Well, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Daniel.
The book of Daniel. If you're just joining us for the first time or the first time in a while,
we are nine or ten weeks now into our series through the book of Daniel.
And what we tend to do is work our way through books of the Bible.
And so this morning we have come to Daniel chapter 9 and verses 20 through 27.
And here's my disclaimer, is this is one of the most difficult, one of the most mysterious,
one of the most debated, at times one of the most divisive passages of Scripture.
And you get to enjoy me struggling through it this morning.
But what I pray is that we would be encouraged by the truths that we hear from God's Word this morning.
If you didn't bring a Bible, that's okay. We have a few Bibles there in front of you.
And I don't know who planned this as we go through these 77s in Daniel chapter 9,
but this can be found, our passage can be found on page 700 of those few Bibles there in front of you this morning.
But let's turn there now, Daniel 9, 20 through 27.
And when you found it, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,
and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God,
while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first,
came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.
He made me to understand speaking with me, saying,
O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding.
At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out,
and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.
Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision.
Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city,
to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin,
and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal both vision and profit, and to anoint a most holy place.
Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem,
to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.
Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.
And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war.
Desolations are decreed.
And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,
and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate
until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.
This is God's holy word.
Let's pray once more.
Father, this is a difficult text, and we pray, Lord, I pray for wisdom.
We pray for understanding.
And if nothing else this morning, may Christ and the gospel be clear.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
What is your hope?
A few years ago, Amanda and I planned to take the boys to their first theme park.
And we had been to a few different fairs and kind of pop-up carnival-type rides before,
but we had never before spent an entire day at a theme park.
And so we planned it all out.
We bought the tickets.
We'd even shown the boys some YouTube videos of rides that they could ride when they got there.
And when we finally got there and got inside the park,
I asked one of them, well, how many, excuse me, what ride would you like to ride first?
And one of them looked up at me, I'll never forget, and he asked me, well, how many can we do?
And it was a fair question because all that they had reference for before that moment
was a ride or two here and there, cheap parents who don't want to buy too many fair and carnival rides for them to enjoy.
They had no point of reference for a full day at the theme park
getting to do whatever in the world they wanted to do.
And so I'll never forget that conversation,
that dawning realization on his face when he looked up and I got to explain to them,
no, no, no, no, no.
You have full access all day long to ride as much as you want,
whatever you want to do.
In that moment, they had their hopes expanded.
They were being brought to an even greater experience of joy and delight
than what they had previously thought was possible.
We're here in our passage this morning in a similar way.
I believe that this is what God is doing for Daniel.
Daniel, you remember from last week and the week before,
he has been praying and hoping and anticipating this return from exile into the promised land.
Seventy years was the time that was almost up.
Jeremiah had prophesied seventy years.
The return was getting closer.
And so we saw last week that Daniel prayed and he confessed
and he sought the mercy of God to bring the people back to the land.
And here in verses 20 and 23, God answers.
Gabriel comes again to assure Daniel of God's love for him,
to give him insight and understanding.
And then what he shows Daniel is that, yes, 70 years is almost up.
Everything that you're waiting for is about to happen,
but that's not your ultimate hope.
I have something even better in store for you.
This passage is an expansion of Daniel's hope.
So my prayer for us as we look into this difficult text this morning
is that we would fix our hope on the promises made to Daniel here in these verses.
So we'll take a look here at Daniel 9, verses 20 through 27.
And we're going to see this in three parts this morning.
I try to make it easy for you to follow along.
Three parts this morning.
If you're taking notes, this will be our outline.
We're going to see the promise in verse 24.
What is it that's being promised here?
What is that better hope?
We're going to see the process in verse 25.
How is it going to happen?
And then we're going to see the price in verses 26 and 27.
What is it going to cost?
First, what is the promise?
Look there to verse 24 with me.
Verse 24 serves as sort of the summary for the whole message.
This is the main point.
Gabriel says,
70 weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city.
70 weeks, the word literally there in the original is 77s.
77s.
We'll get there to that in just a minute.
But again, you remember Daniel's hope was in these 70 years.
Right?
A return from exile.
And God answers this prayer by expanding that hope.
Not just what God can do in 70 years, but in 77s.
Let's look at what God promises.
God makes six glorious promises here and what he will do in these 77s.
Listen to this.
God says,
I will finish transgression.
All evil, all sin, all rebellion will cease.
All the transgression that got you here into exile in the first place will be gone.
Done with.
No more.
I will put an end to sin.
All sin will be totally wiped away from my people for good.
As far as east is from the west.
So far will I remove your sin from you.
Sin will be totally done.
All the effects of sin will be totally peeled back.
Can you imagine that?
I will atone for iniquity.
I'm not only ending your sin.
I'm going to pay for it.
Full atonement.
Which means full reconciliation with God.
Full appeasement of God's wrath against sin.
And I will do all of this.
But not only this.
Guess what?
I will bring in everlasting righteousness.
So they're not just cleaned up for a moment until they leave and then they go sin again the next hour.
Everlasting forever.
They're covered in this forever righteousness that cannot be removed.
Cannot be stained.
Cannot be lost.
Cannot be tainted.
This cycle of sin and judgment.
Sin and judgment.
Will be done.
You will be righteous forever.
I will seal up both vision and profit.
Why?
Because everything they've looked forward to will be fulfilled.
They're no longer needed.
Lastly, I will anoint a most holy place.
Literally, a most holy one.
In other words, not a place, but a person will be anointed.
Well, who is that?
It's the Messiah.
Messiah.
The Messiah.
The anointed one.
You cannot read this promise.
This list of six glorious promises as a Christian and miss what's being held out here for us.
Can you?
This is the work of Christ.
These are the promises of the new covenant in his blood.
This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ has purchased for all of his people.
God is laying out a plan of a much greater, much more glorious hope than a simple return from exile.
This is the hope of the gospel.
You know, if you've been with us for some time and you wonder why in the world we talk about the gospel so much.
And why in the world we make such a big deal about the gospel.
What makes the gospel such good news?
Well, here it is.
The gospel is the good news that all of these promises that God made to Daniel are available to you can be had right now through faith in the Messiah.
Do you want to have your sins forgiven?
Put your faith in Christ.
Do you want everlasting righteousness that can't be messed up?
Put your faith in Christ.
You receive perfect righteousness.
His perfect righteousness.
You want to be sure and certain that your sins are no longer counted against you, but they are paid in full?
Come to Christ.
That's the gospel.
These promises that God is making here are available to you now through faith in Christ.
You cannot dream up a better hope than this.
Christ, the anointed one, has come and has fulfilled every word that the prophets have spoken about him.
And all of these promises, all of them, are available to you right now by the grace of God to be received by faith.
That is a glorious hope, church.
And here, God holds this out for Daniel as if to say,
I love you, I hear your heart, I will answer your prayers, I will fulfill my word.
Yes, I will bring you back to the promised land.
But Daniel, that is not even a fraction of what I have planned for you.
You want to go back to the promised land, that's fine.
But Daniel, I'm promising you a new Eden.
A better Eden that you can't ruin with your sin.
You want to come out of your exile, that's good.
But don't forget, your true exile didn't begin in 597.
It began all the way back in Genesis chapter 3.
You want freedom from your slavery?
Well, guess what, Daniel?
Your true slavery isn't slavery to the Babylonians.
It's slavery to sin.
And your ultimate hope is not the promised land.
It's the promised Messiah.
These promises, no sin, no judgment, no transgression, no more separation between God and man, everlasting righteousness.
These are the promises of the new covenant.
And again, this is where context is so helpful for us.
Because you remember, last week, Treg drew this out for us.
Daniel has been reading his Bible and he's been reflecting on two passages in particular, in Jeremiah and in Deuteronomy.
You remember this from last week?
He had read about the 70 years in Jeremiah 25.
But it's as if God says,
Keep on reading to the better promises of Jeremiah 31.
I will put my law within them.
I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God.
They shall be my people.
No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.
For I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.
He had read about the blessings and the curses of the covenant in Deuteronomy chapter 29.
But it's as if God says,
Keep on reading to the better hope of Deuteronomy chapter 30,
where it says,
The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring,
so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
that you may live.
These are the promises of the gospel.
And God says,
Daniel, look there.
Put your hope there.
That is your ultimate hope.
But how will it happen?
What's the process?
This is our second point this morning.
Look with me to verse 25.
We'll see the process.
You know,
A reasonable question for Daniel might have been,
When?
And Gabriel,
amazingly,
he answers that question,
doesn't he?
Except he doesn't say,
Next Thursday at 12 o'clock.
What does he say?
He says,
Seventy sevens.
What in the world are we talking about here?
Seventy sevens.
Well,
we're not told what these sevens are.
In our translation,
the ESV,
it says 70 weeks.
But again,
what it literally says there is 77s.
We are not told if these are sevens of years,
or months,
or days,
or weeks,
or if they're more theologically oriented
than chronologically oriented.
It is really not clear.
All I know is I don't talk this way.
And when somebody asks me what time our service starts,
I don't measure in sevens.
I don't say 10 sevens, 11 sevens.
It's just not how we speak.
But clearly,
what we could say is,
is these 77s,
whatever they are,
they're divided into three blocks of time.
Seven,
62,
and one.
Verse 25,
it says literally,
it says,
from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem
until the coming of Messiah Prince,
there will be seven sevens and 62 sevens.
The first seven,
it seems to be exactly what Daniel was praying for.
A word was going to be sent forth to rebuild Jerusalem.
This is good news for Daniel.
This is what he's been hoping in.
And we see,
again,
as we look back in the pages of history,
if we look back to 2 Chronicles chapter 36,
that's exactly what happened.
Cyrus makes a decree in 539,
538 B.C.
to go,
again,
begin this rebuilding effort in Jerusalem.
Now,
I believe that Cyrus' decree is both the end of Jeremiah's 70 years
and the beginning of Daniel's 77s.
And again,
this would be a huge relief for Daniel,
wouldn't it?
The city and the temple
and with it,
everything that he had hoped for and longed for
was about to be rebuilt,
even though,
of course,
he says it would be in a troubled time.
And we see that story told for us
in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
But again,
that's not where the story ends,
is it?
The Bible doesn't end with the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The city and the temple will be rebuilt
and it will remain for 62 more sevens.
But,
that temple
and that city
aren't the end of the story.
They aren't the point of the story.
What's the point?
All of this is leading us forwards,
pointing us forwards
to what will happen
after those 62.
What's going to happen?
The Messiah will come.
God is orienting Daniel
towards the coming of this promised Messiah.
And what will he do when he comes?
He will purchase
all of these glorious covenant promises
in verse 24.
For all of his people.
69 sevens
until the coming of the anointed Messiah.
And that is the point.
So God says,
look there.
Pay attention here.
Look to these promises.
This is where your attention needs to be.
Seven sevens
to get you back to the land.
Then 62 more sevens
until Messiah.
That's where your focus
needs to be.
Like a kid on the way
to a theme park
on a road trip.
He ought to be asking,
well,
are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
When will Messiah come?
How long are 69 sevens?
And here,
here we have to decide
whether we understand these
chronologically
or theologically.
In other words,
are all these sevens
meant to tell Daniel
when he's coming exactly
or what he's accomplishing exactly.
And cards on the table,
okay,
I believe that it is
the latter.
Some,
who I love
and respect,
take this to mean
years.
And they understand
these sevens
to be expressing
a precise time
in years.
And so,
seven sevens
is 49 years
and 62 sevens
is 434 years
and altogether,
70 sevens
is 490 calendar years.
But there's
several reasons
why I don't think
that that's the best way
to understand this.
For one,
again,
there's nothing
in the text
to make me think
we have to understand
it that way.
Seven sevens
is what it says.
It doesn't say
seven sevens of years.
On top of that,
there really aren't
any great calculations
that get us
from a proclamation
to build Jerusalem
and then to the Messiah
in 483 years,
although some get close
but not exact
and you do have to do
some gymnastics
to get there.
But the biggest problem
for me
is what in the world
do you do
with that last seven?
Because you and I both know
it's been a little bit more
than seven years
since Jesus walked
the earth,
hasn't it?
Going on almost
2,000 years now,
in fact.
Here's where
in the name
of literal interpretation,
my friends,
who again,
I respect and love,
they say,
well,
there must be
a gap
between the 69th
and the 70th seven
and that's a gap
that's lasted
for almost 2,000 years now
and it's a gap
that as hard
as I look,
I just,
it's nowhere to be found
in this passage.
So all of this
leads me to think
that there is
theological weight
to these 70-7s.
So what is it?
Well,
we hear,
we hear seven
and almost automatically,
immediately,
our mind should think
of perfection
and completion
and Sabbath rest,
right?
But there's one more
place in particular
that I want us to look
and if you turn there,
it's fine,
you can turn there,
you can write it down
to flip there later
but I want you to turn
to the book of Leviticus
and this is why
you don't skip Leviticus
in your annual reading plan.
I know that's the widow maker
of our annual Bible reading plans
but really,
there's some good stuff.
Leviticus chapter 25
and I'm just going to focus here
on verses 8 through 12.
Leviticus 25,
8 through 12.
This chapter
is about the jubilee year
in Israel.
Once they were
to enter the promised land,
they were told to count,
listen to this,
seven weeks of years.
Seven times seven years.
So that the time
of the seven weeks of years
shall give you 49 years
and then
you shall sound
the loud trumpet
on the tenth day
of the seventh month.
On the day of atonement
you shall sound
the trumpet
throughout all your land
and you shall consecrate
that fiftieth year
and proclaim liberty
throughout the land
to all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee
for you
when each of you
shall return
to his property
and each of you
shall return
to his clan.
That fiftieth year
shall be a jubilee
for you.
In it you shall neither
sow nor reap
what grows of itself
nor gather the grapes
from the undressed vines
for it is a jubilee.
It shall be holy to you.
You may eat
the produce
of the field.
Now think about this
with me.
That would be
a glorious celebration,
wouldn't it?
49 years
of anticipation
and then the trumpet
sounds.
The slaves
are freed.
The land
is renewed.
The curse
is peeled back.
Daniel
is looking
at 77s.
These 77s
are 10 times
that great jubilee
celebration.
10 being a number
of perfect completion.
In other words,
what God
has planned
with these 77s
is the ultimate
jubilee.
The ultimate
Sabbath rest.
The ultimate
deliverance
from exile
when the Messiah
comes in
to bring in
all the promises
of the new covenant.
In other words,
church,
we are in
the final seven.
The Messiah
has come,
has inaugurated
the kingdom of God.
We belong to it
in Christ
and so now
we await
its final
consummation
at the sound
of the final
trumpet blast.
The jubilee
of jubilees
at the return
of Christ.
There's
much more
to be said there
than we have time
to say it.
Let's move on.
How
will these promises
be secured?
How will these promises
be secured?
What will it
cost?
Let's look there
to verses
26 and 27
and here we see
the price
that will be paid
to secure
this covenant.
Gabriel says
within this
final seven
which again
began
with the arrival
of Christ
he says
two key events
will happen.
Two key events
will happen.
Look there with me
to verses 26
and 27
and it's my
understanding
that these two
verses
they run
parallel
to each other.
This is key
for our understanding
this passage.
This will really
help us
get what's happening.
It's not
A, B, C, D
it's A, B, A, B
okay?
It's not
1, 2, 3, 4
it's 1, 2
generally
and then 1, 2
a little bit more
specifically.
This is classic
Hebrew parallelism.
Verse 26
is a little bit
more general
verse 27
is a little bit
more specific
but they are
speaking about
the same
thing.
So let's look
two key events
what are they?
They are the death
of the Messiah
and the end
of the temple.
The death
of the Messiah
and the end
of the temple.
So let me read
them again
look there with me
to verse 26.
He says
after the 62 weeks
an anointed one
shall be cut off
and shall have
nothing.
Death of the Messiah
and the people
of the prince
who is to come
shall destroy
the city
and the sanctuary
its end
shall come
with a flood
and to the end
there shall be war.
Desolations
are decreed
end of the temple.
That's the general
picture.
Get more specific
verse 27
and he shall
make a strong
covenant
with many
for one week
and for half
of the week
he shall put
an end
to sacrifice
an offering
death
of the Messiah
and on the
wing of abominations
shall come one
who makes desolate
until the decreed
end is poured
out on the
desolator
end of
the temple.
First event
after 62
weeks
God says
this Messiah
prince
will be
cut off
and have
nothing.
This is
shocking
language.
The Messiah
will be
cut off
and have
nothing.
The language
here is
describing
a brutal
death.
This is the
death of a
lawbreaker.
This is death
penalty language
but interestingly
enough it's
the same
language
that's used
to make
or to
cut
a covenant.
In other
words
all of these
promises
of verse 24
forgiveness
of sin
everlasting
righteousness
these covenant
blessings
are given
freely
to God's
people
but they
cost
something
infinitely
precious.
They are
secured
by the
cutting
off
the
death
of the
Messiah
to
come.
The
Messiah
is the
one
who
shall
make
a
strong
covenant
with
many
by
his
death.
Just as
Isaiah
prophesied
in Isaiah
53
verse 8
what does
he say?
He was
cut
off
out of
the
land
of the
living
stricken
for the
transgression
of my
people.
His death
wasn't
a
defeat
for the
Messiah
was it?
Far from
it.
It's
through
this
death
that
he
secures
or makes
certain
or makes
strong
a covenant
for many.
Isaiah
53
again
verse 11
out of
the anguish
of his
soul
he shall
see
and be
satisfied
by his
knowledge
shall he
the
righteous
one
my
servant
make
the
many
to be
accounted
righteous
and he
shall bear
their
iniquities.
God
has
been
promising
Daniel
this
new
covenant
and he
reminds
Daniel
this is
your
hope
but how
will it
be
accomplished?
At
great
cost.
What does
Jesus
himself
say as
he
pours
the wine
into the
cup
and passes
it from
disciple
to disciple
what does
he say?
This
is my
blood
of the
covenant
which is
poured
out
for
many
for
the
forgiveness
of
sins
in
order
to
secure
the
covenant
everlasting
righteousness
true
sabbath
rest
atonement
for
sins
God
himself
will
pay
the
price
and
the
son
of
God
will
be
cut
off
for
many
and
in
doing
so
look
what
happens
look
what
happens
the
Messiah
will
put
an
end
to
sacrifice
and
offering
can
you
imagine
Daniel
trying to
understand
all of
this
and
trying to
wrap his
mind
around
all of
this
Daniel
is a
faithful
Jew
he's
built
his
whole
life
around
this
sacrificial
system
this
system
of
law
and
sacrifice
his
whole
life
has
been
oriented
towards
the
temple
and
temple
worship
and
getting
back
to
the
land
he
couldn't
wait
to
get
back
to
the
land
and
get
back
to
the
temple
and
now
God
reminds
him
Daniel
there's
an
even
better
hope
than
that
ahead
of
you
the
fulfillment
of
the
temple
the
fulfillment
of
the
sacrifices
the
fulfillment
of
the
offerings
that's
coming
in
the
Messiah
Daniel
might
ask
well
what
does
that
mean
for
the
temple
what
does
that
mean
for
the
sacrifices
and here's
the answer
it means
they are
null
and void
the
death
of
Jesus
Christ
the
anointed
Messiah
is the
end
of
God
honoring
sacrifice
it is
the
end
of
God
honoring
temple
worship
why
because
the
ultimate
purpose
of the
temple
has been
fulfilled
the
ultimate
purpose
of this
whole
system
of
sacrifice
and
offering
was to
point
forward
towards
him
and now
that
he's
come
all of
these
shadows
and
pointers
can go
away
their
purpose
is
finished
he
has
offered
himself
as a
perfect
sacrifice
once
and for
all
we don't
need
any
more
sacrifice
praise
God
he
is
the
true
temple
we
don't
ever
need
to
have
another
temple
again
praise
God
in
fact
now
that
the
Messiah
has
come
any
idea
of
returning
going
back
returning
to
temple
worship
and
sacrifices
is an
idolatrous
abomination
in the
sight
of
God
there
is
a
new
covenant
to
enjoy
when
this
Messiah
was
cut
off
you
remember
what
happened
in
the
temple
the
curtain
of
the
temple
was
torn
in
two
which
means
now
you
and
I
and
anyone
else
Jew
or
Gentile
alike
are
welcomed
into
the
presence
of
God
by
the
blood
of
his
eternal
covenant
all
of
this
of
course
would
have
been
a
lot
for
Daniel
to
process
it's
a
lot
for
us
to
process
this
morning
but
to
sear
that
truth
into
Daniel's
mind
God
shows
him
a
second
event
this
temple
and
this
city
that
you
can't
wait
to
get
back
to
will
once
more
be
destroyed
and
as
we
look
back
in
the
pages
of
history
again
in
80
70
sure
enough
Titus
Vespasianus
and the
Romans
came
and
completely
destroyed
the
city
of
Jerusalem
demolished
the
sanctuary
and
it
wasn't
just
a
passing
invasion
like
it
was
with
Antiochus
no
not
one
stone
was
left
on
top
of
the
other
exactly
as
Jesus
had
told
his
disciples
in
Matthew
24
forgiveness
of
sins
full
atonement
everlasting
righteousness
church
what
did
it
cost
God
to
purchase
these
covenant
promises
for
you
it
cost
the
suffering
and
the
death
of
the
son
of
God
he
was
cut
off
so
that
everything
that
he
has
earned
might
be
given
to
his
people
purely
by
the
grace
of
God
through
faith
free
of
charge
but
think
about
this
what
did
it
cost
Daniel
and
his
people
it
cost
everything
that
they
based
their
identity
on
everything
that
they
held
sacred
everything
that
they
used
to
put
their
hope
in
they
had
to
let
that
old
hope
go
to
grab
a
hold
of
a
better
hope
what
will
it
cost
you
Christian
to
follow
Christ
it
will
cost
you
everything
else
you
might
base
your
identity
on
it
will
cost
you
everything
else
that
you
hold
sacred
apart
from
Christ
it
will
cost
you
everything
else
you
used
to
put
your
hope
in
that's
what
it
will
cost
I
wonder
what
that
is
for
you
I
don't
know
if
anybody
exemplified
this
lesson
more
than
the
apostle
Paul
he
was
the
ideal
Jew
he
had
it
all
going
he
had
reason
to
boast
in
the
flesh
it
was
Paul
but
what
does
he
say
in
the
book
of
Philippians
circumcised
on
the
eighth
day
of
the
people
of
Israel
of
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
a
Hebrew
of
Hebrews
as
to
the
law
of
Pharisee
as
to
zeal
a
persecutor
of
the
church
as
to
righteousness
under
the
law
blameless
but
when
he
came
to
know
the
Lord
what
happened
he
left
it
all
behind
to
grab
hold
of
a
better
hope
whatever
gain
I
had
I
counted
as
loss
for
the
sake
of
Christ
indeed
I
count
everything
as
loss
because
of the
surpassing
worth
of
knowing
Christ
Jesus
my
Lord
church
there is
no
greater
hope
than
Jesus
Christ
there is
no
greater
joy
than
knowing
him
there is
no
greater
freedom
than
knowing
that
your
sins
have
been
paid
in
full
and
that
you
have
received
by
the
grace
of
God
the
everlasting
righteousness
of
Christ
to
know
I
am
forgiven
he
has
come
he
has
died
in
my
place
and
not
only
this
he
has
risen
and
he
is
coming
again
to
usher
in
our
ultimate
hope
and
I
will
enjoy
him
forever
there is
no
greater
hope
than
the
hope
of
the
gospel
is
this
your
hope
is
this
your
hope
God
has
promised
this
God
has
purchased
this
for
you
at
great
cost
church
do
not
settle
for
anything
less
let's
pray
Lord
there is
no
greater
hope
than
the
hope
of
the
gospel
and
I
praise
you
we
praise
you
father
for
these
glorious
promises
that
you
have
made
no
more
sin
no
more
transgression
no
more
no
more
idolatry
in
our
heart
perfect
righteousness
full
atonement
for
our
sin
peace
with
God
through
the
blood
of
your
son
father
we
praise
you
for
this
if
there
are
any
here
joining
us
this
morning
who
don't
know
the
Lord
we
pray
you
would
change
that
right
now
and
draw
them
to
faith
in
Christ
and
father
for
this
place
with
our
hearts
filled
with
thankfulness
for
who
you
are
and
what
you
have
done
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
amen