Stand Firm: God Will Use You
Notes
Transcript
Stand Firm: God Will Use You
Stand Firm: God Will Use You
OPENING QUESTIONS: WHO IS SOMEONE DEAD THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO SIT AT YOUR TABLE?
WHO IS SOMETHING LIVING (WHO YOU NEVER MET) THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO SIT AT YOUR TABLE?
Hopefully you will see over the next two lessons some amazing examples of faithfulness in the bible. But my hope is that we also will see God using ordinary people. We can read stories of heroes of the faith and think wow good for them, I could never do that.
Daniel and his friends were not looking to be heroes. They were living life in the circumstances they were put in and trying to glorify God as best as they can.
Turn to Daniel chapter 2 and we will jump right in.
Sometimes in the bible we see this parallelism or chiastic structure meaning the storyline goes along one way and then turns back and repeats itself. We see that here in Daniel.
A) Dream about four earthly kingdoms and God’s kingdom (Chapter 2)
B) Story about Jews being faithful in the face of death (Chapter 3)
C) Story about royal that is humbled (Chapter 4)
C) Story about royal that is humbled (Chapter 5)
B) Story about Jews being faithful in the face of death (Chapter 6)
A) Vision about four earthly kingdoms and God’s kingdom (Chapter 7)
Also before we jump into the text its interesting to notes that most of chapters 2-7 were actually written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
With that said lets jump in.
1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.
We see right away that there is a problem—what is that problem?
Nebuchadnezzar had these dreams and they were so bad that he couldn’t sleep.
People warn you about this when you become parents but I will honestly say of all the things with parenting, so far, the hardest thing is when you don’t sleep. It just takes everything else you deal with and makes it worse because you are tired and cranky. Selah would not sleep for the first couple weeks unless someone was holding her. I love holding her and singing to her but after several nights it could get tiring, literally. We would each do it for a couple hours while the other slept.
The king was so troubled he could not sleep over these dreams.
Dreams were very important in this day. They were viewed as windows into the future and people would invest lots of time and money to properly interpret them so they could prepare for what was to come.
We have seen this in the past right—what is another example of someone having troubling dreams that he wanted to know the meaning of?
Joseph—Pharoah was troubled and wanted to know what they meant. He tried all the wise rulers and no one could tell him and so Joseph enters and tells him what it means and what happens because of it?
They prepare for the famine and Joseph becomes a hero in Egypt and the surrounding lands—so much so that even his brothers who he sold off into slavery come crawling back to get help and end up bowing down to him.
2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.
Well this escalated quickly. The king had a very unique demand—what was it?
Tell me the dream itself and its interpretation. And if you don’t, what happens?
You will be torn from limb to limb and your houses shall be laid in ruins.
This was the most importance to the king and he was willing to literally put them to death if they didn’t help him.
I have to wonder what was going through Nebuchadnezzar's mind. It is obvious he just wants relief and to be able to sleep and yet he is telling the ones offering to help—tell me the dream itself and what is means. We obviously will see how the Lord uses it but you would think he would just say fine heres my dream now what does it mean. But he doesn’t.
6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.”
Tell me what it means and you will have great reward. They appeal to him, just tell us the dream and we can tell you what it means. They thought it they appealed to him he would give in especially given how much he wants to have relief.
Yeah not the right response.
8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”
You are just stalling—you think I will give in instead of you doing what I asked. This is the bottom line—you either tell me the dream and what it means of you die.
He thought that if he told them the dream they would just come up with some random response to appease him and get him to calm down. He wanted them to tell him the dream itself so that he knew they knew what they were talking about and not just trying to please him.
10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
The wise council wasn’t wrong—there is no man on earth that can read the mind of another man. As a matter of fact no man can do it, only the gods, who do not live with men.
Still not the right response.
12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.
They pushed him over the edge and he orders for every wise man in Babylon to be destroyed.
Enter Daniel.
We know based on chapter 1 that he was wise and respected.
4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
At this point we find Daniel who is being sought after so that he can be killed and Arioch who was the kings captain, comes to Daniel and his friends.
15 He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.
This king is very mad, no one answered his request and now he wants you all killed.
16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.
Daniel stands boldly before the king and does the very thing that set the king over the edge—give me some time and I will show you what it means.
Daniel was just going about his daily life in captivity and he faces and unprecedented task of saving not only his life but his friends and all the wise men.
With great boldness and confidence he goes before the king and offers help if he would just give him some time.
Daniel is granted the time and then goes to work
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel goes home and does three things, what are they?
Prays
Sleeps
Praises
The first one we can certainly understand. With everything on the line and the blade to his throat Daniel cries out to the Lord for mercy.
The second one—wait he did what? Imagine this—someone tells you they are going to kill you unless you can solve this problem and I’ll give you tonight to fix it. I can’t imagine you are going to sleep—after all if you don’t solve the problem you won’t be worried about your rest anymore.
How could you even go to sleep—you have to imagine his mind was racing a hundred miles an hour.
I find it ironic that the problem is troubling the king so much he can’t sleep which is why he is so irritated and yet Daniel takes a nap and finds the solution. I think of Jesus in the boat with the disciples—they are freaking out thinking they are going to die meanwhile Jesus is taking a nap. When they find him sleeping they say, “Don’t you even care we are dying?” Just a couple of verses later they marvel and say who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?
Back to Daniel, after he sleeps he wakes up and praises God!
20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
What a theology rich section here. Follow with me were going to unpack this quickly, seven things we see here in these three verses.
The eternality of God v.20
Omniscience & Omnipotence of God v.20
God’s sovereignty over nations v.21
The gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding v.21
Revelation & knowledge comes from him v.22
He is faithful to his people v.23
He answers Daniels prayer v.23
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
He is higher than any other power and he is worthy of all praise and all glory over all kingdoms forever and ever.
We are going to be reminded of this later but it is always important to remember that God removes kings and sets up kings. They are no mistake. To make it more practical, he removes presidents and sets up presidents.
Back to Daniel 2.
24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”
Please don’t kill me—bring me to the king and let me help him.
He goes before the king and what does he say?
27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,
We have heard this before right—he asks for time like the wise men did but unlike them the king gave it to them. Now like the wise men he says no man can do this, and yet again the king responds differently.
There is a God who can:
28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:
Daniel comes before the throne with grace and humility, we have seen this before.
Sinclair Ferguson says this,
“This is the spirit of Jesus before the high priests and Pilate, it is the spirit of Elijah before Jezebel, it is the spirit of John the Baptist before Herod. Daniel is full of the spirit of truth. Even Nebuchadnezzar can recognize that.”
9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
There is no wisdom greater than Gods—he gives wisdom and counsel anything like anyone else. He can interpret this dream.
We don’t have time to read the whole dream and break it all down but let me give it to you high level as well as what I think it means.
In the dream there is this mighty statue
31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.
It contained
A head of gold
Chest and arms of silver
stomach & thighs of bronze
Legs of iron and feet of iron and clay
First of all do you notice anything about the components it is made up of? They are all precious metals, of value. The value is decreasing as it goes along.
The head of gold—Babylon “the awesome empire”
The chest & arms of silver—Medo-Persia a vast empire that lasted 200 years
The stomach & thighs of bronze—Greece led by Alexander the Great that lasted 185 years
The legs of iron & feet of iron and clay—Rome the great Roman empire that lasted up to 1500 years depending on when you define the fall of it and still influences our culture today.
Our government is a direct result of the Roman empire.
Then what happens?
34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel goes on to tell him what it means. You are the gold head, you have been put over this kingdom (by God) and have great power. Other kingdoms will come that are inferior to yours. And yet at the end of the day what happens to all of them? They are gone—they disappear.
Like chaff of the summer threshing floors—like dust in the wind—it is carried away and remembered no more. You couldn’t find it if you wanted to.
What about the stone? What do you think that is?
Jesus. This isn’t the only time he is described as a stone of some sort.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
Jesus is this stone who will destroy all kingdoms, for only the Kingdom of God will last.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
There is but one kingdom that will last. Jesus has destroyed all others.
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
And yet in contrast
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
What is interesting here as we close, Daniel is honored because of what his God had done.
Did the king understand? I don’t know—regardless he was cured of his insomnia and he gave the rewards he promised.
48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel didn’t forget his friends though
49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
Daniel was faithful in the face of trials. God used him to spare the lives of others simply by letting God use him. I am reminded of Rahab and Esther who stood faithful and spared the lives of others in doing so.
I am reminded of John Rogers who preached the gospel and was arrested for doing so in England in 1553. He was given the chance to recant his teaching, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he refused and became the first martyr of Bloody Mary soon to be followed by hundreds ever.
But you are probably thinking I probably will never we asked by a king to interpret his dream or challenged by a queen to stop preaching the gospel.
How can God use me? What am I supposed to do to make an impact on the world?
Let me suggest 10 practical situations that you very well may be in or have been in right now at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Completing the assignments given to you by teachers completely and on time.
Completing quizzes & tests on your own without your notes, books, friends, quizlet, etc (unless instructed otherwise)
Treating your teachers with respect and not speaking ill of them in front of them or behind their back.
Scanning all of your items at the check out and paying the posted price with valid currency.
Being honest when reporting damage of someone’s personal belongings when you know you caused damage (scratches, dents, broken items)
Reporting to work on time and clocking in at your scheduled time ready to work.
Taking no more than the agreed upon breaks and taking only the agreed upon free products or food from your employer.
Staying off your phone when working for someone (employer or odd job) while on the clock.
Being upfront and honest about your mistakes regardless of situation regardless of damage or problems caused.
Keeping your commitments you made with others to the best of your ability (on time with the right attitude)