[0:00] Hail us, Lord, rejoice by my, my wicked Lord.
[0:14] The madman thou art against his Lord. The madman thou art against his Lord.
[0:33] For I have conscience, he did not. Hear me as if they are yet.
[0:52] I'm with my finger and my tongue. O tender, dear, some misery.
[1:11] Because thy God was Lord of peace.
[1:23] I'm glad, O tender, dear, dear. Therefore, it was the very rich.
[1:42] I'll come again, this past year. My desire shall always.
[2:02] Where shall be high in grifting hearts. And I am with the earth and our way.
[2:21] Much like a thrill of him.
[2:32] But the Lord shall still endure. From ginger and all new history.
[2:52] And to all ginger and ginger. Shall I remember from ceremony.
[3:11] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. Our blessed God, enable us to come with thankful hearts into the presence of the God who provides us with every good and perfect gift.
[3:36] God who provides us with every good and perfect gift. God, the God who is the source of life itself. Who upholds us. And who sustains us. And who ministers to us.
[3:49] Not just as your creatures, but as those who possess the divine image, however marred it may be by reason of sin.
[4:00] You have given us the capacity to worship. You have given us the capacity to worship. And to plead the merits of another because we have done of our own.
[4:12] You have given us the wide정 time of sadSe optimized. Amen. There treasures you acknowledge that and make love is another one now. here truths, may I ask them a particular guest. Let us may see and release that and go with them.
[4:24] cần. of their own attainments or for anything that is true of them. They do instead know and are convinced of the fact that there is a name that is above every name that they have a right to and that right has been bestowed upon them.
[4:47] They could not and did not claim it for themselves and through the gospel of your grace you drew them to yourself and you embraced them with the salvation that is necessary for all fallen men and women.
[5:07] We give thanks that as we worship your great name this night that you have allowed us to come to this place that it is our portion, our privilege our prerogative even to come as we ought.
[5:25] Lord, we pray that you would encourage us by finding our place here a place that you are willing to honour by touching us with your word and to open the eyes of our understanding as it is passed before our eyes.
[5:44] As we read it and as we even have it upon our lips may we understand that this is your word that you have grafted it into the pages of holy writ and that it is something that you have enlivened by reason of your so doing that it is above and more than any word that man can possess.
[6:13] However, love be a place that we give to the writings of men and women of many generations and there are many writings that deserve attention and consideration but none more so than your word.
[6:32] It is a word that is possessive of life itself and we give thanks that as we turn to it we can believe and trust in it because it speaks to the needs of our soul.
[6:47] It speaks to us of the one who is Christ the Lord that commends him to us and it convinces and convicts us of our need of him.
[6:59] May such a conviction come through the ministration of your Holy Spirit that we might indeed know what it is to be intensely aware of that the sinfulness into which man fell and the guilt that is bestowed upon us through the actions of our first parents that we have added to by our own.
[7:31] We pray for that convincing to come from on high so that not only would we have the intellectual capacity to entertain that truth but the inner conviction that follows on from the direct involvement of your own Holy Spirit.
[7:50] So bless each one of us as we appear in your presence in this place this evening remembering every gathering of your people the world over.
[8:01] We can begin here as the epicenter of our own experience remembering the villages round about us the congregations represented there the ministry of the gospel that is ongoing.
[8:15] We pray that you would bless the labours of your servant that you would encourage your people as they pray for blessing to come upon the world that is sown that it may find fertile ground into which that seed falls and takes root that it may as the seed that is sown in the field by the hand of the crafter or farmer that it may enter your hand be the source of of conviction that there is life from on high as a result of your activity so that the seed is not something that lies dormant but that raises up in due time to yield fruit which is to the glory of the name of the one who has given life to it.
[9:13] Remember the nations of the earth we commit them to your blessing this evening even under the sound of the gospel. We find ourselves so often convicted in our heart because of the wayward waywardness of our own nation a nation that has known much blessing in times gone by and yet now we find ourselves guilty of the dereliction of duty that is so evident in the way that your world is despised your servants are rejected and the message of truth is substituted for vain lies we know that that is the way it has always been even when the son of your bosom came into this world it is written of him that he came so as to be despised and rejected of men accused of being a wine whipper accused of being a friend of sinners accused of being one who propagated untruth and who was brought to the cross because of the accusations that were levied against them false as they were he was judged and found a criminal and yet for these crimes he was not crucified but for the very fact that he bore the sins of his people in his body to the tree and there he bore these sins in order that life without end would be the possession of those who put their trust in him we pray your blessing upon that word that promotes his name and that as he is as we even mentioned today already as he is lifted up may he draw all men to him so bless the gospel bless the preaching of it remember those who would witness to it remember those who are fearful because their witness brings the reality of what it is to be a Christian in a world that is hostile to Christianity we think of the places in the world where there are evidence of persecution where those who believe in Christ are imprisoned or worse that they are put to death we give thanks for the testimony of the saints and for the day that will produce such things as those who have gone to glory with the name of
[11:59] Christ upon their lips even though as Stephen showed with his example as he was stoned by his enemies father forgive them for they know not what they do as we look into glory with his eyes may we see something of what he saw of the glory of a God who is sitting on the throne of the universe we acknowledge that our sight is poor and that we see little of that glory with the eyes that we possess but you are able to open these eyes and allow us even access into the hidden mysteries of the Godhead through your word remember all we would entrust to your care and keeping this evening our congregation here those who form part of it members and adherents and those present and those not pray for those unwell and we commit and commend them to your care and remember those who are feeling fear and dread concerning what the future holds for their loved ones may they learn to trust in the Lord
[13:15] Jesus Christ as the great physician one who is able to care for the soul and we know that your word testifies to the truth concerning our souls that even though our bodies perish those whose soul is in the hand of the most high God are assured of all that salvation being theirs in its fullness we pray then that you would bless the world to us this evening remember all that we would pray for and those that are prayed for unbeknown to ourselves may the prayers of your people be as one watch over us and grant pardon for our sins in Jesus name Amen I'm going to sing now from Psalm 32 Psalm 32
[14:16] I'm going to sing from verse 7 through to the end thou art my hiding place thou shalt from trouble keep me free thou with songs of deliverance about shalt compass me I will instruct thee and teach the way that thou shalt go and with mine eyes upon me set I will direction show then be not like the horse or mule which do not understand whose mouth lest they come near to thee a bridle must command unto the man that wicked is his sorrows shall abound but him that trusteth in the Lord mercy shall compass round ye righteous in the Lord be glad in him do ye rejoice all ye that upright are in heart for joy lift up your voice we can sing these five stanzas
[15:16] Psalm 32 from verse 7 to the end thou art my hiding place thou shalt from troubles keep me free thou art my hiding place thou shalt from trouble keep me free thou wisdoms thou love of allсть shalt comes shalt I will instruct thee and thee thee the way of thou I shall go, and with my eye upon thee set, I will thy wretch and grow.
[16:32] Then be not like the heart of you, which do not understand, whose mouth has become near to thee.
[16:58] A brighter must come on, unto the man that wicked is.
[17:15] His sorrow shall not hurt, but in the cross and in the Lord, may he come upon right.
[17:39] Ye righteous in the Lord be glad, and in the Lord rejoice.
[17:57] O ye that love and bright are in heart, for joy in the Lord be glad.
[18:14] I am going to read from the Old Testament Scriptures from the book of Daniel, this evening with reading chapter 10.
[18:29] The book of Daniel, chapter 10. In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar, and the thing was true.
[18:50] But the time appointed was long, and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks.
[19:03] I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth. Neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
[19:15] And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river which is Hidikil, then I lifted up mine eyes and looked.
[19:27] And behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were gilded with fine gold of fufus. His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning.
[19:42] And his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass. And the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
[19:56] And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. For the men that were with me saw not the vision. But a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
[20:08] Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision. And there remained no strength in me. For my comeliness was turned me into corruption.
[20:22] And I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words. And when I heard the voice of his words, Then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
[20:38] And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, Understand the words that I speak unto thee, And stand upright, for unto thee am I now sent.
[20:58] And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then he said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, For from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, And to chasten thyself before thy God, Thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
[21:19] But the prince of the kingdom of Persia resumed me one and twenty days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.
[21:31] And I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand, What shall befall thy people in the latter days?
[21:42] For yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, And I became done.
[21:54] And behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spake, And said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, By the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, And I have retained no strength.
[22:15] For how can the servant of this, my Lord, Talk with this, my Lord? For as for me, Straight away there remained no strength in me, Neither is there breath left in me.
[22:32] Then there came again and touched me, One like the appearance of a man, And he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, Fear not, Peace be unto thee, Be strong, Yea, be strong.
[22:49] And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, And said, Let my Lord speak, For thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?
[23:01] And now will I return to fight With the prince of Persia. And when I am gone forth, Lo, the prince of Grisia shall come.
[23:13] But I will show thee That which is noted in the scripture of truth, That there is none that holdeth with me In these things, But Michael, your prince.
[23:25] Amen, And may the Lord add his blessing To a reading of his word, To his name be the praise. I'm going to sing now from Psalm 51.
[23:40] Psalm 51, And we're singing from verse 14 to the end. O God of my salvation, God, Me from bloodguiltiness set free.
[23:59] Then shall my tongue aloud sing Of thy righteousness. My closed lips, O Lord, By thee let them be opened. Then shall thy praises By my mouth abroad be published.
[24:13] For thou desirest not sacrifice Else would I give it thee. Nor wilt thou with burnt offering At all delighted be. A broken spirit is to God A pleasing sacrifice.
[24:27] A broken and a contrite heart. Lord, thou wilt not despise. Show kindness and do good, O Lord, To sign on thine own hill.
[24:38] The walls of thy Jerusalem Build up of thy goodwill. Then righteous offerings Shall they please. And offerings burnt Which they withhold Burnt offerings And with calves Shall on thine altar lay.
[24:56] These verses, Psalm 51, From verse 14 to the end. O God of my salvation, God, Me from bloodguiltiness set free.
[25:07] O God of my salvation, O God of my salvation, Lord, Me from bloodguiltiness Let them be open and let draw thy greatest wine of night.
[26:16] A broadly holy head for thy desires of heart and light.
[26:37] As would I give thee, nor will I ever call the name.
[26:56] A broadly holy head for thy name. A broad and fair, dear God.
[27:17] A pleased, dear God. A broken arm that calms thy heart.
[27:36] Lord, thou wilt not be thine. Chor, thine, thy name.
[27:53] A broad and fair, dear God. A broad and fair, dear God.
[28:04] The world's all I give. And the world's all I give.
[28:18] And the world's all I give. Then rises on in jolly flea.
[28:36] And the world's all I give. And the world's all I give. With all my life.
[28:50] And the world's all I give. And the world's all I give. I have a broad and fair, dear God.
[29:06] And the world's all I give. And the world's all I give. Back to Daniel chapter 10. This evening we're looking at this 10th chapter.
[29:18] As we're coming close to the end of this book, we find that Daniel is becoming more and more involved in deeper and greater mysteries.
[29:37] You wouldn't be wrong, I suppose, if you identified the book of Daniel as a book of visions, a book full of dreams.
[29:49] And yet, the start of the book, the first half of the book, Daniel is the interpreter of dreams. Other people's dreams, people come to him and he is God's vehicle for bringing life to bear upon the truths that these visions and dreams contain.
[30:13] But as you come into the latter end of the book, Daniel himself is the recipient of these visions and he must find light or an answer to the mysteries that they contain.
[30:33] And in chapter 10, what we have really is a precursor to the last of the visions that Daniel is going to be given.
[30:45] It is a prelude to it. And he is confronted by a situation which marks him physically, mentally and spiritually.
[31:08] And I want us just to spend some time this evening looking at this passage. Some people say it's not really of great import in the sense that the final part of the book is what is of the greatest interest to us.
[31:30] But if we don't appreciate what leads up to it, then we won't be able to understand what Daniel is presented with.
[31:42] The scene is set for us in the chapter. We find that the time of it, the time that this takes place is set out quite clearly.
[31:58] In the third year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar, and the thing was true. For the time appointed was long, and he understood the thing and had understanding of the vision.
[32:15] And even that statement itself is complicated. But essentially what it is telling us is that at this time Daniel was confronted with a truth or truths that he needed to be able to appreciate.
[32:37] The place where and when of the vision is set out for us there. And the river that is mentioned there is probably the Tigris.
[32:55] But what's more important is it tells us when God was speaking to Daniel.
[33:09] It directs us to what lies behind what is happening here. If we don't understand that, then we don't understand where Daniel's prayer is coming from.
[33:30] And even then, with that information at our disposal, it is clearly something that those who look at scripture may dispute because of their own understanding of these events.
[33:46] But we're told that it was in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia. Now what happened when Cyrus became king was he decreed the return of the Babylonian Jews to their own homeland.
[34:12] He gave permission for them to return and to set about rebuilding Jerusalem and rebuilding their temple. That permission was given to all.
[34:25] Although, well, the scripture itself tells you exactly what took place. In the book of Ezra, the picture is drawn for us.
[34:37] In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stood up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
[35:10] Who is there among you of all his people? This God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel.
[35:22] He is the God which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver and with gold and with goods and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
[35:40] Now that's the beginning of the book of Ezra. And it corresponds with the words at the beginning of chapter 10 here. Daniel is still in Babylon, but he is aware that there have been those who have returned back to Judah, and have set about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, rebuilding the temple.
[36:10] And some ask the question, why did Daniel himself not return with him if permission was given, if it was permitted for him and all others to return?
[36:29] And I don't suppose there is an answer to that, other than that God wished him to remain where he was, because his responsibility was to the people who were still in bondage.
[36:44] But, you know, that is really what lies behind the prayer that he offers.
[36:55] Because he says, And in the fourth and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which we said was the river Tigris, as it is called today, that he had this sight.
[37:28] Now, what, this is the question that many ask, what was it about the situation that confronted Daniel that promoted such a spirit of angst in his heart?
[37:44] So I'm surprised to us to know that he was a man of prayer, that he prayed, because obviously throughout this book, we see him earnestly and repeatedly engaged in prayer to God.
[37:58] He is a man of God, he is a holy man of God, who is constantly engaged in prayer. But here it seems that the prayer that he offers is deeply, a prayer of deep grief to him.
[38:17] It is, well, we've seen in the previous chapter, how his penitence echoed the penitence of the people. His prayers often corresponded to the need his people had to repent of their sin.
[38:35] And even though his own life was not a life full of sin as theirs was, he still confessed sin as somebody who understood it better than they did, even though they were guilty of it.
[38:51] Now, whether there is an enhanced vision of the corruption of the people, or is it just, as some suggest, the grief that he has, that those many who remained in Babylon, have remained because they have no desire to return to Judah.
[39:17] They have been in Babylon for so long, and they are content there. There, as somebody put it, not only do they reside in Babylon, Babylon resides in their heart.
[39:33] they have betrayed themselves by the lack of longing they have to return to their homeland and to the fully armed relationship that they should have with God.
[39:50] Now, clearly, that could be an answer to the concern that Daniel has.
[40:02] It is, it is, doubtless, a grief to him that there are many who are resident in Babylon who have no inclination towards the godliness that he espouses, or the godliness that he encourages.
[40:25] They are quite content the way they are. And it may well be that what we have here is an example of how how we can succumb to the spirit of worldliness no matter who we are or where we are.
[40:49] If we are not guarded against it as those who have to, you know, if you understand their situation, they couldn't but be in Babylon for the time they were there.
[41:05] They were there against their will. They were there as those who were in bondage. They were there because their enemies had taken them from their home. And you would think that when the time came for that to be at an end they would would break their necks to return.
[41:26] But that's not the way it is. Now whether that lies at the heart of Daniel's grief or maybe it's even more simple than that.
[41:36] I would suggest that all that was concerning Daniel was he wanted everyone to return. And it was a sorrow to him that they were not allowed to return or that they did not in turn en masse.
[41:51] And that itself was a concern to him. Well, whatever it is that we find here as a reason for the grief of Daniel of Daniel.
[42:03] While the reason is not explained to us fully there's no question but that Daniel was grieved. And the sorrow of his heart comes out in the way that he presents himself to God.
[42:19] He is someone who is praying and as a man of prayer he is not just praying but fasting and not just fasting but denying himself his legitimate bread.
[42:35] And you know he says it says there that neither did I anoint myself at all to three whole weeks were fulfilled. You might think that means he didn't wash for three weeks but that's not really what is implied by it.
[42:49] What is meant by it is that the anointing of oil is something that speaks of the enjoyments of this world. The oil of gladness many of the commentators draw attention to this that the pleasures of life were renounced by him and he chose to deny himself that because of how he saw the circumstances of the people.
[43:21] And his desire is presented to God and he prays and it's not a short prayer. He it lasts for a time that is quite considerable three weeks and the scripture tells us that it was for that duration.
[43:50] Now I don't suppose we might think this is an exaggerated picture and yet the reality is that Daniel was such a man of God that what concerned him was the glory of his God and the glory of the cause of God and he was affected by it whenever that cause was undermined or affected.
[44:26] And I suppose that's the most simple question we can ask ourselves. This is not something that you can manufacture. It's not something that you can create within you.
[44:37] No, we're used enough to hearing people speak about the plight of the church today. and speak about the lack of spirituality that marks it out.
[44:55] And we hear people complain about the way that today there is no sense of sin, there's no awareness of the damage that the kind of lifestyle that is embraced by many is is not a concern.
[45:18] And we can say that and we should say it but that doesn't mean that we are affected by it in the same way that it affected Daniel.
[45:31] Nobody would question the grief that was in the heart of Daniel because of the circumstances that prevailed. this was somebody who was mortified.
[45:46] He was feeling shame not just for himself because we believe he was identified with the sins of his people even though they were not his own personal sins because he was one of them because they were his people because they were God's people he did not feel anything but the sorrows that are identified here for us.
[46:20] I ate no pleasant bread neither came flesh or wine in my mouth and God sees him God hears him and God listens to him even though he goes on to say that for three weeks he was involved in this and sometimes we wonder we are in awe of God's timing we want God who can hear and answer prayer at an instant we expect him to do it but we wonder why he doesn't but the reality is the truth is that God's timing is like no other it's a timing that corresponds to what is best for his people and for his own glory one of the commentators I was reading was an American I think he's a Presbyterian
[47:21] I think possibly a southern Presbyterian but he made reference to the fact and you know this is how God works mysteriously in response to prayer and he said it was during the time of the American Civil War and if you read about the American Civil War what is true is that on opposing sides of that conflict there were many Christians many Christians many genuine born again Christians and they were opposed on the battlefield and they prayed to God and they worshipped God and they prayed for success for their own military operations and they prayed the same prayers to their God wanting success for their own side against the opponents and there is a mystery how you can have two factions all worshipping the same
[48:29] God and this is what this man said he referred to the words of Abraham Lincoln and what he did say was there were so many fast days that were called by both sides during that conflict that it was unreal they would call a fast they would call a day of repentance both sides and they would require their soldiers and their people to confess their sin and to return to God and Abraham Lincoln said this both read the same Bible and pray the same God and each invite his aid against the other it may seem strange that any should dare ask a just God's help in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces but he said let us judge not that we be not judged the prayers of both could not be answered that of neither has been answered fully the almighty has his own purposes and
[49:44] Lincoln was wise enough to you know he said this and it's written off him more than once that there were people there who were genuine believers who prayed genuinely to their God asking their God to intervene and to answer in the terms of their asking and at the time of their asking but the truth was always the same however righteous their cause was the answer that God gave was always going to be the right answer and the timing of the answer was always going to be the right time and the Lord's people sometimes have to discover for themselves under God's instruction that when God works he works in mysterious ways as wonders to perform he works in ways that we cannot understand and for
[50:47] Daniel this was his plea this was his petition petition perhaps for the recovery of his people a petition for the restoration of his people to their homeland a petition that God's will would be done now would you think that Daniel's petition would ever think that what he was asking for would ever be contrary to anything that he asked because as you will see this prayer this petition this business with God God is going to teach Daniel something as he will teach us something about his ways and his strategies and that he is involved in the world that governs the whole of it and the extent of it as far as time is concerned
[51:54] Daniel may want an instant response but when God's eye is upon the world what he is saying today you might think this is the urgent need that we have as a generation here and now God must answer and do and we must understand that it is him that's doing it but his eye is not just upon the here and now you know you go back to Ezra and Ezra was saying according to the prophecies of Jeremiah according to God's word through Jeremiah the prophet the people of God were being restored God had already decreed a restoration God had already determined the number of who would be restored and yet that does not mean that what God did was not leaving them accountable it was not leaving them without culpability if they could go home and did not go home if they preferred to stay where they were when they should have turned their back upon it and washed their hands of it and embraced the old ways rather than be embroiled in the ways of the flesh which was very much in evidence in
[53:14] Babylon when we see Daniel pray the response comes and the response is not a complete vision if you like instantly we see him he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen whose lines were girded with fine gold and so on he was confronted with the personage that spoke to him and caused his bones to melt and caused his knees to shake and caused him to feel terror in his very limbs and almost to a man the commentators compare this encounter that
[54:14] Daniel has with what we see in the book of Revelation when John the divine was presented with a similar vision or encountered in the midst of the seven candlesticks one likened to the son of man clothed with a garment down to the foot and gout about the paths with a golden girdle his head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire whose feet like unto fine brass as if they burnt in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength and when I saw him I fell at his feet the two encounters the similarity to the two encounters that we have there very similar the glorious view of this personage that some describe as an angel some describe as an angel of light some describe us as a theophany which is a physical manifestation of
[55:43] God or a christophany which is a physical manifestation of Christ before he embraced our human nature now I believe myself looking at these words I believe that what Daniel is presented with here is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to him directly it is in the because it is pre incarnate it is before Christ came in our nature but that does not mean that he could not present himself in a tangible form to the eyes of Daniel now some people say that's not right that Calvin for example believes him just simply to be an angel but we cannot get away from the fact that what he saw it had a pronounced fact it had a pronounced impact upon him and it's strange that here as in other places you see such an encounter he sees this but those who are with him and there are people with him and they didn't see what he saw but it doesn't mean that they weren't aware of what he saw because he says
[57:09] I Daniel alone saw the vision for the men that were with me saw not the vision but he says a great quaking fell upon them so that they fled to hide themselves therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision a mystery there is it not how could he see what they could not even though they were standing beside him but at the same time why could they not see what he saw when they were made aware that there was somebody there there was something there and they fled in terror well there is a mystery there is something there that is inexplicable there is something there that even Daniel himself might struggle to understand but there is no doubt but that what he saw influenced him greatly he we are told how he was deprived of strength my comeliness was turned into corruption
[58:15] I heard the voice of his words and when I heard the voice of his words there was a deep sleep on my face and my face toward the ground he prostrates himself he is fearful and the angel doesn't say to him don't do that he doesn't forbid him from prostrating himself in his presence but whether it is Christ as a theophany or God as a theophany or Christ as a theophany Christophany or an angel from the Lord ministering to him directly it is that God's bidding takes place and Daniel is convinced that it is nothing other than God his hand touched me a hand touched me which set me upon my knees upon the palms of my hands and he said to me Daniel a man greatly beloved understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright and so on and it's an encounter with the supernatural that can only be explained as such and it is preparatory it is the way by which
[59:36] God is opening the door to Daniel to prepare him for a greater disclosure still something that perhaps even though Daniel was a man of God who knew God the word of God that were things about God that he did not understand that were things about God's ways that he did not fully appreciate that there was something about being in this world that he was not familiar with because God's world was not the same world that he lived in to the same degree and what do I mean by that well we are told that Daniel is to be given a vision of the future and he feels perhaps unprepared for such a vision but it speaks of an ongoing warfare it speaks of a battle which can have but one victor and when
[60:39] God is speaking to him he is speaking to him not just as a surveyor of the events of this world but the one who is sovereign in all its affairs he is able to superintend the schemes of men to direct the schemes of men you saw it even in the introduction we had where Cyrus said this is what he did and nobody would convince Cyrus of anything other then I did what I wanted to do I let this people back to the goodness of my heart but he did so because God the Lord was working in his heart making him do what he would not otherwise have entertained and God shows that he is sovereign in that respect in the mystery of his providence many things take place that there are furtherance to his cause in this world that no man sees but God does and this is what Daniel is going to be introduced to that there is a spiritual warfare that goes on in the world that there is a host of of of the dark world that are engaged in in a constant warfare and be known to us you see the description that he that he gives here the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days but lo
[62:23] Michael one of the chief princes came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia now that's a difficult thing to understand but I think at the heart of it there is this that while God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass we don't doubt that we don't question it even when he uses the principle rulers of this world to do his bidding there are the rulers of this world who are constantly resisting the will of God they know they can't do it permanently they can't successfully conclude to defeat the will of God but that doesn't mean that they won't do it that doesn't mean that they won't seek to defeat him and God in his mercy is revealing this to Daniel and he is going to open it out further have you ever questioned this promise that we have in the book of Genesis one of the commentators makes mention of this simple promise that we have given after the fall
[63:36] I will put enmity between thee and the woman between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel and to the woman he said I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children thy desire shall be to thy husband shall rule over thee you understand to a degree what that is promising but where do we see this enmity where is it testified to where is this constant engagement taking place and we're told in the new testament by the apostle Paul who speaks of his awareness of it as somebody who is himself the focus of it in Ephesians chapter 3 chapter 6 he speaks to the church to the people of
[64:36] God and he tells them what he tells them that in this world that they are met with hostility from places that they may not be aware of he says we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places wherefore take unto the whole armor of God that's the world in which you and I live we might say I know why this person doesn't like me I know why this event is being put on because it's something that is wanting to promote something that is different to what I believe in but why what is behind it what is really stimulating that kind of influence that is exerted on your world on my world if you go back again to the people of
[65:53] God who returned to Judah who set about to build the walls of Jerusalem what did you find were they allowed to go ahead and do their utmost to put up the walls and to build the stones and put them one after the other without hindrance without anybody opposing it of course they weren't they were again and again having to encounter all kinds of enmity sometimes from sources that were often unexpected and that's why Paul says what he does and this is why Daniel is going to be he's being prepared for what the Lord is going to introduce him to by way of a vision a vision which shows that God is at work in a world that is constantly engaged in a battle and that the victory is God's but he needs to understand how that is going to be remember he's looking forward with anticipation to what
[67:01] God is yet to do and we'll see that I hope as we look at the last two chapters of this book and may God bless a few thoughts as he let us pray oh Lord oh God we acknowledge that there are truths presented to us that we may struggle to understand and to put plainly in our own thinking let alone put it plainly to others help us to understand the truth help us to understand it as your truth help us to appreciate that you are speaking these truths to us in order to prepare us for encountering all kinds of resistance to the true God and the son of your bosom Christ Jesus bless us in his name and grant mercy for our sins in him amen the closing psalm is psalm 130 we'll sing the whole psalm psalm 130 lord from the depths to thee
[68:04] I cried my voice lord do thou hear and to my supplications voice give an attentive fear lord who shall stand if thou o lord shouldst mark iniquity but yet with thee forgivenesses that feared thou mayest be and so on the whole psalm to God's praise lord from the depths to thee I cried Lord from the depths to thee I cried my voice lord do hear and to my close to all with each person's voice give one thou can't hear Lord who shall stand in love o
[69:15] Lord who splussia I am iniquity, but yet with thee forgiveness is not fair, thou beest me.
[69:42] I wait for God, my soul hath weighed, my hope is there, this night, more than without all morning.
[70:12] My soul was far apart, I say for the day I could watch.
[70:34] The morning I will be, let it die, my heaven hold in the Lord, all within the sea.
[71:00] And then the earth's redemption is ever heard within.
[71:20] I am iniquity, I am iniquity.
[71:32] I am iniquity. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[71:43] Amen. Amen. Amen. Peace from God the Father, the Son of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with you all, no more and always. Peace from God. Amen. Amen.
[71:54] Separated with me today. Amen. Ab cart.