12/02/2016 DAB Transcript

Daniel 9:1-11:1 ~ 1 John 2:18-3:6 ~ Psalm 121:1-8 ~ Proverbs 28:27-28

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible.  Today is December 2nd.  Greetings from Jerusalem, in the land of the Bible.  Today would have been my father’s birthday.  Let’s see, how old would he have been?  This would have been his 74th birthday, so that always comes to mind. Of course, I miss him very, very much. But I’m very excited to be here with you today from the holy city of Jerusalem.  We’re working our way through the book of Daniel.  So we’ll dive into that.  From the New Living Translation, Daniel chapter 9 verse 1 through 11 verse 1 today.  

Prayer

Thank you, Father, for another day in your word.  Your word is good.  Your word is true and it instructs us in every level of our lives:  Spirit, soul, body, mind, heart, will.  You speak to us.  So we ask that the words that have been spoken today are words that edify and nourish our souls and draw us closer in our intimacy with you as we walk this path through this life of faith and as we continue to reach for you and know that you are reaching back and we can cry ‘Father, Abba’ and know that you are there and that you love us and that you love us in ways that we cannot even comprehend.  You are good and you are God and we love you.  We pray these things in your name.  Come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.  

Announcements

Alright, so yesterday, long, full day, which is completely par for the course here as we travel around.  Every day has its own personality and yesterday was that.  We’ve been navigating our way around a little bit of rain and we’ve done a pretty good job.  Got hit a little bit with it at the end of the day, but we began our day with a brilliant blue sky and we went to a place that is called the Jerusalem Archeological Park.  

The Jerusalem Archeological Park is all of the ruins of the ancient area right next to the Temple Mount.  So we explored that but in particular we went to what is known as the Southern Steps, the steps that at one time led into the Temple.  Some of the ancient steps remain.  It is a beautiful place to go.  It is a very moving place to go.  It is an important place to go because these were the steps that led into the Temple so this is where rabbis would have taught and a certain place where Jesus would have walked and taught.  This is how you got into the Temple.  So to be able to sit on those steps, stand on those steps, touch those steps with our hands and some people laid down on those steps, kneeled on those steps, prayed on those steps, it is a moment of pilgrimage because you are for sure standing where Jesus stood.  It is hard to describe because it is different for everybody.  For me, I like to touch them.  I like to touch them with my hands and just have that tactile touchpoint cross the ages to the time that Jesus walked here and lived a human life among us and all that represented.  

We opened the scriptures and read from the book of Acts the sermon that the apostle Peter spoke after the coming of the Holy Spirit.  A beautiful, beautiful time and it was a beautiful setting because the weather was perfect.  We had the place largely to ourselves that time of the morning so it was great.  We began our day on a great note before we got back on the buses and moved our way to the Shephelah, the lowlands of Judah to the southwest of Jerusalem.

Our first stop, a brief one, Beit Shemesh.  We didn’t spend a ton of time there but it was important to stop there as a touchpoint with the scriptures.  This is the place where after the Philistines had taken the Ark of the Covenant in battle and had moved it around among their city states and kind of dedicated it to their gods, plague just kept breaking out on these people until they felt they had to return the Ark and they did that by attaching some cows to a new ox cart and putting the Ark of the Covenant as well as some gifts of gold on the Ark to send it back to their god and felt like if the cows knew where to go, then that was what was supposed to happen.  Of course, according to the scriptures, the cows did know which way to go and they immediately headed back toward the land of Israel and Beit Shemesh is where they ended up.  Those cows and that ox cart became an alter and a sacrifice and the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Israel.  So an important story, important portion of scripture that touches that particular land. So we were able to see it briefly.

We then moved our way down to having some lunch and then to the ancient city of Maresha which is certainly in the Bible.  In the land of Judah, it was one of the conquests during Joshua’s leadership, but it also has significant historical value between the Old and the New Testaments in the time of the Maccabees.  It is an active archeological dig and so we were all able to participate for a brief time as it were in the caves there at Maresha digging and just immersing ourselves in what it takes to bring these ruins to life, how they come out of the ground and what the process is, which is very detailed and very scientific to allow things to be identified and place them in their time period.  A lot of these places are not just one time period.  They may be many, many different time periods that any given ruin or tell, hill, settlement was occupied.  So it is a very painstaking process because if you’re going to go down to the base level of the first time that area was settled you have to destroy everything above it, so that is a painstaking thing.  A lot of times places will be cut into sections.  It is a destructive process so everything has to be documented. So learning how that all worked and even being able to participate even briefly in the history of the place is important. Also just a nice change of pace.  So that is what happened and a good time was had by all.  

From there, that is when the clouds were threatening and it was kind of all coming in.  We made a quick stop at Lachish which was perhaps the second most important city in Judah, second only to Jerusalem.  This is the place where King Sennacherib destroyed all of the strongholds.  He had camped out there and sent his rabshakeh, his representative, to the walls of Jerusalem to intimidate and taunt them as well as inviting them to completely surrender so there wouldn’t be any loss of life.  They were going to be resettled, but they could do it nice and clean if they would just give up, which they did not.  King Nebuchadnezzar had to go home.  He was having some problems at home and was not able to take Jerusalem at all.  The threats did not hold.  So it was just a brief time there, but another place that touches the scriptures, so we did that.  

Then the rains came.  So we had to drive by the Elah Valley, the ancient borderlands between Philistia and Judah in Israel.  Of course, this is the place where David fought the giant Goliath and defeated him. It is a very powerful story, a very famous story in the Bible.  We weren’t able to spend a lot of time there.  It was pouring and so it became dangerous to go down in there and we weren’t able to do it, but we were at least able to see it and understand what is going on there.  

From there, on to Emmaus and rain was certainly threatening but it held off enough for us to get off the bus and see this ancient site that connects us to the resurrection of Jesus.  Of course, Jesus is walking along with the downcast disciples and he is just asking them, “why so sad?” and they’re saying, “where have you been?  Haven’t you heard what happened in Jerusalem, about Jesus?”  And he’s like, “no, what happened?”  It is just playful and interesting.  Jesus comes and sits down at the table and breaks the bread and disappears and this is where the disciples say “weren’t our hearts burning inside of us when he opened the scriptures?”  It helps us to look at the times the presence of Christ is there and we’re not even really aware but somehow deep inside we are.  Just a great place to meditate, a great place to walk.  The rains held off enough for us to do that before making our way back toward Jerusalem.

Then last night it was just a lovely, lovely experience to have some of our brothers and sisters that are in the Daily Audio Bible community come and join us for dinner, those who live here.  Being able to meet each other for the first time and finding out they knew each other in some cases and just to understand the connection, so just spending time.  Very, very heartwarming and fills me with joy every time.  So that made a fitting end to a really wonderful, wonderful experience of a day and we have another different complexion, different personality of a day in front of us today as we don’t head south into the lowlands, we head more north into some of the ancient times.  We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Thank you for your prayers.  We’ll never not need them when we’re here.  It means a great deal to us.  These days are very tiring.  They are very long, but they are very full and they leave our bodies and minds tired but our spirits are just kind of like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, burning inside of us.  There is just so much, so much and we’re trying to not miss any of it.  So your prayers and your covering and your intercession help with that and we appreciate it more than we can say.  

So we’re off into another day.  Today and then tomorrow ends our time this time in Israel.  I think for the most part we’re ready to be back in our homeland, in our homes, but that is always bittersweet and melancholy.  We will certainly be leaving changed and with full hearts, but that is not now.  We still have some ground to cover and we thank you for your prayers.  

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website.  It is home base.  It is where you find out what is going on around here and it is the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box that is on the horizon right now.  For those of you who are ordering internationally, if you are outside the United States, today really is sort of the day that we’ve put on the calendar to say hey, after this, for the most part we think everything might work out just fine for the holidays, but this is the last day we feel really comfortable saying yeah, we really think everything will arrive for Christmas.  So especially if you are international, you may want to check that out at www.DailyAudioBible.com in the Shop.  It is full.  The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is full of the resources of the Daily Audio Bible. Like I’ve been saying, we sell out of this so no matter where you are, if it is something that you’re like, yeah, there are some things I want to give away in there, there are some things I want to keep for myself like the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Bulb that is only available in the Christmas Box, then check it out, www.dailyaudiobible.com in the Shop.  

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here as we approach the end of the year, then I thank you from the depths of my heart, with a true, true humble, grateful posture.  We can’t do this if we don’t do this together, so thank you for your partnership. There is a link.  It is on the home page at www.DailyAudioBible.com.  If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible App, you can push the More button in the lower right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, of course, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.  

And that is it for today.  I’m Brian. I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.  

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Hi DAB family.  This is Tim in Tampa.  I just need to… I think I just need you to lift me up in prayer today.  I’m at a crossroads in my business.  I hear all the prayer requests that are brought forward every day, every single day and I pray with you as well.  It is just humbling to have to come to you and have you pray for me.  I’m just at a crossroads in my business.  A lot of changes just real fast and I really just need to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit loud because I’m a little bit of a knucklehead and I get tied up in everything that is going on every day and get stupid busy.  I just need to hear the voice of the Lord.  I need wisdom.  Need some favor.  I won’t bore you with the details of what I do, but it is just a fast-moving industry that seems to be changing an awful lot right now and I need to provide for my family and it is just a tough time.  So just lift me up.  Pray for wisdom and favor and I just thank you for that.  On a little bit of an update note, I just want to thank the Lord today for everything that he has done in my marriage and in the life of my wife. The Holy Spirit has touched her in a profound and dramatic way.  As a result, he has really opened up new things in me as well.  I cannot thank him enough.  Lord, I just want lift up everybody that is listening right now that is going through struggles in their marriage. And Lord, I just stand in faith for every single one of them, Lord.  I know that the devil wants to destroy every one of these relationships. And Lord, I know you want to heal them and you want us to have great relationships with our spouses and Lord, I just thank you for what you’ve done and I thank you for what you’re doing in every one of these people’s lives that are going through these awful struggles. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.  

Hi Daily Audio Bible team.  My name is Sarah and I’m a first-time caller.  I’ve been listening for a while with my dad.  He is one of Brian’s biggest fans and absolutely loves the Daily Audio Bible.  My father recently passed away and I am calling in a request for comfort, for prayers of comfort.  I am 33 and I miss my dad terribly.  I know my mom is also really suffering.  They were best friends and would have been married 38 years the day after Thanksgiving. The holidays are coming up and I’m not prepared.  I just want to be able to talk to him, to hear from him.  I know he’s in heaven right now and he’s happier.  I feel like there is so much that I missed out on and that he was taken from us too soon.  So prayers of comfort, prayers of peace for myself, my mom and my two siblings and that we can make it through these holidays and that we can also grow closer together and that I just don’t feel so alone.  I’m the only child not married.  I live alone.  I don’t have any prospects right now so I really miss my dad.  I spent a lot of time with him.  So your prayers are so appreciated.  Thank you.  

Hi, my name is Ruthie and I’m calling and asking for prayer for my daughter, Cassia.  She is living in a very abusive situation with an abusive boyfriend and then another person in an RV.  She needs protection, deliverance, and freedom.  She needs to know Jesus’ strength and power to deliver.  She is living in California and I’m living in Colorado.  I pray that God would give her wisdom and guidance and me wisdom and guidance about trusting him, that he is our defender.  So thank you everybody for your prayers for my daughter Cassia.  God bless you.  Bye-bye.

Father, in the name of Jesus, maker and creator of all things, before I ask you for anything, I want to thank you for everything.  Thank you for life, health and strength.  Thank you for the blood that you shed for us, Lord.  Lord, I’m asking if you will to come alongside Alleah of Waxahachie.  Her family is being ripped apart, Lord.  I don’t know the situation, but you know.  Lord, she is feeling it is her fault in some way.  Lord, just let her know it is not her fault.  Let her know that you will never leave her or forsake her, Lord.  Let her know that she can cast all her cares on you because you care for her.  Let her know that we love her and we’re praying for her, Lord.  I thank you for all that you’ve done.  I thank you for this family.  I thank you for Brian and Jill.  I thank you for everything.  In Jesus’ name, amen.  

How do I ride if I don’t have the fare?  How I do eat when the cupboard is bare?  How do I hold on if my faith just aint there?  Some people say it is the power of prayer.  Take you burdens to the Lord and leave them there.  I mean, he really does care, your burdens will share. But aint Satan the ruler of the power of the air?  He has the whole world in his hands.  He got the whole world in his hands.  He got the whole world hands, but he gives us the power to make our own plans and therein the crux of the whole matter stands.  Because the choices we make and the chances we take and the laws that we break are for our own selfish sake.  It’s hard to admit that you made a mistake.  Then you ask yourself over and over again ‘don’t I know that if the Lord was truly my friend, that his kindness, his grace, and his mercy don’t end? That all of my battles even I would win?’  Now here I am with this big stupid grin, on the floor on my knees in a jam once again knowing my actions were nothing but sin.  And Satan still tells me ‘you’re going to win.’  He never stops trying and lying, amen?  But what if I had stayed?  What if I had prayed?  What if I had just trusted and obeyed?  What if’s are fruitless because I can’t change the past, but one thing in prayer, God, I humbly ask.  Help me a better person be, a better son, a better father, a better servant for thee, because one thing even in my blindness I see and that is nothing will ever change until I change me.  BlindTony1016@gmail.com.  I would like to give a shout-out to Lisa K. and __________.  I haven’t heard from either one of you lately.  Hope you all are still hanging in there.  And Pamela P. and __________, hope things are good up there in Canada.  Anyway, once again, my prayers are with those on the Israel trip.

Hello Dabbers.  This is Stacy from Oregon.  This is my second year listening and my second call into the hotline.  I need your prayers.  Today’s message was about Daniel in the lion’s den and Brian asked several questions about if we were in the lion’s den, and I am, and if I caused why I was in there and I did.  Unfortunately it is playing on my marriage and we are the point that I don’t know that my husband wants to continue.  He is a believer.  We’re both believers.  We both believe that God put us in this marriage but he has doubts and he is wanting to walk away.  Dabbers, I do ask that you would pray for my marriage, that God would intercede and that love will prevail.  Thank you in advance for all your prayers.  I love you guys and I pray for you daily.