The Book of Daniel 2: 1-27

Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, "I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream." Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation." The king replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation." They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation." The king replied, "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation." The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh." Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he said to Arioch, the king's commander, "For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?" Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king's matter." Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king." Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence and spoke to him as follows: "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!" The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?" Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king." (Daniel 2:1-27, NASB)

Sermon Summary
On Sunday, Pastor Russell Johnson continued our Daniel series by exploring Daniel 2:1-27, focusing on the contrast between Nebuchadnezzar's troubled spirit and Daniel's calm response to an impossible situation. Pastor Russell emphasized that when the Chaldeans declared "there is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king" and that "gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh" would be needed, they were unwittingly declaring "the failure of paganism"—it was "bankrupt" and "empty, offering no hope or solution." The sermon highlighted Daniel's remarkable response "with discretion and discernment" as a 15/16-year-old boy, going home to his friends who were "knit together" to "request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery." Pastor Russell challenged us to examine our own "Chaldeans"—the modern equivalents we turn to first when pressure comes—and asked, "When was the last time you prayed for the impossible?" The climax came when Daniel proclaimed before the king: "there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries," demonstrating that unlike the bankrupt systems of the world, our God dwells with us and does the humanly impossible.

1. What's the most vivid or bizarre dream you've ever had that you still remember—and did you ever try to figure out what it meant?
2. Pastor Russell noted that the Chaldeans inadvertently declared "the failure of paganism" when they said "gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh." What modern "Chaldeans" do we turn to first when life gets difficult—social media, Google at 2 AM, investment strategies, political solutions?
3. How does our understanding of God as One who "dwells with us" and does the impossible change the way we approach situations that seem humanly hopeless?
4. Pastor Russell emphasized that a teenage Daniel "replied with discretion and discernment" rather than becoming "hysterical and rash." What situation in our lives right now would benefit from that same wisdom—being "above the moment" and "knowing the audience"?
5. The sermon asked a challenging question: "When I pray, am I coming to God on His terms, or am I wanting God to get good with my terms?" How do we recognize the difference in our own prayer life?
6. Pastor Russell asked, "When was the last time you prayed for the impossible?"—healing when doctors say there's nothing more, marriages when lawyers are called, kids returning to Jesus after years of rebellion. Who in your life needs you to "step into the gap" and pray for the impossible this week?
7. Pastor Russell concluded by challenging us to examine what becomes our "FIRST response to difficulty instead of prayer." What's one specific way you'll bring the impossible before God this week and wait to see what He can do?

Extra Credit
Look up and read these passages about God revealing mysteries and doing the impossible:
Jeremiah 33:3 - Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Job 42:2 - I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Matthew 19:26 - And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
How do these passages expand our understanding of God's ability to do what seems humanly impossible? What common thread runs through all of them about bringing our "impossible" situations to God rather than to our modern "Chaldeans"?