Replay | Ignore the Culture, Ignore the Lies with Chris Schlotterbeck

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Mark Twain said, few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.

Let me read that again.

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.

See each of us, all of us gathered here this morning and online, we're either a good example

or a bad.

It's not one or the other, right?

It's good or bad.

You can't have both.

And I want to challenge you this morning.

What is your example to others today?

Your family, your friends, your coworkers, your classmates.

Because see, I think a lot of people in church today, they pretend to be something on Sundays

and then through the week they happen to be something different.

Almost as if they're putting on a show or playing a game.

But if you're in a relationship with Jesus, it's not about just reading the Bible, it's

about applying the Bible to your life.

It's about seeing the scriptures become a part of who you are.

Because see, people are going to watch you.

They're going to look at how you live.

They're going to see how you treat your family.

They're going to see how you interact with others on your job.

They'll look at how you function as a follower of Jesus.

And believe it or not, there's people within our culture that are going to evaluate God

based on your decisions.

There's going to be people within our culture that evaluate God based on your words and

how they see you interact with others.

Integrity is very, very important.

Being an example to others is probably one of the most important things you'll ever do

in your life.

Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth.

The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourself.

Your lives are a letter written in your hearts.

Everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.

Second Corinthians 3 2.

Paul wrote this in Philippians 2.

Work hard to show the results of your salvation.

Obeying God with deep reverence and fear, for God is working in you, giving you the desire

and the power to do what pleases him.

Do everything without complaining or arguing so that no one can criticize you.

Live clean innocent lives as children of God shining bright lights in a world full of crooked

and perverse people.

It's a challenge for all of us, friends.

But Paul is saying to the church, hey, I love you.

I wanted to be with you, but I'm in prison.

I couldn't be there.

And he was admonishing them.

Don't compromise yourself spiritually just because I'm not there watching.

But be an example of Jesus to the world.

You know, and I share all of this this morning because we're kicking off a new series for

the month of May.

We're going to go into the book of Daniel and we're going to look at godly living in

an ungodly culture.

If you do not know, Daniel is in the Old Testament.

It's a part of the major prophets.

In the Old Testament, it's broken into different sections.

We had the major and the minor prophets.

And hear me out.

It's not that Daniel was more important than the minor prophets.

It's just that it was a larger book.

This book also includes the exile in the Babylon.

The exile was when the Jewish people lived roughly from 600 BC to 538 BC in Babylon.

They were in exile.

They were taken away from their homeland.

And why, you say?

How did that happen?

Well, for hundreds of years, the Jewish people were living in sin.

They refused to turn back to God, even though God was constantly challenging them to return

to him through the prophets.

So God allowed, that's right, he allowed.

And when you read Daniel this week, chapter one, you'll see that God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar,

the king of Babylon, to conquer Jerusalem and all the people.

Babylon was located in modern day Iraq and was the dominant superpower of that time period,

much like the United States today.

The Jewish people were taken into captivity during three different evasions.

The first group of people taken into captivity were young men of nobility and influence.

Daniel in fact was part of this group.

In the second invasion, the Babylonians took the influential people, the older people,

the communities, officers, soldiers, priests, the wealthy, the prophets.

In the third invasion, the remaining people were taken, except for the poor.

They were left behind because they had no influence.

And what I want you to see is the Babylonians, what were they attempting to do?

They were attempting cultural assimilation.

What they were doing is they were taking these young, influential young men of power, and

they were trying to indoctrinate them into the world of the Babylonians.

They wanted the Babylonian culture to become a part of who they were so that they could

defeat the Jewish people from the inside out.

See the Babylonians were attacking their very identity.

And I just personally believe that this book, if you will, this series that we're doing,

applies greatly to us today.

Because see Babylonian culture was all about sensual pleasure, meaning the people focused

on whatever they wanted to do, whatever made them important as individuals.

There was no right or wrong, it was just whatever they felt.

It was the kind of just do it mentality.

They worshiped and believed whatever they wanted.

There was pluralism of gods.

There was no absolute truth, which leads us to our first thought this morning as we kick

off the book of Daniel.

See Jesus followers are considered exiles.

Now some of you may be sitting there, wait, how am I an exile, Chris?

How is it?

I was born here, I was raised here, I've grown up in this country, many of us in this tri-state

area, how can I be considered an exile?

Well, Peter addresses all those in a relationship with Jesus with these words in 1 Peter 1,

1 and 2, 11.

I am writing to God's chosen people who are living as foreigners.

Another translation puts it exiles and then another says strangers.

Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners.

Paul writes in Philippians 3 20, but we are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ

lives and we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our savior.

John 15 19, Jesus's word says the world would love you as one of its own if you belong to

it but you are not part of the world.

You're no longer part of that world.

I chose you to come out of the world so it hates you.

So what is Jesus saying?

He's saying you're no longer a part of the world, you know, you no longer identify with

it but I'm sending you to it.

Therefore if you're in a relationship with Jesus, you can relate to Daniel and his friends

when we read this in Daniel 1 3.

Then the king ordered Aspen as his chief of staff to bring to the palace some of the young

men of Judas royal family and other noble families who had been brought to Babylon as

captives.

So if it is true, if you're in a relationship with Jesus morning and you're in exile, you're

no longer living in this world.

How do we live a countercultural life when culture tells us that everything we believe

is wrong?

If our culture says that Jesus is teaching there, they're not true.

There is no one absolute truth.

How do we live that in a culture and bring change which leads us to our next thought?

See exiles should influence culture positively.

Exiles should influence culture positively.

See when Daniel was taken into captivity, he was around 14 or 15 years of age.

Nebuchadnezzar of course was focusing on the younger generation because they were of a

teachable age, meaning they can learn something new.

Right, quite often what happens with older generations is that people become set in their

ways and it makes it very difficult for people to change and accept new beliefs.

While the younger generations, they embrace change and a new outlook.

For example, let's just take our culture and the technology that is now rapidly spreading

throughout our culture.

My 15 month old Phoenix can operate an iPhone.

I'm not making that up.

He can pick it up.

He knows how to open it up.

He knows what buttons to push and you think, well, how, how does he do this?

Because I even think that myself is because he learns from us.

He sees his brothers and his sisters and his moms and his dads and everybody around him.

What are they playing with?

Their phones.

So he's able to quickly identify, oh, this must be important.

I need to learn what it is and how to use it.

To remember these young men, Daniel was 14 or 15 years old.

He was brought into the king's court and listen, it means that he was not living a bad life.

See quite often, if you're like me, when I hear captivity or exile or captive, what do

you think?

You think someone is chained up or locked away or put in prison or living this difficult

life when in reality these young men were living a life of privilege.

They had privileges more than any of us probably have ever experienced.

For example, they were given an education.

Babylon was the education capital of the world at this time.

The schools that they would attend were much compared to our Harvard or Yale and they would

be learning literature and technology, history, language, but focusing on Babylonian culture.

After three years of this education, the young men would then serve in the king's court and

this was considered an honor and a privilege.

So not only were they educated, not only were they getting promoted, but they had the privilege

of eating at the king's table.

And friends, please understand this was choice meats, choice vegetables.

Okay, if you've ever been on a cruise ship, think dinner buffet on a cruise ship, the

best of the best.

So these men, they're being immersed in Babylonian culture.

Now there were some Jewish people, there were some of the Jews that were exiles that refused

to move into Babylon and become a part of the culture.

They actually separated away from the city, away from the people and they wouldn't engage

and that was based on a prophecy from Hananiah that we read about in Jeremiah 20 and 11 and

it says this, Hananiah spoke in the sight of the people saying, this is what the Lord

says.

Even so within two full years, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

from the neck of all the nations.

So there was this prophet named Hananiah that was speaking to the Jewish people and he was

saying that God would set them free in two years.

Don't worry about your captivity, God will set you free.

Don't engage in the culture, don't get around the people, God's gonna break you out.

Just don't interact, separate.

Jeremiah the prophet, he heard this prophecy and he has this response, a very important

response in Jeremiah 29 verses four through seven.

This is what the Lord of heaven's armies, the God of Israel says to all the captives,

he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem.

Build homes and plan to stay.

Plant gardens and eat the food they produce.

Marry and have children.

Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren.

Multiply, do not do in dual way and work for the peace and prosperity of the city where

I sent you into exile.

Pray to the Lord for it for its welfare will determine your welfare.

Interesting.

So, so you have a false prophecy saying separate, don't engage in culture.

Be distinctly the opposite, but then you hear the prophecy from God.

This was God telling the people, no, engage.

Don't separate, don't isolate, don't avoid.

In fact, engage.

Be a part of the culture, live within the culture, multiply.

And then he even says, pray for the city.

It says pray for Babylon because when it prospers, you will prosper.

Is that how we live?

I mean, let's be honest.

The term Christian can't even be used in the United States because of all the derogatory

thoughts that people have about that word.

Oh, you're a Christian.

Oh, you're no good.

You hate others.

You judge others.

You won't accept people, right?

When in reality, if people hear that I'm a follower of Jesus, they should say, well,

I need to go to you for advice.

I need to go for you to be accepted.

I need to go to you as an example of how to live my life.

It's the complete opposite of what we read here.

It's because quite often Christians separate from society rather than engage in it.

When in reality, if we're going to bring positive change, we're called to engage.

We're called to be in part of the world, of the culture, of the city, of the job that

God has called us to.

But we don't assimilate.

We engage, but we don't assimilate.

What's the difference?

When we engage, we don't allow culture to change what we believe.

We don't allow culture to dictate how we think.

We base who we are on who God says we are.

Which leads us to our next thought.

So we have to guard because culture attacks a person's identity.

Culture attacks a person's identity.

This happens by trying to rename a person.

And let's be honest.

We all know the name is very important.

In fact, it's the first thing that you ask a person when you're getting to know someone.

Right?

A name provides more than an identification, more than a meaning.

The name is who the person is.

I mean, think about it.

When a woman chooses to get married, she will take on the new last name.

She is saying that my life is going to be better with this man that I am choosing to

marry.

So if you're, stop, if you're currently dating someone and your life is not currently getting

better than what you currently were when you were alone, maybe that's a sign you shouldn't

marry them.

Your life is supposed to get better.

Okay?

Improve.

And you know, in fact, that it's a labor of love if you take on the last name of Schlatterbeck.

I mean, just think about that.

That's a labor of love.

I mean, for the first 10 years, Jess fought with me about shortening it to just back.

Can we just change it, please?

She said, no, you chose to get married, therefore we're keeping it.

So just pause and think about the name that you were given at birth.

There's meaning to that name.

My name is Christopher.

Christopher means Christ follower.

In fact, it's kind of interesting, when I used to travel and fly, my plane ticket literally

would say Christ Schlatterbeck.

See?

So it's, comes in handy to have a long last name.

When the plane speaks of my identity, right?

So let's go back to Daniel.

In Daniel 1, 6 through 7, we have Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

These were the four young men that were chosen from the tribe of Judah.

Let's look at the meanings.

Daniel means God is my judge.

Hananiah means Yahweh is gracious.

Mishael is who is what God is, and Azariah means Yahweh has helped.

I mean, all powerful names.

And what do those names speak to?

They speak to the Hebrew God.

They speak to the true God.

The Babylonians, they attempt to remove God from their names.

Continuing on in Daniel.

The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names.

Mishael was called Belteshazzar, Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mishael was called Meshach,

and Azariah was called Abednego.

Now, notice the meanings.

Belteshazzar meant Baal will protect his life.

Shadrach meant command of Aku.

Meshach means who is what Aku is, and Abednego meant servant of Nebo.

All Babylonian gods.

And what is it?

Those gods went directly against their birth names.

Now, what I want you to notice is these men, they didn't complain.

They didn't argue that their names were being changed.

And I want us all to hear this.

It's not what a person calls you, it's what you answer to.

It's not what a person calls you, it's what you answer to.

It's not what culture calls you or defines you.

It's not what the bully called you in school.

It's not what your parents or a teacher or a coach said about you.

It's not what the enemy calls you.

It's what you answer to.

See, Proverbs 23 7 says,

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

See, the question this morning is

what do you believe about yourself?

What do you believe about yourself?

Do you have God's view of you written on your heart?

See, that's what's most important.

Jesus calls you friend, forgiven, loved, redeemed,

bold, confident, fearless, strong, free, unique,

chosen, co-heirs, conquerors.

Is that how you live your life?

Ephesians chapter two, verses four through six says,

but God, so rich in mercy, he loves you so much

that even though we are dead, because of our sins, dead,

he gave us life when he raised Jesus from the dead.

It is only by God's grace that you have been saved.

For he raised us from the dead along with Christ

and seated us with him.

Now notice, seated with him in the heavenly realms

because we are united with Christ.

See, God gave us a new life, therefore you are living

this new kingdom life.

So this morning, take a self-assessment.

Think about what you do daily, how you live your life.

Think about your daily choices, your daily actions.

Does it reflect Jesus?

Do other people see these positive qualities

coming out in your life?

Or do you just simply fit into the crowd?

Do you just simply go along with the culture?

I mean, if you're a young woman, do not allow

the latest TikTok fashion trends to influence

or compromise your dress.

Just being honest.

All that is saying is you're trying to get attention

from a young man and that attention means nothing.

If you're a young man, are you living for acceptance

and applause of people or friends?

You know, you're frantically worried about,

oh, I gotta make more money, I gotta gain more influence.

I wanna be defined as successful by society standards.

Friends, they're all just lies.

We have to base our success off of God's standards.

We can't allow our culture to influence our identity

as sons and daughters of God, as co-heirs.

I mean, think about what that means, co-heirs.

The Bible says that we're co-heirs with Jesus.

That means we have all of God's blessings.

Which leads us to our next thought.

Culture just doesn't attack your identity.

Culture attacks a person's appetite.

Look at Daniel 1, 5 and 8.

The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine

from his own kitchens, but Daniel was determined

not to defile himself by eating the food and wine

given to them by the king.

He asked the chief of staff for permission

not to eat these things, but to eat them.

The chief of staff for permission not to eat

these unacceptable foods.

See, foods at the king's table would have compromised

Jewish customs and laws.

Why?

Because choice meat in Babylon was either pork or horse flesh.

According to Jewish customs, that was hooved animals,

and they couldn't eat or they would be considered unclean.

Also in Babylon, the way the food was prepared,

the food was fully drained of blood,

because quite often when they were serving the king's dinner,

they would first sacrifice the animal to the Babylonian gods,

drain the blood, before the drain blood was fully drained,

they would then cook it and serve it to the king.

Again, this is going against Jewish law and customs.

But what do we see Daniel doing?

He lives with conviction.

He was trying to erode his convictions

because it would erode his behavior.

It would compromise who he was.

I mean, think about it, it could have been real easy

for Daniel and his friends just to give in and eat.

I mean, they were hundreds of miles from home.

They were the first group of people taken into exile.

No one was watching.

No one would have seen it.

It was perfectly acceptable within culture,

but yet he didn't.

I mean, think about it, Daniel,

he had every right to be mad at God.

I can't believe you allowed me to be taken into exile,

into captivity, why am I in this land?

Well, I'm not believing in you anymore, God, I'm eating.

And in both those instances,

isn't it true that the same can happen to us?

It could be at work, it could be at school.

Oh, no one knows I'll go to church.

I only go to church on Sunday.

No one knows that I'm a Jesus follower that I believe in.

I can laugh at that joke, I can make fun of that person.

I can watch that video.

I can overindulge in that beverage,

that food, no one will ever know.

Well, let's be honest, you could be mad at God.

You could be here this morning, you're just mad at God.

A prayer was an answer.

There was a death in the family.

There's an illness, there's a pain from your past.

And you're mad at God.

You're mad at God.

And you're angry at God.

And you just give in, you compromise.

You're not worried about your integrity.

You're not worried about influencing others.

You're not worried about being a good example to our culture.

Look at 1 Peter 2, 11 again.

Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents

and foreigners, keep away from worldly desires

and wage war against your very souls.

See, here's the reality.

If you are a person of principle,

if you live with conviction,

everyday decisions become easy.

But see, so many people struggle with decisions

because they don't live with principles.

They don't allow the Bible to dictate for them how to live

because they don't open and read it.

And therefore it's really easy

to give in to these cultural temptations

because you begin to believe lies about yourself,

which leads us to our next thought.

See, God's favor rests on people of integrity.

God's favor rests on people of integrity,

Daniel 1, 9 through 21.

Now God had given the chief of staff

both respect and affection for Daniel.

So Daniel goes to the chief of staff and says,

please test us for 10 days

on a diet of vegetables and water.

Daniel said at the end of the 10 days,

see how we look compared to the other young men

who were in eating the king's food,

then make your decision in light of what you see.

Now notice Daniel, he did not demand his own way.

He did not put his foot down.

This is what it's gonna be.

I'm not eating that food.

You can kill me if you want.

I'll be a martyr.

He didn't say any of that.

He trusted God and his principles.

In fact, he didn't even have to argue his point.

All he said was, give me 10 days.

Give me 10 days and let's see which way is the right way,

the Babylonian gods or my God.

Continuing on in Daniel.

At the end of the 10 days,

Daniel and his three friends looked healthier

and better nourished than the young man

who had been eating the food assigned by the king.

God gave these four young men an unusual appetite

for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom.

And God gave Daniel the special ability

to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

Truth.

When we walk with godly principles,

when we walk with truth and convictions,

God's favorite is evident in our lives.

These men were healthier, wiser,

and more importantly,

they had a connection with God unlike any other.

Daniel was able to interpret the dreams of the king.

Continuing on.

Whenever the king consulted them in any matter

requiring wisdom and balanced judgment,

he found them, these four men,

10 times more capable than any of the magicians

and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

Daniel remained in the royal service

until his first year of the reign of King Cyrus.

Notice the king, Nebuchadnezzar,

would come to them for advice, for guidance.

He knew that these men believed in the Hebrew God,

however, he went to them for guidance and advice.

What did this do?

It opened up opportunities for them

to share about God's goodness,

understanding, is that how we live our lives?

And notice this just wasn't at the beginning

of Daniel's exile.

Daniel was 14 or 15 years old

when he was taken into exile.

When Daniel left exile,

it was with four kings later,

Nebuchadnezzar, Balthasar, Darius,

and then it said Cyrus.

Daniel held a prominent position through four kings.

He left Babylon somewhere in his 80s.

Daniel honored God and what happened,

God's favor rested on him.

And I want to challenge you this morning.

Are you living a life of integrity?

Are you living a life of principle?

Because when we do, God's favor rests on us.

We are called to engage our culture,

not separate from it, not run from it, engage it.

But we engage it with conviction and principle.

We don't engage it with argumentative attitudes

and negativity.

We engage it with God's Spirit empowering us

to live a Spirit-filled life,

seeing meaning and hope released into other people,

seeing signs, wonders, and miracles released

into other people through our relationship with him.

So let's look at four steps to daily living with integrity.

First one's this.

Just make better choices.

Look at Matthew 7, 13 through 15.

We can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate.

The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide

for many who choose that way.

But the gateway to life is very narrow

and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it.

Here's the reality.

Every day, we make hundreds of decisions,

but we only remember a few.

A few.

Every day, we make hundreds of decisions,

but we only remember the big ones.

The small ones are the insignificant ones.

You know what happens?

They go on autopilot.

They don't get our full attention.

We don't pray about it.

We just live our life.

But see, my challenge to you this morning is

what if those smaller decisions become just as important

as the major ones?

What if those smaller decisions,

whether to eat that food, drink that drink,

say that word, argue that point,

flip that person off, right?

What if they got just as much attention

as that relationship you need to have?

That new job that's a must.

I've gotta relocate.

I've gotta find the right school.

Major decisions, oh, we talk to God,

you know, come on, God.

But those minor ones, we control.

I wanna challenge you this morning.

Allow the vision for your life to change.

See, if our vision for our life

is focusing on God's kingdom,

then every decision we make will become important.

Every decision we make will become important

because we realize that we're an example to others

everywhere we go, with every word we speak,

with every smile we share,

with every action that is done.

Daniel 1, five and eight,

the king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine

from his own kitchens,

but Daniel was determined not to defy himself

by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.

He asked the chief of staff of permission

not to eat the unacceptable foods.

Proverbs 16, nine, we can make our plans,

but the Lord determines our steps.

Life is not a set and forget process.

It's not an autopilot.

Life, daily life has got to be a connection with the spirit.

We have to constantly be reminding ourselves

of our values, our purpose and our goals.

And I want to challenge you today,

let's be a people where every decision we make

is a decision for the kingdom,

which leads us to our next step.

You got to develop some positive habits.

Listen, when we read Daniel 1, five and eight,

all that food piled before him, right?

It was the best buffet he has ever seen,

but he would not defile himself.

That was because he established positive habits

within his life because he was focused on eating food

that would bring life to his body.

And I want to challenge, it's not just food,

it's a lifestyle, right?

It's not just about the food we eat.

That's not the focus of this talk.

It's about healthy habits in life.

For example, if you're a person,

it's always known as one that is running late.

I know that's not anyone here.

It may not be a problem for you, right?

You may be okay with it, you're just always a little late,

but it impacts others, true or false.

And see, what we need to do is,

we need to identify bad habits.

Then one by one, begin to change them.

It's interesting, I looked up real quick,

I said, just did a quick Google search, American bad habits.

This popped up, six bad habits that Americans do daily

that are spreading like wildfire across the world.

You ready to hear them?

Eat too much fast food, watch way too much TV,

spend hours on social media, skip lunch, overwork,

and spend too much money on wants rather than needs.

Question, is that a good example to the rest of the world?

That's what our influence is right now

currently within the culture.

Those six things are spreading like wildfire

around the world.

And I wanna challenge you, be a person that's different.

What you need to do, and what I was challenged to do

this week, write down some bad habits, maybe 10.

We all have them.

Write them down, and then put an arrow over that says,

this is a good habit that will change that bad habit.

And then begin to focus on one at a time,

and don't go off of one until it's completely changed

for the positive.

And then suddenly, you'll begin to change

and then suddenly, you'll begin to see yourself

becoming a person of character and principle.

Philippians 4, 8 through 9.

Dear brothers and sisters, one final thing,

fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right,

pure, lovely, and honorable.

Think about those things.

Think about them that are excellent, worthy of praise,

keep putting into practice all you have learned

and received from me, everything you heard from me

and saw me doing, then the God of peace will be with you.

See, that's integrity.

Next, we have to learn to keep your agreements.

Every day, we make agreements both with ourself

and with others.

And if you're anything like me, we live these busy lives

and we're intent to keeping every agreement that we make.

Let's be honest, we break several every day, true or false.

Because if we don't break them with others,

we break them with ourselves.

If we break them with ourselves, does that make sense?

It's this counter-tutive thing where we tear ourselves down.

We erode ourselves because we don't keep our agreements.

What did Daniel do?

He kept his agreement.

Daniel 1, 12 through 15, test me.

Allow me to eat vegetables and water.

Let me look at my life at the end of those 10 days.

And what did they see?

What did they find?

Those men were better nourished.

They'd eaten better, I mean they were better.

See, when we focus on not keeping our commitments

with others, then our word becomes null and void.

People don't trust us, they don't accept us.

If you say you're gonna do something, do it.

Be true to it, otherwise you're just lying.

And then there's so many people,

then they'll justify their actions.

Well, I was late.

I didn't show up because, well, yeah, I committed to that,

but this came up.

That's an excuse.

That's all it is.

An excuse, what's an excuse?

It's a lie, it's a sin.

And thus it separates us from God.

We need to become a people that keep our agreements.

And even more importantly, it's just as true

as the agreements you make with yourself.

If you're gonna start a diet and get healthier,

stick with it.

Don't justify your actions by saying,

well, I like bread every once in a while.

Like we always make excuses for the things that we like

and those things aren't good for us.

And if we wanna be a people of principle and purpose,

stay committed to the agreements

that you make with yourself and with God.

Proverbs 11.3.

Honesty, God's good people.

Dishonesty destroys treacherous people,

which leads us to our final step.

You gotta raise others up.

Stop thinking about yourselves.

Daniel 1, 20 to 21, whenever the king insulted them

in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment,

he found them 10 times more capable

than any magicians and chanters in the entire kingdom.

Daniel remained in the world's service

until his first year of the reign of King Cyrus.

Daniel, what did he do?

He was in captivity, he was in hostage, he was a prisoner.

He lifted up the king that was holding him captive.

He spoke life into him.

But yet so often within our culture, we get mad at it.

We get mad at our president, we get mad at our government,

we get mad at the other church, we get mad.

You know, we get mad at everybody

because it doesn't line up with us.

In my ways, in my ones, and it's gotta be about God

and what God wants and what God wants us

to bring life to others, Hebrews 10, 24.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another

to acts of love and good works.

1 Thessalonians 5, 11, encourage each other

and build each other up just as you're already doing.

Integrity, the meaning of life,

is about building others up.

Integrity is not just about you keeping to yourself

and holding these convictions and these principles,

it's about bringing that into other people.

I mean, Jesus told us he came to serve.

Who are you serving?

Right?

See, I mean, let's be honest.

No one cares about your daily Facebook and Instagram posts.

Just being honest, no one cares

because it's just a show.

What matters is what you're doing with other people.

That's all that matters.

We need to become a people where we're in the world,

living in the world with our culture

and lifting those people up

because that's what God calls his people to do.

Come, Holy Spirit.

God, I'm just thankful for each and every person here.

I'm thankful for the truth that we find in your word.

God, I just speak this truth

in each and every one of us this morning, God.

God, I just speak this truth in each and every one of us this morning, God.

Yes, God.

Holy Spirit, come.

Yes, Lord.

So I just want to pray for anybody this morning.

As I was sharing these words, you just sensed that you were compromising.

It doesn't matter what it was.

I'm not going to ask you what it was.

But you're here this morning and you felt,

and I'm just compromising there and there and there.

It's almost as if God was holding you up.

And there, it's almost as if God was highlighting

these little areas of compromise in your life.

And he's saying, come home.

Saying, stop compromising because that compromise

is a way to walk away from God, not towards him.

Yes, God.

So if there's anybody here this morning,

just go to a place of prayer.

I don't want to point anybody out.

Anybody here this morning, you felt, yeah, Chris, I'm compromising.

There's this area in my life I'm compromising.

So you just slip your hand out.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Yes, God.

Just identify areas, God, where we compromise,

where it just chips away at our integrity.

Yes, God.

Now just go before him.

Just go before him right now and say, just God, forgive me.

That's all it is.

You know, whatever it may be, forgive me for that lie.

Forgive me for stealing.

Forgive me for looking at that.

Whatever it may be, just say that.

Hey, God, forgive me.

Have a conversation with Jesus.

Thank you, Lord.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Change us, God.

Yes, Lord.

Yes, Lord.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Yes, God.

You know, you heard Rhett share during our worship song there

that his love is pursuing your heart this morning.

You know, and I was going to blow by this this morning,

but I remember two weeks ago when I shared

that I made a commitment to God that I was going to do this every Sunday.

The Holy Spirit comes.

If there's anybody here, no one looking around,

no one going to your own place.

There's anybody here that says, yes, Chris, I need to just accept that love.

I need to come into that relationship with Jesus this morning.

I've been compromising.

I've walked away from God.

Maybe you knew him when you were younger.

If there's anybody here that just needs to experience that love this morning,

no one looking around, just slip your hands up.

Just slip your hand up real high.

Yes, God.

Yes, God.

So there's several hands raised around the room.

We all pray this together here.

We're a family.

We all pray the prayer with each and every individual that has their hands raised.

Jesus, forgive me.

I'm a broken person.

I want to experience your love.

I've walked away from you.

I've made bad choices.

I have sin in my life.

But I want to experience your new life.

I receive you.

I believe in you.

So, please, heal me now with your Holy Spirit in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, listen, if you prayed that prayer, I saw a couple of hands raised.

If you prayed that prayer, I need you to take out your phone.

It's okay.

And text changeme to 9700.

And when you text changeme just right, I prayed that prayer.

And you say, well, why would I do that, Chris?

Because I need to follow up and pray with you this week.

I need to call you and give you some next steps.

Next steps, like for some of you, start with why today.

You say, well, Chris, what's start with why?

Start with why is just an introduction to HTV and how God wants to use you to change our community.

Like, if you're looking for ways to change your community, partner with us.

Meet Rudy at the Welcome Hub right after this, 20, 30 minutes.

And become a part of what God's doing here in our community of faith.

It's very important that you plug in.

Now, let's all stand together.

It's interesting how I want to close.

How I want to close, actually, I did a memorial service this past Wednesday.

And we played this song that we're about to sing.

And I was sitting right in that seat.

And I literally began to weep because of the words that we're about to sing.

And I believe that God challenged me that you need to sing these words over yourself this morning.

Can you do that?

Because this song is about who you are if you're in a relationship with Jesus.

You are chosen.

You are loved. You are forgiven.

So as we sing together, just sing out and experience the identity that God has for you.

.