WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.900 We're going to read from the Bible, from the book of Daniel, chapter 10, verses 1 to 21. 00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:09.980 The word of the Lord. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:16.559 In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:19.460 And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:22.640 And he understood the word and had an understanding of the vision. 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:27.500 In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:34.700 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks. 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:40.519 On the 24th day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 00:00:41.140 --> 00:00:43.219 I lifted up my eyes and looked. 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:50.320 And behold, a man clothed in linen with a belt of fine gold from Uthaz round his waist. 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:56.640 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:02.880 his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:05.540 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.260 For the men who were with me did not see the vision. 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:12.099 But a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:17.560 So I was left alone, and I saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:23.000 My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:29.640 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep, 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:31.280 with my face to the ground. 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:36.359 And behold, a hand touched me, and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:38.159 And he said to me, 00:01:38.540 --> 00:01:43.400 O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:46.560 and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:50.340 And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 00:01:51.219 --> 00:01:51.740 Then he said to me, 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:56.460 Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, 00:01:57.100 --> 00:01:58.680 and humbled yourself before God, 00:01:59.020 --> 00:02:02.659 your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:06.400 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:09.539 but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:12.599 for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:17.359 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. 00:02:17.859 --> 00:02:19.780 For the vision is for days yet to come. 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:22.659 When he had spoken to me according to these words, 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:25.680 I turned my face towards the ground and was mute. 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:30.319 And behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:32.459 Then I opened my mouth and spoke. 00:02:33.019 --> 00:02:34.719 And I said to him who stood before me, 00:02:35.379 --> 00:02:37.299 O my Lord, by reason of the vision, 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:40.479 pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:43.019 How can my Lord's servant talk with my Lord? 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:47.259 For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me. 00:02:47.899 --> 00:02:51.039 Again, one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:56.099 And he said, O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you. 00:02:56.459 --> 00:02:58.179 Be strong and of good courage. 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:01.219 And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:04.039 Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.319 Then he said, Do you not know that I have come to you? 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:08.239 Do you know why I have come to you? 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.620 But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia. 00:03:11.760 --> 00:03:14.800 And when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:17.879 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. 00:03:18.100 --> 00:03:23.780 There is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. 00:03:24.320 --> 00:03:26.280 This is God's holy word. 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:32.500 We'll take two weeks to finish our series on Daniel from last semester. 00:03:32.920 --> 00:03:36.599 And then we'll start a new series on the book of James for the coming semester. 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:42.819 And so we need a refresher review, or maybe you've not been here at all for Daniel. 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:48.000 So what happened in the book of Daniel is that the king of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar, 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:52.639 went to Jerusalem in 605 BC, and he conquered Jerusalem. 00:03:53.019 --> 00:03:57.459 And he sought to destroy the people of God, their religion, their way of life, their culture. 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:03.259 He wanted to turn them into polytheists and to Babylonize them, we might say. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.099 He didn't do it primarily by violence, only partially. 00:04:06.459 --> 00:04:11.459 He wanted to assimilate them and make them into Babylonians, into polytheists. 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:16.780 So chapter 1 to 6 is these stories of Daniel and his friends and what it means to be faithful. 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:20.900 When you've been taken into exile, when you've been taken into a place, 00:04:20.939 --> 00:04:27.560 you live in a city where your faith, belief in the Lord is irrelevant to most people, 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:33.340 or thought to be silly, or traditionalistic, or fundamentalist, or even dangerous. 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:37.139 And so the question in the book of Daniel is, how do you live faithfully 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:44.219 in a place where most people disregard your faith, your belief in the Lord, in the midst of exile? 00:04:44.919 --> 00:04:47.560 And so we've seen these principles throughout the book of Daniel. 00:04:48.939 --> 00:04:50.479 Daniel teaches us what to do. 00:04:50.539 --> 00:04:55.879 He's such an example to live with conviction without compromise in the midst of exile, 00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:59.939 to live in a place where you are not separate from the city. 00:05:00.159 --> 00:05:02.800 You are in the world, but you're not of it at the same time. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:07.420 So to reject the idols of Babylon or the idols of the city of Edinburgh, 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:10.180 but at the same time to be for the city. 00:05:11.139 --> 00:05:15.540 The nuance of Jeremiah 29, this letter that God wrote to the exiles, He said, 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:20.240 pray for Babylon, live in Babylon, seek the peace of the city. 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:22.639 It's in our philosophy of ministry, our vision statement, 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:26.379 that we're to be in the world, but not of it, for the city, 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:29.139 seeking its true peace, its shalom. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.639 And that's what the book of Daniel is all about. 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:37.719 The back half of Daniel, 7 to 12, are four visions that Daniel sees. 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:40.959 They're apocalyptic visions, that famous word. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.800 And apocalyptic visions are prophecies. 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:46.439 They're highly imagistic. 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:47.800 They're shocking. 00:05:48.219 --> 00:05:50.459 And they really are, and a way to think about them is, 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:54.279 they are comfort food for the ancient Near Eastern person. 00:05:54.779 --> 00:05:58.240 So they are there for when you are in the midst of exile, 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:02.980 under oppression, under a yoke, in a place where nobody believes what you believe in. 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:06.879 These shocking visions are actually comfort, comfort food to say, 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:10.220 the true God, the God you worship really is the Lord of history. 00:06:10.220 --> 00:06:12.220 And you need to trust that while you're there. 00:06:12.460 --> 00:06:15.840 And so that's the section we're in, the back half, these apocalyptic visions. 00:06:16.340 --> 00:06:18.740 This is the fourth vision, the final vision. 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:21.900 And it's three chapters long, chapter 10 to 12. 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:25.519 So we'll just look at chapter 10 today, and then 11 and 12 next week. 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:29.960 And this is really the prologue of the vision, chapter 10. 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:34.840 So verse 1 says, the third year, we're in the third year of King Cyrus. 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:37.019 That's 536 BC. 00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:42.779 And the question in the book of Daniel has been, again, 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:44.779 how do you live by faith in the midst of exile? 00:06:45.359 --> 00:06:47.799 In a place where your faith, most people think of your faith as irrelevant. 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:49.459 That's the overarching question. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:53.379 The question of chapter 10 is a little more specific within that. 00:06:53.719 --> 00:06:55.620 What is it that prompts this vision? 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.500 And the question I think we could say is something like this. 00:06:58.859 --> 00:06:59.839 What do I do? 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:00.599 What do we do? 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:06.939 When we have been faithful, when we have prayed, when we have sought the peace of Babylon, 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:10.620 the peace of Edinburgh, and we've not seen ministry fruit, 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:16.520 we've not seen ministry success like we longed for, 00:07:16.640 --> 00:07:20.120 that's really the question that prompts this vision. 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:24.220 And so let's look at that, the problem here, that problem. 00:07:25.020 --> 00:07:28.080 Faithfulness, yet not seeing ministry success, ministry fruit, 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:32.839 and then the three things God gives us answers really to that problem. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:34.259 So first, the problem. 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:39.379 Now in verse 2, if you look down with me, Daniel is mourning. 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:42.079 He says, I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 00:07:43.099 --> 00:07:45.299 He says, I ate no delicacies. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:49.939 So he ate for three weeks, 21 days, no good food, no meat, no wine, 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:51.659 nor did I anoint myself. 00:07:52.099 --> 00:07:54.279 The text says, nor did I put lotion on. 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:59.919 So for 21 days, dry skin and dry heat, that's what he's saying. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.539 He's fasting and he's mourning, we're told here. 00:08:03.539 --> 00:08:07.599 Now, what's so striking about this is that when you read between the lines a little bit, 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:13.459 he says that the vision came to him on the 24th day of the first month of the year, 00:08:13.919 --> 00:08:15.599 in verse 3, 4. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:21.160 And that month in their calendar is the month of Nisan, or Nisan, we Americans say. 00:08:23.280 --> 00:08:26.060 Nisan, the first month of the calendar. 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:31.560 And if you know maybe a little bit about the Torah, the book of Leviticus especially, 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:36.899 you'll know that in the middle of that first month is the feast of Passover. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:39.340 And so this is the month of Passover. 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:44.879 And it really is a violation of the law to be fasting at Passover. 00:08:45.420 --> 00:08:49.320 It's like fasting on New Year's Eve, violation of all norms. 00:08:50.580 --> 00:08:53.019 And yet he is, he's mourning. 00:08:53.300 --> 00:08:53.600 Why? 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:57.420 The month of Passover, a month of great celebration in the Hebrew calendar, 00:08:57.920 --> 00:09:00.759 a month where you're celebrating the ministry success, 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:04.379 the ministry fruit of redemption from Egypt, from the slavery in Egypt. 00:09:05.420 --> 00:09:08.639 And Daniel here is mourning instead. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:09.080 Why? 00:09:09.439 --> 00:09:12.179 And again, you have to know a bit of the context in history, 00:09:12.319 --> 00:09:13.620 read between the lines a little bit. 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:16.679 But we know that this is the third year of the reign of Cyrus. 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:18.699 And in the first year of the reign of Cyrus, 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.699 Cyrus, the king of Persia who conquered Babylon, 00:09:22.199 --> 00:09:25.879 let the Jews, the Israelites in Babylon, 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:30.580 go back to the land of Jerusalem, Israel, to rebuild. 00:09:31.379 --> 00:09:35.439 So that 70-year prophecy that Daniel had prayed about in chapter 9 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.440 has come about, Cyrus, this king, this pagan king, 00:09:39.520 --> 00:09:43.720 has let the people go back to restore the temple in Jerusalem. 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:47.000 Yet, remember Daniel is head of state. 00:09:47.540 --> 00:09:51.320 He gets all the letters from the governors all around the Babylonian Empire, 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:52.380 the Persian Empire now. 00:09:52.900 --> 00:09:54.260 So he has read the notices, 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:56.679 and he knows that for the past three years, 00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:02.159 the project of restoration in Jerusalem has been terrible, awful. 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:03.620 It has not gone well. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:06.120 The temple is not rebuilt. 00:10:06.259 --> 00:10:07.279 The walls are not rebuilt. 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:09.639 And you can read about that in the book of Ezra. 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:13.240 Ezra chapter 4 says that really from the first day 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.919 of this great hope of rebuilding the temple, 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.639 enemies were opposing it, 00:10:19.319 --> 00:10:21.419 both inside the Israelite, 00:10:21.699 --> 00:10:22.779 in the nation of Israel, 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:25.099 and foreign enemies as well. 00:10:25.979 --> 00:10:30.459 And that even one of the real reasons I think he's mourning 00:10:30.459 --> 00:10:33.620 is because really the people of God back in Jerusalem 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:35.679 just are not doing what they're supposed to do, 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:36.860 what God has told them to do. 00:10:37.439 --> 00:10:38.779 They lack courage. 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:42.000 They don't have the faithfulness and the strength 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:43.439 that Daniel and his friends had, 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:44.180 that Esther has, 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:46.100 that Ruth has in the midst of exile. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.320 And instead, what we really see is in Ezra, 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.560 the people of God have Babylonian hearts back in Jerusalem. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:54.760 And Daniel has heard about it. 00:10:55.640 --> 00:10:57.500 And so he's here in the month of Passover, 00:10:58.120 --> 00:10:59.980 the month where you're supposed to celebrate redemption. 00:11:00.420 --> 00:11:02.740 And he's mourning because there is no restoration. 00:11:02.920 --> 00:11:03.540 There is no redemption. 00:11:04.580 --> 00:11:06.740 And so really you can see here that he's mourning 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:08.160 a lack of ministry fruit. 00:11:09.300 --> 00:11:12.260 He has lived his entire life with faithfulness 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:15.360 to see the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.819 And he thought the prophecy of Jeremiah, 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:20.100 the 70 years would finally bring it about. 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:20.980 And it hasn't. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:22.779 And now a deeper level, he's probably, 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:25.580 he's at least 85 years old at this point. 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:26.500 And he's probably thinking, 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:29.559 I'm going to die and never see the ministry 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:32.759 that I lived for come about. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.080 And that's, he's weak. 00:11:35.139 --> 00:11:35.700 He's confused. 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:37.480 He's exhausted. 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:38.519 He's exhausted. 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.440 Did God's promises fail in all this? 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:42.340 Now, what about us? 00:11:42.420 --> 00:11:46.019 I think that we can see where he is, 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:47.899 believer in the room. 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:50.800 Probably the most obvious place 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:53.440 is when you have prayed for someone, 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:56.060 you've longed for someone to come 00:11:56.060 --> 00:11:58.560 and see the truth about Jesus 00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:00.620 and to follow him or to return, 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:02.639 to come home again to the faith 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:04.920 for years, for a long time, 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:06.539 and it's not happened. 00:12:07.319 --> 00:12:09.740 And maybe even beyond an individual, 00:12:09.979 --> 00:12:12.000 you've prayed for a movement of the gospel. 00:12:12.179 --> 00:12:13.679 That's in our philosophy of ministry as well. 00:12:13.839 --> 00:12:14.699 A movement of the gospel. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:18.039 In a community, in the city, in the nation, 00:12:18.599 --> 00:12:20.059 you've prayed for revival 00:12:20.059 --> 00:12:21.679 and it's not come. 00:12:22.099 --> 00:12:23.659 And you're saying the same, 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:24.719 you're thinking the same things, 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:26.319 a state of mourning and grief over that. 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:29.240 Secondly, three answers God gives 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:30.939 to this problem. 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:33.000 A lack of ministry fruit. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:35.080 In the midst of faithfulness, 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:35.720 in the midst of prayer, 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:36.879 in the midst of longing for it. 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:37.960 Number one, 00:12:39.019 --> 00:12:41.179 the first is through Daniel's example. 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.200 So Daniel, part of the reason Daniel's mourning 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:47.039 is he's provoked by the people of God 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:48.379 not doing what the people of God 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:50.179 are supposed to be doing back in Jerusalem. 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:53.960 And we have the same experiences 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:56.240 where we look in our lives out 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:58.080 and we see the people of God, 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.840 churches, whole denominations, 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:02.800 not doing what they're supposed to be doing. 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:07.360 Not doing what God has called us, them to do. 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:09.480 And of course, we not only see it 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.500 in local churches and denominations, 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:12.840 but we can look back and say, 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:14.420 hey, I see it in my own life as well. 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:16.620 That there are seasons where I look up 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:17.740 and realize I'm not doing 00:13:17.740 --> 00:13:20.580 what God has called me to do in life. 00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:22.480 And so this could be hypocrisy, 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:24.879 passivity, 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:27.040 sitting on hands, 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:30.399 bearing our ministry treasures, 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:32.259 as the New Testament puts it, 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:33.959 succumbing to fear, 00:13:34.339 --> 00:13:36.279 not having ministry boldness and courage, 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:39.899 changing core doctrines more substantially, 00:13:40.459 --> 00:13:41.860 disregarding the truth of the Bible 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:43.299 more substantially, 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:46.159 not caring for one another pastorally, 00:13:47.500 --> 00:13:49.360 secret sins that are blocking 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:50.799 the successes of ministry, 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.779 ignoring the ethics of the Bible 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:55.000 in huge ways. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:57.139 And the list could go on and on, right? 00:13:57.959 --> 00:13:58.879 So what do you do 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:00.319 when you see hypocrisy, 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:01.379 let's say hypocrisy, 00:14:01.439 --> 00:14:02.319 and so many other things 00:14:02.319 --> 00:14:03.740 in the lives of churches, 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:05.439 denominations, 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:06.720 even in our own lives, 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:08.919 we see it in our hearts personally as well. 00:14:09.319 --> 00:14:11.259 And a lot of the answers today 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:11.600 is we, 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:12.579 some of us, 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:13.720 some of us, 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:14.419 generically, 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:15.779 we will maybe deconstruct. 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:16.779 We'll say, 00:14:17.439 --> 00:14:18.779 well, there must be a different version 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:20.699 of the faith that I need. 00:14:21.199 --> 00:14:22.699 That was the fundamentalism. 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:25.920 I need something more progressive than this. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:29.800 Or we'll respond with anger and bitterness. 00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:32.460 Or we might respond with passivity, 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:34.500 just continuing to kind of just not care 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:35.960 and be okay with that. 00:14:36.020 --> 00:14:36.620 How does Daniel, 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:37.780 the first answer we get here, 00:14:38.020 --> 00:14:38.480 what do you do 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:39.640 with the lack of ministry success, 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:41.860 especially when it's because God's people 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:43.660 aren't doing what God has called them to do? 00:14:43.800 --> 00:14:45.900 The first thing we see is Daniel, 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:47.840 he doesn't deconstruct. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:52.259 He grieves to God 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.139 with lengthy, 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:56.700 extended seasons of prayer. 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.080 So here Daniel fasts 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.639 and he prays for three weeks. 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:05.019 Have you ever entered into a season 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:08.399 of extended prayer and fasting 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.019 because of a ministry burden, 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.320 because of something you long to see God do 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:15.540 that hasn't yet happened? 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:17.699 And boy, can we say in 2026, 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:20.659 I want to want to fast and pray 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:22.559 because of a ministry burden, 00:15:22.719 --> 00:15:25.379 because of fruit that I haven't yet seen 00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:26.980 that I long for God to do. 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:28.500 And in verse 12, 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:29.659 this messenger, 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.480 we'll come back to the messenger in a moment, 00:15:31.599 --> 00:15:33.639 comes to Daniel and says, 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.860 from the first day 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:36.279 that you set your heart 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:37.639 to understand, 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:39.299 to pray through prayer, 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:40.480 you humbled yourself. 00:15:40.959 --> 00:15:42.439 Your words have been heard. 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:43.880 So for three weeks, 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:45.140 he thinks I'm not being heard. 00:15:45.280 --> 00:15:45.980 Nothing's happening. 00:15:46.520 --> 00:15:47.860 But this messenger comes and says, 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:49.220 from the very first moment, 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:50.460 you started fasting and praying 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:51.880 for this ministry burden you have, 00:15:52.020 --> 00:15:52.680 this person, 00:15:52.780 --> 00:15:53.480 this people group, 00:15:53.980 --> 00:15:54.940 this hope of redemption 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:55.980 that's yet unseen. 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:57.120 You have been heard. 00:15:57.220 --> 00:15:58.260 Your prayers have been heard 00:15:58.260 --> 00:15:59.260 the entire time. 00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:00.080 And notice Daniel, 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:01.580 how Daniel comes. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.060 He's the way the messenger speaks. 00:16:04.140 --> 00:16:05.000 It's saying Daniel knew 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.120 he did not understand. 00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:06.460 He said, 00:16:06.520 --> 00:16:07.600 Lord, I don't understand 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.700 why the temple's not being rebuilt. 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:10.620 He didn't understand. 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:12.280 So he humbled himself 00:16:12.280 --> 00:16:14.820 with a season of prayer and fasting. 00:16:16.020 --> 00:16:17.300 He didn't turn bitter. 00:16:17.400 --> 00:16:18.200 He didn't turn silent. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:19.020 He wasn't passive. 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:20.080 He didn't deconstruct. 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:25.480 Do you pray your griefs to God 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:26.840 for seasons 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:30.200 because of unresolved hopes, 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:33.020 not yet seen redemptions 00:16:33.020 --> 00:16:35.360 in people's lives that you long for, 00:16:35.580 --> 00:16:37.700 for revival that hasn't yet come, 00:16:37.700 --> 00:16:39.740 for ministry that you want to see this year 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:41.340 that you don't yet see? 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:43.660 That is the ministry. 00:16:44.520 --> 00:16:45.500 That is the ministry, 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:46.040 the prayer, 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:46.800 the fasting, 00:16:47.420 --> 00:16:49.280 the pleading with God for long seasons. 00:16:49.280 --> 00:16:49.940 That's the ministry. 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:51.920 I was working over the holiday 00:16:51.920 --> 00:16:54.940 on 2026 goals, 00:16:55.259 --> 00:16:56.360 looking at the calendar, 00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:57.520 both for the church, 00:16:57.660 --> 00:16:59.060 praying through some goals 00:16:59.060 --> 00:17:00.440 I longed to see here at the church 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:01.600 and also personally for me. 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:04.140 And I'm sure lots of people of us 00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:05.400 will have done something like that 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:06.059 over the break. 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:08.339 And one of the things I noticed this week 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:09.079 as I was studying 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:10.940 and thinking back through Daniel 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:12.019 up to this point 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:14.079 is Daniel was a great, 00:17:14.299 --> 00:17:16.799 he was a man of prayer. 00:17:16.919 --> 00:17:17.940 He was a great prayer, 00:17:18.179 --> 00:17:19.599 prayer-er, we might say. 00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:22.539 And we, I'm sure with me, 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:23.500 many of us in this room, 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:24.099 men and women, 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:24.720 we could say, 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:26.200 boy, I want to be a man 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:27.899 or a woman of prayer this year 00:17:27.899 --> 00:17:30.279 in a way that I wasn't in 2025. 00:17:31.159 --> 00:17:32.559 That's the first answer God gives. 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:33.980 That's the ministry. 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:37.000 Secondly, secondly, 00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:38.660 what does God say to us here? 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:43.000 He says to us through this messenger 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:46.099 that we need a deep sense of modesty. 00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:47.400 He teaches us modesty. 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:49.160 All right, so the second thing is 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:50.640 he shows us how little we see. 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:52.180 So in verse 13, 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:56.220 this messenger speaks and says, 00:17:56.360 --> 00:17:57.599 the prince of Persia, 00:17:57.860 --> 00:17:59.460 the prince of the kingdom of Persia 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:02.500 has withstood me 21 days, 00:18:02.600 --> 00:18:04.600 but Michael came to help me. 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:07.660 Now here what's happening is 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:08.140 God is, 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:10.200 the messenger is pulling back the curtain 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:13.240 and notice how many days 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:14.720 this prince of Persia 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:16.160 withstood, 00:18:16.340 --> 00:18:17.700 contended with the messenger. 00:18:18.100 --> 00:18:18.799 21 days. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:20.759 How long did Daniel enter 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:21.880 into prayer and fasting? 00:18:22.140 --> 00:18:22.960 Three weeks, 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:24.059 21 days. 00:18:25.100 --> 00:18:25.420 You see, 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:26.460 what's happening is that 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:27.559 the messenger is saying 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:28.799 that from the moment 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:30.140 you started praying, 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:31.360 battling in prayer 00:18:31.360 --> 00:18:32.799 for ministry fruit, 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:34.579 behind the curtain, 00:18:35.340 --> 00:18:36.860 there was spiritual warfare 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:38.700 directly contending 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:39.700 with your prayer life. 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:42.720 So who is this prince of Persia? 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:44.759 We know that in a moment 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:47.100 he calls Michael a prince. 00:18:47.620 --> 00:18:49.680 He calls Gabriel in this book 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:50.220 a prince. 00:18:50.340 --> 00:18:52.200 These are not earthly princes, 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:53.100 sons of kings. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.799 It's a word that's being used 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.319 to describe angelic beings. 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:56.859 And here, 00:18:57.139 --> 00:18:58.000 the prince of Persia 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.399 is an evil, 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:00.759 what we will later call 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:01.319 in the New Testament, 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:01.939 a demon, 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.000 a demonic force, 00:19:03.379 --> 00:19:04.599 an evil spiritual being 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:06.399 that has been withstanding 00:19:06.399 --> 00:19:07.939 Daniel's prayers 00:19:07.939 --> 00:19:09.699 before God for 21 days. 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:11.099 You can think of Satan 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:12.059 before Job 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:12.799 and the book of Job 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.859 doing the same thing. 00:19:14.459 --> 00:19:15.299 And so here we have 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.679 this curtain being pulled back 00:19:16.679 --> 00:19:17.299 and we learn, 00:19:17.980 --> 00:19:19.419 if you pull out the book 00:19:19.419 --> 00:19:20.000 of Deuteronomy, 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:20.879 Deuteronomy 32 00:19:20.879 --> 00:19:22.279 teaches us this really clearly 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.339 that behind these ministry battles 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:26.639 and national battles 00:19:26.639 --> 00:19:27.579 and political battles 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:29.240 in the earthly visible realm, 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:30.680 there are spiritual battles 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:31.480 behind the curtain 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:32.839 that correspond, 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:33.759 that are in parallel. 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:35.139 Now, 00:19:35.559 --> 00:19:37.259 the modern Western mind today, 00:19:37.819 --> 00:19:39.759 even as believers, 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:41.099 our modern Western minds 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:42.559 can push back so much 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.359 against this, 00:19:43.980 --> 00:19:45.039 that there is this realm 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:45.799 behind the curtain, 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:47.019 that it's medieval, 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:47.960 it's superstitious. 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:49.200 And you may be here today 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:49.600 thinking, 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:50.059 indeed, 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:50.900 it is medieval 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:51.740 and superstitious. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.500 And let me take 45 seconds 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:56.340 to ask you today 00:19:56.340 --> 00:19:57.660 to doubt your doubts, 00:19:58.600 --> 00:19:59.600 to doubt your doubt. 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:01.840 And to say just simply this, 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:03.500 the modern Western assumption 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:05.259 that the spiritual realm 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:06.220 does not exist 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:08.460 is a tiny outlier 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:09.819 in all of human history. 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:12.100 You are the 0.1% 00:20:12.100 --> 00:20:14.019 if you don't believe 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:14.900 in the spiritual realm 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:16.180 in all of human history. 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:17.180 And that's not proof, 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:18.240 but it's important, 00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:18.700 I think, 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:19.539 to contend with 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:20.340 and to recognize. 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:22.380 Look, 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:23.680 if you're a theist at all today, 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:24.680 if you believe in God 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:25.539 at all today, 00:20:25.860 --> 00:20:26.820 why would it not 00:20:26.820 --> 00:20:27.720 also make sense 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:28.900 that there are spiritual beings 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:29.380 in a realm 00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:30.320 that we cannot see 00:20:30.320 --> 00:20:31.060 behind the curtain? 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:33.060 And if so, 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:34.140 does it not make 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:35.799 so much sense of the world 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:36.779 to believe 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:38.200 in these great entities, 00:20:38.320 --> 00:20:39.400 these evil entities 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:40.440 that we can, 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:41.440 we learn in the Old Testament, 00:20:41.820 --> 00:20:42.400 get a grip 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.600 on an entire nation, 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:44.840 an entire people group? 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:46.419 Have we seen 00:20:46.419 --> 00:20:47.480 in our history 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.859 entire people groups, 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:51.379 nations controlled, 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:52.959 cultures controlled 00:20:52.959 --> 00:20:53.879 by ideologies 00:20:53.879 --> 00:20:55.419 that seem deeply evil? 00:20:55.699 --> 00:20:56.119 And we say, 00:20:56.179 --> 00:20:56.879 how did this happen? 00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:57.699 You see, 00:20:57.779 --> 00:20:58.339 believing 00:20:58.339 --> 00:21:00.179 in the prince of Persia, 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:01.379 the prince of Greece, 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:03.159 evil spiritual beings 00:21:03.159 --> 00:21:05.119 that contend 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:05.980 with God's purposes 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:06.959 makes so much 00:21:06.959 --> 00:21:08.039 more sense of life. 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:09.799 Disbelieving in them 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:10.299 makes life 00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:11.500 very hard to understand. 00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:12.539 It makes things 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:13.539 very difficult to understand. 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:14.819 And so here, 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.200 we learn that there is 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:17.240 a prince of Persia, 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:18.099 an evil spirit 00:21:18.099 --> 00:21:19.579 that has been contending 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:20.579 with Daniel's purposes 00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:21.740 before God 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:22.920 for three weeks. 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:24.220 Now, 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:24.879 why is this relevant 00:21:24.879 --> 00:21:25.399 for the question? 00:21:25.460 --> 00:21:26.559 What about a lack 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:27.399 of ministry fruit, 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:28.519 a lack of ministry success? 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:29.559 So what? 00:21:29.659 --> 00:21:30.440 So what for Daniel? 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:31.440 So what for us? 00:21:31.899 --> 00:21:32.559 And here it is. 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:33.500 Daniel has been saying, 00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:34.539 will I die 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:35.480 without seeing 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:36.460 the redemption, 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:38.139 the temple restored 00:21:38.139 --> 00:21:39.659 in the land of Jerusalem? 00:21:40.379 --> 00:21:41.099 Will my ministry 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:42.139 hopes be dashed? 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:44.060 And this second answer 00:21:44.060 --> 00:21:45.240 is something like this. 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:47.620 And this is for all of us today. 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:48.440 There are forces 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:49.960 at work 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:50.640 in realms 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.640 you cannot see, 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:53.740 battles being fought 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:54.880 that you are not 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:55.620 equipped to fight. 00:21:57.600 --> 00:21:59.240 Resistance to God's purposes 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:00.340 that God himself 00:22:00.340 --> 00:22:02.160 is sovereignly addressing. 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:03.240 He is in control 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:04.460 and there is resistance. 00:22:04.800 --> 00:22:05.920 And he is sovereignly 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:06.960 addressing these things. 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:08.780 And we can't control that. 00:22:08.860 --> 00:22:09.740 We don't have the power. 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:10.360 Our shoulders 00:22:10.360 --> 00:22:11.080 aren't big enough. 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:13.139 But God's are. 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:15.679 And so he's telling Daniel here, 00:22:16.099 --> 00:22:16.500 look, you can, 00:22:16.679 --> 00:22:17.339 what a relief. 00:22:17.919 --> 00:22:18.960 You are not in control 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:20.119 of so many of the battles. 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:21.220 You can't contend 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:21.939 with these beings 00:22:21.939 --> 00:22:23.599 and prayer is part 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.019 of the battle. 00:22:24.379 --> 00:22:25.259 So you're not, 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:26.500 you don't have to worry 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:27.679 about that burden, 00:22:27.899 --> 00:22:29.019 yet you have agency 00:22:29.019 --> 00:22:30.519 in the midst of the fight. 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:32.720 Prayer is the battle. 00:22:32.899 --> 00:22:34.000 Fasting is the battle, 00:22:34.379 --> 00:22:34.899 he's saying, 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:35.899 in the midst 00:22:35.899 --> 00:22:36.779 of the spiritual realm. 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:38.359 Well, we don't understand 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:39.159 the river, 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:40.419 the great tigress 00:22:40.419 --> 00:22:41.619 of history 00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:43.000 like God does. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:43.759 But he's saying, 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:44.479 you have agency 00:22:44.479 --> 00:22:45.039 in the battle. 00:22:45.399 --> 00:22:46.119 That's the second answer. 00:22:46.159 --> 00:22:46.639 And then finally, 00:22:46.719 --> 00:22:47.740 the most important of all, 00:22:48.459 --> 00:22:49.979 the most important answer 00:22:49.979 --> 00:22:50.859 of all as we finish, 00:22:50.959 --> 00:22:52.339 what does God give us 00:22:52.339 --> 00:22:53.379 when we are experiencing 00:22:53.379 --> 00:22:54.279 the grief 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:55.500 of a lack 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:56.479 of ministry fruit 00:22:56.479 --> 00:22:57.319 in a city 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:58.000 where we have 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:59.099 tried to be faithful? 00:23:00.099 --> 00:23:00.839 A better way 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:01.539 to ask that question, 00:23:02.879 --> 00:23:04.199 who does God give us 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:06.100 when we are experiencing 00:23:06.100 --> 00:23:07.259 a lack of ministry fruit? 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:09.319 And the answer 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:10.180 comes to us finally 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:11.220 in the question, 00:23:11.340 --> 00:23:12.360 who is this messenger? 00:23:13.100 --> 00:23:14.120 Who is this one 00:23:14.120 --> 00:23:14.740 that appears 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:15.860 at the bank 00:23:15.860 --> 00:23:16.840 of the Tigris River 00:23:16.840 --> 00:23:18.500 and shows up to Daniel? 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:20.519 Now, just for a moment, 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:21.299 if you have a Bible, 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:22.240 especially look with me 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:23.299 at verse five and six 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:24.380 and we'll slow down 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:25.380 for just a second 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.559 and try to imagine 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:28.559 what Daniel sees. 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:28.880 He says, 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.100 I lifted up my eyes 00:23:30.100 --> 00:23:30.860 and I looked 00:23:30.860 --> 00:23:32.420 and behold a man. 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:34.300 He sees a man, 00:23:34.860 --> 00:23:37.660 a man clothed in linen. 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:38.580 That's the clothing 00:23:38.580 --> 00:23:39.340 of a priest 00:23:39.340 --> 00:23:41.680 with a belt of gold, 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:42.580 a sash of gold. 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.060 That's what a priest 00:23:44.060 --> 00:23:44.519 would wear. 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:46.060 And his body 00:23:46.060 --> 00:23:47.000 was like beryl. 00:23:47.100 --> 00:23:48.960 Beryl is a beautiful gemstone 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.740 that can come 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:50.800 in lots of different colors. 00:23:51.840 --> 00:23:53.320 So he's beautiful. 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:54.259 He shines. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:55.360 He has an effulgence, 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:56.480 a radiance about him. 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:57.700 And his face 00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:58.680 is like lightning 00:23:58.680 --> 00:23:59.360 and his eyes 00:23:59.360 --> 00:24:00.700 are like flaming torches. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.360 His arms, 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:03.640 burnish bronze. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.400 There's a purity 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:05.480 to burnish bronze. 00:24:05.580 --> 00:24:06.240 There's a purity 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.019 to the appearance 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:07.620 of this one, 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:08.620 this man. 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:09.360 And the sound 00:24:09.360 --> 00:24:09.840 of his word 00:24:09.840 --> 00:24:12.080 is like a raging ocean, 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:13.240 a sound of a multitude. 00:24:14.120 --> 00:24:15.840 And we have this moment 00:24:15.840 --> 00:24:17.400 where Daniel sees 00:24:17.400 --> 00:24:18.200 a man 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:20.019 who appears 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:21.640 to be divine. 00:24:23.860 --> 00:24:25.279 And Daniel, 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:26.600 we see, 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:27.880 is so rattled. 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:28.600 He falls down 00:24:28.600 --> 00:24:29.060 on his knees. 00:24:29.120 --> 00:24:29.779 He's shaking. 00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:30.660 He's trembling 00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:31.839 in the midst 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:32.720 of being 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:33.279 in the presence 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:33.740 of this one. 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:34.500 Who is this? 00:24:36.019 --> 00:24:36.940 Some commentators 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:37.240 will say 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:37.980 this is an angel 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:38.720 who's appearing 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:40.420 in this great effulgence, 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:41.240 this great radiance. 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:42.379 I don't think so 00:24:42.379 --> 00:24:43.220 because I think that 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:44.839 and I know 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:45.440 that when you come 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:46.639 to the New Testament, 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:47.660 the book of Revelation 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:48.539 and you open up 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:49.359 Revelation 1, 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:50.420 John's Revelation, 00:24:51.399 --> 00:24:52.599 John uses 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:53.859 the same language, 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:54.819 the very descriptions 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:56.259 of Daniel 10 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:57.619 to describe who? 00:24:57.919 --> 00:24:59.379 The eschatological Jesus, 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:00.679 the Son of God, 00:25:00.879 --> 00:25:01.439 incarnate. 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:02.899 Revelation 1. 00:25:03.419 --> 00:25:04.519 What does John say 00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:05.599 of him in Revelation 1? 00:25:05.659 --> 00:25:05.939 He says, 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.700 One like a son of man 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:09.379 wearing a robe 00:25:09.379 --> 00:25:10.879 with a golden belt. 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.480 Eyes like fire, 00:25:13.639 --> 00:25:14.879 feet like burnished bronze, 00:25:15.879 --> 00:25:17.839 voice like the roaring 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:18.720 of many waters. 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:20.299 It's the same person. 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:23.480 This is a vision, 00:25:23.659 --> 00:25:24.279 a condescension 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.599 of the pre-incarnate 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.159 Son of God himself, 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:29.579 the one who would become 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:30.700 Jesus Christ 00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:31.819 by taking on flesh 00:25:31.819 --> 00:25:32.899 in the incarnation, 00:25:33.139 --> 00:25:33.779 the Christ. 00:25:34.339 --> 00:25:35.259 It's the personal, 00:25:35.399 --> 00:25:36.359 what does Daniel need most 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:37.779 in the midst of a moment 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:39.700 where he is deeply grieving 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:41.399 a lack of ministry fruit? 00:25:41.659 --> 00:25:43.480 He needs the personal presence 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:44.720 of the Son of God. 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:46.359 He needs to see 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:47.240 the Lord of glory 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:49.960 and he needs to be shaken up 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:51.100 by the Lord of glory 00:25:51.100 --> 00:25:52.100 in his life. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:53.000 And you see what happens 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.220 when you encounter 00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:55.360 the Lord of glory 00:25:55.360 --> 00:25:57.819 by faith or by sight. 00:25:58.019 --> 00:25:58.200 You know, 00:25:58.299 --> 00:25:59.360 there are men there 00:25:59.360 --> 00:26:00.759 in verse 7 with Daniel 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:01.980 who don't see 00:26:01.980 --> 00:26:02.779 the Lord of glory. 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:03.980 They don't have the curtain 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:04.740 pulled back for them, 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:06.319 yet they still tremble. 00:26:07.059 --> 00:26:08.140 They by faith 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:09.100 know he is there. 00:26:09.340 --> 00:26:10.480 And you in your life 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:11.299 can by faith 00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:14.019 see the Lord of glory 00:26:14.019 --> 00:26:15.079 and all his glory. 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:16.920 And what happens, 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:17.759 let me finish 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:19.200 by giving you two things 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:20.019 that happen to you 00:26:20.019 --> 00:26:21.559 when that takes place 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:22.059 that really, 00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:22.819 I think, 00:26:22.859 --> 00:26:23.339 can help us 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:24.039 with this problem 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:25.299 of the lack of ministry fruit 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:25.740 and success 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:27.279 and the grief it brings. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:28.240 Number one, 00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:30.059 when you meet the real God, 00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:32.240 it is like dropping 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:33.599 a giant rock 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:35.099 into still water 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:36.819 and the water quakes, 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:37.279 you know, 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:37.879 it leaves, 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:38.819 it doesn't come 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:39.819 without a big effect. 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:40.900 And that's what happens 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:41.500 when you encounter 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:43.359 the glory of the real God. 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:45.039 There is a quake 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:45.720 that takes place 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:46.259 in your life. 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:49.079 You can't come out 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:49.819 of that unchanged. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:51.879 So the word for glory here 00:26:51.879 --> 00:26:53.799 means weighty, 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.319 heavy, 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:55.420 substantive. 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:56.720 It's reality. 00:26:56.899 --> 00:26:57.579 It's not illusory. 00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:58.859 It's the most real thing 00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:00.519 is a way of thinking about it. 00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:01.579 And when his glory 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:03.079 drops in like a rock 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:03.899 in still water, 00:27:04.379 --> 00:27:05.379 there's a quake 00:27:05.379 --> 00:27:06.059 that happens 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:06.659 in your soul 00:27:06.659 --> 00:27:07.319 and your life. 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:09.779 And one way to say it 00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:11.559 is that everything else 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:13.180 that you were worried about, 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:14.940 everything you've been 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:15.420 worried about 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:16.299 gets displaced. 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:18.279 You know, 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:18.799 when you encounter 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:19.360 the real God, 00:27:19.420 --> 00:27:20.120 the Lord of glory, 00:27:20.380 --> 00:27:21.480 all the worries 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:21.980 in your life 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:23.220 get displaced. 00:27:24.080 --> 00:27:25.200 Your priorities shift. 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:26.539 Your agenda changes. 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:29.000 What was peripheral 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:30.019 to you becomes central. 00:27:32.299 --> 00:27:33.759 He changes you 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:35.200 entirely in this moment. 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:36.799 And you can see that 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.240 in the way that 00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:39.380 Daniel falls down 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:40.039 on his knees 00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:40.779 and he's trembling 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:41.740 and he's shaking 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.240 in this. 00:27:42.320 --> 00:27:42.960 It says that he is 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:43.539 undone. 00:27:43.620 --> 00:27:44.500 He's undone. 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:46.579 He's deeply afraid 00:27:46.579 --> 00:27:48.000 because when you're 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:48.400 in the presence 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:49.299 of true glory, 00:27:49.380 --> 00:27:49.720 what happens? 00:27:49.779 --> 00:27:50.720 You realize how small 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:51.299 you are 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:54.900 and how insubstantial 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:56.000 you are next 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:56.680 to his substance 00:27:56.680 --> 00:27:58.180 and how much 00:27:58.180 --> 00:27:58.620 of a sinner 00:27:58.620 --> 00:28:00.279 you are next 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:00.799 to his glory, 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:01.660 next to his purity, 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:03.700 how epistemically modest, 00:28:03.860 --> 00:28:04.299 how modest, 00:28:04.360 --> 00:28:05.240 how much you don't know, 00:28:05.360 --> 00:28:06.360 how much you don't know 00:28:06.360 --> 00:28:07.160 that you don't know 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:09.519 next to his glory. 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:10.460 And so when you see 00:28:10.460 --> 00:28:11.059 God's glory, 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:11.779 and you can, 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:12.399 you can, 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:13.339 by faith, 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:15.240 by faith, 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:15.980 when you see it, 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:17.599 it reorders 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.500 your entire life. 00:28:18.859 --> 00:28:19.379 And that, 00:28:19.779 --> 00:28:20.420 in the midst 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:21.200 of grief 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:22.619 and struggle 00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:23.839 over good desire 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:24.559 in our lives, 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:25.700 over ministry successes 00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:26.599 that we haven't seen, 00:28:28.139 --> 00:28:29.879 we need an experience 00:28:29.879 --> 00:28:30.660 of the glory of God. 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:31.500 Have you, 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:32.180 let me ask you, 00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:33.119 have you had an experience 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:34.240 of being in the presence 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:34.839 of God's glory? 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:34.919 glory. 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:38.399 You know you have 00:28:38.399 --> 00:28:40.359 if it's caused you 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:41.179 to tremble. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:45.079 But then secondly, 00:28:45.459 --> 00:28:46.720 at the same time, 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:47.099 finally, 00:28:47.379 --> 00:28:49.799 the Lord of glory 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:51.019 who makes Daniel tremble, 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:51.759 who makes him mute, 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:52.619 he can't even speak. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:55.159 He has to touch his lips 00:28:55.159 --> 00:28:56.039 because his lips 00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:56.539 are unclean 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:57.159 like Isaiah 00:28:57.159 --> 00:28:58.039 in Isaiah 6. 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:59.960 The Lord of glory 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:01.680 turns to him 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:03.440 and speaks 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:04.039 in the language 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:04.960 of the Lord of love. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:06.319 Verse 11, 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:07.259 verse 19, 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:08.599 not once but twice 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:10.059 he says to Daniel, 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:12.599 Daniel's shaking, 00:29:12.700 --> 00:29:13.119 he's trembling, 00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:14.079 he's on his hands and knees 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:14.519 and he says, 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:15.420 he touches him 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:15.879 on the shoulder 00:29:15.879 --> 00:29:16.240 and says, 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:17.779 you are greatly loved, 00:29:17.879 --> 00:29:18.379 oh boy. 00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:21.379 This looks so much 00:29:21.379 --> 00:29:22.279 like the paradox 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:23.059 of the gospel. 00:29:23.899 --> 00:29:24.579 And in the paradox 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:25.139 of the gospel, 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:26.259 the Lord of glory 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:27.960 is simultaneously 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:29.099 the God of the gospel. 00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:31.379 And in the paradox 00:29:31.379 --> 00:29:32.019 of the gospel, 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:33.500 the heart of the Christian gospel, 00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:35.379 the closer you get 00:29:35.379 --> 00:29:36.259 to God's holiness, 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:37.779 the more you quiver, 00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:38.779 shake, tremble, 00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:39.900 the more you see your sin, 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:41.039 your smallness, 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:42.779 your insignificance. 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:43.900 And yet, 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:45.819 the more you see your sin, 00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:46.660 the more you see 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:47.460 your smallness, 00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:49.519 the more you see 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:51.220 that he is the Lord of love 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:53.039 who wants to put his hand 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:53.599 on your shoulder 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:54.140 and say, 00:29:54.920 --> 00:29:55.740 son, daughter, 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:57.000 you are greatly loved. 00:29:57.880 --> 00:29:58.720 What did Daniel need 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:00.319 in the midst of his grief? 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:01.740 You're carrying burdens today. 00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:02.420 What burdens 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:03.259 do you bring today? 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:04.640 Maybe it's a lack 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:05.420 of ministry fruit, 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:06.579 a thousand other things. 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:08.700 You need the personal presence 00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:09.620 of the son of God. 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:10.519 You need a vision 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:11.160 of his glory 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:12.120 and to hear 00:30:12.120 --> 00:30:14.420 you are greatly loved. 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:15.900 The Lord of glory, 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:16.660 the Lord of love, 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:17.079 you see? 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:18.220 Boy, 00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:18.900 this looks so much 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:19.480 like the gospel. 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:20.200 In the New Testament, 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:21.079 Matthew 17, 00:30:21.620 --> 00:30:22.359 Jesus Christ, 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:22.880 not the one 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:23.520 who appears 00:30:23.520 --> 00:30:24.720 like a man 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:25.880 but is a man, 00:30:26.020 --> 00:30:26.620 was a man, 00:30:26.820 --> 00:30:27.580 became a man. 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:28.760 He goes up 00:30:28.760 --> 00:30:30.260 the Mount of Transfiguration 00:30:30.260 --> 00:30:32.100 and before James 00:30:32.100 --> 00:30:32.980 and John and Peter, 00:30:33.100 --> 00:30:34.640 he unveils his glory 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.280 for a moment. 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:36.960 He looks like this. 00:30:37.020 --> 00:30:38.040 He emits light. 00:30:38.360 --> 00:30:39.140 He doesn't receive it. 00:30:39.180 --> 00:30:39.920 He emits it. 00:30:40.280 --> 00:30:41.700 They got on their hands 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:42.040 and knees. 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:42.920 They shook. 00:30:43.700 --> 00:30:44.620 And then he came back 00:30:44.620 --> 00:30:45.260 down the mountain 00:30:45.260 --> 00:30:47.380 and the text tells us 00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:48.340 that they said, 00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:50.359 it was only Jesus. 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:53.019 The Lord of glory we saw 00:30:53.019 --> 00:30:54.759 but yet it's Jesus. 00:30:55.539 --> 00:30:55.679 See, 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:57.179 they saw the Lord of glory 00:30:57.179 --> 00:30:58.259 unveiled for a moment, 00:30:58.759 --> 00:30:59.740 veiled in flesh, 00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:00.859 the Godhead. 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:01.699 See? 00:31:03.179 --> 00:31:04.259 Hail the incarnate deity 00:31:04.259 --> 00:31:05.319 and then he came down 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:05.720 the mountain 00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:06.699 and they said, 00:31:06.779 --> 00:31:07.099 it's Jesus 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:07.480 and he said, 00:31:07.619 --> 00:31:08.699 now it's my time 00:31:08.699 --> 00:31:09.279 to suffer. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:10.699 The Lord of glory 00:31:10.699 --> 00:31:11.819 became the Lord of love. 00:31:11.899 --> 00:31:13.019 What is it that Daniel 00:31:13.019 --> 00:31:15.240 was really praying for? 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:18.019 Daniel was praying 00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:19.000 for a redemption 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:20.039 he never saw. 00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:22.120 He was mourning 00:31:22.120 --> 00:31:23.819 over ministry fruit success 00:31:23.819 --> 00:31:24.900 that he never saw. 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:25.640 What was it? 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:26.900 The rebuilding of the temple? 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:27.400 No, 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:28.200 more. 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:29.720 The true temple, 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:30.720 the cross. 00:31:31.380 --> 00:31:32.099 The Lord of glory 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:33.140 become the Lord of love. 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:35.019 And it's at the cross 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:36.019 where Jesus Christ 00:31:36.019 --> 00:31:37.539 has the power 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:38.799 by his love 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:39.420 to put his hand 00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:40.000 on your shoulder 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:40.819 and say, 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:42.000 you are greatly loved. 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:42.599 Your burdens 00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:43.480 you're carrying today, 00:31:43.799 --> 00:31:44.519 you are greatly loved. 00:31:44.519 --> 00:31:45.379 That is what you need 00:31:45.379 --> 00:31:46.579 more than anything else 00:31:46.579 --> 00:31:48.279 in the midst 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:50.220 of unresolved redemptions, 00:31:50.379 --> 00:31:51.240 unmet hopes. 00:31:52.879 --> 00:31:54.639 What burdens, 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:56.019 ministry burdens especially, 00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:57.420 are you carrying 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:58.400 into 2026? 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:01.240 Keep praying fast, 00:32:02.099 --> 00:32:02.940 grieve for them, 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:04.180 keep longing, 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:05.359 keep going to God, 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:07.359 battling spiritual warfare, 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:08.539 Ephesians 6 for them. 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:11.420 Seek above all by faith 00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:12.400 the personal presence 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:12.779 of the Lord. 00:32:12.779 --> 00:32:14.259 He offers it to you 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:14.819 by the Spirit. 00:32:15.539 --> 00:32:16.379 And look at him, 00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:17.700 look for every wound, 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:18.579 every grief, 00:32:18.639 --> 00:32:19.379 every sorrow, 00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:22.039 look at him 10 times. 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:24.079 For every sorrow you carry, 00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:25.480 look at him 10 times more. 00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:26.839 See the Lord of glory, 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:27.819 see the Lord of love, 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:29.519 hear Colossians 2, 00:32:29.639 --> 00:32:30.879 he has dismissed 00:32:30.879 --> 00:32:32.399 the spiritual powers 00:32:32.399 --> 00:32:32.859 and authorities 00:32:32.859 --> 00:32:33.599 of the heavenly realm. 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:34.559 He has dismissed them, 00:32:34.819 --> 00:32:35.680 he's defeated them. 00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:38.379 You are greatly loved. 00:32:38.579 --> 00:32:39.379 Hear the word of the Lord, 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:40.799 you are greatly loved. 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:42.799 Let us pray. 00:32:42.919 --> 00:32:43.159 Father, 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:44.680 we need, 00:32:45.180 --> 00:32:46.940 in the midst of our burdens, 00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:48.319 spiritual burdens, 00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:49.240 ministry burdens, 00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:51.200 a lack of so much 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:52.399 of what we've longed for, 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:54.500 we need your presence. 00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:55.419 So we ask now 00:32:55.419 --> 00:32:56.419 that even as we sing, 00:32:56.819 --> 00:32:57.680 we would experience 00:32:57.680 --> 00:32:58.579 by faith 00:32:58.579 --> 00:32:59.539 a vision 00:32:59.539 --> 00:33:00.700 of your glory, 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:02.460 that we would tremble 00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:03.159 before you 00:33:03.159 --> 00:33:03.980 and yet 00:33:03.980 --> 00:33:06.299 be able to hear the words, 00:33:06.460 --> 00:33:07.579 be of great courage, 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:08.819 fear not, 00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:10.299 the Lord loves you. 00:33:10.659 --> 00:33:11.539 So we want that 00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:12.200 so much today. 00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:12.919 We ask for it, 00:33:12.939 --> 00:33:13.079 Lord, 00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:13.819 come now 00:33:13.819 --> 00:33:14.879 by your Spirit 00:33:14.879 --> 00:33:15.839 and speak to us 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:16.539 as we sing. 00:33:17.099 --> 00:33:17.919 We pray this 00:33:17.919 --> 00:33:18.720 in Jesus' name, 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:19.919 Amen. 00:33:19.919 --> 00:33:20.000 Amen. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:21.919 Amen.