The Gift of Grattitude (4)

Good morning, CHURCH!

Hello to all of our online viewers.

Welcome to FFM where we are here to connect people to the love of God through biblical teaching, loving community, and relational small groups.

(Church joke of the day)

There was a big event in town last week.

A‌‌nd the keynote speaker was running a bit late to the venue.

When he arrived and sat down at the head table, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten his dentures.

He turned to the man sitting next to him, a total stranger, and whispered, “I forgot my teeth!”

The man said, “No problem, you’re in luck.”

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a pair of dentures.

“Try these,” he said.

The speaker tried them.

“Too loose,” he said.

The man dug around in his briefcase again. “Here, try these.”

The speaker tried them and responded. “Too tight.”

The man didn’t seem taken aback at all.

He dug around in his briefcase again.

“Here. I have this pair. Give them a try.”

The speaker smiled. “They fit perfectly.”

He ate his meal and gave his speech without any further troubles.

After the event concluded, the speaker went over to thank the man and return the spare dentures.

“I want to thank you for coming to my rescue.

Where is your office?

I’ve been looking for a good dentist.”

“Oh, I’m not a dentist,” the man replied.

“So, why did you have spare dentures in your bag?”

“I’m the local funeral director.”

“I get dentures all the time.”

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

The information written in your bibles is the most important info you have ever been given that pertains to life.

Before we start with our wisdom vaccination let’s pray.

-Lord, help us to see you as new and fresh through your word today.

-Help us to see truth where we have believed lies.

-Help us to see where we have been deceived by the enemy.

-Most of all let us see how much you love us.

‌

‌

‌

Let’s go to the book of Philippians 2:6-8 NIV for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

What is love?

Those of us who know God would answer that God is love. (Which is true.)

Love can also be said to want the best for another.

Another way of saying this is to put yourself in the place of another.

To feel their feelings.

To sort of walk in their shoes.

To weep when they weep.

To rejoice when they experience joy.

To carry another person’s burdens.

Ultimately, love is to give another person your life.

You were probably measuring your love up to this definition up until the point that I said to give another person your life.

Hopefully at that point you all thought about the one person who actually did that for us all.

Talking about Jesus:

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Philippians 2:6-8 NIV

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Although Jesus is the one who literally laid down his life for us all.

He charges us to lay down our lives for our friends.

Of course he doesn’t mean my crucifixion on a cross.

But we must crucify our fleshly desires.

John 15:12-13 NIV

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Husbands, this means lay it down for your wife.

Wives, this means lay it down for your husband.

Parents, this means lay it down for your children.

Pastor’s, this means lay it down for the flock.

Brothers and sisters, lay it down for one another.

We are all charged to lay down our life for our friends.

Let’s get into today’s message.

Today we are in week four of the series:

The Gift of Gratitude

Have you ever sent a message from your heart to someone and received gratitude back from them.

It’s something about us that when we receive gratitude we feel real good inside.

The other day I came home from the gym and wifey was gone to lunch with a friend of hers.

I sent her a text letting her know that when I come home and don’t see her beautiful face I get disappointed.

And later when she saw the text, she sent me an emoji with an awww.

That said to me that she felt the love I was relaying to her.

In today’s message we will see gratitude expressed in the form of praise.

And I really believe our God feels our gratitude when we give it to him.

Today’s message title is:

The Praise of Gratitude

Our text of scripture for today will be Daniel 2.

Daniel 2:1-3 NIV

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled, and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”

The ancient Babylonians believed that dreams were messages from the gods so it was vitally important to them to get an understanding or interpretation of their dreams so that they would know what to expect in the future.

And because the text implies the struggle the king had with sleep, we are to believe that he thought there was probably some strange revelation or negative revelation to the dream or recurring dream he was having.

The king had a team of dream interpreters.

They worked as a team in that they used different methods to determine dreams and with all of them together they figured they could interpret any dream. (astrology, magic, chanting and sorcery)

They had compiled a set of rules over time that had a meaning.

And they thought they had everything figured out relating to dreams.

But we will see that in this case they didn’t.

Point #1

The Dream.

The astrology team responded to the king in a normal fashion.

They started with a customary greeting of long live the king and then asked the king to tell them the dream and they would interpret it.

Seems pretty normal.

Daniel 2:4-6 NIV

Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.

6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So, tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

The language used here by the king translates to mean that he was firm in his decision, and they weren’t going to be able to change his mind.

The threat that the king made to his dream team was something that the Babylonians used on their enemies at times.

They would either chop their limbs apart from the body or literally pull their limbs apart from the body.

The Babylonians were known for their cruel harsh brutality.

But if you can tell me my dream and explain it, I’ll hook you up.

(Usually meant either promotions or marriage to one of the king’s daughters.)

Daniel 2:10-11 NIV

The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”

The dream team tried to reason with the king here, but king Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t having it.

They basically called him unreasonable for asking them to give him the dream that he had.

They also admitted to something that would come into play later in the passage.

They admitted that only the gods could handle this request and they don’t live among humans.

Stay tuned, we shall see it unfold.

Daniel 2:12-13 NIV

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

Now Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not even in the presence of the king for this discussion, and they were sent for to be executed along with the dream team.

Theologians believe that either Daniel and his three friends had completed their three years of training and were a future part of the dream interpretation team or that they had not completed the three years training but were being promoted because of their past success.

Point #2

The Intersession.

Daniel 2:14-16 NIV

When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.

15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.

16 At this, Daniel went into the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

There might be an example to follow here from Daniel.

He was gathered up to be put to death for something he didn’t even know about.

How would you respond to being put into an unexpected situation that you don’t feel is your fault?

It appears that Daniel respectfully asked the king’s officer to just explain to him what was going on.

Once he received the explanation, he asked to see the king so that he could let the king know that his God could get the answers the king was looking for.

Daniel 2:17-18 NIV

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel took the matter to his small group.

He requested that his small group would intercede for him.

I’m sure the three Hebrew boys and Daniel prayed hard to the God of heaven for the interpretation because they didn’t want to be killed either.

What a beautiful picture here of four teenagers praying to God and acknowledging that the answer could only come from heaven.

Point #3

Praise for the Interpretation.

Here is where we see Daniel’s gratitude come forth.

Daniel 2:19-23 NIV

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Yes, Daniel received the interpretation of the dream, but he had not yet given it to the king and seen the king’s response.

But it doesn’t matter.

Daniel was already in the praise of gratitude mode.

We don’t wait to see what God is going to do in our situations.

We give him praise for his goodness and we tell him why we see him as being good to us.

If you’re watching online or here in the building, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?