Worship is Warfare (Part 1)

Introduction

On this day we are reminded of the freedoms that we are blessed to enjoy in our country, in part, because of the sacrifices that many in our country have made. Billions of other people around the world are not as blessed to possess the freedoms that we presently do and, nearly 2 years ago, we saw yet another example of this. I remember Lindsey and I were starting to relax after getting Gabriel down for bed and I remember receiving a text message asking if I had seen the news. I turned the TV on and saw the headline “Russia invades Ukraine.” As Americans, this is hard for us to wrap our minds around, isn’t it? Our homeland being invaded by a foreign power? I can’t even begin to imagine that because it just seems like an impossibility! Shortly thereafter there was an interview done in New York City with a local church leader who had immigrated to the United States years before and he asked his congregation to gather to pray, look to Scripture, and sing together… he called this time of worship “weapons of war.” This is what one of the people shared during this time of worship, “Our minds fail to understand: How is this possible in our day and age? God allowed this to happen, and we do not know why. But we know that God is sovereign. He is on His throne… our hope is in the Lord, the one who holds all things together. Even if this is the end and nuclear war follows, we get to go home and be with Jesus.”

This pastor and his church gathered to pray and praise their Savior and they believed that doing so was participating in spiritual warfare. You and I see things on the surface - we see weapons and wars and people fighting people… but as Abraham Kuyper once shared, “If the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came into view, our earthly struggle would drone in its backlash… because that is where the real conflict is waged.” Church, we are in a world that is at war! Not only physically as nations battle nations and people battle people for dominance, power, influence, and authority… but we are in a world that is spiritually at war. Good is battling evil. There are forces of darkness at work in this present world causing destruction and who would love nothing more than for those walking in the light to not shine their light and fail to worship their Creator.

This morning as we continue walking through Daniel, we arrive in Daniel 10 and we’re going to see a glimpse of this cosmic conflict… As we do, my prayer for each of us is that we better understand how serious worship is - not only in the sense that God deserves to be praised and that God takes worship seriously! But in the sense that we join in this heavenly war by lifting our praise to the Lamb who was slain for our sins. Prayer and Praise matter - let’s dive into God’s Word

Daniel 10–11:1 CSB

1 In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. 3 I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid. 8 I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless. 9 I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. 10 Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees. 11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling. 12 “Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.” 15 While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Suddenly one with human likeness touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless. 17 How can someone like me, your servant, speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.” 18 Then the one with a human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. 19 He said, “Don’t be afraid, you who are treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong!” As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come. 21 However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (No one has the courage to support me against those princes except Michael, your prince. 1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to strengthen and protect him.)

Daniel prays to God in chapter 9 and God answered his prayer. Here we again see Daniel go to God in prayer. Looking to God, not to self. We see that God comforts him with this Angelic introduction of sorts. Is anyone else thankful that we have a God who is in control? Let’s continue to worship Him this morning

When We Worship, We:

Turn Our Eyes Away From Ourselves (1-9)

Daniel has again and again showed us that he is one who trusts in the Lord. He focuses first on His Provider, not his problem… but this doesn’t mean that Daniel is immune to problems. This man knew suffering, loss, betrayal, and in the second half of this book we see that Daniel knows sheer terror and fear with some of the visions that he receives from the Lord that bring about concern in his mind. Yet over and over we see that Daniel turns his eyes to his God - this is what we do whenever we worship, isn’t it? We shift our gaze from what is in front of us to what is above us. Consider all that has transpired in Daniel’s life to this point. He was taken from his home to Babylon as a teenager or possibly a pre-teen, he went through Babylon University and was taught things that were not true, he was given a position of authority but had a fair amount of opponents who were jealous of his status and abilities, he was thrown into the den of lions… this is a man familiar with opposition and suffering, but what comes in this vision that runs from Daniel 10-12 shocks this weary prophet. Let’s dive in!

Verse 1 of our text is kind of a summary verse for this vision that runs the remainder of this book - this vision came after Daniel was thrown in the Lion’s Den in chapter 6. We see here that this message is true - is anyone else thankful that God’s message is always true? There are many things we face in this life that can leave us hanging or longing for more. Friends disappoint us. People discourage us. Many don’t stand on God’s Word. But God delivers us. God gives this message to Daniel and we know that God gives us His message today through His Word… but we also see that Daniel understands the message. Daniel humbled himself and understood God’s Word - the more that you and I understand what God has done for us, the more we must understand that our response to God must be the same as Daniel - we humble ourselves and seek to understand God’s Word.

Psalm 34:4 CSB

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears.

We seek first God and His Kingdom. We worship Him for who He is and what He has done and we learn of this in His Word!

We might expect everything to be good at this, but we see the opposite. Daniel is distraught and mourning for 3 weeks. Not only this but he doesn’t eat rich food or meat or wine, he doesn’t cover his body with oil that would have comforted his aging skin but for 21 days he grieves. This man of prayer was facing a problem. What is that problem?

His friends have already been released to go home. But there was a problem - only a few Jews returned to Jerusalem, possibly indicating that they were too in love and comfortable with Babylon to want to go home. There was also the problem that the Jews were preparing to celebrate the first passover since they were taken into Babylonian exile and Daniel was not able to do this. There was also the problem that the temple construction project met immediate opposition. Regardless of the ultimate reason that Daniel was mourning, we see that he grieves intensely.

Earlier this week I came across an interview that 60 Minutes did with Pope Francis that shared that human beings are fundamentally good. “People are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.” In this worldview, we would worship self. This is what many people do in our world, in fact. They worship self. They believe that they are good. They look within. They are good enough. They don’t need help and they certainly don’t need saving. This is the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church saying that the heart is good - church, this isn’t Bible

Jeremiah 17:9 CSB

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

It is wicked, fallen, incurable. This is serious stuff and not just a slip of words. This is a different worldview. We read in God’s Word that God is worthy of worship - we are not! I want to point us to God’s Word this morning whenever we are convicted by our sin or a situation in life, where must we turn? Verse 5 of Daniel 10 - we look up. Not in. Not out. First, we look up. What do we see whenever we look up? Daniel see’s a man dressed in linen and this description that follows has been the subject of some debate. Who is this person that Daniel sees? Some argue that he sees Jesus Christ as this description is nearly identical to Revelation 1:12-16

Revelation 1:12–16 CSB

12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. 14 The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow—and his eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters. 16 He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.

Bryan Chapell and Danny Akin believe this view as John uses Daniel 10:5-6 in Revelation 1:14-15. Some, though, believe that this is simply an angel. Possibly Gabriel as he was mentioned in chapter 9, or possibly an unnamed angel. The reason for this is because in verse 13 we see that this messenger required the help of the angel Michael while battling the Prince of Persia. Surely we’d all agree that the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ wouldn’t need assistance fighting off a demon. Who is this person? We can’t say for certain, but it wouldn’t be the first time that we see Jesus here in Daniel as He was likely the 4th in the fire and one who shut the mouths of the lions in chapter 6.

Daniel looks up and sees the power and holiness of His God… but then we see that he was powerless, pale, and the ground became his pillow as he fell asleep. Daniel is reminded of the splendor and power of his God and how greatly in need he is and he had no words. He had no strength. He had no power. It was as if his legs were knocked out from underneath him. When you stand before the Lord dressed in your own righteousness, you can’t do anything other than fall down. Philippians 2 tells us that one day every knee will bow and worship Jesus… but did you know that you can worship Him today as well? See, through faith in Jesus you don’t stand before God dressed in your righteousness… but dressed in that of Jesus. We worship our God by remembering WHO He is - He is holy, worthy, He is all-powerful, He is just, He is gracious, He is righteous. We turn our eyes off of self and onto our Savior.

Trust the Battle to the Lord (10-14)

Daniel looks up and saw this messenger but this isn’t where the text stops with him being asleep, we see that a hand touches Daniel and wakes him up. Have you ever been woken up from a deep sleep? Does anyone enjoy that? I remember as a youth on mission trips to Dallas, Chicago, Louisville, and places like that as we would have some fun with our youth leaders who just so happened to fall asleep either on the church bus or in the dorms we’d stay in and they would awaken to a surprise or two - you have to be careful where you fall asleep at times! Daniel is awoken from his slumber and the question we have to ask is this: Is this the same messenger from before Daniel fell asleep? Some argue yes, because we don’t see a clear indication that this is someone new. Other argue that it is a new messenger. Quickly, let’s look at how this could be significant. Before Daniel falls asleep, we see this description of the messenger and it aligns with Revelation 1 which is in reference to Jesus Christ. Many say that Jesus appears to Daniel because of this description… however here after his nap of sorts, we see that this messenger required the help of the angel Michael in order to defeat the Prince of Persia. Let’s put on our Bible study hats real quick - does Jesus Christ need help? Absolutely not. He is all-powerful. So we’re left with an interpretive challenge - either the figure changes in the chapter and the first one is Jesus and the second messenger is an angel, or it’s the same messenger the whole time and it is an unnamed angel. Rather than focusing on the messenger, let’s focus on the message!

God encourages Daniel again with this reminder that he is treasured by God. Daniel was downcast and unable to stand. He was grieved by his sin in chapter 9 and by the situation of the Israelites who are having difficulty rebuilding the temple in chapter 10. Have you ever been discouraged in life? It’s like one thing after another after another continues to hit you? Can’t that be really discouraging? Where is the relief? When will this storm end? Where can I turn to? Amidst the uncertainty, God encourages His faithful servant with this reminder that he is deeply loved by God. This strengthens Daniel. This encourages Daniel. Doesn’t the promise of God’s love towards His people both strengthen and encourage us, especially in difficult seasons of life? Paul Washer once shared this, “I have given God countless reasons not to love me, but none of them has been strong enough to change His mind.” We are broken people living in a broken world, but in the midst of it all we can trust the battle to the Lord who chooses to love us and save us and sustain us. We can stand against the storms of this life as we trust in the love of our Father.

Daniel humbled himself and prayed and we see that this messenger came as a result of Daniel’s prayer. Daniel had been praying for 3 weeks here and he is encouraged that God not only heard, but sent an answer with this messenger that was sent to help Daniel and to encourage God’s people. How would you and I pray differently if we knew that God not only heard them but answered them? I’ve heard many say that they don’t pray or they don’t worship because it’s a waste of time. It doesn’t accomplish anything. If you really want to feel better or solve the problem, you’ve got to do it yourself. Absolutely, we are commanded to take action and to be people who do things - but prayer and worship are not things that represent a waste of time. We see that God often uses the prayers of His people to bring about answers and to act on behalf of His people. Whenever we worship our God, both during this corporate gathering and whenever we worship Him privately in our homes and wherever we find ourselves at, we trust the battle to the Lord. We humbly recognize that there are things in this life that are above our pay grade. Problems that we cannot solve. Hearts that we cannot change. Situations that we cannot undo. But there is a God who is sovereign with all-power. A God who hears our prayers. A God who has no rival. A God who delivers His people from certain death and destruction. We trust the battle to the Lord with humility as we realize our limitations and God’s limitless power!

Consider what the messenger says - he was sent by God but was opposed by the Prince of Persia for 21 days. How long had Daniel been mourning and praying? 3 weeks, or 21 days! Do you see what’s going on here? Spiritual warfare. Not only was Daniel facing human enemies during his tenure in Babylon and now Persia, but there were spiritual forces at work here that opposed not only the Kingdom of God but the people of God. We see a very real glimpse of what takes place even to this day - there are unseen wars taking place right now as Angels are fighting Demons. That isn’t to frighten us as believers, our hope and home is secured in Christ - the crusher of their leader’s head… but we see here that things aren’t just as they appear on the news station. Behind politics, alliances, nations, and leaders are powers that cannot be seen. We know that God is the one who gives power and disposes of the powerful when their time is complete, but we also see that there is a spiritual component to these battles. Look at what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians to his beloved friends

1 Thessalonians 2:18 CSB

18 So we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.

How did Satan hinder Paul? Likely with a prolonged sickness - something we also see show up in the book of Job as Satan had the ability to inflict Job with painful boils

Job 2:7 CSB

7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

This isn’t comforting, is it? It’s not comforting to see here in verse 13 that there was a Prince of Persia - not a physical prince, but a spiritual prince - who opposed God’s angel. Who would do this? A demon. In Baptist life we often fall on the extreme of not understanding or talking as often about these supernatural realities, especially in contrast with our charismatic brothers and sisters who fall onto the other extreme of thinking that there is a demon under every rock and an angel atop every tree. Regardless of our tendency to fall into an extreme, we do see that these beings are real and they are at war throughout history. Here we see the angel Michael show up

Michael only shows up a handful of times in God’s Word

Revelation 12:7–9 CSB

7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

Remember this discussion last week following Daniel 9:20-27? This fight has been going on for quite some time and this dragon is bent on destroying God’s people

Revelation 12:17 CSB

17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.

There is a battle taking place and in a battle you have a winner and a loser. This dragon is ferocious and his army is fearsome to many… but he is fighting a losing battle because Christ has won the ultimate victory for His people. We’re at war but as we trust in the Lord, stand on His Word, and speak of His greatness, we know that there is hope. As Mitchell Chase shares, “No spiritual opposition can succeed against God’s perfect plan.” Do you believe this?

Why do we trust in God during times of spiritual warfare?

Because He Loves His people

Because He Hears His People

Because He Fights For His People

As Spurgeon once shared, “Affliction is the identification mark of God’s people.” In this life we face opponents both seen and unseen… we will be opposed and afflicted and we will suffer. But we can trust in the Lord even in difficult times because He loves, hears, and fights for us.

Take Comfort in God’s Word (15-11:1)

Finally we see that Daniel is touched on the lips by this messenger and everything begins to change. He is not only able to stand but now he is able to speak. As difficult as things are here, there is hope. There is purpose. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Worship is warfare, and there are times in which we find ourselves on rock bottom. Anyone been there? Rock bottom isn’t fun. It’s dark. It looks impossible to get out of. It’s like being in a cave. Have you ever been in Cave Spring on the Current River? That water is frigid… but man are the acoustics cool or what!? Remember this, when you find yourself in a cave, the acoustics are good for worship. When you don’t know where to turn or what to do, it’s always appropriate to worship because Jesus is always worthy and we are always needy.

Before the holiness of God, only the humble can stand

Daniel says: I am weak. I am speechless. I can’t even take a breath! I am completely and utterly inadequate… Church, there is nothing in us that merits forgiveness and favor from God. But we can take comfort as Daniel does in the PEACE that is given to us from God not due to merit but due to mercy. We can take comfort in God’s Word!

Peace and Power are purposeful lifelines in times of battle and this is what Daniel discovers. He was strengthened. He knew what was to come. These spiritual forces of darkness would continue to oppose God’s power and God’s people, but Daniel knew God’s Word. In fact, this messenger says “the book of truth” - do you believe in this book? Do you believe that this is God’s Word? This Word is truth. It is God-breathed. It is inspired and authoritative and sufficient. I see so many who pick and choose. I’ll believe and live out this part of Scripture because it goes along with society or what I think is right or what I’ve always seen done. But I won’t do the same with this part because I’ve never seen it done this way. That’s not the way that I’d do it. That’s not what is popular in our world today. So many pick and choose, but God’s Word is the Word of truth. We must take comfort in God’s Word. We must stand on God’s Word. Consider the parable Jesus gave of the 2 men who built their houses on 2 different foundations.

Matthew 7:24 CSB

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

So many want to be wise but they build their foundation on something other than God’s Word - it’s tradition, society, popularity. Y’all, you know me well enough by now to know this: We will build our foundation on God’s Word, regardless of the popularity… because only that foundation will last. Everything else will be shaken. Those who abandon the clear teaching of Scripture on controversial issues such as marriage, sexuality, who can be a pastor, and other issues that many churches and Christians are facing, do so at their own peril. We take comfort in God’s Word. We stand on God’s Word. Because we know that there is no safer place to be than in the center of God’s will. We worship our God and one way we do this is by trusting in God’s Word. As we do this, though, we will be opposed. We will be opposed by a godless world. We will be opposed by spiritual forces that are evil. We might even be opposed by people who claim to follow Jesus, but who don’t truly stand on Scripture. What is our response when we’re in the midst of the battle? We humbly worship our God.

Consider the reality of spiritual warfare in the life of Jesus. Jesus came into the world and whenever He did, He went to war with these powers. He was opposed by Satan and stood strongly. He healed the sick. He freed those demonically possessed. This culminates throughout His ministry to the cross - and how does Jesus win this cosmic war? Not by killing… but by dying! This is what Jesus calls His followers to as well in Luke 9:23 as He says that if you are to be His disciple, you must deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow Christ. We die to self. We crucify our sin and we follow our Christ.

Our victory is secured, but the battle rages on.

In World War 2 there was a great day called D-Day in which the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy and defeated the German forces. This marked the beginning of the end of World War 2 in Europe as Germany suffered a defeat that they couldn’t come back from - fighting a battle on both sides. But the war wasn’t over after D-Day… more battles would be fought. More lives would be lost. More time would be spent. But eventually V-Day arrived! Today we live in this period in between D-Day and V-Day. The ultimate victory has been won… but the battle still rages on. This is the already but the not yet. Christ has saved us from the penalty of sin but not yet saved us from the presence of sin.

So, how do we live in the in between?

We Wear God’s Armor

Ephesians 6 contains our instructions! We don’t fight passively, but we purposely put on God’s Armor and depend on Jesus as we stand on His Word and follow His Spirit

We Win Souls

Soul winning is not a context because it isn’t something that we ourselves can even do in the first place! You can’t save someone. You aren’t that powerful. But we do realize that we’re in a world that is at war and there are 2 sides - those who are for God and those who are against Him. Evangelism is war as we are commissioned to go out into this broken world and share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ that frees us from bondage to sin and death. We are either devoted to Christ or to anything other than Christ - it is black and white. We worship Jesus and share the Gospel knowing full and well that this is the method by which God chooses to save souls from the kingdom of darkness and transfer them into His eternal kingdom of life and light!

We Walk By Faith

Things are not as they might seem! God wins. We know how the story ends. We trust in our Jesus and we walk each step of the way by faith in Him!

Everyone worships something - who is receiving your worship today?