Let Your Light So Shine

Well, good afternoon! Just so wonderful, so beautiful instrumentals and beautiful voice. I'm so proud of all of our young people here today. You're a great encouragement to me. You're a great inspiration to me, and I want you to know that you are to so many people here. And your father in heaven is also very proud of you and all the challenges that you are meeting. It is wonderful to be here this weekend, and we're going to speak about a few young people as well today that God was very proud, and they stood up to the challenges of life that they faced. And I think you may see a lot of you in them today. I hope you do.

The title of today's message, Let Your Light So Shine. Let your light so shine. I'd like to invite us all to turn together to Daniel chapter one, the first chapter of the book of Daniel. This will be our departure point this afternoon. Daniel chapter one, as we are gathered here today on this wonderful regional family weekend and teen prom. As we heard, we're gathered some 57 strong teens here today, strong youth and beings. So I think it's important that we take a moment to read a good portion of this chapter, Daniel chapter one, because I propose to you today that regarding the Bible, there is no more relevant of a chapter to you young people today than Daniel chapter one. So therefore, I'd like to give ourselves to it here, Daniel chapter one, and let's read verses one through 16 as we establish our foundation today. So Daniel one, beginning in verse one.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoakim king of Judah into his hand with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his God. And he brought these articles into the treasure house of his God. Then the king instructed Aspenaz, the master of the eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had the ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among them those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Michel, Azariah.

To them the chief of the eunuchs gave new names. He gave Daniel the name of Belchazzar to Hananiah Shadrach, to Michel, Meshach, and to Azariah Abednego. But Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested to the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Verse 9, Now God brought Daniel into favor and goodwill with the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king who has appointed your food and drink.

For why should he see your face as looking worse than the other young man who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king. So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Michel, and Azariah, please test your servants for ten days and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies. And as you see fit, so deal with your servants.

So he consented with them in this matter and tested them ten days. Verse 15, At the end of the ten days their features appeared better and fatter and flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies.

Thus the steward took away their portion of the delicacies and the wine that they were to drink and gave them vegetables. Let's stop there. So there you have it. And again, may I suggest to you that I believe there is more relevance in this first chapter of Daniel at this stage in your young life than any other chapter in the Bible.

Why? Well, because we have here this historical event which provides us a clear illustration of our theme for this weekend. As it provided here are the details of Daniel and his friends who were able to be a bright light while they were being thrust into utter darkness. They were able to remain faithful to God while living in the middle of a culture that was completely foreign to all that they had been raised to believe.

And in this chapter, as it follows Daniel and his friends, the circumstances that are upon them, it answers the questions that each of you young people face every day of your lives. It answers the question, how do I do it? How do I live my life in this school, in this neighborhood, in this culture?

How do I live my life in such a way that honors God? How do I survive this culture that in many ways is completely against everything I've been taught to believe? How do I do it? Well, let's unravel the answer here and begin. And we see quickly, as we begin to read this story, we see that there was a besieging, a taking over here of Daniel's people. Look at that again in verse 1 through 3.

It was the third year of the reign of Jehoakim. Jehoakim was Daniel's king, Jehoakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, the bad guy, the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoakim, king of Judah, into his hand with some of the articles of the house of God.

They carried it into this land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and brought the articles into the treasure house of his God. So, the life that Daniel and his friends had been enjoying here in a moment shattered. All of it shattered as we have the arrival of this foreign kingdom led by this king Nebuchadnezzar. And as a result of this overflow, overthrow here, Daniel and his friends and all of Daniel's fellow people, they were taken into captivity. Everything changed. And I want you to notice something here right from the beginning. I don't know.

You may have noticed this. Did you see this? First part of verse 2. What did it say? The first part of verse 2. This is unbelievable. First part of verse 2. It says, And the Lord gave the king of Judah into his hand. I don't know if you notice that. Again, it says, the Lord gave Daniel's king into the hand of this bad king, Nebuchadnezzar.

So, these were God's people. Just like we are God's people. And God gave them over to this dark Babylonian empire. How do we make sense of this?

Well, you see, after God calls a man or a woman, after he calls them out of the darkness, God asks that man or the woman to stay in the very darkness in which he's called them out of. Now, let me repeat that. This is important to grasp. After God calls a man or a woman out of darkness, he asks that man or woman to remain in the very dark culture to which he's called them out of. Why? Why do you think that is? Well, God allows his people to remain in the darkness to which they've been called out of so that they might provide the light of the darkness and they might provide the light which is so desperately needed in it. Who provides the light in darkness? God's people do. So who could provide the light in this dark Babylonian empire?

Young Daniel and his friends. Take one of your marker thingies that you have in your Bible and keep it here in Daniel because we're going to come right back to it. But I'd like you to turn over to John 17, if you will, just for a moment. We're going to come right back to Daniel. But John 17 in verse 15 and 16. John 17 in verse 15 and 16. Some of you remember Jesus when he prayed on the night before his crucifixion, before he died. He prayed this very thing for his chosen, his chosen out of this world. Incredibly. Look at these words that Jesus prayed to his father here. John 17 in verse 15 and 16. Jesus Christ himself said, I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of this world just as I am not of this world. So Jesus was not of the world, and he and his father have called you out of the world as well. But he says, I pray that you don't take them out of the world. Why would he pray that? Well, Jesus goes on to say, look at this, verse 20 and 21. Look at verse 20 and 21. Verse 20. I don't pray for these alone. He's not praying solely for those to whom he's called. But he says, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all might be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

So why does God want us to remain in this world, in this culture, after he's called us out of it?

Well, so that others might believe in him.

So the God, the father calls a man or a woman out of this world, but allows them to remain in the darkness of the culture so that they might be a light to those around them. Incredible.

So in going back to Daniel chapter 1, Daniel chapter 1, and verse 2 again, so why would God give Jehoakim, the king of Judah, into the darkness of Nebuchadnezzar's hand? Why would he do this? Well, again, one primary reason is so that Daniel, in all of Daniel's people, God's people, could provide a light to which this dark Babylonian empire desperately needed. Okay, likewise. Likewise, young people, this is why you are where you are in your schools, in your neighborhood, and so on. You have this calling from God, but yet you go out into what is, in many ways, a dark culture. So what's your purpose there? Why are you in these places? So that you can provide the light that's so desperately needed in them.

Now, let me share with you a little bit about God's people here that were being overtaken in Judah. Many of them were convinced that something like this could never happen, never happened to them. So many of them believed that they were just going to continue their lives uninterrupted, undisturbed, until the day that the Messiah, the Son of God, would appear to them. They would have never expected this challenge that was going to face them. So this was a harsh wake-up call for many of these young people as they were awoken to the sounds of soldiers' boots coming down the street, knocking and breaking down their doors, perhaps. Everything changes. Everything went horribly wrong. They were taken into captivity. Their family structure was crushed. Their religious foundation was destroyed. This was happening to so many young people. And this book could have followed just a numerous young men and young women, but we see that it very quickly, the picture turns and focuses upon four individuals and expressly Daniel here. So here they are, Daniel and his friends, and look what they faced. Verse 3 again. Verse 3 through 7. And the king instructed Aspenaz, the master of the eunuchs, to bring some of these children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles. Verse 4, Young men, in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge, quick to understand, who had the ability to serve in the king's palace, that's Nebuchadnezzar's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies, wine in which he drank, three years of training for them. At the end, they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar, it says. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Meshel, and Azariah. Daniel and his friends. We see there that they're given new names. So Daniel and his friends stand here, if you will, on the first day of Babylonian college, Babylonian school, first day of school. They were chosen the best, the unblemished, good-looking men. They re-offered the best education, learned a new language, new literature, even the best food.

Might sound like a pretty good deal, but let me tell you, this was no Christian university.

Very far from that. So this was no Ambassador Bible College that we know. This was really a depraved culture and a depraved culture in which they were going into. The book of Revelation, it speaks of, it references the Babylonian culture at this time, but it's looking in the future. And Revelation points out it was a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, a nation to have drunk of the wine and wrath of her fornication. So this Babylonian culture, they had these strong words attached to it. So just underneath the shine, I'm sure, and the glitz was now this depraved dark culture. And it was just standing there, waiting to choke the light out of Daniel and his friends.

And no doubt the family members that were left behind, they would have wondered about their sons here, this cream of the crop that had been taken from them. Would they stand?

Or would they fall to this dark culture?

Now, presumably, some of the young people would have reacted like this. Well, you know, we used to live in Judah. Now we're here, guys.

Let's see what this culture has to offer us. We're in Babylon, after all. We're a long way from home. Times are different. Convictions come and go. Really doesn't matter. Does it matter that we stand firm of what we've been taught? Does it matter anymore? And presumably, many of the young people would have immediately been absorbed into the culture. And we could assume that it's because maybe God's way was just a matter of routine for them. Maybe just something that their parents did. You might argue that the reason they were absorbed is because they weren't separate from that culture in the first place. Absorbed quickly into the culture.

We could suspect that God's way was just it hadn't hit their heart. Just something they did.

Let me see the hands. Let me see the hands from some of you young people. Think about this.

How many of you know a fellow young person who used to be part of the church who attended with you? Once they reached adulthood, they went out into the college culture or went out into the work culture. And now, to the best of your knowledge, they don't attend regular Sabbath services anymore. Let me see some hands. Look around.

Thank you.

Just know, just know, if you're sitting here today and this is merely something you do, it's just routine. It's just something you do because your parents do it. Well, the risk is that once you reach that point of adulthood, the risk is that you'll go down and that that light will be choked out of you. You'll be absorbed right into the culture that you've been called out of because it's only when this way, God's way, breaches through your chest, reaches your heart, that you'll ever be able to stand on a day such as Daniel stood.

You would have found them there. The king had come up with this incredible training program, three years, and again, on the surface, it was a pretty good university. It would be nice to get a good degree, right? You can imagine how they felt. This was a prestigious position they could have considered. We're chosen. We're one of the few chosen to come attend this program, be part of this elite Babylonian empire.

After all, guys, there was going to be some wonderful food, some wonderfully prepared food.

They would have reached them through their intellect and their stomach, of course. So there would have been young people that would have been absorbed in the culture, just as what you have seen. Many of your fellow young people absorbed in the culture. So they would have been on one side of the spectrum. They would have been those completely absorbed.

But if you think about it, there would have been those, we could say, that would have been on the other side of the spectrum. They would have responded in a completely different way. Those who we could assume would have been on the other side of the spectrum, they would have withdrawn themselves completely from the culture. They would have said, this is what we'll do. The other side of the spectrum, the group would say, we're not going to fraternize at all with these people. We're not going to, as lights, you know, we're not going to socialize with these people at all. As lights, we're going to remove ourselves from any and all interaction, all socializing from all these Babylonian people.

Well, responding in that way is not what the Bible teaches. It doesn't teach that as well. Because you can think about it, how were they to be a light in darkness? How are you to be a light in darkness if you remove yourself completely from any and all interaction in the culture? Hold your place here in Daniel. Put another one of those marker thingies, if you will. If you don't have it already in Daniel, we're going to come right back to it. But let's turn over to Matthew 5, if you will. Matthew 5, again, we'll come right back to Daniel. But it's important, as we speak about this other side, this other spectrum, those who would have removed themselves completely from the culture. Let's look at Matthew 5 and just three verses, what it says about this other side of the spectrum. Matthew records Jesus Christ as he speaks of this very thing. And in this passage, we have the theme of our regional weekend, of course, and where our title of the message today comes from. Matthew 5, and let's just look at verses 14 through 16. Look at what it says. This is Jesus Christ Himself speaking. Matthew 5 verses 14 through 16.

Jesus said, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all those who are in the house. Verse 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. So you see, when you are in the world's culture, don't remove yourself completely from it, because that defeats the purpose as to why God didn't take you out of it. You remember what Jesus Christ prayed? God's purpose is that you're not taken out of the world after you've received His calling. Rather, His purpose is to leave you right in the middle of it. Why? Well, you are the light of the world. You, sitting here today, you are the light of the world. And Jesus says, I didn't light your lamp so that you'd go and put it under a basket. No, I lit your lamp so that you would shine before men. I lit you. I called you to Myself, He says, so that your good works may be seen. So don't withdraw yourself completely from the culture around you. I want them to see your good works. When they see your light, they're going to glorify My Father in heaven. But there would have been those determined that they weren't going to be absorbed so they completely withdrawn themselves. And that's not the right response either. Absorption and withdrawal. Neither one are correct.

So you'd have one group there absorbed, one group completely puts their light under a basket. But I propose to you today that there was a third group. A third group. A third group we could say, and Daniel was part of this group.

I wonder if you're part of it. Daniel was part of the group that if they had a motto, if they had a mission statement, it would have been socialize but never compromise. That would have been their motto. Socialize but never compromise. I'm not going to be absorbed by the culture, but I'm not going to remove Myself completely from it. I'm going to keep Myself in the culture and live in such a way as to make a radical, drastic impact upon it. Thereby glorify the One who called me out of it.

And just know that is the hardest path to forge. Hardest path to forge. But that's the challenge here in Daniel 1 for you young people here today to be in it but to stand out in it, to stand out from it.

Stand out without being redrawn. Be alive in a dark culture. Very challenging. That's exactly what you've been called to do.

Live in this environment. Participate in it. Never compromise. Never compromise to that which you've been called to. In other words, you'll find yourself moving in and out of daily activity in this culture, but deep down inside you'll realize, huh, I'm different. There's something different here. I'm not part of this. I'm moving in and out of it, but I'm not fully part of it. I wonder if you've felt that way. I used to feel that way when I grew up in the church. I'd be participating. I'd be in it, and God would almost give me a moment of pause. I would thank Him. I'd pray and say, thank you, Father, because I wasn't truly of it. But I could be a part of that day-to-day thing, but I knew myself to be of something different.

Well, Daniel, this is where he was at this moment. He and his friends. And he now had to decide how he was going to do it. How was he going to move in and out of this dark culture? Simply put, he was prepared not to remove himself completely, but he was prepared to say no to anything that violated God's law.

You'll notice the strategy here. King Nebuchadnezzar had just an incredible strategy. It was masterful, really. Look at this technique that he, first of all, Nebuchadnezzar put in place. He represented the dark culture. First technique was what? Remove them. Remove them from their location. Remove them from their natural surroundings. Isn't that what he did? Remove them from the place of familiarity. So they're no longer in their daily routine, no longer in their daily worship of God, in their weekly worship. Very powerful tactic to choke out light.

And it may well be a change in scenery that's enough to break their relationship with God. So with the change in location, they're no longer with their family. They're no longer in their church location. Let me ask you, after you become an adult, you move out from your family's home, what effect will a simple change in location have on your relationship with God? Let's be honest, how many of your peers again, just simply a change in location, moving out of their family's home, was enough to stop their relationship with God, to stunt it?

Could a change in location crumble your relationship with God? Could it crumble Daniel and his friend's relationship with God? Oh no. Oh no, not these four.

Well, how about a second tactic? Change in their education. Let's give them a new language. That's what we see in verse four there. New language, new literature, new view on life. Let's retrain their minds. Let's get them retrained. Let's disengage them from the conviction that they once had. So new place, new school, new language, new education, new literature, powerful, powerful techniques of the darkness. What about new names? New names? We'll try that even. He must have said to himself, each of these four were given new names. And they had beautiful Hebrew names. Beautiful Hebrew names. Taken from them. And they gave them Babylonian God names on top of it all. And I say Babylonian gods with a small g. They weren't gods at all.

Incredible. Maybe we can change their name and in a sense just change their identity.

To all these threads, you know, I could see Nebuchadnezzar there almost just slowly beginning just to undo the threads that attach them to their one true God. And eventually he would just try to cut it all together. Cut the cords so that the darkness could make significant progress on these young godly men.

But these four individuals, they were quite remarkable. You know, they couldn't prevent their capture. They couldn't prevent their new school. They couldn't even prevent being given new names. But we will see there came a point when it was time to say no. It was time to say no. And what was presented to him was that of a direct violation of God's law. That's what you say no to.

The change in their food is now set before them was this unclean food for them to eat. They were asked to be to be eating this unclean food. Again, a direct it would be a direct violation against God's word. That's what we see in the first part of verse eight. But Daniel, it says, purposed in his heart, verse eight, that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor the wine in which he drank. So here was the decision. Here was the stand. And some of us might say, well, that's a strange thing to stand on. Really, Daniel? Are you going to stand up on food? Is that what you're going to make a stand upon, you and your friends? But many see this as being this food here involved with the king's table. It would have been food designated by God as to be unclean, his specific food laws that God puts forth. A very direct violation of that as prescribed in the Old Testament. Unclean foods, you know, pork and so on. It was a direct command from God. So therefore, it says, Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself in this way. Of all things, food. Food's not important. Oh yes, food's important. Why? All of God's commandments are important. That's why. Every one of them. Even down to the food we eat.

But again, some would say, why risk so much, you know, his neck was on the line. Literally, his neck was on the line. Why risk something so much for seemingly something so little? It's the small acts of obedience that sometimes mean the most to God. None of God's laws are insignificant at all. Daniel knew God established food laws which the Babylonian people would have thought were really dumb. They would have said, that's really dumb. But he knew they were important because it pointed to Daniel's heart. It was in his heart not to eat the food. It was an indication of who he was. It was an indication of all he had been raised to believe. It was an indication of who the God he was that he worshipped.

An outward sign that he was different. While they're eating and moving in and out of this culture, make no doubt their heart did not belong to Babylon. Their heart belonged to the one true God. So he determined not to defile himself with the royal food. I wonder, would you have the same convictions and be prepared to stand even when thought to be foolish by those around you?

Imagine if Daniel's experience was your experience. Imagine everything's going going along nicely. Tomorrow morning, foreign troops come trampling down your streets. They come into your homes. They tear you away from your mom and dad into captivity and you're thrust into an environment that's completely against what you've been taught. How much confidence do you have if you were removed from your family tomorrow morning and put into a completely foreign environment that you would still stand for God? Well, I want you to realize that Daniel chapter one, it's already happening every day of your life. Every time you get on that school bus, every time you go out into the culture, Daniel one is occurring. You young people, you're already in a foreign culture. You're already in a culture that's trying to choke the light out of you. And I want you to notice here, this is profound to me, Daniel wasn't a minister. Daniel and his friends, they were just four regular guys, four regular guys. But in so many ways, the future of God's people was resting upon the shoulders of four regular guys plucked out of the congregation. Four ordinary teenagers.

And I want you to know that ultimately the future of the church depends on you young people, just as it did then.

The future of the church depends on you, young men, and young women growing into men and women of resolution, of conviction. Well, it's a great miracle here. Look at verse 8 through 16 here. Look at this miracle. Incredible miracle, really. Verse 8, But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine in which he drank. Therefore he requested to the chief of eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and goodwill with the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my Lord the king, that's Nebuchadnezzar, who was appointed your food and drink. But why should I see your faces looking worse than the other young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king. So Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah, Please test your servants for ten days. Let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. And then let our appearance be examined before you in the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies. And as you see fit, so deal with your servants. So he consented with them in this matter and tested them ten days. And then in ten days their features appeared better and fatter and flesh than all the young men who ate of the portion of the king's delicacies. Thus the steward took away the portion of the delicacies and wine and gave where they were given to drink and gave them vegetables. There you have it. Maybe the only diet in history where the purpose is to make you fatter afterwards.

Don't follow this diet. I won't follow it. So Daniel puts it to the chief of the eunuchs there in verse 9. He requested of the chief of the eunuchs so that he went to follow himself. The chief of the eunuchs says in verse 10, well, I don't know if that sounds like a good idea. I fear Nebuchadnezzar. So he says, you know, the chief of the eunuchs says, I'd rather like the idea that my neck is safely attached to my shoulders. I like that idea. And I don't know if I'm willing to put that in risk by bringing up this idea to him. So what does Daniel do? He's met with a pushback, a challenge. Does he say, okay, guys, let's just go ahead and eat it. In fact, their necks were on the line. No, no.

Daniel was going to say no to anything that violated God's laws. Pure and simple. He wasn't going to defile himself. So he goes to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had said over him there in verse 11. Can you give us this test? He talks to him. He agrees to it. Verse 15 again, after the 10 days, their features appeared better in fatter and flesh than those who ate the king's delicacies. So there was a real danger here. If they would have looked skinnier or gaunt in any way, it would have been tremendous consequences. So the miracle is they appeared better after 10 days. It's an absolute miracle. 10 days isn't that long, is it? Dramatic intervention on God's part. But God could have never stepped in and provided this miracle if Daniel and his friends would have compromised on the matter. The intervention only was able to occur after they had the resolve to be alight no matter what.

And then look at verse 17. What does it say? Verse 17. As for these four young men, God gave knowledge and skill and all literature and wisdom and Daniel had understanding and all visions and dreams. Amazing.

So God first gave them in verse 2 into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. And he gave them the opportunity to be alight in the darkness. Then God, though, then gave them, verse 9, favor. Favor in their decisions. Then God gave them again. Verse 17. Knowledge, skill, literature, wisdom, and all visions and dreams. God's in it all. Realize in all of your decisions, God's in it all. God is so intimately involved in your day-to-day activities. Know that.

And know he's a God that gives. He's a giving God. Not only will he give you the opportunities to shine, he will give you favor through it all. And then in the end, he's going to give you favor to overcome those who are looking to snuff out your light.

God gives in it all. He's a giving God.

Let's wrap up the story here, verse 18 through 21, and we will conclude as well. Verse 18 through 21. Now, at the end of the day, when the king has said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. He brought them before him, this evil king. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah. Therefore, they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians, all the astrologers who were in all his realm. Thus, Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus. Amazing. I love verse 19. Among them, none was found like these four young men. Put your name there. Put your name there. Can you imagine these words being spoken about you? Among them, none was found to be like you. None.

Don't you want those words to describe you? And you realize the decision that Daniel made here, it was just going to affect everything in his life. Think of all that you know about Daniel. Think about when you think about Daniel, prophetic visions, a lion's den, a fiery furnace, incredible spiritual moments. But I hope you grasp the most significant decision and the most significant act of obedience happened with these four young guys. They were still teenagers. That's when the most significant act of obedience occurred in their life, when they were your age.

There would have been no Daniel in the lion's den, no fiery furnace without this, all those things. Unless they were willing to stand to be lights at the time they were your very age.

Determine the rest of their life, the decisions they made at this point in their life. And likewise, when you go out into your junior high school, then your high school or begin a new university, a new job, the decisions you make now will determine the opportunities you have in the future to do an incredible work.

It's a great story. It's a great conclusion. It's a great victory. And this can be your story, and your conclusion, and your victory. This is before you at this moment in your life. All God needed was some conviction. Four young convicted men, obedient, resolute. This was sixth century BC, Babylon. But did you know he still needs this today? This is what he needs. That's all he needs. 21st century Dallas, Texas. This is what he needs to do, an incredible work through you. I hope you realize how significant your light can be in this culture. Purpose in your heart. Live in this culture, move in and out of it, but resolve to not be defiled by it. I challenge you, be a light and see the incredible impact that God can have on the society around you, and the culture around you. Let your light so shine.