Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
At Faith Presbyterian Church we are seeking to exalt Jesus Christ the King and to exhibit and extend his Kingdom through worship, community, and mission.
Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
Daniel 2:1-3, 24-35, 44-47; A True Dream
Jason Sterling September 15, 2024 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL
Bulletin
The following message is from Faith Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Join us on Sundays for our 8, 15, and 11 am worship services. For more information, visit us online at faith-pcaorg or download the Faith PCA app. Thank you for tuning in to Faith's podcast ministry.
Speaker 2:If you have a copy of God's Word, turn with me to the book of Daniel. I encourage you to keep your Bible open this morning. It's a long passage. We won't read it all, but we'll be referring to. We'll really walk through the entire chapter this morning, and so I'll be highlighting different portions this morning. So if you have a Bible, keep it open. Grab a pew Bible If you see in the window seals. If you don't have a Bible, consider that a gift from our church as well.
Speaker 2:We started a new series last week in the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, that'll take us through the fall. We've said in the past that context is king when studying our Bibles, and so the context is really important as we study the book of Daniel. The context is exile. God's people are in exile. About 600 years before Jesus, jerusalem, the capital city, was captured and destroyed by the Babylonian armies and many of the people Daniel included, many others were deported back to Babylon. And we said last week the question we're tracing through the entire book is really what does it look like to believe in God in an unbelieving world? What does it look like for us to believe in God, to serve God, in an unbelieving, pluralistic, secular world. That is a very relevant question for us given our current cultural moment, but it's not a new question. That's a question that Daniel and his friends faced 2,600 years ago. They faced the exact same question, so this book will help us navigate that.
Speaker 2:This fall, our story picks up with Daniel working in the king's court, daniel in the king's court of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar has a nightmare and he needs some help revealing the dream but also what the dream means. And so let's read and see what happens in the story in Daniel, chapter two, just a heads up. This is a really strong and powerful passage and my hope this morning is that, as we study it, that God would use this passage to fill us with hope and confidence as we walk in his world. So, with that in mind, follow along with me. This is God's word.
Speaker 2:In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, nebuchadnezzar had dreams and 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, down to verse 24, it's in your bulletin, it's also on the screen. Therefore, daniel went into 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 Daniel before the king in. I will show the king the interpretation.
Speaker 2:Then Ariok brought Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him I found among the exiles in Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation. The king declared to Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen in its interpretation? And Daniel answered the king and said no wise men, enchanters, magicians, astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar that will be in the later days, the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in your bed are these To you, o king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what will 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 had, more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Speaker 2:You saw, o king, and behold the great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you and its appearance was frightening. And 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. And as you look, the 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. And then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, the gold, all together were broken into pieces and became like chaff of the summer threshing floor. And the wind carried them away and listen to how strong this is so that no trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. And in the days now verse 44, and in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall that 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.
Speaker 2:The dream is certain and its interpretation is sure. And then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down upon his face and paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering of an incense be offered up to him. And the king answered and said to Daniel truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. This is God's Word. Let me pray and ask the Lord to help us. Father, you say your Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. I pray that you would bring the sword of your Word through your Spirit and that you would pierce each and every heart that's listening. It's no accident we're here, and so pierce us with your word. Bring about repentance, but also bring about great hope, the hope of the gospel, the hope that we are a part, as Christians, of a kingdom that will stand forever. In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2:We've all had this experience of having a nightmare or a bad dream, a dream of something really awful happening, and that dream, at times, you've had these situations when you're sleeping so vivid, so real, and you wake up and your heart is pounding, you are afraid and terrified, perhaps you're shaking, it is troubling your soul and you try to come to and to understand what's happening. And it's so real in some cases that, depending on whatever, the dream is that maybe you get up out of bed and you walk around the house or you check in on a loved one, and then, once you realize that this is a dream, you take a deep breath, you are deeply thankful and it's made clear that what has happened in your dream is not true, it was only just a dream. When our passage this morning, we see that Nebuchadnezzar has a dream like that. He has a soul-troubling nightmare that disrupts his soul, but the only difference is that this is a dream.
Speaker 2:Nebuchadnezzar's dream is a dream that does and will come true. You see, nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel, chapter 2 reveals to us three true things, three key truths that we'll see in this passage this morning, that his dream reveals First of all, if you're a note taker, the emptiness of our idolatry. Second of all, it'll show us the weakness of human power. And, lastly, it'll show us the security of God's kingdom. That's where we're headed. Let's look at our first heading the emptiness of idolatry.
Speaker 2:We'll just walk through the passage, make application like we normally do, but you'll see, starting in verse 1, the dream comes to Nebuchadnezzar. He's troubled and, it says, his sleep leaves him. I find that very interesting. Here's a man who at that time had the world in the palm of his hand, you could say, who should have been full of confidence and courage, and he's a man who can't sleep. He can't get a good night's sleep. Instead of courage and confidence, he's full of anxiety and fear.
Speaker 2:Verse 2 and following he summons the wise men of Babylon to come and to help him interpret this dream, and not only to give the content of the dream but the interpretation of the dream. Well, a protocol back then was the dream the king gives you the dream and the interpreters interpret the dream. Nebuchadnezzar wants both. We're not completely sure why. Maybe he's suspicious or doesn't trust the wise men of Babylon, but whatever the reason is, this is a very tall task. And he says the punishment will be if you fail this test you'll see it there in the text I'll take you limb from limb and level your home and put it in ruins, or I will. If you do this, I will reward you. And there's back and forth in the passage. You can see it there. And then we get to verses 10 and 11. And the wise men finally say there's no one on earth that can do this, except for the gods, whose dwelling is not with the flesh. And then in verse 12 and following the king doesn't like that response. That's not the response he's after. And so he says everybody, all the wise men that includes Daniel and his friends are to be put to death.
Speaker 2:Daniel hears this decree and notice verse 15 with prudence. I think that's important. It shows you how he handles the situation with prudence and discretion. Daniel asked for more time and you know the first thing Daniel does with his time he gets down on his knees and he starts to pray. He gets his friends together and says we need to pray, and we need to pray now and we need to cry out to God for mercy.
Speaker 2:You see, nothing reveals your faith like fear. Nothing reveals what you're trusting in, where your hope really is, than fear. In Nebuchadnezzar, you see it clearly when he experienced fear and anxiety, he went straight to power. Threat and violence, those were the things he was looking to to relieve his fears. But Daniel, by contrast, he experiences fear and he takes it to God. His instinct is to pray. Where do you go when you're afraid? Where do you go when you're afraid? What do you trust in? Where are you going to alleviate your fears?
Speaker 2:Verse 19, daniel prays, he goes to bed. God reveals the dream and the content of the dream to him and the meaning of the dream, and at this point you're reading, you fully expect. At least I expect, because I would probably do this. Once Daniel gets the dream and the interpretation, he hops up out of bed. He goes straight to the king's chambers and says don't kill anyone, I got it. Or maybe go down the hall to his friends and say listen, this is what happened. Daniel, he doesn't do that either, the first thing he does. This is interesting.
Speaker 2:His prayer now turns to praise Verse 20, it's a remarkable section of this passage. He worships. He falls down on his knees and now his praying turns to praise and worship. What is he praising God for? You see it there in the passage For his might and wisdom, his control and wisdom. Look at he praising God for. You see it there in the passage For his might and wisdom, his control and wisdom. Look at the verses with me. Bless God, to whom belong wisdom and might Listen to this. He changes the seasons and times, he moves and sets up kings. Kings, friends, presidents and kings are under God's control.
Speaker 2:Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 1,. It says one of my favorite verses in the scripture. It says that God holds the king's heart in his hand and he directs it, like a water course, wherever he wants it to go. And I think that's really important for us and a lot of us maybe know that. But like, let's work that out. It reminds us that we live where we do in this time, in an unbelieving world, because this is part of God's plan. It's part of God's plan, again, in ways I don't understand, but for His glory and our good, that we as Christians have no cultural power. That's part of His plan. He put us here and it's important for us because as we look around at the world, it seems that the wicked are prospering and that evil is winning and the culture seems to be moving further and further away from God.
Speaker 2:And it's really easy for us, I think, in our current moment to forget what is true and to lose hope and to think that someone or something else is in control of human history and in control of this world, and we start to look to other places for hope and security. And this passage pushes back on all of that and says, despite the appearances, despite how it might look, that God-defying power brokers do not direct the future of this world. God does. God directs the future, he directs the future of your life and he directs the future of every country and every king. Okay, verses 21 and 22. So he praises God for his control. He praises God also for his wisdom, because he is the God who reveals you'll see it there the deep mysteries of the future. And he did that with Daniel. It's exactly the thing that the Babylonians said could not happen and was impossible.
Speaker 2:And notice that also, I love this part. God sees and knows what's in the darkness. Isn't that encouraging? I don't know what your darkness is, but God sees into the darkness of this world. He knows the darkness, he's in the darkness, he moves into it. He came down out of heaven in the person of Jesus Christ to do something about it and he knows the darkness that's inside your heart and the dark places he sees and he wants to move into in order to bring about change and to give you hope. And notice here how Daniel, in his praise what is happening is he's putting forth a contrast between the idols of the world and his God, the true God, the God of the Bible, israel's God, in order to show us and to teach us and to encourage us not to be wowed by the idols and gods of this world, because, despite their dazzling appearance, they're dead ends. They offer no hope, they are unable to deliver and make good on their promises, they can't look into the future, they're not in control of the future. They can't see into the darkness.
Speaker 2:I love Psalm 115 about idols. Their mouths cannot. They have mouths but cannot speak, and ears but cannot hear, and eyes but they cannot see, and noses but they cannot smell. They have hands they can't feel, and feet they can't walk. And then it says those who make them will be like them. Those who trust in them will be like them. That's what's happening to King Nebuchadnezzar and that's what happens to us when we start to bow down to the gods and idols of this world. They will make us fearful Think about Nebuchadnezzar and anxious and angry. And friends, an idol is not just a golden statue. An idol is anything in this world that you're putting in, that you're putting your hope and trust in. And Calvin says that our hearts are idol factories, constantly cranking out new idols to bow down to and adore. And this is reminding us there's wooden God and he's all-knowing and he's all-wise and he doesn't bring ruin, he brings life. And that should lead us the same place that leads Daniel on our knees to worship and praise.
Speaker 2:I love Ralph Davis commentator. He says here in Daniel 2 it's as if the Holy Spirit reaches out and grabs us by the collar, reaches out from the pages of scripture and grabs us and whispers. Now what should you say to this? Is Daniel the only one who owes praise? We owe praise, don't we? Because when we have a God like this, we can walk in this world, this world where we seem so out of place, because we have a God and we serve a God who's in control, he's all wise and he knows what's in the dark. He sees into the darkness. Secondly, we see another truth here, and that's the weakness of human power. Look at verses 31 through 35. And so here he starts to recount the content of the dream.
Speaker 2:And so here's, he starts to recount the content of the dream, and it's simple, but it's actually very profound. The dream centers on this large, frightening, scary statue. It's made of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay. And then it says a stone that's not cut by human hands will strike the feet of the statue and shatter it into pieces, and the wind will carry it away, but the stone will become a great mountain and will fill the entire earth. And then you see the interpretation.
Speaker 2:Look at verse 36 through 45. He tells the king what the dream means. And notice how he begins. He begins with Nebuchadnezzar. God is the one who gave you dominion. God is the one who gave you your power and your glory. Why? Because God sets up kings and he takes them down. And Daniel then says in the dream, the head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar, is Babylon. And then he starts to say kingdoms will rise after you. And at this point it's really tempting and a lot of people go here, but it's not the point. We can get in the weeds and start trying to identify all the kingdoms and lots of ink's been spilled on that and the traditional interpretation is that they represent obviously Babylon, the gold, but they represent then Persia, greece and Rome. But that's not really the point. The emphasis here is not on a particular empire or kingdom. The emphasis of the passage is that the world's kingdoms and the world's empires are going to fall because they are fragile and they are fading.
Speaker 2:Verse 39 is very strong, very easy to miss, and actually the ESV which we're looking at in our bulletin, it's not clear. It literally reads like this but after you, nebuchadnezzar, but after you. And so you see what God is saying. God, through this dream, is saying Nebuchadnezzar, your kingdom is going and my kingdom is coming. When this is all said and done, there will be one king standing, and it will not be you, it will be me, and my glory and my kingdom, god says, will fill the entire earth. That's the point. And so what does that mean for us this morning? Well, if you think about this, this is the ultimate cobweb, clear, isn't it? It clears the cobwebs really quickly as we think about our lives and as we reflect on our life personally and as we reflect on the world, internationally and globally. Let's think first of all, apply it individually.
Speaker 2:This passage is an encouragement to us to remember who we are. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was a somebody. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was big, and this dream reminds him that he's really not, and we're not really that big a deal, that we're a blip on the radar screen, so to speak, in human history, that we are really small. The Bible says our life is a vapor, it's a mist. The Bible says our life is a vapor, it's a mist. In a hundred years, people won't even know we were here or remember our name. Think about it. How many of you know your great, great, great grandmother's name? Very few of you. We will not be remembered. Are we important? Yes, we're the image bearers of God. We have great dignity no-transcript. And this dream is meant to produce in us a humility that causes us to live in a constant state of after this, a constant state of after you.
Speaker 2:I remember a seminary professor often quoting Charles Wesley to seminarians and future ministers, to seminarians and future ministers. And Charles Wesley used to say God buries his workmen and gets on with his work. And that's exactly what this passage is teaching us. It pushes back against unhealthy desires to be somebody Power and prestige and popularity and control and when that gets into our souls, it allows us to be present here in the place that God has placed us, to love God and love people. It also pushes on as we look at this dream. It pushes on and pushes against building your life on something other than Jesus, because think of Nebuchadnezzar he was serving the kingdom of self. He was building life on success, power and control. He wanted this dazzling image of himself. He wanted to be worshipped. And he sees in this dream all of that crumble to pieces.
Speaker 2:And God is saying through this to us individually if you build your life on something else, if you build your life on looks, your attraction and beauty, or money or success or popularity, that it's going to crumble and it too is fading and will fail you in the end. So how do you know if you're doing that? How do you know if you're building your life on something else? Well, look at your life and ask this diagnostic question Are you constantly stressed, are you constantly anxious and fearful and struggling to sleep and have no peace. Well, if so, chances are you have feet of clay, and this passage is saying that if you build your life on something other than Jesus, that at some point something will come into your life and bring it down and, like Nebuchadnezzar, you will wake up with nothing.
Speaker 2:Secondly, it shows us there's a global, international implication or application to this dream, and it clears the cobwebs again, because it shows us that human power is actually weak, it is failing us and it is very fragile. The earthly kingdoms of this world there's always an after this. I mean, think about Babylon, if the traditional interpretation is right, babylon, persia, greece and Rome where are they? They no longer exist as powers, and you know that's eventually going to happen to us too, in our country. You know that right that the kingdoms of this world, the United Kingdom, china, the United States we're going to fall. We are all going to pass away. We must, because the kingdom of God is the only thing this passage says and the Bible teaches, is the only thing that will be left standing in the end. That is where history is headed.
Speaker 2:And so are you panicky and fearful this morning as you look at the world. This passage says don't be impressed by the political powers in the kingdoms that you see, no matter how strong they appear to be, they're all going to crumble in the end. That's our hope, that's our confidence and that gives us strength to live faithfully in the world right now, because we know how the story is going to end. And so where is your mind and heart set? Is it set down here or is it set on ultimate and eternal things? And the next passage, or the next point, shows us more detail about how this is going to happen and who's actually going to be the one to do. It Told you this was strong and powerful, and it gets stronger and more powerful in this last point. Look at our third point the stability and security of God's kingdom, verse 34,.
Speaker 2:A stone not cut by human hands will strike the feet of the statue and break it to pieces. Verse 44 and 45 says the stone will crush the other kingdoms and it will last forever. And so a stone? Think about it in the context here. With all the other substances here iron, bronze, silver and gold it's the least valuable of all of those, it's the least impressive and it represents the kingdom of God. And that's exactly what Jesus teaches in the gospel, isn't it? Remember? He says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed it's poor, it's weak, it's small, and yet it's going to become a rock. It's going to be a tree that fills up the entire world, a rock that's going to smash the other kingdoms to the ground and become a mountain that will fill the entire earth. Who's the stone? Jesus is the stone. He's the stone that will crush the earthly kingdoms.
Speaker 2:And did you know that Jesus quotes this passage in Luke, chapter 20? It's a parable you should read it. It's a very strong parable of the wicked tenant and the tenants refused to pay and the owner of the parable sends messengers to get his money and rent from the tenants. And remember what the tenants do? They take the messengers, they beat them up and they chase them off. And then the owner sends his son. And the tenants now don't just beat the son up, they actually kill the son. And then, if you keep reading in the parable, it says now the owner returns and he kills the tenants, he gives the vineyard to others. And at the end of that Jesus quotes Psalm 118, the stone that the builders rejected becomes the chief cornerstone. And then Jesus connects it to Daniel 2, luke 20, verse 18. Listen to this Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush them.
Speaker 2:Jesus is the stone in Nebuchadnezzar's dream that leads to a kingdom that will stand forever. Jesus, think about his life. He was unimpressive. Jesus, think about his life. He was unimpressive. Isaiah said he had no form or majesty, that we should look at him. He was despised and rejected.
Speaker 2:God in the flesh, jesus Christ, cut not by human hands, comes into this world and advances the kingdom, not through power and prestige, but through death and suffering. And through his life we live. He lived the life that we couldn't live because of our sin and died the death that we deserve for our sins, and he was raised to new life. And if you're united to Jesus, you too will one day be raised. How do we get this? We trust in Jesus by faith and receive him. And when we receive him, then we're safe and secure. When we're hidden in Christ, we will not be broken to pieces and carried away. We will be safe. And 1 Peter says that if you trust in Jesus, that we, as Christians, become living stones, and those stones will one day make a mountain that will fill up the entire earth. You see, now God is working through the kingdoms of this world to accomplish His purposes, but he won't do that forever, because he's coming back. The stone is coming back and he will bring His final kingdom into the world.
Speaker 2:I heard a story this week in my reading. I read a story this week about the emperor Julius, and I'll close with this, julian, he hated Christians. He was mortally wounded in the Persian in a war with the Persians, and one of his followers mocked a Christian in Antioch by saying hey, what is the carpenter's son doing? And the Christian replied the maker of this world, the one that you call the carpenter's son, is making a coffin for the emperor. And a few days later, news came to Antioch that Julian had died. You see, that's the message of Daniel, chapter 2. That's where this chapter leaves us. Jesus has a coffin for every emperor, every king, every president, every empire, and the only stable, firm and safe place of security is in the kingdom of the carpenter's son.
Speaker 2:And so what's the response? Well, the only appropriate response is what we see Nebuchadnezzar do. Look at verse 47. The most powerful man in the world at that time fell down before an exiled Jew and acknowledged that his God, the God of the Bible, was the one true and living God. And the Bible says as you keep reading, you get to the book of Philippians, and it says that one day, not just kings and emperors will fall down, but that everyone in this world will fall down, not before an exiled Jew, but a crucified Jew named the Lord Jesus Christ. And they will say you are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Jesus is far superior to all the gods of this world. His kingdom is secure. His kingdom will last forever.
Speaker 2:See, nebuchadnezzar had a nightmare. He had a disturbing dream, but make no mistake, it is a dream that will come true, and so will you. Come to Jesus this morning so that you can be safe and secure in his kingdom. Amen, let's pray. Father, you are Lord of lords and you are the king of kings, and I pray that you would forgive us for not living that way. Give us for the ways that we bow down and serve lesser gods and idols. Holy Spirit, fill us with courage. Give us confidence to apply all the things that we've learned in this passage today. Thank you for the hope that it gives us. In Jesus' name, amen.