Participants: Lance Wilbur (Host), Dwayne Lemon
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000013
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00:30 Hello, may name is Lance Wilbur.
00:32 And I'm Dwayne Lemon. 00:33 And we'll like to welcome you to another edition of TKS, 00:37 a True Knowledge of Self, 00:39 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:43 For those of you who have been following along, 00:45 again, we, in our last episode 00:47 we dealt with Daniel Chapter 2 and we saw... 00:50 Highlighted Daniel and we saw that 00:53 trough his preparation for the Christ, 00:56 through his humility and his willingness 00:59 to acknowledge the fact 01:00 that he does not have all the answers, 01:03 that he needs to seek wisdom and strength and power 01:07 from the God of heaven. 01:08 We saw that that spirit of humility 01:11 is something that is foreign to the urban culture, 01:15 is foreign to the street culture, 01:16 is foreign to the hip hop culture. 01:18 We are encouraged to react and to stamp out 01:23 and to not allow our pride or manhood to be questioned. 01:29 But Daniel in this crisis did not shrink in fear 01:32 nor did he swell up in pride, 01:35 but he, with the spirit of meekness and humility, 01:39 sought a petition and sought deliverance 01:43 and wisdom and skill from the very throne of God. 01:47 And Dwayne, as we consider these things, 01:50 some people think that in order to be a man 01:54 you have to stand up for yourself, you have to... 01:58 And we're not saying 01:59 that you don't have to stand up for yourself, 02:00 we're not saying that you don't have to, 02:02 at times, take a stand, 02:03 but some people take a stand 02:05 for the sake of their own pride, 02:06 their ego is injured 02:08 and they have to defend themselves. 02:09 We see it all the time in the street, 02:11 we saw it growing up. 02:12 I was an individual who did that, 02:13 I'm sure you did it at times. 02:15 If our manhood was questioned, we responded with aggression. 02:20 That's right. 02:22 In order to let everybody know, 02:23 that we're not a, we're not a punk. 02:24 That's right. We can handle our... 02:27 So how is that different when we talk about... 02:30 Because knowledge of self out there in the street 02:33 is teaching us that, but then in the Bible, 02:36 a true knowledge of self shows us 02:38 that the opposite is true. 02:39 So how does the Bible deal with these things? 02:42 What it is, you know, this true picture of humility 02:45 and real manhood from a biblical perspective? 02:48 Now, you know, it's a real good question 02:49 because when I look back at my life 02:52 and I go back to my childhood 02:54 and growing up again, urban youth, 02:57 again hip-hop culture, 02:59 there were a lot of things that were put in my mind 03:01 and I found it to be interesting. 03:03 I'll give you an example, when I was in school, 03:05 I grew up in a public school system, 03:07 I never went to any type of religious school-- 03:09 Private organization. 03:11 Private schools, none of that, 03:12 total public school organizations 03:14 all the way through. 03:15 So I'm exposed to some of the dirtiest, 03:19 the grimiest things that you could possibly imagine 03:21 that a person could either see or experience 03:23 in a school environment. 03:24 But one of the things that was interesting is 03:26 we know that in public school systems generally, 03:28 you have the teachings of evolution. 03:31 And evolution, of course, tells us that 03:33 you and I are not the results of an intelligent creator, 03:36 but we are the result of just a bang that took place 03:38 we don't really have a purpose, we just kind of-- 03:40 Right, matter plus time plus chance. 03:42 Exactly. 03:43 And because of that teaching, 03:45 it produces a character in the individual 03:48 which is called survival of the fittest. 03:50 And what I found out about that is that 03:52 that it is possible that someone can be religious, 03:56 but still follow the principles of evolution. 03:58 Yes. 03:59 Because evolution puts in the mind of an individual 04:02 that since I don't really have a purpose or whatever, 04:04 I got to create my own purpose, and in creating my own purpose, 04:07 I will remove, stomp on, or compete with, 04:10 or beat anybody that I have to 04:12 so that I may survive and reach this goal, 04:15 even though it may mean the demise of others. 04:17 Right. Survival of the fittest. 04:18 Yeah, you just said, be a wolf. 04:20 You know, there's wolves out there, 04:21 you can be a wolf or something else. 04:23 That's right. 04:24 So you know, when I look at this concept 04:26 of the survival of the fittest. 04:27 I realize, wow! 04:29 I was participating with that in a very interesting way, 04:32 which is this, battles. 04:35 You know, in hip hop culture, 04:37 we know that whether you're rapping 04:39 or whether you're dancing, 04:41 there's always that element of battles. 04:44 And the battle, the purpose of the battle 04:45 is for me to beat you or you to beat me. 04:48 And that's the goal, there is no, you know, 04:50 you're good and I'm good and let's both strive together. 04:53 There's none of that. 04:54 It is about, I'm here to dominate you, 04:56 I'm here to tear you apart, 04:57 I'm here to absolutely embarrass you. 04:59 That's right. 05:00 And this was, again, 05:01 building up that self exaltation in a person. 05:05 So when I look at the Bible and how the Bible is teaching 05:08 the principle of humility, 05:10 the principle of self-abnegation, the... 05:12 You know, individuals recognizing 05:14 that I don't have the skill sets 05:16 and abilities in me in and of myself, number one. 05:20 Number two, if I do have a skill or an ability, 05:23 it was not given to me 05:25 for the purpose of dominating others. 05:27 And to try to beat and battle and make myself 05:30 equal to or better than yourself. 05:31 And does it mean that we can't have confidence 05:34 or we can't, you know, we can't have security and confidence, 05:36 is that what you're saying? 05:38 Security and confidence 05:39 is definitely necessary in the man of God. 05:41 But their security and their confidence is in 05:43 what God can do in them and through them for His glory 05:46 and not for what I can do 05:48 so that I can benefit simply myself, 05:50 you know, void of giving God any glory. 05:53 Now the Bible brings this out in an interesting way, 05:55 in the book of Galatians chapter 5. 05:56 And I want to talk about it 05:57 because in Galatians the fifth chapter, 06:00 I'm going to read from verses 19-21, 06:02 it brings out a picture 06:03 because Paul was trying to bring to light 06:06 to the individuals in the Church of Galatians, 06:09 the principles of the kingdom of darkness 06:11 versus the principles of the kingdom of light. 06:13 Okay. Fruit. 06:14 What kind of lifestyles we live? 06:15 And he says something 06:17 as it relates to the works of the flesh 06:19 in Galatians five starting at verse 19. 06:21 And I'm going to read this to you it says, 06:23 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest. 06:26 Which are these: 06:27 adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 06:31 lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, 06:38 emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, 06:44 murders, drunkenness, revelings, 06:47 and such like of the which I tell you before, 06:49 as I have also told you in time past, 06:52 that they which do such things 06:54 shall not inherit the kingdom of God." 06:57 Now these are plain straight statements. 06:59 Right. And there's two words. 07:02 Both of them were found in verse 20 07:04 that I thought to be very, very interesting. 07:06 It was emulations and strife. 07:08 Okay. 07:09 When the word emulations is used, 07:11 the word emulation is to emulate, 07:13 is to try to be equal to or better than somebody else. 07:17 So whenever I look at another person 07:19 and then I say, "I want to be equal to that person 07:21 or better than them. 07:23 I want to conquer them." 07:24 The Bible calls that emulations 07:26 and that's also the works of the flesh. 07:28 It also uses the word strife. 07:30 The word strife is also a word... 07:32 A synonym to the word strife is rival, 07:35 which is where we get rivalry. 07:37 And this is, of course, where we get this thing 07:38 about competition in all these things. 07:40 And these are things that God has not endorsed 07:43 for his people to get involved in 07:45 because he knows what it does. 07:46 Think about it, the disciples 07:48 were already individuals who were very competitive. 07:50 Here goes Jesus trying to literally teach the twelve 07:53 the mission that he came on this earth to bring 07:55 to give them the Gospel, they can understand it, 07:57 receive its benefits and then give it to the world, 07:59 but they had an element of a problem. 08:00 And that problem was rivalry. 08:03 They were always competing one against the other 08:05 to the point that they were so pathetic, 08:07 they got their mother involved. 08:09 You remember that? Yeah, I remember. 08:11 Yeah, I mean, you know, literally, James and John... 08:12 "Mom, go ask Jesus if we could be by his side 08:14 when he establishes the kingdom." 08:16 I mean, that's pathetic, man, 08:17 you're gonna get your mother involved? 08:18 And here it is the, you know, and they... 08:20 But this is what they wanted to do 08:22 because they had this competitive mindset. 08:24 They were rivals, even though they were 08:27 professing themselves to be a team. 08:28 Right. 08:29 And this is something that is very, very real 08:31 in hip-hop culture, it is part of it. 08:34 And, you know, hip-hop is not hip-hop without battles. 08:35 That's right. 08:37 You know, when we're trying to get the supremacy 08:39 and to be over somebody else 08:41 where we become the better and they become the loser. 08:43 Right, and it's funny because sometimes they try to paint it, 08:45 you know, they try to rewrite history 08:47 and say, "Oh, well, it was all about, 08:48 you know, the battle, but there was no... 08:51 It was just having fun, 08:52 and, you know, we shook hands afterwards." 08:54 You know, that's how we did it then 08:55 and now it was always-- 08:57 Now my brother-- Yeah, yeah, go ahead. 08:58 That's an explosive lie. 09:00 That's not even a lie, that's an explosive lie. 09:01 Yeah. And the reason why? 09:03 Is because I can tell you right now, 09:05 there was rarely a house party, 09:07 there was really a club setting that I could go to 09:10 where brothers would come together and they would battle, 09:12 whether they were scratching on the, on the-- 09:14 Turntables. Turntables. 09:15 Or if they were rhyming or if they were dancing, 09:18 where many of cases, it would always end in fights, 09:21 a lot of times, it ended up with people getting killed. 09:23 Yeah, gunshots, right? Yeah, gunshots, all the time. 09:25 So it is a total lie to say that, 09:28 "Oh, yeah, we were just having fun." 09:29 If that's fun, then I don't want any part of it. 09:31 And anybody with sense shouldn't either. 09:32 Yeah. And so sometimes it might have happen. 09:34 Yeah. But most times it didn't. 09:35 Most times, if you literally put it on a scale, 09:38 you're going to see, there's a major 09:39 teeter-tottering to show that the majority of the time 09:41 this stuff happens, it ends in violence, 09:43 it ends in brothers trying to hurt each other 09:46 or to malign each other. 09:48 Or hate each other. Or hate each other. 09:50 And then, of course, when record deals 09:51 and things of that nature come into the picture, 09:53 now it's really going to get wicked. 09:54 Yeah. 09:55 So the bottom line is that in this culture, 09:58 we see that there's a consistent self exaltation, 10:01 but when we look at Daniel and his principles, 10:04 we see that there was a humility 10:06 and something amazing happened in Daniel's humility. 10:10 Daniel was not emulating, Daniel was not being a rival, 10:14 Daniel was simply being faithful. 10:17 And as a result of him being faithful, 10:19 God did something. 10:20 And this is a principle that is true in both aspects 10:23 of Daniel's experience and Nebuchadnezzar's, 10:25 it is found in James Chapter 4. 10:27 In James the fourth chapter, 10:28 look at how the Bible brings this out, 10:30 this is powerful. 10:31 And this is something we need to understand 10:33 as we're running this race. 10:34 We know that there's a heaven to gain 10:36 and there's definitely a hell to shun. 10:37 And God wants us to gain eternal life. 10:40 That eternal life comes through the gift 10:41 that God gave to mankind, which is found in Jesus Christ. 10:44 Yes. We accept this by faith. 10:46 And what happens is, 10:47 to a lot of people that sounds corny 10:49 and it sounds like, no, 10:51 I got to do something or, you know, there's some, some, 10:54 you know, conquering that needs to take place. 10:55 Yeah. 10:57 And though there is a victory over sin that must take place, 10:59 but that comes through the righteousness of Christ. 11:00 Right. 11:02 That's not because of anything inside of me. 11:03 So notice what the Bible says in James Chapter 4, 11:06 it's in verse 10. 11:08 Beautiful principle, it says, 11:10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, 11:14 and He shall lift you up." 11:17 Now there's a lesson in this 11:20 and this is a practical lesson for you and I, 11:22 this is a practical lesson for you our viewers. 11:26 The Bible says, "Humble yourself." 11:29 Yes. 11:31 That is different from the Bible saying, 11:33 God will humble you. 11:36 There's a difference between humbling oneself 11:39 and God having to humble you. 11:41 Yeah. 11:42 And we find that individuals, one way or another, 11:44 are going to experience humility, 11:46 but we can either experience it, 11:48 where I humble myself before God 11:50 or God is going to have to humble me. 11:53 Now Daniel was wise. 11:55 He humbled himself before God. 11:57 He did not once try to function under 11:59 the principles of knowledge of self 12:01 and just try to say, "I got it. 12:03 I can handle this. I can do it." 12:04 He knew his weaknesses. 12:06 And he understood his weaknesses. 12:07 And there's a benefit in understanding weaknesses. 12:09 I want to bring this out in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 12:12 In 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, the Bible brings out 12:14 something in relation to recognizing our weaknesses 12:18 and the blessings that comes from it. 12:20 In 2 Corinthians the 12th chapter, 12:21 look at how God brings this thing out 12:23 because this is wonderful. 12:24 2 Corinthians and we're in chapter 12. 12:28 I'm going to go ahead and start right at about verse six. 12:29 Yeah. 12:30 And this is how Paul is unfolding this, 12:32 I can even to start at verse... 12:34 Yeah, verse six is good. 12:35 It says, " For though I would desire to glory, 12:38 I shall not be a fool. 12:41 For I will say the truth, but now I forbear, 12:44 lest any man should think of me above that 12:47 which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 12:50 And lest I should be exalted above measure 12:54 through the abundance of the revelations, 12:56 there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, 12:58 the messenger of Satan to buffet me, 13:00 lest I should be exalted above measure. 13:03 For this thing I be sought the Lord thrice, 13:06 that it might depart from me. 13:07 And He said unto me 13:09 My Grace is sufficient for thee: 13:12 For my strength is made perfect in weakness. 13:18 Most gladly therefore, 13:19 will I rather glory in my infirmities, 13:21 that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 13:25 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 13:28 in necessities, in persecutions, 13:31 in distresses for Christ's sake: 13:33 For when I am weak. 13:35 then am I strong." 13:37 The Bible makes it clear that when a man 13:39 can recognize and accept his weaknesses, 13:43 he will lean on the strength of someone else 13:46 that is stronger than him 13:47 to help him through his circumstances. 13:49 And is that another man? 13:50 And that is definitely not another man, 13:51 because the blind leading the blind 13:53 got the same destination, 13:54 they're going to fall into the ditch. 13:56 But if the blind goes to someone who can see, 13:58 then obviously, that person you can see, 14:00 can give them good, faithful guidance. 14:02 So if I'm weak, morally speaking, 14:04 if I'm weak, spiritually speaking, 14:06 the last thing I want to do is go to another moral 14:07 or weak man that's just as blind, 14:09 messed up, and weak, and wretched as I am. 14:10 Or woman. Or woman. 14:12 Or parent. 14:13 Or parent, or son or daughter, anybody, even minister. 14:16 What we want to do is recognize we are all sinners. 14:20 The Bible says, in Romans 3:23 "All have sinned." 14:22 So I'm not going to go to another sinner 14:24 to find salvation. 14:26 What I want to go to is a Savior 14:27 who can give salvation. 14:29 And this is the principle that governed Daniel's mind. 14:32 He humbled himself, "You know, 14:33 I can't save myself out of the situation." 14:35 Yeah. 14:36 So therefore, he came to the one who could save him. 14:37 And God did save. 14:39 Now something interesting as well is, 14:41 it's not that you can't go to other individuals 14:44 and talk about issues. 14:47 It's not that you can't seek counsel 14:49 because Daniel went to his friends, 14:52 his close friends and said, 14:54 "This is the problem, this is the situation. 14:56 This is what we need to do." 14:57 So he incorporated his friends, he didn't... 15:00 Again, not only is he seeking God's help, 15:02 but he's listening or employing the support 15:07 and the petitions also of his friends 15:09 to also petition God in union with him. 15:12 Now since you brought that point up, 15:13 I want to build on that. 15:15 We know that Proverbs 15:22 tells us that, 15:18 "In the multitude of counselors, there's safety." 15:21 Okay. But here's the thing. 15:22 Are there good counselors and bad counselors? 15:24 Yes. Definitely. 15:25 So what we want to do for ourselves 15:27 and also for our viewers 15:28 is we want to help them understand good counselors. 15:31 There's a very easy way, biblical way, 15:32 that we can define good counselors. 15:34 We know that in the multitude of counselors, there's safety. 15:36 So we can go to people to receive counsel. 15:39 But here's a very key point 15:40 in Psalms the 119th division and verse 24. 15:44 In Psalm 119:24, here's what the Bible says, 15:48 it says, "Thy testimonies 15:52 also are my delight and my counselors." 15:57 So the Bible makes it clear that the testimonies, 15:59 the Bible, the Word of God, it says... 16:01 David says that this is my counselor. 16:05 So I don't have any problem listening to a human counselor 16:09 as long as their minds are subject 16:11 to the inspired counselor. 16:13 Right, so in other words, the counsel 16:14 has to be compatible with the Word? 16:16 That's right. 16:17 And if it's not, then it's bad counsel. 16:18 It's bad counsel. 16:20 So therefore, if we're going to get counsel, 16:21 that's all right, you can get it from a human being, 16:22 but that human being needs to tap 16:24 into the power of God's word 16:25 and make sure that all their counsel 16:27 is in harmony with God's counsel. 16:28 And in the case of Daniel 16:30 where he has to reveal a dream and an interpretation, 16:35 there's no man that he can seek out to get that answer, 16:37 he goes straight to the throne. 16:38 That's right. 16:40 And when he got his guys together, did you notice, 16:42 he didn't get the other guys in Israel or Judah together? 16:44 He didn't get them, did they? 16:46 Because they demonstrated that their minds 16:47 were not subject to God's counsels 16:49 because the Bible says that the only people that were found 16:52 to be faithful in God's word and God's truth 16:54 were those four Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael. 16:58 So Daniel went to those whose minds 16:59 were subject to the counselors and Daniel said, 17:01 "Let's come together in counsel and seek the Heavenly counsel." 17:03 Yeah. 17:05 So we see that Daniel humbled himself 17:08 and he understood his weaknesses. 17:10 And this was a blessing, this was of benefit to Daniel 17:12 and his Father came through on his behalf. 17:15 And that's the same for you and the same for me. 17:17 We have that promise viewers 17:18 that we can look to the Word of God 17:20 and God can guide us, he can give us counsel, 17:23 instruction and wisdom, strength and power. 17:26 I know what it was when I was found out 17:28 that hip-hop and R&B culture 17:30 was a deceptive unit by the enemy 17:31 that was bringing me in a path 17:33 that was pulling me away from God, 17:35 away from a true knowledge of self. 17:37 And God had to give power to me for me to walk away from that, 17:40 especially being in the entertainment industry. 17:43 It was near to impossible for me to walk away 17:45 except it be for the grace of God. 17:47 That same grace that was sufficient for Paul, 17:50 that same grace that was sufficient for me 17:52 is the same grace that is sufficient for you 17:54 and it's available to you if you would simply ask for it 17:57 and accept it as it comes to you. 18:00 Lance, we see that, you know, 18:03 the Bible shows this principle 18:04 of humbling ourselves before God, 18:06 recognizing our weaknesses, 18:08 not striving to be better than each other, 18:12 but that we are to do something else. 18:13 We are to humble ourselves before God 18:15 and then we are to fulfill 1 Corinthians Chapter 9. 18:19 The Bible tells us something 18:20 in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 that I love. 18:23 And this is the idea, and this is why we talk about 18:25 this battling principle, this competition principle, 18:28 the domination, survival of one versus the loss of the other, 18:32 this is not God's plan. 18:33 No. 18:35 But God does give a plan 18:36 and it's in I Corinthians the 9th chapter. 18:37 There's many other verses, but I like 1 Corinthians 9, 18:39 it spells it out pretty good. 18:41 And this is how Paul spells it out in 1 Corinthians 9, 18:43 we're going to look at verse 25, 18:46 it says, "And every man" 18:49 In fact, I'd like to go ahead and start at verse 24. 18:51 I think it'll give a little bit more clarity, 18:53 'cause Paul's talking about running a race. 18:55 Yeah. So let me do it this way. 18:56 In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 it says, 19:02 "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, 19:05 but one receiveth the prize? 19:09 So run, that ye may obtain. 19:11 And every man that striveth for the mastery 19:16 is temperate in all things. 19:18 Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, 19:19 but we an incorruptible. 19:21 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly, 19:24 so fight I, not as one that beateth the air, 19:26 but I keep my body under subjection-- 19:28 I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection. 19:31 Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, 19:34 I myself should be a castaway." 19:36 Interesting. 19:37 Paul is talking about running a race 19:39 and he's using the, the, you know, 19:42 races that was done in his day and of course-- 19:43 Yeah, like the track and field, 19:45 athletics, the Olympic, you know, games-- 19:47 Exactly. 19:49 That would have not existed in his day? 19:50 Exactly. 19:52 But when Paul talks about running this race, 19:53 he uses the contrast in the worldly structure 19:55 where he says, "Only one receives the prize." 19:57 But then when he transitions more so into the spiritual, 19:59 he says," So we are running this race." 20:02 In other words, when we run this spiritual race 20:04 he indicates to us that all of us can win. 20:08 It doesn't have to be, where I win, but you lose. 20:11 Yeah. 20:12 But, it's more so, all of us can win. 20:14 And this is the principle and you know what? 20:15 You see it in Daniel's life 20:17 because when Daniel wanted to be spared 20:19 from the King's wrath, 20:21 did Daniel just want to spare himself in his four, 20:22 and his three friends? 20:24 No. No. 20:25 Daniel wanted to spare the magicians as well. 20:27 You see that? 20:28 That's what the spirit of humility does. 20:29 It shows a care for others, 20:31 even though those others don't do what you do. 20:34 Because Daniel was a man filled with compassion. 20:36 And this is what humility does, 20:38 this is what humbling ourselves before God does. 20:41 But Nebuchadnezzar, he did not demonstrate humility. 20:45 Nebuchadnezzar was not one who humbled himself before God. 20:48 And as a result of that, God had to humble him. 20:52 And notice how the Bible brings this out in Daniel 4, 20:54 that was going to be the, pretty much, the last text 20:56 that I wanted to bring out in this session. 20:58 In Daniel the 4th chapter, 21:00 Nebuchadnezzar has seen a lot by this time, 21:03 he's already seen Daniel interpret dreams, 21:05 he's also tried to go ahead and set up an image 21:08 and make everybody bow to it to the point 21:09 he tried to kill the three Hebrew faithfuls. 21:12 And he's, kind of, you know, flip-flopping, waffling, 21:15 going back and forth, 'cause what was his reaction 21:18 to Daniel interpreting the dream 21:20 and giving him the dream and interpretation? 21:23 What was his initial reaction? 21:24 Yeah, in Daniel 2: 46- 49, the Bible shows 21:27 that King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed, 21:30 King Nebuchadnezzar praised God. 21:33 He praised the God of heaven and earth, 21:35 not the false gods, but the true living God. 21:37 King Nebuchadnezzar took God's servants 21:39 and exalted them to a high position 21:41 in his government. 21:42 So it would look as if King Nebuchadnezzar 21:44 was really receiving God's truth 21:46 now in his own heart. 21:47 And I believe he was. Right. 21:49 But we know that the devil plays for keeps. 21:50 So then-- 21:52 And... go ahead. 21:53 So then in chapter 3, he makes this image and the, 21:56 kind of, counterfeit, showing that he is going to be eternal, 21:59 and his kingdom is eternal, he's going to last forever, 22:01 he's the dominant one, 22:03 and he's going to continue to be dominant. 22:04 So that, kind of, that brief flash of humility disappeared. 22:08 And then we have that story where he cast the Hebrew boys 22:12 who stood again, took another stand 22:13 and didn't worship the image 22:15 like everyone else was commanded to. 22:17 They get thrown in this fiery furnace. 22:19 God delivers them from the furnace 22:21 and what's Nebuchadnezzar reaction to that? 22:23 And, Nebuchadnezzar sees them in the furnace, 22:25 but he's at first, exulting over this because he's like, 22:28 "That's right, they're getting punishment 22:30 for going against the king." 22:31 But then next thing you know, 22:33 Nebuchadnezzar says, "Wait a minute! 22:34 We put three in. 22:36 But now we see four 22:38 and one of them looks like the Son of man." 22:40 And here it is that as Nebuchadnezzar sees 22:43 the Son of man walking in that fire 22:45 and he sees them walking in circles 22:47 and nobody's dying, nobody's screaming 22:48 and certainly nobody's being burnt up to death, 22:51 it amazes him to the point, he says, "Call them out." 22:54 In fact, he went up and called them out himself. 22:56 And then here it is, they come out 22:58 and they're still humble before the... 23:01 I mean, think about it, 23:02 if somebody put me and you into a fire. 23:04 Right. And in our natural person. 23:05 Yeah. 23:07 You know, and you put me in a fire and I'm mad at you, 23:09 obviously, 'cause you put me in a fire, 23:10 you were trying to kill me. 23:11 And then here it is, I go into the fire and I'll be like, 23:13 "Wait a minute! I'm not burning?" 23:15 You know, in the natural sense, 23:16 when the King would call me out, 23:18 I'll be like, "That's right. 23:19 That's right." 23:21 That's right. Yes. 23:22 You know, I'm going to go ahead and intimidate him 23:23 now because I got this all this power 23:25 and I will try to show him, I'm really the King, 23:27 'cause I'm connected with the King. 23:28 But these men, they come out 23:30 and they're still humble before the king. 23:32 Consistent. 23:33 I mean, consistent humility, even in the midst of crisis, 23:36 even when you are clearly proven wrong. 23:40 And they could've gloated on that, 23:42 but they saw Nebuchadnezzar as a soul to be won to God. 23:45 And as a result of that, humbly they come to him, 23:48 still honoring his position, and they come to him humbly. 23:51 This is what happens when you humble yourself. 23:53 Yeah. 23:54 Now Nebuchadnezzar sees this amazing power of God, 23:57 and you would think he got the lesson, 23:58 but then in Daniel chapter 4, here's what the Bible says, 24:01 In Daniel chapter 4, we notice now that after, 24:05 at the end of all these things and as some time passed by, 24:07 in verse 28 it says this, 24:10 "All this came upon the King Nebuchadnezzar. 24:12 At the end of twelve months, 24:14 he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 24:17 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon 24:20 that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might 24:24 of my power and for the honor of my majesty? 24:30 While the word was in the king's mouth, 24:32 there fell a voice from heaven saying, 24:34 O King Nebuchadnezzar. 24:36 To thee it is spoken: 24:37 The Kingdom is departed from thee 24:40 and they shall drive thee from men, 24:43 and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, 24:46 and they shall make thee to grass as oxen, 24:49 and seven times shall pass over thee, 24:51 until thou know 24:53 that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men 24:56 and giveth it to whomsoever He will." 25:00 God had to humble Nebuchadnezzar. 25:03 And when God humbles you, 25:04 it is clear, it is evident, and it is serious 25:07 because this man found himself 25:08 in the grass eating like an animal. 25:11 Crazy. Yeah. 25:12 Lost his mind. Lost his mind. 25:14 And all of this because he refused to humble himself. 25:17 He was so busy exalting himself. 25:19 And this is the danger that we want people to see 25:21 through the concepts of knowledge of self. 25:23 When we begin to look at ourselves 25:25 and think more of ourselves than we should 25:26 and we begin to have this 25:29 sometimes discrete or indiscrete, 25:31 you know, type of self exaltation, 25:34 it's a deceptive power. 25:36 Where we find ourselves 25:37 not humbling ourselves before God, 25:39 striving, being rivals 25:40 with even those whom we call brothers, 25:42 and we will try to beat each other 25:44 in the name of entertainment and so on. 25:46 And all of this is the works of the flesh 25:48 upon which the Bible says, 25:49 "All who do so shall not inherit 25:51 the kingdom of God." 25:52 It is imperative that we learn the difference 25:55 between what it is to humble ourselves before God 25:59 versus God having to humble us. 26:02 And we have Daniel as an example 26:03 of a fulfillment of James 4. 26:05 "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. 26:07 He will lift you up." 26:08 That's exactly what happened with Daniel. 26:10 But Nebuchadnezzar, he continued to exalt himself 26:13 and he found himself being abased or humbled. 26:17 And that is not what God wants for you, for me 26:19 or for you our viewers. 26:20 God wants us to be faithful, even unto death 26:23 for it is then and only then we shall receive 26:25 our crowns of life. 26:26 This is the point 26:27 that God wants to bring out to us, Lance. 26:29 Absolutely amazing. 26:30 Now we've seen these things 26:33 and you have to understand that there's a clear difference 26:37 between humbling yourself, 26:39 humbling ourselves and God humbling you. 26:43 If you had to choose, trust me, 26:45 and you'll hear about this in future episodes, 26:48 we've gone through situations where God had to humble us 26:52 and that is not the best course. 26:55 You can choose to humble yourself 26:58 or you can go through an experience where God 26:59 out of love and mercy chooses to humble you, 27:03 not to punish, 27:04 but to bring you back into a right relationship, 27:07 to bring your mind back into the reality 27:10 to look back and see how God has delivered you 27:13 and God has done things for you in the past, 27:16 remind you of past experience 27:17 so that you come back into a right relationship with God. 27:20 So we want you to consider these things, 27:22 we want you to weigh them out. 27:24 Go back and study them. 27:25 Consider them. 27:27 And we also... 27:28 We're going to ask that you send in questions 27:31 in the near future and we'll provide information 27:33 so you can do that. 27:35 But we want to counsel you. 27:38 Remember, the true source, 27:41 Proverbs 2:6, tells us that, 27:44 "It is the Lord that gives wisdom 27:48 and out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding." 27:53 We thank you for tuning into TKS, 27:55 A True Knowledge of Self and we say God bless you 27:59 and come back and visit us again. |
Revised 2016-02-18