Wait on the Lord – 1 Peter 1:13 | Worship Service | | Adult Sunday School

♪ By the dark of down the way ♪ ♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪ ♪

Fill us with the light of day ♪ ♪

Swift voice around the earth and heaven reflect thy rays ♪ ♪

Stars and angels sing around thee ♪ ♪ Center of unbroken praise ♪ ♪

Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪ ♪ Flowery meadow, flashing sea ♪ ♪

Singing bird and flowing fountain ♪ ♪ Call us to rejoice in thee ♪ ♪

Mortals trust which the morning stars began ♪ ♪

Father love is reigning o 'er us ♪ ♪ Draws us through the sun of man ♪ ♪

Ever singing hearts beyond word ♪ ♪ Chanters in the midst of strife ♪ ♪

Joyful music leads us onward ♪ ♪ In the triumph song of life ♪ ♪

Mortals join the mighty chorus ♪ ♪ Which the morning stars began ♪ ♪

Father love is reigning o 'er us ♪ ♪ Draws us through the sun of man ♪ ♪

Ever singing hearts beyond word ♪ ♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪ ♪

Joyful music leads us onward ♪ ♪ In the triumph song of life ♪

Sounds like a good blend. That wasn't me.

I don't think it was on. We get the guitar, we're missing, at least in the monitors, it may be turned on out there.

I don't know that song. What is that?

♪ Praise the darkness with a praise the one who frees the prisoners ♪ ♪

Turning blindness into sight ♪ ♪ Praise the one who preached the gospel ♪ ♪

Healing every dread disease ♪ storms and leading thousands with the very breath of Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah, can you turn the vocals in Sandy's monitor only?

Can you turn them down a little bit, please? Praise the one who blessed the children with the strong and gentle word.

Praise the one who drove out demons with a piercing, two -edged sword.

Praise the one who brings cool water to the desert's burning sand.

From this well comes living water, quenching thirst in every land.

All right, I think we're good. Josiah Martin.

Josiah Martin. Hello. One, two, three, four.

I was instructed to wait. Good morning.

Now, if you brought your God Wrote a Book workbook, we might be able to fit it in this morning somehow.

Because he wrote this book too, the book of Daniel. So turn to page 73 of your

God Wrote a Book. No, I'm kidding. It only has about 25 pages.

Chapter 46. Yeah, Proverbs 37. Welcome to Kootenai Community Church Adult Sunday School.

We're going to plunge back into Daniel this week. And we'll have to do some review so we can all remember how to spell his name.

Well, I was thinking of Belteshazzar. Yeah. She says, bring it.

Well, good morning. Let's open in prayer. Father, we are grateful for your wonderful book and how you have opened the world of truth and righteousness to us through the eyes of your

Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Living Word. And so this morning as we look into your Word, we ask your

Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to illuminate us, to give us resolve to love you every day even more and to obey your instructions and to live out through our lives as the

Holy Spirit empowers us the way of Christ so that people might see you through our lives.

But more importantly, that they will be directed to your Word. We thank you for this book, this book of Daniel, the import that it has, and we ask you for wisdom and instruction, correction, we seek correction in righteousness, and we ask you for those things this morning in Jesus' name.

Amen. So when we last were together in the book of Daniel, we were on chapter 4, somewhere around verse,

I'll look it up here, 9. But I think it would bear a little bit of review this morning so we can bring ourselves back up to speed, especially for those who probably weren't with us when we were in Daniel last.

So as we finished chapter 3, the end of chapter 3 was the famous everyone remembers story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their unwillingness to bend the knee to Nebuchadnezzar and their subsequent protection in the fiery furnace and all of the things that went along with that.

And so at the end of that, when Nebuchadnezzar had seen these three men refuse to bow their knee, at first he was furious, of course, and he threw them into the furnace intending to kill them, and they should have died instantly.

But they didn't, and they were protected by the Lord. So then in verse 28 of Daniel chapter 3,

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who put their trust in him, violating the king's command.

He acknowledged that they violated his command and that God protected them and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own god.

And then he says this, he says, Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, tongue, or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the

God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to rubbish heap inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver this way.

Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to prosper in the province of Babylon. And interestingly enough, for the purposes of this book, this is the last we hear about those three men and it is about their deliverance and subsequent elevation in the province and the kingdom of Babylon.

So then we moved into Daniel chapter 4 and before we start, before I reintroduce it, if you will, let's go ahead and read chapter 4.

Daniel chapter 4, page 1144 in my Bible. Daniel chapter 4.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth, may your peace abound.

It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. How great are

His signs and how mighty are His wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream and it made me fearful, and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.

So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the Viners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

But finally, Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my

God and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I related the dream to him, saying,

O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream, which

I have seen, along with its interpretation. Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed.

I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew large and became strong, and its height reached to the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all.

The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it.

I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

He shouted out and spoke as follows. Chop down the tree and cut off its branches.

Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.

Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it.

Put it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let a beast's mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him.

This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers, and the decision is a command of the holy ones in order that the living may know that the

Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whom he wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.

This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation.

Inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.

I think we'll stop there. That gives us the context for the discussion we're going to have this morning in chapter 4.

So reminding ourselves, chapter 4 is one of the longest in the book of Daniel, and it tells the story of God humbling the most powerful ruler of the known earth, in the known earth at the time.

And there are definitely prophetic overtones in this chapter, not as obvious or out front as in other parts of Daniel, but there are definitely overtones here.

The idea of Daniel is God's sovereignty. The theme of the entire book is the sovereignty of God.

And here we see that he demonstrates to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful monarch on the planet at the time, that God is sovereign over all of human history.

Today, tomorrow, in the future, in the past, everything. He's sovereign over it all. And he will eventually subdue all powers to himself.

Critics claim that this was a myth promulgated during the second century B .C., but good scholarly investigation has revealed that this is clearly a true story written either by Nebuchadnezzar himself, or a scribe, one of his scribes, or by Daniel, under the direction of the king.

The Qumran evidence alone, again, supports this as being a very special and very real chapter in Nebuchadnezzar's life.

We've talked about chiasms before, how something is stated at the beginning, then there's information in the middle, then it's restated, and there can be a long chiasm, short chiasm, chiasms surrounded by a major one.

And that is how Daniel is. The book of Daniel is a series of them. So, chapters 4 and 5 are shown to be the center of the chiasm, which is the

Aramaic section of Daniel. Remember, it is a literary device in which either immediate form or in book form a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order.

One of the commentators notes it this way. He says, structurally, chapter 4 is parallel to chapter 5, and it sits at the center of the chiasm formed in the

Aramaic section of the book. Chapters 2 and 7, which is the section that we're discussing right now, those two chapters highlight the certain coming of God's kingdom following the rise of four successive

Gentile powers. Chapters 3 and 6 focus on the need for God's people to remain faithful despite opposition and persecution as they await

His kingdom. And then chapters 4 and 5 featuring kings God identifies as the starting, ending, and kings of the first Gentile empire.

They serve as reminders that even Gentile rulers will eventually acknowledge that ultimate power and control over nations rests with the

God of heaven. So the chapter 4 itself has a chiastic starting and ending with praise of Jehovah, and then it ends with that.

This is also the chapter where some see Nebuchadnezzar turning to God, and we saw some telltale verses where he says that your

God can reveal these mysteries, and in you is the spirit of the gods. It's some scholar's opinion that this is the chapter where you can begin to see either

Nebuchadnezzar's conversion or beginnings of his conversion. I personally don't see him converted here.

He's still got some pretty crummy theology. But didn't we all? No, I knew it all right from the very beginning.

Yep. Yeah, and you guys need to fire me now. This is Nebuchadnezzar's journey as the

Holy Spirit regenerates him and changes his mind about what he has known all of his life.

So we see Nebuchadnezzar's musings on his greatness and ending with his return to grace after falling in pride, which precedes the chapter which actually describes the fall of Babylon, and this is no coincidence, the way this entire book was structured.

The Septuagint translators date this incident about 18 years into Nebuchadnezzar's reign or about 587

BC. The event we're talking about is his fall from grace where he begins to act like an animal for a period of seven years.

But it is more likely that this occurred later in his reign because of the text references to the great building projects that had occurred like in verse 30.

Many presume including the great hanging gardens of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar reigned 43 years from 605

BC to 562, others think this was later in his reign, possibly about 570, and Daniel would have been about 50 years old at this time.

So the chapter has been called by conservative scholars a literary gem that not only gives a tremendously interesting story about the life of the great king, but it also provides insight into the mind of God regarding his sovereignty and thus his control of human history.

And it's good for us to always be reminded about that, that there is never a nanosecond of time in which

God is not completely in control of everything that is happening. And I have heard it said that miracles are fantastic, wonderful things, but the providence of God whereby he organizes what is happening with the quintillions of things that are happening every second is far more remarkable to me.

That nothing escapes his purview, nothing escapes his sovereignty, nothing escapes his ability, his omniscience, his omnipotence.

It's all the plan worked out according to his design. Every second, every particle of time, that is far more remarkable.

And in the book of Daniel, everything that happened was presaged by the mind of God or was understood long ahead of time by the mind of God.

So, interestingly enough, that Septuagint translates this chapter, starts,

I guess, not translates, but starts this chapter differently. The first three verses of chapter 4,

Nebuchadnezzar the king, down to how great are his signs, the beginning praise of the beginning of the chiasm in four, those are actually the end of chapter 3 in the

Septuagint. The first three verses are the end of chapter 3 and chapter 4 starts with verse 4 where it says,

I, Nebuchadnezzar. So, it starts out there and it's interestingly enough, we might here have a proclamation in the pages of Scripture that was written by a

Gentile king. Could God do that? Could he actually use a Gentile to write Scripture?

No, that's outside of his power, isn't it? Again, we need to be reminded that there is absolutely nothing outside the power of God.

He could have used Nebuchadnezzar and might very well have done that. Like I said earlier, there are a number of different opinions.

For me, whichever opinion is true is unnecessary to inform my understanding that this is true

Scripture. This is the Word of God. So, Nebuchadnezzar or his scribe or Daniel started out,

Nebuchadnezzar to the king of all people's nations and men of every language that live in all the earth, may your peace abound. This is a common greeting of kings and that's how the chapter starts out.

Nebuchadnezzar alludes to himself and we're going to notice that a lot. Often, people who are very narcissistic, very self -oriented, very me, me, me will speak that way.

And God records it the way they say it. One of the wonderful things about Scripture is

God never hides the warts of his people. I'm not saying that Nebuchadnezzar is one of his children yet. Well, in one sense, whoever comes to Christ has always been one of his children.

But nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar focuses on I, on me here. I, Nebuchadnezzar, to the peoples and nations of every language.

So then he starts out that way and then he says this, and this is the beginning of the chiasm where he praises God. It has occurred to me, verse 2, it has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the

Most High God has done for me. Now, wouldn't you say that those signs, the good things that he did were actually for all the people that were in that kingdom at the time, not just for Nebuchadnezzar?

But again, this is a me thing for a king. So, slowly but surely, it appears in this section of Daniel that slowly but surely, it is becoming more and more evident to Nebuchadnezzar that Marduk ain't such hot stuff.

This God of creation that Daniel talks about, that Belteshazzar talks about, he might really be the thing, be the real thing.

And I believe it is a slow change as he's working his way through these things in his mind.

So then he says in verse 3, how great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation.

Those are two statements coming from the lips of a pagan king. God is in control all the time.

Verse 4, I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house, I, Nebuchadnezzar, again, and flourishing in my palace.

I was minding my own business is basically what he's saying. And then verse 5, I saw a dream and it made me fearful.

And these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. As we go through this, we'll see why he was made fearful, what bothered him, what frightened him.

Some of it was because I believe he was, as he had the dream, he thought, I think

I know what this means and I don't like it. So, we'll find out. Verse 6,

I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon that they might make known to me the interpretation.

So here he does what, the interpretation of the dream. So here he does what kings through all of the ancient days had done.

They had their dream interpreters, which, as we talked about earlier in this book, they actually had books, encyclopedias, if you will, how to interpret a dream.

So if the dream is about this, here's what you say and you'll make money. And if the dream is about this, here's what you say and he won't kill you.

And if the dream is about this, here's what, you know, I'm kind of exaggerating, but not really. I mean, you and I both know that absent

God, nobody can really interpret the dreams. So here they had these books and they came before him and it says, then the magicians, in verse 7, the conjurers, the

Chaldeans and the Diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

And we'll talk about that more later on. Why? When you listen to Nebuchadnezzar's dream,

I'm no dream interpreter, not interested. But you kind of see the broad ideas of what's going on in this dream.

And I just wonder if these magicians, Chaldeans and sorcerers were afraid to say anything at all because it looked like it wasn't going to end well with Nebuchadnezzar in this dream.

And maybe if they told him that, they might lose their heads. So then the magicians couldn't make the dream known.

So then he says in verse 8, but finally, Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my

God. Now here's one of the verses, one of the sections of Daniel that indicates at least to me that he hasn't turned the corner yet in his theology.

He still worships Marduk. He's still a polytheist, in my idea, as far as I can see.

And he says, and in whom, Daniel, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and I related the dream to him, saying.

So then it's unknown why Daniel wasn't among the group when the dream was first related.

He was in charge under Nebuchadnezzar of the kingdom of Babylon, if you will.

And so more likely than not, as he got older and older and demonstrated more and more of the wisdom of God to Nebuchadnezzar, he would have been sent throughout the kingdom to do many things that the king would entrust him to do.

So more than likely, Daniel was just off on a, he was deputized to do something, and he just wasn't with the others right then.

So Nebuchadnezzar still, like I say, he still adheres to his false god, and the fact that he acknowledges that Belteshazzar is the name that was fashioned using the name of his god, in my mind, as I said, still indicates he was a polytheist.

So Daniel was attending to the business of the nation, and there's debate as to whether or not the second noun, gods, in this verse, is singular or plural.

There is a great deal of evidence that indicates it is singular, and based upon this, many commentators have decided that this is a tribute to the fact that Nebuchadnezzar here was or was becoming a believer in Jehovah.

In any event, he recognizes and realizes that Daniel is different from all of his other wise men, if you will.

So it is possible, as some commentators have surmised, that since Nebuchadnezzar recognized this dream as having bad consequences for he and his kingdom, he went to the other soothsayers first.

Don't we want people to tell us good things? When we're struggling with something, we should go to people that we know will tell us the hard, unvarnished truth.

But often we go to people we think might put their stamp of approval on what we're doing, so we won't feel so bad about doing the wrong thing.

And I wonder if some of that was what was going on here. Nebuchadnezzar was afraid to go to Daniel because every time he's gone to Daniel, he's gotten the unvarnished truth, and sometimes it was just uncomfortable.

So, imagine the relief of the magicians and conjurers when they realized he wasn't going to kill them, he was going to go talk to Daniel.

So, if this dream had bad consequences,

Nebuchadnezzar was now going to find out. O Belteshazzar, he says in verse 9, chief of the magicians, now we know

Daniel wasn't a magician. Again, this is the polytheism and the false theology coming through the lips of Nebuchadnezzar to the pages of scripture so we can understand what's going on here.

He says, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which

I have seen along with its interpretation. Some have concluded, by the way, that the word magicians here should be translated scholars.

As I looked into it and tried to trace the etymology back in the ancient Chaldea, it does look like this word was often used in their text to describe scholars, academics, people who understood things, geologists, geographers, mathematicians, scholars.

So, some believe it should have been translated scholars to give the actual intent of Nebuchadnezzar's statement.

Daniel's not a magician in the Babylonian sense, but he was rather a worker of miraculous actions that would have seemed magic to polytheists, to pagans.

He understood things no one else understood, and he was able to give their clear interpretation when needed that no one else could manage.

Daniel was thoroughly familiar with Babylonian history, their astrology, and their religion, and therefore

Nebuchadnezzar knew that even though the other diviners could not answer his question about the dream that he had had, he had confidence that Daniel could.

That's where we left off January 3rd. Now, moving down through the next section here, verse 10.

Daniel chapter 4, verse 10. This is where Nebuchadnezzar begins to relate the dream.

He says, Now, these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed. I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

So, trees were often used in symbolic ways. In extra -biblical literature,

Astyges the Mede describes a vine that covered all of Asia. This was interpreted by Herodotus to refer to Cyrus the

Great. Elsewhere, Xerxes was crowned with an olive tree branch that covered the whole world. There is a parenthetical description in Ezekiel chapter 31, where the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria are likened to great trees that expand over the whole world.

The beginning of this dream indicates, and Daniel will see this, and I think

Nebuchadnezzar understood it too, that he is the ruler of mankind. Now, the ruler of the

Babylonian Empire, which was the largest kingdom on the earth at the time. So, these were the visions in my mind, and he describes a great tree.

Verse 11. The tree grew large and became strong, and its height reached to the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

Under Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian Empire had become the most powerful kingdom in the known world at the time. So, these are essentially

Chaldean poetic allusions, and Nebuchadnezzar uses the language of the day to describe the happenings in his dream.

Nebuchadnezzar most likely realized the tree is himself, and it would be some of the cause of the fear that he had first spoken of back in verse 5.

The tree grew large, and he sees what comes next, so this would have been some of the basis for his alarm, his fear.

I haven't been asking any questions or comments about what we've talked about so far. Verse 12.

Its foliage was beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all.

The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it.

Continuing in his poetic description, Nebuchadnezzar describes this tree. It was productive, it was protective, and it seemed to be something of a servant to all who came in contact with it.

Wouldn't you like government to be like that? Quit being realistic.

I'm not coming to you for counsel. I'm having a vision. Yeah, God spoke to me last night.

So, so, this is to go, Nebuchadnezzar at this point does not acknowledge that it was a direct work of Jehovah in his life.

These are more of the things that he would take credit for, which would eventually contribute to his downfall.

He was always eye -me -my -ing it, and God had to bring him to the end of that, and that happens in this chapter.

So, verse 13. I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

So now, there's been considerable debate. Remember we talked about, let me back up for a bit for those who weren't here, or for the online stuff.

There's been considerable debate about Daniel. Daniel has been really picked apart by liberal scholars because, and the main reason was his prophecies were too accurate.

Nobody could predict things like this, have them all come true. This has to be a history that was written after the fact.

And that's their attack on the book of Daniel. No science, so -called.

No proper theology, just it couldn't have been written before the things that happened because it's too accurate.

Yeah, as though God can't be accurate. So in this, here's another one of the concerns that some of these scholars have.

Debate over the term watcher. The Babylonian recognized what they called council deities. And these very well may be what

Nebuchadnezzar had in mind. Remember, when God allowed this to be pinned into scripture, he gave

Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. And the facts of the dream are recorded faithfully in scripture.

Even with their improper theologic overtones. Remember, we have lots of improper theology in the

Bible. Remember, remember the advice the devil gave

Jesus? That's bad theology. And it was recorded in scripture. Now Jesus corrected him.

I wasn't saying that the Bible has bad theology, I was saying that God allows the wrong things that people think and say to be recorded in his word.

And then the correction thereof. So we'll see the correction. So again, whether or not, this may very well be what

Nebuchadnezzar had in mind, these council deities. Whether or not he pinned this or Daniel pinned it, it is important to remember that at this point, at least in my mind, this is

Cornel's view, he's still a pagan. As such, he would have used terms from his background.

And this is most certainly referring, but this in truth is most certainly referring to at least an angel from God.

Any comments or questions about that? A watcher? Verse 14.

Now this watcher doesn't just say something. This is, I didn't know what to think about this. I never saw anything that anybody else brought to the fore, but I think sometimes we need people to get in our faces and shout at us to get our attention.

Pay attention you idiot. I've had people say that to me. They were being too nice.

He shouted out and spoke as follows. Chop down the tree and cut off its branches.

Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.

Now this would have been startling if Nebuchadnezzar had made the connection that the tree described was him and the watcher says chop it down.

Break off its branches. Scatter its fruit. The beasts that were formerly finding protection and food under it, scatter them.

The birds that were finding protection and solace and care in the branches, scatter them.

This would not have been something a king would have wanted to hear. So this command from the watcher would have brought more fear to Nebuchadnezzar if he was thinking the tree represented him.

The tree is to be nearly completely destroyed. All of its usefulness gone.

Now I think I don't know. I guess I don't know about all rulers but most of them want to be,

I think in their own mind they want to be good beneficial protectors of the people that they are in responsibility over, even back then.

And so this would have been a blow to Nebuchadnezzar. All of his usefulness, all of his greatness gone.

Verse 15. Yet, and this is enigmatic, leave the stump with its roots in the ground but with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the new grass of the field, and let him, notice the change in pronouns, from it to him, let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

So the purpose for the bands of iron and bronze is unclear. Practically, they were probably put in place to keep the stump from splitting.

In other words, to protect the remains of the tree from complete destruction. One commentator thinks that they were symbolic of the chains that would soon be put on Nebuchadnezzar in the seven years of insanity that are to come.

The stump is to be left where it is, not to be taken out of Babylon, it's not to be removed to some other place, in the grass, new grass of the field, and then it is to be drenched with the dew of heaven.

But here, as I mentioned, the pronoun changes to him. Showing that this section is indeed talking about a man,

Nebuchadnezzar. He will live out in the open and he will eat the food that the animals, that some of the animals eat.

And then verse 16, continuing on with the new pronoun. Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let a beast's mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him.

So this is the prophecy of insanity. His mind would change from the mind of a man to the mind of a beast.

He would only be concerned with his own survival, not the survival or protection of his kingdom. No longer would he have the mind of the king of the largest kingdom on earth.

There is pretty much no doubt that the period of time referred to is seven years. Later in this chapter, he is described as having hair grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird's claws.

So I thought, I'll look this up. That's kind of interesting. Hair grows at approximately a rate of six inches per ear.

Some people's hair grows faster, some people's hair grows slower. Some people's hair, Peter, some people's hair doesn't grow at all.

Some people's heads grow out through the hair, I think is what happens. That's because they're getting brainier.

So, hair grows at a rate of approximately six inches per ear. Some people's hair grows faster and some slower. Assuming an average, this would mean that at the end of seven years, his hair would have been approximately four feet long.

What a hippie. And, interestingly enough, fingernails grow at a rate of half an inch to four inches per year, depending on age and diet.

The thumbnail grows the fastest. Toenails grow slower. All these important facts that you needed to know.

So, you got to trim your fingernails more often than your toenails. I didn't really think about that, but yeah, I really do.

That's really gross, Razor. Shut up. Even assuming the half inch rate, at the end of seven years,

Nebuchadnezzar's fingernails could have been up to three and a half inches long. Now, I don't know about yours, but if mine get long, they start to break off.

For those who are interested, as I said, toenails grow slower. The common consensus is, then, by scholars, that the periods means years.

Now, some have suggested it could have meant seven months for the hair, but not really. I mean, there's so many intricate and specious debates about Daniel, because so many are trying to pull the book down.

Because it is the Word of God. And if we can cast doubt on this part of the Word of God, then maybe people will stop believing in other parts of the

Word of God. That's what it is. It's pure and simple. It's a satanic attack on the Word of God. It says what it says.

His hair was four feet long or so, and his fingernails were really gross, really long. And we'll talk about that when we get back to it in the later section of the chapter.

So, this sentence, Nebuchadnezzar says, the Watcher said, the

Watcher is saying this. This sentence is by the decree of the angelic Watchers, and the decision is a command of the

Holy Ones, in order that the living may know, now here's why, here's what Nebuchadnezzar needs to pay attention to, that the

Most High is the ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom

He wishes, and sets it over and sets over it the lowliest of men.

Very interesting choice of words. So here then, is the intended and described purpose of all of the things that will happen to Nebuchadnezzar.

Jehovah will make certain that this king knows that God sets up kingdoms, God pulls down kingdoms,

God confers power, and God removes power. No matter how powerful you are, no matter what your army looks like, no matter who your ancestors were.

This in fact is the theme of the book of Daniel, God's sovereignty. Nebuchadnezzar had to be reminded of this in the most forceful way possible, that his kingdom was by decree of God, by the will of God, not because of his own abilities.

How much we all need to remember that. That the things that happen in our lives are by the decree of God.

The good things, not by our own abilities, often by the investment that others made into us, so that we were able to develop some sort of talent, and do some things by God's grace.

His father, interestingly enough, the word lowliest may very well have been a reminder to Nebuchadnezzar of his ancestral beginnings.

Nabopolassar, his father, referred to himself as the humblest person. He said, here's some of the quotes from Nabopolassar's writings.

He said, I in my littleness, the son of a nobody, and of me the insignificant, who among men was not visible.

And then he also said, I the feeble. These are things that his father said about himself. And Nebuchadnezzar would have known this because it was recorded in history.

The implication is that Nabopolassar was of common birth and was probably a nobody until he became king.

This lesson, which was understood by his father, by Nebuchadnezzar's father, is the lesson

Jehovah is going to be teaching this proud king. It is I who puts you in the position that you're in for a purpose, and it is

I who can pull you down at any given time. And Nebuchadnezzar is going to find out just how true that is.

So, verse 18 is where the vision, the dream I guess you would call it, the dream ends. It is the dream.

He says, this is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, I have seen.

Now you, Beltesh Zahar, you tell me its interpretation, and as much as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.

So Nebuchadnezzar finishes detailing his dream to Daniel, and he now requires interpretation.

He doesn't ask Daniel, he tells him to give him the interpretation. So, I don't know if you agree with me or not, but at first glance, as you've read this dream, you can kind of see the broad overtones of it.

That the tree represents Nebuchadnezzar, and the blessings that have come from God, and that he's able to protect and provide for his kingdom, etc, etc.

And then he, being a proud king, is pulled down and sent into exile to learn some lessons.

So, if we can see that, of course we have the benefit of the interpretation from Daniel later on, but I think even if you read the first part, and you had read through Daniel up to this point, seeing this proud king, there'd be an indication of what was going on.

So, this is my view, just my view, I'm not, don't build any doctrines on this, but you know, it's evident that even to those of us who are non -dream interpreters, and we need to stay that way, that there's some interesting information here that we can kind of see what's going on.

This is probably why the wise men wouldn't even venture a guess. And it's, though it's something of a mystery, at least in my view, maybe they saw enough of it to realize that this dream did not have a positive outcome for Nebuchadnezzar.

And they feared his wrath, and so they kept their mouths shut. Remember what happened to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they just said, we will not bow.

He threw them in a furnace. He killed several men getting the furnace hot enough to do the death to them that he wanted to have done.

And this was, he was a volatile, capricious, and random king in many respects.

And so I'm thinking his wise men just went, we ain't going there. I'm not going, no, not me. So they kept their mouths shut.

And indeed, we're not going to get there today because there's too much there, but Daniel's initial response, which we will soon see, may very well have been theirs, the wise men.

Nebuchadnezzar understood that Daniel had in his mind a close connection with Jehovah, but he still got that connection wrong.

It was not a spirit of the holy gods, it was the Holy Spirit. And Nebuchadnezzar still hasn't figured that out.

Now, the next time we're together, we will be looking at chapter 4, verses 19 and on, and I want to just look really quickly at chapter 4, verse 19.

So then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him.

Why do you think his thoughts alarmed him? He wants me to tell him what this means.

He's going to turn into a donkey with big fingernails, and he's not going to know who he is, and he's going to wander around in the wilderness, and I've got to tell him.

And he kills people that say things bad to him. Daniel's no dummy. Not at all.

And so, Belteshazzar, the king responded and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dreamer's interpretation alarm you.

And Daniel's probably going, yeah, right. I wonder if that's what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thought.

Belteshazzar answered and said, My Lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries.

And so that's how Daniel is going to initiate his interpretation of this dream. And unfortunately, I've unpacked enough of it for us that those of you who haven't read the rest of Daniel chapter 4, you kind of know what's coming.

Just pretend I didn't say all that, okay? But go ahead and read it before we get together the next time. And we're going to close there because this next section is just remarkable.

As if all of the Word of God isn't remarkable. And it's interesting how

Daniel tactfully and carefully and yet truthfully and responsibly handles the interpretation of this dream because he knows that it is

Jehovah that gave this dream to Nebuchadnezzar. And he knows the purpose of this dream.

So, as we close, are there any comments or questions, remarks? So, I don't know, you know, does

Sunday school have an application? We should make sure that we recognize that the sovereignty of God extends to everything in our lives.

It's a simple truth and one I believe this body knows well. But it always bears reminding that there is nothing outside the purview of God in our lives.

Nothing. Are you going through a difficult time? He will use it to teach you. He will use it to bless you.

I don't know how. And it's not cliche. But I do know that He calls us together as a body to bear one another's burdens as well.

And so that, too, is a part of this. So next time we're going to see Daniel explain to the king what an idiot he is.

That's basically what he's going to be saying. If you weren't such a proud man, this wouldn't have happened to you.

And we all need counselors like that. People who are willing to look us in the eye and say, here's what's going on.

Let's pray. Father, we are grateful to you that your word is true in every respect and that you gave us everything we needed to know in it to be godly in Christ Jesus.

Thank you that you provided for us throughout the pages of Scripture, doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction.

For it is sorely needed in our lives and in the world today. Might we be your ambassadors to the world and never, never fear to say just exactly what the word of God says in any given situation.

Thank you for it, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. His heart beats.

His living lungs expand. The heavy air surrounding death turns to breath again.

He breathes out. His word and flesh once more. The Lamb of God is slain for us as a lion ready to rule.

And his heart beats. So crown him the

Lord of... Crown him the Lord.

He rises in immortality.

The firstborn from the dead. He rises and his work's already done.

So he's resting as he rises to reclaim the righteous one. So crown him the

Lord of...

And over him.

So my heart beats with the rhythm of the saints as I look for the seeds the king has sown to burst up from their graves.

I know, I know he took one breath but death to death is your sting.

Oh grave, how brave is your defeat. Is your sting.

Oh grave, how brave is your defeat. And so the winner dies with a blast of icy wind.

Like a mournful cry it's giving up the ghost again. Another sheet of snow melts away to golden green.

Look at Peter go, he's racing to the tomb to see. Where has my

Jesus gone? He is not dead.

He is risen. Risen indeed.

Now the flowers bloom like a song of freedom.

Behold the earth is new if only for the season. And so the seed that died for you becomes the seedling.

Just put your hand into the womb that bought your healing. And let you know he is not dead.

He is risen. Risen indeed. This is the earth in sorrow.

Mary the sun will rise again. Mary the sun will rise again.

Daughter listen, listen to me. Daughter listen, he speaks your name.

And father Abraham could not have dreamed of this, could never understand the end of all those promises.

How all the pieces fit, every star and grain of sand is safely hid in Jesus' hand.

Let every tongue confess He is not dead.

He is risen. Risen. He is not dead.

He is risen. Risen indeed.

Mary the sun will rise again.

Mary the sun will rise again. Daughter listen, listen to me.

Daughter listen, he speaks your name. Lord remember when you come into your kingdom.

Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Who can ascend the hill of the Lord, the one who utters no untrue word? Whose hands are clean, whose heart is pure?

Who can ascend that hill? There is none righteous, no not one. We are prodigal daughters and wayward sons.

We don't know the half of the hurt we've done, the countless we have killed. Our priests are cheats, our prophets are liars.

We know what the law requires, but we pile our sins up higher and higher. Who can ascend that hill?

And I am a sheep who's gone astray. I have turned aside in my own way. Have mercy on me, son of David.

Into your kingdom. Into your kingdom.

Now hear the voice and the word made man. The spotless sacrificial lamb. A body you gave me, here

I am. I have come to do your will. And no one takes my life, you see.

I lay it down now willingly and I will draw all men to me when

I ascend that hill. On Sunday you came as a king. On Monday washed the temple clean.

On Tuesday you told them what will be. On Wednesday you waited patiently. On Thursday you said it is time.

I'll drink this cup cause it is mine. On Friday, Lord, you poured the wine.

Like a thief on the cross as he hung there dying. For crimes there were no use denying.

While the righteous judge hung right beside him. I recognize you.

How could I not recognize my Lord? Into your kingdom.

Lord, into your kingdom.

Oh. Just days ago the sky was stone.

The trees were standing stripped to the bone. You could hear creation boom.

But I write these words on an April day. And the earth is drinking the early rain.

The hills remember green again. And we've heard this story all our lives.

Still we feel the pain of the crucified. And the end still comes as a surprise. But before the breath there in the tomb.

Before our joy sprang from the womb. You saw a day that's coming soon.

When the sun will stand on the mount again. With an army of angels it is command.

And the earth will split like a hole of a seed. Wherever Jesus plants his feet. And up from the earth the dead will rise.

Like spring trees clothed in petals of white. Singing the song of the radiant bride.

Always be. Always be. Always be with the

Lord. We will always be. Always be.

Always be with the Lord. We will always be.

Into your kingdom. Lord, when you come.

Into your kingdom. It sounds crazy.

But I saw when the sun came up on the brightest day.

From the darkest night of all. I saw the man die.

In the tomb. Oh, cause

I saw it with my own two eyes. When he stepped into the room.

I've seen too much. Too much to deny.

I've seen too much. Too much to say goodbye.

So we scattered to the four winds. To tell them what we know.

I get so tired and the doubt creeps in.

And the doubt won't go away.

And it's all I can do to get up in the morning. All I can do to stand up in the storm.

When all I remember is the passing form. A glimpse of the glory before it was gone.

And I get so tired of this ridicule. But I cannot deny what

I know to be true. Cause I've seen too much. And I do.

Where else can I go, Lord? Where else can

I go? But to you. I've seen too many faces.

All shining like the sun. I've seen too many skies on fire.

Like the face of the Holy One. I've seen too many eyes wide open.

That once were so blind. Beauty of the same love.

Same love that opened mine. I've seen too much.

Too much to deny. I've seen too much.

Too many points of light. I know too much. I saw the scars and touched his skin.

That's how it was. And I cannot hold it in.

I've seen so much that cannot be explained. And I realize it's a mystery of faith.

And my friend was dead and he walked out of the grave. Thought to the mind and to the eye.

I've seen too much.

Too much to deny. I've seen too much.

Too much to say goodbye. Too many points of light.

Too much to say goodbye. As we gather around this table, we remember and proclaim

Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. There's nothing to fear and everything to gain.

So we gather here to remember, to remember and proclaim.

Every footstep tells the story. As the people join the feast, we remember his blood and body broken for you and me.

One step and we remember, the other we proclaim. His death until he comes, oh he's coming back, he's coming back again.

And every time we break the bread, we drink the wine.

I can hear the song in my heart, in my head, and I sing along.

We remember, we proclaim his death until he comes again.

We proclaim Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.

Friends and neighbors to celebrate again, the different kind of table, we remember just the same.

This feast, it is a battle that we wage against the night. This joy is just a shadow of the resurrection, of the resurrection light.

And every time we break the bread, we drink the wine.

I can hear the song in my heart, in my head, and I sing along.

We remember, we proclaim his death until he comes again.

We remember Christ has died,

Christ has risen, Christ will come again. We remember, we proclaim his death until he comes again.

We remember, we proclaim Christ has died,

Christ has risen, Christ will come again. I made my way to the western wall, as the sun went down,

I could hear them call for you. And the words I heard in the ancient song were the same as the ones

I've sung so long to you. And I touched the wall, the veil had never felt so thin.

Cause you are the rock and the cornerstone, you are the temple of flesh and bone, and you are the door and the way back home again.

To that city that we long for, that we feel so far away, where the dawn will drive away our tears.

Jerusalem someday, maybe next year.

Na, na, na, na, next year.

Na, na, na, na, the western wall,

I bowed my head, I knew that every word I read was true. As the prophet spoke from another age, and the song rose up from the sacred page to you.

I felt so near, I never felt so far away.

But you tore the curtain and shook the ground, the saints woke up and they walked around and resurrection came to town that day.

Like in that city that we long for, that we feel so far away, where the dawn will drive away our tears.

Jerusalem someday, maybe next year. Na, na, na, na, this is the place where Abraham cut loose the boy and he killed the ram instead.

And this is the place where Jesus said you could tear down the temple and he'd raise it from the dead.

I felt so real, I never felt so close to you.

So I'll weep and dance at the western wall, sing of the way you're making all things new.

Cause the kingdom's here, but I know the kingdom's moving in.

So maybe I'll meet you here next year, in the new Jerusalem, in the new

Jerusalem. In that city that we long for, that we feel so far away, where the dawn will drive away our tears.

Jerusalem someday, maybe next year. Na, na, na, na, next year in the new

Jerusalem. Na, na, na, na, next year in the new

Jerusalem. Next year, next year, next year, in the new

Jerusalem. Next year, next year, ♪ Next year in a new

Jerusalem, next year, next year ♪ ♪

Every stone that makes you stumble ♪ ♪ And cuts you when you fall ♪ ♪

Every serpent here that strikes your heel ♪ ♪ To curse you when you crawl ♪ ♪

The king of love one day will crush them all ♪ ♪

And every sad seduction and every clever lie ♪ ♪

Every word that woos and wounds the pilgrim children of the sky ♪ ♪

The king of love will break them by and by ♪ ♪ And you will rise up in the end ♪ ♪

You will rise up in the end ♪ ♪ The night is cruel but the day is coming soon ♪ ♪

When you'll rise up in the end ♪ ♪ The thief had come when the children were alone ♪ ♪

Father, see this, would not his anger burn? ♪ ♪ Would he not repay the tyrant in the day of his return?

♪ ♪ But wait, await the day of his return ♪ ♪ Cause he will rise up in the end ♪ ♪

Rise up in the end ♪ ♪

He will save you, he is patient in his anger ♪ ♪ But he will rise up in the end ♪ ♪

When the stars come crashing to the sea ♪ ♪

When the high and mighty, when you see the sun descending in the sky ♪ ♪

The chains of death will fall around your feet ♪ ♪ But he will rise up in the end ♪

I like how everybody gets quiet when they see the lights turn on. Welcome to Kootenay Church this morning.

If you'd please stand as we sing, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee. ♪

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee ♪ ♪ God of glory,

Lord of love ♪ ♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before thee ♪ ♪

Opening to the sun above ♪ ♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪ ♪

Drive the dark of doubt away ♪ ♪ Give her of immortal gladness ♪ ♪

Who works with the light of day ♪ ♪

Hold thy works with joy surrounding her ♪ ♪

Hold thy rays, stars and angels sing around thee ♪ ♪

Center of unbroken praise ♪ ♪ Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪ ♪

Flowery meadow, flashing sea ♪ ♪ Singing bird and flowing fountain ♪ ♪

Call us to rejoice in thee ♪ ♪

Portals join the mighty chorus ♪ ♪ Which the morning stars began ♪ ♪

Father love is reigning o 'er us ♪ ♪ Draws us through the sun of man ♪ ♪

Ever singing hearts we unburn ♪ ♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪ ♪

Joyful music leads us onward ♪ ♪ In the triumph song of life ♪

Take this time and greet each other this morning. Boy, you all quieted down there.

Good morning. Welcome to Kootenai Church. We have a few announcements. The young adult class will be starting back up April 11th.

Dave will be teaching that. Remember that Resurrection Sunday, there is no Sunday school.

It's in your bulletin. The breakfast is on at 8 .30 next week. The conference, there's a few seats left.

I was given it by the boss this morning that there's nine seats left, but there will be a waiting list.

So if you would like to go, go ahead and give your names to Shelly. Do whatever's necessary.

She'll take care of you there. She'll start a waiting list just in case someone cancels. And the women's conference is still on.

There's still plenty of room in that. And with that, would you turn with me to Psalm 130 for our morning scripture reading.

Psalm 130. Out of the depths

I have cried to thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait. And in his words do I hope. My soul waits for the

Lord more than the watchman for the morning. Indeed, more than the watchman for the morning. O Israel, hope in the

Lord. For with the Lord there is loving kindness, and with him is abundant redemption. And he will redeem

Israel from all his iniquities. Would you pray with me? Father, we are grateful for this opportunity to hear from your word.

Lord, we pray that as we hear from First Peter, we will be reminded of those things that you put upon Peter's heart to give to your people throughout the ages.

Thank you for your gift of the word of God to us. Thank you for your grace that you have called us to stand in.

We look forward to hearing from you, and we are grateful for it. In Jesus' name, amen. Please stand.

♪ Praise the one who breaks the darkness ♪ ♪

Breaking light ♪ ♪ Praise the one who frees the prisoners ♪ ♪

Turning blindness into sight ♪ ♪ Praise the one who preached the gospel ♪ ♪

Healing every dread disease ♪ ♪ Calming storms and feeding thousands ♪ ♪

With the very bread of peace ♪ ♪

Praise the one who blessed the children ♪ ♪ With a strong yet gentle word ♪ ♪

Praise the one who drove out demons ♪ ♪ With a piercing two -edged sword ♪ ♪

Praise the one who brings cool water ♪ ♪ To the desert's burning sand ♪ ♪

From this well comes living water ♪ ♪ Quenching thirst in every land ♪ ♪

Praise the one true love incarnate ♪ ♪ Christ who suffered in our place ♪ ♪

Jesus died and rose for many ♪ ♪ That we may know

God by grace ♪ ♪ Let us sing for joy and gladness ♪ ♪

Seeing what our God has done ♪ ♪ Praise the one redeeming glory ♪ ♪

Praise the one who makes us one ♪ ♪

Christ alone, my hope is found ♪ ♪ He is my light, my strength, my song ♪ ♪

This cornerstone, this solid ground ♪ ♪

Through the fiercest drought and storm ♪ ♪ What heights of love, what depths of peace ♪ ♪

When fears are still, when strivings cease ♪ ♪ My comforter, my all in all ♪ ♪

Here in the love of Christ I stand ♪ ♪

In Christ alone, who took on flesh ♪ ♪

Fullness of God and helpless babe ♪ ♪ This gift of love and righteousness ♪ ♪

Scorned by the ones he came to save ♪ ♪ Till on that cross as Jesus died ♪ ♪

The wrath of God was satisfied ♪ ♪

Every sin on him was laid ♪ ♪ Here in the death of Christ I live ♪ ♪

There in the ground his body lay ♪ ♪ Light of the world by darkness slain ♪ ♪

Then bursting forth in glorious day ♪ ♪ Up from the grave he rose again ♪ ♪

And as he stands in victory ♪ ♪ Since curse has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪

For I am his and he is mine ♪ ♪ Bought with the precious blood of Christ ♪ ♪

No guilt in life, no fear in death ♪ ♪

This is the power of Christ in me ♪ ♪ From life's first cry to final breath ♪ ♪

Jesus commands my destiny ♪ ♪ No power of hell, no scheme of man ♪ ♪

Can ever pluck me from his hand ♪ ♪ Till he returns or calls me home ♪ ♪

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand ♪ ♪

Come gaze upon your Savior ♪ ♪

Behold your great high priest ♪ ♪

Drawn near in awe and wonder ♪ ♪

His cross has spoken peace ♪ ♪

Come rest from sin and striving ♪ ♪

Find endless stores of grace ♪ ♪

The heart that turns to Jesus ♪ ♪

Is cleansed from every stain ♪ ♪ Oh how deep, how wide, how long ♪ ♪

Oh how vast the love of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh how sure, how sweet, how strong ♪ ♪ Oh how vast is love for us ♪ ♪

So lift your eyes to Jesus ♪ ♪

Arise from doubt and shame ♪ ♪

His blood cries it is finished ♪ ♪ Our life is in His name ♪ ♪

Oh how deep, how wide, how long ♪ ♪ Oh how vast the love of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh how sure, how sweet, how strong ♪ ♪ Oh how vast is love for us ♪ ♪

What now can separate us ♪ ♪

Can death or pain or fear ♪ ♪ We have

His strong assurance ♪ ♪ In Christ we've been brought near ♪ ♪

And in His strength we'll labor ♪ ♪

His promise is our hope ♪ ♪

Thus far His love has led us ♪ ♪ His love will lead us home ♪ ♪

Oh how deep, how wide, how long ♪ ♪ Oh how vast the love of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh how sure, how sweet, how strong ♪ ♪

Oh how vast is love for us ♪ ♪

Oh how deep, how wide, how long ♪ ♪ Oh how vast the love of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh how sure, how sweet, how strong ♪ ♪ Oh how vast is love for us ♪

In Ephesians chapter three, verses 17 through 19, it reads, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being firmly rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

♪♪ ♪ Speak, O Lord, as we come to you ♪ ♪

To receive the food of your holy word ♪ ♪

Take your truth, plant it deep in us ♪ ♪

Shape and fashion us in your likeness ♪ ♪

That the light of Christ might be seen today ♪ ♪

In our acts of love and our deeds of faith ♪ ♪

Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us ♪ ♪

All your purposes for your glory ♪ ♪

Teach us, Lord, full obedience ♪ ♪

Holy reverence, true humility ♪ ♪

Test our thoughts and our attitudes ♪ ♪

In the radiance of your purity ♪ ♪

Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see ♪ ♪

Your majestic love and authority ♪ ♪

Words of power that can never fail ♪ ♪

Let their truth prevail over unbelief ♪ ♪

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds ♪ ♪

Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us ♪ ♪

Truths unchanged from the dawn of time ♪ ♪

That will echo down through eternity ♪ ♪

And by grace we'll stand on your promises ♪ ♪

And by faith we'll walk as you walk with us ♪ ♪

Speak, O Lord, till your church is built ♪

You may be seated. Well, good morning.

Let's pray together. Father, my desire is to speak as one who speaks the utterances of God, because that's what

I have in front of me. And so, Lord, I pray that you would make certain that I don't go to the left or to the right.

I am simply not up to the task. And so I pray for your power.

I pray for the power of the Word to make its changes in the lives of these who were bought with such a high price, the precious blood of Christ.

I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So turn in your Bibles to 1

Peter 1. We'll be continuing on in 1 Peter 1. For those of you that haven't been here when

I'm preaching, we've been working through 1 Peter 1 very slowly. I heard Cornel last week talk about how slow he's going through Thessalonians, and I think

I may have him beat. I'm still on verse 13 today of chapter 1.

So we're going to read the first 13 verses together, 1 Peter 1, verses 1 through 13. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as strangers, scattered throughout

Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the

Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you've been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you've not seen him, you love him, and though you do not see him now but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the

Spirit of Christ within them was indicating, as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, and these things which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the

Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And our focus today is on that verse 13. Verse 13 marks a transition in this epistle. It starts with the word therefore or wherefore in pretty much every

English translation. And the use of that adverb therefore, it's a common feature in English translations of the biblical epistles.

You'll see it often. It's common to have a therefore or something similar to mark a movement from statement of facts in an epistle to application of those facts.

Usually, those facts are important theological truths related to the gospel of your salvation, and the implication is usually in the form of commands, ethical requirements under the new covenant.

Usually, it's done that way. Here's some high lofty theological set of truths, and then there's a therefore, this is how you ought to act in light of your identity in Christ and what

God has done for you. That's exactly what Peter's using the therefore for in verse 13.

He moves from facts to application of those facts. If you're into English, he goes from verbs that are into an indicative mood to verbs that are in an imperative mood.

So from statements of fact to commands. The first thing we have to understand is what are the statements of facts?

What's the basis for the therefore? If the therefore is a hinge from some truths that he's told us to some application of those truths, what are the truths that require the commands?

We have to understand that. Is it just verse 12, just the statement of verse 12, or is it more than that?

So conveniently, I think it's all of the first 12 verses that we have to have some understanding of the facts of.

So when you preach very infrequently, you have to do a review anyway. So if it's perfectly, we have to do a little bit of a review of the first 12 verses.

What a coincidence. So I broke the facts that are expressed in the first 12 verses into six points.

It's arbitrary, but here are the six. We who are in the audience of this letter are chosen by God in eternity past for this great salvation.

You can follow along. You see in verse 1, you'll see who are chosen or the elect exiles. God chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him.

The first word used to describe us there in the Greek language is actually that word for chosen or elect. Number two, we don't belong here.

You see that in verse 1, we're strangers or exiles. This world as presently constitutes not our home.

We're placed here. We're scattered or dispersed by God for a particular purpose. Three, that purpose is our sanctification.

You see it there, the sanctifying work of the Spirit in verse 2, so that we might obey Jesus Christ. The sprinkled with his blood that hearkens back to the sprinkling of blood as a mark of a covenant relationship.

So the purpose of our being here is to fulfill our commitment in the new covenant to obey Christ, to be obedient to Christ.

That's the purpose of all of this. It's the purpose of trials, for having Christians live and die in the midst of this world that hates

Christ and hates his children. There's a purpose for that, and that purpose is our sanctification. We learn.

We learn through the joys and sufferings of this life to be more like Christ. Life prepares this life, short as it is, it prepares us for our real life, our eternal life.

Number four, we're regenerated. We're made alive when we were spiritually dead. We were totally unable to respond to spiritual stimuli like the gospel.

We couldn't come to God, and so he made us alive. We were dead in our sin, but God being rich in mercy, even when we were dead in our sin, made us alive together with Christ.

In verse 3, you can see that. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again.

That is something that God did. Number five, we've been given a promised inheritance, a living hope given through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

You see that in verse 4, which is imperishable, this inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

And number six, our salvation is so great, it is the focus of the Spirit himself as well as of the angels and the best of mankind.

You see that. We talked about that last time, which I know is a long time ago. The prophets puzzled over our salvation in the

Old Testament. The apostles proclaimed our salvation in the New Testament, all under the inspiration of the

Holy Spirit. And now the angels long to look into salvation, to understand the salvation of man.

So Peter has shown us in those 12 verses. Here is your salvation. Here is the gospel of your salvation.

Here is what God has done. In all of its beauty, presented to us, 12 verses expounding the greatness of our salvation.

Therefore, in light of this great salvation, therefore, now we come to verse 13, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Okay, so you see that? Because of all that has been said before, because of all that God has done for you, all that God has made you into, all that God is making you into, therefore, there are certain commands that you must follow.

And we're going to start looking at those commands. So we're going to diagram verse 13 a little bit.

If you read 1 Peter, you'll see basically the rest of it is commands. It's how to live in a world of suffering and persecution in light of who you are in Christ.

So we're going to diagram the sentence verse 13 a little bit, which I know is everyone's favorite thing in school.

So we have a therefore to start the verse. We've talked about that a little bit. It's part of a logical argument. Then there are apparently three commands in the verse, probably, depending on your translation.

And they're all really collapsible into one. We're to prepare our minds for action and to keep sober so that we rightly set our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So the ultimate end of the purpose of all the action in that verse is the command, set our hope completely on this grace.

So there's a few questions that we have to answer as we go through this. So we're going to kind of do this a little bit backwards.

What is the grace, first of all? I want to understand what that is. What is the grace that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ?

What does that mean? Secondly, what does it mean to set our hope completely on it? So first we have to understand what the grace is.

Then what does it mean to set our hope completely on it? And then what does it mean to prepare our minds for action and to keep sober?

And then last, how does that, how does preparing our minds and keeping sober contribute to our fulfilling the command to fix our hope on the grace to be brought to us?

So do you see where we're headed? I'm more of a

Sunday school teacher than a preacher because I like to, like, but I can't know if you are. So hopefully you are.

I guess maybe someone will tell me later. So we have a command here. In other words, we are commanded to fix our hope on some future grace.

So we have to start with understanding what that is. And then once we have that, once we understand what that grace is, we'll look at what it means to set our hope on it and then understand how preparing our minds and being sober contributes to that fixing our hope.

Okay, so first we've got to start with what is that future grace? The grace that is to be ours at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So there's a hint there in the timing of when this grace is to come.

The timing is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And those are the exact same words that start the book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So to be explicit, the revelation of Jesus Christ is the second advent of Christ. The very public revealing of King Jesus to the world.

Revelation 1 -7, Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced

Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him, so it is to be. Amen. That is the point in time when

Peter says grace will be brought to us. There's some grace that will be brought to us on which we ought to fix our hope.

The moment of Christ's return. Do you think about that? Think about it.

The moment that Christ returns. It's going to be the highlight of our eternal lives. It's going to be that thing we look back for in a million years and we'll remember that, the return of Christ.

He's coming again. John 14 -3 says, and if I go, this is

Christ speaking, if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am there you also will be.

Jesus told us He's coming again. The personal, physical, visible, sudden, glorious, triumphant return of our

Lord Jesus is a cardinal doctrine of Christianity. It's clearly taught in Scripture. What a day that will be.

And verse 13 tells us there will be some additional grace, some undeserved, happy -making blessings that will be ours when

Christ returns. So it's not really that hard to understand what those blessings are, at least in broad terms, because we've seen reference to this timing before and to some blessings.

Look back at verse 7. So that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So this grace that is to come, that is being brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, must include at least this praise, glory, and honor.

That's part of what Peter's referring to, at least. And I want you to notice here, it's not called merit, but grace.

Even though this is reward. This praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, I believe that is praise, glory, and honor given to us by Christ.

An unfathomable idea. But it's reward, but it's not merit, it's grace.

And you understand that. Nothing we do in Christ or for Christ is done apart from Christ.

It's still all of grace. Both our ability to serve and our will to serve, it's all from God. But I think even beyond that notion, beyond the notion of individual reward, and I think that that individual reward takes the form mainly of that well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful over little, I will set you over much. Enter the joy of your master. And what beautiful words those are.

But even beyond that, it's just a great privilege of participation in the revelation of the glory of our master.

You think about that day. We get to share it. We get to share that joyous moment.

And then we start a new era in our eternal lives. Much better. So there is maybe even more than that, the idea of a glorified state.

This would make sense in the context of 1 Peter. Freedom from present suffering and persecution. All of the contrast between this world and the next.

Involved in this, this grace. It's a privilege of participation in that revelation.

Think about no more sin curse. No more sin curse.

We're talking about wind storms tonight. No more sin curse. No more suffering.

No more trials. No more distress. The trials will have served their purpose of refining and revealing our faith.

That's genuine. They'll cease. The time for trials will be over. No more persecution.

No more dealing with those who reject the truth and love the darkness. That's all done.

No more darkness in myself. This may be the best part. I don't have to exercise self -control anymore.

No more vigilance. No more moral effort or failure.

1 Peter 5 .10 Perfect rule from a perfect king.

How would that be? Perfect relationships with my now perfect friends. Glorification of our bodies.

The completion of the work of God and salvation of his elect. We have, in other words, a lot of grace to look forward to.

Much to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4 .13

You may rejoice and be overjoyed.

Like Peter, do you know how to say it? How comforting and motivating is that thought, right?

That's what awaits us. The glory of Christ. The praise of our master. An end to the race.

Eternity with him and you in a place that's perfectly suited. In a body that's perfectly suited to that place.

Complete, happy, at peace. We will rejoice and be overjoyed at the revealing of his glory.

That's the grace. That's the grace that's to be brought to us at the revelation of Christ. This is the grace to which we are to fix our hope or set our hope.

More literally, we are to hope perfectly or completely. Hope to the limit for this grace.

King James has hope to the end. That end doesn't mean your death or the end of time.

It means to the end of what grace can be. Maximum, complete, full, perfect.

The hope that we have for this grace should be without any sort of doubt. And without any rival in its object.

Just a few weeks ago, Jim was in Hebrews 10 .23. He'll probably still be in Hebrews 10 .23

when he gets back. But he talked about hope. And how hope is not wishful thinking.

Hope doesn't lack confidence. Hope in the context of the Christian faith is confident expectation. He talked about that.

And then here the adverb that translated fully or to the end or completely or perfectly. It means that we're to hope, to have that hope with a complete confidence.

But that's already in the word. But also that hope must be without any rival.

There must be nothing else in which we place our hope. It must be exclusive. Exclusive trust in this grace alone.

So, let's think about that for just a second. The content of our hope, that for which we wish, that for which we hope.

Shouldn't use the word wish in this context. That for which we hope. That's what makes us optimistic about the future.

That's what it means to hope. It's what we want to happen in the future. And in a biblical context, it's what we expect to happen in the future that we look forward to.

That we want to happen. And here we see it's the grace of Christ and only that. Only the promises we have through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our future happiness will flow from the grace that is to come at the revelation of Christ. We have to recognize that.

Nothing else that holds our affection, holds our attention, here is of any ultimate value unless it falls under this heading.

The blessings that are to be ours at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Right? We're to hope fully, completely on that.

Everything else is just fool's gold. Has to have no rival. We're to place all of our positive aspirations, our confidence of future good.

Solely in the promises of grace given to us in the word of God. Now last time I preached it was on verses 10 through 12.

And basically the same application. Because for the prophets and the apostles, the angels and the

Holy Spirit himself. Salvation is such a great thing and such a consuming passion. That it ought to be ours as well.

Really to the exclusion of anything else. Okay, so having understood what that grace is.

And that it is to be the object of our hope. We can back up now to these participles. To reveal the prerequisites for the fixed hope.

They tell us in other words how we're to have this hope. So the first two verbs in the verse that are translated as commands in most of your translations.

Are actually participles that modify the main command. And we looked at the main command which is to fix your hope completely on grace.

So these kind of tell us how to do that. So since they're prerequisites for obeying a command.

They have the force of a command. If you have to do this in order to obey the command. Then they have the force of a command.

But they're just not, the verb tense is not actually imperative. And you'll see what I mean easily enough.

Young's literal translation is one that I consult when I'm studying something. You can't read

Young's literal translation. It's way too literal. Like it's completely unreadable. But it comes in handy for study.

And here's the YLT version of this verse. Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind.

Being sober. Hope perfectly upon the grace that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And that does a careful job of accurately translating the verb tenses. Having girded up the loins of your mind.

Or if we translate the idiom. We'll talk about that idiom in a minute. Girding up the loins of your mind.

What that means. If we translate that as preparing your mind. So it would say. Having prepared your minds for action.

Having prepared your minds for action. So it's not a command there, you see. It's something that you are assumed to have done.

Having done that. And once you have done that. Now being sober. Continuing in that state you would be in.

If you'd prepared your mind. You're now capable of obeying the command to hope perfectly.

So we have really the one command. Which is to set our hope or to hope perfectly. On that grace.

That's the command. And then we have two other things that we have to do to get ready for that. Prepare our minds for action.

Or gird up the loins of your mind. And then be sober. Or keep sober.

Remain in a sober state of mind. So we're going to look at each of those participles. Individually.

Briefly. And then kind of come back and put them together. So first prepare your minds for action.

I mentioned just a second ago. The gird up the loins of your mind. You'll see that in King James. New King James.

And it is the more literal translation. That's what the words actually are. But modern

English readers may not understand what it means to gird up the loins of your mind. That's kind of a strange idiom to us.

So the more modern translations translate that idiom into prepare your mind or something like that.

But as Bible readers you probably understand how these are equivalent translations. To gird up your loins for ancient readers would have been understood as the practice of tucking in the long corners of their robe into their belt.

So instead of it being long, it would kind of shorten it up. And it would free them to perform some physical action.

To run or to fight. And so that's what they would have understood gird up the loins to mean.

So really it's preparation. Gird up the loins of your mind here. Well we'll get to that in a second.

But one illustration of that is the Passover. The first Passover. The Israelites were told this.

Exodus 12 -11. Now you shall eat it this way with your garment belted around your waist. Your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand and you shall eat it in a hurry.

This is the Lord's Passover. So they were told have your staff in your hand for getting out of there.

Have your sandals on your feet. Get your loins girded. Get your robe belted up so you can get out of there.

You'll be ready to run. And that's what this means. Be prepared. Now what does it mean in 1

Peter? It's not that. It's not having to do with a robe because it says of the mind.

So it's an activity of the mind. So it's using an idiom. It's not actually referring to girding up anything or anything like that.

So it means to prepare your minds. So gird up the loins meant to prepare for some physical activity where the robe would get in the way.

So gird up the loins of your mind means to prepare for some mental activity where something might get in the way. So what is that?

It means then to tuck things away to put in proper place in your mind. Anything that might entangle or complicate or confuse or detract or distract from what we're told to do here.

The desired action which is to fix our hope completely on the grace that is to come. So focus.

Focus on what's important. Focus on your salvation. Peter's been telling us that. Focus on your salvation.

Past, present and now especially future. So think about that. Think about all that God has done in history.

From creation, all the events of the Old Testament to accomplish the gospel of your salvation.

Think about your history. Think what he's done in your life to accomplish your salvation. Your calling, your election, your regeneration, your calling, your conversion.

And now think about what he's doing now in your life. The trials. The tough things.

The things that you don't want to talk about. The sins that you're committing. And the constant repentance that you're going through.

The relationships. Work. All of those things that you're going through. Those remember are for your salvation.

They are for your sanctification which is part of your whole road of your salvation ultimately.

I don't mean your conversion. I don't mean you go from being unsafe to saved because of your sanctification.

But sanctification is an ongoing process to get you ready for your eternity. That's what

God is doing now. But now let's think about the future. Like what we talked about.

The grace is to be yours at the return of Christ. The praise of Christ. The glory of Christ. The presence of Christ.

The freedom from sin and unbelief and death. Freedom from not only the power of sin which you

Christian are already free from. But free from its actual presence. That will be amazing grace.

That's to prepare for your mind. Think about prepare your mind. Think of those things. And other things put them away.

Put them in the right place. Make sure there's nothing distracting you. Then Peter tells us to keep sober.

And the NASB adds in spirit. If you have NASB you see italics there. Means the words aren't really there.

That they're added for clarity. And I think it's added here so you know that it's not just like don't get drunk.

It's not just talking about physical sobriety. Okay. But the word is just sober.

It means sober in all of your being. Here it would include physical sobriety.

But also any influence that doesn't deserve to be an influence. Any intoxicating influence.

Free from any figuratively or spiritually or mentally intoxicating influence. And the addiction to anything that is generally sinful or useless.

Or anything that would prevent us from having a proper focus on these things that really matter. That's to be sober.

Alexander Strach. An author that I like a lot. He defines the word this way. Sober.

Self -control, balanced judgment and freedom from debilitating excesses or rash behavior. Negatively, it indicates the absence of any personal disorder that would distort a person's judgment or conduct.

Positively, it describes a person who is stable, circumspect, self -restrained and clear -headed. So this word sober means able to focus and actually focused.

Focused on the right things. It doesn't mean just not distracted. But also alert and clear -eyed and looking at that which is important.

Okay. So now let's put these together so we understand the command. Prepare your mind for action. Put away the distractions.

Get ready to take action toward that which is important. Lay aside that which is not. Remain sober.

Remain free from those distractions. Remain in that state. And now that you're able to focus because you have prepared your mind, you made yourself sober.

Now fix your focus on that grace. Fix your hope, your confident expectation on grace that is to be brought to you through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Remember the return of Christ, the day when all things are made right. That's the thing upon which we place our hope.

Without doubt, without rival. This isn't in here, but I was thinking about this.

I think the events of the last whatever, how many months it's been. This is a little bit easier for us now, isn't it?

We may have been tempted to fix our hope on other things. Not anymore. I think this has helped us.

That's what suffering and persecution does. It tunes our focus. Okay.

So here's a little bit of a test about how well we've done, or we're doing, on fixing our hope on the grace that is to be brought to us through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So, if you haven't been listening yet, just listen for a second. Think about, just do a little thought experiment, okay?

You find out, without any doubt, somehow, and this is impossible, but you know for sure that Christ is coming tomorrow.

Now, I know I'm not talking eschatology here, so whether it's the rapture or the second coming or whatever your cosmic eschatology is, today it doesn't matter.

It really doesn't. Just think about when is your time over in Christ, you're about to meet

Christ. And now you know it's tomorrow. Okay? Is there any hesitation, any dread or disappointment in your mind?

Is there anything that you're thinking, oh, I wish you could wait a week. Is there anything like that, if you're honest?

Because I've heard people say that they would want this or that to happen in their lives before Christ would return.

There's some things that they'd want to accomplish. Depending on why you would desire such a delay in the

Lord's return, you're either completely lost in sin and still in love with darkness, or you are ignorant beyond imagination.

A believer wants nothing more than the presence of Christ. Every once in a while,

I don't do it too often, when I'm singing, I imagine that Christ is behind that wall and He's listening.

And you can see why I don't do it all the time, because it will just bring you to tears to think that He could hear your praise.

And He can anyway, but we're physical beings, and so for us, it's not the same.

Think about the physical presence of Christ. If that isn't your one desire, then something's wrong, and you have some things to repent of, you have some thinking to do.

Okay, so how do we connect this verse to the rest of the book? Remember, 1 Peter is written to persecute and suffering believers.

It's intended to give them confidence and joy and comfort through this life, through the various trials that you saw earlier.

And then consistent with that message, Peter tells us how to live, how to live this life. How to live this life so that it accomplishes its objective, which is your good, the sanctification of your soul, and the glory of God.

He tells us how to do that, a set of commands that come, that we'll see over the next 20, 30 years.

Or you can just read it tonight, it's a short book. So the way to win the reward of God's glory and your good, your sanctification for a race that is well run, a life that is well lived, a fight that's well fought, is to live this life constantly in view of the next.

This, well, this is the prayer of ASAP, this is Psalm 73, 25, this has to be our prayer.

I think this says it better than I could. Whom have I in heaven but you? It's ASAP's prayer, he's talking to God.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

We have to be able to say that. There's nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

It doesn't mean that we literally have no other passions or things that we enjoy. But in comparison, there's nothing,

I'll give all that up, nothing that I desire besides you. Everything else has to be in light of our hope in the grace that is to come.

Everything else that we have any affection for. Everything else has to fit underneath our faith in Christ.

Robert Layton wrote a commentary on 1 Peter, he had this to say about this verse. If you want to enjoy this hope fully, cut off your affections for other things.

The same eye cannot look up to heaven and down to earth at the same time. The more your affections are disentangled from the world, the more they can be actively engaged in this hope.

The more sober they are, the less they'll fill themselves with the coarse delights of earth and the more room they will have to be filled with this hope.

That's the end of his quote. This is a call to tying up or cutting off the loose ends.

Remove the distractions. Anything that gets in the way of your making the gospel of Jesus Christ, his person and his work and his return, his promises, the thing on which you dwell.

Listen, having a mind on earthly things, that's a sign of an unbeliever. That's in Philippians 3 .19, that's given as a sign of an unbeliever.

And having a mind on earthly things is just incompatible with living your life in such a way that you accomplish its goal, your sanctification in the glory of God.

2 Timothy 2 .4. Well, before I do this, this life is just, remember, it's just practice.

We really get into it, but it's just practice. It's practice.

Practice is important. We use practice time to get better.

How stupid would it be to use practice time to get worse? Right? How ashamed would you be at his coming if you're his?

2 Timothy 2 .4. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him.

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life. Charles Spurgeon.

You've got to have a Spurgeon quote to get the ratings up. So, there you go. This is really good. This is from his sermon on this verse.

The rays of the sun are warm, but if you collect them into a focus by a burning glass, or we would think of a magnifying glass, you produce a fire which else you could not find in them.

Concentrate your faculties upon faith in Jesus. Concentrate your emotions upon the love of Jesus.

Concentrate your whole being upon the glory of Jesus. You will accomplish marvels if you do this.

A man who is all over the place is nowhere, but he whose life is one and indivisible is strong, and his influence will be felt in the service of his master.

Cornell read Psalm 130 this morning for scripture reading. This is verses 5 and part of 6.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for his word. My soul waits in hope for the

Lord more than the watchman for the morning. So, when you wait for something, it's what you want to happen next.

That's why you're waiting. Even if it's something unpleasant, you're waiting for it.

That's the thing that you expect to happen next. Wait on the

Lord. Wait with the confidence and desire of a shepherd.

This watchman would be a night shepherd. A shepherd taking the night watch.

What's he concerned about? The night is cold. It's dark. It's long. It's dangerous.

It's the night when the wolves would come. It's the night when the bandits would come. So, he waits.

Waits for the sun to rise. He waits with perfect confidence that the sun will rise. And with it will come the common graces of warmth and safety and for him rest.

Wait with full conviction of the return of your Savior. It is more certain than the rising of the sun.

Fix your hope on the graces to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So much better than the common graces of the sun.

So much greater than for what the watchman was waiting for. Wait on the Lord. Let's pray together.

Father, again, just very grateful for your word. Grateful that you would condescend to give us words that we could learn from you.

And Lord, I pray today that as we go our way that your word will remain.

That nothing that I've said that went to the left or to the right would ever be remembered or recalled. I guess it's going to be recorded, but hopefully no one would listen to it.

I pray only, Lord, that the truths of your word would resonate in the minds of your children. Please stand.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.

In the light of his glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting. He passed and we follow him there.

For us in no more hath dominion.

For more than conquerors we are. Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in his wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.

In the light of his glory and grace.

His word shall not fail you, he promised.

Believe him and all will be well.

Then go to a world that is dying.

His perfect salvation to tell. Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in his wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.

In the light of his glory and grace.

Have a great week. Have a great week.

Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week.

Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week.

Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week.

Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week.

Have a great week. Have a great week. Have a great week.

All things together.