[0:00] And this chapter begins with a letter from a king. King Nebuchadnezzar, to the peoples, nations, and men of every language who live in all the world, may you prosper greatly.
[0:21] It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are His signs! How mighty His wonders!
[0:34] His kingdom is an eternal kingdom. His dominion endures from generation to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.
[0:49] I had a dream that made me afraid as I was lying in my bed. The images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.
[1:05] When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told them the dream.
[1:20] He is called Belteshazzar after the name of my God and the spirit of the holy gods is in him. I said, Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery is too difficult for you.
[1:34] Here is my dream. Interpret it for me. These are the visions I saw while lying in my bed. I looked and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land.
[1:48] Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky. It was visible to the ends of the earth.
[1:59] Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it, the beast of the field found shelter, and the birds of the air lived in its branches.
[2:11] From it, every creature was fed. In the visions I saw while lying in my bed, I looked and there before me was a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven.
[2:23] He called in a loud voice, cut down the tree and trim off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.
[2:35] But let the stump and its roots bound with iron and bronze remain in the ground in the grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.
[2:51] Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal till seven times pass by for him. The decision is announced by messengers.
[3:04] The holy ones declare the verdict so that the living may know that the most high is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.
[3:17] This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me, but you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.
[3:34] Then Daniel, also called Belteshazzar, was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.
[3:44] Belteshazzar answered, My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries.
[3:55] The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air.
[4:14] You, O king, are that tree. You'll become great and strong. Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
[4:29] You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump bound with iron and bronze and the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground.
[4:43] Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live like the wild animals until seven times pass by for him. This is the interpretation, O king.
[4:57] And this is the decree the Most High has issued against the Lord, my king. Against my lord, the king. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals.
[5:09] You will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.
[5:29] The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that heaven rules. Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice.
[5:45] Renounce your sins by doing what is right and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that your prosperity will continue.
[6:00] Let's hear the preaching of God's word. Let's hear the preaching of God's word. If I were to announce to you this morning that our great text comes from the lips of Vladimir Putin, how many of you would be ready to walk out right now on me?
[6:30] I don't care what Vladimir Putin has to say. I'm here to hear what God says. Amen. Well, amen to that. But what if the words of Vladimir Putin were exactly the words that Almighty God had taught him to say?
[6:49] Now what? Are you ready to hear the word of the Lord through the mouth of a Mr. Putin? You see, that's the sort of passage we come to today in Daniel chapter 4.
[7:03] The words of Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest warrior king in the known world 600 years before Christ's birth. The greatest man in the world conquering and ruling over the whole world as it was then known in his great Babylonian empire.
[7:24] And Mr. Putin is not nearly as great as Nebuchadnezzar and probably not nearly as evil as Nebuchadnezzar was. And yet it is this king, Nebuchadnezzar, who brings to us a message from the king of kings.
[7:39] It was a message given to him in a dream, interpreted by God's prophet Daniel, and impressed upon him by a humbling judgment of God.
[7:54] It's a message about the absolute sovereignty of God over all the kingdoms, the nations of the world. And what irony it is to find this truth in the lips of this pagan king who ruled over the then known world.
[8:10] So if you haven't got your Bibles open to Daniel 4 yet, I ask you to turn there with me. We are seeing in our own day, and not only in our own nation, but on a worldwide scale, the disintegration of peace, the breakdown of law and order, the toppling of governments, nations rising up against nation, wars and threats and rumors of war, just like our Lord said that there would be.
[8:43] And this is not the end, as our Savior told us, but these are the birth pangs, signaling that the end is coming, and so are warnings to prepare for it.
[8:56] Now, in one sense, this is nothing new then, is it? War is as old as the nations. But will you not agree that when we see these things happening, in times like these, we need the Bible.
[9:13] We need the Bible to give us perspective. In times like these, when nations are in uproar and kingdoms fall, we need a good dose of the sovereignty of God.
[9:27] The reminder of who is on the throne of the universe. And that's exactly what we have in Daniel chapter 4, from the mouth of the Lord through the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
[9:39] Now, it all started with a terrifying dream. Kids, you may have had scary dreams, but this dream was different. This was God revealing himself to King Nebuchadnezzar.
[9:54] And Nebuchadnezzar sees this enormous tree visible to the ends of the earth. And it was so big that it provided food and shelter to all the creatures of the whole world.
[10:05] Now, that's a big tree, the kind that only happens in your dreams. But then a messenger came down from heaven and cried, cut down the tree, lop off its branches, strip its leaves, and scatter its fruit.
[10:20] But, leave the stump in the grass of the field. And then at verse 15b, you'll notice something strange takes place.
[10:32] This tree stump is given a personal pronoun. It's called him. So we go from a tree in a tree stump to him. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and live with the animals among the plants of the earth.
[10:47] Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal till seven times pass by for him. And then in verse 17 comes our great text for this morning.
[11:02] Announced to Nebuchadnezzar by members, messengers from heaven, that all of this would happen so that the living may know that the most high is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.
[11:23] Now this great text is found not only here in verse 17, but it's found three more times in this chapter and one more time in chapter 5.
[11:34] Kids, if your parents repeat something twice, you really better sit up and listen. You need to hear it the first time, but if they repeat it twice, it's really important.
[11:47] What must we say about this message? If in this short span of chapters 4 and 5 of Daniel, we have five times this same message pounded home to our hearts.
[12:00] And it's not just for Nebuchadnezzar and it's not just for Israel of old, but it's something that God wants the living to know. And by the looks of that, that's you this morning.
[12:14] That's me. This is something that God wants the living to know. It's something we need to know and to acknowledge from the depths of our hearts.
[12:24] It's something we need to live upon day by day as we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearance, of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The truth that our God reigns.
[12:38] Whatever's happening in his world, he is sovereign. He is ruling over it all. Now, we're told that none of the king's wise men could interpret the dream, so Daniel's called upon to do so.
[12:52] And for some time, Daniel himself was terrified at the dream. And it was only at the urging of the king to tell him the meaning that he finally got it out.
[13:05] If only this was true of your enemies and not you, O king, because you, you, O king, are that tree.
[13:15] You are great and strong. Your kingdom has reached to the ends of the known world. and all the nations are under your canopy.
[13:28] Well, this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my Lord, the king. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals.
[13:42] You will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.
[13:59] There's the second time we hear this great text. The sovereign God is coming in judgment for you. But let's not miss the fact that mercy is here mixed with judgment.
[14:19] With the judgment comes mercy. Verse 26 says, the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that heaven rules.
[14:31] Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice. Renounce your sins by doing what's right and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be, it may be that then your prosperity will continue.
[14:46] It may be that this whole threatened judgment may be averted if you repent. So that's the dream and that's the meaning announced to king Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel even through an advice for free.
[15:01] If this is the word of God to you, let me advise you to repent. Let me urge you to turn from your oppressiveness of your people and from your wicked ways and perhaps God will show you mercy.
[15:16] mercy. So what is the unchanging lesson that it teaches us about our God and about our world? And again, this is nothing new to you.
[15:29] You believe the sovereignty of God, most all of you. You've been in this church and under this ministry, but we need to hear it and apply it to our hearts and to our day afresh.
[15:41] It's just that, that God reigns as absolute sovereign over all. And so we see that he is called here the most high. He's high in authority.
[15:53] He's high in power. High in dominion and rule. And as the most high, there's none higher. There's not even any equal to him.
[16:06] He is the most high. To whom then will you compare me or who is my equal? Says the Holy One. Isaiah 40, 25. So, the most high God is also here told to be sovereign over the kingdoms of men.
[16:24] Who is this Jehovah most high God? Well, he's Israel's God. He's the God that revealed himself to this one nation and took them to be his people in the Old Testament.
[16:35] And yet, what he is claiming is that I am not only in charge of the nation of Israel, this little nation.
[16:46] I'm in charge of all the nations. So, Israel's king is king over all the nations of the world. What an announcement. And that's why God is called the king of kings.
[16:59] The king of kings. Now, there's a surprise for all the kings of the world. they have a king over them. Even the highest kings among men like Nebuchadnezzar who was the greatest king of all.
[17:16] And it goes for every president and every king and ruler of the present day. They too are to know and acknowledge that there is a king over them. God reigns with supreme authority over them and their kingdoms and he's a God to whom they're accountable for how they use their authority.
[17:37] Now, if that's not humbling enough for Nebuchadnezzar, he must also know that he only has his position of rule because God has given it to him. Now, most great men of the world don't view that that way.
[17:52] They think the reason they're king is because of who they are and what they've done. They've accomplished this thing. And yet here the word is is that no.
[18:04] No, the only reason you're king is because God has given that rule to you. Verse 25, the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.
[18:18] Psalm 75 says that promotion comes from God who puts down one and lifts up another. It's his prerogative and he exercises it in all the nations of the world.
[18:30] If anyone's king, he's been put there by God. So that's terribly humbling for a man who thinks he's quite exceptional and boasts of conquering kingdoms by his own superior wisdom, power, and greatness.
[18:46] But it gets even more deflating as you see in verse 17 he says that God sets over these kingdoms the lowliest of men. take that Nebuchadnezzar.
[18:58] You think you're so great. God's in charge of who gets to reign and his way is to take the poor from the ash heap and the needy and to lift them up with princes of their people to seat them in places of leadership.
[19:16] The poor, the needy, the nobodies. men think that they have scraped and by their own importance have made it to the top but God sets over kingdoms the lowliest of men.
[19:35] That's often his way and so he's cutting the knees right out from under Nebuchadnezzar carving him down to size. Now by nature kings tend to be proud and self-willed ever getting his own way every day all day everyone answering to him him answering to no one.
[19:56] Might equals right therefore because I can I will making his own laws and bending to none and so true to nature Nebuchadnezzar is soon over this terrifying dream.
[20:14] He gets over it like you get over a scary dream and he just dismisses this message from the almighty and he continues on in his proud and sinful wicked and oppressive ways ignoring both the threat and the advice that Daniel brought to him.
[20:34] Reminds me of Psalm chapter 2 the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers of this world take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed king.
[20:50] So what happens when these mighty world leaders exalt themselves above God most high ignoring both his threatened judgments and the calls to repent?
[21:03] Well we're told in verse 29 what happened 12 months later we see something of the patience of God in that 12 months later Nebuchadnezzar is walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon he's just looking out over it all preening his feathers and boasting and patting himself on the back is this not the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty there's not a whisper about the sovereignty of God there's no acknowledging that God has given him this realm and that God is the one who has set him up in this position and so here we see that God first instructed him by his word he first teaches by his word but some are like a mule who refuse to be taught who have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you maybe the same could be said of some horses that you speak to them and they answer they do what you tell them but there are some mules that will not obey you unless they get a board or a spur or a bit and bridle to move them and that's what we have here
[22:33] I wonder how it is with you do you respond to the instruction of the bare word of God when he comes to you and you're reading of it the hearing of the preaching are you responsive to that or do you require the bit and bridle a bigger hammer a bigger two by four to get your attention to get the message and obey well with Nebuchadnezzar he brushed aside the word the bare word of God meant nothing to him it's now time to teach him another way in a way he cannot escape and so we're told that while his boastful words were still on his lips isn't that something he's he's he's arrested even as he's boasting it's it's still on his lips and suddenly a voice from heaven interrupts him and calls him out by name this is what is decreed for you king Nebuchadnezzar your royal authority has been taken from you the most high who gave it to you is now taking it from you you'll be driven away from people and live with the cattle and seven times which are either years or seasons will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the most high is sovereign in the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he pleases and there's our great text for the third time and immediately there's no twelve months waiting now immediately what had been said about
[24:14] Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled his kingdom was taken from him his sanity was taken from him life as he knew it was taken from him and he who once dined on delicacies in the royal palace is now chewing grass with the cattle of the field with the mind of an animal his body drenched with the dew of the morning his hair growing like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird this time the message came in a form that Nebuchadnezzar could not ignore and he brought the proud and mighty king to acknowledge that heaven rules heaven rules not Nebuchadnezzar that the most high is sovereign over all the nations of the world listen how Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God's sovereignty it's the fourth time for our great text and he embellishes on it he explains it more clearly goes into greater detail he says then I praised the most high verse 34
[25:27] I honored and glorified him who lives forever he not only calls him the most high but he acknowledges that he lives forever he's not this king is not like the kings of this earth we live out our lives and then we die and another king replaces us but not him no he lives forever and therefore his throne does not need to be handed off to another he's an eternal king with an eternal kingdom his dominion is an eternal dominion his kingdom endures from generation to generation and he goes on in verse 35 what does it mean that God is sovereign over all the nations well all the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing compared to him it's the same message that God gave to the Israelites when he envisioned that they were going to be brought under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar in Isaiah chapter 40 they're going to need this message then and so 200 years before
[26:34] Nebuchadnezzar captured and took them away and destroyed their Jerusalem and temple Isaiah 40 was given to Isaiah to announce ahead of time the very message they would need when they were pressed under the heel of this Nebuchadnezzar and what does Isaiah 40 say before him all the nations are as nothing they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing nothing I don't know what less than nothing means but it's not much is it and that's what the nations Babylon that will be oppressing you that's what they are compared to your God behold your God he brings to naught the rulers of this world no sooner are they planted no sooner are they sown no sooner do they take root in the ground then he blows on them and they wither and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff surely the people are grass just grass compared to our God they're nothing and that's the divine estimate of the world's great leaders they're nothing to boast about in fact their next breath is in the hand of the Lord and if he doesn't give it they wither like a flower and they die and their place remembers them no more well Nebuchadnezzar goes even further in acknowledging the absolute sovereignty of God he says of the most high in verse 35b he does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of earth only a sovereign can do that to do as he pleases with the powers of heaven the good angels the bad angels the peoples of the earth the nations now when have you been able to pull off doing all you please for just one week without anything frustrating your desires and your plans managing your little family your little life your little budget your little health and you found that there were just too many variables that you don't have control over how other people act how your car acts your health your economy the weather and a host of other variables you have no control over and it's all proving that we are not sovereign we are not in control of all that we do but God is the whole universe he does as he pleases he pulls it off he's that great he's that sovereign now these great rulers of the earth think they're doing as they please we'll march into
[29:46] Ukraine with our great army and our resources and we'll do this and we'll do that or like Nebuchadnezzar we'll find another nation we've not yet conquered and we will add it to our winnings but they too have great limitations placed upon them variables that they cannot control reality is that they can't even keep themselves alive how different with the most high sovereign who does whatever he pleases in all of heaven and earth that's the whole shoot and match that's the cosmos that's the universe and every square inch of it is fulfilling his purpose and his plan doing what he pleases remember how the wise man puts it in Proverbs 21 1 the king's heart is where well it's it's in the hand of the Lord and what is he doing with it he's he's directing it like a water course he's been in an airplane recently and looked down on the rivers they don't go in a straight line do they they wiggle around and that's what
[30:57] God does he directs like a water course here there wherever a king is to go he directs the heart of a king he's sovereign even over a Nebuchadnezzar the great look at him now grazing with cattle just as the Lord said and he further describes what it means that God is sovereign overall in the end of verse 35 no one can hold back his hand or say to him what have you done there's two things here that Nebuchadnezzar says about God's sovereignty first he says his powerful hand cannot be stopped or hindered from doing whatever he pleases as the most high there's none who can thwart his hand and so the picture is this that God is stretching out his powerful hand to do something in the world and somebody says no you don't you're not going to do that that never happens to God he's never stopped now the most high stopped Nebuchadnezzar in his tracks didn't he he took his throne insanity from him but none stopped God and Nebuchadnezzar declares that it's the same message that
[32:15] David declares in Psalm 33 10 and 11 that he God foils the plans of the nations and he thwarts the purposes of the people but the plans of the Lord stand firm forever the purposes of his heart through all generations and so when he wants to do something he does it and no one can hold back his hand and thwart him that's sovereignty that's what it means and there's no place in the world where that hand is not doing as he pleased but there's even more to God's sovereignty as the verse goes on to say in verse 35 no one can say to him no one can stop his hand but no one can even say to him what have you done kids have your parents ever said that to you what have you done well they're calling you to account you are under them in authority and so they're asking you they're demanding of you to have to give a reason for what you've done
[33:20] Mr. Putin is even being asked what have you done by the nations of the world by some of his own people and eventually he will answer to almighty God what have you but nobody has the authority the right to ask that of God no one can say to him I'm calling you into account I'm I'm keeping you in line here what have you done no he does whatever he pleases with none to stop him and none to question him that's sovereignty the only law over him is his own nature and he always acts consistent with his own righteousness and justice and holiness and goodness he cannot deny himself but he can do and he does pull off all his holy will with none to call him into account well that's the absolute sovereignty of God over the whole world and it's also true of men's salvation the apostle
[34:31] Paul points teaches that very truth in Romans chapter 9 that God does as he pleases in salvation and he has mercy Romans 9 18 God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden and Paul says well one of you will say to me then why does God still blame us for who resists his will you see someone's asking God what have you done God you're to be called into account if you're going to give mercy to one and not to all the apostle Paul's inspired answer is but who are you oh man to talk back to God shall what is form say to him who formed it why did you make me like this doesn't the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use you see the reality is we all deserve hell and God is totally sovereign in reaching into that mass of humanity that are making a mad dash to hell and having mercy on some and not others he's sovereign and no one can say to him what have you done well
[35:46] Nebuchadnezzar got it he got it he finally gets it not just the word of God now but the word of God with the judgment of God and he's impressed now with the truth do we get it do we get it do we live upon this truth every day that the most high is sovereign and is doing as he pleases right now in the kingdoms of men with none to stop him none to hinder or thwart him and none to question him all this was done so that the living might know that God is sovereign and judge over all the living you know the dead know it but that's truth learned too late we've been given Daniel four and five five times that now we in the land of the living might get it and repent and seek mercy while it's to be found in Jesus Christ don't miss the mercy of God to this pagan king the Lord restored his sanity he restored his throne his kingdom and gave him even greater splendor and the chapter ends in verse 37 with this the confessions not of
[37:01] Augustine but of Nebuchadnezzar now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and exalt and glorify the king of heaven because everything he does is right and all his ways are just and those who walk in pride he is able to humble somehow those words have more power than if they were just the words of one of God's prophets but to hear them coming from the greatest man in the world of his time saying to us those who walk in pride he's able to humble that's me it wasn't long after this that Nebuchadnezzar died in the 43rd year of his reign commentators differ on whether he was truly converted or not we'll find out in heaven the last judgment whether he's on the right or the left of Christ but there's surely nothing out of line with scripture to believe in a wicked man finding mercy with the Lord did you mean it when you sang it this morning like that thief on the cross as vile as I me as vile wicked and I'm one who's found mercy with the
[38:22] Lord what a what a sovereign what a kind king we serve Matthew Henry says there's good reason to hope that he was truly converted and if so then we must admire free grace by which he lost his wits for a while that he might save his soul forever what a kindness and isn't God like that he comes in judgment in your life and oh it was a mercy it was a harsh mercy but it was mercy so this lesson on God's sovereignty it's for us the living to learn and it's the best of news for God's people it was written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come this was the very truth Israel needed as they lived under the heel of harsh wicked pagan powerful kings Jeff Thomas says the shortest bridge from despair to hope is the truth that our
[39:24] God reigns without that it's despair it's fear it's panic but with that is the shortest bridge to hope to comfort to peace to confidence and children of God our God reigns for our good for our good and if he is for us who can be against us nothing can thwart his good purposes for us to work everything together in this world full of sin and evil working it all together for our good which is to be conformed to his son's image our Lord Jesus and so we're confronted with the reality that our Jesus reigns all authority in heaven and earth has been given to him the father has seated him there at his own right hand on the throne with him his executor to work out his purposes in the world and Jesus must reign until all of his enemies are put under his feet and he's reigning for us who are his people this is a truth that ought to bring us comfort no one can lift their finger unless God allows it they can't take their next breath unless God gives it that God's purposes will prevail down to the very last detail now that's a truth you can rest your weary soul on that's a truth you can just put your head on that's a pillow to find peace and rest and say that my
[41:02] God is fulfilling his purposes and Jesus never fails the Lord God omnipotent reigns best news of all for God's people but I must tell you in the second place it's the worst news of all for sinners outside of Christ to have this sovereign God against you for he is at one and the same time the worst of enemies and the best of friends which is he to you have you come and bowed before him he's determined to bring down every high thing every high thing it must come down the Lord alone will be exalted in that day and that means every bit of man's pride must be humbled and here's this personal confession of King Nebuchadnezzar the world's greatest man of the times the last words he speaks to us in the Bible those who walk in pride he's able to humble and he's just spilled his guts on the whole story of how
[42:03] God humbled him he's telling the whole world can you even imagine any of the high and mighty rulers of this age getting on TV and telling the world how God humbled me a proud man we'd have to go back a long way to find one of our own presidents who would go on international TV and announce it to the world well that's what we see in Nebuchadnezzar and his words remind us that it's one thing to humble ourselves before God and it's another thing to be humbled by God there's a difference a big difference from humbling yourself before God and God humbling you before God the Lord Jesus points out this difference in Luke 18 14 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled
[43:03] God opposes the proud God resists the proud but whoever humbles themselves will be exalted lifted up and you know it's one or the other it's either humble yourselves before this God and King or it's be humbled and so Peter warns God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble he's kind to the humble he forgives the humble he shows mercy to the humble therefore humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time God now commands all men everywhere to repent have you humbled yourself before him have you turned from going your own way and coming and bowed and pled for mercy God be merciful to me the sinner for Jesus sake hang your whole hope for heaven upon what Jesus has done for sinners living a perfect life that you couldn't dying the death you should have under God's wrath that's humbling yourself before him nothing good to say for yourself if you sent me to hell today you would be just and right but I've heard of your your mercy and I'm casting myself on your mercy alone
[44:25] God has grace for such who will humble themselves before him and what we see in Nebuchadnezzar being humbled is a picture of what's going to happen to every king who does not humble themselves before the king of kings in this life because God has highly exalted his son and given him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow Mr.
[44:52] Putin every president every national leader and every boy and girl and man and woman here and everywhere will bow the knee to the king of kings and with their lips they will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord he is the sovereign most high to the glory of God the father there will be none in that day calling the most high to give account you know arrogant people talk about that don't they when I see God I'm going to give him a piece of my mind and say what have you done bringing this into my life doing that in my life this in the world this evil that king you know what the bible says every mouth will be stopped silenced in that day as the world stands guilty before God accountable to him not the other way around calling God to account there's a higher king who reigns we can't see him oh but if we're in
[46:07] Christ we love him we believe in him we hope in him we rejoice in him it's good for us that he reigns then let's live in the confident joy of our savior reigning and if you're outside of this Jesus you need to come today and humble yourself and cast yourself on his mercy let's pray together God most high father son and holy spirit sovereign ruler over the kingdoms of this world and through the work of salvation the king of our hearts the king of grace the king of glory we bow and worship you for the mercy we have found in you we thank you that you are sovereign we thank you that you had mercy upon us as we look at our world we confess we are often shaken with fear we see fickle men with powers even even nuclear powers at their fingertips and it can cause us lack of sleep and concern for the case of this world and what's going to happen and so we need you to bring home to our hearts this message that you pounded home through
[47:31] Nebuchadnezzar so long ago that you are sovereign and no one lifts a finger apart from you that your purposes are being fulfilled that Jesus reigns with all authority in heaven and earth given to him give us patience to wait for him and to endure things that we cannot yet understand we unite our hearts with our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine who are right now suffering at the hands of wicked men and do not know what a moment might bring we pray for the comfort of your sovereignty to settle them to give them peace we pray for you to protect them and bring to an end the violence of the wicked and glorify Jesus Christ even in this time of fear that many might come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and Sovereign King Lord don't let this message go over the heads of those who haven't yet bowed their hearts and knees before the Lord
[48:34] Jesus but bring them this day by grace to cast themselves upon your mercy and to taste what we have found in him such a powerful and yet loving and merciful King we praise you in Jesus name Amen Amen Amen Pely music Amen.