FINDING CERTAINTY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Daniel Ch. 7
Pastor Bob Hunter
www.springwaterchurch.com
Intro: Daniel lived through some pretty uncertain times as an exile in Babylon. Death threats, idol worship, temperamental kings, backbiting officials, puzzling dreams, difficult problems, etc. These were just a few of things that Daniel had to face during his 70 year exile. Under King Belshazzar’s reign Daniel faced probably the greatest amount of uncertainty that he had ever faced. Belshazzar’s reign was marked with volatility. Amid the uncertainty, God gave Daniel a dream, Daniel Ch. 7.
Like Daniel, we’re living through a time of uncertainty. Economically, politically, socially, morally. America is awash in uncertainty. Since the attacks on our nation 4 years ago (9-11-2001) a whole new dimension of uncertainty has emerged. Words like Al Quaida, Bin Laden, Al Zarqawi, were hardly a part of our vocabulary. Today these names are common knowledge. Everything has changed. On a personal level we face uncertainty on a daily basis. Unemployment, the rising cost of health care, higher taxes, affordable housing, volatile relationships, unexpected bills, etc. There’s a measure of uncertainty that abounds.
The great American hero, Benjamin Franklin once said, “There is nothing for certain but death and taxes.” Old Benny had it right. You can count on very little these days. Much of life is unpredictable.
So I ask you, in this world of uncertainty, where will you turn for answers? Who will you trust? What will you hold onto?
The world is changing at a ever so fast pace, and we like Daniel need something to hold onto in our time of uncertainty. In Daniel Ch. 7 God gave Daniel a dream. The dream represented future hope for all generations. Amid a time of great uncertainty in Babylon, God moved on Daniel’s heart and gave him a hope that he could count on.
The dream was a bit troubling at first. The first image that appeared was that of a churning sea. (Vs. 1-2) Imagine the Devil’s punchbowl on the Oregon coast filled with ferocious waves. The water is stirred up and the waves are pounding away at the sides. This is the image that comes to mind in Daniel’s dream. The unleashed power of the ocean. The sea is often used in the Bible to symbolically describe the troubled status of the world. It represents the world in a state of chaos and confusion.
The churning sea serves as a backdrop for the prophetic hope that God gives Daniel. Daniel’s vision was a hopeful one. All God given prophecy is hopeful. Our God is a God of hope, not one of doom and despair. In the dream, God gives Daniel a confident hope in the future. Amid the turmoil and confusion, God spoke. What God said to Daniel that night, I want to share with you. I’ve broken the dream up into four principle components. Each have a relevant application to us.
FOUR THINGS I CAN COUNT ON IN MY TIME OF UNCERTAINTY:
1. EARTHLY KINGS AND KINGDOMS WILL ALL PASS AWAY. (But God’s kingdom will never)
Nothing last forever, unless it belongs to God. God causes the rising up and falling down of Kings and Kingdoms. Take Nebuchadnezzar for example. God humbled the proud King and made him to live like a wild beast in the wilderness for Seven years. The moral of the story: Don’t mess with God! All power is God given, and it can easily be taken away. The Lord gives an the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Incidently, Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity was restored the moment he acknowledged that God was in control and not him.
Interestingly, the Bablyonian beliefs were inconsistent with reality. They believed the Kings were eternal. The common salutation found in Daniel for the King is as follows: “O King live forever.” The sad reality: none of them lived forever. They all passed on and eventually left the kingdom in worse shape than they found it. After Belshazzar’s tumultuous reign, the Persians came in and took over. Little did Belshazzar know, the Persian’s were anxious to see the downfall of Babylon. They would never again retake a position of prominence in the world. The Babylonian hey days were over. Daniel lived through this whole ordeal and took it in stride.
Out of the churning sea emerges four beasts. Each one successively rises to power and then falls. This dark and uncertain image served as an ominous warning to the nations. God causes the rising up and falling down of earthly kings and kingdoms.
More recently, who would have thought 25 years ago that the Soviet Union would have crumbled into many smaller nations? Who would have thought? Who would have thought some 200 years ago that a small fledgling nation known as the United States of America would one day become a world super power? And where will America be 100 years from now? I don’t know? Will America’s strength remain? You can decide...
I do know this: America is only as strong as God allows us to be. The exercise of power is a privilege, and privileges can be taken away. God has never allowed one nation to dominate the world for an indefinite amount of time. Now, some nations are quicker to fall than others.
The assurance God gives Daniel is this: Earthly Kings and Kingdoms will all pass away, but God’s Kingdom never will. (See verse 17,18).
2 EVIL WILL EVENTUALLY BE DESTROYED.
The days of evil are numbered. You can count on it. God is going to take care of the evil one. Let me direct your attention to verse 26 where it says, “The court shall convene, and they shall take away his dominion, consume it and destroy it forever.” That’s a promise.
As you may know, there are many parallels the book of Daniel has with the book of Revelation. In Revelation we learn that the evil one is thrown into a lake of fire. (Rev. 20) This is the second and final death of evil. The first blow against the evil occurred when Jesus shed his blood on the cross. The Bible teaches in 1 John 3: 8 “The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” The second blow will come when Jesus returns and evil is destroyed forever.
ILLUST: Do you remember the scene in the movie the Passion of the Christ where Christ is dying on the cross and a tear drop rolls from his cheek. The tear drop then morphs into an image of Satan’s doom. It’s one of the truly surprising elements of the film. The movie producers were trying to capture this idea. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil. The fate of evil one has already been sealed.
In your time of uncertainty, keep this in mind. Evil will not prevail, God’s people will. Evil is not hear to stay, it’s here to go! And it will go into the lake of fire one day and be banished from the earth. God’s job is to destroy evil, your job is to overcome it. For in the meantime, you will face the onslaught of the evil one. But don’t let it get to ya. Have the assurance that God gave Daniel. One day He’s going to take care of it. The evil one will eventually be destroyed. His fate has already been sealed.
3. A CLEAR PICTURE OF JESUS.
Daniel was given a clear picture of the person of Christ. Read Verse 13, 14 with me. Write this in your Bible, JESUS. The dream God gave Daniel contained a fresh vision of the person of Christ. Amid the turmoil and confusion that Daniel faced God gave him a clear and hopeful picture of Christ. And isn’t that what we all need when we’re going through a time uncertainty in our life? We need a fresh vision of Jesus. And if you could just capture of glimpse of Jesus then you would discover what Daniel and many other have: IT’s GOING TO BE ALRIGHT!
When Christ appears to us in the midst of uncertainty and chaos, it makes all the difference. God said to Daniel, “Hey look at this, the son of man is coming, Jesus is on the way!” Daniel was given the assurance that Hope is on the way in Christ. Daniel saw a picture of Jesus 500 years before he came. What a powerful image.
If you and I would but capture of glimpse of Jesus like Daniel did, then we could face anything the world throws our way. One look at the Savior is all it takes. Jesus is a savior we can count on. He’s a person in whom we can trust. He’s a God we can have confidence in. In your time of uncertainty, turn to Christ, capture a fresh glimpse of Him and it will make all the difference.
BIBLE ILLUST: Disciples keeping their eyes on Jesus during a storm (Matt. 14)
A clear picture of Jesus that never fades. All the certainty you need is found when you look to Him.
4. SHARED VICTORY IN CHRIST
This is where you come into the picture. God was thinking of YOU when he gave Daniel this dream. In verse 18 it says, “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” Underline the word saint. That’s YOU. The person sitting next to you may not think your a saint, but God does! Put your name in front of that statement: ___________saint of the Most High.... Victory for God’s people has never been left in doubt. God always causes his people to triumph. You’re on the winning side today.
This is the assurance that God gave Daniel. God warned Daniel of a coming battle between the saints of God and the forces of evil. In verse 21 Daniel saw a beast with ten horns waging war against the saints and for a time prevailing. But then he says, the beast is destroy and victory is given over to the saints.
Now what does that mean for us? It means that we are going to face some pretty fierce battles. The presence of evil is going to intensify in the last days, Jesus actually warned us of such a thing. However, in the end God’s people will prevail. Victory for God’s people has never been left in doubt. Follower’s of Christ share in his victory, we inherit the Kingdom of God and all it’s benefits. You are more than a conqueror!
ILLUST: Imagine you are a NFL football player (I did say imagine). Imagine your playing on a team with a star quarterback. Your team wins game after game. Everybody on the team is playing hard and doing their part, but everybody knows why your winning games. The star quarterback makes it happen. He handles the ball and passes with such precision and accuracy that he brings the team into victory. And because of his great skill the team’s play is elevated to a whole new level of winning every game. While everybody is playing hard, no one rivals the ability of the star quarterback, he seems to do everything right. He’s truly a stand out, one of the greats.
Who does the star quarterback represent? Jesus. He take us to a new level of living victoriously. In fact, the victory is not really ours, it’s His. He makes it happen.
In the NFL, the championship team receives the Vince Lombardi trophy and every team member a championship ring. The same is true in the Christian life. You and I receive a trophy of grace and a championship ring on our finger, all because of what Christ has done for us. He’s our champion. He secures the victory and shares it with us. His victory is ours. We’re on His team.
Friends, you may lose some battles. In a world of uncertainty, anything can happen. But take heart today, Christ has secured the victory and he’s going to share it with you. According to Daniel Chapter 7, your on the winning side and YOU CAN COUNT ON THAT! His victory is ours when we put or trust in Him. Amen.
