that it is in order to<\/p>\n
be a part of your church where we thank<\/p>\n
you for the kids in our community we<\/p>\n
pray for them and for the teachers<\/p>\n
during this time Lord we pray that your<\/p>\n
spirit would be<\/p>\n
working in the hearts and the minds of<\/p>\n
the kids and the teachers Lord as they<\/p>\n
build them up into the image of your son<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ his name we pray amen<\/p>\n
ities<\/p>\n
so a sermon is going to be in English if<\/p>\n
you need if you'd like translation<\/p>\n
into Thai translation devices are at the<\/p>\n
back<\/p>\n
all right well hello everybody hope your<\/p>\n
weeks have been have been well<\/p>\n
we've been looking at the Book of Daniel<\/p>\n
over the past few weeks<\/p>\n
and I don't think I I think I speak for<\/p>\n
all of us<\/p>\n
when I say it's been quite the Whirlwind<\/p>\n
the past few chapters have been just<\/p>\n
Vision after vision<\/p>\n
discouragement after discouragement<\/p>\n
even though we've seen that one of the<\/p>\n
main themes of the Book of Daniel is<\/p>\n
that God is King<\/p>\n
and that no matter what happens God is<\/p>\n
still in control<\/p>\n
the past few chapters have felt like one<\/p>\n
punch after another<\/p>\n
well today<\/p>\n
um today is no different<\/p>\n
we have another vision<\/p>\n
now the good news is that this is the<\/p>\n
last Vision in the Book of Daniel<\/p>\n
the only thing is is that it's three<\/p>\n
chapters long<\/p>\n
that's right chapters 10 to 12 is one<\/p>\n
long vision<\/p>\n
the longest vision<\/p>\n
in the Book of Daniel<\/p>\n
so I'll read the text to us<\/p>\n
next slide please<\/p>\n
thank you all right Daniel chapter 10.<\/p>\n
in the third year of Cyrus King of<\/p>\n
Persia a word was revealed to Daniel<\/p>\n
who was named belsar<\/p>\n
and the Word was true and it was a great<\/p>\n
conflict and he understood the word and<\/p>\n
had understanding of the vision<\/p>\n
in those days I Daniel was mourning for<\/p>\n
three weeks<\/p>\n
I ate Noah Delicacies no meat or wine<\/p>\n
entered my mouth nor did I anoint myself<\/p>\n
at all for the full three weeks<\/p>\n
on the 24th day of the first months as I<\/p>\n
was standing on the bank of the Great<\/p>\n
River that is the Tigris I lifted up my<\/p>\n
eyes and looked and behold a man clothed<\/p>\n
in linen with the belt of fine gold from<\/p>\n
upaz around his waist<\/p>\n
his body was like Barrel his face like<\/p>\n
the appearance of lightning his eyes<\/p>\n
like flaming torches his arms and legs<\/p>\n
like The Gleam of burnished bronze and<\/p>\n
the sound of his words like the sound of<\/p>\n
a multitude<\/p>\n
and I Daniel alone saw the vision<\/p>\n
for the men who were with me did not see<\/p>\n
the vision<\/p>\n
but a great trembling fell upon them and<\/p>\n
they fled to hide themselves<\/p>\n
so I was left alone and saw this great<\/p>\n
vision and had no strength no strength<\/p>\n
was left in me my radiant appearance was<\/p>\n
fearfully changed and I retained no<\/p>\n
strength<\/p>\n
then I heard the sound of his words and<\/p>\n
as I heard the sound of his words I fell<\/p>\n
on my face in deep sleep with my face to<\/p>\n
the ground<\/p>\n
and behold the hand touched me and sent<\/p>\n
me trembling on my hands and knees<\/p>\n
and he said to me oh Daniel man greatly<\/p>\n
loved understand the words that I speak<\/p>\n
to you and stand upright for now I have<\/p>\n
been sent to you<\/p>\n
and when he had spoken this word to me I<\/p>\n
stood up trembling<\/p>\n
then he said to me fear not Daniel for<\/p>\n
from the first day that you set your<\/p>\n
heart to understand and humbled yourself<\/p>\n
before your God your words have been<\/p>\n
heard<\/p>\n
and I have come because of your words<\/p>\n
the prince of the kingdom of Persia<\/p>\n
withstood me 21 days but Michael one of<\/p>\n
the chief princes came to help me<\/p>\n
where I was left there with the kings of<\/p>\n
Persia and came to make you understand<\/p>\n
what is to happen to your people in the<\/p>\n
latter days<\/p>\n
for the vision is for days yet to come<\/p>\n
when he had spoken to me according to<\/p>\n
these words I turned my face toward the<\/p>\n
ground and was mute<\/p>\n
and behold one in the likeness of the<\/p>\n
children of men touched my lips then I<\/p>\n
opened my mouth and spoke I said to him<\/p>\n
who stood Before Me O My Lord by reason<\/p>\n
of division pains have come upon me and<\/p>\n
I retain no strength<\/p>\n
how can my Lord's servant talk with my<\/p>\n
lord for now no strength remains in me<\/p>\n
and no breath is left in me<\/p>\n
again having one having the appearance<\/p>\n
of a man touched me and strengthened me<\/p>\n
and he said oh man greatly loved fear<\/p>\n
not peace be with you be strong and of<\/p>\n
good courage and as he spoke to me I was<\/p>\n
strengthened and said let my Lord speak<\/p>\n
for you have strengthened me<\/p>\n
then he said do you know why I have come<\/p>\n
to you<\/p>\n
but now I will return to fight against<\/p>\n
the Prince of Persia when I go out<\/p>\n
behold the prince of Greece will come<\/p>\n
but I will tell you what is inscribed in<\/p>\n
the book of Truth there is none who<\/p>\n
contends by my side against these except<\/p>\n
Michael your prince<\/p>\n
this is the word Lord<\/p>\n
now let's read that again in Thai I'm<\/p>\n
just kidding<\/p>\n
so so to recap<\/p>\n
so far<\/p>\n
Daniel is in Babylon<\/p>\n
and he has been here for the majority of<\/p>\n
his life<\/p>\n
the Israelites have been in exile for<\/p>\n
close to 70 years<\/p>\n
under different Empires<\/p>\n
in chapter 9 that we looked at last week<\/p>\n
Daniel is in his late 80s<\/p>\n
and having spent his whole life in Exile<\/p>\n
he turns to God and he asks how long<\/p>\n
how long until my people can go back to<\/p>\n
Israel<\/p>\n
how long must we be in Exile<\/p>\n
God answers<\/p>\n
something along the lines of soon<\/p>\n
a short time after chapter nine<\/p>\n
Babylon Falls to another Empire the<\/p>\n
Empire of the medes and the Persians<\/p>\n
and in our chapter for today we see it<\/p>\n
says Cyrus King of Persia is now in<\/p>\n
power<\/p>\n
so Cyrus ended the Exile and he allowed<\/p>\n
for the Jews to return<\/p>\n
to Jerusalem and so we see this in Ezra<\/p>\n
chapter one<\/p>\n
in the first year of Cyrus King of<\/p>\n
Persia in order to fulfill the word of<\/p>\n
the Lord spoken by Jeremiah the Lord<\/p>\n
moved the heart of Cyrus King of Persia<\/p>\n
and it goes and goes on to say<\/p>\n
basically saying that anyone can go back<\/p>\n
to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple<\/p>\n
so that's the context and<\/p>\n
there's joy there's excitement as the<\/p>\n
Israelites prepare to make the trip back<\/p>\n
Exile is over<\/p>\n
but Daniel stays behind<\/p>\n
he's too old to make the trip back he's<\/p>\n
probably around 90 years of age at this<\/p>\n
time<\/p>\n
and so two years pass because we see in<\/p>\n
verse 1 it says it is now the third year<\/p>\n
of Cyrus<\/p>\n
which means it's about 535 to 536 BC<\/p>\n
and we know from Ezra that during this<\/p>\n
things are not going well in Jerusalem<\/p>\n
the Jews had started to rebuild the<\/p>\n
Temple<\/p>\n
but they were threatened and discouraged<\/p>\n
they faced opposition<\/p>\n
and so they could not continue their<\/p>\n
work<\/p>\n
it's quite likely that Daniel had heard<\/p>\n
these reports and so he is overwhelmed<\/p>\n
and he's discouraged<\/p>\n
and so he Grieves<\/p>\n
and on the 24th day as his Mourning he<\/p>\n
goes for a walk<\/p>\n
he stands on the bank of the Great River<\/p>\n
and he is met with<\/p>\n
something so amazing it sends him to the<\/p>\n
ground<\/p>\n
he is undone<\/p>\n
and this text if we if we read carefully<\/p>\n
it shows us something very profound<\/p>\n
we'll ask questions like who does he<\/p>\n
meet<\/p>\n
what does he say how is Daniel changed<\/p>\n
what do we learn and so we're going to<\/p>\n
look at this text through three images<\/p>\n
one the messenger<\/p>\n
two is a battle three The Warrior<\/p>\n
so the messenger verse 5 tells us<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
as Daniel is on the riverbank he lifts<\/p>\n
his eyes up and meets a figure so<\/p>\n
amazing and glorious that everyone runs<\/p>\n
away in fear<\/p>\n
and Daniel himself is sent to the ground<\/p>\n
on his face<\/p>\n
it says a man clothed in linen with a<\/p>\n
belt of fine gold around his waist his<\/p>\n
body like Barrel his face like lightning<\/p>\n
his eyes like flaming torches the sound<\/p>\n
of his words like the sound of a crowd<\/p>\n
who does Daniel meet<\/p>\n
Daniel meets an angel of the Lord<\/p>\n
now the angel represents God in two ways<\/p>\n
one by declaring the words of God<\/p>\n
but two look at the appearance of the<\/p>\n
angel<\/p>\n
it's it's very similar to how Jesus is<\/p>\n
described in Revelation so similar that<\/p>\n
if the angel doesn't say anything it<\/p>\n
would have been very easy to say oh yeah<\/p>\n
this is this is God this is Jesus<\/p>\n
but later as we'll see the angel will<\/p>\n
tell Daniel that he was delayed in<\/p>\n
coming to him<\/p>\n
and Michael another angel came to help<\/p>\n
him and so that's why that's why it's an<\/p>\n
and not God because God is omnipotent<\/p>\n
which means he is all-powerful and he<\/p>\n
doesn't need any help<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
one commentator says that<\/p>\n
the angel is filled with the glory and<\/p>\n
power and Dread of God<\/p>\n
and therefore to look at this Angel is<\/p>\n
to see something about the God who sends<\/p>\n
him<\/p>\n
that's that's why the angel looks so<\/p>\n
similar<\/p>\n
now I'd like to just stop here for a<\/p>\n
second and bring out something that's<\/p>\n
quite amazing in this<\/p>\n
the angel reflects God's glory in such a<\/p>\n
way that when Daniel looks at the angel<\/p>\n
he is sent to the ground and those who<\/p>\n
are with him run away in fear the angel<\/p>\n
is not God but the angel is like a<\/p>\n
mirror reflecting God's greatness and<\/p>\n
power and glory and awesomeness<\/p>\n
the angel is reflecting God's image<\/p>\n
now in his book the weight of Glory C.S<\/p>\n
Lewis gets at this when he writes<\/p>\n
it's a serious thing to remember that<\/p>\n
the dullest most uninteresting person<\/p>\n
you can talk to<\/p>\n
May one day be a creature with if you<\/p>\n
saw it now you would be strongly Tempted<\/p>\n
To Worship<\/p>\n
or else a horror and a corruption such<\/p>\n
as now you meet if at all only in a<\/p>\n
nightmare<\/p>\n
he goes on to say there are no such<\/p>\n
thing as Ordinary People<\/p>\n
says you meaning all of us you've never<\/p>\n
talked to a mere mortal<\/p>\n
Nations cultures Arts civilizations<\/p>\n
these are mortal but it is Immortals<\/p>\n
whom we joke with work with Mary snub<\/p>\n
and exploit Immortal Horrors or<\/p>\n
Everlasting splendors<\/p>\n
next to the Blessed Sacrament itself he<\/p>\n
continues your neighbor is the holiest<\/p>\n
object presented to your senses<\/p>\n
and if he is your Christian neighbor he<\/p>\n
is Holy in almost the same way for in<\/p>\n
him also Christ the glorifier and the<\/p>\n
glorified Glory himself is truly hidden<\/p>\n
what's he saying<\/p>\n
the Bible tells us that because we are<\/p>\n
all created in God's image we reflect to<\/p>\n
a degree the glory and Holiness of God<\/p>\n
First John 3 says now we are children of<\/p>\n
God and what we will be has not yet made<\/p>\n
been made known<\/p>\n
but we know that when Christ appears we<\/p>\n
shall be like him for we shall see him<\/p>\n
as he is<\/p>\n
this is this is what it means to be a<\/p>\n
Christian Christianity is like a diamond<\/p>\n
there's a thousand different faces and<\/p>\n
they all look into the same reality but<\/p>\n
they all show you reality<\/p>\n
from a different perspective and so<\/p>\n
here's one more perspective of what it<\/p>\n
means to be a Christian one more great<\/p>\n
definition of Christianity<\/p>\n
to be a Christian does not mean to try<\/p>\n
to be a child of God but it means to be<\/p>\n
a child of God now<\/p>\n
it's very typical of people to say<\/p>\n
when they're asked are you a Christian<\/p>\n
to to respond oh I'm trying I hope so I<\/p>\n
hope I'm a Christian I'm trying to be a<\/p>\n
Christian<\/p>\n
but what we see here is that<\/p>\n
Christianity is a standing it's a legal<\/p>\n
position<\/p>\n
it's not us saying I'm trying to be<\/p>\n
God's child<\/p>\n
John says we are children of God<\/p>\n
there's no such thing as a 50 child<\/p>\n
either a child is legally yours or is<\/p>\n
not<\/p>\n
and so to be a child of God is a<\/p>\n
standing it's something that comes on to<\/p>\n
you it's just like when Daniel when the<\/p>\n
angel tells Daniel in verse 11 that he<\/p>\n
is greatly loved<\/p>\n
Daniel is not trying to be loved<\/p>\n
he just is<\/p>\n
something that has come on to him<\/p>\n
this is what it means to be a Christian<\/p>\n
it means to be loved by God it means to<\/p>\n
be a child of God<\/p>\n
and we are destined if you are a<\/p>\n
the climax of Our Lives is to see God as<\/p>\n
he is face to face<\/p>\n
one day we will experience the complete<\/p>\n
transformation that occurs from seeing<\/p>\n
God face to face<\/p>\n
so the same greatness and glory and<\/p>\n
power of the angel that appears to<\/p>\n
Daniel is just an image of what we will<\/p>\n
be like when we see God face to face<\/p>\n
it means it's it's so amazing it's<\/p>\n
astonishing that is our future<\/p>\n
So Daniel sees the glory of God<\/p>\n
reflected in the angel and he falls to<\/p>\n
the ground on his face<\/p>\n
instead of being overwhelmed exhilarated<\/p>\n
by The Experience he is so drained of<\/p>\n
energy he can't talk he goes unconscious<\/p>\n
know that three times the angel has to<\/p>\n
revive him to bring him back<\/p>\n
he says in verse 8.<\/p>\n
I was left alone and saw this great<\/p>\n
vision and no strength was left in me my<\/p>\n
radiant appearance was fearfully changed<\/p>\n
and I retained no strength<\/p>\n
and so what we see here is the<\/p>\n
difference between believing in God as a<\/p>\n
concept<\/p>\n
and God is a reality<\/p>\n
the difference between believing in God<\/p>\n
and actually experiencing God's glory<\/p>\n
when Daniel saw the angel he didn't just<\/p>\n
say oh yeah there is a God<\/p>\n
why because he already believed<\/p>\n
but when Daniel saw the angel he fell to<\/p>\n
why did he fall to the ground<\/p>\n
that's the difference between God is a<\/p>\n
concept and God is a reality the<\/p>\n
difference is Glory<\/p>\n
God as a concept is lighter than you<\/p>\n
lighter than me<\/p>\n
so if God comes into our life and is<\/p>\n
only a concept we shape God<\/p>\n
God fits in with our existing patterns<\/p>\n
God doesn't move us around<\/p>\n
if we believe in God and it hasn't<\/p>\n
changed us very much<\/p>\n
God is just a concept<\/p>\n
God is a concept cannot change our<\/p>\n
beliefs Around It just fits in with what<\/p>\n
we already believe<\/p>\n
so like I believe the way to be happy is<\/p>\n
to have a nice house kids and a car and<\/p>\n
God can help me get it<\/p>\n
or I believe in God because it makes<\/p>\n
sense why everything is here there must<\/p>\n
have been the Creator or I believe in<\/p>\n
God because in the future we're going to<\/p>\n
be with we're going to be God we're<\/p>\n
going to be with God in heaven<\/p>\n
those are all Concepts that's just<\/p>\n
believing in God as a concept<\/p>\n
and God is just there to help us achieve<\/p>\n
what we already believe in<\/p>\n
so plenty of people try to be religious<\/p>\n
we come to church read the Bible and<\/p>\n
pray why because<\/p>\n
we need help in getting to our goals in<\/p>\n
other words fitting God into our agenda<\/p>\n
this is God as a concept<\/p>\n
but God is a reality is heavier than us<\/p>\n
when the real God comes into our life<\/p>\n
when we get into the presence of God's<\/p>\n
glory things get shaken up we fall to<\/p>\n
we become deeply deeply Changed by God's<\/p>\n
word look at Daniel he's only in the<\/p>\n
presence of an angel that reflects God's<\/p>\n
glory and he's on the ground he's shaken<\/p>\n
up it says verse 8 his radiant<\/p>\n
appearance was fearfully changed why<\/p>\n
because God has more Glory than our<\/p>\n
beliefs<\/p>\n
instead of<\/p>\n
instead of God being fit into our agenda<\/p>\n
God becomes our agenda<\/p>\n
he radically changes our priorities<\/p>\n
without God our agenda is to have a<\/p>\n
knife's comfortable safe kind of Life<\/p>\n
putting ourselves and our families first<\/p>\n
but when God comes into our life our<\/p>\n
priorities are shaken up God becomes our<\/p>\n
agenda God says bravery self-sacrifice<\/p>\n
sacrifice your individual needs I am<\/p>\n
more real than your individual needs I<\/p>\n
have Glory<\/p>\n
is God a reality in our lives is God<\/p>\n
only a concept<\/p>\n
do you remember when God moved from<\/p>\n
being a concept<\/p>\n
to a reality<\/p>\n
is God contradicting you is God changing<\/p>\n
you has he completely demolished and<\/p>\n
rebuilt the way that we look at life<\/p>\n
and our agenda and our priorities<\/p>\n
So Daniel so the angel comes to Daniel<\/p>\n
Daniels knocked to the ground<\/p>\n
and now what does the angel say what is<\/p>\n
the message this is our second image<\/p>\n
it's the battle so in verses 10 to 14.<\/p>\n
we see the angel giving Daniel the<\/p>\n
strength to stand upright to hear the<\/p>\n
message<\/p>\n
So Daniel he's on his hands and knees he<\/p>\n
gets up slowly to hear the words of the<\/p>\n
and what we hear is absolutely<\/p>\n
astonishing<\/p>\n
in verse 12<\/p>\n
the angel says fear not Daniel from the<\/p>\n
first day that you set your heart to<\/p>\n
understand and humbled yourself before<\/p>\n
your God I have come because of your<\/p>\n
words<\/p>\n
withstood me 21 days but I had help from<\/p>\n
Michael one of the chief princes<\/p>\n
I have come to make you understand what<\/p>\n
is to happen to your people in the<\/p>\n
what we have here is some things that<\/p>\n
the modern person especially if you are<\/p>\n
in Bangkok<\/p>\n
what we have here is something that most<\/p>\n
people scoff about<\/p>\n
spiritual warfare<\/p>\n
this is the clearest example in all the<\/p>\n
Bible<\/p>\n
of what is called a territorial spirit<\/p>\n
we see it says the prince of the kingdom<\/p>\n
of Persia<\/p>\n
and so we see here that there are<\/p>\n
supernatural beings that are opposed to<\/p>\n
God<\/p>\n
and it seems like at least one<\/p>\n
is assigned to a kingdom we see here it<\/p>\n
says Persia a little later we'll see<\/p>\n
we'll see it says Greece<\/p>\n
so presumably his job is to darken the<\/p>\n
people of Persia<\/p>\n
to keep them from having the truth and<\/p>\n
the light of God's word<\/p>\n
now there's a big difference between<\/p>\n
people who live in Bangkok and people<\/p>\n
who live in other parts of Thailand<\/p>\n
in regards to how we view spiritual<\/p>\n
warfare<\/p>\n
the modern person in Bangkok says<\/p>\n
everything has a natural cause<\/p>\n
and has a scientific explanation<\/p>\n
if everything has a natural cause then<\/p>\n
evil crime Injustice cruelty they all<\/p>\n
have a natural cause they can all be<\/p>\n
explained and so we'll say things like<\/p>\n
oh yes we can figure it out it's just<\/p>\n
bad education the bad education system<\/p>\n
it's how we were raised as we were kids<\/p>\n
those are the things that cause<\/p>\n
evil<\/p>\n
and we can fix it<\/p>\n
so most most of the people<\/p>\n
most modern people most of the people in<\/p>\n
Bangkok scoff at the idea of evil but if<\/p>\n
we look at the world<\/p>\n
can we really say that<\/p>\n
the Holocaust ethnic cleansing serial<\/p>\n
Killing is Just a result of bad<\/p>\n
psychology<\/p>\n
we cannot account for the depth and<\/p>\n
pervasiveness of Evil by just saying bad<\/p>\n
or bad systems<\/p>\n
the Bible doesn't say this either the<\/p>\n
Bible says evil comes from the Free Will<\/p>\n
of two races of beings that God created<\/p>\n
angels and humans<\/p>\n
some of the Angels fell and turned away<\/p>\n
from God the fallen angels are Satan and<\/p>\n
his demons personal supernatural beings<\/p>\n
and then we also have the human race<\/p>\n
we turned and sin and evil is in our<\/p>\n
heart<\/p>\n
it's in our souls it has spiritual roots<\/p>\n
and so<\/p>\n
our psychology the way we were raised<\/p>\n
can shape the innate evils evil in our<\/p>\n
hearts and it can make it worse but it<\/p>\n
doesn't create it<\/p>\n
and so plenty of cultures in the world<\/p>\n
believe that there is such a thing as a<\/p>\n
devil that there is evil that there are<\/p>\n
Supernatural forces at work in the world<\/p>\n
if you go to isan you'll see this very<\/p>\n
clearly<\/p>\n
it may make us uncomfortable<\/p>\n
but it is true<\/p>\n
there is a devil<\/p>\n
and supernatural beings that oppose God<\/p>\n
that influence the events throughout<\/p>\n
history<\/p>\n
there is a spiritual battle<\/p>\n
and we see this with the words that the<\/p>\n
angel tells Daniel<\/p>\n
he says the prince of the kingdom of<\/p>\n
Persia withstood me 21 days later he'll<\/p>\n
say I will return against the fight I'll<\/p>\n
return to fight against the Prince of<\/p>\n
Persia<\/p>\n
so there is such a thing as evil and and<\/p>\n
if we don't understand this<\/p>\n
we won't be able to understand or defeat<\/p>\n
alone the evil and darkness in our own<\/p>\n
hearts in our families in our city in<\/p>\n
the world<\/p>\n
we're in over our heads if God is not<\/p>\n
helping us<\/p>\n
so C.S Lewis in his book screw tape<\/p>\n
letters he says that when thinking about<\/p>\n
angels and demons there are two errors<\/p>\n
that we can fall into<\/p>\n
one is being overly and unhealthily<\/p>\n
interested in Angels and Demons<\/p>\n
we're always looking at we're always<\/p>\n
looking and trying to figure out what's<\/p>\n
going on<\/p>\n
so that we imagine that all the sin and<\/p>\n
temptations we face in the world are<\/p>\n
really just the work of demons twisting<\/p>\n
our thoughts and hearts all the time<\/p>\n
leading us into temptation we may say I<\/p>\n
sinned but a demon made me do it it's<\/p>\n
like blaming the dog that ate your<\/p>\n
homework that's one error thinking about<\/p>\n
it too much<\/p>\n
the other opposite error is failing to<\/p>\n
recognize the presence of these things<\/p>\n
to not believe in them at all<\/p>\n
one you can call Superstition the other<\/p>\n
one you can call it unbelief<\/p>\n
over belief under belief<\/p>\n
now the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6<\/p>\n
that our battle is not against flesh and<\/p>\n
blood but against the rulers authorities<\/p>\n
powers of this Dark World against the<\/p>\n
spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly<\/p>\n
realms<\/p>\n
and so we see with Daniel<\/p>\n
he's praying the angel comes and is<\/p>\n
detained but eventually fights the dark<\/p>\n
Forces and reaches Daniel<\/p>\n
and what is more we see<\/p>\n
says<\/p>\n
in verse 12. the angel comes because of<\/p>\n
your words because of Daniel's words the<\/p>\n
angel comes to Daniel in response to<\/p>\n
Daniel's prayer<\/p>\n
in other words Daniel's prayer is<\/p>\n
answered<\/p>\n
there is there is this pause a minute<\/p>\n
there is great power in prayer<\/p>\n
John Piper points out that the Angels<\/p>\n
struggle with the Persian Prince lasted<\/p>\n
the same amount of time<\/p>\n
that Daniel's fasting and prayer did<\/p>\n
he continues says his words he says the<\/p>\n
reason for this is that Warfare in the<\/p>\n
spirit realm was being fought in a real<\/p>\n
sense through Daniel's prayer<\/p>\n
now there's a lot we can say here go<\/p>\n
into a whole another sermon on it but<\/p>\n
for the sake of time<\/p>\n
just notice Daniel's posture when he<\/p>\n
prays<\/p>\n
the angel says you set your heart to<\/p>\n
your God<\/p>\n
Daniel's posture before God is humility<\/p>\n
God is not a concept to Daniel God is a<\/p>\n
reality<\/p>\n
Daniel doesn't pray to God expecting God<\/p>\n
to be Daniel's personal secretary or his<\/p>\n
personal Genie answering every prayer<\/p>\n
instead Daniel's life has shown us<\/p>\n
that God has come in and rearranged<\/p>\n
Daniel's priorities Daniel has been<\/p>\n
deeply Changed by God<\/p>\n
and so when Daniel prays he prays and he<\/p>\n
humbles himself before God which means<\/p>\n
that for us when we pray<\/p>\n
we don't pray in order to get things<\/p>\n
from God<\/p>\n
we pray in order to get more of God<\/p>\n
himself<\/p>\n
we submit ourselves to God's will<\/p>\n
so Tim Keller in his book on prayer he<\/p>\n
says something like<\/p>\n
if we only ever prayed according to our<\/p>\n
own inner needs in psychology<\/p>\n
we would never produce all the different<\/p>\n
kinds of prayers that we see in the<\/p>\n
we can only pray properly if we are<\/p>\n
responding in prayer according to who<\/p>\n
God is in Scripture<\/p>\n
we must not decide how to pray based on<\/p>\n
what types of prayer are the most<\/p>\n
effective for producing the feelings we<\/p>\n
want we pray in response to God himself<\/p>\n
and what he's saying is when we pray we<\/p>\n
don't pray with ourselves as the focal<\/p>\n
point we don't pray with ourselves as<\/p>\n
sinner<\/p>\n
we pray with God's Will and God's word<\/p>\n
being The Sinner our prayer comes as a<\/p>\n
way of responding to God and that's what<\/p>\n
Daniel does<\/p>\n
he humbles himself before God and he<\/p>\n
prays and then the angel comes to him<\/p>\n
and then in verses 15 and 21 in response<\/p>\n
to the Angel's words Daniel is struck<\/p>\n
with fear and discouragement he falls to<\/p>\n
the ground again<\/p>\n
and he's mute and he says in verse 16 O<\/p>\n
My Lord by reason of the vision pains<\/p>\n
have come upon me and I retain no<\/p>\n
strengths<\/p>\n
how many of us have felt that way before<\/p>\n
we've heard news<\/p>\n
that has caused our hearts to sink<\/p>\n
we've heard terrifying news being<\/p>\n
weighed down by the evil and Injustice<\/p>\n
and suffering that we see in the world<\/p>\n
today<\/p>\n
some of us are in professions of Social<\/p>\n
Work and so we see that a lot more<\/p>\n
we see the evil in our own Social<\/p>\n
Circles we see betrayals and<\/p>\n
backstabbings by our friends<\/p>\n
we see evil in our families as well<\/p>\n
family drama is always there<\/p>\n
and we also see evil in our own hearts<\/p>\n
Daniel hears of the battle this Cosmic<\/p>\n
spiritual battle that deeply impacts him<\/p>\n
and he's on the ground he's drained of<\/p>\n
all energy<\/p>\n
what Daniel 10 does it gives us an image<\/p>\n
of this spiritual battle<\/p>\n
but this battle is one that has been<\/p>\n
fought for thousands of years<\/p>\n
it started in Genesis 3.<\/p>\n
behind Adam and Eve's Rebellion against<\/p>\n
God was the instigation of the serpent<\/p>\n
of Satan himself<\/p>\n
and that's the main way that the devil<\/p>\n
works against us as well is through<\/p>\n
lying<\/p>\n
he lied to and deceived Adam and Eve<\/p>\n
and he does that to us as well<\/p>\n
the devil does not make a good person<\/p>\n
bad<\/p>\n
but he makes flawed people worse<\/p>\n
he gets at us through lies<\/p>\n
we all feel this battle we all take part<\/p>\n
in this battle<\/p>\n
there's an old book it's called precious<\/p>\n
remedies against Satan's devices it's<\/p>\n
written by a man named Thomas Brooks<\/p>\n
in it he outlines several ways that<\/p>\n
Satan tries to get at us<\/p>\n
see if you recognize any<\/p>\n
one trying to get at us trying to get us<\/p>\n
to look at the short-term pleasure of<\/p>\n
what we will do<\/p>\n
hide from us long-term misery that comes<\/p>\n
from it<\/p>\n
getting us to see other people's sin<\/p>\n
especially Christian leaders and saying<\/p>\n
oh they did it too nobody is really that<\/p>\n
pure so it's okay for me to do it<\/p>\n
another one is emphasizing God's mercy<\/p>\n
so that we say go ahead and sin God will<\/p>\n
forgive you that's his job<\/p>\n
another one is making people bitter over<\/p>\n
suffering<\/p>\n
so that we say ah I've suffered look at<\/p>\n
how hard I've worked I deserve this<\/p>\n
nobody knows how hard I have worked and<\/p>\n
how much I have sacrificed so I can sin<\/p>\n
a little bit I deserve this nobody knows<\/p>\n
another one is showing Christians how<\/p>\n
bad people<\/p>\n
seem to have very good lives so he tells<\/p>\n
ourselves<\/p>\n
I might as well do it I'm not getting<\/p>\n
anything out of following God following<\/p>\n
the rules I might as well do it<\/p>\n
another one is getting us to compare one<\/p>\n
part of our life to another like look at<\/p>\n
me I'm very good I pray I spend time<\/p>\n
reaching out to people I give my time to<\/p>\n
people in need so what if I sin a little<\/p>\n
bit over here the rest of me is good<\/p>\n
another one is<\/p>\n
I come to church I pray I serve other<\/p>\n
people I deserve God's blessing God<\/p>\n
should bless me<\/p>\n
these are just some ways Satan gets at<\/p>\n
us through lying<\/p>\n
this is the self-talk that happens<\/p>\n
saying also<\/p>\n
gets at us by causing us to look at our<\/p>\n
sin more than our savior<\/p>\n
we think things like I have sinned so<\/p>\n
much God can never forgive me<\/p>\n
or we think that God is punishing us<\/p>\n
when we suffer so we say God is mad at<\/p>\n
me this would never have happened if God<\/p>\n
was not mad<\/p>\n
or we think that we are the only ones<\/p>\n
who have certain thoughts and feelings<\/p>\n
we'll say things like oh<\/p>\n
I can't believe what I'm thinking a real<\/p>\n
Christian would not think like that<\/p>\n
would they<\/p>\n
see these are all accusations these are<\/p>\n
all lies that cause us to look more at<\/p>\n
our sin than Jesus do you recognize any<\/p>\n
of these in yourself<\/p>\n
learn which ones you fall to and fight<\/p>\n
this is what we're fighting this is the<\/p>\n
battle the schemes of the devil<\/p>\n
this is what we see in the Angel's<\/p>\n
message to Daniel that there is a real<\/p>\n
battle<\/p>\n
when there is conflict and bitterness<\/p>\n
amongst Christians it is so important to<\/p>\n
remind ourselves<\/p>\n
that we are not fighting each other<\/p>\n
when the world sees Christians in<\/p>\n
Conflict taking each other to court<\/p>\n
what do you think they would think<\/p>\n
there Jesus isn't powerful enough to<\/p>\n
reconcile<\/p>\n
those Christians are just like us they<\/p>\n
aren't any different<\/p>\n
there is a battle being waged and our<\/p>\n
enemy is the devil it is not each other<\/p>\n
and you know what the hardest battle<\/p>\n
is not one that's out there<\/p>\n
it's the one that's in our own hearts<\/p>\n
it's not easy to fight evil in another<\/p>\n
person right<\/p>\n
but it's ridiculously hard to fight the<\/p>\n
evil in our own hearts<\/p>\n
to face the reality that we have to<\/p>\n
battle against our vicious and<\/p>\n
destructive thoughts our emotions our<\/p>\n
actions<\/p>\n
Paul gets at this<\/p>\n
when he writes in Romans 7<\/p>\n
when I want to do good<\/p>\n
evil is right there with me<\/p>\n
for in my inner being I Delight in God's<\/p>\n
law but I see another work another law<\/p>\n
at work in me Waging War against me<\/p>\n
making me a prisoner of the law of sin<\/p>\n
at work within me what a Wretched Man I<\/p>\n
am who will rescue me from this body of<\/p>\n
death<\/p>\n
it's ridiculously hard<\/p>\n
how do we fight it<\/p>\n
now one last thing<\/p>\n
the heart of Daniel 10 is this message<\/p>\n
the heart of Daniel 10 no matter how bad<\/p>\n
the conflict is God fights for his<\/p>\n
people<\/p>\n
verses 18 to 21<\/p>\n
before the angel gets into his message<\/p>\n
he tells Daniel<\/p>\n
there is none who contends by my side<\/p>\n
except against these except Michael your<\/p>\n
prince<\/p>\n
what he's doing is<\/p>\n
he's reminding Daniel that Israel has a<\/p>\n
champion in heaven that's fighting for<\/p>\n
Israel Michael<\/p>\n
the battle that began in Genesis 3 good<\/p>\n
against evil is not being fought alone<\/p>\n
Israel has a champion champion in heaven<\/p>\n
fighting for them<\/p>\n
God is fighting for them<\/p>\n
and in the New Testament we see that the<\/p>\n
ultimate champion in heaven took on<\/p>\n
flesh came to Earth to fight Satan<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
our champion in heaven took on flesh<\/p>\n
went to the cross and accomplished the<\/p>\n
greatest Victory defeating death and<\/p>\n
Satan by dying on the cross<\/p>\n
Jesus put an end to that battle once and<\/p>\n
for all and this is the gospel<\/p>\n
the battle is won not through killing<\/p>\n
but by dying<\/p>\n
not by greed not by oppression not by<\/p>\n
hate but by love and sacrifice<\/p>\n
Colossians 2 tells us that on the cross<\/p>\n
Jesus disarmed the powers and<\/p>\n
authorities making a public spectacle of<\/p>\n
them triumphing triumphing over them by<\/p>\n
the cross<\/p>\n
the final blow to end this ancient<\/p>\n
battle that has been raging ever since<\/p>\n
the beginning of time<\/p>\n
the final blow<\/p>\n
was struck against the powers of death<\/p>\n
and the devil when Jesus Christ was<\/p>\n
struck on the cross<\/p>\n
three days later he rose from the grave<\/p>\n
God resurrected him and through Jesus's<\/p>\n
resurrection he is now leading a Victory<\/p>\n
Parade to heaven<\/p>\n
that's the gospel<\/p>\n
so there's a story a legend in Thai<\/p>\n
history that speaks about a certain<\/p>\n
leader in Chiang Rai<\/p>\n
so a few hundred years ago<\/p>\n
there was a battle between Chiang Rai<\/p>\n
and Burma<\/p>\n
the kingdom of Burma had surrounded the<\/p>\n
city<\/p>\n
and the leader not wanting his people to<\/p>\n
die he sends a letter to the leader of<\/p>\n
Burma challenging the leader to a battle<\/p>\n
settle it 101.<\/p>\n
so they gather at the bank of the river<\/p>\n
and it's a diving contest the leader of<\/p>\n
Chiang Rai the leader of Burma they<\/p>\n
would both dive down whoever comes up<\/p>\n
first loses<\/p>\n
so everyone's watching them<\/p>\n
they both jump into the river they both<\/p>\n
go down<\/p>\n
after a while the leader of Burma comes<\/p>\n
up first<\/p>\n
the leader of Chiang Rai never came up<\/p>\n
he had tied a stone to himself when he<\/p>\n
jumped in<\/p>\n
he gave his life so that his people<\/p>\n
would not die and that by doing so the<\/p>\n
war was over they won<\/p>\n
friends we are in a battle<\/p>\n
it seems terrifying and Dreadful<\/p>\n
discouragement depression it may seem<\/p>\n
like evil demons are positioning<\/p>\n
themselves around every corner of life<\/p>\n
but friends this war has been won by our<\/p>\n
champion Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
now if we believe<\/p>\n
that we are saved by living a good life<\/p>\n
if we believe that we just have to<\/p>\n
follow the rules be a good person don't<\/p>\n
sin and then God will bless me<\/p>\n
if we really believe we can save<\/p>\n
ourselves through our effort and our<\/p>\n
performance<\/p>\n
we will sometimes either feel like a<\/p>\n
sinner and depressed and guilt-stricken<\/p>\n
and not good enough<\/p>\n
or we will sometimes feel loved and<\/p>\n
accepted if we're doing good we'll feel<\/p>\n
good if we're doing bad we'll feel<\/p>\n
terrible<\/p>\n
but if we believe the gospel that Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ died for you on the cross as your<\/p>\n
substitute that he took the penalty for<\/p>\n
sin so that when you believe in him all<\/p>\n
of your guilt is put on him absorbed<\/p>\n
there and all of his righteousness is<\/p>\n
brought to you so that you're loved and<\/p>\n
accepted in him<\/p>\n
it completely defeats any strategy that<\/p>\n
Satan can get to you<\/p>\n
you put on the gospel<\/p>\n
you say I am such a sinner that God had<\/p>\n
to die for me he had to do that and yet<\/p>\n
I am so loved<\/p>\n
I am so deeply loved completely accepted<\/p>\n
in Christ that he was willing to do that<\/p>\n
for me<\/p>\n
put on the gospel<\/p>\n
if we are feeling unworthy if any of us<\/p>\n
of us here are feeling unworthy feeling<\/p>\n
like nobody can ever love us God can't<\/p>\n
love us other people can't love us<\/p>\n
feeling that we don't have any Worth or<\/p>\n
value<\/p>\n
feeling like a failure feeling like I'll<\/p>\n
never be what I should be<\/p>\n
there's only one remedy for this<\/p>\n
is to look to Jesus Christ Our champion<\/p>\n
when the Devil comes to us with<\/p>\n
accusations we can tell him go to my<\/p>\n
Jesus he has paid for me fully<\/p>\n
let's put on the gospel and let's stand<\/p>\n
we are to fight<\/p>\n
but we are to fight knowing that Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ Our Champion has already won<\/p>\n
let's pray<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus we<\/p>\n
we thank you Lord for the victory<\/p>\n
the ultimate Victory Lord You've<\/p>\n
conquered sin you've conquered evil and<\/p>\n
darkness<\/p>\n
Lord we thank you for<\/p>\n
the truth<\/p>\n
Lord of your word<\/p>\n
or that you completely love us and you<\/p>\n
are willing<\/p>\n
and even Glad To Die For Us Lord we pray<\/p>\n
that through the power of your spirit<\/p>\n
you would make this a reality for us or<\/p>\n
to that we would<\/p>\n
we would not live on the basis of our<\/p>\n
performance but we would live on the<\/p>\n
basis of yours Lord Jesus<\/p>\n
we thank you for this praise in your<\/p>\n
name amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20230926","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2UEIgCrcT7M","video_id":"2UEIgCrcT7M","video_duration":"39:01","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":551,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}