"Close Encounters"

Close Encounters

Over the course of our life, we all need, and all can have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS with God

–no matter our past

–no matter our pain

–no matter our position

–no matter our predicament

We can all have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD!

All the greats had CLOSE ENCOUNTERS with God

–Adam

–Abraham

–Joseph

–Moses

–David

–Job

–Elijah

–Paul

But this morning, I want us to look at the life of DANIEL, and one of the most prominent things that stood out about Daniel was the prophecies he gave

Prophecies about…

–the coming 10 nations
–the coming 7 years of Tribulation
–the coming Anti-Christ
–the super increase of knowledge in the last days

And there’s no question, as you read the entirety of the prophecies of this great man, we know we are living in the last days
And if there’s ever a time for us to have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS it’s now
And so, with that in mind, let’s begin looking at the life of Daniel and let’s read…

You Ready… Let’s Go!!

Daniel 7:9 (NKJV)

“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
I don’t think it’s an accident today, in light of everything going on in this world that I’m preaching on the life of Daniel
When we first learn about Daniel in the Bible, he is just a teen-ager
And this morning, let me give you an overview of Daniel’s life, and how he had CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
And I want to give you 3 THINGS about Daniel’s life…

–The Position He Served
–The Predicaments He Faced
–The Principles He Modeled

Let’s look, first of all, at…

THE POSITION DANIEL SERVED

You see when we first begin reading the book of Daniel, we discover that he was a Jewish teen-ager who served as a slave on the staff of the king of Babylon

Now, I don’t have time to go into all the history of it, but here’s what happened – the nation of Judah had sinned against God, and as a result, God sent the Babylonians to punish them

And most of the people were killed, and those not killed, were transported to Babylon

And Daniel was among those transported

And because Daniel was young, and because the Babylonians needed some bright young minds, and because they thought they could indoctrinate these young Jewish boys, Daniel and several of his friends, were spared and put to work for the king of Babylon

So you’ve got to understand – Daniel

–had been transplanted from his country
–had seen this ungodly nation destroy his homeland
–was removed from his family
–was in a place of tremendous evil influence

It had to be tough – BUT, that wasn’t all

Because, you’ve got to understand something – Daniel was working in the king’s palace, – and I want to be careful how I explain this – but young men who worked for any kings in those days, in order to keep them from potentially having affairs with the king’s women, they were given surgery to forever prevent them from ever being able to do anything with women
Now you can add the details to that…

This had to be horrible!

–separated from family
–his home nation destroyed
–in a land of pagan idolatry
–now humiliated and violated

But yet, I want you to know, it didn’t stop Daniel from…

–being all that God wanted him to be
–seeing visions of the future
–writing a book of the Bible

–having CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

And I want you to know something, I look across this congregation and I see some of you that…

–are in some bad situations
–are in some horrible circumstances
–have been violated

But I want you to know that you can still have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS with God!

Bad surroundings, mistreatment, terrible conditions have NEVER kept people from doing mighty things
Zig Ziglar reminds us that…

“A study of three hundred world-class leaders, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sir Winston Churchill, Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and Martin Luther King, Jr., revealed that 25 percent of them had serious physical disabilities and an additional 50 percent had been abused as children or were raised in poverty.”

It makes no difference…

—that your father was never there for you
–that your mother wasn’t a good mother
–that you had terrible circumstance
–that you were violated or molested

It’s not a matter of…

–where you’ve been, but where you’re headed
–what’s been done to you, but what Jesus did for you
–who you are, but who He is

And you can have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS with God!

That was, the POSITION HE SERVED

But secondly, I want you to consider…

2. THE PREDICAMENTS HE FACED

Because not only was he in a bad situation, things were about to get worse!
And the first predicament Daniel is found in the story of…

A. THE KING’S MEAT – Daniel 1

As part of the king’s staff, Daniel and his friends had to have a special diet that included certain kind of meat that was forbidden by the Jewish law

And so Daniel, politely asked if they could eat something different

And the captain of the king’s guard let them try it, and at the end of 10 days, wouldn’t you know it, Daniel and his Jewish friends were doing better than the rest

And that tells me right there that we can’t eat the same diet of this world and expect to be different
We can’t…

–see the same movies
–listen to the same music
–have the same diet

As this world has

And then, the second predicament for Daniel is found in the story of…

B. THE KING’S IDOL – DANIEL 3

Now, this is the famous story of the 3 Hebrew boys…

–Hananiah (Shadrach)
–Misheal (Meshach)
–Azariah (Abednego)

Now, in this story, Daniel is not actually present – he was probably away in another part of the country, but I’m tying this in with Daniel, because these were Daniel’s close friends

And you know the story, how that the king made an idol and said that at the sounding of music, everyone was to drop everything and bow down

Well, Daniel’s friends said we’re not going to bow!

They said that if God delivers us fine, but if not, fine – either way, we’re not going to bow
And so, sure enough, they didn’t bow and into the fiery furnace they go

And you know the rest of the story how that when the king looked in he saw not three, but 4 MEN WALKING AROUND!
Talk about Close Encounters!

Listen, you may be in the fire, but you’re not alone

And always remember this – God doesn’t always show up to get you out of trouble – but He’ll always get into trouble with you!
That’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS!

And then, the third predicament that Daniel faced was…

C. THE KING’S LAW – Daniel 6

Now, this is found much later on in the book of Daniel, and under a different king

And the Bible says that some people had it in for Daniel

So they had a law enacted that no prayer could be offered except to the king’s gods

And so Daniel, guess what he did – he kept on praying!

And as a result, was thrown into the Lion’s den

But guess what – HE HAD A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH God as the angels of the Lord shut the lion’s mouth!
Aren’t you glad that we can have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS with God in the Lion’s den!

I’ve talked to you about…

–the position he served
–the predicaments he faced

But finally, let’s consider…

3. THE PRINCIPLES HE MODELED

Because Daniel modeled 3 GREAT PRINCIPLES that I want to leave with you today
One is the principle of…

A. Submission and respect for authority

Daniel was very kind, obedient, and polite, even to wicked kings, as long as it did not cross the line of his convictions
You’ll never do much until you learn how to operate under God’s authority
Another principle he modeled was…

B. LEARNING AND EDUCATION

Daniel was educated, and young people, you need an education
Another principle he modeled was…

C. THE POWER OF PRAYER AND FASTING

You know the story, Daniel got to praying and he couldn’t get an answer, and so he fasted and on the 21st day, the Bible says that…

Daniel 10:12-13 (NKJV)

Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

And this tells us that as soon as we pray, God takes action

Sometimes the enemy will try to hinder our prayers

And that’s a great lesson to learn

But here’s what I want you to leave with

Daniel said…

Daniel 7:9 (NKJV)

“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;

That’s one of the greatest principles

We need to…

–keep praying UNTIL
–keep fasting UNTIL
–keep believing UNTIL
–keep giving UNTIL
–keep witnessing UNTIL
–keep loving UNTIL
–keep obeying UNTIL

I know it looks like the devil is winning and things are getting worse, but we need to hold on UNTIL God does something mighty!

Daniel was like my old uncle…

I’m against the devil. I’ll kick him as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight him as long as I’ve got a fist. I’ll butt him as long as I’ve got a head. I’ll bite him as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old and fistless and footless and toothless, I’ll gum him till I go home to Glory and he goes home to perdition!

IN CLOSING

Do I have anyone that will be a Daniel?

Does someone need to keep praying UNTIL?

Let’s believe God for mighty things today!

If you don’t know the Lord, have a CLOSE ENCOUNTER with Him today!