Let Holiness Overcome the World
Bible passage: Daniel 1:3-7
“3. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- 4. young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. 6. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. ”
There is a book called “Dopamine Nation” written by Anna Lembke, a professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at Stanford University in the United States.
This book is written by an addiction expert and is a bestseller selected by the New York Times in 2021. This book explores the role of ‘dopamine’, a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates pleasure and pain, and the question of ‘how a life pursuing pleasure affects human health and happiness’ is discussed in detail. The key points of this book can be summarized as follows, and I quote, ‘If you indulge in pleasure, pain follows, but if you learn self-control, you can enjoy true joy.’ If we properly control the 'dopamine system' in our brain, we can maintain a balance between pleasure and pain. According to the book, from a psychological perspective, it is possible to enjoy true joy and happiness if we maintain an appropriate balance between pleasure and pain.
There might be some believers who might wonder, “Why does psychology come up in a time of preaching the sermon when we should be studying the Bible and delivering a spiritual message?” The reason is to demonstrate more clearly that the spiritual words given by God are true by explaining and proving them with highly developed science in this last age. Last Tuesday morning, I tried the launching of online MIS education for the first time in the Nairobi Manmin Academy MIS class. Not only our MIS students in Nairobi, but also pastors from Bunia DR Congo and Malindi who live far away came online to study together.
The content of the lecture was ‘The Seed of Life’ taught by the senior pastor emeritus. To prove that when God's 'light of the power of creation' comes to us, diseases can be cured, problems can be solved, and we can even be rejuvenated like Abraham or Job, I explained citing scientific knowledge such as cell nuclei and DNA that control our bodies. You may say, ‘Why not believe it unconditionally’ because it is the word of God, but the senior pastor emeritus carefully explained it based on scientific knowledge, proving that the Gospel of Holiness is a pure truth that surpasses science. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, Apostle Peter said, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” God told us to live holy.
I am giving this sermon today because it can be proven from the brain science perspective why living a holy life gives true joy and happiness to life. Therefore, through this sermon, I hope that you will not say, “I must live holy, so I have no choice but to do so,” but that you will accept the truth that you can be healthy and happy by living holy, both spiritually and scientifically, and that you will all pursue holiness. How thankful are we that God has allowed science and medicine to develop in the last days, and is proving through science and medicine that God's Word is true? In today’s scripture, Daniel and his three friends stayed away from worldly pleasures and chose a holy path.
Looking at verse 5 of the scripture, Daniel and his three friends had the opportunity to survive by eating the king's choice food and wine. Since it was the king's food, how fatty and rich must it have been? However, looking at the words in verse 8, Daniel and his three friends decided to eat vegetarian food and drink water so as not to defile themselves with the king's fatty food and wine. No matter how much the king's food was, Daniel resolutely rejected it because it was food offered to the idols of Babylon, and chose holy food that was shabby in the eyes of the flesh but was in compliance with God's law. This was an excellent choice by Daniel.
Looking at verse 15, Daniel and his three friends looked much better than the other boys, and as stated in verse 19, this resulted in the king appointing Daniel and his three friends as high-ranking officials. If we talk about ‘dopamine’ again, ‘the human brain has the property of trying to maintain balance like a scale.’ There is pleasure at one end of the scale and pain at the other end, but because the brain has an instinct to always maintain a constant state, or equilibrium, it does not tilt to one side, and pleasure and pain maintain equilibrium like a scale. For example, if a person continues to pursue pleasure, the brain controls the mind's desire to pursue pleasure by making the person feel pain and anguish on the other side in order to maintain equilibrium. Conversely, let's think about exercise. Exercise is very hard on the body; one goes out of breath, his legs get hurt, and his strength is exhausted. But why can’t we stop doing such hard exercise, instead continue doing it? When you exercise hard and the body becomes tired and the pain increases, dopamine is produced in the brain to defend against this and maintain balance. So, even though the body is tired, dopamine makes the mind happy and refreshing and makes the body feel restored.
When Daniel and his three friends rejected the pleasures of the world of fun and abundance and lived a holy life according to God's law, they were able to live a life with a happy heart, good looks, and confidence. The reason is, of course, God's blessing, but it can be fully explained by modern science and medicine, and it was the principle of the scale in the book 'Dopamine Nation' written by a professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine. When you immerse yourself in pleasure, you may feel excited at first, but if you continue to immerse yourself, you become increasingly addicted. When you become addicted, less ‘dopamine’ is produced in the brain, so you feel pain instead of pleasure, and instead of feeling better, you become depressed.
Therefore, the conclusion is that if we first choose self-control, integrity, and holiness like Daniel and his three friends, we can enjoy joy and happiness. This is a neuroscience analysis of why it was an excellent choice for Daniel and his three friends to choose holiness rather than pleasure. Let me repeat the main point of the book. ‘If you focus on pleasure, you will experience pain, but if you learn self-control, you can enjoy joy.’ Among the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians Chapter 5, the last one, ‘self- control’, comes last in the order and should not be considered the least fruit. Self-control is like a vessel that holds other fruits of the Holy Spirit, so when you act with self-control, the fruits of the Holy Spirit that come before become perfect fruits. For example, in order to fully bear the fruit of joy, it is necessary to discern the place and situation well and exercise restraint. If you rejoice unconditionally in front of someone who is sad or in front of someone who is suffering, it cannot be said to be the fruit of complete joy.
It's amazing that brain scientists these days are proving these truths and contents of the Bible through science, and on the other hand, how thankful we are. Moderation in pleasure is very necessary in life. Self-control is what makes us happy. If you do not exercise moderation in relation to the pursuit of pleasure, you will fall into a deeper and deeper stage and become addicted. Even pornographic material stimulates the entire body with even slightly explicit scenes at first, but as you watch more and more and become addicted to it, you will no longer be stimulated by that amount at first, and you will fall into it more and more deeply. The argument of the addiction expert professor is that when you keep falling into pleasure like this, you should not neglect it and you need to make an effort to suppress the temptation. If you continuously make an effort to suppress any addiction, you will recover to the previous stage where there was no addiction.
This is because there is a scale function called ‘dopamine hormone’ in our brain. Just as if you were to measure weight on a scale, you would use the center as the fulcrum and place equal weight objects on both sides to create balance. Just as we have a 'balance' in our brain that balances pleasure and pain so that they do not lean towards one side or the other. It is the ‘dopamine’ function. There are commands in the Bible that say ‘do’, but there are also some that say ‘don’t do’. Some say ‘keep it’, but some say ‘throw it away’. This is to control our hearts toward worldly pleasures so that we do not become addicted to the corruptible things of the world and instead enjoy true joy and happiness. Jesus had to endure the extreme pain of the ‘cross,’ but even in the pain, there was also joy, so He was able to endure the pain, overcome the shame, and carry the cross happily.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” If you look at 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, the Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh. To be free from this suffering, he prayed earnestly three times, but received no answer, hearing only the words by God, “My grace is sufficient for you.” However, in one part of Apostle Paul's heart, great joy arose, allowing him to overcome this pain and do the Lord's work to a greater extent. 1 Corinthians 12:9 says, “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
Let me repeat the main point of the book. ‘If you focus on pleasure, you will experience pain, but if you learn self-control, you can enjoy joy.’ Like Daniel and his three friends, I hope that you will not chase after the temptations and pleasures of the world, but will enjoy true joy and happiness through a disciplined life, even if the path you take seems like a narrow, difficult and painful path. The era we live in is a very dangerous one, constantly tempted by worldly things and pleasures. In 2 Timothy, Apostle Paul talked about the phenomena that will occur in the end times and said that it would be a time when people love pleasure more than God.
2 Timothy 3:1 and 4 says, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” “treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” It is said that there is a zombie street in Philadelphia, USA. Zombies are the term for ‘living corpses’, and the entire street was full of people addicted to high-intensity drugs, and their eyes are closed, their backs are bent at 90 degrees, and they are walking around like zombies with a staggering, bizarre manner of walking. I happened to see this scene and felt pathetic and scared at the same time. What's even more surprising is that the Philadelphia city government provides free syringes for drug use to drug addicts. Since there are so many drug addicts that cracking down on drugs has become almost impossible, clean, sterilized syringes are given out to prevent people from getting infected with diseases such as AIDS when taking drugs. However, I think this is not just a reality in the United States, but a global phenomenon that applies to most countries. Korea used to be a drug-free country, but drugs have suddenly become a major social problem a few years ago. It is said that because qualifications are so cheap and easy to obtain, the temptation is often extended to middle and high school students. I don’t know what it’s like in Kenya. However, Kenya does not seem to be a safe zone either.
This isn't someone else's story. It has become a reality for us. I received this report a while ago. Students at our church come to the Friday All-night, skip the service, and secretly go to the church washroom to smoke something similar to a drug. When I asked why they came to church and did something like that when there were so many places to smoke outside, I was told it was because it was safer to do it in church, whereas they could get caught by the police if they did something like that outside. I was very shocked. No, how can such a huge thing happen in our church? I asked our servants of the Lord to take proper action, contacted the parents of those students, informed the school teachers, and also called the students and asked the servants of the Lord to give strict advice and teach them. Why do we need to take such drastic action? Because drugs are very dangerous. Even when you taste a weak drug at first, your whole body reacts. And then you want to do it again. If this is repeated over and over, the body will not respond with the intensity it did the first time.
That's why you become stronger and more powerful, but eventually you become a zombie and a ruined person. 8 In this day and age, addiction is becoming a major problem worldwide. Alcohol addiction, drug addiction, gambling addiction, pornography addiction, cyber addiction, etc. are not everyone else's stories. There are many symptoms of addiction that we commonly see and hear around us. All forms of abnormal obsession and craving for an activity or substance, such as work addiction, shopping addiction, smartphone addiction, TV addiction, online game addiction, exercise addiction, and cigarette addiction, are symptoms of addiction. The era we live in is an era of addiction, and the society we live in is a society of addiction. When I came to Kenya 15 years ago, the late Bishop Myong-Ho Cheong gave me a mission. Before returning to Korea, he asked me to evangelize and create a district.
Since I had to go to one area to create a district, I went out every day to evangelize in the Pipeline area, a neighborhood across the street where the church was located at that time. I went to a house, met a sister, and spoke to her, and she specifically asked me for advice. The sister said she was a middle school teacher and had a big problem. The school principal said that he would only allow him to continue working as a teacher only if he sleeps with him, requesting such a wicked and dishonest act. If they don't sleep together, she had to quit being a teacher. She said, “It is difficult to get a job if I quit being a teacher, so what should I do?” I told her, “It seems like that principal is a repeat offender.
Even after sleeping with you, he won't guarantee you a job as a teacher. After a while, he will kick you out, hire another teacher, and do it all over again. You will eventually lose your virginity and your job together.” I advised her to come to Manmin church and receive a new job with God’s blessing.
But the following Sunday, the sister did not come to church. I was very worried, “Did she accept the principal's request to avoid losing her job? Why didn't she come to church?” When I called on that Sunday afternoon, fortunately, the school teacher had resigned and was back in her hometown. This was just 15 years ago, so how much more prevalent is this corruption these days? This era is similar to the situation when Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to Babylon. They took the Jewish youth to Babylon, and in verse 4, they had the Chaldeans teach them learning and language.
In addition, in verse 7, they changed their names. Daniel 1:7 says, “Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar,” The original meaning of Daniel is ‘God is my judge.’ This good name was changed to ‘Belteshazzar.’ ‘Belteshazzar’ means that the god ‘Bel’ protects my life. Why did Babylon do this? Why change the name of someone else's precious child? Not only Daniel, but also his three friends had names that praised God, but all of their precious names were changed to names of idols. Why were they doing this? It was about brainwashing. He was called ‘Daniel’ since he was young. He was called, ‘God is my judge.’ So, as Daniel grew up, he always had the thought, ‘I cannot live according to my own will; I must live in fear of God.’ However, from the time he was captured in Babylon, he was told, “Your name is Belteshazzar, and the god Bel protects you. Not God, but god Bel protects you.” The intention was that every time he was called this name, he would continue to be brainwashed. In this respect, teenagers and young people in this era and society are the same. The issue of homosexuality is also openly treated as a beautiful love.
I heard that homosexuality is legally prohibited in Kenya. Is this correct? If so, it is fortunate, but it is not a matter of peace of mind. Even in schools, they teach that homosexuality is love. This is said as if it is normal and appears on TV and in movies, which is the same as changing the names of Daniel and his three friends who were captives in Babylon. And what happens to the family? The idea of a man and a woman meeting and starting a family has long since collapsed in the United States and Europe. In verse 8, Daniel asked his chief eunuch not to defile himself. Verse 8 says, “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank;” Like Daniel, we too must make this declaration every day. “I will not be stained by this world. I do not belong to the world.” Let’s shout together, Shout after me, you should shout, not whisper. You must declare, “I will not defile myself with the filth of the world.” You must have the perspective to look at the world and discern whether this is good or that is wrong. Just as this world is in a situation where Daniel was brainwashed by the idols of Babylon, what should we do if we or our children are in such a situation now?
We must share the language of the Gospel with our families. There should be praise and words at home as well. You must come to the place of prayer and even pray online. Children are exposed to Belshazzar. At home, tell your children, “You are not Belteshazzar. It's Daniel. You are Daniel. Not Belteshazzar.” And we must teach them, “You are Daniel, who cannot live according to your own will and must live in fear of God.” We must use a lot of the language of the Gospel, the language restored through the cross. There must be a cross in the home, too. There shouldn't be just one church sanctuary here. This means that the Lord must be present in your home as well.
3. In an age where the temptation of pleasure is rampant, what should we do to live a holy life? First, we must make holiness our goal in life. Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” You must offer your body as a holy living sacrifice. Holy means ‘set apart.’ Why should we live a life separate from the world? Because God has called us separately. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” God wants you to live like this. You must offer your daily life; your sleeping, your eating, your working, your playing life to God with holiness. There are five holiness that you should aim for in your daily life. (1) Sanctity of time. (2) The sanctity of money. (3) Holiness of relationships. (4) The holiness of sex. (5) Holiness of values. Daniel and his three friends lived by observing these five holiness. Maintaining the sanctity of time; There was a time to pray to God. Even in that difficult and busy situation, Daniel set aside time to pray three times a day.
Maintaining the sanctity of money; Because he strictly followed the law, he gave tithes thoroughly. In addition, according to the law, they offered peace offerings that were thanksgiving offerings and sin offerings that were repentance offerings, and they also sanctified their material lives. Maintained the sanctity of relationships; Daniel and his three friends maintained a holy relationship by advising and helping each other in emergency situations with unchanging love and friendship, and trusting each other in difficult times. Maintained the sanctity of sex; Daniel and his three friends did not indulge in pleasures, but lived godly lives and maintained chastity. Maintaining the sanctity of values; Even though Babylon was not tainted by Babylon's secular culture and corrupt life and was full of great idols, they did not bow down to idols and maintained the integrity of their faith, believing that only knowing God's will was the true value of life. Maintaining such holiness is by no means easy, but Daniel and his three friends chose these five holiness rather than choosing the worldly pleasures that they easily indulge in. According to a neuroscience expert, if you immerse yourself in pleasure, you will experience pain, but if you abstain, you can enjoy true joy.
As the saying goes, Daniel and his three friends were able to live a life of true joy and happiness. Second, in an age where the temptation of pleasure is rampant, in order to live a holy life, we must show that holiness is a power in our lives. As a brain expert professor proved, if we focus on pleasure, pain follows, but we must show the world through our lives that true joy can be enjoyed there if we exercise the moderation that God wants. In 1930, there was a man named ‘Lindberg’ who first crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a single-engine aircraft with a single propeller. This was a very dangerous thing. Many people lost their lives trying to do that. Lindberg succeeded in becoming the first human to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a small airplane.
And then he suddenly became a hero that the world was paying attention to. A certain CEO of a large tobacco company thought, ‘This is a great opportunity,’ and made a plan to advertise his company’s cigarettes. He gave Lindberg a cigarette and said, “Pose just once. Then I will give you 50,000 dollars for taking one picture.” Half a century ago, 50,000 dollars was a huge amount of money. When the tobacco company president made such a huge offer, Lindberg is said to have responded with these words: Just one sentence: “Boss, I am a baptized church member.” These words appeared in an article in a newspaper. It is said that the devout Christians at the time were so moved when they heard this they collected donations and gave 100,000 dollars to Lindbergh. We are beings who pursue holiness. We are not beings that pursue eating well, living well, being successful, and becoming successful. I believed in Jesus and became holy. This is important. In 1 Peter 1:16, God says, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
I used to make fun of women here and there besides my wife, but that's all gone now that I have come to believe in Jesus. This is a man who believes in Jesus. In the past, I drank, smoked, lied, cheated, fought, and got angry easily, but after I believed in Jesus, all of that disappeared. This is a person who believes in Jesus. People who believe in Jesus do not pursue pleasure. As brain scientists say, pleasure does not come from pursuing it. When you pursue holiness, joy comes, satisfaction comes, and happiness comes. Conclusion Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, “He who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” “Carrying his cross” refers to a life of self-control and overcoming pain. As we live each day, we stand at the crossroads of “Will we choose the path of the Lord or the path of the flesh?” There are also times when we face the problem of “Should we live a holy life or a debauched life?” If we choose the path of the flesh and a life of debauchery, our flesh may live, but our spirit dies. However, if we choose the Lord's path and choose a righteous and holy life, our flesh dies but our spirit lives and dwells in God's grace and blessings. Daniel and his three friends, like the man who bore his cross, chose to follow God's path and live a holy life, even though there was patience and suffering, and became people worthy of God.
This was an excellent choice by Daniel and his three friends. When Daniel and his three friends rejected the world of pleasure and abundance and lived a holy life according to the word of God, they were able to live a life full of true peace, joy, and confidence. I would like to once again present the key summary of the book ‘Dopamine Nation’, written by a brain expert from a psychological and scientific perspective, supporting this principle of God’s blessing. ‘If you focus on pleasure, pain follows, but if you learn self-control, you can enjoy true joy.’ When we defend ourselves with the power of the cross and attack with the fiery power of the Holy Spirit against the forces of darkness that attack us through pleasure and achieve holiness, the true joy and happiness that God gives us comes forth. - END -
