Prophetic in Babylon

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SERIES DESCRIPTION: In this series on the Book of Daniel called Not From Here, we’ll explore Daniel chapter 2. Daniel faced pressure to conform in Babylon, but he remained steadfast and spoke prophetically. He wasn’t afraid to speak the truth when it mattered. What can we learn from his prophetic voice? Join us as we discover how to represent God’s ways, no matter the surrounding culture.
Altar Instructions: Please come up when I begin the last question of point 3.
Series | Not From Here

Pre-Message Welcome

Grace Place family! It’s awesome to have you here with us today, whether in person or online.
I’m Shawn, and along with my wife, we serve as the Co-Pastors of this incredible church.
At The Grace Place, our mission is clear: we are Caring People, Caring for People.
We pray that you experience God’s care in our time together and in your life.
Spanish Welcome - 2nd Service ONLY!
A nuestra familia de habla hispana .... Bienvenidos…
Before we get into the message today….

Pastor Plug: Starting Point

Starting Point – May
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***By the way we hit or Global Impact offering Goal of 30, 000 - we are so proud of how God has given our Church a heart for others
We sowed a generous seed into the Dream Center to help with the California fire victims in the lower income areas
As well as sowed a generous seed into Launch camp in the Philippines to help reach children, through mentorship, life skills and the Gospel
Ad lastly we sowed a seed into our community locally and served our neighbors on Go Day.. by they way how many of you enjoyed Go day?
Transition: This week we are starting a brand new series called…
Series | Not From Here
This is a series about Daniel, the faithful exile.
We’re going to see in this series how Daniel was taken into captivity from all he knows… we will also see God’s faithfulness in how He strengthen and empowered Daniel to live out his life of faith in a place he didn’t belong.
In fact… Today you might look at the world around you and feel much like Daniel… you might think to your self… “I’m NOT FROM HERE.”
So… for the believer this can creates a tension between the Kingdom you BORN into - and the Kingdom of God you BELONG to.
The truth is - Jesus also know what thsIn Jn. 18:36… Jesus said… My Kingdom is NOT of this world
The big question of this series is this… lets look at it together on the screen
How can we live in a land that we’re not from?
Its traditions, its was, its idols, its religion and early systems?
Both Daniel and Jesus knew how to do this…
Well... if you missed any of the messages in our series you can catch up…
o By listing on most Podcast sites
As well as…
o Watch…. on our Youtube
***Feel free to encourage people to listen to the Holy Spirit speak to them personally as the message is preached
LETS PRAY
Today we are going to be looking at the 1st 1/2 of Daniel 2 -
SCRIPTURE Walk through

Daniel 2:1-30

Daniel 2:1-30

As your opening your bible… We’re going to walk through portions of this chapter… it will not be a straight read through for the sake of time…
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (vv. 1–3)
Check out what v. 1 says…

v.1 …Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him

He was having multiple dreams.. In fact - these dreams were so disturbing He demands an interpretation from the wise men of the land. —
Not only does he demand an interpretation… but His…
Demand comes with a Threat (vv. 4–16)
In v.5 Nebuchadnezzar demands that his wise men both tell him the dream and interpret it.. then he says… in v.5

5b…. 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.

if you do.. I’ll bless you…
I think these Dreams are tormenting Nebby… and he is not thinking very rationally
So his wise men challenge him in v. 10 and say - hey Nebby…
Your asking a lot from us

v. 10…. “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. v.11 … no one can show it to the king except the gods…”

in v.12 we see this ticked the king off and here was his response… he

v.12b …commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed

this included Danel and his friends.
I don’t know about you… but I would have tucked tail and tried to hide…not Daniel.
In v. 16 we see that He was embolden by God.. so…what did he do…?

16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

He asked the King for a meeting - becuase God had given him the meaning of his dream.
Some probably thought Daniel was marching to his death… but he was just walking in obedience.
Here is the other wild thing - Daniel had NOT yet ben given the interoperation.
Notice what Daniel does before his meeting with the King?
He gathers his friend for a prayer meeting (vv. 14–23)
We see this inv. 17 and 18 scripture says…. let’s

v.17 Daniel went to his house and made the matter known… to his companions, v.18…. seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery

So Daniel shares with his Friends what God is up to in his life regarding King Neb & the interpretation of the Dream.
Daniel doesn’t take the task on with unbridled boldness… but he approaches it with humility
As he shares with is friends and before he does anything he knows its important to pray.
Daniel responds with wisdom and tact, asks God for a response to this dream
That night… God reveals the dream and its interpretation to Daniel in a vision.
Daniel knows the King will be interested in hearing his Interpretation becuase the King is tired of torment and sleepless nights… So…
In preparation to go Before the King (vv. 24–30)
So.. Daniel leverages his knowledge of the dream by asking for something in return.
What does he as of the king?
Lets look at v.24…. he does something pretty outrageous in my mind.. check out what else he ask for… he says… Hey King Nebby… please

Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon;

He isn’t just looking out for himself… he makes a plea on behalf of even the pagan magicians!
Wow, talk about surprising…
v. 27 The King test him before they get to far and says… so… Are you able to tell me my dream?

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,

Daniel straight up says… NO…
If Daniel could hear me… I would be like… DANIEL! What are you doing… NO… your going to lead with NO I CAN’T interpret your dream? He’s gonna KILL YOU.
Daniel would just tell me… slow your roll shawn… listen to what I say next… in V.28 I CAN NOT Interpret your dream…

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

Daniel’s humility and clarity about his source of wisdom is powerful. He doesn’t leverage the moment to gain personal favor… promotion…. but he Points the King to the God of Israel.
He tells King Neb in v. 30….

30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

I’m looking at this from where I stand today and know that King Neb is a sinful man… he had defiled Gods people in many ways by plundering them and destroying their temple and here we see God extend grace to the unruly King.
He says, I want you to know what I am up to so you can see that I am who I am…
Transition: the title of our message today is...
Sermon Title | Prophetic in Babylon
Prophetic simply means to hear God and speaks out what he is saying.
This could involve receiving direct insight or prompting from the Holy Spirit
But… it could also be simply declaring the Good News of the Gospel by being a faithful public or personal witness to what Scripture has already said.
In this case… we see that Daniel hears from God the meaning of Nebs dream that has been terrorizing him and gives him an interpretation.
Remember the big question of this series is this… lets look at it together on the screen
How can we live in a land that we’re not from?
We see here that Daniel
So many people wonder HOW involved they should or should NOT be in Babylon - in her systems, politics etc..
We see here that Daniel was very involved in Babylon as God Him influence.
We see him making moves to speak truth to power as God gave him insite.
Transition: As we look at the man Daniel…. He was… as the title o four message suggest
Sermon Title | Prophetic in Babylon
See… Daniel had a choice in how he would live out his days in Babylon and so do we…. We to get choose… our posture in Babylon.
Now… when I say Posture I want you to think of things like:
Attitude
Behavior or involvement - including involvement in the politics of Babylon
Here is whats running in the background driving our posture - most of the time without us knowing it - our theology or our theological tradition.
I’ve added some academic resources at the bottom of the notes:
When it comes to reading academic sources - understand that you will need to chew the meat and spit out the bones. I am NOT personally in line with all of the theological perspectives of these authors. But I also believe that just becuase I disagree with one perspective does not mean I can not learn or find agreement in another area. These are great though provoking academic books to
My purpose in todays message is to challenge you to think more biblically about your posture in Babylon. So, I’m using this passage today as a launching pad to help you think critically about your posture in Babylon.
I want to expose you to different postures and the theology that drives these postures and point out some of the strengths and weakness of each posture.
I also want to mention that what I am bringing you today is an over simplification of a very nuanced conversation. But from a 1000’ view - I want you to think deeply about how scripture is inviting you to live as a Christian in a land you don’t belong in.
Ok here we go… the first posture I want to introduce is what we’ll call…

The DETACHMENT posture (1 Peter 1:15-16)

This posture tends to be very disconnected and uninvolved in the world around them.
They see the world as evil and they don’t want any part of it.
The theology that drives this posture… IN YOUR NOTES

Theological Background: Is found in the ANABAPTIST tradition.

This tradition is very counter cultural - cares about the separation of Church and state, Kingdom of God as a distinct alternative community detached from the world they live in - even detached from political systems…. including excusing themselves from the voting.
How might this look today?
We see this in Amish or Mennonite communities completely separated from the secular forming their own societies.
We can look at early church History and see this in the way the ascetic monks lived in communities - often in the desert away from the influences of the world - devoting themselves to fasting, prayer and self-denial from the pleasures of the world.
Lets look at the STRENGTH of this view…. IN YOUR NOTES … it’s…

Strength: The desire forLIVING-DIFFERENT from the world around us.

What is so different about this posture… we see in them…. a deep desire for HOLINESS. That is commendable in my book.
A common biblical argument for taking this position is found from passages like 1 Peter 1:15-16
In fact Peter echoes these Prophetic words when He says…
1 Peter 1:15–16 ESV
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
There is not doubt as we look at the life of people like Moses, Daniel, The Apostles, Jesus and others - that he demonstrated a life of Holiness.
The truth is… living Holy in Babylon and protecting ourselves and our families is not an easy task - but it is Gods calls to as Christ Followers.
The more evil and anti christ a society gets - the more Christian communities are drawn to isolate themselves from the secular - as a way to protect themselves and their families from being stained or influenced by the world. I get that
IN YOUR NOTES… lets look at the Weakness of this view…. I would say this…

Weakness: This view risksFALLING SHORT of the biblical call to bear witness of God’s Kingdom to it’s neighbors.

The problem with extreme detachment is that it can becomes unbalanced.
Especially when the Detached begin to care more about their own holiness than they care about spreading the Gospel.
Here is whats important to remember… we are called to live in the world but NOT of the world.
Jesus was amoung tax collectors, sinners, in the most intimate settings… in the home… and over meals.
He is still on MISSION through you and me to shine his light in dark places… so that that all who call upon the name of the Lord might be saved.
Here is a question I have for you

Question: Do you find yourself detached from opportunities to share your faith with the lost?

If you answered this a yes… here is a follow up question:

What can you do to make yourself available to the lost that they might be able to see the light of Christ in you?

Friends, we are called to shine in Babylon. If you find yourself falling into an extreme form of the detachment posture I want to caution you to pray for evangelistic outlets to shine your light in Babylon.
Transition: the title of our message today is...
Sermon Title | Prophetic in Babylon
Daniel was a prophetic in Babylon… it was his choice to be a light in dark places…
We too… get to choose our posture in Babylon.
We can choose the Detachment Posture like some have
or, next IN YOUR NOTES you can choose….

The TRANSFORMATION posture (Jn. 10:27)

Defined: The Transformation posture sees Christians as having a responsibility to bring “Christian values” into in all areas of life including economic, social and political. The focus of this view in a democratic system is to use the governing system to rule.
The theology that drives this posture… IN YOUR NOTES…

Theological Background: Is found in LIBERATION - THEOLOGY.

I will also add that it also has roots in the Reform tradition.
Going back even further Liberation theology has its roots in a moment called the Social Gospel in the late 1800’s
Liberation Theology is a bit more radical - This tradition gives preferential treatment to the poor and marginalized - their core mission is to confront systemic injustice. In modern forms they can appear very politically active.
A common biblical argument for taking this position is found from passages like Micah 6:8
The writer says this…
Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Here is whats important to remember… we are called to live out do justice, to love kindness and walk in humility in Babylon
There is no doubt that we see people like Micah, Jesus and Daniel and others living this out.. spoke truth to power in defense of the powerless
IN YOUR NOTES… the strength of this view is…

Strength: The desire to care about the LEAST-OF-THESE.

To in-act Gods Justice on the behalf of the marginalized and those with less power.
That they take the words of John 10:27 where Jesus says to LOVE your neighbor as yourself… as the CORE purpose of the scriptures.
The truth is…living as a witness for the Kingdom of God will require us to speak truth to power - it will call us to challenge the status quo.
In a way… Martin Luther King Jr. represents the best of Transformation view by using his voice to do just that
He said this at in a speech at UCLA in April 1965….
“It may be true that the law can’t make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me. And I think that’s pretty important also. So while the law may not change the hearts of men, it does change the habits of men.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
What I love about - Martin Luther King in most of his speeches… He did not call people to a political party -he did not call them to violence - but he called us to ACT LIKE THE CHRISTIANS THAT WE ARE and STAND of for the injustices in society with loving kindness.
IN YOUR NOTES - Lets look at the Weakness of this view…. I would say this…

Weakness: This view risk POLITICIZING the Gospel.

In extreme forms this position can tend to over-prioritize systemic reform over the the need for salvation and spiritual transformaiton. (Repeat)
When this view is radicalized - it easily leads to violence in the name of God.
It’s what lead to the Holy Wars in the name of God.
Christians began to take over of cities by religious military force.
Cities we’re forced to convert to profess Christ and be baptized or face death.
This is clearly NOT the way of Jesus.
In fact one of the greatest apostles said.. Paul says in Romans 12:18…
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” -Rm. 12:18
This means as Christians we live peaceably in these kingdom weather we deem them as godly kingdoms or ungodly.
Whether our president is in office or not.
Jesus was a pro at this as he feed the hungry, welcomed the marginalized and spoke truth to religious and Roman power.
Here is whats important to notice about Daniel…
No matter how transformational Daniel was in Babylon… through his actions, his witness and even his eventual position within its Governing structures… he NEVER crossed OVER into pledging his allegiance to Babylon.
I believe we should be honorable citizens in Babylon - I believe we can be a part of the change in Babylon… but we are NOT give equal allegiance to both Babylon and Christ - he is the KING above ALL Kings.
Philippi was a proud of their Roman colony - yet Paul had to reminded them of their allegiance by saying… in Phil 3:20a.. Hey guys
Philippians 3:20a “But our citizenship is in heaven…”
I know you love how Rome is improving our city -building roads - making it easier to travel - make ing it easier to buy sell and trade goods with other areas… but Our allegiance is to God our Citizenship is Heaven and DON’T FORGET THAT.
In fact Jesus was accused of being against the conservative Jewish Party and they wanted Jesus silenced. He was eventually questioned regarding his allegiance to the Jew’s and asked to choose sides… and make his decision public. We see here in John 18:36 the response of Jesus… he say’s
John 18:36a Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world….
Jesus refuses to side with the Jew’s - in fact he does not side with any of the political or religious variations in the crowed of the day - does this mean that there were no good values in the Jewish laws? Absolutely NOT - but his ways we’re HIGHER
Friends I want to remind you that…
His ways are HIGHER that the Republicans, the Democrats, the Liberals, or anything in between -
Our allegiance does not belong to a political voting block - it belongs to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
If you find yourself falling into the extreme of this posture… here is a question I have for you

Question: Do you find yourself more focused on justice - that you are forsaking evangelism and your own spiritual formation?

In what ways can you stay connected to God personally while perusing justice for others?

Transition: the title of our message today is...
Sermon Title | Prophetic in Babylon
We get to choose our posture in Babylon.
We can choose the DETACHMENT Posture
We can choose The TRANSFORMATION Posture
Ok, this leads us to final posture… which is…

The PROPHACY posture. Jn 17:14-16

I believe both Jesus and Daniel portray this posture well.
The theology that drives this posture… IN YOUR NOTES is rooted in

Theological Background: Is found in CHARISMATIC - PENTECOSTAL tradition.

The prophetic posture is about a “Faithful Presence Within Babylon” – the idea that Christians influence culture not by dominating it, but by being faithfully present within it, rooted in worship as a lifestyle - devoted to God and committed to his Mission.
I believe this is exactly how both Daniel and Jesus lived their life.
IN YOUR NOTES - Let’s look at the STRENGTH of this view…. I would say this… it’s…

Strength: The desire to live as aPROPHETIC-WITNESS in the world

It takes on the strengths of the other views as we see the life of Daniel - as he modeled what it looked like to be a Prophetic Witness sin Babylon.
He modeled: Live Holy as He is Holy
He modeled: Loving our neighbor and defending the margionalized even the pegan magicians of the land!
Daniel lived a Prophetic life that overflows from both a personal relationship with God.
Today a Prophetic witness looks like someoen who is in a committed relationship Jesus and (Someone say AND) his Church focused both on remaining on mission in this world.
With this in mind…
***The strange thing to me is I read a statistic recently that stated pew research reported that an overwhelmingly large percentage of those who claim to be evangelicals -voting within the conservative voting block don’t even attend Church.
This is a great example of over-politicizing scripture for the sake of transforming the world yet disregarding spiritual formation and the Church Jesus loves.
I believe as Christians…. the greatest thing we can do while living in our day - is to Be Prophetic in Babylon.
I believe this is the most biblically balanced approach of these postures as we consider how scripture invites us to LIVE in a LAND WE DON’T BELONG.
IN YOUR NOTES - Let’s look at the Weakness of this view…. I would say this…

Weakness: This view can appear MODERATE and COMPLICIT due to their lack of political identity.

Those who take a Prophetic view like Daniel and Jesus… seems to keep the lines clear and never sell out to Babylon.
They fine a way to be clear about their loyal to the Kingdom of God over Babylon, ye they love their neighbor despite their neighbors affiliation in Babylon.
If we do justice - we should do it as the church in exile not by representing a political party or a branch of Babylonian power.
If you find yourself in this posture… here is a question I have for you

Question: Does your commitment to remain distinct from Babylon also keep you silent when courage is needed to speak up?

Is there a situation, relationship, or context where God may be inviting you to speak with clarity and courage?

Just becuase there are some biblical truths in a posture does NOT mean that they get it all right - this is the same problem with selling out to political parties
Well our side get it mostly right or our side get the issues right that are MORE important
Friends things aren’t mostly right in the Kigndom and every issue is importnat in the kigndom
I’m already on a role…
If you Need Practical to Do’s Just read Rom. 12 it gives a great outline of how believers should live out their faith in a land you don’t belong.
Do not conform to the world
Hate what is evil
Bless those who persecute you
Live Peaceably
Do not be proud
Associate with people that have nothing to offer you
If your enemy is hungry feed him
Today - you might consider yourself a good citizen - a good person.. as we saw today… Gods ways are so much HIGHER and BETTER than our ways -
So today… if you do NOT know Jesus as your Lord and Savior today is your day…
Salvation Altar Call
I believe Jesus is here today, and He wants to save you - Salvation simply means to deliver or to free. It’s not just about delivering you…
It’s about believing
Believing in Jesus means trusting what He say’s—about sin, and eternal punishment, thats the bad news.
The good news is this… that His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins, making us right with God.
Ephesians 2:8 reminds us: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Salvation requires two things:
1. God’s Grace—His undeserved gift of forgiveness and life because of His love for you.
2. Faith—placing your trust in Him for salvation.
If you’ve never asked Jesus to save you, today is your day. If you’d like ask him… , raise your hand.
I want to invite you to Repeat a prayer after me
· There is nothing magical in this prayer.. it simply is a way of declaring to Jesus what has taken place in your heart.
Here is how I would like to end the service for everyone else….
Call to Action Altar Call
HAS GOD SPOKE TO YOU TODAY
We’re going to end the service with A question as we do nearly every week.
If you desire to be a STRONG Kingdom Witness today
With a desire to Be Holy as He is Holy
A desire to LOVE your Neighbor
a desire to live prophetically
Committed to your spiritual formation and the body of Christ…
I want to invite you to stand today
ALL ACROSS THE ROOM – HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT spoken to you in anyway today?
When it comes to reading academic sources - understand that you will need to chew the meat and spit out the bones. I am NOT personally in line with all of the theological perspectives of these authors. But I also believe that just becuase I disagree with one perspective does not mean I can not learn or find agreement in another area. These are great though provoking academic books to

Resources

“Exiles in Babylon” by Preston Sprinkle
“Truth over Tribe” by Patrick miller & Keith Simon
“The Church and Politics” by J. Brian Benestad, Robert Benne, Bruce L. Fields, Thomas W. Heilke, James K. A. Smith

Going Deeper

Read Daniel 2:1-30, what sticks out to you?
Do you find yourself detached from opportunities to share your faith with the lost?
What can you do to make yourself available to the lost that they might be able to see the light of Christ in you?
In what ways can you stay connected to God personally while perusing justice for others?
What might the Holy Spirit be saying to you in light of this teaching?
How might the Holy Spirit want to transform you in light of this teaching?
What actions might the Holy Spirit want to take in light of this teaching?
Tongues & Interpretation
1. To STRENGTHEN the Church (1 Cor14:5)
For prophecy is greater than SPEAKING in TONGUES, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be STRENGTHENED.
Believers, God has operated through this gift today to strengthen you today. Let your faith be strengthened and know that God is in control and using supernatural measures to speak to us.
2. Is a SIGN for unbelievers. (1Cor. 14: 21a, 22)
1 Corinthians 14:21–22 (ESV)
In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
22 -  So you see that speaking in tongues is a SIGN, not for believers, but for UNBELIEVERS.
The Bible explains to us God has chosen to use this gift to be a sign for you. A sign for what? It is a sign of his realness for those of you who have been doubting or questioning the existence of God. He wants you to know he is REAL and he wants to bring you spiritual life and health. If you're in here today and you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior... he wants you to know he has gone to great lengths to show you his love today. (Great opportunity for a salvation altar call if it fits).
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