FBCWest 306 | Pride Comes Before the Fall
Recorded On: 09/23/2018
Bulletin
“When the Morning Comes”
PRAISE AND WORSHIP
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalm 8
“God Who Saves”
“More”
“Wonder”
“Control”
GIVING OF SELVES AND OUR OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY PRAYER
SPECIAL MUSIC – By Pru Hungate
PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
MESSAGE Pastor Joe
“DANIEL – Living as Strangers in a Foreign Land: God Is Still Sovereign”
“Pride Comes Before the Fall”
Time of Reflection
PRAYER TIME –
“We Humble Ourselves”
“Who You Say I Am”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Benediction “I Surrender My Life”
SERMON NOTES
Proverbs 16:18
Proverbs 6:16 - 19
Daniel 4:1 - 3
Daniel 4:4 - 9
Daniel 4:10 - 18
Daniel 4:19 - 22
Daniel 4:23 - 26
Daniel 4:27
Daniel 4:28 - 33
Daniel 4:34 - 37
James 4:6
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
we have come to the part in the Book of Daniel that a lot of churches probably don't talk about much I remember hearing a layman prepare to give a message to a fairly large church and his text was Jesus at Lazarus tomb and Jesus speaking out to Lazarus who was dead to come forth then and the guest speaker said if you want ever want to know what it's like to speak to the dead ask your pastor and so oftentimes a lot of times in our congregations there are people who are just and they may be there physically but that's about it today I'm not as concerned about you being dead because Jesus does resurrect the dead but I'm I'm concerned and so I'm going to ask you whether you're in the pew or watching us and on some of the social media platforms to give me a few minutes before you tune me out because what I'm going to talk about is one of those things that large churches don't talk about anymore because so many people tune them out and that's sin now I never like to use the particular sin because if I do you either think I'm the one committing it or I'm talking about you and so my analogy about sin has always been chocolate and broccoli I love chocolate chocolates always the temptation whether it comes like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or Hershey's or M&Ms or whatever it is Kit Kat whatever the form of chocolate is I like it and it's a great temptation to me so always use chocolate as an analogy for sin so that I don't have to talk about real ones and the other one is broccoli some of you and I have no idea why some of you like broccoli and you don't have a sweet tooth and so broccoli is your temptation well broccolis not mine and in often times I'll go well why would that why would you all for that sin that broccoli because I'm not interested and so in our churches today because people don't like to talk about sin we talk about mistakes or other things that kind of just miss judgments however rather than using broccoli or chocolate I want you to think on you of your own what sin is it that in your life that that you have find difficulty dealing with or some sin that you think that God has already forgiven you and and whatever I want you to kind of think about that now what is sin some think the kind of the theological answer is it's missing the mark it's not going to where you're supposed to be some people will say it's those actions that you do that harms other people you're yourselves so I'm not I'm not all that worried about theological what is it that makes you feel bad about what your actions or your attitudes are thought about those things now I'm sure a lot of us we kind of tend to think that God hates those things because we've heard God hates sin but loves the sinner and so we're always think about well God hates kind of these gross sins and these terrible things or whatever it is that I do and that somehow I'm not worthy of forgiveness and those types of things now I bet as you race through some of those things about the various sins that you're struggling with or have struggled with that we're going to talk about something a sin that God hates I bet it didn't come across your mind at all so where to start not by going through the narrative in Daniel but we're gonna start in Proverbs because very wise men inspired by the Word of God named Solomon said in proverbs chapter 16 verse 18 pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling it is better to be humble in this in spirit with a lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud so god through the wisdom is saying fraught when you have pride if you find yourself prideful that that will lead you to a destruction and it is better not to be there and with those people but better to be humble and humble and spirit with others another passage in Proverbs proverbs 6 16 through 19 says this there are six things which the Lord hates pretty strong words there are six things that which the Lord hates yes seven which are an abomination to him haughty eyes now that haughty is kind of a arrogant superiority that you have looking down on those who are inferior to you so God in essence hates pride haughty eyes a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood a heart that devises wicked plans feet that runs rapidly to evil a false witness who utters lies and one who spreads from strife among his brothers I suspect and all that list that didn't come across your mind and yet it seems that these types of things are not only not
approved of by God but God hates they're considered an abomination so now let's take a look at the passages in Daniel so we'll going to turn to Daniel chapter 4 and as we concluded in chapter 3 that Nebuchadnezzar because no one worshiped the three young men did not worship at his statue that he threw him into a burning fire and God was able to sustain them and to deliver them and following from that it says this 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 now when you stop there if and you would almost think that Paul wrote this it's it seems good to me that grace and peace may abound to you this is kind of a a prologue of the story that Nebuchadnezzar is going to tell of what happened to him but he start on saying I'm gonna write you these things I want your peace to abound but I'm writing this that's what God has done for me this is 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 so he starts off his prologue by announcing how awesome God is and that God's kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom which again going through the theme of Daniel is that God is sovereign that his kingdom will be established and will last forever and there currently we are alien soldier nurse in a foreign land we're living in this land but it doesn't recognize God's kingdom so then after this prologue Nebuchadnezzar writes I Nebuchadnezzar was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace and I saw a dream and it made me fearful and these fantasies 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 that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream then the magician's and the conjurer's and the Chaldeans the diviners came in and are related the dream to them but they could not make known as interpretation to me so this is the second dream that daniel has talked about the chemin epic and Esther had so far both times that the King has asked his wise people to interpret a dream they fail the first time he said I want you to with the dream is then the interpretation this time he's going to tell them what the dream is but he wants to know the interpretation now I suspect that they don't know the interpretation because it says they don't know it but I also suspect even if they figured it out it's it's kind of the old expression don't kill the messenger this is not going to be a really good interpretation and so the King may not want to hear it and so sometimes the better part of valor has just remained silent but finally Daniel came in before me whose name is Belshazzar according to the name of my God and in whom a spirit of the holy gods and I related the dream to him saying oh belch a sir chief of the magician's since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery best vassals baffles you excuse me no mystery baffles you tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen along with its interpretation excuse me now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed I was looking at me hold there was a tree and the mists of the earth and his height was great the tree grew large and became strong and his heights reached the sky and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth the its foliage was beautiful and his fruit abundant and it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it and the birds of the sky dwelt in his branches and all the living creatures fed themselves from it I was looking in the visions in my mind as a lay up on my bed behold an ax gellick watcher a holy one descended from heaven and he shouted out and spoke his followers chopped down the tree and cut off its branches strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground
but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field him be drenched with the dew of heaven now I want you to see that this dream kind of shifts it talks about a tree and then it kind of talks about a person so there's this shift let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and let him share with the beasts and the in the grass of the earth let his mind be changed from that of a man and let a beast mind be given to him and let seven periods of time pass over him this sentence is by the decree of the gellick 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 mankind and bestows on it on whom he wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men the last few verses kind of to me kind of gives the reason in the interpretation so it doesn't take somebody who's really skills to kind of see this ring because we see what the purpose is but Daniel is asked to give its interpretation this is the dream which I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen now you Belshazzar tell me it's interpretation in as much as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation but you are able for the spirit of the holy gods is on you it's interesting nebuchadnezzar knows exactly what daniel can do because he's seen it do it and he gives him praise in the sense of going I understand it's not coming from you but he misunderstands completely who it's coming from because he still keeps thinking as one who worships numerous gods the holy gods give this to you and Daniel has made it very clear that it's the God of heaven that reveals mysteries to him so Nebuchadnezzar hasn't got it quite right verse 19 then Daniel whose name is Belshazzar was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him Daniel knows what's going on and he's as this appalls he's concerned about it and I'm sure in those moments he's trying to figure out how to communicate this to the king and the King responded and said Belshazzar do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you Belshazzar replied my lord if only the dream apply to those who hate you and it's interpretation to your adversaries now I find this response remarkable why do I find it remarkable because Daniel is living in Babylon that's not his own place Jerusalem is his home he's serving a foreign king who had not too long ago thrown his friends into a fiery furnace I know what our attitude would be I'm glad it's happening here's the here's the interpretation and I can't think of a more deserving person to hear it but that's not Daniels response Daniel's responses I wish it belonged to somebody else I wish it was to your adversaries notice that the loyalty that Daniel gives to the King that he serves because Daniel understands that he serves the king because it's at the pleasure of God that he do so and all too often we are kind of like those armchair warriors who we will see somebody a terrorist of somebody doing evil things and in our kind of attitude is Lord I love to send them to your presence and let me be the instrument of that person Daniels that uh-oh this isn't good we should never have the attitude as believers that those who God is going to judge is a good thing so then he gives them the interpretation the tree that you saw which became large and grew strong whose heights reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth and whose foliage was beautiful and his fruit
abundant and which was food for all under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in those whose branches the birds of the sky Lodge it is you O king for you have become great and grown strong and your majesty has become great and reach to the sky and your Dominion to the earth to the end of the earth so Daniel points and says that's right if the tree represents you your power those who seek to receive abundance and blessing and protection come to you that tree is you but because the tree is you in that you saw an angelic watcher a holy one descending from the heaven and saying chop down the tree and destroy it yet leave the stump with its root in the ground but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new in the new grass of the field and let him drench with the dew of the heaven and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time passed over him this is the interpretation o king and this is the kree of the Most High which has come upon you my lord the king that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling be placed with the beasts of the field and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven and seven periods the time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High whose ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on Homer whomever he wishes and it in that it was commanded to leave this dump with the roots of the tree your key we'll be assured to you after you recognize it is heaven that rules so Daniel gives him the interpretation further and says what's going to happen is you're going to lose your kingdom but God is not going to rip it out entirely he's not going to rip it out by the roots he's going to place a in essence a protection around it he's going to let it remain so that after you have recognized that you are not in authority because of who you are but you are an authority because of what God has determined after you come to that realization then the kingdom your kingdom will be restored but not until you come to that realization and again you could say then you'll say okay I've done my job I'm out of here you asked me for an interpretation of your dream you told it to me I gave you the interpretation you're going to go out and you're going to act kind of like a wild beast you're gonna eat grass kind of gonna be like a ox so it's nice knowing you wouldn't want to be but that's not what Daniel does therefore o King may my advice be pleasing to you so he gave him the interpretation but now he's going to say I'm gonna give you advice this has nothing to do with the interpretation I want to give you advice and I want you to accept it I wanted to be pleasing to you break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity Daniel says if you just get your act together if you stop being prideful who you are and start taking your position to help those in need and to show mercy on those then perhaps God will allow you to continue on in your prosperity and will delay this situation so in essence he's kind of trying to give him the gospel saying here's the good news God will not execute this immediate if you just change but unlike the wise this is what happens all this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king twelve months later he was walking on the roof of royal palace of Babylon now before I read the rest we live in southern california and this is a massive place and it has massive traffic and we just kind of think that because we live in the 21st century and we have all of the technological advances that somehow were superior and whatever and that back then way back then you had a few village people and they were lucky to be around babylon was a city of probably about two million people it had walls that were so large that you could
drive two cars in opposite directions on them they were so high they were about probably 70 feet high then they had guard towers at every there was about a hundred feet high this was a massive city massively protected it was beautiful as a matter of fact two of the seven wonders were were there in Babylon one was the Hanging Gardens that Nebuchadnezzar built for his wife to kind of show her her homeland so he built it for her and was considered one of the seven wonders of the world there was also a ziggurat kind of like a pyramid that was also built there was also considered one of the seven wonders so their technology and their building was supreme in it and if you will it was a beautifully large city it was in just a small town so he's walking on the roof of the Royal Palace of Babylon the King reflected and said is this not Babylon the Great which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty he doesn't think little of himself he thinks I did all this and I did all this because I'm so wonderful now before we jump on him too much isn't that what we kind of think about who God did for us I'm so wonderful that God did all of this for me and for my Majesty and to make my life wonderful to make my life beautiful rather than understanding it's not about you it's about God so maybe we have more in common with Nebuchadnezzar even though we don't rule a vast Kingdom and while the word was in the Kings mouth God's right there while the word was still in Nebuchadnezzar's mouth a voice came from heaven saying King Nebuchadnezzar to you it is declared sovereignty has been removed from you and you will be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place will be with the feast beasts of the field and you will be given grass to eat like cattle and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever he wishes so god execute judgment I warned you in a dream this is what was going to happen you persisted in your pride and therefore you have been judged but notice in the judgment there is a way of escape once you recognize that it's not about you that it's not your City it's not your kingdom but God gave it to you once you recognize who's really in control then I'll be returned to you so in the judgement there is hope immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until its hair had grown like Eagles feathers and his nails like birds claws basically he was probably a really hairy guy and being a hairy guy out in the elements his hair kind of became matted and all tangled up so he kind of looked more like an animal than a human and his fingernails were so long and whatever that they more looked like talons of a bird so he kind of adopted almost the visual of an animal but at the end of that period I never can desert raised my eyes towards heaven and my reason returned to me and I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever for his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing but he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and that no one can ward off his hand or say to him what have you done
he becomes understanding that God as he saying is in control that it is God who is sovereign and that he gives to whomever he would desires kingdoms notice he thought irrationally and now he thinks rationally now I don't want to get all too positive and say oh this means that Nebuchadnezzar became a believer because the scripture says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father most of those people were now in unbending are not doing so because they do so voluntarily and so even though someone may praise God doesn't mean they know him so once he acknowledges who he is verse 36 is this at that time my reason returned to me and my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom and my counselors of my nobles began seeking me out so that I was reestablished in my sovereignty and the surpassing greatness was added to me so Nebuchadnezzar says something this almost seems impossible or improbable because usually when the leader leaves somebody else wants to take their place and they don't want you coming back they want to be in control but in this situation we see that when Nebuchadnezzar comes to his rational thought and understands that his God has given him God gives him back his kingdom and the counselors who would be there who would be trying to keep it from themselves or pursuing him and saying take back your throne so that we see and not only is he restored but he's restored - even more than he had in the beginning which when God comes and presents a judgment to us and says if you don't stop this this is going to happen but he always gives you an opportunity to escape it will always restore you to that which was and better so now I never get her praise exhaust and honor the king of heaven now he's kind of getting it's not the Holy Ones is not the holy gods it's the king of heaven that gives these things for all his works are true and his ways just notice Nebuchadnezzar doesn't say you know I didn't deserve it it wasn't fair he goes what God did was fair and just and right all his works are true and all his ways are just and he is able to humble those who walk in Pride you see Nebuchadnezzar is great sin was one of the sins that God hates pride I did it for me from my Majesty in my glory and unfortunately there's still a lot of believers who try to do the very same thing they try to build their church or their ministry so their people might say isn't it wonderful that so-and-so does such great things as opposed to saying I'm an unprofitable servant I've only done what you told me to do it is not my kingdom that I build but yours and the kingdom that I build is because you gave me the talent and the ability and the Holy Spirit to do so I am unprofitable I am NOT great awesome in the church it's always been kind of like that parable that Jesus taught about two men praying there was a Pharisee who said how wonderful I am I I tithe I give I do these things and I thank you that I am NOT like that man the sinner I am prideful that I'm better than him I have
haughty eyes Oh what was that the sinner said God forgive me the sinner he was humble he didn't seem to self justify himself he didn't say I'm not as good or I'm is better than that guy now I acknowledge I am the sinner I need forgiveness so no wonder is that God hates pride because in Pride we try to get ourselves rewarded in Pride we seek to justify ourselves rather than to acknowledge who God is how awesome that he is and as it's the word said it is better to be humble around people who are humble then they divide a victory spoil that those who are prideful James tells us kind of the same thing in James chapter 4 verse 6 it says this but he gives us a greater grace you see in this life while we live in this foreign land we're going to come up with opposition and turmoil and and testing and persecution and just life not being fair and all of that God gives us greater grace when you look and say I don't know how I could handle that it's because God didn't give it to you to handle God gave grace to those who are handling it he gives grace that is greater than the need therefore it says God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble we hear so many times life isn't fair or that isn't fair you can hear it from the sports field so life in general so-and-so got a promotion I deserved it it isn't fair but God gives grace to the humble you need a little grace be a little humble you need a lot of grace be a lot humble and don't be proud of your humility and so all too often when we think of sin we think of all the gross things or the things that we did that we just can't forgive ourselves of or the things that other people do that we're so glad that we don't do I doubt the thing that you brought to mind about your sin was listed but even in the sin that God hates pride a brought judgment to commit Nebuchadnezzar he also when Nebuchadnezzar repented about restoration so if there is a sin you think that God can't forgive he even forgives the sins he hates the sins that you and I have committed we serve and worship an awesome God who simply says be dependent on me which is really hard for we Americans as we strive so much to be independent and we teach our children to be independent and true we ought to teach our children to be independent of us but we should never teach our children to be independent of God to be humble and to be that truly and I know you're tempted to say well pastor it's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am remember Nebuchadnezzar he was a control of an entire kingdom his word was law
and God humbled him I'd hate to see us walking around his animals much rather see us standing and praising him saying God give me grace because I'm simply your humble servant not worthy to be called and used but you do so and I'm humbled by your calling and all God's people said you you