Chameleon Part 1 | Our Common Enemy with Chris Schlotterbeck

We are so glad you're here. Whether you're listening

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happening around HCV. Now turn it up, lean in,

and get ready for what God has for you today.

We hope this message encourages you, challenges

you, and reminds you that you are deeply loved.

Now, let's hear the message. Hey, good morning,

everyone. How's everybody doing today? Good,

good. If you're joining us from home, thank you

for welcoming us into your space. Today is Communion

Sunday. Every first Sunday of the month, we share

communion together as a community of faith. It's

also available every Sunday. If you would like,

you just have to stop by the Welcome Hub. But

this is a Sunday we gather and follow Jesus.

to remember what he did for us on the cross.

So if you need an element, if you miss it on

your way in, put your hand up, one hand up. If

you need gluten -free, you can put two hands

up. And it's at this point as we're giving out

the elements that I like to remind everyone that

as a community of faith here at HTV, we value

communion. We don't believe it's just something

we do as a church. This is actually an opportunity

for you to meet and connect with a God that is

alive. Jesus told us to remember his broken body

on the cross. Remember his shed blood. right,

that covers our sins. So this is an opportunity

for us to search our hearts. And if there's anything

between us and God the Father, we can lay it

down. We can ask for forgiveness. We can repent.

We can turn the other way and say, God, cover

me in your grace, in your mercy, in your shed

blood. And he can set us free supernaturally

so that we walk away from here whole. So I'm

believing that's going to happen this morning.

I'm going to open in prayer, and then we'll share

communion together. So Holy Spirit, come. Search

our hearts, God, every single one of our hearts,

for those gathered, for those watching online.

If there's anything, God, between us and you,

God, reveal it now in Jesus' name. I silence

distractions from the enemy. I say, open us up,

God, to hear and receive your truth. Reveal it

now. Yes, God. So on the night that Jesus was

betrayed, he took bread. He broke it. He handed

it to his disciples and said, take, eat. This

is my body, which is broken for you. And when

you eat it, do it in remembrance of me. Let's

eat. Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup

of wine. He said, this is my blood, which is

shed for you and for many for the forgiveness

of sins. Drink it often. And when you do, do

it in remembrance of me. Let's drink. So God,

we are grateful for your grace and your forgiveness.

Change us, God. Transform us. May we leave here

differently than when we came in. In Jesus' name,

amen. So I would like to update all of you that

last Sunday, if you weren't here, We baptized

72 people in the name of Jesus between the river

and the pool. And the amazing thing about what

God is doing in our midst is that every single

one of those people has a story that matters

to God. And it also doesn't matter to God. It

matters to us. And I just want to say that we

are praying for you. If you got baptized last

week, congratulations. We love you. And I'm grateful

for all that God is doing in your life and in

our community of faith. So I want to begin this

morning with just a simple question. How do we

stand out in the right ways at the right time

and for the right reason? See, the answer to

that question is important because when we do

stand out in the right ways at the right time

and for the right reason, it can change the very

course and direction of our lives. But unfortunately,

the opposite is true as well. When we compromise

on the wrong things in the wrong ways and at

the wrong times, it can cost us way more than

we could ever imagine at this point in our life.

Today, we are starting a brand new message series

for the month of September called Chameleon,

Choosing Conviction Over Conformity. And this

series is going to look at the book of Daniel.

And in that book, we learn about a young man

who found himself living in a culture that was

completely different from the one he grew up

in. Daniel was taken from his home, brought into

Babylon, given a new education, a new environment,

a new name, and a whole new set of expectations.

See, Babylon was essentially saying, Daniel,

we're going to change everything about you. No

one will recognize you. But we quickly learn

that Daniel drew a line. And in Daniel 1 .8,

the Bible says, but Daniel was determined not

to defile himself. And see, that word determined

is perfect because Daniel didn't wait until the

pressure came to decide what he believed. He

decided beforehand. He was determined who he

was going to be. And that's an important lesson

for us today. Because see, if you don't decide

what you stand for before the pressure comes,

the pressure will decide for you. We live in

a culture that constantly tells us, compromise,

fit in, keep quiet, go along with the crowd,

don't make waves. But following Jesus means there

are moments when we have to say, I love you,

but I won't go there. I respect you, but I can't

compromise. I may stand alone. But I will stand.

And see, sometimes taking a stand for Jesus doesn't

mean standing on a stage in front of thousands

of people. It practically means standing for

Jesus in a classroom. Standing at your workplace.

Standing in your relationships. Standing when

nobody else is watching. Daniel teaches us that

you don't have to be loud to take a stand. You

just have to be determined. which leads us to

our first thought this morning. See, Jesus followers

have an enemy. Look at your neighbor and say,

you have an enemy. And make sure you say, it's

not me. It's not Chris. And it's not the church.

We are not your enemy. See, God is moving in

our community of faith. Just like I shared in

the opening, just this past week, in the last

six days, we baptized 72 people in the name of

Jesus. We are practically serving in nursing

homes and schools. We now serve 100 children

every single week food through the Micah's Backpack

program. We are feeding a hot meal. Yeah, it's

all good stuff. You can cheer. You can clap.

We feed more than 100 people a hot meal during

our community dinner every single week. And some

of those are meals that people only receive that

day. And I mention those to celebrate what happened

in the last week, while at the same time to let

you know that we have a war waging against us.

There's a war pointed right at HCV and it's being

waged against us. And it doesn't mean we have

to be afraid. but we need to be aware that it

does exist. See, so many churches in the United

States today minimize spiritual warfare. But

to minimize spiritual warfare is to minimize

the life of Jesus. See, throughout the four gospels,

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, within those books,

there are 89 chapters. Within those 89 chapters,

there are over 100 references to the demonic,

the spiritual battle that is raging all around

us. So what this means is within every single

chapter of Jesus's life, the demonic was talked

about. So if we don't acknowledge his spiritual

battle, it means we don't acknowledge the fullness

of Jesus's life. See, within the church in the

United States currently, according to Barna Research

Group, six out of 10 American Christians, that's

60%, do not believe that Satan is a real entity.

Instead, a majority of churchgoers in the United

States today view Satan and the demonic as merely

symbols of evil rather than living literal beings.

Friends, this is a deception. See, the Bible

tells us that our spiritual enemies comes in

the form of angels of light and servants of righteousness,

meaning they could be right before our very eyes

and we don't even recognize them because they

look so good. Our enemy is the father of lies.

He comes at us in disguise and deception. And

as a church, we need to understand our opposition

so we aren't deceived. Now, the Old Testament

prophets speak of God creating this perfect angelic

being and his role was leading all of heaven

in praise. This being was considered blameless

and beautiful and perfect. In fact, the most

beautiful being in the heavenlies. But at some

point in time, his pride got the best of him.

And instead of leading heaven in praise, he attempts

to take over heaven and have everyone praise

himself. See, he wants to take God's throne.

And it's real easy to look at Satan, to throw

shade at him, to judge him. Who does he think

he is? Friends, we do it all the time. My God,

my way is better than your way. I know what's

best for my life, God. I got this. I'm in control.

And we need to read in Revelation chapter 12.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

Then there was a war in heaven. Michael and his

angels fought against the dragon and his angels.

And the dragon lost the battle and his angels

were forced out of heaven. This great dragon,

this ancient serpent called the devil or Satan,

the one deceiving the whole world, was thrown

down to the earth with all his angels. And see,

I share this with you because this gives us a

context of our world. The world that we live

in every single day. It's real. And it's right

before us. Now, in Genesis 1, chapters 1 through

4, we read, In the beginning, God created the

heavens and the earth. Now, many theologians

believe That it is in between verse one that

I just read to you and verse two that I'm about

to read to you that Satan and the demonic were

cast down to earth. Verse two reads, the earth

was formless and empty and darkness covered the

deep waters. Now the words form, empty, and darkness

can be translated into empty, chaotic, and evil.

So when the earth was created, In between day

one and day two, when it was housing Satan and

his demons, it was considered empty, chaotic,

and evil. And let's continue. And the Spirit

of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Then God said, let there be light, and there

was light. And please understand that light here

isn't the sun. See, the sun is created later.

So when God says that there be light, what is

God talking about? Well, let's continue. And

God saw that the light was good, then he separated

the light from the darkness. Or God separated

good from evil. And from this point, God creates

this good garden full of life and order and beauty,

in the middle of which is a tree that was empty,

chaotic, and evil. And as that is being created,

it's almost as if you can hear Satan saying,

but I was created to praise. Who in your creation

is going to praise you? But then we read that

God reaches down into the dust and breathes some

life and says this. So God created human beings

in his own image, in the image of God. He created

them male and female. He created them. Then God

blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply,

fill the earth and govern it. And see, from the

moment God created us, he has called us and speaks

over us his goodness that we are to spread to

every square inch of his creation. And that is

where the war began. See, there is a term that

is used from the Old Testament to the New Testament

that describes the spiritual war that our enemy

puts before us that we battle through every single

day. And it's the spirit of darkness or the spirit

of Babylon. Paul writes about it this way in

Ephesians 6, 12. For we are not fighting against

flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers

and authorities of the unseen world, against

mighty powers in this dark world, and against

evil spirits in the heavenly places. And this

is important to understand because this battle,

it's not out there somewhere. It's not fictional.

Friends, it's right here. And if you're in a

relationship with Jesus, we are in it and face

it every single day. And today, we're going to

be looking at the Babylonian Empire in the book

of Daniel chapter 1. And we're going to look

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

at some of the ancient strategies that were designed

from the enemy to attack God's people. But we

must remember, with everything God is doing in

our community of faith, there is a war raging

around us and at us. We need to be able to observe

it. recognize it, and pray against it. So the

background, the book of Daniel took place 2 ,600

years ago. God's people were being unfaithful,

and God disciplined his people for their disobedience.

Every loving father disciplines his children.

God waited 500 plus years for his people to repent

and change. That never happened, so he allows

for the events to happen that we're about to

read. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was an evil

king. He destroyed Jerusalem. This guy was so

evil, he didn't just destroy the city, he burned

the temple of God literally to the ground. He

took the religious symbols, crushed them, destroyed

them, took them back to his God's temple, basically

saying your God is dead. And not only did he

destroy the city, the temple, and all the religious

symbols. He said, I'm going to destroy their

future. He took the next generation, all their

young leaders, and basically indoctrinated them

into Babylonian culture for three years. He was

casting vision that they would become the future

leaders of his government. So Nebuchadnezzar

was not only trying to destroy Jerusalem, but

he was also trying to destroy the very people

of God, which leads us to discuss. We need to

recognize the enemy strategies that are alive

today in our world and within our culture. And

the first is this, division. We read this in

Daniel 1, 1 through 2. During the third year

of King Joachim's reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar

of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim

of Judah and permitted him to take some of the

sacred objects from the temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar

took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed

them in the treasure house of his God. Notice,

he took God's elements from God's temple and

said, no, it's this God that we worship. Now

Babylonia is first mentioned in Genesis chapter

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

11. It's the story of the Tower of Babel for

those of you that may have read it. we learn

that humanity became obsessed with itself and

self -glory and self -sufficiency. So they attempted

to build a massive tower to heaven because they

wanted to exalt themselves as a unified culture

that says they no longer needed to trust or believe

in God. And see, this is the same issue Satan

had in heaven when he got kicked out. He wanted

to take the throne and be elevated to what? The

top. Well, it just so happens in Genesis chapter

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

11 that God came down, saw the people building

this large tower, and he says this. The people

are united, and they all speak the same language.

After this, notice, nothing they set out to do

will be impossible for them. Nothing they set

out to do will be impossible for them. So friends,

we have to realize unified unbelievers are more

powerful than divided believers. Unified unbelievers

are more powerful than divided believers. And

you say, well, Chris, where does it say that

in scripture? Well, actually Jesus said it in

Matthew chapter 12, verse 25. Jesus knew their

Matthew 12:25

thoughts and replied, any kingdom divided by

civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered

by feuding will fall apart. See, when there's

division in the church, the church will fall

apart. And remember, King Nebuchadnezzar took

all the objects or vessels from God's temple

and placed them in the treasure house of his

God. In the New Testament, Paul describes objects

or vessels as the people of God, that we are

the vessels of honorable use. Also in the New

Testament, the house of God is the church. Paul

and Peter both refer to the church as the house

of God. So what we are seeing here is this ancient

strategy the enemy uses of pulling people away

from the church and attempting to unify them

somewhere else. Divide the church, unify them

somewhere else. And this is happening in our

midst right now. How do I know it? Look on social

media. There's a political divide in our country

right now where people are literally being killed

over it. Social media is full of division over

this issue, over this political issue, and it's

made its way into the church. See, division is

a strategy of the enemy. In America, both political

parties, the right and the left, resemble elements,

elements of the kingdom of God. but neither of

them are the kingdom of God. On one side, right,

you see the focus of social justice, all things

in common, caring for the marginalized, accepting

the foreigners, loving people for who they are.

On the other side, you see kingdom elements like

traditional family, sanctity of life, working

hard, earning your wages, religious freedoms.

Neither are the kingdom of God. Both have elements

of the kingdom of God, but they are not the kingdom.

And since both political parties have elements

of the kingdom, what happens? Division. And there's

a real temptation to unify under the left or

the right rather than the kingdom of God. And

listen, neither party, the left or the right,

can save a nation. Only Jesus can save anything.

And it's kingdom people. It's so important for

us not to get pulled left or get pulled right.

We need to get pulled up. See, we don't want

unity around a political party or ideology. We

want to unify under the name of Jesus and his

kingdom. It's not just politics. It's everywhere.

It's in the church. Dr. Martin Luther King was

quoted as saying, the most segregated hour in

America is 11 o 'clock on Sunday. Data shows

that he was right. 80 to 85 % of Christian congregations

in the United States currently remain racially

and ethnically homogeneous, meaning they're made

up primarily of one single racial group. And

I don't know about you, but I don't believe Jesus

is looking down from heaven at his church, seeing

a black church, a white church, or a Hispanic

church. That's not my church. Revelation tells

us that people from every tribe, tongue, and

nation will gather together in one voice to recognize

King Jesus, true or false. We have to guard against

culture trying to divide the church. We are called,

right, to have a racially diverse, economically

diverse group of people gathering here every

single Sunday because that's what it's going

to look like in heaven. Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Since you have been raised to love in Christ,

set your sights on the realities of what? Heaven,

not the left, not the right, where Christ sits

in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think

about things of heaven, not the things of earth,

which leads us to our second strategy. They re

-educate the next generation. Notice, continuing

in Daniel 1. Then the king ordered Aspenaz, his

chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of

the young men of Judah's royal family and other

noble families. See, select only strong, healthy,

and good -looking young men, he said. Make sure

they are all well -versed in every branch of

learning, are gifted with knowledge and good

judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal

palace. Train these young men in the language

and literature of Babylon. So Daniel and his

friends are chosen because of their high -functioning,

influential young people. They have high IQs,

they look good, and they can make a difference.

And see, the spirit of darkness or the spirit

of Babylonia is always trying to re -educate

our kids. Because the enemy understands our kids

are the most influential people on this earth.

It's not a 53 -year -old man that starts a cultural

movement. Young people do. I'm way past my prime,

right? But young people, young people can change

and impact our culture. How do I know that? Baggy

jeans are back in. I mean, the 90s are literally

coming back, right? And I'm thinking, why? Why?

Why baggy jeans? Well, it's because the young

people Right? The young people spread the thread

through social media and suddenly change happens.

I look at my oldest son, 27 years old, currently

living in Kenya, raising money to build a computer

lab, first ever computer lab in a Kenyan village

so that the young people, what? Can gain knowledge

and understanding and further their capacity.

He's doing more in this world than I've ever

done. And why? Because he's a young person. person.

And it's the young people that the enemy is attacking,

trying to re -educate the way they think and

act. The most prestigious universities in America,

many of which began as seminary institutions

focusing on the Bible, are now teaching and training

their young people to have a non -biblical worldview.

The public school system has removed any references

of the Bible out of the curriculum and has replaced

it with affirming there is no truth. Parents,

caregivers. It's your, it's our responsibility

to raise our children. Yours and mine. They're

my kids. They're your kids. Now hear me out.

HCV wants to come alongside of you. We want to

create systems and classes for all of our kids.

We want them to learn about Jesus. We want to

encourage you parents. We want to integrate the

Bible, grace, forgiveness, truth, sharing the

good news into your and your family's daily life.

We want all of that. But see, we need to integrate

Jesus in every area of our life, not just here

on Sunday. And what happens Monday through Saturday

in your home matters. The enemy is trying to

train up our children outside the home, away

from HCV. He wants to lead them away from the

church. He wants to give them a worldview that

opposes God and his people. And if you're a follower

of Jesus, hear me out, you are charged, I am

charged, all of us, with training the next generation

and passing the baton of faith onto them with

God's truth. And I want to challenge you. If

you're not doing anything in our community of

faith, go teach a kid's class because it will

change your life forever. It changed mine. First

thing I ever did after I gave my life to Jesus

was teach three and four -year -olds. You want

a quick lesson on the Bible and truth? Go deal

with some three and four -year -olds for two

years. Your life will be radically changed. And

after all, Jesus did say in Matthew 19, let the

children come to me. Don't stop them for the

kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like

children. And then he blessed them. See, many

of you know, I have six kids and I'm proud to

say every single one of them love the church,

love Jesus, right? My youngest, Phoenix, is up

at 6 a .m. every Sunday. Like, when are we gone?

When are we gone? When are we gone? You know,

he's ready to go to the church. And guess what?

We forced them to go to church. We force them.

And I hear it all the time from parents. Oh,

I don't want to force my kids to go to church.

What do you mean? You force them to clean their

rooms. True or false? There's a penalty if they

don't clean their rooms. You force them to clean

their rooms. Well, I don't want to turn them

off to Jesus. Come on, man. Jesus is good. He's

got everything under his control. But you also

have to understand We didn't force our kids to

go to church. We taught our kids what it meant

to be the church. We taught our kids the impact

and the change that happens in the world for

Jesus. Because see, when the church is not an

event you attend or a place you go, but rather

a family of God, a community of believers that

you're a part of, everything changes. And so

many people want to train their kids up to go

to church. You know what I say to that? Forgive

us, God. No, they don't go to church. They are

the church. And when we start teaching them that,

then everything good will begin to fall into

place. Yes, we forced our kids to be the church.

Why? Because outside of the church, there's a

demonic attack against them. Parents, train your

children up to be the church. Well, I don't want

to turn them away. Listen, I didn't want any

of my kids to walk through the pain I experienced

of being a non -believer. You know what I mean?

I valued what it means to be in a relationship

with Jesus. And I prayed for my kids and told

them that they are the church. Many of which,

at least my three oldest, when we left Bower

Avenue, literally weeped visibly because that

was their second home. How are you raising your

kids? Which leads us to our third strategy, identity

confusion. Continuing in Daniel. Daniel 1, 6

through 7. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah

were four of the young men chosen all from the

tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them

with these Babylonian names. Daniel was called

Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael

was called Meshach. And Azariah was called Abednego.

Why did they change their names? Well, in ancient

Israel, parents gave kids names that had meaning.

Right? Aspirational meanings focused on God.

For example, Daniel means God is my judge. Hananiah

means Yahweh is gracious. Mishael means who is

like God. And Azariah means Yahweh has helped.

See, they did so so that those meanings, the

meaning of their names, would be rooted in their

identity. And when these four teens were given

new names, it was an attempt to strip them of

their God -given identities. Listen to the differences.

Daniel is renamed Belteshazzar, which means lady

protect the king. In other words, they gave Daniel

a female name, which immediately creates gender

confusion. Hananiah was changed to Shadrach,

which means I'm afraid of God. You don't want

God? You don't want to associate with the church?

Get away from God and religion is bad. Mishael,

his name was changed to Meshach, which means

I am despised, contemptible, and humiliated.

Did you know that the highest rate of depression

and mental illness is those ages 14 to 20? Hmm.

Azariah had his name changed to Abednego, which

means servant of Nemo, meaning you are not a

servant of God, you are a slave to man. See,

this is identity theft. And the enemy continues

to do that today. He desires that we label ourselves

according to anything other than who God says

we are. If people ask you, well, what do you

do? Quite often our response is, I'm a pastor,

I'm a plumber, I'm a carpenter. We label ourselves

according to our profession or our calling. Or

if not, maybe we label ourselves according to

our hobby. I'm a creative, I'm a musician. And

the truth is, the enemy doesn't care how we label

ourselves as long as we label ourselves. with

something other than him. And that's a problem.

I mean, look around our culture. People are labeling

themselves according to ethnicity, sexual preference,

gender, race, pronouns. You know, pronouns is

a new thing. There's been people literally fired

from their jobs because they wouldn't identify

themselves according to their pronouns. I mean,

the enemy wants us to identify with anything

other than Jesus. Because in Jesus, We are blessed.

We are chosen. We are redeemed. We are forgiven.

We are loved. We are adopted. We are holy. We

are free. And he doesn't want us to walk in those

truths, the truths from 1 Peter. You're not like

that. You're a chosen people, a royal priest,

a holy nation, God's very own possession. And

as a result, you can show others the goodness

of God. He called you out of the darkness into

a wonderful light. Once you had no identity,

now you are God's. People. We have to fight to

be reminded who we are because the enemy wants

to rename us, which leads us to our fourth strategy,

cancel culture. Daniel chapter one, verses nine

through 10. Now God had given the chief of staff

both respect and affection for Daniel, but he

responded, I'm afraid of my Lord, the King, who

has ordered that you eat this food and wine.

Remember, Daniel asked for vegetables only and

water, which again, young people, wow. If you

become pale and thin compared to the other youths

your age, I am afraid of the king. Notice, the

king will have me beheaded. In other words, the

king will kill me if I do not do what he asked

me to do. Now, please understand, Babylon is

an extremely diverse kingdom with all sorts of

colors, cultures, language, ethnicities. They're

taking over the world. Nebuchadnezzar is trying

to blend them all together, leading the way.

And he needs to somehow unify them. And here's

what is clear. If you get in the way of him attempting

to unify his nation and his worldview, he's going

to kill you. This is cancel culture at its finest.

Cancel culture is a demonic attempt to create

a universal worldview that is opposed to God,

his people. And when you get in the way, you

get canceled. And so many of us have bought into

it. People in the church. Isn't it wild that

we live in a society that wants to scream tolerance

from the highest mountaintop in the world called

social media? We need to be tolerant. We need

to respect everyone's opinion. But the very second

someone starts speaking about the Bible, the

second someone shares about Jesus being the way,

the truth, and the life, his exclusivity, the

second someone speaks truth about the kingdom

of God, why is it that at that very second, Society

doesn't want to tolerate. They want to cancel.

They want to cancel you. And we act like this

is new. It's been happening for over 2 ,600 years.

And we have to be careful not to allow ourselves

as a church to be divided and tempted to cancel

on us. See, the difference between the culture

and Jesus is this. Jesus proposes, the world

imposes. Jesus proposes and offers his love.

The world imposes with threats and violence.

Jesus says, come to me, all those who are weary

and carry heavy burdens. I will give you rest.

I will forgive you when you fail. The world says,

conform or die. So my question, where's the real

bigotry? The bigotry is not in the church. When

we live gracefully with a Jesus mindset, the

bigotry is in the world. And we need to remind

it in John 15, Jesus told us, if the world hates

you, remember it hated me first. The world would

love you as one of its own if you belong to it,

but you're no longer part of their world. And

again, Jesus says that we are to have no parts

of this cancel culture, nor to establish a new

way of living. In Matthew 5, he says, do not

resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on

the right, offer your other cheek also, which

is a grace. worldview. Which leads us to our

fifth and final strategy. Remove godly men. See,

there's one person in this chapter that is mentioned

more than anyone else. It's not Daniel. It's

not Nebuchadnezzar. It's not any of Daniel's

friends. Anyone know who it is? It's the chief

eunuch. See, the Bible goes out of its way to

explain that Daniel and his friends were under

the care of a chief eunuch. A eunuch was a person

who 2 ,600 years ago went through a surgical

procedure that would castrate and emasculate

him. Now, the Bible does not explicitly say that

Daniel was made a eunuch. However, most theologians

believe this is the case. The evidence is he

never married, he never had kids, he never talked

about a family. Why? Why change God's design

and distort sexuality? Well, think about it.

The easiest way to erase a godly lineage is to

erase the bloodline. Herod tried to kill off

all the boys under two when he heard about Jesus

being born in Bethlehem. Why? To possibly destroy

the bloodline so that the Savior, the Son of

Man, would never come. And we read this in Daniel

1, 11 to 16. Daniel spoke with the chief who

had been appointed by the chief of staff to look

after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Test us for 10 days on a diet of vegetables and

water. At the end of the 10 days, see how we

look compared to the other young men who were

eating the king's food. Then make your decision

in light of what you see. The attendant agreed,

tested him for 10 days. And at the end of 10

days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier

and better nourished than the younger men that

were eating of food assigned by the king. So

after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables

instead of food and wine provided for the others.

And after three years, they were the top of the

class. And this happens today as the enemy tries

to distort sexuality, legalize abortion. I learned

this week that the state of Massachusetts recently

passed a bill where a mother can have an abortion

performed one day before her due date. Look it

up. It's truth. I also learned that abortion

pills can now be bought for $59 .95 online. And

when you take those pills because you consider

yourself or think you're pregnant, if you are,

The fetus is flushed down the toilet into our

water system, not only contaminating our water,

but destroying a life. And we have so many people

that say, oh, we're so more civilized than those

pagan cultures that would sacrifice babies to

their gods. Yet we sacrifice babies to self,

to selfishness. We're no better. We're worse.

And please understand, this is the enemy trying

to destroy a godly bloodline, trying to demonize

masculinity, trying to tell men they can't lead,

they need to take the backseat. You're no good.

And I am in no way saying women can't be strong.

I am in no way saying leaders can't, or women

can't be leaders within this church. Don't hear

what I'm not saying. I'm saying that men of God

can't be weak and passive. It's time for the

men of God to stand up and take back our place

to lead our families and our churches back in

a way that we are called to do. Paul says it

this way in 1 Corinthians 16. Be on guard. Stand

firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

And when he says be strong, look it up. The manuscripts

declare that that's men. Be strong. and do everything

with love. See, one of the primary tactics of

the enemy is to demonize masculinity and make

men feel weak. And I am in no way affirming male

chauvinism or misogynistic men. They are sins.

They need to be repented of and you need to change.

I'm talking about men who are willing to die

their self. Men who are willing to follow Jesus'

call to give up their own way, take their cross

daily and to follow him. And not only do we die

to self, but we elevate women around us. We make

women better than what they ever could be. Talk

to my three daughters. Talk to them. I elevate

them. I expect them to be great in this world.

Not because of their gender, because of God in

their life. We need men who are aggressive in

their worship. who will lift their hands in praise.

We need men who are passionate about prayer.

There isn't any reason that after this gathering,

men, that those spots on that 24 -7 prayer isn't

filled up. We need to set the example and be

the leaders in prayer. We need men who resemble

Jesus and love their church. We need men who

are passive but patient. We need men who are

humble but not silent. We need men who are kind

but not soft. We need men who are secure and

sober -minded. We need men who display power

but not prideful. We need men who care for themselves

and others. Right? Who take care of themselves

and are an example of what it means to be good

in this world. So many people talk, I'm 53 years

old, I'm in the best shape of my life. Well,

why don't you eat dessert? Why don't you eat

bread? Why do you work out? Why do you run? Why

do you do the MRF? You know why? Because I'm

going to set the example of what it means to

follow Jesus to the rest of the world. Okay?

We need to take care of our bodies. We need to

put food into our bodies that is fuel to make

us the best. So when I'm coaching kids and they

see me and they say, wow, you're taking care

of yourself. I said, yeah, you can have the same

muscles and this is how you do it. Because we

need to set the example. We need to get off the

couches. We need to stop making excuses. And

we need to become the men that we're called to

be. We are violent about Jesus and his love.

And you say, violent? Whoa, slow down, Chris.

Matthew 11. And from the time John the Baptist

began preaching until now, the kingdom of heaven

has been forcefully advancing and violent people

are attacking it. Right? As the church, we need

to stand up and we need to get a little dog in

us. And we need to be people that are willing

to set the example for others to follow. Amen?

Amen. I'm specifically calling you out, and I'm

about to really call you out. Which leads us

to our one action step, overcoming the enemy.

How do we overcome the enemy in this battle?

We choose to stand for Jesus. Notice Daniel in

Daniel 1, 8 through 9. But Daniel was determined.

Everyone say determined. Not to defile himself

by eating food and wine given to them by the

king. There you go. Determine means to have grit,

to stand up for a cause, to be a dog. To put

your head down and say, no, I'm going to be a

godly example, not only to my family or in the

church, but to the entire world. 2 Corinthians

5. For God was in Christ reconciling the world

to himself, no longer counting people's sins

against them. And he gave us this wonderful message

of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors.

God is making his appeal through us. We speak

for Christ when he pleads. Come back to God.

For God made Christ who never sinned to be an

offering for our sin so that we could be made

right with God through Christ. See, and these

are coming point in time that we need to stop

over -spiritualizing everything. We need to stop

making excuses. You say, well, Chris, what do

you mean? You need to determine in your heart

that you're going to do the right thing, right?

You need to ask the Holy Spirit to empower you

and start believing all that Jesus speaks over

you. Right? Jesus lived a life that we cannot

live. He was perfect. He took sin on himself

and suffered through the pain and agony of God

turning away from him for three days. Think about

it. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Perfect community.

Perfect connection. And at Jesus' death, the

Father turned away from his Son. And the Son

experienced the pain of separation from God.

In other words, hell. Jesus lived three days

in hell for us. For us. And why did he choose

to do this? Ephesians 3 .20. Now all glory to

God who was able through his mighty power at

work within us to accomplish infinitely more

than they might ask or think. God wants to do

infinitely more in us. He wants to empower us.

He wants us to change the world. And I want to

challenge you right now. Men. It's time to stand

up and be the man of God that you're called to

be. To be the example setter to your family,

to the church in this world. That we no longer

make excuses. We no longer lay on the couch.

No, we're up. We're active. We're praying. We're

worshiping. We're reading the Bible. We're allowing

God to change our life. Will you stand with me?

And here's my call. And I know I'm long. I was

long for a service. I'm sorry. But I couldn't

cut anything out because it all meant something.

So if you're here today and you're a man, I want

you to choose to stand for Jesus. I want you

to make that choice and get up front here so

I can pray for you. Let's go. Come on, man. I'm

drawing a line in the sand. Let's go. Oh, there's

a lot of men. Here, come up on stage. Come on,

come up on stage. I want everybody up here. Yeah,

just jump up. I don't care. I'm already late.

I want everybody up here. Come on. There you

go. Yeah, walk around. Use the steps. I don't

care. I want everybody up front. I don't want

anybody in the aisles. Come on. Let's go. I love

it. Let's go. Let's go. Come on, man. Let's go.

There we go. Come on, just fill in right here,

guys. Fill in right here. You're good. You don't

have to come up. Fill in right here. There we

go. I got everybody up. All right, now look out.

Look out. This is why we're here, okay? We are

declaring that in this battle, we follow King

Jesus, right? That's what we're about. And listen.

Everybody loves my shirt. I don't wear it on

Sundays. I wear it all through the week, everywhere

I go. Football games, baseball games, baseball

practice. Are you willing? Because this is what

it means. It means I'm gonna be willing to say,

nope, Jesus is my king in the midst of everything.

So ladies, we wanna support you, pray for you,

and lift you up because we wanna see you change

the world. And we desire that as a community

of faith, we be a place where Jesus is exhorted,

worshiped, and we choose to say he is first in

our life. Amen? All right, let's pray. God, I

am grateful for these men of God. I just ask

that this be a day, a line in the sand that changes

their life forever. That they choose. To declare

that you are first and foremost in their life

and that by their example, others will come into

your kingdom and desire to follow them into a

relationship with you. I just pray for thousands

more to come home into a relationship with you.

Use us, God. We declare the enemy will not win

in Jesus' name. That you will be glorified and

thousands more will come home to you through

our desire to passionately serve and follow you.

And we all said together, amen. All right, God

bless you guys. Thank you. Appreciate you, man.

All right, now listen, I'm late. I know I am.

I'm sorry. Listen, if you got a child, no one

else leave. If you got a child, go pick them

up and sign up to be a teacher. If you don't

have a child. Just let them leave first, and

then I'll get out there and say goodbye. If you're

joining us from home, God bless you guys. Be

a follower of Jesus. Make him first in your life.

This is going to be a great series. I'm excited

about what God's going to do in the month of

September at HCV. I love you guys. God bless.