The Faith Walk

Jonathan Evans: Protecting the mind, Proverbs 23:7. So a man thinks within his heart, so he will be. Not so he might be. You meditate on that word, your feet start doing it. And then you look in the mirror one day, adults, and you say, "Who am I?" Didn't we? How did I even get here? I used to look at people like they were crazy, and now I'm the crazy one. Oh, it just rolled around long enough. Okay, let me help you understand something. Me and my kids can't be friends all the time.

Guest (Male): You're listening to The Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. In a moment, Jonathan will continue today's message. But first, to thank you for your support of this ministry, Jonathan has two gifts for you. The first is the audio series that you're currently hearing called "All Eyes on Jesus," helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. The second part of this gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans called "The Power of Jesus' Names."

Discover how the names of Jesus reveal His character, His purpose, and His power in your life today. How can knowing Him more deeply transform your faith? I'll tell you more about these later in today's program. Or you can call right now at 1-800-800-3222 or visit tonyevans.org to learn more. Now, let's get started with Jonathan's message, "Fireproof."

Jonathan Evans: There was a king, and that king had a decree. This king made a golden image. And he said, "I want you, everybody under the sound of my voice, when you hear the sound of the music, I want you to bow down to the image that I have set up. And if you don't, I'm going to throw you all into this fiery furnace and burn you up." In other words, he had a threat to make sure that everybody bowed down to the image that he had set up.

And then when everybody bowed down, everybody in the culture, all the peers and all the people bowed down to the golden image that he had set up, there were three youngsters. There were three youth that decided, "We're not bowing down to anything you have set up." Can you imagine it? The whole culture is bowing down, and three youth had made a decision: "I'm not doing that."

These are three youth, so let me describe a youth. If you go to David's story in 1 Samuel 17:33 and 42, you'll see that Saul and Goliath called David a youth. He became king about 15 years later in 2 Samuel 5:4 at the age of 30. If 15 years or 17 years or so passed by between the time Goliath and Saul called him a youth and the time of his kingship at 30, that means that a youth is defined as about 14 or 15 years old.

That means David, when he was anointed and killed Goliath, was but a 15-year-old teenager accomplishing big things. That means if I take that definition of youth and apply it to Daniel 3, because Daniel 1:4 says they were youth, that means that these dudes were 15 years old when they stood against the music, stood against the culture, stood against the threats, stood against their peers, and stood against a king. They were 15 years old. And one of the reasons why they didn't burn in the fire is because how are you going to burn when you're already on fire?

They were 15 years old and they stood against the culture. Let me just say to all of the young people in the room, God is calling you to not stand for the culture but stand against it. He's calling you to take your stand against the culture. And yes, those three were by themselves, but in a moment, we're going to see they weren't by themselves. They had power that was walking with them.

And these three Hebrew boys stood against the tyranny of King Nebuchadnezzar. They stood up and they took their stand. Listen, you don't have to or may not even have the privilege of being able to wait until later to get serious about Jesus. When I was young, I used to say that's for my parents. My parents used to bring me to church. That's for them. I can get into all that later. Right now, I'm young and I'm going to have fun.

But we don't really know who's young or old in the building at all, because your youth is not based on your birthday. Your youth or whether you're young or old is based on your death day. So if you're 15 and your death day is when you're 22, you're old because you only have seven years left. If I'm 43 but my death day is when I'm 93, then I'm actually younger than the 15-year-old who has a prior death day.

So we don't really know who's young or old in the room, actually. One of the tricks of the enemy is to think that you have time and that you can get serious about God later. But I'm here to tell you the time is always right now, because evidently God can use you at 15 right now. God can use you at a young age right now. And these three Hebrew boys—we're talking about them because they stood around 586 BC.

Their story still reigns. They weren't easily forgotten. Don't you know that this culture will see what you do? And then when you're gone, they'll say, "Thank you for what you did. Next!" They don't even know you're alive in the next state. They're not paying no attention. You can live for people who don't even know you're here, or you can live for God who has an eternity in His hands.

You have to choose. You have to pick. And that's not just for the young people. That's for all the people, because I know 50-year-olds that still won't stand. These three Hebrew boys stood against the tyranny of a king. How were they able to do that? How can you be 15 and be that rebellious and that faithful at the same time? It's because number one, they knew that where they currently were was not their home.

They knew that they were in foreign territory. They knew that this was not their home. Daniel 1 tells you that there was a battle between Babylon and Israel, and Babylon went in and seized Israel and plundered them and took their people. And now they're in a foreign land with a foreign king. And so they knew this was not their home. They knew these are not our gods. This is not our music. This is not even our names.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—that was not even their names. They were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They had names from their homeland, but the new land will try to rename you. When you come to a foreign land, it'll try to tell you you're a player, you're a savage, you're a thug, you're a simp, you're a pimp, you're dumb, you're a thot, you're a bop, you're a menace. It'll give you all these names. This is not your home and those are not your names.

It will try to redefine you for its own purposes. If this were your home, you would never have to leave it. And many people are trying to get comfortable in a place that will kick you out and not even tell you when. This is not your home. The book of Philippians tells us your citizenship is in heaven. It tells you in Ephesians 2:6 that we are already seated with Him in heavenly places. That is your home.

Trying to make this your home is like trying to be a fish breathing on land. You're going to suffocate. This is why you automatically don't like it when people lie on you. You automatically don't like it when people cheat. You automatically don't like it when people steal. You automatically don't like it when people have sinful acts and sinful activity. It automatically makes you go, "Uh."

The reason why you automatically feel that way is because you have a moral compass from another place that isn't here. You have a moral compass from heavenly places that makes you look at this world like you should, like it's not your home. These boys understood that they were transferred to a different place that was not their place, and that they're going to stand for the rules of where they're from, not the rules of where they are.

We've got to understand that. You have been transitioned. Now you have the gills of the gospel. You can no longer breathe with the lungs of lust. It's different now. You're in foreign territory and they understood that. Not only is this not our home, but this is not our god. This is not our king. These are not our rules. This is not what we do.

Adam and Eve were in a perfect place with a perfect God and they were perfect people. That was God's place. The enemy came into the garden and tricked them with that fruit thing and they ate it, and then they were taken into exile because the world was no longer perfect. The world was no longer what God intended it to be. The enemy extracted them into a new world full of sin and a new world in which he rules.

John 12:31 says that Satan is the ruler of this present world. That's why he could tell Jesus in Matthew 4, "Bow down and worship me and I will give you the kingdoms of this world," because once he took them into exile, he became the ruler. John 16:11 says that Satan is the ruler of this world. Matter of fact, in 2 Corinthians 4:4, it says he's the god of the earth, little "g."

And so what you have is like Nebuchadnezzar took them from Israel, the enemy took Adam and Eve out of God's place and took them into exile. Nebuchadnezzar had different rules and the enemy has different rules. Nebuchadnezzar propped up an idol and Satan props up idols too. He props up the idols of self-promotion. He props up the idols of fame. He props up the idols of money. He props up the idols of materialism.

He props up the idols of body image. He props up the idols of social media and social acceptance. And you've got to understand as a young person and all people that those are not my idols. I've got a homeland and we don't bow down to idols. So you can prop up self-promotion, but where I'm from, it says have this attitude in yourself which is also in Christ Jesus, to regard others as more important than yourself.

He can prop up the idols of fame, but you've got to be able to know that where I'm from, only God gets the glory. He can prop up the idols of money, but you can tell him where I'm from, we know that the money is the root of all evil. It doesn't have me even when I have it. He can prop up the idol of materialism, and you have to be able to know that where I'm from, we seek ye first His kingdom and then these things will get added to me.

He can prop up the idol of body image and you can tell them, but where I'm from, I'm already fearfully and wonderfully made. I don't have to do any of that. He can prop up the idol of social media and social acceptance, and that's when you tell them where I'm from, we're a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. I'm not supposed to be like everybody else.

They understood where they were from and they understood the rules and regulations of where they were from, and they were unwilling to break it. They were unwilling to step aside from that. They were unwilling to go with what Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 15. 15 years old. And the music played and they said, "We ain't doing that." Rebellious teens that are on the right side of history. Rebellious teens that are full of faith.

Because revival comes through the young people. Whenever they decide, they can change the entire culture. And these three dudes had the king's attention. Don't you know whenever y'all decide, y'all can get the government's attention real quick? Don't you know when y'all decide, money can start moving in different directions to try to figure out what's going on? Because when young people decide, they get the king's attention.

And these young people made a decision that we will not bow to any false images the enemy sets up. They knew where they were from. They knew this wasn't their king, this wasn't their god. But let me tell you something. They were well-taught. These young people in Daniel 1:3 and 4, it says Nebuchadnezzar said, "Go get me the youth. And go get me the youth from royal noble families that are wise, that are smart, that have no defects, that are good-looking. I want all of the best from God's territory."

"And I want you to teach all of them the language of the Chaldeans." In other words, "I want you to bring in all of the wise and all of the smart youth and all of the good-looking youth and all of the best that are supposed to be working for God, and I want to teach them how the culture works." We've got all of these fantastic poets, and the enemy wants to take that gift and sit you in hip-hop culture so he can take the gift that's supposed to be used for God and put venom on your tongue.

Satan has a plan to re-educate you. He wants to take all of our smart intellectual kids and send them off to secular places and secular universities so that they can start deviating from their faith. And when they get real strong in the deviation of their faith, then he gives them a podcast mic. He wants to take all of our pretty girls and make them think the only way you can be cute is to have no clothes on or make sure everything is tight in order to be right.

Your homeland says modest. That's what your homeland says. But the enemy will make you think your homeland is whack. That's how good he is. Modest? Why would I do that? That ain't cute. That's the enemy puppeting you, taking you right out of God's kingdom. He said the good-looking, the ones with no defects. He's puppeting you and using you for his kingdom.

Using you to sway people the other way. And he likes to use God's people because that's a greater testimony against God. He likes to use God's kids because that's the greatest testimony for him against God, is that we'll look at our own homeland like it's a problem. He wants to take all of our wise kids and he wants to shift it into street smarts so that it'll be a badge of honor when they know how to avoid problems and the police.

He wants to take kingdom kids and repurpose them for his kingdom. That's what he wants to do. And these three Hebrew boys were so staunch in what they had learned from home. They had believed so strong already. They were fireproof before they ever hit the fire. When the fires of life and the problems in life come, you have two types of people. People who burn up in it and people who are fireproof in it.

The only way you can be fireproof is if you're fireproof before the fire gets there. And here these three Hebrew boys stood against it because they were well-taught. It tells you, "Give me the wise ones, give me the smart ones, give me the intellectual ones, give me the good-looking ones, give me the best of them and teach them my language," because I want them to unknowingly work for me.

It says they came from royal noble families, not ratchet, sinful families. They came from royal noble families that were saying as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The sad reality today is we've got parents bowing down to the same idols as their kids. They're chasing after fame instead of family. They're trying to make their name known and chasing after social media acceptance and all of these different things, and listening to the same music.

He said, "When the music plays, bow down to the idol." Don't you know embedded in our music is idolatry? Because inside of the music is the focus on the diamonds. Inside of the music is the focus on sexuality. Inside of the music is the focus on fame and popularity. Inside of the music are the idols, and we have a culture that everybody's bowing down to it. And I know because I was young.

"I don't listen to the lyrics. I listen to the beat." But if I just turn the beat on without the lyrics, you're going to be in there like this. Because Nebuchadnezzar knew what he was doing. It's when the music plays, hitting those vibrations, and you don't even know you're meditating on a word day and night when it says meditate on the Word day and night and you will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season.

It's not just about the beat. It is a brainwashing tool. And I know because I was brainwashed by it back in the day. It's a brainwashing tool because we'll look at Christian rap like it's whack, but it's really just because they're talking about God. It doesn't matter how good their beats are. You'll still think it's whack in comparison to the culture because we're skewed to the culture.

So just because it's Christian, it's bogus. Just because it's Christian, it's whack. It doesn't matter what they do. It doesn't matter how good the beats are. We're already like, "Ah, that's Christian." So we shove it over here. So we tell our homeland, "God, all that stuff you coming up with that we're supposed to be meditating on, that's whack. I like this culture stuff."

The enemy, that's what I'm talking about. You're my favorite puppet. Easy to brainwash. All I've got to do is play the music because then it starts stirring up the mind. And we lie to ourselves and say it's just about the beat. No, you don't have to desecrate yourself to go find a beat. God's people have beats. You just have to make a decision of who you're going to stand for.

Because it's in the mind. Protecting the mind, Proverbs 23:7. So a man thinks within his heart, so he will be. Not so he might be. You meditate on that word, your feet start doing it. And then you look in the mirror one day, adults, and you say, "Who am I?" Didn't we? How did I even get here? I used to look at people like they were crazy, and now I'm the crazy one.

Oh, it just rolled around long enough. Okay, let me help you understand something. Me and my kids can't be friends all the time. This is the part of the sermon—because I'm trying to tell you how they stood—this is the part of the sermon that the kids are like, "Oh, stop preaching. They're going to make me change." I already know. "Oh, you're giving them new ideas. They already took my phone. Now you're going to take my music. What can I do?"

I already know. We can't always be friends, because if we were always friends, that means we would be on the same maturity level. I'm trying to get you to grow up and not live your life looking back on a pile of regrets. I'm trying to get you to grow up and be rooted in God. And while you won't be perfect, chasing after it, you'll at least catch excellence. I'm trying to get my kids to not think their homeland is the problem and the foreign land is home. It's not home.

Guest (Male): That was Pastor Jonathan Evans. Before you go today, I want to remind you that we have a couple of gifts for you: an eight-part audio series, "All Eyes on Jesus," and a book, "The Power of Jesus' Names." How can knowing Him more deeply transform your faith?

Through Dr. Evans' book, "The Power of Jesus' Names," you'll discover how the name of Jesus reveals His character, His purpose, and His power in your life today. We're also including Jonathan Evans' "All Eyes on Jesus" audio series, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything.

Discover how to deepen your faith, stand firm in difficult times, and live with confidence in God's calling. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Both resources are a gift to you to thank you for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative.

It's listeners like you who make this program possible. Call 1-800-800-3222 anytime or get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you.

That's 1-800-800-3222. Thank you for listening to The Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. The Faith Walk is produced as a part of the Urban Alternative, a ministry of Dr. Tony Evans.