Idol - Culture, Part 1

When you say Dr. Tony Evans is it's time to make a stand for faith instead of behaving into the values of our culture decided to draw a line and say this is the alternative with Dr. Tony, author, speaker, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the alternative, God gave us clear boundaries in life, but people keep moving the lines in smudging the edges today. Dr. Evans will explore the importance of taking our cues from God and not from culture. Let's join him in the book of Daniel. I have some bad news for you Christians have lost their field and sports team wants to play, preferably on their home field.

The reason why a sports team wants to play on their home field is that's where they going to get maximum support from hometown fans get sheared and encourage the other team will be booted because they have the support of the home team crowd.

They know when they play an away game they're going to be playing in an opposing environment where they're going to be booted rejected and where the other team will have the upper hand because they will have the encouragement of the whole crowd of the whole looking and listening audience behind them so they always seek to win enough games to get home field advantage.

That was a time when Christianity in America had home field that is the Judeo-Christian ethic and worldview dominated the environment. Everybody was a Christian, but they respected Christianity. However, over this last generation. We have been progressively losing home field advantage.

Now Christianity is no longer worldview in the culture. It is being resist and reject in every direction of our society.

We are now a minority in a predominantly pagan culture.

It is now the institutions have become so dominantly anti-Christian, particularly the institutions of education and media and entertainment, which is defined in the worldview of the culture dismissing Christianity, marginalizing serious Chris John's that we have now lost home-field advantage of the loss of been so great that we now have accumulated a whole generation of Benedict Arnold's visa people who use the name Jesus. While playing for the other team that use the name to sound like they are Christian, but they spend their time changing uniforms and half time help from the church wearing the Christian God when they leave and have to go to the secular world.

They dog the jerseys of the other side so that they can be accepted by the culture, so we have lost home-field advantage.

No longer will you be automatically appreciated and respected because you claim the name of Jesus Christ in our passage today, God's people had lost home-field advantage because of their rebellion and sin against God.

God allowed in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar to descend upon Jerusalem Randy Sackett and slaughter all gobs of people and then lift people out and bring them to the pagan culture all Babylon.

There are three stories in this book that are well known that will help me introduce to you what we are facing today. This entitles the item of culture Daniel finds himself now with his three friends three Hebrew boys.

Nebuchadnezzar knows if you going to get the most out of these boys.

He's got to be as relies them in pro Babylon that he's got all ripped away from them their Christian background and he's got to inculcate with them a second love Babylonian way of thinking. So to accomplish this, he picks the best of the best. He says intellectual, good-looking use with no defect. Why because he is interested in generational impact. So you parents need to know that the culture is that your kids generational impact. So he brings these four, among others, to Babylon, and the first thing he does is relocate you see, he knows as long as he leaves them in Israel. They might keep running into the true God. So we've got to extricate them outside bring them to the secular culture. You see, you were raised in charge.

Many of you growing up with the college, got relocated when you got relocated to begin thinking you didn't think when you went home do things you wouldn't be allowed to do when you are at home because you are no longer accountable to that environment because you been relocated to the University campus. He had to relocate them in order to indoctrinate, so he not only relocate them. He re-identifies each of the boys names was the name of God – LELL is short for Elohim in the beginning Elohim created the heavens and earth, Ellen short, the Elohim, so Daniel's mama and daddy named him Daniela so that every time his friends called his name. He was reminded he belongs to God. Every time the teacher called them in class. He was reminded he belong to God. Every time he met with his friends and play ball. He was reminded he belong to God. So intent was one of the parents that they never wanted to escape him to escape God so they make God part of his name.

The other boys that were named a HS arrived at the end of the name AH is short for Yahweh. Another name for God so they all had TVL AH because mommy and daddy wanted to make sure no matter where they went. They could not escape God. That's why you better give your kid a God made stamp something on them. So God becomes inescapable even when they relocated to the Babylonian University that is secular, that they may wind up going to Chile, relocate them. He re-identifies them, and many does the big he re-indoctrinate.

It says he sent them to a Babylonian school for three years to teach them the language and thoughts and meaning of Babylonian life. He educated them with the goal of becoming Babylonian eyes that is culture rise in the secular thinking now please notice that this education was idolatrous ribbon because he says he brought them to the house of God. So this was just going to school it was going to school to learn the religious worldview time. The educational information that was being handed out in the University of Babylon. So for three years. They were secularized in their thinking by education because we giving people information without ethics we giving them information that is anti-God even in primary school. Your children are not learning the evolutionary theory, they're being taught. The evolutionary because evolution is not just about how the world began. Evolution is about why man doesn't need God and man. 70 God so badly that God is not even necessary for creation evolution is a worldview that gets rid of the need for God through science so-called is an educational process.

Your kids are now learning in school that same-sex marriage is okay been learning in school. You don't have to figure a man or you're a woman you can be what you want to be because Michelle thing do what you want to do that morning that in elementary school because the educational process has become idolatrous in the culture so people are being taught kids are being taught and adults are being taught anti-Christian worldview in the name of gaining knowledge in the name of gaining degrees culture has created an that is being in full through education but not only to be re-indoctrinated you and I are being re-indoctrinated the major educational tool that is re-indoctrinating even half as adult as the media maybe a contemporary idolatrous mechanism to introduce us to the culture so that we all reintroduced to a novel way of thinking things that use the shame you want to go shave you today my used to say don't talk like that. We get used to hearing it and is no big deal stop that was hidden on side streets is now on the front screen and you don't have an option that you watch TV for the pop up sometime because the culture use entertainment and it brings to dollhouse sentences about the standards of God. They are creating a God of culture.

They're trying to decrease and pro humanize the society and we have lost home-field advantage.

Dr. Evans will tell us how Daniel reclaimed his home-field advantage and how we can to continues her lesson just a moment or so with the election coming up there couldn't be a better time to talk about the direction our nation needs to go and Tony's written a powerful and popular book that marks out that path in detail is called America. Turning a nation to God. Our country has always been a work in progress.

But lately it seems like were making too much progress in the wrong direction and of what you see on the news and on the streets these days has you discouraged. You're not alone, but not driven says things can turn around and it's up to the people of the church people like you and me to get the process started.

In this book will show you how we can use the power God's given us to reclaim justice, morality, freedom and strength for America and to spark a revival like our country has never seen. And when you make a donation and request a copy of the book will also give you all eight full-length messages on CD and digital download from Tony's current teaching series American idols.

This special, limited time offer is our thank you gift when you support the work of the alternative, with a generous contribution. Visit us today@tonyevans.org to make the arrangements or call us at 1-800-800-3222 were team members are standing by 24 seven to help with your request. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. I'll share that contact information with you again after part two of today's lesson and this is Dr. Tony Evans says Christians have a habit of under using overlooking our most valuable spiritual resource connection with the Lord. In the course on kingdom. Prayer Tony Evans training center you'll discover how God is why in the world to work like prayer and experience for yourself how it connects heaven with her in time. When he turned and finally gain a new understanding and appreciation for prayer you'll actually pray in transforming ways never experienced before. The course is intense work through it at your own pace and get all the help online for and course this custom content from Tony not available warehouse connect with the Tony Evans training center Tony Evans.org. It's like having a seminary on your smart phone or other device. Start today Tony Evans.org then they tried.

It was they said we want you to eat food and drink wine and drink wine when going to entertain you entertain you the full just food and one it says in verse eight, Daniel made up in his mind he would not be defiled by the king's choice. Daniel googled food and wine. He Exodus 3450 developer think of mom and daddy named Mel when at 457 3415 says don't eat meat offered to idols because then you will be touring with the false God just drinking it was adopting the lifestyle the lifestyle of the pagans because we drink, eat and drink a religious it was part of the living of the day so it involved immorality and involve greed.

It involved ruggedness in the box because think about God let you do what you wanted to see. That's why people don't want the Christian God to let you do what you will let you do what you want to do, how you want to do it that because the Christian God of the standard calls to the standard reason why pump the one Christianity.

If they don't want God telling them what to do so in order not God. Tell me what to do.

I will keep religion, eat and drink, but I won't eat and drink to the biblical God will create a cultural God that will let me drink and pate pate until taught in normal and so that was the entertainment of the culture.

Using religion to justify lifestyle and that is why you Christians today justifying things that the Bible you Christians talk about shacking up in living together on the church looking like a couple. We got Christians who would not be true on the job from their bowels because everybody else in the office is doing it. You see, you can use God to make you okay with what you want to do as long as it's not the God of the Bible but is the God of the culture they tried to get with the cultural God says in verse eight, Daniel made up in his mind he would not defile himself with what he did. He didn't go to school for you. He couldn't control what people called so when the king's name. That's what they will come. He was now get ready to be employed by the king's business is working a second job for picking so what the new reality that he's no longer in Israel. This is no longer his mom is nation.

He's in a secular culture and the reality. Thanks. Is that's where we should be here don't want to be real. That's where you are. You are now living in non-Christian America.

That's where you non-Christian. He made up his mind.

Some things I won't do. I will not allow myself to sleep around. I'm not going to be a better party. I am not going to contaminate myself because I need my God more than I need you so we made up I will not. I am not going to contaminate myself with worshiping the culture where too many Christians well but decided to draw a line and say I'll do this we we going now all this preparation by the culture was designed to prepare him. It says for the king's personal service. This is an upgrade in employment. One minute he was slaving brought to the land and now you are being trained to be in the king's personal service to be in the Secret Service you you being prepared to go to the top of the heap I meet you. Going from from rags to Neiman Marcus, Marcus, now that means you are going from a bicycle to a band that means that you are going from old spice to the top fragrances. That means that you know you will be in the king top surface of the Scripture says Daniel made up his mind, no, Susan Nelson offering is and I don't go past that have asked me you have to ask you it is a clear line where you can say I don't why because you may call me some amount but I remember my name that I belong to the living and true God. He didn't respectfully, he said he made up his mind privately. But then he went in for me. I met so he was being respectful when he was determined if he had to go down the ladder go down the ladder to be defiled, not to lower the standards of God to satisfy the idle culture or the desire to reduce what success because folks will compromise to get success if I give a grade of me if I can get a better job than I lower my standards if I get a promotion. I lower my standards if I can become a well-known hello my standards if I can get more accepted my standards because I haven't drawn that line in the same. I will not found myself once verse nine verse nine says now, God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the command body will favor everybody wants favor, but God did not show him until he drew the sea want to save the when I'm drawing a line we want black sea without drawing a line. We want the supernatural, we will draw the line. We want God to give us an why we shack up. We want God to bring somebody in our live why we live in Marley we want God to get through you job line the favor. First you draw the line planning for will like people plan a delightful planning and since God gave him favor more than all Dr. Tony Evan talking about the importance of listening to our Creator instead of our culture. Part of his brand-new teaching series American idols. This eight lesson collection includes material. We won't have time to include on the air and it will help you identify and avoid dangerous hidden idols that can come between you and the Lord available in both digital download and CD. These messages are great discussion starters to use with your Bible study or small group or just reviewing your own and for limited time we are bundling the entire series along with a copy of Tony's powerful book America turning a nation to God was in both of these valuable resources to you as our gift to help support our work on the station and around the world with a generous contribution you can make the arrangements online@tonyevans.org or call our resource Center at 1-800-800-3222 team members are always on hand to help you again that's Tony have and start OR or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.

You probably heard it said that Christians are supposed to be in the world but not of the world will tomorrow. Dr. Evans will talk about why that balancing act is often so difficult an outline ways to keep our feet firmly planted in the kingdom should adjoin the alternative with Dr. Tony have an alternative is made possible by the generous Confucian of listeners like