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you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you I sent three charts to you online, I believe, one time through, two times through, and three times through, and obviously you can make your own chart that's just to try to be helpful for you. And you do get a prize if you do the New Testament reading. We do have the candy or the chips. You get one for that as well. So I believe that's it for announcements. At this time, we'll have Brother Marlon lead us in the song. Okay, you've heard that song. That's the third to hit number twenty-five. Let's sing the song, Wounded for Me. Hit number twenty-five. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. Wounded for Me. And where's my boy? He's here. He's not the same. Oh, how I place you He's only me. He's not the same. Amen. Amen. First reading goes over to your Bibles in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Please say amen if you're there. Amen. Daniel chapter one verse one. 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Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. 85 jan. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. Daniel chapter one. At thisba Obama high school she told the young kids , one began Complex Right at this time these children are being taken away to a foreign land at a young age They better be prepared for it, right? I mean, there's no time anymore after that to get good Bible training good preaching and stuff like that The time has already taken place for that You better be prepared or you're not going to be successful and look it's like this at Anything in life if you're prepared you can be successful if you're not prepared you're gonna fail Right who wants to run a marathon and Not train for it. I'm gonna win the marathon. I'm gonna be the greatest marathon runner in the Philippines It's like okay great. How often do you run? I never I'm just gonna run and just my zeal and excitement's gonna win me that race Look the only way you're gonna win that race you hop on a motorcycle or something like that Because you're not winning that race on your feet if you don't train for it Right, you're not gonna be successful That's just the way it works. I mean, it's just common sense I mean, I've been giving people a warning Hey, you want to do this chess tournament practice the five-minute games because you need to practice, right? Whatever you do in life, if you're going to be successful, you need to be prepared. That's just the way it works You're not going to be successful just because of excitement or zeal you must be prepared Otherwise you're gonna fail and they take these kids at a young age They better be prepared to serve God because they're gonna be in a foreign land in a wicked country No longer underneath the authority of their parents. They better be ready, right? Now what it said was Ash Panaz was the master of his eunuchs now when it comes to being a eunuch in our modern day being a eunuch is not really that common and Just basically I mean you can ask your parents for more details if you don't know what that is But basically they don't have the ability to procreate as men now I personally believe that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are amongst the eunuchs personally I believe that they would fit under that category of basically being a eunuch But this man Ash Panaz is the master of his eunuchs and oftentimes if you conquered an enemy You would cause them to be a eunuch because you don't want them to procreate That is one of the reasons another reason is because they wanted to have certain people that they could have watched over The women where nothing would happen to them and they could trust that they wouldn't do anything So they would need eunuchs for this job. Okay, and so Ash Panaz is the master of the eunuchs Then it says here in verse 4 children in whom was no blemish but well favored and skillful in all wisdom and cunning in knowledge and Understanding science and such as that ability in them to stand in the king's palace in whom they might teach the learning in the tongue Of the Chaldeans. So what they're doing is picking specific children that physically have no blemishes Well favored which would I would would say would indicate being, you know, respectful, you know, very well spoken Skillful in all wisdom so they have intelligence cunning in knowledge Understanding science and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace The Bible does not tell us how old these kids are. I think they're under the age of 10, though I don't think we're talking about children that are like 16 years old I think we're talking about under the age of 10 most likely and so basically they're picking kids that are educated intelligent and prepared and ready for life Right now look when it comes to these kids being prepared Primarily that's the parents job to make sure those kids are prepared When a kid is three years old and four and five and six and seven and eight It's the parents job to make sure they're in church Right, you're not expecting the kid to stand on their own That's the parents job to raise them teach them the Word of God help them be educated Especially at this time you would presume that they were homeschooled by their parents. And so these kids are prepared Okay, look if we want our kids to grow up and serve God and be successful in life and Accomplish things in work. They need to be prepared We need to make sure they're ready We make sure we raise kids that are intelligent that love God that know the scriptures because it's going to be difficult Going forward serving God, right? Last I checked it's harder to serve God and be successful now than it was ten years ago And look, I think it's only gonna get harder as time goes by these kids are prepared They're ready because their parents prepared them verse number five and It says at the end of verse four in whom they might teach the learning in the tongue of the Caledon So what it's saying at the end of verse four is they pick kids that were intelligent and now they're gonna brainwash those kids Right, they're gonna teach them the language But they're also gonna brainwash them and basically the customs and the teachings of the Caledon Basically, they're going through a brainwashing session and look in 2022 our kids are going to be going through brainwashing sessions in their lives It's just a fact that's what's going to take place. Now. What's interesting in this story is this is kind of unique in 2022 everybody's gonna get brainwashed. It's just the way the world works in 2022. We better make sure they're prepared then verse 5 and The king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat and of the wine which he drank So nourishing them three years that at the end thereof they might stand before the king Now when it says The king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat when it says meat there that's not necessarily referring to steak Chicken beef it's referring to the food that they're eating because the word flesh is used in the Bible to refer to What we would know as meat just referring to what they ate But I would imagine Since this is coming from the king and they're basically eating the same thing that King Nebuchadnezzar is eating that they're getting nice meals Doesn't that make sense? I mean the king is obviously gonna eat nice food and you know what you'd imagine they're getting really nice food Probably actual meat that they're getting really expensive food and nice food by the world standards So the king is appointing them a daily provision of the king's meat And of the wine which he drank now, it doesn't specifically tell us whether the wine is Fermented or unfermented. Here's what I would say. Obviously Daniel says, you know what this is wrong. This is a sin I'm not gonna eat this food. I'm not gonna drink this wine There's two possibilities that I can think of one is that the meat is unclean and the wine is alcoholic That's one possibility. Probably a good possibility The other one could be that it's offered to a false idol. That's the other possibility or both could be the case Okay, I would say probably the first one for the fact that they get alternative food So you would think if this food was offered to a false idol so with the second food as well But it doesn't specifically tell us but what we do know is that Daniel says I'm not gonna eat this food I'm not gonna drink this wine because it would be wrong now Here's the thing Nebuchadnezzar is not trying to be rude or mock their God by giving them this food He's actually giving them nice food It'd be like if your your boss gives you, you know, a big bottle of wine for Christmas Well, obviously we shouldn't drink that as Bible believing Christians. I will say though that wine is a very expensive thing And so if they give you a bottle of wine for 5,000 pesos, they're actually trying to do a nice thing for you, right? They're not trying to be rude. They say well, you know, here's this, you know Steak that you get to eat in this wine. I mean, it's actually nice food nice drink expensive drink But obviously we shouldn't be drinking alcoholic wine Right, and obviously there were certain unclean animals that they could not eat. So Daniel says I'm not gonna do it. Okay What it said at the end of verse 5 was so nourishing them three years So the idea is basically that they had a three year intensive training course to become like the Chaldeans So they pick smart kids and for three years they went to brainwash those kids Look, I believe these kids are under the age of 10 because if you're gonna try to brainwash someone you're gonna pick somebody young They want to pick someone who has intelligence and is prepared But if somebody's already 15 years old, they might have already made decisions in their life It's gonna be kind of late to brainwash them when they're 15 years old So I think it makes sense that these kids are pretty young they're picking but they're picking kids that are intelligent and Educated that just know the basics of life. They're wise and then they're gonna brainwash them for three years verse number six Now among these were of the children of Judah Daniel Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar and to Hananiah of Shadrach into Mishael of Meshach and to Azariah of Abednego Now it's interesting because we always know Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They're new names But Daniel we know him with his old name and probably the reason what well Obviously the name of the book of Daniel is Daniel But I would say this that in Daniel chapter 4 the name Belteshazzar is actually coming from a false god And so even Nebuchadnezzar himself in Daniel chapter 4 says well this was his name But then he starts referring to him as Daniel in that chapter because that's the chapter he gets saved So obviously he doesn't want to name Daniel after a false god anymore, right? That's probably why we refer to it as Daniel because it's not after the name of a false god Whereas we refer to as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They're new names Point number one is this preparation being prepared now recently this week somebody messaged me and it was kind of just a good example for this sermon and You know, they're in college right now in the US and they they felt You know kind of convicted and guilty because at the college they're getting brainwashed by stuff, you know They're a new student and they're learning about a lot of things that they don't feel comfortable with and they were asking You know whether or not they should stick with college or not And look I have people that ask me questions like this all the time online Whether it's people at our church or outside of our church and you know what you should never make people's decisions for them And I never do I'll give some various basic information But I let people make their own decisions with difficult matters, right? It's not my job to make the decision and I'm not against giving people advice I mean you wanted some advice But you know what? I'm very hesitant to make people's decisions for them because honestly they have a better idea of their situation than I do honestly But the thing is this you know what? I understand this idea of wanting to basically not be around worldliness and sin but the problem is that you really can't take that strong of a stand throughout your entire life because you're gonna get brainwashed in this life And you know, obviously people make their own decisions, but I'm just saying this that you know when I went to my secular job You know, it's just like I'm not in college, you know, I'm just doing math at my secular job but then of course you have you know diversity training that lasts for several days where you basically have to sit in on a Meeting and the whole meeting is about how love the LGBT You know, don't be a sexist. Don't be a racist and love the homos. It's basically diversity training and here's the thing I mean am I gonna just quit my job? Because I have to go through diversity training because here's the thing If you quit that job, guess what you're gonna have to do at your new job diversity training Right. I mean, there's just really no way around it I mean the Bible does not say that God has told us to avoid everything that's out there Actually, we have to be ready to stand in difficult times. Now look, I understand sometimes you should separate from worldliness and sin Just in reality speaking though, if you're gonna work in this world You're gonna be attached to some things you probably don't feel comfortable with It just is what it is The job I worked for many years the main job I had because I work with pension benefits But the main group that I work with was the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona That's mainly the benefits that I did was working with a Roman Catholic Church But that's what my job was Now I had different assignments in different companies where I did benefits But it's just kind of like and look sometimes you might be able to avoid doing certain things and you might be able to draw A line or whatever sometimes you can't though and the reality is that at all of our jobs They're probably gonna ask us to do certain things that maybe we don't want to do or we don't feel comfortable with certain training and That's just the way the world is headed Right Daniel and his friends. They were getting three years of intensive brainwashing Now look if they didn't like it, then they could have just been killed right now look obviously That can deal with difficult situations where you got to make decisions. I'm just saying you cannot fully avoid The brainwashing of the world Now I'm not telling you to go home and just watch it on TV and brainwash yourself as much as possible I'm just stating that you cannot fully avoid this in 2022 And if you're able to then avoid it as much as possible, but it is what it is Right I mean we just you just go to the grocery store in 2022 and people are going to be dressed inappropriately Does that mean you're just not going to go to the grocery store I mean you kind of have to to survive unless you're just gonna stay at home and have all the food delivered It's just not always that practical right and so point number one is preparation You need to be prepared to stand and serve God number two though is purposing making a desire or decision in your heart Daniel 1 verse 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself for the portion of the king's meat Nor with the wine, which he drank and so Daniel makes this decision. I am not going to defile myself He says it would be a sin for me to eat this food to drink this wine I am NOT gonna do this now look we ought to have certain things in our lives where we make Decisions that you know what I purpose in my heart I'm not gonna do this no matter what or I am gonna do this no matter what? Look we're ending January, but I hope everybody is purposing in their hearts that in February you're gonna read your Bible every day I Hope you're purposing your heart that you know what I'm gonna be committed to serving God going to church going soul-winning Reading the Bible there ought to be things in our lives that we purpose in our heart We've made a decision and no matter what we're gonna stick to it Right we need to make this decision in life now Here's the thing be prepared to serve God have your personal walk But then purpose in your heart that no matter what the world throws at you. You're not going to sin and do wrong Daniel 1 verse 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself for the portion of the king's meat nor the wine which he drank Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself now look When you are requesting you're basically asking trying to get permission Daniel's already made a decision. He's not gonna eat this food. He's not gonna drink this wine However, there's also a way to approach your boss about that, right? Daniel is wise He's made a decision I am NOT gonna eat this food no matter what but instead of just going to his boss and saying how dare you make me? Drink something sinful you should be ashamed of yourself Right thus saith the Lord right instead of doing that what Daniel says is you know what hey, you know what? I really appreciate it, but you know I'm requesting could I just eat something else instead doesn't that make sense of the best way to? Approach a situation like that turn to Matthew 10, and let me give you an example of this Matthew 10 Matthew 10 Look There's many examples you could use I mean we talked about family in the in the first sermon But let me just give you an example Let's say you have a big family function, and there's a lot of drinking and people are getting drunk I don't believe that's the atmosphere Christians should willingly put themselves in But if your family's inviting you to something it doesn't mean that they're being rude to you You can be respectful and just say oh, I'm sorry. You know I'm not gonna be able to make it You don't have to be obnoxious to them Just because you've made that decision now of course you ought to purpose in your heart that you're not going to do certain things But it doesn't mean you have to be just really blunt and rude when you explain it right Matthew 10 verse 16 Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves Be therefore wise as sharp wise as serpents and harmless as doves what the Bible says is he is sending us forth as sheep in the midst of wolves We're gonna be in the midst of wolves and you ought in 2022 you could say that Right we live in a world where there are a lot of things that is Bible leaving Christians We do not want to do we don't feel comfortable with and we are sheep in the midst of wolves But the Bible says be wise as serpents though be smart Serpents don't attack everybody that they can They don't just attack every single person now of course none of us are really fans of snakes I mean they're kind of a creepy animal at least I'm not a fan of snakes. I think they're a creepy animal I'd like to avoid them personally But realize this that snakes don't just attack every single person or every single thing They actually use wisdom when they strike what the Bible saying is we ought to be the same way Right I mean of course the Word of God is powerful And you can just get up and preach a sermon you know ten times a day every time you disagree with something Right I mean you go to McDonald's and you know the one of the one of the workers is a homo It's like thus saith the Lord and just start like yelling at them in McDonald's well if you want to do that you can I Mean you're gonna get kicked out and never invited back to McDonald's or never allowed to come back I just think it's kind of a foolish thing to just always get in all this friction and fights you got to use wisdom with the battles that you fight and When it comes to being a Daniel and serving God in 2022 and daring to be a Daniel yes Daniel purposed in his heart But he also used wisdom on how he approached his boss about that because he's trying to be respectful right go back to Daniel chapter 1 Daniel 1 Daniel chapter 1 Daniel 1 verse 9 And what he did is he requested of the prince of the eunuch said he might not defile himself so basically just respectfully asked And says hey, you know what I appreciate it, but you know this food I'd rather just eat something else or drink something else is that okay? He makes a request Right verse 9 now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs So what the Bible is saying in verse 9 is that Daniel had a good relationship with his boss? Why is that because he was not a jerk Right that's the reason why he has a good relationship with his boss because he's actually respectful. He's not obnoxious Okay, verse 10 and the prince of the eunuch said unto Daniel I fear my lord the king who hath appointed your meat and your drink For why should he see your face is worse liking than the children which are of your sort Then shall you make me endanger my head to the king and you know what the prince of the eunuchs is saying to Daniel is You know what I? Understand you have some different beliefs than I do you have some different customs than what our culture has and everything like that And he's basically saying that I think you have the right to your own free will choice But here's the thing My head could be taken off my body if I don't follow what the king says Right he's saying if I don't follow what the king says and you end up getting sick, or you're not in very good shape I could end up losing my own head. I could lose my job. I could be killed It's just like I'm putting my own self in danger And what he's basically saying is I think you should have free will to make your choice But I'm not gonna live and die on that hill now. I'll be honest with you Even though Daniel is right in this situation if I was the prince of the eunuchs I would feel the exact same way and the prince of the eunuchs is not a bad guy He Just says you know what I'm not in a position where I can do this because I could lose my own head Because his perspective is hey, I think you should have free will to do what you want But I don't really think it's that big of a deal if you just eat the food. That's his perspective right now Look, this is definitely applicable in 2022 isn't it? And look I don't blame these people There are I mean I would say most people here believe we should have free will to make our choices I Believe most people think that but you can't really blame someone who says hey I've got a family to feed if I don't listen to the orders. I've been given I'm gonna get fired You can't blame them right. I mean if I was in their situation. I would feel the same way Right I mean the prince of the eunuchs. He's got a family presumably has a family presumably He's married as a family, and he's like I don't want to die I mean it's like I got a wife and a couple kids coming home And it's just like I think you should have free will but I'm not willing to die on that hill You can't really blame them in that situation Right now obviously Daniel is taking a stand on something that is a clear sin according to the Bible But at the same time you can understand where the prince of the eunuchs is coming from and look I'll be honest I do believe we should be compassionate to people that are in that situation and realize they're not our enemy Right when people are fall I mean, they're not they're not following orders for us to murder someone or something crazy like that. They're just following basic orders They've been given like you know you can't enter here without this or whatever right you can't really blame them for just doing their job They've got a family to feed Makes perfect sense and you might think that's watered down. I'm just being realistic That if I was a prince of the eunuchs. I would feel the same way because this is not a bad guy Right when you're reading this this is not a bad guy Daniel has a good relationship because Daniel obviously thinks he's a decent guy who knows Daniel I'd have even gotten this guy saved But this guy's just not willing to die on this hill and you can't really blame him and he literally could die on this hill Well look if somebody has a job Obviously, they're not just gonna forsake their job and break the orders They've been given because they were hired for specific things and they were told this person must do this They're just gonna follow those orders. It makes perfect sense, right? You say what are you saying brother Stuckey? What's the answer then? Well, the answer is praying to God for freedom Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty and what I believe is that the people in a country get what they deserve and Look that's a harsh statement because it means that wow, we deserve whatever we're getting but That's reality That's what you see in the Bible. And so if you want to have more freedom What's the answer serving God doing right reading the Bible praying to God about it? That's actually the answer, right? But you can't blame the prince of the eunuchs in this situation point number one. There's a preparation Point number two. There's a purposing point three. There's a proving or testing Daniel 1 verse 11 Daniel 1 verse 11 Then said Daniel to Meltzer whom the prince of the eunuchs had said over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah Now if you notice in verse 11 if you're paying attention Daniel's having a conversation with a different person than in verse 10 Right because in verse 10 is the prince of the eunuchs verse 11 It's Meltzer whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah What that would now I personally don't believe that both these guys are standing here and then Daniel just turns to the other person I don't think that makes much sense What I think makes sense is he speaks to the prince of the eunuchs, which is the authority and obviously Daniel made a request Basically gets rejected in a polite way And then Daniel is going home and praying about it and thinking about it I mean, there's some sort of time that's going by because Daniel's talking to a different person in verse 11, right? It's very obvious verse 10 is the prince of the eunuchs verse 11 is Meltzer I think common sense would say he doesn't just turn from one person. I'm talking to brother Ehrman. All right Well Ehrman denied my request. Let me ask brother Gilbert, right? It's just like obviously time has gone by and Daniel's probably praying about it Maybe he had time to talk to his friends and he's considering his options and things such as that But he speaks to Meltzer in verse 11 verse number 12 Prove thy servants I beseech thee ten days and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink and So the decision that Daniel makes is this He says can you just test me for ten days? I know you denied my request But can you just give me ten days and then just look at how I look because here's the thing It's a three-year trial period so what Daniel's saying is ten days is not going to harm me, right? Ten days is not that big of a deal Just give me ten days and see how I look and at the end of ten days make your decision Pretty wise response from a young man, right? He says just test me for ten days and not just a young man I mean, I don't even believe this this he's probably like nine years old or something. We don't really know I mean, he's a young guy at this time and he says test me ten days and give us pulse to eat and water to drink Now look obviously water is very healthy for you I mean if all you ever drank was water and probably actually really benefit you to be honest I mean if all you drink was water, it'd probably make you healthier Now I think the thing that he's concerned more about Meltzer or the prince of the eunuchs would be concerned about would be the fact that they're eating pulse now You say what is pulse? Well go to 2nd Samuel 17 2nd Samuel 17 Now I want you to realize that the Bible's classification for things is different than the world's Classifications in our modern day, for example whale is a great fish according to the Bible Right, and I mean it makes sense. It's in the water and it's it's a large, you know Creature that is very similar to a fish, right? So I guess the Bible system makes sense, of course in our modern day We have a lot of different distinctions of mammals and a lot of different things like that But same thing with dietary things in our modern day. We have basically five food groups, right? We have dairy. We have bread slash grains or whatever you would call that meat Fruit and vegetables, right? Those are the classifications, but that's not really the classifications found in the Word of God though Fruit and vegetables are kind of a tricky thing because many things we think are fruits are actually vegetables by definition and vice-versa Generally when I consider something or fruit or vegetable I go by taste if it's sweet It's a fruit if it's not it's a vegetable now, that's not a very good two plus three equals five definition But that's just the way I see it, you know tomatoes to me are a vegetable regardless of you know Technically if they're a fruit, that's my perspective But in the Bible the classification is a bit different now. I've heard people say this before that pulse is vegetables and It's not really wrong, but it's not really right There's not the distinction of fruits and vegetables like we have in the Word of God This is the definition of pulse pulses are a type of legume seeds that grow within pods Pulses include chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans lentils and dry peas pulses provide protein dietary fiber in many vitamins and minerals and What I would say about pulse is that if what they're eating is pulse, it's basically specific vegetables Beans and things like that that could be alternative sources of protein Because here's the thing if you're not eating any steak or chicken or beef or you know fish or any meat You need to get some protein, don't you? I Mean if you go on a vegetarian diet, you better make sure you're getting some protein in your diet Now I believe that people that live during this time period were actually pretty intelligent They might not have called it protein But I think they understood the concept and what Daniel's saying is hey if I'm not going to be eating this food because although it Says the portion of the king's meat and that's not technically meat as we think of as meat I think what we consider meat is very much included in that because that's kind of a delicacy and expensive food, right? So that's probably what the king's eating I'd imagine King Nebuchadnezzar is eating steak and eating nice food personally, right? And so what Daniel's saying is as an alternative Can we have pulse because it's going to be something that has some protein in it Here's what it says in 2nd Samuel 17 verse 28 2nd Samuel 17 verse 28 Brought beds and basins and earthen vessels and wheat and barley and flour and parched corn and beans and lentils and parched pulse So pulse is linked right there with beans and lentils which would fit the definition that we have Obviously, I looked at a secular definition The word pulse is not mentioned much in the Bible so we don't have much to go off of But it's mentioned right there with beans and lentils So I would say that definition seems to fit and it logically makes sense to me that if they're not going to be eating any meat Then they're going to need to get some protein, right? You need to make sure you get 60 70 grams of protein or something a day rather than just 5 grams of protein Right go back to Daniel 1 Daniel 1 I mean, I've never tried a vegetarian diet, so I guess I don't really know how that works But if I was going on a vegetarian diet, I'd probably drink a lot of milk because there's protein in it I'd have a lot of pulse Right, I'd eat vegetables that have a lot of protein in them as alternative sources and you know Obviously you need to have protein in your diet You need to have a balanced diet Which is why I would say I don't think it's a smart idea to go without meat in normal situations Because meat is something that God gave us as part of our diet Obviously, we have a special situation here in Daniel 1 though. Daniel 1 verse 13 Daniel 1 verse 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee and the countenance of the children that eat the portion of the king's meat and as thou seest deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter and proved them ten days So look, Daniel and his friends get what they want. And the reason is because they use wisdom, right? They were smart They were respectful and he agrees or consents with them that for ten days I'm gonna test you and after ten days, I'm gonna look on your countenance and see how you look So basically if after ten days They're really thin and they've lost a lot of weight and they're sickly looking then obviously he's gonna say well No, we're not letting you just eat pulse But if they're in good shape and there's no problems then he's gonna say well, okay, it's it's fine, right? This is what it says in verse number 15 and at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter and flesh than all the children which did eat the portion Of the king's meat. Thus Meltzer took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink and gave them pulse So basically after ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter and flesh and you know what? They're they're doing perfectly fine. And then Meltzer says, you know what it worked Ten days you had your free will you just ate pulse and you're perfectly fine. We'll just keep giving that to you now, of course People kind of debate about this. Is this a miraculous thing that after ten days There's a noticeable difference or is it just that it's a really healthy diet in general I would say that their diet is not really unhealthy I don't think it's wise to go without eating any meat, but they're using alternative sources for protein and dietary fiber That's the point of pulse But I would say that for there to be a noticeable difference after ten days Because it doesn't just say that they look the same after ten days Because I mean you can change in ten days in terms of like, you know, I've been kind of sick recently I've lost a little bit of weight the past couple weeks and you can make that sort of change in a couple weeks But for everybody else to not look as in good of shape. I Believe God actually kind of miraculously did that so he's actually gonna be able to keep doing this After ten days for the course of three years. That's my personal opinion But regardless either way Daniel and his friends are perfectly fine and they got their request They got their wish and you say well, what's the what what's the secret of what I can do in my life? well number one start with a good relationship with the people you're requesting from if You have a bad relationship with someone you're requesting from They're probably not going to honor your request It's kind of like having a child if you have a good relationship with your child Your child's obeying and doing right and they request something. It's like sure. I'll go to 7-eleven and get you Dutch meal. Okay? Right, but if your child's in trouble, are you gonna listen to them? No, same thing with you know, your bosses or whatever. If you have a good relationship, you're more likely to get what you want Now I'm not saying it's a guarantee But I'm just saying it would be a wise thing to try to have good relationships in life even with the unsaved Right point are obviously very intelligent. He's the one that's testing their intelligence So I'd imagine that he's asking questions like this 17 times 19. What's the answer right? That's that's what I imagine in my head right that these are our Questions where Nebuchadnezzar knows the answer himself He's educated on science and wisdom and all these things and he's testing them to see do they know the correct answers, right? So these kids are being tested and all this stuff of how much knowledge they have and Among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah Therefore stood they before the king and in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them He found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm So Nebuchadnezzar quizzes these kids and he finds them ten times better Than anybody else look ten times is a lot that's a huge difference How is it that they were smarter than any of the other kids Well, the only logical answer would be just like the Bible said that God gave them wisdom They're getting the same training I mean the Bible does not say that Daniel was just naturally born as the smartest person in the world Is that what the Bible says? The Bible doesn't say that about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They're just normal kids that got good training at a young age They were prepared and then they purposed in their heart. They lived godly and you know what? They had special knowledge They had special wisdom You know what I found in my life is that people that serve God are intelligent that's what I found and What's interesting is this you talk to someone who's not serving God or unsaved or whatever? And they might be smart in terms of doing well on a calculus test But then you just kind of talk to them about basic stuff and it goes straight over their head No wisdom No common sense. They just don't get it and you're like, how is that possible? Well, the way it's possible is that people that are serving God, God gives wisdom That's what the Bible teaches That's the provision that's being provided by God You know what I believe in 2022 is that if we teach our young kids to serve him and have a daily walk with God and Listen to good preaching and do right those kids are gonna grow up and be intelligent and successful in this world You say why? Because God will give them the wisdom. God will give them the learning and the skill that is what the Bible says and Yes, it's a supernatural thing I do believe that if you grow up serving God and doing right God will give you special wisdom And there's a lot of people in this world that are very intelligent people by the world standards, but then on a practical sense They know nothing Right, and we understand that I mean if you've had any conversations with people in this world about stuff I mean it goes straight over their head. I I Mean I remember just in a basic example, I remember my old job, you know They were talking of they I was just kind of sitting down in the lunchroom and I was eating and I wasn't saying anything I was just eating minding my own business and they were talking about how they were shocked that somebody had won the lottery and they were dead broke and You know, they're talking about how how does this happen which this always happens? Everybody who wins the lottery ends up broken miserable. Their life is destroyed, right? I mean just take it as a and I mean look you pierce yourself through with many sorrows when you love money That's what the Bible teaches But I remember I just usually I didn't say too much but I said well the Bible says wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished and Then everyone's just kind of looking around like it was the most profound thing like wow That's like so intelligent right and and I just said when I gave a brief explanation That basically when you get wealth by, you know An ungodly means or not hard work that the Bible says that it will be diminished and you're gonna lose that money Anyway, honestly, it makes actually common sense because here's the thing if you work really hard for something you value it. I Mean if you work for 10 years to buy a car like you really saving up money and it takes 10 years and you finally Get that car. You're probably not gonna drive it at 200 kilometers per hour on the road, right? You're probably gonna be very careful because it's worth something But you give a brand new car to a 16 year old kid that didn't work for it. Guess what they do They crash it a week later They race their buddies on the highway. That's what takes place Right when people don't work for something they just kind of take it for granted like it's no big deal and it's like this is oftentimes what you see with people that work really hard and sometimes they can make life a little bit too easy for their kids and then the kids don't really respect what they've been given because They don't realize the hard work it took to get there, right? But all I'm saying is this that if you're serving God and doing right and reading the Bible It will make you an intelligent person What I believe is that if somebody got saved today, and they're not naturally the most intelligent person But they start coming to church and reading the Bible I think we would be amazed at the difference in that person just in a year's time and I know for myself personally that as I read the Bible and I Learn these things and as I've been in church, you can just tell that you get more wisdom You just understand things things make sense. You look at what takes place in the world. It makes sense to us We understand where things are headed. The world's confused. They don't know what's going on We understand the end times and things such as that. I mean it makes sense to us You say why is that because if you're serving God and doing right God will provide give a provision of wisdom He's gonna make you more intelligent By all means I believe we should teach our kids the basics of math and grammar and all of those things But number one is actually teaching them to serve God and do right and that is going to make them intelligent verse number 21 and Daniel continued even on the first year of King Cyrus. So What we see about Daniel is pretty much his entire life is spent in an ungodly empire Right, there's kind of this idea by a lot of people that we're basically well you can't serve God unless you're living in a godly Area now, of course We want to live in a godly area I don't want to serve God in Sodom and Gomorrah, but that's kind of the way the world's becoming. Okay? But I would just say this that you know what you could if you're a safe person living in North Korea You can serve God in North Korea I'm not saying it's easy I'm not saying it's safe I'm not saying I want to live in a Muslim country or North Korea or Communist China or wherever or something like that I'm just saying that you can actually serve God anywhere because Daniel's proof of that and Of course, we don't really read about Daniel preaching the gospel But I mean it is the book of Daniel that talks about those that be wise shall shine as a brightness of the firmament as the stars forever and ever So I would say since the book of Daniel talks about soul winning And he talks about wisdom given to those that are so winning I'd imagine Daniel probably gets a lot of his co-workers say Probably some of his bosses saved. I believe he gets Nebuchadnezzar saved. I mean eventually Nebuchadnezzar does get saved Obviously was either Daniel Shadrach Meshach and Abednego I would say one of them got him saved eventually or at least preached the gospel and the seed was planted They eventually got saved. So what I'm saying is this You can serve God even in difficult situations in life and look don't misunderstand me because I'm not saying you should willingly be involved in worldly situations and around sin I'm just stating that you're not going to be able to completely avoid it in 2022 and Instead of always just trying to avoid it because you can bounce around from job to job and every job There's a problem because oh man. Well, I got ungodly co-workers. I got to quit Well, you're gonna have ungodly co-workers everywhere Right, I mean you say well, I mean at my job I have to do this I have to have this diversity training you're gonna have that everywhere and if they don't have that everywhere now They're gonna have it in the future. I Mean look I've worked a lot of different jobs before a lot of different secular jobs every single job I had there were certain things where it's just like I really don't want to do this Right me. I really don't feel comfortable with this but Unfortunately, you have to be in those situations sometimes sometimes there's no way to avoid it and it's very easy to sit here and say Well, I just avoid it and just tonight but you know Even Shadrach Meshach and Abednego showed up when they're dedicating the false idol. They're kind of brought along for the ride It's just when they got to that moment, they had to bow. They actually said no I purposed in my heart I'm not gonna defile myself. So if you want to dare to be a Daniel in 2022, what do you need to do number one? You need to be prepared Anything in life to be successful you must be prepared you say brother stuck Yeah, I want to be a great soul winner. You better start memorizing Romans 3 23 You better start memorizing Romans 3 10 better start memorizing the soul winning verses if you want to be a good soul winner You got to be prepared Right, you better start having your daily walk with God if you want to be successful, you must be prepared in life You also have to make a purposing in your heart purpose in your heart make a decision. I am NOT gonna sin I'm not gonna bow down. I'm not gonna do wrong Say why do you have to do that because you're gonna be proved in 2022 You're not gonna live in this world and avoid anything worldly and anything wrong You are going to be tested in 2022 but the good news is if we do things right and serve God he is going to provide things to us such as Wisdom and skill and knowledge and the ability to be successful in this world. Let's close in a word of prayer your heavenly Father Thank you for allowing us to be here today and giving us your word on this topic and ask you to help all of us God to be able to stand for you in 2022 and do greater things this year than we did last year God We pray this in Jesus name. Amen Oh Oh Oh Oh