Gods at War: god of me

Gods at War: god of me

Daniel 4:1-37

Pastor Miles

October 19, 2014

There's a part of our hearts that is thinking "why serve when I can rule"?

We buy into Satan's deception in the Garden of Eden, when he told Eve that her eyes will be opened like God's if she ate the forbidden fruit.

King Nebuchadnezzar, To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭1-3‬ NIV)

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭4-5‬ NIV)

"In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. He called in a loud voice: 'Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. " 'Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him. (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭13-16‬ NIV)

Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that he is the tree that gets cut down...

"This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭24-25‬ NIV)

God is giving Nebuchadnezzar a warning and a reality check.

The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue." (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭26-27‬ NIV)

1. God warns us when we take the throne of our hearts.

Pride can be very subtle:

Being defensive

Being stubborn

Refusal to admit error

Being ungrateful 

Being discontent

Am I listening to the wisdom of others?

How much time is spent inking of what other people think of me?

All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭28-30‬ NIV)

Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭33‬ NIV)

2. God will do what is needed to bring us to surrender the throne to Him.

God loves us too much to leave us on our own

He wants us to allow Him to reign in our hearts

God is constantly pursuing us

There is such peace when we surrender

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭34-35‬ NIV)

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (‭Daniel‬ ‭4‬:‭37‬ NIV)

3. In the end, we will acknowledge that God alone sits on the throne.

God alone is worthy of worship and our devotion 

He alone deserves to be the center of our lives

"Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: " 'In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas." But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god. (‭Ezekiel‬ ‭28‬:‭2‬ NIV)

We have to choose.

Who will it me?

Me or God?