Finish The Race Strong

Brethren, here we are in the seventh day of the feast. This seventh day represents a number of things, but it represents in my mind the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, the end of the millennium, I should say. At this particular time in the millennium, we see earth at its most beautiful. We see a superabundance of good, nutritious food. I've often wondered if we even know what food should taste like today compared to the way God originally created it. Do we know what a carrot really tastes like as an example? Human health at its best, challenging career opportunities. We talked about some of that last night in the Bible study. Peace, safe living conditions, the family of God ruling, the way of life of God, the culture, as we heard in an earlier sermon, being God's culture everywhere. And of course, one of the purposes for the millennium is to prepare the world for the last great day, to get the world ready for a time when billions upon billions of people are going to be resurrected all at one time. And you know human beings, you and I are human beings. We know that after a few hours, they're going to want to eat. They're going to want some place to be able to sit down or go to bed. They've got all sorts of other things that human beings need. And we need to have this earth ready for that day. So the millennium represents a time, and among other things, when we are preparing the earth to be a worldwide Garden of Eden. A tremendous opportunity. Add to all of that, Satan has been bound for a thousand years. No Satan, no demons, no false prophets, no false religion, just the plain truth of God. As the waters cover the sea, as the scripture says, we read last night. All of this is something that you and I long for. We want desperately to come as quickly as possible. We anticipate this. We pray for this. We shed tears for this. But also, brethren, at this particular time in the history of the millennium, there's something that takes place that is puzzling. There's something that takes place that, again, we can scratch our heads and wonder, how in the world does this happen? Let's take a look at Revelation, Chapter 20. Revelation, Chapter 20.

Revelation, Chapter 20, starting here in verse 7. Now when a thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. Now the Scripture here talks about Gog and Magog, but also it talks about people coming and being affected from the four corners of the earth. So this is talking about a worldwide phenomenon. We're not talking about a few people here and there. It says, as the sand of the sea. We're talking about significant numbers. Significant numbers being affected by Satan's release. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city. After one thousand years where warfare and conflict and all those sorts of things are a matter of the history books. Now we don't know how long Satan has been let loose here. The timeframe, but the fact that we have so many people buying into his program and lusting after what they see in the capital, in Jerusalem. And they want to take. Now there's plenty to go around on planet earth. And so again we scratch our heads what's going on here. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, verse 9, and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. People here didn't need to have a standing army. They didn't need to get any weapons ready to repel the attack that looked like it was going to take place. God takes care of his own. And God here is taking care of these people in this area. How is this possible? How is it possible that after 1,000 years of the truth of God covering the earth as the waters cover the sea, where we have nothing but the truth? Every library, every book in every library is nothing but true information, vetted by the God family, vetted by human beings we've been teaching. Every school, every university, if we have those kinds of things, every in-home teaching situation, nothing but the truth.

God, Jesus Christ, I should say, walking among us, you as spirit beings, walking among the human beings and teaching, and helping them to understand the truth and the ways of God. Seminars by various people we've known in the Scriptures, talking about the ways of God, and the beauty of the ways of God, and how they had to fight Satan when they were in the flesh. One thousand years of that. Satan's released, and this explodes. Not everybody. This is not talking about everybody on planet Earth, but there are some. These people, as we see in verse 9, have a race they were running, and they finished their race very, very poorly. Let's take a look now at 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 24. 1 Corinthians 9, 24. The Apostle Paul here is going to show that we, too, are running a race. We want to run a good race. We want to finish our race. We want to receive the prize. We don't want to end up in a fiery death. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. Run in such a way that you may obtain it. How do we do that? Well, we heard an excellent sermon yesterday about how we do that. I would encourage you to review those notes by Mr. Bradford, the things he discussed with us yesterday. A wonderful message on that topic. I'm going to add to that topic a little bit here today. Let's take a look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. I read this for those of you who were in the Bible study last evening. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. Here's where the ministry, any minister worth his salt, this is where we should be coming from. This is 1 Thessalonians. I don't know if I said second. It's 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 19. For what is our hope, Paul is saying? What is Paul's hope? What is a true minister of God's hope? Or joy or a crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? Brethren, all of us in this room, you don't have to be a minister in this room. All of us in this room. We want all of our brothers and sisters to be in the kingdom of God. We want all of our brothers and sisters to run a great race, to be fervent, to be close to our great God. And yet, we saw what took place at the end of the millennium. Tremendous environment. People think environment is everything. We just have the right environment. If we just have the right government, everything's going to be okay. Well, there was a time when there were no human beings. And all we had was God the Father, Jesus Christ, holy righteous angels, perfect environment, perfect government, and there was still rebellion.

Now, let's take a look at 2 Thessalonians 2.

In verse 3. 2 Thessalonians 2.3.

Let no one deceive you by any means. Now, this is not talking about at the end of the millennium. It's talking about our day to day. Let no one deceive you by any means. For that day, date stamped here, it's talking about a prophecy for the end of the age, our age. For that day will not come unless a falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. Now, over the course of the Church of God's history, we've seen a number of falling away. This one seems to be linked to the same time the man of sin is revealed.

You, I don't want as a pastor, I don't want to see any of the people I pastor, I don't want to see any of you in this situation where you fall away. I don't want to fall away. You know, the information I'll be covering today, I first, I always give to myself first.

I don't want to fall away, I don't want to see any of you fall away.

I've said in times past here from this pulpit in Wisconsin Dells, as you look at end-time prophecy and you look specifically at the Church of God, it's as if you can see two family albums, two sets of pictures. You see, one album shows the family that is fruitful. The other album is a family that is fruitless.

The family that is fruitful, you see them growing, overcoming, developing a rich, vibrant relationship with God and Jesus Christ. The fruitless are the ones Jesus Christ asked the question, when He comes, will He find faith on the earth, or the faith on the earth? The fruitless are the ones whose hearts in love will be waxing cold. The fruitless are the ones who are poor, blind, and naked. So there's something for us to learn on this seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

You know, in just a matter of hours. We've got the rest of today, we've got tomorrow, the last great day. But in a matter of hours, we will be getting in our cars and heading home. Going back to the world. We're not of the world, but we're going back to the world, to the places we work, our neighborhoods, and so on and so forth. As we go back, we want to make sure that we do something that we talked about last night. Last night we talked during the Bible study, we talked about keeping the dream alive. That was last night. Today, very similar type of a topic for you. Today, if you're taking notes, you want to write something across the top of your paper, four simple words. Finish the race strong. Finish the race strong. I've only got two sub-points to that for you today. As we finish our race strong, how do we do that? Again, we heard a wonderful sermon yesterday about that. Please input that information here. As you study my sermon, perhaps in the future, make sure you study Mr. Bradford's. Number one of the two points. Number one, if we want to finish our race strong, not only do we have those people attend the millennium, or the people in our age who are going to fall away. Number one, have a strong one-on-one relationship with God and Jesus Christ. That means everything to you. Have a strong one-on-one relationship with God, our Father, Jesus Christ, our elder brother. That means everything to you. Everything.

If you would turn over to Philippians chapter 3. I'm going to read just in a couple of the one verse here and a couple of versions. I've got the new King James here sitting on the lectern. Philippians chapter 3 verse 8. Let me read in the new King James.

Philippians 3.8. Philippians 3.8, excuse me.

Philippians 3.8, Yet indeed I count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I might gain Christ. Count them as rubbish.

In looking up other translations, there's a, at least to me, a relatively new translation. I've not known about this one very long. It's called the Holman Christian Standard Bible. I want to quote the Holman Christian Standard Bible, this particular verse. It says, and I quote, More than that, I also consider everything to be lost in view of the surpassing value, the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, because of Him I've suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth so that I might gain Christ. The surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ. Today, I want to take a look at a tremendous individual who had a one-on-one relationship with God that meant everything to him. A very famous individual. His name is Daniel.

A little bit of a side note here. Sometimes I slip into autopilot. I've got a daughter by the name of Danielle. So if I ask you to turn to a certain chapter in the book of Danielle, please understand that good old Mr. D is having a senior moment, and just be charitable to me as I do such things. But I want to take a look at a man who, even though he was at times viewing threats of death on his life, that did not cool his zeal he had for the relationship he had with God in his life. Before we get to Daniel, let's turn over to the book of Ezekiel.

The book of Ezekiel 14.

This gives us a little bit of a rationale. It gives you an idea why I'm going to be talking about Daniel. Ezekiel 14. I want to take a look at a number of verses here in this chapter. Ezekiel 14, verse 14.

Talking to the house of Israel, God says, Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God.

Here we have, when we're taking Jesus Christ out of the picture right now, if we're looking at just three regular human beings, the three most righteous people who ever lived are right there. Noah, Daniel, and Job. And yet it says that their mates, their children, they don't get into the kingdom on these fellows' coattails. We all have to have a one-on-one relationship with the great God. Verse 16. Even though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would need to deliver sons nor daughters. Only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. Verse 18. Even though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. And in verse 20. Four times, brethren, for emphasis. Verse 20. Even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter, they would only deliver themselves by their righteousness. So, brethren, it's incumbent upon each and every one of us to have that one-on-one relationship, a strong one-on-one relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. That means everything. And that last phrase is so important. That means everything.

Not a wishy-washy sort of relationship. Not a come-and-go relationship. Not a I'm-with-you-today relationship. It's a 24-7-365 relationship.

Daniel was a remarkable man. His life and his ministry span the entire duration of Judah's 70-year captivity in Babylon.

We'll see him rise as you study that book. You see him rise to high office in the administration, both in Babylon and later on in Persia. And yet he maintained his relationship with God as high as he went in office, serving in those two kingdoms. Two world-ruling kingdoms. Two major kings in each kingdom. Four kings in all. All that he had, all the different persecution, and all the different... talk about peer pressure. All the peer pressure the man had, he remained faithful to God. And he was one of the most righteous who ever lived. You know, maybe you are experiencing peer pressure where you work, where you live, where you are in your community, your family, you name it.

Daniel experienced a great deal of it, and yet because he had that strong one-on-one relationship with God that meant everything to him, he was able to endure and thrive. Not just kind of eke by, he was able to thrive.

When Judah was taken captive by Babylon, most scholars think that Daniel was a young man, maybe as young as 15, maybe as old as 20. Now, I'd like you to put yourself into his shoes for a moment. What were you doing when you were 15? And some of you are 15. Those of us who are older than that, what were you doing when you were 15? Did this nation get taken over by a foreign power? Were thousands of your countrymen slaughtered and other thousands taken captive? Were you taking someplace where they gave you a different name and started to try and brainwash you?

Daniel was going through this. Josephus states that Daniel and his three companions, those we know of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, very probably were members of the royal family, according to Josephus. Daniel was ripped away from his family. We don't have a record. I don't know if Josephus says anything. I didn't really analyze that aspect of it, but so far as I know, there's not a discussion about his family surviving all of that. He survived. Again, put yourself in that situation.

Country conquered. Thousands of countrymen murdered. Other thousands deported. And a brainwashing taking place. Let's turn over to the book of Daniel.

Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel chapter 1, verse 1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand. This was God's doing because of the sin of Judah. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his God. Now, put a marker here in Daniel. Let's go over to 2 Kings and see the same account. But more detail added. 2 Kings chapter 24.

I want to read this because it gives you a flavor of what was happening in Daniel's life. 2 Kings chapter 24, starting here in verse 11 and going through verse 16. In Nebuchadnezzar, verse 11, king of Babylon came against the city, as the servants were besieging it. Then Jehoiakim, king of Judah, his mother, his servants, and princes, his officers, went out to the king of Babylon. And the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner, and carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house. And he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem, all the captains and the mighty men of Valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.

What Nebuchadnezzar is doing is he's destroying a people. He's destroying a nation. He's not allowing anybody to survive that can rise up and rebel against him. Read that carefully, brethren, because there's coming a day when this will be true of this nation.

None remained except the poorest people of the land. And what did Nebuchadnezzar do for the poorest people of the land? He gave them the land of the state of the rich people. You know, you don't get to be in Nebuchadnezzar's place by not knowing how to work with people. He either murders or deports the high and the mighty, the leaders, those who can start a resistance movement. And then he takes the poor people. He wants the land to be worked. And he gives people land. So he wants the poor people of the land to like him. And now they've got something they never had before. They've got land. They've got territory. And a great deal of it. Verse 15, He carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. Verse 16, So we see what Daniel was going through. We go back to the book of Daniel. We see what is happening here.

We drop down Daniel 1, verse 3.

We've come here to the units to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles. Enter Daniel, Chadrak, Meshach, and the Bebubloh, young men, in whom there was no blemish but good-looking, verse 4 here, gifted in all wisdom, who gave these four men, who gifted these men with wisdom and all we're seeing here.

Our Father God. So here we have, and again, this is something that many empires love to do. You overcome somebody, you take their best and their brightest, you indoctrinate them to your way of thinking.

And in Nebuchadnezzar's mind, he wants Daniel and his friends to serve Babylon. And he did. Along certain lines. As we're going to see, Daniel remained faithful to the great God. Verse 5, And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them. So they were sent off to university, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.

Can you imagine what it would be like, brethren, if you were given three years of training, and then as we're going to see here, toward the end of this chapter, where you were, after three years, you're brought in before Nebuchadnezzar himself. And he gives you some oral exams, some oral tests. He puts you through your paces. Can you imagine the pressure of standing before somebody who can have your head just lopped off? If you're not pleasing, he's got other people in line.

Can you imagine what that would be like and the pressure? I remember, this is probably a number of years ago, Chris Wallace, who's a commentator on Fox News, I think he still runs Fox News Sunday, he was telling, and his father was Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes, saying, Chris Wallace was commenting, he says, do you know how hard it was for me as a teenager?

If I went out on a date and I came home late, that I had to answer to Mike Wallace, can you imagine how hard that was? And yet, these fellows aren't going to have to answer to Mike Wallace, they're going to have to answer to Nebuchadnezzar himself. Verse 8, Daniel purposed in his heart. Why did he purpose in his heart? Because he had a relationship with God, a strong one, that meant everything to him. He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Think of the situation here. Think of the situation. He's asking quite a lot for a fellow who's a slave. Expositor's Bible commentary, commenting on this particular verse, says this, and I quote, What he sought to avoid was being defiled by the contact with unclean meats, or even clean meats that had become contaminated with heathen worship. Rather than break faith with God, Daniel was willing to risk expulsion from the royal academy with the disgrace and danger that entailed. His priorities were firm. Now, some people might say, hey, it's a physical matter. Food and drink, it's not the kingdom of God. But to Daniel, it was a matter of principle. It was a matter of health.

It was also a matter of principle. He was not going to open the door of crack to weaken the relationship he had with God, his Father. Brethren, we can learn so much from that. Verse 9. Now, God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. How's that? How's that possible? Because of the first point we're talking about, because he was an obedient young man, because he wasn't going to allow himself to be compromised. God gave him favor. Brethren, there are times in our life when we want the favor of God.

As we want the favor of God, we've got to ask ourselves, well, how are we doing with this idea of having a strong relationship with God that means everything to us? We see here how Daniel was able to prosper. They took these tests for ten days. You know the story, and at the end of ten days, they had tremendous health. That's the very end of the chapter here, starting in verse 17. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill.

Notice, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom and Daniel and his understanding and all visions and dreams. Now, at the end of the days when the king had finally said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

Tough tests here. It's like taking the bar. Really tough tests. Tougher than that. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Michiel, and Azariah. Therefore, they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in the realm. Why? Because they made a stand for God, and God stood behind them. So here we see Daniel as a young man. Let's fast-forward to chapter 6 of the book.

Chapter 6, Book of Daniel. In chapter 5, you've got the famous handwriting on the wall, a story, a narrative. Daniel is no longer 15 or 20 years of age. At this point, Daniel is in his 80s. We're seeing two ends of his life here. Early end, latter end. At this point, chapter 6, Daniel is in his early 80s. And again, put ourselves in a situation. When he was living in Judah, his nation was conquered and he was taken slave. Now, for a second time, the nation he's living in, Babylon, is conquered, and he's taken off by the Persians. Or at least he's going to be left there, but the nation has been conquered by the Persians. Two times in his life, the nation he was living in had been conquered. In both cases, the man thrived. In both cases, the man thrived. Let's take a look at chapter 6 now, these first three verses. It pleased Erias who said over the kingdom 120 safe traps to be over the whole kingdom.

Persians weren't foolish people. They wanted people who knew how to run the territory. People who knew the ins and outs, people that the other people in the kingdom would respect. And so they appointed these 120 safe traps. Verse 2, over these three governors of whom Daniel was one. It shows the esteem with which the conquering people viewed him. Over these three governors of whom Daniel was one, that the safe traps might give account to them so the king would suffer no loss. But notice now verse 3. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and safe traps because an excellent spirit was in him. An excellent spirit, God's Holy Spirit, was in him. And the king gave thought of setting him over the whole realm. Maybe I should make him Prime Minister. An excellent spirit. God is no respecter of persons, brethren. You also have that same excellent spirit. Have you been called to do what Daniel did? Probably not. Not for me either. But God has given us other callings. God has given us other opportunities to serve and to glorify him in his name.

And as long as we remember to have that strong one-on-one relationship with him, that means everything. There's no telling how God can use you or how God can use me as a tool in his hands. Now a test is going to be coming up here, another test, starting in verse 4 here. Daniel 6, verse 4. So the governors and the satrap sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom. But they couldn't find no charge or fault because he was faithful. Now was there any error or fault found in him? And have you experienced this at work? You're a good worker, you're a hard worker. People hate the fact that you do as well as you do. They try to find ways to stab you in the back or pull out the rug from under you or what have you. This is exactly what's happening here. And they don't like the fact that this man who is a Jew, who has filtered through Babylon and is now in Persia, they really can't stand the fact that this guy is over them. You've got some anti-Semitism working here and some other things.

Verse 5, then these men said, we shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God. What a testimony that the enemies of Daniel said.

You know, that guy's really cold. He's tight with his God. So the governors in verse 6, the governors and the Saved traps throng before the king and said to him, King Darius lived forever. Or as they say in England, long lived the king. And all the governors of the kingdom, the administrators, the Saved traps, the counselors and advisors have consulted together.

Yeah? Minus one. His name was Daniel. They all consulted together. They conveniently left Daniel out of the mix. All the governors of the kingdom and all these other people have consulted together to establish a royal statute and make a firm decree that whoever petitions any God or man for 30 days except you, O King, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, King established the decree and signed the writing so it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which does not alter. Now, these people are pretty proud, pretty vain. They thought that once they put something in their writing, they had vetted it so properly that it had to be perfect, and there's going to be no need for ever changing anything. Therefore, King Darius signed the written decree. Now, where these fellows were coming from, they hated Daniel. They wanted him out. Where they were coming from, what probably we may be able to surmise from this section of Scripture, is they were suggesting basically a loyalty pledge. That we've conquered this new land, we need to have a loyalty pledge so that these people will be loyal to Persia.

So let's make...it's only for 30 days. After the 30 days, they can go back to doing what they were doing before, but for right now, let's just make sure they're loyal to us. That's kind of where they probably were coming from before the King.

Verse 10. Now, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home, and in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since the early days. Why? Because he had that one-on-one relationship with God that was everything to him. He could lose his life for praying, and yet he's going to do it three times. Now, it may well be he's doing it three times because there were the morning and evening sacrifices way back in Judah. And like David, he wanted to pray three times a day.

It says here in verse 10 that he opened his windows. Why did he do that? A couple of reasons, perhaps. Maybe he wanted to make sure if people want to spy on him, they get a really good view. You want to take a look at me? Here I am. I'm not going to hide. I love my God. Here I'm doing what I'm going to be doing. But I think, brethren, there was another reason here, and that is, Daniel wasn't the only one who came out of Judah as a captive. I think he's wanting to set an example to his fellow countrymen who were still alive, who were watching him, and the example he was setting. He was a man who was very concerned about being a light to the world.

Verse 11. Then he's been assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. And they went before the king and spoke concerning the king's decree. Have you not signed the decree that every man who petitions any God or man within thirty days except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which does not alter. So they answered and said before the king, Daniel, who was one of the kingdoms from Judah, Ah, there it goes. Here we are. Antisemitism. Does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you've signed, but makes his petition three times a day. And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself. Why?

Again, you don't get to be in this position without knowing human nature, people. And this king knew the value of Daniel, not just as an employee of the crown. I think the man genuinely liked Daniel. He saw the value. He saw quality in the man. He may not have understood all that Daniel did to worship Daniel's God, but he saw this was a man who was really something. And, of course, brethren, that can be so true for you and I as we go through life.

As people see us, they may not agree with what they call our crazy religion. But when they see that you are people of standards and moral fiber, then you're upright. That, whether they say something or not, they notice that. They notice that.

So the king was displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he labored to go down to the sun to deliver him. Daniel was a tremendous... he was a yielded believer. You and I are yielded believers. What is happening in his life can very similarly happen in our lives as you and I have that relationship with the great God.

Verse 15, then these men approached the king and said to him, Know, O king, that it is a law that means in Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed. So the king gave the command and they brought Daniel and cast him into the dented lions. Pause. You know, I'm only 65 years old. But I don't bounce very well. You know, they're casting an 80-year-old man, probably in his mid-80s, they're casting an 80-year-old man into a pit. I'm sure that hurt. It could have broken his back, could have broken his neck. But, you know, as I think about it, maybe it didn't hurt. Maybe he was cast in, you know, God just, you know, angels just lowered him down to the floor. Had those lions roaming around in there, you know, seven feet long, four foot at the shoulder, four-inch long canines. Pause that had, you know, as long as my index finger. You know, they retracted into their claws, they're walking around, so they stay nice and sharp. They come out there like steak knives. Those canines are like steak knives. And they left the little pussycats in there. Daniel's down there, probably slept on, you know, put his head on, used one as a pillow.

Verse 16, cast him into the den of lions. Notice what the king says here in the middle of verse 16. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, you're God, whom you serve continually, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.

From a Gentile ruler, a pagan who recognized that Daniel had a relationship with his God. Had a relationship with his God. Verse 18, Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. The king was fasting. Again, I think there's more to it here than just the king was valuing Daniel as an employee of the realm. Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no musicians were brought before the king. Also, his sleep went from him. Then the king rose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.

We see the power of Daniel's life being exerted here. Verse 20, Notice the way he's being described by the king. Servant of the living God, as you're God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the den of lions. Now at that point, the lions weren't burping. Daniel was alive. Verse 21, Now, verse 23, So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury was found on him. I mean, they examined him. They examined him. Nothing was wrong.

Brethren, as we conclude our thoughts here on the life of Daniel, he was a remarkable individual. His life and ministry spans the entire duration of Judah's 70-year captivity in Babylon. He rose to very high office, serving two Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, two Persian kings, Darius and Cyrus. Two world-ruling empires, four kings. And isn't it interesting, as you...and I'm not going to turn over there right now. There's other matters we need to discuss. In Daniel 4, which is an interesting chapter, you have a proclamation issued by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in which the king talks about the greatness of our God. I want to read you something from expositive Bible commentary regarding Daniel 4. And I quote, a proclamation issued by Nebuchadnezzar, the feature that makes this chapter unique, is that the only chapter in Scripture composed under the authority of a pagan.

Inspired, God inspired what Nebuchadnezzar had to say. And Daniel 4 is largely written by Nebuchadnezzar, because of what Nebuchadnezzar saw in Daniel. Daniel 6, we won't turn there either. Same thing that Nebuchadnezzar had done. Darius of Persia made a public proclamation giving glory to the great God. I would like you to turn. We're not quite done with Daniel. Let's turn to Daniel 10.

Daniel 10, verse 12. Because here's where we come in, brethren. As we're thinking about the end of the millennium, as we're wondering how people can go so wrong. As we're thinking about how we don't want to go so wrong and how we want to stay so right with God. We've got the tremendous and inspiring example of Daniel. And here in chapter 10 of Daniel, verse 12.

Then he said to me, the archangel, Do not fear Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I've come because of your words.

I'm hoping this Feast of Tabernacles has been a time for all of us to get closer to our great God. To have that strong one-on-one relationship with the great God. And maybe we've not been what we would like to have been in terms of our relationship. But that doesn't need to stay that way. We can have that strong one-on-one relationship with God and Jesus Christ. That means everything to us.

Before we move on, let's turn to Acts 10, verse 34.

Acts 10, verse 34.

Acts 10, verse 34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth they perceive God shows no partiality. Brethren, think on that. True for me, true for you, true for all of us. We can be great people in God's eyes as God views greatness, as God wants us to be great in His way of looking at things. If we have that strong one-on-one relationship, God's no respecter of persons. The English Standard Version toward the end says God shows no partiality. The God's word translation says God doesn't play favorites. The Wyman translation says God makes no distinctions between one man and another. So there's no reason why any of us can't have that strong one-on-one with God and be a tremendous light and finish our race strong. So, point number one, have a strong one-on-one relationship with God and Christ. That means everything. Point number two. And lastly, point number two.

If we don't want to be like the people in Revelation 20, verses 7 through 9, point number two, have a passionate love for God's way of life. Have a passionate love for God's way of life. I'm not going to turn there, but in Isaiah chapter 14, verses 13 and 14, we see how Lucifer did not have a passionate love for God's way of life. He rebelled against that way of life. So how do we maintain, how do we develop and maintain a passionate love for God's way of life? Overarching principle here, brethren, an overarching principle here under the second point. If you and I want to have a passionate love for God's way of life, we have to stay firmly attached to the vine. Stay firmly attached to the vine. Let's go to John chapter 15.

John chapter 15.

Verse 1. In my Bible, it's red lettering. John chapter 15 and verse 1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser.

So we have the God family team here. We've got Jesus Christ, the true vine, very fruitful vine. In your notes, you might want to jot down John chapter 10 and verse 10. John chapter 10 and verse 10 were Christ as I've come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. More abundantly through the vine of Jesus Christ. We've got in verse 1, we see God the Father as the vine dresser. He's a nurturing gardener, empowering peak production from the vine. In your notes, you might want to jot down 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 6. I'll now turn out, read it for you, 1 Corinthians 3.6. Paul says, I planted, Apollo swatted, but God gave the increase. God gave the increase.

John chapter 15 verse 2. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it might bear more fruit. So here we see a pruning is needed. And here we see where the vine dresser, God, skillfully, with a very sharp knife, goes through and gets rid of things that are not helpful.

With a very sharp knife, things that are not productive. But he also uses that same sharp knife to prune the productive portions of the vine so it grows even more. So, brethren, as you and I go through the trials of life, the difficulties, the challenges of life, and we go through these difficult trials, these very sharp trials, let's appreciate the fact and understand the fact that God is in the pruning process in our life. He's reaching in and taking things out and helping us to see things that aren't productive. These are things in your life and mine. These are things we need to get rid of. They're going to be pruned out with that sharp knife, with that sharp trial. On the other hand, God's also going to do things to help you to grow and to flourish. That's what God does. Verse 4, So here we see this concept of abiding. If we're going to finish the race strong, if we're going to have that passionate love affair for God's truth, we need to abide in the truth of God. The Complete Word Study Bible and the Complete Word Study Dictionary defines this word abide, which is Strong's number 3306. Strong's 3306. To be and remain united with Him, with God. One with Him in heart, mind, and will. So we want to be at one, in heart, mind, and will. And how do we do that? Let's leave this chapter. Let's put a marker here. Go over to 1 Peter 2. Something we read every year at Passover. 1 Peter 2.

And verse 21. 1 Peter 2 and 21. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. A couple of interesting word pictures here, and I've gone through this in times past here in Wisconsin Dells. Let me read the phrase here that says, leaving us an example of the commentary from Barnes Notes. Barnes Notes says this, quote, leaving us an example. The word rendered example occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means properly a writing copy, such as a set for children, or an outline sketch for a painter to fill up. And then in general an example, a pattern for imitation. And all of us as kids, you know, we put our hand on a piece of paper, we trace out the lines, we put our hand away.

That's how we follow, that's how we trace Christ's life in ours. Or as you take the hand away, kids will take in color in the empty space there. We need to color in the things of God in our lives so that we are following His example. But also says here that we should follow His steps. He left us an example, we should follow His steps. Again, quoting from Barnes Notes. And I quote, that we should follow Him as if we tried along behind Him, and should place our feet precisely where His were. The meaning is that there should be the closest imitation or resemblance. The things in which we are to imitate Him are specified in those verses. So in other words, as Jesus Christ is walking down the path where He puts His right foot, we put our right foot where He puts His left foot, we put our left foot, and that's talking about in a spiritual way. We are to follow, we're filling the example, we are to follow the steps. That's how we abide.

Look at John chapter 8 for a moment. John chapter 8.

Let's kind of drill down into this idea of abiding. John chapter 8.

And verse 31. John 8.31.

A smartphone, iPads, computers, all the opportunity we have to study the Word of God. This was brought out yesterday. People died for trying to understand the Word or just see a portion of the Word. As you go back into our old correspondence course, the 58 lesson course, we've got a discussion about church history. And those people who back in the Middle Ages, you would have a minister and normally a person that was his protege, the two of them, the older teaching, the younger, they would go out and go to the members' homes, visit them. But they couldn't be caught with the Bible because it would mean their lives in the Middle Ages. And so they memorized vast sections of Scripture and would go to brethren's homes and begin to quote and have Bible recitals. If you've got a Halley's Bible Handbook at home, Halley used to do that all the time. He was able to quote vast sections of Scripture by heart. He would have Bible recitals. We don't have to do that. We've got so much available. We've got any number of translations. My computer at home, I don't know how many translations I've got. And if I don't have it at home, I can go online and find Internet sites that have all these various translations. So there's no reason why you and I can't abide in God's Word. John 15.

John 15, verse 7.

If you abide in me, John 15.7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. In other words, prayer. I'm just quoting again what Mr. Bradford quoted yesterday. Bible study, prayer, abiding in our prayers, being close to God in those prayers.

Let's go back here to verse 4 of John 15. Abide in me and I in you, verse 4. As the branch and I bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.

People sometimes ask those of us in the ministry, you know, I just don't know what to study.

When people come to me and they say that to me, one of the suggestions I make is, let's be basic.

Let's study the life and teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Go through the four Gospels with an eye toward looking at Jesus Christ's actions. What situation did he find himself in? How did he respond to that situation? As I find the principles there, that's how I should respond to those kinds of situations. Look at the response and people would ask him a question or say things. How did Christ respond? Well, that's how I should respond when I'm put into a similar situation. We view Christ's compassion. How did he exemplify compassion? Well, can we show the same kind of compassion?

Those are things we can do. Let's take a look now at 1 Peter chapter 4.

My time is running out. 1 Peter chapter 4.

1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 17. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel of God? A time is coming, brethren. A time is here for us to be judged, or maybe a better word or a different kind of a word for us to use. It's a time for us to be evaluated. God is evaluating us. God is giving us time. He's gracious. Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 5 about the grace in which we stand. God is gracious to us. He's merciful. He gives us all kinds of time. Every day we get up. It's a tribute to the fact God has given us some more time to become more like Him. But there's a limit to this. I have to realize that. You have to realize that. There was a time Noah preached for 120 years, but there was a time when the doors of that ark closed. There's coming a time when Jesus Christ is going to return, and again, that door closes. And so we don't just have all the time in the world. We've got the time God gives us. We can make use of that time. We are about to, in the next number of hours after services, tomorrow afternoon, a number of you will be going back home. Many of us will be going back home on Friday. We'll be seeing one another on a weekly Sabbath. As we go back to our homes, let's remember of the tremendous cheering section that we have on our behalf. John 3, verse 16. Let's go there. I just have a few more scriptures and we'll be done. John 3, verse 16.

John 3, verse 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whover believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This verse tells us that God, our Father, Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, they are rooting for you. They are pulling for us. They want us to finish the race strong. They want us to have that strong, one-on-one relationship that means everything. They want us to have a passionate love for God's way of life, and they are there for us. Luke, chapter 15.

Luke, chapter 15, verse 10.

Luke 15, verse 10. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. I think all of us view ourselves as members of God's church, but we also know we're all sinners. The angels are there, rooting and pulling for you and for me. 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 22.

1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 22.

Since you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit and sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are pulling for you.

Let's go to the book of Hebrews. There are two more scriptures here. The book of Hebrews, chapter 4.

Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 14.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Let's be true to the great God, despite all the hardships we face in life. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore, because of who Christ is, what he's done, how he understands us, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. We don't have to slink to the throne of grace. We come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to do what? Grace to help in time of need.

Our father, our elder brother, are there at our disposal. They are the greatest servants the universe has ever seen, and they want you so much to be in the kingdom of God. Final Scripture, Hebrews, chapter 11.

Hebrews, chapter 11.

Talking about various people of God, the various heroes of faith. Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 34. Who quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. And notice this phrase, Out of weakness were made strong. Out of weakness were made strong. Maybe some of us feel really weak. Well, that's a starting place. We don't need to stay weak. We've got our father, an elder brother, who wants to grow strong, and they'll be with us every step of the way. Out of weakness were made strong.

So, brethren, finish the race strong. Have a one-on-one relationship with God our Father and Jesus Christ. That means everything to you. Have a passionate love for God's way of life. As I was doing research for the sermon, I ran across a quote from a deacon. I believe he was from Oregon. He's still placed on the West Coast. I didn't write his name down. In one sense, that's not important. I don't think he would want me to use his name. But there was a phrase he used. He wrote an article for the... I forget now whether it was the Good News or the United News or what it was. But there's a sentence here I want to finish with. We must keep our eyes on the kingdom, our hand on the plow, and our feet planted firmly on that rock. We must keep our eyes on the kingdom, our hands on the plow, and our feet planted firmly on the rock.