November 4, 2007

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 Scripture KJV

Reverend David S. Huffer

Westwood Baptist Church - 2124 Davis Road
 Waynesboro, VA

Daniel 4
 
4:1    Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
4:2    I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
4:3    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.
4:4    I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
4:5    I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
4:6    Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
4:7    Then came in the magicians, 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.
4:8    But at the 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: and before him I told the dream, saying,
4:9    O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
4:10    Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
4:11    The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
4:12    The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof 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.
4:13    I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
4:14    He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
4:15    Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and 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:
4:16    Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
4:17    This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
4:18    This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O 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.
4:19    Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
4:20    The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
4:21    Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
4:22    It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
4:23    And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of 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 with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
4:24    This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
4:25    That 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 oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
4:26    And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
4:27    Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
4:28    All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
4:29    At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
4:30    The king spake, and said, 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?
4:31    While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
4:32    And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and 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.
4:33    The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
4:34    And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
4:35    And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
4:36    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.
4:37    Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

 

Lessons In The Lion’s Den: Tree of Success

Daniel 4:1-37

 

According to Bernard Shaw, “There are two tragedies in life:

  1. One is to lose your heart’s desire; and
  2. The other is to gain it.”

 

FRIENDS – God interrupts our lives in two dramatic ways:

  1. In adversity
  2. In prosperity

In each case God is speaking. However, we listen more attentively in adversity than in prosperity.

 

William Carr Peel – “When things are going my way, it’s easy to let little things slip. I’m not as careful about spending time listening to God speak to me from His Word, because the path ahead seems safe. I don’t feel the compelling need to pray and stay in close communication with God because I feel satisfied with how things are going. As I trust myself and my circumstances, my relationship with God begins to chill.”

 

HEAR ME THIS MORNING CHURCH - Prosperity and spirituality seldom work together.

·         There is something about success that tends to promote prideful self-sufficiency, rather than making us humbly grateful to God

·         However, God has the ability to shift our paradigm of success, as he did with Nebuchadnezzar

 

NEB’S TREE OF SUCCESS

Towards the end of his reign, between 586 and 652 BC, Neb found himself pridefully satisfied.

·         Daniel 4:1 – “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my place.

·         Daniel 4:30 – “The king spoke saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

FRIENDS – Neb. was a very successful man

·         Being ambitious he put his needs above any others

·         He had taken risks, worked hard and succeeded

He was a “Fortune 500” man who had it all

·         Built an enormous palace

·         Lined with 120 flanking lions

·         Famous Ishtar gate

·         Hanging Gardens of Babylon

·         Double defensive walls around the city covering 17 miles

He had become content with worldly prosperity. He was his own master.

NEB’S TREE CUT DOWN

With the arrogant words hardly spoken, God’s voice pronounced judgment upon Neb and his fortune 500 acquisitions.

 

For the third time God stepped in Neb’s path and interrupted his life.

·         2:47 – “The king answered Daniel, and said; ‘Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings and the revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.’”

·         Neb’s nightmare turned to amazement and wonder

·         3:28-29 – Fiery Furnace – Neb praise God!

NOTE – At no time did Neb seek God. God sought him!

FRIENDS – God made us for a far richer experience than the possessions we might accumulate in this life.

A. God Informs Neb

Through a dream God informed Neb that his tree of success was being cut down.

·         God was stripping him of his control and he would live like a beast in the field until he recognized the absolute authority of the Most High God (4:25)

B. Daniel’s Counsel To The King

·         Daniel’s counsel to the king was to repent! (v.27)

·         The word Daniel used means to “separate, make a division” between yourself and sin

·         He pleaded with Neb to make a clean break with those things that displeased God

·         Choose a lifestyle that pleased God

C. God Give Neb 12 Months To Change His Ways – (v.29)

2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness; but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

D. Prideful Arrogance

·         Prideful arrogance ruled in the heart of this man and God judged him.

·         Daniel 4:30-33 – READ

Did you catch the last line?

·         “That very hour the word was fulfilled…”

FRIENDS – This powerful man who was admiring his accomplishments, was reduced in a moments time to a raving maniac

·         Eating grass in the filed like a cow

VIEW FROM THE FIELD

God’s judgment was for seven years.

HEAR ME CHURCH:

Sometimes God has to put a man down on his knees for an extended period of time to get his attention

·         At the end of seven years Neb “lifted his eyes to heaven”

      (v. 4:34)

·         We might say that Neb had a paradigm shift

·         He was seeing things a little differently

His view from the field was no longer focused upon himself

·         His “me and mine” became “He and His”

  1. GOD’S dominion is everlasting
  2. GOD’S kingdom is from generation to generation
  3. GOD does according to His will
  4. No one can restrain GOD’S arm

WHAT A GREAT VIEW OF GOD!

It was only after Neb looked up to heaven was he given understanding of who God is and what is God’s!

PARADIGM TREE SHIFT

No person is ever on trial so much as at the moment of excessive good fortune.

·         Lew Wallace, in his novel “Ben Hur” writes; “Success is not only hard to enjoy, it is down right hazardous to your health at times.”

FRIENDS – The American paradigm of success is, “I am the source of my own prosperity.’

Like King Neb, we need a “Paradigm Tree Shift” by:

A. Acknowledging The Source of Prosperity

As soon as we hear ourselves saying: “This isn’t fair. I play by all the rules”

·         We know we are operating under the world’s paradigm

Psalm 24:1 – The earth’s is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

Philippians 4:19 – “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

B. Understand The Dangers

1. Pride

Hosea 13:6 – “When they had pasture, they were filled; They were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot me”

2. Superiority

Psalm 49:16-20 – “Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light. A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, Is like the beasts that perish.”

3. Injustice

1 John 3:17 – “But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

4. Grief

Proverbs 23:4-5 – “Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away toward heaven like an eagle.”

5. Anxiety and Worry

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 - “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This is also vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eats them; so what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.”

6. Poverty of the Soul

Luke 9:24 – “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

FRIENDS – Prosperity does not determine our worth or security.

·         “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need.”

C. Use Prosperity Wisely

What the Lord has placed in our hands is not to be saved for a rainy day!

·         It is to be used not only for our fulfillment but for others as well.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 - “Command those who are rich in this present age to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

 

HEAR NME CHURCH – THE BOTTOM LINE IS – WE ARE CALLED TO BE GOOD STEWARDS!

 

CLOSING

 

We need a paradigm shift in viewing our wealth and possessions.

 

Revelation 2:7 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

 

Prayer – Oh God our Father, the Supplier and Giver of all good gifts.

·         Help us to take our eyes of ourselves and place them upon You.

·         You are the One who provides for our every need – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

 

AMEN!

 

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