Title: GOD REIGNS—REST ASSURED

Focus: God will overrule and ultimately silence the anti-Christ and his forces. Therefore, we shall rest assured.

Function: To remind people that in the midst of international turmoil and increase of lawlessness and persecutions, God in Christ will intervene and triumph in the end. We may rest assured in Christ.

Text: Daniel 7:15-28

The scaffolds of history are unsightly and, at times, repulsive. On a daily basis we see images on TV and the Internet of warring nations, ruthless terrorists, and loudmouth tyrants: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea come to mind. We learn of politicians thinking only of empowering and enriching themselves. We meet powerful investors who don’t blink an eye while fleecing their clients of hard-earned retirement money.

These “scaffolds” make our nation teeter-totter on the verge of bankruptcy. These “scaffolds” tear the fabric of society, and they dull our national and individual consciences. I’m thinking of lawmakers and judges who legalize sodomy and abortion under the guise of individual freedom and choice. I’m thinking of educators at our nation’s universities and colleges, who teach that there are no absolutes and no rights and wrongs. I’m thinking of movements and people in the U.S.A. who are hostile to the church and the Christian faith. I’m thinking of our nation’s decline of morality and common decency. These are the dominant “scaffolds” that our surrounding the church and God’s people more and more.

Here’s the irony: whereas the scaffolds in Holland were intended to help workers to beautify and restore the cathedrals of old, the “scaffolds” I just mentioned are bent on destroying the people and kingdom rule of God. There are all kinds of anti-Christian forces at work, hell-bent to marginalize and destroy the church of Christ and the influence of God in this world.

These forces were are work in the days of Daniel and Jeremiah and Ezekiel; they have been at their dark work from the time that sin entered the world, and they are showing up their ugly heads more and more as the nations of the world become one large unified entity, from which, one day will rise the man of lawlessness, the great anti-Christ, with only one major goal in mind: overthrow God’s rule and destroy Christ’s people.

But here’s what the Book of Daniel (and all the other Scriptures) teach: God in Christ will overrule and ultimately silence the anti-Christian forces. Therefore, we shall rest assured. In Christ Jesus, we shall have life and live forevermore.

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The nations’ rulers and politicians do well to take note. Many of our government officials live by false notions and empty dreams. They think that throwing money at problems will bring heaven to earth: “Fight poverty by spreading wealth to the poor,” they say. They think that access to more education will better the lives of people. They think that access to universal healthcare is the solution to our nations problem. Pollution? Let’s have more wind power! Global warming? Everybody ride a bike or buy an electric car! We act like masters of the universe, having all the answers. “If only the masses would but listen to us and follow us!” so whisper the wise men and women of this age.

What so many of our educators and politicians forget, however, is the problem of sin. Unless and until we deal with the human condition of corruption and rebellion against God, we are doing nothing else but chasing “windmills.” It is sin—in all its manifestations, on all levels of life—that causes havoc and misery in our lives. The sea of nations will not stop churning until God’s living Water (the Lord Jesus Christ) silences the wind and breaks the power of sin in our world.

Jesus has done so already in principle. He went to the cross; though sinless himself, he took our place, and died and was buried. On the third day God raised him from the dead. Thus Jesus paid the price for our sins; thus he broke the power of sin and death and Satan. And thus Jesus has opened up the future for all who put their trust in him.

God assured Daniel of victory for his people. God hints at Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death and the churning nations of the world. Listen to this interpretation from the text: (vs. 17) “The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.”

The fourth monstrosity may be terrifying; it may grow into a unified force, embodied in the man of lawlessness at the very end of time (of which the Apostle Paul speaks in II Thessalonians 2). But in the end, the anti-Christ and all his forces or power will be squashed by the power of God. Daniel speaks of that in vs. 17; he also tells us in vs. 26 and 27. Listen: “…the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him. This is the end of the matter.”

In other words, God will overrule and ultimately silence the anti-Christian forces in the world. Therefore, in the midst of churning nations and uncertain, fearful times, we shall rest assured.

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“Rest assured” does not mean that we remain inactive. Rather we adopt an approach through life that says: in Christ Jesus I shall have my being. In him I will trust as I face the future!

In doing so, I want to suggest a strategy and a style for us to adopt today. The strategy includes the following:

a. We shall rest and put our confidence in God’s Word and in God’s Holy Spirit. Spirit-led, Word-directed—that’s the pathway into the future.

b. We shall fearlessly and without apology live, share, and proclaim the good news to whoever shows interest or is open to hear the message. We do so on Sundays—as well as through the rest of the week. I believe that’s a strategy that rises from the Scriptures.

Here’s the style of Christian living in the midst of a tumultuous, threatening world:

a. We shall live authentically. We shall take seriously our baptism, which declares that we belong to God, that we are God’s children, and that we are to live unto his honor and glory. Our style is one of being—of living authentically, with integrity and with a deep awareness that we are to be children—men and women of God.

b. We shall therefore also live by God’s law of grace and love. That law includes obedience. That law assumes forgiveness and a forgiving spirit. Our style of living shall be one of spreading the fragrance of Christ to all people around us. We shall not worry about how people respond to that fragrance. Rather, we shall see to it that it is indeed the fragrance, the mind, the fruit, the Spirit of Christ. God reigns. Rest assured.

I long for the day when Christ shall overcome the anti-Christian forces in the midst of the churning sea of nations. I long for the day when the scaffolds of history and daily events shall be no more. I long for the day when all of creation shall be fully restored; when God’s rule in heaven shall be fully established on earth; and when Christ, our King, shall live in our midst. Until that day, I say: Rest assured in Christ. For our God reigns! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let’s pray!