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Daniel
who Interprets the Dream by the Power of God
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Daniel 2:23 (NIV)
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.
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The king of Babylon,
King Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream.
The king could not sleep but he just agonized for days because of that dream
that could not be interpreted.
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The king commanded to
know what the dream meant.
"Call all of the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers."
Right after that command, many people came and stood before the king.
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"I
have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means. "
Then the astrologers answered the king, ¡°O king, live forever! Tell your
servants the dream, and we will interpret it."
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The king looked
fierce and replied, "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
but if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts
and rewards and great honor."
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After
hearing this, they trembled and once more they replied, "O king, tell
your servants the dream, and we will interpret it." The king answered,
"My command is clear. If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one
penalty for you. You are only saying this to stall because you can't seem to
interpret the dream.
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The
astrologers answered the king, "There is not a man on earth who can do
what the king asks! No king 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."
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This
made the king so angry and furious.
"Execute all the wise men of Babylon. They are useless."
At
that time, what the king commanded, the people had to follow regardless of
whatever it was.
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Arioch, the commander
of the king's guard, took the command from the king and went out to put to
death all of the wise men of Babylon. Among the wise men of Babylon, there
was Daniel and his three friends who you must know well. If they stood still,
they would also be put to death.
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After Daniel got this
news, he asked carefully to Arioch,
"Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?"
Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.
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At
this, Daniel went in to the king and said, "My majesty, if you give me a
little bit of time, I can interpret that dream." "Are you sure that
you can interpret the dream if I give you a little while longer?" "Yes,
I am sure I can."
So,
the king gave some time to Daniel as he had requested.
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Then
Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Daniel and his friends prayed together to God,
"God give us your mercy and let us find out what the dream means. Help
us to not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon."
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During
the night, God appeared in Daniel's dream.
God
showed the whole dream that the king had and revealed the mystery to Daniel
in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.
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Daniel who got what
the dream meant through the vision went to the king and said that God lead
him to find it. Then he interpreted the dream to the king. Actually, God
showed what will happen in days to come to King Nebuchadnezzar through the
dream and let Daniel interpret it.
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After King
Nebuchadnezzar listened to Daniel about the dream and its interpretation, he
fell before 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."
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The
king lavished many gifts on him. He made him rule over the entire province of
Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, the king
appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as administrators over the province
of Babylon.
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Daniel truly believed
God. He truly believed that nothing is impossible in the power of God. God let Daniel know about the dream and to interpret it because Daniel
believed. God raised him up. We must take after Daniel's belief and hold on
to our God in every difficult situation.
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(You can change the conclusion of this sermon best suiting
to your listeners of this sermon. We want to make it clear that the provided
conclusion is only a sample conclusion provided by CTM.)
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