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[0:00] Daniel chapter 9, and we'll be reading verses 1 through 19. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.

[0:25] In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

[0:47] So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

[1:00] I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and loving kindness for those who love him and keep his commandments.

[1:18] We have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from your commandments and ordinances.

[1:32] Moreover, we have not listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land.

[1:48] Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord, but to us opens shame. As it is this day to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby, and those who are far away in all the countries to which you have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against you.

[2:19] Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

[2:32] To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. Nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his teachings, which he set before us through his servants, the prophets.

[2:53] Indeed, all Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, not obeying your voice. So the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, for we have sinned against him.

[3:16] Thus, he has confirmed his words which he had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us to bring us great calamity.

[3:29] For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us.

[3:46] Yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to your truth. Therefore, the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us.

[4:04] For the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all his deeds which he has done. But we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who have brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for yourself, as it is this day, we have sinned.

[4:31] We have been wicked. O Lord, O Lord, in accordance with all your righteous acts, let now your anger and your wrath turn away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain.

[4:48] For because of our sins and the iniquity of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all those around us.

[5:00] So now, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplications. And for your sake, O Lord, let your face shine on your desolate sanctuary.

[5:17] O my God, incline your ear and hear, open your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by your name.

[5:31] For we are not presenting our supplications before you on account of any merits of our own, but on account of your great compassion.

[5:46] O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and take action. For your own sake, O my God, do not delay because your city and your people are called by your name.

[6:08] Thank you, Gary. We have a children's church available for those who wish to take advantage of it.

[6:20] There are some parents who wish to keep their children with them and there are some who prefer to have them in children's church. So, that is at the discretion of the parents because each family is trying to get to the Craig family.

[6:34] I really enjoyed your music ministry this morning. It was very refreshing and very much needed. We appreciate it. In your bulletin, there are some introductory comments made regarding our message for this morning.

[6:50] And it reads thusly, Our beloved nation is and has been at the brink of moral and spiritual ruin. There is but one panacea that can bring us back from that brink to moral and spiritual health.

[7:09] America, corporately, must decide whether she will pay the price of repentance. To compound the situation further, most of America has no idea what is needed, much less why or the ability to provide it.

[7:28] Who is to tell them? That's the job of those who know. Who else but us? In the passage that was read earlier from Daniel chapter 9, I would ask you to return to it if you would, please.

[7:46] Just a comment or two about some of the verses that are found herein and especially those verses that deal with what I call the really hard part of the gospel.

[8:01] It does have a hard part and I am satisfied that it is the hard part of the gospel that is responsible for a number of people not really coming to the salvation that they think they have.

[8:15] and salvation and coming to faith in Jesus Christ is not a matter of just repeating some kind of mantra. It isn't saying some magical kind of words such as God be merciful to me a sinner.

[8:31] Amen. It isn't an abracadabra or open sesame. It has to have certain prerequisites in order for salvation to actually take place.

[8:43] And this is one of the things that I want to discuss with you for a few moments and we may even have a little time for Q&A. I have always been perplexed by some of the statistics that have been shared with us as to the percentage of people in the United States of America who are supposedly members of the Christian church or the Christian faith.

[9:08] And the numbers range anywhere from like 8% which might be more realistic to something like 50 or 60%. And it seems to me that if 50 or 60% of this nation's population truly were members of the body of Christ our culture would be a whole lot different from what it is now.

[9:31] I don't know exactly what it is to explain the difference but I suspect that at least part of it may have to do with what we're talking about now regarding the hard part of the gospel.

[9:46] Emphasis has been made upon the subject of salvation by grace through faith. No one believes it more fervently than yours truly. But at the same time there needs to be a certain degree of intelligence and understanding involved before salvation by grace through faith can actually take place.

[10:07] And I suspect that there are numbers of people who have supposedly made some kind of profession but it was lacking in genuineness and it may be simply the result of an emotional experience that didn't have any real understanding behind it such as is experienced very often in places like my alma mater.

[10:32] Cedarville University down the road just a few miles used to have and I'm not real sure but I think they still do have evangelistic services in the fall.

[10:43] When the freshman class comes into school for their initial college experience the administration would bring an evangelist in the school and for the chapel service each morning there would be a clear cut salvation message extended to the student body and you would be amazed at how many of the freshmen in particular respond to that and the idea is well this is a Christian school and you're supposed to be a Christian and that's why you applied here and you signed the document that said you are a Christian now what is this business why are you responding to the salvation now and you get all kinds of answers like well I thought I was saved when I was 12 or 13 years old and I was at a camp and an invitation was given and I didn't understand what it was really all about but some of the coolest kids in the camp were going forward and

[11:45] I wanted to be one of them and wanted to be with them so I went forward with them and as soon as we got there the camp counselor said alright I want you all to repeat after me now I know that I am a sinner and I know that Jesus died for my sins and thank you for my salvation in Jesus name amen now you may go back and take your seat well they didn't really understand what happened and what happened was nothing they just had a kind of an emotional experience following what you call the herd mentality heard one young man say that I was at a youth for christ rally a number of years ago I must have been about 17 16 17 years old something like that and I was kind of debunking what the speaker was saying all this business about salvation and forgiveness and putting your faith in somebody that died 2,000 years ago didn't make any sense to me and I didn't have any intention of responding to it but when the invitation was given certain people started going forward and I still wasn't moved until someone that he called by name he was the school jock he was the big man on campus he was quarterback of the football team he was the most popular guy in school and he went forward and that was good enough for me if that's what he believed then I wanted to be like him so I went forward and joined the crowd and they said some words over and had a word of prayer but I didn't understand

[13:23] I didn't know what was going on all I thought I was doing was being like this cool guy that went for salvation and faith in Jesus Christ is not something you are supposed to believe in because somebody else does it is something you are supposed to believe in because you have examined the evidence and you have reached a conclusion and you know that the truth that is involved applies to you personally and this is partly what Daniel is talking about here in Daniel chapter nine what I call the hard part of the gospel and it has to do with this passage that is before us when he simply says out and out in verse in verse 11 indeed all Israel now keeping in mind of course that this is addressed to national Israel but let me tell you something the principle the principle of repentance and faith is cross dispensational it isn't locked into any particular dispensation and what is always involved whether it's

[14:38] Old Testament New Testament or whatever what is always involved has to do with the subject of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ and in verse 11 he says indeed all Israel has transgressed thy law and turned aside not obeying thy voice so the curse has been poured out upon us along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God for we have sinned against him now one might question the validity of one person praying for the sins of the nation because after all there are how many people involved in that nation and while it is true that one person cannot go to God in prayer and have the sins of the whole nation forgiven because it is a personal individual thing here is a reflection of an attitude and the brokenness of Daniel's heart as he goes before the Lord and you notice the personal pronoun that he uses is we

[15:47] Daniel is identifying with his people he didn't say they he said we and that includes me that's the first item of business and it has to do with the recognition of one's own personal moral fault and failure this I call the hard part of the gospel the easy part the easy part is embracing the remedy when once you discover the hard part and have complied with it and the hard part is recognition of your own sin and your inability to do anything about it that is humbling that does a job on our ego we like to think there is something that we can provide there is something that we can change we can drop off a bad habit or we can start doing this or start doing that we can somehow clean ourselves up to the extent that

[16:55] God will smile upon us with approval and accept us and when we have to deal with the fact that there is absolutely nothing that you can do to improve yourself and make yourself acceptable to God that's tough to deal with but when you do then the only thing left is the remedy and if you can come to grips with this part the hard part if you can handle this the easy part is embracing the solution and that's the person of Jesus Christ it calls for repentance acknowledgement of our own sin not making excuses for it not justifying it not saying well at least I'm not as bad as some people and on and on and on it goes it is a difficult thing for us to come to grips with our own moral fault and failure but that is the first step that has to be taken and as Paul said when writing to the Romans whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved the question is why should anybody call why call and the only answer is because you have a need that you cannot meet and you call for him to provide what you have come to recognize you cannot provide a couple of passages that I would ask you to turn to if we may quickly please is in the book of Acts the book of Acts chapter 17 and we will just kind of piggyback on the principles of Daniel here in Acts chapter 17 the apostle

[18:39] Paul is speaking to what we would probably consider the greatest intelligentsia on the globe at the time it was a group of philosophers who loved to hang out on Mars Hill and discuss all kinds of deep subjects together and when the apostle Paul had an opportunity to deliver his message to them here in Acts 17 he jumped at the chance and I'm just going to abbreviate this and look down if we may at verse 30 a verse which I must confess I do not begin to understand as much as I would like we are told that God overlooked the times of ignorance I can only be talking here about the other side of the cross because the cross of Jesus Christ and what happened on that cross is the item that split human history and everything is

[19:41] B.C. or A.D. it is before Christ before the year of our Lord or it is after the year of our Lord and Christ divided the calendar of humanity into everything he is the center he is the focus of it and I am thinking that this is the time that Paul was talking about here when he says God overlooked the times of ignorance if you have a King James reference it says something to the effect that God winked at I don't understand that the only thing I've been able to conclude is that in some way that I don't understand don't know God seems to have a lesser kind of demand on humanity before the cross than what he has after the cross and if this is true it can only be because additional information has been provided that eliminates the need for God cutting them some slack and he isn't cutting slack anymore the text goes on to say in verse 30 therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance

[21:05] God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent I do not understand some of our dear brethren in the grace movement who seem to think that the demand for repentance is somehow adding to the gospel is a very vital part of the gospel it isn't adding to the gospel because when you repent it doesn't mean that you are paying penance it doesn't mean that you are self-flagellating or anything like that it just means what the word in the original language says it means change your mind that's all it means change your mind about what whatever the subject matter is and the only reason you ever change your mind about anything is because you discover that the issue in question is something that you have been wrong about you're wrong about that deal with it change your mind you've gotten information that has informed you that you've been wrong all along about this particular item and the case that's talking about here has to do with personal salvation and what is it that people think

[22:25] I'm good enough or I'm as good as the next guy or I try hard I've never been a bad person I've always been a good person I've been kind to animals I haven't beat my wife I pay my taxes this is what people think you need to change your mind about all of this and when you change your mind then you've got to deal with this thing called the hard part and that is you fall short and there is nothing you can do to make up the difference nothing you cannot be saved without repenting you are not now hear me carefully because this is a very important point you are not saved by repenting but you cannot be saved without repenting because you cannot be saved unless you change your mind and you have to change your mind from whatever it is that you believe now about salvation and some believe there is no such thing some even believe there is no God these are the kind of things that a mind has to be changed about and that's what the word repentance means you cannot believe on

[23:29] Jesus Christ without repenting it's impossible because if you are not in Christ then whatever it is you believe about eternity about salvation or anything else if you are not in Christ whatever that is that you believe is wrong it's wrong it may be that you're a church member that you keep the ten commandments that you blah blah blah and on and on it's all wrong and you have to come to grips with that that's not an easy thing to do it's especially not an easy thing to do for somebody who is maybe 16 17 years old and goes to a college in Cedarville and responds to the salvation of an evangelist in the chapel message in the morning and his father is a minister and I remember one young man saying after this thing was over and kids were getting together and talking about it a few weeks later he said I want you all to pray about my dad my dad says what and he said well when when I got saved in that chapel message

[24:35] I responded to the invitation I called my dad and I told him what happened and he said that's ridiculous you were saved when you were five years old I led you to the Lord and he had an issue with the administration of the school and here was someone who could not come to grips with the fact that the son of his under his teaching had really not come to faith in Christ you know it is very very easy for a parent to manipulate a child into making a decision that the child doesn't understand and isn't ready to make but wants to please the parent and that's a natural thing for kids to want to do and they know if it would make mom and dad happy then that's something I ought to do and they can do it on that basis rather than on the basis of personal conviction and really understanding their own personal need they just want to do it to please somebody under those circumstances it doesn't take it isn't real now

[25:49] God and God alone is able to read the heart and he knows what is there in the bosom of that individual but we ought not and we cannot make a decision for Christ because someone else did or because someone else whom we greatly respect did therefore we should do that to please them no no no no that's the wrong reason there's only one reason why anyone should place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and that is because it's the right thing to do no matter who else has done it or who hasn't done it it's the right thing to do and it is based upon the truth of God so here Paul is saying that there was something taking place on the other side of the cross but now and I think the King James refers to that but now God is now as opposed to then

[26:51] God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent and here's the reason why they should because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead wow that's Paul's message to those on Mars Hill and do you know what their reception of it was pretty much this guy's got some real strange ideas never heard this before and it doesn't compute with what we have always believed so they were not eager to embrace it but they did belittle it somewhat and some wanted more information now while we're in Acts come over if you would please to chapter 26 Acts chapter 26 and verse 19 Paul is giving his testimony to King Agrippa this is speaking truth to power consequently

[27:56] King Agrippa I'm in 26 19 consequently King Agrippa I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea and even to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God performing deeds appropriate to repentance in other words there needs to be a life change here that is in keeping with the profession that one has made and if there is no life change that reflects repentance then there is good reason to question the genuineness of the repentance this means that when someone is prepared to come to faith in Christ or at least they think they are they need a mindset that is willing to say I have sinned like Daniel said and I am willing to turn away from that sin do you think someone can believe on Christ who says

[29:02] I want Christ's salvation I want to believe in him and I want eternal life but actually I rob banks for a living and I like it and I don't want to give that up is there any reason that I can't be a Christian bank robber well now then there what are we going to do with that you see in connection with this whole repentance thing there is another element that needs to be introduced and it's called contrition David talked about contrition when Nathan the prophet blew the whistle on him for his affair with Bathsheba and David ended up saying that a contrite heart O Lord thou wilt not despise that means thou wilt not set it aside or ignore what is a contrite heart is someone who has come to a place of brokenness that ties in with the repentance and the heart part of the gospel we don't want to be broken we want to stay as we are thank you in many respects the human heart which Jeremiah says is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked the human heart is kind of like kind of like a wild horse that doesn't want to be broken and as a horse stands there in the pasture it just looks so docile and so tame until you climb on its back and try to master that animal it doesn't want to be mastered that's why we say a horse has to be broken well people need to be broken too and sometimes we can be broken in connection with becoming a Christian and sometimes we can be broken 20 years down the road after we have become a Christian because it's another aspect and another situation that has arisen in our life where we need to remember who is really in charge and that's for Christians but this brokenness thing this comes in with the contriteness we need a contrite heart we need a heart that is broken how how does the recognition and the understanding of Jesus

[31:55] Christ dying on the cross for your sins how does that strike you you would be surprised how many people shrug their shoulders and say so Jesus got a raw deal that was 2000 years ago there's a lot of injustice in this world and he was just one more recipient of it and it doesn't mean anything to me that's the attitude that a lot of people have that's why brokenness and repentance has to be preceded with information and information is giving people the gospel how that Christ died for our sins what's your response to that is there a brokenness there is there is there a contrite heart there is there recognition he did that for me have you ever really come to grips with that sometimes seeing films like that which Mel

[32:56] Gibson produced and regarding the Christ and the film that Campus Crusade came out with a number of years ago regarding the person of Jesus Christ and just seeing this graphic scene reenacted and the horror of it all and the torture and the tormenting the deprivation and the pain and and the nails and the crown of thorns and all the rest of it it can have an emotional impact on you it's supposed to it's supposed to if one is not touched in their emotions in their feelings I sincerely question whether any genuine conversion can take place I'd be the first to tell you I think that Christianity is a thinking faith and it involves the intellect but listen your human spirit and your emotional makeup is part of your personhood and when we are saved it is the totality of our person that is saved so God converts us not only intellectually and spiritually and emotionally but the feeling thing needs to be there and if nothing is felt how can anything have taken place we are creatures of feelings emotions are legitimate that

[34:20] God has given us are you heartbroken over the fact of your sin most of us can live with it quite well thank you doesn't bother us that much that's because we're lacking in that broken area when we see ourselves as God sees us it will impact the whole of your being not just your mind not just your intellect but the totality of your being and it will involve your attitude towards service for him all of these things are part of the package and when Paul says repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ and my last reference is in chapter 26 and verse 19 and 20 we've already read in 20 that they should repent and turn to God performing deeds appropriate to repentance and I'm sorry

[35:23] I gave you the wrong reference and it is in 2nd Corinthians 7 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 in verses 8 and 9 Paul says writing to the Corinthians for though I caused you sorrow by my letter I do not regret it though I did regret it for I see that that letter caused you sorrow though only for a while I now rejoice not that you were made sorrowful but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us in other words he's saying this look with every recognition of your true status before God there needs to be that element of sorrow that ties in with the contrition thing with your feelings and your emotions and it is all part of the same package this repentance toward God and faith in our

[36:37] Lord Jesus Christ our nation is in desperate need of a genuine revival we do not know whether God is going to be pleased to grant that but we do know that that is what the need is and the nation will not and cannot come to national repentance unless it has the information that is necessary to cause it to do that and that's where we come in we are charged with the responsibility of giving the world the information it desperately needs but in many respects does not want because America doesn't want to be a broken nation any more than a horse wants to be broken I do not know apart from the nation of Israel whether there has ever been such a thing as a broken nation

[37:40] Israel experienced that a couple of times in their lifetime we have never experienced that as a nation this is what it's going to take and God breaks hearts but he breaks them one at a time so we're charged with giving out the gospel and it is a glorious opportunity so we are going to have occasions in the very near future to elaborate on this and we will see where it goes so in closing I want to ask you if you would take the sheet that was provided with your bulletin it was given by Ann Graham Lotz and I'm going to ask Gary if he would come forward now and for our closing we're going to ask him to read responsibly and he'll read the first paragraph and you read the second and all I can say is this is a start I suspect that other churches are doing this as well and it's something that we need to do as a congregation and God knows we need to do it as a nation so if you would take that sheet please and be prepared to follow as

[38:45]  Gary reads and he will start with the first paragraph so I have the first black dot and every other black dot after that you have the second black dot and skipping and so forth would you stand please as we read this will also serve as our benediction we confess our foolishness of denying you as the one true living God our creator to whom we are accountable living as though our lives are a cosmic accident with no eternal significance purpose or meaning we confess we no longer fear you and thus we have not even the beginning of wisdom with which to handle the vast knowledge we possess we confess to believing that the prosperity of our nation is because we are great while refusing to acknowledge that all blessings come from your hand we confess that we depend upon our military might and our weapon systems to protect us from harm and danger while denying defying and ignoring you we confess that we have succumbed to the pressure of pluralism in our desire to be inclusive so that we honor other gods as though you are just one of many we confess that we have allowed the material blessings you have given us to deceive us into thinking we don't need you we confess that we feel entitled to what someone else has earned instead of taking responsibility for ourselves and our families as we trust in you we confess that we live as though material wealth and prosperity will bring happiness we confess our greed that has run up trillions of dollars of national debt we confess our arrogance and pride that has led us to think we are sufficient in ourselves we confess our national addiction to sex to money to pleasure to entertainment to pornography to technology to drugs to alcohol to food to television to popularity to ourselves we confess that we have marginalized truth and mainstream lies we confess that we have become one nation under many gods divided and polarized with license to sin and justice that often does not follow the rule of law may God have mercy on us thank you you are dismissed thank you