??Do you have friends who drink, or smoke, or use drugs？Do any of your friends try to get you to do those things？Do they ever try to get you to look at dirty pictures or dirty things on the Internet？??When you choose to do any of those things, you are not pleasing God. Doing what's right also means keeping your body and mind pure.
??Today we are going to learn about four young men in the Bible who had to make a choice to please others or please God.
??These young men were from the land of Judah. Many years before God had given the land of Judah to His special people, the Jews. God promised them blessing and protection if they obeyed His commandments and worshipped Him. For a time the Jews did obey and worship only God. But then they began to follow the sins of the countries around them. Soon both the people and the kings of Judah were worshipping idols, and turning their back on the true and living God. God sent His prophets again and again through the years to warn the people of Judah to turn from their sins, but they would not listen.
??Finally God sent Jeremiah to tell them that God was going to allow a strong enemy to take over their land. Jeremiah warned the people that this enemy king would destroy the cities of Judah and take the people as captives to his own country.
??Sure enough this happened exactly as God had said. The four young men in our lesson today were taken captive to the country of the enemy king. King Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers had been ordered to choose healthy and intelligent young men from royal families to serve in the palace of the king in Babylon. These young men would eat and drink the king's food and wine and attend the palace college. There they would also learn the language of the people of Babylon. After three years, the best ones would be selected to serve in important positions in the kingdom.
??The four young men in our lesson today were among those chosen to attend the palace college. Daniel, Haniah, Mishael and Azariah were probably about 15 or 16 years old when they were captured and taken to Babylon. By their names and by their character we can assume they honored the true and living God. Daniel means ？God is my judge." Hananiah means ？The Lord is gracious." Mishael means ？Who is like God？" and Azariah means ？The Lord has helped."
??Although Babylon was no doubt a beautiful city, still the four young men must've felt the strangeness of the very different life there. Then when Ashpenaz, the king's chief official, gave them each new names that were related to the false gods of Babylon, it must've troubled them. Would these new names cause them to forget the true and living God？No! Would God forget about these four captives？No! God knew right where they were and He understood everything about their situation.
??God knows all about you too! He not only created you, but keeps up with you everywhere you are. Because God knows everything about you, He knows about your every sin. Any time you have broken His laws by disobeying your parents, by shoplifting, by harming your body with drugs or cigarettes, God has seen it. Hebrews 4：13 says, "...all things are ...opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." God sees that everyone on earth has thought, said, and done sinful things. He has said that sin must be punished by death, but not just the death of the body. God is speaking of an everlasting death in hell.
??But God's love for you is greater than your sin! John 3：16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." As your Creator, God loves you so much He was willing to give His dearest treasure to pay for your sin. Even though Jesus, God's Son, was perfect and never sinned, the Bible says, "...our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, " Galatians 1：3 & 4. Jesus gave His hands and feet to be nailed to a cross, He gave His back to be beaten and His face to those who in hatred and anger actually pulled out the beard from His face. The Lord Jesus died a shameful and very painful death on the cross for your sin and mine. When He died, He was buried in a tomb, but the tomb could not hold Him, for on the third day the Lord Jesus Christ came alive again! Now He is in Heaven, ready to forgive your sin and save you from that horrible punishment of everlasting death and hell. What makes God ready to forgive your sin？it's the love of God for you! He made you, He loves you, and He knows right where you are today. He knew right where those four young Jewish men were also.
??Daniel and his three friends sat at one of the palace tables, watching the servants bringing in platter after platter of the most delicious food in Babylon. Umm, it must've smelled so good! But look, even though all the other young men are filling their plates and eating, Daniel and his three friends are looking at each other very seriously. Why？Daniel Chapter 1, verse 8 tells us："But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank：" , Daniel had already purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, even though it was the most delicious food in Babylon. Daniel knew God had established special laws about what the Jewish people could and could not eat. He also knew that all of the king's food was offered in idol worship before it was served to them. Eating this food would defile Daniel and dishonor his Lord.
??To defile means to make dirty or impure.
??If you have believed on the Lord Jesus, you are God's child, and He wants you to keep your body and your life pure. Would smoking, or drinking beer, or taking drugs defile your body and your life？Yes. What about looking at dirty pictures？Yes, those things would defile your mind and dishonor your Lord.
??Let's say our memory verse from I Corinthians 6：19-20, "...do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you...therefore glorify God in your body..." Boys and girls, God doesn't force you to keep your life pure, He allows you to choose to love and honor Him. Sometimes it's hard to say no when your friends try to get you to do those things that would defile your mind and body, but you will have to decide if you are going to please your friends or God. No one is really your friend if they are trying to get you to do something wrong. The God Who loves you and made you and gave His Son to save you is the One who deserves your love and honor. He is your True Friend. Keep yourself pure for Him!
??Daniel had purposed in his heart that he would keep himself pure for God. This was not an easy decision, for Daniel was in an enemy country, at the mercy of an enemy king! Daniel went to Ashpenaz and respectfully requested that he and his friends be excused from eating the king's food. God had caused Ashpenaz to especially favor Daniel; but as much as he wanted to help Daniel, he was afraid of the king. Ashpenaz said, "I am afraid of the king, who has appointed your food and drink, for what if he sees your faces looking worse than these other young men？I could lose my head, you know!"
??Then Daniel quietly talked to Melzar, the steward who served under Ashpenaz."Please, just for ten days let us eat vegetables and drink water. Then at the end of the ten-day test, look closely at us and see if we look worse or healthier than the rest of the young men." The Bible says, "So he (Melzar) consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
??Just think, boys and girls, every time a platter of meat and gravy passed by them, or some rich dessert, Daniel and his friends kept having their beans and water. Was that easy？No, but Daniel and his friends knew they were pleasing God by keeping their lives pure. If you are God's child, God also wants you to do what's right by keeping your life pure. Let's say our memory verse again："...do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you...therefore glorify God in your body..." I Corinthians 6：19-20. When you as a believer are keeping your life pure, your are glorfying, or honoring, God. it's not always easy, but remember our four power words! When you are tempted, remember：??think what would honor God, say your Bible verse from I Corinthians. Then pray asking God to help you do the right thing, and fourth, obey by doing the right thing that would honor God. Part of the ？obey？may need to be staying away from people who tempt you to do sinful things. Sometimes doing the right thing may mean you stand alone. But you can remember how your pure life pleases God.
??Daniel and his three friends were refusing the king's food because they wanted to please God. At the end of the ten-day test, the Bible says Melzar found them even healthier looking than the other young men! Then Melzar allowed them to continue on their vegetables and water diet. Think of it, boys and girls, not just for ten days, but every day now their food would be vegetables and water!
??After three years of training, it was time for the big test! King Nebuchadnezzar himself would interview these young men to determine which were the wisest and best. When it came time for Daniel and his three friends to see the king, Ashpenaz ushered them in to the throne room. The book of Daniel, chapter 1, verse 19 says, "And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah：therefore they stood before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in al his realm."
??Who do you think made them ten times wiser？It was the Lord, for in Him ？are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, " Colossians 2：3 says. God had honored these four children of His, because they honored Him! King Nebuchadnezzar gave Daniel and his three friends important jobs in the kingdom and they served the king faithfully. At the same time, they continued to keep their lives pure and pleasing to God.
??If you have believed on the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God wants you to do what's right by keeping your life pure. When you are tempted this week to do things that would be harmful to your body, remember our four power words：Think, say, pray, obey. Think what would please God; say your Bible verse from I Corinthians; pray, asking God to give you strength to do the right thing; and obey God by saying ？no？to temptation. Will you trust God to give you power to do what's right and to help you keep your life pure this week？??If you are not God's child, your life can never be pure until you ask the Lord Jesus to come in and save you from sin. When Jesus saves you, He also makes you His child, and then He will help you keep your life pure. Go right now to ？How to be a Child of God, " and follow the steps.
??小朋友们, 你交的朋友里面, 有没有人酗酒, 抽烟, 甚至用毒品呢？是不是有人劝你也加入呢？他们有没有引诱你去看网上的黄色图片呢？ 当你去做这些事情的时候, 你就不能讨神的喜悦。我们要使我们的思想和身体都纯洁。今天的故事里, 我们要讲到圣经里的四个年轻人。他们要面对一个选择, 是要讨人的喜悦呢, 还是要讨神的喜悦。
??这些年轻人是从犹大这个地方来的。很多年前, 神把犹大这个地方赐给他的选民犹太人。神说如果他们听神的话, 只敬拜唯一的真神, 神就给他们祝福和保护。犹太人确实有一段时间听神的话, 只敬拜这位唯一的真神。可是, 后来他们开始跟著周围的国家犯罪得罪神。很快, 犹太人和他们的国王就开始拜偶像, 远离这位又真又活的神。神派先知们一次又一次地警告犹太人, 离开他们的罪, 回到神的面前来, 可是他们却不听。最后, 神让先知耶利米来警告他们, 说神要让一个很强大的敌人来把他们的土地抢走。耶利米警告他们说这个强大的敌人的王会毁灭犹大的城市, 并且将犹太人掠到他自己的国家。
??神让先知耶利米说的这个预言果真应验了。 犹太人被掠到敌人的国家, 其中也包括今天故事里要讲到的四个年轻人。巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒吩咐人, 从以色列人的皇室中, 选几个身体健康, 相貌俊美, 聪明博学的人, 来他的王宫里做仆人。他们的待遇很好, 国王吃什么, 他们也吃什么, 国王喝什么酒, 他们也喝什么样的酒。他们还要学习那里的文字言语。三年以后, 他们中最好的要在王宫里任职。
??今天要讲的四个年轻人也被选上来参加培训。他们是但以理, 哈拿尼雅, 米沙利, 亚撒利雅。他们被掠到巴比伦的时候, 只有十五, 六岁。单看他们的名字我们就知道他们是敬畏神的人。但以理的意思是"神审判" , 哈拿尼雅的意思是"主是恩典荣耀的" , 米沙利的意思是"与神一样" , 亚撒利雅的意思是"神帮助的人。"
??虽然巴比伦是一个很美丽的城市, 这四个年轻人一定觉得这里就是不同。太监长亚施毗拿给他们每个人起了个新名, 而这些名字都与巴比伦人所拜的偶像有关, 但以理他们一定觉得很不舒服。这些新名字会不会让他们忘记他们所信的那位唯一的真神呢？不会!神会不会忘记他们四个呢？也不会!其实, 神对他们的情况了如指掌。
??神对你也了如指掌呢。他不但造了你, 他也与你同在。神既然知道你所有的所作, 所说, 所想, 他也当然知道你一切的罪。当你违反了神的命令, 比如不听爸妈的话, 偷东西, 抽烟, 甚至用毒品, 神都知道。所有的罪都逃不过神的眼睛。希伯来书4：13说："万物, 在那与我们有关系的主眼前, 都是赤露敞开的。" 神说世上的人都犯了罪。罪都要导致死亡, 不单单是身体的死, 神说的死乃是在地狱里永远的死亡。
??但神对你的爱实在超过一切。约翰福音3：16说, 神爱世人, 甚至将他的独生子赐给他们。想一想, 我们的神不但创造了我们, 他还让他的独生爱子, 我们的主耶稣基督, 为我们的罪付上代价。耶稣从来没有犯过罪, 他是神完美的儿子。圣经上说, 基督为我们的罪舍己(加拉太书1：4)。耶稣, 他宁愿让人把他的手和脚钉在十字架上, 他宁愿让人鞭打他的背, 他宁愿忍受恨他的人来打他的脸, 甚至揪他脸上的胡须。他宁愿羞辱, 痛苦地死在十字架上, 就是要来为我们的罪付上代价。他死后, 被埋在一个坟墓里, 但是坟墓不能拘禁他。在第三天, 耶稣从死里复活。现在, 他就在天上, 他要原谅你的罪, 把你从永死和地狱的可怕惩罚中拯救出来。为什么神要原谅我们的罪呢？是神对我们的爱！神造了你, 神爱你, 他是无所不知, 无所不在的神。他当然知道那四个年轻的犹太人所遭遇的一切。
??但以理和他的三个朋友坐在餐桌前, 看著仆人端上一盘又一盘的好吃的, 都是巴比伦最好的食物。闻起来真香啊!别人都在吃的时候, 但以理和他的三个朋友却端坐在那里, 不肯吃。这是为什么呢？但以理书1章8节说："但以理却立志, 不以王的膳, 和王所饮的酒, 玷污自己。" 原来, 但以理已经立志, 他不要让王的食物玷污自己, 虽然是巴比伦最好的食物。但以理深深记住, 神已经规定什么样的食物犹太人能吃, 什么不能吃。他也知道, 王的食物端上来之前, 都是祭奠过偶像的。吃这样的食物会玷污但以理, 使神的名受到羞辱。玷污就是弄脏, 使一个人变得不纯洁。
??如果你已经相信耶稣做你的救主, 你就是神的孩子。神愿意他的孩子努力使身体, 生命纯洁。像抽烟, 喝酒, 用毒品都会玷污我们的身体和生命。另外还有看黄色图片, 都会玷污我们的思想, 使神的名受到羞辱。
??所以, 我们今天的圣经经节是哥林多前书6章1, 20节：岂不知你们的身子就是圣灵的殿么...所以要在你们的身子上荣耀神。 小朋友们, 神并没有强迫你过一个纯洁的生活。但神让你选择来爱他, 荣耀他。有的时候, 你的朋友拉著你做这些玷污你生命的事情的时候, 你会觉得很难拒绝, 但你必须要选择你是要讨你的朋友的喜欢？还是要讨神的喜欢如果有人要拉著你做这些坏事情, 那他就不是你的朋友。而创造我们的神, 他爱你, 甚至舍弃他的儿子来拯救你, 只有他才配得我们的爱和尊敬。神才是我们真正的朋友。让我们为了神来过一个纯洁的生活。
??但以理已经立志, 他要为神过一个纯洁的生活。这可实在不容易。因为但以理是被敌人掠到他们的国家, 而且又受到国王的特殊待遇。但以理求太监长亚施毗拿, 他和他的朋友不吃王所赐的食物。神使但以理在太监长眼前蒙恩惠, 受怜悯, 他也想帮助他们, 可他又怕国王。太监长对但以理说, 我惧怕我主我王, 他已经派定你们的饮食, 倘若他见你们的面貌, 比你们同岁的少年人肌瘦, 怎么好呢!这样, 你们就使我的头在王那里难保。但以理对太监长所派管理他们的人说, 求你试试仆人们十天, 给我们素菜吃, 白水喝, 然后看看我们的面貌, 和用王膳那少年人的面貌, 就照你所看的待仆人吧。委办便允准他们这件事, 试看他们十天。
??想想看, 那么多好吃的肉, 汤, 甜点, 他们都不吃, 而只吃素菜和水, 这容易吗？当然不容易。但是, 但以理和他的朋友们知道他们这样做, 就讨神的喜悦, 因为他们使他们的身体不受玷污。如果你是神的孩子, 神也希望你保持你生命的纯洁。让我们再说一遍今天的圣经经节：哥林多前书6章19-20节：岂不知你们的身子就是圣灵的殿么...所以要在你们的身子上荣耀神。当我们这些跟随耶稣的人使我们的生命纯洁, 我们就是在荣耀神。这并不是一件容易的事。我们要记住以下四点来帮助我们。第一, 当我们受到引诱的时候, 要想一想什么才能荣耀神。第二, 说出今天所学的圣经经节。第三, 祷告求神来帮助你不做错事。第四, 顺服, 只做能够荣耀神的事。这包括不要跟那些引诱你做错事的人在一起。要记住, 使我们的生命纯洁, 是多么地讨神喜悦。
??所以, 他和他的朋友不吃王所赐的食物, 就是因为他们想讨神喜悦。过了十天, 委办见他们的面貌, 比用王膳的一切少年人更加俊美肥胖。于是委办撤去派他们用的膳, 饮的酒, 给他们素菜吃。三年的培训要结束了, 他们要面临一次大考试。尼布甲尼撒王要亲自考验他们, 看谁最聪明, 有智慧。太监长就把他们带到王面前。 但以理书1章19节说, 王与他们谈论, 见少年人中, 无一人能比但以理, 哈拿尼雅, 米沙利, 亚撒利雅, 所以留他们在王面前侍立。王考问他们一切事, 就见他们的智慧聪明, 比通国的术士, 和用法术的, 胜过十倍。是谁让他们胜过别人十倍呢？是我们的主。歌罗西书2：3说, 所积蓄的一切智慧知识, 都在他(耶稣)里面藏著。 因为这四个年轻人荣耀了神, 神也荣耀了他们。尼布甲尼撒王让但以理和他的三个朋友任重要的职位, 他们也很尽心地去做。同时, 他们也过一个纯洁的生活, 来讨神喜悦。
??如果你已经相信耶稣做你的救主, 神愿意你也过一个纯洁的生活。当你遇到引诱去做玷污你身体的事的时候, 记住我们讲过的四点：想, 说, 祷告, 顺服。想想什么能够讨神的喜悦;说出今天的圣经经节：哥林多前书6章19-20节。祷告神来给你力量做对的事情, 顺服神的引领, 拒绝不好的诱惑。
??如果你还没有相信耶稣, 你就还不是神的孩子。除非你让主耶稣进入你的生命, 把你从罪中拯救出来, 否则, 你的生命就不能纯洁。当耶稣拯救你, 你成为神的孩子, 他就会帮助你使你的生命纯洁。请你去听"怎样成为神的孩子" , 照着那里所说的去做。 |