Unshakeable Hope Series

Most of us go about our daily routines without giving much thought to HOW the devices we use were constructed. Many of the items you use for work, play, and education rely on what are known as rare earth elements. There are seventeen rare earth elements in the periodic table, and all of these are extremely useful in technology – really, really valuable. "How valuable?" you ask? The F-35 Fighter Jet has 920 pounds of rare earth materials in it. The Tesla Model 3 uses a rare earth element in its magnetic motor. But you know what is even rarer than rare earth elements? H O P E - Hope.

I find hope to be one of the rarest things in our day. In nearly everyone I speak to, we simply lack hope. There's a lack of hope for our beloved country. There's a lack of hope for our children's future. Hope is rarer than even rare earth elements. We are in desperate need of hope.

The number one thing people are looking for, hungry for, begging for, thirsting for, living for, even dying for is HOPE! Hope is not only one of the most powerful words in the English language, it truly is one of the most powerful forces in the world. For some hope, I invite you to turn to the Old Testament book of Daniel. For anyone new to the Bible, you'll love the first part of Daniel as the stories are jam-packed exciting while the second part reads like science-fiction!

Daniel has some of the most exciting stories in all of the Bible. It is action-packed story after story of one miracle after another. Did you know that when Daniel lived, God's people were parched for hope? And at just the right time, God comes along and raises up Daniel and his three friends.

Today's Scripture (Read before the Message)

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, four youths 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. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego" (Daniel 1:1-7).

Again, people love the book of Daniel. Children love this book as well – just as any children's Sunday school teacher. For years, Children's workers have taught little children would sing:

Dare to be a Daniel,

Dare to stand alone,

Dare to have a purpose firm.

Dare to make it known.

Imagine if you heard America was invaded by a foreign nation. Before your TV was overtaken by the invading nation's censors, you heard reports of churches being burned to the ground all over the land. You leave your house to drive up Grapevine Highway 26 and Glenview to find your church building is burned to the ground. Friends and church family members are scattered all around sobbing and on their knees, crying. The building where you were married, you were baptized, your worshipped, and your loved one's funerals were held was no more. You swing by your high school, and there they have torn up the football field. All the band instruments are in the dumpster outback. Your school's marquee has been torn down. That's what happened to young Daniel. His whole world was shaken, and every sacred place he cherished was razed to the ground. The journey would have been around 680 miles long if they had marched through the ancient city of Damascus. They were deported to the modern nation of Iraq. They would spend the rest of their lives in a foreign nation and were given no choice in the matter. They would look at the best and the brightest men in the country they conquered - the best looking, the smartest, socially well-to-do, the crème-de-la-crème, the first round draft picks, the five-star recruits. He was separated from many of his friends and family members. Despite all of this, Daniel still had hope! Listen carefully: God is able and willing to do mighty things through His people who believe in Him.