I'll tell you what, you've got to get up early to sing that high. Thank you, Ms. Geisinger. I think about a friend of mine who had an early morning radio broadcast in Indianapolis. And when he went to the broadcast, he was generally in the twilight zone. Well, on this particular occasion, he was sleepier than normal. And he was going to sing the song, I Fell Down on My Knees and Cried Holy. It didn't come out like that. Instead, he sang, I fell down on my face and crowed highly. So I don't know what's going to come out when I sing this early in the morning. I think I could have sung in that bass group this early in the morning. Take your Bible and turn to Daniel, please. Daniel chapter 1. Brother Suretta, I was thinking about that announcement about the person who wanted to go north whether it was a girl or a boy and I was thinking about the man who used to be business manager BIMI said he was on the staff at Tennessee Temple during the seventies and he said a girl came in and she had 73 pairs of shoes 73 pairs of shoes so it would make a difference if you had room for luggage in a situation like that All right, let's stand please. I want us to bow our heads and I want you to pray this prayer. Lord, if you speak to my heart in an area where I am disobedient, I promise you I will obey you. Would you be willing to pray that prayer? All right, how many of you with our heads bowed and eyes closed would say, Lord, if you speak to my heart in an area where I am disobedient, I promise you I will obey you. If you'll pray that prayer with me, would you slip up your hand, please? All right, if you mean that, we're going to have a wonderful chapel. Father, thank you for the music that we've had this morning. Thank you for the wonderful chapel we enjoyed yesterday. Thank you that you laid it on Brother Casillas' heart. to bestow upon Brother Beale the honorary doctorate. And we realize that all of us, all we really deserve is hell because we're sinners. The wages of sin is death. And every good and every perfect gift cometh down from above from the Father of lights with whom there is no turning, no turning. And I thank you, Lord, that we're Objects, all of us who are saved, are objects of the grace of God. And I pray this morning that if you will speak to my heart in an area where I am disobedient, I promise you I will obey you. I pray that what we preach this morning will be helpful in fortifying these young people for what they're going to face when they leave the campus on Friday. And Lord, our heart's desire and prayer is that not one of them will yield to the flesh and ruin their life and ruin their ministry this summer. But may they take that which they have learned in the classroom, that which they have been motivated to do by the preaching in chapel, and may they apply it And may they be soul conscious as they leave. And I pray that when school starts in the fall, that you'll give us the students that are teachable and are focused on serving you. Bless this chapel now. May the Lord Jesus be honored and glorified in whose name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. In Daniel chapter 1, Daniel is taken into captivity when he is about 15 years old. And the first chapter of Daniel describes him in this way. It said he had no blemish on his body from the top of his head to the sole of his feet, no blemish on his body. Now girls, how many teenagers do you know that could fit that description? Most teenagers eat too many McDonald's and French fries and they have a complexion problem, but not Daniel. Tradition tells us he was of tall stature and beautiful expression. So if he were living today, we would call him tall, dark, and handsome. like Brother Camp. Maybe not exactly like Brother Camp. But anyway, he was taken into captivity, and the first chapter of Daniel indicates that there were many who were taken into captivity of his age. But only three others are mentioned by name. Who are they? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, your shack, my shack, and a bungalow. So these are the only four that are mentioned by name. I wonder why. I believe that out of all the thousands that were taken into captivity, these were the only four that stayed true to their God. So God memorialized them by pinning their name in the Bible. Now in Daniel chapter 1 it says that these young people were put through three years of a training program. and those who fared the best after the three years would be elevated to places of leadership in the palace. And I'm speaking to you this morning about Daniel the teenage square. Three things I want you to notice about him. Number one, He was a man of purpose. Notice Daniel chapter 1 in verse 8. It says, But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. He was a man of purpose. As I go across the country and on occasion preach in Christian schools, Many times I will get a young person aside and I will say, what are you going to do with your life? And you know the answer I get so many times? Some Christian teen will shrug his shoulders and say, who cares? Who cares? Now I would expect that kind of a response from an unsaved teen, but not a Christian teen. When I was 14 years old, I was sitting in algebra class, and the teacher said, how many of you in this algebra class are going to go to college when you graduate from high school? Everybody in the class raised their hand except one idiot. You know who that was? That was I. I hated school. I was a clock watcher. The only thing I liked about school was lunch, phys ed, and basketball practice. And when I would go to school, my eyes were on that clock. When it would say 3.15, I would say, hallelujah, it's over. I hated school. That's when I was 14. But when I was 15, I was born again. And you know, much to my amazement, I, as best I could, checked up on that algebra class, and you know what I found? There was only one person in that algebra class that I could find that went to college and graduated with a degree. You know who that was. That was the idiot who didn't raise his hand. That was I. You see, when God saved me, He put a purpose in my life. I had a roommate when I was in college who was six feet four. I really looked up to him. But Tony York, when he was in high school, was good for nothing. One day, the principal in the public school called him in and said, Tony, I've had it with you. As long as I'm principal of this school, you'll never get back in this school. Well, Tony York, trying to find something to do with his life, joined the military. When he was in the military, he was born again. Now remember, he had not graduated from high school. So he came to Bob Jones University, took a college entrance exam and passed, which enabled him to go into college. When Tony York graduated from college, he graduated with a magna cum laude right at the top of his class. Then Tony York went to Bob Jones Seminary. And in four years, Tony York graduated with a Ph.D. And I never will forget what Dr. Bob Jones Jr. said when he gave Tony York his Ph.D. He said, Tony York has completed the course for the Doctor of Philosophy degree quicker than any graduate we have had in the history of this school. Now young people, what made the difference? When he was in high school, he was a goof-off. He had no purpose, no direction, but when God saved him, he put a purpose in his heart. If there were anybody that I would say would never be saved, it would have been my brother. My brother was so bad that the bad boys in the high school didn't want to run around with him. They didn't want to ruin their reputation. When my brother would come home from school, he would beat me up and call me names I never heard before. And I would say, Bill, you better get your life straightened out. You're going to wind up behind bars. He had no purpose whatsoever. So at 17, he joined the military. He took an aptitude test, which enabled him to be a cook. That's right down at the bottom of the ladder, young people. My brother in Panama City, Florida one Saturday was on his way downtown to get drunk. He stopped by an outdoor meeting and my brother was saved. And immediately he went back to his barracks and he wrote me a letter and he said, Ronnie, you need to be saved. Your self-righteousness is going to take you to hell. And right away, God put a purpose in my brother's heart again. My brother had not graduated from college or from high school. So while he was in the military, he got his high school diploma. He was supposed to be in for four years. God had called him to preach. So he had the entire church praying that he would get an early release from the military. So after two years, they gave him his release. And he went to Bob Jones University. And you know, my brother today has three earned doctorates. Three earned doctorates. You see, the difference, young people, is when God saved him, he put a purpose in his heart. Philippians 3 and verse 13, But this one thing I do. Philippians 1 and verse 21, Paul says, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. That was his purpose. Do you remember he had labored in Ephesus for three years? He was getting ready to leave and go to Jerusalem. And the Miletim elders said, Paul, don't go to Jerusalem. They're liable to kill you. They're liable to stone you. They're liable to put you in prison. And you know what he said in Acts 20, 22 through 24? And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that befall me there, saving, that in every city bonds and afflictions abide me. Get it. But none of these things move me. Neither can I love my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify of the gospel of the grace of God. Paul said, listen, I don't care if they put me in prison. I don't care if they stone me. My life is not dearer to myself. My purpose in life is, my life is dear under the will of God. And he set his face like a flint, and nothing could deter him. Now my daddy was not saved, and I never heard my daddy pray. I never saw my daddy on his knees. I never heard my daddy use God's name unless he used it in vain. But my daddy taught me some character principles that there would not be an Ambassador Baptist College had my dad not instilled these principles into me. Number one, he said, son, in the comfort family, we don't use the word Q-U-I-T. We don't use that word. When my girls were growing up, I said, girls, whenever you start to read a book, you don't read it halfway and then close it up and put it on the shelf and never finish it. I said, when you read a book, you read it until you finish the book. You see, if you start quitting in the little things, it becomes a pattern in your life. And some of you have already taken up that pattern. The second thing he taught me was this. He said, son, anything worth doing is worth doing well. Now, my dad didn't know it, but that was Bible. I Corinthians 10 and verse 31, Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto man. Colossians 3 and verse 23, Whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Now I want to say, young people, are you listening? Please look at me. Look at me. If you're making B's in school and you ought to be making A's, you're not right with God. Did you get that? Hey, if you're making C's and you ought to be making B's, you're not right with God. Now, if you only have the ability to make C's and you make C's, that's fine. That's fine. But here's my contention. A young lady who is saved and plays the piano ought to play the piano better than the unsaved girl who has the same equal ability. You take a young man who sloughs on the basketball court. If he's a Christian, he's got a flaw in his character. Whatever you do, you're to do it heartily as to the Lord. Last week I was in Beckley, and I was eating with Scott Bandy. Brother Kim, Scott told me this. He said when I was in college, he said we were going to have a Greek examination, a final exam. And he said here I was working 40 hours a week. And he said I would study hours upon hours. Every moment that I had, I would put into studying. And he said I heard some of them Married students say, well listen, I've got a good grade average, so I don't really have to study. If I don't make a good grade, it's not going to hurt my grade average that much. And so Scott went to him and said, wait a minute. What you're saying is anti-Bible. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. The young man who was assistant pastor in the church where I was, Thomas Shepard, spent one semester here, and then he transferred to Heartland Baptist College, graduated. And I said, Thomas, what kind of grade point average did you make? He said, I made a 4.0. I said, well, you must have a lot of ability. He said, no, I don't have a lot of ability. He said, I spent my time studying because I told my parents if they were going to invest in my education, I was not going to disappoint them. You know what breaks my heart? We will go overboard and give scholarships to kids and they will come and do nothing, do nothing with that scholarship that we have given them. And I want to say that if you're making less than what your ability is, you're not right with God. Whatever you do, you're due to the glory of God. Paul's purpose was, I'm going to serve God. The will of God is only important in my life. Number one, he was a man of purpose. Alright, number two. He was a man of purity. Notice Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. He was a man of purity. Now let me ask you a question. Why do you think Daniel and the three Hebrew children were not to eat of the king's meat? Most of you would say, well, it was a matter of dietary laws. And if they would have eaten of the king's mead, they would have been violating the Jewish dietary laws. All right, that may have had a part, but I don't believe that was the crux of the matter. Now, there were three things that changed when these Hebrew children came to Babylon. Number one, their names were changed. You see, Daniel's name was changed to Belteshazzar. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Azariah, Mishael, and Hananiah. Now, their Hebrew names contain some form of the name of God in the Hebrew language. And I believe that in Israel, they were dedicated to the God of Israel. Their names contain that dedication. But when they were brought to Babylon, they wanted them to have names that contained some form of the name of their heathen gods. So here is, in essence, what the Babylonians were saying. They were saying, when you were in Israel, you were dedicated to the God of Israel. Now you're in Babylon. We want you to be dedicated to our gods. All right? Their names were changed. Their educational system was changed. For three years, they tried to indoctrinate them in the Babylonian theology and philosophy. All right? They could change their names. They could change their education, but they could not change their worship. You see, like you and I, when we sit down to eat, we bow our heads and ask God's blessings upon the food. Do you know the Babylonians did the same thing? They would bow their heads and ask the blessings of their Babylonian gods upon the food. Now, if they had partaken of the king's meat, they in essence would have been saying, we've been wrong all the time. Your God is the true God. Our God is not the true God. They could change their names, they could change their education, they could not change their worship. He was a man of purity. I Timothy 5 and verse 22, keep thyself pure. Philippians 4 and verse 8, whatsoever things are pure, think on these. Now young people, the moment you step off this campus, you are going into a world that is dedicated to robbing you of your purity. In 1 John 5 and verse 19 it says, For we know that the whole world lieth in the hands of the wicked one. We sing the song, he's got the whole wide world in his hands, who's he? He's not God. He's Satan. This is not the kingdom of God. This is the kingdom of Satan. However, one day the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 11, 15. But this is the kingdom of Satan. And the moment you leave this campus, everything is out to rob you of your purity. I want to mention four things that are out to rob you of your purity. Number one, the music of the day is out to rob you of your purity. Are you listening? I've never seen a young person who was backslidden that didn't go back to their old music. Never. I have never seen a young person in a Christian school who was expelled who wasn't hooked on rock music or its derivatives. See, now rock music is designed to make you hate everything that is spiritual and right. Did you know that? I've never known a young person to love to go soul winning who loved rock music. I've never known a young person to love his Bible and rock music. I've never known a young person to love rock music and to love preaching. See, rock music does exactly what it's intended to do. And I want to say that rock music is not only a music, it is a lifestyle. There is dress that is involved in rock music, there is appearance, there are politics that are involved in rock music. Now, whenever a fellow or girl get out on the dance floor and they rock and roll, question, are there any rules that govern rock and roll? No. If you want to shake your head, you shake your head. If you want to shake your foot, you shake your foot. If you want to shake your hips, you shake your hips. There are no rules that govern rock and roll. Do you know that that, ladies and gentlemen, is to be translated to a lifestyle? There are no rules that govern your lifestyle. You're not bound by your grandmother's morals. You're not bound by the Ten Commandments. You do it if it feels good. So the music's out to rob you of your purity. Are you listening? Number two, the media is out to rob you of your purity. By the way, nobody falls suddenly. Somebody says he fell into sin. No, he didn't fall into sin. There was a pattern that led up to the time when he yielded to the flesh. And you don't fall suddenly. There is always a pattern. And I want to say a young person that will watch R-rated videos A young person that will watch nudity when the temptation comes to commit adultery, he will commit adultery. I remember several years ago, a young man was brought into my office by his roommate. And the boy was in tears. He said, Brother Comfort, I've got to get this off my heart. I said, what are you talking about? He said, this summer, I lost my purity. He said, I guess I'm disqualified from preaching. I said, no, you're not disqualified from preaching, but I'll tell you what you're disqualified from. You're disqualified from standing before a group of teenagers and saying, keep your body pure. I've never committed adultery in my life. I'm 71 years old and when I stand before a group of young people and say young people in 71 years I've never committed adultery I said that has some weight to it. I can tell those young people keep your body pure. They sit up and listen when I say I've never committed adultery. And I'll tell you, as I talked to the boy, I realized that it wasn't just yielding to temptation, but there was a process that led up to it. I said, tell me about the night that you lost your purity. He said, I was in my girlfriend's bedroom. I said, what in the world were you doing in your girlfriend's bedroom? Romans 14 and verse 23, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provisions for the flesh. I want to say a mom and dad are very indiscerning, who will let a boyfriend go into the bedroom of their daughter. Now I want to say young people, don't go out on dates by yourself. You say, well, Brother Comfort, I'm strong, I can take it. I'll tell you what, I've been saved 56 years, but I'm afraid of this flesh. I'm afraid of it. And I don't want to put myself in the place where I can yield to the flesh. I think about the man who started the rescue mission movement. Whenever he would go down the street and he would see a saloon in front of him. You know what he would do? He would cross the street and go by the saloon on the other side. Why? He said, I don't want the smell to lure me back into my old life. That's Bible, young people. The Bible says in Job 31 and verse 1, I made a covenant with mine eyes, therefore I cannot look upon a maid. Matthew 6, 22 and 23, The light of the body is the eye, and if thine eye be single, thy whole body is full of light. Psalm 101 verse 3, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes, I hate the work of them that turn aside, it shall not cleave unto me. Are you aware that your mind is a file cabinet? And everything you have seen in your life is on the file cabinet of your mind. Did you know that? And you cannot look at nudity without it scarring your mind. By the way, there is never a time when your mind is not actively engaged in thinking about something. You say, now wait a minute. As you've been preaching, I've been thinking about nothing. No, that's impossible. You cannot sit there and think about nothing. You say, all right, I will sit here and I will make my mind think about nothing. That's impossible. Why? If you're trying to think about nothing, your mind is actively engaged in trying to think about nothing. So the devil knows that anytime you don't have anything good and right and pure to think about, he will bring to your mind those dirty things that are on the file cabinet of your mind. So number one, the music of the day is out to rob you of your purity. Number two, the media is out to rob you of your purity. Number three, the fashions of the day are out to rob you of your purity. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 19, let the women adorn themselves in modest apparel. Girls, can I help you? I want to talk to you like I talk to my three daughters. What is modest apparel? Here's a good definition. Any clothing that draws attention to a part of your body that would sexually stimulate a young man is not modest apparel. Can I repeat that? Any clothing that draws attention to a part of your body that would sexually stimulate a young man is not modest apparel. Now you are aware that boys are motivated by touch, by sight, girls are motivated by touch. I was in line to get my daughter's years ago some Dairy Queen ice cream. And as I was standing there, there was a girl in front of me that had a skirt on that would have made a harlot blush. And as I was standing there, the boys in back of me were talking about that girl. You know what they were talking about? How much fun they could have with that girl if they got her alone. Now what stimulated their thinking? The way the girl was dressed. Now we put the rapist in jail, but we let the seducer go free. In God's sight, the seducer is just as wicked as the rapist. Alright, number one. The music of the day is out to rob you of your purity, number two. The media is out to rob you. Number three, the fashions of the day are out to rob you of your purity. Number four, the educational system is out to rob you of your purity. In 1961, when we took the Bible and prayer out of the schools, we introduced a new religion, which was humanism. And humanism says, we don't need God, It includes secularism, materialism, and also evolution. Evolution says, you're your own God, you can live like you please. I remember I was in Michigan for a meeting, and a man came to me and he said, Brother Comfort, I was in the public school recently, and I was walking down the hall with the principal, and right under the steps was a boy and a girl involved in an immoral relationship. He said the principal broke it up. He said, we went up to the teachers and the students lounge. And he said, there were marijuana cigarette butts, syringes and needles. And so the principal came to the faculty advisor and he said, what in the world are these things doing here? You know what the faculty advisor said? He said, why are you asking me? He said, I'm not a law enforcement agent. I don't care what these kids do. Now I want to tell you, your pastor cares what you do. This school cares what you do. And we want you to be able to stand at that altar with no confessions to make to your mate-to-be. I was preaching in Kenya, Africa years ago. And I was preaching along this line, keep your body pure. And one big husky black fellow stood up and said, Brother Comfort, let me ask you a question. How in the world can we keep our bodies pure? He said, everything about us is out to rob us of our purity. I said, I'm glad you asked that. Here it is. Psalm 119, 9, 11. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his ways, by taking heed thereto according to thy word? Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against God. John 15 and verse 3, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Ephesians 6, 10 through 13, Finally, my brethren, put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and having that all, stand. I remember in 1955, I was in Roseburg, Oregon. I was involved in a job where I had to leave the house at five o'clock in the morning. And we would drive two hours to our work site, and then we would drive at 3.30 in the afternoon, two hours home. So for four hours, young people, I was in a carpool with men who were cursing. They knew I was a preacher boy. And they would talk about their wives leaving on the weekend and they were going to have all kind of fun when their wives left. And they tried to pollute my mind. And you know there was only one thing that kept me from having those evil thoughts all day long as I was on my job. I had to leave the house at 5 o'clock. I got up at 4 o'clock, spent a half an hour in the Word of God and in prayer, and then got ready to go to the job. While I was on that job, I had some time on my hands. And I said, God, if you'll give me that job, I'll read 15 chapters in the Bible a day. All glory to God, I read my New Testament through in three and one-half weeks. And the only salvation of my mind was in spending my time in the Word of God. Getting my mind cleaned out through the Word of God. Now the temptation, young people, this summer is going to be this. You get up in the morning, you get your clothes on, you go down to eat breakfast, and then you go off to work. Don't do that. You spend your time alone with God before you go out to meet the enemy. Somebody said, well, Brother Comfort, I read my Bible and pray before I go to bed at night. Well, the problem with that is, when the devil's already won the victory, it's hard for you to get the victory. When do you read a map? Before you go on your journey or after you wind up at your destination? Well, if you got any sense, you read the map before you go on your destination, on your trip. Now, before I go out the door in the morning, I've got to guard myself with the armor of God. So, spend time in the Word of God. Take you some memory verses this summer. Hide the Word of God in your heart. Let me challenge you preacher boys, read biographies this summer and keep your mind clean through the Word. All right, number one, he was a man of purpose. Number two, he was a man of purity. And finally, number three, he was a man of prosperity. Take your Bible and turn please to Daniel chapter 6. Daniel chapter 6 and verse 28. I love this. Daniel chapter 6 and verse 28, he was a man of prosperity. It says, so this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. He was a man of prosperity. Somebody said, well Daniel couldn't have gotten very far in life because he was such a prude. Do you believe that? Do you know at least four times he was elevated to be prime minister of all of Babylon, at least four times? Now let me ask you a question. Is it wrong to be popular? What do you think? Is it wrong to be popular? Daniel was popular. Hey, here's the problem. It is wrong to seek popularity. You see, Lot sought popularity. He moved down to Sodom and he ran for mayor of the city. Sodom was a good place to raise cattle, a dreadful place to rear children. He ran for mayor of the city, he was elected, he was popular. But the last scene of Lot's life, we see him drunken in a cave with his daughters, and his daughters say, we don't have any brothers to carry on our daddy's name. So they got their daddy drunk, they went in, had immorality with them. And ladies and gentlemen, that is the result of seeking popularity. But Daniel's attitude was this, I don't care whether I'm popular or not, I'm going to serve God. And I believe that's this man's attitude. He doesn't care if he's ever prominent in the world of fundamentalism. He just wants to please God. I was going through Chicago, Illinois years ago, and I heard an interview of WMBI. They were talking to people on the street, and the question was this, what is success? What is success? And one person said, I think success is doing your own thing. Another person said, I think success is having all you want and nobody telling you what to do. And I listened about a half an hour, and I listened in vain for a good definition of success. What is success? Girls, would it to be you're married to a fellow who is six feet four inches tall, black, wavy hair, 220 pounds of massive muscle. He's making $250,000 a year as an executive in an insurance company. And you're living in a five-bedroom, four-full bathhouse, and you have three-car garage. You've got a Cadillac, you've got a Lincoln, and you've got a hunting automobile, a Corvette. And your husband comes into you before he goes off to work and he says, honey, you haven't had a dress in such a long time. I'm going to give you a check for $500 for you to go out and buy a dress. You think that'll be enough? At 10, 30, your maid comes in and she says, ma'am, your steak and eggs are ready if you'd like to get up. It's breakfast time. Now, would that be success? Be desirable, wouldn't it? but wouldn't be success. What is success? Elvis Presley was playing the piano one day with one hand. One of his men came in and said, Elvis, how do you feel? And Elvis said, alone, alone. When Elvis Presley was dying, he said, I always wanted a Cadillac. Now I've got a fleet of them. So what? So what? Was Elvis Presley a success? Hey, I think about Tiger Woods. If there is anybody in the world that I have seen that impresses me as being miserable, it's Tiger Woods. And he claims to have made a billion dollars in endorsements and in golf tournaments, but there's still that emptiness in his soul. I think about Alexander the Great. When he was 28 years of age, he sat down and he had conquered the known worlds and he wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. When he was 33 years old, Alexander the Great died a violent drunkard's death. And when he died, his dying request was this, when you bury me, leave my hands outside of my casket. I want everybody to know that I'm going to my grave empty-handed. Was Alexander the greatest success? I say not. In closing, here's the success. many years ago as we were traveling. I came to my wife one day. By the way, we started traveling two weeks after we got married. And for 28 years, we were on the road very few times the same place two weeks in a row. During those years, my wife homeschooled our girls from kindergarten right through the 12th grade. She was involved in homeschooling 21 years. She is a candidate for the martyr's crown. Not only did she homeschool our girls, but she sewed their clothing. Most of the dresses my daughters wore were dresses their mother made them. Not only that, but she taught them piano. Not only that, she was a crusade pianist. She would come a half an hour before the service every night and practice with the choir. Not only that, but she would teach the children as I was preaching to the adults in the auditorium. And most women want security and stability. My wife's life in all these 46 years has been the epitome of insecurity and instability. I told my daughters this, if you ever hear mama say that she likes something, tell daddy and daddy will get it for her. Now, thank God she doesn't have expensive desires. If she did, I would have never told them that. But even today, my daughters will come to me and say, I heard Mama say that she liked this. I try to get it for her. When I'm away from her in the meeting, I buy her a present. I bought her a present last week. I want her to know that she is the object of my thoughts. I call her three or four times a day. Somebody says, isn't that expensive? Not nearly as much as alimony. But anyway, I came to her one day and I said, honey, not many women would like to live like you live. I said, is there anything I could buy for you or get you that would make you happier than what you are right now? How I thank God Brother Goger for answer. She said, honey, we're saved. Our three daughters are saved. She said, we have a ministry almost every night of seeing people saved and lives transformed by the power of God. She said, darling, we're in the will of God. She said, what more do I want out of life than that? Young people, that is prosperity, finding the will of God and doing it. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. First of all, I want to ask you to make this commitment. Let me have the center mic, please. Let me ask you to make this commitment this morning. How many of you will say, by God's grace this summer, I will put a guard on my eyes and on my ears. And by God's grace, I do not want to subject myself to things that will rob me of my purity. And by God's grace, I'm making God a promise that I'm going to, by God's grace, keep my mind and my body pure this summer. By God's grace. If you'll say that, slip up your hand, please. All right, thank you. Here's another thing. How many of you will promise God that you'll do this? Before you start your day this summer, you'll start it in the Word of God and in prayer. You'll fortify yourself when you go out to the world. with the word of God in prayer. And you will promise God, God being my helper, I'm gonna start my day in the word of God and in prayer. If you'll say that, slip up your hand, please. God bless you. God bless you. Father, these could be vows that will keep these young people from scarring their life. I pray dear God that These principles will stay in their mind that the only way they can keep themselves unspotted from the world is by saturating their mind and heart in the Word of God. I thank you for the example that we have of Daniel. I think of how much more advantages we have than Daniel had. Daniel didn't have a complete reveal Word of God, we do today. Daniel didn't have the Holy Spirit living within him in a permanent way as we do today. Daniel didn't have the benefit of having a Bible college or a youth group in a fundamental Baptist church. And we have so much more than Daniel had. And dear God, I would pray that we will dare to be a Daniel. that these vows will be kept, and when these students come back in the fall, they'll be able to say, all glory to God, I was able to keep these vows by the grace of God. In Jesus' name we pray.