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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.
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?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
draw
us
from
you
and
God
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.