The Bible tells us, "In
the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God."
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It says, "To
receive with meekness
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the implanted Word,
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which is able to save your souls
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and to be diligent to present
yourself approved to God,
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rightly dividing
the Word of truth."
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Join us now for the
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Our study today is
"Preparation for the End Time."
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Hello and welcome to
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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And we are excited about
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the study that we are
doing during this quarter,
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Preparation for the End Times.
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And I hope that you have been
blessed by the first lesson.
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We are in the second
lesson of this quarterly.
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And we are grateful to
the Lord for the opportunity
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to share with
you all the blessings
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God has given to
us as we studied.
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And we hope that you
follow along with your Bible.
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We would like to introduce
our panel that is with us.
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And to my left, we
have Sister Shelley Quinn,
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welcome.
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Thank you. Good to be here.
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Thank you for joining us.
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Pastor CA Murray,
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our general manager
for the Proclaim channel.
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Good to be here, Johnny.
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Good to be here. Thank you.
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I'm glad that you are here.
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And Sister...
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Jill Morikone, our
general manager for 3ABN.
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Welcome. Thank you.
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We always enjoy
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what the Lord has
brought to you as you study.
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And we have Dr.
Yvonne Lewis Shelton
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that is with us,
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our general manager
for Dare to Dream Network.
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Thank you for coming. Thank you.
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This is going to be a blessing.
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And we hope that you
will join us as we study.
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Right now, what
we're going to do
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is ask the Lord
to bless our study,
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so I'm going to ask
Sister Shelley Quinn
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to lead us in prayer
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that the Lord may bless us
during this study together.
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Heavenly Father, we
come in the name of Jesus,
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thanking You so
much, Lord, for Your Word.
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And, Lord, we know You
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exalt Your Word
even above Your names,
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so we ask in the
name of Jesus now
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that you will empty us of us,
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fill us with Your Holy Spirit.
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Send Your Holy
Spirit to be our teacher
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and make everything
we say exalt Your Word
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in absolute truth,
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in Jesus' name, amen.
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Jesus' name. Amen.
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Amen. Amen.
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Well, we are using a
Sabbath School Quarterly
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that the Seventh-day
Adventist church prepares.
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And you can get a free copy.
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We would like to
give you the information
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as to how you can do that.
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You can go to the
website ABSG, ABSG,
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that's Adult Bible Study
Guide dot-Adventist dot-org.
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And so there you can
download the study guide.
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If you didn't copy
the page correctly,
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you can contact 3ABN to
give you that information.
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ABSG.Adventist.org,
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and you can
download the study guide
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and follow along.
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Of course, your
Bible is the book of choice
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to follow along,
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because what we're
doing is studying the Bible.
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So the lessons are
to be a guide for us.
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And so this
Sabbath school lesson
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has Daniel and the End Time,
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Daniel and the End Time.
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We're going to look
through several scriptures
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in this week study.
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And that is Luke 16:10,
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Daniel 1 and 2, Daniel 3:1-5.
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We're going to go
to Revelation 13:11-15,
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Daniel 3:13-18, and
John 3:7, and Daniel 4 and 6.
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We're going to be taking
a look at these scriptures
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to help us get the
basis for the message,
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Daniel and the End Time.
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The memory text that
we have for this lesson
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is in Daniel 2:47.
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A marvelous thing that
King Nebuchadnezzar said,
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notice, "The
king answered Daniel,
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and said, "Truly your
God is the God of gods,
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the Lord of kings,
and a Revealer of secrets,
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since you could
reveal this secret."
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"This is a marvelous scripture,
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and for King
Nebuchadnezzar to say this,
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you may remember that
Babylon had many gods,
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but here
Nebuchadnezzar is saying
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that God is the God of gods,
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not only this,
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"He is the Lord
of kings," it says.
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If you read the
verse before verse 46,
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you will notice
that he was so shocked,
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so amazed by
Daniel revealing the dream
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that he fell
prostrate on the ground.
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Amazing thing for a king,
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all the people that were there
were like, "Wow, this is..."
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"Here is the King Nebuchadnezzar
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bowing down."
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Incredible!
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Because God is a God of gods.
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And we want to
talk to you a little bit
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about the people of Israel.
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The people of Israel,
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the Lord had great plans
for the people of Israel.
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But what happened?
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Why are they now
captive in Babylon?
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The reason they're captive
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is because they
had not been faithful.
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You see, in Isaiah 43:10-12,
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we have the scriptures
that tell us these words.
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""You are My
witnesses," says the Lord,
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"And My servant
whom I have chosen,
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that you may know and believe
and understand that I am He.
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Before Me, there
was no God formed
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nor shall there be after Me.
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Even I, I am the Lord,
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and besides Me,
there is no savior.
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I have declared and
saved, I have proclaimed,
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and there was no
foreign god among you.
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Therefore you are My
witnesses," says the Lord,
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"That I am God."
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The people of Israel
were to be His witnesses
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to other nations that
there is no other God.
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And we have in Ezekiel 39:23.
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I would like to ask one of
our distinctive panel members
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to help us with Ezekiel 39.
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And we're going to read
verse 23, Ezekiel 39:23.
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And if someone has it,
would you please make it known?
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"The Gentiles shall
know that the house of Israel
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went into
captivity for their iniquity,
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because they
were unfaithful to Me,
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therefore I hid
My face from them.
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I gave them into the
hand of their enemies,
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and they all fell by the sword."
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So we see here that God
is letting the people know
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that even the
Gentiles would know
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that the people of
Israel had gone into captivity
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because of their iniquity,
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but even so, even
though they were in captivity,
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they were still to be witnesses.
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And we find that
Daniel and his friends,
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when you read
Daniel 1 and onward,
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you will notice that they
were as witnesses to the Lord,
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they were example of
what the people of Israel
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were to be like
to other nations.
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And right here at this moment,
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this scripture that
we read, the memory text,
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points that out perfectly.
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Daniel had been
faithful to the Lord,
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and he was an example
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of what God's
people were to be like.
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So when you read
the Book of Daniel,
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you notice that Daniel
and his friends were faithful
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even in the midst of
danger, danger to their lives.
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They were even thrown
into the fiery furnace.
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Daniel was thrown
in the lion's den,
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still faithful
because of his faithfulness.
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And so we,
likewise, have to be faithful
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whatever we face.
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And when you look
at the Book of Daniel,
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the stories...
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Some people just
read the prophecies,
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but the stories have
important information
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that we need to
read, we need to grasp,
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we need to gather
from them important lessons
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that we could use in our lives.
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And so even Daniel 1,
when you read Daniel 1,
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you find there
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that it gives you the
basic fundamental things
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to understand the prophecies
of Daniel and Revelation.
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So let's go
into Sunday's lesson.
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In Sunday's
lesson of the quarterly,
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the text that is given
to us as the springboard
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is Luke 16:10.
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I will read that, Luke 16:10,
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"He who is
faithful in what is least
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is faithful also in much,
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and he who is
unjust in what is least
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is unjust also in much."
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And so Jesus says these words,
and they are very important.
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We can examine ourselves.
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Are you being
faithful in the little things?
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Because when greater tests come,
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you're going to fail.
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So the best thing for us
to do is to face each day
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looking unto Jesus,
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the Author and
Finisher of our faith.
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That's why Jesus said, "If
any man will come after Me,
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let him take up his cross
daily and follow after Me."
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And so here's the question
that the lesson brings out
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which I think is
very interesting.
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In what ways did the
stand that Daniel, Hananiah,
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Mishael,
Azariah, and his friends,
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so Daniel and
his friends, how...
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In the way they
took their stand,
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reflect what ancient Israel
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was supposed to be
to the other nation.
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When they faced
trials and difficulties,
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they were
supposed to be faithful
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and be an
example to other nations.
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It is marvelous the promises
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that God gives to
the people of Israel.
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And these promises,
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I would like to read
to you from Deuteronomy 4.
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Deuteronomy 4, I'm
going to read verses 6-8.
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Notice what God says
to the people of Israel.
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"Therefore be
careful to observe them
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for this is your
wisdom and your understanding
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in the sight of the
peoples," other nations,
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"who will hear
all these statutes,
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and say,
"Surely, this great nation
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is a wise and
understanding people."
00:09:36.84\00:09:39.54
For what great nation is there
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that has God so near to it
as the Lord, our God, is to us,
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for whatever reason
we may call upon Him?
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And what great nation is there
00:09:49.52\00:09:51.25
that has such statutes
and righteous judgments
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as are in all this law
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which I set
before you this day?"
00:09:56.62\00:09:58.36
So as you read Deuteronomy,
00:09:58.39\00:10:00.03
you will notice that God
shares with the people of Israel
00:10:00.06\00:10:02.46
great principles even on health
00:10:02.50\00:10:05.37
and how to live
their daily lives,
00:10:05.40\00:10:07.24
and, of course, the
great Ten Commandments.
00:10:07.27\00:10:11.47
If they would
live by these things,
00:10:11.51\00:10:13.98
God would be with
them, God would protect them.
00:10:14.01\00:10:17.65
The seeds they planted
will grow plenty of fruits.
00:10:17.68\00:10:21.75
They would have
plenty of children.
00:10:21.78\00:10:23.62
And they would not
lack any good thing.
00:10:23.65\00:10:26.86
If they were faithful to God,
00:10:26.89\00:10:28.39
God would be with them
all the days of their lives.
00:10:28.42\00:10:31.16
But now the people of Israel
00:10:31.19\00:10:32.69
found themselves
captives in Babylon.
00:10:32.73\00:10:35.46
And Daniel and his
friends face a great challenge.
00:10:35.50\00:10:39.33
In Daniel 1,
you will notice that
00:10:39.37\00:10:41.30
it talks about
the people of Israel
00:10:41.34\00:10:42.67
being taking captive,
00:10:42.70\00:10:44.04
and we are pointed to
Daniel and his friends.
00:10:44.07\00:10:47.98
And they traveled
almost 1,000 miles,
00:10:48.01\00:10:51.21
which is about 1,500 kilometers,
00:10:51.25\00:10:53.11
taken captive,
00:10:53.15\00:10:54.48
and now the king tells
them to choose from among them.
00:10:54.52\00:11:01.06
Some of the wise, some
other people from royalty,
00:11:01.09\00:11:04.73
so they could be trained
00:11:04.76\00:11:06.13
according to the Babylonian way,
00:11:06.16\00:11:08.46
and they could be leaders
among the people of Israel
00:11:08.50\00:11:12.03
so that they will
keep the people of Israel
00:11:12.07\00:11:13.70
in check
00:11:13.74\00:11:15.07
for King
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylon.
00:11:15.10\00:11:19.04
And so in Daniel 1:5, it says,
00:11:19.07\00:11:24.08
"And the king appointed for them
00:11:24.11\00:11:25.45
a daily provision of
the king's delicacies
00:11:25.48\00:11:28.45
and of the wine which he drank
00:11:28.48\00:11:30.42
and three years
of training for them,
00:11:30.45\00:11:32.19
so that at the end of that time,
00:11:32.22\00:11:33.86
they might serve
before the king."
00:11:33.89\00:11:36.22
So Daniel saw the
menu, and he says,
00:11:36.26\00:11:40.26
"Uh-oh, we have a problem here."
00:11:40.30\00:11:43.10
And Daniel had been instructed
00:11:43.13\00:11:45.13
in what is the best
thing to eat and drink
00:11:45.17\00:11:48.87
that will be for
your best health.
00:11:48.90\00:11:51.21
So when he saw this, he says,
00:11:51.24\00:11:53.51
"Can you please give us
the opportunity to eat?"
00:11:53.54\00:11:57.71
It says in the
King James "pulse,"
00:11:57.75\00:11:59.71
but this is really vegetables.
00:11:59.75\00:12:01.18
And he says,
"Vegetables and water to drink."
00:12:01.22\00:12:04.65
Of course, the
Eunuch was surprised,
00:12:04.69\00:12:08.89
and he says,
"But wait a minute,"
00:12:08.92\00:12:10.99
first they are being given
what they thought was the best.
00:12:11.03\00:12:15.60
This is what the king ate.
00:12:15.63\00:12:16.97
So you're thinking, "You
know what the king eats?"
00:12:17.00\00:12:20.04
They were surprised.
00:12:20.07\00:12:21.40
But Daniel said, he wants
vegetables and water to drink.
00:12:21.44\00:12:24.07
And he says, "Look, if I
bring you before the king,
00:12:24.11\00:12:26.64
and you're going to
look weaker than the others,
00:12:26.68\00:12:28.14
and you're...
00:12:28.18\00:12:29.51
No, no, no, no.
00:12:29.54\00:12:30.88
You're going to have to
eat what the king says."
00:12:30.91\00:12:32.25
So he says, "Please,
give us a 10-day test."
00:12:32.28\00:12:33.92
"Okay, 10 days
sounds reasonable."
00:12:33.95\00:12:36.25
And he gave them a 10-day test.
00:12:36.28\00:12:37.72
And it's
interesting what happens.
00:12:37.75\00:12:40.12
Because at the end of 10 days,
00:12:40.16\00:12:41.99
what happened at
the end of 10 days?
00:12:42.02\00:12:44.13
At the end of 10 days, verse 15,
00:12:44.16\00:12:46.09
"At the end of 10 days,
00:12:46.13\00:12:47.46
their features appeared
better and fatter in flesh
00:12:47.50\00:12:50.00
than all the young men
00:12:50.03\00:12:51.37
who ate the portion
of the king's delicacies.
00:12:51.40\00:12:53.30
Thus the steward took away
their portion of delicacies
00:12:53.34\00:12:56.20
and the wine that
they were to drink,
00:12:56.24\00:12:57.87
and gave them
vegetables and water."
00:12:57.91\00:13:00.81
Now I mentioned
about a 1,000 miles,
00:13:00.84\00:13:02.41
1,500 kilometers or so,
00:13:02.44\00:13:03.85
because all of the others
have walked the same distance.
00:13:03.88\00:13:07.78
And now you have two groups,
00:13:07.82\00:13:11.09
one eating the king's delicacies
00:13:11.12\00:13:13.15
and you have
Daniel and his friends
00:13:13.19\00:13:14.52
eating vegetables
and drinking water.
00:13:14.56\00:13:16.46
And they could see a
difference in 10 days
00:13:16.49\00:13:18.49
between these who had
walked the same distance,
00:13:18.53\00:13:20.83
that's why it says
there their faces look fatter
00:13:20.86\00:13:23.26
because fatter in
flesh and look better,
00:13:23.30\00:13:27.64
because they
were eating something
00:13:27.67\00:13:29.30
that was better for them.
00:13:29.34\00:13:30.67
The others were not able
to recover their strength
00:13:30.71\00:13:32.27
as quick as Daniel
and his friends had done.
00:13:32.31\00:13:35.54
And grace be to God, God
blesses our faithfulness.
00:13:35.58\00:13:38.75
And I see that my
time is running short,
00:13:38.78\00:13:40.25
so I have to say this.
00:13:40.28\00:13:41.72
Daniel and his
friends were faithful.
00:13:41.75\00:13:43.49
And this is an
example to us today,
00:13:43.52\00:13:46.15
it was an example
for the people of Israel,
00:13:46.19\00:13:48.02
example for Babylon,
00:13:48.06\00:13:49.39
an example for us living today
00:13:49.42\00:13:51.69
to be faithful
whatever the circumstances are.
00:13:51.73\00:13:54.93
And if you face a
similar circumstance
00:13:54.96\00:13:57.57
and you want to be
faithful to the Lord,
00:13:57.60\00:13:59.80
pray that the Lord
will give you favor
00:13:59.83\00:14:01.34
so that the things you asked for
00:14:01.37\00:14:03.41
will also be given to you.
00:14:03.44\00:14:05.27
And so this is a
marvelous, marvelous lesson.
00:14:05.31\00:14:07.24
And we encourage you to stay by
00:14:07.28\00:14:08.61
because great things
are going to happen now
00:14:08.64\00:14:10.41
as we continue our study
as Sister Shelley continues.
00:14:10.45\00:14:13.52
Thank you, Brother
Johnny, I always...
00:14:13.55\00:14:15.58
You're the best
story teller, isn't he?
00:14:15.62\00:14:18.29
Absolutely. I just loved it.
00:14:18.32\00:14:19.85
My day is Monday's lesson,
00:14:19.89\00:14:22.46
and Monday's lesson is
the humility of Daniel.
00:14:22.49\00:14:26.29
I just want to say this
about the Book of Daniel,
00:14:26.33\00:14:29.30
untold, thousands of people
00:14:29.33\00:14:32.13
have come to
believe in the Bible
00:14:32.17\00:14:33.97
because of the Book of Daniel.
00:14:34.00\00:14:36.64
And particularly, I believe
00:14:36.67\00:14:38.84
it's because God's foreknowledge
00:14:38.87\00:14:41.31
as He predicts these things,
00:14:41.34\00:14:44.21
this provides
powerful rational evidence
00:14:44.25\00:14:50.59
that God is God.
00:14:50.62\00:14:52.85
So we are told in
Monday to read Daniel 2.
00:14:52.89\00:14:57.09
I'm not going to take
time to read all of Daniel 2,
00:14:57.13\00:14:59.89
but let me read the first verse
00:14:59.93\00:15:01.26
then I'll tell you
the rest of the story.
00:15:01.30\00:15:03.23
In Daniel 2:1, it says.
00:15:03.26\00:15:05.30
"Now in the second year
of Nebuchadnezzar's reign,
00:15:05.33\00:15:08.50
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams,
00:15:08.54\00:15:10.94
and his spirit was so troubled
that his sleep left him."
00:15:10.97\00:15:16.71
So what Nebuchadnezzar
does is he calls in
00:15:16.75\00:15:19.75
all of the wise
men of his court.
00:15:19.78\00:15:22.82
And he demands that
00:15:22.85\00:15:26.35
they not only
interpret his dream,
00:15:26.39\00:15:29.22
he demands that they tell
him his dream and interpret it.
00:15:29.26\00:15:33.83
And they're all saying,
"No one can do this, no one."
00:15:33.86\00:15:38.30
And so he orders that
the wise men will be killed.
00:15:38.33\00:15:42.00
Well, Daniel was among
that group of wise men,
00:15:42.04\00:15:44.17
wasn't he?
00:15:44.21\00:15:45.54
He was one of the wise men.
00:15:45.57\00:15:46.98
So he goes to the king,
00:15:47.01\00:15:48.54
he pleads for a
little extra time
00:15:48.58\00:15:51.45
and says, "Give
me till tomorrow."
00:15:51.48\00:15:54.12
And the king says, "Okay."
00:15:54.15\00:15:58.09
So Daniel goes to his
friends, and what do they do?
00:15:58.12\00:16:01.72
They pray.
00:16:01.76\00:16:03.09
They pray earnestly
00:16:03.12\00:16:04.56
because this is a
life and death prayer.
00:16:04.59\00:16:06.70
Is it not? Amen.
00:16:06.73\00:16:08.10
So they pray, and
God tells them the dream.
00:16:08.13\00:16:12.47
And He gives them
the interpretation.
00:16:12.50\00:16:14.80
So Daniel goes back
to the king, and he says,
00:16:14.84\00:16:17.71
"Oh, King, your
astrologers, your magician,
00:16:17.74\00:16:20.64
your soothsayers,
nobody could tell this."
00:16:20.68\00:16:24.25
But, in verse 28, he says,
00:16:24.28\00:16:26.92
"But there is a God in
heaven who reveals secrets,
00:16:26.95\00:16:31.62
and He has made known
to King Nebuchadnezzar
00:16:31.65\00:16:33.79
what will be in
the latter days."
00:16:33.82\00:16:37.26
The time of the end when
God establishes His kingdom.
00:16:37.29\00:16:41.86
He said, "Your
dream and the visions
00:16:41.90\00:16:45.87
of your head upon
your bed were these."
00:16:45.90\00:16:48.60
Well, first, we
just want to take,
00:16:48.64\00:16:50.51
just pause for a second,
00:16:50.54\00:16:52.14
here Daniel is a wise man,
00:16:52.17\00:16:53.64
he could have gone
to the king and said,
00:16:53.68\00:16:57.28
"I've got the answer,
nobody else can tell you,
00:16:57.31\00:17:00.38
but I've got the answer."
00:17:00.42\00:17:02.15
But he didn't, he
gives God all the glory.
00:17:02.18\00:17:06.49
And what I have
learned over the last few years
00:17:06.52\00:17:10.39
is that true humility is
total dependence upon God.
00:17:10.43\00:17:16.67
So Daniel was a
truly humble man.
00:17:16.70\00:17:19.80
He was utterly
dependent upon God.
00:17:19.83\00:17:22.57
And he recognized and
gave God all the glory.
00:17:22.60\00:17:27.54
So this dream was a dream
of the history of the world.
00:17:27.58\00:17:32.31
It is amazing to me
because in Daniel 2,
00:17:32.35\00:17:35.98
in about 150 words,
00:17:36.02\00:17:38.65
Daniel foretells
2,500 years of history,
00:17:38.69\00:17:44.89
as God gave this to him,
00:17:44.93\00:17:46.39
and he tells about
five major kingdoms
00:17:46.43\00:17:50.07
that impacted God's people.
00:17:50.10\00:17:52.70
So this began
where Daniel was then
00:17:52.73\00:17:56.81
in the kingdom, Babylon,
00:17:56.84\00:17:58.84
which in this dream, the
king had seen this statue,
00:17:58.87\00:18:03.08
and the head was
the head of gold,
00:18:03.11\00:18:04.91
this was Babylon.
00:18:04.95\00:18:06.65
But that metal ceases
00:18:06.68\00:18:08.12
and then it goes
on to Medo-Persia,
00:18:08.15\00:18:11.29
which has the
silver arms and breasts,
00:18:11.32\00:18:14.42
but then that metal ceases,
00:18:14.46\00:18:16.19
and it goes down to
bronze belly and thighs,
00:18:16.22\00:18:19.49
which is Greece.
00:18:19.53\00:18:21.06
And the Bible tells...
00:18:21.10\00:18:22.43
It shows all of this.
00:18:22.46\00:18:24.27
That metal ceases
00:18:24.30\00:18:25.63
and then it goes
down to the legs of iron
00:18:25.67\00:18:29.40
which was Pagan Rome,
then that metal never ceases.
00:18:29.44\00:18:34.68
That's interesting
00:18:34.71\00:18:36.04
because then it goes down
into the feet, in the toes,
00:18:36.08\00:18:39.75
and it's iron mingled
with clay on these feet
00:18:39.78\00:18:44.55
and the ten toes.
00:18:44.59\00:18:46.02
And that is modern Europe today.
00:18:46.05\00:18:48.92
So in Daniel 2:43, he says,
00:18:48.96\00:18:53.09
"You saw iron
mixed with ceramic clay,"
00:18:53.13\00:18:57.07
and this is
symbolic of modern Europe."
00:18:57.10\00:19:00.17
He said, "They will
mingle with the seed of men,
00:19:00.20\00:19:02.70
but they will not
adhere to one another,
00:19:02.74\00:19:05.54
just as iron does
not mix with clay."
00:19:05.57\00:19:09.24
In other words, God is saying
that Rome would remain divided.
00:19:09.28\00:19:14.38
And Rome has
remained divided, has it not?
00:19:14.42\00:19:17.59
So the prophecy is unfolding
in a specific historical flow,
00:19:17.62\00:19:23.69
beginning with Babylon
00:19:23.73\00:19:25.36
and then foretelling the
next four major kingdoms.
00:19:25.39\00:19:30.83
This proves God's sovereignty,
it proves his foreknowledge.
00:19:30.87\00:19:36.04
And millions of Christians,
00:19:36.07\00:19:37.41
including millions of Jews
have interpreted it this way,
00:19:37.44\00:19:43.55
even the great
Protestant Reformers.
00:19:43.58\00:19:45.98
So it comes right
down in the dream,
00:19:46.01\00:19:48.65
down to the end of time
when a rock that was cut out...
00:19:48.68\00:19:53.19
Was not cut out with hands,
00:19:53.22\00:19:54.56
it comes and this stone
hits the image of the feet,
00:19:54.59\00:20:00.03
and the stone
breaks it to pieces,
00:20:00.06\00:20:02.56
smatters it to pieces
and becomes a great mountain.
00:20:02.60\00:20:05.53
So that's the reassuring promise
00:20:05.57\00:20:07.87
in Daniel 2:44
00:20:07.90\00:20:09.90
of God's final kingdom.
00:20:09.94\00:20:11.87
He says this in Daniel 2:44,
00:20:11.91\00:20:14.38
"And in the
days of these kings,"
00:20:14.41\00:20:16.24
talking about the ten toes,
00:20:16.28\00:20:18.88
"the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom
00:20:18.91\00:20:21.62
which shall never be destroyed,
00:20:21.65\00:20:24.15
and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people,
00:20:24.19\00:20:28.52
it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms,
00:20:28.56\00:20:33.26
and it shall stand forever."
00:20:33.29\00:20:35.76
So when you
consider that this image,
00:20:35.80\00:20:38.47
this dream and this
image and this interpretation,
00:20:38.50\00:20:42.44
happened 600 years before Jesus,
00:20:42.47\00:20:47.64
it's amazing.
00:20:47.68\00:20:49.18
But you know what,
00:20:49.21\00:20:50.55
there is nothing below
the feet in this image.
00:20:50.58\00:20:54.68
We are living in the
very toes of this image.
00:20:54.72\00:21:01.26
The end of the time is coming
00:21:01.29\00:21:04.23
and the kingdoms of this world
will be crushed with this stone
00:21:04.26\00:21:10.47
that was cut out without hands.
00:21:10.50\00:21:13.74
This is none of man's
doing, this is Jesus Christ.
00:21:13.77\00:21:17.24
We are living in the end times.
00:21:17.27\00:21:20.28
So what's the very next
thing that's going to happen?
00:21:20.31\00:21:23.45
God will set up His kingdom.
00:21:23.48\00:21:28.28
And so, to me, that is...
00:21:28.32\00:21:30.22
When you see how everything
that Daniel predicted,
00:21:30.25\00:21:35.09
from Babylon to
Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome,
00:21:35.12\00:21:39.16
Pagan Rome, then divided Europe,
00:21:39.19\00:21:42.03
when you read this, it
is such an amazing prophecy.
00:21:42.06\00:21:45.83
Sir Isaac Newton,
you remember who he was?
00:21:45.87\00:21:48.00
The famous
mathematician and physicist.
00:21:48.04\00:21:51.44
Daniel is the
book that convinced him
00:21:51.47\00:21:54.78
that the Word of
God was 100% accurate.
00:21:54.81\00:21:59.55
So basically, what we have here,
00:21:59.58\00:22:02.92
the kingdom of God is at hand,
00:22:02.95\00:22:05.69
and I love Daniel's humility
00:22:05.72\00:22:07.62
because what he's saying
is only the true God in heaven
00:22:07.66\00:22:11.79
can reveal mysteries.
00:22:11.83\00:22:14.80
And he was a powerful witness.
00:22:14.83\00:22:18.53
The question
00:22:18.57\00:22:21.20
that the Sabbath
school answers or asks us is
00:22:21.24\00:22:26.57
what should the cross
teach us about humility?
00:22:26.61\00:22:30.98
What does it say to us
00:22:31.01\00:22:32.35
not only about
our own sinfulness
00:22:32.38\00:22:34.08
but also about
our utter dependence
00:22:34.12\00:22:38.29
upon God for salvation?
00:22:38.32\00:22:40.46
Think about where you
would be without the cross.
00:22:40.49\00:22:43.53
Then what would you
have to boast about.
00:22:43.56\00:22:47.30
I can't think of anything.
00:22:47.33\00:22:49.43
When you think, you know...
00:22:49.46\00:22:50.80
There are so many people
00:22:50.83\00:22:52.17
who try to blend
salvation by grace
00:22:52.20\00:22:57.41
with works.
00:22:57.44\00:23:00.11
And if you read the Bible,
00:23:00.14\00:23:03.18
both the Old and
the New Testament,
00:23:03.21\00:23:04.81
make it clear that
salvation belongs to the Lord.
00:23:04.85\00:23:08.52
There's nothing that
we can do to save ourself.
00:23:08.55\00:23:12.35
And I just want to
finish with this one scripture,
00:23:12.39\00:23:15.32
because I think
Paul puts it best
00:23:15.36\00:23:17.59
in Galatians 6:14,
00:23:17.63\00:23:19.83
when he says this, "God
forbid that I should boast
00:23:19.86\00:23:24.87
except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ
00:23:24.90\00:23:28.90
by whom the world
has been crucified to me,
00:23:28.94\00:23:32.61
and I to the world."
00:23:32.64\00:23:34.28
I just want to ask
you at home, if you...
00:23:34.31\00:23:37.05
Has the world
been crucified to you?
00:23:37.08\00:23:39.35
Does it no
longer have the appeal
00:23:39.38\00:23:43.32
that it once had to you?
00:23:43.35\00:23:45.22
Have you been
crucified to the world?
00:23:45.25\00:23:47.09
Do you recognize
00:23:47.12\00:23:48.46
that you're a citizen
of a heavenly kingdom,
00:23:48.49\00:23:51.09
of God's kingdom?
00:23:51.13\00:23:53.19
If you do not know
Jesus Christ as your Savior,
00:23:53.23\00:23:55.96
He came to give us
life abundantly on earth
00:23:56.00\00:24:01.70
and the promise of eternal life
on that great getting up day
00:24:01.74\00:24:06.11
when He calls us
forth from our graves
00:24:06.14\00:24:09.34
and close us with immortality.
00:24:09.38\00:24:11.95
I want to invite you
to come to know the Lord
00:24:11.98\00:24:14.55
because He loves you
with an everlasting love,
00:24:14.58\00:24:18.02
and He has a great
plan for your life.
00:24:18.05\00:24:21.96
I would say it's better
than any of us are yet living.
00:24:21.99\00:24:25.06
Amen. Amen. Amen.
00:24:25.09\00:24:26.43
Praise God, praise
God. Praise the Lord.
00:24:26.46\00:24:28.33
Well done. Well done.
00:24:28.36\00:24:31.40
I want to piggyback
on a couple of things
00:24:31.43\00:24:33.60
that you said, Shelly,
00:24:33.64\00:24:34.97
and there is so much here,
00:24:35.00\00:24:37.94
we tend to look at
the story of Daniel
00:24:37.97\00:24:42.14
in the book of Daniel,
00:24:42.18\00:24:43.51
but the book of
Daniel is also a study
00:24:43.55\00:24:46.68
in the life of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:24:46.72\00:24:48.52
It is an intense
study into the life of a man
00:24:48.55\00:24:52.15
that God did
extraordinary things for him,
00:24:52.19\00:24:56.42
and in His sight
to try to save him.
00:24:56.46\00:24:58.69
And praise God, at
the end, he is saved,
00:24:58.73\00:25:00.70
but God had to go
through a lot of measures
00:25:00.73\00:25:02.80
to breakdown a lot of pride
00:25:02.83\00:25:04.60
and a lot of ego to get through.
00:25:04.63\00:25:08.90
If we look at
Daniel 2, and let's see,
00:25:08.94\00:25:15.44
let's pick it up
at about verse 48.
00:25:15.48\00:25:18.75
"Then the king promoted
Daniel and gave him many gifts
00:25:18.78\00:25:22.38
and made him ruler over
the whole province of Babylon
00:25:22.42\00:25:26.02
and the chief administrator
00:25:26.05\00:25:28.06
over all the
wise men of Babylon."
00:25:28.09\00:25:33.29
And then Daniel petitioned
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego,
00:25:33.33\00:25:36.63
and so they were all promoted.
00:25:36.67\00:25:38.00
So the king is very
impressed by what he is seeing.
00:25:38.03\00:25:42.00
He is hyper-impressed
00:25:42.04\00:25:43.94
by this display of
prophetic power by God.
00:25:43.97\00:25:50.81
His heart is softened.
00:25:50.85\00:25:53.68
Then the Lord has us
take a look at His response
00:25:53.72\00:25:59.45
in Daniel 3
00:25:59.49\00:26:01.19
because this impression
obviously was not lasting,
00:26:01.22\00:26:04.66
and we see this several times.
00:26:04.69\00:26:06.76
So now ego takes over,
00:26:06.80\00:26:11.07
I don't want
just a head of gold,
00:26:11.10\00:26:14.84
I want an entire gold image
00:26:14.87\00:26:17.27
because I don't want
my kingdom to ever end.
00:26:17.31\00:26:20.94
You know,
that's a flight of ego.
00:26:20.98\00:26:23.55
And so now we're going
to build up this kingdom,
00:26:23.58\00:26:27.38
this image, and I'm
going to call everybody in
00:26:27.42\00:26:31.15
from all over the world
00:26:31.19\00:26:33.02
and have them bow down to me
00:26:33.05\00:26:35.42
as a sign of who I am
and what I'm all about.
00:26:35.46\00:26:42.06
One of the things
the lesson does here
00:26:42.10\00:26:44.10
is it reaches out
to Revelation 13:11.
00:26:44.13\00:26:50.51
And, of course, that's
the United States in prophecy,
00:26:50.54\00:26:52.64
and you have to
take my word on that
00:26:52.67\00:26:55.98
and just study it
for yourself, it is.
00:26:56.01\00:26:57.71
But we don't have time
to establish that it is.
00:26:57.75\00:27:03.18
But one of the things
it's beginning to show here
00:27:03.22\00:27:05.99
is that the drama
00:27:06.02\00:27:08.09
and the trauma of
God's people in ancient times
00:27:08.12\00:27:11.43
will be repeated as drama
and trauma in the latter day.
00:27:11.46\00:27:15.93
Spiritual Israel
is going to go through
00:27:15.96\00:27:17.60
the same drama and
trauma as the literal Israel.
00:27:17.63\00:27:22.00
And there are strong parallels
00:27:22.04\00:27:27.81
connecting what Daniel
and the three Hebrew worthies
00:27:27.84\00:27:31.25
suffered in Babylon
00:27:31.28\00:27:33.35
as to what God's
people are going to suffer
00:27:33.38\00:27:36.12
at the end of time.
00:27:36.15\00:27:37.92
Now let me make
a little left turn
00:27:37.95\00:27:39.39
and say this,
00:27:39.42\00:27:40.76
there is a pattern
that is clearly designed
00:27:40.79\00:27:43.66
in the Word of God.
00:27:43.69\00:27:45.89
When you have a ruler
00:27:45.93\00:27:48.03
who wags his finger
in the face of God...
00:27:48.06\00:27:50.43
Yeah.
00:27:50.47\00:27:51.80
Provocatively or
evocatively, and says,
00:27:51.83\00:27:56.44
"Okay, who is this God?
00:27:56.47\00:27:59.14
I don't know him."
00:27:59.17\00:28:01.44
Then God is forced
to introduce Himself
00:28:01.48\00:28:06.72
to that ruler.
00:28:06.75\00:28:08.78
And often times,
that introduction
00:28:08.82\00:28:11.09
can be traumatic
for him, you know.
00:28:11.12\00:28:14.16
We see the same in...
00:28:14.19\00:28:16.56
We see it in
three quick examples.
00:28:16.59\00:28:18.83
We see it in
Exodus, Pharaoh says,
00:28:18.86\00:28:22.26
"First of all, who is this God?
00:28:22.30\00:28:24.40
I do not know this God,
00:28:24.43\00:28:26.27
and I'm not going
to let your people go."
00:28:26.30\00:28:27.77
Well, now God's got to
introduce Himself to Pharaoh
00:28:27.80\00:28:31.47
in a very
traumatic and dramatic way.
00:28:31.51\00:28:35.64
Sennacherib sends
a letter to Hezekiah.
00:28:35.68\00:28:38.85
And it's written in the language
00:28:38.88\00:28:40.75
so that people
can understand it.
00:28:40.78\00:28:42.38
He says, "Okay. I am the king.
00:28:42.42\00:28:47.86
Look at the number of
countries that I've conquered.
00:28:47.89\00:28:50.89
Everybody has a God,
00:28:50.93\00:28:52.99
and when I came
to their country,
00:28:53.03\00:28:54.40
they prayed to their God too.
00:28:54.43\00:28:57.13
Has their God delivered them?
00:28:57.17\00:28:59.50
No.
00:28:59.53\00:29:01.34
And your God is not
going to deliver you.
00:29:01.37\00:29:04.11
So don't trust in Hezekiah,
00:29:04.14\00:29:05.81
don't let Hezekiah fool you
00:29:05.84\00:29:07.34
because everybody's got a God
00:29:07.38\00:29:09.14
and everybody is praying
00:29:09.18\00:29:10.51
and nobody has
withstood me yet."
00:29:10.55\00:29:13.55
Well, of course,
00:29:13.58\00:29:15.08
God had to introduce
Himself to Sennacherib,
00:29:15.12\00:29:18.35
185,000 people
perished in one night.
00:29:18.39\00:29:21.49
Sennacherib goes home,
00:29:21.52\00:29:23.06
his own son slay
him in his temple
00:29:23.09\00:29:27.10
worshipping his people.
00:29:27.13\00:29:29.53
So now we have Nebuchadnezzar.
00:29:29.56\00:29:33.97
And he's got this same mindset.
00:29:34.00\00:29:40.81
Everybody is going to bow down,
00:29:40.84\00:29:43.51
and if you don't bow down,
00:29:43.55\00:29:45.48
you're going to go
into the fiery furnace.
00:29:45.51\00:29:48.35
Now what is interesting,
00:29:48.38\00:29:49.72
he calls all
his people together.
00:29:49.75\00:29:51.19
If you look at Daniel 3,
00:29:51.22\00:29:53.05
and this is
exciting stuff, Shelley.
00:29:53.09\00:29:55.06
This is just the
interplay between God and man
00:29:55.09\00:29:58.46
and how God will
pull your ego down,
00:29:58.49\00:30:02.96
and He's
merciful and redemptive.
00:30:03.00\00:30:06.13
God will shout just as loud
as it takes for you to hear.
00:30:06.17\00:30:10.47
Thank you.
00:30:10.51\00:30:11.84
And if you're hard of hearing,
00:30:11.87\00:30:13.21
He's going to
shout a little louder,
00:30:13.24\00:30:14.58
you know, but He's
going to your attention.
00:30:14.61\00:30:16.98
So in Daniel 2, I want 3:8.
00:30:17.01\00:30:22.75
You know, you've
got this mass of people.
00:30:22.78\00:30:25.05
And this is what
they're thinking,
00:30:25.09\00:30:26.42
"Therefore, at that time,
certain Chaldeans came forward
00:30:26.45\00:30:29.12
and accused the Jews.
00:30:29.16\00:30:31.33
They spoke to the
King Nebuchadnezzar,
00:30:31.36\00:30:33.23
they said, "O
king, live forever!""
00:30:33.26\00:30:34.60
They're going to wax him.
00:30:34.63\00:30:35.96
""You, O king,
have made a decree..."
00:30:36.00\00:30:38.57
And to sort of summarize,
there are certain people
00:30:38.60\00:30:41.40
that you have made rule
over us, they have our jobs,
00:30:41.44\00:30:45.07
they are foreigners,
they are in our country,
00:30:45.11\00:30:47.81
and you made
them rulers over us.
00:30:47.84\00:30:51.05
And they're not
worshipping your image.
00:30:51.08\00:30:53.05
So evidently, Nebuchadnezzar
00:30:53.08\00:30:55.38
didn't see this
with his own eyes.
00:30:55.42\00:30:58.32
Yes.
00:30:58.35\00:30:59.69
People came to him, and
as we said in monologue,
00:30:59.72\00:31:02.56
drop the dime on the Jews.
00:31:02.59\00:31:06.09
They went and told on
them to Nebuchadnezzar.
00:31:06.13\00:31:08.83
Then, of course,
now he's in a rage.
00:31:08.86\00:31:11.07
And we know the
story of the fiery furnace.
00:31:11.10\00:31:15.04
The parallel is
that in these last days,
00:31:15.07\00:31:18.21
God's people are going to
have to stand up for the Lord.
00:31:18.24\00:31:21.98
Amen.
00:31:22.01\00:31:23.35
And you're going to
have to stand before kings
00:31:23.38\00:31:25.51
and your faith is
going to be tested
00:31:25.55\00:31:27.62
and your love for God
is going to be tested`
00:31:27.65\00:31:30.25
and your
faithfulness, your fidelity...
00:31:30.29\00:31:32.99
Loyalty.
00:31:33.02\00:31:34.36
You're loyalty, thank
you, is going to be tested.
00:31:34.39\00:31:36.42
Now here's the question
00:31:36.46\00:31:37.79
that the lesson
begs, and I agree.
00:31:37.83\00:31:41.06
What if they had
not been delivered?
00:31:41.10\00:31:44.83
What if there had been
no fiery furnace experience?
00:31:44.87\00:31:48.17
What if they had
perished in the fiery furnace?
00:31:48.20\00:31:51.67
Would God have
been any less God?
00:31:51.71\00:31:56.24
Had He not
chosen to deliver them?
00:31:56.28\00:32:00.12
He's still God. And
they were willing to die.
00:32:00.15\00:32:01.48
And they were willing to die.
00:32:01.52\00:32:02.85
They were saying, "Listen,
if He delivers us, fine.
00:32:02.88\00:32:05.22
If not, we're
still not bowing down
00:32:05.25\00:32:07.76
because we cannot."
00:32:07.79\00:32:09.12
Job said, "Though he...
00:32:09.16\00:32:11.59
"Slay me."
00:32:11.63\00:32:12.96
"Yet will I trust
Him." "Yet will I trust Him."
00:32:12.99\00:32:15.43
So our trust is not
based on the loaves and fishes,
00:32:15.46\00:32:19.33
the cookies and milk.
00:32:19.37\00:32:20.94
Our trust is based
on our relationship
00:32:20.97\00:32:23.00
with God that supersedes...
00:32:23.04\00:32:25.34
Yes.
00:32:25.37\00:32:26.71
I mean, God has been
good enough to all of...
00:32:26.74\00:32:28.61
We can look...
00:32:28.64\00:32:29.98
All of us can look in
our past and see where God
00:32:30.01\00:32:31.78
has put His hand in our life...
00:32:31.81\00:32:33.15
Yes. And taking care of us.
00:32:33.18\00:32:35.52
So when you're in
the fiery furnace,
00:32:35.55\00:32:38.35
you got to go
back to those times
00:32:38.39\00:32:41.06
when you traced
God and understood God
00:32:41.09\00:32:44.26
and know that the same God
00:32:44.29\00:32:46.59
who got you here
will get you home.
00:32:46.63\00:32:49.93
You know, when it looks
black, when it looks bleak,
00:32:49.96\00:32:52.27
and everybody's
going to go through that,
00:32:52.30\00:32:54.14
we touched on
this in our last study.
00:32:54.17\00:32:57.11
Nobody is going to skate
into heaven on roller skates.
00:32:57.14\00:33:01.14
You're going to
go in on your knees.
00:33:01.18\00:33:04.18
You're going to go in praying.
00:33:04.21\00:33:05.55
And sometimes it's
not going to be clear,
00:33:05.58\00:33:07.92
sometimes it's not
going to be in sharp relief,
00:33:07.95\00:33:10.19
sometimes you got
to just close your eyes
00:33:10.22\00:33:12.15
and just keep on walking
the way you've been walking
00:33:12.19\00:33:14.39
and listen for
the footsteps of Jesus
00:33:14.42\00:33:16.49
and put your hand
out and find Jesus,
00:33:16.52\00:33:18.69
because it's not
going to be clear.
00:33:18.73\00:33:20.06
Every question, it does not...
00:33:20.10\00:33:21.80
It is not God's will to
answer every question now.
00:33:21.83\00:33:26.37
One day, every
question will be answered,
00:33:26.40\00:33:28.70
every riddle will
be solved, but not now.
00:33:28.74\00:33:31.84
Now you've got to
trust when you cannot trace.
00:33:31.87\00:33:35.21
And you will find as
you trust Him and trace Him
00:33:35.24\00:33:38.75
that God is a faithful
God who will bring you out
00:33:38.78\00:33:45.19
for the purpose
of taking you in.
00:33:45.22\00:33:47.56
I say this in my last
seconds, Hebrews 13:5.
00:33:47.59\00:33:52.39
"We can boldly say," it says...
00:33:52.43\00:33:54.86
Amen. Thank you.
00:33:54.90\00:33:56.23
"God is our
helper," boldly say that,
00:33:56.26\00:34:01.14
"what can man do to me?"
00:34:01.17\00:34:02.50
Amen? Amen.
00:34:02.54\00:34:03.87
Nebuchadnezzar cannot hurt me,
00:34:03.91\00:34:05.24
the fiery
furnace cannot hurt me,
00:34:05.27\00:34:06.68
be it God's will.
00:34:06.71\00:34:08.08
If He delivers me, praise God.
00:34:08.11\00:34:10.71
If He does not, I know one day,
00:34:10.75\00:34:12.88
there will be
ultimate deliverance
00:34:12.91\00:34:14.62
when I see Jesus face-to-face.
00:34:14.65\00:34:16.02
Amen. Amen.
00:34:16.05\00:34:18.02
Oh, that's powerful, Pastor CA.
00:34:18.05\00:34:20.16
We're in church. I
just feel like I'm...
00:34:20.19\00:34:22.29
I'm sitting at
your feet in church.
00:34:22.32\00:34:24.26
Praise the Lord.
Thank you for that.
00:34:24.29\00:34:26.39
What a wonderful
God we serve. Amen.
00:34:26.43\00:34:28.03
I mean, how incredible.
00:34:28.06\00:34:29.46
My day is Wednesday, the
conversion of the Gentiles.
00:34:29.50\00:34:33.90
And what we're looking
at really is the conversion
00:34:33.94\00:34:36.40
of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:34:36.44\00:34:37.77
And you begin to allude to this,
00:34:37.81\00:34:39.14
Pastor CA, in your portion.
00:34:39.17\00:34:40.98
And we also want
to look at application
00:34:41.01\00:34:43.11
for us at the end times.
00:34:43.14\00:34:44.81
How God wants us to be converted
00:34:44.85\00:34:47.65
as we move into these end times.
00:34:47.68\00:34:50.39
So let's look at Nebuchadnezzar.
00:34:50.42\00:34:51.75
You know, Miss
Yvonne, every time,
00:34:51.79\00:34:53.96
we make that choice, any person
00:34:53.99\00:34:57.46
and make Jesus Christ
the Lord of your life,
00:34:57.49\00:34:59.79
and at that moment, we
stand before the Father
00:34:59.83\00:35:02.63
as if we have never sinned,
00:35:02.66\00:35:04.00
we are in that
moment of conversion,
00:35:04.03\00:35:05.93
there is always a history
that led up to the conversion.
00:35:05.97\00:35:09.07
Conversion may
happen in a moment,
00:35:09.10\00:35:11.17
but God has been working
on that individual's heart
00:35:11.21\00:35:14.61
for many years, maybe months,
00:35:14.64\00:35:16.75
maybe from their very beginning.
00:35:16.78\00:35:19.55
And the same is
true with Nebuchadnezzar.
00:35:19.58\00:35:21.28
I want to look at, as I
look at the Book of Daniel,
00:35:21.32\00:35:23.79
I see six steps
00:35:23.82\00:35:25.65
in Nebuchadnezzar's
conversion process.
00:35:25.69\00:35:27.62
So we'll take a look at that.
00:35:27.66\00:35:29.02
Step number one is
at the very beginning,
00:35:29.06\00:35:31.19
God brought God-fearing
men, slaves to His kingdom.
00:35:31.23\00:35:36.63
That would be
Daniel and Shadrach,
00:35:36.67\00:35:38.63
Meshach and Abednego.
00:35:38.67\00:35:40.60
In the kingdom of
Babylon, there were not people
00:35:40.64\00:35:43.71
who had
knowledge of the true God.
00:35:43.74\00:35:46.24
And God brought
these men, not, of course,
00:35:46.27\00:35:49.54
just for this specific purpose
of Nebuchadnezzar's conversion,
00:35:49.58\00:35:52.15
but you could say
that was a byproduct
00:35:52.18\00:35:54.42
that took place
as a result of that.
00:35:54.45\00:35:56.92
Number two, God enabled Daniel
00:35:56.95\00:35:59.49
and his friends to
stand for principle.
00:35:59.52\00:36:03.46
We saw that, Brother
Johnny talked about that.
00:36:03.49\00:36:05.63
When they stood for principle,
00:36:05.66\00:36:07.26
when they were first brought in,
00:36:07.30\00:36:09.33
and when they said,
"Okay, I'm not going to eat
00:36:09.36\00:36:12.23
off the king's food,
00:36:12.27\00:36:13.60
I'm going to
stand for principle."
00:36:13.64\00:36:15.64
Now at this time, I think
00:36:15.67\00:36:17.01
the king was
still ignorant of...
00:36:17.04\00:36:18.77
Nebuchadnezzar was
ignorant of Daniel's God,
00:36:18.81\00:36:22.18
but at the same
time, he recognized
00:36:22.21\00:36:24.95
there was
something special about them.
00:36:24.98\00:36:26.82
He recognized
the superior wisdom
00:36:26.85\00:36:29.98
that they possessed.
00:36:30.02\00:36:31.35
And I'm sure he wondered.
00:36:31.39\00:36:33.92
Step number three, God
sent the dream of the image
00:36:33.96\00:36:37.56
and the interpretation of it.
00:36:37.59\00:36:40.43
The king learns at this
point that God is all-wise.
00:36:40.46\00:36:43.97
God is able to
predict the future.
00:36:44.00\00:36:48.14
And let's look at his response.
00:36:48.17\00:36:49.60
I know we touched on
this, but in Daniel 2:46 and 47,
00:36:49.64\00:36:53.98
"Nebuchadnezzar fell
on his face prostrate
00:36:54.01\00:36:56.88
before Daniel."
00:36:56.91\00:36:58.31
So he worshipped him,
you know, in ancient times,
00:36:58.35\00:37:01.25
this would be the
fullest act of adoration
00:37:01.28\00:37:03.22
would be falling on
your face before them.
00:37:03.25\00:37:06.99
"And he commanded
that they should present
00:37:07.02\00:37:08.66
an offering and
incense to them."
00:37:08.69\00:37:10.43
So not only did he worship
him, but he acknowledged God
00:37:10.46\00:37:13.80
'cause he said in verse
47, "The king answered Daniel
00:37:13.83\00:37:16.33
and said, "Truly, your
God is the God of gods,
00:37:16.36\00:37:19.73
the Lord of kings and
a revealer of secrets,
00:37:19.77\00:37:22.84
since you could
reveal the secret."
00:37:22.87\00:37:25.61
So at this time,
you would think, "Wow!
00:37:25.64\00:37:27.81
Nebuchadnezzar is about
ready to make a commitment,"
00:37:27.84\00:37:31.05
but actually not.
00:37:31.08\00:37:32.41
As, Pastor CA talked
about, his ego started
00:37:32.45\00:37:36.62
to get in the way
again, and we see Daniel 3,
00:37:36.65\00:37:40.22
which Pastor CA so
eloquently touched on.
00:37:40.26\00:37:42.92
This is step number four
00:37:42.96\00:37:44.29
in Nebuchadnezzar's
conversion process.
00:37:44.33\00:37:46.73
"God delivered the
Hebrews from the fiery furnace."
00:37:46.76\00:37:49.90
And Nebuchadnezzar learned
that God is not only able
00:37:49.93\00:37:52.83
to predict the
future, God is not only wise,
00:37:52.87\00:37:55.94
God is all-powerful,
God can do anything.
00:37:55.97\00:38:01.41
We see Nebuchadnezzar's
response in Daniel 3:28,
00:38:01.44\00:38:06.61
he said, "Blessed be the
God of Shadrach, Meshach,
00:38:06.65\00:38:09.28
and Abednego, who sent His angel
00:38:09.32\00:38:11.29
and delivered His
servants who trusted in Him."
00:38:11.32\00:38:15.06
But then at the
same time, he said,
00:38:15.09\00:38:16.73
"If all of you people
don't worship this God,
00:38:16.76\00:38:20.96
I'm going to cut you in pieces
and make your house dunghill."
00:38:21.00\00:38:24.17
So we can see the
conversion process.
00:38:24.20\00:38:26.27
It's not really
taking place yet,
00:38:26.30\00:38:28.34
even though he acknowledged
God is all-powerful.
00:38:28.37\00:38:32.04
So God in His mercy,
00:38:32.07\00:38:33.74
now this is Nebuchadnezzar
ruled, what, 42 years or so,
00:38:33.78\00:38:37.31
over 40 years.
00:38:37.35\00:38:38.78
This is the second half
of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.
00:38:38.81\00:38:41.62
So we're getting
toward the end of his reign.
00:38:41.65\00:38:44.79
And still pride is a
big thing in his life,
00:38:44.82\00:38:48.12
and God in His mercy,
00:38:48.16\00:38:49.96
number five in the
conversion process,
00:38:49.99\00:38:52.33
God sent a dream as a
warning to Nebuchadnezzar.
00:38:52.36\00:38:56.13
Now we know this dream.
00:38:56.16\00:38:57.50
We're in Daniel 4,
00:38:57.53\00:38:58.87
we won't read
this entire chapter.
00:38:58.90\00:39:01.10
But he saw a tree, and
it was super tall and broad
00:39:01.14\00:39:06.17
and the leaves were green
and glossy and grey foliage.
00:39:06.21\00:39:10.41
It had fruit,
wonderful fruits in this tree,
00:39:10.45\00:39:13.68
and the birds made
their home, and the bees,
00:39:13.72\00:39:15.82
they had shade underneath.
00:39:15.85\00:39:18.12
And all of a sudden, a
holy one came down and said,
00:39:18.15\00:39:21.09
"Cut the tree
down, leave the stump
00:39:21.12\00:39:23.59
with an iron band around it
until seven times pass over."
00:39:23.63\00:39:28.96
Verse 17, it
says, "'The decision is
00:39:29.00\00:39:32.63
by the decree of the
watchers, and the sentence,
00:39:32.67\00:39:34.84
by the Word of the holy ones,
00:39:34.87\00:39:36.20
in order that
the living may know
00:39:36.24\00:39:38.31
that the Most High
rules in the kingdom of men
00:39:38.34\00:39:40.68
and gives it to
whomever he will."
00:39:40.71\00:39:43.88
Now at this point,
00:39:43.91\00:39:45.25
Nebuchadnezzar
still doesn't know
00:39:45.28\00:39:46.61
what the dream means,
and Daniel comes in provides
00:39:46.65\00:39:49.48
the
interpretation for the dream,
00:39:49.52\00:39:50.99
"You, O king, are the tree,
00:39:51.02\00:39:53.15
and God is about
ready to cut you down,
00:39:53.19\00:39:55.79
not to destroy
you, but redemptively,"
00:39:55.82\00:39:58.99
remember the iron
band is left there,
00:39:59.03\00:40:00.90
and after seven
times, he would be restored.
00:40:00.93\00:40:04.23
And so all the other times,
00:40:04.27\00:40:05.87
you see
Nebuchadnezzar's response.
00:40:05.90\00:40:07.47
But in this time, I like
it because there is an appeal.
00:40:07.50\00:40:10.24
I never saw an
appeal in the other times
00:40:10.27\00:40:13.38
when God was trying to get
Nebuchadnezzar's attention.
00:40:13.41\00:40:15.74
We see the appeal in
verse 27, "Therefore, O king,
00:40:15.78\00:40:19.55
let my advice be
acceptable to you,
00:40:19.58\00:40:21.78
break off your
sins by being righteous,
00:40:21.82\00:40:25.15
and your iniquities by
showing mercy to the poor.
00:40:25.19\00:40:28.19
Perhaps there
may be a lengthening
00:40:28.22\00:40:30.43
of your prosperity."
00:40:30.46\00:40:33.29
You know, at this
point, Daniel is pointing out
00:40:33.33\00:40:35.93
the root of Nebuchadnezzar's sin
00:40:35.96\00:40:37.80
which is pride and arrogance,
00:40:37.83\00:40:39.50
and also the fruit
of Nebuchadnezzar's sin,
00:40:39.53\00:40:42.70
which is self-promotion
and oppression of the poor.
00:40:42.74\00:40:46.88
But
Nebuchadnezzar does not respond,
00:40:46.91\00:40:49.14
like he did in Daniel 2
when he fell down on his face
00:40:49.18\00:40:51.61
before the king.
00:40:51.65\00:40:52.98
He does not respond like
he did in Daniel 3 and said,
00:40:53.01\00:40:55.22
"Truly, God is
all-powerful and God overall."
00:40:55.25\00:40:58.82
He doesn't change at all.
00:40:58.85\00:41:00.32
It says...
00:41:00.36\00:41:01.69
Verse 29, at the
end of 12 months,
00:41:01.72\00:41:03.26
he's walking about the
royal palace in Babylon.
00:41:03.29\00:41:06.29
The king spoke, saying,
"Is not this great Babylon
00:41:06.33\00:41:08.96
I have built
for a royal dwelling
00:41:09.00\00:41:11.10
by my mighty power
00:41:11.13\00:41:12.63
and for the
honor of my majesty?"
00:41:12.67\00:41:14.57
His response, he is
still just as prideful.
00:41:14.60\00:41:17.87
We still see the root of sin.
00:41:17.91\00:41:19.27
We still see the fruit
of sin evident in his life.
00:41:19.31\00:41:22.44
So God takes step number
six in the conversion process,
00:41:22.48\00:41:26.21
God brings that
dream to fulfillment.
00:41:26.25\00:41:30.09
I believe God uses the
gentlest means necessary,
00:41:30.12\00:41:34.49
the gentlest means
possible to get our attention.
00:41:34.52\00:41:39.16
And in Nebuchadnezzar's case,
00:41:39.19\00:41:41.20
it took some
pretty drastic measures.
00:41:41.23\00:41:43.90
I don't know if I
know of anybody else
00:41:43.93\00:41:45.70
who was driven
from their kingdom,
00:41:45.73\00:41:47.80
who ate grass like an
animal, who seemed to have
00:41:47.84\00:41:51.84
lost his reason,
and yet seven times,
00:41:51.87\00:41:56.08
seven years in
Aramaic passed over him.
00:41:56.11\00:42:00.02
and
Nebuchadnezzar recognized God
00:42:00.05\00:42:03.25
as who He was on the
throne, his reason was restored.
00:42:03.28\00:42:07.39
This is the
point Nebuchadnezzar's
00:42:07.42\00:42:09.22
conversion taking place.
00:42:09.26\00:42:11.29
And verse 37,
"I, Nebuchadnezzar,
00:42:11.33\00:42:13.50
praise and extol and
honor the King of heaven,
00:42:13.53\00:42:17.23
all of whose works are
truth and His ways justice.
00:42:17.27\00:42:20.54
And those who walk in
pride, He is able to put down."
00:42:20.57\00:42:25.47
The lowest point
of the king's life
00:42:25.51\00:42:27.18
was the point at when
he accepted Jesus Christ.
00:42:27.21\00:42:30.48
All that happened
to the king is not
00:42:30.51\00:42:32.31
for his ultimate destruction,
but for his deliverance,
00:42:32.35\00:42:36.12
for his salvation,
for his restoration
00:42:36.15\00:42:39.82
because the Lord
Jesus loved him and said,
00:42:39.85\00:42:43.39
"I do not want to
spend eternity without you,
00:42:43.43\00:42:46.46
o king Nebuchadnezzar."
00:42:46.49\00:42:48.53
You know,
Nebuchadnezzar's problem
00:42:48.56\00:42:49.90
was an "I"
problem, a pride problem,
00:42:49.93\00:42:52.93
sin originated in heaven,
we talked about this last week,
00:42:52.97\00:42:56.00
with Lucifer, with
self-seeking, and Jesus,
00:42:56.04\00:43:00.11
from the cradle to the
cross, lived to bless others.
00:43:00.14\00:43:03.45
His life is
self-sacrificing love.
00:43:03.48\00:43:06.82
So I want to leave you
with four points at the end
00:43:06.85\00:43:09.08
of my time here
for your conversion,
00:43:09.12\00:43:12.59
for our conversion.
00:43:12.62\00:43:13.96
Number one, we need
to recognize who God is.
00:43:13.99\00:43:16.52
Nebuchadnezzar
came to that point,
00:43:16.56\00:43:18.33
recognized who God
is, think of Isaiah,
00:43:18.36\00:43:21.06
when he had the vision
of God high and lifted up
00:43:21.10\00:43:24.20
with His glory
filling the temple.
00:43:24.23\00:43:26.10
He recognized who God is.
00:43:26.13\00:43:28.14
Number two, we need to
recognize our own sinfulness,
00:43:28.17\00:43:30.94
our own unworthiness.
00:43:30.97\00:43:33.58
Romans 3:23, "All have sinned
00:43:33.61\00:43:36.01
and fallen short
of the glory of God."
00:43:36.04\00:43:38.31
And if you feel
in that state today,
00:43:38.35\00:43:40.05
you feel like you have
sinned and you feel like
00:43:40.08\00:43:42.75
you are so far from God,
there is hope, Romans 2:4,
00:43:42.78\00:43:46.55
"The goodness of God
leads us to repentance."
00:43:46.59\00:43:50.03
And that leads us
to Step number three,
00:43:50.06\00:43:51.99
receive Christ's forgiveness,
accept his cleansing.
00:43:52.03\00:43:56.70
1 John 1:9, "If
we confess our sins,
00:43:56.73\00:43:59.37
He is faithful and
just, to forgive us our sins
00:43:59.40\00:44:02.30
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
00:44:02.34\00:44:05.14
One of my favorite scriptures
is John 6:37, Jesus says,
00:44:05.17\00:44:08.64
"Whoever comes to me,
I will never cast away."
00:44:08.68\00:44:13.21
Come to Jesus right now
as you are, He will forgive,
00:44:13.25\00:44:16.72
He will accept, He will cleanse.
00:44:16.75\00:44:19.05
And number four,
He will enable you
00:44:19.09\00:44:21.59
to walk in newness of life.
00:44:21.62\00:44:24.26
Colossians 2:6, "As you
have received Christ Jesus,
00:44:24.29\00:44:27.60
the Lord, so walk you in Him."
00:44:27.63\00:44:30.57
God had to do drastic measures
00:44:30.60\00:44:32.53
to get
Nebuchadnezzar's attention,
00:44:32.57\00:44:34.40
but he chose to
accept the Lord Jesus.
00:44:34.44\00:44:37.31
And just want to encourage you
00:44:37.34\00:44:38.67
to accept Him
for yourself as well.
00:44:38.71\00:44:40.38
Amen. Thank you so much, Jill.
00:44:40.41\00:44:43.11
That was so
powerful. Praise the Lord.
00:44:43.14\00:44:44.81
In fact, all of the
insights that the Lord has given
00:44:44.85\00:44:47.72
to each of you has just
been such a blessing to me.
00:44:47.75\00:44:50.72
And my lesson is Thursday.
00:44:50.75\00:44:53.15
And it's on the
faithfulness of Daniel.
00:44:53.19\00:44:56.09
And really you have to set
the whole lesson in context.
00:44:56.12\00:45:01.26
You know, when you talk about
the faithfulness of Daniel,
00:45:01.30\00:45:03.93
this lesson starts
with chapter 6 of Daniel,
00:45:03.97\00:45:07.70
but actually we need to
start even before chapter 1.
00:45:07.74\00:45:10.97
We need to look at Daniel
00:45:11.01\00:45:13.34
in the context
of his family life
00:45:13.38\00:45:16.08
and how those
traits of faithfulness
00:45:16.11\00:45:19.31
and the elements
that faithfulness
00:45:19.35\00:45:22.62
and devotion
that God put into him.
00:45:22.65\00:45:24.75
Actually didn't start
when he was in the palace,
00:45:24.79\00:45:27.76
it started in his home,
where his parents instilled
00:45:27.79\00:45:31.69
in him with the laws,
the principle of health
00:45:31.73\00:45:35.16
that Brother Johnny was
even bringing out earlier
00:45:35.20\00:45:38.00
that these things God
gave the children of Israel,
00:45:38.03\00:45:42.77
these principles to live by.
00:45:42.80\00:45:45.21
And the Bible says,
"Train up a child in the way
00:45:45.24\00:45:47.28
he should go and when he's old,
he will not depart from it."
00:45:47.31\00:45:49.78
And so it was with
Daniel and his companions.
00:45:49.81\00:45:54.58
God gave them these
principles in childhood,
00:45:54.62\00:45:58.59
and they were able to
live them out in the palace.
00:45:58.62\00:46:02.76
So let's fast forward
a little bit to chapter 1
00:46:02.79\00:46:06.76
where Daniel's in
the palace and Ashpenaz
00:46:06.80\00:46:11.27
who is the chief of the eunuchs,
00:46:11.30\00:46:13.57
of the King's eunuchs.
00:46:13.60\00:46:15.40
Looks at him and his companions,
00:46:15.44\00:46:18.67
and Daniel is beset
with all of these delicacies
00:46:18.71\00:46:25.18
and wine.
00:46:25.21\00:46:26.72
And he and his friends are like,
00:46:26.75\00:46:28.12
"We can't, we can't do this.
00:46:28.15\00:46:30.32
You know, God has said
we cannot eat like this."
00:46:30.35\00:46:33.62
But not only was that food
00:46:33.66\00:46:39.53
the king's meat
and also unclean,
00:46:39.56\00:46:43.47
it had also been
offered to idols.
00:46:43.50\00:46:45.87
And so they could not eat
food that was offered to idols.
00:46:45.90\00:46:50.37
That was part of the tradition
in the Babylonian realm.
00:46:50.41\00:46:55.14
So they said, "No, we're
not going to partake of this."
00:46:55.18\00:47:00.92
But Daniel used a
little discretion,
00:47:00.95\00:47:03.79
instead of him saying,
"No, we're not going to do it,"
00:47:03.82\00:47:07.29
he basically was
saying, "Just give us ten days,
00:47:07.32\00:47:10.83
10 days, and if it doesn't work,
00:47:10.86\00:47:13.60
then we'll
revisit it basically."
00:47:13.63\00:47:15.00
But he wasn't saying
that he would ever eat
00:47:15.03\00:47:17.47
of the king's meat.
00:47:17.50\00:47:18.83
So Daniel and his companions
distinguished themselves
00:47:18.87\00:47:24.57
as a cut above the rest.
00:47:24.61\00:47:26.21
In fact, they were 10 times,
they were considered 10 times
00:47:26.24\00:47:30.88
better than all the
others in that kingdom.
00:47:30.91\00:47:34.68
So let's consider Daniel's
life and his faithfulness
00:47:34.72\00:47:38.89
through the
elements of faithfulness,
00:47:38.92\00:47:42.32
determination, dependence,
devotion, and discipline.
00:47:42.36\00:47:48.36
Now there are some more,
like duty and discretion,
00:47:48.40\00:47:50.80
but, you know, let's just go
00:47:50.83\00:47:52.90
with these in
the interest of time.
00:47:52.93\00:47:55.64
Determination, chapter 1:8.
00:47:55.67\00:48:00.64
"Daniel purposed in his heart
00:48:00.68\00:48:04.38
that he wasn't
going to defile himself
00:48:04.41\00:48:06.95
with the portion
of the king's delicacy
00:48:06.98\00:48:10.02
nor with the
wine which he drank."
00:48:10.05\00:48:12.65
And one writer said
that the king didn't compel
00:48:12.69\00:48:15.72
Daniel or the
other, his companions,
00:48:15.76\00:48:19.66
to renounce their
faith, but was hoping that
00:48:19.69\00:48:22.33
by changing their names
to these Chaldean deities,
00:48:22.36\00:48:26.87
by bringing them
daily into close association
00:48:26.90\00:48:29.90
with idolatrous customs
00:48:29.94\00:48:31.81
and under the
influence of seductive rites
00:48:31.84\00:48:34.31
of heathen worship, he
could just win them over.
00:48:34.34\00:48:38.58
That's what Satan is
trying to do with us today.
00:48:38.61\00:48:42.12
He puts us in situations
where we are surrounded
00:48:42.15\00:48:47.39
by heathen types of influences.
00:48:47.42\00:48:52.76
And we are being called
upon to have determination,
00:48:52.79\00:48:56.87
just like Daniel
and his companions did,
00:48:56.90\00:48:59.37
to purpose in our
hearts that we are not going
00:48:59.40\00:49:02.54
to eat off the king's meal
or we're not going to succumb
00:49:02.57\00:49:06.34
to the customs and traditions
00:49:06.37\00:49:09.34
and rites of
the current society.
00:49:09.38\00:49:13.28
In 1 Corinthians 10:20,
Paul addresses the very issue
00:49:13.31\00:49:18.49
of food being offered to
idols, just like the food
00:49:18.52\00:49:22.76
that was being
offered to Daniel.
00:49:22.79\00:49:25.39
Paul said, "The things
which the Gentiles sacrificed,
00:49:25.43\00:49:29.66
they sacrificed to
demons and not to God.
00:49:29.70\00:49:32.63
And I do not want you to
have fellowship with demons.
00:49:32.67\00:49:35.64
You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord
00:49:35.67\00:49:38.04
and the cup of demons,
00:49:38.07\00:49:39.41
you cannot partake
of the Lord's table
00:49:39.44\00:49:41.84
and of the table of demons."
00:49:41.88\00:49:43.85
And in verse 28 of
the same chapter, it says,
00:49:43.88\00:49:46.75
"If anyone says to you
this was offered to idols,
00:49:46.78\00:49:49.92
do not eat it for the
sake of the one who told you
00:49:49.95\00:49:53.39
and for conscious sake."
00:49:53.42\00:49:54.86
So Daniel
determined in his heart
00:49:54.89\00:49:58.29
that he was going
to honor God above all,
00:49:58.33\00:50:01.66
and that's what
God is expecting of us.
00:50:01.70\00:50:04.17
The next thing is dependence.
00:50:04.20\00:50:07.14
Daniel was totally
dependent upon God.
00:50:07.17\00:50:11.47
Every day, he was
surrounded by colleagues
00:50:11.51\00:50:14.44
who practiced
magic and astrology.
00:50:14.48\00:50:17.25
These are things
that God had forbidden.
00:50:17.28\00:50:20.35
In Deuteronomy 18, we
are told that these things
00:50:20.38\00:50:24.49
are forbidden,
and yet that's what
00:50:24.52\00:50:26.39
was happening in that realm.
00:50:26.42\00:50:28.66
But what's
interesting to me is that Daniel
00:50:28.69\00:50:31.63
and his companions got promoted.
00:50:31.66\00:50:35.00
They were promoted,
they weren't practicing
00:50:35.03\00:50:37.03
those things, but they
were promoted to administration.
00:50:37.07\00:50:40.67
So they were
actually letting people know
00:50:40.70\00:50:43.97
that they weren't practicing,
00:50:44.01\00:50:45.44
but they were
over all those who were
00:50:45.47\00:50:48.54
The third element is devotion.
00:50:48.58\00:50:51.18
And in chapter 6,
00:50:51.21\00:50:52.55
we find Darius
reorganizing his kingdom.
00:50:52.58\00:50:55.38
He had 120 officials.
00:50:55.42\00:50:57.49
And he placed three
governors over them,
00:50:57.52\00:51:00.56
and Daniel was the chief.
00:51:00.59\00:51:03.29
The bottom line is there
was a professional jealousy
00:51:03.32\00:51:09.20
that took place.
00:51:09.23\00:51:10.67
These guys were
like, and I think Pastor CA
00:51:10.70\00:51:13.70
brought this up,
foreigners, foreigners, Daniel,
00:51:13.74\00:51:17.67
and his companions, foreigners
who were placed over them,
00:51:17.71\00:51:21.34
so they were
angry, and they decided
00:51:21.38\00:51:23.45
they were going
to go after Daniel.
00:51:23.48\00:51:25.68
So these local
officials got together,
00:51:25.71\00:51:27.48
and they tried to figure out
00:51:27.52\00:51:28.85
just how they could trap Daniel,
00:51:28.88\00:51:31.75
but he was perfect in the
way he administered things.
00:51:31.79\00:51:35.69
They couldn't find any fault.
00:51:35.72\00:51:37.09
So they figured we've got to
think of some way to get him.
00:51:37.13\00:51:41.13
The only way is through
his relationship with his God.
00:51:41.16\00:51:44.33
So that's what they
did, they went to the king,
00:51:44.37\00:51:46.67
they said to
the king, "You know,
00:51:46.70\00:51:48.74
that we need for you
to sign a decree that says
00:51:48.77\00:51:55.11
if anybody that
worships any other god
00:51:55.14\00:51:57.55
or goes to any other
man or god other than you,
00:51:57.58\00:52:00.78
should be tossed
into the lion's den."
00:52:00.82\00:52:02.52
Well, the king signed it.
00:52:02.55\00:52:04.95
And then, later with
Daniel, when he found out
00:52:04.99\00:52:09.89
what was done, he went
home and what did he do?
00:52:09.92\00:52:13.86
Did he go into the Christian
witness protection program?
00:52:13.90\00:52:16.80
No.
00:52:16.83\00:52:18.17
He kept his window up,
he prayed before his God,
00:52:18.20\00:52:21.60
He petitioned his God
just like he always did.
00:52:21.64\00:52:24.44
Three times a day, he
prayed before his God.
00:52:24.47\00:52:27.98
And so they went back,
the local officials went back,
00:52:28.01\00:52:31.65
and they told the
king what Daniel had done.
00:52:31.68\00:52:36.58
He had to be
thrown into the lion's den
00:52:36.62\00:52:38.75
because these
decrees could not be undone.
00:52:38.79\00:52:42.12
So Daniel was
thrown into the lion's den,
00:52:42.16\00:52:44.29
and you know the story.
00:52:44.33\00:52:45.99
God delivered him,
just like he will deliver us
00:52:46.03\00:52:51.07
from anything that
we're dealing with.
00:52:51.10\00:52:53.13
God is there. The
last D is discipline.
00:52:53.17\00:52:57.61
Daniel prayed three
times a day, every day.
00:52:57.64\00:53:01.28
Do we have that discipline?
00:53:01.31\00:53:02.64
You know, as I was studying
this, I was thinking to myself,
00:53:02.68\00:53:05.71
I felt really
convicted because I don't...
00:53:05.75\00:53:08.98
I feel like I'm
not praying enough,
00:53:09.02\00:53:11.82
like I need to be praying
more, and the more we look at
00:53:11.85\00:53:15.72
some of these characters
and, especially Jesus,
00:53:15.76\00:53:18.93
of course, the more we realize
00:53:18.96\00:53:20.70
that there's so
much that we need to do.
00:53:20.73\00:53:24.47
So how does this
relate to the last days?
00:53:24.50\00:53:27.70
Worship in the last
days is going to be a key,
00:53:27.74\00:53:31.04
a key element.
00:53:31.07\00:53:33.17
And Daniel
worshipped God through it all.
00:53:33.21\00:53:37.68
And we are to worship
God through every situation.
00:53:37.71\00:53:42.38
God is sovereign,
God has got our backs,
00:53:42.42\00:53:45.12
God is not going to let us down.
00:53:45.15\00:53:47.19
And if we show determination,
dependence, devotion,
00:53:47.22\00:53:51.49
and discipline,
God will be there
00:53:51.53\00:53:54.50
through it all
to bring us through.
00:53:54.53\00:53:56.83
These are the qualities
00:53:56.87\00:53:58.67
that we need to
cultivate right now.
00:53:58.70\00:54:01.04
And we don't even
have to do it on our own,
00:54:01.07\00:54:03.61
the Holy Spirit will
give us what we need to do.
00:54:03.64\00:54:07.11
And so if we just hold on,
00:54:07.14\00:54:09.88
know that we are
in the last days,
00:54:09.91\00:54:12.68
but God will never leave
us, He will never forsake us.
00:54:12.71\00:54:16.28
He will be there through it
all if we just press through
00:54:16.32\00:54:20.99
and continue to
be faithful to Him.
00:54:21.02\00:54:24.36
Amen. Amen.
00:54:24.39\00:54:26.59
Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
00:54:26.63\00:54:28.33
So we've been
studying lesson number two,
00:54:28.36\00:54:29.83
Daniel and the Time of the End.
00:54:29.86\00:54:31.40
And it has been a
very interesting study.
00:54:31.43\00:54:33.20
We hope that you
have been blessed.
00:54:33.23\00:54:34.57
Again, I would like to
tell you about the study guides,
00:54:34.60\00:54:36.24
you can get them
at ABSG.Adventist.org.
00:54:36.27\00:54:40.14
ABSG.Adventist.org.
Daniel and the End Time.
00:54:40.18\00:54:44.75
I would like to know if
any one of you would like
00:54:44.78\00:54:47.08
to share anything additional
as we close this part.
00:54:47.12\00:54:51.79
Well, I'll
start and that is that
00:54:51.82\00:54:54.52
God has a plan of salvation,
00:54:54.56\00:54:56.83
and that plan is
total dependence upon Him.
00:54:56.86\00:55:00.80
And if you will remember that,
00:55:00.83\00:55:03.26
that's what
humility is all about.
00:55:03.30\00:55:05.27
We talk about surrender,
it means that you're yielding
00:55:05.30\00:55:09.10
to God's leading,
that you are consenting
00:55:09.14\00:55:12.57
to His leading.
00:55:12.61\00:55:13.94
And if you will
remember that God, Jesus Christ,
00:55:13.98\00:55:17.55
is more than your
substitute, He is your surety,
00:55:17.58\00:55:21.22
He will work in you to will
and to do His good pleasure.
00:55:21.25\00:55:24.72
So humility is being
completely dependent upon God.
00:55:24.75\00:55:27.92
Amen, and, Pastor CA, anything?
00:55:27.96\00:55:29.29
We have a friend,
ambassador of Ben Tejano,
00:55:29.32\00:55:31.76
we all know him
from the Philippines.
00:55:31.79\00:55:33.36
He has been an ambassador
00:55:33.40\00:55:35.06
through
successive administrations.
00:55:35.10\00:55:36.56
Yes.
00:55:36.60\00:55:37.93
Because he's a
Christian, he's an Adventist,
00:55:37.97\00:55:39.30
and he carries
his Jesus with him.
00:55:39.33\00:55:41.20
Daniel was an
ambassador, was a leader through
00:55:41.24\00:55:44.51
four administrations,
Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar,
00:55:44.54\00:55:47.41
Cyrus, Darius.
00:55:47.44\00:55:49.71
And he succeeded in all of those
00:55:49.74\00:55:52.28
because of the
spirit that was within him.
00:55:52.31\00:55:54.95
I was looking at Proverbs 22:29,
00:55:54.98\00:55:57.25
"Seest thou a man
diligent in his ways?
00:55:57.29\00:55:58.92
He shall stand before kings".
00:55:58.95\00:56:00.86
So he was
diligent, he was humbled,
00:56:00.89\00:56:02.42
he was surrendered.
00:56:02.46\00:56:03.79
The question is this, can
God trust us with success?
00:56:03.83\00:56:07.80
You know, can God
trust us to elevate us,
00:56:07.83\00:56:10.37
and we take the
name of Jesus with us?
00:56:10.40\00:56:12.27
For many success
means walking away from God,
00:56:12.30\00:56:15.24
but God could elevate Daniel
00:56:15.27\00:56:17.07
because He knew Daniel
would stay on the Lord's side.
00:56:17.11\00:56:20.18
That's a
question for each of us.
00:56:20.21\00:56:21.58
Can God trust us
with success? Amen.
00:56:21.61\00:56:23.85
Amen. Amen.
00:56:23.88\00:56:25.21
You know as we
look at the lesson,
00:56:25.25\00:56:27.58
Daniel and the End Time.
00:56:27.62\00:56:29.62
And we have looked
at different things
00:56:29.65\00:56:31.45
that Daniel and
his friends faced.
00:56:31.49\00:56:33.79
This is an example to
us, and we are going to
00:56:33.82\00:56:36.39
face different challenges
in our individual lives.
00:56:36.42\00:56:39.49
And we are grateful to the
Lord because he's not going
00:56:39.53\00:56:41.73
to allow us to
go through anything
00:56:41.76\00:56:44.03
that we cannot bear.
00:56:44.07\00:56:45.67
And the wonderful thing
is He promises to be with us,
00:56:45.70\00:56:48.54
He was with
Daniel and his friends,
00:56:48.57\00:56:50.57
He was with the
friends in the Daniel
00:56:50.61\00:56:53.14
and the lion's den.
00:56:53.17\00:56:54.51
He was with his
friends in the fiery furnace.
00:56:54.54\00:56:56.98
And He promises to be with you.
00:56:57.01\00:56:59.15
And what we have
seen as an example here
00:56:59.18\00:57:01.98
in the Book of
Daniel as we study.
00:57:02.02\00:57:03.95
These things
are going to help us
00:57:03.99\00:57:06.29
face our lives challenges.
00:57:06.32\00:57:07.72
I encourage you to
let Jesus in and allow Him
00:57:07.76\00:57:10.39
to leading your
life, and you will find
00:57:10.43\00:57:12.49
that He gives you
peace and happiness
00:57:12.53\00:57:14.56
that begins in this
world and continues forever.
00:57:14.60\00:57:16.50
God bless you.
00:57:16.53\00:57:17.87