Knockout

Today on Summit life with Jeannie Greer's fundamentally determinative doctors in your life you have no control of this you may have worked hard, but you were using health and energy that was supplied to you by God. None of us are truly self-made men, which gives good gifts that God gave us and we utilize them and to not knowledge that is cosmic plagiarism. The Bible teaching ministry of their author and religion Jeannie Greer. I'm your host Molly benefits start today with a question is probably a problem for you.

Chances are if you answered no, actually could be a prideful statement. You know why because were proud of the fact that were not prideful. The tricky thing pride just when we think we nailed it in creeps and can destroy yes just the character in our teaching today. He learned some pretty serious lessons about the sin of pride and its consequences.

So grab your Bible open your heart and see what God has to say to us today about the recent manner. I didn't forget your Bible this weekend. Daniel chapter 4 this behind me here.

This is Mike Tyson you are under the age of 30. You may not know this guy don't you get confused on the survey stall… Might a better picture of me I would my shirt off for a minute. But that's not true. It is hard to describe what an icon that Mike Tyson was when I was in middle and high school. He was along with Michael Jordan, one of the 80s.

Great sports phenoms.

He was a boxer unlike any you have ever come before him. Yet this whole string of heavyweight challengers between 1985 and 1990, but he knocked out in one minute or less like 10 of them and I'm not exaggerating even had a video game named after him called Mike Tyson punch out was my favorite arcade game for a while.

My parents could drop me off at the mall with two dollars that I can play that game for three hours got so rich from his wins that there was this infamous story about him running his Ferrari at a gas and just leave it on the side of the road, never returning to pick it up well at the peak of Mike Tyson's career 1990 iron Mike was his nickname, squared off with a no-name fighter named Buster Douglas about Wesley. Nobody I mean nobody, it was not even supposed to be a challenge Mike Tyson… His previous opponent in 93 second so the Vegas odds were not about whether you would with the authority to one that he would win in most places the casinos wouldn't take the bet. The bet was really on how long it would take Mike Tyson a knockout Buster Douglas, but Mike was so heavy from his previous successes that he will even prepare for this fight stayed out late, for example, partying the night before course, you can guess what happened Buster Douglas one by knockout in the 10th round, and I remember I was a junior in high school 101 happen to be bewildered because this was literally a plot of rocky freaks, which you just come out a few years before this fight Rocky take himself for granted. Get that out of shape and loses the Mr. T McDyess.

It was terrible. It was like a low point of the 1980s for me and Mike should have known better. I thought I was lucky, Slingbox received a movie out of it out of his stomach as he Mike thought he was special.

Mike thought he was special and Buster Buster showed him that night that he was not that fight. By the way, proved to be a watershed in the career of Mike Tyson that that point his career went pretty rapidly downhill after that Mike Tyson's life illustrates a very tragic truth truth that some of you in less dramatic ways of experience in your own life and that's this defeat is difficult is always difficult but success can be fatal. Defeat is difficult but success can be fatal. In general, for Nebuchadnezzar is suffering from a bad case of what I'll call the successes and the Almighty is about to knock him out with a right hook.

But unlike the punch by Buster Douglas or Mr. Teague LeBlanc hit the God lands is going to be a healing with no it is truly a crazy story is one of the crazy stories in your Bible, but you need to read it as the final rounds in God's battle versus Nebuchadnezzar round one. If you recall was when God had prospered. Daniel and his friends after they defy the king's order to eat defiled foods that were forbidden by Jewish law.

So they decided that they were going to obey God rather than Nebuchadnezzar, but the end of the time of the examination, Daniel Shadrach said Abednego.

Daniel one says were found to be smarter, healthier and brighter than all the other wise men surround one goes to God round.

Sue was when God gave Daniel the ability to do what none of Nebuchadnezzar's wise men were able to do that is to reveal and then interpret a mysterious dream a dream. You might remember about a gigantic statue warning Nebuchadnezzar about about setting up a kingdom independent of God and that encounter. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that there was indeed something special about Daniel's God, that he was a God that could could do what no other God could do the set I quote chapter 2 verse 47. Surely, your God is the God of all gods and he is Lord of all kings. In other words, these better and harder than my gods could measure was a little dazed from this realm, it would knocked out yet, so Daniel chapter 3 realm three was what I'll call the skirmish by the furnace where Nebuchadnezzar sets up a 90 foot gold statue of himself, and commanded everybody to bow down to it, Shadrach me shack Abednego were Daniel's friends refuse to do that not set up another confrontation between between Nebuchadnezzar would never were Nebuchadnezzar through the three teenagers into a fiery furnace. But instead of dying instantly like Nebuchadnezzar expected Nebuchadnezzar sold them them up walking around in the fire with a mysterious fourth man that Nebuchadnezzar called the son of God shut me shack, Abednego then emerge from the fiery furnace without so much as even a hair on their heads singe door for the slightest whiff of smoke underclothing at the end of this round, round three, Nebuchadnezzar exclaims you might remember Blessed be the God Shadrach me shack Abednego to send his angel and delivered his servants the service you trusted in him who defy the king's command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve or worship any other God except their own God. There is no other God was able to rescue in this way the words he said God is your God is one-of-a-kind, God seems a good were getting somewhere right like Nebuchadnezzar might be ready to throw in the towel, but is realm. For openings we see that Nebuchadnezzar is still fighting Daniel for to be God's knockout blow. Strangely enough, I will tell you that there is no story in the Bible. No story that I think I personally identify with more than this one. No I did not have a season where I went insane, a grass and didn't cut my fingernails for seven years.

Like we are about to see happen with Nebuchadnezzar. Although my mom would quickly point out that that kind of describes my hygiene as a middle school, but point is when I was a teenager I thought I God did some some some rather dramatic things to humble me and I remember reading this chapter the end of that season. When I got to the part where Nebuchadnezzar summarizes how God humbled him and what God had taught him through that humbling and Nebuchadnezzar was one of the wickedness. Most pagan kings in history when he finally lifts his humbled eyes and worship the God doll.

I felt like I was reading something that could've been written by my own my own autobiography. Let's take a look. Chapter 4 verse one after those of every people, nation in language is your phrase again live in the whole earth for your prosperity increase. I am pleased to tell you about the miracles and wonders of the most high God has done for me. How great are his miracles how mighty his wonders.

His kingdom is an eternal kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation.

I Nebuchadnezzar was at ease in my house flourishing in my palace.

By the way, this is a chapter of your Bible that was written by a pagan king. I dream you said I had a dream and it frightened me so.

As was Nebuchadnezzar's custom he called in all the wise men of Babylon to given them interpretation give him an interpretation but none of the wise men could do it. They were probably still little little gun shy since Nebuchadnezzar and threatens to have them all killed for making up dream interpretations you. I remember that from Daniel Sue.

But finally, verse eight Daniel Dana was also called office as our Nebuchadnezzar says after the name of my God.

But the spirit of the holy God sexually at him.

He came before me and I told him the dream goes there was a tree in the middle of the earth and was very tall, its top reach to the sky that was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves are beautiful. Its fruit was abundant and on. It was food for all wild animals found shelter under the birds of the sky lit in its branches. Every creature on earth was fed from it, but then Nebuchadnezzar sat while I was admiring this tree a messenger suddenly brought down from heaven and proclaimed with a loud voice cut down this tree. Verse 14 chop off all its branches strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.

Let the animals flee from underneath it, but the birds from out of its branches, but leave the stump with its roots, let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share the plants of Europe of the animals let his mind be changed from that of human and let them be given the mind of an animal for seven periods of time. This is over 17 that the living will know that the most high is ruler over human kingdoms. He gives them to anyone he wants, and sets the lowliest of people over them. Now verse 19 says that when Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel this dream. Dana was deeply troubled and asked Nebuchadnezzar not to force him to give Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation he severs 19 my Lord, I will know maybe dream applied to those who hate you, Mitch interpretation apply only to your enemies. By the way that I just observe. It appears that Daniel by this point have learned genuinely to love Nebuchadnezzar right Nebuchadnezzar the one who taken them captive Nebuchadnezzar the one who destroyed his country. Nebuchadnezzar the one who likely killed his parents. They learn to love him not to admire him not to approve of all his practice is far from it but to love him as a person she Daniel had obeyed God's command that we saw in Jeremiah 29 a few weeks ago to make his home in Babylon to seek the blessing of its inhabitants, and he learned genuinely to love Nebuchadnezzar so I might ask you is that how you feel about the antagonistic Babylonians around you. One of the ones in politics you want to live next door to you once, maybe even in your family even when they threaten to throw you in the fiery furnace or your Babylonian neighbors around you with their offensive signs in their yards are there offensive Facebook post are they primarily political opponents for you to overcome or are they people you genuinely love weep for and pray the best for Dana. Learn to love Nebuchadnezzar to please, please, Nebuchadnezzar, the lineage of the stream. Nebuchadnezzar who evidently by this point also learned to genuinely trust Daniel responded verse 19 Belshazzar thought the dreamers interpretation alarm you just just tell me the Daniel said.

Verse 22 King Nebuchadnezzar. You are the tree like this tree, you become great and strong, your greatness is grown and even reaches the sky the dominion extends to the ends of the earth. But God has issued a decree in heaven that because of your pride you like this tree to be cut down.

Verse 25 you to be driven away from people to live with the wild animals to feed on grass like cattle you to be drenched redo from the sky for seven periods of time until you acknowledge the most high is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wants.

Verse 26 as for the command to leave the tree stump with its roots.

Your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that heaven rules Daniel pleaded with the king to repent and turn his life over to God and pleaded with Nebuchadnezzar to listen. Three. Severs 27 therefore may the king heed my advice to separate yourself right now for your sins start to do was write separate yourself from your injustices by showing mercy to the meeting.

Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity. Seven Nebuchadnezzar to do it so verse 29 of the end of 12 months. As Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the Royal babble's palace in Babylon, admiring its power its beauty is hard filling with a swelling sense of pride over what he had accomplished. The king exclaimed is this not Babylon the great, that I have built to be a royal residence by my best power and for my majestic glory of the words were still in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven.

King Nebuchadnezzar to you is to clear that the kingdom has departed from you. You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time until you acknowledge that the most high is ruler over human kingdoms and he gives them to whomever he wants.

And at that very moment the message gets Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. God gave Nebuchadnezzar 12 months to repent and really honestly a lot more than that. That was only after four chapters worth of warnings and signs but the day came the day came when Nebuchadnezzar crossed the line and God said that's it enough.

By the way, God knows when that day is for you.

It never is. When you think it is God says you have walked in disobedience long enough, you have resisted I'm not pieces of counsel, you have told your ears to enough things that I've said to you in your heart through your pastor through your parents through your friends and mouth and that very hour he send something to destroy your foundations to rock you to your core, so it happened. The Nebuchadnezzar seven periods of time you grass like cattle's body was drenched.

Redo from the sky into his hair like eagles, feathers, and his nails like birds claws. By the way, not exactly sure what seven periods of time meant. Most scholars say probably been seven years and I think that's right. Probably more important though is that the number seven is the oldest Old Testament number for fullness. So this is the Bible's way of saying that Nebuchadnezzar suffered for the full amount of time. In other words, as long as it took to make it really simple for you as much time as it took for Ned to realize that God is God and that was Ned and that Ned needed to abdicate the throne he had usurped from God during those seven seasons. The mightiest king in Babylon was reduced to a groveling madman. He lived outside he grass like a cow's hair grew out like eagles feathers of his nails like the talons of a of an eagle by the way, that's another reason that I think it was seven actual years were not talking about a no shave November or a bad case of split ends because you did use conditioner where the singular underwear for a week were talking about so many years that his hair became so Long and matted that look like feathers instead of human air under this time he grass like a cow was utterly humiliating. Okay a moving experience in arts arts. Believe it or not believe or not, psychologists psychologist action have a classified name for this is horrible entropy. A mental disorder that while rare victim believes that he or she is a cow God was using Nebuchadnezzar to give us a picture of what happens to humanity when we rebel against God. You see, like Nebuchadnezzar, you and I were created to rule on the earth. When we reject God when we give ourselves the sin we become like beasts, we become insane. You see here in the life of Nebuchadnezzar on the show you in a minute how it applies to us as individuals, but this is not just true of individuals. It's true whole societies that turned their backs on God. The apostle Paul said, for example be human race professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. In other words, all our sophistication and advancement in all of it.

As far as we came we go insane.

We say things like the human race is nothing more than the product of chance plus time. That's what they say in the most erudite holes of our of our of our universities that nothing times. Nobody equals everything that were just slightly above all beast no different than monkeys except for some reasoning capacity and opposable thumbs, insanity.

We say things like the way you know if you're in advance. My current events. And you you think your 10-year-old boy is really girl trapped in a boy's body to give him hormone therapy and irreversible invasive surgery to make him a girl.

And if anybody opposes that will call that a hate crime, insanity.

This is not just about Nebuchadnezzar. This is about the whole human race. It's about you it's about me.

Here for minute and let's reflect on human pride because that is what is most at work in this chapter. This is the source of all of Nebuchadnezzar's other sense like CS Lewis said pride is the mother sent the mother sent to give birth. All the other sense to look at pride's roots.

Nebuchadnezzar is why there would look at pride's fruits number so you project your number one will surprise roots in this chapter we see the pride has at least two roots. Number one is a failure to see that every good thing comes from God, a failure to see that every good thing comes from God. In verse 30 Nebuchadnezzar explains right.

Is this not Babylon the great, that I have built to be a royal residence by my best power and for my majestic glory.

There is no acknowledgment at all that it comes from God, so God says. Verse 32 you think you did all this Nebuchadnezzar I'm ultimately in charge of it all. Every talent you have every breath you take every ounce of strength you exert is a gift for me and I set up whoever I want, and tear down whoever I want to say that Americans we Americans in particular believe this myth of the self-made man. Many of us look out on what we have and we say you should see where I came from. I work for everything I have. Look at what I've created by my best power and now for my majestic glory.

I do not want to take anything away from from human ingenuity or your hard work.

I'm a huge believer in a free economy. But even the slightest moment of self reflection will show you that the whole self-made man myth is not entirely true right anything about it. The biggest factors contributing to your success. You had no control over what where when you were born, the education you receive the society you were born into the influences that inspired you to succeed. Even the genes that gave rise to your talents were gifts from your parents the most fundamentally determinative factors in your life.

You had no control of. Yes you may have worked hard, but you were using health and energy that was supplied to you by God.

None of us are truly self-made men. We took gifts good gifts that God gave us and we utilize them and to not acknowledge that is cosmic plagiarism. Plagiarism. Plagiarism is when you borrow some from somebody else and claim to be the sole author of right on the been the victim of that have a little fidgety ground that it was plagiarized right, whoever he or she is met for the your whole life ought to have one big footnote, every time you signed your name will number for the footnote just this came from God, not my doing my whole life should have a footnote that says it ultimately came from God.

Pride's first route is a failure to see that everything we have is a gift of God, but is also accompanied always by second root, go together. Number two is a foolish assumption that the good life the good life is gonna last forever. Nebuchadnezzar go. He assumed he was safe to be honest, if there were anybody in history.

Good listening that it should've been Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was in his time, the most powerful man in the world. Furthermore, historians say that no more than five people in all of human history have enjoyed the same kind of power and status that Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon's capital city located in modern-day Iraq were the headquarters of the known world. It was an architectural wonder, was built like a great terrorist hanging garden on two different sides of the Euphrates River connected by a tunnel underneath the river's palace had a 400 foot high waterfall. The city was bedecked with jewels and gold number I told you that Herodotus who was a contemporary historian visited Babylon under the native Nebuchadnezzar and wrote that never in his life had he seen such an abundance of gold everywhere.

Nebuchadnezzar's capital was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

It was like New York and LA of San Francisco in Hollywood, London and Dubai all combined. Furthermore, never Nebuchadnezzar had made Babylon virtually impregnable to build a wall around Babylon I told you that stretch for 56 miles in many places most places.

Most places it was was over 80 feet wide and in some places, over 300 feet high race chariots on top of the wall.

It was so wide that the point I'm making is if anybody should have felt secure about the future. It was Nebuchadnezzar he could not be attacked literally no army in the world.

Compared about what he couldn't be fired is an unchallenged monarch. He can't go bankrupt is the World Bank that you and I both know that God has a way and you might be sitting right now on top of the world. You might have enough savings for any contingency or maybe you're young. With so much talent that everybody keeps telling you the world is your oyster. It's all there for you but then everything changes with a simple three word diagnosis.

You've got cancer a little over a year ago, an invisible virus that none of us and heard about shut our society now reminds me of the famous words of the builders of the Titanic, who famously boasted, not even God can sing this you and there's an iceberg. Here are the roots of pride rely an important question to ask ourselves from today's message you're listening to some it like the Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author and theologian JD Greer, like Daniel, we live as exiles in a hostile culture. Daniel and his friends took on Babylonian names. They spoke the Babylonian language spent time in the Babylonian palace and works for the good of their battle.

Any neighbors that they did sell as faithful servants of God as we live our lives in our own Babylon. We should pray for its security and welfare for asset thrives. We thrive, we had a Bible study designed specifically to help us process that's exactly this study comes with our thanks when you get a suggested donation of $35 or more. So call us today at 866-335-5220 866-5220 will request the work. But when you get online@clear.com you can also sign up for our newsletter to get ministry update information about resources and ascertaining the latest blog post delivered straight to your email inbox. Sign up when you go to JD Greer.com hi Molly benefits thank you so much for being with me join us again next week when concertina continues our study in the book of Daniel here on Senate life. Katie Greer ministry