Participants:
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000083S
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00:01 Music...
00:31 James: I love how practical the book of Daniel is, 00:33 I mean, we're talking prophecy but it's really practical. 00:36 We talked about the miry clay mixed with the iron... 00:39 we talked about Churchcraft and Statecraft... 00:41 we talked about how that doesn't work 00:44 in secular and religious lines 00:47 but I think it also doesn't work in our own lives. 00:48 Yvonne: Hmmm... 00:50 James: We need to be sold out for God. 00:51 He needs all of us... 00:52 we need that born-again experience. 00:54 We can't be mingling the Secular with our experience, 00:56 that's got to go... it's got to go... 00:57 we can try it but it's not going to cling... 00:59 it's not going to stick 01:01 and how many of us as believers 01:03 have an experience with Christ that isn't sticking? 01:05 Yvonne: Hmmm... 01:06 James: It's... we're trying to make something work there 01:08 that isn't working, 01:10 so, we've just got to let all of that go 01:11 and put our complete trust... 01:13 we need to let Him take us out of the miry clay 01:16 and place us on the rock... 01:18 put a new song in our hearts... even praise to God 01:20 so that many can see it and fear and trust in the Lord. 01:22 Psalm 40:1 through 3... 01:24 Yvonne: Beautiful. 01:25 James: Yeah, beautiful stuff so God is... 01:27 God is... His Word is so powerful. 01:28 So, we're still in Daniel chapter 2, 01:30 we're going to pick up there, 01:31 Jason, can you lead us in with a word of prayer? 01:33 Jason: Sure. James: Thank you. 01:34 Jason: "Dear heavenly Father, we thank You 01:35 that we get to study Your Word. 01:37 We continue to go through the book of Daniel... 01:39 please help us to learn more about You 01:45 and see You in these pages and in this story, Father, 01:49 and help us to apply these principles to our lives, 01:52 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 01:53 All: Amen. 01:55 James: Thank you Jason. 01:56 So, Ivor, I'm going to hand this over to you again 01:58 because I really feel like you've been giving us 02:00 some good stuff right here. 02:02 We've looked at the story... we've looked at the prophecy 02:03 and now we're getting into some of the details 02:05 I think it can be really helpful for us. 02:07 Ivor: Yeah, yeah... 02:08 I want to take this prophecy 02:11 and really build off of what James just said in the opening 02:16 and I think, looking at this in a very practical sense 02:19 will really help us to... 02:20 to kind of see how this image deals with us personally. 02:25 Yvonne: Oh, good... 02:26 Ivor: So, once again we see this image... 02:29 its head of gold... chest and arms of silver... 02:31 belly and thighs of brass... 02:33 legs of iron... 02:34 toes of iron and clay... 02:36 and then a stone comes and destroys the image on its feet, 02:41 the whole image shatters... 02:42 and then the wind... 02:44 I don't know if you've read this part yet or not 02:46 but the wind carries away the chaff... 02:50 just blows everything away. 02:51 James: Hmmm... hmmm... 02:52 Ivor: And we've... we've come to see that this image 02:56 represents different kingdoms. 02:59 Babylon... Medo-Persia... Greece... Rome... 03:02 divided Rome with the element of clay added to it 03:06 and ultimately the stone that is cut out without hands 03:10 which we saw is the true King of the north. 03:13 James: Hmmm... hmmm... 03:14 Ivor: Right? 03:15 So, the question really is, "Why do these kingdoms fall?" 03:21 Yvonne: Hmmm... 03:22 Ivor: Why do these kingdoms fall? 03:24 The Bible tells us, "Pride goes before destruction, 03:30 and a haughty spirit before a fall. " 03:33 All: Hmmm... 03:34 Ivor: Each one of these kingdoms fall 03:36 because in one way or another they reject God. 03:40 James: Hmmm... Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 03:42 Ivor: They reject God through His Son, 03:43 like, specifically the Roman Empire... 03:45 this is the Empire in which Jesus came, 03:47 we're going to see that. 03:49 The fact that this fourth kingdom is set to break 03:52 in pieces... 03:54 we're going to see that one of the things 03:55 that this fourth kingdom broke in pieces was Jesus Himself. 03:57 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 03:59 Ivor: Remember He said, "This is My body 04:00 which is broken for you. " 04:01 Yvonne: Yeah... James: Hmmm... 04:03 Ivor: Well, who did the breaking? 04:04 It was Rome, right? 04:06 so, again, each of these kingdoms 04:08 in one way or another were kingdoms that were anti-God. 04:12 Right, from Babylon to Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome... 04:16 each one of them do something... 04:18 even with the Medo-Persian Empire 04:20 where they try to wipe out all the Jews, right? 04:23 And the Grecian Empire, under Antiochus Epiphanes 04:27 there's the... they tried to... 04:28 they desecrate the temple and sacrifice a pig... 04:31 that's more historical events 04:34 but then, Rome ultimately destroys the temple... 04:36 crucifies Christ... 04:38 so, in each one of these kingdoms, 04:40 you see some element of warfare against God and His people 04:45 down to the toes of iron and clay, right? 04:49 But... so this image represents the kingdoms 04:53 that war against God 04:55 but notice what the image is of... 04:58 it's not an image of a horse... 05:01 it's not an image of a lamb... 05:03 it's not an image of a cow... 05:05 it's an image of a man... 05:07 Yvonne: A man, yes... 05:09 Ivor: That... it's the image of a man... 05:12 could Daniel 2 be showing us the results of rejecting Christ 05:19 in your personal life? 05:20 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 05:22 Ivor: This is what happens to the man, right? 05:25 that rejects the plan of salvation. 05:27 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Wow! 05:29 Ivor: I want you to notice what happens to this image, right? 05:31 It starts out gold... 05:33 but as you go on... what happens? 05:35 It deteriorates in value 05:38 and I believe that this is what happens... 05:41 the longer we live life without Christ... 05:43 the longer we live life rejecting God... 05:46 we... we are devaluing ourselves. 05:49 Yvonne: Hmmm... that's good. 05:52 Ivor: And it just shows like this... 05:55 God doesn't want this for us, right? 05:58 This is not His ideal for us but He's showing us, 06:01 "This is the path that man is on without me. " 06:04 So, the image in Daniel 2 06:06 reflects the future of the man that rejects Jesus Christ. 06:13 Yvonne: And that even makes me think... 06:15 it's the number of a man 666. 06:17 James: Yeah, and look at that... 06:20 remember that... well, in Daniel chapter 3, 06:23 we get into the... the image that Daniel builds, right? 06:26 I'm sorry, that Nebuchadnezzar builds 06:29 which is 600 cubits and what have you 06:32 so, it's very similar to that number 666 06:34 but consider that image, right? 06:38 How many kingdoms in that image? 06:41 Right? So there's the head of gold... 06:44 so, there is the kingdom represented by the head, 06:47 and then the kingdom representing... 06:50 pointing to the chest... 06:52 and then the kingdom representing... 06:54 pointing to the stomach... 06:55 and then the kingdom representing... pointing leg... 06:57 so, there are four kingdoms here: 06:59 The kingdom of the mind... 07:00 kingdom of the heart... 07:02 the kingdom of the appetite and desires... 07:05 and the kingdom of our directions and our path... 07:08 and so, now, all of a sudden it's like, 07:10 "Whoa, wait a minute... why does this kingdom fall?" 07:14 Because the Bible says... 07:15 "A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. " 07:21 And what happens with us often? 07:23 So, here's what happens right? 07:26 "Oh man! I really like God... 07:29 I really like the Bible... 07:31 I understand the Bible... " 07:33 we serve God with our knowledge 07:35 but He doesn't have our heart. 07:37 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 07:39 Ivor: Or, we may be like, "I love you Lord... " 07:42 displaying emotion... 07:45 Yvonne: Laughter. 07:47 Ivor: Emotion... 07:49 but yet we don't want to believe what He says... 07:52 we don't submit our appetite to Him... our desires to Him... 07:56 or we won't walk in His ways... 07:58 so, ultimately what God is trying to do is, 08:00 He's trying to say, "Listen, you need... 08:03 I need to be Lord over your entire kingdom... 08:06 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Wow! 08:08 Ivor: You can't just serve me in the mind 08:09 and not serve me in the heart 08:12 or serve me in the heart but not do... 08:14 walk in the way that I've called you to walk. 08:16 James: Or walk in the way that I've called you to walk 08:18 and not serve me in your heart. 08:19 Ivor: Exactly. Yvonne: Yes. 08:20 James: That's Legalism... 08:22 Ivor: Right, that's Legalism. Yvonne: Right, that's right. 08:23 Ivor: So, what happens is 08:24 we ended up walking around in a divided kingdom 08:27 and a kingdom divided against itself... cannot stand. 08:32 Jason: I have never, never, ever, ever 08:36 heard it put like that before... 08:38 Yvonne: It's so good... that's rich. 08:40 Jason: I mean... whenever anybody talks about this image, 08:42 like, they never talk about that... 08:45 I've never seen that. 08:47 Ivor: It's a very practical way of kind of remembering, 08:49 "Look, what happens to the nations on a large scale, 08:51 is what's happening in the human heart on a very primitive sense. 08:55 James: It makes sense. Jason: Yeah, it does. 08:56 Ivor: So, I mean, think about... 08:59 think about what happens to this image... 09:02 the rock comes and smites the image. 09:05 What do you think God wants to do in us? 09:08 The rock... He says... "If you fall on this rock... 09:11 you'll be broken... 09:14 but don't let the rock fall on you... 09:16 because you'll be ground into powder. " 09:18 Yvonne: Yes. 09:19 James: And you're quoting the Bible now, 09:21 you're quoting Jesus now, so, Jesus is... 09:23 in a sense what you're sharing right here 09:25 is confirmed by Christ's words... 09:27 "Fall on the rock... or the rock is going to fall on you" 09:30 and that's what we see here is your outline is... 09:33 that's what we see here in the image... 09:35 we see not just the history of nations 09:36 but those nations are made up of individuals 09:38 and those individuals are us. 09:40 Jason: That's amazing. 09:41 Yvonne: I love the fact that you both make 09:43 make such great applications 09:46 because one can read the... the Scripture 09:49 and like Jay said, you read it 09:51 and... and you see... it's the image 09:53 and they correspond with the four kingdoms and all that 09:55 and that's all good... 09:57 but when you apply that to our lives, 10:00 then it takes on a whole new meaning, 10:03 you know, then it's like 10:05 the words really just come to life 10:08 because now, it's, "What does this mean for me?" 10:11 And that's what you will do 10:13 and that's one of the reasons why I think, 10:15 God has really blessed this Program 10:17 because you are really giving us practical applications 10:22 to this Scriptures. 10:24 James: It's all through the Bible, I mean, 10:27 when you think about the implications... 10:30 what Ivor... what Ivor is talking about here, 10:32 the implications here... it's right here in Daniel 2 10:35 and as you transition to Daniel 3, 10:37 you're going to talk about this, it's really interesting, 10:39 Nebuchadnezzar has that intellectual... 10:41 but not the heart... 10:43 right there, he has that experience 10:44 so there it is... boom! 10:46 Ivor: Everything is gold. Yvonne: Everything is gold. 10:48 Ivor: It's all gold, man... 10:49 "How are you doing?" "Everything is gold... " 10:51 see, but I want you to check this out... right... 10:53 the most offensive part of this image 10:55 is the feet of iron and clay. 10:57 James: Hmmm... Ivor: Right? 10:59 Yvonne: Why? 11:01 Ivor: Because here you have what looks like spirituality... 11:05 you look moldable... 11:07 but iron is on the inside... 11:10 you're mixed with iron 11:12 so while you profess to be following Christ, 11:14 you're the work... 11:16 it would be better if you were Nebuchadnezzar 11:19 because he's just straight out you know, like, 11:21 "Hey, I'm a heathen and... but I'll... I'm... 11:24 hmmm... makes sense. " 11:25 To... to profess to be molded by God 11:28 and yet carrying on iron-hearted... 11:32 in an iron-hearted way 11:33 that's the most offensive part to God, right? 11:36 Jason: So, is it Laodicean? 11:38 Ivor: It's Lao... it's like Laodicean... 11:40 and here's the thing, 11:41 God wants to destroy that image of you... of me... 11:46 so when He comes into our lives, 11:49 He comes like that rock, 11:50 He wants to shatter that whole image 11:53 and he wants the Holy Spirit... 11:56 in fact, when you get baptized... 11:58 I like to think of it like this... 12:00 when you get baptized, you go down in the water... 12:01 that's the fall of all your kingdoms. 12:03 James: Oh wow! Yvonne: Hmmm... 12:05 Ivor: You know what I'm saying? Yvonne: Yes. 12:06 Ivor: The mind... the heart... the appetite... 12:08 the directions... all falling... 12:09 Yvonne: Yes. 12:10 Ivor: And the wind comes and takes away the remnant... 12:14 just like the chaff... woooof... takes it away 12:17 and you come up a new creature in Christ. 12:20 Yvonne: Yes. 12:21 Ivor: A new creation in Christ, so, this image is really 12:24 again, this is... 12:26 this is just showing the future of the man that rejects Christ, 12:30 that rejects God... and this is what He wants to... 12:32 He wants to save you from that... 12:34 He wants to save you from thinking that you're all gold... 12:36 in need of nothing. 12:38 Yvonne: Wow! so it's not just... that's another thing, 12:41 it's not just this application, 12:44 but it's also applied to us and the future... 12:49 it's like multiple applications 12:52 in one... in one place. 12:54 Ivor: That's right, yeah, yeah. 12:55 Yvonne: Wow! that is heavy and so deep. 12:57 James: And that's the other thing too, 12:58 I just want to mention real quick here, 13:00 I'm going to give a plug here for Historicism, Preterism, 13:02 Idealism and Futurism... 13:04 so, Historicism is the only way of interpreting prophecy 13:08 that allows for Futurism, Idealism, Preterism... 13:10 what we're talking about right now is Idealism... 13:13 we're talking about the principles of these kingdoms 13:16 and how they would apply to us practically 13:19 in our Christian experience... that's Idealism. 13:21 It's an ideal interpretation that makes it... brings it home. 13:24 Yvonne: Yes. 13:26 James: That has a place in this... 13:27 Historicism allows for that 13:28 as long as you lay the foundation... 13:30 you understand the history and everything... 13:31 then you can reach out 13:33 and you can also do the Futurist part 13:34 because part of this is future... 13:35 and the Preterist part... because part of it is beyond 13:38 and so, Historicism is like this all-inclusive club... 13:41 like, "You're welcome... " 13:43 Historicism... "You're welcome... 13:45 everyone is welcome in Historicism... 13:46 now, let's see what we can get out of this. " 13:48 Yvonne: Yes, it's good. James: I love it. 13:50 Ivor: I want to kind of jump back real quick 13:53 to something that we had shared in... 13:55 probably four or five videos... Programs ago, I'm sorry... 14:00 so, look at Daniel chapter 2 14:05 and what you have is a man in Daniel 2 14:10 representing kingdoms 14:12 right? and this man falls, right? 14:17 The kingdoms fall 14:19 and this man is ultimately destroyed by a stone 14:23 against his feet. 14:25 Okay, Satan knew that this was the destruction of his kingdom 14:30 and he knows that that stone is Jesus Christ. 14:32 James: Hmmm... 14:33 Ivor: So, when Jesus Christ comes to earth... 14:37 Christ represents the kingdom of heaven 14:42 and just as Satan... just as the Bible says, 14:47 "Pride goeth before destruction, 14:49 and an haughty spirit before a fall... " 14:50 what is Satan... 14:52 Satan says, "Okay, you're the one that's supposed to destroy 14:55 my kingdom with a stone being dashed against the feet... 14:59 okay, 'Hey, are you the Son of God?'" 15:01 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 15:03 Ivor: "Hey, if you're the Son of God... " 15:05 Pride... 15:06 "If you're the Son of God, 15:08 why don't you throw yourself down? 15:09 Why don't you fall? 15:10 You will not surely... " 15:13 Yvonne: Dash Your foot... ooooh! 15:16 Ivor: Now hold on... let's go back, 15:19 remember Daniel, right? 15:20 Man who comes into a kingdom that is not his own... 15:24 crosses the River Euphrates 15:25 as if he's being baptized into this new experience... 15:28 and his first temptation in Daniel one is appetite. 15:31 Yvonne: Right. James: Hmmm... hmmm... 15:33 Ivor: Jesus comes to earth... crosses the Jordan for baptism, 15:37 his first temptation in the wilderness... appetite. 15:40 that's Daniel 1. 15:42 Daniel 2... foot... stone... 15:45 "He will not surely dash your foot against a stone... " 15:48 paralleling the second temptation of Christ. 15:51 You will not dash your foot against a stone... 15:55 well, guess what happens in Daniel 3? 15:57 Yvonne: Worship... wow! that's right. 16:00 Ivor: Here's an image, bow down... and worship. 16:04 Daniel 1... 2... and 3... 16:07 not only tell us of things to come in the future 16:12 remember, "Hey, God's end-time message for His people... " 16:14 It not only shows us what's going to happen 16:17 in Daniel chapter 11, 16:18 it's not only a practical thing like, "Oh wow!" 16:21 it's also showing us... think about that... 16:25 Daniel 1... 2... and 3... 16:27 is reflecting the beginning of Christ's ministry 16:30 and His three temptations in the wilderness 16:32 which is just mind blowing. 16:35 Yvonne: Wow! 16:36 James: Only God can do that. 16:38 Ivor: Only God can do that... 16:39 this is... this is divine design. 16:41 Yvonne: It is... it is. 16:43 Ivor: Like, we don't just throw this together and be like, 16:46 "Oh, oh, this is evidence that this book is not normal... " 16:48 it's not something that was written by man... 16:51 just like, "Oh, man put this together... " 16:54 like... this is Divine design. 16:57 Yvonne: Yes... yes. 16:58 James: I love that... 16:59 and, of course, it's beautiful to see Christ in all of this... 17:02 to realize that all of the characters of the Bible 17:06 in some way or another foreshadowing Christ, 17:08 even through... in the midst of failure, 17:11 we talked of Daniel being pretty much blameless 17:13 but you look at Jonah for example 17:15 and Christ says, "Well, the... the... 17:16 the one character of the Old Testament 17:18 probably that you wouldn't think represents Me... 17:21 I'm going to grab him and go ahead and show you 17:23 how that even Jonah represents Me. 17:25 All of these characters in... at their best 17:28 and even in their failures... but through that redemption... 17:32 through that redemptive attitude that they had... 17:34 Jonah being willing to throw himself into the sea... 17:37 being swallowed by a fish and down there for three days... 17:39 all of that is depicting Me... 17:41 the best and the failed is depicting Me. " 17:44 And I've never seen this in Daniel, really, 17:47 I was going to say the same thing Jason said 17:49 but I didn't want to be redundant 17:50 but I want add the idea 17:53 that, you know, I've been studying the Bible 17:55 especially Daniel and Revelation 17:57 for over 30 years... 34 years... 17:59 and these are new thoughts and the thing that I think 18:03 it's important for us to understand 18:05 and our Viewers to understand is... 18:07 you can't exhaust the Word of God 18:08 and there's treasure here that has not been discovered yet, 18:12 there are nuggets of gold below the surface 18:15 that have not been discovered yet 18:17 for those of us who are reading and studying 18:19 but they will be in harmony with the rest of Scriptures... 18:22 it won't take us off on a tangent somewhere... 18:23 this makes sense, why? 18:25 Because it's in harmony with the very experience of Jesus Christ 18:27 and so we're making those connections. 18:29 Yvonne: Yes, it's beautiful. 18:31 Ivor: So, I think that... 18:33 I mean, there is much more we can go through 18:36 I believe in Daniel 2... 18:37 as you said, it's hard to exhaust it 18:40 but I think that we can actually continue on 18:42 and maybe see if we can move into Daniel chapter 3 18:45 which actually connects us with Daniel chapter 2 18:48 so, I mean, let's... 18:50 James: Yeah, we got to finish out just these last few verses 18:52 here... let's go to Daniel chapter 2 18:55 verses 46 to 49. 18:56 This is where it kind of concludes... 18:59 and there are some good thoughts in here 19:01 so, who'd like to read those verses for us? 19:03 Jason: I'll read them. 19:05 "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, 19:07 prostrate before Daniel, 19:09 and commanded that they should present an offering 19:12 and incense to him. 19:13 The king answered Daniel, and said, 19:15 'Truly your God is the God of gods, 19:18 the Lord of kings, 19:19 and a revealer of secrets, 19:21 since you could reveal this secret. ' 19:23 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; 19:26 and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, 19:31 and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 19:35 Also Daniel petitioned the king, 19:38 and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 19:41 over the affairs of the province of Babylon; 19:43 but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. " 19:45 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 19:47 James: Now there's a couple of things here 19:48 that are really significant, 19:50 one of them is... 19:51 is to understand Nebuchadnezzar's reaction. 19:55 I'm just going to say it in one way 19:57 because he was here and whatever, 19:59 it was a really powerful reaction 20:00 but it was a little bit of an over-reaction 20:02 you know, he worships Daniel... 20:04 and he says, "Your God is the God of gods" 20:05 in other words... but here's what's interesting... 20:08 as we do Daniel Evangelism... Daniel Seminars... 20:11 we introduce people to the truth... 20:13 many times they're just going to go, "Whoa... " 20:15 that first experience is like, "Whoa... " 20:18 and they're just like all in... 20:20 and... and... and yet we know 20:22 and this is one of the failures that I think we have 20:25 in doing evangelism... 20:26 we know they're not ready yet... 20:28 we know a lot of people... 20:29 we get them to the place where they make a commitment... 20:30 they get baptized and become members... 20:32 and then we kind of leave them and then we have... 20:34 we leave them in a church situation where the members 20:36 have high expectations of these new people 20:38 because they've been baptized 20:40 but truly, they have not been mentored... 20:44 they've not been discipled... 20:45 they don't have that family yet, that community yet 20:49 that they really need 20:50 and that's what we see with Nebuchadnezzar. 20:52 The thing about this though... 20:54 this story... as we flow into chapter 3... 20:56 it's beautiful... in Chapter 4 20:57 is that God doesn't leave Nebuchadnezzar without community 20:59 He doesn't leave him without family... 21:02 he doesn't leave him without nurture and mentorship, 21:03 Daniel remains there to nurture and mentor Nebuchadnezzar 21:08 and this should teach us how to do evangelism. 21:10 Daniel now... it's amazing to me that Daniel is... 21:14 you got to understand so, I'm saying... 21:17 maybe he's 15 or 16... 21:18 he's a teenager when he goes into Babylon... 21:20 this is... this is 2nd year in... 21:22 probably after he's tested 21:25 so, there may be a little bit of time that goes on here 21:28 but Daniel is like, number one ruler in the province 21:30 I mean, he's probably 19 or 20 at the most, 21:32 you know what I'm saying? 21:33 He's Number 1 ruler in the province 21:35 and he's given... 21:37 made chief of the governors of all the wise men of Babylon, 21:40 he's been given many gifts, 21:41 you know, he had nice cars... 21:43 a nice place to live, you know, 21:45 all different cars that he needed... 21:46 and, what does he do? 21:48 What does Daniel do? 21:50 When all this stuff comes to Daniel... 21:51 does it go to his head? 21:53 Does he say, "Okay, I'm the guy... " 21:55 Yvonne: He brings his crew in. 21:57 James: He brings his crew in, he brings his community in. 21:59 He's like, "I've got to have them in here, 22:00 that's more important to me 22:02 than all the stuff you've given me... 22:03 I need these guys with me... " 22:04 and I think it's really interesting 22:06 when we get into the next chapter 22:07 how that Satan tries to separate Daniel's crew from him. 22:12 There's a divide that takes place here, 22:14 now, there's a lot of different theories 22:16 as to how that takes place and we'll talk about that 22:18 when we get into Daniel 3 22:19 but we know in Daniel chapter 3, 22:21 Daniel is not really in the scene... it's the three... 22:24 it's his three friends that were in the scene, 22:25 but I think behind the scenes what's happening is 22:27 Satan is realizing that Daniel needs this community... 22:31 Daniel needs this support, you know, 22:33 he goes for it right away... 22:34 he asks for it after he's done... 22:36 "I want my guys with me... " 22:37 and so, Satan's going to try to divide, 22:39 he's going to try to divide so he can conquer 22:41 and that's the same thing he's doing with us 22:43 you see, he comes in to ministry... 22:46 he comes in to church... he comes in to community... 22:48 and he tries to separate and divide us all... 22:50 he tried to do it with the disciples too 22:52 and it was interesting how Jesus dealt with the disciples 22:54 because they had the evidence. 22:56 Let me put it this way... let me re-phrase that... 23:00 Jesus had the evidence against Judas, 23:01 He knew what Judas was about... but He let him stay. 23:04 He let him stay and try to work through his issues, 23:06 Now, Judas wasn't willing to work through his issues, 23:09 but he still let him stay and try to work through his issues 23:11 and to me, this is what we're seeing here 23:14 as Nebuchadnezzar works through his issues 23:17 and God stays with him as he works through his issues 23:19 and we'll talk about that in chapter 4, 23:20 the band remains around the tree, 23:22 you see what I'm saying? Yvonne: Yes. 23:23 James: As God stays with him when he works through his issues 23:25 Nebuchadnezzar comes out... 23:26 Belshazzar doesn't come out but Nebuchadnezzar comes out. 23:29 He gets free of all that stuff. 23:31 Ivor: You know what's interesting, James, 23:33 as we're going through this, 23:35 I'm noticing this theme, right, like, 23:37 it's like there's this good side of Daniel 1, 2, 3 and 4 23:42 where God is showing mercy and grace and... 23:45 to the king of Babylon 23:47 and then, there's the other side where God is showing, 23:50 "Look, this is the wicked... 23:52 the wickedness that Babylon is going to do in the future. " 23:54 So, He's addressing two issues at the same time. 23:59 Yvonne: Yes, yes. 24:00 Ivor: He's addressing mercy and reaching out to those in Babylon 24:04 and, you know, "Hey, I'm with Nebuchadnezzar" 24:07 but Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon 24:09 who himself is a type of just the ultimate wickedness. 24:13 Yvonne: Yes. 24:15 Ivor: So, he's using a figure... 24:16 a person who is the symbol of ultimate wickedness 24:19 and showing him mercy... showing him grace... 24:22 "I'm going to put a band around the tree 24:23 and to try to help you to get this together... " 24:25 while at the same time, He is showing, 24:28 "Look, at the end of time, this is what spiritual Babylon 24:34 is going to do 24:35 and they are beyond redemption... 24:37 this power is beyond redemption... " 24:39 so, I just think that's a really powerful... 24:42 you know, "How do You do that... 24:43 how do You... God, how do You accomplish that? 24:46 you know, both of those things 24:48 in the stories that we're reading. " 24:50 This is amazing. 24:51 Yvonne: Yes, one thing that I find interesting is... 24:54 okay, so you alluded to it earlier 24:57 that Daniel was really young... 25:00 he got promoted over all the others in that kingdom, 25:06 so, he's like the rookie... 25:08 and he comes in and he's over them 25:11 but not only is he over them, 25:13 he's over astrologers which they're forbidden... 25:16 we're forbidden to deal with... 25:17 to go to... to seek counsel from... 25:19 but he is overseeing all of them which to me says, 25:23 if you're in a Corporate situation... and you are... 25:27 and you have a job that... that... 25:30 where you can witness to people who don't believe as you do, 25:35 you use that as an opportunity because that's what... 25:39 that's what Daniel did... 25:40 he was... he was over the astrologers... 25:44 the magicians... 25:45 James: Yeah, he didn't say "No" to them... 25:46 he didn't say, "No, I'm sorry, I can't do this. " 25:49 Yvonne: Right, he... he oversaw all of that... 25:51 and he continued to serve God, he continued to pray 25:55 and we'll see that later... he prayed three times a day... 25:58 he continued to do everything that he knew to do 26:01 but he was in a position where he was overseeing people 26:06 whose beliefs were totally different from his. 26:09 James: There's another thought here 26:11 that I'd like to... to close out with... 26:13 we're almost out of time and that is, 26:14 it was always God's purpose 26:17 to have His people be the head and not the tail. 26:19 Yvonne: Hmmm... 26:21 James: It was always God's purpose... He promised them, 26:22 "You're going to rule the nations 26:23 and they're going to come to you 26:25 you're going to teach them 26:26 and they're going to come to you... " 26:27 but God's people weren't faithful, 26:29 but Daniel was. 26:30 James: And it just needs... we need to remember that 26:33 God's promises of fulfillment are not based upon 26:36 what other people do... 26:38 even when other people fail us, 26:40 God's promises can still be fulfilled to us 26:43 if we're faithful to Him. 26:44 So, we ourselves... personally and individually 26:46 don't need to point to other people and say, 26:49 "Well, if they would do this and they would do this... 26:50 and our church would do this... 26:51 then maybe my life would be better. " 26:53 It's not about our life being better, 26:54 it's about trusting God and being faithful to God 26:57 and then, God can fulfill in us 27:00 the promises He's given to the Corporate. 27:03 He can fulfill in us individually 27:05 and this is what the life of Daniel says 27:07 where it speaks to us, you know, 27:08 not just that God is going to do great things for us necessarily 27:12 because we already talked about being a eunuch 27:13 now, you know what a trial that was, 27:15 but rather that God's faithful to us 27:17 and that He will fulfill His promises to us... 27:20 and we can be... 27:21 we can have everything that He's promised us 27:23 even though other people may fail. 27:24 Yvonne: Yes, we can trust Him... James: We can trust Him... 27:26 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 27:27 James: Praise the Lord. 27:29 So, we're going to move into Daniel chapter 3 27:31 in our next session, we're... we're finishing Daniel 2 27:34 we're going to see the connection 27:35 between Daniel 2 and Daniel 3. 27:36 It's a very important connection 27:38 especially at this level that we're talking about, 27:39 with the head and the heart... 27:41 the whole breakdown of the image... 27:44 we're going to see how that whole breakdown 27:45 kind of moves us through right here... 27:48 the rest of the story of Nebuchadnezzar, 27:50 it's a beautiful story so praise God. 27:52 Yvonne: Amen. 27:54 James: All right, looking forward to that. 27:55 Yvonne: We are too. |
Revised 2020-05-18