Daniel Chapter 2 Verses 14 – 15

• Gut check here. I notice something profound. Contrast Daniel’s reaction to Nebuchadnezzar’s. Nebuchadnezzar reacts with anger and fury, Daniel reacts with counsel and wisdom. Which one of these guys is anxious and troubled? BOTH of them are! Yet notice the result of their reactions…
• Nebuchadnezzar is an idiot! Drunk off of the emotions man and what happens? Murder! Cruelty! Stupidity! He adds to his anxiety, he adds to his trouble man…but in a moment we’ll see the result of Daniel’s reaction. He is wise. Controls his emotions. He is filled with counsel and wisdom…and what happens…an entire nation is saved…and get this, have you personalized this yet? Where do we find counsel and wisdom? God’s Word man!
• React in accordance with what you “feel” or how they make you feel > pure stupidity…unwise, uncounseled…you’re about to add to your troubles! React in accordance with the wisdom and counsel of God’s Word…peace man…salvation in the moment man…may not manifest yet, but give it an hour…walk this Word out and watch…folks will be saved man, starting with YOU! Because God will show Himself so very strong!
• So you go to get counsel and wisdom from a friend and you get the Word of God…you’ve got yourself a good friend indeed…if you don’t…you’ve got a wolf dressed up like a lamb and you’re about to get devoured! Maybe not by them but by the wolves they’ll send you to…a wolf can only guide you to more wolves…

Daniel Chapter 2 Verse 16

• “So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time,” TO RUN! HA! That’s no doubt what his flesh wanted to do! But again, fleshly reaction, fleshly consequence. Everytime! Death, stupidity, more and more trouble. God has spoken and He will not be mocked, He will always be found to be true and He has given us clear direction, crystal clear guidance for our own good and protection that if we sow to the wind, we will reap the whirl-wind. Hosea 8:7, “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.
  The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal.”
• But here is some fruit man. Daniel’s courage is astronomical! The king has not called for him! In fact the king has called for his immediate death! And what does he do? Curse the king and flee? That’s what we do when folks have wronged us…we curse them in our hearts and under our breath and to other people and then we stay away from them. Unwise. Trouble continues! That is actually an indication of fear! But God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7 says and so what does Daniel do? Precisely what we should do in accordance with Matthew Chapter 18. If your brother has offended you, go to him in private, in humility and with brokenness tell them the offense and work it out!
• That takes courage, not as much as Daniel has here maybe but courage none the less and courage man…is fruit! That is a mark that your hope and trust is in Jesus and not yo-self! Courage, at its core, is a manifestation of…love! And so Daniel goes right into the king…trusting in God and he asks for the same thing that the king condemned with the magicians…time. Yet it is granted to him. Again irrational, unprecedented yet God is all about that in the lives of those that will trust Him!
• And what does he want time to do? Pray…

Daniel Chapter 2 Verses 17 – 19

• So he goes home and apparently he has some roommates and he tells them what’s up and asks them to pray. Pray for what? Says here…for the salvation of the people! What? Wait, I thought that the Bible says right here that they were praying for God’s mercy concerning the secret…? True but that is the what? God answers the why…
• Why are they praying? Not what are they praying…They are praying so that they might not perish with the rest of the wise men…don’t read that in a way that says they’d be saved and everyone else would be sliced…read it like this…they prayed for all of their salvation…Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t actively slaying…Daniel has stalled that…how, with courage! Wisdom! Counsel! And so the why…for the salvation of the people man.
• Why is that so important? Why do I point that out? Take a moment and ask yourself what are the why’s behind your prayers? Are they self-seeking and self-centered? Many of mine are…if I’m courageously honest…are yours? And you wonder why God seemingly answers “no?” Why do you want your wife to be more Christ like…so she will serve you better? Maybe the best thing for you is for her to stay right where she’s at so that you can learn to serve her? So that God can set YOU free…The why is what God answers…not the what….
• Now when you pray in the Spirit, in accordance with God’s Word and in full submission and worship unto Him…loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and loving others as yourself, guess what…sometimes your why matches your what and prayer turns less into asking and more into seeking…just like their prayers right here…see that in verse 18?

Daniel Chapter 4 Verse 19

• Now what’s cool here is this word revealed in the Hebrew can also mean “separated.” So the secret was separated…or maybe we could think of it this way…confirmed. What do you mean…well could it be that Daniel already knew and yet he still sought the Lord? I think so. Many times we think we know what it is we should do…guess what…still seek the Lord. Paul wrote, pray always, 1 Thes 5. Why? Well first, you give God the freedom in your life to deliver exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or think…and second, when He does…who gets the glory? He does!
• Oh my wisdom, my spiritual maturity, my decision…my glory. But pray in the moment, seek the Lord in the decision and then guess what…His wisdom, His provision, His decision…His glory…and you’ll end up worshipping not your walk…but Him…check out Daniel!

Daniel Chapter 2 Verses 20 – 23

• In the midst of the trial of his life…powerful worship. For real deliverance! That is the result of counsel and wisdom!

Daniel Chapter 2 Verse 24

• There it is again, see that? The why. “Do not destroy me…” NO! Them!

Daniel Chapter 2 Verse 25

• Don’t you just love how Arioch takes the credit here? Arioch found nothing. Back in verse 14 Daniel answered him when he came to kill him! Yet what is Arioch? A murderer man…a sin prostitute…slave to sin…slave to other men and so what is a mark of that kind of tragedy…”I, I, I, I, I,” “I have done well, I have done right, I have treated them right and still look at what they do…oh boooooo whooooo!” When the mark of one that is a bond slave to Jesus Christ…”forgive me, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Renew in me a right spirit Lord and teach me your ways…”
• Blessed are the peacemakers Jesus said…for they will be called sons of God…your accusation, which most often is in the form of a personal defense…does not make peace, it makes a plea. A plea for their submission to you. Vengenance is mine says the Lord I will repay…yet we take the credit and we proclaim our own righteousness…let me tell you, one who defends their character, doesn’t have it…because real character defends itself…rest man! Let the Lord work it out. You seek Him. Quit taking the credit you murderer and start pursuing peace!
• So Arioch takes him to the king and what does he do? Duh Matt, he tells him the dream, we’ve read ahead! Well hold up…first he proclaims the gospel man!!!

Daniel Chapter 2 Verses 26

• Notice something real quick here. Nebuchadnezzar seems a bit less troubled doesn’t he? Remember before, “My decision is firm; if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces!” Now it’s, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” Seems a bit more calm to me…quite a bit. Why? Simple. Some time has gone by.
• To react quickly and sharply is called a reflex. A reflex is your body’s way of reacting immediately to fear. Reflex actually exposes weakness…Threat is detected, reflex is engaged. Works great when a brick is coming at your face. But when you are troubled emotionally, many times, the reflex betrays you. Notice how he is calmer here. You get all worked up on something, give it some time man. Don’t respond to that email. Don’t return that text or that call. Take some time to the let the fear step aside a bit…emotional reflexes are always self-centered man….and Nebuchadnezzar, a picture of stupidity shows us here that even he can calm down and handle things better…

Daniel Chapter 2 Verses 27 – 28

• Daniel and his homeboys had prayed that God would hook them up…reveal the dream to them, why? We see here. So that God would get the glory. So that he could bring the light of the love, grace and power of God to a ridiculously harmful and lost person…and nation for that matter. And so God hears the “what” checks the “why” and boom…delivers. This is why we submit to God in our prayers. We pray our needs for sure, but in understanding that He answers the “why” and in that we know that what we have and what we don’t have…is all working together for our eternal maturity man…
• And you may not know tonight…God what are you doing? Where are you taking me? Do you even care? Here’s the answer. Verse 28. But God reveals secrets. The things of God, all of them, are secrets to us. We cannot reason them out, learn them out of Him…we are all together not like Him…they must be revealed…For example. A secret of God is that He loves you. Oh that’s not a secret, we know that. Ok, how do you know that? Because He told you? Because it says it over and over in the Word? You may know the fact. But how was it revealed?
• The cross man. We would not know the depths of God’s love for us…the love of God could not have been revealed to us, without the cross of Christ. The greatest revelation of God in all of eternity. Something that even angels desired to look into…1 Peter 1:12 says…in fact, in light of that revelation, all others go by the wayside. They don’t matter. The cross is the point of revelation…where all is revealed man…you have questions tonight…”Why? When? How?...” God hears them all and desires to reveal to you the only revelation that will lead not just to the band aid answer of how you’ll spend the next day, week or year but the answer that will set you free…