Coming on the Clouds

Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.

A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad

that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together

as one community. And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good,

they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back

week after week to see what God has to say to us in His Word. Now, I know for many of you,

the bandages on my head are a distraction, so I'll just address that at the very beginning.

I've been in Daniel chapter 7 this week. You'll know in Daniel chapter 7 that there's a variety

Daniel 7 · chapter mention Daniel 7 · chapter mention

of beasts. One of them is a leopard with four heads. I'll just say that I am here, the leopard is not.

In all reality, I was on a run in Cheyenne Mountain State Park. I looked at my watch when I should have

been looking at the ground. I tripped, and I introduced my head to a rock. So that's the story.

Let's put that aside. We're in Daniel chapter 7. As we continue our study in the book of Daniel,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

you'll remember that the book of Daniel tells the story of a man named Daniel who is a faithful

Israelite who is living in exile in Babylon near the end of the 7th century BC, and then mainly what

we've been looking at is the 6th century BC. And you'll remember that the book of Daniel primarily

does two things. First of all, it is meant to encourage us. No matter how bad things get in

the world, God is still in control. He rules, and he reigns over the nations. Not only is it meant to

encourage us, though, it's also meant to instruct us that we would know how to live faithful lives

in a foreign land. Now, we're ending, or we have ended, chapters 1 through 6, which is the narrative

portion of Daniel, and now we're heading into the dreams and visions that Daniel has, beginning with

Daniel chapter 7, which actually is one of the most famous and important chapters in the entire

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

Bible. And it's actually the background. It explains for us why it is that Jesus refers to himself as the

Son of Man. And so we're going to see some of the same questions and issues that we saw in chapters 1

through 6, but from a different perspective, from a different angle. And that's true this morning.

Our Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 24 that we're going to hear of wars and rumors of wars.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

And he tells us not to be alarmed, that this must take place before the end. So we know there's going

to be chaos in this world. And so our question this morning is this, how does being a Christian change

how we think about the events, the powers of this world? As we read the news, perhaps we're confused.

We wonder if God is involved not just in our lives, but also in the world. We can look just this past week,

this past month, all sorts of things that are going around the globe. We are wondering,

is China going to invade Taiwan? We might look this last week at the ongoing conflict between Israel

and Hamas, the ongoing bombing that's occurring in the Gaza Strip. We had hackers take down the

colonial pipeline on the East Coast. And then there's rumors, there's arguments about whether

we are or are not facing inflation. Put another way, we would ask this, how does being a Christian

change how we read the news? How do we maintain hope and confidence that God is still in control,

that he knows what's going on and he's in charge in the midst of real time, real space, instability,

and wickedness in this world? It's for that reason that Daniel is given this vision in Daniel chapter

seven. And so I invite you to turn there with me now. You can turn in your worship guide, you can turn

in your Bible, or you can turn on your phone. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold. And it's sweeter

than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. And so that's why we read now Daniel

chapter seven, starting at verse one. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream

and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.

Daniel declared,

It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, arise, devour much flesh.

After this, I looked and behold another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back.

And the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it.

Verse seven.

After this, I saw in the night visions and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly

strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet.

It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which

three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the

eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.

Verse nine.

As I looked, thrones were placed and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow and

the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames. Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of

fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousand served him and ten thousand times ten thousand

stood before him. The court sat in judgment and the books were opened. Verse 11.

I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked,

the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest

of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

Verse 13.

I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man.

And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory

and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting

dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Verse 15.

Verse 19.

Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest,

exceedingly terrifying with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broken

pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head,

and the other horn that came up, and before which three of them fell. The horn that had eyes and a

mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war

with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the

saints of the Most High. And the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Verse 23.

Thus he said,

And the fourth beast,

There shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole

earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and

another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.

He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law. And they shall be given into his hand for a time, times and half a time.

Verse 26.

But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole earth shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,

and his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Verse 28.

Here is the end of the matter.

As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for your word, which you've given us here in Daniel to encourage us and instruct us.

And we simply ask that you would do that this morning.

You would remind us of the spiritual realities of this world, and you'd encourage us with the fact that you are the most powerful one, and you are still in control.

We ask these things in the mighty name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I have mentioned to you all before that it's a Capone family tradition, every Christmas to watch the Muppets Christmas Carol.

And if you're familiar with the way Muppets movies work, you know it's all the same actors each time, right?

Kermit the Frog shows up.

He's going to play whatever character he needs to play.

Miss Piggy's going to show up.

She's going to play whatever character she needs to play.

And we also have a character, Sam the Eagle, who's going to show up and play whatever character he needs to play.

And if you've seen the Muppet Christmas Carol, you know Sam the Eagle shows up to play the part of Scrooge's teacher near the beginning of the movie.

And so as Scrooge is graduating, Sam the Eagle tells him as he's going into business how important it is because it is the American way.

Now, something's off, right, because this is a Charles Dickens novel.

It's not set in America.

It's set in Britain.

So the character quickly reminds Sam the Eagle that he's actually in the middle of a Dickens play.

And so he corrects himself and says, it is the British way.

Now, it's a joke, right, that we all get because we know why Sam the Eagle does this.

He's an eagle, right?

So he represents America.

America.

It's no surprise that he forgets what character he's supposed to be playing, and he just defaults.

He's supposed to be the most patriotic character at all times, and that's his shtick.

That's what he does.

And this reminds for us what we know even today that's also in this passage.

It highlights that we today, just like those in this passage many, many years ago, know that we use animals to represent countries.

Okay?

We have eagle, the bald eagle, which is our symbol here in the United States.

It's common to talk about the bear when we're talking about Russia, right?

People, economists, will talk about the four Asian tigers, which are the economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

And so this reality that we know, it's the same reality we get pulled into at the very beginning of Daniel chapter 7.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

By the way, as we come into Daniel chapter 7 together, there's all sorts of things going on in this book, this chapter.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

We're not going to get dragged down into all of the bunny trails we could go on.

And so to keep us focused, we're going to look at three things.

We're going to look at the nations, the judge, and the king.

We're going to look at the nations, the judge, and the king.

And as we look at the nations beginning here at the beginning of chapter 7, we are introduced to these four different animals.

Just like we know animals represent nations, we're also given animals here that represent nations.

Verses 1 through 8, we're introduced to four beasts.

We have the one like a lion, the one like a bear, the one like a leopard with four heads.

And we're told in the interpretation later in the chapter, verse 17, that these four beasts are meant to represent four different kings.

Now this morning, I'm not going to drag us down into the debate of which kingdoms are represented by which animals.

For several reasons.

First of all, while in chapter 8, the interpretation does tell us which kingdoms are supposed to be with which animals, in chapter 7, it doesn't.

Second, it's a matter of great debate among Bible scholars.

Third, it actually is not going to affect the main point that we're driving at this morning.

Because if we focus on which animals represent which nations, we're going to lose the forest for the trees.

Because there's a bigger point here that's meant to be made by this passage.

And so our point here is not as much about the specific identity of each animal,

but about the fact that these animals represent and show for us what the kingdoms and nations of this world are like.

We learn a couple things here at the beginning.

First of all, verses 2 and 3, they are not simply animals.

They have an origin.

They're animals that are pulled up out of the sea.

And if you're familiar with the imagery of the Old Testament,

you know that the sea is going to be a place of chaos and disorder and confusion and rebellion against God.

And so we see from the very beginning, Daniel is shown what he already knew,

which is that the nations of this world are influenced by the chaos and the confusion and the evil that comes from sin.

As one man points out, just as sin affects us as people,

so also sin affects systems and governments and institutions.

Not only do they come out of the sea, though,

we also see in verses 4 through 6 that these are hybrid animals.

They're not natural.

So we have a lion, for example, with wings on it.

What's supposed to be going on with that?

We have a leopard with four heads.

And this highlights, again, the fact that there's something wrong here.

We know at the very beginning of creation, in the book of Genesis,

that these animals are created naturally.

There's not a mix between two different kinds of animals.

And yet what we see here is supposed to represent these people reading it.

Israel would have understood these animals are unclean.

Not only are they coming from a bad place,

they represent something disordered and scary and frightening.

In fact, that's part of the purpose of this chapter.

We'll get to this in a little bit.

We're going to see some of the same points that are made in chapters 1 through 6,

but we're going to be given these graphic images to understand them.

We're going to be given these animals to help us see how frightening reality is.

So there's something wrong with these animals, right?

They violate the order of creation.

And we see not just that these animals have this origin and this source and this violation,

but then we get to the fourth animal, which is more frightening than all the others.

It's not even given an animal that it looks like in our world.

We're just told it's a terrible beast.

It has teeth of iron, and it has these ten horns on it.

And so we see not just the wickedness that's involved in the nations,

but also there are some nations represented by this fourth beast that reach a point of intense persecution and oppression of God's people.

If you look later on, you remember this fourth beast is the one who's going after God's holy ones.

That's what we see later on in verses 15 through 23.

And so we have this picture at the very beginning, pulling back the curtain, as it were, to show us what the world is actually like.

And so we understand, as Daniel did, that there are evil forces at work in the nations of this world.

Sometimes those nations target God's people in a specific way.

So there's general evil at work in the world.

There's specific evil at work in the world.

We know this, right, as we look around at the countries and kingdoms around us.

Some of them have general evil influence.

Some of them target Christians specifically.

And so we see this way that Daniel's vision is showing us something about the reality of the world.

I've quoted to you before from this book by a man named Chris Wright called Hearing the Message of Daniel, which I highly recommend.

In describing this reality, he says this,

The apocalypse pulls away the facade of apparent benevolence that human governments like to construct

and exposes the depths of evil, lies, corruption, and violence that lies beneath the facade,

showing the fingerprints of satanic evil all over the reality underneath.

And that is what happens here.

There is, just as there's at work in people, there's at work in nations a real and true satanic evil.

Daniel knows this from his time in Babylon.

We know this from our time in the world.

Now, he goes on to warn us about the danger of falling off on one side or the other.

We don't want to give in to extremes.

And we have to remember there's a tension here when we think about governments.

Yes, there are evil forces at play.

Also, Romans chapter 13 tells us that God instituted governments.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

They're his gift to us.

They're referred to as his servants in chapter 13, verse 4.

So we experience that tension in the world.

We need governments, right?

It's essential.

Also, we know there are evil forces at work and at play.

And so I asked this question at the beginning.

How does being a Christian change how we read the news?

First answer is this.

We know as we look at the events of this world, they are not simply benign.

But there are evil powers and forces at work behind the scenes.

What may appear to be innocent is at times a hybrid beast that has come out of the sea.

And so as Christians, we are not naive.

Now, at the very end here, remember the last verse, Daniel's greatly alarmed.

And after hearing that, you may be greatly alarmed as well.

But we're given not just the reality about the danger, the wickedness of the nations,

but we see even in these verses, these beginning verses, hints that God is in control.

We have these divine, what's called divine passives.

So verse 4, when we're reading about the lion,

his wings were plucked off.

He was lifted.

He was made to stand.

The mind of a man was given to him.

Well, who's doing all these things?

God is the one.

Who's doing all those things?

Yes, these nations have satanic powers at work,

and God is still at work through them.

There is evil, and God is still in control.

What's implicit there in verses 1 through 8 becomes explicit in verse 9.

So I invite you to look with me there.

He said this vision of the beasts, now he has a vision of a man on the throne.

And we see in verse 9, he says,

as I looked.

Now I want to pause here for a second on this phrase, as I looked,

because it's telling us something very important.

It is telling us that these are two things that are both going on at the same time.

And I want you to think about it in this way.

If you've ever watched an inspirational sports movie,

you know there's a training montage.

Okay, so I'm going to give you an example.

Rocky IV, there's a Russian fighter, Ivan Drago,

and he comes up against Apollo Creed.

If you know the story, you know Apollo Creed dies.

Sorry to spoil it for you.

And so Rocky decides he is going to challenge Drago.

He's going to defend the honor of his friend who's been killed.

Now Drago's afraid that his life is going to be in danger in the United States,

and so Rocky has to go and go over to the Soviet Union to train,

because that's where the competition's going to happen.

And we see this montage going back before them.

Drago is training in this elite gym.

He's taking drugs.

He has all these doctors and trainers surrounding him,

and we watch him do his thing.

Then we see Rocky.

Rocky's out in the middle of nowhere.

He's in a cabin in the snow,

and he's using farm equipment to train.

So Drago's got a real bar with weights,

and he's doing his overhead press.

And then we see Rocky.

He's got a big log that he's overhead pressing.

In other words, there are two things going on at once.

Yes, Drago is scary, and Rocky is training.

There's not just one reality.

There is another reality.

That's what we're being told here when we said,

as I looked, he's watching both things happen at the same time.

Yes, the nations are ferocious.

Ferocious.

And guess who's also at work?

It is this character we meet, the Ancient of Days.

We're told in verse 9 that he has this clothing and this hair that's white.

This is here meant to represent his holiness.

You can imagine Gandalf the White, if you want, just emanating power.

And not only does he have this whiteness that's showing his purity and this holiness,

but also this throne that he's sitting on is surrounded by fire as well.

And so we see there not just his power, but also his judgment.

There is this great and terrifying figure that is meant to remind God's people

that in spite of the wickedness and threats of the nations,

their judge is still on the throne.

And he is filled with purity and holiness and power and justice.

And in fact, that's the justice that we see him bring in verses 26 and 27.

First of all, verse 11,

As I looked, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.

This is the fourth beast that's persecuting God's people.

The Ancient of Days doesn't stand for it.

Instead, he judges it.

Same thing in verses 26 and 27.

But the court shall sit in judgment,

and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole earth

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.

His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,

and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

And so the point is this.

Our God evaluates and judges the kingdoms of this world.

Yes, they are frightening and ferocious.

He is more powerful still.

Now, if you've been with us in the book of Daniel, we've seen that before, right?

In a sense, this is a form of repetition.

And so you might be asking,

what does this passage have to give us that's new?

Why do we need to be in verse 7 through 12 when we've already gone through chapters 1 through 6, right?

We've already seen that God's the one in control.

We're already seeing that he rules and reigns over the nations.

One answer is this.

This apocalyptic vision gives us images to hold on to and remember.

In other words, this vision of the beasts, this vision of the ancient of days, it's not instrumental.

It's not for us to pull out some kind of sentences and then leave the image behind.

No, the image is meant to capture our imagination.

It's meant to show us something that we remember and sticks with us.

We are meant to look at the reality of this world and also remember the reality of God's greatness and his power.

And so I want you to think about this, right?

It's not just that God is in control, but that the author of this book has given us something to remember.

So I brought with me my weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal.

I've asked you this question, how do we read the news differently as Christians?

And so I'm just going to give you a few examples.

First of all, this weekend we have Israel ramps up Gaza bombing.

How should I think about that as a Christian?

Well, I know that's going on.

Also, the ancient of days is sitting on his throne in pure white and splendor surrounded by fire.

No matter what's going on, he is still in control.

We have things going on here, not just with Israel.

We have a hacking group that's been shutting down a gas line on the East Coast.

How do I think about that?

Well, I know that's going on.

Also, I know that the ancient of days is sitting on his throne in pure and blinding whiteness,

surrounded by fire and coming in judgment.

I think it's possible, at least the news tells me, that China might want to invade Taiwan.

How should I think about that?

Well, I know that's happening.

I also know that God's in control of the nations,

and he's sitting on his throne as a judge in pure and blinding whiteness, surrounded by fire.

Brothers and sisters, the point for us is this.

It is tempting at times for us to read the news in the foreground and keep God's sovereignty in the background.

What Daniel's vision is telling us is the opposite.

We put the news in the background, and we keep God in his sovereignty in the foreground.

No matter what is happening, it is always happening underneath and below the fact that God is the great king and judge who is in control of the world.

And no matter what happens now, he will win in the end.

It is meant for us to have what I've mentioned before, a heavenly perspective on an earthly reality.

If you take nothing else from Daniel chapter 7, I want you to remember this.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

No matter what happens in the world, the ancient of days is on his throne.

He has pure and splendid and blinding whiteness because of his purity and his holiness and his power.

And because of his judgment, he's surrounded by fire.

The purpose of this is for us to take that image and remember it.

And to keep it in our minds so we remain in touch with reality.

The rise and fall of nations, geopolitical events, God is at work in all of them.

God is in control.

And so how do we read the news as Christians?

First of all, we remember there are evil forces at work in the world.

Second of all, we remember that God is still on his throne.

There is more than meets the eye.

Not only is he in his throne, though, we've already seen here there's going to be a new kingdom.

I've told you all along that God rules and reigns over the nations, right?

Daniel chapter 7, we're told, in a sense, that's not always going to be true

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

because there's going to become a time where there's only one kingdom.

There won't be multiple kingdoms.

There won't be nations that he rules and reigns over.

There will be a kingdom and only one kingdom.

Remember, and look with me at verse 27.

The kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms unto the whole earth

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.

His kingdom, singular, shall be an everlasting kingdom.

And all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Not only are the nations under the influence of evil forces,

not only is God our great judge, but he has a coming kingdom.

A coming kingdom, by the way.

Again, verse 27, when the saints of the Most High, that's us,

will rule and reign with him.

And so that brings us not just from the nations and the judge,

but also to the king.

Look with me now at verse 13.

Verse 13.

We see this vision of a different kind of ruler.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven,

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented for him.

Note immediately the contrast here.

At the beginning, we saw hybrid animals.

Here, we see a man.

Okay?

They have rule.

He's also going to have rule.

Verse 14.

And to him was given dominion and glory in a kingdom,

that all people's nations and languages should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.

So he's different.

Also, his origin, his source is different.

Remember, the four animals, the four beasts, came up out of the sea,

a place of chaos and rebellion.

Where does the Son of Man come from?

Not from the sea, but from the heavens.

He is coming on the clouds.

Now, I've already ruined this a little bit for you with Acts 1.

But we know from the Old Testament, when someone comes on the clouds,

that is a sign that they are divine.

It's a sign that it's God coming.

And so for the first time, we have this image here of someone who's both a man

and also God.

And this person who's a man and also God is going to come,

and he is going to be the final and ultimate king.

He's going to be the one who has glory and dominion.

All peoples and nations and languages shall serve him.

He's going to have a forever kingdom.

And so it's not just that the Ancient of Days is in control,

but that one day only his kingdom will stand.

And his kingdom is going to be one that's given to this man,

this man who is also a God.

Now, we understand this passage even more than Daniel did,

because we have the New Testament.

We have the Gospels.

We have the record of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

who identifies himself over and over again as the Son of Man,

referring back to here, to Daniel 7.

This is part of why this is such an important chapter.

Now, the reason why Jesus chooses that title,

a whole other discussion.

We can talk about that later if you'd like.

But we know this, that he is claiming by that title

to be the one from Daniel 7 who's coming on the clouds.

And in fact, that's what we read in our New Testament

reading earlier today from Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

Remember, he's being questioned, verse 61.

He remained silent and made no answer.

Again, the high priest asked him,

are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

And Jesus said, I am, and you will see the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of power

and coming with the clouds of heaven.

In other words, I am the Daniel 7 king

coming to rule over the world

and have the service and submission

of every dominion in every kingdom.

And the high priest knows that's what he's saying,

because what does he say next?

Verse 63, the high priest tore his garments and said,

what further witnesses do we need?

You have heard his blasphemy.

Jesus is the king who is coming back.

He is involved in the kingdoms of this world,

and he will one day surpass, judge,

and replace those kingdoms.

Now, as we've talked about before,

we know that that kingdom has already come in part.

Remember Mark chapter 1, verse 15,

Mark 1:15

Jesus comes and he says,

the kingdom of God is at hand, right?

The forever kingdom has already begun.

And then we already look this morning at Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

We saw Jesus go up into the clouds.

We know he has not yet come back on the clouds.

And so the kingdom has begun in part.

We still look and long for the day

when Jesus does come and fully and finally

fulfill what we see here.

He comes back for us just in the way that he left.

And so for us Christians,

the point is this,

we long for Jesus to return.

No matter what happens,

we know he is coming to bring his kingdom back.

He is coming to rule and reign

over everyone and everything.

That's our hope, our comfort, our encouragement, right?

As we read the news,

we remember the ancient of days,

we remember the son of man returning on the clouds.

For those of you who are not Christians,

the takeaway for you is this,

not to long for Jesus' return yet,

but to remember that God is the great judge.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5,

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ

so that each one may receive what is due

for what he has done in the body,

whether good or evil.

All of us will stand before that great judge.

The question is this,

will we be able to stand and remain or not?

Only those who have faith in Jesus Christ

because Jesus is the one who takes our punishment

and his death on the cross

and who lives the perfect life

that we could not live as a man here on this earth.

And so our hope and our only hope

is that we're able to claim him

when we face this ancient of days.

So the question is this,

the kingdom is coming,

will you be part of it or not?

Will you repent and have faith in Jesus Christ or not?

There are two kingdoms and only two kingdoms.

There are two options and only two options.

Because no matter what the nations do,

we know that there's a judge

and we know that there's a king.

In her book,

A Beginner's Guide to America,

a woman named Ruya Hakakian

tells about the experience

of people who are immigrants to this place,

experiencing America for the first time

and understanding what it's like

to be torn between two worlds.

And she talks about being torn between two worlds

when it comes to knowing what time zone we're in.

She says this,

people who are not homesick

set their clocks to the standard time

of their own region.

So we set our time,

clocks to mountain time here, right?

But in exile,

when homesickness is at as a peak

and every thought chases the next

in a loop of regret,

the hours pass according to the standard time

of the displaced.

Here the body may slouch towards east, west,

north, or south,

but the heart is ever fixed homeward

to the city you just left.

Brothers and sisters,

we live in this world now

and we never forget

the time of the coming kingdom.

We know that we belong in this world

and we also look to the world to come.

We do not hold one or the other,

but we hold both.

We know the time zone we're in now

and we look and long

and hold on to the time zone

that we look forward to.

We look to the time

when the whole world is filled with God's glory,

that our prayer this morning would be answered,

that God's kingdom would come here on earth

as it is in heaven.

We look forward to verse 27,

when the kingdom and the dominion

and the greatness of the kingdoms

under the whole heaven

shall be given to the people

of the saints of the most high.

His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom

and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven,

we thank you for your encouragement

and your reminder to us

that you are the judge and the coming king.

We ask that you would give us hope

and firmness and stability and faith

as we remember that,

that we would cling to your promises

and we believe what you've told us.

We ask all these things

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I invite you to stand for our closing hymn.

Again,

I invite you to stand for our closing hymn now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Take care.

Bye-bye.