God Who Restores

I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me if you would to Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

! We're going to be continuing our series in the life of Daniel and the second part of Daniel chapter 4 beginning in verse 28.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

I appreciate the song. Thank you, worship team, for introducing that to us. It really does help to summarize really our message for today that all of the things that God allows to happen in our life is meant to lead us to His glory in our good.

I'm reminded of the passage in Jeremiah 29 11 that I'm sure you've quoted or heard.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

We like good plans. We like good pathways. We like happy, easy lives.

I wonder this morning if I were to tell you that there is a guaranteed roadmap, a guaranteed strategic plan, as it were, to arrive at greatness, to enjoy good things, to be exalted, as it were.

Is it a plan that you would say, whoa, sign me up, I want to know that plan, let's go for it.

Yes, the question is a setup.

You know, if you've been in business or management for any length of time, certainly you're familiar with the book that's written by Stephen Covey that are the seven habits of highly effective people.

It was written back in 1989, about 35 years ago.

And in that book, he puts together these seven, I guess, universal principles, as it were, that kind of arrive at kind of the character.

And through observation and evaluating the men and the women in industry and business who were the most successful and what was common to them in presenting them to the world around them.

So that they, too, could understand, how do I experience, how do I enjoy this kind of effectiveness?

I want to be that kind of person.

I want to have habits that lead to an effective life.

This has been kind of the benchmark for any successful person over the last 35 years or so.

It continues to be a bestseller.

More than 40 million copies of this book are sold in more than 38 different languages.

And so it is one of those go-to books, as it were, for business and management.

One example might be be proactive.

That's principle number one.

Focus and act on what you can control and influence instead of what you can't.

Principle number two, or habit number two.

Begin with the end in mind.

Define clear measures of success and plan to achieve them.

And on and on they go.

Stephen Covey, when he died in 2012,

estimated his net worth was somewhere around $170 million.

And he had built a 1.4 billion empire.

He's recognized by Time magazine as one of the top 25 most influential people in America.

That's saying something.

He's arrived.

This idea, of course, is if you follow these habits, these principles,

that you too can be highly effective in your place of business or management or industry.

I wonder now, coming back to our study in Daniel,

if Nebuchadnezzar may have written a book like that.

Seven habits of highly effective empires.

Or seven habits of highly effective kings.

Certainly he was one who could have written such a book.

A man who is hugely productive.

The building projects of Babylon were epic beyond compare.

A man who finished what he started.

A man who, by the way, through his engineering genius,

was able to architect not only a defensive system that was unprecedented in the day with the walls,

but a ziggurat built, a temple built to Marduk,

which towered 288 feet in the air.

The hanging gardens were a testimony to his engineering prowess and genius.

Training and empowering leaders.

Casting a vision.

Cementing loyalty, you might say,

with putting up the golden image and forcing all of his officials to bow down.

Establishing trade networks.

By the way, it is something I just discovered this week,

that the Silk Road actually began under Nebuchadnezzar's reign,

starting in Babylon and stretched all the way into Turkey and all the way into India.

About 1,500 miles this Silk Road began during Nebuchadnezzar's reign.

His technological prowess, his ability to assimilate the best and brightest minds from around the world.

Truly, he was one who could write a book about effective leadership.

Nebuchadnezzar's leadership was genius.

It begins to be this template for subsequent empires.

And we'll see that in our study next week when we turn the chapter to chapter 5 and then to chapter 6.

And we see the media Persian empire taking over.

God also, you might be surprised to find, has a list.

A list of greatness.

A list of highly effective qualities, habits for his effective leaders.

His effective disciples.

One such list is found for us in Luke chapter 7 verse 28.

Luke 7:28

When Jesus is speaking about the greatest man born to woman, John the Baptist, he says this,

I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John,

yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

God's list is quite specific.

His list is quite simple.

His list would focus in on the one quality that will govern a life,

and that is humility.

The list of greatness is those who are willing to step into the place

and submit themselves to God's purposes.

Humility is the key to greatness, as we find.

Jesus shares the same list as disciples.

In Matthew chapter 20, he says,

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

The last will be first, and the first will be last.

It shall not be among you, speaking about them as being lords over others.

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.

Whoever would be first among you must be your slave.

It's a little counterintuitive.

It's a little upside down.

In God's economy, the way up is the way down.

That's the way it works.

Greatness is achieved through service.

That's why the apostle Peter will say much the same thing in 1 Peter 5, verses 6 and 7.

1 Peter 5:6

He says,

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,

that he may exalt you in due time.

And if you guys remember what the summary statement across last week's message was,

do you remember that?

Humble yourself, or God will humble you.

Humble yourself, or God will humble you.

And by the way, this is the encouragement to all of us,

is that God's humbling work in our life is always with a purpose.

God's humbling work is to lead you to him.

As we sang, to come to appreciate,

and we'll see this at the end of our chapter,

to come to appreciate his glory as being preeminent over everything.

Everything is worth the cost to see the glory of God,

to experience, to enjoy, to taste the glory of God.

That's the divine strategy for success.

Throughout the Bible, all the way up and down,

the way to greatness is the way to humility,

and that's what we find in our passage today.

Today, God humbles us with the purpose of restoring us.

That's the second half of this passage.

And really, that's what we see written across this entire chapter.

It begins and ends.

It's not as humility as being an end to itself,

but a pathway to get to the result.

And we see the result at the very beginning of this chapter,

echoed again at the end of this chapter,

that the result of God's humbling work in our life

is to lead us to restoration,

to lead us to worship,

to lead us to see who he is,

and really to come to appreciate that he is everything.

Notice in Daniel chapter 4, verse 1,

Daniel 4:1

I hope you're there.

If you're using the Pew Bible,

I believe it's on page 741.

741.

It would be good for you to follow along with us.

It says,

King Nebuchadnezzar,

to all peoples, nations, 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.

This testimony,

this witness that's written across this book,

this is the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar

into introducing the subject matter of chapter 4.

This is what he wants to say,

and then throughout the rest of the chapter,

we're going to find out how he got there.

What God did graciously for Nebuchadnezzar

to bring him to this point,

and what God must do

to every one of us in this room

to bring us to the same point.

Humble yourself,

or God will humble you.

And when he does,

you can rejoice,

because then you can see God

and experience him

the way he intends to be experienced.

That's where we end.

This chapter in Daniel chapter 4,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

34 and 35, notice,

at the end of days,

I,

Nebuchadnezzar,

lifted my eyes to heaven.

My reason returned to me.

I blessed the Most High

and praised and honored him

who lives forever.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion.

His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth

are counted 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?

This morning we're back in Daniel chapter 4,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

and we're concluding our chapter.

For those of you who weren't with us last week,

just to kind of catch you up

to where we are,

Nebuchadnezzar,

at the beginning of this chapter,

is celebrating,

congratulating himself.

He is sitting in ease.

He's in his palace.

He's looking over the landscape of Babylon,

and he's thinking to himself,

ha ha,

look what I did.

I am pretty amazing.

And then God sends him this dream.

This dream of this tree

that spreads across the entire earth.

It says that its greatness expanded

even to the heavens,

that all the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air,

were not only protected by its shade,

but were filled by its fruit.

It was the kind of tree

that demonstrated the expansive nature

of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom

and the way in which his kingdom

was helping to meet the needs

of the known world.

at the time.

Nebuchadnezzar decides

that he wants to understand

and to know

what this dream actually means.

So he calls in his counselors,

his astrologers,

the Chaldeans,

the soothsayers,

and he brings them in

so that he can find

an interpretation to this dream.

Of course,

they could not interpret the dream.

And so he finally calls in,

Nebuchadnezzar calls in Daniel,

and Daniel begins to lay this out for him

and to help him understand,

Nebuchadnezzar,

you're the tree.

And this tree that fills the earth

is what God has accomplished

for you and through you,

and not only having dominion

over the known world,

but in allowing your kingdom to thrive.

But in the middle of this dream,

we find a watcher,

and that watcher is an angel

who was commanded

to chop this tree down.

And so the tree is chopped down,

the branches are cut off,

all that remains is the trunk.

And the trunk remains,

and it's wrapped with a bronze band,

it's tied up,

and it's confined.

And this is an image of Nebuchadnezzar,

what will happen to him.

We come to Daniel 4, 26,

it says,

And here's where we begin to understand

that this dream has a two-part promise.

The first part of the promise

is going to involve humility.

The second part of this promise

is working towards the ultimate destination,

and that ultimate destination

is restoration.

This tree isn't cut down and burned

and uprooted and thrown away.

The tree and the stump remains

because God has a purpose

for Nebuchadnezzar's humility

to bring restoration.

So that now Daniel in verse 27

now provides some exhortation,

provides some counsel,

So based upon what this dream says,

based upon its interpretation,

here is my advice to you, O king.

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.

Now that brings us

to the beginning of our passage today

in verses 28 to 37.

And the opening words of verse 28

say this,

All this came upon king Nebuchadnezzar.

All this came upon king Nebuchadnezzar.

And then dropping down to verse 33,

Immediately the word was fulfilled

against Nebuchadnezzar.

It may be worthwhile

to underline those two phrases

because they point to the testimony

of God's promise.

And that's our first point this morning.

God's promise to humble the king

is now underway,

is now being fulfilled.

God is true to his word.

God's word will not fail.

You can take it to the bank.

All this came upon king Nebuchadnezzar.

And we see that all of this came

in spite of a couple of things.

First, it came in spite of the delay.

In spite of the delay.

Notice in verse 29,

it says,

At the end of twelve months,

he was walking on the roof

of his royal palace of Babylon,

and the king answered and said,

It is not this great Babylon

which I have built

by my mighty power

as a royal residence

and 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.

God is going to fulfill his word.

God is going to bring Nebuchadnezzar down.

God is going to be good to his promise

that he's spoken.

Regardless of the fact

that the twelve months have expired,

God's promises stand

regardless of the time.

Regardless of the delay.

All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar.

And now God's patience had run out.

Now the time had expired.

The dream which God had given to the king

was now playing out before him.

God's word was true.

All of this.

And that's an important word to underscore.

It came about in totality.

It came about in completion.

It came about in fullness.

Every word that God had spoken

to Nebuchadnezzar through the dream

and through the interpretation,

every single word

and every single letter

was going to be fulfilled.

In totality.

Not one piece of the dream

would remain unfulfilled.

The entire warning

landed on Nebuchadnezzar

in full measure.

God was not slack

regarding his promise.

A phrase that's derived from

2 Peter chapter 3

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

or familiar to us.

2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9 says,

2 Peter 3:9

Don't think for a moment

that you're getting away with it.

It's so easy

to just keep going through life

and to keep spending our pleasures

into nothing's happening

so it must be okay.

That may be what Nebuchadnezzar

was under the impression of.

But God's delay

is always intended

to lead us to repentance.

God's delay is his grace to us

to lead us to himself.

And that's what he's doing.

For 12 months,

Nebuchadnezzar has bided his time.

Many commentators have suggested

that this delay

was a grace to Nebuchadnezzar

to give him room to repent.

And that may be.

But I'm more inclined to think

that Nebuchadnezzar

in working with Daniel

for 30 plus years,

now towards the end

of Nebuchadnezzar's life,

probably about 10 years away

from when he actually dies,

here he is.

He knows that Daniel's God

is not a God to mess with.

And this warning has come

with striking force.

He's learned

you don't mess with Daniel's God.

He's even said for himself

back in Daniel 2, verse 47,

Daniel 2:47

he says,

truly your God

is the God of gods

and the Lord of kings

and a receiver,

a revealer of mysteries.

Later,

to Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego,

and as a result of

God's deliverance of them

in the fiery furnace,

he says in Daniel 3,

Daniel 3:29

verse 29,

any people,

nation,

or language

that speaks anything

against the God

of Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego

shall be torn limb from limb

and their houses

laid in ruins,

for there is no other God

who is able to rescue

in this way.

I'm inclined to think

that Nebuchadnezzar

was abiding his time.

I'm under the impression

or inclined to believe

that he's kind of

restrained himself

a little bit.

He's kind of put some things

on pause for a moment.

He recognizes

he doesn't want to step

out of line.

And of course,

all of this is superficial.

Of course,

all of this is noted

by self-preservation.

There's not real change

that's happened.

Maybe he's adopted

or accepted

or put into place

even some of the advice

that Daniel would give

to him in verse 27.

But all of this

is short-lived.

And the word of God

is timeless.

It would be fulfilled

in spite of the delay.

We turn now

to verse 29.

We see that God's word

is going to come

in spite of his accomplishments

or in spite of his achievements.

Regardless of how great

Nebuchadnezzar thought he was

and the majesty

and the glory

of his kingdom

that he thinks

he put into place,

regardless of that,

God is going to show

Nebuchadnezzar

who's really in charge.

Notice verse 29.

At the end of 12 months,

he was walking on the roof

of his 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 my glory

and majesty?

He's walking on

his patio roof.

The structures in that day

were flat roofs,

kind of patio-like.

Likely one of the highest

structures in Babylon

which would have given him

an unobstructed vantage point

to the entire city.

Here he is looking

over this city

and admiring

the beauty

of Babylon.

We know from history

that Babylon

was one of the preeminent cities

during that day.

One of the most

magnificent cities

that was known

on the earth.

Even a hundred years later,

a Greek historian

would visit the city

and he would recount

the splendor

of this city

a hundred years

after Nebuchadnezzar

was there.

Alexander the Great

planned to make

this city

the headquarters

for his empire

because of how glorious

a city it was.

A city that was about

15 miles square

had somewhere around

a million or more people

as inhabitants

surrounded by a broad

moat,

deep water

filled this moat,

an intricate system

of double walls.

The inner wall

was 21 feet thick.

The outer wall

was 11 feet thick

and every 60 feet

there was a watchtower

around this entire

expanse

of this city.

The height of the walls,

although it's not known,

are likely to be

the same height

as the gate of Ishtar

which is about

40 feet high.

Eight gates

provided access

to the city.

This Ishtar gate

being on the north side

and walking

into the Ishtar gate

would be this

expansive road

that would lead

straight,

just a little over

a half a mile

would lead straight

to the temple

of Marduk.

A towering structure

of almost

30 stories tall.

A seven level

ziggurat.

Then within the city

helping to connect

the east and the west

would be

this bridge,

a 400 foot

expanse bridge

spanning over

the Euphrates River.

There were

some 53 temples.

At least

three palaces.

One of those palaces

and likely

the palace

that Nebuchadnezzar

is speaking from

was about

350 yards

by 200 yards

in its area.

Now,

my math isn't

always that good

but bear with me.

That would be

approximately

70,000 square yards

which means

it would be

630,000 square feet.

About 14 and a half acres

this one palace

would have taken up.

That's the kind of glory

we're talking about.

There's no wonder

why Nebuchadnezzar

is like,

yeah,

I'm all of that.

Babylon also boasted

the famous

hanging gardens.

He married a woman

that was coming

from the mountain country

so he brought

the mountain

to Babylon.

From this roof

of his palace

he's looking out

and he's filled

with awe

at all

that his hands

have accomplished.

It's interesting

that most of the bricks

that have been

excavated from that time

actually bear

Nebuchadnezzar's name

stamped on the brick.

But here he is

admiring his accomplishments

and before

he finishes

his sentence

the word of God

comes to Nebuchadnezzar.

We find that

in verse 31.

The word of God

is going to be carried out

immediately.

Notice,

while the words

were still

in the king's mouth

there fell

a voice

from heaven

meaning

God

stopped

Nebuchadnezzar

in his tracks.

He interrupted

his congratulatory

escapade

his celebration.

God cut off

the words

from even

finishing

in Nebuchadnezzar's mouth.

The kingdom

has departed

from you

O Nebuchadnezzar.

In other words

you're done.

It's over.

You're relieved

from duty.

I wonder

if you've ever

experienced

that moment.

The moment

where people

have warned you

about various things

and you've

kind of gotten

away with it

for a little while

but then all

of a sudden

that person

shows up

they see you

and catch you

in the act

and then

that sinking

feeling

in your gut

that begins

to overwhelm you.

We often talk

about the

hand in the

cookie jar

kind of moment

but let me

make this

a little bit

more relevant

for the vast

majority

of us

in this room.

You know

you're driving

down the freeway

and you know

what the speed

limit is

and then

all of a sudden

you see out of the

corner of your eye

some movement

and you realize

that that movement

is what church?

A police officer

he's pulling out

and now his lights

are on

and you're looking

in the mirrors

and you realize

oh

that sinking

feeling.

Now I've never

had that feeling

but I'm sure

all of you

have.

Fortunately

it hasn't been

recently

but I better

be careful

we may have

that this

afternoon.

I got to be

careful.

Nebuchadnezzar

has been caught.

The words

are coming

out of his

mouth

and I promise

you in that

moment

he realizes

I've blown it.

The warning

was given

and not heeded.

Here

Nebuchadnezzar

is experiencing

the immediate

consequences

of his actions.

This

by the way

is always

the potential

for an

all powerful

God.

Nebuchadnezzar

after this

he will say

as a summary

here

in verse

35

who shall

stay

his hand.

And then

in verse

35

he does

according

to his

will

among

the

host

of

heaven

and

among

the

inhabitants

of the

earth.

None

can say

to him

what have

you done?

That is

always

the potential

of our

all powerful

supreme

God.

And yet

God

graciously

kindly

withholds

his discipline

withholds

his

humiliating

works

for the

sake

of

calling

us

and

granting

us

time

that

would

lead

us

to

repentance.

Paul

says

of

Christ

in

Colossians

speaking

of his

power

in

Colossians

1

16

and

17

it says

for

by him

all

things

were

created

in

heaven

and

on

earth

visible

and

invisible

whether

thrones

or

dominions

or

rulers

or

authorities

all

things

were

created

through

him

and

for

him

and

he

is

before

all

things

and

in

him

all

things

hold

together

that

is

our

God

Paul

will say

of

Christ

in

Ephesians

1

21

he

says

Christ

is

far

above

all

rule

and

authority

and

power

and

dominion

and

above

every

name

that

is

named

not

only

in

this

age

but

also

in

the

one

to

come

in

other

words

just

because

we've

seen

and

witnessed

the

power

of

God

in

the

past

it's

not

confined

to

time

and

space

it's

transcendent

and

regardless

of the

powers

that

come

Jesus

is

preeminent

his

power

is

supreme

and

when

God

chooses

to

act

no

power

on

heaven

and

earth

can

stand

against

it

and

when

he

chooses

to

wait

he

does

so

to

show

his

patience

his

forbearance

his

kindness

that is

meant to

lead

you

to

repentance

to

repentance

that's

what

Paul

says

in

Romans

Romans 2:4

chapter

2

verse

4

do

you

presume

on the

riches

and the

kindness

and forbearance

and patience

of God

not knowing

that God's

kindness

is meant

to lead

you to

repentance

but

because

of

your

heart

and

impenance

in

heart

you

are

storing

up

wrath

for

yourself

on

the

day

of

wrath

when

God's

righteous

judgment

will be

revealed

don't

take

God's

delay

as

license

to do

what you

want

don't

take it

for granted

don't

think that

you're

getting

away

with

it

you're

storing

up

wrath

for the

day

of

God's

judgment

he

will

have

his

day

he

will

have

his

day

but

he

intends

and desires

for you

and I

to come

to gracious

repentance

we find

in verses

32

and 33

that

God's

promises

are carried

out

completely

not only

immediately

but they're

carried out

completely

we see

this here

you shall

be driven

from among

men

your dwelling

shall be

with the

beasts

of the

field

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 man

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

his body

was wet

with dew

of heaven

till his

hair grew

as long

as eagles

feathers

and his

nails

were like

birds

claws

these

verses

describe

the

unthinkable

the king

proud in

the moment

is humbled

to almost

inhuman

ways

extents

he is

literally

has lost

his mind

as Nebuchadnezzar

will testify

himself

in verse

34 and 36

speaking about

his reason

returning to

him

now he is

absolutely

mad

he's insane

but before

you say

this

is impossible

even in

recent

days

there have

been

situations

examples

of people

who are

experiencing

something called

lycanthropy

which being

wolf life

that's where

it originated

but now

there's a term

that is used

to encompass

anybody

who would

act like

an animal

gerbil

a cat

a dog

a cow

an ox

so that

in 1946

this theologian

R.K. Harrison

witnessed

a British man

in a mental

institution

with an illness

that was virtually

identical

to what we find

in

Daniel chapter 4

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

the patient

wandered about

the grounds

of the institution

eating grass

as if he were

a cow

his drink

consisted of

water

Harrison stated

that the only

physical abnormality

that was noted

consisted of

a lengthening

of his hair

and a coarse

thickened

condition

of his fingernails

this must have

been a stunning

transition

the genius

of Babylon

humbled

to this

level

and the person

who is responsible

for making the decision

to turn him

out of the castle

out of the palace

to wander

the palace

grounds

but this is

what we read

we find

that he was

driven

from men

his dwelling

was with the

beasts of the fields

his diet

was of grass

and the extent

of his condition

lasted for seven

periods of time

which I think

is best

assumed

to be seven

years

that Nebuchadnezzar

experienced

this condition

it's the most

consistent

with what we find

of this word

used throughout

the book

of Daniel

but here's

the comfort

here's the

encouragement

this was not

the end

this was not

the destination

this was not

the final

objective

this was just

a pathway

to get to that

final objective

it wasn't

to bring

Nebuchadnezzar

down and leave

him there

it was

it was to use

humility

or humiliation

to lead to

restoration

and that's

the second

part of this

promise

God's promise

to restore

the king

is fulfilled

God's promise

to restore

the king

notice in verse 32

the second half

you shall be

made to eat grass

like an ox

in 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 wills

when you come

to your senses

when this time

is completed

when it's run

its course

the objective

will finally

be accomplished

and that is not

humiliation

but restoration

and exaltation

in verse 26

it was

commanded

to leave the stump

and the roots

of the tree

your kingdom

shall be confirmed

for you

from the time

that you know

that heaven

rules

Nebuchadnezzar

when this

has run

its course

when humility

has served

its purpose

you will finally

come to the place

of recognizing

where you belong

in the structure

of the universe

and who you

answer to

humility

will have

its way

and finally

after seven years

of grazing

of living

with the beast

of allowing the dew

to come and go

on him

of never cutting

his hair

or trimming

his nails

now finally

in the midst

of darkness

light will dawn

for Nebuchadnezzar

notice verse 34

at the end of days

I Nebuchadnezzar

lifted my eyes

to heaven

and by the way

that last song

that we sang

talked about

lifting our eyes

to heaven

how fitting it is

because that's what

we need to do

we need to come

to the place

of recognizing

who God is

humble yourself

before the mighty

hand of God

so that he can

exalt you

that exaltation

comes primarily

through belonging

to Christ

and seeing him

for who he is

Nebuchadnezzar

is finally there

the lesson

has finally been learned

Nebuchadnezzar

lifts his eyes

to heaven

and God

graciously

restores

his reason

his reason

returned

to him

throughout the book

of Daniel

this has been

kind of a resounding

theme

this word

reason

or wisdom

or knowledge

or understanding

it's echoed

throughout the

the accounts

of this chapter

or these chapters

this book

so that there are

52 times

50

actually 55 times

that this word

these words

are used

throughout the book

of Daniel

and now finally

the pursuit

of Nebuchadnezzar

in wanting

to find wisdom

for himself

now he finally

has experienced it

he's finally come

to know what

true wisdom is

wisdom that has led

I believe

to a changed heart

the right posture

before God

he's finally come

to a place

of experiencing

and knowing

true wisdom

and when

he experiences

this true wisdom

what is the response

what does true wisdom

true salvation

as it were

a true understanding

of who God is

what should it lead us

to every single time

what is the reflex

what is the impulse

it's always

worship

it's always worship

and that's what we find

in verse 34

at the end of the days

I Nebuchadnezzar

lifted my eyes

to heaven

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

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

the words

that are used

here in verse 34

and also in verses 36

and 37

he praised

and honored

and glorified

these are words

that describe

this continual

response

of the king

it wasn't a one time

moment

it wasn't a flash

in the pan

it becomes

this ongoing

expression

of his heart

and what's really

spectacular

about all of this

is

in spite of the shame

that this kind

of situation

would bring

Nebuchadnezzar

is shouting it

to the world

we see that

at the beginning

of this

to all peoples

nations

languages

I'm not ashamed

to let you know

what God had to do

for me

to finally bring me

to recognition

of who he was

he's finally at a place

where his heart

is ready

to worship

and notice

these final verses

in 36 and 37

are telling

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

I was established

in my kingdom

and still more

greatness

was added

to me

you would think

that he could stop

right there

and the story

would be done

but this is just

an introduction

to the main point

all of these things

all of these things

I celebrated

they're not just

restored to me

they're better

than they have

ever been

but my

perspective

has changed

I have all

those things

now

but the thing

that really

matters to me

is what he says

as a result

of that restoration

now in verse 37

notice

I have those things

back but

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

I got all my stuff

back

but what really

matters to me

is this revelation

of wisdom

of God

and who

he really is

and all I can

think about

is celebrating

and worshiping

him

not me

that's how we know

that Nebuchadnezzar's

heart is truly changed

that by the way

is how we

know for ourselves

how our heart

has truly changed

we know

that our heart

has changed

away from the world

and towards

the Lord

in a sincere

way

when we come

to the place

of recognizing

that even in good

and in times

of plenty

but then in times

of lack

and in times

of being

hungry

and going

through difficulty

regardless

of all of those

things

my heart

is steady

my heart

is secure

I can trust

and praise

the God of heaven

he's in control

and my life

is pointing

to him

because he

alone

is glorious

this is really

what we

come to understand

from the parting

words of the

apostle Paul

to the church

of Philippi

in Philippians

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

10

through 13

I've rejoiced

in the Lord

greatly

that now

at last

your care

for me

has flourished

and by the way

your care

for me

has flourished

the apostle

Paul

is in

a prison

cell

a stinking

rotten

cold

prison

cell

and

do you get

any sense

of that

from these

words

he says

your care

for me

has flourished

though you

surely did

care

but you

lacked

opportunity

not that I

speak

in regard

to need

for I have

learned

in whatever

state I am

to be content

I know

how to be

abased

I know

how to

abound

everywhere

and in all

things

I have

learned

both

to be

full

and to

be

hungry

both

to abound

and to

suffer

need

I

can do

all things

through Christ

who strengthens

me

that

is the heart

of a changed

person

that is a

heart

of a true

worshiper

that is a

heart

of a person

who really

has come

to a place

of recognizing

wisdom

spiritual

wisdom

that leads

them

to spiritual

worship

understanding

their posture

before the

Lord

not striving

not settling

but

confident

insecure

in what

Christ has

accomplished

welcoming

whatever it

takes

the humiliation

that is

required at

times to

lead us

to new

discoveries

of who

he is

this

exaltation

that God

desires to

accomplish

for all of

us

this restoration

process

that sometimes

and maybe I

should say

always

requires some

measure

of pain

so that we

can see

that he

is worth

it

he's

enough

he is

all that

you need

may God

help us

as those

who have

enjoyed

the benefits

of this

grace

that Nebuchadnezzar

I believe

is seeing

and experiencing

here

that our

hearts

would be

just as

full

and erupt

with praise

wherever we

go

that our

lives would

redound