DANIEL CH. 2
WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF LOSING?
Good morning everyone! Glad to be worshipping with you. Whether you’re new with us this morning on campus or joining us online it’s good to be with you. If you’re new with us my name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the pastors here at Cornerstone. SERIES: We’re continuing our teaching series called DANIEL: STANDING UP IN A BOW DOWN WORLD as we’re going through the book of Daniel up to the month of December. So today, [2]if you would go ahead and turn to Daniel Chapter 2 in your bibles, that’s where we’re picking up or go to Auburncstone.info for sermon notes. And as you’re turning there, I’d like to ask a question…
- [3]WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF LOSING? When we think about the things that we feel like make us most happy, and the thought of someone or some circumstance taking them away we either get angry or anxious. Can I be painfully transparent with you all right now? This is hard to admit, but during this pandemic I’ve had a lot of anxiety. What if people don’t come back to church after this? What if they watch another churches service and like it better and decide to leave? What if I say something really stupid and it goes out on the internet and makes people really angry? I know a lot of pastors are actually feeling this but won’t simply say it out loud because it’s embarrassing and shows our silly insecurities. But at the end of the day, what my anxiety reveals is that I’m afraid. I’m afraid of failing. I’m afraid of people not liking me or getting angry with me. I’m afraid of the church struggling. And I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to avoid all those things. I’m not saying this to get sympathy. I’m saying this because I’m realizing how often we have a tendency to build our own kingdoms and either slap the name of Jesus on it or ask him to be our vice president. Yea, go ahead, build your kingdom and I’ll bless it. And I ask the question of “what are you most afraid of losing?”, [4]because it reveals what we’ve build our kingdoms around. What If we lose an election? What if we don’t get to play a Sports season? What if I lose a job? Lose a spouse or a significant other? What if I lose my health or my life? I believe God wants to speak to us today about the things we fear losing. So let’s pray and then we’ll read. Prayer for Illumination. READ. [5-11][DAN. 2:1-11]
(TEACH) YOU ARE NOT GOD, YOUR KINGDOM WILL FAIL!
THE INSECURITY OF HUMANITY: If you start to do a deep dive into studying the book of Daniel, one of the things that you’ll discover is that it is written in two different languages. [12]Parts of it are written in Hebrew, the major language of the Jewish people and parts of it are written in Aramaic, which is kind of like a cousin language that was primarily used by many of the other nations surrounding them. Some people want to discredit this book for that reason and say it was written by multiple authors and can’t be historical. But Daniel spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic. [13]What is most likely is that from this point forward, the intention is to speak to those who are not Jewish people about the God of the Jewish people! In other words, this message is for the entire world, the entire human race. And the rest of these couple chapters unveils the basic fear and insecurity of all of humanity. God gives Nebuchadnezzar a dream where…[14]
- EVERYTHING HE IS BUILDING WILL EVENTUALLY FALL APART: Let’s jump ahead to [15-18][Dan. 2:31-35] He has a dream of a giant image, a huge statue of a man with different parts: a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, stomach and thighs, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. And a stone that seems to come supernaturally out of nowhere and smashes the feet and the whole things topples over. And the wind simply blows away any trace of that statue. And the small stone that smashed the feet transforms into a huge mountain that fills the entire earth. And this freaks Him out! He can’t go back to sleep. It gives him a great sense of anxiety. So, he calls in his “magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans” in for the purpose of telling him what his dream is all about. This is a normal part of their culture. They were used to being asked in interpret dreams. But Nebuchadnezzar does something no one has done before. He says, tell me not just the meaning of my dream, but also tell me what my actual dream was. The first thing they say is “O King, live forever!” Probably a good thing to say to a king, especially one with a temper who is scared. But then they say, “We’ll interpret your dream, just tell us what it is!” And the King responds, “no, you tell me both what the dream was about and what it means. “Do a good job and make me happy, I’ll reward you. Do a bad job and I’ll rip you apart and destroy everything that you hold dear.” And this is where this gets interesting. [19]They respond with “11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” [2:11] You know what they’re saying? They’re saying…[20]
- WE’RE NOT A GOD, AND APPARENTLY NEITHER ARE YOU: The most powerful man alive is powerless to understand his own dreams. If you were a god, you could both read people’s minds and know what the future held. Interesting, if only there had been a god who had flesh and lived with us who had supernatural wisdom and could read minds and tell the future! Some historians believe that at this point in Nebuchadnezzars reign, he was experiencing some frustration: losing battles, political struggles. And in the middle of this, his closest advisors have just poked the sorest spot in his life, you may be a king, but you are no god. There is a limit to your power. And it says that “The King was furious when he heard this.” [2:12] You want a telltale sign that someone is finding out they’re not God and that their kingdom is in danger? They…[21]
- LIVE IN FEAR AND LASH OUT IN ANGER He is afraid he’s going to lose everything, and in his fear, he is angry and lashing out at those around him. Instead of focusing on how he has tried to take God’s place and repenting, he focuses his anger on those around him and is willing to do whatever he needs to do to destroy them. This happens in the grand human scale and on the individual relational scale as well. Political and Social Movements all use this way of thinking. They’re destroy your way of life, they’ll oppress you. You’re allowed to hate them and even kill them. I’ve seen this happen over and over again with individuals as well. I’ve had conversations where I say something to the effect of…God wants what’s best for you when it comes to your body, your sexual life, your family, your finances, your career. He’s not denying you something, he’s protecting you from pain and destruction. And when you ignore that, you’re sinning. And it’s like I just took a sledgehammer to their kingdom and started smashing their dreams. Then they get angry! How dare you! You’re being judgmental. I have to say, when you see what people are most afraid of losing and refuse to give up, or what they get angry about when you talk about it, is someone hating being told they’re not god and that their kingdom will fail them. [22]And the most painful and beautiful news we can hear is “you, o king, are not a god!” “Your kingdom is built on your own desires, you think you’re smarter and more powerful than he is, and God is too good to let you build your happiness apart from him.” As I really chewed on this section of God’s word, I think that God was being kind to this king and uses Daniel to…[23]
- WE’RE NOT A GOD, AND APPARENTLY NEITHER ARE YOU: The most powerful man alive is powerless to understand his own dreams. If you were a god, you could both read people’s minds and know what the future held. Interesting, if only there had been a god who had flesh and lived with us who had supernatural wisdom and could read minds and tell the future! Some historians believe that at this point in Nebuchadnezzars reign, he was experiencing some frustration: losing battles, political struggles. And in the middle of this, his closest advisors have just poked the sorest spot in his life, you may be a king, but you are no god. There is a limit to your power. And it says that “The King was furious when he heard this.” [2:12] You want a telltale sign that someone is finding out they’re not God and that their kingdom is in danger? They…[21]
- OFFER HIM WISDOM ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS FOR ETERNITY. God was being kind to this king and giving him the opportunity to repent. He shows him that once his kingdom passes away it will be replaced by 3 other kingdoms. Some less glorious, some stronger, some weaker. But eventually they all get smashed by a supernatural rock and all those kingdoms will turn to dust and blow away. And there will be another Kingdom that outlasts them all, one that starts as a stone and turns into a huge mountain and fills the whole earth. God didn’t have to give him this dream. He didn’t have to provide an interpretation of it. He’s doing it because he loves him and wants to give him a chance to turn around. And I think he’s doing the same thing today. God wants to show us that in the grand scheme of things, we’re not really in control. We can claim to be kings, but we’re not gods. The things we gather on this earth will turn to dust. Our kids sell most of the stuff we accumulate after we die or toss it in the garbage. The businesses we invest in or work all our lives in, keep going long after we retire or go bankrupt and close. Nobody looks at your report cards when you’re in your 40’s. Cars break down and houses always need work. Bodies get old. God says, don’t waste your life on those kingdoms, I love you too much to let us continue to live with the illusion that we’re in control and are better off building our own kingdoms. He’s giving Nebuchadnezzar a chance to turn back to him and be part of something that lasts for eternity. If you’re living in a state of fear or anger right now, might I suggest that it’s God’s invitation for you to let go of what you’ve made the most important thing in your life and turn towards him? Now, I also know that there are times in this life when we are being faithful to God and all of a sudden there is an upheaval, an unexpected danger, a threat to our lives and the lives of those we love. God will always use those things in our lives to…[24]
- AS AN INVITATION TO LEARN TO TRUST HIM: [25-31][DAN. 2:12-23] Daniel is faithfully living his life and then finds out that he is about to be executed. One of reasons I believe God allowed Daniel and his friends to experience this is because he planned to grow their dependance & trust in Him. No amount of human wisdom or education could have saved them from their circumstances. They were completely unable to fix their own situation. And when we find ourselves in that place, it’s where we find God waiting for us, ready to come alongside us. Daniel and his buddies went to the God who reveals all mysteries. They went to the God who raises up and removes Kings and governments. They knew from scripture that God had been moving in history before and had helped his people in the past. Just like God had helped a guy named Joseph interpret the dreams of the King of Egypt and took him out of a dark place, he did the same for Daniel and his friends, and rescued them from death. [32]When you walk out of the impossible, you begin to trust the God that says nothing is impossible! If he’s done it in the past, he can do it again! God used the trial to teach them to trust him more, but also as…[33]
- AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE GOD FAMOUS: I believe God did this to give them an opportunity to humbly speak truth to power. You notice that Daniel doesn’t stand up and say, You know King, you’re a tyrant, with a bad temper, and God hates you because you’re a sinner. God reveals truth to Daniel so that he can respectfully reveal it to those in power. He says “36 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. 37 Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.” Last week we saw Daniel Respectfully Resisting. This week we see Daniel Respectfully speaking truth. Daniel genuinely cares for the King. God loves him and so does Daniel and he wants him to know God. And It’s God’s desire for Nebuchadnezzar to not waste his life and to repent. I honestly don’t feel like this is the way we have seen the church and Christians respond to a broken world. It’s usually posting nasty things and sounding just like the rest of the world. God wants us to look at a world full of Nebuchadnezzars and say God loves you too much to waste your life. Stop chasing people, pleasure, prestige & power, possessions. There is a rock! You are busy living in a dream world trying to build a kingdom and there is a rock coming. And you can either…[34]
(JESUS) BE CRUSHED BY IT OR BUILD YOUR LIFE ON IT
Jesus used the scripture in [Psalm 118:22] that Joe read earlier to describe himself. He said, build your life with me as King first and you’ll have a solid foundation. Let me be king of you, let me be king over all of your relationships, your spouse, your significant other, your children, your family, your church, your career, your hobbies. I’ll build my kingdom in you and through you. Put me first and let me call the shots and things will be solid. Take me out of the foundation and the whole thing falls apart.
God hates to see us destroy ourselves and each other by running away from his kingdom towards our own kingdoms. So, he sent his Son to call us back to his kingdom. And people hate hearing they’re not the central place in the universe, so they Killed him. But he rose from the grave. He proved he was the King over all Kings, the rightful master and ruler of all creation including you and me. And he says, everyone is invited into my Kingdom. Accept me as King and I’ll forgive you and I’ll help you build a life that won’t shake. I want to end with the lyrics of a great old song of the faith. “Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine inheritance now and always. Thou and Thou only, first in my heart. High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou Art.”
(DISCUSSION) [35]
- Have you ever gotten a gift you really wanted and then got bored with it and it’s in a closet or you gave it away? What was it?
- Will things ever make us truly happy? Why or why not?
- What is the thing you are most afraid of losing or can’t imagine living without?
- If Jesus gave up everything to bring us into his kingdom and rose from the grave give you hope and comfort when anxiety & fear arise?