Give me a Slice of Humble Pie | Dr Daniel Kong

You're listening to a message to go from act. We hope this message will

light up your team a title today, Uh, give me a slice of

humble pie. Okay, guess what we were talking about? Any guess anybody?

Okay, just today you do if it says the expression humble pioneer.

Okay, all right, So talk about humility today, okay, and we'll

draw from Daniel five. Some of you may know the story, but for

those who don't, it's still fine. I'll go through it anyway because I

have the mic, so yeah, yeah. But one thing you will learn

from this, and I hope you can catch it as well, that everything

is given to uh, you know, a spy God. And even in

Daniel five, you have to recognize this, okay. So when sometimes pride

comes in the way, it's sort of um, deters us or distracts or

even blind us to a certain extent. You know what God has installed for

us, So pride, it is a very big thing. And of course

humble humility here that I'm talking about is to do with the opposite of the

pride, which may become a barrier or a problem. So let's look to

day to Daniel chapter five and see what happens to anything, It pride takes

over, are we okay? Okay? So um, yesterday when I was

putting some of the slides together. I'm a very last weew person. I

put slides together last minute. I actually stumbled upon something on social media,

right, and you're preparing things. That's kidding. Shouldn't you look at social

media too much? But yeah, I saw this thing that says what was

the day? Somehow? It's a feeder, what was the day that changed

your life in the way you would never have expected when you woke up this

morning. I know it's a very long thing, but in short, you

know, can you recognize a day that's really changed in life changing and you

didn't expect it that very morning itself? So I thought to myself that statement

there in the social media feed was so apt because this is exactly what happened

in Janiel five year because one day this king here which i'll talk about,

woke up and then suddenly everything just changed overnight. Okay, and you'll get

it in a bit, okay, So I asked. I showed the thing

to Jazz, my wife, and I say, what a great introduction to

this passage that we're going to be caring today because I believe that nothing comes

randomly. Right. We are living in in in days where having rules,

we're declaring having rules just like it had in Babylon many many years ago.

So even with social media, I believe it's very targeted. Okay, So

anyway, just bear with me. Okay, So as you followed along with

some of the things I have this shared or the past a few months,

I've started with Daniel across a general covering of a book of Daniel. I

did Dane chapter one, I skipped through two, I went to three.

Last last time around, when Elder kinget was he speaking, he covered Daniel

four to an accent, Okay, he covered where where where he talks about,

you know, the King's dream, the great trees, the great dream

of the Great Tree. And then he spoke in accordance to hearing God and

aligning ourselves with God. Okay, So we're gonna go a bit deeper with

five today. But before I do that, let me pray. Okay,

if I carry on, let's pray Father God as we gather today. Lord,

you know when we come to this study, we pray Father for your

wisdom and your guidance, to be upon us. Lord, help his father

understand the lesson today, which is humility. May be simple, but sometimes

some of us struggle with a quite a fabit. And I pray that Father,

we will take it and also apply in our lives. Lord, not

so much the pride side, but the humility side. May your Holy Spirit

Father opened our hearts today and our minds to receive your message and be transformed.

Father today in your mighty name, And all of God's people say Amen

Amen. So yeah, like I said, Elder King had covered a little

bit of that. There was a fall of King Nap because he was prideful,

okay, and there was a bit of arrogance there, but he if

you remember that story, he turned around at eleven hour and he accepted,

he understood, and he repented and therefore he was okay now in this before

he even started. Then chapter five, I wanted to bring it to your

attention to the new King is actually introduced into this story, okay. King

Nap or Nebuchadnezza, the long name was the king before There were actually theoretically

some other kings in between King Nap and the new King, King bell Shazza

or claimed King Belle in short, but for simplicity, a lot of the

Bible's cause would just say that there's two kings okay in that period. Okay,

so let's look at some of the common grounds between the two kings,

and I've got to slide up. Okay. King Nap wasn't Dolatra. They

may see idolize things they believe in, worshiping many many gods, but of

course we know that all these gods are the false gods, okay, small

ga As I mentioned before, and it's no different from this new king over

here. They both also like to flaunt their wealth, mean to say,

they like to show things. In fact, it's almost like creating a brand

for themselves to show that they are. This kingdom here is strong and therefore

I use wealth to do that, okay. And they see a lot of

this in the stories. The other commonality is that they both fail to recognize

that their source of greatness, even as kings, is actually put they're put

in their position by God, okay. And therefore, even in King Nap

the stories that we've learned before, there's a lot of times that God has

to remind him again over and over again, and he's like oh yeah,

forgot, Oh yeah, forgot. Okay, but you always understand that Heaven

rules, God puts them there, but they both for some reason fail to

see it from time to time. Okay, So that's their community. The

other common thing is that they both rule from a place of fear that makes

they force things. You know, the you know the statue, they force

it the bow down. Remember King Nap same Similarly, this King Bell also

uses that same approach to achieve greatness. He in stains still fear for them

to follow. Again, So that's the two thing. Both men had very

high view of themselves. They thought very had himself. In fact, some

would say that they thought of themselves as God, and that's why they ask

people to worship them. Okay, they think that the supreme leader. I

think these days, in our modern day, we have some supreme leaders as

well, and they also think to some extent that they are a deity or

a god, even though they are completely human. And in the last verse

in Daniel chapter four, where talks about humunity, put up the scripture here

now I King Nap, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven.

All of the works are truth in his ways. Justice, and those who

walk in pride he's able to put down. So what this verse covers and

Elders who sort of covered it a little bit, is that it reminds us

that God is able to humble us whenever we walk in pride. He can

do this to a king, he can do this to anybody. And that's

why I put up that title eat your Humble Pie, or something along those

lines. Okay, really we need to be have this humility because if not,

when God steps in, it's a very scary thing. Okay, so

far, Okay, Now let's go to the actual thing. Let's look at

the problem pride before you wn go to the story of King. What's the

problem with pride? Okay, I've got some things up. First. Thing,

as I shared alia way before I started, when we have a pride

in place, it's sort of blindsight us or prevents us from seeing things that

it's meant we're meant to see. And in these two kings example, they

fail to see that everything that they had was actually given by God, whether

or not it's death, our wealth, their health, or even their influence

and power all came from God. But they didn't see it. Again,

that's the first one. Second thing is that as we covered the many many

weeks before, God is sovereign, but they recognize, or at least the

first king recognized, and then he forgets. But all in all, it

also keeps us from from fami because sometimes when we think too much of ourselves,

we they fire or they fire think in this correct word, basically making

yourself a god, making you sself a deity, okay, is when you

strip God of that sovereignty and you become sovereign. But of course we know

that's not true, right, So that's why supreme leaders of the world sometimes

failed to recognize that. And we've read this before in scriptures. Everything even

your breath, comes from the Lord, right, So this is something that

pride can sometimes blind you. Thirdly, see what I have here, gods

up and can take down. And the last verse that you read that or

he establishes this. Okay, the higher you go, the harder harder you

fall as well. In fact, in this story here he's done exactly that,

okay, in chapter five, And just to stop for a while,

especially with the things with people in power, with leaders, either worly leaders

or whatever, leaders, sometimes it can be more destructive, right, when

God has come in and correct the situation. Okay. So that's why sometimes

for leaders they have to really guard this power, this position, this quote

unquote privilege that God has given you, all this mandate God has given you,

because if He has to step in, I think sometimes and most of

the times due to you, the pride portion of things, and that's where

sometimes it'll be ray painful. Okay. So yeah, pride is worse for

those who are in power. So nobody likes to become a leader. But

when you're a leader, you have to really guarded, okay, with all

your mind and hearts. Okay. Now, King Belle, the new King,

just give me the background. This is in chapter five. The first

four chapters was in the previous king, King Nebuchadezza, and just this is

about twenty years after King Knap sort of died, okay. And then this

name bel Shazza also has a bit of a context here. It actually is

tying to the babylon God of Belle. Okay, and Belle Shazza, let

me just read it actually means Belle protect the king, as in the God

small g God of Belle protect this king. And that's his name. His

root name or other contexts, it will be Belle saved the k the king,

or like how we say God saved the queen or king. That's the

name that this guy's given. But we also understand, if you've read through

the end of the chapter, that at the end, he did die.

Okay, So the small g God as in God a bell, did not

actually save the king after all. Okay. So if you're one of those

things like to watch YouTube, sometimes they give you the summary at the very

start, so you can just turn away straight away and then forget about watching

the whole thirty minute YouTube. But this is exactly that the story is.

He did die in the end, okay. So if you want to know

what happens at the end, that's what happened. Okay. Now let's go

through, okay, chapter five okay, and I have some of the verses

up. This is a king bell setting up a big feast in verse one,

okay, So bel shazza, which means bell protects the king or Bell

saved the king, made a great feast for thousands of his lords, his

people, thousands, you know, not just one in all, not a

small cucci red party that we normally have. Thousands okay, and then they

drank in the presence of wine, and while while he tasted the wine.

Okay, so I passive for a while. It's like alcohol involve blah,

okay, a lot of merry mary stuff involved here. It was really flowing

through the story of alcohol. So again sort of imagine, how what's our

party? This is okay, and so be belt Okay, let me carry

on. Belle Shazza gave to command to bring gold and civil vessels, which

his father, although arguably actually his grandfather, but let's just use his father

because the Bible say so his father Nebuchandezza had given sort of have taken from

the temple which he had been in juism. So if you remember when I

started sharing about Daniel one, this was the things that was taken. They

used it, and now it's back in the picture again. So the cups,

the holy gold and silver vessels that were stolen from God's temple is being

introduced here to do what to put the alcohol? Okay, So just to

give you a bit of context, right, so we know there's hundreds of

nobles there. We don't know how many wives and concubines and all that's not

documented, like get we find out, but basically a lot, a lot

of drunk people, and not only that they brought the vessels, that that

there was stolen. And then you think about it in this picture, right,

it's almost like gloating. You know, you take somebody else's precious stuff,

and these are a nation that they're rolling over in the Jews, and

then you take those sacred stuff and then you put things that defile their their

religion, and then you party all night, all night long. Okay,

So that's the picture that we want to show here. Okay, so it's

sutually a humiliating defeat for the Jews essentially. Okay, just show some contexts.

And they're using it for the wives to compute bis to drink off.

So they drank wine. They praised the gods off gold, silver, bronze,

iron, wood, and stone. Now is this particular verse very familiar

you think about it, it's actually very similar to the statue. Remember the

statue in chapter two, where you've got the different materials from gold all the

way down to stone. This is the same in that same order as well.

Okay, so again it is no co incidence. Is in that same

order because it's also somewhat a prediction of the fall of this kingdom in Babylon.

Okay, So, like I said, nothing is coincidental. God will

put somebody up called take somebody down, and this almost to a certain extent,

uh, some kind of a prophecy of something that will to happen in

this time this king Okay, So every okay, so far, just the

first four versus Okay, but let's pause here for a while. In the

natural, and I covered this in the very first time I took this up,

you know, this series. In the natural, it will look as

though people of God has lost, right, keep out gloating. It's like

taking the World Cup and World Up is not hollola, but you get the

idea of something that's precious to some and then showing and gloating. So it's

almost like God's God's People's zero, the small g the God of ball or

whoever bell sorry and all that they actually have won. The king, the

guy who's human is winning here, and you may wonder whether the sovereignty of

God is actually there. Right, that's what people see because they are parting

and then and then that's what they're doing. They're showing off. They're doing

this drinking for the vessels that are that they ransacked from before, and these

were in front of the people that they've taken captive over many many times.

So when we say Heaven rules, it's very hard to say Heven rules during

a time vig are in that party, right, But don't forget, Heavens

still rules. Jehovah, who is the god of the most heart, is

still there. Okay, that's not changing. We've seen that a lot in

in the stories of the previous king, and we'll see it again here as

well. But sometimes it's easy for us to forget because of the things,

the destructions they are in place. So as part of God's plan sovereign plan

also is to also destroy the wicked and to bring down the pride of men.

I put in a footnote at the bottom over there. Sorry gave the

problems with pride slide. I put in a footnote over there, and I

hope that you can just look through this thing. So God judges the unrepentedt

wicket or in other words, basically you know, brings down judgment. And

also the other thing is that God will also save those who believe right and

also turn from sin. As we've even seen it in the previous king.

So that is what we call salvation. Okay. God will restore the righteous.

It's always been like that, and he will always correct or punish or

judge those that are wicked. Okay, and we will see this throughout there

on chapter five. So far, I'm just giving you a context so that

when we actually read the thing, you actually see this happening as well.

But all these circumstances I mentioned to you is to make way to demonstrate that

Heaven rules over all and that God will really judged the wicked and also saved

the righteous. Okay. Now let's move on to chapter sorry, verse five.

He says here after the party, happy happy Gallagalla. You know,

in the same hour, the fingers of the of a man's hand appeared.

This is the part where it is the miracle that always may remember if you

read this story before words started to appear, okay, and this this hand

was actually doing those words at birth that that that place I got a video

okay, showed later. But after that, the king's countenance has changed.

Why because he saw something. Just imagine suddenly, right the whole place goes

dark. We are partying like crazy. Suddenly something just start to appear.

Really is a rude awakening to some extent, because why everybody was rowdy,

it was sort of partying. And then God came to the picture. Okay,

amazing stuff, right, of course, some some believe that hand also

writing it. And then the King straight away stopped what he was doing,

stop his party. And that's actually okay, I don't I don't spend too

much time on that. But again, he drew a party. Alcohol is

flowing and sometimes under influence. Right, it's harder to even stop, right

because he'd be like, who was every dude? But you know, it

really got their attention. Okay, So suddenly the god of heaven, the

god that we forgot about or even people were thinking where is he nowhere in

their minds, interrupted quote unquote rudely and then sort of said the whole party,

I'm quite sure was silence. It came to a halt and and and

this is where it's the first glimpse of or a reminder where Heaven still rules

even in that party. So far, all right, all right, okay,

now so happened there? God struck terror in the king his face.

I think it literally turned pale, not because of alcohol. But because of

what he saw, okay, and what was the reaction. Suddenly, right,

he feels not as high as he thought he was, because the party

was supposed to show or demonstrate his power. If you remember the story,

there's another similar party that was thrown in the in the book of which one

was, um, we think, let me think, come back to me.

There's another party that lasted for a hundred and eighty days on. I

think it was anyways, a similar thing. They basically threw a party to

show demonship power and all that. This is a similar kind of party.

Suddenly it was. It was it was more more control. He suddenly realized

that. Or rather when he said he's in control, he thinks he was

king right, Suddenly he was not in control anymore. He couldn't control what's

happening there. He even couldn't control the reactions of his subjects anymore. That

was a story that's happening over there. So ultimately control has been taken over.

I mean we've all felt that before, right, even during the pandemic.

We thought we were in control of our own boss. I go whenever

I want, sudden control taken away from it. And that's exactly the same

feeling as well, that this person is going true. It's almost like a

sudden change in management. But they say, you know, tomorrow I'm divorce

right, not also faster, but having rules. Okay, so don't forget

it right now. Okay, let's go to verse seven. Okay, then

what did the king do? He cried out, bring all the smart people

over the astrologers, the chaldeans, the soothsayers. So basically it's really just

bringing all the big guns. Are the smart people here to help me interviecause

she doesn't understand what's being shown over there. Okay, very similar, right

with what happened through previous king as well. They have had a dream.

He couldn't intervitdream all the wiper who could interpret the dream as well? Okay,

it's the same thing. And what did he do? He say,

whoever who reads this writing and tells me in interpretation, okay, shall be

clothed with purple and have chain of goal around his neck. So it's like

a reward if you can tell me, there will be this reward. And

not only that, this reward is of the highest you know, remember we

had one king, the second king. This is the he's saying here he

shall become the third ruler of the kingdom. The highest reward is to take

over his place life essentially because he really wanted to know, because it was

rudely interrupted. Right, So of course we know the story. Now.

All the king's wise men came about. They could read, they could not

understand it. They could read it, but they couldn't really understand it again,

so they couldn't interpret it. So this is exactly like what happened in

King Nap as well, right in the book earlier. They couldn't interpret it.

Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled. His countenance have changed, and his

lords were all astonished again. So have you ever been to a room where

there's smart people? I mean, COVID is one example. Right, We

had a lot of smart people trying to figure out a solution for that.

We will struggled many many years not knowing a solution. This is a exactly

that you call for emergency meeting. Nobody could give an answer. And these

are your top scientists. What's that? Uh, nobody knew. Nobody answer,

but some definitely they stopped partying for whala, But nobody really knew how

to address that. Okay, and these so called wise men were close to

the king. Imagine this. If you a wise man, right, this

is your time to shine, right, you're caught in to address it.

But you couldn't. They couldn't, and they were filled with all this uh

you know, uh, you know, they had a lot of the worship,

a lot of small gods, small g gods or false gods, and

yet their gods couldn't deliver, they couldn't interpret it. But I believe it's

more than that they couldn't deliver because the Big G God didn't allow the wisdom

to flow through these people. Okay, and you read the story further on,

the Big g actually gave it flowed through some other person. Okay,

So there are no clue. And in fact, it was the lowest point

because their weakness was revealed. Like I said, you're supposedly smart by the

solution. In fact, right not the stought a reward ler. The king

is turned around and say, you know, because he's a king, that's

very ruthless right off of your head? Lie? What I mean? You

know, like your fired lie cannot do your job, caty, But back

then, maybe something different, okay, Okay, now let's read on verse

ten. The queen, because of the words of the kings, and the

lords are his lords, rather came to the banquet hall, and the queen

spoke saying, oh King, live forever. Do not let your thoughts trouble

you, nor let your countenance change. His wife got wisdom, I know,

Chill, relax, I got a solution. There is a man in

your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the Holy God. Okay, capitol

gen or here. And in the days of your father, light and understand,

and wisdom like wisdom of the small gods were found in him. And

King napped your father, your father. The king made him Daniel, chief

of the magicians, astrologers and all the wise men. King. So that's

the man we need right now. As she's try and say bring him in.

Sometimes I wonder, right how this wife knows Daniel. He must have

heard of him. Maybe she's lived throughout the time, even though it's a

very long time. But we also understand right that Daniel, the wise Daniel

that came into the picture and the previous king was a teenager back then.

He's no longer a teenager now is many many many years later in fact,

it's probably an old, wise, old man kind of a thing. Okay,

But nonetheless I thinks to think he's wise and and Daniel was known,

right, he's he's an older man, and he actually came into the picture

words. Trous says that inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding,

interpreting dreams, solving riddles, explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel. So

it's very his repetition was there. His CV was like, oh, I

say so many I interpretence, so many dreams. Everything is hundred percent.

Uh, you know I spotted I spotted all the exam questions so far to

date. You know you're a student, all right, So and call him

in because there's no greater and why wiser counsel than Daniel. Okay, and

only that he if you look at it. She uses the words he who

knows the spirit of God. Wow, amazing. Right. The recognition problems

too, tells us the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth. When the same

mouth is wordler. You read the word, that's also wisdom, okay,

come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. So

what they're trying to say here is that the righteous people that we talked about

earlier is meant to bring wisdom when the time of need is here. So

of course you will say it is Daniels drama. But the question is,

right, when a time is in need, right in a situation wherever you

are, are you ready to provide that wisdom? So it's a very simple

story, but it applies to everybody right when a problem is there. Like

I said, the example is the scientists word come together and give a sitution?

Are you really or not? If you're caught upon to provide a solution

when the friend is in need, they don't understand what's going through in their

life. When you're called upon, can you be that person? Can you

be that Daniel in that story to provide that wisdom? Okay? And that's

the main thing here. He's summoned, he's expected to give interpretation. He

needs to give an answer because of his track record. So who does the

world, and of course the world call, or you know, maybe colleagues,

your friends, et cetera. Who does the world call whenever they're in

trouble? Do they call the experts or do they call you? I've got

this thing that sometimes you may hear my wife is so very calm. Usually

even when things hit her workplace, I don't know, she's usually quite chill.

I get the same kind of remark when I'm at work as well,

people say, Hey, how come you so relax with her? I'm like,

you panic, You cannot solve it anyway, right, But I think

this would be more wisdom than just that, lah, because we know that

we have a bit more backing. But who do they call? Who do

they look into? Do they see the earthly side that the human side?

Or do they see that You've got a godess in control and a God who

has answers? Is probably how you want to put it in. Okay.

So so again it's not Christian jargon. It just really just be well in

touch with God because He would give you wisdom, be righteous. Okay,

Now listen, even when it comes to wisdom, right, the world's wisdom,

right, can never outdo God's wisdom. Right. Smart people can never

outdo God. Even the smartest you know, who's the Albert Insteain equivalent,

The smartest guy cannot even outsmart God. Okay. So there's always some deficiency,

some limitation in humans, and yet we often try to be God right,

but we always like so coming back to this, this is a reminder

of for everybody when we are caught upon to give vision, we should be

ready. I'm it's a positive for I think I've shared this last year about

how sometimes social media can be a very powerful influence and sometimes it makes me

wonder, right the things that we say or we even read in social media

that comes from maybe fellow peers and believers. You look at it him like

this is so unchristian, and people are like that sometimes they're on social media

are different. So I'm not knocking social media. It's an extent platform to

receive information as well, but sometimes you also be very careful of how you

utilize social media. I'm gonna leave at that. But I'm trying to say

is that sometimes what people see in terms of your response can also deter them

from coming to you to seek wisdom. So do very be careful with this

thing, and it's very easy. I I'm also trying to shout to my

kids from that as much as I can, because these days you don't know

what's going on there because if they don't come to you, then something is

wrong because you're supposed to come to because you're supposed to be righteous people.

It's supposed to be ready. Okay, now let's come back again, not

not consumer media, coming back to this more important thing. Thirteen and fourteen

or great, let's read it's the writing on the wall. Uh so,

so say, are you the Daniel who is the one of the captives of

Judah? So he recognized the luter cvla, I recognize I know you,

I know you. Funny things that I see? I know you? How

comeing in call him at the beginning, right, he says, though it's

already there your list? So how come he was he was? Maybe he's

retired. I'm not sure. Sorry, Look, King King the previous can

live over one hundred years, you know, so it's probably also quite ola.

But anyway, he can't retirement for shula, I've heard of you fourteen

that the spirit of the God is in you, or even that the CV

says that the spirit of the Capitol g is with you, you know?

But still how coming in care is probably question here? So but the good

thing about King King Bell, even though he didn't know Jehovah himself right the

Capitol G God, he knew who to ask. Although yes, there's a

bit of nudging from the wife by Zukela he give to him La. He

did recognize it at the end, La. Right, he did not explain.

His people cannot explain. But eventually he found the right source. Are

you that Daniel? Asking you? Are you that Daniel? When somebody needs

something, can you give the answer? Okay, So how do you then

get wisdom? Exactly? Need to be ready? Right? How didn't you

get rid of yourself? You can't just simply run a marathon overnight, right,

You need to train. Right. Wisdom is the same thing as well.

You cannot cram your studies overnight to get an answer. It needs to

be continuous, right, So only shot short solution. The only thing you

can do is really spend time with God. Download from him, read his

word here from him, download their wisdom until you're ready. And I say,

it's a never ending preparation for that time where God post an a situation

when somebody comes to you for wisdom. You need to be ready. Okay,

all right, breaking so far? All right? God is the one

infinite wisdom will always go to him. So yeah, let's come back to

this story. Let's see. Okay, So the handwriting was happening over there.

God almost created a circumstance, right, the terrifying feeling, a wake

up call it or a root awakening, I said earlier, because if not

right, the people won't listen. Right, And sometimes you wonder, right,

how come it's so dramatic the things has happened, even I dare see.

Sometimes maybe in the lasting you reflect, some things may have been very

dramatic, But maybe the drama that's involved, right, is so that you

listen. You're not now displiller under influence, right, may not be able

to hear anything or see anything. Okay, So they put or God put

this king in a desperate case or scenario, can see his fear is there,

so that he actually said I'm ready to listen now bringing the right people.

So make sure you're ready with the wisdom of God. Because when the

world is ready to listen, you need to be ready to also provide that

wisdom. Okay. So in another way to put it, when opportunity arises,

we need to give hope where hope needs to be delivered. Don't start

scrambling or during your last minute exam studying before that, Okay, you need

to be ever ready. Okay, Now, let's go to verse fifteen.

Now the wise man, or rather the kings said to the wise man,

the wise man the astrologists has brought in before me. They have they should

read this writing and make known to me the interpretation. But none of them

could do so. Right, I'm paraphrasing him a little bit. So as

I mentioned to you, this shows that their saham dropped blast straight away.

They were be valued. They were no longer whatso wise anymore. In fact,

they look foolish, you know, in front of the king. Okay,

but God's wisdom is wise. Um sixteen. Uh, And I've heard

of you giving interpretations and explaining in the masse blah blah blah. And then

I'm going to move on to the last seventeen There. Then Daniel answered,

sit before the king. Let your gifts be yourselves. Remember he dangled all

those things. I'll give you the purple robe. I'll put that that goal

chain on. I will also make you king. But then you'll say,

take that away, forget it. I don't want it. Why did they

do that? What do you think? It's like? It's like your boss

coming. You say, if you can answer this, I give you a

double promotion. I don't m I say, they don't go for it.

But but why why do you think it? Put on the perspective of understanding

heaven rules. He understands he is I guess his position is higher than what

the king can offer. Essentially, okay, this is some humility there,

as I would say, because in contrast to the arrogance what the king has

shown, if you can do this, I give you this. He understand

that the reward comes from heaven. He serves a larger king or a greater

king, a king that is the unseen right, So whatever the king actually

has to offer, so it's not good enough low essentially all right, But

humility here is one aspect. He's just a very bold and brave lower to

to almost reject the king's off offering. And this is the only thing I

want to talk about humility. Humility actually empowers you to say things that or

rather say the truth as it should be. Sometimes with jagga jagga, we

don't have to say things that because you're afraid that you may hurt the person,

even though it's a truth. Because why there's something that you need to

guard. There's a persona maybe on social media, I put a nice stuff

for me, but not so nice stiff I don't show because as a persona

you gotta keep I'm not saying that. It's clearly that, but humility doesn't.

It means that whatever it is, I need to speak the truth.

And he just just that he spoke the truth because it needs to be told,

right Why because you're no pride, So humility empowers one to speak truth

without holding back. So there's a quiet but yet humble confidence here. Daniel

wasn't looking to get anything out of it. So essentially, I don't say

the right things to get promoted a lah. I already know my position ready,

I just give it out because there is no Yeah, he just asked

him to be himself, essentially because he understand he's a servant of the most

high God, the first ones to begin with. He recognized his identity.

It's now he's song about authority. Do you recognize the authority that God has

put in you? Right? And he can't get any high than that,

any position that It's almost like people saying, oh, you know, I

give him more land, more real estate. I already got so much a

d what more do I need? What higher position do I need whatever the

King could give him, could offer him, or the reward even is not

good enough. So that allowed him to give what he has to say,

the freedom of speech, that essentially without worrying about things holding him back,

because understaid, the authority and the power comes from up a birth. Okay,

So that's the power, all right, that's the power. Okay.

So oh where am I was? Eighteen? Your Majesty, the most High

God, he didn't hesitate, it says, yeah, he didn't hesitate.

The spirit of the God of the gods is in you. Uh. This

is why Belshazzar said, uh, and and and and you know, Daniel,

he didn't mince his words. You know, he goes straight to the

point. He went and said, there is only one God, right,

only one God. He's the most High. Straight to the point, really

straight to the point. And then the funny thing is that he needs no

apology that you know, you need to go back to the true God.

Okay, uh and and and and really at the end of it, because

the Majesty gave him all people's nations, languages trembled fear before him. Whomever

he wished he executed, whoever he wished he kept alive whomever he wished,

he set up, whomever he wished he would put down. So basically this

is summarizing to the earthly king, then is selling the earthly king. If

God can put you up, he can take you down very quickly as well.

If God one's humble you because of pride, he can do so just

like that. Okay, And it's reminding that it's a very humbling experience for

the king as well, the king who thinks he is God, the king

who is drinking previously drinking off those vessels that were plundered and mocking. So

the ultimate power suddenly just ceased straight down. And this guy has got a

lot of kuragela to do, so to say what he has to say didn't

mince it at all. So let's worst twenty. But when his heart,

when he said his heyes in reference to the previous king's harder king Napsarda,

was lifted up, his spirit was hardened in pride, he was disposed from

his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. So summary of

this is dead when you exalt yourself, or when you think to highly of

yourself, or in their pride kicks in. God was stepping and humble you.

It's the short message, the truth that was there then in that era,

right, it's the same truth that is today as well. Ever,

seeing somebody with a lot of pride, God higher, no God were straightway

corrected, straight away, okay twenty one. Then he was driven from the

sons of men. His heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was

made like the wild Sorry was with the wild monkeys. They fed him grass

like oxen. His body was wet with you. It's like some kind of

a story. There's a sob story, the getting wet all the time.

It's very depressing. But until when, until when did this happened to knap

the king napped the previous king? Until he recognizes our knowlogies that the most

high God rules in the Kingdom of Men and the points over it whomever he

chooses. Okay, so he really really thinks, so they improve when he

acknowledged this. So again he's just a reminder, he's just stay think historic

historical facts. You know, this is what happened before. Please recognize king

of the Kingdom of Heaven here, Please recognize that Heaven rules is what Daniel

is pleading to the current king. If not, you will be stripped down,

or you'll you'll be taken down, or you'll be humbled. This is

the message that you may see also a tea thematic message that's going on and

on in the Book of Daniel. Every time there's pride, he will he

will correct. God will correct. And like I said, it's the same

in that era, it's the same in this era as well. I mean

to recognize this. Okay, I'm gonna rush through because I'm going to finish

up at the end already h twenty two. But you, his son Belshazza

had not hummed yourself, So it's telling him the fact you're not doing it,

even though you have some reference. And sometimes like that where we say

we've seen it happen before correction was done, how come you still doing it?

How come you repeating it? Sometimes you say you're you're repeating the curse

that was there before. But anyway, trenit three and you have lifted or

in other words, exalted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. So you're

going against God up. They have broad vessels in the house, and I

will skip through the end. There it says, which you do not see

or hear or no. And God, who holds your breath in his hand,

owns all your ways, you have not glorified. So again, if

I say this a few times, I'm gonna say it again. When you

exalt yourself, God will put you down when you when you try to bring

yourself up to be God like, God would put you down as well.

In some ways, right when you put yourself up right, you're also humanizing

God. You know. Let means you're stripping God of what belongs to him.

And some will say that, yeah, I'm not gonna want this position.

We're not going to try to become God. It might sound extreme,

but but the Bible also says right that by not glorifying God to sin extent,

it is also stripping him down or humanizing him. So there's something that

we have to to to be to be careful of as well, because we

say that I do want the position, but by not putting God in that

position as well, it's also the same as you taking on the position of

humanizing him. Okay, and Romans one talks about it, I got no

time to go through this, But failing to glorify God, it's actually a

heart of this. It's actually a sin. Okay, so you just go

to be mindful of that. Okay. This what's happening in this particular verse

here okay, now a few more verses than our end. Okay. Versus

twenty four reminds us that the very God the king has failed to acknowledge who

God was. And this is what's happening, and that's why we say it

is humanizing God. Then this inscription happened, okay, mini, mini,

tackle up harsh in Okay, I pronounces you correctly. Uh. There's some

meanings to it, and it's all given to you in the twenty six really

very quickly. So the first one actually means that God has numbered your kingdom

or the days of your kingdom. That makes your time is up. I

wants to with them, but it's finished, okay, So God is bringing

it to an end. Okay. Scary right because the previous time, right,

God gave a lot of chances to the previous king. This one says

that I'm going to cut you off here right now. Okay, wonder what's

the difference second one, twenty seven tackle okay, Uh, it talks about

you have been weighed in the balance and found one thing or in other words,

deficient. It means I measure you up. No, you're not,

You're not up to scratch Paris okay, the last one. Some ergencies Paris,

okay. Your kingdom have been divided and given up to the others,

to your your enemies, medias and the Persians. So talk about a day,

a tough day in the office for this guy. Suddenly he was partying.

Sorry, one day he will wake up partying and it was going to

be business as usual. And one day the course of his life just changed.

And in fact he ran on for a day. Right, his life

was ended that very day itself. Everyone was stripped away in the very day

itself. Yeah. So back to the question I asked earlier, what can

really change over night? This is something that can happen if we do not,

you know, do what we are called to do. All right,

now, One thing I to very quickly say that aside from Daniel speaking the

truth, he also has this gift and ability to help people understand I guess

message of what God brings to people, and we need to be dead kind

of people as well. Right, it's not so much but just speaking wisdom

or speaking truth but sometimes if people are struggling something interpretation side of day,

you should be the one that also helps the interpretation, help people apply God's

word. This is another way to put it. Our church motto helping people

believe is also one way to look at it, right because sometimes this is

where the partners can come in and help you interpret it. Because helping people

apply God's word that God has given them in their lives. Daniel is doing

right here is actually key okay, And you say here, you know,

he's a very hard thing for him to say, right, Daniel heart truth

right, but sometimes God's smashes must be very hard for people with hardened hearts.

Right here, this king is a very hardened heart. Okay, our

last, but not least at the end there we know before I go there

twenty nine he gave the command and to put on the rope and whatever he

promised, even though he said he doesn't want it. He's very funny,

right, because this is telling him that a your your term is overathy.

It's like the capital of a sinking ship. You know, he's there's the

ships are he's sinking. He's still bordering to rearrange the furniture, make things

right, put a rope on. What does it matter anyway? But he's

still doing it because it's his promise. One he promised to say that if

ever we can answer this, I'll give it to him. So they're still

pride, you know, even though I'm going down, I still want to

do the promise that I promise the wise council. You see what happened here,

So basically he's there's no repentance. There's no repentance at all. Okay,

So of course the last, very last there he fell that very night

itself, King Belle was slain. Morning party saw the words like night terminated.

So God can really do things like that if he, if he feels

that. So hopefully we don't come to that stage, right, Okay,

Now it's a very simple story, I know, probably going a little bit

more than I'm supposed to have the time of game still, okay, but

let me just talk about some of the lessons that can be learned from this.

Okay, all right, So how might the story be before I go

that, How would I have been if he repented just like the previous king,

you know what I mean, may have been a very different ending.

You know, In fact, this was a more dramatic kind of a revelation

in a comparitive previous king. But somehow he didn't repent. I'm just one.

I mean, we will never know that one day, one day,

one day we'll find out from Daniel, what do you think of? What

your opinions? But anyway, it could have been different. Now I've used

the word humbled. Next light force myself to use humble, so it doesn't

fit now mine. Let me explain. Okay, First one each lessons are

each is to honor God's blessing and use them for his glory. Why because

you recognize God was the one that gave you those blessings. God has given

you, so you need to use it for his glory. Just like how

those vessels that we read earlier, those who are not meant to be to

contain alcohola right, so it was read distasteful. We know that this simply

means right. One thing, You're to be grateful for God's blessing your life.

Whatever God has given you, your talents, your resources, be grateful

with it and also use it to serve others. That's what humility is about.

Because when you're prideful, Oh, I'm a rock star, I know,

I use it for myself. Then, So we read to one thing

about humunity. Acknowledge who the source is also another way to put it.

So honor God with your blessings. Sorry, go on a God's blessings by

serving his people, because being when you serve, you're humble. Okay.

The second one, you understand that pride leads to for I think we've seen

a lot of examples of this in this story already. I'm gonna go too

much. His arrogance. We said that it blinds people, right, It

sometimes even blinds from our own faults, you know, And it causes us

to sometimes even resist correction. And somebody tells you something is not right.

It may be a kind and gentle leader. No I canna lie, I

don't think so. So okay, just listen to first lie, take that

position of this listening first, okay. And sometimes when we do take that

humility, then we may see it and then turn from our waist and then

maybe eventually seek forgiveness and then correct ourselves, because if we don't see a

problem, you cannot start the correction even okay, m it's a hard one.

I use the word mine. Actually I want to use the word.

Remember, okay, remember that God is sovereign over all or be mindful that

God is sovereign over all roads and nations. I think this team has gone

on and on and on again throughout the book Daniel, and there's no different

here. So we should always acknowledge God's authority and submit to his will.

Okay, be is to believe that repentance is always possible. It's never too

late. Like I said, if he actually repented, right, it will

be a very different maybe even a happy ending at the end, just as

you've seen the other king. The other king live over one hundred over years.

You know this one. I don't know the exactly twenty or thirty issue

or something that he quiety despite his sin, right, he still do on

repent even though he acknowledged that this guy is a knowledgeable guy, he didn't

want to confess his since in fact, God's grace was there, but he

didn't want to take it. And we need to be reckoned for this l

learned from his mistakes. Okay. Notice is to Marshala, so be visional

or pridler, don't be prightful, be quick to repent. Always see for

God's wisdom. He is to embrace humility, to be open for correction,

a repetition of what we say earlier, recognizing that you know, we have

our own limitations. Like I said earlier, whatever count or whatever wisdom that

you have right can never, you know, supersede God's wisdom or the Heaven's

wisdom. Be willing to put others first, humility here, willing to also

learn from others. You know, recently they have all these uh ama and

all that where older people are coming to learn new instruments, and some of

them are learning from younger people. If they come with this whole thing about

pride that I'm older, I mean I'm old, I'm a bit more,

I've got more experience. I cannot learn anything from this young fellow. There's

nothing to be learned. I'm using that simple analogy. But if you come

with pride, right, you can never learn even from when God wants to

speak to you. So have humility, embrace it, and if need be,

it's okay to be correct as well. Okay when they read buying up

shortly. But these depend on God's mercy and forgiveness. Ultimately, our strength

and our abilities lies in him. This mercy and forgiveness is there, but

also don't always that pit la, right, depend depend on him for everything,

for sure, be faithful, that's for sure. And like I said,

always continue to seek guidance from him, striving to honor him in everything

that we do against something's overlapped by I guess you get the picture, hey,

And if you forget all that, I've got one more summary for you,

last lighter four points, you forget all that. Really, we should

not take God's blessing for granted, La, It's probably the first point here,

just as how King Bell uh didn't he took it for granted. He

didn't understand. He used things that it's not meant to be in a different

way. Right, And we should always remember where even things that are given

to us come from. It comes from the true source from God. Pride

always comes before or fall, and we've seen this happened ready drastically in this

story. His arrogance is the only thing that actually caused that fall, because

we've seen it before when the king repent, the fall didn't happen, not

in this drastic manner, in the very same day itself. So when there's

early signs when pride kicks in when you see that, you're thinking, hey,

you know I am prideful, take a step back, read the signs,

and start to do the allowed the correction to happen as well before it's

too late, otherwise she may suffer the same faith that one. As I

mentioned, know that God is sovereign. And lastly, it's never too late

to repent. Okay, Like I said, if the humbled one is too

complex, this one is broken down into even simple things. And the bottom

line is humility is the key. Right. Eat the humble pie when you

need to is totally fine, especially when it comes from God. There's no

shame in that. So I'm just gonna end here by saying that, yeah,

Heaven rules Church. Heaven rules. Heaven ruled all over kings and all

the empires in the past current even the powers. If we even believed that

whoever that God has put in place to in this very day is actually put

in place by Him, not by you know, humans or people of the

earth. So whenever they make should continue to pray for our leaders as well.

Essentially, if it's not their timing, God will take them down no

where regarded, because it's God's responsibility. God will humble them whenever they need

still, because we serve for God that's most high. Just remember that Heaven

rules over or okay, and I put in this last thing here, whatever

it is, remember the Kingdom of God and started with this before I started

the message. The Kingdom of God will be forever. Whatever we see on

earth is just a temporary thing, so don't get too caught out about it.

Lah right. Any disagreements about who's in management, even even if it's

a company, don't worry about it. Focus on who is more important.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more information on our church,

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We're believing that this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you. God bless