Dealing with Crisis to the Glory of God
Daniel 2:1-28, 45b-49
Dealing with a Crisis to the Glory of God requires Wisdom (Daniel 2:14; Proverbs 9:10; James 1:5)
How do we become Wise?
Wisdom begins…With a Reverence for the Lord
Wisdom grows …With a Humility for ourselves
Wisdom grows…
As we humbly seek the counsel of God’s People
As we humbly pray to the Lord
As we humbly give glory to God
As we humbly receive the blessings of God…
And share the blessings of God!
Intro
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Good Morning. Happy Father’s Day. We are continuing our series through Daniel called “When in Babylon…?” learning how we can live in a culture and society that is opposed to living for the Lord.
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This morning we are going to jump right into our text, so if you would turn with me to Daniel 2, we are going to read the first part of the chapter to get an indication of the situation and talk about that before we get into what the Lord wants us to learn from this chapter. So, let’s begin in Daniel 2 and read Daniel 2:1-13
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, "I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means."
4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic,"
O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it."
5 The king replied to the astrologers, "This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me."
7 Once more they replied, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it."
8 Then the king answered, "I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me."
10 The astrologers answered the king, "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men."
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
Pray
Ok, well things look pretty bleak for Daniel and his friends.
Due to no fault of their own, they are sentenced to death because the king became angry with some of his “wise men” because they could not accomplish a task that was humanly impossible. Talk about frustrating.
Have you ever had to deal with what seemed like an impossible situation?
A boss that wants something completed that can’t be done in the time frame he gives?
A parent that no matter what you do, it is never good enough. You try and try but there expectations are impossible to achieve!
Maybe it is some other situation that you will not be able to resolve and the consequences for not resolving it are severe?
Whatever the case you probably are not facing anything near as bad as Daniel and his friends. Talk about impossible. He is going to be put to death for something he wasn’t even involved in
How is a man or woman of God supposed to deal with a crisis like this in a way that gives glory to God?
Slide
Let’s continue on and see how Daniel deals with it and learn how might be able to deal with Crisis to the glory of God.
Daniel 2:14-16
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king’s officer, "Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?" Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
Ok, this is pretty amazing. A man is coming for Daniel to kill him and he is not freaking out. Instead, he appears to calmly speak to the guard, and it tells us he spoke with “wisdom and tact.”
This is important, because
Dealing with a Crisis to the Glory of God requires Wisdom
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Freaking out never gets you anywhere. Instead he finds out why such a harsh decree and seeks more time. Perhaps one of the reasons that the guard took Danile to the king and the king responded favorably was because of Daniel’s calm response that was both wise and tactful.
But think about this a moment. Daniel is probably no more than 20 at this point, if that.
How did he become so wise and more importantly,
How do we become wise?
Slide
Well, I will tell you that
Wisdom begins…with a Reverence for the Lord
Proverbs 9:10 says – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
That fear that is spoken of there is not an afraid kind of fear, but a reverence, a respect.
And the knowledge is not just a knowing about, but a knowing.
Wisdom ultimately comes from the Lord and it comes to those in relationship with Him, who know Him.
Daniel had a relationship with the One true God knowing His love, His power, His sovereignty, and His authority and He had trusted in the Lord for his life and eternity.
Superhero
Too often people only want God to help them like they want a superhero to swoop down and save the day. We want him to be more like a Genie in a bottle that comes and helps and we don’t have to answer to for our life.
Well God is not a superhero or a Genie. He is not looking to save the day; He is looking to save you for eternity! And he has chosen to give that salvation through you receiving Jesus by faith.
You receive Him by believing in Jesus, in who Jesus is – God in the flesh (when we realize the fullness of Jesus being God, all knowing, all powerful, and us having to stand before him at judgment, we will have a reverent fear, a real respect for Him)
And we truly believe in who He is and in what He did – He died on the on the cross in your place for your sins and rose from the dead.
If you believe that, then you should just turn and confess that belief to the Lord.
The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Wisdom begins right here. If you have never confessed your belief in Jesus and received Him as your Savior, I want to pause here and give you an opportunity to do that right now. The whole rest of your eternity hinges on that one decision and your ability to live wisely in the Lord as well.
If you need to receive Him, turn from your sin and confess your belief to Him now.
Pray.
If you have received Jesus as Savior, please let us know by indicating that on your connection cards on the back and dropping that in the connection boxes in the back or by handing it to me on the way out.
Transition
So now that we have received Jesus as Savior we have all the wisdom we need right?
No, the Scriptures tell us that the fear of the Lord is only the beginning of wisdom.
You don’t just enter into a relationship with Him and then you are all wise, knowing what to do in every crisis and how to respond in every situation.
So while wisdom begins with a reverence for the Lord, the Scriptures tell us that
Wisdom Grows…
with a Humility for Ourselves
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Proverbs 11:2 - When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
As we walk in humility, we grow in wisdom.
We grow in humility as we grow closer and in deeper relationship with the Lord.
As we grow closer to Him, we realize that apart from the Lord’s gifts, apart from His mercy, apart from His Spirit working in us, we are completely unable to accomplish anything that is truly lasting!
Humility is not just some false deflection of attention that is really designed to bring you glory.
“Oh really, I am not all that great, am I?” (he says really wanting more accolades)
Humility is an honest recognition that you are unable in yourself, apart from the Lord and the gifts he gives you, to accomplish things that have eternal value.
It doesn’t say the gifts he gives us are nothing, but acknowledges that the gifts we have are completely dependent upon the Lord!
And when we recognize that, and we have a real humility, as defined that way, we are going to take actions that reflect that and that God uses to grow us in wisdom.
Transition
I want us to see some of the things that Daniel did and see how we might continue to grow in wisdom like Daniel.
After Daniel found out the situation and asked for more time, what does he do?
Daniel 2:17 - Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
One of the ways God grows us in wisdom is
as we humbly seek the counsel of God’s People
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Proverbs 11:14 says “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure”
It is always, always wise to get insight from others and discuss the matter with other followers of the Lord.
We as individuals do not have a corner on wisdom and knowledge. God uses His people to help us make wise decisions.
I have never been more sure of this as I have pastored this church. I praise God for the godly elders and leaders that God has blessed this church with and me with, as we make decisions and lead this church together.
And as I have had the privilege to serve alongside these other leaders, God has grown me in wisdom.
If you are going to grow in wisdom and be able to deal with crises or any situation for that matter, with the wisdom of the Lord, you had better be seeking out other mature Christians to seek their counsel when faced with challenges.
Next we see that God grows us in wisdom
As we humbly pray to the Lord
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Daniel 2:18 - He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
If you are a Christian, our need to pray is a given. But is praying really something that should come after seeking the counsel of other Christians?
I don’t believe it comes second in the text or in our lives because people are smarter than God and have better counsel for us.
I believe it is second for 2 reasons.
One, when we talk things over with others, God uses that to help us know what to pray for.
Second, I believe God wants us to be praying together in unity.
Now I am sometimes asked if praying with Christians is more powerful than praying alone?
I would say no, BUT, I do believe that discussing things with others helps to reveal God’s will in a matter and then as we pray in unity about the situation, I believe God confirms and answers those prayers that are in his will.
If we don’t talk with others and seek counsel before prayer, we can, I believe, easily substitute and justify our own will, and our prayers will be ineffective because we are not praying in His will.
Now I am not saying that if we pray without discussing things with others, that our prayers are not God’s will. I think God uses others, however, to help reveal if we are praying with selfish motives or not.
And furthermore, we see all kinds of examples in the book of Acts of believers praying together in unity and God responding to their prayers, because they are praying according to the Lord’s will.
In Acts 1:14, after Jesus ascended into heaven, it tells us that the Christians “all joined together constantly in prayer (Acts 1:14)
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In Acts 4, when Peter and John were commanded not to preach in Jesus name, the refused and went back to the others and it says that “they raised their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4:24) to seek to speak the word with great boldness (Acts 4:29)
After Peter was arrested and going to be killed, it looked as if there was no hope for him, a crisis situation certainly, but in Acts 12:5 it says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” And it turns out that God miraculously freed Peter from the prison!
God’s people praying in unity is one of the ways God has chosen to work powerfully for His glory in crisis situations and reveal His desires and grow us in wisdom.
Transition
And as Daniel and his friends pleaded with God for his mercy in prayer, God answered and supernaturally revealed to Daniel the dream and it’s interpretation.
Daniel 2:19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.
Great! They got what they were asking for, so Daniel immediately runs off to the king…Right? No.
He wakes with the answer to his and his friend’s prayer and he stops and responds in another way that God uses to grow us in wisdom.
God grows us in wisdom
As we Humbly give Glory to the Lord
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Daniel 2:20-23
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king."
Daniel gives glory to God by acknowledging the Lord’s complete Sovereignty back to Him. These are not just words. This is what Daniel actually believes and knows to be true.
Truly believing that God is the One who is completely Sovereign is essential to growing in wisdom and having peace amidst any crisis situation.
Daniel’s true belief in this is what allows him to act so calmly in the midst of this crisis.
Glorify God to others
It is not only wisdom that praises and glorifies God back to Him, but it is wisdom to glorify God before others as well and not steal His glory for yourself.
After Daniel praises the Lord he asks to be taken to the king to tell him his dream.
Notice the difference between how Arioch communicates to the king and Daniel communicates about having the answer the king is looking for.
Daniel 2:25
25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means."
Really? You found him Arioch?
The reality is that Arioch had absolutely nothing to do with coming up with a solution to the kings situation, but he says “I have found a man.”
Arioch is trying to get some glory for himself.
“King, look at what I have done. I have been hard at work seeking an answer for you and I have found one!”
Arioch wants some glory and honor and recognition
Now in contrast to that, listen to what Daniel says to the King.
Daniel 2:26
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"
It would be a true statement for Daniel just to reply “I am.” After all, God did reveal it to Daniel and Daniel was now able to tell the king what he saw in his dream and interpret it.
But he doesn’t do that. Instead he says
Daniel 2:27-28
27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
“King, what you have asked nobody can do, not me or anyone else, but there is a God in heaven who can do the impossible!”
Daniel doesn’t try to take any of the glory for himself, but glorifies God to Nebuchadnezzar.
1 Peter 5:5-7 says
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"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
When we walk in humility, trusting God, recognizing His sovereignty, we will be less anxious, able to act calmly like Daniel, even amidst crisis situations.
But if we try to steal God’s glory we are not going to grow in wisdom, we are not going to be able to be at peace and remain calm as we face crisis in the future, or really any situation.
Give glory to God directly to Him when He has revealed His will in how to deal with something and glorify God to others and you will be continually growing in wisdom and experiencing peace.
Prophecy of coming kingdoms - later
In the next verses, Daniel reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the interpretation of the dream. We are not going to deal with that today, but when we get to chapters 7 and 8, because both of those chapters also give some prophecy regarding the same thing, namely the coming kingdoms after Nebuchadnezzar as well as the coming Kingdom of God. We will take a look at all the prophecies concerning these coming Kingdoms at the same time.
Transition
I want to end by looking at what happens at the end of the chapter after God used Daniel to tell the king his dream and interpret it for him.
Now, it is ultimately not Daniel who is doing any of this. Daniel is completely relying on God through this situation.
That is what God wants us to do in any and every situation we face, to rely on Him.
But then Daniel benefits from the work that God did through him.
Daniel 2:48
48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.
Some people think there should be no benefit for God working through a person, that it somehow diminishes God’s glory and takes some of the glory for yourself.
It is ok to humbly Receive the Blessings of God
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Listen to what James says
James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
God gives good gifts to His Children and He is glorified as we humbly receive His gifts to us.
As parents, we like to bless our children in ways that will help them for the long term.
We don’t give them things that will be harmful to them.
Well God is a far better Parent than we could ever be.
Jesus tells us in
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Matthew 7:11-12 - If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
When we are following the Lord and responding in the wisdom the Lord gives us, the blessings the Lord lays before us are to be received with Joy to the Glory of God.
It is in wisdom that we recognize that we are not earning those blessings, but that it is purely a result of God’s grace. And when we recognize that, I believe we should receive it to the glory of God and use it for the glory of God.
You see it is as we grow in wisdom that we realize that God doesn’t bless us so we don’t have to do anything. He blesses us so we can be more fruitful for Him.
Jesus tells us in
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Luke 12:48 - From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Everything God gives us – gifts, blessings, anything – comes with responsibilities.
He doesn’t give us gifts or blessings to feed our selfish desires. He gives us gifts and blessings because it glorifies Him and He expects us to use what He gives us for His glory.
And I believe we glorify God with the blessings we receive by not hoarding them for ourselves, but sharing them with others
We should share the Blessings of God
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Daniel 2:49
49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
Daniel glorifies God with the blessings of gifts and authority by sharing those blessings with his friends by moving them into positions of power and influence to be examples and to further the kingdom of God
Conclusion
Are you dealing wisely with the situations we as Christians find ourselves in today?
We live in a culture like Daniel’s that is opposed to godly living, but we don’t find Daniel complaining about it or getting angry about it.
We find him at peace and wisely and calmly dealing with situations that are bad.
Sometimes I think in the political realm, Christians can come across as angry. I understand it, but I don’t think it is helpful nor do I think it glorifies God.
Is God fretting over the outcome to the November elections? No.
You know why. Because He is in control.
Now this doesn’t mean that we don’t use the blessings He has given us to help ourselves or others be in positions of influence. That is what Daniel did.
But I think we want to be cautious of our rhetoric and live wisely and peacefully to the glory of God, by seeking the counsel of others, and praying and giving glory to God as He works, both privately and publically and as God grows us in wisdom, and bestows blessings on us, that we would humbly receive them and be responsible to use them to further His Kingdom and His glory for his honor.
Worship team come up
I want to invite the worship team up because we are going to close in a song today called “For your honor”
It is about living our lives for the honor of the Lord who has sacrificed and blessed us so abundantly.
When we realize the reality of who God is and have that reverence for him, we can begin to live humbly as God grows us in wisdom and as he uses us for His honor.
Let’s make this song our prayer today, that we would live forever for His honor.
