Hear God call you to worship through his word:

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

—  Colossians 2:13-15

Song 1 – Crown Him With Many Crowns

Song 2 – Turn Your Eyes 

Song 3 – Speak O Lord

Song 4 – Build My Life

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Praise God, from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen. 

Let us come before the Lord together in full confidence of his love for us, and together with one voice confess our sin before him and each other.

O Lord, you have mercy upon all—take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore you, a heart to delight in you, to follow and to enjoy you, for Christ’s sake.
          Amen. 
                              (Ambrose)

According to God’s eternal Word, all who confess faith in Jesus Christ can stand fully assured of his forgiveness for our sins and also of his continuing sanctifying work in us. Here now these verses of Scripture which contain some of God’s many promises to us his people. Ezekiel 36:25-27 says this:

I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Let’s pray.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, 
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

On the third day he rose again 
from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand 
of God, the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge 
the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

* The term “catholic” (with a lowercase “c”) does not refer to any specific denomination or the Catholic church (with a capital “C”). The term comes from two Greek words that together mean “throughout the whole.”  This single word, “catholic,” means throughout all time and places and speaks of the essential unity or wholeness of the church in Christ.

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Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. ² Daniel declared,^[a] “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.⁴ The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. ⁵ And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ ⁶ After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.¹² As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

¹³ “I saw in the night visions,

Daniel’s Vision Interpreted

¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ¹⁷ ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet,²⁰ and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. ²¹ As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,

²⁸ “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

God’s Universal Rule

-Daniel 7

Sermon Points

1. Introduction
2. Power and Dominion in a Fallen World
3. Power and Dominion in God’s Kingdom
4. The Key to History

Song 5 – Build Your Kingdom

Song 6 – May the Peoples Praise You

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

Read Daniel 7 

(1) Introduce the issues

 i)  From a first reading of the chapter, what do you think is the key message for believers?

ii) From a first reading of the chapter, what do you think is the key message for unbelievers?

iii)  What are some of the features of Apocalyptic Literature that you notice from this chapter? What impression does this kind of literature make on you? 

2) Study the passage

i)  When did Daniel receive this vision and what’s the significance of the timing (vv. 1-2a)? 

ii) What do the four beasts represent (vv. 2b-10; 15-27)? 

iii)  What do the horns, and in particular, the little horn represent (vv. 2b-8; 19-27)? What does the little horn do (vv. 8b, 11, 20b-21, 25)? 

iv) Verses 9-14 are at the centre of the vision. How are these verses given prominence in the text? v)  Who are the ‘Ancient of Days’ (vv. 9-10) and the ‘one like a son of man’ (vv. 13-14, 27)? 

vi) What’s the setting of verses 9-14 and what’s going on (see esp. vv13-14)? 

vii) What happens to the little horn (vv. 11-12, 22, 26)? viii) What is promised to the people of God (vv. 18, 22, 27)? 

ix) What do you make of Daniel’s reaction to the vision (v. 28)?

(3) Apply the passage

 i)  What God reveals is that He will build an everlasting Kingdom under the rule of His all-powerful King. From our perspective as Christians to what extent has this promise been fulfilled? 

ii) What are the main lessons we can draw from this chapter in terms of the: (a) opposition / pressure we face as Christians / the Church; (b) our confidence in God; (c) our present and future deliverance?

 iii)  Given that the book of Daniel was written in the 6th century B.C., what does this chapter teach us about the authority and inspiration of Scripture (think of Daniel’s reaction in verse 28)?

(4) Pray it through