Daniel • Week 4

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Good morning. Thank you, whoever beat me to it. I appreciate that.

Hey, good morning. So whoever, what else am I going to say?

If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

I found this funny. A couple years ago, Emma was teaching, doing a lesson with some of our

youth who were here at the church, and I had the opportunity to be there and be a part of it. And

so she's, you know, it's her first time kind of doing a lesson in front of a group of people,

and I forget exactly which passage she did. But I think as like a jab, but an encouragement to her

dad, she was like, all right, well, good afternoon, everyone. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you

do, I want you to turn to, and then she gave the passage of Scripture. You know, sometimes we just

need a good rhythm to kind of help us get going and things like that. And so that's what we have with

that. But we are glad that you're here. We are going to be looking in Daniel chapter 2 this morning.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible with you, that's okay. We want you to have a copy of God's Word. We hold

that as a value for us as a congregation. And so at the end of the service, I'll be back here at this

black table. We have some free copies of God's Word. We would love for you to stop by and get one. It is

the translation that we typically use when I preach on Sunday mornings. And so if you would like a copy of

that, whether you're a guest, whether you're a member, whether you're a believer, whether you're

not a believer, we want everyone to have a copy of God's Word. And so please come back and grab one of

those. And then also for our first-time guest, we do encourage you to scan that QR code. We would

love to know that you're here. But also at the end of the service, my wife and I will be in the back of

the auditorium at that table. And we'd love for you just to stop by. We'd love to shake your hand and to

thank you personally for being here and for worshiping with us. We'd love to learn your name. And if

there's any questions you have about us as a church, what we do, about our ministries, we would love to

be able to answer those questions for you. And again, thank you so much for being here.

It is a new season. College football season has started off. I want to share with you guys yesterday,

we went up to Spartanburg, South Carolina for a cross-country race. You know that our family does

that with our son and our daughter running. And then we decided to shoot up the mountain or up into

the mountains and going to Hendersonville and to get some apples. And so we were sitting there having

dinner outside. And I know that the hot temperatures have been around and are there, but fall is coming.

Fall is coming. God spoke. And I saw the reminder and the encouragement of that. We're sitting out eating

some barbecue in the North Carolina mountains. And I looked out across the road and there was a tree

with yellow leaves. So praise the Lord. Cooler temperatures are coming. All right. I want to

read to you guys a Bible verse. It's in Daniel 2, 27 and the first part of 28. 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. Let's go before that God.

God, we thank you so much for who you are and for your word. God, as we study your word this morning, I pray

that you would do, Lord, what you do. And through the power of your Holy Spirit, Lord, would you reveal

the truth of your word to us. God, for those of us who are sons and daughters of the living God, Lord,

who continually need to be reminded of what it looks like to draw closer to you, Lord, we pray that you

would draw closer, that we would draw closer to you and that you would pull us to you in the power of

your spirit. We pray for those who do not know you, that the truth of your word, the truth of the gospel

will be revealed and made known. Have an opportunity today to put their hope and their trust in Jesus

Christ and in him alone. And it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. I hope if you've been with us,

you've been enjoying so far, what we're working through Daniel, the study that we're working

through this fall. We're working chapter by chapter, verse by verse, word by word through the book of

Daniel. It's a book that I think for most people, you're familiar with if you've been raised in

church, you're common with. There's kind of the two big stories that we're going to get to in chapter

three and in chapter six when it comes to Daniel. But there's so much that that's leading to those.

And that's kind of where we find ourselves this morning at the end of Daniel chapter two.

There's been a lot that's been going on, man. God's been working. God's been moving. God's been

setting things and establishing things. And what we see is that God's people, Judah, from the southern

tribe, have been invaded and conquered by the Babylonians. And they've got this king, King

Nebuchadnezzar, who's a pagan, cruel, harsh king. And he draws from the people of Judah some of the best

the best so that he can incorporate them and assimilate them into Babylonian culture so that

he can use them for his benefit as he seeks to lead and to rule. And that's how Daniel comes on to the

scene. Daniel is part of the best of the best, the elite of the elite, the chosen of the chosen.

But even as a teenage boy, what we see from Daniel is that he's got a strong resolve and heart for God.

That in spite of Judah at this time, extremely rebellious. In fact, that's why God sends the

Babylonians to conquer them. And to do this is God's enacting his judgment of what he's told them about

through the prophets all the way back to Isaiah of what he's going to do. This shouldn't be a surprise.

Over and over and over again, return to me, return to me, repent, repent, repent. And God's people in

their rebellion refuse to do that. But we see that that's not all of them, that there are some who

are in there who have a heart of loyalty and dedication and obedience and love for the Lord.

And this is Daniel. And so kind of become my theme verse through here. We see in Daniel 1.8,

but Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself. And so Daniel is a man for the time. He's God's man

for the time. He's a chosen man for the time. He is a man who's going to stand coming from a culture

who's rebelling against the God who loves them and who has chosen them to be put into a missional

culture of a group of people who we're searching for, but God who wants to capture their hearts as

well. And Daniel's going to be the man who stands in resolve of who he is. So Nebuchadnezzar, the crazy

paranoid king, has this dream, a dream that he is unsure of. I think that's a safe assumption that

he's even unsure of what the dream is, much less he has no clue what the interpretation would have

been. But it's terrified him. So he's called all of the magicians, the enchanters, all of the wise men,

all of the sorcerers to come together to tell him two things. What is the dream that I dreamed?

And then secondly, what is the interpretation of it? And if you tell me what it is, I'll promote you

and bless you. But if you don't tell me what it is, I'm going to kill you. And they can't come to

an understanding of what this is. In fact, they even say that it's impossible to do what the king's

asking him to do. So the movement is made to execute all of these men. And Daniel is considered one of

them. Daniel, God's chosen. Daniel, God's servant. Daniel, whose God has given the gifts of interpreting

visions and dreams. See, Daniel wasn't in the room when Nebuchadnezzar asked. But Daniel is associated.

And so Daniel and his three friends, they're also given execution orders. And as Arioch, the executioner,

comes to do just that, Daniel appeals with him. And Daniel, a man of the favor of God, Arioch,

gives him a day. He gives him a day. And it's what we looked at last week, right? Like in the crisis.

Like, can you imagine? I don't know that I've ever been in this level of crisis. But this is the crisis

crisis that Daniel finds himself in. And in this crisis, we see the true character and nature of

who Daniel is. He trusts God. He prays to God. He seeks God. And because he's at that deep level of

trust that even in the midst of the crazy, even in the midst of the chaos, even in the midst of the

crisis, Daniel sleeps that night. Can you imagine? Like, you're going to be executed. He's like,

now God's got this. Let's sleep. Let's sleep. And God does what God does. And God reveals to Daniel

the dream. And God gives Daniel the interpretation. So let's pick up in verse 24 of chapter 2.

Verse 25,

And the king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, are you able to make known to me the dream that I have

seen and its interpretation? And Daniel answered the king and said, no wise men, enchanters, magicians,

astrologers, 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 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. So let's look at what's kind of happening here. All, Daniel is a beautiful case

study in how the world interacts versus how those who have resolved in their obedience and their faith

in the Lord will react. It's like, like, do me the favor and just like read it through this way.

We talked about this with Nebuchadnezzar, right? Like Nebuchadnezzar last week in the crisis,

he operates in the crazy. He operates in the chaos. He operates in the anxiety. He operates in the worry.

That's how the world operates. He operates in feeling. And Daniel is operating in the trust and

the surrender to the holy sovereign God who never has nor never will he fail. And when we see this

with Daniel, we see this begin to play out. So as you see the different sides, look at him. So Ariok,

notice this, Daniel comes to Ariok. He went to him. He says, I've got the answer. Take me to the king.

So Ariok brings Daniel to the king as Daniel has requested and Ariok tries to make himself the hero of

the story. He says, look, I found the man who can help. He didn't find the man. God found the man. He didn't

find him. God did. And then Daniel in his boldness and his confidence. He went and found the man who

would execute him. He said, take me to the man who gives the order. So the king looks at Daniel and he

says, can you help me? And I want us to notice this. Daniel has a very critical moment in his life right

here. I think sometimes we can breeze over these first few verses of this and we can get down to

what the dream is in the interpretation and we will here in just a moment. But I think we can breeze past

this moment as it continues to show us the character of Daniel. Daniel in this moment has a choice of who to

leverage. The enchanters have said, the wise men of Babylon have said, the pagan leaders of Babylon have said,

this is impossible. No person can do king what you are asking to do. And then Ariok shows up and says,

no, I got a guy who can do it. No, I got a guy who can do it. And Daniel could leverage himself.

Daniel could save himself. Daniel could promote himself. Daniel could protect himself. Daniel could focus on

himself. Or Daniel could turn this moment into a gospel moment and tell the story of God.

God. We were thought about a few weeks ago, we talked about that there's only about 5% in America,

there's only about 5% of evangelicals, 5%, 5% who are looking for moments and opportunities to talk to

someone who's lost about God. And Daniel has this moment. He's a man for the hour. He's a man for the time

to leverage himself. And Daniel leverages. Daniel promotes God. God. The God that Nebuchadnezzar

doesn't follow. Not the pagan gods, not to try to blend him in, but the true God of heaven.

This is what Daniel does. Daniel says, look at all the wisdom of the world that you seek.

All of them are incapable. All of them are incapable to do what you need done. They're incapable.

It's not that they don't want to, king. It's that they can't. But there's a God in heaven who will make

known all that you desire to know. Here's what Daniel's saying. Daniel's like, look, I'm nothing.

Daniel knows about the things of God. Daniel knows about the things of God. Daniel has been gifted

with the ways of God. Daniel's been gifted and blessed with the things of God. Why?

Why? Why? Because he's got some special inner moral character that is found in him and him alone?

Because Daniel has achieved successes of life in his pursuits and in his wisdom and his capabilities?

No. Because Daniel knows God. Daniel knows God. This is how in chapter 1, a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old

stands confident before the king and says, I choose to obey God. And how now a 16, 17, 18-year-old

stands before the king and says, listen, it's not them, it's not me, it's not the gods of your temples,

but let me tell you about the God that I know. And I can stand here in confidence about the God that I

know. Not that I know about, not that I've studied, but the God that I know. I just want to ask you a

question as we look at this chapter, as we look at the ending of this saga, till we turn the page

next week in Daniel 3 and ask you this question. Do you know God? Do you know God? And if you say,

I know God, then what depth of God do you know? What pursuit of God do you have? What desire for God

is in your heart? Is your relationship with God, the casual, the infrequent, the surface level,

dependent on circumstances based off the feeling in the moment? Or do you know God

in the depth of who he is and the desire to know more and into the submission of a relationship?

Daniel's knowledge of God is sufficient both for salvation and maturity. But I find oftentimes in

the culture of the church that we've spoken about for several weeks now, when you ask someone that,

do you know God? They speak of a God whom they desire to save them, but they don't speak of a God

whom they desire to change them. And that's who God is. Do you know the God that Daniel knows?

In a relationship of intimacy. In a relationship of intimacy. In a relationship that's deep. In a

relationship that's growing. In a relationship that's in all seasons. Do you know God? So let's

read verses 31 through 45. If you're here and you've been like, I've been waiting for some of these

prophecy moments. Here we go. All right. So it gets a little crazy imagery and we'll try to explain

what's happening here. Verse 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.

The head of this image was 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 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.

That's the dream.

In verse 36,

Daniel says,

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 is given

wherever they dwell,

the children of man,

the beast of the field,

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.

Verse 40.

And there shall be

a fourth kingdom

strong as iron

because iron

breaks into pieces

and shatters

all things.

And like iron

that crushes,

it shall break

and crush

all these.

And as you saw

the feet

and the 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.

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 mixed iron

was soft clay

so they will mix

with one another

in marriage.

They will not

hold together

just as iron

does not mix

with clay.

And in the days

of those kings

that 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 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.

So what

in the world

is going on here?

Let's explain

the dream.

Daniel tells

the king his dream

and gives him

the interpretation.

Here's the dream.

He said that

you've dreamed

about a statue

and this statue

is going to have

four distinct

aspects.

The first one

is a head

of gold.

The second

is a chest

and arms

of silver.

The third

is a midsection

or a stomach

and thighs

of bronze.

And then lastly

there's legs

of iron

with feet

of iron

and clay.

Now something

will happen

in this dream

to the statue.

And it says

that a stone

is broken

off

and breaks

off without

human hand

touching it

or causing it.

Part of the

interpretation

that we'll get

to here

but I want you

to understand

this.

The language

that Daniel

is using

in the

telling

Nebuchadnezzar

what the dream

is,

he goes ahead

and leads

into the

interpretation.

The words

he used

says that

this is a

divine act.

This is what

God's doing.

And it hits

the feet

of the

statue

and crushes

them

and when

this happens

the entire

statue

crumbles

becomes as dust

and disappears.

But the

stone

that struck

the statue

becomes a

great mountain

and this

mountain

fills

the entire

earth.

This is

the dream.

this is

the dream

that he

said Daniel

said at the

very beginning

it's a

frightening

dream and

Nebuchadnezzar

was scared

and he

couldn't

sleep

even though

he couldn't

remember what

the dream

was.

He couldn't

understand it.

So here's

the interpretation.

The four

parts of the

statue represent

four earthly

kingdoms.

The head

of gold

will represent

Babylon.

The Babylon

empire will

last from

605 to

539

B.C.

The next

is the chest

and the arms

of silver

will be the

Meadow Persia

empire

that lasts

from 539

B.C.

to 331

B.C.

The stomach

and the thighs

of bronze

will represent

the Greek

empire,

Greece,

that as an

empire,

we still know

that Greece

stands as a

country,

but as the

empire that

was there

will stand

from 331

B.C.

to 146

B.C.

And I hope

you're noticing

this, that

one leads

to another,

one leads

to another.

This is

also history

reinforcing

what the

Bible said

would happen,

so fulfilled

prophecy.

Legs of

iron with

feet of

iron and

clay will

be the

Roman

empire.

Roman

empire from

146

B.C.

to 1476

A.D.

This will

be what

happens.

The common

theme when we

look at the

time period of

the rule of

the world

during this

time,

these are

the great

powers

who stand

independent.

These are the

great powers

who rule

and who

dominate.

And so as we

see the

commonality of

these great

powers, but

they will

fall and

they did.

But then

there's this

fifth, there's

this fifth

part, right?

And it's the

stone that

broke away.

It's the

stone that

hit the

feet.

It's the

stone that

caused this

destruction that

will become

the great

mountain.

And this

stone is

Christ.

And this

stone is the

kingdom of

God.

And what's

beautiful about

this when we

see this, when

we talk about

fulfilled prophecy,

is that the

picture of this,

I believe, of

what we see in

this dream, I

believe in what

God is

communicating, is

it points to

the first

coming of

Christ and

the inauguration

of the kingdom

that we read

about in the

gospels, and

the second

coming of

Christ, and

the kingdom

that will be

fulfilled that

we see in

Revelation.

So see, that

in this, when

we see what

is happening, what

has taken

place in

Daniel 2, we

reinforce of

what history

said, this

has happened,

and then,

praise God, we

look forward to

the truth of

God's word,

continuing to

say, and

this is what

will happen.

And in this

interpretation of

what we find,

what God is

saying in this,

and this has

been the themes,

right?

We can go

all the way

back, and we

can look in

verse 2 of

chapter 1, and

Lord gave

Jehoiakim, king

of Judah, into

his hand.

Talk about

Nebuchadnezzar's

hand.

The establishment

of this Babylonian

empire, this pagan

empire, here's what

God's working, here's

what God's doing.

And so what God

is saying, there

will be kingdoms

of the world that

will come and

that they'll go,

and they'll come by

the hand of God,

and they'll fall by

the hand of God,

because this is

who God is, and

it happens as God

sees fit.

But there is one

kingdom, there's

one kingdom, that's

going to endure

forever.

There's one, one

kingdom, and one

kingdom alone, that

will endure

forever, and it's

the kingdom of God.

Daniel walks into a

madman's throne room

and says, your

kingdom will come

to an end.

And God will cause

it to happen, and

it'll happen by an

inferior people.

And sure enough, that's

what takes place.

And then in all

confidence, look back

at verse 45.

Daniel says to

Nebuchadnezzar, just

in case you're

wondering, just in

case you're curious,

just in case you

forgot, a great God

has made known to the

king what shall be

after this.

This dream is

certain, and its

interpretation, sure.

Daniel looks at that

king, and he says,

this is what will

happen.

Whether you believe it

or not, whether you

agree with it or not,

whether you believe in

you that this is true

or not, this is what

will take place.

And Daniel stands on

the confidence of

God's word.

17 years old.

Daniel trusted God.

My question for you,

not just do you know

God, not just do you

know God, but do you

trust God?

Do you trust God?

Can Daniel explain all

of this?

No.

He doesn't explain the

battles and the wars and

the economic pressures and

the famines and the

things that will happen

of how God will work

and move over the

course of 2,000 years

in order to fulfill

what God has said.

He can't explain it,

but he trusts it.

Daniel trusts it.

I will never tell you

that pursuing the

knowledge of God,

the knowledge of God's

word, to want to know

him more, to want to

know his ways more is a

bad thing.

I will never, ever tell

you that, but there has

to be a point in time in

your life and in my life

where we come to the

realization that my mind

can't fathom, but my life

needs to trust and to

resolve in that.

Do you ever sit in a room

sometimes and realize I'm not

the smartest person in the

room?

How many of you feel that

way?

Raise your hand with me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

I'm not alone.

All right?

I'm going to brag on

somebody because he's quiet

and he would never say these

things about himself, so I'm

going to brag about Joel

Berger for a second.

That guy is smart.

Sometimes we'll be in

conversations and he'll use

a word and I'm like, let me

see what Google has to say

because either he just

encouraged me or critiqued

me and I'm not honestly sure

what that word even means

and I'm not even sure that it

is a word, right?

And so he's smart.

He's brilliant.

He can lead worship.

He's talented.

He's creative.

But he has like a mind to

just comprehend and

understand things that I

can't comprehend and

understand.

And one of those things is

technology.

One of my favorite comedians

is Nate Bargetsy and he

talked about one day that he

realized like how ignorant

he was when he tried to

understand how a cell phone

worked.

He was just like, I mean, I

don't know, but it just

works.

I feel like that's who I am,

right?

Like I know this iPad talks

to something somewhere and

things show up on it, but

exactly how does that

happen?

I have no clue.

So a few months ago, you

know, we've got technology

and if your church has

technology, you have

technology issues and

Berger has been put in

charge of our technology

issues.

And so a few months ago, we

had some technology issues

on a Sunday morning and on

our Tuesday morning staff

meeting.

I said, hey man, what

happened on Sunday?

And so he told me what

happened.

And then I said, are we

fixing that?

And he said, we're fixing

that.

And I said, how are we

fixing it?

And then he told me how

we're fixing it.

And I'm sitting there and I

do not understand anything

that he told me.

So I said, could you do me a

favor?

Explain that to me like I'm

five.

And he looks at me with all

sincerity in his face and he

says, I just did.

So I'm like, man, that's why

we got people like you and

that's why we got people like

me, you know?

Like, is it working?

And he's like, man, it's

working.

I got this.

But here's the thing.

At some point in time, in who

I am and what God's called me

to do and what God's called

me to focus on, that I've

just got to trust in what I've

been told.

So every morning on Sunday, I

ask him, how's the internet?

And every morning he looks at

me and gives me the thumbs up.

Right?

That's all I need.

That is the communication that

I'm looking for.

Right?

Do you trust God?

Do you trust God?

Or do you only trust God when

you get an answer that's

sufficient for you for

trusting God?

Because what we'll see through

God's word is God invites us

into a relationship to know

him that is intimate.

and it is beautiful and it is

wonderful and it is

fulfilling, but there are the

things of God on this side of

eternity that baffle my mind and

I have to trust.

And Daniel walks into that throne

room and with his statement of

what God has revealed to him, he

says, I trust God.

Church, do you trust God?

Do you trust God?

Lastly, lastly, verse 46 through 49.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face

and paid homage to Daniel and commanded

that an offering and incense be offered to him.

The king answered and said to Daniel,

Daniel, truly your God is God of gods

and Lord of kings and the revealer 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 rule over the whole province of Babylon

and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel made a request to the king.

He appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

over the affairs of the province of Babylon.

But Daniel remained at the king's court.

So Daniel tells the king, here's your dream.

Here's what will happen.

Know in God.

Trust in God.

And then Nebuchadnezzar reacts.

I want you to look at Nebuchadnezzar's reaction with me.

He does three things.

Number one, he falls down and he worships Daniel.

Now this would not be typically how a king responds.

We see this as a miracle of God.

We see this as a working of God.

We see this as how God is operating, how God is moving.

Nebuchadnezzar will say some things about God,

but I don't want you to confuse.

He doesn't become a believer here.

But he falls down and he worships Daniel.

Number two, he orders offering and incense

to be offered to Daniel.

And just as the king said he would,

all the way back at the beginning of this,

he promotes and he gifts Daniel.

And then Daniel says, well, I got these three buddies.

And this is his prayer circle.

This is his small group.

These are the boys who are living together,

seeking to glorify and honor God.

He says, you know him as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Would you promote them as well?

And he does.

And then as we go through this,

what we're going to see is that Daniel is a man

who has been gifted greatly by God.

And Daniel will use his gifts and his profession to serve God.

Daniel's not a pastor of the church.

Daniel is not an associate pastor.

He's not a church director.

He's not a missionary.

He's not a denominational leader.

Daniel is a government worker.

Daniel works for the federal government.

Daniel works for a federal government

who's opposed to the faith of Daniel.

You see, some things change,

but everything just stays the same.

And Daniel says,

in all that I am.

See, Daniel doesn't separate his gifting from his career.

Daniel doesn't separate calling from career.

Daniel doesn't separate the gospel from his career.

Daniel says,

but I'm going to serve God.

I'm going to serve God.

Do you know God?

Do you trust God?

Do you serve God?

Do you serve God?

I thank you.

Each and every one of you.

So many of you,

as I look out over into our congregation,

you serve here in our church faithfully and well.

You serve on Sunday mornings.

Some of you serve on different nights of the week

and different acts and different capacities.

And you serve.

And I want to thank you so much for that.

But here's a challenge for all of us.

You know,

we talk about a lot that worship is not something we just go to do,

but that worship is who we are.

We are worshipers is what the Bible talks about.

So when we're awake,

we're a worshiper.

When we're asleep,

we're a worshiper.

When we're at church,

we're a worshiper.

When we're driving through I-20 traffic,

we're a worshiper.

Is serving what you come to do

or is serving just who you are?

We got all of our elementary up through our high school students

in here with us this morning.

We always have our middle school and high school students,

and it's such a blessing

when we have our elementary students in with us as well.

And so I want to throw out this challenge to you guys.

What if that school that you're going to go into,

what if that online classroom that you're going to jump into,

what if that sports team that you're a part of,

that you approached it like Daniel

and said,

I'm going to go and serve the God of my salvation.

And folks,

if it's good enough for students,

it's good enough for us.

What if serving was not the activity

that I report and pick up a name badge to do

as important and as beautiful as that is?

But what if serving was who I am?

Who does...

Who does Daniel serve?

Daniel serves God.

And in serving God,

who does Daniel minister to?

Nebuchadnezzar.

What if this week

you found your Nebuchadnezzar

and you serve God

so you ministered to them?

This series,

man, God's been speaking and working

in my heart and in my life

in a great way.

I hope that God is working in your life.

I hope you're being receptive

to what He's leading.

He's doing through the truth of His Word.

I hope any part of this that is me,

that the Holy Spirit is filtering out

so that you're just hearing the truth of God's Word.

But when we look at the simplicity

of a faithful teenage boy,

it begins,

do you know God?

Do you trust God?

Do you serve God?

Would you pray with me?

God, I thank You for the truth of Your Word.

I thank You for the beauty of Your Word.

God, may we be a people

who are marked

by the evidence of our relationship with You.

May we seek and may we long

and may we desire above all things

to see You glorified in our life.

May we long and desire

to make Your name known

and to see You glorified.

May we look at our career.

May we look at our hobby.

May we look at our time at our home.

May we look at the time

when we're away from this place.

Lord, not as now I'm not that,

but as more time to press into this

is who I really am in Christ.

Lord, I thank You for the consistency

of the walk of Daniel.

I thank You for the resolve

of the heart of Daniel.

And God, it can seem overwhelming

that maybe I could never have that.

But that lie of Satan is defeated

in the truth of who Daniel is

because of the God he serves.

In the truth of who we are

because of Christ who saves us.

God, may our faith

not be just a faith

that we long for

to save us from hell,

but may the faith

that we long for

be the faith that saves us,

be the faith that sustains us,

to be the faith that keeps us,

to be the faith that changes us

through the power of God.

God, work and move in our hearts

as You see fit

as we glorify You.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

That's it for this week's message.

Be sure to check back next week

for a new episode.

And in the meantime,

you can visit us online

at willowridgechurch.org

or by searching for

Willow Ridge Church

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