Todays worship service is led by the Education Department. We have started our Daniel QT yesterday. Where are you setting your intentions these days? In todays text, young Daniel made a decision not to eat the kings food, and I think its very important to teach biblical values from a young age, I think its also important for the Education Bureau to be responsible for the faith of the next generation. Today, lets talk about how God works when we make a decision.
First, you dont defile yourself.
Daniel and his friends were taken into Babylonian captivity to learn the ways and customs because they were blameless, courageous, and knowledgeable. There they put up no resistance, but when the king offered them food and wine, they made up their minds and refused to eat it because it was dedicated to a foreign god. To make up ones mind is to surrender ones will. Daniel made up his mind to God, and God gave him courage and grace to the king, so that they would not defile themselves. May we now set our will before God, saying, 'I will go to church, I will wear to do QT, I will not fall into ranching, I will not go to the temple, I will not drink and smoke, I will not defile myself and my family with divorce, I will not have an abortion, I will not cut myself.' Then God will help us keep our bodies free from defilement. As I reflected on Daniel, I was reminded of the importance of faith from a young age. I came to our church in the third grade of middle school, and from then until now, I believe that the words I heard about unfaithful marriages and divorce have been engraved in my heart and have kept me from defiling my body. When I make up my mind to God, He helps me, but He also moves the other persons heart. The kings heart was not moved by himself, nor was it persuaded by Daniels plea, but only by God.
Second, your face is beautiful even in the midst of suffering.
King Nebuchadnezzar was a fierce and quick-tempered man who would inflict extreme punishment on anyone who offended him, no matter who it was. My mother was also a fearsome woman, strong in strength and strong in words, and no one could stand up to her. I was always busy dodging and running away from her. I couldnt overcome my mother, who was always shouting that she was right and that her will was the way, the truth, and the life. At that time, I didnt know what the word meant. We dont fail because our circumstances are difficult, we fail because we dont have the interpretation of Words, but we fail because we dont have the Word. Nebuchadnezzar, lets just remember this name today. May you make up your mind to live with my Nebuchadnezzar, thinking, 'My spouse, parents, and children are only four years old, what cant I live with? When Daniel and his three friends made up their minds before God, it was like a commitment to live in holiness, not happiness. God gave them strength to live for ten days, and even in the midst of their suffering, their faces became more beautiful than the other boys. If we make up our minds in the Lord to go to the ranch, repent, take psychiatric medicine, and use the language of love and submission, I believe that our faces will be beautiful in the midst of suffering.
Third, He gives us wisdom and intelligence.
If we set our minds to it, God will do it. The reason Daniel and his friends were wiser and more intelligent than others is because God gave them all of this. There is no hardship that cannot be interpreted, so life can be interpreted, problems can be solved, and people can be saved. I hope that we parents will set our childrens hearts to serve others with repentance. Then I believe God will take care of our children. In verse 18th, the three-year training period is finally complete.
Third, God gives wisdom and intelligence.
All you have to do is set your mind to God, He will do it. The reason Daniel and his friends were wiser and more intelligent than others is because God gave them all of this. With God-given wisdom and intelligence, there is no hardship that cannot be interpreted, so life can be interpreted, problems can be solved, and people can be saved. So I want us parents to set our childrens hearts to repentantly serve others. Then I believe God will take care of our children. In verse 18, the three-year training period is finally complete. We too need to be educated and trained as THINK parents, nurturing teachers, and prospective shepherds. Wisdom to interpret events comes through the discipline of suffering. Daniel served beside the king from the time of King Nebuchadnezzar to the first year of King Cyrus. Worldly wisdom and connections fade away when regimes change, but Gods wisdom and connections endure even when nations change.
To my great embarrassment, I am neither an intelligent nor a wise man, and I am a very uneducated and flawed person. Ever since I was punished by my teacher in grade 2 for not being able to read well, I have lived with language and walls, and even as an adult, I could not read in front of people. Because I was behind others, I had to work harder on the Bible during my ministry, and because I was a proud person, I had to be disciplined with a mans stick and a life whip. It is by the grace of God that I, an ignorant and weak person, have been in our church for 10 years and am standing here today.
Todays community confession is the testimony of a 3-year-old who attended last years QT Festival.
I have been living with my mom and sister for five years now, having been separated from my dad. Two years ago, my mom and dad had a big fight and they ended up living separately and I ended up in a domestic violence shelter. I moved back and forth between my mom and dads house five times, and I found it hard to make friends, and school was very painful and difficult. Thats when my primary school pastor and teacher came to my house and comforted me, and I thanked my mom for being there for me during the hard times after listening to the pastors words. And my mom told me, 'Thank you for being born.' I hope the day will come soon when my dad will also believe in Jesus and be saved and the four of us will live together. Thank you mom and dad for raising me so far, and thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for me. I believe that this friend has been given Gods wisdom and intelligence, so that he can pray for his familys salvation even in the midst of hardship.
When Daniel made up his mind in the midst of such hardship, God kept him from defilement, made his face more beautiful, and gave him wisdom and intelligence. May our families and our children also make up their minds and receive wisdom and intelligence to make their lives and lives beautiful.
