Daniel Series

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS SERIES

9 – DANIEL

This morning, we are continuing with our sermon series, entitled, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

And over the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about the fact that we all need, and all can have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

And…

--no matter our past

--no matter our pain

--no matter our position

--no matter our predicament

We can all have CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD!

And we’ve been talking about the greats…

--Adam

--Abraham

--Joseph

--Moses

--David

--4 Great Women

Last week, we talked about JOB, and next week, being Father’s Day, we’re going to talk about Simon, the Cyrene, the man who bore Jesus cross

Two weeks from today, we’re going to be talking about that great CLOSE ENCOUNTER that Isaiah had in the sixth chapter

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…

--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, that we know we’re 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…

Daniel 7:9 (NASB) “I kept looking until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames…

INTRODUCTION

I don’t think it’s an accident today, in light of graduation and promotion recognition, that I’m preaching on the life of Daniel

Because when we first learn about Daniel in the Bible, he is just a teen-ager

And without question, God has always had an army of…

--anointed

--dedicated

--sold-out

--surrendered

--Holy Ghost filled

Teen-agers and young people, who made a tremendous difference in the plan and purposes of God

Young people like…

--Joseph

--Samson

--David

--Esther

--Timothy

And modern young people like CASSIE BERNALL – one of the victims of Colombine

And what happened was that one of the killers pointed a gun to her head and said are you a Christian? And she knew her life depended on that answer. And knowing what was certain, she said, “Yes.” And he blew her brains out

And as a result of her testimony, thousands of young people have come to Christ

And not only Cassie Bernall, but also a young lady named LISA WHELCHEL

You may not recognize the name, but she played on a T.V. show years ago called “The Facts of Life”

And when the produces of that show wanted her character to loose her virginity in an episode, she stood her ground and said that she didn’t want to set the wrong example because she was a Christian

And today, she travels the nation, ministering to Mothers and encouraging them to be all they can be

God has always had YOUNG PEOPLE in His service

And that’s what we find when we look at the life of Daniel’s

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…

1. 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