God's Sovereignty: Lessons from Nebuchadnezzar's Pride

"God is the ruler of all yet. He has created and installed mankind to live under his rule and to rule over everything else. All of God's family. creation animals don't get to rule anyone and unless you have a cat then they do rule over you they seem to feel like they're the exception so how is it that god could announce an event to king nebuchadnezzar and it just happens exactly as he says well it is because god is at the top of the hierarchy it is what we call god's sovereignty right it's called the sovereignty of god it's got a doctrinal name it means that he is in control of his universe he determines the outcome of everything according to what he wants to do he has absolute authority and rule there's no one above him he doesn't answer to anyone he's not subject to anyone or anything nothing is outside of the scope of his rule he doesn't rule you he controls and guides everything all events and he does it for his glory right he's entitled to make himself look good because he is good right when we want to try to make ourselves look good it's because we want to look better than we really are it's not the same for god god wants to make himself look good so you know how he is he does it for his glory and for our good he does it to benefit all those that are under his loving rule he's not like a chess player he doesn't react and go oh that was a good move now I have to change my strategy and do something else he doesn't adjust his plans according to what people do what he says happens it's important for us to know that god not only knows the future he controls the future it's a really significant thing and it's probably the first big thing that we can think of right now can pull out of this that no matter how great or successful or powerful we or anybody else is god is still sovereign god is still the ultimate ruler of the whole universe no matter what i do no matter what someone else does no matter who opposes him god is still the ultimate ruler of everything and everyone he's still sovereign" [00:15:58]

"whether you would rather justify or defend your attitude rather than admit i need help to change my attitude whether you need to ask what god thinks about something that instead you look online for someone who will agree with you in so many ways you can't just say i need help to change ways our hearts so show signs of pride it's visible you don't have to look very hard sometimes i feel like i can trust god with my salvation because i have no other choice but then there's a line and everything below that is my job and i'll handle it thanks i'm fine you know what that is that is my pride i wonder what it would look like for you to admit that we need god's help not just for the big stuff but for everything it's your breath in our lungs so we call out our praise every breath is a gift from god" [00:19:55]

"your kingdom is big it extends to the known world you've become great and strong but god is coming to you to cut you down god is going to humble you king why because you king nebuchadnezzar have not accepted god's hierarchy in your heart you've got the wrong person at the top you don't accept that god is the rule of all you think you are the rule of all look at verse 25 seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the most high is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth he gives them to anyone he wishes between the lines king nebuchadnezzar you need to stop thinking that this is all your hard work and that you're so clever you need to remember god gave you this kingdom because he was willing and wanted to do so it suited god's purposes that's why you have this kingdom you think you're the ultimate authority you think you've earned this but you're not you're not the ultimate authority you think you've earned this you need to know that your position is simply a gift from god nothing more and king nebuchadnezzar's pride was making him blind to that fact he thought he was the ruler didn't realize he had a ruler" [00:31:47]

"This verse is telling us that pride is the very thing that brings you down. Let me tell you how, or let me suggest to you a way. It robs you of your ability to appreciate your amazing value to God and the undeserved blessings that you have from God. Let me try and demonstrate that. Let's say we sang a great new song, a worship song, one morning. And you come up to the band afterwards and you share your appreciation and you say, where did that song come from? And I jump out from behind my bass guitar and I say, I did it. I wrote it. And of course, you know, straight away, that's not true. But I'm attempting to take credit for someone else's work. It is a form of plagiarism." [00:24:55]

"The Bible says that there's nothing that you are and nothing that you have that is not a gift from God. It tells you that you're a work of art, that you've been created by God in his image for a purpose. And yet, when you and I claim to be self -made, I did this. I worked hard to be where I am. Thank you very much for your compliment. I take it. Then I'm taking credit for God's work. I'm saying I did that. I did that. Therefore, I have to reject the notion that God did it. I can't be both. I can't be both a created image bearer of God made for his purpose and also self -made. I can only be one of those things. And when I claim to be self -made, I reject the notion that God has made me for his purposes." [00:26:03]

"when proud people are doing well and enjoying god's gifts there's little there's little joy in that because they say well i'm owed this i deserve this it's no no different to collecting my pay at the end of the week or the end of the month of course i should have these good things and when a proud person is suffering they say things like i don't deserve this or i deserve better than this it feels like injustice and when a proud person is offered help or offered a gift often will turn it away and say no thank you i'm okay i can identify with that i said what i say is i don't need help what i really mean is i don't want to need help i want to get there by myself because then i can claim that i did it i want to deserve it friends if we believe in the gospel of jesus we cannot be caught up in what we deserve the gospel tells us that we deserve judgment and a proud heart needs to be humbled to stop focusing on what we deserve and simply focus on god's goodness to us the bible says that god opposes the proud and he gives grace to the humble ironically it's the humble who are willing to accept and receive the gospel grace of god and so god and his goodness to king nebuchadnezzar humbles him so that he's able to see and accept the goodness of god the grace that god shows him a humble heart acknowledges its position before god and the truth is yes i deserve god god's judgment but i'm not worthless i am priceless because of what god has done for me what god has done to have me" [00:38:27]

"daniel's advice to king nebuchadnezzar is essentially humble yourself before god does it for you give the top position back to god take your position under him and perhaps he will allow you to rule for a longer period uh perhaps the tree won't get cut down after all your proud heart is bringing you into danger o king which gives us probably another takeaway that god's sovereignty it's a refuge for the humble and it's a danger for us to be in a position where god takes care of you and take care of you for a longer period change for the proud when good comes to a humble heart we say thank you lord that's a gracious gift when hard times come to a humble heart we say i don't know what's going on lord i want to trust you i know that you are in control of everything that's what you've said and i know you've got a perfect plan it's a refuge but for the proud heart it's dangerous right you're in danger of being humbled and that's a hard lesson to take i wonder what good things in life you are taking credit for when people say wow that's a great business that you've built up you say yes it is thank you very much uh when someone compliments you on your appearance uh on your skills on your giftings that are used for others i wonder whether there's areas in your life that you are putting what you want ahead of what god wants or what god says i wonder whether that you have used those words i deserve i deserve better than this what would it look like to take refuge in the sovereignty of god" [00:39:21]

"see you acknowledge that the most high sovereign over all the kingdoms of the earth and he gives them to anyone he wishes that's when you can go back to your rightful place so king nebuchadnezzar is humbled he suffers from a condition that is rare but real it's got a name i can't remember what it's called but people become convinced that they are an animal it's a mental condition and they become so convinced that they are an animal that they behave like an animal the symptoms are devastating you can imagine what would be the outcome when someone believes that they are a buffalo or a dog or some sort of carnivorous animal but at the end of seven times whether that is months or seasons or years it's kind of not relevant for our purposes in god's grace he restores king nebuchadnezzar and he looks towards heaven and he praises the most high you when king nebuchadnezzar places god in his rightful position god returns king nebuchadnezzar to his rightful position and he allows him to return to the throne which now he sees as a gift of god's grace and now i've got another picture of king nebuchadnezzar for you there he is but he's no longer he -man he is just a man he knows now who is the master of the universe it's not him after all because listen to what he says about the one true god i'm going to start reading for you and little snippets in verse 34 his dominion speaking of god his dominion is an eternal dominion it's not like mine it's different and it's better it's bigger his kingdom endures from generation to generation i can only ever rule for my generation but god does more than that all people of earth are regarded as nothing right no body can match god's level no human belongs at god's place in the hierarchy he does what he pleases with the powers of heaven and the people of earth no one can hold him back or say what have you done right nobody gives god a lecture no one says answer me these questions explain your reasons verse 37 everything that he does is right and those who walk in pride who try to lift themselves up too far up the hierarchy he is able to humble right no one can say that like king nebuchadnezzar he knows that to be true king nebuchadnezzar was a king who had everything but he was stripped of it in order that he might be saved god did this not only for his glory but for king nebuchadnezzar's good god told him it would happen despite everyone else's plans it did happen and the result was god's glory and the king's good but i don't want to stop there guys for fast forward with me through history to another king another king who truly was greater than any other king one whose kingdom truly reaches everywhere who provides everything nothing beyond his ruling and that King also went through a humbling the most extreme humbling when he was stripped naked he was spat on he was ridiculed he was made a laughing stock he was executed on false charges God foretold it God said it would happen and that it was part of his his sovereign plan his humbling was not because of that Kings pride that humbling was because of our pride that humbling was not to save that King that humbling was to save us and after being humbling that King was restored not to a human throne but to the throne of heaven he's never ceased to rule and one day everyone will like King Nebuchadnezzar recognize that he is at the top of the hierarchy he is of course King Jesus the one King who deserved to have it all who can truly say this is by me and for me that King gave it all up you he was willing to be humbled for you for me which gives us our last key takeaway Jesus humble gift of himself is a gift for us to receive not earn Jesus gift of himself he's a gift that you can receive but you cannot earn and I want you to take a fresh look at King Jesus." [00:38:27]

"If you're feeling high and mighty and prosperous and successful and content, you're prone like me to say, yes, I did that and I'm pretty proud of it. Friends, check your heart. Hop off the throne and worship the King of Heaven. He is the only one true King. And whatever it is that makes you proud, I want to remind you that it is simply a gift from him. Conversely, if you're feeling low, if you're feeling downtrodden, defeated, you feel like you've already been humbled and you've had enough of that, I want you to lift your eyes to heaven and see the King who humbled himself. He can call from afar, he can stay on his throne and tell you what to do. He humbled himself because he loves you. Everything that he put aside, everything that he experienced was so that he could have you. So that he could adopt you into his family and have you forever. Don't be the kind of person who says, I don't want the gift if I can't earn it. If I can't earn it, I don't want it. Because the status of being God's child is exactly that. You can't earn it. You can only simply receive it as a gift. Let's give thanks and rejoice in the delight of being the recipients of God's wonderful, undeserved, gracious gift." [00:39:21]