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Welcome everyone.
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Thank you so much for tuning in to Doctrinicity.
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I'm here as always up in the Mountain Retreat of Mariposa.
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We're here with Doctrinicity.
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We are a week-by-week pastor-guided uh podcast on historic theology.
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This is Doctrine That Goes With You.
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And I'm once again Pastor Colin Kerrigan.
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I'm accompanied by my co-pastor and host, Dr.
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Keith Wibbles.
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How are you doing, Doc?
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Doing great, thanks.
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Awesome.
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One of the parts behind this uh for Watchfire Studios was that this idea of lighting signal fires from the great works of church history, such as Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Bonson, all these guys.
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But we started first with the idea of knowing God.
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And for that, there was no one better than J.I.
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Packer.
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J.I.
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Packer wrote a wonderful book called Knowing God.
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And so we encourage you if you're part of our little mountain community here or you're at our church or you're part of our congregation, please get this book and start to know God.
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I'm sure many of you do.
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But uh, this knowing God is really powerful and it's just a great place to start as far as where we're gonna go with doctrinicity.
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So awesome.
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So last week was our first uh episode ever.
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Uh it was our flagship episode for the show.
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And this week is going to be obviously our second one, but we are trying to do this chapter by chapter.
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So in the first uh week, we covered our preface and also chapter one of knowing God.
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It's really powerful.
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If you haven't heard it, it's a great uh foundational stone for uh going into this.
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Today we are going to be in chapter two, and this chapter two is called The People Who Know Their God.
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And so chapter that is chapter two of Knowing God.
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Um, all right.
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Well, are you excited?
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I'm excited, yeah.
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For number two, I'm too.
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That was a lot of a lot of stuff.
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So maybe you uh maybe you uh heard me read that opening verse from uh Daniel, that's from chapter 11, verses 32.
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But I do love that.
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Uh the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.
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And so it's a banner verse for going into this.
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And so, as we talked about last week, you can know a lot about God and yet still really not know him.
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And so we're gonna we're hopefully gonna uh break that apart a little bit today as we uh go into the people who know their God.
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Do you have any thoughts as we kind of jump into this uh the second chapter, Doc?
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Yeah, I think some of the stuff we're gonna be covering maybe uh it's a little bit of overlap from last week, but you know, any instructor will tell you that kids have to hear things multiple times before they finally sink in.
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So I don't think that's bad.
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Um, but yeah, we want to just get into a kind of a character study today here that Packer brings up, and that's the study of Daniel and uh the practicalities of being a a Christian, a a person that knows God amidst a culture that doesn't know God and hates God and is opposed to everything about him.
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So Right.
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That's right.
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Uh so yeah, there in and specifically Packer discusses that there's four kind of um there's what four banner or four marks.
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Four marks of people that know their God.
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Exactly.
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And so those marks would be uh a great energy for God, great thoughts of God, great boldness for God, and great contentment in God.
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So let's get into those banners right away.
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So um great energy for God.
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All right.
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So this is not laziness uh toward his honor.
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Um, this is a willingness to be stirred when God's truth is trampled.
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And so once again, he did bring up Daniel, is kind of the person to be exemplifying these these four different truths.
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And so the question maybe if you're driving or you're at home right now is where is your zeal for God right now?
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Are you coasting?
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Is is it okay?
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Are is your energy down?
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I mean, we have so much going on in our lives, our world right now, and it feels like um God's honor is not really um it's not our first priority, you know, making sure that he's honored in the way that he deserves to be honored.
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And likewise, um, where's our comfort comfort preferences right now?
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Good questions, yeah.
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I'm so all right.
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So for great energy for God, that's where he starts.
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Uh anything you want to throw on uh the idea of well, I think that you know, with Daniel, the the point that the Bible makes is that this wasn't something that was um uh instructed into him.
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I mean, this was this is not a personality type, this is this is um transformation.
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And you know, he may have been a go-getter as a personality type.
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You know, the Bible tells us in Daniel 1 that you know Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians were seeking out the movers and shakers of Jerusalem and they wanted to turn them into Chaldeans by schooling them in in Babylonian schools, and so the intention was to take these guys and turn them into essentially ambassadors for Babylon in Israel, and Daniel was one of those young men that they took, and the story that plays out is that they have a certain diet of really rich, tasty royal food that they want to the king's dainties, the kin's banqueting table, right?
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And they want to give that to them, and Daniel um doesn't want the honor of God offended, and so he asks politely the chief of the eunuchs if he can do this experiment where they eat their food and the other guys there at the Babylonian school can eat their food and said, Listen, after a month, if we look like we're wasting away, we'll eat your food.
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But, you know, so it wasn't that he was in your face um as a Christian and you know, provoking fights and and and getting in the culture's face.
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He basically was working as he could, you know, in a way that was still pleasing and honoring to God, but yet still um counterculture.
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Right.
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And I think that's probably an important thing because we can kind of oversteer both ways here.
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We can start looking at our rights as Christians and say, well, this is how we want our society to operate because we're Christians, and then otherwise, or we can be way too timid and passive and say, Well, we just hope God takes care of everything here and we'll be, you know.
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But Daniel was kind of carefully um balanced that.
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I don't know if the word balanced is right, but he was he was uh in between that, you know, where he recognized that he wanted God to be honored, but not in a way that was dishonoring, you know.
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I mean, I I I get it, I understand where people say, well, look, we need to stand up against this stuff.
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Um and yet they do it in a way that makes Christians look like we're the meanest, most awful people in the world, right?
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And and you just wonder sometimes if we just approach things like Daniel, if we'd get a lot farther in impacting a culture, you know.
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Yeah.
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Um I I I agree with that.
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Uh uh, you know, one of the drawbacks of being uh in such a technological age is that you're you're face to face with everything that's going on on in Iran today and and the the warring across or the the tumult across Europe or the or um you know all these different um uh conflicts, all these different uh things that are are happening.
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And yet really what Daniel was dealing with was right in front of his face.
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It was kind of brought to him, right?
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And it was it's uh kind of a small Daniel's obviously gonna have bigger um exploits that it talks about, but um this is kind of this this is the small test that leads to the bigger one.
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You don't yeah, right?
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You don't get you know to the you know you don't get to get to the final boss.
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Yeah, no, and I I have to think that Daniel from the very get-go understood that there was a bigger narrative here than just that he got pulled into captivity because um, and I think that's what we do, we just focus everything down to the moment and we don't look at like the bigger picture and say, okay, God is in charge, he knows everything, he's the God of telos of outcomes.
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And so he knew he was there for a reason.
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Yeah, and right from the start, he's setting down his um line in the sand basically that you know I'm gonna serve my God here.
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And like I said, I I it troubles me that Christians are are thought of by uh the people we're trying to reach as being somehow really mean spirited, you know.
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Yeah, and I I think particularly like of cases like where um Christopher Hitchens, the very um what would I call him?
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He's one of the leading atheists, visible atheists or anti-theist.
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Anti-theist there.
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Yeah, actually, Hitchin was honest.
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He said he he didn't want there to be a God.
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Not that he didn't believe, he didn't want there to be a God, and that's probably the classic definition of anti-theist.
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But he had throat cancer, and so he had a year to live, the doctors gave him, and so he wrote a book called My Year of Living Dyingly, and he was talking about how that the worst and the most vitriolic emails he got were from Christians saying, You deserve this.
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Burning in hell, you deserve this burn in hell, heretic, right?
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Turn a burn.
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And you think if just one Christian had said, Hey, I know that you've taken this stand against Christianity, but I love you and I want you to understand that God loves you and there's no sin that he won't forgive, what would that have done?
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You know, if just one had done that.
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So here you have the one, Daniel and his friends, obviously, um, Shadrach, Meshach, Abendigo, using their Babylonian names.
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Oh, I know.
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That's a great uh uh quiz question right there.
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What were their Hebrew names?
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I forget it.
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Uh Mishel.
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Yeah, yeah.
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I and I knew him at one time.
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He's pop quiz.
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Uh it's in there.
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It is in there.
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Yeah, it's in Daniel.
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Yeah, read read Daniel.
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It's in there.
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I love what you said there.
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Uh, there is a wonderful um movie with Chris for Hitchens and Doug Wilson called Collision, and and they go back and forth, and they had a they had a deep respect for each other.
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It's a great uh chance to kind of see what he was all about.
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But you're right, there's a way to do it obnoxiously, there's a way to do it that doesn't not honor God.
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And um, so you know, to have great energy for God also takes, you know, you need to have honor in it.
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And I love that this was kind of the personal stand.
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Obviously, there's it this is unkosher, not good food for them to be eating as as good kosher boys.
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And um it just and it's uh no no anyway.
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God is God is being very gracious.
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This first test is really just um about food.
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Yeah, you know, it there's nothing really on the line.
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There's there's not some sort of governmental decree that you eat this food or else.
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It's just you know, hey, this is what we want to eat.
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And you know, of course, the chief of the eunuchs was freaking out.
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He didn't think he was he thought he was gonna get in trouble, but it was a losing proposition, yeah.
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So, but anyway, at the end of at the damn month, of course, the the Hebrew boys look uh way healthier for what their diet was and drinking and eating polluted meat.
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Yeah, and it's not a by any stretch of the imagination, this is not a uh endorsement biblically for vegetarianism, but or Daniel, well, Daniel Fast, maybe Daniel Fast.
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I could use one of the things that Daniel Fast.
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Let's write a book.
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Yeah, let's write a book and put it on Amazon.
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That sounds great.
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It doesn't sound too bad.
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All right.
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Um, so I I love that.
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And so this is uh once again, I think uh the stepping stone for him is for these guys.
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They're just laying it down right now.
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How old do you think they were, probably?
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I mean, they're probably still pretty young.
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I know Daniel seems to be a little bit older than the three, but they love it it depends on who you're reading.
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Some people say he was down in his mid-teens, you know, he's just a very super young guy.
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So I I love that, and uh love the idea that there's these, you know, David was uh teen with a uh holy restlessness when when uh Goliath came calling to the camp and is shouting out and doing all these things.
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Aren't you guys gonna do anything here?
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Yeah, like what is going on here?
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You guys are the warriors and this the shepherd boys.
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Why am I the one calling him out?
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Yeah.
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So um, so have we lost that energy for God?
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Have we is it is it do you see I see a dissipation of it?
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I I definitely see a lot of sliding.
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Um Yeah, and I think that's we talked about it in episode one.
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What was Packer's reasons for writing the book?
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And one of those is he probably was seeing this loss of energy for for God, you know, that there was more of a comfort with uh well, I'm a Christian, so oh, so now what?
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And everything's good.
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And yeah, he starts there's a preface from 70 1973 and then 19 uh 93, and it's funny, it's like he talks about how the world is kind of falling, you know, further away from knowing God, and that's why he's writing the book.
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But then in 1983, he's like, the world is falling even further.
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Yeah, and and and if it was 2023, it'd be like probably a third another preface saying the same thing.
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I'm glad I'm dead and with the Lord now.
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Yeah, uh, that's probably what he's saying.
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Actually, that that sounds pretty good too.
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Um, so uh so in our culture, just that there is a we do have a comfort mentality.
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We have uh there's parts of us that don't want to give a lot of energy um for the service of God.
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I mean, last week we did discuss um just our church attitudes and some of the the ways that we view church, you know, oh do we have to go?
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Is that it's the is it the checkbox?
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Is it the you know, it's these um these other things?
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There's a lot of um I don't know, lack of seal, focus.
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Yeah, well, another thing too about this first this first episode in Daniel, it wasn't super public, it was almost like the wedding at Cana where only a few people knew what Jesus had done.
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You know, really there's a very limited group of people that knew what Daniel was asking here.
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So for those out there that think that everything that you have to do for God has to be super public, um, you know, that's not the case.
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I know my mom, um, I can't tell you how many hours she spent with the bedroom door closed, just praying and interceding, you know, for for her family and for the church and for the country and and you know, and and that's a kind of um behind the scenes uh everyday faith that God really can can use, you know.
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I don't need to be out front, you know.
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Now as pastors, God has called us to be a little bit more public and be in front of people, and part of our reward is from having people come up and say, Hey, that really ministered to me.
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You know, my mom never had anybody say, you know, that prayer was awesome, you know.
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But yeah, God saw it, God understands you know, her heart.
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So I think Daniel here with people that know God don't need to be congratulated by the world for their exploits, you know.
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They're they're they're content, and I know that's something we'll talk about in a in a while, but they're content just doing what God would have them do in a way that is pleasing and honoring to God.
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It's very good.
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Um today or yeah, today, uh pastoral prayer.
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Uh, we had an older gentleman, late 80s, came in and had a holy rest restlessness.
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He doesn't have a ton of physical energy for serving at the church, but he said, Hey, I can do this.
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Right, I can show up and I can pray for people for an hour.
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And uh that was really cool, that was really a blessing.
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Um, so let's move on to the second uh mark of a person who knows their God.
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So the first one was great energy for God.
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I hope that you do have great energy for God, and once again, that that's a great question.
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You know, where is your zeal right now?
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Uh, but now we're gonna move into the second mark, and the second mark, still in Daniel, but uh it will kind of focuses on Daniel's character, but uh great thoughts of God, and you were starting to move into this territory.
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Um, but really uh seeing God, you know, a lot of the time, if I look at my prayer life and I'm honest, God feels like the side character, or you know, if I'm reading the story, he tends to be more of a side character, you know, in my story or whatever I'm doing.
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Um, that's not true.
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It just means, you know, that's typically how we see him.
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Someone who has great thoughts of God will see God as the main character, and that you are you're the actual side person, so um, and that we are in his story, we're crowding out his story.
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Uh, but no, we're we're here to make his story great.
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So, any thoughts on that?
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Is um when we think about you know the bigger story that's being played out, having great thoughts of God.
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Well, I think Daniel, of course, the the the prayer in chapter nine where he's repenting and confessing and praying, you know.
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Um in Daniel's um an interesting book because you have the first half of the book is narrative and then the second half is prophetic.
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And you don't want to get into all the the misuses of Daniel's prophecies, but um in chapter nine he prays, and one of the phrases he uses you know, the great and awesome God.
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And that wasn't just a phrase he tossed off.
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That was basically his conception of God, that God was great, not like um you know, frosted flakes are great, but that God was awesome, he was expansion, he was in infinite, you know, and then you're talking about greatness, we're talking about a measure, not so much uh uh that God was was everything and he was awesome, you know, in not the the 80s uh valley uh slang by the I know Ninja Turtles ruined everything for everyone, it's all radical, radical, righteous, awesome, we're awesome, yeah.
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:55.519
Clueless.
00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:01.920
Um but but that he was a God that inspires awe, fear and fear and trembling in a good way.
00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.079
And that's so yeah, it's really good.
00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:09.680
And you know, I don't think we I think we've lost that majesty.
00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:18.880
I think we've lost that feeling that God is beyond comprehension, that that God is powerful beyond our ability to conceive it.
00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:30.720
We we've turned God into some sort of either the celestial Santa Claus, you know, that if I serve him, he's obligated now to give me nice stuff all the time.
00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:36.319
Or or we've diminished him down to, and this for me is a personal pet peeve.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:40.400
I'm just telling him, okay, everybody out there, this is just me talking, this is me venting.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.960
Okay, but I I really have a hard time with the phrase daddy God.
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:45.920
Oh, absolutely.
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:46.319
Right?
00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.279
Yeah, so I'm with you there.
00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:48.000
Okay, thank you.
00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:48.480
Please do it.
00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:49.119
Not just me.
00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:49.920
Please don't do it here.
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.279
Please do not emulate this horrible behavior.
00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:55.599
God is father, yes.
00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:04.880
But this whole kind of um downgrading him to um somebody who's a buddy or a pal.
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:06.960
Uh, we don't want to do that.
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:08.720
God is God and we are not.
00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:18.559
And there's there's, you know, this is what the skeptical philosophers were were batting around back in, you know, the day, Hume and Kant and those guys.
00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:22.319
If if God does exist, how could we ever possibly know him?
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.160
There has to be a gap between him and us that's so vast.
00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.720
But you know, like the writer of Hebrews said, God has spoken.
00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.559
He did it in the law and the prophets, now he's done it through his son.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:41.359
So God, when he wants to have a relationship with us, he initiates the conversation.
00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:48.160
You know, it may be through hearing a message that a pastor speaks, you know, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word.
00:19:49.119 --> 00:20:08.000
Or it may be that um that you have had um a relationship quote unquote with God in the past, but it was sort of superficial and you just were kind of like um using God as your um your go-to when things get tough, right?
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:08.240
Right.
00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.519
You know, God, if you I hope so like we pray, right?
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:15.359
Yeah, how many prayers did you ever pray as a kid before you really, really understood God?
00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.599
Well, God, if you get me out of this, I'll always serve you.
00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:18.799
Give me a B plus.
00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.240
Yeah, if you give me a B plus, I need a B plus on this final.
00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:24.000
If you give me that, I'll serve you forever.
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:31.599
Well, that's not what we do with God, you know, but it the people that know God don't think that way about God.
00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:38.880
God is awesome, God is majestic, God is everything, God is my life, God is my strength, God is my right?
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:43.440
And we talk about, well, those Old Testament people, they didn't know passion.
00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:44.400
Uh, you know.
00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:46.160
Um, wait a minute.
00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:52.240
What about thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and and strength or mind and strength, right?
00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:54.960
How much more passionate can it get than that?
00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:02.559
And and you know, that's one of the ironies of passion, especially with modern worship, is they say, well, it's passion.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:11.200
But it isn't passion because passion is directed at someone that you love, whereas modern worship is basically all about me.
00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:18.160
So unless you want passion to integrate like self-exaltation and self, you know.
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:26.160
Um but anyway, the Old Testament people had passion, they had a very loving and passionate relationship with a God that was awesome.
00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:32.160
They respected God, they honored God, or they didn't, but you know, same as they didn't.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:32.640
Yeah.
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.480
Well, it talks about that opening verse about what happens to the flattery and then corrupted.
00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:43.599
Um well, that's a good place to keep talking about.
00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:50.480
Um I was thinking about as you were talking the mind, loving the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength.
00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:57.279
Mind um does get a little bit lost sometimes, you know, when we talk about going deeper into doctrine and destruction.
00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:57.839
Right.
00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:03.200
Um I've noticed in my own Personal life, it even happens this week, but I'm anxious.
00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:08.960
There's a low, you know, anxiousness is on a low burn or stress is on this low burn, and I'm not praying.
00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:19.519
Um, and what is generally taking place there is I'm usually defaulting to my man, my natural man mind, my flesh.
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:35.599
And when we think about having great thoughts of God, um, that once we start to prioritize him, praise him, put him where elevate, you know, to I mean, that's I mean, when we're when you're meditating, you're you're meditating on is like you were saying, awesomeness, greatness.
00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:37.680
Um, we had to take a time out this week.
00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.519
It was a basic, like, hey, I'm stressed right now, and I'm just realizing it.
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:50.960
So my my wife and I, we take some time, we pray about it, and uh just kind of offload it a little bit, but it's also that window back into God is much bigger, much greater.
00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:57.119
And I really do appreciate you um highlighting the um the Daniel 9 verse.
00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:57.680
What was that again?
00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:00.880
It was uh, oh Lord, how the great and awesome God.
00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:09.359
Yeah, well, yeah, now one thing that I would tell you for all the guys out there that probably don't read a lot and you're just getting into maybe reading um dead guys.
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:13.839
Um find yourself a Puritan mentor to read.
00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:20.720
That's whether it's John Owen, uh there's people that I probably wouldn't recommend right off the get-go, and one is John Owen.
00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.640
Uh the other one is John Edwards.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.480
I know you don't, I know you find him hard to read.
00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:26.559
Yeah, Thomas Watson can be tough.
00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:32.319
But uh one book that I would recommend for every believer is The Letters of Samuel Rutherford.
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:37.039
And he he was a pastor and he got exiled from his church.
00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:37.440
What?
00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.799
And he had happens?
00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:44.319
Yeah, he's I mean, they they didn't like what he was preaching, they thought he was anti-government.
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:50.960
So he got exiled and he had to spend a good bulk of his life in I forget if it's Edinburgh.
00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:58.960
And he had all these people writing him letters, and every time he wrote back, it was just Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ, right?
00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:06.799
And and so everything in there is just exalting Christ, encouraging people to not give up the thread, you know.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.039
So there are great, great, great Puritan books out there.
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:22.640
If you want to get into a devotional kind of reading that's in addition to your scriptural study, um, those kind of the books that can really sort of retune, reset your frequency too, you know.
00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:25.920
If if uh, you know, we want, of course, scripture.
00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:34.480
We want to pray that God will bless the reading of his words, that'll help us to understand it, what he's saying, and and that will lead us to a better understanding and knowledge of him.
00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:40.960
But he has given us works out there, uh, particularly the Puritans, and I'm not obsessed with the Puritans.
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:42.559
I just know that they were Bible men.
00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:44.880
The old phrase was they were Bible men, you know.
00:24:45.119 --> 00:25:01.759
Yes, they they just knew scripture inside backwards and forwards, and it it showed up in their life and it showed up in their joy, it showed up in their faith and practice, it folded showed up in their boldness, it showed up in their great thoughts of God, you know, to bring it all to full cycle here.
00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:03.359
That's it right there.
00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:05.759
No, they uh when you read them, it's pretty fan.
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.279
They thought very big of God.
00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:10.640
Yeah, and it's wonderful to read, it's explosive in many ways.
00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.599
It's gonna mess you up.
00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:14.720
He wrote Lex Rex too, Samuel Rutherford.
00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.079
Yeah, the law is king.
00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:17.359
The king is the law.
00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:18.480
No, no, the law is king.
00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.640
Yeah, God's law is king.
00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:21.519
That's I love it.
00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:22.799
Um Lex Rex.
00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.680
That there's a higher I haven't read his uh his letter, sounds sounds really good.
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:35.599
Okay, uh the fourth or sorry, the third uh mark of a people who know their God is a great boldness for God.
00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:37.119
Oh, that's so good.
00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:43.599
Um so as we know, uh Daniel has multiple um moments of boldness.
00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:44.000
Right.
00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:55.519
Obviously, there was the first when he goes to the chief eunuch and he has to kind of, I mean, really set a different culture uh around there, um around the palace, and and there the eunuch trusts him enough to put his neck out for him.
00:25:55.599 --> 00:26:00.160
And so, you know, this is like getting in trouble with a boss at work, you know, or like, yeah.
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:10.559
Well, you know, I I was I'm from the fire department and I was from that world for a long series of time, and and it was not easy to be, you know, a Christian who really represented their faith well.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:25.759
You know, for me that was praying around the dinner table, um, leaving when, you know, smuddy movies came on, or that you know, they were ready to watch, you know, some rom-com thing that was grody, um, reading my Bible uh at night when it would have been more fun to, you know, go do something else, you know.
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:31.039
Um so setting those patterns and um what was interesting is it took some boldness.
00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:38.559
It didn't feel like it generally then, but we're I was I was hoping that at some level it would change the culture, but really it was like 18 guys against one.
00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:39.359
It was hard.
00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:51.200
But you know, I'm sitting in there contending with you know these gruff dozer operators that are, you know, well, why did you know all the all the these silly atheistic tropes that they they trot out?
00:26:51.279 --> 00:27:02.880
Why did why do babies suffer and why do bad things, you know, and I'm a 19, 20 year old Christian that's just trying to figure, you know, I just got saved, but I'm still going toe to toe and they're calling me Bible thumper and right and all those things.
00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:11.519
So um uh, but I think about that as has Daniel as a young man changing the culture of his birth uh his workplace, it takes boldness.
00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:20.160
And um, I you know, as we walk into this area of boldness, uh, when was the last time you were bold for the Lord, for the sake of the Lord?
00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:25.680
And there's ways to do that, I think, that you did you said very well, you know, you don't want to do this obnoxiously.
00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:30.640
Sometimes if just the fight just comes to you, you know, it's gonna be some principle, you know.
00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:40.000
Well, I see it it isn't, and it wasn't with Daniel, it wasn't about just um being in your face for the sake of being in your face, or you know, some false kind of bravery.
00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:43.599
If I muster this up, I'm doing something good for God.
00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:56.319
You know, when you were at the in your your conversion, you weren't doing what you did to try to be um to rattle the cage, you were just doing it because God was your God and you loved God and you wanted to get to know him better.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:59.039
And there could be a cost.
00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:07.599
Um, you know, we look at the story of Shadrach and Meshach, and the and the the statue goes up in chapter, oh, is it three and four?
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.440
And the statue goes up.
00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:11.839
I'm not gonna look here because we both got our Bibles out.
00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:12.400
So here we go.
00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:16.319
We got our Bibles because we gotta look and make sure that's yeah, yeah, it's chapter three.
00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:19.519
Okay, and then Nebuchadnezzar's dream is chapter four.
00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:32.559
But um, chapter three, this the statue goes up, and Nebuchadnezzar has it erected there in the plains of Shinar, which um is a very interesting location biblically, but um You should go into it.
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:46.400
Yeah, we don't have the time to go there, but anyway, we don't um and it everybody's supposed to bow down to it when the music plays, and and Shadrach, Meshach, and Nebuchadnezz won't bow down.
00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:53.440
And you know, you don't have to do anything special when everybody's bowing to the to the beast or the image.
00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:55.839
If you just stand, you're gonna get noticed, right?
00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:57.200
And that's exactly what happened.
00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:59.119
They're just they're just standing there.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:02.480
They didn't, they didn't provoke, they didn't anything, they just stood.
00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:17.039
And of course, they're tossed into the fire, and you know, and the the the one that looks like uh an angel or or the son of God is in there with them, and and you know, so they knew there was a cost, they knew they might die.
00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:19.839
Maybe they even tell the king, we're not gonna bow down.
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:25.440
We know that God is in charge, but even if he chooses not to save us, we're still not gonna bow down to you.
00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:38.240
And then, of course, um Daniel being told, um, it was people that were out to destroy Daniel uh because they were jealous, making a proclamation from the king that you couldn't pray anymore.
00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:40.400
And Daniel's like, Well, that is not gonna work for me.
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.519
I'm gonna do it anyway.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:44.240
And not only did he do that, he does it in his window.
00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:50.799
And again, that seems like it might be a little provocative, but I think he was just saying, Look, this is this is who I am, you know.
00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.160
Well, I love he was just he was going forward with his day.
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:56.640
He's going forward with his yeah, he didn't change anything.
00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:03.599
It's one thing to be someone who who loves conflict or loves to be, you know, keyboard warrior and just you know get their bravado out there, you know.
00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:06.880
It's the dog behind the glass, yeah, the little yippie dog.
00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:09.359
Um, but no, that was not, it was who he was.
00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:18.240
Like you're saying, it was it was a part of God had downloaded him with that zeal and that faith because one, he had energy for God, but he thought great thoughts about God.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:33.279
Yeah, I mean, I think like um when you have high thoughts of God and a great boldness for God, this conviction comes from from basically uh we don't want to see God.
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.960
This is wrong, basically, this is just wrong, and we can't be part of this.
00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:49.440
And one of the things that I've had a lot of people who are self-identifying as Christians tell me is that they've watched this or this or that on TV, Yellowstone being one of them.
00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:52.799
Oh, you're gonna nail some people, and then they say, Well, it's not that bad.
00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:55.759
So where's that, where's their conviction?
00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:05.599
You know, where's that sense in them that I can't be doing this because there's nothing that I could would I be comfortable having God sit here next to me while I'm watching this?
00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:15.200
Well, what they don't realize is that he is his Holy Spirit dwells in you, yeah, and you're dragging your Holy Spirit into a situation that he's had nothing to, you know.
00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:23.759
So great thoughts of God are gonna help us be more sensitive that when God's name is being offended or being dishonored.
00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:30.319
And we're just gonna have to stand up like those boys did um by the statue.
00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:38.160
Look, no, we're not gonna bow down to this, we're not gonna bow down to the culture and say, Well, what are we supposed to watch if we don't watch that?
00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:41.680
Well, watch old movies on YouTube, they're pretty good, you know.
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.839
From go watch game of the black and white.
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:44.880
I'm just joking.
00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.359
This yeah, that was the that was a lie.
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.279
I just I I know youth pastors are doing that.
00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:49.920
You know what I mean?
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:54.319
Do not be promoting that, don't be talking to young men.
00:31:55.839 --> 00:32:00.880
You can watch podcasts all day and all night, and like Packer says, that doesn't mean that you'll know anything about God.
00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:05.759
You just be stuffing your brain with information if if it's not transformative, yeah.
00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:11.599
And then it just becomes arrogance, you know, that you know, well, I know all this and I know that, and I'm pretty smart.
00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:14.319
Can you watch this podcast and that, you know?
00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:20.160
And you know, that's the thing is it information, like Paul says, knowledge puffs up.
00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:23.119
If it doesn't transform you, it's just gonna turn you into a jerk.
00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:28.079
You know, you're gonna be arrogant, yeah, because you know this and you know that, and you pour people over there.
00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:29.839
It's almost like Gnosticism.
00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:32.079
You I know something you don't know, you know.
00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:39.119
Yeah, and and so what when you have this kind of boldness for God, it's a it's a humble boldness, right?
00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:44.559
I mean, they were like, okay, you what it we know there's a price that may have to pay here.
00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:54.079
We know that we're going against the government of Babylon, we know that we're going against the king's decree, but we love God more.
00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:59.519
Yeah, we want to honor God more, and that may cost us our lives, but you know what?
00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:00.559
That's all right.
00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:03.839
We will not be unfaithful to our God.
00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:14.240
So when you know God, even your life becomes something that's a lot more um, what would be the word?
00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:17.440
It's not something you you're so desperate to hold on to.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.000
Now we're not we're not required to want to die.
00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:23.279
We're not required to want to get in conflict with people and be beat up.
00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:30.240
I think some people, some Christians want to get in conflict with people so that people start calling them names.
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:33.680
Oh, I was I've been persecuted for the name of Christ.
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:35.839
No, you're just being a bully, you know.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.759
Yeah, that's it's not the same thing.
00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:38.799
Being annoying.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:43.680
Yeah, you're annoying and and and you're you right, and and this is where it gets serious, right?
00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:47.119
Because the third commandment says, Don't take the name of the Lord in vain.
00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:59.680
So don't be bringing God's name into a discussion like that and claiming this is the God, you know, and and God wouldn't hate God hates it, and just battering people over the head with the name of the Lord.
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:04.400
Um, because God takes that seriously, his name means something.
00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:06.720
Yeah, and and we've lost that.
00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:15.920
The ancients basically, when they you know cried out the ancient Near Eastern Baruch Hashem, blessed be the name, because God's name was synonymous with God.
00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:18.239
Yeah, they still call him Hashem, right?
00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:27.920
And in Israel they won't say his name, which is it's kind of sad because really, you know, you want to be glorifying his name, but they won't even say the name or anything like that.
00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:29.199
So they say Hashem.
00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:35.360
Um, one of the the things there's about five things that you said that I wanted to jump back onto.
00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:35.840
Yeah.
00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:43.119
Um, but uh it is really cool that when you're not doing it for the wrong reasons.
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:50.400
Um I remember I'm so glad that I get to be a pastor now and I don't have to live in some of these workplaces.
00:34:50.480 --> 00:34:52.800
And I'm sorry for you out there if you're just if you have a boss, it's over.
00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:55.280
Oh man, isn't this awesome?
00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:59.920
In that regard, there's other things where you do not want to be a past, don't be it if if God hasn't called you.
00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:14.159
Uh, but I do remember when I started seeing some culture shift, um, you know, all of a sudden, uh, you know, you're working with an engineer and all of a sudden he yells out the name the Lord's name in vain, and then he immediately apologizes to you because there's there's a presence there, it's so good.
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:17.119
Or the the the channel switches, you know, Yellowstone goes off.
00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:20.159
We didn't have Yellowstone yet, but um, it's so good.
00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:22.719
Uh those are wins, by the way, uh Christians.
00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:33.360
If you're out there and you're you're in the workplace and all of a sudden um they're changing the radio station for you, or they're doing that, uh, that means that your presence is uh is affecting them and and don't forget to pray.
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:34.239
Positive way.
00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:35.440
It's so wonderful, right?
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.719
And that's what we're supposed to be doing.
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:39.760
We're supposed to be, you know, shifting culture um around.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:46.480
And and once again, it was it's not to be in your face, but you just you just live it and you just move through it and and just have a great boldness.
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:49.360
So well, a lot of times boldness is pretty quiet.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:36:04.239
Yeah, you know, I mean, it doesn't have to be like we said, four year um confronting, it's just basically that you're being consistent and that is going to be confront confrontational with you know the the world that we're living in.
00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:08.320
Um so the world already hates you, just go full send.
00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:10.239
I'm just joking.
00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:14.239
Uh what was the I'm gonna go back to Daniel um 11 real fast.
00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:18.239
Um but just the the people who know their God shall be strong.
00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:26.400
So when you have the right mind, God will give you that energy, he'll give you um the boldness will be with you as a strength.
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.599
And once again, it'll give you the opportunity to carry out great exploits.
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:31.679
So I don't know where that's gonna be.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:38.000
Last mark of people who know their God um is a great contentment in God.
00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:41.280
And so I love that.
00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:48.239
I love that men and women who have walked along with the Lord, they seem to be very settled.
00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:10.559
They uh they seem to um very secure with them their Yeah, I think that the the main point there would probably be more along the lines that when you get to know God and it sounds like we're just living this sort of fatalistic life, like everything's just all planned out and stuff, but and we're just puppets, but that's not the case.
00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:17.360
God gives us choices all over the place, but he just knows what we're gonna choose, and it's all wrapped into his ultimate plan.
00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:22.960
But those that know God know that God's in charge of all outcomes.
00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:27.679
So whatever's happening in some way is ordained by God.
00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:33.119
Uh, sometimes that can be tough because stuff that's happening doesn't seem like God would have any part of that.
00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:52.639
But no matter what's coming along, in some way that's been ordained by God, either to get you to trust him more, either to get you to humble you or to break some s habit in you that he wants gone in order to, you know, like Leonard Ravenhill talked about, I doubt that God can use any man that he hasn't completely broken.
00:37:53.360 --> 00:38:00.000
And so none of us really want that particular um activity to go on.
00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:07.280
But if that's what it's gonna take for God to be able to use us in a powerful way that he wants to, then sometimes he has to break us down.
00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:19.119
But if we know who God is, we can be content with that because he knows he's got a plan here that you know all things are working together for good for those that are in Christ, she's called according to his purposes, right?
00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:37.360
So when these stories like Daniel, where Daniel goes to Babylon, and it and you know, there's it's interesting because the wise men at Jesus after Jesus' birth come from the east, and they probably came from Babylon.
00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:44.559
And they most likely were products of the school that Daniel established, because it says in chapter three, I think.
00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:49.119
Yeah, no, it that he was put in charge of all this of all the school.
00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:52.320
Um all the magi, all the magicians, yeah.
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:54.880
All the magi and all the you know, all the astrologers.
00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:57.280
So that they knew there was a star.
00:38:58.239 --> 00:39:00.000
Where did they get that information from?
00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:11.119
So God is already, you know, setting the stage and through Daniel and through the education system um to glorify himself and accomplish his purposes.
00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:29.199
So Daniel was um it's always interesting when you're looking at a figure study or a character study in the word, because you know, like, well, Daniel's kind of an unusual case because there's really nothing you can say about him that's not positive.
00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:33.360
But like if you're talking about Abram, which one are you talking about?
00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:41.039
The one that the one that lied about Sarah being his his his sister, or the one that, you know, God covenanted with to make a great nation.
00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:43.760
You're talking about, you know, Job.
00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:53.039
Uh are you talking about the one that was upright and and blameless, or the one that was complaining because he, you know, he wanted God to answer him, you know.
00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:56.239
But Daniel, everything about Daniel is fairly positive.
00:39:56.880 --> 00:40:03.679
And so if there's a I don't know if we could even emulate Daniel because we didn't we haven't gone through what he's gone through, right?
00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:09.840
You know, and what he went through shaped and informed him in ways that are very instructional for us.
00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:14.320
But the key, I think, with Daniel is these four points, right?
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:21.519
That he, you know, was bold and he had this contentment, and that he, you know, thought great thoughts about God.
00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:30.880
And we too in our time, I think contentment is a something that only God can provide.
00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:46.960
You know, um uh Aquinas and some theological said that you know mankind's not necessarily searching for God, but all mankind wants the things that only God can provide, like forgiveness, contentment, purpose.
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:54.880
Um and so we're in era, we're in an era now that disenchantment is just, you know, people are just disenchanted.
00:40:54.960 --> 00:40:56.400
Yeah, the youth are disenchanted.
00:40:56.480 --> 00:40:57.920
What do they have to look forward to?
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:00.239
You know, old people are disenchanted.
00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:02.639
This is not the life that I signed up for.
00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:07.199
You know, I mean, everybody seems to be sort of like enchanted and discontent.
00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:08.639
Yeah, discontented.
00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:21.599
But if you know God, you can be content in all things, you know matter what your lot is, whether it's to be um um in captivity like Daniel, or to be the CEO of a large company, you know that God had his hand in this.
00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:46.719
You know, I I look at just personally, I look at the way that God moved me and and and and moved you in how that you know the us sitting here right now is just this incredible testimony story of how God had a purpose for Ponderosa Basin, and now we see this moving together and see how his hand has worked, and it's like just awesome, man.
00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:48.000
This is really cool.
00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:57.920
It it totally is, but God gets the glory because this wasn't something that you or I even envisioned two, three years ago, yeah, you know, and right, but God did.
00:41:58.079 --> 00:42:00.320
I didn't plan on being and he knew it all along, right?
00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:02.559
And that's oh man, I just I love that verse.
00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:03.519
I'm so content.
00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:06.480
I will build my, you know, I will build a church, you know.
00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:08.559
Yeah, it's not nothing that we will do.
00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:10.719
Uh we're just saying yes day by day.
00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:12.400
And thanks, man.
00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:13.360
That is really, really good.
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:17.599
I uh there's so much to be enchanted by in this world, it's a really magical world.
00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:24.079
It is, you know, look, you go outside and just think about, you know, you hear the birds singing and you see the beautiful mountain.
00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:29.679
We're blessed here with it, and like a grandeur here that is on, you know.
00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:31.039
Um I'm reading.
00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:35.360
But there's so much there's so much in the world to be enchanted by.
00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:36.079
Right.
00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:44.880
But I can see that without God, yeah, there I can see the point that what what is there for me to be enchanted by?
00:42:44.960 --> 00:42:47.119
What is there for me to look forward to?
00:42:47.360 --> 00:42:50.960
What is what is the purpose, you know, what am I gonna do?
00:42:51.440 --> 00:43:00.400
And that's where, you know, those if you're listening out there right now and and you just found this by accident, and well, not by accident, but by God's purpose.
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:04.320
And you're listening, yeah, and you're one of those that were talking about this disenchanted.
00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:06.400
I'm begging you right now to get it right with God.
00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:13.840
I'm begging you to fall down on your knees and tell him, God, only you can give me a purpose, only you can give me the peace that I'm looking for, right?
00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:17.360
Romans 5, therefore, having been justified, we have peace with God.
00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:21.920
Only you can give me a sense that there's something in this world to be enchanted by.
00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:25.599
Only you can give me a sense that there's something that's transcendent.
00:43:25.920 --> 00:43:26.559
Yes.
00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:30.239
That's looking out for me and loves me and cares for me.
00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:35.039
Um, and if that's you right now, please, I'm reconciled, be reconciled to God.
00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:43.280
And if you're a believer that's been struggling with, you know, not really feeling like you're where you should be, maybe God seems a little distant to you.
00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:45.360
Just think on these things.
00:43:45.519 --> 00:43:50.320
Think about, you know, um, those that know God have these attributes.
00:43:50.559 --> 00:43:52.960
And we were asking the questions all along.
00:43:53.199 --> 00:43:53.920
Where are you on this?
00:43:54.079 --> 00:43:54.880
Where are you on this?
00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:56.000
Where are you in this?
00:43:56.159 --> 00:43:57.840
And we keep asking those questions again.
00:43:58.000 --> 00:43:58.880
Where are you on this?
00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:07.119
Where are you when it comes to your enchantment with God and your contentment with God and your boldness for God and your great thoughts of God?
00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:12.079
Or is God just sort of this secondary player in your life that he's around when you need him?
00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:13.119
And thank you very much.
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:15.119
I'll call you if I I need you, right?
00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:15.760
Right.
00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:17.599
Make him make him everything.
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:21.760
Make him be the make him be the first thing that you think of in the morning when you get up.
00:44:21.920 --> 00:44:23.280
Thank you for the good night's sleep.
00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:26.079
Help me be a a witness for you today.
00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:27.519
Thank him when you go to bed.
00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:30.880
Thank you for all the opportunities that you gave me today to see your glory.
00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:36.480
That's the kind of thinking that Packer is trying to promote through his writing.
00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:40.639
And that's why he's using the story of Daniel to get us there.
00:44:41.760 --> 00:44:42.480
I love it.
00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:46.000
Let me uh just share this uh Packer quote real fast.
00:44:46.079 --> 00:44:48.159
It just encapsulates once again what you said.
00:44:48.320 --> 00:45:03.280
There's no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God's favor to them in life through death and on forever.
00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:04.079
Amen.
00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:06.320
What can you be anxious about after that, right?
00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:07.199
When you know the Lord.
00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:07.679
Yeah.
00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:08.639
What else can you say?
00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:09.199
All right.
00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:11.039
Well, I guess we can't really say anything else.
00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:12.800
I think that's a good second episode.
00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:14.800
Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:17.760
All right, I'm gonna hit the outro music and I'm just gonna say a few more things.
00:45:18.320 --> 00:45:19.280
Grace and peace to everybody.
00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:20.800
Grace and peace to you guys.
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:21.599
Here we go.
00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:22.239
All right.
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.159
Oh man, it's not there.
00:45:24.320 --> 00:45:24.800
We go.
00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:33.039
Well, if you're with us today, once again, we thank you so much for being part of our Doctor Misty podcast.
00:45:33.119 --> 00:45:35.440
This is a part of Watchfire Studios.
00:45:35.519 --> 00:45:40.320
And if you want more information, you can go online or visit us here in Middle Cost, California.
00:45:40.559 --> 00:45:45.039
If you don't have a church in the Miracles area, we can just invite you to join us at the morning at 30.
00:45:47.920 --> 00:46:35.679
If you have any questions, you can't do it.
00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:32.719
Welcome everyone.
00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.200
Thank you so much for tuning in to Doctrinicity.
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.159
I'm here as always up in the Mountain Retreat of Mariposa.
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:39.520
We're here with Doctrinicity.
00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:44.799
We are a week-by-week pastor-guided uh podcast on historic theology.
00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:46.719
This is Doctrine That Goes With You.
00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:49.119
And I'm once again Pastor Colin Kerrigan.
00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:52.000
I'm accompanied by my co-pastor and host, Dr.
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Keith Wibbles.
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How are you doing, Doc?
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Doing great, thanks.
00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:55.759
Awesome.
00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:07.040
One of the parts behind this uh for Watchfire Studios was that this idea of lighting signal fires from the great works of church history, such as Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Bonson, all these guys.
00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.159
But we started first with the idea of knowing God.
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:12.719
And for that, there was no one better than J.I.
00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.280
Packer.
00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:13.680
J.I.
00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.799
Packer wrote a wonderful book called Knowing God.
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And so we encourage you if you're part of our little mountain community here or you're at our church or you're part of our congregation, please get this book and start to know God.
00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.000
I'm sure many of you do.
00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:35.040
But uh, this knowing God is really powerful and it's just a great place to start as far as where we're gonna go with doctrinicity.
00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:37.280
So awesome.
00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.159
So last week was our first uh episode ever.
00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:43.439
Uh it was our flagship episode for the show.
00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:48.879
And this week is going to be obviously our second one, but we are trying to do this chapter by chapter.
00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:54.560
So in the first uh week, we covered our preface and also chapter one of knowing God.
00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:55.200
It's really powerful.
00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:59.760
If you haven't heard it, it's a great uh foundational stone for uh going into this.
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.920
Today we are going to be in chapter two, and this chapter two is called The People Who Know Their God.
00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.960
And so chapter that is chapter two of Knowing God.
00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:10.319
Um, all right.
00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:12.319
Well, are you excited?
00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:13.680
I'm excited, yeah.
00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:15.039
For number two, I'm too.
00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:16.479
That was a lot of a lot of stuff.
00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:22.719
So maybe you uh maybe you uh heard me read that opening verse from uh Daniel, that's from chapter 11, verses 32.
00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:23.919
But I do love that.
00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:30.400
Uh the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.
00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.879
And so it's a banner verse for going into this.
00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:39.680
And so, as we talked about last week, you can know a lot about God and yet still really not know him.
00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:47.520
And so we're gonna we're hopefully gonna uh break that apart a little bit today as we uh go into the people who know their God.
00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.879
Do you have any thoughts as we kind of jump into this uh the second chapter, Doc?
00:02:51.199 --> 00:03:00.560
Yeah, I think some of the stuff we're gonna be covering maybe uh it's a little bit of overlap from last week, but you know, any instructor will tell you that kids have to hear things multiple times before they finally sink in.
00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:01.840
So I don't think that's bad.
00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:23.919
Um, but yeah, we want to just get into a kind of a character study today here that Packer brings up, and that's the study of Daniel and uh the practicalities of being a a Christian, a a person that knows God amidst a culture that doesn't know God and hates God and is opposed to everything about him.
00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.240
So Right.
00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:28.960
That's right.
00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:36.560
Uh so yeah, there in and specifically Packer discusses that there's four kind of um there's what four banner or four marks.
00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:38.560
Four marks of people that know their God.
00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:39.120
Exactly.
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:48.000
And so those marks would be uh a great energy for God, great thoughts of God, great boldness for God, and great contentment in God.
00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:50.000
So let's get into those banners right away.
00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.639
So um great energy for God.
00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:53.360
All right.
00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:57.280
So this is not laziness uh toward his honor.
00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.680
Um, this is a willingness to be stirred when God's truth is trampled.
00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:09.199
And so once again, he did bring up Daniel, is kind of the person to be exemplifying these these four different truths.
00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:17.120
And so the question maybe if you're driving or you're at home right now is where is your zeal for God right now?
00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:19.759
Are you coasting?
00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:21.199
Is is it okay?
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:22.560
Are is your energy down?
00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:35.839
I mean, we have so much going on in our lives, our world right now, and it feels like um God's honor is not really um it's not our first priority, you know, making sure that he's honored in the way that he deserves to be honored.
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.279
And likewise, um, where's our comfort comfort preferences right now?
00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:41.040
Good questions, yeah.
00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:43.199
I'm so all right.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:45.680
So for great energy for God, that's where he starts.
00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:58.720
Uh anything you want to throw on uh the idea of well, I think that you know, with Daniel, the the point that the Bible makes is that this wasn't something that was um uh instructed into him.
00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:03.759
I mean, this was this is not a personality type, this is this is um transformation.
00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:08.319
And you know, he may have been a go-getter as a personality type.
00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:47.920
You know, the Bible tells us in Daniel 1 that you know Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians were seeking out the movers and shakers of Jerusalem and they wanted to turn them into Chaldeans by schooling them in in Babylonian schools, and so the intention was to take these guys and turn them into essentially ambassadors for Babylon in Israel, and Daniel was one of those young men that they took, and the story that plays out is that they have a certain diet of really rich, tasty royal food that they want to the king's dainties, the kin's banqueting table, right?
00:05:48.000 --> 00:06:12.560
And they want to give that to them, and Daniel um doesn't want the honor of God offended, and so he asks politely the chief of the eunuchs if he can do this experiment where they eat their food and the other guys there at the Babylonian school can eat their food and said, Listen, after a month, if we look like we're wasting away, we'll eat your food.
00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:23.279
But, you know, so it wasn't that he was in your face um as a Christian and you know, provoking fights and and and getting in the culture's face.
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:32.800
He basically was working as he could, you know, in a way that was still pleasing and honoring to God, but yet still um counterculture.
00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:33.439
Right.
00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:38.399
And I think that's probably an important thing because we can kind of oversteer both ways here.
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:56.480
We can start looking at our rights as Christians and say, well, this is how we want our society to operate because we're Christians, and then otherwise, or we can be way too timid and passive and say, Well, we just hope God takes care of everything here and we'll be, you know.
00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:01.759
But Daniel was kind of carefully um balanced that.
00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:14.160
I don't know if the word balanced is right, but he was he was uh in between that, you know, where he recognized that he wanted God to be honored, but not in a way that was dishonoring, you know.
00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:20.319
I mean, I I I get it, I understand where people say, well, look, we need to stand up against this stuff.
00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:28.879
Um and yet they do it in a way that makes Christians look like we're the meanest, most awful people in the world, right?
00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:37.759
And and you just wonder sometimes if we just approach things like Daniel, if we'd get a lot farther in impacting a culture, you know.
00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:38.240
Yeah.
00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.120
Um I I I agree with that.
00:07:41.199 --> 00:08:04.319
Uh uh, you know, one of the drawbacks of being uh in such a technological age is that you're you're face to face with everything that's going on on in Iran today and and the the warring across or the the tumult across Europe or the or um you know all these different um uh conflicts, all these different uh things that are are happening.
00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:07.759
And yet really what Daniel was dealing with was right in front of his face.
00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:09.279
It was kind of brought to him, right?
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:18.319
And it was it's uh kind of a small Daniel's obviously gonna have bigger um exploits that it talks about, but um this is kind of this this is the small test that leads to the bigger one.
00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:19.279
You don't yeah, right?
00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.160
You don't get you know to the you know you don't get to get to the final boss.
00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:42.960
Yeah, no, and I I have to think that Daniel from the very get-go understood that there was a bigger narrative here than just that he got pulled into captivity because um, and I think that's what we do, we just focus everything down to the moment and we don't look at like the bigger picture and say, okay, God is in charge, he knows everything, he's the God of telos of outcomes.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:45.919
And so he knew he was there for a reason.
00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:53.919
Yeah, and right from the start, he's setting down his um line in the sand basically that you know I'm gonna serve my God here.
00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:06.159
And like I said, I I it troubles me that Christians are are thought of by uh the people we're trying to reach as being somehow really mean spirited, you know.
00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:14.480
Yeah, and I I think particularly like of cases like where um Christopher Hitchens, the very um what would I call him?
00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.519
He's one of the leading atheists, visible atheists or anti-theist.
00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:18.639
Anti-theist there.
00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:20.399
Yeah, actually, Hitchin was honest.
00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:22.480
He said he he didn't want there to be a God.
00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:28.399
Not that he didn't believe, he didn't want there to be a God, and that's probably the classic definition of anti-theist.
00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:46.639
But he had throat cancer, and so he had a year to live, the doctors gave him, and so he wrote a book called My Year of Living Dyingly, and he was talking about how that the worst and the most vitriolic emails he got were from Christians saying, You deserve this.
00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:49.919
Burning in hell, you deserve this burn in hell, heretic, right?
00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:50.720
Turn a burn.
00:09:50.960 --> 00:10:05.840
And you think if just one Christian had said, Hey, I know that you've taken this stand against Christianity, but I love you and I want you to understand that God loves you and there's no sin that he won't forgive, what would that have done?
00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.559
You know, if just one had done that.
00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:15.600
So here you have the one, Daniel and his friends, obviously, um, Shadrach, Meshach, Abendigo, using their Babylonian names.
00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:16.399
Oh, I know.
00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:19.200
That's a great uh uh quiz question right there.
00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:20.320
What were their Hebrew names?
00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:20.799
I forget it.
00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:22.320
Uh Mishel.
00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:23.039
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.960
I and I knew him at one time.
00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:26.559
He's pop quiz.
00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:27.600
Uh it's in there.
00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:28.399
It is in there.
00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:29.279
Yeah, it's in Daniel.
00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:30.399
Yeah, read read Daniel.
00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:30.879
It's in there.
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:31.919
I love what you said there.
00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:40.559
Uh, there is a wonderful um movie with Chris for Hitchens and Doug Wilson called Collision, and and they go back and forth, and they had a they had a deep respect for each other.
00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:43.120
It's a great uh chance to kind of see what he was all about.
00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:47.840
But you're right, there's a way to do it obnoxiously, there's a way to do it that doesn't not honor God.
00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.960
And um, so you know, to have great energy for God also takes, you know, you need to have honor in it.
00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:54.960
And I love that this was kind of the personal stand.
00:10:55.039 --> 00:11:00.720
Obviously, there's it this is unkosher, not good food for them to be eating as as good kosher boys.
00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:04.080
And um it just and it's uh no no anyway.
00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:05.840
God is God is being very gracious.
00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.919
This first test is really just um about food.
00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:13.200
Yeah, you know, it there's nothing really on the line.
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:17.759
There's there's not some sort of governmental decree that you eat this food or else.
00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:20.559
It's just you know, hey, this is what we want to eat.
00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:23.200
And you know, of course, the chief of the eunuchs was freaking out.
00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:27.200
He didn't think he was he thought he was gonna get in trouble, but it was a losing proposition, yeah.
00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:35.600
So, but anyway, at the end of at the damn month, of course, the the Hebrew boys look uh way healthier for what their diet was and drinking and eating polluted meat.
00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:45.600
Yeah, and it's not a by any stretch of the imagination, this is not a uh endorsement biblically for vegetarianism, but or Daniel, well, Daniel Fast, maybe Daniel Fast.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:47.120
I could use one of the things that Daniel Fast.
00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:47.759
Let's write a book.
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:49.840
Yeah, let's write a book and put it on Amazon.
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:51.200
That sounds great.
00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:53.039
It doesn't sound too bad.
00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:53.679
All right.
00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:55.440
Um, so I I love that.
00:11:55.519 --> 00:12:00.559
And so this is uh once again, I think uh the stepping stone for him is for these guys.
00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:01.759
They're just laying it down right now.
00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:02.960
How old do you think they were, probably?
00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:04.399
I mean, they're probably still pretty young.
00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:09.279
I know Daniel seems to be a little bit older than the three, but they love it it depends on who you're reading.
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:13.759
Some people say he was down in his mid-teens, you know, he's just a very super young guy.
00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:28.000
So I I love that, and uh love the idea that there's these, you know, David was uh teen with a uh holy restlessness when when uh Goliath came calling to the camp and is shouting out and doing all these things.
00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.080
Aren't you guys gonna do anything here?
00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:31.759
Yeah, like what is going on here?
00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:33.840
You guys are the warriors and this the shepherd boys.
00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:35.840
Why am I the one calling him out?
00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:36.080
Yeah.
00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.039
So um, so have we lost that energy for God?
00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.159
Have we is it is it do you see I see a dissipation of it?
00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.240
I I definitely see a lot of sliding.
00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.519
Um Yeah, and I think that's we talked about it in episode one.
00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.679
What was Packer's reasons for writing the book?
00:12:49.840 --> 00:13:00.960
And one of those is he probably was seeing this loss of energy for for God, you know, that there was more of a comfort with uh well, I'm a Christian, so oh, so now what?
00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.000
And everything's good.
00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:14.799
And yeah, he starts there's a preface from 70 1973 and then 19 uh 93, and it's funny, it's like he talks about how the world is kind of falling, you know, further away from knowing God, and that's why he's writing the book.
00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:17.840
But then in 1983, he's like, the world is falling even further.
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.279
Yeah, and and and if it was 2023, it'd be like probably a third another preface saying the same thing.
00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.279
I'm glad I'm dead and with the Lord now.
00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:27.360
Yeah, uh, that's probably what he's saying.
00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.320
Actually, that that sounds pretty good too.
00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:35.360
Um, so uh so in our culture, just that there is a we do have a comfort mentality.
00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:41.600
We have uh there's parts of us that don't want to give a lot of energy um for the service of God.
00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:50.320
I mean, last week we did discuss um just our church attitudes and some of the the ways that we view church, you know, oh do we have to go?
00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:52.879
Is that it's the is it the checkbox?
00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.279
Is it the you know, it's these um these other things?
00:13:55.360 --> 00:14:00.320
There's a lot of um I don't know, lack of seal, focus.
00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:09.039
Yeah, well, another thing too about this first this first episode in Daniel, it wasn't super public, it was almost like the wedding at Cana where only a few people knew what Jesus had done.
00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:14.639
You know, really there's a very limited group of people that knew what Daniel was asking here.
00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:22.399
So for those out there that think that everything that you have to do for God has to be super public, um, you know, that's not the case.
00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:42.399
I know my mom, um, I can't tell you how many hours she spent with the bedroom door closed, just praying and interceding, you know, for for her family and for the church and for the country and and you know, and and that's a kind of um behind the scenes uh everyday faith that God really can can use, you know.
00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.240
I don't need to be out front, you know.
00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:53.919
Now as pastors, God has called us to be a little bit more public and be in front of people, and part of our reward is from having people come up and say, Hey, that really ministered to me.
00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:58.720
You know, my mom never had anybody say, you know, that prayer was awesome, you know.
00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:03.519
But yeah, God saw it, God understands you know, her heart.
00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:10.960
So I think Daniel here with people that know God don't need to be congratulated by the world for their exploits, you know.
00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:21.279
They're they're they're content, and I know that's something we'll talk about in a in a while, but they're content just doing what God would have them do in a way that is pleasing and honoring to God.
00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:22.480
It's very good.
00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:26.159
Um today or yeah, today, uh pastoral prayer.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:32.639
Uh, we had an older gentleman, late 80s, came in and had a holy rest restlessness.
00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:36.960
He doesn't have a ton of physical energy for serving at the church, but he said, Hey, I can do this.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.519
Right, I can show up and I can pray for people for an hour.
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:42.159
And uh that was really cool, that was really a blessing.
00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:47.840
Um, so let's move on to the second uh mark of a person who knows their God.
00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:49.600
So the first one was great energy for God.
00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.960
I hope that you do have great energy for God, and once again, that that's a great question.
00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.799
You know, where is your zeal right now?
00:15:55.039 --> 00:16:07.440
Uh, but now we're gonna move into the second mark, and the second mark, still in Daniel, but uh it will kind of focuses on Daniel's character, but uh great thoughts of God, and you were starting to move into this territory.
00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:25.919
Um, but really uh seeing God, you know, a lot of the time, if I look at my prayer life and I'm honest, God feels like the side character, or you know, if I'm reading the story, he tends to be more of a side character, you know, in my story or whatever I'm doing.
00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:27.200
Um, that's not true.
00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.080
It just means, you know, that's typically how we see him.
00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:40.879
Someone who has great thoughts of God will see God as the main character, and that you are you're the actual side person, so um, and that we are in his story, we're crowding out his story.
00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.919
Uh, but no, we're we're here to make his story great.
00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:45.600
So, any thoughts on that?
00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:50.639
Is um when we think about you know the bigger story that's being played out, having great thoughts of God.
00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:58.000
Well, I think Daniel, of course, the the the prayer in chapter nine where he's repenting and confessing and praying, you know.
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:05.359
Um in Daniel's um an interesting book because you have the first half of the book is narrative and then the second half is prophetic.
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:16.400
And you don't want to get into all the the misuses of Daniel's prophecies, but um in chapter nine he prays, and one of the phrases he uses you know, the great and awesome God.
00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:20.079
And that wasn't just a phrase he tossed off.
00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:54.640
That was basically his conception of God, that God was great, not like um you know, frosted flakes are great, but that God was awesome, he was expansion, he was in infinite, you know, and then you're talking about greatness, we're talking about a measure, not so much uh uh that God was was everything and he was awesome, you know, in not the the 80s uh valley uh slang by the I know Ninja Turtles ruined everything for everyone, it's all radical, radical, righteous, awesome, we're awesome, yeah.
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:55.519
Clueless.
00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:01.920
Um but but that he was a God that inspires awe, fear and fear and trembling in a good way.
00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.079
And that's so yeah, it's really good.
00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:09.680
And you know, I don't think we I think we've lost that majesty.
00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:18.880
I think we've lost that feeling that God is beyond comprehension, that that God is powerful beyond our ability to conceive it.
00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:30.720
We we've turned God into some sort of either the celestial Santa Claus, you know, that if I serve him, he's obligated now to give me nice stuff all the time.
00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:36.319
Or or we've diminished him down to, and this for me is a personal pet peeve.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:40.400
I'm just telling him, okay, everybody out there, this is just me talking, this is me venting.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.960
Okay, but I I really have a hard time with the phrase daddy God.
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:45.920
Oh, absolutely.
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:46.319
Right?
00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.279
Yeah, so I'm with you there.
00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:48.000
Okay, thank you.
00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:48.480
Please do it.
00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:49.119
Not just me.
00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:49.920
Please don't do it here.
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.279
Please do not emulate this horrible behavior.
00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:55.599
God is father, yes.
00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:04.880
But this whole kind of um downgrading him to um somebody who's a buddy or a pal.
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:06.960
Uh, we don't want to do that.
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:08.720
God is God and we are not.
00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:18.559
And there's there's, you know, this is what the skeptical philosophers were were batting around back in, you know, the day, Hume and Kant and those guys.
00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:22.319
If if God does exist, how could we ever possibly know him?
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.160
There has to be a gap between him and us that's so vast.
00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.720
But you know, like the writer of Hebrews said, God has spoken.
00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.559
He did it in the law and the prophets, now he's done it through his son.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:41.359
So God, when he wants to have a relationship with us, he initiates the conversation.
00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:48.160
You know, it may be through hearing a message that a pastor speaks, you know, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word.
00:19:49.119 --> 00:20:08.000
Or it may be that um that you have had um a relationship quote unquote with God in the past, but it was sort of superficial and you just were kind of like um using God as your um your go-to when things get tough, right?
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:08.240
Right.
00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.519
You know, God, if you I hope so like we pray, right?
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:15.359
Yeah, how many prayers did you ever pray as a kid before you really, really understood God?
00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.599
Well, God, if you get me out of this, I'll always serve you.
00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:18.799
Give me a B plus.
00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.240
Yeah, if you give me a B plus, I need a B plus on this final.
00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:24.000
If you give me that, I'll serve you forever.
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:31.599
Well, that's not what we do with God, you know, but it the people that know God don't think that way about God.
00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:38.880
God is awesome, God is majestic, God is everything, God is my life, God is my strength, God is my right?
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:43.440
And we talk about, well, those Old Testament people, they didn't know passion.
00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:44.400
Uh, you know.
00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:46.160
Um, wait a minute.
00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:52.240
What about thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and and strength or mind and strength, right?
00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:54.960
How much more passionate can it get than that?
00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:02.559
And and you know, that's one of the ironies of passion, especially with modern worship, is they say, well, it's passion.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:11.200
But it isn't passion because passion is directed at someone that you love, whereas modern worship is basically all about me.
00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:18.160
So unless you want passion to integrate like self-exaltation and self, you know.
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:26.160
Um but anyway, the Old Testament people had passion, they had a very loving and passionate relationship with a God that was awesome.
00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:32.160
They respected God, they honored God, or they didn't, but you know, same as they didn't.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:32.640
Yeah.
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.480
Well, it talks about that opening verse about what happens to the flattery and then corrupted.
00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:43.599
Um well, that's a good place to keep talking about.
00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:50.480
Um I was thinking about as you were talking the mind, loving the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength.
00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:57.279
Mind um does get a little bit lost sometimes, you know, when we talk about going deeper into doctrine and destruction.
00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:57.839
Right.
00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:03.200
Um I've noticed in my own Personal life, it even happens this week, but I'm anxious.
00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:08.960
There's a low, you know, anxiousness is on a low burn or stress is on this low burn, and I'm not praying.
00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:19.519
Um, and what is generally taking place there is I'm usually defaulting to my man, my natural man mind, my flesh.
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:35.599
And when we think about having great thoughts of God, um, that once we start to prioritize him, praise him, put him where elevate, you know, to I mean, that's I mean, when we're when you're meditating, you're you're meditating on is like you were saying, awesomeness, greatness.
00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:37.680
Um, we had to take a time out this week.
00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.519
It was a basic, like, hey, I'm stressed right now, and I'm just realizing it.
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:50.960
So my my wife and I, we take some time, we pray about it, and uh just kind of offload it a little bit, but it's also that window back into God is much bigger, much greater.
00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:57.119
And I really do appreciate you um highlighting the um the Daniel 9 verse.
00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:57.680
What was that again?
00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:00.880
It was uh, oh Lord, how the great and awesome God.
00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:09.359
Yeah, well, yeah, now one thing that I would tell you for all the guys out there that probably don't read a lot and you're just getting into maybe reading um dead guys.
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:13.839
Um find yourself a Puritan mentor to read.
00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:20.720
That's whether it's John Owen, uh there's people that I probably wouldn't recommend right off the get-go, and one is John Owen.
00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.640
Uh the other one is John Edwards.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.480
I know you don't, I know you find him hard to read.
00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:26.559
Yeah, Thomas Watson can be tough.
00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:32.319
But uh one book that I would recommend for every believer is The Letters of Samuel Rutherford.
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:37.039
And he he was a pastor and he got exiled from his church.
00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:37.440
What?
00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.799
And he had happens?
00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:44.319
Yeah, he's I mean, they they didn't like what he was preaching, they thought he was anti-government.
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:50.960
So he got exiled and he had to spend a good bulk of his life in I forget if it's Edinburgh.
00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:58.960
And he had all these people writing him letters, and every time he wrote back, it was just Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ, right?
00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:06.799
And and so everything in there is just exalting Christ, encouraging people to not give up the thread, you know.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.039
So there are great, great, great Puritan books out there.
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:22.640
If you want to get into a devotional kind of reading that's in addition to your scriptural study, um, those kind of the books that can really sort of retune, reset your frequency too, you know.
00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:25.920
If if uh, you know, we want, of course, scripture.
00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:34.480
We want to pray that God will bless the reading of his words, that'll help us to understand it, what he's saying, and and that will lead us to a better understanding and knowledge of him.
00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:40.960
But he has given us works out there, uh, particularly the Puritans, and I'm not obsessed with the Puritans.
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:42.559
I just know that they were Bible men.
00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:44.880
The old phrase was they were Bible men, you know.
00:24:45.119 --> 00:25:01.759
Yes, they they just knew scripture inside backwards and forwards, and it it showed up in their life and it showed up in their joy, it showed up in their faith and practice, it folded showed up in their boldness, it showed up in their great thoughts of God, you know, to bring it all to full cycle here.
00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:03.359
That's it right there.
00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:05.759
No, they uh when you read them, it's pretty fan.
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.279
They thought very big of God.
00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:10.640
Yeah, and it's wonderful to read, it's explosive in many ways.
00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.599
It's gonna mess you up.
00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:14.720
He wrote Lex Rex too, Samuel Rutherford.
00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.079
Yeah, the law is king.
00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:17.359
The king is the law.
00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:18.480
No, no, the law is king.
00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.640
Yeah, God's law is king.
00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:21.519
That's I love it.
00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:22.799
Um Lex Rex.
00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.680
That there's a higher I haven't read his uh his letter, sounds sounds really good.
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:35.599
Okay, uh the fourth or sorry, the third uh mark of a people who know their God is a great boldness for God.
00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:37.119
Oh, that's so good.
00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:43.599
Um so as we know, uh Daniel has multiple um moments of boldness.
00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:44.000
Right.
00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:55.519
Obviously, there was the first when he goes to the chief eunuch and he has to kind of, I mean, really set a different culture uh around there, um around the palace, and and there the eunuch trusts him enough to put his neck out for him.
00:25:55.599 --> 00:26:00.160
And so, you know, this is like getting in trouble with a boss at work, you know, or like, yeah.
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:10.559
Well, you know, I I was I'm from the fire department and I was from that world for a long series of time, and and it was not easy to be, you know, a Christian who really represented their faith well.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:25.759
You know, for me that was praying around the dinner table, um, leaving when, you know, smuddy movies came on, or that you know, they were ready to watch, you know, some rom-com thing that was grody, um, reading my Bible uh at night when it would have been more fun to, you know, go do something else, you know.
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:31.039
Um so setting those patterns and um what was interesting is it took some boldness.
00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:38.559
It didn't feel like it generally then, but we're I was I was hoping that at some level it would change the culture, but really it was like 18 guys against one.
00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:39.359
It was hard.
00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:51.200
But you know, I'm sitting in there contending with you know these gruff dozer operators that are, you know, well, why did you know all the all the these silly atheistic tropes that they they trot out?
00:26:51.279 --> 00:27:02.880
Why did why do babies suffer and why do bad things, you know, and I'm a 19, 20 year old Christian that's just trying to figure, you know, I just got saved, but I'm still going toe to toe and they're calling me Bible thumper and right and all those things.
00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:11.519
So um uh, but I think about that as has Daniel as a young man changing the culture of his birth uh his workplace, it takes boldness.
00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:20.160
And um, I you know, as we walk into this area of boldness, uh, when was the last time you were bold for the Lord, for the sake of the Lord?
00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:25.680
And there's ways to do that, I think, that you did you said very well, you know, you don't want to do this obnoxiously.
00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:30.640
Sometimes if just the fight just comes to you, you know, it's gonna be some principle, you know.
00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:40.000
Well, I see it it isn't, and it wasn't with Daniel, it wasn't about just um being in your face for the sake of being in your face, or you know, some false kind of bravery.
00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:43.599
If I muster this up, I'm doing something good for God.
00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:56.319
You know, when you were at the in your your conversion, you weren't doing what you did to try to be um to rattle the cage, you were just doing it because God was your God and you loved God and you wanted to get to know him better.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:59.039
And there could be a cost.
00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:07.599
Um, you know, we look at the story of Shadrach and Meshach, and the and the the statue goes up in chapter, oh, is it three and four?
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.440
And the statue goes up.
00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:11.839
I'm not gonna look here because we both got our Bibles out.
00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:12.400
So here we go.
00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:16.319
We got our Bibles because we gotta look and make sure that's yeah, yeah, it's chapter three.
00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:19.519
Okay, and then Nebuchadnezzar's dream is chapter four.
00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:32.559
But um, chapter three, this the statue goes up, and Nebuchadnezzar has it erected there in the plains of Shinar, which um is a very interesting location biblically, but um You should go into it.
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:46.400
Yeah, we don't have the time to go there, but anyway, we don't um and it everybody's supposed to bow down to it when the music plays, and and Shadrach, Meshach, and Nebuchadnezz won't bow down.
00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:53.440
And you know, you don't have to do anything special when everybody's bowing to the to the beast or the image.
00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:55.839
If you just stand, you're gonna get noticed, right?
00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:57.200
And that's exactly what happened.
00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:59.119
They're just they're just standing there.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:02.480
They didn't, they didn't provoke, they didn't anything, they just stood.
00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:17.039
And of course, they're tossed into the fire, and you know, and the the the one that looks like uh an angel or or the son of God is in there with them, and and you know, so they knew there was a cost, they knew they might die.
00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:19.839
Maybe they even tell the king, we're not gonna bow down.
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:25.440
We know that God is in charge, but even if he chooses not to save us, we're still not gonna bow down to you.
00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:38.240
And then, of course, um Daniel being told, um, it was people that were out to destroy Daniel uh because they were jealous, making a proclamation from the king that you couldn't pray anymore.
00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:40.400
And Daniel's like, Well, that is not gonna work for me.
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.519
I'm gonna do it anyway.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:44.240
And not only did he do that, he does it in his window.
00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:50.799
And again, that seems like it might be a little provocative, but I think he was just saying, Look, this is this is who I am, you know.
00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.160
Well, I love he was just he was going forward with his day.
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:56.640
He's going forward with his yeah, he didn't change anything.
00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:03.599
It's one thing to be someone who who loves conflict or loves to be, you know, keyboard warrior and just you know get their bravado out there, you know.
00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:06.880
It's the dog behind the glass, yeah, the little yippie dog.
00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:09.359
Um, but no, that was not, it was who he was.
00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:18.240
Like you're saying, it was it was a part of God had downloaded him with that zeal and that faith because one, he had energy for God, but he thought great thoughts about God.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:33.279
Yeah, I mean, I think like um when you have high thoughts of God and a great boldness for God, this conviction comes from from basically uh we don't want to see God.
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.960
This is wrong, basically, this is just wrong, and we can't be part of this.
00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:49.440
And one of the things that I've had a lot of people who are self-identifying as Christians tell me is that they've watched this or this or that on TV, Yellowstone being one of them.
00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:52.799
Oh, you're gonna nail some people, and then they say, Well, it's not that bad.
00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:55.759
So where's that, where's their conviction?
00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:05.599
You know, where's that sense in them that I can't be doing this because there's nothing that I could would I be comfortable having God sit here next to me while I'm watching this?
00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:15.200
Well, what they don't realize is that he is his Holy Spirit dwells in you, yeah, and you're dragging your Holy Spirit into a situation that he's had nothing to, you know.
00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:23.759
So great thoughts of God are gonna help us be more sensitive that when God's name is being offended or being dishonored.
00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:30.319
And we're just gonna have to stand up like those boys did um by the statue.
00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:38.160
Look, no, we're not gonna bow down to this, we're not gonna bow down to the culture and say, Well, what are we supposed to watch if we don't watch that?
00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:41.680
Well, watch old movies on YouTube, they're pretty good, you know.
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.839
From go watch game of the black and white.
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:44.880
I'm just joking.
00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.359
This yeah, that was the that was a lie.
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.279
I just I I know youth pastors are doing that.
00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:49.920
You know what I mean?
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:54.319
Do not be promoting that, don't be talking to young men.
00:31:55.839 --> 00:32:00.880
You can watch podcasts all day and all night, and like Packer says, that doesn't mean that you'll know anything about God.
00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:05.759
You just be stuffing your brain with information if if it's not transformative, yeah.
00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:11.599
And then it just becomes arrogance, you know, that you know, well, I know all this and I know that, and I'm pretty smart.
00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:14.319
Can you watch this podcast and that, you know?
00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:20.160
And you know, that's the thing is it information, like Paul says, knowledge puffs up.
00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:23.119
If it doesn't transform you, it's just gonna turn you into a jerk.
00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:28.079
You know, you're gonna be arrogant, yeah, because you know this and you know that, and you pour people over there.
00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:29.839
It's almost like Gnosticism.
00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:32.079
You I know something you don't know, you know.
00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:39.119
Yeah, and and so what when you have this kind of boldness for God, it's a it's a humble boldness, right?
00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:44.559
I mean, they were like, okay, you what it we know there's a price that may have to pay here.
00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:54.079
We know that we're going against the government of Babylon, we know that we're going against the king's decree, but we love God more.
00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:59.519
Yeah, we want to honor God more, and that may cost us our lives, but you know what?
00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:00.559
That's all right.
00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:03.839
We will not be unfaithful to our God.
00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:14.240
So when you know God, even your life becomes something that's a lot more um, what would be the word?
00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:17.440
It's not something you you're so desperate to hold on to.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.000
Now we're not we're not required to want to die.
00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:23.279
We're not required to want to get in conflict with people and be beat up.
00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:30.240
I think some people, some Christians want to get in conflict with people so that people start calling them names.
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:33.680
Oh, I was I've been persecuted for the name of Christ.
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:35.839
No, you're just being a bully, you know.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.759
Yeah, that's it's not the same thing.
00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:38.799
Being annoying.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:43.680
Yeah, you're annoying and and and you're you right, and and this is where it gets serious, right?
00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:47.119
Because the third commandment says, Don't take the name of the Lord in vain.
00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:59.680
So don't be bringing God's name into a discussion like that and claiming this is the God, you know, and and God wouldn't hate God hates it, and just battering people over the head with the name of the Lord.
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:04.400
Um, because God takes that seriously, his name means something.
00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:06.720
Yeah, and and we've lost that.
00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:15.920
The ancients basically, when they you know cried out the ancient Near Eastern Baruch Hashem, blessed be the name, because God's name was synonymous with God.
00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:18.239
Yeah, they still call him Hashem, right?
00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:27.920
And in Israel they won't say his name, which is it's kind of sad because really, you know, you want to be glorifying his name, but they won't even say the name or anything like that.
00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:29.199
So they say Hashem.
00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:35.360
Um, one of the the things there's about five things that you said that I wanted to jump back onto.
00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:35.840
Yeah.
00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:43.119
Um, but uh it is really cool that when you're not doing it for the wrong reasons.
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:50.400
Um I remember I'm so glad that I get to be a pastor now and I don't have to live in some of these workplaces.
00:34:50.480 --> 00:34:52.800
And I'm sorry for you out there if you're just if you have a boss, it's over.
00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:55.280
Oh man, isn't this awesome?
00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:59.920
In that regard, there's other things where you do not want to be a past, don't be it if if God hasn't called you.
00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:14.159
Uh, but I do remember when I started seeing some culture shift, um, you know, all of a sudden, uh, you know, you're working with an engineer and all of a sudden he yells out the name the Lord's name in vain, and then he immediately apologizes to you because there's there's a presence there, it's so good.
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:17.119
Or the the the channel switches, you know, Yellowstone goes off.
00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:20.159
We didn't have Yellowstone yet, but um, it's so good.
00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:22.719
Uh those are wins, by the way, uh Christians.
00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:33.360
If you're out there and you're you're in the workplace and all of a sudden um they're changing the radio station for you, or they're doing that, uh, that means that your presence is uh is affecting them and and don't forget to pray.
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:34.239
Positive way.
00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:35.440
It's so wonderful, right?
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.719
And that's what we're supposed to be doing.
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:39.760
We're supposed to be, you know, shifting culture um around.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:46.480
And and once again, it was it's not to be in your face, but you just you just live it and you just move through it and and just have a great boldness.
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:49.360
So well, a lot of times boldness is pretty quiet.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:36:04.239
Yeah, you know, I mean, it doesn't have to be like we said, four year um confronting, it's just basically that you're being consistent and that is going to be confront confrontational with you know the the world that we're living in.
00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:08.320
Um so the world already hates you, just go full send.
00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:10.239
I'm just joking.
00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:14.239
Uh what was the I'm gonna go back to Daniel um 11 real fast.
00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:18.239
Um but just the the people who know their God shall be strong.
00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:26.400
So when you have the right mind, God will give you that energy, he'll give you um the boldness will be with you as a strength.
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.599
And once again, it'll give you the opportunity to carry out great exploits.
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:31.679
So I don't know where that's gonna be.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:38.000
Last mark of people who know their God um is a great contentment in God.
00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:41.280
And so I love that.
00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:48.239
I love that men and women who have walked along with the Lord, they seem to be very settled.
00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:10.559
They uh they seem to um very secure with them their Yeah, I think that the the main point there would probably be more along the lines that when you get to know God and it sounds like we're just living this sort of fatalistic life, like everything's just all planned out and stuff, but and we're just puppets, but that's not the case.
00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:17.360
God gives us choices all over the place, but he just knows what we're gonna choose, and it's all wrapped into his ultimate plan.
00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:22.960
But those that know God know that God's in charge of all outcomes.
00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:27.679
So whatever's happening in some way is ordained by God.
00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:33.119
Uh, sometimes that can be tough because stuff that's happening doesn't seem like God would have any part of that.
00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:52.639
But no matter what's coming along, in some way that's been ordained by God, either to get you to trust him more, either to get you to humble you or to break some s habit in you that he wants gone in order to, you know, like Leonard Ravenhill talked about, I doubt that God can use any man that he hasn't completely broken.
00:37:53.360 --> 00:38:00.000
And so none of us really want that particular um activity to go on.
00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:07.280
But if that's what it's gonna take for God to be able to use us in a powerful way that he wants to, then sometimes he has to break us down.
00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:19.119
But if we know who God is, we can be content with that because he knows he's got a plan here that you know all things are working together for good for those that are in Christ, she's called according to his purposes, right?
00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:37.360
So when these stories like Daniel, where Daniel goes to Babylon, and it and you know, there's it's interesting because the wise men at Jesus after Jesus' birth come from the east, and they probably came from Babylon.
00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:44.559
And they most likely were products of the school that Daniel established, because it says in chapter three, I think.
00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:49.119
Yeah, no, it that he was put in charge of all this of all the school.
00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:52.320
Um all the magi, all the magicians, yeah.
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:54.880
All the magi and all the you know, all the astrologers.
00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:57.280
So that they knew there was a star.
00:38:58.239 --> 00:39:00.000
Where did they get that information from?
00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:11.119
So God is already, you know, setting the stage and through Daniel and through the education system um to glorify himself and accomplish his purposes.
00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:29.199
So Daniel was um it's always interesting when you're looking at a figure study or a character study in the word, because you know, like, well, Daniel's kind of an unusual case because there's really nothing you can say about him that's not positive.
00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:33.360
But like if you're talking about Abram, which one are you talking about?
00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:41.039
The one that the one that lied about Sarah being his his his sister, or the one that, you know, God covenanted with to make a great nation.
00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:43.760
You're talking about, you know, Job.
00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:53.039
Uh are you talking about the one that was upright and and blameless, or the one that was complaining because he, you know, he wanted God to answer him, you know.
00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:56.239
But Daniel, everything about Daniel is fairly positive.
00:39:56.880 --> 00:40:03.679
And so if there's a I don't know if we could even emulate Daniel because we didn't we haven't gone through what he's gone through, right?
00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:09.840
You know, and what he went through shaped and informed him in ways that are very instructional for us.
00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:14.320
But the key, I think, with Daniel is these four points, right?
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:21.519
That he, you know, was bold and he had this contentment, and that he, you know, thought great thoughts about God.
00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:30.880
And we too in our time, I think contentment is a something that only God can provide.
00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:46.960
You know, um uh Aquinas and some theological said that you know mankind's not necessarily searching for God, but all mankind wants the things that only God can provide, like forgiveness, contentment, purpose.
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:54.880
Um and so we're in era, we're in an era now that disenchantment is just, you know, people are just disenchanted.
00:40:54.960 --> 00:40:56.400
Yeah, the youth are disenchanted.
00:40:56.480 --> 00:40:57.920
What do they have to look forward to?
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:00.239
You know, old people are disenchanted.
00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:02.639
This is not the life that I signed up for.
00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:07.199
You know, I mean, everybody seems to be sort of like enchanted and discontent.
00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:08.639
Yeah, discontented.
00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:21.599
But if you know God, you can be content in all things, you know matter what your lot is, whether it's to be um um in captivity like Daniel, or to be the CEO of a large company, you know that God had his hand in this.
00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:46.719
You know, I I look at just personally, I look at the way that God moved me and and and and moved you in how that you know the us sitting here right now is just this incredible testimony story of how God had a purpose for Ponderosa Basin, and now we see this moving together and see how his hand has worked, and it's like just awesome, man.
00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:48.000
This is really cool.
00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:57.920
It it totally is, but God gets the glory because this wasn't something that you or I even envisioned two, three years ago, yeah, you know, and right, but God did.
00:41:58.079 --> 00:42:00.320
I didn't plan on being and he knew it all along, right?
00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:02.559
And that's oh man, I just I love that verse.
00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:03.519
I'm so content.
00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:06.480
I will build my, you know, I will build a church, you know.
00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:08.559
Yeah, it's not nothing that we will do.
00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:10.719
Uh we're just saying yes day by day.
00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:12.400
And thanks, man.
00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:13.360
That is really, really good.
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:17.599
I uh there's so much to be enchanted by in this world, it's a really magical world.
00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:24.079
It is, you know, look, you go outside and just think about, you know, you hear the birds singing and you see the beautiful mountain.
00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:29.679
We're blessed here with it, and like a grandeur here that is on, you know.
00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:31.039
Um I'm reading.
00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:35.360
But there's so much there's so much in the world to be enchanted by.
00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:36.079
Right.
00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:44.880
But I can see that without God, yeah, there I can see the point that what what is there for me to be enchanted by?
00:42:44.960 --> 00:42:47.119
What is there for me to look forward to?
00:42:47.360 --> 00:42:50.960
What is what is the purpose, you know, what am I gonna do?
00:42:51.440 --> 00:43:00.400
And that's where, you know, those if you're listening out there right now and and you just found this by accident, and well, not by accident, but by God's purpose.
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:04.320
And you're listening, yeah, and you're one of those that were talking about this disenchanted.
00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:06.400
I'm begging you right now to get it right with God.
00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:13.840
I'm begging you to fall down on your knees and tell him, God, only you can give me a purpose, only you can give me the peace that I'm looking for, right?
00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:17.360
Romans 5, therefore, having been justified, we have peace with God.
00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:21.920
Only you can give me a sense that there's something in this world to be enchanted by.
00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:25.599
Only you can give me a sense that there's something that's transcendent.
00:43:25.920 --> 00:43:26.559
Yes.
00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:30.239
That's looking out for me and loves me and cares for me.
00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:35.039
Um, and if that's you right now, please, I'm reconciled, be reconciled to God.
00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:43.280
And if you're a believer that's been struggling with, you know, not really feeling like you're where you should be, maybe God seems a little distant to you.
00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:45.360
Just think on these things.
00:43:45.519 --> 00:43:50.320
Think about, you know, um, those that know God have these attributes.
00:43:50.559 --> 00:43:52.960
And we were asking the questions all along.
00:43:53.199 --> 00:43:53.920
Where are you on this?
00:43:54.079 --> 00:43:54.880
Where are you on this?
00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:56.000
Where are you in this?
00:43:56.159 --> 00:43:57.840
And we keep asking those questions again.
00:43:58.000 --> 00:43:58.880
Where are you on this?
00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:07.119
Where are you when it comes to your enchantment with God and your contentment with God and your boldness for God and your great thoughts of God?
00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:12.079
Or is God just sort of this secondary player in your life that he's around when you need him?
00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:13.119
And thank you very much.
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:15.119
I'll call you if I I need you, right?
00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:15.760
Right.
00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:17.599
Make him make him everything.
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:21.760
Make him be the make him be the first thing that you think of in the morning when you get up.
00:44:21.920 --> 00:44:23.280
Thank you for the good night's sleep.
00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:26.079
Help me be a a witness for you today.
00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:27.519
Thank him when you go to bed.
00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:30.880
Thank you for all the opportunities that you gave me today to see your glory.
00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:36.480
That's the kind of thinking that Packer is trying to promote through his writing.
00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:40.639
And that's why he's using the story of Daniel to get us there.
00:44:41.760 --> 00:44:42.480
I love it.
00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:46.000
Let me uh just share this uh Packer quote real fast.
00:44:46.079 --> 00:44:48.159
It just encapsulates once again what you said.
00:44:48.320 --> 00:45:03.280
There's no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God's favor to them in life through death and on forever.
00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:04.079
Amen.
00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:06.320
What can you be anxious about after that, right?
00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:07.199
When you know the Lord.
00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:07.679
Yeah.
00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:08.639
What else can you say?
00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:09.199
All right.
00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:11.039
Well, I guess we can't really say anything else.
00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:12.800
I think that's a good second episode.
00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:14.800
Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:17.760
All right, I'm gonna hit the outro music and I'm just gonna say a few more things.
00:45:18.320 --> 00:45:19.280
Grace and peace to everybody.
00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:20.800
Grace and peace to you guys.
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:21.599
Here we go.
00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:22.239
All right.
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.159
Oh man, it's not there.
00:45:24.320 --> 00:45:24.800
We go.
00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:33.039
Well, if you're with us today, once again, we thank you so much for being part of our Doctor Misty podcast.
00:45:33.119 --> 00:45:35.440
This is a part of Watchfire Studios.
00:45:35.519 --> 00:45:40.320
And if you want more information, you can go online or visit us here in Middle Cost, California.
00:45:40.559 --> 00:45:45.039
If you don't have a church in the Miracles area, we can just invite you to join us at the morning at 30.
00:45:47.920 --> 00:46:35.679
If you have any questions, you can't do it.
