Four Roles in Warfare - Daniel :1-21

Disease foreign [Music] thank you experience oh me too friends thank you there are people around the globe that are not exposed to the Gospel and that shoebox I was a Christian before but I know how impactful that was I am one of millions around the globe that receive a shoebox my name is [Music] Junior I go by Zach and I'm originally from the Fiji Islands my childhood was different from what a typical kid would go through there were no toys no video games we'll play with sticks and Jack stones playing rugby of course there was the rugby who already used a Coca-Cola bottle sometimes he hit you in the face and but we'll just carry on the day when I received my shoe box my mom was volunteering to distribute the shoe boxes she made me the last kid to receive a shoe box so she said you know if we run out sorry but thank God I got my shoe box I opened it I don't know how to say they I there was no word for me to say because I don't have this I don't have these toys I don't have these school supplies that was coming out from the boxes and in this shoe box was a yellow yo-yo jaw-dropping moment of course no more playing with rocks and sticks I have a yoyo and those cars and one of the Scripture that came to my mind is while we were yet sinners Christ died for us we were all undeserving of the grace of God but someone was full of grace spend their resources their money their time somebody thought of me God opened doors to my life into my family I moved to the United States I'm

Called into children's ministry I took a church van went on to a store and buy shoe boxes we packed 117 shoe boxes for my youth group and our church I may not be face to face with someone around the globe but with that shoe box I'm evangelizing multiplying discipling someone to come to know Christ being part of the discipleship journey is very humbling the greatest journey in discipleship program is a program that Operation Christmas Child includes for those that wants to know more about Christ this is where my heart is evangelism discipleship and multiplication hello hello my name is Nicholas Denham if you don't know who I am that's my name I am the director of children and family ministry and I'm doing the announcements today so on Friday from 5 45 to 8 30 we are having a family movie night we are watching a movie by the famous comedian skit guys and it is Family Camp so go ahead and come out there will be door prizes and there will be popcorn to watch with the movie or to eat while we watch the movie also Wednesday night meals we've been having more people than we expected which is a great problem to have so we need to register for our meal so that Miss Judy and her team are ready to provide you with the food and also what how do they do it oh yeah the QR code is in the bulletin you just scan it with your phone and then it'll take you to the app and then you can just type in your information and then we'll have it there and also the last announcement we are having an annual meeting for the lamine Baptist Association Sunday next Sunday October the 9th in gravoy Mills if that's how you say it at 4 pm and then they're having a dinner at 6 pm and child care will be provided so there we go oh and also Nick Keller is coming up to

Do the Baptist faith and message all right I'm the other Nicholas if you don't know the original one yeah there we go all right so from the Baptist faith in message 2000 God the Father reigns with providential care over his Universe his creatures and the flow of the Stream of human history according to the purpose of his grace he is all-powerful all-knowing all-loving and all wise God is father and Truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ he is fatherly in his attitude towards all men I also have some Scripture to read from Matthew 7 through 11. Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks it will be opened or which one of you if his son asks him for bread will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will give him a serpent if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who is in heaven give good thanks to those who ask of him oh man well as has been our tradition and habit I'd like to take some time now to invite you to join me in prayer as we just prepare our hearts as the body of Christ to worship our Lord and Savior so if you will just bow your heads close your eyes and prepare you know maybe we've had things happen throughout this last week that we just we weren't ready for it that we even maybe have had to ask God why has this happened give that up to him now know that he

Is Sovereign and he loves you even as a father loves his child maybe this morning you had an argument with a spouse or a child or a parent and you're harboring that anger and that resentment lay that at the foot of the cross now ask Jesus to take that burden from you maybe even apologize or seek reconciliation with that person even now dear Lord we come before you asking that you would prepare us to do the work of your ministry even as we turn our praises to you Lord help us to glorify your name to make your name great here help us to just sing praises about who you are and what you've done for us because God you are worthy you are worthy not just in what you do but in Who You Are you are the creator of all things and this is sustainer of all things Lord help us to praise you because you are worthy of all of the praise that we could give and so much more Lord help us to worship with wild abandon this morning and it's in Jesus name we pray and by the blood of his cross that we come amen please stand with me and join me as we sing the Praises of our Lord and Savior [Music] my shame who could carry that kind of ways it was my two [Music] till I met you it's breathing but not alive [Music] all my failures I tried to hide it was mine too till I met you call my name and I ran out of that grave

Out of the darkness into your glorious day you call my name and I ran out of that grave out of the darkness into your glorious day foreign [Music] out of the darkness into your glorious day you call my name and I ran out of that grave out of the darkness into your glorious day I needed rescue my sin was heavy but chains break at the weight of your glory I need a shelter I was an orphan now you call me a citizen of heaven when I was broken you were my healing now your love is [Music] out of the darkness into your Glorious Days you call my name and I ran out of that grave out of the darkness into your Glorious Day sing it again to call my name and I ran out of that grain [Music] out of the darkness into your glorious day you call my name and the grave out of the darkness into your glorious day [Music] yeah we have a great heavenly father who loves us who reaches down into our sinful nature and calls us out of that grave out of that death that we were in and unto life through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior I'd like to read you now out of Isaiah chapter 53 it says he was despised and rejected a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken Smitten by God and Afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities and upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed how strange that we should call the very Son of God very God of very God a Man of Sorrows someone to be stricken someone to take the place of our punishment yet the Savior that we never deserved [Music] thank you Man of Sorrows what a name for the son of God [Music] Hallelujah [Music] in my place [Music] Man of Sorrow son of God's Freedom by his blood lamb who takes the blame for sin Hallelujah [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] Behavior [Music] lifted up was he to die it is finished was his cry now in heaven exalted High hallelujah what a Savior a hallelujah what a Savior

Hallelujah what a Savior [Applause] [Music] by his blood lamb who takes a blame force in Hallelujah [Music] What A Savior [Music] when he comes again when he comes our glorious King all his friends [Music] Hallelujah [Music] Son of God [Music] thank you What A Savior that he should come and reach into our Brokenness when he himself knew no sin this next song it's a confession of the believer how much we need at that Savior how much even those of us who stand redeemed now every hour every minute we need him to continually reach down into our lives to help us to get rid of the sin in our lives and to help us to help to sanctify to make us more and more like Christ preparing us for that day when we will dwell in heaven with him in harmony [Music] I confess [Music] Ed and without you [Music] I fall apart you're the one that guides my heart [Music] Lord I come I confess [Music] my rest without you I fall apart you're the one that guides my heart

[Music] Lord I need you oh I need you every hour I need you my one defense by righteousness oh God how I need you [Music] where sing runs deep Your Grace is born [Music] is where you are and where you are Lord I am free Holiness is Christ we're free and where you are Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me Lord I need you Lord I mean [Music] [Applause] you my one defense my right just says oh God how I need you [Music] my song to rise to you when Temptation comes my way and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you Jesus You're My Hope and stay and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you Jesus You're My Hope and stay [Music] oh I need you [Music] [Applause] my one defense righteousness oh God how I mean Lord I need you oh I need you every hour I need you my one defense my righteousness oh God how I need you're my one defense my righteousness oh God how I need you [Music] he is our righteousness he takes the place he took the

Punishment for our sins so that we might become the very righteousness of God Romans 5 6 it says this for while we were still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps we're a good person one would dare even to die but God he shows his love for us and this that while we were still sinners Christ died for us since therefore we have now been justified by his blood much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God for if we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life and more than that we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation are you excited about that this morning because if you're not we didn't do a great job with the heart check at the beginning we stand redeemed by the blood of Christ at the cross and he didn't wait for us to be perfect in fact he works in us even now to make us more and more perfect but while we were still Sinners still an open Rebellion against God he sent his son to die for us what love What A Savior all right foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign upon his shoulders [Music] it was my sin that held him there until it was a complete his dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished it's finished thank you I will not boast in anything [Music] but I will boast in Jesus Christ his

Death and Resurrection why should I gain from his reward I cannot give an answer but if I know if all my heart his wounds why should I gain from his reward I cannot give an answer but please [Music] my heart his wounds have paid my friends [Music] what a joyous thing that we get to Proclaim together that we know we can know with all our hearts that he has paid our Ransom and if you can't say that with confidence today well I'd invite you to come speak with one of us at the end of the at the end of the service let's pray together Lord What A Savior the very Son of God would take my place to Die the death that I deserved to Bear the punishment for my sin when he was the sinless one he is the sinless Lord let us never stop marveling that story God let the Gospel inform our hearts and our minds and our actions and our thoughts let every moment be pleasing to you because you're worthy and you showed your worthiness time and time again Lord help us to love you more it's in Jesus name we pray amen well good morning church I'm very glad to be worshiping with you here today if you have your Bible and I hope that you do you know I think that we need to turn down my mic a little bit I'm like whisper you think that there there we go all right there we go awesome if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to Daniel chapter 10. I've got a lot of ground to cover so listen fast I won't I won't talk too fast or at least I'll try not to but

Today we are going to be talking about a Heavenly conflict that we see in this passage the title of today's sermon is a conflict in hat in heaven and we are looking at four roles in Warfare now before we do that I want to take a little bit of time and just say hey to some of the newer faces that I see out there it's a blessing to be with you here today my name is Cody I'm the pastor here and if you could do me a huge favor I'm always snagged by people in on Sunday mornings Pastor can you pray for me or hey I'm new if you could do me a huge favor in the chair in front of you there should be a little visitor card if you could just fill one of those out drop it in one of the offering plates at each one of the entrances that'd be a huge help and me being able to pray for you that's one of my roles as Pastor here is I get the privilege to pray for you and let's see here yeah four roles in Warfare so if you were to go up to the Canadian North right now you would you would probably be warned if you were going out into the Wilderness about how territorial the bull moose are right now has anyone ever seen a moose in real life all right they are absolutely astonishingly huge like nothing really prepares you for how big of moose is like you think a deer or an elk I mean elk are huge oh these Bull Moose they can get up to 10 feet tall right I mean absolutely massive from hoof to antler and they weigh over a thousand pounds the bigger ones they'll get up to 1600 pounds they're just absolutely monstrous B and what makes them so territorial in this particular time of the year is it's territory season they're they're looking to Mark their

Territory and what happens is as I took some time this week on YouTube and I just looked up how moose fight okay and I was kind of I was kind of surprised at just how strong these beasts were it was it was one of this Bull Moose coming into a new Moose's territory and of course they're lumbering towards each other they're showing off these massive antlers that are tall like wider than I am tall which isn't much by the way but still it's impressive and they just clashed straight into each other I mean just thousands of pounds of pressure and just the sheer force of it was kind of astonishing and they fight each other and what can sometimes happen is and this is kind of the killer to know that this moose is defeated sometimes the antler might break off and what I learned about in this little documentary that I was watching was that the reason why they break off is because of poor nutrition in the spring and summer months and so what we find is that the larger the Moose the stronger the antlers and so what we learn is that the battle is not so much just one in that moment okay of fighting but it's one in the preparation it's one in the spring in the summer months and what we're going to look at today is the spiritual warfare that we wage is not so much One In the Heat of the Moment but now we are prepared to face that battle when it comes and so if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Daniel chapter 10 verses 1 through 21. We did have a hard time importing these this morning so if something's out of order I apologize we don't know what happened so Daniel chapter 10 verses 1 through 21.

The Scripture says this in the third year of kings of Cyrus King of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel who was named beltashazar and the Word was true and it was a great conflict and he understood the word and had understanding of the vision in those days Daniel was I Daniel was mourning for three weeks I ate no Delicacies no meat or wine entered my mouth nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks on the 24th day of the first month as I was standing on the bank of the Great River that is the Tigris I lifted up my eyes and looked and behold a man clothed in linen with a bell to find gold from favs around his waist his body was like Barrel his face like the appearance of lightning his eyes like flaming torches his arms and legs like The Gleam of burnished bronze and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude and I Daniel alone saw the vision for the men who were with me did not see the vision but a great trembling fell upon them and they fled to hide themselves so I was left alone and saw this great vision and no strength was left in me my radiant appearance was fearfully changed and I retained no strength 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 with my face to the ground and behold a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees and he said to me oh Daniel man greatly loved understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright for now I have been sent to you and when he had spoken these words to me I stood up trembling then he said to me fear not Daniel for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God your words have been heard and I have come because of your words the prince of the kingdom of Persia

Withstood me 21 days but Michael one of the chief princes came to help me for I was left there with the kings of Persia and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days for the vision is four days yet to come when he had spoken to me according to these words I turned my face toward the ground and was mute behold one of the one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips then I opened my mouth and spoke I said to him who stood Before Me O My Lord by reason of the vision pains have come upon me and I retained no strength how can my Lord's servant talk with my Lord for now no strength remains in me and no breath is left in me again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me and he said oh man greatly loved fear not peace be with you be strong and of good courage and as he spoke to me I was strengthened and said let my Lord speak for you have strengthened me then he said do you know why I've come to you but now I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia when I go out behold the prince of Greece will come but I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of Truth there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael your prince and so God we do pray that you would give us understanding and to these Mysteries Lord help us to rightly apply it to our lives there's so many bizarre thoughts that folks have about this passage and so help us to rightly divide the word of Truth help us to apply this word to our lives thank you for giving us a behind the scenes glimpse into spiritual warfare help us to take it seriously and to

Understand what you want to say to us through your word we know that it is all your word and so we pray that we would leave here just knowing wow that was a great Passage help us God give us understanding give me unction in the right words to say Jesus precious name amen all right now this passage it begins in the third year of the reign of King Cyrus who is the King of Persia from about 539 to 530 BC so this is during the third year of his Reign which is about 536 BC and that's actually a really important detail in the first year of the reign of King Cyrus there was a massive and very important event that occurred in the history of God's people in the book of Ezra chapter one if you have your Bibles you can turn over there and follow along with me Ezra chapter one it's it tells us this in the first three verses it says in the first year of Cyrus King of Persia that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing thus says Cyrus King of Persia the Lord the God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the Earth and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah whoever is among you of all his people may his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord the God of Israel he is the God who is in Jerusalem so this is happening in 539 BC and here we are three years later in Daniel's still in Babylon the thing that he had been praying about for years and years and years he had been a victim of Exile more than

Likely he had been castrated he had been in a servant to the king of Babylon some really great and some really not so great he had seen so many different things happen throughout his about 80 years up to this point that he had been alive and you got to kind of Wonder Why didn't Daniel go to Jerusalem maybe he was too old for that trip right I mean that's a possibility that some people have proposed I believe personally that Daniel remained in Babylon because he was called to be in to serve as an ambassador a political ambassador to this new kingdom of medo-persia and to serve as an ambassador for God's people to pray for them while he remained there in Babylon either way this one big event that Daniel was looking to the end of the Exile it was over technically and I guess that we kind of wait for those Seasons to be done in our lives so that way we can kind of get back to smooth sailing but what we know about this period of time for the people of God is a set about rebuilding the temple as they said about rebuilding the city of Jerusalem was that was anything but smooth sailing actually all that they were able to accomplish for the first three years in the construction of Jerusalem and the temple of God was they were able to build a small altar and then all of a sudden all of the enemies of Israel and of God they came and they oppressed the people they would attack them they would raid them they would carry off the women and children they would do whatever they could to try to thwart God's plan in restoring and rebuilding the altar in the city of Jerusalem and so everything came to an abrupt Halt and for two and a half years what Daniel thought was going to be this wonderful time of rebuilding and excitement and

Wonderful things happening no what happened the city of Jerusalem still sat being attacked being oppressed it was an awful and hard time for the people of God and so Daniel he opens this passage and he tells us that there is a true and a great conflict the word conflict there is a military term it's a word used to describe a prolonged military campaign it takes a lot of money it takes a lot of time it takes a lot of soldiers you know it implies vast amounts of people we know there were over 70 million just the ones that we know about 70 million soldiers that fought in World War II it's a staggering amount of people if we took a radius around Camdenton drew it out for 450 miles and we took every man woman and child okay and we just we just recruited all of them into a military it still wouldn't even come close to the amount of soldiers that fought World War II just a staggering amount of numbers and so we have to ask that question how many angels are there we don't know the Book of Revelation gives us kind of a picture an innumerable amount to Book of Revelation actually says myriads upon myriads too many in account and so Daniel has this vision and he has understanding of this Vision we don't get there quite yet but let's look at verse three follow along with me it says in those days these are the dark days of Israel trying to get re-established under heavy persecution I Daniel was mourning for three weeks and so this tells us kind of the first role that we're going to identify we're going to look at four roles the first role that we see in here regarding spiritual warfare is the role of

Mourning in spiritual warfare the role of mourning let me ask you this when grief strikes how do you typically respond when grief strikes you that's the first thing that you turn to for a lot of people they say I just need a drink right they turn to alcohol they might turn to sex they might turn to overeating let me just eat these these feelings away they might look for therapeutic shopping I need to need to find something to occupy my thoughts and my time that way I'm not thinking about it or I just need to shut down and I need to veg out for a while Daniel he shows us and he gives us an example of how godly people are to respond during deep seasons of mourning the first thing that we've noticed here is that there is preparation for prayer we know that Daniel he was a man of prayer from the outset of his ministry when he had been offered those that food and that wine that was offered to Idols in order to get to get the young men of Israel to conform to Babylonian Society he said pray for me Shadrach Meshach and Abednego or hananiah Michelle and Azariah pray for me because I'm going to go and ask that we not partake in this pray for this pray that God would give me understanding upon Nebuchadnezzar's vision and so he's praying he's praying all throughout his ministry he is a man and a person of Prayer we see that especially exemplified in chapter six where he opens up the doors towards Jerusalem and he prays and he is tossed into the lion's den and what we understand is that we could we can kind of glean from this is that Daniel's dependence upon the Lord is what gave him success in his ministry and we learn and we know that Daniel is full of wisdom and understanding and insight from the beginning all the way

To the end and what we know is that Daniel never continued to rely upon his own wisdom and understanding he always went to the Lord in prayer you ever think that you're pretty wise and you have understanding and I have to ask a question how's your prayer life because if our if our prayer life is not if we think that we're wise and we're not praying we're fools God's blessings are not characterized by ease we see this here that Daniel he is mourning he is grieving you would think that a Godly person would have kind of an easy life but that's not how Biblical Christianity works at all we're not promised ease we're not promised smooth sailing but what we see is that obedient Christians are to be on the spiritual front lines interceding for people interceding for the lost interceding for the church interceding for the work of God and Daniel he is a prayer Warrior and his life has not been marked by ease and too many Christians they have that goal of ease I'd say crucify your God of comfort prepare yourself for prayer second thing that we notice here is the sacrifice and fasting and this takes place over three weeks Daniel he does it says Hey doesn't eat meat he doesn't drink wine he doesn't take part in the Delicacies doesn't mean that he abstained from all food probably went back to his original fast of when he saw God at work eating vegetables and water he didn't take time to anoint himself now we're getting to that winter season when the air in the house is really dry imagine for a moment living in a desert for 70 80 years and how important anointing your skin was just to feel kind of comfortable

He said I'm not going to do that I'm associate with my brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who are oppressed Daniel's not doing this Daniel Fast that's really popular look at the timing that we see here Daniel he does this at the beginning of the year for the Hebrew people this marks the atonement this marks the celebration of God bringing his chosen people out of the nation of Egypt and into the promised land it's supposed to be a time of Celebration from of God's deliverance and instead the season is marked by Daniel as the season of fasting and of grieving and of praying and why is that he is trying to find out God what is your plan in all this I thought that this was all going to be pretty cool at this point I thought that we would at least have a foundation done God what is your plan what is your will the Exile is over why isn't Jerusalem rebuilt why isn't the temple of God your place God why isn't that built and instead of Daniel feasting and celebrating the Seder and singing songs about Israel and reciting the Shema he instead he Grieves because he is identifying with the lowly that's that last characteristic that we see there the role of mourning is identifying with the lowly so this passage it's not about fasting for Spiritual breakthrough it's not the goal it's about grief it's about understanding so you see this role it's for Brothers and Sisters in Christ I mean we're pretty good about rejoicing with those who Rejoice but what about weeping with those who weep many times what we do is we kind of put a little distance between us and those who grieve we don't like the negative emotions and yet Christ calls us to associate with the lowly

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth and mourning it has a tremendous purpose in spiritual warfare because it reminds us that we may have all of the Delicacies of Babylon to enjoy but it's the blessing of God that the people of God actually need after three weeks Daniel he is standing on the bank of that Tigris River and he looks up and he sees something shocking I guess Daniel at this point I mean he's been he's seen some stuff right you think about the different visions that he has seen he sees this look at look at verse five he sees a man clothed in Lenin built to find gold from you fast around his waist his body it's like Barrel his face it's like the appearance of lightning his eyes are like flaming torches his arms legs are like The Gleam of burnished bronze and the sounds of his words are like the sound of a multitude that's a lot to take in isn't it who is this mystery person there's two primary views the first one is that this is the pre-incarnate Christ we would call this in theology a christophany there are some Divine characteristics here the power the imagery the clothing secondly it's a an Angelic or a Heavenly being we see similar we see similar beings described in Ezekiel chapter one who pull the Chariot of God it's a mystery to me I'm inclined to believe that's a Heavenly being because he was sent to Daniel by God and so what is the role of this heavenly being this is the second role that we will take him right down the role of the Heavenly being we see him and it's interesting because you would figure that like a face like lightning would be like the first characteristic or maybe like eyes like torches but the first thing I notice is that

He's wearing linen and that's actually really significant because Lenin in that culture and the Hebrew Hebrew culture and religion that is a sign of Priestly garments this is someone who is there to remind Daniel of something there's nothing spectacular about Lenin particularly except that priest they would Minister in the temple they wore that linen as a sign of being pure of being consecrated of being sanctified and every Heavenly peer appearance has a purpose in Scripture not for like a dramatic Hollywood effect that kind of comes and goes but those those Supernatural Revelations they were trying to communicate something to us about God and so in here what are some things that we learn about God through this heavenly being the first is that this Vision communicates God's forgiveness to his people you think that the Hebrews were kind of worried that they couldn't make sacrifices upon an altar that they couldn't fulfill the law of Moses you betcha but what is what is going on here is that this heavenly being is reminding Daniel that we have a God who forgives he is always willing to forgive and in spite of all the power all of the glory all of the Holiness and the majesty and the Wonder it's the linen that's the first thing that comes to Daniel's mind and we learn you and I that we have a God who will forgive us when we come to him with Humble Hearts and we ask him to forgive us and we say by the blood of Christ the Christ who died for me through his death by his resurrection God would you forgive me and he promises in first John chapter 1 verse 9 that he is willing

To forgive us the belt that is around this being's waist is gold from you fast now we don't know where euphaz is right now but what we do have are stories that they made the best of the best like refined gold in the ancient world especially during this time and this tells us that God he has an abundance of resources at his disposal lightning it suggests power and it suggests Glory but also lightning when lightning is present it always points to the Covenant and the coming of the Lord we see it Mount Sinai we see the powerful working of God and there was thunder and lightning and clouds swirling around Mount Sinai and it reminds us of his Covenant promise that God is faithful to honor those promises that he's made to his people and so this heavenly being is communicating God's faithfulness to us and finally this one's pretty obvious it communicates God's power to us as well so much so that just being in this heavenly being's presence causes Daniel to lose all strength to pass out remember Daniel he's he's seen beasts coming out of a sea one right after another some that are indescribably horrific and yet they did not have the power to make him pass out and yet this heavenly being is you know just a holy being Daniel he's he's been in the Lion's Den he's not a weakling and so Daniel he learns about that this God that he worships that we worship he's God who forgives who has abundance who has who is faithful who has power and he reminds us that God is still at work even though things are really hard for the people of God right now they may not have a temple but God still forgives

The people may not have a lot in order to construct but they do have a God who has an overwhelming abundance to provide is anything too hard for God it may not have walls or a nice home but God is faithful in the same God that brought them out of Egypt to inherit a land is the same God who has brought them out of Babylon to rebuild the city and he will do it people may not be powerful they may not be strong they may not have a great military but they do have an all-powerful God who will bring about the Redemption of his people not primarily through the building of a temple but through his suffering servant Jesus Christ I want you to also see how Daniel he sees these Visions but these other people they sense it they hear something and they are running they are trying to get away from this as quickly as possible that's what ungodly people do is they run from the Lord whether it's Christians running in disobedience or whether it's lost people saying I don't want to have anything to do with it what does Daniel do he collapses before the glory of the Lord look at look at these words in your Bible he trembled no strength was left in me he was fearful he retained no strength he falls asleep he goes to sleep that doesn't give you permission to go to sleep right now by the way but Daniel he comes to by the power of this heavenly being who picks him up puts him on his hands and knees and he says oh Daniel man greatly loved you are greatly loved what an encounter that God he would send this message to him once again that and to reassure and remind Daniel of how much he loves him and that word for love here is the Hebrew word Hamad which which means coveted it means desired it means

Treasured that is how God feels about Daniel as Heavenly being he says to him stand up why because this awesome Heavenly being has been sent to Daniel to declare a message and so we see this third role is the role of encouragement in spiritual warfare the role of encouragement those of you who have the gift of encouragement God bless you guys are amazing you know I think I've shared this story before and a wonderful Saint you know they had the gift of encouragement and I guess I was just starting to play guitar up here and they said you know never heard anyone quite play guitar quite like you do and I sort of being kind they were being nice and I get it you know the gift of encouragement is formed I don't have that gift I don't have the gift of encouragement I wish I did but these these people that have the gift of encouragement they're marked by their love for people by their love for you and for me and it's a wonderful thing and they love sharing that love and encouragement and now we know that this heavenly being has reached down has stooped down to Daniel's level level allowed Daniel to collect himself to find strength stands him up and it's because of this encouragement that Daniel has the strength to sit to stand and I want us to take a moment make a distinction here because when we when we think about God okay at least in our United States or even our modern society a lot of people think of God as this Cosmic Santa Claus you know he might he might threaten you with coal in your stalking but you know we all know that's just really an empty threat right

Sometimes they think of him as a universal Mr Nice Guy Mr Rogers you know everyone's pretty good the world's God is kind of like a grandma that always comes to your defense makes cookies tells you how handsome and good you are the world's God tells you that it's okay to make some trouble come and visit when you can remember Grandma loves you but the Bible presents a much different picture while it is still true that God loves you the Bible teaches also that he is the Almighty creator of all things seen and unseen that he rules with Sovereign Authority and power and that he is filled completely with love he is filled completely with Justice he is filled with grace and authority and power and mercy and he is dependent on no one and no thing in this world in all creation God is not dependent on any of it and his throne room is filled with smoke and thunder and Lightnings in order to Veil his glory because people can't stand it in our own nature and is precisely because this God not the gods of this world the one true and the one living God because that God is so amazing so awesome and full of power that he is worthy of leaving Babylon to suffer years of hardship reconstruction efforts not enough to go around it is because that God is worthy of it that the people of God chose to go and Daniel what is his role he is praying for the people of God to continue to keep going keep serving keep building that's why God raised up Ezra and Nehemiah and we see Daniel's role in it years before it happens this God he greatly loves Daniel this God he reminds Daniel of his purpose but what happened why did it take three weeks for this heavenly being to make it to Daniel I mean this powerful Heavenly being he makes men flee or fall look at verse 12. Daniel's up he's standing he's trembling the Heavenly being he speaks fear not Daniel for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God your words have been heard and I have come because of your words so three weeks ago before this heavenly being is sent out and Daniel he has been praying for the city of God he's been praying for the people of God to rebuild the Temple of God and this appearance is directly tied to Daniel praying look at verses 13 14. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days but Michael one of the chief princes came to help me for I was left there with the kings of Persia and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days for the vision it's for days yet to come and so here we see one of our last roles the roles of Angels and Demons a couple of things to note here is that this heavenly being is a messenger from God angels they go about in the Unseen realm the spiritual realm doing what God has told them to do ministering to the needs of the Saints the book of Hebrews gives kind of an opening Treatise of this topic because there were people in the early church that they believe well Heavenly angels are good they're they're they're Supernatural and we should worship them and the author of Hebrews kind of debunks all that in the first couple of chapters there saying no okay that is totally heretical nonsense don't believe it Christ is the only one that's worthy of our worship and our praise okay the Triune God of the universe is worthy of it and here's

Why Hebrews chapter 1 verses 13 14 says and to which of the angels has he ever said sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet are they not all ministering Spirits sent out for to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation that's the role of angels the second Point here is that they are ministering Spirits we saw that in that verse that I just read they are ministering Spirits Angels they don't go about Waging War by sitting on people's shoulders and complaining and talking to each other and trying to convince you to make the right choice Angels they minister to Saints who are in need we see Elijah in the desert fleeing for his life who receives encouragement and Ministry from Angels is he John in the Book of Revelation who cannot stand and the angel picks him up gives them something to eat encourages him we see Christ ministered to in the desert after the Temptation and Daniel he has another Angel approach one like the children of man when the likeness I should say and Daniel he could stand but he couldn't talk he was just mute he was totally Blown Away by what God was doing I mean here's what he says oh my Lord by reason of the vision pains have come upon me and I retain no strength how can my Lord servant talk with my Lord for now no strength remains in me and no breath in me and so he comes this Angel this heavenly being comes touches Daniel strengthens him and says o man greatly loved fear not peace be with you be strong and of good courage this is what they have done they have ministered to Daniel we also see here the Angels they fight demonic foes if this Angelic Heavenly Warrior and all of his might and splendor couldn't take on the Prince of Persia by himself

In a way he needed he needed backup he needed Michael to get involved and if he needed Michael someone more powerful than himself to get involved how powerful do you think that some demonic entities are see there's there's some that believe that Satan and demons are all-powerful and all-knowing and all that kind of stuff they're not yes they are powerful foes yes they are full of knowledge yes there are many of them but they do not possess the characteristics of God thanks be to God that he does have his angels in the Heavenly Realms waging an unseen War so he learned about angels but we also can extrapolate some things about demons here too firstly is that they distort God's message message if angels are serving in the spiritual realm they're serving by delivering messages and things like that demons they want to thwart it the reason is because they want godly people like you and me to be Weak and Powerless and overwhelmed and to feel unloved and discouraged for us we don't rely on Angelic Revelations we rely upon the word of God giving us understanding by the spirit of God and we talked about that last week to see demons they are fine oppressing and distorting and misrepresenting God's word as long as they don't allow you to see the glory of God's word I was one time doing Street evangelism and I was talking with a man who knew the Gospel he knew every like I mean he could walk through the Gospel and give a really great Gospel presentation but his view of the Gospel was actually distorted once we got to the end he said you know as long as I Repent God will forgive me which is true but here's how he took it I can go out on Saturdays and I can get sloshed I can hook up with a new girl every Saturday night as long as I'm in church on Sunday

And I say I'm sorry that is a distortion of the Gospel message that's not repentance repentance means to change your mind about Sin to be broken about Sin to be heartbroken over the God that you've offended with your sin and that you want to do everything possible and there's nothing that we can do except for repent and believe the Gospel and come to him and say God are you willing to make me clean and what did Jesus say to that leper I am willing be clean when that woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before the Lord he said where are your accusers there's no one my Lord he says neither do I condemn you go and sin no more now she didn't she wasn't perfect after that but she was made perfect by faith alone in Jesus Christ secondly we learned that demons are deadly Spirits their their goal and is not joy for you but hell for you they hate God they hate everything that God loves so much that they just want to destroy it everything that is evil in this world is designed to entice you to ensnare you and to deceive you in order to thwart the work of God so the good things that are good like work providing for our families demons can use that to bad things like drugs and pornography demons are deadly Spirits thirdly demons they oppose the Lord so now this heavenly Warrior he has returned to continue the fight with this evil Prince of Persia and soon after as way of Prophecy that Prince of Greece of course gave rise to the rise of the Greek Empire and so now this Prince of Persia he is a fallen angel and he is a powerful demonic entity now I'm going to have to hurry through this because I'm going a little long and I'm

Very apologetic for that but let me get a couple of applications here and then we'll wrap it up first thing that I want you to kind of take away from this is that world events cannot be viewed through the lens of History alone okay we can look back we can see evil rise we can see good rise up against evil and thwart it okay it history is not the only lens we have to have spiritual eyes and Abraham Kuiper he once wrote that if once the curtain were pulled back in the spiritual World behind it came to view it would expose our spiritual vision a struggle so intense so convulsive sweeping everything within its range that the fiercest battle ever fought on Earth would seem by comparison a mere gain not here but up there is where the real conflict is wage and so our Earthly struggle drones on and its backlash and so this is the truth that the forests of Heaven and the Demons of hell they are battling and sometimes we're tempted to think well Heaven must be losing the battle and that's not the case God he still rules he still reigns with Victory and authority and as Christians draw closer to the Lord as you dear Christian you follow the Lord quit spending your life on frivolous things quit being dumb with your time as soon as we start getting serious about our walk with Christ we are going to see spiritual success we will see God work in powerful ways in our families and in our lives if we would just take God at his word secondly believers they are involved in a real spiritual conflict you and I because we're children of God we're there we are involved in the battle whether we like it or not Daniel he might have thought in his old age well I'm just going to have a Ministry of prayer I can't do much else what do you

Mean that you can't do much else Daniel what about you Christian you ever feel like God can't use you got the ministry of prayer that's where the battle's fought you're on the front lines Christian we need men and women who are willing to pray and intercede Before the Throne and say God can you work in Camden can you work in Pastor Cody's heart can you work in First Baptist Church and God will thirdly this Vision it understands the importance of the ministry of Prayer Mary Queen of Scots she said this about John Knox she said I do not fear an army of ten thousand men but I do fear the prayers of John Knox that's how powerful his prayers were that's because prayer changes situations but it's not just prayer what does the Book of James say it says the prayer of a righteous person has great powerful as it is working you see prayer it's not some magical thing that we just you know present to God our needs say in Jesus name and then we're done with it that's not the ministry of Prayer you see there can't be a disconnect between our prayer life and our personal life it's the righteous man that God he hears their person answers them in that way Leonard Ravenhill he said no man is greater than his prayer life the pastor who is praying who is not praying is playing the people who are not praying or straying we have many organizers but few agonizers many players and payers few prayers many singers but few clingers lots of pastors few wrestlers many fears few tears much fashion little passion many interferers few intercessors many writers but few Fighters few failing here we fail everywhere

And we should also note that our prayers are not powerful because our prayers are powerful but because we have a powerful God who hears our prayers see our prayers are our words to God when God answers it's because he has the power and the authority to do something about them and so I want to challenge you Christian to get serious about your prayers seek God's will to pray on behalf of those who don't know Christ and I can't say I promise you but I bet you that we'll see God do something some amazing stuff head hand heart head write this down I want you to know that true wisdom and insight leads to prayer it's the life of every saint so be wise Christian seek the Lord in prayer it's a Mark of wisdom it's the Mark of understanding and I want you to identify with some Christians who are oppressed in our world today and pray for them every week we've got a prayer guide of unreached people groups and missionaries that are around the world that see opposition to the Gospel okay and so I want you to take some time maybe this week it's picking up a bulletin identifying that group and praying for them and relating to them in some way and heart I want you to believe that there is a Heavenly War being waged remember that we don't fight against against people and political parties and things like that but Ephesians 6 it tells us that we are to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil for we did not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against against the cosmic Powers over this present Darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in

The Heavenly places that's where our Warfare is so let's go and wage and so God we do thank you so much for this great day that you've given to us we pray that you would help us to understand and rightly apply your word and God right now as we kind of wrap up or there was a lot there for us to think on and chew on and I pray that you would just continue to work in our lives and bother us inform us into your image God don't let us walk out of here thinking wow what a great or terrible sermon but Lord what a great and awesome God we have that he is still working in the scene and unseen Realms God that you are waging a war that you will have complete victory in and you've already claimed victory in when you Rose your son from the dead we love you Lord and we thank you for what you're doing in Jesus precious name amen let's stand and let's sing together [Music] How Deep The Father's Love For Us how fast beyond all measure that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure [Music] how great the pain of searing laws the father turns his face away as wounds which Martha Chosen One bring many sons to Glory foreign behold the man upon a cross my sin upon his shoulders ashamed I hear my mocking voice call Out Among the scoffers it was my sin that held him there until it was a complete place his dying breath has brought me life I know that it is [Music] I will not boast in anything

No gifts no power no wisdom [Music] but I will boast in Jesus Christ his death and resurrect erection why should I gain from his reward I cannot give an answer but this I know with all my heart his wounds have paid my rest comes if y'all could have a seat real quick I'm going to introduce to you guys of course y'all know them the denim so I said hey guys when are y'all going to join our church oh well we'll do it this week they've been over in Kids Quest and volunteering and stuff already jumping in they said you know we're here we want to make this our official church family and that's it okay let me get down on your level there we go but anyways we wanted to they said that they won't come forward as candidates and so they'll still go through our membership class and everything like that and still vote on them but if y'all would say yes we want to receive them into our church family would you say Amen awesome praise the Lord thank you guys be sure to hug their necks and say thanks for making it official so church I love you so much you guys can have a seat now we're gonna have Nicholas our Deacon of the week that will close us out in prayer all right if you bow your heads with me follow the way but we thank you for this opportunity to come to you today Lord and worship Lord we thank you for the freedom to gather and not be persecuted Lord and Lord that I just ask that you just open our hearts allow us to soak in what you have brought to us today through Cody Lord and father we thank you for what you're going to do for us this week