Sermon Guide

Grace & Truth: God Reigns Above All!
Pastor Steve Poole

TEXT – Daniel 4:28-37

TRUTH – God’s sovereignty and kingdom > man’s sovereignty and kingdom

  • “…for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,  and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;  …all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand…” Daniel 4:34-35

GRACE – God paid the price that allows us citizenship in His eternal Kingdom through faith alone in Jesus.

  • Daniel 7:13-14
  • Mark 10:45

GRACE – God’s kingdom is for people from ALL nations and languages.

  • Daniel 4:1
  • Daniel 7:14
  • Revelation 7:9-10

NEXT STEPS

  1. Join God’s kingdom by believing in Jesus.
  2. Be humbled by the example of Nebuchadnezzar and recognize that your “kingdom” is not for your glory, but God’s.
  3. Find hope and comfort in the truth that God’s kingdom will come and His Will will be done, even when life looks its darkest.

GO DEEPER

A Brief Guide to Apocalyptic Prophecy

Books like Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation are filled with weird symbols and visions. The authors reveal divine truths through imagery that invites us to pay attention to several layers. 

Remember this:

  1. Focus on the historical context. The first layer is always the message the author wanted the immediate audience to grasp.
  2. Next study the symbols and imagery as they are used throughout the Bible. The meaning of these symbols remains consistent throughout the Bible. 
  3. The next layer is to understand what these passages teach us about God. And in particular, how these prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus. 
  4. The final layer asks how these prophecies might be fulfilled again today or in the future.

Be Careful:

  1. Don’t lose the big picture of the battle between good and evil and God’s ultimate victory over evil.
  2. Avoid over-interpreting every detail; instead, focus on the prophetic themes of hope and the establishment of God’s kingdom. 
  3. Do not interpret symbolic language literally. The authors describe complex ideas in terms that would have been understandable to the original audience. 
  4. Resist the temptation to get carried away by elaborate schemes that assign a specific modern meaning to every symbol. 

When we read these books we take the authors at their word when they explain what they hope to tell us. Ezekiel is clear in chapter 1 verse 1: “I saw visions of God.” John is clear in Revelations 1:1 “The revelation of Jesus”

 

Love. Belong. Serve.