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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church, Manila. Let's start our first service. And let's take our seats and find your hymn, the other hymn book. Let's use the other hymn book. And let's turn to page number 24. The other hymn book. Page number 24. Let's sing a song, Living by Faith. Hymn number 24. Or page number 24. Let's start our first service by singing this song, Living by Faith. On the first ready, sing. I care not to be what the morrow may bring with shadows, sunshine, or rain. The Lord I know who left for everything and all of my worries be. Living by faith in fields above, crossing the path, making His kingdom. From all sin, in His sheltering heart, I'm living by faith, in fields all alone. Though tempests be low and the storm stalls our eyes, look during the brightness of night, I'm never alone but the overcast skies, the master looks not on the sky. Living by faith in fields above, crossing the path, making His kingdom. From all sin, in His sheltering heart, I'm living by faith, in fields all alone. I know that His safety will carry me through, no matter what evils me time. Why should I then care, though the tempests may go, if Jesus walks close to my side? Living by faith in fields above, crossing the path, making His kingdom. From all sin, in His sheltering heart, I'm living by faith, in fields all alone. Our Lord will return to these world's homes in need, our troubles will total be o'er. The masses so gently will lead us away, beyond understanding shore. Living by faith in fields above, crossing the path, making His kingdom. From all sin, in His sheltering heart, I'm living by faith, in fields all alone. Each and every part of this, Lord, from the congregation are singing, the reading of your word, and the preaching of the sermon. I pray, Lord, that you would also bless Brother Saki and help him preach a sermon, Lord, with all boldness and clarity, Lord. And I pray that you will keep us attentive with the sermon, Lord, and remove the hindrances, Lord, and the distractions thereof. I pray, O God, that you would also bless our fellowship this afternoon. Let's get the Maroon hymn book. And let's turn to page number 263. Hymn number 263. Let's sing a song fairly, fairly. On the first, O God, a Savior, that He died for me. Longed by the nation, He hath made me free. He that believeth on the Son sent me an everlasting life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on the Son sent me an everlasting life. O my, He that believeth on the Son sent me an everlasting life. O my, He that believeth on the Son sent me an everlasting life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on the Son is true, an everlasting life. O, more than any kind across my door. O, more than any kind has been served. O, that does not care be taught of God. An everlasting life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on the Son is true, an everlasting life. O, more than any kind has been served. O, more than any kind has been served. He that believeth on the Son is true, an everlasting life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on the Son is true, an everlasting life. Alright, good morning everybody. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Take out your bulletin here this morning. And our verse of the week is Matthew 9 verse 12. The Bible reads, But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick. And that's a great verse. We are a family-integrated church, meaning children and infants are welcome during the services. We do have a mother-baby room back there for your convenience, as well as the ladies' comfort room. The men's comfort room is up here in front. Remember, no eating during the service. Maintain a professional atmosphere and keep the children from running and making noise during the church service. On the next page, our service time is listed. First service is at 10 a.m., and then a short break in our 1130 service. We do have our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. Soul winning time is listed there. 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, meeting at the church building. Saturday afternoon, all day soul winning at Casell Memorial Circle. 10 to 12, lunch provided by church, and then 2 to 4. Of course, we do have soul winning around 2.15 p.m. here today. Our salvation and baptisms are listed there for the month of July for our churches, as well as Bible study fellowships. Birthdays and anniversaries down there for August. On the next page, our Bible memorization challenge. We do have prizes back there if you're able to complete the challenge. Ages 11 and above, memorize an entire chapter. 8 to 10, 7 verses. Ages below 8, memorizing 1 verse, and you'll get the prize. Upcoming activities in three weeks is our monthly prayer meeting after soul winning time. Current and upcoming series, we are finally done with the Song of Solomon, and so we're on to just the Book of Daniel and other sermons. Four more sermons in the Book of Daniel. Information on our group chat, and then on the back, there is a place for notes for the sermons here today. So I believe that's it for announcements. We'll have Brother Marlon lead us in another song. Amen for our third song. Let's sing the song once for all. Hymn number 264. Hymn number 264. Once for all. On the first free from the law of abecondition Jesus have death and there is remission first by the law and first by the law and first by the law and first by the law and first by the law and first by the law and first by the law of abecondition Jesus have death and there is remission first by the law and first by the law and first by the law grace hath beneath us once for all once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all sinner receive it once for all Let's take our offering. Let's take our offering. For our Bible reading today, please open your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. As it is our custom, we are going to read the whole chapter. Daniel chapter 9. Please say amen when you're there. Daniel chapter 9. At the very end of your Old Testament. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years where of the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek my prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant immersed to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day, to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel that are near and that are far off, through all the countries, whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass, that they have trespass against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him. Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he said before us by servants the prophets. Yeah, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice. Therefore the curse is pure upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he has confirmed his words, which he spake against us and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil, for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem, as is written in the law of Moses. All this evil is come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that you might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Therefore the Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doth, for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renowned, as at this day we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and its applications, and cause thy face to shine up on thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear and hear, open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name, for we do not present our supplications before thee for righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive, O Lord, hearken, and do, defer not for thine own sake. O my God, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And whilst I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for thy holy mountain of my God, Yeah, whilst I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee, for though I greatly beloved, therefore understand the matter and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for our iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three square and two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall even in fabulous times. And after three square and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself, and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city, and the sanctuary, and the end that of shall be with the flood, and unto the end of the war desolation are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And for the over-splitting of abominations he shall make desolate even unto the consummation, and that determined shall be pure upon the desolate." Let us pray. Thank you Father for the day. Thank you for everyone who is here. Help us today to understand your Word and really give us the wisdom and open our understanding. And help us really to love you more and to love your Word and to grow. And please knowing the preacher who is preaching your Word today, we pray in your name Jesus Christ, amen. Alright, we are in Daniel chapter 9. We're going to finish this chapter here today. And most of this sermon is going to be basically a practical sermon, just explaining how to learn God's Word. Then we're going to spend some time in the last four verses, which are kind of a famous, kind of complicated scripture. The name of the sermon is How to Learn God's Word. How to Learn God's Word. And point number one, if you want to learn God's Word, you need to pursue truth. You need to pursue truth. You need to read the Bible. You need to memorize the Bible. You need to study the Bible. You need to pursue truth. Notice what it says in Daniel 9 verse 1. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years where the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And the Bible says here about Daniel, he understood the 70 years and what was going to take place. Why? By books. By reading. By studying. By seeing what the scriptures say. It's not an automatic thing you're going to learn. You have to actually actively read the Bible. Actively memorize the Bible. Go in your Bible to Jeremiah 25. Jeremiah 25. Jeremiah 25. Look, whether you listen to me preach a sermon or one of the men that alternate on Wednesdays here at Verity Baptist Church preach sermons, I promise you the stuff they preach, they didn't just wake up in the morning, you know, I've never read the Bible, I don't know what to preach. Let me just turn here and I'm going to preach a sermon on this topic. They actively have been reading the Bible and studying the Bible and when you read and study the Bible, sermon ideas come to your mind. Then you study it more to prepare a sermon. It doesn't just come automatically. And look, if you're in our room and you say, I have a goal to know God's word and to learn God's word and to understand God's word, you say, what's the magical secret? Pursue truth. Read the Bible. Memorize the Bible. Study the Bible. When you hear sermons and you hear something new you've never heard, hey, take down notes on the back of your bulletin. Write it down so you don't forget it. Right? Pursue truth. It says in Jeremiah 25. Jeremiah 25 is interesting because the 70 years being mentioned and what Daniel was studying is being referenced in Jeremiah 25. This is one of the scriptures Daniel was pursuing this truth. Jeremiah 25 verse 8. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, because you have not heard my words, behold, I will sin and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring against them this land and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and an hissing and perpetual desolations. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle, and this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And it shall come to pass when 70 years are accomplished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity in the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations. Go to Jeremiah 29. Jeremiah 29. Now, you have to realize that when we're reading Jeremiah 25 and we have the book of Daniel, it's very easy for us to look back and say, oh, you know, here's the fulfillment that's obvious, right? But whenever you're looking at something that's prophetical or in the future, you know, even if you think something's teaching something, it could be very easy to be wrong about something. And what I'm trying to explain to you is we can read this, and it's very obvious, 70 years in Babylon, but you know what, I promise you, in Daniel's day, most people that were saved had no idea. They're like, we're going to be in Babylon forever, right? They had no idea what the Scriptures actually said. Now, I'm sure there are some people that read the Bible and knew the Bible, but think about it in our modern day. How many people are waiting just at any second for the Lord to return? It's like, well, you don't know what the Bible says, right? You've never read what the Bible says or you're brainwashed, right? And it's just like most saved people just have no idea what's going to happen during the end. I'm sure it was the same in Daniel's day. Most people had no idea about how long this... Why? Because they probably never read Jeremiah, right? I mean, Daniel understood by books. He pursued truth. He read. He studied. He understood it. But the average believer probably had no idea. Just like the average believer today, very little knowledge about what the Bible actually says. Jeremiah 29, verse 10. For thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place. So once again, God says here basically 70 years in Babylon. Those are some of the scriptures that Daniel would have been studying. Now go in your Bible to Matthew 21. Matthew 21. Matthew 21. So how did Daniel understand this? Because he pursued truth. Because he read the Bible. He studied the Bible. I'm sure he memorized the Bible, right? He pursued after truth. But you know what? It's not just in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus throughout the book of Matthew makes an emphasis on reading God's Word. On studying God's Word. And Matthew 21 is interesting because this parable does kind of apply to the nation of Israel and Zionism and all of this stuff. And notice what it says in verse 33. Matthew 21, verse 33. Here another parable. There is a certain householder who has planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged a winepress in it and built a tower and led it out to husbandmen and went into a far country. When the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants and beat one and killed another and stoned another. Now when it says a certain householder, this is a reference to symbolically God the Father. And then you've got basically the husbandmen are basically the nation of Israel. If you want to apply this just to the southern kingdom of Judah because the northern kingdom is destroyed at this point. It's already a fractured 12 tribes, largely. And the servants are basically prophets like Jeremiah, like Isaiah, like Ezekiel, like any of the prophets you see in the Old Testament. And what it says in verse 34 is the husbandmen, they're supposed to gather up the fruit together. And symbolically speaking, what the Bible is trying to tell you is the nation of Israel was God's plan to evangelize the world. God has always wanted the whole world to hear the gospel. They as a nation were meant to bring forth the fruit. They as a nation were meant to get people saved. Okay? Verse 35, and the husbandmen took his servants and beat one and killed another and stoned another. And isn't that exactly what happened to the prophets throughout the Old Testament? They're getting arrested, they're getting stoned, they're getting beaten. You say, why? For preaching the word of God. People got offended by their message. Verse 36, again he sent other servants more than the first and they did unto them likewise. Right? And I also believe when it mentions servants here, you could also apply this to soul winners or anyone serving God. Because, yay, all that will of Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It's not a perfect parable to understand everything, but this is a general idea. Those preaching the word of God get persecuted. Verse 37, but last of all he sent unto them his son saying, they will reverence my son. Well, who is that symbolic of? Symbolic of God the Son. God the Father sending God the Son. And this is Jesus speaking this saying, last of all they're going to send me is what he's basically saying. And it's like, and obviously God the Father knew what was going to take place. So you've got to be, you know, loosely realize this is a parable. But the idea is, hey, you know what, if I send my son, they're surely not going to persecute my son. I mean, imagine if I started a big business and I was sending, you know, people that were my workers out and they're getting persecuted. And I'm like, but I'm going to send my son Zeph. They're not going to harm Zeph. You don't harm the boss's son. Right? You're going to be nice to the boss. If there's one person you're nice to, it's the relatives of your boss. Even if you don't like them, you're going to pretend to like them because if his relatives don't like you, then you could be in trouble too. Right? They're going to reverence or respect my son. When the husband men saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him. And of course, that is what they ended up doing to Jesus Christ. He was nailed on a cross. Right? He was killed. And of course, the Jews said, you know what, let his blood be upon us and upon our children. So not only... What's amazing is it's not even a gray area, you know, what the Bible says who killed Jesus because the Jews took credit for it. It's not like an issue where nobody takes credit for the murder. The Jews are like, we'll take the blame, not the Romans. Us. Right? Not just us. Our kids, our grand... Let us all get credit for, you know, killing the Lord Jesus. Even in today's world, the modern day religion of Judaism, you know what, they will basically brag about the fact they killed Jesus Christ. They're not embarrassed about it. Because they consider Jesus to be a horrible person and a sorcerer is what they teach in their scriptures. Right? Verse number 40. When the Lord therefore the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husband men? So ask yourself that question. I start a business and I send my son Zeph out and then you kill my son. What am I going to do to you? Right? I mean, I might kill you. Right? I'll make sure you get arrested if I have proof. I'm certainly going to fire you at the very least. Right? I mean, just common sense. And I mean, this is just a very basic story. I mean, everyone would know the answer to this and they understand. They say unto him, he will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto other husband men which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. And isn't that exactly what God did? He's like, I'm done with the nation of Israel. Why? They're bringing forth no fruit and they're persecuting those that are trying to bring forth fruit. Very common sense. Right? But notice what it says in verse 42. Jesus saith unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures? I mean, have ye not read? Right? I mean, this is plainly spelled out throughout the word of God. The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the quarter. This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Look, when you have these people that are these hardcore Zionists, you got the Israeli flag, we love Israel no matter what they do, I just kind of wonder in my head, did ye never read in the scriptures? Have ye not read what the Bible says? Did ye not notice throughout Deuteronomy? Yes, you know, you got the first third, one third of that chapter, I believe it's chapter 28, where here are all the blessings if you do what I say. But what about all the cursings the rest of the chapter? Right? Did ye never read in the scriptures? It was not an unconditional promise to the nation of Israel. It was based on are you obeying what I say? And look, if you want to take this story and really think about it, look, if you have employees, yeah, you're going to be friendly to them if they do what you say. But if they don't, you're not going to be. Did ye never read in the scriptures? And look, it was always based on conditions of what they did. This is not the same thing as salvation. This is a nation being used by God. But there were still people outside of that nation that were saved. And I'm sure most of the people in that nation were not saved. Now when it comes to our salvation, it is an eternal, everlasting salvation that you cannot lose. But in terms of them being God's people, that was based on conditions. You say, well, Brother Stuckey, how do you know that? Because I've read in the scriptures. Because that's what the Bible says. Go to Matthew 12. Matthew 12. Matthew 12. How do you learn God's word? You read. You pursue truth. You memorize God's word. You study God's word. You pursue after truth. Matthew 12, verse 1. Matthew 12, verse 1. At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn, and his disciples were in hunger, and began to pluck the ears of corn in to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto them, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did when he was in hunger, and they that were with him? How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests. Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profaned the Sabbath, and are blameless? And what Jesus says is, I expect you to know this, because this is what the scriptures say. It's like, you don't understand this at all. They're trying to rebuke Jesus and catch him in his words, and it's just like, have ye not read? It's like, what a foolish statement to try to make me look bad. You don't even know what the Bible says. Have ye not read? And look, here's the thing, if you don't have knowledge of the Bible, and you don't understand something, what's because you haven't read? That's not necessarily an insult, because if you're newly saved, then of course you probably haven't read the Bible much. Right? I mean, the Bible would define that as ignorance, but that's not necessarily wrong, because if you're newly saved, you're ignorant. When I first got saved, this is how many Bible verses I could have quoted. Zero. I could not have quoted John 3.16 when I was in college, when I got saved. I knew I was saved and on my way to heaven. That is all I knew. I understood salvation, and that was it. Right? You say, Brother Stuckey, how do you know these things today? I've read. I've read the Bible many times. I've memorized many parts of the Bible, many books of the Bible. I've studied the Bible. Right? I've listened to sermons and written down things I didn't understand before that. I've pursued truth. And the people in our room that know God's word, it's because they pursued truth. It's not like they just went to sleep at night one day and then they woke up. Man, I understand everything about this book. Right? Like learning through osmosis. Right? There's all these things on YouTube they say, just play this while you're asleep. And when you wake up, you're going to understand it perfectly. Right? Just play a tape on calculus when you wake up. It's like, all right. I know everything. It doesn't work that way. I mean, I wish it did. Right? I mean, if it worked that way, you know what, you could just... Because there's no distractions when you're sleeping if you can learn that way. Right? Just play whatever you wake up. You're like a genius at everything. Right? It doesn't work that way. It's called taking actual time to pursue God's word, study and memorize God's word. Go to Matthew 19. Matthew chapter 19. Matthew 19. How did Daniel have such special knowledge? Because he pursued truth. Because he read the scriptures. He studied the scriptures. It was an active part of his life. In our world today, there's a de-emphasis on reading God's word, and yet the Bible is very clear. Read therein all the days of thy life. Every single day you need to read God's word. Every single day you need to spend time in God's word. You say, why? That's how you get knowledge. That's your spiritual food. That's your nourishment. Look, nobody goes to bed at night and they're like, man, I just realized I didn't eat anything today. Right? I've been so busy, you know, I just skip lunch and breakfast and dinner, and it's like, man, I didn't even get a chance to eat. Then the next day goes by, man, I forgot to eat again. And like a week goes by. I haven't eaten in a week. Right? But yet with your spiritual food, people do that all the time. Right? They get to the end of the day, it's like, whoops, didn't read my Bible. I'll just read twice as much tomorrow. Whoops, didn't read my Bible. It's like, well, I just hope Brother Stuckey, you know, preaches a lot of Bible in his sermon on Sunday. Right? And then I can get some Bible in my life. Right? Nobody does that with their physical food. But people do that with their spiritual food all the time. You say, well, Brother Stuckey, you need your physical food. Well, Job said that he's esteemed the words of God more than his necessary food. Yes, your physical food is necessary. Guess what? The spiritual food is more necessary. It is more important to make sure you're spending time in God's Word. It says in Matthew 19, verse 3, The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him, Is it lawful for man to put his way his wife for every cause? This is one of the dumbest questions in the Bible. Right? I mean, is it lawful? Are you allowed to divorce your wife for any reason? For every cause? It's like, I said my breakfast is 7.30 and it's 7.32. Two minutes late, I want a divorce. Right? I mean, that's the sort of stupid thing that they're saying. For any reason, you get mad at your wife, I want a divorce. I mean, do you even need to answer that? It's like, what a stupid question. Of course you can't just divorce for any reason. Right? And it says in verse number 4, And he answered and said to them, Have ye not read? That he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. And what you see is Jesus always goes back to what does the Word of God say? What does the Word of God say? What does the Word of God say? You know, it's always interesting. You'll talk to people that are Christians, whether they're saved or not saved. You know, I'm using that term Christian kind of just universally. People that would say that they're a Christian. And, you know, you'll have a topic come up and you'll use the Bible to defend what you believe. And what do they respond back with? Their opinion in zero Bible verses. Right? Now, of course we see this out soul winning. We go soul winning. We quote a lot of verses and they say, Well, you know what? You have to live a good life to go to heaven. It's like, I just showed you verses from the Bible and I've told people this before. I was like, I've showed you what the Bible says. You're just showing me your opinion. I mean, where does it say that in the Bible? Well, you know, I don't know where it is, but it's there somewhere. Right? It's like, well, where? I mean, I've read the Bible like 50 times cover to cover. Did I just miss it 50 times? Right? I mean, if they have the Catholic Bible, maybe there are some books I've missed. I don't know. But I have read the Apocrypha too, actually. So I don't know what I'm missing. Right? But that's what they'll say. They'll give you their opinion and they'll give you no Bible verses. But what the Bible says is we ought to live and fall based on what the Word of God says. We defend what we believe based on what the Bible says. Not my opinion, but what does the Bible say? Right? When any topic comes up. When a topic comes up, whether it be political or medicinal or whatever, science or whatever, my first thought and your first thought ought to be, does the Bible give us any insight on this topic? What would the Bible say about this? And it could be you're not really sure what the Bible says. There's topics people ask me. I'm like, I'm not really sure what the Bible would say about that. And you have to think about it. But here's the thing. That should be your first thought. It shouldn't just be what's your opinion, but does the Bible give us insight on that topic? Because it comes down to, have you not read? I mean, what does the Bible say? Go to Matthew 22. Matthew 22. Matthew chapter 22. Matthew chapter 22, verse 29. Matthew 22, verse 29. And the Bible says in Matthew 22, verse 29, Jesus answered and said to them, Ye do err not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. This is the story where there's this woman who's married to this guy. The guy dies. She marries the brother. Guy dies. She marries the brother. Guy dies. She marries the brother. She murders the next husband, then she marries the brother. It's like you'd be trying this woman for murder if this happened in real life, where every time she gets married, the husband dies. But this is the story. They come up with this ridiculous... They're like, we're going to trick Jesus. We're going to have this story. This woman marries like five million guys that all die. And then it says this in verse 30. Then it says in Jesus answered in verse 29. What they say is, well, whose wife is she going to be in heaven? Because she married so many guys on earth. Whose wife is she going to be in heaven? Jesus answered and said to them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as such in the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And so they come up with this crazy story. They spend hours, perhaps, coming up with this way to trap Jesus. Whose husband is she going to be? And it's like, you're not married to your spouse in heaven. Right? I mean, we're not Mormons here, where you get these spirit babies in heaven, right? It's like, what are you talking about? It's like, the Bible's very clear, you're not married. You're brothers and sisters in Christ in heaven. You're married on earth, you're not married in heaven. So they come up with this crazy scenario, and Jesus is like, you know, just, they're so bobo. I mean, what are you talking about? You're not married in heaven. Anyway, honestly, sometimes in the world, people ask you stupid questions. And they think, why, you know, how are you going to answer this? Right? You know, do you eat shellfish? Well, for me, it's an easy answer. No, I don't. I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan of seafood. Okay? But it's just like they ask stupid questions, and they think that they're going to trick you. How's he going to respond to this? And you're just thinking in your head, I mean, have you not read? You claim to believe the Bible, and it's like you have no knowledge of what the Bible says about this. 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. The emphasis from Jesus Christ is reading the Scriptures, pursuing truth. And this is why you can have people that can actually be at a church like ours for years, and yet they seem to have very little comprehension of the basics or the fundamentals. You say, why? Because you're just here for a show. It's like, I'm just here for entertainment. What's Brother Stuckey going to do this time? What's he going to yell about or scream about or make fun of or whatever? But you're not actually here to actually learn the Word of God. Now, look, I do believe that the person preaching should strive to be dynamic, but the most important thing I can do is just show you what the Bible says. And I'll tell you what. I've been at churches where the pastor gave a lot of Bible, but he wasn't necessarily the most dynamic. Anyway, I like those pastors because I would still learn a lot, and he used a lot of Bible. And look, if you're at a church and a lot of Bible is being presented, which I don't think anybody can say, I can't think of a single sermon I've ever preached with less than like 25 Bible verses. I mean, even when you get those 10-minute preaching nights, you get like a lot of Bible in there you try to, right? And it's just like, I use a lot of Bible so you have the ability to learn. You say, why do you do that, Brother Stuckey? Because what we believe is not based on opinions, it's based on what the Word of God says. Go to 1 Corinthians 2. Verse 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Which none of the princes of the world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And so what verse 8 is saying is, of course, they would not have killed Jesus Christ if they actually understood what the Scripture said. Right? They would not have killed, right? They would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But they killed Jesus Christ. I mean, literally Jesus said parables about how, you are going to kill me. And then they killed him. And it's just like, if you had actually understood that, you wouldn't have done it. It's like they knew that he was preaching against them, but they didn't fully get it. It's like, you know, you're going to kill, right? You're going to end up killing the Son, and then they ended up doing that exact thing. Well, they wouldn't have done that if they actually had known, if they actually understood, but they didn't understand, right? They obviously weren't saved. But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. What that means is that when you get saved, you get indwelled with the Holy Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of truth, which will teach you and guide you in knowledge. So basically, when you read the Word of God, and you're setting aside time and spending time in the Scriptures, it's like you have the Holy Spirit right here to help guide you in what that means. Now here's the thing. If you're not saved, you don't have that teacher to guide you. It's like picking up a book in Mandarin Chinese and being like, what's going on? But it's like you got that tutor right there just explaining to you. It's called the Holy Spirit of God, which will teach you the truth. Here's the thing. I preach sermons, and I teach the Word of God, and I teach what I know, and I believe you can learn from sermons. However, I'm not as good of a teacher as the Holy Spirit of God. And you, in your own personal time, should learn more about the Bible than you do in church. Look, most sermons I preach are based on me reading things in the Bible, me memorizing things, and that's what I end up preaching. Now don't misunderstand me. I've learned great things in sermons, and I've preached through ideas that I've heard in sermons that I didn't learn on my own, but honestly, most of what I know came from me reading the Bible and memorizing and studying it on my own, and that ought to be the case with you as well. It says in verse 11, For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. And the things that we believe and the things we know, the way we can learn this is comparing spiritual with spiritual. If there's something you don't understand in the Bible, what you do not do is say, Man, I'm going to go to Google and figure out what whomever says about this verse. What does it mean here about Job 15, verse 1? Let me just look up what it says on Google. That's just a random verse. Or what it says on YouTube or whatever. I mean the first thing you ought to do is just trust in the Holy Spirit to help you learn that. Compare spiritual with spiritual. You can cross reference. You can look up a word in this verse and just look it up throughout the Bible. But don't just go to Google or some worldly source to try to get the information. You pursue truth on your own. Turn your Bible to Daniel 9. Daniel 9. Daniel chapter 9. Look, as God's people, as saved people, you ought to know God's word because that's how we know what we believe. I can have my opinion on things, but there are many things in my life that I had a strong opinion on. And then I read the Bible and it's sort of like, you're wrong about that. And it's like, okay, I guess I'm wrong. I'm sure any of us who are honest that have learned a lot, but when we first got saved and started to grow, it's just like, you know, we probably changed our mind on a lot of stuff simply because the Bible said, you know what, you're just wrong about that. And the reason why people believe things is because of how you're raised and the culture you're in and everything. What you believe is really based on how you're raised largely. A lot of the things that I believe just from how I was raised, where I grew up and things like that, other people could come from a different area and completely different background and different beliefs, but both sides, regardless of who is closer to the truth or right, it's like, well, what does the Bible say to determine what we believe? When you get saved, you ought to submit to the Bible as your ultimate authority to determine what you believe and what you don't believe, what's right and what's wrong. Look, if you grow up Catholic, I mean, before you're saved, you don't have any problem with idolatry, right? I mean, it's just normal. You're just used to it. It's so common, it just feels normal, normalization. And look, when you first get saved, you might not fully understand. You might have this idea, well, you know, it's not actually Jesus, just to remember him or what. It's not actually Mary, but it's like, well, what does the Bible say about that, though? Now, see, here's the thing. I didn't grow up Catholic. I grew up being taught Catholicism is a cult. That is what I was taught because for hundreds of years in America, it was considered a massive shock to the system in the United States when John F. Kennedy became president because they're like, a Catholic got elected president? That never happened before in hundreds of years, right? And I was grown up with those old-fashioned values or beliefs in America that Catholicism is a cult and it will destroy the country. That's what I was taught. I've always thought idolatry was weird. I've always been like, what? But see, here's the thing. If you grew up here, that might not be the way that you felt as a kid because some people probably grew up Baptist here. Probably most of you grew up Catholic or at least a lot of you, and so idolatry probably just didn't seem that weird to you, right? But see, it doesn't really matter what your background is because I've been taught many things that were wrong as well, and guess what? What does the Bible say? That is how we determine right and wrong in what we believe. Number one, if you want to learn God's word, you need to pursue truth. This is the primary way to learn God's word and to know God's word. It is not the only way, though. It is the primary way, and you cannot forsake this, okay? But another way to learn God's word is to pray for forgiveness. Pray for forgiveness. Notice what it says in Daniel 9, verse 19. O Lord, hear, O Lord. Forgive, O Lord, hearken and do. Defer not for thine own sake. Now, I'm almost hesitant to read these next three verses because both yesterday and today, my son, you know, heard the scripture being read, and he's like, he shouldn't say that because we teach our son, don't say, you know, oh my God, right, as a curse word, but obviously here in the Bible, this is the word of God. So I'm almost hesitant to say it because my son's going to say, Daddy said a bad thing, right? And on a side point, yeah, you should never say that or even use a euphemism for the word God in its place. But he says, for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And while as I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of God. What you see here is Daniel is praying for forgiveness, confessing his sin and the sin of the people of Israel. He's asking for forgiveness, okay? And here's what you have to understand. If you want God to give you some deep and complicated truth from the word of God, you need to be obedient to what he says. I mean, if you're reading the book of Zechariah or Ezekiel or Isaiah and saying, God, I really want to understand this, can you help me understand this? And then God's like, you've got so many sins in your life, just focus on the basic things. Before I give you some deep and complicated truth, just do what you know. Otherwise, what's the point of even giving you more information? Right? I mean, isn't that the way you would feel? Just think of this logically. Let's say you were a teacher or trainer for like basketball or something, and you're just telling somebody some basic things like dribbling a basketball, shooting a basketball, passing a basketball, and they're like, I want to learn how to do a tomahawk dunk, right? It's like first learn to dribble a basketball, right? First learn to pass a basketball. I remember many years ago I was a soccer coach for a lot of different teams, and the first day of practice I looked at my players when they were warming up, and they were doing all of these complicated tricks I've never done before. And I played soccer most of my life. I was a pretty good player, but they were doing all these complicated tricks. I was thinking, man, I've got a really good team. Then we actually started the scrimmage. I was like, oh, they didn't learn how to pass or dribble or do the very basics. And actually, none of them were very good. But they knew how to do some complicated trick that they saw Cristiano Ronaldo do or something like that. It's like, why don't you learn to just dribble with both feet, right? You know, the boring drills, dribbling through cones and stuff like that. But they didn't know how to do that. But they knew how to do complicated things. And spiritually speaking, a lot of people want to understand Daniel and Revelation and Isaiah. And God's thinking, just do the basic things first. Because if you're not doing the basics according to the Word of God, you need the milk of the Word. You're carnal. That's what the Bible states. So why is God going to give you the meat of the Word and help you understand that when you can't even digest the milk? Right, look, our son Ezra, you know, we've never given him steak to eat. You say, why? Because he's on the milk right now. He's a couple months old. He's not ready for the deep, you know, the meat or the chicken. It's the same thing spiritually speaking. Look, people when they don't know the very basics of living a sinful life, you don't need the complicated things. You need the basic sermons about getting sin out of your life. You don't need to learn the deep and complicated things. It's the same thing spiritually. And look, Daniel understood this. He realized, if I want to learn this and understand this, I better be right with God. And then maybe God will bless me with this information that I want to learn. Number one, if you want to learn God's Word, pursue truth. Number two, pray for forgiveness. Number three, pray for knowledge. Pray for knowledge. Daniel 9, verse 21. And so Daniel is praying, and he ends up getting this wisdom, getting this knowledge. He is given skill and understanding. The Bible says, So if you lack wisdom, you ask of God. You say, well, how do we apply this? Well, obviously, Gabriel is not going to come down and explain a scripture to you. But you have something better than Gabriel as a New Testament believer. It's called the Holy Spirit of God. And what it's called is when you're reading the Bible, if you don't understand something, you know what you do? You stop and you ask God to explain it. And guess what? I believe that God can and often will explain that scripture to you. Now, you're not going to hear a voice from heaven. Sorry for those of you that were raised Pentecostal. That's not going to happen, right? But I will tell you that many times I've been reading the Bible and I do not understand something, and I pray for God for the knowledge. Sometimes within a couple minutes all of a sudden I'm like, oh, this is what it's talking about. How did I not understand that? Or maybe you're reading the Bible and you see another verse that helps explain that verse you were confused about. Or maybe you pray about something and then I end up preaching on that exact thing, and then all of a sudden you're like, man, I was just thinking about that. Not a coincidence, my friend. You say, why? Because God is giving you that knowledge. He's giving you that skill and understanding. Because God can present that information, but it comes down to you actually asking God to give you that information. Look, we just finished the Song of Solomon, and I've had many people tell me that, you know what, they liked the sermon series because a lot of verses they were completely confused about. They didn't understand a lot of stuff. Well, here's the thing. When I first read Song of Solomon, guess what? I didn't understand most of what I was reading. And you know what I did is you read through the years, you memorize, I memorized the Song of Solomon, but even before this series there was many verses where I'm like, I don't know what this is talking about. I mean, I guess I'll just skip this verse because that is what preachers do. When they don't understand a verse, they just skip over it when you're going verse by verse. But what I would do is I'd stop and I would pray about it. I'd try to cross-reference. In Song of Solomon 8, there was that verse I said was a really complicated verse. I had no idea what that was talking about, and then all of a sudden I prayed about it, prayed about it, and then I was like, actually, it's pretty obvious what it's talking about when you cross-reference and God kind of showed me what the answer is. Look, if you want to learn something, pray to God. Ask Him to show you what it's talking about. And God can give you that information. Don't go to Google or some commentary to learn the Word of God. Look, the truth is most commentaries you read online, most of them are written by unsaved people. I'm not going to say universally that everyone was written by an unsaved person or anything that you read. I'm not saying you can never learn, but I'm just saying it is a bad source. And if you're going to get knowledge from a source, first make sure the source is good. If you're going to listen to a preacher online, make sure the source is good first. Don't just type in Christian sermon, the first one that pops up. T.D. Jakes, all right, let's listen to this. Joe Loasting, let's listen to this. Joseph Prince, let's listen to this. It's just like you better make sure the source of your information is a good source. Even if the source is good, you need to make sure you search the Scriptures daily whether those things are so. Because I'm not always going to be right. I'm going to say things that are wrong, and you need to make sure you know the Bible for yourself. Point number one, if you want to learn knowledge, you need to pursue truth. Point two, you need to pray for forgiveness. Point three, you need to pray for knowledge. Point four, you need to patiently wait. The Bible says in verse 22, And he informed me and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee. For thou art greatly beloved, therefore understand the matter and consider the vision. And what's being stated is, I was going to give you the information. At the beginning of thy supplications, I determined I am going to present that information. And look, if you pray to God and ask Him for knowledge about something, God might determine, you're right with me, you're serving God, you know the basics, I'm going to give you that information. It doesn't mean it's going to come in 30 seconds. You understand what I'm saying? God might determine, I'm going to give you that information, but He said, I am now come forth. Right, there's a waiting that takes place. Here's the thing, you say, Brother Secchi, I'm trying to understand this, I'm going to pray to God, I'm going to do what you say, God please help me understand this. Alright, I'm going to Google. No, patiently wait. Wait for the answer. And you know what you should do if you don't get the answer, just keep reading the Bible and forget about it, maybe take note of it, and you can learn it later on. Just keep it in your memory, keep it in your mind. Look, I remember, I don't necessarily do this as much anymore, but I used to write down everything I didn't understand, and you don't even finish the chapter. It's alright, verse 1, I don't understand. Verse 2, I don't understand this. Verse 3, I don't understand this. Verse 4, I don't understand this. You're never going to get through the Bible that way. You just got to take notes of a few things that you're curious about, and what you'll see is the first time through the Bible, there's a lot you don't understand. The second time, you know what, a lot of that information you learned, now there's a lot more new things that pop up, I don't understand those. And you just keep reading, and you keep learning slowly, slowly, slowly, right? Just slowly learn what the Scriptures say. Patiently wait for that information. Now, that's the practical aspect of the sermon. Basically, pursue truth, pray for forgiveness, pray for knowledge, patiently wait. Let's look at the last four verses, because the last four verses are very famous, very deep, very complicated, and I thought about preaching a whole sermon in the last four verses because they're very famous, but I don't know how edifying it would be to show you all the false views that come up. I'll just kind of show you what the Bible says, and I don't think it's actually that complicated, but it is kind of a deep Scripture. And notice what it says in verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon Thy people and upon Thy holy city. Now, keep in mind, Thy people is referring to basically the nation of Israel, or what's left of the remnant, the southern kingdom of Judah, and upon Thy holy city referring to Jerusalem, okay? Obviously, in our modern day, the Jews are not God's chosen people, but 70 weeks upon Thy people and upon Thy holy city. Now, one thing to keep in mind in the 70 weeks, it's not seven days per week, because when you're first reading 70 weeks, your first assumption is 490 days, right? You know, seven days per week, 490 days, but it's actually referring to 490 years. So basically, seven years per week. Of course, in our modern day, a week is always going to be seven days, but here it's actually referring to a week of years. So this is 490 years. I don't think there's really any disputing that. I mean, everybody's kind of in agreement. It's obvious from the passage. But 70 weeks are determined upon Thy people and upon Thy holy city. So this is 490 years. Here are the things that are mentioned. To finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity. You say, what's that referring to? Well, it's referring to Jesus Christ dying and paying for our sins. Obviously, people still sin. So an end of sins is not stating, hey, you know what? At this time in history, all of a sudden, nobody sins anymore. Well, that's not true. We're not in heaven right now. Okay, that's not what it's referring to. It's referring to Jesus Christ dying for the sins of the world, okay? Finishing the transgression, making an end of sins. He paid for all sins in the past, present, future, big and small. And to make reconciliation for iniquity. Who made reconciliation for iniquity? Obviously, the Lord Jesus Christ. And to bring in everlasting righteousness. Well, when you get saved, although you are not righteous, there is none righteous, you are imputed with the righteousness of God. The reason why I'm going to go to heaven is because of the fact God's going to look at me and spiritually I'm perfect. Not because I'm perfect, not because I never sinned, but because when I believed on Jesus Christ, I was imputed with the righteousness of God. So no matter whether it's a big sin or a small sin I do in the future, it doesn't change the fact spiritually I'm still perfect. I'm imputed with the righteousness of God. How long is that righteousness for? It's everlasting. Now, I'm not saying I would turn here to prove eternal security, but this is proving eternal security. When you get saved, imputed with the righteousness of God, it is an everlasting righteousness. It is forever. It will never change no matter what you do. Once saved, always saved. And to seal up the vision in prophecy and anoint the most holy. All a reference to Jesus Christ anointing the most holy. Throughout the Old Testament you'll have the priests anointed and Jesus Christ is the high priest, the king of kings, anoint the most holy. So pretty much everybody would agree that verse 24 is in reference to Jesus Christ. I don't really know any dispute about that. Verse 25. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. You say, what is that referring to? Well, remember, they're in captivity for 70 years to Babylon. And then we have books in the Bible like Ezra, like Nehemiah. And it's referencing rebuilding the temple, building the wall, and all of these things. And that's what the Bible's referencing here. And King Cyrus makes that decree. And actually, after Daniel, we're actually going to be going through the book of Ezra is going to be the next book because it's a book I don't think has really been gone through a lot. You don't really hear a lot of preaching. But also because it ties into what Daniel's talking about. Not because my son's name is Ezra. Okay, that is a coincidence. But actually because it ties in with Daniel, I think it would be a good book to kind of segue into after we finish Daniel. And so we're going to see that commandment going forth when we look through Ezra with King Cyrus stating that. On to the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore in two weeks. Now, seven weeks and threescore in two weeks. Well, threescore in two weeks is 62 weeks, okay? But it does not say threescore in nine weeks, right? It doesn't say threescore in nine weeks. I mean, you have 70 weeks and it's broken down into seven weeks and 62 weeks and one week. It's not 69 weeks and one week. And people try to read this as 69 weeks and try to just start from the beginning of that decree all the way forward. It doesn't work. The time doesn't go because there's a break between the seven weeks and the threescore in two weeks. So you've got 49 years is the seven weeks. And then threescore in two weeks, 62 weeks would be 434 years, okay? Seven years per week. There's a gap being mentioned. So the seven weeks and the threescore in two weeks, it's going to be referring to different things. Now, then it says this, the streets shall be built again and the wall even in treblest times. And so the seven weeks, I believe, is correlating to the street being built again and the wall in treblest times, basically stating about a 49-year period, okay? So the first question is, does that actually make sense biblically? Go to John 2. John 2. John 2. Now, I do want you to keep in mind that I don't believe that these amounts being mentioned is like 49 years to the second. I don't read my Bible that way. When it mentions like, you know, 50,000, I don't think if it's 50,001, it's an error in the Bible, right? It's just basically, you know, rounding it to the nearest thousand or whatever. I don't believe seven weeks has to be 49 years to the second or to the day. I mean roughly 49 years. Same thing with 62 weeks. I believe it can be a rough estimate, right? Or the Antichrist, you know, in the midst of Daniel's 70th week. I don't think it has to be down to the second, okay? I think it's basically just right toward the middle. That's my opinion. You might disagree. But anyways, go to John 2. When I talk to Jehovah's Witnesses and I try to show them that Jesus is God, this is kind of the last scripture I kind of give them their last chance to believe this. And what I'll ask Jehovah's Witnesses is this. Well, I say, well, who resurrected Jesus from the dead? And they'll give kind of one of two answers. One answer, they'll say, well, God resurrected Him. Or they'll just kind of pause and be afraid to say that God resurrected Him. Because they're afraid of what I'm going to tell them, which they should be afraid, right? And I'll tell them, I say, well, if I can show you that Jesus resurrected Himself from the dead, will you believe He's God? And once again, they either say yes or they avoid the question, right? Because they're afraid I'm going to show them that Jesus resurrected Himself from the dead. Now here's the thing. The Bible mentions God the Father resurrecting Jesus, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Obviously we believe in the Holy Trinity. This is not stating that they're the same. Obviously they work together in the resurrection of Jesus. How exactly that works, I don't fully understand that. We don't fully understand all these things. But the Bible does state that Jesus resurrected Himself. Now I'll turn them to John chapter 2, where it says this in verse 19. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. So Jesus says, Destroy this temple, and I'm going to raise it in three days. Well, they're thinking of a temple like a building, right? Because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. But in general, if somebody mentions a temple, even in our world today, you're going to assume they're talking about a building, right? You'll think of like a Hindu temple or whatever, because we don't really call our building a temple anymore. But you would think of like a building, and that's what the Jews are thinking. Now at the end of this verse, or at the end of this passage, it said in verse 21, But He spake of the temple of His body, when therefore He was risen from the dead. So it's talking about His resurrection. Remember, destroy this temple, and I will raise it up. He says He's going to resurrect Himself from the dead very clearly, which makes sense, because He said He had power to give His life and to bring it back again. I am the resurrection and the life. I mean, He's stating that this one in John 2 is very clear. I will raise it up. I'm going to resurrect myself. But notice what the Jews' response was in verse 20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple and building, and wilt thou rear it up or resurrect it in three days? And they say this temple took 46 years to build. Now, I don't believe the 46 years has to be down to the second. It could be 46 and a half or whatever. And of course, the 49 years is not simply just the temple, but it's kind of interesting that the 49 years lines up pretty closely to the 46 years, right, to the building that's taking place. And so I believe the seven weeks mentioned in Daniel, I believe it's in reference to the rebuilding of everything that took place. It mentioned the wall in troubled times. As you read through Ezra and Nehemiah, you can see all the persecution in terms of rebuilding Jerusalem, building the wall, false people that come in and try to cause problems. But the 46 years lines up pretty closely to the 49 years. And of course, it's probably going to be more than 46 years because there's multiple things being built, okay? Go back to Daniel 9. Daniel 9. Daniel chapter 9. So the seven weeks seems to be a reference to the street being built again and the wall even in troubled times, and the temple took 46 years. And you know what? In verse 26, we're on to the threescore in two weeks. So it makes sense the seven weeks is mentioned in the verse before of what that's correlating to. The Bible's not leaving us in the dark. And after threescore in two weeks, shall Messiah be cut off, meaning being killed. Obviously, talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, but not for Himself. Obviously, Jesus didn't die for Himself. He died for our sins. He was sinless. So that makes sense, right? The threescore in two weeks. Now, once again, you can't just add up seven weeks and threescore in two weeks and get 69 weeks and say, okay, 69 weeks starting from when Cyrus says, let's rebuild this. It doesn't work. And the reason why it doesn't work is there's a gap being mentioned. There's the seven weeks, then there's the 62 weeks, okay? And then it says, verse 26, and after threescore in two weeks, shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with the flood, and under the end of the war desolations are determined. Now, you have seven weeks and threescore in two weeks. That is 69 weeks. What's missing? One week, right? You got what's known as Daniel's 70th week. Who's heard of Daniel's 70th week? Probably most of us, right? Daniel's 70th week. It's coming from here, that missing week. Now, where people get confused is they look at the rest of verse 26, and they try to tie that in with Daniel's 70th week with what happened about 2,000 years ago, almost 2,000 years ago. Now, look, what we've seen throughout the book of Daniel is dual prophecy or sometimes triple prophecy. Antiochus Epiphanes was certainly a type of the Antichrist. Isn't that obvious, all the things that he did? I mean, it's like reading about the Antichrist. But was he the Antichrist? No. Right? I mean, you read 2 Thessalonians 2, and it sounds very similar to Antiochus IV. But is that Antiochus IV? No, it's not. Yet he was a type of the Antichrist. And sometimes you have verses that are basically dual prophetical events where it's correlating to something here, something in the future, sometimes multiple things. Well, here's the thing. In 70 AD was the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem. The Romans came and destroyed it. The people of the prince, I do believe, would be the people of the Roman leaders, the people of the Roman leader, the people of the prince, the Roman empire. And what took place in 70 AD was a seven-year war between 66 to 73 AD. And right toward the middle of that seven-year war was the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem. Now, that certainly fits with the seven-year time period. We're looking at one missing week. But here's the thing. Everything in Revelation has not been fulfilled. That was a picture, just like in Antiochus IV a few hundred years earlier, was a picture of what's going to take place. But it's not the actual events mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 or the book of Revelation. It's just basically showing you what will take place. It's symbolic of that. I believe historically it's true that literally in 70 AD it was destroyed and the Jews to this day are waiting to rebuild the temple. But has every eye seen Jesus Christ descend from heaven? Because the Bible says every eye shall see him. It hasn't taken place yet. I mean, has the Antichrist stood in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, the mark of the beast, 666? He said, brother, suck in the vaccinations. It's not the mark of the beast. I mean, the literal 2 Thessalonians 2, where he's going to stand in the temple, say he's God, and he's going to resurrect from the dead, and he's got to take the mark. That didn't happen yet. Now, yes, the seven-year war, there's a lot of good pictures and symbolism toward the seven-year period at the end. That's not Daniel's 70th week, what took place in AD 70, though. Then it says this in verse 27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. This is Daniel's 70th week, that leftover week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. So in the midst of that seven-year period, the sacrifice and the oblation will cease. We talked about that already, where basically the Antichrist will stop the sacrifices and he'll turn on the Jews. As I said, I don't believe this has to be down to the exact second. I mean, if that's what you believe, that's perfectly fine. But I think the Bible's just giving you a rough estimate, basically three and a half years in, give or take a little bit either direction. I don't think it has to be down to the exact day personally, but that's my opinion there. And it says, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined, shall be poured upon the desolate. And a lot of people get confused in these verses, and there's a teaching called Preterism, where basically they believe everything has already taken place. All the events have already taken place, all of Revelation, and there's a lot of stuff that's just symbolic. No, it's just called that there's certain things that took place that were a picture of what is going to take place, but that Daniel's 70th week has not come yet. Now, is it going to come in our lifetime? I'm still 80% no, personally. And my percentage is slowly increasing, you know, with each passing year, because it hasn't happened yet, but it could happen in our life. It has not taken place yet, and the time we'll really know is when the Antichrist declares himself to be God. That's an event that nobody's going to deny, where it's obvious, okay, we are in the middle of Daniel's 70th week. But the basic idea from this sermon, you know, how do you learn complicated information or learn God's word? Number one, you pursue truth. If you want to know God's word, if that is your goal, it's called read the Bible, memorize the Bible, study the Bible. You need to pray for forgiveness. You need to live a godly life if you want God to reveal to you more information. You need to pray for knowledge. If you don't understand something, pray for it, and then you patiently wait. Look, if you're newly saved, I do believe that within a couple years, you can really know a lot about the Bible. But if you're newly saved and you don't know the Bible now, by next week, you're not going to know a lot of information. Right? You're going to learn some, but it's going to take time. You can't expect to just immediately go from no knowledge to all the information. Nobody goes from nothing to everything. And this is why it's foolish for us to compare ourselves to one another, because some people have been saved for a short time, some people have been saved for a long time. It's like, just worry about every day, waking up, reading the Bible, when you don't know something, pray for knowledge, and just patiently wait and slowly learn. Let's close in word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your word on this topic, and I ask you to help us to learn your word, help us to realize the importance and the emphasis on learning your word and knowing your word, God. We just pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. For our last song, let's get our hymns and turn to hymn number 31. Hymn number 31, let's sing the song, He Lives. On the first. I serve a risen Savior is in the world today. I know that He is living whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of dear. And just the time I need Him is always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart. In all the world around me, I see His loving care. And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair. I know that He is living through all the stormy past. And the day of His appearing will come at last. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing eternal hallelujah to Jesus Christ the King. The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find. None other is so loving, so good and kind. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, loving through it all. You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart. The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. Amen.