --> 00:31:37,889 When I was a kid, I hated milk. 608 00:31:39,189 --> 00:31:41,249 When I was a little kid, I hated milk. 609 00:31:42,069 --> 00:31:46,089 My dad and mom made me drink milk because it was good for you. 610 00:31:47,829 --> 00:31:49,049 Guess what I did? 611 00:31:49,589 --> 00:31:51,169 I learned to like milk. 612 00:31:52,629 --> 00:31:54,209 Changed my appetite. 613 00:31:55,269 --> 00:31:58,253 We ought to be careful because the same thing can happen to us spiritually 614 00:31:58,301 --> 00:32:04,583 as well as we are exposed to the world and music and television 615 00:32:04,631 --> 00:32:09,927 and books and video games and social media and work and education. 616 00:32:10,063 --> 00:32:15,179 All these things, many of them contrary to scripture. 617 00:32:15,759 --> 00:32:16,583 We're not careful. 618 00:32:16,631 --> 00:32:21,499 It'll change our appetite, our appetite for the things of God. 619 00:32:22,719 --> 00:32:27,131 We are constantly pounded by the ungodly, immoral world in which 620 00:32:27,155 --> 00:32:27,879 we live. 621 00:32:29,219 --> 00:32:30,139 Amen. 622 00:32:30,299 --> 00:32:31,131 Don't get quiet. 623 00:32:31,195 --> 00:32:32,199 It's all good. 624 00:32:33,379 --> 00:32:36,299 But I am thankful for a God who's bigger than our circumstances. 625 00:32:36,379 --> 00:32:37,003 Right? 626 00:32:37,171 --> 00:32:40,059 And I'm thankful for an example like Daniel and his three 627 00:32:40,099 --> 00:32:44,959 friends who stood up and stood for Bible and stood for their God. 628 00:32:45,299 --> 00:32:46,839 And we should do the same. 629 00:32:47,299 --> 00:32:49,963 And we should be careful what we allow ourselves to get exposed 630 00:32:50,011 --> 00:32:50,495 to. 631 00:32:50,627 --> 00:32:54,039 Parents, be careful what you allow your kids to get exposed to, 632 00:32:54,079 --> 00:32:56,179 what you allow them to be immersed in. 633 00:32:56,799 --> 00:32:59,939 You ought to know everything your kid is involved in. 634 00:33:00,319 --> 00:33:03,751 You ought to know everything that's on their phone by the way 635 00:33:03,775 --> 00:33:06,219 mom and dad, you ought to know everything that's on your phone. 636 00:33:08,879 --> 00:33:14,103 Be careful, little eyes what you see oh, be careful, little eyes 637 00:33:14,151 --> 00:33:18,865 what you see for the Father up above is looking down and low oh, 638 00:33:18,897 --> 00:33:21,425 be careful, little eyes what you see oh, be careful, little feet 639 00:33:21,457 --> 00:33:26,065 where you go oh, be careful, little feet where you go we teach 640 00:33:26,097 --> 00:33:27,601 that to our kids, don't we? 641 00:33:27,785 --> 00:33:29,969 Well, of course it's applicable to kids, but it's also 642 00:33:30,009 --> 00:33:31,229 applicable to us. 643 00:33:31,609 --> 00:33:35,233 Be careful what we're allowing ourselves to be influenced by. 644 00:33:35,401 --> 00:33:37,549 And then lastly, the new name. 645 00:33:38,729 --> 00:33:42,833 Can I just say that there were absolutely more than just four Hebrew 646 00:33:42,881 --> 00:33:46,019 children carried away, yet we're only hearing about four. 647 00:33:46,799 --> 00:33:50,727 There would have been thousands carried away, and yet we're 648 00:33:50,743 --> 00:33:52,019 only hearing about 4. 649 00:33:52,639 --> 00:33:54,339 The remnant, if you would. 650 00:33:54,799 --> 00:33:55,819 The Remnant. 651 00:33:56,799 --> 00:33:59,059 In other words, you either cave or you stand. 652 00:34:00,719 --> 00:34:02,659 You just got to make up your mind to stand. 653 00:34:04,399 --> 00:34:08,519 My brother in high school, as I've told you, and we have new members, 654 00:34:08,559 --> 00:34:09,367 though, that don't know this. 655 00:34:09,423 --> 00:34:15,701 My Brother, high school, 5 foot 10, 5 foot 11, 120 pounds soaking 656 00:34:15,765 --> 00:34:16,389 wet. 657 00:34:16,549 --> 00:34:18,181 Big old nose like mine. 658 00:34:18,325 --> 00:34:23,209 He looked like a dork of all dorks wore boots. 659 00:34:25,869 --> 00:34:27,845 But I'm so thankful for an older brother. 660 00:34:27,877 --> 00:34:31,157 He's four years older than me, so I followed him in high school, 661 00:34:31,213 --> 00:34:31,861 right? 662 00:34:32,045 --> 00:34:36,489 I followed all the teachers he had, and I had those same teachers. 663 00:34:37,279 --> 00:34:41,911 I'm thankful for an older brother who was like Daniel, who 664 00:34:41,935 --> 00:34:43,047 had a godly. 665 00:34:43,223 --> 00:34:44,619 Godly testimony. 666 00:34:45,279 --> 00:34:46,311 And they used to call him. 667 00:34:46,335 --> 00:34:46,551 They did. 668 00:34:46,575 --> 00:34:48,499 They called him Dippy Dan the holy man. 669 00:34:49,519 --> 00:34:51,319 Again, he was a nerd. 670 00:34:51,399 --> 00:34:52,455 Not a nerd's not the right word. 671 00:34:52,487 --> 00:34:53,175 He wasn't a nerd. 672 00:34:53,207 --> 00:34:54,487 He was just weird. 673 00:34:54,503 --> 00:34:55,659 He's my older brother. 674 00:34:56,639 --> 00:34:58,739 But what a testimony he had. 675 00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:02,859 If you ask anybody from high school, ask him about my brother, 676 00:35:03,289 --> 00:35:06,709 they'll say that just a godly testimony. 677 00:35:07,049 --> 00:35:08,509 I'm thankful for that. 678 00:35:08,809 --> 00:35:11,473 I'm thankful that they made fun of him, calling Dippy Dan the 679 00:35:11,481 --> 00:35:12,269 holy man. 680 00:35:13,449 --> 00:35:15,937 We ought to stand today, young people. 681 00:35:15,993 --> 00:35:16,589 Stand. 682 00:35:16,889 --> 00:35:18,081 But that's certainly not. 683 00:35:18,105 --> 00:35:20,789 That goes for all of us in the workplace. 684 00:35:21,209 --> 00:35:23,169 They ought to know that you're a Christian. 685 00:35:23,329 --> 00:35:25,169 They ought to know that there's something different about 686 00:35:25,209 --> 00:35:25,789 you. 687 00:35:26,089 --> 00:35:27,425 They ought to know it. 688 00:35:27,577 --> 00:35:28,961 You don't act like they do. 689 00:35:28,985 --> 00:35:30,679 You don't talk like they do. 690 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:32,499 You don't cuss like they do. 691 00:35:33,119 --> 00:35:34,135 You don't go places. 692 00:35:34,167 --> 00:35:36,019 You don't tell the stories that they tell. 693 00:35:36,639 --> 00:35:40,983 You know, you don't sit around the water fountain and talk about, 694 00:35:41,071 --> 00:35:43,219 you know, ungodly things. 695 00:35:43,679 --> 00:35:48,499 You excuse yourself when somebody else Is doing it just different. 696 00:35:50,559 --> 00:35:52,579 These four young men were different. 697 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:57,935 They changed their names in order that they might change again 698 00:35:58,007 --> 00:35:59,139 their beliefs. 699 00:36:00,039 --> 00:36:01,855 Was Daniel the word. 700 00:36:01,887 --> 00:36:03,939 The name Daniel means God is my judge. 701 00:36:04,279 --> 00:36:05,279 Hananiah. 702 00:36:05,359 --> 00:36:08,019 The name means Jehovah is gracious. 703 00:36:08,519 --> 00:36:09,343 Michelle. 704 00:36:09,391 --> 00:36:10,959 The name means who is he? 705 00:36:10,999 --> 00:36:11,999 That is God. 706 00:36:12,159 --> 00:36:14,939 Azariah's name means the Lord is help. 707 00:36:15,559 --> 00:36:16,859 The Lord is help. 708 00:36:19,079 --> 00:36:22,943 The indication here is that these four young men had spiritual 709 00:36:22,991 --> 00:36:27,349 parents or they wouldn't have named them those names. 710 00:36:28,089 --> 00:36:32,193 And it's hard for us to understand the culture of the Jews 711 00:36:32,241 --> 00:36:36,789 in that their names were given names that had meaning on purpose, 712 00:36:37,209 --> 00:36:41,553 whereas we're given names that either have to do with our, you know, 713 00:36:41,721 --> 00:36:43,745 former grandparents or dads. 714 00:36:43,777 --> 00:36:45,361 And there's not really a lot of. 715 00:36:45,465 --> 00:36:49,711 There's not any weight given to the meaning of our names. 716 00:36:49,865 --> 00:36:51,599 But to the Jew, that was different. 717 00:36:52,699 --> 00:36:57,443 To the Jew, their name and the meaning of their name was very important 718 00:36:57,531 --> 00:36:58,399 to them. 719 00:37:01,179 --> 00:37:04,599 These four men had godly, godly parents. 720 00:37:05,019 --> 00:37:10,519 They had godly names that was given to them by good, godly parents. 721 00:37:11,259 --> 00:37:15,479 For 16, 17, 18 years, these young men were raised in godly homes 722 00:37:16,229 --> 00:37:20,169 with parents who taught them the scripture and prayed with them. 723 00:37:22,789 --> 00:37:25,917 Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they're 724 00:37:25,933 --> 00:37:27,449 old, they won't depart from it. 725 00:37:27,829 --> 00:37:37,597 Parents can remind you, man, that young kid, your daughter, your 726 00:37:37,653 --> 00:37:43,059 son, are so impressionable at an early age. 727 00:37:43,439 --> 00:37:47,079 It really is the time between the birth and the time they're six 728 00:37:47,119 --> 00:37:49,139 or seven or eight, really around six. 729 00:37:49,919 --> 00:37:52,663 That 95% go look it up. 730 00:37:52,751 --> 00:37:59,779 95% of their personality of who they're going to be is set. 731 00:38:02,879 --> 00:38:08,729 Just that alone tells you how important it is those first few years. 732 00:38:10,069 --> 00:38:14,173 Train up a child, these young men, and we also have the great example 733 00:38:14,221 --> 00:38:16,169 of Moses, too. 734 00:38:16,709 --> 00:38:19,821 Moses, who was only raised in his home for just a few years, and 735 00:38:19,845 --> 00:38:23,009 yet he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 736 00:38:23,429 --> 00:38:24,969 It's an amazing thought. 737 00:38:25,589 --> 00:38:27,181 Train up a child in the way they should go. 738 00:38:27,205 --> 00:38:28,329 I got to be done. 739 00:38:29,589 --> 00:38:34,059 They were given new names, new names. 740 00:38:35,119 --> 00:38:43,751 Names like Belteshazzar and names that had ungodly and awful 741 00:38:43,815 --> 00:38:44,539 meanings. 742 00:38:45,039 --> 00:38:49,415 Names that were contrary to their faith, but their names reminded 743 00:38:49,447 --> 00:38:50,619 them of their faith. 744 00:38:51,039 --> 00:38:52,899 May we be reminded as well. 745 00:38:53,919 --> 00:38:59,059 Be careful about what you allow yourself to be immersed in. 746 00:38:59,789 --> 00:39:02,929 Remember that Satan seeks to destroy you. 747 00:39:04,509 --> 00:39:06,249 Watch your appetite. 748 00:39:07,709 --> 00:39:10,133 Remember your faith. 749 00:39:10,261 --> 00:39:11,129 Amen. 750 00:39:11,549 --> 00:39:12,109 Let's all stand.