Revision as of 20:27, 27 December 2023

Theological Proposition/Focus: God is a God of truth.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Even when the truth hurts we are called to speak the truth.

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Text: Daniel 4:1-27 before each main point.

Setting the Stage:

We have been in the book of Daniel for a few weeks now and I hope you are seeing a few themes. King Nebuchadnezzar was an arrogant king, God's people were faithful to God, and God was patient. What we are going to see here is the importance of speaking the truth, even when the truth is hard, even when the news is bad, even when the truth might elicit a negative reaction. We serve the God of truth and so we must speak the truth. The news that Daniel will be asked to give to Nebuchadnezzar is bad news but I want you to notice right away how things turn out in the end. Long-term Daniel's faithfulness results in Nebuchadnezzar praising God. Look at verses 1-3 of Daniel 4.

Daniel 4:1-3 -

King Nebuchadnezzar,

To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:

May you prosper greatly!

2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

3 How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.

Body

Let's continue on,

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6 So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. 8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.

God desires for us to grow instead of sitting in a cycle of sin (4-9).

If you are anything like me then the cycle of sin can be very hard to break. The same old sins will rear their heads as we move through life. As I read through Daniel 4 I was reminded of this through Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel 1 we are introduced to Nebuchadnezzar as a powerful ruler who seeks to erase God but soon discovers that the God of Israel will not be erased and the servants of God are elevated to a high place. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar's dream reminds this head of gold that while he is indeed powerful, the God of the ages will destroy all kingdoms of the world. In Daniel 3 Nebuchadnezzar builds a magnificent gold image and has the guts to say "what god is able to deliver someone from my hand?" He quickly learns that the God of Israel can do just that. What is the pattern you see? Pride. Time and time again Nebuchadnezzar over estimates himself, faces off with the God of the universe, and loses. Daniel chapter 4 is more of this same problem. Before we dig into specifics I want to tell you, God wants you to grow. God does not want you to comfortably sit in the cycle of sin. Yes, there will be times you fail, but God wants you to grow. Sin is vicious and traps people before I go any further let me start by stating that if you have found yourself in a cycle of sin then you need to seek out godly council. Do it today. At the end of the service we will have several deacons available to pray with you. Take advantage of this.

So, what does the text tell us about sin? First,

Prosperity can be dangerous because it breeds self-reliance and pride (4).

Nebuchadnezzar was living the good life! He was at the peak of his reign and life was easy. The sin that Nebuchadnezzar seemed particularly prone to committing was a sin of pride. For Nebuchadnezzar, prosperity became a temptation to self-reliance and arrogance. Here is a reality, prosperity is dangerous. Anyone who has been around for long realizes this. When the going is easy we tend to quickly fall into sinful habits. I have often heard people say something like "be careful about praying for patience because God might give it to you." Well that is a funny saying, but I would say, be careful about praying for prosperity because the examples of people who fall into sin from prosperity abound.

So, what is your pet sin? What is your cycle? What circumstances do you need to be careful about?

There are times when God takes steps to get our attention (5-7).

There is a sharp contrast between verses four and five. This content, prosperous king is terrified. Why? In this case, it is because of a dream. God is working on getting ahold of Nebuchadnezzar and uses a dream. I want to take a second here to remind you that just because God used a dream with Nebuchadnezzar that does not mean that God is going to use a dream to get ahold of you. In fact, I would venture to say that we should not expect God to get our attention with dreams today. Today we have the indwelling Holy Spirit.

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. John 16:7-14

So, please don't go home and try to interpret your dreams. It is more likely that last nights fried food has a message for you through your dream. Instead, turn to the Holy Spirit through prayer. That being said, I do want you to recognize that God takes steps to get our attention. God was at work in Nebuchadnezzar's life. We see this through the first three chapters but Nebuchadnezzar has missed it. God is at work in your life! We need to look for how God is directing.

A wise person will seek godly council (8-9).

For all Nebuchadnezzar's problems, he gets something right. He seeks council. Now, it takes a while for Nebuchadnezzar to get to godly council but eventually he does. We too should seek out godly council.

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MTR: Ask yourself, how has God sought to get my attention about things in my life I need to work on?

These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. 11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.

13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.

“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.

17 “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’

18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

God must be given first place.

God has given each of us a sphere of influence (10-12).

God has the right to take away anybody's sphere of influence (13-16).

===God's sovereignty means that nobody is above God's decisions (17-18)

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MTR: Evaluate your sphere of influence, is God the one who is given first place in your sphere?

Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! 20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

23 “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’

24 “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”

The punishment for sin has been paid but a loving Father still disciplines (19-27).

Sometimes the truth and reality of a situation are a burden (19-23).

The truth is that sometimes God disciplines in order to change the path someone is on (24-26).

i.e. everything bad that happens to you is not caused by Satan!

The right response to the discipline of the Lord is repentance (27).

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MTR: Determine to accept God's discipline instead of hardening yourself against God's discipline.