"Don't Compromise" Daniel 1:1-21 :: Maintaining The Standard

[Music] series entitled maintaining the standard how to stay godly and ungodly environments how do you know that sometimes God is calling us to still be faithful even when other people around us are faithless we see so much going on in the world and so one of the things the Lord laid upon my heart is we begin preaching in this year on things I really want to challenge us with think about one who was faithful how did he maintain his ability to maintain godliness even though everything around him seemed to be contrary to his belief and I think the story of Daniel gives us a wonderful story and picture of someone who maintained the standards so we're gonna look at Daniel over the next two months as we're sharing the beginning portion of this year and it's going to encompass the first six chapters of Daniel today we're gonna start a Daniel chapter 1 Daniel chapter 1 a reading from the message translation this is what the Word of God says the third year of King Jehovah's reign in Judah when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon declared war on Jerusalem besieged the city master handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him along with some of the furnishings from the temple of God Nebuchadnezzar took King and furnishings to the country of Babylon the ancient shanaar you put the furnishings in the sacred Treasury King joash events head of the palace staff to get some Israelites from the royal family and nobility young men who were healthy and handsome intelligent and well-educated good prospects for leadership positions in the government perfect specimens in a doctrine exam and the Babylonian language and the lord of magic and foretelling Kingdon order that they be served from the same menu as the Royal table the best food the finest wine at the three years of the training they would be given positions in the king's court for young men from Judah Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah Raimondo selected Heather palace staff gave them Babylonian names Daniel was named Belshazzar Hananiah was named Shadrach Michelle was named Meshach and Azariah was named a bit Nicole but Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the King's food or drinking his wine so we asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet head of the palace staff by God's grace like Daniel but he warned him I'm afraid of what my master the King will do he's the one who was assigning this diet and if he sees that you're not as healthy as a rest he'll have my head but Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned to the head of the palace said to be in charge of Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water they compare us with the young men who eat from the Royal you men you make your decision on the basis of what you see stood agreed to do it and fed them vegetables in water for ten days and at the end of the ten days they look better and more robust then all the others who had been eating from the Royal menu so the steward continued to exempt them from the Royal Minya food and drink and served them only vegetables I gave these four young men knowledge and skill in both books in life in addition Daniel was gifted in understanding all sorts of visions and dreams at the end of the time said by the king of their training the head of the royal staff brought them to Nebuchadnezzar when the King interviewed them he found them far superior to all the other young men none were match for Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah so they took their place in the King's service whenever the King consulted them or anything on the books on life he found them ten times better off than all the magicians and enchanters and his kingdom put together Daniel continued the King's service unto the first year in the reign of King Cyrus look at verse 18 through 10 but Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the King's food or drinking wines we asked the head of the palace said to exempt him from the royal diet the head of palace staff by God's grace like Danny but he warned him I'm afraid of what my master the King will do he's the one who's assigned this diet and if he sees that you're not as healthy as arrests he'll to have my hand for time with islands as we start this series again I want to preach from this storm today I want to talk about don't compromise touch your neighbors a neighbor whatever you do don't compromise lift those hands to heaven say Lord speak we need to hear we may be seated in the presence of our God sir is told of a father and family who had their own high standards of what they wanted their children to be able to watch one day a popular movie was out and his three teenagers decided they wanted to see this movie decided to go ask some of their friends and they decided to interview them get some pros and cons about the particular movie they decided to write a list together and put this list and offer it to their father and let their father know what they were thinking that yes I know it has a few little instances in it that perhaps stretch out standard as a family but overall it's a great movie and should be something that we should go see they brought their list to their father and he said in 24 hours I will give you my answer the next evening the father summons the children into the room the three teenagers in the kitchen and on the table was a nice freshly baked batch of brownies he says listen I've created this for you I know what you brought me about the movie I I want to just share this with you if you guys would eat these brownies tonight just one brownie then I made my decision that y'all can go see the movie but let me tell you some pros and cons about these brownies they're made with the finest of chocolate matter of fact this award-winning recipe I mean they are moist they're fresh just got them out of the onion the only con is I put a little bit of horse manure in it not that much it's just a small a little bit matter of fact probably is already disseminated within the 350 degrees for which it was cooked this not much you probably won't even taste it in the midst of all that good chocolate and all that moistness and freshness of this brownie you probably won't even know that it's in there Naveen Eon if you will eat this brownie then surely I will let you go see the movie you want to go see as you can understand these teenagers did not eat the brownies and they understood what the father was trying to say just because it may seem like everything's cool a little bit can spoil the batch I wonder how many times as we look over life have we made those same decisions let's be honest and our aim to be successful we finally make a decision we finally get the promotion we want it only to find out we're being pushed in a way that kind of makes us feel uncomfortable here you are you finally have got the friends that you were just thinking I I finally am sitting at the cool table with the cool kids and now they're asking you to do some things that don't make you feel real comfortable and you're having to make a decision do I want to stick into I want to be the cool one am I going to make sure that everything is right or am I going to stick to my guns or am I gonna have my stance I mean nobody really is gonna know I mean who's gonna be the wine sir everybody else is doing it will it really make a difference and my brothers and sisters let's be honest all of us face them every single day on your job and school and different things and if we're not careful we'll sell our soul for just a little bit of horse manure in some brownies and what happens with that is that you don't think is a big thing but it does a long thing when it comes to how we view our God because at the end of the day there will be worldly standards but they are God's standards and here as a reality whose standard are you going to adhere to I know that it's easy and I know it seems like those who are offering cheat and steal or oftentimes are the ones who get promoted I know it don't seem like it's fair but here's reality whose report are you going to believe as we get into the Book of Daniel that's what we're gonna see we're gonna see a man that literally came into Babylonian captivity as a teenager but here is the powerful thing about it is that God uses him as a faithful witness to show that even in ungodly moments when you're pushed periods where people want you to not be who you're calling to be I'm here to tell you that Daniel shows us you can stay faithful and prosper at the same time God can use you when you maintain your standards and you won't miss out on anything you can still get prominence prestige and prosperity all because you chose to stick with God even when things got difficult I wish I had somebody to help me on the first Sunday of this year because I want to let you know we're all there gonna be tempted from time to time but Daniel teaches us one of the powerful things we must maintain is that even when other people have no standard we still have a standard from God let me tell you something my brothers and sisters I know in this day and age it seems like we watered-down Christianity it sings that as if we're making up our own rules every time I seem to read and open up the newspaper watch and peruse social media or even look online it seems like the lines keep getting withdrawn adhere to tell you the truth my brothers sisters yes God operates with grace and I'm grateful for the grace of God but grace is not a get out of standard free card what it simply says is that when I seem to falter and don't do what I'm supposed to do it is when grace picks me up but God doesn't want you just to use grace as some cheap excuse to do what you want to do but God wants grace to be the reason why I decide to color within the lines look at somebody tell them this year I'm not going compromising winner we began to understand what that looks like we can operate in the godly positions God has for us to be that's what I want to share today my brother and sisters this text in chapter 1 and as I said the breakdown of Daniel happens in about two forms chapters 1 through 6 gives the story of Daniel the the life of Daniel it gives some amazing narratives we're gonna talk about Dan you're not just here as we see what it's called the Daniel fast but we also notice how his three friends Hananiah Mishael and Azariah you know him Shadrach Meshach and Abednego how they survived the fiery furnace you know Daniels story how he was able to live in a lion's den and so the first part of Daniel deals with the story of Daniel but the last part of Daniel chapter 7 through 12 deals with what is considered the revelations of Daniel the apocalyptic language of Daniel Daniel in since is the revelations of Old Testament it shares with us the coming of the Messiah we see things in Daniel that does not come to pass until the New Testament and so Daniel is given a whole lot to us but yet when we look at Daniel chapter 1 I think it's powerful because in this passage it gives us the history it gives us the foundation if Daniel does not survive the test of chapter one there's no fiery furnace to survive there's no lions then to live through if he does not survive chapter one we won't be talking about Daniel because it is in Chapter one he comes over to Babylon this place from his family captivity has now happened because of the wrongness of the people king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has now made King Gherkin a vassal King and down they've taken the best and the brightest from Israel and now they've taken him from Judah and now now have transposed them into Babylon and in our text today my brothers and sisters Daniel and his three friends Hananiah Mishael and Azariah they're now brought into the Babylonian place they are now sitting amongst Kings and royalties and they have an opportunity my brothers and sisters they can either go all the way in here they are they are prisoners they literally don't have lives of their own but Daniel and his three friends decide we can't compromise they got promotion they on a good job they they're gonna get a lot of benefits there they're gonna assume a lot of Presti I mean they are literally in a dispossessed place but yet they are still prospering and yet they still make the decision you can't give me no amount of money to turn against my god and I want to look at my brothers sisters because I think it's powerful for us notice when you study the trajectory of this particular book the prophecy goes from around 605 BC to win Daniel dies around 526 BC it's interesting to note that Daniel comes as a teenager and he lives throughout the entire tenure of the Babylonian captivity Daniel in the span of these six or twelve chapters he outlives about four kings of Babylon he serves under four crazy monarchs and still prospers ought to talk to some government workers right now let me tell you than my brother and sisters he went through shutdowns and shut up so I wish I had some help but he's still prospered and one thing that he teaches us if you don't get anything else out of what I learned Daniel teaches us a valuable lesson that you can cooperate but not compromise let me say that again for the folk way in the back you can cooperate but not compromise and in this text Daniel teaches us how you navigate the nuances of being an ungodly government ungodly environments and governments and people but let God use you for his glory here this is not the time to quit ain't the time to start protesting but it is a time to say you know what since I'm in the system let me work the system to make the system better for those who were coming behind me here he teaches us a powerful principle that what he shows us is that when you trust in God God got you wherever you may be that's it my brothers that simple premise I want to give you this ain't alone when today I just have some things that I see in this passage because the way it sets up is so powerful to me because once again he goes over to Babylon as teenagers history friends come in and you'll note this whole trajectory from verses 1 to around verse 7 talks about what's happening this is how they indoctrinate you they they get the best and the brightest and what they decide to do is we're gonna educate you and our system we're gonna feed you our food and after a while you're gonna think like us you gonna look like us and you gonna think you're us but Daniel and his friends decide that even though we're in the system we don't work the system because we're never gonna lose who we are let me give you these three things my brothers and sisters this is a real small just an introductory sermon but the first thing that these these four youngsters teach us is that when we don't compromise the first thing you got to make sure you do is you got to know your identity here's what's crazy when you read this text when you read the text round verses 8 through 10 when you read this text excuse me verses 6 to 7 what you note is where they come from they are people who have been enslaved these are enslaved individuals who've now been displaced into what is considered Empire of that time if you read biblical history Babylon was an incredibly amazing Empire matter of fact God used Babylon to chastise and judge the children of God and the reason they're in this predicament is because they had lost their respect and prominence but who God was and God whenever you read scriptures it's very clear I will use anyone and anything to get you back in right order and because they decided that they didn't need God children of God found themselves in this mercurial his situation Daniels a contemporary of Jeremiah and others who have been foretelling what was happening Daniel and his friends are part of the first group of people to be displaced from their home they are from the tribe of Judah but now they are the best the brightest and the now at Babylon his was crazy first thing they do is try to indoctrinate them but guess what they try to do they changed their names Daniel gets the name Belshazzar you really thought that Shadrach Meshach and Abednego was their real names right those are those those Babylonian names their real names was Hananiah Mishael and Azariah and and Daniel Hananiah Mishael answer our names when you study them meant either Elohim is my judge Yahweh is gracious I am Who Elohim ears and God is able those four teenagers had those four names that reminded them of the faithfulness of God so what did the Babylonians want to do let's change their name we don't want them thinking that their God is still in control so Daniel your Belshazzar Hanna now you got another name Shadrach Michelle your name is your name is Abednego your answer your name is a bit Nago and and so they began to give them their own names but his was crazy my brother and sisters what I appreciate about this is that Daniel was a student up - no on the job y'all called me Belshazzar but I still know I'm Daniel matter of fact the name of the book is not Belshazzar it's Daniel Daniel means Elohim is my judge it it literally means what Daniel says in spite of where he was and they tried everything to strip him of his identity he said you can call me what you want when you know who you are I wish I had some time you're not tripping because what you can call you what you own it's who I know I am that really matters can I help you cuz I'm talking to some people that you had to live in that duplicitous environment you feel what W either boys calls the double consciousness that in some places I gotta be this but I got an understanding Houma I gotta be this and how do you navigate it because some of us can't we can schizophrenic we don't understand but let me tell you why I believe Daniel could handle being called Belshazzar at the office but remaining being Daniel is because when you know who your God is oh I wish I had some time when you know who God has called you to be when you understand that sometimes you got to play the game to get ahead but yet you understand I'm not gonna lose lose who God has made me to be do I got any day news in the house they said I keep my name can I tell you why I believe he kept his name remember him and his three friends were from the tribe of Judah Judah is the tribe of praise you do know that my brother and sisters which means they had an intimate relationship regard which means where you are true worshipper of God you never lose your identity which means I okay so I gotta act this way or talk this way when I'm over there but just believe I'm still Daniel on the inside and there's nothing you can do can strip me of my ingenuity can nothing you can do can strip me of my identity why because when I have who God has called me to be I'm ain't my character even in tough situations as a kid there were certain movies that got me one of the movies that riveted my soul when I was a kid was a movie called roots it was autobiography of Alex Haley and it came on TV when I was a kid it was a miniseries and that's one part that gets me on there's one part when the main character Kunta Kinte found himself at odds slave on and they decided they were gonna give him a name they were gonna call him Toby but Kunta Kinte said my name ain't Toby my name is Kinte and then one of the most powerful scenes guys I ever seen in my life man blessed it hard they string him up on a rope they brought out another slaves to start whipping him and the guy was behind him white master and he kept saying what's your name boy every time he got here Kunta Kinte your name Toby Kunta Kinte it seemed as if the more they beat him the more resolved he got in saying listen you can call me Toby but I know what my name is can I tell your life or do the same thing to you sometimes they try to whip you in a submission to make you lose your identity but what I appreciate about these individuals is they knew who they were the reason you can't compromise is when you have a hard earn as' steadfast belief in your own identity I submit to you they show us you don't compromise when you know your identity here's the second thing you don't compromise when you can control your appetite here's what's crazy thing comes in Texas that they were allowed the privilege of eating from the King's Royal tape now let's set the stage this is what the King ain't this is the most wonderful meets in all of the Kingdom it was overflowing it just consider it was it was Indus entrees of meat and illness entrees are the most extravagant stuff whatever you wanted to eat lamb and and all that stuff and beef and chicken and and even on top of that they had an unlimited open bar wine was flourishing whatever type of wine you wanted to drink this was always available at those they considered to be the top echelon anyone singing that especially if you're a slave that you just got from your home you can imagine it pales I mean it just blows your mind in comparison for what they were eating before see in this new place they were slaves but now they were given an opportunity to dine at the Kings table and I could imagine because the text doesn't tell us there were many others who came with Daniel and his three friends they're not the only ones that got displaced but dangling his three friends make a decision hey you know what that food looks ok it looks good but that's not what we're going to eat so this is what we're gonna do we're gonna find a way to not acquiesce to eat what they're eating there there are many scholars who suggest one of the reasons they perhaps did that is because one of the things that God to test the most is that he hates eating foods or us eating foods that have already been brought up for idols what they were doing Babylon they would take the choices meats the choices of food and they were offered as a sacrifice to the gods and whatever their God didn't want to eat they would bring to the king to be his portion so in essence it wasn't just suckling food it was food that had already been offered to the gods so when Daniel and his three friends see it they saw something more than just food they saw something disrespectful to their God so they say listen we can't do that we need to figure out a way to do this because by eating that food we're telling God you're not worthy to be worshiped here's the grace of God because when you decide to not compromise God or give you favor with authority because there was a guy that chose them whose main role was to make sure they eat right we don't know why it happened we don't know how it happened but the text in daniel says that for some reason Daniel and his friends found favor in his sight come here Joseph Joseph would testify sometimes if you just stick with God God would give you favor with some unlikely people he'll give you a favor with a supervisor even though your boss can't stand you I wish I had time yeah he'll give you a favor with a teacher aid even when the faculty don't want to see you grow I mean he'll give you a favor on stuff and give you connections you didn't even Bank on and because this person had favorite Dan you said look man I hear you but I really don't know if that'll work because the diet we have for you is to make you your best this is the choices of food and what you're asking me to do may make you seem less and Daniel says this all I'm asking let us just eat vegetables and water for 10 days and after 10 days check us versus the other guys and after 10 days if we look worse than them we'll eat the food but if we don't and we end up looking better will you let us stay on our diet I had time 10 in the Bible is the number of testing in other words one just a test to the man it was also Daniels test to God all right God I'm a trust you in this moment I'm gonna do what you tell me to do now it's up to you to make this thing work out for my good see see when you got enough faith in God you start putting God to the test you say look here god I decided to trust you I decided not to acquiesce to other people's requests I decided to make say make sure that I control my appetite now it's up to you God after ten days they're gonna come check me and if I don't look like I'm supposed to look you are forcing me to do something I don't want to do and let me tell you something how me you know God is always up to the test whenever you decide to test God come here Malachi three who want to test God will you test me in this when you learn how to operate in God's statues his regulations and his commands God will always do the same thing and after 10 days guess what happened winner he came back and looked at them even though they only been eating vegetables and water their face was full of their skin was plumper they look better on their vegetables and water than what the other people looked at eating their ROI your food in other words God came through when they learn how to push some stuff away winner you learn how to sacrifice and say you know what even though stuff might seem better god I choose you over that God said I will always take care of you I wish I had somebody in the house that can look over some moments in your life when you say God I'm gonna choose you now it's up to you god i'ma try your way now I need you to step up I oughta have some people in here they have decided to make holiness your way of life and you decided you know what I'm not gonna let my appetite control me I'm gonna control my appetite and when you do that watch what God does because a slight misstep or a slight miscalculation can cause you missing out on everything it was February 2003 NASA hit another major bump they've not had another tragedy since the Challenger in 1986 but this was up there the Columbia shuttle explosion seven crew people lost their life and when they did some research on it they come to find out that it could have been avoided they had 113 other launches before this one and they went relatively smooth but on each of those there was an anomaly that kept happening that as the shuttles went into the space there was a portion of of the carriages of the shuttles that would break off every single time and and it got to the point where so frequent they called it the floating foam phenomenon just a little piece of foam will fall out hit something and every time nothing happened so at 113 times they just assumed this is the anomaly it's just gonna happen I mean we can't stop it it just isn't what it is and so they chose to ignore it because it just kept happening it it happened every time they launched the space show and every time the shutter went up and the shuttle came down they just assumed that this little particle is not a big thing it'll just go by it ain't gonna affect 'no but in February 2003 what was a normal occurrence an anomaly a floating phone end up causing the wreck of their Columbia show something they had got comfortable with something they thought was not a big deal something they assumed was not gonna hurt anybody in the costing seven people their lives that's the danger of not controlling your appetite is that sometimes our palate gets so numb that we don't understand how much it really is harming us and here's the crazy thing about your appetite it may not hurt you today it may not hurt you tomorrow it may not hurt you next week it may not hurt you next month but keep eating the wrong thing keep dieting on the wrong thing keep letting the wrong something get in your system help me holy goes next time you go see the doctor and they tell you I feel good well how do you really feel because according to our tests there's some clogged arteries there's some things that perhaps if you just would have changed your appetite don't compromise know your identity don't compromise control your appetite here's the third thing when you don't compromise you trust your capacity verse 17 to 21 is an amazing ending for chapter one and it is here where we see the favor of God that in their quest to honor God God honors them you should reverse everything to 21 I was literally going to try to make it his own sermon it's that powerful to me because in it it shows us how God prospers them at the conclusion of chapter one four ways he prospers them physically mentally emotionally and education text says that after three years watch this they go to the same universities that the other people have to go to they just got him there that's the first time on the scene in this educational system but they don't just pass they don't just get C's they get a pluses and the text says they end up coming out on top compared to everybody else when King Nebuchadnezzar has an opportunity to interview them he finds out they are 10 times better than the rest of them you'll notice that word 10 happens a lot in this ten times greater than his best Mooji magicians in chapters those who considered the best of Babylon couldn't touch Daniel Hananiah Azariah and Mishael couldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole when they trusted God God gave them supernatural ability to achieve they didn't just do well in a classroom God gave Daniel the gift of dreams and visions which will come into play in chapter 2 in chapter 4 chapter 7 through 12 it is because they trusted God God said since I could trust you to keep my name keep my word keep my standards i'ma let everything you touch prosper I'm gonna make you the hair in a place where they think you ought to be last I'm going to make sure that when it comes to test time you get favored when it comes to assignments you get favored when even though you're in a foreign place and it don't seem like you got any advocates as long as you got me you got everything give me I don't know who I'm talking to but I'm talking to some folks that know what that was like when you got shipped off to college in a foreign place where people were acting and doing their own thing but yet you had to go on assignment you didn't have as many clothes as other people they were driving nicer cars you were just hoping that every week so your parents are seeing your little money so you can have something to eat on that week but yet you kept pushing and going harder while other people is partying you was in the library what other people thought that they were there just for a skate and a free ride you realize I got to do well here and yet after that first semester and second semester and second year you kept looking at and folk kept dropping off and folk you thought was gonna be there one there but yet your grades kept improving and then you kept ending and by the time it all in there you didn't just graduate thank you Laurie you graduated Magnum Lord and summa laude Wow it wasn't because you were the smartest there but when you trust God God has a way to help you to do some supernatural stuff to achieve and so I wish I had some people in here that can justify I know you want to say it's because you got the greatest mental capacity but a lot of times that ain't your mental capacity it's the favor of God is God giving you favor with a teacher is God giving you favor on assignments is God stretching you and helping you do well and when you understand it ain't nothing but God that has been as somebody can testify when I look back over life I shouldn't have all the degrees I got but God's been faithful when I look back over my life when I realized because for God I live and for God I got he gave me some supernatural favor anybody in the house that can say you know what the reason I prosper like I prosper and do what I can do is not because it's me but it's because I got a guard working around me god that's working things out on my behalf of God that says I sense I can trust you I'm gonna let you do when I'm not Jewish I had somebody elbow somebody close to you and tell them my success is predicated on the favor of God the reason I do well is because God's with me we know I realize ins making my decisions and walking with I realize he's the kind of God that can give you a favor in some precarious situation and because of that here's the good news Daniel prospers in four main governments under four different Kings Daniel prospers he stays faithful he never forgets who God wants him to be and when everyone looked up to him Daniel becomes the paradigm for what it means I close with this I'm done I haven't eaten meat in almost 11 years but I still love chick-fil-a I can't even eat the food when I cheat I go get some fries and some lemonade just to be in the presence I know y'all take chick-fil-a for granted but but chick-fil-a it's an amazing testimony to how when you put God first God will favor you my first home in College Park Georgia first one I bought when I was 22 years of age happened to be around the corner from the first chick-fil-a which is called the huddle house don't die and go to heaven without going to the huddle house the dwarf house I'm sorry it's the dwarf house oh they got peach pies and apple stuff you can't get at a regular chick for later they got it to dwarf house but you're asking pastor why and here's my thing here's why regardless of how good the food tastes on it is good do you realize the favor that's upon chick-fil-a they only work six days out of the week they made a decision to not work on Sunday the Lord's Day they have half of the locations of Kentucky Fried Chicken which is their largest competitor in the chicken market but even though they got nested half of the locations of Kentucky Fried Chicken which can't be called Kentucky Fried Chicken if there's any real chicken so it's KFC only works six out of seven days they more than tripled their profits than KFC oh you think that's a matter of fact they have a greater revenue than all the pizza chains together y'all they helping me here and all they do is make chicken sandwiches okay y'all don't think that's big I think that's incredible which shows all of us well do you like their theology or not when you put God first when you trust in God when you say for God I live and for God I die and don't compromise watch what God does for you let's stand I'm done I wanted to set the stage I hope it made sense chapter 1 is all about how they maintained the foundation of not compromising for next week when we pick up we'll talk about the first opportunity Daniel gives and the first roller gets is the King has a dream that no one else can respond to no one else can figure out what happens and Daniel gets the opportunity in other words well I won't talk about next week is that when you learn how to trust God he'll put you in the position of promotion based upon the gifts he's uniquely giving you that's right when you trust God you ain't got a brown-nose you ain't got to sleep around to move up the Bible is clear your gifts will make room for you and his was crazy having the gift of interpreting dreams and always what most of us consider the kind of gift we won't gotta take the most odd gifts and put you in the prison presence of kings and queens Daniel's simply because he passed the test in Chapter one God created a door and opportunity in Chapter two if I had time I would tell you what I appreciate about Daniel and his three friends is they were teenagers in Chapter one which means it does matter what we do as kids it does matter how we teach our young people to make the right decisions the Bible is clear train up a child in the way they should go and when they get older because if we don't teach them the principles and youth how do you expect them to keep him when they get older if I had time a whole nother angle to this state on my desk that's why a lot of times the sermons you get are not even half of the study preparation is I always make the argument in this in my study I was thinking to myself Daniel history friends could make the decisions they made in Babylon because of what they learned in Judah what you see in Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah is from the parents who taught them growing up how to keep God first that's why we're in a crisis with the next generation is because we haven't taken the time to teach them the importance of keeping God first we're the only culture that give our children opportunities to try to explore when it comes to their fidelity to our God when I was growing up I had no choice you go in the church that one no choice now I want them to just grow and just explore okay do that if you want to and then we wonder why when they get older there was no foundation it's our job the word teacher in Hebrew was a saying root word for parent because in essence they believe the first teacher is the parent you set the trajectory the Bible is clear children like arrows in our hands you determine the aptitude the altitude and the attitude that they have now after all the training you've done and they go away hey you've done your part and I've learned this listen we could get wayward but once you got a strong foundation you will always come back maybe it's moving the God God has a strange way and I don't know maybe I'm here I'm done God has a strange way of turning things around to force you back to him because we could get out there let's be honest I wish I had some real people center team this is wrong sir wrong crowd y'all y'all always been saved you ain't never made no mistakes love the Lord but you did you had your fun he was out there let's be real but when you have it in you you can't shake it you you start trying to do stuff and feel odd and awkward like like you want to try but something on the inside you said you know what you really shouldn't be here you'd be the odd person in the party like yeah I need to go home

Channel: Tabernacle Baptist Church Augusta

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Keywords: TBCAUGUSTA CHARLES E GOODMAN, JR. PG, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Augusta, GA, Georgia

Id: WOFNdi5mWWo

Length: 42min 50sec (2570 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 22 2019