Sermon Central
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Studies In Daniel
Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 22, 2021 (message contributor)
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1. An Overwhelming Minority.
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
Daniel chose to put all his weight on the side of loyalty to God, and that is why he is a classic example of an overwhelming minority.
Larry Love, an associate of Billy Graham, saw an unusual and striking piece of advertising in a London railway station. It pictured a copy of a very exclusive and expensive magazine. Beneath the picture were the words, "Read by an overwhelming minority." It is a catchy and clever idea ...read more
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2. Compromise
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
I think there are at least three kinds of compromise, and each of them is illustrated by Daniel's experience in Babylon.
A man who had been a notorious thief was telling a friend how going to church had really changed his life. He was in a store just that week and saw the nicest pair of boots. They were just his size, and while he was there the owner of the store stepped out. He could have easily slipped them under ...read more
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3. Friendly Enemies
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
For 4 years I worked in a printing company where my boss was an atheist. He had no love for spiritual things at all, and yet I had to obey his orders and cooperate with him as a Christian
One of the perpetual questions in the life of a believer is, what should my relationship be to unbelievers? Can a Christian be a real friend with a non-Christian? What if his beliefs and actions are obviously contrary to Christian values? Is the often-quoted verse for separation to be our guide? ...read more
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4. A Troubled Dreamer
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
Here is a pagan king and God communicates to him in a dream. He may not have listened to a prophet, but a dream is so personal that he cannot refuse to pay attention.
When John Wesley returned to England from his fruitless visit to America, he learned that on another ship in the harbor his friend Whitefield was about to sail to America. This depressed Wesley for he had hoped to have fellowship with Whitefield. Early in the morning he sent a message by boat to ...read more
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5. Freedom To Change
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
There is no book of the Bible more filled with change than Daniel. It contains 14 references to Hebrew words for change, which is more than any other book.
The War of 1812 is called the war nobody won. It was a very costly war for both United States and Britain, yet it was a war that accomplished nothing, and should never had been fought. In fact, the entire war was fought after the reason for it no longer existed. France and England were at war, ...read more
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6. A Prayer Of Praise
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
Our praise and adoration cannot exalt God objectively for He is already the highest and ultimate in majesty, but it does exalt Him subjectively by placing God in His rightful place in our lives and thinking
The point of interest in this passage is not the fact that Daniel and his friends prayed. This is neither unusual nor surprising under the circumstances. Their lives were at stake unless they had a direct revelation from God. One would be shocked if they did anything else but pray. One does not ...read more
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7. Light All The Way
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
God alone is the source of light that is beyond man's capacity to discover. In this prayer God is seen as the God of nature and history, but the strongest focus is on God as the source of revelation.
Abraham Lincoln was greatly disturbed during the Civil War because he was so often given advice or denounced by persons speaking out of a vacuum of information an a reservoir of ignorance. One of his favorite stories was concerning a backwoods traveler lost in a terrific thunderstorm. He ...read more
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8. God's Interpreter
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
Nebuchadnezzar was a smart enough man to demand objective proof of revelation from God, and Daniel was the man through whom God produced it.
King Nebuchadnezzar was wise in taking a stand that was fool proof on getting a true interpretation of his dream. He demanded of the interpreter that he also produced the dream. Too many people in history have been gullible and they have accepted the lies of men for the leading of the Spirit. ...read more
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9. The Colossal Image
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar we see in the miraculous stone's demolishing of the colossal image the triumph of the kingdom of God over the kingdoms of men.
If we say something is big we assume we have said something important. If the grand stand is packed with the biggest crowd ever, this is a big deal, even if the game was not worth seeing. The big blast is all the rage on the screen or on the stage. Everything has to be gigantic to get our ...read more
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10. The Shattering Stone
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
In the words of Christ Himself we have it stated that He was a shattering stone in His first coming.
A man was bragging that he had saved the life of a poor half-starved little girl who was trying to sell wilted flowers on a freezing cold winter day. When asked how he explained: "This little girl was hardly dressed for the kind of weather she was facing. She wore no gloves, and in her hand ...read more
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11. Prophetic History
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
The image is a unity, and one kingdom leads to another. It is no accident that the traditional interpretation, which has been the view of the church through all the centuries, takes these four kingdoms to be the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman.
When the judge asked the man why he parked in a no parking zone, the man replied that the sign said, "Fine for parking." Most of the mistakes made in life are due to false interpretation of words and symbols. We read into to words what is not intended by their author. When Jesus said ...read more
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12. Old Or New
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
This issue here is over which coming we are to give the most emphasis to as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The orthodox view puts the focus on the first coming, and it exalts Jesus in His present status.
The city building inspector of Paso Robles, Calif. declared the old furnace in a Mennonite church to be faulty. It had served them well for many years, but the church officials installed a new furnace. Shortly after it was in stalled the church burned to the ground. A faulty furnace was listed as ...read more
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13. Instant Idolatry
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
This incident in Babylon shows us that Christians are justified in getting involved in politics, but also in resisting a government that compels obedience to what is contrary to the will of God.
Alfred North Whitehead said, "The key note of idolatry is contentment with the prevalent gods." Nebuchadnezzar, as we saw in the conclusion of chapter 2, had been convinced that Jehovah was the God of gods. Even after this, however, he did not feel compelled to forsake his lesser gods. ...read more
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14. Absolute Loyalty
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
A loyalty that does not depend upon conditions is an unconditional commitment. This is what gives a Christian courage and determination.
The warden asked the prisoner if there was anything he would like to eat before the execution. He said, "Yes, I would like mushrooms. I've always been scared to try them for fear I'd be poisoned." Here was a man who was brave because he had nothing to lose. This is all together ...read more
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15. Objective Omnipotence
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
A faith that will endure and conquer all the storms must be a faith based on objective reality. Our assurance is never to be in how we feel. It must be in the objective reality of an omnipotent God.
R. L. Stevenson has written a story concerning an old sea rover. A youth came rushing to him from the scene of a tragedy, which seemed about to doom his city. He shouted that the temple was burning and that their god Thor was being destroyed in the fire. "Hurry! Hurry! If you would ...read more
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16. From Insane To Humane
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
He did not say bow down to God or die, but look here at the marvelous power and love of the God who saved me. We have a picture here of a converted monarch who went from insane to humane.
It is surprising, and even shocking, that the greatest hero of Saddam Hussain, the ruler of Iraq, was one who wrote part of the Bible. Nebuchadnezzar is a familiar name to students of the Bible, but few realize that he was one of the authors of the Bible. Here in chapter 4 of Daniel we see ...read more
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17. Good Is The Word
Contributed on Mar 22, 2021
Nebuchadnezzar says he thought it good to pass on his personal testimony of what God had done in his life. Good was the word, and he meant by it that he felt it to be a positive value for all to hear of his experience with God.
Franz Liszt, the great musician, was also quite a diplomat. Being famous in the field of music led to his being constantly put on the spot by women who expected unmerited praise for their singing. He finally developed a stock reply when some young amateur would inquire, "Maestro, do you ...read more