Sunday, June 20, AM

And happy others that we have in the congregation this morning. Fathers grandfathers maybe some great-grandfathers we are so thankful for each of you. Give our. Give our fathers a quick round of applause just to recognize them.

We are so blessed here at Sunnyside. A few announcements as we get started this morning looking ahead because it is Father's Day we will not have evening service tonight so enjoy that time with your family.

Tonight on Wednesday June 23rd we'll have dinner here at the church at 545 p .m. so be ready to eat. And then at 630 we'll have Bible study and prayer time. And then again the tag kids are on break so they'll be in with us.

It's been good to have them in and interact with them during Bible study time and then coming up next Sunday communion in the morning. And then truth group in the evening. For the young adults in the in the church this week's fighter verse comes from first Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 5.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Few needs for Operation Christmas Child still going on for the month of June. There's some girls hair accessories that you can give some small sports balls like basketballs or footballs. And then some ball caps for boys as well.

Sewing me. Sewing ministry has some needs you can find in the bulletin in there. And then note about summer Sunday school session. First off I was notified that we do not need substitute teachers for the kids classes.

The DeForest have volunteered to kind of take all the kids on at once. So thank you to for us very much. So they're going to cover those kids classes and combine them together and I'm sure they have great plans there so don't worry about that.

And then if you haven't picked your summer Sunday school session that you want to be a part of those sheets are on the table at the back you can get those after the service. Just check the box next to the particular class that you want to attend and print your name on the bottom and then you can give those to Dwight Smith Dwight you in here raise your hand give those to Dwight after the service.

And then we'll have those that starts the first Sunday in July. So be ready to start our summer sessions in about a couple weeks. And then we still need a few volunteers for nursery for the month of July you can talk to Marla Hovarter about that right.

Any other announcements before we worship together all. Right. We're gonna have a time just to prepare our hearts for worship. And then when we're done with that Randy.

Will come and lead us in prayer. Father. We truly are grateful to be here this.

Morning I just thank you for the opportunity to come and worship you together. And father I just want to express gratitude to the fathers my own father for bringing bringing us up in a way to love you and to know you.

And I pray that you would encourage each father here to continue be a soldier. And father I pray that we would be warriors for our families and in these trying times father pray that we would lift one another up.

And father pray that you just prepare us today to hear from you. I pray that your spirit would speak to our hearts. I pray father that you'd make us witnesses for you. I pray that you would help us to share the hope that we have in Christ with others.

And father pray that again that you just bless Michael as he comes to share your word. We just thank you for who you are father. And we thank you that you're a wonderful have heavenly father that we can bring all of our concerns to you.

And we just want to take this time to just bless your name. And I pray that we would encourage one another in Jesus and I ask it in his name.

Amen. Being father's day we've asked that the men would come up and help us lead.

In the first song as we're singing this morning. So men if you would come on up please and everyone else turn to our call to worship. Song. Psalm this morning is Psalm 67 verses 5 through 7. Bigger has the words up on the screen for us.

Yes. Please please stand for our call to worship this morning. Thank you Paula. Thank you. Psalm 67 verses 5 through 7. Read with me together. Let the people's praise you. Oh God. Let all the people's praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase. God our God shall bless us. God shall bless us. Let all the ends of the earth fear him. And our first song this morning is brethren we have met to.

Worship we're gonna sing all for God is looking for and he repeats it Amos.

Chapter 4. Hear this word. You cows of Bashan who are on the mountains of Samaria who oppressed the poor who crushed the needy who say to your husbands bring that we may drink. The Lord has sworn sworn by his holiness that behold the days are coming upon you when they shall take you away with hooks even the last of you with fish hooks.

And you shall go out through the breaches each one straight ahead and you shall be cast out into Harmon declares the Lord. Come to Bethel and transgress to Gilgal and multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning your tithes every three days offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened and proclaim freewill offerings.

Publish them. For so you love to do. Oh people of Israel declares the Lord God I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you did not return to me declares the Lord.

I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to harvest. I would send rain on one city and send no rain on another city. One field would have rain and the field on which it did not rain would wither.

So two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water and would not be satisfied. Yet you did not return to me declares the Lord. I struck you with blight and mildew your many gardens and your vineyards your fig trees your olive trees.

The locust devoured. Yet you did not return to me declares the Lord. I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword and carried away your horses and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils.

Yet you did not return to me declares the Lord. I overthrew some of you as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning. Yes you did not return to me declares the Lord.

Therefore thus I will do to you. Oh Israel because I will do this to you. Prepare to meet your God. Oh Israel. For behold he who forms the mountain and creates the wind and declares to man what is his thought.

Who makes the morning darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The Lord the God of hosts is his name. Let's pray father. I thank you for your word. I thank you for your prophet Amos who faithfully declared your word your intent and how you looked to your people to return to you and yet they would not father.

I pray for us this morning each of us that we might continually continually look to you for all of our needs that even when we feel far away your invitation is always open. Come come. The Lord Jesus has opened the way and we have confidence in him that we can boldly come before your throne of grace and offer up to you our concerns our troubles and we could commune with you and give you praise and glory and honor and thanksgiving for all that you've done for us through your son the Lord Jesus in his name.

I pray.

You may be seated. I'm thankful for brother Michael and other elders here at Sunnyside that lead our church in the paths of righteousness and to point us to Jesus Christ. And our next two songs talk about the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd so if you would turn to pages 460 and also 461.

Singing about all the way. Or Savior leads. Open your Bibles and turn with me.

To Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2 to be reading beginning in verse 14 here in a moment. And let's go together to the Lord in prayer. Father I thank you so much for gathering us together on this day.

But you thank you that it's Father's Day. And Lord thank you for making fatherhood mean what it means. We give you the glory for that as you look at your word today. I pray that you would give us a word from you that will encourage us and will shape us and guide us.

That we would rejoice in the revelation of your son Jesus Christ. I pray that you would help us to submit our lives to him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I pray that you would shape our hopes.

That you by your word in revealing your son through the light of your Holy Spirit. That you would craft our expectations. That you would give us the paths of wisdom. That you would bring us into your joy and your life and your loving communion.

And I pray that you would help us to rejoice in you. In these ways we look and ask for these things looking to Jesus Christ alone. Amen. Daniel chapter 2. And we'll begin reading in verse 14 in a moment you recall the dam of God's judgment is breaking upon the ancient Near East.

Babylon's River will not be contained because of the bloody evil of Manasseh. God states particularly because of Manasseh the waters of punishment carved deeply into the clay of Judah sweeping away even these young saplings Daniel Hananiah Azariah and to Mishael replanted in foreign soil.

They reject the pagan grafts and they remain rooted deeply rooted in the fear of the Lord. An occasion arises when the starving owner of Babylon's orchard goes to inspect his groves of experts. But what does he find.

We see at the beginning of chapter 2 what does Nebuchadnezzar find in his in cohort of wise men and and diviners and wizards. He finds only rotted immature deformed fruit. And in high disgust he sends his axmen to chop and burn it all down.

But with the four God-fearing saplings good fruit heavy firm and ripe is found. Wisdom is justified by all her children. So what happens when Ariok the ax man comes to chop down Daniel and his friends.

The class of wise men slated for execution by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Let's find out. You stand with me and we'll read the words of our Lord Jesus Christ through his spirit and his servant the prophet Daniel.

Verse 14. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Ariok the captain of the king's guard who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said to Ariok the king's captain why is the decree from the king so urgent.

Then Ariok made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house and made the decision known to Hananiah Mishael and Azariah his companions that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said blessed be the name of God forever and ever. For wisdom and might are his and he changes the times and the seasons.

He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with him.

I thank you and praise you. Oh God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might and have now made known to me what we asked of you. For you have made known to us the king's demand. Therefore Daniel went to Ariok whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon.

He went and said thus to him do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king and I will tell the king the interpretation. Then Ariok quickly brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him I have found a man of the captives of Judah who will make known to the king is to the interpretation.

King answered and said to Daniel whose name was Belteshazzar are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation. Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said the secret which the king has demanded the wise men the astrologers the magicians and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.

But there is a god in heaven who reveals secrets and he has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these as for you king thoughts came to your mind while on your bed about what would come to pass after this.

And he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. But as for me this secret was not has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living. But for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

This is the word of the lord. Praise be to god. You may be seated. 250 years prior to this story the great great grandson of king Solomon reigned in Jerusalem. His name was Jehoshaphat. And on one occasion all the armies of Moab Ammon and the men of Mount Seir gathered together and a great host to bury all of Judah in dust and blood.

Faced with pending annihilation the king led the people in prayer. This is part of the prayer. Second chronicles. Chapter 20. Verse 12. Oh our god will you not judge them. For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us.

Nor do we know what to do but our eyes are upon you. And word came by god's prophet that he that god would win the day. God would win the day for his people. And here was part of that message. Verse 17.

You will not need to fight in this battle position. Yourselves stand still and see the salvation of the lord who is with you. Oh judah and jerusalem do not fear or be dismayed tomorrow go out against them for the lord is with you.

And so Jehoshaphat and his people responded in humble praise and thanksgiving to the lord because because of this promise because of this assurance. And then they followed god's instruction on the day of battle.

And here's what they did. Verse 21. And when he had consulted with the people he appointed those who should sing to the lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and were saying praise the lord or hallelujah praise the lord for his mercy endures forever.

Now this looks from a distance absolutely foolish. This doesn't make it into the military textbooks. The choir leading the army the praise team taking point for the seal team. This does not look wise but it is wisdom because they feared the lord.

How did they fear the lord. Two things we see in this story 250 years prior to the one we just read about in daniel. Two things in this story that we also see in our story. One the people plead with the lord for help for salvation.

They plead with him. And upon receiving the answer they respond in great praise and worship to god with great thanksgiving. Now those are evidences of wisdom evidences of the fear of the lord which is the beginning of wisdom that they would plead for god's help and then praise him and give him thanks when he blesses them.

Well the end of the story was that god went before them and he set the moabites and the ammonites and the men of mount seer against one another and they bit and devoured one another until they were consumed and god was glorified.

Sometimes wisdom looks like folly because sometimes fearing man appears to be more sure. Fearing man seems to make more sense than trusting in the lord. And we see that evidenced in our passage. And very often this is manifested as complaining upon complaining.

Here is a an awful situation that i did not sign up for something is happening that is unrighteous unjust unfair. This is totally wrong. And if we fear man rather than fearing god it comes out as complaining.

And then when nothing happens or maybe the bad situation goes away we're left with this with this outcome that feels dry and sick and we complain again. Why did we ever have to go through that complaining upon complaining.

What we see here is looking to the lord for help for salvation for deliverance pleading with the lord for his mercies and then responding with praise. So responding with thanksgiving. See those are the evidences of the fear of the lord.

And these are the expressions of wisdom. When all the children in the marketplace play wedding it looks foolish not to play along. When all the children in the marketplace play funeral you look foolish if you don't lament with them.

But jesus says wisdom is justified by her children. That we don't jump in with the complaining. We don't sing the tunes of the world. Our our way of operating doesn't look pagan but we give praise to the lord.

When your world is coming apart wait upon the lord trust him fear him. And in this way the wisdom of god alone makes sense of his world. Verses 1 through 13 we saw fools in their folly as first nebuchadnezzar trusted and then tested and then turned against his experts.

In verses 14 through 30 we are presented with the light of the world. The pagans are in despair. The king is slaughtering all of his experts. Why. Well as they told him there is no man with a word from above.

As they told him the gods do not dwell with man. So the pagans are in despair because they knew not christ not even his shadows. The best experts the empire could train the best system that they could design.

The best minds applied in concert have all failed. How many babylonians does it take to screw in a light bulb. They don't even know what light is. Because none of them fear the lord. Chaos reigns in their darkness.

Well we find daniel and his friends pleading with god in a god-fearing way. Pleading even coming before the king and his civil magistrates with a plea but fearing god all the way. The wrath of nebuchadnezzar is broke is broken through it.

It comes against his experts and his ax man. Ariok goes forth swinging this maker of kindling. And he is going to destroy the lives of the experts. And all their scraps are going to be sold off for the king's treasury.

Will anybody restrain nebuchadnezzar's hand. Who is going to say to him what are you doing. Yes god's man is going to speak god's word and god's going to do according to his will in heaven and on earth.

So there's a plea to the king. Verses 14 through 16. Then with counsel and wisdom daniel answered ariok the captain of the king's guard who had gone out to kill the wise men of babylon. He answered and said to ariok the king's captain why is the decree from the king so urgent.

Then ariok made the decision known to daniel. So daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time. Give him time that he might tell the king at the interpretation. Here is a very high stakes riddle.

As you remember daniel is a book full of riddles. This is a very high stakes riddle. Something has happened in a closed room somewhere that has resulted in you being labeled as an enemy of the state slated for execution.

You weren't in the room. You have no idea what happened. You had nothing to do with it. But now you're an enemy of the state. What do you do. You're just a sheep ruminating in your fold. And then you hear it's slaughtering day.

Now what. Well complaining seems legitimate. You know this isn't my fault. I didn't ask for this. What did you do. God bring us out here to babylon to die in the wilderness. Time for some murmuring and disputing.

Right. If you fear man. Yes there's a lion in the streets. And so fearing god says well let's go find out what he wants. Why is there a lion in the streets. Let's go find out why. He's roaming to and fro seeking someone to devour.

Let's go find out what's going on. You see the righteous are as bold as a lion. So a lion can meet a lion. So daniel goes to ariok and says what's the deal man. Why is the king's decree so hasty is a good translation of that same word.

Why is he. Why is he demanding that all the wise men of babylon die immediately. What is going on. And so ariok reads the injunction to him and explains that the babylonian health department has determined that the wise men were vermin which needed to be exterminated.

Daniel says well what's the rush. You can kill me in a couple of days. How about have a little bit of time to to work on this for the king. Maybe we can help him. So daniel goes into the king. Remember this is the king who just said all wise men will die yesterday.

I want them all dead. Daniel is one of the wise men and he walks in and says can we have a little time now. If you fear a man you don't even do this. You don't even come out from underneath your bed. Or you're writing your last will and testament full of complaints against the tyranny that is ending you.

But he goes and he asks the king for more time. What reason. What possible reason could daniel have to think that nebuchadnezzar who has said more than once his decision is firm. This man who is the most powerful man upon planet earth at the present time the one who wants everybody dead and will have his way.

What makes daniel think that he can go into the king and ask him as one of the ones slated for execution for more time which the king has denied. Specifically why does daniel think that this is going to work.

The king's heart is in the hand of the lord. The king's heart is in the hand of the lord. Like rivers of water he turns it whichever way he wishes. So daniel's not uh saying the same thing esther said.

But it fits. If i perish i perish. This is the right thing to do this. We must do this. And it's really not in the hands of the king it's in the hands of god. So he goes and he asks. And lo and behold the king.

Nebuchadnezzar says okay you get some time. So the plea to the king was really trusting in the king of kings. And now daniel went to his house verse 17 and made the decision known to hannah and michael and azariah his companions that they might seek mercies from the god of heaven concerning this secret so that daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of babylon.

Then the secret was revealed to daniel in a night vision. So daniel blessed the god of heaven. So daniel goes from pleading with the king to going home with his friends and pleading to the king of kings.

They consider together this riddle before them. And then they say we've got to go to the lord. There's no there's no other alternate. We have to go to the lord and ask for him to come through. The civil magistrate threatens to kill them and all the wise men of babylon.

Unless someone can tell the king what is in his head and what it means. And only the god of heaven can reveal that. And he does. And he does. And notice the contrast here. Nebuchadnezzar is just a king.

It would be legitimate to call him an emperor as his empire constituted many kingdoms subservient to his rule. But he is entirely outclassed by the god of heaven. What is what is nebuchadnezzar king of babylon compared to the god of heaven to whom daniel and his friends pray from whom they seek mercy.

Nebuchadnezzar holds sway over many broken subservient kingdoms on the earth. But the god of heaven has a throne which presides over the entire universe. The god of heaven not only knows what is in the mind of nebuchadnezzar he also knows what it means.

Not only that but the god of heaven put the whole thing into the mind of nebuchadnezzar in the first place and hid from nebuchadnezzar the meaning of it to put him in the tizzy that he is now in that's who the god of heaven is.

So the meaning of the dream when it finally comes out is entirely consistent with the entire situation. Lo and behold the god of heaven is sovereign over all the empires of the earth. So daniel and his friends appealed to the god of heaven to solve this lethal riddle posed to them by a king on earth.

The state is bleeding. They're going to bleed out. This whole empire is going to come crumbling down. So when daniel goes to the king and pleas with the king we need some time. A tourniquet is placed upon the gushing wound.

But that's the best that man can do. You could put on another tourniquet another one. But eventually gain green is going to set in the only hope the only healing. The only way forward is for the god of heaven to get involved and heal what is broken.

God's wisdom alone makes sense of his world. So daniel and his friends don't fear man. They fear god. And this in this we should take christ's words to heart. Matthew 10 verse 28 he says. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

God. Jesus says don't fear man. Fear god. Don't fear man. Fear god. Recognize who god is. And and when we're united to jesus christ by faith and christ being the sum of all wisdom. When we're united to christ by faith we live forever in his life his life given for us to satisfy the holy eternal justice of god.

We are to bring every fearful riddle which plagues our hearts into submission to christ. And then we find in him god's answering mercies. Wisdom teaches her children to appeal to the lord for his mercies.

And then she is vindicated in his grace and vindicated in the subsequent praises of her children which sound forth both in prayer in private and also in public. The voices of the children of wisdom drown out the chaos of the games in the marketplace.

This is what we're going to see not only in daniel 2 but also daniel 4 and following. So we have god fearing pleas in verses 14 through 19. But then god fearing praise in verses 20 through 30. Notice first of all the praise that god that daniel offers to god in prayer verses 20 through 23 daniel answered and said blessed be the name of god forever and ever.

For wisdom and might are his. And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things.

He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with him. I thank you and praise you. Oh god of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might and have now made known to me what we asked of you. For you have made known to us the king's demand the dream that daniel had.

We're going to look at the dream that daniel had is one in which the empires of the earth shift and change rise and fall. But what remains the same is the name of god. Who remains the same is the lord god.

He does not change. And he prays to the god of my fathers because he was as much god in the past as he is in the present as he is in the future. And daniel praises the unchanging god. God is not a man that he should lie or change his mind.

God is not a man that he should change his character his nature. God is not a man that he would oppose himself. He's forever their god of wisdom knowledge and light forever and ever without the slightest shift of any shadow.

We are to praise our god in his sovereign immutability. He does not change. And if we would praise him for his unchanging sovereign power what a torrent of folly we would avoid. The tyranny of capricious states is unbearable and unassailable.

We live in a world where states use diverse measures and perverse weights. Their justice is not justice. And their and their books are cooked. And it's unbearable and it's unassailable. Except that we praise our unchanging god.

We praise our unchanging god. Notice. Daniel has received what he has asked for by a show of hands. Has god ever given you in his mercy what you asked him for. Yes isn't that marvelous. God hears our prayers and in his mercy he answers and notice that when he has received this this wisdom and might this this insight and authority.

Daniel does not then notice. He does not hurry off to report to the king. Everything stops for thanksgiving. There's a holy pause for praise. Remember the whole empire is on edge. The whole empire is on edge.

Nebuchadnezzar's finger is twitching on the trigger. Ariok went home and sharpened his axe for the next day's work. Let's go daniel get to the office and fix the crisis. No this story would read very well if we skipped verses 20 through 23.

You just read verse 19 and blast away off at verse 24. You don't even notice that any step was missed. But look how important it is. Look how important it is. What god does for daniel in this moment is what god does through christ.

For all his own god gave not to nebuchadnezzar the understanding not to the experts the understanding. He gave it to these youths these youths. Matthew 11. Verses 25 through 27. At that time jesus answered and said i thank you father.

He stops in the in the chaos and the swirl of the busyness of jesus's ministry. Lepers calling out for healing demon-possessed people rolling around sick people begging for help. People who haven't eaten in a day starving hungry weakened.

Critics coming after him trying to get him to say something that'll get him arrested. Disciples quarreling with one another about who's the greatest. And jesus just stops and he says i thank you father lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to infants to babes to youths.

Even so father for it. So it seemed good in your sight. Why did you do it this way. Because god liked it that way because it pleased him. All things have been delivered to me by my father. And no one knows the son except the father.

Nor does anyone know the father except the son. And the one to whom the son wills to reveal him the grace of god. Jesus just stops everything. So we're going to have a we're going to have a we're going to put everything on a holy hold.

We're going to put the whole universe on hold for a moment. And we're just going to give thanks. We're going to praise god for his grace for his revelation of wisdom. Will you put everything on such a holy hold to offer thanks and praise to the god of heaven who has saved you through his son.

That's wisdom. That's wisdom. Story about spurgeon explaining the gospel to a woman. And she was just right at the edge dealing with her sin and the salvation in christ. And she burst out and said oh mr spurgeon if the lord saves me he shall never hear the end of it.

Yes and amen. Yes and amen. In our prayers let's put things on hold and let's be people of praise and thanksgiving to god for all of his mercies all of his grace in our lives. Christ is worthy not only in prayer but in public.

Christ is worthy. Verses 24 to 30. And as we read through we're going to hear daniel deflect praise away from himself to god even as you hear ariok happy to take the credit for saving the empire. Therefore daniel went to ariok whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of babylon.

He went and said thus to them to him do not destroy the wise men of babylon. Take me before the king and i will tell the king the interpretation. Then ariok quickly brought daniel before the king and thus it said thus to him i have found a man of the captives of judah.

I have found a man of the captives of judah who will make known to the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to daniel whose name was belteshazzar. Are you able to make known to me the dream which i have seen and its interpretation.

Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said the secret which the king has demanded. The wise men the astrologers the magicians and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a god in heaven who reveals secrets and he has made known to king nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.

Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed. Were these as for you o king thoughts came to your mind while on your bed about what would come to pass after this. And he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.

But as for me this secret has not been revealed to me because i have more wisdom than anyone living. But for our sakes you make known the interpretation to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

The pagan riddle has been unraveled. There is a god in heaven who does commune with man who does reveal truth. Ariok is like i found the solution. But daniel says god is the solution. Nebuchadnezzar sits in darkness.

He sits in a dark room. But he's about to see a great light. And as it is he asks a question that is soaked with darkness. Are you able. These experts were able. Maybe you are the expert who can solve it.

Maybe you have it within you to tell me what's going on. Daniel simply walks to the middle of the starts screwing in the light bulb into the empty socket still dark. He says. No. No man is able. No man is able.

He walks over back to the switch flips it on. And here light confronts nebuchadnezzar's pagan eyes. As daniel explains there is a god in heaven who reveals these matters. He is the source of power. He is the provider of the light.

I'm not the one you should focus on. Your problem is you don't know god. Your problem is you don't know the god of heaven. The reason why you're in darkness and in despair and there's chaos in your empire is because you don't know the god of heaven.

And isn't this the way it is with so many who live in denial of god a denial of god in our world. Their lives are full of darkness and chaos simply because they don't know god. They don't know him. They don't know his word.