Bro. Clarence Nettles

Speaker 3: Psycho brother Matt said, I did learn off, learn right off the bat, you know, come in, make fun of the teenagers or laugh at themselves, except for Tino. He does not. He likes to try to make jokes back, but they're not too funny. So if you have your Bibles. Daniel, Chapter one, Daniel, chapter one would pastor ask me? He said, Hey, would you mind preaching Sunday night? I'm going to be gone? Would you mind preaching us? But yeah, I love. That's one thing I know I've been called to do is preach. And that's one thing I like to do. So I was thinking and pondering, Man, what can I preach on? What is what is something like? What is something I can preach on that would be helpful for, you know, the church, the teens a kid was something I could preach on. So I asked my wife. I said, Hey. Plaster kind of gave me a topic of who wants me to do like a youth focused message. What was who were some kids, some youth that were that did something great in the Bible? You know what? She told me you. He always preached on Joseph. I'm like Joseph. You know, a lot of people preach on Joseph. I'll think about it, and then I'm in my office just thinking about it, asking, God, God, what do you want me to preach by? Well, I thought that stopped him in my mind what I could preach on David and Goliath. Everyone loves David and Goliath. You know what? Little guy beats up the big guy. Everybody loves that. And I can assure you, I love it too, because I like, Hey, I get to beat you up now. No, but I thought, You are David and Goliath would be a great story. You know, I start writing it. I started thinking about it and why this doesn't seem right. This doesn't seem like something. This doesn't seem like what God wants me to do. I said, God, you got to let me know this. I don't have much time. God, I need you to tell me what you want me to preach about. And then Daniel came up, you have this many stories about Daniel there, Daniel, Daniel Elias, then I say, OK, God, that's what you want to preach on day. No lies, and that's great. He said, No, not that one. That's OK. OK. God, you want me to talk about Daniel, his friends in the fire first. That's what you want me to talk about. Hey, that's great. I'm I'm fine with talking about, you know, how they were able to walk around in a walk around and fire with you right by their side. I can talk about that. Yeah, that's great. He says, no, that that's not the one. And then I'm like, OK, God, well, what are the one you want to talk about? You want me to talk about? I know you don't want me to talk about the one in. The first chapter, Daniel, where he just made a simple decision, he said. Yeah. That's what I want you to talk about, and I'm thinking, God, why? There's not a huge story behind it, there's not a huge thing like a huge victory behind it, but God, why do you want me to talk about that? And Pastor preaching this morning just on the decision we have to make not to give in to our loss, not to give in those those desires, those wrong desires. It clicked in my mind what God was preparing us for tonight. Mine isn't as specific as his was. The minds are more of a broad scope. So Daniel, chapter one will start reading if you will stand on a reverence of God's word. Daniel Chapter one starting in verse one in the third year of the Reign of Joy Come the King of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, to Jerusalem and besieged it and the Lord gave Jehovah him. King of Judah to his hands was part of the vessels of a House of God, which he carried into the land of Sanaa to the House of his God. And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his God and the king spake. As to as I, if I butchered his days, I'm sorry, I'm not good at these Old Testament names. I'm used to, you know, regular names like Tyler, Tim, stuff like that. All right. So the master of the universe that he should bring a certain of the children of Israel in the king's seed and of the Prince's Church, you know, who was no blemish and well favored a skillful in all wisdom and cunning and knowledge and understanding science and such as had the ability in them to stand in the King's Palace and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans and the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat into the wine, which he drank and so nourishing them three years that at the at the end of the Earth, they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Helena Michel, and as right up to the whom the Prince of the Eunice gave the names for gave unto them Daniel. The name of Belle Chasse are and has ushered in a Michel, Michelle or Ezra of Bendigo. But Daniel purpose in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine he drank. Therefore, he requested of the Prince of the Universe that he might not defile himself. Now, God had brought forth Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of the Universe and the prince of the unique set out to Daniel. I fear my lord, the king who has appointed your with appointed your meat and your drink. For why should he see your face is worse likening than the children which are of your sort, then shall you make me endanger my head to the king then? Said Daniel to Melzer, whom the prince of the eunuchs have set over Daniel Hannan Michel. And that's right to prove my servants overseas the ten days and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink, then let our countenance be looked upon before the and the countenance of the children that eat the portion of the king's me. And as I see us deal with thy servants so he can set it to them in this matter and prove them 10 days. Let's pray and then we will get into a dear lord. I just thank you for this opportunity, Lord, that I've been given just to. Preacher word, Lord help might help me to be empty of myself, Lord. As we full of full of your Holy Spirit, let's just say the words that you want, said Lord, to glorify you with this opportunity. I thank you, Lord help help. The listeners were also to have tender heart for the seat of the word to follow will be with us tonight. Bless us. Bless this time, I pray. Amen. You guys may be seated. So we see here in the first beginning verses that Jerusalem Judah. They were. They were taken captive. He never came as it took them captive. You are, he decided you. Hey, if I'm going to have these guys prisoners, I might as well have them serve me. So he decided, Hey, I need you to go get certain kids that are of royal bloodline and they don't have any uniforms. They have to look good. They can't have anything wrong with them. They got to be smart. They've got to be quick learners. I want you to bring them to me. And those are the kids I'm going to have serve you. He picked them. He's the king chose children because he knew they would be easier to indulge them in their culture and their traditions because they haven't really been involved in their own. They haven't really been involved in and and and really doing their tradition to what Jews what. So he thought, you what? They haven't really been what? I guess the word I would say, indoctrinated with what the Jews do, what I can have them do, what they can, they can come alongside. They can learn the Chaldean tongue, they can do our traditions. They could be a part of us and they can serve me and I'll have more people to to boss around. So, King, no teenager asked his princess his units to go get these children, and he did of a royal bloodline. Well, good looking smart kids brought them to him and he said, You want to watch for three years. We're going to feed them meat from my table and they're going to drink my one you want as a king. I don't see him eating baloney sandwich. Sorry, I just don't see him feeding them so baloney sandwiches, saying, Hey, here you go. Unless with fried me about talking about this analogy, let's just fry bowling. There's a different story. But I don't see him feeding them baloney sandwiches and giving them Walmart grape juice. As a king, he has the finest meats, the finest, the finest wines, he has the finest of everything. He's not even at the bottom line. So he got that top line stuff. He's got name, brand. All right. When I growing up, what? My father wasn't always like this? Well, off. So you want some time to get knockoffs that are Oreos? You know you got cookies. You know what? Instead of sort of Welch's you got grape juice, didn't have a name on it. Didn't taste as good. To what still worked for the king didn't have that. The king had Welch's king had Oreos. He had the finest that there was, you want to what? So these kids, it looked good, to be honest. His beat was probably a T-Bone steak sirloin, maybe sizzle with some onions on top of your day. It was desirable. It looked good. It didn't look like they wanted to throw up. When they looked at, it looked good. Like I said, the pastor gave me the topic of what he wanted me to preach on it, what I thought about what this message isn't just for teens. It's not just for kids, but for all of us. Pastor myself and brother, Matt, we have a vision of what we want to help you guys get you and your Christian life. The step we want you to take in your Christian life. So from this story, I want to look at two aspects that apply to our Christian life. The first is the world makes us all look pleasantly desirable. Like I said, these kids were given a portion of the Queen's me. It was like I said it wasn't a baloney sandwich. All right. What are some Vienna sausages? Wasn't anything like that. I told you it's probably like a sirloin steak T-Bone steak. Think about the best burger you can ever look at. It probably was something like that topped with lettuce, tomatoes, bacon. They have the best. That they could be given. But with them being Jews, God told them what they could and could not eat. They had they were told what they couldn't, could eat one of what the things, we didn't make the cut. The King's me, because it was probably offered to idols, didn't make the cut, they were not supposed to be offered to idols. That was not supposed to happen. So this came to me as it looks, it looks good. As you see it, are they see it on the plate, they're like. Their mouths are watering, their eyes are getting big, like, man, I want to I want to eat that, but they know that they can't. They know they're not supposed to. How many times in our lives we see those things of the world that look good look desirable, the world makes it look fantastic. Something we want, something we should have. But we know as Christians we shouldn't be a part of. We know as Christians, we shouldn't be indulging in. Now. One thing that always gets me and my wife can tell you, I'm a sucker for the best new technology out there, there's a new gadget, I see it on TV and they're showing me how great and fantastic is going to work. I'm my, Hey, hey, hey, look at this. You see how this is going to work and connect to my phone, to my computer to do all that stuff. The water makes it seemed like you need it. They make it look pleasantly desirable. But you don't need it. The world makes. Teenagers going out, partying and drinking with your friends pleasantly desirable. It looks fun. It looks cool. You're going to have a great time. But it's not something you need. Not something you need to be a part of. I remember when I was in high school, one of my friends would always tell me, You're not you. Your questions never have any fun. I kind of looked at them like, Well, what do you mean? What do you mean? We don't have any fun? What do you think we do? So why thank you, guys? You know, sit around reading your Bible all day and praying and not doing anything? I said, So you think that I go home and I don't have anything in my house, just a Bible, a little prayer mat. And that's all I have. Like, Whoa, I think you have like maybe a TV, but you don't use it. All right. Why would I have a TV now? I said, you know what? Here's the misconception you have about Christianity. I said, I can have fun. I can do. I can do things that are fun. But here's the difference between me and you. You go out to your party, drink it in and you what you say, having fun. You don't remember it the next day at war with my Christian friends. I remember every single thing I did that night before and know that I was in the right and have a good conscience about it. The social media and I got to say the media in general makes it seem like if we are indulging in those things that they try to make look pleasant, desirable, that we're not living life, that we're not living life to its fullest because we're not indulging in those things immorality. That said, drinking, partying, doing all those things, if we're not indulging in those things that they want to make look pleasantly desirable, that we're not living life. So the world tries to make itself look desirable, looks make make yourself look something that we need. Like I said here in verse, verse five or seven, the king appointed them they the provision of New King of the King's Me and the one he drank. So nursing them three years that at the end there are they might stand before the king. So they like I said, this me, this one, this meat, this why they were supposed to drink. I said it didn't look. It didn't look old. It didn't look distressed. It didn't look like a baloney sandwich, didn't look like Vienna. Sausages didn't look anything like that. It was a good, nice meal. It was a it was a steak, things like that. Something they wanted. Something that was pleasant and desirable. The world tried to do the same thing for us as Christian, they tried to make everything that they do look pleasantly desirable. It's one of what Daniel here teaches us, what teaches us something that as Christians, we need to do every single day. We have to make a purposeful decision. It's not just a blatant decision, but it has to be purposeful. Then you'll hear in verse eight says what Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, you requested the Prince of Use that he might not defile himself. Daniel made a purposeful decision not to partake in the king's meat. It was desirable, it was something that it was something he was mouthwatering, saying everyone else around him was water. His mouth probably water a little bit too. He wanted to partake. He wanted to eat all of it, but he knew he had a choice to make. He knew he had a decision to make. Am I going to honor God? Why am I going to indulge in my flesh? One one saying, I don't know, I might watch this with Britney, I might watch this, but you can possibly help me out one saying that we heard at the wild and I'm sure I think it was King Carr. You're right that he made that, he said. He said there's two choices on the shelf pleasing God or pleasing so. There's no middle ground, there's no middle decision of you can do both. The pleasing God or your pleasing yourself. But you. And me, we have to make a purposeful decision like Daniel made. Daniel and his friends made a decision to honor God and not follow the king's directions have taken part in part a portion of his meet and want. Now, verse nine, God now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the unit, so he had he couldn't just decide by himself that he's going to do this. You want Daniel made that decision. And God gave him favor with the Prince of the Universe. So he was able to go through with this decision because we honored him. Does he ordered God? God gave him favor with the Prince of Unity and what they will asked for, said Daniel. Asked for pulse and water. Now, when I looked it up, I was like, what in the world is polls? Paul says either herbs and fruit or parched peas and lentils. So pretty much Daniel and his friends, what they were eating. Pretty much soup. Fruit. I would say the herbs and fruit probably was like a fruit salad or just a plain salad with some fruit thrown up on top, or maybe just a bean soup. How many guys would rather choose bean soup over a steak? What I thought. But they chose to do that because they knew that they wanted to honor God with the decision that they made with what God told them, God commanded them. They wanted to honor God. They rather honor God than to give in to their flesh. But they had to make a purposeful decision. You don't what this unit was concerned about. The state of how they were going to be because these other guys are getting the steak and they're getting these burgers, they're getting all these things that are going to make them look healthy. And he's like, I don't want you guys to look like you're sickly. So in verse 10, he says in the Prince of the Universe said to Daniel, I feel my lord who has appointed your meat and your drink for whites. Why should he see your face is worse likening than the children, which are which are of your sort? This out, you make me and endanger my head to the king. So he's there because he's like, If you guys are eating the soup and they're eating this glorious meat, you guys are going to look sickly. You guys are not going to look good. And then I'm going to end up dead. But then what else we you to what? Give us 10 days. Give them there. Give them them. Give them the portion of the keys. Give us this. Give us a pulse of water. Try us 10 days. Tested 10 days and come back and we'll see who comes out better. Ten days pass. Daniel, his friends making this purposeful decision not to give in to their flesh, not to give in to the things that God commanded them directly not to do. And in verse 15 and at the end of 10 days, there are countless appeared fair and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus, Melzer took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink and gave them pulse. So at the end of the ten days, Daniel and his friends look better than what the other guys did. They came out better because they decided, you know what, I'm going to honor God over giving into my flesh. I'm going to honor God instead of giving in to the things that I know I'm not supposed to do. Now, like I said, this is not just for teenagers or the kids. This is even for us as adults. When we decided to honor God with our choices, we make a purposeful, purposeful decision to honor God. You wonder what? We come out ahead in life. We get to reap the blessings in life. Now, one thing that I've always my wife can tell you, I always worry about is our finances. I'm always worried how much money she's spending, how much money I'll spend, how much we're going to spend and going out to eat, how much we're how much this is cost that cost and doctors. I'm always worried about. But that tells us not to worry. That tells us I'm going to take care of. When I told my wife, you know what, I'm not going to worry about how much work, I'm not going to worry about how much we're spending, I'm going to let you take care of it. You know what, if I see something, I'll ask you about it, but I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I won't let God take care of us. This we did our taxes in. I could definitely tell you God showed himself from. We were baffled by how much God blessed us. Because I even told her I said, you wonder what they are all of this year, we're not going to get rich. To be honest, we're going to be struggling. I said sometimes I thought, what if we don't work in McDonalds? I make a $15 an hour. Tony, when you make choices that honor God blesses you for. Those blessings, but on what you can ever think or imagine. But we this is just a decision. This is a every day decision we have to make a purposeful decision to honor him. We have a purpose in our heart that we're not going to indulge in the things that the world tries to make desirable tries to make them look pleasant. You want Daniel and his friends here later in these verses and verse, 17, says ask for these four children that gave them knowledge and skill and all learning and wisdom and Daniel her understanding that all visions and dreams, not the end of the days that the king that the king has said he should bring them in. Then the prince of the who brought them before never can desert in the king communed with them. And among them all was found. None like Daniel Helena Michelle as a right, therefore stood there before the king and all manner of wisdom and our understanding that the king inquired of them. He found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were all that were in all his realm. Because these kids decided that I'm going to honor God with my choice. I want to make a purposeful decision to honor God instead of giving in to my flesh. They were seen 10 times better than anybody else. I was brought in before the kid. They were blessed ten times more than any of those other kids that decided to indulge in what the king gave them to go against what God commanded. Kids, teenagers, adults. I just want to tell you, if you make a perfect, purposeful decision every single day that I'm going to honor God. And I'm not going to give in to these things that the world tries to make desired desirable. I'm going to honor God. You're going to come out ten times better than anybody else that decides to then take them to this size to indulge in their flesh. You're going to be blessed ten times more than what anybody in the world will ever see. You may not see it on this one and what you're definitely seeing in heaven. You will be blessed for honoring God. The world's going to make things look pleasantly desirable. They're going to look good, they're not going to look bad, they're not going to they're not going to show you the bad things about it. They're gonna show you everything looks good. I tell you what you're missing out on. But you have to make a purposeful decision of God. I want you all to you and I'm going to follow what you commanded. Daniel, his friend ended up with major blessing from God because of the decision they made at a young age to honor God, not participate in the things that the King wanted them to. We will be blessed if we decide to make purposeful decisions to honor God and not indulge in the things of this world just because they look good and they look desirable, people will try to make you feel like you're missing out. But I can tell you, I was on the other side of the I got to say that the age of 15, I was on the other side of it. You're not missing out on anything. There's nothing that they can offer that's better than what got offer. The pleasures of this world will only last for a moment. But making decisions for God will have lasting effects. So you have a choice. Will you honor God? Or are you going to give in to the pleasures of this world? That's Kim Carr, you said, are you going to please God? Where are you going to please yourself? Let's bring. Dear Lord, I thank you just for your word. I think you're just forgiving. Giving me this story just of Daniel, his friends were at a young age that they made a decision. So only. Law that they saw the desirable meat from the King Lord, but they decided that they were going to honor you instead of giving in to their flesh, but hope all of us here Lord to make purposeful decisions every single day. Lord to honor you. So honoring the commitments you're giving us to the demands you give us every single day and not to give in to the world, not to give in to the things that the world tries to make pleasantly desirable.

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