Text: Daniel 9:20-27, Title: Extraordinary Answers to Prayer, Date/Place: NRBC, 5/2/10, AM
A. Opening illustration: Tell the story of Brother Yun in the isolation box, praying for a bible
B. Background to passage: this is another one of those instances where prayer is answered in a mighty way. Don’t ever think that your prayers do not make a difference! And this is some extraordinary answer! This prayer was answered like Solomon’s because of the heart of the pray-er is focused on the glory of God and the advance of the kingdom, and it has been cleansed from sin. Our prayer can sometimes be hindered if we are not right with God, like in the case of the husband who doesn’t live with his wife according to wisdom (1 Pet 3), or if we pray with improper motives and ends that are self-centered (James 4:3). But
C. Main thought: when we pray rightly in faith, God answers, for He is faithful!
A. Extraordinary Love (v. 20-23)
1. Four things that I want you to see in this part of the text: 1) God is always listening. He never sleeps, nor slumbers. In fact Gabriel says that the command for him to come swiftly came at the beginning of your prayer. For God hearing millions of faithful believers praying simultaneously all over the world is nothing. He takes delight in the prayer of people whose heart is right with Him because their prayers are a reflection of their heart. 2) God is always answering prayer. He sent an angel that arrived before Daniel was done speaking. He loves to lavish His grace upon His people when they seek Him in prayer. 3) God is always merciful and forgiving. God had not given Israel what they truly deserved. A Righteous God would have given judgment. He should have started over with Daniel. But God told Daniel of deliverance physically and spiritually through Messiah. 4) God is always pouring out His love and demonstrating it toward us. In fact the word for God’s mercy is chesed, and can be translated loving kindness or steadfast love. This particular word means desired. God loved, desired to be with Daniel. And He was about to bring Daniel to a time of righteousness, and give him what he doesn’t deserve.
2. Ps 121:3-4, 51:17, Isa 64:4, Pro 15:8, Luke 11:9-13, Rom 8:15, 32
3. Illustration: "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?" the story of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio? In the late 70’s, the church was a small, struggling congregation. One day, their pastor, Mike Slaughter, went out into the corn field behind the church. And he said, "Lord, I love you. And I love this church. But I just wanted to let you know that I’m not leaving this cornfield until you show me what your plan is! Do you want me to stay with this church? And if you do, what do you want me to do to lead it into the next century?" And I think he stayed out there for like three days. But when he got up and went home, he had a vision for what God wanted him to do. And today, they have over 3000 members.
4. If prayer is hindered, it is not because God is not listening. Answers vary; no, yes, maybe, wait, silence. God is the master of timing, and always has a good and wise plan by which to bring about all that He pleases. And many times God doesn’t answer prayer the way that we like or when we like, but He is always answering. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves to receive His answers (or even His silence, which is an answer, like when your wife asks you if the dress makes her look fat, and you know that there is no good answer to this question) as gifts of love and mercy and thank Him for them. God loves you! Your name is graven on His hand and written on His heart. You picture is on God’s refrigerator. He is jealous for you. The Love of God. And God desires you. He wants you to follow Him, love Him, and want to be with Him. He has and will pour out His love upon you, if you will trust in Him. When you are ready to give up, don’t! When you think He hasn’t heard, take that thought captive! When you think that He doesn’t care, know that He does! He is a God whose love never fails! Brandon Heath song, Love never fails you
B. Extraordinary Vision (v. 24-27)
1. Some commentators call this the hardest text in the OT to interpret. Don’t know if that’s the case, but it’s difficult. Explain that some prophecies have double meaning, and so it is for this one. These verses are spoken about both the coming of Christ and the cross, and there are also references to the last days and the end of the world. 1) There is great hope in the Messiah. Verse 24 speaks of the 70 “sevens” that had been determined, decreed, marked out for Israel and Jerusalem. And the blessings that follow are immense! Verse 25 speaks of Messiah (the anointed one) coming, and v. 24 tells us what He will accomplish: finish transgression (paying for their sin in Babylon), make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, bring everlasting righteousness, complete prophecy, and anoint the holy of holies. WOW! All these things were accomplished in Christ! More explanation is given in v. 25, “from the time…,” this would have been 458 BC when Artaxerxes I issued a decree in the day of Ezra for the Jews to return and rebuild. Literal weeks don’t work, so weeks of years is the common interpretation. So in the first 7 “sevens” or 49 yrs, the streets, walls, and city will be rebuilt, 408 BC. Then after another 62 sevens (434 years) Messiah should be cut off, which would have been about 27, about the year that Jesus’ ministry started after His baptism. Note that their hope would be in a dead messiah. After that interpretation gets a little crazy b/t godly interpreters. The “prince who is to come” could be referring to Titus (the Roman general in 70 AD who destroyed Jerusalem), and it could also be the anti-Christ in the last days; by reading the rest of the verses, one arrives at the conclusion that neither fits alone perfectly. So you have them both destroying the city, then at least the anti-Christ makes a covenant w/the Jews for the first half of the last “seven” which could be interpreted as the 7 year tribulation. And he will bring the sacrifices to an end in the middle of that week. Titus also would have put an end to sacrifice in Jerusalem. 2) But the story is majorly incomplete. Read Daniel 7-8. God is superintending it all for His purposes, and He will crush the anti-Christ and his followers, and give the kingdom to the saints.
2. Ps 146:5, 42:11, 39:7, 1 Peter 1:21, Mark 13:33
3. Illustration: Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family's sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. It was evident that the child was crying. Beneath the picture were the words which the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy. They were simple words, yet they presented a profound theology and philosophy of life. Those words were, "Hush child, God ain't dead!" A.B. Simpson is reported to have said that the gospel “Tells rebellious men that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for, that the judgment of the guilty may be revoked, the condemnation of the sinner canceled, the curse of the Law blotted out, the gates of hell closed, the portals of heaven opened wide, the power of sin subdued, the guilty conscience healed, the broken heart comforted, the sorrow and misery of the Fall undone, "Give to the winds thy fears; hope, and be undismayed; God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; God shall lift up thy head (see below)
4. In really tough, really long, really painful trials and discipline, God says HOPE IN CHRIST! Why, because He has broken the bonds of sin in you, delivered you from slavery to self, the flesh, the world! Because He has borne the penalty as a propitiation for your sin, taking the wrath of God for you, and bringing you to Him. Because He has granted you everlasting righteousness by faith alone. Because He has completed all the prophecy about His first coming (thus will fulfill all about His second), and He has torn down the wall of separation b/t you and God, so that you have access to the holy of holies upon which His blood was placed so that you may come to God. We know that Christ has done these things for all those who believe, so BELIEVE! Remember victory is ours ultimately, whether through life or death; whether in pain or health; whether in sorrow or joy; we have victory in Jesus. And it is awesome to be trusting in a truly sovereign God, who is not up there hoping that things turn out like He planned. So we have the same counsel that Jesus gave his disciples when discussing the end times and giving them hope in God: watch and pray! Know the signs of the times. Know that Christ is coming soon. Know that the days are evil, and suffering is coming, and that is OK, and we shall overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony of faith in Christ. Know that the kingdom is of the highest importance and time is short, and every loss you suffer for Christ is worth it, and you will be rewarded, and mercy will be granted to 1000 generations that come after you, if the Lord tarries that long.
A. Closing illustration: Jim Cymbala discusses the importance of prayer in his new book Break Through Prayer: He states, "Everywhere I travel, I keep hearing the defensive teaching that fervent prayer, heartfelt prayer is really overrated and not necessary today. Since God is love, some people reason, we just have to ask once and politely for what we need and everything will turn out fine. No need today for prayer meetings and prolonged times of waiting on the Lord, no answer comes. No, that’s part of an old-fashioned, out-of-date theology that belongs to another era…Well, I have two questions in response to all that: 1. what do these words from the Bible mean? And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?’ (Luke 18:6-7) He also notes; If Jesus himself prayed with ‘loud cries and tears’ at times, then we can certainly feel free and unashamed to pour out our souls to God” (22). 2. When it comes to de-emphasizing prayer and the prayer meeting in churches across the land, where are the spiritual results that prove we have found a better way?"
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
During the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. To comfort her, Gerhardt reminded her of Scripture promises about God's provision and keeping. Then, going out to the garden to be alone, he too broke down and wept. He felt he had come to his darkest hour.
Soon afterward, Gerhardt felt the burden lifted and sensed anew the Lord's presence. Taking his pen, he wrote a hymn that has brought comfort to many. "Give to the winds thy fears; hope, and be undismayed; God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; God shall lift up thy head. Through waves and clouds and storms He gently clears the way. Wait thou His time, so shall the night soon end in joyous day."
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