{"id":18435,"date":"2018-04-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/daniel-060-the-righteous-and-the-wicked-contrasted\/"},"modified":"2018-04-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T05:00:00","slug":"daniel-060-the-righteous-and-the-wicked-contrasted","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-060-the-righteous-and-the-wicked-contrasted\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel 060 – The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[72],"series_event":[467],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18435","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-daniel","series_event-daniel","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Daniel 060 - The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted","sermon_date":"20180422","sermon_month":"4","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5702,"sermon_slides":5711,"sermon_mp3":5714,"sermon_id":"422181024365","series_or_event":467,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":72,"chapter_and_verse":"12:8-10","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Righteous and Wicked Contrasted\n\n4-22-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 12:8-10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 60\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 12 and verse 8, I guess people are celebrating that we\u2019re almost at the end here but it does mention 1,335 days; I\u2019m hoping it won\u2019t take that long to cover this.\u00a0 The title of our message this is the Contrast Between the Righteous and the Wicked.\n\nDaniel chapter 12 beginning at verse 8.\u00a0 We\u2019re in that final section that was all given to Daniel in the sixth century, chapters 10-12.\u00a0 The spiritual warfare he went through before he received this vision in his 80\u2019s was very intense, chapter 10, but he actually received this final vision, chapters 11 and 12. Daniel had seen many, many things in in this vision, most of which are in our rear view mirror in the 21st<\/sup> century, things that we can look back and validate and say yes, these prophecies have been literally fulfilled.\n\nBut beginning in chapter 11:36 Daniel leaps forward in his prophecies and he begins to talk about things that are yet future from the 21st<\/sup> century, at least from the date we are living in today in the 21st<\/sup> century, things about a future antichrist, tribulation period, and millennial kingdom.\u00a0 And we find ourselves for the last several Sundays in chapter 12 which involves two things.\u00a0 Number one, we\u2019ve seen a description of the end times, verses 1-4.\u00a0 And then beginning last week we saw part two which is the duration of the end times; 1-4 is a description, 5-13 the duration because it sort of takes place as two questions are asked and answered involving length and days and time.\n\nWe saw last week verses 5-7, round one in the question and answer cycle as one angel asks another angel what will be the outcome of these things.\u00a0 And we saw last week, verses 5-7, that it will involve two things; number one, the shattering of the power of the holy people, God bringing the nation of Israel to the end of herself so she realizes her need for her Messiah. \u00a0And that is going to take place in the second half, primarily, of the tribulation period.\n\nAnd now we move into the final round of question and answers and this is where the book ends, with this cycle of round two of question and answer.\u00a0 Notice the question beginning in verse 8, and then there\u2019s an answer given in verses 9-13.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, verse 8, \u201cAs for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, \u2018My lord, what will be<\/em> the outcome of these events?<\/em>\u201d\u2019\u00a0 Now in the prior round of question and answers what we discover is one angel asks another angel a question concerning length\u2026 when?\u00a0\u00a0 And now it\u2019s a little bit different; it\u2019s not the angel asking another angel about length, it\u2019s Daniel asking an angel.\u00a0 Remember there\u2019s a third angel there; two angels on the Tigris, one of those angels asks the third angel hovering over the waters, a question, verses 5-7, that is answered in that unit, verse 7.\n\nAnd now it changes a little bit, slightly, where Daniel now gets into the question and asking habit and he asks this third angel another question but Daniel\u2019s question seems to be more related to not when but what or how.\u00a0\u00a0 And what we have now in verses 9-13 is the answer.\u00a0 Now don\u2019t celebrate because we\u2019re not quite finished with the Book of Daniel because this answer has five parts to it.\n\nNumber 1, we have an answer related to progressive illumination, verse 9.\u00a0 Number 2, which is probably where we\u2019re going to be spending most of our time this morning, we have an answer related to the contrast in understanding between the righteous and the wicked in the last days, verse 10.\u00a0 Number 3, we have an answer related to the preparation of the millennial temple, verse 11.\u00a0 Number 4, we have an answer related to preparation for the millennial kingdom, verse 12.\u00a0 And then finally the book concludes with Daniel\u2019s predicted inheritance, how he indeed will enter his rest and rise at his allotted time and enter into his portion in the millennial kingdom.\n\nBut notice the first part of this answer, beginning there in verse 9.\u00a0 Notice the answer that\u2019s given by the angel hovering over the waters.\u00a0 \u201cHe said to me,\u201d how would you like this for an answer?\u00a0 \u201cGo your way,<\/em> Daniel, for these<\/em> words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.\u201d\u00a0 Now one of the things you need to do to understand verse 9 is you have to sort of connect it with verse 4 which we studied a few Sundays back.\u00a0 Verse 4 and verse 9 basically go together\u00a0 in contributing an important thought.\u00a0 Let\u2019s read the verses together.\n\n\u201cBut as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 9, \u201cGo your way,<\/em> Daniel, for these<\/em> words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.\u201d\u00a0 And a few Sundays ago when we were in verse 4 I tried to communicate the point that it\u2019s very common for people to misinterpret verse 4 and to understand it as some sort of prophecy about technology advancing in the last days.\u00a0 Going\u00a0\u00a0 to and fro is typically interpreted as people taking cruises or flying on airplanes, or using cyberspace.\u00a0 And there are verses which do give light on technology in the last days.\n\nWe went through some of those but I\u2019m convinced that that is not what that particular verse is talking about.\u00a0 Rather, to my understanding going to and fro, back and forth, is reading, not taking a cruise, not traveling on an airplane.\u00a0 And I get that by cross-referencing it to another prophet, Amos 8:12, where Amos predicts, \u201cPeople will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro\u201d see how that\u2019s the same kind of language, seeking what?\u00a0 Not getting on a boat, not getting on a plane, not surfing the internet, but \u201cto seek the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.\u201d\n\nSo going \u201cto and fro\u201d in Daniel\u2019s prophecy is essentially people, as these prophecies are about to happen, as it becomes obvious that the world is drifting towards the fulfillment of these prophecies people suddenly will look at the prophetic sections of Scripture and they will start to become very interested in them.\u00a0 They will crack open Bibles that perhaps they\u2019ve never read in their entire lives and start to give attention to the prophetic content of Scripture because they can sense that something is about to happen and that the world has finally caught up to what the Bible predicts.\u00a0 And knowledge will increase.\u00a0 What knowledge?\u00a0 Facebook, aircraft, internet?\u00a0 No, knowledge of prophecy will increase.\n\nIn other words, God has designed prophecy to become not progressively revealed, it\u2019s always been there, but progressively more and more clear, progressively more and more comprehensible, progressively more and more understandable as the human race is drifting to the time period when the things predicted in the Book of Daniel will happen.\n\nDaniel, you\u2019re living in the sixth century B.C.; you want all the answers but the reality of the situation is you\u2019re not meant to have these answers.\u00a0 You\u2019ve done\u00a0 your job, you have recorded the vision now go your way, seal it up and leave it to the work of the Holy Spirit in a distant generation to unpack, to unfold, to reveal the things that you have been shown in this vision.\n\nIt is very interesting to me that Daniel was told to conceal the vision.\u00a0 John, 600 years later on the island of Patmos in the final book that comprises the end of the New Testament, called the Book of Revelation, at the very end of the book it tells John to do the exact opposite.\u00a0 Revelation 22:10, the angel \u201c said to me, \u2018Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Daniel is told to conceal it up, put it way, go your way; 600 years later John was told to unseal it.\n\nThe best way to look at this is you have to look at all of God\u2019s Word as sort of a giant jigsaw puzzle.\u00a0 Daniel was given just a few pieces, very important pieces, of that jigsaw puzzle but it was like a jigsaw puzzle with an incomplete picture with pieces missing.\u00a0 Daniel you\u2019re not going to make heads or tails of this or be able to.\u00a0 But here comes John in the Book of Revelation, here come the New Testament writers and they start filling in the gaps.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the missing piece here, here\u2019s the missing piece there, here\u2019s the missing piece there and so by the time the Book of Revelation is given\u00a0 you have a complete picture.\n\nDaniel never had the complete picture so Daniel is told to seal and conceal; John is told to do the exact opposite, to unseal.\u00a0 And there is an added bonus as well; the picture which is now complete really wouldn\u2019t be fully understood or grasped until the human race gets closer and closer and closer to the time period when these things will be fulfilled.\u00a0 This is how God has designed His prophetic truth. This is how God has designed His prophetic Word.\u00a0 This is why the prophets themselves, in the Old Testament, concerning the things related to Christ, even in His first coming, really could not make heads or tails of those prophecies.\n\n1 Peter 1:10-11 says this, \u201cAs to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come<\/em> to you made careful searches and inquiries, [11] seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.\u201d\u00a0 Isaiah received a vision of the crucified Christ and simultaneously he received a vision of the glorified Christ, Isaiah 53 is the crucified Christ; Isaiah 9:6-7 is the glorified ruling and reigning Christ.\u00a0 And put yourself in Isaiah\u2019s shoes; he would say to the Holy Spirit, he would say to the Lord, well which one is it?\u00a0 You\u2019re giving me conflicting visions here.\n\nNow we, in hindsight, because we\u2019re living in a different time period, can look back and say oh, I see what\u2019s happening, Isaiah 53 is the first coming of Christ; Isaiah 9:6-7 is the future coming of Christ, the second advent of Christ.\u00a0 Hindsight is 20\/20, Amen!\u00a0 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, they didn\u2019t have the advantage of hindsight so they were told you can\u2019t understand it, you can\u2019t figure it out, just seal it and conceal it and put it away and God is going to make it clear to a future, distant generation.\n\nThis is why in Judaism there was this idea that there\u2019s going to be two Messiah\u2019s, one they called Ben Joseph, after the sufferings of Joseph; the other one they called Ben David after the kingship and regal authority of David.\u00a0 They thought there were going to be two Messiahs that were going to show up simultaneously, one was going to suffer, one was going to rule and reign, because they didn\u2019t have the chronology right.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have hindsight, history on their side. They weren\u2019t living in the right period of time and so while they gave us an accurate message it was sort of something to them that was not understandable, not comprehensible.\n\nBut isn\u2019t it interesting how we, just by virtue of the time period we\u2019re living in, can look back and see exactly what was meant. What we\u2019re seeing is a fulfillment of what Daniel is given instruction to do here, seal it up, conceal it, people will go back and forth, they will run to and fro and knowledge will increase.\u00a0 This is how God has designed His Word.\n\nThis is why when you study church history, the doctrine of eschatology, fancy word there, simple meaning, is the last doctrine to be really understood and systematized and developed by the church.\u00a0 Eschatos<\/em> means last or end, \u201cology\u201d of course you recognize as the study of.\u00a0 Eschatology is what does the Bible reveal about the end?\u00a0 And you\u2019ll notice that the church really was not wrestling with that early on; they were dealing with other issues, like the biblical canon, what books go into the Bible and which ones don\u2019t.\u00a0 Like the doctrine of Christ, like the atonement, or issues of salvation.\u00a0 And after all of those get sort of debated and argued and fine-tuned, finally the church gives itself to the study of eschatology and why is eschatology the last doctrine to be understood and systematized?\u00a0 Simply because Daniel said, as he is given this prophecy, that\u2019s the way it would work out, that\u2019s the way it will unfold.\n\nAnd so, beloved, what we\u2019re sitting on top of here is a virtual gold mine of information.\u00a0 Not only do we have the completed jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces put into place but we\u2019re even living, I believe, in the general time period when these things very well could be happening.\u00a0 So we have privileges today that those in prior ages simply did not have and that\u2019s why this Book, the prophetic content of this Book is an absolute gift from God.\u00a0 Now there are those that go too far and claim they know everything there is to know today about the end times.\u00a0 If the Lord tarries the next generation will come and will understand it a lot better than we understand it.\n\nAnd of course the very people in the tribulation period itself will have the best understanding.\u00a0 Right, because this is how God has designed His Word; it becomes progressively unsealed, not in terms of revelation but in terms of illumination as you get closer and closer and closer to the time period when these things are predicted.\u00a0 This is why this interest that you have today in people to return to the early Church Fathers, like in the emerging church, want to go back to the mystics and the monks and I won\u2019t believe something unless John Calvin says it\u2019s true.\u00a0 Well, I appreciate the contributions of John Calvin but let me tell you something about John Calvin\u2014he didn\u2019t under\u00adstand anything about eschatology; it\u2019s evident from his writings.\u00a0 I mean, he\u2019s wrong on virtually everything even though he and Martin Luther gave us great truth in the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of atonement, doctrine of Christ, doctrine of the canon of Scripture, when it comes to eschatology these guys, if I can be nice about it, are pretty much out to lunch.\n\nWhy is that?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s what God said would happen. \u00a0So your authority is not the Bible plus Luther plus Calvin; it\u2019s the Bible period!\u00a0 You should not feel ashamed about believing something even if it doesn\u2019t show up anywhere in church history; if\u00a0 you can find it in the Bible it\u2019s true and God is saying don\u2019t expect church history to be littered with a lot of truth, particularly in the realm of eschatology.\u00a0 I love studying the Church Fathers but let me tell you something, when the Church Fathers depart from the Bible I depart from the Church Fathers.\u00a0 The Church Fathers, the earliest Church Fathers after the apostles believed some of the craziest ideas that can be believed, ideas that have no basis in the Bible, like infant baptism.\u00a0 Martin Luther himself believed in that; not a shred of evidence in the Bible to support that.\n\nOthers believed in baptismal regeneration, that you are saved and brought to life through the sacrament of baptism.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been reading the Bible for a long time, I can\u2019t find any such doctrine in the Bible.\u00a0 I can respect the contributions of any human being but your ultimate authority is the Scripture; Sugar Land Bible Church, Sola Scriptura<\/em>, Scripture by itself, Scripture alone, particularly on this topic because God says it\u2019s going to be obscure until the pieces of the puzzle are added and you drift to the very end in fulfillment of these things.\n\nSo Daniel go your way, you\u2019ve done your job, you\u2019ve recorded what you\u2019re asked to record, stop asking questions, put it away, let a distant generation of believers handle that issue.\u00a0 Daniel, we\u2019ll see in verse 13, you\u2019re secure, you will arise in the resurrection to your allotted inheritance.\u00a0 You\u2019ve done your job.\n\nBut there are people that will get it in the future and who are those people?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad you asked.\u00a0 By the way, I like this quote from Isaac Newton, I like to use this a lot.\u00a0 Isaac Newton, of course, a great scientist but also a great Bible student; Isaac Newton of these verses said, \u201cAbout the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to prophecies and insist upon their literal interpretation\u201d look at this, \u201cin the midst of much clamor and opposition.\u201d\u00a0 You get the feeling that Isaac Newton was reading Daniel chapter 12, verses 8 and 9 because verse 9 is going to describe two reactions, two reactions to the prophetic content of God\u2019s Word in the last days.\u00a0 [Daniel 12:8, \u201cAs for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, \u201cMy lord, what will be<\/em> the outcome of these events?<\/em>\u201d [9] He said, \u201cGo your way,<\/em> Daniel, for these<\/em> words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.\u201d]\n\nThe generation that\u2019s supposed to understand it is going to react to it in two ways and those two ways are described in verse 10, as we see in verse 10 a contrast between the righteous and the wicked.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, Daniel 12:10, \u201c\u201cMany will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.\u201d\u00a0 I like, and I\u2019m so grateful for the first part here, verses 10 where it says \u201cMany will be purged, purified and refined\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m grateful for that clause because so many times when we study the end times we think about the destruction.\u00a0 Now don\u2019t get me wrong, it\u2019s going to be a tremendous time of destruction.\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus, in Matthew 24:21-22 talks about a period of unparalleled distress that\u2019s never happened from the beginning of time and it will never be replicated.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Matthew 24:21-22, \u201cFor then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. [22] Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.\u201d]\n\nThe Book of Revelation talks about a time period when half of the world\u2019s population will be wiped out.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting that in the midst of all of this destruction God is going to do something supernatural to the inhabitants of planet earth, where it says here in verse 10, \u201cMany\u201d that to me seems like a lot of people, \u201cwill be purged, purified and refined,\u201d now isn\u2019t that just like God to do something like that?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it just like God to take human difficulties and tragedies and turn it around for something good?\u00a0\u00a0 Let me ask you a basic question: when are the times in\u00a0 your life as a Christian when you\u2019ve grown the most?\u00a0 I mean, do we grow the most on the plateaus and the mountain top experiences of life?\u00a0 I can tell you from personal testimony I love the mountain top experiences, in fact, I\u2019d rather just stay there, thank you very much, but that is not where most of the spiritual growth ever has taken place in my life.\u00a0 It\u2019s in the valleys between the mountain top experiences; that\u2019s where the growth happens.\n\nGod, I believe, gives both; I believe He gives mountain top experiences but He\u2019s also the author of the valleys and we need to learn to embrace both.\u00a0 There are things that come into our lives and we have absolutely no control over but we can trust in the fact that God is in control and He\u2019s allowed this, for whatever reason, to develop character in us.\n\nAnd so in the midst of this end time destruction is going to come a tremendous time period, verse 10, of purging, purifying and refining.\u00a0 I can\u2019t think of a greater gift than the purification, you\u2019ll notice the word \u201cpurification\u201d here, of Jesus Christ and what he offers.\u00a0 1 John 1:7 says, \u201cThe blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from\u201d 95% of our sin\u2026 it doesn\u2019t say that does it, \u201cThe blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.\u201d\u00a0 You say what does \u201call\u201d mean?\u00a0 You ready for this?\u00a0 It\u2019s very academic\u2026 all means all!\u00a0 Like in Texas we don\u2019t say Ya\u2019all, we say all Ya\u2019all.\u00a0 John is saying all Ya\u2019all, all sinned.\u00a0 That would be past sins.\u00a0 That would be present sins.\u00a0 And that would be what?\u00a0 Future sins.\n\nAnd \u201cin Christ\u201d we have a complete pardon of those sins.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t mean we should go back to sin, but even as a Christian you go back into sin which we still have an ability to do, Amen!\u00a0 It covers all of those sins as well.\u00a0 I\u2019m not here to whitewash sin and make it sound like sin doesn\u2019t have consequences, it always does.\u00a0 But in terms of eternal retribution all of our sins have been paid for, past, present and future.\u00a0 And God is going to use the end time itself and the great duress planet earth will experience to bring to many, verse 10, purging, purifying and refining.\u00a0 [Daniel 12:10, \u201cMany will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.\u201d]\n\nNow who\u2019s the \u201cmany\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0 The \u201cmany\u201d is often used as a reference to the nation of Israel.\u00a0 You\u2019ll find it used that way in Daniel 9:27 and Daniel 11:33.\u00a0 [Daniel 9:27, \u201cAnd he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.\u201d\u00a0 Daniel 11:33, \u201cThose who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.\u201d]\n\nWe know that the nation of Israel, the remnant, the survivors, will be converted to Christ.\u00a0 Romans 11:26 says, \u201cSo all Israel will be saved.\u201d\u00a0 Zechariah 12:10 says, \u201cI will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.\u201d\u00a0 That is the divine blueprint in store for Israel\u00a0 yet future.\u00a0 She is the only nation that I know of in the Bible that is promised a revival that\u2019s so encompassing that it will affect the last man or woman standing.\u00a0 Every Jew is saved at a particular point in the outworking of God\u2019s purposes.\u00a0 And that may be what Daniel is referring to here, verse 10, when he says, \u201cthe many\u201d or \u201cIsrael\u201d will be purged, purified and refined.\u00a0 And we would say to ourselves well, that\u2019s enough, isn\u2019t it?\n\nBut what you learn about God is it\u2019s not just grace, it\u2019s grace upon grace, grace lavished in unprecedented ways and during this time period not only will the nation of Israel experience salvation but many, many, many, many, many Gentiles will be saved as well.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 It\u2019s in the Book of Revelation, chapter 7, verse 9.\u00a0 It says, \u201cAfter these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 13, \u201cThen one of the elders answered, saying to me, \"These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?\u201d\u00a0 [14] I said to him, \u2018My lord, you know.\u2019 And he said to me, \u2018These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.\u2019\u201d\n\nThese people, an innumerable multitude, not just Jews, from every nation, are clothed in white robes in the Book of Revelation. It\u2019s very clear here they\u2019re not clothed with their own good works, they\u2019re clothed in \u201cwhite,\u201d Revelation 14:7 \u201cin the blood of the Lamb.\u201d What is this referring to here?\u00a0 This is referring to a conversion that is so widespread it pales every other revival that\u2019s ever happened in human history, and there have been some great ones.\u00a0 Going back to the day of Pentecost where 3,000 people were saved; that\u2019s just small potatoes compared to the harvest of souls that\u2019s coming.\n\nIn fact, I believe this, there will probably be in the time of this distress more people saved during that time period than have ever been saved in all of human history combined.\u00a0 Can I necessarily prove that from the Bible?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s just sort of private thought that you take it to the Lord and see if\u00a0 you think that\u2019s true, but that\u2019s what I believe.\u00a0 It\u2019s a stunning work of the Holy Spirit of conversion.\n\nAnd it\u2019s interesting to me, how is God going to do this?\u00a0 I mean, what is the tool that God is going to use to bring about, not just the national conversion of His elect nation but this giant throng of people coming to Christ by faith alone.\u00a0 It\u2019s the tool God always uses.\u00a0 God\u2019s greatest tool that He has to get our attention is adversity.\u00a0 God has a lot of tools but you have to admit this, that\u2019s the tool He uses pretty effectively.\u00a0 Would\u00a0 you not agree?\u00a0 I mean, Jonah didn\u2019t get himself straightened out\u00a0 until he was in the belly of the fish.\u00a0 God has ways of getting the attention of people that He loves, that He died for, that need to come to know Him personally.\n\nAnd let me tell you something, there\u2019s nothing that causes you to turn to God faster than an earthquake.\u00a0 You say how do you know that?\u00a0 I was raised in California, earthquakes are very common, but there\u2019s nothing that gets your attention faster than the earth shaking beneath your feet.\u00a0 In fact, as an earthquake is taking place watch the people reporting it on television.\u00a0 I mean, they don\u2019t even know what to do with themselves it\u2019s such an awe inspiring thing.\u00a0 The earth shaking under your feet is a reminder that you don\u2019t have any control of anything.\u00a0 We think we\u2019re in control, we don\u2019t have any control.\u00a0 The problem is us, we think<\/em> we have control, it\u2019s a myth or an allusion and so God oftentimes will send all kinds of things to get people\u2019s attention.\u00a0 And as the seals and trumpets and bowl judgments are being poured out, as the human race is experiencing things, according to the words of Christ, that they\u2019ve never experienced before in human history, let me tell you, they\u2019re going to get God conscious real fast.\u00a0 And God is going to use that event to awaken them to the need for the gospel which will be faithfully presented by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists.\n\nI mean, look at this country for example, when 9\/11 happened.\u00a0 I mean, do you recall when 9\/11 happened?\u00a0 That was on a Tuesday, wasn\u2019t it, if I remember right.\u00a0 Do you remember the state of the churches the following Sunday?\u00a0 I mean, that event created a growth in the church, at least for that Sunday and a couple following, that the church growth gurus have been trying to create for a long time.\u00a0 How do we get the church to grow?\u00a0 God says here\u2019s how you do it, 9\/11; that\u2019ll grow the church.\u00a0 And you have all of these people that normally would have no interest in spiritual things are suddenly showing up at your church wondering what\u00a0 you have to say about this.\u00a0 And sadly a lot of pastors didn\u2019t take advantage of the opportunity, they just taught about their usual lesson of the day.\u00a0 But other pastors explained these things, explained the myth of human control and how people can come to know Christ personally.\u00a0 That is what is being described here when Daniel says in verse 10, \u201cMany will be purged and purified and refined.\u201d\n\nA lot of people are going to figure it out and get it and their heart is going to be open and receptive to the gospel.\u00a0 Just a quick question; has God sent any earthquakes into your life lately?\u00a0 Has some things happened in your life that you don\u2019t have any control over and you wonder what in the world is going on.\u00a0 We see those things as enemies; we see those things as intruders.\u00a0 The reality of the situation is those things are in\u00a0 your life because of the love of God for you and me, because we are so stubborn in our natural selves, we are so deceived by the illusion of control and God loves us too much to see us walk in self-deception and walk right into hell in the process that He\u2019ll send these issues and these problems and these difficulties.\u00a0 And what you may be experiencing is going to be happening on a grand scale yet future.\n\nAnd you would think everybody would figure it out, wouldn\u2019t you?\u00a0 I mean, 9\/11 happened, the churches were full only for two, three or four Sundays then attendance went back down to what it normally is.\u00a0 I mean, my goodness, 9\/11 we had Republicans and Democrats singing God Bless America<\/em> holding hands on the capitol steps; when has that ever happened?\u00a0 And it was wonderful to see, it only lasted about a week though.\u00a0 And you see, Daniel is giving the other side of this picture; there will be \u201cMany,\u201d praise God for that, that will be \u201cpurified, refined and purged\u201d but there\u2019s another reaction in people.\n\nThat other reaction is described in verse 10.\u00a0 Your trials are going to do one of two things; they\u2019re going to drive you to God or away from God.\u00a0 The same sun that melts is the same sun that dries the clay.\u00a0 Your trials will make you better or they\u2019ll make you bitter.\u00a0 There\u2019s always, when the hand of God moves in someone\u2019s life there\u2019s always two polarizing reactions.\u00a0 Daniel has given us the happy side, verse 10, \u201cMany will be purged, purified and refined,\u201d but notice the conjunction \u201cbut,\u201d \u201cbut the wicked will act wickedly;\u201d the wicked will do what wicked people always do.\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019ll just fulfill their job description and when this time of adversity comes they will just plunge into greater and greater levels of depravity and wickedness.\n\nYou say does the Bible teach that about the end times?\u00a0 Notice Revelation 9:20-21, \u201cThe rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; [21] and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.\u201d\n\nCheer up folks, it gets worse.\u00a0 Revelation 16:9, towards the end of these judgments, it says, \u201cMen were scorched with fierce heat;\u201d and what do they to, \u201cand they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.\u201d\n\nRevelation 16:11 says, \u201cand they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 16:21 says, \u201cAnd huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men;\u201d and what did men do in the midst of these things, do they repent?\u00a0 Do they show contrition?\u00a0 Do they humble themselves in front of the presence of the power of an Almighty God that they know is controlling these events?\u00a0 No, they \u201cblasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.\u201d\n\nYou know God worked in the Exodus event, didn\u2019t He?\u00a0 And every time a judgment hit, you know the Scripture well, Pharaoh hardened his heart against God.\u00a0 You see the intervention of God in judgment in a person\u2019s life, or even in divine discipline; it\u2019s going to produce either of those two results; it either brings out Revelation 7, conversion, contrition, a soft heart, or it just makes people angry at God and they grow in their anger.\n\nIn fact, it\u2019s interesting that as these judgments break out, Revelation 6:15 says this, \u201cThen the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.\u201d\u00a0 There people are portrayed as hiding from God which is bad enough, but by the time you get to the end of the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, they\u2019re not even hiding any more.\u00a0 Revelation 19:19 says, \u201cAnd I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.\u201d\u00a0 One of the stick early no they\u2019re hiding from God as their hearts become progressively hardened, they go out at the end of it and they fight God.\u00a0 Now how smart is that, to fight God?\u00a0 It\u2019s incomprehensible stupidity to put yourself against your Creator and Redeemer, someone who is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent.\u00a0 They don\u2019t even want to hide from Him anymore, they\u2019re going to go out and fight Him and stop Him from coming back.\u00a0 That\u2019s the progression of the human heart in the midst of these things.\n\nMay I just say to you that is the normal progress of the wicked.\u00a0 That\u2019s why, as you go through life it gets more and more difficult to come to Christ.\u00a0 If\u00a0 you\u2019ve never done it, it gets harder.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because of the depravity of the human heart.\u00a0 I mean, you would think that people, as they become old, as they become infirm, as their body starts to break down, you would think that their hearts would, if they\u2019re not saved already, become more and more open to the things of God.\u00a0 But often what you discover is the exact opposite; as many of these folks are looking at death\u2019s door their heart is more hard and more recalcitrant than it\u2019s ever been.\u00a0 That\u2019s why your Bible says \u201ctoday is the day of salvation.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 6:2, \u201cfor He says, \u2018AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU. \u2019Behold, now is \u2018THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,\u2019 behold, now is \u2018THE DAY OF SALVATION \u2018 ]\n\nOh, I\u2019ll do it tomorrow, I\u2019ll do it next week, I\u2019ll do it next month, I\u2019ll do it next year, maybe you will, but let me tell you something, if I\u2019m understanding my Bible correctly it\u2019s going to be more difficult, not difficult for God, difficult for\u00a0 you to receive the grace of God.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I am so glad that the Word got hold of me at such a young age, age 16, before I had the opportunity to royally screw up my life, and I have the same depraved heart you have, I would have made a complete shambles of my life. I would probably be bearing in my body and in my soul the consequences of the whirlwind of sin I would have gotten myself into.\u00a0 And here I am at the age \u00a0of 51, largely shielded from things that other people are now walking through because of a conversion and a call into discipleship at an early age.\n\nYou know, I\u2019ll tell you, I like a lot of things about Sugar Land Bible Church but here\u2019s something I really like: I like the fact that we\u2019ve got all these kids coming to this church.\u00a0 I like the fact that we\u2019ve got a children\u2019s program.\u00a0 You know, a lot of churches they don\u2019t even have a children\u2019s program.\u00a0 A lot of churches there\u2019s no children, did you know that?\u00a0 A lot of churches will look at me and say well, you need to be a member of the youth group because they\u2019re lost sight of the vision, they\u2019ve lost sight of the idea that we need to reach these kids at an early age.\u00a0 I love the fact that we\u2019re already planning VBS and have been planning it for months in advance.\u00a0 I want to see all these kids come to know Jesus Christ before they go off into the devil\u2019s world and sew to the flesh and reap the whirlwind.\n\nThat\u2019s why the Bible says \u201cToday is the day of salvation.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 6:2, \u201cfor He says, \u2018AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.\u2019 Behold, now is \u2018THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,\u2019 behold, now is \u2018THE DAY OF \u201cSALVATION. \u2018\u201d]\n\nHebrews 3:7-8 says, \u201c7<\/strong><\/a>Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, \u2018TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, [8] DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS.\u201d\n\nHebrews 3:12-13, \u201cTake care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. [13] But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still<\/em> called \u2018Today,\u2019 so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.\u201d\n\nYou see what\u2019s happening here?\u00a0 Deal with the issue today; if it\u2019s personal salvation deal with it now.\u00a0 Or maybe you\u2019re saved and not walking with the Lord and the Lord keeps putting His hand on something in your life saying this has to change under My power.\u00a0 Oh, I\u2019ll do that next year.\u00a0 Let me tell you something; you might be able to do it next year under His grace but it\u2019s going to be more difficult than dealing with it this year because that\u2019s the nature of sin.\u00a0 That\u2019s the nature of depravity.\u00a0 That\u2019s the nature of the human heart.\u00a0 This is what Daniel is saying in verse 10, but the wicked will act wickedly even while others are being purified and purged and refined.\u00a0 \u00a0[Daniel 12:10, \u201cMany will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.\u201d]\n\nWhich one describes\u00a0 you?\u00a0 Are you today in that group that\u2019s being purged and purified and refined or are you in that second group that\u2019s just continuing to act wickedly, thinking that somehow sin can be negotiated with.\u00a0 Let me tell you something about sin; sin is of such a power that we don\u2019t have the foggiest idea how to contain it; we think we do but we don\u2019t.\u00a0 Sin is of such a power that Jesus Christ, the Second Member of the Trinity, had to enter this world to deal with the consequences of sin.\u00a0 You think you can negotiate with sin?\u00a0 Do you think I can negotiate with sin?\u00a0 There\u2019s a reason why God said to the Israelites under Joshua that were entering Canaan, and we know about the wickedness and depravity of the Canaanites, God said kill every single Canaanite, even the women and the children.\u00a0 And in the Samuel books God says wipe out the animals, eliminate and eradicate because if you don\u2019t do exactly what I say the day is going to come where those Canaanites and their wicked philosophies and lifestyles, you\u2019re not going to control them, they\u2019re going to control you.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting how the nation of Israel went into that land for 800 years and suffered right up to the days of the Babylonian deportation because Judges 1, they didn\u2019t do what God said to do.\u00a0 There\u2019s stuff going on, perhaps in your life God is saying now this has to be dealt with.\u00a0 Oh, I\u2019ve got it under control, God.\u00a0 Next month, next year, next decade, and God is saying if\u00a0 you understood the nature of what you\u2019re playing with, how you\u2019re playing with fire, you don\u2019t even want to know what your life is going to be like a year from now.\u00a0 That thing is going to have the upper hand over you.\n\nSo \u201cmany will be purged,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cthe wicked will do wickedly,\u201d notice also verse 10, what happens to the spiritual understanding, remember this is a context of understanding, people in the last days will understand, but not everybody.\u00a0 \u201cMany will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly;\u201d and look at this, \u201cand none of the wicked will understand,\u201d isn\u2019t it interesting\u00a0 that when a person severs themselves from God and goes deeper and deeper and deeper into depravity their capacity to understand rudimentary spiritual ideas also deteriorates.\u00a0 It\u2019s all in the Book of Romans, chapter 1.\n\nRomans 1:18, which says, \u201cFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who\u201d do what? they \u201csuppress the truth in unrighteousness,\u201d\u00a0 So what happens to their minds?\u00a0 Verse 21, \u201cFor even though they knew God they did not honor Him as God and give thanks but they became futile\u201d where\u00a0 \u201cin their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.\u201d\u00a0 Their intellect started to disintegrate.\n\nVerse 22, \u201cProfessing themselves to be wise, they became fools.\u201d\u00a0 Is that not 21st<\/sup> century America?\u00a0 Is that not\u00a0 your person that has walked through life rejecting over and over again the grace of God?\u00a0\u00a0 They think they\u2019re the smartest people in the world and yet what your Bible is saying is as you move away from God your capacity to understand basic spiritual concepts remains a mystery.\u00a0 This is not a battle of intelligence, you can\u2019t talk someone into Christianity because you\u2019ve got better arguments than them, because they\u2019re corrupted mind doesn\u2019t have the ability to even understand \u00a0your superiorities.\u00a0 This is a condition of the heart; the heart determines thoughts.\n\n2 Timothy 3:7, of the last days of people, \u201calways learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.\u201d\u00a0 They understand all kinds of technological electronic things, they\u2019re on those devices 24\/7, beeping and twittering and posting and all of those things\u00a0 you do there, sharing their depraved thoughts with everybody around the world, thinking they\u2019re so intelligent when in reality they don\u2019t even understand why they exist.\u00a0 They don\u2019t even understand Jesus who is the focal point of history, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter how many degrees\u00a0 you have after your name, what schools you\u2019ve graduated from, what kind of technological abilities you think you have, if you don\u2019t understand who Jesus is you don\u2019t even understand what history is about.\n\nPsalm 14:1 says, \u201cThe fool has said in his heart, \u2018There is no God.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 We think atheism, and by the way, there\u2019s a great resurgence today of atheism in America; bestselling books, runaway best sellers are now being written by atheists and we say to ourselves, wow, they\u2019re so smart, they\u2019re so deep, they\u2019re so intellectual.\u00a0 Psalm 14:1, \u201cThe fool has said in his heart, \u2018There is no God!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0If you can\u2019t even acknowledge the fact that you were brought into existence by divine design, that is the height of folly.\u00a0 2 Peter 3:5 says this: \u201cFor this\u201d now I\u2019m quoting the NKJB because I think the NKJB better translates 2 Peter 3:5, it says, \u201cFor this they willfully forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water in water.\u201d\n\nWhat have they done?\u00a0 They\u2019ve pushed two things out of their minds: number one, creation, number two, flood.\u00a0 Can I add a third?\u00a0 Number 2, second coming.\u00a0 The NKJV says they \u201cwillfully forget these things.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s the Greek verb thelo<\/em> which means wish or desire; they\u2019ve pushed these things out of their minds and they\u2019ve drifted into intellectual moral and spiritual darkness.\u00a0 This is what Daniel is saying, \u201cMany will be purged, and purified, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand,\u201d but I\u2019m so happy verse 10 ends on a positive note, \u201cbut those who have insight will understand.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 As these things are coming forth on planet earth, as we now have a complete jigsaw puzzle, as God is gradually and progressively making His prophetic word more and more understandable the majority of the wicked, the wicked themselves will not get it, will not\u00a0 understand it, but those who have insight will understand.\n\nThe righteous will understand it.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because of Proverbs 1:7, probably one of the\u00a0\u00a0 most misquoted verses in the Bible.\u00a0 Proverbs 1:7 says, \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning,\u201d it doesn\u2019t say wisdom, now it may say wisdom elsewhere, later in Proverbs, but at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs, Proverbs 1:7 it says, \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of know\u00adledge,\u201d because how can you have wisdom, knowledge applied, unless you first have what? Knowledge. How do you get knowledge?\u00a0\u00a0 How do you get smart?\u00a0 How do you get bright?\u00a0 You submit to the authority of God, that\u2019s what you do.\u00a0 You come to God and His Word and you say to Him, you know Lord, I\u2019ve got a bunch of thoughts about this issue but Your Word says something different and I don\u2019t know how, when or why but I\u2019m going to submit to your authority in my thought process and in my daily life, and will You please give me the grace to fulfill this high calling.\u00a0 The moment that happens is the moment your knowledge takes off.\u00a0 See that?\n\n\u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge\u201d why?\u00a0 Because your mind is working the way God intended it to work.\u00a0 God never designed us to live in independence from Him.\u00a0 The more you\u2019re living in independence from Him is the more we are living outside of our design.\u00a0 If you\u2019re living outside of your design the blueprint doesn\u2019t work right; the machinery doesn\u2019t work right.\u00a0 But you start living for the purpose for which you were created and suddenly the mind and its ability to understand the things of God begins to accelerate.\n\nSee, if you are exactly at the same place in 2018 knowledge wise that you were at in 2017 the issue is not intelligence; the issue is you have to look very carefully at your heart.\u00a0 Are you in submission to the authority of the Word of God in all areas?\u00a0 If that is not happening then the knowledge, the spiritual understanding is short-circuited. See that, because \u201cthe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.\u201d\u00a0 And how foolish we are in the United States, we\u2019re trying to educate multiple generations now having kicked God out of every school.\u00a0 How do you do that?\u00a0 How do you educate people without God when the Bible says \u201cThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.\u201d\u00a0 [Proverbs 1:7] You can\u2019t understand anything without God because He is the sum total in the purpose of history.\n\nYou say well, gee, pastor, you\u2019ve got some weird ideas.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I like to quote people, just so you don\u2019t think I make this stuff up.\u00a0 The great prophecy scholar, John Walvoord, said this concerning Daniel 12:10: \u201cThe understanding of prophecy peculiarly requires spiritual insight and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Even though the Scriptures describe in great detail the time of the end, it is obvious that the wicked will not avail themselves of this divine revelation; but it will be a source of comfort and direction to those who are true believers in God. Divine revelation is often given in such a way that it is hid to the wicked even though it is understandable by those spiritually minded.\u201d\u00a0 [John Walvoord, Daniel Commentary, <\/em>Page 294]\n\nTwo groups here, the contrast between the righteous and the wicked; a very basic question, which one are you?\u00a0 I mean, of these two reactions the same [can't understand word] that both melts and hardens where are you in this whole thing.\u00a0 I mean, maybe you\u2019re here today having never entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ at all because no one\u2019s ever explained it to you.\u00a0 Jesus Christ fixed the problem between man and God.\u00a0 That\u2019s what He did; He is a problem solver.\u00a0 He solved the biggest problem that needed to be solved, man in his sinfulness, woman in her sinfulness, is alienated from God, fixed with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.\n\nThere\u2019s nothing you can do to fix the problem other than to receive what He has done.\u00a0 And the only way to receive what He has done is by faith.\u00a0 So if the Spirit of God is convicting you our exhortation here at SUGAR LAND BIBLE CHURCH is to receive what Jesus has done in\u00a0 your place.\u00a0 It\u2019s not something you have to raise a hand to do, walk an aisle to do, join a church to do, give money to do, it\u2019s a matter of privacy between you and the Lord where you trust in His provision.\u00a0 And maybe you\u2019ve done that a long time ago and you are saved.\n\nBut what about some of these other issues in the walk of progressive sanctification?\u00a0 What about the things that the Lord keeps nagging you over and over about, whatever it may be, and He\u2019s saying you know, for you to reach full stature in Christ this has got to be brought under control. What about that?\u00a0 The exhortation is to respond to the authority of God\u2019s Word, the authority of the Holy Spirit and in authenticity ask God to help you with this, that or the other, either a sin of commission, a repetitious sin of omission, whatever it is, I don\u2019t know everything that goes on in people\u2019s hearts and I don\u2019t want to know, I have enough trouble keeping track of my own depraved sick heart.\u00a0 But I know from personal experience there are things God wants to deal with me concerning\u2026 and I have no corner on God, if God is at work that way in my life why wouldn\u2019t it work that way in your life?\n\nHow are you responding to that?\u00a0 Are you responding the way a righteous person does with insight or are you just going to backpedal and disintegrate into sin and rebellion with intellectual and spiritual dissipation and enter heaven smelling the smoke on your garments.\u00a0 You say well, the Bible doesn\u2019t teach that.\u00a0 Yes it does, 1 Corinthians 3:15. \u00a0[1 Corinthians 3:15, \u201cIf any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s a very simple application, which one of these are you, a message for the unbeliever, a message for the believer as we looked this morning at the contrast between the wicked and the righteous.\u00a0 Now what did Mrs. Reame teach in 8th<\/sup> grade English Composition?\u00a0 Mrs. Reame, that\u2019s quite a name for an English teacher, was my English composition teacher, 8th<\/sup> grade, and I can still hear her voice ringing in my ears when I turned in a paper or a story, she said never introduce a new idea in your conclusion.\u00a0 I mean, when you\u2019re concluding it\u2019s over, don\u2019t throw a bomb out at the end.\u00a0\u00a0 And what does Daniel to?\u00a0 He didn\u2019t take her class apparently because he throws out not one bomb but two.\u00a0 One is called 1290 days, and one is called 1,335 days.\u00a0 I thought the whole thing was supposed to be over at the end of 1260 days, the second half of the tribulation period.\u00a0 And all of a sudden he throws two new numbers here.\n\nHow do we make any sense of that?\u00a0\u00a0 Next time we are together, Lord willing, we\u2019ll try to make sense of these additional 75 days because first Christ comes back and then the kingdom\u2026 right?\u00a0 WRONG!\u00a0 We need to change our doctrinal statement.\u00a0 First Christ comes back and then there\u2019s 75 days and then there\u2019s the kingdom.\u00a0 How\u2019s that for an airtight doctrinal statement.\u00a0 And what is going to happen in this 75 day interval?\u00a0 We\u2019ll see about that next time.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\n\nFather, we are grateful for Your truth, Your Word, the warnings it gives us, the encouragement it gives us.\u00a0 I pray that we will walk these things out this week under\u00a0 Your Spirit and Your direction. We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t