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Transcript

Decide Now for God- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Times.
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  Speaker 2: Don't we Jeff think you'd live to hear headlines like these?
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  Speaker 2: Believers now a minority in society. Antagonists declare death to
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  Speaker 2: the religious. Foreign foes set their sights on Jerusalem. Secularism
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  Speaker 2: gains momentum among youth. Morality mocked by national leaders. High
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  Speaker 2: ranking government official told to choose between piety and employment,
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  Speaker 2: faith based values publicly derided by billionaire entrepreneur. These are
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  Speaker 2: disturbing headlines. Did you ever imagine that you would read them?
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  Speaker 2: Do you ever imagine that you would live to see
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  Speaker 2: a day in which a coach would be told not
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  Speaker 2: to pray on the football fielder, or when a college
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  Speaker 2: professor would publicly mock the believers in the faith of
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  Speaker 2: a student, or when television shows would display sex acts
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  Speaker 2: that just a decade ago would not be seen anywhere
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  Speaker 2: except in an R rated movie. What kind of days
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  Speaker 2: are these? These are the days of increased persecution, These
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  Speaker 2: are the days of a massive cultural shift. These are
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  Speaker 2: the days of increasing hostility toward people and principles of faith.
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  Speaker 2: These are the days in which good is called evil.
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  Speaker 2: These are the days in which evil is called good.
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  Speaker 2: These are the days which will melt a weakened faith,
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  Speaker 2: which will destroy a half hearted conviction. These are days
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  Speaker 2: that call for ferocious faith in lion hearted convictions. I
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  Speaker 2: would suggest that these are the days of Daniel. You
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  Speaker 2: might assume that I took the headlines that I just
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  Speaker 2: shared from modern day news cycles. I didn't. I actually
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  Speaker 2: extrapolated them from a story that dates back to six
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  Speaker 2: h five BC, the Story of Daniel. And though the
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  Speaker 2: book relates events that happened twenty five hundred years ago,
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  Speaker 2: the Book of Daniel is just as relevant as this
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  Speaker 2: morning's newspaper. When we think of the Book of Daniel,
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  Speaker 2: we often think of some of the greatest stories in
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  Speaker 2: the Bible Shadrack Mishak and a Bendigo and the Fiery Furnace,
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  Speaker 2: Daniel and the Lions, then Belshazzar and the Writing on
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  Speaker 2: the Wall, Nebukednezzar and the Odd Dreams and his lapse
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  Speaker 2: into insanity. But really, the big idea of the Book
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  Speaker 2: of Daniel can be summarized by this headline, daily triumph.
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  Speaker 2: Daniel led a triumphant life during a very troubling time,
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  Speaker 2: and he did so not by escaping his culture, but
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  Speaker 2: by engaging his culture. By the end of his eighty
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  Speaker 2: or so years. He had counseled kings, he had directed policy,
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  Speaker 2: He had access to the most powerful throne of his century,
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  Speaker 2: perhaps the most powerful throne of all of history. And
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  Speaker 2: he did so without diluting his faith, without compromising his convictions.
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  Speaker 2: Unlike Samson, he never creed, Unlike David, he never stumbled,
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  Speaker 2: Unlike Peter, he never denied his Lord. As much as
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  Speaker 2: any character in the Bible, Daniel offers positive affirmations to
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  Speaker 2: these questions. Can a person maintain faith in the midst
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  Speaker 2: of a society that has little when a culture belittle's belief?
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  Speaker 2: Can a believer beget strength? Every page in the Book
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  Speaker 2: of Daniel says yes, yes, yes, and he can show
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  Speaker 2: us how. I hope you'll make it your aim to
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  Speaker 2: dig into the Book of Daniel and not miss a
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  Speaker 2: single message and opportunity to learn about this powerful person
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  Speaker 2: who lived a life based on the promises and the
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  Speaker 2: prophecies of God. Every weekend, For this weekend and the
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  Speaker 2: next eleven, we'll take time to look at twelve chapters
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  Speaker 2: in the Book of Daniel. Please come with Bible in hand,
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  Speaker 2: with chapter already read, download the study guide, and engage
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  Speaker 2: your family or your friends or your neighborhood in a discussion.
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  Speaker 2: And make sure when you come in each week to
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  Speaker 2: take a good long look at the different newspaper that
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  Speaker 2: our wonderful comm arts people are creating each week, a
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  Speaker 2: different one to help us understand that particular chapter in
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  Speaker 2: the Book of Daniel. And when you get here, always
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  Speaker 2: look at the late breaking news because on the back
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  Speaker 2: of the late breaking news is guess what a sermon outline.
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  Speaker 2: So go ahead and pull it out. Get your pencil ready,
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  Speaker 2: get your lipstick out, get your mascaristic handy, whatever you
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  Speaker 2: brought to write with. We're going to fill in the
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  Speaker 2: blanks as we look at Daniel chapter one. You ready
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  Speaker 2: to go, Heavenly Father, forgive our speaker his sins are many,
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  Speaker 2: and grant that we can see Christ, Ancient of days,
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  Speaker 2: the Son of Man in the pages of Daniel. Through
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  Speaker 2: Christ we pray, and all the Church said, if you
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  Speaker 2: like to fill in the blanks, let's start with this one.
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  Speaker 2: Let's begin with Daniel's deportation. Daniel's deportation beginning in Daniel
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  Speaker 2: one Daniel one, verse one, in the third year of
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  Speaker 2: the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah Nebukaid Nezar, the
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  Speaker 2: King of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it, and
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  Speaker 2: the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand,
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  Speaker 2: along with some of the articles from the Temple of God.
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  Speaker 2: These he carried off to the temple of his God
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  Speaker 2: in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God.
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  Speaker 2: Then the king ordered Ashpanaz, chief of his court of officials,
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  Speaker 2: to bring into the King's service some of the Israelites
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  Speaker 2: from the royal family and the nobility. Young men without
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  Speaker 2: any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning,
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  Speaker 2: well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in
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  Speaker 2: the King's palace. He was to teach them the language
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  Speaker 2: and the literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them
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  Speaker 2: a daily amount of food and wine from the King's table.
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  Speaker 2: They were to be trained for three years. After that
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  Speaker 2: they were to enter the king's service. Among those who
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  Speaker 2: were chosen were some from Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah.
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  Speaker 2: The chief official gave them new names. To Daniel the
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  Speaker 2: name Belta Shazar, to Hananiah Shadrak, to Michael Mishak, and
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  Speaker 2: to Azariah a bed Nago, so embedded in this opening
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  Speaker 2: passage as a tragedy that came to define the children
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. King Nebuka Nezar overthrew. He besieged the city
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  Speaker 2: of Jerusalem in six oh five BC. As was his custom,
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  Speaker 2: he took out of Jerusalem the captive city, the best
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  Speaker 2: and the brightest of the city, and march them to Babylonia.
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  Speaker 2: This would guarantee that Jerusalem, now a vassal city of Babylonia,
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  Speaker 2: would pay the taxes that they owed to Babylonia each year.
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  Speaker 2: Nebukanzer wanted his captives to be young, to be vibrant,
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  Speaker 2: to be handsome, to be smart and well informed. He
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  Speaker 2: wanted the best of the best, and Daniel was one
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  Speaker 2: of these. He was a young man. He was as young,
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  Speaker 2: perhaps as twelve years of age. Twelve years of age,
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  Speaker 2: plucked out of Jerusalem and marched to a distant land.
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  Speaker 2: Yet for a young man, he made a courageous decision.
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  Speaker 2: Let's look at Daniel's decision. But Daniel resolved not to
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  Speaker 2: defile himself with royal food and wine, and he asked
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  Speaker 2: the chief official for permission not to defile himself in
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  Speaker 2: this way. This young Hebrew from the get go refused
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  Speaker 2: to let go of his convictions. The Babylonian diet was,
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  Speaker 2: no doubt tasty, but it was unclean. There was no
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  Speaker 2: instruction in the old law about having someone change your name,
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  Speaker 2: but there were ample instructions about eating unclean food. Why
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  Speaker 2: the big deal about food? We enjoy cuisine from different countries. Well,
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  Speaker 2: this was more than just a different type of food.
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  Speaker 2: This was food that had been offered to foreign idols
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  Speaker 2: or to false gods. And to eat the food was
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  Speaker 2: to embrace the faith. To eat the food was to
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  Speaker 2: embrace the faith. And so the Babylonian Kingdom was doing
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  Speaker 2: more than trying to change the diet of the young men.
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  Speaker 2: They were trying to change their belief system. There was
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  Speaker 2: a plot of foot to convert these men from their
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  Speaker 2: judaistic faith and encourage them to follow the pagan gods
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  Speaker 2: of Babylonia. It would have been easy for Daniel and
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  Speaker 2: his friends to give in. After all, they're just kids.
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  Speaker 2: They're middle schoolers. You saw some up here today that
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  Speaker 2: same age, just youngsters far from home, uprooted from their parents,
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  Speaker 2: separated from their culture, who knew what might happen to them?
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  Speaker 2: For all they know if they didn't eat, they would
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  Speaker 2: be sacrificed. They could have justified their engagement in eating
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  Speaker 2: the food and said, well, you know, it's better that
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  Speaker 2: we eat unclean food in the Babylonian court than that
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  Speaker 2: we be dead and buried in the Babylonian cemetery. They
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  Speaker 2: could have justified their disobedience. So can we To understand
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  Speaker 2: the Book of Daniel, it's important that you understand that
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  Speaker 2: we are in a Babylonian exile as well. We're in Babylonia.
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  Speaker 2: This is not our home. We don't speak the language
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  Speaker 2: of this culture. Our citizenship is from another place. And
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  Speaker 2: every day there is an evil monarch calling us to
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  Speaker 2: the table of Babylonia, urging us to eat the food
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  Speaker 2: to compromise our faith. Our evil monarch is not called Nambucadnezzar.
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  Speaker 2: Our evil monarch is nothing less than the devil himself,
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  Speaker 2: who has strategies and plans to take away our convictions
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  Speaker 2: and to chisel away at our beliefs, just by saying, oh,
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  Speaker 2: just have a little bit of food, Just compromise a
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  Speaker 2: little bit, a little extortion, a little shaving of the corners,
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  Speaker 2: a little dishonesty, just a little pornography, just a little drunkenness.
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  Speaker 2: Just fit in, Just blend in to Babylonia, right, just
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  Speaker 2: a little bit. It won't hurt wrong. The Apostle Paul
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  Speaker 2: would write some years after Daniel was living this message.
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  Speaker 2: The Apostle Paul articulated it. He said, don't become so
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  Speaker 2: well adjusted to your culture as you fit into it
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  Speaker 2: without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God and
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  Speaker 2: you'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what
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  Speaker 2: He wants from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike
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  Speaker 2: the culture around you, always dragging you down to its
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  Speaker 2: level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you,
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  Speaker 2: develops well formed maturity in you. This was the belief
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  Speaker 2: of Daniel. He was not going to give up his faith,
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  Speaker 2: and he made what must have been a very difficult decision.
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  Speaker 2: The rest of you can have those water burgers, but
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  Speaker 2: me and my friends we're not going to We're not
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  Speaker 2: going to compromise. But he made his decision with tact
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  Speaker 2: I love water burgers. By the way, look at Daniel's diplomacy.
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  Speaker 2: Look at Daniel's diplomacy. Now, God caused the official to
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  Speaker 2: show favor and compare Daniel, but the official told Daniel,
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  Speaker 2: I'm afraid of my lord, the king, who has assigned
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  Speaker 2: your food and drink. Why should he see you looking
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  Speaker 2: worse than the other men your age. The King would
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  Speaker 2: have my head because of you. Daniel then said to
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  Speaker 2: the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hannanaiah, Michel,
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  Speaker 2: and Azariah, please test your servants for ten days. Give
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  Speaker 2: us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
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  Speaker 2: Then compare our appearance with that of the young men
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  Speaker 2: who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in
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  Speaker 2: accordance with what you see. So he agreed to this
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  Speaker 2: and tested them for ten days. If you like to
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  Speaker 2: underline words in your Bible, maybe you could underline the
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  Speaker 2: phrase Daniel resolved in verse nine, and then the phrase
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  Speaker 2: God caused verse eight, and then verse nine Daniel resolved,
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  Speaker 2: and then in verse nine God caused. The resolution of
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  Speaker 2: Daniel was seen by God, and God blessed it. When
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  Speaker 2: we decide for God, God provides for us. When we
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  Speaker 2: decide for God, God provides for us. When we refuse
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  Speaker 2: to compromise, God pours out his favor. When we stand strong,
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  Speaker 2: God enables us to find strength. God was already at work.
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  Speaker 2: He had gone ahead of Daniel and was preparing the
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  Speaker 2: heart of this Babylonian official again verse nine. Now God
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  Speaker 2: had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel.
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  Speaker 2: I ask you who was running the show that day
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  Speaker 2: in the Babylonian court. There was somebody above Nebuknezar. Somebody
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  Speaker 2: was changing the heart of the official to feel this
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  Speaker 2: surprising surge of compassion toward Daniel. And God did that.
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  Speaker 2: God prepared the way. He'll do the same for you.
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  Speaker 2: He'll do the same for you. Will you test me
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  Speaker 2: in this this week? When you have a chance to
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  Speaker 2: choose between evil and good, you choose good and see
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  Speaker 2: if God doesn't pour out his favor on you. When
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  Speaker 2: you have a chance to compromise or stand strong, you
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  Speaker 2: stand strong and see if God doesn't pour his favor
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  Speaker 2: out upon you. You keep pressing toward the high ground,
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  Speaker 2: toward your heavenly Father, and God, through this story and
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  Speaker 2: countless others in scripture, has said, I will not leave
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  Speaker 2: you alone in Babylonia. You may think you're by yourself,
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  Speaker 2: but you're not alone in exile. You do what is right,
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  Speaker 2: and God will come alongside and bless it. You make
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  Speaker 2: that decision today. Don't make that decision in the backseat
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  Speaker 2: of a car, or in a smoky office, or in
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  Speaker 2: a difficult circumstance, or up late at night when you're
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  Speaker 2: trying to decide what to watch on the internet. You
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  Speaker 2: make that decision today. Today, I'm gonna do what is right,
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  Speaker 2: and you just prepare yourself for God to provide favor
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  Speaker 2: and strength to bless you. When obedience happened, God's blessing followed.
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  Speaker 2: Did for Daniel, it will for us. Now. Please note
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  Speaker 2: the diplomacy of Daniel. He didn't make any demands. He
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  Speaker 2: didn't put out his chest, he didn't pucker out his
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  Speaker 2: lower lip. He didn't pout, He didn't demand his way.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't swagger. He didn't say I'm just never gonna
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  Speaker 2: eat at that table if you make me eat that
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  Speaker 2: old crudy food. He didn't shout, he didn't get loud.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't say I'm not gonna come to class if
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  Speaker 2: you make me sit at that table. He just said, Okay,
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  Speaker 2: I've got an idea. What wisdom this young man had.
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  Speaker 2: He said, let let's just put it to the test
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  Speaker 2: and see what happens. You let us eat our diet
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  Speaker 2: and they and you let those guys eat that diet,
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  Speaker 2: and at the end of the ten days, let's just
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  Speaker 2: see who is healthy. What practical council. You know, we
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  Speaker 2: don't gain much by demanding that a secular society see
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  Speaker 2: things our way. We don't gain much by demanding that
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  Speaker 2: unbelievers behave like believers. We don't gain much by belly aching.
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  Speaker 2: Did you know that belly aching is not a spiritual gift?
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  Speaker 2: But I hear a lot of Christians belly aching because
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  Speaker 2: unbelievers are treating them in a fashion that an unbeliever
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  Speaker 2: mindset would cause them to follow. We shouldn't be surprised.
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  Speaker 2: We are in Babylonia. Babylonians behave like Babylonians. So rather
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  Speaker 2: than complain or get mad or out or say things
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  Speaker 2: are not going my way, let's just be the Daniels
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  Speaker 2: of our generation. You don't need to resemble Babylonia, but
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  Speaker 2: nor do you need to resent Babylonia. You don't need
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  Speaker 2: to live perpetually ticked off at the world. You just
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  Speaker 2: do what Daniel did. You set your mind on God.
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  Speaker 2: You resolve that you're not going to compromise, and you're
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  Speaker 2: going to live in such a way that God can
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  Speaker 2: bless you. People are not impressed by how loudly we
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  Speaker 2: shout the boy. They are impressed by how well we live.
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  Speaker 2: You be the worker who doesn't complain. You be the
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  Speaker 2: student who gets their homework turned in on time. You
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  Speaker 2: be the married couple who keeps the wedding vows. You
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  Speaker 2: be the employer who takes time to listen to the staff.
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  Speaker 2: You see, Babylon has no answer for a changed life.
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  Speaker 2: You just put your life out there like Daniel did,
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  Speaker 2: and say, well, let's just see what happens, and see
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  Speaker 2: which life God bless us worked for. Daniel worked for
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  Speaker 2: the three Hebrews. Daniel's diplomacy resulted in Daniel's deliverance. At
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  Speaker 2: the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better
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  Speaker 2: nourished than any of the young men who ate the
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  Speaker 2: royal food. So the guard took away their choice food
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  Speaker 2: and the wine they were to drink, and gave them
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  Speaker 2: vegetables instead. To these four young men, God gave knowledge
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  Speaker 2: and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning, and
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  Speaker 2: Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At
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  Speaker 2: the end of the time set by the king to
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  Speaker 2: bring them in. The chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 2: The king talked with them, and he found none equal
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  Speaker 2: to Daniel, Hananayah, Michael, and Azariah. So they entered the
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  Speaker 2: king's service. In every manner of wisdom and understanding about
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  Speaker 2: which the king questioned them, he found them ten times
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  Speaker 2: better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
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  Speaker 2: And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
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  Speaker 2: So who's the hero of chapter one? It's not Daniel, Sorry,
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  Speaker 2: it's God. God was the one who led the way.
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  Speaker 2: God was the one who softened the heart of the official.
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  Speaker 2: It was God who poured out his favor. It was
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  Speaker 2: God who gave Daniel and the other three wisdom and understanding.
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  Speaker 2: It was God who placed them in a unique and
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  Speaker 2: strategic position to influence the King of Babylon. You have
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  Speaker 2: been placed in a unique and strategic position. It is
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  Speaker 2: God who determined that we live right now in this society,
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  Speaker 2: in this generation. There is something about you that this
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  Speaker 2: society needs to know. You have something that we need
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  Speaker 2: to hear. Recognize where we are. This is Babylon. And
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  Speaker 2: the next time you roll your eyes at the news
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  Speaker 2: report and say where's this world headed to. You say
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  Speaker 2: to yourself, well, that's a good sign. I don't like
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  Speaker 2: it here. You're not supposed to like it here. In fact,
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  Speaker 2: the thing that we most should fear is getting too
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  Speaker 2: comfortable here. When you feel unsettled at the direction of society,
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  Speaker 2: you say, okay, Lord, you're just reminding me we're not
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  Speaker 2: home yet. This is Babylon. But let's remember who we are.
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  Speaker 2: We're not better than anyone else. We're simply sinners who
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  Speaker 2: have been saved by God's grace. We have been loved
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  Speaker 2: by God himself. We have been called by Him to
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  Speaker 2: be his image bearers, to bring good into a world
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  Speaker 2: that seems to be going bad, and to bring hope
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  Speaker 2: in a society where there seems to be so little.
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  Speaker 2: And let's remember what we have. We have the power
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  Speaker 2: of Almighty God residing in us. We have the promise
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  Speaker 2: of God before us, the presence of God with us.
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  Speaker 2: And we see evidence of God's faithfulness all around us.
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  Speaker 2: We see evidence of God's faithfulness even in that last
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  Speaker 2: verse of chapter one in the Book of Daniel. Look
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  Speaker 2: at it again. And Daniel remained there until the first
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  Speaker 2: year of King Cyrus. You don't find that verse to
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  Speaker 2: be too inspiring. That means eighty years past. He's an
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  Speaker 2: eighty year old man. When King Cyrus came into the
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  Speaker 2: throne in Babylon, maybe Canezar came and went, Belshazar came
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  Speaker 2: and went. Darius the Mead came and went. Cyrus comes,
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  Speaker 2: and there's still Daniel, still a man of God. Came
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  Speaker 2: in as a kid decades earlier, and Daniel was still
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  Speaker 2: there when all the administrations had come and gone. Daniel
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  Speaker 2: held strong, he held fast. May the same be said
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: about you. May your obituary read. And she was still there,
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: holding strong. He was still there, holding strong. Yes, this
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: is Babylon. We are in Babylon, but Babylon does not
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: have to be in us. We can be people of hope,
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: and we don't have to get contrary. We don't have
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: to get bitter, we don't have to get sour. But
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: we must make a decision right now when it comes
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: to choosing the call of Babylon and the call of God,
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: who are you going to choose? Now? You choose wisely,
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: and may God bless you. Let's pray together, So Lord,
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: we thank you that you've opened this book. Up to us.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: We thank you, heavenly Father, that you have revealed to
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: us a story of Daniel twenty five hundred years old.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: This story yet it's just so fresh, it's so real,
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: and we're looking forward to gaining insights from the life
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: of this courageous man. Please, Father, let your blessings be
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: upon us as we seek to be people of hope
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: in a very difficult day. May we hold fast to you.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: May you bless our young people, just like you bless Daniel,
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: and may you bless us. Thank you for our Lord,
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, our King high above all kings, above all rulers.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: We worship you. Through Jesus, we pray, and all the
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: church said.
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: I'll be all right. You don't have to stay if
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: you've already chosen. I won't stand in your way.
• 27:15
  Speaker 4: I can feel it in your distance, in the way
• 27:19
  Speaker 4: you barely speak, like your heart is somewhere else now,
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: somewhere I can't reach.
• 27:29
  Speaker 5: I was trying to just doo holders.
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: Why are you slowly slipped away?
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: Now I'm left with all the silence you didn't want
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: to say. Maybe I just held long to something.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Already gone. I'll be fire. You can't leave you don't
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: know me anything. If your heart.
• 28:07
  Speaker 5: Has found, Louis, how do what we used to be?
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: How be fine? Don't look back? How survived this empty space?
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: Not tonight, maybe not soon, but holler to be okay.
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: We don't need to fake the feeling.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: I can see in your eyes.
• 28:39
  Speaker 5: There's no reason left the stand.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: When the love already died. Through the quieting your voice,
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: I can't hear your choice. Oh be fine, you can leave.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: You don't know me anything. Give your heart has found?
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: How do what we used to be?
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: I'll be fine. Don't look back house survived this empty space?
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: Not tonight, maybe not so, but I'll learned to be okay.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: I don't need a reason why. I can see anything.
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: Goodbye and it breaks me in Dutch, but I won't
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: ask you to stay. I'll be fine. You can't eat.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: You don't know me anything.
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: Give your honest found o.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: How do what we used to be? How be fine?
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Don't know about how survi have this empty space? Not
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: a lie baby, not so? But our learn to be okay.
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: I'll be all right.