“The God We Serve” [Matt's Messages]

“The God We Serve”

The King of Kingdoms - The Book of Daniel

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

February 2, 2025 :: Daniel 3:1-30  

Daniel chapter 3 is about “The God We Serve.”

Last week, we said the same thing about Daniel chapter 2 and that this is obvious but it’s also easy to forget!

Daniel chapter 3 is not about Daniel. Daniel actually, surprisingly, does not appear in this chapter himself! So it’s not about him.

But it’s also not about his friends. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. I mean, it is kind of about them. They are in the story. They aren’t called Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They are called by the ugly names that their overlord captors have slapped on them.

And Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah say some amazing things in this story and they do some amazing things in this story. And some amazing things happen to them in this story! But the story is not, ultimately, about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

And it’s not about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon–as much as he tries to make the story all about him! King Nebuchadnezzar has conquered Judah and taken these young men hostage and tried to reprogram them into being Babylonians, and King Nebuchadnezzar has had a wild and wonderful dream that we studied last week, and he does crazy things in this story! But this story is not, ultimately, about him.

This story is about God. The God of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Judah. The God of the Old Covenant and the God of the New Testament. The God of the Bible. 

The God Who is! The God we are here to worship today. That’s Whom this story is all about. And at every amazing step in the story, we need to keep that in mind. Especially at the very beginning. Chapter 3, verse 1.

Let me ask you a couple questions before we read it. See what we’ve learned so far.

Here’s an easier one. How many chapters in the Book of Daniel? There are twelve. After today, we will be one quarter of the way through the chapters.

Next question. How many languages was this book written in? Two languages. Hebrew and Aramaic.

What language was this chapter written in? It was written in Aramaic, the international language spoken at court during the seventh and sixth century before Christ.

This is one of 6 chapters in the whole Bible written in the language of Aramaic. And many people could read it throughout the ancient world. It’s got an international feel and an international message to it.

Alright, here’s a harder question. According to what we read last week in Daniel chapter 2, who is the king of kings at this time? Yes, that’s a trick question. There are two right answers. The bigger answer is that God is the King of Kings. He is the King of Kingdoms! That’s the name of our series so beautifully rendered in Jeff’s graphic design.

But in chapter 2, Daniel revealed that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was the king of kings in the world at that time.

Do you remember the disturbing dream that Nebuchadnezzar had in chapter 2? And nobody could tell Nebuchadnezzar what was in his dream. And he wouldn’t let anybody tell what his dream meant until they told him what was in it?

And even Daniel couldn’t do it! But the God of Heaven could and did through Daniel.

What was the dream about?

It was about “a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance” (Daniel 2:31). And constructed of different materials each of which stood for a successive kingdom to come. And then the statue was knocked down by a hurtling rock hurled by God Himself which becomes the final kingdom, the kingdom of kingdoms. Remember that? We said that we’d come back to it as we go through Daniel.

Anybody remember what metal the head of that statue was made of? It was gold! And the head was the only kingdom that was identified in chapter 2. What or who was the head of gold?

King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of kings at that moment, was the head of gold. And now let’s read chapter 3, verse 1.  

“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.”

Something tells me that this has something to do with his dream. Do you think?

I think it has gone to his head!

We don’t know exactly when this story took place. It doesn’t have a date stamp on it like chapter 1 and chapter 2 did. It’s clearly after the events of chapter 2, but we don’t know how long after. It could actually be decades. Or it could have been very soon after. 

Either way, King Nebuchadnezzar has gotten it into his head to build a gigantic statue and to cover it with gold. It can’t be pure gold all the way through. There isn’t that much gold in the world! So it’s gold-plated. 

But this is a lot of gold on a giant statue! It’s 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. That’s really really tall and really really skinny. Perhaps some of the height is a base for the statue to sit on. We don’t know.

If the statue is supposed to look something like a human, it’s going to be really distorted. Tall and skinny. 

But shining! And imposing! And daunting! And dominating!

There are no skyscrapers at this time. This is the tallest man-made object in the world at that time. The Colossus of Rhodes will be taller when it is made a few hundred years later. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world. And this one shines in the sun! 

We don’t know what this statute looked like. It’s going to be used for worship, so we can call it an idol. But we don’t know if it’s standing for Nabu (the god that Nebuchadnezzar is named for) or Marduk also named Bel (the god that Daniel was renamed Belteshazzar after). 

Or maybe this statute looks a lot like a certain king we have heard of?! A king that has been told that he is “the king of kings” and “the head of gold.” I wouldn’t put it past him. This king is a total narcissist.

Maybe he’s built this statue to fight the dream! Maybe he’s saying, “I’m not just the head of gold. I’m gold from top to bottom! And nothing is going to topple me!” I wouldn’t be surprised.

Nebuchadnezzar has it set up outside of town in the plain of Dura. We’re not 100% sure where that was, but it sounds a lot like the plain where a few thousand years before they built the tower of Babel?

And it’s not just a feat of engineering. It’s an object of worship and national unity. Nebuchadnezzar wants to use this statue to bring his kingdom together in unity. And loyalty and allegiance. And so he invites all of his administration to the dedication on “opening night.” Verse 2.

“He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, ‘This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace” (vv.2-7).

Now there is a lot of repetition in this story, and that’s on purpose. And it’s not just to emphasize the points of the story. 

I think it’s supposed to be funny! I think it’s supposed to be comical. Kind of farcical. There’s a kind of mocking of pomposity in this story. Every time you read it, you have to chuckle, right?

The “satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials...”

The “sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music...”

Everybody who ever read this story chuckled at those parts.

And it would be really funny if it were not so deadly serious. If it were not life and death. But the rule is: you fall down and worship the image of gold or you fall down and be burned to death.

There’s a giant furnace nearby. Maybe for refining the gold that has plated this statue. I read this week that this fire could reach 1000 degrees Celsius.

And King Nebuchadnezzar has a simple rule. When the funny band plays, you worship the statue or be burnt to death. You choose.

And he’s not afraid to burn people to death. A couple of years ago, we read about some false prophets that Nebuchadnezzar had burned to death in Jeremiah chapter 29. He does this sort of thing. He’s the king of kings, and he can kill whom he wants. The threat is real. The pressure is real. And it works! Look at verse 7.

“Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.”

You know, it’s not asking that much. Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t say that you can’t worship your god at home. “Sure! You can have that god, too. And it won’t take that long. Just bow down and worship and then you can go about your business. And it will be good for the nation. It will bring us all together.” Never mind that it’s stilted and pretentious and pompous.

I would imagine that it was very tempting to go along with the crowd on this one even if you were rolling your eyes at how insecure it made the king look, even if you didn’t believe in what the statue represented. Even if you thought it was ridiculous to worship something that somebody had made!

It was easy. Everybody was doing it. “Whatever.” It was meaningless. And if you did not do it, the consequences were dreadful.

So they all did it.

Well, not all of them. Look at verse 8.

“At this time some astrologers [literally Chaldeans] came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘O king, live forever! [As if.] You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.

But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon–Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego–who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up” (vv.8-12).

Why are these guys narcing on them?

Well, for one, they emphasize that they are Jews. So there’s probably some antisemitism here. And maybe just some old-fashioned racism and hateful anti-immigrant mentality. “Those guys are not from here. I know we brought them here and gave them their names, but they are just not fitting it. They are different from us. And you can’t trust them, O king! You’ve put them in charge of things, and they aren’t listening.”

Of course, I think they are also jealous. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were promoted over them at the end of chapter 2. 

They (and Daniel) actually saved their bacon in chapter 2 with that prayer meeting and that dream miracle, but the astrologers are not returning the favor. They are turning them in.

It’s interesting to me that the king had to be told that the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had not bowed. I had it in my mind that they might have made a big show of it. Put out a press release. Posted their protest on social media. Stood in the front of the pack and while there’s hundreds of people bowing, they are standing there with their arms crossed.

But they were not making a big show of it. And Daniel wasn’t even there. We don’t know why. Maybe he was away in the king’s service. I’m sure, knowing Daniel, that he would not have bowed either. But he isn’t singled out.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are. They were just quietly disobeying and, all of a sudden, they were in big trouble.

That’s often how persecution comes. You’re trying to mind your own business. You’re trying to live a quiet and godly life and trying to get along with your neighbors and do all the things that your conscience will allow.

Many things you would never choose to do on your own. But you can do them in good conscience while you are living here as a foreigner and an exile in this world.

And then comes a command you cannot do in good conscience.

And you have to obey God rather than man.

God rather than the government.

God rather than America.

God rather than your boss.

God rather than the king.

And you have to choose.

I feel so bad for these three guys! Everything bad keeps happening to them. And now they are in really bad trouble, again. The king is really mad. Look at verse 13.

“Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? [He doesn’t give them a chance to answer. But he does give them a second chance to prove their allegiance.] Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?’ (vv.13-15).

The king’s anger is about as hot as the furnace. He’s almost out of control. He feels mocked. He chose these guys! He said that they were the best in their class. He promoted them. He likes them! And now they are stabbing him in the back. 

You can just feel the rage, can’t you? And at the back of it, the fear? If he can’t control these guys, then can he keep control of his kingdom? He’s losing face. But he gives them a second chance.

“When you hear the national worship anthem, you get on your face and you get your rear end up in the air or you burn!”

“And if you don’t, what god can rescue you from my hand?”

He should know, right? He’s already forgotten what he learned in chapter 2? He’s only remembered the parts that he wanted to about his dream. And he’s forgotten what he’d learned about the God of Heaven.

Have you remembered what this story is about?

Have you remembered WHOM this story is about?

Thankfully, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew what this story is about! They knew what story they were living in.

Do you know what story you are living in?

They only speak for three verses in this whole chapter, but what they say is awesome! Look at verse 16.

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up’” (vv.16-18).

Isn’t that awesome?! What remarkable courage!

What remarkable calm. No panic. Just like Daniel last week, these guys are not driven by fear. They are self-possessed, articulate, and clear. 

And they are courteous! They are respectful. I’m amazed at that. I might be tempted to taunt the king. If I’m going to die, I might as well get some shots in as I go. But these guys are model citizens. No apologies. No compromise. But a class act.

And they refuse to bow down.

Why? Well, this is a no-brainer for them. This is the first and second commandments. They are to have no other gods before the LORD and they are not to bow down and worship an idol that has been made.

It’s very simple. There are tricky ones, and there are simple ones, and this one is simple. “We are not allowed to comply.”

The deeper question I have is not WHY did they refuse to bow down but HOW?

How did they find the courage to keep standing?

Because I will often fold when something much less than my life is at stake. I don’t like to be burnt. 

I don’t play with fire. I wouldn’t naturally do anything that would put me in danger of getting burnt?!

My son is a firefighter. He hikes towards the fire with his chainsaw and his friends to put the fire out.

But he’s covered in protective gear and isn’t choosing to be tossed into it to die! He doesn’t jump into the heart of the fire. He doesn’t get into the furnace.

I have furnace at home. It heats the water around it to 185 degrees. I don't climb into it. These guys were choosing to be thrown into 1000 degrees. That’s 1832 degrees Fahrenheit.

These guys were choosing a fiery death rather than participating in false worship.

How do you get there? Just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s easy. How did they do this?

Well, they told us in verse 17 and verse 18.

It’s “The God We Serve.” 

They knew their God in such a way that they would not disobey Him in this way.

And I see at least four things they knew about the God we serve that put this steel in their spines. 

#1. THE GOD WE SERVE IS ABLE.

Look again at verse 17.

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.”

Now, there is some debate about the best way to translate that verse from the Aramaic, but every way that you do it, it always comes out in the end that God is able to save these three men from the flames.

They’re not actually saying that God will do it for sure. They’re not “naming and claiming” a rescue from the fire. There are no promises that God’s people will always escape death. In fact, aside from Enoch and Elijah and the generation alive when Christ returns, all of God’s people have died or will die. And some by terrible means.

We must recognize that these guys expected to die. That’s what makes it courageous, what they do!

But they also know that their God is powerful enough to save them if in His  infinite wisdom that is what is best. They know that God has given Nebuchadnezzar the power he has. He’s the head of gold because God made him the head of gold. And they know what God has done for their people for generations and generations and generations! They know their Old Testaments.

And not just what God did for their ancestors but for them personally. They know that God did the miracle of the vegetables. They got fat on water and veggies! They know that God did the miracle of the dream. The God of heaven reveals mysteries. He is able to save us.

But they also knew this:

#2. THE GOD WE SERVE IS WORTHY.

Verse 18.

“[T]he God we serve is able to save us...O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

“Our God is worthy of obedience even if he does not save us from your anger.”

He is worthy of our complete trust.

He is worthy of our unending worship.

He is worthy of our steadfast loyalty.

He is worthy of our unswerving allegiance.

He is worthy of our risk.

He is worthy of our lives.

He is worthy of our deaths.

Do you believe that?

Do you believe both of those? That He is able to save and He is worthy no matter what?

Regardless. Either way. No matter what!

The key to obedience in the face of persecution is not so much being brave. It’s being focused on the worthiness of our God. The braveness comes from that.

Sometimes I worry that if true persecution came for me, I would fold up like a cheap lawn chair.

We have had it so easy in America, as Christians. Especially those of us Christians who are white. We have had it so easy in America, as Christians. And I’m grateful for that! I’m not looking for persecution, but neither were  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It came looking for them. And I want to be ready.

And here’s how to get ready. Fill your heart with Who your God really is. He is able. And He is worthy.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know it! And they say it. And they act on it. They will not bow down.

So they will be sent into the fire. Verse 19.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace” (vv.19-23).

That’s as terrible as it sounds.

And so glorious! The story could end there, you know? The story could end with the faithful obedience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. What an example for all of us!

Dare to be a Shadrach!

Dare to be a Meshach!

Dare to be an Abednego!

It doesn’t sound as good as “Dare to be a Daniel,” but it is the same good advice.

Even if this was the end of the story, it would be a good story because it would tell how worthy the God they served is.

And how sad for those soldiers? They had bowed down, and what they did get for it? They died in the fire anyway.

But that is NOT the end of the story! Look at verse 24.

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, O king.’

He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’”

They’re not dead!

They’re walking around in the fire untied and unharmed. Not just from the flames but from the fumes! Unharmed from asphyxiation and carbon monoxide poisoning and whatever other chemicals the fire is putting out.

They aren’t dead.

And they aren’t alone!

The king is like, “Weren’t there 3 of them?

Well, now they’re 4 and it’s not Daniel, its like a divine person in there. An angel or a son of the gods. Something. I don’t know what He is.” But they aren’t alone. Let’s put it this way. 

#3. THE GOD WE SERVE IS PRESENT.

We don’t who know that fourth person is either.

Definitely could be an angel.

Could be the angel of the LORD.

Might even be God Himself in what we call a "theophany."

Or even Jesus Himself in pre-incarnate form, what we call a "Christophany."

We don’t know. It’s a miracle, and it’s a mystery. What we do know is that they were not alone.

This fourth person meant that God was present and sending them and keeping them company! What a miracle! He is more than able.

And Nebuchadnezzar is amazed. Verse 26.

“Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them” (vv.26-27).

What a great story! And it’s even greater because it’s true.

What a picture of salvation?!

What a picture of resurrection!

They went down into Hell and come back up un-scorched.

And that impressed Nebuchadnezzar.

The king does a total turnaround. Look at verse 28.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command [my command!] and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.’ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”

Again, he goes too far. Nebuchadnezzar goes overboard with his reaction just like he did in chapter 2.

But he’s getting the point.

He’s getting the answer right to his question from verse 15.

“What god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

It’s the God we serve!

He is able.

He is worthy.

They were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any God but this one. 

He is so worthy!

And He is present. And He is (number four and last) active.

#4. THE GOD WE SERVE IS ACTIVE.

He’s alive! He has His fingerprints all over this story. He has been with His people, and He’s doing stuff, often in ways we never expected and never saw coming.

These guys thought, once again, that they were going to die at the hands of the Babylonians. And here they are promoted to an even higher degree! God is active. He’s doing stuff. And they have another chance to live to serve Him.

What is the application of these truths to our lives today? I think it’s pretty obvious:

Dare to be a Shadrach.

Dare to be a Meshach.

Dare to be an Abednego.

Because you know the God you serve.

This story is about Him. We need to know Him and trust Him and love Him in such a way that when the temptation comes to disown Him and disobey Him, we have the courage to refuse.

Especially when it’s simple. Especially when it’s a no-brainer.

There are times when it’s tricky. Sometimes we don’t realize that we are bowing down to an idol.

But other times, it’s obvious, but it’s not easy to refuse. Everybody is doing it. It’s easy to go along. It doesn’t feel that bad. But we know it is. What feels bad are the consequences. We don’t want to get burnt. It feels so risky. It seems so scary. We’re afraid of what might happen to us. We’ll get burnt.

In those times, we need to know the God we serve.

***

Messages in This Series:

01. The King's Service - Daniel 1:1-21

02. The God of Heaven - Daniel 2:1-49

Bonus Message: "No Matter What" -Daniel 3:1-30 from Family Bible Week 2012 

Read More

“The God of Heaven” [Matt's Messages]

“The God of Heaven”

The King of Kingdoms - The Book of Daniel

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

January 26, 2025 :: Daniel 2:1-49  

Daniel chapter 2 is about “The God of Heaven.”

I know that’s kind of obvious, and yet it’s also quite easy to miss.

It’s easy to think that Daniel chapter 2 is about Daniel. And it is, and we need to dare to be like him. But it’s really not about Daniel.

And it’s easy to think that Daniel chapter 2 is about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And it is, and we can learn a lot from watching him in this story. But it’s really not about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

And it’s easy to think that Daniel chapter 2 is about King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and what it means. And it is, and we need to give it our attention today. But it’s not even really about this dream. 

It’s about the God of heaven. He exists, and He is the point of this whole story.

I noticed this as I read it and re-read and re-read it over and over again this week. This name for God jumped out. It’s in verse 18, 19, 37, and 44. And it’s not a name for God that is used a whole lot of other places in the Bible. Especially up to this point in the story. Just a handful of times. And then it shows up around the exile and after the exile: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel chapter 2.

“The God of Heaven.” Or some of your Bibles might say, “The God of the Heavens” (plural). That’s a legitimate translation, too. The God who is up there and above all the heavens. Even above the stars!

That’s Whom this story is all about. And therefore He’s Whom we should focus our attention on the most as we read Daniel chapter 2.

Last week, we jumped feet first into the wild and wonderful Book of Daniel. A daunting book like no other! Six wild and wonderful chapters of dangerous contests in the courts of Babylon and six wild and wonderful chapters of apocalyptic visions of the future. In two ancient languages. Six chapters of Hebrew and six chapters of Aramaic, though not necessarily the six you might expect of each. History, prophecy, and wisdom all in one book. Nothing quite like it!

Last week, we learned how the God of Judah gave the King of Judah to the King of Babylon. Do you remember this? Some of you had to miss it last week because of the weather or because you were “under the weather.” The LORD, the God of Judah gave the King of Judah (bad king Jehoiakim) into the hands of the King of Babylon, the fascinating King Nebuchadnezzar in 605BC.

And because of that, Judah had to give up some of the gold stuff in the temple of the LORD to rest in the temple of Marduk (or Bel) the God of Nebuchadnezzar. Not because Marduk had beaten Adonai! No. But because Adonai had said, “That’s enough.” Judah had broken the covenant with the LORD, and the LORD was bringing the punishments He had promised.

And that discipline included the deportation of the cream of the crop of the nobility in Judah to travel 600 miles away and be forced to attend Babylon University.

Including four young men, probably in the early teens, and their names were, what? Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Sweet young men. Forced to learn the language and literature of the Babylonians. And to take on Babylonian names based on the gods of their enemy who had just beaten them. Basically to become Babylonians in the service of the king of Babylon.

Last week, we read about the “Miracle of the Vegetables,” right? The original Veggi-Tale? Daniel quietly asked if he and his friends while they were in the three years of training could skip all the good stuff at the king’s table all the meat and wine and just eat vegetables and drink water. Probably to keep from becoming Babylonians in their hearts.

And somehow in God’s power they got fat on that! And they graduated at the top of their class. They were wiseman-in-training. Apprentice wisemen in the service of the king of Babylon.

That’s what we learned last week. We learned a lot more than that, but that’s the basic story.

The story that Kyla just began to read to us happens either just after that or even during that period of training. I think it’s just after their graduation. It happens in the second year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. And I think that’s second year in the Babylonian way of reckoning which makes this about 602 BC.

Daniel and his friends are still very young. And they are very in trouble for no fault of their own.

The story begins in the royal bedroom of the most powerful man on the planet. Look again at chapter 2, verse 1.

“In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, ‘I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means’” (vv.1-3). Stop there for a second.

Now, we’ve all had bad dreams, right? But most of us don’t call in the experts to explain them after we do. Nebuchadnezzar had some dreams so bad that he wanted help in understanding them.

In the ancient world, bad dreams were seen as bad omens. And if the most powerful man in the world was having nightmares, then maybe something terrible was going to happen.

You can just feel the fear coming off of him, can’t you? Maybe he’s had the same dream several nights in row. It’s always the same. It’s always the same. And it’s scary. “What does it mean?!” Maybe he’s been waking up in a sweat. His heart pounding. “What does it mean?!”

It’s gotten so that he can’t sleep. Maybe he doesn’t want to sleep because there’s that dream again. “What does it mean?!”

Well, when you are the most powerful man on the planet, you have a team for that. You have a team for everything! You have a set of specialists who are experts in understanding explaining the world. The top guys in their field. We could call them the “Magi.” Or the team of wisemen.

Verse 2 calls them “the magicians, the enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers.” That last one is literally the “Chaldeans” who were the leading ethnic group know for their grasp of astrology.

Is Daniel in this room? No, he’s not. That’s because he’s not the top guy. He’s just a Hebrew teenager who is at the top of his game. But he’s not here. These are all Babylonians. The cream of their crop. But we’re going to soon find out that their best is not even close to good enough.

The king says, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”

And they say, “No problem! That’s why we are here.” Verse 4.

“Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic [CSB: “Aramaic begins here:”], ‘O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.’”

Note that in verse 4 we begin our second language for this book. The first chapter was in Hebrew. Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are going to be in Aramaic which was becoming the world language of the day. Like English is around the world right now. And these chapters will be about the whole world in some ways. 

Your Bible might say the language starting in verse 4 is “Syriac” because the Greeks called the land of Aram, “Syria” so their language was called Syriac by some. Some of your Bibles may call it the language of the “Chaldees” which was Aramaic. After the exile, Aramaic became the leading language of the Israelites. Many forgot their Hebrew altogether. That’s what most Israelites spoke in Jesus’ day, including Jesus!

The wisemen say, “No problem with this request, O king, live forever!” (Which is interesting. Because the king is, of course, not going to live forever. But nobody wants to say that around the most powerful man on the planet.)

They say, “No problem. Tell us the dream, and we will consult our books.”

You see it’s not necessarily that they were fakers. They probably weren’t going to just make something up. They had these extensive manuals full of dreams recorded by men and what happened after the dreams so that if someone had a dream, they had these experts in dreamology who could give an expert interpretation. So, “Lay it on us, O king. We’ll get you fixed up.”

But here’s where Nebuchadnezzar throws a wrench into the works and makes this little crisis into a matter of life and death. Look at verse 5.

“The king replied to the astrologers, ‘This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me’” (vv.5-6).

Oh. That’s a lot harder, isn’t it? He wants them to tell him what his dream was and then what it means. Or else.

Notice the brutality here. Nebuchadnezzar is scared. So he wants everyone else to feel scared. And it’s no empty threat. This guy kills people every day. Sometimes probably just for kicks.

“So here’s the deal. If you tell me what I dreamed and get it right and explain to me what it is and get that right, then you get to live and be showered with gifts and rewards and honors.

And if you don’t, then you get dismembered and have your houses demolished. That’s the deal.”

They don’t like that deal. Not one bit. Verse 7.

“Once more they replied, ‘Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.’”

You know this story is almost funny but it’s not funny. Because it’s true. "O king, we are interpreters not prophets. I hope you’re joking here.”  Nebuchadnezzar says, “No joke. And don’t joke with me.” Verse 8.

“Then the king answered, ‘I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me’” (vv.8-9).

I think he may be onto them. He’s suspicious at least. He’s not sure that they have any real wisdom! They’re just stalling for time and hoping that he’ll change his mind.

“I’m not going to change my mind. Tell me my dream, or else.”

I think it’s interesting that if they can tell him what the dream was, then he’ll believe whatever they say it means. “If you can do the hard part of telling me what’s in my head, then I’ll trust you to tell me what it all meant.”

And they say, “We can’t do that. Nobody can do that.” verse 10.

“The astrologers answered the king, ‘There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.’”

That’s very honest! And it’s devastating. They are scared stiff.

By the way, this is a picture of all of the wisdom of the world. There’s lots of knowledge out there. Lots of information. But there’s very little wisdom of real value. And those who claim to be wise are actually running scared. Those who claim to be powerful are quaking in their boots. And nobody really knows anything.

And it’s also a challenge, isn’t it?  When the astrologers go off saying, “No one can do this,” you know that Daniel’s going to pull it off somehow. That’s a great story!

And when they say, “No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men,” our minds just run to John chapter 1, don’t they? John 1:14 about Christmas.

The Word [the Son of God] became flesh and made his dwelling among us...” But that’s getting way ahead of the story!

The wiseman say, “No can do.” And so the king says, “You all die.” V.12

“This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. [And that includes the wisemen who just graduated from college.] So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death” (vv.12-13). Verse 14.

“When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.  He asked the king's officer, ‘Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?’ Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him” (vv.14-16).

Remember, Daniel is still a very young man. But he’s an exceptionally wise and godly young man. He has resolved to not defile himself, and he’s been keeping his resolution.

And here, he does not panic. You see that? This is the only guy who speaks in this story who is not scared. Daniel is not afraid. Even though he just found out that he’s supposed to die today.

Dare to be a Daniel and not be driven by fear!

Daniel and his friends are in deep trouble, and they haven’t done anything. They are just in a class people who are getting swept up in the king’s anger and fear. But the Bible says that he spoke up with wisdom and tact.

Dare to be a Daniel and speak up with wisdom tact!

He listens the story and decides to act boldly. Verse 16 says that he went in to the king. Maybe in person. Maybe it means he sent a message asking for a stay on that ruling. He’s not stalling and hoping the problem will go away, he’s just asking for a little time to solve the problem. And he gets it.

We just saw two more little miracles here, by the way. Arioch was supposed to kill Daniel, not talk to him! And Daniel was supposed to be dead not getting an extension on their homework. I think that maybe God is at work?

By the way, if this was me, I would be so depressed. Here I had just lived for three years on vegetables and water and just went through this massive training course by my enemies that I hated so much. And at the end of all that, I’m going to be killed because their wisemen couldn’t tell the king what he dreamed last night?! Really?!

But instead of despair, Daniel got busy for the LORD.

Dare to be a Daniel and get busy for the LORD.

And call a prayer meeting.

Look at verse 17. This is what Daniel needed the extra time for. A prayer meeting. Verse 17.

“Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He 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” (Vv.17-18).

Dare to be a Daniel and take it to the Lord in prayer.

I have four points this morning about The God of Heaven. One for each time He is named that in this chapter. And here’s the first one.

#1. THE GOD OF HEAVEN GRANTS MERCY.

The God of Heaven dispenses mercy, that’s why Daniel and his friends are bold to pray for it!

They need help, and they need it bad! They can’t stop what is coming for them on their own.

That’s what mercy is. Mercy is doing something for someone that they couldn’t do on their own. For a bunch of different reasons. Because they don’t have the power. Because they don’t have the worthiness. Because they don’t have the ability. Because they are broken in some way. Mercy sees a problem and has compassion and does something about it. You’re merciful if you do something for someone that they need but maybe don’t deserve. 

And Daniel knows that His God, the God of Heaven is full of mercy.  He’s holy, holy, holy! And He is no pushover. He is not to be trifled with. But you can ask, and He may show favor. He may show compassion. He just may show mercy. The Apostle Paul said that our God is “rich in mercy.” 

And we know that, most of all, because of what God did for us on the Cross, what we could not do for ourselves.

And Daniel and his friends were so right to pray for that mercy. 

Perhaps you need mercy right now. The forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life? And perhaps something else. Some heavy, scary problem that you can run to with your friends.

Notice that Daniel is not alone. We say, “Dare to be a Daniel. Dare to stand alone.” And that’s right if you have to be alone. But right then Daniel was not alone. He was praying with his friends.

Dare to be a Daniel and have a prayer meeting with your friends.

Because the God of Heavens grants mercy. That’s exactly what He did. Look at verse 19.

“During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.”

#2. THE GOD OF HEAVEN REVEALS MYSTERIES.

That night, God, in His mercy, showed Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed and what it meant!

And that’s another miracle. The God of heaven reveals mysteries.

And I love what Daniel does right after this miracle! The first thing he does is not to run off to the king and try to save his life and friends’ lives. No, the first thing Daniel does is give praise to the God of Heaven! V.19 again.

“Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: ‘Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I 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’” (vv.19b-23).

Isn’t that beautiful? It’s like a psalm.

Dare to be a Daniel and hold off saving your life to sing God’s praises first.

Notice what Daniel says about Who God is. He’s the “God of heaven” (v.19) and He has wisdom and power. He has control over times and seasons (eras). He has control over politics. He sets up kings and deposes them. More on that in just a second. 

And He reveals mysteries. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 

Which is a dig on the wisemen of Babylon, isn’t it? They don’t have it. Daniel and his friends do because of God’s mercy. Look closely at verse 22.

“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Jenni put that on the cover of our worship bulletins today. This says that God knows all the things, and He tells us some of them.

God knows all the things, and He tells us some of them.

God knows all the secrets there are. “He knows what lies in the darkness.”

He knows your secrets and mine. He knows what we dreamed last night even if we don’t remember it! He knows what we were thinking in our deepest thoughts even if we haven’t told anyone.

He knows what’s going to happen! And He tells us some of it. “Light dwells with Him.” Illumination.

What does that mean for you and me today? It means that we should seek the LORD’s revelation. And, today, the clearest revelation of the LORD is right here in our hands! The Bible is special revelation from God! He’s told us what we need to know. He’s gotten it written down in this book! And it’s been translated into our own language. I barely can read Hebrew. I can’t read Aramaic. But this is written in English! And God’s revelation.

Are you reading your Bible in 2025? Are you asking the LORD to give you wisdom and knowledge and discernment? He’s got those things. The world does not! And He’s giving them to us if we seek Him.

Do you spend more time on Netflix than you do in your Bible?

Do you spend more time on YouTube than you do in your Bible?

Do you spend more time on TikTok than you do in your Bible?

Why in the world?! Is that where wisdom is?!

I know you can get Bible on Netflix and YouTube and TikTok. That’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying are you seeking the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of Babylon which, in the end, is full of fear, anger, and brutality? Or are you seeking the God who “reveals deep and hidden things?” I don’t know about you, but I want the light that dwells with Him.

Then Daniel took this light to the king. Look at verse 24.

“Then 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.’”

Which is really gracious, isn’t it? He could have wiped out his entire competition in one fell swoop. They will not treat him with the same graciousness in the future. But he is trying to save the day for many and not just him and his friends. Almost unbelievably, young Daniel is granted an audience with the king. Verse 25.

“Arioch 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.’ [Which of course, he did no such thing. As if he was searching for this and not having it handed to him. But whatever, Arioch. V.26]

The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), ‘Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?’

Daniel replied, ‘No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about...but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come” (vv.26-28).

Dare to be a Daniel and speak up with courage even before the most powerful man in the world.

Courage and humility! Notice that Daniel says that he doesn’t have what it takes on his own to explain the mystery to the king. Unlike Arioch, Daniel does not take credit for what he’s about to say!

He says, “Your wisemen were right. They can’t do this. None of us can do this! But I know Someone who can. And it’s not Marduk. It’s not Bel, whom you have named me after. They are no help here." Verse 28 again.

“...but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.”

King Nebuchadnezzar, in your dreams, God has shown you the future. 

Isn’t that wild that God did that?! He didn’t have to. There’s no rule that the most powerful person in the world gets a dream that explains the future from now to the end of history. But He did for Nebuchadnezzar! While the LORD was disciplining His people in exile, He made sure that the ruler of the world got this message and that a Hebrew got to interpret it and get it written down for the ages.

The God of Heaven reveals mysteries including what is going to happen in the future.

And now we know the future!

Daniel tells the king his own dream. Verse 28.

“Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these: 

‘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.

As 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.

‘You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.

The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

‘This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king” (vv.28-36).

Just pause there for a second and that let the picture of that dream soak in.

Wow, right?! Just, wow!

This is the first vision in the book and the only one really in the first half of the book (and the only on in Aramaic). And it’s similar to visions in the rest of the book, especially the one in chapter 7 where our memory verse comes from. And Daniel says it’s about the future.

I’m not going to put my picture of this statue up on the screen, but you might want to draw your own. 

There’s this colossal statue in the dream.

“Enormous, dazzling, awesome in appearance.” It’s probably bright and beautiful and imposing. Scary! Towering!

And it’s made different kinds of substances, mostly metal. There’s like 4 different parts to the statue.  

The head is gold.

The chest and arms are silver.

The belly and thighs are bronze. This is kind of going downhill isn’t it? Maybe each metal is stronger than the last but less valuable.

And the legs are iron and the feet with the legs are iron with some clay mixed in.

Clay?

Clay and iron mixed together? That’s not gonna work.

This is, by the way, where we get the phrase, “He has feet of clay.”

Crumbly. 

Because the king saw this rock.

It’s cut out of like a mountainside? But it’s not cut with human hands. This is out of this world. It’s not cut by us. It’s cut by God! And it’s gone flying. This rock is hurtling at the statue and hits the feet and smashes them. So much for the iron and the clay!

And the whole statue falls down and breaks into pieces! And then blows away.

So there’s no trace. Not a trace of any of the statue left. Not even gold dust.

Just the rock.

And the rock grows.

And the rock grows.

And the rock grows.

And the rock grows.

And it becomes a huge mountain that fills the whole earth!

No wonder Nebuchadnezzar was freaked out. "What does it mean?!"

And Daniel says, ‘This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king...” Verse 37.

“You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold” (vv.37-38).

#3: THE GOD OF HEAVEN RAISES UP AND TAKES DOWN KINGS AND KINGDOMS.

Let me ask you a trick question. I was going to ask it at the beginning of this message, but then I decided to wait until the answer was a little bit more obvious.

Trick question: According to Daniel chapter 2 who is the king of kings?

It’s a trick question. There are two right answers. One more important than the other. But verse 37 says that Nebuchadnezzar was “the king of kings.” He truly was the most powerful man in the world at that time. All of the kingdoms nearby were under him. Even over the beasts of the field and birds of the air. He was the ruler. He was the top dog.

He was the head of gold!

Why? Because the God of Heaven had given him that dominion, power, might and glory. Not Marduk. Not Bel. Not Nabu.

The God of Heaven. Verse 22 told us that He sets up kings!

Ultimately, the only reason why Nebuchadnezzar sat on that throne in Babylon was that God had put him there. And that should make him humble and worried about accountability. With massive power comes massive responsibility. 

It doesn’t make him humble. Power is a heady drug. We’re going to see that again and again in this book. These kings are full of overweening pride. But their power comes from the God of Heaven. And so will their downfall. Verse 39.

“‘After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron–for iron breaks and smashes everything–and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.

Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay” (vv.39-43).

Aha. So each of these parts of the statue are kingdoms. Not just a king (like Nebuchadnezzar) but a kingdom.

Each one less valuable but maybe more strong and lasting than the previous one. Gold, silver, bronze, iron (iron mixed with clay). That last one is incredibly destructive while still being incredible unstable.

Which kingdoms are these kingdoms?

That’s a good question! And it has kept Bible scholars busy for the last 2,600 years. 

Notice that Daniel does not say. The only identification that Daniel makes here in chapter 2 is the head of gold. That’s King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. The others are not identified.

You may have been taught that it is obvious. And I do think there are some good arguments for the leading options. I’m sure we’ll get into them in the days to come.

But what I want to emphasize today is that they keep going down.

King Nebuchadnezzar does not live forever! 

He’s not the King of Kings forever.

There’s a kingdom after him (v.39).

And a kingdom after that.

And a kingdom after that.

Next, next, next.

Kings and kingdoms rise and fall. And the God of Heaven is behind it all. These earthly kingdoms, as powerful as they are, are going to pass away. And that goes for the Kingdom of America, too.

And that should give us all humility and perspective about what’s important. Don’t be impressed with worldly power! (Or worried about it for that matter.)

The God of heaven raises up kings and kingdoms for a time and then He lays them down. And He lays them down flat!

And one day, He will smash them all to pieces. 

In the dream, the whole statue, even though it’s different kingdoms, is one statue. They are all tied together. The kingdoms of this world.

And what happens to the statue? Verse 44.

“‘In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands–a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy’” (vv.44-45).

Last point and then we’ll get to eating and rejoicing over what the God of Heaven has done among us last year. Number four.

#4. THE GOD OF HEAVEN LAUNCHES HIS OWN KINGDOM OF KINGDOMS.

Verse 44 says that God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. 

Unlike Babylon and all the other earthly kingdoms, there is no kingdom after this kingdom. Nobody else gets it. There are no successors. This kingdom is final. This kingdom lasts. This kingdom persists. This kingdom endures forever.

This kingdom is unstoppable. It’s unbeatable. It crushes all those other kingdoms and brings them to an end! 

How does this happen? When does this happen?

Those are good questions, and Christians disagree on the finer points. A lot of the timing depends on the answer to the question, “Which are ‘those kings’ in verse 44? Is there a difference between the legs and the toes?” And I’m sure we’ll get into that more as we go along.

What I want to emphasize today is that it will happen. Not when or how but that.

Daniel says in verse 45, “The great God has shown the king what WILL take place in the future.” This dream will come true.

This indestructible kingdom of kingdoms will come. Definitely. Guaranteed by the God of Heaven Himself!

Because it’s His kingdom!

That’s what it means that the rock is cut out but not by human hands. This kingdom is the kingdom of the God of Heaven!

And He’s the point of this story!

The God of Heaven launches His own kingdom at the other kingdoms so that they are crushed to pieces, and in the end, His kingdom is all that remains. That’s going to happen! The God of heaven has revealed it.

Probably in some ways He’s already started it. Because we know that the Ultimate King of Kingdoms has come and has received all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:19). And we pray that His kingdom comes and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

And one day soon, the mountain of the kingdom will come in all of its world-filling fullness!

“The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.”

And what happened next? Remember, how this story started. What Kyla read to us? The story started with Daniel and his friends about to be killed. And here he is before his judge, jury, and executioner. The king has the all the power. And Daniel has poured out these words. Will the king now kill him? Verse 46.

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. [He goes too far overboard the other way.] The king said to Daniel, ‘Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.’

Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court” (vv.46-49).

I don’t think that Nebuchadnezzar really listened very hard. After he heard Daniel recite his dream correctly and found out that he was the head of gold, I think he tuned out. I don’t think really came to love and trust in the LORD at this point.

But he gladly admits and acknowledges that the God of heaven is the King of Kingdoms.

And so must we!

***

Messages in This Series:

01. The King's Service - Daniel 1:1-21

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LEFC Pastor's Report: 2024 in Review

Lanse Evangelical Free Church exists to glorify God

by bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ

through worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service.

Celebration Sunday - October 2024

The Annual Pastoral Report

Pastor Matt Mitchell

Year in Review: 2024

Dear Church Family,

I am incredibly grateful to be your pastor. It’s difficult to believe that this is my 27th annual report for you. We have been on a wonderful adventure serving King Jesus together for over 26 years now. Thank you for entrusting me with the responsibility of shepherding this flock. It is a great joy and a privilege which I do not take lightly.

I find that writing my report each year helps me to gain a much-needed perspective. It’s easy to focus only on what’s right in front of me and miss what the Lord has done in the past and might be doing in the future. This last year we celebrated our 132nd anniversary as a church. We have been very blessed in so many ways, and it’s important to stop, give thanks, and reflect.

New Territory

In many ways, 2024 was a year much like previous years for LEFC. We didn’t experience extreme disruption. We didn’t change how we do everything. Our leaders led. Our ministries ministered. Our bills got paid. We met on Sundays. We focused on worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service. We kept the main thing the main thing. There was a lot of steadiness in ministry for which I am very grateful.

And yet, this past year, we also entered into a lot of new territory as a congregation.

Jordyn Skacel - Director of Family Ministry

Perhaps the most obvious new territory is that we called our first Director of Family Ministry. After a long and twisty search process, we were led by the Lord to an ideal candidate! Jordyn Skacel was installed in August in this brand new part-time role, and I am eager to see what the Lord is going to do through her leadership over our ministries to children, youth, and parents in the days to come. Jordyn and her Family Ministries Team have already led us into new territory with an Egg Hunt outreach in the spring and a discipleship retreat for families in the fall! 

Jordyn is a terrific addition to our existing church staff, and we are all enjoying collaborating together. Jenni English completed her first year as our administrative assistant and brought both a trustworthy dependableness and an innovative approach to how we get things done in the office. Cindy Green continued to cheerfully clean up our messes and help manage our facility. Leading a busy staff this size is new territory for me, and I would appreciate your prayers as I grow in my abilities as a manager. 

Malawi Team

Keith, Stephanie, and Mary Beth definitely entered new territory when they flew across the Atlantic Ocean to share God’s love and our love with the people of Malawi. Our Malawi Team served alongside our missionaries, Fred and Cindy Cressman, and their friends at Community Impact Malawi. Thank you for prayerfully supporting them on this new venture. It was a stretching experience for them and for us which I expect to have long-lasting impact both in the “warm heart of Africa” and in the warm heart of Lanse Free Church.

Lanse Free Fridge

We also certainly entered into some new territory when we decided to offer a community fridge and pantry at the Ark Park to give our neighbors a good place to share God’s good gifts with each other. I love how the Lanse Free Fridge communicates our love for our neighbors and facilitates healthy community relationships. I was delighted to see how it took off right from day one! As with all new territory, there will probably be some unexpected problems along the journey, but our church family and our community have already clearly embraced this fresh concept. I am thankful for Holly and Cody’s determined vision for combating food waste and hunger, meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of our neighbors. I look forward to seeing where the Lord leads us all next!

Participation Growth

In 2024, we entered into new territory for the number of people who participate regularly in worship together as Lanse Free Church. Our average attendance at worship grew another 15.4% to 164 people per Sunday. That’s the most people we’ve ever had worshiping with us in my time here as your pastor (the previous “record” was 149 people per Sunday in 2013). In the last three months of 2024, we were averaging 171 people per Sunday. The lowest attended Sunday was October 13th (103 people) and the highest attended was Resurrection Sunday (March 31st) with 250 people counted (50 more people than the previous year). We certainly are growing.

Even though those numbers are very encouraging, they don’t really tell the whole story of just how big our worshiping community has become. We have many more than 164 people who call our church “home.” It seems like it’s almost a different 164 people each Sunday! Our attendance team tracked 411 distinct people who came onto our campus on Sunday mornings in 2024. (The previous year was 293, a 40% increase!) Some of those were one-timers or out-of-town guests, but we had 257 different people who attended on average at least once per month.

With this new territory of growth also comes new challenges. Things become more complex. It’s hard to keep track of everyone. It’s harder to foster community. A bigger group means bigger problems. Last year, in my annual report, I highlighted King Jesus’ new command to us that we must love one another as He has loved us. I’m grateful to report that I saw our church family love one each other in big and small ways throughout the year! From simply greeting one another and praying for one another’s needs, to funding the teens’ trip to Challenge, through the building of the Lanse Free Fridge and the sending of the Malawi Team (along with a love-gift to feed Malawians that was four times our goal!), to being patient with one another and bearing with one another, our church family followed our Lord’s example of sacrificial love (John 13:34-35).

It’s familiar territory for me, but I am so proud to be your pastor.

Blessings Upon Blessings

2024 was a year of joyful weddings. We celebrated the blessing of marriage with seven brand new couples: Reece & Hannah, Jim & Janell, Peter & Macy, Jeremiah & Jordan, and Casey & Emigh. That has got to be some kind of a record for LEFC, and several more twosomes got engaged!

The Lord is blessing our church family with more babies. Darren and Judy were given Ada, and Abe and Jordyn were blessed with River. And there are at least three more on the way in 2025!

The Lord blessed us with ten baptisms this year! We celebrated the sign of salvation with Landen, Treiton, Keagan, Katie, Maria, John & Kara, Alexis, Cayli, and Janell.

We were blessed to be led by faithful church leaders in 2024. I had the privilege of serving alongside a bang-up team of Elders: Keith Folmar (chairman), Cody Crumrine (vice-chairman), Abraham Skacel, and Keith Hurley. I enjoy attending Elders’ Meetings, praying with each other, and working together to provide vision and leadership for the congregation. On top of that, we, along with our wives, take turns meeting with the young people for Snack and Yack on Sundays to help them get the most out the sermon. 

All of our various ministry teams had faithful leaders who carried the responsibilities on their shoulders, including some who have done it for many years. Read the rest of this annual report to get a snapshot of what the Lord was doing through them in 2024.

One of the more unusual blessings of 2024 was the “Great Clean Out” and “Challenge Thrift Store.” All of our ministries worked together to get rid of the things we’ve accumulated over the years to free up space for ministry and to share the leftover useful items with those who wanted them in exchange for a gift to send our teens to the Challenge Conference. Everybody benefitted!

I’m pleased that our teens got to return to the 2024 Challenge Conference after missing the last few. And I’m very encouraged that they came back from the mountain top with a serious desire for serious growth in seriously following King Jesus together. May that be true for us all.

Pastoral Ministry

I love what I get to do as your pastor. I especially enjoy the variety of activities I get to engage in, most of which fall under three main headings: preaching, equipping, and shepherding.

Preach the Word

I love to study and teach God’s Word. Thank you for setting me to this task, for listening closely on Sundays, and for applying the preaching to your own lives.

In 2024, we completed our sermon series on The Gospel According to John. From John chapters 6 through 21, we learned more about how there is true, abundant, and eternal Life in Jesus’ Name! I also got to share John’s message that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life at the 2024 West Branch High School Baccalaureate. The timing of the Gospel of John sermon series was interesting because we ended up centering on the Cross and the Empty Tomb during the holidays when we often focus on giving thanks, the coming of Christ, and the Incarnation. The juxtaposition was striking and brought out new significance to the whole story! At the end of the year, we had a brief though illuminating study of the Bright Star of Bethlehem–predicted in the Torah, fulfilled in the Gospels, and fully realized in the Apocalypse. Jesus is stellar in every way.

We were blessed with nourishing preaching from other solid Bible teachers in 2024. Our own Joel Michaels, Abraham Skacel, and Keith Hurley, our missionaries Donnie Rosie and Fred Cressman, district pastor Joel Zaborowski, and our district superintendent Kerry Doyal all taught us something vital, encouraging, and challenging this year.

Equip the Saints

It’s a good thing I like meetings because I spend a lot of time at them. I also spend a lot of time reading and sending messages to church leaders to support our ministry teams in doing their important work. I love supporting ventures like the Wild Game Dinner, Men’s Breakfast, Family Bible Week, Good News Cruise, Malawi Team, Lanse Free Fridge, and so many more. 

I’m very encouraged to see so many of our newer members stepping into ministry and even leadership roles! As we grow, we have a beautiful blend of younger and more seasoned leaders working together which is incredibly important for the future of our church. 

Also as we grow, my role as an equipper is changing. Now that we have Jordyn directing our Family Ministries, I do less direct work in that area and more empowering her to do it. At the same time, I get to stay involved in things like Snack and Yack and writing many of the “dessert” recommendations for discipleship-minded parents in The Family Table newsletter.

 

My equipping ministry extends beyond our immediate church family, to our associational family of churches, the EFCA. I continued to serve as the Chairman of the Allegheny District Constitutions and Credentials Board in 2024. I got to participate in a double credentialing council for two pastors in one weekend back in March and assist a handful of churches who want to associate with us by reviewing their governing documents. I also got to help lead the Stay Sharp Theology Conference, and Heather and I were privileged to be the speakers for the 2024 Pastors and Wives Retreat in October. 

On the national level, I continued to serve as the Book Review Coordinator for the EFCA Blog and as a member of the EFCA Spiritual Heritage Committee (SHC). In October, the SHC met on the campus of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, our EFCA seminary in Illinois (and my alma mater!). It was good to see the progress our school is making especially at raising up well-educated leaders for the global church. As a member of the SHC, I also got to provide editorial input for Evangelical Heritage: From Immigrants to a Church of All People—The Story of the Evangelical Free Church of America by Dr. David M. Gustafson which is set to be published early in 2025. Evangelical Heritage is the second book in the essential EFCA trilogy to help readers understand the theological, history, and unique ethos of our beloved association of churches. 

In September, I got to visit Valley Church in Des Moines Iowa to speak to their large ministry staff about cultivating a gossip resistant church. Valley Church will be the site of EFCA One next summer. Thank you for gifting some of my time to our wider family of churches.

Shepherd the Flock

As your pastor, I love to be involved in your lives. Thank you for inviting me to watch your kids’ games, concerts, and shows. (I’m glad I have a season pass at West Branch!) It’s a privilege to visit you in the hospital, to share a meal with you, or provide you some counsel.

Because it was such a year of weddings, Heather and I did a lot of pre-marital counseling. At one point, we were making appointments with three different couples! That’s a record for us and a great joy.

The Lord gives, and He also takes away, including deeply beloved church members. In 2024, I led funerals and memorial services for LeRoy Nearhhood, Conlee Isaacson, Robert Lockman, Jr., Jonalie Evans, Randy Killion, and Roper Houston, Sr and spent meaningful time with John Walter in his last days. I also walked alongside couples who had experienced the pain of miscarriages and infant death.

Shepherding can be hard but is holy work. Thank you for allowing me into your lives to represent the Great Shepherd (John 10:14-18).

A Personal Note

This year was significant for Heather and me as we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. We traveled out west to visit our son Andrew who is a wildland firefighter in Washington, to visit Heather’s Canadian family, and to vacation where we got married on June 18, 1994. 

Even more significantly in 2024, we gained a delightful daughter-in-law as our son Peter got married to Macy on August 10th! We have been praying for Macy for twenty-one years, long before we knew her name. I had the privilege of officiating the ceremony for the new Mitchells, and their wedding reception culminated in a giant spray of fireworks–a perfect symbol of their rocketing joy and ours. We couldn’t be happier.

Our daughter Robin spent 2024 preparing for a career in animal care and veterinary medicine. She took an excellent internship at a animal rescue and rehabilitation center in Washington and then also moved to Indianapolis to pursue a degree as a vet tech.  

Our son Isaac flew across the ocean for a short-term Bible, theology, and ministry course at Capernwray Hall in England. We’re excited to see where the Lord leads him next.

My parents, Chuck and Anita, sold their house in Ohio and set up a home in our area. We’re looking forward to having them around a lot more in the warm-weather months.

Thank you for praying for our whole family this last year. We feel loved and fully supported. Thank you, also, for continuing to strongly support the Allegheny District which supplies me with my pastor. Kerry listens to me closely (and frequently!), and he speaks wisdom into my life. Pastors need pastors, too, and I have one with a servant’s heart.

And thank you, once more, for providing my three-month sabbatical back in 2023. The positive effects of that deep rest still carry on strongly today. It was the re-set that I truly needed. I am blessed to be your pastor, not just because I love taking good care of you, but because you take good care of me.

Vision for 2025 - Serving the King

The first word that came to my mind when I thought about the year we are now facing was “serving.” 

In 2025, we have a number of things planned that call us to serve others:

- We are planning to serve the people of Hazard Kentucky who were severely affected by flooding a few years ago by sending two ministry teams on two different weeks this coming summer.

- We are planning to serve our neighbors with the first full year of the Lanse Free Fridge. It’s so popular right now that we need to raise a small army of “fridge checkers” to keep it tidy and update its social media.

- We are expecting to serve many families through new initiatives that Jordyn and her team are cooking up.

- We are hoping to erect a pavilion at the Ark Park to serve our congregation and our community with an improved place to gather and enjoy each other’s company outdoors yet in the shade.

In fact, all of the hopes and dreams you read from each of the ministries in this report will require people to serve for them to become a reality.

Thankfully, serving is one of the things our church does best! We have a church that overflows with humble servants who put others ahead of themselves and Jesus first. Serving is not new territory for Lanse Free Church.

Yet, as our church family is growing so much more, this may become difficult in some perplexing ways. We may experience growing pains which require serving others in ways we wouldn’t do naturally. 

Amazingly, our own King showed us how to do it. Jesus said that He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). So my encouragement for all who participate in our church is to follow our own King’s example by finding where our service is needed and stepping up and kneeling down to fill those needs.

And to do it for the glory of the King of Kingdoms! I’m glad we’re starting 2025 focused on the vision of the matchless eternal kingdom that has been given to our Lord (Daniel 7:13-14). May His kingdom come and His will be done in Lanse Free Church as it is in heaven and will be on earth (Matthew 6:10).

A Vision for 2045?

Earlier, I said that writing my report helps me with perspective. So does reading my old reports! I recently re-read my pastoral report from twenty years ago that reviewed our ministry together in 2005. It was intriguing to see how much has changed from then and how much has not. In 2005, we were growing in attendance and focused on making disciples, we took in several new members, we got a new administrative assistant, I preached through an Old Testament book (Exodus) and spoke at the West Branch Baccalaureate Service (for the first time), Keith & Heather got married, and we paved the parking lot! It was a big year for LEFC. Perhaps the most interesting point of comparison with today was that we were seriously contemplating a search for a second staff person in the realm of...family ministry!

Fascinatingly (at least for me ☺), at the end of my report about 2005, I shared a vision for ministry in 2025. That sure seemed like a long way off! That year, Heather and I had set a goal of serving here for another twenty years for a total of 27 if the Lord should lead and tarry so long. That is now a goal we will reach, Lord-willing, this coming June.

[By the way, our current goal (not a promise, but a goal) is to serve here at least until I retire–if the Lord allows and you all continue to think it is best.]

Back then I wrote, “I desire for the church to grow in quality, quantity, effectiveness, and influence because of that kind of pastoral longevity.” And, praise God, I believe we have! I also offered a twelve-point list of hopes and dreams that I had for LEFC by 2025 and published them on my recently launched “weblog.” I am deeply encouraged that I can see how more than half of them have come to fruition in meaningful ways.

Looking back like that makes me think about looking forward another twenty years to 2045. If the Lord tarries and gives us that time together, I will have had a 47-year ministry here and be 72 years old. 

I’m sure that in 2045 our ministry together will look very different in many ways. Will we have a new lead pastor (or pastors!)? I hope so! I’ll probably be retired, or at least part-time. Will the children of our current leaders be the leaders then? Will I have preached through all of the books of the Bible (probably not, as I have so many left!)?

At the same time, I hope nothing essential will have changed in 2045. I hope that LEFC will still be keeping the main thing the main thing. I hope we will have the same mission and message. I hope that we will be making disciples with a life-changing relationship with King Jesus. I hope that our families will be thriving because of some of the investments we are making right now. I hope the Bible is being believed and taught in our pulpit, classrooms, and living rooms. I hope we are reaching the world. I hope that we are serving our community. I hope we have hundreds of visitors to our Lanse campus each year, playing on our Ark Park, eating at the pavilion, and maybe sharing free food at the Free Fridge.

And I hope we’re also doing these things in ways and levels I can’t even imagine right now.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

As I wrote back then, “Who knows the future? Only God does. Thankfully, we belong to Him through Jesus Christ. So we can expect good things from His gracious hand.”

In His Grip,

-Pastor Matt

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