The Revealing of the True King

The scripture reading comes from Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin, or on your Bible.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams.

His spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.

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, and the king said to them,

I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

Then the Chaldeans said to the king, and Aramaic,

O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

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 ruin.

But if you show me the dream and its interpretation,

you shall receive gifts and rewards and great honor.

Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretations.

They answered a second time and said,

Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.

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.

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 this time.

The king changes.

Therefore, tell me the dream,

and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.

The Chaldeans answered the king and said,

There is no man on earth who can meet the king's demand,

for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing

of any magicians or enchanter or Chaldeans.

The thing that the king asked is difficult,

and no one can show it to the king

except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.

Because of this, the king was angry and very furious

and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.

So the decree went out,

and the wise men were about to be killed.

And they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.

Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Ariok,

the captain of the king's guard,

who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.

He declared to Ariok, the king's captain,

Why is the decree of the king so urgent?

Then Ariok made the matter known to Daniel.

And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time,

that he might show the interpretation to the king.

Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known

to Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, his companions,

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.

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in the vision of the night.

Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Daniel answered and said,

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might.

He changes time and seasons.

He removes kings and sets up kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding.

He reveals deep and hidden things.

He knows what is in the darkness,

and the light dwells with him.

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.

Therefore Daniel went in to Ariok,

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.

Then Ariok brought in Daniel,

before the king in haste,

and said thus to him,

I have found among the exiles from Judah

a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.

The king declared to Daniel,

whose name was Belteshazzar,

Are you able to make known to me the dream

that I have seen and its interpretation?

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.

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.

To you, O king, as you lay in bed,

came thoughts of what would be after this,

and he who reveals mysteries made known to you

what is to be.

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.

You saw, O king, and behold a great image.

This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness,

stood before you,

and its appearance was frightening.

The head of this image was of fine gold,

its chest and arms of silver,

its middle and thighs of bronze,

its legs of iron,

its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

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.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze,

the silver, and the gold

all together were broken in pieces

and became like the shuff 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.

This was the dream.

Now we will tell the king its interpretation.

You, O king,

the king of kings,

to whom the God of heaven

has given the kingdom,

the power and the might and the glory,

and into whose hand

he has given,

wherever they dwell,

the children of man,

the beasts of the fields,

and the birds of the heavens,

making you rule over them all,

you are the head of gold.

Another kingdom inferior to you

shall rise after you,

and yet a third kingdom of bronze

which shall rule over all the earth.

And there shall be a fourth kingdom

strong as iron

because iron breaks to pieces

and shatters all things.

And like iron that crushes,

it shall break and crush all these.

And as you saw the feet and toes

partly of potter's clay

and partly of iron,

it shall be a divided kingdom,

but some of the firmness of iron

shall be in it,

just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay,

of the firmness of iron shall be in it,

sorry,

and just as you saw iron mixed with soft clay.

And as the toes of the feet

were partly iron and partly clay,

so the kingdom shall be partly strong

and partly brittle.

As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay,

so they will mix with one another in marriage,

but they will not hold together,

just as iron does not mix with clay.

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,

just as you saw

that a stone was cut

from a mountain by no human hand,

and that it broke in pieces

the iron,

the bronze,

the clay,

the silver,

and the gold.

A great God

has made known to the king

what shall be after this.

The dream is certain,

and its interpretation sure.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar

fell upon his face

and paid homage to Daniel,

and commanded that an offering,

an incense,

be offered up to him.

The king answered

and said to Daniel,

Truly,

your God

is

God of gods

and Lord

of kings

and revealers

of mysteries,

for you have been able

to reveal

this mystery.

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 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.

This is the word of God.

Wow.

Well done, guys.

That was a long reading.

Let me put this up here.

Great.

I think Bernard,

you make a good Nebuchadnezzar.

Don't take that wrongly.

Great.

Good morning, everyone.

Great to see you

this morning.

Let me pray for us

as we come to

getting God's word.

It's actually really exciting

to be back here.

I've been at the community center

for a few weeks now.

And for everyone

who's at the community center,

just really pray

that God would just

be ministering to you

as well.

I know it's just been

a great time

at the community center.

A little smaller venue,

but actually intimate

and close.

But let me pray for us

as we come

and get into God's word

together.

Father,

Father,

you are sovereign.

You're the one

who has power

and authority

and might

and wisdom

in your hands.

And we don't.

And Lord,

we pray that

even today

as we get in your word,

we pray that you'd

speak to us.

We pray for

each one of us

wherever we are.

Lord,

we know that

COVID has taken

its effect

on many of us.

We know that

there is many

health issues

even in our church

at this time.

We know that people

are struggling with work.

We know that

there are hopes

and there are dreams

and there are expectations

for what this next year

is going to

hold for us.

But Lord,

we want to say

before everything else,

Lord,

we want you

to be at the center

and we want you

to touch us

and we want you

to speak to us

and we need you.

And so Lord,

we don't just want to

go through

some nice

religious ritual

this morning.

We want to experience

and encounter you

and we want to be

changed by you.

So I pray just as

Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar

encountered you,

I pray that we would

encounter you

this morning

in a really powerful way.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.

Great.

I was just looking

on my phone actually.

My phone brought up

some memories

and actually two years ago

on this day

about 12 of us

from Watermark

were in Turkey

and we were,

some of us

remember that.

And we were having

a conversation

at one point

with some Turkish believers

and I don't know

if you know

but in Turkey

there's 80 million people.

It's a very Islamic culture

but there is only

5,000 Christians,

Turkish Christians

in the country

and we met some of them

and as we were talking

to a couple of people there

one of them told us

this story about

someone in their church

of about 20 people or so

who had just recently

become a Christian

and she said to us,

she said,

this person was

a really devout Muslim

but then one day

she started having dreams

and for three weeks

every single night

she dreamed of this chateau,

this grand house

and in this house

she saw this man

and this woman

and she didn't understand

what this dream meant

and she went and asked

a whole lot of people,

no one could tell us

what this dream meant

and then one day

she was,

I think it was for work

or something,

she was in a part of town

she had never been to

in her life.

It was a big city

and as she's walking along

she turns around

and looks at a building

next to her

and she goes,

my goodness,

that's the building

in my dream

and just totally

kind of freaked out

but curious

at the same time

she decides to go up

and walk into the building

so she goes in

and it's a Sunday morning

and she doesn't realize

but it's actually

a church building

and as she walks in

she looks forward

to the front

and there's a group

of 20 people or so there

and the pastor

is preaching at the front

and she looks at the pastor

and it's the very man

that she had seen

in her dream

and then she looks

around the congregation

and she sees

one of the women

who that she had seen

in the dream

just sitting there

and she is so freaked

out by this

she, at the end

of the service

she goes and says

tell me everything

about your faith

and that day

she became a Christian

because her world

had just been

broken through

in a culture

which was very strong

in many ways

but actually

the sovereign God

can break through

into people's lives

even today

as in the days

of Daniel

and sometimes

he can do it

through dreams

and so we're

going to be looking

in the second time

as we started

last week

looking in this

book of Daniel

which I think

is an amazing book

when you get into it

it's a crazy

strange book

but it's a book

which is set

in exile

with the Jewish

some thousands

of Jewish believers

have been removed

from their hometown

in Jerusalem

which has been

smashed by the Babylonians

they've been trafficked

to Babylon

and they are there

in exile

in the wealthiest

most successful

most powerful

city in the world

it's an incredible place

I mean it's

it's kind of like

Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Shenzhen

every major city

in China

all in one

I mean they were

brilliant

the Babylonians

I don't know if you know

but our system

of time

you know 60 seconds

in a minute

60 minutes

in an hour

24 hours

in a day

and 365 days

in a year

do you know

where that came from?

The Babylonians

discovered that

they could even track

there were such

great mathematicians

and astronomers

and astrologers

that they could

actually track

they tracked

the planet Jupiter

and astronomers

even today

use some of their

calculations

that they used

back then

this is back

two and a half

thousand years ago

these were brilliant

people

they led the world

and Babylon

wanted to entice

this Jewish

people

into Babylonian

culture

so that Babylon

could extend

its influence

further

into the world

and so Daniel

and his friends

have got immersed

into Babylonian culture

they've been learning

the language

they've been learning

the education system

they've even taken on

pagan names

for themselves

but they have not

let their hearts

be captured by Babylon

this is what we learned

last week

you see Daniel

right at the beginning

he claims

that even though

they're in exile

this tiny minority

that it is

their God

himself

who has led

them into exile

who has allowed

Nebuchadnezzar

and the Babylonians

to have their power

and it is their God

who is going to lead

them out of exile

and that's what we

looked at last week

because their God

is sovereignly

in control

and they needed

to be patient

and to faithfully

trust

that the God

of heaven

was the one

who was going to

lead them

through this

he had a plan

but I don't know

about you

if you've ever

tried to swim

against the current

in the sea

it's hard

right

if you've ever

tried to swim

upstream

that's what it's like

being in Babylon

because the culture

has a tide

but actually

as you look

through scripture

Babylon

does not just

occur in Daniel

in fact

just like the new

Star Wars movies

pick up some of the

themes from the

original movies

so actually

Babylon is found

all the way back

in Genesis chapter 11

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

at the Tower of Babel

it's actually in Hebrew

the Tower of Babylon

because what

characterizes

Babylon

all the way

through scripture

is self-reliance

self-promotion

and self-security

do you remember

in the Tower of Babel

what the people did

they built this

tower

and a city

to make a name

for themselves

the tower that could

reach to the heavens

and

to make themselves

secure

so they wouldn't

be scattered

that's what Babylon

always does

you know

here's what

and Nebuchadnezzar

who's the guy

we're hearing about

is

is absolute

epitome of this

here's actually

what Isaiah

47

says about

the Babylonians

you felt

secure

in your wickedness

you said

no one

sees me

your wisdom

and your knowledge

led you astray

and you said

in your heart

I am

and there is

no one

beside me

that's scripture

let me tell you

what Nebuchadnezzar

himself said

from an inscription

we have found

from Nebuchadnezzar

here's what he says

I am Nebuchadnezzar

king of Babylon

the exalted prince

the favorite

of the god

Marduk

the beloved

of the god

Nabu

the judge

the possessor

of wisdom

do you see

how scripture

is just telling you

exactly how

Nebuchadnezzar

thought

you see

the heart

of Babylon

is relying

on yourself

elevating

yourself

making yourself

feel secure

and in Hong Kong

like in Babylon

there are a lot

of very talented

very successful

people

right

even here

in Watermark

you guys

are a talented

bunch

and many of us

have ambitions

to be successful

in all kinds of ways

we have ambitions

for our kids

to be successful

but one of the lessons

of Babylon

is this

success is dangerous

because success

can blind you

to your own fragility

you see

it can paper

over the fatal

flaws

in your own

lives

and this is what

Daniel 2

is all about

first of all

I'm going to look at

the fragility

of Babylon

okay

so if you've got

your passage

with you

I'm going to

kind of

go through

some of the story

with us

it's a long passage

so I'm just going to

pick out

some key themes

but it starts off

that Nebuchadnezzar

this great king

has a dream

and it's a message

from God

and in Babylonian

culture

just like in

Islamic culture

dreams

were omens

dreams

were signs

of the gods

revealing the future

to you

and so

King

Nebuchadnezzar

I'll call him

King Neb

he is

the exalted one

but his spirit

is troubled

he's shaken

by this message

it's a message

he doesn't understand

but he knows

that this isn't

good news

for him

and so he's got

this dilemma

because Neb

reigned

on the wisdom

of all his

astrologers

and fortune tellers

and the Chaldeans

these are guys

who looked at the stars

and they made all kinds

of predictions

on that

to ensure

that they had success

with their gods

so his future

future of Babylon

depends on

divine favor

and these are the guys

who are going to help him

make sure he's on the right side

but Neb

like all dictators

is a control freak

and by the way

domineering bosses

can be like that as well

and they're always

dictators

are always insecure

did you know that

anyone who tries

to be the strong man

is always cripplingly

insecure inside

and because

all of his payroll

simply tell him

what he wants

to hear all the time

he doesn't know

who he can really trust

and so

if he shares

this dream with them

and they interpret it

that actually

this is bad news

for him

it could be

his downfall

they might support

a rival

so instead

what does he do?

He tests them

with an impossible demand

he says

okay

if you're really

in touch

with the gods

don't just interpret

the dream

tell me

what the dream was

you just love that

if your boss

kind of calls you in

and just says

hey

I've got a strategy

for this

just tell me

what it is

that's frightening

because power hungry

people

in their insecurity

always make

impossible demands

not just demands

but then threats

as well

I don't know

if you've had

a boss like that

who's never satisfied

and there's always more

and so he threatens them

and he says

if you do not make

the dream known to me

there's but one sentence

for you

death

you have agreed

to speak lying

and corrupt words

before me

till the times change

that means until

regime changes

therefore tell me

the dream

and I shall know

that you show me

its interpretation

now just imagine

you're just one

of the astrologers

who have just been

doing your job

you've got a nice

cushy kind of

civil servant job

can you imagine

how freaked out

they are by this

they aren't mind readers

that's not how

astrology works

this isn't in their

JD at all

and so

they are panicking

at this moment

and you know

when we're filled

with stress

filled panic

it's always a sign

that we're relying

on something

that can't take

the weight of our lives

we're made something

into a God

which is a no God

and they say this

they say

there's not a man

it's verse 10

there's 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

the thing the king

asks is difficult

I think that's an

understatement

and no one

can show it to the king

except the gods

listen to this

whose dwelling

is not with flesh

do you see what he's saying

he's saying

Babylon

this great city

the foundations

of it

they thought

they were favored

by the gods

but it's all sand

because their gods

are distant

their gods

are not interested

their gods

don't even care

they have no access

to them

they don't dwell

with them

you see

the whole wisdom

of Babylon

is just a human

enterprise

and if the whole

thing is human

then it's temporary

and it's limited

and Nebuchadnezzar

knows

that means

his power

is temporary

and limited

and if you

have ever experienced

that

with a boss

or somebody else

who doesn't get

what they want

when they're a control freak

how do they respond?

they respond

with anger

and fury

and he orders

the destruction

of all the wise men

now I'm not a dictator

generally

but I am a parent

and when my son

is rebellious

and just refuses

to eat

what I'm asking him

to eat

and no matter

what I try

no matter

what I google

it just doesn't work

my rule

feels threatened

and I feel

my control

slipping

and do you know

what happens

inside me

my frustration

levels rise

and suddenly

my son

experiences my rule

not as blessing

but as harsh

and anger

and unkind

anyone ever been

like that?

maybe none of you

are like me

you see why?

because we're more

fragile than we realize

we're more insecure

than we realize

even the most

successful of us

because if we try

and stay on the throne

though

like Nebuchadnezzar

we'll end up

causing more harm

and not blessing

as God designed us

that's the fragility

of Babylon

but secondly

the confidence

of Daniel

I love this part

because

Daniel's in the same

situation

as all the other

astrologers

okay

he's going to die

he doesn't have a clue

what's going on

he's got this

impossible demand

on him as well

but do you notice

in this passage

in verse 14

he doesn't reply

with panic

he replies

with prudence

and discernment

like it says

you see

he's got this

kind of calm wisdom

and

he's got this

security

right in the midst

of the pressure

being on him

and what he does

he looks danger

right in the eye

and he

confidently says

hey

mate

or whatever he said

to Ariok

the guy who's

going to kill him

he says

listen

just set a date

in the king's calendar

let's have a dream

interpretation meeting

now that's courage

right

because he doesn't

have a clue

but his confidence

isn't in himself

you see what he does

he goes away

to his friends

and then suddenly

I think he realizes

what he's actually

just kind of said

and he goes

my goodness me

okay

guys

we've got to pray

he says to his friends

his companions

he says

we've got to seek

the mercy

of the God of heaven

you see

the gods

of the

Babylonians

the self-reliant

Babylonians

were distant

in their time of need

but Daniel knows

that his God

is not distant

he has access

to him

as do each one

of us

in our time

of need

but man

can you imagine

him going to bed

at night

that night

with your whole life

on the line

totally

reliant

on God

to solve the issue

totally reliant

if God doesn't

come through

he's going to die

that does wonders

for your prayer life

but you see

when we're self-reliant

and we feel secure

in ourselves

we don't pray

kind of

desperate prayers

like Daniel's praying

but do you know

what

I think

this is one of the things

that God wants to work

in my life

this is one of my prayers

and it's my prayer

for myself

and for Watermark

is I don't want to live

self-reliant

and safe

I want to live

with stories

of a sovereign

gracious God

who provides

in extraordinary ways

I want that security

that Daniel has

but to be in that place

you know

we've got to be put

in positions

where unless God

truly comes through

we've got nothing else

to hold on to

I wonder how many of us

live like that

you know

I had a pastor friend of mine

he said

I used to live

I didn't have a regular

salary

I used to live

month by month

never knowing

where the next paycheck

was coming

and God always

came through

and then he said

but now actually

I've got a

regular salary

coming in

and he said

and this really

impressed me

he said

I feel the danger

of the security

I now have

so that I don't have

to trust God

quite as much

I thought

wow

I've never even

thought of it

like that

you see

being in a place

of total

reliance on God

doesn't feel great

I much prefer

to feel secure

I don't know about you

but actually

in this wrestling

place

God comes through

just look at

it's one line

then the mystery

verse 19

was revealed

to Daniel

in a vision

of the night

now just think

about that

can you imagine

Daniel

that morning

he danced

out of bed

that morning

the joy of God

just exploded

out of him

that morning

his vision

of God

just grew

humongous

at that point

because he knew

that his God

was the one

who was truly

on the throne

look how he responds

he says

blessed be the name

of God

forever and ever

to whom belong

wisdom and might

he's not saying

this in theory

he knows this

he says

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

he reveals

deep and hidden things

he knows

what is in the darkness

and the light

dwells with him

who is the center

of all of this

God is

his sovereign

awesome God

you see

he sees

God

for who he truly is

his success

doesn't blind him

and Daniel's

a smart guy

he sees

that God

is truly sovereign

God is truly

true to his promises

God is truly

the one who can

come through for us

God is truly

who he says he is

and that's

the true security

for our lives

every other foundation

is sinking sand

do you know

financial security

is a myth

it doesn't exist

because you never

have enough

job security

is a myth

because you can be

fired at any moment

but God's security

is rock solid

because there's not

one single situation

that a sovereign

wise God

is not capable

of handling

and not capable

of providing

for you

and Daniel

would not have

had that revelation

of God

would not have had

that depth

of understanding

unless he'd run

to God

and been placing

his weight on him

for his trust

you know

I've seen

quite a number

of people

in Watermark

just recently

have a whole lot

of issues

with

not just recently

in the last year

or two

issues with

just work

situations

financial situations

family situations

where

they felt

God was calling

them in a certain

direction

but then

the wisdom

of everyone else

around them

told them

like just

take the easy

way out

just stay secure

stay with

whatever's going

to be

kind of help

you to just

further your own

progression in life

and all those

kind of things

but I've seen

those people

many of you

who've actually

said no I'm

going to make

God my security

and I'm going

to trust him

and you stepped

out in all kinds

of different ways

to actually trust

him with situations

you didn't know

what the future

was going to hold

and what I've seen

in your lives

is I've seen

that you have seen

God coming through

for you

that you have

seen

that God

is truly

a rock

that you can

trust in

and I've seen

that there's

this been joy

that God

has placed

in your heart

in God

and I've also

seen at times

that there are

some of us

who

we've had

situations

where we know

God has been

calling us

but actually

we've tried

to take

security first

my own

security first

and you've

kind of wrestled

but you've

stayed safe

in what you

think you can

just rely on

for yourself

and I've seen

those of you

in that situation

and some of my

other friends

outside of

Watermark

in that situation

and the stress

levels have been

high

and the joy

levels of Jesus

have been low

and you've felt

weighed down

and burdened

and this passage

is calling us

it's saying

that actually

you may have

Jesus in your

mind

but don't have

Babylon in your

soul

don't rely

on Jesus

on a Sunday

but then

everything else

in your life

you're just

relying whether

it's on your

NPF

on your education

on your job

on your intellect

on all the things

which you're

actually very

talented in

because God

is saying

that those

who bank

their lives

on the

sovereign

gracious

confidence

we have

in God

even though

it's tough

because swimming

upstream is hard

sometimes

it's not all

better roses

it can feel

uncomfortable

but when we

do that

and I've seen

this

people who

trust in him

they're the

most secure

people you'll

ever meet

they're people

who know

that their God

is their rock

because they

don't just

sing that

wisdom and

power belong

to God

they live it

and they know

it

and they live

it like Daniel

and there is a

joy that is there

do you want that

I do

but for some

of us where

you know

God has provided

us with

whether it's

relatively stable

jobs

we have food

on the table

we have

relatively

comfortable

lives

in different

ways

we have

our issues

but we

feel secure

how do we

live with

that kind

of God

security

even in

those

situations

well I

think Daniel

is going

to show

you

because you

see Daniel

appears

before

Nebuchadnezzar

and he

doesn't go

after he's

got the

dream

he doesn't

go hey

Neb

I cracked

it

I got

it

do you

want to

hear it

he doesn't

say that

he doesn't

say look

at me

that's how

the

Babylonians

worked

instead he

goes in

verse 30

he goes

but as

for me

this mystery

has been

revealed to

me

not because

of any

wisdom

that I

have more

than all

the living

and then he

goes this

he says

none of

your wise

men

they're not

really that

wise

but he

says but

there is

a God

in heaven

who reveals

mysteries

just think

about that

Daniel

in front

of the

man who

could cut

his head

off at

any moment

is evangelizing

Nebuchadnezzar

isn't that

amazing

you see

he tells

Nebuchadnezzar

about the

God he

trusts

and the

God that

he knows

is the

one who's

truly

sovereign

and for

those of

us who

feel the

more secure

right now

and that's

a blessing

from God

let's not

downplay that

mission and

evangelism

are the

place where

God wants

to push

us out

of feeling

safe

because if

you know

sharing the

gospel with

people who

intimidate

you

with people

who you

feel like

my reputation

might be on

the line

here

that feels

sometimes like

an impossible

task

doesn't it

it feels

like I

cannot change

anybody's

heart

sometimes it

feels like

life and

death are on

the line

but actually

if we want

that God

sized vision

that Daniel

has

God is going

to call us

light with

loving the

city

he's called

us in

little ways

he's going

to call you

into your

workplace

this week

he's going

to call you

into your

families

this week

and he's

going to

call you

with complete

inadequacy

because he

wants us

to get on

our knees

in desperate

prayer saying

God

unless you

come through

I don't know

how to do

this

and then

sit and

watch

as we

pray that

again and

again and

see how

God comes

through

because let

me tell

you he

will

are we

ready for

that

that's the

confidence of

Daniel

we've looked

at the

fragility of

Babylon

confidence of

Daniel

the final

thing

is the

stone

of power

and we

could go

on for

ages

about this

image

but I'm

going to

go fairly

briefly

through

because this

kind of

parallels as

well into

chapter 7

and we'll

spend a bit

more time

there

but in

chapter 2

Daniel

tells him

the dream

and the

dream is of

this great

image

and do you

remember in

the Bible

where image

comes

Genesis

1

man is

made in

the image

of God

this is a

deliberate

connection

and actually

a lot of

the language

of Genesis

is found

here

if you look

in verse

37

38

it's the

language

of Genesis

humans

ruling

over the

birds of

the air

the beasts

of the

field

humans

were made

to rule

were made

to rule

under God

but Babylon

has distorted

what we were

made to do

it's made

us the

rulers

and so

what do you

see about

this image

it says

this image

mighty

and of

exceeding

brightness

stood before

you

and its

appearance

was frightening

you see

this image

is now

actually

a lifeless

statue

it's an

idol

dehumanized

and it's

a depiction

of four

successive

world

empires

and there's

some debate

about

which ones

they are

but Christians

have from

very early

on interpreted

like this

the gold

head

we know

is

Nebuchadnezzar

in Babylon

the silver

is the empire

of Cyrus

the Great

and Medo

Persia

bronze

is Greece

the iron

and clay

is Rome

and the

point

is

is this

really

these empires

are glorious

that's why

they're

exceedingly

bright

they produce

incredible

culture

like even

today

right

just the

technology

that's

available

there's

just

incredible

things

that are

created

that's

amazing

we were

made to

create

culture

but you

notice