...interviews a couple years ago, so that's where
I first got to know them, and it
always made me smile that when you would
talk to people about Arviat, they'd get this
distant look in their face like, well, you
know, maybe Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, but not a
way up there.
And here are the folk that God sent
to continue to build his church.
Thank you for praying for me over the
last two Sundays.
I've been in Peru, and I had an
encounter with the sun last Saturday, so I'm
not wearing makeup, not quite as white as
I usually am.
Very briefly, just to say, in the two
services, the first Sunday, more than 60 people
trusted the Lord as Savior, and in the
two services last Sunday, just slightly over a
hundred trusted the Lord as Savior.
And that's also the greater family of the
Alliance, and through the week we met with
about 300 pastors and their wives, and then
more than 400 pastors at General Assembly on
Thursday and Friday of last week.
Last Sunday morning, at the time of the
invitation, it was interesting to watch a family
of seven people.
In the smallest response that I had, invitation
-wise, 39 people came forward in that service,
but seven of them were one family, and
it was thrilling to watch, just to see
as the pastors came.
You know, most of us have a family,
or people in the family who don't know
the Lord, or are not walking with the
Lord, and here is a whole family together.
And it was interesting to see the reconciliation,
not just with God, but with one another.
And it was a lot of Spanish excitement
going on, and I don't speak Spanish, but
I gleaned that the Lord was doing some
special things between children and parents, and between
husband and wife, immediately that they had trusted
Christ.
Everybody wanted things to be right, and that's
so powerful, just to see.
Let's take our Bibles and turn for a
few moments before we come to the Lord's
table, to Daniel chapter 9, and I'm going
to read verse 20 through 23, and then
over in chapter 10 I'll read verse 18.
I want to comment on these scriptures for
a few moments and bring a challenge to
our hearts this morning.
Daniel chapter 9 verse 20 says, while speaking
and praying, confessing my sin and the sin
of my people Israel, and making my request
to the Lord my God for his holy
hill, while I was still in prayer, Gabriel
the man I had seen in the earlier
vision came to me in swift flight about
the time of the evening sacrifice.
He instructed me and said to me, Daniel,
I have now come to give you insight
and understanding.
As soon as you began to pray, an
answer was given, which I have come to
tell you, for you are highly esteemed.
Therefore consider the message and understand the vision.
And just over in chapter 10 and verse
18 you'll find these words.
Again, the one who looked like a man
touched me and gave me strength.
Do not be afraid, O man, highly esteemed,
he said.
Peace, be strong now, be strong.
Went to me, I was strengthened and said,
speak my Lord, since you have given me
strength.
Father, this is your will, and our hearts
long for a continuing encounter with you, and
as we rejoice in the things that have
been happening in Arviat and Peru, we come,
Father, and ask that you would touch us
this morning, in these moments, through your word,
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I want to just speak for a few
moments this morning about this man, Daniel.
If you think about his times, the whole
system of worship had disintegrated, the temple in
Jerusalem has been destroyed, the children of the
nation of Israel have been carried away, he
was one of them, and everything looked like
devastation.
And then God begins to raise up his
people.
You see, he never forgets his people.
And some said it was a week, and
I want you to know God doesn't forget
you in that tough week.
He raises his people up.
But there's a little statement here about Daniel
in both of these sections that we read
that says, you're a man highly esteemed.
And I want to just stop for a
moment and consider this.
You see, we often highly esteem people.
Somebody who touches our lives or who impacts
us in some way, we highly esteem them.
And then if they disappoint us, we kind
of lessen the esteem.
And no matter who people are, they will
disappoint you in some ways at some time,
without a doubt, because that's part of being
human.
But it is said here that Daniel is
a man highly esteemed.
And I wondered, what is it that would
make someone highly esteemed?
Not by man, but by God.
Because you see, I believe, Glen Cairn, that
the best days of this church are still
ahead.
But I believe the Lord wants to move
us into this place of what it is
that matters to him.
And when you look at the life of
Daniel and just think about his character, what
is it that causes him to be esteemed
by God?
And just quickly this morning, let me share
four things that come out of the Scriptures.
And I'll give you the reference, but for
time's sake, I won't go to read it.
So if you take notes, you can look
them up along the way.
First of all, you see Daniel is a
man of the Word of God.
In verses 1 through 4 of chapter 9,
and I hope that you had a chance
to read it ahead of time, you see
that he says in verse 2, I, Daniel,
understood from the Scriptures according to the Word
of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet.
He was a man who was in the
Word and he understood God's timetable.
You ever feel like you're in God's waiting
room and things just will not click and
happen, and it seems as if no matter
how hard you push, things just can't seem
to get there?
Well, that's when we're in God's waiting room.
And it's a good place to be, and
don't be upset when there aren't forthcoming answers
from God.
He is trustworthy.
You can wait upon Him and know that
His timing is perfect and His sovereignty is
wonderful, and when He causes things to fit
together, it just rolls on in a tremendous
and powerful way.
His worship of God is driven by the
Word of God, and you'll see that in
verse 3.
And that's a good thing for you and
I to remember.
When we meet God in His Word day
by day, it causes us to worship Him.
And unlike man, He will not disappoint us.
And He did not just read the Word,
but He lived it.
It caused life change in His heart.
I was talking to somebody in Peru struggling
with a lifetime sin, and he said, I
can't get rid of it.
It's been in my mind and my heart
since I was a teenage boy.
And I said to him, do you want
to know how to get rid of it?
Fill your heart and your mind with the
Word of God, because Jesus said it is
the Word of God that cleanses.
Now you are clean through the Word that
I have spoken unto you.
And you know, He is the one who
can do that.
And indeed, He does do that.
God speaks to us through His Word.
One of my friends, Dr. Dennis Nehan from
Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, gave a young man
a job as a janitor there in his
department, a young Muslim lad.
And the young man asked Dennis, can I
get a Bible?
And then one day he said to him,
can I come to chapel?
And he said, sure, why do you want
to come to chapel?
He said, well, you know, our God speaks.
Dennis said to him, now what do you
mean by our God?
He said, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I've been reading in the Word.
He is our God, yours and mine.
It wasn't some great evangelist that led him
to Christ.
It was the greatest of all evangelists, the
Spirit of God, drawing him through the Word
of God.
Secondly, Daniel, we see, is a man of
prayer.
And as you see in this section of
chapter 9, 20 through 23, he is praying.
And while he is still praying, the answers
are coming.
I love that, don't you?
While I was still praying.
But you'll find in verse 3, it says,
so I turned to the Lord and pleaded.
He prayed.
And I want us to think about his
prayer life, and especially as we come along
to one of those important events in the
church calendar, the annual meeting coming up on
the 22nd.
Here's some of the ways that Daniel prayed.
He prayed frequently.
In Daniel 6.10, it says he prayed
three times a day.
And believe it or not, in Peru three
years ago, they asked me to teach a
session, how often should I pray?
And you know, there's a little verse in
1 Thessalonians chapter 5 that answers that question.
Do you remember what it says?
Pray without ceasing.
But when it says that Daniel prayed three
times, it means purposefully he set aside time
to just meet with the Lord.
He prayed biblically.
Daniel 9 and verse 2, again, it was
because of the Scriptures.
And you'll find so many people throughout life
and history who have prayed according to the
Scriptures.
For instance, George Muller of Bristol, a man
who fed thousands of orphans with nothing.
God answered his prayer.
But if you examine his life, you'll find
he prayed the Scriptures.
He would be in the Word of God
and take the promises of God and just
return them to him.
And you'll see that in the life of
people like Moses and others.
This thing of praying the Scriptures and believing
the Lord for answers.
He prayed fervently.
It says he pleaded in verse 3 with
the Lord.
And in prayer and petition and in fasting.
Fervently.
More than just, God bless me and my
wife, my brother Joe and his wife, us
four and no more.
It wasn't that kind of praying.
He was fervent before God.
And you know, this word fasting is used
here.
And there's all kinds of definitions of fasting.
But I think one of the best that
I have learned over the years is fasting
is praying without words.
Fasting is praying without words.
It's giving up natural to embrace the supernatural.
To come more close and intimate with the
Lord.
And in these days, I want to just
bring a short challenge to you.
In the next two weeks, would you consider
doing a Daniel fast?
You say, John, what do you mean by
that?
Well, I'm not asking you to do a
total fast.
Don't give up everything.
But just for these days, do the basics.
Youth, forgive me.
And some others forgive me as well.
No pop, junk food, etc.
Just the basics.
In order to set aside more time to
be with him.
No desserts.
And those kind of things.
Now, I'm smiling because Roberta and I are
going to Niger tomorrow.
And it's not likely that we'll have to
struggle.
Okay.
So forgive us.
Apologize in advance for that.
But I want to encourage you to think
about this.
We have some needs as a people of
God.
We need his direction.
We need his healing touch for some relationships.
We need him to move into that hospital
room where Tina Hoffman is and touch her
body with his healing hand, don't we?
We need his loving touch to touch Lorene
over here as she struggles with some of
those health issues and so on.
Wouldn't it be great to spend two weeks
more tightly drawn to the throne of grace
in prayer?
And there are hidden things that we need
victory over.
Last Thursday when I spoke to the General
Assembly in Peru, I spoke to the pastors
about attitudes.
And there are those kinds that are just
there and they're so hard to break.
But you know, when we get to this
kind of praying that Daniel is doing, we've
set aside the natural to embrace the supernatural.
Now listen, next Sunday there's a potluck and
so receive absolution for the potluck.
But maybe you want to give up supper
next Sunday and just spend some time with
the Lord.
It's a great thing to do.
Daniel prayed reverently in Daniel 9 and verse
4.
You see, he prays to the Lord my
God and confessed.
Oh Lord, the great and awesome God who
keeps his covenant.
You see, he knows who he's coming to
meet with.
He hasn't forgotten who he's approaching as he
comes to the Lord.
He prayed penitently confessing his own sin and
the sin of his people.
And you know, he was a righteous man.
When they tried to find something that they
could accuse Daniel of, they couldn't find it
except this thing, that he met with God
no matter what.
So when you think about Daniel confessing his
sin, he's a righteous man without question.
But like you and me, he needs a
Savior.
And I need him today.
How about you?
And I'll need him tomorrow just as much.
And that's part of the importance of this
table as we come as a community of
people with needs to the throne of grace
to remember him who died for us and
who lives for us.
He was verbalizing the shortcomings.
He was interceding identificationally with the people of
God and it's good for us.
To do that.
That's why Galatians 6 says, if one person
is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual restore him because the next time it
might be you.
He prayed trusting God's mercy in chapter 9
and 9 through 18.
It's all about the mercy of God.
It's not coming on the basis of any
other confidence, but on the mercy of God.
Not Lord, look at what we could do,
what we could become or anything like that.
But oh God, you are merciful.
And so I can come to you.
All of the things that are there he
brings to the Lord because of his mercy.
He prays specifically in verses 16 through 19.
He brings specific requests to the Lord and
he prays persistently.
He's making solid arguments.
Lord, you brought your people out of Egypt,
he says in verse 15, and you're not
going to abandon them now.
And you know, as we pray, let's not
forget that there is a heritage that comes
to us as those who belong to the
Lord Jesus.
He did not save us.
We might fail and fail miserably time after
time after time, but he saved us that
we might come to be those who are
surrendered to him, full of his Spirit, able
to overcome in his strength.
And oh how we thank God for it.
You think about Daniel, he was a humble
man.
You look again in chapter 10 with me
and I'll just quickly look at verse 17.
How can I, your servant, talk with you,
my Lord?
My strength is gone and I can hardly
breathe.
Look at the posture that he has as
he is before the Lord.
Even though he is highly esteemed by God,
he is there so humbly before the Lord.
And God-fearing is a word that comes
to my mind when I think about Daniel.
He's humble before the Lord and his prayer
is heard.
In these next two weeks, wouldn't it be
a wonderful thing to come before God in
a prayer life, in a position like this,
and see some breakthroughs, see some people that
we have longed to come to Christ actually
come there, see some relationships that we want
to know God has touched, healed, see some
lives set free, and so on.
Oh, my friends, this is the place, I
believe, that the Lord says, come and let's
meet and let's do business together.
There are times when he has advanced to
the highest position in the land and he's
humble.
Just a young lad who was dragged away
from his home and stuck in a foreign
place, but God lifted him.
And there are times in his life where
he is under great adversity.
I love the story of Daniel and the
lions.
Roberta and I were privileged to watch a
pride of young lions one day, and they
brought a dead cow carcass to them, and
in 11 minutes and 10 seconds there was
nothing.
Nothing.
I mean absolutely nothing.
One of the few Spanish words I learned
over the last 10 days, nada.
But when Daniel, under that kind of adversity,
is in the lion's den, he didn't defend
himself.
He didn't say, oh king, don't you put
me in there.
Those lions will eat me.
Oh, look at how these bad guys lined
up against me.
Oh, God, listen, let me make a defense.
You don't find one word of that.
And the king loses sleep, and Daniel doesn't.
I wonder if he wasn't curled up with
some of those babies in that den.
Could you take your mane out of my
face?
And the king comes and says, Daniel is
your God, Abel?
And his response is almost Irish.
He says, okay, live forever.
Those who plotted against him are those who
pay the price.
This is the God that we serve.
Daniel was a humble man.
Lastly, let me just say that as you
consider the character of Daniel, he's a man
fully surrendered to the Lord.
Now, I don't very often read things when
I'm preaching, as you know.
I want to read you something, because people
always ask me, John, when you do Revival
Meetup, you always talk about dying to self,
and living for Christ, and living for the
Holy Spirit.
What does that look?
And so here's just a few short paragraphs,
author unknown, that describe what does it look
like when we are fully surrendered to the
Lord.
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposefully
set at nothing, and you don't sting and
hurt with the insult or the oversight, but
your heart is happy, being counted worthy for
Christ, that's dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, your
wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions
ridiculed, you refuse to let anger rise in
your heart, or even defend yourself, but take
it all in patient, loving silence, that is
dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder,
any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you stand
face to face, waste, folly, extravagance, ritual irresponsibility,
and endure it all as Jesus endured it,
this is dying to self.
When you're content with any food, any offering,
any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude,
any interruption by the will of God, that
is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself
in conversation, or to record your own good
works, or itch after commendation, when you can
truly love to be unknown, that is dying
to self.
When you can see your brother prosper, and
have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice
with him in spirit, and feel no envy
or question God, when your own needs are
far greater, and you're in a more desperate
circumstance, that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from
one of lesser than yourself, and can humbly
submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no
rebellion or resentment rising up within you, that
is dying to self.
The last thing the little article says is,
are you dead yet?
And you know, if we answer it honestly,
we would have to say, no.
And that's why we all of us need
this Savior that we celebrate this morning at
the Lord's table.
That's why we need a deeper touch with
him.
That's why I say to you, Glencairn family,
set aside time to meet the Lord in
the place of prayer, just humbly, and in
his word, and in prayer, dealing with him
over these next 14 days.
I'll say it again, believe as we become
a people in that place, the best days
of Glencairn Alliance Church are yet to come.
Father, thank you for your word this morning,
for the example of this man Daniel.
Lord, we all this morning freely admit we
are not where we should be, but by
your grace, Lord, and through your Holy Spirit's
fullness, you can take us deeper and further
into the presence and purpose of the Lord
our God.
Father, as I pray for us as a
community of believers this morning, I pray that
you would indeed draw our hearts out in
the place of prayer.
Grant to us in these coming days many
breakthroughs, personally and corporately as a family.
Lord, we're asking that you would mend relationships.
We're asking that you would set people free
from addictions.
We're asking, Lord, that you would allow us
just to become one step more intimate with
you, because there is a place close to
the heart of God for everyone who is
here this morning.
Lord, would you continue to bless this word
to our hearts, and Holy Spirit, would you
be the after speaker?
Would you settle in our hearts the things
that we can do in order to have
a few more minutes with you in the
day?
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
I want to take us just to the
Lord and