Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), G. Edward Reid
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000444A
|
00:29 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn
00:30 and welcome again to Issues and Answers. 00:32 We're really excited today, 00:34 because G. Edward Reid is joining us again 00:38 and we've had a couple of programs 00:40 with him recently 00:41 and he has had on his financial counselors hat, 00:45 but today he is going to switch hats 00:47 because he's not only very well studied 00:50 in financial counseling and finances 00:52 but also in eschatology 00:55 So let me introduce G. Edward Reid, 00:58 author Esquire Master of Divinity, 01:02 the list goes on. 01:04 Now, Ed, you are currently serving 01:07 as the assistant to the president 01:10 for Planned Giving of Adventist World Radio. 01:12 Yes. 01:13 Tell us just briefly what is Adventist World Radio? 01:16 Adventist World Radio 01:18 is the official radio ministry of the Adventist Church 01:21 and the flagship station was of course on Guam 01:23 and has been there for over 25 five years now 01:26 and transmitting the Adventist message 01:29 by a short wave, F.M., and so on. 01:32 And essentially the entire world 01:34 is now covered with Adventist Radio transmissions. 01:36 And I've been on the programs here at 3ABN 01:40 which John Lomacang and others talking about that, 01:42 but we're not in competition, we're cooperating with 3ABN. 01:46 So the people, everybody can hear ministries. 01:48 And the reason that I'm so excited 01:49 about the radio ministry 01:51 is people are still listening to radio 01:53 and as you are well aware. 01:54 And it was radio that brought our family 01:56 into the Adventist Church many years ago, 01:57 so I'm excited about that. 01:59 So I think whenever this broadcast go out, 02:02 that there's families like our little family 02:04 in Northern California 02:05 that we're hearing the message and will, 02:06 you know, respond positively 02:08 and learn more they can about the Bible. 02:10 Wonderful. 02:11 I just want to briefly say you're also an author. 02:13 You did a series. 02:15 We've done a couple of series on 3ABN, 02:16 one was called "Your Money! 02:18 Isn't It?" 02:19 But the other was "By My Spirit." 02:20 And you have written 02:22 a number of books on eschatology. 02:24 Tell us about those just quickly. 02:25 Well, the first one I wrote was called "Even at the Door" 02:28 and it's talking about the signs 02:29 in the great prophetic timeline, 02:31 that's how we know we're near the end. 02:33 And then I wrote the book "Sunday's Coming" 02:36 and that was research 02:38 based on current events in the Bible 02:40 and in the Spirit of Prophecy about that topic. 02:43 And it was... 02:45 I guess it was the best selling book 02:47 in the Adventist Church for four years in a row, 02:48 a lot of people, then I rewrote the book 02:50 and updated it with ten new chapters 02:51 and that's what we have now. 02:53 And then I wrote the book "Ready or Not," 02:55 and that was the basis 02:56 of the "By My Spirit" series here. 02:58 So the big idea is this, 03:00 one thing to know that Jesus is coming soon 03:02 but there's another one to be ready. 03:03 And that's one of the things 03:05 we're gonna talk about today is "how do you get ready?" 03:07 And then the final, the last big one that I wrote, 03:09 these are all 250 page books, the big books. 03:12 The fourth one is "Battle of the Spirits" 03:14 and it's talking about the role of the Holy Spirit 03:16 and the counterfeit spirit at the end time. 03:18 It has a lot of interesting things 03:20 about the early rain and the latter rain 03:21 and the close of probation, 03:22 the things that people are interested 03:24 in on end time things. 03:25 Yes, and I just want to tell our viewers, 03:28 if you're interested in getting any of Ed's books, 03:30 you can go to his website 03:32 omegabooks.com. 03:35 That's omegabooks.com. 03:38 Now today you gave a title for this message 03:41 that you're going to be sharing with us 03:43 the information of "Preparing for the Lion's Den." 03:47 How did you come up with the study? 03:49 Well, it's interesting. 03:50 I was tasked with making a presentation 03:53 to a group of religious liberty leaders. 03:56 And I thought well, you know, 03:57 most of us know about the cases in court 03:59 and all those kind of things. 04:00 And I thought how much better it would be, 04:01 if we would just understand 04:03 "how can we be faithful in difficult times, 04:05 that because they're surely coming." 04:06 In fact we're told in 2 Timothy 3:12, 04:09 "All that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." 04:13 So I did just a brief introduction 04:16 by talking about some of the characters of the Bible 04:18 and characters during the Reformation times 04:20 and so on. 04:22 And I'll just share a couple of these with you. 04:23 Most of us are familiar with Jan Hus 04:25 and his friend Jerome, 04:26 that were both burned alive at the stake. 04:29 And this is an incredible one 04:30 because they were given the opportunity to go free 04:32 if they would recant their Christian beliefs 04:34 and neither one were willing to do it. 04:35 But the interesting part about it is that, 04:38 someone who was of the Catholic faith 04:40 at that time, a zealous priest wrote 04:43 about Hus and Jerome these words 04:45 and this is in Wylie's History of the Reformation 04:48 check book three. 04:49 He says "Both of them bore themselves 04:51 with constant mind 04:52 when their last hour approached. 04:54 They prepared for the fire 04:55 as if they were going to a marriage feast. 04:57 And they uttered no cry of pain. 04:59 When the flames rose they began to sing hymns, 05:02 and scarce could the vehemency of the flame 05:04 stop their singing." 05:05 You know, I always love that. 05:08 Because I read somewhere 05:09 where Jan Hus the night before 05:11 had a candle in his cell and tried to put his hand 05:15 over the flame 05:16 and could not leave his hand over that flame, 05:18 it was much too painful. 05:20 And then you think of the thought 05:22 that he actually sang as they were burning him. 05:25 I believe God had to do something supernaturally. 05:29 I tell people either God removes the difficulty 05:31 or goes through it with you. 05:33 And so he was with God, 05:35 like he was with three young men 05:36 in the fiery furnace I believe, 05:37 so they could sing. 05:39 And then you think of the Apostle Paul 05:41 who went through so much persecution. 05:44 This is incredible because in Paul's own writings, 05:48 we typically think of the salvation things 05:50 that he offers. 05:51 You know, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ 05:52 and so on, the power of God and saved by faith and... 05:56 It's incredible but what he went through, 05:59 almost hidden sometimes. 06:00 But he states in 2 Corinthians 11, 06:03 some of the things he went through. 06:05 And one of them he says five times 06:08 I was whipped or received 40 stripes save one. 06:13 And most people who study this understand that, 06:15 it was believed that if you were whipped 40 times 06:18 the way they were whipped then with metal and bone 06:21 in the end of the whip 06:22 and so on that it would kill you. 06:23 So it was whipped only 39 stripes, 06:26 five times 06:28 with in a hair's breath of killing him five times. 06:31 Then he was stone one time, they thought he was dead. 06:34 And you can only imagine getting conked in the head 06:36 with big stones, you know, it's just incredible. 06:38 And he was shipwrecked and he says, 06:40 it was a night-and-day in the deep. 06:42 If you can imagine without a life preserver 06:44 out in the ocean and thinking 06:46 the shark might get you at any time 06:47 or some bad thing happen. 06:48 Okay, just being so bone-weary. 06:50 Yeah, just so tired, it's terrible. 06:51 You just keep your head above the water. 06:52 And then he's talking about journeys 06:54 and perils and all kind of things. 06:55 You can read it about in 2 Corinthians 11. 06:56 How can people go through that and still be faithful? 06:59 That's my big question. 07:00 And I will actually turn to the idea of thinking 07:04 about people treating each other cruelly. 07:07 Well, how can they even do that? 07:09 I mean, it's amazing. 07:10 And how could you endure it? 07:12 And so when I was reading in the Book of Daniel, 07:14 I decided, I was going to make a presentation 07:16 on the third chapter of Daniel 07:18 and on the sixth chapter of Daniel. 07:19 I'm only gonna talk about the sixth one today, 07:21 but the interesting part is, and to me this is fascinating. 07:25 Probably no one in America will ever be thrown 07:27 to the lions 07:28 or no one will ever be burned in a big fiery furnace 07:31 because according to the Eighth Amendment 07:32 of our US Constitution 07:34 that, you know, prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. 07:36 So, I mean, we even try to protect criminals 07:38 so they will have no pain when we put them to death 07:40 if someone ever does go to death. 07:41 But we do need to prepare for what we know is ahead 07:44 and that's what I want to talk about today. 07:46 It's pretty interesting. 07:47 We can go back to the sixth chapter of Daniel 07:49 and see the experience of Daniel. 07:51 Daniel's experience was an amazing one. 07:54 A lot of people think of only 07:55 what they read in the bedtime stories 07:57 or what they hear the fantasy stories of Daniel 07:59 in the lions' den and so on. 08:01 And you say, "Well, what's not to like 08:02 about being Daniel?" 08:04 You know, because for example 08:05 he was of the royal line of Judah 08:07 and he was not executed like many others 08:10 where I believe was taken to the courts of Babylon. 08:13 He was granted a place at the king's table 08:15 and he was given riches 08:19 and so on, friends that were honored 08:21 by the world's richest empire. 08:23 He got a good education 08:24 and since we talked about finances last time 08:26 I was with you, 08:27 no student loans, no cost to himself, 08:30 you know, doctor's degree if you please. 08:32 And he was counted among the counselors 08:35 of the king of Babylon. 08:37 Very amazing and protected 08:39 when he's thrown in the lions' den 08:40 and on and on 08:41 he was a prophet and at the same time 08:43 as a prime minister. 08:44 So I asked the question 08:46 "What's not to like about being Daniel?" 08:47 Well, that's the good news side, 08:48 that's where God protected him, 08:50 but the day-to-day life of Daniel was very different. 08:52 And a lot of people don't realize 08:54 what Daniel went through in his life. 08:56 In 605 B.C. 08:57 when King Nebuchadnezzar came and surrounded Jerusalem 09:00 and essentially ransacked it, 09:01 killed a lot of people and took a lot of them captive. 09:03 Daniel's mind went back to 100 years 09:05 before when Sargon, 09:07 King of Assyria had come and captured 09:08 the ten northern tribes of Israel, 09:11 taken them all captive back to Assyria 09:13 and put other people in their places 09:14 who became the Samaritans. 09:16 And to me this is amazing 09:17 when you understand what happened there, 09:19 because the ten tribes of Israel 09:23 were never heard from again, lost to eternity. 09:27 I mean, you know, for all conscious history. 09:30 So here's Daniel now being hauled off to Babylon 09:33 as a captive 09:34 and this little two tribes that are left... 09:36 It's interesting the tribe, 09:38 you know, in Judah and Jerusalem area. 09:41 This is all that was left of King David's big kingdom, 09:44 and now they're being destroyed 09:46 and their only hope was 09:48 that 70 year prophecy that Jeremiah had made 09:50 that someday they would come back. 09:52 Can you imagine living through that? 09:53 And he was a young man. 09:55 He was just a teenager, 16, 17 years old probably. 09:58 And this has something to do 10:00 with good training and good parents. 10:01 I would think a lot of it. 10:03 But with the temples being ransacked 10:04 and all the golden vessels of the temple 10:07 were taken away and so on. 10:09 But when Daniel was taken to Babylon, 10:10 most people don't understand what I'm gonna tell you next. 10:13 Daniel was not taken to Babylon on an airplane. 10:16 He was not taken to Babylon on a air conditioned tour bus, 10:18 like people go and visit the Holy Land today. 10:21 He was marched on foot for over a 1,000 miles, 10:25 most of it desert conditions. 10:26 Well, it would be a death march. 10:28 Oh, it was for many people, indeed it was. 10:29 It's like the "Trail of Tears" 10:31 in the experience of the Cherokee Indians 10:32 in the United States. 10:34 And the amazing thing about it, 10:35 he was shackled with chains around his legs 10:38 and a chain around his neck 10:39 to the next guy behind him and so on. 10:41 The Bible indicates that. 10:42 It's very interesting, that's Isaiah 52:2. 10:45 And the interesting part about it, 10:47 their chains in uproot, they lost everything. 10:49 People don't understand how long this probably took. 10:51 It's like a death march. 10:53 There's no indication in the Bible 10:55 of how long it took, 10:56 but we do know one thing about it. 10:57 Seven years later 10:59 when the Babylonians freed them to go back home, 11:02 Ezra and some 50,000 people made the trek 11:05 with the king's assistance with horses 11:07 and transportation, it took them four months. 11:10 So most historians think Daniel was marched in chains 11:13 for like six months, 1,000 miles across the desert. 11:16 And then when he gets there, they make a eunuch out of him. 11:18 Oh, mercy, 11:19 that's the incredible thing about it. 11:20 Yeah, to me this is amazing 11:22 because these teenage guys when they were passing 11:24 in through the walls of Babylon, 11:26 this great city that's, you know, 11:27 has all the beauty and the riches about it. 11:29 People are on the walls laughing 11:30 and scoffing at them and so on. 11:32 And so what do they do next? 11:33 And you've mentioned this, Daniel and his three friends 11:37 were humiliated by being castrated, 11:39 which means no family, no children, 11:41 no grandchildren, no heritage at all, 11:43 their parents are gone, they're gone, 11:44 it's just incredible to think about that. 11:46 They changed their names 11:48 from the names their parents gave them 11:49 to names of the Babylonian gods. 11:52 And the most amazing thing about it is 66 years 11:54 after they arrived in Babylon 11:56 and Daniel now is close to 83 years old 12:00 when Belshazzar had that feast 12:01 in which he brought out the golden vessels, 12:03 they were drinking wine from the vessels 12:05 from the house of God, that's when that hand, 12:07 the bloodless hand came and wrote on the wall. 12:10 And no one knew, the Bible says, 12:13 Belshazzar was so nervous 12:15 and devastated and excited and fearful 12:18 that his knees smote together. 12:20 I mean, he couldn't help himself, 12:21 he was just trembling all over. 12:23 So anyway... 12:25 Someone came in, the Queen and said, 12:26 there is a man of the captives of Judah. 12:29 And when he came in, 66 years later now, he says, 12:32 "Are you one of those guys from the captives of Judah, 12:34 I want you to tell me now." 12:36 Now, this is amazing. 12:37 He was thought of as a captive of Judah his whole life. 12:40 Isn't this incredible? 12:41 Even his friends made fun of him, 12:45 not his three friends 12:46 but the guys who were the counselors with him 12:48 and they're always trying to trap him into something 12:50 and it's really, really good they're conniving by colleagues 12:53 and so on, to me this was an incredible thing 12:54 to understand. 12:56 So I thought to myself, 12:58 "How in the world could a guy 12:59 who was essentially mistreated all of his adult life 13:04 ever stand up to being thrown into the lions' den?" 13:07 So I came up with seven things 13:09 and I want to share them with you, 13:11 what I think of when I think of Daniel. 13:13 Okay. 13:14 And the bottom line is, 13:16 if this could help Daniel, it could help us too. 13:19 Amen. You see what I'm saying? 13:20 Certainly. 13:21 So the first one is, 13:23 as a young man he made a total commitment to God. 13:26 We used to sing a song years ago, 13:28 I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. 13:32 This is the deal. 13:33 You know I've decided to follow Jesus. 13:35 And I don't know 13:36 whether it was just his upbringing, 13:38 you know, they will put God first 13:40 or to recognize that, 13:42 you know, this was his only hope 13:44 and this is going to be one of our other things 13:45 that we talk about but the preparation was, 13:48 he purposed in his heart 13:49 that he would not defile himself. 13:52 This to me is really, really incredible. 13:55 I'm gonna go right to the second one 13:56 because some of the others are a little bit longer, 13:57 we want to make sure we get them in. 13:59 But the real interesting part about it to me, 14:01 he made a decision and this was his decision 14:05 and not somebody else's decision. 14:07 While being chained to others and his feet shackled marching, 14:10 he made a decision, not when I get there 14:12 I'm going to do whatever I want to, 14:13 I'm going to kill somebody 14:15 or I want to get out of here or whatever, 14:16 he made a decision, I'm going to follow God. 14:18 Yes. That's the big deal. 14:19 100% commitment. 14:21 And another one and this is really interesting to me 14:22 because you mentioned 14:24 that I have a master's in public health 14:25 and so I'm quite interested in health 14:27 and I know you are and many people here, 14:28 and you do health shows on 3ABN 14:30 for the reason of health and that's the benefit to me. 14:34 It's not meritorious 14:37 and so we have clear minds, the idea. 14:39 But he made a decision to honor God 14:41 with his body temple. 14:43 And the Bible says that he decided 14:45 that he would request a plant based diet 14:47 and water to drink, 14:48 which meant very carefully, no pork chops, 14:51 no Big Macs, no sugary soft drinks, no wine. 14:56 Now what do you think did happened to these guys? 14:57 Did they become ugly and stupid as a result? 14:59 The Bible says they became 15:01 ten times wiser than anyone else. 15:02 And better looking. And better looking. 15:05 Isn't that incredible? 15:06 Rosier cheeks. Yes. 15:08 They didn't adopt the vegetarian diet 15:10 as a wonder drug 15:11 or they didn't do it as a meritorious thing 15:13 to earn salvation, they did it because they knew 15:15 that this was God's plan for healthy living 15:17 and they wanted to have sharp minds. 15:19 Now the interesting thing about it is, 15:21 I saw a movie years ago 15:23 that was a scientific kind of a documentary 15:25 and it was called "Just One Drink" 15:27 and people don't realize this, but when you drink alcohol, 15:31 every time you do it destroys brain cells. 15:34 And a guy like me, 15:35 I can't afford to lose any brain cells 15:36 because you know we just prepare... 15:38 Well, you've got most of yours 15:39 that are already in operation, you know. 15:40 Well, the whole point is, we need all we've got, 15:42 especially when we're facing difficult times at the end. 15:45 Daniel could have rationalized it. 15:46 Well, it wouldn't hurt to slip a little wine with my supper, 15:49 but he decided I'm not going to defile myself 15:51 with the king's wine 15:52 or the food that he eats and this is amazing. 15:55 There's so many other things 15:56 that he could have rationalized about. 15:57 He said, you know, who am I as a captive to refuse 16:00 what set before me? 16:02 And he's a 1,000 miles from his parents, 16:03 if they're still living even, 16:05 from any rabbis or anybody who would care. 16:08 He could do whatever he wanted to do but he said, 16:10 I'm not going to do this. 16:11 He made that decision and I think that's amazing. 16:13 That is. 16:15 And especially again when you think 16:16 he was a 17 year old boy. 16:18 Yes, to me it's amazing. 16:20 So I found this little statement 16:21 in the book "Temperance" page 156. 16:23 Daniel's clearness of mind 16:25 and purpose, firmness of purpose, 16:27 his power in acquiring knowledge 16:29 and resisting temptation 16:30 were due in a great degree to his plainness of diet. 16:34 Now as a person trained in healthful living, 16:36 I can just tell you that most of us eat too much. 16:39 Most people would be better off eating 16:40 less than they eat even if they're not obese. 16:42 Isn't that incredible? 16:44 Because you have a sharper mind and your body will tell you 16:45 how much food you need 16:47 if you're in a good dietary plan. 16:49 Very, very interesting stuff. 16:52 The thing is to eat the proper food 16:55 where you're getting nutritionally 16:58 or dense food when you eat a lot less. 17:00 Yes. 17:01 The thing I learned in public health school, 17:03 as you eat a wide variety 17:05 of unrefined fruits, grains, nuts, 17:07 and vegetables in sufficient quantity 17:08 to maintain your ideal weight. 17:10 So you have a good variety of things 17:12 and that's apparently 17:13 what they had available down there 17:14 and he was glad to get it and it did bless him. 17:16 By the way it was not only the food that blessed him, 17:18 I think God blessed him too, don't you? 17:20 Oh, absolutely. No doubt, no doubt. 17:21 Because of making that decision. 17:23 Now the next one, number three 17:24 is that Daniel purposed in his heart 17:28 that he would be a regular prayer, 17:29 that he would pray 17:31 and he prayed on a regular basis. 17:32 Three times a day, why? Three times a day. 17:34 Why three times that people often ask. 17:36 This is interesting, very interesting. 17:38 I'm gonna give you another thing 17:39 and then we'll answer it from the Bible. 17:40 Okay. 17:42 Three times a day he prayed and he prayed out loud. 17:44 Yes. Isn't that interesting? 17:46 Now frequently we pray out loud, 17:48 we'll more in a group like we get prayer groups 17:49 at prayer meeting or whatever we pray out loud 17:51 for the benefit of the others in our group. 17:53 But Daniel prayed out loud even in his private prayers 17:57 and that's interesting because I'm gonna tell you 17:59 why he did it I believe and that is in Psalms, 18:03 that was written 500 years before he was born. 18:05 And I'll just tell you the reference, 18:07 it's Psalms 55:16 and 17, David had written. 18:11 "As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me, 18:15 evening and morning and at noon 18:17 I will pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice." 18:21 That's Psalm 55:16 and 17. That's interesting. 18:24 Isn't that incredible? 18:25 So we got the idea from the Bible 18:27 that was written by at that time 18:29 from the writings of David the Psalms, 18:31 and this to me is incredible. 18:33 Now, another interesting one is, 18:35 "Why would he pray out loud 18:37 systematically three times a day 18:39 when he knew 18:41 that it was illegal to pray to anyone 18:42 except the king for that 30 day period of time? 18:45 I've always thought he was just being a witness 18:47 to those around him. 18:48 Well, this is kind of interesting. 18:50 He wasn't just sticking his finger 18:51 in the eye of the king. 18:53 Here's the deal. 18:54 The Bible says something interesting 18:55 that when you pray, 18:57 sometimes it's best to go in your closet 18:58 and close the door. 18:59 But when it's illegal to pray, then you go and hide, 19:04 then you're showing that the king's God 19:06 is greater than your God. 19:07 So he was doing as a witness just like you said. 19:08 Yeah. 19:10 And the Bible even says he was facing Jerusalem. 19:12 And the interesting part is that you remember Solomon 19:14 in his prayer, it's in 1 Kings 8, 19:16 when he dedicated the temple. 19:18 If your people ever go into captivity, 19:19 if they pray by your name and face Jerusalem 19:21 and then you will hear them and honor their prayers. 19:25 So he remembered that. 19:27 And the big question for me is, "Why did he pray out loud?" 19:30 And I think the answer, 19:32 at least from my perspective 19:33 and you have done a lot of study 19:35 and writing about prayer, 19:36 so I'm gonna ask you what you think about this too. 19:38 Sometimes when I pray 19:40 my mind will wander a little bit, 19:41 you know, what I'm talking about. 19:42 Surely. 19:44 And so I think if you pray out loud, 19:45 it's almost like God's in the room 19:46 with you and so you honor, 19:48 keeping active and your mind is straight 19:50 and that kind of thing. 19:51 And it's more intimate somehow it is. 19:53 You do, you're more engaged because, you know, you hear... 19:57 Sometimes too I think that the Bible says faith comes 20:00 by hearing and hearing by the Word. 20:02 And as you're praying to God, 20:04 it increases your faith when you're praying aloud 20:06 because, you know, surely I'm sure 20:09 that Daniel prayed 20:11 some of God's promises back to Him. 20:13 I'm sure that he was praying according to the Word 20:16 and that increased his faith. 20:18 Many of the prayers in the Bible were prayed out loud. 20:21 Yes. 20:22 And I'll give you just one short example 20:23 and that is Simeon, when he, 20:25 when Jesus' parents were leaving the temple, 20:27 asked to hold the baby, went and held up the baby, 20:29 He said words to the effect out loud 20:31 in front of the parents. 20:32 Lord, let your servant die in peace, 20:33 I have now seen the Messiah 20:35 and he knew because the Lord had inspired him to do that. 20:38 Okay, there's another one that's really interesting to me 20:41 and that would be number four. 20:42 Daniel plan to develop his mind 20:45 and this to me is very, very interesting 20:47 because I wanted to tell you a little bit about this. 20:49 Why was Daniel so smart, 20:50 so intelligent and so bright in comparison to other people? 20:54 Well, one thing that he meditated on the law 20:57 of the God day and night. 20:58 Yes, interestingly enough, 21:00 and that was exactly right 21:02 because the Bible says in Psalm 119, 21:04 when we'll meditate on God's word 21:06 that He will bring wisdom to us. 21:07 Yes. 21:08 And I used to teach academy and college some, 21:10 and I remember reading this one from verse 119, 21:14 Psalm 119: 99. 21:16 "I have more understanding than all of my teachers 21:18 for your testimonies are my meditation." 21:21 So you get smarter than your teachers 21:22 if you spend time in God's Word 21:24 and to me that's an interesting one. 21:26 Well, it's also interesting 21:27 that if placed 21:29 under the control of God's Spirit, 21:30 he can, the more thoroughly the intellect 21:32 is cultivated the more effectively 21:33 it can be used. 21:34 So I'm gonna ask you a question now 21:36 and this is interesting. 21:37 Some people will ask me why I studied so much 21:39 and this is one of the reasons right here. 21:41 We actually have the idea that... 21:43 Well, I'll just... 21:45 Can God use anybody who's willing? 21:47 The answer is yes. Yes. 21:48 And the Holy Spirit can guide them. 21:50 But we're told that those who have the benefit 21:53 of a thorough education stand on vantage ground. 21:56 Well, you know, we always say that God equips the called 21:59 but I believe that part of the way 22:01 He equips the called 22:02 is when you're called to do something, 22:03 God will open a door 22:05 that you can go get trained in that. 22:06 I think you are right. Now that's pretty interesting. 22:08 And I found a statement 22:09 that I thought was quite interesting. 22:11 The youth determined to secure a well balanced education, 22:13 they became skilled and secular as well as religious knowledge, 22:16 but they studied science without being corrupted. 22:20 Isn't that interesting? That is. 22:21 They studied science without being corrupted. 22:23 So these guys were smart, 22:24 not because they were lazy but because they decided 22:26 that they would want to learn something. 22:27 Yes. 22:29 Okay, point number five is an interesting one. 22:31 And this one to me is amazing. Daniel did not seek revenge. 22:35 Oh, that is a good one. 22:36 This is amazing 22:37 because, you know, when the wise men 22:40 couldn't figure out that image in Daniel 2, 22:43 what the image was or what it meant. 22:45 When Daniel was given the vision 22:47 after praying with his friends, 22:48 the first thing he said to Arioch, 22:50 the captain of the guard, do not kill the wise men. 22:53 Now remember, it's interesting, 22:54 they had nothing to do with what the interpretation 22:56 or find out what the dream was but he saved these guys, 22:59 who later would turn on him 23:00 and have him thrown in the lions' den. 23:01 But the interesting... 23:03 And no doubt had been taunting him before. 23:04 Yes, the amazing thing is that the right, 23:07 the wicked people don't realize this 23:09 but many times they're saved because of the righteous. 23:11 Yes, that's correct. 23:12 For example, they were saved because of Daniel. 23:14 Had not Daniel been there, they would have been killed. 23:17 To me it's amazing. 23:18 Paul and Silas saved all the prisoners 23:20 in the jail of Philippi. 23:21 For the sake of Paul, 23:22 all the lives of people were saved 23:24 on the ships that he was sailing on. 23:25 Where would the world be today? 23:27 This is pretty interesting to me. 23:28 For the sake of the righteous it is still spared. 23:32 And we won't take time to read this but you can read 23:34 in the first three verses of Revelation 7. 23:38 These angels are coming down 23:39 and holding the four winds of strife 23:41 and another angel come says, do not hurt the earth 23:44 till I have sealed the servants of God 23:46 in their foreheads. 23:47 God is protecting the whole world 23:50 because He wants to save the righteous. 23:52 Isn't that incredible? That is. That is. 23:53 To me it's pretty amazing when you see it. 23:56 Well, another one is, 23:57 this one is pretty heavy and that is, 24:00 do not get involved in politics. 24:02 Well, we're gonna have some people writing in on this one. 24:04 Well, I'm gonna tell you that. 24:05 Believe it or not, 24:06 there's hardly a person you've ever interviewed 24:08 that's not more personally, 24:09 mentally involved in politics than yours truly. 24:12 I mean I stay up for every State of the Union Address, 24:14 I stay up for every election, I vote in every election, 24:17 I stay up till the last vote is counted, 24:18 even though the president was elected 24:20 two hours before. 24:21 I'm very interested in stuff. 24:22 And sometimes the two senators 24:25 from our state voted in favor of increasing the debt load. 24:28 And I thought how did we ever get those guys up there, 24:30 you know what I'm really talking about it. 24:32 But listen carefully, 24:33 Daniel was not involved in politics, 24:35 he was apolitical, he was not a Democrat, 24:37 he was not a Republican, 24:39 he was a ambassador for Almighty God 24:41 and we should never forget that and this is amazing. 24:43 If I came here and telling you I was a Democrat, 24:45 half the people in the audience would hate me. 24:47 If I told you I was Republican, the other half would hate me. 24:49 Do you understand? Yes. 24:51 But if you are ambassador for God, no one hates you. 24:52 They say that man is a man of God 24:54 and that's what... 24:55 From now on that's what I want to be thought of, 24:57 as not as a Democrat or Republican 24:58 and I do not speak for either party, 25:00 I speak for Almighty God. 25:01 Amen. 25:03 That this is something amazing really, 25:04 something I just learned. 25:06 I mean, it's the first time I've ever said it on TV, 25:08 but it's incredible when you think about it. 25:09 Well, I think it's interesting because what you've said, 25:12 I've never heard anyone say it like that, 25:14 but that's the reason 25:15 that I registered as an independent 25:17 because I didn't want to be identified 25:18 with either party. 25:19 Well, it's a fact that we have the God given responsibility 25:23 to vote for people who we think will do a good job, 25:25 but we have to vote for people 25:26 that we think will do a good job. 25:28 We do not live in a democracy in the United States, 25:30 we live in a, 25:31 what we call a representative of republic, 25:35 a democratic republic. 25:37 And the fact that we choose the leaders 25:39 by the democratic process 25:40 but then they have to uphold the constitution. 25:42 We want to make sure they do. 25:43 Well, I want to give you the last one 25:45 because it's very interesting. 25:47 And we'll make a few closing remarks about it. 25:49 Number seven is I think Daniel took the long view. 25:52 And was number six the politics thing? 25:55 Yes. Okay. 25:56 Number seven is take the long view. 25:57 Look to the time of the end 25:59 when God of heaven will set up a kingdom 26:00 that will never be destroyed and he knew 26:02 that from the image of Daniel 2, 26:03 when the rock comes and hits the image on the feet, 26:05 God is gonna set up the kingdom 26:07 that will never be destroyed. 26:08 He's looking for a city that has foundations 26:09 whose builder and maker is God with walls of jasper 26:12 and gates of pearl and so on, very, very interesting. 26:14 He looked forward to wearing the crown of righteousness. 26:16 It's amazing to me that from the story of Daniel 26:18 we can understand that there is a way to cope 26:21 with these things. 26:22 And a way to live a life without reproach. 26:25 Yes, when people went to find some dirt on him, 26:27 these bad guys, they found nothing. 26:30 The only way that they could find anything 26:31 about him was the way he served his God. 26:33 Isn't that incredible? That is an amazing stuff. 26:35 So I ask people, 26:36 "Do you want to live a life above reproach?" 26:38 "Do you want to live a life preparing yourself 26:40 to live in the company of holy beings in heaven?" 26:42 And I think we can all say, yes, we do. 26:44 Then let's remember to put God first in our lives, 26:46 to have a regular prayer life, 26:48 to live healthfully, you understand, 26:50 not to be vindictive, 26:51 not to get involved in road rage 26:52 and all that stuff, study the best you can, 26:55 get out of politics. 26:56 This is pretty serious now I'm telling you. 26:58 I can give you a whole lecture on that one thing, 26:59 but then look to the future. 27:00 I wish we had more time. 27:02 There's a time that is coming, when there's no more sorrow, 27:04 no more death, no more pain, 27:06 and this is the kind of thing 27:07 that we must look forward to as Christians. 27:08 Whatever we go through, when we get to heaven, 27:10 we'll say it's cheap enough. 27:11 I think that this is a new book that you need to be writing. 27:14 Well, the Book of Daniel is really inspiring, 27:16 I need to study more about it, 27:18 but this one is the sixth chapter of Daniel. 27:19 It's quite amazing. Amen. 27:21 And thank you once again for being here. 27:23 So our question is, "Do you want to be ready for 27:26 and prepared for the lions' den?" 27:28 We're all going to face 27:29 some kind of persecution in our life 27:31 and if we're let alive at the end times, 27:34 we will face "our own lions' den." 27:37 We thank you for joining us today 27:39 and hope that God has blessed you 27:41 through this message. 27:43 We'll see you next time. |
Revised 2017-09-05