PREACHED: OL,
“HE RESOLVED THAT HE
WOULD NOT DEFILE HIMSELF…”
I. When Babylon conquered Judah, among the
captives were:
A. “…people…both of the royal family and of the
nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom,
endowed with knowledge, understanding learning…” (Dan
1.3, 4)
B. Among
those youths were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah…(Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
II. The challenge they faced that we face:
A. Whether
to assimilate into the culture or to maintain integrity and be
counter-cultural.
1. Daniel and his companions chose the latter:
a. V 8 “But
Daniel resolved that he would not define himself with the king’s food, or with
the wine that he drank.”
1) There
must have been tremendous pressure to conform!!
B. We are
living today in a culture that is hostile to our Christian values:
1. And we
are called upon to decide whether we are going to assimilate into our culture
or to maintain our integrity and be counter-cultural.
a.
Rom 12.1, 2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers,
by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship
(or rational service). Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of the
Lord is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
2 Cor 6.16, 7.1 “What
agreement has the
1) And,
just like Daniel, there are tremendous pressures to give in and conform!!
II. The prophet Jeremiah emphasized that one
of the sure signs of God’s people going into paganism is MORAL INSENSITIVITY.
A. He
described the rebellion of the people of God:
1. “Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they
cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they
take no pleasure in it…from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They
have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ where there
is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were
not at all ashamed; they did not now how to blush…” (Jer
6:10, 13-15)
III. Has our nation forgotten how to blush? Have
Christians increasingly forgotten how to blush?
A. Back in
the mid ‘80’s two TV censors were discussing the changes in what was allowed in
just 25 years:
1. In the
mid 50’s a man and a woman could not be shown in bed together.
a. Both
had to be fully clothed in the bedroom, and twin beds were required.
2. By the
mid 80’s a negligee was preferable but not necessary as long as the sheets were up to the armpits.
B. Today,
nearly anything short of total nudity is allowed!
1. What is the result? Growing
insensitivity!!
a. Soon, we forget how to blush!!
C. Censors
have said for years, “We merely reflect
what the public considers to be appropriate standards of conduct!”
IV. Why this loosening of morality—why this
desensitizing of the moral conscience?
A. There
is a change is the basic standard of right and wrong!
1. Man
and his desires have replaced God and His Word as the standard of moral and
spiritual authority.
B. Again,
listen to Jeremiah regarding
1.
Jer 17.1 “The sin of
pen of iron;
with a point of diamond it is engraved on the table of their heart…” v 5 “Cursed
is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns
away from the Lord.”
a. The
warning: V 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give to every man
according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
V. Where do we start to turn things around?
A. In
our own hearts!!
1. Paul said it begins with a “renewal
of your mind.”
a. It begins with a new way of thinking:
1) Phil 2.5 “Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus (or which was also in Christ Jesus)…”
B. We
must become a mind through which Christ and His will dictates—not the world!
C. And
in that respect, it begins in the home:
1. And
that in turn begins with the father, who in turn is reinforced by the mother - Eph 6.4
a. When
parents capitulate to the pressure of their children, who in turn are giving in
to the pressure of the world, then the result will be spiritually disastrous!
D. When we
accept the grace of God, we accept the discipline of it as well:
1. Titus 2.11, 12 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions,
and to live self-controlled (not culture controlled) upright and godly lives in this present age…”
2. When I
said, “I do” to
Christ, I said “I don’t” to the world!!!!
VI. Let’s get very specific in our application…
A. Gal 5.19, 20 “Now the works of the flesh are evident (apparent, plain, obvious,
patent, open, clear, demonstrated, visible): sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, strife,
jealousies, fits of anger, rivalries, dissentions, divisions, envy,
drunkenness, orgies, and things like
these.”
B. There
are tons of pertinent applications that can be made but I want to narrow our
focus to something that is current and relevant:
1. JIM
LANGDON, a well-known newspaper columnist of the l980, and author of a column entitled
“Nightbeat” that dealt with the “in scene” in
nightlife wrote:
a. “That sex has always played a significant
role in dancing goes without saying…”
2. The
Greek word used by Paul that is translated, “lasciviousness” or “sensuality” means:
a. According to BAUER, ARNDT, GINRICH: “indecent behavior…”
b. According to THAYER: “Wanton acts or manners and filthy words, indecent bodily movements,
unchaste handling of males and females, any conduct that tends to produce lewd
emotions and desires…”
1) WALLY
WILKERSON, for many years considered to be the dean of youth ministers wrote
about dancing, while serving as the youth minister of the Waterview
congregation in
a) “The poppin’ of
the pelvis or the thrustin of the bust, even if the
couples are across the room from each other seems to be well-defined by Thayer.
I have had moms tell me, ‘couples don’t even touch when they dance these days.’
Maybe they don’t touch on the dance floor, but the action of the dance
encourages the touch when they leave the dance.”
3. Dr.
James Leslie McCary, Clinical Psychologist from the
a. “Several years ago while studying for a
degree in psychology, I had the opportunity to study
under one of the leading authorities on the psychology of human sexuality. One
day I asked him if he saw any connection between dancing and sex appeal. His
answer was that sex appeal is what dancing is all about. He claimed that those
who say they enjoy dancing for other
reasons simply
deceive themselves and at least on an unconscious level enjoy the dancing because
of its sexual stimulation.”
4. In a
similar vein, it is tragic that things have gotten so bad in the dress, and
conduct of many school spirit corps (formerly cheer leaders) that a bill is
before the state legislature to cut off state funding from high schools that
cannot clean up their act.
a. The
legislator that introduced the bill spoke of the embarrassing, “bumping and grinding,” of
the young ladies!
2. Paul said that the works of the flesh are evident!
3. As
Wally Wilkerson said about dancing, such conduct clearly falls under the
definition of “sensuality” and “things
like these” –conduct that was clearly condemned as the very opposite of the
Fruit of the Spirit!
VII. My sincere prayer…
A. That
Christian homes will strive to be a bastion of spiritual strength instead of a
springboard to spiritual disaster!!
B. Remember!
As John said, “…the lust of the flesh” and “the lust of the eyes” are “not of the Father, but of the world! The
world is passing away with its lusts, but whoever does the will of the Lord
abides forever.”