In the Word

Pastor Mike Warren: Listen, we got the new cards for the radio station. The radio stations were added on KFIA 710, but we had also forgotten to put that we're also on an FM station out of Sacramento, 105.7. So, we put that on there as well. All the information for the radio stations, the times, and the days are on these cards. They are in the back if you want to get them to hand out to your family and friends.

We're getting a lot of nice reports back from the radio. I'm shocked. In fact, I've always got a suspicious mind, but the program director, is that right? Is she the program director, Denise?

Guest (Male): No, Anne.

Pastor Mike Warren: Anne. She's not the sales lady, she's the program director, right?

Guest (Male): She's the sales.

Pastor Mike Warren: Okay. Well, she wants to come up and visit us because she calls Pastor Todd a lot. In fact, you can pray for Jessica. She's a little suspicious that he might be having something going on on the side. No, just kidding. But she calls him a lot and just thanking him for us being on the radio and how she enjoys our program. I don't think she's just doing that just to keep us on there, but I got a suspicious mind.

They must be getting reports they're not giving us. We have gotten a few calls and people thanking us. So, by faith, we just want to put Revelation out there for people to hear because so many churches don't teach it anymore. Be praying because we'd like to put Daniel out there next, especially the prophetic sections of it.

We're in a neat section tonight, chapter four. There's just a great truth that's just woven in the DNA and in the fabric of chapter four that's incredible. Let's pray and dive right in. I cut the worship short a song because he had us stand up and I thought that was my cue. I worship and I'll sit there until you tell me to stand up, and then I know that's my time to come forward because I get in the zone. So, he had them stand up a song early and I got more time.

Father, thank You for those divine mistakes that give us more time. Lord, we just thank You tonight that we can come and study Your Word. What a beautiful teaching that will come to the fore tonight out of chapter four. Lord, may we hear it, may we apply it, and may You give permanency to it. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Most of you remember as you're reading through the New Testament that you came to a section where God had promised this man Simeon that before he passed away, before he went to be with the Lord, that he would see the Messiah. Simeon's part of that was he waited on the temple steps every day because he knew that the Messiah would have to fulfill the law to be the perfect sacrifice. He knew on the eighth day He would have to be circumcised.

He waited and one day finally, here come Joseph and Mary. They have baby Jesus in their arms. On the eighth day, they're taking Him up to the temple to be sacrificed and Simeon runs over. Listen carefully to what he says, it is very prophetic. He takes Jesus in his arms and he said, "This is the one who's been set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel."

What he declared to us, and I think under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is God's process for making us what He wants us to be. The first part of that process, as we're going to see tonight, is He has to undo us. He has to break us. He has to rid us of self. He has to make sure that there's no rival throne on our heart. Sometimes that's a long and painful process.

Just when God gets us marinated, as it were, to the point where He can begin to use us, the rest of the church wants to kick us to the curb. As Watchman Nee said in his book *Release of the Spirit*, God can never use a man or will not use a man but to the degree or to the extent He has to break that man first. God will not build on your pride, your self-will, your self-righteousness, or your selfishness. God won't build on that. He'll tear that foundation down first.

When He's tearing that foundation down, it doesn't mean He's destroying you. We're going to see that tonight. What a beautiful story that's before us in chapter four. It doesn't mean that He's destroying you. Maybe you're going through some of that right now in your life where God is just tearing away the pride, the fear, the self-will, the self-seeking, the self-righteousness, and the self. He's just tearing it down.

You're saying, "Lord, what are You doing to me?" He's saying, "I'm getting you ready and prepared so that I can make something out of you." The process is always first the tearing down before the building up. You have to die. That's what Paul said in Galatians chapter two: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

So, He will not build on pride. Let me give you a few verses as we get ready to do our study tonight about pride because God hates pride. Did you know that? God hates pride. Pride is what got us in this mess first and foremost somehow in the heart of Lucifer, the shining one, who by the way was the chief worship leader in heaven. All the instruments of worship were created in him.

Lucifer means the shining one, so he was probably pretty impressive to look at. At some point, we don't know when, he began to believe his own press and think he was all that. We read in chapter 14 of Isaiah that he thought in his heart to lift his throne above the throne of the Most High and become even as God. In that pride, he fell. How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning? You had lifted yourself up and God slapped you down.

We read in Proverbs chapter eight, and I want to read a lot out of Proverbs tonight as we set the stage for our study this evening. In Proverbs chapter 8:13, it says this: "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." There's something that the Holy Spirit does in us that brings a desire to be free of those things because we actually do hate them. Then He describes what evil is: pride, arrogance, and an evil way. A crooked mouth, a mouth who slanders or gossips, an accuser as it were, God says do I hate.

So, He won't build on that. But we know from Isaiah chapter 66:2 what God loves. God loves humility. You remember at the end of Isaiah chapter 65, the people were saying to God, "We love You, we want to build something for You, we want to honor You, we want to build this magnificent temple, we want to build a house for You, Lord, we want to do something." Their hearts were in the right place.

Our hearts are in the right place when we want to do something for the Lord, but the Lord's response back to them was, "What could you build for me that would impress me? The heaven of heavens can't contain me. The heavens are my throne, the earth's my footstool. What could you possibly do that would impress me?" The answer is nothing but this. God says in verse two, "But to this man will I look."

You want to get God's attention? You want to impress Him? Here's what He says, this is the thing that impresses Him: "But to this man will I look, even to him that is of a poor and a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." So, God cannot use us, He can't communicate with us, He can't fellowship with us, there'll be no intimacy between Him and us when pride is there. Proverbs 13:10 says only by pride comes contention.

Let me read you a few verses out of Proverbs about pride just so we get it in our mind tonight. In Proverbs chapter 11:2, it says this: "When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom." Proverbs 16:18, we all know this one: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." In Nebuchadnezzar's case, claws and feathers, as we're going to see this evening.

Proverbs 29:23: "A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit." So often we think that if we humble ourselves, if we confess our sin, if we repent, if we apologize, if we own our stuff, if we go to somebody and we just don't defend ourselves but repent for our behavior, we think somehow we are lessened by that. The truth of it is you are not lessened by that. I've never had a person ever come and apologize to me that they weren't elevated in my esteem, in my thinking of them, in my honor toward them.

But listen to what James says before we dive into our study this evening in James chapter 4:6-10: "Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud." The "eth" in the Old King James means He continually resists the proud. Think about that for a moment. If you are proud, arrogant, with an unteachable spirit, stubborn, rebellious, if you manifest those characters in your life, you think you're all that.

Even to the degree where you think that you have arrived to the place where you can judge another man's servant, and you're no longer a doer of the Word but you're a judge of it, here's what God says. He says this: "I resist the proud." Not only do I not like it, I resist you. And then he goes on to say, "But giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil."

The devil always tried to sow pride and self-righteousness in you. "And he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

When we end this chapter, there's an incredible phrase and sentence that we end it with. Let's just read the ending and then we'll get to the beginning and go through it tonight. At the end of this process that we're going to see tonight that God puts in the life of Nebuchadnezzar to humble this man, we've got to understand that God raised this man and gave him the authority He did.

Nebuchadnezzar was a true dictator. His word was absolute. It was without contestation. There's never been since Nebuchadnezzar or ever will be after Nebuchadnezzar a man that was given such authority that God gave him. God gave him his kingdom. But he began to believe his own press, got haughty, as we saw last week, and then we're going to see again this week.

God has to humble him. The process that God uses, as we're going to see tonight, was never to destroy Nebuchadnezzar. If God is humbling you, the process is never to destroy you. It's to get you to the point where God can build you. If you are a proud person and you just don't listen, you can't receive instruction, God won't build on that. He'll tear it down first, He'll level it, and then He'll build on it.

We come to the end of this. Verse 37 says: "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven." He doesn't start out that way, but he ends up that way. "All whose works are truth," he says. His works are true and His ways are just. The word for judgment there in Old King James means they are just. And listen to this: "And those that walk in pride he is able to abase." He can teach you a lesson and once you learn it, you won't forget it.

Let's just dive into the study. Nebuchadnezzar, the scene is, has another dream. It's interesting how God is speaking to this man. He has another dream and we're going to see as we go through the narrative tonight that he has this dream. Again, he knows the Chaldeans, the magicians, the soothsayers, and all these guys in his court don't know how to do anything, so he calls Daniel.

He begins to brag a little bit on Daniel. "Surely you will know because your God is the revealer of dreams." So, let me just set the scene. Let's read through it. "Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you." I think he's trying to act like Apostle Paul or something here. "Peace be unto you," like he's all that and some more.

"I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me." Isn't it interesting when you ever run across those people when they're bragging about God, somehow you get the idea as they're talking it's more about them than it's about the Lord? "I just thought it good to tell you about all the good things God's done for me. All the signs and wonders He's done for me. All the things He's done to promote me."

By the way, I got a book out, bestseller, all about everything by me. You've got to get the book. So, there's something cooking in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar here that God needs to deal with. He says in verse three, "How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation." Saying the right words but not having the right heart.

You see, God looks past the outside. Isn't that what He said to Samuel when He told Samuel, "Listen, I have rejected Saul as being king over Israel. I've chosen another. Fill your horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse. Jesse has a number of sons there and I've picked one of them to be the next king of Israel." And you know Samuel goes there and all of the sons parade before him and God doesn't choose any of them.

So, Samuel the prophet says to Jesse, "Listen, God's not chosen any of these guys. They're nice, handsome, tall, strong young men. But God has not told me that any of these are to be anointed as king and I'm a little confused. I'm a little befuddled about this." And Jesse says, "Well, I got one more. He ain't much to look at. He's ruddy, he's small, he's scrawny, pimple-faced, freckled. He's out there tending the sheep."

Samuel says, "Let's not sit down until he comes in." When he came in, God said, "That's the one." You see, God doesn't choose the way we choose, does He? In fact, the Lord said to Samuel, "Man looks on the outward appearance, but I the Lord search the heart. I try the reins. I know what's in a man." So, he was chosen.

It's not what we say. We can say the right words, we can have all the Christianese down, but if the character isn't changed by the work of the Spirit and by the authority of God's Word, then we are just playacting, as it were. This is what's going on in Nebuchadnezzar. His words are not lining up with what's going on in his heart, but they're about to as we get through chapter four.

Listen carefully in verse four. "I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace." Man, life is good. I'm the king and, man, it's good to be the king in the palace. "And I saw a dream which made me afraid." Here's another one of those things. "And my thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me." So, this is the second series of nightmares God gives him.

Verse six says: "Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon." Bring those guys in again before me, "That they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream." Now, this time he will tell them the dream. He's got a little more faith that there's somebody and he's going to tell us it's Daniel and maybe Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

"I have faith that there are some people in my court that are true revealers of dreams and giving proper interpretation of these things." So, this time, instead of holding back the dream, he will give it. He said: "Therefore I made a decree to bring in these wise men. Then came in the magicians, and the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof."

These guys are so lame that even when he tells them the dream, they can't interpret it. "But at last," you know, he's got an ace in the hole, man. "But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods." See, Nebuchadnezzar understands there's something different about the God that Daniel serves, but it's the God that Daniel serves, not *his* God.

He will give lip service to the God that Daniel serves, but He's not his God. That's what religion does. It will give lip service to the God of heaven. It will even acknowledge that there's a creator. It will even acknowledge His power and His glory and His majesty, but will not open up its heart to make Him that one its Lord. That's why Jesus said in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?"

It's an oxymoron. You see, if you truly are born of the Spirit, if you truly are bought with a price and washed in the blood and understand all those things, then Jesus is not just your Savior, He is your Lord. His will for your life is beyond and without contestation. Every time we're in prayer and we end that time of prayer, it should be ended with: "Nevertheless, not my will be done, Thy will be done." Even if I don't understand it, even if I don't like it, even if I don't want to do it, it's not my will, it's Yours.

So, he brings in Belteshazzar and he says because his God is the God who has this ability before him to interpret dreams. In verse nine, he says: "O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and that no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed."

Now, he's going to lay it out for him. "I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth." This thing was massive. Its height was beyond description. It reached to the ends of the earth. Verse 11 says: "The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the ends of the earth."

"The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof was much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it." This was a massive thing that he's seeing in this dream. You know, it's interesting. Jesus talks about trees and fowls and branches in the New Testament and they're not good things.

Years ago when I was a young pastor, I had the privilege of having dinner one night, my wife and I, with Dr. Dave Hawking. There were three of us, smaller Calvarys that had just started up, Chico, Oroville, and Paradise. We had put our money together and brought Dave Hawking up to speak in one of our three churches. So, each one of us took a turn taking him out to dinner.

I remember Dave was going to meet us there. Dave Sweet, who pastored the Calvary Chapel in Paradise, but he was late as usual. So, me and my wife were sitting there. Actually, we were sitting there first and Dr. Dave Hawking, this was back in the days when he looked like Superman before he got old, you know, but when he was here with us a couple years ago. He walked in there, picked me up in my chair, moved me over, and sat between me and my wife.

When I shook his hand, it was like grabbing a bundle of bananas, man. He was like 6'6", maybe 300 pounds, just a massive man. So, we're all waiting for Dave and waiting for dinner. I said, "You know, just a few things. I'm a young pastor. What could you tell me that would benefit me?" He said, "You know, there's several things. But one of these things is don't ever seek to pastor a big church."

He pastored a big church. He said, "But I don't really pastor a big church, I pastor my staff. I'm just everybody else's teacher because bad things happen in big churches." I go, "What do you mean?" He says, "Well, Luke 13, and listen carefully, verses 18 through 21. Then said Jesus, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed."

By the way, how many know that a mustard seed grows into an herb? It's a bush, right? It's not a tree. So, Hawking explained this to me. He said, "Listen, it's like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast it into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree." Something is happening here that's not normal. That's not natural.

"It grew into a great tree and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches thereof." He went on to tell me that every time you see fowls mentioned in scripture, other than in just a few cases, they're always mentioned in the evil context. He said if you seek to have a large church instead of a pure church, listen, the fowls of the air will find themselves roosting in the branches.

He said, "Don't do that." In fact, he went on to tell me about the parable of, listen, Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow no other." You need to have the size of a congregation where your sheep hear your voice because you're called to be a shepherd. You're a farmer, not a rancher. You till the ground. You don't manage ranch hands who manage the cattle. You're a farmer and the farmer has to be first partaker of the fruit.

I've never forgotten that. Here what's going on is because his kingdom is so expansive, that was thunder? Was that thunder? No, that was the trashcan. Okay. Because his kingdom is so expansive, where did I just lose my thought? What was I saying? Oh, because his kingdom is so expansive that these things can creep in unaware.

He's talking about how great this thing is. Then he says in verse 13: "I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher." Now, this is an angel. "A watcher and an holy one came down from heaven." So, he's watching and he's seeing this magnificent tree that is tall and large and, listen, the fowls of the air are roosting in the branches.

The cattle of the field and the beasts of the field are finding shade under it. It is supplying the food and the fruit for all those who come to it. So, it's a massive thing. As he's seeing this in this dream, in this vision as it were, he sees now one of the watchers, one of the holy ones. By the way, even tonight you've got to understand that angels are watching what's going on here.

Did you know that? Did you know that? Angels are real things, man. In fact, let me give you just one verse, it'll freak you out. Psalm 91:11: "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Did you know that? And by the way, it's plural. Now, like Joshua over here, he needs about 10 of them, some of these teenagers, you know. The rest of us, eh, you know, one or two will get by.

The Bible says that whenever the Gospel's preached, the angels gather together to hear it because they're amazed by it. The Bible tells us sometimes we've entertained angels unaware, that they walk among us, interacting with us, as it were. So, you need to understand that these watchers, these holy ones, God has given them charge over things concerning us. They watch over us, they protect us.

In fact, for Israel, God assigned Michael, the great archangel. He is the protector of Israel. So, Iran can do whatever they want to do with their nuclear weapons. There's something much mightier than those things that protects Israel. They have an iron dome and his name is Michael the archangel.

So, listen, although we can't see into the spirit realm, it's all around us. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and a host of evil wickedness in high places. But God has given His angels charge over things concerning us, to protect us, to keep us in our way. Listen, do you remember when the prophet was saying to his servant, because the armies had come in to destroy them? They were saying, "Now we're toast."

He said, "No, we're not." "What do you mean we're not toast? We've got them outnumbered. What do you mean we've got them outnumbered? You mean the donkey outside? We don't have them outnumbered." He said, "Lord, open their eyes, open his eyes." He walks out of the tent, he looks, and sure enough, the army is still there. But behind all of those soldiers were an angel with their sword drawn, ready to wipe out the armies of the enemy of the prophet.

You have no idea how you are protected. You have no idea. Now, you might be wearing your angel out. You know, as they clock in, they might say, "Man, I had him for a day last month, you get him this month, man, that guy, that Pastor Mike, he's tough, man. Everything is after him and, man, it wears you out just trying to keep up with the guy and try to protect him, man, and especially when he gets in traffic. Oh my gosh, man, we have to call in reinforcements, you know."

But listen, there are watchers. The Bible clearly talks about these watchers, these angels that move among us, that aid us, that protect us. They're ministering spirits unto the saints, the Bible says. So, Nebuchadnezzar, he sees as it were these watchers, this holy one, it came down from heaven. And he cried and he said, "Thus, Hew down this tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. Hew it down."

But watch what verse 15 says: "Nevertheless leave the stump and his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and of brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man's heart, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him," or seven years.

So, he's hearing this watcher and Nebuchadnezzar's saying, "Well, who's he referring to? Who's he talking about?" You know, this massive tree, the beauty, the glory of it, the far-reaching effect of it now is hewn down. This watcher comes down and makes a commandment. You cut the tree down, you cut it down, but you leave the stump. That's grace. You leave the stump and the roots, but you cut the tree down.

You cut off its branches, you scatter its leaves, you scatter its fruit. You scatter the influence that it had on the men and the beasts and the fowls of the air that found their refuge in it. You scatter it. And sometimes, listen carefully, and you may be going through it, that's what God may be doing in your life. He certainly has done it in mine.

When we're going through that process, we have to be very careful because the devil will whisper in your ear: "God does not love you, God is done with you, God has cast you away, God wants nothing more to do with you. You've sinned for the last time and you're done. You're toast, stick a fork in you, you are done." And nothing could be further from the truth.

Because our Bible tells us that God is a God of restoration. In fact, our Bible tells us that He will restore even the years that the cankerworm and the moth and the rust have corrupted, and He will make the latter what? Better than the beginning. God never tears something down that He doesn't plan on rebuilding it. And it's always an act of His grace.

Now, as we read through the narrative tonight, we're going to find out that there's a point in which Nebuchadnezzar has a thought and his thought was: "Look what I have built. Look what I have done." Now, I'm going to confess tonight, to my shame, that the last church I pastored, we had a seven-month period of time where we didn't have a service that somebody didn't get saved.

We had two morning services and an evening service on Sunday, three Sunday services. We had two midweek services because we couldn't get everybody in the building, Tuesday and a Thursday. And back in the day when there was no radio, the cassettes, we were wearing out cassette duplicators because we were people were buying over 500 cassettes a week. That tells you how long ago it was because we didn't have the internet and all this other stuff we can just put the stuff on.

And I remember, listen carefully, I remember having a thought one day: "God, you are lucky that you have me on your team." I had that thought. The next Sunday, I'm standing in the back and I'm greeting people as they come in. A family came in and I said, "Oh, good to see you. Is this your first time?" They said, "We've been here for a month." Then I had another family follow them in that they had invited and I said, "Oh, you're new."

"Yeah, we are new. This is our first time and we just want to know, are you going to give an invitation? Because we hear that you give invitations in the service." I go, "Well, yeah." And, "Well, why would you ask?" "Because we've come to get saved." They didn't even hear me yet. And my life came apart at the seams because God wanted to show me, "I don't need you, you need me."

Wrong attitude. And God can only use a man to the degree and ability He has to break that man and make that man to understand he is nothing but an instrument in the hand of God. So, you might have the same testimony and, man, I'm going to tell you, it's a rough few years after that.

Let's read on and we'll find out what happens in Nebuchadnezzar's life. "Nevertheless leave the stump," that's grace. God has a plan to restore. "Leave the roots in the earth, just put an iron band around it, a brass band." Brass is the metal of judgment. "In the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven," let it be watered. We want to keep the roots alive while we're going through this process, as it were.

In the grass of the field, and verse 16 says: "Let his heart be changed from a man's heart to a beast's heart," because that's what he's acting like. "And given unto him for seven years. This matter is by decree of the watchers." Do you understand that God sends these watchers to move among us, to just interact with us, to see what it is that we need, what needs to be done in our lives?

So, listen, it was by decree of the watchers and it was demanded by the Word of God. Because God, listen, He always breaks down before He builds up. It's the process of God. "And the holy ones, to the intent." This is the purpose for it. Listen, if you're being broken down tonight, things are being stripped from you, I want to tell you tonight, take great hope and joy in this fact: there's a reason for it.

And it's not to destroy you. It's not to destroy you, but it is to rid you of your pride because God can't build on pride. Listen to what it says here: "To the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." In fact, "he giveth to it whomsoever he will." He doesn't need you, Nebuchadnezzar, He gave it to you. And then you thought it was all about you. He gives it to whomsoever He will and He sets it up over it the Bidens of men. I mean, the basest of men.

Freudian slip. He does what He wants. "This dream I Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able: for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee." And already Daniel has it. He didn't even have to go and pray.

"Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was astonished." He's astonished because he knows what the interpretation is. He knows exactly what the watchers are saying. He knows exactly the decree and the judgment that's been pronounced. He knows what's about to happen to the king that he serves under. And I think, to some degree, that Daniel and Mishak, Shadrach, and Abednego, or Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, they liked the guy.

I mean, he's shown them favor. You know, just before every time he threatened to cut them into pieces and make their house a dunghill or put them in a furnace, but he kind of liked them. And so, Daniel, he was astonished for one hour. He's awestruck. How do you tell the King, "You're the tree?" How do you tell the King for seven years, man, you're going to be given the heart of a beast? You're going to run around like an idiot in the field eating grass like a cow. You, King.

Because you thought in your heart that all that God had given you, you had earned it and you had built it. And so, he's astonished for an hour and his thoughts troubled him. "How do I tell the King?" The King spake and said, "Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee." He can see the wheels are turning.

Belteshazzar answered and said, "My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. You know, I'd like to be able to say that that's what it is, but that's not what it is. Here's what it is." Verse 20: "The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, was high, and reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof was throughout all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all, meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of heaven had their habitation: It is thou, O king. It's you."

That's a hard place to be as a prophet. You remember when David had sinned with Bathsheba? And he had covered it well for two years. In fact, not only did he cover it well, the whole kingdom was saying, "Man, what a King." You know, one of his servants, Uriah, goes to battle, is killed in battle, and he takes his pregnant wife to be his own wife. Brings her into his own home, nurtures her, and takes care of her.

Man, what a guy. What a guy. Man, what a King. What King does that? Man, David, you're the best, you're the greatest, man, you're the most. But those two years, the psalmist tells us as David puts pen and writes them, that he was like a hinge on his bed. He had no rest, he had no sleep. He was like the summer fruit that's dried up, that his conscience bothered him. There was no peace in his life because he knew he was living a lie.

And finally a prophet shows up. And you know, again, he's in that position where he's got to tell David, "David, you're the man." And so, God gives this particular prophet some real wisdom. He said, "Hey David, I've come to tell you that in your kingdom there's a guy that has a whole flock of sheep, man. He has a lot of sheep, lots of sheep. And he had some guests come to visit him and his neighbor had one little lamb, Lambo. In fact, they slept with the kids, they named it, it was a pet.

And he went to that house, took that lamb, slaughtered it, fed his guest. What should we do with a guy like that, David? King David." And the Bible says the fury came up in David's face. "I'll tell you what we're going to do with that guy. You get that guy in here right now, I'll tell you what I'm going to do with that guy." And the prophet said, "David, you're the man."

Pride instead of repentance. Hiding and running instead of falling on your face. And at that moment, David did repent and, listen, God was gracious to him because in the Old Testament there was no offering or sacrifice you could give to appease the sin of adultery. Listen, you were to be stoned to death. And God says through that same prophet, "You shall not surely die. You're not going to lose your kingdom. Listen, the throne of David is still established. One day the Messiah will sit on it, the Messiah will come through your lineage, but the baby's going to die."

And why did the baby die? "Because I don't want you to be reminded of your sin for the rest of your life." God was gracious to David. God will be gracious to Nebuchadnezzar and, more importantly, God will be gracious to you. And if He's breaking you down right now, it's because He is going to build you up, but it is a process. And you have to yield to it. Amen?

So, you're the man, you're the guy, you're the tree. And verse 22 goes on to say, "Thou art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and it's reached unto the heaven, and thy dominion is to the end of the earth." Jeremiah 27:6-8 tells us that God gave that to him. Instead of being humbled and worshipping and giving God the glory and God the credit for what Nebuchadnezzar had, he took it to himself.

"And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew down the tree, and destroy it; yet leave the stump and the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet by the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the beasts of the field, for seven times pass over or seven years;

This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king." Listen, He's on you now, but not how you think. "That they shall drive thee from men." Ever felt like you're all alone? Ever felt like you're going through something and everything's coming apart at the seams and you're all alone? You just can't share what's going on. It's just too painful. You just feel isolated, you feel alone.

It feels like you've been driven from the fellowship of men. Your family doesn't want anything to do with you, your friends, you just feel like you're isolated. This is what Nebuchadnezzar is feeling. This is what the watchers are telling him is going to happen. "They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass like an ox."

Can you imagine? There's the King once whose realm was unmeasurable, whose authority was ultimate because the God of heaven gave it to him. Now he's out there in the field gnawing on grass alongside of the cattle. We're going to find out that his hair grows so long it looks like feathers and his fingernails look like claws. The man is completely out of his mind. Ever been there? Feel like it? Like what?

Well, aren't you glad it's not the end of the story? Aren't you glad there's a Paul Harvey moment? How many know who Paul Harvey is? I used to love to listen to his radio programs because at the end of it he goes, "And now you know the rest of the story." You see, with God, the story's never over until there's restoration, and then He puts the period on it. Amen?

So, let's read on. This is in the dark part of the story, we don't want to stop here tonight. "They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall make thee eat the grass like an ox, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, seven times, seven years shall pass over thee, till thou know, till you learn, till you understand, O Nebuchadnezzar, that the most High ruleth in the affairs of men, in the kingdoms of men, and he giveth it to whomsoever he will. You're not all that special. I'm teaching you a lesson."

As the kids used to say, I don't say anymore, you're not all of that and a bag of chips, man, you just not. None of us are. It's never about us. Do we not serve an amazing God? Isn't it amazing, I was thinking today, isn't it amazing the God who we serve puts up with a mess like us? Amen? Isn't it amazing that He would send His Son to die to pay the penalty for our sins?

Isn't it amazing that He would wash us in the blood of His Son as it was being poured out on Calvary's cross to cleanse us of all our sins? Isn't it amazing that He's so sovereign that He chooses never to remember our sins and our iniquities anymore, but put the righteousness of His Son on us and take our sin and put it on Him?

The most amazing thing is that through all eternity, the only man-made thing in heaven will be the scars that we put on the Messiah, on Yeshua, on Jesus. And they'll be there forever, not to remind us of our failures, but to remind us of His love. What He was willing to do. No greater love hath any man than he lay down his life for a friend, and Jesus said, "I call you my friend."

In Zechariah, they're going to ask, "Where did you get those wounds? Where did you get those wounds?" He said, "I got these wounds in the house of my friends." I wounded Him. I wounded Him in my pride, I wounded Him in my behavior, I wounded Him in my actions and in my thoughts. I've been a poor son, He's been a great Father. Can you say amen? You might say, well, I'm not a poor son, but I'm a poor daughter.

But when we're unfaithful, has He not remained faithful? And even when He had to deal with us, He never completely cut us off. He left the root and the stump. I often think of Samson, you know, great prophet of God, great judge of the Old Testament. God had given him strength, not a whole lot of wisdom. Didn't listen to his mom and his dad.

I mean, listen, he slew hundreds of Philistines with a jawbone. We got to be there where supposedly it happened when we were in Israel. I don't know, I looked around for jawbones, didn't see any. But can you imagine that he gives up the secret of his strength and they poke out his eyes? They humiliate him by tying him to a millstone and he's grinding out the wheat.

They laughed at him, they mocked him, they thought that was the end of the great judge Samson. But the Bible says, and his hair began to grow again. And he slew more of the enemies of the Lord in his death than he ever did in his life. God never will give up on you. Oh, He might have to take you apart.

I have a Shelby in my garage that I have literally touched every bolt on the car. I took the thing completely apart and completely restored it and put it back together. If you would have come to the garage when you saw the coffee cans full of bolts and the pieces and the parts lying all over the shop, you would have thought, "What have you done? This is Humpty Dumpty, none of the King's men or the King's horses could put this back together again."

You may be in that position tonight where all the bolts and nuts and fenders and pieces and parts are lying around. God has taken you apart, but He knows how to put you back together. Listen to what it says here. I pray that you just learn and never have to go through this stuff like I am, I'm a knucklehead. I learn the hard way, it seems.

Listen, this is going to happen until you learn, you have to learn something, Nebuchadnezzar. You've got to learn that God rules in the affairs of men. And then it goes on to say here, let's see where did we end up, verse 25? Verse 26: "And whereas they commanded to leave the stump," listen carefully, "of the tree and its roots; thy kingdom," listen carefully, "shall be sure."

You're not losing everything. Listen, the essence of who you are will still be there, the roots and the trunk. They're sure unto thee, and after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. We're going to strip you down to nothing, put you back together, and when we're done, you're going to know who's in charge. That there's a God in heaven that rules in the affairs of men.

Verse 27 says this: "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sin by righteousness, and thine iniquity by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." Maybe if you repent right now, this won't have to happen. Possibly, O King, if you will just humble yourselves and do what is right in the sight of the Lord, maybe this doesn't have to happen. Maybe this is just a warning.

So, we have Daniel pleading with him. But we read there as we're moving into verse 27, wherefore the king, let my counsel be accepted, maybe the length of days will be there if you repent. Verse 28: "All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar." Now watch how God is patient. Verse 29 says at the end of 12 months. God gave him 12 months to consider what Daniel said as he's pleading with him to repent, and he still doesn't.

He walked into the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, listen to what he says: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" Wrong thing to say. Wrong thing to say. You don't say that to God and get away with it. Are you kidding me? This is what I've done. Are you kidding me?

And so, when you have those kind of thoughts, man, you need to back up and repent quickly. Then it says in verse 30, the King spake and said again, "Is not this great Babylon? I've done all of this." Verse 31: "While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar." Oh man, wrong thing to say.

"To thee it is spoken." I wonder if this is one of those watchers that said that. But to you it is spoken: "The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as the oxen: seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will."

And the same hour, that very moment, was this thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven from men, and he did eat grass as an oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and the nails like birds' claws. God is humbling this man.

But that's not the end of the story. Listen to verse 34: "But at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me." That was the school of hard knocks. Took seven years to get the degree in humility, but now he graduates. And he's not looking out and saying, "Look what I built," he's looking up.

He lifted up his eyes unto heaven, his understanding returned unto him, and listen to the very first words he speaks: "I blessed the most High, I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation." I get it. I got it. I understand now.

That's why I believe we're going to see old Nebbie in heaven. I think he gives his life to the Lord right now. Now listen to what he says in verse 35: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing." We're nothing, He's everything. "And he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"

Man, I think he gets it pretty good. He's come to the point now where he's broken before the Lord. If we humble ourselves, as James said, in due season He will lift us up. But He will not build on a foundation of pride and self-will, self-righteousness, self. What He has to do first is He has to destroy that in us.

He has to bring us to the place where we completely understand that He rules in the affairs of men. It's all about Him and it's not about us. He does what He wills, when He wills, how He wills, and what He wills. And we should be thankful that He allows us to be a part of it. We should bless the God of heaven.

Verse 36 says: "At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me." There was something different. There was something added to me.

You see, what I thought was destroying me didn't. In fact, everything returned to me, everything was restored to me, but there was something that was added. I didn't just get back everything that was taken away, I got something else. There was a majesty, there was an excellence, there was a knowledge, there was a wisdom, there was an experience, there was something. Now I know the God of heaven. It was added to me.

That's the benefit because God doesn't want to take from you, He wants to add to you. But part of that process sometimes is He has to strip things away so that He might put them back together to add to those things. He said something was added to me and then he closes out this chapter how we began it.

"Now I Nebuchadnezzar," he's testifying, "I praise and extol." I raise the name of God above everything, that's what it means to extol. "I extol and honour the King, the King of heaven, all whose works are true, and his ways are right: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."

Let me leave you with one last verse that ties a knot in this whole lesson. What a tremendous lesson, man, about pride, self-will. And you may be out there thinking you're building all of this for God and you have no idea. Man, don't ever have the thought that I had, and this has been over 30 years ago I had that thought. I'll never have that thought again.

But Romans chapter 8:28 and 29 says this, listen carefully: "And we know." The question is, do you? Do you know the character and nature of God enough to know that all things, not some things or most things, but all things, even grazing with the cows for seven years, your hair is like the feather of an eagle and your fingernails are like the claws and you're completely stripped of everything?

Do you understand that all things, do you know that tonight, all things are working together for good? God has a purpose and a plan in it. He has a beginning and a middle and an end to it. All things are working together for good to them that love God. Do you love Him? Do you trust Him?

Are you willing to allow Him to take you places that you don't want to go and still pray like Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Nevertheless not my will, but thine be done." Are you willing to allow Him to take you apart to put you back together so that He might add something of Himself to you that is excellent?

Because if you are, Nebuchadnezzar's experience will be yours. Oh, maybe not to the same degree, but you will go through those valleys of the shadow of death where everything is being challenged and tested and where all you have to trust. I've been in places in my life three times, I was thinking about this week, three times in my life I've been in a place where all I knew I had was faith in the One who saved me, stripped of everything.

But I knew that the God that I gave my life to, it's been 46 years now, is still hanging on to it and prying my hands away from it. And all for the purpose that He might trust me, that He could use me. Do you not know that all things are working together for good to them that love God and to them who are called according to His purposes?

See, I would like to say, "Lord, just give me all that wisdom without going through that." Here, just let me have it. Just deposit it. And, I don't want the valley of shadow of death, I want the banqueting table. That's how we are as humans, but you will never know the height of the mountain until you know the depth of the valley. You will never worship the God who redeemed you till you understand how far you have fallen.

And sometimes God just has to strip those things away from us. Listen, guys, gals, gang, just strip them away from us to teach us that He rules in the affairs of men and He's the God of comfort and He's the God of restoration. And what He begins, He finishes. And we know that all things are working together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes. For whom He foreknew, and He knew you before the foundations of the world, He has predestined you to be conformed to the image of His Son.

He's going to do what it takes to get you there. And some of it's painful, but it's for our best. To the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. That we could die to ourselves like Jesus did and resurrect in newness of life.

So, it's an interesting narrative, it's a great story. You know, it's we have chapter one and chapter three and chapter four that are just nestled in here amongst all the prophetic parts and pieces of Daniel, but I think they speak the greatest truths into our lives. Listen, pride is an ugly thing. Self-righteousness is an ugly thing. Religion is an ugly thing because religion says that you can build a stairway to God and it's impossible.

God reaches down to us, to those that humble themselves. "To this man, to this woman will I look, to the man and woman of a broken and contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word." Amen. That's all God wants from us. He wants us, as He says in Isaiah chapter 1:18: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, I can make them as white as snow; though they be as crimson, I'll make them like wool."

But you have to come broken. You have to turn your laughter to mourning, your joy to tears, and you have to come before Me broken or I will break you apart and put you back together. And I think even when we come broken, sometimes there's just enough of that pride left over in us that He still has to strip it from us. Can you say amen? Amen.

Anybody gone through any of those things like we just read tonight? Just one, two, three, four. Okay, just all raise your hands and be honest. Either you're going through it, or you have gone through it, or let me give you some really good news: you are going to go through it. Because that's how God builds. Look at all the men God used. Look at King David. Look at Paul, a murderer, a persecutor of the church. Look at Peter, denied the Lord three times, cursed that he ever knew the man. How about doubting Thomas?

Go through and look. And what did Jesus say to Peter? "I told you you were going to deny me. Now continue doing what I told you you should be doing." "But I failed." "Yeah, now you learned that you're not the rock, Peter, you're a pebble." See, you thought you were the rock, now you're a pebble. Now I can use you. Can't use rocks, but I can use pebbles. Amen.

Let's stand. Hey, we got two minutes. Let's get Pastor Todd back up here in the worship team. We'll sing a last song. I won't have to close you out, isn't that a blessing? So, listen, the encouragement, the takeaway this evening is this, in all seriousness: we don't have to go through great trials sometimes, but we can go through small trials.

I think cancer can be one of those things. I think physical difficulty, financial difficulty, marital difficulty. I think there's a lot of things where God can strip away our pride and humble us to the point where we realize that we are not in control and He is. How many have gone through some of those things? I want you to learn, trust the Lord in it. I guarantee you, listen carefully, church, I guarantee you that when the last period is put on your life, it will be restoration. Because God does not leave things undone. Look at me, I'm an example of that. He doesn't leave things undone. Amen.

Father, thank You. A tremendous lesson tonight. And Lord, when I'm going through the valley of the shadow of death, no matter how bad things are, I know there's a stump and a root that's going to be left. And whatever You're doing, You're doing it for my good because all things are working together for that. It's hard to understand, but by faith we accept it, Lord.

And so, tonight, encourage those saints that are here, those that are watching by livestream or YouTube or Vimeo or Facebook, whatever, go to our website. Lord, may they find if they're discouraged, may they find this chapter of Daniel and may they find great encouragement. Listen, God's not done yet. And when He is, you will raise your head to heaven and you will extol the great God of heaven because He rules in the affairs of men.

And when He puts the period on our lives, it will be victory, it will be restoration, it will be wholeness, and it will be health. And for that, we thank You tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's worship.