The Humble Can Be Restored

Scripture tells us exactly what to do when we’re face to face with truth from God about sin in our lives.

This goes for believers in Christ, and those who are living in unbelief and willful rebellion. The word that God gives us in both cases is, repent.

If you’re in Christ this morning than you have not only repented of your life of sin, but you’re also still repenting of sin every day. Because there is no such thing as a habitually unrepentant follower of Jesus. An unrepentant follower of Jesus is an oxymoron.

One might struggle for a season, fight against sin, war with their flesh, but that sin is going to get dealt with because the Spirit of Christ has taken up residence in that person.

So, in light of grace, we repent.

In our text Nebuchadnezzar has been informed that his dream is every much as horrifying as he thought, and more. God is going to bring judgement upon him. Why?

look at v27. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

It’s because if his sin. What was his sin? Well, we know he was a prideful man, and that there were many sins, no doubt, but apparently what God was not pleased with is that in his pride and vainglory he lacked mercy for those who are oppressed in his empire.

So, God in his Mercy has Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s life to tell him, and warn him of judgement that is coming if he does not turn from his sin and begin to walk in righteousness.

So, that’s what we’re talking about this morning, dealing rightly with sin.

Daniel was compassionate toward the sinful king

v19 My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!

This is so important. To be compassionate upon the unrepentant, knowing what is coming to them should they never turn.

Now, this is incredible that Daniel feels this way, knowing the backstory. But this is something only Christ can do in a person. How many of us need help with being compassionate on people who have wronged us, or are wronging us, and deserve what’s coming to them?

Only the Gospel can give someone this kind of compassion. Because it’s only the Gospel that teaches that every human being, good or bad, is equally deserving of God’s wrath. And to be under the grace of God in Christ, forgiven of ALL your sins, knowing that you have offended a holy God, but by grace you’re now His son or daughter... there is no greater gap that’s ever been crossed.

How can we look at anyone’s sins and say, “Go gettum God!”

Vengeance is Lord’s, and that frees US of that horrible burden, and allows us to walk like Jesus did with compassion on sinners.

We should genuinely care for people who are in sin. “Oh, I wish this dream wasn’t about you, king Nebuchadnezzar!” Caring and showing compassion will then put us in the best place to bring the truth.

2. Daniel was compassionate, but he still spoke the hard truth about Nebuchadnezzar’s sin.

I’m sure you’ve been in that situation. Someone’s telling you about something they’ve done, or something that happened to them, and you begin to hear things that REALLY make you want to say something to steer them in the right direction but you don’t.

Sometimes it’s more clear cut than that. Someone’s in sin, and you know it, but you do not call them on their sin because you might offend them…but that’s not compassion or love.

Daniel hears this dream, and he know’s what it means, and he doesn’t speak in general terms like, “Hey, you know how when people are really proud, and they get absorbed in themselves, and you know how that’s really not cool…? No, Daniel is like, hey king, this dream is about you.

I hate that it is. I wish that it wasn’t. But it is.

We are a disciple-making church. We are an evangelistic church, and we desire to grow in both of these area of our calling. And both of these will require us to be compassionate and truthful in dealing with sin and the consequences if sin, in our lives, and in the lives of people we desire to reach with the Gospel.

When we only speak in generalities, we coddle sin and we don’t take it seriously. Brothers and sisters, speak those hard truths into people’s lives and do it with a heart of love and grace with the purpose of pointing people to Jesus Christ.

3. Daniel’s counseled the king toward true repentance and the hope of restoration.

This is often the pattern of prophetic warning in the Scriptures. You have the warning, along with impending consequence for not repenting, and the hope of what could be if and when you repent.

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.

Ezekiel 18:27 Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.

And here in Daniel 4:27 “Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

All of this could be avoided if he would humble himself before God.

And So it is with us, that we avoid so much heartache, and pain, if we would just stay humble before the Lord, seeking His will, and his way above our own.

But we see Daniel preaching the heart of true repentance here…Look at his words.

“Break off of your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed.”

The message we are to preach isn’t just “HEY, STOP SINNING!” The message is, repent and turn to Christ.

Turn away from what is hurting you, and walk toward healing.

Turn from death, and walk toward life. Turn from sin, and walk in faith. So, what is true repentance then?

Repentance happens when after turning from sin, a person begins to walk in obedience to Christ, trusting in the power of Christ, leaning on the forgiveness of Christ.

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

So, let me invite you this morning to break off from your sins by practicing righteousness.

What is that sin? If you’re walking in sin, no matter the sin, whether it be unbelief, pride, pornography, or apathy, It’s hurting you. It’s killing your soul. Break it off in the way Jesus told us to do so, that if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out, for it is better to enter eternity with one eye, than into hell fire with both eyes.

Of course this is metaphorical, but it teaches the principle well. And even in Jesus’s words we see that there are real consequences for not turning from our sin.

With Nebuchadnezzar, it’s been laid out very clearly. He’s going to lose his sanity, and will be brought so low that he’s eating grass with the cows, and drenched with the dew of heaven, and will be this way for seven years.

But there is hope of restoration. v26 “And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.”

Even with this knowledge he does not yet turn from his sin, but in fact fully embraces his sin more. Sadly this is a common pattern, that someone could hear, and even know that God is not pleased with their choices, and still they run headlong into their ruin. How sad that is.

This does just go to show us that repentance is not merely an act of the human will, but of God’s sovereign will. He gives repentance as a gift, and he does it at the right time.

From out perspective, it’s always the right time to repent because God’s word declares it to be the case. From God’s perfect vantage point, he warns the king, but knows he will need the 7 years of humiliation before truly coming to see that God rules everything!

v28 - 31

God does what he says.

All of this comes upon Nebuchadnezzar.

And the purpose of it all is made clear in 32, that Nebuchadnezzar might know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

There’s a beautiful ending to this story before us. The king was restored.

So there came a point as he’s in his humiliation brought on by his own sin that he believed that Daniel’s God is the Most High, and that he rules over all.

The text says that he blessed God, praised and honored Him. He spoke these words in v34.

As a result of his repentance and restoration, God increased his wealth, his splendor, majesty, and his influence, but instead of using it for himself, he used it to extol God for HIS mighty works.

Now, you may have already recognized it, but we just walked through the gospel in this text.

We’re no better that Nebuchadnezzar. Our sin deserves just as much judgement as his.

And though we ARE sinners, God has brought hope to the world, while at the same time warning the whole world by sending His Son, Jesus Christ.

His perfect life, and law keeping reminds us that we are sinners. His sacrificial death declares to us the seriousness of sin and that the wage for sin is death and separation from God.

And The Church is to be like Daniel here, and preach the truth about God to sinners, calling sin for what it is, calling everyone to repentance and to the hope of restoration and reconciliation to God through faith in Christ. And because of Christ’s righteousness and his resurrection, we have the power of God’s holy spirit given to us to help us walk in obedience every day.

Crazy as it may sound, Nebuchadnezzar would not repent when he heard the warning in interpretation of the dream, as troubled as he was by it. He loved his sin more than God. God even gave him 12 months more, and he still didn’t repent. But at the end of the 7 years, at the appointed time BY GOD, his reason was restored and he praised God.

Look at Nebuchadnezzar’s final words in v37. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

A few final thoughts...

1. If you’re needing repentance this morning, because sin is gripping you, and it’s ruining you, and you know the consequences of remaining in sin, then this morning, heed this message as a merciful warning and turn to Christ.

Turn from the sin and walk in righteousness.

2. God is a merciful God, and restores the humble.

At the beginning of Daniel we saw Nebuchadnezzar taking the artifacts of the Jewish temple and desecrating them in the Babylonian temple. Here in chapter 4 he’s acknowledging that God is the most high and that his ways are right.

3. Deal rightly with your own sin, and the sin of others. Be compassionate and caring, but be truthful and not vague.

Finally…even more than dealing with our own sin, and the sin of others, let’s recognize that nobody deals better with sin, and with sinners, than Jesus Christ. His blood cleanses sinners. At the cross is where we get the clearest view of God’s love and justice. Love because he would pay that kind of price for us. And Justice because Jesus took what we deserved upon himself. In light of that truth, we repent, we deal with sin, we humble ourselves, God restores us, and we extol Him as the Most High God!