Well, I invite you to turn this morning to Daniel chapter 10. We return after some time to our study in Daniel. So we're in Daniel 10, and obviously there are just 12 chapters in Daniel, so we have three to go. And tonight we come back to the study in Matthew as we look at John the Baptist. But for now, we'll look at Daniel chapter 10, found on page 888 in the Scriptures, in the Bibles that are in front of you. Let's give our attention this morning to the word of the Lord, Daniel 10. In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict, literally a great war. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks. On the 24th day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river that is Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen with a belt of fine gold of euphaz around his waist. His body was like barrel, his face like the appearance of lightning his eyes like flaming torches his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude and I Daniel alone saw the vision for the men who were with me did not see the vision but a great trembling fell upon them and they fled to hide themselves so I was left alone and saw this great vision and no strength was left in me my radiant appearance was fearfully changed and i retained no strength then i heard the sound of his words and as i heard the sound of his words i fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground and behold a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees and he said to me oh daniel man greatly loved understand the words that i speak to you and stand upright for now I have been sent to you and when he had spoken this word to me I stood up trembling then he said to me fear not Daniel for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God your words have been heard and I have come because of your words the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days but Michael one of the chief princes came to help me for I was left there with the kings of Persia and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days for the vision is four days yet to come when he had spoken to me according to these words I turned my face toward the ground and was mute and behold one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips then I opened my mouth and spoke i said to him who stood before me oh my lord by reason of the vision pains have come upon me and i retain no strength how can my lord's servant talk with my lord for now my strength remains no strength remains in me and no breath is left in me again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me and he said oh man greatly loved fear not peace be with you be strong and of good courage and he spoke to me as he spoke i was strengthened and said let my lord speak for you have strengthened me then he said do you know why i've come to you but now i will return to fight against the prince of persia and when i go out behold the prince of greece will come but i will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth there is none who contends by my side except against these except Michael your prince in verse 1 and as for me in the first year of Darius the Mede I stood up to confirm and strengthen him may the Lord bless the hearing of his word this morning well discouragement is a real problem for Christians in this age discouragement is a very real problem for believers especially when sin overwhelms us and especially when it seems that god is not answering us those are sort of two twin problems two real problems of living by faith in this this age sin causes us great grief sin causes us great hardship great sorrow and then it seems to be that times that god is not hearing or that god is not answering all this conflict that we're in all this difficulty part of the problem of course is that we can't see the whole picture as finite beings and the whole plan the whole decree as god knows all and has determined all so we often live questioning if god is helping us if god is hearing us if God is answering us what is God doing to deliver us this is why Daniel 10 is so important it it really does give us a window into what is happening it's giving us a window into the larger spiritual conflict that is going on as we are experiencing our own conflicts living in this world what is this text about today daniel 10 is here the lord explaining for us the spiritual battle that we are in the warfare calls it a great war that we are in and daniel says all the conflicts that you're experiencing in life all the difficulties that you're experiencing in the moment all the hardships that suddenly come upon us there's something much bigger happening that all of that is tied to and daniel wants us to consider that he wants us to consider this and think about this it's a great help to us i'm not sure there is a more helpful passage in the old testament even in the bible that helps us to understand the sort of what we call cosmic dimensions of the spiritual war that we are in. Paul, of course, addresses this in Ephesians chapter 6, where we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but with principalities, with powers, with the rulers of the darkness of this age. In other words, I'm not really wrestling with my neighbor in the pew next to me. There's something much bigger going on. something much bigger that's what we have before us today and i believe you'll find this immensely helpful because it gives us perspective and it helps us in how to handle hardship and how to think through hardship the sudden things that come upon us that is exactly what daniel chapter 10 is answering for us that's what he's doing for us in this amazing chapter so i want to consider that with you today the great encouragement that's given to Daniel and then the explanation that he receives and the expectation of Daniel in this struggle so there's three e's for you alliteration try to be helpful you have the encouragement the explanation and then the expectation for Daniel well it's been some time since we've been in this book hopefully you remember a little bit about what we considered some time ago. Daniel had just poured out his heart in prayer, hadn't he? Chapter 9 was one of the most beautiful prayers of confession and repentance that we find in the scriptures rivaling Psalm 32 and 51 of David. It's a beautiful prayer of confession, but what we learn in that is what Daniel said so clearly all this calamity has come upon us because we've not listened to your your word we've not listened to the preachers we've we've done whatever we wanted to do and God shakes stuff up at times after a period of people hardening the heart that they should look at the things happening and say those are divine warnings from heaven well as he prayed this beautiful confession an angel comes down and tells him immediately daniel your love you've been heard and guess what you've been answered the time's come you're going back to babylon i mean you're going back to jerusalem from babylon 70 years had been appointed we're at the very end nebuchadnezzar's gone here we are it's time do you know the joy and excitement that must have filled daniel and his friends and the people finally we're going home well a vision was then given to daniel of 70 weeks that outlined history that showed the kingdom of Christ, the eternal reign of Christ. Everything's on the up and up. Everything's moving. Everything seems to be going well at this point. We're going home. But that's not what we find in chapter 10. As you open up chapter 10, what is surprising about chapter 10 is, how it's filled with discouragement. In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict, a great war. It was about a great war. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. You have to appreciate sort of the setting and the context here just for a moment. It's very important to understand what's happening in daniel 10 fast forward we are years later now from where we had been in the book probably around 537 bc this is a few years after two years after the first group went back to jerusalem to rebuild that's where we are in chapter 10 but there's a problem you know the problem if you've read the scriptures and you've read esther nehemiah and ezra the first exiles return home and after a short period of time they get there and you would think red carpet rolled out no no no no it was nothing but conflict there were nothing but problems it was a difficult time the in fact the building project had stopped for 15 years. This whole group was beset with problems. The enemies of Israel are still giving them grief. Nothing's going well. They are massively discouraged. This is what the book of Haggai is all about. What are you guys doing? Get up and build. Trust. Nothing's going well for you because you're sulking. Nothing's going well for you because you are in deep depression. well 70 years you know this is this is what is is important to think about here for a minute 70 years and they are overjoyed to go back this first group and all that enthusiasm has died out and they're right back into the crucible daniel knows about this daniel's still stuck in babylon none of this from his perspective makes any sense when daniel prayed in chapter 9 the angel immediately said to him the decree has gone out you're loved the lord's answered you here we are years later third year of Darius and what you have at the beginning of chapter 10 is the height of discouragement is there deliverance why is God not helping us you know it's an important question why why does it why is God not helping us we've prayed why is God not answering us here's what you have in the scene this is what makes it so powerful just when it seemed that everything had turned around just when it seemed the fortunes had changed just when he was told he was loved and the prayer was heard we have in this scene the prophet in deep depression this is depression did God act and did God deliver for it to go like this all we have is opposition all we have is conflict all we have is struggle all we have is hardship I went into mourning for three weeks he says How many of you have ever done that? If you've lost a loved one, I'm sure it's been long. He had already been in mourning before this. I refused. I was so depressed, I refused. No good food. No delicacies. No meat. No wine. I decided that I would go into deep lament and a deep warning because of the state of things for three whole weeks. That's depression. That's depression. I don't know if any of you face depression. It's a real, real affliction. It can be due to many factors, but one of the most difficult factors is when it's spiritual. it's a hard pill to swallow when all the circumstances of life and all the hardships come and nothing's going well. And yet you believe a gospel of goodness, the goodness of God. Then comes a blow and blow and blow. hardships at times seem to go from bad to worse we all anticipate that you know following jesus at least this is how it's often pitched will make for a lot of blessing but when you anticipate something good and everything becomes worse that's where depression really comes 70 years daniel has led the nation in repentance god said he's bringing them home only to see everything at this moment seem to fall apart you you can pick how the hardship comes due to sin in life the form that it comes it can be physical it can be all kinds of things spiritual it can be your children where's the light where's the light and we fall into sorrow and we fall into depression daniel is deeply sorrowful notice notice though what is really affecting him we carry each other's burdens we hurt with those who hurt we care about our brothers and sisters We care about them over there. We care about the church around the world. We care what happens when there's little light and conflict and at times nothing seems to go well. There are happy times. There are joyful times. There are good times. But all that's lost in the moment. Depression, fasting, discouragement. And he's burdened with the state of the church. really. These are my people. What is this? What is this? And all of a sudden Daniel gets an answer. Revelation was given to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. Its message was true and concerned a great war. He says, I was by the great river Tigris, and I lifted up my eyes and looked, and all of a sudden, behold, a certain man in fine linen whose waist was girded with the gold of Euphaz, he describes him powerfully here, his body was like barrel, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his voice like the sound of a multitude. Here's what we have. God had sent his glorious angel. God sends a glorious angel to Daniel. Reflecting the glory of God. And Daniel is immediately taken up by the glory of this figure who's reflecting the holiness of God. He's radiant. He's a radiant angel. and you see when Daniel sees him no one else could they uh had some kind of sense of his presence and all they did was dash and hide and dodge as fast as they could Daniel says notice what happens to Daniel at this moment now now talk about problem upon problem here notice what happens he says all of a sudden my strength was immediately taken whatever I had left the glorious strength i had as i come out of this i've been in mourning it's all taken when my um my father had cancer and he was in the maybe the last month before he died he said to me i'll never forget he said chris i i can't believe the weakness in my body i took for granted my whole life what strength was moved about i got about I've never felt weakness like this. I'll never forget it. He says it's gone. That's Daniel. I fell on my face to the ground. He zapped and took all my strength and I fall into complete slumber. I'm that weak. Hands on the ground, palms on the ground, knees on the ground. Then all of a sudden this figure reaches out his hand and he touches Daniel. He says, I began to tremble on my knees and palms and the angel, the being says, oh Daniel, you are greatly loved. Understand what I say to you and stand up for I've been sent to you. This is a remarkable encouragement, beloved. We think that in the midst of hardships and difficulties, what we need from God is for God to immediately come and solve it and God to gently, God to come softly and gently to us. That's what we think. The problem is what our hardships do to us. What do our hardships do to us? Answer this question with me and you'll see why the angel zaps him of all his strength. Hardship and affliction in life when it suddenly comes upon you, do you know what it does? It turns us inward. We navel gaze. We live thinking that God has somehow abandoned us. We live thinking that he's left us. And we treat him as if whatever this is, if we beg him enough just to fix it, he'll give us back the Disneyland life we once had. We still have a very low view of him. Think of how God is portrayed in our day. Just a cosmic grandpa in the sky who's nice, he'll never offend you. He'll never make you uncomfortable. He'll never test you. He'll never harm. He doesn't threaten anyone. That's the God we like. Step back from this. If you find something happening to you that all of a sudden is a very hard circumstance of life that has come, it won't go away. It won't back down. it keeps pushing on you it keeps bearing on you it's not backing up it keeps hitting if you find yourself in that kind of moment that's good for you do you know how counterintuitive that is to say this thing won't back up on you this thing has derailed you. Kind of baptism under fire. Here's what's happening. Here's what's happening to you. Your strength's being taken. Your strength is being taken from you. What do you do at moments like that? What do I do? Complain. Fall apart. Look for scapegoats. Blame others. Blame the church. Blame friends. Do everything we can to find the solution. But this thing's bearing down on you. You had no control of it. You had no control of it. Oh, you think you might have been able to change a circumstance. No. Nope. It's leading you somewhere, not where you think. It's leading you to tremble again. You need to get out of yourself. You need to have a conception of God that is magnificent in your life. you need a powerful, restored view of who God is in His strength. When our minds are elevated outside of ourselves, then we are trembling before the one who's most important. So what does He do for us? He puts His hand on you. All your strength is taken. And he says, get up. Stand up. As your strength is taken, it is replaced with his. That's the imagery here. That's the imagery here. You need this. When you are discouraged, the best thing you can do is read in the scriptures of some mighty power of God. who has always promised to deliver you. And what God does for Daniel is explain what's happening. Why the delay? Why don't you answer right now? Why the delay? Why did God not answer until after three weeks of mourning? Why? Why do we often have to face periods of sorrow that put us in bad places? only after to find the answer. Well, here is an answer unlike anything you've ever heard before. I'm pretty sure of it. You can tell me if you have. This magnificent angel gives Daniel just what he needed. He says, Daniel, from the first day, you set your heart to understand and humble yourself. Remember, he repented of his sins and took them seriously. He went to his own sins. and the sins of the people and said and the lord said even though you didn't see it i've already answered you i had already answered you now we get into a window into something we've rarely talked about or thought about i think it's going to really help you he says i have come because of your prayer but let me explain the delay for a minute let me explain that delay that you had to go through this sorrow let me explain it verse 13 the prince of the kingdom of persia withstood me 21 days those three weeks the period of the fast says but michael the archangel michael the the great one is coming to help because i was alone in that fight with that with that great notice he says prince of persia in verse 18 he says do you know why i've come to you do you understand i've come to strengthen you i've come to help you angels are ministering spirits aren't they but guess what i got to go back i got to go fight i got to go fight the prince of persia what an insight beloved what an insight here's what was just revealed here's what was just said there is this great cosmic war going on in the heavenlies and our conflicts on earth are simply part of the much larger conflict that's going on in the heavenlies, in the spiritual realm of a great unseen warfare. What we learn here, what we see here, is that Satan has stationed powerful demons over the nations. He's called the god of this age and they're called the rulers of this age of darkness. This is the heart of what Paul was saying. We don't wrestle with flesh and blood. My problem's not really with the neighbor down the street. There's something happening that you don't even think about. There's something happening you don't even rarely give thought to. There are evil angels appointed over the nations who are trying to wreck the purposes of God and who are always working throughout history to try to destroy the plan of God in history with the gospel to deliver his people. What you're experiencing on a small level is happening cosmically. There is specifically a prince stationed over Persia. That prince is not dead today. He's stationed somewhere. Same prince. Could be the United States. Could be right over the White House. He's formidable. The angel says, oh, he's formidable. So much so I couldn't fight him on my own. Now think about that. Even the angel is telling you, this conflict is really strong and I need help. Michael had to step in. And he says, at the end, then I got to go fight the prince of Greece. These angels are stationed. Put this together. Angels are ministering spirits. He says, the reason I was slow to come is precisely because I was fighting this cosmic war on your behalf. The scriptures have always told us Satan roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and his ministers are doing the same thing. An unseen, invisible warfare. There are things happening, beloved. There are things happening over the White House. There's an epic spiritual war, a great war it's called here in the heavenlies, the battle between good and evil, a battle between the fallen angelic horde of hell and the good angels. Going on. Daniel needed to hear that. I trust you do. We are so after trying to create a white picket fence life with us and our families. It's unbelievable. Perfect. Everything in harmony. Everything good. All for the children. Do you know what you're in? Do you know what's going on? We think the Christian life is about singing sweet praise songs and lullabies and then when something grows wrong to break up the picnic, we fall apart. Our struggle is just part of a larger cosmic battle. Satan is no match for God. He created all these angels. But the Lord is helping us to understand what we're involved with. see i think the heart of this is captured in daniel's response he says in verse 16 and suddenly one having the likeness of the sons of men touch my lips and open my mouth and spoke saying to him who stood before me my lord because of the vision listen my sorrows have overwhelmed me this is all overwhelming i have no strength but then this one having the likeness of a man he he touched me and what did he do he strengthened me and he said what be strong get up stand up I'm going to tell you what's noted in the scripture of truth you have the truth with you you see what just happened my sorrows overwhelmed me and what was his response you can't sit there in your strength it's time to get up in mine stand up that's why i picked psalm 144 he trains me for battle my hands for the fight he doesn't want your heads down he doesn't want us pouting that's not the way to handle affliction be strong you're in a war stand up rise up the hand of god is upon you that's what he's saying act like that believe that that's a whole different mindset you can be depressed and you can stop praying or you can go to war because that's what you're in for whatever and whoever is falling before you you can go to war for them you can get back to prayer you can join the fight or you can mourn on the sideline the lord has told us there's going to be much tribulation be strong you've got the truth the angels are fighting for you the lord from heaven is fighting for you and your prayers are heard your prayers are valued god has promised you the victory Daniel saw an angel not identified but I want to close with this thought when you come to Revelation 1 he's not unidentified who's with you John's discouraged John's on the island of Patmos for the word of God testimony of Jesus Christ he's an old man he's been banished all the disciples all the apostles are dead talk about a depressing scenario You're it. He says, I turned around. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. That's his church. His church is. And in the midst of the lampstands, somebody's in the midst of the church walking around. One like the Son of Man. Clothed with a long robe and with a golden shat. a sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were like white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand were seven stars. From his mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its strength. Who is that? It's Jesus. It's the only image you have of Jesus. It's the only description. That's why we're careful about making images. That's what you get. And you can't draw it. He's on fire. And he's among his people. And the first thing he said to John when John dropped is dead. Don't fear. I'm with you. I was dead. and I'm alive forevermore. And I'm coming again with clouds, and all the enemies will be crushed under my feet. The victory is certain. Do not be discouraged. Are you discouraged today? Recognize you're in a war. The white picket fence is just not it. You're not going to get it in this life. If you get it to some degree, it'll be short-lived. God's Almighty Son has come and fought and won. The victory is certain. So what do we do? You put on the armor. You get up. Put on the armor of God. Pray to your Father. Share each other's burdens. But remember in this hardship what He said to you. I have loved you. he has loved us and he's washed us in his blood you are what more than conquerors and you're in a warfare for people may hit close to home so get up he's hearing you he's promised to answer you he's promised to help you So what that means is neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. not angels or demons none of it he certainly wants you his people to be engaged in the fight who live by faith and trust that he's defending you and that the victory is certain no matter how difficult the seasons come that bear down on you he loves you and he's with you to the end let's pray heavenly father thank you for such a perspective in life. Give us confidence in your power today. Lift up the broken. Help the depressed. And let us go in your strength to put on by grace the armor to recognize who is fighting on our behalf all around us. May we join in that great fight for the victory is certain. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.