Daniel • Week 12

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Good morning. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join me in

Daniel chapter 9. That's where we're going to be this morning as we continue to work through

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

this Old Testament book of Daniel. If you're a first-time guest, we are privileged and honored

that you are here worshiping with us today. At the end of the service, my wife and I will be back

at the Connect table, back here to my left. If you wouldn't mind just stopping by there for just a

moment, we'd love to be able to speak with you. We'd love to be able to welcome you face-to-face,

learn your name, and if by chance you have any questions about Willow Ridge Church, about who

we are, what we do, we would love to be able to answer those for you. Also, I want to echo what

Pastor Dave said. Make sure you come back tonight, 4 to 5.30, Harvest Hangout, bring someone with you.

This event is for all ages. I am kind of excited for tonight. It's looking like earlier in the week,

it gets like a 75% chance of rain. At least last time I looked at it before our nine o'clock

discipleship hour, it looked like that was down to nothing for most of the websites. We're hoping

that the rain will stay away, and I am a little surprised that it started feeling as warm as it

felt. Early this morning, I got up to let the dogs out. It was about 36 degrees outside, and because we

are going to have a dunking booth, because that was someone's idea who didn't think through that very

well. Me, we're going to have that, and we'll be in there. But here's what I want to give you as far

as the dunking booth is concerned, because you might want to make sure that you are available.

So, here's when you get to try to dunk people.

Dawn Coulter, our beloved children's minister, who is just precious, she will be in it from 4 to 4.10.

And if she is wet, by the end of that, shame on you. That's all I'm going to say. None of us deserve

God's love, but Dawn deserves it more than the rest of us on this list, okay? All right, so here's the

rest of us on this list. Joel Van Ham will be in the dunking booth from 4.10 to 4.30, all right?

So, stretch the arms, get good and ready for that. Brent Hawkins. Yeah, when you hear, oh yeah, right?

That's when it's good. That's when it's good. Brent Hawkins will be there from 4.30 to 4.50. And he said

something about this morning that if you play softball for one of the high schools, you're probably not

any good and probably couldn't hit the target. He said something like that. So, you might want to be

there. Isn't that what you said, Brent? Close, close, close enough, close enough. Kyle Watts. I know some

of you want to throw things at Kyle. Kyle will be in there from 4.50 to 5.10. And then lastly, guys,

I'm not feeling good today. I woke up. I got a little something going on here. So, Michelle Schultz,

she just spoke up. Michelle Schultz is going to be in there from 5.10 to 5.30. And we're going to move

whoever's throwing it to within three feet for Michelle. Now, I'll be in there from 5.10 to 5.30.

And you will have to at least be able to throw a baseball 75 yards in order to be able to hit it

when I'm in there. Now, we're going to have that. It'll be a fun time tonight. This event is for all

ages. And, you know, somebody asked me, is there going to be anyone else in the Duncan booth? And

here's what I'll say. For enough money, we will put anyone in it. All right? So, just come with cash.

This is no cash app situation. Like, we want cash and we'll get them in there. But we'll look forward

to having you guys with us tonight. All ages, come out, invite people. A wonderful, wonderful time of

fellowship. And so, come out there and soak everyone but Dawn. Don't do that to her. And

then at the end of the service, we will partake in the Lord's Supper together. So, hopefully,

you got one of the element cups as you came in. If you didn't, that's okay. You can go right now and

you can pick those up. They're right at the very back, kind of behind the camera at the entrance of

where you came in. And then we will partake in this together. This is for anyone who's a follower of

Jesus Christ, whether you're a member of our church or not. So, we would love to have you

partake with us if you feel well. I want to read from you this morning in Daniel 9, verse 3.

Daniel 9:3

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy,

with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Would you pray with me?

God, may the words of Daniel

in verse 3

be the position of our hearts.

May it be the declaration of our spirits.

That God, this morning,

it is only

by your goodness and your grace

that we're allowed another moment.

It's only through the work of Christ,

Lord, that we're welcomed into your presence.

And so, God, may our songs of praise

be sweetness

to your ears.

God, may we come to you

humble.

May we come to you

ready to receive

not what we

in and of ourselves

desire,

but, Lord,

what you have for us.

God, I pray

that I will be faithful

to your word

as you are faithful

to us.

And, God,

if there's anyone here

who does not know Christ

as their Lord and Savior,

today will be the day

of their salvation.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Daniel 9,

for the first,

probably two-thirds

of Daniel 9,

is going to deal

with a prayer

that Daniel offers

on behalf of his people.

Daniel, as we've seen

looking back at

Daniel chapter 1,

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Daniel chapter 2,

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Daniel chapter 6,

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

is the man

who's founded

and has a strong

foundation of faith

but is rooted in prayer.

That we see

from Daniel

that Daniel

in Daniel 1,

when Daniel

resolves

that this is what

he will be,

that this is what

he'll do,

that we see

that he is a man

of prayer.

In Daniel chapter 2,

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

when we see

that Daniel has to

not only figure out

the proper interpretation

of the Babylonian king

Nebuchadnezzar's dream

but that Daniel

has to figure out

what the prayer is.

If not,

it could cost him

his life.

We find in that moment

that Daniel

is a man of prayer.

In Daniel chapter 6,

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

what we see

in Daniel,

that Daniel

makes it

to the lion's den

because Daniel

is faithful

in prayer.

and so we see

this act

of Daniel

continuously

throughout

the book

of Daniel

so far

but then what

we get

is an insight

into the heart

of the man

who is offering

these prayers,

this intercession

for his people

to his God

and it's a beautiful

picture of what

we will find.

It was very

convicting

for me

this week

to ask for

and to lean

into the Holy Spirit

to show me

am I a person

who prays

or am I a person

of prayer?

Am I a person

who prays

or am I a person

of prayer?

And what I would

find in the conviction

of the Holy Spirit

within me

is all too often

that I will be

a person

who prays

but what God

desires

within me

of what God

wants to grow

me into

is that I be

more of a person

of prayer.

That my prayers

are more centered

and focused

in on who

he is

and what he

has done

and the glory

of God

in my life.

And so we're

going to be

welcomed into

to be able

to see this

prayer from Daniel.

So would you

join me?

We'll read

the first two

verses of

Daniel 9.

In the first

year of Darius

the son

of Aharasus

I didn't pronounce

that correctly

at all.

I practiced

that all

morning.

Ahasuerus

by descent

Amid

who was made

king over

the realm

of the Chaldeans

in the first

year of his reign.

I, Daniel,

perceived

in the books

the number

of years

that according

to the word

of the Lord

to Jeremiah

the prophet

must pass

before the end

of the desolations

of Jerusalem

namely

seven years.

I want to ask you

this morning

what prompts

you to pray?

What prompts

you to pray?

What causes you

in those moments

in those days

in the times

of your life

to make the choice

to come to God

in prayer?

What we see here

from Daniel

as we get a glimpse

into his prayer life

is that for Daniel

prayer is a response

to God's word

and submission

to God's will.

Prayer is a response

to God's word

and submission

to God's will.

So again

I ask you the question

what prompts you

to pray?

There can be

many reasons

many instances

that prompt

you and I

to pray.

Do you find

yourself praying

from circumstance

whether it be

a positive

or a negative

circumstance

that is in your life

and the response

of those

is to come

before the Lord

to pray?

Do you pray

from routine?

Are you

early in the morning

a late at night

before a meal

with your family

or maybe even

you've locked

into a task?

I hear people say

often you know

that some of the time

that they can spend

in worship

or in prayer

is in their drive

to work in the morning

right?

Like they will

take that time

set it apart

keep their eyes

open ten and two

and pray to the Lord

right?

Do we pray

from need?

Do we pray

from need?

Is need

what prompts you?

That there's

something that's lacking

there's something

that you desire

there's something

that you long for

and so you make

it known to God.

In Daniel chapter 9

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

we see this very

interesting aspect

within Daniel

so Daniel has not

yet begun to pray

but instead

it lets us know

the setting

in which Daniel

will be prompted

to pray.

We find Daniel

reading the word

of God.

In verse 2

it says

Daniel

perceived

in the books.

This is his scriptures.

Daniel couldn't go

and pick up a copy

of the Bible

right?

This is what he has

and Daniel was spending

his time

in God's word

reading the word

of God

and specifically

from what we will find

reading the prophet

Jeremiah.

And while reading

the prophet Jeremiah

Daniel comes

onto the understanding

that the desolations

or the exile

of God's people

would last

for 70 years.

You can find this

you can read it

in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 25

talks about this

and Jeremiah 29

talks about this

as well.

So here's what's

kind of cool

when we look

and see

and we picture

and we piece

through

why God does

what God does

in his word

so that he can

communicate things

to us

thousands of years

later who weren't

even around

when this happened

and took place.

I don't know

if you've ever

wondered this

but it seems

that almost

every single

chapter in Daniel

begins with a

time stamp.

Begins with a

time stamp.

You know this

king is in rule

and rules over

this certain amount

of time

and these events

are happening

and take place.

So here's what

we can kind of

deduce from

working some

math as we've

read through

the book of Daniel

and aligning it

with the course

of history.

We know that

Daniel was

exiled as a

teenage boy

probably in

around the year

605 B.C.

based off of

the time stamp

of Daniel 1.

And then we

learn from the

time stamp of

Daniel chapter 9

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

that it's about

538 B.C.

So what we

find here in

this time is

that Daniel

and his

people are

somewhere around

60 to 67

years of

exile

depending on

when you

believe God

started his

clock for the

exile to begin.

Remember all

the way back in

chapter 1 there

were three

different instances

where the

Babylonians came

into Judah.

They took the

first group in

the first exile

they took the

second group in

the second time

and then they

took the third

group there.

And there are

theologians that

argued does it

start at the

first, does it

start at the

third.

Either way 60

to 67 years

is where we

find this.

And Daniel

now as a

man in his

80s

begins to

read

and begins

to see

and Daniel

through the

reading of

God's word

begins to

have the

tugging of

his heart

that this

exile is

coming to

an end.

Daniel

who we

talk about

the success

of Daniel

Daniel's been

successful

throughout the

exile.

Daniel's risen

to high levels

within the

government both

under the

Babylonian

government and

the Medo-Persian

empire both as

well.

Daniel's been a

who's who.

He's been a

person to know.

He's been a

person who's been

very closely

connected with

the king.

But through it

all he's faced

hardship, he's

faced death, and

through it all

Daniel has

remained

faithful.

Daniel hasn't

gotten bitter

to what he's

walked through.

Daniel hasn't

gotten negative

to God for

what God has

allowed.

In fact what

God has

purposed.

Daniel has not

been persuaded

by the culture

to walk away

and what we

find is that

Daniel comes

to God's

word and

in God's

word finds

out God's

will and

then as a

result of that

is driven

to God

in prayer.

Do you

struggle to

pray?

Do you

struggle to

pray?

Find that

oftentimes that

men and women

when we're

talking to

them with

fellow believers

right?

Like prayer

is something

that people

struggle with

that people

wrestle with

and so I

ask you this

morning do you

struggle to

pray?

The Bible's

gracious to us

God's gracious

to us.

The Bible

tells us in

Romans 8 that

the Holy Spirit

prays for us

when we don't

know what to

pray for.

So that gives

us some comfort

right?

That gives us

some comfort for

you and I

that when our

words are lacking

and the

groanings of

the world

that we

live in

that God

and the

power of

the Holy

Spirit of

what he

works for

and what

he does

and how

he moves

in our

life as

he intercedes

for us

on our

behalf in

his groanings

when we

don't know

what to

pray.

But I

read this

from one

of the

authors

this week

talking about

this passage

of scripture.

He said

but is there

more to it

for you

and I?

He said

do you

struggle

to pray

not simply

because you

don't know

what to

pray for

but do you

struggle to

pray because

you don't

know the

scripture as

you should?

Do you

struggle to

pray because

you don't

find yourself

in a

positioning

and desire

and dependence

on the

very word

of God?

Do you

struggle to

pray because

when you do

read God's

word you

treat it as

a task

to be

pushed

through

and not

an opportunity

to meditate

on the

truth of

God's

word?

Do you

struggle to

know God's

word and

so do you

then struggle

to pray

God's

word?

I thought

about this

a lot

this week

of what

it would

look like

if I

came to

God's

word

to know

the truth

of God

to surrender

to the

will

of God

and so

that I

then know

how to

pray to

God

delight

yourself

in the

Lord

and he

will give

you the

desires

of your

heart

delight

yourself

in the

will

and the

way

of God

and God

will not

change

what he's

going to

do

but he'll

change the

heart of

the person

who offers

the prayer

I want

to try

this exercise

with you

this morning

we'll try

this exercise

of what

does it

look like

to come

to God

in God's

word

and then

pray to

God

I want

to read

to you

a verse

this morning

of what

this could

look like

when you

and I

as the

people

of God

come to

God's

word

to understand

God's

will

for our

lives

and then

to seek

to pray

to God

as a result

Romans 8

28

a very

common verse

I'll have

this verse

on the

screen

behind us

and it

says

and we

know

that for

those

who

love

God

all

things

work

together

for

good

for

those

who

are

called

according

to his

purpose

well how

can we

begin

to

pray

this

how

can we

let

this

be

the

declaration

of

our

heart

and not

just

the

pursuit

of

what

we

read

well

the

first

question

that I

would

ask

you

as

you

evaluate

this

word

this

verse

that's

on the

screen

as you

evaluate

this

word

from

the

Lord

as you

evaluate

this

verse

that he

has

for

you

is

how

does

this

hit

your

mind

what

are you

instantly

drawn

to

what

begins

to

penetrate

into

the

wanderings

and the

curiosities

what is

the truth

that you

find

here

so

some ones

that I'll

just draw

out for

you

as I

prayed

through

this

for

myself

this

morning

and

we

know

and

we

know

here's

how

this

hits

my

mind

that

there

is

truth

in

God's

word

that

there

are

things

that

we

cannot

just

simply

hope

for

as

longing

that

this

might

take

place

but

you

and

I

there's

certainty

in the

promise

of the

word

of

God

and

we

know

and

then

we

continue

on

that

for

those

who

love

God

that

there's

a

beauty

in

the

relationship

that

a

holy

God

has

with

an

imperfect

people

that

when

we

are

saved

by

Christ

for

those

who

love

him

that

there's

this

reciprocal

relationship

that

God

longs

and

desires

to

have

with

us

for

those

who

love

God

all

things

work

together

for

good

I'll

go

back

to

what

Josh

talked

about

this

summer

as he

preached

through

this

verse

in

her

summer

series

right

like

all

things

means

all

things

all

things

means

all

things

and

God's

working

them

all

for

the

good

for

those

who

were

called

according

to

his

purpose

first

God's

will

it's

God's

plan

not

for

those

who

were

called

according

to

their

purpose

but

for

those

who

were

called

according

to

his

purpose

so

we

read

God's

word

it

settles

in

the

mind

and

now

as I

move it

from

the

mind

how

does

it

settle

with

the

heart

how

does

it

settle

with

the

heart

anybody

ever

struggle

with

faith

from

time

to

time

anybody

else

other

than

me

and we

see

that God

I need

to be

desperate

for

you

that

Lord

in the

areas

of

my

life

where

I'm

inconsistent

and believe

in your

word

God

through the

power of

your

Holy

Spirit

Lord

make

me

know

God

your

word

says

and for

those

who

love

God

God

there

are

things

in my

life

that

I

long

for

and

that

I

love

and

that

I

desire

that

I've

made

greater

than

you

that

I've

been

more

desperate

for

than

you

God

create

in

me

and

grow

within

me

a

deepening

love

for

you

that

is

second

to

none

that

all

things

work

together

for

the

good

God

here's

the

laundry

list

of

things

that

I

see

in

my

life

and

God

I

don't

see

the

good

Lord

I'm

confused

in

the

circumstances

God

I'm

faithless

in

the

outcomes

God

help

me

when

I

can't

see

to

trust

for

those

who

are

called

according

to

his

purpose

God

at the

end of

the day

at the

beginning

of the

morning

and

every

time

in

between

God

may I

surrender

my will

to

your

will

and

that

God

may I

live

for

your

purpose

above

my

own

what

would

it

be

like

in

your

life

and

in

my

life

if

we

came

to

God's

word

not

as

a

means

of

a

check

box

of

what

I

must

accomplish

during

this

five

minute

time

as

I

sip

on

my

coffee

but

what

if

we

came

to

it

with

an

expectation

of

driving

us

to

him

in

prayer

let's

keep

reading

in

Daniel

Daniel 9:3

9

verse

3

Daniel

says

then I

turned

my

face

to

the

Lord

seeking

him

by

prayer

and

pleas

for

mercy

with

fasting

and

sackcloth

and

ashes

the

second

thing

that

we

begin

to

understand

about

prayer

in

the

life

of

Daniel

is

prayer

is

humble

persistence

prayer

is

humble

persistence

Daniel's

going to

give

three

actions

that

we

see

here

that

he

enters

into

during

his

time

of

prayer

and

these

actions

that

Daniel

enters

into

I

think

this

is

important

are

not

actions

that

are

done

in

order

to

change

Daniel

you

see

these

aren't

things

that

Daniel's

going

to

do

to

punish

himself

these

aren't

things

that

Daniel's

going

to do

to pay

for

his

sins

but

instead

what

we

find

is

that

these

actions

that

he's

going

to

do

will

be

a

reflection

of

who

he

has

already

become

of

who

he

is

before

God

the

first

thing

is

that

he

turned

his

face

to

God

he

turned

his

face

to

God

Daniel

in

this

moment

takes

direct

action

in

order

to

come

to

God

in

prayer

you

see

this

is

an

intentional

moment

with

who

he

is

he

turns

his

face

to

God

should

we

pray

without

ceasing

absolutely

the Bible

tells us

to do

that

should

you

engage

in a

continual

on and

on

conversation

with the

Lord

throughout

your

day

from

the time

you wake

up

to

the

time

that

you

go

to

bed

absolutely

but

what

we

find

in

the

life

of

Daniel

is

that

there

is

an

intentionality

in

who

he

is

to

make

sure

at

this

time

that

everything

else

does

not

matter

and

Daniel

turns

his

face

to

God

communicating

is

communicating

it

doesn't

matter

how

we

do

it

let

me

prove

you

wrong

on

that

fellas

it's

your

anniversary

you've

been

married

25

years

you

wake

up

that

morning

you

see

your

wife

she's

standing

there

as

you

walk

out

the

door

to

head

to

work

and

you

walk

past

her

you're

a little

tired

you're

a little

grumpy

and

you

go

what's

for

dinner

tonight

and

then

later

on

you

think

oh

there's

some

important

things

that

I

need

to

say

let

me

just

shoot

that

in

a

text

message

to

her

and

send

it

on

and

that's

good

enough

I've

communicated

now

hopefully

I've

just

painted

a

hypothetical

that

none

of

our

guys

in

here

have

ever

done

if

you're

thinking

the

hypothetical

that

I

just

laid

out

should

be

the

response

of

everyone

Dave

has

some

counseling

hours

that

will

be

open

up

this

week

that

we

would

love

for

you

to

come

and

take

a

part

of

no

no

no

it's

the

intentionality

of

the

conversation

it's

the

intentionality

of

making

sure

that

there's

time

between

she

and

I

it's

the

intentionality

of

the

word

it's

not

that

I'm

just

giving

her

quotes

as

I

pass

by

throughout

the

day

but

that

there

becomes

a

point

in

time

in

my

life

that

the

woman

who

I'm

in

covenant

relationship

with

and

she's

in

covenant

relationship

with

me

that

we

have

an

intentionality

of

communication

and

if

that's

important

in

this

relationship

then

how

much

more

important

for

us

is it

in

this

Daniel

turned

his

face

to

God

we've

seen

Daniel

do

this

before

Daniel

6

10

when

Daniel

knew

that

the

document

had

been

signed

he

went

to

his

house