Unparalleled Wisdom - Daniel 2

Ben Miller

Indestructible Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Big Idea: Go to God for his unparalleled wisdom that governs human history.

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I want to ask you a question this morning: where do you go when you need some wisdom? Where do you go when you don’t know how to think or when you don’t know the answer to something?

I don’t want you to answer the question, “Where SHOULD you go when you need some wisdom?” My question is “Where DO YOU go when you need some wisdom?”

And I realize the answer to that question possibly depends on what area of life you need wisdom in...

If you need wisdom on how to handle with a disagreement with a friend… maybe you ask another friend… or a parent...

If you need wisdom on parenting issues, maybe you go to a trusted book or a trusted person who has been through parenting before...

If you need wisdom on something you are afraid of… maybe you go to Google to see what answers you can find… which generally only produces more fear...

Where do you go when you need some wisdom?

Is your first response when you need wisdom in any area to cry out to God and to seek it in his word?

Or do you run to countless other sources for the worn-out wisdom of the kingdoms of this world?

We are working through the book of Daniel in a sermon series called “Indestructible Kingdom”...

This is a book where God reveals himself as the ultimate king over all the earth… the King whose kingdom will never end…

And in this Holy-Spirit-inspired masterpiece of history and prophecy, God is calling his people to live with undivided allegiance to the indestructible Kingdom of God…

That’s what the God who created you is looking for in your life… he wants your undivided allegiance to be given to his indestructible Kingdom.

Last week we saw that this undivided allegiance starts with unshakeable conviction that he is the ultimate King.

This week we will see that undivided allegiance means that we go to God for his unparalleled wisdom.

That’s the big idea for today…

Big Idea: Go to God for his unparalleled wisdom that governs human history. (v. 1-12)

Your Bibles are open to Daniel chapter 2… Let me just remind you of the context:

God’s chosen nation of Israel had rebelled against him...

And so God delivered on the consequences of his promise: a foreign nation would come and take them out of the Promised land...

So the nation that God used to do that was Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar…

Now in order to gain control over the nation’s he conquered, Nebuchadnezzar took to brainwashing the youth of their nobles and rulers.

He took them out to his palace in Babylon… he wined them and dined them…

he had his wise men teach them the Babylonian literature and language…

he had their names changed to remove any identification with the LORD… the God of Israel...

And he changed their names to reflect Babylonian gods.

He wanted their undivided allegiance to be to HIS kingdom… but that was not God’s plan...

And so God had four specific youths in that group that HE used to show that it was HIS kingdom that was ultimate...

Their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (or we know those last three better by their Babylonian names… Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…).

Last week we saw these four youths stand up to the king’s demand that they eat his food (which was likely sacrificed in idol worship)… we saw them stand before him with unshakeable conviction that ONLY comes through God’s work in our lives...

This week we are going to see them go to God for unparalleled wisdom.

So There’s a timeline in our digital service guide and on our website if that helps you visualize things...

And on that guide, Daniel and his friends are likely somewhere in the middle of their training, based on the date given in verse one… somewhere between late 603 BC and early 602 BC...

Look at chapter 2:1 [Read 2:1 ONLY].

So the King is having some pretty crazy dreams… and it was obviously not just bad fish he ate one day...

The wording in the original language makes clear that these dreams came on multiple occasions… multiple nights… and they were pretty disturbing… to the point that he couldn’t even go to sleep anymore...

Did you ever have a series of dreams that just really shook you? Like you couldn’t get them out of your mind?

Or maybe you’ve dealt with deep-rooted anxiety… and the worries of the day carry into the night… and the sleeplessness of the night plagues your next day...

Where do you turn when that happens? The wisdom of this world? Or the wisdom of God?

Nebuchadnezzer shows us where NOT to turn… look at verse 2 [Read 2:2-3]

If we are going to go to God for his unparalleled wisdom, that governs human history, we have to start here:

1) Don't go to the world for their worn-out "wisdom."

I think we can learn from Nebuchadnezzer three reasons why we shouldn’t go to the world for their worn-out “wisdom” and the first is this:

The world's wisdom is a toxic soup of human and demonic ideas. (v. 1-3)

Explain: Notice where the king goes FIRST when he doesn’t know what to think about his dreams and when he needs some relief...

Magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans...

These are four different groups of people who are together referred to as “the wise men of Babylon” in v. 12.

These are the people who would have been Daniels professors… Daniel and his friends were being groomed to be a part of this group.

And I find this fascinating… the King goes to FOUR different groups of people for ONE ANSWER to ONE QUESTION.

How much faith does that show he had in their ability to answer him???

But this is the best he’s got… magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans (who were the leftover wise men from his Dad’s kingdom)...

Nebuchadnezzer is seeking the best of human thought, combined with the best of mystical spirituality in his kingdom…

These are people who sought the gods of Babylon, who the Bible is clear are really demons… fallen angels… that humans fall prey to and worship.

He’s going to human and demonic ideas to relieve him of his anxiety and to get wisdom that he lacks.

And as I studied this, I began to think, “Who are the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and Chaldeans in our society?”

Certainly I’m not going for a one-to-one parallel here… but who are the people speaking the wisdom of false gods or the best of human thought?

And I thought of a bunch of people who are the “wisdom sources” for our culture:

On the one hand you have the spiritual leaders writing Self-help books like Rachel Hollis or Tony Robbins or John Maxwell...

You prosperity teachers like Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Todd White, Joyce Meyer, Bill Johnson and Kenneth Copeland.

These SEEM to lead people to the god of the Bible or at least some sort of spirituality, but they really just USE the NAME of God to lead people to the gods of self and money (or what the Bible calls Mammon)...

We could include in this group leaders of the New Age movement that has creeped into many churches… even conservative churches in our area…

They are ALL promoting ideas of demonic wisdom that take the truth of God and twist it for sinful gain…

On the other hand you have all the so-called “experts” of human thought...

Sometimes it’s the professors in universities who have studied subjects so much and seem so smart and have all kinds of letters after their names...

Maybe it is a “credentialed counselor”… an expert on all the human theories of the mind and the psyche… some of them even operate under the label of “Christian Counseling,” but they go to psychological theory as the ultimate source rather than to God’s word to understand what burdens our hearts.

Authors of best-selling books… or books that are considered “authoritative” on certain subjects...

Some people would put their favorite politician, political commentator or podcast host into this category...

They think, “Well, I saw them have a popular pastor or Christian musician on their show… they must be trustworthy!”

Others might look to celebrities and follow their lead...

I think the many of us often look to our peers… our friends… for wisdom...

And the result of all of this is that we end up eating a toxic soup of human and demonic ideas.

Now I want you to understand… I’m not saying that these sources don’t get it right sometimes… I’m not saying they never make a valid point.

But if God is not at the center of their way of thinking…

If they are not looking at the world from his point of view with the Bible as their starting point, using HIS wisdom to make sense of things...

Then they are just regurgitating human ideas that fall short of God’s wisdom.

The world loves to simmer humanistic and spiritualistic ideas in cauldron of toxic soup.

By the way, I FIRMLY believe this is a HUGE contributor as to we have so much anger and fighting in our country right now… and why no real healing seems to come...

So many people are hurting right now… like Nebuchadnezzar, they are troubled in their spirit… sleep leaves them… but they don’t know where to turn.

And so many people… Christians and non-Christians alike who find themselves in that situation are content to listen to the opinions men…

They typically listen to those who share their own viewpoint… they label it wisdom because they are wise in their own eyes… and then they fight everyone else who opposes them because that person must be a fool...

And they just keep slurping up toxic soup that feeds their fleshly desires and poisons our society toward a slow and painful death.

Is that the type of so-called “wisdom” you want to eat? Or will you be willing to be one of the VERY FEW people who lay down their political views and social theories… who stop talking long enough to go to GOD for his wisdom about what plagues society and the solution he provides.

I’m not talking about going to God but then still reading the Bible through your personal political lens…

I’m talking about PRAYERFULLY taking the time to OBSERVE how the Bible was delivered to its original audience under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit… INTERPRET what it means carefully… and THEN and ONLY THEN to APPLY it to our situation.

If you read your Bible enough, you will see clearly just how superior God’s wisdom is to man’s wisdom… just how much more he sees than we can see from our perspective...

I hope that was the affect for those of you who used the reading plan this week… seeing over and over the wisdom of God over the kingdoms of this world.

I firmly believe the reason the church in America is often divided on matters of race and sexuality and psychology and everything else we could be divided on is because we too often get our talking points from the worn-out wisdom of the world.

And often we do this because there are certain sectors of society that will give us their affirmation if we follow their line of thinking...

We see this in verses 3-9 [Read 2:3-9]

Here’s the second reason not to go to the world for their worn-out wisdom:

The world's wisdom is a carousel of telling people what they want to hear. (v. 3-9)

Explain: So Nebuchadnezzer has made a seemingly impossible demand of the wisest men of his kingdom: tell me the interpretation of my dream… but before you do that, you have to tell me the dream too...

He’s like, “I don’t want you to just give me some fluff interpretation… I want to know you have some supernatural understanding of what’s going on… tell me the dream AND the interpretation.”

And so they start to squirm a little… they KNOW they can’t do this… they are wise enough to know that… so what do they do? They resort to flattery.

O king! Live forever! We will do whatever you want if you just help us out a little…

I’ll tell you what you WANT to hear if you just give me a little hint about what that is…

Kids.. did you ever try to get your parents to tell you what you want to hear by saying, “Oh my wise… amazing… loving… caring Mother and Father...”

That’s what the wise men are doing here… and it isn’t wise.

Nebuchadnezzar isn’t having it… so he echoes back with what they might want to hear… “You show me the dream, I will reward you with riches beyond your wildest dreams...”

Oh, and by the way, if you don’t, I’m tearing you limb from limb.

Parents… ever made that kind of bribe threat to your kids?

Understand: Nebuchadnezzar is trying to gain their wisdom by hitting them at the level of their deepest desires.

And don’t we see this in our society? We see this especially in one particular sphere of so-called “wisdom”: politicians and political parties.

To be honest, much of the Church in America started turning to politics for their source of wisdom during the changing social landscape of the 1960s and 70s...

It STARTED by Christians TRYING to influence the government to maintain status and comfort… but quickly... the HUMAN wisdom of the political ideas began to influence the church instead… so that holding the party line became the defining factor for what we teach… both on the liberal side AND on the conservative side (depending on the church)...

Here’s how this works: the King (in this case a political leader or a political party) says to the church and its leaders, “Give me counsel… give me wisdom… because my heart is very troubled on this issue (specifically the issue of losing the evangelical vote).”

The church, in return, instead of opening their Bible and proclaiming the word of God without apology or agenda, says, “Sure! We will give you counsel… but tell us exactly what it is that’s troubling you so that we can tell you exactly what you want to hear.”

So the king (the politician or political party) said, “No, you will give me EVERYTHING I asked from you… and if you do, I will give you positions of authority and influence… I will give you wealth… power… freedom from persecution. And if you don’t, I will tear you limb from limb. I will smear your name and kick you to the curb.”

Again, this has happens on both sides of the political aisle… but it doesn’t matter which side of the political aisle you are on… if it happens, it’s worldly, ungodly, wisdom.

Chuck Colson led the Office of Public Liason under Richard Nixon… after spending time in prison for Watergate, he later confessed...

“Sure, we used the prayer breakfasts and church services and all that for political ends… One of my jobs in the White House was to romance religious leaders. We would bring them into the White House, and they would be dazzled by the aura of the Oval Office, and I found them to be about the most pliable of any of the special interest groups that we worked with.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/11/01/paula-white-trumps-key-spiritual-adviser-reportedly-will-join-white-house/)

If that doesn’t sound like Nebuachadnezzar in the book of Daniel, I don’t know what does!

And we need to open our eyes to see that this still happens to this day.

God is not pleased with prayer breakfasts that equate the kingdom of America with the Kingdom of God… with the agena of a political party with the agenda of God...

He only hears prayers that cry out “Our FATHER… who is our father through the gospel of Jesus… HOLY be YOUR name… YOUR Kingdom come! YOUR will be done!”

Here’s the problem: the world promises to give us a kingdom that is not theirs to give… nor is it ours to take… because ultimately their promises were not God’s priority for his kingdom people.

God does NOT call the Church to form a political alliance or influence the political scene so that we can control the kingdoms of this world...

That’s actually what Satan tempted Jesus with… and Jesus refused to give in to that lie…

Instead… God’ calls the Church is to be an embassy FOR the Indestructible Kingdom of Heaven amidst the ever-changing kingdoms of this world. There’s a major difference there.

Now I want you to hear me clearly... I AM NOT telling you NOT to vote… I AM NOT telling you HOW to vote…

I AM NOT telling you that Christians shouldn’t serve in our military or run for public office… I AM ALSO NOT saying that we shouldn’t pray for our leaders and respect them...

Here’s what I AM saying: I’m saying that if your sense of wisdom is tied to what political commentators have to say (whether they are on CNN or FOX News)… and your goal is getting your talking points right so that those who align with you politically would approve...

If you feel you have more in common with an activist group or a political party or even a group of friends than you do with the people of God...

If you think that God’s plan of salvation is to make America this fantastic nation so that Christians never suffer and we can be generally moral people without knowing Jesus…

Then I am telling you flat out: you are seeking the world for their wisdom.

And that is a carousel ride of man-made thought that leads to ultimate folly.

In the story of Nebuchadnezzer we find that worldly wisdom just doesn’t have enough substance to reach the heights of heaven:

Look at verse 10 - [Read v. 10-12]

The world's wisdom is a hopeless pursuit of folly. (v. 10-12)

Explain: No matter how much wealth and prestige Nebuchadnezzer offers these so-called “wise men,” they just can’t produce.

Human and demonic sources cannot produce the answers to the toughest questions that plague Nebuchadnezzar's heart.

And I think it’s awesome what they acknowledge: “No one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

That’s such a key to this chapter… this admission from the lips of the wisest men the Babylonian world had to offer: “The perspective… the wisdom... you need is not found among mortal men.”

How much did it take for them to admit that?

They had to know what was coming next… Nebuchadnezzer had repeated his stance on this a number of times.

But before we see what Nebuchadnezzer does… let me just ask you again:

Apply [slowly work through list]: Where do you go when you need some wisdom?

Who do you turn to when you can’t make sense of this world?

Who do you trust when you don’t know what step to take next?

What do you call upon to relieve your anxieties and calm your fears?

What sources of worldly wisdom are most appealing to you?

Nebuchadnezzar is RAGING because he doesn’t know where to go with his anxieties… with these dreams that had left him so troubled...

Look at v. 13 [read v. 13-16]

Nebachadnezzer doesn’t know where to go… the wisest men of his kingdom have no clue… but praise God Daniel does…

2) Go to God for his unparalleled wisdom that governs human history. (v. 13-49)

Check this out… verse 17 [Read v. 17-18]

So how do we find God’s unparalleled wisdom?

God's wisdom comes through fervent prayer together.

Explain: I love this… Daniel hears about the king’s plan to kill all of the wise men… and that would have included Daniel and his companions according to verse 13...

Remember, they are just trainees in this whole deal… so they probably weren’t part of those speaking earlier...

But now the trainee is about to school the masters in where to go for real wisdom.

What does he do? He gets his friends together for a prayer meeting.

He doesn’t pray alone.

He doesn’t say, “All right… I’d better get in my prayer closet right now… I don’t want to look like I’m flaunting myself in prayer… this is just between me and God...”

No… their lives are on the line!!!

And so he gathers his friends and they pray.

Like I wonder what their prayers sounded like?

When you are facing death… I’m pretty sure you don’t pray like we often do, “Dear God… just… just… help me to… like… just… not die. But I mean, if that’s your will I guess… but… I don’t know… we just really don’t want to die.”

NO! They were crying out that they might not be destroyed!

God’s wisdom comes through fervent prayer together.

This is the consistent pattern of the scriptures: God’s people… getting on their faces… together before the Lord… in humble dependence and eager expectation for him to work.

His expectation was already set… he already requested an audience with the King… he expected an answer from God because he knew that God was the source of all wisdom.

If you are going to seek God’s wisdom… whether that’s for a specific thing you need to understand… or whether you are just seeking God’s way for your everyday life… You need to be in fervent prayer with other believers.

Prayer is not just a formality meant to open up our gatherings and zip them shut… it’s not just something that we use so the worship team can get up on stage after my sermon without being seen…

Prayer is our calling out to God… upon the foundation of his word… seeking his face… seeking his wisdom… no matter what he may reveal.

This week in Thursday’s devotional video, I mentioned four primary places we fervently pray together at Oak Hill:

Online prayer meetings...

Gospel Communities… both in our opening scripture-fed prayer times and when we pray for our walk with the Lord at the end...

Sunday gatherings at multiple key moments in the service..

And then what I’m calling “Stop, drop and pray.” Instead of telling someone you will pray for them later, stop what you are doing, drop to your knees (literally or figuratively) and pray with them right there on the spot.

These four young people prayed together… Hear that Oak Hill students… Oak Hill kids: these are young teenagers… youth… praying for their lives… let that be an example to you.

Because as they prayed, God answered.

I love how simply verse 19 puts it. “Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night.”

Like, “No big deal. Of course it was answered. That’s what we expected all along. That’s why we were praying”

But at the same time, the wonder is not lost on Daniel...

Verse 19 continues [Read v. 19b-23]

Here’s the second thing I want you to notice about God’s wisdom:

God's wisdom results in God's worship. (v. 19-23)

How do I know if I TRULY received the wisdom of God? … ask this question: Does it make me want to worship HIM… or does it make me love the kingdoms of this world more?

This is God's goal in the whole Creation over which he rules: that his glory would be seen above all.

So whatever the wisest of Babylon couldn’t come up with at all, God has just revealed to this teenager through the means of fervent prayer.

We don’t even get to know what the vision is yet… we have to wait to hear that until he tells it to the King.

For now, we are just left with the overflow of his worship. Whatever the vision is, it showed Daniel that the wisdom of God governs human history.

Look at how he actually worships God:

To HIM belong WISDOM and MIGHT...

WISDOM doesn’t belong to the wise men of Babylon...

MIGHT doesn’t ultimately belong to Nebuchadnezzer...

TO GOD belong Wisdom and might.

GOD is the one who changes times and seasons...He removes kings and sets up kings...

Do you remember what was said in chapter 1:2 about WHY Israel was in Babylon in the first place… WHY Babylon had so much power???

Because the LORD gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand… God was delivering on his consequences he promised to the nation of Israel…

God… in his Sovereign, ultimate wisdom... is moving all the pieces of human history… So that his people would repent… and turn back to him… and declare their allegiance to the one true God.

And then God shares that wisdom to those who go to him for it...

He gives wisdom to the wise… and knowledge to the understanding...

Do you want to know the most wise choice you can ever make: admit that you don’t know it all and go to God for wisdom.

WORSHIP GOD RIGHT NOW because HE IS WISE… and he gives wisdom to the wise… and his wisdom results in worship!

This must have been some awesome vision that Daniel saw… it’s the same vision that terrified Nebuchadnezzer… but it made Daniel worship.

So now Daniel is ready to go to the King. He knows the dream. He knows the interpretation. Let’s set up the meeting.

Look at verse 24… this next section is a little long… so stick with me… in fact, kids… I want you to participate in this part...

Kids… I want you to stand up really straight and tall... and when I get to the part where I’m describing the statue… I want you to point to that part of your body and tell me what that part of the statue was made of… OK??? [read v. 24-45]

Whew… OK… that’s was a little long… but not as long as the vision will take to unfold… because Daniel’s vision just covered the span of the next 600 years... plus the end times that are still to come… all in about 30 verses… so I would say we could have talked a lot longer.

But what God wanted to reveal to Nebuchadnezzer was this:

God's wisdom will wipe out the strongest of kingdoms. (v. 24-45)

Explain: So Daniel is very careful to make sure that Nebuchadnezzar remembers that none of his wise men were able to interpret the dream...

And that the interpretation doesn’t come from him either… it comes from the God in heaven… remember… Daniel’s heart is captivated by worship…

This is courageous evangelism at it’s finest by the way: Pointing out the folly of the world’s way of thinking while pointing to the superiority of God…

So Daniel sets this up really clearly that this is GOD’s Wisdom… And then he gives the dream… along with its interpretation...

(For sake of time, I’m going to condense the explanation of the dream and its interpretation into one:)

So there is this image… a BIG statue...

And it’s head is made of (WHAT KIDS)??? Gold!

And Daniel says that King Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom is the head of gold.

Gold is the purest, weightiest of the metals taht are in this statue… the metals go down in value and strength as you move down the statue.

That’s going to be important as we go along here.

But King Nebuchadnezzar is the gold head. That must have made him feel pretty good about himself.

This is the only part of the image that is present day for Daniel at the time of the vision.

But then Daniel describes another kingdom that will arise after him… it’s inferior, but it still is set up in place of Babylon. The King might start to worry at this point.

This other kingdom is the chest… what’s the chest made of kids? [SILVER!]

We know from this side of history that the kingdom that came next was Medo-Persia.

In fact, Daniel lived through part of that time period too… we see that transition in at the end of chapter 5 of Daniel and into chapter 6...

But realize… at the time Daniel is telling this to Nebuchadnezzar, he’s telling him events that haven’t happened yet.

The Medo-Persian empire was a little bigger than Babylon… but it wasn’t as strong.

Then Daniel mentions a third, even more inferior kingdom… the middle of the statue… made of what kids?

Bronze.

And who could this kingdom be? Well… again, we know from history… the one who conquered the Medo-Persian empire was none other than Alexander the Great of Greece.

High schoolers… do you remember that names from History class?

Did you know that God… in his wisdom… knew that those kingdoms would rise and fall… in their order...

Do you understand that when you are studying history, you are studying what God has controlled to take place?

History… whether it’s of ancient Greece or Nazi Germany… is the outworking of God’s ultimate plan of redemption in a sinful world… it’s not just boring facts and figures...

It’s God’s story.

So we are down to the thighs of Bronze… Greece...

But then there are legs made of what kids? IRON...

And iron is the fourth kingdom… strong and destructive… but also nowhere near as pure and valuable...

This is kingdom of Iron is Rome.

Rome is the largest of the Kingdoms… some see in the fact that there are two legs that it represents the west and the east portions of Rome...

Rome ruled with a heavy hand and had to because their empire was so big.

But ultimately it was just as corrupt… if not MORE corrupt than Babylon… and it’s size led to its weakness

Now this iron kingdom gives way into the feet… and then into the toes… which are made of what, kids? Partly iron and partly clay.

Now scholars differ over this part...

Some of them believe that this was some latter part of the Roman kingdom that Jesus ultimately destroyed in his life, death and resurrection...

Generally people who hold this view do NOT believe that Jesus is going to set up a literal kingdom on the earth and reign for a literal thousand years…

They are called “A-millienialists...” or “post-millenialists...”

I won’t bore you with the details, but there is a helpful video that discusses the positions on our Daniel resource page on the website.

But others believe that the feet and toes in the vision are a part of history that still hasn’t happened yet to this day. Generally this is believed by pre-millenialists… the position we teach at Oak Hill...

You see, it was COMMON in the prophets that they would see the first coming and second coming of Jesus as one event...

It was like Daniel was looking from his present standing point at the future as if it were two mountains… [show picture]

And he would see maybe a bunch of snow on the top of the first mountain… and it would blend in with the snow on the second mountain… but because that second mountain was mostly hidden, it looked like only one mountain… one event...

We see in the New Testament that the current church age phenomenon is called a MYSTERY… something that was previously hidden and is now revealed.

So while the rest of the image represented the kingdoms leading up to the first coming of Christ… the feet and toes represent something that is going to happen just prior to the second coming of Jesus...

A mixture of kingdoms and cultures that will TRY to be very strong by mixing together, but will in reality be very weak because it just won’t mix...

And will become the breaking point of the whole idol as the kingdoms of this world will come crashing to the ground starting with the feet.

So we have this vision of the strongest kingdoms… the greatest empires in human history...

And then you have this stone… a stone that is not cut from human hands… it is Supernatural… originating from God...

And it comes in and first destroys the feet… and then destroys the whole idol… (no wonder Nebuchadnezzar was disturbed by this dream)...

And in the place of the statue… the stone turns into a great mountain. One indestructible kingdom.

And it is this mountain that we look forward to as the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ.

We teach at Oak Hill that Jesus will return to us in two phases in the future...

To rapture his church… to call them up to be with him in the clouds...

And then seven years later… after he lets his wrath loose upon all mankind and opens the eyes of Israel to their true Savior King… he will come and he will reign for a thousand years (one literal millenium) on the earth.

And his kingdom will be like no kingdom we have ever seen before.

It will be marked by peace and justice and righteousness unknown to the corrupt governments of this world.

And at the end of that thousand years, Jesus will judge the living and the dead… and he will usher in his eternal kingdom that will have no end...

But here’s what is awesome: in this time between now and then… the part that is NOT seen in the image… Jesus is calling the nations INTO his kingdom!

When Jesus came the first time, he said, “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”

This time right now is a time when Jesus ALREADY STARTED building his kingdom… he is already gathering in people from the Gentile nations who TURN from following the kingdoms of this world...

And who trust in Jesus as the ONLY Savior-King.

We must TURN from worldly wisdom that says that political power and fame and fortune are where its at… listen: that’s the statue that gets destroyed!

And we must TURN to Godly wisdom that says, “Jesus is the only true and Savior king who will reign forever.”

Ultimately… believing in Jesus IS receiving the wisdom of God...

God in the flesh, came to reveal our sin to us…

He shows us that our sin and wordly wisdom is futile and destined to fail...

And he shows us that we need a Savior… God himself… who lived the perfect life we could not live… died for our sin in our place...

Understand this: DIED for people who belong to a kingdom that is HOSTILE to his kingdom...

And then he rose again… so that through REPENTING and BELIEVING that gospel, we could become a part of his indestructible kingdom.

Have you put your faith in Jesus? The stone cut not with human hands… God himself… the perfect cornerstone of our salvation?

He is the one who will destroy the kingdoms of this earth and all of the godless ways they operate… including the earthly kingdom in which we live.

Will you stand upon Christ’s wisdom and enter into his everlasting kingdom through faith?

For those who do… we can trust… that God will make us stand THROUGH his wisdom...

For Daniel… his telling of this dream to the king could have meant the end of him physically...

Sure he was able to tell the dream and interpret it accurately… but he also just told the king that God was going to obliterate his kingdom...

And yet God shows Daniel favor in Babylon… [read v. 46-49]

Here’s the last thing I want you to see about God’s kingdom:

God's wisdom secures your place in his indestructible kingdom. (v. 46-49)

When we go to God for his wisdom, he lavishes upon us his grace.

Instead of killing the messenger, Nebuchadnezzar makes good on his promise… he gives Daniel a position of prominence… and Daniel secures the same for his praying friends...

But Daniel’s ultimate hope wasn’t in the riches of Babylon… he makes taht so clear in the lead-up to telling the vision...

In his own lifetime, Babylon would fall to Medo-Persia… and God would uphold him and his friends there too.

You see, Daniel’s hope was in the God who Nebuchadnezzar was now worshipping… at least for a moment…

A God whom he now viewed as the God of gods and the Lord of kings… a revealer of mysteries...

In reality, Daniel may have been a counselor to the King… and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego may have been provincial governors in Babylon… but their real job was as ambassadors of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And their ultimate allegiance… which we will see in the chapter’s to come… was to the indestructible kingdom Daniel saw in the vision.

So the question for you is this:

Apply: Will you go to God for his wisdom that governs human history?

Will you call out to him in fervent prayer TOGETHER?

Get this… the God who has told us to pray to him is the God who already has the end of human history figured out and everything in between… that makes a pretty sweet opportunity.

As you pray, will you worship him when he DOES reveal his wisdom?

Will you use this age of grace to enter into his kingdom through faith in Jesus and call others in as well?

And will you stand secure in the wisdom he provides for each day as an ambassador in a foreign world?

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