HopeLives365

Guest (Male): Jesus speaks. He says, “O man, that's Daniel greatly beloved, fear not, peace be to you, be strong, yes, be strong.” This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: a series in the Book of Daniel, Week 4, Part 4. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: I'd like you to come back with me for a few moments to the year 1992. It was the 500th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. On that day, Americans were celebrating that great anniversary. Little did most people know that there were two radio telescopes that were focused on the heavens. One of them, in fact, was a thousand feet across. What were they focused on? What did they want to discover? They were wondering, is there anybody out there listening? Are there any aliens out there anyplace? Can we even pick up a faintest ping? Is there somebody out there beyond the stars, somebody out there in the cosmos, somebody, anywhere out there?

Well, we've got incredibly good news for you, and that's this: there is somebody out there. Daniel discovered that there was somebody out there beyond the stars, that there was a God in heaven. The Bible says in Daniel chapter 10, verse one, “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel whose name was called Belteshazzar.” Now you remember that Belteshazzar is the Babylonian name of Daniel. Bel was the chief god of the Babylonians. They had 13 gods. Daniel's name was changed from the Hebrew, which means “God is my judge” or “God is my vindicator” or “God will set all things right.” It was changed from that when he was taken captive into Babylon. His name was changed to Belteshazzar, or the keeper of the hid treasures of the leading god of Babylon, Bel.

So, in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel whose name was Belteshazzar. Here's what the scripture says: “The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision.” The message is true, but the appointed time is long. What is that talking about? Daniel was taken captive at 17 years old, or thereabouts, by the Babylonians and brought from Jerusalem to Babylon. This is the third year of Cyrus. The third year of Cyrus is 535 BC. If you take Daniel's captivity by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 and you come down to 535 BC, that means that Daniel had been in captivity for 70 years. He's now 87 years old.

The appointed time of the Babylonian captivity was to come to an end. It was a 70-year captivity. The appointed time was long. Daniel is there praying. He's crying out to God, “God, the time is long. God, it's time for our people to go back to Jerusalem. It's time for our people to be released from this bondage. It's time for them to be released from this captivity.” You know, you and I are captives on a foreign world, in a world that really is not our home. You remember that old spiritual that says, “This world is not my home, I'm just passing through.” We live in a world of sickness and suffering and heartache. We live in a world of disease and disaster and death. We live in a world of calamity, of chaos, of confusion. We live in a world of pestilence, of poverty. We live in a planet that is just groaning for its deliverance. Don't you agree with me that the appointed time is really long? Don't you agree with me that indeed we too with Daniel cry out, “Lord, it's too long. When are you going to deliver us? When are you going to come again?”

You remember what Jesus said 2,000 years ago in John 14, verse one? Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself.” Jesus promised 2,000 years ago that he would return, and every passing generation has looked forward to, has anticipated, has longed for the coming of Christ. But the appointed time is indeed long. We long for the return of our Lord. We long to see him coming in the clouds with glory and power. We long to see our loved ones again who have died believing in the second coming of Christ, raised from the dead. We long to receive those glorious immortal bodies where there is no more pain or suffering, no more cancer, no more diabetes, no more heart disease, where worry and fear and anxiety are a thing of the past. We long with Daniel for that deliverance.

In Daniel chapter 10, verses two and three, the Bible goes on: “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, nor meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all till three weeks were fulfilled.” Now I need to pause there and we need to analyze that passage because it could confuse you. Didn't Daniel say in Daniel 1 that he purposed in his heart not to eat of the king's meat or drink of his wine? Why would he say in this passage that no meat or wine came to my mouth? Does that infer that he was drinking wine before? Let me help you understand this passage. Let's look at it. He said he mourned three full weeks. What does this mean? It means he's fasting. He eats no pleasant food, fasting. No meat or wine, fasting. You see that expression “meat or wine” in the Hebrew? That's an idiomatic expression for a total fast. It's not that he was eating meat. It's not that he was drinking wine. It's a way the Hebrews expressed that he was fasting. We find that clarified where it says, “nor did I anoint myself at all.” Anointing is also part of that fast, until three weeks were fulfilled.

Now what's going on here? Daniel is in this fast, probably likely only drinking water during this period of time, and he's praying earnestly. He's seeking God earnestly. What is he praying about? He knows that the 70-year captivity prophesied by Jeremiah is about ready to come to an end. Daniel knows that. So he's on his knees praying because the time appointed was long. They were still in captivity. The Babylonians had fallen to the Medes and Persians. Darius was the ruler of the Medes, but now Cyrus is the ruler of the Persians. Cyrus has not yet signed a decree to allow the Jews in captivity to go back to their homeland of Jerusalem. Daniel is praying for three weeks that indeed God would work a miracle for Cyrus to sign the decree.

This really is a call to prayer. When you look at Daniel chapter 10, it's a call to recognize that God is ruler over all, that God is sovereign, and that God respects our freedom of choice. As we seek Him in prayer, He will miraculously answer those prayers. We are going to see in this chapter how God miraculously, how God providentially answered Daniel's prayer. When you and I are on our knees, when we are seeking God, when our hearts are open to God, He then manifests His hand and answers our prayers as well. Daniel 10, verse four: “Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is the Tigris,” he continues, “I lifted my eyes and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz.”

Daniel is in that place by the river. He's out in nature and he's praying. One of the places I love to pray most is out in nature. Not far from where my wife and I live, there are trails. Often, I will go on those trails and walk and lift my voice to God and seek God in prayer. If you really want to have a prayer experience with God, get away from the clamor. Get away from the clutter. Get away from the ringing cell phones and the honking horns, and get out in a quiet place in nature and pray. You say, “Well, look, I live in the city. I don't think I can find a place.” Well, find a place in your room. Find some place to be quiet where you and God can communicate.

Now, what happened to Daniel? He's out there praying, and what does it say? He says, “I lifted my eyes and behold, a certain man.” Who is that man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz? His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color. We go on: “And the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.” Who is this that Daniel sees? Who is this that comes in answer to Daniel's prayer? Do you remember in Revelation chapter one, when John on the island of Patmos had a similar vision? Now notice: “And I, Daniel, was alone. I saw the vision for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but great terror fell on them so that they fled to hide themselves.”

Who was this? If you happen to have your Bible tonight, take it and turn to Revelation, the first chapter, because here in Revelation, you will see a very, very similar vision. Revelation chapter one, verse 13: “In the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like the Son of Man.” Who's the Son of Man? Who is that? That's Jesus, isn't it? What's he like? He's clothed with a garment to the feet and girded with the chest with a golden band. We saw that in Daniel 10, didn't we? His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, his eyes like the flame of fire, his feet like brass, as if refined in a furnace, his voice like the sound of many waters. This is the exact description, almost to the detail. This description in Revelation 1 is the description of the being in Daniel 10. Daniel prays, and Jesus comes in answer to his prayer.

That's pretty exciting, isn't it? As you and I are on our knees, Jesus listens. Does Jesus have a representative? Who's Jesus' representative? Jesus said, “If I go away, I will send the Holy Spirit to you.” The Holy Spirit is the representative of Jesus, the third person of the Godhead. As we pray, the Holy Spirit comes to give us wisdom. The Holy Spirit comes to help us to solve the riddles of our life. The Holy Spirit comes to give us guidance. The Holy Spirit comes to give us strength in our weakness. He comes to give us wisdom in our ignorance. He comes to give us enduring might in our frailty.

So, as we pray, just as Jesus came to Daniel, just as Jesus came to John, so he sends the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, to us to enlighten our mind, to illuminate our path that we walk through the Christian life. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me.” Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28, verse 20, “Lo, I am with you always.” Hebrews chapter 10, Jesus says, “I’ll never leave you, I’ll never forsake you.” We seek Him in prayer, and we sense His presence. We sense Him being around us. This is a vision of Christ because there in Revelation 1, it says in the midst of the seven candlesticks was one like the Son of Man. He's clothed with a garment down to the feet, he's girded about with the chest of a golden band. Christ came amidst the candlesticks, amidst the churches. Through his Spirit, he still walks with us. He still impresses us. He still guides us. He still directs us. His head and his hair were like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like the flames of fire, the Bible says. His feet were like the feet of brass, Revelation 1:15, as if refined in a furnace, his voice as the sound of many waters.

Daniel 10 and Revelation 1 are parallel passages that describe Jesus. When you and I pray, Jesus is there. He is by our side. He is with us, and we are not alone. In the book of Daniel, Christ is pictured as someone who descends from heaven, coming close beside us. As Daniel continues to pray, something happens. Daniel sees Christ. He sees Christ in His iridescent glory. He sees Christ in His dazzling brightness. He sees Christ with all of His beauty and wonder. In the presence of Jesus, Daniel faints. He cannot endure as a sinful human being the spectacular glory and the amazing wonder of Christ.

Bible says in Daniel 10, verse eight, “Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision. I had no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I had, I retained no strength.” He faints there. He just can't endure the glory of the presence of Christ any longer. “Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words, I was in a deep sleep on my face, and when my face to the ground,” because he couldn't endure the glory of Christ's presence any longer. “Suddenly a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands.” So a hand touches him. Jesus leaves, but he sends the angel Gabriel down. Gabriel touches Daniel, and as he does, Daniel awakens. Gabriel explains why he's come. He explains that he's come to answer his prayer. He said to me, “O Daniel, o man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright, for I have now come to you.”

Now notice two things. First, Daniel had been praying for three weeks, and during those three weeks, he had no apparent answer to his prayers. Have you ever prayed for a day? Not much has happened. Two days, not much has happened. A week, not much has happened. Two weeks, not much has happened. Three weeks? And you've said, “God, my prayers are just going to the ceiling, they're bouncing back. Lord, my heart is so barren, I don't feel you're answering.” God began to answer Daniel's prayer the first day that he prayed, as we'll see. So the first thing you notice is this: because there is no apparent answer to our prayers doesn't mean at all that God is not listening.

The second thing we notice from this text is this: He said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved.” You and I may be perplexed as we pray, but Daniel says God says to us as he did to Daniel, “You're my child, you're greatly beloved. You're my son, you're my daughter, you're greatly beloved.” In prayer, we find the warmth and the intimacy with God. We find that sense of oneness with God. We find that sense that we are greatly beloved of God. We may not see the answer to our prayers immediately, but God is at work in ways that we may not know or understand.

While he was speaking, this word came to me, and I stood trembling. So the angel is speaking to Daniel. He has come once Daniel's fainted. He's touched Daniel. Daniel awakens. As the angel comes, this is what the angel says to Daniel. Then he said to me, “Do not fear.” That's what God says to you and me. Do not fear, be filled with peace. “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day...” What day, everybody? What day? The first day. “...that you set your heart to understand, in the first day that you began praying and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come because of your words.”

Now, this is rather interesting, isn't it? Daniel, from the first day that you began to pray, Gabriel says, your words were heard in heaven. So the first day that we begin to pray, our words are heard. We may not see the answer to our prayers. We may not understand the answer to our prayers. But from that very first day that we begin to pray, heaven hears. Now, why didn't God answer Daniel's prayer immediately? It is here in Daniel chapter 10 that we have the curtain drawn aside in the great controversy between good and evil. It is here more than any other place in the Bible that we understand this great controversy between good and evil and that we understand why our prayers are not immediately answered.

As we go on, we discover some of these amazing biblical truths. First, Daniel was a man greatly beloved. He was a man cherished by God. When you and I pray, we are cherished by God. Daniel 10 takes us behind the scenes in the great controversy between good and evil. It helps us to see what's happening as we pray. Now, why weren't Daniel's prayers immediately answered? Daniel 10, verse 13: “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days. And behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”

So now you have three beings here, three different groups. Let's back up and look here. The prince of the kingdom of Persia is fighting against Gabriel. We need to find out who's the prince of the kingdom of Persia. Well, obviously, it can't possibly be the king of Persia, because that's somebody separate later on in the text. Remember Jesus when he was on earth in John 12? He says, “The prince of this world comes and has nothing in me.” Who's the prince of the world? Well, God created Adam and Eve. He gave them dominion over this earth. But when Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their dominion. So Satan became the prince of the power of the air, according to Ephesians 2. He became the prince of the world according to John 12. So Satan was like the prince of Persia. He's the one that took over.

So the Bible says the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstands Gabriel. He fights against him. He battles against him for 21 days. Who do they battle over? The Bible says they battle over the kings of Persia. But Michael, one of the chief princes—now in the Hebrew language, it's the Chief Prince. So whoever Michael is, he's the Chief Prince, and he comes, he beats back the forces of hell. He beats back the devil, who's battling over the mind of Cyrus. Why's he battling? Because he doesn't want Cyrus to sign the decree that the Israelites go free from captivity.

What was Daniel praying for? He was praying and fasting for three weeks that the Israelites would go free. As he's praying that, his prayers go up to heaven. God sends the angel Gabriel down. The angel Gabriel battles over the mind of Cyrus with the prince of Persia, that is with Satan. So there's this battle going on, and Gabriel wants to bring into Cyrus's mind light and truth so he'll sign that decree. He wants to impress him. The devil, the prince of Persia at that point, wants to bring in darkness to keep the Israelites in captivity. So that battle, that great controversy, that intergalactic struggle, that struggle that's going on, that star wars is going on, and we can't see it, but it's happening.

So Michael comes. Now who's the mighty Michael? Who is that? Notice: the Bible says for John 12, verse 31, “Now is the judgment of the world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” So the devil is the ruler of the world. We know that. He's going to be cast out. We know that. God respects our freedom of choice. So when we pray, there's this big struggle over the mind, this big conflict. We may be praying for something, but the devil—you may be praying for a son or daughter that doesn't know Christ. You may be praying for a husband or wife that doesn't know Christ, a neighbor. And what's the devil doing? He's bringing darkness. What's Jesus doing through the angel Gabriel or angels? He's bringing light.

So why doesn't God answer the prayers immediately? Because God respects their freedom of choice. But when we pray, God respects our freedom of choice, and the river of water of life, the power of God comes through us to touch that other life. The power of God comes through us, and God redoubles the forces of heaven working on that other person. You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Let me put it this way: isn't God doing everything he can to save your son or daughter, your husband or wife who doesn't know Jesus? He is. He's doing everything he can. Isn't he sending angels? He is. But he's limited. Why is he limited? By their freedom of choice, of course. And what is Satan doing? Bringing darkness to their mind so they will not choose. What happens when we intercede? When we intercede, it gives God freedom because of our freedom of choice, our liberty to work through us, and the Spirit of God comes pouring out through us to touch them in ways that wouldn't be touched. Our prayers ascend to heaven, and God looks at Satan and says, “I have freedom now to do more.” But as we pray, God redoubles the good angels, and they beat back the forces of evil. Be strong, yes, be strong as we pray.

Father in heaven, we sense that you are the almighty God, that you, the divine Son of God, have conquered over Satan. You've crushed the forces of hell and that we hear your voice: “Be strong, my child, in my strength.” And so tonight we open our hearts to receive your strength. And Lord, thank you for the call to be strong, not in our strength, but in yours. And by faith, we grasp your strength in Jesus' name. Amen.