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Now I want you to pay attention it wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military.
I'll give you a little history What we're reading about in Daniel chapter 8. This was written about 540 BC 540 BC and at the time the Babylonians modern-day Iraq Ruled the Middle East ruled the Middle East and for some of you doubters in here Please pull out Wikipedia while I read scripture and see if I'm lying Babylon ruled the Middle East, okay little baby, baby Israel, you know, they were weak at this point.
They had been taken over by Babylon Jews had been shipped off and Daniel was one of those dudes in captivity now in captivity. It wasn't like he was at 201. Okay, you hear what I'm saying? He didn't get the Kool-Aid and cheese sandwich.
He got Good food man, because Daniel was really important. So he's writing this stuff down as God told him to tell him. Well, he writes this prophecy that we're about to read and in 539 just a year later Just a year later the Iranians Who were allied Persians who were allied with the Medes? Decided that they had had enough of Babylon and they came in and kicked butt and took names once again historical truths about 200 years later 200 years after Daniel wrote this.
Let me say that again 200 years after Daniel wrote this right here and I know I always have someone say well, how do you know that because we have Greek we have all these different languages of the Old Testament.
They all say the same thing that were predated of Alexander the Great. They were predated from The time that this happened. We know Daniel. We have historians like Josephus and Becerra's who all recount the ideas of Daniel After Daniel wrote it.
So we know we know that Daniel pre-wrote this and as This happened about 200 years later Greece at this time. Greece is a bunch of different city-states. It'd be kind of like Shelby County being its own country and Millington had its own mayor and its own government and everybody but nobody was under one central idea.
Right. Are y 'all with me? It's not that hard follow with me. All right and all of a sudden They Become this powerhouse and this dude named Alexander the Great Rides up out of the northern part of Greece and he takes over everybody and just a few short years.
He takes over all of the known world in 13 years. He ends up dying to death in 323 BC he croaks and dies and he doesn't have no sons because Alexander was a little light in the loafers. You know what I'm saying?
Are y 'all with me? Okay, he would be celebrating this month. All right, y 'all with me? All right his four generals Decide hey, we're gonna split up the whole kingdom in four. That's all the history.
I'm going to give you. All right, so let's go that was in 323. Let's go back to 540 BC read with me. Daniel chapter 8. Daniel chapter 8. Verses 3 through oh, I'm sorry. I put 4 3 through 8. Let's read together.
I Raised my eyes. Daniel writes and saw and behold a ram Sitting on the bank of the canal. It had two horns. Both horns were high. But one was higher than the other and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward and no beast could stand before him and there Was no one who could rescue him from his power.
He did it as pleased and became great as I was considering this behold a male goat came up from the west across the face of the old earth without even touching the ground and The goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
He came to the ram and with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal. He ran at him in powerful wrath. Verse 7. I saw him come close to the ram and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke the two horns and the ram had no power to stand before him and he cast him to the ground and Trampled on him and there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
Then the goat became Exceedingly great, but when he was strong the great horn was broken and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns. Towards the four winds of heaven boom right there, baby right there.
So now we're gonna have a hymn of imitation. Right there that proves without a shadow of a doubt That God is real, right? What you got to understand. I I've read preachers that say all this. Well, you see if you have to understand your main animal of Greece was the gut.
I never read that for real. I think that's just someone someone made up but you ain't got to do all that. You don't have to go crazy. Why make that thing go forward this thing ain't working. Go up 13 verses.
13 a whole 13 Mississippi folks. That's one two three verses. Ready, here we go. An angel comes to Daniel because Daniel's tripping out going, you know. He thought he had dropped some bad peyote or something and all sudden an angel of God shows up and says hey.
Chill out. I'm gonna explain this to you. It says in verse 20 as for the ram you saw with its two horns. These are the kings of media in Persia one greater than the other. Persian was bigger than media and the goat is the king of Greece and the great horn between his eyes is the first king 200 years.
Before anyone even knew anything about Alexander the Great man. Greece was like nutbush. Okay, it wasn't nothing to it. It was like Frasier on a good day, right? There wasn't no power. There and it says the first king the first guy to unify Greece as a whole country was take a guess Alexander the Great.
For you keyboard warriors in here Wikipedia .com. Go look it up right now. We know without a shadow of a doubt Who Daniel was referring to or the vision from God was referring to in verse three and four?
Because it says it right there. Now here's what you need to wrap your little head around. There is a God you're not him and he knows a lot more than you and he Controls the governments of the world like puppets on a string, please don't sing the song.
Like puppets on a string. Okay, he is in total absolute Control, let's go forward one. First 22 as for the horn that was broken in place of which the four others rose. Four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.
Go look up on your phone right now. The four kingdoms after Alexander the Great. Go look up right now. Well, so improve it to get out your phone. Stop trying to show off to your mom and your girlfriend about how smart you are.
Okay. I'm sorry You didn't make the football team, but here's some reality for you. Okay. History is subject to the Word of God not the other way around because it was written hundreds and yes Thousands of years before history happened them kingdoms of man in the plans of man.
Or but father and clay in the hands of Almighty God. Now you sit there and go. Well, that could be coincidence. Well Skippy. That's a pretty strong coincidence four kingdoms one two, three four 217 years after Daniel said it was going to happen.
Hmm. Let me just kind of close up here. I know some of y 'all like going that was quick. I Could do this with you all day. Literally, we could go back to my office. Well, how do you know the Bible is written because I've got 32 ,000 copies of the Bible in 200 different languages written way before there was a Catholic Church.
All day. I've got scripture that says someone a lamb is coming and he will be slain but he will rise again and Shazam, it's common. But here's the reason I'm so interested in telling you this today is Because it also says that lambs not coming back as a lamb anymore.
He's coming back as a lion and when he comes back, he ain't gonna have no bubblegum. He just gonna be kicking butt and there ain't gonna be no little church service where you're nostalgic VBS confession of faith or when the piano is playing saying just as I am.
You can keep living your life the way you want to live it because if you claim to be a Christian. It's gonna cost you something more than an hour on Sunday morning. It's gonna cost you your life. But here's the cool thing.
If you're really a Christian, it should cost you your life right now. There are some of you are sitting in this room that said I believe in God. Demons believe in God. What's your proof? Oh, I prayed and asked Jesus Christ into my heart.
That does not exist in Scripture. Oh. Well, I really believe okay. Do your works prove your belief or your belief trying to prove out your fear factor of being left behind? You see guys we have been some of y 'all have been absolutely brainwashed by religion.
And I'm sorry for that. I really am and I mean that as a pastor with all of my heart some of you convinced that if you are a moral person and you show up at a Building and listen to some good-looking ball-headed preacher.
Preach to you and you say amen for a second and you have a little feeling that you're searching for that. Somehow you're going to heaven. It's not true. And I know there are churches out there that want to grow and get bigger.
And so they just say hey, it's okay live your life the way you do you now, man. If you're a Christian, you're gonna be with Jesus and do what he wants you to do. You see the Bible says if you love me you will keep my commandments.
You can't sit there and say you love Christ if you can't love your brother in Christ. If you sit there and you got problems with someone because they got tattoos or they're black or Mexican eases or white or liberal Democrats.
Sorry, it took me a second. You got to love them. You got to love them. Well pastor, I love everybody horse crap. No, you don't. No, you don't. But the love of Christ inside of me empowers me to submit to it and I can.
Where you at today? Seriously forget sermon forget church forget all this other garbage. Where are you at today? Because as sure as I'm standing here right now in time space and matter. You will stand before a holy and righteous God one day.
Not in some ethereal dream. But in a reality that is more real than what you think you're experiencing now with your five senses. And you will stand before a holy and righteous God. And if the only thing you got to offer him was why I gave money to a church.
Or I was a member at First Baptist. Or I didn't cuss smoke or drink or I voted for Donald Trump or I didn't like child molesters or. Whatever you think makes you morally superior to somebody else. You're screwed.
Okay, let that sink in and Here's why I'm so strong about saying this. Because I'm gonna stand before God one day now. I'm not gonna be judged according to my sins because Jesus Christ picked up that tab for me.
You know what? I'm gonna be judged by what did I do with the grace? God gave me. And I'm also gonna be judged as a pastor, you know pastors get double before God. Double before God. I'm not gonna stand before him and go.
I was looking for friends and to be cool more than I'm worried. About the holiness of God. Sorry. I don't love you people that much. I am NOT gonna stand before God and he goes where we on that one Shipley.
I'm not gonna do it some of you folks that have been sitting in church your whole life. I just saw someone it just sparked this in. You think your ministry is giving a tithe offering and sitting here and singing songs?
You're gonna have to answer before God. Ministry is sacrifice. Sacrificing the most valuable thing we got time. Who you invest in your life in every Sunday we have an invitation and I see Christians sitting there doing this just.
Well, you're supposed to be fishing and They're in the barrel right in front of you right here. You ain't got to go to the lake. You have to go out there and talk to someone about Jesus at your work. You don't have to go to the family reunion and feel all awkward go right here.
Why are you standing there singing about Jesus instead of walking around preaching Jesus? You're so busy thinking about going to church. You forgot to be the church. Right here right now. Well pastor.
I'm shy. No, you're arrogant. You're more concerned about your embarrassment than the call of God on your life. Well pastor. I'm not that smart, right? Not all of us were born in Arkansas, though. But even those that work God can still use if he used white trash from Nashville.
I promise you he can use anybody up in this room. Where yet? Where yet? Can you say after hearing Daniel 8 hallelujah praise God? Can you say I still don't understand or are you sitting there going horse hockey?
This is all a bunch of garbage. The choice is yours. Now if your first answer is praise God hallelujah go share that excitement with someone else. If your second thing is I really don't know that's why God invented fat bald pastors.
Okay Pastor Joe sighed be more than happy to sit there and talk. He's got he's spinning right there. Look right there. He got the dad bod rocking man. Hey. We got pastors and MIT graduates to sit right here and answer every single question.
You've got we don't ever say I don't know ever. We'll answer you right here right now. Well, I'm gonna prove to you bring your lunch and come on. Okay, if your third answer is horse hockey, I don't believe any of this.
I'm gonna still ask you to come on. I'm gonna still ask you to come on. Don't be the guy in the bar who's standing up going. I'm gonna kick your butt walking out the back door. If you tough enough to say all of us is bull.
Why don't you come talk to someone other than your grandma? You know I'm saying let's go. Let's go. Let's find out and you might think I'm trying to punk you. I'm not. I'm actually trying to help you Understand that someone's trying to save your soul in his name is Jesus.
I'm gonna ask the music people to come up. Do their thing. If you're a Christian here go to work if you're a skeptic in here I Want to talk to you? Desperately want to talk to you. If you're someone in here that's just confused and you don't understand I want to help you, but whatever it is if God has spoken to you today I'm gonna ask you to stand with me.
And if God has asked you to do something if you felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit I want you to come this morning as God leads.