His Way Or The Hard Way

His Way Or The Hard Way

Daniel 4:1-37

Summary: Why is it that we so often choose to learn things the hard way? We often look back and see that it would have been much easier if we had followed what seems so clear to us now. What hinders us from learning and what can we do to learn the things God wants

INTRODUCTION

Why do we choose the Hard Way

Do you remember when you were growing up? Some of you are experiencing this now. But we have all kinds of different people in our life giving us advice.

We think that, often until we face some of the consequences of the decisions we made.

It would have been so much better and easier for us if we would have just listened to them. But so often we choose to learn things that hard way. Why do we do that?

T.S.

Well, this morning, as we continue our series in Daniel we are going to see Nebuchadnezzar again and take a look at what God wants him to learn and how he chooses the hard way and what he could have done and what we can do to better learn the truths of God His way.

We saw last week that Nebuchadnezzar created a false god made out of gold and required everyone to bow down to it, but Daniel’s friends would not and they were thrown into the fire, but they did not burn up because God saved them.

Nebuchadnezzar certainly recognized that the God of Daniel and the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was a powerful and mighty God, but he had not believed in Him as the One and Only God of the universe. God had shown Nebuchadnezzar His power and His authority over all things, but Nebuchadnezzar was still not a believer.

God has tried to teach Nebuchadnezzar the truth about Himself His way, but Nebuchadnezzar was choosing the Hard way

Why would anyone choose the Hard way?

Why do we choose the Hard way

Ok, we see here that God warned king Nebuchadnezzar in a dream what would happen to him.

Over past several chapters, we have seen God do unbelievable miracles that Nebuchadnezzar had seen. God revealed and interpreted a dream through Daniel, something the king recognized only a mighty God could do. God saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego out of the fire, something only a might God could do.

Now, he has had another dream and Daniel again, through the wisdom of the Lord, interprets it for him and he says the king is going to be like an animal for 7 years.

Why is God doing this?

Because of

PRIDE

Nebuchadnezzar, even after all that he has seen and God has revealed to him, still thinks more highly of himself than he ought.

In verse 25, we see part of Daniel’s interpretation and he says this is happening “until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes”

Nebuchadnezzar had been given by God many great talents and blessings, along with power and authority, but Nebuchadnezzar failed to acknowledge that God had anything to do with it.

Look at verse 30. As he is walking on the roof top of his palace

Nebuchadnezzar’s pride leads him to learn the truths of God the hard way.

Pride is a ugly sin.

We aren’t talking about the pride that wants to do something well, as used in “take pride in your work.”

The pride that is sin is a pride that wants attention pointed at you and seeks to exalt you or what you have done, apart from God.

The Proverbs are full of warnings about this kind of pride.

Proverbs 11:2 - When pride comes, then comes disgrace,

Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 29:23 - A man’s pride brings him low,

Pride is a stumbling block to us learning the things of God. In fact,

Pride is a stumbling block to us learning anything from anyone.

When pride invades our life, we don’t think we need to listen to others, or learn from others.

We think that we have all the wisdom and knowledge we need.

This is not something that young people have to guard against. This is something that every one of us need to guard against, because it can creep in subtly.

Who doesn’t like to be recognized, or praised. We all like it to some extent. But the problem comes when we take praise that is not due us.

When we fail to give God glory or credit for His work through us, then we are stealing from God.

Nebuchadnezzar did a lot of great things. But it was the Lord who was behind it.

Through him a great empire was built

Through him, he conquered a large number of nations, including Israel

Through Nebuchadnezzar, the Hanging Gardens were built, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Babylon would have been an impressive city to anyone who traveled there and this was done through the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

But even though it was through Nebuchadnezzar that these things were accomplished, it was the Lord who did them all through Him.

We learn in Daniel 1 that it was the Lord that handed Israel over to Nebuchadnezzar.

In Jeremiah 27, it was prophesied that the Lord would hand over Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon to Nebuchadnezzar

God is the one who raised up Nebuchadnezzar and used Nebuchadnezzar, but Nebuchadnezzar failed to acknowledge God as God even with all He had seen.

Apply

God has created you as well. And God has given you gifts and abilities and he will use you to accomplish what He desires.

Have you acknowledged God’s authority in your life? Even if you have, are you stealing God’s glory for yourself?

Do not steal God’s glory for yourself thinking you have done something great, like Nebuchadnezzar.

Paul says to us in 1 Corinthians 4:7

1 Corinthians 4:7 - What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Whatever we have is from the Lord, whether it is wealth, or abilities, or power. We did not earn them or deserve them. They are gifts.

Do not steal the glory of the Lord. That will only lead to the Lord humbling you to teach you, because the coming to a place of recognizing the Lord’s power and authority in your life, is the beginning of realizing the real life that God wants us to have.

T.S.

But it is not only pride that causes us to learn the hard way. We also choose the hard way because of

PROCRASTINATION

Nebuchadnezzar, after Daniel had told him what would happen and advised him to repent of his sin and pride did not do it.

It says in verse 29, “Twelve months later…” all that was prophesied came true.

I am sure that during that year, the King is probably thinking, Daniel looks like he got this one wrong. I can just keep going on like I have.

I am sure all of us have procrastinated taking the Lord’s patience for granted.

In regards to salvation, many wonder where the coming of the Lord is. This is not new. Peter spoke of this in 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

While the Lord has yet to return, I will also tell you that none of us know when our last day will be here. We must be ready.

And not just in regards to salvation, but in all that the Lord wants to teach us in our daily lives, we must remember that He is seeking to lead us into a deeper relationship with Him and as we procrastinate, we are choosing to learn the hard way instead of His way.

T.S.

So those are 2 areas that caused Nebuchadnezzar to learn the hard way and cause us as well to learn the hard way.

But what can we do to make sure we don’t choose to learn the hard way? How can we choose His way?

Well, first, instead of walking in pride, you should

Humble yourself

1 Peter 5:6 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Proverbs 29:23 - A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

We need to recognize the truth of God that He is the one who works in and through us and give glory to Him. That is how we will humble ourselves before Him.

Humbling ourselves is not about having a false humility, but recognizing and proclaiming the truth that it is the Lord who has worked through you and has given you your abilities.

Humble yourself before the Lord and let him lift you up.

To choose His way, we also need to

Obey His Word

And we should do it quickly!

There are times that we may recognize the truth of something, but we don’t respond because we want to enjoy the sin longer or think we have more time.

“I’ll trust God when I am older”

“I have time before I need to follow the Lord. I’ll obey later.”

While God is a God of grace and patience, we should not presume on his grace and patience and test it. That will only lead to us learning what He has to teach us the hard way instead of His way which is sometimes harder in the short run, but much less painful in the long run.

And sometimes we think partial obedience is good enough. It is not.

When Samuel told King Saul that the Lord wanted Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, Saul let the people take plunder and they were going to sacrifice for the Lord.

It sounds good, but Samuel tells Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice and then told him because of his disobedience, the Lord had removed the kingdom from him.

Saul chose the hard way by not obeying.

In contrast to Saul, we see Abraham.

Abraham heard what God wanted him to do and obeyed immediately.

When God told Abraham to leave his country and his people and the only place he had known, Abraham obeyed (Genesis 12:1-4).

When God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Abraham obeyed and He did it immediately. The Scripture tells us after heard from the Lord, that early the next morning he set out.

That is something that would have been extremely hard, something we would want to talk with God about and help God see the better course.

Obedience is about recognizing that God’s way is the best way, all the time, even when we don’t understand, even when it is hard. But even though it was hard, it was the not the really had way to learn what God wanted to teach him.

The final thing we need to do, to learn the truth of God His way, that we see in these verses, is

Honor God

Now, the reality is you are going to honor God regardless if you choose to learn His way or the Hard way

Nebuchadnezzar did come to a point of honoring the Lord, even though he chose the hard way.

Daniel 4:34-37

Nebuchadnezzar, even though he learned the hard way, still came to a point of honoring God in this life.

I believe that Nebuchadnezzar became a believer through this circumstance. I don’t know any unbeliever that could make a humble confession like this.

Now even those who never come to the point of believing in and receiving Jesus Christ as Savior, in this life, will still honor God with their lips.

Every one of us here will honor God at some point

Philippians 2 tells us that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

As we choose to Honor God now, by humbling ourselves and following His ways,

We are choosing to learn His Way.

PROFESSION

We need to learn that

God is God and you are not

Nebuchadnezzar finally came to a point of learning that truth.

Have you learned that truth?

Are you choosing to learn that truth the hard way?

Are you putting yourself in a place where God is going to humble you because of your pride or because you are putting off and procrastinating what God has told you?

If you are here today, it is because God is trying to help you learn that He is God. He is in control. He is sovereign. That means He has all authority in your life and knows how to best live it.

Obey Him. Not because you must, but because you recognize that He loves you and desires the best for you.

In what area of life do you need to learn that He is God?

Salvation

Do you need to receive Him as your Savior, trusting Him to run your life and to give you eternal life? Without coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ, by receiving Him as your Savior, repenting of your sin and confessing your belief in Jesus as God who died for you and rose again, you have no hope of heaven.

Gifts and abilities

Obedience

Maybe you need to follow what the Lord has told you to do in His word.

Maybe you have some sin in your life that is hindering your walk with the Lord.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, obey and stop sinning. Just like Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar. Repent.

Do not procrastinate! Confess your sins and be cleansed.

CONCLUSION

What is it that God wants you to do in acknowledging His sovereignty in your life, knowing and believing that He is God and you are not?

Whatever your need turn to the Lord of lords and the King of kings and acknowledge His authority and receive His help.