Eat Your Vegetables by Dr.

Mark Hearn [Daniel 1] If you would please take your Bible's and turn to the book of Daniel the first chapter. Daniel chapter
one. We're beginning a new series of messages today entitled how to live in a world that's gone haywire and I know that for many of us it seems like the world has been turned upside down. I put as the pastor's greeting in the bulletin today the results of the Gallop poll from 2012 of the values of beliefs survey. Where 73% of people believe that moral values are deteriorating and likely continue to get worse. Almost 3/4 of the people in America think that our values system is really going downhill and unless something changes we're headed to an even a worse situation. The late theologian and preacher Francis Schaffer once said, "one day we'll wake up and the America that we once knew will be gone." Well that day probably come and has arrived. Matter-of-fact I know that even though that 80% of Americans say that they believe in Jesus Christ a 150 million Americans attended a worship service last Sunday on Easter Sunday. I just was astounded by that figure! And yet the definition of family is under debate in our Supreme Court's system and by the way its not just about marriage its about morality. Four out of ten children are born into a single family unit or single parent unit. Time magazine wrote an article several years ago that said the term "nuclear family" gives often an old musty smell. It's been replaced with serial monogamy, living with one person at a time. Marriage contracts now have sunset clauses to avoid "until death do us part" and rather have "until we are unhappy with each other." That my friends is the America in which we live and unfortunately it's the America in which my grandchildren will be raised in and it's something of which pains me as a pastor. It makes me extremely ashamed as a parent and it absolutely burdens me as a grandparent. In Decatur Illinois this past year an elementary school teacher saw the word "God" in the phonetics reading she instructed the class to cross the word out and said, "We cannot say that word in our school system." It is amazing to me that we can pass out contraceptives but we can't say the word "God" in school. Years ago I went to a seminar led by Christian statistician and sociologist George Barna in which he said, "if the trend continues as it is right now America only has one of two choices either revival or total ruin." Now I know that what some of you are saying is, "okay the pastor's about to enter into a new six week sermon series and this is going to be partisan politics," and let me assure you it is not going to be. But it is going to be a tremendous amount of personal piety that God has called us to a higher standard and he's called us to live to biblical principles and that may rub the world wrong but we're going to have to

do it anyway! We're going to have to stand for what God says is right. And so we live in a world that's gone haywire. By the way so did Daniel. Matter-of-fact if you take Daniel's ministry it took place during the time of the Babylonian captivity. The world really truly had been turned upside down and in the book of Daniel is considered to be one of the most important in the entire Old testament some people call Daniel the Old Testament's revelation because the book is divided into two very distinctive sections and we're only going to deal with the first half Daniel one through six is about the historical section of Daniel its about Daniel and his friends and how that they stood in a world that was in the midst of turmoil. Daniel chapters seven through twelve are prophetic passages that tell us about the coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. But in chapter one we're introduced to Daniel and to his friends. Daniel at this time is approximately sixteen years of age, he's a teenager, and one of the mystiques that I found about young people is that young people hate being told what to do like the sermon title today, "eat your vegetables", nobody want to be told, "eat your vegetables", especially a sixteen year old. But yet even though young people don't want to be told what to do I believe that innately they want to do the right thing and so there's a dichotomy that's taking place. Barna researchers discovered there are some specific time frames that are very young and sometimes are missed as the time period in which people are developing their world view and they're developing their moral system. For instance, he says there are four critical times in the life of a person. First, a persons moral foundation turned generally in place by the time they reached the age of nine. Their fundamental perspective on truth, integrity, meaning, justice, morality, and ethics are formed very early in life and so when we talk about how that we need workers for Vacation Bible School because we want to be able to share the gospel with the entire community and be able to share with young people about how that they can make great choices and be spiritually in tune it is so very important because their moral fiber often time is totally formed by the age of nine. Secondly, that their response to the meaning and the personal value of Jesus life and death and resurrection is most often determined by the age of eighteen. Do you realize that after the age of eighteen only one in ten thousand people will ever be saved. Only one in ten thousand. Third, the most spiritual beliefs are irrevocable formed by their preteen years. In essence George Barna says, "What you believe by the age of thirteen you will probably believe for the rest of your life." And fourth, that research revealed that church leaders usually came to grips with their faith at an early age and were involved in church as children and as teenagers. Here is Daniel a teenager about ready to make some of the most important decisions of his life but even more important than that is that theyre going to be decisions that are going to shape an entire generation and are going to change literally the world. Daniel chapter one - let's look at verse eight and following as our text for today. Would you show honor to the reading of the God's Word by standing together with me. The Bible says... "8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the kings food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. 9 God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,

10 yet he said to Daniel, My lord the king assigned your food and drink. Im afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life with the king. 11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the kings food, and deal with your servants based on what you see. 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. 15 At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the kings food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables." Let's pray together. Father I pray your blessings upon the reading of your Holy Word and Lord I'm praying for a generation of young men and women who will rise up to change this trend. If 3/4 of Americans believe that we are headed towards doom Lord I pray that there will be a mighty army of young people who would say, "No we're headed towards being blessed!" And father I pray that we as a church would fan the flames of revival and renewal that's happening among young people across America today and that our greatest desire would be to see them come to faith in Christ and to be nurtured in their relationship and that we would applaud young men and women like Daniel who stand in the midst of adversity for we pray this in Jesus Name. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. In the midst of a world that's gone haywire the book of Daniel is actually a book in which young men are doing the right thing at the right time. There are several things in this first chapter I want to point out to you and the first is the character of strong leadership. In versus one and two is the setting of that strong leadership. In verse one we are introduced to two kings the Bible says that, "the third year the reign of Jehoiakim the king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon." Two kings in verse one. The first is Jehoiakim the king of Judah. Jehoiakim was a godless man. Matter-of-fact he was so godless that in the book of Jeremiah chapter 36 and in verse 23 the bible says that he called the prophet to come and to read the scriptures to him and as he was reading the scriptures he would cut them out and then he would burn them in the fire as if to say, okay I'm not going to listen to that we're not going to have any of that around here" and so in Jeremiah chapter 22 and verses 18-19 the bible foretold that when Jehoiakim died he would be tossed out into the outskirts of the city like a dead animal, like a dead donkey, and that would be the way in which he would be remembered. Jehoiakim was an evil king. But

the second king that's mentioned here is Nebuchadnezzar a brilliant military strategist, leader of the largest army in the known world at his time, and someone who had a great deal of pride and prejudice about him. But there's a third king that's mentioned. He's mentioned in verse two he's not described as a king but I assure you he is a king. For in the second verse it says, "And the Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, The third king that is mentioned here is the Lord God. You see there are Jehoiakims in this world, there are Nebuchadnezzars in this world, but there has to be a people who would recognize there is a king that is above those kings. Saint Augustine wrote back in the 5th century a book entitled, "The City of God". In it he said there are two societies, two cities, a worldly society living among the Jehoiakims and the Nebuchadnezzars of this life and a spiritual city living among the reign and the rule of God Almighty and the theme of the book of Daniel is this - who is going to be your king? Are you going to bow to the Jehoiakims of this world? Are you going to bow to the Nebuchadnezzars of this world? Are you going to recognize God is on the throne and God is my king? So, the setting of strong leadership. The second thing is the search for strong leadership. Nebuchadnezzar has the Israelites in captivity and so he decides I want the best of the best to come and to come and be trained under my leadership so that they might have positions in my government, and so in verse 4 he tells his men to go out and find these candidates for those scholarships, and he says here are the characteristics I want you to look for. First of all they need to be impressionable. It says in verse 4 they are to be young men. In the King James Version it uses the word "children". Its a word that literally means those that are of teen years of life. Several of lifes most important decisions are made in those teenage years of life. They make the decision as to who their going to marry and what vocation their going to follow, and how theyre going to live their life, and so during those impressionable times of life I want to be able to influence them. I remember when our four daughters were young and growing up and one of the games that was the board game that was so famous was the game of "Life." You remember the game of "Life?" I think it's still around and I remember our oldest daughter Michelle said, "I think the object of the game of life is to fill your car up with kids and get home." You know and I thought well that may be indicative as to how the game of life will be working for you. So they're impressionable. But the second characteristic is they're to be invincible. He says without any physical defect. In the King James Version it says, "no blemish". In other words they are to be physical specimens when you see them their going to be the best among the best.

The third thing about them is that they are to be immaculate. The Bible says that they are to be good looking not only healthy but they are to be handsome. I remember one year on our anniversary I told my precious wife Glenda I said, "Glenda I want you to know that youre the answer to my prayers. I prayed to God that He would send me a good looking Godly woman." And she said, "Good looking?" And I said, "I wouldn't have prayed to God for an ugly Godly woman." You know some of the young ladies in this congregation are looking for these same men: impressionable, invincible, immaculate, and then noticed the fourth thing about them they are to be intelligent. Gifted in all wisdom, possessing

knowledge, and quick to understand. They're to be the deans list. They're the Phi Beta Kappas. They're the smartest among the smartest. This search for leadership and then the selection of that leadership. In verse 5 these fine young men were to get their full expense paid scholarship to the University of Babylon they'll study for three years and all of their food will be paid for and everything will be taken care of and the Bible says in verse 5, so at the end they will be a servant of the king. The very purpose of drawing them in is that they would serve Nebuchadnezzar. And so we're introduced in verse 6 to the four choices. Good Hebrew boys with good Hebrew names. Daniel whose name means "God is my Judge", Hananiah whose name means "Jehovah is Gracious to me", Mishael whose name means "Who is He that is like my God", Azariah whose name means "The Lord is my Help", and so Nebuchadnezzar says those names remind me of your God and so we're just going to change your names because that's not what I want to call you so he changed Daniel's name to "Belteshazzar" which means "Bel which is one of the false gods "protect my life." He changed Hananiah to "Shadrach" [which means] "I'm fearful of god". Mishael change your name to "Meshach" [which means] "I'm despised before god". And Azariah we'll change your name to "Abednego" [which means] "the servant of Nego", and Nebuchadnezzar could change their names but Nebuchadnezzar could never change their hearts. The character of good strong leadership. But the second thing in this text is the conflict of good strong leadership. With this scholarship came a meal ticket to the king's table and some of the foods that were on the king's table were prohibited by Jewish law and the most troubling of which were the meats that were offered to idols and they knew they've been taught from the time that they were infants that they were not to eat the meat that had been offered to idols and so these young men are placed into an adult situation that they have a decision that they have to make. Now several things about that decision, first of all I want to tell you it was an individual decision. Daniel faced peer pressure but he also faced fear pressure and he knew how to say "no". He knew when to say "no". Josh McDowell in his book "Why Wait" tells young people: "that if you want to remain sexually pure you need to learn how to say "no", you need to practice saying it in front of the mirror, you need to practice saying it over and over again, is learn how to say "no". Your starting my child on lifes journey along the grand highway of life you'll meet with a thousand temptations every city will have evil and strife this world is a stage of excitement it's danger wherever you go but if you're tempted in weakness have courage learn my child say "no". Be careful in choosing companions seek only the brave and the true stand by your friends who were in trial not changing the old for the new and when by the fault you are tempted and the taste of the forbidden to know with firmness with patience and with kindness have courage my child say "no." Daniel had learned the lesson on how to say "no." It was an individual situation but I want you to notice it was an incredible decision. Now I say it's an incredible decision because realize that the odds that he was standing against. First of all he was disobeying the government. Now there's only one time that the

Bible says that it's alright for us to disobey government and that's when we're disobeying God in order to obey government. That's why Acts chapter 5 verse 29 Peter's been told that he needs to quit preaching or they'll put him in prison and in Acts 5:29 he says, "we ought to obey God rather than man", and so there are going to be times, I believe, in my life were literally I'm going to have to make the decision as to whether to be obedient to God or to be obedient to government and those are the only times that the Bible gives us permission to disobey government. Disobedience could possibly bring severe punishment. We'll learn later in Daniel Chapter 3 it sure does. Extreme punishment. The menu was probably extremely tantalizing I think about those long buffet lines on a cruise line and I think what would've been like to be sitting at the king's table with all that he would have to offer. They jeopardize their scholarships and their future in the government their positions were in jeopardy and not only that but by all probability their parents were probably back in exile and were nowhere to be found. No one would know the decisions that they made accept them and God. It was an incredible decision but it was also an influential decision. In the verse 10 the Bible says, the King will come back and see your faces the word "your" plural in other words it was not just Daniel's decision. When Daniel made the decision Daniel his friends were influenced by it and every single person in this room has the sphere of influence some of which you may not know. What's the big deal? I'll tell you what the big deal is. Luke chapter sixteen verse 10 [Luke 16:10] says, "whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with very much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with very much." God knows who can be trusted and God knows who will make a tremendous influence. You know when I was in high school I can remember as an eighth grader I can name every person on the high school football team. What position they played, what statistics they had, I could name every person on the high school varsity football team. When I was a varsity football player I could name you one player on the eighth grade team. There's always someone looking at your life. You may not know it. It may be a neighbor. It may be a work associate. It may be someone in your family, it may be in your circle of friends or acquaintances but there's someone whom you have a sphere of influence and your decisions impact their lives. The character of strong leadership, the conflict of strong leadership, and thirdly the contest of a strong leadership. Daniel says I'll just ask you to put me to the test. Matter-of-fact let's just put to test this diet issue. I'll eat anything that has "pulse" in it (it says in the King James Version) in other words seeds. He's saying, "I'll eat from the vegetable garden and I'll do so for ten days and all you need to do is give me ten days of vegetables and water." You knew after the first of the year, after we've been through the Christmas season and overindulging what's the first thing the sales circular put out? Exercise equipment and "Slim Fast" and the "Slim Fast" slogan is "give us a week we'll take off the wait!" You know the whole idea is that there be a noticeable difference in you after one weeks time. Well Daniel said, "give us ten days come back and see if there's not a noticeable difference." In other words, it doesn't take long for you and I to be made extremely different then this world. It doesn't take very long for us to be walking in obedience for us to be distinctively different than the world. Their diet. But then secondly there demonstration.

Take a look at these two lives and the judgment comes when they get on the scale. You know I like watching the "Biggest Loser" because I like watching those heartwarming stories of people who have made dedication in their life to lose the weight and then they get on the scale and they are able to celebrate. But its also the time in which it really hits the wheel. It's time for them to decide are we in it or not? Two teenage boys grew up in Dallas Texas in the 1950's. Both of them came from rough neighborhoods and from dysfunctional families. Both of them attended Sunday school on the same Sunday were directed to different to different Sunday school classes. One of them their Sunday school teacher contacted them over and over again trying to get them to come back until eventually he won that young boy over to Christ and he became a Christian, was baptized, and became eventually the executive director of evangelism for the Florida Baptist Convention. The other young boy that visited on that very same Sunday was directed to another class no indication of any contacts, no one heard from him again until he shot and killed the President of the United States, his name Lee Harvey Oswald. I thought two young boys on the same Sunday attending Sunday school one fostered and encouraged one forgotten and left to his own devices. Their demonstration.

But then thirdly their determination. You know he was in it for the long haul. Someone very graciously came up to me last Sunday on Easter and said pastor how much weight have you lost and I'll be very honest with you I don't know if I've lost any weight but I just responded, "I've lost about 400 pounds." Which they looked very wide eyed and I said, yeah I lost the same twenty pounds about twenty times. That's about 400 pounds!" And I don't know how many times we've made decisions and we've not made them with determination that this is not for the one time only this is a lifestyle this is what we're in and the Bible says in verse 16 of the text, they continued this. It wasn't just to prove a point it wasn't just to say, "look at how our diet it better than the kings diet." They said, "Were in this forever!" The character of strong leadership, the conflict of strong leadership, the contest of strong leadership, and then finally is the conclusion of strong leadership. God says in 1 Samuel 2:20 "them that honor me I will honor them!" God always rewards people who were faithful. Have you ever noticed that throughout the scriptures that wherever people are found to be faithful God always provides a reward and in the last paragraph of this chapter there are three rewards that are given. First of all there is spiritual revelation. In the 17th verse it says, "And God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom and Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind." Not only were they given the head knowledge but they were given a heart knowledge of which God is and how God moves and how He moves in their lives. You know its one thing to have head knowledge full of facts it is another thing to have heart knowledge full of faith. I remember a friend of mine in seminary days who didn't study very often just to be quite frank he didn't study very often and we'd get to the examination and I shared with him several memory tools that I used, some rhyming memory tools like "one gun", "two shoe", "three tree", and then I'd say, "here's how you can remember these long lists and he put that to work and I said, "what's your plan? You wait till the day of the exam and you come to me and I've given you some of these

memory tools?" And he says, "Basically my plan is this I pray and I trust and I trust God for the results and if that doesn't work I cheat like the devil." I said, "Hows that working for you?" There's so many people who have learned how to put it in their head but never have learned how to put it into their heart that here these young men had a heart full of faith. They were given spiritual revelation but then they were also given royal elevation. In versus 18-20 it says, "At the end of the days" in other words at the graduation exercises these were the top four in the class. Now I don't know what comes after first and second but they were the top four in the class. They were recognized and then also it was not something just for the here and now for there was personal continuation. Daniel lived through the entire Babylonian empire. 1 John 2:17 says, "The world passes away and its lust but he who does the will of God shall abide forever." You hear what that says friends? it means that whatever this world has to toss at us, no matter that the world is spinning out of control, no matter what may happen between North and South Korea this week, no matter what may happen, I'm telling you God is still in control and young people tell me from time to time, "I'll miss out on things if I make a decision like that!" I can assure you are not alone. The Bible says in Matthew 6:33 "Seek First the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all these other things shall be added to you." In other words when we make commitments God always provides.

Of 100 unsaved high schoolers 80% of them will die without Jesus Christ. Only one (1) in 1,000 beyond the age of thirty (30) will ever come to Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13 says that all things are possible for through Him who loved us so. Can I tell you friends that in the midst of a world thats gone haywire we need to realize that everything is still possible? 75% may say that this world is headed toward moral destruction and moral decay but I'm telling you I not only have faith in the next generation I have faith in the God of the next generation. I'm not only encouraged but I'm blessed and we need to be fanning the flames of those young people who would stand in faith and be counted like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and say, "may they take the gospel to another generation and beyond." All things are possible through Him who loves us!

Let's pray together.

Father I believe with all my heart we're living in a world that's been turned upside down, but Lord I don't want to grow discouraged, I don't want to be disheartened, I want to live by faith, and I want to claim precious promises today, and I want to pray for the next generation. I'm praying for the young people of our own church. I'm praying God for those that are in high school and in middle school and in grade school that Lord not only will they be pointed in the right direction but God that they would claim new territory for the Lordship of Christ. I pray Lord that we would be a church that would fan the flame to see those people come and worship and to worship correctly and Father to be blessed. Father I thank you for the gathering of God's people that we might be encouraged and strengthened.

Now with every head bowed and with every eye closed I'd be remised this morning to not give you this opportunity. There may be people who arrived here today as I've said with a bag full of your concerns but let me encourage you God is still on the throne and He's waiting for those who will say, "I want Jesus to be Lord and Savior of my life. I want Him to be king of my heart. The Lord is my king! Not Nebuchadnezzar, not Jehoiakim, the Lord is my King!" And if that is your prayer and if you would like to make Jesus Lord of your heart today would you pray this with me as I pray it out loud:

"Lord Jesus come into my heart and save me! The Bible says every one of us has disobeyed God and because of our disobedience one day we'll all die. That's the penalty for our sin but Jesus died for me. He took my place he paid my penalty and I believe that and because Jesus did that for me from this day forward I will live for him.

Would you remain with your heads bowed? In a few seconds we're going to begin to sing and when we do if you prayed that prayer, man, woman, boy, or girl, from the oldest here to the youngest here, would you just make your way down any of these aisles and tell one of our pastors, "I prayed with the preacher today. I want Jesus in my life." Now could it be also that God has brought you here because God wants you here? He wants you to be a part of this team? He wants you to be a part of this effort? He wants you to be a part of this family? I want to be a part of the First Baptist Church! And so this is also a time for you to say, "I want to be a part of this family. I want to join this church by statement or by letter from another fellowship. Or, if you've never been baptized it would be our honor and privilege to baptize you. We invite you to come because baptism is the way of telling the world you are a Christian.

Father bless this time of invitation. Draw people to yourself to do what you would have us do for we pray this in Jesus Name. Amen.

Would you stand together with me our praise team is making their way back to the platform their going to lead us in a time of singing our staff members are going to make their way to the front our councilors are going to come you come as we begin to sing together! All Rights Reserved. First Baptist Church Duluth, GA Please visit http://duluthbaptist.org for more sermons and information about First Baptist Duluth