There should be interspersed with the prophecies practical lessons of the teachings of Christ." Evangelism., p. 172.
How can this be done? In a variety of ways. Perhaps you are presenting the seventh chapter of Daniel. The different kingdoms have followed in succession the lion, the bear, the leopard, and so forth and having emphasized Babylon and Medo- Persia, you are now dealing with Greece. Such prophecies may become a mere historic recital. But the true purpose of Bible prophecy is to make known the gospel. Well, then, you might ask the audience, "Who was the great master mind that built the Grecian Empire?" The answer will be, "Alexander." Then you could say: "Yes, Alexander was a great general, but he was more than that; he was also a scientist, educated in Grecian science and philosophy. His teacher was Aristotle, and it is claimed that during Alexander's great military campaigns he kept in close communication- with his teacher. Early in life he showed that he was a keen observer, and that is essential to a scientist.
A story is told of Alexander's father, Philip of Macedon. Once he was sitting in the royal box witnessing a demonstration of clever horsemanship. The lords and ladies were seated around him watching. One after another of the leading men of the army performed to the delight of the crowd. There was one horse, however, that no one could mount. The experts tried and tried, but each man failed. Alexander was but a boy of about thirteen. At last he said to his father, "Let me go down and ride that horse."
The father said, "No, that would not be safe."
But the boy was a psychologist. "Don't you want to bring honor to your name today?" he asked. "Then why not let your son bring you that honor?"
That won the father's heart, and consent was given. So Alexander stepped down, went over to the horse nobody could ride, and in a familiar way he just patted him, turned him around, and mounted him without any difficulty. The crowd cheered the young prince. When he came back and took his place beside his father in the royal box, his father turned to him and asked, "How was it you were able to do what none of the generals could do?"
"Oh, it was very simple," he replied. "I watched as those men mounted. The horse was nervous, and when they attempted to throw their leg over the saddle, the horse, seeing the shadow, reared up in fright. He was afraid of a shadow. So all I did was to turn his face to the sun, and the shadow fell behind him."
And that is a wonderful lesson for us. Most of our problems are only shadows. If we would learn the secret of turning our faces to the Sun of Righteousness, our fears would disappear.
That is a practical lesson, and it can be introduced into the prophecy in a perfectly natural way. From that particular point the sermon becomes a Christ-centered message. You don't have to dwell on the point. It stands right out. The Sun of Righteousness appears with healing in His wings. And you could enforce the thought by a brief reference to the cross. The full glory of God streams from the cross of Calvary, and we need to lead our hearers to bask in the reflection of His glory and not be nervous about shadows. This is a simple example of how a practical lesson can be brought into the presentation of prophecy. If you insert such practical lessons into your prophetic messages, you will find that you will hold the people. Such a brief illustration gives the audience an opportunity to relax it is like a refreshing drink of water.
