The Giant of Conformity - Part B

Easy thing to go along with that everybody thinks it tells you to do and don't speak up, that's easy. Anybody and everybody doesn't don't go against the flow be alive block the system go against the flow. Stand up for. Don't be ashamed of Jesus never said promised persecution and trials today on connect with Skip Skip shares how God blesses deviance and devotion to lubricant and at the end of today's program Skip his wife. When you share you can root out worldly influences in your life, you commit yourself to the Lord. If you know you have a propensity toward a certain behavior. If somebody's present some friendship in your life avert that caller call you were asking hard questions.

That's another level thanks skip. Be sure to stay tuned after today's message to hear the full conversation.

We want to tell you about a resource that will encourage even more in your face. Highlights are punctuated by defining moments points that seem to me are now and will become such as choice of marriage partner Chester Park. I think it starts there's predictable events that happened like in your life. But every now and then life sort of hits you by surprise comes crashing down on you are going a direction day is planned out to get a phone call from a doctor or a friend news is not good. The prognosis is not good and you didn't see it coming. God's word has the direction to get you through the planned and unplanned pivot points in your life point package seeks to manage depression recovery. The teacher to any location or job.

These teachings that include written personal direction from scab on each of these topics you received this package when you get $50 or more today to this Bible teaching ministry pastor's point collection of six messages writing letter from Pastor's Thing, you can strengthen your faith faith that cannot be tested faith cannot get these critical point messages today when you get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or call 892 1888 Daniel chapter 1, June Skip Heitzig for today's step. Daniel according to his locker were slaughtered for canning and when you can eat a difficult kosher cuisine and when you can eat it. It's on culture and it's a practice still to this day. So, according to Levitical laws certainly couldn't eat stuff that is been sacrificed to pagan gods and the way the Babylonians prepared it evidently was not. According to Jewish kosher laws so he disses negative and then he said I don't want the wine because the wind had been poured onto pagan altars. I was there practice and then the rest of the wine was taken undiluted and the Jews didn't drink undiluted wine they would mix their wine 20 parts water to one part of wine because line was basically used by the Jews to kill germs.

So the idea of something that was offered to a foreign God that might give me an altered state of consciousness as well as this pagan revelry. No I'm not going to do. So he called it a defilement and I know you might think. Yeah, I still don't see what the big deal is. I mean Daniel is not in Jerusalem he's in Babylon so dude accommodate right me when Babylon lived like the Babylonian jerk your parents are even around your friends are being argued around the rabbis are here nobody's in the sea do what you want you a lot of excuses that's that's the deal. Daniel wasn't looking for an excuse because Danny was living with purpose and when you live with purpose. You don't look for an excuse. Your reason you look for in excuses. If you have a purpose to look for. So he he had a purpose get a name. He had a goal. He's saying basically to the king and to the Kings head of the UNIX luck. You can isolate me and you can reeducate me and you can intimidate me and you can redesignate me but you can't change me. This is who I am at the core, no matter what happens. So I am not afraid which brings up a topic. What is it that the files you there's all sorts of things that came to us that pollute us the corrupt stick can contaminate us.

They could be movies or TV shows that you now feel the freedom to binge on website you go to places you frequent relationships you're involved in what I am suggesting from the Scriptures is that you develop the conviction to say no, so that you will have the occasion to say yes develop the conviction to say no, so that you will have the occasion to say yes when you close the door to defilement you open the door to development God will do some great things you say no to certain things new opportunities. The Lord will spring into your path now. It all begins in the heart that all begins deep inside. It begins with a belief system or mindset that no matter where I am at whether I'm in Jerusalem or Babylon whether I'm in church or in Starbucks. No matter where I might be. God is always there. The camera is always on the microphone is always on.

It says in Proverbs 5 the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all of his past member, the story of Moses before he became Moses, the leader and he was disgruntled because he knew that the Egyptians were oppressing the Israelites and he looked when Danny saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite Moses went over and killed him. This is what the Bible says Moses look this way and Moses look that way. And Moses killed you know what his problem was he didn't look that way. And if you live that when looking this way and that way so our people looking God is always looking and Daniel knew that even as young teenagers about ongoing gods here gods here so I was his protest is the predicament that the protest but I want to show you something else I want to show you the petition go go back to verse eight Daniel purpose in his heart he would not defile himself. The portion of the Kings delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested notice that word you requested of the chief of the UNIX that he might not defile himself now got it brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the UNIX and the chief of the UNIX said to Daniel, I fear, my lord the king. I'm afraid of Nebuchadnezzar who is appointed your food and drink. This is his menu, not mine.

Why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age than you would endanger my head before the king, like our king is in a nice guy he cuts heads up minds next so Daniel said to the Stuart from the chief of the UNIX set over Daniel Hannan I Michelle and Azariah, please test your servants for 10 days and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink the vegan diet then let our appearance be examined before you and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the Kings delicacies as you see fit.

So deal with your servants so he consented with them in this matter and tested them for 10 days. I watch this Daniel is just reactive.

Daniel is proactive he's he's not just resisting in order.

He is requesting an alternative, so please note 1st of all, in verse eight it says Daniel requested than say Daniel demanded or Daniel picketed or Daniel yell and protested and screamed and defamed request that's showing honor with verse 12 with the first were what is Daniel say please mama taught him right uses. Please and thank you. Please test your servants for 10 days. She Daniel is not some holier than thou kid thing. Look here, you filthy pagans is respectful. He's nice is honoring and God brought him into the respect and honor of the servant head of the UNIX you know in Proverbs 16 it reads when a man's ways please the Lord. He makes even his enemies be at peace with him.

That's what you have happening here yet be a nonconformist. By all means be a nice one. You want to be a mean one, you can be a nice one will try to pick a fight. In second Timothy chapter 2 verse 24 says, and a servant of the Lord must not quarrel. Be gentle to all, able to teach patient in humility correcting those who are in opposition if God perhaps will grant them repentance. Some people some Christian people, some preachers always seem mad mad at those that disagree with him or her are rebuking political leaders ranting about what is really personal opinion in Franklin was right. He said you catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar want to remember what I'm about to say you need to be winsome. If you want to win some you need a winsome personality. If you want to win others to Christ, you need to be winsome. If you want to win some, so Daniel requested an Daniel said please there's an alternative.

Let's do a test still. I don't want to forget the Daniel was not silent. He spoke up.

He didn't agree.

He dug his heels and there was a line he wouldn't cross and he made it known that he wouldn't cross against this onslaught of Babylonian cultural pressure that is thrust on him. He says I will not conform no it's not that he's going to change Babylon because you won't. Babylon will not change because of Daniel's ministry there. You get a king in chapter 4 confessing the God of heaven, but they're going to continue in their pagan practices that are not gonna stop worshiping their false gods there knocking to stop being corrupt and the judgment of God will rest upon Babel and so he's like a change Babylon, but that's not what this is about Daniel's not trying to change Babylon wasn't about changing Babel. This is about not letting Babel and change him. It's this cultural conformity that I will not bow to and I think this is important especially in this day and age. If your agenda becomes. We've got a take America back you're gonna die disappointed if you think you're going to go back 200 years. The founding fathers bill you're going to be very very disappointed that ship has sailed. There's been too many elections are been too many laws passed and yes there are certain things we can hold onto.

But it's really not about trying to get America back for a was it's about the church standing strong in the midst of I'm not called to be worried about America as a pastor are more worried about God's people. It's time for the church to refuse to conform to the culture. It's time for the church to refuse to go along with the agenda. It's time for the church to refuse letting the culture tell us how to raise our kids or how to live our lives we can live anyway they want. They describe to me how I'm in a live my life what I would teach my kids now. It's funny because they're always saying to people like me and people like us stay in your lane. Christians stay in your churches stay in your cubicle stay in your corner. Don't get involved in our issues. What's interesting about that as they have no qualms getting involved in our issues sticking their nose in our tent trying to mandate all sorts of things to us and all the why this a separation of church and state. Yeah, didn't even know what that originally means typically and so this a separate search of the get out of here church, but they want the state to impose things on the church and if we don't, they resort to humiliation and vilification and censorship. All that to say this, and I believe this with all my heart. We are living in a Daniel moment where in that moment we have unprecedented pressure all around us, so we need to pray for the same kind of wisdom. The Daniel had in the moment that he had certain things I'm gonna refuse so you know going forward under certain things in this culture auditor what government says certain things I will refute but I'll do it with respect do it with a smile. They may lock me up and put me in jail, but I'll do it with class so that that is the petition I give you my cell make to close with this. The payoff there's a payoff to all of this and that is verse 15.

If you're wondering will all of this saying no water to get Daniel verse 15. At the end of 10 days there features. These little vegan kids the end of 10 days there features appeared better and fatter in flesh not typically that is not a compliment, but in this context, it really is a complement. Hey, you're looking fat. Thank you as I would score them points at the end of those days they look better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the Kings delicacies. Thus the story took away their portion of delicacies and wine that they were to drink and gave them vegetables. I'm I know Daniel became their enemy. After that I really now we can a desert were eat your stupid vegetable and water diet is for these four young man God gave them knowledge and skill in the literature and wisdom and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams forgot honor their commitment. First of all, in their parents. They look great. Second of all, in their prominence, they graduated at the top of their class.

The ace the test. Look in the verse 19 the king interviewed them and among them all. None was found like a Daniel Hannan I Michelle and Azariah. Therefore, they served before the king and all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in his room 10 times better literally in the Hebrew text 10 hands 10 hands so this like horse measurement.

The ideas that one of Daniel is worth 10 of these magicians from the Babylonian court 10 times better, appearance, prominence, and there's 1/3 payoff influence. Influence verse 21 of the very last verse of the chapter. Thus, Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus know we would just read through that are not really On that but I need to explain. We believe Daniel came to Babylon as a young teenager because he lives through the entire 70 year captivity into his latter years and for him to live 70 years in Babel and he must've gotten there as a teenager because the introduction of King Cyrus is in 536 BC. So from 605 BC to 536 BC to the entire captivity.

Daniel had influence influences King Nebuchadnezzar. In chapter 2, three and four introduce Nebuchadnezzar to the God of heaven in chapter 4 he influences Bell Chavez are in chapter 5 the handwriting on the wall incident all the way to Cyrus the Medo Persian Empire takes over the Babylonians on absent most of I would say the Daniel's influence even went beyond that because years later, centuries later, it says wise men from the East showed up in Jerusalem, saying we have seen his star in the East and we have come to worship him. The Magi, the Magi were Babylonian priests from the court of the Babylonian king of Babylon, the Medo Persian big question is how on earth would Babylonian priests know to look for a Jewish king unless Gaia told him about it. In fact, if you know the book of Daniel. That's the theme of the book of Daniel, the Jewish king who will rule the world. And years later, they were still being influenced by Daniel. So here's the here's the take away this morning, go against the flow. Flow out there is pretty strong cultural floats a political flow. It's a moral flow. It's a musical flow go against it.

Go against the flow. Not easy to do it hard to go against the flow. Any dead fish can flow downstream easiest thing to do is go along with that everybody thinks and tells you to do for Dan, don't speak up, that's easy. Anybody. Everybody doesn't don't go against the flow be alive fish buck the system go against the flow. Stand up for Christ.

Don't be ashamed of the gospel on a close by reading to you something that was found. This is from the 1920s and 30s. It was found among the papers, a journal of a missionary to Zimbabwe after he was martyred for his faith in Christ.

He writes this I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of his, and I won't look back.

Let up, slow down, back away or be still my past is redeemed, my present makes sense. My future is secure. I'm done and finished with a low living site walking, small planning, smoothing these colorless dreams came divisions Monday and talking cheap living and dwarfed goals. My face is set.

My gait is fast.

My goal is heaven, my road may be narrow my way rough.

My companions few but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.

I will not be bought compromise detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy or ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up or let up until I stayed up, stored up, prayed out paid up and preached up the cause of Christ.

You live like that world will not know what to do with that kind of boldness that kind of nonconformity nuts with this missionary wrote in the killed. I gotta say a good way to go out to all the ways I could think of going out of this world. That sounds pretty good Skip message scooping the studio with Skip is the sheer you can boot out worldly Hutus in your life, we commit yourself to the Lord. Sometimes the things that this world can slowly begin to defile our faith in our lives as we lift her teeth root out those things and commit. We commit to living fully God's purpose yeah boy, that's a big issue is in it, forming to the things of this world pulses we should be transform.

So I think we have to. There is there is the first step would be identity you identify things that you are, you know what is your kryptonite.

What is it for you that when you get around it or you're involved in is gonna drag you down.

Everybody can in out few seconds. Everybody listening to this can identify something and then proximity.

You know us, a healthy distance you know of the writer of Proverbs, Solomon talked to his son about staying away from the harlots housetrained and go down her path don't even look in that direction so once you identify it in a healthy proximity to it and then another third thing, especially for certain people would be accountability a week every Christian talks about that but if you know you have a propensity toward a certain behavior if somebody's present some friendship in your life that you cultivate could help avert that you could call her could call you or ask you hard questions.

That's another level and then finally I guess I would say it's one thing to fight those things that it's better if you replace that energize something on SLK so the Bible talks about that is transformation.

You don't just say no to certain things to say yes to other things and you get so busy serving the Lord and that so much more satisfying that that you lose a taste for the previous know we get blind spots. I love that you set having the other person you now for me introspection is way I get really lost and that the paralysis of self-analysis. That is, if there is a possibility to really overthink something out that strips off and I'll say honey do you see this in my life and you help put the brakes on what I like that you asked that question. I wish more people asked that question. If you could do that in, especially in a marriage.

I think that's important, don't you think that's the friendship aspect that we enjoy Thanksgiving lagniappe we had this conversation inspires you to keep living for Christ.

We will invite you to help others find this same inspiration with this difficult teaching to give justice to connectwithskip.com/donate back connectwithskip.com/donate or you can call 800-9200 19 to thank you tune into my Skip Heitzig explores the times we need to speak up as believers. God works powerfully through you. When you speak