Second Wave | Pastor Josh Thomas

Well, good morning, United City.

It's good to be with you.

Uh my name.

Oh, yeah, we can clap.

Sure, one number.

Let's come up.

Let's come.

Y'all gonna y'all gonna hype me up too much.

Y'all ain't gonna get back at 1:30.

Y'all keep clapping like that.

It's gonna be a fun time.

Uh, if I've not had the pleasure of meeting you, my name is Joshua, and uh I am the worship pastor here at United City Church.

Thank you so much.

Uh, it has certainly been a journey.

Lily Grace and I have been praying about it for a while.

We didn't want to make a decision in haste, but uh just over the years we have seen that this is the next step, and we are so, so, so excited about it.

I do want to take a moment uh and say to the young adult ministry at United City, uh, thank you so much for allowing me to lead you for just a few years.

Um, the ministry grew and I did too.

Uh, just as much as you guys learned from me, I hope I learned so much from you, and from the bottom of my heart to everybody in this room that had a hand in that, I cannot tell you how deeply grateful and appreciative I am for you.

I pray for you, and I believe God's hand is still moving in the life of our young adult ministry.

When it comes to worship, Pastor, I'm real excited about it.

And a lot of people have been like, oh, this is so great.

And I'm just like, oh gosh, they have an email to send stuff to now.

And I just continue to send those to CCoube at United City.church, please.

Please, please, please.

Hey, we're gonna be in the book of Daniel today, is where we'll be.

And as you guys are getting, I just want to take a moment to welcome everybody uh that is tuning in online.

A special shout out to all of our men and women at all of our correctional facilities.

Good morning to you.

Uh, good morning to everybody that is in this building, but not in this room.

We've got an overflow space.

Thank you so much for being here as well.

And a special shout out to my family tuning in in Mississippi.

Hey, love y'all so much.

Thank y'all for being here too.

Well, happy new year's, I suppose, right?

It's that weird week in between Christmas and New Year's where you like eat like pecan pie and ice cream for breakfast, you know, and you just don't even get out of bed, right?

It's just a fun time, right?

Um, and as we're stepping into this new year, uh, and I'm stepping into a new role, I'm like, you know what?

It's it's probably a good idea for you know my church family to know me just a little bit more.

I've been around for a while, but something you guys may not know about me is how much I love movies.

Man, I love movies.

I love a good movie.

Uh, I love the storytelling, I love the character arc that comes with a good movie.

I love the slow build of the plot.

I love how the actor or the actress can they can just kind of pull you into the story, right?

Like you feel what they feel, you understand what they're going through, you are on the edge of your seat.

Uh, the moment seems lost and then something shifts.

I would say that my favorite moment, though, in these films is what I want to call the second win.

Y'all know what I'm talking about?

It's the it's it's when the hero, it's when they get their second win.

They dig deep, right?

They remember who they are.

This is um Master Sh, this is uh Master Shifu with Kung Fu Panda.

This is uh Coach Boone in Remember the Titans, right?

This is uh Nick Fury in the Avengers, right?

They just kind of get their second win, they rise up and they they take charge and they usually win.

Um, my favorite of these, though, the Lion King.

Disney's 19, yes, right?

You got Simba, disheartened.

He's hiding, he's unsure of, he's unsure of himself, he feels defeated, he feels disappointed, right?

But then Mufasa appears, and with that iconic voice from James Earl Jones, we get the voice of a generation and he delivers that iconic line, Simba.

Remember who you are.

And the moment changes everything, but if you look at it, nothing about Simba's circumstances changes immediately, but something inside of him does.

I wonder what that is.

It's called encouragement.

Encouragement has weight, church.

In fact, I would say that encouragement has power.

You know, it's interesting.

Scientists have taken a look at the power of encouragement as well, and what they have found is that science actually backs this up.

Uh, did you know that encouragement actually activates the same area of the brain that is associated with safety and security?

That when you are encouraged, you feel safe.

Encouragement can literally reduce physical pain in the body.

Now, before you go argue me on that, we have all seen a two-year-old slam straight into a wall and you're like, ooh.

And then they look at you as if they need permission to cry, right?

And you're like, hey, you got this, you got this.

And like, oh, I got this, right?

Right?

Right?

It reduces physical pain in the body.

Conversely, maybe on a more serious note, a chronic lack of encouragement actually registers in the brain the same way that social rejection and isolation do.

When you've gone a prolonged amount of time and you haven't been encouraged by somebody, it feels as if you're alone.

Does anybody see me?

And over time, what scientists have actually realized is that the body actually stores up encouragement, building what researchers call a resilience buffer for heart seasons.

Then in the hard times, people can actually look back to moments that they felt encouraged and they can get through it.

In other words, church, encouragement, it doesn't just feel good, it does good.

Now, why did I tell you that this morning?

See, if we were to take a quick assessment of this year, and I would just ask you, hey, thumbs up, thumbs down, how was this year for you?

You probably get some mixed reviews.

For some of you, this year was great.

You'd be like, Josh, thumbs up.

For some of you, you say thumbs down, bad Yelp review.

I'm never coming back.

Get me out of here as quickly as I possibly can, right?

Uh for me, uh, 2025 was a good year.

It was good.

But it was fast.

It was fast.

I feel like we were just here this time last year, but it was also strange.

Just a strange year.

Uh, there were some moments that made us stop and look twice.

There were some moments that made us scratch our heads, there were some moments that we didn't plan for, didn't expect, or didn't even ask for a diagnosis, a promotion, a loss in the family.

And this morning, I the truth is that I don't know what you're carrying with you into this room, but the question is, what has that led you to believe about God?

See, the interesting thing in the West is that we often equate quality of life to the quality of God's character.

That if this year was good, then God must have been good to me.

But if this year was bad, what did I do?

Is God angry with me?

Is God upset with me?

This year didn't go as I thought it would.

What have I done to upset God?

What have I done?

Is he absent?

Is he distant?

The truth is, I don't know what you're carrying with you in this room this morning, but in the time we have together today, I want to do one simple thing, church.

I want to encourage you.

Just want to speak life over you.

And if it was the breath of God that spoke life into us in the beginning, then the most effective way that I can encourage you today is yet again with the word of God.

Especially and specifically looking at the life of Daniel.

Daniel.

Oh Daniel.

See, if you grew up in church, then this young man, he needs no introduction.

He's actually one of the few people in scripture whose life we get to see across multiple seasons.

Most scholars actually believe that we catch glimpses of Daniel's life from his preteen years all the way into his 80s.

Here's what that should mean for everybody in the room today.

No matter what age you are, 8 to 80, no matter what chapter of life you may find yourself in, there is something in today's word for you.

Ironically, today is a character study, but it's not of Daniel.

No, it's about the God of Daniel.

And so the next few minutes, I want to take a look and I want to give you three moments in Daniel's life and give you three encouragements, three uh three mufasa statements, if you will, that you can hold on to in the good, the bad, the strange, and the unknown.

So that as I encourage you, you can leave feeling just a bit more safe.

That in the hard seasons, you can look back on this as a resilience buffer.

That we can put into practice what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5.11, that we can encourage the saints to build one another up.

It is good to be with the how with the saints of God in the house of God.

And all God's people said, Amen, amen.

Let's dive into it.

The first encouragement that we see from the life of Daniel is this God will sustain you.

God will sustain you.

Daniel chapter 1, beginning in verse 3, reads this way Then the king commanded Asphanaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, use without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and competent, to stand in the king's palace and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Okay, now what I need you to know from the rib is that we're gonna cover a lot of scripture today, and I'm leaving a lot of meat on the bone in the life of Daniel.

And so I would encourage you at some point go back and read this incredible story.

Because I'm only hitting some high points today.

But the implication of this is important.

See, in Daniel chapter one, we're introduced to a young Daniel, most likely still a teenager.

He's been carried away into captivity, he's been removed from his home, his culture, his language, and his freedom.

And this is important to know because the thing with Babylonian people is that when they conquer a nation, they don't just take the land, they take its identity.

They intentionally target the youngest and brightest, attempting to re-educate, rename, and reform them indoctrination at its finest.

And usually what they do is that they try to go for their diet first.

You know what that tells you?

That when you consume the wrong thing, you become the wrong thing.

And so what happens is they start to put the king's royal diet in front of Daniel and these boys.

But look with me in Daniel chapter 1, beginning in verse 8, to see a young Daniel's response.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank.

Therefore, he asked the chief eunuch to allow him to defile himself and not to defile himself.

And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.

You know, we don't exactly know who shaped Daniel's faith.

Scripture doesn't name his parents, they don't name his teachers.

I personally would like to believe that it was faithful parents who followed the God of Israel, maybe a synagogue leader.

But one thing that Scripture does make plainly clear is this somebody taught Daniel to follow the God of Israel.

Somebody showed him what obedience and integrity look like even under pressure, and Daniel makes a decision.

He opts out of the royal diet.

Now, if you know the story, his overseer doesn't admire this conviction.

He actually pushes back because if these young men don't stay healthy, then his life is on the line.

And so he's hoping that Daniel will cave.

And honestly, you might be here today and you might agree with that logic and say, well, yeah, Josh, if you give him a few years out of mom and dad's house, if you get him away from some authority and some and from some rules for a little second, he'll change, right?

But Daniel doesn't.

In fact, if you look in Daniel chapter 1, beginning in verse 12, Daniel says, Test your servants for 10 days.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youth who eat the king's food be observed by you, and you deal with your servants according to what you see.

See, if you look closely, Daniel's trying to tell you something in this text.

What I love about Daniel here is that he's not blindly following rules, he's faithfully trusting his God.

This is a proven and tested obedience.

He understands something crucial.

Holiness is often countercultural.

Sometimes a green light in faith is a red flag to the world.

And yet Daniel chooses to trust that God will sustain him in church.

That's exactly what God does.

The story continues, and scripture tells us that Daniel and his fellow Israelites were healthier, stronger, and in better condition than everybody else around them.

And church, here's what that should tell you today.

Whether you're heading into sixth grade, whether you're heading into high school, back to college, the workforce, or a retirement paradise, when you live life God's way, you get God's favor.

You get God's blessing.

You get God's sustaining power.

Can I tell you something?

You don't have to hunt for compromise.

Just take your eyes off Jesus and you're already there.

I heard a man, uh, a wise mentor tell me one time, Josh, it's important that you realize that secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven.

You can hide it from people, but you can't hide it from the one that created you.

Compromise is always close, usually right around the corner.

But if you stay the course of obedience, God is faithful to sustain you.

And so if I can encourage you with any verse, let it be 2 Chronicles 16, 9.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is fully committed to him.

God is not looking for perfect people, but he is looking for committed ones.

And the question is simple Will you be found in that number?

You know, the second encouragement we see from the life of Daniel is this God will keep you.

God will keep you.

Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

You know, see, Daniel's more than likely stepped fully into his professional career, and there's a new king in town.

And to be fair, this king is pretty impressive.

He goes by the name of King Nebuchadnezzar.

He's credited with some of Babylon's greatest ancient achievements known to man.

He is powerful, he is influential, he is accomplished.

And in chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar resolves that everybody within his jurisdiction across the entire Babylonian Empire, regardless of province or position, is required to bow down and worship him.

Take a look with me in Daniel chapter 3, beginning in verse 4.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

And the herald proclaimed aloud, You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, wire, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a fiery, burning furnace.

You know, small note on humility here, because as I was studying for this, I was like, hmm.

Humility matters, friends, because pride forgets that the only reason that you can create anything is because you yourself were created.

Pride convinces you that praise is owed to you, praise is owed to you rather than the one who formed and created you.

And so this king in his pride, he demands that everyone bow down and worship him.

And what you need to know is that this just isn't a political move, this is a spiritual move.

See, the Babylonians believe that their kings, that their um, that their authority figures had special divine powers, that they weren't just kings, no, but they possessed divine authority, that they were granted supernatural power, wisdom, and insight.

So this merely wasn't a professional move in obedience, it was deeply personal.

But in Daniel chapter 3, beginning in verse nine, we see with great clarity the stance of these Hebrew boys.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Well, you pick up with me in Daniel chapter 3, beginning in verse nine.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

They declare to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever.

You, O King, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, they shall fall down and worship this golden image.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

And what you need to know, King, is that there are some certain Jews who you have appointed over the affairs of the provinces of Babylon, Shad, Rad, Meshach, and Abin uh Abednego.

I usually say Abily Goat, but it's wrong church.

And what he says is, these men, they pay no attention to you.

They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

See, Daniel and his boys, they refuse to bow to this pagan king or his pagan statue.

And I want to camp here for a moment because there's something important for us that I want you to see.

See, by this point in their professional careers, they have climbed the corporate ladder and amassed a great life for themselves.

Because of their obedience to God, the benefit package that comes with their position is quite legit.

Um better housing, often within or near administrative centers, consistent food provision from rural stores, which means that even though they may be outcasts, they're not living on famine living.

Financial security through stipends, land access or tribute.

They have a certain social status and a legal protection.

They have access to the best education and access to the king's royal court.

And I just want to level with this room for just a moment.

Because whether you realize it or not, friends, this is the American dream.

It's what many of us were raised to pursue, to secure for ourselves and for our families.

The reality of this text is that it's what many of us want, it's what many of us have actually gained.

And please hear me, there's nothing wrong with that.

But the tension that is faced in this text is that many of us would take a knee if it interfered with the life and convenience we've always wanted.

Some of you would be thinking in that moment, bro, just bow.

What's the big deal?

Just bow.

You've got everything that you've asked for and more.

Just bow.

What's the big deal?

It's a pagan king, just bow and get it over with.

Can I tell you something, church?

The just bow mentality is how many Christians have fallen out of love with their God and their faith.

Compromise in the small moments eventually produce a callous and contrite heart in the big moments.

You don't hear God the same way, you don't see God the same way.

You start to feel more entitlement than you do reverence.

And personally, I like to think that I wouldn't, if I'm just being honest with folks in church today, I feel like we can do that in this place.

But when my faith and my lifestyle aren't aligned, then I'm forced to choose.

You're forced to choose.

We're forced to choose.

But what we see in this text is that Daniel and his friends, they still choose the furnace over their fortune.

Hashtag we truly are better together.

They fully understand that God is not obligated to save them from pain or suffering.

They actually know the decision could cost them their lives, but in they go.

They actually tell the king, long live the king, and we know that our God is capable of saving us from this furnace.

Yet, even if he does not, that still does not grant you permission, and we still will not bow and bend the knee to you.

They understand the full cost of what they're doing.

You know, it also leads me to believe something else.

Sometimes obedience doesn't keep you from the fire, it's actually the very thing that sends you into it.

So, can I preach to somebody for just a moment?

Because you're coming in here today and you're a little hurt because 2025 didn't go the way you wanted it to.

You're a little upset, you're a little mad, you feel like God is upset with you, you feel like you're angry, and you're just on a tight spot.

Can I tell you something?

Indicate uh pain and suffering is not indicative of God's abandonment.

It just might be that He's standing right next to you in a hard season, right before a hallelujah.

Because what we see is that it was these boys, it was their obedience that sent them into the fire.

It was their love of God that sent them into the fire.

Which means that your holiness, the lives that we choose to live, they should be rooted in reverence.

It should not be rooted in reward because these boys aren't rewarded for their faith in this moment.

And I need you to hear me.

Their holiness was rooted in reverence, it wasn't rooted in reward.

Because we live in the West, we have such a performative base faith that if we do something, we automatically feel that we get something.

But when these boys did something, it sent them into a very unpleasant place.

But in Daniel chapter 3, verse 24, it tells us a very different story.

Daniel 3:24

Picking up in verse 24, it says, Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and he rose up in haste.

He declared to his counselors, Did I not throw three men into the fire?

I could see this happening.

He probably had on glasses.

He was like, something is not right.

They answered and said to the king, True, O king, he said and answered, Well, if that be true, then why do I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire, and they're not hurt?

And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

In haste, he actually calls the boys out of the fire.

And what we see is that the boys are saved, and the king is astonished.

But the deepless implication of this story to me is this the most precious thing to these men, the most precious thing to these men, it wasn't their status, it wasn't their job, it wasn't even their lives, it was their relationship with the Father.

Before these boys went into the furnace, they had already resolved to believe God's presence in my life is enough.

He will keep me.

The fact that he has made himself available to me, that's enough.

Church, let me encourage you today.

He's enough.

No matter your situation, he's enough.

No matter the financial strain, he's enough.

No matter your parenting frustrations, he's enough.

No matter the ugly divorce, he is enough.

No matter the diagnosis, he's enough.

No matter the anxiety, he's enough.

No matter the family strain, he's enough.

No matter the uncertainty, he's enough.

No matter the state of world affairs, church, he is enough.

No matter your situation, he is enough.

His presence, his existence, his hand in your life, it is enough.

Jesus says in Matthew chapter 11 that he offers you more rest.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

More than just for your schedule.

He offers you a rest for your soul.

And this isn't just a verse for daily provision or for a good nap.

No, it's a deep promise, a promise of deep, soul-quenching water that can satisfy even the deepest crevices of our hollow hearts.

And so Christ is enough.

And so turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in his wonderful face.

And the things of earth, they will and they do grow strangely dim in the light of his glory.

And his grace.

Christ will keep you.

God will keep you.

The last encouragement that I want to highlight today from the life of Daniel God will protect you.

God will protect you.

Much later.

He survived with honor multiple kings.

He's continued to rise in influence.

And now he is well into the later years of his life.

But in this chapter, see the tension doesn't come from a king.

It comes from his colleagues.

These are men who have watched the Jew and outsiders surpass them for most of their lives.

Y'all can almost see it.

This tension beginning in their schoolyard days to professional spaces, and yet somehow Daniel is still beating us.

Somehow Daniel is still getting the promotion.

Somehow Daniel is still rising in the ranks over us, and he's not even one of us.

And so finally, these men decide to end Daniel with the very thing that he holds most dear, his faith.

Daniel chapter 6, beginning in verse 4.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom.

But they could find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him.

These men said, We shall not find any ground for complaint against Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.

And so they convinced the king to sign a law that punishes anyone who prays to any God or man other than King Darius for thirty days.

Now, here's what's really hilarious to me that the spirit just kind of like threw in my mind as I was putting this together, and I just typed it in my notes.

It said, What's hilarious to me is that these men think they can get Daniel to compromise in 30 days when his rap sheet shows decades of unwavering faithfulness.

It's almost comical.

Daniel 6, beginning in verse 10.

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house.

He had a window in his upper chamber, he opened it toward Jerusalem, he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had previously done.

Now, what I need you to see is that this is not a political move.

This is not a political stance that Daniel is taking.

He's not being rebellious.

Daniel's actually being faithful.

It's a quiet obedience in the same direction that Eugene Peterson says.

It's the faith that sustains him for 30 years that will sustain him now.

Church, can I tell you something?

If you want to be the faithful man or woman that you choose to be at 80 years old, start today.

Start today.

Sow seeds today for trees tomorrow.

His colleagues, they catch him in the act, and once again, Daniel is brought before a king, and here's what that communicates to me and to everybody in the room.

Holiness has no age limit.

Obedience has no expiration date.

Temptation knows no age limit.

No one is too old for the pruning and refining hand of God because church, everybody has a net.

Which also means that your faith may cost you later in life as well.

And for Daniel, it costs him dearly.

Not a fiery furnace this time, but a den of lions.

Scripture tells us that once King Darius hears about this, he is distraught.

But it's been signed with the king's ring.

He can't reverse it.

It's irrevocable.

So Daniel has to go into the lion's den.

And the entire night that Daniel is in the lion's den, the king is fasting, praying, and interceding, possibly even to the God of Daniel.

Y'all, live your life in such a way that people choose to trust your God because of the way that you faithfully trusted in him.

Live your life in such a way that when people need to turn to something for hope, they look to your God and say, Hey, how did you get through that hard season?

How did you get through that loss?

How did you get through that divorce?

How did you get through that sickness?

How did you do it?

Because I'm in need of that right now, and I don't know what God you serve, but I think I need to know him as well.

Let me uh let me speak directly to my seasoned saints for just a moment.

My seasoned saints.

I'm I'm so thankful that we're standing on y'all's shoulders today.

In your old years, in your seasoned years.

Can it be said of you that you have lived your life in such a way that people choose to trust in your God?

That when they see you, they know that it is decades of faithfulness, decades of devotion to a God that you have loved and trusted your whole life.

Do your grandchildren look to you and ask you questions about your God?

Do your great grandchildren look to you and ask you questions about your God?

This is important.

Because what we see in this text is that though Daniel doesn't have any kids that are recorded, what we see is a man of faith.

What we see is a man who is committed to living out the his kingdom faith until he sees Jesus face to face.

From eight to eighty, have you lived your life in such a way that says, My whole life for your glory, my whole world for you, only everything for the honor of your name.

You know, the story of Daniel is one of unwavering faithfulness.

On two sides, actually.

Uh, Daniel's devotion to God, but also God's devotion to Daniel.

Because once again, God shows up.

Daniel chapter 6, beginning in verse 19.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

Then at the break of day, the king arose and he went in haste to the den of lions, and as he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out with a tone of anguish, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God who you serve continually, has he been able to deliver you from the den of lions?

Then Daniel said, I'm here, present.

Right?

My God sent his angel and he shut the lion's mouth, and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him.

And before you, O king, I promise you, I have done no harm.

And with haste, King Dearus gets Daniel out of the pit.

Daniel is saved, his enemy is actually thrown into the pit, and the king issues a decree that everybody must worship the God of Daniel.

What that should tell you is that even in your old years, even in your seasoned years, your faith can't affect change.

You still have influence.

You keep going.

But here's what's wild to me about this whole thing.

Daniel could have gotten away with everything.

Daniel could have fully immersed himself in Babylonian life and lived comfortably, by the way.

But his faithfulness, it echoes throughout the pages of scripture.

And as I come to a close now, the question that I've asked myself time and time again as I've been putting this together what was Daniel's source of encouragement to keep going?

And what was it?

We can rule a few things out.

It wasn't God's favor.

Because that came after his obedience.

So that's not it.

Daniel's not in his reward.

It wasn't the blessing of Babylon.

Why?

Because Daniel was ready to give it all up.

He was ready to give up every fortune he had to go into the furnace.

So it wasn't Babylon's blessing.

It wasn't fear.

Daniel was not scared.

His colleagues tried that.

The chief eunuch, when he was a boy, tried that and they failed.

I don't even believe it was God's blessings alone.

Because scripture never suggests that Daniel's faith was dependent upon God's divine interruption.

So what was it?

See, I believe that Daniel's source of encouragement was a promise.

A promise from where?

From Joshua.

I believe it was a promise that Daniel heard back home as a boy.

Allow me to take you there for just a moment.

See, things are getting dark in Jerusalem.

The people's sin increasing day by day.

Prophets in the screen screaming.

Repent.

Turn back.

God's judgment is coming.

His wrath is upon us.

Babylon is closing in from the north.

War, captivity, slavery, loss, all of these things are imminent.

You must turn back.

Oh Israel, love your God, put away your false idols, turn to me, worship me.

And in the midst of all of this, somewhere along the way, I just gotta believe that somebody grabbed a young Daniel and said, Daniel, you remember the redemptive and restorative plan of God.

The prophets, yes, they spoke of judgment, but they also spoke of restoration.

They spoke about a time where God would make all things right.

They spoke about a time where God would make all things new.

And what I need you to know today is before Babylon ever surrounded Jerusalem, God had already spoken through his prophets, especially Jeremiah, that this exile, it was not accidental, but it was purposeful.

Young Daniel, fearful of his life, unsure of what's about to happen.

He starts to remember the words of the prophet Jeremiah found in Jeremiah 30, chapter 18, that says, Thus says the Lord, behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and I will have compassion on its dwellings.

The city shall be rebuilt on its mounds, and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate, I will multiply them, and they shall not be few.

I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish those who oppress them.

Their prince shall be one of them.

I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me, declares the Lord.

And you shall be my people and I will be your God.

God says, One day I will redeem my people.

One day I will bring them from the land that I have sent them to.

One day I will be their God and they will be my people.

One day I will make all things new.

One day I will redeem them.

One day they will once again walk within the walls of Jerusalem.

One day my people will hear my name, they will humble themselves, they will pray, they will seek my face, they will turn from their wicked ways, and when they do, I will hear from heaven, I will heal their land.

Church, can I encourage you for just a moment?

Mufasa may have told Simba, Simba, you remember who you are.

But God told his people, Israel, you remember who I am.

You remember that I am the God that parted the seeds.

You remember that I am the one that sent my son from heaven.

You remember that I am the one that gave manna from heaven.

You remember Israel.

And he said, My God has not forgotten about me.

My God has not forsaken me.

Oh, this may be a hard season, but it's just a season.

Oh, this may be a hard chapter, but it ain't the end of the book.

Church, can I tell you something?

You may be in a hard season, it ain't the end of your book.

You may be in a hard chapter, but God is still writing it.

God is faithful to sustain.

I don't know what it is that you're ending this year with.

I don't know what it is you're carrying into this room with you, but can I tell you with a deep confidence and a blessed assurance, God will sustain you, God will keep you, God will protect you.

And so for the next minute, can we just collectively say thank you, Jesus, for all you are and all that you've done?

Can you just say thank you, Jesus, for what you've done for every morning, for every open door, God, I call you faithful.

I just want to thank you, Lord, for every mountain, how you've never turned away.

I call you faithful, and I just want to thank you, Lord.

It's an encouragement.

And so if I can leave you with anything today, as you go into time of invitation, if I can encourage you in any way, if Daniel's life can be of any encouragement to you today, let it be that the God you serve longs to interact with you.

That's what we see over the story of Daniel.

Daniel's not expecting God to step in, but God chooses to.

You serve a God that longs to do life with you, you serve a God that longs to step into your life, you serve a God that longs to have divine interruptions, you serve a God who desires to have relationships with you.

The ultimate question, friend, is that have you taken him up on that invitation?

So with every head bowed, there's some of you in this room that you don't need a second wind, you need a fresh wind, you need the Holy Spirit to actually enter into your life, you need God to radically change your life.

That before you can be encouraged by the sustaining power of God, you need to receive the power that raised Jesus from the dead.

You need to give your life to Jesus.

On this, the last Sunday of the year.

Here's the deal: 2025 may have started terrible, but it can end with the angels praising in heaven that hell is lost enough.

If that be you in this room today, you know that I need to give my life to Jesus.

I need to begin a true relationship with the kingdom created me.

If that be you, all I need to do is just raise your hand.

I want to see you, I want to celebrate with you.

Amen.

Praise God, I see you.

For some of you in this room, you need to go ahead and sketch your baptism.

How amazing is it that we get to be encouraged every Sunday here in the United States about somebody taking a step of faith.

Maybe someone needs to be encouraged by your step of faith.

For many of us in this room, maybe you just need to come forward and ask for prayer.

Our staff's gonna be up front here in just a moment, and we love nothing more than the prayer for pray for you.

If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, and you just need prayer, you just need a fresh second wind of encouragement from someone from our team.

We'd love nothing more than the pray with you.

But if you're if you're ready to take that step to commit your life to Jesus, we'd love to hear from you as well.

You can come forward as well.

Maybe you just got a family need.

Whatever it is, our staff's gonna be up here.

We love nothing more than the pray with you.

So I'm gonna pray.

When I say amen, we're gonna stand up and we're gonna sing.

We're just gonna sing about the goodness of God.

So, Jesus, would you be exalted in the life of your church?

God, would you be exalted in the life of your people?

Father, I pray that you would do something miraculous.

God, I pray that you would save.

God, I pray that you would hear from heaven.

God, I pray that you would heal our land.

Father, I pray that you would redeem broken stories in this room.

God, I pray that you would do this.

And you would do more than we could ask the magic.

God, would you get looks with glory during this time response?

Would you keep praising it in your name that we pray?

Amen.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We can't wait to see you next week for any of our services at 8 30, 10, 11 30, or Espanol at 1 o'clock.