Can I see the hands of the children, please? Put them up high. Can I see the hands of the children, please? Put them up high. Yes, okay. Glad to see you here again this evening. We pick up the story. Henry had his candle. He was making his way out that cavern in that part of the cave that he'd never been in before. And his candle was getting smaller and smaller. until he didn't have enough of a candle to turn around and go back. But as the candle was getting smaller, and was getting indeed critically small, he began to see a light like he had never seen before. He saw something bright. And so he moved ahead. He didn't need his candle anymore. He moved ahead toward the light until he saw like a crack in the rocks out of through which that light was coming and he pushed himself into the crack and through the crack and stepped outside into the world which he had no memories of ever having seen before. He stepped out into the grass and the plants. He had no words. And Henry was a boy of words. But as he stood there and he looked around, he saw a rose. He'd seen artificial roses. But this one, never had he seen a rose like that. But what really caught his attention, this was early morning, was that there was a bright light in the distance, like he had never ever seen a light. And as he stood there spellbound and in quietness, The light was moving slowly upward. He saw trees. You and I have seen them hundreds of times. But Henry had no recollection of ever seeing anything like that. Off in the distance, he saw sea. And out from the waters there was a reflection of a mountain in the background. Never had he seen anything like that. And he stood there totally spellbound. Nothing to say. But as time went on and he stood there in amazement and he began to move around. He was almost afraid to move because He was afraid he would crush the grass. But as he moved around a little bit, he suddenly spied a lamb. Oh, he'd played with lambs. Toy lambs in the cavern. So his assumption was that here was just a bigger version of a toy lamb. And he went up to the lamb and, oh, I found a lamb. And to his amazement, It jumped up. It moved. And he was like, what? This thing is alive. And he talked to it, and it just went, bah. So he began to ask it, this thing, it talks. He began to ask it questions, and all it said was, bah. Bah. Now meanwhile, while Henry was discovering the lamb, the shepherd boy, who also had missed the lamb and was looking for the lamb, had walked up behind Henry, Henry not aware, and he heard Henry talking to the lamb, and the shepherd boy was trying to figure out, what's going on here? Where'd this boy come from? Is he normal? What strange kind of talk is he talking to the lamb about? All of a sudden, Henry saw the shepherd boy. And he was dumbfounded and surprised. Where'd you come from? And the shepherd boy began to ask questions. He said, who are you? Where did you come from? Oh, he said, I came out of the earth. And the shepherd boy, and he started talking about the old lady and the men, the bearded men. And the shepherd boy began to get very, very uneasy. He looked around. to see if there's anybody else around. And then he determined that this boy must have escaped from a robber's cave somewhere. He was not even aware that there was a robber's cave in the area. And now he was like, what am I going to do with the boy? I found the lamb I was looking for and I found a boy and I don't know what to do with him. And then he began to think Oh, there's a godly man here that lives by himself out in these mountains. They called him the hermit, but he was a very God-fearing man. So much so, he was not a man of wealth or riches, but so much of a God-fearing man that the robbers shunned to even come close to his place. because they knew he wasn't rich, he didn't have anything they wanted, and they wouldn't want to hear him speak of God and truth, and so they shunned his place and stayed away, totally stayed away from it. And the shepherd, as he was thinking of a good place where he could take this young boy, he thought of the hermit whose name was Menred. So he picked up the boy in one arm, the sheep in the other, and with the two, He took a hike to the home of Menred. When they got to the home of Menred, it's a beautiful place. Small place, fruit trees, flowers, just artfully, devotionally kind of decorations. A place that was conducive to worship. In fact, it had a small chapel and all of that. And the shepherd boy brought Henry to the house of Menred. When they got there, Menred was sitting there and when he was reading the scriptures and he looked up in puzzled amazement to find the shepherd boy coming with Henry. The shepherd boy told Menred where he had found the boy and began to tell his story and Henry chipped in with his part of the details. And then he asked if he could leave Henry with him. And Henry said, certainly. I will be a father to his boy. Just leave him here. I will take care of him. So the shepherd boy was going to leave, but Henry was like, no, don't leave. So soon, he began to cry. He considered the shepherd boy his friend. The shepherd boy said, look, I'll leave you the sheep as a gift. I'll come back later. And so then Henry was content. Throughout the day, as the day wore on, Henry observed that the sun rose, and it got higher and higher. And he began to ask a lot of questions to Menred. And Menred would answer the questions as best he could, although there was something he evaded. He did not tell Henry, did not answer all his questions. As evening came, Menred got out his Bible and he read to Henry about God. And then he began to tell Henry of God. All day long, Henry had been saying, who has done this? I've never seen such a thing, a light that goes up There's no string on it. Who puts the oil in that lamp? And how can it be so bright? And as the day wore on there was even a time when there was a storm that came and the rain came through and there was He watched, they went inside and they watched the rain, watched the water coming. Oh, this is a labor-saving device. This water is just coming down, it saves much labor. We always had to fill our own water reservoir. Oh, what a water-saving, what a labor-saving device this, who is doing this? So in the evening, and Menred refused to answer those questions, he sort of aided But in the evening, he read for the first time to Henry of God. And then he explained to him how that God, there is someone beyond our sight. Yes, indeed, that makes these things. You are correct, Henry. There is someone that is bigger than man that has created these things and does these things. By this time, the sun was beginning to go down. And as Henry watched it going down by the edge of the sea, it seemed like to him, and he said, oh, this is going to distinguish the light. Don't wait. Menred explained to him, we don't need this light anymore tonight. The light is going to go out, but tomorrow it will come out up on this side between those two mountains. Don't worry about it. That's the way God has designed it to be. And he keeps it that way. For the first time in his life, Henry could remember seeing creation. The things that you and I take for granted and have seen for days and days and days. Brand new. the eye of question, the eye of curiosity, the eye of wanting to know, but realizing it spoke of someone greater than man. And that evening, as Henry laid himself down to rest for the first time, he talked after Menud had prayed. He issued his own prayer, thanking God for delivering him from that dark cave where he had been. We're going to pick up the story tomorrow night. There's a good bit more to the story. I think we'll have time to finish it tomorrow night. But come back tomorrow night and we'll pick up the story there. I want to thank all of you again for coming this evening and open your Bibles, please, to the book of Daniel, chapter 6. Favorite chapter in the scriptures, Daniel and the den of lions. We don't really plan to spend a lot of time with that, but it is the favorite chapter in the scriptures. Tonight, I want to talk to us or speak to us on a subject of faith flourishing in a pagan world. I consider the sermons this week different than anything I've ever done in a series. It's almost like I'm doing a continued story of the grace of God. The first evening, we pointed you to the character of Jesus Christ as given in Revelation chapter 1, and the inerrancy of the Word of God. Second evening, we spoke of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, and last night we called upon those here to make a choice. Which way will we go? How long halt we between two opinions? Tonight, I want to speak to the people of God on a need that everyone has who has chosen to follow Jesus. The need is your salvation is important. To begin is very important. Without beginning right, you cannot end right. But to begin is never enough. The race is not won at the beginning. It is won as a faithful servant keeps on being faithful on down through the end to the very end. It's won at the finish line. And so, every one of us tonight has to have some tragedy, should have some tragedy, some goal, some priority in life, something, some plan of how to get to the end. And I ask you tonight, what is your plan? What are your goals in life? What are your thoughts and how you're going to make it there? Do you have a strategy? Do you have a plan for your personal life? Do you have a plan for your mind? Do you have a plan for your family? Are you at one and in sync with your church vision? Do you have a plan for your vocation and the work that you are doing? And if you do, as you have that plan, have you remained faithful to your resolutions to reach the goals that you have? What are your priorities and what are the things that are important to you? Is integrity important to you? Or is it not? What aspects of character would you seek to emulate? And how are you going to make sure it happens in your personal life? We live in a pagan world today. There's no question in my mind whatsoever The world is not going to help us to reach the right kind of goals. And therefore, you and I tonight must have a resolution. We must have a plan that leaves the world outside. And we move ahead with what God wants for us personally. And I maintain today that there is far too much lethargic, easy, unplanned living. Now when I go grocery shopping, if I don't have a list, I'm in trouble. Things hop off the shelf and into the cart, it seems. Or I'm looking along at the shelf and especially when I get to the chocolate section. Oh, wow. And the meats. Oh, yeah, yeah. Meats. So there are things. I need a list. I need a list. When you're on the internet, and you're just surfing, that's trouble. That's trouble. It's a tool you can use, but you need to be there with purpose, or it's going to take you out and drown you somewhere. Life and man needs purpose. Without it, we're like a ship without a rudder. Without it, we're on a boat without a paddle. My friends, tonight I ask you, I challenge you, have you set a course for your life? Are you doing what you are doing on purpose? Are you serving the society around you in the vocation that you are involved in with a purpose that is beyond today but that carries into eternity? Have you proposed and built into your life a plan of impacting today's world as an ambassador to build the kingdom of God. That doesn't just happen. We're going to live with a purpose. There's going to have to be a number of things that are going to happen to us that we need to be very, very deliberate about it. So I want to look here in the book of Daniel, and Paul brings three things out, out of the book of Daniel, that are imperative for all of us if we would reach our goals. Chapter 6, beginning to read in verse 10. Oh, and Daniel knew that the writing was signed He went into his house, and his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime." Now this is the chapter of the Lion's Den, and I'm not going into that story. You know the story. I'll let you read it at your leisure. But I want to point out something here, three words, as he did afore. Daniel did not begin to pray at the time when the king put out and said, you got to pray to me, or if you don't, you're going to get cast into the lion's den. In fact, those who had worked against him were deliberate in their scheme. They knew him to be a man of prayer to the degree that they realized that he's going to pray and that's the way we're going to catch him. And they were right. And he wasn't ashamed. Now, Daniel, you know, listen to advice. At least close your blinds so that people can't see what you're doing. But no, he went to his window, prayed toward Jerusalem, as Solomon said they should, as he did aforetime. You see, he was not afraid. He knew what he stood for. He knew what he stood for. And I ask you tonight, do you know what you stand for? Do you know what you're about? As ambassador of Jesus Christ, do you know what you are about? Do you know what your ministry is? Do you know what your mission is? If not, my friends, Get on your knees and find your mission. Find your purpose. Read the book of Ecclesiastes, if you will. And you can walk through that book. And it would have been great if we could have walked through that book today. Solomon in his search for purpose. He gives us that book. And there's so much that could be pulled out of there. We don't have time to do that tonight. Put yourself in the Daniel's shoes. Turn to Daniel chapter 1. Let's just see what's going on in the life of Daniel, what happened in the life of Daniel. You see, while we could go back to 2 Kings chapter 23 and chapter 29, that's the setting out of which Daniel was pulled when Nebuchadnezzar came. Now, Nebuchadnezzar came and took Israel, or conquered, and pulled them right out of their home place. Here was Daniel pulled away from home He had been snatched from his home, from his nation, from his place of worship, from all that was normal to him. Let me ask you, if you were in Daniel's shoes, how would you feel? Do you think Daniel felt any different? What a lonely place to be. Not only that, Nebuchadnezzar conquered and they carried Daniel back to Babylon. He was displaced. He was displaced. And now, He did not know what was going to happen. It was not unusual for the conqueror to take a certain amount of prisoners from where they were captured, take them back home, and kill them when they got back into what the king himself considered to be home. As a demonstration of power to his own nation. I don't think Daniel knew what would happen when he got to Babylon. But this is also uncommon for the king of the conquering nation to look at those who he considered to be very, very promising young men and to take them and say, look, bring those guys. Let's take them over to our country. These guys are promising. They can be an asset in our kingdom. Bring them along over. And we're going to teach them our language. We're going to teach them about our society. We're going to teach them our way of doing things. And we're going to let them, as those who are wise in their kingdom, We want them to be the people who promise they can bring their gifts into our nation and be an asset to our nation. Now that's a thought that maybe some of us would not have carried, but foreign kings in those days, it was not unusual for them to carry that kind of thought. That's exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had in mind for Daniel. And so in chapter one, it tells us that they were going to have Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Daniel. They were going to have them, and they were going to go through the training, I believe for three years. And there was going to be a proposed diet there. And from that proposed diet, then, and they're learning, and they're learning the language, they're learning the culture, and all of that. They were seeking to mold them into the mold of Babylon. My friends, today we are in but not of, and the world is seeking to mold you into the form that they would like to have you be. And unless you have a purpose and a plan, You will not survive as the individual that God wants you to be. You will become like the world wants you to be. Look what Daniel says in chapter 1 in verse 8. And this is the first point that I'm bringing to bear tonight. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's meat. nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. This brought fear to the eunuch because the eunuch was under command from the king. And so Daniel says, look, let's just try it. I don't want that food. Would it have been wrong for Daniel to eat the food? I don't think so. So why did Daniel reject the food of the king? The reason Daniel rejected the food of the king, this is my take on it. You have yours. I believe was because he realized that if he goes down that route and he does everything that is asked of him in Babylon without designing for himself and deciding for himself where he's going to stop, there will be no stopping. He will be absorbed into the kingdom of Babylon. And therefore he pulled Out a rule for himself right here is one line. I'm gonna draw for myself Though I could eat the king's meat And it really wouldn't hurt me and God would even allow me to do that I'm not gonna do that Because it would make me soft. It would soften me up to the ways of Babylon My friends, tonight, there are many things in the world that you can do. And it may not be wrong for you to do it. But in doing them, you can become so absorbed to what the rest of the world is like that you will drop your guards in things that you should not do. and blend right in to the recipe of the world. I hope I'm being clear. We're in a world that is adverse to the kingdom of God. They want us to learn their ways. They want us to speak their language. They want us to think like they think. And as an ambassador, you and I may not blend, may not blend. If we blend into the kingdom of the world, we have forgotten our purpose, our purpose. And so I ask you tonight, what lines have you set? Are they only the lines that your church has set? Is that where it is? Have you defined for yourself something that is your personal conviction and belief? Something that you feel will help you as a discipline? If you have begun to walk in the Kingdom of God, you need to design for yourself some system of regulation and guideline for yourself, personally. That was a tough thing for me in my youth. I had a time in my youth when I was confronted with the wrong kind of friends. And I was in danger of going in the wrong direction. And I had to do something. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 10. Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. Thus saith the Lord, verse 10, Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 2. Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen, Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them. My friends, if you take the way of the world and walk in the way of the world and go in that direction, you are going to inherit their fears. You're going to inherit their fears. You're going to be absorbed in the things where they are playing around with. The idolatry of the world. Where there is a faith in something that carries no power. And in the day when you need deliverance, you'll have a flat tire. Going back to Genesis chapter 39. I love this. Joseph. If you want a type of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, here you have it. Joseph. Also pulled out of his society. Betrayed by his own brothers. And as he's riding down there to Egypt, can you feel the despair of his soul as he jolts along on a camel? And mind you, I have jolted on a camel and it's no good ride. and he's jolting on his way all the way down to Egypt and then he's sold to Potiphar and there he is in the midst of this strange pagan society all by himself with the knowledge that his own brothers had sold him can you imagine the bitterness of his spirit What would your thoughts be? Would you have turned bitter toward God? God, you could have kept this from happening. And since you didn't, I don't believe there is a God. But Joseph held on to his integrity through that whole time. And now he's in Potiphar's house, and he's the first man in Potiphar's house. He's the head man, and Potiphar has given everything in his house to Joseph. And Joseph is doing his work in the house and the wife of Potiphar loves to see that faithfulness. And she thinks she's never seen anything that nice and that character and it appeals to her. And the Egyptian women were wicked. They were pretty and they were just plain licentious. This was a tempting opportunity. She said, lie with me. And Joseph said, listen to what he said, let's just read it. I couldn't, there's a Utility of words here that I just can't hardly grasp can't wrap on right but he refused and said unto his master's wife Behold my master waters not what is with me in the house and he has committed all that he hath to my hand Joseph realized there was a sacred trust that had been given to him and He realized there was a sacred trust that had been given him. His master trusted him. My friend, God has trusted you with something. He's trusted you with a purpose. He's trusted you with what he wants you to do. He's given you the right to choose, even as Joseph had the right to choose. But he has trusted you And he's taking, he's testing you, he's allowing you to take the test of integrity. Are you going to walk true to what God wants of you? Or are they just going to bend into the world's plans and society? Read the next verse. There is none greater in this house than I. He understood I have the power to run this house. Neither has he kept back from me anything from me but thee. He knew that while he'd been given a trust, there was a line. My master didn't give you to me. That's outside. my responsibility. I'm not crossing that line. Within the world that we are living in, God has given us responsibility. But there's a line there that you and I need to be aware of, and we will not step across that line. It's the only way that a Christian is going to make it in this pagan world. My friends, tonight there are many people that haven't figured out where that line is. And they're walking out without purpose, and they're walking confused. They don't have anything that guides them. There's nothing that stops them. But here, Joseph was very clear. I have been given a responsibility, but here's the line. I'm not stepping across it. And then go listen to what more he says. He's not kept anything back from me but thee, because thou art his wife. He pointed to her, you have a commitment to that man. Uh-huh. That commitment is not to me. You have a commitment to that man. He is your husband. Would to God we had more people today that would hold that. And then he says, how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? There was something bigger even than his master in his mind. And that was that he had a master that superseded Potiphar. There was God. Besides the line of authority that had been given and responsibility that had been given him, above all of that, there was God. And as a child of Israel, though displaced, though betrayed by his own family, he never lost sight of the fact I am under God. And I ask you tonight, do you have that in mind here in your personal life? I am responsible to God. How did Joseph survive in that land? It's because he never forgot. that principle. If you and I are going to survive in this land, we must never forget that principle. 2 Corinthians chapter 6, will you please? 2 Corinthians chapter 6, beginning to read in verse 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness? What concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of a living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, I will be their God, they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, chapter 7, verse 1, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. The word holiness speaks of sanctification. At conversion, we are justified before God, just as though we had not sinned. The blood of Jesus Christ removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. But my friends, that is not the end of the story. As we begin that journey, Confession and repentance is a part of our life from that moment on. Because we are people of failure. And as we walk in the daily life, and as we fail, we every day, as necessary, we begin, we come again anew and afresh. And we recognize that today I have failed. Jesus, can you help me? That's the life of the beginning Christian. And it's like the monitor in the hospital, where the heartbeat is there and it's bumping up and down, and it's up and down, and up and down. And then you see there is life there, there's a shrub of life. It's a process of growth. But, my friends, if the monitor on the hospital, in the hospital, suddenly goes like this, what does that tell you? They call it what? Any nurses? Flatlined? Dead! Dead! My friends, in the monitor of life, I hope your heart keeps pondering. I hope you haven't flatlined. Oh, I've been a Christian for 30 years, my friends. Oh, I've been a Christian for 50 years. You know what? I think I've read the Bible so much, I understand it all. You know, I'm just in pretty good shape here. You know, I think I can just sit back and relax. I think I'll just be okay. I'll let the others do the work. I'll just back, sit back here and I'll just observe. My friends, the Christian life you are not meant to retire from. It's a continuous journey and it's not downhill. It's up. The trajectory of your life, okay, one day I'm up, next day I'm down. Next day I'm up, I'm down. All your heart pounds and it makes the monitor go like that. But when your heart is pounding, it's putting the blood and circulating it. And it's circulating life to you. And that means you should have strength. And God's intention is that the trajectory of our life is going up and up and up and up. If you were the only member of your church, what would your church be like? If you were the only Christian in your community, what would people think a Christian ought to be like? What would they think of Christ? For in fact, you are his ambassador. You are his ambassador. Therefore, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness. That means we don't only start here, but we begin and we progress. And that thought life that you've been battling with, and one day you're up and the next day you're down. That's not the intention. That's Romans 1. Romans 7, I'm sorry. But we have therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Each victory will help you some other to win. The trajectory of your life is not meant to be bouncing up and down. One time in victory and the next time down. But it should be a Gradual progression toward the character of God. Luke chapter 6. Everyone who would be like... Ah, I'll have to turn to it. Luke chapter 6, I believe in verse 40 it is. It's one of my life verses. And I love this verse. Chapter 6, I believe it's in verse 40. The disciple is not above his master, but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master. Jesus in his life, in the progression of his life, he began in his ministry in Luke chapter four, where there was the temptations. And after he overcame the temptation, he went forth in the power of the spirit. My friends, tonight, You and I need to pick up on that thought. The power of the Spirit comes as we overcome Satan and his temptations in our own life. And we move ahead into victory and we move forward and upward. It's the process of holiness. It's the process that we know as sanctification. that follows the process, the thing of the one-time experience or the experience of justification. Where the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us and hides our sins under the blood. They're covered by the blood. And then we move on from that into the progression of the walking forward in Christ Jesus. Into victory and through victory. We need our brothers to help us in times when we are tested and it seems like we will be overwhelmed. That's why we need a church. We need our church to help us determine where safe guidelines are. And we need to give our own opinions for the opinions of others. We need to learn to blend and work in harmony with men and women that are people of Christ, that are followers of Jesus. And it's amazing how that Jesus took those 12 men unruly, some of them having the idea that they're going to sit in the right and left hand of Jesus himself and his kingdom. And they were jostling for position. And out of that rugged band of men, Yes, he even knew that Judas was going to be there. And Judas betrayed him and walked away. And because he did not repent, he said, oh, he said, he repented, but he did not, he did not come to realization where he could be redeemed. He said, I've sinned. I've betrayed innocent blood. That's all the further he came. He recognized his guilt, but he didn't see the Savior. My friends, tonight there are many people that have recognized the guilt, but they haven't come to recognize the Savior. They haven't realized that He walked through guilt and beyond guilt and into victory in Jesus Christ through the resurrection of Jesus. I'm going to tell you tonight, there is in the heart of every man here tonight, there is the ability, there is the power through the power of the Holy Spirit to walk and live above sin and to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ. We're going to have to be separated from the world. Revelation 18. I just like to pull revelation into our thoughts. And I heard another voice from heaven saying in verse 4, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. When God calls you to a holy life, my friends, he's sparing you from the plagues that the world suffers. Yes, he is. He's not pulling and keeping you from having fun. The disciplined life, you need to decide to follow the disciplined life. There are issues you purposely have to decide as Daniel did. He purposed in his heart. I'm not going to defile myself. I could take that. I'm not going to do it because I know what it would do to me. So I'm not going to do that. And that's the first thing you've got to do. If you have a goal, you know what God wants of you. You have a goal for your personal life, for your family, for your job. Write it out. Keep it in mind. Review it as often as you have to. And set a purpose. This is how I'm going to reach that goal. You need a shopping list. You need a purpose when you go on the Internet. You need more than just the dollar that motivates you in your work and your service to mankind. You need an eternal mission. God gives us that eternal mission. Daniel chapter two. I want to pick up the second thought. Daniel chapter 2, verse 17, 18, and 19. Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that they would desire mercies of God of heaven concerning his secret that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was a secret revealed unto Daniel in the night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. The second thing you need tonight, as you have proposed to follow Jesus, the second thing you need is to set your dependence not upon the knowledge of the world, but upon the wisdom that comes through Jesus Christ. The knowledge of this world is going to fail. When this king said, you show me my vision, my dream, I've forgotten it. Not only show me the dream, but you tell me what it's all about, what it's meant to mean. Those who were depending upon the knowledge of the system of the world had a flat tire. They said, no way, absolutely no way. There are times in your life when God will allow things to come to you that will blow you over unless You're depending on the wisdom of Jesus Christ. Life can be really, really brutal. Life is not fair. And it'll blow you up and blow you away if you're depending only on the knowledge of the world and its methods. But that's not where, it's not for Daniel. He called his friends together. And I hope you have chosen to be among the people of God to the point that when those things happen, you can call your people, your friends together. And you can together beseech for the wisdom of God, help me to walk through this. I know what it's like to be so sick that I could not even read the Scriptures properly. I know what it's like to be so sick that I couldn't even pray properly. So sick that my son had to tell me, though I could read the directions on that medication bottle, I couldn't figure out how and when I was supposed to take it. My son had to tell me that. The time in your life may come when life is not the friendly, friendly ally. And it seems like everything has gone bad that could go bad. What are you going to do then if all you have is the world? Ah, sad day. We need the people of God to help us find the wisdom of God. My friends, tonight, in your journey of life, if you want to keep moving upward and onward in faith, you need those who will link arms with you. And in the moment like I had, when I couldn't hardly pray, when I could hardly read the Scriptures, I called the brethren together for an anointing service. And what a special time, as they carried me in ways I could not carry myself. And that strength. that comes from that reinforcement. My friends, have you come to the realization that though the wisdom of God at times feels like foolishness in the eyes of men, It supersedes anything you could have in the day of your trouble. The world's knowledge is never going to cut it. No, it won't. Matthew chapter 17. After six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John and his brother his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun, and his remnant was light as light. And behold, there appeared unto him Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter and said unto them, unto Jesus, Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you will make here three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses, one for Elias, And while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, out of the cloud, one which said, a voice out of the cloud which said, this is my beloved son, hear ye him. Old Testament, law and the prophets. But for the people of God today, that's not enough. We need more than rules. We need more than prophecy. What we need is a guiding light for us now, a word for us right now. And Jesus is that word. Moses was representative of the law. Elijah was the judgment of the prophet. But there in the midst of it all, and this Peter and they were, oh, this is great. We got it all together here. We got the Messiah here. We got the law here. We got the prophets here. We're good to roll, my friends. What did the voice say? This is my beloved son, hear ye him. Forget the law, forget the prophets. Oh, oh, forget them. That's what Jesus said. He called into something even more stringent. Think about, thou shalt not kill. Oh, don't you even think of hating. The sins of the spirit. So Jesus was confirming the law, but he was going beyond that. He was speaking about the spirit of the law. The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. And what Jesus is wanting to do is for us to be delivered from the list of do's and don'ts. To where we walk after Jesus to the point that we, out of love for our Master and seeking to be like our Master, forget that the law said that. Because we're wanting to be like Jesus, it's not something we have to do, it's something we want to do. And my friends, that is the wisdom of God. But He would like for you to have an exercise in your life. Chapter 16, verse 24-27, Then saith Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself Tuck up his cross and follow me. And Luke says, take up his cross daily and follow me. For whosoever will save his life will lose it. Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, or lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? My friends tonight, When you think of the wisdom or the knowledge of the world, and the world mocking you for the way you live and the stand you have taken in separation from the world, and they will mock, you're not going to be in sync with the world. We're in the world, but we're not meant to be a part of the world. When they mock at you, and all of that that goes on, mark it down, Jesus said, This life is to be a life of self-denial. We're not going to be in sync of the world. The wisdom of the world is not going to carry us. We need to draw a line of the sand. We're going to deny ourselves. We're going to take up the cross daily, and we're going to follow Jesus. For what does a man profit if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? questions that you and I have to answer for ourselves. Jesus says in Luke chapter 9 verse 62, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. God is looking for men whose feet and eyes are turned in the same direction. He doesn't want your head and your vision and your desires to be in the opposite direction, but you feel compelled to walk in this way. And there's far too many people that while they're wanting to live a life that is acceptable to their brethren, they're looking at the world. And they're wishing they could have that fun. Let me tell you, yes, There may be some moments of fun out there. But what's the end? It's bitter. It's bitter. It's bitter. Let's go back to the book of Daniel. Pick up the third point. Chapter 2, verse 44. And in these days, in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. The third thing that you and I need to do is set our confidence on the king who rules the universe, not just here and now, but forever. On the king who rules the kingdom that starts, has started in the days of Jesus, when the time of the kingdom had come and moves ahead and progresses into eternity, will never pass away. The kingdom of God, my friends, Not the kingdom of this earth. My friends, there is a clash of the superpowers right now. Russia, China, the United States, they're clashing. And Ukraine is the battleground right now. And I feel bad for those people that are being crushed under the heel of all that conflict. I trust God's people are praying and doing what we can to assist. But in the march of time, the marathon or the jostling of the great men and the great nations today, there's a crushing of people and lives in the midst of it all. But my friends, if that's where our attention is, we're missing something. Far and above that, there is a king that rules supreme. His rule is not temporary. He's not waiting on guns and munitions. He's not in the combat with, he's not in the fight with that kind of combat. He rules above all. And he has a plan, and he's doing something there that I don't totally understand. Can you keep that in mind? If you're going to be a purpose, a person of purpose, then you're going to have to keep that in mind. The temporary kingdoms of this earth are not what count. It's the kingdom of God. We're moving ahead. We're moving forward. We're moving upward because that's the plan of God that he has for you as an individual. The purposes of your heart. What are they? What's your plan to get there? Closing scripture, Mark chapter 14, verse 38. Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Thank you, God, tonight for salvation. But, Lord, tonight I pray that you would help us to be people of purpose, that we would be aware of our responsibility to draw a line in the sand for ourselves personally, I will not go beyond this point. Help us to be people that realize that the knowledge of this world is not going to get us through, but that we would aspire to know and to do and operate in the functioning of the wisdom of God, of you, and that you would reveal that to us through your word. Help us to realize tonight that the jostling of the political forces in the nations of the world do not have the final say, but there's a kingdom tonight that is marching on. There's a purpose behind the scenes that you're doing and you're working toward, and help us to be part of that plan, the forever plan. that moves us on, and that here and now we become a part of your people, marching on with purpose for the cause that you've created us for, to bring you glory and honor and to be your ambassadors. In the name of Christ, we ask it. Amen.