YP Sing Address—S. Howat
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Our God and our Father, we're thankful.
For these songs that we can sing about our Lord.
We're thankful for his work on the cross, how He endured the cross despising the shame and is now set in the right hand of God.
How wonderful you are, Lord Jesus, and how worthy you are of our praise.
We just ask a blessing on the evening for everyone here. It would go away encouraged. Pray for everyone here that that they would all truly know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Have a home reserved for them in heaven. We just ask for a blessing on the Thy word tonight and in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
You know, those were, there's a lot of beautiful songs that we've been singing.
And.
You know, it's nice to have Christian fellowship throughout the whole week.
But you know.
Next week I have to go back to work, and I suspect I'm not the only one.
And.
I'm thankful that there's there's one person at my work who's a fellow believer and he's in this room.
Been but.
But you know, for the most part, I'm going to be surrounded by people who are unbelievers. I have no thoughts of God, hate God, really hate the thought of God.
So we need each other. We need each other. But when we're out there and our daily things, school, when the fall comes around, work.
Going to the grocery store, you know the Lord's presence never leaves us and we can always have a song of Thanksgiving for Him.
And have his word before us.
But you know, I was thinking about.
We had a few nights ago how this is a pilgrimage journey.
And what I've thought is that there is nothing in this world.
That feeds the Newman.
This world system hates God and there's nothing to feed the new man.
And we are pilgrims.
I hope it's OK if I just read.
A couple of verses out of a hymn in a little flock. I'm sure no one else here has a little flock handy. I'm just going to read a couple of verses. It's #231.
We're pilgrims in the wilderness. Our dwelling is a camp.
Created things, though pleasant, now bear to us death stamp. But onward we are speeding, though often let and tried. The Holy Ghost is leading home to the Lamb, his bride. That's beautiful to me.
Because you know, there's another hymn that says, and it's true, that heaven is our home. I like how it's put right here that our home is with the Lamb, the one who gave himself for us. That's home to be with him.
His presence is with us down here, but to be with him?
That'll be home with fellow pilgrims meeting as through the waste we roam.
To sweet to sing together. We are not far from home. Think about that, we are not far from home. This very night could see him face to face.
But you know, I read that it said as through the waste we roam and that's where we find ourselves. And what I have before me this evening for just a short time is to just skim over 4 chapters in Daniel briefly.
To show that this world is a.
A God hating place, Nothing for us so.
So if it's OK, I'm just going to turn to the book of Daniel.
You can.
Follow along or listen in.
And really Daniel takes up with the times of the Gentiles, which is a period of time from the captivity when Nebuchadnezzar took them captive, all the way till the day of the Lord, when the Lord comes back.
And sets up his Kingdom.
If I could find Daniel that would help. There it is.
So Daniel chapter 3, just going to read just a couple few verses from these 4 chapters.
00:05:00
And I'm going to just get a few things from each chapter and we because we know these stories, Daniel three and verse, the second part of verse five, he's talking about when you hear all the music.
Hear all kinds of music. Ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whoso falleth not down in worship shall not shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
And So what you have in Daniel three is idolatry. And this is a world of idolatry. Idolatry separating people from the true God and putting something in his place.
And I don't think that anyone in this room has ever had a idol, an image of gold set before them. But everyone in this room, the enemy has something for everyone in this room to set before you. In the place of God it might be.
Sports, exercise, Music.
Could be any number of things that's put in the place of God.
And that would be an idol if it takes precedence over God. Someone was saying the other night, I can't remember who it was. Putting the things of the assembly first, it's very important.
Idolatry. But of course we know that the three faithful men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they went.
Into that furnace because they refused to bow down. And we're going to read verse 17.
This is very nice. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us.
From the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thy hand, O King, I think of those three men.
And they went into that furnace with something that we might call the shield of faith.
When I think of the shield of faith, I think of a verse in Romans 8 that says if God before us, who can be against us?
Whatever we have before us in life, however negative it might seem, that God has a purpose behind it and all things work together for good. The shield of faith.
So idolatry in chapter 3, Chapter 4.
Going to read the first maybe 4 verses of chapter 4 because another thing about this world.
Is that it loves.
A party. And this is what I think of Indiana, the first few verses of chapter 4. The big party, Nebuchadnezzar, the king unto all people, nations, and languages. I'm sorry, that's chapter 5.
Chapter chapter 5 is where you have the big party in Belshazzar. Chapter 4 is something else.
I'm going to read verse 14.
He cried aloud, and said Thus hew down the tree and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves and scatter his fruit. Let the beast get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and grass, and the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven. This is the part I was thinking of. And let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.
And let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him.
And let seven times Passover him and what I get from that.
Is a loss of God consciousness?
A beast.
Would be one that never looks up. No thoughts of heaven, no thoughts of God, a loss of God consciousness.
The four empires, major empires are listed in Daniel 7.
The Babylonian, the Gabito Persian, the Grecian and the Roman Empire, and they're under the figure of beasts. No thoughts of God, no time for him. And that's God's estimation of those empires. They're beasts. Man's estimation is they're valuable, the gold, silver, so you get in chapter 2.
That beasts no thought of God and then towards the end of the chapter in verse 30.
Verse 30 The king spake and said.
These words is not this great Babylon that I have built for the House of the Kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty.
00:10:05
What I get from this is self exaltation.
The great men of this world are filled with themselves. Selfish. Be careful who you look up to.
Christ is our example, we follow in his footsteps, but we have, we have many others who have walked the path of faith and yes, they have had failures also that we follow in their faith. Whose faith follow?
The great men of this world no thought of God all about themselves.
Chapter 5.
Here's where I'll read the 1St 4 verses.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to 1000 of his Lords and drank wine before the 1000.
Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, that the king and his Princess, his wives, and his concubines might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the House of God, which was at Jerusalem. And the king and his Princess and his wives and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine.
And praise the gods of gold and silver, of a brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
This party Belshazzar had.
To me makes a mockery of God. The vessels that were in the House of God in Jerusalem, they took and they drank wine out of them, praised their own false gods.
I was going to turn to Psalm 73 and read a few things, but I think I'm supposed to keep it short.
But in Psalm 73 that you know, I'm just going to do it because I.
73rd Psalm.
Just read a few verses out of there.
Because the faithful are looking at the wicked and they're wondering what's going on. Verse three, I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They are well off. Verse five. They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.
Verse 6 They're proud, therefore pride encompassed them about as a chain. Violence covered them as a garment. Verse eight, they are boastful, the wicked they they are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. Verse nine, they set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Verse 11 And they say, How doth God know, and is there knowledge?
They mock God just as Belshazzar, but there's another thing in the 73rd Psalm and it's this 17th verse or the 16th and the 17th. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end, and they have an end just as Belshazzar.
And in this, the very end of Chapter 5, Belshazzar is overthrown, so there's a coming judgment.
This world is headed straight for judgment. Let's not be a part of it. Chapter 6.
I'll read verse seven. Start at verse 7. All the presidents of the Kingdom, the governors, Princess, counselors, and the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for 30 days save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O King, establish the decree and sign the writing.
That it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Self exaltation, setting himself up as God.
So we've had idolatry.
We've had.
Self exaltation, loss of God consciousness.
In piety atheism in chapter 5, chapter 6, self exaltation, setting himself up as God and you know that full blown is going to happen.
00:15:09
At the abomination of desolations there will be a man who sets himself up as God. That's in 2nd Thessalonians 2 and in 2nd Thessalonians 2 it's called.
That return to it.
Verse 3. Second Thessalonians 2 Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, or the apostasy.
And the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. But it says in verse seven, For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Things are building to that.
Men have put themselves as #1 The only important thing.
And my point tonight is the great men of this world.
They're nothing.
There's nothing in this world to feed the Newman. Just what's in here, just what's in this book.
Maybe I can just close with one more verse or a few verses in first John chapter 2.
And verse 15 Love not the world.
Neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Is not of the Father, but is of the world.
We are not of this world.
Heavenly citizens.
Pray.
Our God and our Father, just pray that you.
Just bless this simple message, bless your word, pray that we would go away tonight. Go away from this camp encouraged and.
Seeking to honor you in this dark scene.
Being a light for you in this world. Praying for those who are unsaved.
But we're just thankful for your word and the light that you've given us, that we have been called out of darkness and into your marvelous light we give thanks, our God and Father, for all that you've done for us and sending thy Son. And in Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.