Flight DAN01 - Part A

No matter what evil is around you, and pushing in on you though there are people and powers that mean it for evil God always means it for your good God causes all things to work together for good and are the called according God orchestrates the events of our lives to carry out a good plan for his children today on connect with skip-Skip introduces you to the prophet Daniel Schilling how God moved in history and still moves in your life today. Right now we want to tell you about a resource that will help you break free from anxiety and experience the peace. Jesus offers so how is your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10 stress the 15th robber of peace and joy skip. I think with pointed observation. If you don't live with an anchor of faith given adrift in a sea of anxiety and most people in the world they don't have anything to anchor.

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What book of Revelation is so II have good news and bad news. The good news is there's only 12 chapter book of Daniel. That's good news. The bad news is it's the book of Daniel and and 12 chapters of Daniel is like a you know 80 chapters and in any other kind of didactic literature, poetic literature, so it's it's a fly by in the book of Daniel tonight at 30,000 feet under no attempt to do that with the kind of zoom in on landmarks in this book is pretty easy.

I think to understand now that we are a couple a few thousand years removed from its writing, and so much has been fulfilled.

So in retrospect, we can look back and it's easy to see how those puzzle pieces fit together that Daniel predicted. I have had the opportunity to go to Iraq where Babylon is located on two different occasions in the first time I went to Iraq I went to Babylon. This is in the 90s right after the Gulf War and I was able to see the city remains were Daniel the prophet lived and worked for his adult life and I was able to see the Ishtar gate and go down sort of part of the main thoroughfare.

They showed me where they believe the lion's den's were and the courtyard and room were Bell Chavez are the king in chapter 5 was sitting in the handwriting wrote on the wall and I was a very moving experience to be in Babylon. I then went years later, not to Babylon but the city of Beale and Curtis Dan part of a rack and I went there and I worked with some IDP's internally displaced peoples as well as refugees from other countries and I sure that I am packed out because those two experiences of mind being in Babylon in dealing with refugees are a perfect set up for this book is. This Book Takes Pl. in Babylon and Daniel was a refugee. He writes as a refugee is one of God's holy people, Jewish people who had been taken captive and placed in this foreign land of Babylon. It is the setting of the book now ancient Babylon, even the ruins are amazing but ancient Babylon in its glory was absolutely magnificent. The walls of the city were 85 feet thick, 300 feet tall. Every 65 feet above the level of the wall were watchtowers, which made it more impressive and even around that city and by the way, the circumference of the city of Babylon according to ancient historians was 60 miles 60 miles of wall around the greater Metropolis of Babylon.

And to top it off, just outside the walls was a moat so it was heavily protected through the through the center of the city of Babylon went the Euphrates River right down to the middle right under the wall through the city kind of working its way through taking a turning going out again under the city wall.

If you were to go through the ancient Ishtar gate on a normal day in Babylon you would be on a street that would be 65 feet wide of paved pure limestone flanked by two red tile sidewalks like a gorgeous modern city. I mentioned the river Euphrates ran to the center of town and the retaining walls on the banks of the river were out of a fire to shiny blue brick and placed within the brick yellow mosaic of liens, a symbol of Babylon and Dragon's so this is a few thousand years ago and are dealing with a very sophisticated and opulent magnificent and very well protected city, the founder of Babylon, was a guy by the name of Nebo pull lazar. He was the dad of NetView can measure were familiar with Nebuchadnezzar.

He is mentioned in this book Nebo pull lazar maps. Dad named him Nebuchadnezzar because in their language that name means also nab blue which is one of the chief gods about 10 Naboo protect my son. What's interesting about the God Naboo and they worshiped several deities in Babylon is Naboo was the God of wisdom and prophecy.

I think that's noteworthy because in this book. NetView could measure all Naboo protect my son the prophecy, God protecting his son. He didn't have anybody in his palace who could tell him what dreams or prophecies meant except one guy and that was a guy by the name of Daniel because Daniel showed that not Naboo but Yahweh is the God of wisdom and prophecy. So it is sort of like a showdown of the gods. When you get through this book thing about Nebuchadnezzar is that he had hot temper and a short fuse. Not a good combination. He was the guy who took king Zedekiah of Judah killed his young sons in front of his eyes so he would have. That is the last living memory of his eyesight after killing them in plain sight of his dad and he put Zedekiah's eyes out blinded him so he would always remember that to his dying day. That's his temper. Add to that chapter 3 of the book of Daniel were anybody who doesn't bow down and worship an image essentially of him gets thrown into a fiery furnace. This guy has has issues with anger right let me take you back to one of those three dates. Remember last week and the week before I I mention those dates to you of Judas, a capture and assault. I gave you 605 BC 597 BC and 586 BC member. Those dates sorry to do this again, but it's by now your becoming like historic Bible experts that first 8605 BC the Matteo I that's monumental and why that's the first date reason that became the first date for the captivity of which Daniel was taken captive in that first assault. Here's why there was a showdown at the okay corral, not literally, the okay corral but sort of the equivalent in ancient times, but the okay corral back then was the city of Carson Mitch which is on the. The modern-day Turkish Syrian border.

Parsonage was a town where three armies converts the Egyptian army along with the Assyrian army to form one huge army against the Babylonians.

That's where they had a battle for who would win the battle and be controller of the earth. And in that battle of Carson mission 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar one. Because he won. He conquered Assyria and Babylon and essentially everything else because those were the two superpowers so the rest of the world was easy pickings, and so he marched in his March to let everybody know he is in charge. One of the stops was Jerusalem. And he announced he won the battle's troops were there. Nobody dare argue with him.

He he did damage to the city, though did not destroy it, and took the first round of This in one of those was the young Daniel so the book of Daniel is very easy to outline. You can cut it in half. There are 12 chapters you can take the first six and the second sex and there's your outline the first six are organized as historic literature the next six are prophetic literature.

So in the first six chapters.

It's all personal and in the second sex. It's all prophecy. So we have in chapters 1 through six, the prophet Daniel and in 7 to 12. The prophecies of Daniel S.

Easy to to outline right that's that's how the book is laid out now. Daniel is described as the author of this book. But when you know like you'll get liberal scholars who say Daniel didn't write this book and they have an old theory that has been debunked time and time again, but they keep trudging it up because they don't have enough intelligent acumen creativity to come up with a new theory and the theory is Daniel didn't write it but somebody in the second century BC during the Maccabean era wrote it, he was writing history disguised. It has prophecy.

The only problem with that is we have made discoveries that we as and I personally but the world has discovered a very interesting archaeological dig over in Israel called the Dead Sea Scrolls they've been around now for several decades and when they were discovered in Qumran by the Dead Sea in Israel.

Remind me when we were there a point that came out to you Cave number four is where they found a copy of the book of Daniel that predated the Maccabean era.

So I think that the scholarship that is been intact before and since all of that stuff is been dredged up in, and the Bible accused of a forgery is pretty well been debunked, but all of that aside whether we made the discovery or not. Here's really the way to debunk it. The words of Jesus. He said, and when you see the abomination of desolation as spoken by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place you were in Jerusalem flee to the mountains Jesus called Daniel a prophet and referred to one of his prophecies that he writes about in chapter 9. Okay Daniel chapter 1 verse once we hit hard and ready in the third year of the reign of Jehoiada, Kim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and peace needs to get in the Lord gave Jehoiada Kim king of Judah into his hand with some of the articles of the house of God which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his God and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his God, who's in charge here. Well it mentions king Nebuchadnezzar who asserted his power, his authority, his military prowess. It's Mickey's mentioned here is taking over the city, but it seems clear from the next few statements that God is assuming responsibility for it all. The Lord gave Judah into his hand. Nebuchadnezzar could not have won the battle of Carson mission 605 BC, Nora taken the city of Jerusalem were not for the Lord.

So God proudly takes responsibility for the misery of his own people taken captive in Babylon.

You should note that that's an important thing to see God delivered him over.

Nebuchadnezzar was strong. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was the king. In reality, Nebuchadnezzar was upon on God's chessboard. God is moving Nebuchadnezzar to this place like it says in Proverbs 21 the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord and like the rivers of water, returns it wherever you wish. Why is that why would God do that. Why on earth would God allow this to happen to reasons. It's a divine sentence. Second reason it's a divine set up versus a divine sentence.

God is doing what he said he would do is judging the land for their sin. Jews time and time again, decade after decade, century after century disobey God's law because if you keep doing that I'm to take you in the captivity in Babylon. Prophet after prophet said that we read there prophecies consider them.

It's a divine sentence. Second, it is a divine set up to get Daniel into a key position so he can write this book and influence, no less than five historic Kings.

I love the book of Daniel.

How often in trouble.

We go it's the devil is the work of the devil Satan is against me so you just figure that out is been against you your whole life or we say how can a God of love allow that to happen to me what you need to do is frame a what you go through with the wisdom of Joseph, who went through harder trials. I believe that even you and said God you meant this for evil but God meant this for good no matter what evil is around you, and pushing in on you know there are people and powers that mean it for evil God always means that for your good God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to his purpose down in verse six. It tells us who some of these captives are now from those of the sons of Judah were Daniel Hannah Naomi sial and Azariah to them. The chief of the UNIX gave names. He gave Daniel that's his Jewish name the Babylonian name Belton shadows are which means they'll protect to the king. Bell is not the name of a God. The name Lord, you can refer to any of the gods is just generic term so so Daniel's new name was basically God protect the kicking or God save the King said it was. I mean, you would say Belshazzar you're saying basically God save the King that was Daniel's two head Anaïs Shadrach to mistrial me shacked Azariah Abednego.

Please mark the Nebuchadnezzar thought it was important to steal from every captive is most private possession his own name. He redesignated the captives. He renamed them. He took away their identity. Why, because to a Jew that was his spiritual identity. Daniel means God is my judge that name is stripped from him. He is given a new spiritual identity.

This is Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to conform captives into the image of Babylon like it says about us in Romans chapter 12 be not conformed to this world but transform the world is always trying to make you like they are. They work hard at that every day in every song you hear in every billboard you read in every message and value system that is passed in a court of law.

The world is trying to conform you to their image. What you find out about Daniel quickly is that this boy was not a thermometer. He was a thermostat. He did not go up and down with the temperature around him like a most other people do. If people called he's called the people of God.

He's not. He wasn't that kind of a person was a thermostat meant he walked in the room and set the temperature.

He was bald, and here's why. Verse eight, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.

Therefore he requested of the chief of the UNIX that he might not file himself a three year training course for these captives to pamper them to indulge them to get them thinking man, life is a lot better here in Babylon than it ever was in Jerusalem and then to put the dots together saying what our God did not protect us from the Babylonians and life was bad in Jerusalem. My goodness, it pays to live in the worldly system.

This is great. Who would want to go back to Jerusalem. He could have easily said when in Babylon do as the Babylonians, even if I do return to Judah what happens in Babylon stays in babble.

He could have had all sorts of excuses why not indulge who's watching who cares but Daniel wasn't looking for an excuse because Daniel was living with a purpose and when you live with the purpose you're not looking for an excuse, he purposed in his heart he made up internal commitment. You might say Daniel Concord interspace. We have celebrated 50 years after going to the moon it is. It's great. I saw the little special. They did on Apollo 11. It was moving how we got from this speck of dust in the Milky Way galaxy. That speck of dust. Amazing. We can conquer outer space pretty well. Our big problem is we don't do so well with her interspace when it comes to your own life.

What's around you.

The way to conquer your outer space is the first conquer your interspace to conquer what's inside a purpose something in your heart to live with conviction so that you don't fall in compromise. Chapter 2 is a good illustration of how God can use insomnia in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.

Nebuchadnezzar had dreams spirit was so troubled. The word means agitated or disturbed that his sleep left him the old boy has a case of insomnia. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians and the astrologers and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams.

So they came and stood before the king and the king said to them I had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream is a great old saying uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. It's great to be king is with Tom Petty saying but with that comes a price tag. All the worries about the kingdom. All the fear of the future. If I conquered this kingdom. I'm in charge who else out there could be stronger than me, waiting to conquer me so he's troubled he's agitated.

He's tossing he's turning you and I dream.

Do you know that you dream every night and am I don't know.

I remember my dreams. Frequently these days. Maybe it's because it says your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams, but the truth is we all dream and you start dreaming about 90 minutes after you fall asleep when you going to ram and every 90 minutes through the evening you go into another dream that's and when you do, I mean thereabouts. That's the average span.

Each one gets a little longer as you go through the night. That's why typically remember those right before you wake up the large cells in your brain stem fire spontaneous spontaneously and send the stimuli to the cortex of your brain. That's what causes you to have the memory of the dream you drained all of that happens for everyone. But in this case, God's behind. God is causing the cortical stimulation to occur with just the right images at just the right time and just the right intensity with a message from the series the Bible from 30,000 feet know we want to share about an exciting way you can help encourage others by keeping teachings like today's broadcast going strong muscles brought out of the darkness of this world to encounter the light of Jesus because that's what you make possible to your support today testing thousands closer to Christ. As you health and growing password, civic life in him now to share the good news of Jesus had more friends like to visit Connecticut.com/donate.connect with.com/donate or call 809 CT 890 2Q to move tomorrow is six years and continued confidence in God's presentation of connection communications changing truth ever-changing time