Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Visions/Dreams
#Calling
#God'sWill
#Plan
#Purpose
#WalkwithGod
#Trials-HardTimes
#KingdomofGod
#LightoftheWorld
#Witness/Witnessing
#TrustGod
#Obedience
Closed captions
Show Timecode
Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - Dreams and Vision (Part 2) | July 16, 2025
- ...
- 00:00:00.633 --> 00:00:01.317
- ♪♪♪
- 00:00:02.318 --> 00:00:08.124
- Allen jackson: and i want to take the balance of our time,
- 00:00:08.124 --> 00:00:11.594
- I've got a little bit, and use daniel.
- 00:00:11.594 --> 00:00:16.766
- I chose daniel because he's a character that's familiar
- 00:00:16.766 --> 00:00:19.135
- To many of us.
- 00:00:19.135 --> 00:00:21.404
- And daniel had a series of visions and dreams and
- 00:00:21.404 --> 00:00:24.240
- Understandings and insights that god gave to him
- 00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:27.510
- That are still relevant for our lives.
- 00:00:27.510 --> 00:00:29.245
- Can you imagine listening to the lord with such clarity that
- 00:00:29.245 --> 00:00:35.051
- Hundreds and hundreds of years after you're gone, people would
- 00:00:35.051 --> 00:00:38.154
- Still look to what lord showed you to bring direction
- 00:00:38.154 --> 00:00:41.958
- To their lives?
- 00:00:41.958 --> 00:00:44.060
- Wow.
- 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:46.663
- I think daniel knew how to take his stand.
- 00:00:46.663 --> 00:00:50.433
- Is that fair?
- 00:00:50.433 --> 00:00:52.001
- So i think there's some things we can learn from him.
- 00:00:52.001 --> 00:00:54.337
- You know, in a very high level, daniel is a very unlikely hero.
- 00:00:54.337 --> 00:00:59.175
- He's a prisoner of war.
- 00:00:59.175 --> 00:01:01.711
- He lived his adult life as a slave, physically mutilated,
- 00:01:01.711 --> 00:01:07.584
- And somehow, with those things being descriptive of him,
- 00:01:07.584 --> 00:01:10.320
- He decides to honor god.
- 00:01:10.320 --> 00:01:12.355
- One of the things in "let's do difficult" is
- 00:01:12.355 --> 00:01:14.524
- You have to give up your excuses.
- 00:01:14.524 --> 00:01:17.760
- You have to give up your excuses.
- 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:20.196
- I wasn't treated fairly.
- 00:01:20.196 --> 00:01:23.633
- Whatever.
- 00:01:23.633 --> 00:01:25.001
- Whatever.
- 00:01:26.102 --> 00:01:29.205
- Prisoner of war, a slave, mutilated, he decides
- 00:01:29.205 --> 00:01:32.075
- To honor god.
- 00:01:32.075 --> 00:01:33.409
- He gained some influence in a foreign land.
- 00:01:33.409 --> 00:01:36.179
- He really does.
- 00:01:36.179 --> 00:01:37.547
- God intervenes, and he has kind of a meteoric rise.
- 00:01:37.547 --> 00:01:39.716
- And he gained some influence.
- 00:01:39.716 --> 00:01:41.084
- And then there's a leadership change.
- 00:01:41.084 --> 00:01:44.053
- And once again, he gained some influence, and then there's
- 00:01:44.053 --> 00:01:47.490
- An empire change.
- 00:01:47.490 --> 00:01:51.294
- But through all of those things, through all the rise and
- 00:01:51.294 --> 00:01:53.630
- The fall and the jealousy and the antagonism and the hatred
- 00:01:53.630 --> 00:01:56.666
- And the threats and the death threats, daniel persists
- 00:01:56.666 --> 00:01:59.903
- In his determination to do difficult things.
- 00:01:59.903 --> 00:02:03.306
- And so it seemed like an appropriate snapshot for us
- 00:02:03.306 --> 00:02:06.109
- To consider.
- 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:07.844
- His dreams and visions are presented to us in something
- 00:02:07.844 --> 00:02:10.079
- Of a chronological fashion by daniel.
- 00:02:10.079 --> 00:02:12.582
- He introduces them to us in that way.
- 00:02:12.582 --> 00:02:15.084
- He tells us who the ruler is that he's serving under.
- 00:02:15.084 --> 00:02:19.689
- It's certainly a historical marker, but i also think
- 00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:22.258
- It's a reminder that he's persisting as a slave.
- 00:02:22.258 --> 00:02:25.662
- Can you imagine serving god with your whole heart
- 00:02:25.662 --> 00:02:28.264
- In circumstances that were so uncomfortable that
- 00:02:28.264 --> 00:02:31.034
- You're described as a slave?
- 00:02:31.034 --> 00:02:33.236
- That's difficult for me.
- 00:02:33.236 --> 00:02:36.506
- Because i've threatened to withdraw from serving god if
- 00:02:36.506 --> 00:02:38.508
- He just didn't give me the answers i wanted as quickly
- 00:02:38.508 --> 00:02:40.777
- As i've wanted them.
- 00:02:40.777 --> 00:02:43.780
- Amen or oh me.
- 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:46.349
- I'm sure we've all considered threatening god a time or two.
- 00:02:46.349 --> 00:02:49.285
- Well, daniel chapter 7, in verse 1, it says,
- 00:02:49.285 --> 00:02:51.487
- "in the first year of belshazzar the king of babylon,"
- 00:02:51.487 --> 00:02:56.693
- So we got, it's the first year that belshazzar--
- 00:02:56.693 --> 00:02:59.229
- You know, this is the guy that gets the handwriting
- 00:02:59.229 --> 00:03:00.964
- On the wall, so.
- 00:03:00.964 --> 00:03:02.665
- "daniel had a dream and visions passed through his mind as he
- 00:03:02.665 --> 00:03:05.268
- Was trying--lying on his bed.
- 00:03:05.268 --> 00:03:06.703
- And he wrote down the substance of his dream."
- 00:03:06.703 --> 00:03:10.173
- Now, i left the whole dream out.
- 00:03:10.173 --> 00:03:11.541
- I thought the closing conclusion of it was,
- 00:03:11.541 --> 00:03:14.043
- For our purpose, sufficient.
- 00:03:14.043 --> 00:03:15.745
- He said, "in my vision at night i looked, and there before me
- 00:03:15.745 --> 00:03:18.081
- Was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds
- 00:03:18.081 --> 00:03:21.751
- Of heaven.
- 00:03:21.751 --> 00:03:23.086
- He approached the ancient of days and was led
- 00:03:23.086 --> 00:03:24.854
- Into his presence.
- 00:03:24.854 --> 00:03:26.689
- He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all
- 00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:30.460
- Peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him.
- 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:34.464
- His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will never
- 00:03:34.464 --> 00:03:37.100
- Pa--will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will
- 00:03:37.100 --> 00:03:40.203
- Never be destroyed."
- 00:03:40.203 --> 00:03:41.671
- Who did daniel see?
- 00:03:41.671 --> 00:03:44.307
- Jesus.
- 00:03:44.307 --> 00:03:46.442
- Daniel saw the lord.
- 00:03:46.442 --> 00:03:51.314
- Now, many years ago, someone more mature and much wiser than
- 00:03:51.314 --> 00:03:55.184
- I said to me that when you get big guidance, it's because
- 00:03:55.184 --> 00:04:00.023
- You're gonna need it.
- 00:04:00.023 --> 00:04:02.592
- And i decided pretty early on i was content with small guidance.
- 00:04:02.592 --> 00:04:08.531
- I didn't need burning bushes or talking donkeys or angelic host.
- 00:04:08.531 --> 00:04:14.270
- I thought, lord, you know, i just--and i read that again
- 00:04:14.270 --> 00:04:20.576
- In preparing for the weekend.
- 00:04:20.576 --> 00:04:22.011
- And i thought daniel.
- 00:04:22.011 --> 00:04:25.348
- Imagine that hundreds of years before the birth of jesus,
- 00:04:25.348 --> 00:04:29.385
- He saw the king.
- 00:04:29.385 --> 00:04:31.854
- And are you gonna see the king one day?
- 00:04:31.854 --> 00:04:34.824
- You will.
- 00:04:34.824 --> 00:04:36.659
- And you'll get to have a conversation about your journey
- 00:04:36.659 --> 00:04:39.696
- Through time.
- 00:04:39.696 --> 00:04:41.164
- Can you imagine?
- 00:04:41.164 --> 00:04:43.466
- And i just wanna plant a seed.
- 00:04:43.466 --> 00:04:44.967
- When he ask you how it went, don't start,
- 00:04:44.967 --> 00:04:48.504
- "well, it was pretty tough.
- 00:04:48.504 --> 00:04:50.239
- Pastor was long-winded."
- 00:04:50.239 --> 00:04:57.447
- You wanna give the lord your best.
- 00:04:57.447 --> 00:05:00.783
- You can tell me the things in your life for which you've made
- 00:05:00.783 --> 00:05:02.885
- Great sacrifices: to be a parent, for a relationship,
- 00:05:02.885 --> 00:05:09.359
- To earn a degree, to gain an opportunity.
- 00:05:09.359 --> 00:05:14.030
- Be certain before your strength is done that there's been a
- 00:05:14.030 --> 00:05:18.167
- Significant effort in your life on behalf of the kingdom of god.
- 00:05:18.167 --> 00:05:22.105
- And i'm not recruiting or collecting.
- 00:05:22.105 --> 00:05:24.707
- I'm not talking about those things.
- 00:05:24.707 --> 00:05:27.043
- I'm talking about taking your stand.
- 00:05:27.043 --> 00:05:29.979
- Now, let's go on.
- 00:05:29.979 --> 00:05:31.347
- Daniel's got a whole host of this.
- 00:05:31.347 --> 00:05:32.749
- Next chapter, chapter 8 says, "in the third year of king
- 00:05:32.749 --> 00:05:36.018
- Belshazzar's reign, i, daniel, had a vision, after the one that
- 00:05:36.018 --> 00:05:41.124
- Had already appeared to me," so we're at least two years later.
- 00:05:41.124 --> 00:05:44.494
- You know, sometimes i think we're a bit immature in the
- 00:05:44.494 --> 00:05:47.630
- Directions we ask god for.
- 00:05:47.630 --> 00:05:48.998
- We want god to give us like moment by moment instructions,
- 00:05:48.998 --> 00:05:51.367
- Like the little annoying voice that gives you directions
- 00:05:51.367 --> 00:05:54.737
- In your car.
- 00:05:54.737 --> 00:05:58.040
- And every time they say rerouting, i wanna tear it out
- 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.610
- And throw it out the window.
- 00:06:00.610 --> 00:06:03.346
- Right?
- 00:06:03.346 --> 00:06:04.680
- If your directions have been more clear,
- 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:06.015
- You wouldn't be rerouting.
- 00:06:06.015 --> 00:06:09.786
- And i think we have this imagination.
- 00:06:09.786 --> 00:06:11.154
- We want god to do that.
- 00:06:11.154 --> 00:06:12.522
- "go to the corner and turn left.
- 00:06:12.522 --> 00:06:13.856
- Now, go straight for 150 yards and turn right."
- 00:06:13.856 --> 00:06:16.426
- I think there's a more mature way to understand that.
- 00:06:16.426 --> 00:06:18.528
- If i told you, i'd give you $1000 to deliver my bible to
- 00:06:18.528 --> 00:06:21.664
- Little rock, arkansas and you agreed and i'll give you $500
- 00:06:21.664 --> 00:06:27.770
- Now and the other $500 after the bible is delivered, and you got
- 00:06:27.770 --> 00:06:33.743
- In the car and you called me from smyrna, and you said,
- 00:06:33.743 --> 00:06:38.948
- “i made it to smyrna.
- 00:06:38.948 --> 00:06:40.283
- What do you want me to do?”
- 00:06:40.283 --> 00:06:42.985
- Well, i'd like you to deliver the bible to little rock.
- 00:06:42.985 --> 00:06:46.489
- I might get another call from antioch.
- 00:06:46.489 --> 00:06:50.026
- "i've got some real momentum going.
- 00:06:50.026 --> 00:06:51.561
- I'm in antioch.
- 00:06:51.561 --> 00:06:53.830
- What would you like me to do?"
- 00:06:53.830 --> 00:06:57.166
- Then i get another call from dixon.
- 00:06:57.166 --> 00:07:00.536
- I'd tell you to come home.
- 00:07:00.536 --> 00:07:04.106
- You're not bright enough to make it to little rock.
- 00:07:04.106 --> 00:07:06.209
- I wanna send somebody that'll finish the job.
- 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:10.313
- If you understand the assignment at the beginning, you don't need
- 00:07:10.313 --> 00:07:13.916
- Course correction.
- 00:07:13.916 --> 00:07:16.219
- And if you're an adult, you don't have to have affirmation
- 00:07:16.219 --> 00:07:18.521
- At every stop along the way.
- 00:07:18.521 --> 00:07:20.623
- "but i would like it."
- 00:07:20.623 --> 00:07:21.991
- Duly noted.
- 00:07:21.991 --> 00:07:23.759
- Sometimes we get some, and sometimes
- 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:26.462
- We're asked to persevere.
- 00:07:26.462 --> 00:07:28.397
- In the third year of belshazzar's reign, daniel said,
- 00:07:28.397 --> 00:07:31.133
- "i had another vision."
- 00:07:31.133 --> 00:07:33.135
- Then i gave you a portion.
- 00:07:33.135 --> 00:07:34.504
- Verse 15: "while i, daniel, was watching the vision and trying
- 00:07:34.504 --> 00:07:37.507
- To understand it, there before me stood one who looked
- 00:07:37.507 --> 00:07:40.476
- Like a man.
- 00:07:40.476 --> 00:07:41.844
- And i heard a man's voice calling, ‘gabriel, tell this man
- 00:07:41.844 --> 00:07:47.383
- The meaning of the vision,'"
- 00:07:47.383 --> 00:07:48.818
- So who's he getting the vis-- the message from?
- 00:07:48.818 --> 00:07:51.754
- Gabriel.
- 00:07:51.754 --> 00:07:53.155
- You're gonna meet him later in the new testament, an archangel.
- 00:07:53.155 --> 00:07:59.128
- "the vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you
- 00:07:59.128 --> 00:08:01.998
- Is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns
- 00:08:01.998 --> 00:08:05.301
- The distant future."
- 00:08:05.301 --> 00:08:07.103
- So daniel's had a vision, and a significant portion of it
- 00:08:07.103 --> 00:08:09.405
- Deals with something beyond his lifetime.
- 00:08:09.405 --> 00:08:14.143
- What i was intrigued by was the impact it had on daniel.
- 00:08:14.143 --> 00:08:18.447
- It concerns his dis--the distant future, "i, daniel,
- 00:08:18.447 --> 00:08:21.317
- Was exhausted and i lay ill for several days.
- 00:08:21.317 --> 00:08:26.255
- Then i got up and went about the king's business.
- 00:08:26.255 --> 00:08:28.524
- I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding."
- 00:08:28.524 --> 00:08:33.195
- He recorded it.
- 00:08:33.195 --> 00:08:35.064
- He made note of it.
- 00:08:35.064 --> 00:08:36.966
- It took a tremendous physical toll upon him.
- 00:08:36.966 --> 00:08:39.135
- He has an angelic visit and a revelation from heaven,
- 00:08:39.135 --> 00:08:42.638
- And it leaves daniel exhausted for days.
- 00:08:42.638 --> 00:08:45.608
- Do you have room for that in your imagination?
- 00:08:45.608 --> 00:08:48.844
- Will you allow me just to suggest the possibility that
- 00:08:48.844 --> 00:08:51.781
- We need kind of a different structure for what it means
- 00:08:51.781 --> 00:08:54.917
- To seek god?
- 00:08:54.917 --> 00:08:57.386
- I've been exhausted in my life.
- 00:08:57.386 --> 00:08:59.355
- I've been exhausted from digging post holes.
- 00:08:59.355 --> 00:09:02.425
- I've been exhausted from international travel.
- 00:09:02.425 --> 00:09:05.995
- I've been exhausted from studying all night.
- 00:09:05.995 --> 00:09:12.668
- How often have we been exhausted from seeking god?
- 00:09:12.668 --> 00:09:18.708
- Allen: hey we have a tool that i think will help you
- 00:09:22.745 --> 00:09:24.447
- Overcome some of the chaos in the world
- 00:09:24.447 --> 00:09:26.182
- And stay focused on the good things that god is doing.
- 00:09:26.182 --> 00:09:29.619
- It's called, "awaken us."
- 00:09:29.619 --> 00:09:31.053
- It's a 30 day plan.
- 00:09:31.053 --> 00:09:32.955
- Each day's got a scripture, a little devotional,
- 00:09:32.955 --> 00:09:35.591
- A prayer that goes with a specific topic
- 00:09:35.591 --> 00:09:38.094
- To awaken us to god's promise and provision in this season.
- 00:09:38.094 --> 00:09:43.132
- God's moving in the earth, i wanna move with him.
- 00:09:43.132 --> 00:09:45.601
- And i believe this tool will help you be prepared
- 00:09:45.601 --> 00:09:48.237
- To capitalize on god's invitations in your life.
- 00:09:48.237 --> 00:09:52.074
- Female announcer: "awaken us" delivers 30 days
- 00:09:52.141 --> 00:09:54.010
- Of prayer, scripture and insight from pastor allen
- 00:09:54.010 --> 00:09:57.046
- On relevant topics.
- 00:09:57.046 --> 00:09:58.714
- Each day is designed to sharpen your focus
- 00:09:58.714 --> 00:10:00.983
- As you ask god to show you his heart
- 00:10:00.983 --> 00:10:03.152
- And his truth in a new way.
- 00:10:03.152 --> 00:10:05.421
- With the holy spirit's help, this book will awaken you
- 00:10:05.421 --> 00:10:08.290
- To the impact your life has on the world
- 00:10:08.290 --> 00:10:10.526
- And those around you.
- 00:10:10.526 --> 00:10:12.094
- Start your journey today by requesting "awaken us,"
- 00:10:12.094 --> 00:10:14.730
- When you donate any amount at allenjackson.com
- 00:10:14.730 --> 00:10:17.900
- Or by calling ...
- 00:10:17.900 --> 00:10:22.605
- Announcer: we are committed to helping you grow in your faith
- 00:10:22.672 --> 00:10:24.373
- And have tools for your journey no matter your schedule.
- 00:10:24.373 --> 00:10:27.276
- Get daily encouragement and insight with pastor allen's
- 00:10:27.276 --> 00:10:29.879
- Daily devotion right in your inbox.
- 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:31.847
- Just sign up on the website.
- 00:10:31.847 --> 00:10:33.516
- Join us on one of our livestream services right from your tv
- 00:10:33.516 --> 00:10:36.752
- Using the allen jackson ministries app,
- 00:10:36.752 --> 00:10:38.688
- Listen to a powerful message through your favorite podcast
- 00:10:38.688 --> 00:10:41.724
- App perfect for a commute,
- 00:10:41.724 --> 00:10:43.392
- And make sure to follow pastor allen
- 00:10:43.392 --> 00:10:44.927
- On social media to stay up to date with everything happening
- 00:10:44.927 --> 00:10:47.797
- Here with allen jackson ministries.
- 00:10:47.797 --> 00:10:51.834
- Allen: now we have a new king.
- 00:10:54.637 --> 00:10:57.573
- Belshazzar is gone.
- 00:10:57.573 --> 00:10:59.742
- Darius is king.
- 00:10:59.742 --> 00:11:01.377
- Daniel chapter 9: "in the first year of darius," this means he's
- 00:11:01.377 --> 00:11:05.047
- Got to start all over in that whole authority structure again.
- 00:11:05.047 --> 00:11:08.784
- Because when the kings change and the power structures change,
- 00:11:08.784 --> 00:11:11.320
- Daniel loses status over and over again.
- 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:13.589
- Gotta start from the bottom.
- 00:11:13.589 --> 00:11:16.992
- "in the first year of darius the son of xerxes who was made ruler
- 00:11:16.992 --> 00:11:21.564
- Over the babylonian kingdom--in the first year of his reign, i,
- 00:11:21.564 --> 00:11:24.066
- Daniel, understood from the scriptures, according to the
- 00:11:24.066 --> 00:11:26.202
- Word of the lord given to jeremiah the prophet, that the
- 00:11:26.202 --> 00:11:29.872
- Desolation of jerusalem would last seventy years.
- 00:11:29.872 --> 00:11:33.909
- So i turned to the lord and i pleaded with him in prayer and
- 00:11:33.909 --> 00:11:37.279
- Petition, and fasting, and sackcloth and ashes," daniel,
- 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:42.685
- In spite of empire changes, despite of gaining some freedom
- 00:11:42.685 --> 00:11:47.256
- And losing freedom, in spite of having a pretty dramatic
- 00:11:47.256 --> 00:11:51.360
- Spiritual life already.
- 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:53.963
- I mean, he could point to his curriculum vita and say,
- 00:11:53.963 --> 00:11:56.365
- "you know, let me tell you what i've done for the lord."
- 00:11:56.365 --> 00:12:00.302
- In chapter 9, he says, "i was searching the scriptures
- 00:12:00.302 --> 00:12:05.174
- Even though i read through the bible last year."
- 00:12:05.174 --> 00:12:09.078
- And while he studied the scripture, even as an exile and
- 00:12:13.182 --> 00:12:17.620
- A slave, even after jerusalem has been destroyed, you know
- 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:24.260
- How easy it would have been to imagine that god had let us
- 00:12:24.260 --> 00:12:26.529
- Down, that those people that taught us the bible had led us
- 00:12:26.529 --> 00:12:32.101
- On a pathway of fantasy about the superiority of the god
- 00:12:32.101 --> 00:12:36.238
- Of abraham, isaac, and jacob?
- 00:12:36.238 --> 00:12:38.707
- Looks like to me, the god of babylon trumped that god.
- 00:12:38.707 --> 00:12:42.378
- Do you know how easy it would have been to step away from
- 00:12:42.378 --> 00:12:45.347
- Any sense of biblical authority and have said, "no, i don't,
- 00:12:45.347 --> 00:12:49.718
- I don't think so.
- 00:12:49.718 --> 00:12:51.086
- I'm gonna make it my own way."
- 00:12:51.086 --> 00:12:52.788
- Daniel says to us, in those opening verses, in spite of
- 00:12:52.788 --> 00:12:56.425
- Another regime change, "because of scripture," daniel says,
- 00:12:56.425 --> 00:13:00.529
- "because of what jeremiah wrote down, we're going home."
- 00:13:00.529 --> 00:13:07.670
- We're going home.
- 00:13:07.670 --> 00:13:11.373
- He put such confidence in the word of god, as a slave,
- 00:13:11.373 --> 00:13:16.879
- All the stuff, the defeat, the heartbreak.
- 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:20.850
- He said, "the bible says we're going home."
- 00:13:20.850 --> 00:13:26.121
- I can't hardly get my head around there.
- 00:13:26.121 --> 00:13:31.760
- And he begins to pray.
- 00:13:31.760 --> 00:13:33.996
- We're gonna close with his prayer.
- 00:13:33.996 --> 00:13:35.331
- I didn't put it in your notes there.
- 00:13:35.331 --> 00:13:38.701
- But because of scripture, daniel begins to fast and pray.
- 00:13:38.701 --> 00:13:43.005
- He begins to fast and pray, and god responds to him.
- 00:13:43.005 --> 00:13:47.843
- Now, daniel knows a little bit about seeking god.
- 00:13:47.843 --> 00:13:49.612
- He sought the lord before, and it left him completely
- 00:13:49.612 --> 00:13:52.214
- Physically spent.
- 00:13:52.214 --> 00:13:54.650
- So he's not into half measures.
- 00:13:54.650 --> 00:13:58.387
- He's not into convenient christianity.
- 00:13:58.387 --> 00:14:00.256
- Daniel's kind of ahead of us on this "let's do difficult" thing.
- 00:14:00.256 --> 00:14:03.659
- Same chapter, chapter 9, same season of his life,
- 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:07.863
- Same narrative, we're just stepping down a bit so
- 00:14:07.863 --> 00:14:11.000
- Your notes didn't frighten you.
- 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.535
- He said, "while i was speaking and praying, confessing my sin
- 00:14:13.535 --> 00:14:16.238
- And the sin of my people, my people, israel and making
- 00:14:16.238 --> 00:14:19.742
- My request to the lord my god for his holy hill--
- 00:14:19.742 --> 00:14:23.045
- While i was still in prayer, gabriel,
- 00:14:23.045 --> 00:14:25.881
- The man i had seen in the earlier vision,"
- 00:14:25.881 --> 00:14:28.150
- He remembered him.
- 00:14:28.150 --> 00:14:30.085
- Come on.
- 00:14:30.085 --> 00:14:32.755
- You again?
- 00:14:32.755 --> 00:14:35.925
- Last time i saw you, it rocked my world.
- 00:14:35.925 --> 00:14:44.133
- "he came to me in swift flight about the time
- 00:14:44.133 --> 00:14:46.435
- Of the evening sacrifice."
- 00:14:46.435 --> 00:14:48.871
- They're not having an evening sacrifice in babel.
- 00:14:48.871 --> 00:14:52.474
- That's a reference to what happened that used to happen
- 00:14:52.474 --> 00:14:55.477
- In jerusalem when the temple was in place, something that hasn't
- 00:14:55.477 --> 00:14:59.381
- Been happening for 60 years.
- 00:14:59.381 --> 00:15:02.584
- That's a long way removed, but not from daniel's thoughts.
- 00:15:02.584 --> 00:15:08.891
- "he instructed me and he said to me, ‘daniel, i have come, i've
- 00:15:08.891 --> 00:15:12.194
- Now come to give you insight and understanding.'"
- 00:15:12.194 --> 00:15:16.332
- Do you believe there's insight and understanding
- 00:15:16.332 --> 00:15:18.000
- That you can only gain with a spiritual heart?
- 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.869
- "as soon as you began to pray, an answer was given,
- 00:15:22.171 --> 00:15:25.374
- Which i've come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.
- 00:15:25.374 --> 00:15:29.078
- Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision,"
- 00:15:29.078 --> 00:15:33.248
- Gabriel comes to visit with insight and understanding.
- 00:15:33.248 --> 00:15:37.086
- As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given.
- 00:15:37.086 --> 00:15:41.957
- Your prayers initiated an answer.
- 00:15:41.957 --> 00:15:46.495
- What you're invested in studying the scripture and the awareness
- 00:15:46.495 --> 00:15:49.765
- That came to you and your response to that awareness
- 00:15:49.765 --> 00:15:52.835
- Elicited a response from heaven.
- 00:15:52.835 --> 00:15:55.137
- Do you believe that?
- 00:15:55.137 --> 00:15:57.239
- Do you believe that what the church and the earth does
- 00:15:57.239 --> 00:16:00.242
- Elicits responses from heaven?
- 00:16:00.242 --> 00:16:03.145
- Or that our failure to respond forfeits what heaven would do
- 00:16:03.145 --> 00:16:07.483
- In our generation?
- 00:16:07.483 --> 00:16:09.585
- May i suggest we raise our hand and say, "let's do difficult."
- 00:16:09.585 --> 00:16:14.523
- I'm not talking about bar-- i'm not--
- 00:16:14.523 --> 00:16:16.625
- Doesn't have to be great sights.
- 00:16:16.625 --> 00:16:18.627
- The investment in the king of god--in the kingdom of god.
- 00:16:18.627 --> 00:16:21.897
- If investing in the kingdom of god, and i don't mean your
- 00:16:21.897 --> 00:16:24.533
- Money, is loathsome to you, you need to consider the nature
- 00:16:24.533 --> 00:16:28.203
- Of the relationship you have.
- 00:16:28.203 --> 00:16:34.843
- Daniel chapter 10, next chapter, we got a new king.
- 00:16:38.847 --> 00:16:41.784
- So imagine that.
- 00:16:41.784 --> 00:16:45.154
- Daniel 10, verse 1: "in the third year of cyrus the king
- 00:16:45.154 --> 00:16:48.223
- Of persia," we not only have a new king, we've got a whole
- 00:16:48.223 --> 00:16:50.225
- New empire.
- 00:16:50.225 --> 00:16:52.094
- The persians defeated the babylonians in a day,
- 00:16:52.094 --> 00:16:56.632
- Whole new structure.
- 00:16:56.632 --> 00:16:58.000
- Whatever place daniel had, he started over, "a revelation was
- 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.235
- Given to daniel," he's got a whole new name, "his message
- 00:17:00.235 --> 00:17:04.006
- Was true and it concerned the great war.
- 00:17:04.006 --> 00:17:06.875
- And the understanding of the message came to him in a vision.
- 00:17:06.875 --> 00:17:09.178
- At that time i, daniel, mourned for three weeks.
- 00:17:09.178 --> 00:17:13.182
- I ate no choice food; or meat or wine touched my lips;
- 00:17:13.182 --> 00:17:16.485
- I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over."
- 00:17:16.485 --> 00:17:21.990
- This passage again begins with a chronological placement,
- 00:17:21.990 --> 00:17:24.359
- A location in history.
- 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:25.694
- In the third year of cyrus, the king of persia, daniel,
- 00:17:25.694 --> 00:17:28.497
- Has been having an extended period of fasting.
- 00:17:28.497 --> 00:17:31.100
- He said for three weeks, i altered my whole lifestyle.
- 00:17:31.100 --> 00:17:37.039
- He began to seek god, not for a moment, not to begin his day.
- 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:43.512
- He's taken three weeks and reordered his life.
- 00:17:43.512 --> 00:17:45.614
- In verse 12, he has another visit.
- 00:17:45.614 --> 00:17:48.951
- He says, "don't be afraid, daniel.
- 00:17:48.951 --> 00:17:50.319
- Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding
- 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.988
- And to humble yourself before your god, your words were
- 00:17:52.988 --> 00:17:55.624
- Heard," we've heard that before.
- 00:17:55.624 --> 00:17:57.993
- We heard that in an earlier version in daniel's life.
- 00:17:57.993 --> 00:18:00.195
- When you began to pray, daniel, i was dispensed with a message,
- 00:18:00.195 --> 00:18:04.266
- Dispatched with a message, and it's repeated here, "your words
- 00:18:04.266 --> 00:18:10.606
- Were heard, and i've come in response to them.
- 00:18:10.606 --> 00:18:12.741
- But the prince of the persian kingdom resisted me for
- 00:18:12.741 --> 00:18:16.545
- Twenty-one days.
- 00:18:16.545 --> 00:18:18.580
- Then michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,"
- 00:18:18.580 --> 00:18:21.450
- Michael is another of the archangels.
- 00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:23.218
- The scripture tells us that michael's assignment are
- 00:18:23.218 --> 00:18:25.921
- The things connected with the jewish people.
- 00:18:25.921 --> 00:18:29.691
- Gabriel said, “i was released with a message.
- 00:18:29.691 --> 00:18:31.493
- I knew the way you've rec--we've been, we've done this before,
- 00:18:31.493 --> 00:18:33.929
- Daniel.” but this time, there was a principality, and there's
- 00:18:33.929 --> 00:18:39.034
- A spiritual force of darkness over the persian empire
- 00:18:39.034 --> 00:18:44.406
- That stood between you and that message.
- 00:18:44.406 --> 00:18:49.211
- Now, there's lots of questions around that we can ask.
- 00:18:49.211 --> 00:18:51.880
- A spiritual force with authority over persia that resisted
- 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:55.384
- A heavenly message?
- 00:18:55.384 --> 00:18:58.220
- I know what some of us immediately do.
- 00:18:58.220 --> 00:18:59.922
- Well, i don't agree with that.
- 00:18:59.922 --> 00:19:02.624
- Allow me.
- 00:19:02.624 --> 00:19:04.326
- The presentation is really not for you to agree or disagree.
- 00:19:04.326 --> 00:19:07.829
- It's informational.
- 00:19:07.829 --> 00:19:10.332
- It provides insight into spiritual activity.
- 00:19:10.332 --> 00:19:14.136
- Now, you can reject the message, but i would encourage you
- 00:19:14.136 --> 00:19:18.807
- Not to.
- 00:19:18.807 --> 00:19:21.510
- An angel arrives to explain to daniel what will happen
- 00:19:21.510 --> 00:19:24.379
- To your people in the future.
- 00:19:24.379 --> 00:19:27.382
- Daniel is seeking god on behalf of his people for something
- 00:19:27.382 --> 00:19:30.752
- That is not going to directly impact him.
- 00:19:30.752 --> 00:19:32.921
- He's not going back to jerusalem.
- 00:19:32.921 --> 00:19:37.326
- Are we willing to do that?
- 00:19:37.326 --> 00:19:39.528
- Are we willing to take a place, to take a stand, to take
- 00:19:39.528 --> 00:19:43.799
- Our stand against evil?
- 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:45.167
- Because daniel's done that through the breadth of his life.
- 00:19:45.167 --> 00:19:48.604
- And understand that, even if we don't see the benefit, we will
- 00:19:48.604 --> 00:19:51.740
- Take a stand and hold the place in anticipation that there'll be
- 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:55.077
- A generation beyond us that will know the benefit.
- 00:19:55.077 --> 00:19:59.214
- Come on, church.
- 00:19:59.214 --> 00:20:00.849
- Jesus gave himself on a cross so that all humanity
- 00:20:00.849 --> 00:20:05.020
- Could be different.
- 00:20:05.020 --> 00:20:06.588
- The people that knew him the best after he was gone, when
- 00:20:06.588 --> 00:20:09.891
- They were threatened, they said, "listen, whatever you think you
- 00:20:09.891 --> 00:20:12.327
- Need to do, you tee it up.
- 00:20:12.327 --> 00:20:14.029
- We're not stopping."
- 00:20:14.029 --> 00:20:17.532
- Now, it's time for the church to find a response.
- 00:20:17.532 --> 00:20:25.974
- Daniel has this pattern of searching the scriptures and
- 00:20:30.112 --> 00:20:32.614
- Seeking god regarding the future of his people.
- 00:20:32.614 --> 00:20:36.051
- This isn't some abstract, random intervention.
- 00:20:36.051 --> 00:20:39.888
- By this point in the narrative, i hope you can identify
- 00:20:39.888 --> 00:20:43.091
- For yourself that daniel has established a track record
- 00:20:43.091 --> 00:20:45.927
- Of doing difficult.
- 00:20:45.927 --> 00:20:48.030
- One last passage, same chapter: "so he said, ‘do you know
- 00:20:48.030 --> 00:20:51.400
- Why i have come to you?'"
- 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.069
- This is intriguing. it's insightful.
- 00:20:54.069 --> 00:20:56.238
- “'soon i will return to fight against the prince of persia,'”
- 00:20:56.238 --> 00:21:02.611
- There is a spiritual opposition to the purposes of god
- 00:21:02.611 --> 00:21:05.814
- In the earth.
- 00:21:05.814 --> 00:21:07.916
- And he said, "daniel, i had the breakthrough.
- 00:21:07.916 --> 00:21:09.685
- I delivered the message, but that battle is ongoing."
- 00:21:09.685 --> 00:21:12.854
- I promise you there's a battle over the earth today.
- 00:21:12.854 --> 00:21:17.426
- I promise you a spiritual battle far more important than rockets
- 00:21:17.426 --> 00:21:20.562
- That fly and missiles that are launched and weapons
- 00:21:20.562 --> 00:21:23.565
- That are fired.
- 00:21:23.565 --> 00:21:25.167
- He said, "when i go, the prince of greece will come;
- 00:21:25.167 --> 00:21:29.204
- But first i'll tell you what is written in the book of truth.
- 00:21:29.204 --> 00:21:32.874
- No one supports me against them except michael, your prince.
- 00:21:32.874 --> 00:21:38.113
- And in the first year of darius, the mede, i took my stand
- 00:21:38.113 --> 00:21:42.117
- In support and to protect him."
- 00:21:42.117 --> 00:21:46.588
- There's some ways you can understand that.
- 00:21:46.588 --> 00:21:48.023
- My understanding is daniel's taking his place to support
- 00:21:48.023 --> 00:21:50.525
- The messengers and the purposes of god.
- 00:21:50.525 --> 00:21:54.129
- There's a spiritual conflict that remains even after
- 00:21:54.129 --> 00:21:56.898
- The message is delivered.
- 00:21:56.898 --> 00:21:59.568
- If you'll allow a bit of a historical note, the greek
- 00:21:59.568 --> 00:22:02.237
- Empire, which gabriel mentioned, was the empire that followed
- 00:22:02.237 --> 00:22:04.973
- The persian empire, a whole new principality over that region.
- 00:22:04.973 --> 00:22:12.114
- What do you imagine the spiritual forces of darkness
- 00:22:12.114 --> 00:22:14.750
- Over our nation look like?
- 00:22:14.750 --> 00:22:17.719
- We've redefined marriage.
- 00:22:17.719 --> 00:22:20.055
- We're confused about biological sex.
- 00:22:20.055 --> 00:22:23.425
- Major expressions of the christian church deny
- 00:22:23.425 --> 00:22:25.761
- The authority of scripture.
- 00:22:25.761 --> 00:22:30.065
- And on and on.
- 00:22:30.065 --> 00:22:34.536
- When god looks at our generation, let him find people
- 00:22:34.536 --> 00:22:37.506
- Who say they'll stand in the gap.
- 00:22:37.506 --> 00:22:40.675
- I brought you that prayer from daniel chapter 9.
- 00:22:40.675 --> 00:22:43.912
- I tweaked it to make it personal.
- 00:22:43.912 --> 00:22:45.714
- Daniel began to pray.
- 00:22:45.714 --> 00:22:47.048
- He wasn't praying some great historical prayer for things
- 00:22:47.048 --> 00:22:48.784
- That happened hundreds of years ago.
- 00:22:48.784 --> 00:22:51.219
- He was praying about a generation that he knew.
- 00:22:51.219 --> 00:22:54.289
- He knew the circumstances of their lives.
- 00:22:54.289 --> 00:22:56.925
- He knew precisely why they were learning foreign languages
- 00:22:56.925 --> 00:23:00.495
- In foreign countries.
- 00:23:00.495 --> 00:23:01.997
- And yet, when he began to pray, he wasn't praying with anger
- 00:23:01.997 --> 00:23:04.566
- About his parents and grandparents.
- 00:23:04.566 --> 00:23:06.234
- Or he wasn't praying with anger about the ill behavior of
- 00:23:06.234 --> 00:23:09.171
- The generation who preceded him.
- 00:23:09.171 --> 00:23:10.639
- He said, "forgive me.
- 00:23:10.639 --> 00:23:12.841
- Forgive us."
- 00:23:12.841 --> 00:23:14.910
- And if you're still angry at someone who's preceded you,
- 00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:18.013
- You're forfeiting the opportunity of your life.
- 00:23:18.013 --> 00:23:21.850
- You're caught.
- 00:23:21.850 --> 00:23:23.885
- Forgive.
- 00:23:23.885 --> 00:23:25.320
- Release.
- 00:23:25.320 --> 00:23:27.889
- Doesn't mean they got away with it.
- 00:23:27.889 --> 00:23:29.224
- They'll deal with an almighty god.
- 00:23:29.224 --> 00:23:30.625
- Nobody gets away.
- 00:23:30.625 --> 00:23:33.428
- But anger and resentment and bitterness and hatred hold you
- 00:23:33.428 --> 00:23:36.498
- In bondage, or me.
- 00:23:36.498 --> 00:23:39.501
- It's a wonderful prayer.
- 00:23:39.501 --> 00:23:40.836
- Let's stand together.
- 00:23:40.836 --> 00:23:42.204
- It's a little longer than the prayers we read typically,
- 00:23:42.204 --> 00:23:43.705
- But it's worth the time.
- 00:23:43.705 --> 00:23:50.011
- Daniel's the book where we learn so many of those stories that
- 00:23:54.216 --> 00:23:57.285
- We teach children, about lions's dens and lions that
- 00:23:57.285 --> 00:23:59.454
- Aren't hungry and furnaces that aren't hot.
- 00:23:59.454 --> 00:24:05.093
- Daniel saw some tremendous victories, and he continued
- 00:24:05.093 --> 00:24:09.364
- To seek the lord.
- 00:24:09.364 --> 00:24:10.699
- It's my prayer for you that only that you would know the joy of
- 00:24:10.699 --> 00:24:14.803
- Being birthed into the kingdom of god, but that you would know
- 00:24:14.803 --> 00:24:18.673
- The triumph and the wonder of seeking a living god, but being
- 00:24:18.673 --> 00:24:25.113
- Freed from the burden of pretending, and be set free
- 00:24:25.113 --> 00:24:31.019
- To the just the inestimable privilege of bearing the name
- 00:24:31.019 --> 00:24:35.457
- Of jesus in time.
- 00:24:35.457 --> 00:24:37.659
- We will see jesus when-- daniel saw.
- 00:24:37.659 --> 00:24:39.661
- You and i will see him, and we want to have lived in such a way
- 00:24:39.661 --> 00:24:43.765
- That anybody that remotely bumped into us thought,
- 00:24:43.765 --> 00:24:45.901
- "that is a jesus person right over there."
- 00:24:45.901 --> 00:24:49.271
- Because when you see the king, you'll be grateful for that.
- 00:24:49.271 --> 00:24:53.275
- And i haven't always been that.
- 00:24:53.275 --> 00:24:56.311
- I haven't always been that.
- 00:24:56.311 --> 00:24:58.280
- So i suspect there's at least some degree of possibility
- 00:24:58.280 --> 00:25:00.882
- You may not have always been that.
- 00:25:00.882 --> 00:25:05.954
- Daniel's prayer: o lord, the great and awesome god, who keeps
- 00:25:05.954 --> 00:25:11.893
- His covenant of love with all who love him and obey
- 00:25:11.893 --> 00:25:15.931
- His commands, we have sinned and done wrong.
- 00:25:15.931 --> 00:25:19.734
- We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away
- 00:25:19.734 --> 00:25:23.705
- From your command and laws.
- 00:25:23.705 --> 00:25:26.207
- We have not listened to your direction.
- 00:25:26.207 --> 00:25:28.977
- Now, o lord our god, hear the prayers and petitions
- 00:25:28.977 --> 00:25:33.615
- Of your servants.
- 00:25:33.615 --> 00:25:34.950
- For your sake, o lord, look with favor on your people.
- 00:25:34.950 --> 00:25:39.621
- Give ear and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation
- 00:25:39.621 --> 00:25:44.693
- Of our day.
- 00:25:44.693 --> 00:25:46.061
- We do not make requests because we are righteous,
- 00:25:46.061 --> 00:25:49.864
- But because of your great mercy.
- 00:25:49.864 --> 00:25:51.933
- O lord, listen!
- 00:25:51.933 --> 00:25:53.602
- O lord, forgive!
- 00:25:53.602 --> 00:25:55.570
- O lord, hear and act!
- 00:25:55.570 --> 00:25:57.706
- For your sake, do not delay, because your people bear
- 00:25:57.706 --> 00:26:02.477
- Your name, amen.
- 00:26:02.477 --> 00:26:04.846
- Hallelujah.
- 00:26:04.846 --> 00:26:06.815
- God bless you, and thank you for praying for one another tonight.
- 00:26:06.815 --> 00:26:13.655
- Allen: you know, no matter what source of news you turn to,
- 00:26:17.826 --> 00:26:21.196
- It's hard some days not to be overwhelmed with despair,
- 00:26:21.196 --> 00:26:24.699
- The deception, the conflict in the earth,
- 00:26:24.699 --> 00:26:27.669
- The suffering that's taking place in so many places,
- 00:26:27.669 --> 00:26:30.939
- The struggling church in our own nation.
- 00:26:30.939 --> 00:26:33.808
- But there are reasons for hope.
- 00:26:33.808 --> 00:26:35.310
- God is moving in the most remarkable ways
- 00:26:35.310 --> 00:26:38.313
- But we need to have a plan, a method, even a tool
- 00:26:38.313 --> 00:26:41.249
- To help us give our thoughts and our hearts focused on god.
- 00:26:41.249 --> 00:26:44.986
- Well, i have a suggestion, it's a little booklet
- 00:26:44.986 --> 00:26:46.421
- We put together, it's called "awaken us."
- 00:26:46.421 --> 00:26:48.590
- It's a 30-day plan.
- 00:26:48.590 --> 00:26:49.924
- It's built by topic each day with a scripture,
- 00:26:49.924 --> 00:26:52.794
- A little devotional, and a prayer topically directed
- 00:26:52.794 --> 00:26:56.031
- To help focus our thoughts at an awakening
- 00:26:56.031 --> 00:26:58.867
- To god's invitations to us around that specific theme.
- 00:26:58.867 --> 00:27:02.837
- We're awakened every day for the challenges of that day.
- 00:27:02.837 --> 00:27:05.407
- Well, let's ask the spirit of god to awaken us
- 00:27:05.407 --> 00:27:08.410
- Consistently to what he would have us doing
- 00:27:08.410 --> 00:27:11.112
- In this most unique season.
- 00:27:11.112 --> 00:27:13.014
- God is moving, i want to move with him,
- 00:27:13.014 --> 00:27:15.216
- And i believe you do too.
- 00:27:15.216 --> 00:27:16.551
- And i believe "awaken us" will be a help.
- 00:27:16.551 --> 00:27:18.353
- ♪♪♪
- 00:27:19.688 --> 00:27:19.688