Sunday, Jujly 16

Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Good morning. We're going to go ahead and get started this morning. We are very excited to be here. A couple of just quick announcements, if you are visiting with us on the back table right as you come in, are some bulletins. And if you'd like to partake in communion with us this morning, there are communion elements there as well. Also on the back table, there's coffee and some snacks, and some bottles of water if you would like that. In just a moment, we're going to go to God in prayer, and then we will begin our time of worship together. So let's go ahead and pray. Father in heaven, as we gather this morning, we just ask that you would give us strength, that you would renew our foundations, that we would not be pushed by the brokenness of this world, that we would not be pulled by the power of pride and of temptation.

That you would be with us and that you would encourage us and that you would strengthen us. Be with us this morning as we gather to sing and to read your word, to pray together, to come together in repentance and in remembrance of your son's sacrifice. Be with us as we study your word and be with us as we eat and fellowship together later. We just thank you so much for Jesus, and we thank you for grace. And it's in his name we pray. Amen. If you would, let's go ahead and be standing. We're going to be in Daniel chapter 11 in just a little while, and God calls his people to know him and to make action. So we're going to begin by reading from the ninth psalm together. So if you would, go ahead and read with me.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in the time of trouble, and those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord who sits enthroned in Zion. Tell among the peoples his deeds. We're going to begin this morning by singing "This is Our God."

He came, and he died, and he rose. Those walls are rubble now. Remember those giants we call death and grave. They were like mountains that stood in our way. But he came, and he died, and he rose. Those giants are dead now. This is our God. This is who he is. He loves us. This is our God. This is what he does. He saves us. He bore the cross, beat the grave, that heaven and earth proclaim. This is our God, King Jesus. Remember that fear that took our breath away. Faith so weak that we could barely pray. But He heard every word, every whisper. Now those altars in the wilderness tell the story of His faithfulness. Never once did He fail, and He never went. This is our God, this is who He is. He loves us. This is our God, this is what He does. He saves us.

Pour the cross, beat the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. This is our God, this is who He is. He loves us. This is our God, this is what He does. He saves us. Pour the cross, beat the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Pour the cross, beat the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus.

Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus. Who shall I fear? You crushed the enemy, underneath my fate. You are my sword and shield, though troubles linger still. Who shall I fear? I know who goes before me. I know who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always by my side. The one who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by my side. The God of angel armies is always by my side. My strength is in your day. For you alone can say, "You will deliver me." Yours is the victory. The God of angel armies is always by my side. The God of angel armies is always by my side.

My strength is in your day. For you alone can say, "You will deliver me." Yours is the victory. yours is the victory. Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I fear? I know who goes before me. I know who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always by my side. The one who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by my side. Nothing bold against me shall stand. You hold the whole world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises. You are faithful. You are faithful. Nothing bold against me shall stand. You hold the whole world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises. You are faithful. You are faithful. You are faithful. I know who goes before me. I know who stands behind. The God of ancient armies.

Is always by my side. The one who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies. Is always by my side. The God of angel armies. Is always by my side. Amen. Amen. Amen.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How great the chasm that lay between us. How high the mountain I could not climb. In desperation I turned to heaven and spoke your name into the night. Then through the darkness your lovingkindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished. The end is written. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? The God of ages stepped down from glory to wear my sin and bear my shame. The cross has spoken, I am forgiven. The King of kings calls me His own. Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Hallelujah. Praise the One who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in Your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope.

Amen. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Jesus, yours is the victory. Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name.

Jesus Christ, my living hope. Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Oh God, you are my living hope. In Daniel, the ninth chapter, there is this remarkable picture of confession, and in Daniel's prayer, as he prays to the God who is over all things, he does two things. First of all, he confesses God's greatness and acknowledges his goodness, but then he brings his sin before God and seeks forgiveness. So, when we come together and we seek to confess, we seek to do two things. We want to confess God's greatness, but we also want to confess and repent of our sins. And so, in this 86th Psalm, can you go put my verses there? They're right before the song, Derek, sorry. I put everything out of order this morning.

In the 86th Psalm, David, in the midst of struggle, where a band of ruthless men, he'll say in the verse before, seek to take his life, he will say this, "But you, O Lord, are a God who is merciful and gracious and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." And in the midst of the turmoil of his world, David confesses the greatness and the goodness and the love of God. And we don't simply confess God's greatness, but we confess those moments where we fail to put our hope and our trust in him. Would you pray with me? Father, we come this morning proclaiming your goodness, but also confessing our brokenness. In our struggles, we frequently trust in our own strength. Sometimes our actions don't match our words. And so we ask that you would forgive our sins, that you would restore us in repentance, that you would encourage us to know you more deeply.

And we know that you do abound in steadfast love, and that you are merciful, and that you are gracious. And so we come to you this morning, both in awe of your goodness, and in repentance for those places where we have chosen our own way over yours. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would, let's read together from Hosea chapter 6 and verse 3. "Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going out is sure as the dawn, and He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." And I love this picture in Hosea chapter 6, both the picture of the refreshment of rain and the promise by God's people to press on to know the Lord. As we prepare to come to the table, we're going to sing "At the Cross, Love Ran Red."

There's a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide. Where all the love I've ever found comes like a flood, comes flowing down. At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. I'm in all of You. I'm in all of You. Where Your love ran red and my sin washed white. I owe all to You. I owe all to You, Jesus. There's a place where sin and shame are powerless. Where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness. Where all the love I've ever found comes like a flood, comes flowing down. At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. I'm in awe of You. Where your love, friend, friend, and my sin washed white. I owe all to You. I owe all to You. Here, my hope is found. Here, on holy ground. Here, I bow down. Here, I bow down. Here, I bow down.

Here, arms open wide. Here, You save my life. Here, I bow down. Here, I bow. At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. I'm in all of You. I'm in all of You. Where Your love, friend, friend, and my sin. red, and my sin washed white, I owe all to you, I owe all to you, I owe all to you, Jesus.

In just a minute we'll be in Daniel chapter 11. And one of the remarkable things as we see this prophecy that lays out history before Daniel is that in the middle of it all there comes a time when God's people find themselves being pushed by suffering and brokenness and being pulled by temptation. And the question is, how can we stand in the midst of a moment where suffering and brokenness and uncertainty and opposition seems to push us, while at the same time all of our desires and our pride and our sinful wants pull us in that direction. But there's another question that goes even deeper. Not just how can we stand as we're facing difficulty or resisting temptation, but how can we stand before the Almighty God, who rules over all things in righteous holiness and in great goodness.

In fact, the psalmist in the 130th Psalm will say this, "If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared." And what we find as we so often struggle to stand is there is strength, not just to stand in the face of our temptations or in the midst of our struggles, but there is something that goes even deeper. There is a wonderful peace in the ability to stand before God, because in between all of the brokenness and all of the temptation, we find the cross where Jesus bears the full weight of our sin. He crushes the power of evil, and it's at the cross we begin to learn what it means to truly know God and to see His love demonstrated for us.

1 John 4 says this, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He has loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Let's pray. Father, as we come to this table, we come sometimes feeling like we are surrounded on every side, whether by oppression or brokenness, struggles, fears, uncertainties, or by the sinful desires of our heart as we struggle against those who oppose us, who seek to tempt us. And so we ask this morning that you would help us to cling to the cross of Christ, the one who stood in our place, who took our sin, who rose for our victory and is one day returning to bring us home.

So we ask that you would encourage us, that you would give us strength, that you would give us hope, and you would give us peace. Help us proclaim your son until he comes again. It's in his name we pray. Amen. If you would, take the bread with me. Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before he goes to the cross, he took bread, and when he had broken it, he said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And in the same way, following the meal, Jesus takes what in Passover is the cup of redemption and being about to redeem, not just his disciples, but redeem all of us. The cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink of it in remembrance of me." And we don't simply eat and drink, but we also seek to proclaim this good news until Jesus comes again.

We're going to be in Daniel, the 11th chapter. And I'm going to go ahead and just read this section, and then we'll pray. And then we will dive right into it. I'm going to begin in verse 29. If you want to follow along in your Bible, we'll talk about the handouts in just a second. There are some Bibles in the pews if you'd like to follow, or in the seats if you'd like to follow along. If you don't have a Bible and want one, we have a few in the back that you are welcome just to take and take home with you. So Daniel chapter 11 says this, "At the time appointed, he shall return, and he shall come into the south. But it shall not be this time as it was before, for the ships of Kittim shall come against him. And he shall be afraid, and withdraw, and turn back, and be enraged, and take action against the Holy Covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the Holy Covenant.

Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and he shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate, and he shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant. But the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by plunder. And when they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, and some of the wise shall stumble, so they may be refined and purified and made white until the time of the end, for it still waits the appointed time." This is God's Word. Father in heaven, as we come to this section in Daniel that may for us seem difficult because of how it's written,

because of the prophetic nature of this passage, the strangeness and the distance it seems to us, may you open our hearts, as you did with Lydia, to understand your Word. And may we be people who stand firm and who take action. May as we walk through this life, may we walk with hope in the fact that all help comes from you, and may we walk in repentance in those times that we stumble. So be with us this morning, encourage us, strengthen us, help us to see the good news. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So normally, during this time, in the middle of your bulletin, there is a handout so you can sort of follow along with the points that are being made and read along with the Scripture. Kind of makes it easier for everybody, but as we were preparing those last week, we noticed that in the software I use to write in,

one of the advantages of it is as I'm writing out my notes and doing my study, I can highlight certain parts of the text in my notes, and then what I do, and I get to the end, and the document will take all of those highlights and put it into a handout that I put into the bulletin, and it makes things very much easier. However, last week, as I was doing that, I'm reading through my notes, and I was like, "I'm missing all of my points." And because for some reason, whatever the software I was using took everything I highlighted for you and took it away from me. And so as I was doing it this week, I was like, "I don't have time to play these kind of games." And I began to get a little bit grumpy. And so I'm going, "Well, is it the software's fault?" Right?

Is it because as I go through the week and as I study, I take notes in like eight different places. I've got a notebook, I've got a couple different documents on my computer where I'll copy and paste from commentaries, or as I'm thinking about it, I'll write down a thought. Sometimes I'll text myself things that I want to add into my sermon. Of course, never while I'm driving. And what I realized is that maybe the problem wasn't with the software. In fact, for a while when I was in college, I worked in, we just called it computers, and I guess now it would be IT. And as I worked there, we had a kind of a diagnosis for certain problems. And that is, it was a PEPCAC error. If you're not familiar with that, it's the problem exists between keyboard and chair.

And it turns out that the fact that we don't have handouts this morning is because the problem, unfortunately, exists between the keyboard and chair. Because as I bring all of everything from all of those different places, it just doesn't work. Now, I'm not telling you that just to tell you that. But the last place that I went as I was trying to diagnose the problem, do you know where it was? Me, right? Isn't that how it works? When we find ourselves in failure or in struggle, we always look somewhere else. Well, it's their problem, their problem, they did this, here's an excuse here. And we rarely look to ourselves. And that I think is especially true when it comes to spiritually evaluating how we live. It is very easy for us to look outside and to see the temptation, the brokenness, maybe even sometimes the opposition that we face, and we begin to point fingers outside.

Or maybe even in the midst of our sin, we begin to make excuses, "Well, it's not my fault," or we make comparisons that I'm not as bad as. And just like me and our sermon notes this week, the last place we often look is ourselves. And so if we are to ask the problem about the condition of our heart honestly, and to acknowledge that in many cases it really is our fault, the problem exists, not out there, but between my heart and God. One of the remarkable things about the book of Daniel is that it gives us this remarkably wonderful, simple, and deeply profound answer. And it gives us the reason why we so often struggle in our walk with God. And it's just simply this, is that we do not know God as much as we might say or think we know Him.

Now, most of us, we might know a lot about God. We might know verses. We might know theology. We might know those great narratives of Scripture, especially in the book of Daniel. The fiery furnace, the lion's den, Daniel refusing to eat the king's food. But we lack that deep, stabilizing, covenant-rooted knowledge that Daniel and his friends possess. A guy by the name of J.I. Packer wrote a book, and this title might surprise you, but it's called "Knowing God." And in the introduction, he captures it so well. He says this, "One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of God." And then he says this, "One can know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God." I want you to understand this morning that Daniel, as we look at this text this morning, is not written to try to attack us or to shame us,

but it's to draw our eyes toward the one who can help us, who seeks to be known by us. Daniel chapter 11, as we'll see, the danger is not simply outside or external. From those who might, as our text said, try to seduce, deceive, pressure, tempt, and flatter. But it also comes from our own pride and self-reliance. And the solution that Daniel offers in the middle, and it's interesting because textually, this is how this whole section that I just read hinges, is just this, that know their God shall stand firm and take action. One of the things about Daniel chapter 11, if you ever read through it straight through, it's a pretty easy chapter to feel distant from. It's part of a genre of literature in the Bible that's called apocalyptic literature. It's filled with symbolism. It's filled with prophecy.

And for much of Daniel chapter 11, that prophecy that is future for Daniel has to do with history for us. And it can feel like texts like these are far away, and they matter very little to how we live our lives. And oftentimes when something is difficult for us, we tend to look for an easy way out, or to try to skim past it, or assume maybe that it has very little relevance. Now, the purpose of this passage isn't to confuse us or to give us something to argue about, two things which have happened in the church for most of its history. The purpose of this passage is to show us who God is, where we are, and how faithfulness is seen in a world that seeks to both tempt us and shake us. And so I want to start where our text starts this morning. And I want to begin with the prophecy.

And I want to sort of very briefly lead us into the history and some of the fulfillment that we see in Daniel chapter 11. And there is a lot here, and I want to just sort of go very briefly and show you how some of the verses in our text this morning match up with real, live, historical events, and how they can then encourage us and to seek us to know God more deeply. So the text of our sermon this morning, Daniel chapter 11, 31 through 35, primarily describes the world and the oppression of a man by the name of Antiochus IV, or as he liked to call himself, Antiochus Epiphanes. And he was giving himself the heir of a God. And his persecution of God's people is recorded in two books. They're called the books of Maccabees, 1 and 2 Maccabees.

And what's interesting is the beginning of the verse that we just read will say this: "He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant." And what you find is as he first comes to put Jerusalem in its place, to rule over it by conquering it, that he comes, and most, as it begins, is not with war or persecution or oppression, but rather he comes, and he finds a whole bunch of people willing, in exchange for money or for power, to adopt his agenda. In fact, in 2 Maccabees chapter 4, there's a guy by the name of Jason who goes, "Hey, it's been my dream to be high priest over the house of God. I don't really see my career advancing, but there's a new king in town." And so he shows up with a wheelbarrow

full of money, and a promise of some monthly payments of wheelbarrows full of money, and all of a sudden this guy who cares very little for God is now in charge of the house of God. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant. But as you go, not everybody is seduced by power and by money, and God's people in many cases remain faithful. And so he begins to shift from flattery to force. And in verse 31, "Forces from him shall appear, and profane to desecrate the temple and the fortress, and take away the regular burnt offering." That's the regular worship in the temple. "And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate." And so he will plunder in Maccabees chapter 1. You can read how he plunders Jerusalem. He plunders the temple.

He desecrates the instruments of worship within the temple. He'll outlaw sacrifices, Sabbaths, and the law of God. He will desecrate the altar in the temple. Pagan altars are built everywhere in town, and God's people are forced to sacrifice on these false altars. What you find is in one case, he finds a group of people celebrating the Sabbath together in a cave. He doesn't just punish them, but he lights them all on fire until they are dead. And in the midst of this persecution and this seduction to evil, what you find is that there is a faithful remnant who remains within God's people. The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. Everybody compromises their belief. There is a man by the name of Eliezer. You can read about him in 2 Maccabees 6.

And they come, and they say, "What you need to do is you need to eat food that is unclean to your religion." And knowing that the Jewish dietary laws forbid pork, they said, "Come in." And he's a 90-year-old man. They say, "Eat some pork." And he says, "Absolutely not." And his buddies come in, and they say, "You know what? Here's what we'll do. We'll make a meal at home that follows all of the dietary restrictions of God's covenant." And we'll bring it in, and we'll switch out the meals, and you can eat the clean food, proclaiming to eat the unclean food. So you're not actually doing anything wrong, I mean, except for lying. And this guy refuses and says, "I serve God. I will not compromise. Do to me what you will." And he ends up being killed.

2 Matthew 7, there's a heartbreaking story about a mother and her seven sons. And one by one, Antiochus Epiphanes martyrs all of her sons as she proclaims to them their hope in the resurrection. What you find is in the midst of all the brokenness, there is a group of people who stand firm, and they take action because they know their God. And as this resistance that is a spiritual battle, and in the midst of a spiritual war, begins to grow, what you find is that there are some who say, "Oh, power is shifting from Antiochus over to the Maccabees. Maybe we'll have a better political position if we join them." And many begin to join them. Not because they trust God, but because they're seeking something else. And throughout all of this, what you find is that God is refining his people.

Some of the wise shall stumble, so they may be refined and purified and made white until the time of the end, for it still awaits to the appointed time. And what you find is time passes, the temple is cleansed. God's people are restored in this suffering. The book of Maccabees will say it's not just because bad times are bad times, but because God is refining and strengthening and teaching his people. And what it is for us, and it may seem distant and far away, a little less than 200 years before Jesus to hear all of these things. And it's easy for us to look at that and say it's far away, and it's easy for us to look at the cultural pressure and the temptation that we face and maybe sometimes that pressure isn't even sinful. Maybe it's just the heartbreak of life, the loss, the struggle of relationships.

As Roman 8 says, that creation is groaning for the day it will be redeemed. And in the midst of that and in our lives, pride sneaks in as well, self-reliance, self-protection, and agendas that are not in line with God. And what you find is that we too need those moments that refine us. What is remarkable about this story that you find in Maccabees, from the persecution, to the fact that God is at work in the midst of all of this, to the fact that there is ultimate restoration, is that it doesn't last. Because pride begins to build. It's not just about the suffering. But these people who come and say, "We will stand firm and take action, and we will go back to the Word of God, and we will live according to the Word of God."

It starts wonderfully and beautifully. And 200 years later, the party that is launched in the midst of this refining moment is now the party of the Pharisees who seek to kill Jesus. You see, Daniel chapter 11 doesn't just point us to everything out there, but it points us to our hearts and to the pride that sometimes grows, that ultimately drives us and moves us away from knowing God more deeply. So let's take a look at just verse 32. What we find is this, "He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action." This is the dividing line in the entirety of chapter 11, that knowing God is set at both against the pressure that is coming in with the suffering and the pride and the

and the flattery we see in verse 32 trying to pull us away. And what you find is in those moments we find that there's a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. And so what does it mean to know God? One of the remarkable things of the Bible is that it doesn't leave us hanging in these scenarios. There's sort of four big pictures that are very familiar in all of Scripture with regard to knowing God. One of those is fathers and children. Psalm 103, "A father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion." Or Romans 8, "You have not received a spirit of fear, but of adoption, crying out, 'Abba, Father.'" And one of the great pictures that helps us understand our relationship with God is that of a father and his children.

And it means humility for God's people. One of the other great pictures in Scripture is that of marriage, of husbands and wives. In fact, the whole book of Hosea is a picture of God's covenant relationship with his people in relation to marriage. And in Ephesians 5, Paul will speak of Christ and the church. And just as you have parents and children, there is a picture of knowing God that means that closeness, that affection, that vulnerability of being in that kind of relationship with someone. Another great picture in Scripture that is used to describe how we know God is in terms of a king and his subjects. In Psalm 24, the king of all glory. In Psalm 47, the king of all the earth. In Matthew 6, we are to pray that your kingdom come, your will be done.

Not only is there affection and closeness, and the picture of a father who protects and guides and corrects, but there is a picture of authority. And probably one of the most precious pictures for many of us is found in these words, right? The Lord is my, you know how to fill in the blank? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Isaiah 40, "He will tend his flock like a shepherd." Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd." Not just the Father who directs and trains and raises up His children, not just the closeness of that relationship of marriage, not just the authority of a king and his subjects, but of a shepherd who watches over his sheep and protects them and feeds them and guides them and brings them even through the valley of the shadow of death.

You see, knowing God is more and deeper than simply being aware of information. It has to be more than that. You see, nobody else can have this relationship for you. Nobody else can have this closeness on your behalf. It comes down to head knowledge and heart knowledge. And you see, Daniel and his friends, they live this out in Daniel chapter 1. They trust God enough to say to the king's steward, "We will not eat the king's food." In Daniel chapter 2, they trust God with their future as they pray about the unknown. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trust God enough to stand in the fire. Daniel in 4 and 5 trust God enough to speak truth to an authority that if it disagreed with him, would kill him. Daniel 6 will pray even when it is illegal. And at the heart of knowing God are these two things: one, humility, being willing to listen and to learn from God, and trust, being willing to believe what he says and put it into action.

You see that God, in our relationship with him, is not harsh, and it's not demeaning, but he loves and he protects and he guides us. In the midst of conflict, when the future is uncertain, when the flames seem like they're creeping higher, when we're speaking truth in the midst of opposition, and when we're persecuted for doing what is right. In Daniel 11, when we hear these words, "The people who know their God shall stand for them and take action." Right? This is not to beat you up, or to make you hurt, or to make you try harder, or to be stronger, but to come closer to the goodness of God. What you find is that God's people are caught between two different forces. In Daniel 11, as we read, in part, we're stuck between flattery and the pressure that pushes against us.

You find that there is a pressure that seeks to attack and to overwhelm. From the outside, suffering often pushes us away where temptation pulls us away. And God's people stand, not because they are good, but because God is good. And the ability to stand firm comes from knowing God and from knowing Him deeply. In Daniel chapter 1, standing firm means being willing to speak up. In Daniel chapter 2, it means being willing to pray. Daniel chapter 3, it means standing up when everybody else sits down. And in Daniel chapter 6, it means opening up the windows to pray when you could have kept them closed and kept yourself safe. You see, standing firm means putting our hope and our trust. As pressure pushes and temptation seeks to pull us away, what you find is then we are called to take action.

Daniel chapter 11, verse 32, "The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action." At first, it seems like this might be a contradiction. How can I stand firm? And how, on the other hand, can I take action? These are two sides of the same coin. One is saying, "I will stand firm and I will not compromise." And the other side is saying, "I will obey where God has called me to follow Him." You see, the knowledge of God produces courage and obedience in our hearts. Obedience that is lived out under pressure. And as these words come into fruition, you see some of God's people during this time of Antiochus Epiphanes refusing to participate in pagan worship. Some taking a stand that launches resistance. Some seeking to celebrate and teach their kids the Word of God. Some loudly, some quietly, some by fighting, some by suffering.

There is action that is loud, and there is action that is quiet and courageous, and all of it was taken up seeking to obey God. What we find is that God's action in our life is the outward fruit of an inward knowledge. In the same way the apostles were so powerful because they had been with Jesus. So what you find is that the action that we are called to is not frantic effort, but faithful response. It's responding to who God is, because you trust Him, because you honor His authority, because you love Him and are loyal to Him, because you know that He leads you to the place that brings you life. And we come to this part in the text that may be the most difficult for us, where we are called to walk with both hope and repentance.

"And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and plunder; and when they stumble, they shall receive a little help." Notice that it begins with affliction. None of these are things that we say, "This would be great." "Swords, fires, captivities, and having everything you have stolen." None of us wake up and go, "Man, I hope today that I can face swords and fires and captivities and plunders." But notice what it says next. "They shall receive a little help." It's a reminder of God's provision, and it's this tender phrase that God doesn't always take away the hardship, but He always sustains His people in the midst of it. And that help can be miraculous, like in Daniel 3, or in Daniel 6, or it can be simply God moving in the situations like in Daniel 1,

where Daniel finds favor with the chief steward. The steadying presence of God through ordinary means, whether that's a word of encouragement, a faithful friend, or a Scripture recalled at the right moment. God's help might seem little, but it is mighty in effect. He gives us what we need to move His people forward. But notice the second part of this in verse 35. "Some of the wise shall stumble." Some of the good guys are going to have some problems. "And in that they will be refined and made white until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time." It's surprisingly honest. "Some of the wise shall stumble." You see, refining isn't just about bringing us through those difficult moments with the deeper dependence upon God. Sometimes it's about bringing us to repentance. And our walk with God may take us through the valley of sorrow or confusion or of opposition.

Or, in some cases, it may take us through the valley where we've wandered off after our own way and we're there because it's our own dumb fault. And so what you find here is that God's people walk both in hope, in the fact that God is their helper, and in repentance that God uses these times to restore us. By pulling up the roots of our pride, purifying our desires, and restoring us through repentance. And notice how he ends, "For it still awaits the appointed time." There is a clock running on every trial, every pressure, and every valley. And God is in control over the pressure, the pride, the persecution, and even the purification. And hope is not wishful thinking. It is a confidence that God knows what He is doing, and how long He will be doing it.

Everything has a time limit. The suffering has an end, and the pressure has a purpose. And the time belongs to God who knows His people, and whom His people know. Daniel 11, despite so much fear and brokenness, is not a story of despair. It's a call to know our God. And by knowing God, we can stand firm, we can respond in obedience, and we can walk with hope and in repentance. God is faithful, He is near to us, He is good even in the midst of suffering, and He will hold us fast until the end. The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action, and may that be said of us. Father in heaven, we thank you for your church and for your word, for your people. May we be, as we find in

Daniel chapter 11, a people who know their God, who stand firm and take action. It's in your Son's name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand, and we are going to sing Ancient of Days.

"Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall, there is still one King bringing over all. So I will not fear, for this truth be raised, that my God is the Ancient of Days. None above Him, are before Him all done in His sins. For His throne, it shall remain and ever stay. For the power, for the glory, I will trust in His name. For my God is the Ancient of Days. For the dread of mine, for the world's my soul, He is here with me. I am not alone, for His love is sure, and He knows my name. For my God is the ancient of days. You love Him, love it for Him, all the time may be said. For His only shall we make an end. For the power, all the glory, I will trust in His name. Oh my God is the ancient of days.

Though I may not see what the future brings, I will watch and wait for the Savior King. Let my joy come free, sending face to face in the presence of the ancient of days. I will love Him, now before Him, all time in His name. For His glory shall be made and never stand. For the power of all my glory, I will trust in His name. Oh, my God is the Ancient of Days. Oh, my God is the Ancient of Days.

We are thankful that you are here with us this morning. We have lunch. Should be about ready to go downstairs, and so we'd encourage you to join us for some food and some fellowship and to encourage one another. So that's downstairs immediately after. We are here Wednesday night for our Wednesday evening Bible study. Next Sunday, we'll be taking a look at what it means to truly be thankful and to celebrate God's goodness. The following Sunday, the 30th of November, we're going to begin our Advent journey toward Christmas, and so we are excited to do that. And hopefully, we've been very blessed by God in the past three years that none of the kids have set anything on fire with the candles. And so we're going to try to keep that going again for another year. So that begins on the 30th of November.

So, we're going to go ahead and pray, and I'm going to ask a blessing for the food, so as soon as it's ready and put together. Yes? Okay. So, I'd like to say thank you for all the caregivers of yours and others, because we have the 23, 24 days of being hospitable, and this is Rachel. We're all here. Okay. I'll send Rachel over. She's working on turkeys. Okay. So, yeah, we are very thankful, and it's one of the remarkable things that God does, you know, with His people to help us in those times. So, we're going to pray, ask a blessing for the food, and be thankful for how God has worked and for that testimony. We'll read a verse of Scripture, and then we'll be dismissed. Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your goodness, and we thank You so much for the goodness of the people that You have placed around us. We are part of Your family, and we have brothers and sisters who walk with us during those often difficult times.

So, we thank You for all of Your good blessings. Help us to rejoice and to enjoy a meal together, that You would gladden our hearts, that You would strengthen our hands for the labor that You have given to us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 2 Thessalonians says this, "Now may the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and in every good word." And so, as we go this morning, we want to be reminded, as we've learned through Daniel, that our prayers are heard, that our King reigns, and that our hope is secure. We want to be reminded that God knows you. He calls you to know Him. He steadies you when the world shakes. He strengthens you when pride whispers. He guides you through those moments of refining with both hope and repentance.

And so, may the peace of Christ guard your hearts until the day that we stand before Him. We're going to go ahead and sing the doxology.

Let's pray. Let's pray. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.