Kingdom Down #4 - Jesus is King

[Music] all right we're in the book of Daniel chapter 4 if you've got a Bible go there we're gonna cover a lot of verses today I get paid by the verse this is gonna take a while and I would just if you want to laugh or clap or cheer during the sermon or say Amen feel free to because at the 9 a.m. I love those people but I feel like I pastored a library so let's let's let's increase the energy level this service ok all right all right cool cool cool well here let me get you caught up if your new book at Daniel great Daniel the story line is about 2600 years ago about 600 years before Jesus Christ walked on planet Earth and what we are learning about is this nation called Babylon that is empowered by the demonic spirit of Babylon that continues its work in our day all the way up until the end of history when Jesus returns to crush it and the leader of that nation the most powerful mega Empire on earth is a king who's worshipped as a god his name is Nebuchadnezzar and his empire is vast I'll show it to you real briefly so everything that's orange was his real estate portfolio he didn't just have a nation he ruled it with an iron fist as a God in our day the way it works is this there's about two hundred sovereign nation states in the world today each has a fixed boundary so we've got a boundary to Mexico we got a boundary to Canada in that day it was very simple if your army could defeat their army you would destroy their King you would plunder all of their wealth you wouldn't slide their citizens and you would expand your empire this was Nebuchadnezzar's specialty he was exceedingly good at war and conquest by the time we find him in daniel 4 he literally doesn't just rule but he personally owns think of this some of you have a real estate portfolio this is quite a portfolio what we would now call Turkey Syria Israel Jordan Egypt all the way over to the border of Iran he owned all of ruled over it from Iraq ancient Babylon is modern-day Iraq so he is a man who is without peer he has absolute power and he is ruling and reigning and his life is at the peak of what any of us could even envision for luxury and power and comfort and security so we learned in Chapter one he marched he sends his army rather to march the 700 miles to the nation of israel to conquer God's people and plunder God's temple chapter 2 we looked at the fact that then he had this dream from God and he couldn't understand it so Daniel interpret it for him Daniel is one of the young men who has taken as a captive of war kidnapped in his teen years he is forced to go to the University of Babylon his force to become a eunuch he is forced to work for King Nebuchadnezzar but because the dream comes from God in Chapter two the Spirit of God resides in Daniel so he interprets it chapter three Nebuchadnezzar builds a 90-foot high golden statue of himself tells everyone to bow down will the band place three dudes don't those are Daniels friends so they throw those Jews into a fiery furnace he is the Adolf Hitler of the ancient world he is blitzkrieg in the surrounding nations he wants to be worshipped as a god and if you don't obey Him he throws you in a fire it's it's it's history repeating itself as the spirit of Babylon works throughout the course of human history where we pick it up in Chapter four Daniel is no longer a teenager as he was in chapter one he's about my age so he's mature he's very mature he's Ennis he's in the range of forty five to fifty okay and I it's just pray for me I can't see and I say that if you look at grace and I say that women age like wine and men aged like milk and so that's that's kind of what we're dealing with so he's about my age he's 45 to 50 years of age he's been in Babylon now for around 30 plus years and what happens in Chapter four I'll set it up for you Nebuchadnezzar the great mighty King goes cray-cray loses his mind I mean we're talking tinfoil hat underwear outside your pants losing it right like he's not doing good he disappears for seven years and then he returns and this is his State of the Union address this is his Twitter account telling all of Babylon what had happened for those seven lost years and the last thing I'll say before we jump in the spirit of Babylon is not just something that happened in the ancient world it happens in every age and and what I want you to see is that the same demonic forces at work in his day remain at work in our day I'll give you one very obvious historical example as I denoted he ruled over what is modern-day Iraq he called it battle on I don't know if you remember this you never got into Saddam Hussein ruled a little while ago he ruled from where Iraq guess what he said he said he was the reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar he wasn't the reincarnation but he was empowered by the same demon we don't believe in reincarnation that people come back but we believe in demons and that is that one person may have a demon and then later on another person has that demon they're not reincarnated but they're caring for that demonic spirit so Saddam Hussein aimed himself the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar he tried to rebuild Nebuchadnezzar zem parts why he amassed an army as he sought to rebuild cities he would put his name as Nebuchadnezzar did on all of the Brooks he went bricks he would dress up as Nebuchadnezzar for state-sponsored military parades and if you were a good soldier he would give you a big medal on one side it had the face of Nebuchadnezzar on the other side it had his face as the new Nebuchadnezzar all from Babylon the Bible doesn't just tell us what happened or what always happens we'll pick up the story in chapter four and we'll learn the difference between a biography and a testimony King Nebuchadnezzar to all people so this is a royal decree this is him having his conference this is him stepping behind the podium and reading his prepared statement king Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples nations and languages that dwell in the earth peace be multiplied to you it has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me how greater is science how mightiest wonders his kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and his Dominion endures from generation to generation three mega themes that appear here number one God's kingdom versus human empires he talks about the kingdom of God over and over and over especially in chapter 4 in comparison to his Empire and the point is this that we're all building something we are you got a family you got a business you got a ministry you've got finances whatever the case may be we're all building something and it is either part of God's kingdom or not there's nothing wrong with building something as long as it's part of God's kingdom mean it as meaning it is done to God's glory it's done according to God's design the problem is Nebuchadnezzar has built the most impressive powerful empire on the earth but it's not part of God's kingdom and as a result it's in conflict with God's kingdom what Nebuchadnezzar is literally trying to build is the same thing we're all trying to build heaven on earth he wants heaven on earth he wants heaven on earth but his empire is not part of God's kingdom the point is this build your business as part of God's kingdom build your family as part of God's kingdom build our church as part of God's kingdom whatever you have whatever you do don't build your own little Empire instead invest in the kingdom of God that's part of the underlying theme and conflict here number 2 it's the Most High God versus lesser rulers and you're gonna hear this phrase Most High God over and over and over so in their nation they have this concept of lots of gods and goddesses and religions and spiritualities but over at all was Nebuchadnezzar and he was the Lord he was the king well then Daniel shows up and says actually there's a higher king a better whose name is Jesus chapter 7 he talks about Jesus coming back to establish the kingdom that never ends and so the Most High God the king of kings here is ultimately pointing to the Lord Jesus who rules over all lesser human and divine rulers so it's about a kingdom versus empires the Most High God about other rulers and ultimately here you're dealing with the difference between a testimony and a biography up until this point in the story every time God uses Daniel for something wonderful he gives credit to God he says let me interpret that dream well actually I can't do it but my God can let me help you actually I can't help you but my God can he always gives the credit or the glory to God that's a testimony Nebuchadnezzar all he's got his biography you're gonna hear this III my my my that's that's what he is talking about the difference between a testimony and a biography is this telling the story of your life and then determining who gets the credit okay if it's you getting the credit that's a biography that's all that our world knows right there's a whole genre of literature called biography this is what I did this is what I overcame this is how I conquered how awesome am I you can be like me by my t-shirt follow me on social media we could both be awesome that's a biography a testimony is this is what God did for me this is what God did in me this is what God did through me this is what God did in spite of me okay and so here it's the collision between a biography and a testimony up until this point Nebuchadnezzar has a biography annual and his friends have a testimony the point is this when you look at your life and you tell your story you've got to decide who gets the credit for the good things if you give credit to God and that will be a testimony and what a testimony is it's a witness to other people because some people don't know God or they know God but they're discouraged and they're losing hope and when you tell your testimony of God's faithfulness it encourages them to trust in your God that's why Daniel is going to live for testimony now that being said we're gonna read a lot of verses we're gonna go through Daniel in 12 weeks there's 12 chapters one chapter a week this is how the narrative breaks out this is a lot of verses I'll read fast and you're gonna learn about the difference between your kingdom and God's kingdom he says I never cognizer was at ease that is that is an understatement it is when you when you rule empires and you live in a city surrounded by high walls with the moat and soldiers and you've got a harem and you you have so much extra gold you made a 90-foot you of gold like if you live in Paradise Valley you live in a dump he used your house as his garbage can he has living large he is he is role he has rims on his camel I mean he is he is living he is living large okay I was at ease right in my house his house is what it's a palace he's like yeah he will come to my house it's a palace you own Nations you're doing so good and prospering this guy doesn't pay taxes right this guy owns everyone in everything but here's the point I saw a dream no one could get to Nebuchadnezzar but God can get to Nebuchadnezzar that's the point you can't hide from God you can't run from God you can't avoid God nobody can get to Nebuchadnezzar but God can and it's not a problem for God some people will say how could God judge people that have never heard about it my point is we don't know who's heard about him he is his angels dreams visions he's real creative and supernatural our God and he keeps revealing himself to Nebuchadnezzar I saw a dream that made me afraid you ever had those you know others you have a dream you're asleep you see something like I don't know if that's true or not but I'm pretty freaked out that's that's that's his night as I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me so I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon their descendants are the guys who come to Jesus when he is little we celebrate this every Christmas and they bring the gold back to its rightful king the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me and I don't know why they're called wise men they never do anything they just like we're very wise can you help know you have any answers no we're very wise they're college professors okay that's what they are you're welcome it's gonna get worse yeah this is the warmup kids hey I don't write the mail I just deliver it the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream then the magician's the enchanters the Chaldeans the astrologers these are four different kinds of demonic leaders you know they're all rolling in from Sedona they all come down here to babylon he says crazy things yeah that's why we come and I told them the dream but they could not make it known to me or its interpretation all right at last Daniel here comes and nobody knows what's going on go get me Daniel in before me he who was named belteshazzar that is bail or bail it's a demonic all Scott it means my God protects me his birth given name is Daniel God is my judge the demonic name they seek to give him his bail will protect you this is a competition between the God who judges and the demonic God who lying Lee says he is a protector after the name of my god and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods this is a key to understand Daniel three times in this chapter the unbelieving Nebuchadnezzar looks at Daniel and says the Spirit of God is in that guy he has the Holy Spirit he is spirit filled he spirit filled to be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be able to live by God's presence and power in a place that is opposed to you like Babylon make no mistake we all live in Babylon and we need the Spirit of God if we're gonna make it that's the story of Daniel the sphere to the holy gods and I told him the dream saying o Belteshazzar chief of the magician's he's the lead Bible teacher in Babylon because I know that the spirit of the holy God is in you that no mystery is too difficult for you tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation the visions of my head as I lay in bed were these I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great the true tree grew became strong its top reached to heaven and it was visible to the end of the whole earth huge tree Italy its leaves were beautiful its fruit abundant and then it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it the birds of heaven lived in its branches and all flesh was fed from it I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed and behold what a watcher a holy one came down from heaven who's that what the what what the who's the mailman what's the mailman with wings doing what you know this is different it's a divine being see God sometimes sends a message and when he does he sends a messenger from the unseen realm into the seen realm I'll explain all of this to you shortly he then proclaimed aloud and said thus chop down the tree and lop off its branches strip strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit let the beasts flee from under it let the birds from its branches but leave the stump of its root in the earth cut it down to the stump bound with a band of iron and bronze amid the tender grass of the field let him be wet with the dew of heaven let his portion be with the beasts and the grass of the earth let his mind be changed from a man's and let a beasts mind be given to him and let seven periods most likely seven years of time pass over him the sentence is by the decree of the Watchers sometimes God delegates decisions to his human or divine staff in the seen and unseen realms respectively the sentences by the decree of the watchers the decision by the word of the Holy Ones divine beings to the end that the living may know that who the most high rules the kingdom of men and hear me in this and gives it to whom he will what that means is God is in charge of who is in charge you're going to hear this state it again in Daniels interpretation of the dream what that means is whoever is in charge ultimately put there by God so here's what she needed it be politically active vote your conscience work for religious liberty issues of life that's all well and good but whoever wins know that that was God's choice that he either caused it or he permitted it now we don't believe this because we believe CNN or Fox not the Bible and the result is we think if our guy one god one if our guy God if our guy lost or God lost our God always gets who he wants now some would look at Nebuchadnezzar and say surely God would not want that guy he picked him he picked him as judgment on their disobedience okay as so they didn't want the Good King Jesus so they get the bad King and hopefully that brings them to the point where they want the good King back okay that's what's going on here here's I'm telling you we're gonna have an election this year don't freak out okay one of you believes that the rest of you should join him the rest of you should join it okay this dream I King Nebuchadnezzar saw and you all belteshazzar tell me the interpretation because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation they're not that wise but you are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you what he's saying is I got a revelation from God and only a child of God can interpret the revelation from God don't be surprised when people you know and love may even get a little Bible and they're like I don't I can't make heads or tails of it this is a supernatural book and it takes the Spirit of God to understand the revelation or the Word of God and so he's like okay God spoke none of us know God you know God could you come help this is like your non-christian friend has a dream and they're like tell me what happened you know they're reading the Bible I can't make heads or tails of it please explain three things I want you to see here number one God rules over human rulers that's what he says God sets up kingdoms and takes them down God sets up kings and takes them down so God rules over human rulers this gives us come but ultimately God is in control of who's in control and God rules over who rules number two God not only rules over physical rulers in the seen realm he rules over spiritual rulers in the unseen realm this is one of the great mega themes of Daniel and that is in addition to the seen world that we see there is an unseen world that God sees God rules both realms therefore iam one reality and occasionally he'll send a divine being from the unseen realm into a human being in the seen realm that's exactly what we've just witnessed here in Daniel for all of this is to show that God is at work doing a lot of things that we don't see and ruling over a staff and army that we only see on occasion but they are absolutely at work in our world politically nationally historically and this is God's divine counsel just as Nebuchadnezzar was a king God is a king just as Nebuchadnezzar had a divine throne room God has a divine throne room just as Nebuchadnezzar sat on a throne we see the Lord Jesus throughout the Bible ruling and reigning from the unseen realm and he is seated upon a throne and just as Nebuchadnezzar gives orders to his human staff so God gives orders to his divine staff meaning beings that are created but they're non-physical they are spirit beings and these are mentioned here in chapter 4 a watcher and a holy one or the Holy Ones these are God's divine servants in the unseen realm an angel means a Messenger of God they are probably a lower-level divine being there are other classifications there's a bit of mystery but just to give you by way of introduction there is this constant appearance of this angelic and other divine being army staff that is serving God throughout the Book of Daniel so here chapter 4 we meet a watcher a Holy One and the Holy Ones an angel is mentioned in chapter 3 chapter 6 it's talking about in chapter 7 of Daniel a thousand times a thousand and ten thousand times 10,000 angels it's chapter 8 it speaks of a host of heaven in Chapter 8 it also speaks of the Prince of the host sir not only are there angels they're architected and organized like military with those who are ruling and reigning in authority the angel Gabriel appears in chapter 8 chapter 9 also shows up later to Jesus mother Mary were told of the Prince of Persia the angel Michael only two angels in the Bible Michael and Gabriel are named they both appear in Daniel but in chapter 10 we meet the Prince of Persia Michael and the chief Prince's they appear as well in Chapter 12 it's chapter 12 we see a being that is divine that appears like a man clothed in linen and also in Chapter 8 we meet another divine being called a Lord meaning it rules and reigns on behalf of God under his sovereign authority all of that is to say that there's a lot more going on in this world than you and I think know or see and we need to trust that God is at work behind the scenes doing what we're not seeing and just as they are serving him faithfully we should be serving him faithfully these are his servants in the unseen realm you are his servants in the scene realm and we are to work together in addition it means that we have here at the Trinity Church in addition to human leadership there is divine leadership revelation chapters 2 and 3 is written to seven churches and each one is said to have an angel we have physical protection and spiritual provision from the heavenly hosts that comes from God I don't know who the angel is that oversees the Trinity Church but they serve the Lord just as we serve the Lord and that that is God's protection and provision for his people this is this is all supernatural and we believe in all of it just so you know I believe dead people get rise I believe Jesus walked on water I believe angels are real I believe God speaks through dreams I believe in all of it our God is a supernatural God that's what we're learning in Daniel that's what we're learning in Daniel God rules over human rulers God rules over divine rulers and God rules over some individuals what's really curious here Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel Nebuchadnezzar is free Daniel's a slave Nebuchadnezzar is probably the richest most powerful man on the earth Daniel owns nothing and has no power now the condenser has got a harem Daniel's a single guy all right they're different yet who's the one that holds the power Daniel because he has the one thing that Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar doesn't have the Spirit of God the most powerful possible thing you have in your life it's not a thing it's a person and his name is the Holy Spirit okay and so what what nebuchadnezzar has he has gold he has soldiers he has land he has power he has demons and what he really needs is God it just goes to show everybody needs God sometimes we think that poor people need God's sort of rich people sometimes we they go powerless people need God so two powerful people well people who have failed really need God so do people who have succeeded sometimes success is harder to manage and failure that's the story of Nebuchadnezzar you can win at life and be miserable unless you have a relationship with God that's Nebuchadnezzar this is why sometimes the most successful people are the most suicidal people that they have built their Kingdom their heaven on earth and it doesn't work for them and their sleep is interrupted and they're afraid and there are mysteries that they do not understand and they need the Spirit of God you need to know that the same spirit that empowered Daniel to live in Babylon is the same spirit that empowered Jesus to live under the Roman Empire and it's the same spirit that empowers the children of God to live in this demonic cursed and fallen world the greater is He Who is in you than he who is in this world greater is He Who is in you than he was in this world and so Daniel submits and surrenders to the Spirit of God and he is spoken of three times okay now what's gonna happen next is very significant and what God is saying is you can build a massive Empire but if it's not part of my kingdom it's just going to get chopped down we should all take that to heart whatever you're building I want to build our family build our church build ministry build Bible teaching there's things I want to build I am building by God's grace and I hope for God's glory I want those old to be part of God's kingdom and if they're not they get chopped down they get chopped down so what's gonna happen now he has this dream he brings in Daniel he needs the Spirit of God and then Daniel is going to speak to him let's see how the believer speaks to the unbeliever we read of defiance versus repentance then Daniel whose name was belteshazzar was dismayed for a while he gets the interpretation from God and it bothers him it troubles him it concerns him why because he loves Nebuchadnezzar he has faithfully served for 30 or more years one of the most wicked men in the history of the world he has mentioned more than any other ruler in the Bible if memory serves me correct some 90 times Nebuchadnezzar is spoken of and it's negative and when Daniel gets a word from God about the doom and demise of these enemy he's heartbroken because he loves his enemies Jesus taught us to love our enemies Daniel here is loving his enemy some of you said I can't love them you're gonna need a miracle his name is the Holy Spirit okay God loved us when we were enemies and he empowers us to give his love to our enemies that's exactly what Daniel is demonstrating and doing and his thoughts alarmed him the King answered and said beltasar let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you these men are probably face to face and he could see it on Daniels face he's really worried for me he loves me and you'll please tell me the dream don't be worried or alarmed trust you tell me what God said melt dishes are answered and said my lord he's respectful made the dream be for those who hate you in its interpretation for your enemies the tree you saw which grew and became strong so that it stopped reached to heaven and it was visible to the end of the whole earth whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant and in which was food for all under which the beasts of the field found shade and in whose branches the birds of the heaven lived it is you O king who have grown have become strong your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven Nebuchadnezzar you've won you've won every war you've won every dollar you've won and your dominion extends to the end of the earth because the king saw watcher a holy one a divine being a messenger from God coming down from heaven and saying chop down the tree and destroy it but leave the stump of its fruit in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze and the tender grass of the field and let him be what would the do of heaven let his portion be with the beasts of the field till seven periods of time perhaps seven years pass over him this is the interpretation o king it is a decree from whom the most time here's what Nebuchadnezzar does he gives decrees and now he gets a decree God is showing him you are not the most high you are the most high on the earth I am the most high overall on the earth and when God gives an order here's the point it is going to happen nobody ever won an argument with God nobody ever picked a fight with God and walked away with the belt nobody ever does that and what he's saying is okay now Beca dezer God has been very good to you you've been very bad to him and to other people and now you need to make a decision will you submit to the decree of the Most High God or will you stand in defiance as if you were the most high god this is a battle between the real God and the foot the fake counterfeit God Oh King it is a decree the Most High which has come upon my lord the that you shall be driven from among men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field you're gonna lose your mind you shall be made to eat grass like an ox and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven where's he going to sleep outs dude owns a palace with the chef and this is gonna move out in the yard and eat the grass just so you know that's a demotion I mean that's a demotion and seven periods of time shall pass over you till you know that the most high not you rules the kingdom of men who gives it to him me well and as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots in the tree your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules therefore O king let my counsel be acceptable to you here's what the God of heaven the Most High God the Lord Jesus Christ demands break off your sins repent repentance is a change of mind I was wrong it's a change of heart I need to change it's a change of life things need to change what he's saying is you're a sinner you need a Savior he's going full-on Billy Graham on him you are a sinner you need a Savior time is short make your decision now do you think that became Nezzer like this message no no he does not like it sometimes we have to in love say things that people don't like because it is God's decree to them let my counsel be acceptable break off your sins by practicing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity a couple of things here number one I'll give you four principles number one is the fake Jesus principle there was a movement some years ago to remember that WWJD right what would Jesus do bracelets merge whole thing it's not bad but it has one flaw if all you ever do is what Jesus did you will not do the thing for which Jesus died rip sin to be repented of Jesus never repented Jesus never said it was my fault I'm sorry I was wrong I need to be forgiven because Jesus was perfect in God without sin you and I we all need Jesus and we need forgiveness of sin anytime you say I don't apologize I don't say sorry I don't admit wrong you are being a fake Jesus you're saying I there's nothing in me that needs to change now don't raise your hand answering this question if your dad is here but how many of you grew up in a home where your dad was a Nebuchadnezzar he never said he was wrong never said he was sorry and and and never owned his failures never that's the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar it's all in us if you're married you've encountered this spirit right and have you've gotten in an argument with your spouse and they're just not gonna apologize they're not gonna own it just pray over them oh Nebuchadnezzar it's just right I'm not saying it'll work I just want to see what happens right but we all have this little Nebuchadnezzar the lives in us right I'm not saying sorry I'm not saying wrong I'm not gonna change this is this is who I am this is my personality will repent of your personality right this is the fake Jesus principle number two the God warns then waits principle has God been warning Nebuchadnezzar yes for thirty years let me just say that's patient and God comes through a dream and then a Daniel and says okay the clock is ticking you got 12 more months how many of you you don't give your enemies that kind of time how many of you knowing the future what did I like let's just say ziram shut this guy down all right let's just he's not gonna change he's bad very good lock him up right God warns then Waits and what happens is people think that they're getting away with something they're not God as being patient some of you you're like well I didn't accept Jesus I didn't repent of my sin I don't care about God I don't really you know do what God wants me to do or be who God's called me to be nothing happen yet yet God has warned to you and he's waiting patiently but ultimately like Nebuchadnezzar there is a day of judgment and consequence number three principle number three forgive first the forgive first principle is before you connect and then you correct let me say it this way before you correct you need to connect what Daniels gonna do is he is he is connected with Nebuchadnezzar he has loved him and now he's going to correct him and he's going to do so I believe because he's already forgiven him because when Nebuchadnezzar looks at Daniels face what he sees his concern if Daniel was bitter and unforgiving do you think his face would be sorrowful and concerned like I got I got an interpretation you're gonna go cray-cray you're gonna live in the yard and I'm gonna take over amen thank you Lord where's that band let's bring that band back you know how many of you if you knew your enemy was falling you would be worshiping out of bitterness you would be celebrating you would be cheerful I knew they were gonna get it I knew their own so I'm so glad finally there's none of that in Daniel he's already forgiven how do I know he says God says stop oppressing people and mistreating and abusing them that would include who Daniel do you take it personal you make it personal Daniel didn't say stop oppressing people like me because here's Daniels life kidnapped castrated vegetarian in Iraq let me just say that's a lot of forgiving hey man how many of you men you'll second the most like that's just the vegetarian thing I'm not sure I could forgive he's got a lot of forgiving to do and he faithfully serves for his whole life and when it comes to bringing a hard word he does it with a tender heart because he's already forgiven Nebuchadnezzar principle number four and this is incredibly important it's easier for people to hear you if you love them okay sometimes I hear this all the time personal I told my kid they the love didn't proceed so the listening didn't follow if you know somebody loves you when they say something hard you're more likely to receive it Daniel has loved and served faithfully for a long time and so he is going to communicate something that is difficult but it's preceded by love sometimes bad news or truth is like a withdrawal which means we need to make a lot of deposits love is how we make deposits and then a hard word he's making a withdrawal but he's already he's already built up enough in that relationship account the Nebuchadnezzar trusts that what he's saying is true and his heart is good well now Nebuchadnezzar has got a decision to make is he going to experience humiliation or will he choose the path of humility all of this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar at the end of 12 months God was patient for a year he's been patient with all of us he was walking on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon so most powerful nation most powerful city he had the one of the seven wonders of the world constructed it was the Hanging Gardens they've heard of this it's because his wife grew up in a lush rich area and he moved her to a barren desert it was a dry heat but she missed the greenery she missed the green some of you are like this is my thing I miss the greenery so she went to her husband she's like I I know we need to live in the desert but I really missed the green ray so he built the Hanging one of the seven wonders of the world just to make his wife happy we're all the stories if your girl wants something give it to her that's the moral the story all right so what happens is he's up on the roof of his palace maybe amidst the Hanging Gardens and the king answered and said is not this Babylon which I have built I'm awesome I have done such a good job we would say that he has high self esteem right just so you know that's demonic somebody like when we study it in school there's a lot of demonic things you study in school okay I have built by my mighty power I'm awesome look at what I've done I'm incredible as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty I did it I built heaven on earth crushed it winning what's God gonna do well the words were still in the Kings mouth right he's like I'm off before I even got the sum out God's like had enough of that had enough of that a voice spoke from heaven Oh King Nebuchadnezzar to you and has spoken the kingdom has departed from you that's my kingdom son not yours you shall be driven from among men your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know what this dude's got to do this for seven years you know what that means he's a slow learner that's what that means like I got to eat the yard for seven years yeah until you learn some of your like I'm that stubborn take me seven years to learn a lesson that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to me well immediately the word was fulfilled against Never he was driven from among men a grass like an ox his body was wet with the dew of heaven dude owns the palace lives outside till his hair grow as long as Eagles feathers wasn't it that Tom Hanks movie where he's stranded on an island his only friends of volleyball and he needs a spa day you're like I got he's a spa day Shazam that's exactly what's going on here and his nails were like urgh claws he's not doing well he's not doing well he has a hard heart but it's not God's fault just like the Pharaoh and Exodus is hard it's hard it's hard his heart is very hard but it's not God's fault it's his fault God so I'm gonna send Daniel and I'll send a dream and I'll rescue some guys from a fire and I'll give you another dream and I'll give you your warning and if you're still declaring war you get what you get okay you can't blame this on God okay sometimes we'll look we'll say like why did what a bad things happen to good people there are no good people the only good person was Jesus and all he got was bad things okay the rest of us are bad people so we get bad things he's just a really bad guy so he gets really bad things and what happens here god removes his favorite God removes his blessing and I'm not saying that Nebuchadnezzar was a believer but I'm saying that he was blessed God sometimes blesses unbelievers you ever met an unbeliever that's blessed you're like what why why is it going so well for them because this is their heaven you just need to wait for the real one that God has for you so God has been gods like I gave you a nation I gave you people I provided everything and now he's going to withdraw it God doesn't need to give anything to Nebuchadnezzar but he also doesn't need to give anything to Daniel all of God's work is by grace and he's going to remove his provision from this man and his kingdom a couple of things I want to say that'll be controversial because I haven't done that yet and I want to make sure I do all the college professors left a while ago so you know number one when you fail to own your sin repent and acknowledge your need for a savior you start to go crazy you start to go crazy he's going a little he's going crazy he's he's manifesting what we would call mental health okay and and if you have sin or evil or folly or rebellion and God keeps putting a light on it saying that is a problem let's remove that from your life this needs to change Jesus died for it he'll forgive you let's extricate it from your life and fill it with God's Holy Spirit's power and presence if you defy that you start to go crazy you start to lose your grip on reality that's exactly what happens to Nebuchadnezzar in addition we are not beasts we're image bearers of God evolution is a lie we didn't come from animals but when we continually live apart from God we start to act like beasts but we were made as image bearers and what we see here as well is that some what we would call mental health issues there's actual there's actually a clinical diagnosis for this occasion of a human being thinking they're an animal so it's it's still a thing that exists and happens in our day some mental health I want to be careful with this some of its physical its chemical its biological its physical you need a doctor you need a medication okay sometimes it's physical because our bodies in this fallen world they're broken sometimes the issue is mental you've been through trauma or crisis or abuse and and you get triggered and you sort of relive those moments and you need to mentally figure out how to respond differently than the traditional fight-or-flight response so sometimes mental health it is physical you need a doctor medication sometimes it is mental you need a counselor and new habits sometimes it's spiritual okay sometimes it's spiritual this is where a doctor can treat the body and the counselor could treat the mine and I'm for both were for both but only God can work at the level of the soul and so what happens here with Nebuchadnezzar he could go to a doctor but there's no medication gonna fix his situation he could go to a counselor and there's no coping mechanism that will make him healthy and well what he needs is deliverance deliverance is where God shows up in presence and power and in an instant delivers someone in a supernatural way to where they are forever changed and things are just different occasionally you hear this with people to be like I was addicted and God delivered me and I haven't had a desire sense it was supernatural other people there like I was physically addicted it was a real fight others I was mentally addicted it was a real fight for other people like I was spiritually delivered the fights over because God won that battle what he needs is a deliverance he needs God to deliver him from him self and I believe here that what's happening is actually demonic possession I believe that he is so hard-hearted so proud a so rebellious and God has been so gracious that he has opened himself up to demonic power and the reason that I would say this is well number one there's a case study in the New Testament there's a man who's the demoniac if you remember the story he lives out of town everybody's scared of him he's got superhuman strength and dude breaks chains he is a situation medication counseling wasn't gonna fix him God delivers him the demon is cast out and then he returns it says immediately to his right mind and he's fine this is like the Old Testament equivalent of the demoniac and sometimes the Bible uses the language of beasts in regards to demons demons are spirit beings that are evil and terrifying and harmful and they are like beasts in the physical realm so God will use beastly language on occasion to speak of that which is demonic I'll give you some examples Lilith or the night creature or the screech owl is a demon in the Bible the Bible speaks of Satan and as dangerous beasts it speaks of Satan as a serpent a dragon a lion it speaks of other demons as a Python spirit a goat demon and wild animals including ostriches Bulls hyenas birds scorpions the Bible also refers to evil people as Viper serpents goats cows dogs wolves leeches donkeys and evil beasts the Bible uses the language of beasts to refer to the demonic so when you see a man who is fully manifesting that which is beastly behind it it's demonic here's what I'm saying some of you need a doctor here's what I'm saying some of you need a counselor here's what I'm saying some of you need deliverance you need God to just break whatever is holding you you need God to break whatever is confusing you you need to have God show up in presence and power that casts out whatever is evil replaces it with his glorious and grand goodness so that you can live your new life I didn't do this at the nine I'm just gonna pray for it and then we'll continue in the sermon Holy Spirit we pray against the Spirit of Babylon we pray against the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar we pray against the spirit that would bring people to pride in bondage and independence from the Living God we pray against in the strong name of Jesus Christ the Lord rebuke you our Lord rebuke you the Most High God rebuke you God I asked for deliverance over your people I ask that addictions would be broken I I pray that Shane would be lifted I pray that condemnation would be removed I pray that Lord God that the voices that they have been listening to would be silenced and that they would only hear the voice of their Lord who loves and leads them into good futures and green pastures we pray against the enemy as servants their works in affects we acknowledge that there is demonic work in this world there is demonic work in political movements in historical realities in trends on social media it has found itself into the educational system and it rips some people in fear and an antigen in control and in self-destruction so the Lord rebuke you and Holy Spirit we welcome you fill your children deliver your children bring joy to your children set captives free for the king of Babylon in slaves and our King Jesus comes to set captives free so we invite our king and his name is his name is Jesus sometimes you need deliverance sometimes you need deliverance the problem here all begins for Nebuchadnezzar with pride it's the problem where Satan began with pride God speaks of Satan and says you became proud in your heart again today we would have pride parades we would call this self-esteem it's all demonic the God opposes the proud and he gives grace to the humble how do we know well Nebuchadnezzar is the proud and now he's eating his yard thank that's God opposed the proud Daniel was the eunuch slave who will for seven years rule his king grace to the humble grace to the humble CS Lewis says it this way he's a Christian author a proud man is always looking down on things and people and of course as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you circumstances can humiliate you but only you can humble you some people say circumstances really humbled me no they didn't they humiliated us I've had humiliating circumstances only you can humble you that's where the Bible says humble yourself now your spouse not your kids not your neighbor it's you okay your job is not to Humble others their job is to humble themselves and if you think it's your job to humble them you're not being humble he is proud and what CS Lewis says is this when you're looking down on people you can't look up to God he's literally on the roof of his palace on a high point in his kingdom doing what looking down on everyone and he forgets God is looking down on him and if he would look up that would humble him you don't become humble by focusing on humility you become humble by looking up to the Most High God because then you know your place I am under him I am under him and when I'm looking at him you know what I can't see you I'm not judging you I'm not looking down on you I'm not condemning you he'll deal with you he's dealing with me I'm looking at him [Applause] so the question is does Nebuchadnezzar convert does he get saved does he not only look up but does he receive forgiveness of sin and it all reveals Jesus as king at the end of the days seven years I never can des er he's telling us what happened lifted my eyes to I stopped looking down on people and I looked up to God and my reason returned to me deliverance and I blessed the most high god you're awesome not me you're great hey thanks for all this stuff woo the yard that was different glad to be back please don't do that again I I now know I'm not the boss okay and praised he got an acoustic guitar he's singing songs he's going on tour honored him who lives what forever I'm gonna die and stand before him his Dominion is everlasting my kingdoms going down is never going down his kingdom endures from generation to generation all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing that would include Nebuchadnezzar the dude still has a 90-foot golden statue he's like that dude nothing what a waste of gold and he does according to his will God's in charge among the hosts of heaven he rules over the unseen realm and among the inhabitants of the earth he rules over the scene realm and none can stay his hand can't beat him or say to him what have you done god never does anything wrong at the same time my reason to term return to me and for the glory of my kingdom my majesty and splendor returned to me he got his job back this is just imagine right president loses their mind every day the news story is still sleeping in the White House yard and eating the roses for seven years and then they're like I'm better now and you're like welcome back here's your job right you couldn't get your job back at Walmart if you did this in the parking lot good God's being very gracious to me man been very gracious to him gets his job back and still more greatness was added to me God even poured out more grace on me God opposes the proud he gives grace to the humble now I never can either what praise and extol in honor the king of heaven the king thats over every king including me for all his work sir right yeah he was right I was wrong his ways are just I was crooked and those who walk in Pride I tell you from a little experience he is able to humble here's the question ready did he get saved sort of okay that's really hedging your bets there brother yes or no how many of you say no he's just one of those guys reversible Jersey wants to use God doesn't want to go back in the yard right he's just how many of you think that how many of you think he's Kanye we didn't expect it look what happened right he's Kanye and he's the Connie Apple they're like really I mean okay so which is it which is it before we do with Nebuchadnezzar let me deal with Daniel what's Daniel been doing for seven years faithfully serving without a coup attempt how many of you if it was you you're like Lord apparently I'm supposed to be king now right I'll take the throne I'll take the harem cook me some to eat while you're at it go taser the guy in the yard right I shouldn't set it like that but you know that's who's it because Daniel was number two now he's what he's the number one he stays in the seed of Jesus ruling and reigning from the right hand he never takes the center throne he serves faithfully until his King comes back let me tell you this if he could faithfully serve until that King came back we can faithfully serve until our King comes back he's humble enough to know his place I'm not the King but I do serve the King of Kings and I will serve both Kings until the King of Kings sends back the other King so there is a debate some would say and the commentators are split so this is a this is like a nerd cage fight they disagree on this don't worry nobody's gonna get hurt and so uh nobody ever gets hurt in a nerd cage fight so some of the scholars will say he's just using God others will say no he he's like Solomon who was a bad guy but wrote Ecclesiastes to apologize he's like Jonah who is a bad guy but wrote Jonah to apologize he's like the Apostle Paul God flipped teams with that guy here's what I would say number one don't worry about other people's salvation worry about your own yeah King Jesus will judge King Nebuchadnezzar and judge the rest of us I don't know if he was saved or not and you know what that's not my responsibility my job is to worry about me my question is do you know Jesus do you love Jesus do you follow Jesus is Jesus your king do you know that you're a sinner and you need a Savior do you know that Daniel came to serve his enemies in Babylon and Jesus came to serve his enemies on earth okay that our King Jesus it needs to be your king number two I would say this though if you look at Nebuchadnezzar and say I don't think God can save people like that you might not understand God or salvation I don't look at Nebuchadnezzar and say how could he pick that guy I wake up every morning I brush my teeth look in the mirror and ask how could he pick that guy I mean does that bad guy that guy is a real situation if you understand the grace of God you know that it is possible for the grace of God to not only extend to you but also to those who are like Nebuchadnezzar your enemies the true test of your worship of God is whether you're happy when God gives grace to your enemies Daniel is happy that God gives grace to Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar was his enemy so all of this is culminating toward Jesus the kingdom of God let me just close by reading sort of a summary that pulls this together and we're gonna worship we're gonna we're gonna look up we're gonna look down each other we're gonna look up number 1 other Kings are proud but our King Jesus is humble other Kings let me just speak some truth over you other kings conquer people and make them slaves our King Jesus conquer Satan and sets people free other kings need our help our King Jesus needs no help but is humble enough to help us other kings try and change the future our King Jesus controls the future other kings are empowered by the demonic spirit of Babylon our King Jesus is empowered by the Holy Spirit of God other kings rise up and look down on us but our King Jesus came down to be with us and to lift us up other Kings ruled from fear but our King Jesus rules from love other Kings are selfish and cruel but our King Jesus is selfless and compassionate other kings do not repent or forgive but our King Jesus forgives all who repent other kings make their Kingdom with human hands our King Jesus has a kingdom not built by human hands other kings are worshipped by people who are forced to worship our King Jesus is worshipped by people who freely worship Him other kings put us in their fiery furnace our King Jesus joins us in our fiery furnace other Kings pray for their kingdom to come our King Jesus taught us to pray thy kingdom come other Kings die and stand before our King Jesus and other Kings are not ruling and reigning today and our King Jesus rules and reigns every day forever and ever and ever and ever and then [Applause] father God thank you thank you thank you for the story of daniel lord we look up lord jesus i'm just reminded when you hung on the cross in our place for our sins the only way that sinners could see you was to look up to stop looking down on others and start looking up to the one that they need lord jesus you've been exalted you now rule and reign you are seated on a throne right now in your presence are the souls of departed saints right now or divine beings angels the Holy Ones the Watchers Lord Jesus you are being worshiped you are ruling and reigning you are setting up and taking down kings and kingdoms you are orchestrating all of history perfectly and majestically for us to inherit eternity Lord Jesus we look up to you we look up to your sacrifice we look up to your victory we look up to your rule and reign we look up to your second coming and Lord Jesus as we look up humble us by the power of the Holy Spirit fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit God we live in Babylon and those same forces that were against Daniel or against us and those same temptations that ensnared Nebuchadnezzar tempt us so we asked for the power of your presence for all the children of God who are struggling for deliverance for those who are discouraged I pray for courage for those who are tempted I pray for repentance and Lord God we invite the Holy Spirit to make us like Daniel and God we just remind ourselves right now Daniel is serving his real king right now Daniel is in the presence of Jesus Christ and so until we see you face to face Lord Jesus let us serve our king as we pray that kingdom come in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: Real Faith by Mark Driscoll

Views: 5,244

Rating: 4.9157896 out of 5

Keywords: Mark, Driscoll, ministry, thetrinitychurch, scottsdale, arizona, bible, teaching, gospel, theology, jesus, biblestudy, faith, bibleverse

Id: c7RLOiSY4N8

Length: 65min 39sec (3939 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 03 2020