SERMON: Living in Babylon – Truth – Daniel 2 (9/10/2023)

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Sermon Series

Living in Babylon - A Study of Daniel 1-6

Introduction

Turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2.
We will continue our study where we left off last Sunday.
First, though, I want to share a couple other verses with you...
- Leviticus 20:7 | Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. (CSB)
  - The instruction is to consecrate yourself and be holy...
  - The instruction is for God's people to be...
    - Different...
    - Distinct...
    - Unusual...
  - The next verse explains further...
    - Leviticus 20:8 | Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sets you apart. (CSB)
  - The New Testament teaches the same thing...
    - Ephesians 5:8 | For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— (CSB)
Christians should be different.
- Christians should stand out as different in a culture that is more and more godless every year.
- As the Bible says, we should be "as strangers and exiles" in this world.
  - 1 Peter 2:11 | Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. (CSB)
- Christians should have different...
  - Priorities...
  - Marriages...
  - Demeanor and attitude...
  - Moral compass...
  - Kind of confidence...
  - Kind of love and concern for people around us...
  - Measure of personal strength...
  - Kind of peace...
  - Kind of resilience...
- Christians should stand out in this culture.
Years ago, I was with my family in China.
- We were in the interior of China, in one of the working cities where tourists don't go.
- We were walking through a park...
- Children kept coming up to us and then running away...
- We finally figured out what was happening...
  - Parents were sending their children to stand close to us so the parents could get a picture of their kids standing close to "white" people.
- We were so out of place in that culture that we stood out and people took notice.
- That is a picture of how we should live in today's godless culture...
  - In your family...
  - In your workplace...
  - On your campus...
So, we've been studying the book of Daniel and learning about four men who had been captured and moved to a completely different culture...
- Learning how these men lived in that foreign, pagan culture...
- Learning how they never compromised their convictions even under great pressure...
- Learning how they flourished in a culture that rejected everything they believed...
Review...
- In our first week, we studied Daniel 1 and saw these four men in a difficult spot.
  - The men decided to take a risk and trust the Lord.
- Last week, week two, we studied Daniel 2 and learned how these men, especially Daniel, responded when their world began to crater and their lives were in danger.
- Today, I want us to stay in Daniel 2 and notice a fundamental difference between these four men and their peers.
This fundamental difference should be true of all of us...
- Those around you should recognize this in you...
- We should raise our children to embrace this difference...
- This difference is the foundation of every other difference the Lord wants to make in your life!
The difference is the source of truth.
- Our epistemology...
- This is so important!
  - How do we know what is right and wrong...
  - How do we know what is good or bad...
  - How do we know what is important and unimportant...
  - How do we know where to compromise and where to fight...
Scripture Study
- Daniel 2:1 | In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him. (CSB)
- Daniel 2:2 | So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, (CSB)
- Daniel 2:3 | he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.” (CSB)
- Daniel 2:4 | The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): “May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” (CSB)
- Daniel 2:5 | The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump. (CSB)
  - We read these verses last week...
    - But let's see if we can notice something we didn't notice then...
  - Why did the king demand something that sounds so crazy?
    - Why did the king ask his advisors and wise men to answer such an impossible question?
  - Here is what I want you to see...
    - The king wasn't nuts...
    - The king wasn't just setting up his advisors for failure...
    - The king wasn't looking for an excuse to kill his advisors...
  - So, why?
    - The king believed these men could, with the proper motivation, provide the needed...
      - Information
      - Knowledge
      - Truth
  - Why would the king have thought these men could answer such an impossible question?
    - Because they told him they could...
    - Because they had been providing "wise" counsel for years...
    - Because they had taught him that they had the TRUTH...
  - But these men didn't have the truth...
    - Daniel 2:11 | What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” (CSB)
  - Now, all this time that the king's advisors had been giving him the "truth" they claimed to have received from the gods, they were lying.
    - Maybe they lied and knew they were lying...
      - THE PRETENDERS
    - Maybe they lied but thought they had found the truth...
      - THE DECEIVED
    - But it doesn't really matter.
      - Their source of truth was truly a source of lies, whether they knew that or not.
  - Daniel, though, had a different source for truth...
    - Daniel 2:16 | So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation. (CSB)
    - Daniel 2:17 | Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, (CSB)
    - Daniel 2:18 | urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men. (CSB)
    - Daniel 2:19 | The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens (CSB)
      - What was Daniel's source for truth?
        The LORD!
- Our culture has many answers and much "wisdom," but it is all wrong...
  - Our culture has answers on...
    - How to build a healthy marriage...
    - How to raise children...
    - What is the right and proper place for sex...
    - How valuable are the lives of babies...
    - How should students be educated...
    - What kind of words should we use...
    - How should we treat people who believe differently...
    - How do we help people overcome addictions...
    - How do we use and spend money...
    - How can we be "good" people...
    - What is love...
    - What is hope...
    - What is peace...
  - And sometimes our culture is in the role of PRETENDER and sometimes our culture is simply DECEIVED...
    - But that doesn't really matter.
  - Today, our culture warns us that we need to be on the "right side of history."
    - What do they mean by "right side of history?"
    - Well, the king's advisors thought they were on the "right side of history."
    - If we are going to truly be on the right side of history, we must reject the wisdom of the culture and find a different source for truth.
      - That is what Daniel and his three friends did.
  - Daniel gave an answer the king's other advisors could not give.
    - And Daniel ended up on the right side of history!
- How did Daniel know the truth? How did he have the answer?
  - Let me show you three things that were true of Daniel that allowed him to know the truth even when few others did.

Why Was Daniel Wiser?

I. Daniel knew the true source of wisdom.

Let's read this in Daniel's own words...
- Daniel 2:19 | The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens (CSB)
- Daniel 2:20 | and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him. (CSB)
- Daniel 2:21 | He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. (CSB)
- Daniel 2:22 | He reveals the deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. (CSB)
Daniel knew the answer could only come from the Lord.
Now, we don't seek the Lord's wisdom through dreams because we've been given the Lord's wisdom in the Bible.
- And that is a good thing.
  - No ambiguity...
  - No discrepancy...
Church, Christians... We must decide that we are not going to get truth from...
- Culture...
- What seems right to sinful people...
- What is convenient or easy...
- What is commonly believed...
- What seems to many to be the "right side of history..."
Occasionally I will have a conversation with someone who wants to debate some issue of right and wrong...
- Sometimes they are really disappointed because they expected that perhaps we could try to match wits and compare different perspectives and philosophies...
- And they are disappointed because often my answer is only...
  - "Well I believe such and such because that is what the Bible says."
- You see, I've decided that my source of truth is going to be the Lord and God's word!
When I hear about churches and Christians debating some kinds of issues...
- I just don't understand...
- What is there to debate?
Now, let's go back to the question of whether the culture is playing the role of being PRETENDERS or being the DECEIVED...
- I said earlier that it doesn't matter why the culture gets it wrong...
- But that is not the case with Christians...
  - Some Christians know they are embracing ungodly wisdom and PRETENDING it is the truth...
    - We must choose God's truth!
  - Other Christians, though, aren't actively choosing to embrace a lie...
    - They just don't know God's word well enough...
    - Story of family member who watched a sermon I preached on abortion...
- We need to be students of God's word.
  - Be here!
  - Take notes!
  - Discuss!

II. Daniel was thankful for God's wisdom.

Notice the next verse in Daniel's response to God giving him wisdom...
- Daniel 2:23 | I offer thanks and praise to you, God of my ancestors, because you have given me wisdom and power. And now you have let me know what we asked of you, for you have let us know the king’s mystery. (CSB)
The idea of thankfulness for God's wisdom might not seem significant to you, but it should.
- Ever heard the phrase...
  - That information went in one ear and out the other...
- Jesus tells the story of seed that fell on the hard path and was taken away by the birds before it could germinate and produce fruit...
- When I preach, I see some people leaning in like they can't wait to get another nugget of insight into God's word...
  - And I see some people counting light fixtures or playing on their phones...
The difference is whether or not you are truly thankful for God's wisdom.

III. Daniel was unashamed of God's wisdom.

Let's read what happens next...
- Daniel 2:26 | The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?” (CSB)
- Daniel 2:27 | Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. (CSB)
- Daniel 2:28 | But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these: (CSB)
From where did Daniel claim to have learned the answer?
- Daniel didn't say he reasoned it...
- Daniel didn't say he had consulted with wise men...
- Daniel said the answer came 100% from the Lord.
Church, we need to be unashamed of God's word.
- There are times when we need to be able to make philosophical, ontological, or evidentiary arguments to support something truth...
  - I'm working on a second doctors degree in apologetics studying how to better do that so that hopefully I can be a better preacher/teacher for you.
- But honestly there is no better answer than the one we teach little kids in children's church...
  - BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS SO.
    - Let's not be ashamed to say that!
    - Let's not fall into the trap of thinking we need a more lofty sounding answer or defense.
      - We are Bible people.
      - God's people are Bible people.
      - We believe God has spoken through the Bible.
      - We believe this is true.
      - And in a real sense, all we really need to believe something is true is that it is in the Bible that way.
How does this work out practically?
- When we have an opportunity...
  - We should say what we believe is true...
  - And we should say we believe it is true because God said it was true in his Word.

Conclusion

Gospel
- Romans 1:16 | For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. (CSB)