Daniel • Week 6

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Good morning. If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to open to Daniel

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. That's where we will be today. I want to echo what Pastor Dave said. If you are a first

time guest, thank you so much for being here and for worshiping with us. At the end of the service,

if you wouldn't mind, I'll be back here at this connect table. Would love for all of our first

time guests to stop by. I would love to meet you. I would love to thank you for worshiping with us

and answer any questions about our church that you may have. Also, as we're opening our Bibles to

study God's Word this morning, if you do not have a copy of God's Word, we have some that are back

there. They are free. We would love to give those to you. We'd love to bless you with one of those

because we would love for you to study God's Word and to work through this with us. Also, I want to

kind of point something out. So you've got this Harvest Hangout flyer that Pastor Dave talked about on

the chairs that's there. We do have these invite cards as well. They're going to be at the back. So when

you stop by, here's going to be the challenge for us as a church, okay? We want to—here's our—we never

run out of candy, all right? And I'm making Dave cringe right now. We never run out of candy. I want

to run out of candy. I want there to be so many people here that we're scrambling and having to

run down to CVS and pay $43 for 12 pieces of candy, all right? All right? So we want you to take these

invite cards. I want you to invite people. When we talk about discipleship, one of the forms of discipleship

that we talk about as well is missional discipleship. So what we want you to do, invite your friends

who go to other churches. That's fine. We want them to continue to be at their church. But invite your

friends. Invite people who you know who don't know the Lord or don't have a church home. What we're going

to be looking to do through this is they're just going to come. They're going to have a great time.

And we're going to be praying for and looking for and inviting them into opportunities to have gospel

conversations. So here's the challenge. The challenge is for you between now and then to grab some of

these and bring one family with you who's lost, disconnected from the church, does not know the

Lord, and to give us an opportunity to share about the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Now here's what

we're doing to reward you. When you look on here, you'll see that there's going to be some of the

usuals. Candy, popcorn, hot dogs, snow cones, games, and the famous Mike C. Hayride.

And you see what else is on there? Dunkin' Booth.

So a couple weeks ago in a staff meeting, I had this idea. I had the idea. Let's get a Dunkin' Booth.

Let's get a Dunkin' Booth. And then I asked this question to our staff.

Who are some people of our church that people would like to throw things at?

Y'all are saying, don't be that. People are like, I'm hearing it from the front row. We're over here.

But I asked our staff that question. Here's who's going to be in the Dunkin' Booth that night.

Number one, Don Coulter is going to be in the Dunkin' Booth. Now, let me say this. If you want to throw

something at Dawn, there's something wrong with you. All right? When Dawn's in that Dunkin' Booth, you

better miss. But then she's going to be followed by Joel Van Ham.

Then, the one, the only, Brent Hawkins.

Then, Kyle Watts.

I'll get the Dunkin' Booth. But we will end exactly when we're supposed to end. And this will not

continue on. Pray for 90 degree weather that night. But we're going to have a blast. We're going to have

a good time together. You want to be there. I kind of want to be there. But please, please, please leave

these at restaurants. Invite people. This is not about candy. This is not about costumes. This is

not even about Dunkin' Booths. This is about an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with

people. All right? And so, I want to encourage you to do that. I want to read out of Daniel chapter 4,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

starting in verse 2. And then we'll get started with God's word this morning.

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 are His wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and His dominion endures from generation to generation. Would you pray with me? God,

we thank you for the beauty of your word and for the sufficiency of your word.

God, I pray this morning that as we gather in here together, God, if there's any of this that is of me

and from me, Lord, that you would remove it. And Lord, may what is said and what is done in this place

be of you, be honoring to you, and be from you. God, for anyone who's here who does not know

Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, God, we pray that today would be the day of their salvation.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Well, I want to do something a little different this morning, okay? We're going to work all the way

through chapter 4 today. The message part for this, I'm going to try to do two things this morning.

I want to move faithfully through chapter 4, but I also want to move quickly through chapter 4.

And then I want to take some time at the end to bring us together as we wrap up this chapter,

which is a very interesting, powerful chapter as we see. We'll see the ending of King Nebuchadnezzar,

a guy that's kind of been with us, and tie that through. So sometimes, you know, toward the end of

things, our minds begin to wander, our minds begin to go places. So we're going to move quickly. And then

at the end, I'm going to ask you to maybe to move around your seat a little bit and pull through

and refocus with me as we, as we see what God has for us. So let's read the first three verses of

Daniel 4. "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." What we're going to look at this

morning in Daniel chapter 4 at the very beginning is the power of a testimony. 25 years, 25 to 30 years

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

after Nebuchadnezzar's first dream, this evil, corrupt, wicked killer of a man

comes to faith in God and shares his story. The beauty of what we see here, what we believe

here in Daniel 4 of what you've just seen is Nebuchadnezzar calls all the people together to

tell him his story of how God has saved him. As we go through this, we are literally going to read a man's

story. It's a powerful story. It's an impacting story. It's a soul-saving story, not because of

Nebuchadnezzar, but because of God. And so I want you to think through, what is your story?

What is your story with God? What's your story of God saving you?

Who are you influencing as a result of your story? Look here at Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar, when we've seen in these first three chapters, corrupt, evil, wicked, all that he is,

but it's had the beauty of experiencing, witnessing, hearing from, and possibly even being spoken to

about the faithfulness of God from Daniel, from Shadrach, from Meshach, and from Abednego.

And what we see, I know how sometimes we want things to work very quickly, but for 25 to 30 years,

Nebuchadnezzar has seen the faithfulness that these men have for God,

and their willingness not to just serve God, but even in midst of difficulty, serve Nebuchadnezzar.

So Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, calls all people, all nations, all languages,

a worldwide invitation so that he can share what God has done.

So let's see his story, starting in verse 4.

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 if you weren't here early with us in the first dream,

this is all the religious scholars of the day in Babylon. 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 the spirit of the

holy gods is in you, and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Tell me the visions of my dream

that I saw and their interpretation. The visions of my head and as I lay in my bed were these.

I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became

strong, and its top reached to the heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves

are beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beast of the field found shade

under it. The birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in

the vision 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,

scatter its fruit, let the beast 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 beast 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, 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 in you, O Belteshazzar, 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.

So, King Nebuchadnezzar says, I'm going to tell you my testimony.

And testimonies of salvation always begin in lostness. Testimonies of salvation always begin

in lostness. So, he takes back to a time period where he is lost, and he has a dream. And where we

find when it comes to sharing the good news of God, when it comes to interpreting the dreams that God has

set within Nebuchadnezzar, what we see in this is hopelessness needs hope. Hopelessness needs hope.

Who's hopeless? Nebuchadnezzar. Who has hope? Daniel. 25 years after the dream, he has a second

dream. He's afraid. Just like last time, right? Don't overly criticize Nebuchadnezzar, right? He does what

you and I do. He falls oftentimes back to culture. And culture says, bring in all the scholars. Bring

in all the magicians. Bring in all the Chaldeans. And so, that's what he does. And just like last time,

how quickly he and you and I are to forget that he wants them to interpret the dream.

But again, they cannot. And so, Daniel comes in. And you can feel this excitement building within

Nebuchadnezzar, right? It sparks in his memory. That's right. It's Daniel. It's not these knuckleheads.

It's this guy that can do this. Daniel comes in. And here's what Nebuchadnezzar says twice to Daniel.

Two times. He says you're different. He doesn't understand why Daniel's different.

He kind of gets part of it right and gets the rest of it wrong.

He says that there's something different. Here's what he gets right. He says what's different is in you.

What's different is what's in you. You see, it wasn't just about Daniel's character.

He acknowledged that there's even a spiritual work that's happening, that has happened and taken place

in the heart of Daniel. What he gets wrong is, he says, and it comes from gods.

I want you to think through, and I'm going to take some liberty based off of what we believe about,

what we know about Daniel to what I believe has been happening for the last 25 years.

Daniel's a guy who stands firm. Daniel's a guy who gives glory to God. Daniel's a man from everything

that we've seen within this that is not going to succumb to the cultures and the influences of the world.

And all Daniel wants to do is be obedient to his God.

And so I imagine, as Daniel has been elevated to the right hand of the king, the overseer of overseers,

as Daniel has been elevated, what has been happening over the last 25 years

is Daniel in his faithfulness to God and his service to Nebuchadnezzar has been witnessing and witnessing and witnessing and witnessing.

And now what we see is God is starting to do something in the midst of Nebuchadnezzar's lostness,

in the midst of all the brokenness that's there. You see, hopelessness needs hope.

And hope's message will come from God through Daniel.

The king sees Daniel and feels that Daniel is his hope.

But Daniel is simply the one who is going to share the message of hope.

Nebuchadnezzar tells him his dream. It's kind of weird, it's kind of jumbled, and so let's share some of this.

Nebuchadnezzar tells Daniel his dream. There's this beautiful tree that's so big that the entire earth can see it.

It provides shade to all who seek it, and food to all who desire it.

And an angel comes down from heaven and announces that there's going to be the destruction of the tree,

and the tree will be destroyed, but the stump will be left.

The roots will be left alive, and there will be a fence that is built around the tree to protect it.

And that tree is a man, and the man will end up giving his heart over

and begin to not have the heart of a man, but have a heart of a beast.

And begin to think that he is an animal, and act like an animal, and behave like an animal.

And the angel tells Nebuchadnezzar why this must take place.

So that Nebuchadnezzar will know that the Most High God, Daniel's God,

rules over all, and gives to whomever he pleases.

And so Nebuchadnezzar, the crazy, evil, pagan king, is once again scared.

He needs hope.

The only person who can give him more than advice, more than counsel, more than a positive outlook on life, is Daniel.

Because what Daniel's going to bring is the truth of God.

So join me in verse 19.

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him.

The king answered and said,

Belteshazzar, let not your dream or interpretation alarm you.

Belteshazzar 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 beast 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, and the tender grass of the field,

and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beast of the field,

till seven periods of time pass over him.

This is the interpretation, O king.

It is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon you,

my Lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men,

and your dwelling shall be with the beast 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, get this,

till you know,

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

for the time that you know the 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.

Daniel comes

into the courtroom

of a madman

and says,

this dream is you.

It's going to fall apart.

We're going to get specific here

in just a minute.

But in spite of all

that Daniel could have taken on,

what Daniel does

is Daniel shares the truth of God

from the love of God.

We see the truth in love.

That's what it is.

It's the truth of God

through the love of God.

I believe,

I believe

that in this

that Daniel

genuinely

from God

has a heart

for Nebuchadnezzar.

He knows

what he's capable of

but Daniel

knows what

God's capable of

as well.

Look at,

back at the very beginning.

He was dismayed

and his thoughts

alarmed him.

He's anxious.

Daniel is.

The king said,

it's okay, buddy.

Tell me.

Tell me.

And he does.

So Daniel shares.

Here's the interpretation.

Here's the truth in love.

Nebuchadnezzar,

you're the tree.

And this tree

symbolizes your greatness.

Nebuchadnezzar,

you will continue

to be the tree

when the tree

is chopped down

and the roots

will remain.

Nebuchadnezzar,

you will live

like an animal

for a lengthy

period of time.

I want you to get this.

We're going to see this

fulfilled mentally.

A mental disorder

of biblical proportion

that a human being

believes they're an animal

and will function

and act

all the way

to the eating

of grass.

But all of this

will be done

to teach you

a lesson.

The lesson

that Nebuchadnezzar

has gained glimpses

into, right,

when he makes decrees

about the God

of Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego,

but he doesn't

separate them

from the polytheistic

culture of the day.

He says,

but you will come

to a place

through this

that you understand

that the,

that you will know

the most high

God,

Daniel's God,

rules over all

and gives to

whomever he pleases.

Nebuchadnezzar,

this is what you're

going to know

after an extended

period of time.

And when you come

to your senses,

when you come

to your senses,

you will gain

your kingdom back.

Look at verse 27.

Look back

at verse 27.

This is an interpretation

of a dream.

This is the truth

of God.

Of calling

to repentance.

Daniel says,

let me show you

the truth of God

from the dream

and let me show you

the truth of God

that applies

to all of mankind.

Break off your sins

by practicing righteousness.

Repent.

Repent.

Daniel preaches

the message

of John the Baptist.

Daniel preaches

the message

of Jesus.

Daniel preaches

the message

of Paul and Peter.

And Daniel preaches

the message

that God's word

calls us to repent.

Repent.

Repent.

Do what's right.

Be a man of justice.

Be a man of God.

Don't do godly things.

Be a man of God.

Join me verse 28.

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 the king

answered and said

is not this great

Babylon

which I have built

by my mighty power

as a royal resident

and for the glory

of my majesty.

I don't know if there's

ever been a more

prideful verse

in the Bible.

One of the words

were still

in the king's mouth.

There fell a voice

from heaven.

Oh 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 beast

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

the most high

rules the kingdom

of men

and gives it

to whom he wills.

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

birds' claws.

You see

God is patient

and true

God is patient

and true.

Back at verse 29

Daniel

who's been able

to correctly

interpret

the dreams

that God

has given

Nebuchadnezzar

says this is

going to happen.

No one else

can interpret

the dreams

of Nebuchadnezzar

but Daniel can

and Daniel's

showed faithfully

that he can do that.

Nebuchadnezzar

believes

that what

Daniel says

is true

and Daniel

says Nebuchadnezzar

this is what

is going

to happen.

Repent,

repent,

repent,

repent.

I think

sometimes

the perception

of the world

that our

God

is an

overly

impulsive

non-gracious

God.

Verse 29

though

at the end

of 12 months

he

being

Nebuchadnezzar

was on the

roof of the

royal palace

of Babylon.

12 months.

12 months.

God's patient.

God is patient.

God is patient

with Nebuchadnezzar.

God is patient

with you.

God is patient

with me.

How do I know

that God is patient

with you

and God is patient

with me?

Because we're

still breathing.

We're still

breathing.

Every moment

is a moment

of repentance.

Every moment

is a proof

that God

is good

and God

is loving

and God

is patient.

God is patient

but God's

also true

and God

does

exactly

what

he says

he's going

to do.

The most

powerful

man

in the world

becomes

consumed

in his mind

that he's

an animal.

He stops

speaking.

He stops

eating.

He physically

becomes hunched

over.

He feeds

from the ground.

He grows

out his hair.

He moves.

He acts

like a beast.

And God

said

Nebuchadnezzar

this is what

I'm going to do

and this is what

God fulfills.

34

through 37

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

it's

changed

not

God's

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

host

of

heaven

and

among

the

inhabitants

of the

earth

and no

one

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

my

splendor

returned

to me

my

counselors

and my

lords

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 make

humble

I

don't

care

if

you're

a king

or a

commoner

the

call

of

the

gospel

is to

humble

yourself

before

the

Lord

humble

yourself

before

the

Lord

every

moment

of

witness

every

moment

of

truth

in

his

heart

rings

true

about

who

he

was

and

who

God

is

and

Nebuchadnezzar

an

evil

pagan

killer

of a

man

comes

to

faith

in

God

and

if

Nebuchadnezzar

can

so

can

you

so

can

you

there

was

news

Nebuchadnezzar

needed

and

God

sent

Daniel

to

share

it

with

him

okay

this

is

this

is

the

lock

in

moment

this

is

the

lock

in

set

your

phone

down

close

up

what's

going

to

distract

don't

get up

to go

to the

bathroom

let's

just

lock

in

we

live

in a

world

right

now

that

desperately

seeks

the

answers

to

why

and

why

are

things

the

way

they

are

and

the

world

is

filled

filled

with

opinions

of

what

we

need

but

the

problems

of the

world

from

today

to

Daniel

4

to

Genesis

3

ring

true

ring

true

the

problems

of

this

world

transcend

culture

transcend

language

transcend

political

party

transcend

socioeconomics

transcend

areas of

higher

learning

it

transcends

it all

and so

what I

want to

do this

morning

is I

want to

share

with

you

I

want to

share

with

you

what

our

problem

is

and

what

we

need

whether

this is

your

first

time

here

or

whether

this

is

your

thousandth

time

here

I

want to

share

with

you

the

joy

that

we

find

in

the

hope

that

is

there

in

Christ

Jesus

but

in

order

for

us

to

get

the

good

we

got

to

get

some

of

the

bad

we

got

to

get

some

of

the

bad

I'm

not

crazy

about

news

but

let

me

take

the

time

to

share

with

you

a

little

bit

of

news

first

I

want

to

share

with

you

what

scripture

teaches

us

of

the

bad

news

bad

news

we'll

start

off

with

bad

will

work

to

good

y'all

bad

news

is

this

Romans

3

23

says

this

for

all

have

sinned

and

fall

short

of

the

glory

of

God

that's

bad

news

if

you're

like

well

I'm

not

a

theologian

so

I

don't

understand

why

that's

bad

news

let

me

tell

you

why

that's

bad

news

because

in

Romans

6

23

that

God's

word

teaches

us

that

the

wages

of

sin

is

death

for

all

fall

short

for

all

have

sinned

and

fall

short

of

the

glory

of

God

and

for

the

wage

of

sin

is

death

so

here's

what

that

means

from

me

to

you

to

your

child

to

your

grandmother

to

the

most

moral

of

the

moral

that

our

culture

would

define

to

the

most

immoral

of

the

immoral

that

our

culture

would

define

is

that

there's

a

problem

and

this

problem

is

bad

news

and

it's

that

we're

sinners

and

because

God

is

holy

because

God

is

just

God

cannot

simply

overlook

it

and so

Romans

6

23

tells

us

that

the

wages

of

sin

is

death

and

so

here's

the

bad

news

because

you

and

I

are

sinners

you

and

I

are

condemned

to

an

eternal

punishment

that's

bad

news

that's

bad

that's

worse

than

a

football

game

that's

worse

than

a

bad

week

at

the

office

that's

bad

news

this

will

get

better

right

you

ever

heard

the

saying

sometimes

for it

to get

better

it's

got

to

get

worse

here's

worse

news

Ephesians

2

8

says

for by

grace

you have

been

saved

through

faith

you're

like

well

that's

good

where's

the

bad

and

this

is

not

your

own

doing

it

is

the

gift

of

God

so

here's

the

worst

news

here's

the

worst

news

there's

bad

news

there's

worse

news

that

you

and I

there

is

nothing

that we

can do

to save

ourselves

there's

there's

not a

an

action

of

character

that we

can take

to move

ourself

from

sinner

to

Christian

you know

you can't

just decide

well

I want

to be

a

Christian

so I'm

gonna

start

going to

church

again

that's

not

how

it

works

you

can't

decide

well

I

want

to

be

a

Christian

so I'm

gonna

start

giving

that's

not

how

it

works

you

can't

decide

well

I'm

an

alcoholic

and I

want

to

be

a

Christian

so I'm

just

gonna

stop

drinking

that's

not

how

it

works

there's

no

work

there's

no

deed

that

you

and I

can

do

to

save

ourselves

the

Bible

tells us

that

we're

dead

in our

trespasses

and sins

so we've

gone

from a

standing

to a

condition

that's

worse

that's

worse

take the

minds of

the world

you take

all the

enchanters

all the

Chaldeans

all the

sorcerers

and put

them in a

room

together

and say

what is

the way

that we

can save

ourselves

and there

is no

answer

all right

here's the

good news

here's the

good news

1 John

1 7

but if we

walk

in the

light

as he is

in the

light we

have

fellowship

with one

another

and the

blood

of

Jesus

his

son

cleanses

us

from all

sin

that's

good news

that's

good news

y'all

should be

excited about

that

y'all

should be

excited as

Syracuse

and Missouri

fans this

morning

right

for those

of you

that don't

get that

reference

you didn't

watch college

football yesterday

and your day

was better

because of

it

all right

that's good

news

the good

news even

though we

are sinners

Jesus

wasn't

Jesus is

perfect

and

Jesus

in his

divinity

in his

humanity

came to

do

what you

and I

are incapable

of doing

and he

came

and died

on the cross

the perfect

death

taking away

the potential

of your

punishment

and satisfying

the holy

righteousness

of God

so what you

and I

and your

kid

and your

grandma

and the

Chaldeans

and the

sorcerers

and the

scholars

are incapable

of doing

here's the

good news

Jesus

came

and did

that's good

news

that's good

news

but

there's good

news

so if there's

bad news

there's good

news

if there's

worse news

here's the

best news

here's the

best news

when I

shared

Romans 6

23

with you

earlier

I shared

the first

part

here's the

fullness of

it

for the

wages

of sin

is death

but the

free

gift

of God

is eternal

life

in Christ

Jesus

our Lord

that's the

best news

Jesus not

only came

and did

this

but he

offers it

to you

as a

gift

he says

this is what

I've done

for you

no

no

no

no

religious

work

can earn

it

no

internal

commitment

of man

deserves

it

and so

I've

came

and I've

done

this

for you

here's

what you

do

what do

you do

when someone

gives you

a gift

you receive

it

you receive

it

you receive

the gift

of God

it's got to be

it's got to be

more complicated

than that

it's got to be

more complicated

than that

and I want to tell you

there's a lot of people

who try to make it

more complicated

than that

but it's not

more complicated

than that

the Bible

is so

simple

in the beauty

of the gospel

receive it

receive it

here's what Paul

says later

in Romans 10 9

if you confess

with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe

in your heart

that God

raised him

from the dead

you

will

be

saved

if we can

believe

in the

unrepentant's

heart's

eternal

damnation

may we

believe

in the

repentant's

heart's

salvation

if you

confess

with your

mouth

that Jesus

is Lord

and believe

in your heart

that God

raised him

from the dead

you

will

be

safe

promise

of God

not the

promise

of man

the promise

of God

so this

morning

I want

to ask

you

this

and I

don't care

if this

is your

first time

or your

thousandth

time

I don't

care if

you're

seven

or 77

I don't

care

what color

your skin

is

I don't

what language

is most

comfortable

to you

I don't

care about

how you

vote on

election day

I don't

care about

how much

money is in

your bank

account

I don't

care about

how much

education

that you

have

I don't

care if

you love

me or

you hate

me

I don't

care

this

morning

what I

want you

to know

and this

may be the

first time

you've

heard it

this may

be the

millionth

time

that you've

heard it

that you're

a sinner

that you're

a sinner

and you

deserve

hell

and I

was a

sinner

and I

deserve

hell

but Jesus

came and

he died

and his

payment on

the cross

of Calvary

was the

perfect

payment

from the

only

perfect

individual

and it

covered

the sins

of the

world

if you'll

receive it

and if

you'll

confess

if you'll

confess

Jesus

Christ

would you

bow your

heads with

me for a

second

this is

a you

and God

time

this gift

is yours

would you

confess

to him

he hears

you

he's heard

every word

he's heard

every mumble

he's heard

every thought

he's heard

every intention

of the heart

would you

confess

Jesus Christ

as Lord

and Savior

this morning

you might

not

understand

all

goodness

I don't

I don't

understand

all

but would

you believe

believe in

your heart

would you

believe in

your heart

that God

raised him

from the

dead

because in

that

is life

eternal

life

and the

gospel is for

kings and

commoners

it's for men

and women

it's for boys

and girls

it's for every

nation

tribe

and tongue

for you

to receive

if you

confess

with your

mouth

that Jesus

is Lord

and believe

in your

heart

that God

raised him

from the

dead

you

will

be

saved

God

I thank

you

for the

work

that you

did

in the

heart

of

Nebuchadnezzar

I thank

you

for the

work

that you

did

in the

heart

in my

heart

God

I pray

if there's

anyone here

who does

not know

Christ

as their

Lord

and Savior

God

today

they would

respond

to the

best

news

the world

has ever

heard

the beauty

of Jesus

Christ

and it's

his name

I pray

amen

amen

last thing

last thing

we're gonna

tie it back

we're gonna

tie it back

do me a

favor

if that's

you today

first time

thousandth time

if that's

you today

and today

is the day

today is the

day that you

put your

faith

hope

trust

in Jesus

Christ

today

is the

day

that you

received

his gift

of salvation

I don't

think you

realize

I don't

think I

realized

I'd say

this

five weeks

ago

six weeks

ago

when we

started

working