Your Page Title

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Southern Seminary Quote of the Day

From chapel, Dr. William Cook preaching on Daniel 10.

"People are looking for better methods. God is looking for better people. People are God's method."

7 Comments:

Tim Kuehn said...: I just read all of Daniel 10, and I'm having a hard time seeing the connection between an angel of the Lord coming to talk to Daniel, and this quote.; February 07, 2007 5:04 AM
PhilipMeade.com said...: lol, Tim you crack me up brother. I think I will let Dr. Cook speak for himself on this one. You can listen to his message and soak up his exegesis until your heart is content, or discontent, whichever the case may be.

http://www.sbts.edu/resources/Audio_Resources/Chapel_Messages/Spring_2007.aspx; February 07, 2007 11:16 AM
Tim Kuehn said...: Well, you didn't provide the context the statement was made in, so how am I supposed to understand the purported connection?

Dr Cook makes a number of good points, but I think he gets Daniel and Nehemiah mixed up.

The events cited at the time of Daniel 9-10 took place as the years of exile prophesied by Jeremiah had just been completed (9:1-2).

As such, Daniel's prayer was one of confession and repentance with respect to his people at the end of the 70 years. At this point, I don't see any evidence that the Jews had returned to Jerusalem yet, much less been in bad situation once they got there.

However, if you look at the first chapters of Nehemiah, what Dr Cook describes is exactly what Nehemiah reports. It's so bad he winds up all depressed and unhappy - and in the presence of the king no less (which could be dangerous in itself).

Anyway, one spot where Dr Cook was bang-one:

"When we speak about the power of prayer, we're not speaking about the power of the pray-er, or the power of the words, as if some name it claim it philosophy is what Daniel is referring to here. The power of prayer resides in the object of the prayer. It resides in God.

The power in prayer is because of the power of God. ... That's why Daniel is so dependent. ... Because it's not Daniel's power and it's not Daniel's words, but it's the power of God responding to the fervent prayer of a humble servant"

(This is around the 33 min mark).

So my "quote of the day" would be:

"The power in prayer is because of the power of God."

Interestingly enough, it's the Holy Spirit that God has given us, that intercedes for us - so we're back to the Spirit in Daniel talking to God for him, teaching him to say and pray rightly - it's almost "The Spirit of God talking to God the Father through Daniel."

Anyway, I don't know if this post qualifies as contentment or un-contentment - take it as you will. :)

(BTW - And are people looking for "better methods"? Certainly - in Jesus's time they were called Pharisees. A study as to why that didn't work would be highly instructive for anyone interested in this topic.); February 09, 2007 10:17 AM
PhilipMeade.com said...: Tim,

You are an inspirational idol! I am truly envious of your zeal and apparent time you have to take such an interest in what was supposed to be a simple, insightful quote. Have you ever given any thought to a blog of your own? You seem to have plenty to say and enough time to commit to such an undertaking and I would think it would be much more enjoyable than having your presence known only to the obscure comment boxes of The Beast's Lair and any other blogs you frequent. Not for your own gratifcation of course, but for the enjoyment of the blog reading world.

In reference to your comment, Daniel 10 is set in the third year of the reign of Cyrus after defeating the Babylonians (v 1). He gave the exiled Jews permission in his first year to return to Jersualem, and even if they didn't return until his 2nd year, as some scholars believe, they were definitely in Jerusalem rebuilding the temple by Daniel 10.

Yes, Dr. Cook's comments on prayer were excellent. I also have Dr. Cook for my NT 2 class and he is a wonderful teacher to learn under.

As always, thanks for reading.; February 12, 2007 12:09 AM
Tim Kuehn said...: idol? Moi?

Pardon me while I don my lightning-proof undergarments. :)

Seriously, this is a combination of working at home so I can listen to material like Dr Cook's presentation while doing other things, and an ongoing interest in theological questions, and God's gift of the ability to type fast. My job is basically solving problems, which could be considered various forms of puzzles. If you look at God and His way in the World, He's the ultimate puzzle.

What you're seeing here is part of my 'thinking out loud' and God / the HS working out my faith as it were. God keeps putting me on different hot-plates, and the only way off is through His Word. Figuring out which part of His Word gets me there sometimes spills over into blogs like yours.

As for "obscure", I remember someone saying "when I am weak, then I am strong." From other comments I've seen posted here there's probably more readers than you may be aware of.

But whether small or big, if God wants to make something small big, He can certainly do that - look at what Samuel had to go through before finding David for instance.

----

On the question of timing, the intro to Daniel I have says Daniel was exiled to Babylon in 605 BC, and was still in a position of responsibility in 539 BC when the Persians took over. I did a Google on this, and found an edict allowing the Jews to return in 538 BC.

IIRC, There's still the question of the 'dire' condition of the Jews - which is consistent with what Nehemiah reports, not Daniel.

Anyway, here's one timeline for anyone who'se interested:

http://tinyurl.com/2pyqb7

As for me doing my own blog - maybe. I'm sure I could come up with lots to say.... :)

Thanks for putting up with me. :)

Peace!; February 14, 2007 11:18 PM
Tim Kuehn said...: Ok Philip, you asked for it...check out http://tdk-travels.blogspot.com/

I hope to see you lurking in my comments section once in a while. :); February 17, 2007 4:56 PM
Tim Kuehn said...: I've since changed the address to something that makes a bit more sense.

http://timstheologicaltoolbox.blogspot.com/

Is the place to go now.; February 18, 2007 3:11 PM

The Beast's Lair

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Southern Seminary Quote of the Day

7 Comments:

Previous Posts