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Sermons | FBC Boerne
Sunday Sermon | Daniel: A Tale of Two Kingdoms | Battle Preparation
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.
Well, good morning church family. It's good to be with you this morning, fresh back from Cairo myself, I got to be there this week and they let me keep going back. I don't know why, but I think it's because I refused to grow up and so I fit right in with Andrew Watson and the other teenagers at heart at camp. But, my goodness, church, can I just say I wanna echo what Garrett and Andrea said, but also tell you God is at work in the lives of the next generation. We've seen that at Vacation Bible School this year. We have now seen that at Cairo. God is doing something, and this is the fourth time I've gotten to go and be part of Camp Cairo and every year God does something a little bit different. And one of the things that just was so clear to me this week watching our students engage in worship, watching our leaders just jump into the messiness of life that some of our students are walking through, and watching some of our students turn around and lead their peers One of the things that just struck me is the trajectory that our student ministry is on. God is doing something special in the hearts of our teenagers and God is just doing something special in the lives of our next-gen ministry and church. That is because you are willing to invest in them, and so God is doing amazing things. So thank you, thank you, thank you for how you step up and you give and you serve and you allow FBC Bernie to be a place where students can come and they can wrestle through the hard things of life at such a critical juncture in their maturity. And God is doing something that is beyond anything that we could ever ask or dream or hope for, and it is all for his glory. But I am excited to see what he's going to continue to do and I'm thankful for the team that serves with our students, the staff, garrett and Andrea, and then the volunteers that step up and lead each and every week. It is amazing to watch and just all praise to him for what lead each and every week. It is amazing to watch and just all praise to him for what happened this week. Amen, amen. Well, church, yeah, you can clap for that. That's a good thing to clap for. That's a really good thing to clap for.
Speaker 1:This morning we are going to be in Daniel, chapter 10. So if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Daniel, chapter 10. In Daniel, chapter 10. So if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Daniel, chapter 10. If you don't have a Bible, then I want you to use the one in the pew back there in front of you to follow along in our text. And if you don't own a Bible, I want you to take that one with you so that you can begin to read it and you can begin to dig into the Word of God, because it is how God changes our lives, our thinking, our behavior, our attitudes, our actions as we get more and more into his word. So get a copy of it, take that one if you want to, and read it and let's get into the word of God together.
Speaker 1:This morning, as we continue our series in the book of Daniel, I'm excited to get to preach out of Daniel. It's like my favorite book of the Bible, you know, and I've got this incredible opportunity today. I've been waiting for it for weeks and weeks now, because Pastor Mark got to preach out of Daniel early in the series and he had a lot of fun with my name and the Babylonian version that they gave him the Belteshazzar, you remember that and he told you guys to start calling me Pastor Shazzy. You remember that I have just been waiting for my moment to get up here and kind of get Mark back for that. But you know what? The Holy Spirit convicted me that I should respect my elders, and Mark is one of my elders by a lot of years. And so I'm not going to do it, I am just going to let it go. I'm going to rise above his jokes and when he gets back, make sure you tell him that I was respecting my elders and I did not pay him back for being so much older than me. So, with that said, I think it's time to jump in to Daniel, chapter 10. So let's begin, as we see what's going on here.
Speaker 1:Let me read verse one for you to set up where we will be today. It says in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar, and the word was true and it was of a great conflict, and he, daniel, understood the word and had understanding of the vision. So this gives us our context of where we're going to be going for the day. So let me point out a few things to you. First of all, he says this is in the third year of Cyrus. Why is that important? It's important because that means in the first year of Cyrus is when he gave the decree that the Jews could begin to go back to Jerusalem and settle again in their homeland. So there was so much excitement in year one for them. As they go back and they begin to rebuild their lives and their city. They even get the altar of the temple rebuilt. But by year three they're facing opposition, discouragement. They are seeing now firsthand how hard it is to go back and resettle the land, so much so that they stopped building the temple and they don't pick it up again for another 15 years. So by year three of Cyrus that excitement had turned to discouragement, it had turned to hopelessness. The Jews that had returned and the exiles who were still there under the Persian rule are all discouraged because they had such hope that things were going to turn around, and now it appears that they're just going to stall out.
Speaker 1:And then it says Daniel and they use his Babylonian name. And this is the only time after chapter five of Daniel that his name is used in the. That Babylonian name is used in the entire book and I think that's significant. I think it's significant because, as we go through this text today and we see what Daniel is going to see and how he's going to respond, this is a reminder to us that Daniel is still in exile using the Babylonian name that he was given is just a reminder for us that Daniel is still not home in Jerusalem. He is still in exile, facing hardship and opposition and challenges all along the way.
Speaker 1:But then it goes on to tell us that Daniel received a word or a vision from the Lord and it tells us some characteristics of the vision. It says, first of all, that it's true. This word from God was true. We don't have time to unpack everything in this chapter today, but I just want you to pause and just be thankful that you and I have the confidence this morning to say the word of God that we have is true, that our lives can be built upon it, that we can stand on this word with confidence, that it is from the Lord and it is profitable for our lives. It also says that Daniel understood this vision right. God gave him insight to understand it. Think with me and just celebrate for a moment that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, have been indwelt by his spirit who gives us understanding of the word of God, the role, one of the roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to reveal the truth of God's words to our hearts so that we can apply it and live it out. So aren't you thankful?
Speaker 1:Even in Daniel we see this picture of what is true for us as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. But then it tells us a little bit about the vision. It says the vision that Daniel receives that Pastor Jason will unpack more when we get to chapters 11 and chapter 12. But this vision that he receives is of a great conflict. Daniel has already seen in previous chapters these visions and these dreams of conflict that is going on around him. All right, but this spiritual battle that Daniel is going to see play out represents a physical struggle that's going to play out in human history. But Daniel kind of gets to pull back. God pulls back the curtain for Daniel and he sees that there is a spiritual element playing out, this battle in the cosmic, spiritual realm playing out in the physical realm. That is the picture of what he sees and this is important because spiritual battle and this is where we're going today, spiritual battle is an important theme that runs through the entire New Testament.
Speaker 1:It's central to how we understand scripture. It's how we understand things like how we should be discipled. It helps us understand how we should persevere through life. It helps us understand the holiness of God and it helps us understand our mission as believers, as followers of Jesus Christ, and we don't have time this morning to unpack all the ways that the New Testament talks about how we are in a battle as followers of Jesus, but I want you to be able to see that and spend more time in it if you would like, and so you've got two options this morning. If you scan the QR code on the pew back there in front of you, you, at the top of that, there will be a link to a PDF that will allow you to see some scriptures that you can look at later, that dig into all the ways the New Testament talks about spiritual warfare and the battle that we face.
Speaker 1:Or, if you'd rather have a paper copy, there are some out on the table to the left as you go out these doors. There's a stack of them there. Those scriptures are there, as well as an application exercise that we're going to talk about a little later in the sermon. But both of those are on that sheet because we've got a long way to go and a short time to get there this morning, so I'm not going to be able to go into it in detail, but my challenge to you is to follow up with it this week and dig into those scriptures, meditate on the Word of God and do these application exercises that you've got provided for you this morning. So I hope you'll take advantage of those.
Speaker 1:Okay, but we do see this is a big theme in the Word of God is this idea of spiritual warfare that is going on. And so if we put together everything that we know about Daniel to this point and that we've seen in chapter one, first of all we see right now that Daniel is burdened for his people. Right, because he knows what's going on back in Jerusalem. He has been an exile for a long time, longing for home but living there in Babylon and now under Persian rule. And now we also see that Daniel is seeing more visions of more battles, of more struggles that his people will have to face. And you could say you know Daniel all through his life. He's an old man by this time. You could say Daniel has been a godly strong warrior, fighting this battle of faithfulness for the Lord in the midst of a godless society, and you would be right to see Daniel that way.
Speaker 1:And, as I've reflected on his life over these weeks that we've been studying, and again this week, as I've been looking at chapter 10, what we're going to see today and what Daniel hears and how he responds, and what's going on in his life. This is not just Daniel responding in a crisis moment. This is just what it catches him by surprise and he just responds. No, what we're gonna see, I believe, is actually the pattern in Daniel's life. Over the first nine chapters leading up till now, we have seen characteristics that have emerged in Daniel. We're gonna see him again today. This is not just a crisis response. This is a pattern of things in Daniel. We're gonna see him again today. This is not just a crisis response. This is a pattern of things in Daniel's life, characteristics, if you will, that have been true of him, and these characteristics are what have prepared him for what he has faced. Right, the physical battles that he has faced of standing strong in the midst of a godless society, but the very real spiritual battle that's been playing out in the background all along the way, and these characteristics of Daniel is what has prepared him to fight these battles and stand for the Lord faithfully all through his life. And I believe, if we'll apply these same characteristics that we're going to see today, they will prepare us to do the same thing. As we live as exiles here on this earth, you guys know that right, that we are sojourners here. This world is not our home. We, very much like Daniel, are exiles living in a land that is not our home, and so we too need to apply these truths to our lives. So we're going to look at them this morning, so let's dig in and let's keep going.
Speaker 1:Daniel, chapter 10, look at verses two and three, at what it says. In those days I, daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I had no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks. Now, quickly to summarize what we see here, this is Daniel's response to the vision that's going to be talked about in greater detail in chapters 11 and 12. But what we see from Daniel is that this vision causes him to mourn, it says, and to fast and to pray for three weeks. Think about it.
Speaker 1:For three weeks Daniel did nothing but just seek the face of God in great mourning for what the sin of his people had caused, the repercussions it has caused in them. Daniel is just grieved to his core over it, and it says so much so that he did not. It says he fasted from the delicacies of Persia, right, the finer foods and wines, and even the lotions that you would have used in a dry climate just to soothe yourself and to make it more bearable. Daniel said no, I am so broken over these things that I am going to give them up and I am just going to fast and I am going to pray and seek the face of God because I am broken.
Speaker 1:Daniel didn't want to let the physical comforts of Persia draw his heart away from the things of God. And so the first two characteristics that I want us to see this morning that will be helpful for us, just like they were helpful for Daniel as we face spiritual battles is number one, that we must be broken for the things that break the heart of God. Are you that's a question for all of us to ask ourselves this morning Do the things that break the heart of God that we see going on around us, the way that sin has infected and corrupted us and our world around us. Is our heart broken for those things, or do we find ourselves being drawn to those things, which really leads into that second characteristic to ask ourselves are we unhindered by earthly pleasures? Now, is there anything wrong with enjoying this life? No, god gave it to us as a gift. It is totally fine and good for us to enjoy this life that God has given us. But when this life becomes more important to us than living our lives for the glory of God, then we have become in bondage to this life, and God has called us to live as believers, unhindered by this world, to live as though it's not our home, to live in a way to where we don't put down roots, to the point that our hope is in how this life goes. Right Daniel was able to live as an exile in Babylon for 80 years Because he remembered this Right. He never allowed Babylon to get into him. It's an important principle for us to examine in our own lives as we think about these first two characteristics that we see in his life. But we need to move on and I want you to see another characteristic that comes out in verses 4 through 10.
Speaker 1:We don't have time this morning to read that whole section, but what happens here is now we see how Daniel responds to the angel that brings him the message or brings him the vision that he sees of the battle. And the angel is described in these verses. And then Daniel's response to the angel is described and it's much like what we see in other prophets and other people in the Old Testament when they encounter just a glimpse of the glory of God. Daniel is undone to summarize it right, the characteristics that we see in him. It says that the people around him, they couldn't see it and they couldn't hear it, but just what was going on caused the people around Daniel at this time to run away. Daniel says about himself he has no strength, strength left. It says his appearance was changed. The literal meaning of that Hebrew phrase is that his splendor was changed to ruin. And it said, on hearing the words of God that the angel brought, daniel fell on his face in a deep sleep and he hit the ground. And then it said, finally, the angel had to touch him just so he could get up on his hands and knees. Trembling Church.
Speaker 1:The third characteristic that I think we see that is so important for us if we are going to be prepared for the battles that we will face, is that we are overwhelmed by the glory of God. That understanding, meditating on the glory of God, understanding his holiness, is something we don't do enough, but I think it is so important for us in how we view and see everything going on around us, when we are overwhelmed by the magnificence and the beauty and the glory and the power of the God that we confess to be our God. Why is that so important? I've been thinking about that this week myself and it led me to an observation and a question that I'm asking myself and I want to ask you this morning. So first of all, the observation. We live in a world that is increasingly more anxious and more depressed, more worried, more fearful, and it just gets worse and worse and worse as the months and the years pass. Would you agree that, when you look at the culture around you, if you've had a number of years to just assess how our world is going, would you agree that our world is becoming more anxious, more worried, more struggling with those kinds of things? I mean, it's well documented. So that's an observation.
Speaker 1:Here's a question. As believers, maybe you say yeah, 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 a question if I became more and more aware and meditated more on the holiness and the glory of the God that I served, would that help me in these times when I feel anxious? Would it cause me to be less overwhelmed by the stuff of this life, if I was more overwhelmed by the glory of God? I believe the answer is yes, and that's not to minimize anxiety, that's not to minimize fear of things, because we live in a world that is a scary place. But when we focus there instead of on the power of our God, we will find ourselves being defeated, struggling in these battles, and that is not what God has called us to. God has revealed his glory to us to encourage us, not to crush us. Think about it with me for a minute.
Speaker 1:A God as glorious as the one that Daniel sees as the one that is revealed to us in Scripture, a God that glorious is worth leaving the comforts of Babylon to seek the face of God. He is worth struggling through difficult times, for he's worth setting aside the security and comforts that we've carefully curated in our lives to invest in kingdom work. This glorious God is worth laying down our lives for, if that's what is required, because he is worth it and nothing else compares to him. Church, if you hear nothing else this morning, I want to challenge you. Meditate on the glory of God more than you ever have before and his holiness, because as you start to see him more in the pages of his word, for who he is, it will cause you to live differently in this life. When you understand him, don't be scared of his holiness. Don't minimize it to emphasize other aspects of his character. Maximize his holiness and his glory, because everything God does is centered around his glory. Don't miss that. Daniel is overwhelmed by the glory of God and that means everything for how he responds as we move forward.
Speaker 1:But looking on, look at verse 11 with me for just a moment. Look at what it says here. It says after Daniel has gotten up on his hands and knees, trembling, after seeing just a glimpse 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 I speak to you and stand upright. For now I have been sent to you. And when he had spoken these words 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 to understand and you humbled yourself before God. Your words have been heard and I have come because of your words. I want you to see some things here in these two verses that it says, first of all, that Daniel was greatly loved, that Daniel is told to understand the words that the angel is bringing to him. Daniel is told to stand upright. Where is he right now? He's on his hands and knees trembling, but he's told to stand upright. Where is he right now? He's on his hands and knees trembling, but he's told to stand upright. And he's told Daniel, I've been sent to you because you were praying, because you were seeking me. I have been sent to you, church.
Speaker 1:There's some powerful gospel implications in these truths that are spoken to Daniel. Daniel is greatly loved, church. Do you know that all of scripture points to how God extravagantly loves us, so much so the word of God says that God it pleased him to crush his own son so that we could know him. The verse that we all memorize if we've grown up in church is John 3, 16, which elevates that God so loved the world. Here, in the midst of a vision where Daniel is seeing conflict all around him, the angel reminds Daniel you are greatly loved and all you have to do is look to the character of God to know that Church. In the midst of the battles that you and I face, we may not get all of our why questions answered, but all we have to do is look to the person of Jesus Christ to be sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we too are 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 die in our place so that we could experience the love of God that transforms our lives. Amen, we are greatly loved.
Speaker 1:Just like Daniel, we can understand the word of God too, because this Jesus that died for us in John 14 and in John 16, it says he sends his spirit to indwell us, who will teach us all things, so that we can understand the mind we can even have the mind of Christ. The word of God tells us Church. Do you dig in? Do you try to understand? Do you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of God's word to you? Do you spend time in it to understand it? It is essential for the battles that we will face that we spend time in the word of God, and it is this time in the word of God, being made to understand it by the Holy Spirit of God, that allows us to do what we're told to do, which is to stand upright, to face this life with courage, with boldness, with passion. See, god told Daniel to do something that Daniel did not have the ability to do. Daniel's already said I couldn't retain strength and I couldn't replenish my own strength, but here God is telling him to do something that he cannot do. How in the world is that possible? It is only through relying on the power of God and the strength of God to do that in him.
Speaker 1:And then this last statement in verse 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 picturing in front of you what you've been experiencing, what you will experience, what your people have experienced, what they will be experiencing. Daniel, you don't face it alone. I am with you. In fact, I have come. I have sent this angel to come and encourage you. Why? Because you were seeking me, because you were praying Church. Don't miss this.
Speaker 1:When we think about how we prepare for this life, for the battles, the struggles that we will encounter, prayer is essential in the preparation. Daniel has been praying for 21 days. He did nothing but pray and fast and God says hey, daniel, because of your prayers. That's why this angel is being sent to you, to encourage you and to strengthen you. Then we also see Daniel's response. The angel told him stand up. In other words, daniel, even though you don't think you have it, you have the strength to stand up. I know you're sitting here on your hands and knees trembling, but, daniel, you can get up. We see a beautiful picture of faith here in Daniel, strong faith even though he's trembling. He's demonstrating it because God 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 faith right, to have the confidence that if God said it, I can believe it and I can act on it, and Daniel does in this moment.
Speaker 1:Then, verse 12, the angel continues to relay this message to Daniel and he tells him not to be afraid. This is the most commanded command in all of scripture Don't be afraid. But specifically, the angel tells Daniel not to be afraid. He says, because your words have been heard. God has heard your cry. God has heard your prayer. Church, do you recognize that on a daily basis, that God is listening to the cries of your heart, that he is that personal, that he wants to have that kind of intimacy with you, that he is hearing the cries of your heart? Do you lean into that kind of deep and rich relationship with him? He tells Daniel, your words have been heard. He says, Daniel, from the first day that you set your heart to understand what I was doing and you humbled yourself before the Lord, he said I've been listening. What an incredible posture for a believer fighting a spiritual battle as an exile in this world, to have a heart that longs to understand the Lord, that longs to understand him through the pages of his word, and who approaches God with a humility and an awe for who he is. What a posture that we should exhibit. What a challenge to us to exhibit this same kind of posture. And how does it happen?
Speaker 1:Through the fourth characteristic that I want you to see Focusing on abiding in Christ. This isn't something that Daniel started in chapter 10. This has been true of Daniel since Daniel chapter 1, that he has been abiding in Christ. He's been seeking the face of God at every turn. He has been in all of God's presence. He has cared more about glorifying and honoring and obeying the Lord rather than pleasing the kings of Babylon or Persia. It didn't matter if Darius was on the throne or Nebuchadnezzar was on the throne. To Daniel, christ Jesus was on the throne and he wanted to glorify him and he wanted to abide deeply in his presence and church. The question that I must ask myself, and you must ask yourself, is do you long to abide in the presence of God more than you desire anything else in this life? If the answer to that is no, then I need to warn you until you are not prepared for the challenges that this life will bring your way. But as we abide in him, he strengthens us for whatever we face in this life.
Speaker 1:Now we've got to go quickly through this next section, in verses 13 and 14. And can I tell you that these are two of the weirdest verses in all of the Bible, so let me read them for you. He says, daniel, I've come because of your word. But then verse 13, the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me For I was left there with the kings of Persia and came to make you understand 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 some things here that I want us to understand. There are some things clearly being taught in these two verses, and there are some things that are not being taught that we need to understand as we keep going through this text. So, first of all, these princes that are talked about, these are angelic forces working behind the scenes, okay, so just know that.
Speaker 1:So, as we walk through here, what is being taught in these two verses? God chooses to work in response to the prayers of his people. Amen, think about that. God chooses to work through our prayers. So that begs the question why don't we pray more? God chooses to work through our prayers.
Speaker 1:These verses also teach us that there is this cosmic, spiritual war that stands behind human conflict. It even speaks to the fact that there may be a relationship of demonic activity with specific geographical locations. There's, like this, demon that is working on behalf of the Persian Empire, fighting against the forces of God, half of the Persian empire fighting against the forces of God. I don't know, but it's what it says. Now we can make a correlation here. Right, that the church, some of our present experiences and struggles right now are the earthly working out of a parallel conflict going on in the heavenly realm that we cannot see. That is a true understanding of what is being said here, and here's the last one I believe that we could look at that the spiritual forces of evil can delay, but not stop the plans of God, amen.
Speaker 1:Now what is not being taught here? How it all works? There are some people who love to get into stuff like this and they love to try to figure out how it's all going on and the names of all the demons and where they work and how they work and how the battles happen, guess what? Scripture doesn't teach it. That is all just man's trying to figure it out. It doesn't teach it. Don't get hung up on what is not said here and miss the point of what is being said here.
Speaker 1:This is not a description or an instruction manual on how, or even whether, to engage against these spiritual forces of darkness. In the entire book of Daniel he never engages spiritual enemies. He leaves that to God. He just falls to his knees in prayer and dependence and abiding in the Lord. This is also not an encouragement to adopt a demon. Behind every bush kind of mentality, right Are there spiritual forces at work behind the scenes trying to deter us and discourage us and distract us from the things of God. Absolutely, it is true, scripture teaches it. But scripture also teaches that a lot of the reasons we face temptations and struggles is a result of sin in our own lives. So we ought to be more focused on surrender and dependence and abiding in Christ to help us overcome those sins, because that is how we face the spiritual battles. Amen, so we got to move on.
Speaker 1:But this fifth characteristic that I think we see here that is helpful for us is to be confident that victory is certain. Right. That's the point of this section that the spiritual forces of evil that are working behind the scenes are no match for the forces of God. For him and his angels, they may be able to delay, but they will never defeat. They will never stop the plans of God, church. Do you know that as we walk through this life as followers of Jesus, ultimately we are victorious because he is victorious over sin and over death and over the grave? That is our hope. He is victorious, so we are victorious, and we should walk in confidence rather than fear as we face the things that we will struggle with and have to experience in this life.
Speaker 1:Now look how Daniel responds in verses 15 through 17. Again, we're not going to pause to read it all, but I'm just going to highlight for you Daniel's response to everything he has seen so far. It says he turns his face to the ground and couldn't speak. It says the angel had to touch his lips and then Daniel was able to speak and what he said is I'm overwhelmed by what I've seen. I can't retain my strength. I mean, god, how can you even be talking to me through this angelic being? He says it again I've got no strength. He says so much so that I can't even breathe. This is strikingly similar to what Daniel has said previously in this chapter and I think it's interesting. Even though he knows the word of God, even though he is abiding in Christ and he could be characterized as someone who's been living faithfully as an exile in Babylon, daniel still grows weak and tired and weary and has to deal with fear in his life.
Speaker 1:Church. That should be an encouragement to you and me, that God faithfulness is not equal to being strong all the time or not having moments of discouragement or moments where we're weary, moments where we're confused. Right, but look at what the messenger says in verses 18 and 19. It says that the angel touched Daniel and he gave him strength and he says Daniel, you're greatly 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.
Speaker 1:The angel's response is similar to Daniel's his response before to Daniel. The last time, daniel was fearful and had no strength and was scared and tired. The angel responded Daniel does the same thing a second time. And how does the angel respond? Like he did before. What in the world is this teaching us to see this repetitiveness of this here, this repetitiveness of this here? It highlights the patience of God and his grace at work in our lives.
Speaker 1:Church, be reminded and be encouraged that God conforming us more and more into the image of his son is a lifelong process. There will be moments where we're getting it right and we are doing good and we feel like we're making strides in our walk with the Lord, and then there's going to be moments where we grow weary in the battle. Those are all part of the sanctification process God making us more and more, crafting us and molding us and conforming us more into the image of his son, forming us more into the image of his son. And it highlights the gracious gift of God to do that in our lives, to not give up on us. Right To not say you get one chance at this Christ-likeness thing and if you blow it, I'm done with you. No, daniel struggles, but God is patient. To repeat to him once again Daniel, don't forget you're loved. Daniel, don't forget that I'm in control, I am with you.
Speaker 1:So the sixth characteristic is that Daniel was strengthened by the grace of God in the work of sanctification. So, church, be encouraged that, as you walk with the Lord, he is going to use the circumstances and events in your life to make you more Christ-like as you walk through this life, and that is the absolute gift of his grace to do so because it causes you and it causes me to be more and more dependent upon him each and every day and not to try to rely on our own strength to face the battles 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 QR code I've given you some application. I've got something I really want you to do this week. I want you to take these six characteristics that are on the screen right now and I want you to think about them, and I want you to meditate on how these six characteristics can help us face the spiritual battles that are going on around us and how they play out in our physical lives, in terms of our culture. How do these things, how does, when culture opposes our values? How do these six characteristics help us respond, or prepare us to respond, when we fall prey to busyness and distracted living? How do these help us navigate those spiritual battles when the toll of sickness and disease and tragedy and disaster takes a toll on us. How do these things help us navigate that? When we're struggling in our marriage, when we're grieved over prodigal or wayward children who seem so far from the Lord, when we're struggling with temptation or addictions, how do these things help us fight those spiritual battles? That's what I want you to do. I want you to take these six things we've seen in Daniel 10, and I want you to apply them to the battles that you are facing in your life right now and let the Lord teach you through them. Get into his word this week and do it For the sake of time.
Speaker 1:I want to close because in the last 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 after battle and struggle after struggle, god is at work. But here's the deal God is the one fighting the battle. His word tells us that he is victorious. All God tells you and I to do is to prepare right To abide in him. The things that we've seen this morning are all battle.
Speaker 1:Preparation to place us in a position, a posture, where we are able to face these things that we face in this life and be victorious in them. It is possible, church, he is victorious, but he has called us to prepare. He's called us to abide, he's called us to walk faithfully as exiles in this life, but he's also showed us how. And so this morning, as we close with a final song, what I want you to do is to examine your lives and to see am I prepared, am I preparing? Is the pattern and posture of my life what we see in Daniel? Am I abiding in him? Am I being overwhelmed by his glory? Am I broken for things that break the heart of God? Am I unhindered by the earthly trappings of this life, to where I want God more than I want anything else? Or have I gotten lazy in my walk with him, therefore, unprepared for the battles that are inevitable, living as an exile in this world?
Speaker 1:Allow the Holy Spirit to help you examine your heart in this way this morning and let's respond to him. You may need to come here and pray at the altar. You may need to do business with God there at your seat. You may need to go home and spend more time in his word this week examining these things. But however, god is moving. Would you respond to him this morning in faith. God, would you take your word this morning as we sing this song of response. God, would you continue to work in our hearts through your word in Jesus' name.