Study 17
by Charles Tan
Text: Daniel 4:1-18
Dear Brethren,
IT IS ONE THING TO ATTAIN AND ANOTHER THING TO SUSTAIN
If you recall, God had blessed Daniel and his friends so greatly, that they were deemed to be “ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers” (Daniel 1:20) of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel and his friends had attained a very high degree of success, because God blessed them. They had determined in their hearts that they would be faithful and true to the Lord, no matter the odds against them. God honoured their faith and thus blessed them.
Then came the tests! Daniel and his friends were sorely tested. The first test came when the King demanded that his wise men reveal and then interpret the dream he had (Daniel 2). The second test came when the three friends of Daniel were thrown into a fiery furnace because they had refused to worship the idol that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
The third test came for Daniel, when the king asked him to interpret a difficult dream. It was a dream that none of the “magicians, astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers” (Daniel 4:7) could interpret.
Daniel had attained to a very high level of knowledge and faith in God. To attain is one thing, but to sustain that relationship with God is another. Both are vital!
A HIGH REPUTATION
By now, Daniel had built up a very high reputation. This was what Nebuchadnezzar said concerning Daniel,
“At last Daniel came to me…
in him is the Spirit of God…
I know that the Spirit of the Holy God
Is in you, and no secret troubles you,
Explain to me the visions of my dream
That I have seen, and its interpretation”
Daniel 4:8-9
What a testimony Daniel must have had in the court of Nebuchadnezzar! The key phrase that stands out must be the one where Nebuchadnezzar recognized “The Spirit of the Holy God” in Daniel’s life. That was what made Daniel truly outstanding in the first place!
CAN WE HAVE THE SAME HOLY SPIRIT IN US?
Have you desired to have the same Holy Spirit of God within us? What if we were to discover that the Holy Spirit is actually residing in us? Let’s read Ephesians 1:13-14,
“Having believed, you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance…”