Pride Mercifully Cut Down

Thank you, Treg.

Well, if you would, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

If you're just visiting with us, if this is your first time, second time, third time, joining us for worship,

you know, the type of preaching that we do here is called biblical exposition.

And so typically how we do this is we walk through books of the Bible.

And so if you're wondering why here on Mother's Day I'm preaching a sermon called Pride Mercifully Cut Down,

I want you to know it doesn't have anything to do with your mom.

All right?

It's because last week we were in Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

And so this week we are in Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

When you found that, if you would, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's word.

Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth,

peace be multiplied to you.

It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders.

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.

I saw a dream that made me afraid.

As I lay in bed, the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.

So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me,

that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in,

and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.

At last Daniel came in before me, he who was named Belshazzar after the name of my God,

and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.

And I told him the dream, saying,

O Belshazzar, chief of the magicians,

because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you,

and that no mystery is too difficult for you,

tell me the visions of my head that I saw and their interpretation.

The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these.

I saw and behold a tree in the midst of all the earth,

and its height was great.

The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven,

and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit abundant,

and in it was food for all.

The beasts of the field found shade under it,

and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches,

and all flesh was fed from it.

I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed,

and behold a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.

He proclaimed aloud and said thus,

Chop down the tree, and lop off its branches.

Strip off its leaves, and scatter its fruit.

Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches,

but leave the stump of its roots in the earth,

bound with a band of iron and bronze,

amid the tender grass of the field.

Let him be wet with the dew of heaven.

Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

Let his mind be changed from a man's,

and let a beast's mind be given to him,

and let seven periods of time pass over him.

The sentence is by the decree of the watchers,

the decision by the word of the holy ones,

to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men,

and gives it to whom he will,

and sets over it the lowliest of men.

This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw,

and you, O Belshazzar, tell me the interpretation,

because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation,

but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.

Then Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar, was dismayed for a while,

and his thoughts alarmed him.

The king answered and said,

Belshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.

Belshazzar answered and said,

My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you,

and its interpretation for your enemies.

The tree you saw, which grew and became strong,

so that its top reached to heaven,

and it was visible to the end of the whole earth,

whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant,

and in which was food for all,

under which beasts of the field found shade,

and whose branches the birds of the heavens lived.

It is you, O king,

who have grown and become strong.

Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven,

and your dominion to the ends of the earth.

And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one,

coming down from heaven and saying,

Chop down the tree and destroy it,

but leave the stump of its roots in the earth,

bound with a band of iron and bronze,

in the tender grass of the field,

and let him be wet with the dew of heaven,

and let his portion be with the beasts of the field,

till seven periods of time pass over him.

This is the interpretation, O king.

It is a decree of the Most High God,

which has come upon my lord the king,

that you shall be driven from among men,

and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field.

You shall be made to eat grass like an ox,

and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven,

and seven periods of time shall pass over you,

till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men,

and gives it to whom he will.

And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree,

your kingdom shall be confirmed for you,

from the time that you know that heaven rules.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you.

Break off your sins by practicing righteousness,

and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed,

that there may be perhaps a lengthening of your prosperity.

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.

At the end of twelve months,

he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,

and the king answered and said,

Is not this great Babylon,

which I have built by my mighty power,

as a royal residence for the glory of my majesty?

While the words were still in the king's mouth,

there fell a voice from heaven.

O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken.

The kingdom has departed from you,

and you shall be driven from among men,

and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field,

and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox,

and seven periods of time shall pass over you,

until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men,

and gives it to whom he will.

Immediately, the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar.

He was driven from among men,

and ate grass like an ox,

and his body was wet with the dew of heaven,

till his hair grew as long as eagle's feathers,

and his nails were like bird's claws.

At the end of the days,

I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven,

and my reason returned to me,

and I blessed the Most High,

and praised and honored him who lives forever.

For his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven,

and among the inhabitants of the earth.

And none can stay his hand or say to him,

What have you done?

At the same time, my reason returned to me,

and for the glory of my kingdom,

my majesty and splendor returned to me.

My counselors and my Lord sought me,

and I was established in my kingdom,

and still more greatness was added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,

praise and extol and honor the King of heaven.

For all his works are right,

and his ways are just,

and those who walk in pride,

he is able to humble.

This is God's holy, perfect word.

Would you pray with me once more?

Lord, we pray now as we open your word,

would you speak to us through it?

Would you show us what truth you would have us to learn from it this morning?

Would you teach us?

Would you humble us this morning?

Would you lead us to Christ in honor and praise?

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Well, one of my favorite parts about being a pastor,

and being your pastor,

is that I get to hear all of your testimonies

of how you came to faith in the Lord.

I get to share my own testimony fairly often,

and as a part of becoming a member of our local church here,

I get to hear all of your testimonies.

And for many of us, there's a common theme.

Our story begins with us observing the work of God in someone else's life.

We see, by our nearness to them,

the work that God's doing in them.

We observe something incredible that God's done in their life,

but then all of a sudden, something starts to happen,

and the Lord begins to work in us.

And now all of a sudden, we begin to trust the Lord.

And now all of a sudden, it's not just what God's doing for them,

it's what God is doing to us.

Our heart is changed.

We begin to thank the Lord.

We begin to praise the Lord.

We begin to love the Lord.

It moves from what God is doing for them to what God is now doing for me.

As we come this morning to Daniel chapter 4,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

it seems to me that that is what's happening here with Nebuchadnezzar.

Now, through three chapters of Daniel,

Nebuchadnezzar has seen the Lord work.

He's been impressed with the way that Daniel has trusted God for wisdom.

He's witnessed secondhand.

He's witnessed the Lord save three men through the fire.

But now, here in chapter 4, I think that a shift has taken place.

In chapter 3, it ended with Nebuchadnezzar making a decree

that no peoples, nations, and languages should ever speak a negative word

against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But now, here in chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar,

he speaks to all peoples, nations, and languages again.

But now, it's not in response to what God has done for someone else.

Verse 2, it says that it has seemed good to me

to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

Something has changed in Nebuchadnezzar.

What we see here in chapter 4, I believe,

is Nebuchadnezzar's personal testimony of God's work in his life.

This is his personal testimony.

It's not a pretty story.

We're going to see that here in just a moment.

But it is a beautiful story of God's mercy towards prideful sinners.

This is a story of God's mercy towards prideful sinners like Nebuchadnezzar,

prideful sinners like me,

and prideful sinners like you.

It's a story of pride mercifully cut down to the praise and glory of God.

The big idea for us this morning here in Daniel chapter 4

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

is that God is merciful to save prideful sinners like us.

That's the big idea.

So we're going to see three acts of God's mercy towards the proud this morning.

Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

If you're a note taker, if that helps you to follow along,

we try to make it easy for you.

So we're going to have three acts of God's mercy towards the proud this morning.

First, first act of God's mercy towards the proud

is that God mercifully reveals his sovereignty to the proud.

God mercifully reveals his sovereignty.

Look there to verse 4 with me.

Here we find Nebuchadnezzar dreaming again.

If you're getting deja vu,

if you've been with us throughout the book of Daniel,

this might sound familiar to you

because we've been here before, haven't we?

We're on familiar ground.

Do you remember from Daniel chapter 2,

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Nebuchadnezzar had this terrifying dream.

He called in all the wise men of Babylon,

all the sorcerers and the magicians and the Chaldeans,

and the wisdom of Babylon.

Was it successful?

No, it failed.

They were unable to tell him both the dream and its interpretation.

That was Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

And so he calls in Daniel,

and Daniel was able by the wisdom of his God

to reveal both the dream and its interpretation.

Well, we don't know exactly how much time has passed

between chapter 2 and here in chapter 4,

but here we are again.

And Nebuchadnezzar, again, is having a nightmare,

a bad dream, and he wants to understand what he's seeing

as he sleeps in his bed at night,

and apparently this one caught him off guard.

It came when he was least expecting it.

He said that he was at ease in his house.

He's prospering in his palace.

He falls asleep, no doubt,

his belly full and happy,

and he's terrified by a vision and a dream.

And so once again,

he calls for the wise men of Babylon to come,

and once again they fail.

And so verse 8,

he calls in Daniel,

who he's renamed Belt-Shazar after the name of his God.

Nebuchadnezzar tells him his dream,

and he says in verse 10,

the visions of my head as I lay in bed were these.

He sees a great tree in the midst of all the earth.

Its height was great.

This tree grew and became strong.

Its top reached up to the heavens.

It was visible to the end of the whole earth.

The leaves of the tree were beautiful.

Its fruit was abundant,

and it was food for all.

The beasts of the field,

they all came and found shade under the tree.

And the birds of the heavens,

they lived in its branches.

All flesh was fed from this tree.

This tree was an incredible,

beautiful, life-giving,

strong, fruitful tree.

And you see,

it kept growing and growing and growing,

which of course,

that seems like a good thing, doesn't it?

That would mean more beauty,

more provision,

more life,

more strength,

more glory.

That sounds like a good thing

for this tree to grow.

But then verse 13,

he sees something else.

He says,

Behold, a watcher,

a holy one,

and we can understand this to be an angel,

came and said,

Chop down the tree

and lop off its branches,

strip off its leaves,

scatter its fruit,

let the beast flee out from under it,

let the birds fly away from its branches.

Why in the world would anybody do this

to this great tree?

All the environmentalists

are quaking in their boots right now, right?

Why in the world

would we chop down this beautiful,

strong,

life-giving,

fruitful tree?

We'll see why in just a moment.

But the watcher goes on

with more to the vision.

He says,

But leave the stump of its roots

in the earth,

bound with a band of iron

and bronze,

leave it there amid the tender grass of the field,

let him be wet with the dew of heaven,

let his portion be with the beast

in the grass of the earth,

and let his mind be changed from a man's,

and let a beast's mind be given to him,

and let seven periods of time pass over him.

Now it's clear at this point

that we're not talking about a tree, right?

This beautiful, strong, abundant,

life-giving tree

is really one person,

him,

who's going to be cut down.

The tree is cut down in the vision,

but that tree is symbolic of a person

who will be cut down

to the stump.

Why?

Well, here's the point of the dream.

To the end,

that the living may know

that the Most High rules the kingdom of men

and gives it to whom he will

and sets over it the lowliest of men.

You hear that?

That's the point of this dream.

Well, Daniel hears this dream

and he's dismayed.

It says he's alarmed

and he tells Nebuchadnezzar

that this tree in the dream

is you, Nebuchadnezzar.

Your greatness has grown.

You've become strong,

but Nebuchadnezzar,

you are about to be chopped down

to the stump.

Again, verse 25,

till you know

that the Most High rules the kingdom of men

and gives it to whom he will.

All this is going to happen to you

until you know, Nebuchadnezzar,

that heaven rules.

Now, we'll see the fulfillment

of this dream in just a moment.

But for now,

we need to understand

this big picture purpose of the vision.

We need to understand

the big picture message of the dream.

This is God mercifully revealing

his sovereignty to a prideful sinner.

Do you see that?

This is God mercifully revealing

his sovereignty.

Now, I realize that we've said that word,

sovereignty.

I haven't defined it yet for you.

So, it's a Christian, theological,

biblical word,

but it's very simple in its meaning.

Sovereignty simply means control.

Sovereignty means God rules.

If you're sovereign,

you're the one in charge.

If you're sovereign,

you are in control.

If you're sovereign,

then you're the one that's ruling.

So, to say that God is sovereign

means God is in control.

It means God is ruling.

Kings of the earth,

they have a limited geographical territory

with a limited number of people

under their charge,

and their reign is for a limited amount of time.

But God has total, complete,

absolute sovereignty

over everyone, everywhere,

at all times, in all places.

In fact, that's a lot of the point

of the book of Daniel.

It's to teach us

that God is sovereign

over all of human history.

He raises up kings,

and He sets them down.

As kingdoms come,

and as kingdoms go,

the Lord is working out all things

to usher in His perfect kingdom.

And it works opposite

as the way that the kingdoms

of this world work, doesn't it?

The kingdoms of this world,

they grow big and strong,

and eventually,

they're cut down to the root.

But the kingdom of God,

what happens?

It starts as small as a mustard seed,

and it grows,

and grows,

and grows,

and grows,

until it's the greatest tree

that covers the whole earth.

To say that God is sovereign

is to say that all peoples,

all places,

all kings,

all nations,

every minute of every day

of your life and mine

is under God's sovereign control,

which means,

Nebuchadnezzar,

God is in charge,

not you.

Which means,

you and me,

God is in charge,

not us.

Here's what we need to understand.

Understanding that God

is totally sovereign,

absolutely in control,

is crucial to killing our pride.

We have to get to that point

of attributing absolute sovereignty

to Him.

Our pride,

it wants to hold on

to some level of control,

to hold on to some sphere

of influence,

but God,

He's merciful

to strip everything away

so that we see

that we are not in control,

but He is.

Now,

I wonder,

how much sovereignty

do you attribute

to the Lord?

Listen to what the Scriptures

have to say.

I just want to point you

to just a few places.

This is all over the Bible.

I just want to show you

just a few places

that talk about

God's sovereignty.

Psalm 115,

Psalms 115:3

verse 3.

It says,

Our God is in the heavens.

He does all that He pleases.

You hear that?

That's sovereignty.

If you get to do

whatever you want to do,

you are sovereign.

Now,

we want to act like that,

don't we?

When we try to do

all that we please,

is that good or bad?

Normally,

that doesn't work out

so well for us.

That's sinful for us,

but that's sovereignty for God.

Our God is in the heavens.

He does whatever He wants.

Isaiah 46,

Isaiah 46:9

verses 9 and 10.

We've already seen in Daniel,

God has planned out

all of human history

from beginning to end.

Isaiah 46,

Isaiah 46:9

verses 9 and 10.

He says,

I am God,

and there is none like me,

declaring the end

from the beginning,

and from ancient times

things not yet done,

saying,

My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish

all my purpose.

You know,

there's only one way

that you can declare

the end from the beginning,

is if you know

what the end's going to be,

but He says,

He doesn't just leave it at that.

He says,

I'm going to accomplish

everything I want to do

in the meantime.

He's not just looking

to see how the end's

going to play out.

He doesn't just write

the last page of the book,

read the last page of the book.

God writes all of human history

to accomplish all His purposes.

And then in the pages of Scripture,

He tells us how it's going to play out.

He's sovereign

over all of human history.

Revelation chapter 4,

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

it tells us,

You created all things,

and by Your will

they existed

and were created.

He's sovereign in creation.

Paul says in Ephesians

Ephesians 1:11

chapter 1 verse 11,

He works all things

according to the counsel

of His will.

All things.

Which means He's sovereign

in providence

and the working out

of our daily lives

within His own sphere

of creation.

He's sovereign in creation.

He's sovereign in providence.

He's sovereign in salvation.

2 Timothy 1 verse 9,

2 Timothy 1:9

God saved us

and called us

to a holy calling,

not because of our works,

but because of His own purpose

and grace,

which He gave us

in Jesus Christ

when,

when,

before the ages began.

He's sovereign in creation

and providence

and salvation.

He's sovereign over every

roll of the dice

in every board game

you play with your kids,

Mom.

Proverbs 16 verse 33,

Proverbs 16:33

The lot is cast into the lap,

but as every decision

is from the Lord.

The point is,

God is totally,

completely,

absolutely,

without limit,

universally

sovereign.

Which means

He's sovereign over you.

He's sovereign over me.

He's sovereign over

your family.

He's sovereign over

your struggle,

whatever that may be

this morning.

He's sovereign over your job.

He's sovereign over your sickness.

He's sovereign over your,

your prosperity

and your wellness.

He's sovereign

over everything.

We have to get this message.

And it's an easy one,

it's an easy one

for prideful people

to just shut out of our minds.

Because again,

prideful people

want control.

We want to contribute

in some way

to our salvation.

We want to control

and be in charge

of our life.

We want to manage

our own little sphere

of influence.

And this is my kingdom.

This is my life.

This is what I have control

of right here.

Church,

listen to me.

Until we realize

that God is in control,

not you,

you will be proud

when things go well

and you will be devastated

when things fall apart.

The message of God's sovereignty

is good news for us

because ultimately

it means it's not about us.

Has he shown you

that you are not sovereign?

That he is.

God reveals this

to Nebuchadnezzar here

as an act of divine mercy.

God is merciful

to show us

that prideful sinners

like us

are not in control.

He is.

Not only this,

second,

second act of God's mercy

towards prideful people

like us

is that God

mercifully rebukes

our sin.

God mercifully

rebukes

our sin.

In light of God's

revealed plan here

through this dream,

Daniel's counsel

to Nebuchadnezzar

was pretty clear,

wasn't it?

Pretty bold, too,

to say this to the king.

Verse 27

says,

Therefore, O king,

let my counsel

be acceptable to you.

Break off your sins

by practicing righteousness

and your iniquities

by showing mercy

to the oppressed

that there may perhaps

be a lengthening

of your prosperity.

In other words,

king,

repent.

Repent of your pride.

Humble yourself.

Stop basking

in your greatness.

Be merciful to others.

Give some of your greatness

away to the oppressed.

Give to the poor.

Break off your sins

and practice righteousness.

Why?

Because you're not as great

as you think you are.

Yeah,

the meaning of the dream

was clear.

I think Daniel's counsel

was clear.

But apparently,

the message

didn't stick.

And the fact is,

our pride is not easily killed,

is it?

It runs deep within us.

You would have thought

that by this point,

after seeing all that he's seen,

Nebuchadnezzar might have

gotten the message by now,

but it's clear that he didn't.

It's not a problem

with the clarity

of the message.

It's a problem

with the hardness

of Nebuchadnezzar's heart.

I read a story

this week

from Sinclair Ferguson.

He told a story

about the Welsh evangelist

John Elias.

And he said that

there was a time

when the local blacksmith

bought a new dog.

And shortly afterwards,

when Elias visited

the blacksmith's shop,

the dog could be heard

just barking

and barking

and barking

fiercely

as the blacksmith's hammer

beat down on the metal.

As often as he

whacked that hammer

down to the anvil,

that dog would be barking.

Well,

as time went on,

the hammering continued,

but the barking

got quieter

and quieter,

less frequent,

less often

until one day

Elias looked

inside the shop.

He saw the blacksmith

hammering away

at the anvil

and there was the dog

by his side

asleep by the fire.

He had grown numb

to the hammering

on the anvil.

In a similar way here,

Nebuchadnezzar,

he's heard the banging

of this truth before,

hasn't he?

He's come face to face

with God's power

and God's might

and God's sovereignty

and God's goodness

over and over

and over and over

again,

but he's grown numb

to it.

He's asleep by the fire,

so to speak.

He says he's at ease

in his palace,

he's comfortable

in his prosperity,

but all of that

is about to change

because as you probably

know,

if God wants to get

your attention,

he's going to do it.

The easy way

or the hard way?

Nebuchadnezzar chooses

the hard way here.

So verse 28,

it says,

all this came upon

King Nebuchadnezzar.

At the end of 12 months,

he was walking on the roof

of the royal palace

of Babylon

and it says that he said,

is not this great Babylon

which I have built

by my mighty power

as a royal residence

for the glory

of my majesty.

You hear how humble he is?

This is after the dream.

Can you believe this?

He looks out

and admires his kingdom

which no doubt

was very impressive,

right,

by all accounts,

historical accounts

of the ancient city

of Babylon.

It was very impressive.

Nebuchadnezzar,

he did play a large role

in the building

and the greatness

of this city.

The records show

that he rebuilt

12 temples

he finished

the construction

of the great city wall.

He built this royal palace

that he was walking

on the roof of

and attached

to the royal palace

was the hanging gardens

of Babylon,

right,

which if you've heard

of that,

that's one of the

seven wonders,

great wonders

of the ancient world.

He was incredibly

accomplished

and he knew it.

And I want to say,

too,

that there's nothing

wrong whatsoever

with accomplishing

great things.

There's nothing wrong

with putting your skill

and your mind

and your labor

to work

and accomplishing

great things

and achieving

great goals,

but it makes

all the difference

in the world

who it's for

and who gets

the credit.

Listen again

to what Nebuchadnezzar

said.

He said,

I built this

by my power

for my glory.

You hear that?

Verse 31,

it says that

while these words

were still in his mouth,

he heard a voice.

King Nebuchadnezzar,

to you it is spoken,

the kingdom has departed

from you.

You shall be driven

from among men.

Your dwelling shall be

with the beasts

of the field.

You shall eat grass

like an ox

and seven periods

of time shall pass

over you

until you know

that the Most High

rules the kingdom

of men

and gives it

to whom

he will.

Immediately,

it says,

the word was fulfilled

against Nebuchadnezzar.

Can you imagine?

One minute,

he's standing

on his palace

and he's looking

out over his kingdom.

He's boasting

in all this great

accomplishment,

great achievements,

patting himself

on the back,

thinking about

all that he's done

and the next moment

he's an animal

out in the field

eating grass

like an ox.

His body's wet

with the water

and the dew.

His hair grows out

as long as eagle's feathers.

His nails

are like bird's claws

and Ferguson,

again,

he says,

he becomes externally

what he's proven

himself to be

internally.

A beast.

For seven periods

of time,

all of it

was stripped

away.

And we don't know

how long

those seven periods

of time are.

Days,

minutes,

weeks,

months,

years.

We're not told

how to measure

those seven periods

of time.

I think it's more

likely than not

that Daniel's

showing us

with seven

being the number

of perfection

and completion

that whatever

the actual amount

of time was,

it was just

the right amount

of time

prescribed by

a sovereign God

until this king

got it.

Until he knew

that the Most High

rules the kingdom

of men.

Now just think

about how humiliating

this must have been

for King Nebuchadnezzar.

The king has been

reduced to an animal.

Today,

doctors would

diagnose this

as clinical

lycanthropy.

Have you ever

heard of this?

It's an actual,

I'm not joking,

it's a medical

condition.

You can look it up.

It's a mental

illness where

an individual,

he genuinely

believes that

they have

transformed

into an animal.

Sometimes it's

long lasting,

sometimes it's

short periods

of just mental

illness.

There are all

sorts of medical

cases.

You can go home

and read.

They understand

it to be an

extremely rare

form of psychosis

and it is

fascinating.

But you just

imagine the

king.

You would never

imagine the

king to be

reduced to that

level of

sickness and

weakness and

humility.

One who's

mentally and

physically impressive,

who's accomplished

all sorts of

incredible feats

during his reign.

All of a sudden

he's stripped

down to

nothing.

driven out in

the fields to

go eat grass

like an

animal.

If I didn't

know any

better, I

would say that

this looks like

judgment,

doesn't it?

How in the

world can this

be merciful?

We say this is

the Lord

mercifully rebuking

Nebuchadnezzar's

sin.

How in the

world is this

an act of

God's mercy?

Well, there's

one word there

that gives us

hope.

You see it?

That word

until.

All this will

come upon you.

All this will

happen until

you know that

God is king.

That God

rules.

This may look

on the surface

like judgment,

but if the end

purpose, if the

purpose of this

condition is

redemptive, then

it is mercy,

even if it

hurts.

Of course, God

does judge

pride.

We're going

to see this

more clearly

next week with

the story of

Belshazzar.

He's well

within his

rights to

judge pride.

God does

not owe

anybody an

until.

Do you

understand me?

God does

not owe

anybody one

more minute to

repent of their

pride.

God does

not owe

anybody

patience.

He doesn't

owe anybody

seven periods

of time until

they get it.

God does

not owe

anyone tomorrow

to repent of

your sin.

God doesn't

owe anyone

warning after

warning after

warning after

warning.

He doesn't

have to give

us an

until, but

here, in

his heart of

mercy, he

does.

As sovereign

king of the

universe, he

chooses to

show mercy to

Nebuchadnezzar by

rebuking his

pride until he

humbles himself

and honors the

Lord.

Now, I wonder

if this seems

like mercy to

you.

to be driven

away from your

comforts, to

be cut down to

the stump,

right?

That might seem

harsh to you,

but I want you

to listen because

we need to

understand that

our pride is

like a cancerous

growth in our

heart.

If we keep

it, it will

kill you.

it may be

today, it may

be tomorrow, it

may be ten

years from now, I

don't know when, but

if we are

harboring this

sickness of pride in

our heart, it

will kill you.

God is

merciful to

serve as a

surgeon and cut

us open and cut

that out of our

hearts.

As painful as that

might be, it's

mercy for the

Lord to remove it

from us now, while

there's still time to

repent, than for us

to wait and be

prideful until the

return of the

Lord when we will

be humbled, without

the opportunity to

repent.

Church, I would

rather the Lord cut

away every temporary

comfort, every

temporary pleasure,

every temporary

accomplishment, every

source of pride in my

life right now, that

I might humble

myself before Him

now, than for Him

to enact judgment

by letting us sleep

by the fire.

And be

temporarily

comfortable,

temporarily happy,

temporarily rich,

temporarily proud on

our way to eternal

judgment.

Friend, which would

you prefer?

We're called to

humble yourselves

before the Lord, and

He will exalt you.

Maybe in this life, but

certainly at the

return of our Lord.

God is merciful to

show us His

sovereignty, to teach

us that He's in

control, not us, and

God is merciful to

strip us of our

pride, cut away our

sin.

And third, finally,

ultimately, God is

merciful to redeem

our soul.

It's the third act of

God's mercy here with

Nebuchadnezzar.

God mercifully

redeems His soul.

Look here to verse

34.

Nebuchadnezzar, we

see he endures this

discipline.

Everything is taken

out from him.

But verse 34 says,

at the end of the

days, I, Nebuchadnezzar,

lifted my eyes to

heaven, and my reason

returned to me.

And I blessed the

Most High and praised

and honored Him who

lives forever.

Now, you might be

surprised to hear there

is disagreement here,

right, with Christian

scholars and those who

interpret this passage

over whether or not

Nebuchadnezzar was

actually truly converted.

And I guess on the one

hand, right, it's

probably impossible to

know for sure.

He's given some lip

service to the Lord

before.

But in my opinion, I

think something just

seems different here,

don't you?

And again, this whole

chapter is Nebuchadnezzar

taking the initiative to

share with the whole

world what God has done

for him.

And look what he says

here.

He personally praises the

Lord.

He realizes that finally,

finally he sees that his

reign is limited, but for

the Lord, his dominion is

an everlasting dominion.

He recognizes that

Nebuchadnezzar, his reign

will come to an end, but

for the Lord, his kingdom

endures from all

generations to all

generations.

He realizes that for all

his greatness, for all

his accomplishments, even

the greatest, most

accomplished on the earth

are nothing compared to

the Lord.

All the inhabitants of

the earth are accounted

as nothing, he says in

verse 35.

He praises the Lord for

his unstoppable sovereign

will.

He does according to his

will among the host of

heaven.

And among the inhabitants

of the earth, and none

can stay his hand or say

to him, what have you

done?

He says in verse 36 that

at the same time when he

finally got it, when he

looked up and lifted his

eyes to heaven to honor the

Lord and to give glory to

the God of heaven, he says

my reason returned to me.

And for the glory of my

kingdom, my majesty and my

splendor returned to me.

My counselors, my lords

returned to me.

They sought me.

I was established in my

kingdom and still more

greatness was added to me.

The tree began to grow

again.

But there was one

difference.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,

praise and extol and honor

the king of heaven.

For all his works are

right and all his ways are

just.

And take it from me, those

who walk in pride, he is

able to humble.

Church, I could be wrong, but

I've heard a lot of

testimonies.

This sounds like the

testimony of a believer to

me.

And I wonder as we read

these words, friend, do you

have a testimony like this?

Maybe not so dramatic, maybe

you've never risen so high or

fallen so low, but I wonder

as we read this chapter and

consider the work of God.

Has the Lord worked in your

life to humble your pride?

Has the Lord worked in your

heart to strip away every

ounce of me, me, me, me,

my control, my life, my work,

my effort, my achievement, my

accomplishment.

Has he stripped that away from

you yet?

So that you look to him as your

only hope?

It may be that you don't have a

testimony of God's work in your

life at all.

You may still be proud, you may

still be clinging on to something

that you think you have to offer

God.

Maybe you still think you have

something to contribute to your

salvation in some way, your

works, your effort, your

riches, your upbringing, whatever

it may be.

If that's you, I want you to hear

the voice of Daniel again.

Break off your sins.

Repent of your pride.

Or better yet, hear the words of

Jesus, friend.

Repent and believe the gospel.

The good news of the gospel of

Jesus Christ is that we have

absolutely nothing to bring to the

table.

It doesn't sound like good news,

does it?

It starts with the bad news that

all we have to offer the Lord is

our sin that requires salvation.

All we have to bring to the table is

our darkness and our debt and our

rebellion.

You got nothing good to offer him.

But the true king, the only one who

truly can boast in how perfect and

how glorious and how great he is,

the true king who created all

things, who built the world and

reigns and rules over everyone and

everything and now all places

everywhere.

The true king took the form of a

servant and humbled himself to die in

our place.

So that prideful sinners like us might

receive salvation.

Not because of anything you've done.

Not because of anything you've built in

your life.

Not because of anything you've

accomplished or accumulated.

You receive what he has done by God's

grace through simple faith in the

true king, Jesus Christ.

Have you come to the place where you've

repented of your pride and cast

yourself wholly on the work of Jesus

Christ alone?

Have you done that?

Has God done that in you?

And we sing a song.

Jesus paid it all.

All to him I owe.

My sin, my sin has left a crimson stain.

He washed it white as snow.

Friend, what do we have to boast in?

What have we received?

What have we earned that we have not

received?

Friend, repent and believe the gospel.

And Christian, Christian, don't be fooled to

think that that repentance ends the moment

you come to Christ.

That lingering sickness of pride is alive

and well in every one of our hearts.

Beware of the temptation to pride in

your life right now.

Where do we need to repent?

Where do we need to humble ourselves?

A prideful Christian is an oxymoron.

Those two things don't belong together.

If we understand the grace of God,

if we understand the work of Christ,

why should we be proud?

It may be true of us that we have nothing

to boast in but what Christ Jesus has done

for us and what he does in us and through us,

not for our sake but for his glory.

And the testimony of every Christian in the

room is this.

I was dead in my trespasses and sins in which

I once walked.

Spiritually dead.

Totally dead.

All I could do was be dead.

But God, by his mercy, by his grace,

made me alive with Christ.

That's your story, Christian.

I wonder, when's the last time you stopped

and reflected on how God saved you?

If you're a believer in the room,

when's the last time that you stopped

and just really gave time to think

about your testimony?

And I would challenge you just by way of

application this week,

as you leave from this place,

as you reflect on what God's done here

in Daniel chapter 4,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

as you reflect on what God's done in your life,

I would challenge you,

even just write it down.

Put pen to paper this week.

Write down the story of how God saved you.

And I'm not talking about something cool

God's done in your life.

It's something interesting you see God doing

in somebody else.

I'm talking specifically about the testimony

of how God has humbled your pride

and given you faith in Jesus Christ.

Would you think on that this week?

And then application number two,

as you reflect on what God's done for you,

would you share it?

These things aren't meant to be kept

close to the chest, church.

If God has done a work in your life

to save your soul,

that's meant to be shouted

from the rooftops,

to be shared with our family,

to be shared with our friends,

to be shared with our neighbors,

to be shared with our coworkers,

to be shared with that random person

in line with you at the checkout aisle.

Let's be like King Nebuchadnezzar

and say,

it seemed good to me,

all nations, peoples, and languages,

to share with you

what God has done for me.

We're going to conclude our time this morning

as we always do,

singing a song of response.

And as we do, again,

I want you to consider the words

that we're going to sing.

And I want you to ask yourself again,

is this true of me?

And if it's not,

as you sing,

would you pray and ask the Lord,

would you make it true of me?

When I survey the wondrous cross

on which the Prince of Glory died,

my richest gain I count but loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord,

that I should boast,

save in the death of Christ my God.

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

if I owned it all,

if I had everything I needed,

everything I wanted,

were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far too small.

Love so amazing,

so divine,

demands my soul,

my life,

my all.

Is that true of you?

Let's pray.

Father,

make it true of us.

Make it true of us.

For those who have not yet bowed the knee

to King Jesus,

would you work your grace in our heart

now this moment

to humble us,

that we might trust fully,

cast ourselves fully

on the finished work of Jesus.

And for those who you've done that work

in our lives,

Lord,

we pray that we would rejoice

in what you've done,

that you would continue to kill

the pride in our heart,

that we would boast

in the cross of Christ,

that we would share

the good news of the gospel

with those around us.

To the praise of your glorious name,

we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.