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?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.
