WEBVTT

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 So as the kids head down, we're going to read scripture together from the Old Testament, Daniel chapter 2.

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! So Chris, our minister in training, is going to come and read scripture for us, and let's read God's word together.

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 Thanks, Corey.

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 So we're going to read Daniel in chapter 2.

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 We're going to read through the chapter, various verses, and I'll try to let you know where we are as we go.

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 This is God's word.

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 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams.

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 His spirit was troubled, and his sleep left them.

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 Then the king commanded the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to be summoned to tell the king his dreams.

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 So they came in and stood before the king.

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 And the king said to them, I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

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 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever.

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 Tell your servants the dream, and we will show you the interpretation.

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 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans,

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 The word from me is firm.

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 If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.

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 But if you show me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor.

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 Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretation.

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 They answered a second time and said,

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 Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.

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 And the king answered and said,

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 I know with certainty that you're trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm.

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 If you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you.

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 You've agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change.

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 Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.

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 The Chaldeans answered the king and said,

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 There's not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand.

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 For no king, no great or powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.

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 The thing that the king asks is difficult.

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 No one can show it to the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

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 Because of this, the king was angry and very furious,

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 and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.

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 Then we're going to verse number 17.

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 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,

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 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery,

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 so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

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 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night.

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 Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

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 Daniel answered and said,

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 Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.

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 He changes times and seasons.

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 He removes kings and sets up kings.

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 He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

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 He reveals deep and hidden things.

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 He knows what it is to dwell in dark.

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 He knows what is in the darkness.

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 And the light dwells with him.

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 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,

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 for you've given me wisdom and might,

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 and have now made known to me what we ask of you,

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 for you have made known to us the king's matter.

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 And to verse 31.

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 You saw, O king, and behold a great image.

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 This image mighty and of exceeding brightness stood before you,

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 and its appearance was frightening.

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 The head of his image was of fine gold,

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 its chest and arms of silver,

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 its middle and thigh of bronze,

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 its legs of iron,

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 its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

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 As you looked, a stone was cut by no human hand

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 and struck the image on its feet of iron and clay

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 and broke them in pieces.

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 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold

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 all together were broken in pieces

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 and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors.

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 And the wind carried them away

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 so that not a trace of them could be found.

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 But the stone that struck the image

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 became a great mountain

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 and filled the whole earth.

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 And finally, verse 44.

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 And in those days,

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 and in the days of those kings,

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 the God of heaven will set up a kingdom

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 that shall never be destroyed,

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 nor shall the kingdom be left to another people.

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 It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms

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 and bring them to an end,

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 and it shall stand forever.

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 Just as you saw that a stone was cut

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 from a mountain with no human hand

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 and that it broke in pieces

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 the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold.

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 A great God has made known to the king

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 what shall be after this.

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 The dream is certain

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 and its interpretation is sure.

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 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face

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 and paid homage to Daniel

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 and commanded that an offering,

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 an incense be offered up to him.

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 The king answered and said to Daniel,

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 Truly, your God is God of gods,

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 the Lord of kings,

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 and a revealer of mysteries,

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 for you have been able to reveal this mystery.

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 Amen.

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 This is God's holy word.

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 Thanks, Chris.

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 Let's pray.

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 Lord, we ask now that as we look at this text together

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 that you would help us to hear and understand

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 and that our hearts would be open.

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 So we ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit,

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 and we pray that in Jesus' name.

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 Amen.

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 Amen.

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 We're working our way through the book of Daniel

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 on Sunday mornings,

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 and in the year 605 B.C.,

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 King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

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 went to Jerusalem,

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 and he sacked Jerusalem,

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 but he didn't destroy it with violence.

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 Instead, he wanted to destroy God's people in Jerusalem

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 by assimilating them,

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 assimilation,

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 annihilation by assimilation.

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 He wanted to Babylonize the world

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 and create a great empire

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 where his name would be renowned in all the world.

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 And so what he did was he took the professional class

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 from Jerusalem to Babylon.

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 So these are the people with the most skills,

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 the smartest people in the city of Jerusalem,

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 to help build Babylon into this even better empire

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 and city than it was.

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 And he wanted to really turn the whole world into Babylon.

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 God's people here in this book are in exile,

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 exile.

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 And exile simply means any time where the people of the Lord,

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 the people who follow God,

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 are not in the place they're supposed to be.

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 They're not in the garden city of God ultimately.

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 They're not in the city of God.

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 And throughout the Bible,

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 Babylon and exile become metaphors,

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 symbols of the reality that the Bible says

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 every single Christian,

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 every single person who follows the Lord

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 is also living a life of exile,

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 a life of pilgrimage,

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 a waiting for the city of God.

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 So St. Augustine said

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 that every single Christian

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 is a citizen of the city of God

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 living in the cities of men.

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 And at the heart of the city of man,

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 which is at the heart of Babylon,

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 is the problem of idolatry.

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 Babylon is not only a living reality

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 of putting an idol at the center of life,

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 but it's a symbol in the rest of the Bible for that.

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 And it tells us that

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 what's at the heart of Babylon

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 is also in every human heart

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 that we all struggle with the same things.

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 No matter what you come and believe today,

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 no matter your spiritual background or not,

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 we all struggle with what the Bible calls idolatry.

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 And idolatry is anytime we take something in this life

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 that's creaturely, that God made,

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 and we divinize that thing.

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 We turn anything in this world

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 into a little God for us.

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 So idolatry is when something absorbs your heart

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 more than God does.

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 Something takes over your imagination

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 far more than God does.

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 It's when you seek something

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 and you give it all your attention

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 and you center your life around it

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 and you make it far more important to you

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 than the God who made you.

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 And so while the Bible says

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 believers are living in exile

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 because we're in a city of idols,

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 a city that we do indeed love,

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 but a city full of idols

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 and our hearts are struggling with idolatry,

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 there's a sense in which

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 it doesn't really matter the background

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 you came from today,

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 you come from today.

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 We all struggle with exile

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 because exile is just being away

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 from where God made us to be.

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 And that's in his presence,

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 making him the center of our lives.

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 And so Babylon's in all of us.

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 It's a space that we're all living in.

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 It's just any time that we turn anything in this world

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 into a little God

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 and we worship it

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 and we center our lives around it.

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 We take good things that God gave us

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 and we turn them into bad things.

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 That's idolatry.

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 And that's at the center of Babylonian life.

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 Now, the book of Daniel is wisdom literature.

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 And I mentioned this in week one,

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 but in the original Hebrew Bible,

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 the Old Testament,

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 the order of the books

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 is slightly different than the order

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 we have in our English Bibles.

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 And originally the book of Daniel

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 was part of the wisdom text

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 like Psalms and Proverbs and Esther

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 and books like that.

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 And so this is a book about wisdom.

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 And it's really asking the question today,

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 how do you live as a believer

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 with faith and hope and wisdom

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 in an age of exile in Babylon?

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 How do you live as a human being

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 in a situation where we have Babylonian hearts

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 prone towards idols?

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 That's the wisdom question

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 around the book of Daniel.

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 And week one, week two,

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 I can say it in one sentence.

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 I won't repeat the sermons.

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 Don't worry.

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 Week one and week two,

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 what do we say?

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 The first two principles we learn

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 is that the book of Daniel

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 in chapter one says,

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 the call of the believer

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 is to be in the world,

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 never separate,

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 to love Babylon,

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 to give your life to her,

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 to seek the peace of the city,

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 to pray for Babylon,

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 Jeremiah 29,

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 to never back away

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 from being a part of the culture

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 that God's put us in,

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 and yet not of Babylon.

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 Be in the world,

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 but not of it.

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 Seek the peace of the city,

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 love her,

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 and don't ever give your heart to idols.

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 So starve your idols to death,

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 fast from them.

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 That's the first two principles today.

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 We get the third principle.

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 It's very simple.

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 I fear that if I say it right now,

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 then you'll think

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 I don't need to listen

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 to the rest of this,

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 but I'm going to say it,

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 and hopefully you still will.

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 And it's so simple,

00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:20.320
 but remember,

00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:21.420
 Daniel's a wisdom book,

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 and it comes after the book of Proverbs

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 in the original order.

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 And the principle today

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 that we learn from Daniel 2

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 is get wisdom.

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 To live well in Babylon,

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 in exile,

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 you need wisdom.

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 And that's really the big idea here.

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 So let's look at that.

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 We're going to see that through,

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 briefly through the lens of

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 the man of Babylon,

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 the dream,

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 and the stone.

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 So first,

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 the man of Babylon.

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 Daniel 1,

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 maybe you know today

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 that the Bible,

00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:53.139
 the Old Testament,

00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:53.939
 is written in Hebrew,

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 the New Testament,

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 in Greek.

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 But there's a moment

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 in the Old Testament,

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 and here we are,

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 where Daniel 1

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 is written in Hebrew,

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 but Daniel 2 to 7

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 is written in Aramaic.

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 There's a third language.

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 And Daniel chapters 8 to 12

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 is in Hebrew.

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 So it goes Hebrew,

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 Aramaic, Hebrew.

00:11:12.059 --> 00:11:12.980
 So that means we've entered

00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:15.019
 into this own stand-alone section,

00:11:15.199 --> 00:11:15.980
 Daniel 2 to 7.

00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.059
 And if you were,

00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:18.699
 we'll see this over the next few weeks,

00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:20.679
 but Daniel 2 to 7,

00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:22.500
 Daniel 2 and Daniel 7

00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:24.419
 are all about dreams

00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:25.579
 from foolish kings.

00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:27.899
 If you take one step in,

00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.120
 Daniel 3 and Daniel 6

00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:31.659
 are all about the courage

00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:33.039
 of believers in the face of death.

00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:35.059
 The fiery furnace

00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:35.919
 and the lion's den.

00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:37.139
 And then if you step

00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:37.819
 to the very middle,

00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:39.279
 Daniel 4 and 5

00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:40.519
 are both stories

00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:41.980
 of the pride of kings

00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:43.360
 that topple their empires.

00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:44.919
 So we're entered

00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:45.980
 into this little section

00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:47.620
 that's really carefully constructed

00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:48.959
 and crafted together,

00:11:49.059 --> 00:11:49.939
 this Aramaic section.

00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:51.699
 And so it's making a point.

00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:53.379
 We're honing down in

00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:55.259
 on the problem in the middle,

00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:56.699
 Daniel 3 and 4,

00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:57.399
 4 and 5,

00:11:57.819 --> 00:11:58.759
 and that's pride

00:11:58.759 --> 00:11:59.740
 at the human heart,

00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:00.839
 at the center of idolatry.

00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:02.300
 And pride,

00:12:02.800 --> 00:12:03.800
 the point of this text

00:12:03.800 --> 00:12:04.600
 is pride,

00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:05.120
 our pride,

00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.440
 our idolatry makes us foolish.

00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:08.120
 It makes us fools.

00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:10.040
 And so this really is

00:12:10.040 --> 00:12:11.920
 the story of Nebuchadnezzar's dream

00:12:11.920 --> 00:12:13.100
 is a story,

00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:14.700
 a dream that's focused

00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:15.300
 all about

00:12:15.300 --> 00:12:17.320
 how much Nebuchadnezzar's idolatry

00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:18.100
 made him into a fool.

00:12:19.139 --> 00:12:20.300
 And it's just playing out

00:12:20.300 --> 00:12:21.000
 Proverbs 1,

00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:21.820
 Proverbs 2,

00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:22.580
 Proverbs 3.

00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:23.320
 Get wisdom,

00:12:23.800 --> 00:12:24.820
 and to get wisdom,

00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:25.960
 the fear of the Lord

00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:27.139
 is the beginning of wisdom.

00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:30.000
 But if you don't fear the Lord

00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.500
 and you fear something else

00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:32.139
 in your life

00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:33.299
 far more than the Lord,

00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:36.100
 you're going to struggle

00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:36.759
 with foolishness.

00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:37.819
 That's the real idea here.

00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:39.980
 And let's see it.

00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:41.319
 In verse 1 and 2,

00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:43.379
 Nebuchadnezzar,

00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:45.159
 it says he had a dream

00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:47.500
 and that dream

00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:48.659
 made him very troubled.

00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:49.720
 He couldn't sleep.

00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:51.360
 He saw in this dream

00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:52.840
 some type of terrifying image.

00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:56.560
 And he does something wild

00:12:56.560 --> 00:12:57.460
 in verse 5 and 6.

00:12:57.700 --> 00:13:00.259
 He brings in all the magicians,

00:13:00.420 --> 00:13:01.639
 all the sorcerers,

00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:02.639
 all the Chaldeans,

00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:03.220
 the priests,

00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:04.960
 and he says to them,

00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:06.480
 I want you not just

00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:07.540
 to interpret my dream,

00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:09.120
 I want you to tell me

00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:10.240
 what the dream was.

00:13:11.300 --> 00:13:12.680
 And if you can't tell me

00:13:12.680 --> 00:13:13.639
 what the dream was

00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:14.700
 and then interpret it,

00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:15.300
 I'm going to tear you

00:13:15.300 --> 00:13:15.879
 from limb to limb.

00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:16.820
 I'm going to cut your heads off.

00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.060
 And he makes that pronouncement

00:13:19.060 --> 00:13:20.379
 throughout all the realm.

00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:22.220
 Every wise man that fails,

00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:23.519
 all of you together

00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:25.820
 will be collectively executed.

00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:27.320
 Now,

00:13:27.980 --> 00:13:30.840
 this is classic Napoleon complex.

00:13:32.420 --> 00:13:33.300
 Remember Napoleon?

00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:35.000
 He was a great emperor,

00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:36.379
 a conqueror of all of Europe,

00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:38.200
 but he could never get enough.

00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:40.120
 He wanted power.

00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:41.580
 Some people have said

00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:42.399
 that it was because

00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:44.220
 of his diminutive stature

00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:45.759
 that caused that.

00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:46.800
 And I can say today,

00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:48.000
 I've never struggled with that

00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:49.139
 or been accused of it.

00:13:49.340 --> 00:13:49.740
 Okay?

00:13:50.160 --> 00:13:51.259
 Just to make that clear.

00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:53.600
 I,

00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:54.720
 another Napoleon

00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:55.580
 that I like to think about

00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:56.940
 is Lord Farquaad

00:13:56.940 --> 00:13:58.620
 from Shrek.

00:13:59.259 --> 00:13:59.580
 You know,

00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:01.460
 he was so tortured

00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:03.000
 and so power hungry

00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:04.519
 that he tortured

00:14:04.519 --> 00:14:05.580
 the gingerbread man.

00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:06.940
 And,

00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:09.060
 look,

00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:10.040
 these are silly examples,

00:14:10.420 --> 00:14:11.180
 but you know

00:14:11.180 --> 00:14:12.200
 the story of Caligula,

00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:12.680
 perhaps,

00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:13.300
 the story of

00:14:13.300 --> 00:14:15.139
 the literary figure Macbeth

00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:16.220
 and Shakespeare's Macbeth,

00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:17.259
 that Scottish king

00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:19.100
 who was promised

00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:20.639
 the hope of a crown.

00:14:21.779 --> 00:14:22.419
 And in that,

00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:23.980
 he started off wise,

00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:25.460
 but it made him crazy

00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:27.240
 because he was so power hungry.

00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:28.419
 And he became

00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:30.200
 a murderer,

00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:30.840
 paranoid.

00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:32.159
 He couldn't live life.

00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:33.679
 And here,

00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:34.360
 what we have

00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:35.980
 is the fact that

00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:36.679
 Nebuchadnezzar

00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:37.860
 has centered his life

00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:38.779
 on an idol.

00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:39.559
 And that idol

00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:40.720
 is,

00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:41.019
 of course,

00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:41.539
 his own pride,

00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:42.379
 his own self-glory,

00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:43.279
 but we could say

00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:44.399
 it also is power.

00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:46.179
 Nebuchadnezzar

00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:47.179
 is the most accomplished

00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:48.120
 man in world history,

00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:49.379
 and some say.

00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:51.259
 And he has centered

00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:52.399
 his life around power.

00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:54.659
 And power

00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:55.980
 promises

00:14:55.980 --> 00:14:57.159
 to make you great.

00:14:58.200 --> 00:14:58.559
 And

00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:00.179
 when it becomes

00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:01.120
 the very thing

00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:01.779
 that you want

00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:02.840
 above anything else

00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:03.360
 in life,

00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:05.039
 it becomes a god to you

00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:06.299
 and it begins

00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:07.519
 to be a slave master

00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.460
 and rule you.

00:15:09.019 --> 00:15:10.139
 And you will do

00:15:10.139 --> 00:15:11.480
 terrible things.

00:15:12.379 --> 00:15:13.799
 To keep hold

00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:14.360
 of the god

00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:14.899
 that's at the center

00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:15.419
 of your life.

00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:15.980
 And that's what's

00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:16.379
 happening here.

00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:17.159
 Nebuchadnezzar

00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:18.179
 is the most powerful

00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:18.960
 man in all the world,

00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:19.379
 and yet

00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:21.860
 one little dream

00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:24.340
 makes him go crazy.

00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:24.700
 He says,

00:15:24.820 --> 00:15:25.500
 I will tear

00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:26.379
 every wise man

00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:26.879
 in this kingdom

00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.100
 from limb to limb

00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:29.059
 because of a little

00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:29.860
 dream that he had.

00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:31.320
 And we realize here

00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:32.120
 that

00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:33.340
 when you

00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:34.379
 center your life

00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:35.179
 around an idol,

00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:35.659
 whether,

00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:36.539
 you know,

00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:37.220
 we could think here

00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:37.820
 especially of

00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:38.700
 achievement idols.

00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:40.759
 Success,

00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:41.580
 wealth,

00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:42.500
 power,

00:15:42.900 --> 00:15:43.520
 the security

00:15:43.520 --> 00:15:44.379
 that comes by way

00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:44.920
 of being very

00:15:44.920 --> 00:15:45.780
 financially successful.

00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:46.720
 And in a city

00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:47.240
 like ours,

00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:47.620
 many,

00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:48.220
 many people

00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:49.080
 move here

00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:50.340
 to pursue

00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:51.360
 security idols,

00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:52.320
 achievement idols.

00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:54.100
 And we can think

00:15:54.100 --> 00:15:54.520
 about those

00:15:54.520 --> 00:15:55.120
 and say that

00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:55.780
 when you make

00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:57.180
 those the actual

00:15:57.180 --> 00:15:58.280
 goal of your life,

00:15:58.660 --> 00:15:59.300
 what happens

00:15:59.300 --> 00:16:00.600
 is not the security

00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:01.700
 you seek through them,

00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:02.780
 but a life of

00:16:02.780 --> 00:16:03.820
 fragility and fear.

00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:05.320
 And that's exactly

00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:06.020
 what's going on here.

00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:06.680
 Let me just give you

00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:07.140
 a couple ways

00:16:07.140 --> 00:16:07.660
 this works.

00:16:09.100 --> 00:16:09.960
 Idols promise

00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:10.940
 you something

00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:11.560
 and they can

00:16:11.560 --> 00:16:12.080
 never deliver.

00:16:13.280 --> 00:16:14.519
 And they create

00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:15.220
 real fragility.

00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:16.160
 So power

00:16:16.160 --> 00:16:17.259
 promises security,

00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:18.700
 but the more

00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:19.360
 you have,

00:16:19.460 --> 00:16:20.560
 the more you realize

00:16:20.560 --> 00:16:21.540
 how you have

00:16:21.540 --> 00:16:22.019
 to get more

00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:22.259
 and more

00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:23.120
 to actually keep

00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.080
 the original power.

00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:25.400
 And that's what's

00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:25.900
 going on in

00:16:25.900 --> 00:16:27.680
 Nebuchadnezzar's life.

00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:29.060
 He's so anxious.

00:16:29.180 --> 00:16:29.759
 He's so fearful.

00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:30.740
 He can't sleep.

00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:32.080
 He's got such a fear

00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:32.879
 of losing

00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:34.019
 what he's built

00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:34.940
 because he knows

00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:35.300
 something.

00:16:35.400 --> 00:16:36.019
 And that's what?

00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:37.220
 That when you center

00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:37.960
 your life around

00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:38.620
 stuff,

00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:39.980
 it's incredibly

00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:40.379
 fragile.

00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:41.879
 It can easily

00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:42.480
 be lost.

00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:43.779
 And so here

00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:45.000
 he's so afraid

00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:45.540
 that he's going

00:16:45.540 --> 00:16:46.500
 to lose his precious,

00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:47.519
 his ring,

00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:48.460
 the ring of power

00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:49.259
 that he's put

00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:49.800
 on his hand.

00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:50.720
 He's so afraid

00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:50.960
 of that.

00:16:51.160 --> 00:16:52.040
 So an idol

00:16:52.040 --> 00:16:52.700
 promises you

00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:53.220
 great things,

00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:53.820
 but it leaves

00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:54.540
 you in deep

00:16:54.540 --> 00:16:55.440
 fragility and

00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:55.920
 insecurity.

00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:57.800
 Secondly,

00:16:58.340 --> 00:16:59.340
 anxiety is

00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:00.120
 typically a

00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:00.899
 product of that.

00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:02.560
 So one of the

00:17:02.560 --> 00:17:03.000
 ways you can

00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:03.700
 know what

00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:04.319
 you're struggling

00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:04.880
 with maybe

00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:05.480
 that you've

00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:05.819
 put at the

00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:06.339
 center of your

00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:07.319
 life is to

00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:07.639
 ask,

00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:08.259
 what makes

00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:08.699
 me shake

00:17:08.699 --> 00:17:09.279
 in my boots?

00:17:10.379 --> 00:17:10.959
 What am I

00:17:10.959 --> 00:17:11.480
 most afraid

00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:11.720
 of?

00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:12.159
 What keeps

00:17:12.159 --> 00:17:12.659
 me up at

00:17:12.659 --> 00:17:12.859
 night?

00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:13.659
 And oftentimes

00:17:13.659 --> 00:17:14.539
 anxiety,

00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:15.939
 that type

00:17:15.939 --> 00:17:16.339
 of fear

00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:17.299
 is a smoke

00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:17.779
 signal.

00:17:18.459 --> 00:17:19.139
 It's a symptom

00:17:19.139 --> 00:17:19.939
 and it's like

00:17:19.939 --> 00:17:20.859
 looking up above

00:17:20.859 --> 00:17:21.699
 a forest line

00:17:21.699 --> 00:17:22.559
 and seeing smoke

00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.179
 on the horizon

00:17:23.179 --> 00:17:23.919
 and you've

00:17:23.919 --> 00:17:24.459
 got to trace

00:17:24.459 --> 00:17:25.039
 that smoke

00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:25.579
 down to the

00:17:25.579 --> 00:17:25.919
 bottom of

00:17:25.919 --> 00:17:26.399
 your heart

00:17:26.399 --> 00:17:27.199
 and ask,

00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:28.019
 why am I

00:17:28.019 --> 00:17:28.539
 so afraid

00:17:28.539 --> 00:17:29.039
 of this,

00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:30.019
 of losing

00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:30.319
 this?

00:17:30.399 --> 00:17:30.939
 What is it

00:17:30.939 --> 00:17:31.500
 that has

00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:32.359
 captured me

00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:33.259
 so much

00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:33.819
 that I've

00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:34.220
 centered my

00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:34.759
 life around

00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:35.579
 that if I

00:17:35.579 --> 00:17:36.059
 lost this

00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:36.759
 precious,

00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:37.740
 this ring,

00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:38.799
 I would be

00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:39.099
 lost.

00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:39.559
 That's what's

00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:39.919
 going on in

00:17:39.919 --> 00:17:40.339
 his life.

00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:41.700
 Third,

00:17:42.899 --> 00:17:43.519
 idolatry,

00:17:43.859 --> 00:17:44.139
 especially

00:17:44.139 --> 00:17:44.619
 achievement

00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:45.240
 idolatry,

00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:46.480
 reverses the

00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:47.279
 master-slave

00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:47.919
 relationship.

00:17:48.919 --> 00:17:49.220
 And so what

00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:49.759
 happens here

00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:51.039
 is instead of

00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:51.659
 wielding the

00:17:51.659 --> 00:17:52.359
 kingdom as a

00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:53.299
 great tool for

00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:53.679
 the common

00:17:53.679 --> 00:17:54.019
 good,

00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:54.460
 boy,

00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:55.419
 the most

00:17:55.419 --> 00:17:56.139
 powerful man

00:17:56.139 --> 00:17:56.559
 in human

00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.559
 history has

00:17:57.559 --> 00:17:58.220
 this opportunity

00:17:58.220 --> 00:17:58.919
 to wield

00:17:58.919 --> 00:17:59.839
 these resources

00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:01.159
 for such good,

00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:01.679
 for the common

00:18:01.679 --> 00:18:02.059
 good of the

00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:02.379
 people.

00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:03.520
 Instead,

00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:04.100
 what ends

00:18:04.100 --> 00:18:04.640
 up happening

00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.120
 is if,

00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:08.640
 very precise

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:08.800
 here,

00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:10.540
 if power

00:18:10.540 --> 00:18:11.100
 is your

00:18:11.100 --> 00:18:11.480
 goal,

00:18:11.800 --> 00:18:12.600
 if achievement

00:18:12.600 --> 00:18:13.180
 is your

00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:13.620
 goal,

00:18:14.080 --> 00:18:14.860
 if success

00:18:14.860 --> 00:18:15.640
 is your

00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:16.600
 actual goal,

00:18:17.260 --> 00:18:18.040
 then what

00:18:18.040 --> 00:18:18.580
 happens is

00:18:18.580 --> 00:18:18.980
 that you'll

00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:19.320
 end up

00:18:19.320 --> 00:18:19.840
 becoming a

00:18:19.840 --> 00:18:20.740
 slave of

00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:21.160
 that goal.

00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:21.840
 It has

00:18:21.840 --> 00:18:22.480
 now mastered

00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:22.820
 you.

00:18:24.060 --> 00:18:24.640
 In other

00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:24.840
 words,

00:18:25.260 --> 00:18:25.580
 power,

00:18:25.760 --> 00:18:26.060
 success,

00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:26.540
 achievement,

00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:26.980
 and money

00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:27.940
 are not bad

00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:28.220
 things,

00:18:28.280 --> 00:18:28.580
 they're good

00:18:28.580 --> 00:18:28.960
 things.

00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:30.579
 But if

00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:31.140
 you make

00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:31.600
 them the

00:18:31.600 --> 00:18:32.440
 very object

00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:32.840
 of your

00:18:32.840 --> 00:18:33.240
 hope in

00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:33.799
 your life,

00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:35.620
 power itself,

00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:37.600
 not the

00:18:37.600 --> 00:18:38.000
 fact of

00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:38.440
 power that

00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:38.819
 could wield

00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:39.559
 resources for

00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:39.980
 so much

00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:40.319
 good,

00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:41.819
 then you'll

00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:42.220
 become its

00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:42.600
 slave.

00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:43.700
 It's become

00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:44.000
 your God,

00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:44.279
 it's become

00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:44.680
 your master.

00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:45.140
 Lastly,

00:18:46.100 --> 00:18:47.079
 you see here

00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:47.299
 in this

00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:47.759
 passage how

00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:48.779
 much this

00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:50.039
 idol of

00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:50.400
 power,

00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:51.039
 hunger for

00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:51.240
 him,

00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:52.279
 isolates

00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:52.900
 Nebuchadnezzar

00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:53.600
 from love.

00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:55.600
 Idols do

00:18:55.600 --> 00:18:55.779
 that,

00:18:55.819 --> 00:18:56.340
 they isolate

00:18:56.340 --> 00:18:56.799
 us from

00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:57.660
 real relationships

00:18:57.660 --> 00:18:58.240
 and love.

00:18:58.960 --> 00:18:59.819
 When power

00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:00.259
 becomes your

00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:00.559
 God,

00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:02.299
 you can never

00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:03.039
 be sure if

00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:03.660
 people really

00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:04.319
 love you or

00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:04.880
 they just want

00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:05.380
 something from

00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:05.579
 you.

00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:07.160
 And here,

00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:07.779
 all across

00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:08.420
 this passage,

00:19:08.539 --> 00:19:08.640
 you know,

00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:09.039
 what do the

00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:09.720
 Chaldeans do,

00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:10.480
 the Magi do?

00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:11.059
 They come to

00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:11.600
 Nebuchadnezzar

00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:12.380
 and they say,

00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:12.920
 oh king,

00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:13.519
 live forever.

00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:15.059
 They say,

00:19:15.100 --> 00:19:15.759
 we love you so

00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:16.180
 much.

00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:17.240
 And he turns

00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:17.600
 around and says,

00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:17.940
 I'm going to

00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:19.259
 cut you from

00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:19.779
 limb to limb.

00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:20.620
 And they say,

00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:21.180
 well, oh king,

00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.620
 live forever,

00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:23.240
 just give us a

00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:23.860
 little more time,

00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:24.319
 we're going to

00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:24.920
 do our best.

00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:25.880
 Nobody will

00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:26.640
 ever speak the

00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:27.180
 truth and love

00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:27.519
 to him.

00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:28.759
 They flatter

00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:29.000
 him,

00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:29.480
 they enable

00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:29.859
 him,

00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:30.480
 right?

00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:30.940
 Because idols

00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:31.259
 do that.

00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:31.920
 They take

00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:33.579
 loving relationship

00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:34.220
 away from us

00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:34.720
 because we're

00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:35.460
 so fragile,

00:19:35.559 --> 00:19:36.220
 we're afraid

00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:37.220
 to actually

00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:38.079
 have relationships

00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:38.660
 of honesty

00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:39.160
 and truth.

00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:41.059
 And the

00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:41.740
 takeaway here

00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:43.119
 is that anytime

00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:44.059
 we've made

00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:44.660
 an achievement

00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:45.200
 God,

00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:46.099
 the very center

00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:46.940
 of our lives,

00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:50.099
 it turns us

00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:50.980
 into slaves.

00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:53.440
 And at the

00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:53.920
 very end

00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:54.740
 of this section,

00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:55.379
 this first section

00:19:55.379 --> 00:19:55.900
 that we read,

00:19:57.160 --> 00:19:58.079
 the Chaldeans

00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:58.559
 themselves,

00:19:58.699 --> 00:19:59.500
 the magicians,

00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:00.079
 they say

00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:00.899
 exactly the

00:20:00.899 --> 00:20:01.339
 point in

00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:01.899
 verse 11 and

00:20:01.899 --> 00:20:02.199
 12.

00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:02.939
 They say,

00:20:03.019 --> 00:20:03.259
 King,

00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:05.500
 what you have

00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:05.980
 asked,

00:20:06.539 --> 00:20:07.980
 only a God

00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:08.500
 could do.

00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:10.299
 In other words,

00:20:10.379 --> 00:20:11.339
 it's turning the

00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:11.559
 tide,

00:20:11.639 --> 00:20:12.240
 it's starting to

00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:13.039
 make you think,

00:20:13.199 --> 00:20:14.139
 where is it that

00:20:14.139 --> 00:20:14.759
 you can get a

00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:15.619
 foundation that

00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:16.339
 will actually give

00:20:16.339 --> 00:20:16.819
 you security?

00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:17.579
 And they say,

00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:18.720
 only a God

00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:19.199
 could do the

00:20:19.199 --> 00:20:19.939
 thing that you're

00:20:19.939 --> 00:20:20.240
 asking for.

00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:20.759
 They're halfway

00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:21.139
 there,

00:20:21.419 --> 00:20:21.980
 so secondly,

00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:22.740
 let's see the

00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:23.199
 dream.

00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.720
 Now,

00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:26.819
 nobody in all

00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:27.220
 the kingdom

00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:28.440
 can do this.

00:20:28.539 --> 00:20:29.220
 Nobody can

00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:30.720
 tell Nebuchadnezzar

00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:31.180
 the dream.

00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:31.880
 Nobody can

00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:32.420
 interpret the

00:20:32.420 --> 00:20:32.740
 dream.

00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:34.319
 And what

00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:35.059
 happens is that

00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:35.920
 Daniel and his

00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:36.779
 friends hear about

00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:37.180
 this.

00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:38.660
 And in verse

00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:40.039
 12 and 13,

00:20:40.900 --> 00:20:42.480
 Daniel goes

00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:43.480
 to Ariok,

00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:44.700
 the king's

00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:45.100
 advisor,

00:20:45.340 --> 00:20:45.860
 and he says,

00:20:46.340 --> 00:20:46.799
 Ariok,

00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:48.340
 set up a

00:20:48.340 --> 00:20:49.819
 meeting between

00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:50.180
 me and

00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:50.759
 Nebuchadnezzar.

00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:51.839
 And so

00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:53.039
 Daniel rushes

00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:53.640
 straight in.

00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:54.000
 And the reason

00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:54.960
 for that is

00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:55.539
 because Daniel

00:20:55.539 --> 00:20:56.440
 knows that he's

00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:56.960
 also going to

00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:57.279
 die.

00:20:58.039 --> 00:20:58.879
 He and all the

00:20:58.879 --> 00:20:59.400
 people that have

00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:00.500
 come, the 10,000

00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:00.980
 that have come,

00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:01.859
 Nebuchadnezzar's

00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:02.220
 going to kill

00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:02.960
 everybody about

00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:03.299
 this.

00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:04.200
 And so he knows

00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:04.900
 that everybody's

00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:05.559
 life is at risk

00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:05.799
 here.

00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:07.940
 Now, what the

00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:08.779
 passage the writer

00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:09.500
 is doing here is

00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:10.059
 setting up this

00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:11.039
 great contrast in

00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:12.119
 this moment between

00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:12.759
 Daniel and

00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:13.299
 Nebuchadnezzar.

00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:14.980
 So we've seen

00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:15.740
 Nebuchadnezzar,

00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:16.339
 the man of

00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:17.180
 Babylon, the man

00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:18.200
 who has power at

00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:19.240
 the very center of

00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:19.980
 his life, that he's

00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.740
 revolving his

00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:21.480
 life around

00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:21.940
 entirely.

00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:23.120
 But then it

00:21:23.120 --> 00:21:23.900
 turns to Daniel.

00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:25.259
 And here's the

00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:25.579
 test.

00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:27.500
 Nebuchadnezzar has

00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:28.620
 a scary dream.

00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:30.079
 Nebuchadnezzar has

00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:31.380
 a scary dream, and

00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:32.140
 it makes him so

00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:32.599
 fragile.

00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:35.500
 Daniel, the

00:21:35.500 --> 00:21:36.319
 prophet Daniel,

00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:37.319
 God's servant,

00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:38.579
 what does he do?

00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:40.279
 His life is

00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:41.079
 actually on the

00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:41.859
 line, and in

00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:43.039
 verse 14, it

00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:43.640
 turns and we're

00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:44.880
 told, in verse

00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:46.539
 14, he acted

00:21:46.539 --> 00:21:47.539
 with prudence and

00:21:47.539 --> 00:21:48.000
 discretion.

00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:49.539
 All right, so you

00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:50.240
 see that contrast?

00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:52.380
 Nebuchadnezzar has a

00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:53.539
 scary dream, and it

00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:54.579
 absolutely breaks him,

00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:55.559
 the most powerful man

00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:55.880
 on earth.

00:21:56.579 --> 00:21:57.839
 Daniel is a slave,

00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:01.519
 and his life is under

00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:01.980
 threat.

00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:03.200
 He's been told he's

00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:04.259
 going to be executed,

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.900
 and the next verse in

00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:07.220
 verse 14 says, but he

00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:08.759
 was able to operate with

00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:10.119
 prudence and discretion.

00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:12.399
 And there's a great

00:22:12.399 --> 00:22:15.299
 contrast between wisdom

00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:16.099
 and foolishness.

00:22:16.899 --> 00:22:18.619
 The word prudence that's

00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:20.119
 used in this passage is

00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:21.379
 like the word wisdom, but

00:22:21.379 --> 00:22:21.959
 it's a little more

00:22:21.959 --> 00:22:23.859
 specific, and maybe

00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:25.379
 prudence is not a word

00:22:25.379 --> 00:22:26.359
 that we use very often

00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:27.519
 in modern speech, but

00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:28.819
 prudence means the

00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:30.679
 ability to know what

00:22:30.679 --> 00:22:32.639
 to do when there are no

00:22:32.639 --> 00:22:33.399
 rules telling you what

00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:33.659
 to do.

00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:35.000
 So prudence is this

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:36.239
 ability to enter into a

00:22:36.239 --> 00:22:38.059
 very complex life and

00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:39.559
 live with justice and

00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:41.079
 righteousness in the

00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:42.039
 midst of Babylon, in the

00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:43.299
 midst of exile, when

00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:44.359
 there's nobody telling

00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:45.819
 you how to operate in

00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:46.679
 every single situation.

00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:47.819
 So this is a very

00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:48.679
 complex situation.

00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:50.599
 Daniel is a slave of

00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:51.019
 the king.

00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:52.679
 The king has said, I'm

00:22:52.679 --> 00:22:53.740
 going to kill everybody

00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:54.539
 because nobody can

00:22:54.539 --> 00:22:55.259
 interpret my dream.

00:22:55.899 --> 00:22:56.919
 Prudence says, what do

00:22:56.919 --> 00:22:58.079
 I do in the midst of

00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.259
 such a difficult, complex

00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:00.799
 situation?

00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:03.039
 Now, if you were to go

00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:05.419
 read throughout the last

00:23:05.419 --> 00:23:06.399
 couple thousand years, and

00:23:06.399 --> 00:23:08.119
 even beyond that, in

00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:09.539
 philosophy, I'm going to

00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:10.759
 talk about it in the

00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:11.920
 classics, the classic

00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:13.399
 literature, in theology,

00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:16.359
 everybody gathers around

00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.399
 this idea that says, what

00:23:18.399 --> 00:23:18.960
 is wisdom?

00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.099
 And typically, four things

00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:22.740
 have been said, and I

00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:23.500
 won't go through them, I'll

00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:24.339
 just list them for you.

00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:27.379
 Typically, almost everybody

00:23:27.379 --> 00:23:28.180
 is gathered around the

00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:29.180
 idea that wisdom is

00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:31.200
 prudence, the ability to

00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:32.839
 know how to operate well in

00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:35.700
 a complex world, justice, the

00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:37.420
 ability to, with precision,

00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:38.920
 and seek what's good in

00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:40.140
 complex situations, seek

00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:42.039
 justice, to do it with

00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:42.680
 courage.

00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.720
 So, to be able to enter

00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:46.060
 into a space and speak the

00:23:46.060 --> 00:23:47.420
 truth, even at great risk

00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:48.080
 of your own life.

00:23:49.100 --> 00:23:50.539
 And lastly, the fourth is

00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:51.220
 temperance.

00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:53.140
 And temperance is a word we

00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:54.060
 don't use very often either,

00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:55.240
 and all it means is that

00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.360
 over time, the more you use

00:23:57.360 --> 00:23:58.779
 prudence with justice and

00:23:58.779 --> 00:24:00.240
 courage, this is who you

00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:01.259
 become, and that's what

00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:01.920
 temperance means.

00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:03.360
 It becomes second nature to

00:24:03.360 --> 00:24:03.580
 you.

00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:05.139
 And if you were to go

00:24:05.139 --> 00:24:07.779
 through this passage, verse

00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:10.279
 16, Daniel sets an

00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:10.779
 appointment.

00:24:11.919 --> 00:24:13.980
 Daniel says to Ariok, make

00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:14.679
 an appointment with

00:24:14.679 --> 00:24:15.659
 Nebuchadnezzar for me to

00:24:15.659 --> 00:24:17.139
 interpret the dream before

00:24:17.139 --> 00:24:18.579
 he ever even knows the

00:24:18.579 --> 00:24:19.299
 interpretation of the

00:24:19.299 --> 00:24:19.539
 dream.

00:24:20.699 --> 00:24:21.859
 And he's willing to say,

00:24:21.939 --> 00:24:22.939
 look, I don't know what to

00:24:22.939 --> 00:24:24.000
 do right now exactly, but I'm

00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:25.379
 willing to risk my life to

00:24:25.379 --> 00:24:27.039
 go in and hoping that God

00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:27.839
 will give this to me.

00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:28.819
 That's prudence.

00:24:29.379 --> 00:24:31.399
 It's the courage because of

00:24:31.399 --> 00:24:33.099
 justice to take a risk in a

00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:33.919
 really hard situation.

00:24:34.659 --> 00:24:36.339
 And then in verse 27 to 28,

00:24:36.419 --> 00:24:37.439
 he tells Nebuchadnezzar,

00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:38.959
 Nebuchadnezzar, your kingdom

00:24:38.959 --> 00:24:40.019
 is going to fall.

00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:41.799
 Boy, can you imagine?

00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:43.740
 Imagine stepping into the

00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:45.980
 court of Lord Farquad, and

00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:47.519
 you have to tell him, your

00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.339
 little kingdom is going to

00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:50.519
 fall because of your pride.

00:24:51.179 --> 00:24:52.759
 The man who kills gingerbread

00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:55.339
 men, he, in other words, you

00:24:55.339 --> 00:24:56.019
 see what Daniel's doing?

00:24:56.199 --> 00:24:57.980
 He is willing to step into the

00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:00.539
 fray and to say, the point is

00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:01.939
 your kingdom is dust.

00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:04.860
 To a man who's so fragile that

00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:06.180
 he's already said, I will kill

00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:09.100
 everyone if they cannot tell me

00:25:09.100 --> 00:25:09.720
 what this means.

00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:12.620
 Daniel was so wise that he had

00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:14.960
 prudence and he sought justice

00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.500
 and he had great courage and it

00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:17.200
 was just natural.

00:25:17.320 --> 00:25:18.240
 It flowed out of him.

00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:20.000
 Real wisdom.

00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:22.519
 The point of the passage is get

00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:22.960
 wisdom.

00:25:23.340 --> 00:25:24.180
 And how do you get wisdom?

00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.580
 And this is where we really hone in

00:25:25.580 --> 00:25:26.420
 on the big idea.

00:25:26.420 --> 00:25:29.640
 And that's that Daniel is not just

00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:30.360
 morally good.

00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:32.120
 Daniel is not just wise in the

00:25:32.120 --> 00:25:32.440
 story.

00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:33.900
 There's far more than that.

00:25:34.360 --> 00:25:35.900
 The question of the passage is,

00:25:36.860 --> 00:25:38.880
 what is the foundation of your

00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:40.460
 life that can make you wise?

00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:42.220
 And even deeper than that, what is

00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:43.980
 the foundation of your life that

00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:47.060
 can give you the security in your

00:25:47.060 --> 00:25:49.120
 life to operate with prudence,

00:25:49.320 --> 00:25:51.460
 courage, justice, and temperance?

00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:53.559
 What is the foundation of your

00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:55.799
 life that can actually ground this

00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:57.000
 type of truth and love, this

00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:58.960
 courage, this ability, this

00:25:58.960 --> 00:25:59.240
 wisdom?

00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.279
 And it's back in chapter 1.

00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:02.799
 It comes up again in chapter 2.

00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:05.460
 And it's that when Daniel refused

00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:07.720
 to give his heart to idolatry and

00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:09.740
 said, I will fear the Lord no matter

00:26:09.740 --> 00:26:12.059
 what, it says God then blessed him

00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:13.039
 with all wisdom.

00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:15.579
 And back to Proverbs 1.

00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:19.059
 If you want to be a wise person in

00:26:19.059 --> 00:26:21.480
 a complex world, the Bible says

00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:22.579
 get wisdom.

00:26:22.879 --> 00:26:24.579
 And the way you do that is saying

00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:27.159
 the fear, recognizing the glory of

00:26:27.159 --> 00:26:28.500
 the Lord is the beginning of all

00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:28.779
 wisdom.

00:26:30.159 --> 00:26:31.679
 And so the question of this passage

00:26:31.679 --> 00:26:33.799
 is, what is the foundation of your

00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:35.639
 life that can give you a security

00:26:35.639 --> 00:26:38.819
 where you're okay so that you can

00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:40.259
 actually be a person who's growing

00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:41.299
 in wisdom over time?

00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:45.139
 Now, this is just simply illustrated

00:26:45.139 --> 00:26:46.039
 in the dream itself.

00:26:46.139 --> 00:26:47.599
 And we only need to spend two minutes

00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:49.079
 on it to get this across.

00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:51.539
 And that's the dream in verse 31 to

00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:52.099
 35.

00:26:53.719 --> 00:26:56.159
 The dream is that there is a great

00:26:56.159 --> 00:26:57.659
 statue, a great image.

00:26:58.179 --> 00:26:59.719
 And it's a terrifying image.

00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:00.899
 But it's got a head of gold.

00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:03.279
 It's got a chest of silver.

00:27:03.439 --> 00:27:05.219
 It's got a core of bronze.

00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:06.659
 It's got legs of iron.

00:27:06.959 --> 00:27:09.339
 And it's got feet of iron with clay

00:27:09.339 --> 00:27:09.839
 on the bottom.

00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:14.019
 Now, Daniel goes and he tells the

00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:16.659
 dream because God gave him that

00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:17.940
 dream as a gift.

00:27:18.080 --> 00:27:19.360
 He gave him the interpretation.

00:27:20.620 --> 00:27:22.320
 And then from there, he then turns

00:27:22.320 --> 00:27:23.259
 and tells Nebuchadnezzar the

00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:23.640
 interpretation.

00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:25.620
 Now, people come to this and they

00:27:25.620 --> 00:27:28.220
 make the dream into a moment of

00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:29.759
 prophecy, a really important

00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:31.019
 prophecy about world history.

00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:32.500
 And it definitely is that.

00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:35.300
 This is a moment where the real God

00:27:35.300 --> 00:27:37.300
 is telling somebody a thousand

00:27:37.300 --> 00:27:38.200
 year span of history.

00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:38.920
 What's going to happen?

00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.580
 And that's important to note.

00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:43.639
 But the point of the dream is not

00:27:43.639 --> 00:27:44.539
 about the prophecy.

00:27:45.439 --> 00:27:47.099
 It's not about the kingdoms that are

00:27:47.099 --> 00:27:47.619
 to come.

00:27:48.099 --> 00:27:50.980
 Traditionally, we've said that the

00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:53.059
 head of gold is, of course, Babylon.

00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:54.839
 Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that

00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:55.179
 directly.

00:27:55.699 --> 00:27:57.799
 Then the silver is the kingdom of

00:27:57.799 --> 00:27:59.099
 Persia that's to follow this.

00:27:59.500 --> 00:28:00.960
 And then the bronze is Greece.

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:02.939
 And then the iron is the kingdom of

00:28:02.939 --> 00:28:03.980
 Rome that is to come.

00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:05.819
 But at the very bottom of the

00:28:05.819 --> 00:28:07.319
 statue is clay.

00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:12.019
 And from verse 38, you see the

00:28:12.019 --> 00:28:13.539
 point, because in verse 38, he

00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:15.220
 turns to Nebuchadnezzar himself.

00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:16.720
 He doesn't say, let me talk to you

00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:17.519
 about everything here.

00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.259
 Let me talk to you about the

00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:19.259
 kingdoms that are to come.

00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:21.119
 He turns to the man of Babylon,

00:28:21.679 --> 00:28:23.279
 Nebuchadnezzar, and said, you are

00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:23.960
 the head of gold.

00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.059
 And your feet are clay.

00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:29.919
 And your kingdom is going to get

00:28:29.919 --> 00:28:31.200
 pulverized into dust.

00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:33.399
 And the way that that happens is

00:28:33.399 --> 00:28:35.500
 there's a supernatural event where

00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:37.900
 in the dream, someone invisible

00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:39.839
 cuts from a mountain, a great

00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:42.240
 stone that strikes this image and

00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:43.700
 casts all the kingdoms down.

00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:46.559
 And the point is that he's looking

00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:48.299
 at the face of Nebuchadnezzar and

00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:50.759
 saying, let me give you a thousand

00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:52.220
 year span of history that is to

00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:54.559
 come and understand that you are not

00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:55.680
 the climax of history.

00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:59.180
 And you've made your life centered

00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:01.539
 around power and achievement and

00:29:01.539 --> 00:29:04.000
 success and wealth, and it's all

00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:04.640
 going to crumble.

00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:05.960
 You have clay feet.

00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:08.660
 And Greece is going to have clay

00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:10.320
 feet, Alexander the Great will, and

00:29:10.320 --> 00:29:12.320
 Rome, and everyone else.

00:29:12.540 --> 00:29:15.660
 And the big idea is that any time you

00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:18.700
 center your life on your own personal

00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:22.420
 kingdom, if your life is made through

00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:24.800
 your own kingdom building, centering

00:29:24.800 --> 00:29:26.320
 your life around your success and your

00:29:26.320 --> 00:29:27.720
 glory and your power and your wealth,

00:29:28.100 --> 00:29:29.220
 you've got clay feet.

00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:32.799
 And ultimately it's going to pass away

00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:33.600
 and it's going to crumble.

00:29:34.600 --> 00:29:35.839
 And it's not a foundation.

00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:39.100
 You see, what foundation did Nebuchadnezzar

00:29:39.100 --> 00:29:40.720
 and all of his achievements have?

00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:41.319
 Clay.

00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:44.079
 Sand, as the New Testament says.

00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:46.640
 And the question of the passage is, what is it

00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:48.160
 that you're building your foundation upon in

00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:48.519
 your life?

00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:50.319
 What is, another way to say it is, what is

00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:50.880
 your why?

00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:54.140
 You know, what's, people debate about this

00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:55.440
 kind of stuff all the time, but what is,

00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:57.640
 what is the difference between a Christian

00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:00.259
 banker, a Christian who is a banker, a

00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:01.920
 Christian who is an accountant, a

00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:03.720
 Christian who goes to work every day in

00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:05.600
 the city, and someone, and somebody who's

00:30:05.600 --> 00:30:06.900
 not, who centered their lives around

00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:08.200
 power, wealth, achievement, and status.

00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:10.220
 And the main difference is why?

00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:12.400
 Why are you going to work every day?

00:30:13.100 --> 00:30:14.460
 Why are you raising your family?

00:30:14.660 --> 00:30:16.279
 Why are you seeking education?

00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:17.200
 Why are you going to uni?

00:30:17.539 --> 00:30:17.820
 Why?

00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:19.500
 In other words, what is the thing at the

00:30:19.500 --> 00:30:22.160
 center of your life that is a secure

00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:25.340
 foundation for meaning and purpose that

00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:27.139
 can provide a security that will never

00:30:27.139 --> 00:30:29.720
 leave you, a foundation that will never

00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:32.379
 go away, a meaning and a purpose that if

00:30:32.379 --> 00:30:35.259
 your stuff gets taken from you, that still

00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:37.199
 remains, that ultimately is still there.

00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:38.500
 Do you have that?

00:30:38.539 --> 00:30:40.059
 That's the question of the passage.

00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:42.059
 And so lastly, how do you get it?

00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:44.339
 We'll finish with this, the stone.

00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:49.419
 So at the heart of this dream, we're told

00:30:49.419 --> 00:30:52.079
 that there is all of a sudden in the midst

00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:54.720
 of the dream, a supernatural hand that

00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:58.240
 cuts a stone out of a mountain in order

00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.039
 to strike this great image.

00:31:01.639 --> 00:31:03.359
 And let me just mention a couple quick

00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:04.679
 characteristics about that stone.

00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:06.220
 Just think about this for a moment with me.

00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:11.179
 Verse 34 and 35 says, this is a rock cut,

00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:13.579
 not with human hands, but by supernatural

00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:14.019
 hands.

00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:17.379
 Then secondly, it says, this is an instrument

00:31:17.379 --> 00:31:19.759
 that will destroy the pride of all the great

00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:20.200
 kings.

00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:24.000
 And then third, it says, it's a stone.

00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:24.740
 It's a rock.

00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:25.839
 Okay, think about it.

00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:26.980
 It's not gold.

00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:29.920
 If you look at every piece of the image of

00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:32.460
 Nebuchadnezzar's dream, gold, silver, bronze,

00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:36.299
 iron, all far more precious than stone, than rock.

00:31:37.099 --> 00:31:39.059
 In other words, this stone is humble.

00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:39.900
 It's small.

00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:41.680
 It's of humble origin.

00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:44.140
 And then in verse 35, it says, but this

00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:46.259
 humble stone will one day become a great

00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:49.700
 kingdom that will start small, but will fill

00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:50.559
 the whole world.

00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:54.759
 Friends, the New Testament directly identifies

00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:56.960
 this stone as Jesus Christ.

00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:00.960
 The stone that the builders rejected has

00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:03.259
 become the cornerstone of a mighty kingdom,

00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:04.220
 a mighty foundation.

00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:08.059
 And the New Testament, just think about it.

00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:12.960
 The stone, it has to be crafted out of

00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:14.000
 supernatural hands.

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:18.380
 Jesus Christ, born of flesh, truly human, but

00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:20.819
 born of the Spirit, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:22.819
 He is the Son of God Himself.

00:32:22.900 --> 00:32:23.539
 He is supernatural.

00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:27.099
 The stone, He's not gold.

00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:28.819
 Boy, did Jesus come into this world?

00:32:28.900 --> 00:32:30.599
 Not gold, not silver, not bronze.

00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:34.500
 He was born and placed into a little animal

00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:37.140
 feeding trough laying in the spit of the

00:32:37.140 --> 00:32:37.480
 animals.

00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:39.880
 He's just a little stone.

00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:42.220
 He's humble in His origin.

00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:45.559
 The stone that the builders rejected became

00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:46.120
 the cornerstone.

00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:48.460
 The stone that all the kingdoms of this world

00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:51.720
 hate because He comes to vanquish their pride

00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:54.640
 has become the cornerstone of a kingdom that

00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:55.339
 will last forever.

00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:58.240
 This is talking about Jesus Christ, the stone in

00:32:58.240 --> 00:32:58.640
 the stream.

00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:03.440
 And the irony of the Christian gospel today is

00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:03.720
 this.

00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:07.480
 If you think, not Nebuchadnezzar versus Daniel,

00:33:07.620 --> 00:33:11.580
 but Nebuchadnezzar versus the stone, Jesus

00:33:11.580 --> 00:33:12.039
 Christ.

00:33:13.740 --> 00:33:16.960
 Nebuchadnezzar came to center his entire life around

00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:20.160
 power and abundance and temporal wealth and

00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:20.600
 security.

00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:23.900
 Jesus Christ, the only one who controls the

00:33:23.900 --> 00:33:27.140
 kingdoms, the absolute God Himself, came in such

00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:29.320
 great irony that He didn't come seeking power.

00:33:30.460 --> 00:33:32.100
 He came in exactly the opposite way of

00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:32.639
 Nebuchadnezzar.

00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:36.779
 He came to be the stone that shatters all pride

00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:37.359
 of the emperors.

00:33:37.439 --> 00:33:40.779
 And yet, at the same time, He came giving away all

00:33:40.779 --> 00:33:44.379
 power to release us and rescue us from our power

00:33:44.379 --> 00:33:44.719
 hunger.

00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:48.959
 Jesus Christ is the stone that the builders rejected

00:33:48.959 --> 00:33:52.379
 when He went to the cross so that He could free you and

00:33:52.379 --> 00:33:55.099
 rescue you from centering your life around power

00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:59.519
 hunger, around self-glory, around divinizing self and

00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:01.759
 everything else in this life more than God.

00:34:02.099 --> 00:34:04.439
 He came to offer that rescue.

00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:07.500
 The stone that the builders rejected has become the

00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:07.980
 cornerstone.

00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:11.119
 And so the question today, friends, as we finish is,

00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:15.679
 is Jesus Christ the foundation of your life?

00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:21.819
 Do you have feet that have been secured temporarily by

00:34:21.819 --> 00:34:26.139
 something else like achievement and wealth and power and

00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:27.879
 glory and relationship and romance?

00:34:28.759 --> 00:34:34.319
 And the proportion to which your life is centered really does

00:34:34.319 --> 00:34:38.480
 revolve around any of the stuff in this world like that that

00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:41.940
 can be lost will be the proportion to which you will live in fear

00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:42.519
 and fragility.

00:34:43.720 --> 00:34:48.340
 So anxiety is directly proportional to the degree to which we

00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:51.820
 have made our feet something in this life, our foundation,

00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:53.659
 something in this life that we can lose.

00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:58.760
 But if Jesus Christ the stone is your foundation, something that

00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:02.079
 can never be lost, an identity, a purpose, a rescue, a forgiveness

00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:06.220
 from idolatry forever that can never be taken away, you have a

00:35:06.220 --> 00:35:09.280
 foundation that will never leave you, that will give you true and

00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:10.040
 lasting security.

00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:13.560
 I'll give the last word to just this comparison.

00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:16.180
 Think about it.

00:35:16.620 --> 00:35:20.820
 Nebuchadnezzar's empire was built through military conquest, political

00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:25.519
 force, great evil, seeking absolute power.

00:35:26.060 --> 00:35:29.220
 It was maintained through fear and threat and executions.

00:35:30.060 --> 00:35:31.140
 He demanded worship.

00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:33.060
 We'll see that next week through intimidation.

00:35:33.059 --> 00:35:38.380
 His kingdom lasted 70 years, 70 years.

00:35:38.779 --> 00:35:43.299
 And today you can go visit the site of his kingdom in Iraq.

00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:45.299
 It's a tourist center.

00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:47.679
 It's an archaeological dig site.

00:35:47.820 --> 00:35:48.679
 It's long gone.

00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:50.179
 The dust has washed it away.

00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:56.279
 Jesus Christ's kingdom was built on sacrificial love, on giving power

00:35:56.279 --> 00:36:00.259
 away, on seeing a much bigger perspective.

00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:04.440
 And that's a kingdom that starts off so small but grows so big over the

00:36:04.440 --> 00:36:04.800
 centuries.

00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:09.080
 It's maintained through servants like Daniel and others and the call upon

00:36:09.080 --> 00:36:14.220
 all of us today that are willing to even die, to lose all power and death like he

00:36:14.220 --> 00:36:14.520
 did.

00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:16.360
 It has lasted thousands of years.

00:36:16.520 --> 00:36:17.540
 It's never going away.

00:36:17.660 --> 00:36:18.640
 It will endure forever.

00:36:19.040 --> 00:36:23.100
 It spans every continent, every culture, every kingdom, every language.

00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:25.820
 The mountain is here.

00:36:25.980 --> 00:36:26.860
 The kingdom has come.

00:36:26.860 --> 00:36:29.559
 It's in the now and not yet phase of history.

00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:31.579
 Build your life on that rock.

00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:34.920
 It's a far better identity, a far better purpose.

00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:36.559
 Let us pray.

00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:41.760
 Lord, we thank you that you rescue us from our idols.

00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:46.800
 And so we pray today, God, that we would be able to identify the little gods in our

00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:49.260
 lives that we continue to revolve our lives around.

00:36:49.260 --> 00:36:57.140
 And that, Lord, you would give us wisdom to fear you more than the fragility, the fear

00:36:57.140 --> 00:37:01.720
 that comes out of the fragility of chasing little rings in this life that will never satisfy

00:37:01.720 --> 00:37:01.980
 us.

00:37:02.020 --> 00:37:04.460
 So we thank you that that's such a clear message.

00:37:04.560 --> 00:37:07.460
 And Daniel, Lord, teach it to us more and more and more today.

00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:11.060
 And especially as we sing, Lord, show us these truths.

00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:14.440
 Meet with us in a particular way in this moment.

00:37:14.500 --> 00:37:15.820
 And we pray that in Jesus' name.

00:37:16.120 --> 00:37:16.400
 Amen.

00:37:16.400 --> 00:37:16.500
 Amen.

00:37:16.500 --> 00:37:16.540
 Amen.

00:37:16.540 --> 00:37:16.540