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Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200003S
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:08 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is the Book of Daniel. 00:32 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn, 00:33 and we're so glad you're joining us 00:35 for today's Sabbath School panel. 00:37 We are continuing our study in Daniel, 00:40 and today we're on lesson number three. 00:43 Daniel Chapter 2, which is showing us 00:46 that the God of heaven is actually moving 00:49 human history to its grand finale. 00:52 I want to encourage you. 00:54 This is such a wonderful study and we want you to go, 00:57 if you don't have a quarterly, go to ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:03 and you can download your own copy, 01:05 or better yet go by your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:08 they'd be happy to give you a copy. 01:10 And I'm sure they'd be thrilled if you join their study group. 01:14 Let me introduce our wonderful panel. 01:16 Next to me I have Pastor Ryan Day. 01:18 Pastor. 01:20 It's always good to be here. Love the Bible. 01:21 Love this panel. Amen. 01:23 And I'm excited to study. 01:24 Well, we're glad you're with us. 01:26 And then Jill Morikone, the COO of 3ABN. 01:30 Thank you, Shelley, a privilege to be here 01:31 and open up the Word of God. 01:33 We can't wait to hear 01:34 what list you're bringing us today. 01:36 There is a list. 01:37 Pastor Kenny Shelton. 01:39 Always a pleasure, love to study the Word of God, 01:42 especially the Book of Daniel. 01:44 Amen. Amen. 01:45 And then the one 01:46 who is most excited about this study 01:48 are my own pastor, Pastor John Lomacang. 01:51 I need to sound excited. 01:53 Amen for the Book of Daniel. Amen for the Book of Daniel. 01:55 And we're glad that we're going to study it together, 01:57 and we're glad that you are going to join us 01:59 in this amazing excursion of unfolding the Word of God. 02:04 Amen. 02:05 Kenny, would you please have our prayer? 02:07 Absolutely. 02:08 Loving Father in heaven, 02:10 we thank You again for Your love 02:11 that You have for us, now we invite thy Holy Spirit. 02:14 We pray that You'll come in abundance, 02:15 You'll touch our hearts, 02:17 touch our lives, touch our minds. 02:18 Help us to be ready, 02:19 Lord, with that which you have for us, 02:21 I know you have a feast in store 02:22 and we pray that Your Holy Spirit will impart 02:25 that to each and every one of us, 02:26 and we pray for the listeners and for the viewers, 02:28 may each one hearts and lives be open. 02:30 And may each one as they hear these beautiful truths, 02:32 come to the point of deciding they want to follow Jesus 02:35 all the way regardless of the cost. 02:37 Thank you, Lord, for hearing, for answering prayer. 02:39 Be with each one here in a special way, 02:40 those behind the scenes, and those who are in front, 02:42 in Jesus' name, amen. 02:44 Amen and amen. 02:45 Great story in the introduction of this lesson 02:49 in our quarterly, 02:51 and it's talking about in the waters around Greenland, 02:54 there are icebergs of every shape and size, 02:57 and the smaller icebergs are driven by the wind across, 03:00 whatever direction of the wind, 03:02 that's the direction they're going in. 03:04 But the larger icebergs are carried 03:06 by the ocean currents. 03:08 And so sometimes, 03:09 they may be going in opposite directions. 03:11 And we're looking at what is going on in history. 03:14 Sometimes it's like, no way, what's happening here? 03:19 And you know what? 03:20 Truth be known at that, we think, 03:23 maybe it is the rise and fall of nations 03:25 is happening by human whim. 03:27 Now, God is that deep undercurrent 03:32 that is moving things along and we can be sure 03:36 that everything is going to happen according 03:40 to His sovereign purpose. 03:41 All right, Sunday's lesson is the immanence of God, 03:46 and that is I-M-M-A-N-E-N-C-E. 03:51 the reason I want to spell that, 03:53 immanent and imminent, two different words. 03:56 I-M-M-I, 03:57 is talking when we talk about 03:59 the imminent return of Jesus Christ. 04:02 We are then talking about something that's very near. 04:05 But the I-M-M-A, immanence 04:09 is when you're talking about the closeness of God, 04:16 compared to His transcendence, 04:19 how high God is above everything. 04:21 So let's look at this. 04:23 When we think about this, God, 04:25 imminence means that God is present in all of creation. 04:30 But this isn't like the pantheistic belief 04:33 that He's in everything. 04:36 Imminence means that 04:37 He is distinct from His creation. 04:40 He's apart from His creation, yet He is everywhere in His, 04:47 there's nowhere that He is not present 04:48 and that He is exercising sovereign control to uphold it. 04:54 Two of God's many attributes is that He is both nearby 04:59 and far away. 05:00 So imminence means God is near us, 05:03 present within space and time. 05:06 Let's look at Colossians 1:17, 05:08 because this is a perfect example for imminence, 05:13 Colossians 1:17. 05:17 Speaking of Jesus, it says, 05:19 "He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 05:26 He sustains all life, 05:28 He sustains the universe with His power, 05:31 and He maintains the balance necessary 05:35 for everything to exist." 05:37 Hebrews 1:3 says that, "He upholds, and propels, 05:42 and maintains everything by His mighty word of power." 05:47 So, the written word of God testifies 05:50 to His personal interest, 05:53 His personal action in our lives. 05:57 If you want to know how personal God is, 06:00 think about this. 06:01 He came to earth to become a man 06:04 and die on the cross for us. 06:06 That's right. Amen. 06:07 So, imminence is God, God with us. 06:13 Another one is Acts 17:28. 06:16 Another great example. 06:18 Acts 17:28 says, 06:19 "For in him we live and move and have our being, 06:25 as also some of your own prophets have said, 06:29 'For we are also His offspring.'" 06:33 What does that say? 06:34 None of us are independent from God. 06:37 You might think you are, you might say, 06:40 I don't even believe in God. 06:41 Let me tell you something, you don't exist apart from Him. 06:44 So transcendence is that God exists 06:50 outside of space and time. 06:53 Let's think about Isaiah 55:9. 06:55 That's the best example 06:57 I could think of for transcendence, 06:59 means he's far off, Isaiah 55:9, 07:04 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth. 07:10 The Lord says, so are my ways higher than your ways, 07:13 and my thoughts than your thoughts." 07:16 We can't fit God into some little mold 07:22 that we try to make. 07:23 He's incomprehensible. That's right. 07:25 You know, and sometimes I think we do, 07:27 I think we try to put him in a box. 07:29 He is transistent, 07:31 He exists apart from everything. 07:34 He's not subject to the limitations 07:37 of this material universe. 07:40 So God's thoughts and deeds are far above humanity. 07:44 And actually, when you think about it, 07:47 even grace is beyond human comprehension, isn't it? 07:50 God declares that He is omnipresent, 07:54 that He is, that means He's everywhere, 07:57 that He is omniscient, that He knows everything 08:01 in both an imminent close way, 08:05 and in a transcendent way. 08:08 Here's the best scripture I could think of for that. 08:11 Psalm 57:2, I love this promise. 08:16 I love this beautiful word of the Lord. 08:19 Psalm 57:2, 08:22 "I will cry out to God Most High," 08:26 that is the transcendent God that's above everything, 08:32 "to God, who performs all things for me." 08:38 See, 08:39 His transcendence never removes His imminence. 08:43 He may be God Most High, transcendent above everything, 08:47 but He is the God who performs His vows. 08:51 He is the God who performs all things for us. 08:54 He is our imminent God. 08:56 So now let's look at Daniel Chapter 2. 08:59 We're gonna look at a crisis, that the Hebrews were facing. 09:03 Daniel Chapter 2, and we'll start with verse 1. 09:08 Nebuchadnezzar is having dreams, 09:10 his spirit's so troubled that sleep leaves him, 09:13 he calls the magicians, the astrologers, 09:15 the sorcerers, the cult, 09:17 the Chaldeans who were a special class of soothsayers, 09:21 and to tell, he wants them to tell him his dream. 09:26 Dreams were taken very seriously 09:29 in the ancient world. 09:30 The Babylonians believed that the gods could reveal 09:34 the interpretation of the dream. 09:36 So verse 3, "The king said to them, 09:38 'I have had a dream, 09:40 and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.'" 09:45 This dream he had was foreboding, 09:49 it was giving him an anxious spirit, 09:52 he thought that perhaps there was an impending disaster. 09:57 So either he can't remember it 09:59 or he could have actually been testing his guys 10:02 to see if they're gonna give him an honest answer. 10:05 But he was anxious for the interpretation. 10:08 He didn't want deception. 10:10 So verse 4 says, 10:12 "The Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, 10:13 'O King, live forever! 10:17 Tell your servants the dream, 10:18 we will give you the interpretation.'" 10:20 "And the king answers, 'My decision is firm. 10:23 If you do not make known the dream to me 10:25 and its interpretation, you shall be," what? 10:29 Cut in pieces. "Cut in pieces. 10:31 Your houses shall be made an ash heap. 10:33 However, if you tell the dream, 10:35 its interpretation you shall receive from me gifts, 10:39 rewards and great honor." 10:41 Verse 9 says, 10:42 "If you do not make known the dream to me, 10:44 there is only one decree for you. 10:47 For you have agreed to speak, lying and corrupt words 10:52 before me till the time has changed." 10:54 So he didn't trust them obviously. 10:56 He says, "Therefore tell me the dream, 10:59 then I shall know that 11:00 you can give me its interpretation. 11:02 So the Chaldeans answered and said, 11:04 'There's not a man on earth who can tell you, 11:07 the king's matter. 11:09 Therefore no king, lord 11:13 or ruler has ever asked for such a thing 11:16 from any magician, or astrologer, or a Chaldean." 11:19 The pagan dream experts didn't know the dream. 11:23 So they couldn't come up with an interpretation 11:25 that would please the king. 11:28 This is not really an unprecedented situation. 11:34 We're going to look in just a minute. 11:36 I know that. 11:38 Well, let me go forward. 11:40 Verse 11, 11:42 "It is a difficult thing that the king requests, 11:44 there is no other who can tell it to the king, 11:47 except the gods 11:49 whose dwelling is not with flesh." 11:52 Well, they were right there. 11:53 They're just thinking of the wrong gods, right? 11:55 So despite all of their incantations, 11:59 all of their magic and their astrology, 12:02 they're not capable 12:04 of receiving a supernatural revelation. 12:07 Verse 12, "The king is angry, he's furious, 12:10 he commands to know the answer 12:15 or destroy all of the wise men of Babylon." 12:19 Darius I 12:21 had all the Magi executed because of the conspiracy. 12:25 Xerxes put to death all the engineers 12:29 who had built a bridge that collapsed, 12:32 so this isn't totally unprecedented 12:34 as far as the decree, but now it goes out, 12:38 and immediately they begin killing the wise men. 12:40 Well, guess what? 12:42 Daniel and his three buddies are on the cabinet staff. 12:46 Yes. That's right. 12:47 You know, they're going to, 12:49 they have finished their schooling, 12:52 and now they're in danger of being killed. 12:55 So what does he do? 12:57 Daniel and his friends, 12:59 actually, Daniel goes to him. 13:01 In verse 14. 13:03 It says, "With counsel and wisdom," 13:05 when Arioch came to tell Daniel, 13:07 "Hey, off with your head." 13:09 He said, "Daniel answered Arioch, 13:12 the captain of the king's guard 13:13 who'd gone out to kill the wise men in Babylon, 13:16 saying to him, 13:17 'Why is the decree from the king, so urgent?' 13:21 And then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. 13:24 So Daniel went in 13:25 and asked the king to give him time, 13:28 that he might tell the king the interpretation.'" 13:31 Here's the point. 13:33 Daniel trusted that God could give him 13:38 a supernatural interpretation. 13:40 Interestingly, 13:42 the king told the wise men, his astrologers, 13:48 you're just trying to buy time. 13:50 He wouldn't give them any time. 13:52 He gives Daniel the time. Amen. 13:54 Oh, wow, praise the Lord. 13:55 I love this story because it shows 13:57 just how powerful God is 14:01 in a sense of how He works with His people, 14:03 and through His people during times of hardship, 14:07 times of challenge and trial, 14:09 which is exactly what Daniel, 14:11 I'm sure felt like he was enduring 14:12 at that time, the trial of his life. 14:13 Could you imagine someone coming 14:15 and knocking on your door in the middle of the night 14:17 and saying, "Hey, I'm here to murder you." 14:19 You know, I can't imagine the fear 14:21 and the feeling that he had in that very moment. 14:24 But nonetheless, 14:25 as you just clearly brought out, 14:27 and the scripture says, he goes, 14:28 and he gets the permission from the king. 14:30 Give me more time. 14:31 And, of course, I just have to, 14:33 before I get into this text here, 14:35 because this is Monday's lesson, 14:36 Monday's lesson is entitled The Prayer. 14:38 All right. 14:40 Simple, the prayer. 14:41 And it's funny because this is the part 14:44 or the aspect of the lesson, 14:45 or the passage that most people would 14:47 just read right over and think, 14:49 you know, "Oh, let's get to the good stuff. 14:50 Let's get to the, you know, the image 14:52 and the meaning of the image and interpretation." 14:54 But all of this is based upon and starts with a prayer... 14:59 Amen. 15:00 And it's powerful to think that many times, 15:02 we, probably we as humans in our carnal mind, 15:06 I can imagine that if we were probably dished 15:09 this particular situation, 15:11 we found ourselves in a similar situation. 15:14 You know, I'd find myself in many situations 15:16 where it's my natural carnal mind 15:19 wants to start plotting and planning to figure out, 15:24 you know, the answer myself. 15:26 Instead of going to the Lord and saying, 15:27 Lord, I'm not wise enough, I'm not smart enough, 15:30 I'm not intelligent enough, 15:31 Lord, to get myself out of this situation. 15:33 But yet often times, that's exactly what we do, 15:35 as we start to plan and plot, 15:37 because we believe in ourselves, 15:39 what if I just come up with the right plan, 15:41 the right motives behind the right plan, 15:43 I just might go ahead 15:45 and dig myself out of this situation. 15:47 But we know that, that's not what Daniel had done, 15:49 because Daniel goes back to his house 15:51 and as you and I might have done, 15:52 we probably would have plotted our way 15:54 to try to escape, you know, 15:55 the wrath of the king 15:57 or try to get it get out of this situation. 16:00 Daniel takes his situation right to the Lord in prayer, 16:02 because he knows that God has all the answers. 16:04 And so I'm gonna start reading 16:06 in Daniel Chapter 2 beginning with verse 17, 16:08 and we're going to read through verse 23. 16:10 And so it says, "Then Daniel went to his house, 16:13 and made the decision known to Hananiah, 16:16 Meshael and Azariah, his companions." 16:19 And I just have to pause there, 16:20 notice how Daniel didn't just take this 16:21 to the Lord in prayer by himself. 16:24 Good. 16:25 He said, brothers, we got to pray. 16:27 You know, we're counseled in the Word of God, 16:28 that we take the, in a multitude of people, 16:31 Got hears His people's prayers. 16:32 And so we can learn something from Daniel 16:35 and his companions here. 16:36 It goes on in verse 18, to say, 16:37 "That they might seek the mercies 16:39 from the God of heaven, concerning this secret 16:42 so that Daniel and his companions 16:44 might not perish 16:45 with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 16:48 Then, the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. 16:51 So Daniel blessed the God of heaven." 16:53 So I just want to pause there. 16:55 I had to tell a quick story because, 16:57 when you read this, this is powerful, 16:59 Daniel and his companions, they pray. 17:01 And then, of course, there's, Daniel goes to sleep. 17:05 So you and I wouldn't probably be able to go to sleep, 17:08 you know, that weighing on our minds, you know, 17:09 there's a chance that I'm going to die 17:11 if the Lord chooses not to answer this prayer, 17:13 but Daniel's like, I'm gonna go to sleep. 17:15 So in a night vision, of course, 17:17 as I'm sure he was asleep, God gives him the answer. 17:19 He answers his prayer. 17:21 And, you know, I'll never forget this 17:23 because this was just, actually, 17:25 just recently, I'm on my way. 17:27 I'm on my way to an evangelistic series. 17:30 And this particular part that I was driving through, 17:32 just before I arrived to my destination, 17:34 I was driving through a horrible thick fog. 17:37 And there was a storm 17:39 that had come up at that same time, 17:40 and it was raining so hard, I couldn't see anything. 17:44 And, you know, here I am, really, 17:46 you know, trying to white knuckle this, 17:48 the steering wheel and really trying to pay close attention 17:50 as I'm driving in this very harsh, 17:53 you know, environment. 17:54 And then it hits me, you know, 17:55 I've never really said a prayer 17:57 in the sense to ask Jesus to do something 17:59 so drastically before, you know, 18:01 some of you, you hear these prayers all the time, 18:03 well, I asked the Lord to deliver me 18:04 and He came through, 18:05 and I asked the Lord to, you know, stop the rain 18:07 and it stopped, you know, and so I thought, 18:09 you know, I'm gonna try this. 18:10 So I called out to the Lord, I said, 18:11 "Lord, 18:13 I want to make it to my destination safely. 18:16 And I don't want to die tonight, Lord." 18:17 This is, it was getting very rough. 18:19 And so I prayed, Lord, if you see fit, 18:22 please make this rain stop or diminish," 18:25 so that I can see to make my way, 18:28 you know, to my destination. 18:29 And I promise you, not even with three seconds from that, 18:32 from the moment I said amen. 18:33 It was like this rain went... 18:36 drip, drip, drip. 18:37 That's it. Amen. 18:38 And at that very moment, I kind of had, I was by myself, 18:41 I had one of those like, amazing like, 18:42 aha moments like, wow, 18:44 you know, and I found myself the natural response is that, 18:49 I had 30 miles to go, and I promise you, 18:51 for the next 30 miles 18:52 all I could think of was praise you, God. 18:54 Amen. 18:56 Thank you, Lord, because it really happened so swift. 18:57 It was clear that God had intervened at that moment. 19:00 Notice Daniel's response. 19:02 Notice how he just doesn't wake up and go, 19:04 "Oh, King, you know, got your answer." 19:07 Notice his response beginning in verse 20. 19:09 "Daniel answered and said: 19:11 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever 19:14 for wisdom and might are His.'" 19:16 So he's praising God, 19:18 instead of taking the answer immediately to the king, 19:20 which he's going to do. 19:21 He stops for a moment to say, 19:23 Lord, You've humbly answered my prayer. 19:26 I want to give you praises. 19:28 He goes on in verse 21, 19:29 "And he changes the times and the seasons. 19:31 He removes kings and raises up kings, 19:33 He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge 19:35 to those who have understanding, 19:37 He reveals deep and secret things, 19:38 He knows what is in the darkness, 19:40 and light dwells with Him. 19:42 I thank You and Praise You, O God of my fathers, 19:46 You have given me wisdom and might 19:48 and have now made known to me, 19:50 what we asked of you," and you, notice, 19:53 "for You have made known to us the king's demand." 19:56 So he stops and he gives God praise. 19:58 Amen. Amen. 20:00 And I just want to ask a question here, 20:02 simple but profound. 20:03 Does God consider it important 20:06 that we respond to Him in praise? 20:09 In moments like these how many times do we stop 20:11 and pause to say, you know, 20:13 I didn't get this job on my own. 20:15 It's because of the Lord. 20:17 You know, I didn't get the answer 20:19 to my question by myself. 20:21 It's because of God. That's right. 20:22 I wasn't able to pay that bill on my own. 20:24 It was because the Lord provided. 20:26 How many times do we consider the trials 20:29 and the tribulations, and the things 20:30 that when the challenges in life, 20:32 we're able to overcome them and move past them 20:34 because God sees us through them. 20:36 And the answer to the question, you know, 20:38 does God consider it important to respond to Him with praise? 20:41 The answer is yes, He does. 20:43 You know, I consider the passage 20:44 in Luke Chapter 17. 20:46 That's the story came to mind. 20:47 And, of course, it's referenced also in the lesson, 20:50 Luke 17:14-19. 20:53 It says, "So when he saw them," 20:54 this is when Jesus heals the 10 lepers, okay? 20:57 Now notice it, it's powerful. 20:58 "So when he saw them, he said to them, 21:00 go show yourselves to the priest. 21:02 And so it was as they went, they were cleansed." 21:05 Okay, so Jesus heals them, right? 21:08 And then notice verse 15. 21:10 "And one of them, 21:11 when he saw that he was healed, returned, 21:13 and with a loud voice, glorified God. 21:16 And fell down on his face at His feet, 21:19 giving Him thanks. 21:20 And he was a Samaritan." 21:22 And then verse 17, "So Jesus had said to him, 21:24 'Were there not ten cleansed? 21:26 But where are the nine? 21:28 Were there not any found 21:29 who returned to give glory to God 21:32 except for this foreigner?' 21:34 And he said to them, 'Arise, 21:35 go your way for your faith has made you well.'" 21:37 This one man out of the nine returns to say, 21:39 God, "Thank you. 21:41 Praise be to you, Jesus, 21:42 because I wouldn't have this healing. 21:44 I wouldn't be where I am without you." 21:46 And so in this time of trial, 21:49 Daniel is faced with him losing his life, 21:51 and he doesn't know where else to go 21:53 but said, "Lord, 21:54 I'm asking for You to intervene. 21:56 And when he does, he doesn't just burst 21:58 into the king's courts immediately, 22:01 he stops and he says, "Lord, praise be to you. 22:03 Praise be to You, Lord, because you are worthy." 22:06 I also think of, we're going to read this in Daniel Chapter 6. 22:08 But notice this, 22:09 in the face of one of the largest trials again, 22:11 in which Daniel is faced to lose his life. 22:13 Notice Daniel 6:10. 22:16 It says, "Now when Daniel knew that the writing with signed," 22:19 speaking of the decree that King Darius had made 22:23 to send anyone to the lions' den 22:25 who prayed to their God other than him, 22:27 for 30 days. 22:29 Notice what it says, 22:30 "When Daniel knew the writing was signed, 22:31 he went home, and in his upper room, 22:34 with his windows open towards Jerusalem, 22:36 he knelt down on his knees, three times a day," 22:39 and notice "and he prayed and gave thanks before God, 22:42 as it was his custom since early days." 22:45 This is powerful, because, 22:47 you know, how many times do we find ourselves 22:49 on our knees in prayer thanking God? 22:51 You know, this is a powerful lesson to learn 22:53 and as I reflect and consider 22:55 what is written here, you know, 22:57 Daniel in the face of adversity and the greatest challenges. 23:01 He had so much faith that he was able to kneel, 23:04 and he was able to stop for a moment in time, 23:07 not knowing if the Lord was going to deliver him. 23:09 I think he had faith. 23:10 I know he had faith that the Lord could deliver him. 23:12 But you know what, Lord, 23:14 if You choose to do it, 23:15 or if You don't choose to do it, 23:16 praise be to you. 23:18 Notice how God had not delivered him 23:19 from the lions' den yet, 23:21 but he's still giving thanks to God 23:22 knowing exactly what doom lies ahead of him. 23:25 And that's a lesson that we all can learn, 23:27 that in times of trial and times of tribulation 23:31 and challenges in our life. 23:33 I want to make an appeal. 23:34 You know, we need to learn to be a praying people. 23:37 We need to learn to not just go to God 23:39 with an open hand and say, Lord, 23:40 give me, give me, give me, 23:42 I need you to come through, because guess what? 23:43 He will, He's promised us that He will come through 23:46 if we're faithful to Him. 23:47 But then a follow up would be, Lord, 23:49 praise be to You, because You deserve it. 23:51 You are mighty, You are wonderful. 23:53 You, Lord, deserve all glory and honor. 23:55 And I just praise God that He is the God of love 23:59 that He is a God that answers prayers, 24:01 and hears His people 24:02 and comes through in the perfect timing. 24:05 Ryan, there's only one thing wrong with you. 24:07 You don't have any enthusiasm. 24:11 I think, praise the Lord that God brought you here 24:14 and we are going to take a quick break. 24:17 We'll be right back. Amen. 24:23 Ever wish you could watch 24:25 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:27 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:30 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:35 A clean design makes it easy 24:37 to find the program you're looking for. 24:39 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:43 so you can follow along. 24:45 Sharing is easy. 24:46 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:49 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:55 Now we'll continue in our study with Jill Morikone 24:58 who will bring Tuesday's lesson, 25:00 The Image, part one. 25:02 Thank you both so much, 25:04 what an incredible foundation laid. 25:06 I love the Book of Daniel. 25:09 And to me as we're getting in Chapter 1, Chapter 2, 25:11 we get to see more of Daniel's character. 25:14 We get to see more of his walk and relationship with God. 25:17 But most importantly, 25:19 we get to see the God that Daniel served. 25:22 And I love this set up that God did, 25:25 with this whole chapter to me, it was just a set up. 25:28 Nebuchadnezzar had the dream, 25:30 which Shelley had talked about that he couldn't remember. 25:33 And I think that was the hand of God, 25:35 Pastor Kenny, 25:36 because it showed the humaneness 25:38 of his advisors, 25:40 and his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers 25:43 that they could not reveal the dream, 25:45 and it also showed the frailty and the humaneness 25:48 of the gods that they served 25:51 because they couldn't help the matter either. 25:54 Only someone divine could answer. 25:57 Only God Himself could reveal the dream 26:00 and the interpretation. 26:02 In fact the Chaldean said that in Daniel 2:11, 26:05 which we already read, 26:06 "It is a difficult thing that the king requests, 26:09 there is no other who can tell it to the king 26:11 except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh." 26:14 And we know which God that is. 26:16 That is the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah God. 26:20 God showed up and provided the answer. 26:23 So it was unmistakable that He is God. 26:28 So the Image part 1, 26:30 we're going to look at six verses, 26:32 we're going to look at verses 24 through 30. 26:35 This is Daniel 2:24-30. 26:38 And here come the lessons 26:40 that I have gleaned from these six verses. 26:43 There are six lessons actually. 26:45 Lesson number one, 26:46 a true Christian cares about others. 26:49 He even cares about those who have hurt him. 26:54 Let's read verse 24. 26:55 "Therefore, Daniel went to Arioch, 26:57 whom the king had appointed 26:58 to destroy the wise men of Babylon, 27:01 he went and said thus to him, 27:03 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, 27:05 take me before the king, 27:07 and I will tell the king the interpretation.'" 27:09 So remember, the Lord, Ryan, had this portion, 27:12 the Lord revealed to Daniel in a vision, a night vision, 27:16 what the dream was and the interpretation. 27:20 So Daniel could have just run straight to the king. 27:22 But instead he paused, 27:24 as Ryan pointed out so beautifully, 27:26 and praised the Lord, 27:28 gave thanks for what God had done in his life, 27:31 and how God had revealed it. 27:32 Now I'm saying that 27:34 Daniel could have run to the king 27:35 after he praised and said, 27:36 "Okay, King, we're coming with this." 27:39 And then that's, I don't want to die 27:41 and my three friends don't want to die either. 27:43 And that's all he cared about. 27:44 No, a true Christian cares about others. 27:48 He even cares about those who have hurt him. 27:50 Daniel didn't just care about saving his own life. 27:53 He cared about the heathen, those lost and alone, 27:56 and even those who nearly got him killed 27:58 because he almost died 28:00 because of these people, the Chaldeans, 28:03 and the magicians, and all those people 28:04 who could not interpret the dream 28:07 and reveal the dream. 28:08 You know, as a side note, 28:09 I think there are three levels of forgiveness. 28:12 We often only talk about one level of forgiveness. 28:15 That would be, Lord, I want you to forgive me. 28:18 And that's a beautiful level. 28:19 And that is an important level. 28:21 1 John1:9, "If we confess our sins, 28:23 He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 28:26 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 28:29 Second level is asking God to grant His forgiveness, 28:34 put it in my heart, to extend to someone else. 28:37 This'll be the people who have hurt us, 28:39 and we ask God, 28:41 "Would you give me Your forgiveness 28:43 so that I can extend it to my brothers and sisters." 28:47 Colossians 3:13, "Bear with one another, 28:50 and forgive one another, 28:52 even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." 28:55 And I think many Christians, we stop there. 28:58 God would you forgive me and if someone else hurts me, 29:00 "Okay, would you give me 29:02 Your forgiveness for this person over here?" 29:04 But God asks us to also ask forgiveness 29:08 for other people's sins, 29:10 not because they've hurt us, 29:14 but because we're called to intercede 29:17 on behalf of brothers and sisters. 29:18 Think of Stephen, being stoned to death. 29:20 He didn't say, Okay, father, would you? 29:23 Oh, I'm struggling to forgive them 29:24 because I'm feeling angst against them. 29:26 They're about ready to kill me. 29:27 No, he said, 29:29 "Father, do not lay this into their charge," 29:31 because he cared about their eternal salvation. 29:35 That was Moses after the golden calf experience, 29:38 pleading, "Father, 29:40 block me out from your book, 29:43 but forgive and accept these people," 29:45 intercession for others. 29:48 So a true Christian cares about others. 29:50 Number two, 29:51 a true Christian will be known among men. 29:56 Verse 25, 29:57 "Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel 29:59 before the king and said thus to him, 30:01 I have found a man of the captives of Judah, 30:04 who will make known to the king the interpretation." 30:07 Now, I think there's two reasons 30:09 that a Christian is known among men. 30:11 First reason is due to hard work, 30:14 diligence, honesty, integrity. 30:18 Proverbs 22:29 says, 30:20 "Do you see a man who excels in his work? 30:23 He will stand before kings, 30:25 he will not stand before unknown men. 30:29 But the second reason 30:31 is because God in His divine sovereignty 30:35 and providence brings His children 30:39 before kings, before rulers 30:41 as a witness to who He is." 30:46 Matthew 10:18-20, 30:48 "You will be brought before governors 30:49 and kings for my sake, 30:52 as a testimony to them into the Gentiles. 30:55 But when they deliver you up, 30:56 don't worry about how or what you should speak. 30:59 For it will be given you in 31:00 that hour what you should speak. 31:02 It is not you who speak, 31:03 but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." 31:06 So, many times God brings a Christian 31:09 to prominence or to be known among men as it were, 31:14 because He wants to witness 31:16 to those people of His love and His law. 31:19 Amen. 31:21 Lesson number three, 31:22 a true Christian always tells the truth. 31:25 Verses 26 and 27, 31:28 "The King answered and said to Daniel, 31:29 whose name was Belteshazzar, 31:31 'Are you able to make known to me the dream 31:33 which I have seen in its interpretation?' 31:36 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, 31:38 'The secret which the king has demanded, 31:40 the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, 31:42 and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king." 31:46 So Daniel could not tell the king 31:47 the dream or the interpretation, 31:49 the king's advisors couldn't tell the king 31:51 the dream or the interpretation either. 31:53 Now Daniel could have shaded the truth, 31:55 and he could have definitely evaded the answer 31:58 that he gave and just, 31:59 well, I'm coming to you right now with an answer, 32:03 and he could have just evaded it. 32:05 But he was honest as it were to a fault. 32:08 Speaking the truth deals with what he said. 32:10 Would you say that's true? Absolutely. 32:12 What we say deals with speaking the truth. 32:16 But it also deals with what is unsaid. 32:18 The truth is not just what we say. 32:21 The truth is what we don't say. 32:22 And the truth is also how we say it. 32:26 That's right. Yes. 32:28 Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. 32:31 Amen. John 14:6. 32:33 True Christians cannot lie. 32:36 Proverbs 12:22, 32:38 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. 32:40 But those who deal truthfully are His delight." 32:44 Ephesians 4:25, 32:45 "Put away lying, 32:48 let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, 32:51 for members of one another." 32:53 1 John 3:18, "My little children 32:55 let us not love in word or tongue, 32:57 but in deed and in truth." 32:59 So this means that we can lie even by our actions. 33:04 So, the true Christian cares about others, 33:06 will be known among men, tells the truth. 33:08 Number four, a true Christian never takes credit 33:11 for what God has done. 33:13 Amen. That's a good one. 33:15 Verse 28, 33:16 "There is a God in heaven," 33:17 this is Daniel speaking, "who revealed secrets. 33:20 And he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar 33:22 what will be in the latter days, 33:24 your dream and the visions of your head 33:25 upon your bed were these." 33:28 So give credit where credit is due. 33:30 Don't you hate it, Pastor Kenny, 33:31 when someone else gets the credit 33:33 for the work that you did? 33:36 And yet they didn't even contribute to the project, 33:38 and yet they claim all the credit. 33:40 Jeremiah 9:23-24, 33:43 "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, 33:46 let not the mighty man glory in his might, 33:49 or the rich man in his riches, 33:51 but let him who glories glory in this, 33:54 that he understands and knows me, 33:56 that I am the Lord exercising loving kindness, 33:59 judgment and righteousness in the earth. 34:01 For in these things I delight, says the Lord." 34:04 Number five, 34:06 a true Christian never misses an opportunity to witness. 34:10 Verse 29, 34:12 Daniel says, "As for you, O king, 34:14 thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, 34:19 about what would come to pass after this 34:21 and He who reveals secrets has made known to you 34:24 what will be." 34:26 Now in these six verses, Daniel says three times 34:29 that it was God who revealed the dream. 34:32 There's an old marketing adage 34:34 that's called the rule of seven. 34:35 It says, someone needs to hear it seven times, 34:38 before they finally buy in, 34:40 take action and buy from you. 34:42 You might say, I already told my neighbor that. 34:44 Tell them again. 34:46 You might say, I already witnessed to my co-worker, 34:48 I already talked to my family member. 34:50 Witness, every time, 34:52 take every opportunity 34:55 you can to witness for the Lord. 34:57 And finally number six, 34:59 a true Christian walks in humility. 35:03 Verse 30, Daniel says, "As for me, 35:05 the secret is not revealed to me 35:07 because I have more wisdom than anyone living, 35:09 but for our sakes 35:11 who make known the interpretation to the king, 35:13 that you may know the thoughts of your heart." 35:15 So a true Christian walks in humility. 35:18 Pastor Kenny, you have the Image. 35:19 Praise the Lord. 35:21 Yeah, well, you know, 35:22 this is one of the most familiar, 35:24 probably, as those who study prophecy, 35:25 Daniel Chapter 2. 35:26 So since it is, and there's a lot of reading there. 35:28 I'd like to just go over 35:29 and just hit the high points of it, 35:31 then try to get into some things 35:32 that might be of help to us. 35:35 As this dream was, you know, 35:37 given as Nebuchadnezzar had the dream and then, 35:40 of course, the Holy Spirit God came in 35:42 and gave Daniel the interpretation thereof. 35:44 Then He came back and he just simply said, 35:46 like you say, he could have got out of it. 35:48 He could have dished it off somewhere else, 35:49 he could have stopped after this first time, 35:51 said, you're the head of gold, but he didn't. 35:53 He went on because he, 35:54 as you mentioned, he was truthful. 35:56 He's a man of God. 35:57 So the head of gold represents Babylon, 35:58 as we well know. 36:00 It goes to the second one, the chest and arms of silver. 36:02 This is what we're going to do, just go down, 36:03 leave you some homework and study for you to do. 36:06 It stands for Medo-Persia. 36:07 Then the next power that came up wasn't it brass, 36:10 we look at was, was a belly of thighs, 36:12 and brass symbolizes Greece, and then legs of iron. 36:15 And then it breaks down to the toes of iron and clay, 36:18 which is really church and state getting together. 36:20 We see that happening even in the day 36:21 in which we're living right now. 36:22 So, we need to be studying those things 36:24 to see whether they'd be so. 36:26 But to me as I looked at those and studied and again, 36:29 it's always good, I realized there's new people 36:30 and they've never studied it, 36:31 and should take time to do this thing. 36:33 But I want to encourage you, 36:35 because the question is asked in this lesson, 36:36 Image, part two, 36:38 what does this teach us 36:39 about God's foreknowledge of world history? 36:42 You know, does this really teach us something? 36:44 Is there's something we need to really be looking at, 36:45 so I've tried to look at that question and say, 36:48 you know, what does? 36:49 What does the Word of God teach us 36:51 about God's foreknowledge in history of the world or, 36:54 you know, anything goes on, 36:56 is God aware of everything that goes on. 36:57 I think the panel's made it very clear, 36:59 even in our previous lessons. 37:00 I want to just go over a few of those things right now, 37:02 history of God's knowledge. 37:04 I jotted this down, I thought it was interesting. 37:05 Israel's future or the history of Israel 37:08 was shown to Moses. 37:10 That must have really been a handful for Daniel, 37:13 to be given to him, the history. 37:14 So God knew the history and He laid it out there. 37:17 Also the history of this world is marked out, 37:19 link by link in prophecy, 37:22 if we'll get in and study the Word of God. 37:25 Most of ancient history is found in Scripture. 37:27 I thought this is not what, God is revealing history to, 37:30 God is revealing things that we need to know 37:33 in this hour of earth's history. 37:34 And the most interesting and instructive history 37:37 is found in the Bible. 37:39 You know, this is where, we go to school, right? 37:41 And you take history, you know, 37:43 well, somebody needs to get the Bible out, 37:45 isn't that right? 37:46 Because the most important historical things 37:47 are found in the Word of God 37:49 and that's one thing they tried to remove. 37:51 So we need to go back to that for sure. 37:53 History of the world is written, 37:54 we know under the direction of the Holy Spirit. 37:56 It's all laid out there for us, we understand. 37:59 God knows all of our plans. 38:01 He knows them from the very beginning. 38:03 He's talking about it here. 38:04 How does this, what does it teach us about 38:06 world history and the knowledge of God? 38:07 He knows everything. 38:09 He knows our plans, 38:10 from the beginning to the end. 38:12 Every act of man's life, this is like blows your mind, 38:15 you think about God in His mind, 38:17 He knows every act, every thought, 38:19 every word, every deed, every action. 38:21 Everything that happens in any part of the universe, 38:24 God knows. 38:25 That's right. 38:27 The universe is pretty big, I assume. 38:28 Way bigger than I can understand. 38:30 But God knows every little thing 38:31 that's going on there. 38:33 So every government, the kings, presidents, 38:36 leaders, rulers, nations, 38:38 what we need to remember 38:40 that they are under God, God's not under them. 38:43 And yet under God is the thing that we try to take out. 38:47 You notice that, things under God, 38:49 we try to take it out, all this is subject to God. 38:52 It's all written out. 38:54 It's going to come to pass just exactly like 38:55 He says it's going to. 38:57 If we didn't have time to say anymore, 38:59 I thought it was very interesting 39:00 in Daniel 2:47 and 49, 39:04 it really tells me something about. 39:06 You started about the King Nebuchadnezzar, 39:08 because King Nebuchadnezzar, 39:09 you know, this is what he had to say to Daniel, 39:13 after he met God. 39:15 You know what we say about God before we really meet Him, 39:19 you know, in personal, in our life is different 39:21 than after we meet him. 39:24 You know, Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan, 39:26 Daniel was a man who loved God. 39:28 But you notice there, after Nebuchadnezzar met God, 39:32 he began to say, "Wow, 39:34 He certainly is the God of God, right? 39:36 He's the one that sits upon the throne." 39:39 So I'm just encouraging you that once you meet God, 39:42 once you have relationship with God, 39:44 your attitude's going to change, 39:46 your life's going to change, 39:47 your thoughts are going to change. 39:48 It's all going to be very, very different. 39:51 And so that was his response to the heathen king. 39:54 He said, "He was touched by the power of God 39:56 in a very special way. 39:58 So, and again outline Chapter 2 as we go through there, 40:01 that will also help us in Daniel Chapter 7, 40:04 Daniel Chapter 8 and 11. 40:07 So it's good to get that all in, you know, 40:09 and focus, so that we can go on and study the prophecy. 40:13 I like this, a Fundamental of Education, 40:15 page 411-412 says this, 40:17 "The Lord was working in the Babylonian kingdom, 40:20 giving light to the four Hebrew captives." 40:23 God was working and had to come back, 40:25 we have to say, why would God do that? 40:27 These are all that turned their back on God, 40:29 they were worshiping other gods, 40:31 but again, merciful God, 40:32 still working up on them, He was working with them, why? 40:35 So He could reveal to them that He had power over, 40:40 notice, kingdoms of the world. 40:42 He set them up that you read, and He takes them down, 40:45 kingdoms and kings. 40:46 God was speaking to the king. 40:48 He was speaking to his mind, speaking we say to his heart, 40:51 simply trying to, as He's doing today, 40:53 in my opinion, trying to wake us up, 40:55 trying to wake us up in the hour in which we live. 40:57 Probation's closing, Jesus is coming. 40:59 There's a day that doors going to be shut, 41:01 there're decisions that we have to make. 41:03 And God is bringing out information right now 41:05 that I think will be so valuable 41:07 if we just, you know, 41:09 get our mind and heart into the book and say, 41:11 God is showing Himself to be God. 41:13 He was doing that to King Nebuchadnezzar, 41:15 say, "I'll show you who is God, 41:16 I'm gonna show you the right God to worship here." 41:19 Here God shows Himself superior to any other god, 41:23 and their gods that they had. 41:25 Praise God for that. 41:26 Because He was challenged with the most educated as it were, 41:31 He was challenged with those who were talented, 41:33 and all the men in Babylon 41:35 and then God is still superior to all of these, 41:37 we call them brains. 41:38 He was superior to all of them. 41:40 God was revealing that He's a God, 41:42 the Bible said, of heaven. 41:44 He's the God of heaven and earth, 41:46 He reveal us secrets. 41:48 That's right. And only God can do that. 41:49 God was revealing what? 41:51 Historic events. 41:53 God was revealing that, you know, 41:55 things related to the kings 41:57 and the kingdoms that were yet to come. 41:59 He was doing that before it ever happened. 42:01 So it's important for him or Nebuchadnezzar 42:04 to remember what he had dreamed and yet he forgot. 42:07 That's right. 42:08 He forgot, you know, if you ever do that, 42:10 have something very, very important, 42:11 you say, I'm going to, I've got to remember this, 42:13 I'm going to put this up and put in a certain spot, 42:14 because I want to remember where it's at. 42:16 And then you forget the spot. 42:17 You know, it's important, 42:19 you don't quite do the right thing, 42:20 maybe write it down and maybe pin it 42:22 or put it on your nose or something. 42:23 Because you know, we forget, you know, 42:26 you think about it, 42:27 he could not remember this dream. 42:30 And you'll say, well, why? Why? 42:32 Why couldn't he remember this dream? 42:33 Why? Why? 42:34 Because all the wise men were all drug into this thing. 42:38 What would they have done with this information? 42:40 You know, if they knew what it was, 42:42 what my interpretation might they have put on it? 42:44 It certainly would have been false 42:46 and would it not? 42:47 We know these lessons are given to us by God. 42:50 There's no doubt, for those who live 42:51 we say it over and over. 42:53 I think we should say it from lesson one till we end, 42:55 that this is for our day. 42:57 We need this book. 42:59 We need to be studying these things. 43:02 Even today we find out here how closely it resembles 43:05 the wise men of today. 43:07 They're supposedly wise men of today. 43:09 But you know, it just takes a simple thing 43:10 to stump them sometime, 43:12 because they have not the Spirit of the Living God. 43:13 That's right. Spiritual things are what? 43:15 Spiritually discerned. 43:17 And sometime we know we're not in tune 43:18 where they have no discernment, they have no learning, 43:20 they really have no knowledge apart from God. 43:24 They're not able to understand the prophecies 43:26 that are so important for our day, 43:28 which we need with all of our heart. 43:30 If we're not studying and listening 43:31 and watching and praying right now, 43:33 it could be possible 43:34 that we're really not God's people here 43:36 in these last days. 43:37 I mean, is it possible? 43:38 You know, I'd like to think about this 43:40 and keep in our mind. 43:43 I think somebody brought this up, 43:45 that the Hebrews, 43:47 and we are talking about the four of them here. 43:48 You know, they were not interested 43:50 in receiving any credit, 43:53 for what God had used them to do. 43:55 You know, I mean, that's brought out 43:57 very clear in here and why? 43:58 Because they weren't worried about being lifted up. 44:01 They saw God in everything 44:03 that was going on like we should. 44:05 They rejoiced that God was being elevated 44:08 and lifted up rather than mankind. 44:11 Above all the earth, 44:12 it was God that receiving praise 44:14 and honor and glory and not man. 44:18 I like it because this quickly with Daniel, 44:22 he was elevated, man, 44:24 to the high part, right? 44:25 But notice this, somebody mentioned in passing, 44:28 that He did not forget those who labored with him. 44:32 That's right. He did not forget them. 44:34 In fact, he said, when the king said, 44:36 I'll give you whatever, he said what? 44:38 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 44:39 my friends, I want them to be up here too. 44:42 See, sometimes we go along, 44:43 and sometimes we forget those 44:45 who helped us in where we are at today. 44:47 By the grace of God, we know God does everything, 44:49 but we need to not forget them. 44:52 And if God sees fit to elevate as it were, 44:55 where we can help to bring them up, 44:57 bring them up. 44:58 Don't forget, pray with them, work with them 45:00 and we'd see what God said. 45:02 Let's learn the lesson, 45:03 just keep it in mind right here, 45:05 they learned the lesson of Jesus Christ. 45:08 We must learn the lesson of Jesus Christ. 45:11 This is the true science of the Bible 45:15 is learn the science of Jesus Christ. 45:16 "Blessed are the pure in heart," 45:18 Matthew 5:8, "for they shall," what? 45:20 See God. "They shall see God." 45:23 Thank you all. 45:25 I've listened and I've gleaned. 45:27 You know, the only good thing 45:28 about being the last is kind of like a cherry picker. 45:32 You know, they spit out the seeds 45:33 and we pick them up to find value in them. 45:35 Mine is Thursday, The Stone, The Stone. 45:41 I want to begin by reading Daniel 2:34-35. 45:46 This is talking about the fact that God is always in charge. 45:51 Amen. 45:52 All the kingdoms that were pictured by Daniel 45:55 or given to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream, 45:59 Daniel interpreted every one of them 46:00 as a temporary kingdom, but notice, 46:03 God's kingdom is the only eternal kingdom. 46:07 Verse 34, 46:09 "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, 46:14 which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay 46:16 and broke them in pieces. 46:18 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, 46:20 the silver and the gold were crushed together 46:23 and became like chaff 46:24 from the summer threshing floors. 46:27 The wind carried them away 46:29 so that no trace of them was found. 46:32 And the stone that struck the image 46:35 became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." 46:40 The stone, Christ establishes kingdom on Himself. 46:43 That's right. The stone that fills the earth. 46:45 So I want to point out 10 aspects, 46:48 Jill, of the stone, 46:51 because the entire book brings out one aspect 46:53 or the other of Christ. 46:55 Let's go to Genesis 28:11. 46:57 We're going to move real quickly here. 46:59 Genesis 28:11 47:01 and the Bible, from the very beginning 47:03 to the very end of the Bible, 47:04 you find that Jesus is revealed. 47:07 Speaking about Jacob, 47:09 "So he came to a certain place 47:10 and stayed there all night," 47:12 you know, he's running from Esau, 47:14 "because the sun had set. 47:15 And he took one of the stones of that place 47:19 and put it at his head, 47:21 and he laid down in that place to sleep." 47:25 I saw Jesus says, the peaceful stone, 47:29 the peaceful stone. 47:31 Isaiah 26:3, 47:32 notice where He put the stone, He put His head on the stone, 47:36 when notice how Isaiah interprets that, 47:39 "You will keep him in perfect peace, 47:41 whose mind is stayed on you, 47:43 because He trusts in you." 47:46 What's in the head? 47:47 The mind. That's right. 47:49 He put His head on the stone where his Mind is. 47:52 When our minds are on Christ, we will have perfect peace. 47:57 Not only that, 47:59 let's go to Acts 10:38. 48:04 This is, Jesus is first the peaceful stone 48:06 then he is... 48:08 Let's read Acts 10:38, 48:11 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth 48:13 with the Holy Spirit and with power, 48:15 who went about doing good 48:16 and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, 48:19 for God was with Him." 48:21 Jesus is also the anointed stone. 48:25 Now, anointing is a form of endorsement. 48:29 Jesus is not only the anointed stone, 48:30 but the endorsed stone. 48:32 Look at another example in John 12:3, 48:35 how once again all through the Bible, 48:37 you see that anointing, 48:38 that endorsement of His divinity. 48:39 "Then Mary took a pound 48:41 of very costly oil of spikenard, 48:42 anointed the feet of Jesus 48:44 and wiped His feet with her hair. 48:46 And the house was filled with a fragrance of the oil." 48:48 The fragrance of the oil was released on the person 48:52 who is the stone... 48:54 That's right. Christ Jesus. 48:55 Third one, the worshipped stone. 48:58 Genesis 28:22, 49:00 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar 49:02 shall be God's house." 49:04 Jesus is the stone of worship. 49:06 He is our form of worship. 49:08 He is the only one worthy of worship. 49:10 He's referred to here as the pillar 49:12 that shall be the house of God. 49:14 The church is built on the stone. 49:17 Christ is that stone. 49:19 Now we go to Ephesians 2:20, 49:21 the exclusive Savior. 49:23 We'll find out what kind of stone He is. 49:26 "Having been built on the foundation 49:28 of the apostles and prophets, 49:30 Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." 49:34 He's the cornerstone, so you can see 49:37 why Daniel said that that stone has enough in him 49:41 to decapitate and erase every kingdom 49:44 ever built by man regardless of his grandeur. 49:47 And it says, "For no other foundation 49:49 can anyone lay 49:51 that which is laid which is Christ Jesus," 49:53 1 Corinthians 3:11. 49:54 That's the only foundation that could survive, 49:56 because He is the stone. 49:58 There is no other foundation but Him. 50:00 That's right. 50:01 And then the Bible also points out Revelation 21:19, 50:04 "Every one of the foundations under our feet, 50:07 he is also the precious stone. 50:10 Let's go to Acts 4:11, 50:14 "This is the stone 50:15 which was rejected by you builders, 50:18 which has become the chief cornerstone." 50:21 This is the sad part of the story. 50:24 There are so many people 50:25 whose lives could be more stable 50:26 if they builded on the stone that they rejected. 50:30 The rejected stone, 50:32 or I refer to Him as the ignored stone. 50:35 He is despised and rejected of men, 50:38 the Bible pointed that about Jesus. 50:40 Now, Exodus 24:12, I'm moving quickly 50:42 because Jill knows what it's like with all these lists. 50:46 Exodus 24:12. 50:47 "Then the Lord said to Moses, 50:49 'Come up to me on the mountain and be there 50:51 and I will give you tablets of stones 50:54 and the law and the commandments 50:56 which I have written, that you may teach them.'" 50:59 Jesus is the moral stone, 51:02 unmovable, 51:03 showing the consistency of that stone, 51:06 the moral stone. 51:08 Then we go to Isaiah 28:16, 51:10 "Therefore thus says the Lord God, 51:13 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation.'" 51:16 What kind of stone? 51:17 A tried stone. 51:19 Jesus is reliable. 51:20 If you're going through trials, don't try anybody else. 51:23 Try Jesus, He's the only tried stone that there is, 51:27 a reliable stone, a tried stone. 51:30 Let's go on, 1 Samuel 17:40, 51:33 "Then he took his staff in his hand," 51:35 this is David, 51:36 "and he chose for himself five smooth stones 51:39 from the brook and put them in the shepherd's bag 51:41 in a pouch which he had and his sling within his hand, 51:44 and he drew near to the Philistine." 51:46 "So, David prevailed," verse 50, 51:49 "over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, 51:53 Jesus is the victorious stone." 51:56 The victorious stone. 51:57 So He is all throughout the Bible 51:59 from the beginning to the very end. 52:01 David could not win by his ability, 52:04 but he won by his availability. 52:06 When you make yourself available to Christ, 52:10 he may seem small and insignificant, 52:12 but there's no giant in your life 52:13 that could stand before this tried stone. 52:16 Regardless of the big things that you're troubled by, 52:19 regardless of the large habits you are challenged by, 52:21 regardless of the large sins that are holding you down, 52:24 just sling the stone toward any of those, 52:27 and you'll find victory in Christ. 52:29 He is the victorious stone. 52:31 Not only that, let's go to Exodus 28:16. 52:35 This is an amazing one because it taught... 52:36 I'm in Ezekiel 28:16. 52:38 This is talking about the place that Lucifer forfeited. 52:41 What was the place he forfeited? 52:43 Notice what the Bible says in verse 16 52:45 of Exodus Chapter 28. 52:47 Ezekiel? Ezekiel 28. 52:49 I get my, it's hard to mix them up, 52:52 but easy not to mix them up. 52:54 You figure that out. 52:56 "By the abundance of your trading," 52:58 that is about Lucifer, 53:00 "you became filled with violence within 53:02 and you sinned. 53:03 Therefore I cast you as a profane thing 53:06 out of the mountain of God. 53:08 And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, 53:11 from the midst of the fiery stones." 53:14 Our God is a consuming fire. 53:16 The stones were fiery, 53:18 because Christ is a consuming fire. 53:21 There's no stone that could be in the presence of Christ 53:23 that will not be a stone that is lit on fire. 53:26 If you want your life to be on fire, 53:28 walk back and forth 53:29 in the midst of the presence of God. 53:31 Amen. 53:32 And finally, this is my favorite. 53:33 They're all my favorite, but this is my favorite, 53:35 because I know what this means to me. 53:37 Revelation 2:17, 53:40 "He who has an ear, 53:42 let him hear what the Spirit says 53:44 to the churches, to him who overcomes 53:46 I will give some of the hidden manna to eat, 53:49 and I will give him a white stone 53:52 and on the stone a new name, 53:54 which no one knows except him who receives it." 53:56 I got to spend a minute on this. 53:58 In the Roman court 54:00 when the jury was hung, 54:03 it was up to the accused to decide his fate. 54:07 And so they, it was a terrible process. 54:10 They put a stone, 54:12 two stones in a leather bag, 54:14 kind of like on, let's make it, you peel, 54:15 put out one of the two, red one, you win, 54:19 black one, yeah, whatever. 54:21 There was a white stone and a black stone. 54:23 If he pulled out the black stone, 54:25 he could lose his life. 54:28 If he pulled out the white stone, 54:29 he would be exonerated, 54:31 and he will get a new name. 54:33 He will be put into the community 54:34 and they'll not know him by the name 54:36 he was known for as an accused criminal. 54:39 But follow this. 54:40 It's not just that he would pull out the stone. 54:42 But our lawyer, Jesus Christ said, 54:45 you know, the court is always in favor of the saints. 54:51 If you let me be your lawyer, 54:53 you don't have to put your hand in the bag. 54:55 I'll give you a white stone. 54:57 Did you get that? That's right, Brother. 54:59 You don't have to decide your fate. 55:01 I've already decided your fate. 55:03 You have told me everything I need to know about your life. 55:06 I know everything about your sin. 55:08 If you just simply put your life in my hand, 55:11 I'll put my life in your hand. 55:14 Jesus Christ gave him a white stone. 55:17 He put his hand in that bag, 55:18 knowing that he would be vindicated. 55:20 My friends, the God that wins for Daniel 55:23 is the God that will win for you. 55:25 Make Him the stone of your life. 55:27 Amen. Amen. 55:29 What a wonderful study. 55:31 Thank you so much, each and every one of you, 55:33 and we had just a couple of minutes left. 55:36 I'd like to give everyone an opportunity 55:39 for a final thought. 55:40 Absolutely. 55:42 You know, as the pastor was talking about the stone, 55:44 a particular passage came to my mind. 55:46 Jesus speaking in Matthew Chapter 21. 55:48 He says the stone which the builders rejected, 55:51 has become the chief cornerstone. 55:52 This was the Lord's doing 55:53 and it is marvelous in our eyes. 55:55 But verse 44 is what really sticks out to me. 55:58 It says, "And whomever falls on this stone..." 56:02 It's good. 56:03 "Whoever falls on this stone, will be broken in a good way." 56:05 Yeah. That's right. 56:06 But then notice, "But on whomever it falls, 56:09 it will grind him to powder." 56:11 I just pray that the Lord will allow me 56:14 and help me and lead me to lean on Him, 56:16 to follow Him and allowed Christ 56:18 to shape us and mould us today 56:20 as His special vessels of honor. 56:21 Amen. Amen. 56:23 What an incredible study. 56:24 I've taken notes, Pastor, I was so blessed by that, 56:27 who God is and who Jesus is in our lives. 56:31 I just want to leave you with John 6:37, 56:34 one of my favorite scriptures, Jesus says, 56:35 "Whoever comes to me, I will never cast aside." 56:40 So just open up your heart right now to the Lord Jesus. 56:44 Say, "I want You to come in. 56:45 I want You to be Lord of my life." 56:47 Amen. Praise the Lord. 56:49 My Life Today, page 310 says this. 56:51 "You may be a living representative of Christ. 56:54 God would have you filled with the Holy Ghost, 56:57 notice, endowed with power from on high." 57:00 Notice this. 57:01 "Labor not to become great men, 57:04 but labor rather to become good and perfect men, 57:08 showing forth the praises of Him 57:11 that hath called you." 57:12 Amen. Wow. 57:13 And I left one last for my final comment. 57:17 When you come to the tried stone, 57:20 the precious stone, the corner stone. 57:23 1 Peter 2:4 says, 57:24 "Coming to him as to a living stone." 57:28 He is the living stone. 57:30 If you want life, come to the living stone. 57:32 He will make your life 57:34 everything that He knows it can be, 57:36 by His residing power in your life. 57:39 Praise the Lord. Amen. 57:41 What an incredible study. 57:43 Thank you so much. 57:44 And we want to thank each one of you 57:46 at home for joining us. 57:48 This, to know our God as Daniel knew our God 57:52 is a special thing. 57:54 So we're glad you're joining us, 57:55 and we hope you'll tune in next time. 57:57 Lesson four, will be 57:59 "From the Furnace to the Palace." 58:02 May God bless you. And we'll see you next time. 58:05 Bye-bye. |
Revised 2020-01-16