Speaking Tough Truth
“The king said to Daniel, “Surely your
God is the God of gods and the Lord
of kings and a revealer of mysteries,
for you were able to reveal this
mystery.”
Daniel 2:47
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Over the last two weeks, we learned:
1. if we intentionally engage the culture around us by
taking calculated risks based on the assumption that
God is active in our world, then God will put us in
the right place at the right time and equip us
properly to participate in His activity in the lives of
people.
2. when put in a place where we are engaging culture,
it’s important that we pause, pray to, and praise our
Heavenly Father as we do so.
3. Daniel was called on to come
alongside King Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon at a particular moment
in his life.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• There comes a
time when we all
need someone to
attune our ears to
truth, no matter
how difficult that
truth may be …
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
Daniel 3:1-23
• Daniel’s interpretation begins positively enough …
Nebuchadnezzar is the king of kings, the head of gold,
the ultimate ruler of the earth.
• Babylon was a gold medal nation, a first-place people
among all others.
• This revelation probably played right into
Nebuchadnezzar’s view of himself.
• Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful
ruler of a powerful nation.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Who is it that allows Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness?
• “… the God of heaven has given you dominion and
power and might and glory”. (Daniel 2:37)
• Daniel elevates God, above even Nebuchadnezzar.
• The circumstances dictate something else entirely.
• Tough truth is not self-evident … it often takes eyes of
faith to “see” the truth in difficult circumstances.
• Even though Daniel’s sight shows
him that God is absent, his faith
assures him that God is uniquely
present.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• After praising Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel
utters these words “… after you, another kingdom will
arise, inferior to yours …” (v. 39).
• Not only would Babylon fall to an inferior nation, but
subsequent nations would fall to consistently inferior
nations, culminating in control by a divided superpower
nation (vs. 39-43).
• Following this, a nation would come
along that would change everything
- a kingdom set up by the God of
heaven will come (vs. 44-45).
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Daniel challenges that Nebuchadnezzar’s legacy will
be as “chaff in the wind” come the arrival of this
eternal kingdom.
• In 539 B.C., Persia marched against Babylon and
conquered this land.
• Alexander the Great and Greece swept through next,
conquering Persia definitively in 331 B.C.
• Rome ascended to power next, annexing Greece in
190 B.C.
• In A.D. 33, we see fulfillment of the
final promised kingdom, as through
the death and resurrection of Jesus,
Christ’s eternal kingdom is established.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Jesus too delivers some tough information regarding
entrance into His kingdom.
• In Mark 10:17-27, a rich young man asks Jesus, “what must
I do to inherit eternal life?”.
• Jesus directs him to the commandments and the young
man asserts that he has kept the commandments.
• Jesus so loves this young man that he must deliver some
immensely difficult information to him – “go, sell
everything you have and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (v.21).
• As the young man turns and dejectedly
walks away, the disciples question
“Who then can be saved?”.
• Christ responds honestly, elevating God,
saying, “all things are possible with God”.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Both the Daniel-Nebuchadnezzar and Jesus-rich
young man encounters communicate a pattern of
action to us.
• First, both accounts help us to see that speaking
truth in love allows us to better deliver tough
information.
• Truth often has a sharp edge to it; tough truth even
more so.
• As we come alongside those who
are yet to know Jesus as Saviour,
it’s important that we allow love
to pave the way for the tough
information that will eventually come.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Secondly, it is through the honest elevation of God that
we are allowed to effectively deliver tough information.
• Both Daniel and Jesus exhibit a sincere dose of humility
as they elevate God; neither seek to gain credibility by
simply tagging God’s name on to the tough information;
both just state face-value that this tough information is
from God.
• We too must be careful that our discussions of tough
stuff with those who are yet to know
Christ are not founded on our
“opinions” and “biases”, but on the
simple truths of Scripture.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Finally, it is by speaking with a clear conscience that
allows us to better deliver tough information
• “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear
conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against
your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their
slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)
• We should always speak with respect, with clear
consciences allowing us to deliver
tough truth in an incredibly gentle
way. In doing so, we pave the way
for the Holy Spirit to convince of the
truthfulness of the difficult information
we deliver.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• The truth is that there will come a moment in our
faith walk that we must deliver tough information to
someone we care about.
• We cannot own the outcomes of speaking truth in
love … our call is to simply share what we know God
has urged us to share.
• Two reactions to tough information:
1. “Nebuchadnezzar moments”
when praise of God develops
2. “rich young man moments”
when rejection and dejection
result
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• Let us approach our culture like Daniel, with eyes of
faith, expecting to see God at work through His Spirit
within it.
• Let us see that we are surrounded by people caught in
“Nebuchadnezzar moments”.
• “ … the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished
many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire
province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its
wise men. Moreover, at Daniel’s request the
king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego administrators over the
province of Babylon, while Daniel
himself remained at the royal court.”
(Daniel 2:48-49)
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth
• This week, may we look more intentionally for
those “Nebuchadnezzar moments”, boldly and
lovingly speaking the truth of Jesus Christ into
them, expecting that God will deliver the
results we so desire.
Daniel 2:31-49 – Speaking Tough Truth