Participants: Pr. C. A. Murray
Series Code: DAA
Program Code: DAA000003A
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00:01 Music...
00:26 Hello once again and welcome to Daniel All Access. 00:31 In this particular sitting together, 00:35 we look at Daniel chapter 3. 00:37 The title we have called: Chutzpah 00:39 and we'll explain what Chutzpah is. 00:43 If you're from New York City 00:45 or if you happen to be an Ashkenazi Jew 00:48 or a place that is populated by people of Jewish faith, 00:52 you know what a Chutzpah is. 00:53 It is a very common word 00:56 in Yiddish language 00:58 and it has filtered into our English language, 01:01 we look at Daniel chapter 3 today 01:04 and I think we're beginning to see 01:06 that there is a lot in the book of Daniel 01:09 that rides just below the surface there... 01:11 there's the obvious prophetic plain 01:14 on which the book is written 01:15 but once you begin to dig, there is a lot in Daniel 01:18 and it has a lot to say to us today. 01:20 So, we welcome you once again to Daniel All Access... 01:23 we will have prayer 01:25 and then let us launch out into Chutzpah... Daniel chapter 3. 01:29 "Father God, again we praise you 01:32 and thank you for your goodness, your grace... 01:37 we thank you for the Word which is a lamp unto our feet, 01:40 a light unto our path. 01:42 We are thankful Lord for Jesus, Savior and friend... 01:45 and we're thankful for the prophetic waymarks 01:49 that let us know and give us assurance 01:52 that God has been... is now... 01:55 will always be with His people... 01:58 and that we need not fear 02:00 for the way has been clearly delineated... 02:03 it has been marked out... 02:05 and we need but to walk in that way 02:08 for that is the way that leads to glory 02:11 and we thank you dear Father, in Jesus' name, amen. " 02:14 Audience: Amen. 02:17 Want to begin this afternoon... 02:19 this presentation with a side bar 02:21 that has bearing on what we will be talking about shortly, 02:26 this is a quote from Ellen White, 02:31 she says, "Are there those here 02:35 who have been sinning and repenting 02:39 sinning and repenting 02:42 and they continue to do so till Christ shall come. " 02:48 She talks about sinning and repenting 02:51 and sinning and repenting 02:53 and she says, "Our lives ought not be 02:57 an endless round of sinning and repenting... 03:02 sinning and repenting. " 03:05 I had a friend who... 03:07 bless his heart, we grew up together 03:09 but he spent a lot of time in prison 03:11 and every time he went to jail, he got converted 03:14 and when he got out of jail he forgot about the Lord 03:17 sinning and repenting... sinning and repenting 03:22 and that does bear on our presentation this afternoon 03:26 and you will see "sinning and repenting" 03:30 in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. 03:33 Ellen White lets us know that sinning and repenting 03:37 denies victory in Jesus Christ, 03:40 you know, sooner or later 03:42 God's people have to be overcomers, amen. 03:45 You've got to overcome, 03:47 you can't sin and repent and sin and repent 03:49 and sin and repent... and sin and repent. 03:51 I remember as children, we would do something 03:53 and we would sin as it were... 03:56 and it was fairly easy for us to... to repent... 04:00 we just watched my dad and my dad would do this, 04:04 and we would repent... 04:07 Audience: Laughter... 04:10 we'd repent... it was fairly easy to get us to repent 04:13 the moment that belt came off... we repented. 04:15 It didn't keep us from sinning again, 04:18 but we repented at... at that moment 04:21 and so, Ellen White says our lives ought not to be 04:23 this endless round of sinning and repenting, 04:25 sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting... 04:26 because it denies the victorious life. 04:29 Christians ought to have victory in Jesus. 04:33 Sooner or later, we have got to be overcomers 04:36 and that overcoming is promised in Scripture. 04:39 So, notice the statement of Nebuchadnezzar, 04:42 we ended with this in our last sitting... 04:46 Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2 verse 7... 04:50 Daniel chapter 2, verse... rather... 47... forgive me... 04:53 Daniel 2:47 here's what it says, 04:58 "... truly your God is a God of gods, 05:01 the Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets... 05:06 truly your God is a God of gods... Lord of Lords... 05:11 revealer of secrets" 05:15 that sounds like a statement that's coming from somebody 05:22 whose heart has been touched, amen. 05:25 Yeah, he's seeing what God has done. 05:28 He's seeing how God can take control of situations 05:32 and so, for a while... Nebuchadnezzar is... 05:38 I don't want to say, "converted" 05:42 I would say, "convicted" 05:43 he's convicted 05:46 he's convicted that he is in the presence of a people 05:50 who serve a God who can get stuff done, 05:55 who can do things... 05:57 who is a God of power and a God of might 06:01 and we will come to deal with this on two more occasions, 06:06 there are two more very distinct times 06:08 when Nebuchadnezzar makes a statement 06:10 just like that 06:11 but he is guilty of sinning and repenting, 06:14 sinning and repenting. 06:16 The truth is, it is far too easy for us to lose our way sometimes 06:22 even after we have been convicted... of what is right. 06:28 So, the king for a time walks in the impression 06:31 made upon him by the dream. 06:33 Daniel tells him the dream... he is impressed with the dream 06:37 and... you know... how many have ever gone to church 06:40 and you... you... you come away from your experience at church 06:43 and you say to yourself, "You know what? 06:45 I will never, ever sin again. " 06:48 Audience: Laughter. 06:50 And when you say it... you mean it, amen. 06:54 you do... 06:56 but the devil knows 06:58 even as those words are coming out of your mouth, 07:00 you can't keep that... 07:02 and neither... neither... and the Lord knows that too 07:05 which is why the Bible says that if we sin... 07:08 we have an advocate with the Father 07:10 because, you know, sometimes we fall 07:12 so when Nebuchadnezzar made that statement, 07:15 he was impressed with what God was doing. 07:18 He was impressed with the power of God. 07:22 He had a "head knowledge" of the Lord, 07:25 but it was not buttressed 07:28 by a "heart knowledge" of the Lord. 07:32 I've heard sermons in church 07:34 where the pastors preached and I felt so bad... 07:38 and I said, "Lord, will I ever make the grade... 07:41 will I ever be right... will I ever make it?" 07:44 And I... and I said... and I've said to myself, 07:47 "Lord, I'm going to do better" 07:49 and for a while, I do better, amen. 07:55 Audience: Amen. 07:57 And then you find yourself slipping back... 07:59 doesn't mean you don't want to do better, 08:01 it simply means that... 08:03 it simply means that when you say, 08:06 "I have decided to follow Jesus" 08:09 you know what Satan says? 08:11 "I have determined you're not gonna follow Jesus" 08:16 Audience: That's right. 08:18 Amen... yeah... you... you... you come in strong... 08:21 you believe it and you mean it 08:22 but there's an adversary called the "Devil" 08:25 who goes about as a roaring lion 08:28 who is just as determined as you are... 08:31 in fact, he's more determined than you are, 08:34 because he knows his time is short... 08:38 so the battle begins and you know the truth is this, 08:41 the greatest battle you will ever fight 08:44 is against the person sitting next to you. 08:47 Audience: No... no... 08:49 Hmmm... hmmm... the greatest battle you will ever fight 08:53 is the person that you look at every morning in the mirror 08:57 when you brush your teeth. 08:58 Audience: Yes. 08:59 Murray: Amen... Audience: Amen. 09:01 The hardest battles... the greatest battles... 09:02 the most consistent... persistent... incessant battles 09:05 you will fight are against yourself. 09:07 Pause... 09:09 And the battle begins the day you determine 09:11 to give your life to the Lord. 09:13 So, the moment you say, "I've decided... " 09:15 Satan says, "Yeah" too "I've decided" 09:18 and as they used to say in the streets of New York, 09:21 "It's on now... " 09:22 because you got to fight. 09:24 So, we see that Daniel 09:29 had said to Nebuchadnezzar 09:34 and given praise to God and the impression of that dream 09:41 really stuck in his mind 09:44 but through all of that interpretation, 09:49 the one thing that stood out in Nebuchadnezzar's mind 09:54 was the one sentence, "Thou art this head of gold... " 09:58 Daniel said a lot to him, he talked about kingdoms 10:02 and kingdoms and kingdoms going up 10:05 and kingdoms coming down 10:06 but the thing that stuck in his head... 10:08 the thing that touched his heart... 10:10 "I'm that head of gold... 10:12 and me... I'm the golden boy" 10:16 And Ellen White says, "for a while, he was convicted" 10:19 but that... that, "thou art this head of gold... " 10:22 stayed with him and stayed with him 10:23 he heard all of God's words but what he bit down on 10:28 was "thou art this head of gold" 10:29 that statement made a deep impression on his mind. 10:34 You see this... this is a man... 10:37 who's already got ego issues, 10:40 he's a proud man... 10:42 he's got issues with ego, he thinks a lot of himself 10:46 he has unlimited power... unlimited authority... 10:50 and it's a dangerous combination. 10:52 When you got a person in control of a kingdom 10:55 who's not in control of himself, 10:58 you know who else that was said about, by-the-way, 11:00 Saul... as the first king of Israel... 11:03 Ellen White tells us about Saul... 11:06 never had self-control... 11:08 and never knew the influence of the Holy Spirit... 11:12 never was surrendered to God 11:14 so now, you have a person who cannot control himself 11:18 let's make him in control of the kingdom... 11:21 bad combination... 11:23 Nebuchadnezzar is the same kind of guy. 11:25 Can't control himself... can't control his passions... 11:27 but he's in control of a whole kingdom... 11:31 pause 11:33 and bless his heart Babylon was doing well. 11:39 It was prosperous, it was rich, 11:44 it was secure and it was doing quite well 11:51 and Nebuchadnezzar... in the wake of this prosperity, 11:55 we're told in "Prophets and Kings" 11:57 began to slowly slip back into idolatry. 12:02 Pause. 12:04 Let me ask you a question. 12:06 Which do you think is the better teacher? 12:10 Success or failure? 12:13 Audience: Failure. 12:15 Which is the better teacher? 12:16 Audience: Failure. 12:18 Always failure... 12:20 yeah, you learn lessons stubbing your toe 12:24 that you would not learn if you didn't stub your toe. 12:27 Failure is the better teacher. 12:30 Sadly, it is that way 12:32 and so, Nebuchadnezzar was having great success 12:37 and as soon as things started going well, 12:41 he forgot about the dream... country's going good... 12:45 "I'm doing well in my palace, everything is well... " 12:49 he begins to step back away from God 12:53 and he begins to return to his former idolatrous life. 12:59 Pause. 13:01 This is in "Prophets and Kings" page 504. 13:05 "The wise men of his realm, taking advantage of this... " 13:10 that's his easing away from God... 13:13 "and of his return to idolatry proposed that he make an image 13:18 similar to the one seen in the dream... " 13:21 that's why I say, "You've got to listen to you take... 13:23 who you take your counsel from" 13:25 amen... can't listen to everybody. 13:26 So, they suggested that to him but he didn't fight it 13:32 "and set it up where all might behold the head of gold 13:38 which had been interpreted as representing his kingdom. " 13:44 So the idea came to him, "Hey man, you're the king, 13:48 why don't you make an image entirely of gold 13:55 and... and that will... that will be impressive" 14:02 and when you already have ego problems, 14:06 and somebody flatters you like that, 14:10 you're going to bite on that. 14:12 You know, Ellen White isn't buying this, 14:14 she says, "We should never be too... too flattering... 14:17 of any pastor no matter how good his sermon is 14:22 because you put him in danger. " 14:23 Now, if you're impressed by a sermon, 14:27 tell him, "the sermon impressed me... not you" 14:33 Audience: Amen... Murray: Amen... 14:35 "I was moved by the message... 14:39 I wasn't moved by you... " 14:40 amen... 14:42 "I was moved by the message" 14:44 because first of all, people don't move people. 14:47 Pause. 14:49 It is the Spirit that quickeneth" 14:52 flesh prophets... 14:53 so, if you're moved by the sermon, 14:55 tell him, "I'm moved by the sermon" 14:57 but keep the personality out of it 14:59 because some people would develop a taste for that, 15:03 it's like sugar... all you want is sugar 15:06 then you start doing things to get more sugar. 15:09 So, praise the Lord, not the person... amen. 15:12 Audience: Amen. 15:13 So, they're praising Nebuchadnezzar 15:15 and since he doesn't know any better, 15:17 he's going for it... 15:18 he's ruling the nation... 15:19 "Why shouldn't the kingdom last forever? 15:22 We're rich... 15:24 we got a wall so big and so high nobody can get through it, 15:27 maybe we will last forever. " 15:31 Prophets and Kings, page 505, 15:34 "The symbolic representation 15:38 by which God had revealed to king and people 15:41 His purpose for the nations of the earth 15:45 was now to be made to serve 15:47 for the glorification of human power. " 15:49 See, that's when you get into trouble. 15:52 When you stand in the way of what God is trying to do. 15:56 God was trying to save Nebuchadnezzar 15:59 but God was also trying to bring a message 16:02 to that kingdom... to that empire... 16:05 and to the world. 16:07 So, Nebuchadnezzar now 16:10 is standing between God and His purpose 16:14 for the people He loves... 16:15 bad position to be in. 16:17 That's like standing in the middle of traffic 16:19 on I-57 you don't want to be there 16:22 so, Nebuchadnezzar is taking something that God has ordained 16:28 for His purpose and turning the glory to Himself 16:33 bad position to be in 16:35 some place you don't want to be 16:38 and something you don't want to do. 16:42 Just so, we're connecting the dots... 16:46 let's look at a couple of things. 16:49 The sin of Nebuchadnezzar at this point 16:54 lay not even so much in his sliding back to his old ways 17:00 the sin lay in the presumption 17:04 that he could alter the will and way and work of God. 17:10 Pause. 17:11 See that's the message for us today 17:13 what we talked about this morning... 17:14 all of that inbreeding... 17:16 the sin was... they thought they could alter 17:20 the will... the way... the work of God. 17:23 You can't change the will of God, 17:27 you can't change the way of God, 17:30 nor can you change the work of God, 17:32 you got to cooperate with God 17:34 and we'll see this again in Daniel chapter 7, 17:37 we'll see it again in Daniel chapter 9. 17:40 Man can only cooperate with God. 17:45 So, God put a symbol there, 17:48 90-foot man 17:51 Nebuchadnezzar says, "Let's make it all gold... 17:56 because I want my kingdom to last forever. " 18:02 Pause. 18:03 "The symbol designed of heaven to unfold to the minds of man... 18:12 of men... rather... 18:14 important events of the future was to be used 18:19 to hinder the spread of the knowledge of God... 18:25 the knowledge that God desired the world to receive... " 18:29 So, God's got one purpose... the devil's got another... 18:34 and Nebuchadnezzar is moving towards the devil. 18:37 "The enemy of mankind knew that truth unmixed with error 18:43 is a mighty power to save, amen. " 18:45 Audience: Amen. 18:47 Pure truth... that's why when you... 18:48 when you join a church... 18:50 if you're going to give your life to a religious community, 18:52 make sure they're teaching the truth... 18:54 the whole truth... and nothing but the truth. 18:57 That's the only reason that you join a church. 19:00 That's the only reason that you give your life and your work 19:03 to any religious community 19:04 because it's... it's telling you the truth 19:06 and giving you a way to Jesus Christ. 19:09 You don't join because the preacher is good looking 19:12 or handsome or speaks well, 19:13 you don't join because there's 30,000 people in there 19:16 every weekend 19:17 you don't join because they got good music 19:19 and they got a good choir, 19:20 you don't join because you like what's going on, 19:24 you join because truth is being taught, amen. 19:28 Audience: Amen. 19:30 And if truth is not being taught in your church, 19:35 then you got to go find one where truth is being taught 19:38 because if truth is not being taught, 19:41 it can't help you in this life, 19:42 and it surely can't show you the way to heaven. 19:44 Amen. 19:46 Truth unmixed with error is a powerful tool 19:50 but once you slip a little error in... 19:52 then you got a tool for the enemy 19:56 so, let me say again, 19:57 "The enemy of mankind knew that truth unmixed with error 20:02 is a mighty power to save but when used to exalt self... 20:07 when used to exalt self... 20:10 and to further the projects of men 20:14 it becomes a power for evil. " 20:18 And that is what Nebuchadnezzar was doing. 20:24 He was turning the truth of God into a lie 20:30 through personal exaltation. 20:34 Pause. 20:38 I need to say this... 20:39 pause 20:44 everybody who speaks frankly to you, 20:50 and who tells you that the sun does not rise and set on you, 20:57 and who puts you in your place 21:01 and maybe sometimes even speaks a little firmly to you, 21:06 is not necessarily your enemy. 21:10 Pause... 21:12 Amen. 21:14 Conversely, everybody who tells you how great you are 21:21 and how cute you are 21:24 and how bright you are 21:28 and how wonderful you are 21:31 and that the sun does indeed rise and set on you, 21:35 is not necessarily your friend. 21:39 Amen. 21:40 Audience: Amen... yes... 21:42 Yeah, people say things for all kinds of reasons, 21:45 Just because somebody puts you in your place 21:48 and tells you... you're not as hot stuff as you think you are 21:52 that doesn't mean that they're your enemy, 21:53 they're just telling you the truth, 21:54 what you want, Ladies and Gentlemen, is truth 21:58 now, we're told Bible... Spirit of Prophecy... 22:01 that we ought to speak the truth in love 22:04 but sometimes... 22:06 sometimes... you will forgive my prerogative English 22:09 "there just ain't no way to make it nice" 22:12 pause... 22:14 amen... 22:15 does not Ezekiel say, 22:18 "If you see a brother falling into sin 22:21 and you don't say anything 22:23 and he is lost... 22:25 his blood will I require at your hand. " 22:28 So, sometimes, you can find a nice euphemistic way 22:33 to tell the truth that doesn't hurt feelings 22:35 and everybody is happy and we all smile... 22:37 hold hands and sing, "Kumbaya" 22:39 but sometimes... "Amen" 22:43 you got to kind of put it out there. 22:46 You're doing wrong... 22:48 that's evil... that's ungodly... 22:51 say it in love... and pray that it's taken in love 22:54 and so these astrologers wanted to get back on the gravy train, 23:00 now, remember just... just a few years before... 23:04 a little while before... they were slated for death... 23:07 they were all going to die, 23:10 but that has passed and time has passed 23:13 and they want to get back in. 23:14 Daniel has been... has been elevated... 23:17 he's got a... he's got a brand-new job, 23:19 he's making good money, 23:21 the three Hebrew boys... 23:23 in fact, I like Daniel because he looked out... 23:25 he looked out for the Hebrew boys... 23:26 he said, "Nebuchadnezzar, 23:28 listen, don't just give me a good job, 23:29 give my boys a good job too. " 23:31 So, Nebuchadnezzar was so happy... everybody got jobs 23:34 but they got promoted over the local guys 23:40 so now, they want back in 23:43 so, they're thinking... 23:45 and we see this again in Daniel chapter 6, by-the-way, 23:48 they're thinking, "We got to do something here, 23:52 we got to do something here to get back in... " 23:56 ah... okay... okay... 23:57 "Why don't you make this image, make it all of gold 24:00 put it on the plains of Dura... and here's... here's what you do 24:04 here's what you do 24:05 call everybody in from all over the empire 24:09 and make them all bow down... 24:12 make everybody hit the ground when the music plays. " 24:16 And if you're a person who's got a pretty big ego, 24:20 that sounds pretty good... 24:21 the whole world on their face before you. 24:26 "I like it... " 24:29 pause... 24:32 and so he went for it. 24:34 That's why I say to you, "Everybody who compliments you 24:37 and flatters you 24:38 and tells you how wonderful you are, 24:40 is not necessarily your friend. " 24:42 So he took the bait and he built an image 24:46 the exact same dimensions... 90 feet tall... 24:50 9 feet wide... 24:51 indicating his intention 24:53 that Babylon should stand forever. " 24:57 Pause... 24:59 There is a Jewish word that I learned in New York... 25:03 it is the title of our message today, 25:06 it's called: Chutz - pah 25:08 I was trying to... to teach Joe O'Brien 25:10 how to say, "Chutzpah" the other day 25:13 we were working on the bulletin. 25:14 Chutzpah is a Yiddish word, 25:17 now, Yiddish is an Eastern European amalgamation 25:21 of classic Judaism and... and German 25:24 and it's got a little Polish in there 25:28 and it's got some... some other Eastern European things 25:30 and it developed over the years 25:33 as the Jewish Community made it's way into Europe, 25:35 they just picked up terms 25:38 so, when you're in New York, I think Janey Pauley... 25:42 you spent some time in New York and... and... and... and... 25:47 the English in New York City is filled with Jewish sayings, 25:53 isn't that true? 25:54 All kinds of... the world "Schlep" 25:55 now if you're not familiar, 25:57 you don't even know what "Schlep" means, 25:59 "Schlep" is like to take a trip that's kind of a drudgery... 26:01 "I got to schlep to Carbondale 26:03 to go all the way to the health food store" 26:04 but in New York... that's common. 26:06 The word "nosh" 26:07 there's a store in New York called "Bagel nosh" 26:10 "nosh" means to just kind of chew on something 26:12 it means just... to nibble... that's you know... 26:15 "Schlemiel" we'll talk about that, 26:17 we got a sermon... I think it's Daniel chapter 9 called, 26:19 "Schlemiel Schlemazl" 26:21 a "Schlemiel" is a person who makes bad decisions 26:24 and suffers for them 26:26 and a "Schlemazl" is a person who suffers 26:28 because of the bad decisions of others... 26:30 a "Schlemiel" is a person who spills his... his hot tea 26:33 and the "Schlemazl" is a person who the hot tea gets spilled on. 26:37 You know, all kinds of... of Jewish... 26:40 and it's all into... mixed into the English in New York City 26:46 and to be honest, I miss some of those 26:48 because the Jewish expressions... 26:50 the Yiddish expressions are very, very colorful expressions 26:54 so you got now "Chutzpah" 26:58 spelled: Chutzpah 27:01 like... like Hanukkah and really 27:03 to pronounce it correctly, the word is: hhhoodspah... 27:07 yeah, it's hhhoodspah... 27:09 not just: hoodspah... you got to do it: hhhoodspah... 27:12 and if you're Jewish, it's very easy, 27:15 just hhhoodspah... 27:16 I was trying to get Joe to do it the other day 27:18 and he couldn't quite get there 27:19 and I can't blame him, you got to practice... 27:21 but Chutz - pah 27:23 Chutzpah is a Yiddish word 27:24 which simply means: shameless audacity, 27:28 impudence, supreme self-confidence, 27:31 cheek, gall or nerve 27:35 so, to use it in a sentence, 27:37 "You know, he's got a lot of chutzpah 27:40 bringing that thing to church" 27:42 got a lot of nerve 27:44 it's chutzpah... 27:45 it's chutzpah. 27:47 So, Yiddish is a very wonderful dialect 27:50 and it's very, very colorful 27:52 and so, Nebuchadnezzar had the chutzpah 27:57 to make an image entirely of gold 28:01 in opposition to what God had declared. 28:05 Many scholars see Dura as a large plain 28:09 to the northeast of... of... of Babylon. 28:12 I found some... some... some... some scholars that say that 28:16 that Dura was inside the city of Babylon 28:19 but it doesn't really make sense 28:20 because of the number of people that were called to the... 28:25 called to the plain... in order to bow down before the statue. 28:30 The Bible indicates that there were representatives 28:34 from all across the provinces of Babylon. 28:38 The entire Empire was represented. 28:41 Pause. 28:42 They were to come and worship the golden statue... 28:48 a representation of the privileges... prerogatives 28:53 and prestige of the king himself. 28:55 The setting up of the image 28:59 was a construct of vanity, ego and pride 29:05 and when you come to the Lord, 29:08 the one thing... well not the one thing 29:12 but, some of the things, you got to let go 29:15 are your vanity... your ego and your pride, amen. 29:21 Audience: Amen. 29:22 I would say this... 29:24 we understand from the Spirit of Prophecy 29:27 in fact, let me ask you this way, 29:29 anybody knows what the number one sin the church is? 29:32 Audience: Pride. 29:34 Pride... you got it... pride... pride. 29:38 We're told it is the hardest to diagnose 29:42 pause 29:45 and almost impossible to cure 29:48 and everybody is infected to a greater or lesser degree 29:53 with it 29:56 hmmm... hmmm... 29:58 so everybody's got pride 30:00 and if you're thinking... you don't have pride, 30:03 you really got pride... 30:05 Audience: Laughing 30:06 and you got a problem. 30:08 That's why it's so hard to diagnose 30:10 because everybody knows 30:12 the person next to them has it. 30:14 Audience: Laughter. 30:16 But not the person in the mirror... 30:20 hardest to diagnose and almost impossible to cure 30:26 and I am so glad that Ellen White said, 30:28 "Almost impossible to cure" 30:29 amen... Audience: Amen. 30:31 It's tough... but it can be cured... 30:35 you can get rid of pride... 30:37 and everybody's got some of it 30:39 amen... we all got some 30:42 but we got to surrender to Jesus 30:45 and Nebuchadnezzar had a lot of it. 30:48 Lot of ego... a lot of pride... 30:51 and no one to check him... 30:53 no one to stop him. 30:56 Vanity, ego and pride... 30:59 the wise men appealed to these negative traits of character, 31:05 they flattered him and he took the bait. 31:10 Pause... 31:15 Prophets and Kings, page 504. 31:19 "With enthusiasm" Ellen White says, 31:24 "born of boundless ambition and... " 31:29 what's the word? 31:30 Audience: pride... Murray: pride... 31:32 "he entered into council with his wise men 31:35 as to how to bring this about" 31:38 the idea that the world would bow to him 31:42 really pleased him... 31:45 now, to me... that would scare me 31:48 wouldn't it? 31:49 People coming to bow... 31:51 I tend to get a little antsy with too much praise. 31:55 I do... 31:57 everybody likes a good "atta boy" 32:00 amen... 32:01 everybody likes a good pat on the back. 32:03 Everybody likes a good "you did well... God bless you" 32:08 but when people lay it on with a spatula, 32:11 you know, when they're just ladling praise on you, 32:14 you got to be careful with that kind of thing 32:17 and so, his ego is being fed... 32:20 these guys are saying, "Let's do it" 32:23 and so he dives in kind of with both feet 32:25 this is what it's all about for him, 32:29 and he likes this idea... 32:33 it... it aggrandizes itself to him 32:38 the idea that he may have an indestructible kingdom 32:44 which will last forever, 32:46 so they set up the statue 32:49 and the edict went out that when you hear the music 32:53 every face ought to be facing the ground. 32:59 This was personal for Nebuchadnezzar 33:05 and evidently he himself didn't even know 33:09 that the three Hebrews didn't bow down. 33:13 He wasn't aware... 33:15 I mean, you had tens of thousands of people there 33:20 and he couldn't see all of those many thousands 33:24 he had to be told, 33:26 "Hey, man, you know there are some people out there 33:31 that are not bowing down. " 33:32 Pause... 33:35 What do they call those people? The Whistleblowers. 33:39 Pause. 33:41 They came and told him that some people weren't bowing down. 33:49 Here's the access point. 33:50 "The fiery furnace was the prescribed punishment 33:54 for any and every offender 33:56 regardless of race, rank or privilege. " 33:59 So, the fiery furnace wasn't just put there 34:01 for the Hebrew boys, 34:03 that was standard punishment 34:05 for everybody who didn't bow down. 34:07 Regardless of race... regardless of rank... 34:11 regardless of privilege... 34:12 if you didn't bow down, 34:14 that was going to be your last... 34:15 now verse 7 informs us that when the music played 34:19 almost everybody bowed down... 34:23 just about everybody... 34:26 now the fact is, 34:28 we don't know where the Hebrew boys were standing 34:34 pause... 34:38 we only see them standing together... 34:40 but we don't know if they came from the same tribe. 34:44 How nice it would have been if you had one standing there 34:50 and one standing there 34:53 and one standing there... 34:55 each standing alone was standing for the Lord. 34:59 Amen. 35:00 Because the truth is, 35:02 sometimes, you're not going to get a lot of people 35:04 to stand with you 35:06 sometimes, you're going to go through some stuff 35:08 and even those who love you can't go through it with you. 35:13 Amen. 35:16 There are going to be some experiences 35:17 that you and Jesus have to go through alone. 35:20 Your mate can love you... they can take care of you... 35:25 they can encourage you 35:27 but sometimes it's just you and God 35:31 amen... just you and the Lord. 35:35 Pause... 35:37 So, we don't know if they're standing together 35:38 or they were standing alone 35:40 but they were standing, amen. 35:43 Audience: Amen. 35:45 Pause... 35:46 So, here's the word, 35:48 "There are certain Jews 35:51 whom thou has set over the affairs of the province 35:54 of Babylon, 35:56 Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego... 35:59 they have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, 36:06 nor do they worship the golden image which you have set up. " 36:09 Whistleblowers... 36:11 "Some guys out there King... 36:12 they're not paying attention to you 36:15 they're not bowing down... " 36:17 "As the three Hebrew boys stood before the king, 36:21 he was convinced that they possessed something 36:24 that the other wise men of the kingdom did not have. " 36:29 Now, here's what I found interesting. 36:31 When you stand for the Lord, 36:34 people can tell if the Lord is in your life 36:40 even if they don't like the fact that He's there. 36:44 Amen. 36:46 Yeah, when... when Christ is in your life, 36:50 there are certain carriage to your life 36:53 certain way you conduct yourself... 36:56 when Christ stood before Pilate, bloody, battered, beaten... 37:01 Pilate knew, "This is not just some ordinary criminal" 37:07 it was his intent... "Let me run out here... 37:10 convict this guy... go back to bed... 37:13 get some sleep... " 37:14 but when he saw Jesus, 37:16 he knew, "He's not an ordinary guy" 37:19 and Nebuchadnezzar... when he saw these three Hebrew boys, 37:24 was convinced of the same thing. 37:26 These are not ordinary people 37:29 and they have something that my wise men do not have. 37:34 There's something in these three people. 37:38 He knew that he was in the presence of some people 37:42 that were different... that were special... 37:45 that had stood... 37:48 Pause... 37:51 These Whistleblowers 37:53 were motivated by jealousy 37:56 and we see this over and over and over again. 37:59 Daniel, later on, gets his turn at being the object of jealousy 38:05 a few chapters hence... 38:07 jealousy is the same emotion that motivated Lucifer in heaven 38:14 it's almost the original sin. 38:16 Pause... 38:19 In a word... jealousy over the honors and positions 38:26 held by Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael... 38:30 Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego... 38:31 is what motivated these men to point them out. 38:36 "O king, live forever!" 38:38 you got three guys who are foreigners... 38:42 you gave them our jobs... they're ruling over us... 38:47 you elevated them to positions in the Government 38:51 that we should have... 38:54 we should occupy... 38:55 and now, O king, respectfully, 38:58 they're thumbing their nose at you... " 39:00 pause... 39:04 and the word in the Hebrew is, "They are flagrantly... 39:10 flagrantly violating your decree... " 39:16 pause... 39:19 in short... "Hey man, they ain't paying you no mind. " 39:25 Pause... 39:29 "So, now we know that you missed this 39:33 and out of respect for your lordship, 39:37 we just thought, you ought to know. " 39:41 Pause... 39:44 "They don't regard you... 39:47 they don't regard your kingdom. " 39:53 Pause... 39:56 "Then with his hand stretched upward in defiance, 40:00 he demanded... 40:02 and who is the God 40:04 who will deliver you out of my hand?" 40:08 Pause... 40:15 That's a very dangerous statement... 40:18 we've heard statements like that before, 40:21 when Moses went to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go" 40:28 Pharaoh said, "Who is this God that I should let you go?" 40:36 you see... when... 40:39 when you shake your finger in the face of God like that, 40:43 you kind of force God to introduce Himself. 40:47 Amen. 40:49 You kind of force Him 40:53 to re-acquaint you with Him and His power. 40:57 So, when you say, "Who... who is this God?" 41:01 Well, now, God's got to say, "Okay, here is Who I am. " 41:06 Amen. 41:08 So, Nebuchadnezzar says, 41:15 "Who's the God 41:16 that's going to pull you out of this situation?" 41:20 Pharaoh said... and bless your heart... 41:26 Sennacherib said it... remember he sent that letter to Hezekiah? 41:30 And he said... "first let me tell you something 41:35 what you need to know is, every country has a God... 41:40 pause... 41:42 everybody's got a God... 41:44 and when they see us coming, they pray to that God... 41:49 and my record says, 41:54 no God has delivered any country from my hand... 41:59 so don't let Hezekiah tell you that your God has... 42:05 because history says, 'No God has. '" 42:09 Pause. 42:11 So, now you put God on notice, 42:13 you kind of called God out 42:16 "Don't let Hezekiah fool you 42:19 because nobody's been able to do it. " 42:22 Well, now, God's got to show Sennacherib... this is different 42:25 because you're dealing with the real God now. 42:28 So, Sennacherib loses the battle... 42:31 excuse me... goes home... 42:32 and his own children slay him in his own temple. 42:35 Pause. 42:38 So now Nebuchadnezzar's saying, 42:41 "Nobody's going to save you... 42:43 nobody's going to be able to deliver you... 42:47 pause... 42:53 and a fiery furnace is going to be heated... this very hour. " 43:00 Now, you got to... looking at this... 43:02 you got to say one thing for Nebuchadnezzar, 43:04 he didn't... he didn't blow up, he gave them... 43:06 he gave them a second chance, 43:07 he really did... 43:08 he said, "Okay, maybe you didn't hear the music... " 43:12 pause... 43:16 you know, "maybe you didn't hear, 43:18 so, I'll give you another chance... 43:20 I'll give you another shot... 43:25 and when you hear the music, 43:29 just bow down... " 43:31 pause... 43:33 now, this is a hot-headed guy who's not accustomed 43:38 to having people go against him, 43:40 but he's given them another chance. 43:43 Remember, not long before, 43:46 he had ordered the murder of his wise men, 43:49 so he's given them a second chance, 43:51 he's stepping out of his... his normal routine... 43:54 "I'll give you another chance" 43:56 pause... 43:58 and when you hear the music, bow down" 44:02 pause... 44:05 "and if not, furnace is ready" 44:09 now let me show you something from the Spirit of Prophecy, 44:11 "he stretched his hand... " 44:14 and in Daniel 3:15... 44:18 he says, "No God can deliver you" 44:21 and that's the pivotal line... 44:25 pause... 44:31 I don't know how many... 44:35 how many Jews came out of Israel into Babylon, 44:44 when Nebuchadnezzar deported the last... with Zedekiah, 44:49 he pretty much cleaned out the whole country. 44:55 So, there were a lot of Jews in Babylon... 45:01 and I'm going to assume 45:03 some of them were there that day 45:06 but the Bible says, "Only three stood" 45:10 where was everybody else? 45:14 Pause... 45:16 Surely there were more there than... than just those three, 45:23 but the Bible says, "Only three stood" 45:27 pause... 45:30 "When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, 45:33 he relocated what was tantamount to the entire population. " 45:37 Well, where was everybody else? 45:40 Only three stood. 45:44 Pause... 45:47 You know, as I said before, 45:48 sometimes there's no nice way to bring bad news. 45:53 Pause. 45:56 So, the three Hebrew boys said, "We are not careful... 46:01 we're not going to march... watch our words... 46:04 we're not going to be politically correct, 46:07 we're not going to try to figure some nice way to say that" 46:11 the word is, "Cashach" 46:14 it means "not necessary" 46:17 so the Hebrew worthies told the king, 46:22 "It is not necessary for you to give us another chance... 46:27 it's not necessary... 46:30 because nothing different is going to happen. 46:34 We're not going to watch our words, 46:36 we're not going to find some politically correct way 46:39 to spin this, 46:41 we're not going to try to say something 46:44 to make your ego feel good, 46:46 play the music as often as you want... 46:51 we will not... we cannot bow down. " 46:56 Audience: Amen... amen. 46:58 Now, that's... that's... that's, that's, that's tough to say 47:02 to a guy who you know is a reactionary, 47:04 you know he's not going to take that well, 47:07 you know he's not going to say, 47:08 "Well okay, I'll give you a pass, 47:09 God bless you... you can go home now. " 47:12 "Not necessary to give us another chance 47:15 because we're not going to bow down, 47:17 we're not going to change... " 47:19 now, the Bible says that... 47:20 that the king's decree was so urgent and so hasty, 47:27 that they heated up the furnace so hot 47:31 that it even killed the people that put them in there, 47:34 this is how urgent it was, 47:36 this was a pivotal time in the history of God's people. 47:42 Now, let me... let me show you something that is... is... 47:49 is... is very, very important, 47:51 I said that in Exodus you got Pharaoh, 47:55 and in 2nd Chronicles, you got Sennacherib 47:59 now, you've got Nebuchadnezzar giving a second chance 48:03 that has been rebuffed 48:05 because they're never going to bow down, 48:07 there's no nice way to deliver that message 48:09 but what you've got to understand is, 48:14 and what they understood, 48:16 is that, when you stand up for Jesus... 48:22 pause 48:24 Jesus will stand up for you. 48:26 Audience: Amen... praise God. 48:28 Now, that's hard to understand when money is rolling out 48:34 and not coming in 48:35 and you got more bills at the end of the month 48:38 than you got money to pay 48:39 and you got problems in your life 48:41 and... and... and... you're challenged on your job 48:46 but the truth is, 48:48 when you stand up for Jesus, Jesus will stand up for you. 48:55 He is on the record as standing up for you. 48:58 He has to stand up for you. 49:00 He's going to be faithful to His Word 49:02 even when we are not faithful. 49:06 So, Daniel chapter 3 verse 18, 49:09 "Let it be known O king, we do not serve your gods, 49:14 nor will we worship the gold image that you have set up. " 49:19 Sometimes, you just have to plant your feet 49:21 and stand for the Lord, 49:22 there's just no way to get around it. 49:24 There's no way to make that message sound nice... 49:27 there's no way to make it sound pretty, 49:30 you've got to just stand for the Lord. 49:32 You're the king, you're the king of this empire 49:35 but we cannot bow down, 49:40 we must stand up, amen. 49:44 Audience: Amen. 49:45 The Bible gives us no indication that anybody else stood... 49:51 and that's sad... 49:52 but the truth is... many times we have to stand alone. 49:56 So, whatever the number was, only three stood 50:00 and they stood strong and God stood with them. 50:04 Others caved in... they did not 50:08 but before we point a finger at the others, 50:12 this is a sober, convicting question 50:16 that each of us must ask ourselves, 50:20 everybody will be asked, 50:22 "How much does Jesus mean to you?" 50:27 Husband can't answer that for wives, 50:30 parents cannot answer that for children, 50:34 it's a single solitary question 50:37 that everybody has to answer for themselves. 50:41 What does Christ mean to you? 50:45 How much is Christ worth to you? 50:49 If the world turns its back, will you stand for Jesus? 50:54 If everybody leaves, will you stay? 50:57 How much is He worth to you? 50:59 Not only will you answer that question in mind, 51:03 you will have to answer that question in action. 51:06 The King James Version says, "We're not going to be careful, 51:10 we're not going to be delicate, 51:12 we're going to stand for the Lord. " 51:15 And when they stood for the Lord, 51:17 the Lord stood for them. 51:20 So now, the king loses his cool and then verse 19... 51:25 they go into the fire. 51:27 Pause... 51:31 I often wonder what that experience was like. 51:35 They're tossed into a fiery furnace 51:38 and the king went down to watch them burn 51:43 pause... 51:46 and he says to those around him, 51:49 "But wait... 51:52 didn't we throw three guys in there? 51:56 Where did the fourth one come from?" 52:01 Pause. 52:03 He said, "We threw in three bound... tied down... 52:08 and they're in there dancing... 52:11 and there's a fourth guy in there, 52:15 who looks like the Son of the God. " 52:18 Can you imagine that scene? 52:23 Looking at some of the archeology, 52:29 they think that the furnace was a kiln for baking bricks... 52:34 baking mud bricks... you know... 52:36 big open hearth furnace, lot of fire at the bottom 52:39 big enough for men to be in 52:41 because they bake bricks in large quantities, 52:44 so he was looking into a burning furnace, 52:48 and there before his astonished eyes, 52:52 are four people walking in the midst of the fire 52:57 incredible! 52:59 God standing up for His people 53:03 because His people stood up for Him. 53:06 Daniel chapter 3:25, 53:09 "... and the fourth is like the Son of God" 53:13 or a son of the gods: 53:15 a 'Divine Being'" 53:17 he didn't quite know precisely who it was, 53:19 but he knew it wasn't an earthly creature, 53:22 he knew it wasn't somebody he had put in there, 53:26 somebody else had got in there 53:28 and He looks different from the other three... 53:29 got to be God... 53:31 pause... 53:33 a divine being... 53:34 pause 53:40 "And the princes, the governors, 53:43 the captains, and the King's counselors, 53:45 being gathered together, saw these men, 53:48 upon whose bodies the fire had no power, 53:52 nor was an hair of their head singed, 53:55 neither were their coats changed, 53:59 nor the smell of fire had passed on them. " 54:03 Can you imagine... 54:04 you set a trap for somebody 54:07 and God totally undoes what you're trying to do. 54:11 That's why Ladies and Gentlemen, 54:13 you don't have to lie awake nights 54:15 trying to get even with folk, 54:17 amen... 54:19 Just live your life for Jesus. 54:21 God will get your back... 54:24 God will look out for you. 54:28 Somebody does you wrong... the Bible says, 54:30 "Vengeance is mine says the Lord" 54:32 Now, that's not God saying, "I'm a vengeful God" 54:34 He's saying, "Don't you try to get vengeance, 54:36 don't you try to get vengeance... 54:38 let me take care of it. " 54:40 Amen... 54:42 You don't have to look out for yourself... 54:43 God will look after you... 54:44 just because someone does something to you, 54:46 don't lie awake nights trying to plan ways to get back at them, 54:48 hmmm... hmmm... 54:49 God's going to take care of it, amen. 54:51 Just do good. 54:53 So, what this text is saying is, 54:55 those very people 54:57 who had plotted against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 55:01 saw that their plot came to nothing 55:05 and saw the protection that God gives 55:08 to those who stand up for Him. 55:10 Audience: Amen. 55:11 How aggravated they must have been 55:14 to see God step in 55:16 on time... every time... 55:19 and of course, you know what Nebuchadnezzar did 55:23 because you know what kind of a rash person he is, 55:26 "Let's throw them in now... " 55:28 and Nebuchadnezzar said, "Come out and come here... " 55:34 let's read Daniel 3:27 55:38 coats not changed... 55:42 not even the smell of smoke, 55:44 not even the smell of smoke... 55:45 pause... 55:49 God is so good... 55:51 the Bible says, "The angel of the Lord 55:54 encampeth around about them that fear Him... " 55:57 and does what? "delivers" 55:59 the lesson is that God delivers. 56:05 Pause. 56:09 By the end of the chapter, this is what I think is cute 56:15 because this happens three times, 56:18 you remember, after chapter 2, 56:20 Daniel and the Hebrew boys got promoted 56:23 well, here, at the end of chapter 3, 56:27 Daniel and the Hebrew boys get promoted again, 56:31 so, every time they get in trouble 56:35 and God brings them through, 56:37 they get promoted... they get promoted. 56:40 Later on, we're going to see 56:42 under... under the Medo-Persian Empire 56:45 Cyrus really thinks, "You know what? 56:48 I ought to just give Daniel the whole kingdom, 56:50 I'll just let him run everything, 56:51 let him be the Prime Minister" 56:53 so, every time God brings them through, 56:55 they get promoted. 56:57 So when you serve God, 56:58 not only do you get back what you lost, 57:00 you get a little bit more... 57:01 Audience: Amen. 57:03 Amen... that's the God that we serve 57:05 and Nebuchadnezzar makes the second proclamation, 57:09 pause... 57:13 they get promoted... 57:15 again, Nebuchadnezzar is impressed by the Lord... 57:18 let me close with a statement from the New Testament. 57:22 "What shall we say in response to these things? 57:26 If God be for us, who can be against us?" 57:35 The lesson of Daniel chapter 3 is simply this, 57:41 "God will never let you fall... 57:45 He will never leave you... 57:47 nor forsake you 57:49 you stand up for Him 57:51 He will always stand up for you. " 57:56 Audience: Amen. Murray: Amen. |
Revised 2018-07-17