DANIEL 4 PRIDE COMES BEFORE DESTRUCTION2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Daniel 4 Pride Comes Before Destruction

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

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Daniel chapter 4, as we continue our study in the book of Daniel, we're looking at a character, a king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar. And Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon. And Babylon, as Daniel is writing this, as this event is being described here, Babylon is the world power of the day.

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Babylon rose to power and conquered all of the nations around it, even down into Israel and conquered Jerusalem and took the surviving Jews captive and brought them back to Babylon. And so he, King Nebuchadnezzar, is ruling there in Babylon. Now,

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As we look at chapter 4, it's really a continuation of the things that we studied in chapter 1, 2, and 3, where we get to see Daniel as one of the captives being brought to Babylon and raised up. And then there was a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had that Daniel was able to interpret. And then last week in chapter 3...

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We saw Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to bow down to this big image or statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And in doing so, they made the king very angry and he cast them into the fiery furnace of

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But they survived and Jesus was there with them. And it's been a testimony really of God working through these young men. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were all young men. They were very young men when they were brought to Babylon. But they were determined to honor the Lord. And God has used them to minister powerfully to the king of this world empire.

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And so King Nebuchadnezzar has been kind of changing. In chapter 1, he found that Daniel and his three friends, these who were devoted to the Lord, were ten times better than all of the rest who went through their training program. And so it's those who are devoted to the Lord that he realized, wow, there's something special about these guys. And that was kind of the beginning of it for King Nebuchadnezzar.

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But then in the next chapter, King Nebuchadnezzar was brought to the point in chapter 2 verse 47, he declares that there's no one who could reveal secrets like Daniel's God. And so he's beginning to get to know this God of Daniel a little bit. He's beginning to get to know that he knows all things, the omniscience of God.

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Well, then in chapter 3, he casts in these three guys into the fiery furnace and God preserves them. At the end of that account, Nebuchadnezzar makes a declaration that no one can preserve, no one is as powerful as the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And so he learns a little bit about the omnipotence of this God, how powerful He is and how He can deliver and preserve and protect in the midst of all these things.

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And so these things have been a revelation to King Nebuchadnezzar. And I love this because it shows that God is deeply concerned about people. And he is orchestrating events. He's allowing things to take place. He's reaching out.

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to those that are in power, to those who know nothing about God. He's reaching out and revealing himself to them. And as we go on here into chapter 4, it's kind of the last straw. God gives one final big revelation to King Nebuchadnezzar. And it's a pretty powerful one where God is letting King Nebuchadnezzar know, hey, I am real, I am God, you're not God, I'm bigger than you, and you must be submitted to me.

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Last week I stated that chapter 3 and 4 really deal with authority and submission. The authority of God and our submission to Him, and whether we're big or small or important or not important, that is the case. We find in the scriptures that authority is given to whomever God chooses and for whatever reasons He chooses.

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Before King Nebuchadnezzar rose to power and conquered Israel and some of the surrounding nations, God declared in Jeremiah chapter 27 verse 6, He says, I've given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and the beasts of the field I have also given to him to serve him.

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And so we see from the very beginning, it's God who has granted King Nebuchadnezzar this authority to be the king of this world power. It's God who's granted him authority to conquer all of the surrounding nations. It's God who's brought King Nebuchadnezzar to the place where he is.

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The problem was, King Nebuchadnezzar thought it was his own doing. He thought, it's just because I'm so great. It's because I'm so wonderful that I've been able to accomplish all of these things. And so he refused to acknowledge God and God's role in placing him in the position that he was in. And that is what God is going to be dealing with in the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4. He's dealing with his pride.

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One of the famous verses of the Bible, Proverbs 16, verse 18 says, Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. And we really see that tonight in King Nebuchadnezzar. He's full of pride and his pride goes before, leads the way to his destruction. Where he experiences a very humbling experience, a very humbling act of God upon his life.

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Well, let's pick it up in verse 3 of chapter 4. It says,

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So here in verses 1 through 3, what we have is an introduction from King Nebuchadnezzar himself. He's telling this story that we're about to read here in chapter 4. He's the one writing the account and sharing, I want to tell you guys what happened to me. This is pretty incredible. This isn't Daniel recording what happened in Nebuchadnezzar's life. This is King Nebuchadnezzar sharing his own testimony about what took place in

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And he writes it to everybody, to all peoples, all nations, all languages. He wants everybody to know his testimony and what God did in his life.

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Now it's amazing because what we see here in verse 3 is his description of God. That God is great signs and his wonders are mighty. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation. He's saying that God is King of kings and Lord of lords. That he is almighty, that he's all powerful, that there's no other God like our God.

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Now, how did King Nebuchadnezzar get to this point? Because you remember in chapter 3, as he's talking with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he says, what God can save you from my hand? You see there in chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar is completely convinced that he is the most powerful thing in the world. Nothing compares to him. And what God could deliver you from me, King Nebuchadnezzar says.

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But now, something has changed. As Nebuchadnezzar writes this, he says, Oh, this God is great. And He reigns on high. His dominion is from generation to generation. This is a God who is not limited by time. He's not limited by generation. He doesn't die. This is a God who is an everlasting God. He has an everlasting kingdom. It's quite a declaration from King Nebuchadnezzar.

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And because of this transformation, because of this radical change in King Nebuchadnezzar, many people believe that here in chapter 4, what we're seeing is Nebuchadnezzar sharing his testimony of how he got saved. That through this experience that we'll read about in just a moment, that King Nebuchadnezzar really got right with God and he put his faith in the creator of the universe instead of trusting his followers.

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false gods and idols that he had trusted for all of his life. Now as we look at this statement here in verse 3, I would like to ask if you know that this is true. This is what King Nebuchadnezzar came to know, but look at verse 3 one more time and let's just check our own hearts. Is this what we believe? Is this what we know to be true?

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He says, how great are his signs and how mighty his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation. Do you know that these things are true? Now, many of us have been around the church for a long time and so we would easily say, yes, we know that these things are true. But of course what I'm asking is not just do you with your mind agree that

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These things are so. But does your life demonstrate this? Does your life reflect that God is Lord of all?

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that God is beyond nations, that God reigns on high far above anything else, and that His signs and His wonders are great, that He does great things, that He does good things, that He works miracles, that He is all-powerful. Is your life based upon the truth of who God is and how powerful He is?

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I think it's kind of similar to what we experienced throughout the book of Ezekiel, where over and over we were asked the question, when will you know that he is the Lord? That is, when will you finally submit to him?

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Because that's the real question. As we look at the pride of King Nebuchadnezzar, it really needs to be a challenge in our own hearts of the pride that we have in our lives. The issues that are there within us where we are disregarding the Word of God just like King Nebuchadnezzar. You see, King Nebuchadnezzar believed in God at this point.

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He declared it so in chapter 2 and chapter 3 as he makes those declarations to the whole kingdom about the God of Daniel and the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He knew God existed. He knew that God was powerful, but he himself was not submitted to God. He was instead in his pride, still walking his own way, doing what he wanted to do, taking all the credit and the glory for his life.

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And that's what I want to ask this evening. Is that how you are living? Doing what you want, taking all the credit and the glory for who you are, where you are, walking according to your own understanding and disregarding what God has said. Are you full of pride like King Nebuchadnezzar?

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Because if you are, you need to know, the scripture says, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. And what we see happen in King Nebuchadnezzar's life will take place in every person's life who is proud. Now, not exactly the same circumstances. It won't look exactly the same way. But there will be destruction. There will be a fall. There will be a humbling. God will not put up with our pride.

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And so as we look at King Nebuchadnezzar, it's a challenge for us. Are we submitted to God? Have we surrendered to Him? Or are we insisting on continuing in our prideful condition?

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Well, he gives us the account now as we go on in verses 4 through 9. He tells us, begins to tell us the story of what happened and what changed in his life. Verse 4 says, I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

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Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream, but they did not make known to me its interpretation."

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But at last Daniel came before me. His name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God. In him is the spirit of the holy God. And I told the dream before him, saying, Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy God is in you and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation."

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And so what we find here in verses 4 through 9 is that King Nebuchadnezzar has a troubling dream. And this isn't the first time we saw that take place in chapter 2. And the same thing happened in chapter 2. He has this troubling dream. And so he calls in all of the wise guys, all of the magicians, all of the counselors, all of those that he looks to for finding out information, for finding out spiritual insight. And so he brings in all of his spiritual advisors.

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This time he relates to them the dream. He tells them, this is the dream I've had. But even though he tells them the dream that he had, none of them are able to give the interpretation. Maybe they're fearful because if you remember in chapter 2, when they couldn't give the interpretation, King Nebuchadnezzar gave the command, kill everybody.

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Kill all the wise men, all the magicians, kill them all! Because they can't give the interpretation. So, maybe it's in fear. They don't want to venture a guess. Well, this is what I think it means. Or maybe it's something else. Supernaturally, they were blinded or whatever the case may be. They're not able to give the interpretation. But then there's a glimmer of hope, a sigh of relief. He says, at last, Daniel was able to come before me. And so he arrives a little bit later than the rest of the guys and says,

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He has confidence in Daniel. He says, "Daniel has the spirit of the Holy God." And so he's confident Daniel will be able to share the interpretation of this dream. I love this example here that we see in Daniel because as I mentioned earlier when we started the book of Daniel, what we have in Daniel is really a testimony, an example of how we as believers are to be in the workplace.

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This isn't in Jerusalem. This isn't in the temple. This isn't in a spiritual context. This is in Daniel's workplace. He's at work. He's summoned by his boss. None of the other guys can figure it out. None of his co-workers are able to give insight. But Daniel comes in and the boss says, Oh great, Daniel's here. The Spirit of God is in him. He'll be able to share with us what we need to do.

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And so what we have here is a great example of how Christians are to be in the workplace. That we need to have the testimony like Daniel, that the Spirit of God is within us. I would encourage you, I would challenge you to really seek the Lord about your testimony in the workplace. If you're known as a slacker, something is wrong.

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If you're known as a troublemaker, something is wrong. If you're known as just barely getting the job done, something is wrong. I believe God wants to use you in the workplace to be a shining testimony of our Lord. And so you need to be seeking the Lord and making decisions based upon what God is speaking to you and what God shares with you.

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You need to be not, you know, going and telling everybody, hey, the Spirit of God is within me. Daniel didn't walk around announcing that. He demonstrated it by the way that he behaved and by how he worked, by how he answered, by what he did. In the same way as believers, I would encourage you and challenge you in the workplace. Model the Christian life. Be led by the Holy Spirit. And you will obtain a testimony like Daniel. The Spirit of God is within you.

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So Nebuchadnezzar has this troubling vision, this troubling dream. And finally, Daniel's there. He can interpret the vision. He can tell us what it means. Verse 10.

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These were the visions of my head while on my bed. I was looking and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to the heavens and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant and in it was food for all.

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The beasts of the field found shade under it. The birds of the air dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus, Chop down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it and the birds from its branches.

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Nevertheless, leave the stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man. Let him be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over him.

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This decision is by the decree of the watchers and the sentence by the word of the holy ones in order that the living may know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men gives it to whomever he will and sets it over the lowest of men. Here King Nebuchadnezzar tells us the dream that he has. He pictures in his dream this great big tree.

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And this tree is monstrous. It can be seen throughout the whole earth. It's strong. It's high. It's lovely. It produces much fruit. It's the provision for the whole world. It's the covering for the whole world. And so he's looking at this magnificent tree, this huge tree. And then he sees something else come into the picture. Someone he calls a watcher.

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And probably we would relate to this as an angelic being. And so an angel comes down. The watcher comes down. And he makes an announcement. The watcher comes down and says, let this tree be chopped down. Let just the stump remain. Let it be covered with dew.

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We have some insight here that there is some importance to this tree, that it's more than just a tree, because the pronouns kind of change. He's talking about the tree and referring to it as it. But then in verse 16, let his heart be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the heart of a beast. And so we already get a little bit of insight. There's some special meaning here. There's some special things going on. But this watcher declares...

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This tree is going to be chopped down and only the stump is going to remain. Now the purpose, the watcher says, of this tree being chopped down is that the living may know that the Most High rules.

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And so there's a purpose to this vision. There's a purpose to the events that will unfold as a result of this vision. And the purpose is that people would know that God rules, that God reigns on high, that He is the ultimate authority.

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And again, that's what we're talking about today, authority and submission. We're talking about the authority of God, the authority that he had given to King Nebuchadnezzar, and the submission that is required to God. Now, in the same way, God has given authority to our government, and we are to be submitted to our authority. But our authorities, our governors and governors,

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senators, presidents, they are to be submitted to God. We see very clearly in our nation that the majority of them are not submitted to God. And so we should be in prayer for our nation because pride goes before destruction. King Nebuchadnezzar was not submitted to God.

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But this dream is given to him and these events will unfold so that King Nebuchadnezzar, as well as the rest of the world at that time, would know that God reigns on high. And again, I would ask you this evening, do you know that God reigns on high? Now, of course, yes, we would say we know that. That's our mind. That's our intellect. We understand that. We understand the Bible teaches that. But once again, we would say,

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Let's take it beyond our mental capacity and look at our lifestyle. Does our life demonstrate that we know that God reigns on high? Does our life demonstrate that we know we will stand before God to give an account for our life? Does our life demonstrate that we care about what God says and that we live our lives based upon His Word?

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based upon the instruction that He's given to us because He reigns on high? Or are we in rebellion against God? Either not paying attention, not even caring to spend time in the Word of God and hear from Him and walk in relationship with Him, or knowing what God says, knowing what God wants us to do, and just choosing not to do it. Do you know that God reigns on high? That's the purpose of

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Of this dream and it's the purpose of the events that unfold as a result of this dream. Verse 18. Verse 19. Verse 20.

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Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies. And so as Nebuchadnezzar declares the dream,

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Daniel now receives the interpretation. He receives understanding about the dream. Now, Nebuchadnezzar is confident. He says, Daniel, you're able. I know I've come to the right source because the Holy Spirit is within you. He recognizes Daniel's God. He recognizes Daniel's God in his life. He recognizes that God can speak through Daniel and give him insights into what the dream means.

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I think it's interesting here is Daniel receives the interpretation for this dream that he is astonished. And he declares, oh, Nebuchadnezzar, let this dream be concerning your enemies, concerning those who hate you. Nebuchadnezzar was not a godly king. He wasn't a godly boss. But we see here such compassion on Daniel's part.

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He had compassion on King Nebuchadnezzar. He didn't hate him. He didn't want him to suffer. He wasn't like, all right, yes, finally. King Nebuchadnezzar is going to get what he deserves. Remember, King Nebuchadnezzar is responsible for conquering Jerusalem and bringing Daniel to Babylon in captivity. But he wasn't bitter towards King Nebuchadnezzar. He understood God reigns on high. He understood God gave Nebuchadnezzar the authority to do what he did. And so he's astonished here at this moment.

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interpretation, at this understanding of what is going to take place. And he expresses that he would prefer if this would not pertain to King Nebuchadnezzar. It's amazing. Daniel loved him. Daniel wanted God to speak to King Nebuchadnezzar. He demonstrates for us a wonderful heart of compassion and mercy and forgiveness. But King Nebuchadnezzar says, listen Daniel, don't be afraid. I know I've killed a lot of people in the past because I didn't like what they had to say, but

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You can tell me. Tell me the truth. What does the dream mean? And so Daniel begins to explain the dream in verse 20. It says, The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens, and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home, it is you, O king, who

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And so as Daniel begins to explain the dream, he starts with the tree.

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He describes the tree once again. He says, alright, here's the deal. This tree, King Nebuchadnezzar, it represents you. You are this tree. You've grown up. You've become strong. And you've reached to the ends of the earth. Again, King Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon, the world power of the day. Their influence was vast, covering all of the major civilizations of the day.

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So this tree represents King Nebuchadnezzar. He says, you are the tree. Verse 23 says,

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And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let him graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over him. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king."

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Verse 25, they shall drive you from men. Your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven and seven times shall pass over you till you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he chooses.

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And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you after you come to know that heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.

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King Nebuchadnezzar at this time is in kind of the height of his kingdom, the height of his success. The battles have been won, the nations have been conquered. And later on in his reign, he's involved himself in all kinds of building projects. And he made the city of Babylon just absolutely glorious. And it's in that condition, in just this great prosperity condition,

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accomplished much, made Babylon amazing with all of the buildings and all of the magnificent things that he's accomplished. But again, his thought, his mindset is, I was able to do this because I'm awesome. I'm great. I'm wonderful. See, look at what all I've done. But now as Daniel explains this vision, we see, we understand God saying, you're in trouble. You're in trouble.

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Because you don't reign on high. You're not responsible for all these things that you've accomplished. You need to give glory to God. And so Daniel explains this watcher. As he comes down, he makes this announcement upon the tree in the dream. Here's what it means, Nebuchadnezzar. Here's the interpretation. This is the command of God. This is what God has declared. That they are going to drive you from dwelling among men. Here you're living in the palace. You have your servants.

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That's not going to be the case. They're going to drive you out of the palace. You're going to live out in the field. You're going to eat grass. You're going to be like an animal. You're going to be out there under the heavens experiencing, you know, the dew in the morning. He says seven times will pass over you in this condition. Now that's probably seven years or perhaps seven seasons, so about two years. There's some discussion that could be had about that. But there's this period of time, these seven times that are going to pass over you.

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You're going to spend a good deal of time in this condition, King Nebuchadnezzar. But as in the dream, the stump was left in the ground. Daniel explains, your kingdom will be there waiting for you when you get back. You're basically going to go insane for a time. You're going to be living out in the field like an animal, eating grass. But when the time is finished, then you will be restored to your kingdom.

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And when will the time be finished? He says in verse 26 at the end, after you come to know that heaven rules. When you finally recognize King Nebuchadnezzar, when you finally realize that you are not God, when you finally realize that you must be submitted to God, that He rules and He reigns, when you recognize that, then you will be brought back and restored as King of Babylon.

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Now Daniel ends the interpretation with a request. He says, King Nebuchadnezzar, let my advice be acceptable to you. Here's what you need to do, King Nebuchadnezzar. He says, break off your sins by being righteous. Basically, Daniel tells him, repent. Break off your sins. Turn away. Stop living that way. Stop being prideful. Submit yourself to God.

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And so Daniel asks him to turn from his ways, to repent, to break off his sins, to know right now that the Most High rules, to submit right now. You don't have to go through this, Daniel's explaining. If you'll come to this conclusion, if you'll make this decision, if you'll submit to God right now, these things don't have to take place in your life. So he says, break off your sins.

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Now again, the scripture that we all know says pride goes before destruction. Proverbs 16, 18. And a haughty spirit before a fall. He says, look, destruction is coming because of your pride. So repent, break off your sins. Now again, looking at our own lives based upon the example of King Nebuchadnezzar, we need to ask ourselves, do we know that heaven rules? Is that how we live our lives? Are we submitted to God?

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Are we surrendered to Him? When we make decisions, are those decisions made because of what God says, because we want to please Him, or because we're concerned primarily with pleasing ourselves? Are we even asking God what He thinks? Are we even taking time to pray about and consider, Lord, what do you want? You see, if we just make decisions based on our own understanding and what we think, then

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Because after all, you know, hey, we've been around for a block or two and we know what needs to be done. We know how to handle situations. And so if we just make decisions, understand we're full of pride if we don't seek God. Because what we're saying is, God, I know everything I need to know. I don't need to ask you. I already know. When we fail to seek God, we're walking in pride like King Nebuchadnezzar. When we fail to ask him for direction, when we fail to seek him,

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For the answers to the things that we face and the choices that we must make. It's pride. We're convinced. We know everything we need to know. There's nothing that God could tell us in regards to that decision, in regards to that situation that we don't already know. We know it. When we know what God's word says and we disregard it, that's pride. Say, Lord, I know your word says I need to do this. I need to behave that way.

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God, you've declared that this is the way that I need to treat my spouse. This is the way that I need to relate to my boss. This is the way that I'm supposed to minister to my family. Those things that we know, those things that we've been taught, the things that we've read in the scriptures, when we disregard them, it's pride. It's a prideful condition where we say, I know that's what you say, God. I know that's what you think, God, but I'm going to do it my way because I know better than you.

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Now, of course, we know better than to say that, but that's what we do. No, no, no, no. God, you don't understand. If I do what you say, man, that's going to destroy my life. I need to do what I think. I need to do what I say. My ways are better than your ways, God. That's what we declare.

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When we disregard what God says and do what we want. It's pride. It's the same condition that King Nebuchadnezzar was in. He didn't seek God. He didn't ask God for help. He didn't ask God for counsel. He didn't ask God, hey, what do you want me to do? He did what he wanted to do. He did what he thought was best. When he did seek counsel, it wasn't from God. It was from others who didn't know God. And so Daniel says, break off your sins. Break them off.

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You know, we like to kind of like gradually remove ourselves from sin. At least that's what we like to tell ourselves we're going to do, right? I'm just going to start cutting back. But Daniel is very insightful here. Listen, if there's an issue of pride in your life, you can't just gradually cut back. Okay, well, I think I'll start obeying God in this place, but I won't obey Him in this place. That doesn't work. Daniel says, break off your sins. Completely throw it off. Completely turn it away.

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Completely change, he says. That's what repentance is. Now, we often refer to repentance as that 180 degree turn, right? But it's not just the 180 degree turn. So if you're going in this direction and then you turn around 180 degrees, you're going the opposite direction, right? You're looking the opposite way.

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But repentance isn't just that turning around. It's not just going here and then turning. That's not the full understanding of repentance. Here's repentance. You're going this direction. You make the turn and you run in this direction. You go the opposite way. Not just turn around and kind of like, let's see how far I can go. That's what we do sometimes as believers.

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We turn around, we're like, okay, I'm not looking, I'm not looking. But we're right there still. We're playing with the lie. We're playing with sin. We're right there on the verge of it. He says, look, break off your sins by being righteous. What does he say? Take out all of those sinful practices and replace them with righteous practices.

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That's what we're called to do. That's what repentance is. It's not just stopping the sinful action, but it's replacing that sinful action with righteous actions. And so where we once were not seeking God, now we replace that with a pursuit of God. Not just a casual like, hey God, what do you think? Alright, okay, I'm going to go this way. No. Seeking God. Get on your face. Hear His voice. Find out what He says.

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Pursue him with all of your heart. Pursue him with passion. Replacing our disobedience with active obedience. That's what Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar to do. Now we find out how Nebuchadnezzar responds in verse 28. It says this, "...all this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar at the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon..."

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The king spoke saying, is this not great? I'm sorry. Is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power for the honor of my majesty? You see the pride there? So what we find is 12 months later, King Nebuchadnezzar is in the same condition. He's full of pride. So excited about how great he is.

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So verse 31, while the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven. King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom has departed from you. And they shall drive you from men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen and seven times shall pass over you until you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he chooses.

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What do we find here in Nebuchadnezzar? Twelve months down the road, he's still in the same condition.

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And he's walking on the top of his palace. He's looking over the kingdom. He's like, wow, I'm pretty amazing. Look how great I am. This is all my strength. I've done this for my honor. It's my majesty. He's full of pride. And as he's still saying it, he's still pronouncing it. Oh, look how great I am. Or whatever, you know. He becomes... Well, this word is fulfilled, it says, in that very hour while he's still speaking it. Heaven speaks. God speaks to him and says...

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I warned you. I told you this would be the result if you continued on in pride. And so it says, it was all fulfilled. Just like the dream declared. He became like an animal. He went out. He was in the fields. He was eating grass. The dew was upon him. His hair was growing crazy. His nails weren't being clipped. He was reduced, humbled, humiliated because of his prideful condition. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

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Nebuchadnezzar to us is a very loud sounding alarm warning. Hey, listen up. This is what happens when you continue on in pride. Now this happened a year later. This warning that we're receiving tonight as we study chapter 4 is for us. It's for our hearts and maybe tomorrow it won't be fulfilled for you but maybe a year from now you're going to experience it. If you continue to walk in pride

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If you continue to disregard God and His Word, it will bring destruction into your life. Now the thing is, it may not happen tomorrow. And so you might think, well see, I am bigger than God. It really doesn't matter what God says. I can do whatever I want. And so you'll continue in your path, just like King Nebuchadnezzar. But if you continue on in pride, there will come a point...

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Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a year from now, whenever God chooses. He'll say, that's enough. I warned you. I told you. Here's the destruction. Let me remind you about who you really are and who I really am. That's what God is doing here with King Nebuchadnezzar. This is going to take place for him until he knows that the Most High rules. Until he acknowledges and submits to God, he will be in this condition. Verse 34 says,

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And at the end of the time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, What have you done?

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Finally, here at the end of this season, Nebuchadnezzar realizes, he acknowledges, he recognizes, you're God and I'm not. And I have to be submitted to you because nobody can fight against you and win. Nobody can stop your work. Nobody can change your will. Nobody can restrain your hand. Nobody can say to you, hey, what do you think you're doing, God? Finally, at the end of this time, Nebuchadnezzar recognizes he is God.

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And we must be submitted to him. He finally realizes that he's not bigger than God. Now this was a surprise to King Nebuchadnezzar. Remember in chapter 3 he says, What God can deliver you from my hand. He's surprised. This is news to him. Although it had been declared to him, he had refused to believe it until the destruction came. Until he experienced the fall that comes from a haughty spirit. King Nebuchadnezzar is a solid warning for us.

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not to continue in pride because it will bring destruction. Now here's the good news. When King Nebuchadnezzar finally acknowledged, when he finally submitted to God, his kingdom was restored to him. Look at verse 36. At the same time, my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me. I was restored to my kingdom and excellent majesty was added to me.

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Nebuchadnezzar can speak from experience. Everyone who walks in pride, God's able to put them down. I am the model of that. I am the demonstration of that. Remember, he's writing this letter for the whole nation. This is his testimony. This is what God has done for me. I was walking in pride. I was walking in pride.

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And he put me down. It brought destruction. But now, he says, I praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven. Now I'm submitted to God, King Nebuchadnezzar says. And his kingdom was now restored to him. When we walk in pride, when we continue in pride, destruction will come. But the good news is, when we repent and break off our sins, God is able to restore us.

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When he brings destruction, the enemy comes and says, yeah, God doesn't want you. You blew it. You messed up. You should just give up on God. But that's not what God says. God says, yes, you're in a mess. And you're in the mess because of your pride. But if you'll turn to me, I can still work in your life. And I can still bring beauty from ashes. I can still do a work. And King Nebuchadnezzar experienced this.

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The restoration work of God. Looking back, he would have wished that he had listened to Daniel. It's better to not learn the hard way. But the grace of God is so incredible that even when we have to learn the hard way, God hasn't given up on us. Those who walk in pride, God is able to put down. That's what we learned from King Nebuchadnezzar. The worship team is going to come up and close us in a song. And as they do,

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I would ask you to consider, are you walking in pride? Are you like King Nebuchadnezzar in your own heart, in your own life? Are you disregarding the Word of God? Are you seeking His counsel? To continue to practice sin is walking in pride. And it will lead to destruction. It will go before destruction.

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To disregard God's word is to walk in pride and it will bring destruction in your life. To take the credit and the glory for who you are and where you are and what you've accomplished, that's to walk in pride. Recognize that God's the one who's given you abilities and talents. He's the one who's put you in the place that you're in. If you don't, it will go before your own destruction. And it may not happen tomorrow, but it might.

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It might happen a year from now. But that really shouldn't be your concern. Our concern this evening should be, let's break off our sins by being righteous. Let's turn from our pride. Let's humble ourselves and let's submit ourselves to God. I don't know where you're at this evening and I don't know if you're right with God. Maybe you have been a believer for a while but pride has filled your life and you've been just living by your own thoughts and your own means and your own resources and doing what you want to do. Tonight,

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Like King Nebuchadnezzar had the warning, he had that vision tonight. It's that warning. It's that vision for you. You need to turn back. You need to submit yourself to God and surrender to Him and do what He says and nothing else. Humble yourself before Him. Seek Him. Put Him first. But maybe you're here this evening and you've never, ever, ever submitted to God. You've never received the grace and the forgiveness that's offered to us today.

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Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us upon the cross. Maybe you need to get right with God. Maybe you need a real relationship with God. Like King Nebuchadnezzar. He went from not knowing God. He believed God existed. He knew about God. But God wasn't his God. He was not submitted to him. And maybe that's what needs to take place in your heart this evening. This time of worship is a perfect opportunity for that. As we worship the Lord.

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Let's cry out to the Lord. Just in your heart, we can pray, right? As we worship the Lord. God, I surrender to you. I submit to you. I'm turning from my ways because I want to follow you. Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.