The Beast and the Son of Man

[0:00] The scripture reading comes from Daniel chapter 7. Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin, or your own Bible.

[0:14] Starting in verse 1, we read, In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed.

[0:25] Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea, and the four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

[0:44] The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. Then, 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.

[1:00] 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.

[1:13] 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.

[1:25] After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth.

[1:37] It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it. And it had ten horns. I considered the horns.

[1:49] 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. And behold, in this horn were the eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.

[2:04] As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool.

[2:16] His throne was fiery flames. Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out before him. A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

[2:29] The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.

[2:46] As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man.

[3:01] And 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.

[3:14] His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.

[3:29] I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 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 and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.

[3:50] Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying with the horn that had eyes.

[4:02] As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them 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.

[4:14] Thus he said, He said, Here is the end of the matter.

[5:19] As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. This is the word of God. Thank you, Celeste.

[5:44] Oh, feels a bit loud. Thank you, Celeste. That was great. Those of you who don't know me, welcome. My name's Chris. I'm one of the leaders here.

[5:56] And we're going through this series in Daniel. Today we're going to come to the last of our series. We're going to stop in chapter 7. But before we do that, what I'd love to do is just pray, because we need Jesus, right?

[6:08] So let me just pray for us as we engage with God's word. Father, I thank you that when you speak, we need to listen.

[6:24] And thank you that you are a God who wants to speak to us. Thank you you're a God who doesn't just speak abstract things which bear zero relation to our lives, but you know each one of us.

[6:35] You know where we're up to. You know our thoughts, our dreams, our desires, our fears. And you want to speak to each one of us this morning. And I pray, Lord, that you give us hearts which are open.

[6:47] I pray that you give us hearts which don't just go through the motions, but really want you to open up our hearts and our lives so that we're changed by you through your word. So, Father, we just please speak through my word.

[7:01] So, Lord, remove anything that is not from you, but let your name be honored this morning, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Great. So, as I said, we're coming to the end of our series in Daniel.

[7:15] And we're finishing at Daniel 7. And Daniel 7 is a bit of like a mountain peak. You know when you climb up a mountain, there are many different paths which get there.

[7:27] And through Daniel, through chapters 1 to 6, we've seen lots of different themes of the sovereignty and the faithfulness and the deliverance of God throughout there. But actually, as we come to chapter 7, it's going to draw those themes together in one peak of this book.

[7:46] And this is a little bit of a crazy chapter in many ways. And so, we're going to kind of get through into some of what's going on here. But to start with, on Monday, I was actually walking home near where I lived.

[8:01] And I just looked over and there was a big guy with his girlfriend in the middle of the road. And kind of crossing the road. And he was pushing her into the road.

[8:16] And he kind of, she stood up and he kind of manhandled her across. And I was so mad, I went over and confronted him. But at that moment, the lady, she was clearly under his spell and just intimidated by this guy.

[8:34] And she kind of didn't want any help. And the guy kind of calmed down for a little bit. And the last thing I saw was him walking off, him roughly holding her arm. And inside of me, I just felt powerless.

[8:48] I felt angry and I felt powerless that there was nothing I could do. And before we start actually getting into this passage, if any of you actually have experienced any kind of abuse, whether it's spiritual, emotional, verbal, physical, whatever it is, we want you to know that in Watermark, this needs to be a place where you can just come and tell, whether it's an elder, a staff, anybody, a CG leader, because don't stay silent.

[9:22] Start today. But I tell you that story because that is exactly what this passage is doing.

[9:34] It is telling us, it is trying to get into your heart and your soul and your emotion. And it's meant to show you that this is what ungodly power is like.

[9:46] This passage is going to contrast two kingdoms, two operating systems in the world. One is an abusive, intimidating, beast-like power of ungodly kingdoms.

[10:03] The other is a humanizing, true, faithful kingdom of God. There is beasts and there is the Son of Man.

[10:17] And that is what this passage is going to be talking about. And through the book of Daniel, we've seen some of the beasts in the fiery furnace. We've seen it in the lion's den.

[10:29] But today, Daniel's going to give you some visual imagery. It's what's called apocalyptic literature. Literally, you know, like the book of Revelation is written in this.

[10:41] And actually, Revelation uses some of the imagery from Daniel. And we get a bit weirded out by it. But actually, it's meant to be like this visual CGI feast for your eyes, which is not just trying to get into your logical mind.

[10:55] It's actually trying to capture your imagination and your emotions to both feel the fear of what's going on, but also to see the glory of who Jesus is and what he's doing.

[11:06] That's what Daniel's trying to do in this passage, okay? So if you've got your bulletin with you, we're going to kind of walk through this passage together. And we're going to look in three aspects.

[11:21] We're going to look at the terror of the beasts. We're going to look at the justice of the judge. And we're going to look at the crowning of the king, okay? So the terror of the beasts.

[11:33] You know, Genesis 1 tells us that humans were made in God's image to rule over beasts of the earth. But in this passage, powerful human kings and kingdoms have become beasts.

[11:51] And Daniel goes back into the reign of Belshazzar. Remember, he's the guy with the writing on the wall. Remember that? And he has this dream where he's on the beach.

[12:02] And he sees the sea is chaotic and churning like in a typhoon. And out of this sea, four beasts arise.

[12:14] Each one is representing a self-exalting, abusive kingdom or dynasty or king which rejects God's rule.

[12:25] You see, there's this lion with eagle's wings. There's a bear which has got three rib bones in its mouth. It's just eaten from the kill.

[12:36] And then it's going back for more flesh. It's been invading places. Then there's a leopard which is fast. And it's got four wings. And it heads to sea and move wherever it goes.

[12:50] It's got the power to extend over huge territory. And then there's a fourth beast. And this fourth beast is different from the others.

[13:01] This fourth beast is more powerful. It's ferocious. It's intimidating more than all the others. And it's got ten horns, which are actually ten kings.

[13:16] And ten is a complete number. So it's showing their total power. And then there's this little yapping king, a little yapping horn with a big mouth there.

[13:29] And it's this beast, number four, that Daniel focuses on. And I don't know about you, but that's a little bit weird. But actually, my wife and I, we watched this documentary called The Grizzly Man the other day.

[13:45] It's a very old documentary. I don't know if you've seen it. It's about this guy who lived in Alaska for 13 years with grizzly bears. And there's one point in this, it's real footage of this guy.

[14:00] And he's standing next to this bear beside him. And he's filming. And suddenly you see the bear stand up on his hind legs and tower over him.

[14:10] And with just one claw, he could just rip him to pieces. And your heart is in your mouth. It's like terrifying. This is what Daniel is trying to do with this image.

[14:23] This beast that he's talking about isn't friendly. That's the point, okay? And so, who is he talking about?

[14:34] Well, there's lots of speculation about the different kingdoms. But in the book of Daniel, we've had and we know that he talks about Babylon, the Medes and the Persians as kingdoms and Greece.

[14:46] These are all clearly represented here. Just as in the statue of chapter 2, They're the same kind of kingdoms that are matched on there. But this fourth beast is kind of intentionally vague.

[14:58] You know, you don't actually know what it looks like. And I think that is the reason why Daniel is doing this. The reason why he's different from all the others is he's trying to resonate with the readers in their current circumstances.

[15:16] And he's trying to show us that actually human rule, that beast also stands for human rule in every single generation, which rejects God, is both frightening and powerful and abusively destructive.

[15:33] Now, verse 21 tells us that little big mouth horn, he goes and makes war with the saints and he prevails over them. Now, what's he talking about?

[15:44] Well, actually, throughout history, you'll see this has occurred multiple times. In the second century BC, there was a guy called Antiochus. He was the king over an area including Judea, Palestine.

[15:56] And he called himself God Manifest. He had a bit of an ego complex. And he got angry at some Jews who opposed his regime.

[16:07] And he took revenge by mercilessly killing Jewish men, women, and children and forcing those who didn't submit to his rule to either eat unclean pork or be killed.

[16:21] He's not a nice guy. In the first century AD, Revelation 13 describes the imagery from all the four beasts in Daniel.

[16:33] And he's referring to a Roman emperor called Nero, who actually persecuted Christians and set them alight just to assert his power. And we could go on throughout the whole of history to show how beastly kingdoms work.

[16:47] Even today, you see across the world, governments are clamping down on churches and believers. And we don't know how long before that's here.

[16:58] In the UK, where I was just talking to my parents, they were saying that the cultural pressure regarding a fluid sense of identity and gender and all these kind of things is so strong that anyone who disagrees is labeled a bigot and is shunned and can have even worse consequences.

[17:18] The media bombards us with sexual imagery, with pornography, with ideas of a perfect body image that you've got to fit in, and it oppresses and it intimidates and it enslaves us if we don't fit in.

[17:34] There's pressure to live a consumer lifestyle where you are defined by what you eat, what you live, what you wear, where you go to work, the car you drive, the schools you go to.

[17:47] In our workplaces, I speak to many of you who feel intimidated by demanding bosses whose thirst for power and success can just drive you into the ground.

[17:59] We could go on, but all of these are examples of when human power rejects God's rule, we become beastly.

[18:11] You know, an author, Aime Cesare, or César, actually, who was writing about colonialism, he said this. He said, The colonizer, who in order to ease his conscience, gets into the habit of seeing the other man as an animal, accustoms himself to treating him like an animal, and tends objectively to transform himself into an animal.

[18:36] Do you see what he's saying here? He's saying when human beings seek power apart from God, we end up using our power and justifying our power to dehumanize other people.

[18:51] And as we do that, we actually end up dehumanizing ourselves and become like animals. That's what Daniel is trying to show us. And, you know, I hear many Christians saying nowadays, you know, that Christianity and Christian values are under threat like never before.

[19:10] Some of us feel the intimidation. But actually, Daniel would say, actually, every generation, there's been many generations in history that have felt this.

[19:21] And do you know why? It's because there's a war up. There's a war between kingdoms. That is why. The beast is at work in every culture, in every period.

[19:32] Sometimes there's a lull. But actually, Daniel's trying to say, wake up and see, behind the beauty of what's there, that actually there is a beast.

[19:47] And actually, Daniel's also showing something else. He's also pointing out the beast is not just out there. The beast is also in here. Because, you know, King Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, all the guys we've seen, what characterizes their rule?

[20:03] Well, it's pride. It's trying to be in control of life. It's jealousy. It's contempt for God. It's all those things which actually, if you're anything like me, don't they just characterize us at times?

[20:19] And so, what Daniel is trying to show us is that the beast is not a lovely kitten. You know, when Nebuchadnezzar sees in chapter 2 the four kingdoms as four statues with gold and silver and bronze and clay, those are beautiful metals.

[20:40] But Daniel, who is a believer, sees the opposite side and he sees the same things and he sees the beastly nature of them. If you don't see at any point in your life the pressure to live following Christ in this city, then it may be because you've already been taken by the beast.

[21:04] Because the beast wants you to submit to it. But Daniel's going to say something. Because the beast is not just chaotic, it's not just beastly, it's also temporary.

[21:16] Because he shows you every kingdom comes and goes. None of these kingdoms, none of these beasts lasts. And you know, just when you think this beast is so powerful and so strong that you feel so frightened, Daniel calls you to keep looking.

[21:33] And here's the second point. The justice of the judge. So, this is looking through into verses 9 through to 12.

[21:46] You see, as he keeps looking at this vision, do you know what he sees? It's kind of like the matrix where he kind of goes behind the scenes to what is actually going on into the courtroom of heaven.

[21:58] And I don't know if you've ever been into a court, but they say, would you all stand and all rise and the judge walks in. And then when the judge sits down, the trial's about to begin.

[22:11] And here what you see is the thrones are wheeled out and the Ancient of Days, God himself, comes and he sits down and books of judgment are open.

[22:23] But you see, this judge, his authority is not temporary like the beast's. It is eternal because he's ancient.

[22:34] He's the source and the sustainer and the beginning of history and the end of all history. He has holy fire coming from his throne, which can consume any beastly rule with a click of his fingers.

[22:48] The armies of heaven fill the place in front of him. His hair is white like wool of the wisdom that he has.

[23:01] And his clothes are white, showing that his judgments are not beastly, but they are pure and they are perfect and they are good. He is majestic.

[23:13] He's the one who's on the throne. He's in control of everything. And behind all the powerful corporations, all the powerful governments, all the powerful bosses, all the things that sometimes intimidate us in this life, he says there is a true seat of power and the one who's sitting on it is the Ancient of Days.

[23:34] You know, when Jesus was going to the cross and he comes before the pilot, and pilot is the epitome of ruthless Roman power.

[23:48] His life is at stake. And do you know what Jesus says? What he does? You know, he could kind of bargain for his life with pilot, say, hey, like, get me out of jail free here, please.

[24:02] But he doesn't. You know what he says? He says, you've got no authority over me except that which has been given to you. That's courage. And he says, I could call down legions of angels right now if I wanted to.

[24:18] You're not in charge here, pilot, because there is a higher judge who's in control at this moment. And you see, what happens here in the vision is the judge then pronounces this verdict on the beast and it's a death sentence.

[24:36] His rule is over. Finished. There is freedom and liberation. You know when, do you know when Harvey Weinstein, who was that once all-powerful mover and shaker in Hollywood, who his word either made or broke careers.

[24:58] I don't know if you saw, but when he came into court to be convicted of sexual abuse and rape, he looked just a pathetic sight.

[25:09] He was sick. He was a shadow of his former self. And every person who had lived under that shadow of intimidation and being bullied and all the other things abused by him, if they had known where he would end it up, would that have encouraged them to persevere when it seemed like he was strong?

[25:28] I think it would. Because they would have hope that justice was going to be done. And God, as the supreme judge, even in the places where we feel injustice, where we feel the pressure, where we feel the intimidation, he says he will bring justice to bear in the same way and it will be a liberation.

[25:51] It will be a freedom. It will be a place where there is true justice. And so for us as God's people, he calls us to stay faithful to him. That even though other people may ridicule you when you speak of Jesus, even though if you draw boundaries around your work that actually mean that when you have unreasonable bosses who try and force you to work even when you don't actually have to so that you feel like you can't even engage on church on Sundays or in CG, but actually you are called to say I'm going to draw those boundaries because I'm going to keep my eyes fixed on a higher judge regardless of the consequences.

[26:34] When you feel the cost, Daniel tells you to keep looking. Keep looking behind the bear that seems in front of you and to see the one who is on the throne because he's the one who will bring judgment and he's the one who will bring justice.

[26:49] Can you trust his timing wherever you are today? You see, beastly rule is intimidating but it's temporary. God's rule is eternal, authoritative and liberating.

[27:04] And you think, that's great. But that's not the end of the vision because Daniel says you've got to keep looking because he says I then saw and it's the word actually I kept looking because we don't just see the terror of the beast, we don't just see the justice of the judge, but actually you've got to see the crowning of the king.

[27:25] And here we see verse 13 and 14. Because as Daniel keeps looking, he sees a human and divine figure.

[27:37] He's divine because he's coming with the clouds of heaven. He's not taking Uber. He's, the divine figures, they come on clouds.

[27:48] That's how divine figures move. You see, it stands for the presence of God like at Mount Sinai. You see, this divine figure, he's also called one like a son of man.

[28:02] And in scripture, when you say the son of someone, you're actually talking about, the next word is actually about their character. So do you remember like James and John in the Bible?

[28:15] Jesus calls them sons of thunder. Now he's not talking about their bowel movements. He's talking about their fiery personality and character. And so when he says he's one like the son of man, what is he saying?

[28:30] He's saying this is the truly human one. This is the one that all humanity was supposed to be like. This is what you and I were created to image in our humanity.

[28:46] It's what we're supposed to be. And what's going on here? He says with the clouds of heaven, he is presented before the ancient of days.

[28:57] What's going on? This is a coronation ceremony. You know, my dad, he still remembers the coronation of Queen Elizabeth of England. And on that day, yeah, I know.

[29:09] It's a long time. But on that day, crowds line the street and she goes into Westminster Abbey in London and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[29:21] She kneels before him and he puts a crown on her head and invests her with authority. Although the Queen of England doesn't have much authority.

[29:33] But that's the idea. It happened to King Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius. It's the same ceremony. But here, what's happening? The Son of Man is being crowned the king and he's not a temporary reign.

[29:48] It's not a reign like King Nebuchadnezzar. It's not a reign which finished like Darius or Belshazzar. It's not a reign like Queen Elizabeth who will at some point soon die and be replaced by somebody else.

[30:02] This king will never be replaced because he says he has an everlasting dominion. His dominion is everlasting. Shall not pass away. His kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed.

[30:18] He's always there no matter how strong the beast seems. And the question that comes out is who is this Son of Man? And you know we're kind of Christians so we kind of know Jesus.

[30:32] But actually this exalted divine king who is also the truly human one is actually an individual figure who also stands and represents a whole community of God's people.

[30:47] Do you notice in the interpretation it says the saints will receive the kingdom. Do you notice that? and that actually sounds like a kind of priest someone who stands on behalf of the people.

[31:02] Well Jesus after his arrest he stands before the high priest that individual who's supposed to stand before God and represent the people.

[31:16] And Jesus comes before him and as you see him coming before him you realize that this high priest is not a son of man but is actually more like a beast. By the way you know religious people can be beasts.

[31:31] So that's why actually don't put don't exalt any church leaders above what is due to them because they are not God. but as Jesus comes before the high priest who is seeking to crush him seeking to oppress him seeking to intimidate the innocent holy one he asks Jesus are you the son of God and Jesus says yeah yeah you can say that and then he goes this he says but I tell you from now on you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven where's he got that from Daniel you see do you know what Jesus favorite title for himself is it's not son of God it's not Messiah it's the son of man it's everywhere and what is he saying he's saying my coronation is about to take place and how does the high priest respond he goes kill him and Jesus dies slain by the beast in fact it's a collaboration of human beasts all of us who are trying to assert our rule who try and keep our status who are out of jealousy out of pride out of fear of losing our own reputation turn and resist

[32:58] Jesus' rule that's what nails Jesus to the cross and it puts a crown of thorns on him we didn't expect that kind of coronation but right at that moment in the darkest hour who was truly on the throne God was the ancient of days was because he was executing his plan to destroy the power of beastly rule but also Jesus was dying for the very beasts who would execute him those people like you and me who reject his rule and he rises again and ascends and is seated at the right hand of God do you know why for many reasons but Daniel's going to tell you he died to give beasts back their humanity do you remember that first beast the lion with the wings who actually historically we think it's actually Nebuchadnezzar and what happens to him his wings get clipped he gets humbled and at the point of his humbling do you see what happens to him he's then given back his humanity you see this is what the gospel is all about this is why

[34:24] God calls us to repent and confess and to come before him from all of our beastliness it's not to try and be miserable repentance and confession is a way to learn how to be truly human because when Jesus is on the throne and we're worshipping him at the centre that's when we become fully who we were created to be and that's why God wants to create out of him that this new community of saints who receive his kingdom that in the midst of intimidation of fear we respond to beastliness not by being beasts ourselves you know actually how beasts respond to beasts we just end up trying to fight and being passive aggressive and doing all that other kind of stuff we try and force our way we get bitter or we just cower in fear but actually when you know that the son of man is the one who is giving us back our humanity what that does it fills us with love with kindness and truth that we're called to have godly courage to forgive to bless those who persecute us and to do what Jesus does because when we submit to him and surrender to him do you know what happens he begins to make us look more like him which makes us more human you know what the beast says he says

[35:56] I deserve better in life I'm entitled to some respect I should get my own way the beast says I came to be served not to serve but Jesus says the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many including us here every one of us that is true humility that is true humanity a life laid down for God's kingdom to love and serve God and others but in a world that is filled with darkness and challenge where do you get the courage to be like that from where do you get that courage you know Nelson Mandela the famous South African activist he said this he said I learned that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear that's absolutely right so just be like

[37:07] Daniel right you know he is the ultimate courageous guy goes into lion's den right but do you notice in verse 15 and verse 28 even this amazing courageous Daniel he is frightened he is alarmed he is anxious his courage has failed him why because Daniel doesn't know who this son of man is godly courage isn't the loudest voice in the room it's not the most confident personality you can be brave just to prove yourself godly courage sees Jesus as bigger than whatever beast you're facing in your life right now he fills your windscreen why do we get intimidated and fear people or circumstances around us because it feels like our life is in their hands it feels like your boss holds the key to your career it feels like your kids lives are in the hands of a culture that you don't know how to fight against sharing the gospel could lead to rejection and we feel afraid that that might ruin our lives but whatever the beast tries to take

[38:31] Jesus says they can never take your soul because he says in this world you'll have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world why because at the moment when it looks like death is hardest is the moment when Jesus is bringing resurrection life the moment when you feel the pressure of the world against you and you don't know where to look is the moment that when you look up you see the one who is already overcome who has already got the victory and he's taking you through to resurrection glory you know someone I chatted with someone in watermark a little while ago and they had their name put forward to lead the the LGBT initiative for their company and there was a lot of pressure on boss said this is a great career opportunity for you and there's that pressure between the values of what they felt like

[39:34] God was calling them to do but also the fear of what's going to happen if I resist saying no could mean they get fired and they knew that and they felt that and they talked to people in the community who prayed who encouraged them and they went to their boss and said hey no I've got other church responsibilities I can't do it and the boss said that's fine that's fine that's okay you see God shut the lion's mouth at that moment but actually what helped them because they said to me you know this is where I know God will provide for me because I know that he's where my life is found that's how you can stand I have another friend who was constantly battered by their family members just always commenting on their appearance and weight and it was crushing to them they lived under this fearing feeling of will I ever be loved will I ever find value and so they were tempted to look anywhere for somebody who would just validate them but as they began to share in community and as they learned the gospel which tells them that their identity is not found in their appearance or what anybody else tells you but it's found in what the son of

[41:05] God the son of man has done for you that you are loved that you are saved that you are forgiven that you are secure that you belong that the risen crushed ascended Christ has done everything so that you can be his and his love will never be taken away that he says to us do not fear little flock because he's been pleased to give you the kingdom do you know what it meant for them they still wrestled and battled whenever they met family members but they had this new courage and confidence to not let it crush them because Jesus became bigger in their windscreen than any other beasts and they experienced the resurrection life of Jesus giving them a new confidence to walk into the world knowing that he is both the judge on the throne but he's also the savior who's with us and the one who's risen from the grave that is what

[42:07] Daniel is about I'm going to stop here but I don't know if you realize this but actually Daniel 12 which we're not going to talk about it ends with resurrection let me just read this to you and many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt that's about which kingdom you're going to be part of and those who are wise who choose to submit to the son of man shall shine like the brightness of the sky above and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever.

[42:56] That's the promise of everyone who puts their trust and who is in the son of man and refuses to submit to the beast. I want us to just close by thinking how are you going to respond right now, right today?

[43:18] Where's the beast in your life? Where's the things where you feel intimidated and afraid? Where are the areas where, how big is Jesus in your windscreen right now?

[43:32] And I have on the screen just three ways that actually you can respond in this moment. We're going to take communion in a few minutes. But I want you to respond in one of three ways. Sometimes some of you may just have to praise God and thank him that he truly is on the throne.

[43:50] When you look at the news, when you look at the things that are going on, you realize you can praise and thank him. That we don't have to stand in fear.

[44:01] Some of us have to actually repent and confess because there are areas where maybe we have actually, we don't realize the beastliness in us or we've actually lived under that intimidation and fear and we've just given in because we fail to see who Jesus truly is in our life.

[44:22] Some of us, God is calling you, you're in situations where you know God is calling you to respond and you're struggling to trust him because you feel afraid. And God is going to call you right now to respond in obedience and trust.

[44:38] So I want you just to take a minute by yourself and just to respond, which of those three ways is God calling you to respond right now? God bless you.