So, Daniel gives the interpretation to the dream exactly as God gave it to him… telling the king in verse 27 “Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days…
Again, making sure God got the glory!
Lesson #11… He knows who to trust His words with…those with no hidden agenda.
I Corinthians 1:29 “That no flesh should glory in his presence.”
We have no boasting rights… it’s all HIM! He reveals to those who keep it about Him!
After he is finished relaying the interpretation from God we get to 2:46 that I started with ““Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.”
Which leads me to Lesson #12… When you are only seeking favor with God and not man, God brings favor with man as it fits into His plan and purpose for you. When we give our best offering of ourselves to Him with pure motives, He can cause us to stand before kings… places of honor and power to make His name great. …but only for those who aren’t seeking glory, fortune and fame from their connection with HIM… it’s all about the motives of our heart.
The next place “oblation” was used was in chapter 9:20-22 “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation."
Lesson #13… evening oblation… don’t think of prayer as a once a day thing. Make moments throughout the day to offer up sweet times of sacrifice unto Him.
In verse 3 we learn that he had been fasting… “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:”
Lesson #14… living a life set apart… along with prayer & fasting can bring angelic visitations.
Chapter 10:2-3 “In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled."
Verse 12 “And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia."
Lesson #15… Fasting brings results and causes angels to war for us in the supernatural! His words were heard from the 1st day… things were being fought in the spirit realm that He had no idea about. Everything we’ve sought God for on this fast will be answered. Even when we don’t see it before us… it is being taken care of in the unseen!
There are many more things to learn from Daniel. These are just a few. What an example to us of the power of not being entangled in the world we are living in! Daniel wrote a book of many visions that foretell the End of Days… things too deep for most of us to understand. He was the true example of a life sold out and poured out…
I think it is very note worthy that God showed me this vein of thought during the media fast. Daniel purposed in his heart not to be defiled with the kings meat. One form of the kings meat of our day is the media that we set before us. It is the world’s interpretation of how our world is… it’s so hard not to get “sucked in”. I know that we have made some permanent changes in our home. We are desperately trying to modify the amount of time we spend on entertainment… even things that are seemingly good… they are time suckers! There’s always a subtle underlying influence at work. We are crazy if we think the enemy is not continually looking for a way to infiltrate our thought processes. The greatest battle is within ourselves. We have to continually renew our minds in His Word and in His presence to keep ourselves unspotted from this world (James 1:27).
We are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We have to be aware of the enemy’s tactics. The Spirit of this World… recognize it and its pull on us and our families.
Galatians 5:16 “[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
The Amplified says “walk and live habitually in the Holy Spirit responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit…”
We have to let Him be our guide… let’s try to have a slow fade away from the things of this world that so easily entangle us and move closer to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment