WEBVTT 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:12.720 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:17.760 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:22.239 That's exactly right. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.160 God, we uh we worship you. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:26.800 We praise a hallelujah to you in this place, God. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:31.519 Acknowledge that the God um that we worship is the God who reigns. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.159 The God that we worship is the God who reigns, Lord. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:36.479 So we just thank you for your holiness. 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:37.840 Thank you for your goodness. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:39.119 Thank you for your mercy. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:40.799 Thank you for who you are, Lord. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:42.640 Thank you for being the King of Kings, Lord. 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:50.719 Um, I pray that you can bless this time as we learn from you and help us to lead our lives like what we just see right here in complete worship, Lord. 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:53.119 Um, it's in your beautiful, it's in your amazing name. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:54.640 I pray, Amen. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:55.039 Amen. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:56.079 You may be seated. 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:57.200 Thank you, guys. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:06.640 Good morning, Harry. 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:07.280 We good? 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:08.560 Good. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:10.239 It's always good to be here. 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:15.439 I I get to come, I was telling someone just a second ago, um, coming here once a semester is like recess. 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.680 It's always awesome just to come to Grand Parkway and preach here for a little bit. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.439 I was here last month, February 1st through 3rd through D now. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:26.400 So I got to preach at some of your children, and it was awesome. 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:32.079 And like the same kindness that I feel in here is the same kindness that I was um extended out there. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:34.159 So just thank you guys for being a great church. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.200 Um I peek into some of your messages sometimes weekly. 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:42.959 So thank you guys so much for just your your your your your generous way of welcoming me in. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:47.040 So hey, if you have your Bibles, would you grab those and go to Daniel chapter four for me? 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:49.120 Go to Daniel chapter four. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:53.680 If you don't have a Bible, there should be one laying around somewhere next to you. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.159 I think maybe in the seat back in front of you. 00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:01.120 Um if you are um if you don't own a Bible, I don't I don't think Neil would mind me saying this. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:02.640 That one is yours to keep. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:11.360 Um if you're sitting next to someone who doesn't have a Bible or doesn't have a Bible open, would you be so kind as to just slip your Bible in between the two of you? 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.960 I know that's awkward, but no one's ever died of an awkward moment, okay? 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:18.879 No autopsy ever showed cringe was a person, the reason someone died. 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:25.199 I think that uh um looking at the scriptures, looking at the words of God is the best use of our time here this morning. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:27.759 We're gonna be in Daniel chapter four, okay? 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:29.360 Daniel chapter four. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:34.159 Now, I'm always sensitive to people who don't quite know where we are in the Bible. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:39.439 So let me give you some context as to how we got to Daniel chapter four in the story of the Bible. 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:44.800 So um in the fifth book of the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy, God lays it out very simple for his people. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:47.840 They're about to go into the land that he promised them. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.280 They're about to go into the promised land. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:53.919 The Israel's about to go into the promised land, and God lays it out very simple in Deuteronomy chapter 28. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:04.000 He says, Listen, um, either you obey me, if you obey me, I will bless your fields, I will bless your crops, I will bless your households, I will bless you. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.199 Obey me and I will bless you. 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:12.159 But if you disobey me, I will curse your land, I will curse your crops. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.919 In fact, I will pluck you out out of that land that I brought you into. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:30.240 And if you know the Bible, the latter one is the one that actually happens, and God uses Babylon as an instrument of wrath on Israel, and Babylon gets or the people of Israel get exiled out of the promised land. 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:42.319 So the people of Israel are living in the midst of a perverse culture, a polytheistic culture, even a pagan culture, and in the midst of that, there are still some faithful men of God. 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:43.919 Enter in Daniel. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.080 Okay, enter in Daniel. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:57.120 And it's what's interesting is in Daniel chapter 3, um, the camera of the Bible is not on Daniel, but the camera of the Bible is on Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:02.879 And they get invited to this party thrown by the king of the world at the time. 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:04.879 I put heavy air quotes on that. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.759 The king at the time is the King Nebuchadnezzar. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:16.079 It's the king of Babylon at the time, and he throws this party, and this party is designed to unveil this statue that he just made. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:22.879 And his their job is, listen, um, whenever the music starts playing, you are to bow down and worship the statue. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:26.639 The statue is about 90 feet tall, nine feet wide. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:39.199 Okay, some people think that it's an all-gold statue of Nebuchadnezzar, some people think it's an all-gold statue of uh representing all the polytheistic gods, when you bow down to it, you are uh praising the polytheistic culture. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:40.639 Either way, it was simple. 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:43.920 When the music starts playing, you bow or die. 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:45.439 You bow or die. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:52.800 And because of the personal conviction that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had in the God of the Bible, they remain standing. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:05:02.560 And because they remain standing, they were cast into a burning fiery furnace where the Bible says they were completely unscathed. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:04.480 They were completely unscathed. 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.959 Now, think about that for a second, okay? 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:10.800 We have we have uh Sunday schooled that passage to oblivion. 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:13.519 But actually think about that fiery furnace for a second. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.680 It's a it's a human uh microwave or a human oven, okay? 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:19.680 And they get tied up and thrown in there. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:26.639 And that scene is so unbelievably dangerous that the very soldiers who tied them up and threw them in, they died in the process. 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:35.120 They died setting everything up, they died heating up the fire, they died in the process, and these three men are tied up and they're thrown into a burning fiery furnace. 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:39.600 And when Nebuchadnezzar peeks in, he does not see three men tied up. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.480 He sees four men untied walking around. 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:46.399 And he says that the fourth is like the son of the gods. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:51.199 I believe that that is an Old Testament cameo of Jesus Christ himself. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.480 The fourth is like the sons of the gods. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:06:05.759 And he orders them to come out, and he notices that their hair is not burnt, their clothes is not burnt, and they don't even, they don't even smell like the fire at all. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:10.800 So I went to Oklahoma State University and I majored in fire protection and safety engineering technology. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:12.079 Exciting, right? 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.639 Fire protection and safety engineering technology. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:19.600 So I actually studied from almost every major fire in human history. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:29.839 So from the great fire in the AD 60s all the way to the BP explosion, every fire in between I was tested on, quizzed on, I was tested on a lot of fires. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.319 And here is what I know unequivocally about the danger of fires. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:40.879 Fires have a devastating effect on human health beyond just burnt skin. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:44.000 It goes deeper than just burnt skin. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:46.879 Those fumes will kill you. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:58.240 Okay, for example, if you are in a burning wooden house, so if you're in the middle of a wooden house that's burning down, okay, those fumes alone will most likely kill you before the fire even touches you. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:16.959 Okay, because in a burning wooden fire, you have things like methane, carbon monoxide, benzene, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, formic acid, acetic acid, and inhaling these fumes even for a few minutes will change your life and give you about lifelong lung problems. 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:28.800 And yet, in this passage, you see the rope around their wrists being burnt, they have no smell, their hair is not burnt, and their clothes is not burnt. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:34.319 Friends, this is evidence of God's complete deliverance of these men. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:37.680 And Nebuchadnezzar saw the whole thing. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:39.600 He saw the whole thing. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:41.519 So how is he to react? 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.079 Okay, how is Nebuchadnezzar to react? 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:45.360 I'm sorry, I'm having mic issues. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:49.600 My I gesture a lot and it keeps coming undone with my African gesturing. 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:51.920 So I need to tie this up. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:53.199 I'm just being honest. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:54.480 This is how it works, okay? 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:56.800 It's coming back to haunt me, okay? 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:00.079 Um, how is Nebuchadnezzar to react? 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:01.439 Okay, how did he react? 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:07.439 Okay, because there is what's the appropriate way to react with God's majesty on display? 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:12.399 What's the appropriate way to react with God's majesty on display? 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:14.560 Okay, let me just fix this for a second. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.000 I'm sorry about that. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.600 Okay, what's the appropriate way to react with God's majesty on display? 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:25.120 Because there is an appropriate response. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.439 There's also an inappropriate response. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:29.040 I heard a speaker speak one time. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:30.160 His name is Greg Kokel. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:36.879 He's an evangelist, and he's talking about the dangers of using church jargon and using Christian knees and places not in church. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:41.200 And he was talking about talking to this lady on an airplane and talking to her about Jesus. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:43.440 He's like, Jesus died for my sins. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:44.960 Jesus died for my sins. 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:46.639 Jesus died for my sins. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:51.039 And the lady looked at him and goes, I'm so sorry to hear that. 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:52.240 Right? 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:55.440 Like she doesn't have a category for substitutionary atonement. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:00.240 Therefore, she has an inappropriate response to God's majesty on display. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:07.519 On the other hand, as a youth pastor, I'm always telling my students, hey, listen, when you open this book, study the face followers of the Bible. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:09.360 Study the face followers of the Bible. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.039 Anybody you see that sees God and hits the deck, you study them. 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:24.240 Whether it's Isaiah in chapter 6, Ezekiel in chapter 1, John in Revelation 1, you study the face followers of the Bible because they're dialed into a reality that you and I are often disconnected from. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:26.320 Study the face followers of the Bible. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:31.840 Okay, because they have an appropriate reaction to God's majesty on display. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.159 So how does Nebuchadnezzar react? 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.799 At the end of chapter 3, we see Nebuchadnezzar's instant reaction. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:40.559 We see his instant reaction. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:42.000 It's actually very admirable. 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:45.600 Okay, he looks up and he says, Blessed be the most high God. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.799 Okay, blessed be the God of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:51.360 Blessed be the most high God. 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.240 That's a very admirable response. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:01.039 Especially because he invited these people over to worship the statue, and now he's worshiping Yahweh. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.519 Okay, as a leader, there's nothing worse than looking like a flip-flopper. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:09.360 And at the expense of looking, if you're a parent, you should say amen right now. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:10.399 Right? 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:16.960 At the expense of losing his credibility, he goes, Blessed be the most high, blessed be the God of Meshach, Shadek, and Abendigo. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:22.879 In fact, if anyone here curses that God, I will rip you slash your household apart. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.879 Blessed be the most high God. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:28.080 So in chapter three, we see his instant response. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:31.519 In chapter four, we see his response over time. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.279 In chapter four, we see his response over time. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.960 And that's where we're gonna be in today. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:42.159 Now, chapter four, Daniel, is long, so I'm gonna read some, summarize some, read some, summarize some. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:46.720 It's unique because we have a pagan king speaking the entire time. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:57.360 Okay, we have a testimony of a pagan king the entire way in this passage, but it's also helpful because it provides you and I with two different paths. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:10:59.600 Two different paths. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:04.879 What are the two options we have whenever we encounter God's majesty? 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:10.080 What are the two options you and I are left whenever we encounter the majesty of God? 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.799 Right now you're you're running through the book of John. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.399 Okay, you should be finished somewhere in 2022, 2023. 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:17.360 Right? 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.799 And you're seeing Jesus heal people, bring them back from the dead. 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:23.440 You're seeing him forgive season, you're seeing the majesty. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.960 You have a front row seat of seeing the God man Jesus. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.600 What are the two options we're left with? 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.840 Well, this passage shows us that there is a prideful path. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.799 Okay, number one, there is a prideful path. 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:38.559 Look at verse 30 for me. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:42.960 Look at what Nebuchadnezzar says in verse 30. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:12:03.519 He says, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my power by my mighty power as a royal residence for the glory of my majesty? 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:07.200 Okay, so how do we get here again? 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:07.759 Right? 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.639 At the end of chapter 3 says, Blessed be the most high God. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:21.039 Okay, blessed be the God of Meshach, Shredak and Abednego, and then on right here at the beginning, or right here, he says, uh what you see happening is actually plagiarism. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.000 Because you see plagiarism actually happening. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:26.080 What is plagiarism? 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:31.360 Okay, the plagiarism is to use another's production without crediting the source. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:37.360 Friends, that is something that God hates is plagiarism. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.159 God hates cosmic plagiarism. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:44.720 The moment you open these scriptures, you realize God hates cosmic plagiarism. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:53.200 Because one of the biggest questions that's undergirding the meta-narrative of the Bible is who gets the who gets the credit? 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:55.919 Who gets the credit for all this? 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.679 Who gets the credit for the beauty in the world? 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.399 Who gets the credit for the goodness in the world? 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.600 Who gets the credit for the blessings in your life? 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.399 Okay, and therefore he hates it when people commit plagiarism. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.080 All that is due to a holy, perfect God. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.399 And plagiarism is a major offense. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:17.600 So how do we get here? 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.000 How do we get from praise to plagiarism? 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.279 How did Nebuchadnezzar go from praise to plagiarism? 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:29.279 Well, I believe this passage shows us at least three bricks that line the road from praise to plagiarism. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:31.919 Number one, it's prosperity. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:32.960 Prosperity. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:34.320 Look at verse 4 for me. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:35.840 Look at verse 4. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:48.639 It says, I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:53.759 Like I was at ease and I was prospering in my palace. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.759 Now, I feel dirty even using the P word from behind a pulpit. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.600 It feels weird using the word prosperity from behind a pulpit. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:17.759 I have a weird church background where I just listen to teachers and preachers and pastors and deacons and all sorts of people on stage talking about how the whole point of the gospel is you get you get stuff. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.240 If you're good, you get stuff. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.720 The whole point of the gospel is prosperity. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:28.159 The whole point of the gospel is God will give you health and wealth if you behave a certain way. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:31.840 When friends, if you know the gospel, that is not true. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:35.440 The whole point of the gospel is that we get God at the end. 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:41.200 We are reconciled to our Creator and we get to enjoy Him and be with Him and commune with Him forever. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.879 That's the fulfillment of the gospel. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:44.240 It is not prosperity. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:47.440 So prosperity is not the point of the gospel. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.440 Prosperity is not the point. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:59.600 Furthermore, I've experienced in the Christian life and even seen in scripture how prosperity, specifically material prosperity, can often derail people spiritually. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.799 How prosperity can sometimes derail people spiritually. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:09.200 I don't, for my life, whenever life gets easy, that's when I pray the least. 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:17.360 It's whenever I feel weak that I begin to plead with God for strength and wisdom. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:22.799 So prosperity can oftentimes derail people, especially specifically material prosperity. 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:27.120 Now, obviously, friends, prosperity is not a bad thing. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.519 God is not anti-Range Rover. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:31.519 He is not anti-nice car. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:33.840 He is not anti-Rolex. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.360 He's not anti-nice stuff. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:48.159 In fact, James 1:17 says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:51.120 Friends, prosperity is a gift from God. 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:53.200 It is to be enjoyed. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.399 Okay, blessings are gifts from God to be enjoyed. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:06.879 In fact, if you look at Matthew chapter 7, namely verses 7 through 11, you will see that the Father, okay, he actually gets a rush from blessing his children. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:29.360 Prosperity is a good thing meant to be enjoyed, but over and over in the life of Nebuchadnezzar, you see him failing the test of prosperity. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:33.200 He failed the test of prosperity. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:39.120 Whenever you and I think of test, we think of something arduous, something strenuous, something difficult. 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:40.720 We think of adversity. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:41.759 Okay? 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.600 But there is such a thing as test of prosperity. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.200 Sometimes God will test us with prosperity. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:53.759 And Jesus, that sounds counterintuitive, but Jesus knew this. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:56.399 That's why whenever his disciples ask him, hey, how do we pray? 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:02.399 He said, when you pray like this, uh, God, give us this day our daily bread. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:03.840 Give me what I need. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:05.200 Hey, give me what I need. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.599 In fact, that's a dangerous prayer. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:08.559 Pretty dangerous. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:15.680 In fact, uh, Proverbs chapter 30, verses 8 and 9, there's a pretty dangerous prayer in that kind of mirrors a daily bread prayer. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:27.839 Okay, it says this Okay, feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be fool and deny you and say, Who is the Lord? 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:30.640 Give me what I need, or else I'll forget you. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:32.240 Just give me what I need to offer you. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:34.880 Friends, the test of prosperity is real. 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:37.519 And Nebuchadnezzar fails it. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:44.160 And that begs the question: are you watching your heart as God prospers you? 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:49.839 Are you keeping surveillance on your spiritual life as God blesses you and your family? 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:54.720 Because if you're not, you may be on the road to plagiarism. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.119 You may be on the path to plagiarism. 00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:03.680 So the first brick that lines that road from praise to plagiarism, the first brick you see is prosperity. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:06.240 And the second brick you see is poor counsel. 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:07.279 Poor counsel. 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:09.359 Look at verses five through eight for me. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.079 Look at verses five through eight. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.960 It says, I saw a dream that made me afraid. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:28.000 As I lay in bed, the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:35.519 So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of this dream. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:40.640 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:45.599 But they could not make known to me its interpretation. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:54.640 Okay, now this chapter is about one of the things that it's about, that comes up in this chapter, is um this terrible dream that Nebuchadnezzar has. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.400 Nebuchadnezzar has a terrible dream. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:06.799 We're gonna dissect that dream here in a second, but he has a terrible dream that disturbs him, and he goes to the magicians and the enchanters and the Chaldeans, other random people for the interpretation of this dream. 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.880 And if you know the book of Daniel, that is ridiculous to do. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:29.680 Because in chapter one, um, Nebuchadnezzar measures the competency of uh Meshach, Shredak, and Abednego, and Daniel versus the competency of all these other people in the king's court, and he says um it he found them to be ten times better than all the magicians and the enchanters that were in his kingdom. 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:37.759 So in chapter one, he sees that Meshach, Shredak, and Abednego, and Daniel are ten times more qualified than everybody, anybody else. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:38.799 That's chapter one. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.400 He sees potential in chapter one. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:50.480 In chapter two, he sees that potential transform into provision when he has a terrible dream, and Daniel interprets to him this dream and provides for him comfort, provides for him security. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:57.839 And then in chapter three, obviously we just talked about it, he sees how anointed Meshach, Shreddek, and Abednego are. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:01.039 And he sees how powerful the God of Israel is. 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:06.559 And even after all of that evidence, he just runs back to what he knows. 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:08.480 He runs back to who he knows. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:14.319 And he says he came and called the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:15.839 They came in first. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:20.640 And as before in chapter two, they couldn't figure it out. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:31.440 This man, as every king back then did, this man surrounded himself with yes men who were not connected to God's truth. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:34.880 He surrounded himself with people who were not connected to God's truth. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:39.200 Or maybe who were weren't even willing to tell him God's honest truth. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:53.759 Now I'm a youth pastor, and this right here is what I would use to start railing on my not railing, encouraging my students, um, encouraging passionately to my students about peer pressure. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:59.279 I just told myself about that about peer pressure and the power of influence and the power of choosing friends. 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:03.279 And I tell them all the time, listen, show me your friends, and I'll show you your future. 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:07.519 I would talk to them about showing or just the power of influence. 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:09.200 I'm not gonna go on that rant right now. 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.400 I'm not gonna passionately encourage you about that right now. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:16.880 But I will ask you, are you connected to people who are connected to God? 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.279 Are you connected to people who are connected to God? 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:31.839 Friends, whenever Hebrews chapter 3 talks about how, well, as long as it is today, um, or just not to forget about the gathering of the saints, that doesn't just mean attend a building. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.400 Are you known by the people here? 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:39.680 Do you belong to a people that are connected to the Lord? 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:41.039 Okay? 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:46.960 Um are there people in life who are connected to God who are willing to say hard truths in your life? 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:51.359 If not, you may be on the path to plagiarism. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:56.720 So how did Nebuchadnezzar go from um praising God to plagiarism? 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:03.119 Well, one, he failed the test of prosperity, two, he See poor counsel, and three, this was the most difficult one. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:05.839 Three, you see the passing of time. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:08.079 The passing of time. 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:15.359 So, this chapter, the Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he has this dream that there was a tree that went from the ground all the way up to heaven. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:24.079 This gigantic tree that the Bible says could be seen, or in his dream, this tree could be seen from everywhere, everywhere, all around the world. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:28.960 The leaves on this tree were beautiful, the the fruit on this tree were plentiful. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.079 Beasts of the field made houses within the tree. 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.039 Birds of the air made houses on top of the tree. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:36.160 This is a big tree. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:37.200 This is a significant tree. 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:38.240 This is a beautiful tree. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.920 This is an important tree. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:46.240 And in the middle of his dream, he saw a holy one come from heaven and say, Chop this tree down. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:23:02.720 Okay, chop the rip away its leaves, scatter its fruit, make the beasts of the field scatter away from it, make the birds that are making houses scatter away from it, chop this tree down until there's nothing but a stump left. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:17.920 And on that stump, you are to tie that stump up with the metal band and keep it stump and tie it to the floor until I give the stump the mind of a beast. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:27.359 I'll give the stump the mind of a beast until the stump understands that the Most High gives power to whom he will. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.519 It's a very bizarre, very, very bizarre dream. 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:34.480 But he goes, finally goes to Daniel for an interpretation. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:37.200 And Daniel, the first thing that Daniel says, actually hilarious. 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:43.839 The first thing that Daniel says is, hey, first off, Nebuchadnezzar, you need to pray that you're not the tree. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:52.240 But uh you're you're you're the tree. 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:54.559 He explains to me that he's the tree. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.519 And then this is how verse 24 and 27 go. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:58.960 The interpretation. 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:01.519 This is the interpretation, O King. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:13.839 It is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my Lord the King, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:27.359 You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:38.240 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:44.319 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:55.680 Break off from your sins by practicing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:01.920 Now, the dream itself was scary enough for Nebuchadnezzar. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:02.480 Right? 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:04.240 The visuals were creepy enough. 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.799 It was a scary dream in and of itself. 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:23.680 Imagine how much more scary it got for Nebuchadnezzar when the most trustworthy person who knows, the expert dream interpreter in all of the land, comes up to him and says, So that wasn't bad pizza. 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:24.960 Right? 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:28.720 That wasn't caused by bad pizza. 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:30.240 That was God talking to you. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:31.759 That was a prophecy. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:39.359 And God is warning you either you humble yourself or he'll come and do it for you. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.720 Humble yourself, or he will come and do it for you. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:43.759 And what was his reaction? 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:45.599 That would have been bone chilling. 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.480 Would have been completely bone-chilling for Nebuchadnezzar. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:49.759 What was his reaction? 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:51.759 Let's look at verse 29 and 30. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.279 See his reaction. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:26:02.720 At the end of 12 months, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:14.880 And the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence for the glory of my majesty? 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:19.519 Okay, we don't know his instant reaction. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.720 All we know is that a year went by and he was as prideful as ever. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:32.000 Like he might have humbled himself initially, but we know that a year went by, 12 months went by, okay, and he was as prideful as ever. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:37.039 Time eroded that fear of the Lord that he had when he woke up from that terrible dream. 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:38.319 Which beggars to great. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:41.279 I mean, what was God teaching you a week ago? 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.880 What was God teaching you a month ago? 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:47.920 Like, think back to this time last year. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:50.720 What was God teaching you a year ago? 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:54.559 Have you made active steps to stay true to that? 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:58.559 Friends, the Christian must guard himself. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:05.359 The Christian must guard herself from the hardness of heart that occurs through the passing of time. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:09.839 This world has a way of rocking you to sleep. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:14.960 The patterns and the rhythm of this world has a way of rocking you and I to sleep. 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:22.000 And we can constantly forget, and time can erode that fear of the Lord that God put there. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:24.799 That was Israel's problem the whole time. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.920 Exodus 14, God splits the Red Sea, they walk across. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:30.559 Exodus 15, you have the first worship song of the Bible. 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:31.440 Thank you, God. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:38.880 Exodus 16, they get a little hungry, get a little confused, and they go, you know what's better than all this? 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:40.079 Slavery. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:44.960 This world has a way of rocking you to sleep. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:47.759 I'll give you two examples: one micro, one macro. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:53.920 So, micro example, how many of us, okay, have read the Bible in the morning? 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:59.839 By noon, you have no clue what you read. 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:01.839 That's the micro example. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:03.279 Let me the macro example. 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:11.279 So a few years ago, I was really sh on my heart, I was really thinking a lot, a lot about eternity. 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:15.440 I was thinking constantly, constantly about the realities of hell. 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:17.839 They're like life is short and hell is real. 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:19.680 I was thinking about that all the time. 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:26.640 Okay, what happened was a couple of my unbelieving friends died back to back, and I had to do eulogies, or I had to sit front row at a funeral. 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:28.720 I mean, it was just harsh, harsh time. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.680 But I was thinking a lot about the realities of hell. 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:35.680 I mean, it is literally agony to the infinity degree. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:36.880 It's forever. 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:38.559 You're cut off from God. 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:41.039 It is agony forever. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:43.920 And that led me to two different places. 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:47.440 One, I was praising Jesus like Christ. 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:48.960 I was like, praise you, God. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:51.599 That's what I deserve, and yet here I am. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.119 Because on the cross, Jesus got my consequences. 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:56.319 I get his rewards now. 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:57.440 You kidding me? 00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:59.920 I was my praise life was through the roof. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.599 Thank you for your mercy, Lord. 00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:03.920 That's what I deserve, and yet thank you for your mercy. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.599 Thank you for your mercy. 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:09.279 Okay, so one place it led me is my praise life went up. 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:14.960 And two, I was preaching the gospel to anything moving. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:23.759 2012, 2013, Leo was working Jesus into every conversation I possibly could. 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:26.319 I was basketball was not just a game. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.720 Basketball was a tool to meet people. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:30.960 I needed to meet people and tell them about Jesus. 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:32.400 I was having lunch with random people. 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:33.599 I need to tell you about Jesus. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:36.720 With my waitresses and waiters, I need to tell you about Jesus. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:40.640