For the men exploited for labor.
Hey, wasn't that a great worship today? Man, I love our worship team. Wow. And I love you guys. On a rainy day like this, we've had record crowds this morning. And we are so thankful that you are here, those of you that are watching online.
We're starting a new series called Breaking the Cycle, Daniel's Breakthrough Prayer. And we have another YouVersion plan that we're going to study together. If you get your phones out, that little QR code up in the corner there, it'll take you to Daniel's Prayer Secrets. This week we're going to be studying that. So go ahead and do that. Or you can go to our website. Come on down and there'll be a place there, Daniel's Prayer Secrets. You can hook on to that. It'll all be good, okay?
Anita and I did this one last week. It's really super, super awesome. So I want you to join with us, please. And tonight is night of worship. So, yeah. So come, Cash. Get ready. Get on your dancing shoes, jumping shoes. It's going to be a good, great, great time. We're just kind of crazy around here for Jesus, aren't we? And tonight we just take it up even to another level.
Doors open at 5. It's going to be a packed-out house. It'll be standing room only. So at 5, you might want to come, find a place to pray around the altar. And as Tim said, we're on the ground with Convoy of Hope helping. We're able to send extra money to other churches. Because if you're giving. And some of you said, how can I get more involved? Do you want to get involved? You're retired. You got money.
So we're going to hook up with Convoy of Hope this week. Because they've got also a way that we as a church can send volunteers to be right on the ground. And so we'll let you know more about that. Plus, if you say, I'd like to specifically give on our website, when you scroll down, there's a place called Crisis Giving. Crisis Emergency. Something like that. You'll see it. And give. Yeah, you're smart.
Yesterday we had an extreme privilege of one of our own here in the Father's house. Jeremy opened up his new shop, Lucky You Cycles. His new big shop over there. And we were able to pray the dedicatory prayer. Anoint the door over and around. Underneath, you know, Sean wanted to cover everything. Make sure to get everything done.
But I was thinking about that yesterday. I thought how proud I was. Many of you were there. How proud I was that one of our own, God is using in such a great way. And this morning when I woke up early, I thought, you know what? We did this in the first service. I was really amazed at the response. But I really feel like that I'd like to pray for those of you that are business owners. Because we honor you. I mean, you guys are lights in our community. And you step out and do things that nobody else does.
So if you're a business owner, I'd like you to stand. And I want to pray for you today. Just so if you're a business owner, you got your own business, just go ahead and stand. Okay? Got several here today. Right? Look at that. A lot of business owners today. So good to have you. Glad you're here. Just continue standing. I want to pray for you.
Because I know it's not an easy time to be a business owner. And I know maybe some of you at times decided, you know, because it's so hard to find the right help. And to keep the right help. And insurance is going up. Everything is going up. That it becomes a time when you feel like, is it really worth what you're doing? But if God put that in your heart, it is worth it.
Because you're able to reach people that we could never reach at church. There are people that you reach. You say, hey, come to church. Come visit with me. And they come. They give their heart to the Lord. It's amazing how God uses.
So I want to specifically pray for you. Second of all this morning, after this, I want to pray for those of you that have an idea. And I'll talk about that in a minute. But I know there's some of you that have had an idea for a business or to start something. And you haven't done it because of fear, the economy, whatever else. But I want to pray specifically because I really felt that today.
And I have a word for you also. If you're sitting around somebody that's standing, would you just lay your hand on their shoulder or on their arm? Or just extend your hand towards them. And we want to pray for, excuse me, our business owners.
Father, I thank you that as I read today, even in our YouVersion plan, of all the people in the Old Testament that you gave ideas and abilities to create and make things. It was your Holy Spirit, your Ruach, that came upon them and gave them the anointing.
And so right now, Lord, I pray for these business owners, men and women. Not an easy time right now. Maybe some of them have really struggled of what to do. What's the next step? Lord, I don't think it's a step to go back. I think it's a step to expand. There's every time the kingdom. And every time that your kingdom should be expanding in the dark world, it's now.
So I pray. I pray your favor. I pray your anointing. I pray, Lord, your peace. Peace in the midst of unusual circumstances. To come into their life and be with them. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. You may be seated.
And second of all, there may be some of you that have had ideas. Like we'd be watching an infomercial. And Anita would say, I have ideas. I had that idea 20 years ago. And I'm thinking, why didn't you do it? I could be a millionaire today. And I wouldn't have to worry about things.
But some of you are sitting on ideas. And you've been wondering, is this really God? Early this morning, I felt like the Lord said, just tell someone today, I don't know exactly who you are. The answer is yes. He's shown you what he wants you to do. And you've been backing off because, first of all, it's hard. It's difficult.
You know, when we started this church with no financial backing. No one that said, we'll bail you out. We do. Liquidate all of our retirement and everything we had to get this wonderful thing going called the Father's House. I'm so thankful that I didn't just give in to worry or say, how can that ever happen?
Yeah, some of you are thinking that. I could never do that. I could never start that business. That couldn't be me. But what if it is? If you're a key to what God wants you to do? What does he want us to do to make our community a better place? What if you're a key to be able to raise money for the expansion of the kingdom of God? What if you're a key that God's going to make you a lighthouse to the people that you work with?
I have a lot of business. I think, what, Nate owns like 65 businesses, something like that. And he meets with them every morning. And he goes over. Somebody tell me, he goes over every day because he cares for his guys and he prays for them and his girls that he prays for.
So I don't know who you are. You got an idea. You got a thought. Start a business. You haven't done it. Or maybe you started and stopped and backed out. But you say, you know what, today I pick up on that word. I agree with that word. Would you just stand? I want to pray with you. Anyone in this service? Okay. Right. Okay. Sometimes we just don't want to feel like we're alone, right?
All right. I love it. The young man in the back. Go ahead and stand up again. Idea. You see, God can give ideas when you're 8, 9, 10 years old. All right? Come on. Stand up. All right. Stay standing. You didn't think I saw you. God directed me to you. Because I'm simply saying to some of you that are young, God gives you ideas then that carries forward.
So I don't know what the idea is. And I don't know if the word that I gave is the word for you. But I want to pray. We don't want to just say, well, what if. Or it could have been. But what if it's meant to be? Some of you that are business owners, you should just get up and go ahead and lay your hand on some of these people here. And give them a word of prayer and encouragement.
Let's pray for these ideas. Lord, I come before you today. And I thank you that in this house we have so many entrepreneurs that have a heart to build your kingdom. Not a heart to build their life, but a heart to build the kingdom. They care about, how can I make a difference? How can I help people? How can I make our community better? How can I help in this area? Providing jobs and places for people to work and raise finances for the kingdom of God to go forth.
To be able to, if God gives you a thought, an idea that you're able to just buy a car for somebody or buy a house for somebody. You're able to take care of something for a while. God wants to bless his people. And he wants people to step out in that faith. Amen. God bless you. Praying for you, okay?
Turn to chapter 9 of Daniel. We're going to be studying that all this month. And as you're praying this week, you can pray for me. I'm doing a knee replacement this Tuesday with one of our own doctors, Dr. Mitchell. And so I thank God for him. And I thank God, you know, I've been waffling in and out, up and down, because I don't do pain.
But his wife threatened him that she's going to make sure he gives me lots of pain meds, okay? Just kidding. Lord, let's pray. Thank you, God. Thank you for this house. Lord, I thank you for people that came out on this cloudy morning, rainy morning to put you first.
And Lord, I thank you for that one or two that you brought. They don't even know why they're here. They just came because somebody invited them. But today's the day their life will change. They've been saying, someday, some way I want to change. And Holy Spirit, you're already working. But today is the day.
Lord, I thank you so much for the people here. Thank you for our business owners, our people that have ideas. I thank you for our faithful people who work for other businesses that make them successful. Lord, this is not a lazy house. This is not a house full of people that always have their hand out. This is a house of people that want to make a difference in their community and bring hope.
So I pray as we look into this Daniel chapter 9 that you'd help me to say what you want me to say. Don't let me say anything I shouldn't say. At the end of this service today, above all else, may you be glorified and made famous. May your saints be edified, lifted up, and may the enemy be terrified in the name of Jesus.
Let me ask you this question. I think we've all been there one time or another. You ever been in a hopeless situation? It just seems like that you're in a vicious cycle. Vicious cycle. I mean, like the washing machine breaks, the dryer breaks, the car breaks, something else breaks, and you're trying to tithe and give. It just seems like you're in that circle that it's just like never-ending.
Or maybe it's just something in your own personal life. It's just that cycle that, you know, things come into your life and you yield to things that you know that you shouldn't yield to. And you feel the conviction, the drawing of the Holy Spirit. You cry out to God. God, forgive me. God, help me. God comes along, sends somebody or helps you, lifts you up. And all of a sudden now, man, you're back up here and you're doing good.
Then again, you get drifted and you go back the same cycle, away from God, back to God. And so the story of your life this morning is just a big circle of which that you need to break that cycle. It just keeps going and going and going and going.
Or maybe it's in your family life. And there's just been that history of divorce or that history of poverty. Poverty is a spirit. Poverty is not a spirit that we really want as a believer. Jesus wants to bless us so that we can be a blessing. Not that we can wallow in the gravy, but that we can give others to other people.
And so what I'm just saying is that sometimes that cycle has to be broken. And sometimes people have to stand up, as Tim said today, and say, you know what? From here on, we're going to be faithful and consistent with our giving. And we're going to watch this cycle break. We're going to do everything. We're going to work hard on our job. We're going to plan. We're going to save. We're not going to spend more money than we make.
We're going to look for opportunities to invest in what God says. We're going to do that. And we're going to get out of this cycle. I'm not going to say to my kids anymore, no, we can't afford it. No, we can't afford it. No, we can't afford it. Maybe the word is, you know what? That's a good idea. But right now, we just can't do that. We're going to do something else. But there may be a day that that will happen.
Don't put in your kids this idea that they're always going to be poor. They're never going to own a house. My goal is and my belief is that everybody in the Father's House owns their own home. They don't have to rent from somebody else, but they own their own home. That's a principle that God gave Israel that ties over to the kingdom, that he wants us to be people that make a difference in our area.
So today, in chapter 9, we're going to see that Daniel sees a cycle with Israel. How they kept going away from God and found themselves in a hopeless situation in Babylon, away from God, everything destroyed. And by all appearances, it looked impossible and hopeless.
But here's what I know. When we bring our hopeless situation and circumstances to God, he can bring us hope. Now, that doesn't mean that circumstances immediately change, but it does mean that God does care.
So today we want to jump into this passage and we want to study about Daniel and this prayer that he prayed that changed a nation, that broke the cycle of bondage.
So first of all, I want to look that he was compelled to pray, compelled to pray. And I just felt like this morning I was compelled to pray for businesses. I was compelled to pray for new ideas. And tonight, at night of worship, you can never tell what's going to happen tonight. But there's just that feeling.
How many of you, as we move into this cycle of the elections, aren't you, first of all, aren't you thankful that you live in a nation that you can have the freedom to make a choice, right? And I hope that we never get so full of ourselves that we don't let everybody else have a choice. Everybody else doesn't like the same thing you like, all right?
Like this morning, all right? So I'm a diva. So I tried on the clothes I thought I was going to wear today. My really nice pink shirt that was really cute and looked good. Cute's not a word for man, but I'm satisfied. And my masculinity. But Tim, it didn't look good. And I thought, well, so I tried on this. It didn't look good. Eight outfits later, I had to dress up.
And you know, if I dress up, it's the last of the barrel, right? You see me in a jacket instead of a T-shirt or a Harley shirt. But I was just thinking that. I looked at Anita and said, well, that looks okay. That looks good. But it didn't look good for me.
This is what I'm saying. As we move into this election, something may look good. It may look good to you and feel good to you. But just because it looks good to you and feels good to you, don't build a wall of separation from somebody else who sees it through a different lens.
You know what I'm saying? If ever I felt like we are compelled to pray as a church for our nation, it's now. Compelled to pray for our leaders. I pray for our president every day. I pray for my president every day. Be he a Democrat, be he a Republican, be he an independent, I pray for him every day.
Because the Bible says, pray for those that are in authority. We might be a whole lot better off if some of you would drop your political badge and, well, I may not be in the same political party. But you know what? That's my leader. And God said, pray for my leader. And God is above my leader. And so I'm praying for them.
Well, I'm going to just wait on a lot of things this morning. So just get ready. So David was compelled. I don't even know why I told you about my diva ass. I don't know. I just must feel comfortable with you guys.
Daniel felt compelled to pray. He felt compelled to pray because his nation. Daniel, just quick rehab, at age 15, or maybe a little older, between 13 and 15, he was led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, which is 500 or 600 miles. And so they walked that far.
So now he's away from his family. He's away from everything that's surrounding. He's gone into Babylon where they dress different. Their culture is different. Their rituals are different. The food is different. They put him, because he's a brilliant young guy, they put him in a three-month brainwashing, three-year brainwashing program to help him to assimilate into the Babylonian culture.
I think that we, as the kingdom of God, have assimilated into the culture of darkness instead of being the light that we need to be. And he was stripped of his identity. His Hebrew name was Daniel, which means God is my judge. But when he got to Babylon, they said, you're no more Daniel. You're Belteshazzar. And that name meant cry of the wife of God, Bel.
And not only that, but at age 13 to 15, historians and scholars believe that he was made a eunuch. And so here it is. He's lost his family. He's lost his life. He's lost his chance now of ever having a family. And here he is in a situation. And he's been in, he's not a young man.
See, Daniel chapter 9 happens right after Daniel in the lion's den. But when we read that, we think when it says three Hebrew boys, Daniel was 80. Yeah. When he went into the lion's den. 80. I can just imagine him walking in there. I mean, what do you got to lose at 80? Come on over here, Papa Lion. Let me rest on you. I'm just going to rest right here. You just do the worst that you want to do. But it's okay. If God delivers me, fine. If he doesn't deliver me, I'm ready to go. It's either way.
He made a choice, Tim, as a kid. And that choice carried him on through. And even when they said, you're no longer a believer. We don't believe that anymore. We are in a woke culture. Not everything bad. Not everything is bad, maybe in a woke culture. But I believe it's enough that it's building walls instead of bridges.
And not everything in the woke culture is according to the kingdom of God. So I have to say, yeah, you can try to suck me in. But I'm telling you, if it takes my life, I'll stand. I'm a believer in God. I'm not going to back down from that. Jesus Christ is my savior. It's the greatest thing that ever happened for my life.
And the world can try to suck you in. It can try to crowd you in with darkness. But guess what, church? The darker it gets, the lighter your light shines for the glory of God. Give him a hand clap if you believe that.
So Daniel, he's in this hopeless situation, age 15 or whatever. And now he's in his 80s. He's 80 plus in chapter 9. And what do you do? What do you do? I mean, you've been in captivity that long. So you look at a cycle that looks like it's unbroken. We're never going to get out of this. It's never going to change. It'll never happen.
But I want to give you three things today that gave Daniel hope and helped him. And I think it's the same three things that will help us today regardless if it's in our nation that we need help or we as an individual.
Here's the first one. I think we have to learn to follow the word of God without hesitation. Read that with me. Follow the word of God without hesitation. Say without hesitation. Without. That means I don't just mill around. But if I get a word from God, I'm going to act on that word of God.
A lot of people get a word from God and then they want an alternative word. I know it says not to shack up. Yes, I hear heaven calling. Give me a second opinion. Isn't that where we're at? I know we're not legally married and we live together. But we love each other. So I think God understands that.
I think God understands that. Look, it's not looking at an alternative opinion. But if God gives you a scripture, then I'm going to live and without hesitation obey that scripture. Daniel approached prayer three times a day, Daniel chapter 6 says.
You see, God's voice is a frequency that requires our ears to be tuned in to hear it. We have to focus on that and prepare our hearts. You see, the word of God is found in the word of God. Isn't that brilliant? People say, I need a word of God. Good. Here's the whole book. No, no, you give me a word. No, you get a word.
You see, that's what I'm saying today. Every one of you, you that are business owners, get a word that God promised. Hold to that word. Those of you that have an idea, get a word and hold to that.
So Daniel chapter 9, beginning at verse 1. Daniel is in his morning Bible study. He's in his morning Bible study. And so he reads and he's reading. We'll start at verse 2. In the year of the reign. I should start with one. That messes you up.
In the first year of Darius, the king over the realm of the Chaldeans. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah, the prophet. That he would accomplish. What? Seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
So he says, in my morning devotions. It's not like God said to him, Daniel, today I want you to do a detailed study of how long that you've been in bondage and how you're going to get. No, he's so engulfed in the circumstances that that's probably the farthest thing from his mind, except he knows God is still God.
But that day, Eddie. In his daily devotion. He's reading. And it says from Jeremiah chapter 25. Let me give you the verse so some of you will want to look at that later. Jeremiah 25, 11 and 12. And Jeremiah 29 and 10 and 11.
So here would have been the picture. He didn't have a digital Bible. And he didn't have a Bible like we had. He had scrolls. Do you think they had scrolls in Babylon for him to read the word? No. A young kid, 13 to 15, when he was pulled away in captivity.
You know some of those things, you know, if you're stranded on a desert island, the boat's sinking, what three things will you take with you? Well, Daniel didn't know how long he was going to be gone. But one of the things he reached for as they were taking him from his home, he reached for some of the scrolls of God, of the prophets.
And the ones that he got was Jeremiah. And a practical thing for him. He'd been reading Jeremiah over and over. But on this one day, there's something in Jeremiah's writings that jumped up. In chapter 25 and chapter 29, God says, there will only be 70 years of captivity and then I will release my people.
And Daniel begins praying. Look at what he says next. He says, and I set my face toward the Lord to make a request by prayer. He said, literally it says, I gave my face to God. I love that. I gave my face to God.
You ever had one of your children or grandchildren sitting on your lap and they're talking to you, blah, blah, blah, talking to you. And you're reading the paper. You're watching the sports. And what do they do? They grab your face and pull it toward you. Look at me, Poppy.
I wonder if the Lord is saying to us, you've been looking at circumstances for so long. You've been looking at the impossibilities of the economy, impossibilities of all of this. You're scared about what's going to happen next. And I believe maybe the Lord is just saying, would you just set your face on me for a while in my word?
You see, we can't look at God through our circumstances, but we need to look at our circumstances through the lens of God. So that's what Daniel's doing. So he said, I began to pray. I set my face to pray in fasting and sackcloth and ashes. He said, I made confession and I prayed.
Read this with me. Oh, Lord, great and awesome God who keeps his covenant and mercy with others. He said, you are great. The word is gadol in Hebrew, which is magnifying more than anything else. And you're awesome.
You know, I read a thing this week of most overused words. And would you believe that one of the most overused words is the word awesome and another is the word great? I mean, don't we do? How many times this week or this day has somebody said something to you and you replied either with the word great or awesome?
Yeah. Was that sub sandwich really great? Was that Hardee's biscuit really awesome? In light of God who is great and awesome, he's great and he's awesome. And he said, we have sinned and we've committed iniquity. We've done wicked. We've rebelled against you.
And so here we are and I'm praying. Notice, he doesn't say, wow, look, 70 years. So let's see, this is coming into year 69. So I'm going to pack my bags and I'm going to sit down here and I'm waiting for God to rescue me. Come on, Jesus. Get me out of this mess. Set me free. Give me peace.
And he says, I'd love to. But what are you going to do about it? It's not by awesome. It's by osmosis. When you get a truth in the scripture, and Nina's going to teach on this in a couple of weeks. Tim's going to talk about choices next week. Paul, I'm going to look forward to both of those.
But in the midst of all that, you see, God gives us a promise, but then we just don't do nothing about it. We say, okay, Lord, you said in your word that if I would do this, then you would do that. You said in your word, Lord, if I would do this, you would do that. You said in your word.
You see, the most powerful prayer we can get is a prayer that we pray his word back to him. Didn't he say that? Pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So when I look in heaven, I see ideas. I see plans. I see strategies that he drops into my thoughts.
And so he just doesn't drop them in there for them to hang there. But he says, okay, now you pray that into existence on this planet earth. You speak that over your kids. I speak the will of God over my kids. They will serve God all the days of their life. They will live for you with everything they have.
You see, the prayer that God accepts is the prayer that God directs. And he directs that from his word. I love what 1 John chapter 5 says. Now this is the confidence that we have in him. That if we ask some things according to his will. Whoa, is that not what it says? If we ask what?
If we ask what? Does anything mean anything? Look at your neighbor and say, anything means anything. But read the legal clause. The legal clause is if you ask anything according to his will, he hears us. You say, well, how do I know his will? I'm glad you asked. His will is in his word.
So you see, when I pray his word back to him, I'm praying his will. And I've got confidence in that. You say, well, I don't see anything changed. It doesn't matter what I see. I'm looking through the lens of this word that I'm asking something.
If you're asking for your kids to be saved, guess what? That's the will of God. And you stand on that. It doesn't matter how cantankerous they get. It doesn't matter how rebellious they get. You keep saying, Lord, you said in your word, train up a child in the way they'll go. When they get old, they'll not depart from that. I claim that. I believe that, Lord. I've done everything they are. They're my inheritance. They're going to follow you all the days of their life.
And we know that if he hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we ask of him. Why are they in captivity? Sixty-nine years in captivity. 490 years God's been working with them. You know, when you read the Old Testament, we've been through that in our study this year.
They would be up here loving God, serving God, God blessing them, giving them favor, taking lands. And then they would get caught into sexual immorality. They got to the place that they were offering their own babies in sacrifice to the god Moloch because they were being absorbed by the culture that was around them.
And God kept saying, you can't keep going this way. You got to repent. He sent prophets. Don't go this way. You got to repent. You see, some of us, some of us, the whole cycle of our life has been that way.
Well, that was the way that it was with Israel for 490 years. God kept saying, you can't keep doing this. You're my people. You can't keep. You see, it's like a parent. You don't just let a child do everything that they want. You don't let a child do everything they want.
Thank you. Next month, we have a teaching on that you're going to really love. The child CEO. Some of you, the child runs your life. It's a different subject. Where was I? Must have been good.
Somewhat. Oh, it's up to me, isn't it? Why are they in captivity? I'm having knee surgery, sir. It affects my brain. Daniel realized that by the time he was in captivity, he was going to die. He was going to die because of their rebellion, because of our sin.
I mean, look at this. He says, look at verse 5. They have sinned. No, we have sinned, committed iniquity. We've done wicked. We've rebelled. We didn't heed your servants, the prophets. He said, we, we, we.
Listen to the vernacular of the world today. Well, they are the reason we're in this economic problem. We're in now. They are the reason that we have these things. Who are they? We are they. We are they.
So it's time for us. Listen, church, it's time for us on our knees. God, we as Americans have sinned. We've gone away from you. What? Why? Where in the idea even of that? Can a nation that's one been so touched by God keep moving away from God and expecting to still move in the favor and the blessings of God?
There are consequences for sin. Stop blaming God for the consequences of your own choices of sin. Why God? He says, because I've been trying to tell you break the cycle and you won't break it. Why God? Don't blame God.
That's the first thing people do is like, no, you don't blame him. It's okay. It's the consequences of your choices. So Daniel chapter nine is a desperate plea of one man for a nation that's come under God's judgment.
Listen, we are not immune in the United States of America. The scary thing is in Bible history. You don't find a record of the United States in the end times of Bible completion history. Maybe a glimpse. I can see a few places, maybe a glimpse, but not a dominant role.
You see, and I think that we feel like they were always going to be on top, but look, look what's going in this world. And why, why were we blessed? Why are we who we are? Because in the beginning, this was the nation under God found on God.
So how can we not be compelled to pray when we as a nation have willingly, intentionally and deliberately taken the lives of over 60 million people? I know there are exceptions. I'm not going to argue with you that. But I'm saying a life is a life.
How can we feel like we're outside of that when our defiance of God's institution of marriage? He said it's one biological man with one biological woman. That's marriage. But yet, if it happens in your own family, then we start saying, well, maybe God understands me. And that's not true.
And so as a nation, we've dropped that. Look, if people want to shack up, let them shack up. Create their own ceremony. But don't call it marriage. Marriage was created by God in the very beginning for a very important part because marriage is an example of Christ's love for his church.
Now, we just think these are small things. These are not small steps. These are steps that have taken us away. Our lack of support for Israel. God said in Genesis 12 and 1, I will bless those who bless you, talking to Israel, and I will curse those who dishonor you.
And then our lack of sustainable help for the poor and the marginalized. It's not just giving handouts, but it's helping. We're responsible to help the poor. Look in Acts when they came together. There was no need. There was no need of the people because people sold what they have and met the needs of individuals.
Our lack of care for the alien. It's not just about building a wall. Some of you are so fixed on building a wall that you forgot about there's people on the other side of that that have a heart and a desire to come to the greatest nation in this world.
And I'm not saying we compromise on just letting anybody in because I know there's crooked people and people coming in. I doubt that every jail has been emptied and we got all the bad people. All right. So let's just clear that right now.
But I mean, when we remove the Bible from our schools. And when we begin to backtrack on how God has blessed us, I'm telling you, we're coming under the same place that it was here. And it says that God, I mean, Roman, New Testament, Romans chapter 1.
I'm not going to finish again today. Romans chapter 1. This is us today. Romans chapter 1, verse 21. Because they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. No, we're thankful. But became futile in their thoughts. Professing to be wise, they became fools.
They changed the glory of an incorruptible God into an image. They set up images. They worship creepy things. Verse 24. God gave them up to uncleanness, to the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.
Who exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Verse 26. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. Verse 28. For even as they did not like to retain themselves. In God, in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind. To do the things not fitting, but to be filled.
God gave them over. God says, I love you. I care for you. Come on, come on, come on. But after a period of time, God says, okay, that's what you want. And I think we as a nation are facing the consequences of that.
Daniel read the word, saw the word of God, aligned his heart to the word of God. He began confessing and asking God to be with them and to help them and to bring them out of this.
And number three, and number two is understand the character of God. Sorry. Understand the character of God. Daniel says, you're great and you're awesome. I told someone between services, I said, when you can't trace the hand of God, you got to trust his heart.
He's a good God. He's an awesome God. He said, you bring mercy. And you bring forgiveness. And ignorance of the character of God is one thing that keeps people in hopelessness. God is God. He's awesome. And what has he done? He has that character.
So we look at his character. Number one, follow the word of God without hesitation. Number two, understand the character of God. And number three, remember God's track record of faithfulness.
Remember God's track record of faithfulness. In verses 13 through 15, Daniel goes all the way back now to Moses. And he said, Lord, I remember when the people of Israel rebelled and they were taken into captivity in Egypt. But you also set them forth and you parted the Red Sea and they came forward.
So I remember your track record. So when I'm facing a crisis, I stop and say to myself, have I ever been here before? Yeah, I've been here. But it's been even worse than that. Was it easy? No. But what did God do? God brought me through. He brought me out.
So when I see situations and I don't know, I'm going to look to the word. I'm going to align my heart to the word. I'm going to trust the character of God. And then I'm going to trust his track record. He's the God that is faithful. He's the God that is loving. He's the God that is kind.
There may be some of you that are here today or watching online. And you look at your life and you say, man, my life is a mess. I'm sure not a candidate for God's mercy and God's grace. And here's what I know. God is always drawn to our weakness.
It's not an accident that you're here today, but he wants to bring forgiveness to your life. History must be viewed through the lens of God. We start destroying our history and trying to rewrite our history. We are doomed to repeat the same failures.
Our history, I don't diminish the fact that history, there's stories in history that many people are hurt because of things that were bad. But yet, in the midst of that, God is a deliverer. And he cares.
Verse 19. Look at this. I love this verse. The Lord reminded me of this a minute ago when I was sitting over there. I didn't say this in the second service, first service. Verse 19. Oh, Lord, God, hear, forgive, listen, and act. Boy, we could pray that prayer right now for our nation.
Oh, Lord, forgive our nation. Forgive me. Lord, listen and act. Do not delay. For your sake, my God. For your city. For your people. Who are called by your name.
And then he says, look at this, verse 20. While I was still speaking and praying and confessing, the angel Gabriel showed up. And he said, Daniel, I've come forth to give you skill to understand the beginning of your supplication. The command went out. And I've come to tell you, for you're greatly beloved.
And the Lord reminded me of another verse. See if I can find it real quick here. Isaiah chapter 65, verse 24. It should come to pass. This is a prophecy for somebody today. It should come to pass that while they call, I will answer. And while they're still speaking, I will hear.
Daniel's praying. Oh, he's praying, looking towards it, praying, praying, praying. And while he's still praying, boom, Gabriel taps him on the shoulder. Hey, Dan, got to tell you something. My hope this week is, while you're still praying, look in the word. Align your heart to the word.
You see, history is two words. It's history. We're praying his will, his history come forth.
Let's bow our heads. The purpose of prayer, I believe, is not so much to move the hand of God, but to hold the hand of God. So we can walk with him. Get on board with his agenda, not mine.
Lord, I pray for us as a church that we'll be a people of repentance that breaks the cycle. I pray, Lord, this week we'll be able to get into your word and find a word to base our life or the situation. If I'm going through a tough situation, Lord, help people to find the right promise, the right word to help them.
Align their heart to that. Trust your character. Trust your track record. That you're a God that does not fail. And in the end, your will will be accomplished. Evil will be banished. Help us, Lord, to continue to pray for that.
As you as a believer continue to pray, I want to talk to some of you today that may not be sure of where your status is with God. Maybe you've gone to church all of your life. Maybe you read the Bible. But if you were to die today, you're just really not going to be able to do that. You're not sure where you would spend eternity.
Boy, the one thing I'd love to do today is I'd love to pray with you. Because you see, Jesus loves you so much that he left the throne of heaven, all the glory that was his. And he came on and he took human flesh and he walked on this planet Earth. He lived a sinless life. And then he went to the cross and laid down his life for your sins and mine.
You see, sin has to be paid for. Somebody has to pay for sin. It's not just that happens and you go. It's not like, oh, oops, I'm sorry. There's a penalty for sin. And that penalty is death. And those who deny God will spend an eternity of dying every day in a lake of fire and brimstone.
That's not a fun thing. But Jesus came to take your sins. Because you can never pay for them yourself. They crucified him for you, me. But on the third day he rose so that as many as call upon him could be saved.
So if that's you today, in all honesty, in all sincerity, the Holy Spirit is knocking on your door. He's saying, let me in. Let me give you forgiveness of your sin. Let me give you hope for eternity. Let me give you a purpose for eternity. Let me give you a purpose for living.
If that's you today, I don't want you to leave today without me praying with you. I promise I'm not going to embarrass you. I'm not going to make you do something except just in a minute I'm going to ask you to raise your hand. That's all. And pray with me in this prayer.
But if you're here today and you say, Terry, I'm just not sure. I once was hooked into God, but right now I'm just not sure. Today I want to recommit or commit my life to him for the first time. Would you just raise your hand and make eye contact with me? Say, yeah, that's me, Terry. That's me today.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Others today. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Others today. Just lift your hand. Say, that's me. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, man. Thank you. Others today. Thank you.
You might put your hand down. Five or six today. Others. Yeah, Terry. And right now the Holy Spirit is still speaking to somebody. He's thinking, well, I'll pray the prayer, but I'm not going to raise my hand.
Now, I want you to raise your hand because I want to pray with you. Know that my prayer is joining your prayer. Anyone else today? Say, yep, that's me. That's me, Terry. I want to be sure. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you over here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you in the back. Wow.
Some seven or more today in this service. And those of you that are watching online, pray this prayer with me.
Father God, thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to search for me and find me. And today, I give up. I surrender. I give my life to you. I ask you to forgive me of my sin. Come into my life. Be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with your spirit.
As best as I know how, I want to serve you all the days of my life. In Jesus' name.
Church, would you celebrate with those who prayed that prayer today? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm telling you, those of you who raised your hand, that was the greatest thing that could ever happen in your life.
And I don't want you to just leave out here today. And I've got some materials I want to give you. Anita and I have written a book, and we got some stuff, little pamphlets, a small thing. You can read it in 30 minutes or less.
And so we have, first step in here. They're not going to hold you. You just drop by and say, I prayed that prayer. And then, give me some materials on your way out. And be sure you're here on time tonight, early. It's going to be awesome.
Let's stand. The prayer team is coming down front. If you need prayer, let's hold in just a little bit. Let's worship a little bit in this song. And if you're new, if I haven't met you, I'd sure love to meet you outside. Thank you for coming today.
on Oct 06, 2024
