Today is the dedication service for the Youth Ministry.
In verse 9 of the text, 'I heard his voice, and when I heard his voice, I fell on my face to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.' I think this is really a word for our youth group. The important thing is that even if you fall asleep, it is really a grace to stay here. Instead of leaving Daniel in his sleep, our Lord Jesus goes to him and wakes him up. Today, lets reflect together on Daniel because he is the recipient of great grace.
First, he wakes up, realizes, and stands up.
A person who has received great grace has a wake-up call and a God who enlightens them. Daniel didnt wake up on his own, he woke up because someone woke him up. I have friends among our youth who have taken all kinds of psychiatric drugs because they want to sleep forever, or who have drank alcohol because they want to sleep, or who have gambled because they know their father is not their biological father. Our students cant wake up on their own they need someone to come and touch them and wake them up, and 'touch' means 'to touch, to connect,' and thats what Jesus and I are connected to. The events that I cant handle and want to close my eyes to are the times that come to me and touch me and connect me to the cross of Jesus.
The time in my life that I would rather forget is high school. Its a time I didnt even want to think about, but God used me as a high school pastor to connect me to the struggles I wanted to forget with the person I am today. What times do you want to forget? I need to embrace that part of me and touch that pain so I can wake up. I want you to hold the hands of my teenagers and wipe away their tears as I share the times, I was alone and asleep, through the Word. They will wake up when they realize, just hold their hand, cry with them, and cuddle them with the Word you gave them today. Its our mission to shatter your world and open your eyes to a new world.
Second, hes a man of humility and prayer.
What Daniel did to realize this today is that he 'humbled himself before my God and prayed. If you look at the original word for humbled himself, its a prayer of repentance, a prayer that really cries out in anguish, afflict me, mistreat me, is a prayer of humility. So why would Daniel pray like this and despair about himself? He is now the second in command of the Persian Empire, in a position of prestige and high status, recognized by God and man, and yet he hears that after the return of the captivity, the people have no place to live and cannot even worship because the temple has not been rebuilt. And in his helplessness to do anything about it, he tears his clothes, he tears his heart, he faces the deep sinfulness at his center, and he humbles himself and prays. But then, in verse 13, the king of the kingdom of Bashar stood in Daniels way. The king of the kingdom of Basha is the ruler, the power, the king of humanism, the king of I think Im right and I decide. The king of the kingdom of Vassar is the king of humanism, the one who thinks that my children will live well if they study well and win in my judgment.
A year ago, I got the news that my mother had dementia. I went to visit her because I heard that she was moving to a new place, but her dementia had progressed so much that she was not the same as she used to be.When she told me that she wanted to die because my stepfather was giving her a hard time, my heart broke.The next day, I decided to humble myself during a kufe prayer session and cried and prayed.I deeply repented of my sins of condemning and resenting my stepfather, and of my sins of playing a decisive role in causing my parents to divorce on my own terms, just like the King of Basa.Then, one Sunday, my wife and I went to a church near my mothers house to worship.To my surprise, the church
was a pastorally attending, cutie-pie-wearing church, and my stepfather insisted on bringing my mother, who was not whole, to church every week. I believe that God answered my prayers because I humbled myself and repented of my decisions with worldly values that blocked the way for Jesus to come and my salvation.
Third, He shows us the Word first.
The values that govern Vasa are money and power the values that govern Hellas are wisdom, knowledge, and culture the values that govern Rome are the laws of right and wrong and the values of this age, humanism, the environment keeps changing. In times like these, we cannot teach our children with our wisdom. Before events and monarchs come, we must first rise up and realize the heart of God through the Word of Cutie, so that we can stand up to the huge values and worldview of the Basa Hellenistic Rome. My environment is crumbling and bloody, but when I read the Word, I realize that this is not an event to destroy me, but to realize the heart of the Father and to rise up. Adolescence is a time when it is easy to fall asleep, and this is when we need to wake our children up. Right now Daniel is standing by the Hiddegel River, which symbolizes the boundary between the material and spirit worlds, between dreams and reality. Our children are standing on the border right now. May they be the youth and saints who wake up to the Word, just as Daniel stood on his feet and rose again to his mission.
I resented my father for many years for causing difficulties in my family, but a few years ago I restored my relationship with him, accepted him, and entered heaven. Last year, while cleaning out my house, I came across a letter written by my father many years ago. The letter said that my father was physically and mentally ill, and that he wanted to give my mother a bright smile and a happy family, but the reality was that he couldnt, so he hesitated many times to throw himself off the pier in his hometown of Hungnam. It was so heartbreaking to think of my father, who wanted to die because of his hardships, but didnt, and thought that everything was Gods grace. Reading this letter made me realize my fathers life, and when I stood up, I forgave him, and his pain touched my pain.
We can stand up when our life is first interpreted and realized. We need to teach this to our children. May we pray together that they will be children of mission, like Daniel, to live and decide the world by the Word of God.
