1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:04,800 Welcome to the Islands Christian Church podcast. 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,480 Subscribe to hear a new episode every week. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:13,200 Thanks for joining us. Well, good morning Islands 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,160 Christian Church, good to be here this morning. 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,400 My name is Danny. In case we have not met, my wife 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,960 Michelle is over here to my left on your right side. 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,400 And it is a delight to be here. As as John mentioned, I do work 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,600 and serve as the campus pastor for Christian Campus Fellowship 9 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:34,560 at Georgia Southern University. And for quite a number of years, 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,280 Islands Christian has been one of our ministry and financial 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,680 partners. And so my first word to you this 12 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:45,160 morning is thank you. I am grateful all, all of the 13 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:49,640 students who are and have been a part of the ministry of CCF are 14 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,240 just grateful for your willingness to partner with and 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,920 invest in, in college ministry at Georgia Southern. 16 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,320 So thank you so much for that. I did want to give you a little 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,519 bit of a, of an insight and a taste and A flavor of what 18 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,400 college ministry looks like, especially if you're a little 19 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,600 bit far removed from maybe your college age days or you don't 20 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,320 have a lot of folks in that particular age group in your 21 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:18,160 life. Because it is a very unique 22 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,440 environment and a unique population. 23 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,120 These are all young adults who many of them are just beginning 24 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:29,520 to stretch their muscles of freedom for the very first time. 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,040 And, and yet it can be a very difficult and challenging time 26 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,360 as well. And that's the environment we 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,440 minister in and that's the population that we minister to. 28 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,960 And over the course of that time, we have had a laser focus 29 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,240 very much along the same kinds of focus that you would have 30 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,400 here at Islands Christian in terms of mission. 31 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,920 And that is connection. We want more than anything else 32 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,280 to help students get connected in a life changing relationship 33 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,040 with Jesus. And we want them to connect with 34 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,600 the community of faith that exists at CCF. 35 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:09,560 Because what we know about this generation, we call it Gen. 36 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,760 ZI suppose the younger generation from the 20s on down 37 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,680 is that they are experiencing higher levels of loneliness than 38 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,440 any generation before. And the COVID pandemic only made 39 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,920 that worse with isolation and so forth. 40 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,320 And then there's a desperation for so many people in that age 41 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,960 population. And what we want to do is we 42 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,080 want to proclaim loud and clear to these students that that they 43 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,000 are seeing, that we see them, that we want to get to know 44 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,920 them, and that we love them. But more than that, we want to 45 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:50,120 communicate that God sees them and that God knows them and that 46 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:54,640 Jesus loves them and help get them connected with Christ and 47 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:59,920 connected with our community. And over just the last 12 48 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,520 months, three of our CCF students have made the decision 49 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,280 to connect their lives with Jesus. 50 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,720 And they, we've gotten to celebrate with them as they've 51 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,360 all been baptized. And you know, we don't, we don't 52 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,000 have that. We have a pond that is in a 53 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,440 neighborhood behind. And so we go, we gather our our 54 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,840 troops and we March over to the neighborhood pond and we have 55 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,720 baptisms over there and it's amazing time of celebration. 56 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,440 Now I have been doing this for 30 years, 30 plus years. 57 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,800 We started in 1995. And one of the things with a 58 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,480 long tenure ministry like that is you notice that certain 59 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,400 things stay the same. And we'll talk a little bit 60 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,160 about that in the message. And certain things change. 61 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,960 Certainly culture changes, styles, fashion changes, 62 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,000 technology has changed. But one of the things that is 63 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,080 striking to me every so often is that language changes, 64 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,000 vocabulary changes, The, the, the saying that the kids today 65 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,480 are using changes. And one of the things that's 66 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,520 both interesting, challenging and exciting is to try to keep 67 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,160 up with that. And if you have anybody in your 68 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:13,080 world that is basically under the age of 28 years old, you 69 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,600 know this, you know that they have language that you sometimes 70 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,560 have to try to decode. And I don't want to go into too 71 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,640 many details, but there there are a few things that for an old 72 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:27,480 guy like me, it it's hard for me to hear our college student 73 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,240 population use certain words. One of my favorite examples is 74 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,800 the way that the 20 something crowd today uses the word 75 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,680 literally. I had a young lady just last 76 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,640 semester talking to me. We had a prayer breakfast and 77 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:49,520 she was talking about a big exam she had the next day and her 78 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:54,640 words were this test is literally going to kill me. 79 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:00,360 No, it's not. I can promise you it will not 80 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,160 literally kill you. It will figuratively kill you, 81 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:09,080 which is the opposite of literally killing you. 82 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,480 And there are countless examples of that. 83 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,720 But that's something that's going to come into play in our 84 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,320 story because we're going to take a look at the story of 85 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,200 Daniel. If you have a Bible and you want 86 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,200 to turn along, it's going to be in chapter 1 is where we're 87 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:27,120 going to spend most of our time. Got a few verses in other places 88 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,880 as well, but that's where we're going to spend most of our time. 89 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,160 I want to begin though, with a prayer and then we will launch 90 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,960 into our message. Godfather, I thank you for the 91 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,920 opportunity of gathering together with this church 92 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,200 community. So thankful for their for their 93 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,000 faith and their their partnership with CCF over the 94 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,360 years and just for the friendships that have been 95 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,600 formed. God, as we are gathered together 96 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,040 this morning, as we lift up our hearts and our minds and our 97 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:00,440 voices and worship before you as we gather around your table of 98 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,840 remembrance, God, as we enter into this message time, Lord, I, 99 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:10,240 I just pray that that you would forgive me of my sins and, and 100 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:16,120 God, I just ask that you would use me and, and allow me to be a 101 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,920 a clean vessel through which your message can be communicated 102 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,400 this morning. And I pray that in Jesus name, 103 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,080 Amen. So I'm going to talk a little 104 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:31,080 bit about the this idea of surviving and thriving in 105 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,440 Babylon. This is the the message of the 106 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,760 book of Daniel. And we're going to see it as we 107 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,160 explore the 1st chapter of Daniel a little bit. 108 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,280 But we live in a world that is sometimes not friendly and 109 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:49,320 oftentimes even hostile to people of genuine Christian 110 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:51,680 faith. Now I would not suggest in the 111 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,280 United States where we have all kinds of freedoms and 112 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:57,120 protections that we have it terribly bad. 113 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,560 There are certainly places, I know of people right now who are 114 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,200 ministering and missionaries in the Middle East where it's a 115 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:06,120 dangerous place to be a Christian. 116 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,320 Certain places in Africa, it is a dangerous place to be a 117 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,880 Christian. India, in many cases it is 118 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:16,520 dangerous to be a Christian and and their lives are very much in 119 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:18,440 danger. But here in the United States we 120 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:23,880 don't face that specific danger. We more face hostility from the 121 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,120 wider culture. And so I want to take some 122 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,960 lessons from Daniel that we see about not just surviving but 123 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:35,600 thriving in Babylon and apply them to our lives and situations 124 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,960 because I think it has a lot of application for our student 125 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,880 community and it has a lot of application for all of us 126 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,040 generally. Maybe you're involved in the 127 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,920 public school system, maybe you work at Gulfstream or, or some 128 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,000 other business or plan or factory around here, and maybe 129 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,960 you've experienced some challenge and hostility living 130 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:55,880 out and authentic Christian faith. 131 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:57,840 I want to start though, with Jesus. 132 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,240 Jesus is gathered together in this particular scene in John 133 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,280 chapter 16 and he is getting his disciples ready for the big 134 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,560 moment. In just a few short hours. 135 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,920 He is going to be arrested and he is going to go through a sham 136 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,800 trial and he is going to be crucified on a Roman cross and, 137 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,360 and he's going to die and he's going to be buried and he's 138 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,360 ultimately going to rise again on the third day. 139 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:25,360 And He is trying desperately to get his disciples prepared for 140 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:26,960 that. And He's in the upper room. 141 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,920 And it's a long discourse. It starts in John 13, and it 142 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:31,680 continues on for several chapters. 143 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:37,000 But I want to look at John 16 verse 33 after sharing all of 144 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,600 this stuff to help prepare him, Jesus says these words. 145 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:44,640 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace, 146 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:47,680 for in this world you will have trouble. 147 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,040 But take heart, I have overcome the world. 148 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,120 Jesus says in this world you will have trouble. 149 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,200 Jesus doesn't say might. Jesus doesn't say maybe, he says 150 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,040 will. The idea though is that that God 151 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,640 has peace available and we can take heart because Jesus is the 152 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:13,280 one who has overcome the world. And that is a valuable message 153 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,840 for his disciples 2000 years ago and a valuable message for us 154 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,080 today. Because sometimes we can, I 155 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,720 guess, think a little bit incorrectly about what me being 156 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,960 a follower of Jesus has to do with problems and adversity. 157 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,800 Sometimes we think that that maybe that's a ticket out of 158 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,000 difficulty, challenge or adversity. 159 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,840 And Jesus is like, no, no, no, you're going to have trouble, 160 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,560 but I'm going to be with you and I'm going to see you through 161 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:42,480 that. And in the midst of that, you 162 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:45,440 can have peace. The great Devotion writer Oswald 163 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,680 Chambers 100 years ago said these words. 164 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:50,880 He said the typical view of a Christian life is that it means 165 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:55,560 being delivered from adversity, but it actually means something 166 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:58,440 very different. It means being delivered in 167 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,800 adversity. In adversity. 168 00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:06,240 This is hard for us because we would much rather be delivered 169 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,480 from adversity. That's the way I pray. 170 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,400 Maybe that's the way you pray. But the reality is sometimes we 171 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,840 have no control over our circumstances. 172 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,400 Maybe limited control over the outcome, but we don't have 173 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,640 control of our circumstances. What we do have control over is 174 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,240 how we respond to our circumstances. 175 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,200 And that's the beauty of the story of Daniel in Daniel 176 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,520 chapter one. Let me set it up for you and 177 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:35,520 then we're going to jump in. In chapter 3. 178 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,960 We are told right at the very beginning that this happens 179 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,440 during the reign of a guy named King Jehoiakim in Judah. 180 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,400 Now the third year of his reign. So that allows us to place this 181 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:48,280 particular chapter on the timeline. 182 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,080 We can tell exactly when this is happening. 183 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:55,120 Joiakim's his third year as king in Judah was six O 5 BC. 184 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,080 So that's when this story is happening. 185 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,080 And the big bad bully on the block in that day was Babylon. 186 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,600 And the king of Babylon was a guy named Nebuchadnezzar. 187 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,640 And Nebuchadnezzar has gotten tired of all of the of the the 188 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:09,760 problems that he's been having with Judah. 189 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,160 And so he and his army come and they besiege the city of 190 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,680 Jerusalem and they capture it. But he has no interest at this 191 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:18,560 point in time in, in conquering it. 192 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,560 He just wants to punish the Jewish people. 193 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:26,040 And so he does that by by looting the temple, taking out 194 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,680 all kinds of valuable things. And he also takes a number of 195 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:32,960 people into captivity. And that's where we begin our 196 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,800 our reading in verse 3. Then the king, which is 197 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,840 Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, he ordered his chief 198 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:45,360 Ashpinazz to bring into the king service some of the Israelites 199 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,440 from the royal family and the nobility, young men who had no 200 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:53,080 physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind 201 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,720 of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and 202 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,200 qualified to serve in the King's palace. 203 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,280 So we see right here that he's collected a number of young guys 204 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,720 who are among the best of the best in Judah, and he's brought 205 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,040 them back to Babylon, 700 miles away. 206 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,040 And Daniel is one of these guys. And I would point out in verse 207 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,480 4, when it gives us that term, young men, that's a very 208 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:24,840 specific Hebrew term that does mean young men like teenage 209 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,600 boys. It refers to people who were not 210 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:33,160 of military fighting age. And so when we read this story, 211 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,760 we need to be thinking about all of these guys, the young nobles, 212 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:41,440 all of the young royal family members, they are teenage boys. 213 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:46,080 When they are taken, this entire story is filled with teenage 214 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,160 boys who are responding to challenges. 215 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,560 Get in your mind that Daniel is probably about 15 years old when 216 00:12:54,560 --> 00:13:00,160 this is happening, 15 years old. And so they find themselves in 217 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,000 the King's palace. He's going to be teaching them 218 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,160 the language in the literature of the Babylonians. 219 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:06,840 The king will assign them a daily amount of food and wine 220 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,680 from the King's table. They will be trained for three 221 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:14,120 years, and after that they will enter the King's ServiceNow 222 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:19,320 What's happening here is that from a worldly standpoint, this 223 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,480 king, Nebuchadnezzar, is engaging in a brilliant 224 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,600 strategy. He is taking all of the best 225 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,240 young guys from his enemy, and he's taking them completely out 226 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,960 of play by bringing them back to Babylon. 227 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:36,080 And not only that, he's going to train them up. 228 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,480 And when you see train, you should read that as 229 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,440 indoctrinate. He is going to indoctrinate 230 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:46,440 these young guys for three years so that they will be his loyal 231 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:50,000 servants. It's a pretty brilliant strategy 232 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,960 from a worldly standpoint. And among those who were chosen 233 00:13:54,120 --> 00:14:00,040 from the tribe of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and 234 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:03,840 Azariah, And the chief official gave them new names. 235 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,920 To Daniel, he gave the name Beltashazzar to Hananiah 236 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:13,800 Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abednego. 237 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:17,320 So right there we were introduced 4 people that you're 238 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:22,440 probably familiar with, Daniel and Hananiah, Michelle and 239 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,320 Azariah and their their names are all changed. 240 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,240 Those first set are there are there Hebrew names? 241 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:33,000 And, and even today, sometimes names have great meaning, but in 242 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,920 the Hebrew language and and culture, they had great 243 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,600 significance. The names meant something and 244 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,600 every one of these names means something. 245 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,880 And so it's very purposeful to re name these guys and let me 246 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:48,360 show you why. I'll just run through their 247 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:51,720 names real quick. Daniel, Daniel and some of you 248 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,760 may know this. Daniel means God is my judge. 249 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,920 Anytime you see a Hebrew name that ends in the with the 2 250 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,720 letters LEL, that's the Hebrew word for God. 251 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:06,040 And so Daniel means God is my judge and he is named 252 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,640 Beltashazzar, which in Babylonian means Bell, one of 253 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:15,480 their gods protect the throne. So that is his name change 254 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,560 Hananiah. Hananiah is the Lord shows 255 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,320 grace. And when you see that iah on the 256 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,760 end of a name, that's the the same phrasing as Yahweh. 257 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:27,080 So the Lord, the Lord shows grace. 258 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,720 He is he is given the name Shadrach, which means the 259 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:36,200 command of Aku, another one of their gods, Mishael. 260 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,920 He's got that El. So that means who is what God 261 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:41,240 is. In other words, there's no one 262 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,720 greater than God. And then his name is changed to 263 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:49,000 Meshach, who is what Aku is, is now his new name. 264 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,520 And then Azariah. Azariah the Lord helps becomes 265 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:56,640 Abednego, which is servant of Nebo, another one of the 266 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,280 Babylonian gods. Now the whole point of changing 267 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,880 the name is to work on changing the identity. 268 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:07,720 Now that's Daniel going to Belshazzar, Hananiah going to 269 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,120 Shadrack, Michelle going Meshach, and Azariah going to 270 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,720 Abednego. Curious question. 271 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,480 We know Daniel by his Hebrew name and we know the other three 272 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,680 guys most prominently by their Babylonian names, right? 273 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,320 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Why is that? 274 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,720 Don't know, got no idea. If you do, let me know. 275 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:32,360 I have no idea, but that is odd that we know Daniel by his 276 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,040 Hebrew name and the other three by their Babylonian names. 277 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,160 But that's what they're trying to do. 278 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:40,320 They're trying to take these young guys and they're just 279 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:45,080 trying to indoctrinate them and turn them into loyal servants of 280 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,440 Babylon this three-year period. But here's the key. 281 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:50,000 We're going to get into verse 8 right now. 282 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:55,120 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal 283 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,760 food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission 284 00:16:57,760 --> 00:16:59,720 not to defile himself in this way. 285 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,960 So God had caused this official to show favor and compassion to 286 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,800 Daniel. And the official told Daniel, I 287 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:10,240 am afraid of the Lord, my king, who is assigned your food and 288 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,640 drink. Why should he see you looking 289 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,599 worse than the other young men your age? 290 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:17,480 Then the king would have my head because of you. 291 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,560 Daniel then said to the guard on whom the chief official had 292 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,000 appointed over Daniel and Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah, 293 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,079 please test your servants for 10 days. 294 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:30,880 Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 295 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,480 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat 296 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,400 the royal food. And you treat your servants in 297 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,240 accordance with what you see. So the man agreed to this and 298 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:45,040 tested them for 10 days. So there's the, the, the diet 299 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,840 that Daniel is, is, is requesting of just vegetables 300 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,480 and water. And at the end of 10 days, they 301 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:53,080 that's Daniel and his three friends. 302 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,600 They looked healthier and better nourished than all of the other 303 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,120 young men who ate the royal food. 304 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,600 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they 305 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,800 were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 306 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,200 To these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding 307 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,480 of all kinds of literature and learning, and Daniel could 308 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,200 understand visions and dreams of all kinds. 309 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:18,000 And so at the end of the time set by the king to bring them 310 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,000 into his service, that's three years, the chief official 311 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,960 presents them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talks with them, and he 312 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:30,080 found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah. 313 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:34,040 So they entered the King's service in every matter of 314 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,240 wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them. 315 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:42,400 He found them 10 times better than all of the magicians and 316 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:48,360 enchanters in his whole Kingdom. And Daniel remained there until 317 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:53,480 the first year of King Cyrus. That last verse seems a bit of a 318 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,840 throwaway verse, but it's not. It lets us know that Daniel was 319 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,200 in Babylon until the first year of King Cyrus. 320 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,960 And we know when Cyrus and the Persians took over. 321 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,560 The stories actually recorded in the book of Daniel as well as in 322 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:11,600 the history books. That is in the year 539 BC 323 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,640 Remember, Daniel was taken into captivity at six O 5 BC. 324 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:22,080 That means Daniel is in Babylon for 66 years. 325 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:27,520 His entire adult life is spent in Babylon. 326 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:33,440 As far as we know, he never goes back to Jerusalem. 327 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,840 That's his home. That's where he was born and 328 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,760 raised and grew up, and he never goes back to Jerusalem. 329 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:46,680 So this is a beautiful story for any of us who feel like we live 330 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,320 in a time and a culture and an environment, a society that's 331 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,880 hostile and hard to remember that Daniel is in this place 332 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,320 called Babylon, which was certainly hostile and hard to 333 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:03,280 anyone who had faith in God. And he didn't just survive, he 334 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,880 thrived. And so I want to figure out what 335 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,280 we can do. How can we, when we're 336 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,080 confronted with difficult situations and circumstances, 337 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:17,240 not merely survive but thrive as followers of Jesus? 338 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,920 Well, I think there are at least three general ways that we 339 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,280 respond when we have adversity and and difficult situations. 340 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:30,480 The first way is to just give in to despair and and depression. 341 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,840 And that of course leads us down a very dark path and it can 342 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:41,760 ultimately lead into really, really bad decisions and bad 343 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,440 mental health outcomes. So we can give in to despair, 344 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,640 depression. Sometimes we can just go with 345 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,360 the flow. Hey, why, why should I rock the 346 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,480 boat? Yeah, I know it's hard to, to, 347 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,960 to stand firm for my faith and in these environments, but I'm 348 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:57,640 just going to kind of go with the flow. 349 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:01,120 Why not just go along with the, the, the tide of culture? 350 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,920 And then the third thing is to have the courage to act on your 351 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,720 convictions. And that's what Daniel does. 352 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:15,640 And again, keep in mind this is a 15 year old kid in a hostile 353 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:20,120 land, a hostile land. What's the key for Daniel to 354 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:21,720 have the courage to act on his convictions? 355 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,600 Well, I would say there's 3 words in Daniel chapter one 356 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,920 verse 8 that tell us all we need to know. 357 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:32,480 And those 3 words are but Daniel resolved. 358 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,840 If you understand that, you understand how he is able to 359 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:42,320 survive and thrive in Babylon. He this is, this is not just 360 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,520 accident, it's not just good luck for Daniel. 361 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,720 This is a determined act of the will. 362 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:54,320 He decides even as a young 15 year old Jewish boy that he is 363 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,080 not going to go with the flow of Babylonian culture, that he is 364 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,880 going to stand strong for God. So I want to just give you a few 365 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,680 takeaways as we as we kind of move through this story. 366 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,680 There are more lessons than this, but these are our five 367 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,520 that I would love to highlight and point out. 368 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,800 The first one is this. This story reminds us that this 369 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,600 world is not our home. This is not our home. 370 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:23,040 Babylon was not Daniel's home. Jesus makes this clear 371 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,600 throughout his ministry for those of us who are Christ 372 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,400 followers. He says in John 18 verse 36, My 373 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,880 Kingdom, He tells Pilate, is not of this world. 374 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,840 My Kingdom is from another place. 375 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:40,360 Yes, Pilate, I am a king, but my Kingdom is not of this world. 376 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:44,120 Paul reinforces this in Philippians chapter 3 verse 20. 377 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:48,000 He says our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a 378 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,840 savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 379 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,920 The way that Daniel understood his life in Babylon, the way 380 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,680 Jesus understood his Kingdom, the way Paul is sharing it and 381 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,600 understanding it in Philippians, it is to remind us that as 382 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,760 followers of Jesus and his people of faith, we are, we are 383 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:13,560 in Kingdom outposts, if you will, here in this, in this 384 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,920 world. But this world is not our home. 385 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:23,040 And the risk is to not get too comfortable, but it's easy to 386 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,600 get comfortable because there's a lot of stuff that's 387 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,680 comfortable out here. And we want a life that's 388 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,680 comfortable. And the world tells us that 389 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:31,800 that's what we want. And guess what? 390 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,720 That's what, that's what Nebuchadnezzar was offering all 391 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:39,200 of these guys, right? All the good food, all the good 392 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,840 accommodations they were getting, all the good stuff 393 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,160 offered to them so that they could get comfortable. 394 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,840 But we are a part of Kingdom outposts as followers of Jesus, 395 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,440 remembering that this world is not our home. 396 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,800 The second take away from Daniel's story here in chapter 1 397 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:05,280 is the importance of developing a strong foundation. 398 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,280 Developing a strong foundation. When I was in seminary, I had a 399 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,400 theology professor who is my favorite teacher, who always 400 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,280 said this dig your well deep. Dig your well deep. 401 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,200 And you got to do that ahead of time before you're in difficult 402 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,960 times. The idea behind a well, if 403 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,040 you've, if you have any knowledge, knowledge of that is 404 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,360 you want to get down deep, not just to where you barely touch 405 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,040 water, but you really want to get down deep so that when, so 406 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:36,000 that when things get dry and deserted and arid that you're 407 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,640 able to have that fresh water come up. 408 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,480 You want to dig your well deep, do that sort of thing. 409 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:45,240 We know the, we know the steps, we've just got to do them. 410 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,320 We've got to have consistent daily time of reading our Bible. 411 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,400 We got to be praying consistently. 412 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:52,880 We need to be worshiping together consistently, 413 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,960 fellowshipping together consistently, studying and 414 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,920 serving consistently, and doing all of those things to solidify 415 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:04,160 our foundation before we encounter these times of 416 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,920 difficulty. So the world is not your home. 417 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,800 Develop a strong foundation and #3 make sure you have your 418 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,440 people before you need your people. 419 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:20,480 Was Daniel alone here? And, and yes, I know God was 420 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,520 with him, but I'm talking about other people. 421 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:28,280 Yes, he was, he had those three guys, Hananiah, Michelle and 422 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,440 Azariah. And it's very clear they knew 423 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,880 each other. They were all nobles and royal 424 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,280 family members from way back in, in their time in Jerusalem. 425 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,120 So they grew up together and they forged and developed this 426 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,160 godly friendship together. And, and when, when they're 427 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,840 first experiencing the challenge in Babylon, what do they do? 428 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:53,320 They get together and they talk it out and they figure out what 429 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:57,320 they are going to do. How are they going to respond? 430 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:01,760 There's so much strength in community and you know this. 431 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:03,920 That's the value of getting in small groups. 432 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,040 That's the value of making connections in youth groups and 433 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,120 things like that. Just have your people in place 434 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:16,200 before you need your people. The fourth thing that I think we 435 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,880 can learn from this is that when it comes to matters of 436 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:24,760 character, we need to draw a bright red line in advance. 437 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,400 You know, whatever you want to think, big old fat magic marker 438 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,840 or whatever red. Draw that line in advance. 439 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:39,080 As far as these are lines I will not cross, non negotiable. 440 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:44,600 Now I have to confess I did a terrible job at this when I was 441 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,040 a college student. A lot of college students do. 442 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,400 But I did. Rather than during a bright red 443 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:57,480 line in advance, I drew my line with a pencil because what's the 444 00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,160 benefit of drawing a line with a pencil? 445 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,200 Well, you flip it over and you got an eraser. 446 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,880 You just sort of erase that line. 447 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,600 And the line doesn't mean a whole lot if it's if it's just 448 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,520 in, in pencil. And, and I see this all the time 449 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,760 I experience. I was desperate to fit in like 450 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,720 so many other people. And I was willing to to do a lot 451 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,360 of things even though I'd grown up in church, even though I'd 452 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:24,600 already given my life to Jesus, I made it. 453 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:29,120 I made compromises that I should not have made, did things that I 454 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:33,040 should not have done, interacted with with groups of people doing 455 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,360 things that just desperate to fit in. 456 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:42,080 And, and so when, when we read about Daniel and him drawing 457 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:47,880 that line and it comes to to the dietary stuff, don't just look 458 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,600 at it as well. These are those weird Jewish 459 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,440 dietary laws cropping up again. No, that's not it. 460 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,800 The whole reason Daniel understands why these dietary 461 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:02,760 laws are so important is that they mark God's people as 462 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,800 distinct. This is a way, when people 463 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,160 adhere to the dietary laws or any other laws in the Old 464 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:15,040 Testament, for God's blessing and favor to be poured out on 465 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:19,760 those people out of obedience because they have made the 466 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:24,400 decision to follow God's instructions. 467 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:29,840 They are marked and it is for their good, even if they don't 468 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,400 understand it. So don't think that this is just 469 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,200 a matter of, well, Daniel wants to just sort of follow some 470 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,480 silly Jewish dietary law. There's a reason for that. 471 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,160 It is all about character. And it's true in our college 472 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:49,040 ministry as well, whether it has to do with students and, and the 473 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:53,120 physical aspects of dating, relationships or thinking about 474 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,080 alcohol, thinking about whether you're going to be honest or 475 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:58,120 not. What about interactions with 476 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:02,240 social media and online behavior or friend groups or all of these 477 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,800 sorts of things. The lesson from Daniel as a 15 478 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:09,760 year old Jewish boy? Draw those lines of character. 479 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:15,840 Bright red lines in advance. Not negotiable. 480 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,760 See, here's the thing. Like Daniel, I would rather be 481 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:23,680 remembered for standing out than forgotten by blending in. 482 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,400 Remember, Daniel and his three friends are not the only Jewish 483 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,520 guys who are taken in captivity. There's a lot of other ones. 484 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:33,720 They're the ones who are eating the King's food. 485 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,960 They're the ones who are probably a little salty at 486 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:38,840 Daniel when their King's food got taken away and a bunch of 487 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,680 vegetables got thrown before them. 488 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,920 You know these guys. We don't know how many, as a 489 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,400 matter of fact. What do you know about the other 490 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,680 people that were taken into captivity along with Daniel and 491 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,040 his three friends? Nothing. 492 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,160 They made no mark. They fade. 493 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:02,040 They made no impact. But we know Daniel, and we know 494 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,720 his three friends when it comes to matters of character. 495 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,400 Draw that bright red line in advance. 496 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:11,080 And then finally, trust that God is always at work, even in the 497 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:16,280 hardest of circumstances. This is the most Pagan nation in 498 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,720 the ancient world, the Kingdom of Babylon. 499 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:24,400 If there is a truly godless society anywhere in the Old 500 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:30,640 Testament, it is Babylon and God is at work in and through all of 501 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,640 this. Just pay attention to the God 502 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,560 sightings in chapter 1 alone. In the second verse it says and 503 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:41,720 the Lord delivered Jehoiakim. It wasn't an accident because of 504 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:45,440 the disobedience of the of the king of Judah and the people. 505 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:49,840 God delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. 506 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:54,600 In verse 9, it says now God had caused the official, the royal 507 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:58,880 official, to show favor and compassion to Daniel. 508 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:04,440 And in verse 17, it says to these four young men, God gave 509 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:09,840 knowledge and understanding and all kinds of literature and 510 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:12,840 learning throughout this chapter. 511 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:18,800 No matter how dark it is, God is there and God is willing and 512 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:23,960 ready to work to through those who will allow it through those 513 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,240 who are willing to be used by God. 514 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,520 As a matter of fact, I would argue that it when culture is 515 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:36,480 the darkest, that's when having a bright light of character 516 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:40,480 shines the brightest. Daniel and his three friends 517 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:46,480 chose to be a light, and they were able to have an enormous 518 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:53,360 impact on the most powerful empire in the world at that day. 519 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,840 So the lesson is when the culture, when the world is the 520 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:03,720 darkest, whether it's at your job or in your community or on 521 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:07,480 the campus of Georgia Southern University or wherever, when the 522 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,600 culture and the world is the darkest, the need for the light 523 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:17,960 of God's love is the greatest. But the lesson is as a faithful 524 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:21,480 follower of Jesus, you and I, we can be that light. 525 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:26,720 The key is to learn from 15 year old Daniel in the Old Testament 526 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:33,640 and be resolved. But Daniel resolved. 527 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:38,960 That's it. Let us pray our God and our 528 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,880 Father, we we thank you for the story of Daniel in this in our 529 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,960 scriptures and and just as the the the wonderful and beautiful 530 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:56,160 reminder that this world is not our home and God that even in 531 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,400 the midst of difficulty and adversity and challenge that 532 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:04,160 that your desire is for us to experience peace for us to have 533 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:11,520 the opportunity to not merely survive, but to also thrive by 534 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,920 shining the bright light of Jesus into the darkest of 535 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,400 places. So God, rather than complaining 536 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:24,720 about this, let us be willing to be that light like Daniel and 537 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,560 his three friends. God help us to have the courage 538 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:32,200 to do that to be strong in our convictions and to be resolved 539 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:36,920 to be faithful followers of you. We pray that all in Jesus name, 540 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:37,760 Amen.