WEBVTT 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:12.660 We are so glad you're here. Whether you're listening 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.460 on your morning commute, at the gym, or relaxing 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:18.120 with a cup of coffee, thanks for spending part 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.960 of your day with us. If today's message encourages 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.559 you and you'd like to get connected with everything 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.539 happening at Hub City Vineyard, head over to 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:30.719 htv .church slash connect. We'd love to meet 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:33.420 you and help you find your place here. Want to 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.859 know what's coming up, discover ways to serve, 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.960 or stay in the loop on upcoming events? Check 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:43.200 out hcv .church slash what's up for everything 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:47.039 happening around HCV. Now turn it up, lean in, 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:49.200 and get ready for what God has for you today. 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:52.280 We hope this message encourages you, challenges 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:54.640 you, and reminds you that you are deeply loved. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:58.909 Now, let's hear the message. Hey, good morning, 00:00:58.929 --> 00:01:01.829 everyone. How's everybody doing today? Good, 00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:03.530 good. If you're joining us from home, thank you 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:06.810 for welcoming us into your space. Today is Communion 00:01:06.810 --> 00:01:09.969 Sunday. Every first Sunday of the month, we share 00:01:09.969 --> 00:01:13.129 communion together as a community of faith. It's 00:01:13.129 --> 00:01:15.390 also available every Sunday. If you would like, 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:17.349 you just have to stop by the Welcome Hub. But 00:01:17.349 --> 00:01:19.890 this is a Sunday we gather and follow Jesus. 00:01:21.650 --> 00:01:24.049 to remember what he did for us on the cross. 00:01:24.170 --> 00:01:25.790 So if you need an element, if you miss it on 00:01:25.790 --> 00:01:28.510 your way in, put your hand up, one hand up. If 00:01:28.510 --> 00:01:31.730 you need gluten -free, you can put two hands 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:35.000 up. And it's at this point as we're giving out 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.200 the elements that I like to remind everyone that 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.120 as a community of faith here at HTV, we value 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:42.620 communion. We don't believe it's just something 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:46.939 we do as a church. This is actually an opportunity 00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:50.359 for you to meet and connect with a God that is 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:53.319 alive. Jesus told us to remember his broken body 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:56.859 on the cross. Remember his shed blood. right, 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.799 that covers our sins. So this is an opportunity 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:01.879 for us to search our hearts. And if there's anything 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.019 between us and God the Father, we can lay it 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:07.000 down. We can ask for forgiveness. We can repent. 00:02:07.099 --> 00:02:09.300 We can turn the other way and say, God, cover 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:13.020 me in your grace, in your mercy, in your shed 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:15.560 blood. And he can set us free supernaturally 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:19.659 so that we walk away from here whole. So I'm 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:21.419 believing that's going to happen this morning. 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:23.539 I'm going to open in prayer, and then we'll share 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:26.620 communion together. So Holy Spirit, come. Search 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:28.460 our hearts, God, every single one of our hearts, 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:30.740 for those gathered, for those watching online. 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.620 If there's anything, God, between us and you, 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:37.800 God, reveal it now in Jesus' name. I silence 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.439 distractions from the enemy. I say, open us up, 00:02:40.539 --> 00:02:45.699 God, to hear and receive your truth. Reveal it 00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:50.379 now. Yes, God. So on the night that Jesus was 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:53.729 betrayed, he took bread. He broke it. He handed 00:02:53.729 --> 00:02:56.330 it to his disciples and said, take, eat. This 00:02:56.330 --> 00:02:59.389 is my body, which is broken for you. And when 00:02:59.389 --> 00:03:02.650 you eat it, do it in remembrance of me. Let's 00:03:02.650 --> 00:03:11.710 eat. Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup 00:03:11.710 --> 00:03:14.210 of wine. He said, this is my blood, which is 00:03:14.210 --> 00:03:15.990 shed for you and for many for the forgiveness 00:03:15.990 --> 00:03:19.569 of sins. Drink it often. And when you do, do 00:03:19.569 --> 00:03:26.430 it in remembrance of me. Let's drink. So God, 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:29.430 we are grateful for your grace and your forgiveness. 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:34.330 Change us, God. Transform us. May we leave here 00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:37.310 differently than when we came in. In Jesus' name, 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:44.870 amen. So I would like to update all of you that 00:03:44.870 --> 00:03:48.629 last Sunday, if you weren't here, We baptized 00:03:48.629 --> 00:03:52.930 72 people in the name of Jesus between the river 00:03:52.930 --> 00:03:58.550 and the pool. And the amazing thing about what 00:03:58.550 --> 00:04:01.009 God is doing in our midst is that every single 00:04:01.009 --> 00:04:04.090 one of those people has a story that matters 00:04:04.090 --> 00:04:06.669 to God. And it also doesn't matter to God. It 00:04:06.669 --> 00:04:09.229 matters to us. And I just want to say that we 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:11.449 are praying for you. If you got baptized last 00:04:11.449 --> 00:04:15.599 week, congratulations. We love you. And I'm grateful 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:18.240 for all that God is doing in your life and in 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:22.000 our community of faith. So I want to begin this 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.439 morning with just a simple question. How do we 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:29.680 stand out in the right ways at the right time 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:33.980 and for the right reason? See, the answer to 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:36.339 that question is important because when we do 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:38.639 stand out in the right ways at the right time 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.740 and for the right reason, it can change the very 00:04:41.740 --> 00:04:44.860 course and direction of our lives. But unfortunately, 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:48.040 the opposite is true as well. When we compromise 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:50.500 on the wrong things in the wrong ways and at 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:54.439 the wrong times, it can cost us way more than 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:56.920 we could ever imagine at this point in our life. 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:00.660 Today, we are starting a brand new message series 00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:03.279 for the month of September called Chameleon, 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:08.600 Choosing Conviction Over Conformity. And this 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:10.660 series is going to look at the book of Daniel. 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:13.680 And in that book, we learn about a young man 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:16.459 who found himself living in a culture that was 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:18.480 completely different from the one he grew up 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.680 in. Daniel was taken from his home, brought into 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.360 Babylon, given a new education, a new environment, 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:28.120 a new name, and a whole new set of expectations. 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:31.660 See, Babylon was essentially saying, Daniel, 00:05:31.819 --> 00:05:34.480 we're going to change everything about you. No 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:37.589 one will recognize you. But we quickly learn 00:05:37.589 --> 00:05:40.689 that Daniel drew a line. And in Daniel 1 .8, 00:05:40.750 --> 00:05:44.529 the Bible says, but Daniel was determined not 00:05:44.529 --> 00:05:48.269 to defile himself. And see, that word determined 00:05:48.269 --> 00:05:51.529 is perfect because Daniel didn't wait until the 00:05:51.529 --> 00:05:56.050 pressure came to decide what he believed. He 00:05:56.050 --> 00:05:59.230 decided beforehand. He was determined who he 00:05:59.230 --> 00:06:00.990 was going to be. And that's an important lesson 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:04.160 for us today. Because see, if you don't decide 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:06.519 what you stand for before the pressure comes, 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:10.180 the pressure will decide for you. We live in 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:12.920 a culture that constantly tells us, compromise, 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.360 fit in, keep quiet, go along with the crowd, 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.540 don't make waves. But following Jesus means there 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:23.259 are moments when we have to say, I love you, 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:27.959 but I won't go there. I respect you, but I can't 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:33.050 compromise. I may stand alone. But I will stand. 00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:36.550 And see, sometimes taking a stand for Jesus doesn't 00:06:36.550 --> 00:06:38.889 mean standing on a stage in front of thousands 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:43.329 of people. It practically means standing for 00:06:43.329 --> 00:06:46.350 Jesus in a classroom. Standing at your workplace. 00:06:46.389 --> 00:06:49.089 Standing in your relationships. Standing when 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:54.170 nobody else is watching. Daniel teaches us that 00:06:54.170 --> 00:06:57.189 you don't have to be loud to take a stand. You 00:06:57.189 --> 00:07:00.600 just have to be determined. which leads us to 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:03.660 our first thought this morning. See, Jesus followers 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:06.860 have an enemy. Look at your neighbor and say, 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:11.560 you have an enemy. And make sure you say, it's 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:14.480 not me. It's not Chris. And it's not the church. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:20.639 We are not your enemy. See, God is moving in 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.350 our community of faith. Just like I shared in 00:07:23.350 --> 00:07:25.670 the opening, just this past week, in the last 00:07:25.670 --> 00:07:29.649 six days, we baptized 72 people in the name of 00:07:29.649 --> 00:07:32.990 Jesus. We are practically serving in nursing 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:36.470 homes and schools. We now serve 100 children 00:07:36.470 --> 00:07:39.810 every single week food through the Micah's Backpack 00:07:39.810 --> 00:07:43.990 program. We are feeding a hot meal. Yeah, it's 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:46.230 all good stuff. You can cheer. You can clap. 00:07:47.209 --> 00:07:50.470 We feed more than 100 people a hot meal during 00:07:50.470 --> 00:07:52.870 our community dinner every single week. And some 00:07:52.870 --> 00:07:56.509 of those are meals that people only receive that 00:07:56.509 --> 00:08:00.610 day. And I mention those to celebrate what happened 00:08:00.610 --> 00:08:03.189 in the last week, while at the same time to let 00:08:03.189 --> 00:08:06.649 you know that we have a war waging against us. 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:11.230 There's a war pointed right at HCV and it's being 00:08:11.230 --> 00:08:13.449 waged against us. And it doesn't mean we have 00:08:13.449 --> 00:08:17.120 to be afraid. but we need to be aware that it 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.160 does exist. See, so many churches in the United 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.839 States today minimize spiritual warfare. But 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.339 to minimize spiritual warfare is to minimize 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:30.240 the life of Jesus. See, throughout the four gospels, 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:32.899 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, within those books, 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:36.700 there are 89 chapters. Within those 89 chapters, 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:39.440 there are over 100 references to the demonic, 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.519 the spiritual battle that is raging all around 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:46.340 us. So what this means is within every single 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:49.500 chapter of Jesus's life, the demonic was talked 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:52.379 about. So if we don't acknowledge his spiritual 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:55.320 battle, it means we don't acknowledge the fullness 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:59.340 of Jesus's life. See, within the church in the 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:01.580 United States currently, according to Barna Research 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:05.460 Group, six out of 10 American Christians, that's 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:09.379 60%, do not believe that Satan is a real entity. 00:09:11.199 --> 00:09:14.000 Instead, a majority of churchgoers in the United 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.240 States today view Satan and the demonic as merely 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.620 symbols of evil rather than living literal beings. 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:26.139 Friends, this is a deception. See, the Bible 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:29.419 tells us that our spiritual enemies comes in 00:09:29.419 --> 00:09:31.860 the form of angels of light and servants of righteousness, 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:35.759 meaning they could be right before our very eyes 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:37.840 and we don't even recognize them because they 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:41.779 look so good. Our enemy is the father of lies. 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:45.820 He comes at us in disguise and deception. And 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:48.299 as a church, we need to understand our opposition 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:52.320 so we aren't deceived. Now, the Old Testament 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:56.120 prophets speak of God creating this perfect angelic 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.200 being and his role was leading all of heaven 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:02.919 in praise. This being was considered blameless 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:05.960 and beautiful and perfect. In fact, the most 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:08.980 beautiful being in the heavenlies. But at some 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:12.080 point in time, his pride got the best of him. 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:16.419 And instead of leading heaven in praise, he attempts 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:19.419 to take over heaven and have everyone praise 00:10:19.419 --> 00:10:22.120 himself. See, he wants to take God's throne. 00:10:22.700 --> 00:10:26.019 And it's real easy to look at Satan, to throw 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:28.779 shade at him, to judge him. Who does he think 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:33.059 he is? Friends, we do it all the time. My God, 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:36.720 my way is better than your way. I know what's 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:41.039 best for my life, God. I got this. I'm in control. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.419 And we need to read in Revelation chapter 12. 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:48.340 Then there was a war in heaven. Michael and his 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.340 angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:53.299 And the dragon lost the battle and his angels 00:10:53.299 --> 00:10:55.860 were forced out of heaven. This great dragon, 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.120 this ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:00.279 the one deceiving the whole world, was thrown 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:03.659 down to the earth with all his angels. And see, 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:05.899 I share this with you because this gives us a 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:09.480 context of our world. The world that we live 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:14.600 in every single day. It's real. And it's right 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:17.460 before us. Now, in Genesis 1, chapters 1 through 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:20.960 4, we read, In the beginning, God created the 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.480 heavens and the earth. Now, many theologians 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.919 believe That it is in between verse one that 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:30.740 I just read to you and verse two that I'm about 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.759 to read to you that Satan and the demonic were 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.740 cast down to earth. Verse two reads, the earth 00:11:37.740 --> 00:11:41.200 was formless and empty and darkness covered the 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.639 deep waters. Now the words form, empty, and darkness 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:49.200 can be translated into empty, chaotic, and evil. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:54.139 So when the earth was created, In between day 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:57.799 one and day two, when it was housing Satan and 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.899 his demons, it was considered empty, chaotic, 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:04.779 and evil. And let's continue. And the Spirit 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:07.799 of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 00:12:07.980 --> 00:12:10.840 Then God said, let there be light, and there 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:14.000 was light. And please understand that light here 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.539 isn't the sun. See, the sun is created later. 00:12:18.179 --> 00:12:21.720 So when God says that there be light, what is 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:24.519 God talking about? Well, let's continue. And 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:28.120 God saw that the light was good, then he separated 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:32.299 the light from the darkness. Or God separated 00:12:32.299 --> 00:12:36.480 good from evil. And from this point, God creates 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:40.700 this good garden full of life and order and beauty, 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:45.240 in the middle of which is a tree that was empty, 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:49.279 chaotic, and evil. And as that is being created, 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:51.620 it's almost as if you can hear Satan saying, 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:55.580 but I was created to praise. Who in your creation 00:12:55.580 --> 00:12:58.519 is going to praise you? But then we read that 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:01.419 God reaches down into the dust and breathes some 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:04.860 life and says this. So God created human beings 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:07.000 in his own image, in the image of God. He created 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:10.480 them male and female. He created them. Then God 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:13.159 blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply, 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:16.820 fill the earth and govern it. And see, from the 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:20.539 moment God created us, he has called us and speaks 00:13:20.539 --> 00:13:24.080 over us his goodness that we are to spread to 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:28.059 every square inch of his creation. And that is 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:31.259 where the war began. See, there is a term that 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:34.240 is used from the Old Testament to the New Testament 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.220 that describes the spiritual war that our enemy 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:42.019 puts before us that we battle through every single 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:45.360 day. And it's the spirit of darkness or the spirit 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:48.759 of Babylon. Paul writes about it this way in 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:51.179 Ephesians 6, 12. For we are not fighting against 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:53.779 flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:55.519 and authorities of the unseen world, against 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:57.899 mighty powers in this dark world, and against 00:13:57.899 --> 00:14:01.259 evil spirits in the heavenly places. And this 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:03.679 is important to understand because this battle, 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:07.820 it's not out there somewhere. It's not fictional. 00:14:08.179 --> 00:14:11.139 Friends, it's right here. And if you're in a 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:13.940 relationship with Jesus, we are in it and face 00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:17.919 it every single day. And today, we're going to 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.299 be looking at the Babylonian Empire in the book 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:22.659 of Daniel chapter 1. And we're going to look 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:25.220 at some of the ancient strategies that were designed 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:28.840 from the enemy to attack God's people. But we 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:32.039 must remember, with everything God is doing in 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:34.820 our community of faith, there is a war raging 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:38.120 around us and at us. We need to be able to observe 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:42.120 it. recognize it, and pray against it. So the 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:44.399 background, the book of Daniel took place 2 ,600 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:47.779 years ago. God's people were being unfaithful, 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:50.740 and God disciplined his people for their disobedience. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:53.740 Every loving father disciplines his children. 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:57.500 God waited 500 plus years for his people to repent 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:00.679 and change. That never happened, so he allows 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.279 for the events to happen that we're about to 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.740 read. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was an evil 00:15:06.740 --> 00:15:10.409 king. He destroyed Jerusalem. This guy was so 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:13.149 evil, he didn't just destroy the city, he burned 00:15:13.149 --> 00:15:16.330 the temple of God literally to the ground. He 00:15:16.330 --> 00:15:19.149 took the religious symbols, crushed them, destroyed 00:15:19.149 --> 00:15:22.590 them, took them back to his God's temple, basically 00:15:22.590 --> 00:15:26.990 saying your God is dead. And not only did he 00:15:26.990 --> 00:15:28.909 destroy the city, the temple, and all the religious 00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:31.440 symbols. He said, I'm going to destroy their 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.960 future. He took the next generation, all their 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:38.220 young leaders, and basically indoctrinated them 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:42.419 into Babylonian culture for three years. He was 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:45.200 casting vision that they would become the future 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.100 leaders of his government. So Nebuchadnezzar 00:15:49.100 --> 00:15:51.639 was not only trying to destroy Jerusalem, but 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:54.639 he was also trying to destroy the very people 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:58.990 of God, which leads us to discuss. We need to 00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:01.750 recognize the enemy strategies that are alive 00:16:01.750 --> 00:16:04.909 today in our world and within our culture. And 00:16:04.909 --> 00:16:08.610 the first is this, division. We read this in 00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:10.889 Daniel 1, 1 through 2. During the third year 00:16:10.889 --> 00:16:14.210 of King Joachim's reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar 00:16:14.210 --> 00:16:16.889 of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:19.879 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:22.360 of Judah and permitted him to take some of the 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:25.899 sacred objects from the temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:28.940 took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:31.240 them in the treasure house of his God. Notice, 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:35.500 he took God's elements from God's temple and 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:38.399 said, no, it's this God that we worship. Now 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:40.980 Babylonia is first mentioned in Genesis chapter 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:44.200 11. It's the story of the Tower of Babel for 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:46.679 those of you that may have read it. we learn 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:50.059 that humanity became obsessed with itself and 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:53.620 self -glory and self -sufficiency. So they attempted 00:16:53.620 --> 00:16:57.919 to build a massive tower to heaven because they 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:01.200 wanted to exalt themselves as a unified culture 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:05.700 that says they no longer needed to trust or believe 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:09.319 in God. And see, this is the same issue Satan 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:12.740 had in heaven when he got kicked out. He wanted 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:15.609 to take the throne and be elevated to what? The 00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:18.609 top. Well, it just so happens in Genesis chapter 00:17:18.609 --> 00:17:22.230 11 that God came down, saw the people building 00:17:22.230 --> 00:17:27.349 this large tower, and he says this. The people 00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:30.009 are united, and they all speak the same language. 00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:33.970 After this, notice, nothing they set out to do 00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:37.269 will be impossible for them. Nothing they set 00:17:37.269 --> 00:17:40.069 out to do will be impossible for them. So friends, 00:17:40.109 --> 00:17:43.930 we have to realize unified unbelievers are more 00:17:43.930 --> 00:17:48.809 powerful than divided believers. Unified unbelievers 00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:51.789 are more powerful than divided believers. And 00:17:51.789 --> 00:17:53.470 you say, well, Chris, where does it say that 00:17:53.470 --> 00:17:55.329 in scripture? Well, actually Jesus said it in 00:17:55.329 --> 00:17:58.329 Matthew chapter 12, verse 25. Jesus knew their 00:17:58.329 --> 00:18:00.549 thoughts and replied, any kingdom divided by 00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:04.009 civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered 00:18:04.009 --> 00:18:06.900 by feuding will fall apart. See, when there's 00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:09.380 division in the church, the church will fall 00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:12.740 apart. And remember, King Nebuchadnezzar took 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:15.940 all the objects or vessels from God's temple 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:18.920 and placed them in the treasure house of his 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:22.680 God. In the New Testament, Paul describes objects 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:26.319 or vessels as the people of God, that we are 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.609 the vessels of honorable use. Also in the New 00:18:29.609 --> 00:18:32.589 Testament, the house of God is the church. Paul 00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:35.230 and Peter both refer to the church as the house 00:18:35.230 --> 00:18:38.650 of God. So what we are seeing here is this ancient 00:18:38.650 --> 00:18:42.609 strategy the enemy uses of pulling people away 00:18:42.609 --> 00:18:45.730 from the church and attempting to unify them 00:18:45.730 --> 00:18:49.769 somewhere else. Divide the church, unify them 00:18:49.769 --> 00:18:52.970 somewhere else. And this is happening in our 00:18:52.970 --> 00:18:56.549 midst right now. How do I know it? Look on social 00:18:56.549 --> 00:18:59.289 media. There's a political divide in our country 00:18:59.289 --> 00:19:01.789 right now where people are literally being killed 00:19:01.789 --> 00:19:05.630 over it. Social media is full of division over 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:09.710 this issue, over this political issue, and it's 00:19:09.710 --> 00:19:12.890 made its way into the church. See, division is 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:16.710 a strategy of the enemy. In America, both political 00:19:16.710 --> 00:19:20.950 parties, the right and the left, resemble elements, 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:24.609 elements of the kingdom of God. but neither of 00:19:24.609 --> 00:19:27.930 them are the kingdom of God. On one side, right, 00:19:28.029 --> 00:19:30.549 you see the focus of social justice, all things 00:19:30.549 --> 00:19:33.269 in common, caring for the marginalized, accepting 00:19:33.269 --> 00:19:35.670 the foreigners, loving people for who they are. 00:19:36.069 --> 00:19:38.789 On the other side, you see kingdom elements like 00:19:38.789 --> 00:19:41.609 traditional family, sanctity of life, working 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:44.009 hard, earning your wages, religious freedoms. 00:19:45.190 --> 00:19:49.150 Neither are the kingdom of God. Both have elements 00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:51.670 of the kingdom of God, but they are not the kingdom. 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:54.869 And since both political parties have elements 00:19:54.869 --> 00:19:59.029 of the kingdom, what happens? Division. And there's 00:19:59.029 --> 00:20:03.349 a real temptation to unify under the left or 00:20:03.349 --> 00:20:07.329 the right rather than the kingdom of God. And 00:20:07.329 --> 00:20:10.049 listen, neither party, the left or the right, 00:20:10.109 --> 00:20:12.769 can save a nation. Only Jesus can save anything. 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:20.940 And it's kingdom people. It's so important for 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:23.740 us not to get pulled left or get pulled right. 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:28.319 We need to get pulled up. See, we don't want 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:31.079 unity around a political party or ideology. We 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:33.440 want to unify under the name of Jesus and his 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:37.579 kingdom. It's not just politics. It's everywhere. 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:41.599 It's in the church. Dr. Martin Luther King was 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:43.539 quoted as saying, the most segregated hour in 00:20:43.539 --> 00:20:48.950 America is 11 o 'clock on Sunday. Data shows 00:20:48.950 --> 00:20:52.450 that he was right. 80 to 85 % of Christian congregations 00:20:52.450 --> 00:20:55.710 in the United States currently remain racially 00:20:55.710 --> 00:21:00.009 and ethnically homogeneous, meaning they're made 00:21:00.009 --> 00:21:04.430 up primarily of one single racial group. And 00:21:04.430 --> 00:21:06.569 I don't know about you, but I don't believe Jesus 00:21:06.569 --> 00:21:08.509 is looking down from heaven at his church, seeing 00:21:08.509 --> 00:21:10.190 a black church, a white church, or a Hispanic 00:21:10.190 --> 00:21:14.390 church. That's not my church. Revelation tells 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:16.589 us that people from every tribe, tongue, and 00:21:16.589 --> 00:21:20.009 nation will gather together in one voice to recognize 00:21:20.009 --> 00:21:26.769 King Jesus, true or false. We have to guard against 00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:31.609 culture trying to divide the church. We are called, 00:21:31.950 --> 00:21:36.089 right, to have a racially diverse, economically 00:21:36.089 --> 00:21:39.769 diverse group of people gathering here every 00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:41.789 single Sunday because that's what it's going 00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:44.599 to look like in heaven. Colossians chapter 3. 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:46.880 Since you have been raised to love in Christ, 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:49.539 set your sights on the realities of what? Heaven, 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:52.400 not the left, not the right, where Christ sits 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.339 in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think 00:21:54.339 --> 00:21:57.319 about things of heaven, not the things of earth, 00:21:57.420 --> 00:21:59.720 which leads us to our second strategy. They re 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.160 -educate the next generation. Notice, continuing 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:06.599 in Daniel 1. Then the king ordered Aspenaz, his 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:09.000 chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:11.440 the young men of Judah's royal family and other 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:15.930 noble families. See, select only strong, healthy, 00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:18.390 and good -looking young men, he said. Make sure 00:22:18.390 --> 00:22:20.609 they are all well -versed in every branch of 00:22:20.609 --> 00:22:22.910 learning, are gifted with knowledge and good 00:22:22.910 --> 00:22:24.569 judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal 00:22:24.569 --> 00:22:27.670 palace. Train these young men in the language 00:22:27.670 --> 00:22:29.970 and literature of Babylon. So Daniel and his 00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:32.750 friends are chosen because of their high -functioning, 00:22:32.750 --> 00:22:35.690 influential young people. They have high IQs, 00:22:35.690 --> 00:22:37.230 they look good, and they can make a difference. 00:22:37.569 --> 00:22:39.849 And see, the spirit of darkness or the spirit 00:22:39.849 --> 00:22:42.289 of Babylonia is always trying to re -educate 00:22:42.289 --> 00:22:45.890 our kids. Because the enemy understands our kids 00:22:45.890 --> 00:22:48.730 are the most influential people on this earth. 00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:52.809 It's not a 53 -year -old man that starts a cultural 00:22:52.809 --> 00:22:56.410 movement. Young people do. I'm way past my prime, 00:22:56.450 --> 00:23:00.089 right? But young people, young people can change 00:23:00.089 --> 00:23:03.609 and impact our culture. How do I know that? Baggy 00:23:03.609 --> 00:23:08.150 jeans are back in. I mean, the 90s are literally 00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:12.470 coming back, right? And I'm thinking, why? Why? 00:23:12.910 --> 00:23:16.089 Why baggy jeans? Well, it's because the young 00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:20.670 people Right? The young people spread the thread 00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:23.809 through social media and suddenly change happens. 00:23:23.950 --> 00:23:27.029 I look at my oldest son, 27 years old, currently 00:23:27.029 --> 00:23:30.710 living in Kenya, raising money to build a computer 00:23:30.710 --> 00:23:33.869 lab, first ever computer lab in a Kenyan village 00:23:33.869 --> 00:23:38.470 so that the young people, what? Can gain knowledge 00:23:38.470 --> 00:23:40.670 and understanding and further their capacity. 00:23:40.950 --> 00:23:43.410 He's doing more in this world than I've ever 00:23:43.410 --> 00:23:47.279 done. And why? Because he's a young person. person. 00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:52.180 And it's the young people that the enemy is attacking, 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:54.980 trying to re -educate the way they think and 00:23:54.980 --> 00:23:57.619 act. The most prestigious universities in America, 00:23:57.819 --> 00:24:00.220 many of which began as seminary institutions 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:03.480 focusing on the Bible, are now teaching and training 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:06.339 their young people to have a non -biblical worldview. 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:09.500 The public school system has removed any references 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:12.319 of the Bible out of the curriculum and has replaced 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:16.180 it with affirming there is no truth. Parents, 00:24:16.180 --> 00:24:20.519 caregivers. It's your, it's our responsibility 00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:26.119 to raise our children. Yours and mine. They're 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:29.970 my kids. They're your kids. Now hear me out. 00:24:30.109 --> 00:24:32.890 HCV wants to come alongside of you. We want to 00:24:32.890 --> 00:24:35.589 create systems and classes for all of our kids. 00:24:35.809 --> 00:24:37.789 We want them to learn about Jesus. We want to 00:24:37.789 --> 00:24:40.109 encourage you parents. We want to integrate the 00:24:40.109 --> 00:24:42.630 Bible, grace, forgiveness, truth, sharing the 00:24:42.630 --> 00:24:45.730 good news into your and your family's daily life. 00:24:46.029 --> 00:24:49.890 We want all of that. But see, we need to integrate 00:24:49.890 --> 00:24:52.470 Jesus in every area of our life, not just here 00:24:52.470 --> 00:24:55.690 on Sunday. And what happens Monday through Saturday 00:24:55.690 --> 00:25:00.339 in your home matters. The enemy is trying to 00:25:00.339 --> 00:25:03.880 train up our children outside the home, away 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.980 from HCV. He wants to lead them away from the 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:11.059 church. He wants to give them a worldview that 00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:14.940 opposes God and his people. And if you're a follower 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:18.599 of Jesus, hear me out, you are charged, I am 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:22.180 charged, all of us, with training the next generation 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:25.960 and passing the baton of faith onto them with 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:29.220 God's truth. And I want to challenge you. If 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:31.099 you're not doing anything in our community of 00:25:31.099 --> 00:25:37.440 faith, go teach a kid's class because it will 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:41.019 change your life forever. It changed mine. First 00:25:41.019 --> 00:25:42.740 thing I ever did after I gave my life to Jesus 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:45.380 was teach three and four -year -olds. You want 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:48.140 a quick lesson on the Bible and truth? Go deal 00:25:48.140 --> 00:25:49.420 with some three and four -year -olds for two 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:55.960 years. Your life will be radically changed. And 00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:58.759 after all, Jesus did say in Matthew 19, let the 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:00.700 children come to me. Don't stop them for the 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:03.640 kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.200 children. And then he blessed them. See, many 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.099 of you know, I have six kids and I'm proud to 00:26:10.099 --> 00:26:12.039 say every single one of them love the church, 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:16.279 love Jesus, right? My youngest, Phoenix, is up 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.000 at 6 a .m. every Sunday. Like, when are we gone? 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:19.180 When are we gone? When are we gone? You know, 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:21.480 he's ready to go to the church. And guess what? 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:25.970 We forced them to go to church. We force them. 00:26:26.309 --> 00:26:28.329 And I hear it all the time from parents. Oh, 00:26:28.390 --> 00:26:30.450 I don't want to force my kids to go to church. 00:26:31.269 --> 00:26:35.150 What do you mean? You force them to clean their 00:26:35.150 --> 00:26:40.089 rooms. True or false? There's a penalty if they 00:26:40.089 --> 00:26:42.930 don't clean their rooms. You force them to clean 00:26:42.930 --> 00:26:45.009 their rooms. Well, I don't want to turn them 00:26:45.009 --> 00:26:48.549 off to Jesus. Come on, man. Jesus is good. He's 00:26:48.549 --> 00:26:52.170 got everything under his control. But you also 00:26:52.170 --> 00:26:56.180 have to understand We didn't force our kids to 00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:59.579 go to church. We taught our kids what it meant 00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:02.700 to be the church. We taught our kids the impact 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:05.160 and the change that happens in the world for 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:07.940 Jesus. Because see, when the church is not an 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:11.180 event you attend or a place you go, but rather 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:13.619 a family of God, a community of believers that 00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:16.579 you're a part of, everything changes. And so 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:18.819 many people want to train their kids up to go 00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:22.339 to church. You know what I say to that? Forgive 00:27:22.339 --> 00:27:26.579 us, God. No, they don't go to church. They are 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:29.619 the church. And when we start teaching them that, 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:33.539 then everything good will begin to fall into 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:36.700 place. Yes, we forced our kids to be the church. 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:39.319 Why? Because outside of the church, there's a 00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:42.559 demonic attack against them. Parents, train your 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:45.519 children up to be the church. Well, I don't want 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:47.740 to turn them away. Listen, I didn't want any 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:49.640 of my kids to walk through the pain I experienced 00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:52.240 of being a non -believer. You know what I mean? 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:54.420 I valued what it means to be in a relationship 00:27:54.420 --> 00:27:57.140 with Jesus. And I prayed for my kids and told 00:27:57.140 --> 00:27:59.799 them that they are the church. Many of which, 00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:02.039 at least my three oldest, when we left Bower 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:05.140 Avenue, literally weeped visibly because that 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:07.799 was their second home. How are you raising your 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:11.539 kids? Which leads us to our third strategy, identity 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:15.690 confusion. Continuing in Daniel. Daniel 1, 6 00:28:15.690 --> 00:28:18.450 through 7. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah 00:28:18.450 --> 00:28:21.009 were four of the young men chosen all from the 00:28:21.009 --> 00:28:23.970 tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them 00:28:23.970 --> 00:28:27.809 with these Babylonian names. Daniel was called 00:28:27.809 --> 00:28:30.869 Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael 00:28:30.869 --> 00:28:34.089 was called Meshach. And Azariah was called Abednego. 00:28:34.690 --> 00:28:37.410 Why did they change their names? Well, in ancient 00:28:37.410 --> 00:28:42.329 Israel, parents gave kids names that had meaning. 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:46.279 Right? Aspirational meanings focused on God. 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:50.539 For example, Daniel means God is my judge. Hananiah 00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:53.759 means Yahweh is gracious. Mishael means who is 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:57.759 like God. And Azariah means Yahweh has helped. 00:28:58.039 --> 00:29:01.299 See, they did so so that those meanings, the 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:03.299 meaning of their names, would be rooted in their 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:06.180 identity. And when these four teens were given 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:09.240 new names, it was an attempt to strip them of 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:11.900 their God -given identities. Listen to the differences. 00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:16.839 Daniel is renamed Belteshazzar, which means lady 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:23.000 protect the king. In other words, they gave Daniel 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.759 a female name, which immediately creates gender 00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:30.680 confusion. Hananiah was changed to Shadrach, 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:34.480 which means I'm afraid of God. You don't want 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:37.240 God? You don't want to associate with the church? 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:40.099 Get away from God and religion is bad. Mishael, 00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:42.839 his name was changed to Meshach, which means 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:46.900 I am despised, contemptible, and humiliated. 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:52.859 Did you know that the highest rate of depression 00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:58.460 and mental illness is those ages 14 to 20? Hmm. 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:02.200 Azariah had his name changed to Abednego, which 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:05.079 means servant of Nemo, meaning you are not a 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.619 servant of God, you are a slave to man. See, 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:10.549 this is identity theft. And the enemy continues 00:30:10.549 --> 00:30:13.829 to do that today. He desires that we label ourselves 00:30:13.829 --> 00:30:16.809 according to anything other than who God says 00:30:16.809 --> 00:30:19.650 we are. If people ask you, well, what do you 00:30:19.650 --> 00:30:22.250 do? Quite often our response is, I'm a pastor, 00:30:22.349 --> 00:30:25.650 I'm a plumber, I'm a carpenter. We label ourselves 00:30:25.650 --> 00:30:28.349 according to our profession or our calling. Or 00:30:28.349 --> 00:30:30.269 if not, maybe we label ourselves according to 00:30:30.269 --> 00:30:33.789 our hobby. I'm a creative, I'm a musician. And 00:30:33.789 --> 00:30:36.869 the truth is, the enemy doesn't care how we label 00:30:36.869 --> 00:30:39.910 ourselves as long as we label ourselves. with 00:30:39.910 --> 00:30:42.829 something other than him. And that's a problem. 00:30:43.650 --> 00:30:46.650 I mean, look around our culture. People are labeling 00:30:46.650 --> 00:30:49.349 themselves according to ethnicity, sexual preference, 00:30:49.670 --> 00:30:52.869 gender, race, pronouns. You know, pronouns is 00:30:52.869 --> 00:30:55.150 a new thing. There's been people literally fired 00:30:55.150 --> 00:30:57.750 from their jobs because they wouldn't identify 00:30:57.750 --> 00:31:00.609 themselves according to their pronouns. I mean, 00:31:00.630 --> 00:31:02.769 the enemy wants us to identify with anything 00:31:02.769 --> 00:31:07.240 other than Jesus. Because in Jesus, We are blessed. 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:09.880 We are chosen. We are redeemed. We are forgiven. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:13.000 We are loved. We are adopted. We are holy. We 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.500 are free. And he doesn't want us to walk in those 00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:19.079 truths, the truths from 1 Peter. You're not like 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:21.859 that. You're a chosen people, a royal priest, 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:25.940 a holy nation, God's very own possession. And 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:28.079 as a result, you can show others the goodness 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:31.140 of God. He called you out of the darkness into 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:33.359 a wonderful light. Once you had no identity, 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.849 now you are God's. People. We have to fight to 00:31:37.849 --> 00:31:40.250 be reminded who we are because the enemy wants 00:31:40.250 --> 00:31:43.150 to rename us, which leads us to our fourth strategy, 00:31:43.490 --> 00:31:47.089 cancel culture. Daniel chapter one, verses nine 00:31:47.089 --> 00:31:49.250 through 10. Now God had given the chief of staff 00:31:49.250 --> 00:31:52.470 both respect and affection for Daniel, but he 00:31:52.470 --> 00:31:56.150 responded, I'm afraid of my Lord, the King, who 00:31:56.150 --> 00:31:58.390 has ordered that you eat this food and wine. 00:31:58.430 --> 00:32:00.509 Remember, Daniel asked for vegetables only and 00:32:00.509 --> 00:32:04.549 water, which again, young people, wow. If you 00:32:04.549 --> 00:32:07.509 become pale and thin compared to the other youths 00:32:07.509 --> 00:32:10.849 your age, I am afraid of the king. Notice, the 00:32:10.849 --> 00:32:13.910 king will have me beheaded. In other words, the 00:32:13.910 --> 00:32:17.150 king will kill me if I do not do what he asked 00:32:17.150 --> 00:32:20.089 me to do. Now, please understand, Babylon is 00:32:20.089 --> 00:32:22.650 an extremely diverse kingdom with all sorts of 00:32:22.650 --> 00:32:25.910 colors, cultures, language, ethnicities. They're 00:32:25.910 --> 00:32:27.970 taking over the world. Nebuchadnezzar is trying 00:32:27.970 --> 00:32:30.529 to blend them all together, leading the way. 00:32:31.309 --> 00:32:34.309 And he needs to somehow unify them. And here's 00:32:34.309 --> 00:32:37.789 what is clear. If you get in the way of him attempting 00:32:37.789 --> 00:32:40.890 to unify his nation and his worldview, he's going 00:32:40.890 --> 00:32:44.309 to kill you. This is cancel culture at its finest. 00:32:45.250 --> 00:32:48.309 Cancel culture is a demonic attempt to create 00:32:48.309 --> 00:32:51.009 a universal worldview that is opposed to God, 00:32:51.170 --> 00:32:54.950 his people. And when you get in the way, you 00:32:54.950 --> 00:32:58.289 get canceled. And so many of us have bought into 00:32:58.289 --> 00:33:02.250 it. People in the church. Isn't it wild that 00:33:02.250 --> 00:33:04.890 we live in a society that wants to scream tolerance 00:33:04.890 --> 00:33:07.990 from the highest mountaintop in the world called 00:33:07.990 --> 00:33:11.130 social media? We need to be tolerant. We need 00:33:11.130 --> 00:33:14.349 to respect everyone's opinion. But the very second 00:33:14.349 --> 00:33:17.490 someone starts speaking about the Bible, the 00:33:17.490 --> 00:33:19.829 second someone shares about Jesus being the way, 00:33:19.829 --> 00:33:22.529 the truth, and the life, his exclusivity, the 00:33:22.529 --> 00:33:24.630 second someone speaks truth about the kingdom 00:33:24.630 --> 00:33:29.859 of God, why is it that at that very second, Society 00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:31.779 doesn't want to tolerate. They want to cancel. 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:35.880 They want to cancel you. And we act like this 00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:38.960 is new. It's been happening for over 2 ,600 years. 00:33:39.799 --> 00:33:43.059 And we have to be careful not to allow ourselves 00:33:43.059 --> 00:33:46.099 as a church to be divided and tempted to cancel 00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:49.039 on us. See, the difference between the culture 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:53.359 and Jesus is this. Jesus proposes, the world 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:57.099 imposes. Jesus proposes and offers his love. 00:33:57.720 --> 00:34:00.539 The world imposes with threats and violence. 00:34:01.259 --> 00:34:04.420 Jesus says, come to me, all those who are weary 00:34:04.420 --> 00:34:06.740 and carry heavy burdens. I will give you rest. 00:34:06.940 --> 00:34:10.099 I will forgive you when you fail. The world says, 00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:14.340 conform or die. So my question, where's the real 00:34:14.340 --> 00:34:19.139 bigotry? The bigotry is not in the church. When 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:22.320 we live gracefully with a Jesus mindset, the 00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:25.000 bigotry is in the world. And we need to remind 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:28.019 it in John 15, Jesus told us, if the world hates 00:34:28.019 --> 00:34:31.639 you, remember it hated me first. The world would 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:35.920 love you as one of its own if you belong to it, 00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:38.320 but you're no longer part of their world. And 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:40.960 again, Jesus says that we are to have no parts 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:43.000 of this cancel culture, nor to establish a new 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:46.079 way of living. In Matthew 5, he says, do not 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:48.340 resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:52.519 the right, offer your other cheek also, which 00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:56.739 is a grace. worldview. Which leads us to our 00:34:56.739 --> 00:35:02.599 fifth and final strategy. Remove godly men. See, 00:35:02.659 --> 00:35:05.519 there's one person in this chapter that is mentioned 00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:09.199 more than anyone else. It's not Daniel. It's 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:11.960 not Nebuchadnezzar. It's not any of Daniel's 00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:18.639 friends. Anyone know who it is? It's the chief 00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:22.039 eunuch. See, the Bible goes out of its way to 00:35:22.039 --> 00:35:24.260 explain that Daniel and his friends were under 00:35:24.260 --> 00:35:27.619 the care of a chief eunuch. A eunuch was a person 00:35:27.619 --> 00:35:29.860 who 2 ,600 years ago went through a surgical 00:35:29.860 --> 00:35:32.980 procedure that would castrate and emasculate 00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:36.400 him. Now, the Bible does not explicitly say that 00:35:36.400 --> 00:35:39.079 Daniel was made a eunuch. However, most theologians 00:35:39.079 --> 00:35:43.139 believe this is the case. The evidence is he 00:35:43.139 --> 00:35:46.179 never married, he never had kids, he never talked 00:35:46.179 --> 00:35:50.960 about a family. Why? Why change God's design 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:54.039 and distort sexuality? Well, think about it. 00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:56.880 The easiest way to erase a godly lineage is to 00:35:56.880 --> 00:36:01.960 erase the bloodline. Herod tried to kill off 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:04.219 all the boys under two when he heard about Jesus 00:36:04.219 --> 00:36:08.179 being born in Bethlehem. Why? To possibly destroy 00:36:08.179 --> 00:36:10.199 the bloodline so that the Savior, the Son of 00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:14.449 Man, would never come. And we read this in Daniel 00:36:14.449 --> 00:36:18.030 1, 11 to 16. Daniel spoke with the chief who 00:36:18.030 --> 00:36:19.969 had been appointed by the chief of staff to look 00:36:19.969 --> 00:36:22.309 after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 00:36:22.670 --> 00:36:25.170 Test us for 10 days on a diet of vegetables and 00:36:25.170 --> 00:36:27.909 water. At the end of the 10 days, see how we 00:36:27.909 --> 00:36:29.929 look compared to the other young men who were 00:36:29.929 --> 00:36:32.449 eating the king's food. Then make your decision 00:36:32.449 --> 00:36:35.010 in light of what you see. The attendant agreed, 00:36:35.389 --> 00:36:38.699 tested him for 10 days. And at the end of 10 00:36:38.699 --> 00:36:40.820 days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier 00:36:40.820 --> 00:36:43.239 and better nourished than the younger men that 00:36:43.239 --> 00:36:45.679 were eating of food assigned by the king. So 00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:47.840 after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:50.739 instead of food and wine provided for the others. 00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:54.539 And after three years, they were the top of the 00:36:54.539 --> 00:36:58.400 class. And this happens today as the enemy tries 00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:03.969 to distort sexuality, legalize abortion. I learned 00:37:03.969 --> 00:37:06.530 this week that the state of Massachusetts recently 00:37:06.530 --> 00:37:11.289 passed a bill where a mother can have an abortion 00:37:11.289 --> 00:37:16.389 performed one day before her due date. Look it 00:37:16.389 --> 00:37:19.150 up. It's truth. I also learned that abortion 00:37:19.150 --> 00:37:23.849 pills can now be bought for $59 .95 online. And 00:37:23.849 --> 00:37:25.690 when you take those pills because you consider 00:37:25.690 --> 00:37:28.530 yourself or think you're pregnant, if you are, 00:37:29.130 --> 00:37:32.389 The fetus is flushed down the toilet into our 00:37:32.389 --> 00:37:35.190 water system, not only contaminating our water, 00:37:35.329 --> 00:37:39.389 but destroying a life. And we have so many people 00:37:39.389 --> 00:37:43.090 that say, oh, we're so more civilized than those 00:37:43.090 --> 00:37:47.550 pagan cultures that would sacrifice babies to 00:37:47.550 --> 00:37:52.110 their gods. Yet we sacrifice babies to self, 00:37:52.170 --> 00:37:56.809 to selfishness. We're no better. We're worse. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:03.840 And please understand, this is the enemy trying 00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:08.380 to destroy a godly bloodline, trying to demonize 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:11.340 masculinity, trying to tell men they can't lead, 00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:14.440 they need to take the backseat. You're no good. 00:38:15.159 --> 00:38:18.360 And I am in no way saying women can't be strong. 00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:22.159 I am in no way saying leaders can't, or women 00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:24.860 can't be leaders within this church. Don't hear 00:38:24.860 --> 00:38:28.159 what I'm not saying. I'm saying that men of God 00:38:28.159 --> 00:38:31.440 can't be weak and passive. It's time for the 00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:35.039 men of God to stand up and take back our place 00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:39.000 to lead our families and our churches back in 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:42.179 a way that we are called to do. Paul says it 00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:47.139 this way in 1 Corinthians 16. Be on guard. Stand 00:38:47.139 --> 00:38:49.360 firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 00:38:49.420 --> 00:38:52.420 And when he says be strong, look it up. The manuscripts 00:38:52.420 --> 00:38:56.679 declare that that's men. Be strong. and do everything 00:38:56.679 --> 00:38:59.860 with love. See, one of the primary tactics of 00:38:59.860 --> 00:39:02.119 the enemy is to demonize masculinity and make 00:39:02.119 --> 00:39:05.780 men feel weak. And I am in no way affirming male 00:39:05.780 --> 00:39:09.380 chauvinism or misogynistic men. They are sins. 00:39:09.719 --> 00:39:12.119 They need to be repented of and you need to change. 00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:15.239 I'm talking about men who are willing to die 00:39:15.239 --> 00:39:18.300 their self. Men who are willing to follow Jesus' 00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:21.360 call to give up their own way, take their cross 00:39:21.360 --> 00:39:25.159 daily and to follow him. And not only do we die 00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:28.360 to self, but we elevate women around us. We make 00:39:28.360 --> 00:39:31.300 women better than what they ever could be. Talk 00:39:31.300 --> 00:39:35.519 to my three daughters. Talk to them. I elevate 00:39:35.519 --> 00:39:39.280 them. I expect them to be great in this world. 00:39:39.380 --> 00:39:42.500 Not because of their gender, because of God in 00:39:42.500 --> 00:39:47.099 their life. We need men who are aggressive in 00:39:47.099 --> 00:39:49.659 their worship. who will lift their hands in praise. 00:39:49.980 --> 00:39:52.340 We need men who are passionate about prayer. 00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:55.539 There isn't any reason that after this gathering, 00:39:55.619 --> 00:39:59.059 men, that those spots on that 24 -7 prayer isn't 00:39:59.059 --> 00:40:02.300 filled up. We need to set the example and be 00:40:02.300 --> 00:40:05.219 the leaders in prayer. We need men who resemble 00:40:05.219 --> 00:40:08.440 Jesus and love their church. We need men who 00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:11.699 are passive but patient. We need men who are 00:40:11.699 --> 00:40:15.300 humble but not silent. We need men who are kind 00:40:15.300 --> 00:40:17.780 but not soft. We need men who are secure and 00:40:17.780 --> 00:40:20.579 sober -minded. We need men who display power 00:40:20.579 --> 00:40:24.119 but not prideful. We need men who care for themselves 00:40:24.119 --> 00:40:27.820 and others. Right? Who take care of themselves 00:40:27.820 --> 00:40:30.119 and are an example of what it means to be good 00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:33.420 in this world. So many people talk, I'm 53 years 00:40:33.420 --> 00:40:35.869 old, I'm in the best shape of my life. Well, 00:40:35.889 --> 00:40:37.389 why don't you eat dessert? Why don't you eat 00:40:37.389 --> 00:40:40.130 bread? Why do you work out? Why do you run? Why 00:40:40.130 --> 00:40:42.289 do you do the MRF? You know why? Because I'm 00:40:42.289 --> 00:40:45.130 going to set the example of what it means to 00:40:45.130 --> 00:40:47.849 follow Jesus to the rest of the world. Okay? 00:40:48.130 --> 00:40:50.610 We need to take care of our bodies. We need to 00:40:50.610 --> 00:40:53.210 put food into our bodies that is fuel to make 00:40:53.210 --> 00:40:56.030 us the best. So when I'm coaching kids and they 00:40:56.030 --> 00:40:58.309 see me and they say, wow, you're taking care 00:40:58.309 --> 00:41:00.210 of yourself. I said, yeah, you can have the same 00:41:00.210 --> 00:41:03.050 muscles and this is how you do it. Because we 00:41:03.050 --> 00:41:06.190 need to set the example. We need to get off the 00:41:06.190 --> 00:41:09.269 couches. We need to stop making excuses. And 00:41:09.269 --> 00:41:11.090 we need to become the men that we're called to 00:41:11.090 --> 00:41:15.190 be. We are violent about Jesus and his love. 00:41:15.230 --> 00:41:17.110 And you say, violent? Whoa, slow down, Chris. 00:41:17.170 --> 00:41:20.809 Matthew 11. And from the time John the Baptist 00:41:20.809 --> 00:41:23.550 began preaching until now, the kingdom of heaven 00:41:23.550 --> 00:41:25.949 has been forcefully advancing and violent people 00:41:25.949 --> 00:41:30.230 are attacking it. Right? As the church, we need 00:41:30.230 --> 00:41:32.969 to stand up and we need to get a little dog in 00:41:32.969 --> 00:41:35.679 us. And we need to be people that are willing 00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:38.119 to set the example for others to follow. Amen? 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:41.039 Amen. I'm specifically calling you out, and I'm 00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:43.079 about to really call you out. Which leads us 00:41:43.079 --> 00:41:46.440 to our one action step, overcoming the enemy. 00:41:46.579 --> 00:41:48.380 How do we overcome the enemy in this battle? 00:41:48.559 --> 00:41:52.039 We choose to stand for Jesus. Notice Daniel in 00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:54.960 Daniel 1, 8 through 9. But Daniel was determined. 00:41:55.280 --> 00:41:58.880 Everyone say determined. Not to defile himself 00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:01.300 by eating food and wine given to them by the 00:42:01.300 --> 00:42:05.019 king. There you go. Determine means to have grit, 00:42:05.139 --> 00:42:10.269 to stand up for a cause, to be a dog. To put 00:42:10.269 --> 00:42:13.110 your head down and say, no, I'm going to be a 00:42:13.110 --> 00:42:15.849 godly example, not only to my family or in the 00:42:15.849 --> 00:42:18.469 church, but to the entire world. 2 Corinthians 00:42:18.469 --> 00:42:21.829 5. For God was in Christ reconciling the world 00:42:21.829 --> 00:42:24.389 to himself, no longer counting people's sins 00:42:24.389 --> 00:42:27.170 against them. And he gave us this wonderful message 00:42:27.170 --> 00:42:30.349 of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors. 00:42:30.730 --> 00:42:33.289 God is making his appeal through us. We speak 00:42:33.289 --> 00:42:35.849 for Christ when he pleads. Come back to God. 00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:39.019 For God made Christ who never sinned to be an 00:42:39.019 --> 00:42:41.300 offering for our sin so that we could be made 00:42:41.300 --> 00:42:44.000 right with God through Christ. See, and these 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:46.719 are coming point in time that we need to stop 00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:49.980 over -spiritualizing everything. We need to stop 00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:51.780 making excuses. You say, well, Chris, what do 00:42:51.780 --> 00:42:54.619 you mean? You need to determine in your heart 00:42:54.619 --> 00:42:57.880 that you're going to do the right thing, right? 00:42:57.960 --> 00:43:00.440 You need to ask the Holy Spirit to empower you 00:43:00.440 --> 00:43:03.420 and start believing all that Jesus speaks over 00:43:03.420 --> 00:43:06.639 you. Right? Jesus lived a life that we cannot 00:43:06.639 --> 00:43:09.400 live. He was perfect. He took sin on himself 00:43:09.400 --> 00:43:14.099 and suffered through the pain and agony of God 00:43:14.099 --> 00:43:16.099 turning away from him for three days. Think about 00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:18.519 it. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Perfect community. 00:43:18.639 --> 00:43:23.360 Perfect connection. And at Jesus' death, the 00:43:23.360 --> 00:43:28.280 Father turned away from his Son. And the Son 00:43:28.280 --> 00:43:31.500 experienced the pain of separation from God. 00:43:31.860 --> 00:43:35.860 In other words, hell. Jesus lived three days 00:43:35.860 --> 00:43:42.860 in hell for us. For us. And why did he choose 00:43:42.860 --> 00:43:46.719 to do this? Ephesians 3 .20. Now all glory to 00:43:46.719 --> 00:43:48.320 God who was able through his mighty power at 00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:50.059 work within us to accomplish infinitely more 00:43:50.059 --> 00:43:52.400 than they might ask or think. God wants to do 00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:55.719 infinitely more in us. He wants to empower us. 00:43:55.980 --> 00:43:58.420 He wants us to change the world. And I want to 00:43:58.420 --> 00:44:02.980 challenge you right now. Men. It's time to stand 00:44:02.980 --> 00:44:05.320 up and be the man of God that you're called to 00:44:05.320 --> 00:44:08.820 be. To be the example setter to your family, 00:44:08.900 --> 00:44:12.019 to the church in this world. That we no longer 00:44:12.019 --> 00:44:14.340 make excuses. We no longer lay on the couch. 00:44:15.579 --> 00:44:18.159 No, we're up. We're active. We're praying. We're 00:44:18.159 --> 00:44:20.440 worshiping. We're reading the Bible. We're allowing 00:44:20.440 --> 00:44:23.679 God to change our life. Will you stand with me? 00:44:25.579 --> 00:44:29.019 And here's my call. And I know I'm long. I was 00:44:29.019 --> 00:44:32.510 long for a service. I'm sorry. But I couldn't 00:44:32.510 --> 00:44:33.989 cut anything out because it all meant something. 00:44:37.190 --> 00:44:46.010 So if you're here today and you're a man, I want 00:44:46.010 --> 00:44:47.969 you to choose to stand for Jesus. I want you 00:44:47.969 --> 00:44:49.690 to make that choice and get up front here so 00:44:49.690 --> 00:45:03.769 I can pray for you. Let's go. Come on, man. I'm 00:45:03.769 --> 00:45:12.570 drawing a line in the sand. Let's go. Oh, there's 00:45:12.570 --> 00:45:15.130 a lot of men. Here, come up on stage. Come on, 00:45:15.150 --> 00:45:17.949 come up on stage. I want everybody up here. Yeah, 00:45:17.989 --> 00:45:20.170 just jump up. I don't care. I'm already late. 00:45:23.389 --> 00:45:27.010 I want everybody up here. Come on. There you 00:45:27.010 --> 00:45:31.130 go. Yeah, walk around. Use the steps. I don't 00:45:31.130 --> 00:45:33.409 care. I want everybody up front. I don't want 00:45:33.409 --> 00:45:42.789 anybody in the aisles. Come on. Let's go. I love 00:45:42.789 --> 00:45:56.630 it. Let's go. Let's go. Come on, man. Let's go. 00:45:58.440 --> 00:46:01.079 There we go. Come on, just fill in right here, 00:46:01.139 --> 00:46:03.000 guys. Fill in right here. You're good. You don't 00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:04.679 have to come up. Fill in right here. There we 00:46:04.679 --> 00:46:07.420 go. I got everybody up. All right, now look out. 00:46:08.760 --> 00:46:14.940 Look out. This is why we're here, okay? We are 00:46:14.940 --> 00:46:18.500 declaring that in this battle, we follow King 00:46:18.500 --> 00:46:25.619 Jesus, right? That's what we're about. And listen. 00:46:26.500 --> 00:46:29.559 Everybody loves my shirt. I don't wear it on 00:46:29.559 --> 00:46:32.960 Sundays. I wear it all through the week, everywhere 00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:36.579 I go. Football games, baseball games, baseball 00:46:36.579 --> 00:46:41.820 practice. Are you willing? Because this is what 00:46:41.820 --> 00:46:44.920 it means. It means I'm gonna be willing to say, 00:46:44.980 --> 00:46:47.519 nope, Jesus is my king in the midst of everything. 00:46:48.400 --> 00:46:52.300 So ladies, we wanna support you, pray for you, 00:46:52.380 --> 00:46:54.420 and lift you up because we wanna see you change 00:46:54.420 --> 00:46:57.590 the world. And we desire that as a community 00:46:57.590 --> 00:47:02.110 of faith, we be a place where Jesus is exhorted, 00:47:02.289 --> 00:47:06.829 worshiped, and we choose to say he is first in 00:47:06.829 --> 00:47:10.710 our life. Amen? All right, let's pray. God, I 00:47:10.710 --> 00:47:13.989 am grateful for these men of God. I just ask 00:47:13.989 --> 00:47:16.570 that this be a day, a line in the sand that changes 00:47:16.570 --> 00:47:20.619 their life forever. That they choose. To declare 00:47:20.619 --> 00:47:23.320 that you are first and foremost in their life 00:47:23.320 --> 00:47:26.460 and that by their example, others will come into 00:47:26.460 --> 00:47:30.099 your kingdom and desire to follow them into a 00:47:30.099 --> 00:47:33.579 relationship with you. I just pray for thousands 00:47:33.579 --> 00:47:35.940 more to come home into a relationship with you. 00:47:36.019 --> 00:47:39.980 Use us, God. We declare the enemy will not win 00:47:39.980 --> 00:47:44.099 in Jesus' name. That you will be glorified and 00:47:44.099 --> 00:47:46.760 thousands more will come home to you through 00:47:46.760 --> 00:47:49.159 our desire to passionately serve and follow you. 00:47:49.610 --> 00:47:52.750 And we all said together, amen. All right, God 00:47:52.750 --> 00:47:57.550 bless you guys. Thank you. Appreciate you, man. 00:47:57.949 --> 00:48:00.650 All right, now listen, I'm late. I know I am. 00:48:00.889 --> 00:48:05.929 I'm sorry. Listen, if you got a child, no one 00:48:05.929 --> 00:48:08.070 else leave. If you got a child, go pick them 00:48:08.070 --> 00:48:13.010 up and sign up to be a teacher. If you don't 00:48:13.010 --> 00:48:16.389 have a child. Just let them leave first, and 00:48:16.389 --> 00:48:18.469 then I'll get out there and say goodbye. If you're 00:48:18.469 --> 00:48:21.210 joining us from home, God bless you guys. Be 00:48:21.210 --> 00:48:24.289 a follower of Jesus. Make him first in your life. 00:48:24.469 --> 00:48:28.030 This is going to be a great series. I'm excited 00:48:28.030 --> 00:48:30.010 about what God's going to do in the month of 00:48:30.010 --> 00:48:32.329 September at HCV. I love you guys. God bless.