The Bible tells us,
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"In the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God."
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It says, "To
receive with meekness
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the implanted Word,
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which is able
to save your souls.
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And to be diligent
to present yourself
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approved to God,
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rightly dividing
the Word of truth."
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Join us now for the
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Our study today is
the Book of Daniel.
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Hello friends,
welcome to the study
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of the Book of Daniel.
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We are continuing
just in our second week
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of an amazing book
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where we're going
to not only find out
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who Daniel is all over again,
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but we're going to
look at the book again,
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for the first time.
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Think about that for a moment.
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Daniel is an exciting study
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and before we take a second look
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at a very familiar passage,
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we are going to do two things.
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We're going to first
introduce our panelists.
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We're going to have prayer.
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We're going to read our
scripture, our memory text,
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and then we're going
to dive into the study.
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To my immediate
left is Shelley Quinn.
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Good to have you here, Shelley.
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Oh, it's always
good to be here with you.
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Thank you.
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A lady of many
hats and many hairdos.
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Well, let's don't go there.
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Pastor Kenny, good
to have you here today.
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It's always good to be
here. I really enjoy it.
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You would be the
patriarch of our panel, maybe.
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Let's not talking about
that. I've got that feeling.
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If you're talking about
age, you know it's all right.
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Okay, and Jill,
undoubtedly the lady of lists.
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Privileged to be
here, Pastor John.
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Thank you. Yeah.
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And I think the
new kid on the block
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or the youngest
one on the panel,
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Pastor Ryan Day, good
to have you here, Ryan
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It's a blessing to be here.
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Yes, we are going
to have a good time.
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I want to ask
Ryan to have our prayer
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before we go into this
study of this wonderful lesson.
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Absolutely.
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Father in heaven,
Lord, we are just privileged
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and honored to be
here, to be alive another day
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to be able to serve
you another day, Lord,
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and it's such an incredible,
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exciting feeling to
be a part of this panel,
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to be able to come
together and study Your word,
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dive deep into these amazing
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prophecies of
the Book of Daniel.
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And, Lord, we
can't do it without you,
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and so we're asking
for Your Holy Spirit
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to be in each and every
one of our hearts and minds.
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Give us the
spiritual eyeglasses,
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the spiritual hearing
to be able to see and hear
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and the spiritual mind of Christ
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to be able to
understand all of this,
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according to Your will.
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May these messages go out
to all of the world, Lord,
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may someone be blessed
and brought to Jesus Christ
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because of
these amazing studies.
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We praise You and we thank You.
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And we ask these
things in Jesus' holy name.
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Amen. Amen.
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Amen.
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And our memory text
is found in Daniel 1:17,
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Daniel 1:17.
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And I'll read
that in your hearing.
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"As for these four young men,
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God gave them
knowledge and skill
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in all literature and wisdom,
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and Daniel had understanding
in all of visions and dreams."
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What an amazing thing to have.
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It'd be nice for
that to be said about us.
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But knowledge is one thing,
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wisdom is something
altogether different.
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You can have knowledge
but you need wisdom to know
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what to do with knowledge.
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You know, when we
think about Daniel,
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we have undoubtedly
in studying the book
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have come up with the
fact that Daniel is faithful,
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but I'd like to take
that to another level.
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Go with me to 1 Corinthians 1:9.
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I want you to see
that very carefully
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because Daniel is
without doubt, faithful.
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And as you're turning
there, let me just encourage you
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if you'd like to get
a copy of this lesson
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to follow along with us,
go to the following website.
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ABSG.Adventist.org.
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That's ABSG.Adventist.org,
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download a copy and
then you could also go
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to one of your local
Seventh-day Adventist Churches
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and they'll be glad to
include you in the fellowship.
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But let's look
together at 1 Corinthians 1:9.
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And I like the first three words
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because Daniel is
undoubtedly faithful.
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And anytime we are faithful,
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we have to come
to the conclusion
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that our
faithfulness is not found in us.
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Our
faithfulness is found in God.
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Amen. Amen. Notice what it says.
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1 Corinthians
1:9, God, God is what?
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Faithful.
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"God is faithful,
by whom you were called
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into the fellowship of His
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
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So as we go through Daniel
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and all the prophecies
that are revealed to Him
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and through Him,
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all the messages and
visions given by Him,
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they're all given
through Him, not by Him.
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He's the mouthpiece but
God in fact is the instrument,
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and the faithfulness
of God translates into,
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here's the beauty of it.
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God is faithful all the time,
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but He allows us to shine only
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when He is resident in us.
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You know, somebody once said,
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that was a great
sermon, wonderful song.
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I always say to people
"I'm only the lampshade,
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God is in fact, the light."
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You know, when
Daniel begins in Daniel 1,
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let's go to Daniel Chapter 1,
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because it begins on
a somewhat somber note.
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And I've said before,
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it's not always
how something begins,
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but how it ends.
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And there are many
pictures in the Book of Daniel,
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where it begins on a somber note
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but hold on long enough,
like here in the Midwest.
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When you're in God,
the situation will change
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and it will always
change for the advantage
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of the children of God.
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Daniel 1, I'm going to
begin with verse 1 and 2,
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because it points
out very carefully
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how the somber note begins.
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It says, "In the third
year of the reign of Jehoiakim,
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king of Judah,
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Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
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came to
Jerusalem and besieged it.
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And the Lord gave Jehoiakim,
king of Judah into his hand,
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with some of the
articles of the house of God,"
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remember that
because they come back
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as a significant point
in the stories as we go on,
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"which he carried
into the land of Shinar,
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to the house of his god.
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And he brought the articles
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into the treasure
house of his god."
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I think one of
our former lessons
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we pointed out that
Chapter 1 opens with,
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in fact, one point I
want to make here is,
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regardless of where
the articles of God are,
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they are still
the articles of God.
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That's right. That's good.
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Regardless of where
the people of God are,
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they are still
the people of God.
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Now remember, it
begins with a picture that
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we often miss
because Daniel Chapter 1
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is a reflection of
Revelation Chapter 18.
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Yes, yes. That's right.
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Good. Because they are.
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The people of God
are taken into Babylon.
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But then there's a
call later on to bring them
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out of Babylon.
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And Daniel asked the question,
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how long are we going
to be in this situation?
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How long are we
going to be here?
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So make no doubt about it.
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These books, I
think we point out
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these books are sister books,
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one builds on the
foundation of the other.
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So right away, it
begins with the people of God
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being taken into Babylon.
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And they never
end up in Babylon,
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except what's
true about Jehoiakim,
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king of Judah, is true about
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many of the leaders
that are leading them.
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This is very important,
because the children of Israel,
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the tribe of Judah
ended up there not because
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they themselves
were individually
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totally always unfaithful,
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but their leader was,
and many people are led
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into
circumstances by their leader.
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The leader determines a lot,
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but God determines
the end of the story.
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So you find Jehoiakim is
the one that it refers to.
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It didn't say
Daniel was a bad kid.
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It didn't say Hananiah,
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Mishael and
Azariah did awful things.
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They said, they ended up
there because of their leader.
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And so we find
Daniel Chapter 1 going on,
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and I'm going to
reflect a little bit here
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because rather than
taking the latter parts,
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if I look at my
lesson carefully,
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it didn't give me
the responsibility
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of breaking down the story.
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I don't want to
take any of your thunder,
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because what happened
while they were in Babylon
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is going to unfold later on.
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But let's talk about Babylon,
where it found its inception.
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Go to the Book of Genesis,
because it talks about Babylon
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being in the land of Shinar.
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That's right.
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And it's about 53 miles
south of the modern day Iraq,
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it's in that region.
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But it's not the same location.
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And we know that one
of its former leaders
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was hoping that Iraq
and Babylon was synonymous,
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but Genesis 11:1-4.
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Shinar is the land
where the rebellion began,
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and notice, it began
on the heels of a promise
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that I'll talk
about in just a moment.
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Genesis 11:1-4,
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"Now the whole
earth had one language
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and one speech.
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And it came to
pass, as they journeyed
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from the east,
that they found a plain
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in the land of Shinar."
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Now what is the
direction that the Bible said
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Jesus is coming from?
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East.
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East, so you'll
find out right away,
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I like to find symbolisms
in a lot of hidden messages.
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They are moving away
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from the direction where God is.
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They journeyed from the east.
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When we meet the Lord
will meet him in the east.
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The wise men came from the east.
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So you find east is so
synonymous in the Bible
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with good things,
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when you're journeying
away from good things,
00:09:31.17\00:09:32.80
you find
yourself in the badlands.
00:09:32.83\00:09:35.57
So we find they
came from the east
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and they found a
plain in the land of Shinar,
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and they dwelt there.
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Then they said to one another,
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"Come let us make bricks
and bake them thoroughly."
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Notice once again right
away salvation by works.
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"They had bricks for stone,
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and they had
asphalt for mortar."
00:09:52.72\00:09:56.12
And they said,
"Come let us build
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ourselves a city."
00:09:57.83\00:09:59.96
See, the Lord is
building us a city.
00:10:00.00\00:10:02.16
But they said, "Let's
build ourselves a city,
00:10:02.20\00:10:04.87
and a tower whose
top is in the heavens,
00:10:04.90\00:10:07.67
let us make a
name for ourselves,
00:10:07.70\00:10:10.27
let us be scattered
abroad over the face
00:10:10.31\00:10:12.31
of the whole earth."
00:10:12.34\00:10:13.68
Now what is
true about them then,
00:10:13.71\00:10:15.34
is also true about
00:10:15.38\00:10:16.71
the condition of
the Christian Church
00:10:16.75\00:10:18.11
in the end time because it says,
00:10:18.15\00:10:19.48
let's make a name for ourselves.
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Now the devil saw
they didn't want the name
00:10:21.62\00:10:23.45
that God gave them,
but look at the transition.
00:10:23.49\00:10:25.75
Isaiah 4:1 says,
when the name for them
00:10:25.79\00:10:29.19
and this is how
clever the enemy is.
00:10:29.22\00:10:32.06
They made a name
for themselves that
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Satan knew now
labeled them as rebellious.
00:10:33.53\00:10:37.47
But watch this,
go to Isaiah 4:1.
00:10:37.50\00:10:40.14
Let's look at this.
Okay, Isaiah 4:1, I'm there.
00:10:40.17\00:10:44.67
Okay, notice
what the Bible says.
00:10:44.71\00:10:46.24
And Isaiah is a powerful book.
00:10:46.27\00:10:49.54
I'm looking forward to the day
when we do a lesson on Isaiah.
00:10:49.58\00:10:53.45
That's gonna be like,
you better put on your boots.
00:10:53.48\00:10:56.48
Okay, Isaiah 4:1.
00:10:56.52\00:10:58.02
Notice what it says,
"In that day seven women
00:10:58.05\00:11:01.16
shall take hold
of one man saying,
00:11:01.19\00:11:03.96
we will eat our own
food, or our own bread,
00:11:03.99\00:11:06.59
and wear our own apparel,
00:11:06.63\00:11:09.00
only let us be called by," what?
00:11:09.03\00:11:10.87
Your name.
00:11:10.90\00:11:12.23
"Your name, to
take away our reproach."
00:11:12.27\00:11:14.10
Notice they said, "Let us
make a name for ourselves."
00:11:14.14\00:11:17.07
Now the devil
knows that that name
00:11:17.11\00:11:18.64
that they made for themselves
00:11:18.67\00:11:20.01
is now
synonymous with rebellion.
00:11:20.04\00:11:21.71
So to cloak the
intentions of the last days,
00:11:21.74\00:11:24.85
he says, we'll
settle for your name.
00:11:24.88\00:11:27.95
But your name doesn't mean
that we are connected to you,
00:11:27.98\00:11:31.49
because we will
have our own bread,
00:11:31.52\00:11:33.15
we'll have our own apparel.
00:11:33.19\00:11:35.02
So the rebellion is the
same, although the name,
00:11:35.06\00:11:37.99
the application of
the name is different.
00:11:38.03\00:11:40.30
We have a name.
00:11:40.33\00:11:41.66
Now we have your name,
00:11:41.70\00:11:43.60
to cloak the true
intent of deception.
00:11:43.63\00:11:46.23
Let's go back to
Genesis very quickly.
00:11:46.27\00:11:47.64
Genesis Chapter 9, and find
out why this city was built.
00:11:47.67\00:11:51.34
And I'll be very quick as
I'm reading verse 12 to 15
00:11:51.37\00:11:53.78
of Genesis Chapter 9.
00:11:53.81\00:11:55.81
And God said,
00:11:55.84\00:11:57.41
"This is the
sign of the covenant
00:11:57.45\00:11:59.11
which I made between me and you,
00:11:59.15\00:12:01.12
and every living
creature that is with you,
00:12:01.15\00:12:03.45
for perpetual generations,
00:12:03.49\00:12:05.39
I set my rainbow in the cloud."
00:12:05.42\00:12:09.79
And he says, "It
shall be for you,
00:12:09.82\00:12:13.60
the sign of the covenant
between me and the earth.
00:12:13.63\00:12:17.63
It shall be when I
bring a cloud over the earth,
00:12:17.67\00:12:20.37
that the rainbow
shall be seen in the cloud.
00:12:20.40\00:12:23.41
And I will remember my covenant,
00:12:23.44\00:12:25.81
which is between me and you
00:12:25.84\00:12:27.74
and every living
creature of all flesh.
00:12:27.78\00:12:30.18
The water shall
never again become a flood
00:12:30.21\00:12:32.58
to destroy all flesh."
00:12:32.61\00:12:33.95
Now there was a reason
00:12:33.98\00:12:35.32
why I brought out
the name comparison.
00:12:35.35\00:12:38.05
First the name was
associated with rebellion,
00:12:38.09\00:12:40.79
the land of Shinar, Babylon,
the city built in rebellion.
00:12:40.82\00:12:43.99
Now, the devil has
taken that word, name,
00:12:44.03\00:12:47.40
and so okay, well,
00:12:47.43\00:12:48.76
we'll take your name
to cover our intentions.
00:12:48.80\00:12:51.40
Now look what else he did.
00:12:51.43\00:12:53.10
The rainbow was
intended as a promise of God.
00:12:53.13\00:12:56.44
Now he's taken the rainbow
00:12:56.47\00:12:58.27
to be a covenant
of satanic activity.
00:12:58.31\00:13:00.14
That's right. Yeah, it's true.
00:13:00.18\00:13:01.51
Isn't that amazing?
Cloak the name, rebellion.
00:13:01.54\00:13:05.58
Now the name
cannot be associated
00:13:05.61\00:13:07.72
with complete
faithfulness to God.
00:13:07.75\00:13:10.29
Took the rainbow that was
a sign of God's faithfulness,
00:13:10.32\00:13:13.89
and now made it a
symbol of rebellion.
00:13:13.92\00:13:16.12
Notice how that, he does
that to cloak back and forth.
00:13:16.16\00:13:18.49
So, God's rainbow of promise
00:13:18.53\00:13:20.83
has been hijacked as
a symbol of rebellion.
00:13:20.86\00:13:25.63
But there is still
rebellion in the world today,
00:13:25.67\00:13:28.90
in place of God's promise.
00:13:28.94\00:13:30.51
I wish I had more time,
I'll come back to this again.
00:13:30.54\00:13:32.97
But let's begin by,
00:13:33.01\00:13:34.34
let's just
transition by saying this.
00:13:34.38\00:13:36.24
God is faithful in
spite of man's rebellion.
00:13:36.28\00:13:40.22
Thank you, John.
That was wonderful.
00:13:40.25\00:13:42.42
Monday's lesson is
faith under pressure.
00:13:42.45\00:13:44.99
And I enjoyed this so much.
00:13:45.02\00:13:46.49
Think about this
for just a moment.
00:13:46.52\00:13:48.22
When Daniel and his
three friends were young,
00:13:48.26\00:13:51.33
they were brought up
under good king Josiah's reign.
00:13:51.36\00:13:54.70
He was the
reformer, but now he dies off.
00:13:54.73\00:13:59.30
Jehoiakim, his son is now king,
00:13:59.33\00:14:02.40
one of Israel's worst
kings brought the whole nation
00:14:02.44\00:14:06.84
into decline and it was.
00:14:06.88\00:14:09.01
This is why
Nebuchadnezzar came in
00:14:09.04\00:14:11.25
and was able to take them over
and make them a vassal state.
00:14:11.28\00:14:14.72
So Daniel and his
friends are now teenagers
00:14:14.75\00:14:17.35
and they witness the
plunder of the temple.
00:14:17.39\00:14:20.96
They witness this being
carried off not only that,
00:14:20.99\00:14:24.23
they're carried off.
00:14:24.26\00:14:25.83
As young teenagers,
they were probably 15 to 17.
00:14:25.86\00:14:29.03
They're going on this
500 mile march to Babylon.
00:14:29.06\00:14:34.00
Just think how
the harsh conditions
00:14:34.04\00:14:37.11
could have tested their faith
as they are making this march.
00:14:37.14\00:14:41.01
They've been uprooted and
plucked from their family.
00:14:41.04\00:14:45.11
Now, when they get to Babylon,
00:14:45.15\00:14:48.95
they are put into a
three year training program,
00:14:48.98\00:14:52.55
because they are going
to, they're being trained up
00:14:52.59\00:14:57.33
to be in service of the king.
00:14:57.36\00:14:59.63
This was an
academic training program.
00:14:59.66\00:15:02.66
It taught the language
00:15:02.70\00:15:04.33
and the
literature of the Chaldeans.
00:15:04.37\00:15:06.37
Now the primary
language was Aramaic.
00:15:06.40\00:15:09.37
But for scholarship,
00:15:09.40\00:15:11.04
there was a
Babylonian language and it was,
00:15:11.07\00:15:13.38
the ancient language
was very complicated.
00:15:13.41\00:15:17.18
Their academics would
have included math and history.
00:15:17.21\00:15:21.45
And it would include magic,
00:15:21.48\00:15:24.92
because that, you know,
00:15:24.95\00:15:26.45
their science and
magic was important to them.
00:15:26.49\00:15:29.69
But to assimilate
them into the culture,
00:15:29.72\00:15:32.29
they changed their names.
00:15:32.33\00:15:33.80
Daniel, which
means God is my judge,
00:15:33.83\00:15:36.56
changed to
Belteshazzar, which means Baal,
00:15:36.60\00:15:39.93
which was one of
the major pagan gods,
00:15:39.97\00:15:43.27
protect his life.
00:15:43.30\00:15:44.67
Hananiah, the Lord shows
grace was changed to Shadrach,
00:15:44.71\00:15:48.71
which means, under
the command of Aku,
00:15:48.74\00:15:51.61
which was the moon God.
00:15:51.65\00:15:53.15
Mishael, who is like
God, his name was changed
00:15:53.18\00:15:56.15
to Meshach who is like Aku.
00:15:56.18\00:15:59.29
Azariah, the Lord helps
was changed to Abednego,
00:15:59.32\00:16:04.49
the servant of Nego,
00:16:04.53\00:16:06.23
he was the god of
learning and writing.
00:16:06.26\00:16:09.86
So their original names
honored the God of Israel,
00:16:09.90\00:16:13.84
but their new names
honored the pagan gods.
00:16:13.87\00:16:17.01
So when you look at this,
00:16:17.04\00:16:18.74
these young teenagers
were subjected to isolation.
00:16:18.77\00:16:23.41
They were in indoctrination,
confusion and assimilation.
00:16:23.45\00:16:28.12
Isolated from their homeland,
their family and their friends,
00:16:28.15\00:16:32.99
and the Babylonian strategy
was changed their loyalty
00:16:33.02\00:16:36.26
from the God of
Israel to the pagan gods.
00:16:36.29\00:16:38.79
They were
indoctrinated and brainwashed
00:16:38.83\00:16:41.40
through their first
class secular education.
00:16:41.43\00:16:44.73
Religion would have
been part of their curriculum
00:16:44.77\00:16:49.14
because the Babylonians
00:16:49.17\00:16:50.77
had a pantheon of
polytheistic deities.
00:16:50.81\00:16:54.94
They would have taught
them the greatness of Marduke.
00:16:54.98\00:16:57.75
Confusion, changing your name.
00:16:57.78\00:17:00.32
I mean, that's the
core of who they were,
00:17:00.35\00:17:02.28
a name meant a lot to them.
00:17:02.32\00:17:04.75
And assimilation,
they tried to entice them
00:17:04.79\00:17:09.29
with delicacies
00:17:09.32\00:17:11.06
and the
privileges of a new life.
00:17:11.09\00:17:12.59
So let's look at that.
00:17:12.63\00:17:14.03
In Daniel 1:5, it says,
"The king appointed them
00:17:14.06\00:17:16.80
a daily provision of
the king's delicacies,
00:17:16.83\00:17:19.43
and of the wine which he drank."
00:17:19.47\00:17:22.24
Now there were
deep implications to eat
00:17:22.27\00:17:24.84
from the king's table.
00:17:24.87\00:17:26.57
One, that meant you had
00:17:26.61\00:17:28.11
undivided
allegiance to the king.
00:17:28.14\00:17:29.84
But, number two, you know,
00:17:29.88\00:17:32.75
it would reflect
dependence upon them.
00:17:32.78\00:17:34.88
But then these
pagans ate some things that
00:17:34.92\00:17:37.29
just ain't kosher,
00:17:37.32\00:17:38.65
I mean, they horse
flesh, they ate pork.
00:17:38.69\00:17:41.79
And so, and besides that,
00:17:41.82\00:17:44.73
their food was
dedicated to idols.
00:17:44.76\00:17:47.50
So look at Daniel 1:8,
00:17:47.53\00:17:50.97
"Daniel purposed in his heart,"
00:17:51.00\00:17:54.44
literally he
said upon his heart,
00:17:54.47\00:17:57.97
not to compromise
is what this is saying.
00:17:58.01\00:18:00.31
"He purposed in his heart
00:18:00.34\00:18:02.04
that he would not defile himself
00:18:02.08\00:18:04.61
with the portion of
the king's delicacies,
00:18:04.65\00:18:07.28
nor with the
wine which he drank."
00:18:07.32\00:18:10.32
So we see that
there's a strong inner resolve
00:18:10.35\00:18:14.52
that Daniel has,
00:18:14.56\00:18:15.89
and he's going to honor God
by obeying God's dietary laws.
00:18:15.92\00:18:20.76
So the young Hebrews
00:18:20.80\00:18:22.40
all remained
faithful to their God
00:18:22.43\00:18:24.63
no matter what.
00:18:24.67\00:18:26.00
Compromise wasn't even a word
that was in their vocabulary.
00:18:26.03\00:18:30.67
Daniel walked in
holiness and humility.
00:18:30.71\00:18:36.08
That's what I like.
00:18:36.11\00:18:37.55
He stood his ground with
grace, not rude, not stubborn.
00:18:37.58\00:18:42.35
His self discipline and
integrity served him well
00:18:42.38\00:18:45.75
because he gains the
favor of the head eunuch,
00:18:45.79\00:18:50.89
the chief eunuch,
and he gains his trust.
00:18:50.93\00:18:54.83
And God intervened
and gave him favors
00:18:54.86\00:18:57.10
what happened.
00:18:57.13\00:18:58.47
Daniel, when this
food is presented to them.
00:18:58.50\00:19:02.34
Daniel wisely, and I mean,
00:19:02.37\00:19:04.41
you talked about
knowledge and wisdom.
00:19:04.44\00:19:06.98
With wisdom he
suggests a win-win proposition.
00:19:07.01\00:19:12.25
You know, he says,
00:19:12.28\00:19:13.72
"Hey, let us just
eat veggies for 10 days.
00:19:13.75\00:19:19.35
And let's see if my
God won't keep us healthier
00:19:19.39\00:19:23.09
and stronger than yours."
00:19:23.12\00:19:24.66
And God did. He gave
them wisdom and skill.
00:19:24.69\00:19:28.00
He blessed them physically,
mentally, spiritually.
00:19:28.03\00:19:30.97
And guess what?
00:19:31.00\00:19:32.33
They were found to
be 10 times better than
00:19:32.37\00:19:34.40
all of the rest,
00:19:34.44\00:19:35.77
because they
were faithful to God.
00:19:35.80\00:19:39.27
So the point is, the
king thought to change
00:19:39.31\00:19:42.88
their thinking with
Babylonian education,
00:19:42.91\00:19:46.95
their loyalty by
changing their name,
00:19:46.98\00:19:49.55
their lifestyle by
changing their diet,
00:19:49.58\00:19:52.42
but they gave Daniel
and his friends courage
00:19:52.45\00:19:57.23
and hope in distress.
00:19:57.26\00:19:59.39
They persevered with
strength through these trials.
00:19:59.43\00:20:03.80
So Nebuchadnezzar puts Daniel
00:20:03.83\00:20:05.93
and his friends on his
staff and they maintained
00:20:05.97\00:20:11.41
their integrity and
their allegiance to God.
00:20:11.44\00:20:16.04
They were a great
witness to God's providence,
00:20:16.08\00:20:21.45
to see how God can bring
these young people through,
00:20:21.48\00:20:25.15
even in times of
trials and great opposition.
00:20:25.19\00:20:29.66
They remain faithful to God.
00:20:29.69\00:20:32.29
Daniel was God's spokesperson
00:20:32.33\00:20:36.30
to the Babylonian
Empire for 70 years.
00:20:36.33\00:20:39.97
And guess what?
00:20:40.00\00:20:41.80
Because of his integrity,
00:20:41.84\00:20:44.01
and his
uncompromising character,
00:20:44.04\00:20:49.38
he had far reaching results.
00:20:49.41\00:20:51.95
He was in the first line of
captives coming into Babylon
00:20:51.98\00:20:57.89
and he outlived
them all till the time,
00:20:57.92\00:21:00.76
he outlived his captors,
till the time of the conquest
00:21:00.79\00:21:05.13
when Cyrus of Persia came in.
00:21:05.16\00:21:08.50
So, when we think
about this, I had to stop
00:21:08.53\00:21:12.37
and think as I'm
studying about Daniel,
00:21:12.40\00:21:16.37
young teenager,
and I'm telling myself.
00:21:16.40\00:21:19.11
Go on.
00:21:19.14\00:21:20.94
And you know what they say,
00:21:20.98\00:21:22.98
"Confession is
good for the soul,
00:21:23.01\00:21:24.75
but bad for the reputation."
00:21:24.78\00:21:27.28
When I first
went off to college,
00:21:27.32\00:21:30.09
everybody called me
Miss Goody Two-Shoes.
00:21:30.12\00:21:33.42
I was a
wonderful, good little girl,
00:21:33.46\00:21:36.89
all through high school.
00:21:36.93\00:21:39.19
I never disobeyed.
00:21:39.23\00:21:40.90
I never got into any trouble,
00:21:40.93\00:21:42.86
never gave my
mother any challenges.
00:21:42.90\00:21:46.10
And when I got to
college, everybody was like,
00:21:46.13\00:21:49.30
you're Miss Goody Two-Shoes.
00:21:49.34\00:21:51.61
They didn't say
that four years later.
00:21:51.64\00:21:54.64
I allowed the culture,
00:21:54.68\00:21:58.58
the peer pressure to change me,
00:21:58.61\00:22:02.58
I didn't stand
up like Daniel did.
00:22:02.62\00:22:06.22
And I want to encourage
you, you may be a young person,
00:22:06.25\00:22:10.86
you may be going off to
a secular school as I did.
00:22:10.89\00:22:14.30
You may be hearing
things that make you wonder,
00:22:14.33\00:22:18.63
is God real?
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.57
Is what I've been taught real?
00:22:20.60\00:22:22.87
I want to encourage
you, to become like Daniel,
00:22:22.90\00:22:26.94
to hold on to God's truth.
00:22:26.98\00:22:29.21
Amen.
00:22:29.24\00:22:30.58
To know that God, if I had,
I knew some things about God,
00:22:30.61\00:22:36.12
I just didn't have
00:22:36.15\00:22:37.49
a personal
relationship with Him.
00:22:37.52\00:22:39.35
Knowledge isn't going to do it.
00:22:39.39\00:22:42.22
It has to be that
intimate, personal,
00:22:42.26\00:22:45.66
daily relationship
of depending upon God.
00:22:45.69\00:22:49.63
And if you will depend upon God,
00:22:49.66\00:22:53.74
He can use you as He
used Daniel to be a voice,
00:22:53.77\00:22:58.67
His voice, God's voice
for the kingdom of Babylon.
00:22:58.71\00:23:02.14
God can use you to be
His voice for influence
00:23:02.18\00:23:07.08
wherever you are.
00:23:07.12\00:23:08.45
So stay strong and
don't be intimidated,
00:23:08.48\00:23:14.22
don't be
assimilated, don't be confused,
00:23:14.26\00:23:18.66
but held on to God's hand.
00:23:18.69\00:23:20.70
Amen, thank you
so much, Shelley.
00:23:20.73\00:23:22.06
Wow, what a good
start to our lesson,
00:23:22.10\00:23:24.03
and we want to
encourage you not to go away
00:23:24.07\00:23:25.70
because we're
just getting started.
00:23:25.73\00:23:27.54
And we'll be back in a moment
00:23:27.57\00:23:28.94
as we
transition to the next day.
00:23:28.97\00:23:31.04
Amen.
00:23:31.07\00:23:33.24
Ever wish you could watch
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School Panel again,
00:23:38.65\00:23:40.68
or share it on
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Well, you can by visiting
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00:23:43.92\00:23:48.92
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00:23:48.96\00:23:51.36
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00:23:51.39\00:23:53.46
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00:23:53.50\00:23:56.83
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00:23:56.87\00:23:58.63
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00:24:03.44\00:24:09.24
Welcome back to our study.
00:24:09.28\00:24:11.01
And now we're
going to transition
00:24:11.05\00:24:12.41
to Pastor Kenny, on the
lesson, Firm Resolution.
00:24:12.45\00:24:15.82
Amen.
00:24:15.85\00:24:17.19
You know,
Tuesday is good lesson,
00:24:17.22\00:24:18.55
and what you guys
present is awesome.
00:24:18.59\00:24:20.72
I thank the Lord for
that, because I always look at
00:24:20.76\00:24:22.49
the foundation
on which to build.
00:24:22.52\00:24:23.86
Okay.
00:24:23.89\00:24:25.23
And all of us are
looking for a foundation
00:24:25.26\00:24:26.59
which is the Word of God,
00:24:26.63\00:24:27.96
so we're building
on that foundation.
00:24:28.00\00:24:31.37
The lesson here brings out that
we need to read Daniel 1:7-20.
00:24:31.40\00:24:36.24
If you don't mind,
that's an awful lot.
00:24:36.27\00:24:38.21
You both have you covered,
really a good portion of that.
00:24:38.24\00:24:41.11
And so if you don't mind,
I want to focus a little bit
00:24:41.14\00:24:43.24
because we're looking
at the test that was given.
00:24:43.28\00:24:46.58
And I look at it as a choice.
00:24:46.61\00:24:49.22
So there's two points I think
to look at here is free will,
00:24:49.25\00:24:53.02
because a lot of
people have a difficult time
00:24:53.05\00:24:55.26
with that doctrine or
teaching of free will.
00:24:55.29\00:24:58.69
And then the
intervention of God.
00:24:58.73\00:25:01.00
So we realized as we
looked at what we heard here
00:25:01.03\00:25:03.26
as we read these verses here,
00:25:03.30\00:25:05.40
that there were some things that
00:25:05.43\00:25:07.04
the Hebrews when
they were in captivity,
00:25:07.07\00:25:09.77
they didn't have a
choice such as in my life,
00:25:09.80\00:25:13.44
at least we still have
a choice and everything.
00:25:13.48\00:25:15.14
But when their
names were changed,
00:25:15.18\00:25:16.75
and you brought that
their name was changed.
00:25:16.78\00:25:18.11
They didn't really fight that,
00:25:18.15\00:25:19.48
probably when they got together,
00:25:19.51\00:25:20.85
they went back and
called themselves their
00:25:20.88\00:25:22.22
original name,
you know, went back,
00:25:22.25\00:25:23.59
but those are some
things that happened.
00:25:23.62\00:25:25.09
But when it came to the
food they put in their bodies,
00:25:25.12\00:25:28.42
they made a choice.
00:25:28.46\00:25:30.99
We must make choices
every day of our life
00:25:31.03\00:25:34.10
and to choose.
00:25:34.13\00:25:35.46
So they asked for intervention.
00:25:35.50\00:25:37.37
This is one of the
first, sometime we look to man,
00:25:37.40\00:25:39.93
we look at things of the world
00:25:39.97\00:25:41.57
and we try to get help
from every place but God.
00:25:41.60\00:25:44.74
First thing we
should go is ask God,
00:25:44.77\00:25:46.81
that's what these Hebrews did.
00:25:46.84\00:25:48.84
They went and
asked God for direction,
00:25:48.88\00:25:50.78
and not only did they ask
00:25:50.81\00:25:52.15
but they were willing to listen.
00:25:52.18\00:25:53.52
Yes.
00:25:53.55\00:25:54.88
I think it's very
important, people ask questions
00:25:54.92\00:25:56.69
and then they won't listen.
00:25:56.72\00:25:58.05
You know, we asked question
we need to hear the response,
00:25:58.09\00:26:01.19
and to go from there.
00:26:01.22\00:26:02.96
So and I like that, and
I'll just read Daniel 1:8,
00:26:02.99\00:26:05.99
it says, "And they
purposed in their hearts."
00:26:06.03\00:26:08.30
I like that and they
purposed in their heart.
00:26:08.33\00:26:10.37
We have to
purpose in our hearts.
00:26:10.40\00:26:12.67
We realize as the
King Nebuchadnezzar,
00:26:12.70\00:26:15.17
king of Babylon,
went to Jerusalem,
00:26:15.20\00:26:17.07
he had orders he picked those,
00:26:17.11\00:26:18.51
I think you brought
it out rather nicely.
00:26:18.54\00:26:20.98
The ones who were
taken into captivity were,
00:26:21.01\00:26:23.81
you know, in high fluence,
maybe in the home or somewhere
00:26:23.85\00:26:27.55
where they were taken captive,
00:26:27.58\00:26:28.92
they came in there,
why would he choose those,
00:26:28.95\00:26:31.92
you know, to put in
his cabinet as it were,
00:26:31.95\00:26:33.89
why would he choose those there?
00:26:33.92\00:26:35.26
Because I think he
realized it would help.
00:26:35.29\00:26:38.03
It would help the other ones
00:26:38.06\00:26:39.39
right there in
the house of Judah,
00:26:39.43\00:26:41.20
and even chosen
from the first families.
00:26:41.23\00:26:43.77
And so that would encourage
the others in captivity
00:26:43.80\00:26:46.23
to follow along with the plan
00:26:46.27\00:26:47.80
so that they wouldn't
just rise up against him.
00:26:47.84\00:26:49.80
So we look at Daniel, was he,
00:26:49.84\00:26:51.44
I think you were talking about
from 15 to what 18 years of age
00:26:51.47\00:26:54.04
somewhere
along, just a teenager.
00:26:54.08\00:26:55.84
And just to bring out
that, notice it in Daniel,
00:26:55.88\00:26:58.81
when they would,
these young men were chosen
00:26:58.85\00:27:01.18
to meet certain criteria.
00:27:01.22\00:27:02.78
It was interesting,
kind of like the Lamb of God,
00:27:02.82\00:27:05.05
in the sense that
it had no blemish.
00:27:05.09\00:27:07.06
So when they chose these men,
there was no blemish in them.
00:27:07.09\00:27:11.06
They had to be in good health.
00:27:11.09\00:27:14.86
And one thing I
thought was very interesting,
00:27:14.90\00:27:16.30
they had to be handsome.
00:27:16.33\00:27:18.50
They had to be good to look at,
00:27:18.53\00:27:20.80
what that all
means, but it means,
00:27:20.84\00:27:23.27
when they pick no blemish,
00:27:23.30\00:27:24.81
they had to be in good health,
they had to be good looking.
00:27:24.84\00:27:27.98
They had to have wisdom
and certainly knowledge,
00:27:28.01\00:27:30.35
understand the
sciences that you brought out,
00:27:30.38\00:27:32.25
speaking other languages,
00:27:32.28\00:27:34.28
you know, get
into the royal school.
00:27:34.32\00:27:36.48
But I want to go back
and spend a little bit time
00:27:36.52\00:27:37.95
on free will,
00:27:37.99\00:27:39.32
because I think
that's very, very important.
00:27:39.35\00:27:40.92
Couple of reasons
why God lets us choose,
00:27:40.96\00:27:44.43
you know, because, you know,
00:27:44.46\00:27:45.79
I hear that all the
time, well, there's no choice.
00:27:45.83\00:27:47.16
It's just the way,
00:27:47.20\00:27:48.53
it's all mapped
out and, you know,
00:27:48.56\00:27:49.90
and it's just
going to follow this way,
00:27:49.93\00:27:51.27
whether I like it or not,
00:27:51.30\00:27:52.63
but God gives us free
choice and I'm glad for that.
00:27:52.67\00:27:54.50
In Joshua 24:15, you
know, the Bible says,
00:27:54.54\00:27:58.01
you know this very well,
you know it at home, it says,
00:27:58.04\00:28:00.44
"Choose you this day
whom you will serve."
00:28:00.48\00:28:03.65
That's right That
sounds like a choice to me.
00:28:03.68\00:28:06.31
That's right. Yes.
"Choose you this day."
00:28:06.35\00:28:07.95
You choose what you want to do,
00:28:07.98\00:28:09.32
you choose to serve God or
you choose not to serve God.
00:28:09.35\00:28:11.29
Right.
00:28:11.32\00:28:12.65
1 Kings 18:21 simply
says in that big battle
00:28:12.69\00:28:15.99
that went on there, it said,
00:28:16.02\00:28:17.36
"If God, you want
Lord be God, follow Him."
00:28:17.39\00:28:19.96
That's right. "If
Baal," then do what?
00:28:20.00\00:28:21.86
"Follow him."
What's that sound like?
00:28:21.90\00:28:23.43
It sounds like
there was a choice, again,
00:28:23.47\00:28:25.03
we're looking at the free
will and divine intervention.
00:28:25.07\00:28:28.70
And God gave that to man.
00:28:28.74\00:28:30.64
And Acts 11:23
says, "When He came,"
00:28:30.67\00:28:33.04
that was talking about Barnabas,
00:28:33.07\00:28:34.61
"and they seen the grace of God,
00:28:34.64\00:28:37.05
they was glad
00:28:37.08\00:28:38.41
and exhorted them all
that with purpose of heart,
00:28:38.45\00:28:41.32
they would
cleave unto the Lord."
00:28:41.35\00:28:43.39
Here I see purpose of
heart, they made a decision,
00:28:43.42\00:28:46.39
there was a choice
00:28:46.42\00:28:47.76
when they heard the Word of God.
00:28:47.79\00:28:49.69
When you hear the Word of God,
00:28:49.72\00:28:51.09
it brings you to
the point of decision.
00:28:51.13\00:28:53.29
We would have to
choose either to follow Him
00:28:53.33\00:28:55.26
to accept that truth or not,
00:28:55.30\00:28:56.87
just like as they
listen to this panel,
00:28:56.90\00:28:58.63
and things that are
presented from the Word of God,
00:28:58.67\00:29:00.64
there's choices
that you will make
00:29:00.67\00:29:02.04
and choices that I will make.
00:29:02.07\00:29:04.11
So there is, we
have to make a choice.
00:29:04.14\00:29:05.91
Now, what if we didn't have
this freedom to make a choice?
00:29:05.94\00:29:09.74
What would that do
to us individually?
00:29:09.78\00:29:11.98
I jotted down a few things
I thought was interesting.
00:29:12.01\00:29:14.05
Now remember, I believe this
00:29:14.08\00:29:15.42
Desire of Ages
brings it, you know, clear.
00:29:15.45\00:29:17.25
Desire of Ages, 258.
00:29:17.29\00:29:19.09
It says what, "With the freedom
of choice is given to all."
00:29:19.12\00:29:23.46
Everyone is given,
given that power to do it.
00:29:23.49\00:29:25.89
But notice, if maybe somehow
we're without this freedom.
00:29:25.93\00:29:30.20
If we didn't have this freedom,
00:29:30.23\00:29:31.57
man's obedience would be forced.
00:29:31.60\00:29:34.90
Obedience would be
forced, God only accepts that
00:29:34.94\00:29:37.04
which we give from the
heart and our freedom, right?
00:29:37.07\00:29:39.64
Number two, no
development of character.
00:29:39.67\00:29:44.61
Without the freedom of choice,
00:29:44.65\00:29:45.98
there is no
development of character,
00:29:46.01\00:29:47.35
we realize the only
thing is going to right,
00:29:47.38\00:29:49.25
we take the
heaven with us is what?
00:29:49.28\00:29:50.79
Character. Is our character.
00:29:50.82\00:29:52.15
So praise God.
00:29:52.19\00:29:53.52
He's given us freedom of choice.
00:29:53.56\00:29:54.89
We make those choices.
00:29:54.92\00:29:56.26
And now notice
00:29:56.29\00:29:57.63
if we were without
this freedom of choice,
00:29:57.66\00:29:59.79
there would be no,
man would be robbed
00:29:59.83\00:30:02.86
of his prerogative to be
an intelligent human being.
00:30:02.90\00:30:07.04
That's a prerogative
that God has given to us.
00:30:07.07\00:30:09.40
And, of course, all
men decide their destiny,
00:30:09.44\00:30:13.01
by their power of choice,
by the choices that you make
00:30:13.04\00:30:15.91
and that I make, you
know, the things that we do,
00:30:15.94\00:30:18.01
it's going to be weighed out.
00:30:18.05\00:30:19.48
And so heaven can be
our home or not be our home,
00:30:19.51\00:30:21.72
our destiny of all mankind
00:30:21.75\00:30:23.52
certainly is in the
balance of a choice.
00:30:23.55\00:30:27.46
Praise God for that.
00:30:27.49\00:30:29.02
These young men, I love that,
00:30:29.06\00:30:30.39
they become part
of the royal school.
00:30:30.43\00:30:33.76
They wouldn't eat
what the king ate,
00:30:33.80\00:30:35.13
and there are
several reasons why,
00:30:35.16\00:30:36.50
we'll do that in the few minutes
00:30:36.53\00:30:37.87
that we have, I thought
was interesting, you know,
00:30:37.90\00:30:39.30
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
00:30:39.33\00:30:40.94
You know,
there's several reasons
00:30:40.97\00:30:42.77
why the pious Jew
would avoid eating
00:30:42.80\00:30:45.94
from the king's table.
00:30:45.97\00:30:47.31
Number one, Babylonia
was mentioned there, what?
00:30:47.34\00:30:49.58
They were pagans,
they ate unclean food.
00:30:49.61\00:30:53.28
And we find that
certainly in Leviticus 11,
00:30:53.31\00:30:55.22
and certainly
many other passage,
00:30:55.25\00:30:56.58
but notice, unclean food,
00:30:56.62\00:30:58.09
and so they had
purposed in their heart.
00:30:58.12\00:31:00.06
They had made a choice to
say, I'm not going to eat this.
00:31:00.09\00:31:02.79
Someone say, Well, I
don't have any choice out there,
00:31:02.82\00:31:04.33
I'll starve to death.
00:31:04.36\00:31:05.69
Well, there's choice.
00:31:05.73\00:31:07.26
You know, eat
what God said to do
00:31:07.30\00:31:08.63
or don't eat it,
may come to that.
00:31:08.66\00:31:10.27
So we gonna keep that
in mind, Leviticus 11.
00:31:10.30\00:31:12.77
And, of course, two, the
Levitical priesthood said
00:31:12.80\00:31:15.84
that the beast must
be killed a certain way.
00:31:15.87\00:31:18.74
That was in Leviticus 17:14-15.
00:31:18.77\00:31:21.88
So they weren't
sure how it was killed.
00:31:21.91\00:31:24.58
And then they said, well,
number three, they knew that
00:31:24.61\00:31:27.68
the animals would be
often offered to a pagan, what?
00:31:27.72\00:31:31.05
To a pagan god, and Acts
15:29, they didn't want that,
00:31:31.09\00:31:34.86
there was contention
back then in the Book of Acts,
00:31:34.89\00:31:37.13
so it was going to
be offered to a pagan
00:31:37.16\00:31:38.83
god I don't want
it, it's unclean,
00:31:38.86\00:31:40.33
God said not to eat it.
00:31:40.36\00:31:41.86
And number
four, it was unhealthy
00:31:41.90\00:31:44.20
and against strict temperance.
00:31:44.23\00:31:46.27
They knew that, these were
men that were raised healthy.
00:31:46.30\00:31:49.87
These were men who
were raised, you know,
00:31:49.90\00:31:51.37
in the fear and
admonition of the Lord.
00:31:51.41\00:31:54.08
They wanted to
avoid flesh eating,
00:31:54.11\00:31:56.91
it might just be good for
us to consider that today also.
00:31:56.95\00:32:00.88
We want to be what?
00:32:00.92\00:32:02.25
God wants us to be healthy
in mind, body, soul, spirit.
00:32:02.28\00:32:05.19
And as the test
that you brought out here
00:32:05.22\00:32:06.96
before it was all said and done,
00:32:06.99\00:32:08.99
they were 10
times in intelligence,
00:32:09.02\00:32:11.49
and strength, and
looks, everything right there,
00:32:11.53\00:32:14.10
because they've
simply followed God's plan.
00:32:14.13\00:32:16.20
Let's not say God
can't do it, because God can.
00:32:16.23\00:32:18.53
That's right. He
can certainly do it.
00:32:18.57\00:32:20.10
These men came
in favor with those
00:32:20.14\00:32:21.64
who were in
charge and praise God.
00:32:21.67\00:32:23.54
It all began to work
together, divine intervention
00:32:23.57\00:32:26.31
and certainly free will.
00:32:26.34\00:32:28.74
Now, when they went
to the king, I like this,
00:32:28.78\00:32:31.38
it's in Patriarchs and Prophets.
00:32:31.41\00:32:33.95
Yeah, Prophets and Kings,
00:32:33.98\00:32:35.32
page 245 said the
"Physical strength,"
00:32:35.35\00:32:37.89
I like that,
"Physical strength, and beauty
00:32:37.92\00:32:40.46
and, mental vigor,
00:32:40.49\00:32:42.06
and literary
attainment stood unrivaled."
00:32:42.09\00:32:45.99
No one even came close to them.
00:32:46.03\00:32:50.17
And I believe that's what
God has in store for us today,
00:32:50.20\00:32:52.63
if we just simply
follow what He has laid out.
00:32:52.67\00:32:56.04
See, they were
sound to begin with,
00:32:56.07\00:32:58.87
they were in good
shape to begin with,
00:32:58.91\00:33:01.68
they were strong to begin with.
00:33:01.71\00:33:03.04
Why?
00:33:03.08\00:33:04.41
Because they
observe strict temperance.
00:33:04.45\00:33:06.11
That's right
00:33:06.15\00:33:07.48
Before they got there,
00:33:07.52\00:33:08.85
and they simply
were following through
00:33:08.88\00:33:10.22
with how they were
raised, what they taught,
00:33:10.25\00:33:11.59
what they believed, and
what God said in His word.
00:33:11.62\00:33:13.66
They honored God.
00:33:13.69\00:33:15.02
And He said them that
honor me, I'm going to what?
00:33:15.06\00:33:16.86
Honor. I'm going to honor.
00:33:16.89\00:33:18.23
God honored them.
00:33:18.26\00:33:19.59
And certainly as
it was at the close
00:33:19.63\00:33:20.96
of this little 10 days,
00:33:21.00\00:33:22.46
I can't hardly see
anything changing in 10 days...
00:33:22.50\00:33:24.50
I know, right?
00:33:24.53\00:33:25.87
If you think,
well, we might gain
00:33:25.90\00:33:27.50
a little weight in 10 days.
00:33:27.54\00:33:28.87
But you know,
there are things you say,
00:33:28.90\00:33:30.24
how could we just be changed?
00:33:30.27\00:33:31.61
How could they be 10 times,
you see, because he had what?
00:33:31.64\00:33:35.04
They had free will, they chose.
00:33:35.08\00:33:38.31
They made a commitment,
they purposed in their heart
00:33:38.35\00:33:40.48
that they wouldn't
do anything against God,
00:33:40.52\00:33:41.85
they wouldn't eat anything
that God wouldn't approve of,
00:33:41.88\00:33:44.29
and then with divine,
right, vanity stepped in,
00:33:44.32\00:33:48.02
you had humanity and
Divinity working together.
00:33:48.06\00:33:51.26
And when they work together,
00:33:51.29\00:33:52.66
I mean, it's very
simple to look at.
00:33:52.69\00:33:54.30
God will do great things,
He will work miracles out,
00:33:54.33\00:33:58.33
that the world
will have to look at
00:33:58.37\00:34:00.07
as the king did and say,
wow, there's something to this,
00:34:00.10\00:34:03.44
or those that were in charge
said there's something to this,
00:34:03.47\00:34:05.61
the way they look, the strength.
00:34:05.64\00:34:07.01
And so whether
it's acting right now,
00:34:07.04\00:34:09.04
we're going to keep them
on whatever they were eating.
00:34:09.08\00:34:10.61
We're going to
keep them on that.
00:34:10.65\00:34:12.21
And so I think today,
we just need to follow
00:34:12.25\00:34:14.08
what God has said in His word.
00:34:14.12\00:34:15.48
Don't question it,
just by faith accept it,
00:34:15.52\00:34:17.39
and God's going
to bless abundantly.
00:34:17.42\00:34:18.75
Amen. Amen.
00:34:18.79\00:34:20.99
Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny,
00:34:21.02\00:34:22.46
Shelley and Pastor John,
00:34:22.49\00:34:23.83
what a wonderful
foundation as you mentioned,
00:34:23.86\00:34:26.93
and to see the firm
resolution as it were,
00:34:26.96\00:34:30.77
of those four young men,
Daniel and his three friends,
00:34:30.80\00:34:34.50
standing in the
midst of corruption,
00:34:34.54\00:34:36.97
in the midst of
paganism and heathenism,
00:34:37.01\00:34:40.11
in the midst of
a foreign country
00:34:40.14\00:34:41.68
and yet still
standing firm for God.
00:34:41.71\00:34:44.18
That is amazing.
00:34:44.21\00:34:46.21
On Wednesday, we
look at unblemished
00:34:46.25\00:34:48.42
and wise and the
principle of the Book of Daniel
00:34:48.45\00:34:52.25
is repeat and enlarge.
00:34:52.29\00:34:53.79
So we're going to repeat
00:34:53.82\00:34:55.16
just a moment
as we move forward,
00:34:55.19\00:34:56.96
unblemished and wise.
00:34:56.99\00:34:58.96
First of all, we look
at the lesson talked about
00:34:58.99\00:35:00.96
the qualities selected.
00:35:01.00\00:35:03.67
The qualities that
Nebuchadnezzar was looking for
00:35:03.70\00:35:06.50
in the people that
he's selected to be trained
00:35:06.53\00:35:09.40
to go through this rigorous
three year training course,
00:35:09.44\00:35:12.14
to be, I like what you
said, part of his cabinet.
00:35:12.17\00:35:15.24
I like that.
00:35:15.28\00:35:16.75
So we're going to
read actually Daniel 1:3-4.
00:35:16.78\00:35:19.71
And we've gone over this before,
00:35:19.75\00:35:21.08
but we're going to
review it one more time,
00:35:21.12\00:35:23.08
verses 3 and 4, "The
King instructed Ashpenaz,
00:35:23.12\00:35:27.69
the master of his eunuchs,
00:35:27.72\00:35:29.06
to bring some of
the children of Israel
00:35:29.09\00:35:30.49
and some of the
king's descendants
00:35:30.53\00:35:32.93
and some of the nobles."
00:35:32.96\00:35:34.30
So first of all,
what qualities do we see?
00:35:34.33\00:35:36.30
They're Israelites,
00:35:36.33\00:35:37.67
they're of the
royal line, right?
00:35:37.70\00:35:41.94
"Young men in whom
there was no blemish,
00:35:41.97\00:35:45.51
but good looking,
gifted in all wisdom,
00:35:45.54\00:35:47.88
possessing knowledge
and quick to understand,
00:35:47.91\00:35:50.81
who had ability to
serve in the king's palace,
00:35:50.85\00:35:53.72
and whom they might teach
the language and literature
00:35:53.75\00:35:57.19
of the Chaldeans.
00:35:57.22\00:35:59.39
They were Israelites of
the royal line, young, male,
00:35:59.42\00:36:03.53
and I want to focus
on that word no blemish.
00:36:03.56\00:36:06.39
Pastor Kenny brought
that out beautifully.
00:36:06.43\00:36:08.93
No blemish, in the Hebrew,
00:36:08.96\00:36:10.77
that word specifically
refers to no physical blemish.
00:36:10.80\00:36:15.27
There was no
physical blemish in them.
00:36:15.30\00:36:18.47
Those serving
God in the sanctuary
00:36:18.51\00:36:20.78
were to have no blemish.
00:36:20.81\00:36:23.45
Leviticus 21:17,
"Speak to Aaron saying,
00:36:23.48\00:36:27.58
'no man of your descendants
in succeeding generation
00:36:27.62\00:36:30.62
who has any defect,
00:36:30.65\00:36:33.22
may approach to offer
the bread of his gods.'"
00:36:33.25\00:36:35.96
So the Levites, the
priests administered
00:36:35.99\00:36:38.49
were not supposed
to have any blemish.
00:36:38.53\00:36:41.20
Also the lamb, the
goat, the sacrifice,
00:36:41.23\00:36:45.07
that the children
of Israel were to bring
00:36:45.10\00:36:46.77
was to be without any blemish.
00:36:46.80\00:36:50.01
Leviticus 4:23, "He
should bring us as offering,
00:36:50.04\00:36:52.97
a kid of the goats, a
male without blemish."
00:36:53.01\00:36:56.95
And then, of
course, as a sin offering,
00:36:56.98\00:36:58.78
he would bring a
female without blemish.
00:36:58.81\00:37:02.55
And we know as you referenced,
Christ was the Lamb slain
00:37:02.58\00:37:06.62
from the foundation of the world
00:37:06.65\00:37:08.19
but without blemish.
00:37:08.22\00:37:10.56
1 Peter 1:18-19,
00:37:10.59\00:37:12.73
"Knowing you are not redeemed
with corruptible things like
00:37:12.76\00:37:16.03
silver or gold,
from your aimless
00:37:16.06\00:37:18.33
conduct received by
tradition from your father's,
00:37:18.37\00:37:21.57
but with the precious
blood of Christ as of lamb
00:37:21.60\00:37:24.34
without blemish
and without spot."
00:37:24.37\00:37:27.84
So these four
young men were royal,
00:37:27.88\00:37:30.98
they were Israelites,
young without blemish,
00:37:31.01\00:37:33.75
they were good
looking in appearance.
00:37:33.78\00:37:36.38
They possessed knowledge,
they were quick to understand,
00:37:36.42\00:37:39.72
quick to learn, able to serve.
00:37:39.75\00:37:41.79
When I think about it,
00:37:41.82\00:37:43.16
I think they were
physically superior.
00:37:43.19\00:37:45.29
They were mentally superior.
00:37:45.33\00:37:48.50
And in a sense,
you could even say
00:37:48.53\00:37:50.10
culturally superior
because they were raised almost,
00:37:50.13\00:37:53.23
you could say a little bit
in the upper echelons of Judah.
00:37:53.27\00:37:58.07
So then the test occurred
00:37:58.11\00:37:59.87
and they became
even more superior,
00:37:59.91\00:38:01.81
after this 10 day
test, which is amazing,
00:38:01.84\00:38:04.55
the results of the test,
00:38:04.58\00:38:05.91
we're going to read
verses 15 through 17.
00:38:05.95\00:38:08.32
Daniel 1:15-17,
00:38:08.35\00:38:10.99
"At the end of 10
days, their features,"
00:38:11.02\00:38:13.56
now the word in Hebrew
features means their appearance,
00:38:13.59\00:38:16.86
so we're talking about
their outward appearance,
00:38:16.89\00:38:19.16
"appeared better
and fatter in flesh
00:38:19.19\00:38:21.03
than all the young men
00:38:21.06\00:38:22.40
who ate the portion
of the king's delicacies.
00:38:22.43\00:38:24.83
Thus the steward took away
their portion of delicacies."
00:38:24.87\00:38:27.57
Verse 16, "And the wine that
00:38:27.60\00:38:31.34
they were to drink
and gave them vegetables.
00:38:31.37\00:38:34.41
As for these four young
men, God gave them knowledge
00:38:34.44\00:38:36.98
and skill and all
literature and wisdom,
00:38:37.01\00:38:39.25
and Daniel had understanding
in all visions and dreams."
00:38:39.28\00:38:43.42
So physically they looked better
00:38:43.45\00:38:44.92
because their features,
00:38:44.95\00:38:46.29
their appearance
was approved, improved.
00:38:46.32\00:38:48.52
Mentally, God gave them
00:38:48.56\00:38:51.49
supernatural
knowledge and wisdom.
00:38:51.53\00:38:55.60
And in addition to that,
00:38:55.63\00:38:57.23
Daniel was given
something extra special,
00:38:57.27\00:38:59.63
because he had understanding
with visions and dreams.
00:38:59.67\00:39:02.74
This is, as you can say,
00:39:02.77\00:39:04.21
the launching of his
prophetic ministry that
00:39:04.24\00:39:06.78
we see later
throughout the Book of Daniel.
00:39:06.81\00:39:11.11
Now, Shelley talked about
00:39:11.15\00:39:12.58
how they studied
the Chaldean wisdom.
00:39:12.61\00:39:15.88
And I would imagine if
you were Daniel's mama,
00:39:15.92\00:39:18.59
you would say,
00:39:18.62\00:39:19.95
"I don't want
him learning that."
00:39:19.99\00:39:21.72
Wouldn't you say that?
00:39:21.76\00:39:23.09
You would say, "I
don't want him going,
00:39:23.12\00:39:24.46
learning those, that pagan stuff
00:39:24.49\00:39:26.29
and the mysticism.
00:39:26.33\00:39:27.66
I want him learning the
truth from the Word of God.
00:39:27.70\00:39:30.90
But even though
he was deeply versed
00:39:30.93\00:39:33.54
in Chaldean wisdom,
00:39:33.57\00:39:35.00
just as Moses was deeply
versed in some of those things
00:39:35.04\00:39:39.34
in his training, what happened?
00:39:39.37\00:39:42.31
"God put to shame
the wisdom of the world
00:39:42.34\00:39:45.45
by the wisdom of God."
00:39:45.48\00:39:47.12
1 Corinthians 1:18,
"The message of the cross
00:39:47.15\00:39:50.15
is foolishness to
those who are perishing,
00:39:50.19\00:39:52.72
but to us who are being
saved, it is the power of God."
00:39:52.75\00:39:56.79
And 1 Corinthians 3:19,
00:39:56.83\00:39:58.83
"The wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God."
00:39:58.86\00:40:03.50
Why did they pass the
test? Why were they so improved?
00:40:03.53\00:40:09.07
When we follow God's
way, His blessing follows us.
00:40:09.10\00:40:14.18
Deuteronomy Chapter 28,
the law of blessing and curses.
00:40:14.21\00:40:19.28
What was that law?
00:40:19.31\00:40:20.65
God told the children of
Israel, if you follow Me,
00:40:20.68\00:40:23.49
if you walk in My
way, if you honor My law,
00:40:23.52\00:40:27.62
if you seek Me
with all your heart,
00:40:27.66\00:40:30.19
I will pour
blessings upon your life
00:40:30.23\00:40:32.76
physically and spiritually.
00:40:32.79\00:40:35.60
And emotionally,
I'm going to pour out
00:40:35.63\00:40:37.43
My blessings upon you.
00:40:37.47\00:40:38.93
But by contrast, if
you walk away from Me,
00:40:38.97\00:40:43.30
and if you say, "No, God,
I don't want to follow You
00:40:43.34\00:40:45.54
and I don't want
to listen to You,
00:40:45.57\00:40:47.01
and I don't want
to heed Your voice
00:40:47.04\00:40:48.74
and I don't want
to follow Your law."
00:40:48.78\00:40:51.45
Then those curses
will come upon you.
00:40:51.48\00:40:55.32
Pastor Kenny
mentioned God honors obedience.
00:40:55.35\00:40:57.99
Proverbs 9:10,
"The fear of the Lord
00:40:58.02\00:41:00.39
is the beginning of wisdom.
00:41:00.42\00:41:02.06
And the knowledge
00:41:02.09\00:41:03.43
of the Holy One
is understanding."
00:41:03.46\00:41:06.16
God is the one who
gave them understanding.
00:41:06.19\00:41:08.13
Yes, they
studied, but God is the one
00:41:08.16\00:41:10.03
who gave them understanding.
00:41:10.07\00:41:11.57
Proverbs 2:6,
"The Lord gives wisdom,
00:41:11.60\00:41:14.04
from his mouth comes
knowledge and understanding."
00:41:14.07\00:41:17.74
So Pastor John,
what are the lessons that
00:41:17.77\00:41:20.34
we can learn
from Daniel's tests?
00:41:20.38\00:41:22.48
Here comes your list.
00:41:22.51\00:41:23.88
Lesson number one,
stand for the right,
00:41:23.91\00:41:26.61
regardless of the consequence.
00:41:26.65\00:41:29.78
We're called to
do what is right,
00:41:29.82\00:41:31.55
Pastor Ryan, not what is easy.
00:41:31.59\00:41:35.22
We always know usually, we
know the right thing to do.
00:41:35.26\00:41:38.59
The hard part is
to actually do it.
00:41:38.63\00:41:41.86
James 4:17 says,
"Therefore to him
00:41:41.90\00:41:43.80
who knows to do good
00:41:43.83\00:41:45.17
and does not do
it, to him it is sin."
00:41:45.20\00:41:49.27
So you think about the
others who were there, now,
00:41:49.30\00:41:51.41
I don't know,
maybe they didn't have
00:41:51.44\00:41:53.31
the same understanding
00:41:53.34\00:41:54.71
or not regarding
eating the pagan food,
00:41:54.74\00:41:57.25
regarding
eating the king's meat.
00:41:57.28\00:41:59.81
If they didn't know,
God wouldn't hold them
00:41:59.85\00:42:01.68
accountable for
what they didn't know.
00:42:01.72\00:42:03.12
But Daniel and
his three friends,
00:42:03.15\00:42:05.19
we clearly know, knew better.
00:42:05.22\00:42:08.02
Daniel knew what was
right and therefore God held him
00:42:08.06\00:42:10.83
accountable for that.
00:42:10.86\00:42:12.66
Number one, stand
for the right regardless
00:42:12.69\00:42:14.46
of the consequences.
00:42:14.50\00:42:15.83
Number two, don't be
afraid when you stand for God
00:42:15.86\00:42:19.50
and His truth.
00:42:19.53\00:42:21.30
1 Peter 3:1, "Even
if you should suffer
00:42:21.34\00:42:24.21
for righteousness
sake, you are blessed."
00:42:24.24\00:42:28.18
Now it could just end
there and you think oh, well,
00:42:28.21\00:42:29.71
praise the Lord,
00:42:29.74\00:42:31.08
even if I suffer
for righteousness sake,
00:42:31.11\00:42:32.55
I'm blessed, but
it doesn't end there.
00:42:32.58\00:42:34.45
It says, "Do not be
afraid of their threats,
00:42:34.48\00:42:37.42
nor be troubled."
00:42:37.45\00:42:39.12
So don't be afraid,
00:42:39.15\00:42:40.49
you might be in a
situation right now
00:42:40.52\00:42:42.32
and you're standing for God
and the principles of His word.
00:42:42.36\00:42:46.43
Don't be afraid
of their threats,
00:42:46.46\00:42:49.53
what other people
say about you or to you.
00:42:49.56\00:42:52.03
Don't be afraid when you
stand for God and His truth.
00:42:52.07\00:42:54.94
Lesson number three,
learn to differentiate between
00:42:54.97\00:42:58.74
the true and the false.
00:42:58.77\00:43:01.21
Daniel was
immersed in Chaldean wisdom
00:43:01.24\00:43:04.51
and yet he still
knew what was true.
00:43:04.55\00:43:07.88
For everything God has created,
Satan has made a counterfeit.
00:43:07.92\00:43:11.95
God said, "Remember
00:43:11.99\00:43:13.46
the Sabbath day to keep it holy,
00:43:13.49\00:43:15.22
it is sanctified
and holy unto me."
00:43:15.26\00:43:17.16
And Satan said,
"I'm going to make
00:43:17.19\00:43:18.63
another day of worship, Sunday."
00:43:18.66\00:43:20.83
God said, "When you die,
00:43:20.86\00:43:23.37
you sleep until
the resurrection."
00:43:23.40\00:43:25.47
And Satan said,
"I'm going to invent
00:43:25.50\00:43:27.30
eternally burning hell."
00:43:27.34\00:43:29.34
God said, "You're saved
by grace through faith."
00:43:29.37\00:43:31.67
And Satan said,
"I'm going to invent
00:43:31.71\00:43:33.41
some works that you have to do."
00:43:33.44\00:43:35.98
God said, "In the
beginning, He made us."
00:43:36.01\00:43:39.01
And Satan said, "You evolved."
00:43:39.05\00:43:41.68
God said, "I made marriage
between one man and one woman."
00:43:41.72\00:43:45.85
And Satan said, "No,
cohabitation is okay.
00:43:45.89\00:43:48.66
And it's okay to be
with people of the same sex."
00:43:48.69\00:43:51.49
So for
everything God has created,
00:43:51.53\00:43:53.56
Satan has made a counterfeit,
00:43:53.60\00:43:54.96
there's false
biblical doctrines.
00:43:55.00\00:43:57.07
There's false
ways to find Jesus.
00:43:57.10\00:43:59.70
He said, "I am the way,
the truth and the life."
00:43:59.73\00:44:02.77
And yet the Babylonian gods
had all kinds of different ways
00:44:02.80\00:44:05.44
to come to that.
00:44:05.47\00:44:06.81
So, learn to differentiate
between the true and the false.
00:44:06.84\00:44:10.61
Study His Word,
spend time in His Word.
00:44:10.65\00:44:14.52
Listen to His voice,
00:44:14.55\00:44:16.02
walk in obedience
when He speaks to you.
00:44:16.05\00:44:18.19
And finally, lesson number four,
00:44:18.22\00:44:19.95
trust God to give what you need.
00:44:19.99\00:44:23.12
God is the one who gave Daniel
00:44:23.16\00:44:25.29
and his three
friends knowledge and skill
00:44:25.33\00:44:28.13
and what they needed
there in the Babylonian court.
00:44:28.16\00:44:31.37
Pastor Ryan. Praise the Lord.
00:44:31.40\00:44:33.64
That's amazing. Praise the Lord.
00:44:33.67\00:44:35.80
As Brother Kenny said last week,
00:44:35.84\00:44:37.57
he was sitting
here, and I'm sitting here
00:44:37.61\00:44:39.11
and I get to hear
each and every one of you
00:44:39.14\00:44:40.48
and it's just,
it's powerful to hear
00:44:40.51\00:44:43.08
how powerful the Word of God is.
00:44:43.11\00:44:44.48
There's so much that we
can glean from it and learn.
00:44:44.51\00:44:46.61
Thursday's lesson is entitled,
The Final Exam, final exam.
00:44:46.65\00:44:51.79
And so, you know, as I
was studying through this,
00:44:51.82\00:44:54.52
I started
reminiscing because you know,
00:44:54.56\00:44:56.42
I was once was in college,
and every college students
00:44:56.46\00:45:01.66
experience
ultimately ends each semester
00:45:01.70\00:45:04.80
with a final exam.
00:45:04.83\00:45:06.60
You've been through all
of these individual exams
00:45:06.63\00:45:10.47
and studies and lessons
00:45:10.51\00:45:12.01
that leads up to
this final testing,
00:45:12.04\00:45:14.54
to see where you
stand to be able to measure
00:45:14.58\00:45:17.45
where you are and
how far you've grown
00:45:17.48\00:45:19.01
and how much you've retained.
00:45:19.05\00:45:20.55
And in this particular
situation in college, you know,
00:45:20.58\00:45:23.42
much of your grade,
00:45:23.45\00:45:24.79
a large
percentage of your grade,
00:45:24.82\00:45:27.16
you know, how you turn
out in the end is dependent on
00:45:27.19\00:45:29.42
what you score
on that final exam.
00:45:29.46\00:45:31.46
And I was just
reminiscing through that
00:45:31.49\00:45:32.83
as I was studying this lesson,
00:45:32.86\00:45:34.20
because while it may not
have been the exact same,
00:45:34.23\00:45:36.77
Daniel and his friends did
indeed endure a final exam,
00:45:36.80\00:45:41.20
and we're going to see that
there is also an application
00:45:41.24\00:45:43.74
that we can apply to our time,
00:45:43.77\00:45:45.57
because prior before
the Second Coming of Jesus,
00:45:45.61\00:45:47.91
we also are enduring
a time of examination,
00:45:47.94\00:45:51.08
and Jesus will come back
for those who passed the test.
00:45:51.11\00:45:54.38
And so I want to
start with Daniel 1:17-21.
00:45:54.42\00:45:58.79
These are the verses,
00:45:58.82\00:46:00.16
this is 17 on to
the end of the chapter.
00:46:00.19\00:46:02.39
But this is what
the Bible has to say.
00:46:02.42\00:46:04.59
It says as for
these, of course, verse 17,
00:46:04.63\00:46:06.43
was our memory verse.
00:46:06.46\00:46:07.80
"As for these four young
men, God gave them knowledge
00:46:07.83\00:46:10.07
and skill in all
literature and wisdom,
00:46:10.10\00:46:12.93
and Daniel had understanding
in all visions and dreams.
00:46:12.97\00:46:16.60
Now, at the end of the days,
00:46:16.64\00:46:19.31
when the king had said
that they should be brought in,
00:46:19.34\00:46:23.24
the chief of the
eunuchs brought them
00:46:23.28\00:46:24.71
in before Nebuchadnezzar.
00:46:24.75\00:46:27.62
Then the king interviewed them,
00:46:27.65\00:46:28.98
and among them all,
none was found, like Daniel,
00:46:29.02\00:46:32.25
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
00:46:32.29\00:46:34.66
therefore they
served before the king,
00:46:34.69\00:46:37.49
and in all matters of
wisdom and understanding
00:46:37.53\00:46:40.36
about which the
king examined them.
00:46:40.40\00:46:43.26
He found them 10 times
better than all the magicians
00:46:43.30\00:46:46.80
and astrologers
who were in his realm."
00:46:46.84\00:46:50.31
And then the last
verse here it says,
00:46:50.34\00:46:51.67
"Thus Daniel continued
00:46:51.71\00:46:53.17
until the first
year of King Cyrus."
00:46:53.21\00:46:56.61
So again, three years
in Babylonian University,
00:46:56.64\00:47:00.22
and I love how
Shelley brought it out.
00:47:00.25\00:47:01.85
You know, you had
to have known that
00:47:01.88\00:47:03.49
through these three years,
00:47:03.52\00:47:05.02
they had to endure
things that were taught to them,
00:47:05.05\00:47:08.12
that they didn't believe,
00:47:08.16\00:47:09.49
that they didn't
agree with that, you know,
00:47:09.52\00:47:11.46
the Lord had
brought them away from
00:47:11.49\00:47:13.40
and now it seems like
their minds are being saturated
00:47:13.43\00:47:15.76
with that again,
00:47:15.80\00:47:17.13
all of the paganism and
they were in the epicenter,
00:47:17.17\00:47:19.70
the Mecca of pagan worship.
00:47:19.73\00:47:21.80
And so we see that
00:47:21.84\00:47:23.54
what the Bible
might call wisdom,
00:47:23.57\00:47:25.27
what the king might have
called wisdom and knowledge,
00:47:25.31\00:47:27.68
we know no doubt,
00:47:27.71\00:47:29.04
had been comprised
of a lot of paganism.
00:47:29.08\00:47:31.41
And so they had, you know,
00:47:31.45\00:47:32.81
we know that
during this time though,
00:47:32.85\00:47:34.82
while they had to
endure that, you know,
00:47:34.85\00:47:36.99
they had an opportunity,
00:47:37.02\00:47:39.09
and almost
certainly did endure the ways
00:47:39.12\00:47:41.52
and the customs and the
culture of the Babylonians.
00:47:41.56\00:47:44.23
But notice, while
King Nebuchadnezzar
00:47:44.26\00:47:46.80
and the Babylonian system
intended for them to conform,
00:47:46.83\00:47:49.80
and to shape them into
that Babylonian system,
00:47:49.83\00:47:53.03
we know that they
just became more informed
00:47:53.07\00:47:55.50
about how that is
not the will of God,
00:47:55.54\00:47:58.37
and how that is
not the way of the Lord
00:47:58.41\00:47:59.77
and how they were
to refrain from that.
00:47:59.81\00:48:02.21
And you know, that's a
lesson for us today I believe,
00:48:02.24\00:48:04.38
that here we are, we
are also living in a day
00:48:04.41\00:48:06.48
and time where
all around us paganism
00:48:06.51\00:48:09.05
and the devil's ways
00:48:09.08\00:48:10.72
and his deceptions
and his distractions.
00:48:10.75\00:48:13.39
You know, what does
that say about us today?
00:48:13.42\00:48:14.92
Can we be informed
but not conformed to that
00:48:14.96\00:48:18.76
of which the culture
00:48:18.79\00:48:20.13
and the world is
trying to shape us in.
00:48:20.16\00:48:22.53
Through it all,
Daniel and his friends
00:48:22.56\00:48:24.63
learn to further trust in God,
00:48:24.67\00:48:26.60
which ultimately
led to their redemption,
00:48:26.63\00:48:29.00
promotion, and success.
00:48:29.04\00:48:31.47
And so, you know, I
like to just kind of
00:48:31.51\00:48:33.48
do a little bit of a,
00:48:33.51\00:48:36.14
little bit of a recap of
what we've learned through
00:48:36.18\00:48:38.65
Daniel Chapter 1
here, as we've all repeated
00:48:38.68\00:48:41.32
and enlarged or
extended through this.
00:48:41.35\00:48:43.72
We know that God is
in control of history.
00:48:43.75\00:48:46.52
That's what we have learned.
00:48:46.55\00:48:47.89
And we know that He knows
the end from the beginning.
00:48:47.92\00:48:50.63
So He knows all things.
00:48:50.66\00:48:51.99
Number two, God gives wisdom,
00:48:52.03\00:48:54.20
so that we might navigate
the hostile environments
00:48:54.23\00:48:57.50
of our culture and society.
00:48:57.53\00:48:59.90
You know, through all of this,
I have to ask the question,
00:48:59.93\00:49:02.47
are we allowing
culture to shape shift us away
00:49:02.50\00:49:06.07
from the Lord and His ways?
00:49:06.11\00:49:07.44
Are we affecting culture?
00:49:07.48\00:49:09.58
Are we standing as a
witness against culture,
00:49:09.61\00:49:12.71
especially when it is not
in harmony with God's ways
00:49:12.75\00:49:15.38
and His will.
00:49:15.42\00:49:16.75
And so which one
is affecting which?
00:49:16.79\00:49:18.59
We learn from Proverbs 3:5-6,
00:49:18.62\00:49:21.72
"To trust in the
Lord with all your heart,
00:49:21.76\00:49:23.66
lean not on your
own understanding,
00:49:23.69\00:49:25.49
but in all your ways."
00:49:25.53\00:49:26.86
And that's what we're seeing
00:49:26.90\00:49:28.23
here from
Daniel and his friends,
00:49:28.26\00:49:29.63
in all their ways
they acknowledged God.
00:49:29.66\00:49:32.23
And, of course, because of that,
00:49:32.27\00:49:33.77
as Proverbs 3:6 says,
"He directed their path."
00:49:33.80\00:49:37.27
And that promise still
stands for us today that,
00:49:37.31\00:49:39.57
if we simply remain
in the ways of the Lord,
00:49:39.61\00:49:42.24
if we acknowledge Him
00:49:42.28\00:49:43.61
and His principles and His ways,
00:49:43.65\00:49:45.08
He will
obviously direct our paths.
00:49:45.11\00:49:48.02
God honors those
who trust in Him,
00:49:48.05\00:49:50.52
through inner
conviction and lifestyle
00:49:50.55\00:49:53.46
and that's what
we see from Daniel
00:49:53.49\00:49:54.86
and his friends here.
00:49:54.89\00:49:56.22
This final
examination as they're brought
00:49:56.26\00:49:59.23
before the king.
00:49:59.26\00:50:00.60
I could imagine, there
probably was a little bit
00:50:00.63\00:50:02.90
of a nervousness on
the human side of it.
00:50:02.93\00:50:05.03
But yet because they're
full of the Holy Spirit,
00:50:05.07\00:50:07.37
there had to have
been a spiritual boldness
00:50:07.40\00:50:09.60
and assurance to
know that you know what,
00:50:09.64\00:50:11.17
my God is in control.
00:50:11.21\00:50:12.77
And whatever the outcome, I
know God will see me through.
00:50:12.81\00:50:15.91
And you know, we see
this final examination
00:50:15.94\00:50:18.35
that indeed
Daniel had to go through.
00:50:18.38\00:50:20.58
And we see that, from that,
00:50:20.62\00:50:23.59
that we can apply
and clearly see that
00:50:23.62\00:50:25.62
when you take that
which we learned from Daniel,
00:50:25.65\00:50:28.06
and you come down to our time,
00:50:28.09\00:50:29.89
and much of what
we're going to see
00:50:29.92\00:50:31.26
throughout the Book of Daniel,
00:50:31.29\00:50:32.63
and I just want to kind of
give us a heads up from this.
00:50:32.66\00:50:34.13
As we study through this
book, you're going to see
00:50:34.16\00:50:36.06
that as Pastor Lomacang said,
00:50:36.10\00:50:37.67
nothing is going to be
refulfilled in prophecy.
00:50:37.70\00:50:40.27
But there
certainly are applications
00:50:40.30\00:50:42.80
and elements of these prophecies
00:50:42.84\00:50:44.24
that we will see that
will be repeated in our time,
00:50:44.27\00:50:47.58
as far as the
experience spiritually
00:50:47.61\00:50:49.78
that we have to endure.
00:50:49.81\00:50:51.15
And let me just highlight
a few in time applications
00:50:51.18\00:50:53.92
or parallels
between Daniel's final exam,
00:50:53.95\00:50:56.58
and our final exam,
00:50:56.62\00:50:58.15
because we also
have a final exam
00:50:58.19\00:50:59.75
that we shall go through.
00:50:59.79\00:51:01.32
You mentioned, Jill,
00:51:01.36\00:51:02.69
that Daniel had no
blemish physically.
00:51:02.72\00:51:05.09
But, of course,
the same will be true
00:51:05.13\00:51:07.00
to the end time
generation, spiritually,
00:51:07.03\00:51:10.30
our character shall
have any blemish or no fault.
00:51:10.33\00:51:13.54
Daniel was filled
with the Holy Spirit,
00:51:13.57\00:51:15.90
the Bible says,
00:51:15.94\00:51:17.27
as will the end time generation,
00:51:17.31\00:51:18.67
we better be filled
with God's Holy Spirit, amen,
00:51:18.71\00:51:21.41
in order to endure
this final examination.
00:51:21.44\00:51:24.25
Number three,
Daniel and his friends
00:51:24.28\00:51:26.51
were men of prayer.
00:51:26.55\00:51:28.98
We're going to see
this come up many times
00:51:29.02\00:51:30.49
in the Book of Daniel.
00:51:30.52\00:51:31.85
They were men of prayer
00:51:31.89\00:51:33.22
and God's last
day remnant people
00:51:33.25\00:51:35.06
will be people of prayer.
00:51:35.09\00:51:36.56
They will be in connection
with the Lord constantly,
00:51:36.59\00:51:38.89
they will cease without
prayer, or pray without ceasing.
00:51:38.93\00:51:41.70
Number four,
Daniel and his friends
00:51:41.73\00:51:43.80
followed strict
temperate habits,
00:51:43.83\00:51:46.20
as we learned there from
Brother Kenny, very clearly.
00:51:46.23\00:51:48.44
In the last days,
God is going to give us
00:51:48.47\00:51:50.57
the Holy Spirit
that as we are becoming
00:51:50.61\00:51:52.67
more sanctified and
separated from self,
00:51:52.71\00:51:55.01
Christ is
increasing, we are decreasing.
00:51:55.04\00:51:57.95
We will learn to
live temperate lives
00:51:57.98\00:52:00.15
and have tempered habits.
00:52:00.18\00:52:01.58
Number five, Daniel witnessed
00:52:01.62\00:52:02.98
in the courts of
the king of Babylon
00:52:03.02\00:52:05.09
and Medo-Persia.
00:52:05.12\00:52:06.45
And, of course,
in the last days,
00:52:06.49\00:52:07.82
God's people will also stand
in the courts of the kings.
00:52:07.86\00:52:10.46
That's what we're told,
according to Luke 21:12.
00:52:10.49\00:52:13.70
The sixth point
here, the lives of Daniel
00:52:13.73\00:52:16.03
and his friends were governed
by principle, God's principles.
00:52:16.06\00:52:19.83
They did not allow
the circumstances that
00:52:19.87\00:52:21.57
surrounded them to influence
their decisions and behaviors.
00:52:21.60\00:52:25.17
And so what does that say
about us in these last days?
00:52:25.21\00:52:27.54
I think God's people are being
called back to the standards
00:52:27.58\00:52:30.35
and the principles of God's Word
00:52:30.38\00:52:31.98
as not to become legalistic
00:52:32.01\00:52:33.42
but to become
faithful and committed to Him.
00:52:33.45\00:52:35.08
Absolutely.
00:52:35.12\00:52:36.72
Number seven,
the issues involved
00:52:36.75\00:52:38.65
in the final
conflict will be the same
00:52:38.69\00:52:40.72
in the sense
that in Daniel's day,
00:52:40.76\00:52:42.49
God's law and
worship were at the center.
00:52:42.52\00:52:45.63
And we're going to see
this down at the end of time,
00:52:45.66\00:52:47.43
God's law and worship
is going to rear its head,
00:52:47.46\00:52:50.13
it's going to be
the central issue,
00:52:50.17\00:52:51.63
also in the last days.
00:52:51.67\00:52:53.23
Number eight, a death decree.
00:52:53.27\00:52:55.17
We're going to see
this as we read on through.
00:52:55.20\00:52:57.01
A death decree was
proclaimed against Daniel
00:52:57.04\00:52:59.21
and will be
proclaimed against God's people.
00:52:59.24\00:53:01.38
If you read Revelation
13, we're going to see
00:53:01.41\00:53:03.21
some parallels
throughout these studies.
00:53:03.24\00:53:05.31
But again, we're seeing this
final examination time period,
00:53:05.35\00:53:08.55
as it parallels
from Daniel's time
00:53:08.58\00:53:10.15
to our time very clearly,
00:53:10.19\00:53:12.12
Daniel and his
friends went through
00:53:12.15\00:53:13.49
a severe time of
trouble and trial,
00:53:13.52\00:53:15.42
but came through victoriously,
00:53:15.46\00:53:17.66
as God's faithful
remnant will in the end times.
00:53:17.69\00:53:21.00
We also see that
Daniel was hated by
00:53:21.03\00:53:23.23
the religious
leaders of the day,
00:53:23.26\00:53:24.63
which we'll see in
Daniel 3 as well as Daniel 6,
00:53:24.67\00:53:27.74
and of course, the
leaders of the day.
00:53:27.77\00:53:30.04
In the last days,
00:53:30.07\00:53:31.41
the remnant will also
have to endure the same thing.
00:53:31.44\00:53:33.34
The religious leaders
hate God's remnant people
00:53:33.38\00:53:35.74
who keep His commandments
00:53:35.78\00:53:37.11
and have the testimony of Jesus.
00:53:37.15\00:53:39.08
Number 11, Daniel
denounced the placing
00:53:39.11\00:53:42.95
of unholy wine
in unholy vessels.
00:53:42.98\00:53:46.96
And here we are,
in the last days,
00:53:46.99\00:53:48.49
you'll read
Revelation Chapter 17,
00:53:48.52\00:53:50.23
we see that there's a
harlot who's making the world
00:53:50.26\00:53:52.49
drunk with her wine,
00:53:52.53\00:53:53.86
her false
intoxicating doctrines,
00:53:53.90\00:53:55.56
but as God's holy vessels,
we reject that unholy wine
00:53:55.60\00:53:58.90
as Daniel did.
00:53:58.93\00:54:00.60
Daniel was in an insignificant,
faithful minority,
00:54:00.64\00:54:04.57
while the
majority was in apostasy,
00:54:04.61\00:54:06.78
and the same will
be for our end time.
00:54:06.81\00:54:08.68
And, of course,
last here number 13,
00:54:08.71\00:54:10.65
Daniel and his friends were
delivered from their enemies.
00:54:10.68\00:54:13.38
This is the good news.
00:54:13.42\00:54:14.75
They were
delivered from their enemies
00:54:14.78\00:54:16.12
and their enemies were destroyed
00:54:16.15\00:54:17.49
with the very weapons
00:54:17.52\00:54:18.85
they intended to
use on God's people.
00:54:18.89\00:54:20.76
We see this in Daniel
3, we see it in Daniel 6,
00:54:20.79\00:54:23.73
and we're going to see
it again in the end times.
00:54:23.76\00:54:25.49
God will, He will show up
and He will protect His people,
00:54:25.53\00:54:29.13
He will see us through
00:54:29.16\00:54:30.50
and I just want to
give us quick appeal,
00:54:30.53\00:54:32.07
as we are preparing to
close out earth's history.
00:54:32.10\00:54:35.74
May we learn to be more like
00:54:35.77\00:54:37.61
Daniel in that
Daniel followed Jesus.
00:54:37.64\00:54:40.38
And ultimately may we learn
to surrender to Jesus Christ
00:54:40.41\00:54:43.48
and have His faith,
00:54:43.51\00:54:44.85
exercise His faith each
and every day in our lives.
00:54:44.88\00:54:47.62
Amen. Thank you, Ryan.
00:54:47.65\00:54:48.98
Thank you, Shelley.
00:54:49.02\00:54:50.35
I'm gonna give each
one of you an opportunity
00:54:50.39\00:54:51.72
to just summarize what
may your final thoughts be?
00:54:51.75\00:54:54.92
You know, I was just thinking
that our secular culture
00:54:54.96\00:54:57.53
is constantly
throwing challenges
00:54:57.56\00:55:00.86
that as to lead
us away from God.
00:55:00.90\00:55:03.53
What occurred to me as we
were going through the lesson.
00:55:03.57\00:55:07.24
Your friends matter, you know,
00:55:07.27\00:55:10.87
Daniel and his three
friends weren't the only ones
00:55:10.91\00:55:13.31
who were
captured and carried off,
00:55:13.34\00:55:15.38
but he was wise
enough to surround himself
00:55:15.41\00:55:18.41
with friends who were
following after God as well.
00:55:18.45\00:55:21.82
Paul says that bad
company corrupts good character.
00:55:21.85\00:55:26.76
So we must know God's
will and surround ourselves
00:55:26.79\00:55:31.33
with God's people,
00:55:31.36\00:55:33.26
and just be
faithful and devoted to Him.
00:55:33.29\00:55:36.06
Amen. That's
right. Pastor Kenny.
00:55:36.10\00:55:37.63
I'm just, I'm
amazed at the four Hebrews
00:55:37.67\00:55:39.97
and faith and their love,
commitment to Jesus Christ.
00:55:40.00\00:55:43.61
He said the four
Hebrews had their name changed,
00:55:43.64\00:55:46.17
but not their character.
00:55:46.21\00:55:48.04
You know that the food and wine,
00:55:48.08\00:55:50.25
the king, they had a choice
and they made the right choice.
00:55:50.28\00:55:53.18
They follow God's
plan and not man's plan.
00:55:53.21\00:55:55.42
I encourage you to
follow God's plan today,
00:55:55.45\00:55:57.15
you can't go wrong.
00:55:57.19\00:55:58.52
Amen.
00:55:58.55\00:55:59.89
When I think
about Daniel Chapter 1,
00:55:59.92\00:56:01.26
it's the time
of extreme pressure
00:56:01.29\00:56:02.92
for Daniel and his friends.
00:56:02.96\00:56:04.66
And you might be going through
00:56:04.69\00:56:06.03
a time of extreme
pressure right now,
00:56:06.06\00:56:08.43
understand that
God will use that
00:56:08.46\00:56:10.63
time of pressure in your life.
00:56:10.67\00:56:13.57
Now it might not
feel like it right now.
00:56:13.60\00:56:16.37
But God is in the process
of using that in your life.
00:56:16.40\00:56:19.61
I think of 2 Corinthians 4:17.
00:56:19.64\00:56:22.78
Paul says, "For
our light affliction,
00:56:22.81\00:56:24.41
which is but for a
moment, works for us
00:56:24.45\00:56:27.58
a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory."
00:56:27.62\00:56:30.75
So God is at work
right now in your life.
00:56:30.79\00:56:33.59
Amen.
00:56:33.62\00:56:34.96
That's right, a
part of my lesson that
00:56:34.99\00:56:36.32
I didn't quite get to,
00:56:36.36\00:56:37.69
but it was just
right there at it.
00:56:37.73\00:56:39.06
I love the very last
verse of Daniel Chapter 1.
00:56:39.09\00:56:41.56
Very short, very simple,
but it says, "Daniel continued
00:56:41.60\00:56:43.97
into the first
year of King Cyrus."
00:56:44.00\00:56:46.84
Now, that's good news.
00:56:46.87\00:56:48.20
Because the chapter
begins it seems like
00:56:48.24\00:56:49.84
with doom and gloom,
00:56:49.87\00:56:51.21
and they're carried
off in exile and bondage,
00:56:51.24\00:56:53.44
but by the end of this chapter,
00:56:53.48\00:56:54.84
you get a glimpse of the hope,
and it also gives us a glimpse
00:56:54.88\00:56:58.08
of God's beautiful character.
00:56:58.11\00:56:59.81
In the sense that, you know,
00:56:59.85\00:57:01.18
we may go through
trying times in our life,
00:57:01.22\00:57:03.59
we may be walking
through the valley or seems like
00:57:03.62\00:57:05.85
we're beholding a mountain
that seems impossible to climb.
00:57:05.89\00:57:08.82
But the Lord is still
there to pull back that window,
00:57:08.86\00:57:11.36
to give you a glimpse
that the light at the end
00:57:11.39\00:57:13.33
of the tunnel per se,
to say, you know what,
00:57:13.36\00:57:15.03
if you trust in me,
I will see you through
00:57:15.06\00:57:17.67
and I will rise
above these clouds.
00:57:17.70\00:57:19.80
And I just praise the Lord
for the promises of God's word,
00:57:19.83\00:57:22.20
what we see in this story.
00:57:22.24\00:57:23.81
Thank you all
for the combination
00:57:23.84\00:57:25.51
of the starts for the lesson.
00:57:25.54\00:57:27.08
It's always exciting
when we look at Daniel.
00:57:27.11\00:57:29.44
And we are just, as I say,
getting started in this book
00:57:29.48\00:57:32.95
and it's going to
get more beautiful
00:57:32.98\00:57:34.92
like an artichoke,
00:57:34.95\00:57:36.32
we're going to be peeling back
00:57:36.35\00:57:37.69
the leaves of His message
until we get to the heart
00:57:37.72\00:57:40.49
of the message.
00:57:40.52\00:57:41.86
Don't forget, even as
we discover the heart,
00:57:41.89\00:57:44.13
the heart is always Christ.
00:57:44.16\00:57:45.49
He is the central
focus of the message.
00:57:45.53\00:57:47.46
He's the
circumference of the message.
00:57:47.50\00:57:49.26
He's the only one to
be exalted by the message.
00:57:49.30\00:57:51.33
Well, we talked about
character, remember this.
00:57:51.37\00:57:53.57
People of
character do the right thing,
00:57:53.60\00:57:57.71
not because they
want to change the world,
00:57:57.74\00:58:00.08
but because they refused
to be changed by the world.
00:58:00.11\00:58:03.31
May you be a person of character
00:58:03.35\00:58:05.18
and the Lord will be
exalted in your life.
00:58:05.21\00:58:07.38
God bless you.
00:58:07.42\00:58:08.75