Sunday, March 27, 2022 AM

The Call to Worship and the Morning Announcements

I want this. I want this. It's for you. 16 years. Yes. Alright, good morning everyone. The clock is counting down so it's my turn, time to start here. Welcome to Sunnyside Baptist. We're glad to have everyone here this morning.

We'll start off with a couple of announcements today. Come back tonight for our evening worship service. That's going to be at 530 and then Truth Group is tonight for our young adults. They'll meet in the fellowship hall for a meal and then time to learn together.

And then also looking ahead to this coming Wednesday our meal at 545 together and then prayer for the adults and tag for the kids at 630. There'll be a tag fellowship coming up on Sunday, May 22nd. So that's a little ways out but we want to give you guys plenty of time to invite maybe friends or family that you want to attend that usually during those tag we'll share part of what they've been learning in tag and there'll be some desserts with that.

That's following the evening service that Sunday, May 22nd. Michael just handed me an announcement regarding next Sunday, Sunday school hour. We're going to have an opportunity to have Dr. Matzko. Some of you were here last year or the year before when he came and spoke on science.

He's a science professor at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. And he's kind of making a tour around some of the local churches but we've got an opportunity if you want to bring your Sunday school class to the fellowship hall next Sunday from grade school on up.

We can all be together in the fellowship hall as he speaks and teaches us next Sunday. Also Operation Christmas Child is still going on so continue to give that. You can drop those items out in the lobby of the church building.

Any other announcements this morning? This week's fighter verse comes from Ephesians chapter 4 verse 29 says no let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.

We're going to have a time to prepare our hearts for worship and then after that dad will come up and open us in prayer. Almighty God we bow before you this morning and like Moses we would ask Lord show us your glory.

How grateful we are that you are a God who is compassionate and full of mercy for you. You revealed your glory to Moses by recounting the splendor of your character being a God who is full of mercy, compassionate, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness and yet Lord we we confess our inability many times to grasp exactly what that even means or looks like though you explain it over and over again in your word we are like the disciples often slow of heart but while you told Moses no one can see my face and live how grateful we are for what we read in John's gospel when it says that the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory the glory of the glory of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth for as John said no one has ever seen God the only God who is at the father's side he has made him known and so Lord even as we pray show us your glory thank you for revealing your glory in the face of Christ.

So Lord Jesus we look to you and may you stir our hearts this morning to worship to praise to giving you glory and honor and blessing for from you and through you and to you are all things to you oh God be the glory forever and ever amen.

The Call of Worship from Psalm 77

Good morning Sunnyside. Would you stand as we read the call of worship and this comes from Psalm 77 1 through 6. I cry aloud to God aloud to God and he will hear me in the day of my trouble. I seek the Lord in the night.

My hand is stretched out without wearying. My soul refuses to be comforted when I remember God. I moan when I meditate. My spirit faints say love you. Hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

I consider the days of old the years long ago I said let me remember my song in the night. Let me meditate in my heart then my.

Spirit made a diligent search. Our first song will be from your Psalter 77 a of Jesus name number 97 in your regular being. Isaiah chapter 20 verses 1 through 6. Commander-in-chief who.

Is sent by Sargon. The king of Assyria came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it. At that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amos and said saying go and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet.

And he did so walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and and a portent against Egypt and Cush. So the shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Kushite exiles both the young and the old naked and barefoot with buttocks is uncovered and nakedness of Egypt.

Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. And the inhabitants of this coastline will say in that day behold this is what has happened to those who in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria.

And we how shall we escape. Please pray with me dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to read and share your word. Lord. I pray that you will use today and the teaching of your word to bless this congregation and to reveal yourself to us Lord and Jesus.

And I pray amen please be seated our next two songs 188 at the cross and 16 from your HMA.

I lay my sins on Jesus before you today. How needy we are. Ask that you would help us today help us to.

Worship you. We ask that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit. That your eternal heavenly divine declarations of truth would resonate in our lives by the grace of your Holy Spirit. That you truly would find an amen in our hearts of your will that has been settled forever in heaven.

That we would rejoice in your truth. That we would praise your name. That we would love your son and worship you in spirit and in truth today. Help us to commune with you. We are in need of communing with you our maker.

You have made us in your image. And you have made us for your word. You have made us for Christ. I pray that your glory would be manifest in our lives today as you do your good in our in our lives. We ask for help now as we read your word together that you would give us the right understanding of the text.

That we would look at the passage today in light of who Jesus is and that by your Holy Spirit we would be changed by it helped by it not only informed but conformed. And it is for these many graces and mercies and for many more that we seek.

We ask all these things in Jesus name amen. Daniel is a book of is a book of riddles. And time and again in puzzling situations and in puzzling visions. The answer to the riddle is the wisdom of Jesus Christ whether facing life and death decisions regarding the state or interpreting complex dreams and visions.

These riddles are resolved in the light of who Jesus is in the book of Daniel. And we've been looking at visions now in the second half of the book of Daniel a vision in chapter 7. A vision in chapter 8.

A vision in chapter 9. And now we come to the last vision of the book of Daniel which encompasses the last three chapters together we heard about the little horn of the fourth kingdom in chapter 7 the little horn of the third kingdom in chapter 8.

We've heard about 70 weeks of years in chapter 9. And now in chapters 10 through 12 we hear a play-by-play commentary on world history events but not just any history. That which particularly concerns the future of Daniel's people as they anticipate the arrival of the messiah.

Especially in chapters 11 and 12 we hear details of those 70 weeks of years. How did the Persian empire go down. What were the highlights of the Greek empire and the many conflicts which destabilized it.

How did the fourth empire rise up to prominence. And how did all of these events concern Daniel's people their mountain their city their sanctuary. So this last vision of Daniel connects many dots fills in many gaps spans from the latter years of the Persian empire all the way to the destruction of Jerusalem during the Roman empire.

But the entirety of it reveals the sovereignty of God in the course of Jewish history. And it comes under the heading given to us in our text the heading of the latter days the latter days. So I'm going to read chapter 10 verses 1 through 11.

I invite you to stand if you're able to as we read the word of the Lord together the word of Christ through his spirit to his prophet Daniel. In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel whose name was called Belteshazzar.

The message was true but the appointed time was long and he understood the message and had understanding of the vision. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food no meat or wine came into my mouth nor did I anoint myself at all till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

Now on the 24th day of the first month as I was by the side of the great river that is the Tigris. I lifted my eyes and looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz.

His body was like beryl his face like the appearance of lightning his eyes like torches of fire his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

And I Daniel alone saw the vision. For the men who were with me did not see the vision but a great terror fell upon them so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision and no strength remained in me for my vigor was turned to frailty in me and I retained no strength.

Yet I heard the sound of his words. And while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face with my face to the ground. Suddenly a hand touched me which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands.

And he said to me oh Daniel man greatly beloved understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright for I have now been sent to you. While he was speaking this word to me I stood trembling. This is the word of the Lord.

You may be seated when we look at the emblems of the Lord's Supper the grape juice in the cup traditionally wine. And we have the unleavened bread. These are elements that have long been at the heart of man's communion with God.

We can think back all the way to the time when Abraham worshiped the Lord at the city of Salem later known as Jerusalem and there he worshiped the Lord and Melchizedek who was a king of righteousness and the priest of God most high came out and he brought with him bread and wine.

And there Abraham gave tithes unto the Lord and worshiped God together with Melchizedek. We can think of the Passover where God redeemed Israel up out of Egypt upon which the Last Supper the meal that Christ shared with his disciples.

How he based his meal with his disciples upon the Passover. There again the bread. There again the drink. The feasting with God. The eating with God. The Moses and Aaron Nadab and Abihu and the 70 elders of God going up the Mount Sinai where they saw the Lord God and yet lived.

And they ate and they drank with him. God coming to Abraham. Christ coming to Abraham and Abraham seeking to commune with God does what he says. If you will stay here I will I will go and I'll make a meal.

And he brought forth a meal and they sat together and communed around the meal time and again when we when we come together and we look at the bread and we and we look at the cup and we're thinking of of a meal.

This is about communion sitting together at the same table the same table with one with whom we have no right in and of ourselves to sit. But we come by his invitation. We come by his grace. We come by his favor.

We come by his mercy. And we may sit together with him and commune with him and know that we are welcome. How often in human experience do we know this to be true that when someone is not in fellowship with us they have no place at our table not welcome to this table.

Invitations are either given or not given to the family and extended family at those holiday meals because of issues of either fellowship or disfellowship. We know this instinctively. Can I invite so and so when so and so is also going to be there.

They don't have fellowship together. How can they sit at the same table together. We know this by experience. But the scriptures tell us that we are we are invited to commune with God and eat together in communion with Christ today.

Daniel 10 and the Latter Days: Christ's Encounter with Daniel

Daniel 10. Daniel chapter 10 is all about Daniel's encounter with the Lord. Daniel's encounter with Christ. Can Daniel have communion with God. Upon what basis can he even be in the presence of Christ.

And Daniel's concerns his mourning his his reasons for praying and so on. A concern about communion. As God answers Daniel's concerns he begins to lay out the course of how history is going to go from from beyond Daniel's days all the way to the latter days of Daniel.

Daniel's concern about his people God says here's how it's all going to fold out. But again at the heart of this whole prophesied vision of how Jewish history is going to go the concern again and again is this.

How will God dwell with man. How will God's people and God be in relationship. Communion is the concern because this is not any kind of history in chapters 11 and 12 as we're going to see it's not the history of Persia from centralized on their capital of Susa.

It's not the history of Greece focused upon their homeland of Macedonia. It is a survey of world history as centered from Jerusalem centered from the holy mountain and the fate of the holy sanctuary. What does Persia have to do with Jerusalem.

What does Greece have to do with Jerusalem. What does Rome have to do with Jerusalem. And all attention is focused there because there God had declared to reveal his name and there God had placed his sanctuary.

And there God had promised to reveal his son. And the coming of the new covenant a covenant in which communion would remain unbroken as the spirit of God himself would indwell his people. So as we make our way forward in this rather large section of Daniel I want us to remember the focus of all of the details that we're going to see the unfolding of Jewish history.

Jewish history is Jesus's glory Jesus's glory. Jewish history is Jesus's glory. And we're going to see that transpire throughout the last three chapters of Daniel. Well Daniel has encountered God's revelation more than once in this book he is he is.

He has interpreted a dream by Nebuchadnezzar a dream of four empires and one statue that is conquered by Christ. Daniel has encountered God's revelation and his own dream of four beasts that were fragile and temporary and comparable though to the eternal dominion of Christ.

Daniel has encountered God's revelation in a vision by the river Euphrates and Christ orders Gabriel to tell Daniel what will happen to the onerous blasphemous Antiochus epiphanies. But now Daniel encounters God's revelation Christ himself the word.

And he sketches out the entire political future which has an impact on Jerusalem beginning with the final days of the Persian empire and ending with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Before we get there chapter 10 focuses in on the encounter what happened when did it happen.

What happened to Daniel as he dealt with this revelation of God and and the touch in which we see Christ comforting Daniel. So this morning we begin to think about the timing notice verses one and three again one through three.

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true but the appointed time was long and he understood the message and had understanding of the vision.

In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food no meat or wine came to my mouth nor did I anoint myself at all till three whole weeks were fulfilled. In connection to verses one through three are also verses 12 through 14 as Christ begins to explain some things to Daniel.

Verse 12. And he said to me do not fear Daniel for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humble yourself before your God your words were heard. And I have come because of your words.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days and behold Michael one of the chief princes came to help me for I have been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days.

For the vision refers to many days yet to come. The first thing we need to recognize is that our concerns are limited. Our concerns are limited. Daniel has lived a long long time to make it to the third year of king Cyrus.

Daniel is either in his very late 80s or early 90s. He's very old. He lived a long life. And now we see Daniel engaging in a time of mourning and prayer. Now normally when you're reading through the bible you see the name Cyrus.

That usually is a positive feeling for those who read the bible because God used king Cyrus in special ways to benefit his people and bring them back to their place and rebuild the temple. So why is Daniel mourning.

I thought the reign of Cyrus was a good time. It was a good thing. But we learn from the book of Ezra that tens of thousands of exiles have returned to Jerusalem by this time. Cyrus in his very first year made the decree that the exiles could go back and that he would fund the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem from the royal treasury.

But this isn't the first year of king Cyrus when hope was running high and preparations were being made and the exodus was underway. This isn't the second year of king Cyrus when the foundation of the temple was successfully laid and worship restarted there in Jerusalem to great fanfare and the joy of most of the people.

No this is the third year of king Cyrus. And this is when the opposition against the continuing building of the temple the continuing restoration of the city. This is when that opposition began in earnest.

The opposition began because Zerubbabel the governor in charge of the program he refused to cooperate with the local pagans to synthesize the efforts of the saints with those of the idolaters in the rebuilding of God's temple.

Zerubbabel did not want to tank the project to bring in the pagan forms of worship. And once he refused to cooperate and to synthesize then the locals began to oppose them. Verse chapter 4 of Ezra. Chapter 4 of Ezra.

Verse 5 tells us that these pagans hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of king Cyrus of Persia. So by the after the foundation has been laid in the second year. Now now they're hiring attorneys.

They've retained attorneys. They're bringing law lawsuits against the Jews taking it all the way to the higher courts in Persia to frustrate the work of rebuilding the temple. They did this all the days of Cyrus king of Persia even into the reign of Darius king of Persia.

This is not the Darius the mead that of chapter 6. This is Darius king of Persia a later Darius. So where was Cyrus. Why wasn't he helping God's people. Well he got busy with some wars and got distracted.

So they were on their own having a tough time. Now coming back to Daniel it's the third year not the first not the second. It's the third year. These are not happy times for the people of God. Most of chapter 9 of Daniel.

Most of chapter 9 of Daniel is Daniel humbling himself wrestling with the Lord in prayer seeking God's action to restore his people to their land. That the temple will be rebuilt that the worship of God will be restored.

He gets a positive answer from the Lord. How happy he must have been that first year of Cyrus to see all this taking place. Even the second year to hear that the foundation of the temple has been laid.

But now now this undersized project the second temple was much smaller than the first with those who did go back. But of course not all the Jews did go back. It's completely off the rails. This looks like one of the worst false starts of any kind of program.

This does not look good. This is problematic. No wonder Daniel is mourning these three weeks. He's mourning. His sorrow is because of the lack of the temple the lack of the progress of the worship of God in Jerusalem.

His concern is that of restoring communion. But it's not happening. He's been praying for God to act. It looked like something was going to happen. And then now it looks like it's all falling apart. So Daniel mourns.

He has great sorrow. Now when we read Daniel chapter 10 we discover that Daniel's mourning and sorrow ceased only upon the arrival of Christ in his direct presence which then at first was terrifying before it was strengthening and comforting.

Daniel is mourning and in sorrow for three weeks. And when the answer arrives it's in the person of Christ himself and the sorrow. And the mourning of Daniel turns into abject terror where he's shaking uncontrollably on the ground and cannot even talk before he is comforted and strengthened.

We need to keep that big story arc in mind. Sorrow often afflicts the believer. Sorrow often afflicts the believer. And what do we seek in our sorrows. What do we seek in our mourning. What do we seek in our pain and our suffering.

We seek the nearness of God the comfort of God the answer of God the relief the healing the deliverance. Do we not. I am thankful that in the way that God works in his delays in his answer to our concerns that prior to his answers we are first shown and caused to learn the fear of the Lord the fear of the Lord.

If God is not worthy of fear he's not powerful to save until we realize just how much we are in his hands. And we cannot take things into our own hands but we are utterly in his hands. God teaches us that before he comforts and he saves he teaches us that he's worthy of fear that our faith is increased that he is indeed powerful to save.

Daniel is sorrowful he is mourning for three weeks. He is this way. Perhaps perhaps we're not told perhaps ever since he heard the news of how things were going badly for his people. But when Christ arrives he tells Daniel what has been going on these past three weeks.

We discovered that the Lord has been involved battling against his people's enemies. We have a reference here to the prince of Persia and alongside of that we have Michael being called a prince. We know Michael's an angel.

It's called an archangel. So whatever the prince of Persia is must be on something of the same type of level as the prince called Michael. And we hear that Christ has been engaged with the prince of Persia and Michael the prince is now engaged and Christ has come to speak with Daniel.

That sounds weird you'd be correct. But without engaging in too much angelic speculation we are to confess according to Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12 that there are principalities and powers. There are rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

That's what we're told. And so we discover that Ezra and Zerubbabel and the team were not wrestling merely against flesh and blood when the local pagans who opposed their work hired lawyers to pursue lawsuits against their work.

Ezra, Zerubbabel, and the team were not wrestling merely against flesh and blood but there was a spiritual battle going on. Daniel has only heard of the of the problems in the third year of Cyrus. He's only heard of the logistical issues the political issues.

And he's praying in sorrow about those things whereas there is actually he discovers upon the arrival of Christ that there's been a spiritual battle going on. That is far bigger and far more concerning than what was going on in the political and logistical side.

Our concerns are so limited. We see political issues and we're concerned and rightly so logistical issues. We're concerned rightly. So I'm concerned about my family relationships. I'm concerned about my finances.

I'm concerned about my health. I'm concerned about my loved ones. And I see these things right in front of me. But my concerns are so limited. There was a spiritual battle going on and Daniel didn't even know what was happening.

And Christ shows up to tell him what was going on. And Christ is God's chosen victor in all these conflicts. We don't understand God's timing of three weeks. We don't understand the involvement of this prince of Persia and the archangel of Michael.

But what do we know. We know ultimately all these spiritual forces suffered a devastating defeat through Christ's death resurrection and ascension. Colossians 2 15 says having disarmed principalities and powers he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them.

In it Christ is the victor. Our concerns are so limited. Third year of Cyrus is a rough time rough time for the rebuilding project. What other timing do we see in the text. Well Jesus says to or Christ says to Daniel look the answer I'm giving to you pertains many days ahead many days ahead.

Verse 14. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision refers to many days yet to come. Daniel's concerned with the days right now the issues right now.

Christ comes with an answer dealing with days far off. God's answer will deal at length with the political tumult to come which will center around Daniel's people Daniel's mountain city and temple all the very most important upheavals which will affect Daniel's people in many many days to come.

Now I want you to think about this having shown Daniel that these political upheavals are actually spiritual in nature. Daniel your people are having problems in this Persian empire. I'm going to take care of that.

I am taking care of that. In fact we read later on in Daniel chapter 10 that having dealt with the with the with the kings of Persia then God then Jesus turns his attention to deal with those of Greece.

He's going to deal with them in the whole history of Persia. Christ is the one who dealt with him in that way the ups and downs the backs and forths the intrigues the falling out all of it. Who who was behind all of that orchestrating that that was Christ.

What about the kingdom of Greece. What about Alexander's success. What about the split up of his kingdom. What about the fallout between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids and all the drama that fell out there.

Christ was in charge of that he was governing that as well. So so so Christ comes to Daniel and says and gives assurance to Daniel that he's the one who's taking care of it all and isn't assured to Daniel that this is the case when by his personal manifestation to Daniel Daniel knows the power of Christ first in his fear and in his trembling.

And then Christ gives assurances to Daniel that he need not be in terror and he gives him comfort. How essential would it be for the people of God the old covenant people of God one generation speaking unto the next encouraging them in the things of the Lord that as they live through the rest of the Persian empire through all of the Greek empire into the Roman era how important it would it be from generation to generation for them to look at one another and say all of this is being arranged by God.

How important would that be. Or would they look at world news. Shake their head and say well that's just terrible. That's just terrible. Do we really think that the conflicts of our age today are unfolding outside of Christ's sovereign reign.

Do we look at world history as secularists as atheists. Do we look at the unfolding of of conflict upon the world stage and make the assumptions of atheists. Oh that's just how things happen. Or do we do so as believers.

And we see that Christ is sovereign. Daniel is mourning for three weeks over the problems of his people. God assures Daniel he's been addressing the problem the entire time. And by the way there are a cascade of difficulties ahead.

Daniel you think this is bad. Wow. We've got a lot of bad stuff coming up now. Those thoughts may topple the scales of Daniel's anxiety but they don't budge the scales of God's sovereignty. Daniel has a limited concern for the current crisis but that must be placed against the greater scope of God's planned history for the Jews a history which resolves as a mantle of glory settled upon the shoulders of Christ.

And God's timing is perfect. God's timing is perfect. God's timing in our lives is always perfect. God's timing in a trial in sorrow and in grief and war and in scarcity and answering prayer and in providing comfort and relief.

His timing is perfect. His timing with Daniel was right on the dot. His timing with us is perfect. Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1 says to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven. God has arranged it to be so.

What if our grief and mourning come unexpectedly. What if our sorrows are extended longer than we feel we can bear. What if God delays his answers. What if the good and the true and the beautiful we desire and pray for.

What if these are not even answered in our generation. Is God still good. Is his timing still perfect. Daniel had to mourn for three weeks for his answer but that didn't make the answer bad though the word that God brought to Daniel had to do with generations far distant from him in time the word was still true.

We read the message was true but the appointed time was long. The message is true no matter how many generations stand between the giving of the message and the risk and the reading of the message. The word of God is true no matter how long it takes for it to come to pass.

Psalm 33 verses 10 through 11 the Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever the plans of his heart to all generations.

And how gracious was it of God to give Daniel a clear prophetic expectation he and his people. He says the appointed time is long. He did not leave his servant to doubt the time frame of the prophecy's fulfillment.

When God says it'll be short it'll be short. When he says it'll be long it'll be long. God's word is also we see permanent permanent God. The word of God is true no matter how old or how long we wait for the promises to come about.

Why is God's word permanent and true forever. Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. God's word is permanent because Christ is enthroned he will never be shaken. Thus his word will never be shaken.

Daniel's getting kind of shaky in this chapter. Christ isn't. The rebuilding project is getting a little shaky. But God's grace isn't the future of Israel especially during the time of the Grecian empire that looks pretty shaky but God's promises aren't.

And even as God tells Daniel how Israel's security is going to remain under assault for many generations to come always on the edge of disaster time and again he assures Daniel that all that God has planned for Israel will come to pass.

And the messiah is not going to fail. It's not going to fail. So what is our response. Our response is to be praise. We are to praise. Daniel is very near the end of his life but the revelation given to him extends for generations and generations beyond him.

Isn't that the same situation as the psalmist psalm 71 verses 17 and 18. Oh God you have taught me from my youth and to this day I declare your wondrous works now also when I am old and gray headed. Oh God do not forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation.

Your power to everyone who is to come the word of God endures forever. Or are we temporary now. Some of you are gray headed. But what does our generation need to hear. God's word is true. He always keeps his promises.

He will be glorifying you just watch and see. You may not see it. But the generation you're talking to will because God is true. We need to trust in the Lord's timing and goodness. We need to declare God's strength through this generation so that the truth of his power will be handed down to the next and to the next.

And what are three weeks of sorrow in light of 12 generations of God's sovereign deliverance. What are three weeks of sorrow in light of 12 generations. Let us not be weary and discouraged. God's delay in our now is to be measured against his timing throughout all of redemptive history.

And Daniel had to wait to commune with his Lord. We do not praise the Lord. We may commune with him daily in this blessed new covenant. Daniel measured the week of weeks of his sorrow by what he refused to eat and drink.

But we should not fail even in our sorrows to refuse the comfort of this meal. We come and mark what we are able to eat and commune with our Lord our shepherd our savior. Let's pray father. I thank you for your word.

I thank you for our time and Daniel today Lord we can relate to Daniel his sorrows his misery his needing a word from you. We thank you that you have given us a sure word in your son Jesus Christ. And we thank you that we may commune with you today.

And I pray that you would bless our communion with you. And I pray that you would strengthen those who are weak and that you would comfort those who are sorrowing. And that you would help us to know the goodness of your.