{"id":23573,"date":"2022-10-12T22:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T05:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/daniel-2_1-16-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-09-27T15:25:09","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T22:25:09","slug":"daniel-2_17-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/daniel-2_17-30\/","title":{"rendered":"The Point of Prophecy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel 2:17-30 \u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Daniel 2:17-30.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Daniel 2:17-18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 17-18:\u00a0 Clearly Daniel was not depending on his own strength and wisdom to overcome this dilemma.\u00a0 He was looking to God, and to help him do that, he urges his friends to pray to God for help.<\/p>\n

There have been many times when the prayer support of others has made such a miraculous, tangible difference in my life and ministry.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t be afraid or ashamed to ask people to pray alongside you when you\u2019re facing an especially difficult and pressure-filled situation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel 2:19a (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 19a:\u00a0 How did Daniel know that God had revealed Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream to him?\u00a0 I believe Daniel just knew.\u00a0 There was likely a peace and a confidence in his heart that what he received in a vision from God was exactly what he was looking for.\u00a0 He may have received affirming or confirming words from his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as well.\u00a0\u00a0Amazing, supernatural things can happen when you take the time to humbly seek God\u2019s face and listen for His voice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel 2:19b-23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19<\/sup>\u2026Then Daniel praised the God of heaven
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19b-23:\u00a0 Daniel praises God for revealing the king\u2019s dream to him.\u00a0 God is not only in the business of revealing the dreams of others to His people.\u00a0 Even more, I believe\u00a0God is in the business of revealing\u00a0His\u00a0<\/em>dreams \u2013 the dreams of\u00a0the King<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 to you and me<\/strong>, if only we\u2019d have a soft and open heart toward Him. \u00a0First and foremost, God reveals His will to us through His Word, the Scriptures.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If you want to know God\u2019s will, you need to read God\u2019s Word.<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s not a coincidence that in law when you write your will, it\u2019s called your last will and testament.\u00a0 The Bible, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament, contains God\u2019s will for you and me.<\/p>\n

Second, God reveals His will through His Holy Spirit.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0For example, I believe there have been times in my life when God has supernaturally revealed His will, whether in the form of an actual dream when I am sleeping, or in a vision when I am awake and seeking Him, or in a word spoken to my heart.\u00a0 When it\u2019s the Holy Spirit speaking, it will always be consistent with God\u2019s written word and ultimately points us to deeper trust in and love for Jesus.<\/p>\n

Daniel 2:24-30 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-30:\u00a0 As Daniel gets ready to reveal King Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream, he prefaces it with some words to help King Nebuchadnezzar understand where Daniel is coming from.\u00a0 Daniel\u2019s words here teach us some important things about the purpose of prophecy.\u00a0 (The definition I am using here for prophecy is: communicating information that is supernaturally revealed by God to one person for another person.)<\/p>\n

First, the point of prophecy is not to make much of people but to make much of God.<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s why Daniel says that it\u2019s not because he has greater wisdom than other people, but because God, the revealer of mysteries, is at work (v27-30).\u00a0 Since it is God who reveals the mystery, those who deliver a prophetic word must do so with utmost humility, in no way elevating themselves above others.\u00a0 \u00a0That\u2019s why I am weary and often skeptical of those who preface what they believe is a prophetic word by saying something like \u201cThus saith the Lord\u201d.\u00a0 We need to have greater humility and discernment than that, recognizing that even words which we strongly believe are from God for someone else are subject to testing.<\/p>\n

Second, the point of prophecy is to encourage and help the person receiving the prophecy.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As Daniel says in verse 30, God revealed this mystery to Daniel \u201cso that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.\u201d\u00a0 Prophecy, as with other spiritual gifts, is meant to strengthen and encourage (1 Corinthians 14:26, 31).<\/p>\n

Third, God uses prophecy is to lead unbelievers to Jesus.<\/strong>\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar was accustomed to worshiping idols instead of the one true God.\u00a0 God was going to use Daniel and this prophetic word to lead Nebuchadnezzar to Himself.\u00a0 It reminds me of what Paul says about how prophecy can lead an unbeliever to God:<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all,
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”<\/em><\/p>\n

Father, thank You for being One who reveals dreams, in particular Your dreams for us.\u00a0 Thank You that You use the gift of prophecy to strengthen and encourage people and to lead them to Jesus.\u00a0 I pray that my church would have the right heart, attitude and approach to things like prophecy, so that Your church can be strengthened and people can be encouraged and led to Jesus.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Daniel 2:17-30.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Daniel 2:17-18 (NIV)
\n17\u00a0\u00a0Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
\n18\u00a0\u00a0He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.<\/p>\n

On verses 17-18:\u00a0 Clearly Daniel was not depending on his own strength and wisdom to overcome this dilemma.\u00a0 He was looking to God, and to help him do that, he urges his friends to pray to God for help.<\/p>\n

There have been many times when the prayer support of others has made such a miraculous, tangible difference in my life and ministry.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t be afraid or ashamed to ask people to pray alongside you when you\u2019re facing an especially difficult and pressure-filled situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23573"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23576,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573\/revisions\/23576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}