WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people, 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:10.980 Elation Church. This is week number two in our 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:13.599 series we've entitled Self -Control. And if you 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:16.960 weren't here last week, man, you missed it. You 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.739 missed out on it. It was a great introductory 00:00:19.739 --> 00:00:23.339 to self -control. Because wouldn't we all agree 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:26.300 that there's areas in our life that each one 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:29.160 of us could gain a little and grow in our self 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:32.340 -control, right? You know, whether it be our 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:34.960 health, whether it be our temper, whether it 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.759 be our finances, like there's so many areas, 00:00:37.899 --> 00:00:40.460 right? We could just go on and on. And the Bible, 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:43.200 we learned last week that the Bible is full of 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:47.520 information and knowledge concerning what self 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:50.259 -control looks like for the believer. And this 00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:53.219 morning, I don't have time to recap everything 00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:56.920 that we did last week, but we are going to recap 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.259 a little bit because we learned. That self -control 00:01:00.259 --> 00:01:06.299 is a supplement to our faith. We supplement our 00:01:06.299 --> 00:01:09.920 faith by self -control. And we saw this in 2 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.319 Peter 1, 3 through 8. It says this, by his divine 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:18.739 power, God has given us everything we need for 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:22.079 living a godly life. Someone say amen. Amen. 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:26.620 We have received all of this by coming. To know 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:29.099 him. I just want to stop right there. Do you 00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:31.439 realize God has already given you everything 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:35.340 that you need? Amen? It's already been paid for. 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:38.900 It's already been provided for. Amen? And we 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:41.359 have received this. How have we received it? 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:46.680 By coming to what? Know him. By coming to know 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:50.280 him. That is the most important thing for each 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.769 one of us. It doesn't go past that. The knowledge 00:01:53.769 --> 00:01:56.930 of just getting to a personal relationship with 00:01:56.930 --> 00:01:59.629 Jesus Christ more and more and more, becoming 00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:03.189 more like him, looking more like him day to day. 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:06.329 And we do that by spending time with him, right? 00:02:06.450 --> 00:02:09.469 Getting to know his heart. And then it transforms 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:12.949 our mind. It transforms our thoughts. It transforms 00:02:12.949 --> 00:02:17.469 the way we live. Amen? Amen. And so we've received 00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:20.740 this by coming to know him, the one. who called 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:23.520 us to himself by means of his marvelous glory 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:26.659 and excellence. And because of his glory and 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.439 excellence, he has given us great and precious 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:33.919 promises. Amen. These are the promises. Listen, 00:02:34.219 --> 00:02:37.219 what are the promise? The promise enable you 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:42.240 to share what? His divine nature. The promises 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.800 of God enable each one of us to share in God's 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:50.289 divine nature. Did you know? This is what's available 00:02:50.289 --> 00:02:53.849 to you. God's not holding out on you. This is 00:02:53.849 --> 00:02:56.789 what he wants for his children, each one of us. 00:02:57.669 --> 00:03:02.550 Amen? To share in his divine nature, being in 00:03:02.550 --> 00:03:06.169 Christ. Right? And what does that accomplish? 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:09.009 It accomplishes escape. How many of you need 00:03:09.009 --> 00:03:13.430 escape sometimes? Escape from what? The world's 00:03:13.430 --> 00:03:17.949 corruption caused by human desires. As we've 00:03:17.949 --> 00:03:20.990 talked about many times, the corruption in the 00:03:20.990 --> 00:03:25.050 world is all based on a lack of self -control. 00:03:25.310 --> 00:03:27.889 That's its origin, was a lack of self -control 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:32.210 with Adam and Eve in the garden. Their lack to 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:35.669 submit to what God said. Them thinking that, 00:03:35.710 --> 00:03:38.069 oh, I know better and I'll just choose whatever 00:03:38.069 --> 00:03:39.909 I want to, right? Or I can gain a little more 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:45.919 knowledge. God's holding out on me, right? And 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.159 that caused all the corruption in the world that 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:51.560 we see. But when we take hold of the promises 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:56.240 of God, it promises us an escape from the world's 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.819 corruption. From the corruption of sin, we can 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:04.080 have an escape from it. Amen? Verse 5, in view 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.060 of all this, make every effort. Look to your 00:04:07.060 --> 00:04:08.780 neighbor and say, you got to make an effort. 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:13.139 Got to make an effort. It requires work on our 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:18.000 part. Amen? requires work on our part to what? 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:22.720 To respond to God's promises. And how do we respond 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:24.939 to God's promises? And how do we take hold of 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:30.459 them? By faith. And we're supposed to supplement, 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:32.879 listen to what it says, because it's talking 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.459 about faith. It says, supplement your faith with 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:40.579 a generous provision of moral excellence. What 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:43.000 is moral excellence? It's God's perfect standard, 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.610 right? of right and wrong, his moral excellence. 00:04:45.769 --> 00:04:48.050 It's not based upon our understanding, but it's 00:04:48.050 --> 00:04:51.990 based upon his being and who he is. Moral excellence. 00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:58.329 And moral excellence with knowledge. And knowledge 00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:03.790 with self -control. Because you have to have 00:05:03.790 --> 00:05:06.569 self -control, listen, you have to have self 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:12.420 -control to hold on to what you believe. You 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.720 have to have self -control to make an effort 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:18.639 towards working towards his moral excellence, 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:22.060 right? It requires self -control on your part 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:25.980 to look more and more like Christ. It requires 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:31.899 effort. Knowledge with self -control, self -control 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:35.920 with patient endurance. And patient endurance 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:39.259 with godliness. And godliness with brotherly 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:41.779 affection. Affection for those around us, right? 00:05:41.819 --> 00:05:45.740 Our brothers and sisters in Christ. And then 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:49.019 affection and love for what? Everyone. Everyone 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:52.939 we come in contact with. Amen? Verse 8. The more 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:56.660 you grow like this, listen, the more what? Productive 00:05:56.660 --> 00:06:00.740 and useful you will be in your knowledge of our 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:04.120 Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone say productive. Everyone 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:08.160 say useful. Useful. So the Bible teaches there, 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:10.199 like we learned last week, to supplement our 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.560 faith with a generous provision of self -control. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.120 And the word self -control used throughout the 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.180 New Testament is this word, is encrateia. It 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:24.660 means in the sphere of dominion and mastery. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:28.639 So it's a dominion within. It's control over 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.980 our actions, our thoughts, and our feelings. 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:35.860 When we come into a relationship with Christ, 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:39.079 our spirit is made new unto him and made alive 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:47.300 unto him, right? But our bodies, right? Our bodies, 00:06:47.339 --> 00:06:50.879 our flesh is still the same. You know, that requires 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:54.360 our part. And our soul, our mind, will, and emotions 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:58.100 have to be renewed and made in line and put in 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:07.459 alignment to God's will. and God's word. First 00:07:07.459 --> 00:07:10.699 Corinthians 9, 24 through 27. We also read this 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:13.000 one last week. I love this. It says, don't you 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.600 realize that in a race, everyone runs, but only 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:20.939 one person gets the prize. So run to win, run 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:25.379 to win. We're supposed to run this race of life 00:07:25.379 --> 00:07:29.100 to win. It's not enough. Like the world says, 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.829 well, as long as you play the game, It doesn't 00:07:31.829 --> 00:07:36.910 matter if you win or lose. Uh -uh. That's not 00:07:36.910 --> 00:07:41.769 a biblical mindset. In God, we're called and 00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:44.470 we're commanded to have victory. We're supposed 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:47.750 to play and run every race that we're in. We're 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:51.110 supposed to live in a continual victory parade 00:07:51.110 --> 00:07:55.529 of God has won. We win because we're in him. 00:07:55.569 --> 00:08:04.300 Amen? So we run to win. All athletes are disciplined. 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:06.980 Same word here, self -control. The same word 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:10.420 used for self -control. All athletes are disciplined, 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.079 exercise self -control in their training. And 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.740 they do it to win a prize that will fade away. 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:22.480 But we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:33.169 purpose. I run with purpose every step. I'm not 00:08:33.169 --> 00:08:36.830 just shadow boxing. And I discipline my body. 00:08:37.350 --> 00:08:39.549 Paul's saying I put my body under submission, 00:08:39.769 --> 00:08:42.470 right? I have control over it. I have self -control 00:08:42.470 --> 00:08:46.070 over my body. He's like, I discipline my body 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:49.350 like an athlete, training it to do what it should 00:08:49.350 --> 00:08:54.210 do, right? In line with God's word, in line with 00:08:54.210 --> 00:08:58.149 his will and his way. And as we learned, self 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:00.889 -control is an essential to living with purpose 00:09:00.889 --> 00:09:04.370 and living with victory. We got to have self 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:08.909 -control. Now more than ever, we got to live 00:09:08.909 --> 00:09:14.009 in self -control. This is the indicator. Self 00:09:14.009 --> 00:09:17.409 -control is actually an indicator of being a 00:09:17.409 --> 00:09:21.110 Christian. It's a fruit of the Holy Spirit. As 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:23.669 we learned last week, Galatians 5, 22 through 00:09:23.669 --> 00:09:26.750 23. A lot of people, we read all these other 00:09:26.750 --> 00:09:28.990 ones, but then we kind of go, oh, self -control, 00:09:29.149 --> 00:09:31.250 it's just some of this, you know, it's at the 00:09:31.250 --> 00:09:34.769 end, right? Kind of save the best to last, I 00:09:34.769 --> 00:09:39.250 like to say. But listen, the Holy Spirit produces 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:44.190 this kind of fruit in our lives. Love, joy, peace, 00:09:44.450 --> 00:09:48.950 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 00:09:49.169 --> 00:09:55.440 and self -control. So the fruit of the Holy Spirit, 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:58.279 what the Spirit produces in our lives and helps 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:03.320 us with is self -control. Self -control then 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:08.340 proceeds out from one within oneself, but it's 00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:13.679 not by oneself, right? It's not by yourself. 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:18.379 You're not alone. You have a helper, but it requires 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:22.220 effort on your part. He can't help you if you're 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:25.120 not doing anything. Right? He's supposed to come 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:28.980 alongside you and lift you and help you accomplish 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:33.360 these things. Because the world talks a lot about 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.559 self -control and the mastery of itself. And 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:40.100 those are all good things, but self -control 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:45.100 is a concept given to us by God. And each one 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:47.720 of us are created with the capacity to control 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:56.850 ourselves, to make a choice. Right? Something 00:10:56.850 --> 00:11:00.309 supernatural can happen in the life of a Christian. 00:11:01.370 --> 00:11:04.529 Because it's not just all about ourselves anymore. 00:11:06.529 --> 00:11:10.450 It's not just all about self -help anymore. But 00:11:10.450 --> 00:11:12.750 it's about controlling our bodies, submitting 00:11:12.750 --> 00:11:17.009 our bodies to his will. For godly purposes in 00:11:17.009 --> 00:11:20.710 the earth. To accomplish things greater than 00:11:20.710 --> 00:11:23.970 my own muscles can. To accomplish what my own 00:11:23.970 --> 00:11:28.370 voice cannot. Way beyond my ability, way beyond 00:11:28.370 --> 00:11:31.889 our talent, we can reach out and do things, amen, 00:11:31.950 --> 00:11:35.570 by the power of the Holy Spirit for his kingdom. 00:11:36.950 --> 00:11:40.789 Because that's what we're called to do. Do you 00:11:40.789 --> 00:11:43.029 realize the Christian life? You're not just called 00:11:43.029 --> 00:11:45.009 to come to church every Sunday morning. That's 00:11:45.009 --> 00:11:47.230 not the pinnacle of your Christian experience. 00:11:49.070 --> 00:11:52.029 If that's all that it is for you, of course you're 00:11:52.029 --> 00:11:53.750 going to be let down. Of course you're going 00:11:53.750 --> 00:12:02.570 to be miserable. So much more. True mastery from 00:12:02.570 --> 00:12:06.029 within can only be accomplished, listen, by the 00:12:06.029 --> 00:12:09.129 power of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:12:11.230 --> 00:12:14.750 And we learned, you know, not everything in your 00:12:14.750 --> 00:12:18.149 life is a direct consequence from your actions, 00:12:18.190 --> 00:12:20.929 thoughts, and your words. Some people, sometimes 00:12:20.929 --> 00:12:23.509 you find yourself in situations that are beyond 00:12:23.509 --> 00:12:29.490 your control. Right? But you got to realize that, 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.720 You can't control everything around you. You 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.500 can't control the situation that you're in. Not 00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:43.779 always. Some situations are. But you can't control 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:48.659 everything and everyone around you. But you can 00:12:48.659 --> 00:12:54.620 control yourself. Amen? And as we learned last 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.200 week, self -control is not just about... abstaining 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:02.220 from excess, from the excesses of this world, 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:04.820 right? It's not just abstaining from excess, 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:09.179 but what Scripture talks about, it involves a 00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:13.279 positive mastery and a direction of one's energies. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:15.779 Remember that purpose, a direction of one's energies 00:13:15.779 --> 00:13:21.139 and desires towards godly purposes. And we see 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:24.340 this all throughout the Bible. So many great 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:28.570 examples of men and women Who have this great 00:13:28.570 --> 00:13:31.450 self -control and they do great things for God 00:13:31.450 --> 00:13:36.750 because they're useful to God. And we have to 00:13:36.750 --> 00:13:39.370 operate in the fruit of the Spirit to be useful 00:13:39.370 --> 00:13:45.450 to Him. One of these great characters, and this 00:13:45.450 --> 00:13:48.350 is what we're talking about today, one of these 00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:51.889 great characters who just had a great self -control. 00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:57.090 I like to say big self -control. Had huge self 00:13:57.090 --> 00:14:00.750 -control. And I want to give you a little homework 00:14:00.750 --> 00:14:05.850 this week, if you don't mind. A little extracurricular 00:14:05.850 --> 00:14:10.190 activity to have a little more self -control, 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:13.570 right? To scroll less and read the book of Daniel. 00:14:15.289 --> 00:14:17.809 Get off of social media and just read the book 00:14:17.809 --> 00:14:20.429 of Daniel. It's only 12 chapters. Just do that 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:25.860 for me. Through the lens of self -control. and 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:28.759 how he exhibited self -control, and how that 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:33.419 really was a key factor in the trajectory of 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:37.500 his whole life. So today we're going to kind 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:41.940 of look at very quickly some of these highlights. 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:44.279 It'll be like a highlight reel. We're going to 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:46.720 bounce through the book of Daniel and look at 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:50.279 some of the things that make him so special and 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:55.250 so unique. historical context here, we're looking 00:14:55.250 --> 00:14:58.730 in Daniel chapter 1. King Nebuchadnezzar, he 00:14:58.730 --> 00:15:01.870 overtakes Jerusalem, and he gives orders to bring 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:04.669 young men from Judah's royal family to Babylon 00:15:04.669 --> 00:15:10.850 to serve in his palace. And in verse 4, Nebuchadnezzar 00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:13.889 says, select only strong, healthy, good -looking 00:15:13.889 --> 00:15:16.970 young men, well -versed in every branch of learning, 00:15:17.190 --> 00:15:20.809 gifted with knowledge and good judgment. It just 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:23.470 goes to show you that you know, if you're strong, 00:15:23.509 --> 00:15:25.330 healthy, and good looking, you can go far in 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:29.549 life. I should know. No, I'm just kidding. I'm 00:15:29.549 --> 00:15:32.490 kidding. Some of you, I just woke you up. Some 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:34.429 of you were asleep. I just had to. I'm sorry. 00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:40.210 Back to it. I'm just kidding. You got to know. 00:15:40.289 --> 00:15:43.759 It's anyways. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:46.799 Azar were four of the young men chosen. Each 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.580 were given a Babylonian name, and they were to 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:52.379 be trained for three years and given the best 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:57.379 education in the king's food and wine. But listen 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:01.879 to this. But Daniel, in verse 8, Daniel was determined. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:07.200 I like that word. He was determined not to defile 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.730 himself. by eating the food and wine given to 00:16:10.730 --> 00:16:15.570 them by the king. He was determined not to defile 00:16:15.570 --> 00:16:20.610 himself. What are some possible reasons? Well, 00:16:20.750 --> 00:16:24.070 in Exodus and Leviticus, we know that according 00:16:24.070 --> 00:16:28.309 to Jewish custom, you know, maybe the food may 00:16:28.309 --> 00:16:30.590 have been unclean according to their dietary 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:34.909 laws, right? Either in its content or its preparation. 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:37.759 Right? Because they couldn't eat certain foods, 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:40.559 but then if certain foods were prepared a certain 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:44.500 way, that would break the law that God had given 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:49.500 them. So maybe that was a reason. Maybe the food 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:52.460 had been sacrificed to idols. Maybe Daniel, while 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:55.600 he was there, he saw them sacrificing the food 00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:02.320 to Nebuchadnezzar's God in Babylon. Maybe those 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:05.779 have been the reasons. But he knew in his heart, 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:08.779 he knew in his heart that it would defile himself. 00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:12.200 Even the risk of defiling himself was so important 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:16.880 to him to follow God. But when you think about 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:20.039 this incident, I know this is like very familiar 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:23.099 story. So I'm just trying to like recap and get 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:28.559 us there. You know, Daniel, he's a captive. He's 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.559 in a foreign land, right? And he could have easily 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:35.109 justified just, eating the food, drinking the 00:17:35.109 --> 00:17:39.250 wine. That was what he was offered, right? No 00:17:39.250 --> 00:17:41.829 one would have known. No one would have known. 00:17:43.349 --> 00:17:46.789 They would never know, right? There were some 00:17:46.789 --> 00:17:50.910 other guys with him that he might have known, 00:17:51.029 --> 00:17:55.150 but like, would you blame Daniel? He could have 00:17:55.150 --> 00:17:57.569 justified it, right? Just out of cultural respect. 00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:01.049 How many of us in the same, we'd be like, well, 00:18:01.089 --> 00:18:03.599 you know. This is the king. This is his order. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:07.319 I'm in a new land. I want to be respectful. God 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:11.019 would want me to be respectful to their culture 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:13.140 and to their customs. I don't need to just come 00:18:13.140 --> 00:18:19.119 in and ripple the water, so to say, right? He 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:21.740 could have easily justified that just out of 00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:23.940 trying to be good, right? He could have justified 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:26.140 his actions. He could have just said, oh, it's 00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:33.650 good. We know from... Verse 10, that, you know, 00:18:33.650 --> 00:18:35.250 he could have justified it. He could have been 00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:38.829 like, you know, there's this huge potential for 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:41.869 risking the safety of his friends, the people 00:18:41.869 --> 00:18:44.609 who were with him, and the staff that were in 00:18:44.609 --> 00:18:48.430 prison. They said, look, we'll let you eat your 00:18:48.430 --> 00:18:51.170 own food, but if we do that and the king finds 00:18:51.170 --> 00:18:56.390 out, he'll have our heads. He'll kill us. Daniel 00:18:56.390 --> 00:18:58.069 could have said, do you think that's what God 00:18:58.069 --> 00:19:00.420 would really want? You know, potentially risking 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:05.319 the lives of my friends and the staff here? Nah, 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:08.339 you know. He could have just said, ah, it's just 00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:14.859 food. It's just food. God knows my heart. Come 00:19:14.859 --> 00:19:20.240 on now. Think about it. We do that in our own 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:22.859 lives all the time. When we face choices, we 00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:25.519 always like, look, we always want to compromise. 00:19:26.490 --> 00:19:30.289 We always want to justify our actions to do. 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:33.009 We're constantly in this battle and this choice. 00:19:35.990 --> 00:19:42.910 You can talk yourself into doing anything. Come 00:19:42.910 --> 00:19:46.769 on now. You can make it seem right to your own 00:19:46.769 --> 00:19:50.809 eyes. But then the end is what? Death and destruction. 00:19:53.710 --> 00:19:56.869 Come on now. It's just food. God knows my heart. 00:20:00.029 --> 00:20:05.289 Moving on. But Daniel did not compromise what 00:20:05.289 --> 00:20:09.390 he believed, what, to fit in, to be accepted, 00:20:09.630 --> 00:20:14.369 or to even get ahead. He had self -control in 00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:21.029 his commitment to God. You know, in our own understanding, 00:20:21.130 --> 00:20:24.450 it would make a whole lot more sense for your 00:20:24.450 --> 00:20:28.759 longevity, in a foreign land for your safety 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.119 to just eat the food. It would make so much more 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:36.200 sense in our own understanding to just, what, 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:39.079 like, I'll do whatever. You know, if I want to 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:41.940 get ahead in this kingdom to have more influence 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:46.859 for the kingdom of God, right? Could have justified 00:20:46.859 --> 00:20:50.140 it like that. It makes so much more sense for 00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:53.930 him to compromise. But Daniel does not. He sticks 00:20:53.930 --> 00:20:58.009 to what he believes in, what he knows is right, 00:20:58.190 --> 00:21:02.730 his commitment to God. And what is the outcome 00:21:02.730 --> 00:21:06.730 in Daniel chapter 1? We see something special. 00:21:07.809 --> 00:21:12.609 We often look past it. But in 17 and 20, we see 00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:15.609 that Daniel and his friends receive revelation 00:21:15.609 --> 00:21:21.440 from God. They receive a special ability. The 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.240 Bible says Daniel receives an ability to interpret 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:30.200 visions and to interpret dreams. They receive, 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.440 they're wiser, they're stronger, 10 times wiser 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:36.839 and stronger than all the others who were captured. 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:39.880 Why is that? Because they ate some vegetables? 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:44.619 Come on. If I ate vegetables for 10 days, I'd 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:46.420 be on the floor. One time I was trying to be 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:51.299 a vegetarian. I had a biology professor at Liberty 00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:54.819 tell me, don't look at me like that. Don't look 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:58.019 at me with that tone of voice. I had a biology 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:00.799 professor at Liberty had me convinced that, you 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.339 know, everyone was supposed to be a vegetarian. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:06.819 I tried it three days. I made it. We were traveling 00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:10.119 out west. We were going across the country, you 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:13.519 know. And by the time we got to San Antonio, 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:17.509 Texas at that time, that's when I gave up. and 00:22:17.509 --> 00:22:19.529 I ate the biggest steak I've ever ate in my entire 00:22:19.529 --> 00:22:23.809 life. And I said, you know, forget it. And then 00:22:23.809 --> 00:22:26.529 we stopped at a barbecue restaurant named Rudy's, 00:22:26.529 --> 00:22:28.509 and they had a shirt, and it said, I didn't crawl 00:22:28.509 --> 00:22:30.490 all the way to the top of the food chain, just 00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:37.190 eat vegetables, you know? No offense if you're 00:22:37.190 --> 00:22:39.190 a vegetarian. I'll just throw that out there, 00:22:39.230 --> 00:22:42.450 but it probably was. Anyways, moving on. But 00:22:42.450 --> 00:22:44.329 they received revelation from God. They received 00:22:44.329 --> 00:22:47.549 what? Favor with the king, which seems so backwards, 00:22:47.809 --> 00:22:52.289 right? They should have been beheaded. They should 00:22:52.289 --> 00:22:55.390 have been killed, right? They had direct orders 00:22:55.390 --> 00:22:57.829 from the king, and they chose to disobey it. 00:22:58.069 --> 00:23:00.849 But they received favor. They received promotion 00:23:00.849 --> 00:23:05.789 and supernatural wisdom and judgment. Daniel 00:23:05.789 --> 00:23:09.140 chapter 3, we bounce forward. The Bible's then 00:23:09.140 --> 00:23:11.819 written in Aramaic, and we see that there's a 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:16.140 significant time pass here, and now Daniel's 00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:19.579 kind of off doing other things for the king because 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.660 he had been promoted, and his friends had been 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:24.619 promoted, and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 00:23:24.619 --> 00:23:27.460 their Babylonian names were called Shadrach, 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:30.099 Meshach, and Abednego, right? You might didn't 00:23:30.099 --> 00:23:33.740 realize their names earlier before because we 00:23:33.740 --> 00:23:35.680 always just call them by their Babylonian names, 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.940 right? But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:42.579 now in charge of all the affairs of the province 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:45.920 of Babylon. That's actually the last verse of 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:50.079 Daniel chapter 2. And then it leads us into another 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:53.039 very familiar story and another great example 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:57.579 of tremendous self -control. King Nebuchadnezzar 00:23:57.579 --> 00:24:02.819 now makes a gold statue 90 feet tall. And nine 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:05.400 feet wide. He invites provincial officials to 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:08.380 come and dedicate and worship it. And at the 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:11.140 sound of musical instruments, everyone was required 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:14.140 to bow before it. And when the music played, 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:18.799 everyone except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:25.480 bowed. Yeah. Everyone. All these important people. 00:24:26.579 --> 00:24:29.200 Everyone bowed except Shadrach, Meshach, and 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.019 Abednego. Imagine that. Imagine that in your 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:34.980 mind, like in your imagination. Just imagine 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:40.079 what that was like. Nebuchadnezzar then threatens 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:43.359 to kill them by throwing them into a furnace 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:46.079 if they don't serve his gods and worship his 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:53.359 statue. Verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:57.980 replied, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to 00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:01.240 defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:04.539 into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve 00:25:04.539 --> 00:25:08.319 is able to save us. He will rescue us from your 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:13.240 power, your majesty. I love it when people get 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:18.680 bold. It just gets real bold for God right here 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:22.579 and for what they believe, right? He will rescue 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:26.039 us from your power, but even if he doesn't, come 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:31.799 on. We want to make it clear to you, your majesty, 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:37.339 that we will never serve your gods or worship 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:41.579 the gold statue you have set up. We'll never 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:51.619 do it. What was the reason in Exodus God told 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:54.240 his people, says this, you must not have any 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:59.720 other God but me. You must not make for yourself 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:04.799 an idol of any kind or of an image of anything 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:08.920 in the heavens or on earth or in the sea. You 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:11.259 must not bow down to them. How more specific 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:14.259 can God be? You must not bow down to them or 00:26:14.259 --> 00:26:17.539 worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:21.519 jealous God who will not tolerate your affection 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:29.960 for any other gods. Reason two, I like to think 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:34.240 that they remembered back. Remember, Daniel's 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:39.039 the one who made the stand in prison. They were 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:42.440 there, and they followed Daniel's lead, but someone 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:47.480 had to choose not to compromise. Someone had 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:50.160 to get that conviction just bowl up in them. 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:53.160 And that was Daniel, but this time Shadrach, 00:26:53.259 --> 00:26:55.480 Meshach, and Abednego are standing there, and 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:58.839 I bet something went through their mind. I bet 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.799 they remember Daniel. I bet they remember his 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:06.859 stand for God. And just like, think of the trajectory 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:09.259 of their life and how that changed everything 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:13.740 for them. The outcome was so much different than 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:17.339 what they thought it could be. It was better 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:22.480 than anyone else who went through. Why? Because 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:26.920 God provided for them. God protected them. God 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:35.900 revealed things to them. God promoted them. I'm 00:27:35.900 --> 00:27:37.460 sure they remembered back and they were like, 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:41.440 you know, God provided and he protected us in 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:45.359 that moment. And they remembered that that had 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:48.589 happened. And that was able to strengthen them 00:27:48.589 --> 00:27:51.289 and help them have self -control in this moment 00:27:51.289 --> 00:27:55.470 when their life is on the line. But just like 00:27:55.470 --> 00:27:57.849 Daniel, they could have easily justified bowing. 00:27:59.890 --> 00:28:03.890 Could have said, you know, he's the king, right? 00:28:04.089 --> 00:28:07.970 He's given so much to us. He's done all these 00:28:07.970 --> 00:28:10.930 things, right? He's promoted us. He's let us 00:28:10.930 --> 00:28:14.269 live in his house and work in his beautiful kingdom. 00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:17.059 Could have just be out of just respect, right? 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:20.259 We know that he's made this little god or whatever, 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:23.019 you know. We know, but we'll just show him some 00:28:23.019 --> 00:28:26.839 respect, right? Could have justified it because 00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:29.380 their lives were at stake. They're going to be 00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:31.640 thrown into the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar gets 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:36.519 so mad, he heats it up ten times hotter. And 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:38.980 they could have just reasoned in their heads. 00:28:39.019 --> 00:28:40.339 They could have said, you know, God understands. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:45.259 I might be bowing on the outside, but I'm standing 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:50.440 on the inside. God knows my heart, right? But 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:55.440 they refused to compromise. They were willing 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:58.619 to die before doing what they knew was wrong. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:04.359 Fitting in, being accepted, and even getting 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:08.730 ahead had no control over them. If they wanted 00:29:08.730 --> 00:29:11.190 to move ahead and gain more influence, it would 00:29:11.190 --> 00:29:14.349 just seem like they would, you know, just follow 00:29:14.349 --> 00:29:18.069 along, just bow down. It's so simple. God knows 00:29:18.069 --> 00:29:22.650 your heart. No, that didn't have any control 00:29:22.650 --> 00:29:25.609 over them. They had self -control to align with 00:29:25.609 --> 00:29:29.309 God's word and what God desired. And what is 00:29:29.309 --> 00:29:34.430 their outcome? This is good. What is their outcome? 00:29:38.190 --> 00:29:41.410 If you're not familiar, I don't care if you are, 00:29:41.470 --> 00:29:46.609 I'm going to say it. Nebuchadnezzar, he gets 00:29:46.609 --> 00:29:48.589 so angry, he don't even give him another chance 00:29:48.589 --> 00:29:51.450 to bow. He just says immediately, throw him in, 00:29:51.490 --> 00:29:54.269 throw him into the furnace. He heated up hotter, 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:57.390 hotter, hotter. The guys who threw Shadrach, 00:29:57.490 --> 00:29:59.529 Meshach, and Abednego, they even died it was 00:29:59.529 --> 00:30:05.809 so hot. And all of a sudden, I'm sure Nebuchadnezzar 00:30:05.809 --> 00:30:08.410 feels real good. Not himself. I showed them. 00:30:09.730 --> 00:30:12.750 I showed them, Hebrew boys. Think that they can 00:30:12.750 --> 00:30:16.670 come into my house. And he's sitting back and 00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:18.170 everything's going on. And all of a sudden, what? 00:30:19.509 --> 00:30:28.970 What is that? There's people moving around. There's 00:30:28.970 --> 00:30:31.250 people moving around. And he goes over there 00:30:31.250 --> 00:30:33.410 and he's like, hey, go look. What's happening? 00:30:34.089 --> 00:30:35.730 There's not just three people moving around. 00:30:35.750 --> 00:30:43.569 There's four people moving around. It's good. 00:30:48.809 --> 00:30:53.190 All of a sudden, just imagine they're walking 00:30:53.190 --> 00:30:57.829 around in the fire. And they're like, I don't 00:30:57.829 --> 00:31:01.009 feel anything. Do you feel anything? I don't 00:31:01.009 --> 00:31:03.480 smell anything. You smell something? And then 00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:05.059 all of a sudden there's someone else walking 00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:17.960 around with them. If you want to see in greater 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:22.019 measure God's manifested presence in your life, 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:25.460 you're going to have to start making bold stands 00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:33.990 of self -control. Consistently. In self -control. 00:31:34.009 --> 00:31:36.569 Because what matters is what you do consistently, 00:31:36.730 --> 00:31:42.269 not what you do momentarily. Consistent, there's 00:31:42.269 --> 00:31:47.269 power in consistency. And we need to consistently 00:31:47.269 --> 00:31:51.230 submit our mind, our will and our emotions and 00:31:51.230 --> 00:31:59.730 our bodies to the glory of God. If we want to 00:31:59.730 --> 00:32:04.559 see his manifested presence with us, Not every 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:06.900 time you exhibit self -control, not to like, 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:09.900 you know, get mad over some little thing is all 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:11.640 of a sudden God's going to be there. But listen, 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:14.079 every time you do it, you better acknowledge 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:18.700 that the Holy Spirit helped you do it. Because 00:32:18.700 --> 00:32:23.559 God is with you. Amen? And he helps you. And 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:28.619 acknowledge him in all things. Amen? But for 00:32:28.619 --> 00:32:31.970 the boys, they had protection. The Bible says 00:32:31.970 --> 00:32:34.529 in verse 27, no hair was singed. They didn't 00:32:34.529 --> 00:32:37.309 even smell like smoke. Nebuchadnezzar calls them 00:32:37.309 --> 00:32:40.950 out. And then he claims to the whole nation. 00:32:41.009 --> 00:32:44.490 He's like, it turns a whole people to God. He 00:32:44.490 --> 00:32:50.930 says, this God is real. So it was a testimony. 00:32:51.930 --> 00:32:57.130 Their act of self -control was a testimony which 00:32:57.130 --> 00:33:07.920 furthered. The good news of God. But in our minds, 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:12.819 wouldn't bowing get them killed? And wouldn't 00:33:12.819 --> 00:33:14.960 bowing not get them killed? And wouldn't they 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:18.599 have more influence? Right? Wouldn't they have 00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:20.920 more influence if they just did what the king 00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:25.920 wanted? Wouldn't the promotion come quicker if 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:31.900 they just obeyed the king? No. Because Nebuchadnezzar 00:33:31.900 --> 00:33:35.160 was not their king. And they would only bow their 00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:41.000 knee to the king of kings. Amen? Then they're 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:46.680 promoted to higher positions. God's at work again. 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:54.380 But it required effort on their part to not compromise. 00:33:56.059 --> 00:34:01.839 Daniel 6. We're bouncing forward. Daniel's, we 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:05.500 get another look at Daniel. Two kings later, 00:34:05.660 --> 00:34:08.460 get this, two kings later after Nebuchadnezzar, 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:12.199 Daniel, or after not Nebuchadnezzar, but Belshazzar. 00:34:12.380 --> 00:34:16.440 So, and then Daniel is still in prominent position. 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:20.639 And because of, and it says this, if you go and 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:23.260 read chapter 6, it's because of Daniel's great 00:34:23.260 --> 00:34:27.480 ability that to interpret dreams and visions 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:30.639 and his handling skills, all these things, his 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:34.239 ability, King Darius chooses him to administrate 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:37.260 and supervise the high officers placed over the 00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:42.639 120 provinces. Darius even made plans in verse 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:48.340 3 for Daniel to be over the entire empire. And 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:52.780 this made a lot of people jealous. But they couldn't 00:34:52.780 --> 00:34:55.340 find, listen, they couldn't find a single thing 00:34:55.340 --> 00:35:01.300 to criticize or condemn. He had an excellent 00:35:01.300 --> 00:35:06.239 spirit, some translations say. He had a tremendous 00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:12.260 self -control. Daniel was, in verse 4 it says, 00:35:12.300 --> 00:35:16.239 he was faithful, he was always responsible, and 00:35:16.239 --> 00:35:23.010 he was completely trustworthy. Imagine if you 00:35:23.010 --> 00:35:26.070 could find an employee like that. I'd keep him 00:35:26.070 --> 00:35:30.829 around too, right? Imagine if that was the characteristics 00:35:30.829 --> 00:35:36.070 that people talked about us, right? When someone 00:35:36.070 --> 00:35:39.889 refers to us in our jobs, in our life, are we 00:35:39.889 --> 00:35:43.190 faithful? Are we responsible? Are we dependable? 00:35:43.250 --> 00:35:48.349 Are we completely trustworthy? That requires 00:35:48.349 --> 00:35:52.730 some self -control. Some concluded that Daniel's 00:35:52.730 --> 00:35:57.929 only fault was his religious practice. His only 00:35:57.929 --> 00:36:01.349 fault as a human being, his only fault was his 00:36:01.349 --> 00:36:03.610 religious practice. They knew he prayed three 00:36:03.610 --> 00:36:06.909 times a day, giving thanks to his God. And so 00:36:06.909 --> 00:36:08.889 the jealous officials, they rallied together 00:36:08.889 --> 00:36:12.210 against Daniel. They tricked King Darius to sign 00:36:12.210 --> 00:36:14.769 a law that banned anyone from praying to anything 00:36:14.769 --> 00:36:19.400 or anyone except King Darius. The consequence 00:36:19.400 --> 00:36:22.860 of not following this new law was execution by 00:36:22.860 --> 00:36:27.280 being thrown into a den of lions. Yeah, seems 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:31.619 a little intense and very specific. In verse 00:36:31.619 --> 00:36:33.719 10, I love this, but when Daniel learned that 00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:37.940 the law had been signed, when he learned that 00:36:37.940 --> 00:36:40.900 it had been signed, not before, he was aware 00:36:40.900 --> 00:36:45.699 of it. He was aware of it. When the law had been 00:36:45.699 --> 00:36:48.880 signed, what did he do? He went home. And he 00:36:48.880 --> 00:36:51.619 knelt down as usual in his upstairs room with 00:36:51.619 --> 00:36:55.980 his windows open towards Jerusalem. And he prayed 00:36:55.980 --> 00:36:59.039 three times a day just like he had always done. 00:37:01.239 --> 00:37:08.099 Come on. That's bold right there. He could have 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:12.400 easily just hid, prayed in secret, right? Think 00:37:12.400 --> 00:37:15.599 about it. Could have easily just, let me just 00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:20.530 keep the curtains closed today. He could have 00:37:20.530 --> 00:37:22.730 easily just continued about his normal business, 00:37:22.809 --> 00:37:26.150 and I'll just pray in my heart quietly unto God. 00:37:26.289 --> 00:37:31.889 I'll just pray. And praying three times a day 00:37:31.889 --> 00:37:35.369 is not a requirement. Like, a lot of people in 00:37:35.369 --> 00:37:38.670 the Bible did that, but I did some research. 00:37:38.710 --> 00:37:41.730 I couldn't find any. There's no requirement for 00:37:41.730 --> 00:37:43.949 someone to pray three times a day. There was 00:37:43.949 --> 00:37:48.199 no, like, law for them to, that God set up. So, 00:37:48.199 --> 00:37:49.579 you know, he could have just said, I'll just 00:37:49.579 --> 00:37:52.219 do it when I'm not around everybody and when 00:37:52.219 --> 00:37:56.119 it's more convenient. Not made such a scene. 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:03.920 But there was a reason why he continued on. Because 00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:08.860 for Daniel, it was not just a ritual. It's not 00:38:08.860 --> 00:38:13.139 just religious duty to do this. It was a testament 00:38:13.139 --> 00:38:19.590 of his deep faith and affection. A testament 00:38:19.590 --> 00:38:23.889 of his deep faith and his commitment and his 00:38:23.889 --> 00:38:31.269 affection towards God. And his reliance on God. 00:38:31.809 --> 00:38:35.010 And see, Daniel, he prioritizes his spiritual 00:38:35.010 --> 00:38:38.429 life and communion with God above anything else. 00:38:38.869 --> 00:38:41.090 No matter what's done to him, no matter what 00:38:41.090 --> 00:38:44.969 people say. No matter who's coming against him, 00:38:45.050 --> 00:38:47.769 he doesn't focus on all the jealous people trying 00:38:47.769 --> 00:38:50.809 to get after him. He doesn't focus on the approval 00:38:50.809 --> 00:38:57.050 of King Darius. He prioritizes his spiritual 00:38:57.050 --> 00:39:00.150 life, his communion with God, and this disciplined 00:39:00.150 --> 00:39:03.489 routine showcases a heart devoted to acknowledging 00:39:03.489 --> 00:39:11.719 God regardless of life's fluctuations. Regardless 00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:14.179 to the hostility around him, he said, I'm not 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:20.260 going to be moved. He did not compromise who 00:39:20.260 --> 00:39:23.760 he was. Listen, and he did not change his outward 00:39:23.760 --> 00:39:30.639 expression. So many of us, even in the comfortable 00:39:30.639 --> 00:39:33.780 environment of church, we don't even want to 00:39:33.780 --> 00:39:36.880 praise God like we would in our closet at home. 00:39:38.539 --> 00:39:42.320 Because we're so fearful of our outward expression, 00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:46.760 about raising our hands and shouting unto God. 00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:48.320 Some people look at it and they're like, what's 00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:54.980 going on? No, you should get excited. We should 00:39:54.980 --> 00:40:00.219 dance in the street. Daniel did it. But you know 00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:03.579 why we don't? Because we don't believe it. We 00:40:03.579 --> 00:40:07.130 don't have the, we don't. Maybe even if we think 00:40:07.130 --> 00:40:10.269 we believe it, our beliefs are always tied to 00:40:10.269 --> 00:40:12.969 our actions. And what we really do, I'm getting 00:40:12.969 --> 00:40:15.510 ahead of myself, but what we do in this life 00:40:15.510 --> 00:40:18.250 is really a representation of what we genuinely 00:40:18.250 --> 00:40:25.130 believe. You can't think one thing and believe 00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:28.510 deep down, believe one thing and do something 00:40:28.510 --> 00:40:36.820 that you don't believe in. Daniel, he didn't 00:40:36.820 --> 00:40:39.119 change his outward expression or time with God 00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:42.300 to fit in, be accepted, get ahead. What happens? 00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:45.239 They take him, they throw him into the lion's 00:40:45.239 --> 00:40:52.159 den. And again, the Bible says, the angel of 00:40:52.159 --> 00:41:01.199 the Lord. Shut the lion's mouth. God's manifested 00:41:01.199 --> 00:41:04.360 presence is all of a sudden there. He's sitting 00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:08.579 right beside Daniel in the worst of places. Come 00:41:08.579 --> 00:41:15.860 on. And what happens? God delivers him out. If 00:41:15.860 --> 00:41:17.960 you want some deliverance over some things that 00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:20.840 have control over you, I don't care the worst 00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:23.639 circumstance you can possibly be in. Guess what? 00:41:24.059 --> 00:41:26.719 if you have some self -control, if you do not 00:41:26.719 --> 00:41:29.280 compromise what you believe, get this, come on, 00:41:29.300 --> 00:41:32.519 God will be with you. The Holy Spirit will empower 00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:46.539 you and he will deliver you out. Come on. Protection, 00:41:46.659 --> 00:41:53.599 not even a scratch. That's the kind of good father 00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:58.039 we have, amen? Protection. Not even a scratch. 00:41:58.739 --> 00:42:01.719 I like to say that there's no consequences, right? 00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:06.579 Not even remembrance of it. He couldn't even 00:42:06.579 --> 00:42:08.679 look back another day and be like, I was thrown 00:42:08.679 --> 00:42:10.239 into the furnace. No, he would just say, oh, 00:42:10.300 --> 00:42:15.960 God is so good. There's no scar, right? There's 00:42:15.960 --> 00:42:18.340 not even a scar of past memory. He's just thrown 00:42:18.340 --> 00:42:24.789 away. It's washed away. In this time, Darius 00:42:24.789 --> 00:42:28.769 declared the whole nation to turn to the living 00:42:28.769 --> 00:42:34.570 God. He said everyone must worship Daniel's God. 00:42:34.730 --> 00:42:40.710 He is the one true God. And Daniel, because of 00:42:40.710 --> 00:42:42.909 this great self -control, he prospers during 00:42:42.909 --> 00:42:46.449 the reign of Darius and his successor Cyrus. 00:42:47.849 --> 00:42:52.039 He outlives four kings. and stays in prominent 00:42:52.039 --> 00:43:01.539 position. Amen. And to conclude, I say all that 00:43:01.539 --> 00:43:04.920 to say, you know, we all face opportunities to 00:43:04.920 --> 00:43:08.960 compromise our beliefs each and every day, whether 00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:11.079 they're small things, whether they're big things. 00:43:11.900 --> 00:43:15.340 We might not be, like, attempted to be beheaded 00:43:15.340 --> 00:43:21.869 this afternoon for, you know, whatever. But there's 00:43:21.869 --> 00:43:26.170 people around the world who are. And we shouldn't 00:43:26.170 --> 00:43:30.869 take that lightly. Here in our comfort, sometimes 00:43:30.869 --> 00:43:38.750 we become lazy. We become complacent. And we 00:43:38.750 --> 00:43:43.710 justify every decision that we can for our convenience 00:43:43.710 --> 00:43:51.039 instead of our beliefs. We act, like I said earlier, 00:43:51.159 --> 00:43:54.760 we act based on our beliefs. What we do, listen, 00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:57.960 what you do if you're not happy, like what you 00:43:57.960 --> 00:44:00.840 do in this life comes from a place of your belief. 00:44:02.059 --> 00:44:05.260 If you look at your life and you're like, well, 00:44:05.280 --> 00:44:08.000 why did I, you know, I made that bad decision. 00:44:08.280 --> 00:44:12.599 Well, you need to look inward and say, God, what 00:44:12.599 --> 00:44:19.829 am I believing? Where's my heart at? When we 00:44:19.829 --> 00:44:23.090 disobey God, when we compromise what we know 00:44:23.090 --> 00:44:28.130 is right, there's a lot of people who don't know. 00:44:28.690 --> 00:44:33.969 But as Christians, we should know. There's no 00:44:33.969 --> 00:44:38.889 excuse. It's according to the light in which 00:44:38.889 --> 00:44:41.590 is inside you, what God has revealed to you, 00:44:41.690 --> 00:44:45.809 and you act upon that or choose not to. It's 00:44:45.809 --> 00:44:50.039 your decision. And your affection determines 00:44:50.039 --> 00:44:52.880 what decision you make and what is most valuable 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:58.260 and what's most important. Is obedience to God 00:44:58.260 --> 00:45:02.199 and His Word, is self -control, you know, my 00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:08.460 body, my health, my mind? Is that, am I taking 00:45:08.460 --> 00:45:12.019 those things captive and placing them under submission 00:45:12.019 --> 00:45:17.739 to what I know is right? Or am I just living 00:45:17.739 --> 00:45:21.820 life however it's easy, however it feels? Am 00:45:21.820 --> 00:45:24.380 I letting my mind, will, emotions in my body 00:45:24.380 --> 00:45:28.139 control me? Or am I controlling my mind, will, 00:45:28.159 --> 00:45:32.280 emotions in my body and yielding them to the 00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:39.039 Spirit? It's easy to justify doing what you know 00:45:39.039 --> 00:45:44.820 is wrong. The enemy might tell you those lies. 00:45:44.900 --> 00:45:48.719 He might tempt you, but it's your decision. Whose 00:45:48.719 --> 00:45:52.059 word's more important to you? What's the value? 00:45:55.679 --> 00:45:59.199 Is the value getting ahead? Is that the most 00:45:59.199 --> 00:46:01.780 valuable thing in this life? Is the most valuable 00:46:01.780 --> 00:46:11.880 thing fitting in? Is it being accepted? So easy 00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:14.280 to talk yourself into doing something you know 00:46:14.280 --> 00:46:18.139 you should not do. And when we compromise what 00:46:18.139 --> 00:46:21.019 we believe to fit in, to be accepted, to get 00:46:21.019 --> 00:46:24.019 ahead, guess what? You'll always wind up doing 00:46:24.019 --> 00:46:26.980 the wrong thing and making the wrong decision. 00:46:31.019 --> 00:46:33.639 Whatever outcome you thought was going to take 00:46:33.639 --> 00:46:38.480 place, it might happen a little bit, but it'll 00:46:38.480 --> 00:46:42.780 just as easily be taken away from you. Whatever 00:46:42.780 --> 00:46:45.159 kind of advantage that you think you achieved 00:46:45.159 --> 00:46:48.099 by justifying and compromising your beliefs, 00:46:48.320 --> 00:46:53.179 guess what? It'll be taken away from you. We 00:46:53.179 --> 00:46:55.920 need self -control to not compromise our beliefs 00:46:55.920 --> 00:46:58.679 and to control our actions, just like Daniel 00:46:58.679 --> 00:47:03.039 and his friends did. And listen, and I'm done. 00:47:05.239 --> 00:47:08.559 Often people want, you know, they look to someone's 00:47:08.559 --> 00:47:13.230 talent or their ability. As the key factor in 00:47:13.230 --> 00:47:16.909 someone's trajectory in life. And the success 00:47:16.909 --> 00:47:19.050 that they will have and the promotion that they 00:47:19.050 --> 00:47:21.630 will achieve based upon their talent and their 00:47:21.630 --> 00:47:24.389 ability. But I know a lot of people, listen, 00:47:24.530 --> 00:47:27.250 I know a lot of people with a lot of talent and 00:47:27.250 --> 00:47:30.590 a lot of ability that are not, they're not using 00:47:30.590 --> 00:47:33.329 it for the kingdom. They're not able to, you 00:47:33.329 --> 00:47:37.239 know, it's like you can be the. The best actor 00:47:37.239 --> 00:47:39.519 on the face of the planet. But if you don't have 00:47:39.519 --> 00:47:42.380 self -control, listen, you'll kill yourself before 00:47:42.380 --> 00:47:50.679 the movie comes out. Just hard facts. That was 00:47:50.679 --> 00:47:53.159 a big lesson to me when I watched Batman the 00:47:53.159 --> 00:47:55.920 first time. Dark Knight, right? With Heath Ledger. 00:47:56.820 --> 00:47:59.579 He was a great actor. Some of the best acting 00:47:59.579 --> 00:48:04.300 I've ever seen. In a movie. But he didn't make 00:48:04.300 --> 00:48:10.030 it. He had no self -control. That's why self 00:48:10.030 --> 00:48:15.750 -control is the most important thing. You don't 00:48:15.750 --> 00:48:18.050 have to have the best talent and the best ability 00:48:18.050 --> 00:48:24.789 to be used in the kingdom of God. Talent and 00:48:24.789 --> 00:48:28.449 ability is great. God gives those things. But 00:48:28.449 --> 00:48:31.170 listen, you can have all those things and still 00:48:31.170 --> 00:48:34.349 face some kind of moral setback. and have some 00:48:34.349 --> 00:48:36.949 kind of moral thing. Just recently, a singer 00:48:36.949 --> 00:48:41.789 in Christian music, right? Very prominent figure. 00:48:42.969 --> 00:48:45.329 He had all these talents and abilities, but his 00:48:45.329 --> 00:48:49.030 self -control, now he's nothing. His whole legacy, 00:48:49.190 --> 00:48:52.269 everything that he remembers, it's all gone because 00:48:52.269 --> 00:48:59.480 of his lack of self -control. Self -control is 00:48:59.480 --> 00:49:02.099 more vital to your success and promotion and 00:49:02.099 --> 00:49:05.179 the trajectory of your life than anything else. 00:49:05.460 --> 00:49:09.920 And remember, remember, though, self, you have 00:49:09.920 --> 00:49:12.780 a helper. And if you will acknowledge the Holy 00:49:12.780 --> 00:49:19.119 Spirit, if you will acknowledge him in each why 00:49:19.119 --> 00:49:23.139 and fork in the road, if you will acknowledge 00:49:23.139 --> 00:49:27.750 him in those times of decision, He will empower 00:49:27.750 --> 00:49:31.230 you to have self -control. He will empower you 00:49:31.230 --> 00:49:33.670 to control your mind, your will, your emotions, 00:49:33.829 --> 00:49:37.909 and your flesh and its desires. He will help 00:49:37.909 --> 00:49:41.449 you. He will help you. But you have to make the 00:49:41.449 --> 00:49:45.110 choice. And today I just want to leave you and 00:49:45.110 --> 00:49:47.750 I just want to encourage you. Make the choice. 00:49:49.670 --> 00:49:53.070 Choose God and his word and knowing him more 00:49:53.070 --> 00:49:57.449 than anything else. Right? Don't compromise what 00:49:57.449 --> 00:50:00.369 you believe and what you know is right. Don't 00:50:00.369 --> 00:50:03.190 talk yourself into something this week, this 00:50:03.190 --> 00:50:06.150 month, this year that you know you should not 00:50:06.150 --> 00:50:09.610 do. If you have to justify it, it's typically 00:50:09.610 --> 00:50:13.650 the wrong decision. This online worship experience 00:50:13.650 --> 00:50:16.170 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:50:16.170 --> 00:50:17.190 of Elation Church.