1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,480 Well, morning you guys. As you've obviously figured out, 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:13,680 I'm not Pastor Nick and that's probably a bad thing, but we'll 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:21,400 get through today. Pastor Nick is wisely taken 4 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:24,880 today off. He's celebrating his anniversary 5 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,160 and seeing his daughter and they're celebrating their 6 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,600 anniversary together, which is always a good thing. 7 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:39,240 So he'll be back next week. I'm not sure where he's headed. 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:45,040 I talked to him a week or so ago and he wasn't sure, as far as, 9 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,600 you know, which book of the Bible, because we got through 10 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,160 James. And so I guess we'll all find 11 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:56,320 out together maybe next week when he comes back, but I know 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:04,720 it will be an anointed teaching. So he told me when he when he 13 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:11,640 asked me about talking today that he said whatever the Lord 14 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:17,160 leads you to talk about. And I said, OK, it's almost in 15 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,600 some ways easier to go through the the books of the Bible. 16 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,720 Will, the Lord gave me a very interesting passage and we're 17 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,120 going to talk about it. It's got a lot of applications 18 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:35,280 for us, but it's a crazy one and we're going to flush this thing 19 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,840 out. But I was really a little bit 20 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,560 concerned about it because I thought, why did you give me 21 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,040 this passage, Lord? And then I heard his message 22 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,000 last week and I heard his Christmas message when I wasn't 23 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,480 sleeping and he I think it's going to fit well. 24 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,960 So let's start by going to the Lord in in prayer and asking for 25 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,200 his presence here today. Father, we just we come here 26 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,880 today. We're seeking you and we're 27 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,160 seeking your presence, Lord, we ask you into this presence into 28 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,720 into our fellowship. Lord, I know that represented 29 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:18,160 today in this physical building and online are people that are 30 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:23,680 facing all sorts of trouble. Every trouble that can be said a 31 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,400 human being is probably representative word health 32 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,840 problems, marital problems, money problems. 33 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,720 Lord, I just ask that you would touch these people that you 34 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,320 would bless them that you would help them know that you were 35 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,960 here and that how much you you love them so much and you would 36 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,520 anoint this message. Lord, because I believe that 37 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,280 it's it's so important to understand what's going on in 38 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,360 this passage. We ask this in your name. 39 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,000 We thank you for today. Amen. 40 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:03,680 So we're going to read a long passage here and it's out of the 41 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,600 book of Daniel, but I'm not here to teach Daniel. 42 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,680 I'm probably not competent to teach Daniel, but we're going to 43 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:16,640 talk about it and probably I'm going to, it's really, it's an 44 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:18,960 amazing passage. So I'm going to read the entire 45 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,320 thing. And if you're new to the book of 46 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:27,000 Daniel or if you haven't had studies in it, it's crazy. 47 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,600 So let me just read it and we're going to come back and we're 48 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,360 going to break it down. This is Daniel 10, and we're in 49 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,080 the new King James. Thank you, Pastor Nick. 50 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,240 In the third year of Cyrus, King of Persia, a message was 51 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,240 revealed to Daniel whose name was called Belchesar. 52 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,640 The message was true, but the appointed time was long and he 53 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,480 understood the message and had understanding of the vision. 54 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,720 In the In those days I, Daniel was mourning 3 full weeks. 55 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:06,760 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor 56 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,720 did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were 57 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,680 fulfilled. Now on the 24th day of the first 58 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,839 month, as I was by the side of the great river that is the 59 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:23,960 Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold a certain man 60 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,960 clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold and up has. 61 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,600 His body was like barrel, his face like the appearance of 62 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:38,000 lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet were 63 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,800 burnished bronze in colour, and the sound of his words like the 64 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,800 voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel alone, saw the 65 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,160 vision, for the men were with me. 66 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,840 The men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great 67 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:56,880 terror fell upon him, so that they fled to hide themselves. 68 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,920 Nothing like good friends, huh? Therefore I was left alone when 69 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,600 I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me, for my 70 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,560 vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. 71 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,120 Yet I heard the sounds of his words. 72 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,000 And while I heard the sounds of his words, I was in a deep sleep 73 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,000 on my face with my face on the ground. 74 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,280 Suddenly a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my 75 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:28,840 knees and on the palms of my hands. 76 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:34,080 And he said to me, Oh Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand 77 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,280 the words that I speak to you and stand upright, for I have 78 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:41,640 now been sent to you. While he was speaking to me, I 79 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,080 stood trembling. Then he said, and this is the 80 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:49,960 core of our our message. Do not fear, Daniel, for from 81 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,560 the first day that you set your heart to understand and humble 82 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:59,160 yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have 83 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,600 come because of your words. But the Prince of the Kingdom of 84 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:08,760 Persia withstood me 21 days. And behold, Michael, one of the 85 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,440 chief Princess, came to help me, for I had been left alone there 86 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,080 with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you 87 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,680 understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, 88 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,480 for the vision refers to many days yet to come. 89 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,960 When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face towards the 90 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,520 ground and became speechless. And suddenly one having the 91 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,880 likeness of sons of men touched my lips. 92 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,360 Then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood 93 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:41,640 before me. My Lord, because of the vision 94 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,520 my sorrows have overwhelmed me and I have regained I've 95 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,720 retained those St. strength. For how can this servant of my 96 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:54,680 Lord talk with you, my Lord, As for me, no strength remains in 97 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,000 me, nor is any breath left in me. 98 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:02,160 Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and 99 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:04,800 strengthened me. And he said, Oh man greatly 100 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,480 beloved, you're not peace, be with you. 101 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,560 Be strong. Yes, be strong. 102 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,600 So then when he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, Let 103 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,960 my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me. 104 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:19,520 Then he said, Now listen to this. 105 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,800 Then he said, do you know why I've come to you? 106 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:27,720 And now I must return to fight with the Prince of Persia. 107 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,320 And when I have gone forth, indeed the Prince of Greece will 108 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:37,040 come. But I tell you what is noted in 109 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:41,680 the scriptures of truth, no one upholds me against these except 110 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:48,520 Michael, your Prince. OK, let's let's go ahead and go 111 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,880 back to prayer again. Father God, we just ask you 112 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,720 would anoint this message again and, and help me to explain 113 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,000 this, this crazy passage. And this is one of these 114 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,800 passages that's maybe a block long, but it's miles deep. 115 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,400 Or please anoint this, we ask this in your name, Amen. 116 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,120 Well, if you're not a little confused, you've either had a 117 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,840 lot of good training or you weren't listening, which I 118 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,160 wouldn't blame you, but this is a crazy, crazy passage. 119 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:25,160 I mean, what in the world is going on when what's happening 120 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:30,800 here is we've got a lifting of the veil and one of the passages 121 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:36,840 into the spiritual battle that's occurring in the world, And this 122 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,919 passage has a great amount of information in it. 123 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:41,919 We're going to go back in and we're going to take a look at 124 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:43,919 it. Now people tend to get really 125 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:48,480 uncomfortable about this and just thought that there's this 126 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,720 battle going on and there is, there has been, it's going on 127 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,480 now and it's going to continue until the Lord says yet we're 128 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,360 done. But what's going on with this 129 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:03,960 spiritual battle is that there, there's these forces at work and 130 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,840 we're involved in it, although we can't see them. 131 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,640 And I think probably the fact that we can't see this going on, 132 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,440 it is probably the most unnerving part of it or the part 133 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:16,640 that causes most people not to want to deal with it. 134 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,680 But the fact is it's going on and it's going to continue to go 135 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:24,080 on. So what, what's going on here? 136 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,640 Well, in its simplest form, this is the forces of good and the 137 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:32,040 forces of evil in the spiritual world fighting. 138 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,160 And they're they're battling over us. 139 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:38,760 And that's, that's literally what's going on. 140 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,880 And, and we're going to, we're going to break this down so that 141 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,200 we can come to the this is not the actual point of the message, 142 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,320 but you have to have this understanding to get to where 143 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,160 we're headed. So we've got this battle going 144 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:57,040 on yet you have to remember that Satan was, you know, he's one of 145 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,360 God's angels. I mean, he sounded like he had 146 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:05,360 great authority before he fell and he actually got to the point 147 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,560 where he started to think that he could be like God. 148 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:12,720 He never, as far as I can see, ever thought he could be God, 149 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,320 but he thought he could be like God. 150 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,080 He got pretty full of himself and he's still full of himself 151 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:23,760 and now he's delusional. And So what happened was he 152 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,920 revolted, as you guys know, and he took, I think it was a third 153 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,000 of the angels with him and, and they were cast out. 154 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:35,320 And so you've got these two warring factions, that is the, 155 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,280 the angels and the, the people of God and the Lord. 156 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,840 And you've got Satan and his demons and the, and the people, 157 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,400 the human beings that are there in this background doing this 158 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,920 battle. And that's what this passage is 159 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,000 telling us is that this is going on. 160 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:59,680 So, you know, I, I suspect that you know, you, you've heard this 161 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:02,160 before. Satan absolutely hates humanity. 162 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:07,400 He hates every one of us. And I suspect what he's happened 163 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,080 with him is that at the time of the crucifixion of Christ, he 164 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,680 probably thought he had it made because he had killed the Son of 165 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:16,160 God. He knew he had killed the Son of 166 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,520 God. And I just, I, I mean, this is 167 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:19,600 just me. I'm weird. 168 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,320 But I mean, I'm thinking on the night of the crucifixion, I just 169 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:28,200 have this vision of some dark place where these demons hang 170 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,560 out that, I mean, Satan's up there. 171 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:34,160 He's in an elevated little, little area. 172 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:38,080 And these guys, these demons, they're making toast to him and 173 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,960 telling him about he's just the smartest dude ever. 174 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,000 And they're all, you know, worse than a company picnic, you know, 175 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,280 and they're just, oh, you're so the smartest guy. 176 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:53,640 And that went on for 36 hours. But I also have this vision of 177 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,160 this demon kind of creeping in through the back door with his 178 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:03,960 head down, and he goes to whoever he's subject to and 179 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,960 whispers in his ear. And that message kind of gets 180 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,600 up, starts heading towards Satan. 181 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:15,400 And he finds out Satan maybe asked what's going on. 182 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,400 And they said, well, we just left the tomb and the stones 183 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,720 rolled open. And Satan says, well, where's 184 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,320 the body? And they said, there isn't a 185 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,880 body. And at that moment he had to 186 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:33,280 realize that he had failed. And from that point on, he has 187 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,960 literally brought hell against the Lord and his people. 188 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:41,880 And that's what this passage is telling us in here. 189 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:46,120 And I suspect it's it's based in large part over jealousy, 190 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:49,120 jealousy of humanity. I mean, he literally hates us 191 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,880 and we can't lose the fact that the first killing, the first 192 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:57,680 homicide in the Bible was over jealousy, the Cain and Abel. 193 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:04,600 So, you know, this is this is there's a lot of stuff going on 194 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,160 here. So just to kind of understand 195 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:11,040 who these these people are in this passage in Daniel 10, we 196 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,000 got the forces of good and evil. And, you know, I've discussed 197 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,960 who they were God's people versus team Satan. 198 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:22,720 They have better jerseys, but they're they're going to lose. 199 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,920 And then we've got Daniel. Now a lot of people know about 200 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:29,520 Daniel. I mean, he's taught me, if you 201 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,400 were a little kid that was brought up in in Bible school, 202 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,200 you know, you have the felt pictographs or whatever they 203 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,360 call those things. And you know, he's taught. 204 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:44,920 But just so you understand, this is about 600 years before the 205 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,280 birth of Christ. And what we know about him is 206 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:55,240 that he was a Jewish noble. And I would say, well, who cares 207 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,120 except for he was probably very well educated. 208 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,480 And I think it's pretty obvious he was pretty sharp and he was 209 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,760 living in Jerusalem when he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. 210 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,440 And so, you know, they came and they cleaned out most of of 211 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:16,160 Jerusalem and Israel. And at some point Daniel got 212 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,480 identified as being a pretty sharp guy. 213 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,440 And he ended up acquiring great status within Nebuchadnezzar's 214 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,600 Kingdom. And we all know about his 215 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,240 ability to to interpret these dreams that that he was having 216 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,080 and other people were having. But Daniel had a, a huge 217 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:39,800 problem. He was a good Jew following the 218 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:44,000 edicts that he had been taught as a good Jew. 219 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:49,240 And he had a heart for the Lord. And he was stuck in probably the 220 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,800 one, one of the most hedonistic, horrible societies that you can 221 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,840 imagine. And so we know the story and I'm 222 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:00,080 not here to teach Daniel, but we know that he ended up getting 223 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:07,160 thrown in alliance Dan because of his refusal to worship an 224 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,800 idol. And he had a lot of other 225 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,240 problems. There was a lot of people that 226 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,640 were out after him, the, the non Jewish people that the members 227 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:21,160 of the, the court were always looking to trance and, and cause 228 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,800 him harm. But we know that the Lord 229 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,520 protected him and we know that he was faithful to the Lord. 230 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:30,760 He is faithful to the, the faith that he, he kept the diet and he 231 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,200 kept, he had a, he just had a heart for the Lord and he had a 232 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:41,480 heart for the Lord's business. And so what's so important about 233 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:46,120 this is that we know and at least one at one time, Daniel 234 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:50,440 was faithful even to the point of death being thrown in a 235 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,720 lion's pen. And and the Lord greatly loved 236 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,800 him for that. And so here we have him. 237 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,080 You know, there's speculation, Daniel, at the time that that 238 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,360 this passage I wrote was written, he was around 90. 239 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:13,240 My suspicion is that he was in pretty good shape and certainly 240 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,520 his mind was very, very sharp. But so we have this Daniel, this 241 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,680 character that's been through a lot, faithful to God up to the 242 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,000 point of death, and he's about the Lord's business. 243 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,720 And then we have the messenger. Now it's not actually the 244 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,240 messenger is not actually named the one who's talking to Daniel 245 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,160 in this passage, but it's generally considered to be 246 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:41,800 Gabriel because he's in a chapter Daniel and he's 247 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,320 identified there. I mean, it just makes sense that 248 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,960 that's him. But in any case, he's obviously 249 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:53,400 a spiritual being and he's doing the delivering a message for the 250 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:55,960 Lord. And then we've got another guy 251 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:57,800 mentioned, Michael the Archangel. 252 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:02,440 And you know, we know that Michael was God's warrior and 253 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:06,359 protector of God's people. He is literally God's right hand 254 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,200 man and his Angel warrior. He's not a guy to be messed 255 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,760 with. And I suspect now this again is 256 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:17,960 my weirdness, just my weirdness. But I imagine that Michael is 257 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:23,079 just like every time he has to be near or around Satan or his 258 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:26,400 people, he just wants to take that sword and and wank them. 259 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,240 But he's gotten told by God, not yet. 260 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:32,760 And that's got to be just grinding him. 261 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,360 And, you know, Gabriel knows who these people are, who these evil 262 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:38,880 spirits, they, you know, they, who knows how long they were 263 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,720 together before the fall, the, the angelic bodies. 264 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,000 I mean, so the, everybody knows everybody. 265 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,760 And there's got to be, there's got to be some strong feelings 266 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:51,160 there. So what in the world is going on 267 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:56,160 in this particular passage? So he's Daniel said in those 268 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,400 days, I, Daniel was mourning 3 full weeks. 269 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,920 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth 270 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,400 during the night. I anoint myself at all until 271 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,560 three whole weeks were fulfilled. 272 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,840 So why what was going on? Well, I'll tell you what was 273 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:18,720 happening was Daniel was grieving over Jerusalem and the 274 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:24,120 fact that Jerusalem was not being reoccupied and the temple 275 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:28,640 was not being fixed. And when I this is again another 276 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:33,120 example of his concern for the business of God. 277 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:37,880 He just could not stand. And he talks about it here and 278 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,880 I'm going to read what he says. He just cannot stand the fact 279 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:46,000 that Jerusalem's in disrepair and and nobody wants to go back 280 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,760 to Jerusalem. I mean, by this time these 281 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:50,560 people have kind of gotten into the culture. 282 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:56,600 I imagine a lot of them are not following the the dietary edicts 283 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,880 or, you know, doing what they should be doing, what the Lord's 284 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,040 commanded them to do. And most of them have probably 285 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,720 fallen away. And so we see it in the chapter 286 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:08,480 before Daniel says, Oh Lord, according to your righteousness, 287 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,920 I pray, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your 288 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:18,200 city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain, because for our sins 289 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,840 and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your 290 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,640 people are a reproach to all those around us. 291 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:30,920 Now, therefore, our God, hear the prayer of your servant and 292 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,240 his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause your face to 293 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,160 hear or shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 294 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:41,720 It's referring to the temple, obviously. 295 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:48,280 Oh my God, incline your ear and hear. 296 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:52,080 Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city which 297 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,000 is called by your name. For we do not present our 298 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,240 supplications before you because of our righteous deeds, but 299 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:04,160 because of your great mercies, Oh Lord, here, oh Lord, forgive. 300 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:08,400 Oh Lord, listen and act. Do not delay for your own sake, 301 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,200 my God, for your city and your people are called by your name. 302 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,640 So this is a guy who is pouring his heart out and and you can 303 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:24,920 tell that he's pleading with God to in grieving over the city and 304 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,560 over the fact that the temple hasn't been rebuilt. 305 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:33,120 And he's, he's about the guy, he's about the Lord's business. 306 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,040 And, you know, obviously it looks like the people lost their 307 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,560 love for the Lord and, and don't have a fire for the Lord. 308 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:46,480 And So what is this telling us? Well, it's telling us that first 309 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:51,720 of all, the Lord heard Daniel's prayer on the first day, Amen. 310 00:20:53,160 --> 00:21:00,040 But that there were spiritual beings that prevented Gabriel 311 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:04,040 from coming and giving the prophecy and the information 312 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:09,040 that he was charged to give to him for 21 days, which of course 313 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,400 matches what Daniel tells us in this passage. 314 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:19,720 And as Daniel says, the Gabriel says. 315 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:24,120 But the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days. 316 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:27,520 And behold, Michael, one of the chief Princess came to help me. 317 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,840 So what's going on here in this spiritual battle is that 318 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,840 Gabriel's trying to get the message that he was given he was 319 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:38,720 charged with to Daniel, but that because of the forces of evil, 320 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,120 this spiritual battle that we can't see, he got delayed for 21 321 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:47,440 days and it took Michael to come in and help him get away. 322 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:51,440 The take away point from this, and none of you are going to be 323 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:56,520 shocked by this, is that there are spiritual beings and evil 324 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:01,920 men that are involved in frustrating God's plans on this 325 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:06,120 earth and specifically with each or with countries. 326 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:12,120 And so we have the Prince of Persia and then later he talks 327 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,960 about the Prince of Greece. I mean, what Gabriel's saying is 328 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,360 I'm going to go do battle with the Prince of Persia and I got 329 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:20,600 to go fight the OR deal with the Prince of, of Greece. 330 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,880 And that hasn't changed. And if you think that there 331 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:32,880 aren't entities, demonic entities and men, humans that 332 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,960 are involved in this along willingly, then you're you're 333 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,720 mistaken because it's still going on. 334 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,720 And I mean, look, look at our country, but look at 2025. 335 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,000 I mean, here we've got the, you know, this Epstein thing and we, 336 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,080 you know, all these revelations and, and all these things that 337 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,280 are coming out where there's allegations of different, you 338 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,840 know, this deviant sexual activity by our world lever 339 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,080 leaders and that, you know, some, some pictures are 340 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,440 appearing. It tells you that this, if 341 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,360 anything, it hasn't gotten better. 342 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,760 It's gotten worse. But we also know that there are 343 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:20,560 those godly angels and and the people who are supportive of the 344 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,480 Lord humans who are also involved in this battle. 345 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,400 So there's there's just a tremendous amount that's 346 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:37,440 happening here. And so we know that Satan is 347 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,720 here to continue to frustrate us until the very end. 348 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,960 But then we have a mess, a passage from Paul, and it's 349 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,200 Ephesians 610. Do you mind throwing that up? 350 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,000 Finally, this is Paul, the New Testament back of the book. 351 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:59,040 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 352 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:04,120 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand 353 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:09,000 against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against 354 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:14,280 flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, against 355 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,200 the dark or the powers of The Dark World, and against the 356 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:22,080 spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 357 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,720 This is spiritual warfare. This is it. 358 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,400 True, it's here in this world, this dimension that we see, but 359 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,040 there's a whole lot going on in the other dimension. 360 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:37,000 Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of 361 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,600 evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you 362 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:45,440 have done everything to stand. Stand firm then with the belt of 363 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,640 truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of of 364 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,080 righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the 365 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,640 readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 366 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:00,240 In addition to this, take up the shield of faith with which you 367 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:04,720 can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil 1 Take the 368 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,880 helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is 369 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:12,280 the word of God. And then here's here's where 370 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,520 we're at and and what's going to be the main take away point 371 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,560 today. And pray in the Spirit on all 372 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,480 occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. 373 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,120 With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all 374 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:33,720 the Lord's people. Pray also for me that whenever I 375 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,960 speak, words may be given to me so that I will fiercely make 376 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:41,640 known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in 377 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,520 chains. Pray that I may declare 378 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:50,080 fearlessly, as I should. So I'm not here to teach Daniel, 379 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,480 but I'm here to tell you that there's a spiritual battle 380 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,840 that's going on that we can't see. 381 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:02,000 And it involves, as crazy as it sounds, demonic forces and 382 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:07,880 angelic forces of the Lord. And the whole battle is over us. 383 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:14,480 And it's for our hearts, it's for our minds, and ultimately 384 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,760 it's for our souls. Because at this point, Satan has 385 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,960 nothing, nothing that he's going to do that's going to change 386 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,000 anything other than bring some more people into hell. 387 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:31,720 And so my, my whole point in giving this message is if we 388 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:35,760 look at what Daniel was doing at this time, he first of all was 389 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:40,000 about the Lord's business. He had a heart for the Lord. 390 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:46,160 Secondly, he was in fervent prayer for three weeks. 391 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,840 And he was, you know, he, he makes sure, he tells us 3 weeks, 392 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,080 3 weeks. He tells us twice. 393 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,160 It was 3 weeks. OK, Daniel, we get it. 394 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,680 It's three weeks. But he also wasn't eating it, 395 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:01,280 you know, his normal food. He was, he was, he was in 396 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:06,840 fervent prayer about the about God's business and what 397 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,400 happened. He's told first of all that he's 398 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,240 favoured he's Lord loves him. You know, imagine having the 399 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,160 Lord say that about you. Isn't that amazing? 400 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:21,680 Can you imagine that? Secondly, we know that the Lord 401 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:28,600 heard his prayer the first day he made it, but this passage has 402 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,920 been at times used to raise the question of whether or not 403 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:36,280 people or whether the Lord is more strong than Satan. 404 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:41,640 But the the take away point here is that it's all in God's time. 405 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,960 Satan has lost this battle. There are people that have 406 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:46,640 actually questioned their own faith. 407 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,080 Well, if if Satan was able to delay him, well, there's a 408 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,960 spiritual battle going on. But that doesn't mean that God 409 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:57,400 is not all powerful. And it's in God's time that this 410 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,400 happens. And So what we see is we see 411 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:06,160 that the fervent prayers of a righteous man, even though it 412 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:11,080 took three years or three weeks, were answered. 413 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:17,360 And So what does that tell us as, as Christians, first of all, 414 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:22,000 we need to understand at this spiritual battle is going on and 415 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:27,480 it's going on for our, our, our minds, our hearts and our souls. 416 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:33,440 And that if, if we're truly disciples of Christ, we need to 417 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:40,080 be praying fervently all the time for each other, for our 418 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:45,200 country, for our leaders. And recognise that, especially 419 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,480 me, because I, I get really wound up when I see this stuff. 420 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,240 You know, knowing the evil that's going on, that this is, 421 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,160 this is spiritual warfare, that that's actually what we're 422 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,480 seeing and that this has been going on. 423 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:05,480 And that the weapon that we used to fight this is not flesh and 424 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,320 blood. It's not going and punching 425 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,120 somebody as much as that might be satisfying for a moment. 426 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,920 It's prayer because that is the weapon. 427 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:19,640 Fervent prayer is the weapon that we can defeat Satan with. 428 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:28,040 And so in in concluding that I all I can tell you is if you are 429 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,640 a believer, you need to be praying all the time and you 430 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:35,520 need to be about God's business. I'm, I'm telling you, if you 431 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:41,160 start praying, the Lord is going to lay people on your heart and 432 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,440 you're going to have to have a, a, a list of people unless you 433 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,840 got a really good memory. I mean, because you're going to 434 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:49,560 just think when you go to prayer. 435 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,880 Now, I'll tell you something right now. 436 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,760 A lot of times when you go to prayer, you know, you're, you're 437 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,200 about to have some effective prayer because the dog will barf 438 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:05,640 up on the couch, you know, or the worst distractor of all, 439 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,000 your phone will go off or you'll get a text. 440 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,800 You need to go to a quiet place where you can't hear the dog 441 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:17,600 barf or your phone going off and, and get that time with the 442 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:18,840 Lord. I think the mornings are 443 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:24,080 probably the best. I mean, that's just me, but so I 444 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,800 would encourage you, don't be discouraged by what's going on 445 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,320 in the world. We're heading into a new year. 446 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:35,120 More bad stuff is coming, but you know what, God's got it, and 447 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,920 we can be a positive factor in all this and we can actually 448 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,920 make a difference by our fervent prayers. 449 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,160 All right, Father, I just, I pray a blessing upon these 450 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:48,920 people. I know that Sherry is going to 451 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,240 come back up and sing again. I just pray that you would grant 452 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,080 them comfort, that you would know that you are here and that 453 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,000 you are the Lord and you are in charge. 454 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:01,960 We just ask this in your name. Amen.