Daniel Chapter 10. Please turn there.
The title of this morning's message is Behind Bondi.
We have Daniel from Menorah, the reef at Bondi and Bondi Beach.
Let's read Daniel 10 in the third year of Cyrus, King of
Persia. A message was revealed to
Daniel. His name was called
Belthashazzar. The message was true but the
appointed time was long. He understood the message and an
understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel was
mourning 3-4 weeks. Question, why was Daniel
mourning? First thing we want to know why
was he mourning? I ate no pleasant food, no meat
or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all till
three whole weeks were fulfilled.
He was mourning, praying and fasting.
Question is, why now? On the 24th day of the first
month, as I was by the side of the great river that is the
Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked.
Behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded
gold of euphaz. His body was like Beryl, his
face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches
of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in colour, and
the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
It sounds like Jesus, but it's not.
And I, Daniel alone saw the vision.
For the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great
terror fell upon them, so they fled to hide themselves.
So there's a vision. The men that were with Daniel
took off. They ran.
Only Daniel was left. Therefore, I was left alone.
When I saw this great vision, no strength remained in me.
He's hit with shock for my vigour was turned to frailty in
me. I retain no strength, yet I
heard the sound of his words. That is the messenger.
While I heard the sound of his words, I was in a deep sleep on
my face with my face to the ground.
So he's kind of knocked out by the presence of this.
This being. Suddenly a hand touched me,
which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my
hand. So he, he's trying to get up and
he said to me, Oh, Daniel, man, first thing, notice greatly
beloved. That's the first thing that God
always wants to remind you, beloved, greatly under.
Now secondly, why the messenger understand the words that I
speak to you? I'm not just going to give you
things that you won't. Well, what's that all about?
I've got no idea. Prophecy is given to us to
understand and to know. Stand upright Daniel, for I've
now been sent to you. So who sent him?
God sent this messenger while he was speaking this word to me.
I stood but his knees and knocking.
Then the messenger said to me, Do not fear, Daniel.
For from the first day that you set your heart to understand, to
humble yourself before your God, your words were heard.
From the first moment you began to pray, from the first word,
your words were heard. And I have, and I have come.
Why? Because of your words, I am here
because of your prayer. But the Prince of the Kingdom of
Persia, remember Babylonian rule.
What was to follow? The needs in the Persians who
followed them? The Grecians, all part of God's
plan. We know that.
But the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia, someone trying to stop
God's plan, withstood me. How many days?
21 days? The battle raged in heaven, in
the heavenlies. And then behold, Michael.
Michael. Who's Michael?
The Archangel, One of the chief Princess came to help me.
That's why this is not the Lord. Because the Lord doesn't need an
Angel to come and help. It's a messenger under the rank
of an Archangel because Michael came to help this messenger, for
I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
Notice plural. Now he's fighting on many
fronts. Now I have come to make you why?
Why is the Angel come to understand?
You have your Bible open. You're here today.
Why? God wants you to understand
what's going on and what will happen to your people, the Jews,
Israel, when? In the latter days, in the last
days, the time in which you and I live.
For the vision refers to many days yet to come.
When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the
ground and became speechless. It seems as if Daniel's gone.
He's overwhelmed. Suddenly one having the likeness
of the sons of men touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and
spoke, saying to him who stood before me, My Lord, because of
the vision my sorrows have overwhelming.
What's he sorrowful about Daniel?
Why is he? Why is he mourning?
And I have retained no strength. The sorrow has burnt out his
strength. Well, how can the servant of my
Lord talk with you, my Lord? As for me, no strength remains
in me now, nor is any breath left in me.
Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me,
strengthened me, and said, Oh man greatly beloved, fear not
notice. He said that before, didn't he?
You're loved. Don't fear peace.
Peace is the answer to mourning. Peace is the answer to grieving.
Peace be to you now be strong. Yes, he repeats it.
Be strong, Daniel. So when he spoke to me, I was
strengthened and said, let my Lord speak, for you have
strengthened me. God's word when spoken to you
strengthens you. If you're weak in the things of
the Lord, it's because you're not in the Word.
When you in the Word, God strengthens your inner man.
Then he said, do you know why I've come to you?
And now I must return, what to do to fight with the Prince of
Persia again. And I, when I've gone forth,
indeed the Prince of Greece will come.
But I'll tell you what is noted in the scripture of truth.
No one upholds me against these except Michael, your Prince.
Michael is the Archangel over Israel.
He's the Angel in charge of the battles of Israel.
The messenger came. Daniel, I want you to understand
the words that I speak to you. That's why you have your Bible
open in front of you. The Prince of the Kingdom of
Persia withstood me. But from the first day, the
first word that you spoke 3 weeks ago, I was sent the
vision. It's for the latter days.
You and I are living in the latter days.
Be strong, but I've got to go and fight another battle on the
way back. It's not over.
It's the third year of Cyrus, King of Persia's rule.
Daniel is now 90 years of age. Daniel is mourning.
He's burdened. Why Daniel is fasting, Why he is
serious in this time of prayer, man, he's gone to pray and he's
set aside eating and he's mourning and that's what's
driven him to pray. Daniel needs an answer.
That's why you fast and pray. You're seeking God.
God help me, and I want to. I want you to answer me now.
For three weeks so far, Daniel has been seeking praying,
fasting, not washing, and it's been a battle for him
spiritually, and it's taken its toll on him physically as well.
He's weak. You and I live in a world that
has another dimension besides that which we see with our
physical eyes. There's a spiritual world.
Australians at the moment are grasping at straws to somehow
try and deal with the massacre and that's what it was.
The murders that what they were, the cold blooded assassinations
that occurred last Sunday at Bondi Beach as Jewish believers
gathered together, as Jewish families gathered together to
celebrate Hanukkah. We had discussed Hanukkah
before, remember, Remember what it was about.
Remember Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple.
Then the Maccabeans LED to revolt, overthrow Antiochus, but
Antiochus had slaughtered a a pig in the temple and spread the
blood everywhere around it, stopped all worship.
The Temple was denigrated, and under the Maccabees came the
revolt. The Temple was cleansed and they
lit a candle, the menorah, but they only had enough oil and
there's needs to be a special oil to light the menorah.
There only can be enough. There was only enough prepared
oil for one day and the menorah kept on burning.
Miraculously, the festival of lights, Hanukkah, it's still
underway and they light a candle each day.
In Australia it's from the 14th of December to the 22nd of
December. That's what they were
celebrating, the restoration of the temple in Israel.
Politicians and rulers have since ducked, weaved and sought
not to mention the elephant in the room, anti Semitism for two
years. And back in August, Benjamin
Netanyahu wrote to our Prime Minister and said trouble,
there's going to be real trouble.
The Mossad, they have, they have the Intel, they know what's
going on. There's trouble.
And our government ignored and in fact in that time recognised
Palestine. We've received 3000 visas, more
than any other country from Gaza.
We've spent $25 million, sent it to Gaza.
Radical Islam is the problem. And instead they came out and
said ban guns. Guns are the problem.
It's a political deflection to draw the attention away from the
elephant in the room this morning.
We're not as the church to follow our politicians lead.
The Bible says we are to pray for our leaders.
We must do that. It commands us to do that, but
it does not tell us to look to them for redemption.
And many of us are going well. What we need, this is what we
need. Whatever changes they seek to
bring in. And the gun buyback is going to
be one of those. Whatever changes they seek to
bring in after those 15 innocent lives that have been viciously
taken, it's too late for these families.
Too late. I said to Helen yesterday,
because this Bondi thing has really troubled me.
I said if we were a Jewish family living in Australia, I
would now seriously consider gathering all our family, paying
for all of our kids, all of our grandkids, to do what?
To go to Israel, to leave Australia.
Why? Because at least we can defend
ourselves in Israel, and at least in Israel we can be
assured that our government and our leaders will protect us
making new laws, for example, on hate speech.
Watch this space. Do you think this will really be
accepted and adhered to by those whose religious belief sees the
death of a non believer as the path to heaven?
Oh yeah, of course we won't say anything.
What new hate speech laws will do?
They will seek to strangle the preaching of the word of God.
Watch, Watch. Changing and bringing in new
laws are only applying band aid solutions to what are in fact
gaping wounds. In Proverbs 11/14 it says
without wise leadership a nation falls as believers, as those who
take the word of God seriously, literally as we have read in
Daniel chapter 10. Can you and I see the real
issue? The Who?
The PM has come out and started mentioning ISIS, who is the real
who? That really sits behind the
Bondi massacre, the murder of innocent Jewish families.
The same who was behind the Bondi massacre have done this
before. In verse 13, Daniel is told by
the messenger sent from God. But the Prince of the Kingdom of
Persia withstood me 21 days. And behold, Michael, one of the
chief Princess, came to help me, for I had been left alone there
with the kings of Persia. The Prince of the King Kingdom
of Persia. Who or what is this Prince?
There are fallen angels who Satan has designated to specific
countries. This powerful fallen Angel from
Persia over Persia did not want Daniel to hear or know God's
plan for his people of Israel. There would be the Babylonians,
the Medes and the Persians, the Grecians, the Romans, and then
later a revived Roman Empire, all involving what's going to
happen to the nation Israel. The powerful Angel did not want
Daniel to hear or know God's plan for Israel because this is
what had driven Daniel to mourning, praying, and fasting
his people. Why specifically?
We'll get to that. I believe according to the
Scriptures there is one of those powerful fallen angels placed by
Satan over this nation, over Australia, powerful ones over
NSW, over Sydney and this Angel has a host of lower ranking
fallen angels in their army. There are demonic spirits today
who do not want anyone to know God's plan for Israel, the
church, the nation's, or for you or for your children.
God has a plan for your child, you know that.
Train up a child the way he should go and not depart from
it. We see that Michael the
Archangel, one of the chief Princess, verse 21, has been a
sign to protect and fight for Israel.
By the way, that's more proof to you and I that God has not
rejected the Jews. Many churches today, sadly
meeting this morning are saying God's finished with Israel
because they've done this and done that.
That makes me a little bit angry, this great spiritual
battle in another dimension that you and I can't see.
Was the reason for the delay to Daniel's prayers three weeks
Daniel had fasted and prayed and sought the Lord. 3 weeks as
Daniel is praying, there in another dimension is a massive
battle going on. A fight.
And the battle had raged. We read that from the very first
day of Daniel's prayer that God sent his Angel to answer him.
Verse 12 Do not fear Daniel, for from the first day that you set
your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God,
your words were heard. And I have come because of your
words. It was Michael who came and the
battle was won. Sadly I see the church today and
I can only speak of Australia. Sadly, I see the church today
powerless. I mean, what do churches talk
about now? Look at the advertising.
What what, what we have what churches advertise.
Now I see the church today, powerless, beaten, subdued and
as a result the same ravages that are tearing non believing
Australian homes, marriages, families, relationships tearing
them apart are happening to those who name the name of
Christ as well. Same rate of divorce outside the
church is now the same inside the church.
This should not be Our nation is suffering because of a weak
church that has been missing in action.
In Amos chapter 8 verse 11, the prophet said behold the days are
coming, says the Lord God, that I'll send a famine on the land,
not a famine of bread. We have everything in this
country. We're the third most wealthiest
people in the world in Australia, not a famine of bread
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
You know we have kids now in classes that have never ever
heard of Jesus Christ never heard of him back when I went to
school, we had religious education during school wasn't
banned then prayed on Friday the Lord's Prayer as we had our
assembly stood up and sang God save the Queen went to we've
we've been to pastors have been to 4 graduations were presented
awards on behalf the church and the schools went to one the
other day. It was the same I senior
students stood up to sing the national anthem.
You know who sang it? Me and two politicians.
Our nation is lost. Our nation is lost.
Why was Daniel morning? Daniel was fasting and praying
because two years had now passed since the 70 year period of
exile spoken of by Jeremiah. The prophet had passed for the
children of Israel and their captivity in Babylon to be over.
Cyrus, the Persian ruler has issued A decree permitting the
Israelites to return home. Remember the 14th March, 445 BC?
But out of all the 12 tribes, the thousands taken captive,
marched off that weren't slaughtered, marched off the
Babylon, only 49,697 had returned to Israel.
The others didn't want to go. Zeke, Ezra chapter 2.
Why were they staying? Yeah, Babylon's.
Babylon's all right. You can live in Babylon.
You don't have to do the temple stuff.
You don't have to do any God stuff.
You can do what you like. We're making money in Babylon.
Besides, we go back to Israel, go back to Jerusalem.
What's going to happen again? Unbelief.
So they stayed to Daniel. This was heartbreaking, so much
so that he is overwhelmed with grief for his people and their
lack of desire to return back to their home.
You can be sure that over our nation, Australia, over our
states, over our communities and down to our families, there are
designated powers, fallen angels whose job is to dare tear down
and destroy that which God seeks to save and redeem.
Ranks of angels from the most powerful, those over nations
like the Prince of Persia and on down.
But there was a second reason for Daniel's grief.
Those faithful servants had returned to Jerusalem.
The 49,000 were struggling, struggling under the opposition
that we're getting there. Their adversaries, the people in
opposition to the returning exiles, Pastor Israel's teaching
on at a Nehemiah, have even written a letter to the king
saying all these Jews that have come back, they're just going to
rebel. They're not going to pay taxes.
You watch, there's going to be trouble.
Ezra chapter 4 says that prayer is not something God makes you
do. Prayer is a battleground.
The Living Bible says this Ephesians 6, verse 10.
Last of all, Paul says, I want to remind you that your strength
must come from the Lord's mighty power within you.
Put on all of God's armour so that you will be able to stand
safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan.
For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood,
but against persons without bodies, the evil rulers of the
unseen world, those mighty satanic beings, great evil
Princess of darkness, who rule this world, and against huge
numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.
Verse 10. Last of all, I want to remind
you that your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power
within you. Many of you and I understand are
struggling with what happened at Bondi.
It's really hit me you are saddened, you're angry, but many
are looking to politicians, laws, frail humanity to fix the
problem. Psalm 121 says verse 2.
From whence comes my help? Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 42, verse 5 David says to himself, Why my soul are you
cast down? Why you down?
Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, Daniel
tells himself, For I will yet praise him, my Saviour, Oh my
God, your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power
within you. In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20,
Paul wrote now to him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think.
That covers everything, doesn't it?
And beyond, according to the power that works in US, what is
this power? This is the same power that
raised Jesus from the dead. And that power is now available
to you and I as Christians. How the Holy Spirit has come to
take residency within you. And he, the power of the Holy
Spirit within you, releases this power to us.
You will keep. Well, what's the problem then?
How come we're not seeing that? OK, good question.
But many Christians in Australia have been cut off from this
power. How's that happened?
Through unbelief. We don't go to God.
We don't look to God. We're running our families.
We're sorting our problems out. We're raising our kids our way.
We fit in God when we can. But you know, I go, oh, I'm
busy, I have things to do today. Sunday churches should be packed
with believers, don't you think? Throughout Australia, everyone
who names the name of Christ should be in church today.
That's my opinion. We cut off, we have unbelief,
we've unconfessed sin. Remember when Daniel began to
pray in Daniel 9? Now we look at Daniel's life and
go, man, I like to be like Daniel.
How godly is he? Man prays 3 times a day, stands
up for the Lord and Daniel says and he clues himself, God
forgive me for my sins and my people.
He puts himself in there. When was the last time you as a
believer came to God and said, God, forgive me, God, cleanse
me, Lord, search my heart, see if there'd be any wickedness
within me. God, I need to repent today
before you. What was the last time you did
that? If you haven't done that, you'll
cut off from the power of God. Why?
Because any sin separates us from the love of God, separates
us from the power of God. Careless living.
That's all right. It doesn't really matter.
Worldliness 1. John tells us you cannot love
the world and love the Lord. Jesus says you can only serve
one of two masters. You'll hate 1 and love the
other. There's no such thing of sitting
on the fence. Jesus said you're either with me
or you're against me. Worldliness in our actions.
Oh yeah, but I'm pretty worldliness in our attitudes.
And a Christian robbed of power cannot be used by God.
A Christian robbed of power cannot be used by God.
John chapter 15, verse 5, Jesus said I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in me and I am
him, that's fellowship bears much fruit, for without me you
can do nothing. Many of us are busy doing stuff.
You know what you're doing? Nothing.
What I'm doing when I do it
myself, I'm doing nothing this morning.
You can get your hands on your spiritual wealth by opening your
heart to the Holy Spirit and praying with Paul for strength,
for the inner man, for a new depth of love.
James says you have not. Why?
You haven't even asked for it. How often parents do we say that
to kids? You know, I would have paid for
that. I would have covered that.
You have not because you have not asked.
You know we, many of us have no answers.
You know why we have no answers? We simply haven't asked at all.
We are wasting our time and our emotions, being upset with
people and I, I've been through that, upset with our government,
upset with our political leaders, upset with this, upset
with that, wasting my time, wasting my emotions when we
ought to be fighting the real enemy, the real enemy of our
souls and of our nation who seeks to control people and make
them oppose the work of God. We only have to ask Job how
powerful Satan is. He's pretty powerful and what he
can do to a family. Ask Job.
A very real spiritual battle is going on in our world and in the
sphere of the heavenlies. It's funny how people get busy
at Christmas, so busy they miss Christ at Christmas.
A very real spiritual battle is going on in our world and in the
sphere of the heavenlies, and you and I are part of the
struggle of this battle. Even if you don't think you are,
you are. We're in a fight. 2 Corinthians
10, verse 4, Paul tells us for the weapons of our warfare.
You know what that means? We're in a fight.
The weapons of our warfare, not carnal, Almighty in God.
What for? For pulling down strongholds,
For pulling down those powers that seek to tear your marriage
apart, that seek to break your relationship with your son, with
your daughter. You're fighting the wrong battle
and you're losing when your weapons are carnal.
In Ephesians 6, Paul commands us to put on our spiritual armour.
Why? We're soldiers, we're in a
battle, you know, it's a one off command.
It means when you put on your armour, you never take it off.
When Daniel Day Lewis trained for one of my favourite movies,
The Last the Mohicans, the musket that he carried during
his training for that movie, he carried that musket with him
wherever he went for the whole duration of that film and the
making of when he wasn't filming he was still carrying the
musket. Paul says put on the armour,
don't ever take it off. The Bible tells us we who are
followers of Christ are soldiers.
We are in a constant battle to Timothy 2 verse three.
You therefore must endure hardship.
Paul wrote to Timothy what how as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ, the next verse, no one engaged in warfare that's us
entangles himself with the affairs of this life.
Would you to really note that busy parents, busy believers
entangled in the affairs of this life.
Jesus said that that seed of the when the seed falls into that
heart, it gets choked by the cares of the world that he may
please him who enlisted him as a soldier, You know, enlisted as
as as as anything but a soldier. There's a him and I love this
him as like as a kid Onward Christian soldiers marching as
to war with the cross of Jesus going on before Christ the royal
master leads against the foe forward into battle.
See his banner go on with Christian soldiers marching as
to war with the cross of Jesus going on before.
What a great song. That's the truth of our life.
A soldier, Paul says, and avoids entanglement in non military
matters in seeking financial gain.
But Christ's soldier has his or her heart set on rather pleasing
their commanding officer. There'd been resistance to
Daniel's prayer. The Prince of Persia battled
against the messenger sent by God, and the Angel had another
battle waiting for him. The Prince of Grecia, the Medo
Persian Empire, had 200 years yet to run before the rise of
Greece. I think that Satan was out to
fight what God wanted to do. God had given the plan.
This is what's going to happen. And no, the Angel said, no,
we're not getting the Grecians, the no, the Medes and the
Persians, they're not. They're not.
And and that's where this conflict was on, because the
enemy wants to stop God's plan. He wants to deny His word and
deny His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
These are words that speak of battle.
Conflict and prayer is where we go to battle.
It's the place where we fight, and it's the only place where
you win. It's the only place where you
win. But fighting in a battle?
Is wearying. I've been praying for my son,
been praying for my brother, praying for my dad, been praying
for my husband for so long, even for Daniel.
Our nation is dying before the eyes of the church and we are
watching. Oh yes, we are heartbroken.
Absolutely. We're angry.
My, my word, we're angry, but we're not praying, so we do
nothing in one Samuel 12 verse 23, Samuel said, moreover, is
for me. Far be it from me that I should
sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.
Our human weakness is something that often causes us to give up.
Our lack of perseverance in prayer, our waiting on God to
answer. Many times people just give up
in prayer. Well, I, I pray nothing
happened. No, when we pray something
always happens. It's a battle.
God is listening and hearing our praying and God will answer your
prayer. Don't give up.
Daniel Chapter 9. Hear Daniel's words through that
prayer, that wonderful prayer. Learn it.
Daniel Chapter 9, verse 17 Now therefore our God, hear the
prayer of your servant. I do that, God, hear me verse 18
Oh my God, incline your ear. Listen to me.
Come close and hear me. Verse 19.
Oh Lord, hear. Oh Lord, forgive.
Oh Lord, listen and act. Do not deny for your own sake,
my God, That's how you pray. God sent an Angel to help Daniel
and he came to strengthen him, to tell him not to quit.
God is in control still. The things in Bondi, yes, but
you know what? God's still ruling.
This touch that Daniel received is available for all, for every
believer in Christ who like Daniel, you set your heart to
understand, to seek God. You want to know your turn
within your heart. Your kids want to know mums,
dads, your teenagers, especially a younger one.
They want to know what's going on.
How dangerous is it? Why do these people get killed?
Tell them, take them to the word, talk to them, let pray
about it. Let their energies, their their
anguish, their, their fears and drive them into prayers to
heaven. Paul prayed in Ephesians 3 verse
14. These wonderful words for you
and I, he said for this reason I bow my knees to the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and
earth is named, that he would grant you according to the
riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through
his Spirit in the inner man. Don't be weak.
But Keith, I'm fearful about the future for the one I'm praying
for you remember back in the book of Genesis on the very same
day it says Noah and Noah's sons, Shem Ham and Japheth and
Noah's wife, 3 wives of his sons and with them they entered the
ark. God said go in 120 years, Noah
had preached 120 years. They'd seen a symbol of a family
that loved God building, soaring, hammering. 120 years to
you who are struggling today, as I have been all this week since
the Bondi news broke, as we read and we study God's word even now
this morning, God's goal as it is with this Angel, as it was
with the Angel to Daniel by the Tigris River is to help you
today, help you understand. So you can't I know what's going
on. No, you, you can understand
today. I can know what will happen to
your people. He said to Daniel in the latter
days for the vision refers to many days to come.
Verse 14 what's going to happen in Australia?
I know what's going to happen to Australia.
God knows our weaknesses. He knows what I'm going to
struggle with. This is why this morning He's
reaching out to you to touch you with His Word, to strengthen you
with His word and redirect your emotions, your grief, your
anger, your mourning, to pray like you've never prayed before.
I would like to tell you that the events in Bondi are a one
off. I'd like to say that my opinion,
they already had seven men. They pulled over.
They let them go. Watch Christmas, watch Jesus
says the rumours. Watch.
We're in a war front. Garden Island.
What's happening there? U.S. troops coming here.
Hey, wake up. The world is ready for war.
Russia, NATO, the US 70 attacks just yesterday in Syria.
If you can just go about your business and roll on to the
coffee shop and, and just carry on and think your kids are going
to grow up and everything's going to be fine.
Oh my goodness. Because when Noah and his family
went into the door and went into the ark, God shut the door.
It's the Lord shut the door because the events are only
going to get worse. Daniel says Daniel 10 verse 20
tells us, do you know I've come to you and now I must return.
What for? Everything's good now, No, to
fight with the Prince of Persia. And when I've gone forth and
indeed the Prince of Greece will come.
The Angel was going back to battle once again, again with
the Prince of Persia and also with the Prince of Greece.
The battle is not yet over. We're living in the last days,
Paul wrote in One Corinthians 15.
Brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor
does corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I tell you a mystery, something that's now revealed.
We shall not all sleep, in other words, we shall not all die, but
we shall all be changed. How quickly, in a moment, how
fast. In the twinkling.
Not the not the blinking, the twinkling of an eye at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the
dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. Genesis 713.
On the same day Noah and Noah's son, Shem, Ham and Japheth,
Noah's wife, and three wives of his sons, then entered the ark.
The 16th. So those that entered, male and
female of all flesh went in as God had commanded them, and the
Lord shut him in. Jesus said Matthew 2438.
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating,
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah
entered the ark. You watch the day of the
rapture. People will be in the coffee
shop, people will be running, walking their dogs, going about
their business, attending weddings, going about their
thing. And you know what?
A thief will come. Keith, you really believe all
this? Really.
There was a guy who died. He was in hell, and opposite him
was Abraham. And the dead guy said you got to
send someone back to tell my brothers the truth so they don't
come where I am. And here's what he said.
If they don't hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they
persuaded, although one come back from the dead.
You want to sign 2000 years ago on a cross, a man died three
days later, he writes. Well, Keith, do you believe all
this other stuff Jesus said? The guy who died, the guy who
rose said Daniel was a prophet. He said these things are going
to happen. These are the last days.
Your prayers matter. God sent an Angel.
Why? Because the pause of Daniel's
prayer, Daniel's prayer, genuinely made a difference.
If Daniel had not prayed, the Angel would not have been sent.
We're going to celebrate Christmas.
We're going to gather. We're going to pray for our
unsaved loved ones, for our families.
When a problem comes our way, we're going to pray and seek
God. When we're angry and anxious
about our country, we're going to pray and seek God.
We're going to call on God. We're going to say, God, hear
me, God, listen to me, answer my prayer.
And you know what God's going to do?
He'll do all that you ask.