Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200005S
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, 00:05 and the Word was God." 00:08 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is the Book of Daniel. 00:31 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:34 This is going to be a blessed study. 00:36 Already you know, already 00:37 because we're going to be listening 00:38 at lesson number five. 00:40 And we look at lesson number five, 00:42 we're going to be looking from pride to humility. 00:45 So this is really going to be some interesting things, 00:47 I know that you wanna be involved with. 00:49 So anyway, I pray you're having a blessed day 00:51 and you're really excited about spending this time with us, 00:53 because we're definitely excited about 00:55 spending this time with you in study. 00:57 You have other choices I know, 00:59 but you've made the choice to be here 01:01 and study with this panel today, 01:03 and we thank you for that. 01:05 And again we're going to be looking at the... 01:07 There's a subject pride to humility, 01:09 and I think as we look at this, 01:10 I think we're gonna learn some things 01:12 and maybe even about ourselves, 01:14 and I'm gonna just encourage you. 01:16 Make sure you get your guide, 01:18 it's very, very important to get that guide. 01:19 I know when I do study, 01:21 I like to have a guide something that I can go by. 01:23 And if you don't have one, 01:24 I'll tell you how you get one right quick, 01:25 then you get more information on it 01:27 just a little bit later. 01:28 You can download, 01:30 load these at ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:34 And well, that's ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:37 So you can get these studies, 01:38 you can get them into your home, 01:40 and you can just fill them out 01:41 and work right along with us here. 01:43 And we would have more on this later, 01:44 but bless you and again, I've often heard said 01:46 and think it's very good, 01:48 if you, if you're not, if you can't do that 01:49 and maybe don't know how to do it, 01:51 visit to your nearest Adventist Church. 01:53 And not only will they be glad to give you this study guide, 01:56 but I think they might even invite you 01:57 to for fellowship lunch. 01:59 Oh, you bet. 02:00 Praise the Lord, that will be good. 02:01 All right. Praise God. 02:03 I want to just introduce our panel again 02:04 for the faithfulness and the work that each one do, 02:07 and it is, it's His work. 02:09 And to my left is Pastor John Lomacang, 02:11 always a pleasure to work with you, thank you. 02:13 We've been enjoying our journey through Daniel, 02:15 and I don't think today is gonna be any different. 02:17 Amen. I like that. 02:19 All right, next to you is Sister Shelley Quinn? 02:21 We always have fun on this panel 02:24 and it's great to study, 02:26 even though it is work, it's great to study together. 02:28 Absolutely. And, Pastor Ryan Day, next you. 02:32 I'm doing fantastic, 02:33 and I'm excited to be part of this panel as always. 02:35 Amen. 02:36 And down the end holding it all together. 02:38 Sister Jill Morikone, blessing. 02:40 Always love opening up the Word of God, 02:42 and learning from each one of you. 02:43 Amen. Amen. 02:44 And while you're down there, 02:46 would you have opening prayer for us? 02:47 Sure. 02:49 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus, 02:50 praising You that You are our God. 02:52 Amen. 02:54 We thank You for Your Word, 02:55 and right now as we open up Your Word, 02:56 would You open up our minds and our hearts 02:58 to receive What you have for us. 03:01 Speak to us just now in Jesus' name. 03:04 Amen. 03:05 Amen. Praise the Lord. 03:07 You know, we're going to, I wanna do the memory verse. 03:09 I like the memory verse, Daniel 4:3. 03:11 If anyone has that 03:13 or you've got it open in your Bible, 03:14 read along with us here. 03:16 And this is Sabbath afternoon. 03:18 You've opened up your book. 03:19 Said, "How great are His signs and how mighty His wonders. 03:23 His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom 03:26 and His dominion is from generation to generation." 03:29 If I'm asked the question, who's basically speaking here? 03:33 What would our answer be? 03:36 Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, good. 03:37 That's a good answer. 03:38 I think that's a right answer here. 03:40 But you notice here, this is the king's 03:43 after his mind is restored, right? 03:45 That he's restored, he's giving praise 03:47 to the King of kings and Lord of lords, 03:49 in Patriarchs and Prophets, 521 says, 03:53 "He became a humble child of God." 03:57 Wow. 03:58 God was working all along, was it for sure? 04:00 We're going to be looking at there 04:02 on Saturday's afternoon, 04:03 just a little synopsis, real quick. 04:05 Pride, 04:06 pride is a dangerous word, dangerous thing 04:09 when used to elevate man. 04:11 It leads to downfall of many. 04:15 And to Lucifer, his angels being expelled from heaven. 04:17 So this is something 04:19 I'm gonna spend a little time on 04:20 and it's on my part of it too. 04:22 And I think we need to spend some, 04:23 because of the word pride sometime we forget. 04:27 Anything that lifts us up 04:28 rather than lifting up the name of Jesus. 04:31 I wanna spend... 04:32 And I pray that you are too, 04:34 you've taken in a notebook, and pencil and paper. 04:35 'Cause we'll go quickly 04:37 right on there in Sunday's lesson, 04:38 as time is just flying right by us right now. 04:40 Lesson number five, 04:41 is not this the Babylon, the great, 04:45 lesson number five. 04:46 What happens to King Nebuchadnezzar and why? 04:51 Right quick, the same thing 04:52 we just talked about a moment ago, 04:53 pride issue. 04:55 Pride came in, and when pride comes in, 04:57 it is a destroyer, it can hurt you, 05:00 it can tear a church apart. 05:01 It can tear a family apart, individually, 05:04 it can tear us apart. 05:05 Even though it's such a simple little word, 05:07 it's like, oh, well, we can have little, 05:09 maybe that's such a good thing. 05:10 You think, Pastor, as good pride? 05:13 Is there such a thing? 05:15 And I'm setting him up, I don't know. 05:16 Yeah. 05:17 No, there's no such thing as good pride. 05:19 Okay. All right, so we had to... 05:21 We had to, anything that we had need to be gauged 05:24 by the Word of God, isn't it, you know? 05:26 Pride in the Word of God, 05:29 mostly it comes to godly thing. 05:30 I wanna read a few passages quickly about pride 05:33 because we can see. 05:34 And then I wanna just go 05:35 and if we have time to be on guard 05:37 because this there's so much to cover 05:39 what happens here with Nebuchadnezzar, 05:41 there's just so much, but again pride is the issue. 05:44 We can learn about Nebuchadnezzar, 05:45 we can read about it, 05:47 but how about this thing called pride. 05:48 And then I wanna look at may be about 15 05:50 if I can quickly. 05:52 Signs that you may have pride, 05:55 and maybe we don't know it. 05:56 So it might be very interesting. 05:57 Yes. 05:59 The pride in Proverbs 11:2 said, 06:00 "Pride cometh, notice, and then shame." 06:02 Pride comes first and then shame. 06:05 In Proverbs 16:18, we know, "If pride cometh before" what? 06:09 "It comes before fall or destruction." 06:11 Proverbs 29:23, 06:13 "Man's pride shall bring him low." 06:16 Isaiah 25:11, 06:19 "He, God, shall bring down those their pride." 06:22 Examples of that just quickly, Jeremiah 48:29 says, 06:27 "The pride of Moab," and you can look right down, 06:29 I guess you go on and on and on, 06:30 pride of Sodom, the pride of Israel, 06:34 the pride of the Philistines, 06:35 we notice that, the pride of Assyria, 06:37 it can just go on and on and on. 06:39 Their downfall was because of pride, 06:42 they lifted themselves up as Nebuchadnezzar 06:45 instead of lifting up the God of heaven 06:47 which is this lesson the first part here 06:49 brings him down, right? 06:51 Insanity, he's like the beast of the field 06:53 'cause God wanted to get his attention 06:56 and God got his attention. 06:58 Now let's look at, this is, verse 15 07:01 if I can just get through them real quickly on it. 07:03 About signs that may be we need to be on guard 07:07 that may be pride is an issue, 07:08 and it's so subtle sometime 07:10 that we don't realize that may be it is pride. 07:14 Number one. 07:16 Now I looked, 07:17 I read some of these and I felt guilty of sin. 07:21 Is it okay to say that? 07:22 I mean, I feel like they stepped on my toes 07:24 because I didn't realize maybe that's what it is, 07:26 but I looked at that number one, 07:27 "Assuming you already know something 07:30 when someone is teaching." 07:33 Whoa, that's good. Oh, that's good. 07:35 Think about it. 07:36 Something you already know, so why listen. 07:38 You already know. That's a sign of pride. 07:42 Two, seeing yourself as too good 07:45 to perform certain task. 07:50 It could be pride. Well, that's not my job. 07:52 Well, I'm not gonna. 07:53 You know, Steve stops up, don't call me. 07:56 You know, get somebody else to do. 07:58 Come on, let's just get down to it. 08:00 It could be where I may and all that. 08:01 Well, that's somebody else's job, 08:03 that's not mine. 08:05 That may be something there we need to look at. 08:06 Number three, being too proud, oh, boy, to ask for help. 08:12 Man, I think I've been there. 08:13 Or directions. The directions. 08:15 Well, I don't never ask direction 08:16 because I never get lost. 08:21 Let's face it up, isn't it? Reason number eight. 08:23 As long as I have gas in the car, right? 08:25 I'm still able to drive around, 08:26 like, wow, I can find my way out of it. 08:28 This is part of being too proud to ask for help. 08:32 This could be dangerous. 08:33 And I'm told that lot of times too 08:35 'cause I'll try to lift something 08:36 or do something or build something. 08:39 My wife will say, 08:40 "Man, call somebody and ask to lift there." 08:42 "Ah, I can do it. I can." 08:44 I just think, well, that's... 08:45 I just want to, you know, okay. 08:47 Number four, 08:49 "Feeling the need 08:50 to consistently teach people things. 08:54 You know, If you feel a need 08:56 that you always need to teach somebody something, 08:58 maybe that's a sign of pride. 09:00 'Cause remember this is what all the lesson is about 09:02 is Nebuchadnezzar, what happened to him 09:04 and the kingdom of Babylon then all these other kingdoms, 09:06 this little thing called pride. 09:08 Number five, 09:11 talking about yourself a lot. 09:14 There's no one else to talk about 09:16 and you talk about yourself a lot. 09:17 Well, a lot of people have things to talk about 09:19 in the world for sure. 09:20 Number six, 09:22 thinking you are better than others, 09:24 because may be they just have less than you have 09:27 or not quite as high a position may be as you might have. 09:30 Thinking you are better than others. 09:33 Surely none of us would do that, 09:35 but that's a sign of a pride. 09:36 Of course. 09:38 Number seven. 09:39 When you disregard the advice of others. 09:43 See we, that could be a pride issue. 09:46 A pride if we disregard. 09:48 That's why we, the Bible says when he did what? 09:50 Went to council. 09:51 Council together and to listen 09:53 not that you can always take everybody's piece of advice. 09:55 Right. 09:56 You know, I always, listen to my mother's advice, 09:58 and I'll tell you why. 10:00 It's because I knew 10:01 she had my best interest at heart. 10:02 That's right. 10:04 She might say, well somebody said da-da-da, 10:06 and I might think, um. 10:08 I'm not sure they have my best interest at heart. 10:10 But when she says something, I knew she did. 10:12 But I was not able to go along with that, 10:14 but I, you could trust that. 10:18 Number eight. 10:19 When you are consistently critical of others. 10:22 Yes. 10:23 You find somebody that's critical of others 10:25 a lot times just 'cause maybe it's a pride issue. 10:28 Number nine. 10:29 Consistently need, you have consistent need 10:32 for attention and affirmation or symptom by to affirm you. 10:36 So you're always I need attention 10:38 or you know you need, 10:40 have that desire all the time maybe, 10:43 maybe we need to look at. 10:44 May be it's something inside 10:45 or maybe it's something that's self there. 10:47 Number 10. 10:48 And able to receive constrictive criticism. 10:53 Yeah. 10:54 A lot of times people say, I'm just going to give you, 10:56 you know constructive criticism, 10:58 and it's like destructive. 11:01 There's a way to give, it isn't that right too? 11:03 That's right. 11:04 And sometimes what, 11:06 even that raises our pride level sometime 11:07 even the way it's spoken rather than just listen first 11:09 and to go on. 11:10 Number eleven, notice this. 11:12 Overly obsessed, um, boy, 11:15 with our physical appearance. 11:17 Could be a form of... 11:19 Could be form of pride. 11:21 Number 12. 11:22 Unwilling to submit to authority. 11:25 You know, that's a good one. 11:28 Sometime we have to fight that one. 11:30 Thirteen, ignoring sometime 11:34 when people are trying to talk to us. 11:36 We just ignore them 11:37 because they don't have anything to say 11:39 worth listening to, could be sign of pride. 11:41 Fourteen, justifying, I felt this one over, 11:45 justifying our sin, instead of admitting it. 11:49 That's it. 11:50 Making justification, well, I did it 11:51 because I didn't want to but I did because he or she, 11:56 and so sometimes we justify, 11:58 rather than the Bible's very clear, 12:00 we come to God and we confess that sin. 12:02 He's faithful and just to forgive us 12:04 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 12:06 I'm not saying that's an easy thing to do. 12:08 It's never easy to admit that we're wrong, 12:10 especially to our fellowmen and women, 12:12 you know, church family. 12:14 But God says, bring it to Him. 12:16 And if we're wrong, our fellowmen, go to them also. 12:19 So don't justify. 12:20 Number 15, I'm gonna say this is name dropping, 12:24 now what does that mean? 12:25 Name dropping, that means using people, 12:28 some people use people to try to climb up a ladder 12:31 or they use their name, 12:33 or they try to get in on a conversation 12:35 to make other people think that they're just as important 12:38 or have that same position. 12:39 Well, that's a lot. Right. 12:42 But there are people, these are just simple, 12:43 that may be little simple signs of what we call pride 12:47 but the results are not simple. 12:49 They can be devastating. That's right. 12:51 As Nebuchadnezzar we're being now to lose our mind, 12:54 may be not just for seven years, 12:56 as Nebuchadnezzar, but may be it might not ever come back. 13:01 So we need to be careful, 13:02 decision and choices that we make. 13:04 And be sure that we, 13:06 that the memory text there in Daniel 13:07 that we looked at Daniel 4:3, 13:10 We wanna say it as Nebuchadnezzar said it 13:12 and the end result is, he just simply said, 13:15 "How great." 13:16 Basically how great is God, 13:18 notice that, his kingdom, his dominion 13:20 from generation to generation. 13:22 This should be our attitude I think as we, 13:25 our prayer come to our senses, 13:27 we consider just some of these things here. 13:29 Don't take it all personal, 13:31 but I've seen several that fit me. 13:33 And I don't mean for them to be, 13:35 but they just need to had an application there, 13:38 and if you're gonna just a little bit, 13:39 I wanna get rid of that, I wanna submit it to God, 13:41 and I want Him to take that 13:43 because I don't wanna miss heaven. 13:44 Because I'm too prideful to work with some, 13:46 I'm too prideful to take advice, 13:48 too prideful that I know everything 13:50 and before anyone ever speak. 13:51 So you know, I want this to be, 13:53 you know be, be set in my heart 13:54 and the life to be ready when Jesus come. 13:56 Pastor John. Amen. Amen. 13:58 Mine is Monday, warned by the prophet. 14:02 We find examples in scripture, 14:05 David and Jonathan is one. 14:08 We find examples all throughout the Bible, 14:10 Ahab came to... 14:14 Not Ahab, but Elijah came to Ahab. 14:16 You find, there's continual rebuke 14:19 throughout the Bible, 14:20 and we'll find in many cases when the rebuke is received, 14:24 then a person comes to the place 14:26 where they repent and they acknowledge their sin 14:30 and then God restores them. 14:31 This is an amazing chapter in Daniel 4, 14:35 because you think in the midst of this amazing display 14:39 of power and wealth, and fame and notoriety, 14:43 that one of the things we have to guard against 14:44 and you see this in history. 14:46 We're most vulnerable 14:48 when we are at our height in our successes. 14:52 There's a story in Isaiah 6, 14:55 I read this number of times and for years that alluded me 14:59 when Isaiah said, "In the year that king Uzziah died, 15:02 I saw the Lord, 15:04 sitting on His throne high and lifted up. 15:07 And I always wondered, 15:08 why did he say in the year that King Uzziah died? 15:11 Why couldn't he have just said, 15:13 I saw the Lord sitting in his throne? 15:15 Well, when you study the life of Uzziah 15:16 in the book of 2 Chronicles, 15:18 you find that he became king when he was, 15:20 he became the king when he was 16. 15:22 He reigned for 52 years until he was 68 15:26 and was in the closing moments of his life, 15:28 you find two lepers that are famous in the Bible. 15:31 Naaman was a leper 15:33 and Uzziah became a leper. 15:35 Now Uzziah, as long as the Lord prospered, 15:39 as long as he put the Lord first. 15:41 The Lord made sure that he never came in last. 15:44 And what happened to Nebuchadnezzar here though, 15:46 is Nebuchadnezzar put himself first, 15:49 and he eventually came in last, 15:51 and only second to Solomon was the man Uzziah. 15:56 His pride got in the way and he went from being a king 16:00 to attempting to be a priest 16:02 and God never appointed him a priesthood. 16:05 He went into the temple and began to burn incense 16:07 that God never anointed him to be a priest. 16:10 And then when the rebuke of the priest, 16:14 about 80 priests came and knocked on his door. 16:17 If 80 elders or 80 church members, 16:20 you look through the peep hole of your door 16:22 and you have 80 church members out there, saying, 16:25 Pastor John, open this door right now. 16:31 You think, I'm in trouble? 16:34 And they rebuked him. 16:36 And then when they rebuked him, 16:38 the Lord chased him out of the sanctuary. 16:41 And the Bible said, 16:42 leprosy broke out on his forehead, 16:45 because that's where his issue was. 16:47 Pride filled his heart, 16:49 and eventually he suffered the fate of a leper. 16:52 He died in a leper colony. 16:55 And that's how his life ended. 16:56 So Uzziah was now, the vision was given to Isaiah 17:00 because Uzziah had forfeited 17:02 what God intended to give to him. 17:04 And that's why Isaiah said 17:05 in the year that King Uzziah died, 17:08 I saw the Lord. 17:09 And so we'll find out. 17:12 One of the prideful determinations, 17:15 one of the prideful evidences in Nebuchadnezzar's life 17:18 was the way he dealt with those 17:20 who were beneath him. 17:21 And what I want to point out right now is, 17:24 Daniel 4:27. 17:27 You know, I have to say this, 17:30 not tongue in cheek, 17:31 but I have to say this with a heart of humility, 17:32 but very direct. 17:34 When you are in the position where God has prospered you, 17:39 be careful how you talk to people 17:42 that are not as fortunate or as well established, 17:46 materialistically or financially 17:48 or in a place of notoriety. 17:50 Be careful how you deal with those 17:53 who you make, consider small, 17:55 because we are all precious in the sight of God 17:58 and before we're done the lesson, 18:00 I will show you 18:01 that the measurement of the judgment 18:03 is not just going to be the knowledge we have 18:06 about our doctrinal position, 18:08 but how we deal with those less fortunate. 18:10 That has always been an issue in the Book of James. 18:13 It talked about the wealthy, 18:14 how they ignore the cry of the poor, 18:17 that are reaping their fields, and the Bible says, 18:20 "Their cries hath entered into the ears 18:22 of the Lord of the Sabbath." 18:24 He's heard their cries, so be careful. 18:26 Look at Daniel 4:27. 18:29 Daniel not only interpreted dreams, 18:31 but he also pointed to Nebuchadnezzar 18:35 to understand where his heart was in the sight of God. 18:39 He says, "Therefore, O King, 18:41 let my counsel be acceptable to you. 18:44 Break off your sins, 18:48 by being righteous, and your iniquities 18:51 by showing mercy to the poor. 18:54 Perhaps, there may be a lengthening 18:57 or prolonging of your prosperity." 18:59 I've often seen throughout history 19:01 that people that have lost their prosperity have become. 19:05 It's because they have worshiped their prosperity 19:07 and forgotten God. 19:09 Now, the Lord warned us against 19:10 that even in the Book of Deuteronomy. 19:12 He said, when you have lived in your house, 19:14 as you eat, and you're full, 19:15 you have all these things. 19:17 Be careful, lest you forget that the Lord is the one 19:19 that gave you the power to get this wealth. 19:21 And so we have to be very careful, 19:22 even as those who know and understand the truth, 19:24 that this measurement of pride, 19:26 as you pointed out, 19:28 pride affects everyone at every level... 19:29 Come on now. 19:31 But mostly, the greatest effect is when you have a lot. 19:34 The rich fool, he had a whole lot. 19:36 And he said, 19:37 I have so much stored up for many, many years 19:39 and that night the Lord said, 19:40 fool, tonight your soul is required of you 19:42 so be careful when your possessions possess you. 19:46 That's what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. 19:48 We find here. 19:50 Look at Proverbs 14:31. 19:52 The warning that was brought out, 19:54 Proverbs 14:31. 19:56 "He who oppresses the poor reproaches His maker, 20:01 but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy." 20:05 Now, notice what this is saying. 20:07 When the poor are, 20:08 when we deal unjustly with the poor, 20:11 we are in fact dishonoring God. 20:14 But when we honor God, 20:16 we will have mercy on those who have needs. 20:19 It's showing that the presence of God is in our heart, 20:22 it's governing our response to those who have a need. 20:27 Babylon was built on the shoulders of the poor, 20:30 many great empires are built on the shoulders of the poor, 20:33 I make reference to America. 20:35 It was built on the shoulders of many of them, 20:37 of the modern things we have here 20:39 over the last two or three hundred years 20:41 was built on the shoulders 20:42 of those who came over on slave ships. 20:45 But then when you have a society, 20:47 a society that gets well established, 20:49 and fails to acknowledge the needs of those 20:51 who built many of the infrastructures of that nation, 20:54 we find that pride goes before destruction 20:58 and a haughty spirit before fall. 21:00 So we have to be very, very careful. 21:02 I'm going to point out very carefully here 21:04 in Proverbs 22:16, 21:06 the obligation that we have to the poor. 21:09 The Bible says, "He who oppresses the poor, 21:13 to increase his riches, 21:15 and he who gives to the rich will surely come to poverty." 21:20 So don't pad the pockets of those 21:21 who are already wealthy 21:23 in negligence for those who are poor. 21:26 Proverbs 22:22, 21:28 "Do not rob the poor because he is poor, 21:31 nor oppressed the afflicted at the gate." 21:34 And you find that oftentimes 21:36 in many of the cities in the Bible, 21:38 the poor waited at the gate. 21:42 They waited there because, 21:44 as people walked into the city, 21:45 they looked at the affluent and they said, help, 21:47 you know, give me alms, I need food. 21:50 Zachariah 7:10. 21:53 Another very important injunction, 21:55 "Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, 21:58 the alien or the poor, 22:01 let none of you plan evil in his heart 22:04 against his brother." 22:06 The Lord is saying, 22:07 you're going to be accountable for the way that you feel 22:09 towards other people. 22:10 But look at the measurement. 22:12 And Jesus establishes this beautifully 22:14 in His own life. 22:15 He talked about in degeneration in the regeneration, 22:18 in the judgment, here is the standard, 22:20 one of the standards 22:22 by which we're going to be judged. 22:24 Matthew 25:34, 22:27 "Then the king will say to those on his right hand, 22:30 come, you blessed up of my Father, 22:32 inherit the kingdom prepared for you 22:33 from the foundation of the world, 22:35 was hungry, and you gave me food, 22:38 I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, 22:40 I was a stranger, and you took me in, 22:42 I was a naked and you clothed me. 22:45 I was sick and you visited me. 22:47 I was in prison and you came to me." 22:49 Look at the measurement. 22:50 Then the righteous will answer, "Lord, when did we see?" 22:53 And He mentions all these things, and He says, 22:55 "As much as you've done it unto the least of these, 22:57 My brethren, you've done it unto Me." 22:59 But look at the converse, verse 44, 23:02 "Then they also will answer him, 23:05 Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, 23:08 or stranger, or naked or in prison. 23:12 And did not minister to you?" 23:14 Then He will answer them saying, 23:16 "Assuredly, I say to you, 23:20 you did not do it. 23:23 As much as you did not do it 23:24 to the one of the least of these, 23:26 you did not do it to Me, 23:28 and these will go away into everlasting punishment, 23:32 but the righteous into everlasting life." 23:35 So, I want to also point out one more thing, 23:39 that the whole basis of the way that we often deal with people, 23:43 is we have our gods mixed up. 23:45 We can't serve God and money at the same time. 23:48 Matthew 6:24, 23:49 "No one can serve two masters 23:51 for either he will hate the one and love the other, 23:54 or else he will be loyal to the one 23:55 and despise the other." 23:57 You cannot serve God and Mammon. 23:59 Nebuchadnezzar served Mammon, 24:01 Nebuchadnezzar served Marduke. 24:03 Nebuchadnezzar served his pride 24:05 and God brought him to the place of humility. 24:09 Okay, we're going to take a short break. 24:11 We'll be right back in just a moment. 24:19 Ever wish you could watch 24:20 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:22 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:25 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:30 A clean design makes it easy 24:33 to find the program you're looking for. 24:35 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:38 so you can follow along. 24:40 Sharing is easy. 24:42 Just click share 24:43 and choose your favorite social media. 24:45 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:51 Welcome back to 3ABN Sabbath School panel. 24:53 We're going to go right directly 24:55 to Tuesday's lesson, 24:56 Sister Shelley Quinn. 24:58 Yes, mine is the most high rules. 25:00 And when you think about Chapter 4, 25:02 the most amazing thing of Chapter 4 25:04 is this new vision, that dream 25:07 that Nebuchadnezzar has had, 25:08 and he's dreamt of this large tree 25:10 that's reaching to the heavens, spreading out its branches, 25:14 everybody's coming out from underneath it, 25:16 and all of a sudden, it's gonna get chopped down. 25:19 And he's troubled. 25:20 So he talks with Nebuchadnezzar, 25:22 I mean with Daniel, and Daniel tells him, 25:24 hey, that tree is you, 25:27 you know, the leaves were lovely, 25:29 the fruit was abundant. 25:32 But then he says, in as much as he's explaining all of this, 25:36 he says, in as much as the King saw a watcher, a holy one, 25:41 saying chop down the tree and destroy it, 25:43 but leave its stump and root in the earth, 25:46 bound with a band of iron till seven times pass over. 25:51 He's saying, hey, King, this is you. 25:54 Seven years, you're going to be driven out to the field. 25:57 So despite the interpretation of the dream. 26:01 And, you know, 26:03 Daniel is saying you need to repent. 26:06 That's right. 26:07 You know, I mean, he's telling him, 26:08 seek God for forgiveness. 26:10 Nope. 26:12 Nebuchadnezzar's still just a narcissistic. 26:14 I started to say, fool, 26:16 but maybe that's not the right thing to say. 26:17 But, God delays His sentence for whole year. 26:22 He's giving Nebuchadnezzar a chance 26:25 and when the king is so fully consumed with pride, 26:30 then it's time for the disciplinary measure. 26:32 So look at this, Daniel 4:28, 26:36 "All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar 26:39 and at the end of the 12 months," 26:41 this is after Daniel's told him the interpretation, 26:44 I'm sorry, Daniel 4:28. 26:48 Okay. 26:49 "All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar, 26:52 at the end of the 12 months," 26:53 this is after Daniel has told him the interpretation 26:56 of this new dream, 26:58 "he was walking about the Royal Palace of Babylon 27:01 the king spoke saying, 27:03 Is not this great Babylon that I have built 27:08 for royal dwelling by my mighty power. 27:12 And for the honor of my majesty." 27:16 You know, Nebuchadnezzar had built 27:18 one of the seven wonders of the world for his wife. 27:23 He had a 400 foot mountain 27:26 that had flowing waters coming down at Hanging Gardens. 27:33 This was a place of rest, 27:35 but it was supposed to be for time of refreshing. 27:38 So here he is now. 27:40 He's looking, 27:41 he built at least three castles. 27:43 He's looking around and he's thinking, 27:45 I'm the man, you know, 27:48 look at what I've done, right? 27:50 But he failed to give God glory. 27:52 Yes, that's right. 27:54 He is. 27:55 You know, God is ultimately the giver 27:57 of every good and perfect gift. 27:59 And for his pride, 28:01 for him totally ignoring what God, 28:04 all these opportunities God has given him. 28:07 Judgment falls. So let's look at verse 31. 28:10 Daniel 4:31, 28:12 "While the word was still in the king's mouth." 28:16 Oh, I did this all by my mighty power 28:19 for my honor and glory. 28:22 "A voice fell from heaven, 28:24 King Nebuchadnezzar, to you, it is spoken, 28:28 the kingdom has departed from you." 28:32 Justice was prophesied before. 28:35 "They shall drive you for men, 28:37 your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, 28:40 they shall make you eat grass, like oxen, and seven times," 28:44 that means seven years, 28:46 "shall pass over you until you know 28:51 that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men 28:54 and give it to whomever he chooses." 28:57 That very hour, verse 33 says, 29:02 "The word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar. 29:05 He was driven from men. 29:07 He ate grass like ox and his body was wet 29:11 with the dew of heaven 29:13 till his hair had grown like eagle's feathers 29:16 and his nails, like birds claws." 29:21 There is a rare mental disease called boanthropy. 29:25 And I read a case recently, 29:27 I mean, a recent case of someone who had this, 29:31 they're out in the fields eating grass, 29:32 they think they're cattle 29:34 and their nails were thickened out, 29:38 just like the King Nebuchadnezzar. 29:40 So, this isn't some fairy tale, this stuff happens. 29:44 Now, this is the interesting thing. 29:45 I just have to say. 29:47 His punishment could have been averted. 29:50 I mean, God warned him, 29:52 He forewarned him with His dream. 29:54 Daniel told him the interpretation of the dream 29:57 and often the prophecies of doom are conditional. 30:02 Remember when Ezekiah was on his deathbed 30:09 and the prophet comes to him and says, 30:10 hey, the Lord says, 30:12 "Get your house in order you're gonna die." 30:14 And he turns his face while he's praying 30:16 and he's begging the Lord. 30:18 Well, that word didn't come 30:19 because the prophet comes back and says, 30:21 okay, God's heard your prayers. 30:22 He's going to add, you know, more years to your life. 30:26 Think about when the Ninevites in Jonah 3, 30:29 they truly repented. 30:31 Here God had told Jonah, go in there and tell them 30:33 I'm gonna wipe out their city. 30:35 But they repented, God then repented. 30:39 Malachi 3:6 says, "I'm a Lord, I change not." 30:43 He does not change in His character, 30:46 in His being, in His righteousness, 30:48 His nature. 30:50 Hebrews 13:8 says, 30:52 "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." 30:55 So, but He will change, 30:58 sometimes it's like a parent says, 31:02 I'm going to spank you. 31:03 Oh, no, Mommy, please don't, 31:05 I'm going to be a good girl. 31:07 Okay, mommy doesn't follow through 31:09 because you've reversed your action. 31:11 Right? 31:13 So this is what God will often change 31:15 His intended actions toward humans 31:19 who changed their response to Him, right? 31:22 Jeremiah, I just want to read this real quickly 31:24 before we go forward. 31:26 Jeremiah 18:7-8. 31:28 The Lord is speaking. 31:30 Jeremiah 18, and we'll read verses 7 and 8. 31:35 God says, "The instant I speak concerning a nation 31:38 and concerning a kingdom to pluck it up to pull it down 31:40 and to destroy it. 31:42 If that nation against whom I have spoken 31:45 turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster 31:48 that I thought to bring upon it." 31:52 Let's look at verse 9. 31:53 "The instant I speak concerning a nation 31:56 and a kingdom to build in the planet." 32:00 This is the Lord speaking," 32:01 if it does evil in my sight 32:04 so that it does not obey My voice, 32:07 then I won't relent from the good 32:09 that I said I was going to do it." 32:11 So now let's return to Daniel 4:26. 32:16 The purpose of the vision was to teach Nebuchadnezzar 32:20 that heaven rules, right? 32:22 So verse 26, 32:24 "In as much as they gave the command 32:26 to leave the stump and the root of the trees, 32:29 your kingdom shall be assured to you, 32:32 after you come to know that heaven rules." 32:36 Nebuchadnezzar learned but he learned the hard way. 32:40 He, you know, 32:41 God had to deprive him of this authority, 32:43 let him be out in the fields for seven years. 32:46 But he did learn total dependence upon God. 32:51 That is what humility is all about. 32:54 Its' total dependence upon God. 32:57 So let's look at verse, 33:00 God's larger purpose that was in Daniel 4:17, 33:04 we're going to back up. 33:07 Here when he expressed this decree, 33:09 we see the larger purpose. 33:11 "This decision," Daniel says, 33:15 "is by the decree of the watchers, 33:17 and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, 33:22 in order that the living may know 33:26 that the Most High rules in the kingdom of heaven, 33:30 gives it to whomever He will, 33:33 and sets it on the lowest of men." 33:37 The lesson we all need to learn. 33:40 God is sovereign. Yes. 33:43 And we've all been given free will. 33:46 But God still rules over the earth. 33:48 I want to add just to your list of pride. 33:54 Prejudice is pride. 33:57 Well, now. 33:58 If you are prejudiced against any people, 34:02 against any people group, that's pride. 34:05 You think you're better than them. 34:06 But here's the one that's the clincher. 34:09 The Lord once spoke to me because I was kind of offended, 34:12 something somebody had done. 34:13 This is many years ago and I heard this so clearly. 34:18 He said, "The spirit of offense is the spirit of pride." 34:21 Now you think about that for a minute. 34:24 You cannot be offended 34:27 if your pride hasn't been wounded. 34:29 So, what we need to do is learn, 34:32 God's plan is that we would live 34:36 in total dependence upon Him. 34:39 That's true humility as Jesus had. 34:43 Amen, praise the Lord. 34:46 Man, so this entire chapter is powerful, 34:49 as you continue to see what he's going through. 34:52 But my favorite part of it is the end. 34:54 The mother report is to see the powerful conversion 34:57 of this man and how it came about. 34:59 Obviously we know that he's out in the middle of a field, 35:01 he's eating grass like an animal, like a cow. 35:05 His body is hairy. 35:07 You know, I think the Bible says 35:09 it's like the feathers of an eagle. 35:13 I mean, this man is a mess. 35:15 And but yet, God says God has mercy on him, 35:19 because he turned his ways. 35:21 And how did that come about? 35:22 Well, Wednesday's lesson is entitled, 35:24 lifting eyes toward heaven. 35:27 So I'm going to read the closing verses 35:29 of Daniel Chapter 4. 35:30 So we're going to start with verse 34, 35:32 and read through verse 37. 35:33 So the Bible says, starting with verse 34, 35:37 "And at that time," or excuse me, 35:38 "At the end of the time, 35:40 I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven, 35:44 and my understanding returned to me, 35:46 and I bless the Most High and praised and honored Him 35:50 who lives forever. 35:51 For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 35:53 and His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35:56 All the inhabitants of the earth 35:57 are reputed as nothing 35:59 He does according to His will in the army of heaven 36:02 and among the inhabitants of the earth, 36:04 no one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 36:08 What have You done? 36:09 At the same time my reason returned to me 36:12 and for the glory of my kingdom, 36:14 my honor and splendor returned to me. 36:16 My counselors and nobles resorted to me, 36:20 and was restored to my kingdom, 36:22 and excellent majesty was added to me. 36:25 Now, I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol 36:28 and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth," 36:33 I love that, "and ways are justice 36:35 and those who walk in pride He is able to put down." 36:38 I just want to say offset as we reading through this, 36:41 you could see a drastic 36:43 not just a small, not just a short 36:46 but a drastic change in his attitude. 36:49 He goes from, 36:50 you know, me, me, me, me, I, I, I, my kingdom to, 36:53 hey, this guy's got a better kingdom than I. 36:54 He's mightier than I, He's more powerful than I, 36:57 and so the focus goes from self to God, 37:00 just as John the Baptist said, 37:01 He must increase and I must decrease, 37:03 that happens right here 37:04 in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar. 37:06 And I also would like to make mention here that, 37:09 you know, we can see now that his focus 37:11 is on the important aspects 37:14 of what it means to live for this mighty God, 37:16 as he says here in the end, 37:18 "His works are truth, and His ways are justice." 37:20 God is a merciful God. 37:23 You can read this entire story, and it just, 37:27 it's overflowing with mercy and grace. 37:30 But at the same time, we also have to make very clear 37:33 that while God is a merciful God, 37:35 He is a gracious God. 37:37 He's a God of justice. Yes. 37:38 He's a God of justice, 37:40 and He will do what is necessary 37:41 to get a hold of our attention. 37:42 And in this case, we would say this is pretty extreme, 37:45 ending up in a field eating grass, like a cow. 37:48 That's pretty extreme. 37:49 And it's powerful to kind of look 37:51 in hindsight of this 37:52 because you might say to yourself, 37:53 you know, how did the king get to this point? 37:56 Because, again, he was given three opportunities 38:00 to recognize and to clearly understand 38:04 who God is, for who He is. 38:06 I'm referencing Daniel Chapter 1, 38:08 he found the Hebrew boys 10 times wiser, 38:10 through that experience, you would think, 38:12 wow, these guys are what, now who is this God you serve. 38:15 But evidently that wasn't the case. 38:17 So that he goes on in Daniel Chapter 2, 38:19 and God shakes his life up with the dream. 38:22 And, of course, out of this dream, 38:23 I could just imagine, as Daniel was telling him, 38:26 not only what he dreamed, 38:28 but the interpretation of this dream, 38:29 you know, they probably had to pick 38:30 this brother up off the floor, 38:32 because he was just astounded, who is this God you serve? 38:35 But it still wasn't enough. 38:37 And then we go into Daniel 3, 38:38 which is what we studied last week. 38:40 He saw the Son of God deliver 38:43 the three Hebrew children from the fire 38:44 and not only did he see them, 38:46 he see God delivered them from the fire. 38:47 He saw God in the fire. Amen. 38:49 And you would think, man, surely that's enough. 38:51 But that's simply not the case. 38:53 And there's someone that says, 38:54 "How can you experience all of that 38:56 and it not be enough?" 38:57 Well, there was an interesting quote here 38:58 if I can find it. 39:00 This comes from Prophets and Kings, page 519. 39:02 It is written here concerning the memory 39:04 of his dream fading from his mind. 39:06 She says he lost confidence 39:08 in the interpretation of the dream 39:11 mentioned in Daniel 2, 39:12 and jested at his former fears. 39:15 And so what is God about to do? 39:17 God is about to wake him up. 39:19 He's about to say, 39:20 Hey, man, let me clarify who I am in your life. 39:23 Let me show you who I really am, 39:25 because we have to take in consideration 39:27 Nebuchadnezzar's concept of God 39:29 was that of the Chaldeans as found in Daniel 2:11, 39:34 which was a totally transcendent God 39:37 who is uninterested in human affairs. 39:40 So each and every one of those powerful acts, 39:42 I could just see Him as, Oh, this is a pretty cool God. 39:44 Oh, He's a really nice guy. Wow, what a powerful God. 39:46 But still, there was that disconnect. 39:48 He couldn't quite put it together. 39:49 Who is this God? 39:51 You see the ancient gods, 39:53 the pagan gods were conceived of 39:56 or conceived of self serving despots and tyrants, 40:00 who did not care about human beings 40:02 except to have them cater to their every whim and fancy, 40:05 and that's exactly how he was viewing God 40:07 up to this point. 40:08 But seven years on a field would change that. 40:11 And so we see that God shows him exactly who He is 40:14 slowly but surely. 40:17 The Hebrew God changes the king's concept of himself. 40:21 He became to see 40:22 that God wanted to communicate His will 40:25 to human beings. 40:27 That's right. 40:28 He saw it, and I made a list here of powerful things 40:30 here that we can gather from this, 40:31 he came to see Him as a God 40:34 who is interested in human affairs, 40:37 generally and specific persons in particular. 40:40 In fact, he came to realize 40:42 that the Hebrew God was interested in saving him. 40:45 Amen. 40:46 He slowly came to realize 40:47 that God is not only the high and lofty one, 40:50 but is also with those of humble and contrite hearts. 40:54 That is, God is concerned with His earthly children. 40:58 He saw this clearly 40:59 when Jesus Himself came into the furnace 41:02 to deliver His servants from certain death. 41:04 And that's got to be powerful, a powerful witness indeed. 41:07 He saw the Hebrew God as the patient, 41:10 and long suffering God 41:11 who does all in His power to save. 41:14 And we see that through this story, 41:16 through this very story, 41:17 God was not willing to give up on Nebuchadnezzar, 41:19 just as He's not willing to give up on you. 41:21 He's not willing to give up on us. 41:22 He's going to do everything He can 41:24 to reach us on our level 41:26 to wake us up, to shake us, to say, hey, I'm here. 41:28 I'm here to serve you. 41:29 I'm here to be your God, if you would allow me to. 41:32 God even gave the king 12 months 41:34 as Jill, excuse me, Shelley clearly mentioned, 41:37 God even gave the king 12 months 41:39 after the dream to repent in order to avert punishment. 41:42 And that's a good example of that classical prophecy 41:45 that was studied from lesson one of this series. 41:48 And the fact that it was conditional, 41:49 God was willing to wipe away all of that 41:52 and not have him go through any of that 41:54 if only he would have turned from his pride, 41:56 and he would have lived 41:57 and given his heart to the Lord. 41:59 But, of course, through it all, 42:01 we see that this king finally truly is converted. 42:04 And I have to mention as to how this comes about, 42:06 which is the title of this lesson, 42:08 because we know that it all came about 42:11 once he lifted his eyes toward heaven. 42:16 You know, truly there is life, 42:19 in a look toward heaven. 42:21 Amen. 42:22 There is life in a look at our Savior, 42:24 we would just lift our eyes and place them on Jesus, 42:26 as Jesus said, put first the Kingdom of God, 42:29 if we would just lift our eyes towards heaven 42:31 as King Nebuchadnezzar did, I think all of us, 42:33 many of us would see a major conversion 42:36 and experience in our life, I think of 1 Chronicles 16:11, 42:40 and I've chose the NIV version of this 42:42 because it clearly communicates what the original says. 42:45 And it says, "Look to the Lord and His strength, 42:48 seek his face always." 42:50 Yeah. 42:52 And I think of, you know, there's some Bible characters, 42:54 that their life was changed 42:57 when they had a look towards heaven 42:58 or looked towards their God, 43:00 I think of Abraham in Genesis 13:14, 43:03 on the establishment of that beautiful covenant 43:06 that the Lord made of him. 43:07 He said there, it says, and the Lord said to Abraham, 43:10 after Lot had separated from him, 43:11 "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are." 43:14 So, take your eyes off Babylon, 43:16 because God called Abraham out of Babylon. 43:18 Take your eyes off Babylon, and put it on God's kingdom. 43:22 Also think of Moses. 43:24 When Moses looked into that burning bush, 43:26 he was looking into the very presence 43:29 and very face of the Lord. 43:30 And we know that Moses also had that experience 43:33 with the serpent in the wilderness, 43:34 remember the serpents that came about the kingdom. 43:36 What did he have to do? 43:38 He put it on a pole 43:39 and how were the children of Israel saved? 43:41 Simply by looking in faith they were saved, 43:44 I think of David. I love this scripture. 43:47 Psalm 123:1-2, I love this. 43:50 "Unto you I lift my eyes. 43:53 He says, O you who dwell in the heavens, behold, 43:56 as the eyes of servants, 43:58 look to the hand of their masters. 44:00 As the eyes of a maid the hand of their mistress, 44:03 so our eyes look to the Lord, 44:05 our God until he has mercy on us." 44:08 I think of Isaiah, Pastor, you mentioned it earlier. 44:11 He had an experience in which he looked 44:13 and saw God seated high on His throne. 44:15 He saw His Majesty, His righteousness, 44:18 and then he saw his dirtiness and what was his response, 44:20 "Woe is me Lord, I am undone. 44:23 I'm a man of unclean lips." 44:25 Conversion came out of that. 44:27 We also see Zachariah again in Zachariah 5:5, Chapter 5:5, 44:32 "Lift up your eyes, the Lord said to him, 44:34 Jesus, He's lifting His eyes to heaven." 44:38 Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven to pray to His Father 44:41 in John Chapter 17. 44:42 And, of course, we know that Jesus says, 44:44 if I am lifted up, 44:46 I will draw all peoples to myself. 44:49 Lift your eyes to heaven, my friends, 44:51 behold the Lord's majesty, behold His righteousness, 44:55 and we shall and can be converted, 44:57 just as Nebuchadnezzar was. 44:59 Amen. Amen. 45:00 Powerful study, I've just been so blessed 45:02 listening to each one of you, 45:04 the Holy Spirit's working to convict my own heart 45:07 in those areas that he says, Jill, I want you to grow here. 45:10 What I love is that God uses the gentlest means possible 45:15 to get our attention. 45:17 Now, in Nebuchadnezzar's case, he used some gentle means, 45:20 and then some not so gentle means 45:22 and then we saw some pretty, we could say, 45:24 stern or fierce measures, 45:26 because God loved Nebuchadnezzar. 45:29 And He wanted him saved in His Kingdom. 45:31 What a merciful God we serve. 45:34 He could have said, okay, we're just leaving him 45:36 and he can stay in his pride, and I'm done with him. 45:40 But yet He loved him enough. 45:43 Even though he went through this hardship, 45:46 that it brought about his conversion. 45:48 So on Thursday, we look at humble and grateful. 45:51 I have the same verses that Ryan had, 45:53 so I'm not going to read them again. 45:55 We're going to instead trace the steps 45:57 of Nebuchadnezzar's conversion, 45:59 and then we will look at 46:01 how we know that Nebuchadnezzar was really converted. 46:05 The lesson talks about that on Thursday's lesson. 46:07 So let's trace the steps in his conversion. 46:10 Now in everyone's conversion, there's many steps. 46:13 You could say it doesn't just begin with the initial, 46:15 there's many steps and of course in his there's, 46:18 I'm sure more than what I'm going to say. 46:20 But as I read the scriptures, 46:21 I find at least six steps in his conversion. 46:24 The first step is that God brought, Pastor Ryan, 46:27 God fearing men to the kingdom of Babylon. 46:29 Amen. 46:31 God knew that Nebuchadnezzar had no contact 46:33 with anyone except for those pagan gods. 46:35 That's right. 46:36 And the Chaldeans and their wisdom. 46:38 So God brought God fearing men, 46:40 this would be Daniel and his three friends 46:42 to the kingdom of Babylon. 46:44 Step number two, we see in Daniel Chapter 1, 46:47 that God enabled Daniel and his friends 46:50 to stand for principle. 46:53 Now this, the king seemed very ignorant 46:55 of their God at this time. 46:57 And as you read Daniel 1, you kind of see that. 46:59 But he somehow recognizes the superior wisdom 47:03 and knowledge that Daniel and his friends possess. 47:06 Now he doesn't really know the purpose 47:08 and the reason behind that. 47:10 But he still sees that these men are superior. 47:13 And I would imagine that somehow in his mind, 47:15 he thought, what's going on here? 47:17 Number three, Daniel Chapter 2, 47:20 God sent the dream of the image and the interpretation. 47:23 Now we know there's many reasons 47:24 for the sending of that dream. 47:26 But I think one of them is that the king could learn 47:28 that God is all wise, 47:33 We see Nebuchadnezzar's response in Daniel 2:46, 47:37 he falls prostrate on the ground 47:40 before Daniel so he's not, 47:42 he's not honoring God at this point. 47:43 He's honoring a man. 47:46 But he does acknowledge God in the next verse, Verse 47. 47:49 He says, "Truly, your God is the God of gods." 47:51 So he acknowledges at this point, 47:54 that God is all wise and able to foretell the future. 47:58 And Daniel 3, as you talk about, Ryan, 48:00 it goes a step further. 48:02 He learns that God is not only all wise, 48:05 but God is all powerful. 48:07 God can deliver His children. 48:10 Now he acknowledges God in Daniel 3:28. 48:15 "Nebuchadnezzar spoke saying, 'Blessed be the God 48:17 of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.' 48:19 He sent his angel and delivered his servants 48:21 who trusted in Him.'" 48:22 So you can see Nebuchadnezzar's knowledge 48:24 of who God is, 48:26 and his character is growing as it were. 48:29 But we also see in verse 29, that he pronounces a punishment 48:33 against those who don't serve this God. 48:36 So really, he's not converted at this point, 48:38 you can clearly see that, 48:40 that he does not understand who God is. 48:42 Then God sent the dream of the tree 48:44 that we've been talking about here in Daniel Chapter 4. 48:47 This is a warning to Nebuchadnezzar, 48:49 and we know Daniel 4 occurred several years 48:52 after Daniel Chapter 3. 48:53 God had given him time and then we get to Daniel 4, 48:56 in this, Shelley, you brought out 48:57 there was the 12 months, 48:59 that he had Daniel appeal to him, 49:02 please, would you break off your sins, 49:04 please would you repent, 49:06 and he hardened his heart and pride 49:09 against the Most High God. 49:13 And then the sixth step that I see in his conversion 49:16 is actually the fulfillment of the dream. 49:18 We could say that's judgment that came against him. 49:21 You know, you think about the children of Israel, 49:23 they did not follow God and they worshiped other gods, 49:27 the heathen gods and what happened? 49:30 They were brought into the land of captivity 49:33 here in Babylon for the 70 years as a result. 49:37 Now God had called through the prophets to the children 49:39 of Israel before that time, 49:40 there had been a measure of repentance 49:42 and then backsliding 49:43 and then a measure of repentance 49:45 and then backsliding. 49:46 And then God used even stronger measures, 49:49 that was the 70 years captivity to get their attention. 49:53 So the same thing with Nebuchadnezzar. 49:55 God used pretty strong measures in order to get his attention. 49:59 All that happens to the king 50:00 is not for his ultimate destruction, 50:03 but it is for his deliverance. 50:05 It's for his salvation. 50:07 It's for his redemption and restoration. 50:11 The king decides to trust this God with his life 50:15 and allow Christ to come in and change him. 50:17 I love those references you used, Ryan, 50:20 when he lifted his eyes up to heaven. 50:22 So, how do we know 50:23 that Nebuchadnezzar was truly converted? 50:26 There's probably many, 50:27 but I can think of at least seven. 50:29 Number one, he referenced in this chapter, 50:34 his pride and his mistakes. 50:36 Now, the lesson brought out, 50:38 that ancient monarchs would rarely write 50:40 anything derogatory against themselves. 50:43 If you read the ancient world documents, 50:45 they always glorify the king. 50:46 That's just how the ancient kings would do it. 50:50 But he is the author of Daniel 4, he and Daniel, 50:55 but portions of it are written by Nebuchadnezzar, 50:57 and it's very clear that he points out his faults 51:02 and his failures and his pride against the Most High God. 51:07 Number two, he desires to share this God with others, 51:12 now not in the way that he desired to do it before 51:14 where he says I'm gonna cut you in pieces. 51:17 So it wasn't that type of desire. 51:19 He wanted them to know this God for themselves. 51:22 He wanted them to acknowledge Him, 51:24 and to understand Him, and to know Him. 51:27 So that's why he wrote this letter 51:29 to all of his subjects. 51:30 I think of 1 Peter 2:9, 51:32 "We are called to proclaim the praises of Him 51:35 who has called us out of darkness 51:38 into this marvelous light." 51:39 No sooner does one accept the Lord Jesus Christ 51:42 into their heart, then they become a missionary. 51:46 As soon as we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, 51:50 we want to go and tell, 51:51 we want to tell what he has done in our lives. 51:54 And I see Daniel 4 as his go and tell, 51:57 Nebuchadnezzar wants to say, this is who I was, 52:00 this is how far I had fallen, 52:03 this was my arrogance against the God of heaven. 52:07 And yet in His mercy, He brought judgment on me, 52:10 so that I could repent. 52:12 And I could follow this God with all my heart, 52:16 so he wanted to share this 52:17 with the subjects of his kingdom. 52:19 Number three, we see his praise of God. 52:23 And Daniel 4:34, you talked about that, 52:26 how he identifies God as being eternal, 52:29 living forever. 52:31 He says, "At the end of the time, 52:33 I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven 52:34 and my understanding returned to me 52:36 and I blessed the Most High 52:37 and praised and honored Him who lives forever. 52:41 And he honored Him 52:42 because His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 52:45 and His kingdom is from generation to generation. 52:48 Number four, 52:49 he recognized who he was in relationship to who God is. 52:53 I think everyone on the panel has referenced that today, 52:57 as well as Isaiah 6 52:58 where Isaiah all of a sudden 53:00 recognized who he was in relationship to God, 53:03 who was high and holy and lifted. 53:07 He recognized who he is, 53:08 I think conversion begins at that place. 53:10 Yes. 53:11 You know, recognizing, who is God? 53:14 Who am I in contrast to who God is? 53:17 That's right. 53:18 We have to recognize that before we even realize our sin 53:21 and our desire to come to Him and repent. 53:23 And, of course, we know it is the goodness of God 53:25 that leads us to repentance. 53:27 That's right. 53:28 So it's not only, 53:29 it's not something we conjure up in ourselves. 53:31 God is the one who brings us to that place of recognition 53:34 of who He is. 53:35 God is the one who brings us to recognition 53:36 of who we are in our sinfulness. 53:38 He's the one who draws us to Christ in repentance. 53:42 He's the one who puts that in our heart. 53:44 So I'm so thankful for that. 53:46 Number five, he acknowledges the sovereignty of God. 53:51 And Daniel 4:35, the second part, 53:54 "He does according to His will, 53:56 in the army of heaven 53:57 and among the inhabitants of earth." 53:58 He recognize that God is sovereign over all, 54:02 that is a reoccurring theme actually 54:03 throughout the entire Book of Daniel. 54:05 Number six, he recognizes the justice of God. 54:09 Now you can recognize God is sovereign, 54:11 but to recognize that He is just 54:12 and what His ways are truth and His ways are just. 54:18 Finally number seven. 54:19 I want to read this quote from Sister White. 54:21 This is Prophets and Kings, 521. 54:24 "The once proud monarch had become a humble child of God, 54:28 the tyrannical, overbearing ruler, 54:30 a wise and compassionate king. 54:33 He who had defied 54:35 and blasphemed the God of heaven, 54:36 now acknowledge the power of the Most High, 54:38 and earnestly sought to promote the fear of Jehovah 54:41 and the happiness of his subjects. 54:44 Under the rebuke of Him who is King of kings 54:46 and Lord of lords." 54:47 Nebuchadnezzar had at last learned the lesson, 54:50 which all rulers and I'd say everyone needs to learn, 54:53 that true greatness consists in true goodness. 54:57 Amen. Praise the Lord. 54:59 What a mountain of information, 55:01 you know, and there's much more something like, 55:03 we feel like we just scratched the surface, 55:05 don't we, of these things 55:06 because we have just a limited amount of time. 55:08 And sometimes people will write and say, 55:09 "Well, why didn't you cover this and cover that?" 55:11 Well, that's some of your homework too. 55:13 But just you know, as the Holy Spirit impresses 55:14 all the vast amount of information 55:17 to kind of condense it down in about 10 minutes, 55:19 sometimes difficult to, 55:20 but on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, praise God. 55:22 Okay, we got a few moments left. 55:24 Some last thoughts, Pastor John. 55:25 Well, the key to what I saw 55:27 in Nebuchadnezzar's treatment of the poor, 55:31 I leave you with this thought, 55:32 treat others the way you would like to be treated. 55:36 Isaiah 58:6-8. 55:38 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen 55:41 to lose the bonds of wickedness, 55:43 to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free. 55:47 And that you break every yoke? 55:50 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry 55:53 and that you bring to your house 55:56 the poor who are cast out, 55:58 when you see the naked that you cover him 56:01 and not hide yourself from your own flesh," 56:04 that means your own family, 56:06 "then your light shall break forth like the morning, 56:09 your healing shall spring forth speedily. 56:12 And your righteousness shall go before you, 56:15 the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard." 56:18 Amen. Amen. 56:19 I think James 1:17 that says, 56:21 "Every good and perfect gift comes 56:24 from the father of heavenly lights, 56:27 in whom there's no variation 56:29 and there is no shadow of turning." 56:31 Let me tell you something. 56:32 Pride is a deception. 56:35 Everything that we have comes from God's providential hand. 56:40 So there's no room for boasting. 56:42 That's right. 56:43 It doesn't matter what you have. 56:46 God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. 56:50 And pride can harden your heart and drive you crazy, 56:54 just like it did with Nebuchadnezzar. 56:57 Yeah, absolutely. 56:59 You know, as I was going through my lesson, 57:00 about Nebuchadnezzar lifting his eyes, 57:03 I thought of John Chapter 3, 57:05 where Jesus is communicating the salvation, 57:08 clearly so communicated to Nicodemus, 57:13 and Jesus says something there in verses 14 and 15. 57:16 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness 57:18 even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 57:20 that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, 57:23 but have eternal life." 57:24 I think that we still have that today, 57:26 if we'll just lift our eyes to heaven. 57:27 Amen. 57:28 We've been talking about the problem of pride here. 57:30 Sin originated in self seeking with Lucifer, 57:33 but Christ is the perfect example 57:35 of self sacrificing love. 57:37 Amen. Praise the Lord. 57:39 This is a little quote here from Education, 177 and 178. 57:44 Just a couple lines that "He setteth above the cherubim, 57:46 He guides the affairs of the earth. 57:48 He overrides all for the accomplishments 57:50 of his purpose." 57:51 Amen. 57:53 So I just want to encourage each one of you. 57:54 If you want to keep your mind, 57:57 then dedicate it, give it to Jesus Christ. 58:00 Give it to Jesus Christ. 58:01 Next week we come together 58:03 we're going to be on lesson number six 58:04 from arrogance to destruction. 58:06 God bless you. We'll see you next time. |
Revised 2021-02-08