July 14, 2025 • 44 mins
Daniel 10 offers a remarkable glimpse into the unseen spiritual realm operating behind human history, revealing that believers are engaged in warfare whether we recognize it or not.
• Daniel mourns and fasts for three weeks after receiving a troubling vision
• Our hearts should break for the things that break God's heart
• We must remain unhindered by earthly pleasures and comforts
• Being overwhelmed by God's glory helps put our anxieties in perspective
• Daniel is reminded he is "greatly loved" - a truth we can claim through Christ
• God chooses to work in response to the prayers of His people
• Spiritual forces of evil can delay but never stop God's ultimate plans
• Victory is certain for believers because Christ has already won
• God patiently continues His sanctification work in us despite our weaknesses
• Six characteristics prepare us for spiritual battle: brokenness for what breaks God's heart, freedom from earthly pleasures, being overwhelmed by God's glory, abiding in Christ, confidence in victory, and strength through sanctification
We invite you to examine your life in light of Daniel's example and apply these six characteristics to whatever spiritual battles you're facing today.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, good morning church family.
It's good to be with you thismorning, fresh back from Cairo
myself, I got to be there thisweek and they let me keep going
back.
I don't know why, but I thinkit's because I refused to grow
up and so I fit right in withAndrew Watson and the other
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teenagers at heart at camp.
But, my goodness, church, can Ijust say I wanna echo what
Garrett and Andrea said, butalso tell you God is at work in
the lives of the next generation.
We've seen that at VacationBible School this year.
We have now seen that at Cairo.
God is doing something, andthis is the fourth time I've
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gotten to go and be part of CampCairo and every year God does
something a little bit different.
And one of the things that justwas so clear to me this week
watching our students engage inworship, watching our leaders
just jump into the messiness oflife that some of our students
are walking through, andwatching some of our students
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turn around and lead their peersOne of the things that just
struck me is the trajectory thatour student ministry is on.
God is doing something specialin the hearts of our teenagers
and God is just doing somethingspecial in the lives of our
next-gen ministry and church.
That is because you are willingto invest in them, and so God
is doing amazing things.
(01:23):
So thank you, thank you, thankyou for how you step up and you
give and you serve and you allowFBC Bernie to be a place where
students can come and they canwrestle through the hard things
of life at such a criticaljuncture in their maturity.
And God is doing something thatis beyond anything that we
(01:46):
could ever ask or dream or hopefor, and it is all for his glory
.
But I am excited to see whathe's going to continue to do and
I'm thankful for the team thatserves with our students, the
staff, garrett and Andrea, andthen the volunteers that step up
and lead each and every week.
It is amazing to watch and justall praise to him for what lead
each and every week.
It is amazing to watch and justall praise to him for what
(02:07):
happened this week.
Amen, amen.
Well, church, yeah, you canclap for that.
That's a good thing to clap for.
That's a really good thing toclap for.
This morning we are going to bein Daniel, chapter 10.
So if you have a Bible, goahead and open it to Daniel,
chapter 10.
In Daniel, chapter 10.
So if you have a Bible, goahead and open it to Daniel,
chapter 10.
(02:27):
If you don't have a Bible, thenI want you to use the one in
the pew back there in front ofyou to follow along in our text.
And if you don't own a Bible, Iwant you to take that one with
you so that you can begin toread it and you can begin to dig
into the Word of God, becauseit is how God changes our lives,
our thinking, our behavior, ourattitudes, our actions as we
get more and more into his word.
(02:48):
So get a copy of it, take thatone if you want to, and read it
and let's get into the word ofGod together.
This morning, as we continue ourseries in the book of Daniel,
I'm excited to get to preach outof Daniel.
It's like my favorite book ofthe Bible, you know, and I've
got this incredible opportunitytoday.
I've been waiting for it forweeks and weeks now, because
(03:11):
Pastor Mark got to preach out ofDaniel early in the series and
he had a lot of fun with my nameand the Babylonian version that
they gave him the Belteshazzar,you remember that and he told
you guys to start calling mePastor Shazzy.
You remember that I have justbeen waiting for my moment to
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get up here and kind of get Markback for that.
But you know what?
The Holy Spirit convicted methat I should respect my elders,
and Mark is one of my elders bya lot of years.
And so I'm not going to do it,I am just going to let it go.
(03:58):
I'm going to rise above hisjokes and when he gets back,
make sure you tell him that Iwas respecting my elders and I
did not pay him back for beingso much older than me.
So, with that said, I thinkit's time to jump in to Daniel,
chapter 10.
So let's begin, as we seewhat's going on here.
(04:18):
Let me read verse one for you toset up where we will be today.
It says in the third year ofCyrus, king of Persia, a word
was revealed to Daniel, who wasnamed Belteshazzar, and the word
was true and it was of a greatconflict, and he, daniel,
understood the word and hadunderstanding of the vision.
(04:41):
So this gives us our context ofwhere we're going to be going
for the day.
So let me point out a fewthings to you.
First of all, he says this isin the third year of Cyrus.
Why is that important?
It's important because thatmeans in the first year of Cyrus
is when he gave the decree thatthe Jews could begin to go back
to Jerusalem and settle againin their homeland.
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So there was so much excitementin year one for them.
As they go back and they beginto rebuild their lives and their
city.
They even get the altar of thetemple rebuilt.
But by year three they'refacing opposition,
discouragement.
They are seeing now firsthandhow hard it is to go back and
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resettle the land, so much sothat they stopped building the
temple and they don't pick it upagain for another 15 years.
So by year three of Cyrus thatexcitement had turned to
discouragement, it had turned tohopelessness.
The Jews that had returned andthe exiles who were still there
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under the Persian rule are alldiscouraged because they had
such hope that things were goingto turn around, and now it
appears that they're just goingto stall out.
And then it says Daniel and theyuse his Babylonian name.
And this is the only time afterchapter five of Daniel that his
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name is used in the.
That Babylonian name is used inthe entire book and I think
that's significant.
I think it's significantbecause, as we go through this
text today and we see whatDaniel is going to see and how
he's going to respond, this is areminder to us that Daniel is
still in exile using theBabylonian name that he was
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given is just a reminder for usthat Daniel is still not home in
Jerusalem.
He is still in exile, facinghardship and opposition and
challenges all along the way.
But then it goes on to tell usthat Daniel received a word or a
vision from the Lord and ittells us some characteristics of
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the vision.
It says, first of all, thatit's true.
This word from God was true.
We don't have time to unpackeverything in this chapter today
, but I just want you to pauseand just be thankful that you
and I have the confidence thismorning to say the word of God
that we have is true, that ourlives can be built upon it, that
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we can stand on this word withconfidence, that it is from the
Lord and it is profitable forour lives.
It also says that Danielunderstood this vision right.
God gave him insight tounderstand it.
Think with me and justcelebrate for a moment that we,
as followers of Jesus Christ,have been indwelt by his spirit
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who gives us understanding ofthe word of God, the role, one
of the roles of the Holy Spiritin our lives is to reveal the
truth of God's words to ourhearts so that we can apply it
and live it out.
So aren't you thankful?
Even in Daniel we see thispicture of what is true for us
as believers and followers ofJesus Christ.
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But then it tells us a littlebit about the vision.
It says the vision that Danielreceives that Pastor Jason will
unpack more when we get tochapters 11 and chapter 12.
But this vision that hereceives is of a great conflict.
Daniel has already seen inprevious chapters these visions
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and these dreams of conflictthat is going on around him.
All right, but this spiritualbattle that Daniel is going to
see play out represents aphysical struggle that's going
to play out in human history.
But Daniel kind of gets to pullback.
God pulls back the curtain forDaniel and he sees that there is
a spiritual element playing out, this battle in the cosmic,
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spiritual realm playing out inthe physical realm.
That is the picture of what hesees and this is important
because spiritual battle andthis is where we're going today,
spiritual battle is animportant theme that runs
through the entire New Testament.
It's central to how weunderstand scripture.
It's how we understand thingslike how we should be discipled.
(09:00):
It helps us understand how weshould persevere through life.
It helps us understand theholiness of God and it helps us
understand our mission asbelievers, as followers of Jesus
Christ, and we don't have timethis morning to unpack all the
ways that the New Testamenttalks about how we are in a
(09:20):
battle as followers of Jesus,but I want you to be able to see
that and spend more time in itif you would like, and so you've
got two options this morning.
If you scan the QR code on thepew back there in front of you,
you, at the top of that, therewill be a link to a PDF that
will allow you to see somescriptures that you can look at
(09:41):
later, that dig into all theways the New Testament talks
about spiritual warfare and thebattle that we face.
Or, if you'd rather have a papercopy, there are some out on the
table to the left as you go outthese doors.
There's a stack of them there.
Those scriptures are there, aswell as an application exercise
that we're going to talk about alittle later in the sermon.
(10:03):
But both of those are on thatsheet because we've got a long
way to go and a short time toget there this morning, so I'm
not going to be able to go intoit in detail, but my challenge
to you is to follow up with itthis week and dig into those
scriptures, meditate on the Wordof God and do these application
exercises that you've gotprovided for you this morning.
So I hope you'll take advantageof those.
(10:25):
Okay, but we do see this is abig theme in the Word of God is
this idea of spiritual warfarethat is going on.
And so if we put togethereverything that we know about
Daniel to this point and thatwe've seen in chapter one, first
of all we see right now thatDaniel is burdened for his
people.
Right, because he knows what'sgoing on back in Jerusalem.
(10:46):
He has been an exile for a longtime, longing for home but
living there in Babylon and nowunder Persian rule.
And now we also see that Danielis seeing more visions of more
battles, of more struggles thathis people will have to face.
And you could say you knowDaniel all through his life.
(11:08):
He's an old man by this time.
You could say Daniel has been agodly strong warrior, fighting
this battle of faithfulness forthe Lord in the midst of a
godless society, and you wouldbe right to see Daniel that way.
And, as I've reflected on hislife over these weeks that we've
been studying, and again thisweek, as I've been looking at
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chapter 10, what we're going tosee today and what Daniel hears
and how he responds, and what'sgoing on in his life.
This is not just Danielresponding in a crisis moment.
This is just what it catcheshim by surprise and he just
responds.
No, what we're gonna see, Ibelieve, is actually the pattern
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in Daniel's life.
Over the first nine chaptersleading up till now, we have
seen characteristics that haveemerged in Daniel.
We're gonna see him again today.
This is not just a crisisresponse.
This is a pattern of things inDaniel.
We're gonna see him again today.
This is not just a crisisresponse.
This is a pattern of things inDaniel's life, characteristics,
if you will, that have been trueof him, and these
characteristics are what haveprepared him for what he has
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faced.
Right, the physical battlesthat he has faced of standing
strong in the midst of a godlesssociety, but the very real
spiritual battle that's beenplaying out in the background
all along the way, and thesecharacteristics of Daniel is
what has prepared him to fightthese battles and stand for the
Lord faithfully all through hislife.
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And I believe, if we'll applythese same characteristics that
we're going to see today, theywill prepare us to do the same
thing.
As we live as exiles here onthis earth, you guys know that
right, that we are sojournershere.
This world is not our home.
We, very much like Daniel, areexiles living in a land that is
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not our home, and so we too needto apply these truths to our
lives.
So we're going to look at themthis morning, so let's dig in
and let's keep going.
Daniel, chapter 10, look atverses two and three, at what it
says.
In those days I, daniel, wasmourning for three weeks.
I had no delicacies, no meat orwine entered my mouth, nor did
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I anoint myself at all for thefull three weeks.
Now, quickly to summarize whatwe see here, this is Daniel's
response to the vision that'sgoing to be talked about in
greater detail in chapters 11and 12.
But what we see from Daniel isthat this vision causes him to
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mourn, it says, and to fast andto pray for three weeks.
Think about it.
For three weeks Daniel didnothing but just seek the face
of God in great mourning forwhat the sin of his people had
caused, the repercussions it hascaused in them.
Daniel is just grieved to hiscore over it, and it says so
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much so that he did not.
It says he fasted from thedelicacies of Persia, right, the
finer foods and wines, and eventhe lotions that you would have
used in a dry climate just tosoothe yourself and to make it
more bearable.
Daniel said no, I am so brokenover these things that I am
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going to give them up and I amjust going to fast and I am
going to pray and seek the faceof God because I am broken.
Daniel didn't want to let thephysical comforts of Persia draw
his heart away from the thingsof God.
And so the first twocharacteristics that I want us
to see this morning that will behelpful for us, just like they
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were helpful for Daniel as weface spiritual battles is number
one, that we must be broken forthe things that break the heart
of God.
Are you that's a question forall of us to ask ourselves this
morning Do the things that breakthe heart of God that we see
going on around us, the way thatsin has infected and corrupted
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us and our world around us.
Is our heart broken for thosethings, or do we find ourselves
being drawn to those things,which really leads into that
second characteristic to askourselves are we unhindered by
earthly pleasures?
Now, is there anything wrongwith enjoying this life?
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No, god gave it to us as a gift.
It is totally fine and good forus to enjoy this life that God
has given us.
But when this life becomes moreimportant to us than living our
lives for the glory of God,then we have become in bondage
to this life, and God has calledus to live as believers,
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unhindered by this world, tolive as though it's not our home
, to live in a way to where wedon't put down roots, to the
point that our hope is in howthis life goes.
Right Daniel was able to liveas an exile in Babylon for 80
years Because he remembered thisRight.
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He never allowed Babylon to getinto him.
It's an important principle forus to examine in our own lives
as we think about these firsttwo characteristics that we see
in his life.
But we need to move on and Iwant you to see another
characteristic that comes out inverses 4 through 10.
We don't have time this morningto read that whole section, but
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what happens here is now we seehow Daniel responds to the angel
that brings him the message orbrings him the vision that he
sees of the battle.
And the angel is described inthese verses.
And then Daniel's response tothe angel is described and it's
much like what we see in otherprophets and other people in the
Old Testament when theyencounter just a glimpse of the
glory of God.
Daniel is undone to summarizeit right, the characteristics
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that we see in him.
It says that the people aroundhim, they couldn't see it and
they couldn't hear it, but justwhat was going on caused the
people around Daniel at thistime to run away.
Daniel says about himself hehas no strength, strength left.
It says his appearance waschanged.
The literal meaning of thatHebrew phrase is that his
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splendor was changed to ruin.
And it said, on hearing thewords of God that the angel
brought, daniel fell on his facein a deep sleep and he hit the
ground.
And then it said, finally, theangel had to touch him just so
he could get up on his hands andknees.
Trembling Church.
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The third characteristic that Ithink we see that is so
important for us if we are goingto be prepared for the battles
that we will face, is that weare overwhelmed by the glory of
God.
That understanding, meditatingon the glory of God,
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understanding his holiness, issomething we don't do enough,
but I think it is so importantfor us in how we view and see
everything going on around us,when we are overwhelmed by the
magnificence and the beauty andthe glory and the power of the
God that we confess to be ourGod.
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Why is that so important?
I've been thinking about thatthis week myself and it led me
to an observation and a questionthat I'm asking myself and I
want to ask you this morning.
So first of all, theobservation.
We live in a world that isincreasingly more anxious and
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more depressed, more worried,more fearful, and it just gets
worse and worse and worse as themonths and the years pass.
Would you agree that, when youlook at the culture around you,
if you've had a number of yearsto just assess how our world is
going, would you agree that ourworld is becoming more anxious,
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more worried, more strugglingwith those kinds of things?
I mean, it's well documented.
So that's an observation.
Here's a question.
As believers, maybe you sayyeah, that's me, I don't just
see it around me.
I know it's true.
In my own life I battle this.
I've been asking myself aquestion if I became more and
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more aware and meditated more onthe holiness and the glory of
the God that I served, wouldthat help me in these times when
I feel anxious?
Would it cause me to be lessoverwhelmed by the stuff of this
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life, if I was more overwhelmedby the glory of God?
I believe the answer is yes,and that's not to minimize
anxiety, that's not to minimizefear of things, because we live
in a world that is a scary place.
But when we focus there insteadof on the power of our God, we
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will find ourselves beingdefeated, struggling in these
battles, and that is not whatGod has called us to.
God has revealed his glory tous to encourage us, not to crush
us.
Think about it with me for aminute.
A God as glorious as the onethat Daniel sees as the one that
is revealed to us in Scripture,a God that glorious is worth
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leaving the comforts of Babylonto seek the face of God.
He is worth struggling throughdifficult times, for he's worth
setting aside the security andcomforts that we've carefully
curated in our lives to investin kingdom work.
This glorious God is worthlaying down our lives for, if
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that's what is required, becausehe is worth it and nothing else
compares to him.
Church, if you hear nothingelse this morning, I want to
challenge you.
Meditate on the glory of Godmore than you ever have before
and his holiness, because as youstart to see him more in the
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pages of his word, for who he is, it will cause you to live
differently in this life.
When you understand him, don'tbe scared of his holiness.
Don't minimize it to emphasizeother aspects of his character.
Maximize his holiness and hisglory, because everything God
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does is centered around hisglory.
Don't miss that.
Daniel is overwhelmed by theglory of God and that means
everything for how he respondsas we move forward.
But looking on, look at verse 11with me for just a moment.
Look at what it says here.
It says after Daniel has gottenup on his hands and knees,
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trembling, after seeing just aglimpse of the glory of God that
is exhibited by this messenger,this angel from God Verse 11,.
And he said to me.
The angel said to Daniel oh,daniel, man greatly loved,
understand the words that Ispeak to you and stand upright.
For now I have been sent to you.
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And when he had spoken thesewords to me, I stood up
trembling.
Go on to verse 12.
And then he said to me fear not, daniel, from the first day
that you set your heart tounderstand and you humbled
yourself before God.
Your words have been heard andI have come because of your
words.
I want you to see some thingshere in these two verses that it
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says, first of all, that Danielwas greatly loved, that Daniel
is told to understand the wordsthat the angel is bringing to
him.
Daniel is told to stand upright.
Where is he right now?
He's on his hands and kneestrembling, but he's told to
stand upright.
Where is he right now?
He's on his hands and kneestrembling, but he's told to
stand upright.
And he's told Daniel, I've beensent to you because you were
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praying, because you wereseeking me.
I have been sent to you, church.
There's some powerful gospelimplications in these truths
that are spoken to Daniel.
Daniel is greatly loved, church.
Do you know that all ofscripture points to how God
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extravagantly loves us, so muchso the word of God says that God
it pleased him to crush his ownson so that we could know him.
The verse that we all memorizeif we've grown up in church is
John 3, 16, which elevates thatGod so loved the world.
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Here, in the midst of a visionwhere Daniel is seeing conflict
all around him, the angelreminds Daniel you are greatly
loved and all you have to do islook to the character of God to
know that Church.
In the midst of the battlesthat you and I face, we may not
get all of our why questionsanswered, but all we have to do
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is look to the person of JesusChrist to be sure, beyond a
shadow of a doubt, that we tooare greatly loved by the King of
Kings and the Lord of Lords,who put himself on a cross for
us to be our substitute, to diein our place so that we could
experience the love of God thattransforms our lives.
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Amen, we are greatly loved.
Just like Daniel, we canunderstand the word of God too,
because this Jesus that died forus in John 14 and in John 16,
it says he sends his spirit toindwell us, who will teach us
all things, so that we canunderstand the mind we can even
have the mind of Christ.
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The word of God tells us Church.
Do you dig in?
Do you try to understand?
Do you ask the Holy Spirit toreveal the truth of God's word
to you?
Do you spend time in it tounderstand it?
It is essential for the battlesthat we will face that we spend
time in the word of God, and itis this time in the word of God
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, being made to understand it bythe Holy Spirit of God, that
allows us to do what we're toldto do, which is to stand upright
, to face this life with courage, with boldness, with passion.
See, god told Daniel to dosomething that Daniel did not
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have the ability to do.
Daniel's already said Icouldn't retain strength and I
couldn't replenish my ownstrength, but here God is
telling him to do something thathe cannot do.
How in the world is thatpossible?
It is only through relying onthe power of God and the
strength of God to do that inhim.
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And then this last statement inverse 11, I've been sent to you,
daniel.
What is this screaming?
Daniel, you're not alone,daniel, you are not facing this
battle that you were picturingin front of you what you've been
experiencing, what you willexperience, what your people
have experienced, what they willbe experiencing.
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Daniel, you don't face it alone.
I am with you.
In fact, I have come.
I have sent this angel to comeand encourage you.
Why?
Because you were seeking me,because you were praying Church.
Don't miss this.
When we think about how weprepare for this life, for the
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battles, the struggles that wewill encounter, prayer is
essential in the preparation.
Daniel has been praying for 21days.
He did nothing but pray andfast and God says hey, daniel,
because of your prayers.
That's why this angel is beingsent to you, to encourage you
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and to strengthen you.
Then we also see Daniel'sresponse.
The angel told him stand up.
In other words, daniel, eventhough you don't think you have
it, you have the strength tostand up.
I know you're sitting here onyour hands and knees trembling,
but, daniel, you can get up.
(27:48):
We see a beautiful picture offaith here in Daniel, strong
faith even though he's trembling.
He's demonstrating it becauseGod has already given Daniel the
strength to stand up.
But what does Daniel have to do?
Stand up.
He's got to get up.
He's got to exercise that faithright, to have the confidence
that if God said it, I canbelieve it and I can act on it,
and Daniel does in this moment.
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Then, verse 12, the angelcontinues to relay this message
to Daniel and he tells him notto be afraid.
This is the most commandedcommand in all of scripture
Don't be afraid.
But specifically, the angeltells Daniel not to be afraid.
He says, because your wordshave been heard.
God has heard your cry.
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God has heard your prayer.
Church, do you recognize thaton a daily basis, that God is
listening to the cries of yourheart, that he is that personal,
that he wants to have that kindof intimacy with you, that he
is hearing the cries of yourheart?
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Do you lean into that kind ofdeep and rich relationship with
him?
He tells Daniel, your wordshave been heard.
He says, Daniel, from the firstday that you set your heart to
understand what I was doing andyou humbled yourself before the
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Lord, he said I've beenlistening.
What an incredible posture fora believer fighting a spiritual
battle as an exile in this world, to have a heart that longs to
understand the Lord, that longsto understand him through the
pages of his word, and whoapproaches God with a humility
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and an awe for who he is.
What a posture that we shouldexhibit.
What a challenge to us toexhibit this same kind of
posture.
And how does it happen?
Through the fourthcharacteristic that I want you
to see Focusing on abiding inChrist.
This isn't something thatDaniel started in chapter 10.
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This has been true of Danielsince Daniel chapter 1, that he
has been abiding in Christ.
He's been seeking the face ofGod at every turn.
He has been in all of God'spresence.
He has cared more aboutglorifying and honoring and
obeying the Lord rather thanpleasing the kings of Babylon or
Persia.
It didn't matter if Darius wason the throne or Nebuchadnezzar
(30:21):
was on the throne.
To Daniel, christ Jesus was onthe throne and he wanted to
glorify him and he wanted toabide deeply in his presence and
church.
The question that I must askmyself, and you must ask
yourself, is do you long toabide in the presence of God
more than you desire anythingelse in this life?
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If the answer to that is no,then I need to warn you until
you are not prepared for thechallenges that this life will
bring your way.
But as we abide in him, hestrengthens us for whatever we
face in this life.
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Now we've got to go quicklythrough this next section, in
verses 13 and 14.
And can I tell you that theseare two of the weirdest verses
in all of the Bible, so let meread them for you.
He says, daniel, I've comebecause of your word.
But then verse 13, the princeof the kingdom of Persia
withstood me 21 days, butMichael, one of the chief
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princes, came to help me For Iwas left there with the kings of
Persia and came to make youunderstand what is to happen to
your people in the latter days,for the vision is for days yet
to come.
What in the world is going on?
Who is the prince of Persia?
What are we talking about here?
All right, there are somethings here that I want us to
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understand.
There are some things clearlybeing taught in these two verses
, and there are some things thatare not being taught that we
need to understand as we keepgoing through this text.
So, first of all, these princesthat are talked about, these
are angelic forces workingbehind the scenes, okay, so just
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know that.
So, as we walk through here,what is being taught in these
two verses?
God chooses to work in responseto the prayers of his people.
Amen, think about that.
God chooses to work through ourprayers.
So that begs the question whydon't we pray more?
God chooses to work through ourprayers.
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These verses also teach us thatthere is this cosmic, spiritual
war that stands behind humanconflict.
It even speaks to the fact thatthere may be a relationship of
demonic activity with specificgeographical locations.
There's, like this, demon thatis working on behalf of the
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Persian Empire, fighting againstthe forces of God, half of the
Persian empire fighting againstthe forces of God.
I don't know, but it's what itsays.
Now we can make a correlationhere.
Right, that the church, some ofour present experiences and
struggles right now are theearthly working out of a
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parallel conflict going on inthe heavenly realm that we
cannot see.
That is a true understanding ofwhat is being said here, and
here's the last one I believethat we could look at that the
spiritual forces of evil candelay, but not stop the plans of
God, amen.
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Now what is not being taughthere?
How it all works?
There are some people who loveto get into stuff like this and
they love to try to figure outhow it's all going on and the
names of all the demons andwhere they work and how they
work and how the battles happen,guess what?
Scripture doesn't teach it.
That is all just man's tryingto figure it out.
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It doesn't teach it.
Don't get hung up on what isnot said here and miss the point
of what is being said here.
This is not a description or aninstruction manual on how, or
even whether, to engage againstthese spiritual forces of
darkness.
In the entire book of Daniel henever engages spiritual enemies
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.
He leaves that to God.
He just falls to his knees inprayer and dependence and
abiding in the Lord.
This is also not anencouragement to adopt a demon.
Behind every bush kind ofmentality, right Are there
spiritual forces at work behindthe scenes trying to deter us
and discourage us and distractus from the things of God.
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Absolutely, it is true,scripture teaches it.
But scripture also teaches thata lot of the reasons we face
temptations and struggles is aresult of sin in our own lives.
So we ought to be more focusedon surrender and dependence and
abiding in Christ to help usovercome those sins, because
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that is how we face thespiritual battles.
Amen, so we got to move on.
But this fifth characteristicthat I think we see here that is
helpful for us is to beconfident that victory is
certain.
Right.
That's the point of thissection that the spiritual
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forces of evil that are workingbehind the scenes are no match
for the forces of God.
For him and his angels, theymay be able to delay, but they
will never defeat.
They will never stop the plansof God, church.
Do you know that as we walkthrough this life as followers
of Jesus, ultimately we arevictorious because he is
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victorious over sin and overdeath and over the grave?
That is our hope.
He is victorious, so we arevictorious, and we should walk
in confidence rather than fearas we face the things that we
will struggle with and have toexperience in this life.
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Now look how Daniel responds inverses 15 through 17.
Again, we're not going to pauseto read it all, but I'm just
going to highlight for youDaniel's response to everything
he has seen so far.
It says he turns his face tothe ground and couldn't speak.
It says the angel had to touchhis lips and then Daniel was
able to speak and what he saidis I'm overwhelmed by what I've
seen.
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I can't retain my strength.
I mean, god, how can you evenbe talking to me through this
angelic being?
He says it again I've got nostrength.
He says so much so that I can'teven breathe.
This is strikingly similar towhat Daniel has said previously
in this chapter and I think it'sinteresting.
Even though he knows the wordof God, even though he is
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abiding in Christ and he couldbe characterized as someone
who's been living faithfully asan exile in Babylon, daniel
still grows weak and tired andweary and has to deal with fear
in his life.
Church.
That should be an encouragementto you and me, that God
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faithfulness is not equal tobeing strong all the time or not
having moments ofdiscouragement or moments where
we're weary, moments where we'reconfused.
Right, but look at what themessenger says in verses 18 and
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19.
It says that the angel touchedDaniel and he gave him strength
and he says Daniel, you'regreatly loved.
We've heard that before,haven't we?
He tells Daniel don't be afraid, daniel, my peace is with you.
Be strong and of good courage.
The angel's response is similarto Daniel's his response before
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to Daniel.
The last time, daniel wasfearful and had no strength and
was scared and tired.
The angel responded Daniel doesthe same thing a second time.
And how does the angel respond?
Like he did before.
What in the world is thisteaching us to see this
repetitiveness of this here,this repetitiveness of this here
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?
It highlights the patience ofGod and his grace at work in our
lives.
Church, be reminded and beencouraged that God conforming
us more and more into the imageof his son is a lifelong process
.
There will be moments wherewe're getting it right and we
are doing good and we feel likewe're making strides in our walk
with the Lord, and then there'sgoing to be moments where we
grow weary in the battle.
Those are all part of thesanctification process God
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making us more and more,crafting us and molding us and
conforming us more into theimage of his son, forming us
more into the image of his son.
And it highlights the graciousgift of God to do that in our
lives, to not give up on us.
Right To not say you get onechance at this Christ-likeness
thing and if you blow it, I'mdone with you.
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No, daniel struggles, but Godis patient.
To repeat to him once againDaniel, don't forget you're
loved.
Daniel, don't forget that I'min control, I am with you.
So the sixth characteristic isthat Daniel was strengthened by
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the grace of God in the work ofsanctification.
So, church, be encouraged that,as you walk with the Lord, he
is going to use thecircumstances and events in your
life to make you moreChrist-like as you walk through
this life, and that is theabsolute gift of his grace to do
so because it causes you and itcauses me to be more and more
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dependent upon him each andevery day and not to try to rely
on our own strength to face thebattles that we will face.
So, as we begin to wrap up,this is where the sheet that's
out on the table or on the QRcode I've given you some
application.
I've got something I reallywant you to do this week.
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I want you to take these sixcharacteristics that are on the
screen right now and I want youto think about them, and I want
you to meditate on how these sixcharacteristics can help us
face the spiritual battles thatare going on around us and how
they play out in our physicallives, in terms of our culture.
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How do these things, how does,when culture opposes our values?
How do these sixcharacteristics help us respond,
or prepare us to respond, whenwe fall prey to busyness and
distracted living?
How do these help us navigatethose spiritual battles when the
toll of sickness and diseaseand tragedy and disaster takes a
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toll on us.
How do these things help usnavigate that?
When we're struggling in ourmarriage, when we're grieved
over prodigal or waywardchildren who seem so far from
the Lord, when we're strugglingwith temptation or addictions,
how do these things help usfight those spiritual battles?
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That's what I want you to do.
I want you to take these sixthings we've seen in Daniel 10,
and I want you to apply them tothe battles that you are facing
in your life right now and letthe Lord teach you through them.
Get into his word this week anddo it For the sake of time.
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I want to close because in thelast verses of Daniel, chapter
10, and even into verse one,right, we are told, we're
reminded that God is at work,that God is at work, that even
when it seems to be chaotic,right, when it seems that there
is just constant battle afterbattle and struggle after
struggle, god is at work.
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But here's the deal God is theone fighting the battle.
His word tells us that he isvictorious.
All God tells you and I to dois to prepare right To abide in
him.
The things that we've seen thismorning are all battle.
(42:38):
Preparation to place us in aposition, a posture, where we
are able to face these thingsthat we face in this life and be
victorious in them.
It is possible, church, he isvictorious, but he has called us
to prepare.
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He's called us to abide, he'scalled us to walk faithfully as
exiles in this life, but he'salso showed us how.
And so this morning, as weclose with a final song, what I
want you to do is to examineyour lives and to see am I
prepared, am I preparing?
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Is the pattern and posture ofmy life what we see in Daniel?
Am I abiding in him?
Am I being overwhelmed by hisglory?
Am I broken for things thatbreak the heart of God?
Am I unhindered by the earthlytrappings of this life, to where
I want God more than I wantanything else?
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Or have I gotten lazy in mywalk with him, therefore,
unprepared for the battles thatare inevitable, living as an
exile in this world?
Allow the Holy Spirit to helpyou examine your heart in this
way this morning and let'srespond to him.
You may need to come here andpray at the altar.
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You may need to do businesswith God there at your seat.
You may need to go home andspend more time in his word this
week examining these things.
But however, god is moving.
Would you respond to him thismorning in faith.
God, would you take your wordthis morning as we sing this
song of response.
God, would you continue to workin our hearts through your word
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in Jesus' name.
Well, good morning church family.
It's good to be with you thismorning, fresh back from Cairo
myself, I got to be there thisweek and they let me keep going
back.
I don't know why, but I thinkit's because I refused to grow
up and so I fit right in withAndrew Watson and the other
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teenagers at heart at camp.
But, my goodness, church, can Ijust say I wanna echo what
Garrett and Andrea said, butalso tell you God is at work in
the lives of the next generation.
We've seen that at VacationBible School this year.
We have now seen that at Cairo.
God is doing something, andthis is the fourth time I've
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gotten to go and be part of CampCairo and every year God does
something a little bit different.
And one of the things that justwas so clear to me this week
watching our students engage inworship, watching our leaders
just jump into the messiness oflife that some of our students
are walking through, andwatching some of our students
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turn around and lead their peersOne of the things that just
struck me is the trajectory thatour student ministry is on.
God is doing something specialin the hearts of our teenagers
and God is just doing somethingspecial in the lives of our
next-gen ministry and church.
That is because you are willingto invest in them, and so God
is doing amazing things.
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So thank you, thank you, thankyou for how you step up and you
give and you serve and you allowFBC Bernie to be a place where
students can come and they canwrestle through the hard things
of life at such a criticaljuncture in their maturity.
And God is doing something thatis beyond anything that we
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could ever ask or dream or hopefor, and it is all for his glory
.
But I am excited to see whathe's going to continue to do and
I'm thankful for the team thatserves with our students, the
staff, garrett and Andrea, andthen the volunteers that step up
and lead each and every week.
It is amazing to watch and justall praise to him for what lead
each and every week.
It is amazing to watch and justall praise to him for what
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happened this week.
Amen, amen.
Well, church, yeah, you canclap for that.
That's a good thing to clap for.
That's a really good thing toclap for.
This morning we are going to bein Daniel, chapter 10.
So if you have a Bible, goahead and open it to Daniel,
chapter 10.
In Daniel, chapter 10.
So if you have a Bible, goahead and open it to Daniel,
chapter 10.
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If you don't have a Bible, thenI want you to use the one in
the pew back there in front ofyou to follow along in our text.
And if you don't own a Bible, Iwant you to take that one with
you so that you can begin toread it and you can begin to dig
into the Word of God, becauseit is how God changes our lives,
our thinking, our behavior, ourattitudes, our actions as we
get more and more into his word.
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So get a copy of it, take thatone if you want to, and read it
and let's get into the word ofGod together.
This morning, as we continue ourseries in the book of Daniel,
I'm excited to get to preach outof Daniel.
It's like my favorite book ofthe Bible, you know, and I've
got this incredible opportunitytoday.
I've been waiting for it forweeks and weeks now, because
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Pastor Mark got to preach out ofDaniel early in the series and
he had a lot of fun with my nameand the Babylonian version that
they gave him the Belteshazzar,you remember that and he told
you guys to start calling mePastor Shazzy.
You remember that I have justbeen waiting for my moment to
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get up here and kind of get Markback for that.
But you know what?
The Holy Spirit convicted methat I should respect my elders,
and Mark is one of my elders bya lot of years.
And so I'm not going to do it,I am just going to let it go.
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I'm going to rise above hisjokes and when he gets back,
make sure you tell him that Iwas respecting my elders and I
did not pay him back for beingso much older than me.
So, with that said, I thinkit's time to jump in to Daniel,
chapter 10.
So let's begin, as we seewhat's going on here.
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Let me read verse one for you toset up where we will be today.
It says in the third year ofCyrus, king of Persia, a word
was revealed to Daniel, who wasnamed Belteshazzar, and the word
was true and it was of a greatconflict, and he, daniel,
understood the word and hadunderstanding of the vision.
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So this gives us our context ofwhere we're going to be going
for the day.
So let me point out a fewthings to you.
First of all, he says this isin the third year of Cyrus.
Why is that important?
It's important because thatmeans in the first year of Cyrus
is when he gave the decree thatthe Jews could begin to go back
to Jerusalem and settle againin their homeland.
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So there was so much excitementin year one for them.
As they go back and they beginto rebuild their lives and their
city.
They even get the altar of thetemple rebuilt.
But by year three they'refacing opposition,
discouragement.
They are seeing now firsthandhow hard it is to go back and
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resettle the land, so much sothat they stopped building the
temple and they don't pick it upagain for another 15 years.
So by year three of Cyrus thatexcitement had turned to
discouragement, it had turned tohopelessness.
The Jews that had returned andthe exiles who were still there
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under the Persian rule are alldiscouraged because they had
such hope that things were goingto turn around, and now it
appears that they're just goingto stall out.
And then it says Daniel and theyuse his Babylonian name.
And this is the only time afterchapter five of Daniel that his
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name is used in the.
That Babylonian name is used inthe entire book and I think
that's significant.
I think it's significantbecause, as we go through this
text today and we see whatDaniel is going to see and how
he's going to respond, this is areminder to us that Daniel is
still in exile using theBabylonian name that he was
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given is just a reminder for usthat Daniel is still not home in
Jerusalem.
He is still in exile, facinghardship and opposition and
challenges all along the way.
But then it goes on to tell usthat Daniel received a word or a
vision from the Lord and ittells us some characteristics of
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the vision.
It says, first of all, thatit's true.
This word from God was true.
We don't have time to unpackeverything in this chapter today
, but I just want you to pauseand just be thankful that you
and I have the confidence thismorning to say the word of God
that we have is true, that ourlives can be built upon it, that
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we can stand on this word withconfidence, that it is from the
Lord and it is profitable forour lives.
It also says that Danielunderstood this vision right.
God gave him insight tounderstand it.
Think with me and justcelebrate for a moment that we,
as followers of Jesus Christ,have been indwelt by his spirit
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who gives us understanding ofthe word of God, the role, one
of the roles of the Holy Spiritin our lives is to reveal the
truth of God's words to ourhearts so that we can apply it
and live it out.
So aren't you thankful?
Even in Daniel we see thispicture of what is true for us
as believers and followers ofJesus Christ.
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But then it tells us a littlebit about the vision.
It says the vision that Danielreceives that Pastor Jason will
unpack more when we get tochapters 11 and chapter 12.
But this vision that hereceives is of a great conflict.
Daniel has already seen inprevious chapters these visions
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and these dreams of conflictthat is going on around him.
All right, but this spiritualbattle that Daniel is going to
see play out represents aphysical struggle that's going
to play out in human history.
But Daniel kind of gets to pullback.
God pulls back the curtain forDaniel and he sees that there is
a spiritual element playing out, this battle in the cosmic,
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spiritual realm playing out inthe physical realm.
That is the picture of what hesees and this is important
because spiritual battle andthis is where we're going today,
spiritual battle is animportant theme that runs
through the entire New Testament.
It's central to how weunderstand scripture.
It's how we understand thingslike how we should be discipled.
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It helps us understand how weshould persevere through life.
It helps us understand theholiness of God and it helps us
understand our mission asbelievers, as followers of Jesus
Christ, and we don't have timethis morning to unpack all the
ways that the New Testamenttalks about how we are in a
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battle as followers of Jesus,but I want you to be able to see
that and spend more time in itif you would like, and so you've
got two options this morning.
If you scan the QR code on thepew back there in front of you,
you, at the top of that, therewill be a link to a PDF that
will allow you to see somescriptures that you can look at
(09:41):
later, that dig into all theways the New Testament talks
about spiritual warfare and thebattle that we face.
Or, if you'd rather have a papercopy, there are some out on the
table to the left as you go outthese doors.
There's a stack of them there.
Those scriptures are there, aswell as an application exercise
that we're going to talk about alittle later in the sermon.
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But both of those are on thatsheet because we've got a long
way to go and a short time toget there this morning, so I'm
not going to be able to go intoit in detail, but my challenge
to you is to follow up with itthis week and dig into those
scriptures, meditate on the Wordof God and do these application
exercises that you've gotprovided for you this morning.
So I hope you'll take advantageof those.
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Okay, but we do see this is abig theme in the Word of God is
this idea of spiritual warfarethat is going on.
And so if we put togethereverything that we know about
Daniel to this point and thatwe've seen in chapter one, first
of all we see right now thatDaniel is burdened for his
people.
Right, because he knows what'sgoing on back in Jerusalem.
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He has been an exile for a longtime, longing for home but
living there in Babylon and nowunder Persian rule.
And now we also see that Danielis seeing more visions of more
battles, of more struggles thathis people will have to face.
And you could say you knowDaniel all through his life.
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He's an old man by this time.
You could say Daniel has been agodly strong warrior, fighting
this battle of faithfulness forthe Lord in the midst of a
godless society, and you wouldbe right to see Daniel that way.
And, as I've reflected on hislife over these weeks that we've
been studying, and again thisweek, as I've been looking at
(11:31):
chapter 10, what we're going tosee today and what Daniel hears
and how he responds, and what'sgoing on in his life.
This is not just Danielresponding in a crisis moment.
This is just what it catcheshim by surprise and he just
responds.
No, what we're gonna see, Ibelieve, is actually the pattern
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in Daniel's life.
Over the first nine chaptersleading up till now, we have
seen characteristics that haveemerged in Daniel.
We're gonna see him again today.
This is not just a crisisresponse.
This is a pattern of things inDaniel.
We're gonna see him again today.
This is not just a crisisresponse.
This is a pattern of things inDaniel's life, characteristics,
if you will, that have been trueof him, and these
characteristics are what haveprepared him for what he has
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faced.
Right, the physical battlesthat he has faced of standing
strong in the midst of a godlesssociety, but the very real
spiritual battle that's beenplaying out in the background
all along the way, and thesecharacteristics of Daniel is
what has prepared him to fightthese battles and stand for the
Lord faithfully all through hislife.
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And I believe, if we'll applythese same characteristics that
we're going to see today, theywill prepare us to do the same
thing.
As we live as exiles here onthis earth, you guys know that
right, that we are sojournershere.
This world is not our home.
We, very much like Daniel, areexiles living in a land that is
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not our home, and so we too needto apply these truths to our
lives.
So we're going to look at themthis morning, so let's dig in
and let's keep going.
Daniel, chapter 10, look atverses two and three, at what it
says.
In those days I, daniel, wasmourning for three weeks.
I had no delicacies, no meat orwine entered my mouth, nor did
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I anoint myself at all for thefull three weeks.
Now, quickly to summarize whatwe see here, this is Daniel's
response to the vision that'sgoing to be talked about in
greater detail in chapters 11and 12.
But what we see from Daniel isthat this vision causes him to
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mourn, it says, and to fast andto pray for three weeks.
Think about it.
For three weeks Daniel didnothing but just seek the face
of God in great mourning forwhat the sin of his people had
caused, the repercussions it hascaused in them.
Daniel is just grieved to hiscore over it, and it says so
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much so that he did not.
It says he fasted from thedelicacies of Persia, right, the
finer foods and wines, and eventhe lotions that you would have
used in a dry climate just tosoothe yourself and to make it
more bearable.
Daniel said no, I am so brokenover these things that I am
(14:26):
going to give them up and I amjust going to fast and I am
going to pray and seek the faceof God because I am broken.
Daniel didn't want to let thephysical comforts of Persia draw
his heart away from the thingsof God.
And so the first twocharacteristics that I want us
to see this morning that will behelpful for us, just like they
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were helpful for Daniel as weface spiritual battles is number
one, that we must be broken forthe things that break the heart
of God.
Are you that's a question forall of us to ask ourselves this
morning Do the things that breakthe heart of God that we see
going on around us, the way thatsin has infected and corrupted
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us and our world around us.
Is our heart broken for thosethings, or do we find ourselves
being drawn to those things,which really leads into that
second characteristic to askourselves are we unhindered by
earthly pleasures?
Now, is there anything wrongwith enjoying this life?
(15:32):
No, god gave it to us as a gift.
It is totally fine and good forus to enjoy this life that God
has given us.
But when this life becomes moreimportant to us than living our
lives for the glory of God,then we have become in bondage
to this life, and God has calledus to live as believers,
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unhindered by this world, tolive as though it's not our home
, to live in a way to where wedon't put down roots, to the
point that our hope is in howthis life goes.
Right Daniel was able to liveas an exile in Babylon for 80
years Because he remembered thisRight.
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He never allowed Babylon to getinto him.
It's an important principle forus to examine in our own lives
as we think about these firsttwo characteristics that we see
in his life.
But we need to move on and Iwant you to see another
characteristic that comes out inverses 4 through 10.
We don't have time this morningto read that whole section, but
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what happens here is now we seehow Daniel responds to the angel
that brings him the message orbrings him the vision that he
sees of the battle.
And the angel is described inthese verses.
And then Daniel's response tothe angel is described and it's
much like what we see in otherprophets and other people in the
Old Testament when theyencounter just a glimpse of the
glory of God.
Daniel is undone to summarizeit right, the characteristics
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that we see in him.
It says that the people aroundhim, they couldn't see it and
they couldn't hear it, but justwhat was going on caused the
people around Daniel at thistime to run away.
Daniel says about himself hehas no strength, strength left.
It says his appearance waschanged.
The literal meaning of thatHebrew phrase is that his
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splendor was changed to ruin.
And it said, on hearing thewords of God that the angel
brought, daniel fell on his facein a deep sleep and he hit the
ground.
And then it said, finally, theangel had to touch him just so
he could get up on his hands andknees.
Trembling Church.
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The third characteristic that Ithink we see that is so
important for us if we are goingto be prepared for the battles
that we will face, is that weare overwhelmed by the glory of
God.
That understanding, meditatingon the glory of God,
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understanding his holiness, issomething we don't do enough,
but I think it is so importantfor us in how we view and see
everything going on around us,when we are overwhelmed by the
magnificence and the beauty andthe glory and the power of the
God that we confess to be ourGod.
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Why is that so important?
I've been thinking about thatthis week myself and it led me
to an observation and a questionthat I'm asking myself and I
want to ask you this morning.
So first of all, theobservation.
We live in a world that isincreasingly more anxious and
(18:57):
more depressed, more worried,more fearful, and it just gets
worse and worse and worse as themonths and the years pass.
Would you agree that, when youlook at the culture around you,
if you've had a number of yearsto just assess how our world is
going, would you agree that ourworld is becoming more anxious,
(19:17):
more worried, more strugglingwith those kinds of things?
I mean, it's well documented.
So that's an observation.
Here's a question.
As believers, maybe you sayyeah, that's me, I don't just
see it around me.
I know it's true.
In my own life I battle this.
I've been asking myself aquestion if I became more and
(19:44):
more aware and meditated more onthe holiness and the glory of
the God that I served, wouldthat help me in these times when
I feel anxious?
Would it cause me to be lessoverwhelmed by the stuff of this
(20:05):
life, if I was more overwhelmedby the glory of God?
I believe the answer is yes,and that's not to minimize
anxiety, that's not to minimizefear of things, because we live
in a world that is a scary place.
But when we focus there insteadof on the power of our God, we
(20:27):
will find ourselves beingdefeated, struggling in these
battles, and that is not whatGod has called us to.
God has revealed his glory tous to encourage us, not to crush
us.
Think about it with me for aminute.
A God as glorious as the onethat Daniel sees as the one that
is revealed to us in Scripture,a God that glorious is worth
(20:52):
leaving the comforts of Babylonto seek the face of God.
He is worth struggling throughdifficult times, for he's worth
setting aside the security andcomforts that we've carefully
curated in our lives to investin kingdom work.
This glorious God is worthlaying down our lives for, if
(21:15):
that's what is required, becausehe is worth it and nothing else
compares to him.
Church, if you hear nothingelse this morning, I want to
challenge you.
Meditate on the glory of Godmore than you ever have before
and his holiness, because as youstart to see him more in the
(21:36):
pages of his word, for who he is, it will cause you to live
differently in this life.
When you understand him, don'tbe scared of his holiness.
Don't minimize it to emphasizeother aspects of his character.
Maximize his holiness and hisglory, because everything God
(21:58):
does is centered around hisglory.
Don't miss that.
Daniel is overwhelmed by theglory of God and that means
everything for how he respondsas we move forward.
But looking on, look at verse 11with me for just a moment.
Look at what it says here.
It says after Daniel has gottenup on his hands and knees,
(22:21):
trembling, after seeing just aglimpse of the glory of God that
is exhibited by this messenger,this angel from God Verse 11,.
And he said to me.
The angel said to Daniel oh,daniel, man greatly loved,
understand the words that Ispeak to you and stand upright.
For now I have been sent to you.
(22:42):
And when he had spoken thesewords to me, I stood up
trembling.
Go on to verse 12.
And then he said to me fear not, daniel, from the first day
that you set your heart tounderstand and you humbled
yourself before God.
Your words have been heard andI have come because of your
words.
I want you to see some thingshere in these two verses that it
(23:07):
says, first of all, that Danielwas greatly loved, that Daniel
is told to understand the wordsthat the angel is bringing to
him.
Daniel is told to stand upright.
Where is he right now?
He's on his hands and kneestrembling, but he's told to
stand upright.
Where is he right now?
He's on his hands and kneestrembling, but he's told to
stand upright.
And he's told Daniel, I've beensent to you because you were
(23:32):
praying, because you wereseeking me.
I have been sent to you, church.
There's some powerful gospelimplications in these truths
that are spoken to Daniel.
Daniel is greatly loved, church.
Do you know that all ofscripture points to how God
(23:53):
extravagantly loves us, so muchso the word of God says that God
it pleased him to crush his ownson so that we could know him.
The verse that we all memorizeif we've grown up in church is
John 3, 16, which elevates thatGod so loved the world.
(24:14):
Here, in the midst of a visionwhere Daniel is seeing conflict
all around him, the angelreminds Daniel you are greatly
loved and all you have to do islook to the character of God to
know that Church.
In the midst of the battlesthat you and I face, we may not
get all of our why questionsanswered, but all we have to do
(24:34):
is look to the person of JesusChrist to be sure, beyond a
shadow of a doubt, that we tooare greatly loved by the King of
Kings and the Lord of Lords,who put himself on a cross for
us to be our substitute, to diein our place so that we could
experience the love of God thattransforms our lives.
(24:55):
Amen, we are greatly loved.
Just like Daniel, we canunderstand the word of God too,
because this Jesus that died forus in John 14 and in John 16,
it says he sends his spirit toindwell us, who will teach us
all things, so that we canunderstand the mind we can even
have the mind of Christ.
(25:16):
The word of God tells us Church.
Do you dig in?
Do you try to understand?
Do you ask the Holy Spirit toreveal the truth of God's word
to you?
Do you spend time in it tounderstand it?
It is essential for the battlesthat we will face that we spend
time in the word of God, and itis this time in the word of God
(25:38):
, being made to understand it bythe Holy Spirit of God, that
allows us to do what we're toldto do, which is to stand upright
, to face this life with courage, with boldness, with passion.
See, god told Daniel to dosomething that Daniel did not
(25:59):
have the ability to do.
Daniel's already said Icouldn't retain strength and I
couldn't replenish my ownstrength, but here God is
telling him to do something thathe cannot do.
How in the world is thatpossible?
It is only through relying onthe power of God and the
strength of God to do that inhim.
(26:20):
And then this last statement inverse 11, I've been sent to you,
daniel.
What is this screaming?
Daniel, you're not alone,daniel, you are not facing this
battle that you were picturingin front of you what you've been
experiencing, what you willexperience, what your people
have experienced, what they willbe experiencing.
(26:41):
Daniel, you don't face it alone.
I am with you.
In fact, I have come.
I have sent this angel to comeand encourage you.
Why?
Because you were seeking me,because you were praying Church.
Don't miss this.
When we think about how weprepare for this life, for the
(27:02):
battles, the struggles that wewill encounter, prayer is
essential in the preparation.
Daniel has been praying for 21days.
He did nothing but pray andfast and God says hey, daniel,
because of your prayers.
That's why this angel is beingsent to you, to encourage you
(27:24):
and to strengthen you.
Then we also see Daniel'sresponse.
The angel told him stand up.
In other words, daniel, eventhough you don't think you have
it, you have the strength tostand up.
I know you're sitting here onyour hands and knees trembling,
but, daniel, you can get up.
(27:48):
We see a beautiful picture offaith here in Daniel, strong
faith even though he's trembling.
He's demonstrating it becauseGod has already given Daniel the
strength to stand up.
But what does Daniel have to do?
Stand up.
He's got to get up.
He's got to exercise that faithright, to have the confidence
that if God said it, I canbelieve it and I can act on it,
and Daniel does in this moment.
(28:09):
Then, verse 12, the angelcontinues to relay this message
to Daniel and he tells him notto be afraid.
This is the most commandedcommand in all of scripture
Don't be afraid.
But specifically, the angeltells Daniel not to be afraid.
He says, because your wordshave been heard.
God has heard your cry.
(28:31):
God has heard your prayer.
Church, do you recognize thaton a daily basis, that God is
listening to the cries of yourheart, that he is that personal,
that he wants to have that kindof intimacy with you, that he
is hearing the cries of yourheart?
(28:51):
Do you lean into that kind ofdeep and rich relationship with
him?
He tells Daniel, your wordshave been heard.
He says, Daniel, from the firstday that you set your heart to
understand what I was doing andyou humbled yourself before the
(29:11):
Lord, he said I've beenlistening.
What an incredible posture fora believer fighting a spiritual
battle as an exile in this world, to have a heart that longs to
understand the Lord, that longsto understand him through the
pages of his word, and whoapproaches God with a humility
(29:33):
and an awe for who he is.
What a posture that we shouldexhibit.
What a challenge to us toexhibit this same kind of
posture.
And how does it happen?
Through the fourthcharacteristic that I want you
to see Focusing on abiding inChrist.
This isn't something thatDaniel started in chapter 10.
(29:58):
This has been true of Danielsince Daniel chapter 1, that he
has been abiding in Christ.
He's been seeking the face ofGod at every turn.
He has been in all of God'spresence.
He has cared more aboutglorifying and honoring and
obeying the Lord rather thanpleasing the kings of Babylon or
Persia.
It didn't matter if Darius wason the throne or Nebuchadnezzar
(30:21):
was on the throne.
To Daniel, christ Jesus was onthe throne and he wanted to
glorify him and he wanted toabide deeply in his presence and
church.
The question that I must askmyself, and you must ask
yourself, is do you long toabide in the presence of God
more than you desire anythingelse in this life?
(30:42):
If the answer to that is no,then I need to warn you until
you are not prepared for thechallenges that this life will
bring your way.
But as we abide in him, hestrengthens us for whatever we
face in this life.
(31:03):
Now we've got to go quicklythrough this next section, in
verses 13 and 14.
And can I tell you that theseare two of the weirdest verses
in all of the Bible, so let meread them for you.
He says, daniel, I've comebecause of your word.
But then verse 13, the princeof the kingdom of Persia
withstood me 21 days, butMichael, one of the chief
(31:26):
princes, came to help me For Iwas left there with the kings of
Persia and came to make youunderstand what is to happen to
your people in the latter days,for the vision is for days yet
to come.
What in the world is going on?
Who is the prince of Persia?
What are we talking about here?
All right, there are somethings here that I want us to
(31:49):
understand.
There are some things clearlybeing taught in these two verses
, and there are some things thatare not being taught that we
need to understand as we keepgoing through this text.
So, first of all, these princesthat are talked about, these
are angelic forces workingbehind the scenes, okay, so just
(32:12):
know that.
So, as we walk through here,what is being taught in these
two verses?
God chooses to work in responseto the prayers of his people.
Amen, think about that.
God chooses to work through ourprayers.
So that begs the question whydon't we pray more?
God chooses to work through ourprayers.
(32:37):
These verses also teach us thatthere is this cosmic, spiritual
war that stands behind humanconflict.
It even speaks to the fact thatthere may be a relationship of
demonic activity with specificgeographical locations.
There's, like this, demon thatis working on behalf of the
(32:57):
Persian Empire, fighting againstthe forces of God, half of the
Persian empire fighting againstthe forces of God.
I don't know, but it's what itsays.
Now we can make a correlationhere.
Right, that the church, some ofour present experiences and
struggles right now are theearthly working out of a
(33:18):
parallel conflict going on inthe heavenly realm that we
cannot see.
That is a true understanding ofwhat is being said here, and
here's the last one I believethat we could look at that the
spiritual forces of evil candelay, but not stop the plans of
God, amen.
(33:38):
Now what is not being taughthere?
How it all works?
There are some people who loveto get into stuff like this and
they love to try to figure outhow it's all going on and the
names of all the demons andwhere they work and how they
work and how the battles happen,guess what?
Scripture doesn't teach it.
That is all just man's tryingto figure it out.
(34:00):
It doesn't teach it.
Don't get hung up on what isnot said here and miss the point
of what is being said here.
This is not a description or aninstruction manual on how, or
even whether, to engage againstthese spiritual forces of
darkness.
In the entire book of Daniel henever engages spiritual enemies
(34:24):
.
He leaves that to God.
He just falls to his knees inprayer and dependence and
abiding in the Lord.
This is also not anencouragement to adopt a demon.
Behind every bush kind ofmentality, right Are there
spiritual forces at work behindthe scenes trying to deter us
and discourage us and distractus from the things of God.
(34:46):
Absolutely, it is true,scripture teaches it.
But scripture also teaches thata lot of the reasons we face
temptations and struggles is aresult of sin in our own lives.
So we ought to be more focusedon surrender and dependence and
abiding in Christ to help usovercome those sins, because
(35:09):
that is how we face thespiritual battles.
Amen, so we got to move on.
But this fifth characteristicthat I think we see here that is
helpful for us is to beconfident that victory is
certain.
Right.
That's the point of thissection that the spiritual
(35:31):
forces of evil that are workingbehind the scenes are no match
for the forces of God.
For him and his angels, theymay be able to delay, but they
will never defeat.
They will never stop the plansof God, church.
Do you know that as we walkthrough this life as followers
of Jesus, ultimately we arevictorious because he is
(35:55):
victorious over sin and overdeath and over the grave?
That is our hope.
He is victorious, so we arevictorious, and we should walk
in confidence rather than fearas we face the things that we
will struggle with and have toexperience in this life.
(36:16):
Now look how Daniel responds inverses 15 through 17.
Again, we're not going to pauseto read it all, but I'm just
going to highlight for youDaniel's response to everything
he has seen so far.
It says he turns his face tothe ground and couldn't speak.
It says the angel had to touchhis lips and then Daniel was
able to speak and what he saidis I'm overwhelmed by what I've
seen.
(36:36):
I can't retain my strength.
I mean, god, how can you evenbe talking to me through this
angelic being?
He says it again I've got nostrength.
He says so much so that I can'teven breathe.
This is strikingly similar towhat Daniel has said previously
in this chapter and I think it'sinteresting.
Even though he knows the wordof God, even though he is
(36:59):
abiding in Christ and he couldbe characterized as someone
who's been living faithfully asan exile in Babylon, daniel
still grows weak and tired andweary and has to deal with fear
in his life.
Church.
That should be an encouragementto you and me, that God
(37:21):
faithfulness is not equal tobeing strong all the time or not
having moments ofdiscouragement or moments where
we're weary, moments where we'reconfused.
Right, but look at what themessenger says in verses 18 and
(37:42):
19.
It says that the angel touchedDaniel and he gave him strength
and he says Daniel, you'regreatly loved.
We've heard that before,haven't we?
He tells Daniel don't be afraid, daniel, my peace is with you.
Be strong and of good courage.
The angel's response is similarto Daniel's his response before
(38:04):
to Daniel.
The last time, daniel wasfearful and had no strength and
was scared and tired.
The angel responded Daniel doesthe same thing a second time.
And how does the angel respond?
Like he did before.
What in the world is thisteaching us to see this
repetitiveness of this here,this repetitiveness of this here
(38:28):
?
It highlights the patience ofGod and his grace at work in our
lives.
Church, be reminded and beencouraged that God conforming
us more and more into the imageof his son is a lifelong process
.
There will be moments wherewe're getting it right and we
are doing good and we feel likewe're making strides in our walk
with the Lord, and then there'sgoing to be moments where we
grow weary in the battle.
Those are all part of thesanctification process God
(38:54):
making us more and more,crafting us and molding us and
conforming us more into theimage of his son, forming us
more into the image of his son.
And it highlights the graciousgift of God to do that in our
lives, to not give up on us.
Right To not say you get onechance at this Christ-likeness
thing and if you blow it, I'mdone with you.
(39:16):
No, daniel struggles, but Godis patient.
To repeat to him once againDaniel, don't forget you're
loved.
Daniel, don't forget that I'min control, I am with you.
So the sixth characteristic isthat Daniel was strengthened by
(39:37):
the grace of God in the work ofsanctification.
So, church, be encouraged that,as you walk with the Lord, he
is going to use thecircumstances and events in your
life to make you moreChrist-like as you walk through
this life, and that is theabsolute gift of his grace to do
so because it causes you and itcauses me to be more and more
(40:01):
dependent upon him each andevery day and not to try to rely
on our own strength to face thebattles that we will face.
So, as we begin to wrap up,this is where the sheet that's
out on the table or on the QRcode I've given you some
application.
I've got something I reallywant you to do this week.
(40:23):
I want you to take these sixcharacteristics that are on the
screen right now and I want youto think about them, and I want
you to meditate on how these sixcharacteristics can help us
face the spiritual battles thatare going on around us and how
they play out in our physicallives, in terms of our culture.
(40:44):
How do these things, how does,when culture opposes our values?
How do these sixcharacteristics help us respond,
or prepare us to respond, whenwe fall prey to busyness and
distracted living?
How do these help us navigatethose spiritual battles when the
toll of sickness and diseaseand tragedy and disaster takes a
(41:08):
toll on us.
How do these things help usnavigate that?
When we're struggling in ourmarriage, when we're grieved
over prodigal or waywardchildren who seem so far from
the Lord, when we're strugglingwith temptation or addictions,
how do these things help usfight those spiritual battles?
(41:30):
That's what I want you to do.
I want you to take these sixthings we've seen in Daniel 10,
and I want you to apply them tothe battles that you are facing
in your life right now and letthe Lord teach you through them.
Get into his word this week anddo it For the sake of time.
(41:55):
I want to close because in thelast verses of Daniel, chapter
10, and even into verse one,right, we are told, we're
reminded that God is at work,that God is at work, that even
when it seems to be chaotic,right, when it seems that there
is just constant battle afterbattle and struggle after
struggle, god is at work.
(42:15):
But here's the deal God is theone fighting the battle.
His word tells us that he isvictorious.
All God tells you and I to dois to prepare right To abide in
him.
The things that we've seen thismorning are all battle.
(42:38):
Preparation to place us in aposition, a posture, where we
are able to face these thingsthat we face in this life and be
victorious in them.
It is possible, church, he isvictorious, but he has called us
to prepare.
(42:58):
He's called us to abide, he'scalled us to walk faithfully as
exiles in this life, but he'salso showed us how.
And so this morning, as weclose with a final song, what I
want you to do is to examineyour lives and to see am I
prepared, am I preparing?
(43:19):
Is the pattern and posture ofmy life what we see in Daniel?
Am I abiding in him?
Am I being overwhelmed by hisglory?
Am I broken for things thatbreak the heart of God?
Am I unhindered by the earthlytrappings of this life, to where
I want God more than I wantanything else?
(43:40):
Or have I gotten lazy in mywalk with him, therefore,
unprepared for the battles thatare inevitable, living as an
exile in this world?
Allow the Holy Spirit to helpyou examine your heart in this
way this morning and let'srespond to him.
You may need to come here andpray at the altar.
(44:01):
You may need to do businesswith God there at your seat.
You may need to go home andspend more time in his word this
week examining these things.
But however, god is moving.
Would you respond to him thismorning in faith.
God, would you take your wordthis morning as we sing this
song of response.
God, would you continue to workin our hearts through your word
(44:24):
in Jesus' name.
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