Daniel 20

[  Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.¹¹ Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.¹² Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.] (Dan. 6:10-12)

     Let’s get this far. Why did Daniel open the window and pray toward Jerusalem? This is not his own idea. He  did it according to God’s Word.  In 2 Chronicles 6:21, we read that  Solomon prayed to God after he finished building the temple. [Therefore listen to the supplications of thy servants and thy people Israel unto this place…] Where is this place? It ‘s a temple  in Jerusalem, right? [Thy dwelling place, which heareth thou in heaven, and  forgive thee when thou hearest. Verse 34 – If thy people go forth to fight against their enemies in the way which thou hast sent them, and they pray unto thee in this city which thou hast chosen, and to the temple which I have built for thy name, thou shalt hear their prayers and supplications in heaven, and grant their desires.]   prayed. So God’s answer ran out quickly. God answered Solomon. Chapter 7, verse  14– [  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.¹⁵ Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.¹⁶ For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

    God said that God’s eyes would be in Jerusalem forever. Well, no matter how much the Palestinians bomb Jerusalem and make a fuss, even if all the Arab countries, including Iran, want to wipe out Israel, God’s eyes will be there forever. So whoever touches Israel is touching the apple of my eye. It’s  not a big deal to hit someone else. If someone touches your eyes, no matter how much you love them, you just punch them without realizing it. Am I protecting? But people don’t know that. That ‘s a pity. That’s why Daniel believed in God’s promises  and knelt down to pray to the temple in Jerusalem instead of just praying as he always did. Folks, it’s one thing to get down on your knees and pray, but it’s another to just pray. That’s weird, right? When I get down on my  knees and pray, I have more grace. Anyway, I don’t know why. My mentor, the pastor, says that when an elderly man reads the Bible, he also gets down on his knees to read it. That’s why it’s a lie to say that Westerners can’t kneel. He’s a native of the United States, and he gets down on his knees and reads the Bible, and now I don’t know because he’s  over 90. Now, what did Daniel pray for? I was grateful. We have nothing to say but a prayer of thanksgiving.I  have nothing but gratitude when I pray. If  a sinner like me wanted to be saved, what more could I ask for? God died in my place, so what more could I ask for? That’s what  we should be grateful for, no matter how difficult it is. The problem is that they don’t realize that grace. Because they don’t realize it, they end up complaining and complaining. I’m  grateful for grace as much as I realize it. And thankfully, somebody called me yesterday and I told him to thank God. So how do you look at it and be grateful for it? Yes. But gratitude means that when someone is bothering me when I am in trouble, if I am grateful, God will interfere with the bully. No, it is said that whoever torments Israel is tormenting  the apple of my eye, but will God not interfere with those who are God’s children? That’s why we have nothing but gratitude. All we have to do is  rejoice, pray, and give thanks in all circumstances. So we open the windows of our minds, and as we said yesterday, we look at the New Jerusalem, and we say, “We  have nowhere to go, the New Jerusalem, right?”  The Israelites have the Jerusalem of the earth, and the New Jerusalem of heaven is where we shall live. When the Lord comes and reigns for a thousand years, we are to live and reign in the new Jerusalem, right? But Christians these days are actually turning their windows to the world.

Keep it open, right?  They’re looking for material. This Sunday is Thanksgiving Sunday, isn’t it? What is Thanksgiving? What do you have to give?  Those who sow in the flesh eventually harvest the things of the flesh that will perish, and those who sow in the Spirit harvest eternal life. Yes. In the end, the real Thanksgiving is to take the food that has been given to me, eat and drink to gain strength, sow the seeds of the gospel of the Holy Spirit, and reap eternal life. This is the real Thanksgiving. Ripe grain in a large field at Thanksgiving, that’s not really grain. I’m talking about souls. The grain was ripe and white, and it was time for the harvest. You say it should be four months, but if it is something, you say four months because you harvest only the food of the flesh, wheat, barley, and rice  , but  now it is white and the  harvest is coming to fruition. It’s always been like this. So the Apostle Paul also said to Timothy, “Preach the word in the season or no season” before he departs from the world. To whom? That’s the way it is for pastors. Pastors should preach the gospel. The more pastors preach, the more they are filled with Holy Spirit. When you preach the gospel, you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you live your life. But there are some people who open their doors not to the world, but to Rome. There are people there who are asking for help. Prayer is a request and gratitude to God. Thanks! What does the Bible say? [Do not be anxious about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let the things you ask be made known to God.] Let our prayers and supplications be known as gratitude to God, knowing that if we do something, He will do it all, and we should be grateful. Let it be known with gratitude. You just have to let God know. If we do something that tells us to pray without ceasing, we can let you know when we have a thought in the moment. Lord! Do you know this? Do you know this? If you do something, it’s the same as posting approval documents at the company. I need to upload the approval documents as soon as possible.  Don’t take these things together and do it at vigils, at revival meetings, but always do it in the car, when you’re cooking,  when you’re cleaning, when you’re sitting on the toilet, and when you think of something,  pray then.  When are you going to do it all? I’ll forget it all. I’ll let you know as soon as possible. The day is in a hurry. You hear it from heaven, right? Where do you hear it now? He hears it in us.  He wasn’t in the Israelites in the old days, was he? He was in a special person as the Holy Spirit, wasn’t he? But now Heavenly Father is in us. It is God who works in us, and He gives us desires and causes us to do them.  He said in Philippians 2. We can talk about it as much as we want, because the Holy Spirit is in us, Christ is in us, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in us as one, right? You can whisper. That’s what Daniel prayed, right? [He knelt down and prayed three times a day, as he had done before, and gave thanks to his God.] As I did before, what is this? We have to keep praying. Then, no matter what eventually happens, I can continue to pray without panicking. But a lot of people don’t pray and when a problem breaks out, they say they will pray. If they have a problem, they will go to the prayer house and fast. How hard that would be. Just like breathing, we need to pray every day and without ceasing. Even if we do it with our hearts, why? That’s why we should always pray with thanksgiving when we need to, but if we don’t pray normally, we can’t do it all of a sudden. Isn’t it? Everyone. The soldiers have to train all the time so that when the war breaks out, they go out, they eat and play every day, and when the war breaks out, they all go out and die. Even if you try to go out, you can’t because you’re scared, right? Prayer is war. Satan is blocking it in the air. You have to always be prepared for war. Prayer is an exercise in preparing for war. You need to know this. Prayers, supplications, intercessions, thanksgivings, and thanksgiving. You have to work hard in peacetime. They don’t have to kneel and pray for hours a day. We pray all the time. right?

The people who have already planned to throw Daniel into the lions’ den are just waiting. he opened the window and prayed, so they must have sung joyfully, right? The devil, through the Pharisees, incited the Israelites to crucify Jesus. What a joy it must have been to do that. Hey, my people, those people are coming after me, forsaking God and leaving me…. But in the end, who won? The Lord prevailed.

 No matter how much anyone hurts God’s children, we just need to be grateful. We were told to be still. Be still. It takes time. Why? Until God accomplishes all things. Stay still until the Egyptian soldiers follow the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was completely under the sea, and when the Israelites were getting out of the way, they took the water and killed them all. What it is? Even if we live our faith, we must always be ahead of the curve. They who follow at the end used to say unto death every day. It’s scary. If you go to the front, you will not see the army of Egyptins. You have to go to the front beforehand.  It’s a lot easier for you to get ahead of your marathon. It’s harder for those who follow behind. That’s why if we want to follow the Lord, we must take the lead and follow Him, not follow Him. It’s full of problems every day.

So what do these people say to the king, they obviously signed the edict, right? That’s how they confirm it. So the king does not know what  it is, and [according to the law of the Medellín and the Persians, which cannot be changed, it is true]

 When Jesus Christ prayed in Gethsemane, he drank all the cups of God’s wrath in the world. If it is something, then the Lord has already drunk all the sins of the world.

That’s it.   The Lord has to pay the penalty for the sins of this world, and the penalty for that sin is death. So that’s God’s law.  It’s the same thing as if the king couldn’t killing Daniel because he put his stamp on the edict. My father asked me to drink from a cup. Because I drank it, God the Father couldn’t change it anymore. Now I have to die. It’s the same thing. Daniel is now a type of Jesus Christ. What is a lion’s den? Who is the roaring lion? It’s the devil. What’s a den with devils? Isn’t it hell? That’s why Jesus went to hell. It’s the same thing. But aren’t all the people who put Jesus in hell going to hell? It’s the same thing. That’s why Heavenly Father closed His eyes. This King Darius was displeased, wasn’t he? How unpleasant it was, oh, they deceived me. You deceived me and ridiculed me. But there’s no way. He signed the law. So I tried until the sun went down to try to save him,  How hard did Pilate try to save the Lord? In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord said, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me. But do not do as I want, but as you will.]

He came in a weak body. What it is? He was tempted. But he won. That’s why the Lord has compassion on us and helps us when we’re tempted. The Lord has had that experience. He had a physical body. Of course, he wasn’t guilty. Finally, when the cup appeared to the Lord, he said nothing. That’s when he drank it. I don’t know how he drank it (?) That’s what the Bible says. The Lord must keep His word. He can’t change his word. It cannot be canceled. This law is a foreshadowing of the law. According to the law, the Lord had to die. Because he had already drunk his glass. Therefore, God’s law desires the death of sinners. So the wages of sin is death. But the gift is in Jesus Christ our Lord, and the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. That’s what the book of Romans says.

 Now,  when you  go to verse 17, what does it say? [And the stone was rolled, and the entrance to the cave was blocked, and the king sealed it with his own seal, and with the seal of his nobles, so that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be altered.]

Verse 24 tells us that before the lions had reached the den, they simply shattered all the bones of those who had struck Daniel. But the truth is, they don’t have to put Daniel in the den and close it. They don’t have to stone it. Why is this? They put Jesus in the tomb and stoned Him, right? They were told that he was resurrected. If he ever get resurrected, they won’t let him come out. Wouldn’t Jesus be able to push it out?

That’s the same thing. That’s what Daniel brings here as a type of Jesus suffering here. This is what we can see as a model of the tomb in which Jesus entered. In Matthew 27, we read: “And he put it in his new tomb, which he had dug out of a rock, and he rolled a large stone and laid it at the door of the tomb.”  That’s what the soldiers did. Not only that, but the king even sealed it with his own seal and the seals of the nobles. They were afraid someone will rip it off. They did it so thoroughly. The same is true of our Lord. It’s so thoroughly stoned, but it doesn’t work. That’s what the Lord tells us. [Search the Scriptures. For ye search the Scriptures that there is eternal life, and the Scriptures testify of me.] What it is? Search the Scriptures. Look at the book of Daniel. Don’t just look at the New Testament, look at the book of Daniel. Look at Ezekiel,  Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Genesis.  Why? The Bible, the only Bible at that time was the Old Testament. Before the New Testament,  he was talking about him. He is showing us the shadow of the Lord through Daniel today. The body is Christ. What was previously recorded is the shadow. All that is in the law is a shadow, and the body is Christ. After all, the body of Christ appears as a body 2,000 years later, but because it is reflected upside down, it appears as the shadow of the Lord in the Old Testament. So the body was Christ. Here we look at Daniel, and we see a type of Christ who is coming. Here we can see the image of our Lord, who was filled with the Spirit of God, who had wisdom,  and who was filled with the Holy Spirit. So, if you want to meet Jesus Christ, there is no other way. You need to read the Bible. You have to look especially closely at the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is there. I keep praying and trying to see a vision, but you’re welcome.  I didn’t even know it, but when I was saved, I saw a picture of Jesus Christ, and that handsome Westerner with blonde hair and blue eyes on the wall, and I thought he was Jesus, and every time I prayed, I prayed with it in front of me. I was like a kid.  Later, I realized that wasn’t what Jesus looked like. Oh, how come a Jew is blonde and blue-eyed? Where did you get this from? Where’s that? If you go to Rome, Italy.  It’s deceiving people. They won’t let you meet the real God. There are people who don’t let you read the Bible, pray in front of it, and hold on to the Lord. I ended up putting it away afterwards.  So that the purpose of Daniel might not be changed. It’s just a slap in the face. What is the purpose of Jesus Christ? He had to die on the cross.  You can’t change it. Just as Darius cannot be altered, so is God the Father, because He has ordained  [For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…] You did. You’ve already given it to me. [That whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.]

     God’s purpose could not be changed. Acts 2 Verse 23 says,  “You seized Him, who gave Him up according to God’s appointed will and foreknowledge, and crucified Him through the hands of outlaws, and put him to death, but on the third day He raised Him.] When the Jews heard this, what did they do? They repented and received the Holy Spirit, right? In fact, the first church was a Jewish church. The Jews started the church. Aren’t all the apostles Jewish? All of the people who wrote God’s Word were Jews. He gave them the Word. They’re blessed. Now, in verse 18, we read that the king went into his palace and fasted all night. The king stayed up all night. They forbade their musical instruments and did not sleep, Jesus was there for six hours when He was crucified. But the last three hours suddenly became like a dark night. I don’t know if God is grieving. Fair enough. Would we see our own son die? It’s better to close your eyes and not see it.  King Zedekiah of old did not obey God and was taken to Babylon where his son died in front of him. His own eyes are gouged out.  I can’t put into words the pain of killing my own sons because they look like that. Once upon a time, a doctor missionary who was missionary to the Indians was killed when he heard that the Indians misunderstood him and ended up killing him and his wife with an axe. A Japanese missionary had his two daughters and his wife thoroughly raped and killed in front of him, and then went to preach the gospel the next day. Gentlemen, what kind of person is this? That’s why I really realize the Lord’s grace and dedicate myself to Him. Isn’t it? When the Lord was crucified, hung, and died, it was so dark that we couldn’t see ahead, and that was how much our Heavenly Father was suffering.  My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? How did my father feel when he prayed like this? That’s what David prayed, right? From Psalm 22. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit in David would say to Jesus on the cross. So David didn’t know what he meant. To do that, they really made David to the point of death. My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me? Now, this Darius is a type of Heavenly Father. Here’s where we know. I mean, how urgent it must have been. As soon as he woke up in the morning, verse  19  said that I just hurriedly went to the lions’ den, right?   There were women who rushed to the tomb at the beginning of the morning the day after Jesus died,  right? And on the first day of the week,  early in the morning, at the rising of the sun, they came to the tomb. The Bible says: Likewise, King Darius must have come early in the morning, right? It was still dark. Now, So  what does verse 20  say? [And he came to the den, and cried out to Daniel with a voice of mourning, And he said to Daniel,  “O Daniel, servant of the living God,  can your God, whom you always serve, deliver you from the lions?” And he did. ]

  in a mournful voice. How precious would he have been to Daniel? Perhaps the king must have thought that Daniel was dead. Think about it.  Wouldn’t the starving lions? If you feed them a lot, where will they bite? So he must have died, or he must have believed he was dead. But you can just in case. So what do you say? [O Daniel, servant of the living God! Can the God whom you always serve deliver you from the lions?] The God you always serve! When the world looks at us, we should always see that we serve God and give thanks to Him. I’ve said it many times, but when I was an evangelist, I was in charge of a new believer, and someone came.  A deacon who does business in Jobber brought a certain sister. Why did she come  to this church when I saw her? As soon as she got there that day, she signed up for church. This deacon is not well in business,  but I’m a retailer and she is a wholesaler, and I can’t do business, so I come every day and cry and blow, and this sister laughs even though she can’t do business. Thank God, this is it. That’s why I was dragged in.She worked hard and sent her husband to law school to become a lawyer, but when he became a lawyer, he abandoned her and married another woman. Oh, perhaps, but he would have been grateful. Someday, when I had a chance to meet her,  she was a member of our district. There are also such people. You’re always grateful when you go out there. When the economy is bad right now. That’s when people are pulled out. There’s something about this guy.  You’ve always served, haven’t you? I don’t just serve once. Well, complaining  back and forth, what happened, what was put to the test, this is not it. The God I always served!

      Daniel talks out loud in the den. Live forever, O king. In the New Version of the Bible, it is said that the number of years is called “Hurrah for the Ages”. Ten thousand years old. So verse 22 says, “My God sent His angel to shut up the mouths of his messengers, so that they could not hurt me, for innocence was manifested in me before him, and I  have not done any harm before you,  O king.” He said.] A pastor who was very full of the Holy Spirit, who is now gone.  It’s funny, people in the U.S. have a sense of humor. There’s a sermon that says something is going to happen dramatically about this. Let me read this to you.

Do you want Daniel to go into the lions’ den and eat me? I mean, the lions, well, I don’t have an appetite right now, so I’m going to say no.  You know

The lions behind saw Daniel and crawled out. So you’re going to eat me? I mean, don’t be ridiculous, it’s indigestion. I can’t help but put it in my stomach.  Thank you. Daniel stood in front of the lions in a daze, and one of the lions said to Daniel, “Oh, don’t stand like that, lie down.” Sit down for a bit. Aren’t you tired? It’s late at night, so keep your eyes glued. So, I’m tired, but do I want to get some sleep? So one of the lions lay on its back, and it couldn’t talk as it stood on its feet. Sleep on my belly. So Daniel cut the lion’s belly and lay down. And I’m sorry for the lion, but if you’re going to give me a pillow, turn around and lie down. Only then can I turn my face toward Jerusalem. That’s why it’s good for the lion to be. And then he said, yes, okay, can I do this? So Daniel turned to Jerusalem and lay down. Then the lion asked: Who do you trust to come to your rescue? Cancer, right! Then Daniel fell asleep.

At one point, however, he hears a voice outside calling Daniel. That’s fun, isn’t it?  An angel came and told me to do it. Hahaha. After all, God, the God who saved Daniel, even when we are tempted and Satan is grasping us, if we still give thanks to the Lord and ask Him, He will save us. What do you do when you’re tested? He gives us a way to escape so that we can avoid it. You have to stay until the end. You have to keep your mouth shut, folks. Don’t do this,  it’s not a big deal to us. It’s a big deal to God.  It’s a big deal for the angels in heaven. Aren’t you just going to report? If we pray. Then God is busy and commands the angels to go where you are going, and this is what you are doing. They help us like this, but we just have to stay put. God is a big deal. I do that when it’s hard. God’s problem, not me? If I die, isn’t it more of a loss to the Lord? Take care of it. Why? God is the Father. God is our Father, isn’t he? My father, Amen!  What do you do to your dad that makes you so unusual? If you sin, you can’t do that. A pastor had a son and a daughter, and when the daughter needed money, she slammed the door and walked in, and even though her dad was praying, she asks him for the money. He can’t do it. If he need money, hey, when you take money from your father, you’ll take my money too. Why?  I’ve done a lot of things wrong. But a clean kid who hasn’t done anything wrong is going to give you money. He’s a pastor, but he’s your father, right? I’ve heard about that. Through that pastor’s tape. This is our Father, gentlemen. My dad likes to call us Father all the time. Don’t be too scared.  When you’re afraid, think that you’re guilty and repent quickly. Therefore, save Daniel from the lions’ den.

Lord! Where did you get us? Those roaring lions and angels have rescued us from hell. This is why we should be grateful.

 I will pray.

God the Father!  Through Daniel, we saw the image of the Lord coming, dying on the cross, being buried in the tomb, and being sealed with stones.  Father, fill us with the Holy Spirit, so that we may be filled with wisdom and understanding, with planning and knowledge, with a spirit that fears you.  Therefore, when we continue to do this work, praying and giving thanks, as we have been bold like Daniel, no matter what difficulties come our way, the Lord’s salvation will always overflow into our lives, and the world will see us when they see us, knowing that God is with us, and that they will return to the Lord, knowing that God is with us.  Help them to smell the fragrance of Christ. Help us to permeate the fragrance of gratitude in all things as we give thanks without complaining, especially when things are difficult. Help me to understand this truth. There are still people who are like children.  Father, I earnestly pray and desire that you will help me to become those who can now understand and be grateful. Therefore, please help all of us to take the lead and follow you and be trained as soldiers of Christ so that we can face any difficulties that may come our way. I thank you, and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I plead and pray. Amen.