Turn with me, if you would, to
Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2. It's 1105 in
my Bible. We have been going through Daniel
the last two Wednesday nights. We started Daniel two Wednesday
nights ago. And last Wednesday night, whenever
I'm got to my study Thursday morning
I had some more thoughts on what we were looking at and I thought
well I'll just jot all this down while it's in my mind and set
that aside for next Wednesday and I just kept on going and
I thought we may go ahead and look at this Sunday night and
then I kept on going and I thought well maybe this will be Sunday
morning and Sunday night and I kept on going and I realized
we're gonna be in Daniel all day today so As a little recap here, Israel
is taken captive to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar besieges Israel
and takes Israel captive to Babylon. And among the captives were these
four men, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were thrown
into prison for three years. At the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar
is so taken with these men, he's so impressed by their wisdom
and their understanding, he appoints them to be members of his council,
members of his wise council. Two years later, Nebuchadnezzar
dreams a dream that troubles him. He's very troubled by this
dream that he continues to have. but he can't remember what the
dream is. So he told all of his usual counselors
to tell him the dream and the interpretation of it. He said,
I want to know what the dream was and I want you to tell me
what the meaning of the dream is. And they couldn't do it. None of them could do it. He
wanted them to know the secret things that were inside of him
and none of them could do it. So Nebuchadnezzar got mad and
he commanded for all of his wise men to be slain. When Daniel heard that decree,
he went in to King Nebuchadnezzar and he said, if you will give
me just a moment, I will come back and tell you the dream and
I'll show you the interpretation of it. If you'll look with me
at Daniel 2 verse 17, or look at verse 16, it says, then Daniel
went in and desired of the king that he would give him time and
that he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went
to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, his companions, that they would desire mercies of
the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and
his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men
of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed
unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of
heaven. Daniel went to Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah and he said, pray with me. He said, I want you
all to pray with me. Let's call on the God of heaven and earth
and let's beg him to have mercy on us and to reveal to us this
secret so that we do not die with the rest of these, as it
turned out to be, ignorant men. And I wish more men and women
would do that. I wish more men and women would
cry that to the Lord. Lord, please reveal these secret
things to me. Now, I got hung up on this for
our Bible study and here's the reason why. Men and women hear
that they ought to do this and then they don't do it. We need to cry out to the Lord,
we need to beg the Lord to reveal these things to us. We need to
have these secret things revealed to us. Men and women hear that
they ought to do that, and then they don't do it. Men and women
assume that they already know the secret things. Either they assume that they
already know it, or it's just not important enough to them
to give it a real thought. I wish men and women would cry
in deep sincerity, Lord, please reveal the mystery to me. Lord, please reveal the mystery
of godliness. I know that there are men and
women in this world who are so confused, wondering what's the
truth. You know, everybody's saying
this and that and everything under the sun. I wish men and women would go
to God Almighty and cry to Him, Lord, please reveal the mystery
of the gospel to me. The mystery of Jesus Christ.
I am urging old people, young people, all people. I'm being
very serious at this moment for everybody in this room and everybody
who's listening on the internet and everybody who may listen
on the internet one of these days. I'll go to sermon audio
and I'll pull up a message that was preached in 1978 by a man who will say, if anyone
ever hears this on cassette tape, Listen to me. Listen to God. And that's what I'm saying right
now. I urge every soul here to cry
out to God for mercy and to beg him to reveal the secret things
of salvation to you. As we hear this, I urge all of
us to right now, cry out to the Lord. Me. Me. Lord, reveal these things
to me. Reveal them to me. If we are
going to know Christ, he's going to have to reveal himself to
us. He has to be revealed to us. That's what I want to stress
for this Bible study. If we're going to know the truth
of the gospel, God is going to have to reveal He's going to have to mercifully,
graciously reveal the truth to us. Hold your place right here
and turn over to Matthew chapter 11. Matthew 11 verse 25, it says,
at that time Jesus answered and said, I thank the old father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise. Nebuchadnezzar went to all his
wise men. You tell me. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and has
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight, all things are delivered unto me of my father,
and no man knoweth the son but the father. Neither knoweth any
man the father save the son, and he to whomsoever the son
will reveal him. I urge every soul here to cry,
Lord, I'm a babe. In my flesh, I am ignorant, I
am helpless. You know, while false religion
is out there trying to you know, put out this mantra to people,
you know, strengthen, you know, you're strong, you know, you're
this, you know, somebody, you know, you be somebody, you this,
that. Cry, Lord, I'm ignorant. Our mantra needs to be decrease
for ourselves, diminish Lord, I'm helpless, I'm ignorant.
Would you please just remember me? Would you please reveal these
things to me? Open the eyes of this babe. Open
the ears of this babe. Open the heart of this babe.
Lord, reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ to this babe. Look with me at Galatians chapter
one. In Galatians 1 verse 11 it says,
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ." That's how it came, by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
For you have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion,
how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted
it. and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals
in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions
of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace,
to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the
heathen. Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither
went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me,
but I went into Arabia." That means I met with Jesus Christ
and returned again to Damascus. Paul said, I played church all
my life. I played church all my life,
but when it pleased God, He revealed His Son in me. By God's mercy
and grace, He revealed it to me. Paul said, I thought I knew
it. That's the thing about it. That's
what he's saying right here. I thought I knew it. That's the
problem for men and women. They think they know it. Men and women naturally think
they are born with the knowledge of this saving mystery. They think it's obvious. They
think morality is godliness. People think everybody knows
that. Everybody knows that. Morality is godliness. They think God's grace in a person
is good fleshly works in a person. They think fine, devout Christianity,
that's it. How can we know if the mystery
has been revealed to us and we've received it? You'll see it in
the flesh. Not so. That is not so. That's wrong. That's wrong. Paul said in verse 14 right here,
I profited in the Jews' religion. I was more zealous than all of
them. But he said I was wrong. I hadn't yet received the revelation,
revelation of Jesus Christ, not the revelation of my morality,
not the revelation of my Christianity, not the revelation of my good
decisions and my fine upstanding character, not the revelation
of my anything, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Some of you
have seen Jesus Christ and you know what I'm talking about. When Christ is revealed to be
the answer, when Christ is revealed to be the object, when Christ
is revealed to be the work, when Christ is revealed to be the
relief, every time my sin slays me, every time that memory comes
back and I literally just, my soul falls out into the floor
again, Jesus Christ picks me back up. And it's because of what he has
been revealed to me to be, not because of, you know, some fake
religious... If we ever see Christ, I'm telling
you, if we ever see Christ, you'd be hard-pressed to find a soul
on this earth that doesn't know the name Jesus Christ. He's known
all over the world. But if he's ever revealed to
a person, Jesus Christ is revealed to God's
chosen people. That's who he is revealed to.
Look with me at Ephesians 1. This chapter, if you read the
first few verses here, this chapter is talking about election It's
talking about sanctification. It's talking about predestination
and adoption and acceptance and redemption and forgiveness all
in by through the person and the blood finished work of Jesus
Christ, all by Jesus Christ. It's all him, him, him. That's
what you read right here. It's him, not me, my, and I. him. Verse 8 says, wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he
hath purposed in himself. That's what he does for his people.
He reveals the mystery of his will, which he had purposed in
himself. Who can know the heart of a man?
This is what the scripture asks. Who can know the heart of a man,
the mind, the thoughts, except that man reveal it? How can you
know what I'm thinking except I tell you and reveal it? That's what we need the Lord
God to do for us. We need for him to reveal the secret things
of salvation to us, the mystery of the gospel of our salvation.
Look at Ephesians three with me. Verse one says, for this cause,
I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If you
have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given me to youward, how that by revelation he made known unto
me the mystery. As I wrote afore in few words,
whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ. which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should
be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise
in Christ by the gospel, whereof I was made a minister according
to the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of
his power. Unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." This great
mystery. Verse 9 says, And to make all
men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things
by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities
and powers and heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God. Many women don't know that Jesus
Christ is God from the beginning, creator of all things. ordainer
of all things. Verse 11, according to the eternal
purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom
we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Oh, that men and women would
cry out to God Almighty to reveal the mystery of the gospel of
Jesus Christ crucified to them. Daniel and those other three
men, they cried out to God, they sought the Lord God. They were made to seek the Lord
God. Psalm 27, Isaiah 65, many other
scriptures tell us that's how it works in seeking the Lord. Psalm 27, David said, when you
said, seek my face, that's when my heart cried, thy face will
I seek. Isaiah 65, I'm sought of them that asked not for me.
I'm bound to them that sought me not. I said, behold me, that's
how it works. They sought the Lord because
they were drawn to seek the Lord. If any man seeks the Lord, cries
out to the Lord, it's because that man or woman is drawn to
the Lord. John 6, 44 says, no man, our
Lord said, no man can come to me except the father which has
sent me drawn. God gets the glory in any man or woman seeking the
Lord. And God gets the praise for his promise to men and women
in seeking the Lord. This is an amazing promise to
make. God does it. He's the author of it. He's the
start of it. He's the doer of it. He's the finisher of it.
But this is what he said. He said, if you truly seek me,
you'll find me. Because if we seek, we've been
drawn to seek. We've been made to seek. He said, you will seek me and
find me when you search for me with all your heart. Seek the
Lord with all your heart. You know what the flesh of man
says? I don't feel like it. That's what man says. I don't
want to. Not interested. I'm not interested. Isaiah 55 says, Seek ye the Lord
while he may be found. There's going to come a day.
I'll tell you where we are right now. We're in the day where the
ark is built. It's finished. And the door's
open. Seven days. Days as a thousand
years. A thousand years is as a, you
know, we're, we're somewhere maybe in the sixth day. The door of the ark is open.
There's going to come a day when it's no more. Is that not amazing?
Right now. Can you imagine how many people
had the thought in their mind in that day, I wish I had gotten
in that ark. Seek the Lord while he may be
found. The Lord is going to use his
word. He's going to use his message. He's going to use his messenger.
We'll see that as we continue. To awaken his people. Men and
women are in a slumber and the Lord will use his word to shake
people and they'll say, wait a minute, I need to seek the
Lord. Seek the Lord while he may be
found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
his way of life, his way of everything, and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. Let's all seek the Lord. Let's
all cry out to the Lord. I want to urge that to us. Our
great need is to call upon the name of the Lord. And when we
do, this is what needs to be our request, okay? I will be brief. I've actually
gone, I don't know what I'm doing here. I've gone way too long.
I must really be passionate about this. I'm gonna be brief, but
go back to Daniel 2. We need to cry out to him, and
this is exactly what we need to cry out for. Daniel 2, verse
17. Then Daniel went to his house
and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven. The first
thing we need to seek God for is mercy. Mercy. We need mercy. People don't know this, but we
need mercy. People do not think they are
sinners. They don't think they're sinners.
They see other people who they see to be worse than them, not
realizing that the pride of thinking that is worse than whatever that
person has done. Any man who says like that Pharisee
in the temple, well, at least I'm not like that guy. That's
top of the list. That's top of the list. 1 John
1 says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us. If we say we're not sinners,
we're calling God a liar because God said all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. And men and women don't think
they're sinners. And I just want to have you turn
to, don't turn to this, let me just tell you that the reason
Daniel and these men are in captivity is because of their sin against
God. Okay, just don't turn to this. But in Daniel 1 verse 1,
where we were two Wednesday nights ago, it says, King Jehoiakim
was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar and taken captive into Babylon. Second Chronicles 36.5 says,
Jehoiakim was 20 and five years old when he began to reign. He
was 25. And he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem,
and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. And he caused the people that
he ruled over to do evil in the sight of the Lord. And it goes
on to say, that's why Nebuchadnezzar came and besieged him. And in
Daniel chapter 9, you don't have to turn there, but in Daniel
9, The Lord, by that point in this
story, is truly revealing some things to Daniel. Daniel is starting,
he's reading the scripture, and he's seeing some things from
the scripture, and he's starting to see why they're in the position
they're in, why they were taken captive, and he realizes, and
it says, when you start reading it, he cried out to the Lord,
he realized, we have sinned against you. A light bulb comes on. I see what you said to, it was
written, it was prophesied before it ever happened. I see what
you said, I see what we did. And he starts crying throughout
Daniel 9. Oh, Lord, please. He's begging God for Israel.
He's like, these are your people that you made a covenant for.
This is your city, Lord. Please hear my cry. Please don't forbear. Don't put me off, Lord. I need
you now. We need you today. He's crying. He's begging. He's pleading.
And Daniel 9 is, man, the first time I read this. While he was
pouring his soul out to God, the angel Gabriel being caused
to fly swiftly, it says he flew so hard he was tired by the time
he got to Daniel. And he said, as soon as your
prayer started, the command came from the throne for me to come
give you the answer. And he said, I'm here now to
comfort your heart. We need to cry out to God for
mercy. I'm telling you, this whole thing
of, well, God is sovereign. He's going to do what he wants
to do. That's the soul of a person who has not received mercy. A
man or woman who has received mercy cries, I need Jesus Christ
now. I need him right now. We have
sinned. We have sinned. We need mercy.
That word mercy means compassion, it means pity, it means pity
from the heart, pity from God's innermost being to us. Like as
a father pities his children, we need the Lord to pity us.
Pity us. How can the Lord pity sinners
like us? I'll be done. How can the Lord
pity sinners like us? only in Christ. He can only pity
us in Christ. The only way that God the Father
can have a heart of love and mercy for us is by looking upon
us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only
way that he will hear us. That's the only way we can cry
out to him for mercy, is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, no man comes to
the Father but by me. And all who come to the Father
by Christ are going to be saved. Now, let me leave you with this.
Crying out to the Lord is the evidence of the fact that we
have received mercy. Crying out in desperate need,
that is the evidence of the fact, saying, I need salvation. That's
the evidence of the fact that we have received salvation. Those who cry out to the Lord
Jesus Christ will be saved from the wrath to come. They will
be saved from the wrath to come. They cried out, the Lord answered
their cry, and it'll happen that way every time. If we cry and
we don't stop crying, he will eventually reveal to us that
our cry for mercy is the evidence of the fact that he's given us
mercy. Mercy, that's faith in him. Faith in him cries. If God has not been pleased to
show mercy, we will never truly cry from the depths of our soul.
We will not do it. We will hear this, it will mean
nothing to us, and then we will go on about our life. Daniel and these men cried because
this was life or death to them. Daniel said, you cry to God with
me for mercy that we die not with the rest of these men. It
was life and death. Cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, please reveal Christ to
me. Cry out to him. He will. He will. Amen. You're dismissed.