BIG IDEA: GOD CALLS US TO A LIFE WITHOUT COMPROMISE.
REFERENCES: Ecclesiastes 12:1a (Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth..)Romans 12:1 (I beseech thee therefore bretherens that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice); Ephesians 4:27b 9(Neither give place to the devil); Proverb 23:1-3 ( … when you sit at the king’s table …); Proverbs 21:1 (God turns the kings heart wherever He wishes); Proverbs 11:3a (The integrity of the upright shall guide them …); Gen. 12:1 (Abram … get thee out); Acts 7:2-4 (Abram was instructed to get thee out); Hebrews 11:1 (Now, faith is the substance of things hope …); Hebrews 11:6 (… without faith it’s impossible to please God); Romans 14:23 (Whatsoever is not faith is sin …); 2 Cor. 5:7 (We walk by faith and not by sight); Hab. 2:4 (The Just shall live by faith); Proverbs 22:6 (Train-up a child …); Joshua 24:2 (… thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, from ancient times your father lived beyond the river … namely Terah … and they served other gods); Daniel 1:8-16; James 2 (faith without works is dead); Leviticus 11-17 (Eating the dietary requirements ordained by God); Mark 10:13-16 (Jesus teaches the importance of children); I Tim 4:12-16 (Here, Pauls encourages Timothy be an example regardless of his age);
I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: DANIEL 1:8-16
II. READ THE PERICOPE: DANIEL 1:8-16
III. READ THE TEXT: DANIEL 1:8 (But 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 he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself).
IV. PURPOSE: To motivate the hearers to PURPOSE IN THEIR HEART TO
STICK TO GOD’S STANDARDS.
V. SERMONIC THEME: “Faith in a Strange Country”
INTRODUCTION: Today, is our New Multi-cultural Gospel Service … VERY … first Youth-In-Action Sunday. As you can see … on this particular day … our youth … are responsible for LEADING US in our Worship Experience.
This is important … because the Bible INFORMS US that we are to train-UP our children … THE-WAY they should go … and when they’re old … and all grown-up … they want DEPART (Proverbs 22:6).
Beginning the 2nd Sunday in October … every 2nd Sunday will be our Youth-In-Action Sunday. A monthly time that fellow believers can see … and observe the Christian Youth in Our Multicultural Community … leading our WORSHIP EXPERIENCE!
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 1: AT this time, please stand and join me in rendering a round of PRAISE-GOD applause TO OUR CHILDREN … for a WORSHIP EXPERIENCE Well-Done!
a. Our youth today … are our leaders tomorrow … ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN! The fact of the matter is AS BELIEVERS …
b. WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT OUR … BABIES, CHILDREN, YOUTH, TEENS, AND YOUNG ADULTS ARE REGULARLY TARGETED BY THE ENEMY-
c. … because he knows the IMPACT that YOUNG … FIRED-UP BELIEVERS CAN HAVE ON his WORLDLY KINGDOM.
d. FOR Don’t you remember: ADORF HITLER understood … WELL … the impact that YOUNG FOLK could have …
e. In fact, it has been said that … BEFORE HITLER GAINED CONTROL OF GERMANY, … HE BEGAN A YOUTH PROGRAM TO INDOCTRINATE THE YOUTH OF GERMANY through his “NAZI YOUTH CORPS” … which helped him in paving the way for his rise to power.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 2: For you see … my brothers and sisters … the devil knows that in order to capture a generation … you must begin with the “YOUTH”.
a. Likewise, we must SPIRITUALLY BATTLE TO KEEP WHAT BELONGS TO US. WE MUST INSTILL CHIRISTIAN PRINCIPLES in our young people …
b. we must teach them to pray; rather than fight.
C. Teach them to love rather than hate…
d. To bless and not CURSE.
e. We must teach our children to tell the TRUTH, and not LIE!
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 3: We must teach them them THE importance of TAKING A GODLY STAND and NOT COMPROMISING GODLY PRINICIPLES! We must lead and encourage OUR CHILDREN toward JESUS.
a. FOR DON’T YOU REMEMBER IN THE BOOK OF MARK 10:13-16 …
b. RIGHT AFTER JESUS’ TEACHING ON MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE …
c. THE HEARTS OF THE PARENTS IN THE AUDIENCE WERE SO MOVED BY THE AUTHORITY IN WHICH JESUS SPOKE
d. … THAT THEY SENT THEIR CHILDREN UP TO JESUS FOR HIM … TO LAY HIS HANDS ON THEM;
e. TO PRAY FOR THEM, AND TO BLESS THEM …
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 4: BUT THE DISCIPLES … who had been with our Lord … at this point … for about 3 years … JUMP-IN THE MIDST … AND STOPPED THE CHILDREN PRAYER LINE FROM coming to JESUS …
a. And it was (AT THIS POINT) THAT JESUS (himself) said, with ANGER “… suffer the children to come unto me ; and forbid them not; for of such is the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14b)
b. In other words, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, JESUS WAS SAYING c. … preachers … DON’T DO ANYTHING TO
“FORBID” THESE CHILDREN FROM COMING TO ME …
d. NOW, THE KJV uses the word FORBID … and we think of the definition of “forbid” … most of us think it means to “STOP” … WHICH IS TRUE.
e. BUT … it also means … to “hinder” … WHICH MEANS … JESUS IS NOT ONLY SAYING THAT WE MUST NOT STOP THE CHILDREN FROM COMING TO HIM … BUT HE’S ALSO SAYING THAT SHOULDN’T HINDER THEM TOO.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 5: SOMETIMES WE CAN HINDER our children spiritual progression through the way we live … AS CHRISTIANS IN THE HOME…
a. BUT … WHEN WE DO IT RIGHT … WHEN WE … AS PARENTS … ARE GOOD EXAMPLES IN THE HOME …
b. AS WELL AS … IN THE CHURCH … IT GIVES OUR CHILDREN A SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION THAT … can’t not be matched … anywhere.
c. SO MUCH SO … THAT WHEN GOD allows the enemy to draw our children away to a strange country … or a strange place without us …
d. Our CHILDREN … will hold ON TO WHAT THEY’VE BEEN TAUGHT AND HAVE FAITH IN GOD … EVEN IN A STRANGE COUNTRY …
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 6: Likewise, in our text today … we find a teenager by the name of Daniel in the midst of A STRANGE COUNTRY …
a. Someone once said that “life” is all about going IN AND OUT OF STRANGE COUNTRIES …
b. You know … places … where you’re adrift from home … and it’s easy to do foolish things that could wreck one’s life … futurisitically
c. And cause much tragedy ahead … if we get locked into doing FOOLISH AND COMPROMISING THINGS!
d. For IT HAS BEEN SAIID THAT a Strange Country is a place where landmarks aren’t known.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 6: SCHOOL IS A STRANGE COUNTRY.
A. One can get locked into doing FOOLISH AND COMPROMISING THINGS IN SCHOOL …
b. Thinking that it really doesn’t matter … and make things much more difficult for attending college or getting a good job in the future …
c. School is a strange country … for in school … one is often faced with subjects that we don’t initially understand …
****************TAKE 5 BEATS***************
MOVE 7: MARRIAGE IS A STRANGE COUNTRY.
a. One can get into a relationship without the proper guidance and counseling and find oneself EXILED FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
B. Marriage can be a Strange Country …
