“Daniel: Intercession” (continued) - part 5

In Daniel 6, we have seen two of the three grand functions of intercession: the first, of restraining evil and changing man’s inclination toward the reality of God’s salvation in Christ, and the second - of the advantage of preparation spiritually in the interceding vessel of the Lord.

This can never be overemphasized - for it is a mighty, perceptible dynamic that moves God’s cause along.

I would like to continue in this vein tonight, as we also go on to the third function - that of its outworking in the hands of God through Christ for His glory to be seen in the Church.

This third function of intercession is shown to be the prime, all-engaging influence in God’s divine course of His salvation history, to be brought to its full fruition by the Church - the Church that has ‘given itself’ to the ministry of prayer and intercession.

This giving of ourselves to prayer is the preparatory action for the receiving of God’s revelations, which we will see tonight, I pray, in looking at chapter 9 of Daniel.

It is here that we see Daniel as the Church ought to be: its heart set in its purpose and its desire to just follow on in its relationship with the Lord God - to seek His mind, to look for His will with discernment.

The beginning of this work is realization - not only the realization of what we cannot do on our own, but the further realization of what is possible only under the administration by Christ and the leading of His Spirit.

We see this in Acts, after Christ’s ascension - the carrying on of the work of the Lord that was put into place in 
the early Church in Acts 6:1-4.

There was a need to take care of the daily administration of the Church’s ministry to the ‘widows’, to the ‘serving at tables’ - v 1.

‘...It would be a grave mistake for us to neglect the Word of God, drop the preaching...and the teaching of the Word of God to attend to meals,’ they reasoned together in v 2.

‘Wherefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven men of honest report, who can be well-attested, of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom whom we may appoint over this need and duty.’ (v 3) 

And, then in v 4, they determined: ‘But we will give ourselves steadfastly, in prayer and in the ministry and teaching of the Word.’  

They seemed to thoroughly understand the primary function of the Church, the ‘giving of themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word’. 

And, through their understanding of that, the problem with the other important problems of Church life were taken care of in its fitting divine way.

So in a pre-eminent sense, the ‘giving of themselves to prayer’ is a function of prayer that prepares the Church to the serious business of going on toward God’s full intention in His salvation plan.

Daniel persisted in his ministry to this end of moving toward God’s full thought upon the earth.

In this sense, he represented the Church, the organism of spiritual life in the midst of spiritual impotence.

We see this in Daniel 9:3 where he purposed: ‘I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and supplications ...’ - what is it that provoked his interest to such praying?

In v 2, he is studying ‘the books’; specifically, Jeremiah’s writings, where he noticed in the Scripture the number of years which, ‘...according to the Word of the Lord...must pass before the end of the desolation of Jerusalem’.

And, being so dismayed with the situation in the then Jerusalem, he prayed a prayer of confession and penitence for the Lord’s people -  called on Him for final deliverance, asking Him to act, to hear his prayer and cause His face to shine on the ruined sanctuary ‘for Thy sake, O Lord’. (v 17)  

In verse 5, he confessed, as spokesman of the people, ‘We have sinned and done wrong...rebelled...turned away from Your commands and law...succumbed to the heathen and his ways...have refused to repent at Your rebukes and warnings; in short, we have rejected You, ridiculed and rejected Your pardon and mercy.’

God’s people were missing the favor of God because of their rebellion against Him and Daniel’s heart was feeling the weight and pain of Jerusalem’s shame.

‘Thy people, O Lord, are become a reproach to all that are about us.’ (v 16)

‘Jerusalem and your people have become a cause of shame:...the heathen mock at You because Your city lies in ruins for our sins.’

See how he pleaded in verses 17 through 19: ‘Hear the prayer of Thy servant and his supplication. O my God, incline Thine ear...for Your sake, O Lord, look...see the desolation of the city that bears Your Name...we do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy...for Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your Name.’.

He presented his supplication ‘...before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God.’ (v 20)

What an earnest desire - I repeat - an earnest desire the prophet had for God to glorify Himself.

His prayer was strictly intercessory, asking for God’s mercy to overlook the people’s rebellion and to forgive, and, in its place, to continue onward for the glory of His being to be seen on the earth.

Do you see the burden of his heart?

God’s honor was at stake among His own people, among the people who are His and who live in His city.

It was while he was yet praying, that the Lord sent Gabriel, His angel, to touch Daniel with a message and to give him ‘skill and understanding’, ‘...to make thee skillful of understanding.’ (vs 21-22)

Skillful in understanding for what? - to understand and discern the perfect fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy announcing the coming Messiah and His work: ‘...to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, to make intercession for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy.’ (v 24)

And then take good note in v 23: ‘...I am come to show thee: for thou art greatly beloved...’.

‘You are highly esteemed’ was the angel’s greeting, meaning ‘you are a man of preciousness to the Divine Heart’.

Imagine! - This is coming from the Lord’s own heart to Daniel - a special message sent by a special messenger especially for Daniel - ‘...thou art greatly beloved.’

What a reassurance it must have been for this servant of the Most High God - to know of this highly personal love and concern that the Lord had for him!

Here was one especially precious to God - holiness had shone out in his character with a divine radiance - and the Lord took notice. 

And this special message for Daniel from the Lord is no small thing for Daniel - it revealed a concentrated alliance Daniel had with Jehovah, for Gabriel continued, ‘Mark well...the message, and read the revelation aright’ - he could be trusted - trusted with a valuable divine revelation.

It was the ‘giving of himself to prayer’, the giving of himself for the glory of God to be disclosed upon the earth, that moved God to express His special notice of Daniel and give him this exceptional revelation of Jesus Christ. (v 25)

‘...I have come to give thee skillful understanding...to show thee: for thou art greatly beloved.’

And this is not the only time Daniel was told this.

It happened again in ch 10:11, where the reason for such special consideration is given: ‘...thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God.’

And, a third time the greeting is repeated in v 19: ‘...O man greatly beloved...’.

Why this special attention to Daniel - what was it about him that set him aside in this way?

Look at 9:3 again: ‘And turning my face to the Lord God, I gave myself to prayer...’ because ‘it is His honor that is my greatest concern’.  

That is the message indicated in the rest of his prayer.

He was completely absorbed in the will and in the glory of the Lord to Whom he had yielded himself.

This is why God honored the man as He did, and gave him skillful understanding in divine matters.

Do you know what the great lack of the Church is?

The greatest need is for an intercessor who gives himself to the preparation of the heart - it is the heart that is the greatest hinderance for divine truths to pierce, to break up the hard, fallow ground.

The heart is like a non-conductor that just cannot transmit the purity of the word of God’s power aright. 

I ask you: Can our lustful ambitions for men’s praise and men’s honor preach honestly the Gospel of Christ, the word of the One Who ‘...made Himself of no reputation and took upon Himself the form of a servant’?

Can the bad-tempered, the selfish, the hardened, the worldly honestly champion the One Whose message abounds in longsuffering, self-denial, tenderness, patience, and love?

God’s Word does not need the light of human genius, it does not need the force of human intelligence to conduct its power, but it does demand a heart that has been humbled,  surrendered, and drawn into the heart of God.

He who has struggled with his own heart and conquered it, who has taught it humility, faith, love, truth, mercy, faithfulness, patience, and has skillful understanding is the one esteemed by his Lord.

He, like Daniel, has set his face to the Lord God - and receives the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God.

The Church is to be made up of such as these, - and this is according to what the Scripture defines as ‘Church’. 

Let me remind you that the Church is the Lord’s beloved that has found its place in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

It is because of Jesus Christ that each one of the Lord’s people is His Beloved - but, the question is: What do our hearts really say to Him about our inclination toward His honor?

Are we able to say in reality, ‘But we all, with open face, are like mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord from one degree of splendor to another.’ (2 Cor 3:18)

Are we so prepared - as Daniel was - to be in earnest when the work of prayer is before us? 

You know - when Solomon dedicated the finished temple, the Lord filled the house with His glory with the announcement of ‘I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name might be there.’ (2 Chron 6:6)

The temple was consecrated to be the dwelling place of His Name and the home of His gracious presence - a place that was to show forth the excellencies of His Name, His divine thoughts and power in His people. `

But, in his heart and mind, Daniel could see how pitiful its state was at the time he was living.

It was evident that the Lord God could not let the desolation, the desecration of His Temple, and the glory of Himself in the Temple to continue without doing injury to His honor.

So Daniel prayed in the full impact of God’s glory, the glory that was drawing him into a hope - the living hope of seeing God establish His rightful place in the hearts of His people.

And - praise be to God - because of Jesus Christ, Daniel’s prayer extends to God’s present Church and to the Church until its full completion, for - you see - prayer - effectual, interceding communion with God - never dies!

It goes on, reaching into the hearts unknown to us - for ‘the the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and for the love of the Spirit’.

The Church, which has been given skillful understanding in the divine ways of God, has been joined with Daniel’s heart to uphold the One Whose Name it bears, ‘to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved...’ and, it does that by continued prayer and supplication. (Eph 1:6)

I ask you, is it not worth something in showing the influence of a praying Church when sinners and erring believers call and ask for prayer?

Is it not the divine way for those who are bowed down with sorrow and distress, heart-broken with anguish, to seek out the place that is known for its praying that is effectual?

Is it not an important event when someone on his death bed asks for a praying man to come to his bedside to pray.

Does it not mean a great deal when he who feels God’s displeasure in his life, says to the Church, ‘Pray for me’.

The Church is the blessed refuge for all the sinsick and the sorrowing ones - and, when such seek out this living, effectual organism for help, it is an honor to the Most High God.

The Church is intended to be this - it knows its Divinely appointed resources - it is functioning according to His eternal plan.

And - when it is doing this, God is in His rightful place of honor, dignity, and glory.

Yes - prayer is for the purpose of deliverance from sin into the miraculous rescue unto salvation.

And - yes - prayer is for the purpose of the Church’s spiritual preparation for effective praying.

But - it is not primarily for these reasons. 

They, in turn, perfectly blend together to promote and elevate the honor and glory of God in proclaiming and living out His redeeming plan for which He deserves all homage and esteem.

For - it is to be His Church, the City of God, a crown of splender, a royal gem, in the Lord’s hand, that is to declare to the world - no - not just to the world, but to the whole universe: ‘...Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious Name.’ (1 Chron 29:11-13) 

                                     AMEN!

SONG: # 112 “Be exalted O God above the heavens,...”