Willow Ridge Sermons

October 26th, 2025 • “Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, 'For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?'" – Daniel 8:13


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Creators and Guests

Host
Beau Bradberry
Senior Pastor

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

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Good morning. If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Daniel

chapter 8. As you turn there, if you're a first-time guest, welcome to Willow Ridge. We're

so glad that you're here. We're so grateful that you decided to get out on this cold, a little bit

gloomy day out there and come and worship with us this morning. Whether you're here because you're

visiting from out of town and you're here with family, whether you're here because you're here

locally and you're looking for a new church home, we are so glad that you're here. At the end of the

service, my wife and I will be back at our connection table, which is right back here to my left, and if

you wouldn't mind just stopping by, we would love to greet you, to thank you personally, to learn your

name. And then also, if you do have any questions about who we are as a church, we would love to have

the opportunity to answer those for you. Also, I want to reiterate next Sunday afternoon is the

Harvest Hangout from 4 to 530. Be a wonderful time. All ages, there's food, there's candy, there's games,

there's prizes, there's a hayride, and someone had the not bright idea, me, to do a dunking booth.

So that will be here. And then, you know, kind of looking at the trajectory of the temperature this

week. Again, not a great idea, but we will have that out there. And so, if anyone would like to take

my place, Tim Schull, that would be fantastic. And just kind of step up and do that. I'd appreciate

it. It would show your love for the Lord. But no, we'll have a great time, great time out there. And

if you don't know, like we've talked about it for a few weeks, but let's just say, I believe there's

going to be several of us that you would like to see plunged into freezing cold, dirty water by the

end of the night. And so, come out and hang out with us and have a good time. Invite people. It was

cool. Cool and a little bit terrifying, too. You know, we published the invite cards. There's invite cards

available. And so, I was on our neighborhood Facebook page, which is typically not a great place to be if

your neighborhood has a Facebook page. But I was on our neighborhood Facebook page. And someone who I do not

know, I have not met in our neighborhood, who does not go to church here, took a picture of our invite and was like,

please tell all of your friends and family, this would be a wonderful place to go next Sunday night,

if you're looking something for the kids. So, hey, great news. Like, we've got people who don't go to

church here who are advertising this for us. So, we would love for you to be here. If you haven't,

if you would like to help out that evening, there are definitely areas that you could do that.

See Pastor Dave at the end of the service, and he'd be happy to get you connected in serving.

So, we are in Daniel 8, and typically, I read a verse before our time in prayer that is a part of

the passage, but I got a little bit different one. Is this a little bit different passage that we're

going to look at this morning in Daniel 8? So, 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17, says,

Would you pray with me? God, what a joy and what an honor it is to go into your word.

God, to gather in here as a church family and to hear from you. God, I pray that as we look and as

we study and as we discuss, as we ponder on Daniel 8, Lord, that the stirring of the affections of our

heart will be pointed toward Christ and His work. As we see the story of a people who were defeated and

then who were saved, God, that we would see the implications of the gospel truth for our life.

God, I pray that if there is any part of this, of what I've planned, of what I've written, of what

I have, Lord, that is not of you, that is of me, Lord, that you would remove it. If there's anything

that I say that brings confusion to the mind of others, Lord, that you would remove it.

And that hearts and minds and people would be receptive to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And you'll receive all the praise and honor and glory.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Something a little bit about kind of who we are as a church and how we approach Sunday morning.

And if you've been here for a while, then you kind of know this about us. If not, this may

be new to you. And I want to kind of explain how we approach our sermons and the teaching

of God's Word. We do so in a manner that's called expository preaching. And some of you

may know what that means and some of you may not. But to take it and to kind of shrink it

down into a singular thought, expository preaching means that it is our desire each and every week

to look at a passage of Scripture and to expose the meaning of that passage of Scripture through

a verse-by-verse approach. Typically, we do that, as we're doing right now in Daniel, as

we move all the way through a book of the Bible. Occasionally, we will approach a topic. But

even if we're approaching a topic, we're doing so by trying to make sure that we understand

the context and the verse-by-verse teaching of what's there. And there's a lot of reasons

that nerdy Bible people like me really care about as the reason why we do expository preaching.

But for the sake for this morning, what I want us to get to is one of the main reasons we

should do this, and it's important for us to do this, is it causes us to spend time in

passages that, honestly, if we weren't approaching it this way, we would either skip over or barely

breeze through. Like, if I'm being honest and candid, there are some passages of Scripture,

and you guys know this, as you dive into God's Word, that you're like, man, yeah, John 3, 16,

I got that. I love that. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes

in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Like, the clear, concise moments and pieces of God's Word

deliver to us for our minds and our hearts to understand and apply. And then there's those

passages of Scripture that are honestly just a little bit more difficult than others. They're a

little bit harder to walk through. They're a little bit harder in your private time with the Lord as you

take time and you open up your Bible and you study before Him. They become a little bit more

complicated when you're in your small group, when you're teaching studies, when you're leading in

kids' ministry, doing all those things, right, becomes a little bit more complicated. An example of this

would be a couple years ago, we worked through Genesis. We worked through the book of Genesis

together, and Genesis, in the approach to that, man, I was really, really excited. I mean, Genesis

has got some great, powerful stories that we can look at, that talk to, and point to God's faithfulness

for His people, even in the midst of their rebellion, and God using men and women in powerful ways for

His name and for His glory. And so when we think of Genesis, you think, you know, Adam and Eve, Noah,

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. So some exciting characters that we study through there. But then as

we're traveling through Genesis, and again, take your mind back like a couple years ago. I know it's hard

for like, even for me, like last week, what did I do? But we take back a couple years ago, and as we're

clicking through, right, like the creation account, we're clicking through Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel,

right, these stories that we're familiar with and we're going to dive into. Man, the goodness and the

sweetness of what God draws out, and then we came to Genesis 5. And I don't know if at the top of your

head if you're familiar with Genesis 5, but Genesis 5 is a genealogy. And I don't know if you enjoy

genealogies, and if you do, great, you're in the very small minority of people that read these things

and they go, great. Specifically, even like for me, I know the difficulty with biblical genealogies,

number one, it's a lot of names that are hard to pronounce. And so you're looking at it and you're

like, what is going on? Why is this here? And so in Genesis 5, we were going through that, and we felt

like God was calling us to walk all the way through Genesis in an intentional manner, and so we

were doing that, and we get to Genesis 5, and it's like I've read this before, but if I'm being

completely candid and honest, it's like I've probably skimmed it before. And so we get into

this pattern of what we find, and this is, without reading all of Genesis 5 to you, this is every

verse in Genesis 5. This person lived these many years, then this person had these many children,

and then this person lived these many years, and then this person died.

Now, let me share you a little bit about pastor panic.

I'm sitting there that Monday, kind of Monday before is when I start, and reading through, and I'm like

reading through, getting through the first several verses, first several sections, and I'm going,

oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, God, what are you doing here? Oh boy, God, like what do we have for this?

Glance down to the very end of Genesis 5, and I'm like, nope, nope, nope, there's a pattern that

continues. This person lived, this person had this many children, this person lived in this many years,

this person died. And in my heart, it was like, well, Beau, the people of Willow Ridge, they're people of

grace, they're people of mercy, so you're just going to go up there, and you're just going to tell them,

you know, like, hey guys, this just got a little bit too much for the genealogy, and so this is what

we're going to do. And then the verse that I read, 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17, all scripture is

breathed out by God. Every single word. And maybe I could skip apart if it, if there was a period there,

but it says that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable

for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in righteousness.

That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So now there's this dilemma. That day God won, which God will always win. And so I kept reading.

And then I want to read to you Genesis 5, 21 through 24.

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered

Methuselah.

Then verse 22, there's a change in the pattern.

There's a change in the pattern. There's a change in the narrative.

There's something different that if lazy Bo engages with,

then he skips over Genesis 5.

But through the part that's not me, through the part that's God, like we're going to dig into it.

And it's something different than has been said before.

Enoch walked with God.

After he fathered

Methuselah 300 years

and had other sons and daughters.

Thus, all the days of Enoch

were 365 years.

But then there's one more verse.

There's one more verse in the break of the pattern.

Enoch walked with God

and he was not

for God took him.

Oh, that's

that's beautiful.

And I will always remember

I will always remember that message.

Not because I think what I said was profound

or I delivered this great

piece of

information to you guys.

But I will always remember

this

sermon, this passage of Scripture

because the work that God did

in me was like

man, like don't be a pattern of the world.

Walk with God.

This is what makes Enoch different.

Walk with God.

But then that threw in that

even more so

the importance of

every single piece

of God's word.

every single piece

breathed out by God

and profitable.

So

today

brings us to Daniel chapter 8.

If you've read it

Erin's

Erin's doing her quiet times

with Daniel chapter 8

in Daniel as well

and

we were riding to Augusta

yesterday

in a wonderful time

to go to my mom's

surprise birthday party

that I was not able

to watch any football

yesterday.

And I was okay with that, right?

I'm good.

I'm good.

She said,

I said,

how are you for tomorrow?

And I said,

I'm good.

It's just a little different.

It's a little different passage.

And she was,

she said,

you know,

oh yeah,

oh yeah.

Curious to see

how this goes.

You know, like

not that any doubt,

like but she's been studying it.

She knows it's complicated.

Now,

there's a tendency

within these

to try to take

some of these passages

and to make them

say something

they're not saying.

To take some of these

prophecies,

to take some of these

historical narratives

and try to twist them

into some moral truth,

some moral peace

that isn't there

and that's not

what we're going

to do this morning.

But I'm pretty sure

that if not

for 2 Timothy 3,

that left up

to my own choosing,

that this would

probably be

a passage

that I would

skip over.

But the beauty

of this passage

is the beauty

of this passage

is not found

in the appeal

of our eye

to a passage,

but the beauty

of what God's doing.

So I do want to say

that as we're getting

into this section

of Daniel,

it's going to be difficult.

It's going to be difficult

almost each and every week

as we go through this.

But I want us to take

that difficult part

and that difficult piece

and to plant

and to dig down

and to take these

next several weeks

as the passage

is tough

for us to develop

some spiritual toughness.

But what specifically

about this

makes this a little bit

more difficult

as we get into it?

Chapters 8 through 12

are going to largely

deal with Israel

and her future.

All right?

Some things

specifically in this text

are clearly explained

and others are not.

And I want to be honest

with you,

where we are clear,

we will be clear.

Where things are unclear,

we will not try

to bring clarity

and just create confusion.

But we'll be clear

where it's clear.

And this prophecy

that we're going to look at

in Daniel 8

gives details

of a future event

when it was written,

when the vision

was given to Daniel

that has now taken place.

So the implications

of that

for you and I today

have historically

become a little bit complex.

In fact,

a long time ago,

John Calvin said this

concerning this passage.

He says,

the faithful

were informed beforehand

of these grievous

and oppressive calamities

to induce them

to look to God

when oppressed

by such darkness.

So within this,

instead of trying

to break down

into more

than what's there,

what you and I

are going to do

this morning

is that understand

that we live

in a posture

and a position,

whether it's Daniel 8

or whether it's

the current day

and time

of what we live in

to keep our eyes

looking toward

and pointing to God

as we walk through

the seasons of time

that we walk through.

And what God has given us

is not an ideology.

What God has given us

is not some complicated

way of thinking,

but that what God

has given us

is His very Word

in which we can do so.

And so we're going to read,

we're going to read

the chapter broken up

in two sections,

and so we're going to read

chapter 8

starting in verse 1

and read through

chapter 14.

So if you join me there.

in the third year

of the reign

of King Belshazzar,

a vision appeared

to me, Daniel,

after that which appeared

to me at the first.

And I saw in the vision

and when I saw

I was in Susa,

the citadel,

which is in the

providence of Elam.

I saw in the vision

and I was in

the Yulai Canal.

I raised my eyes

and saw

and behold a ram

standing on the bank

of the canal.

It had two horns.

Both horns were high,

but one was higher

than the other

and the higher one

came up last.

I saw the ram

charging westward

and northward

and southward.

No beast could stand

before him

and there was no one

who could rescue

from his power.

He did as he pleased

and became great.

As I was considering,

behold,

a male goat

came from the west

across the face

of the whole earth

without touching the ground.

and the goat

had a conspicuous horn

between his eyes.

He came to the ram

with the two horns

which I had seen

standing on the bank

of the canal

and he ran at him

in his powerful wrath.

I saw him come close

to the ram

and he was enraged

against him

and struck the ram

and broke

his two horns

and the ram

had no power

to stand

before him.

but he cast him

down to the ground

and trampled on him

and there was no one

who could rescue

the ram

from his power.

Then the goat

became exceedingly great

but when he was strong

the great horn

was broken

instead of it

came four

conspicuous horns

toward the four winds

of heaven.

Out of one of them

came a little horn

which grew

exceedingly great

toward the south

toward the east

and toward the glorious land.

It grew great

even to the host

of heaven

and some of the host

had some of the stars

it threw down

to the ground

and trampled on them.

It became great

even as great

as the prince

of the host

and the regular burnt offering

was taken away

from him

and the place

of his sanctuary

was overthrown

and the host

will be given over

to it together

with the regular burnt offering

because of transgression

and it will throw

truth to the ground

and it will act

and prosper.

when I heard

the holy one

speaking

and another holy one

said to the one

who spoke

how long

is the vision

concerning the regular

burnt offering

the transgression

that makes

desolate

and the giving over

the sanctuary

and the host

to be trampled

underfoot

and he said

to me

for 2300 evenings

and mornings

then the sanctuary

shall be restored

to its rightful

state.

So clearly this morning

what we're going to look at

is the vision of Daniel

and we're going to look at

the vision

and the next

we're going to look at

the interpretation

and then find the application

for us this morning.

What did Daniel see?

What did Daniel see?

Daniel sees this

in a vision

this is the second vision

of Daniel

this has happened

two to three years

after his first vision

in Daniel chapter 7

it's important for you

and I to know

that this vision

happens during the reign

of Belshazzar

the Babylonian king.

Daniel in his vision

is transported

to a place called

Susa

the capital of Elam

and here in his vision

Daniel sees a ram

on a bank

with two long horns

one longer

than the other.

This ram

is Medo-Persias

an empire

a Persian empire

that we've been

talking about

for several weeks

that we've seen

but in the time

of Belshazzar

the Babylonian king

they are not yet

in rule

and the horns

that are there

when you see

horns

in prophecy

in scripture

they are symbols

of strength

and so this ram

has longer horns

that speak

to the incredible

strength

of this Medo-Persian

empire

and this empire

will extend

their kingdom

to the west

to the north

to the south

and it's very

clear from this

that no one

nothing

could stop them

and it looks like

this is what

this ram

is going to do

over and over

and over again

but then

a male goat

arrives

arrives

I don't know

about traditional

battles between

rams and goats

but in this battle

the male goat

comes and attacks

and Daniel describes

it in his vision

that it happens

so fast

that his feet

do not touch

the ground

and in my silly

mind this week

every time I see

this

it's a picture

of the road runner

right

beep beep

right

so we go

not touching

the ground

sorry

and this goat

has a horn

between its eye

this goat

is Greece

and the horn

is Alexander the Great

now history

remember I told you

this is a piece

that has been prophesied

and been fulfilled

history affirms

that what the Bible says

we can look at

the span

and course of history

and see this

Greece

under the rule

of Alexander the Great

will quickly come through

and in spite of

the Persian Empire

being a great

war ready empire

that Alexander the Great

and his Greek army

will quickly defeat

the Persian Empire

and the rule

of Alexander the Great

and the Greek Empire

begins

back at verse 8

then the goat

became exceedingly

great

but when he was

strong

the great horn

was broken

and instead of it

there came up

four conspicuous

horns

toward the four winds

of heaven

the four winds

of heaven

symbolizing

the four areas

of the earth

so here's what happens

Alexander

dies

the age of

33 years old

very very young

instead of being

one king

instead of going

all the way

back through

your 9th grade

western civ class

instead of there

being one king

the kingdom

is then divided up

into four

different regions

and four kings

will rule over them

until Rome

comes in

to power

back at verse 9

out of one of them

came a little horn

which grew

exceedingly great

towards the south

toward the east

and toward the

glorious land

so four horns

come

there became

a little horn

and it says

that this horn

grew great

and it gives

some

geographical

locations

there's a pin

that you can drop

on the point

toward the south

toward the east

and toward the glorious land

so the kingdom

was divided

north, south, east, west

the southern portion

the southeastern portion

would be known

as the Egypt

would be Egypt

in Persia

so the middle east

part of what we see

and toward the beautiful

or glorious land

of what we see

Israel

and this is what we see

happen in the course

of history

from this would come

a little horn

and this little horn

is different than

the little horn

in Daniel 7

and this horn

is agreed

by scholars

biblical scholars

historical biblical scholars

to be

King Anticus

Epiphanes

who ruled

from 175

to 163

BC

and under

his rule

the persecution

of Israel

would not just

be existent

we've seen that

we've seen that

from the Babylonians

we've seen it

to some degree

with the Persians

we will see this

with the Greeks

specifically

under Anticus

and this man

gives him

his own name

and this is important

that you understand

what his name

means

he chooses

for himself

identity

we as Christians

we believe

God

assigns us

God

gives us

our identity

and ultimately

my identity

is found in Christ

he gives himself

identity

and in his

identity

his name

means

God manifest

he

proclaims

to be

equal

with God

and he

himself

claims

to be

a God

this is the

vision

with a little

bit of

interpretation

mixed in

so Daniel

has this

and now

let's read

Daniel 15

through 27

and we'll get

the biblical

interpretation

of the vision

it says

when I

Daniel

had seen

the vision

I sought

to understand

it

and behold

there stood

before me

one having

the appearance

of a man

and I heard

a man's voice

between the banks

of the Uli

and it called

and it called

Gabriel

make this man

understand

the vision

so he came

near to where

I stood

and when

he came

I was

frightened

and fell

on my

face

but he

said to

me

understand

oh son

of man

that the

vision

is for

the time

of the

end

and when

he had

spoken

to me

I fell

into a

deep

sleep

with my

face

to the

ground

but he

touched

me

and made

me

stand

up

he said

behold

I will

make you

I will

make known

to you

which shall

be at

the latter

end

of the

indignation

for it

refers to

appointed

time

of the

end

as for

the

ram

you saw

with the

two

horns

these

are the

kings

of

media

and

persia

and the

goat

is the

king

of

Greece

and the

great

horn

between

his

eyes

is

the

first

king

that

would

be

Alexander

and as

for the

horn

that was

broken

in the

place

of which

four

others

arose

for

kingdom

shall

arise

from

his

nation

but

not

with

his

power

and

at

the

latter

end

of

their

kingdom

when

the

transgressors

have

reached

their

limit

the

king

of

bold

face

one

who

understands

riddles

shall

arise

his

power

shall

be

great

but

not

by

his

own

power

and

he

shall

cause

fearful

destruction

and

shall

succeed

in

what

he

does

and

destroy

mighty

men

and

people

who

are

the

saints

by

his

cunning

he

shall

make

deceit

prosper

under

his

hand

and

in

his

own

mind

he

shall

become

great

without

warning

he

shall

destroy

many

and

he

shall

even

rise

up

against

the

prince

of

princes

and

he

shall

be

broken

but

by

no

human

hand

the

vision

of

the

evenings

and

the

mornings

that

has

been

told

is

true

but

seal

up

the

vision

for

it

refers

to

many

days

from

now

and

I

Daniel

was

overcome

and lay

sick

for

some

days

then

I

arose

and went

about

the

king's

business

but

I

was

appalled

by

the

vision

and

I

did

not

understand

it

so

we

see

here

the

interpretation

God

sends

and

God

orders

and

commands

that

an

angel

reveal

to

Daniel

and

give

some

clarity

an

interpretation

of

the

vision

that

he

seen

the

angel

tells

Daniel

that

all

of

this

will

take

place

as

an

appointed

time

of

the

end

and

what

we

see

from

appointed

time

of

the

end

as

we

look

through

with

each

and

every

one

of

these

going

back

to

Daniel

1

when we

see

it

Daniel

6

what

we

see

in

Daniel

7

is

that

all

of

this

is

happening

in

the

hand

not

freed

from

the

sovereign

hand

of

God

but

is

the

reminder

to

Daniel

that

God

is

in

control

and

what

will

happen

is

that

Antichus

will

come

to

power

and

he

will

be

a

ruthless

king

and

there

will

be

two

things

that

mark

his

kingdom

his

arrogance

and

his

cruelty

both

that

he

believes

that

he

is

God

and

he

operates

with

human

life

as

if

he

is

God

he

is

the

source

of

what

is

right

it

is

him

to

determine

within

himself

and

this

is

how

he

rules

some

of

the

descriptions

that

are

given

of

him

is

that

he

will

rule

as

a

puppet

of

Satan

that

he

will

obtain

victories

in

battle

and

then

therefore

will

obtain

great

riches

but

he

will

choose

to

specifically

attack

God's

people

for

seven

years

when

you

look

at

what

history

begins

to

repeat

it

is

recorded

in

history

that

Antichus

hated

the

Jewish

people

and

sought

to

exterminate

them

and

within

that

to

remove

their

religion

he

won't

just

kill

in

battle

but

he

will

murder

the

innocent

he

would

end

up

murdering

tens

of

thousands

of

Jewish

people

and

force

thousands

more

into

slavery

he

continues

to

believe

that

he

is

a

God

and

that

he

operates

in

the

authority

of

God

he

will

seek

to

destroy

the

temple

he

will

seek

to

eradicate

the

people

of

God

from

the

world

but

but

in

spite

of

all

that

he

accomplishes

in

spite

of

all

that

he

has

done

he

will

be

defeated

and

as

is

every

victory

that

we

see

in

scripture

the

victory

will

come

from

the

mighty

hand

of

God

history

refers

to

this

time

as

the

Maccabean

revolt

that's

chapter

eight

a

time

where

God

said

this

is

what

will

happen

this

is

what

will

take

place

and

how

I

will

respond

when

we

look

holistically

at

this

one

of

the

joys

that

I

have

right

now

is

Grayson

and

I

if

you

don't

know

who

Grayson

is

my

son

Grayson

and

I

are

working

through

a

theology

book

together

as

he's

preparing

to go

off

to

school

next

year

and

want

him

to

begin

to

think

through

and

read

some

things

to

stretch

him

a

little

bit

more

and

so

we're

working

through

this

and

we

begin

to

look

at

and

find

the

narrative

of

the

gospel

in

the

far

and

that

seems

so

out

there

that

has

already

happened

to

even

run

we

look

right

here

in

Daniel

chapter

8

you

see

there

was

an

enemy

there

was

a

person

there

was

a

kingdom

there

was

a

reign

that

was

ruling

over

God's

people

and

consuming

them

and

killing

them

and

no matter

how hard

they

tried

no matter

how many

revolts

they tried

to create

in and

amongst

themselves

no matter

how they

tried

to birth

a

savior

out

of

an

army

that

they

would

piece

and

put

together

they

could

not

do

anything

on

their

own

but

what

we

also

find

here

in

the

interpretation

of

this

is

that

God's

people

found

themselves

in

this

predicament

of

where

they

are

because

of

their

sin

and

the

truth

for you

and

I

it's

where

we

find

ourselves

we

find

ourselves

apart

from

Christ

in

the

condition

that

we

are

victory

and

our

sin

kills

this

is

what

the

Bible

does

but

God

in

his

grace

and

his

mercy

doesn't

look

at

us

God

leaves

us

for

a

season

of

time

but

God

doesn't

look

at

us

and

say

figure

it

out

but

when

your

own

strength

overcome

this

but

when

your

own

power

do

this

yourself

no

no

God

in

the

beauty

of

what

he

does

in

the

season

that's

coming

up

in

Christmas

time

reminds

us

that

he's

going

to

send

his

son

and

by

his

hand

salvation

will

be

possible

and

so

Jesus

will

come

and

not

just

give

a

way

out

but

that

Jesus

will

then

come

and

defeat

sin

and

establish

his

kingdom

and

sends

the

victory

for

us

in

Christ

this

is a

beautiful

picture

of what

we

begin

to

see

of

what

God

has

done

and

what

God

is

doing

so

God

does

all

of

this

God

does

all

of

this

and

this

is

going

to

I

hope

connect

us

back

with

the

importance

of

God's

word

this

morning

that

every

word

is

breathed

out

by

God

that

every

word

is

profitable

what

does

God

do

in

this

God

simply

gives

Daniel

his

word

God

appears

in a

vision

and

speaks

and

tells

Daniel

this

is

what's

going

to

happen

and

then

in

this

God

reveals

his

faithfulness

to

them

in

spite

of

their

unfaithfulness

to

him

the

challenge

that I'll

have for

you

in

closing

this

morning

is

how

do

you

view

and

then

what

do

you

do

with

God's

word

how

do

you

value

and

then

what

do

you

do

with

God's

word

is

God's

word

an

afterthought

on a

busy

day

is

God's

word

an

opinion

piece

that

you're

looking

to

search

out

or

do

we

come

before

and

do

we

understand

and

do

we

desire

to

learn

and

to

be

transformed

and

to

see

lives

saved

through

the

truth

of

God

found

in

these

pages

you

see

when we

understand

God's

word

the

first

thing

that

we

need

to

understand

is

that

God

sends

his

word

just

as

God

sends

his

word

in

a

vision

to

Daniel

God

sent

his

word

to

us

we

should

value

we

should

cherish

we

should

choose

God's

word

as

the

gift

that

he

gives

to

us

God's

word

is

a

gift

to

you

now

the

question

is

do

you

want

someone

else

to

open

it

for

you

or

do

we

desire

to

open

this

and

the

intimacy

and

the

beauty

of

what

God

has

done

so

that

we

can

learn

more

about

him

and

his

love

for

us

in

spite

of

who

we

are

so

God

sends

you

his

word

the

second

thing

is

not only

does

God

send

his

word

but

God

speaks

his

word

God

speaks

his

word

God

tells

the

angel

deliver

this

message

second

Timothy

three

that

God's

word

is

all

breathed

out

the

very

breath

of

God

so

what

does

that

mean

what

does

it

mean

that

God

speaks

his

word

what

that

means

is

God's

word

then

carries

with

it

the

authority

of

God

that

God's

word

for

you

and I

as

followers

of

Jesus

Christ

is

not

suggestions

ideas

or

matters

to

be

debated

concerning

if

we

must

be

obedient

or

not

it's

not

simply

good

advice

it

is

the

absolute

truth

of

who

we

know

and

who

we

understand

God

to

be

and

his

desire

for

us

and

one

of

the

most

remarkable

truths

about

God's

word

that

yes

while

it

is

written

by

over

40

different

authors

over

a

span

of

over

1500

years

there

is

one

thread

of

truth

that

runs

through

the

entirety

of

scripture

without

fail

and in

promise

of who

he is

and

that

the

very

words

that

we

read

are

the

very

words

of

God

the

third

thing

that

we

need

to

understand

that

we

need

to

grasp

is

that

in

God's

word

that

God

reveals

his

word

through

the

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

you

and

I

are

able

to

understand

God's

word

you

don't

need

to

come

to

the

priest

and

say

tell

me

you

don't

need

to be

dependent

on

anyone

else

but

that

while

we

need

to

be

taught

the

truth

of

God's

word

is

not

limited

to

those

who

were

educated

to

teach

or

who

were

gifted

to

teach

that

you

and

I

and

the

blessing

of

relationship

with

Christ

have

been

empowered

by

the

Holy

Spirit

to

be

able

to

read

God's

word

and

I

love

this

part

this

is

the

part

that

we

don't

think

of

enough

but

I

think

it

understands

a little

bit

it

helps

me

understand

a little

bit

of

why

God

would

include

something

like

Daniel

chapter

8

is

is

that

God

prepares

his

people

through

his

word

God

prepares

his

people

through

his

word

you

and

I

will

go

through

and face

seasons

of

hardship

of

difficulty

and in

that

God's

word

comes

our

comfort

in

that

God's

word

becomes

our

hope

and

that

God's

word

can

become

our

peace

and

the

reminder

of

who

he

is

in

our

faith

yes

we

must

look

back

and

remember

but

in

our

faith

we

look

forward

through

God's

word

to

prepare

for

what

is

ahead

I

find

the

problem

most

of

the

time

in

my

life

when

I

walk

through

a

season

of

difficulty

where

I

feel

spiritually

unprepared

to

face

the

matter

that

is

before

me

the

tendency

in

where

I'm

at

makes

me

want

to

blame

God

but

the

truth

is

I

can

come

back

to

where

I

find

myself

in

dependence

with

his

word

God

prepares

his

people

through

his

word

and

number

five

God

promises

through

his

word

God

prepared

his

people

but

God

told

them

but

a

victory

is

coming

and

it's

by

my

hand

folks

the

truth

of

God's

word

is

God's

word

gives

us

the

end

of

the

story

God's

not

trying

to

hide

it

and

say

just

trust

me

God

speaks

of

a

time

and

a

place

of

not

just

limited

victory

but

eternal

victory

for

those

who

are

found

in

him

and

in

him

alone

and

God's

promises

ring

true

he

describes

an

event

in

Daniel

8

two

kingdoms

removed

of

what

would

happen

and

take

place

and

in

every

single

word

he

fulfills

it

and

the

truth

will

stand

for

the

same

for

you

and

I

and

not

just

you

and

I

but

for

everyone

that

will

stand

before

God

and

have

to

give

an

account

and

the

only

way

that

we

can

have

hope

and

our

account

is

through

God

and

God

alone

God

gives

us

the

end

of

the

story

church

there

are

things

of

people

of

God

that

we

need

to

be

may

we

be

a

people

of

God

who

were

sent

to

carry

the

mission

of

God

may

we

be

a

people

who

wear

out

our

knees

because

we

are

on

them

pleading

and

praying

before

him

God

church

may

we

be

a

people

of

generosity

may

we

be

a

people

of

love

but

may

we

be

a

people

of

his

word

and

stop

and

stop

using

the

lives

of

Satan

to

explain

away

our

lack

of

devotion

to

his

truth

in

the

beauty

of

the

time

that

we

live

in

we

like

to

complain

I

like

to

complain

we've

got the

print

of

books

and

Bibles

greater

than

any

time

has

ever

known

before

we

live

in

an

area

where

we

have

the

ability

the

freedom

to

attend

church

to

engage

in

small

groups

to

be

a

part

of

Bible

studies

through

the

wonder

and

working

of

technology

we

have

apps

podcasts

social

media

live

streams

there's

no

greater

time

in

the

history

of

the

world

that

you

and

I

can

have

access

to

God's

word

the

question

is

not

is

it

there

for

you

the

question

is

are

you

going

to

take

it

are

you

going

to

take

it

how

do

I

engage

with

God's

word

right

now

right

now

I'm

studying

in

two

separate

passages

of

scripture

Daniel

and

Romans

right

now

I'm

currently

studying

devotional

topics

of

prayer

recognizing

that I

desperately

need to

grow

in my

prayer

life

right

now

I'm

reading

six

books

marriage

disciplines

theology

with my

son

and

three

books

on

end

times

right

now

I'm

listening

to

four

different

podcasts

in

two

different

sermons

now

trust

my

heart

I'm

not

saying

that

to

impress

you

because

I don't

think

it's

impressive

I'm

saying

that

because

of the

desperation

of what

I need

of God's

word

that

in

this

the

hunger

of

what

we

need

the

hunger

of

what

we

desire

that

everyone

around

us

is

trying

to

sell

us

the

truths

and

if

I'm

not

disciplined

in my

devotion

if

I'm

not

disciplined

in

this

then

in

the

weakness

of

my

flesh

my

heart

begins

to

want

to

wander

my

mind

wants

to

move

away

from

the

things

of

God

but

I

must

prepare

myself

for

what

God

has

for

me

I

need

a lot

I

need

a lot

so

in

all

honesty

and

humility

that's

a

confession

this

is

what

I

need

to

walk

and

to

continue

to

grow

in

obedience

of

what

he

has

for

me

under

the

dependency

of

the

Holy

Spirit

my

question

for

you

is

this

isn't

a

time

of

comparing

who

reads

more

who

understands

more

the

question

that I

have

for

you

this

morning

is

where

you

find

yourself

what

step

do

you

need

to

take

in

engagement

of

God's

word

what

step

do

you

need

to

begin

with

is

it

through

the

simplicity

of

a

morning

devotion

a

time

set

apart

for

you

and

God

to

come

in

to

learn

more

about

who

he

is

and

desire

for

you

is

the

simplicity

of

a

Bible

reading

plan

to

begin

to

work

your

way

through

and

if

that's

where

you're

at

if

you're

like

I've

never

opened

the

Bible

I don't

know

anything

about

the

Bible

where

would

I

start

where

to

go

to

the

Gospels

go to

the

New

Testament

you can

find

them

in there

at the

pages

we'll talk

to you

about

the

back

Matthew

Mark

Luke

and

John

pick

one

of

those

start

and

go

and

it'll

tell

you

all

about

who

Jesus

is

maybe

it's

engaging

in a

small

group

where

men

and

women

of

faith

can

rally

around

you

a

men's

group

a

women's

group

a

couple's

group

to help

pour

into

you

the

beauty

and

the

truth

of

who

God

is

and

what

it

looks

like

to

begin

to

do

life

one

on

one

maybe

it's

an

app

that

you

can

have

when

you're

riding

your

car

hands

free

man

you

can

just

plug

it

in

and

listen

to

it

and

God's

word

being

read

to

you

over

and

over

and

over

again

maybe

it's

the

truth

of

what

God

can

do

by

using

a

podcast

my

point

is

church

there's

a

thousand

different

ways

there's

a

thousand

different

ways

that

we

can

take

and

engage

in

the

beauty

of

his

word

and

to

be

reminded

of

that

we

find

ourself

in

a

situation

that

we're

incapable

of

saving

ourself

but

the

beauty

of

God

is

he

saves

us

by

his

hand

would

you

pray

with

me

God

I

thank

you

for

the

beauty

of

the

difficulty

sometimes

of

your

word

and

God

as

you

gave

Daniel

a

peace

into

the

future

that

those

could

see

and

be

reminded

of

your

faithfulness

of

what

they

would

go

through

Lord

and

who

you

are

and

what

you

would

do

and

God

this

is

revealed

through

the

mighty

power

of

your

word

God

we

want

to

respond

to

the

truths

that

we

define

the

truth

of

culture

the

truth

of

intellect

the

truth

of

feelings

the

truth

of

circumstances

the

truth

of

situation

we

got

all

of

those

can

become

deceptive

all

of

those

can

be

can

be

used

and

manipulated

by

Satan

to

to

draw

us

from

you

and

God

I pray

I pray

that we

be a

people

of

your

word

people

committed

to

knowing

you

to

trusting

you

to

depending

on

you

to

be

taught

by

you

to

be

enlightened

by

you

all

for

your

name

and

for

your

glory

God

give

within

us

a

heart

that's

different

a

heart

that's

new

and

we'll

praise

and

glorify

you

we

ask all

these

things

in

Jesus

name

we

pray

amen

that's

it

for

this

week's

message

be

sure

to

check

back

next

week

for

a

new

episode

and

in

the

meantime

you

can

visit

us

online

at

willowridgechurch.org

or by

searching for

Willow Ridge Church

on Facebook

Instagram

and YouTube

thanks again

for listening

and YouTube.