Sunday, March 13, 2022 AM

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Sunnyside Baptist Church "Covenant Faithfulness" Pt 7 Daniel 9:1-27

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good morning everyone it's good to be together to worship together this morning everybody's bright -eyed and bushy -tailed this morning right time change
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Sunday few announcements as we get started this morning come back this evening for our evening service at 530 looking forward to that and then this coming
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Wednesday on the 16th we'll have our meal at 545 together in the fellowship hall and then at 630 prayer for the adults and tag for the kids looking ahead to near the end of March March 24th at 10 a .m.
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there's a little bit more information in the bulletin about this but it's a capital psalm sing at our state capitol building this has kind of been put together through the free the states abortion abolition group so if you've been involved with any of those rallies that that they've held in the month of February over the course of the past few years they're putting together a psalm sing next
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Thursday the 24th at 10 a .m. inside the capital so if you can come to that they're using the same psalm book that we use here at Sunnyside so that hopefully we're familiar with a few of those psalms together and then at the very end of the month
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March 27th communion during the morning service together and then truth group for the young adults after that there's another announcement in the bulletin regarding if you have an announcement for the bulletin you can send it to a designated email address
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Sunnyside BC bulletin at gmail .com so if you want to include something next week or anytime thereafter please use that and they will put that in there for you also operation
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Christmas child giving is still going on so feel free to give towards that and then lastly if you haven't done so it's a good idea to get into the practice week to week is just check the mailbox in the back table there are some directory updates so look for your last name letter and then it'll have your family's name on that for any kind of directory updates change of address or phone number or something like that and you can put that in your directory any other announcements before we get started all right this week's fighter verse comes from the
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Psalms Psalm 103 verse 20 through 22 bless the
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Lord oh you his angels you mighty ones who do his word obeying the voice of his word bless the
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Lord all his hosts his ministers who do his will bless the
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Lord all his works in all places of his dominion bless the
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Lord oh my soul we're going to have a time to pray quietly and then after that Brian will come up and open us in prayer father in heaven it is indeed a privilege to be among your people to share burdens and share praises and Lord I'm reminded again this morning that though we are bound by Christ we are free we are free to follow his example to follow his word to know one day these shackles will be broken and we will walk the golden streets in heaven worship at the foot of the throne a
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God who is holy and just and knows our every thought our every deed and has compassion and forgives although I pray for this service this morning
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I pray that we would humbly approach you through the teaching and preaching and the praising of your name and you would settle in us the burdens we carry this morning take away the worry and the anxiety and the struggle replace it with a peace that passes all understanding may your name be praised amen would you stand with me for our call to worship our passage this morning is found in Psalms chapter 76 we'll be reading verses 1 through 6 read with me together in Judah God is known his name is great in Israel his abode has been established in Salem his dwelling place in Zion there he broke the flashing arrows the shield the sword and the weapons of war
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Salaam glorious are you more majestic than the mountains of prey the south hearted are stripped of their spoil they sank into sleep all the men of war were unable to use their hands your rebuke
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Oh God of Jacob both rider and horse lay stunned in our song for this is page 76 a in our
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Psalm for worship him no we'll sing verses 1 2 & 3 God is truly known in Judah He broke the flaming arrows, there both shield and sword made still
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You more glorious and majestic than the mountains filled with prey
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Brave and valiant, once you plundered, now they summered in the grave.
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Though they once were mighty warriors, the dead were his hands to save.
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Rider, both lie sleeping, cast down into death's dark night.
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You rebuke them, God of Jacob, awe -inspiring in your might.
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Once your anger has been kindled, who can stand before your side?
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Blessed Savior, we adore thee, we thy love and grace proclaim.
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Thou art mighty, thou art holy, glorious is thy matchless name.
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Lord, the saints of every nation sing of sin and shame.
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Thou didst come to die a ransom, guilty sinners to be blamed.
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Blessed is thy name, blessed is thy name.
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Turn with me, if you will, to Isaiah, Isaiah 19, and we'll be reading through verse 19.
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The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt.
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The isles of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
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So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor.
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City against city, and kingdom against kingdom. Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them, and I will confound their strategy, so that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead, and to mediums and to spiritists.
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Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master, and a mighty king will rule over them, declares the
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Lord God of hosts. The waters from the sea will dry up, and the rivers will be parched and dry.
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The canals will emit a stench, the streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up.
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The reeds and rushes will rot away, the bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile, and all the sown fields by the
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Nile will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishermen will lament, and all those who cast a line into the
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Nile will mourn. And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away. Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax, and the weavers of white cloth, will be utterly dejected.
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And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed, and the hired laborers will be grieved in Saul. The princes of Zoan are mere fools, and the advice of Pharaoh's wisest advisors has become stupid.
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How can you men say to Pharaoh, I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?
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Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, and let them understand what the
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Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt. The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly, the princes of Memphis are deluded.
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Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes have led Egypt astray. The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of distortion.
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They have led Egypt astray in all that it does. As a drunken man staggers in his vomit, there will be no work for Egypt, which its head or tail, its palm branch or burl rushes or bulrush may do.
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In the day, the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the
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Lord of hosts, which he is going to wave over them. The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt.
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Everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it because of the purpose of the
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Lord of hosts, which he is purposing against them. In that day, five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the
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Lord of hosts. One will be called the city of destruction. In that day, there will be an altar to the
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Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near its border. Let's pray.
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Heavenly Father, once again, we're grateful to be here worshiping you with other believers.
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I just thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. I pray, Lord, that you would give us a learning spirit as Michael comes and preaches to us.
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I just pray that you will be with him, strengthen him to the task before him. I just pray that you would bring to mind all the things that you've been speaking in this week, and I pray that we would be submissive to the truth of your word.
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I just pray that you would help us in our worship, that we would be true and faithful to what the
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Bible speaks, and just bless us for being here. In your name, amen. You may be seated.
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Thank you. Our next hymn is rich in its message.
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I'll read just a few words. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.
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Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of his spirit, washed in his blood.
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As we sing this, sing with joy in your heart the salvation and the forgiveness and payment of our sin, and salvation is in the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed assurance. All the day long.
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This is my joy. This is my song.
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Praise thee, my Savior. All the day long.
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Hymnals, Hymns, Modern and Ancient, page 94. Not what my hands have done. My spirit full of sin.
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And set my spirit free. Face alone,
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O God, to him speak.
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O soul, O God, can this sore bondage break?
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Save thine. No other bond will do.
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No strength in thy reach is divine.
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And bear me safely through.
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Let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Father, we thank you for gathering us together on this day.
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We thank you for providing for us, giving us strength, giving us life, breath to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, place to gather, shelter together, that we may rejoice in you, that we may remember on this day that above all else that you have given, you have given us your
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Son. You have given us your Son, born of a virgin, fully
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God and fully man for us and for our salvation, a righteous life, fulfilling your law, a redeeming death, satisfying your justice, resurrection from the dead, bringing us eternal life, ascension to your right hand from where he reigns supreme, and hope, great hope of his return.
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Father, we come in light of Christ, in light of all that you have given and provided, your matchless generosity and supreme goodness, and we pray that you would help us this day to glorify you and to praise you as you deserve, that you would be pleased with what goes on here in the life of your children brought together in your
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Son. We pray that you would bless us with your Spirit as we worship. It's in Christ's name we pray.
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Amen. I invite you to open your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9.
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Daniel chapter 9, we're going to be reading verses 20 through 27 this morning.
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Daniel chapter 9 and verses 20 through 27.
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The setting and context of Daniel's Old Covenant prayer is pretty well wrapped up here in the first 19 verses in the chapter.
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And now we're going to direct our attention to God's answer. Isn't it wonderful when
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God answers prayer? When you see the direct answer of prayer, have you ever wondered why he answers some prayers within five seconds and some prayers within five decades?
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Why does God do what he does? Well, we're not going to solve all of that today, but we are grateful for God answering our prayers.
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And God sends Gabriel, the angel, to Daniel in this passage with an answer to prayer.
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And as so often, what we find is that it is a surprising answer. God very often answers our prayers in surprising ways.
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I invite you to stand with me as I read God's Holy Word. Here are the words of our Savior, our
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Sovereign, Jesus Christ, by his Holy Spirit, to his prophet Daniel.
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Verse 20, Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people
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Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my
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God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
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And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
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At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved.
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Therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision. Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
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Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build
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Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty -two weeks.
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The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty -two weeks,
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Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
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The end of it shall be with a flood until the end of the war. Desolations are determined.
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Then he shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
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And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate.
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This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. As you read through the
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Bible and you see God's people cry out to God and pray, you see their difficulties and trials.
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Sometimes they're crying out to God in the midst of peril. Sometimes they're praying to God about long -reaching concerns and anxieties.
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And as we are blessed to read the word and see that God answers prayer, if we took time to reflect on when he does answer, that he answers surprisingly.
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Sometimes he says no. That's not what you need. That's not what we're going to do.
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Sometimes he answers yes. And then we've often been taught sometimes he says wait.
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But eventually he does answer. But often God answers and says, here's what
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I give to you after what you asked of me. And while it is an answer to the prayer, it's far bigger and far more glorious than what the prayer was originally.
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And so I challenge you as you read through your Bibles and you reflect upon the biblical stories, consider how often that happens.
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How often do we have the saints of God, whether Old Covenant or New Covenant, praying and asking
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God for things, and then how does God respond? Is it always straight on the money, what was asked for?
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Or does it come in surprising ways? And I think we'll find that very often it comes in a surprising way, that it's not usually exactly what was asked for, but it's always better.
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It's always grander. It's always more lasting than what was asked for.
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Consider some examples. God promised Eve a seed after Adam and Eve sinned.
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And now death was the presiding reality over the image of God. Well, we're going to need some offspring.
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And after all, we have an enemy that has deceived us. And so we need someone, a seed who will crush the serpent.
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And God promises this to Eve. And although we see that she hopes in her firstborn
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Cain, he obviously was not the one. And her seed, her promised one
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Shiloh, does not arrive for a hundred generations. And then when he does, through a virgin.
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Abraham pleads with God for a single heir. He didn't even have one.
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And the word of the Lord came to Abraham in the middle of the night, took him out of his tent, showed him the stars, and soon changed his name to Abraham, from Abram, to be a father of nations.
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Not just a mighty father, but a father of nations. And then when Abraham's seed did come, he did indeed bless all the families of the earth through his sacrifice.
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King David wanted to build a house for the Lord and consulted with the prophet Nathan, because he wanted the blessing of God upon that work, to build a house for God.
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And then God answered and surprised David and promised to build
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David a house, a royal house, with a promised son. The promised son who made the plans, the final plans of the temple come to pass.
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The son of David builds the temple. Here we have Daniel. Daniel is praying for God to act in covenant faithfulness towards his people by restoring the covenant topography, geography, and architecture.
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Please have favor upon your mountain, have favor upon your city, have favor upon your sanctuary.
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Restore all these shadows of the old covenant. But his answer,
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God surprises Daniel, his answer is more than the 70 years that Daniel had been counting from the prophecies of Jeremiah, saying,
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Hey, God, look, it's 70 years. Isn't it about time we got this going so we can get back to the land and restore these things?
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And God responds surprisingly saying, Well, you're on the right track, Daniel, 70 years and all that. But how about 70 weeks of years for the fulfillment of all these old covenant shadows?
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How about in 70 weeks of years, the Messiah himself? You know, this is important for us to remember because there are many times in the course of biblical history that the saints are confronted with a situation in which it seems impossible for God to keep his promises.
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How is God going to keep his promises now? Looking at this disaster in front of us.
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But time and again, God brings glory to his name and increases the faith of his people by his surprising answers.
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God always keeps his promises. God is good. Jesus tells us to trust our heavenly father.
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Jesus tells us to trust our heavenly father. If sinful fathers do not give their children stones when they ask for bread, they don't give them snakes when they ask for fish, well then, wouldn't it be true that our heavenly father, perfect and sinless, when we ask him for what we need, will he not give us far better than what we ask?
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Our heavenly father's answers might be surprising in their timing, might be surprising in their method, it might be surprising in their content.
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However, it will be good. However he answers, it will be good. I think this is relevant for the times in which we live, especially with the outpouring of information.
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I mean, there's no news like bad news multiplied by the Internet. The saints have always been bothered by bad news, but now information is traveling so fast, now we've got extra bad news to be upset about.
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In the times in which we live, it may seem impossible for that God is going to keep all of his promises in Christ, and there are many, and they are mighty.
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How in the world is he going to keep all his promises in Christ? We should trust that he will. We should trust that he will, because God's covenant faithfulness manifests in Christ for all the saints.
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So we want to look at verses 20 through 27, at how God answers
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Daniel's prayer. Remember that Daniel has humbled himself.
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He is fasting. He is in sackcloth and ashes. He is stating by these elements that the answer of God, the need of the time, the word of God is more important than his food, more important than his clothing, more important than his shelter.
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In fact, if God doesn't answer, and if God isn't for us, what good is food, clothing, and shelter?
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God is more important than all of it. And he's confessing his sin, the sin of his people.
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He's confessing the shame of Israel. He acknowledges that God is right, that God was right in his anger, a righteous anger where he exiled his people from their homeland.
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Daniel was wondering, and he's asking, Lord, you made these promises through Jeremiah of 70 years.
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Will you consider our misery? Will you act in merciful, compassionate love towards your wretched people again?
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Will you look upon us in our misery, and will you give us your favor?
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Will you bring us back to our land and restore the mountain and the city and the temple, the sanctuary?
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And God answers that he will, but he answers far more than that.
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He promises far more than that. God answers surprisingly. More than the restoration of the old covenant shadows in 70 years,
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God promises the bringing about of the new covenant within 70 weeks of years.
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Daniel's supplications are answered. Daniel is comforted that God has heard his prayers.
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Daniel is comforted by the angel Gabriel, that God loves
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Daniel, and that he is giving this answer to bring hope back to Daniel and his people.
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It's interesting that Eve, when she prayed, she did get an answer.
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She desired a seed to crush the serpent, and, well, Cain didn't work out, and Abel was killed, but she did receive
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Seth. But eventually she got more than Seth, didn't she? Abraham desired the seed to bless all the nations, and he got
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Isaac. He did, but he got far more than Isaac, didn't he?
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David desired the seed to build the temple, and he did get Solomon, and he did build a temple, but he got far more than that, didn't he?
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Daniel prays for the seed as well. He prays for Israel to be raised up from his desolation according to God's promised timing, and you know what?
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He's going to get that. They're going to go back. The exiles are going to go back, and they're going to rebuild the city, and rebuild the temple, and the worship of God is going to be reestablished in the promised land.
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I mean, he's going to get that, but eventually they're going to get far more, far more through Christ the seed, the risen king.
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Now God answers Daniel's concerns in a twofold manner. He affirms to Daniel that his prayers have been heard favorably, and then he lays out a prophetic calendar that became the steady hope of the
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Jewish people for more than a dozen generations. So let's consider this dynamic of the prayers of the godly and the providence of God.
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Let's look at verses 20 and 21 again. Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people
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Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my
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God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
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Daniel had got up that morning, an exile far, far from home.
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His heart was heavy laden with the words of Jeremiah the prophet, and Daniel's been doing some math.
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And he knows if it's not today, then maybe in a couple of years, but here pretty soon, these 70 years that God promised are up, which means that God will bring his people back to the land, and they'll rebuild, and it will be good.
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So Daniel prays in agreement with the law of God, the law of God which said that if God had judged his people, and exiled them from their land because of their covenant breaking, if they would set their face toward him, turn their attention towards the temple, and pray, and confess their sins, and repent of their sins, that he would restore them to their land.
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And that's exactly what Daniel does. He follows the law of God, and prays according to those promises of God.
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Daniel did not eat breakfast that morning. At the time of the morning sacrifice, he came and went, and he ate no food, but he prayed instead.
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He did not eat a midday meal. No, he opened his eyes, and he set his face towards Jerusalem, though Jerusalem was destroyed, and the land lay in ruins.
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He's still looking to where he ought to look, by faith, to the shadows of Christ, and he prays at the midday meal.
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But now, it is the time of the evening sacrifice. We see the time of the evening offering, which is three o 'clock in the afternoon.
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It was the time of the evening offering. Now, in Jerusalem, there was no offerings being given.
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There was no Levite stoking the flames. There was no priest offering up that daily sacrifice that had all stopped with the destruction of the temple, and the destruction of Jerusalem.
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But, Daniel is still living by faith. He wasn't operating by what he could see, but he was operating by faith, and he clung to all of the shadows of Christ, no matter how ragged their condition.
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Remember, in Daniel chapter six, the story of Daniel and the lion's den. We're told in Daniel chapter six, verse 10, that it was
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Daniel's habit from his youth to pray three times a day. He would pray, most likely, at the morning offering.
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He would pray at midday. He would pray at the evening offering, even as he is in this example.
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You could recall that, in Daniel chapter six, that when
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Daniel heard the new decree, Darius, having come to power very recently, decided to restructure everything and take more firm control of the empire.
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And those who hated Daniel hatched this scheme to get Daniel in trouble with the new emperor.
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And they come to Darius and say, let's make a decree, and we're going to solidify your rule here. We're going to make sure that everybody adores you and everybody will only pray to you for 30 days.
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All right, this is for the common good. We need everybody to unify, everyone to think the same and do the same here.
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And so everybody, if they're going to pray, they got to pray to the emperor for 30 days, 30 days.
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When Daniel heard that, he did his normal routine. He prayed in the morning and he prayed at midday and he prayed at the time of the evening offering.
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Three times that day, he opened up his window, looked west towards the temple by faith, knowing it wasn't there, looking towards the shadow of Christ and he prayed.
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It makes me wonder if this is what he was praying here in Daniel chapter 9. Because we read in Daniel 6 verse 14 that the enemies of Daniel saw that he prayed three times that day.
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If that's three o 'clock in the afternoon, then they have time to go tell King Darius. And we read that King Darius then labored till the going down of the sun to deliver
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Daniel, but was unable to. And Daniel was cast into the lion's den.
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I wonder if he was thrown into the lion's den, his head and heart filled with these promises from Daniel chapter 9, thinking, hey,
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God has got this. But he prays at three o 'clock in the afternoon.
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He prays at the time of the evening sacrifice. He's praying for God to restore his holy mountain.
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He has set his face towards Jerusalem, asking for God to be faithful to his covenant.
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And he does all of this at three o 'clock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice.
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Do you know that a day was coming? A day was coming when a sacrifice to end all sacrifices would be made at three o 'clock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice.
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And there the blood of the new covenant was shed so that no more sacrifices would need to be made.
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You say, well, Daniel didn't know that. Daniel didn't know that the Lamb of God would be offered up at the evening sacrifice.
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You are correct. But what he did know, what he did know, was that God had revealed that Daniel needed a mediator, that Daniel needed sacrifice, that Daniel needed something to be offered up in his place and for his sake, that he might be able to abide with God, to be in union with God.
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And so he prays at the time of the evening sacrifice with the shadows of Christ in mind.
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What God had told him, he responded to in faith. Daniel didn't have to figure it all out.
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He didn't have to figure out the complexities of the sociopolitical realities of the
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Medo -Persian Empire. He didn't have to figure out how to outflank his political enemies.
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He didn't have to figure out how in the world that he was facing west at a pile of rubble that he couldn't see, but this was the way he was supposed to pray.
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He couldn't answer all the questions that he had, but what he had been told, he held fast to, and he knew what direction to look, what direction to look.
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We can't always figure it all out, folks. We are children, remember?
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Jesus said, of such are the kingdom of heaven. Of such are the kingdom of heaven.
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We're children. We don't have to have everything figured out to know what direction to look and who to pray to and who to seek help from, our
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Heavenly Father, by the merits, by the beauty, by the power, by the blood of Jesus Christ.
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We're not going to know until eternity what beautiful and significant things God does in our lives.
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We're not going to know until eternity why it is that God delayed an answer or gave us an odd answer or answered immediately.
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We're not going to know, but we trust that what he provides is good.
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Daniel is praying at the time of the evening offering, not because there's an evening offering being offered. He's praying by faith.
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He's praying by faith. He's looking at the shadows of Christ. How are we to pray? We are to pray by faith, looking at the shadows of Christ.
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Why? The only way God is going to answer our prayers and provide for us is through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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All of God's blessings, all of God's blessings to God's people through his
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Son. And if we're going to pray by faith, let's pray by faith in God's providence that God does indeed provide.
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Notice the verses 21 through 23. Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man
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Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering, and he informed me and talked with me and said,
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Oh, Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
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At the beginning of your supplications, the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved.
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Therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision. Daniel was praying the third time that day.
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He's asking for the mercies of God. He's contemplating the mercies of God during the evening offering, and an old friend comes flying in, or at least apparently so.
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The words for fly swiftly mean exhaustion and tiredness.
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The old English word for fly means just to run really fast. We might read this as Gabriel, the messenger of God, wearing himself out and traveling so far and so fast, but also the terms may grammatically be attached to Daniel's own condition, and you'll see this in some translations, that at the time of the evening sacrifice,
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Daniel having fasted all day long and been praying that he was tired and that he was exhausted. The literal version reads, and while I was setting my prayer in order, then the man
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Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, touched me in my severe exhaustion about the time of the evening sacrifice.
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Now, I think this rendering is better for several reasons. One, Daniel is familiar with Gabriel.
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He has already seen Gabriel in chapter eight, the previous chapter where he sees a vision, and Gabriel just shows up, and again, he's described there as a man.
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He's not a goose man with big wings. He's just a man, and he has normal movements.
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And also, Daniel, as we'll continue to read, especially in Daniel chapter 10 and following,
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Daniel gets exhausted and wore out in these spiritual experiences.
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So I think that's probably the best way to read this. But in any case,
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God sent Gabriel to Daniel to provide to him skill in understanding this current vision, one in which 70 weeks of years are going to be laid out before him in a prophetic calendar.
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But watch this. We hear that from the time, notice how
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Gabriel tells him, from the time that Daniel began praying, God had sent
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Gabriel to him, meaning that as soon as Daniel starts praying,
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God already has the answer in mind. The very moment that Daniel starts praying, that morning,
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God gives the answer to Gabriel and sends him on his way.
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Isn't that interesting? Now, obviously, God could have sent Gabriel ahead of the prayer to show up in the middle of the night, and let's just forego the all -day event of fasting and sackcloth and ashes, right?
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Wouldn't that be more efficient? God could have sent Gabriel a few minutes into the prayer, right, and short -circuited this whole thing.
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God could have sent Gabriel an hour earlier than the evening sacrifice, but God had determined the timing of the answer to the prayer.
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But was God being negligent? Was it that Daniel had to call three times leaving messages before God could respond?
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Is God like Baal, who might be on a journey or asleep or off relieving himself, and he can't answer his prophets as Elijah mocked the false prophets?
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No, God already knew the answer, had the answer ready the moment
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Daniel began praying, and from the moment Daniel began praying, he sent forth his angel with the message to arrive at the exact time that God wanted
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Daniel to have the answer. Do you see that? Look at the providence of God.
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God was not ignoring Daniel. He was not setting aside
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Daniel's prayers. God was not annoyed by the repetition of Daniel's prayers.
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God was already in the motion of providing the answer as Daniel was praying.
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It kind of reminds me of when God defied the civil magistrates and busted
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Peter out of jail, right? The civil magistrates had spoken. Peter, you're in jail.
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You're done for, and God said no. And he busted Peter out of jail through an angel, and Peter was already on his way to the house where the church folks had gathered to pray for his release.
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They're praying for his release, and he's in the process of walking to the house and then wrote a bust up the prayer meeting.
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Hey, prayer's been answered. Peter's here. Gabriel not only affirms the providence of God that God has been paying attention to Daniel's prayer, that he has been already in the motion of providing the answer to Daniel, but Gabriel also affirms
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God's great love for Daniel. His great love for Daniel.
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You are greatly beloved. You are greatly beloved. And he assures him with a touch and a word that God will indeed give understanding to Daniel regarding his answer.
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And understanding really was a big part of Daniel's prayer. He wants to know how this is going to work out, the timeline of the 70 years.
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He's also, of course, asking for the restoration of all those things. But Gabriel comes with this answer.
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He's going to help Daniel understand that the 70 weeks of years is ultimately the answer that God wants
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Daniel to cling to, that he wants his people to hold on to. Daniel only asks to understand about the 70 years.
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That's all he asks for. It's like, please, God, keep your promises about the 70 years. I want to understand when this is going to come to pass.
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That's all he was asking for. And God says, okay, we'll talk about that. But here's something far bigger.
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Here's something more glorious. Here's something more grand. And maybe Daniel was simply, you know,
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God, just make this clear to me. I'm praying. I'm trying to understand when this is going to come to pass. He didn't ask for an angel to show up, right?
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He didn't ask for an angel to show up and, you know, touch him and talk to him personally.
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Talk about a surprise answer. Remember that the heavenly
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Father to whom we pray not only knows our needs before we ask, Jesus says, in Matthew 6.
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Not only does the heavenly Father know our needs before we even pray, but he has already provided for them.
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He has given us his Son. He has given us his
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Son. How will he not also with him freely give us all things?
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Romans 8. The providence of God. What do we think about this angel
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Gabriel? Well, when we think about the time of the evening sacrifice, what are we to remember?
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Daniel is praying by faith with his attention upon the shadows of Christ.
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What about what he's praying for? That God be faithful to the covenant and restore all those shadows of Christ.
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What about the angel Gabriel? Now, Gabriel, he had a front -row seat to some of the best moments in biblical history, didn't he?
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I mean, he had the best seat. His name means, my
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God is mighty. And, of course, this is what he witnessed time and again and testified to time and again.
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Angels are ministering spirits. They are sent forth to minister to those and for those who will inherit salvation.
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Hebrews 1, verse 14. So God sends his angel
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Gabriel to minister to Daniel, to comfort him, to lift him from his ashes, to clothe him with love and nourish him with his word, the answer to his prayer.
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Gabriel, like the other angels, come and go by the will of God. They come and go by the will of God, according to the word of God.
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And you may recall another man who learned that very same lesson. Like Daniel, he also was an exile far, far from home.
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We read of Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel. And here's what happened one night.
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Genesis chapter 28, verse 11. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set.
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And he took one of the stones of that place and put it under his head, and he laid down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to the heaven.
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And there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the
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Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the
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God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
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What does Jacob see? He sees a ladder that stretches from heaven to earth.
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And upon this ladder the angels ascend and descend. They come and go by the will of God, according to the word of God.
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And what is the word? I will give to you and your descendants this land. Isn't that what
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Daniel's praying about, by the way? Hey, God, we're not in our land. You promised to give us this land, and we're not there.
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God, will you please restore us to the land that you promised us? And God sends an angel,
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Gabriel, to come to Daniel and talk to him about the word of the Lord, the answer of God concerning this promise.
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So when Gabriel says in the passage that he had been caused to fly swiftly and reach
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Daniel at the time of the evening offering, when he says, I have now come forth, what highway did he take?
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What highway did he take to get to Daniel? Was it not the same ladder that Jacob saw?
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You know, Jesus told Nathanael in John 1, verse 51, that he's the ladder.
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You will see greater things than these, Nathanael. You will see angels ascending and descending upon the
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Son of Man. The Son of Man. The ladder that stretches from heaven to earth.
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Look, there's only one mediator between God and man. It's the man, Christ Jesus. And the angels ascend and descend and go about doing the will of God according to the word of God, the word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us.
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And what did Jacob call that place when he saw the ladder stretch from heaven to earth and the angels ascending and descending and saw that here in this place,
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God and man could have communion because of this ladder? He called it Bethel, the house of God.
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And what did Christ come to build? The temple, the house of God. All this is to say that when
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Daniel prayed, he prayed and God answered according to the ladder from which he sent down.
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He sent Gabriel down and Daniel is staring off into the west and he's praying and putting his face toward the
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Lord and he's praying at the time of the evening offering. And why is he praying this way? Because he's turning to the shadows of Christ and God is answering accordingly and it's according to Christ that God is going to provide.
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It's according to Christ that God is going to provide. Even the wisdom to understand the vision of the 70 weeks of years.
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God has sent forth Gabriel according to Christ down that old ladder between heaven and earth.
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For Christ is the one mediator who brings us together with God in the same house, Bethel.
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When we pray, we should pray with great confidence in the providence of God.
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The providence of God. We first learn about the providence of God on Mount Moriah when
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God told Abraham to go up and sacrifice his seed, his son Isaac, on an altar.
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And Abraham obeyed, reflecting in faith that if God told him to do it, then it was right and then it was good.
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And that if he ended up killing his son on the altar, that God would raise his son up from the dead to keep his promises.
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Did you hear that? That if the seed were to be killed, God would raise up that son to keep his promises.
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Abraham gets to the top. He's about to kill his son, but God stops him and points his attention to a ram, a substitute sacrifice, caught by his horns in the bush.
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And the substitute is sacrificed for the people of God.
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And in that place, Abraham said, The God who sees, the
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God who provides, who foresees, the God who sees ahead of time and provides for his people.
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And everything about the providence of God is centered around his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who sends forth his angels to minister to his people, according to his will, according to his word.
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Let us reflect today that as soon as we start praying, as soon as we start praying to God, do we know that the answer is already in his mind?
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That he already has the answer. Why doesn't he answer right away? Tick -tock, I'm upset.
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I have issues. I've got needs. I've got concerns. And so we pray to God, but we should know by faith, what we read here in Daniel, what we read in Matthew 6,
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God already has the answer in mind. He already has the answer in mind. And that he will provide for us, unfailingly, though perhaps surprisingly, he will provide for us unfailingly, according to his son.
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According to his son, to whom we look when we pray. And what
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God promises he will bring to pass, applied by his Holy Spirit in God's perfect timing.
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Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the time you've given us in your word. Lord, it is important for us to remember how good you are, that we can trust you, that you have provided above and beyond all that we ask or think in your son,
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Jesus Christ, from whom and in whom and to whom are all things.
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That in all things that Christ may have the preeminence. Lord, we thank you for answering prayers.
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We know that you do. Lord, forgive us for doubting. Forgive us for being faltering and doubting in our prayers.
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Strengthen our faith and give us confidence that you indeed answer. You already have the answer in mind.
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It's a good answer. Help us to trust you, your means, your timing and your answers.
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We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. We're going to finish our song we started earlier.
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Not what my hands have done. We'll sing the last two verses. The grace of the sun and the fellowship of the