Worship Is Warfare (Part 3)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We all worship something. Popularity, power, and politics. Fame, food, and family. What does the object of our worship say back, though? Power doesn’t satisfy. Fame comes and goes. Family, as great as it is, isn’t perfect and can leave us longing for more. There has to be something more for us to worship and spend our lives investing in.
I’ve shared the story of John Paton before - the missionary who was surrounded by natives in Southeast Asia who were about to break into his mission house and kill him and his family but who stopped dead in their tracks because they were scared off by what they described as large men with swords of fire encircling the Paton’s house. John Paton was a man familiar with suffering. He felt called to take the Gospel to the New Hebrides islands, however these natives were notorious for being cannibals and one respected pastor cautioned him by saying that he would be eaten by these cannibals. Listen to Mr. Paton’s response, “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms… it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; on the Great Day my resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our Risen Redeemer!” Not only did he meet criticism from pastors back home, but whenever he arrived in November of 1858, his wife Mary was pregnant. Mary gave birth in February of 1859 however 2 weeks later, she passed away. Fast forward to March 20th and his newborn son too passed away. Paton dug 2 graves with his own hands and wrote in his journal, “Feeling immovably assured that my God and Father was too wise and loving to err in anything that He does or permits, I looked up to the Lord for help, and struggled on in His work.” His faith sustained him during this season of loss but more loss was awaiting him. The natives rallied at times against him and his counterparts, one time having them nearly dead to rights. Paton shared, “My peace came back to me like a wave from God… I realized that I was immortal until my Master’s work with me was done. Not a musket would be fired to wound us, not a club would prevail to strike us, not a spear leave the hand not an arrow leave a bow, without the permission of Jesus, whose is all power in Heaven and Earth. He rules all things and restrains even the Savages of the South Seas.”
Fast forward years later and Christianity spread throughout this entire island and by 1881, Christ had saved every native on the island of Aniwa. John Paton knew that God had a plan for him. He knew that there were people in need of the Gospel. He knew that His Master called Him to take the Gospel to His neighbors and the nations. This is what He did. He knew that He was immortal until God said otherwise. He trusted in the Lord to do the work as He shared the Word. Church, isn’t this our motivation as well today? Come good or bad, we trust the results to the Lord as we faithfully stand on His Word. Our motivation for evangelism today is because we know what tomorrow holds and we know who holds tomorrow! In other words, what I will be someday determines how I live today. As we land the plane today in our study through Daniel, we’re reminded yet again of the truth of God’s victory over evil and the assurance of being raised to be with Him for all eternity. Is anyone else thankful for Jesus and the blessing of being apart of His Kingdom this morning?
Let’s conclude this incredible book together
1 At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape.
2 Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.
3 Those who have insight will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
4 “But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”
5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others were standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the other.
6 One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river, “How long until the end of these wondrous things?”
7 Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river. He raised both his hands toward heaven and swore by him who lives eternally that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.
8 I heard but did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”
9 He said, “Go on your way, Daniel, for the words are secret and sealed until the time of the end.
10 Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.
11 From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
12 Happy is the one who waits for and reaches 1,335 days.
13 But as for you, go on your way to the end; you will rest, and then you will stand to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”
There are two paths: One that leads to life and one that leads to destruction. Those who have wisdom and those who lack it. Those who worship their God and those who worship something else. Let’s go to our God this morning in prayer and thank Him for the salvation and security that is only found in Christ.
Rest in the Finished Work of Jesus (1-3)
Rest in the Finished Work of Jesus (1-3)
As we come to the final chapter of Daniel, we see the conclusion to this vision that God gave to encourage Daniel. We’ve seen a lot of discouraging things in this book. We saw in chapter 1 how God handed the Israelites over to the Babylonians. How there are wicked and evil kings and kingdoms that seek to destroy God’s people. How, even today, evil is out there and seeming to gain power by the day. Yet, at the conclusion of this final vision in this final chapter of this book, we see a message of encouragement and exhortation. We see in the first few verses a continuation to chapter 11 as Daniel sees in this vision a reminder that God provides provision and protection, even in the midst of persecution.
We hear the word persecution and we often brush that off as something to be avoided at all costs or something that if you’re really saved, you shouldn’t experience. As if persecution is a sign of God’s displeasure. There are times where this is true. We’ve seen this in God’s Word that there are instances where God’s people disobey His Word and God brings about a just punishment for their disobedience. There are times where we suffer in life and the reason we suffer is because God is justly giving us what we in fact deserve. But there are other times in life where we suffer persecution not because of a specific thing that we have done wrong, but because we are standing out from a godless world and shining bright in a world walking in darkness. Consider what Paul tells Timothy right before his death
12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
This is something to expect as a believer. What does this persecution look like? 2000 years ago it often looked like life or death. In the middle ages, simply translating the Bible into your language could get you killed. Gathering to worship Jesus in many countries today can get you killed. In other places, Christians suffer persecution in the sense that they are looked down upon for their faith both privately and publicly. Christ promised that His people would be a suffering people. So it has been and so it will be… However, we see that things are building towards something. Consider the persecutions of Christians under the reigns of the Roman Emperors. Consider the persecution that the Jewish people endured from Antiochus IV. These types of massive persecutions are hard for us to wrap our minds around, but we see in our text that another one is coming to the point that no such time of persecution has ever occured like it before in verse 1. This is hard for us to imagine in the United States, but we must consider our foundation to ensure that when persecution arises, we will stand firm.
How are Christians able to worship God in times of suffering and tragedy? Because of what we find in places like Daniel 12:1 - all the people who are found written in the book of truth will escape! What will we escape? When will we escape? How will we escape?
As with much of Daniel 7-12, there are many different views and perspectives regarding these questions, especially regarding the timing of all of this. The dispensationalist believes that this is in regard to the rapture and the tribulation that Christians escape. The preterist believes that this has already taken place as followers of God listened to Jesus’ words in places like Matthew 24 and escaped the trouble in Jerusalem by fleeing to the hills before the temple was destroyed. We can go around and around with different ideas concerning the timing of this, and we will look more at this later on, but right now I want us to focus our attention to Jesus - are we good with that?
What does Jesus help us to escape? Eternal separation from God.
When will we escape this? We are promised of this the minute that we are born again.
How will we escape? Through the blood of Jesus that credits our accounts with Christ’s righteousness!
The empty tomb of Jesus is our guarantee that death no longer has a claim on us either. Yes, we will face death in this life, but we know that death doesn’t get the last word because our name is found in the book of life. We don’t need to panic. The truth of the resurrection leads us to worship our God. We know where we are going. The Bible often talks of the death of believers as sleep - what does sleep imply? Whenever you go to sleep at night, you go to sleep only to wake up in the morning (sometimes earlier than others)! Do you see how this is appropriate to the Christian regarding death? Yes, we die, but it’s like going to sleep… only to wake up in the morning and whenever we open our eyes we see Jesus. We can rest in this life, because of the finished work of Jesus in saving our souls and giving us this eternal, living hope! Our names are written down and nothing can change what God has written. We can trust that God will deliver and rescue… but this final day of resurrection will also be a day of separation. Some are raised to life and others to disgrace.
What do you rest in? Many in our world rest in their own accomplishments and achievements. They rest in who they are and what they have done. But those things can be taken away in the blink of an eye! Retirement plans can be zapped in an instant. Health can change in an accident. Records can be broken. Family can be taken away. Security can be shattered. So many rest in things that can’t satisfy and things that cannot provide. We must rest in Jesus and in His finished work in our place on the cross of Calvary! For those who do this, we see that they have insight and wisdom and shine like stars.
13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing,
15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,
16 by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.
Jesus also talks about His people letting their light shine in the sermon on the mount
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
This is a command to God’s people to let their light shine… how does this happen? By standing on God’s Word you will stand out from a godless world. By resting in Jesus, you resist the temptation to rest in self. We let our light shine so that others would see the goodness and glory of our God. Church, our light is a borrowed light. It isn’t something that we make ourselves. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit inside of us! As we worship, as we stand on Scripture, as we let our light shine, others take notice and come to trust in God as well. We must trust in Jesus!
Rejoice in the Finished Plan of God (4-10)
Rejoice in the Finished Plan of God (4-10)
As we read this text we see the truth of the resurrection and out responsibility as believers to let our light shine and we rest in what Christ has done, but we also rejoice in the finished plan of God. God has a perfect, unimprovable plan. We’ve seen bits and pieces of this plan throughout this book - God’s plan was for Babylon to come and conquer Jerusalem. This looks like a tragedy that cannot be used for good, but this is what our God does. He brings good from evil. He has a perfect plan, even when it’s hard for us to fully see or understand it. God has used this Babylonian exile to open the eyes of the Babylonian and now Persian empire to HIS sovereign power. Remember what Nebuchadnezzar said in chapter 4
34 But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever: For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
How was this able to happen? Because Daniel and the other Jews were in exile. The only way that they learned about God’s power was through the faithfulness of these brave men who worshiped their God miles away from home. Friends, never think that God doesn’t have a plan for you. He does! We are called to worship where we are planted, just as we’ve seen throughout this book. This is God’s plan for us today, tomorrow, and until God brings us home. What is God’s plan for the end of all things? We see a glimpse of that plan here in the middle of this chapter.
Daniel is told to keep these words secret and sealed. This is a simple instruction to protect what has been given to him. How long are things to be kept secret and sealed? Verse 4 tells us, the time of the end. When exactly is that? It depends on your grid. The dispensational grid forces you to look to the end of all time and see this verse in a negative lens. Knowledge will increase. Evil will get worse. This prophecy is sealed until the end, meaning either before the tribulation or during the tribulation. What is the verse that comes directly before 4, though? Verse 3 is an overwhelmingly positive verse about God’s people shining like stars and people coming to salvation! This is a good thing. Let me ask you this, how are people saved?
14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?
15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
How are people saved? By hearing the Gospel from those who are sent and placing their faith in Christ. When was the Gospel message first proclaimed? During the life of Jesus Christ.
15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways.
2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
This is the message that Jesus preached and as Hebrews told us, Jesus came during the last days. Could it be, as many have argued, that we can actually see something positive here? Daniel receives this scroll, this book, with the responsibility to protect and seal it until the end. Let me ask you this, who is worthy to open the scroll?
9 And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Who is this? It’s Jesus! Y’all, this is good news. Today many roam around and the knowledge of God is increasing. People are coming to salvation. It’s not all positive, absolutely, but more copies of God’s Word are available today. More access to Bible studies and resources and commentaries exists today than in any time in human history. This is good news! The last days aren’t all bad days - many of you all have asked, “Pastor, are we living in the last days?” Peter said so 2000 years ago in 1 Peter 1. If the last days were around 2000 years ago, then yes, we are still in them today! We rejoice in the finished plan of our Father. We’re in the last days.
Daniel see’s in this vision 2 others, likely Gabriel and Michael, as well as one dressed in linen who we can’t help but think is Jesus Christ. Look at what Daniel see’s - this man dressed in linen raised both hands towards heaven and says that when the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed. Many people believe that they understand exactly what this means, but Daniel himself who received the vision said “I heard but did not understand.” Is anyone else a little like Daniel this morning? What does this mean? When will this happen? Again we see this time, times, and half a time expression. This expression is used in several different ways in Daniel - it is used in reference to Antiochus IV and his persecution of Jerusalem for 3 1/2 years. It is used looking forward to the coming of Christ and His crucifixion. It is also used in Revelation to talk about the church enduring a season of persecution from Satan. It is also used to refer to a final time of suffering before the second coming of Jesus Christ. Regardless of your grid, past or future, we can rejoice in the finished plan of God.
The more we see how God’s people historically have suffered, how dark things have been for followers of God under Antiochus, Nero, Diocletian, and many others, the more we see how God has provided in the past, the more confidence we have as we face persecution and suffering today and tomorrow and until Christ returns.
We wonder, how much worse can things get? I’ve asked myself this before after hearing stories of people enduring awful things for the cross of Christ - am I prepared to suffer when my number is called? Friend, are you prepared to act and trust in God’s plan like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? How can we possibly do this? Corrie Ten Boom once was talking with her father about death and how she can’t imagine being able to go on whenever he passed away. This is what her dad said, “When we take a ride on the train, when do I give you your ticket?”
“You give me the ticket just as we get on the train.”
“That’s right, Corrie. Your heavenly Father will give you the strength and grace you need just as the moment you need it, and not a minute sooner.”
Church, God gives us strength for today, and this gives us hope for tomorrow. Even facing the worst situation imaginable, we can rejoice because of God’s finished plan. We can trust that He who calls us is faithful. That He who began a good work in us will see it to completion. That the one who saved us continues to sustain us. Even if… we can rejoice in Christ! We go on our way, as Daniel was instructed, trusting in Jesus.
Run Through the Finish Line (10-13)
Run Through the Finish Line (10-13)
We worship God by resting in Jesus, by rejoicing in God’s plan, and by running through the finish line. I’ve never been a distance runner because I’d rather do just about anything other than spending hours and hours running outside. Whenever I ran track, I was a sprinter. Hurdles and 400m were the events I loved the most. There would be some athletes who even in those shorter distance races would start out really well, but they would fizzle out. Others wouldn’t start out well, but they would finish the race well. Then you had the best athletes who started out of the starting blocks well, they ran their race well, and they ran through that finish line, and that was the person who won the gold medal. Paul shares that the Christian life is like a race
24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.
How do we do this? By running through the finish line. Lots of runners start out well but then they slow down. Other runners speed up and slow down as they go. We are called to run in such a way as to win the prize, this means that we must continue with our eyes fixed on Jesus and run through that finish line. If you are saved, this is your call today. Look at what our text tells us in the last few verses - many will be purified, cleansed, and refined. How does this happen? Through the blood of Jesus Christ!
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Look at how this verse flows - if you are in Christ, remember 1 Peter is written primarily not to Jews but Gentiles. Meaning this is true of us today - in Christ, we are a chosen race and people so that we proclaim the praises of our God who saved us from darkness to light! Is this your story? Have you been purified and cleansed from your sins? See, this is our problem as humans. We look around and see people acting wickedly, that’s nothing new. That’s the default human setting as Romans 3 tells us that we all have sinned. We are not righteous. We don’t seek God. What about you? Have you turned from your sins and trusted in Christ for salvation? Or are you searching for something else to satisfy? Are you worshiping Jesus or are you worshiping something else? Are you coming to Jesus for Jesus, or are you coming to Jesus for what you think Jesus can get you?
If you are committed, if you have determined as Daniel did in chapter 1, to worship Jesus - you will have trials during this race called life. We see in our text yet again this reminder of the abomination of desolation. Remember when Antiochus IV came into Jerusalem and set up a statue to Zeus, slaughtered a pig, and forbid people to worship God and to read the law? That’s an abomination. And in the days to come, there will be more. Eventually, there will be a final abomination. A final evil ruler, a man of lawlessness, will come to power. He will persecute God’s people. Suffering will strike. If you’ve ever been a runner, it’s like when you hit that wall near the end of the race. There are lots of interpretations as to why this is 1,290 days instead of 1,260 as Revelation and earlier in Daniel says… I’m not going to pretend to have that one figured out, but I can tell you this, 1,290 is 30 more than 1,260. 1,335 is 45 more than 1,290. These don’t fit in most grids and lots of people have to do theological gymnastics to make them fit - let’s not do that, let’s let the text speak. What is this about? If you endure 1,335 days that means that you’ve endured through the 1,290 days of suffering and persecution - we could say this: You’ve ran through the finished line.
Our goal when it’s all said and done is to hear, “Well Done!” This is why we worship. We rest in the finished work of Jesus, we rejoice in the finished plan of our God, and we run through the finish line as we live our life with our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ! Church, Daniel lived before the cross as a member of the Old Covenant. Not so with us. Hebrews taught us that Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant and brings about a New Covenant that is written on our hearts. You and I run this race not having to hope that we’ve done enough works and made enough sacrifices, that work has been finished and taken care of on the cross. We run this race with our eyes fixed on Jesus - sharing of His Gospel - giving Him the glory with every step we take - and we know that we have an inheritance awaiting us. Listen to 1 Peter 1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
There will be dark days to come, but Daniel 7-12 encourages us to endure. To rest. To rejoice. To run this race well because we know that Jesus wins and that Jesus is coming back! Until that day, we worship Him. We witness for Him. How do we witness for Christ? That word in Acts 1:8 - to be His witnesses - is the word martyro, or where we get the English word martyr. In our world today, many Christians are being witnesses for Christ by genuinely becoming martyrs for Christ. We can think of this recent missionary couple in Haiti. We can think of brothers and sisters in China, Vietnam, Iran, and North Korea. My question for you is this: Will you worship Jesus when you are put on the witness stand?
Will we bend the knee to culture and convenience or will we stand up to a culture built on sin and pride and point them to out Savior who for our sake humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross?
Things will get difficult, God’s Word promises this. But things are not and will never get out of control. God’s got us. God wins. God’s coming for us. We win.
A few years ago in St. Louis, a dog dubbed Quentin, a year old Basenji mix, was captured by officials and eventually after no one came to claim him, he was ushered into the city gas chamber to be euthanized. Monday morning the death chamber’s doors were thrown open, and among that ghastly scene of death there stood—with tail and tongue wagging—Quentin. The animal control supervisor said she never had seen such a survivor and didn’t have the heart to slam the door shut. In her view the thirty-pound Quentin had earned the right to live.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are called to keep going. Keep worshipping Jesus. Keep refusing to bend the knee. Danger is coming. Death might be on the horizon… but God has always had a 1335 people who endure with their eyes fixed on Jesus. After evil does its worst, the church of Jesus Christ will still be standing, just like Quentin, eager to greet our Savior face to face. Jesus wins. We have a message to share. We have a Savior waiting for us at the finish line. FBC, let’s run well!