Knowing the End: Why Daniel 7 Steadies the Saints Today

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's pray.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Good morning, everyone.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Good morning, church family.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
How are you today?
[00:01:54] I hope you're having a great weekend.
[00:01:55] My name is Megan Katie.
[00:01:57] This here is Glenn Tompkins.
[00:01:59] And we are so happy to have him back for his first Sunday hosting.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Absolutely.
[00:02:04] It's amazing to be here.
[00:02:06] It is amazing to be here.
[00:02:08] And I'm glad to be here sitting in front of you, First Baptist Charlotte, as we get ready to get into service today.
[00:02:14] Today is a good day to have a great day.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Absolutely.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Today is a good day to have a great day.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Well, you know, speaking of today, we have our Thanksgiving potluck after service today.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yes.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Which made me think, what is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
There's a lot of them.

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Yeah.
[00:02:31] So you just like all of them?

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
No, I don't like them all.
[00:02:34] You don't?
[00:02:35] What do you like?

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Mine is mashed potatoes, but Zach's is macaroni and cheese.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Macaroni and cheese is probably what I'm gonna say too.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
He told me that so long as we have macaroni and cheese this year, he didn't care if there was anything else.
[00:02:46] So macaroni and cheese is Zach's favorite, but mine is mashed potatoes.
[00:02:50] Let's see here.
[00:02:52] On December 2nd, it's coming up here real soon.
[00:02:54] We have our Charity Gale concert.
[00:02:56] That's the Emmanuel Christmas night of worship.
[00:02:59] If you want some more information on that, you can go to our website and our app to get some more information to register and sign up.
[00:03:07] We would love to see you there, have that time of community and Christmas worship for the season.
[00:03:14] and Glenn what do we have coming up as well?

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
We have the Christmas Eve service 5 p.m. 6 p.m.

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Yep, we have it from 5 to 6.
[00:03:22] It's going to be a low-key night, and we're just going to worship God and thank Him for sending His Son.
[00:03:29] And so, you know, we're just hanging out and chilling.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
And this is the time to always remember the reason for the season.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Absolutely.
[00:03:37] And honestly, Glenn, I am thankful that you are here to join us today because I have been missing you.

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, I'm glad to be here.
[00:03:42] Believe me, I needed to be sitting back in front of you folks, the church family.
[00:03:47] I needed to do this, and I'm glad to be able to sit here and do this.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Yes, we are thankful that you are back, Glenn.
[00:03:53] Absolutely.
[00:03:53] If you want to hop into the comments and tell us what are you thankful for this year, we would love to know.
[00:04:00] That being said...
[00:04:04] Also put in your Thanksgiving side favorites.
[00:04:06] Yes.
[00:04:06] We want to hear from you.
[00:04:08] We want to know.
[00:04:09] It is almost time for us to start our service.
[00:04:13] That being said, I'll lead us in a prayer and we'll head on over.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Excellent.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Dear God, thank you for bringing us to this service here together, for giving us friends and fellowship and family.
[00:04:24] Thank you for bringing us safely on this beautiful day.
[00:04:26] We love you so much.
[00:04:28] You are amazing and powerful and awesome.
[00:04:31] We honestly can't say enough about you, God.
[00:04:34] You are the best.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
We love you.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Thank you for everything.
[00:04:39] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:04:41] You guys have a great service.
[00:04:43] Get ready to worship with the worship team and have a happy Thanksgiving.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Bye.
[00:04:51] Well, good morning, church.
[00:04:53] I hope you're doing well this beautiful Sunday morning.
[00:04:55] Would you stand and worship with us?
[00:05:06] Alright, put your hands together.

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Here we go.
[00:05:15] I raise a hallelujah In the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah
[00:05:32] Louder than the unbelief I raise a hallelujah My weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah Heaven comes to fight for me

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
I raise a hallelujah I will watch the darkness bleed I raise a hallelujah In the middle of the night
[00:07:15] Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
[00:08:04] Sing a little louder Sing a little louder Sing a little louder Sing a little louder Sing a little louder

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Sing in the middle of the city

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Amen.
[00:10:31] Welcome to church, everybody.
[00:10:32] What a great way to start the morning, right?
[00:10:36] I'm going to sing in the middle of the storm louder and louder and louder.
[00:10:42] Listen, we, you know, for me, I don't know about you all, I'm kind of a stubborn, typical guy.
[00:10:48] A lot of times this faith walk can be a little bit difficult, right?
[00:10:52] I get that.
[00:10:54] Sometimes the Lord really blesses us when He allows us to see
[00:10:59] Faith and we get a chance to see that this morning I don't know if you saw or not one of our long-term church members and guys that served on our tech team for a long time Glenn had a had a stroke I don't know it's been four or five months ago and he was down here hosting this morning and he is in the back serving and in his wheelchair and we are so glad to have Glenn here with us
[00:11:31] and I told Glenn today there's nothing more powerful than seeing somebody worship when the world tells you that's the last thing you should be doing but that's the Holy Spirit living inside of him and that's why we're here today and if this is brand new for you and you're seeing this for the first time or experiencing this welcome to church hang on for just a few minutes
[00:11:53] Pastor John's going to be coming here in just a little while to share God's Word and explain some of those amazing things, those beautiful things in Scripture that we get to hear and enjoy and experience today.
[00:12:05] Well, you've come at a great day because today we're having our Thanksgiving potluck at the end of our service and it's going to be awesome.
[00:12:13] Are you all excited about that?
[00:12:14] I can't wait.
[00:12:15] I can't wait for some potluck today.
[00:12:19] and Brian and I both ran into each other early this morning we were bringing in some turkeys that we smoked and there's going to be some amazing food that I know many of you have brought it's going to be a great day hey speaking of visitors that I was just speaking up see if there's somebody around you you don't recognize and shake hands with somebody this morning
[00:12:43] Hey, if you're joining us online this morning, first of all, thanks for streaming with us.
[00:12:47] I know there's all kinds of things you could be doing this morning, but thanks for hanging in and joining us on our live stream this morning.
[00:12:53] No matter what the platform is, we're glad that you're here.
[00:12:56] As usual, grab your favorite cup of coffee, a notebook, or your iPad and get ready.
[00:13:02] Pastor John Aikens is going to be coming here in just a few moments to share God's Word.
[00:13:06] It's going to be an amazing day.
[00:13:07] Thanks for joining us.
[00:13:25] Let's enter in together.

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
The splendor of a King Clothed in majesty Let all the earth rejoice
[00:13:55] Let all the earth rejoice.
[00:13:58] Sing this this morning.
[00:14:02] He wraps himself in light.
[00:14:04] Darkness.
[00:14:10] Trembles.
[00:14:11] Trembles at his voice.
[00:14:14] Trembles at his voice.
[00:14:18] How great is our God.
[00:14:23] Sing with me how great is our God.
[00:14:50] Oh, see how great, how great is our God.
[00:14:51] Age to age.
[00:14:52] And age to age he stands.
[00:14:52] Time is in his hands.
[00:14:55] The end, beginning and the end The Godhead three in one Father, Spirit, and Son The Lion and the Lamb

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
See with me how great is our God Oh, to see how great, how great is our God In the name above all names
[00:16:36] Is our God, sing with me how great is our God And all will see how great, how great is our God
[00:17:34] O the saints and angels, they bow before your throne And all the elders cast their crowns before the Lamb of God and sing
[00:17:59] You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Sing this out, you ready?

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
God and see, you're worthy of it all
[00:19:35] Oh, Jesus,

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
And day and night, night and day, let incense arise

[00:20:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise
[00:21:03] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day
[00:21:31] You're worthy of it all Oh God You are all things And to You You are all things You deserve the glory You're worthy You're worthy of it all

[00:22:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty Enter thee in the morn Our song
[00:22:59] and Holy, Holy, Holy So merciful can I be And God in me
[00:23:30] Blessed Trinity Sing that second verse.
[00:23:42] Holy, holy, holy, and all the saints adore thee.
[00:23:59] Casting down their glorious crowns around the vast sea Oh, when Cherubim and Seraphim
[00:24:23] Let's just sing one more verse.
[00:24:48] Holy though the darkness.
[00:24:51] Holy
[00:24:55] Holy, though the darkness might be, though the eye of sin go away, thy glory may not see.
[00:25:21] and Holy Thou art.

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
There is none.

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
There is none beside Thee.

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Perfect in power and love and good.

[00:25:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Let's just close this out and sing that first verse again.

[00:25:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
And holy, holy, Lord God, so early in the
[00:26:22] Our song shall rise to Thee And holy, holy, so holy Merciful and mighty
[00:26:51] Amen.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
God bless you.
[00:27:11] You can take a seat.

[00:27:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Amen.
[00:27:42] If you have a Bible, go with me to Daniel chapter 7.
[00:27:45] We'll be in Daniel chapter 7 here in just a second.
[00:27:48] Great to be back with you.
[00:27:50] We'll be in Daniel chapter 7 verse 1, and we are transitioning from the stories of the book of Daniel into some more, you know, prophetic
[00:28:03] The second set of six chapters is a little bit more difficult to preach.
[00:28:27] But a lot of people are drawn to these kinds of things.
[00:28:30] The joke that was made when I was in seminary
[00:28:33] was if you want to build a big crowd as a preacher, you need to preach on one of two things.
[00:28:41] You either need to preach on the end times
[00:28:44] or on sex and if you did then you would build a big a big crowd and then the follow-up joke was if you want to really build a big crowd just talk about both of them at the same time okay um we're not going to do that today but we are going to talk about the the end times we're drawn to as uh as people we are drawn to conspiracy theories
[00:29:07] We're drawn to like end time speculation.
[00:29:11] We're drawn to speculation about what's really going on behind the scenes that kind of explains everything that is going on because deep down we want there to be something that makes sense of the world around us right now and that helps us understand where we are heading.
[00:29:31] We want some insider information on that.
[00:29:34] That's why people listen to, you know, true crime podcasts and those kind of things about these mysteries that we don't really know what's happening, but this podcast is going to give you some new theory on what is going on that's going to explain everything.
[00:29:47] And the reason why we gravitate to these things, the Bible tells us, is because deep down we know that something like it is true.
[00:29:57] Now the conspiracy that is true that makes sense of the world is not, you know, Area 51 space aliens assassinated John F. Kennedy and the country's just hiding that from you.
[00:30:10] That's not the conspiracy theory that's really going on.
[00:30:13] The Bible says that God
[00:30:14] has a plan for the ages there is a conspiracy that explains what is happening around us and where the world is heading and God in his goodness and in his grace has revealed that mystery to us he's unveiled it to us
[00:30:30] We're fascinated by these conspiracies.
[00:30:33] We're fascinated by the future.
[00:30:34] There's a reason why, you know, preachers who have prophecy charts that exactly map out how everything's going to happen have a following on TV.
[00:30:43] There's a reason why Nostradamus specials, you know, are watched on television.
[00:30:48] There's a reason why these podcasts are popular.
[00:30:51] There's a reason why daily horoscopes are popular.
[00:30:54] And the reason why honestly has very little to do with what is actually going to happen in the future.
[00:31:03] It has very little to do with simply knowing facts about what is coming.
[00:31:08] The reason why these things are fascinating to us has more to do with how it affects our lives right now.
[00:31:16] See, the future feels uncertain.
[00:31:18] It feels out of control.
[00:31:21] And so prophecy kind of gives a sense of order to the chaos right now.
[00:31:28] We want to hope that things are going to get better in the future so that we can endure right now.
[00:31:35] We'd like to think that we have some insider information about ultimate things so that we, our lives, will have purpose right now.
[00:31:43] We want to be on the inside, you know, as Michael Scott said in the office, I love inside jokes.
[00:31:49] I hope to be a part of one someday.
[00:31:51] That's what this prophecy kind of thing does for us.
[00:31:56] We think, man, I've got an inside track on where the world is heading right now.
[00:32:02] Knowing about the end times is important, but it's not important because it's cool to simply have mapped out for us everything that is coming down the pike.
[00:32:13] Rather, it's important because of what it means for us in our lives right now.
[00:32:19] Simply knowing the future is useless
[00:32:24] Knowing the future is only valuable if you are able to do something with it right now.
[00:32:29] If it gives us an advantage in the present.
[00:32:32] That's why prophecy really matters.
[00:32:34] That's why God reveals these things to us to impact our lives right now.
[00:32:40] What we're going to see here in Daniel chapter 7 is that knowing the end affects how you live in the middle.
[00:32:47] Knowing the end affects how you live in the middle.
[00:32:51] There's a reason why the books of the Bible that deal the most with the end times are gravitated to and are the favorite books of the Bible by Christians who are being persecuted around the world right now.
[00:33:07] They're not interested in speculating on who the Antichrist is going to be as much as they are focused on, alright there are Antichrists who are opposing me right now and I need to be able to do something with it.
[00:33:24] I need to be able to have encouragement to endure the suffering that I'm going through right now.
[00:33:32] Our brothers and sisters around the world in places like the Sudan and places like North Korea right now in Nigeria, they love books of the Bible like Daniel and the book of Revelation because they are in tribulation right now and they need to be assured that God will win in the end.
[00:33:52] That's not just true for them though, that's true for us as well.
[00:33:55] Even though we don't face the type of persecution that other Christians face in some parts of the world, we do face trials, we do face tribulation, we do face suffering, and we do face opposition for our faith.
[00:34:08] So God gives us insight into where the story is heading because He wants to affect our lives right now.
[00:34:16] Daniel chapter 7 is the shift from the history of the book of Daniel into the section on prophecy it basically cuts in half the first six chapters of the book of Daniel deals with the history of God's people in exile in Babylon the second set of six chapters chapter 7 through chapter chapter 12 talks about basically the end times what is going to happen to the future of God's people from exile to the end of
[00:34:44] the age and the reason why the book shifts from history to prophecy is to encourage readers in every generation including ours who are facing the forces of satan facing the forces of hell and facing the forces of the world that you can trust god and that his kingdom will win in the end and you can trust it because of what he's already done in the lives of his people
[00:35:10] This is what the book of Daniel is doing.
[00:35:12] The reason why it is set up as history and then prophecy is because what God has done in history allows you to have confidence that he's going to be able to do what he says he will do in prophecy.
[00:35:25] Daniel chapter 7 is going to tell us that there will be a series of evil empires who oppose God and oppose His people, but God will defeat those empires, He will rescue His people, and He will establish His global eternal kingdom through the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
[00:35:44] So in order to prepare ourselves for this study, let's start here in Daniel chapter 7 and verse 1.
[00:35:49] We'll read down through verse 14, and we're going to see how knowing the end affects how we should live in the middle.
[00:35:55] Look what the Bible says there, starting in verse 1.
[00:35:59] Daniel writes these words.
[00:36:00] In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed.
[00:36:08] Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
[00:36:11] Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
[00:36:19] And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
[00:36:23] The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings.
[00:36:25] And as I looked, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
[00:36:34] And behold another beast a second one like a bear it was raised up on one side it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth and it was told arise devour much flesh after this I looked and behold another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back and the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it after this I saw in the night visions and behold a fourth beast
[00:36:58] Terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong.
[00:37:01] It had great iron teeth.
[00:37:03] It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet.
[00:37:07] It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
[00:37:12] I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.
[00:37:20] And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.
[00:37:29] Thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
[00:37:33] His clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool.
[00:37:37] His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire.
[00:37:41] A stream of fire issued and came out from before him.
[00:37:44] A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
[00:37:50] The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
[00:37:55] I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking.
[00:37:58] And as I looked, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
[00:38:05] As for the rest of the beast, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
[00:38:11] I saw in the night visions.
[00:38:14] Behold, with the clouds of heaven,
[00:38:16] There came one like a son of man.
[00:38:19] He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
[00:38:30] His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
[00:38:40] May God bless the reading of his word.
[00:38:44] God gives us this view of the end because he wants us to understand that knowing the end affects how you live in the middle.
[00:38:52] And so how should we live in the middle?
[00:38:54] There's three things that this text tells us that we should do.
[00:38:57] The first is this.
[00:38:59] We should expect opposition to our faith.
[00:39:02] We should expect opposition to our faith.
[00:39:04] Daniel has a nightmare.
[00:39:06] Essentially, he has this dream and this vision in the dream.
[00:39:10] And there are four beasts that come up out of the sea.
[00:39:14] These four terrifying beasts represent four different kings or kingdoms.
[00:39:19] The ruler of the nation is also represented by the people of that nation.
[00:39:25] So the beasts represent four kings or four kingdoms there in the first eight verses that will arise
[00:39:31] and again oppose the faith of the people of God this chapter in Daniel chapter 7 is an apocalyptic you know vision uh kind of behind the scenes showing us this great struggle this great war between good and evil in the heavenly places the the the fact is that Daniel is revealing to us that history as it's playing out
[00:39:56] in real time in like material physical our physical existence is playing out there is behind the scenes in the spiritual places this great war this great battle that is going on between God and between the evil one Satan who has sway over the earth right now and these four kings or these four kingdoms are these beasts are those who have been influenced by the evil one to come against God and his people
[00:40:24] So the four beasts, starting with the first one, which is this lion that then is an eagle, then is a man, represents Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar.
[00:40:36] The first beast represents Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar.
[00:40:40] We know this for a number of reasons, but firstly because Babylon is the first kingdom or empire mentioned in the book of Daniel.
[00:40:49] Then we're introduced to a second beast that's like a bear, and this beast represents the Medo-Persian Empire or Cyrus the Great.
[00:40:57] Okay, we understand this.
[00:41:00] What we need to understand about these four beasts are that three of these beasts are identified by name in the book of Daniel.
[00:41:08] Okay, and so there really isn't any wiggle room on, well, does it refer to this kingdom or this kingdom or that kingdom or that kingdom?
[00:41:15] they're named by name in the book of Daniel so Babylon is named by name the second beast the Medo-Persian empire we're told in Daniel chapter 8 verse 20 these are the kings of Media and Persia okay the third beast that arises out of the sea is this leopard with four wings and four heads and it represents the the Greek empire or Alexander the Great we're told this in Daniel 8 verse 21 it says
[00:41:44] that this is the king of Greece okay and the great horn is the first king of
[00:41:50] The Greek Empire.
[00:41:52] So all three of these are mentioned by name in the book.
[00:41:55] Babylon gives way to Medo-Persia which gives way to Greece.
[00:42:01] We know that the third beast, for example, is the Greek Empire because when Alexander the Great dies, his kingdom is divided into four different kingdoms.
[00:42:10] This is why this beast, the leopard, has four wings and four heads.
[00:42:13] That's what it represents.
[00:42:15] and then a fourth beast comes up out of the water and this beast is not named by name in the book of Daniel but we have pretty good contextual clues to tell us that this fourth beast is the Roman Empire because one the Roman Empire is what takes over after the Greek Empire falls but all four of these beasts we're told in the passage I just read are going to be defeated
[00:42:43] And then the Son of Man is going to establish a kingdom that lasts forever.
[00:42:48] Well, when did the Son of Man, Jesus, come to earth?
[00:42:52] He came to earth during the time of the Roman Empire, during the time of the Fourth
[00:42:57] And so we know that the fourth beast is Rome.
[00:43:01] But what's really important, again, not just being able to point out, well, here's the particulars about who all of these people are going to be.
[00:43:08] The reason why God is revealing this to Daniel and then revealing this to us is because these beasts are a pattern or a symbol for every evil empire in history that opposes God and opposes His people.
[00:43:22] we're told about these leading up from the time of exile to the time of Jesus okay so time of exile is about somewhere between there's three deportations of the people of Israel from Israel to exile in Babylon they go from about 605 BC to about 586 BC so 600 years roughly five to six hundred years before Jesus comes God is mapping these things out for Daniel
[00:43:47] In these prophecies that he's going to show us over the next several weeks, okay?
[00:43:52] And he's trying to prepare them for all of the tribulation that they're going to go through, all of the opposition that they're going to receive because of their faith.
[00:44:02] Then in the New Testament, John in the book of Revelation takes these same images, images of Babylon, images of beasts, and then he casts them forward to the end of the age to the Antichrist and what he is going to do to say, hey, in the same way that they need to be ready then for the opposition to their faith, you need to be ready in the future for the opposition that is coming
[00:44:25] against your faith all of these things are symbols or patterns for the way that god's people are opposed and the way that god's people are attacked this is why john says for example in his epistles like basically you guys are all speculating and and waiting for the antichrist when he's going to come in the future well i tell you that many antichrists have already come
[00:44:49] Like you're looking for the capital A big man Antichrist but there's all of these ways that people have come against Jesus and have come against his people throughout the centuries and you need to be ready for those.
[00:45:03] You can read in church history for example this speculation that people are fascinated by with who is the Antichrist is not something that's new or just something that's part of our generation.
[00:45:14] Every generation of the church has asked these questions.
[00:45:17] and every generation of the church thought that they were dealing with these things in their time.
[00:45:24] So in the early church, who did the early church think the Antichrist was?
[00:45:27] They thought it was the emperor because he's the one who's persecuting us.
[00:45:32] During the Reformation, what did the reformers think?
[00:45:34] They thought the Pope was the Antichrist because he was oppressing them.
[00:45:38] During the colonial time, guess who the colonists thought the Antichrist was?
[00:45:43] They thought it was King George.
[00:45:45] and the Stamp Act was the mark of the beasts, okay?
[00:45:48] In the 1980s, American fundamentalist Christians thought Mikhail Gorbachev, you know, because he was the leader of the Soviet Union, he was the Antichrist.
[00:45:56] He had a weird birthmark on his head.
[00:45:58] They're like, Matt, maybe the mark of the beast he's got on his head.
[00:46:01] And so he's the Antichrist.
[00:46:03] You know, every generation of Christians has said,
[00:46:06] We're going through opposition.
[00:46:08] We're going through trial.
[00:46:10] We're going through tribulation.
[00:46:11] Maybe he is the guy.
[00:46:13] And so being able to identify the guy is not near as important as that we are able to be prepared for whatever opposition comes our way and to hold on to our faith in the midst of it.
[00:46:26] That's why God is revealing these things.
[00:46:28] He's telling us what is coming, not just in the future, but what is coming for us.
[00:46:33] You look all the way down in Daniel chapter seven,
[00:46:36] in verse 21 it says this as I looked this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them or look in verse 25 he shall speak words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and shall think to change the times and the law and they shall be given into his hand for a time times and half a time he's saying this is what you need to be prepared for war against you
[00:47:05] People speaking against you, mocking you, changing laws in order to be able to affect you.
[00:47:13] And again, these kinds of things are happening in our midst and we shouldn't be shocked by them.
[00:47:18] We should expect them.
[00:47:20] We should expect that these things are happening.
[00:47:22] There are people right now in the United States of America, even in the Bible Belt, who are facing pressure at work to not express their faith in order to be able to advance in the company.
[00:47:34] There are students on campuses who are being pressured not to express their faith because they will be ridiculed by their classmates or their grades will be affected.
[00:47:43] There are places in the United States where people are required to go through corporate trainings that demand affirming beliefs that counteract our convictions.
[00:47:53] The historic views of the Bible.
[00:47:55] I'm not talking about new things.
[00:47:56] I'm talking about things that Christians have believed and spoken about for 2,000 years are now seen as bigoted and hateful and are being labeled as either a hate group or potential terrorist threat in places in the United States of America.
[00:48:13] These are things that we need to expect.
[00:48:15] These are things that are happening all around us.
[00:48:19] Social media threatens cancellation for simply stating what the Bible says.
[00:48:24] Small businesses around the country have had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for holding on to their convictions.
[00:48:32] Chaplains are being told not to pray in Jesus' name.
[00:48:35] We are often portrayed in pop culture.
[00:48:38] If you're a Christian, you're being portrayed in pop culture as being a backwater hillbilly who has no intelligence whatsoever.
[00:48:46] These are the things that we need to expect.
[00:48:49] You have talk shows in the United States of America that have said, Vice President Mike Pence is suffering from a mental illness because he says that he hears from God.
[00:48:59] That has compared Christians to the Taliban.
[00:49:03] These are the things that are happening.
[00:49:05] We should not be shocked because in Daniel 7, the ruler is connected to the people that he represents.
[00:49:15] Nebuchadnezzar is connected with Babylon.
[00:49:18] Cyrus is connected with Medo-Persia.
[00:49:20] Alexander is connected to Greece.
[00:49:24] And the Son of Man, Jesus, is connected to who in Daniel chapter 7?
[00:49:28] His saints.
[00:49:30] Which is what Jesus says, right?
[00:49:32] Jesus says, this is as clear a declaration as we could ever have.
[00:49:37] No servant is greater than his master.
[00:49:41] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
[00:49:46] You should expect that.
[00:49:48] That's not something that is shocking.
[00:49:51] But the thing that we need to understand is not just that the opposition will come,
[00:49:56] but that it enables us to have influence and impact and for our faith to flourish even when it's being attacked.
[00:50:05] We see throughout the book of Daniel what is happening over and over and over again.
[00:50:08] Daniel and Hananiah and Mishael and Azariah, they're having impact and their faith is flourishing even though it is being attacked.
[00:50:17] And so let's expect the opposition, but let's expect our faith to flourish.
[00:50:21] We don't need the First Amendment to be perfectly applied for Christianity to grow in the United States of America.
[00:50:30] Please hear me.
[00:50:31] Christianity is thriving in places where there is no First Amendment.
[00:50:36] Jesus doesn't need the laws to perfectly line up for him to be able to work.
[00:50:42] Do you believe that?
[00:50:42] And so we need to expect it, but we need to expect for our faith to flourish.
[00:50:47] We cannot expect for the culture to agree with us or even like us, but if we will hold on to our faith, we can expect the culture to be impacted by us.
[00:50:58] And so we need to expect
[00:51:00] In the middle for our faith to be opposed.
[00:51:03] The second thing that we need to do is we need to fix our eyes on God, not our situation.
[00:51:10] We need to fix our eyes on God, not our situation.
[00:51:13] Starting there in verse 9, we are given
[00:51:16] this glorious vision of the throne room in heaven the ancient of days God sitting on his throne and it's giving us this picture that this chaotic sea where all of this this storm and wind and these beasts coming out of it and Daniel's view is changed from looking at all of this chaos that's going on in the world and it's set on heaven where God is on his throne and he is in control
[00:51:45] there's nothing that is happening around that is any threat to him whatsoever like none of it's shocking him none of it's affecting him it's the most like this battle between good and evil in scripture is the most anti-climactic fight in the history of the world like it's just it's God speaks a word and his enemies fall
[00:52:11] The good versus evil in the Bible is not like the light side and the dark side in Star Wars, where it's like, which one's more powerful?
[00:52:19] Which one's going to win?
[00:52:20] God is way more above and beyond powerful than anything that the evil forces can bring against Him.
[00:52:28] and so it says he's sitting on his throne and he obliterates his enemies with a word no matter what is happening in the world around us he is the one who is in power he is the one who's the text tells us we just read opens the books evaluates what is happening in the world and judges those who have come against him
[00:52:51] The text tells us he destroys his enemies, he rescues his people, and then he hands ruling authority on the earth over to the Son of Man.
[00:53:05] The Son of Man.
[00:53:05] We are introduced there in verse 13 to this man called one like the Son of Man who comes with the clouds of heaven and receives dominion.
[00:53:16] He receives a kingdom over all the peoples, all the languages,
[00:53:20] All of the ethnicities on the planet.
[00:53:24] This vision is of a powerful son of Adam is the language that's being used there.
[00:53:30] Son of Adam who comes with the clouds and is given a kingdom that lasts forever unlike the kingdom of the beasts.
[00:53:38] The beast kingdom, their ruling authority is limited for a time, but his kingdom is going to last forever.
[00:53:48] Now, the dream symbols, the symbols that are being used here of a sea and beasts and one like the Son of Man are not accidents, okay?
[00:53:57] These are symbols that if you are a student of the Bible, okay, and you need to be a student of the Bible, if you're a student of the Bible, these symbols should not be shocking, but they actually make a great deal of sense because the Bible tells us that in the beginning,
[00:54:14] God creates the world and when God creates the world in the beginning and when He creates man, Adam, He tells Adam what?
[00:54:22] You have dominion over what?
[00:54:25] The birds of the heaven, the fish of the sea, and the beasts that creep around on the earth.
[00:54:34] God creates the world and he gives dominion to Adam over the beast and yet in Genesis chapter 3 Adam bows his knee to a beast to a serpent and so now ruling authority on the planet has been given over to the dragon why he's called the prince of the power of the air or the god of this age he is the power behind all of these evil powers that are coming against God and coming against his people
[00:55:03] and there is no one to push back against the darkness until until you hear a voice one day in Caesarea at Philippi who looks at his disciples and he says this who do people say that I the son of man am Jesus's favorite title for himself
[00:55:31] is what?
[00:55:32] The son of man.
[00:55:35] He uses it 81 times in the gospels.
[00:55:39] And he's calling forward this promise from Daniel chapter seven that one day a new son of Adam will emerge to crush the beast's head and to reestablish God's rule over the world.
[00:55:53] And Jesus is giving us glimpse after glimpse after glimpse that he is the one who has that authority, right?
[00:56:00] He is the one who can speak to the waves and they obey him.
[00:56:05] He is the one who can tell the wind stop what you're doing and the wind listens to him.
[00:56:09] He's the one who can tell demons go into those pigs and they listen to his voice.
[00:56:14] He is the one who says I have authority to forgive sin.
[00:56:18] I am the son of man and I have authority to forgive sin.
[00:56:22] Your sins are forgiven you.
[00:56:24] He is the one who has authority over disease.
[00:56:27] Be healed and they are healed.
[00:56:28] He is the one who has authority over death.
[00:56:31] Little girl wake up and she listens to his voice.
[00:56:35] He is advancing against the evil forces because he is the long-awaited son of man who is establishing God's kingdom on earth.
[00:56:44] The problem is that the people that he came to rescue did not recognize that he was the one that they were waiting for.
[00:56:53] They handed him over to beastly Rome.
[00:56:59] to be executed on the cross.
[00:57:02] But on the third day, same God who brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the fire and brought Daniel out of the lion's den, brought Jesus out of the grave and vindicated his son.
[00:57:17] This is fascinating.
[00:57:18] You don't see this if you don't pay careful attention to the details, okay, of what's going on.
[00:57:25] The book of Daniel is not written in chronological order.
[00:57:29] It's not written in chronological order.
[00:57:32] Daniel is given this dream.
[00:57:34] Daniel is given this dream before he ever faces the lion's den.
[00:57:42] And I have to wonder
[00:57:44] If when Daniel is being told, you cannot pray to God for 30 days, you must pray to Darius, and if you don't, you'll be thrown into the lion's den, I wonder if Daniel's thinking to himself, why in the world would I be afraid of a den of beasts when God has already revealed to me that the Son of Man and His saints will defeat the beasts?
[00:58:04] For Jesus to say, it doesn't matter what the Roman Empire does to me if they can put me on the cross, but I know that God will bring me out of the grave because He has already shown us what the future will be.
[00:58:20] And then Jesus, just like He, what did He say when He was standing on trial before the Roman Empire?
[00:58:28] they said we're going to execute you what did he tell them he said he said to the jewish authorities and made them mad he said you will see the son of man coming with the clouds in power when jesus is raised from the dead what does he do in confidence he ascends into the clouds
[00:58:56] He walks straight up to the throne in heaven and he sits down in victory doing exactly what he said he would do.
[00:59:06] And this is stunning and we don't think about this a lot but this promise in Daniel chapter 7 has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ
[00:59:15] and right now on the throne in heaven there is a king who has human blood coursing through his veins and he is ruling and he is sitting on the throne and he is the one who is in power and he is the one who is in control and so this text is telling you fix your eyes on that fix your eyes on him
[00:59:38] Not the things that are going on around you, not the challenges that you are facing, not your circumstances.
[00:59:44] And you should fix your eyes on Him because He's on the throne and because He's in power and because one day soon He will return with the clouds and wipe away every tear from our eyes.
[00:59:55] This truth should give us confidence.
[00:59:56] It should steady us now no matter what comes in our lives.
[01:00:01] And so we should live in the middle, fixing our eyes on God, not our situation.
[01:00:07] The last thing we see is this.
[01:00:09] How do you live in the middle?
[01:00:10] You trust tomorrow beats today.
[01:00:14] You trust that tomorrow beats today.
[01:00:17] Look what the Bible says there in verse 17 and verse 18.
[01:00:21] This is what Daniel says.
[01:00:22] These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth, but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom
[01:00:35] and possess the kingdom forever and ever.
[01:00:39] Look down in verse 22.
[01:00:40] All these things are going to happen until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
[01:00:55] Or look down in verse 26.
[01:00:57] But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
[01:01:03] And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole of heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
[01:01:11] Their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.
[01:01:21] Don't get caught up.
[01:01:22] This is what I want to really leave with you today.
[01:01:26] Don't get so caught up in all the details of prophecy that you miss the big E on the eye chart.
[01:01:34] And the big E on the eye chart is God's going to rescue His people in the end and He's going to give them the kingdom.
[01:01:41] He is going to, no matter what's happening right now, all the evil, all the suffering, all the challenges that you face, they will not last forever.
[01:01:51] The text tells us the Son of Man will reign.
[01:01:55] He will rule and He will share that ruling authority with His people.
[01:02:01] Think about the Christmas season.
[01:02:04] One of my favorite books to read as a kid, and maybe many of you have read the Chronicles of Narnia.
[01:02:11] And in the Chronicles of Narnia, which is...
[01:02:13] You know, there's a Christmas scene in the Chronicles of Narnia, but what is happening in the book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?
[01:02:20] If you've seen the movie that came out several years ago now, what is the hope of what's happening in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?
[01:02:29] Is that Narnia is under a curse?
[01:02:34] This curse is awaiting for the day when the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve will sit on the throne and everything will be made new and everything will be the way that it's supposed to be.
[01:02:49] And God tells us in Daniel chapter 7, that day is coming.
[01:02:55] And so you should trust that tomorrow is going to be today.
[01:02:59] This is good news for us, like oppression, persecution, suffering, opposition,
[01:03:03] It's not going to last forever.
[01:03:05] And this is true for us as a church.
[01:03:09] Jesus promises, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
[01:03:17] The gates of hell will not prevail against it.
[01:03:19] So that means that the future for the church is going to be even better than the past.
[01:03:27] There's better days coming and that's not just true for us as a church that's true for us as individuals no matter what you're facing no matter what health challenges you might be facing or financial challenges you might be facing or you know threats to your faith or depression that you may be going through or pain that you may be going through none of those things will last and so we can endure in the present why because we are assured we are assured in the New Testament
[01:03:54] That there is a glory that is going to be revealed that makes the sufferings of this present life seem as nothing.
[01:04:02] Seem as nothing.
[01:04:05] You know, when I was a senior in high school, my school, I went to a small private Christian school.
[01:04:15] We'd never had a football team before.
[01:04:18] I had worked from the time I played football up through my freshman year went to that school my sophomore year and then I worked hard to try to get us a football team and so my senior year was the first year that we ever had a football program and it was awful okay we were we were terrible we didn't win a game like the entire year we didn't win a game I got hurt three or four games in the season didn't get to play much more and then the last game of the year
[01:04:46] okay the last game of the year we've got this game we recorded it i'm sitting in the you know on the sidelines in a sling and my teammates are all playing and we're we're actually like in this game it's going back and forth we're scoring we take the lead it's like man we we might it's the last game of the year okay we've not won anything all year but that first year we might get one win out of this okay and in the fourth quarter
[01:05:12] In the fourth quarter, the other team is driving.
[01:05:14] They're down four points.
[01:05:17] They're driving, and they get first in goal, and we're all nervous.
[01:05:23] Like, man, it's like two minutes left in the game, and we're like, we're going to lose, you know, on the last second.
[01:05:28] This is going to be terrible.
[01:05:30] and we stop them on fourth down and we get the ball back and we're like, all right, we're gonna win, this is awesome, we're gonna win.
[01:05:37] And my best friend who was the quarterback of the team, we're coming out and we're getting ready to run the clock out and he looks at the center, I don't know why he did this, but he looks at the center and says, just don't mess up the snap.
[01:05:50] You can see where I'm going with this.
[01:05:52] And so we fumble the snap on the next play, they recover it,
[01:05:59] and then they end up scoring with 15 seconds left to go up by three and we're just like and we had a chance we had a chance to win like our you know go out on a high note and we blew it and we should have won the game and they kick off to us and we're just like we don't have any timeouts 15 seconds left and so like what are we going to do and so we
[01:06:23] We complete a pass to midfield guy goes out of bounds there's one second left on the clock and we got one play our only hope is a miracle just we can't kick it that far we only you know throw a throw Hail Mary and on the last play of the game my my friend drops back throws it as far as he can throw it you know down the field and one of my other friends catches it in the end zone
[01:06:47] On the last play and we win and we go nuts.
[01:06:50] I got a hurt arm and I'm headbutting people with helmets on and just going nuts.
[01:06:55] And like I have that footage like on a home video and I watch it from time to time.
[01:07:00] I've watched it probably you know a dozen times over the course of my life just to kind of remember you know what that was like.
[01:07:07] You know during the during the game we were all incredibly nervous like we were all incredibly stressed uh you know we we were like man we're not gonna be able to stop them they're gonna score here then we got to stop and we're like take a little breath it'll be okay now don't fumble the snap and then we fumble the snap and it's like oh my gosh and they score and it's like we're there's no way we're gonna get down the field in this amount of time and we're just you know nervous wreck the entire time and then finally it ends well and so and that was
[01:07:36] That was incredible.
[01:07:37] But here's the thing though.
[01:07:40] You know, the dozen times I've watched that game back, I don't get stressed at all.
[01:07:48] Like when they're down there on the goal line, guess what?
[01:07:51] I don't care.
[01:07:52] I'm not worried about what's going to happen.
[01:07:55] When we get the ball back, am I worried that we might mess it up and fumble the ball?
[01:07:59] No.
[01:08:00] Even if we do mess it up, guess what?
[01:08:04] I know what's going to happen at the end.
[01:08:07] I know what's going to happen at the end and so I watch it with joy and I watch it because I know all of these things that are happening are going to work out good in the end and that's why God gives us prophecy because he wants us to know it's going to work out in the end so you stay faithful to me in the middle don't worry about all these things I've got it so here's the deal like
[01:08:39] I'm not nearly as concerned.
[01:08:44] I'm not nearly as concerned that the church be able to precisely identify who the Antichrist is as I am that our faith flourishes right now no matter what opposition we face.
[01:09:04] And I'm not nearly as concerned
[01:09:09] With us being able to have the perfect prophecy chart that maps out every single thing that's going to happen as I am that we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what circumstances go on around us.
[01:09:22] And I'm not nearly as concerned with us being able to understand the precise timing of the rapture as I am that we are confident that Jesus is going to return and wipe away every tear from our eyes.
[01:09:40] I want us to know the big E on the eye chart what's going to happen in the end because I want it to give us confidence to live for Jesus right now let me ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes let me pray for us and then we're going to stand we're going to sing and have a moment of invitation we'd love to talk to you if you need to give your life to Jesus you need us to pray for you because of some challenges going on in your life whatever it is that you need to respond to
[01:10:06] This is the time for us to respond.
[01:10:09] Father, I pray in the name of Jesus, I thank you that you are on the throne.
[01:10:16] I thank you that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that he's sitting at your right hand, that he's ruling and reigning.
[01:10:24] And so Father, because of that, no matter what happens, no matter what happens, we can endure in our faith because we know you're in control.
[01:10:33] Father, no matter what the circumstances are going on around us,
[01:10:38] We can keep our eyes fixed on You and it can steady us in whatever storm that we go into.
[01:10:43] And Father, we know and we are certain that You will send Your Son back one day soon and that all the sad things will become untrue.
[01:10:59] So Father, help us to hold on to you in the middle because we know that you win in the end.
[01:11:06] Father, we ask all this in Jesus' name.
[01:11:09] Amen.
[01:11:09] Would you stand to your feet?
[01:11:10] We're going to sing.
[01:11:11] If you have a decision to make, you come right now while we sing.

[01:11:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
You are the Word at the beginning
[01:11:32] Christ high, your hidden glory and creation, now revealed in you, O Christ.

[01:11:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
What a beautiful name it is, what a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ, my King.

[01:12:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
What a beautiful name it is Nothing compares to this What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus You didn't want heaven without us
[01:12:36] My sin was great, your love was greater What could separate us now?
[01:12:47] What a wonderful name it is What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus Christ, my King What a wonderful name it is
[01:13:05] Nothing compares to this What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus
[01:13:56] The heavens are roaring, the praise of your glory
[01:14:32] You have no rival You have no equal Now and forever God you reign Yours is the kingdom Yours is the glory Yours is the name
[01:15:03] What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus Christ What a powerful name it is Nothing can stand against What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus
[01:15:38] Forever God you reign.
[01:15:53] Yours is the kingdom.

[01:15:53] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Yours is the glory.
[01:15:53] Yours is the name.

[01:16:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ.
[01:16:17] What a powerful name it is, and nothing can stand against it.
[01:16:23] In the name of Jesus What a powerful name it is In the name of Jesus

[01:16:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
What a beautiful name it is What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus Christ my King What a beautiful name it is Nothing compares to this What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus Christ my King

[01:17:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Thank you Marty.

[01:17:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I love that.
[01:17:37] What a beautiful name.
[01:17:39] What a powerful name.
[01:17:42] I love that as well.
[01:17:43] Let's sing that.

[01:17:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
What a powerful name it is.
[01:17:48] What a powerful name it is.
[01:17:51] The name of Jesus Christ my King.
[01:17:58] What a powerful name it is.
[01:18:01] Nothing.
[01:18:06] What a powerful name it is.
[01:18:09] The name of Jesus.
[01:18:12] Powerful.
[01:18:13] What a powerful name it is.
[01:18:15] Just resonate in that.
[01:18:20] What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus.

[01:18:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I love that, especially in light of the word that we just heard.
[01:18:33] Power.
[01:18:35] What a powerful name.
[01:18:37] Trust tomorrow.
[01:18:41] It beats today.
[01:18:43] I love that.
[01:18:43] Thank you, Pastor John.
[01:18:46] Man, God's Word is power.
[01:18:51] His name is healing.
[01:18:53] His name is light.
[01:18:55] His name is deliverance.
[01:18:58] What a great word we've heard this morning.
[01:19:00] Take a seat for just a second.
[01:19:01] Deacons, if you'll come forward in preparation for our offering.
[01:19:04] In fact, when you get here, you can go ahead and begin taking the offering this morning.
[01:19:10] What a beautiful morning, and it has just begun.
[01:19:14] One of our camera operators over here on my left and your right
[01:19:21] We were here early this morning at 8 o'clock and I said, good morning Joe, how are you?
[01:19:25] And he said, well, I'll be really good in about four hours.
[01:19:30] He is ready.
[01:19:31] He is ready for potluck.
[01:19:32] This morning when I got here about 7.30, I brought a couple of smoked turkeys and just as I was coming in, Pastor Brian came as well and had his turkey and I know lots of people brought in
[01:19:49] Loving protein smoked goodness this morning.
[01:19:55] We're going to have a great time.
[01:19:57] Hey, listen, y'all, just a few things.
[01:19:58] We've got some exciting days coming ahead here in the life of our church.
[01:20:04] As I mentioned last week, we had Lisa Turkhurst and Tasha Layton.
[01:20:09] And it was funny, I was watching the Country Music Awards.
[01:20:12] This past week, and I saw one of the band members from Tasha's band accepting one of the words with a band that he was in.
[01:20:21] And we really try to bring the very, very best in worship, in speaking, in proclaiming God's Word in many ways, in many platforms here to our church.
[01:20:34] And coming up,
[01:20:36] Here in just a couple of weeks, we have Charity Gale who's going to be here.
[01:20:42] And as far as women in ministry and as worship leaders, there are not many better than Charity Gale.
[01:20:54] She is amazing.
[01:20:55] You may have seen her on the recent Franklin Graham special.
[01:20:59] I say recent, back in Easter that was filmed out in California after the horrific wildfires that took place there.
[01:21:07] And Charity is going to be here at our church.
[01:21:11] And man, it's a great opportunity.
[01:21:14] but opportunities are just that they're just opportunities if you don't take advantage of them so please come enjoy some of these amazing worship leaders and guests that we are bringing in for you that's why we're doing it and we're going to have a lot of people from our community here
[01:21:32] and it's a great way for us to hopefully bridge with our community and see people come into our church and realize it's not just a big building here in Uptown but it's a place that proclaims the gospel and Charity is going to help us do that and that's December the 2nd and the info is on our app and on our website and you can take advantage of that and then also we have our Christmas Eve service of course that's on December the 24th that'll be from 5 to 6 p.m it's going to be worship
[01:22:01] it's going to be communion and it's going to be candlelight it's going to be a beautiful beautiful hour together here on christmas eve we hope you'll come join us hey speaking of potluck pastor brian come up here with me pastor brian
[01:22:20] He... Yeah, come on up.
[01:22:24] It's on.
[01:22:24] It's on.
[01:22:24] We didn't turn you off.
[01:22:25] It's on.
[01:22:26] So, Pastor Brian and I... Well, it was Pastor Brian's brainchild on the very last potluck that we had.
[01:22:34] And we weren't really thinking, speaking of prophecy, Pastor John, we weren't thinking very prophetically.
[01:22:40] We had one table for dessert and one for regular food, and we ended up having six or seven tables for each, right?
[01:22:47] It was amazing.

[01:22:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We did.
[01:22:48] It was amazing.

[01:22:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
It was amazing.
[01:22:50] And Pastor Brian, he loves him some potluck.
[01:22:55] I do.

[01:22:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I do.
[01:22:56] PTLK.

[01:22:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
PTLK.
[01:22:57] He's always saying all about it.
[01:22:59] So we had a hat design made for potluck.
[01:23:02] Right here.
[01:23:03] Now, I think it's amazing, right?
[01:23:05] PTLK, all about it.

[01:23:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
It's all about the fork and the knife, Mark.

[01:23:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Laney, our graphic artist, has threatened to quit if we ever utilize that graphic.
[01:23:16] But I think it's genius, right?
[01:23:18] The fork and the knife?

[01:23:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
It's genius.
[01:23:21] I am creative, Mark.
[01:23:22] You know that, right?

[01:23:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
You are creative.
[01:23:24] Yes, you are.
[01:23:25] But we're going to have a great time today, right?

[01:23:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We're going to have an amazing time.
[01:23:28] It's going to be great to share a meal with everybody and just enjoy before our afternoon nap, right?

[01:23:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
And you know what I think about, Brian?
[01:23:37] I think about all the parents that are here today that they've brought their kids and they've struggled to get here.
[01:23:43] Well, you're about to find your reward in an aluminum tray.
[01:23:47] It's going to be amazing, right?
[01:23:49] It's going to be amazing.
[01:23:51] we're so excited about it thank you all so much for everybody that brought food and even if you didn't bring food hang out trust me there will be plenty right plenty plenty of food and it's going to be a great time hey listen we thought we would uh have pastor john come up and clear up this craziness and pray for our meal for lunch today and god bless you everybody thank you

[01:24:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Stand before them and lunch again after I did already.
[01:24:18] Okay, all right, let's pray.
[01:24:20] Father, thank you so much for today.
[01:24:21] Thank you for the chance to worship you, to hear from your word, and also, Lord, to fellowship together.
[01:24:27] We pray your blessing on this meal, your blessing on our church, and that this would be a great time of fellowship that brings honor and glory to Christ.
[01:24:34] We pray all this in Jesus' name.
[01:24:36] Amen.
[01:24:37] All right, let's go eat.

[01:24:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's pray.