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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000142S
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00:04 #S074 - All You Had To Do Was Ask (Part 1)
00:19 Remain standing as we go to the book of 00:21 Daniel Chapter nine, the book of Daniel Chapter nine. 00:25 And we'll begin together adverse number one, 00:26 the book of Daniel Chapter nine and verse number one. 00:30 And just for the sake of some context, for there is no miracle 00:35 there is no obvious happy ending. 00:39 But there are some things that the Lord wants us 00:39 to see in our texts today. 00:41 Here we find Daniel making intercession 00:44 on behalf of the people of God as they are in the 69th year. 00:49 What year? 00:51 69th year of their 70 00:53 years of prophesied exile in the land of the child. 00:57 And Daniel is making a specific petition 01:00 before the Lord, Daniel, chapter nine and verse one. 01:03 When you get there, you say, Pastor, I'm there. 01:06 Amen. The Bible says 01:10 in the first year of Darius, 01:13 the son of a Hazaras, of the lineage of the Medes, 01:18 who was made king over the realm of the child's 01:21 and the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood 01:26 by the books the number of the years 01:27 specified by the Word of the Lord 01:30 through Jeremiah the Prophet, that he would 01:32 accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. 01:37 Then I set my what 01:40 I set my face to the Lord 01:44 God to make request by prayer 01:48 and supplication with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 01:52 And I prayed to the Lord, my God, and make confession 01:55 and said, Oh Lord, great and awesome. 01:58 God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those 02:01 who love him and with those who keep his commandments. 02:05 We have what sinned and committed, what 02:09 we have done wickedly and rebelled. 02:11 Even by departing from your precepts and your judgments. 02:14 Neither have 02:15 we heeded your servants, 02:17 the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings 02:20 and our princes to our fathers and all the people of the land. 02:24 Oh, Lord, righteousness belongs to you, 02:27 but to us, shame of face, as it is 02:30 this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem 02:35 and all Israel, those near and far off, 02:38 and all the countries to which you have driven them 02:41 because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed 02:44 against you. 02:45 Oh Lord, to us belongs shame. 02:48 A face to our kings, our princes, our fathers, 02:53 because we have sinned against you, to the Lord, 02:56 our God belong mercy and forgiveness. 03:00 Though we have rebelled against Him, 03:03 we have not obey 03:04 the voice of the Lord, our God to walk in His laws 03:09 which He has set before us by his servants, the prophets. 03:12 Yes, all Israel has transgressed your law and has departed 03:16 so as not to obey your voice. 03:18 Therefore, the curse 03:19 and the oath written in the law of Moses, 03:22 the servant of God, 03:23 have been poured out upon us 03:25 because we have sinned against Him. 03:27 And He has confirmed his words, which he has spoke against us, 03:33 against our judges who judge us by bringing upon us 03:36 great disaster for under the whole heavens. 03:39 Such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. 03:44 And notice the why of all of these things 03:48 as it is written in the law of Moses, 03:51 that this disaster has come upon us, 03:56 yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord, our God, 04:01 that we might return from our iniquities 04:04 and understand Your truth. 04:06 Therefore, the Lord has kept the disaster 04:09 in the jail kits at church. 04:11 Therefore, the Lord has kept the disease letter in mind. 04:16 The Word says and brought it upon us for the Lord. 04:19 Our God is righteous in all the works which He has done, 04:24 though we have not obeyed his voice. 04:25 And now, oh Lord God, who brought your people 04:30 out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand 04:32 and made yourself a name as it is? 04:34 This day we have sinned and we have done wickedly 04:38 all Lord, according to all your righteousness, I pray, 04:42 let your anger and your fury 04:46 be turned away from your city, Jerusalem, 04:49 your holy mountain, for our sins and for the iniquities 04:52 of our fathers. 04:53 Jerusalem and your people are a reproach 04:57 to all those around us now. 04:59 Therefore, our God hear the prayer 05:02 of your servants and supplication, 05:05 and for the Lord's sake, cause your face 05:10 to shine on your sanctuary, which is desolate. 05:14 Oh, my God. 05:15 Incline your ear and hear open your eyes and 05:19 see the desolation and the city which is called by your name. 05:23 For we do not present our supplication 05:27 before you because of our righteous deeds, 05:31 but because of your great 05:34 what your great mercies again and your hearing verse 13, 05:40 as it is written in the law of Moses, 05:42 all this disaster has come upon us. 05:46 Yet we have 05:49 not made our prayer before. 05:52 The Lord, our God, that we might turn 05:55 from our iniquities and understand your truth today. 06:00 Saints, 06:02 I just want to talk for a little while under the subject. 06:04 All you had to do was ask. 06:08 All you had to do was ask. 06:10 Let's pray together. Father. 06:13 In this little while, would you please say much? 06:17 What? 06:18 I'm praying that you would make some things 06:19 very clear in the hearing of your people. 06:22 And, Lord, I'm praying that as the word is declared, 06:24 that faith would be made, would be multiplied 06:28 exponentially in the hearing of the Word. 06:31 And so Lord would you allow me permission 06:34 to join my human weakness to your divine strength? 06:38 Hide me in the shadows of the cross 06:40 that at the end of this service 06:42 today, Jesus alone might be seen, 06:45 that Christ alone would be heard, 06:47 and at the end of our time 06:48 together, let Jesus alone be praised. 06:51 Bless us. 06:52 To this end, we ask in the wonderful name of Jesus, 06:54 our Lord, let those who believe say together, amen. 06:58 And they met. 06:59 You may be seated in the house of the Lord today, again 07:05 talking to you under the subject. 07:06 All you had to do was ask. 07:15 All we had to do was ask 07:26 somebody is going to be a preacher when they grow up. 07:27 Boy, that's some good lungs right there. 07:33 Oh, what peace we often forfeit. 07:38 Oh, what needless pains we bear. 07:42 All because we do not carry 07:46 everything to God in prayer 07:50 and embedded within that sacred hymn 07:53 is the truth about mankind's 07:56 reluctance toward prayer, full living, 08:00 the idea of friends is that we suffer needlessly, 08:04 we fail needlessly, we stress needlessly 08:09 because we are carrying cares 08:11 that are God's responsibility to carry. 08:16 And there is a bend towards self-sufficiency 08:20 that keeps us trying to manage our own concerns 08:24 until it becomes clear that we cannot handle them. 08:28 And what makes it lamentable, friends, is that God 08:32 has not made prayer complicated or difficult. 08:36 How many of us know that we can pray at any time? 08:39 You can pray at any place, you can pray about anything. 08:45 And the promise is that his ear is not too dull to hear us 08:49 when we pray. 08:50 In fact, friends, the word says that you have not 08:56 because you are not. 08:58 But Jesus says ask and it shall be given seek 09:02 and it shall be found not, and it shall be opened unto you 09:08 and Hebrews. 09:09 The word says, Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, 09:14 that we might obtain mercy and find help in our time of need. 09:19 And the thing I need somebody to get is that Jesus 09:22 never rebukes us for asking too much or too often. 09:27 The only rebuke the Scripture gives is that we don't ask, 09:30 or when we do, we ask too small. 09:34 And the problem with some is that we've made prayer 09:36 merit based so that we form the belief 09:39 that you've got to be good or on a certain level 09:42 morally in order to receive something from God. 09:47 But how many of us know that if you had to be perfect 09:50 in order to receive something from God, 09:53 the only one that would ever be blessed was Jesus. 09:56 Are you hearing me today? 09:57 In other words, I need somebody to know 10:00 that prayer is not for perfect people. 10:04 Prayer is for imperfect sinners who need the Lord and the Word 10:07 for somebody today is that you don't have to get right to pray. 10:12 You don't have to be perfect to pray. 10:15 You don't have to be ideal to get something from God. 10:18 All you've got to do is ask, Are you all with me today? 10:22 In fact, let me say it this way. 10:24 I remember when my youngest son was a little bit 10:26 younger upstairs there is a sectional 10:30 and behind the sectional is a very small crevice 10:34 where he would like to crawl behind the couch and play. 10:37 And we would often want him, son. 10:38 The older and bigger 10:39 you get, the smaller that crevice is going to become, 10:44 and eventually you're going to get stuck there. 10:47 And one day he crawls behind the couch and he falls 10:49 just the wrong way, where his head and hands 10:53 are pinned in such a way that he cannot get out. 10:56 And after a while, 10:57 I get nervous because the house is too quiet. 11:01 Anybody know that? Silence in a kid. 11:04 Your house mean something devilish is going on. 11:07 And admittedly, after a while I hear squirming behind 11:09 the couch. 11:10 I hear a cry behind the crowds. 11:13 I hear groans behind the couch. 11:16 But he never cries and asks me for help. 11:18 And it's amazing. 11:19 I'm sitting there waiting on him to ask, but 11:22 he's trying so hard to get out on his own. 11:26 And eventually I go behind the couch 11:28 and I pull him from behind 11:30 and I say, Son, why didn't you ask for help? 11:33 And he says, 11:34 The reason I didn't ask that is because I disobeyed. 11:37 It was because I was wrong that I didn't ask for help. 11:41 And I had to let him know that if I'm willing to help you 11:45 when you did not ask, don't you know 11:47 your daddy is willing to help if you ask for his assistance 11:52 and see there are some of us that won't ask for help 11:54 because our disobedience put us in trouble. 11:58 But the good news 11:59 is that we serve a perfect and merciful father. 12:03 And the truth is that 12:04 if God was good when you did not ask, won't 12:08 God be even more faithful if you ask for God to show up? 12:13 And I need somebody to be clear that you are 12:15 simply one prayer away from seeing God 12:19 move your one petition away from seeing things change. 12:25 You don't need to necessarily make sure that everything 12:27 is perfect in your world. 12:29 Somebody needs to know. 12:30 All you've got to do is ask it of the Lord. 12:35 And so today I want us to go back quickly 12:38 to Daniel Chapter nine, as we unpack 12:41 a few spiritual truths 12:42 that I believe will help encourage your souls today. 12:46 Now, as you look at Daniel Chapter nine, 12:48 I need you to get that. 12:50 This is actually one of the more interesting prayers 12:53 in the entirety of the Scripture. 12:55 For in this prayer, we actually find 12:59 some of the tools for an abundant prayer life. 13:03 And yet this prayer is also an indict met on fallen humanity. 13:09 Now, to be clear, Saints, 13:10 this is not some cursory or rehearsed prayer. 13:15 This prayer is fueled by a soul anguish that causes him 13:19 to make his petitions known before the Lord. 13:24 Understand friends, that this is a prayer 13:27 of desperation that comes from the mouth of the Prophet. 13:32 If we were to look into Daniel's bedchamber, 13:35 you would notice that his robe fits loosely 13:38 from extended 13:39 periods of fasting, from food, his lips are cracked 13:44 and foam gathers in the corner of his mouth because he's fasted 13:47 from long times, from drink all water in the room. 13:51 The smell of smoke is there from the pot of ashes 13:55 that sit at his feet as sackcloth is draped 13:58 across his shoulders and tears fall from the prophet's face 14:04 as he reconciles his prophecies, he can understand 14:07 with those that he cannot comprehend. 14:11 You see, in Jeremiah 25, the prophet have declared 14:15 that the people of God would be dispersed 14:18 for 70 years of exile, beginning with their time in Babylon. 14:24 But they formed a faulty idea that once Babylon fell, 14:29 the exile would come to a conclusion. 14:32 And now Babylon is no longer in power. 14:35 The Medes and the Persians are in control, 14:39 and yet the people of God are still in exile. 14:42 And there is a faulty notion that somehow God 14:45 has forgotten them. 14:47 And so the Prophet now appeals to God for prayer 14:52 and for direction and clarity on the path going forward 14:57 and understand friends. 14:58 The things that this text teaches us is the constancy 15:03 of the goodness of God. 15:04 Are you with me today? Church Is it? 15:06 The first thing this teaches 15:07 is that the one constant in your life is God. 15:12 You see, too often. 15:13 Church We preach Daniel for Youth Days 15:19 because in his youth Daniel had strong character 15:24 and he took great stands for his faith in Jesus Christ. 15:27 But by the time you get to Daniel Chapter nine, 15:31 he has been in exile for about 69 years and he is 15:35 perhaps in his mid eighties as he makes this petition. 15:39 Now, remember, he was taken as a teenager 15:43 and raised in a land that was not his own. 15:47 And the thing I need somebody to get about Daniel 15:50 is that his life is filled with trauma. 15:53 It's filled with upheaval, it's filled with 15:56 volatility, it's filled with uncertainty. 16:00 In fact, the most consistent thing in 16:03 his life is the inconsistency of his circumstance. 16:08 In fact, friends, think back with me, if you will. 16:11 He is raised by Hebrew parents, yet he is mentored by the pagan 16:15 free elites of Babylon and meet Persia. 16:19 If you recall, 16:21 when he first came to Babylon, he serves under Nebuchadnezzar. 16:26 After Nebuchadnezzar there is Belshazzar. 16:28 After him it is Dariusz and later 16:30 he will serve at the pleasure of King Cyrus 16:34 and understand church that every time 16:36 administration changes, guess what his coworkers change? 16:41 Guess what? 16:42 His friends change his assignment 16:45 change the times and the law change. 16:49 And so his life is filled with nothing but change 16:53 as he is served at the pleasure of multiple different kings. 16:56 Understand the languages have changed, 16:58 the systems of worship 17:00 have changed, the consequences for righteousness have changed. 17:05 Everything around him is in a state of constant flux, 17:09 and the only thing that has been the same is the goodness 17:12 of God in his life. 17:15 And I think this is important for one reason today. 17:18 CHURCH Because the truth is that if we live long enough, 17:25 everything in our eco system is going to change. 17:29 Am I preaching anybody today? 17:31 Am I telling the truth that your best friend at 25 17:35 is not always your best friend at 75? 17:39 In other words, the job you worked at 27 17:43 might not be the job you retired from at 62. 17:47 The person you married at 25 because of death and divorce 17:51 might not be the same person you're married to at 70. 17:54 The relationship 17:55 you had with your kids when they were small 17:58 might not 17:59 be the same relationship you have with them as adults. 18:02 The health that you had ten years ago 18:05 might not be the health that you have right now. 18:08 And the word to somebody today is that if you live long enough, 18:12 everything around you is going to shift. 18:15 Everything around you is going to change. 18:18 Everything around you is going to be amended. 18:21 But the one thing you can count on 18:24 is that when things are around, you change. 18:26 The goodness of God remains the same. 18:29 In other words, folks, I need to be clear 18:32 that people are going to walk in your life 18:34 and then guess what? 18:35 Some are going to walk out of your life. 18:38 There are going to be some that love you today 18:40 and then they're going to despise you on tomorrow. 18:43 They're going to be times where the health is good 18:46 and then they're going to be 18:47 times where affliction touches your soul. 18:50 There are going to be days where there is a Biden in office 18:53 and there may come a day when a Trump is in office. 18:56 There are some days where things are up and things are down. 19:00 But the thing that somebody needs to know 19:02 is that when things are around, you shift. 19:05 You've got to know who to hold on to. 19:08 In other words, you've got to have something 19:11 or someone in your life that does not change, 19:15 that brings stability and a world of instability. 19:18 And I present anybody today 19:20 and other words, that's why the hymn writer said on Christ 19:24 the solid rock I stand, all of the ground is sinking. 19:28 Same it is why the Bible says that God is our refuge 19:33 and our strength, 19:34 our very present help in the time of trouble. 19:38 It is why, David says, even when Mother and father 19:40 forsake me, the Lord is going to take me. 19:43 And the Bible says the grass is gone, whether 19:47 the flower is going to fade, 19:48 but the Word of the Lord is going to endure forever. 19:53 And what I'm saying 19:54 to somebody today, in the midst of a changing world, 19:58 you've got to have your life rooted in the constancy of 20:01 God's love, 20:03 because you've 20:04 got to kind of have a foundation 20:08 that does not change when circumstances do. 20:10 Are you with me? In fact, let me say it this way. 20:14 I remember when I was past three in Mississippi, 20:16 we had tornadoes come through our town 20:18 and leveled downtown and a series of neighborhoods. 20:21 And I remember 20:21 there was this one brother 20:22 who everything in his house was destroyed, 20:26 the roof was blown away, the walls were blown away. 20:30 The piping and fixtures were blown away. 20:32 The only thing that was left was the foundation. 20:35 And the crazy thing was that 20:37 when he got ready to rebuild, I noticed that they didn't 20:41 dig up the foundation and poured down a new one 20:45 because he was building the same type of house, 20:48 just what they built on the same foundation. 20:52 And so I asked them, are they not 20:53 going to change the foundation? 20:55 He and he instructed me on something I'll never forget. 20:58 He says, Guess what? 20:59 The storm was able to take away everything but the foundation. 21:04 And he says, If you got a good foundation, 21:08 everything else can be rebuilt on the same foundation 21:13 that will survive the storm. 21:15 And what I'm saying to 21:16 somebody today is that you've got to have a foundation 21:20 and it's got to be in Jesus, 21:23 because jobs can be taken away, cars can be repossessed, 21:28 friends will end your life, health can change, 21:32 money can fly away, but it can all be rebuilt 21:36 on the foundation that is the Lord Jesus Christ. 21:40 Can we praise him that the stone that the builders rejected 21:45 has become our chief cornerstone? 21:47 Are y'all with me today? 21:49 And so so the Bible says here in Daniel, 21:52 chapter nine and verse three, 21:53 I'm going to unpack some things together. 21:55 The Bible says in Daniel nine, in verse three, says, Then 21:58 I set my face 22:02 toward the Lord God to make requests by prayer 22:06 and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 22:11 The Bible declares, All right, friends of mine. 22:14 The second thing this thing teaches us 22:16 is that if you're going to pray, 22:17 you've got to have a determination to pray. 22:22 Okay. Are you still with me? 22:23 Church No, no, no. 22:24 You've got to have a determination to pray and see. 22:29 One of the things that Daniel shows us is that a strong prayer 22:34 life is never contingent upon ideal circumstances. 22:40 See? See, I need you to know that you're not growing. 22:44 If you only pray when things are ideal, 22:47 you're not reaching maturity until you are as consistent 22:51 in calling upon the name of the Lord. 22:54 When circumstances are less than favorable on your behalf. 22:58 And see, why am I saying this? 23:00 Because I need you to know that Daniel in many ways 23:03 personifies what it means to have a strong prayer life, 23:06 but nothing in his situation is ideal. 23:09 So you've got to realize 23:11 that when Daniel walks from his place of work to the bedchamber 23:14 where he lives, he walks by statues to the sun. 23:18 God, Horus, the nano type that has been raised up there 23:23 in the land of the Medes and Persians. 23:26 When he walks through the corridors, he walks by fountains 23:30 that are erected in the image of the moon goddess Ishtar. 23:34 When he goes to his place of rest, he walks through vineyards 23:38 and courtyards erected in the image of the male 23:41 Persian God Marduk, and understand 23:44 that when Daniel Close his his eyes to pray, 23:48 he's got to fight 23:49 through the sounds of revelry and partying next door. 23:53 He's literally got to pray through the moans of orgy 23:57 that take place down the corridor. 24:00 And it is in this environment that Daniel begins his prayer 24:05 with Thanksgiving and reverence and praise to God. 24:10 And the reason this is epic is that he can begin his time 24:13 of praise and a situation that's less than perfect. 24:18 And can I suggest to somebody today that you don't need 24:21 perfect circumstances to praise God? 24:25 You've just got to know that you serve a perfect God 24:29 that is greater than any circumstance that you face. 24:32 It's easy. 24:33 I need somebody to know 24:34 that too often when we say the Lord has been good 24:39 to me, what we're talking about are the circumstances that 24:41 we inhabit. 24:43 But if your praise is always based upon a circumstance, 24:47 guess what? 24:48 Your appraisal of God will change 24:52 based upon the predicament that you are in and see. 24:54 And that's what I love what David says. 24:57 And Psalm 34, he says, I'm going to bless the Lord at all 25:00 times, and his phrase shall continually be in my mouth. 25:05 It is why Paul cautions us to rejoice in the Lord. 25:08 Always and again I say, rejoice. 25:13 It is what the Bible says, that from the rising of the sun 25:17 to the going down of the saying that the name of the Lord 25:19 is to be praised. 25:21 And can I suggest, friends, that we've got to get to a place 25:25 where we recognize that praise is not a feeling, 25:28 praise is a discipline. 25:30 Praise is my awareness that no matter 25:33 what's going on, God is faithful. 25:37 And it is a recognition that even when my circumstances 25:40 are bad, my God is still good. Why? 25:44 Because all things work together 25:48 for good to them who love God 25:51 and are called according to His purposes. 25:54 So I need to get friends that this is not 25:57 the ideal circumstance under which to pray. 26:01 But one of the things I need somebody to be clear on 26:04 is that your prayer life can never be 26:05 driven by circumstance or deterred by circumstance. 26:09 You've got to be fueled by a burden for connection. 26:14 Are you with me today? 26:16 You got to be fueled by a burden for connection 26:19 that is greater 26:20 than any circumstance that you might face in your life. 26:24 And so I understand that when Daniel prays, it's noisy. 26:26 When he prays, there are distractions. 26:29 When he prays, they persecute him because he prays. 26:32 They're antagonistic 26:33 toward his open prayer life and dependance upon God. 26:37 And the reason that Daniel prays despite 26:40 his circumstances is that Daniel understands 26:44 that if prayer wasn't powerful, it wouldn't be protested. 26:49 Let me say it again. 26:51 See, a prayer wasn't powerful. 26:54 Guess what? 26:55 Your prayer life wouldn't be protested. 26:58 Can anybody testify that whenever 27:00 you have the mind of pray, all of a sudden 27:03 all kind of stuff start popping off in your life. 27:07 I whenever you get ready to pray all of a sudden sleep 27:10 comes upon you. 27:12 When it's time to pray, the phone starts ringing. 27:15 When, when it's time to pray. 27:16 Somebody happens to stop by When it's time to pray. 27:19 Not for chaos and start going off 27:21 when it's time to pray All types of chaos happens. 27:25 Kids start knocking on the door. 27:27 Your spouse starts acting like they ain't got no sense. 27:30 Your coworkers start acting funny, the roof starts leaking, 27:34 the hot water heater goes out, 27:35 the car starts breaking down. Why? 27:37 Because the prayer wasn't powerful. 27:40 It wouldn't be protested. 27:42 Thank you for joining us for The Breath of Life 27:45 Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 27:49 We hope and pray that you have been blessed 27:52 by the seventh message in the sermon series. 27:55 ExcuseLess. 27:56 Join us next week for part two of the message. 28:00 “All You Had To Do Was Ask” You don't 28:03 want to miss it. |
Revised 2024-10-16