WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.039 Good morning, Awakening. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:25.120 My name is Roland, and I get to serve on our staff team. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:26.000 Thank you. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:51.039 And like you heard from Molly and Hannah earlier, we are in the middle of a series where we as a church are orienting ourselves towards the next generation. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:01:10.159 Like we said, last week was Protege Sunday, where we got to celebrate a group of young adults who invested a whole year into their leadership and to serve in high capacities at Awakening in a program that I love because I'm also a graduate as a pro or a graduate from that protege program. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:20.400 And next week, what we get to do is MoveUp Sunday, where we get to celebrate some big milestone grade transitions in the lives of our kids. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:31.439 And you probably know this already, but today is Youth Sunday, and I'm incredibly biased, and this is definitely my favorite part of this series that we're calling World Changers. 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.400 Why do we take three weeks every year to do this? 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:43.120 It's because here at Awakening, part of our dream is we want to be a strategic training center for the next generation of world changers. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:48.640 So that's that's why we take three weeks, we celebrate our proteges, our youth, and our kids every year. 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:56.560 But if you're anything like me, when we highlight our junior high or high school ministries, it kind of takes you back to when you were a teenager. 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:58.480 At least that's what happens for me. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:16.800 And I'm not gonna give away too many details, but to give you an idea, like when when I was a teenager, the thing to do, the thing that was going out actually was like white on white, studded belts, and what was coming in was like wearing gray cardigans and the super deep V-necks. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:18.080 I won't show you. 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.800 Right, that was the pinnacle of male fashion as a high school. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:24.240 I hope that gives you an idea. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.039 Um, or at least that's what it was in Ventura, where I grew up. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.680 It's a little beach town in Southern, or depends on who you ask, Southern or Central California. 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:39.919 Um, but we were grabbed, I was graduating high school, and some of my friends and I, we decided we wanted to ditch the beach and head for the mountains. 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:47.439 And we wanted to go on this camping trip that we would get to celebrate the end of our high school years on this like week-long adventure. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:55.039 Uh so what we did is we got my friends uh Toyota Sequoia because it could fit the most amount of us with as much stuff as we could. 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:58.879 And this isn't a Toyota commercial, don't worry, but they are nice. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:09.759 Um, and we got in the car and we headed on the road, and six hours later, I found myself uh in Yosemite with some of my good uh with some of my good buddies. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.280 And on the way there, we kind of started to divvy out responsibilities. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:18.639 And what my role was, my job was to get out and to pitch our tent. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:27.360 So we got there, uh, I pulled out our little pop-up tent from the car, and my friends, they started to work on the fire and unloading the rest of the car. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:29.919 And it took me all about like 15 minutes. 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:36.719 Really easy, got the poles together, put it up, found a nice spot, cleared it for us, and I set the tent up. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:44.159 And I like took a second, stepped back, admired my wonderful work, and then went to go help my friends because we were really hungry. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:46.400 We hadn't eaten the whole car ride there. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:57.039 Um, so in the middle of like chopping vegetables and boiling water to make some really gourmet top ramen, uh this it sounds like college, right? 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.199 We we got this like call from a stranger. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:05.680 Like this this this guy starts running up to us and trying to get our attention. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:12.560 And without even like having said a word as we looked over, we realized something was really wrong. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:13.120 Right? 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:15.199 There was a bear, there wasn't a bear. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:32.800 We looked over and we noticed that our tent was missing, and that our tent wasn't just missing, that the reason this guy was coming over to come tell us about what was going on was that our tent was actually upside down, like kind of nestled up against someone else's tent. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.480 And that was incredibly embarrassing. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:45.839 Because I realized, right, after we got the said sorry, was like, not squ- we're not trying to like do squatters rights and take your spot too, forgot to put some things down. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:54.399 I realized, I was super embarrassed, that I didn't like I didn't just forget to put the tent pegs into the tent. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.040 I didn't even know that was a thing I had to do. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:04:58.480 Right? 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:11.279 Because when I stepped back, admired my wonderful work, what I did was I was like, okay, in all of my extensive camping experience, as you can tell, I was like, all the tents that I've seen in my life, it looks the same. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:17.040 And I looked around at the other campsites and I was like, okay, our tent looks like I'm good, I'm great. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.319 It's actually this is the best tent I've ever seen. 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.160 So I left it and apparently I did it wrong. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:30.720 And as I've thought about this story and this morning for us, I I've realized something. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:37.279 That following Jesus can often feel like that tent I'll say I tried to pitch. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:38.160 Right? 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:43.519 When when the winds change, it's just you start to find out what you're really tethered to. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:55.040 And when it comes to following God, oftentimes we try to do stuff like uh emulate the people at church that are around us, uh, try to say the things that the pastors that we know, what they say. 00:05:55.279 --> 00:06:06.560 Maybe on social media we'll post a Bible verse or put it on our shoe because we think that's the way that we're supposed to look, or we'll carry our Bibles around or at least have it in our bag so when we open it, people know that we have a Bible. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:14.319 And we do all these things because we feel like that's what it's supposed to look like to be a follower of Jesus, right? 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.439 That's what it looks like to be a Christian, to follow God. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:30.319 But what happens is when push comes to shove, when the proverbial winds blow, we realize that we're not really tethered to anything, that we're not really grounded anywhere that's of significance, that it's all just for looks. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:36.959 And again, I I probably know this best when it comes to our students, right? 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:43.759 Well, when I talk to our teenagers, following God at school seems impossible. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.920 And if not impossible, then almost hostile even. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:58.319 You see, the the things, what it takes to like do well in school, to succeed, to fit in, uh, it's always like a moving target, right? 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:03.120 It's all it's always being it's always something to chase, and it's always different. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:09.600 Again, the winds of change fast and furious, blowing against uh blowing against our students, right? 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:36.480 But more than that, the the besides the moving target, things changing, not really knowing what it means to like do well as a junior higher or high schooler to have success or to thrive, is more than that, there's also uh the desire to follow God, and you have all these things, or you have people who are willing to do evil and terrible things and yet fly the flag of Jesus, right? 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:47.920 So another thing that's difficult for our students to say, I want to follow God, but also how do I do that when it's associated with this caricature of what the church is or what it means to follow Jesus, right? 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:52.319 So what ends up happening is it feels like there's two things at odds, right? 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:54.000 Do I follow God? 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:58.879 Can I do that, or do I want to succeed, or do I want to do well, or do I want to fit in? 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:00.079 Whatever it is, right? 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:06.079 It feels like there's two things that are mutually exclusive, that they can't live in harmony. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:14.959 And the problem with that is that it's actually something that a lot of us can understand, right? 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:21.759 Following Jesus in our world isn't just incredibly difficult, it can even be the have be met with a lot of opposition. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:31.279 And what I've learned as a youth pastor is that the same problem our teenagers have is the same problem many of us grown adults have as well. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:31.759 Right? 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:34.559 We're all asking the same question. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:43.759 And that one question that we all ask is this is is it even possible to follow God in a hostile world? 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:45.600 Is it at all possible? 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:46.799 Can you really do it? 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:54.799 Do we really have a choice when it comes to uh following God in our schools, our workplaces, our sports teams, our businesses, and even our families? 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:55.360 Right? 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:10.399 Because we all know we look around, we see people cut corners, uh, make terrible or make unfair business deals, talk poorly about people behind their backs and cheat on tests, so on and so forth, and they actually seem to be doing well, right? 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.639 They seem to be like thriving. 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:15.120 So again, we're at odds. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.960 Can we really follow God uh in our world? 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.120 Do we really even have a choice? 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:27.519 And in the past couple months in Awakening Youth, what we've been doing is we've been studying the book of Daniel. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:42.399 And this book, many of you are probably familiar with, right, because Daniel is this really popular Sunday school character where we know him and his friends for being thrown into this fiery furnace and walking out, right, and surviving. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:46.639 Or being thrown in a lion's den and coming out unscathed. 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:52.960 All these incredible stories about just being met with danger and and walking away from it. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:12.159 But the reason we've realized as we've looked at this book, the reason that uh these teenagers find themselves in these predicaments time and time again, is because a common theme and the narrative of the book of Daniel is this that Daniel and his friends that they're faced with a decision. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:22.320 Are they going to compromise to the culture around them, or are they going to remain faithful to God in the midst of the adversity? 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:30.240 You see, this book is so important for our church today because daily we are faced with a similar question, right? 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:34.559 Are we going to compromise or are we going to remain faithful? 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.639 Is following God even possible in our world today? 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:56.320 So this morning, what we're going to do is we're going to look at this book, but we're going to go to the very beginning of the book and just look at chapter one together and see what is it that sets up Daniel and his friends to follow God in the midst of all the opposition, in the face of fire, in the face of lions. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:01.440 So if you've got your Bibles, we're going to be in Daniel chapter one, and we'll start in the very first verse. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.279 And if you don't, I'll read it for you. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:04.399 It says this. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:18.080 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchad uh, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, he came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:25.120 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand with some of the vessels of the house of God. 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.080 Let's pause there real quickly, right? 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:36.879 I think to really understand this incredible story that our youth ministry has spent a couple months in, uh, we got to really see what's going on. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:42.639 And already in these first two verses, you get the setting for what's gonna happen for the rest of the book. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:59.759 Uh, in these first two verses, we we re we learn that Daniel and his friends, that their story takes place when the Israelite kingdom, right, Jerusalem was conquered by the like big, bad, and most powerful empire called Babylon. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:10.399 And more than that, right, the king of the king of Babylon, or or the ruler, the president of this nation, whatever you, whatever is gonna help you understand what's going on, what does he do? 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:17.120 Right, he just conquered Jerusalem and now he has a new, he has, he has more power and decisions to make. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:26.799 And instead of just completely demolishing the city and destroying uh this group of people, he does something really interesting. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:35.519 What he does is he decides to take captive some of the best and the brightest Jews and and then bring them back into Babylon. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:45.600 And part of that crew of people that he decides to bring into Babylon and essentially make exiles is Daniel and his three friends. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:13:04.399 And what we learn in the next few verses, like three to seven, uh, it tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar, remember King of Babylon, the big bad empire, uh, wants them to start dressing like Babylonians, knowing the literature and poetry and all that of the Babylonians, and even taking on Babylonian names. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:08.240 And that's where some of you might be familiar with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abinnego. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:11.759 That's that's actually their uh Daniel's friend's Babylonian names. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.000 And it might seem innocent at first when you're reading this, right? 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:22.639 I I can imagine myself reading this for the first time and saying something like, oh, like, look at that King Nebuchadnezzar, what a stand-up guy. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:28.720 He just wants to give these kids a good education and clothe them and give them a cool nickname. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.360 Like that's what I do with my friends, right? 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:37.759 But what we really have to see is we we gotta really consider this story that's going on. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.559 Gotta read our Bibles a little bit more slowly. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:47.759 What happens here, this the situation that we find these four boys in is they are ripped from their home, right? 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:49.919 And taken into a foreign land. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:54.559 And they not only find themselves in this new culture, it's more than that. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:14:01.200 They're actually in a they now find themselves in a world that's uh vehemently like opposed to their way of life. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:08.399 That the Babylonians, they hate uh the very core of these of these four teenagers, it's their Jewish identity. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:24.399 You see, Babylon in the narrative of the Bible, in the entirety of scripture, uh Babylon it represents like the big, the empire that is evil and always opposed to God, to Yahweh, the key, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:32.960 So this culture, it wasn't just opposed, it was actually hostile to the way of life for Daniel and his friends. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:45.759 So now, right, the four boys and their Jewish identity and their desire to follow God, it's now challenged by the literal and overt hostility of the people around them. 00:14:46.159 --> 00:15:09.200 And in the most powerful nation, what they're doing uh is the uh is that they're not just being uh given these new things, they're actually uh being convinced or tempted to believe that the the real way of living a good life is to just indulge in the world's pleasures, is to take part, forget about God, forget about following Yahweh. 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:09.759 No. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:16.159 Wear these clothes, learn this language, take on a new name, enjoy these pleasures. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:17.919 That that's the real way to live life. 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.879 We want you to just forget about all that. 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:25.039 And doesn't this kind of sound familiar for some of us? 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.240 Doesn't this kind of ring a bell as we think about our lives? 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:40.240 At your desk, in the gym, on the internet, on social media, don't you get glimpses of when your desire to follow God is met with some kind of just incredulous look or some comment? 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.720 Like, that that's what you want to do with your life? 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:44.000 You want to follow God. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.360 What good is that? 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.120 Let me show you something better. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:48.960 The world around you, right? 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:57.039 But in this story, what we see, right, is that that the boys they actually go along with it, right? 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:12.240 They they take on new names, they're fine with that, they learn the language, they they they uh get to experience all these things, but where they draw the line, right, is when the king offers him food from his table. 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:13.360 Right? 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:24.720 Where essentially uh the the the it's funny because I I saw this when I was preparing for this, like this is probably the only time in history where teenage boys would turn down free food. 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:25.759 Right? 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:26.879 Like, why? 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:32.720 Like you're gonna say you're okay with a new name, but not the free Okay. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:34.000 Okay. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.480 But for these boys, right, they realize it it's actually more significant than just eating food. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:41.279 Right? 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:48.720 It actually is like shirking off the God that they cherish and love, who they know has saved them again and again and again. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:55.519 So with all that in mind, let's read the rest of uh let's read uh verses eight through fifteen together. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:01.519 And remember, so right when Daniel has made this decision not to eat the king's food is where we'll pick up. 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:03.759 This is verse eight. 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:10.799 But Daniel, he resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:17.359 Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs, or like a guard, right, to allow him not to defile himself. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:22.480 And God, he gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:34.799 And the chief said to Daniel, I fear my lord, the king, who assigned your food and and drink, for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths uh who are of your of your own age? 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:36.799 So you would endanger my head with the king. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:38.400 So what what is this guard saying? 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:42.559 He's like, if I do that, it's not just me letting you do whatever you want. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:50.000 It's basically treason if I decide to disobey my king's orders and and just let you change your diet. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:54.559 Like that's actually that would that would endanger me, is what the guards are saying. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:07.759 So then Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuch set aside over Daniel, Hananiah, Meshah, and Azariah, Test your servants for ten days, let us be given vegetables to eat and what and water to drink. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:15.599 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see. 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:16.319 So what does he see? 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.319 He say, let us try it. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:24.240 If if you're right, if we are obviously it's not working for us, then deal with us harshly. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:25.519 Do what you need to do. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:27.839 Verse 14. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:32.160 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:41.200 And at the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:45.759 So so what happened here, right? 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:47.599 Well what what did we just read? 00:18:47.920 --> 00:19:01.279 Daniel and his friends, they're faced with a decision to draw a line in the sand and to either abandon their commitments to God or to claim allegiance to King Nebuchadnezzar and to Babylon. 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.000 Do they remain faithful or do they turn? 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:12.799 And this decision made by this teenager Daniel is one that our students make every single day, right? 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:19.920 That our tech workers face, that our families face, that our parents face, that that that our church faces every day. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:21.920 Are we going to remain faithful? 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:25.440 And can we really follow God in our world? 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:30.000 And what we see from what we just read is Daniel says yes. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.839 Daniel says yes. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.759 And here, what I want to do is I just want to point out three things. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.119 Three things that we learned that Daniel does to do so. 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:44.079 Three things that set up Daniel and his friends to follow God in a hostile world. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:52.720 Uh the first thing that Daniel does is actually something that he has way before he even steps foot into Babylon, right? 00:19:53.039 --> 00:20:04.640 That this thing, uh this first thing is something that before they're even taken into exile, that they have uh from some context that we have, right? 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:11.279 The king said, Go take the ones of royalty and nobility who are smart and well read. 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:20.640 And for us, what what we know with that background in mind is that these boys that the king wants to take, they're actually really well learned. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:24.799 That they are actually really know Torah or their Hebrew Bibles. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:37.920 In other words, they really knew uh the wisdom and discernment of God that that they had spent their lives reading about about the God or about God from their scriptures. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.200 And the first thing, what is what's the first thing that they have? 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:43.839 It's that they had a firm foundation. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:44.400 Right? 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:53.680 They had a firm foundation, something that these students or these kids valued in their families, was to build a firm foundation and knowing what does it mean to actually follow God. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:57.119 It's to base their lives on the scripture that they had. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:13.119 And you know, in a world where we're just really thirsty for the newest thing, especially being in the Silicon Valley, um, and just wanting the newest phone or the newest shoes or whatever the newest technology, and I'll be the first to admit I'm at the front of the line for that. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.880 It's something pervasive in our culture where we just want the newest thing. 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:23.119 That that that that want and desire for something new, it actually seeps into our spirituality as well. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:23.519 Right? 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:32.160 We we go to our churches, we go to our small groups, and unknowingly, there the thing that we hunger and thirst for is something new, right? 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:36.960 Uh uh something new to learn, some new revelation, some fresh insight. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:38.559 That that's what we want. 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:44.240 But all the while we forsake and we forget and we ignore the basics, right? 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:45.920 The the foundation. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.079 It's kind of like that tent that I tried to pitch, right? 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:59.759 I could set it up, look at it, maybe put some string lights on it, make it really hip, find like a rain guard for the make pretend rain because it'll look cooler. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:06.240 But if doing all that doesn't matter if there's no foundation for it to lay on, right? 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:14.160 It doesn't matter because we all know that the firm foundation, what that means for a structure is it determines the rest of the building. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.960 And that's why we offer things like school of faith, right? 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:23.200 And classes on prayer and the basics of Christianity. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:31.039 And that's the reason why, in our awakening youth, we open our Bibles every week on a Tuesday night or a Sunday morning. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:31.920 Why? 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:43.519 Because we know that it is essential in following God in our world to have a firm foundation, to know what is it that God wants to say to us? 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:47.839 What is this narrative that He has for us to find ourselves in? 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:48.319 Right? 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:56.960 This foundation that needs to be soaked in the knowledge of who Jesus is, what the character of God is like, and how that affects every part of our life. 00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:01.279 And I love that because it actually illuminates the story further, right? 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:14.160 When we recognize that these four boys, they had a firm foundation, they knew what it meant to really follow God, we start to recognize that they were unafraid to engage in the Babylonian culture, right? 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:21.519 In the thought patterns and the scholarship of the very nation that was opposed to them, they were they were willing to be in close proximity. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:27.440 They could wrestle with these ideas instead of being afraid of them or having to hide from them. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:28.960 But why though, right? 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:31.200 Why could they go to their universities and do all that? 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:31.839 Why? 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:38.799 Is because the wisdom and discernment that comes from the creator of the universe, they knew they had that in their back pocket. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:46.240 It's in the teaching of Jesus that we can know where do we draw the line. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:54.880 And the reason, right, that that Daniel draws the line at food is kind of interesting. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.400 It's not simply because uh he didn't like wine or didn't want to eat meat. 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:05.759 It's not like at youth when we have pizza for the like 50th time where you don't want to eat it. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:07.680 It's none of those. 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:08.559 Right? 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:16.000 It's not even about like maybe being like ceremony unclean or breaking some Jewish tradition or law. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:26.559 Because we we read further on in the book of Daniel where the author tells us that Daniel is willing to eat wine, or eat wine, drink wine, drink wine and eat meat. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:26.960 Right? 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:31.759 So it wasn't it wasn't about breaking a law, it wasn't about preference or anything like that. 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:34.240 Uh it's something else. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:46.000 One of my professors loves to say this, and I think it's really important for this moment is remember when we open our Bibles, when we open scripture, what we're doing is we're having a cross-cultural experience. 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:46.640 Right? 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:56.319 We have to remember that this book, it wasn't written uh for our target audience of our junior hires who have a colorful language, let me say. 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:56.960 Right? 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:04.640 The perspective and all that, it it was for uh for the people of the ancient Middle East, right? 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:06.880 The ancient Near East, as some might call it. 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:20.240 So when we open our Bibles, we have to do our best for at least recognize that there's this dynamic coming into play, that some of these things don't might not make sense because of cultural things, because of the audience it was we're into, all that. 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:34.559 So with that in mind, we remember we know that the by Middle Eastern standards, to share a meal wasn't just to like, wasn't just to hang out, wasn't just so you could have sustenance with a friend. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:37.920 It to share a meal means something far more significant, right? 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.799 It was it's to commit oneself to a friendship. 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.200 It was like to commit to a covenant of significance. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:54.720 And eating a meal carried uh an incredible amount of importance and say about what you were doing and who you were aligning yourself with. 00:25:55.279 --> 00:26:18.880 So Daniel, right, he he accepts re-education and a new name, but he draws the line at the king's food because he knows this: that by eating from the king's table, it would meant that he was pledging allegiance to King Nebuchadnezzar and forsaking uh the God that has that has built the foundation of his life, that he knows is good, that is for him, that loves him. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:22.559 Daniel refuses to do that. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:25.200 And again, Daniel could only do this. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:25.599 Why? 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:30.880 Because he had a firm foundation that helped him discern and figure out what's what's really important here. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:31.599 Right? 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:40.559 For Daniel and his friends, they could take on a new name, they could learn all this stuff, but they knew that it was at the food where they had to draw the line. 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:46.640 So my question for us today is this have you considered your firm foundation? 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:51.519 Well, do you need to consider what our school of faith classes look like? 00:26:51.759 --> 00:27:01.519 Do you need to go back to the basics and consider uh uh what you've been looking forward to and hoping that you could build your spiritual or your Christian faith on? 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:08.240 How's God pressing into you, pressing you to invest in your foundation? 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:21.680 The second thing that we learned from Daniel is that to follow God in Babylon, when when the whole world seems to be uh opposed to you following him, is this is that you need intentional friendships. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:22.720 Right? 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:35.119 Imagine Daniel being taken from uh his home in a new place, and he has he has the choice to like hang out and be with whoever he wants. 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:38.640 He there's no there's no expectation, he's in a new place. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:45.119 He could have done so, he could have rebranded himself and found a new group identity with a new group of friends. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:52.480 He could have just chose to hang out with Babylonian people because that'd be far easier and probably more advantageous for him. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:28:04.400 Or he could have gone the opposite way, where Daniel could have just foregone relationships as a whole, where he could have just gone the lone wolf route, right? 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:13.440 Where he could have said in this high, uh this high stress and traumatizing experience that relationships are actually a little too messy for me. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:19.759 So I'm just gonna focus on myself and just like and and not let friends make this any harder. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.400 Because that's what a lot of that's that's a common refrain that we hear in our world, right? 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:26.559 Friends are messy, people are messy. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:29.200 But Daniel he doesn't do either of those. 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:40.079 He doesn't make, he doesn't forsake relationships and he doesn't uh make this new group of friends or just is unthinking about who he hangs out with. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:48.559 Instead, what we read in the story is a young man pursuing intentional friendships. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:29:00.240 And not just in chapter one, but in the whole narrative of the book of Daniel, when you see Daniel's name, there close by are the names of his friends as well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abinigo. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:05.119 Time and time again, when Daniel's name comes up, so there is his community as well. 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:18.079 And we get the sense as we read this time and time again, we get the sense that for Daniel to follow God in a hostile environment, he needed to surround himself with people on that same pursuit. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:27.759 Friends, that would both encourage him and to in when life was difficult, and also to challenge him away from maybe conformity. 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:33.440 And I think many of us here, it's not something that we would really necessarily argue with. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:43.200 We would all agree that the people around you, your community, uh, has a very significant role in the kind of life you're gonna have, the kind of person you're gonna be. 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:45.839 I don't think many people would would argue with that. 00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:55.680 But to have in intentional friendships, at least for the church, right, is to let people know you and to follow God together. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.640 Far different than just having friends, right? 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.400 Intentional friendships. 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:08.480 And personally, I think in the last couple years, this is something that I've gotten to see a lot of growth in, right? 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:17.680 It's something that I've strived for in the last year, um, especially as uh as like COVID has changed the way we've all done relationships for a while, right? 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:20.000 And changed the way our communities worked. 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:26.079 That uh as I strive for this, I've seen God bless this effort in two ways. 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:27.200 In two ways. 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:32.720 Uh the first, I think, is my small group, where each week we get to get together. 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:40.720 And what I love about our small group is that Ari and I, we we can share about the difficulties and the hard things that are going on in our lives. 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:47.039 And in the same vein, we have other people sharing about their doubts and their struggles. 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:48.960 And it doesn't just stop there, right? 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:50.799 It's not just throwing all these things out there. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:53.839 There's a comfort level is one to like just spill. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:31:03.200 But we throw these things out there and we also get to lament with one another, to challenge one another, to pray for one another. 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:12.240 And it's in my small group that I've realized that following God with friends is all the more possible and even more fun, right? 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:13.680 We also celebrate together. 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:18.240 We celebrate when we see God uh answer prayer in ways that we can see. 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:24.240 We get excited when when we see people taking steps of faith in our small group. 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:52.079 And the second way I've seen God bless this effort in my own life, and I really think has been the secret sauce to any success I've had in the last season of my life, is uh is this is I've tried to move past some of the stereotypical guy friendships, you know, where like you and your your buddy you just like play video games or shoot hoops or or swing golf clubs where you're just side by side and you like hang out all the time, but you don't really know each other, you right? 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:53.759 You know what I'm talking about? 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:57.920 I've tried to move past that in this last season of my life. 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:10.240 And what I've done with a small group of friends is a couple times a month, we'll we'll put it on the calendar, we'll plan it on a couple Thursdays, Thursday nights a month, we commit to three things. 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:14.319 And when we see it on the calendar, we know three things are gonna be true each time. 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:16.640 One, we're gonna share a meal. 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:20.799 Two, we're not gonna talk about basketball. 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.680 I'm not kidding. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:38.400 And three, what we are gonna talk about is what's what's hard in our lives, what's difficult, and how can we keep one another accountable to following God together and accountable in the relationships of the people around us? 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:40.400 Those are the three things we commit to. 00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:49.279 And I gotta say, it's something that has that God has blessed my life with and has also blessed my effort in it. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:57.200 And it I can't imagine trying to follow Jesus without these group of guys knowing uh me more than a lot of other people would. 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:03.680 And in awakening youth, we know that these intentional friendships are so crucial. 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:28.480 That's why you hear about uh a summer camp that we're going to, or why we would take high schoolers on a on a mission trip, or even why we would have all these events throughout the year, is because we know, we so believe that to follow to follow God in our world, intentional friendships that will both encourage you and challenge you and spur you on, they're needed. 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:29.359 They're needed. 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:32.079 They're needed for our students and they're needed for you and me. 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:40.400 So my question for you is is this my next question is have you surrounded yourself with people that will keep you accountable? 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.799 What kind of intentional friendships are you investing in right now, if any? 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:49.440 Do you have any friends that will help orient your life toward following God? 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:53.200 Daniel had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abnegal. 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:54.799 Who do you have? 00:33:56.799 --> 00:34:03.599 And finally, the the third key to following God in a hostile world is this is Daniel. 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:06.079 He had a faith of conviction. 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:14.880 Verse 8 in this whole chapter is kind of the hinge moment, the like important part where things kind of change, or the thing that you highlight. 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:20.800 And in it, it says that Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself. 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:27.360 And that same resolve that Daniel has is actually one that is essential for us as well. 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:27.840 Right? 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:29.360 It's something that we need. 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:33.760 It's this white, hot conviction to remain faithful to God. 00:34:34.559 --> 00:34:41.119 And this resolve, this is probably the part that we need to know, is this resolve, it does, it's not born in the moment. 00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:43.840 It actually comes from like a pre-decision. 00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:50.960 It comes ahead of time to say, I'm not gonna gossip with my family, I'm not gonna try to cheat someone out of in this business deal. 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:52.719 I'm not gonna do that. 00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:56.960 Like Daniel, right? 00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:05.199 He before he's like, I'll change my name, I'll take the education, whatever, but I will not associate, I will not pledge allegiance to Babylon. 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:06.960 That's not what I'm gonna do. 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:08.880 And where does it all come from? 00:35:08.960 --> 00:35:19.119 Yes, a firm foundation, conversations with your friends, and it all leads to a faith of conviction to make this decision ahead of time. 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:23.199 But I love how how Daniel does it too. 00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:30.400 Notice that he has this strong desire, this unwillingness to be moved and to follow God. 00:35:31.360 --> 00:35:36.960 But when he brings that up to the guards, he doesn't like demand his rights or say, you have to let me do this. 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:39.840 Instead, he's actually really winsome about it. 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:40.480 Right? 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:44.079 He he shows concern for the guard's well-being. 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:52.239 He's willing to consider that at the same time as he wrestles with what he need knows what what lines he can and cannot cross. 00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:59.280 And he has a stern decision made, yet, full of grace and love, he acts on it. 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:04.400 And what happens at the very end of this chapter, right? 00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:10.960 When when Daniel uh follows these three things, when he like uses these three keys, it says this. 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:18.960 The author writes, as for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom. 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:27.519 So what happens when when when Daniel and his friends they follow these three keys, God blesses it. 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:29.119 He blesses it. 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:38.079 And even more interestingly, right, he he actually helps advance the society of the very place that is so opposed to him. 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:45.760 He seeks the well-being of Babylon while at the same time it it is, it seems like everything against his ideals. 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:47.199 God blesses him. 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:51.920 So what did we learn, church, from this is that God always blesses these three keys. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:53.280 What does that blessing look like? 00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:54.559 Might look different. 00:36:54.800 --> 00:37:01.519 It's not necessarily always gonna be come being smarter and well-read and advancing in uh the corporate ladder. 00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:03.440 But it's always gonna be blessing. 00:37:04.320 --> 00:37:06.079 Good blessing from God. 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:10.639 And these three things, right? 00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:20.480 A firm foundation, intentional friendships, and a faith of conviction, what they're what they're really like are kind of like those tent pegs, I forgot. 00:37:21.360 --> 00:37:25.599 They're important, they're essential, they're needed. 00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:28.960 But I want to end with these words from Dr. 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:34.079 Timothy Keller, this really well-respected pastor and author. 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:43.599 And he has this illustration when he talks about the the strength of our faith juxtaposed with the object of our faith. 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:53.679 And when he tells this example, he says this Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and you begin to fall. 00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:58.000 Just beside you is a branch sticking out of the edge of the cliff. 00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:00.079 Is it your only hope? 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:03.360 Or it is your only hope and seems more than strong enough. 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:04.719 How can it save you? 00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:11.599 If you're certain the branch can support you, but you don't actually reach out and grab it, you're lost. 00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:22.639 If instead your mind is filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. 00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:24.000 Why? 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:30.719 Because it is not the strength of your faith, but the object of your faith that actually saves you. 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:39.360 Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch. 00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:51.519 So, church, when when I talk about these tent pegs, right, a firm foundation, tensual friendships, and a faith of conviction, they're good, important, and all that. 00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:56.400 But the thing that matters most is what we drive those tent pegs into. 00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:01.760 And it's the object of our faith, is the one that we ground these things into, and that's Jesus. 00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:02.400 Right? 00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:10.880 The good news in following God on this side of the cross is this is that Jesus, he offers us the Holy Spirit. 00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:17.360 A helper, a comforter, the same spirit that rose Jesus from the grave, right? 00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:18.400 All these things. 00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:22.480 We have access to the full power and might of God. 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:29.199 So, uh in other words, it's no longer dependent on our strength and our ability. 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:34.719 We now tap into the power, strength, and ability of our good and faithful God. 00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:41.440 And we look to Jesus, the one who, in our unfaithfulness, is all the more faithful. 00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:53.760 The one who brings us into a community called the church, uh, the one who we can plant our tent on and know that we are in a firm and immovable foundation in his love for us. 00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:57.679 And what we're gonna do next is we're we're about to sing. 00:39:58.559 --> 00:39:58.880 Right? 00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:13.199 And as we sing, what we get to do is we remember that Jesus sacrificed his body, he shed his blood, that we might know the full measure of his love for us. 00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:18.719 And what does that mean that we can ground our lives in that? 00:40:20.159 --> 00:40:35.519 In worship, we remember that though we live in a world where it might seem impossible, hostile to follow him, we know that he has defeated the ultimate form of opposition and impossibility and sin and death. 00:40:36.719 --> 00:40:45.360 And in that, in the love and trustworthiness and the goodness of Jesus, we can we can follow God in this world. 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:50.000 So, Church, would you join us as we sing about that good grace in our lives? 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:54.239 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:40:54.480 --> 00:40:58.880 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:40:59.039 --> 00:41:01.119 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:41:01.280 --> 00:41:07.199 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.