Daniel 9:1-11:1, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Psalms 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28
Today is the 2nd day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is a joy, it is really a joy to come around this Global Campfire together, warm ourselves, be together, feel like we’re not alone. I love that so much. I love that on days like today. Today would’ve been my father’s birthday. Today would’ve been his 79th birthday. He passed away at 58 years old and I have missed him for a couple of decades now. And when his birthday comes up I…well…I think about him the time but his birthday comes and I think about him a lot and I think about all that’s happened in those years since he passed because I wasn't…I wasn’t in ministry…I mean, I’ve been around ministry my whole life. My dad was a pastor. I grew up in the church, but I was in the music industry. That was decades ago with no desire whatsoever and no plan whatsoever to end up in ministry. Was trying to kind of avoid that. And then there was the fateful day that I decided I should read the whole Bible and that decision led to me, thinking maybe I could say the whole Bible, maybe I could read it out loud. And that was 16 years ago around this time thinking. we’ll start at the first of the year, we could do this. Nobody will listen. Maybe a few people, but we could do this. And, so, I just did and haven’t missed a day, like haven’t stopped. And all of that was after my dad passed away and so I really…really would’ve loved…really, really would’ve loved for him to see that…that transformation in my own life. I am thankful that my mom, she was a part of the Daily Audio Bible community for a lot of years. She of course is…is going as well, but when their birthdays come up I feel a swell of gratitude because those are a couple of people that I love her very much and who I owe my very life to. So, I’m grateful today on this second day of December, and I’m really grateful to be around the Global Campfire together with you as we take the next step forward. And the next step will lead us…well…it will lead us to the very point that we left off yesterday, which will lead us back into the book of Daniel. Today chapter 9 verse 1 through 11 verse 1.
Commentary:
Alright. So, in our reading from first John today, in a nutshell we’re talking about the repercussions of unmet expectations. These early believers in Jesus had the apocalyptic worldview that everything is coming to an end and the arrival of Jesus is eminent. Those who believe will be the first in this new kingdom, this kingdom of God that would be established, and they would be the first in it and in so many ways, their fortunes will be reversed and no longer will they be trampled on and marginalized and pressed down, rather they will be members of the kingdom of God and Jesus will return and beat up the bad guys, basically. Those were the expectations. And what happens when you have an expectation that then goes unmet. We can say things like sadness or frustration or something like that. But in terms of our faith, if we’re believing God for something and it’s not happening then often we will endure and we will be patient but eventually we will begin to question and doubt and that is a really really pivotal moment in our faith journey because we start to doubt God as opposed to examining our expectations. And maybe rather than doubting God we should doubt the expectation. The early believers that John is writing to had expectations about the arrival of Jesus and that the whole…the whole script would get flipped, everything would change for them. What they got instead of that expectation was to be ridiculed and marginalized and persecuted. So, that’s not what they were expecting. They got what they were not expecting. And, so, John speaks to that. And I quote. “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us otherwise they would’ve stayed with us. When they left it proved that they did not belong with us.” So, what would make them leave the fellowship and become anti-Christ? Unmet expectations. It is a little more even complex than that because when we read this letter, we’re reading it as part of the New Testament but as we’ve mentioned many times the people who read this letter in the first place weren’t reading it as the New Testament. They were reading a letter. There was no New Testament, although this letter was very important and passed around and preserved and captain studied and pondered upon it wasn’t really considered Scripture. That happened over time and was eventually canonized hundreds of years later. So, there were all kinds of things being said and taught about Jesus through people who believed just various beliefs, very diverse beliefs. And, so, there were plenty of alternatives, even if you wanted to remain Christian as it were. What we now consider orthodox Christianity, that was in formation. So, some of these people who are hearing what the apostles are saying and to endure and to embrace what’s going on and to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and then these unmet expectations happen because Jesus doesn’t come back when they thought he was going to come back, then they would either slink back into Judaism or…or move into another set of teachings. And we can see the apostle John’s frustration. They were never really part of us, or they wouldn’t have left and some of them wouldn’t have become anti-Christs, anti-Jesus, anti-God. And, so, into that swirl, into that unmet expectation and doubt and fading away and backsliding and returning and going away and going over here and learning this teaching, all of this stuff going on. John kind of cuts right through all of it very very simply and very precisely in a way that is still as precise now and can also serve us now. And, so, I quote, and we should hang onto this. “Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father either.” And this is precisely what was going on as people debated and try to figure out the nature of Jesus and what he actually represented to the people of the earth. John simply responds. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. So, look everybody experiences times where they’re not sure. We might call that doubt, but when we are not sure about what you think about something and that you need to maybe press into it deeper understand it better or move away from it because it’s taking you to bad places, but everybody, and it’s not only in spiritual terms, everybody doubts something sometime. If doubt leads us into a place where we deny the Father, and we deny Jesus, then we understand that that is anti-Christ. If that’s not happening but we are pressing into things that we do not understand then we are simply walking in faith. So, asking questions of our faith even when it unsettles us, this is how we grow. And John is basically saying, no matter where you go, and no matter what you think, and no matter what you explore what you’ve heard from the beginning hasn’t changed. The good news hasn’t changed. It’s still the same. If you want to go so far as to deny God and deny Jesus, then that is antichrist, but if in your exploration you understand that things haven’t changed, your changing, but the message the truth hasn’t changed it’s still the same then you always know where your anchor is and would always know that the spirit of truth is here to lead you. And I quote again from John. “I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray, but you have received the Holy Spirit and He lives within you. So, you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true for the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know and what He teaches is true, it is not a lie. So, just as He taught you remain in fellowship with Christ. So, basically if we’re summing this up, unmet expectations can lead us into all kinds of trouble. It can eventually lead us to the point where we become antichrist if we want to follow down that path. But what we’ve been told about the good news hasn’t changed and that is home base. And no matter what we’re thinking and no matter what we’re hearing and no matter what people are saying we have that anchor. It hasn’t changed and we have the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit within us who will not lie to us, who will teach us the truth. And, so, we can be led into doubt by other people’s doubt. We can be led into doubt by all kinds of other people’s musings and assumptions but we can return to home base and understand that the Spirit of truth will guide us and we have to trust that even in the face of our unmet expectations.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit come into that. This is another really, really big deep thing. This is touching deep things within us and yet we thank You for simplicity, the simplicity of knowing if it denies You, then it is antichrist. If we deny You then that’s what we’re involving ourselves in. And yet the story hasn’t changed. We have a home base to return to. The good news of the gospel is the good news. It hasn’t changed. And, so, we can return to this place, knowing that the Spirit, Your spirit, the Holy Spirit of God will lead us into all truth. And, so, that is our prayer, and it feels like we’ve prayed it a 100 times this year. Holy Spirit come and lead us into all truth. That’s where we’re wanting to be. That’s what we’re wanting to live within, that You are within us and You are speaking truth to us and You will continue to do that if we will continue to pay attention to You and not get sidetracked by our unmet…unmet expectations and doubt and enter into this swirl that could eventually make us become antichrist. Holy Spirit come into all of this we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is home base and that is where you find out what’s going on around. If you’re using the appl you can find out as well. There’s a little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app screen and that opens up a Drawer. And, so, you can get to things like the Daily Audio Bible Shop from the web or from the app.
And in the Daily Audio Bible Shop is a Christmas category. And, so, the…the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas box for 2021 is in that category. And you can go there and see the contents. The God of Your Story is in there. The Daily Audio Bible Journal, 3.0 is in there. Your choice of Windfarm, coffee, fresh roasted and sent to you or our Windfarm boutique tea sourced and sent to you. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas ornament for 2021, which is only available in the box is in the box as well as a Global Campfire candle and it smells beautiful, like a…like a campfire. It brings the atmosphere, brings the aroma that we are connected around this Global Campfire each and every day. That’s in the box. A Global Campfire pop socket, a couple of Global Campfire stickers and a series of five Global Campfire postcards and a mystery item from the vault will be included in the Christmas box this year. So, you can see all that in the Shop at dailyaudiobible.com.
We have been talking about the new Christmas album, the new Christmas music release for this year that is released and fully available and rolling out, but you can for sure get it at the iTunes store or the Amazon music store. So, check that out. The entire album is now available.
And then there’s also Promised Land, photographs from the land of the Bible, which is a beautiful coffee table book, the kind of book that you would put on a coffee table or an end table and it’s beautiful in its craftsmanship. It looks beautiful on a coffee table, but it’s what’s inside - beautiful panoramas of the land of the Bible and where these story, some of these pivotal stories that we’ve read actually happened in all of the different regions of the land. It is a beautiful thing to immerse ourselves in the land of the Bible and realize this happened and it happened somewhere and here is the somewhere. This is what it looks like there. That story that I’ve known since Sunday school or that have imagined in my mind from going to the Scriptures, this is what it looks like and it kinda connects the dots in so many ways. So, check that out. It’s available as well for this holiday season - Promised Land, photographs from the land of the Bible. That can be found in the Daily Audio Bible Shop.
And then lastly, it is time to prepare for our Global Campfire Christmas party all around the world, our virtual Christmas party where we get to hear holiday wishes from all over the world, one of the most enriching things I look forward to all year long. And, so, if you want to participate, what we do…here…here’s how it works. We have a Hotline in the app that we talk about just about every day and we have phone numbers that we talk about that you can call in an encouragement or a prayer request and that’s what those lines are for. That’s all that, there for, except for one week out of the year we also open up and say you can call in your holiday wishes to the Daily Audio Bible community here, all of us who have been traveling through the year together. The only trick is that you don’t combine a prayer request and the holiday greeting in the same call. This is the one time of the year where it’s okay to hang up and call back and lets us keep things separate and put them where they need to go so that we can prepare. But we will be taking calls through next Wednesday. And, so, you can think, okay, yeah, I’m gonna think about that and procrastinate, but that happens every year. Don’t procrastinate. And I’m looking forward…I’m looking forward… every year I…we…when I hear the Christmas calls coming in it warms my heart so much. And, so, don’t leave your voice out.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we do when we come around the Global Campfire every day, if that is life-giving to you than thank you humbly for being life-giving back. We wouldn’t be able to do this if we didn’t do this together. And, so, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com in the app or you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.
And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement or right now a holiday greeting you can hit the Hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey Daily Audio Bible this is Irene calling in. I wanted to say thank you to the lady who called in saying she was praying for me and gave me that Psalm. It just really encouraged me. And I am actively every day coming back to the Lord and trusting Him. So, thank you for praying for me. And for those who didn’t call in and are praying, thank you. Today I ask that you would continue to pray that I would not fear man, just that I wouldn’t fear what man can do to me. I think it’s easier said than done. But Lord…just help me…help me to trust the Lord. But I also have another prayer request. I have this friend her name is Sophia. She’s a very sweet person. She is someone who I feel like is very…I don’t feel like…I know…she’s very confused. You know, she has encouraged me to stay pure. You know, as a woman in high school she’s always told me, you know Irene you’re doing the right thing by not putting yourself with other guys, you’re doing the right thing by staying a virgin and I encourage you on that path. And this girl is not a Christian herself. She is not a virgin herself; however, you know, today I had a conversation with her, and I just realized that she was actively, you know, sleeping with different guys. She’s been making really poor decisions and she still encourages me not to do it. She says you’re right and she knows what the right path is, that she keeps choosing the wrong path. She seems open to the gospel. She has been open to wanting to come to youth groups but hasn’t come. So, I just ask that you pray for her that maybe this year I could open up Christ or her. She wants to go into the military and I just I really want to be a light to her in this short period of time. So, please pray for Sophia. Love you guys. Bye.
Hi DAB family this is your sister Ashley from California. I’m coming on here to ask for prayer for a friend of mine. It’s a very interesting stroke of providence. God has blessed me with an opportunity to speak life into a relationship I thought I didn’t have with this friend, someone I thought hated me years ago. But I’m coming on here to ask you all to join me in prayer. This friend doesn’t know Jesus and God is allowing me to plant seeds in our conversations. She’s allowing me into pray for her. My friend is sharing her hurts in her heart. She says she doesn’t feel God or that He isn’t listening, but I see her seeking, knocking, and crying out. I want to ask my DAB family to join me in prayer for my friend, that she would have eyes to see Him working, ears to hear Him speaking and a heart softened to receive the truth. Her name is Abby. Thank you DAB family. Love your sister Ashley from California.
Hi, my DAB family this is Tammy from the Adirondacks and I just…I call often asking for myself and I thank you all. I guess this community…I’m so grateful to my aunt for showing me this app and…and giving me this this entire community of brothers and sisters to carry me and my husband and be there for us and pray for us. And I just…I guess instead of asking for prayer I just wanted to tell you all that I love you and that I thank you and this is a new…his journey…I’ve been on this journey with the Lord for a year now I’ve been saved and I’m learning and I’m growing and it all takes time and I’m learning how to process, sometimes not a comfortable one, but it’s a process. But He’s healed me and He’s showed me so many miracles and so many blessings in so many ways and I just wanted to all to know that you and Brian and Jill and China and I’ve listened to Ezekiel one time, but the entire Hardin family you are such a blessing in my life and I thank you that every day because I question whether I read the word enough and but every day I…or every evening my husband and I listen to the word. We listen to Brian and we listen to Jill and I have it every day and I have you all and I pray for you all and I love you all and I hope God blesses each and every one of you. I love you.
Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Carla from east Texas and I thought I would call in to ask for prayer. I’m a single mom and loneliness makes my heart heavy often. Doing the best I can though. Take care of my daughter. Her dad is pretty…he's…he’s in our life. I’m just lonely and it hurts sometimes. So, yeah, if you could just lift me up in prayer. I don't…not…I’m not typically vulnerable about myself. I’ve taken in my great niece and she’s going back with her dad and I'm…I’m sad about that but their lives have been updated and changed. Things are looking good for them right now. So, prayers for Chloe. And my daughter’s doing great. I’m just having a hard time. Maybe it’s the season of holidays. But anyway, love you guys and thank you so much for the prayers. Thank you so much for this podcast. I love you all and God loves you more.
Hello, I am calling from Ohio and I have never called in to the Daily Audio Bible before. I’ve just recently become a listener and I am asking for prayer request for myself and my family. I have a very big decision that needs to be made by December 6th and I really just don’t know what to do. I feel completely cornered and defeated I’m not sure where God is leading and what’s gonna happen next. I just need His guidance and His will to know what to do come Friday. Thank you so much for listening and for your prayers. They are very much needed. God bless everyone. Thank you. Bye.