The Perils and Pitfalls of Pride, Part 1

Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight. We are grateful that you've brought us here safely. Lord, we know that there is much sickness within our church, and we pray for those people who are not able to make it this evening. You'd raise them up. We thank you for answers to prayer in Barb's life. We thank you, Lord, for what you're doing in Lucy's life. We thank you, Father, for how you hear. You're the God who listens. You're the God who responds. We are grateful.

We realize, Lord, that you're in charge of life and death. You have the keys to death and Hades. You're in charge of all those things. And so we just ask that, Lord, you'd help us to trust you even all the more. And tonight, as we look into the Word of God, open our eyes that we might be able to behold the beauty of who you are. That you are the Most High God. And we come to worship you, honor you, and glorify your name. We pray that tonight would be a blessing to all who are here. And Father, the things they hear tonight from the Word of the Lord would bring them great comfort and encouragement because they know the truth, and you are the God who speaks only truth. Because you are the God of truth. For that we are grateful. In Jesus' name, amen.

We're going to continue our study in the book of Daniel. But before we do, I just want to set the tone for chapter 4 with you. All right? Kind of set the tone by asking you a question. What is or why is the condition of our nation? Or the condition of our world the way it is. I wonder if you'd be able to answer that question.

Tonight, I want to answer it from a biblical perspective. I don't want to answer it from a political perspective, but I do want to answer it from a biblical perspective. What is the driving problem behind the collapse of America? I wonder if you could answer that question. What is the driving problem behind the collapse of America?

Some would say, if you listen to the politics today, they would say, well, it's systemic racism. Or it's socialism, or it's illegal immigration, or it's the LGBTQ movement. But those are all symptoms of the problem. They are not the problem. And tonight I want to show you what the problem is. Because the Bible addresses it. Very important.

In fact, have you ever listened to a political speech from someone in our country or from another country? As they try to articulate what they believe the problem is. And I'm telling you today that they have yet to do that because they can't do that. One thing that you have never heard and will never hear from the leaders of our nation or from the world, is what the real problem is.

So tonight I'm going to tell you what the problem is because it ties right in to what we're going to talk about in the fourth chapter of the book of Daniel. I'm going to read to you the verse. It's the 28th verse of the first chapter of the book of Romans. It says this: "They did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer." That's the problem. They did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer.

It says in verse 21 of Romans 1, "for even though they knew God" - even though they knew God - "they did not honor him as God or give thanks. But they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools." In other words, we are ruled by fools. People who have foolish speculations. So they can't articulate the real problem simply because they will not acknowledge God any longer.

It's not that they don't know he exists, they do know that. Everybody knows God exists. That's what the Bible says in Romans chapter 1. I don't care what they tell you. There is a God, He does exist, and they know that. But they refuse to acknowledge him any longer. So they can't change anything because they don't know what the problem is. They can change it superficially on the surface, they can put a band-aid on it. But they can't really truly change the problem.

They think the problems are economic, but they're not. They think their problems are with our military, but they're not. They think their problems are financial or social or racial. But that's not the problem. They think the problem is foreign policy or national policy or terrorism, domestic terrorism. They have all kinds of words they use. They have all kinds of slogans they use, but those are not the problem. They are the symptoms of a much deeper problem of a nation that's ruled by foolish people who refused to acknowledge God as the authority in their life.

You read on, it says this: "God gave them over to a depraved mind." Those who do not acknowledge God any longer have a reprobate mind. What is a reprobate mind? A reprobate mind is a non-functioning mind. Do you know we're ruled by people whose minds don't function? Because they're reprobates. That's what the Bible says. We're ruled by people who cannot think straight. A reprobate mind is unable to think straight, think logically. It can't.

And so, when you refuse to acknowledge God as God, God gives you over to a mind that cannot think straight, a foolish mind. It says "to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness." So if you refuse to acknowledge God as God and you have a reprobate mind, you are filled with unrighteousness. So how can we ever expect the rulers of this nation, or the rulers of any nation, to do that which is righteous when they think only unrighteous thoughts?

Then it says, "They are filled with wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. They are gossips, slanderers. They are haters of God. Insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful."

And although they know the ordinances of God, do you think there's a Supreme Court just today who does not know the ordinances of God? They do. Because the Bible says they do. Although they know that homosexuality is a sin, although they know that abortion is a sin. And it says that those who practice such things are worthy of death. Do you think that there's one person in the highest court of our land who doesn't know that? Well, not according to the Bible. They do know that.

But then listen carefully. "They not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Is it not true what happens in our country? We are giving hearty approval to those who practice evil. We give hearty approval to those who practice abortion. We give a hearty approval to those involved in the LGBTQ movement, which is the biggest social movement in our country. We give hearty approval to those who want to have a sex change. We give hearty approval to those who want to, as a male, now swim with females because I'm now a female and not a male. That's where our country is. That's where our nation is. Because God has given the nation over to a reprobate mind. A mind that cannot think straight, that's filled with unrighteousness, murder, malice, deceit, envy, arrogance, all those things.

Very important to realize that in August of 2020, the Democratic Party declared at their national convention that it would ban harmful conversion therapy practices. That's the platform of the Democratic Party. We are going to ban the practice of conversion therapy. They think it's okay. They're giving hearty approval to transgenderism. That's what they do. Why? Because they refuse to acknowledge God any longer.

In the fourth chapter of Daniel, there's a phrase that's repeated four times. Four times. And it simply reads as follows: that the Most High God rules the kingdom of man. El Elyon, the Most High God, rules the kingdom of man. And yet you have a nation and you have a world that basically says, "We will not have this king or this God rule over us." And that is the problem. You can't expect that mentality to turn a nation around or a people around. It just doesn't work that way.

In the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah said these words: "Listen and give heed, and do not be arrogant. For the Lord has spoken, give glory to the Lord your God before he brings darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains, and while you are hoping for light. He makes it into deep darkness and turns it into gloom." Don't be haughty, haughty. Don't be arrogant. The Lord has spoken. Give glory to God, or your light is going to be turned to darkness, your day to gloom.

"Say to the king and the queen, take a lowly seat, for your beautiful crown has come down from your head." Judgment is coming. And you need to tell people that judgment is coming.

And so what you have in the book of Daniel, in the fourth chapter, is the story about a ruler of the world. Some would say the most powerful ruler that ever existed in the world. Because, for all practical purposes, Nebuchadnezzar was the world ruler. He had conquered everyone. There was no one else to conquer. He ruled them all. And yet he had to learn that El Elyon, the Most High God, is the one who rules in the kingdom of man, not Nebuchadnezzar.

And so it's important for us to realize that as a church we need to adhere to what the Bible says. Remember Herod in Acts chapter 12? He would only receive glory for himself. And God struck him with worms because he listened to the praise of the people, because they said he spoke as a God. He loved the acclaim so much, his heart was filled with pride. And so God had worms eat him alive, and he died.

You see, we live in a world with rulers who are so narcissistic, so arrogant, so proud, simply because they will not recognize God any longer. Why? Because even though they knew God, and even though they knew that God existed, and even though they knew the ordinances of God, they suppressed that truth because with that truth comes accountability. They don't want accountability, so they push that truth down, set themselves up as God to be worshipped as God. And that's what's wrong in our nation. That's what's wrong in the world.

So the church lives subject to the king of the universe. The church lives because they know who the true king is, who the most high God is. We live in subjection to him. Nebuchadnezzar would have to learn that.

But a hundred and thirty-five years before Daniel 4, the prophet Isaiah prophesied the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar. Isaiah chapter 14. If you got your Bible, turn there with me if you would. Isaiah chapter 14.

Now there are many theologians who will say that Isaiah chapter 14, okay, is a story about the fall of Satan, the fall of Lucifer. That may very well be. I'm not so sure I want to jump on that bandwagon, but it could very well be. I know it's for the king of Babylon because it says so. Verse 4: "You will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon." And this is about Israel when they leave their captivity. And so this is a prophecy that Isaiah gives, and Isaiah prophesies a hundred years before Israel's captivity in Babylon. And so we know that Daniel would know the prophecy because he would be able to go back and read it as he read Jeremiah's prophecy. So he would know these things.

So the prophecy is given about the king of Babylon. It says "how the oppressor has ceased and how fury has ceased." Nebuchadnezzar was an oppressor of man. I mean, remember chapter one? He had a dream, right? And he said that if you can't tell me what my dream is, right, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. And so Daniel steps in because they come to kill him. He says, "Give me a minute with the king. I'll tell you what his dream was."

But he was willing to kill all the magicians, all the sorcerers, all the Chaldeans, kill them all simply because they would not be able to tell him what his dream was. In Daniel chapter 3, what did he do? He wanted to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace. He was so incensed that they would not bow down to him. He heated the oven seven extra times or seven more times, seven times hotter than it normally is. He was so enraged that they would not bow down to him.

The Bible tells us in the book of Jeremiah that he roasted two Jews. In 2 Kings 25, he took Zedekiah and poked out both of his eyes. But before he did, he slaughtered Zedekiah's sons in front of him. So the last thing he would see was the death of his sons before he poked out his eyes. He also, in 2 Kings 25, imprisoned Jehoiachin for 36 years and left him there. That's just a short record of Nebuchadnezzar's life. He was an oppressor of man. He was a tyrant. He ruled as a dictator. And yet God would do a mighty work in the man's life.

It says in verse 12: "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn. You have been cut down to the earth, and you have weakened the nations. But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of the assembly. In the recesses of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High.' Nevertheless, you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit."

Now, in fairness, some would believe that the king of Babylon is the future king of Babylon, which would be the Antichrist who wanted to ascend to the glory of God and will be thrust down to hell. There's good argument for that interpretation. But it does refer to the king of Babylon, and the king of Babylon, and what the Bible is telling us is what was the motive or what was the driving force behind the king of Babylon, and it was the influence of Satan himself. The king of Babylon truly manifests to us the devil's problem.

Now turn with me in your Bible to the book of Ezekiel, the 28th chapter. In Ezekiel 28, you have a prophecy about the king of Tyre. Isaiah 14, prophecy about the king of Babylon, who manifests the attitude of Satan. In Ezekiel 28, you have the king of Tyre who manifests that same attitude, but in Ezekiel 28, you have such a close comparison that you actually understand that this is Satan, he's speaking about. Because the king of Tyre had taken on the characteristics of Satan.

But there are certain things about this king that only Satan did and not the king. For instance, it says in Ezekiel chapter 28, it says in verse number 2: "that the Son of Man say to the leader of Tyre." Tyre is modern-day Lebanon, for those of you who did not know that. And Tyre would be destroyed by Alexander the Great before he was 33 years of age. He pummeled the city. So it's a prophecy that came true. It is a prophecy that occurred a hundred years before Alexander the Great existed.

It says this in verse 11: "Again, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God, you had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God.'" Now, the king of Tyre was not in Eden. But Satan was in Eden. See? The garden of God.

"Every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald. And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets was in you. On the day that you were created, they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers. And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless. You were perfect."

The king of Tyre wasn't perfect. But Satan, Lucifer, when he was created, was created perfect. "From the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade, you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned. Therefore, I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God." Very important.

So you have a prophecy about the king of Babylon, you have a prophecy about the king of Tyre. Both of them were caught in the snare of the devil. What brought Satan down brought them down.

Interesting side note: that what is said here in Ezekiel 28, it is all about the mountain of God, a phrase used 18 times in the Old Testament. Sixteen times, it specifically refers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Mount Moriah. Sixteen times. The other two times it occurs is in Ezekiel 28. And there he refers to the Garden of Eden.

If you've been with me to Israel, I show you how the Temple Mount is the original Garden of Eden. Because from the words that are used in Scripture, you begin to understand that the Garden of Eden is the Temple Mount. That's where the first Adam died. By the way, that's where the last Adam died, right? Christ himself. He died on Mount Moriah. He died in the place where man was banished from, so man could actually enter back into paradise. But that's another message for another day.

All that to say is that the king of Tyre and the king of Babylon were caught in this trap because they refused to acknowledge God as God any longer. They refused to acknowledge God as the Most High God. They were caught in the snare of the devil. That's why it warns, it warns in First Timothy chapter 6. About leaders in the church when it says these words. I'm sorry, 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse number 6.

"That an elder must not be a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil, and he must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil," the trap of the devil. Paul makes it very clear that those who lead the church must not be a new believer. And they must have a good reputation with people on the outside of the church. Because if not, they can be easily caught into the snare or the trap of the devil, where he incurred his condemnation, and that was he refused to acknowledge God as the most high God any longer.

Over in 2 Timothy chapter 2, these words are spoken. 2 Timothy 2, verse number 24: "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."

So now you see where the rulers of a nation are enslaved to the snare of the devil. Because when someone is saved, they are taken out of that kingdom into the kingdom of God. When someone is born again, they are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. And the unbelievers are in that snare. They're in that trap, held firmly in the grips of Satan. It's no wonder our leaders are as narcissistic as they are.

What was the platform that our current president ran on? The platform that he ran on was very, very clear. He said over and over and over again, "I will shut down the virus." He said, "I will shut down the virus." You go back and listen to every speech he made. "I will shut down the virus." 1,000 more people have died under his regime than the previous regime. And his regime has a vaccine mandate and a mask mandate. That's God saying, "Don't think that you can do this on your own." That's God saying to him, "You arrogant fool. You think that you can stop the virus? You can't do that. You're not in charge."

And so God, in his sovereignty, has allowed this virus to continue because you have a man who becomes the president of our nation saying, "I will shut down the virus," as if he is God himself, and he can't do that. He can't. We had this whole Operation Warp Speed that once we get the vaccine, everybody will be cured. As if we ourselves are doing all this. We refuse to acknowledge God any longer. We're not giving glory to God. We're not praying to God. We're not seeking the face of God in the higher echelon of our government. We are saying, "Well, you do this. No more virus. You do this, no more virus."

And God says, "Really? You think so? No, the virus is just going to keep on, keeping on, until I say it's over. Because man must recognize El Elyon, the Most High God, rules the kingdom of man. God rules it."

And Nebuchadnezzar becomes the quintessential illustration of a man who believed that he was the ruler of the world. That he was in charge. He was as narcissistic as they come. He was as arrogant as they come. He would not listen to anyone. And even though he'd seen all the miracles, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they didn't even smell like smoke, let alone get burned up, he'd seen the miracle. Right? And he even commanded that everybody must listen to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. But he wasn't going to listen to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Because he was better than everybody else. And God was going to break him. God would have to shatter him.

And so when you think about the rulers of our nation, when you pray for their salvation, you pray that God would shatter their souls. Break them, crush them, because their pride is so strong, it's so vehement, it is so out there. They want all the glory. And God says, "I will not give my glory to anybody else. I'm the only one to receive glory. Nobody else can." And he will keep them from receiving glory.

And Nebuchadnezzar, he wanted glory all to himself. He wanted to rule. After all, he conquered Jerusalem, right? He taken the Jews captive. Who could do that? How great could their God possibly be? Because he didn't stop it. So I'm able to go in, conquer them, bring them into captivity because I'm in charge. That was his attitude. And God had to shatter that attitude.

So that's the introduction to Daniel chapter 4. So turn with me in your Bible to the fourth chapter of the book of Daniel. Look what it says in verse number one. We're just going to read through the text with you, explaining it to you. The conditions surrounding the dream is point number one. The summation of the dream is point number two because it's in verses one to three. But the condition surrounding the dream is very important. Because Nebuchadnezzar had seen the Most High God at work.

Now remember, Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling 35 years up to chapter 4. He was the one who brought Daniel and his three friends from Jerusalem, right? He had seen what God did through Daniel. Who was able to interpret his dream and tell him before he interpreted what the dream was? Who can do that? Except God Himself, right? So he'd seen that. He'd watched that. He had seen the miracle of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But remember, miracles don't save anybody. Only the message of God saves people. Miracles don't save. Miracles show you who's in charge, that God Himself is, that He rules, but miracles don't save you. Only the message of God, who He is, saves you. And Nebuchadnezzar wouldn't believe the message. He saw the miracles, admired the miracles. Thought it was great that the miracles were done, especially when they went in his favor: that he was the head of the image and he was the golden head, and he was in charge. Even though he knew a stone was going to come and crush the whole image, he knew that he was in charge. And 35 years later, I mean, after all, he ruled the world. He was the world ruler.

And so the summation before the dream is this, that "Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: May your peace abound. It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. 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."

Can you give me one ruler in the history of America that said those words ever on CNN or Fox News or MSNBC or any other station? You're going to be waiting a long time to hear those words. But this is Nebuchadnezzar's summation of his testimony. "I want to let you know, all you nations, all you people, that there is a most high God. He is great. He does wonders. He is mighty. His kingdom is everlasting. His dominion goes from generation to generation. There's somebody in charge, and it's not me."

Wouldn't it be great to have the president of our country get up and, you know what? "The God of the universe, El Elyon, the Most High God, he rules over the kingdom of man. I'm not in charge here, folks." But he's not going to say that because he has a reprobate mind. He refuses to acknowledge God any longer.

I know he goes to church on Sundays. I know that. We know he believes in a God. But think of the Prime Minister of Canada and where that country is going. Just think of the nations around the world. They all have the same problem. They refuse to acknowledge God any longer. So they become fools. And they can't think straight because they're reprobates. They're filled with unrighteousness. Only way that changes if God converts them, transforms them from the inside out. And so Daniel 4 is that story of Nebuchadnezzar.

So for 35 years, he has witnessed Daniel's leadership. He's watched Daniel operate. Now, remember, Daniel's not mentioned in chapter 3. Why? Because he's not there. Where is he? We don't know. But there are many commentators who believe that what they did in Daniel chapter 3 was to be a scare tactic that would get Daniel to capitulate to Nebuchadnezzar. Because his three friends, his three most trusted friends, would be thrown into a fiery furnace and burned to death. But that didn't work. God protected them. God spared them. And therefore, the foolishness of man did not come to be.

But come to Daniel chapter 4. Daniel's back. And it says, "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace." He was at ease. Things were great. Why would he be at ease? There's no more battles to win, no more nations to conquer. He's won them all. He's bored out of his mind. I'm at ease. I'm at comfort in my palace. Everything is great.

"I saw a dream and it made me fearful." Before the written revelation of God, God would use dreams to speak to people. And he would then send someone to interpret those dreams so they would know exactly what God was saying. And that's exactly what God was doing in Nebuchadnezzar's life. Because Daniel was present. And Daniel would be instrumental in leading this king to the saving knowledge of the Most High God.

"I saw a dream and it made me fearful and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon." Who's that? There are no wise men in Babylon. There are no wise men in our government. If you don't know God, James 3 says the wisdom from below is demonic. It's natural. It's of Satan. There's no wisdom in this world. Wisdom only comes from the God of wisdom, the Most High God. And so, therefore, he surrounds himself with fools.

Look what it says. He says, "that they might make known to me the interpretation of my dream." This didn't work before. What makes them think it's going to work now? That's how the foolish mind thinks. That's how the reprobate mind thinks. It doesn't think straight. It can't. So it sees evil, calls it good. Sees good, calls it evil. And you can't think straight. So I had this dream, and I'm fearful. So, what do I do? Call the same boys in I called in before. Somehow they can tell me what it is, but they can't.

"Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me." Of course not. Because they are the same reprobate mind that you are. They can't think straight either. Only wisdom comes from God.

"But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar." Why did he call him that? Because Daniel's name means "God is my judge." But Belteshazzar says "Bel, my God will protect you." Your God is the God of judgment, but my God is the God who will protect you. So I call him Belteshazzar "according to the name of my God." See, he was named after my God.

So he hasn't recognized that the Most High God is the true God because he still has a God. Even though he said that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over in verse 26 of chapter 3, they were servants of the Most High God. And he said these words that "Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who put their trust in him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any God except their own God, therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap. Inasmuch as there is no other God who was able to deliver in this way.'"

Except he didn't believe in that God. Because that God didn't serve him. But his God did. That's why he named Belteshazzar after his God. So it says, "in whom" - He calls Daniel in, and listen to this - "in whom is a spirit of the holy gods." Uses the word Elohim, the plural name for God. Genesis chapter 1: "In the beginning, Elohim." Plural name for God. Because he's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In other words, he's a triune God. We understand that. We don't necessarily can explain all the intricate details of the Trinity, the triune nature of God. But Nebuchadnezzar knew there was something about Daniel where he had a spirit of the holy gods.

"And I related the dream to him, saying, 'O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery baffles you.'" Again, he reiterates the same thing. He's going to do it a third time. Three times, he's going to say, Daniel is ruled by a spirit that's holy. He knows that. And he affirms that. "Tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen along with its interpretation."

"Now, there were the visions in my mind as I lay in my bed. I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew large and became strong." Now, the tree is going to be Nebuchadnezzar. Say, "Well, how do you know that?" Because it tells us that the tree is a "him." Okay? It also tells us in the book of Ezekiel that the king or the rulers were referred to as trees, and in Amos chapter 2, another king was referred to as a tree. So we have biblical precedence to know that the tree is an individual. This happens to be Nebuchadnezzar.

"The tree grew large and became strong, and its height reached the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it." I mean, think about this. This tree was huge. There was protection. There was provision for all the people of the land because God had blessed in unique and special ways. And all the world could see it because he was the king, literally, of the world. He was a world ruler.

Verse 13: "I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven." This is an angel. "He shouted out and spoke as follows." What did he say? Why did he shout? To make sure Nebuchadnezzar could clearly understand the message from God. He wasn't going to mumble the message. It was going to be loud and clear for Nebuchadnezzar to hear.

"'Chop down the tree, cut off its branches, strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit.'" This is judgment. "'Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches. Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him'" - who's him? The tree, the stump - "'be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him, the stump, share with the beasts and the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let a beast's mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him,'" or seven years, because chapter seven, verse number 25, talks about periods of time being years. Seven years of time pass over him.

"'This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers, and the decision is a command of the Holy Ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of man.'" That's the message. That the king must understand. That's the message that every ruler that's ever existed needs to understand. That El Elyon, the Most High God, rules over the realm of mankind. They don't. God does. But if you refuse to recognize God any longer, you'll be given to a reprobate mind. You'll be given to being filled with unrighteousness, murder, envy, arrogance, pride. All those things that Romans 1 speaks of.

"'And bestows it on whom he wishes.'" Oh, wow. So, whoever rules over the realm of man bestows leadership on whomever he wishes. Isn't that great? Do you know and understand that the president we have is given to us by the Most High God? He gave him the presidency. Like he gave the previous president the presidency, and the one before that, and the one before that. Even though President Obama appointed 250 LGBTQ... I mean, there's so many letters there, I can't even get it straight. In our government, and President Biden promised to appoint many, many more than that. And so he has done. But God, the Most High God, bestowed that leadership on him because God does it as he wishes. "'And sets over it the lowliest of men.'"

"'This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now, you Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation. Inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.'" Isn't that great? The third time he says this: "for a spirit of the holy gods is in you."

Listen, the only way this nation is going to change is if a person, an individual who has the Holy Spirit of God within him tells the rulers of this nation the truth. Somebody says that I speak the truth. Somebody's got to tell them the truth. And Daniel would tell them the truth. And Daniel has interest. Because he knew it applied directly to King Nebuchadnezzar. We'll see this next week. He knew exactly who it applied to. And he didn't necessarily want to tell them, "Dude, this is you. You're going down. You're being chopped down. You're the stump. There'll be some iron around you. You'll get some protection, but you're going down."

And he tells him, and for 12 months, he doesn't even respond. He does not listen. He's told the truth. He does not listen. So God fulfills the prophecy. He's brought down. He was caught in the snare of the devil. And God was going to shatter his soul.

In the end, he gives a marvelous testimony to the awesome power of the Most High God. He finally realizes that there is a God who rules in the realm of man, and it's not him. You see, it's very easy for people like you and me to be filled with pride. It is. I know we think it's the people that are not here are filled with pride. We're not, because we're here. But that's not true. You know?

It's very easy for us. Next week I'll introduce ways in which we see pride. We make a plan without God. It's pride and arrogance. That's what James tells us. "You who think you go into the city tomorrow, you do this, you do that, you make your own plans." No, no, no. You say, "if the Lord wills." Because in your arrogance, you say, "I'll be there tomorrow. I'll show up tomorrow." Whenever you make a plan without the will of the Lord involved, that's arrogance. Because you make a plan thinking that you're in charge of your own life. You're not. You're in control of your own life. You're not. "If the Lord wills, I will do this. I will do that."

And then it says at the very end, James 4:17, "to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." What's the good thing you're supposed to be doing? Trusting tomorrow to the will of God, next week to the will of God. Listen, I'll preach on Sunday if it's the Lord's will. I can plan to preach on Sunday, and God says, "That's not my will for you, Lance. You're going home." If it's the Lord's will.

It's so easy to be arrogant. We can sit back and condemn the rulers of this world, the rulers of our land, and say, "Well, they're just of a reprobate mind." And they are. But in all reality, we can fall into the snare and the trap of the devil. Because that which got Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Tyre was that same trap. That could bring us down as well. And that's why it says, "There are six things the Lord hates, seven are an abomination to him." And the very first one is what? Haughty eyes. An arrogant person filled with pride.

Why does God hate that so bad? Because it's just a reminder of the man Lucifer who sought to ascend to the throne of God. And God says, "I will not give my glory to another. I rule, I am the Most High God, and I rule in the realm of mankind."

Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and the opportunity you give us to look into your word. As brief as it is, we are grateful. We realize, Lord, that when you speak, you mean what you say. And Nebuchadnezzar didn't believe you meant what you said. And judgment would come upon him, even though you gave him a dream. And Daniel would interpret the dream. He didn't believe it, but you brought it to fruition.

Lord, we realize that we live in a country who don't recognize you as God any longer. It is so disheartening. It's so gut-wrenching to hear we read the scriptures so we know what it says. But we're ruled by people who don't care what you say. They know you. They even know your ordinances. And they know that those who practice the sins of Scripture are worthy of death. They know that too. They want to take prisoners and set them free. They don't want to keep them in prison. They want to do things that are against your word. And that's simply because they can't think straight. They're incapable of thinking straight because you've given them over. That's the country we live in, Lord.

Our prayer is that we would model a Christ-like existence. We'd model humility, that we'd model our commitment to truth no matter what. That we'd stand on truth, never backing away from the truth, like Daniel did. He never bowed. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they never bowed. Mordecai, he never bowed. Paul, he never bowed. They just stood strong. Lord, that's how we need to be.

We pray, Father, that if you give us one more day, we'll live it for you. We'll honor you. If you give us another week, we'll live it for you. Simply because we love you and thank you for all you've done. In Jesus' name, amen.