An Army of One became an army of Four called
the Army of God.
By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville
Baptist Church
A high School senior by the name of
Justin Hough told me the other day that he had signed up for the National Guards.
A couple of weeks later he told me that half of the company where he
had been assigned was called out to go over seas.
I asked him if he had changed his mind, but he said no.
On June 24 he will be taking off for his training and then he will be
put into active duty. Justin had
made up his mind to go. He has
inspired me to believe in the students of today who have made up their mind to
go and serve in the armed forces to protect our freedom to choose, to live,
and to be who God wants us to be. We
are free to choose to be whatever we want to be.
Will you choose to be all you can be?
How can you know if you have chosen to be all you can be?
I believe there is only one way to really know for sure that you are
being all that you were called to be. Join
the Army of the living God. This
is a youth sermon.
Scripture
Text:
Daniel 1:3 Then the king
ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of the palace officials, to bring to the
palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble
families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select
only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure
they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge
and good sense, and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach
these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians.” 5 The
king assigned them a daily ration of the best food and wine from his own
kitchens. They were to be trained for a three-year period, and then some of
them would be made his advisers in the royal court.
6 Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the
tribe of Judah. 7 The chief official renamed them with
these Babylonian names: Daniel
was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah
was called Shadrach. Mishael was
called Meshach. Azariah was
called Abednego.
8 But
Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine
given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat
other things instead. 9 Now God had given the chief
official great respect for Daniel. 10 But he was alarmed
by Daniel’s suggestion. “My lord the king has ordered that you eat this
food and wine,” he said. “If you become pale and thin compared to the
other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded for
neglecting my duties.”
11Daniel
talked it over with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief official
to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12 “Test
us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13“At
the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who
are eating the king’s rich food. Then you can decide whether or not to let
us continue eating our diet.” 14So the attendant agreed to
Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
15 At
the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and
better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by
the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only
vegetables instead of the rich foods and wines. 17 God
gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for learning the literature and
science of the time. And God gave Daniel special ability in understanding the
meanings of visions and dreams.
18When
the three-year training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief
official brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The
king talked with each of them, and none of them impressed him as much as
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were appointed to his regular
staff of advisers. 20 In all matters requiring wisdom
and balanced judgment, the king found the advice of these young men to be ten
times better than that of all the magicians and enchanters in his entire
kingdom. 21 Daniel
remained there until the first year of King Cyrus’s reign.£
How
can you be all you can be?
What
to do when you find yourself in a foreign land and are tempted to go with the
crowd? The pressure is on to do
what seems to be the fun thing.
1.
Sometimes you can’t help where you end up.
Sometimes it isn’t your fault. You
may end up in a college dorm with someone you don’t know or in a class with
people who are always pushing. Pushing
you the wrong way. Can you still
be who you want to be even in a bad situation? Is God still there? Have
you chosen His way for your life?
2.
The world tempts you to go with the crowd.
You end up with strange names like Bruiser, Bethdog, Little Blondie,
G.Unit, Duck, Rotor Motor, Ucomputerhasbeenhacked, MuuMuugirl,
or some other strange sounding words.
The situation is difficult but what should you do?
3.
Will you decide to be true to the Lord
even when no one is looking? Today
you are free to choose the Lord’s way.
4.
Is the Lord’s way the best way for you?
You may wonder if this is true, but I
can assure that God knows the Best Way for your life.
How do I know this? He
loves you. He came for you.
He died for you.
5.
Have you made up your mind to go with the Lord?
Daniel made up his mind not to defile
himself. The pressure is on and
the world is calling. Come on, give in and give it a try. Doubts come that God really knows the best way.
After all everyone else is doing it.
Can they all be wrong? Yes,
the majority may rule in this democratic society, but it is possible that they
are all wrong.
6. Will you take God’s test? Try God.
See if his way is really the best for you.
Make up you mind to not give in into the temptations of the world.
Don’t talk like they talk. Don’t
drink what they drink. Don’t
smoke what they smoke. Don’t
take what they take. Don’t eat
what they eat.
7.
God will give you unusual abilities for following his way.
These four guys experienced the blessings
of God. They had unusual
abilities to learn because their minds weren’t clouded by the food and drink
of the world. You will become all
that God created you to be.
8.
Set the example. Be
different. Be your true self. Your true self is who you were created to be.
Lead the way. Don’t give into the pressure to be like everyone else.
You can be ten times better than those who follow the ways of the
world. You can be the best you
can be. Be free to be who you
were created to be.