The Stories of Our Faith part 1 Luke 5   Have you noticed how much of Gods Word is stories? There is power in a story. God’s story has the power to save and transform. Top of Form Bottom of Form “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, but the Jew first and also the Greek.” Romans 1:16. The spiritual forces of evil are working in the sons of disobedience to craft their messages and tell their stories in our entertainment business with amazing success. Luke 5 Jesus has four encounters with four individuals whose lives were impacted by Jesus and they were never the same again. These stories are told to show us what happens when we meet Jesus. Through the stories we are invited to participate and see Jesus. God wants us to join in the story. What is your story? Can you tell it?

WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE Daniel 11 and 12 Top of Form Bottom of Form Daniel 12:8-9. “I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, ‘My Lord, what will the outcome of all this be?’ He replied, ‘Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.’” I want us to think about the bottom-line and then respond Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people will arise There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people (Israel)–everyone whose name is found written in the book–will be delivered.”  

1. BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE IS A BOOK OF LIFE (12:1)

YOUR RESPONSE: IS MY NAME WRITTEN IN IT? Jesus said: “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)   “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

2. BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE ARE TWO FUTURE RESURRECTIONS (12:2)

YOUR RESPONSE: WHICH ONE WILL BE MINE?   verse 2 “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”   “A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:28-29) “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them.” (Revelation 20:6) There are two births and two deaths in the Bible.

3. BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: REAL “STARS” ARE THOSE WHO SHINE FOR JESUS (12:3)

YOUR RESPONSE: AM I LEADING OTHERS TO CHRIST? verse 3: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” “Children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.” (Philippians 2: 15-16)

4. BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: AN EXPLOSION OF INFORMATION WILL CHARACTERIZE THE LAST DAYS (12:4)

YOUR RESPONSE: AM I RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS? verse 4: “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there (that speaks of transportation) to increase knowledge (that speaks of information).” Jesus: “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door...So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:33, 44).

5. BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE IS A REST AND A REWARD FOR GOD’S CHILDREN (12:13)

YOUR RESPONSE: DO I HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? How much longer do you have to live? “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for deeds will follow them.” (Revelation 13:14)

No Ordinary God Daniel 9:20-27 Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), but “With God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). He delights in doing “abundantly beyond all that we could ask or even think” (Ephesians 3:20) Daniel 9:20-21 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill— while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. This is the same Gabriel that comes to Mary 500 years later to announce the birth of Messiah. Daniel 9:22-24 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. TRUST GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS BEYOND ANYTHING YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE. Depend on the Lord to go way above your immediate concerns to addressing the ultimate issues of your life. verse 24 says, He wants “to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, [and] to atone for wickedness.” Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Trust God to answer your prayers beyond anything you could ever imagine. Then 2nd… TRUST GOD TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PLAN WHICH IS ALSO BEYOND ANYTHING YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE. Daniel was thinking about his nation’s immediate future, just three years ahead. What God had in mind was their ultimate future. Look at this amazing prophecy, God’s plan, as the angel Gabriel revealed it to Daniel. Daniel 9:25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ 69 sevens or a total of 483 years. In other words, when the decree is issued to rebuild Jerusalem, 483 years will pass until Israel’s Messiah comes into the city as Israel’s King. “It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” Jerusalem was in ruins at the time Daniel receives this prophecy, but God assures him that it will be rebuilt again, which of course it was. King Artaxerxes issued a decree to restore and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem on March 5, 444 B.C. It was a time of trouble, but in 52 days the walls were rebuilt. Then it took another 49 years to restore the rest of the city. That’s the seven sevens (or 49 years) described in verse 25. After that, there are another 62 sevens (or 434 years) until “the Anointed One” the Messiah comes. Over 500 years before it happened, Daniel was told when Israel’s Messiah would come and not just to the year. This prophecy actually tells us the very day Messiah would come! The Jewish year, in Daniel’s day, was 360 days (not our current 365 and 1/3 days). So when you multiply the 49 years + 434 years, for a total of 483 years, by 360, you come up with exactly 173,880 days. The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was made on March 5, 444 B.C. When you add 173,880 days to March 5, 444 B.C., you come up to March 30, A.D. 33. Luke was very precise in dating the various events of Jesus’ life, we know the precise day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, presenting Himself as Israel’s King. That day was March 30, A.D. 33! More than 500 years before it happened, Daniel knew the exact day of Messiah’s arrival! This is no mere human book. But that’s not the end of the prophecy. Look at verse 26. Daniel 9:26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. (NIV) Gabriel is talking about some things that will happen “AFTER” the 62 sevens of years, which follows the 7 sevens of years. So “AFTER” 69 sevens of years, or 483 years, or 173,880 days, “AFTER” that time, the Messiah will be cut off, the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed, along with its temple, and war will continue. Well, that’s exactly what happened! A week AFTER Jesus presented Himself as Israel’s King, he was crucified…37 years later.   We have a “time-out” here between Daniel’s 69th and 70th seven, during which Jesus died on a cross, Jerusalem was destroyed, and wars have continued. Now, nobody thought that this “time-out” would last nearly 2,000 years so far, but it has. WE ARE LIVING IN THE TIME OUT! I’m convinced that the Referee of Heaven is about to blow His whistle, and the 70th and final 7-year period of God’s game-plan for Israel will resume. The final 7-year period before Jesus comes again to bring in “everlasting righteousness” is about to begin. Just look at the description of that final 7-year period in verse 27, and you’ll see what I mean. Daniel 9:27 “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’” The “ruler who will come” talked about in verse 26. This is not the Christ, but the anti-Christ. He will sign a 7-year peace treaty with Israel. That’s when the final 7-year period begins. Daniel 9:27 [But] in the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. In the middle of those 7 years, he’ll break that treaty, desecrate the temple in Jerusalem, and wreak havoc. This prophecy presupposes speaks of four events, which were unthinkable just a few decades ago.   1st, Israel must become a nation again, and that happened in 1948 when the United Nations officially recognized Israel as a nation in the community of nations. 2nd, Israel must control Jerusalem again, which happened in 1967 during the 6-days war, after over 2,500 years of foreign domination!   3rd, The Roman Empire must come together again.. exactly what we see in Europe now. 4th, Israel must rebuild her temple again. Right now, there is no temple in Jerusalem. The Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70, and it has not yet been rebuilt. The Temple Institute has all the implements needed to operate the temple including the knowledge of the location of the Ark of the Covenant. All 28,000 priests, to be used in the next temple, have been trained and even their priestly garments are either made or being made right now. (Jimmy DeYoung’s News Update, October 23, 2013, www.news.prophecytoday.com) The only piece of the puzzle that yet remains for Daniel 9:27 to be fulfilled is the rebuilding of Israel’s ancient temple, but that is about to happen. The stage is set for Daniel’s 70th seven, the final seven years before Jesus comes again to bring in “everlasting righteousness.” Again, I believe that Christ will take His church out of this world before Daniel’s 70th seven, that could happen any day! Don’t be discouraged! Trust God to accomplish His plan beyond anything you or I could ever imagine. Our God is no ordinary God!!!