Daniel Speaks to Us Today Series
By Greg Johnson
http:/www.LovingGodFellowship.org
Daniel 2:24-49
It is very obvious that Daniel lived his life for God. He lived counter to culture and the Godly fruit was obvious for all to see. In the second half of Daniel chapter two we see the fruit of a life lived for God.
A LIFE LIVED FOR GOD WILL HAVE GENUINE CONCERN FOR OTHERS.
We live in a world that has grown self centered and selfish. People are taught to look out for themselves and to do what feels good. It’s becoming survival of the fittest and because of that, the middle class in society is slowly disappearing and the ranks among the wealthy and those living in total poverty are increasing. It is injustice and not an attribute of a just God or those that live for God. God is concerned for all and those that live for God will have a genuine concern for others and a God given desire to help others any way they can.
(Daniel 2:24 NIV) "Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him."" Daniel lived his life for God and because of that; he had a genuine concern for others. He wanted to save lives.
The wise men of Babylon were of a different race than Daniel. The wise men of Babylon were of a different culture. The wise men of Babylon did not have the same beliefs. The wise men of Babylon were not of the same political persuasion. The wise men of Babylon were in the majority. The wise men of Babylon did not serve Daniel’s God. The wise men of Babylon were a direct threat to Daniel’s very existence. Yet, Daniel did not want to see any harm come to the wise men of Babylon. Daniel lived his life for God and he had a genuine concern for others. He wanted to help others and save lives anyway he could. Even at the expense of his own life.
Beloved, the closer we get to God, the more we take on His nature and we produce His fruit. We look at people the same way that God looks at people. We love them and we want to do anything we can to help them. A life lived for God will have a genuine concern for others and will do something to make a difference.
A LIFE LIVED FOR GOD WILL BE USED BY GOD.
Daniel was used by God to save lives. Daniel saved lives and God used him to even touch a king’s heart. When Daniel was brought before the king, he revealed the king’s dream and the interpretation. Both were given to Daniel by God. God will use those that live their life for God. He will use them to make a difference in others.
Let’s look at the dream and the interpretation. God’s Word says (Daniel 2:28-45 NIV) "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: {29} "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. {30} As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind. {31} "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue--an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. {32} The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, {33} its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. {34} While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. {35} Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. {36} "This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. {37} You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; {38} in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. {39} "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. {40} Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron--for iron breaks and smashes everything--and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. {41} Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. {42} As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. {43} And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. {44} "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. {45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands--a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.""
The figure in the king’s dream indicates a succession of deterioration and not progress. The head of gold, the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron and the feet partly iron and partly clay. It’s a downward deterioration that indicates four world empires that gradually get weaker and deteriorate as time progresses. The feet of part iron and part clay represents our day. The world today is not controlled by a world empire, but the world is partly strong and partly breaking up. The anti-Christ will try to unite the world, but in the end, he will not succeed.
Jesus is the rock that will crush the kingdoms of this world. Jesus came the first time to usher in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is coming the second time to bring God’s judgment on the kingdoms of this world. They will crumble.
Beloved, this dream is being fulfilled. The four world empires have come and gone. We are living in the days of the feet of iron and clay. We can get wrapped up in all of the symbols represented here or we can focus on the revealed truth that a life lived for God will be used by God. Jesus is coming and will crush the kingdoms of this world. Let’s live our life for Jesus and be used of Him in our day just like Daniel was in his day. Let’s make a difference for Jesus in our day!
A LIFE LIVED FOR GOD WILL POINT OTHERS TO GOD.
As Daniel lived his life for God, he continually pointed others to God. Notice the king’s response. (Daniel 2:46-47 NIV) "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. {47} The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.""
Daniel lived his life for God and the king was pointed to God. Beloved, please grab a hold of what God is speaking to us in Daniel chapter two. It is not about what we say; it is about how we live our life. As we live our lives for God we will have a concern for others and we will help them. As we live our lives for God, we will be used of God. As we live our lives for God, others will be pointed to the God that we serve. Live for God! You will make a difference in your day! Lives will be impacted for God! Mother Teresa said “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”
