Special Pastoral Letter to all in the YPG, 

Text: Daniel 10:1-21

Dear Young People,

TREMENDOUS PERSEVERANCE NEEDED
The last vision God gave to Daniel must have troubled his heart and mind. Surely, the vision that he had seen could not have evil triumphing over good? What was God trying to say to Daniel? What should Daniel do next?

Let us consider the next chapter of the Book of Daniel and learn vital lessons about "spiritual warfare".

"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia
a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name
was called Beltezhazzar. The message was true,
but the appointed time was long; and he understood
the message, and had understanding of the vision."
Daniel 10:1

Let us take time to recall the first vision that Daniel was given.

"In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus,
(read Cyrus), of the lineage of the Medes, who was
made king over the realm of the Chaldeans -
in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood
by the books the number of the years specified
by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet,
that He would accomplish seventy years
in the desolations of Jerusalem."
Daniel 9:1-2

There was a space of two years between the contents found in Daniel 9 and 10. If there is an important lesson that we need to learn about spiritual warfare, it would be "perseverance". Two years down the road, and Daniel was still pursuing with deep interest the things written by the prophets of Israel!

To his credit, because of his deep interest, God gave him prophetic visions too, even though he did not have a prophetic-preaching ministry like the traditional prophets of old!

THE CHALLENGE TO CULTIVATE A STRONG SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE
How strong would you gauge your spirit of perseverance to be? Daniel showed tremendous perseverance throughout his entire life! From the time he served under the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar right up to the Persian King Cyrus, Daniel showed great consistency.

Perseverance must be accompanied by consistency, or it is not perseverance at all. Let us do everything we can to cultivate a strong spirit of perseverance!

Prayerfully,                                                                             

Pastor Charlie

First released 16th June 2002, © Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church, Singapore