In this episode of the Deeper Dive podcast by the OC Church of Christ, Brian Craig continues the series 'Understanding the Spiritual Realm.' Brian delves into the biblical worldview of the heavens and earth, explores the role of spiritual beings, and shares personal insights from his near-death experience. He reflects on the life and faith of Daniel, discusses the significance of prayer and worship, and emphasizes the cosmic struggle between good and evil. The episode concludes with a song inspired by the teachings.

00:00 Introduction to the Deeper Dive Podcast

00:38 Understanding the Spiritual Realm: Part Two

02:45 Exploring the Book of Daniel

06:20 Daniel's Visions and the Spiritual Realm

11:40 Personal Testimony and Spiritual Insights

17:07 The Cosmic Struggle and Our Role

24:19 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

27:57 Closing Remarks and How to Stay Connected

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OC Church of Christ

Welcome to the Deeper Dive podcast brought to you by the OC Church of Christ.

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The Deeper dive podcast is about going

deeper into God's word, learning new

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insight, and taking a fresh look at

the verses that impact our daily lives.

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Today's episode is the second and final

lesson from our series, "Understanding

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the Spiritual Realm" with Brian Craig.

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Get your scuba gear and let's

dive deep into God's word.

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Here's Brian Craig.

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Brian: Okay, this is part two of class

called Understanding the Spiritual Realm.

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So if you haven't heard that, you might

wanna go back and listen to that first.

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We're just picking up where we left

off and again, we're not not ever going

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to understand the spiritual realm,

but it's just the idea of opening

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our eyes to really it's a biblical

worldview of the heavens and earth.

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cosmology and heavens, the heavens

being populated with spiritual beings

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and which is what we see in scripture.

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Even as I mentioned last time in the

story of the birth narrative, we all

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know the Christmas story where the,

suddenly heaven is opened up and the sky

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is full of all these spiritual beings.

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The host of heaven, it says, which

are we usually gets pictured as

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angels, but strictly speaking, angel,

the word angel is just messenger.

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So an angel is a messenger from.

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God, but what the skies spiritual

beings are or Elohim is any, it's a

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it's like us in a way that these are

created beings that are part of God's

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creation, but they are in the psalm

says, what is man that you're mindful

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of him, you made him a little lower

than the Elohim the ones in the heaven.

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So we have a special.

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Yet you crowned him with glory and honor.

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So we, as human beings, we have

this special role to play that God's

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doing something and the angels are

part of it, or the spiritual beings,

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the Elohim are part of it, and we.

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as humans are part of that.

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And so God himself becoming a

human that's the story of Jesus.

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That's why we worship that he came so low.

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And so God lifted him up.

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But that, that that's big picture

story is what we're talking about

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of something going on in the

heavens above and the earth below.

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And that's from the beginning chapters

of Genesis all the way to Revelation.

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The whole Bible is the story of.

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There being what we do in this

life matters in the heavenly realm.

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And so I want to zoom in on, on

one particular character here.

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We, as I mentioned last time,

we would pick up with that.

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Daniel Daniel chapter four

Daniel is an interesting book.

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There's a scholarly debate

about when it was written.

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I won't get into that, but

he's just, Daniel is a model.

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I think he was a historical person, but

the final touches on the book were, based

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on the language, because it contains

language that's much later language.

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It was a work in progress.

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Maybe I don't know exactly.

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Again, I'm not going to get into the.

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construction of the documentary hypothesis

of, about the book of Daniel, but as

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a character, as a person I believe

a historic figure, but as a person

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Daniel is really the, where we start

to see fully formed understanding, as

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you're going through the Torah, you see

more and more of the heavenly realm.

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And it more and more is revealed.

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And by the time we get to Daniel that

Daniel is the first place we really

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see even resurrection mentioned.

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And the idea of the, it says at the

end that the holy ones will rise and

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even the final judgment and stuff,

all that's in Daniel and Daniel Daniel

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is key to understanding Jesus because

Jesus steps into this image that

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Daniel gives us of the son of man who

is approaches the ancient of days,

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the creator of the universe, this

figure, the son of man is given power.

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And he's he's made the

ruler of all creation.

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And that's, that, that's the text that

makes the, when Jesus mentions that when

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he's on trial, that's what makes the

Sanhedrin so mad, that the people who are.

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are holding in this court that's asking

him to account for what he's doing.

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And when he says, you will see the son

of man coming in the clouds of heaven

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he's talking about Daniel, the book of

Daniel that's a Daniel seven reference.

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Anyway, Daniel is it's

an interesting book.

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It's a it's a love the book of Daniel

because his, he's he You see him faithful

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through incredible times of transition.

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He is there he's one of the, he

and his friends are brought captive

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when Babylon first conquers.

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But then he's there for this whole

regime change as the Medo Persians take

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over this whole other empire, and he

still was, and then he's still in, in

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a position of leadership or a position

of responsibility and so he's a great

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example of how we should be on the job,

of how we should be in our community,

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of how we should be and the way he

takes his, goes to God with these, his

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daily daily devotions and his prayer.

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And anyway, I just love

Daniel as an example.

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There's nothing really negative

about Daniel in the Bible.

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Whereas almost everybody else we all blow

it, but Daniel is just he's a special

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guy and there's stuff that he sees or

writes about that even is, I think finds

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final fulfillment, even in, in, in the

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Greek empire and of the, some of these

things that happen in the, so after

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the, after these different empires,

you see some of these things fulfilled

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even, or even in the Roman empire, I

think you see some of that, Daniel, you

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could read John Oak's book on Daniel

if you want to get more into that.

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But for what we're talking about here

today we're talking about spiritual realm.

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And daniel gives us a little bit of a

window into how does the spiritual realm

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and the, down here, how does up there

and down here work together and Daniel

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4, 7 where the King Nebuchadnezzar is

given some, something happens to him

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that's really dramatic but it says the

sentence is by decree of the watchers

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the decision by the command of the

holy ones in order that the living will

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know that the most high is sovereign

over the kingdom of humankind and

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to whomever he wills and gives it.

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He even sets the humblest of men over it.

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So the holy ones, this is again the

Elohim the host of heaven, there's

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some connection between that and stars.

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The the heavenly host And even the,

this word the Watchers, that, that's

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captured the imagination, especially if.

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Of a lot of the Jewish literature, in

the time in between the testaments.

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There, there's a lot about the watchers

and they got really into angels and

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these heavenly beings and trying to.

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figure it out.

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There's a lot in Jewish literature

that's swirling around by the time

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of Jesus, that Jesus steps into and

gives us an understanding of it.

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But this verse here in Daniel 4,

17, it says that this, these, the

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watchers are involved in this decision.

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It's by command of the Holy One.

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So it's telling us that these spiritual

beings are involved sometimes in what

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happens on earth and God is doing things,

but he involves his divine counsel.

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He divine, he involves these other

beings sometimes in what he's doing.

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And so he, I love what he even

says about, he's sovereign over

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the kingdoms of humankind and

whoever he wills, he gives it.

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He even sets the humblest of men over it.

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That's who God is.

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God is looking for the humble.

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God is looking for those who

tremble at his word, right?

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Act justly, walk humbly, and love justice

do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.

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That's who God is looking for.

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And Daniel 9 Daniel is talking about

some of the visions that he has these

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heavenly visions where it's an apocalypse.

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Apocalypse means a revealing.

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Apocalypse doesn't mean

the end of the world.

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It means pulling back the

curtain, or it means revealing.

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And so Daniel has these apocalyptic

moments or these dreams where he,

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heaven is open or the curtain is

pulled back, or he's able to understand

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more of what's really going on.

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And that's the idea of apocalyptic

literature or an apocalyptic dream

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or experience is to be, to see.

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reality.

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And so in Daniel 9, he says, while

I was still praying, Daniel 9, 21

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through 23, while I was still praying,

the man Gabriel, he calls him a man,

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interesting, but he's a messenger.

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He's a angel and angels always in the

Bible always just appear as humans,

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maybe glowing humans, but they're

never A cherub or a, like a, like

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we, we have that comes up in the

middle ages, with wings and stuff.

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That's not in the Bible.

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There's never an example of angel with

wings, but anyway, get back on track here.

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The man Gabriel, whom I had seen

before in a dream flew to me in a

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hurry at about the time when the

evening gift is given in worship.

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He talked to me and told me things

saying, Oh Daniel, I have now come

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to give you wisdom and understanding.

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As soon as you began to pray, an

answer was given, which I've come to

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tell you, for you are loved very much.

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So listen to what I say and

understand the special dream.

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This is such a cool story, such an

amazing text, because it tells us that

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God and his heavenly hosts are involved

in what's happening in our lives.

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And even just how our worship

we, obviously we know that,

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that's why we worship.

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That's why we gather on the first

day of the week and break bread

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together and share communion.

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It, it is a at heavenly, these are

heavenly activities the sacraments of

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baptism and communion, and it's not

really a thing in our tradition to use

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that word sacraments, but sacrament

just is something happening in a

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physical that has a spiritual reality.

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We all practice that with baptism.

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We believe that it's not just

removal of dirt from the body.

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It's a pledge of a good

conscience towards God.

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When you are baptized, there's

something spiritual going on.

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There's a spiritual reality.

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And so that's what we're talking

about with sacramentalism.

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That's what we're talking about with

with the heaven and earth thing is that

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there, there are things that happen

on earth that have heavenly realities.

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And So Daniel, as Daniel is praying,

he says, I love that, he says, as

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soon as you begin to pray, an answer

was given, which I have come to tell

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you, for you are loved very much.

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That, this gives us meaning to our

prayer, like our worship, our times

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of silence and solitude and just

being with God and bringing to God our

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petitions, bringing to God our struggles.

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It's Heaven sees and knows and

these, even these other spiritual

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beings are involved in it.

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And this is something I have personal

experience with, and I, it's hard for

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me to put language to it, and I'm not

sure even how much I'm to share, but

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I, you, when I had I at the end of

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Right at the very end of the year.

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And I was totally incoherent.

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I had to be rushed to the ER.

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ER and it turns out I had a brain

tumor and so I had to be flown back

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from, I was in Colorado on vacation.

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I had to fly back home and have

surgery as quickly as possible.

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I had to go to the, straight to the ER

and have surgery and have this sizable

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tumor removed and and then I've been

on a road to recovery ever since.

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And in that that was a very profound thing

to, to have brain surgery and to also.

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Almost really be, I should have died.

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Like I would have died if it

hadn't been for modern medicine.

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And so I had this experience of

kind of crossing, not crossing over.

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Like I didn't see a light or I wasn't

going through a tunnel or some of these

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near death experiences some people

have, but what I did have was some

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experiences more than one several of.

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of being very aware of

the spiritual realm.

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And I had an incredible peace

like I have never had before or

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never, haven't even had since.

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A profound experience of

God's love, of his, of trust

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in him of everything is okay.

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I I definitely experience Jesus and

that he is Lord, there is nothing, no

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other, nothing on earth that compare

at all to his authority and his power.

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So even the things we are afraid of,

or, these, it's in the gospels where

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anytime Jesus encounters a demon

we're afraid of things like that.

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A demon, or, you think about horror

movies and stuff, but think about

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the demons that Jesus encounters.

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Or people who are possessed.

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The demons are just terrified, right?

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They're just and they're, anyway,

just Jesus is and he's, was hidden

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in a way like he became low.

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He became a, just a a servant.

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He became a humble person.

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He came to earth as, he, he was

like, He's confronting the beast.

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He's confronting the Roman Empire.

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He's confronting the principalities

and the powers, but he's this humble

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teacher from a small hick town, and

anyway, I experienced Not the humble

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Jesus, this is again in my kind of near

death experiences, not the, but not

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the humble Jesus, but the, he's always

humble, but the transcendent, like the

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cosmic Jesus he is the king of kings.

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He is the Lord of lords.

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He is the.

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All the universe will know, right now

you don't see everything subject to him.

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Like it says in Hebrews right now, we

don't see everything subject to him.

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Because we're in this in between

time where the kingdom of God has

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come, but it's, he's not ruling

and reigning over all creation yet.

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So there's still and the last enemy

to fall is death itself, right?

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As we know from the book of Revelation.

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So we're in this waiting period.

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We're in this we're seeing things

play out on a global scale.

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And so this involves politics.

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This involves suffering in the world.

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This involves a lot that's

going on in the world.

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So what's going on in the world, God is

very involved is what I'm trying to say.

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And I don't want to presume to say, and

I think there's a lot of kind of junk

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literature about this, taking revelation

or taking Daniel and trying to, To, to

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do a one for one correspondence to things

that are happening right now in Israel or

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right now in Palestine, or, and I caution

that because It's more of typology.

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It's more of it happens again and again.

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It's a story that happens again and

again of worldly powers versus Jesus

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and his way, the humble like it talks

about in this passage in Daniel four,

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we just read where he sets the humblest

of men, God gives his, God gives

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responsibility to the humblest of men.

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And so that's what I want to be.

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I want to be like Daniel.

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I want to be like these devout people who.

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I just want to be humble and

I just want to trust God.

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I want to trust his plan and I'm just

here to serve, so that's how I'm even

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trying to approach my life right now

with a lot of uncertainty when it

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comes to my having a terminal diagnosis

and not knowing how much time I have.

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And it's just I just want to be humble.

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I just want to.

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be available.

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I just want to I want to be

like Daniel, I love this.

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It makes me emotional.

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Just this, that God, this, what, what is

told to him, soon as you begin to pray

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an answer was given, which I've come to

tell you, for you are loved very much.

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That's all I want to hear from God,

Well done, my good and faithful servant.

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And I feel that from God.

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I feel that from God, and I feel

that from his people and all the

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ways that people are praying for me.

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And and, people tell me they pray

for me every day all the time.

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And I just, whoever you are listening

to this, I want, I want you to

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trust that love and to give up

whatever else is distracting you or

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detracting from that love of God,

because that's what we're here for.

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So the next chapter Daniel 10, I just

this is very similar, but continuing on

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this spiritual realm idea on earth as

it is in heaven, there's this kind of

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parallel thing Daniel 10, he continued.

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Do not be afraid, Daniel.

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Since the first day you set your mind to

gain understanding and to humble yourself

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before your God, your words were hit,

heard, and I've come in response to them.

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So the minute, Daniel was, and

what Daniel was doing, if you don't

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remember is he's humbling himself.

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He's praying, he's confessing

his, he says, I was confessing my

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sins and the sins of my people.

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So he's confessing things that he didn't

even do, but he feels like he's complicit.

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And so this is something I try

to practice, in my own as an

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American, as a part of the ICOC.

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As a white person, as any way that

I can confess sins people look like

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me or people in this organizational

structure I'm a part of in my church

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or people as Americans, just are my,

what my country has done or whatever,

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I'm complicit with all kinds of

stuff that I don't even know of.

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And so I confess those sins to

God saying, God, I want to be

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a part of what you're doing.

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And that's what Daniel was doing.

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He's humbling himself.

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He's he's He's just, he's taking

responsibility even, maybe he didn't

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even deserve to, but it says when

you did that I've come, this angel is

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sent to to respond, this messenger.

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But he says the prince of the

Persian kingdom resisted me 20 times.

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one days.

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Then Michael, one of the chief princes

came to help me because I was detained

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there with the king of Persia.

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So I've come, now I've come to explain

to you what will happen to your

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people in the future for the version,

vision concerns a time yet to come.

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So what this teaches us is that,

again, heaven is super involved

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in things that are happening here.

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Me or you as a devout worshiper of Yahweh

as a devout person with our prayers we

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are engaging in the spiritual battle.

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We are a part of this cosmic

struggle and it's and it's not over.

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We're in the midst of it.

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We're in the midst of a big spiritual

battle that rages all over the world.

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And and faithful people of God are.

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are involved.

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And these different heavenly beings,

these heavenly messengers in this text

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that they are Michael comes to help.

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This is Gabriel who's talking

and Michael comes to help.

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But the Prince of Persian

kingdom resisted me.

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So what does that mean?

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And I can't get to it.

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Two into this, but there are

spiritual beings that represent

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earthly kingdoms as well.

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There are, on the other side,

there are are beastly kingdoms.

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Daniel's vision shows him.

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So there, there are, just as

there are there are heavenly

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Beings that represent God's way.

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There are beastly representatives.

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And so again, the point is we're

part of a big cosmic struggle.

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And this just brings up this idea and

I like how the The song in the Barbie

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movie that came out this last year.

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What was I made for is the

song what does all this mean?

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Why am I here?

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How do I fit into this?

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What was I made for?

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The Bible is a story that answers

that question that God made

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us to participate with him in

bringing about the new creation.

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He made us to co rule creation with him,

even though we lack the wisdom for it.

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Is working on us and refining

us and making us useful to him

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to bring about his purposes.

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And so that's why we pray, the, I

pray the Lord's prayer every day.

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On earth as it is in heaven, may

your kingdom come, your will be

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done on earth as it is in heaven.

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With my health, with my church, with

my country, With all the countries

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of the world I believe that we're

part of something that's bigger that

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Ephesians 6 is we're not fighting

against flesh and blood enemies.

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but against the rulers and authorities of

the unseen world, against mighty powers

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in this dark world, against evil spirits

in the heavenly places, Ephesians 6, 12.

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I want you to know that who you are,

that you are meant to CORU you, we

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are in the world, but not of it.

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But we are we have a plan.

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We're part of a plan that is eternal.

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Paul told the Roman believers

they're predestined to be

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conformed to the image of his son.

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So he should be the first

born among many brothers.

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He told the Corinthian church, we all with

unveiled faces beholding the glory of.

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The Lord are being transformed

into the same image from one

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degree to another, that our

humanity would be transformed for.

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This perishable body must

put on the imperishable.

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This mortal body must put on

immortality one Corinthians five 15.

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So we are.

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We are meant to join in this divine

rule, we are meant to join again, like

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in Psalm 8, where it's, we're made

a little lower than the humans were

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made a little lower than the heavenly

beings, but then we're meant to be

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elevated and to co rule creation.

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I don't even like thinking about that.

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I don't want any, I'm not

asking for more responsibility.

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I don't want to, like Jesus tells

his followers, don't you know

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you're going to judge the nations?

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I don't, I feel so un unqualified to

to join God in ruling his creation.

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I just want to make it, I just want

to, but but I'm here, I'm available,

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God, however you want to use me.

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That's why I'm here, is

to serve and to worship.

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But but if you're watching this or

listening to this teaching here.

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I just want you to know

that you belong to God.

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God made you for a purpose.

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And he wants you to participate

in the divine nature.

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Second Peter 1, 4.

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He wants you to be like him.

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First John 3, 2.

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And secondly, know whose you are.

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Know who you are and know whose

you are, that, we belong to God.

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1 John 3 wants us to see what kind

of love the Father has lavished on

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us, that we should be called children

of God and this is who we are.

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God has created us for an eternal purpose.

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And I like how Paul puts

it beautifully in Romans 8.

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Verse 18 through 23, I consider

the sufferings of this present time

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are not worth comparing with the

glory that is to be revealed to us.

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For the creation waits with eager longing

for the revealing of the sons of God.

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Not only the creation, but we

ourselves who have the first fruits

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of the spirit grown inwardly as we

wait eagerly for our adoption as

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son, the redemption of our bodies.

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We belong to God.

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And so we're part of this future

that he's creating even now with.

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His people on this planet.

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And that's why we worship.

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That's what we long for.

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It's what unites us with each other.

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And it's what unites us with those

who've gone before us and those

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who will follow us until we're

all together in future glory.

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I want to close with a song

that's inspired by these

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thoughts Called this holy battle.

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And again, I've shared a lot, but

it just helps me to think about

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the struggles I'm facing every day.

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That I'm a part of something that's

cosmic and that is worth fighting.

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I'll close with this.

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He rose from the grave, he gave us

his name, and a great commission.

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The battles been won, the chains

are undone, and we have a mission.

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He gave your own a son.

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To show the depths of your love.

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Now we can overcome because

we know what you've done.

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This soul battles one, there's

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no great fight.

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You show us your life in

a world that's divided.

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The battle for souls, love

making us whole in Jesus United.

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You gave your only son to

show the depths of your love.

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Now we can overcome because

we know what you've done.

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This soul of battles, one,

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I love conquer feet.

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Keep drawing a.

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So we can be like you.

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Your spirit will guide.

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Your power ignite.

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As we speak your whole truth.

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Oh, you gave your own a sign.

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To show the depths of your love.

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Now we can overcome.

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Because we know what you've done.

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This solid battle's won.

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You gave your only son To

show the depths of your love.

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Your love.

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Oh.

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Now we can overcome.

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Because we know what you've done.

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This holy battle's won.

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This holy battle's won.

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This holy battle's won.

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Marcel: Thank you, Brian

for this great series.

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And thanks for listening to deeper

dive by the OC Church of Christ.

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If you want to keep up to date with

Brian, you can follow his blog.

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We have the link in the show notes.

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If you want to get connected to us

or want to donate to the program, go

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to our website OCchurchofchrist.com

or on social media @TheOCchurch.

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Join us next time for

our next Deeper Dive.