“Don’t mess with God!”
Date: Feb, 15, 2012
Scripture: Daniel 4
Sermon
I begin with a simple question: How far will God go to get his message across to us?
The answer is not hard to find.
He will do whatever it takes/make sure we get his message.
But what if we don’t want to hear what God has to say?
The answer is the same but raised to a higher power.
If we choose not to listen to God, then he simply turns up the volume until he has our undivided attention.
If you doubt my words, consider/story/the king who went crazy.
Though this story tells/strange events/happened 25 centuries ago
The moral is both timeless/relevant as today’s headlines.
The world has changed greatly since Daniel’s day; the human heart hasn’t changed at all.
The world/still filled/men/women who think they don’t need God,
God still knows how to humble the proud.
There are two tragedies in life.
o One is to lose your heart’s desire; the other is to gain it.
o We don’t look at it that way.
o In our eyes gaining your heart’s desire is the very purpose of life itself.
o How many people have achieved their dreams only to be ruined in the process?
o Success can be just as big a temptation as failure
o Perhaps more so since success tends to make us take life for granted.
o While it is true that God speaks to us both ways
o We tend to listen more when God speaks through sorrow, pain, loss, and personal failure.
o Success tends to make us complacent but failure cannot be denied.
In that sense failure can be a gift from God
• Especially if it breaks our sinful self-confidence and brings us to the place where we acknowledge that God is God and we are not.
• The Big G on your shirt.
That’s the lesson King Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way.
From this story we learn how God humbled a pagan king. There is important truth here for all of us to ponder.
Before we move to the text, note two facts about Daniel 4.
o First, unlike/chap/Daniel, this one/written/ king himself.
o First few verses/last few/written/first person singular.
o Like reading the king’s personal diary.
Second, describes/great detail/king’s most humiliating experience.
o Like a personal journal posted on the internet.
o Your inner most thoughts/secrets/revealed to everyone.
What happened to Nebuch/happens to all of us sooner or later.
o Many of us, it may/more than once.
o Therefore, we should pay careful attention to this ancient story because through it God will speak some very contemporary truth to all of us.
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The story begins/time when King Nebuch/the crest of a wave.
o He/contented/prosperous, and well he should be.
o At the height of his glory, Nebuchadnezzar was king over the greatest empire the world had ever known.
If there had been a Fortune 500 list in those days, he would have been first on the list.
He spoke and it was done.
He commanded and mighty armies obeyed his word.
And Babylon! What a fabulous city it was.
The famous Hanging Gardens were one of the wonders of the ancient world.
The city itself was protected by 15 miles of double walls—85 feet tall and some 27 feet thick.
The walls were so wide that chariots could race around the circumference of the city.
Visitors entered the city through the massive Ishtar Gate and traveled down the main boulevard toward the king’s palace.
His palace only 630,000 square feet!
Truly the king had every reason to feel secure, safe, and satisfied.
o Who in all the earth could dare to challenge him?
o But one night he had another strange/troubling dream.
Unlike his first dream/this one came true in his own lifetime.
Like the first dream/this one contained vital messages for him and you and I as well.
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Before we look at it though, let me give you the setting of this—the FINAL chapter of King Nebuchadnezzar’s life—at least in the Book of Daniel.
20 years/passed since the fiery furnace incident in chap 3.
Daniel/now/mid 50’s and Nebuch/is approaching 60’s.
He had ruled Babylon for nearly 35 years.
By this time, his enemies/all defeated
He rules the largest kingdom in the history of the world.
The royal treasury is bursting at the seams
In short, these are the golden years of his reign.
Who in all the earth could dare to challenge him? God
This wasn’t the first time God spoke to him in a dream.
Listen as we hear how God speaks to him this time.
Dan 4:10-16…
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The dream had two distinct parts.
First, the king saw a vast tree, with leaves and branches stretching as far as the eye could see.
Birds nested/branches and animals found shade under leaves.
Second, the tree was cut down and stripped and the stump bound with iron and bronze.
Then somehow the stump became a person who lived among the animals for seven years.
Evidently this person lost his mind completely.
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When he woke up, as he had done in the past, Nebuchadnezzar called on his “wise men.”
He told them/dream/asked them/interpret it but they “couldn’t.”
You figure He learned his lesson the first time?
I mean they didn’t even try/use their magical books/formulas.
Why? Because they knew they were fakes—and they knew their king knew that.
They knew that if they messed up—it might push Nebuchadnezzar into one of his infamous fits of rage.
He might heat up his fiery furnace again—so they “humbly” bowed out.
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So Neb called in his star “player.”
He called on Daniel.
He knew Daniel’s track record/comes to dream interpretation.
He also knew unlike his other “wise men” Daniel would shoot straight.
Remember, Nebuchadnezzar has had 36 years to see that Daniel is a man of integrity and wisdom.
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By the way—let me just pause to ask:
o Do you have a “Daniel” in your life?
o Do you have someone whose walk with the Lord is close
o Someone you can count on to shoot straight with you?
o We all need someone like that.
o We need a spouse or friend who will admonish us in love
o Someone to keep us on the straight and narrow.
o So, if you don’t/“DANIEL” like that in your life, GET ONE!
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In verses 22 and following Daniel boldly, honestly, lovingly shot straight with Nebuchadnezzar.
He told this troubled king the meaning of his dream.
Read 22-27..
So, like Nathan confronted another proud king
o Daniel boldly told Neb/God’s coming judgment
o A judgment that would show Nebuchadnezzar once and for all that there is only ONE God
o And God—not puny earthly kings—GOD alone is sovereign.
o But Daniel didn’t stop there.
o He told his king that if he WOULD humble himself
o if he would get down off/his high horse/confess his sins/ God
o If he would help the poor... “If he would”
o That perhaps God would change His mind and forestall His judgment.
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Well, Nebuchadnezzar heard all that—but he did nothing.
o Have you ever been like that?
o a Godly friend gave you wise counsel
o You needed to change your life but you put it off.
Maybe you’re not a Christian—and your spouse or friend has told you over and over again that you need to repent and follow Jesus
o Inside you know they are right—but you have put it off.
o Listen—God is patient—but don’t be a fool.
o Don’t put God off. Today is the day.
o Now is the right time! Don’t wait any longer!
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The rest of the story unfolds quickly.
Verse 28 tells us that “all this happened to the king.”
For twelve months the king had time to change his ways.
How many chances has the Lord given you?
Evidently nothing Daniel said sank deeply into his soul.
Perhaps he didn’t believe him
Perhaps he thought he had plenty of time to repent.
Perhaps he made excuses for his behavior.
Sound familiar?
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Then came the fateful moment that changed his entire life:
“As the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’” (Daniel 4:29-30).
Note the pronouns: I … my … my. And the boastful words: “I have built … by my mighty power … the glory of my majesty.”
o I don’t think he has taken the Big G off yet!
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Let me stop right here and make a simple application:
The moment you start taking credit for anything, you’re just daring God to come and smack you around.
You don’t want to dare God!
Nebuchadnezzar would soon learn the error of his ways.
While the words were still on his lips, he heard a voice from heaven.
God doesn’t like it when any of his creatures take credit for what he has done.
He won’t share his glory with anyone and he won’t sit idly by while we attempt to shove him out of the picture.
So the voice comes and announces the judgment. Then just that quickly Nebuchadnezzar loses his mind:
“Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird” (Daniel 4:33).
This is all that is said about his seven years of insanity.
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One moment he is surveying his royal kingdom, the next he is ripping off his clothing, making strange snorting noises, and galloping on all fours.
Soon he is running on all fours down the main street of Babylon, totally naked and stark, raving mad.
Those who have studied this text say that the king had a complete nervous breakdown.
He went totally insane and lost all connection with reality.
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Some say he was afflicted with lycanthropy, a strange condition where a person thinks he is a wolf.
More likely it was boanthropy, the condition where a person thinks he is a cow or a bull.
o It’s hard to imagine a more severe punishment from God.
o There/no way to keep the king’s malady totally hidden from the public for seven years.
o Sooner or later (probably sooner) word would leak out.
Though he was still the king, he could not reign, could not speak, and could not appear in public.
Indeed, he could not think or communicate as a human being. He acted like a beast of the field.
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And please understand. The purpose was not to punish Nebuchadnezzar but rather to help him.
You see, God loved Nebuchadnezzar
He knew that these years of discipline is what it would take to get him to repent and follow Him.
God knew/king would have to live like an animal before he could come to acknowledge God as God.
He would have to be changed from a “beauty” to a “beast.”
And please understand. God didn’t perform some hocus-pocus to turn Nebuchadnezzar into a beast.
No—our Heavenly Father simply removed the constraints from his heart such that Nebuchadnezzar’s true beastly nature manifested itself.
We see examples of this even today because all of us are sinners with a bent to sin.
All of us have a “monster” living within—
A beastly nature that wants to manifest itself.
I mean, in my mind, Nebuchadnezzar’s transformation represents a life out of control.
It shows us what happens when we remove God from the equation of our lives.
It shows us what happens when “at our insistence” God leaves us alone and gives us over to our sinful depraved minds.
When that happens in essence we become like beasts.
Without our God-given inhibitions, we become more and more depraved.
Eventually, we cease being ashamed of our sinful actions—and what is worse—we begin to judge these evil behaviors as right.
Does it sound like our society today?
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But that’s not the end of the story. Seven years later the king’s life took another dramatic turn:
“At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever” (Daniel 4:34).
Just as suddenly as he lost his mind,
He regained it in an instant.
We know he was truly changed because of what he said when he came to his senses:
Read 34-35
This once-pagan king now openly declares the praises of God.
He has truly gotten the message.
God can do anything he wants to do, and no one can stand against him.
Earthly kings rule by God’s permission and they stay on the throne only so long as it pleases God to give them power and authority. Look at it throughout history!
Nebuchadnezzar has learned the truth the hard way.
Now he proclaims it for the entire world to hear.
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Listen to Verses 36-37 give us the end of the story and the moral we should all take to heart:
Take note of one phrase in particular: “Everything he does is right.”
True biblical faith begins right here.
This is one of the Bible’s clearest statements about the wisdom of God’s eternal plan.
Many of us struggle to reconcile those words with the heartache we see all around us.
But those words are true nonetheless.
Here is one test for whether or not you have grown through the disciplines of life.
Can you look back without regret and thank God for what you have learned even though the cost to you was very great?
I don’t think Nebuchadnezzar felt embarrassed about his seven years of insanity.
If he had, he wouldn’t have written the story down for the whole world to know.
You can know that you have made a spiritual breakthrough when you can tell your own story without feeling a need either to embellish or to cover up the negative aspects.
“Those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
If we get nothing else out of this story, we must certainly learn this truth.
Here are four timeless principles that help us understand how God deals with us when we attempt to live without him.
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A. God’s righteousness causes him to intervene when we believe we don’t need him anymore.
Because God is entirely righteous
He will not stand idle forever while his children live in sin.
Sooner or later he will intervene.
And how does that intervention come?
Using the image of the king’s dream, we can say that God always starts by shaking your tree.
o Whenever we think we can live without God
o He reaches down from heaven and begins to shake the things in which we place our confidence.
1. Could that be the explanation for the health problems some people suffer?
2. Is that one reason we have marriage difficulties and family problems?
3. Could our financial hardships and our career frustrations be a sign that God is trying to speak to us?
4. What about legal problems, troubles with our friends, the breakup of cherished relationships, and dreams that turn to dust?
5. What about personal failure/the ruination of our reputation?
Are not all these things allowed by God as his way of “shaking our tree” in order to get our undivided attention?
o If God whispers to us in our pleasure, then he shouts to us in our pain.
o Whenever we begin to think we’ve got it made, God reaches down and starts shaking our tree.
It’s his way of saying, “It’s time for you to pay attention to me.”
B. God’s judgment is painful because he is cutting away the sin that pulls us away from him.
God’s disciplinary judgment is rarely easy and never painless.
• In Neb’s case, it was utterly devastating/totally humiliating.
• Sometimes God has to cut the tree down in order to save it.
• You will need shaken, or pruned, and some cut down.
• Which one is it? Have you recognized it?
• that cutting/pruning process may go on days/months/yrs
• And it may be done in a most public fashion.
• Don’t wait till God shakes or cuts down your tree….
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C. God’s discipline lasts until we learn the lessons he wants to teach us.
I am sure many people feel/if God is shaking their tree right now.
And you want to know how long it will last.
And I have an answer, I don’t know.
The trials of life are ordained by the Lord for our benefit.
He alone knows when they will begin and end.
But of this much I am sure.
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God will never shake/tree one moment longer than necessary.
And he will never stop one second before his divine purpose in your life has been accomplished.
So if you find yourself in a hard and uncertain place, and if you long for days of contentment and peace, be patient.
Wait on the Lord. Don’t run ahead of God.
And don’t waste time telling him how to do his business.
Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and in due time he will lift you up.
D. God’s purpose in humbling us is not to destroy us, but to draw us back into fellowship with Him.
This is the ultimate piece of good news from Daniel 4.
o If we stand back and look at the entire narrative, we see King Nebuchadnezzar in three scenes:
o Prosperity, Judgment, and Restoration.
It is tempting/focus only/judgment, especially given the bizarre nature of his seven-year affliction.
To look only at that misses the larger point.
By the end of the chapter, the king has regained his sanity,
regained his throne
And even increased his earthly glory.
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Along the way Neb has learned the hard lesson that God is sovereign over the affairs of man
When will you say, “OK, God I get it!
I’ve heard you many times/this time I’m obeying
We can be caught up/talents/accomplishments
Our positions/paychecks
We can be puffed up by our recognition and awards
We can start believing our performance appraisals!
And we can lose sight of the fact that--all that we are, and all that we have, comes from God.
If we don’t humble ourselves, God will……
He did it with Neb/and He can and will do it to you and I.
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From/king’s point of view, this was satisfactory state of affairs.
He ends up better off in every way—materially and spiritually.
In this we can all take great comfort.
Though God should for a season afflict us with many trials
o Even though many/those trials/own foolish doing
o His purpose is not to destroy us
o But to purge us from our sin
o So that we might be brought into close fellowship with him.
In that sense Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity was a severe mercy from God, preparing the way for better things to come.
• Don’t you always come out better after the trials?
• Don’t you view God differently?
• Don’t you see God differently?
• Don’t you yearn for God differently?
• God knows that and that’s why He’ll shake you up.
And if our “tree” is not only shaken but cut down altogether
• the sound of “Timber!” that we hear/distance is not the voice of judgment
• It is the gracious hand of God cutting us down to size that the tree may be grown again to the glory of God.
• To sprout new refreshing, revitalized growth….
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There is hope for all of God’s children because God will not allow us to live in our sin forever.
• God loves us too much to let us go on in our sinful rebellion forever.
• Sooner or later, he intervenes
• sometimes in ways both public/painful
• But it is to bring us back home again.
There is hope for all of us. God knows how to get his message across anytime he pleases.
He took a pure pagan king/when He got thru with him/he sounded like a Puritan theologian.
That’s what God can do, and only God can do it.
He knows how to ring your phone day or night
And he’s got the unlisted numbers of all your friends too
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Reject PRIDE—embrace HUMILITY
Philippians 2:3-4,“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
We must HUMBLE ourselves.
• Think of it this way:
• Humility is not thinking less OF yourself—it is simply thinking less ABOUT yourself.
Here is some good news.
• Since you aren’t God, you can stop playing God.
• Perhaps you need to say, “Lord, I’m tired of running my life.
• And I’m tired of trying to run everyone else’s life too.”
Are you ready to “let God be God?”
If you are ready, rip that big G off your sweatshirt.
• If you can, your life can change today.
• As I survey Daniel 4, I find great hope and abundant grace.
That brings me back to where I began.
How far will God go to get his message across to us?
Just ask Nebuchadnezzar/David/Herod/Paul/Joseph/Abraham/Moses/
annas and Saphira/ ask S/M/A.
Ask Allan how far God will go….Ask Tony how far God will go..
He will do whatever it takes
he will stop at nothing
And no one can successfully oppose him.
Be encouraged. Be warned.
Don’t be like Nebuchadnezzar or you too may be put out to pasture.
He won’t stay in the “box” we construct for him.
We dare not trifle with him.
But he is good, which means that even when our tree is shaking, we know he means it for our good and his glory.
Let God be God.
Invitation
He called for Nebuchadnezzar to repent, turn from his sin, turn to the Lord, accept the righteous standard, and begin to be merciful.
He had shaken his tree too many times…..
And thru too many people/circumstances.
But you know what?
Even after all this, Nebuchadnezzar refused to repent.
And God cut his tree down…..God wins all battles.
Listen to God….Don’t get your tree cut down…
Some are shaken every Sunday morning…but refuse to listen and obey.
I wonder how long you have left?
Like Felix who said to Paul,
"When I have a convenient season, I'll call for you.
I can't be bothered right now."
Well, let’s each ask ourselves—are we like Nebuchadnezzar in that we suffer from self-consumption?
Let’s take time after we’ve studied God’s Word to look to Heaven and humble ourselves and say,
“God, You made me. You redeemed me.
What change do I need to make in my life
What do I need to do in order to fully acknowledge You as Lord—
To indicate my conviction that You are the boss....
You are the Creator...I’m the creature.
Tell me what to do God.
Tell me what changes I need to make and I’ll do it.
I’m looking to Heaven for direction.” Let’s all do that right now.
Let’s end this service by humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord.
Pray with me.
