God's Knockout Punch

Introduction

Tell the story of Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson

Defeat is difficult, but success can be fatal.

God teaches the proud to praise Him. God’s knockout punch to Nebuchadnezzar was a healing one.

A little background on King Nebuchadnezzar:

Chapter 1: Daniel and his friends decide they wont disobey God by eating the King’s food. Because they obeyed God and depended on Him, God gave them great wisdom. The King saw that and honored God’s men.

Chapter 2: The Lord gave the king a dream that only Daniel could interpret. Daniel made it clear that the dream and it’s interpretation had come from the only true God. Through this the king learned that only God’s kingdom would last forever.

In Daniel 3, King saw that the God of S, M, and A was faithful; He could do what no other “gods” could do-God could rescue His people. He saw that God would step into a blazing furnace to be with those who trust in Him. So the King made a law that nobody could speak against the God of Israel.

All of these were steps toward knowing God, but Nebuchadnezzar didn’t understand yet that God was the ONLY God and that He was in control of EVERYTHING. The king thought that he was like a god. He had one more important lesson to learn.

God’s Warning to the Proud (1-27)

Read verse 1-18

Daniel didn’t want to tell the King what this dream was saying because he knew it was about the king himself! He didn’t do it because he was scared of Nebuchadnezzar, but because he had genuinely grown to love the king since he had been working under him for some years. He had done the commandment that was said in Jeremiah 29. Is that how you feel about the neighbors around you? Is that how you feel about the people that are antagonistic against you and your faith?

Read verse 22-27

Daniel pleaded with Nebuchadnezzar to turn his life over to God and repent of his sins, but Nebuchadnezzar wouldn’t do it. He went another 12 months before God finally humbled him like he said that he would. Listen…God knows that day for you too and it’s never when you think that it’s going to happen. God will rock you to your core because of your pride and self-love.

7 was the number in scripture for fullness. This could have been seven full years, but regardless it means that he suffered the full amount of time. Nebuchadnezzar suffered for as long as he needed to for him to realize that God was God and he was not. Some of you guys are there. Are you ready to acknowledge that God rules.

God uses Neb. as an illustration to all of mankind of what happens to humanity when we rebel against God. We were supposed to rule and reign on the earth like kings and queens, but because we have rebelled against God and chose to sin. When we do that we become like beasts. We become like animals. We become insane.

Pride was the very sin of Satan (Ezekiel 28:15-17) C.S. Lewis writes, “The essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride…it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

The Danger of Pride

Prides roots, fruits,

Pride has two roots:

A failure to see that every good thing comes from God

Plagiarism-borrows something from somebody else and says you are the author of it.

Your life should have one big footnote. NOT BY ME BUT BY GOD

the foolish assumption that the good life’ will last forever.

Nebuchadnezzar was the most successful and powerful man in the world. Babylon was the headquarters of the known world. It was built like a garden that was on both sides of the Euphrates and a tunnel that was built under the river to get to both sides. His palace had a 400 foot waterfall. He built a wall that was 56 miles long, 80 feet wide and 300 feet high in many places. If there was anyone that should feel secure in the world it shouldve been him. He was the world’s bank. He was an unchallenged monarch. He had it all. But God has a way. Most everyone in here is young, you have your whole life ahead of you.

Part of Satan’s lie in the garden: You will not surely die. It’s not that it’s not going to happen but he can make you forget about it.

The foolish assumption that it’s all going to last forever.

There are six fruits of pride:

Competitiveness

if it’s always about you, you can rest assured that you have a problem with pride. C.S. Lewis “If you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, ‘How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or patronize me, or show off?’ The point is that each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride. It’s because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Two of a trade never agree. Pride is essentially competitive-is competitive by its very nature.”

You’re mad that they got all the attention and it’s taking away from the attention that should’ve been yours.

Those who suffer from it most don’t even know it but they are making everyone else around them sick. There is a blindness to human pride.

Ingratitude

Paul in Romans 1 “We didn’t glorify God as God and we were not thankful” Gratitude is a sign of humility.

Entitlement

The sense that you deserve good things. Look what I’ve done. I’ve worked hard I deserve this! I deserve the thank you, money, rest, the playing time, the first chair, the class president, the job, etc.

Overconfidence

Boasting in ways that you shouldn’t be boasting. You should say “If the Lord wills”

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Self-will

Neb is the source of his own life in his own mind.

The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. I fear God like I fear oxygen. Not that I actually fear oxygen but I fear the idea of being without it or putting myself in a position where I would be without it. Those who go through life without seeking God’s will are those who think they can make it on their own without God. I am terrified of the Lord taking his hand off of my life because I have continually went my own way. That’s why I want to stay close to him.

Stinginess

Daniel 4:27 Daniel puts repentance before the exploitation of the poor. Our pride will harden our hearts and minds to the needs of others. If you feel like the source of everything and you worked hard for everything you got then you’ll look at everyone else around you that’s not doing well and think “if they would’ve worked hard they would’ve gotten what I have”

If you realize how much you’ve gotten from God your heart will go out to others differently. The grace that has been given to you will always be a gift not earned.

Exploitation

SPRINKLE OF APPLICATION: God wants us to stay close to Him and far from sin. When we are in sin, or close to things that tempt us, God gives us correction in a few different ways:

Through reading His word

Through bible teaching and preaching

Through prayer

Through community-those closest to Jesus that are closest to you will be your greatest treasure in your spiritual walk with Christ.

It’s important for us to pay attention to God’s correction. God is patient, but when we choose to ignore His loving warnings, we will face the consequences of our sin.

What is prides cure? Suffering

God’s spirit is the one that awakened Neb to look up to heaven (the look of repentance).

Is that happening to you right now? Are you hearing God’s voice right now?

READ DANIEL 4:34-37

This is King Neb’s testimony!

King Neb, a pagan king, makes one of the most humble declarations of God’s power in all of Scripture.

Nothing will thwart God’s power, justice, awesomeness.

Land the Plane

God teaches the proud to praise Him, because God’s knockout punch to Nebuchadnezzar was a healing one.

Have you humbled yourself like King Neb before a holy God? Because the worst thing for you is to enter into eternity unhumbled. Yes, we all are going to face Him one day. We all are going to stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus was the true king and ascended to his throne by humility. The Lord Jesus is the great King. His kingdom is everlasting. But Paul tells us that Christ Jesus “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6-7) This move from very God to humble human parallels Neb’s descent from great king to lowly beast. But King Jesus willingly descends the created order to become like those he cares for. Jesus took on a human mind to redeem man. Jesus’s humility comes before his exaltation over heaven and earth. Neb’s humility comes before his praising of the King of heaven.

Now, where are you at? God’s not trying to pay you back, he’s trying to bring you back!

Coming to Jesus isn’t hard. The path is easy but the obstacle in the way is your pride to submit.