Faith When God is Silent

[0:00] Please take your Bibles out. There's obviously, that's where we're going to be spending the time. And I want you to look back into your Old Testament. We're going to look at the book of Daniel. Today, the book of Daniel of entitled this sermon, Faith When God is Silent.

[0:19] I'm not sure how many of you, and I know there's quite a few of you who've either watched it, but I don't know how many of you guys have actually either been or seen a Billy Graham crusade.

[0:31] What's interesting about a Billy Graham crusade is that there is an order of how things happen. One of the messages that Billy has preached is he begins with an assessment of the world.

[0:47] So if you would watch a Billy Graham crusade, perhaps on YouTube from the 70s, he's going to talk about the Cold War. If you would have heard him later in life, he's going to bring up issues such as AIDS or health issues that are plaguing the country.

[1:06] We go back to the 60s, he's certainly going to be more intense about segregation and some of the issues that we saw in the United States. But he's going to reference, and you're going to hear words such as chaos, violence.

[1:24] He's going to talk about anguish, disease, and pain, and how all those things affect us. I was wondering if he were speaking on TV today before tens of thousands of people in the stadium, he would talk about pandemic, viruses, and we didn't mention the word fear, life change.

[1:55] But then he does this subtle switch. Talks about sin that infects us. He'll talk about how there's a thing called forgiveness that is available to us.

[2:09] That there is redemption for all people, no matter what color, what race, what nationality they have.

[2:21] And he will call out to them in their loneliness, their despair, their depression. He just kind of sums up all these things that we go through as people.

[2:33] And then he simply says, and it's almost verbatim in every sermon. He simply says, all of us want to be loved. All of us want somebody to love us.

[2:47] And he tells the story about this God who loves you so much that he sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins.

[3:00] That his love is so great for us that he will come into our lives and change the direction of our lives. And that he will make us a new person.

[3:18] And then he kind of steps away. And then he invites people to come down. Come. Come receive Jesus Christ.

[3:30] It's interesting. I found this one journalist writing on the experience simply says, When Jesus says, come, come they do. At first, there's a trickle of people.

[3:41] And then he says, it's almost as if floodgates open. Individuals walk down. Couples walk down, holding hand in hand. And sometimes there's entire families.

[3:53] There's this empty space that is before Billy as he sits there. And that space ends up becoming consumed with people.

[4:04] People who are weeping because they are gripped by their somber conviction. Others, our eyes are pointed forward, wondering what is going down.

[4:16] Can this God actually forgive me? Some stew about their shame of their past. And then others are smiling in their running.

[4:29] They feel liberated, joyous. Many have stated that they finally feel like they are home. At that moment, this journalist asked, if you were to ask the question, what is faith?

[4:46] He states, on one night where you observe such a work of God, you do not need to define faith. Faith was almost palpable to those people that day, he writes.

[5:03] They reached out to God almost as if they were expecting to physically embrace him. Faith drained them of the guilt that oppressed them.

[5:14] Faith replaced the despondency they had with hope. And faith infused them with new direction and purpose. And then he uses this one interesting word in this article.

[5:28] Faith was like a cool water soaking their parched soul. And heaven was unlocked to them. Do you, or have you ever had this experience about faith?

[5:47] That it's home. That it's free. That your parched soul is now satiated.

[5:58] Faith. Some of you might just simply state, faith has never been like that to me. It can't be.

[6:12] Faith isn't always that easy. In fact, there's certain people, some of us, who desperately want that faith. And we want that feeling. We want that yearning and ability to be able to embrace God or better yet, have him embrace us.

[6:28] Yet, we still aren't there. We hunger for spiritual certainty. Yet, there's something that prevents us from getting there.

[6:40] There's some hindrance. They wish they could taste that kind of freedom. But they see that there's these obstacles blocking their past.

[6:54] Objections pester in their mind. They want that faith, but there's still doubts that drag on their legs like a shackle and chain.

[7:08] Their hearts want to soar with God's, but they believe it is their intellect that keeps them tied down.

[7:19] If you were here with us last week, we learned about what faith looks like when we do not understand life. The reality is, as much as we think at any moment that we understand life, we don't.

[7:35] It can turn on a dime. It can change on a whim. For us, it's just a government announcement that simply says, do not gather. We read the news.

[7:47] We see all these things going around. And it's happened so quickly. Today, I want to look at what life looks like when God is silent.

[7:58] When God is silent, or at least appears to be silent. I don't know if you've ever been in that position in your spiritual life, where you felt at one time that God was loud and clear, that there was no room for doubting.

[8:14] But perhaps over time through a situation, whether it be personal or going on outside of you, that is affecting. Or maybe it's just been a long, slow march away from God.

[8:37] I was quite young when I came across Psalm 10. The psalmist begins the psalm with a question. He simply asks, why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

[8:59] Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? The word Lord that the Hebrew author is using in that verse is Yahweh, the personal God.

[9:18] It's the word that God uses to demonstrate that relationship that he has with Israel.

[9:29] Yet here in this moment, this writer is asking this question, O Lord, why do you stand away?

[9:40] Later on, if you read in Psalm 13, psalmist asks, how long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

[9:54] And notice the vernacular. He's not saying, how long will it be till I see you? But he's asking the question, how long will you hide your face?

[10:07] From his perspective, God has removed himself from that relationship. And then Psalm 22 is almost a heartbreaking beginning.

[10:21] It says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?

[10:34] From the words of my groaning? Seemingly the most, almost the exact words, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ stated on that cross.

[10:49] Before he died. The reality is, some of you feel this day in, day out. Some of you feel this every month.

[11:01] Some of you might feel this once or twice a year. But the reality is, we're in uncertain times. There's deep effects to our economies, our families.

[11:12] We're worried about those who are away. Just your friend. Just simple things are happening. Just a simple story of a very good friend losing his grandmother over this past week and not being able to be there at the end with her.

[11:30] Not permitted to be with someone that he loves so very much. And then there's times in our lives when we ask these questions. Is God actually hearing me?

[11:44] Well, I want to share with you a story today about a man who lived in very confusing times. A man who, by all rights, could rightfully ask these very questions.

[11:55] But when we look at the book of Daniel, most people think, aha, prophecy. We're going to hear about prophecy.

[12:06] Or Daniel, we're going to hear about Daniel in the lion's den. Or we're going to hear about Daniel's three friends who were thrown in the fiery furnace. We're going to hear about how their incredible faith saved them through this time.

[12:20] We're going to learn today what I believe is probably one of the most profound and amazing chapters in Daniel. And I want to take you to that.

[12:31] So please turn with me to your book. We're going to start in Daniel 1. And we're going to kind of do a quick overview. We're going to insert ourselves at different parts of the story of Daniel.

[12:42] And I'm going to try to bring you up to speed on what's going on. But before I do, I've got to give you a context of what's going on. So as you know, there was a man named David who was the king of Israel.

[12:55] He was the second king after Saul. He had a son named Solomon. And after Solomon died, the kingdom was divided into Israel. God's people had split their kingdom in two halves.

[13:09] You had Israel to the north, and then you had Judah to the south. Judgment had come to northern Israel in 740 BC.

[13:23] God used the Assyrian Empire to come in and enslave those people. But Judah survived.

[13:35] Although the people had fallen away from God, God intervened in the life of Judah, and Judah was not defeated. And over 100 years later, judgment was finally coming to southern kingdom.

[13:53] And I need to put that time frame. I believe it was 533 when we read yesterday about the Babylonian Empire coming in and bringing judgment upon Judah.

[14:05] And we noticed that the northern part was 740. That's almost 200 years. Our country is not even 200 years old.

[14:16] Think of the timeline, the lives, the thinking, how everything would have just gone on. And many people would have clung to those promises.

[14:29] Well, you know, we had sin here in this country. We were rebelling. So God took the southern part, but he's leaving us, or took the northern part, and he's leaving us southern part.

[14:41] And we know his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So everything is going to be fine here. God will always protect us. You know, because here we have the Jerusalem.

[14:53] We have, you know, what's known as Zion. We have the temple. And there's no way that God would ever allow judgment to come upon us. So God, time after time, would say prophets and prophets and prophets, warning the people, repent, repent, follow my ways.

[15:14] Judgment came. Last week we heard about that judgment, and the people called the Chaldeans, the precursors to the Babylonians. They swept in, destroyed their city.

[15:32] So now we meet this man named Daniel. I want to take a quick overview, as I said. So Daniel's challenge is Daniel lived at a time when the temple was destroyed, and there was no more promised land.

[15:48] There was no city upon which the prophecies spoke about. The sermon's going to be a little bit different in that I want us to read the pages of Scripture together, because there's so much power in these words.

[16:06] I just want to give you the context. I want to read these verses together with you. And I want you to pour yourself into understanding what's going on.

[16:17] So let's take a look at Daniel 1. This is chapter 1. So it begins with the conquering of Israel by a man by the name of King Nebuchadnezzar.

[16:29] King Nebuchadnezzar. He's the king of Babylon. The people are now in exile, which would be present-day Iraq. Now, what Nebuchadnezzar does here was quite common in those days.

[16:44] He tends to take the best and brightest young minds, and he begins to train them in the ways of their nation. So please read with me, starting in verse 3.

[16:55] Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance, and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

[17:32] And now what we know from these next few verses is that Daniel and his three friends are chosen to be their youths, chosen from among their people. They would have been stripped from their mother and daughter.

[17:45] They would have been separated from their brothers and sisters. And here's this people that has had this unique Jewish culture are told, we're going to strip you of that, and we want the best and brightest, so we're going to take them from you, and we're going to train you in how we are and what we are like.

[18:06] Now look down to verse 14. Scholars believe that Daniel would have been around between the ages of 12 and 15 years of age at this time. 17.

[18:16] 17. As for those four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

[18:29] At the end of the time when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

[18:46] Therefore they stood before the king. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all the kingdom.

[19:03] They had excelled in every aspect of their learning. They didn't mull. They didn't groan.

[19:14] They didn't fight. They didn't run away. But God, for some reason, gave them a peace that they could go into this foreign land, learn what they could, but they were still going to hold on to something that they are.

[19:30] Take a look at the second chapter. Now, chapter two and three are two chapters that are about King Nebuchadnezzar.

[19:41] We're going to get to them at a later time. If anybody ever thought that Donald Trump was a tough boss firing people all the time, they need to get a load of this guy.

[19:54] Look with me at Daniel 2, verse 14. So basically, at this time, a dream had been given to King Nebuchadnezzar.

[20:06] It was a great dream that bothered him, and he could not interpret. Nobody could interpret. And he challenged them all it was. And Nebuchadnezzar, being quite smart, when they asked him, tell us the dream and we'll interpret it.

[20:21] And he's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. If you guys are as intelligent and wise and enchanted as you are, you should know what my dream is. So this man Daniel goes before this king.

[20:35] It says, then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Ariok, the captain of the king's guard who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.

[20:47] For King Nebuchadnezzar said, if you cannot answer my questions, I will kill you all. He declared to Ariok, the king's captain, why is the decree of the king so urgent?

[21:01] Then Ariok made the matter known to Daniel. Verse 16. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time that he might show the interpretation to the king.

[21:13] I want you to note something here. I want you to note the humility that Daniel displays. He doesn't jump up and down.

[21:25] He doesn't jump shouting, I know it, I know it. He's not panicking, even though he's under now a sentence of death. He humbly goes before the king's guard and makes this request.

[21:38] Verse 17. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, and Mishael, and Azariah, his three companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

[22:03] So here we see Daniel going before the Lord God Almighty. And in verse 9, then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night.

[22:15] Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. So here's Daniel under sentence of death, continues in his service to God. Doesn't complain about it.

[22:28] Says, hey, that's not my fault. We're owed something better. He just continues to humbly serve. Could have tried to escape, given up, walked away, complained, get mad at God.

[22:48] But he doesn't. He actually goes beyond service. When asked by the king if Daniel can interpret his dream, Daniel replies in verse 26.

[23:01] He says, Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen in its interpretation? Daniel answered the king and said, No, wise men, enchanter, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked.

[23:20] Daniel does not say, I can interpret your dream.

[23:37] I have the answer. But he simply says, God is the one who reveals these things. Here we're seeing a greater demonstration of humility as he points to God.

[23:52] We all know what happened. Daniel gets the dreams correct, saves all the lives, and now Daniel's seeing in a completely new light. He's actually rewarded with being ruler over the province of Babylon and he becomes the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

[24:15] You'd think things would look great for him. So over the next couple of years, through his wisdom, he would prosper, he would grow, more people would know his name, and he would be an incredible influence in order to bring his people back to Israel.

[24:33] But that's not what the book of Daniel describes. In fact, we're going to learn that we learn that he serves King Nebuchadnezzar in chapters 3 and 4, but something happens in chapter 5.

[24:48] Please turn with me in chapter 5. At this time, there's a new ruler in Babylon. His name is Belshazzar.

[25:00] Historians believe that it is the grandson. It says in the Bible that this was Daniel's son. We understand that Belshazzar, he had a father, were kind of co-regents.

[25:14] So his father could have been ruling elsewhere, perhaps fighting. His father's name was Nabonidus, and Belshazzar was running the country at this time.

[25:27] So let's take a look at verse 1, chapter 5. King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

[25:40] Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver and of silver that Nebuchazzar, his father, had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

[26:04] So it wasn't a matter of having the treasures of Israel. Now he's going to disgrace them. Then when they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lord, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.

[26:25] They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. And immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace opposite the lampstand.

[26:49] And the king saw the hand as it wrote. I want you to pay attention because the writer here uses this word color changed several times.

[27:02] Verse 6, then the king's color changed. I'm going to guess whatever color he went, he changed to something else, probably white as an albino.

[27:14] And his thoughts alarmed him. His limbs gave way and his knees knocked together. Great fear has come upon this king. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers.

[27:30] The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads the writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

[27:45] Then all the king's wise men came in and they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then king Belshazzar was greatly alarmed.

[27:56] Here we read it again. His color changed and his lords were perplexed. Notice verse 10.

[28:08] The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall and the queen declared, O king, live forever.

[28:19] Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. Notice verse 11. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.

[28:38] In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. I want you to understand the implications of these verses.

[28:54] Daniel is no longer known. He's no longer over the magicians. He's no longer over the astrologers. He's no longer governor over the province of Babylon.

[29:07] Perhaps upon the death of Nebuchadnezzar, his son just kind of did away with all those who served him and perhaps in his youthful impotence thinking he wanted his own wisdom.

[29:20] So, here was a man who had done great things for his king who was known to have the wisdom of the gods.

[29:31] was thrown out of the capital. And it says, the wisdom of the gods were found in him.

[29:44] And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father, the king, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers. Because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret genes, explain riddles, and solve problems, were found in this Daniel whom the king named Belteshazzar.

[30:09] Now let Daniel be called and he will show the interpretation. Obviously, Daniel, when he was put aside, did not fight for his right or his position, but he humbly served.

[30:30] Now what's noticed is this is believed to be a time of 15 years. 15 years Daniel was set aside and now the king's son didn't even know him.

[30:41] Let's look at verse 16 together. This is Daniel before the king. But I've heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you'll be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

[31:07] This is less of an offer that he had from his father. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another.

[31:20] Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. Then from his presence his hand was sent and the writing was inscribed.

[31:33] And in the writing was inscribed Mena, Mena, Tekel, and Parson. This is the interpretation of the matter. Mena, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.

[31:52] Tekel, you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Perez, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

[32:08] Then Belshazzar gave the command and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler of the kingdom.

[32:25] That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. Some things come and some things go.

[32:40] Notice even the promise that Nebuchadnezzar had made to him. You'd think that would have lasted to be the one who oversaw all of Babylon, but yet he was forgotten 15 years.

[32:56] Obviously, Daniel knew this wasn't going to last very long. History tells us that the people of this great city got so drunk that the Persians were able to enter the city and kill the king, king, and thus Darius the Mede ruled.

[33:16] Now turn with me to Daniel 6. Daniel 6. Here, we know that Daniel is now one of the top three ranking men in the kingdom.

[33:30] Daniel 6 tells us that he has become distinguished above all other high officials because of an excellent spirit in him. And in fact, the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

[33:45] Obviously, we read the story where jealousy set in. The king was tricked into making a decree that no other god could be worshipped. And we know that Daniel worshipped his god, and he was sentenced to be thrown into a lion's den.

[34:04] This is now taking place 66 years later. I know when we read the children's books and we see Daniel being thrown into the den of lions, he looks like he's a young 22-year-old, but in actuality, he's a man who's closer to 80 years of age.

[34:31] probably still very virile and healthy and strong just by virtue of his diet and following the Lord. Now, let's go down to verse 16.

[34:47] Then the king commandment, as we know, he was commanded by the law of the Medes and the Persians, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. the king declared to Daniel, may your God whom you serve continually deliver you.

[35:08] And a stone was brought and laid at the mouth of the den. And the king sealed it with his own signet, meaning that it could never be open without royal authority, and with the signet of the lords that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

[35:26] Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions.

[35:45] This is also a testimony to Daniel. The reality is kings don't haste for anything. Everything comes to him.

[35:55] But there's somewhere in this relationship that this man has come to truly value Daniel because of the excellency that is found within him.

[36:09] Verse 20. As he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel.

[36:19] He didn't even want to open the stone yet to get the bad news. He's just crying in, O God, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?

[36:36] Imagine what he had heard, just the excitement. Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. My God sent his angels and shut the lions' mouths, and they had not harmed me because I was found blameless before him and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.

[37:01] We know what happens. Daniel is released and all those ones that made the accusations against Daniel were thrown into the pit and the Bible tells us that their bodies were unable to touch the floor for they were devoured by these lions.

[37:18] Now, I want you to pay attention to Daniel here. Where is Daniel's faith placed in this unwavering faith that continually humbles himself, humbles, praises God, praises, gives all glory to God, and even is humble to those who have done great evil to his people.

[37:48] verse 28 says, so this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. How did he do it?

[38:03] How did he do this? This is the question that I want to answer for you today. I want you guys to see four truths that Daniel clung to for all of his life.

[38:21] What's amazing, and I think it's probably one of the most overlooked chapters, is chapter nine. In chapter nine, we see Daniel's heart laid out before us.

[38:33] Turn with me to chapter nine. The first truth that Daniel always knew is that God is never silent.

[38:48] This is the first thing I want you to take from today. God is never silent. He may seem far away, but he's not. He may seem like he's not speaking, but he's not.

[38:59] He's never silent. Read with me, Daniel nine, chapter verse one, and I want you to see it for yourself. In the first year of Darius, the son of Aserus, by descent to Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that according to the word of the Lord, to Jeremiah the prophet must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years.

[39:41] It's like Daniel had his own copy of the book of Jeremiah. He had read it, and he had held on to it, believing that God's word never fails, never lies.

[39:56] So he kept this to himself, and we have the same things in our Bible. we can keep these promises that even though God may be far away, and he may not be speaking, but here Daniel is relying that God had prophesied that you guys are going to be in captivity and away from your home for 70 years.

[40:22] He accepted that. And even though he was going to be away from his friends, his family, and his home, he diligently sought to not only trust God, worship God, but to serve him in any way that God allowed him to.

[40:44] Daniel placed his hope on God's word, and he knew that as long as he had God's word, God would never be silent, sinned, because he believed in the prophecy that after 70 years they would return home.

[41:04] And just so you didn't realize, 70 years later they returned home. The second thing I want us to know and learn as Daniel did, is that God is in a relationship with us.

[41:20] To those who call themselves believers in Jesus Christ, we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Let's take a look at Daniel 3. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer, and pleased for mercy, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

[41:45] I prayed to the Lord, my God, and made confession. You see, even when we think God might be silent with us, we understand that relationships are two ways.

[42:03] We are encouraged to communicate with God. He wants to hear from us. He wants to know the depths of the pain in our soul, our fears.

[42:14] He wants us to bring these things to him. to pray for his mercy. In fact, it says to plea for mercy, to confess.

[42:33] Sometimes when we're in trials of faith, we quit praying, we quit confessing, we quit pleading. but it's the exact opposite that we're called to do.

[42:53] Maybe it's not God that is silent. Maybe it's just that we are the ones being silent. God loves those who obey him.

[43:05] The third aspect that we learn about Daniel is that God loves those who obey him. God loves those who obey him.

[43:18] Let's look at verse 4. I prayed to the Lord, my God, and made confession, saying, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.

[43:40] That's the ultimate aspect of a relationship, isn't it? It's wanting to please another, to obey, to lessen ourselves, and increase them.

[43:51] We place their desires above our desires. We place their concerns over our concerns. Our love story with God begins when we accept him as our Lord and Savior through faith.

[44:08] That we in our heart make that decision that we are going to follow him from this day on. That's the first act of obedience that we do to God.

[44:21] And when we do that, we now trust in his promises as Daniel did. That God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him.

[44:39] I know these are tough times. We have families in our congregation right now just because of this COVID-19 and because the hospitals are going to be overwhelmed.

[44:55] They're moving tests off. They're moving examinations. They're pushing them to the side. It can have extreme complications for us.

[45:10] And it's hard. I know some of you are going to have to wait longer. perhaps your spouses are going to concern themselves worrying for you as loved ones should.

[45:31] But if you've been obedient to the Lord God Almighty and you serve him with all of your heart, mind, and soul, God has a covenant and steadfast love for you.

[45:46] God has to God what he wants is far better than we could ever want for ourselves. And this is what Daniel is relying upon.

[46:01] Our steadfast love needs to be demonstrated with steadfast obedience. God's God has to be God's God.

[46:13] God has heard the God's God's God's God. I remember at 9-11 people were allowed to go to churches and church population boomed for about a month.

[46:28] They wanted God there in that time that they did not understand. But it only took about a month for them to forget him again. See the reality is God's seeming silence is never an excuse to disobey.

[46:49] Not understanding God's ways is never an excuse to disobey. And I want you to see the final lesson that we learned from Daniel.

[47:04] God loves the humble. God loves the humble. Let's look at verse five.

[47:19] We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled turning aside from your commandments and rules.

[47:37] We have not listened to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings our princes and our fathers and to all people of the land.

[47:51] to you O Lord belongs righteousness but to us open shame.

[48:05] As at this day to the men of Judah to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to all Israel those who are near and those who are far away in all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery that they have committed against you.

[48:32] Are we humble enough to understand that we have sinned? We have done wrong? We have acted wickedly? We have rebelled?

[48:45] We have turned aside from God's rules and His commandments maybe that is what God is calling you to do right here right now to confess to acknowledge these truths.

[49:08] He's calling you to repent. Jesus Christ is calling you to follow Him.

[49:23] Maybe today is the day that He's calling you specifically to remember Him and call out on His name. I want you to remember these four truths.

[49:43] God is never silent. God is in a relationship with us. God loves those who obey Him and God loves the humble.

[50:02] God is to God to pray for you. God is that you would want these things of yourself that you want to be known and loved by God and walk in His ways.

[50:20] please pray with me. Dear Lord Heavenly Father we just pray we continue to read these passages over the next several weeks.

[50:36] I pray that we would truly come to understand exactly who you are and what you want of us. I pray that you give us clarity to your communication that we have in your word oh Father.

[50:53] There's going to be many who are going to come to deceive and give us false information. But Father we need to come to the realization that we have your word and you are never silent.

[51:04] That we can depend upon your promises that you will hold us still even during these confusing times. Father we need to believe that we are in a relationship with you.

[51:17] We need to cry out in prayer. this isn't a distant relationship but this is a close. This is your Lord Yahweh the covenant God. God I pray that we would believe that you love those who obey you and are humble.

[51:40] Father I pray that you would work in our lives to make us humble make us understanding and that we would truly desire to obey you in all these things to love you.

[51:57] Father it's the prayer of my heart that we would come to understand the heart of this man Daniel who you used mightily for generations. May we be blessed with a life like that whether it be in our homes with our children raising kids in humbly God obedient ways.

[52:19] May we work and tarry in such ways in our workplace when we're able to that everyone would know of your excellency in our language with our friends and those who are around us.

[52:36] May it be known that we are excellent people who reflect a most excellent God. Father you are awesome in glory.

[52:48] We thank you for this cross in which upon you offer us forgiveness. May you bless us the rest of the week and keep us safe and hold tight those families that I know of who wait upon further information from their doctors where they are.

[53:07] May you keep them spiritually strong. May you keep them loved by you in a way that is reflected in our church. We ask you these things in your most great and glorious name.

[53:21] Amen.