Sunday, May 8, 2022 AM

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Sunnyside Baptist Church "The Latter Days" Pt 4 Daniel 12:1-13

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All right. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sunnyside Baptist Church this morning and happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in our midst, mothers, grandmothers, aunts.
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We thank you so much for being here this morning and hope that we have a chance to honor you.
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In fact, I'll have a little bit more about that in just a minute. We'll start this morning with a few announcements.
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Obviously, because it's Mother's Day, we will not have evening service tonight, so spend that time with your family if you're able today.
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Looking ahead to Wednesday, this Wednesday, our meals at the regular time, 545, and then prayer for the adults and tag for the kids at 630.
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Looking ahead, truth group after the evening service on May 15th, and then tag fellowship, which is kind of like their end of the tag program period, tag fellowship in the evening service
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May 22nd. May 29th, communion in the morning service, so we'll celebrate the
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Lord's Supper that morning. We need some photos.
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There's an announcement in your bulletin regarding needing some photos of mothers, grandmothers, great -grandmothers.
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If you could get those to Kristen Barnett by tomorrow, I know it's a quick turnaround time, but look through any digital photos.
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Those would be preferred, or if you have physical photos, you could maybe scan those in with your phone or something like that.
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Get those to her. Her email address is in the bulletin, and they've got a special project that they're wanting to put those photos together for the church.
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You're invited to the end of the year program for tag. That's going to be, like I said, on Sunday, May 22nd at 530 here in the auditorium, and then following that, we'll have a little cookie fellowship for everyone in the fellowship hall, and you're welcome to invite family and friends to attend that as well.
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It'll be a good time to hear from our kids and what they've been learning. There's a sign -up sheet in the four -year hallway for the
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Oklahoma City Dodgers baseball game. We've done that in the past, and that's always been a good time for us to come together and just have a good time watching baseball and being with each other.
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That's going to be June 25th at 7 .05 p .m., that's game time. Tickets will go quick, so sign up there.
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They're $5 a piece, so pretty manageable. They'll be sent to your cell phone, so if you need to, give your cell phone number to the church office, and they'll get those taken care of.
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Also, finally, there's a quick thank you in there for all the help that everyone gave towards Ukraine and the supplies that were sent, medical supplies, through Dwight and Jill, and so just a thank you from them.
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All right, it is Mother's Day, so I do want to take just a quick moment. If you're a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, someone of influence as far as mothering goes, if you could just please stand, we want to honor you at this time, if you're able.
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We do have one person who wasn't standing, Hannah Hamilton. If you would stand, congratulations to Hannah and Daryl.
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Expecting their first little one, so we want to congratulate them, take the opportunity after the service to give her and Daryl a hug.
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All right, any other announcements before we get started this morning? All right,
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I'm going to end with our fighter verse for the week, coming from Galatians chapter 5, verses 22 and 23.
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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control.
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Against such things, there is no law. We're going to have a time to meditate and prepare our hearts for worship, and then after that brief period,
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Michael will come up and open us in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you today and we give you praise.
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We give you thanks for gathering us together. We give you thanks and honor and glory for the gift of life that you have accorded us through each one of our mothers.
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What a precious, undeserved gift to each one of us.
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And we give you praise and ask you for the grace today and opportunity today and Thanksgiving to you to honor our mothers, their presence and their memories.
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And we pray that you would guide us here today as we turn our attention to the truth of your word, that you would fill us with your
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Holy Spirit and lead us to give a hearty amen with all of our being to the truth of your word.
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Give us a view of your Son today, that he would be marvelous and glorious in our eyes.
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We pray these things for his sake. Amen. Good morning,
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Sunnyside. If you would, we're going to read our call to worship and stand.
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This is from Psalm 78, 9 through 12, and our first song is actually coming from the verses 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this psalm for our first song.
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The Ephraimites, armed with a bow, turned back on the day of battle.
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They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.
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They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. In the sight of their fathers, he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zion.
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This first one is in your Psalter, 78c. And it's marked as verses 4 and 5.
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The Ephraimites, armed with a bow, turned back on the day of battle.
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The Ephraimites, armed with a bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.
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They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. All of his deeds they would soon forgot, his miracles of might.
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In Egypt's land, in Zion's field, before their father's sight.
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And at 275, How Firm a Foundation. Your Faith in His Excellent Word.
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What more can he say than to you, he has to you, who for Jesus have fled.
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Fear not, I am he, not dismayed, for I will give you aid.
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I'll strengthen eyes of long desire, my drawing one.
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The soul that on gene for repose,
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I will learn to endorse.
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Our scripture reading this morning comes from Isaiah chapter 23. So if you have your
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Bibles, I encourage you to turn there. Isaiah chapter 23, starting in verse 10.
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We will read to the end of the chapter through verse 18. So this is a continuation of an oracle concerning Tyre and Sidon.
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It reminds us that God sees. God sees what goes on in every corner of the earth, in all the nations of the earth.
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And that God will hold accountable all the nations of the earth.
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And so here's Tyre and Sidon, neighbors of Israel. People who had contact with God's people.
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And yet continued to pursue worldliness.
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They were nations that would do whatever in order to make a buck.
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For them, the economy was everything. And their material prosperity was everything.
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And God judges their love of the world. And a good reminder for us.
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So Isaiah chapter 23, verse 10. Cross over your land like the
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Nile, O daughter of Tarshish. There is no restraint anymore. He has stretched out his hand over the sea.
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He has shaken the kingdoms. The Lord has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.
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And he said, you will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
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Arise, cross over to Cyprus. Even there you will have no rest. Behold the land of the
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Chaldeans. This is the people that was not. Assyria destined it for wild beasts.
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They erected their siege towers. They stripped her palaces bare. They made her a ruin.
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Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste. In that day,
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Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years like the days of one king. At the end of 70 years, it will happen to Tyre as in the
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Song of the Prostitute. Take a harp, go about the city,
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O forgotten prostitute. Make sweet melody, sing many songs that you may be remembered.
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At the end of 70 years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
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Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the
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Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Would you bow with me? Lord, we are reminded here of your sovereignty over the nations, that there is nothing in all creation that is hidden from your sight, and that in your righteousness you will execute just judgment.
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Lord, you did so concerning Tyre and Sidon. You did so concerning Babylon and Assyria.
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And even today we look about us and we see nations walking in ungodliness, even in our own nation,
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Lord. We see those who are committed to doing what is right in their own eyes and seeking to lead the whole nation in that path.
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You will not be mocked, but you will uphold the glory of your name.
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Lord, may we, as your people, uphold your glory.
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May we walk, Lord, in holiness. And we pray,
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Lord, that even as you work for the glory of your name, you also work to redeem a people.
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Lord, you have sent seasons of reviving and refreshing in times when it would appear that the body of a nation was threatening to become a corpse.
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Repentance. We pray for a strengthening of your people, to redeem lives.
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Lord, use us to that end. May we be found faithful to the praise of the glory of Christ, in whose name we pray.
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Amen. You may be seated. In number 59, and I think it segues well from Ken's prayer comments,
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I sing the mighty power of God. I sing the mighty power of God.
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That made the mountains rise. That spread the flowing seas abroad.
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And built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule my day.
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The moon shines full at his command, and all the stars obey.
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I sing the goodness of the Lord that filled the earth with the moon.
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He formed the creatures with his word, and then pronounced them good.
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Lord, how my wonders are displayed where 'er
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I turn my eye. If I survey the ground,
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I tread or gaze upon the sky.
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There's not a plant or flower below that makes my glories know.
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And clouds arise and tempests flow by order from thy throne.
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While all that borrows by from thee is ever in thy care.
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And everywhere that man can be, now
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God art present there.
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Day by day, and with each passing moment, strength
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I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my
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Father's life's bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear.
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He whose heart is kind beyond all measure, gives me each day what he deems best.
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Lovingly is part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with ease and rest.
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Every day the Lord himself is near me, with a special mercy for each hour.
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All my cares he faint would bear and cheer me, he whose name is
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Counselor and Power. The protection of his child and treasure is a chain that himself belayed.
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As your days, your strength shall be in measure, there's the pledge to me he made.
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Help me then in every tribulation, so to trust your promise,
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O Lord. That I lose not faith, the sweet foundation offered me within your holy
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Word. Help me, O Lord, when toil and trouble meet me, there to take it from a
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Father's hand. One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, till I reach the promised land.
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All that will be, glory for me, glory for me, glory for me.
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When by his grace I shall look on his face, that will be glory, be glory for me.
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Let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Father, I thank you for this day.
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Thank you for the joys of worshiping you together with my brothers and my sisters.
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What a joy and a gift this is, every week. To come together and be so blessed by the presence of Christ here with us through his
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Spirit. To be nourished by your Word, strengthened and encouraged in our hope in Christ.
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To experience and to express your love that you have poured out in our hearts toward one another.
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I pray that you would strengthen our faith now as we turn our attention to your Word. We pray for Holy Spirit clarity and conviction as we consider the truths of your
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Son, Jesus Christ, manifest here. We pray these things for his sake, the one with whom you are well pleased.
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Amen. I invite you to open your
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Bibles and turn with me to Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter 12.
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As we continue our look at this final prophecy in the book of Daniel, which spans chapters 10 through 12.
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A good title for this last prophecy of Daniel would be the latter days.
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The latter days. A phrase that we find in chapter 10 and verse 14.
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Christ has appeared prior to his incarnation. He has appeared in glorious and bodily form to his servant
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Daniel. In the third year of King Cyrus, right about the time the wheels were falling off of the temple rebuilding project.
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And Daniel was in great distress. We may remember that in Daniel chapter 9,
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Daniel prayed and fasted and humbled himself before the
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Lord. Entreating God to keep his promises.
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That the 70 years to Daniel's math looked like they were about due.
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God you promised 70 years and you would bring us back to the land. You would rebuild the holy city upon that holy mountain.
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And the holy temple would be restored and we would be able to worship you again as you prescribed.
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Daniel's concern is about these elements of the old covenant. The shadows of Christ.
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That holy mountain, that holy city, that holy temple. What about them
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Lord? You going to go ahead and restore them? And God promised that he would. But he also said that the 70 year time frame was not the only thing for Daniel to be concerned about.
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But rather 70 weeks of years. 490 years with a special attention upon the latter days of that prophetic calendar.
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The last week, which was the all important week. 490 years is a long time.
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12 generations long. Yet the emphasis was on the latter days of that calendar.
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That's where God wanted Daniel's attention to be fixed because that's when Messiah would come. That's when
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Jesus of Nazareth would be born, who is the Christ, the son of the living God. That's the most important thing ever.
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So God wanted Daniel's attention to be upon those days. He wanted
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Daniel's people, those who had faith in God's promises to put their attention on those days.
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He wants everybody's attention to be upon Christ. So now in Daniel chapters 10 -12, the rebuilding of the temple has been stalled.
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There's persecution, there's problems, things are not going well. Folks are threatening lawsuits against these upstart
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Jews trying to rebuild the temple without using pagan union labor. You read about that in Ezra.
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All kinds of problems are going on. And God says, Daniel, don't fear man, fear me.
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That's what happens in chapter 10. God the Son shows up, and Daniel learns to fear the
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Lord all over again, as if he's a fresh newborn babe. And then in chapter 11,
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God says to Daniel, here's how history is going to go. You think times are tumultuous now, just wait.
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And God details the back and forth of world empires. The enmity which existed between world empires and within empires.
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As one empire replaced another, and then empires would go to war with themselves. Not only the enmity of men against men, but also the enmity of rebellious men against God.
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And yet through it all, God was working His agenda. So we looked at the encounter of Daniel with Christ in chapter 10.
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The enmity of world nations and men against God in chapter 11.
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And now we're at chapter 12 as we look at the end. The end. And Daniel 12 is just full of that word, the end.
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And at that time. And so we need to pay attention to the end.
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I invite you to stand with me as we read about the end of these latter days.
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Daniel chapter 12. It's the word of the Lord. At that time,
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Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.
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And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.
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And at that time, your people shall be delivered. Everyone who is found written in the book.
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And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
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Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament.
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And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
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But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end.
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Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. Then I, Daniel, looked and there stood two others.
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One on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river,
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How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be? Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time.
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And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.
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Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
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And he said, Go your way, Daniel. For the words are closed up and sealed to the time of the end.
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Many shall be purified, made white and refined. But the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
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And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1 ,290 days.
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Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1 ,335 days. But you, go your way till the end.
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For you shall rest and shall arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.
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This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Well, when we were preparing for our vacation last week, in the days and weeks before that, for the mental health of some of my younger children, a countdown began.
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How long till we get to go on vacation? And we had a countdown. How many more sleeps?
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How many more times are we going to sleep before we get to go on the trip? And this was very helpful to know what the end of our waiting period would be.
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But even on the day that we were going to leave, how long till we go? How long till we get into this van and get going on our vacation?
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While we were there, the question kept coming. How many more days until we have to go home?
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When will the end of our vacation be? In the van on the ride home, how much longer till we can get out of this van and get to the house?
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These are the well -reasoned, necessary questions that children ask because it's helpful to know the end.
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Helps you to deal with the interim period to know what you should be doing and how you should be enjoying this and that and what it all means in the present with the end in view.
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And as children, we too ask our Heavenly Father about the end. We want to know.
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We want to have clarity. What is the significance of the lives which we now live in light of the end?
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Where is this all heading? What are the main features we're going to see along the way?
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What should we do till then? These are the good and reasonable questions of children who by Christ are adopted unto our
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Heavenly Father. We want to know the end.
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This is to bring clarity. When the Scriptures tell us about the end, and in Daniel 12 there's three different ends.
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I don't know if you saw them or not. There was the end of the prophesied days of judgment.
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And then there was the end where Daniel was going to die and go to his eternal rest. Those weren't the same.
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And then there was the end when everybody gets raised from the dead. And that was a different end. So there's three different ends.
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But when the Bible talks about the end, it's for clarity.
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It's for clarity to the people of God who walk by faith and not by sight.
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Who live in hope of that which has been promised, which has not yet been manifested. It's for clarity.
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It's not for confusion. When God gives us His Word, He's an excellent communicator.
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He doesn't give us confusing speculations about the end. He gives us clarifying, comforting, hope -establishing, faith -building, love -invigorating instructions and information about the end.
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And that's what we're going to be looking at in Daniel chapter 12. As we consider the latter days, the end, as expressed from Christ to Daniel in this prophecy.
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I don't know if you noticed, but as we read through chapter 12, several times we heard expressions such as, at that time, or the time of the end.
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We heard questions like, how long? That's familiar to all of us children.
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Or the question, what shall the end of these things be? We heard instructions given to Daniel about how the prophecy was to be sealed for the end.
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And we heard God's Word to Daniel about His end and the end noted in the resurrection, the inheritance.
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So as we get into this text, we need to recognize that not only is it the end of the book of Daniel, but it's about the end and all the important ends that were relevant to Daniel and his people, and are still vitally important to us as they are seen clearly through the manifestation of Jesus Christ.
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In chapter 12 verses 1 -4, the very first theme about the end that God wants to assure
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His people is the theme of deliverance. The theme of deliverance. This is absolutely comforting and encouraging.
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God knows our frame, and He knows that when we think about the future, more often than not, as we think about what end is ahead of us, what lies ahead, more often than not, we tend to worry and be frightened and be attracted to everything catastrophic.
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But when God speaks to His people about the end, He speaks deliverance,
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He speaks help, and He gives promises and assurances that run very, very deep.
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And this deliverance is in Christ. We hear about an angel who comes to help. We read about a people that belong to God.
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We read about a book in which the names of God's people are written.
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In verses 1 -4, we also read about the resurrection, the hope of resurrection.
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We read about promises kept. And we read about good news.
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And upon careful reflection, we discover that the angel comes from Christ, and the people belong to Christ, and the book was written by Christ, and the resurrection brought about in Christ and overseen by Christ is according to the promises that God made that are kept by Christ, and the good news, of course, is
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Christ as well. This deliverance is His, that He brings about, and that's what we need to look at.
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And why is there deliverance needed? Because, look, there's a time of trouble, there's a time of tribulation, isn't there?
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Let's look at this tribulation together there in the first half of verse 1. It says,
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A lot of focus on the time, isn't there?
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Well, what was that time? It's important to remember that Daniel is not writing his book on some kind of word processor.
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He's not giving it headings like you have in your Bibles. Little summary headings that tell you the theme.
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Or the chapter heading, or even the verse numbers. Daniel is writing it out.
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Born along by the Holy Spirit. This sentence, after this sentence, after this sentence, after this sentence.
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So, just forget about that chapter 12 break. Okay? You back up a little bit, we discover what time it is.
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We discover what time it is, we just back up into chapter 11. And a couple of weeks ago, we went on a whirlwind tour of world history seen from the vantage point of Jerusalem and Mount Zion.
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About the different empires that were raging back and forth across the promised land.
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And the relevance that it had to the promises that God made to His people and how He was going to keep them. We saw the civil war between the
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Greek Empire established by Alexander the Great. And in his sudden death, a power vacuum came about in which the whole kingdom was divided into two.
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The Northern Kingdom, the Seleucids, the Syrians sometimes they're called. And the Southern Kingdom, the Egyptians, the
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Ptolemies they're called. And they fought one another and they raged back and forth across the
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Holy Land. But God was faithful and kept His promises and delivered His people. And then came another kingdom, the
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Kingdom of Rome. And God raised up the
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Empire of Rome. Even though Rome was blasphemous, even though Rome was cruel, even though Rome was arrogant,
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God had a purpose. And we go to chapter 11 verse 36, we are reminded about God's sovereign governance.
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Verse 36 says, Then the king, speaking of the king of Rome, and in general just speaking about the empire of Rome, shall do according to his own will.
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And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god. Remember the imperial cult. Their emperors were worshipped as gods.
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Shall speak blasphemies against the god of gods. And shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished for what has been determined shall be done.
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That's God's point of view. That's heaven's point of view. Those who were living under the arrogance and the tyranny of the empire of Rome were saying,
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Why doesn't God just do away with these evil people? But God had desolations determined, times determined, wrath determined.
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He was going to bring something about. And this was not a mystery to Daniel, for God had already told him what it was at the end of chapter 9.
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For God told him in the second half of the 70th week. Remember the calendar? The calendar of 490 years.
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In the latter days of the calendar that God gave to Daniel, God says to Daniel, Here's all these days
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I want to talk to you about. And in the latter part of those days, God promises in Daniel 9,
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Destruction and desolation and judgment upon the holy city, the holy mountain, and the holy people.
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For God will bring to close in judgment the old covenant. And the covenant breakers will be done away with in all the shadows of Christ.
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Why? Because Christ had come. No need for a physical holy mountain or a physical holy city or a physical holy temple when those were the shadows and the substance
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Christ has come. And we can read about that in Colossians and Galatians and Hebrews.
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But that's the timing. The timing is during Imperial Rome at that time.
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This is a time that captured the attention of the prophet Daniel throughout his book.
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This is not a new concept. This timing is a very established concept in the book of Daniel.
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You can read about it not only in chapter 11 and watch the progression from the Greek Empire to the
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Roman Empire. You can go read about it in chapter 9 and count the years between the decree to restore
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Jerusalem and the time that Messiah was manifested. You can also go to chapter 7 of Daniel.
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And there, the four fragile beasts, those world empires, one after another, rise and fall, rise and fall, until we come to the fourth beast, which was the
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Empire of Rome. And during that empire, the
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Son of Man is given a kingdom which is above every kingdom and a dominion which will not pass away. And He shows
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His victory and His power by sending forth fire from before the throne of God, which consumes and utterly washes over that fourth empire, the beast of Rome.
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For more details, read the book of Acts, as you see the Holy Spirit at work through His people, and they turn the world upside down.
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It even talks about it in chapter 2 of Daniel, where the idol of the state is revealed.
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Look, there's the golden head Babylon. Look, there's the silver arms and chest of Medo -Persia. Look, there's the bronze thighs and waist of Greece.
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And look, there's the iron and clay of Rome. And look, there's an uncut stone, uncut by human hands, being cast down from heaven.
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And this stone impacts the idol of the state in the feet during the imperial era of Rome and undoes the power of the idol of the state and becomes a mountain which fills the entirety of the earth.
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And Daniel chapter 2 verse 44 says, In the days of these kings the kingdom of heaven is established.
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This is what Jesus preached, who came in the time of imperial Rome, who was born at just the right time.
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And He came forth and declared the good news of the kingdom, which He established by His own death and resurrection.
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And He has ascended to the right hand, where He has authority over all of heaven and all of earth, a name which is above every name,
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King of kings and Lord of lords. At that time, what is the timing?
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We don't have to wonder. It's been told to us repeatedly throughout the book of Daniel. And it's told to us repeatedly in other books of the
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Bible as well. What more can we say on that?
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We can notice that the instructions are given to Daniel in chapter 12 verses 4 and in verse 9, if you'll notice.
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But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book. Until when? How long is this book supposed to be closed up and not really looked at and not really fully understood?
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How long is this thing going to be kind of closed to the eyes? Until the time of the end.
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Until the time of the end. Verse 9. Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed to the time of the end.
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We know what time that is. It's already been told us. The time of imperial Rome. The time when
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Messiah shows up. And what do we find Jesus doing in Matthew 24? He goes up on the
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Mount of Olives and he unseals Daniel. He says just exactly what was said here in chapter 12 verse 1.
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Hey, guys, there's going to be a tribulation like nothing you've ever seen before. And this tribulation is going to be great.
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And you need to get up. And when you see that tribulation coming, you need to get up immediately and flee
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Judea. If you flee Judea, then you will not be harmed by the great tribulation. This is exact instructions he gives to his followers.
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Now, what sign were they to pay attention to? He says when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.
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And he explains that in Luke as armies surrounding Jerusalem. He says when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.
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And then he says the abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke of. And then Jesus says to his followers, wait for it, let the reader understand.
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What did Jesus just do? He unsealed Daniel. Why? Because it was the time of the end.
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Not the end of the world. The end of the 490 years.
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Hey, welcome, folks. We're in the last week. We're in the latter days of the calendar that was given to us 12 generations ago.
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At that time, there will be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time.
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And the tribulation and the trouble and the disasters and everything that occurred during that time were indeed great.
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But do you see that this time of trouble is discussed and sandwiched between two assurances that God will save his people?
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That's where God's focus is. That's where he wants our focus to be. Not necessarily on the tribulation and the trouble, but on his promises of help and deliverance.
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The first thing he says is, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.
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That's a good thing. Some older commentators think that this is a name for Christ. I don't follow that.
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I follow the other older commentators who think it's just an angel. But here's the good news.
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Jesus Christ is promising that there will be help. Do you know that all the angels answer to Christ?
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The angels ascend and descend upon the Son of Man. He's Jacob's ladder. Do you realize that he could call down legions of angels at a single word?
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That he's in complete control of all the angels? And don't look down on the fact there's only one. Didn't one angel slay 185 ,000
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Assyrians in one moment in the Old Testament? Look at this help that is promised.
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Angels come to help the seed of Abraham, Hebrews tells us. And if we're in Christ, we're the seed of Abraham.
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So there is help being promised here. Yes, there's going to be a time of tribulation unlike anything else.
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But hey, there's help. Here, look, there's Michael, this great prince. Why do we think this person
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Michael, this individual Michael, as an angel? Because we've already looked at other expressions about the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece as fallen angelic beings against which
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Christ warred to deliver his people in other times. And here is another one, Michael, who is the prince over the people of Daniel.
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This is a positive thing. Hey, he's going to stand up and watch over you. This is help. John Calvin says,
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Under Christ, angels are guardians of the church. I think that's biblically obvious.
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So there's help. There's help. And look, there's promise of salvation.
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And at that time, what time? The time of great tribulation. At that time, your people shall be delivered.
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Notice the qualifier on this promise. Who are Daniel's people?
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Critical question. Who are Daniel's people? Everyone who is found written in the book.
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Now that might be a little bit surprising. Perhaps someone would say, Oh, Daniel's people, that means those who were genetically descendant from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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Well, Daniel's people, that's the ones who were circumcised. No, look,
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Daniel's people are those who are found written in the book. Written in the book. That's what it means to be one of Daniel's people, people of the faith, people of the
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Lord, the same kind of people like David, the same kind of people like Abraham, the same kind of people like Josiah, the same kind of people like Jeremiah, those who are found written in the book.
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And this is an important distinction, because when you turn over to verse 7, at the last part,
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Daniel tells the angels question, what is the final utter end of the latter days?
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When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.
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Okay, verse 1 says, Daniel, your people are going to be delivered. And then verse 7 says, the holy people are going to be shattered.
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Which one is this? What you are seeing here is part of the growing awareness throughout the
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Old Testament that the people who are in the old covenant, who God has set aside as holy and sacred to himself for his purposes, the holy people whom he set aside, aren't the same people as the saved.
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Because in the old covenant, if you belong to Israel, you are part of the holy people. If you were born of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, if you were born of Israelite parents, if you were in Israel, you were part of the old covenant.
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A holy people set apart for God's purposes. So you better keep covenant. If you break covenant, then judgment's coming.
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Within this group of the old covenant people, there is a group you find time and again in the
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Old Testament. We tend to call them the remnant. Ever heard of the remnant? These are the folks whose hearts were circumcised, who were truly spiritually alive, who worshiped from the heart.
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And they didn't go in for those shallow, mediocre, lukewarm, halfway kinds of worships.
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They were truly the people of God. This is another example in the
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Prophets of an awareness that not all who were in Israel were actually
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Israel, as Paul would quip later. So what we see is salvation of Daniel's people.
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How do we know who they are? Oh, their names are in the book. I don't know if you've heard about this book, but we are to rejoice, as Jesus says to His disciples in Luke 10 and verse 20, when they came back bragging that they cast out demons and had all these mystical, spiritual experiences,
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Jesus tells them exactly, do not rejoice in that. Don't get all happy and glad and focused on mystical experiences.
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He says, rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven, that they are written in heaven.
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That's what we ought to rejoice in, that our names are written in heaven. Jesus there is quoting a passage from Isaiah chapter 4.
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Isaiah chapter 4. Isaiah chapter 3 and previous shows a great destruction that comes upon the covenant -breaking
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Jews in Jerusalem, upon Mount Zion. Great judgment is coming, just as God said it would.
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But then, in verse 2 of Isaiah 4, in that day, the branch of the
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Lord... Who is that? That is Christ. In that day, the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped, those who have been delivered, those who have been kept, those who have been preserved.
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And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem...
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Hang on a second. Jerusalem and Zion went down. I just read about it. How is there still a...
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How is there still a Zion and how is there still a Jerusalem when Zion and Jerusalem just got laid waste and destroyed?
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Zion... blood... that... spirit... merged the blood of Jerusalem.
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What was that blood? Jesus said it was the blood of all the prophets, all the prophets from Abel to Zechariah that the covenant -breaking
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Jews were guilty of. And he said all this would come upon their generation. And that's the time of tribulation within that generation that this is talking about here in Daniel chapter 12.
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A time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation even to that time. But here's the promise.
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The prince stands watch over the sons of the people. Hey Daniel, your people shall be delivered, everyone who was found written in the book.
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So in this great tribulation, this judgment, this destruction promised in Daniel chapter 12,
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Daniel chapter 11 verse 36, Daniel chapter 9, this great destruction that is coming upon the covenant breakers.
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This is not the end of the promises of God. This is not the end of the people of God. These are fulfilled and kept and preserved in Christ.
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Your people are still going to be saved. Your people are still going to be delivered, Daniel. And this is good news.
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It's your name written in the book. Revelation 13 .8 says that those who worship the beast and had his number placed upon their head or their hand were those whose names were not written in the
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Lamb's book of life. The Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
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The book that was written from the foundation of the world. Their name was not found written there.
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In Revelation 20, in the vision of the great resurrection, where the goats are on one side and the sheep are on the other, the distinction is made.
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It's your name written in the book of life. I want you to see that there is a distinction being made.
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At the time of the end, there's going to be wrath. It's been determined. Chapter 11 verse 36.
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At this time, in the latter days, the last half of the last week of the 490 years, those latter days, there's going to be judgment, and the holy sanctuary, and the holy people are going to be judged.
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The pressing question on Daniel's mind has been what? In chapters 9 and 10 and so forth.
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God, are you going to keep your promises? God, are you going to keep your people? God, are you going to see us through? And the answer is coming back as this.
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Yes, although judgment is coming, I am going to keep my promises and the people are going to be preserved and saved and delivered.
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But notice that in this continual drumbeat of the promises of judgment and wrath coming, a continual sifting is occurring in which the people of God are being distinguished from those who are not the people of God.
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Those who are in Christ are being shown clearly and those who are not in Christ are being shown clearly.
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And we find in scripture that God's judgment always sifts the people showing who are
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His. God's judgment always sifts the people showing who are
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His and who are not His. This is one effect of His judgment, one purpose in His judgment.
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When God sifted the people in Noah's day, His people were on the boat and those who were not on the boat.
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When God sifts His people in Egypt, His judgment falls upon the
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Egyptians but not upon His people. They are kept, preserved, saved, delivered, redeemed.
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And when it comes to this particular time that is being promised, there is another sifting going on.
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In the desolations determined and the judgments which come upon the covenant breakers at the end of the
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Old Covenant, the great question is, who are the people of God? This is one of the pressing questions in the book of Acts.
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Who are God's people? Those who have the traditions and the circumcisions?
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Those who cling to the shadows? Or those who have been redeemed in Christ? The pressing question.
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When God brings His judgment, He sifts the people showing who are His. I don't know if you've noticed lately, there's a sifting going on.
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This is God's judgment. This is God's judgment that is sifting everything out.
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People try to name it. They call it a culture war or political war.
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Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, we recall that God is the one who puts enmity between the spawn of Satan and the seed of the woman.
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He's the one who picks the fight and drives the enmity deep in between and brings a great wedge.
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And did He not do that in Genesis 3 in the context of judgment? What are we seeing today but the judgment of God?
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That when men suppress the truth in unrighteousness, God's wrath from heaven is revealed.
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Romans 1 .18 God's wrath from heaven is revealed against men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, who deny what
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God has made manifest within them, so that they make the exchange. They trade the truth for the lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the
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Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. And then in their idolatry, in their paganism, as they begin to worship themselves, as they begin to worship the creation around them and turn their backs on the
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Creator who made them, God turns them over to debased and reprobate minds.
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So they begin to desire abominable things. So that the perversities of their desires are made manifest in their lives.
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And even though they know that those who practice such things and desire such things and engage in such perversity, even though they know that that's deserving of death, they not only engage it full -throatedly, full -heartedly, but they approve of everybody else who does it too.
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Why are they turned over to debased and reprobate minds?
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Verse 18 tells us, The wrath of God is revealed.
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That is the wrath of God. We live in a culture today that is under the judgment of God.
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And there is a growing, sifting, clarifying moment that we should not resent, that we should not try to gloss over, that we should not try to blunt the sharp edges of.
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It is a good thing. It is a good thing that those who love
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Jesus and follow the Lamb wherever He goes and sing the song of the redeemed, it is a good thing that our families should look so radically different from those around us.
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It is a good thing that men and women in the fear of the Lord would live differently and love differently and have radically different affections than the pagan world around us.
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It is a good thing that the light of the world would be shining brightly and that whatever basket or clay pot would be put upon it would be shattered by the rod of Christ and that the salt of the earth would be made salty again, that there would be a clear distinction between those who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ.
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And this is the hope of the world. That the gospel would be clear.
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That there is salvation in Christ. And this is the kind of salvation where we are delivered and cleansed and justified by the name of Christ, so that we look upon the sins that once defined us, that we were thieves, that we were rebels, that we were homosexuals, that we were effeminate, that we were liars, that we were
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God -haters. And that used to be our names. That used to be our intersectionals. That used to be our identities.
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But now our name is in the name of Christ. We are Christians. And the judgment of God in making the foolishness of men ever so foolish and turning men over to reprobate minds and driving the enmity ever deeper so that this cultural civil war that we see going on is opportunity for the salt to be salty and the light to shine brightly and say, you know, it's not about political parties.
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It's not about ethnic cultures. It's not about whiteness. It's not about straightness.
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It's not about Marxism. It's about those who fear the
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Lord, who are alive in Christ, who have His Spirit, and those who don't. It's about the blessings of those who are in Christ and those who don't have that.
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That's what it was in the Old Testament. That's what it was in the New Testament. That's what it was in the days of Jeremiah and in the days of the apostles.
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It's what it is today. When God sifts our world in judgment,
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He shows who are His. And I want you to see that the deliverance is in Christ.
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There is no deliverance. There is no being kept. There is no being preserved outside of Christ.
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He saves us. He saves us. The state can't save us.
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The technocrats can't save us. The Supreme Court can't save us.
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Elon Musk can't save us. It is Jesus Christ who saves. He saves us physically and spiritually.
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He saves us in time, in the moments in which we pray, and He saves us everlastingly, bringing us to God.
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He is our Savior now and forever. In every possible way, look to Jesus as your
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Savior, as your Deliverer. If He doesn't save you, nobody will. Nobody can.
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Yes, our world is getting sifted in judgment. Yes, divisiveness and hatred is growing more clear, more deep.
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Praise the Lord that His judgment sifts our world. Let's keep our attention on where He has emphasized.
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Look, we have help. Look, the promise of salvation. Let's put our attention there and praise the
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Lord. Heavenly Father, we come before You today and we give You praise that You are good.
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All that You do is good. And as little children, we're often wondering how long, oh
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Lord, what's coming up and what's along the way and how long is it going to be?
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But You remind us that we have help. We have Your promises. We have Your assurances.
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You've given us Your Son. How will You not also with Him freely give us all things? And You have given us
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Your Holy Spirit. And by this Spirit we cry out,
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Abba, Father. Thank You for Your love for us.
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We pray these things in Christ's name. God's people said, stand with us as we sing our benediction.
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This is from HMA 119. There is a higher throne. There is a higher throne than all the world has known and faithful ones from every tongue will one day come.
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Before the sun will stand, faithfulness through the land, believing hearts find
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God's grace. Salvation comes.
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Hear heaven's voices sing. Their thunderous anthems ring through heaven and earth and sapphire skies.
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Their praises rise. Oh, glory, wisdom, power, strength, thanks, and honor are to God our
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King who reigns on high forevermore.
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Believing hearts find
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God's grace. Each tears they die as thirst and hunger.
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Our shepherd King will reign with them.
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Hear heaven's voices sing. Their thunderous anthems ring through heaven and earth and sapphire skies.
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Their praises rise. Oh, glory, wisdom, power, strength, thanks, and honor are to God our
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King who reigns on high forevermore.
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Hear heaven's voices sing. Their thunderous anthems ring through heaven and earth and sapphire skies.
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Their praises rise. Oh, glory, wisdom, power, strength, thanks, and honor are to God our
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King who reigns on high forevermore.
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The love of the
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Father, and the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, and happy Mother's Day.