bound by the flesh. I wish we
were not. Someday we'll sing, won't we?
Unbridled with a perfect voice. Oh, man. Look at verses 7 through 12 with
me again. I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. The men that were with me saw
not the vision. A great quaking fell upon them,
and they fled to hide themselves. I was left alone. I saw this
great vision, and there remained no strength in me. I was turning into corruption. I retained no strength. heard
I the voice of his words. And when I heard the voice of
his words, I fell on my face. Daniel, he said in verse read
on, Behold, a hand touched me and set me upon my knees. Would
that he would set us on our knees all the time. And he said, verse
11, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, Understand the words that I speak
unto thee, and stand upright, stand upon thy standing, for
unto thee am I now sent." And I trembled. Verse 12, "'Fear
not, Daniel,' he said, "'from the first day thou didst set
thine heart to understand, to chasten thyself before thy God,
thy words were heard, and I am come for thy word.'" Now, we've
looked at Daniel twice and see him as such a wonderful type
of Christ. The lions' den, and we could
easily make this Daniel a man greatly beloved like our Lord,
the well-beloved. Christ must have the preeminence,
so we've given him that. To him, all the prophets bear
witness. This is a true story of a real man named Daniel. This is how we're going to look
at it as it is. A man who sees Christ, whom Christ speaks to. Daniel's a real man. He's a son
of Adam. He's a sinner. He's a citizen of the country.
He's a family man, perhaps. We don't hear much about them.
But the Lord said to him, He's greatly loved. I want to know that the Lord
loves me. Don't you? Daniel was chosen. give diligence
to make my calling and election sure, don't you? Daniel did.
Daniel was redeemed. Daniel was taught. Daniel was
led by the Spirit of God. And Daniel walked with God. Daniel
had a close communion with God. I want that. Now, the Lord gets all the glory
for a man like Daniel. Let me say this from the outset,
that there be no mistaking about this. Daniel gets no glory here.
Daniel gets no credit here. Daniel has nothing to do with
why Daniel is Daniel. Like Paul said, none greater
apostle than Paul, he said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. But this gives great glory
to God who gives faith to men like this, makes men like this,
like Christ. Daniel is like Christ, so I want
to be like Daniel. Paul said that. He said, follow
me. Whose faith follow? Those men. Daniel, in verses
2 and 3, Daniel was in mourning three full weeks. And he said he ate no pleasant
bread, flesh or wine, didn't anoint himself, didn't dress
himself and fix himself up. Three full weeks. In other words, he was so burdened
about this thing that nothing mattered. He had
a hunger that bread couldn't fill. He had a thirst that the
water of this world just couldn't assuage. He had a burden that
nothing and no one could lift but God. Back in chapter 1, you remember
reading with me how it says, Daniel purposed in his heart
that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties. You
remember that? The king's dainties, the things
that everyone else all over Babylon were filled with. Things. Daniel said, I don't want to
be filled with these things. I don't want my God to be my
belly. I want to be filled with the
Spirit of God. I want to be filled with Christ.
I want Christ in me. That's my hope and glory. Daniel
said, I don't want to be filled with things. Daniel had a bunch
of things. Daniel was a rich man. At this
time, he was a rich man. But all through this book, you'll
never hear him mention one thing. He never talked about his house.
He never talked about his family. He never talked about his clothes.
He never talked about the world politics and all that. And the Lord came to him and
told him the thing that gave him peace that passes understanding
and showed him a vision of a person that from that day forward he
was consumed with, and nothing and nobody else mattered. Be
thou my vision. I've got enough things, and these
things defile me. I know the Lord said, nothing
that enters the mouth defiles a man. But when you start thinking
about them and taking up with them and not the Lord, you might be overcome by them.
And purpose in his heart. This is a good purpose. Peter wrote about it, Paul wrote
about it, all through the Scriptures. Peter said, just seeing that
all these things shall be dissolved like the flower of the grass.
He said, what manner of man ought ye to be in all holy conversation? Like Daniel. That's what I want to be. Look
at chapter 7. And you heard me, didn't you,
give God all the glory for Daniel? I'm not giving Daniel any glory
here. I'd say he's a doer of the Word,
isn't he? He heard it. He set his face. Daniel said, I set my face to
pray what David said. When you said, seek my face,
I said, thy face I'll seek, not things, but thy face. Set your
affection. Isn't that what Paul wrote? Set
your affection on what? Somebody, a person, not things. Daniel 7, verse 15, he said,
I was grieved in my spirit, in the midst of my body. And the
visions of my head troubled me. Daniel mourned. Daniel was grieved. Daniel was troubled. Verse 28,
it said, As for me, Daniel, my cogitations are these things
that I have mused on, meditated on, thought about. He didn't let these things slip. They much
troubled me. My countenance changed in me.
My laughter turned to mourning. And I kept the matter, read it,
I kept it in my heart. I laid hold of this. I heard
what you said. Like Kabaka Kabold said, Lord,
we've heard your speech. And we were afraid. I'm afraid.
Daniel chapter 8, look at verse 27. After he saw great vision,
understood and didn't understand. You know, it was as much the
things he didn't understand that troubled him. In verse 27, I,
Daniel, fainted and was sick. It made him sick, what he heard. It made him sick. Chapter 9, verse 3, I set my
face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer, supplication, fasting,
and sackcloth. And I prayed unto the Lord my
God and made my confession. And oh, what a prayer. I wanted
to read that with you, but I hope you read it. I set my face to
seek, to call on the name of the Lord. You know, whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved. That's not
a one-time thing. That's call until he hears you.
Jacob did. Daniel did. The Lord came and
said, Daniel, you're greatly beloved. Chapter 10 we saw here in verse
2. He said, I was mourning. I was mourning. Did not our Lord
say, blessed are the poor in spirit? Blessed are they that
mourn. Whoever mourns, let be comforted. Daniel mourned. First thing he
mourned over, you know, his own sin. When he prayed,
it wasn't a finer man around than Daniel. You know. You've
read with me. The Lord said so. Fairer and
fatter. And no blemish, didn't he? On
a finer man. But Daniel said, when I saw this
vision and when I heard his word, my comeliness melted to corruption. Job said, I heard of you and
I thought I was righteous, but I abhorred myself. Paul said
it, didn't he? Oh, in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. John said it, didn't he? I fell
at his feet as a dead man. Isaiah saw him and Isaiah said,
I'm a man of unclean lips. The first thing he mourned over
was his own sin. And if a person mourns over their
sin, they'll cry unto the Lord to do something about it. I mean,
they really will. Daniel did. He prayed that prayer and God
heard him. He said, Lord, confusion of faces belongs to us, but to
You belong mercies and forgiveness. Lord, hear. Lord, do. Lord, hearken. Defer not for
Thy own sake. And He did. And He set His face
toward Jerusalem like Solomon said, if any man prays toward
this temple, any man, no matter where you are, no matter who
it is, no matter what you've done, what's the good news in it? Anybody,
no matter what, all manner of sin, you pray toward Christ the
Lord, you call on the name of the Lord, Christ said, you will
be saved. You'll all be purged, forgotten,
never found again, never brought up. Oh, peace that comes by forgiveness
of sin. Just call. He mourned over His own sin. So He looked within and He looked
without, all around Him. And He saw people. I don't know
if He had a family. Maybe. Probably. You know, the disciples all had
families. We don't hear much about them,
do we? Because they weren't their life. Christ was. And Daniel looked around him,
he saw people that he loved, people who were held captive
in Babylon. Now, at this time, the Jews that
lived in Babylon had a certain amount of freedom. You don't
look at them as being down in the slime pits like in Egypt.
That wasn't the case. Not with Daniel, not with Hananiah,
Mashiach, or Nazariah. That wasn't the case. They were
free men. They lived in a pagan, heathen,
godless land of Babylon that had everything at their disposal.
And they were captives. They were subject to it. They
were in it. And people, you know, this world
has all that it can offer for the flesh, but we need deliverance
from The flesh, don't we? Because this world and the deities
of it and the God of this world holds people captive to these
things. And people perish because of
these things. And Daniel and his fellows realized,
we don't want to perish. We're rich. We need to be rich
toward God. Rich in faith. That there are
many things. Here's what Daniel understood.
Here's the thing he saw. that there's one thing needful,
and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life. Behold the beauty of the Lord."
He did, didn't he? And inquired in his temple. And
the Lord showed him, gave him an understanding. Daniel heard and saw one thing.
But he looked around him and he saw people that he loved held
captive. He looked within him and saw
his own self that was still drawn by things. And he saw men and
women and children all around him, like I look into the face
of some this morning, who are held captive and are unconcerned. Unconcerned. Kept captive and
don't know it. and ready to perish and don't
know it. And Daniel mourned. And our Lord said to those women
when He's carrying that cross up that mountain, He said, don't
weep for me. You rejoice I'm doing this. Rejoice
in the Lord. And again, I say rejoice, but
you weep for yourselves and for your children. Jeremiah said
it when he was in captivity. He said, call for the women and
tell the women to tell their daughters to bring mourning with
them. Teach them to mourn. Take with
you words to this great king and tell him, have mercy on us
and our children. He mourned. He grieved. What
he saw? This is coming to an end. Dan, that's what he saw.
He saw this thing was coming to an end. And he understood it. And he
said, it troubled me greatly. But one thing Daniel desired,
and he sought after it. How about you? Look at verses 6 through 9. Look at verse 1 first. It says,
the thing I saw. It said, a thing was revealed
unto Daniel. A thing. And you know it wasn't
a thing. It was a person. And you read on, it says, and
the thing was true. Christ said, I am the truth. And the time when this one person,
this thing would happen, this great day of the Lord, this salvation,
it's long. It's far off for Daniel, isn't
it? That's what he says. It's in
the future for Daniel, and he saw it. But not really. It was
very soon for Daniel. Daniel was an old man. And for
some, they're going to go meet the Lord some way, somehow. And Paul said that he's at the
door. Christ said that. He's even at
the door. And Daniel understood the thing. He understood that
there's one thing needful, to know Christ, to be found in Him,
in His Kingdom. And he had an understanding of
the vision. Paul said, I know whom I have believed. Didn't
John say, the Son of God hath come and given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true and we're in Him that is
true. This is a true God and eternal life. Now, verses 6 through 9, look
at it. Daniel saw the Lord high and lifted up. And this is all,
people, I'm certain it's symbolic, like John, because Christ is
a man, even now, in a glorified body. But he was in that while
he was on the earth in the last few days, wasn't he? This is all symbolic. of how
beautiful John and Daniel and Ezekiel saw Christ as. Beauty. Altogether beauty. And His strength
and His glory and His honor. Altogether lovely in all that
He is. Precious gold and silver and
precious stones. Read on. I saw Him, His face,
His body like a barrel, His whole being, His face, His appearance
of lightning, light. He was light. His eyes as lamps
of fire, Solomon said, like doves' eyes too. His arms and feet like
brass, strong strength. His voice, the words like the
voice of a multitude. I, Daniel, he said, I was alone,
and I saw this vision. Do you remember our message on
Jacob left alone with the Lord? Anybody? There are some things
you're only going to see when you're alone with the Lord. But,
you know, we're here together as a congregation, aren't we?
The Lord said this, to do this. Well, you know what will happen,
though, if you're here, like John said, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's Day. Even in a crowd of people, the
Lord will come to you alone and be with you and speak to you.
And you'll feel like He's speaking to you. And He is. And He said,
I saw this vision in a great quaking though. These with me
didn't see the vision. They didn't see Christ like Paul
saw. They didn't see Christ. He didn't
come for them. They weren't His. Paul wasn't. Greatly beloved, like Daniel. And he saw this vision, and that's
like two people sitting in this service, you know, two young
men, two young women, or old for that matter, who sit and
hear the Word of God, and one hears the voice of Christ, and
rejoices, mourns, weeps, grieves. Their beauty, their sins grieve
them, a burden to hear the Word. They see Christ high and lifted
up, His beauty, and He speaks peace to their heart. And the
other one, they don't hear a thing. They don't see a thing. Read on. He said in verse 8,
I saw a great vision. I was left alone and saw a great
vision. There remained no strength in
me. My comeliness turned into corruption and I retained no
strength. And I heard the voice of His
Word. And I heard the voice of His Word. I fell on my face.
I fell on my face. Daniel heard and it says throughout.
Well, read on. Verse 10, a hand touched me and
set me on my knees. Daniel was always found on his
knees, wasn't he? Doing what? Praying. Calling
on the Lord. And the Lord says to those, says
to the preacher, strengthen the feeble knees. Those whom I love, teach them
to pray. Tell them, get on your knees. He grieved. He mourned, mourned. Call on the name of the Lord.
In the palms of my hands, lift up hands. He said unto me, O
Daniel, verse 11, a man greatly beloved. Oh, I want the Lord
to say unto me, I am thy salvation, don't you? I want him to say
unto me, thou art my beloved. Daniel, your greatly beloved,
understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright.
Stand on your standing. Stand on the rock. For unto thee
am I now sent. Oh, my. And he spoke this word. Read
it carefully. When he had spoken this word
unto me, I stood. Well, what was he doing? Trembling. Now, the Lord just told him he
was greatly beloved, and he came for him, and he's going to speak
peace to him, and fear not, and all that, but yet Daniel still
trembled, didn't he? What he heard, what he saw made
him fear, made him tremble. That's the beginning of wisdom,
isn't it? And he feared, if not for himself,
he feared for others. And he trembled, and others didn't. Others didn't. They didn't tremble
then. They didn't tremble now. Because you know what? You know, false religion has...
I've got to say it, because that's what Babylon was full of. Nobody
else is trembling. And they seemed to know something
about the God of the Jews, didn't they? Darius. But you don't hear
of anybody else. Daniel did. And today, and because
of false religion, they've told men and women so much how much
God loves them and that Jesus, you know, wants to and can't
and tried and failed and it's up to them and He's standing
out their heart door every day and when they get ready and when
they get time convenient and they can just let Him in on any
old time, oh no, that's not who Daniel saw it. He saw the Lord high and lifted
up like Isaiah and he trembled. Fear the Lord, in whose hands
his breath was. That's what he said to the other
king. God, in whose hands your breath
is, you've not glorified. You know, Jesus cried, and they
make Jesus out to be just a man now, but he's the same yesterday
that Daniel saw today and forever. God hasn't changed. He's a consuming
fire. Christ hasn't changed. It's the
same one that Daniel saw and trembled at. He hasn't changed.
Jesus cried the same yesterday, today, and forever. Get on your
knees. And if you do, though, you fear
the Lord. He's going to show you a picture. And he's dead. Verse 11, he said,
O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, fear not, verse 12, fear not,
Daniel, from the first day you set your heart to understand
and chasing yourself before thy God. Thy words were heard. I
am come for thy words. Will God hear a man? Will God
hear a man? I know he hears the Lord Jesus
Christ. Yes. Christ said, Thou always hear me. I know you always
hear me. The great Beloved, God's Beloved,
He always hears His prayer. But you know, everybody that
prays from the heart to God in the name of Christ, Christ said,
The Father will hear you. He'll hear you. In fact, Isaiah
said, Before they call, When Daniel was praying in chapter
9, do you remember reading it? While Daniel was praying, he
hadn't finished his prayer, and the Lord Jesus Christ said, Gabriel,
an angel, a man. Yeah, we've got one named Gabriel. And Michael, Michael Walker. We've got angels. Every church
has got one. And God said, while they were
praying, Gabriel, Go tell this man. Make him understand. What, Lord? That I love him. And I'm come for thy words. I'm come. You've asked for forgiveness.
I'm come to give it. You've asked for salvation. I'm
come to save you. That's Christ's. You ask to show
me your glory, I am come to show you my glory. You ask for peace
in the midst of a world of war and rumors of war, you ask for
peace of mind, of heart, I am come that you might have peace. Oh, greatly beloved, understand
these things. When I heard your word, when
you set your heart, The Lord won't hear lips only. Better to have a heart without
words than words without heart. And he did. By the grace of God,
he did. You know Daniel was glad. You
know Daniel was glad in what he heard, what he saw. Daniel
rejoiced in the Lord. You know he did. That he understood
that he is Lord. You know he did. Like the disciples
of old, they rejoiced in everything Christ did and said. Being with
them and seeing Him work and all that He said to them. They
rejoiced, they rejoiced, they rejoiced. And yet, they were
still troubled. They still mourned. They still
grieved because of sins, because of iniquity, because they were
in Babylon. Confusion of faces. We still
have some confusion of faces, don't we? Huh? Daniel prayed
that. To us belong confusion of faces.
In other words, Lord, I don't understand. I don't understand.
Why? David said that, didn't he, in
Psalm 73. Lord, I don't understand. Why this and that? The rich and
the religion is prosperous and all this. Then he went into the
sanctuary. Now I understand. But we forget,
don't we? And Peter said, I will always
have you in remembrance of these things. Paul was grieved. Paul was constantly
grieved. Paul was in captivity, in prison,
but he was free. He was free from sin. He was
free from Satan, free from the world. He really was. Like Noah
in the ark. He's free, isn't he? But he's
in that ark. He can go nowhere else. That's
freedom. Not free to do what you want. Paul was in prison. He was in
captivity, yet he was free. But he mourned and grieved over
his brethren out there in the world, which is a more dangerous
place to be. And Paul, who told us to rejoice
in the Lord always, yet he had great heaviness and continual
sorrow in his heart for his brethren, his kinsmen, according to the
plague, that they might know Christ. And he said, many walk,
of whom I tell you now, even weeping, that they are enemies
of the cross. And he said, their God is their
belly. And he said, though, to me to live is Christ. To die
is gain. I don't have to be an old man
to think that way, do you? I want to know that now. I want
to understand that now, that to die is gain. Daniel's life was Christ's, like
Paul. To me, to live is Christ, Christ
our life. Paul said, set your affection
on things above. And the moment you set your heart,
the Lord said, I came to you, to Daniel. Daniel's life, like
David, one thing have I desired. His heart, his affection was
set on Christ and Him crucified. You know, if someone is your
life, that is who you love. That is who you love. Your one true love. If Christ
is your love, He is your Father to you. When your father and
your mother... Are there any orphans in here? Here's a sense of this. When
your father and your mother forsake you, they don't know the Lord. It says the Lord will take you
up. He'll be a father to you. Any widows? He said in Isaiah
54, I believe it is, he said, I've called you as a woman forsaken,
a widow from her youth. Your maker is your husband. A widow out there, I'm trying
to tell you, where you can have peace all
alone. Because he said, I'll never leave
you. He's as close as a call. Visit with you, meet your needs,
your love, your husband, your brother, your friend, the one
you speak with, Daniel. I'm talking about a communion
with the Lord. Now, you listen carefully, okay,
because Daniel had an understanding A few people have. God, 1 Corinthians
2, says He's given us an understanding that the greater our understanding
of this and the greater our union, the closer our union with the
Lord, the greater our peace. The more we'll know of His love
to us, the less we'll be troubled. The more burdened we'll be for
people and other people, but not distraught over what's going
on. You'll understand. It's all coming
right in. And you'll know who reigns and rules. Daniel wasn't
troubled about Babylon per se. He saw all through here, he saw
one reigning and ruling, one king over it all, the Lord Jesus
Christ. If Christ is your life, like
Daniel's, He'll be your purpose in life. Like Paul said, for
me to live is Christ, to know Him. Oh, that I might win Christ.
Oh, that I might know Him and follow Him. Something of the
fellowship of His sufferings. And His conversation. If something
or someone is your life, your love, that's who you'll talk
about. That's who you'll talk to. until you talk to Him. And, buddy,
James said, ìYou draw an eye unto God, and Heíll draw an eye
to you.î He said, ìWhen you called on Me, Daniel, I mean you called
on Me from your heart.î And I'm talking to you, Daniel.
I'm talking to you. I love you, Daniel. I love you
greatly, Daniel. I love you greatly. Not just
a little bit. Greatly. And nothing can happen
to you. Nothing. And no one can do anything
to you. You're mine, Daniel. From the
minute you called on me from your heart in sincerity and truth,
I heard your words, Daniel. It wasn't just words, it's from
the heart. And I came to you, Daniel. I'm here to tell you,
Daniel, I live for you. You're my love. You're my life.
My life is bound up in your life, Daniel." You think anything could
bother Daniel from that day forward when he saw this except The other
people don't have that. If Christ is your life like Daniel's,
like Paul's, He'll be your joy and your rejoicing. He heard
the Lord speak, and if the Lord said, I'm going to speak again
tomorrow, you'll be there. What do you reckon Daniel did? Swept to here. Oh, I've got to
hear Him again. Because when He speaks, it speaks
peace. My fears are gone when He speaks
to me. I have no strength until He speaks to me, until He touches
me. I have no strength at all. I'm just troubled. My cogitation
is troubled. But when He speaks to me, He
sits me on my feet. He stands me on my standing.
When He speaks to me, He stands me on the rock. And I can stand. And I don't faint. Otherwise,
I'd get sick. Everything sickens me, sick of
myself, sick of this world. But when He speaks to me, it
heals me. The Lord was his joy and rejoicing. No life, if there's none of that,
no real love, no union, no communion, there's no relationship. Daniel,
and I close, go to chapter 12 with me. Go over to chapter 12. Chapter 12. Daniel, as I said,
was a man who was rich. He had responsibilities. Now
this is rare. You know how our Lord said, how
hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom? It's easier
for a camel to go. And people, I remind you again,
just how rich and increased with goods everybody in this room
is. Doesn't matter who you are. If you've got running water and
indoor plumbing and an automobile, you are rich, even today. Because two-thirds of the world
don't have those things. So what grace, what mercy that
Daniel, though rich, was rich in faith. That's God in it. Because these things overcome
most people. But Christ overcame him. I'm here to tell you, Daniel,
I love you greatly. And here's what I'm going to
show you. That though you have all these things, you're going
to realize you have nothing without me. that these things can't satisfy. Like he showed Solomon. Solomon
had it all. And he said, I'm here to tell
you. And he wrote two books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, to
show us all, to give us an understanding that these things are vanity. That one thing. Because when
all this passes, and yet you're united with Christ, That's an inheritance that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you." And, oh, I hadn't seen
and ear hadn't heard the things that God had prepared. Daniel was rich, had responsibilities,
he lived in Babylon, he was a ruler in Babylon, yet it didn't keep
him from walking with God. Nothing and no one. All of his
responsibilities couldn't keep him. I'm worshiping God. There's no mention of him walking
with the Babylonians. He didn't. His fellows were the
little Hebrews. If you hear of Daniel with anybody,
it'll be with Hananiah, Mashiach, and Azariah. These are his fellows.
His constant companions. Why? How could he? That fellowship. What are you
going to talk about? Oh, but Christ is his life, you
see. And so he and Hananiah and Amasiel and Azariah, when they
got together, you know what they talked about? The thing that
they were looking for, that they were waiting on, the one whom
they all loved, the one, the word they heard. Oh, he wasn't
just speaking to Daniel. The Lord wasn't just speaking
to Daniel. Over here is Hannah and I, and Machel, and Azariah,
and they're calling on the Lord too. What's the Lord doing? He's
hearing them. And He's going and telling them
the same things. I love you. And how you know that Daniel
saw the Lord was the Lord spoke to him. How you know the Lord
loved Daniel was He spoke to Daniel. Daniel heard His words.
Daniel feared, Daniel trembled, Daniel had a mourn over his own
sin and the sin of others and had a burden for the Word of
the Lord. And he listened carefully and he heard swiftly and eagerly
and promptly with desire and he set his heart and his affection
on things above and he called on the name of the Lord. And
how you know the Lord loved him was he came and he spoke peace
to his heart. He showed him Christ high and
lifted up. He showed him Christ is Redeemer.
He showed him Christ crucified. He showed him the blood that
maketh atonement for his soul. He showed him that all his salvation
was in Christ. And he gave him peace and he
said, fear not. That's how you know he's greatly
beloved. Does the Lord love me? Have you heard the Word? Do you
desire to hear the Word? Have you seen Christ? Have you
seen your need of Him? Is Christ now your life, your
love? Do you call on Him and love to
worship Him and love to be with His people? And Daniel, how do you know the
Lord loved him? Because when he saw the Lord, everything else
faded. Babylon was not his conversation. People and things were not his
conversation. Kingdoms of this world were not
his conversation. Politics and so forth and the
causes of man was not his conversation. He was in Babylon, but he was
not of Babylon. He was looking for a city whose
builder and maker is God, another country. And that was his conversation. Chapter 12 that I've closed,
let's just read it together. At that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince standeth for children of thy people. And
if you can get by the prophecies and all, the days and times and
all this, just hear the gospel here. Christ is Michael, maybe
the Holy Spirit. There'll be a time of trouble
such as never was since there was a nation. Even to that same
time, at that time, thy people shall be delivered. Everyone
that's found written in the book. Oh, brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure that you might be found
in the Lamb's Book of Life. Can you? Yeah. Many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting life, some of
them, to everlasting life. They're sleeping. He giveth His
beloved sleep. There's more than one Joseph
that is resting with his fathers right now and is going to rise
when Christ comes. But, oh my, grieve about this,
mourn about this, some to shame. and everlasting contentment. They that be wise shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament. They that turn many to righteousness
as the stars forever and ever." He's talking about preachers
and people. This world talks about these
people in California and calls them stars. Bruce Crabtree is a star. A bright and shining star. No less than that one that stood
over Bethlehem. Mike Walker is a star. Wise men, though the world scoffs
at them. And they'll tell you about perseverance.
Give you peace. Understanding stars. That would make us sick, shouldn't
it, hearing about these stars? Oh, Daniel, verse 4, shut up
the word, seal the book, for the time of the year, many shall
run to and fro, knowledge shall be increased, oh, ever learning,
never coming to knowledge of the truth. Verse 5, Daniel looked
and beheld two, one side of the bank of the river, on the other
side of the bank of the river. Once again, these are just preachers.
And one said to the man clothed in linen," you do know who was
clothed in linen, don't you, in the Old Testament? The high
priest. This is Christ who stood on the
river, in the river, from whose throne flowed this river. And
these two men said, how long does that ring a bell? James
and John, Peter, they were sitting there in Matthew 24, and they
said, Lord, how long? And I heard the man clothed in
linen, verse 7, his feet were in the waters, held up his right
hand, his left hand to heaven, swear by him that liveth forever,
the time, it will be a time and a time and a half, and we don't
know exactly how long this is, but we don't need to know. And
he will have, until he's accomplished to scatter the power of the holy
people, and then these things should be finished. What's the
power of the holy people? What's the power of God? The
Gospel. Our Lord said in Matthew 24.
Our Lord is saying the same things in Matthew 24, even speaking
of the abomination of desolation. He that read it, let him understand.
The power of God is the Gospel unto everyone that believes it.
And when He scattered this Gospel over all the world, it's over. Now you tell me, How close? Huh? It's everywhere now. He's at
the door. This is exciting. It's exciting. Troublesome for some. I heard
verse 8, and I understood not. And we do too, don't we? We hear
much we don't understand. I said, My Lord, what shall be
the end of this thing? He said, Go thy way then. The
words are closed up and sealed to the end. Go thy way. Just
go do what you're doing. Just go live your life. Keep living the way you're living. How's that? Seeking my face and
calling on me and worshiping me and attending to your business. Verse 10, many shall be purified
and made white. And tried. Oh, I want to be purified,
don't you? Made white. That's my Christ. And tried. Need that too. But the wicked, this is irreligious
and religious, they'll do wickedly. And none of the wicked shall
understand, but the wise shall. And from that time, verse 11,
from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,
the abomination that maketh desolate set up, the 1,290 days, blessed
is he that waiteth. Oh, people, let's be like them
that wait for the Lord. Blessed is he that waiteth and
cometh to the end. There's 1,305 and 30 days, and
I don't know when that is, and no man does. No man knoweth. So don't even bother looking
at it. Okay? Our Lord said you don't need. No. You just need
to wait. Go thy way, verse 13, till the
end. Thy way. Oh, the Lord knoweth
the way. of the righteous. He's taught
them the way. What is thy way? If I were to
ask you, what is thy way? You would say, some of it, Christ. Go your way. Keep trusting Christ,
following Him till the end. And listen, look, read, read. Thou shalt rest. You rest. Christ said so. Come unto me,
all ye that labor, heavy laden, I will give you rest. There remaineth
a rest, an eternal rest for the people of God. And you'll stand
in your lot. You know, you have a lot in heaven.
You have a place, the lions. And I'm here to tell you that
the lions have fallen to you in pleasant places. And your
lot is not a little cabin in the corner of glory. It is glory. You can join heirs
with Christ. He's your husband. That's your
lot. It's all about the end. Oh, thanks
be unto God. As He's come, the Son of God
has come, revealed unto us the truth, given us an understanding. Oh, but we mourn, don't we? We
want and we grieve over those that don't know our Lord, those
we love. And we need to ask the Lord to
give us a greater burden to put us on our knees and on
our faces. And us personally, to give us
a heart to commune with our Lord without ceasing. Your peace,
your comfort, your joy, your relationships, everything depends
on that. Your relationship and your union
with Christ. Everything. Everyone. All right. Stand with me and
I'll just dismiss this in prayer. Stand with me. Our great God, we have heard
Thy words, and we tremble that we don't tremble enough. Lord, we fear that we don't fear
enough. We grieve that we're not grieved
more. And yet we know our mourning,
our trembling, our grieving is not what saves us. Because it's not our frame. It's not our feelings. It's not any of these things.
It's Christ. Christ. And yet, Lord, we look around
us and we see a world in trouble, people in captivity, those we
love all around us in captivity, overcome by what God is their
belly. I do not know Thee, have blind,
have not seen Thee, deaf, have not heard Thy voice. So we ask,
we pray, we call for them as Job of old, for our sons and
daughters and grandchildren and husbands and wives and mothers
and fathers that don't know Thee, that You would make Yourself
known to them, that You would speak to them. Break their hearts
and then speak peace to their hearts. Show them Christ. Show
them their need. One thing needful. And then they'll
rejoice. And then they'll be with us.
Be with you forever in glory. Behold your glory. O Lord, we've
heard Your voice and we're afraid. And now, O Lord, in wrath, remember
mercy. In the midst of the years, revive
us, we pray. Bring us back to our first love.
Do the first works. Zealous. Lord, help us. Help us. Cause us to pray. Teach
us to pray. Make us men and women and young
people to pray. Call on the Lord. We have much
to pray about. Much to be thankful for. Much
to call on You for. Much to ask You for. Many supplications. Many needs. We are poor and needy. Surely, we have much to commune
with Thee about and talk with Thee about. Cause us to commune
with Thee. Walk with Thee. Restrain our
steps, Lord. May our way be Your way. Lead
us in paths of righteousness, for Thy name's sake. There's
so much more we need and call on you for. Lord, bring us back.
Make us ready here. We're swift to hear the Word
this middle of the week. We need that after being out
in the world to wash our feet. Lord, bring us back to hear the
Word. Speak peace to our hearts. But
if not, we pray that You'll come quickly. If You don't come, bring
us back. We pray that You'll come back
quickly, Lord. Save us, Lord, we pray in Christ's
name. Amen.