Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell. Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Oswald Chambers said the clearest evidence that God's grace is at work in our hearts is when we do not get into panics.
Well, from a human perspective, Daniel and his friends had every right to get into a panic. a king demanded the impossible. and put a death sentence on failure. Daniel's response is a portrait of what it looks like to deeply trust in the Most High God. Let's listen in to this message from Daniel 2:14-23.
The title of today's message is Mercies from the God of Heaven. from this text that was just read. Mercies from the God of heaven. There was a very harsh decree that went out. It says in verse 13, so the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men, and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.
So Ariok had the responsibility. He marches into the barracks. Daniel, Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah were still in school. And Ariok marches into the barracks. He says, Line up.
It's time to go out. You don't need to take anything with you. This is it. And Daniel says, Why the harsh decree? What's going on?
See, Nebuchadnezzar was killing the wise men, these men whom he considered useless charlatans. deceivers who'd been abandoned by the gods. Nebuchadnezzar was making a national statement What these guys claimed was useless. He was making a theological statement. They had no power.
He felt abandoned. The gods had abandoned him. And so he made this urgent Decree. The urgent word there means it is harsh, it is insolent. It is a knee-jerk reaction.
It is to kill the wise men Who were to surround him so that he could better lead the empire with more insight. And he says, I've had it. I don't want this anymore. And this decree included Daniel, Hanani, Michael, and Azariah. These were exiles.
Captives from Judah. Men of royal descent, young man of royal descent, probably in their late teens, maybe early twenties, still in school. And Ariok now had come to march them out. What would you do? These were the last moments, as far as you could tell, these were the last moments of your life.
And yet Daniel, Hannah, Michel, and Azariah had the confidence that they were there on purpose. What would you do? It's time to panic, isn't it? Let's look at Daniel's response, verse fourteen. Then, with counsel and wisdom.
Daniel answered Ariok. You say, wait a minute, I don't remember Ariok asking the question. He didn't ask a question. Daniel returns. It's a response.
It's a calm response. And when it says that he answered with counsel and wisdom, it means that there was dignity and calmness. in his response. There is dignity and calmness. That means Daniel's response was thoughtful.
It was a rational response versus he was not being dragged along by his emotions. Daniel did not engage in an irrational response because that's what irrationalism is: it's being dragged. by your emotions. Emotions are a lousy Compass. They are but a thermometer.
But too many of us, and we find it too easy to be dragged along by emotions. At the expense of reason and thoughtfulness. But Daniel was thoughtful and reasonable. It's a good example of overreacting Football said, when football season ends, then comes the Super Bowl, and everybody wants to watch the Super Bowl. Why?
Because of the commercials, of course. It doesn't matter who's playing, we want to watch the commercials because they're so funny. at least for the first half they are, while we're in church. Yeah. But there was one back in 2005.
It was put on by AmeriQuest Mortgage Company. And the theme was don't judge too quickly. And so you have this this man, he's talking on his cell phone, he goes into this convenience store, all right, and he's talking to a uh a a buddy of his who's who's looking at putting a deck on his house. And the guy On the cell phone, walking into the convenience store, he says, Man, he says, Listen, you're getting robbed. He says, do you hear me?
You're getting robbed. And the two people in the convenience store hear this and immediately they respond. They turn around and he zaps him. He hits him with a baseball bat and then he prods him with an electric cattle prod. It's so funny to watch.
Context. Everything was lost. There was no context to what this guy was saying. He was talking on his phone, telling a buddy of his that he was getting robbed paying too much for the deck on his house. Daniel's response to this situation.
was one of clarity. When he said he answered with wisdom, There was clarity there. He sought clarity. He didn't just react to what he thought he heard. He sought clarity.
But he also responded with a very clear sense of confidence in God. I know who God is. God is, God is good. There's nothing that He does that is bad. And Daniel had that confidence.
And so he responded then to Ariok with respect And calm. Oswald Chambers said, The clearest evidence that God's grace is at work in our hearts is when we do not get into panics.
So lots of things we can panic about these days. A lot of changes happening. Change is a given. in our lives. What are the things that we can panic about?
Political change, cultural change, economic change, financial change. change in our health, change in our relationships. Those might be times to panic. But when We encounter those changes, when we encounter those crises. We must remember that there is a benevolent sovereign.
whose good purpose I am living And I am trusting him. This is what we learn from the revelation that God has given us in the book of Daniel.
So there is a harsh decree. Daniel has a calm response, and then he offers a respectful alternative. A respectful alternative. Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time that he might tell the king the interpretation in verse 16.
So we see then that there is a stay of execution. The dec the king had issued the decree. Send the captain of the guard out. Execute the wise men. Daniel goes in and asks the king for a stay of execution till, listen to this, Daniel had an opportunity to consult with his God.
about the dream. You see, because When the wise men had gone in, the astrologers, magicians, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, when they were summoned to the king's court, Daniel was not among them, Daniel, Hanani, Michelle, and Azariah, because they were still students.
Okay. But they were still considered in the number of the wise men for the decree.
So Daniel says I have a resource. And that resource is the God I worship. There's not anything he doesn't know. There's not anything he can't do. Let me talk.
Ariok, let me talk to the king. And let me consult with my God. Maybe Daniel was recognizing that God was doing something there because He understood that He was there on purpose. It's important for us to know. Who the object of our faith?
Is Faith isn't blind. That's credulity. But the object of our faith is the one who knows all things, the one who created all things. It is not blind faith. That's just simply credulity.
That's just human speculation. But the object of our faith, the object of Daniel's faith. Mm-hmm. is not just speculation. He is the living God.
And so Daniel says, it's like Daniel is saying, and we can too, in our context. We can Communicate the message to the people in our world and the people in our lives. Would you please consider who we have? as a resource. He is the creator, he is the designer of all that is.
Watchman Nee said, Our prayers lay the track down on which God's power can come. Many, many people in history, great men of history. in times of crisis. They chose to pray. instead of panic.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Hezekiah king of Judah. Let's bring that up to more recent history. Abraham Lincoln. Of course, some of us might not think that's too recent, but Abraham Lincoln said, I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.
My wisdom and that of all those around me seemed insufficient for the day. Daniel knew where to go. Daniel also knew what his gift was. In chapter 1 and verse 17, it says that the Lord gave Daniel understanding in all visions and dreams.
So he knew what his gift was, he knew where that gift came from. And Daniel says this is a dream. God's doing something. God has something for me to do. And so he engaged his gift.
Now, this next part is very, very important. Look with me at verse 17. Then Daniel went to his house. and he made the decision known to Hanani, Mishiel, and Azariah. His companions.
That they might seek mercies. from the God of heaven concerning this secret. That they might seek mercies. What we have here now is after the respectful alternative was presented. Then we have corporate prayer.
United prayer. God's people get together to pray. It says in verse 17 that they might.
So it uses the plural, but look what he says. Look down with me to verse 23. I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers, you have given me wisdom and insight, and have now made known to me what we asked of you. what we asked of you. Daniel wasn't just praying alone.
He went to God's people and he says, Pray with me. That God will be merciful, that God will be compassionate upon us. Believers united in fervent prayer. Recognizing that this is something that God must do. It is beyond our abilities.
Yes, Daniel had a gift, but it was a gift from God. And it was to be employed in God's business. And so he called the believers to be united in fervent prayer. I think it's very important for us also to understand here that even though Daniel, Hanana, Mishael and Azariah, their necks were on the line here. They were, as far as they could tell, living the last moments of their life.
This was a crisis. And what was their first inclination? It was to pray. It was to look to what is God doing. How can I serve God in this instant?
And so they prayed, and that was their first inclination. Example of that, 33-year-old lecturer at Cambridge University, Mark Ashton Smith, was kayaking in southern England and capsized. in treacherous waters. Clinging to his craft, he reached for his cellphone. Ashton Smith's first inclination was to call his father.
It didn't matter to the desperate son that his dad, Alan Pimsmith, was training British troops in Dubai 3,500 miles away. Without delay, the father relayed his son's May Day to the Coast Guard installation nearest to his son's location. Within twelve minutes, a helicopter retrieved the grateful Ashton Smith. His first inclination was to call Dad. Why?
Because dad was the one he trusted. And so it was with Daniel. Is that Can we say that? Instead of panicking, Our first inclination is to Talk to Dad. Talk to the one We can trust.
It was with Daniel. And what did they ask? Again, verse 18: that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven. concerning this secret. That they might seek mercies.
That word is compassion. They didn't panic. They didn't go before the Lord and say, Lord, we don't deserve this. We didn't sign up for this. You brought us here.
Why are you doing this? That's not what they said. They sought mercies. from the God of heaven. They did not become demanding.
They yet humbled themselves again and sought mercies of the God of heaven in this time of crisis. Martin Lloyd Jones says, faith is a refusal. to panic. That's a good one. Write that down, put it on your refrigerator.
Well, you're not usually panicking when you're at your refrigerator now, are you? Um Wherever you might tend to panic, Faith is a refusal to panic. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Why is that? Because faith isn't just human speculation.
Faith isn't just, boy, I hope Everything that I believe is true. No? Faith is. There is God, God is, and God is good. He is the necessary being.
And I have entrusted myself to him, and I yet again at this moment entrust myself to him. God, what are you doing? And how can you use me in in this moment. Daniel and his friends had no special revelation with regard to this incident as it was earlier on with regard to the food issue. Daniel did not want to defile himself.
And now, yet again, in this situation, Daniel did not have special revelation with regard to this. The Lord didn't come to Daniel and say, Daniel, I've given Nebuchadnezzar a dream, and I'm going to have you interpret it for him. Daniel didn't have that. But what Daniel did know. is that God can interpret the dream and Get this now.
It is his free sovereign choice to intervene. It is his choice God's choice. to intervene. Daniel didn't say, God, if you love us, if you care for us, you will do this. It's not what he said.
They sought The mercies of the God of heaven. They knew God can. And they asked him if he would. We need to be careful about this because we can pin up these heroes of the faith and say, see, if you just believe and you pray and you make God your first inclination, then everything will turn out the way you want it to. This is the problem I see with some of the Christian movies that are coming out today.
If you just do right, live right, pray right, everything will turn out in the end the way you want it to. Be very, very careful about that. Because we have to remember whose purpose it is that we are living. Who's the sovereign one here? What was Daniel's purpose, but to simply serve God even in this moment of crisis?
Let me give you an example of this. John and Kay Tallman. had prayed for their fellow missionaries. who were held hostage. in the Philippines by a militant Islamic group.
It was Martin and Gracia Burnham. It's back about 12 years ago. They had been in captivity. held hostage. These missionary colleagues, they were interceding for the Burnham's safety and release, and they had asked the Lord to cover them with His strong.
and mighty hand Indeed, in a prayer letter, K. Burnham describes the final hour K. Ptolemy describes the final hours of the Burnham's captivity. There was a joint U. S.-Filipino rescue attempt of the burnhams from this militant Islamic group.
Marcia and Martin and Gracia had been on the run for seven days with little or no food. And they felt that this was the end. They had been running in torrential downpours, slipping and falling. Martin strung a hammock for himself and Gracia, then they prayed the last thing they did together. You know what they prayed through the whole ordeal.
This was their prayer. Seven days on the run, after a long time held hostage by this militant group, this was their prayer. God, thank you for the privilege of serving you. Please help us to serve you with gladness. Wow.
That's not blind credulity is it? That's not human speculation. That is someone who is committed. to the sovereign benevolent creator of the universe. Bullets immediately started flying.
Yeah. Gracia was hit first and rolled down the hill away from the fighting, and then Martin was hit and rolled down right beside her, his bride of nineteen years, and they were together until Martin drew his last breath. But wait a minute, God's people were praying. fervently, weren't they? Where's God?
Are you tempted to ask that question right now? Where's God? Kate Allman continued. As I poured out my heart to the Father, I said, God, this isn't how I would have written the last chapter. You and I have said that several times, haven't we?
This isn't how I would have written the last chapter. And his very gentle reply to Kay was. Who said this is the last chapter? This is not the last chapter. Not be a long shot.
And Kay says, as I shared this with an older friend from church, she added, And it's not your book. It's not your book. How true? You see, faith is a refusal. to panic.
And in a moment of crisis, Our first inclination is to go to our loving Father. And say How do I serve you faithfully? in these circumstances. That's what Daniel did. You see, our response to crisis reveals Our understanding of God.
Let me say that again. Our response to crisis reveals our understanding. of God. Is our faith? myopic, where we're just so fixated on a limited view of the here and now.
CS Lewis warned us of that. He said wealth and comforts have knitted us to this world. We're not able to see beyond here now. We've lost sight of the big picture. Maybe we've made God in our own image, where we think of Him only in terms of being able to do what we can understand.
Daniel went to his companions, and together they sought mercies from the God of heaven, and that was their first response. We see then In verse 19, then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. What is this? This is divine compassion. Daniel and his friends together went to the Father.
This was their first inclination. They went to the Father. We ask for your mercies. The implication in all this is they will be faithful. And they remained faithful up to what they thought might have been the very last moment, but they sought the mercies of God.
And God was compassionate. And the divine compassion is a contrast To the wise men who worshipped the heavens instead of the one who made the heavens. You see the difference there? The wise men only worshipped created things. Their idea of God was fraudulent.
They were false gods. They were non-gods. Their whole theological system was based on human speculation. But not Daniel. He sought mercies from the God of heaven.
the one who made the heavens. In mercies, this divine compassion This is also a contrast to Nebuchadnezzar, who was merciless in this decree. a man who thought he was sovereign, a man who thought, at the command of his mouth, he could wipe out.
So many lives. You see, as we go through this book of Daniel, we're going to find out that God had a particular message for Nebuchadnezzar, because Nebuchadnezzar thought he was sovereign. He thought he could do whatever he wanted to do and had a right to do so. And God said, I'm going to show you. Who's in control?
The theme of the book of Daniel, the most high rules in the kingdom of men, was penned. BY NEBUCANESSAR.
So you can still see he's got some learning to do, doesn't he?
So, this is a contrast, this divine compassion. You see, God is like. what God has done. That's why this narrative is here for us. This narrative is here for us not to tell us all the great heroes of the faith, so emulate them and be like the great heroes of the faith.
This narrative is here to show us who God is and what He's like. That's the point. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men. And Daniel and his friends sought from God what they knew about him. He is a merciful and compassionate God.
And so he presents the dream to Daniel in a night vision. It says, now this term night vision, vision, is a different term than the word dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. The night vision means an appearance. God in his divine, his sovereign compassion gave Daniel an appearance.
Wow. You see. As the wise men were responding to Nebuchadnezzar, they knew. That Nebuchadnezzar's demand was beyond human capacity. Neb, if this is going to happen, the gods have to speak.
Guess what? They're not going to speak. See, Daniel knew that. Because I'm sure he had read Isaiah's prophecies. And Isaiah, God through the prophet Isaiah, made the point very, very clear.
All of your ideas of God. are mute. Your gods cannot hear, they cannot speak, because they are non-gods. It is irrational for you to put trust in non-gods, in something that man creates. A created entity by definition cannot be God.
And yet there are so many things created that we choose to trust. and worship. But Daniel. looked to the true and living God. The one who speaks.
The true and living God who speaks, the communicator, the creator who communicates. Daniel looks to him. In the world of philosophy today, Uncertainty is fashionably humble. particularly in the arena of origins and metaphysics, particularly in the arena of the question of God. It is fashionably humble to say we just don't know.
We can't know for certain. Certainty, on the other hand, is viewed. as unwarranted hubris. if you think you have certainty. with regard to knowledge of God.
And here is the popular story that is used to illustrate that. It's the story of six blind men. They're blind. And they discover an elephant. And they surround the elephant, and they're touching the elephant, and they're feeling the elephant at different parts.
Okay, and one blind man touches the belly of the animal and thinks it's a wall. Another grabs the elephant's ear and thinks he's touching a fan. A third blind man touches the tail and thinks he's holding a rope. On they go, each grabbing a part of the elephant without any one of them knowing what it is they really feel.
So what's the point of the story? This is very common in philosophical thinking. What's the point of this? We are all blind. This is the philosophical point of this illustration.
We are all blind when it comes to God. We know part of him But we don't really know Who he is. We are all just Grasping in the dark. Blind.
Okay, thinking we know more than we do. See? And it would be arrogant of you to think that you know who God is. That's conventional wisdom. in philosophical arenas.
Kevin De Young helps us. with this. He says there's two major problems with this analogy. First, the whole story is told from the vantage point of someone who clearly knows that the elephant. is an elephant.
For the story to make its point, the narrator has to have clear and accurate knowledge. The second flaw with the story is even more serious. The story is a perfectly good description of human inability to know God by our own devices. That's true. But the story never considers this paradigm shattering question.
What if the elephant. Talks. What if the elephant? Tells the blind men, that wall-like structure is my side, that fan is really my ear, that's not a rope, it's a tail. If the elephant were to say all this, would the six blind men be considered humble for ignoring his word?
Here's the point. God has spoken. He has spoken. We are not Blind. The infinite sovereign creator of the universe has spoken.
He's the same one who spoke to Daniel. He's the same one that speaks today. Gleason Archer said the stage was now set to show the reality, wisdom, and power of the one true God, Yahweh. as over against the inarticulate and impotent Imaginary gods, the magicians, and Nebuchadnezzar worshipped. And that will be the point of the next three Sundays as we go through the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
The word became Flesh. That's not just theory, it's not just myth, it's history. God has spoken. Do we hear his word? How does this paragraph then end?
God gives his compassion and he reveals the dream to Daniel. And what we have then The end of verse 19.
So Daniel blessed the God of heaven, not the heavens, not the universe. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, the one who made the heavens. And Daniel answered and said, What we have here is a doxological manifesto. Big fancy words. Manifesto means a declaration, and doxological means.
It is a declaration that points to God. It gives the glory where it belongs. This doxological manifesto in verses 20 to 23 is a ringing declaration. It is a hymn of praise. To the God who is the Creator and has spoken and has communicated.
And it is a hymn of praise, as should be our music. It is a hymn of thankfulness. For who God is and what he has done. And it is a hymn that declares the excellencies. of our God.
The excellencies of God being His good and powerful wisdom. His unlimited power. His good and purposeful wisdom, his unlimited power. His sovereignty that makes him free to do as he will without creaturely impediment. And lastly, that God's revelation is the light by which men see.
God's revelation is the light by which. Men see. And God's revelation is a self-disclosure. This God, Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, is the object of trust for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishiel, and Azariah. And this hymn challenges the fatalism of pagan worldviews and their fraudulent deities.
Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things.
He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you. for you have made known to us the king's dream. It is a specific and a current answer to prayer.
And the hymn reflects that. And so we have yet another example of a new song of praise when God's people encounter fresh experiences of God's grace. You see. For the church today in the 21st century, God did not stop working among his people in the 19th century. We should sing new songs that reflect our renewed and fresh delight in the God who transcends the ages.
Our worship should reflect our fresh current encounters with the transcendent God who works among us. As it was with Daniel, Hananiah Mishael, and Azariah.
So what is God communicating to his people through this praise song? at the end of this paragraph. God's message is this: Do you see? Do you see how empty and despairing it is to put your trust merely in man's conjecture? and subjective opinions.
It is empty, it is vain. There's no future in it. Psalm 115, verses 8 and 9, Those who make them have become just like the gods they trust. But you, Israel, put your trust in God. Trust your helper.
Trust your ruler. Here's the point. you become like what you worship. What you worship. is what you trust.
What you trust is what you worship.
Okay. and you become like it. What is your object? of trust. Is it the god of the universe?
or something else. Oswald Chambers once again in his statement said, The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything. else And so my closing question to you this morning. What do you trust? What is the object of your trust?
Do you seek mercies from the God of heaven? or when it's time to panic, you go somewhere else. Do we go to a different throne? Our closing song this morning is: There is a higher throne. It is the throne of God.
That's as far back as you can go. There's nothing higher.
So we appeal. Let us be a people who appeal to the highest authority. And that highest authority is our benevolent. Creator, Redeemer. Let him be our trust.
What a reminder that our God holds us and the outcome in his hands. Oh, help us, God, to cultivate a deep trust in you. This message titled Mercies from the God of Heaven was first preached on December 7th, 2014 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Listen to the next message in the series this coming Monday. here at www.delightinggrace.com.
