Truth Project: Serving The Lord No Matter What

Welcome to Truth Matters Saturday.

Dr. Cheryl Davis begins our broadcast today with a penetrating and personal question. Will you serve the Lord no matter what? There are things that we want God to do that He has not performed in our life, and we think our trials are catastrophes. But what I want to ask you is are you at the point where you're going to serve God even if He does not deliver you? Are you at the point where you're going to continue to serve God even if those prayers are not answered? Because really, when you think about it, God did enough for us on the cross by sending His Son to shed His blood so that we can be saved and have eternal life if He never does anything else for us. And we know that He will do more because He is the God that loves us.

But there are some times that we pray prayers that are against the will of God, and we get discouraged when we don't hear Him, or the answer is even no. So what I want to ask you is are you willing to serve God even if that answer never comes, or even if your deliverance never comes? The Bible personalities Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego find themselves in today's lesson standing before King Nebuchadnezzar and facing a life-altering decision.

Here's Dr. Davis. I'm Dr. Cheryl Davis, and we have been going through the book of Daniel, and today we begin in chapter 4. But just to summarize chapter 3, we saw the three Hebrew boys delivered through the fiery furnace, and we saw God manifest in the furnace. And we ended our last session talking about, God, please give us the faith to make a stand in these last days so that we can see you manifest yourself in the furnace.

Don't let us be afraid of the furnace because those that compromise and are not obedient to you, God, do not see miracles. But in chapter 4, we see that King Nebuchadnezzar has a second dream, that Daniel comes back on the scene needing to use his God-given abilities to interpret. So let's move on into the scriptures and read verses 1 through 3. Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you.

I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. How great are his signs and how mighty his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. Really what we see here is a Babylonian state document that's written by Nebuchadnezzar himself.

And it's a different perspective from the last chapter. If you remember in the last chapter, we see him building a graven image to himself, commanding those to worship him. And those that did not worship him, he cast them in the fiery furnace. But here he says, very key language, I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.

It is more personal that the Most High God has worked for me. It's not for Daniel or for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar sees God in his position, but also as his ruling, as its relative to Nebuchadnezzar being king, and that his dominion will go on from generation to generation and that his kingdom will go on forever.

This is a different level of commitment. It's a different level of language than we see in the previous chapters. Let's move on to verses 4 through 7. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore, I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men in Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream, but they did not make known to me its interpretation.

Here we go. Nebuchadnezzar is dreaming again. And this seems very similar to chapter 2.

And notice that verses 1 through 3 are the introduction. So, Nebuchadnezzar is writing this book in hindsight. He's telling the story in hindsight. But we see at the part of his second dream that he goes about the same path as he did with the first dream, knowing that the first time it was not successful. But still, it just shows how stubborn he is that he asked for the same people who could not help him the first time, the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And this time, he even told them the dream the first time he refused.

But they could not make the interpretation. So obviously, who does he call? Let's find out in verses 8 through 9. But at last, Daniel came before me. His name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God. In him is the Spirit of the Holy God, and I told the dream before him, saying, Bill Shazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation. Daniel obviously comes to the king's rescue again, as he has been made the chief of the magicians. He's the most wise person in the land. He's gifted by God. But notice how Nebuchadnezzar describes Daniel's name.

He still calls Belteshazzar his God, but Daniel has the Spirit of the Holy God, which Nebuchadnezzar perceives as being higher than his God. And Nebuchadnezzar's dream is explained in 10 through 18. So let's get into the dream.

These were the visions of my head while on my bed. I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, its height reached out to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beast of the field found shade under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said, Thus. Chop down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beast get out from under it and the birds from its branches.

Nevertheless, leave the stump and roots in the earth. Found with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let them graze with the beast on the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over him. This decision is by the decree of the watchers and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen, now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation.

For you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you. Notice we see that this is Nebuchadnezzar's second dream, and remember I said he's writing the story in hindsight. So, what I'm assuming, and what it appears in the scripture, is that his commitment in chapter 3 was shallow, as God is still speaking to the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, as this is his last warning.

But technically his second dream is the fourth warning. If you look in the first chapter, was his first experience with God. When Daniel purposed in his heart, in verse 8, to not defile himself with kings delicacies, and he was able to see that God had provision over Daniel, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in chapter 1. And chapter 2 was Nebuchadnezzar's second experience with God, as the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had, that Daniel could only interpret, and that his magicians could not. And Nebuchadnezzar makes a shallow commitment in chapter 2 to God. And the third chapter is his third experience with God, seeing the fourth like the Son of God in the fiery furnace, and witnessing a Christophany, but again that was a shallow commitment.

And we know that by virtue of the definition because he needed a fourth warning. This is his fourth experience with God, but his final warning before judgment. So we'll get into what this dream means as Daniel interprets it in 19 through 27.

So let's read verses 19 through 27. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for its time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.

Belteshazzar answered and said, my lord, may the dream concern those who hate you and its interpretation concern your enemies. And here we see where Daniel is compassionate on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar, because when he hears the dream from Nebuchadnezzar, his thoughts troubled him. I believe that Daniel respected Nebuchadnezzar, but also he cared for him. But I believe he had a compassion for his lost heart and tried to help him numerous times. But by seeing this fourth dream and knowing its interpretation, it troubled Daniel. But King Nebuchadnezzar told him, do not let it trouble you. Just go ahead and give it to me straight.

So this is what he does. In verse 20 through 27. The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens, and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, and which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home. It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong, for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens and your dominion to the end of the earth. And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field, let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over him. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my Lord the King. They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he chooses. And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you after you come to know that heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.

So interestingly, this is a warning. As you see, Nebuchadnezzar is that great vast trees. He was known as the modern ruler, the known world at that time. He has dominion over all of the earth at that time. Basil's heart was not in the place that it needed to be, and God needed him to know him and needed to get his heart where he wanted it.

And where he wanted his heart was this. He wanted him to know in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men. So he wanted Nebuchadnezzar to realize that God's rule was higher than his and that God is sovereign over whom he gives it to because he gives it to whomever he will and sets over it the lowest of men. So it's not that he has to have a certain status to be a ruler or to be a king. That it could be even the lowest of men.

Even though it's the lowest of men physically, but in the spiritual heart is really the condition or the requirements for being a ruler. There's a beautiful promise in Isaiah 43 verse 2 that assures us that in times of trouble God will be with us and that when you walk through the waters, he will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced certain death that day in Babylon as they were tossed into Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace.

But instead of dying in the flames, they were delivered for the purpose of saving a nation. God always has a reason for every season in our life. If you're facing a trial, perhaps it is God's attempt to redirect your steps. God often closes doors in life in order to open new ones.

But it's always up to you to follow in his steps. If you would like to contact Truth Matters, you can reach us by emailing Dr. Davis at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com or write to us at P.O. Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina, 28348. You can connect with Truth Matters on Facebook or visit our website at ProjectTruthMatters.com. Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis is a ministry of The Truth Project.