Kingdom Disaster

The week of your accident, the Brunks were in town at church for a Bible Conference. Mike Brunk gave a message on Wednesday night about church unity but decided to change the topic after Thursday. Mr. Brunk was actually very helpful that week and weekend since Pastor Matt was tied up at the hospital, etc. with us. Here's what was written on the sermon page for this message:

After Wednesday's message on unity in the church, one of our church's teenagers was killed in a car accident. The initial plan for our Bible conference did not seem appropriate to the new circumstances of our church family, so Missionary Mike Brunk changed the series to look at some texts in the book of Daniel to remind the church family of the sovereignty of God over all the events of the world, world kingdoms and in the lives of His people. The book of Daniel is about how God is in control when things seem out of control. The remaining messages will be the Kingdom Dreams, Kingdom Digits, and the King of the Beasts.

Added at bottom of this:  We saw that God lovingly trains and disciples His people. Daniel resolved not to be conformed to his earthly surroundings.

The date of this message was August 22, 2015 which was Saturday and is from Daniel 1

My notes:

God is in control
Daniel 1
He said this is one of the most if not the most dramatic thing that has happened in this church (your accident)
forever changed from events of one moment
Israel and you (Hayden)-went from promising future to uncertainty and fear
How Daniel handled adversity
Trials in our lives
Why?
1.) God's Discipline
Why do bad things happen to good people? Question from an unbeliever accusing God of wrongdoing
There are no good people
Trying to serve the Lord, bad things happen
More than one purpose-lots of reasons
God is not acting casually
Time of reflection
To develop us, make us more Christlike
2.) Protect us from ourselves
Thorn in flesh
God is too good to allow us to be destroyed by ourselves
To humble us
3.) Cosmic warfare that we can't see
God/Satan/Job
Daniel-discipline
To correct us
Israel refused to turn from idolatry
Hebrews 12
Concept of discipline is hard to understand
Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth
Severity-scourged
He scourges His own
He loves us
Need to remember that He loves us
Fail to deal with sin in our lives
Discipline to lead us in right direction
Stern rebuke from the Word
To get out attention
Careful in application-don't know for sure if God is disciplining
God's in control-know good God is controlling all things
v.2 God gave the gifts/talents/abilities
God working out plan through people, even bad people
To save much people alive
Tend to blame someone or something-"if only's"
God in control of all of mundane details of life
At-fault
Even if meant for evil, God meant it for good
(Ended at 28:00)

Picked back up next day:
God controls everything
God's reward
v.3
Shadrach, Meshach, Abendago and Daniel
everyone remembers Chaldean names except Daniel's
named same amount of times
promote them and trains up in own kingdom-creates great loyalty
names represent Babylonian gods
problem with eating food-kosher issue?
didn't want to defile with food or drink/idolatry
fellowship with idolatry
intent of promotion is to corrupt them
try to conform us-do not love the world
worldliness-how we think about life
getting things more important than spiritual things
i.e. child's education more important than spiritual education
(I was just talking to kids about this how I felt bad that I couldn't give you guys more things. This really isn't important and that's what they were trying to tell me)
buy into that-joining with them
we are fundamentally different than the world
world's pressures-give in to it
not just kids deal with peer pressure
back to Daniel-eating the food was the law
refuse food-could give up governmental position
God won't let you miss out on what's really important if you choose Him first
"nobody will know"
bitter at God because of trials
giving into world's pressures-what areas?
pulse to eat, water to drink
(when I tried to type "eat" I typed "wart" which reminded me of your wart)
Daniel-resistant
purposed in heart to do what's right
Daniel gave witness to God
we will be opposed-still stand
v.15 their countenance appeared fairer and fatter in flesh
Romans 10:11 do not be ashamed
God will always come through
The world is full of tragedy
Conclusion: spiritual things in our lives-have they remained unmoved?
pray for God to work in our hearts
finding things not pleasing in our lives

My conclusion: I felt funny reading this at first like he was saying that God was disciplining us through your accident. I realized though that's not what he was saying but it never hurts to examine our lives when something like this causes us to reflect. After all, nobody's perfect. Love you sweet boy! Just had a nice lunch with Nance in celebration of my birthday. I love her. She's not afraid to "go there" and talk about your accident, etc. She showed me the text that Jake sent her the day of your accident and she told how she was in the waiting room when the neurologist gave us the bad news. Praise God she was there!