The last time we did that was
about 20 years ago. Turn with me, if you would, now
to Daniel chapter 4. Daniel chapter 4. A brother brought these first
few verses of chapter 4 to my attention last Sunday. He was
telling me what a blessing they were to his heart, and I read
them myself, and they were such a blessing to my heart. I've titled this message, Promoted
from a King to a Preacher. And I struggled a little bit
with giving it that title because God has called me to be a preacher. And I don't want it all to sound
like I am promoting myself or glorying in myself for the calling
that the Lord has given me. But after thinking about this
and entering into what Nebuchadnezzar said in these first few verses,
As much as I want to abase myself, I cannot abase this office. And
the fact of the matter is, Nebuchadnezzar was promoted from a king to a
preacher. Now, there's a true account,
many of you I'm sure have heard it, but in the early 1800s, a
man named William Carey was a missionary to India. And it appeared that
his son was going to be a real help to him in the mission field
as a gospel preacher. But he was offered a position
with the British government. He was offered a special assignment
to a country called Burma, and he took the assignment. And William
Carey said, my son has taken a demotion He has chosen to be an ambassador
of the King of England when he might have risen to the status
of being an ambassador of the King of Kings. There's no higher
honor. There is no higher calling than
being allowed the privilege of declaring the unsearchable riches
of Jesus Christ. Whether a man is ever called
to step foot in a pulpit or not, all of us, the Apostle Paul told
the Corinthians, we are all ambassadors of reconciliation in Christ. We've all been given the high
honor of getting to go tell how God and sinners are reconciled. And I'd like to start the message
by telling what it is. God made Christ to be sin for
us. God made Christ to be sin for
us. Our brother just prayed a moment
ago how weak and frail these bodies are, just how we just,
we feel sin just brings us down. God made his own son to be the
weakness and the frailness of sinful flesh for us. He knew no sin, but God made
him to be our sin. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. We knew no righteousness. But God made us to be His righteousness. He was made to be our sin, and
we were made to be His righteousness. And the moment that swap took
place, reconciliation was made. That's the highest honor. That's the highest calling, the
declaration, the belief of reconciliation in Christ. Well, we're going
to see Nebuchadnezzar's promotion, but I'd like to point out a couple
of things about the book of Daniel first. This book was written
during Israel's time of captivity. For 70 years, Israel was captive
to Babylon. Babylon went to war with Israel
and won and besieged the country. And during the space of that
70 years, at least four different kings reigned in Babylon. At least four. Nebuchadnezzar
reigned the longest. He was the king who took Israel. He was already king whenever
they besieged Israel. And then he reigned another 42
years after Israel got there. And then when he died, three
other kings, at least three other kings, reigned for the remainder
of that 28 years. So one thing to remember about
the book of Daniel is when it mentions the king, it's not always
talking about the same king. Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego into the burning fiery furnace. But he's
not the one who threw Daniel in the lion's den. That's important
because God taught Nebuchadnezzar something through that fiery
furnace. God opened his eyes to see something. So just a couple of chapters
later, Daniel's thrown into the lion's den, but Nebuchadnezzar
is not the one who threw him in there. Alright, another thing
to point out is that among the commentary writers, there's a
lot of speculation on who wrote the book of Daniel. And I don't
know about all that stuff. That's bigger than me. I'll leave all that to them.
But it's clear that more than one man had a hand in penning
this book. Now, God wrote the book. If we want to know who wrote
Daniel, God wrote Daniel. But more than one man had a hand
in pinning. If you look right here at chapter
four, verse one, it says Nebuchadnezzar, the king unto all people, nations
and languages that dwell in all the earth. Nebuchadnezzar is
the one pinning that. He said in verse two, I thought
it good to show these things to you. So he's the one who's writing
that. And if you look with me at chapter eight, Daniel chapter
eight, verse one says. In the third year of the reign
of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, even unto me
Daniel." Daniel is the one writing that. Verse 15, Daniel 8 verse
15, it came to pass when I even I Daniel. Verse 27, and I Daniel
fainted and was sick certain days. Chapter 9 verse 2, in the
first year of his reign, I Daniel. So Daniel is writing that, more
than one hand penned the book. All right, one more thing to
realize is that the book of Daniel is not written in chronological
order. That's the last thing to realize
for tonight, that it's not written in chronological order. Look
with me at chapter one, Daniel chapter one. Verse 1, it says, In the third
year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, king of Israel,
king of Jerusalem, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem,
and besieged it. So it starts with Nebuchadnezzar
being king. After Nebuchadnezzar died, his
son Belshazzar reigned. Alright, now I'm almost finished
with the history lesson. Look with me at chapter 5. Daniel 5 verse 1, Belshazzar
the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank
wine before the thousand. In this same chapter, chapter
5 verse 30 says, In that night was Belshazzar the king of the
Chaldeans slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom, being
about three score and two years old. So it was Nebuchadnezzar,
Belshazzar, and Darius. And then chapter 6 is about King
Darius. Alright, look at chapter 7, verse
1. in the first year of Belshazzar. He goes back to Belshazzar. All
right, it goes Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, Belshazzar. Chapter 8 says, in the third
year of the reign of King Belshazzar. Chapter 9 says, in the first
year of Darius. Chapter 10 says, in the third
year of Cyrus. Chapter 11 says, also I in the
first year of Darius, it goes back to Darius. So it's not written
in chronological order. All right now, why in the world
am I telling you all this? Number one, it's because I want
us to see that God made Nebuchadnezzar a preacher. God made him to be
a preacher. He said, I have something to
say to you. God has given me something to
say to you. And number two, it's because
I want us to see that the first three verses of chapter four,
are Nebuchadnezzar's last recorded words. They are his last words. There are verses after that,
but it's in the past. It's not in chronological order.
They are his last words. We're about to see the last thing
he had to say. These were his ending notes,
and these are good notes to end on. All right, let's look at
it in chapter 4. Go with me to Daniel 4, verse
1. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, unto
all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth,
peace be multiplied unto you. That's not what he was saying
before. He said, I bring glad tidings
of peace to you. That's not what that man was
saying at all before. Verse two, he said, I thought it good to
show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward
me. He said, I just want to tell
you how great things the Lord has done for me. Great, great things. That's the
message of God's preacher. That's the commission that he
is given. That Gadarene man who lived in
the tombs, his house was in the tombs. He was possessed with a legion
of evil spirits. He mutilated himself. He couldn't
be held by chains. He was just wild. But the Lord
Jesus Christ came to him, cast that legion of evil spirits out
of him, tamed him, robed him, and gave him a brand new mind.
And then the Lord got back in the ship that he came over on
and he got ready to leave. And when the Lord got in that
ship, that man begged him, can I please get in this ship and
go with you? And the Lord said, no, I'm calling
you to be a preacher. I'm giving you a commission.
And that's the kind of man that God calls to be a preacher. He
said, I'm giving you a commission. I want you to go tell everybody
you know. I want you to tell everybody
you don't know. I want you to tell everybody
you come in contact with how great things the Lord has done
for you. Verse two, he said, I thought
it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath
wrought toward me. Well, what did he show you, Nebuchadnezzar?
He showed me peace. He showed me peace. He showed
me so much peace. Men and women, until they seek
Christ, they have no peace. There is no peace. A man struggles and wrestles
with his own sin and struggles and wrestles with what God demands
and struggles and wrestles with what he reads in the Word and
struggles and wrestles to know whether or not he's even saved
and if God's going to accept him. But as soon as he sees Christ,
there's peace. There's peace. What did He show
me? He showed me peace. He gave me
peace. Nebuchadnezzar was a man who
knew no peace. This man knew no peace. He was
a man who made no peace. He went to war with God's people.
He was someone who went to war with God's people, took them
captive, put them in prison, made slaves out of them, He was
a man who had no peace, no inner peace. Look at chapter 2 verse
1, it says, in the second year of the reign
of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams wherewith his
spirit was troubled and his sleep break from him. He was so troubled
inwardly, he couldn't sleep. He had trouble without, trouble
within, this man was troubled. And he represents every sinful
man and woman on this earth. He represents all sinful men
and women, full of trouble, just full of trouble, trouble that
sin brings to us. He was a man who worshipped the
idol of Himself, and that represents every man and woman on this earth.
If the Lord does not step in and put His hand on us, there
is one thing that we will all bow to, the idol of ourself. We will worship this flesh. We
will worship ourselves. We will praise and glorify and
honor and magnify ourselves. And that's exactly what he did.
Our brother just read about it. He raised up this great image
to himself, told everybody, you bow down and worship me. He was
a man who knew nothing of mercy. All he knew was wrath and judgment
and punishment, and that represents every man and woman on this earth. But God revealed something to
him. More accurately, God revealed someone to Nebuchadnezzar, the
Prince of Peace. God revealed the Prince of Peace. This man saw peace. And when Christ comes, that's
what he brings. He brings peace. When Christ
is all, there is peace. When Christ is absolutely all,
There's peace. When all we see is Christ, all
we see is peace. And this man said, peace be multiplied
to you. Just like it has been to me,
peace be multiplied to you. In the midst of his rage, Nebuchadnezzar
threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire for their
sin against his law. That's why he threw them into
the fire. It was for their sin against His law. And we can see
the spiritual picture in this. Naturally, all that man can see
is judgment for sin against the law. That's all that a man can
see naturally. Judgment for sin against the
law. You better not do that. Judgment will come to you. That's
all that a man can see. If you break that law, judgment
will come to you. Nebuchadnezzar enforced judgment
for sin, but while he was looking at that judgment, here he is,
he has his men with him, his counselors with him, they throw
them into that fire and now they're just standing there watching. And while he is looking on that
judgment for sin against the law, right there in the middle
of that judgment, God revealed something to him.
He revealed peace from the judgment. shelter from the wrath, a Savior
for sinners. Nebuchadnezzar saw a man. He
saw a man. Look at chapter 3, verse 22. Therefore, because the king's
commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, and the
flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning
fiery furnace." And that's how all of us are by nature, bound and headed for the midst of the
burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto
his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst
of the fire? They answered and said unto the
king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see
four men loose, free. walking in the midst of the fire
and they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is
like the son of God. How did he know the son of God? How did he know the son of God?
When God reveals himself, you know. You know. He said, I see the son of God. Right there in the midst of the
judgment on God's chosen people, I see the Son of God. I see God
manifest in the flesh. I see Him taking the fire for
His people. It looks as though His feet are
burning in the furnace instead of theirs. I see a sovereign God." This
is what he saw. I see a sovereign God. I see
an able God. I see the true and living God
taking the place of His people. I see a God like no other. Verse
26, it says, Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the
burning fiery furnace and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God. come forth and come hither. Then
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the
fire. And the princes, governors, and
captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw
these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power." The judgment, the wrath and punishment
of the law, free from the law. nor was a hair of their head
singed. Neither were their coats changed,
nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar
spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that
trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded
their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god
except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that
every people, nation, and language which speak anything amiss against
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in
pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there
is no other God that can deliver after this sort than the King
promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon."
He said, This is what I now declare. He said, I've seen the king,
I've seen the most high God, and this is what I now declare.
Their God is God. The God of Israel is God. He is God. No other God can save
after this sort. No other God. He said, this is
what I now have to say. No other God can save like this. There's no other God. He is high
and he is lifted up. And he said, that's not all that
I declare. I now realize that I am low and in the dust. He has stripped me of everything
that I thought I was. I was so lifted up in pride.
I was so lifted up in my own works. I was so self-righteous. I thought I had a right to stand
before Him. But He revealed to me what I
was, nothing more than a beast in the field. He brought me down. He put me
in my place where I belong. Now, speaking in the past, this
is not in chronological order. Speaking in the past, he said,
this is what happened to me. All right. He said, their God
is God. But then he said, God did something
to me. Their God saved them. Call His name Jesus, He shall
save His people from their sins. He's the God of Israel. He's
the Savior of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He said, now let
me tell you what He did for me. Let me tell you how He included
me. Chapter 4, verse 30. The king spake and said, IS NOT
THIS GREAT BABYLON THAT I HAVE BUILT FOR THE HOUSE OF THE KINGDOM
BY THE MIGHT OF MY POWER AND FOR THE HONOR OF MY MAJESTY?
WHILE THE WORD WAS IN THE KING'S MOUTH, THERE FELL A VOICE FROM
HEAVEN SAYING, O KING NEBUCADNEZZAR, TO THEE IT IS SPOKEN, THE KINGDOM
IS DEPARTED FROM THEE." I'm taking everything away from you, everything
you think that you are. And they shall drive thee from
men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field.
They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen. And seven times shall
pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in
the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The
same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. And he was
driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was
wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's
feathers, and his nails like bird's claws." Nebuchadnezzar
said, he brought me down. Let me tell you how great things
he did for me. Let me tell you what a great
thing he did for me. He brought me down. He brought me so far
down, but thank God He did not leave me there. He broke me,
but He did not leave me there. Verse 34, At the end of the days,
I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine
understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever. And he said, this is now the
message that I declare. Verse 34, he said, his dominion,
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. And his kingdom is
from generation to generation. It will never end. And all the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, including
me. That's what a gospel preacher
cries, starting with me. All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing. While men are standing up, telling
you, God, God needs you. God loves you. He has no hands,
but your hands. He needs you to God's preacher,
stand up and cry. All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing. And He does according to His
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest
Thou? He does whatever He wants to
do with whoever He wants to do it to. At the same time, my reason returned
unto me. God gave me knowledge. I saw this dominion. I saw this
power. I saw this sovereignty. The same
time, my reason returned unto me and for the glory of my kingdom,
my honor and brightness returned unto me. And my counselors and
my Lord sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom, and
excellent majesty was added unto me." What that means is He redeemed
me. He reinstated me. I fell. He broke me. I was cast down,
and He reached way down for me and lifted me up out of the deep
miry clay and set my feet in a straight and narrow way. He
put me on the rock. He put me right back where I
fell from. Put me back in the kingdom. And verse 37 says now. All right, now verse 37 goes
with the first three verses. All right, it goes verse 1, verse
2, verse 3, verse 37. 4 through 36 is the past. Right now, this is what I'm saying
right now. These are my last words right now. I can die on
these words right now. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of Heaven. Aren't you the King,
Nebuchadnezzar? No, sir, I'm not. He's the King. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are
truth, and His ways judgment, and those that walk in pride
He is able to abase." He said, oh, I'm telling you from experience,
He is able to abase, and that's what the gospel preacher cries.
He is able to break us. Dear brothers and sisters, our
hard hearts, all this pride that we have, don't worry, He's able
to break us. He is able to bring us down and
show Himself to be high and lifted up. And a preacher can't preach
what he doesn't know from experience. He said, I'm telling you from
experience, He is able to abase. Nebuchadnezzar said, their God
is God. Their God is my God, and their
God is your God. In Him is salvation. No God can
save like this God. In Him is life. In Him is peace. Perfect peace and rest. Look
at verse 1 again. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto
all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth,
peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the
signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. How
great are his signs, and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation
to generation. The King of Babylon said, I now
am just a servant of Him. I just want to be an ambassador
for Him. I preach Him. I preach Him and I preach the
great things He's done for me. And that's the gospel. I preach
him and the great things that he's done for me. I believe Nebuchadnezzar
was promoted from a king to a preacher, a true gospel preacher. May the
Lord give us that same message. Same message of the high king.
All right, let's all stand together.