Practical Proverbial, from Daniel, 18 May 2021 Today’s topic: The Gospel

“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 its interpretation is trustworthy.”  Daniel 2:44-45 (NIV).

“Preach Gospel all the time. Use words when necessary.”  That is, supposedly, a quote from St. Francis of Assisi (my favorite of the Catholic saints).  It’s a quote that I told to a Sunday School class  this past weekend.   It’s a quote whose concept would have been familiar to Timothy, and Paul.   And, it would have been easily understood by Daniel, who did it to Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and, in doing so, preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to him.   Daniel wasn’t the first person to preach the Gospel; that was God, Himself, to Adam and Eve.   It happened just after the fall into sin.   But Daniel’s witness here is probably the boldest statement in the Old Testament made from one person to another.   To find another, also go read Isaiah 9…if you’re familiar with Handel, you’ll find yourself singing the verses.

The Kingdom of God will last forever.   It will permanently defeat all human empires, and it will be eternal because Christ is eternal.   The one rule of law in that kingdom will be the one rule that Christ implored us to institute here:   ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’  It’s the only rule God needs because, in it, is the full spectrum of faith in Him.

You and I live in a time where knowledge of this is commonplace.   Even if we don’t know (or know much about) Jesus, most of the world lives in a time and place where access to that knowledge is common and available.   And still most of the world rejects it.   Now, think of Nebuchadnezzar.   He was the powerful sovereign of the most powerful nation in the world and he neither knew nor cared to know God.   That is, until God gave him something over which he had no power, namely, his dream.

We can know the Gospel.   Do we?   Are we preaching the Gospel? 

For further reading:  Genesis 27:29, Psalm 2:9, Isaiah 9:7, Matthew 21:43-44, Luke 10:27, Revelation 22:6, Daniel 2:46. 

Lord Jesus, only You are Lord, King of Kings forever.

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