Vigilance: “I was appalled”
“I was appalled.” Those were the words of Daniel as he reflected on a vision he saw and the interpretation he was given by the angel, Gabriel. The vision left him exhausted and even feeling sick at what he had seen. He abhorred the sin and evil that filled the vision and the devastation to the people of God. And it also compelled him to remain ever vigilant—watching—for the end. He lived his life in a constant state of preparedness for God’s work in the world.
We're looking at Daniel 8, part of the apocalyptic section of the book, which records the second vision that Daniel received while Belshazzar was on the throne on Babylon. The vision laid out a series of events that would come in the centuries after the time of Daniel and before the birth of Jesus. It documented the, as yet future for Daniel, Medo-Persia Empire, the historically significant Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, as well as the four kingdoms that were created out of the empire following Alexander’s death.
The chapter will form the basis for some questions you and I need to ask ourselves concerning our own watchfulness. As we await the end, are we being vigilant, or are we overly consumed with life in the here and now, giving little thought to anything else? Are we appalled by the post-truth era we live in? Are we eager to see the unadulterated worship of God be restored? Are we attentive to God’s Word and actively seeking to understand what God is saying to us? Are we encouraged when we think about the great reversal that is coming by the power of God alone? We’re going to get after all of that on Sunday as we open the Word together.
Sermon Notes
Resolved! Living for Christ when you’re the only one who is
Vigilance: “I was appalled”
Pastor Todd Dugard // Daniel 8
October 14, 2018As I await the end, I must be vigilant, asking...
• Am I appalled by those who, “throw truth to the ground”? (v. 1–13, 27)
• Am I eager for the unadulterated worship of God to be, “restored to its rightful state”? (v. 14)
• Am I attentive to hear God’s voice and, “understand the vision”? (v. 15–17)
• Am I encouraged by the great reversal that comes, “by no human hand”? (v. 18–26)