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Series Code: DAA
Program Code: DAA017004A
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00:01 Music...
00:25 Hello and welcome once again to Daniel All Access. 00:30 Our chapter-by-chapter walk through the book of Daniel 00:34 and the prophecies that are therein 00:37 but more than just looking at the prophetic landscape, 00:41 asking and answering the question, "What" 00:43 we want to seek to ask and answer "Why" 00:46 why these things happened... 00:47 we want to take a look at the people, the places, the times 00:50 and then try to mine as best we can 00:54 what these prophecies have to say to us 00:57 here in the latter stages of the history of this earth 01:01 so, I thank you for joining us. 01:02 Tonight we want to look at Daniel chapter 4. 01:07 The title of the message is, 01:10 "Thoughts On My Bed Visions in My Head" 01:13 and we're getting ready to bid adieu to Nebuchadnezzar 01:16 but before we say "goodbye" to him, 01:19 he has much to say to us 01:21 as we take a look at Daniel chapter 4 01:25 and try to see what God has to say to our hearts 01:29 this very night. 01:30 I ask you to join with me in prayer 01:34 as we prepare for our sitting together. 01:38 "Dear Father, we do thank you for the privilege we have 01:42 of studying the... your Word... 01:43 we know that your Word is a lamp unto our feet 01:47 and a light unto our path. 01:49 We know that there is much truth in your Word 01:52 and we ask for clarity of mind 01:56 and for the presence and power of the Holy Spirit 02:01 that we may know and understand and do 02:04 because we know that it is in the doing 02:07 that we are made like Christ Jesus 02:10 and we thank you, dear Father, 02:12 in Jesus' name, amen. " 02:14 Pause. 02:16 Most Biblical scholarship agrees 02:18 that Daniel chapter 4 is autobiographical. 02:23 Nebuchadnezzar is writing for himself 02:27 about himself 02:28 and he structures his "self-revelation" 02:33 I guess, we can call it 02:34 almost in real time and... and... flashback... 02:40 it's almost as though he's... he's... 02:43 he's writing one of those air socks fill neurs 02:47 from the '40s and '50s here in the United States. 02:52 Chapter 4 opens as 02:54 an enraptured Nebuchadnezzar 02:57 and I guess, that's the way we could call it. 02:58 He... he's... he's... 03:00 he is gushing over the goodness of the Lord, 03:04 he... he opines on the goodness and greatness of Israel's God, 03:08 let's hear his words. 03:11 The Bible says, "Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all peoples, 03:17 nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: 03:22 Peace be multiplied to you. 03:25 I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders 03:29 that the high God has wrought towards me, 03:32 How great are His signs, And how mighty are His wonders! 03:37 His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 03:41 And His dominion is from generation to generation. " 03:46 These are the words of someone who is under conviction. 03:52 This is a person who is impressed 03:55 with what he sees of the power of Israel's God. 04:00 Verses 1 through 3 are praise in real time. 04:06 He is repeating now a pattern that we've seen before 04:10 and we will see it again and again, 04:13 so, he is praising God. 04:15 Then in verse 4, Nebuchadnezzar begins a... a... 04:20 dare I say... a soliloquy 04:22 in a flashback. 04:24 It is sometimes stark... it is sometimes dark... 04:28 it is stylized many times, it is earthy 04:31 but it consumes verses 4 through 10. 04:35 He is telling us somewhat after the fact 04:38 why he is praising God 04:42 and why his heart is so filled with elegant praise. 04:47 Pause. 04:49 Verses 1 through 3... he is saying, 04:52 "I am praising Him and here is why... " 04:56 Now, Nebuchadnezzar begins to talk about his life 04:58 and his time, 05:00 he says, "You know, I was doing good, 05:02 things were going good in my kingdom, 05:04 I was doing good personally, things were moving along smartly 05:09 the empire was in order 05:10 all were safe... all were settled... 05:13 everybody was sound... everybody was sanguine, 05:16 we were doing very, very well 05:19 and in Daniel chapter 4 verse 5, something happens 05:24 Nebuchadnezzar says, 05:26 "I saw a dream which made me afraid, 05:31 and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head 05:37 troubled me. " 05:39 So now, here comes another dream, 05:43 everything is going along well but here is a second dream 05:49 that is sent by God to Nebuchadnezzar. 05:53 Now this is... this is important. 05:54 God is sending Nebuchadnezzar a second dream. 05:59 This alludes to the fact that maybe that first dream 06:06 didn't have its full desired effect, 06:09 so, God is sending him now a second dream. 06:12 Israel had 42 kings, you remember that? 06:16 And of the 42, if you take out Saul and David and Solomon, 06:21 you've got 19 in Israel and you've got 20 in Judah 06:25 one woman in Judah... 06:28 and of that 39, only eight were good kings. 06:34 The rest, the Bible says, 06:36 did evil in the sight of the Lord. 06:38 That's... that's a pretty sorry number 06:40 pause 06:42 so, God now is spending, what may seem to be 06:46 an inordinate amount of time working with Nebuchadnezzar. 06:51 Now, this is very, very important for several reasons 06:56 but the one that comes to mind immediately 06:59 is this fact, Ladies and Gentlemen, 07:00 God does not waste time, amen. 07:04 God is en efficient God 07:06 if God puts in work on somebody or something, 07:09 it's going to turn out well 07:10 and you'll notice, God is spending a lot of time 07:12 on Nebuchadnezzar. 07:14 This is two dreams to a heathen king. 07:17 God took the time to send him two dreams 07:20 and both dreams troubled him. 07:22 So, he's troubled again... 07:25 they are spaced apart by a good little bit of time 07:27 but God is still wrestling with and working with Nebuchadnezzar. 07:34 So, God sends him a second dream. 07:37 The Babylonian Kingdom 07:39 was in its ascendancy for a short 70 years. 07:44 Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon for 40 of those 70 years. 07:48 So, for a great length of time, he was on the throne. 07:53 We are several years now into his reign 07:57 and God sends him, in mercy, 08:00 a second dream. 08:02 This one, bless your heart, he remembered, 08:06 he knew this dream... 08:07 he didn't know what it meant but he knew what he dreamed 08:11 and it scared him. 08:14 So now, he calls his constellation of wise men, 08:18 that's what they're there for, 08:19 they're on staff... they're paid... 08:23 they live at the behest of the king... 08:25 their job is to settle the king's nerves 08:28 when things happen that he does not understand, 08:31 that's their job. 08:33 Now, here's... here's something very interesting, 08:35 when I... when I discovered the connection here, 08:37 I thought it really rather interesting. 08:39 You remember in Daniel chapter 2, 08:41 Nebuchadnezzar had a dream 08:44 that he could not remember what he dreamt, 08:46 you remember that... 08:48 all right... Nebuchadnezzar says to 08:51 the wise men 08:53 tell me the dream tell me the interpretation... 08:56 the wise men say, "You tell us the dream, 09:00 we'll tell you the interpretation, 09:03 we are... we are translators or interpreters, 09:09 we are not mind readers 09:10 so, tell us the dream... we'll tell you what it means. " 09:13 Well, he doesn't remember the dream, 09:15 so they say, "Well, if you can't tell us, 09:18 we cannot tell you... " 09:19 Now, here in Daniel chapter 4, what is interesting... 09:22 if you go down to verse 18, 09:24 Nebuchadnezzar says this after he calls Daniel, 09:28 he says, "I... I told them the dream, 09:31 and they still couldn't interpret it. " 09:34 So, they have the dream... 09:36 "This is what I remembered, this one's in my head, 09:38 I gave them what the dream was 09:40 and they still couldn't do any good, 09:43 still could not interpret it" 09:45 and the question you want to... you may want to ask is, "why?" 09:49 Why? 09:51 I think it is because 09:53 God didn't want to give that sacred message 09:59 to profane lips 10:02 I truly believe that God did not want those wise men... 10:08 those astrologers... 10:10 those people who communicate with the devil and the dead... 10:14 God did not want His word coming out of their mouths. 10:19 Pause. 10:20 It occurs to me that God... the God we serve 10:26 is somewhat selective about the mouths He uses 10:32 to disseminate His message, 10:36 amen... 10:37 God doesn't want just anybody preaching for Him, 10:41 that's the truth. 10:42 Remember in the New Testament, there was this lady 10:44 who was following the disciples and saying, 10:45 "These are the men of God, these are the holy men of God" 10:48 and the disciples turned around and cast the devil out 10:50 and got folk all upset because they were losing money, 10:52 God is very, very, very selective 10:55 about who He uses to preach His Word 10:59 and God did not want His word coming out of their mouths, 11:06 Psalm chapter 31 verse 18, the Bible says, 11:10 "Let lying lips be mute" 11:11 and so, there is no way in this instance... as I see it, 11:16 that God would use this motley crew 11:20 of soothsayers and Chaldeans to carry his message. 11:26 Why? Because they would not give God the glory. 11:31 These guys speak to the devil, 11:34 they speak to spirits, 11:35 and if they had gotten the message, 11:38 they would have either given credit to Satan 11:41 or taken the credit themselves 11:42 and that's not what God wants, 11:43 you see, God was trying to reach Nebuchadnezzar, 11:45 God was trying to save Nebuchadnezzar. 11:49 God was trying to convict and convert Nebuchadnezzar 11:53 and so His message had to come through the mouth 11:58 of a converted individual. 12:00 So, there's no way God's going to allow these Chaldeans 12:03 to speak for Him 12:06 because God would not get the glory. 12:10 So, again, they fail 12:13 and Daniel is called. 12:16 Now, it's interesting because to my mind, 12:18 since Daniel came through the first time, 12:22 I would think the king would go to Daniel the second time 12:25 but evidently Daniel was the last man on the list 12:29 and when he got to Daniel, 12:31 of course, Daniel had the answer to the dream. 12:35 Pause. 12:37 A second quick Accent Point... 12:38 Access Point. 12:40 This is the second dream sent by God to Nebuchadnezzar. 12:45 I remember, some time ago, 12:47 listening to the testimony of a young lady 12:49 and she was saying, 12:51 "I told God, 'Lord, I'm going to give you one more chance 12:53 to prove yourself to me'" 12:54 and what she didn't understand was, God was saying, 12:57 "I'm going to give you one more chance to accept me" 13:00 and this is what... 13:02 this is what is happening to Nebuchadnezzar. 13:03 This second dream... is God giving him another chance. 13:08 Aren't you... aren't you glad we serve a God 13:10 of second chances and third chances 13:12 and fourth chances and fifth chances 13:14 and on and on and on and on... 13:17 God doesn't give up after one try 13:21 and so, He is giving Nebuchadnezzar 13:24 a second opportunity to accept Him. 13:28 Pause... 13:31 Here's a side bar... 13:33 I want to show you a text that for years kind of confused me 13:40 and I put it in here because 13:42 it sort of fits in what we're talking about. 13:44 The Bible says this in John 7:17 "If any man will do His will, 13:50 he shall know the doctrine, 13:53 whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. " 13:57 Now, when I first ran across that... 14:00 it seemed rather confusing to me 14:03 because it seemed backwards. 14:05 You know, it seemed backwards, 14:07 once you know what to do... then you do. 14:13 Does that make sense? 14:15 Yeah, if you ask my wife to change a flat, 14:19 well, you don't want to do that 14:21 because she doesn't know how to change a flat, 14:24 she's never changed a flat, 14:25 she probably could do it, 14:26 if someone told her how to do it, 14:29 but you can't ask her to change a flat 14:33 unless you show her how... 14:35 so it occurs to me 14:37 that 14:39 "knowing how" comes before "doing" 14:42 "if you want me to do... show me how" 14:44 but the Bible seems to be saying, 14:47 "Do... then you'll know how" 14:51 and that always... that always confused me... 14:54 just seemed like it was... it was... it was backwards. 14:56 How can you do unless you know what to do 15:02 or how can you do what you know 15:06 when you don't know what to do. 15:10 Pause. 15:14 The answer is... and the Bible says, 15:16 you have to be willing first. 15:20 Now, this is very, very important. 15:23 you have to be willing. 15:27 Now, let me give you a text... 15:29 the context of this text is "giving" 15:33 but I think it fits in here 15:35 without doing violence to the text 15:36 and that's 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 12, 15:43 2nd Corinthians 8 and verse 12 15:45 we will read just the first part. 15:48 The Bible says, "For if there be first a willing mind, 15:55 is it accepted?" 15:57 So, when you come to the Lord, 15:59 you've got to come with a heart 16:04 that is willing to do those things 16:07 that God has asked you to do, amen. 16:11 When you open your Bible, you've got to be willing 16:14 to observe and obey everything that God is pleased to show you. 16:20 Pause. 16:21 Why would God be obliged to reveal something to you 16:27 that you have no intention of surrendering yourself to? 16:31 Pause. 16:33 Now, let me advise... let me say this quickly... 16:35 God can and has done that, 16:39 we serve a loving God 16:41 and there are many, many stories in the Bible 16:45 and we all know some 16:47 of people who have come to God with their fist balled. 16:50 Pause. 16:52 They've come to God with the intention of fighting Him 16:55 and He has shown them and warned them 16:59 but when you come to God 17:03 and you are willing to do whatever He asks you to do, 17:08 it sort of puts a little onus on God 17:10 to hear you a little better. 17:12 It's just like you have two children, 17:14 one child is obedient and follows 17:16 and one child just doesn't want to hear anything you have to say 17:19 now, you love both children, 17:21 but the truth is, you can do a little more 17:25 for the one who is obedient amen. 17:27 Does that make sense? 17:29 Yeah, if a child is willing to listen and obey, 17:33 you can help them more than one who simply rejects 17:37 everything you have to say. 17:38 When I was a pastor 17:40 and had a lady in my church, she had two... 17:42 she said, "One keeps me on my knees 17:44 and one keeps me praising the Lord. " 17:46 She had a... she had a girl 17:48 who was so brilliant... she was reading the New York... 17:51 The Sunday New York Times at age five. 17:53 The Sunday New York Times is 750,000 words. 17:56 It's thick... thick... thick 17:58 and if you've been to New York, 17:59 you know that Sunday New York Times... 18:01 that... that's like carrying a weight around with you. 18:03 At five she's reading the Sunday New York Times... 18:05 that sailed through school... 18:08 graduated from Andrews University... 18:10 just sailed through school... 18:11 that was the girl... 18:13 anything her mother said, she would do 18:15 and then she had the boy, 18:17 she said, "This one is wearing my knees out" 18:19 he's just wearing my knees out... 18:21 same kids... same parents... 18:22 but she could do more for the one who wanted to listen 18:27 than the one who did not 18:28 and so, the Bible is saying, 18:30 "There must first be a willing mind" 18:32 and if you're willing... 18:34 you will know if you're surrendered to the God... 18:38 to God... rather... 18:40 so, in verse 8 Nebuchadnezzar writes 18:44 but at the last, Daniel came before me, 18:48 finally, he comes to Daniel. 18:49 Now, we don't know how much time elapsed 18:53 between Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel chapter 4 18:58 but truly, Daniel should have been first on the list 19:01 and I cannot understand why we'll go to friends... 19:05 we'll go to colleagues... we'll go to workmates... 19:08 we'll go to everybody to get advice 19:10 and then if it doesn't work... then we'll want to go to God 19:12 and God ought to be first, amen 19:14 that ought to be the first place you go, 19:17 so, Daniel comes at the end... 19:20 well praise God he's got the insight 19:23 and he's got the Spirit of God in him 19:26 and I like the insight provided by the Spirit of Prophecy 19:30 as to the social, psychological dilemma 19:33 that Daniel finds himself in. 19:35 Now watch the... watch the... the interplay here, 19:38 the interplay between Daniel... the Lord... 19:42 and the king... 19:43 let's look at the state of play in Babylon at this time 19:47 in the aftermath 19:48 then we'll look at the "what" and "why" 19:51 and the dream itself. 19:52 Again, in the sort of film noir flashback. 19:56 A quote from Prophet and Kings. 19:58 "To Daniel the meaning of the dream was plain, 20:03 and its significance startled him. 20:06 He was astonied... " 20:09 now that's an interesting word, 20:10 when I looked it up, I thought it was a misprint 20:12 but evidently, two centuries ago, 20:14 "astonied" was part of the English language. 20:17 It means the same as "astonished" means now 20:20 but it's "astonied" it means "dazed and bewildered 20:23 for one hour. " 20:24 So, Daniel has the answer 20:28 but when he got the answer, 20:32 it really sort of knocked him on his heels a little bit. 20:36 He wasn't expecting what that dream meant. 20:38 Now, the king didn't know exactly what it meant, 20:42 but he knew it wasn't good. 20:44 The Court wise men were... as we say... clueless 20:50 and Daniel now knows the dream 20:53 but he is so overwhelmed... 20:56 so blown away by its interpretation 21:01 that he cannot speak. 21:03 Pause. 21:05 Now, that's the "what" 21:07 let's take a moment and try to examine the "why" 21:10 let's get some idea of the theological, 21:15 sociological context for this part of the book 21:19 and we find that in Prophets and Kings, page 516. 21:22 Going to summarize. 21:24 So, Nebuchadnezzar now has two dreams. 21:28 He is humble and praises God by the first one, 21:32 he sets up a golden image... 21:36 a prelude to the "fiery furnace" incident, 21:41 he is humbled by the "fiery furnace" incident, 21:47 he praises the Lord... 21:49 he promotes Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 21:53 so now we understand the spiritual state of play 21:59 in this part of Daniel chapter 4. 22:02 Here's the Access Point. 22:04 Again we're in Prophets and Kings. 22:06 "Nebuchadnezzar nevertheless 22:11 at times had ascribed to the favor of Jehovah 22:15 the glory of his kingdom and the splendor of his reign. " 22:22 Now, that's very, very interesting 22:23 that this heathen king 22:26 realized that his success was not all due 22:33 to his own effort sometimes 22:37 pause 22:38 and that is the crux of the problem. 22:43 He's got some good traits 22:47 but he doesn't give credit where credit is due. 22:53 Does that sound like anybody you know 22:54 or anybody you've ever met? 22:56 Not all bad... just not willing to give God the glory 22:59 so Nebuchadnezzar sometimes realized and said, 23:03 "You know, this isn't me... there's a God" 23:06 and of course, once Daniel and the Hebrew boys came in, 23:10 he is constantly hearing about and knowing about God. 23:13 He is aware of the God of the Hebrews, 23:15 God has made Himself known to him 23:16 and there were times 23:18 when in his more sanguine moments 23:20 he thought to himself, 23:22 "You know, there's got to be a God helping me with this, 23:25 this can't all be me. " 23:27 So, there were times when he was ready to admit 23:30 that God was helping him 23:33 and that the splendor of his reign 23:36 was not the work of his own hands 23:38 but that it was indeed the work of God. 23:42 Nebuchadnezzar's noble conception of God's purpose 23:48 concerning the nations was lost sight of 23:50 later in his experience; 23:52 but when God humbled him on the plains of Dura, 23:56 he again acknowledged God. " 23:58 See, God's going to force him 24:00 to acknowledge God. 24:03 God... the Lord we serve will not tell you how to decide 24:11 but He will make you decide, amen. 24:15 God will back you into a corner and make you make a decision, 24:18 you will determine what that decision is 24:21 but God will back you into a corner 24:23 and make you decide 24:25 and Nebuchadnezzar... when he went out on Dura 24:29 and he put the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, 24:31 he put them in... tied and bound and then when he goes to look 24:35 not only are they not tied and bound 24:38 but there's a fourth person in there 24:40 he realized that God takes care of his own. 24:44 That's a humbling experience, because the 90-foot golden image 24:50 was a personal thing with him 24:53 and God took that personal issue and made it personal 24:57 and saved those three Hebrew boys 25:01 and showed him the power of the Most High God 25:04 so, it was humbling 25:06 and in the light of that, 25:09 he gave glory to God. 25:13 So, God is getting through to Nebuchadnezzar. 25:17 The problem is, he hasn't learned how to grow 25:21 and that is something that we need to learn today 25:25 Brothers and Sisters, Ladies and Gentlemen, 25:27 how to grow in grace. 25:29 Ellen White talks about the spiritual heat. 25:31 There are times when you come to church 25:33 or when you have a particularly nice spiritual experience 25:38 and she calls it, "Spiritual Heat" 25:43 you feel warmed by the fires of the Holy Spirit, 25:45 pause 25:48 the job for the Christian is to take that feeling 25:53 and grow in it, you know what I mean? 25:56 And grow in it... to... to move from grace to grace, 26:00 from strength to strength 26:01 and grace to grace and strength to strength... 26:04 the job of the Christian is to grow in Christ every day. 26:09 The job of the Christian is to move from conviction 26:15 to conversion, 26:17 they are not the same. 26:20 All conversion starts with conviction. 26:26 Conviction is the sense that something is wrong. 26:29 you know it's wrong, 26:31 you're convicted that something is wrong. 26:33 Conversion is God getting in 26:36 and helping you to turn the wrong and make it right, amen, 26:40 so, conviction will have you say what Nebuchadnezzar said. 26:44 "God is a God of all Gods... 26:46 a King of all Kings... the Lord of all Lords" 26:48 but that's only the starting point, 26:50 that's not the end of your experience, 26:52 that's just the beginning. 26:53 You got to go from conviction to conversion. 26:58 You've got to grow in grace and grow in strength 27:02 and so, Nebuchadnezzar has shown us 27:05 a pattern of conviction 27:07 he was convicted when he heard about the statue, 27:10 he was convicted on the plains of Dura at the fiery furnace, 27:14 so, he's convicted... but his conviction has yet to translate 27:19 into conversion. 27:21 He has not learned that it is important for us to grow 27:26 in Christ and in our knowledge of Him 27:31 so he's humble... but he's not quite where 27:34 God wants him just yet. 27:39 I'm in Prophets and Kings, page 514. 27:44 "An idolater by birth and training, 27:49 and at the head of an idolatrous people, 27:52 he had nevertheless an innate sense of justice and right, 27:59 and God was able to use him as an instrument 28:04 for the fulfillment of His Divine purpose. " 28:08 Now that's very interesting, 28:10 he is an idolater, he's a pagan, 28:12 but somewhere in his heart, he knows what justice is 28:16 and he knows what "right" is and he knows right from wrong, 28:20 it's there inside his heart 28:22 but he's working against his training, 28:25 he's working against his background, 28:27 he's working against all the people that surround him 28:30 and that's why, Ladies and Gentlemen, 28:31 it is important for Christians 28:34 to surround themselves with Christians. 28:36 Pause... 28:38 Amen. 28:40 Now, I'm not saying that Christians 28:44 should only be with Christians 28:45 because I think we have a call to take our salt... 28:48 salt and light to the world, 28:50 but your inner circle... those that you listen to... 28:56 those that you spend time with, 28:58 those that you associate with on a regular basis, 29:02 ought to be people traveling the same road as you 29:07 who think like you do, 29:09 now they don't think exactly like you do 29:11 but as far as accepting the Lord... 29:13 who are walking the same road as you... 29:16 who know the same God that you know 29:18 and who are serving the God like you are. 29:20 You can spend a lot of time with non-Christian people 29:24 or people who don't like the Lord... 29:26 or people who don't serve the Lord, 29:27 or people who... who have no God-consciousness at all... 29:32 and maintain your Christian stability. 29:35 Your inner circle... 29:37 those that you listen to and dialog with... 29:40 and get a lot of information from and time with... 29:43 ought to be people who think as you do 29:45 and who love the Lord as you do. 29:47 That's how you strengthen yourself. 29:49 Now, if you're going to win people 29:51 studying with... with non-Christians... 29:53 my brother-in-law has a Bible Study Group 29:55 that meets on Tuesdays at his house down in Panama, 29:58 that group has grown from five now to 20 plus 30:03 and of that 20 plus, I think only three 30:07 are baptized members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 30:10 the rest are all non-Adventists. 30:13 Couple of doctors in the group, an attorney in the group 30:15 but they're there to talk about Jesus. 30:19 They're there to learn about the Lord. 30:22 So, they spend time together 30:24 but it's time that is spent in trying to learn about the Lord. 30:28 So, it is important that you surround yourself 30:31 with people who love the Lord like you love the Lord 30:33 and so, Nebuchadnezzar is at the head of an idolatrous nation 30:37 and he is by training and by nature and by nurture 30:40 an idolater 30:42 but there's something inside his heart, 30:44 he knows there is a God, 30:46 he knows that the Lord loves him, 30:48 he knows that there's something more here 30:50 than what I can see and what I can accomplish. 30:53 He's got an innate sense of justice, 30:55 he knows right and he knows wrong, 30:58 yeah, he's hot-headed... yeah, he can be rash... 31:01 yeah, he can be impulsive 31:02 but deep down inside there's something there 31:07 and God knows it. 31:08 You know, I'm so glad 31:10 that we serve a Lord 31:12 a God... who can file off the rough edges 31:16 amen 31:18 because the truth is, all of us have rough edges. 31:22 Amen. 31:23 Everybody's got something, 31:25 we all got places where we need to be sanded down 31:29 and Nebuchadnezzar had a lot of places 31:31 where he needed to be sanded down 31:33 but beneath that rough exterior, 31:35 God saw that there was something there worth saving 31:39 and that's why I am so glad that I serve a God 31:42 who looks beneath my rough exterior, amen. 31:45 He knows there's something good down there... 31:48 and Nebuchadnezzar had something good down there, 31:50 God just had to get to it, 31:52 He just had to get at it but it was there 31:54 and that's why God is giving him first chance... 31:58 second chance... 31:59 and we're going to see in just a little bit... third chance 32:04 because He knew that he was worth saving. 32:07 I'm actually glad God says, "Hey, she's worth saving" 32:10 "he's worth saving" 32:12 "they're worth saving" 32:14 and God calls you... 32:16 and I think, only when we get to heaven 32:18 will we be able to look back 32:20 and see the stony road that God brought us over, 32:23 you know, because when you're... 32:26 when you're close to it you can't always see it 32:28 but I think in heaven, one of the we will marvel at 32:31 is how God protected us 32:33 when we weren't looking out for ourselves, 32:35 when God directed us 32:37 when we weren't directing ourselves, 32:39 how God guided us 32:40 when we didn't know where we were going, 32:42 how God brought people into and out of our lives 32:45 that we didn't even know were for our benefit, 32:48 and how God did so many things 32:50 to file down those rough edges 32:52 to make us fit for the kingdom of heaven 32:55 and that's precisely what God is doing 32:57 with Nebuchadnezzar here, 32:58 he is filing down Nebuchadnezzar 33:01 because he has for this rough, 33:04 rash, hot-headed, impulsive king... 33:07 He's got something He wants to do for him... 33:10 with him.. to him... and through him. 33:14 Pause. 33:16 I'm in Prophets and Kings, you know how I... I... I debated 33:20 "How much Spirit of Prophecy should I put in this?" 33:22 But one of the things I like about the Spirit of Prophecy... 33:24 it sheds light on the Biblical text 33:26 because the Bible doesn't have time really 33:29 to go into all the nuances but we... 33:31 we see the Biblical text and then the... the... the... 33:35 narrative is filled in by wonderful quotes 33:40 from the Spirit of Prophecy 33:41 so, "It is not surprising that the successful monarch, 33:46 so ambitious and so proud-spirited, 33:49 should be tempted to turn aside from the path of humility. " 33:53 A lot of stuff is being said there, 33:56 one, he is being successful, 33:58 Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, was the envy of the world, 34:06 so, this non-Jewish king... 34:10 this non-Jehovah-loving emperor is having success. 34:16 That's a fact... and the fact also is, 34:20 that when things are going good, 34:24 sometimes, it enters into our mind 34:26 that we don't need the Lord. 34:27 Amen. 34:29 Yeah, bills are being paid... wife is doing well... 34:34 husband's doing well... 34:35 kids doing well in school... 34:37 everything's going well... 34:38 sometimes we're tempted to think... 34:40 "Well, I can handle this, 34:43 because everything is going well" 34:46 and Nebuchadnezzar is doing well. 34:48 He is an instrument of God 34:51 pause 34:53 and yet he is beginning to slip back into the path of pride 35:02 and away from the path of humility. 35:06 Nebuchadnezzar wasn't out fighting and conquering 35:10 he spent a lot of time building and decorating. 35:15 Now, of course, he had the Hebrews 35:19 to help him run the kingdom, 35:21 in fact, that's why Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 35:25 were selected. 35:27 Remember, we said the first night, 35:28 they were bright, they were handsome, 35:30 they were good looking, they were smart, 35:32 and that he took them for those reasons, 35:35 so that they could help him run the kingdom 35:37 and before this is done, we find... 35:39 Daniel's third in the kingdom, 35:41 these Hebrew boys are promoted twice 35:44 so, they're running the Government... 35:46 Nebuchadnezzar, basically, has a lot of time on his hands 35:49 and when you got a lot of time on your hands, 35:52 sometimes that can get you into a lot of trouble. 35:55 So, he is beautifying his capital city 35:59 and archeologists say... 36:03 and this is what they... they say 36:06 that the "golden city... the praise of the whole earth. " 36:09 He made that city beautiful. 36:11 As we said the other night, Babylon was not a large empire 36:15 as far as empires go 36:17 of the great empires, Babylon was actually the smallest 36:19 as far as territory was concerned 36:22 but as far as beauty and riches, 36:25 from what the archeologists and scholars say, 36:28 it was by far the most beautiful... 36:32 the most opulent... the most gorgeous... 36:34 and a lot of that was due to the building of Nebuchadnezzar. 36:38 He ruled 40 years out of the 70 and he spent a lot of time 36:42 making his palace and his country 36:44 and his city beautiful and the envy of the earth. 36:49 but here is the danger of success. 36:52 Remember I asked you yesterday, what is the better teacher, 36:54 success or failure? 36:56 There is a danger of success... here it is. 36:59 Ellen White tells us, 37:01 "... it is the full cup 37:03 that must be most carefully balanced... " 37:08 amen. 37:09 Now, what's it saying? 37:11 Have you ever filled up your glass just a little too full? 37:16 You know, you turn on one of those spigot things... 37:18 those punch things that... at a party... 37:20 and you try to turn it off and it keeps... 37:22 you know, it just keeps on going 37:23 so, you leave your glass there 37:25 and it's getting closer and closer 37:26 and closer and closer to the top 37:27 so, now you got a really full glass 37:29 and you got to be really, really careful, amen, 37:33 you do, because a full glass 37:36 or a full cup is much more dangerous 37:41 than an empty cup. 37:42 If you have an empty cup, 37:44 you can put your finger through the cup handle and spin it... 37:45 you can do anything you want... 37:47 but once you get a full... and if it's right at the brim 37:50 you've got to be very careful. 37:51 Now, there's a spiritual lesson there 37:53 that if God is really blessing you, 37:57 you've got to be very careful, 37:59 amen... yeah you do 38:02 because the natural tendency is 38:05 to take those blessings for granted 38:08 and to ascribe to yourself 38:11 the power and glory of those blessings, 38:13 so, a full cup... if God is really blessing you 38:16 and everything is going right, 38:18 and everything is going perfectly, 38:20 that's when you got to be very, very careful 38:22 because that's when, 38:24 as they used to say in the old Negro Spiritual, 38:27 "Your foot might slip and your soul get lost" 38:30 so, if you're really enjoying the blessings of the Lord, 38:33 be very, very careful, 38:34 one: be thankful for those blessings, 38:36 two: give the glory to God 38:38 but be very careful because sometimes you can lose out. 38:44 Pause. 38:49 I'm back in Prophets and Kings, "Hardening his heart" 38:54 now, where have we heard that before... 38:56 from a ruler? 38:57 "Hardening his heart, he used his God-given talents 39:03 for self-glorification... " 39:06 that's sad... 39:07 "exalting himself above the God 39:12 who had given him life and power. " 39:16 Now, let me ask you a question, want to get very pragmatic, 39:19 pause 39:23 how many here think that Wintley Phipps... 39:27 is not aware that he is a good singer? 39:31 Pause. 39:32 Do you think he knows that? 39:34 Sang for five or six Presidents, sang for the Pope, 39:38 sang all over, 39:39 you think he knows he's a good singer? 39:40 I think he does. 39:42 You think Pastor John Lomacang knows he's a pretty good singer? 39:46 Pause. 39:48 Do you think Yvonne Lewis... baptized her 30 years ago, 39:51 making six figures with her voice 39:54 well over 100,000 dollars 39:55 do you think she knows she can sing? 39:58 Pause. 40:00 Is there any sin in knowing that you have a talent? 40:03 Pause. 40:05 Now, if you can do something and you know you can do it, 40:09 is that sinful? 40:10 Do you think Michael Jordan knows... 40:12 knew that he was one of the best basketball players ever? 40:16 See, there is no sin in knowing that you have a gift 40:20 because if you don't know you have a gift, 40:23 then you'll never know how to improve the gift, 40:27 you've got to know you've got it... if you got it 40:29 amen 40:31 so, those who have gifts have to know 40:34 so that they can improve them. 40:36 The Bible says, "Whatever you do, 40:37 do all to the glory of God. " 40:40 So, before you can give it to God 40:42 as a return on His investment, 40:44 you got to know you have it, 40:45 amen. 40:47 If you're... if you're... if you're smart 40:49 and everybody's staying up late studying 40:51 and studying and studying 40:52 and you can just look at it one time 40:54 and then zip through 40:56 that's a gift... 40:57 and if you've got it, you know it. 40:59 The United States Chaplain, Barry Black 41:01 has a photographic memory, 41:03 he preaches from his head no notes... 41:05 I cannot do that, 41:06 you think he knows that he has a gift from God? 41:09 Of course he does... 41:10 the problem is not in knowing that you have a gift, 41:13 the problem is... or the question is... 41:16 "Who gets the glory?" 41:19 Amen. 41:21 That's what it's all about, 41:23 who is going to get the glory. 41:25 Who is going to be glorified by my use of this gift? 41:30 So he's hardening his heart, 41:32 he's got a talent but he's using it for self-glorification. 41:38 He is taking from God the glory that only belongs to Him 41:44 and Ladies and Gentlemen, 41:45 when you try to inhale all of the oxygen 41:49 and don't give God the glory He deserves, 41:53 you're really on dangerous ground 41:55 because the Bible says, "Every good gift 41:57 and every perfect gift comes from the God of heaven" 42:04 and so, Nebuchadnezzar is moving in a horrible direction, 42:08 he is hardening his heart, 42:10 what he doesn't know is that spiritually... 42:14 it is time to grow up. 42:17 "... His passion as a builder, and his signal success" 42:22 see that's a... he's having success... 42:24 things are going pretty good, 42:26 so, "his signal success 42:28 in making Babylon one of the wonders of the world, 42:31 ministered to his pride... " 42:33 his city was beautiful and he knew it. 42:36 He had put more money into his city 42:39 and he was aware of it. 42:40 it ministered... boosted his pride and his ego 42:44 "... until he was in danger of spoiling his record 42:48 as a wise ruler whom God could use" 42:50 he was... he had a good record... 42:52 he was doing some good things 42:54 and he was in danger of spoiling that record 42:57 as someone that God could continue to use 43:01 so God was using him 43:03 "as an instrument 43:04 for the carrying out of His Divine purpose... " 43:07 Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you, 43:09 if God is blessing you, 43:11 He's not blessing you so that you can walk around 43:14 puffed up saying, "I am blessed" 43:16 amen 43:17 if God is blessing you, 43:19 He is blessing you so that you can be a better vehicle 43:23 for the Word of God. 43:25 Why does God give a person more Holy Spirit? 43:30 Why does He give him more blessings? 43:32 The same reason you put heavy-duty shock absorbers 43:35 on the back of your pickup truck 43:38 so you can carry more weight 43:40 that's why God blesses. 43:42 And so, God was blessing Nebuchadnezzar 43:44 because He wanted to use Him as a vehicle... as a... 43:48 as an instrument to do great things for Him 43:51 and Nebuchadnezzar is taking all the glory to himself. 43:55 He is doing exactly the opposite 43:57 of what God wants him to do 44:00 and he now is beginning to spoil his record. 44:04 So, in mercy, God gives the king another dream. 44:07 It's a bad dream, 44:09 it was given ironically at the same time 44:13 that things were going so well, 44:16 things are going well for the Jews, 44:18 things are going well for Daniel, 44:20 things are going well for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 44:23 things are going well for Nebuchadnezzar 44:25 and in Daniel 4:4, 44:28 "... I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, 44:33 and flourishing in my palace... " 44:36 he admits it, 44:37 things were going good... flourishing... 44:40 kingdom going well... 44:42 I'm going well... 44:43 and everything is going well, 44:47 that's when this second dream comes in. 44:50 Pause. 44:52 So, Daniel now is given an interpretation 44:56 in the midst of this prosperity that says, 45:00 "It's all going to end... 45:02 not for the country... but for the king. " 45:07 This is a personal interpretation. 45:12 The Bible says, "Daniel was astonished" 45:15 Ellen White says, "astonied" 45:18 "he was nonplussed, he was dumbfounded" 45:22 he knows he's got to give bad advice 45:26 to a king who doesn't like bad news. 45:31 When I was a pastor, we used to have Prayer Meetings 45:33 called, "Don't give me no bad news" 45:35 and it was Prayer Meetings where we just had praise, 45:38 no one... we didn't talk about our aches or our pains 45:40 or our challenges, 45:41 just praise reports for the whole Prayer Meeting, 45:43 we did that, maybe, once every couple of months, 45:45 we had a, "Don't give me no bad news" Prayer Meeting. 45:49 Well, Daniel serves a "Don't give me no bad news king" 45:53 he doesn't want any bad news 45:55 and Daniel's got some real bad news for him 45:58 pause 46:00 no way he can make this nice 46:02 pause 46:04 this is a king who twice before 46:07 had given orders of extermination 46:09 so he is not shy about ordering the death of people 46:12 and Daniel has got to give him news 46:15 and he's little a worried about this, 46:17 now, I'm going to say this, 46:18 "I don't think Daniel was afraid" 46:20 there are times when he could have been afraid, 46:22 I don't think he's afraid, 46:23 Daniel had proved that he trusted in his God 46:25 and when you trust in God 46:28 you can speak before any ruler or any king 46:30 you can tell him the truth, 46:31 He trusted in God... 46:33 but he is... he is disturbed 46:35 because things are going so well 46:37 and this interpretation... this dream is saying 46:41 that things are not going to go well for this particular king. 46:47 So, Daniel cannot speak... and the king speaks 46:53 and... and again... 46:56 you know, when you read the Word of God 46:58 and you see these little nuances, 47:00 these little... these little changes in how things work 47:04 you know that the Spirit of God is working 47:06 and here is one of them. 47:08 We're in Daniel chapter 4 right at verse 19. 47:13 Daniel can't speak, he's astonished 47:16 so, Daniel doesn't comfort the king, 47:19 the king comforts Daniel. 47:22 Pause. 47:24 Nebuchadnezzar... calling him Belteshazzar... 47:29 calling him by his Chaldean name, 47:32 he says, "Do not let the dream 47:35 or its interpretation trouble you" 47:38 that's interesting 47:39 that's the king speaking to Daniel. 47:42 He doesn't know what the dream means, 47:44 he knows it's bad, 47:47 he doesn't know what words 47:49 are about to come out of Daniel's mouth, 47:52 and yet he sees how shook up Daniel is 47:55 so, the king... the person who is about to get the bad news 48:01 says, "Don't let it trouble you, 48:03 it's going to be all right. " 48:04 You can tell the Spirit is working 48:06 and working in a very strong way 48:08 when the king is trying to comfort Daniel 48:10 as it was for Daniel trying to comfort the king. 48:12 Nebuchadnezzar doesn't know what Daniel's about to say, 48:14 he doesn't know what's coming out of Daniel's mouth, 48:17 he knows it can't be good and yet he says, 48:20 "Don't let it bother you... " 48:21 the Holy Spirit is working. 48:23 So, the Spirit of God is moving here. 48:25 That little exchange is testament to what God can do 48:29 to change a mind and heart. 48:31 You know, sometimes we look at people 48:33 and we don't see how they ever will be saved. 48:36 How the Lord ever breaks that down. 48:40 You know God can do all things... 48:42 He can do anything but fail... 48:44 and some of the people who we think 48:46 are the hardest nuts to crack 48:48 my dad was one of them, 48:49 70 plus years... fighting against God. 48:52 My wife, Irma, her dad... 48:54 same one... all his life... fighting against God 48:57 and then one day, my father gets on the phone 49:00 and calls and says, 49:01 "Could you come home and study the Bible with me?" 49:04 Pause... 49:06 And so, I fly home... no... drove home... 49:09 and for one week... studied the Word of God together 49:13 and that was in May, 49:17 I flew back home in October of the same year 49:22 baptized him... and then mid-November my mother called 49:27 and said, "Come home, your dad just had a stroke, 49:30 he's dead. " 49:31 Pause. 49:34 Who knew... God can tear down strongholds, 49:39 God can do things that we didn't think He could do. 49:42 God can do anything but fail 49:45 and so, He's giving Nebuchadnezzar another chance. 49:49 Here's the dream... very quickly. 49:52 Tree... strong and mighty... 49:54 height reaches to heaven, 49:56 lovely leaves... abundant fruit... 49:59 enough for all the beasts of the field... 50:02 birds of the air come and nest under it. 50:05 A mighty tree... a beautiful tree... 50:07 a full tree... a luscious tree... 50:10 a tree that provides for other people 50:12 and in verse 23, Nebuchadnezzar hears for the second time, 50:16 "This is you... you are that great tree, 50:20 but there's a holy watcher who came from heaven... 50:24 that's the good news... 50:26 now Nebuchadnezzar, 50:28 I've got to give you the bad news, 50:30 because the holy watcher said, 50:32 'chop it down' 50:35 chop it down... but leave the stump and the roots intact 50:43 and in the earth 50:45 let it get wet with the dew of heaven 50:47 but leave it intact... 50:49 why? 50:52 '... we must know that Heaven Rules... ' 50:55 Nebuchadnezzar, you have to know 50:58 that heaven rules. " 51:01 We've got to know that heaven rules. 51:05 Now, let me say this because my time is slipping away from me 51:08 and this is very, very important. 51:09 "This is one of the greatest miracles 51:14 in the Word of God. " 51:16 We never look at it that way but it is... 51:19 it... it's... it's an incredibly great miracle from the Lord. 51:23 Think about it. 51:26 That dream told Nebuchadnezzar, 51:29 "You are going to lose your mind 51:33 and be driven from the company of men 51:40 for seven years... 51:43 you'll be living outside, eating grass, 51:47 you won't communicate with anybody 51:50 and no one will communicate with you 51:52 and for seven years, 51:56 I'm going to perform an ongoing miracle. " 52:00 Nebuchadnezzar couldn't take care of himself, 52:03 so, that miracle was happening every day for seven years 52:08 amen 52:10 it's a powerful miracle... 52:12 it's one of the greatest in... in the Bible. 52:14 God promised, "No one's going to take your kingdom from you" 52:19 now that could have happened, couldn't it? 52:22 Yeah, when Sennacherib failed to... to conquer Israel, 52:27 he went home and his own sons killed him. 52:29 That didn't happen. 52:31 "So, you're not going to have insurrection in your family, 52:33 no other kingdom is going to come in 52:36 and take your kingdom from you. 52:38 You will be kept... 52:41 you're... you know, you're... 52:43 you're basically out of your mind 52:44 someone could say, "You know, we should just 52:46 put him out of his misery" 52:47 Nebuchadnezzar would not have known 52:50 he would have been none the wiser, 52:52 and yet, for seven years, God kept the kingdom sound, 52:58 He kept enemies from invading, 53:02 He kept the kingdom from disintegrating 53:05 and He kept Nebuchadnezzar... 53:07 his... his... you know, he didn't have any hygiene, 53:11 his nails are growing long and his hair is growing long 53:15 and his skin is like eagle's feathers 53:17 and you know he's not showering or bathing, 53:20 he's just... he's just living out there... eating grass 53:22 but God is keeping him for seven long years. 53:29 That is a continuing miracle, 53:30 it is one of the greatest miracles in the Word of God... 53:34 Old Testament or New 53:36 and God is doing this... I say again... 53:38 for a heathen king who Ellen White says, 53:41 by training... by nurture... 53:45 by nature... 53:47 this is a pagan guy 53:49 but God sees something in him worth saving 53:53 and so, at the end of seven years, 53:57 one day in the providence of God, 54:02 pause 54:04 God changes things... 54:06 pause 54:09 one day he is insane 54:13 the next day he is sane 54:17 one day he is eating grass like an animal, 54:22 the next day, he is eating at a table with a knife and fork. 54:28 One day he cannot communicate with anybody or anything, 54:32 totally dependent upon God, 54:34 the next day he stands up and acts like a man. 54:41 It's a marvelous, marvelous miracle. 54:46 Ellen White says that the impressions given by God to us 54:54 unless we really accept them 54:57 through the power of the Holy Spirit, 54:59 we will lose them 55:00 but it was during this seven-year period, 55:06 or, perhaps more accurately, 55:09 at the end of this seven-year period, 55:14 that this heathen king found his Lord. 55:20 When he came back from the wilderness, 55:24 he was a changed man 55:27 and more than that, he was a converted man. 55:33 It was during this period 55:35 that God got through to Nebuchadnezzar 55:41 and even the words of his mouth were different. 55:50 Pause. 55:51 God changed him 55:53 and God converted him. 55:56 This time when he speaks for the Lord, 55:59 he's not just speaking from the head, 56:03 he is speaking from the heart, 56:07 he is a converted man, 56:10 he is now a child of God 56:13 and he knows and understands what God wants to do. 56:20 So, let's look at verse 19, 56:22 Pause. 56:28 Ellen White says, 56:29 "At the end of the time... " 56:32 or rather... this is Nebuchadnezzar speaking, 56:33 this is Nebuchadnezzar speaking, Daniel 4:19, 56:37 "At the end of the time, 56:38 I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes to heaven 56:42 and my understanding returned to me... " 56:46 his understanding returns 56:48 and then he goes into a time of praise to God. 56:55 He talks about the goodness of the Lord, 56:57 he talks about the greatness of the Lord, 57:00 he talks about the Lord's ability to set up kings 57:04 and bring kings down, 57:08 God pulled Nebuchadnezzar 57:11 basically, from the scrap heap of life. 57:14 He plucked him out of Babylon... 57:18 when we think of Babylon, 57:19 we think of everything that is anti God 57:22 but God called Nebuchadnezzar. 57:25 Nebuchadnezzar, at the end, 57:29 acknowledged his dependency upon God 57:32 and Ellen White says, 57:34 "These are the last words recorded 57:36 about Nebuchadnezzar in sacred history. " 57:39 Nebuchadnezzar, Ladies and Gentlemen, 57:42 is a saved man... 57:44 his name is written in the Book of Life. 57:47 Audience: Amen. 57:49 Shall we pray, "Father God, 57:50 we thank you, Lord... we praise you 57:53 because truly... truly... 57:56 you are a good and gracious and great God 57:59 and we see how you called this king 58:04 and made him your child 58:06 please Lord, do that for each and every one of us, 58:10 make us your children, 58:13 in Jesus' name, amen. " |
Revised 2019-01-21