Spiritual Principle: Pride and time lead to destruction

I. NEBUCHADNEZZAR NIBBLES WITH THE BEASTS

Daniel 4:4 - "I was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace."

Prospering: "Full-flowered"

Principle: "All worldly success has an expiration date."

Matt. 6:19-20

Proverbs 16:18 - "Pride goes before destruction."

Daniel 4:5 - "I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me."

Daniel 4:15-16 - "Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him.”

Daniel 4:37 - "...Who is able to humble those who walk in pride."

II. BELSHAZZAR BUYS IT AT HIS BANQUET-Ch. 5

Kings of.Babylon:

Nebuchadnezzar Died: 562

Amel Marduk-Reiged 2 years

Nergal Sharezer

Nabonidus

Belshazzar

ch. 5:1 Belshazzar throws a great banquet

Vs.2 uses sacred vessels from the Jerusalem Temple

Vs. 17 Mene Mene tekel, upharsin

Translated:

Mene: “god has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

Tekel==You have been weighed in the balance and found deficient

Peres—You Kingdom has been divided and given over to the medes and the Persians.

Vs.22-23 “Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

III. GOD'S CALL TO BOW DOWN

James 4:10 - "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."

An If/Then Statement:

"IF you humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, THEN He will exalt you."

Truth - "In the Kingdom of God, the way up is down."

A. God's Attitude Toward Pride

Proverbs 6:16-17 Things the Lord Hates...Haughty Eyes

Proverbs 15:25 The Lord will tear down the house of the Proud...

Proverbs 16:5 "everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord."

Isaiah 13:11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.

James 5:6 "God is opposed to the Proud..."

We are never commanded to "Be" Humble.

We are commanded to "Humble Ourselves"

How do you live out humility?

1. By daily acknowledging my need for Christ

2. By repenting of my sin before God

3. By giving my life to serve Him by serving others