Our God Reigns

Daniel was a man in exile. The place where he lived was not his home. Have you ever felt that way—like you weren’t at home, even in your own home? Have you ever felt like the place where you live isn’t really home?

Some of you new college students may feel that way right now. You live in a dorm far from where you grew up. Nearly everything about your living arrangement is different from what you’re used to, and you don’t quite feel at home. Others of you grew up in a house where everyone walked on eggshells around a parent because you never knew when they might explode—or worse. You also understand the experience of living in a place that doesn’t feel like home. Still others of you don’t fit in at work because of a harsh boss, gossiping co-workers, or unreasonable clients. You don’t feel at home in the place where you spend most of your waking hours.

Since none of our lives work out entirely the way we hoped and planned, none of us quite feel at home in this world. And because you’ve experienced that disorienting, discouraging feeling of not being at home, you know a little of what Daniel and his friends experienced some 2,600 years ago. They were forcibly removed from the land God had promised to their forefather Abraham and taken to serve King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. They were not at home where they lived.

But the central, comforting message of Daniel is this: though none of us are truly at home where we live, as one scholar has put it, “God has not changed; He is still there, wherever ‘there’ is” (Dale Ralph Davis).

Not only is God there—wherever “there” is—the message of Daniel is that God is also ruling and reigning there. Daniel 4:25 serves as a kind of motto for the entire book: “…the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”

Though you’re not at home in this present world, the one true God of the Bible is reigning here. Despite how things may appear, everything is going His way. That brings us to the big idea of the book of Daniel: Our God reigns.

This morning, we’re going to see this theme—Our God reigns—in the three main parts of Daniel, which also form our three points:

The place where God reigns (Ch. 1 – Prologue)

The life where God reigns (Chs. 1–6 – Narratives)

The future where God reigns (Chs. 7–12 – Visions)

Let’s look first at…

THE PLACE WHERE GOD REIGNS (Ch. 1)

Our God reigns—but where? According to Daniel, God reigns in exile. He reigns in Babylon.

Daniel 1:1 says: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.”

The year was 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, leader of the world’s most powerful nation, marched his army into Jerusalem and captured it. Many were killed, and the best and brightest were taken to Babylon as exiles to serve his kingdom.

What was life like for Daniel and his friends in Babylon? In a phrase: pressure to conform. Nebuchadnezzar gave them Babylonian literature to make them forget God’s wisdom, his food to make them forget Babylon wasn’t home, and new names to make them forget their God-given identity. He pressed them to forget their God and feel at home in Babylon.

Dear friends, that’s the same pressure the god of this world, whom Scripture calls Satan, applies to us. Christians are exiles in this world because, through faith in Jesus Christ, our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). But Satan tempts us to forget that truth and conform to the values of this world. That’s why Peter urges believers: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

So what hope do we have? The same hope Daniel had: our God reigns. Daniel 1:2 says, “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand.” God was not defeated by Nebuchadnezzar. He was in control all along.

Daniel remained faithful, and he was still standing long after Babylon fell—because God reigned. Therefore, do not be conformed to this world. Resist the pressure to be Babylonized. Instead, be transformed by God’s Word, God’s people, and God’s presence. This is the place where God reigns.

THE LIFE WHERE GOD REIGNS (Chs. 1–6)

The first six chapters of Daniel contain six narratives, a few of which are among the best-known stories in the Old Testament. Taken together, they illustrate the kind of life God reigns over: the life of faith. To live under God’s reign as exiles in this present world is to live by faith, not by sight.

Here’s a quick review:

Daniel 1 – Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food and wine. He trusted God, ate only vegetables, and was healthier than the others. God preserved and promoted him.

Daniel 2 – When Nebuchadnezzar demanded someone reveal his dream and its interpretation, Daniel and his friends sought the Lord. God answered, and many lives were spared.

Daniel 3 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the golden image. God preserved them in the fiery furnace.

Daniel 4 – Daniel faithfully told Nebuchadnezzar the truth of his dream, even at personal risk, and called him to repent.

Daniel 5 – Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall for King Belshazzar, speaking God’s judgment boldly. That very night, Babylon fell—but Daniel endured.

Daniel 6 – In his old age, Daniel continued to pray despite the king’s decree. He was thrown to the lions but preserved by God.

Each time, Daniel or his friends walked by faith—and God reigned.

That’s why the message of Daniel isn’t “dare to be a Daniel.” The message is: dare to trust Daniel’s God. The life where God reigns is the life of faith.

THE FUTURE WHERE GOD REIGNS (Chs. 7–12)

Since the life where God reigns is the life of faith, what strengthens our faith? For Daniel, it was the future.

Chapters 7–12 shift from narrative to vision. In them, Daniel sees the rise and fall of kingdoms, each applying its own kind of pressure to God’s people. But he also sees that Christ’s kingdom will outshine and outlast them all.

Daniel 7:13–14 says: “With the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man… And 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.”

That’s the future where God reigns. And until that glorious day, we are strengthened to stand firm in Christ’s future grace. Daniel himself was told: “Go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13).

Professor Iain Duguid comments: “These chapters describe Daniel’s apocalyptic visions, which reassure God’s people that, in spite of exile and persecution, God is still in control of history and will see his purposes through.”

So set your hope not on the shaky kingdoms, careers, and investments of this world. Set your hope fully on the grace that will be revealed when Jesus returns, when His everlasting kingdom comes to earth. That future grace will strengthen you to walk by faith today.

CONCLUSION

And that brings us to a final question: Where will you be in the future where Jesus Christ reigns?

Christ will return. He will reign forever. He will welcome into His kingdom all who repent and trust in Him. But all who refuse Him in this life will be cast out of His kingdom forever.

Will you be welcomed in—or shut out?

Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.