"From Pride to Humility" with Doug Batchelor (Amazing Facts)

we have a really good lesson today and I'm praying that I can do it justice it's based on Daniel chapter 4 I think folks maybe have been a little confused as we go through our study guide because we're on lesson 5 studying Daniel 4 and that's happened a few times along the way want to welcome our friends who are watching online we have a lot who watch this program and study with us alive on Facebook and we have folks who are watching the satellite feed from around the world and some who are watching are some of our online members of Granite Bay and I should just mention at this point if you have been tuning in and if you do not have a local church where you can attend do you like to know how you could be one of our online members simply go to our website and you can enquire there there's a place where you can contact us say what's involved in that and what do I need to do and and the Kathy and/or Karen we'll get back to you and talk to you about that so welcome Daniel chapter four is our study today and you pray for me because I'm gonna be preaching teaching speeching and I have a lot of what I think is a great material to cover this is one of the central chapters in Daniel the whole book sort of comes together in this experience of a king Nebuchadnezzar and so if you get your lesson go to the memory verse let's start with that lesson is called from pride to humility just right there from pride to humility covers a great controversy starts with the devil's pride and it is redeemed through the humiliation of Christ so you've got the the crux of the whole gospel in this lesson memory verses Daniel 4 verse 3 and that's from the New King James Version Daniel 4:3 if you'd say that with me that'd be great you ready how great are his signs and how mighty his wonders his kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and his Dominion from generation to generation now as we go through our study to go ahead just take your Bibles now and you want to turn today Chapter four I've been studying this and there's a key message this is the last chapter where Nebuchadnezzar appears Nebuchadnezzar's in Chapter one he's in Chapter two he's in Chapter three he's in Chapter four this takes place probably about ten years before his death because from the time of the dream seven years ago by and he gets his mind back again he only lives two or three years beyond that and so you've got several years ago from Daniel captivity chapter one until Daniel tapped chapter 2 and the King has that dream nobody can interpret except Daniel and then he chapter three Oh probably another two eight ten years go by he builds the golden image and now this is taking place about twenty years later Nebuchadnezzar reigned for about 40 years he's sort of like a parallel of Solomon in some ways you also reigned for forty years and this is a unique chapter in the Bible if for no other reason it's one of the few places you're gonna open your Bible you're gonna read an address that's coming to you it's a testimony from a pagan it is not written by a Jew it's written by a Gentile but he's giving glory to God and I want to just point out some high points notice what one of the central messages of this chapters it's one of the longer chapters in Daniel we've got about thirty seven verses about twelve hundred and ninety words that are in here go to verse three his Dominion is from generation to generation you can look in verse two Most High God and you go to verse 17 the most high rules stay with me now I'm just going to jump down to verse 24 the Most High you look now in verse 25 the most high rules go to verse 26 come to know the Most High that heaven rules you go to verse 32 the most high rules go to verse 34 I blessed the Most High his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion and then you go to his final testimony in verse 36 now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the king of heaven whose works her works of truth now I'm going to just tell you the chapter a quick overview then I'm going to go back and we're gonna break it apart I want to make sure I give you the story Nebuchadnezzar relates this experience says I'm at ease in my palace things are going well takes place after he had conquered Egypt the Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Assyria conquered Israel conquered several kingdoms one of the big difficult battles for him was when he fought against the Egyptian Empire and he conquered him at that point he controlled the crux of three continents that's why I calls it a worldwide Empire the trade that went through Asia from India and Europe and Africa all through the Middle East he got the revenue from that it was a golden kingdom count up how much gold was in Solomon's Temple David talks about all that he gave to the building of the temple Nebuchadnezzar carried all that to Babel and that's just a small piece of all that he had it was the golden Empire now he's finally conquered these kingdoms he's got a little bit of rest and ease by the way what happens when Kings get a little bit of rest David was walking on the roof after a nice rest he got into trouble with Bathsheba so you always have to brace yourself when a king says everything was going great then he has his dream that terrifies him this King had been through Wars he was a hardened soldier a little terrified him but this dream terrifies him and he has his dream and the dream in a nutshell and the dream is rehearsed two or three times in the chapter so I won't read it every time it's basically he dreams about this great tree that reaches unto the heavens great branches full of fruit all the birds fine shade the beasts are comforted in the shade that birds and the air and the beasts are fed by the fruit that comes from this tree this is a tree that give life it is a tree of life and it's above all the other trees its exalted and then there's a voice comes from heaven the Holy One The Watcher it says cut down the brief the tree chop off its branches scatter its fruit and surround it with a band of bronze and iron until seven times pass over it and the everyone knows that the most high rules and the children of men nebuchadnezzar thought that he had done it all and he's wondering what this means calls in the wise men wise man can't understand what it is now you know it's interesting that in daniel chapter 2 the wise men of nebuchadnezzar say just tell us the dream and we will certainly give you the interpretation this time nebuchadnezzar tells them the dream they still can't interpret it like the wise men of pharaoh and then it says finally daniel comes in the Andals a little older now maybe daniel waited until they exhausted their resources so that God would get the glory he comes in and then he interprets the dream and he basically says King you are the tree now I want to show you something this is not the first time in the Bible this has happened you go to the Book of Ezekiel go to Ezekiel chapter 31 I told you exactly offer so you'd find the neighborhood now I want you to go to chapter 31 and then I want you to start with verse 3 see if you see some similarities between the vision of Ezekiel which happens not long after Nebuchadnezzar's experience and it tells us indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon he's talking about the Assyrian Empire is compared to a tree with fine branches that shaded the forest and of high stature a tall tree its top was among the thick boughs the waters made it grow underground waters gave it height again the tall tree with the rivers running around the place where it was planted and it sent out riblets to all the trees of the field therefore its height was exalted above the trees of the field very tall tree higher than any tree its boughs were multiplied its branches became long because of the abundance of water and it sent them out and all the birds of heaven made their nest in its boughs it sound familiar under its branches the beasts this is almost identical to Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the field and they brought forth their young they gave birth under its shadow and thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches because its roots reach the abundant waters its well nourished like Psalm want a treat ranted planted by the rivers of waters the Cedars in the Garden of God could not hide it no other tree could eclipse it the fir trees were not like its boughs and the chestnut trees were not like its branches no tree in the Garden of God was like it in beauty his core sees it said prophesy I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches so that the trees have Eden indeed it she's talking about the kingdom of Assyria that we're in the garden of God but look what happens verse 10 therefore thus says the Lord because you have increased in height and it said it stopped among the thick boughs its heart was lifted up in its height therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty ones of the nation and he will surely deal with it Assyria was delivered in Nebuchadnezzar and I've driven it out for wickedness because of its pride and Aliens the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left its branches have fallen on the mountains and all the valleys and it is broken by the rivers in the land and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and then go to you go to verse 16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall Toomer's a picture you know this big tree falls in crashes when I cast it down into the pit and it's basically it says this because it was lifted up because of pride this is what happens in Nebuchadnezzar's dream by the way at the end of this chapter if you go to Ezekiel 31 verse o verse 18 very last it says this is Pharaoh all is a multitude says the Lord God so this is a prophecy given to the Pharaoh of Egypt saying look what happened to Assyria because of its pride it was big tall thought it would last forever and it fell and God is telling through Ezekiel Pharoah you will fall just like that tree fell so trees are often symbols of nations does Jesus say behold the fig tree and all the trees when its branch is yet tender and it puts forth shoots you know that summer is hot nigh so likewise when you see all these things come to pass know that it is even near the door right it compares Israel to a tree when he cursed the fig tree what was that a type of it had leaves and no fruit a fruitless tree they had all the forms of religion but they didn't have the fruits of the Spirit and Jesus cursed that tree and we you know read that that is a type of Israel so back to the dream in Daniel chapter 4 so you got this great tree do you know the Bible begins with a tree Tree of Life this tree is a tree of life it's like that tree of Assyria everything is fed by it and this great tree that is dreamed about is like a tree of life let me get in and letting them Beacon azor speak for himself he doesn't say much in the Bible so I shouldn't Rob his time go to verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar the King to all peoples nations and languages that dwell in all the earth he's sending out this testimony to everybody peace be multiplied to you pronounces a benediction I thought it good to declare the the signs and wonders that the Most High has worked for me how greater his signs how mightier his wonders his kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom his Dominion from generation to generation i Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace and I saw a dream that made me afraid and the thoughts of my bed and the visions of my head troubled me therefore issued a decree to bring forth all the wise men of Babylon before me that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream then the magician's the astrologers the Chaldeans and the soothsayers came in and I told them the dream and they went they're incantations and they cut open an animal and tried to read it's in trolls and they put up the tea leaves and they read his palm and they went through all their goofy things that they go through said let us look at the stars tonight and we'll tell you what the dream means and either they couldn't agree or they had no answer at all but they couldn't tell them what it meant sometimes God waits until we exhaust all the earthly means before we turn to heaven they couldn't make known to me the dream but at last Daniel came in before it's interesting the King mentions his Hebrew name he doesn't usually they skip right past that King mentions his Hebrew name and this by the way this chapters written in Aramaic not in Hebrew Daniel his name belt ash as according to the name of my god Nebuchadnezzar's confessing I gave him a name according to my god when we first hired him and it says the spirit of the holy God is in him and I told the dream before him saying belt ash as our chief of the magician's because I know the Spirit of the holy God is in you and no secret thing troubles you explain to me the visions of my dream that I've seen in its interpretation by the way as some of you and your Bibles it'll say I know the spirit of holy gods is in you is that right some of you it says God's son is singular that word can be either singular or plural depending on the context so he may have said the spirit of the holy gods or God is in you but I think that because everywhere else in the chapter he says his Dominion the most high rules whenever Nebuchadnezzar talks about God the other places he uses the singular we think he has been converted from polytheism to monotheism in this chapter and he has come to realize the gods of Babylon or powerless and it's the holy God he says I've had this dream this was the vision of my head while on my bed and then he describes a dream I'll read it to you once again I'm in chapter 4 verse 10 of Daniel I was looking and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great and the tree grew and became strong and its height reach to the heavens and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth its leaves were lovely in its fruit abundant and in it was food for all the beasts of the field town sheet under it and the birds of heaven dwelt in its branches all flesh was fed from it while I saw in the vision of my head while on my bed there was a watcher a holy one coming down from heaven and he cried aloud and he said with us chop down the tree and caught off its branches and strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit let the Beast get out from under it and the birds from its branches nevertheless leave the stump and the 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 and on the grass of the earth what is heartbeat changed from that of a man and give him the heart of a beast and let seven times pass over him the decision is by the decree of the Watchers and the sentence by the word of the Holy Ones is in order this is all happening that the living may know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men sometimes we think we rule and gives it to whomever he will and set over it even the lowest of men just because God gives us a position of authority doesn't mean we should be proud cuz God sits over at the lowest of men now notice something the decree is that he's gonna go from the heart of a man to the heart of a beast when you get to Daniel chapter 7 you've got these seven animals you remember what they are I know where I'm jumping ahead but this ties together here what's the first animal lion they had a bear leopard and this nondescript monster beast so who is a lion Babylon starts out as a beast but what happens to that line it says a man's heart is given to it and it stands on its feet command Nebuchadnezzar is babbling in this parable here he goes from man to beast but in Daniel it says he was converted and he went from beast to man have you noticed that and so the end of the story he is glorifying God man was made originally how in the image of God but with the fall what happened started to act like beasts the purpose of the devil is to erase the image of God from man the most lost men in the Bible have you read it in chapter 5 of mark about the demoniac he is the most hopeless case in the Bible surrounded by pigs living in a tomb covered with chains naked cutting himself crying aloud running around like an animal because this is what the devil wants to do is turn men into beasts you know you can find examples of this in several places in the Bible you look first Corinthians 15 verse 32 Paul says if in the manner of men I have fought with beasts at ephesus but as Paul saying that I went into a pit and I fought with wild lions and beasts and bears and no saying the people that he worked with were beasts that he fought with an emphasis look at second Peter 2 verse 12 but these like natural brute beasts are made and caught to be destroyed they speak evil of things they do not understand they will utterly perish in their own corruption Romans 8:13 ties it all for us if you live according to the flesh a beast you will die but by the spirit like the son of man says you will put to death the deeds of the body you will live and so what you have here is you get this transition of someone who is supposed to be a king made in the image of God but because of pride it becomes a beast and this is what you see happening all through the Bible people like Esau say I'm gonna sell my birthright because I'm controlled by the flesh instead of the spirit am I making sense that beasts like man that was filled with Devils came to Jesus he set him free and this mind is a reason return to them and so everybody we all feel we're party animal and we're part spirit question is what has control are we led by the spirit or the flesh Nebuchadnezzar because of pride ends up becoming like a beast now I know I'm not going through the exact sections of the lesson but you'll see we'll be covering them all I'm just mixing them up a little bit and he says here until he knows you're gonna go through this seven times will pass over you until you know the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whoever he will verse eighteen Daniel for this dream I Nebuchadnezzar have seen now built a Shazzer declare its interpretations since all the wise men of the kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation but you are able for the spirit of the holy God is in you then Daniel whose name was built a Shazzer it says it several times was astonished for time doesn't mean he was flummox that he didn't know he is quiet and he's thinking it wow this is gonna be heavy how do I tell the King this he knows what it says it's like when the the baker says to Joseph I've had this dream and the Ravens pluck the food off my head Joseph thinking how do I tell this guy you're gonna lose your head in three days it's not easy he does tell him remember Samuel got a dream little boy he's told to go tell Eli that your sons are gonna die in one day and your house is gonna be cursed because you did not follow me and your sons live like beasts that's pretty much what it says and Samuel didn't want to give that message and Daniel doesn't want to tell the king it's not happy I mean sometimes prophets have to give a tough message it cost it on the Baptist his head Daniel was astonished for time his thoughts troubled him so the King said Belshazzar don't be troubled I can tell from your expression I'm paraphrasing he's know what it means what is interpretation is it my lord the dream concerns those who hate you its interpretation concerns your enemy this is gonna make your enemies happy the tree that you saw that grew and became strong whose height reach to heaven 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 wealth in whose branches the birds of heaven had their home it is you O king now doesn't that sound like chapter 2 he says Nebuchadnezzar you are the head of gold that made nebuchadnezzar feel pretty good and this makes nebuchadnezzar feel apprehensive because he knows it's nice i'm a big tree but i know what happens to that tree and the same way daniel said another kingdom will follow you now daniel says you're gonna get chopped down but there's also a good part since the stump is left in the earth it is you O king you have grown and become strong for your greatness has grown and reach to the heavens in your dominion to the ends of the earth and in that you saw a holy one coming down saying chop down the tree and that angels name was Paul Bunyan believe it's stump and its roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field let it be wet wood the dew of heaven now I want to pause here and tell you I speak to you as one who's cut down many trees and I know something about trees there are some trees you cut them down and they are dead you cut down a fir tree it ain't coming back but if you cut down a madrone tree and some trees if the ground is still moist and the roots stay alive a whole nother tree can come out of the roots of that tree in the same spot if the roots are dry and dead then you know it says root and branch that means it's gone so this is some kind of tree that has the ability to spring up from the roots I've cut down oak trees before and those things that they're just they drive you crazy because instead of one tree coming up ten come up where you cut down that one I can take you to places in the woods where I logged some Oaks years ago and I cut down one tree and now there's just like all these trees came out you've probably seen them before they only had big they all branch out and this is what he's saying is gonna happen the reason that it's bound with a band of iron and bronze and I'm not sure exactly why iron and bronze but the bands are there because when you're working and when you're farming and there's a stump you keep knocking it down and beating it down eventually it'll die it's almost like it's protecting it it's it's being banded so that it'll stay in one place and it'll come back again and again it doesn't say exactly the species of tree but it's one of those trees that'll come back if it's moist with the dew of heaven and it says this is the interpretation okaying verse 24 the decree of the Most High again that's the central theme which has come upon my lord the king they will drive you from men your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field and they'll meet you make you eat grass like the oxen you'll be wet with the dew of heaven and seven times will pass over you now a time was a complete cycle of the seasons it meant a year now other places in Daniel and Revelation it talks about a time a times and the dividing of time that meant one complete year a pair or a couple of years which is two more and be three and the dividing of one so it's three and a half years because you're using a day for a year but you don't use a day for a year in this prophecy because it tells you what the fulfillment is matter of fact I should probably pause at this point let you know these seven times this this chapter friends I'll tell you it is talked about a lot especially among those that like prophecy many people take the seven times and they apply and a for a year now if three and a half years is how many days every administered ago 1260 you ought to know that forty-two months three and a half years it's just 1260 1260 1260 it's that's a big number how long did Elijah preach 1260 how don't long did Jesus teach three and a half years 1260 42 months how long does that woman flee in revelation 42 months three three and a half years 12 60 it's half of seven how long from the time of the cross until Steven astone 1260 how long till vash Dai is deposed have you ever read Esther in the third year of the reign of E has you Aerys he has a feast that is a hundred and eighty days at the end of that feast they call forth Vashti and she doesn't come and the process begins and they get a Jewish queen it's after three and a half years three plus 180 is how much 1260 all right now what if you say seven times not three and a half but three and a half and three and a half is seven so what's that two thousand five hundred and twenty now a lot of people have taken that time period and said what if we apply a day for a year what does this mean and I'll just tell you some of the different theories for those who are watching people have sometimes taken things I say they cut it and they put it online and they say here's what pastor Doug believes and they don't have my preliminary remarks that says this isn't what I believe these are beliefs that are out there so I hope nobody does that the Jehovah Witnesses apply a day for a year they take this time period and this is what they used to predict the second coming of the Lord in 1914 they said that in six oh seven with the destruction of Jerusalem that's the starting point if you go two thousand five hundred twenty years that takes you to 1914 when Jesus did not come in 1914 I think they may have tried to reset the date and then they said well he did come but it was a spiritual coming then you've got evangelicals that apply the day for a year at meanest are not the only ones that know about a day for a year that's a pretty solid biblical principle a lot of Evangelicals say that this is a prophecy that is talking about when Nebuchadnezzar's dream takes place which is about 572 BC do you know if you go from the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and 572 and you go two thousand five hundred and twenty years it comes to 1948 what happened then Israel's formed as a nation they say Israel was a type of the trade was cut down because Israel is that tree of life that fed all the world and you can understand why they got excited about that and so they look at it as they say this is about Israel and and then there are others that say it reaches to 1844 and it's like everyone takes their starting point William Miller he had this reaching to 1844 and so everyone picks they're kind of their favorites starting point and let me see yeah the Miller and there's still some people out now that do the twenty five twenty you've probably heard of that they start 677 when King Manasseh was taken to Babylon and they say it starts then that's an odd place to start it and that goes to 1844 so there's a lot of people that apply the day for the year to this prophecy but should we do that or do we already know what the fulfillment is does Daniel tell us what the fulfillment is it's King Nebuchadnezzar these are literal years that are in this prophecy and you see the fulfillment of the time in here so when Daniel explains this to Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar is he's a little worried and Daniel is telling the King therefore my advice this is verse 27 my advice to you O king break off your sins one of the most important parts of the chapter break off your sins by being righteous doing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor now you might want to underline that says perhaps this might be a lengthening to your prosperity let's presume that Daniel is a doctor and he's going to tell you now how to lengthen your prosperity how many of you want to lengthen your tranquility break off your sins by doing righteousness show mercy to the poor the Bible says blessed are the merciful they will obtain mercy it will be a lengthening humble yourself it will be a lengthening of your tranquility of your prosperity this is a similar word Nebuchadnezzar probably sat up and paid attention to Daniel's advice you don't give a King a lot of advice if it's not asked for but Nebuchadnezzar said okay he behaved himself and he humbled himself and the dream should come up remember he was scared but after a while he couldn't help it he's walking after 12 months I'm in verse 28 all this came upon the King Nebuchadnezzar and he's speaking of himself and like the second person here at the end of 12 months he's walking on the Royal Palace of Babylon he's walking about the Royal Palace and the King spoke now let me just tell you about Babylon before I tell you what he said it's called the golden Kingdom it's the lion it's the king of the beasts when you get to the beasts it's the gold when you get to the metals one of the seven wonders of the world the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was there of the ancient world by the way the only surviving memorial in I think Herodotus had the seven wonders of the ancient world is the Great Pyramids everything else is gone it's like the colossus of rhodes and there was a number of temple of jupiter and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon his wife Nebuchadnezzar his wife he acquired was from the mountains and when she came to the plains of Babylon she's just used to get homesick she says there's no mountains here it's all flat it's kind of like when you go to the the plains of Texas all the mountains are upside down they got these valleys but there's no everything else is flat and I remember some one of my friends that lived in Texas went to California she said I couldn't wait to get out of California you can't see anything there's mountains in the way so she went and she said there's no mountains and she was homesick he said I will build you a mountain so he made this great multi step pyramid he'd terraced it with wonderful gardens from the most exotic beautiful plants around the world and it was the climate in Babylon back then wasn't as much of a desert as it is today it's a little more mild and he had devised these very ingenious mechanical pumps that could be driven that would bring the water from the river up to the top and there were fountains that were flowing down and it was described as one of the most beautiful places he walked and then you can spiral down through the gardens on this man-made Mountain and so this is just a small thing gold was everywhere they said the walls were so high that you could ride five chariots abreast on top of the walls and you could turn a chariot around I mean it and there were towers everywhere many believe Herodotus the historian exaggerated but he said it was 60 miles around the city you know it says that Nineveh was a exceeding great city of three days journey in the Book of Jonah so there may have been things a little bigger than we can even imagine right now and he's got gold everywhere it's all golden blended with gold remember here that big statue of gold and so he wakes up one morning and he's walking around the palace and he sees everything gilded and sparkly and it's Wonder and it's inspiring his musicians are playing he takes a deep breath he goes ha ha ha I built all this is not this the great Babylon that I have made let me give it to you in his own words it tells us here said verse eeeh thank you verse 30 the King spoke and said is not this great Babylon that I have built for royal dwelling by my mighty power for the honor of my majesty who does that sound like I will exalt my throne above the stars of gods like the devil he is full of himself he's full of pride what goes before a fall pride and no sooner had he said that 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 that fast and they'll drive you from man and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field and you will eat grass like the oxen and seven times will pass over you until you know you're gonna be punished seven times until you know the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whoever he chooses that very word that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven men and eat grass like the oxen and that he went mad his body was wet with the dew of heaven til his hair was grown like eagle feathers and his nails like bird claws and there's been a few documents that were written and some of them are dubious but one says that one of his servants basically was able to take charge and hide what had happened to the King and he ruled Babylon for seven years that he didn't want anyone to know the King he lost his mind they pretty much hit it from the people and that's why his kingdom was preserved he said the Lord puts over at the basis two people and when they finally discovered that a servant was saying the other King says this the King says that and sealing documents or there was a little conspiracy of servants that hid the Kings deranged condition for years and when it says it here it became like eagle feathers it doesn't mean that that was a figure of speech when someone's out of their mind and they don't trim themselves or hair gets matted and it starts to look like eagle feathers actually the the Aramaic version of the Bible in this story it says his hair became a like a lion's mane that's actually a different phrase and his fingernails became long and then trimmed that's all that means it's little claws like Eagles he became like an animal a beast and people get hungry enough he may not have been eating just alfalfa hay but if they start eating weeds and plants in the field and it's amazing that he survived now I don't know if you've read the story 17:38 - 1820 was King George the third have you heard about King George the third that's during the time of the American Revolution he was a pretty brilliant guy and he was king but later in his life they're not sure exactly what it was it could have been some disease it could have been some kind of bipolar disorder but he went crazy just stark raving mad and this court was trying to hide it from the people because they were gonna lose their positions in their power and part of the reason I think this all happened was it was in the midst of all this madness and bad orders that he gave America was able to obtain its freedom the king went crazy how many of you have heard this in history King George the third yeah he would start talking and he would give 400 words in one sentence and he'd keep talking and talking until he wouldn't take a breath he was foaming at the mouth and he'd go around naked and it just they don't every once tried to theorize it was a metal minister they said that his urine was blue or purple and they saw that's typical of this and that can make you crazy and that all these ideas of what happened but he would have these bouts of insanity that would last for months and then also need wake up in his he'd start seeming coherent and lucid again and then he died pretty much crazy that's not a nice way to put it but yeah and they put some of it was dementia at that point but anyway it they hid it from the people so that he could stay on the throne and this is not the first time this has happened happened with Nebuchadnezzar of course now what was the main reason for his fall I I pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit for fall what was it that brought down King Herod you know the Herod and I'm sorry in Acts chapter 12 the people said it's the voice of a god and not a man and he did not give God the glory the angel of the Lord struck him that very moment and he died and was eaten of worms be careful about pride someone said never are you more like the devil than when you're proud and I remember hearing John Knox a great reformed preacher he was preaching in this church one day and after church folks were greeting him at the door and his lady met him at the door she said pastor Knox you are the greatest preacher in all of Scotland he said I know madam the devil tells me that all the time and so what was it that brought down King Uzziah king as I am walk walk into the temple of the Lord he said all these other kings they can go into their temples how come I can't go into the holy place not even the most holy place King wasn't supposed to go into the holy place and he got a censor and he started walking and the priest stopped him and said it's not for you as I only for the sons of Aaron he got mad and he just applied was offended leprosy broke out in his forehead pride what brought down King Saul here's more worried about what the people thought of him than what God thought of him pride pride is really a form of selfishness isn't it it's just like selfishness to the extreme it's like these folks in Hollywood their lives are all built around making them idols and they sit around at their cocktail parties and they talk to each other and one person says oh I'm so sorry I've been talking about nothing but me let's talk about you what do you think of me and pride is an arrow that always points to self listen to this Christ object lessons page 154 the evil that led to Peters fall and shut out the Pharisee from communion with God is proving the ruin of thousands today there is nothing so offensive to God so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self sufficiency of all sins it is the most hopeless and the most incurable well the good news is that after seven times of Nebuchadnezzar living like this when the time was up his reason was restored he suddenly realized that the dream had come true he looks at himself he's on all four his fingernails are grown his ears dirty he stinks but his mind has come back and he said I guess I wasn't so great you know last thing he remembered isn't this the great Babylon I've created he finally wakes up but he's now look at me and he came to his senses Martin Luther said God creates from nothing and until we become nothing he can do nothing with us it's when we humble ourselves he will lift us up as long as we are selfish and proud it is so hard for God to work with us what was this the first thing jesus said to the religious leaders you pray to be seen you fast to be seen of man you give to be seen of men you're only worried about people think of you and you don't care what God thinks of you it is the most hopeless thing until we come to the place where we can humble ourselves there's not much God can do with us finally he lifts his eyes to heaven you know the definition of love 1st Corinthians 13 love is patient love is kind love does not envy it does not boast it is not proud Jesus God is love is humble Christ said he that is greatest among you will be your servant he who exalts himself wiii be humbled but He Who humbles himself will be exalted if you look in second chronicles 7:14 if my people who are called by my name will do what humble themselves and pray then what will God do it starts if you want to have a revival in your life or in the church or among your people we've got to humble ourselves it wasn't until the disciples put aside their differences and humble themselves Micah 6:8 he shown you O man what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God you know I this to me is such a powerful truth even King Ahab after he killed Namath and did all these terrible things and persecuted the prophets he tore his clothes after Elijah pronounce a judgment on him he wore sackcloth and listen to what God said to Elijah first Kings 21 verse 29 see how a ham has humbled himself before me because he has humbled himself I will not bring calamity in his days when Rio Boehm humbled himself got lengthened his tranquillity the Bible says the humble he guides in justice you could read 2nd chronicles 12 verse 6 so the leaders of Israel the kings they humbled themselves they said the Lord is righteous when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves the word of the Lord came to shamaya saying they've humbled themselves therefore I will not destroy them but I will give them some deliverance do you want a lengthening of your tranquility it's a very consistent Bible teaching humble yourself you know what's stops evangelism pride Ellen White says if we would humble ourselves before the Lord if we would humble ourselves before the Lord be kind and courteous and tender heart and pitiful there would be 100 conversions to the truth where now there is only one so let us humble ourselves before the Lord Nebuchadnezzar's last words the heart of the beast is taken away and he's given back the heart of a man and he says my reason returned to me in verse 36 and the glory of my kingdom my honour my splendor returned to me my counselors and Nobles came to me he's counseling others I was restored to my kingdom and excellent Majesty was added to me but now I don't take the credit now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the king of heaven doesn't say is this my great Babylon all of whose works are truth and his ways justice and those who walk in pride he's able to put down and he said I'm exhibit a God has given me a position of glory but I don't glory in it and nothing's more majestic than a great king who is humble now who is the greatest King that was the most humble close with this verse Philippians 2 verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God in God's form ease and equality with God but he made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in the appearance of a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the Cross because he did this therefore God is also highly exalted him he Who humbles himself will be exalted God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on the earth and those under the earth those in the branches and those under the tree that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father can you say Amen and it's Christ now proud of his glory in heaven or is he still humble he's humble still this is a great study and it's a great story amen now we're out of time but I want to remind our friends that are watching before we go off the air we have a free offer called the armour of God we'll send it to you for free you can just call ask for it eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six or if you want it now you can download it by texting just filling the information text sh-101 and text that two four zero five four four asked for offer one seven three when you're right that's a gift from us to you let's close with prayer father in heaven we thank you for this magnificent story in the Bible that just tells us about the battle between pride and humility what the consequences are and ultimately only you deserve the glory and the honor as the high god lord I pray that we can learn the lesson of Nebuchadnezzar without having to go through that experience and I pray that you'll bless us with the mind of Christ be with us in our service it follows please bless the offering we're about to receive and we thank you for all of your goodness in Jesus name we pray amen

Channel: Doug Batchelor

Views: 48,513

Rating: 4.8791018 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 7gTYI_JGMl4

Length: 47min 58sec (2878 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 20 2020