Theme: You can Stand before the King
1) Not fleeing by fear
2) Confident and joyful by faith
It’s been said that people display one
of two characteristics when facing adversity: fight or flight. If you’re a
fighter, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re prone to violence. Rather it shows
that you’re willing to face challenges head on and you’re not afraid of
problems. On the contrast, if you’re more timid or meek you would take flight
in adversity; choosing to re-group and stay out of the fray until another day.
Most people fit into one of those
categories. There isn’t one that’s necessarily better than the other, often it
depends on the situation. We’re getting a taste of that recently with all the
talk of Syrian refugees. Some people are willing and ready to receive them.
These people who qualify as having a fighter’s mentality; not because they want
to wage battle with the refugees but they’re willing to tackle the problem.
Those who have flight opinion in the matter are more cautious and not ready to
accept thousands of foreigners into our nation given the risk of unknown
intentions. I’m not here to argue one side against the other; only to point it
out as an example of these two differing attitudes that we experience on a
regular basis.
What I’d like to ask you is this. If you
saw God today, what would your reaction be? Fight or Flight? Are you confident
enough to face Him or would you shy away in fear? I ask, because soon we will
all face Him, so we should think about what our response will be. But I also
ask because that’s the place Daniel found himself in our text. Put yourself in
his shoes and consider how you would feel if you saw this:
Daniel
7:13-14 I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of
Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they
brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a
kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom
the one Which shall not be destroyed.
Imagine how Daniel must have felt having
not only having heard this prophecy of the Final Day but having seen it. He was
given a glimpse of images that are still yet to be revealed. And his reaction
tells us how he felt. In verse 15 we’re told that Daniel was grieved in spirit
and body and was greatly troubled by this vision. But really, what did Daniel
have to fear? He trusted in God. He knew the truth. Shouldn’t he had rather
been overjoyed that he could see a vision of the Lord’s victory in the future?
It’s easy for us to say that having only
read the words of our text and not actually having experienced them. Think of
other occasions in the Bible where God revealed Himself to mankind or even
simply revealed His will. The giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai is near the top of
the list; given its importance in the grand masterpiece of history. In Exodus
20 we’re told that when God descended upon the mountain there was thunder and
lightning and a thick cloud. Also, there sounded at trumpet so loud that all
the people of Israel trembled with fear. As the scene continued Jehovah
descended in fire and the entire mountain shook (Exodus 19:16,18). Quite a
scene to read about but one that would leave us fearful too.
We could also think of the times that
God sent angels to reveal a message to people. In every case, the first thing
we’re told is that the people were greatly afraid at the sight of God’s holy
messenger. If that was the normal reaction at the sight of angels, how much
more so in view of the Almighty God!
The way in which Daniel describes God
clues us in to just how Almighty He really is. Daniel uses a title that is
unique to this revelation; in fact unique to this very chapter of the Bible. He
calls God the “Ancient of Days.” Nowhere else in the entire Scriptures is this
name used. We naturally wonder why Daniel would use such a phrase to talk about
God. If we called our superiors “Ancient of Days” we might get an odd look or
even a scowl. It most likely wouldn’t be deemed as a term of respect. But
Daniel wasn’t trying to insult God. Quite the contrary actually. In the
simplicity of faith he was trying to put into human terms what he was seeing
and the best that could be done was to call God the “Ancient of days.”
This title isn’t used to tell us that
God is old and outdated; that He’s outlived His usefulness for mankind. Rather,
it’s an indication of His enduring, eternal nature. Throughout the entire
Bible, the theme of God’s eternity stands out. Remember how he revealed Himself
to Moses in the burning bush. When Moses asked God who he should say sent him,
God’s reply was, “Tell them I AM has sent you.” God is the I AM God. He’s not
the God that was, or simply is now, or the God who will be. He is eternal. He
is I AM; always existing and always in control. When Daniel calls Him the
“Ancient of Days” it is saying the same thing. God was here long before any
humans were. He was in control long before we were. It’s always important for
us to remember that and to keep that perspective in humility.
God’s eternal nature doesn’t always
leave us with a cherry picture though, which surely played a role in the way
Daniel was grieved after this vision. This is because the eternity of God
reminds us of the opposite in our lives. It makes us think and wonder about our
futures, because we are so clearly mortal. What does the future hold? This is
undoubtedly a question that all people face at some point in life, usually when
we’re older. Knowing that God is eternal is certainly nice, but what comfort
does it really hold? What does that mean for our lives? When you add into that
the fact that we also know what God demands from us, we are doubly perplexed
because we often don’t measure up.
Many people in life try to run from the
answers to these difficult questions. Haven’t we done the same from time to
time? Trying to find purpose and meaning in the daily activities and affairs of
this life? Always looking for something more to give us fulfillment, rather
than facing the hard truth that we have no hope on our own before God, and from
the very moment we entered this world our days are counting down to that one
day when we will see Him face to face. When that day comes, is it fight or
flight? We feel pressure from God because He created us that way in the hope
that we would seek Him and find Him. But so often people never find God because
they don’t want to. They don’t like listening to the inner conscience so they
look for whatever they can find to drown out its noise.
We know what it feels like, because
we’re sinners with a conscience too. And we also see here Daniel’s own
reaction. He was right on the edge of flight. He was perplexed and terrified at
the sight of the Ancient of Days because he was facing righteousness with his
own futility. And he was right to feel that way, just as we are when we get
nervous at the thought of God’s almighty and eternal power. We are sinners and
rebels who deserve nothing; and what we have been blessed with we so often
forsake and despise.
What holds this terror at bay? What
keeps it from consuming us? Who is more appropriate for there was another that
Daniel saw in this vision. The One who came to the Ancient of Days and received
the dominion, glory, and kingdom. The One whom all peoples, nations, and
languages will serve. We’re more familiar with His title because He Himself
used it many times; the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. Daniel probably didn’t
understand the full extent of everything he saw in this vision, and so he was
met with fear. But we see clearly through the lense of Scripture.
What Daniel saw is the same as what Paul
records in his letter to the Philippians concerning the work of Christ. Therefore God has highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
(Philippians 2:9-11). Daniel was the first and only one, so far, to witness
what this scene will be like. But all Christians have always been fully aware
that the day is coming where Christ will fully display all of His power. On
that day, no one will be able to deny or mock Him as they so blasphemously did
on the path to Calvary. On that day, none of us will be able to hide in the
shadows of our sins; nor will we want to.
Because the dominion and the victory and
the kingdom came at a cost. Jesus will display all of these things because He
alone has earned them. Back up in the letter to the Philippians, just prior to
the verses we read, and it tells us why: Have
this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he
was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
When Daniel’s vision becomes reality,
your reaction will be different than his. You won’t be grieved and perplexed
because of sin. Nor will your first inclination be to flee and run and hide. You
will stand with confidence because you have Jesus; the Son born as a man for
all mankind; the perfect Substitute between eternity and time, between the
Ancient of Days and the Mortals. He bore His Father’s righteous wrath on the
cross, the greatest form of humility ever witnessed. But even in that setting,
the final victory was always in sight. Remember what His final reply was to
Caiaphas the High Priest. “You have said
so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right
hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64).” Sounds
familiar to our text doesn’t it?
One day we’ll be there with Caiaphas,
Daniel, and the rest of the world. There will be no flight, because the Son of
Man won the fight over sin. On that day we will have a peace more serene that
the warmth of sunlight on a cloudless summer day. We will finally have victory
and rest from the nagging ailment of sin. We will stand confident and joyful
before our King, and bow in grateful devotion. No longer on the run, no longer
grieved and paralyzed by fear; but at peace. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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