Now, Daniel chapter 4 one more
time. I'm entitling the message from
the vital lesson that the Lord God taught a pagan king whose
name was Nebuchadnezzar. So here's the title of the message
for us today. What every sinner must be taught. What every sinner must be taught. The Lord taught him that he's
God Almighty, that God is God. What every sinner must be taught.
Why is this so important? I'll tell you why it's so important.
All who are taught of God come to the Lord Jesus Christ for
all of salvation. Remember last week we read the
verse from John chapter 6? where the Lord said, No man can
come unto Me except the Father which sent Me, draw him, and
I'll raise him up at the last day. No man can come to Me except
those who have heard and learned. Those who have heard and learned
of the Father, they come unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Those
who have heard of Him and have learned of Him, they see in the
Lord Jesus Christ that He's all in all in salvation. Now, most religious church-going
people. Church-goers in our generation
have a very low and wrong opinion about God. I'm talking about
the God of Scripture, the God of Holy Scripture. They have
a very low opinion, wrong opinion about God. You hear people say
things like, the man upstairs, or that God is my co-pilot, or
that he is my buddy, They have a very low opinion and wrong
opinion about the true and living God, and they have also a very
high opinion of themselves. They think low thoughts and wrong
thoughts about God, but they think high thoughts and good
thoughts about themselves. God is not who we think that
He is. He's who He is as He's revealed
in Holy Scripture. Now there's some reasons why
people have a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof. The first reason is this, because
of our fallen and sinful nature. You read the description of what
God says of our nature in Romans chapter 3, where He said, There's
none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth,
there's none that seeketh after God. And then He says in that
18th verse, There's no fear of God before their eyes. The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God. In Psalm 50, the Lord said, you
thought I was altogether such a one as yourself. God is not
who we think He is. He's who He is. So the reason
that religious folks have the wrong reason, the wrong opinion
of God, the wrong thoughts of God is because of our fallen
sinful nature. The second thing is this, because
there's very little true preaching going on today. There's very
little of the declaration of the God of Scripture. In most
churches today, it's about entertainment, isn't it? about young people,
entertaining young people. In most churches today, it's
about social issues of the day. It's about programs on finance,
programs on marriage, programs on social ills, programs on how
to have a happy life. And there's not any preaching
of the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. rather
than a declaration of the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ, they're going about to establish their righteousness
by their own doing rather than submitting themselves unto the
righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now hold your place
there and find back over there in 2 Timothy. The Apostle Paul,
years ago, warned about these days in which we live right now. In 2 Timothy, Chapter 3, it talks
about those in verse 5 having a form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof from such turn away. A God who wants to and
can't, a God who has tried and failed is no God at all. ever
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
They never heard the truth. You cannot believe what you have
not heard. Look down in 2 Timothy chapter
4 verse 1. I charge thee therefore before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the living and
the dead at the appearing of his kingdom, preach the word. Be instant in season, out of
season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. They shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables. But watch thou in all things,
endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist. What is that? Make the gospel known wherever
you're at. Make full proof of thy ministry. Full proof of thy ministry. Aren't
you troubled in your heart by what's going on today in the
name of God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? I found a
statement that was written by our dear friend Pastor Henry
Mahan thirty years ago. Thirty years ago when this building
was built. Thirty years ago Pastor Mahan
wrote this, such trash talk and trite talk that permitted in
a pulpit and in the church in the name of God was such familiarity
and irreverence, small thoughts, Loose talk about the Lord our
God is unheard of in Scripture or among the ancient fathers
and the early church. Thirty years ago he wrote that.
I tell you what, it's still true today and it's got worse. It has got worse in our day.
The Lord our God singled out this pagan king. by His sovereign
power. The name of this king was Nebuchadnezzar
and the Lord taught him some vital lessons that each of us
need to learn or at least be reminded of often. This man was
a very powerful king, a very proud man, but Almighty God whittled
him down in the dust to a nobody. God-able, this man that's in
power over in Syria right now, same country, same kingdom, Assad,
you reckon the Lord's able to abase him and make him like a
beast out in the field? Absolutely so. This man Nebuchadnezzar
thought he was somebody until the Lord put him in the dust
and made him to know that he was a nobody and taught him and
revealed unto him who the true and living God really is. That
God is God. Oh, may God be pleased to teach
us today. And you know what? If we learn
that lesson by the Spirit of God, by the grace of God, do
you know what it'll do in our heart? It'll humble us. He'll
humble us in His sight. Now, let's go to school this
morning. Look at verse 34, Daniel chapter 4. At the end of days,
I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, God dwells
in the heaven. He said, Beside me there is none
other. And my understanding returned unto me. At one time the Lord
gave him the mind of a wild beast. Now the Lord gives him some sanity,
some right thoughts. And my understanding returned
unto me, right understanding, and I blessed the Most High.
And I praised and I honored Him the living God, the true God
that liveth forever, whose dominion is everlasting dominion, and
His kingdom is from generation to generation. Verse 35, all
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. God doeth
according to His will in the army of heaven among the inhabitants
of the earth, and none can stay His hand, and none can say unto
Him, What doest thou? Now look at verse 37. Now I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven.
The King of heaven, I like that. The Lord Jesus Christ is King
of kings and Lord of lords. All whose works are truth, the
Lord said, I am the truth. His ways are judgment, the Lord
said, I am the way. And those that walk in pride,
God is able to unhorse. God is able to put them in the
dust. Those that walk in pride, He is able to make them to know
that they are nobody's. He will abase them. So here's
what we need to learn. Nebuchadnezzar learned that God
is God. The God of Holy Scripture is
a true and living God. Beside Him there is no other
God. Let's see if we can help ourselves
here. Find Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45. God is God. Beside Him there
is no other. I praise and extol the Most High
God. Isaiah 45, verse 5, I am the
Lord, L-O-R-D, capital, there is none else, there is no God
beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun from
the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, there is no
one else. I form the light. I create darkness. I make peace. I bring evil, create
evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. God is God. Look over here at Isaiah 45,
the middle part of verse 20. Again, he says, I am the Lord.
There is no God else beside me, a just God and Savior. There is none beside me. There's
only one Savior, only one God. Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none
else. Nebuchadnezzar learned that God
is God. Now, several things here. Look
back at the text again. I praised and honored the Most
High God, and I blessed and honored Him, that liveth, liveth forever. Our God is a true and living
God. He is everlasting. It's not right to say, well,
God is alive. No, He is life. He is everlasting. I bless and praise the Most High
God that liveth forever. We read in Psalm 90, from everlasting
to everlasting, Thou art God. The Lord our God has no beginning
and He has no end. In the beginning, we read, Genesis
1-1, in the beginning, God. In the beginning. He created
the heavens and the earth. In the beginning, when there
was nothing, there was God. alone in the serenity of His
power, in the serenity of His person. When there was nothing
but God alone, He created all things by the word of His power.
The Lord Jesus Christ said to those Jews, before I, Abraham
was, I am. The Lord Jesus Christ declared
many, many times that He is the eternal, unchanging, everlasting
God who has dominion over all things. The Lord Jesus Christ
spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. You remember what He said?
I am that I am. He is the eternal I am. He never changes. Read over here if you will, turn
to the Revelation chapter 4. He is the living and true God.
You see, we've been turned to God from our idols to serve the
living and true God. Look at Revelation 4 verse 8. And the four beasts had each
of them six wings about him. Revelation 4 verse 8, And they
were full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night,
saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and
is, and is to come. You see, He is the eternal God. And when those beasts give glory
and honor and thanks to Him that setteth on the throne, who liveth
forever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before
Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever
and ever. And they cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power.
For Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are,
and they were created, who liveth forever and ever." Our God is
the true and living eternal God. Our God is the only self-existent
Lord, self-sustained, eternal being from His own nature and
own power. He exists and depends upon none. And this is true of His whole
person, the whole trinity of His sacred person, Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. One eternal God manifests in
three distinct persons. These three are one. He is the
ever-living God. He lives forever. The second
thing we see is this. He not only lives forever, His
dominion is everlasting. His dominion, His rule, His reign
is forever and ever. Turn over to chapter 7, Daniel
chapter 7. Look at verse 13, and this is
a description of the Lord Jesus. Daniel 7 verse 13, I saw in the
night visions and behold one like the Son of Man came with
clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days. We sang
about that just a moment ago. And they brought him near before
him, and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom,
that all people, nations languages should serve him. His dominion
is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his
kingdom that shall not be destroyed. The dominion of the Lord Jesus
Christ is an everlasting rule and reign over all things. The
Lord our God is the only absolute sovereign Lord over all things. He always has been and always
will. We read in Romans 11, Verse 36,
for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom
be glory both now and forever. His dominion is forever. He rules and reigns forever. Look back at Daniel chapter 4
verse 3. How great are His signs! How mighty are His wonders! His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His dominion is from generation
to generation. His dominion is absolute dominion. He rules and reigns over all
things. God sits upon His absolute throne
of sovereignty. Nothing disturbs Him and nothing
alarms Him. He has never altered His purpose,
nor changed His will, nor changed His character. His character
never changes. His will never changes. His purpose
never changes. Turn back to Isaiah again. Find
Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. The Lord has never
altered His purpose. He's never changed His will,
His desire, His eternal purpose. He said it will be done. Isaiah
46, look at verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, I am God. There is none else. I am God,
there is none like me. What's he like? Look at verse
10. Declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient times
to things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand.
I'll do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from afar, I have
spoken it. I will bring it to pass. I have
purposed it. I will do it. That doesn't sound
like a frustrated God to me, does it to you? You see, the
God of Scripture is everlasting and His dominion, His rule, His
reign, His sovereignty is absolute. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not, therefore you sons of Jacob. shall not be consumed." We read
in Psalm 22, "...the kingdom is the Lord, and He is the governor
among nations." Again we read in Psalm 103, "...his kingdom
ruleth over all." This is the message of God's servant. Did
you know that? What is our message? Don't turn,
let me just read this to you. Our message is, "...the Lord
reigneth." Listen to this, Isaiah 52 7, How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that
publish peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publish
salvation, that say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. He reigns and rules over all
things. He's sovereign in creation, right?
Created all things by the Word of His power. He's sovereign
in providence, right? What comes to pass in our day
is what He has decreed from all eternity, and He's sovereign
in salvation. He will have mercy on whom He
will have mercy. He gives it to whomsoever He
will. Nothing in His kingdom is left
to chance, luck, or fate. All things are wisely governed
by the Lord God Almighty. This is a familiar scripture.
Let me just read it to you over here in Isaiah 9. What talks
about our Lord Jesus Christ incarnate, the incarnate God. For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulders. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace." He's a mighty God. He's the Everlasting One. "...Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end."
Upon the throne of David. upon his kingdom to order it,
to establish it with judgment, with justice from henceforth
forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this." God is God. That's the lesson we need to
learn. This is what God taught Nebuchadnezzar and it humbled
him in God's sight. Something else that he learned,
the kingdom of the Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is from everlasting
to everlasting. Look what it says there. His
kingdom. He liveth forever, verse 34,
whose dominion is everlasting dominion and His kingdom. He
is king in His kingdom. He is King of Kings and He is
Lord of Lords. The Lord Jesus Christ in the
Revelation is called the Everlasting King, the Holy King, King of
Kings. You see, when He came here, He
came as King, where is he that is born King? The Lord Jesus
Christ lived as King in His Kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ died as
the King to secure our everlasting salvation in that Kingdom. He
ascended back to the Father as our King, delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. The Lord Jesus Christ ascended
to glory and He sat down at the Father's right hand as our forerunner
and as our surety, but as our King. And there He ever lives
again to intercede for us. And my friend, this same One,
the Lord Jesus Christ, is coming back as King and God. He is our God. Everybody one
day will bow to His dominion and His Lordship. And they'll
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. As the sovereign King in His
Kingdom, He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. Look
back in chapter 4 of Daniel. This is repeated three times.
Verse 17. This matter is by the decree
of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones,
to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth
in the kingdom of heaven, and giveth it to whomsoever he will,
and setteth up over it the basis of men." Again in verse 25, he
repeats it again. 7 times shall pass over thee, till
thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever He will. Again in verse 32. 7 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. Salvation is by the
will of God. Salvation is of the Lord. Now
here's the fourth thing. We learn, the Lord our God doeth
all things and worketh all things after the counsel of His own
will. You see what it says in the middle
part of verse 35, and He doeth according to His will, His will
in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth and
none can stay His hand or say unto Him, what doest thou? Our God, who is God, worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. His will. There is only one sovereign
will in heaven and in earth. Our Lord taught us to pray that
way, didn't He? Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. All of salvation is determined
by the sovereign will of God. All of salvation is determined
and dependent upon the sovereign will of God, not upon the sinner's
will. It's not upon the sinner's will,
is it? Our will is always self-ward and downward, never God-ward
and upward. Our will is always in our nature.
Our will is in bondage to our nature. And our nature is to
love darkness and hate light. Our fallen sinful nature is to
love self and to hate God. All of salvation is determined
by the sovereign will of God. Of His own will begat He us with
the Word of truth. Now sometimes people ask me about
the ministry here at Zebulun Baptist Church. And they say,
is Zebulun Baptist Church a free will church? And I say, nope. Zebulun Baptist
Church is a God's will church. We pray that His will be done. You see, man's will is not free. It's in bondage to his rotten
nature. When the pagan came to David
and asked him, David, where is your God? You remember what he
said? Our God is in the heavens. Turn over there to Psalm 115.
Let's see if we can read it. Our God is in the heavens. You
might want to mark this. Psalm 115. David, where is your
God? Well, our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever He is pleased to do. Psalm 115, verse
one. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, for thy truth's
sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God? Look what it says, verse three.
But our God is in the heavens, and he hath done whatsoever he
hath pleased to do. None can stay his hand, none
can say unto him, Lord God Almighty, what doest thou? What has it
pleased the Lord to do? Well, we read this in Scripture.
I'll give it to you. It pleased God to make you His
people. God in eternity elected a people
unto salvation. It pleased God that in Christ
should all fullness dwell. Colossians 1 verse 19. It pleased
God to bruise the Lord Jesus Christ in our room and in our
stead. Isaiah 53, 10. It pleased God to reveal His
Son in us. Galatians 1, 15 and 16. And it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. Whatsoever the Lord please, that
what He does. Turn to Psalm 135. You see, our
God is God. I cannot preach Him high enough
or big enough. He is God Almighty. I give Him all the honor and
glory for everything in salvation, creation, and providence. Psalm
135, look at verse 5. For I know that the Lord our
God The Lord is great, that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, in earth, seas, and
all deep places." God is God. It's not of Him that willeth
or of Him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy. Now, look back at Daniel 4 verse
35. So what did Nebuchadnezzar learn
being taught of God? That God is God. That He is eternal. That He is sovereign. His kingdom
is everlasting. His dominion reaches to the ends
of the earth. And then the Lord taught him
this. Verse 35. All the inhabitants
of the earth. Does that include you? All the
inhabitants of the earth. Does that include our President?
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. Zero. Nothing. Turn back to Isaiah and find
Isaiah 40. Nothing. Nothing. Man in his
best state, the psalmist said, is vanity. Our Lord said in John
15, without me you can do nothing. In Isaiah 40. Look at verse 17. Look at verse
15, Isaiah 40 verse 15. Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket, accounted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the isles
as a very little thing. Lebanon is not sufficient to
burn the cedar trees in Lebanon, nor the beasts thereof sufficient
for a burnt offering, not the blood of bulls and goats. cannot
take away our sin. All nations before Him are as
nothing, less they are counted to Him, less than nothing, and
vanity. Take China, Russia, United States,
what are they all together? Zero. Nothing. Nothing in His sight. That's the lesson we need to
learn. Individually and collectively,
all flesh is grass. Saul of Tarsus, the religious
Pharisee, before he met the Sovereign Lord, he was a bragger just like
Nebuchadnezzar. Old Saul of Tarsus said, I was
a Pharisee. I was circumcised. My mama was
a Jew. My daddy was a Jew. Oh, by the
way, concerning the law, I've honored it. But when he met the
Savior, God put a new heart in him. He was made a new man in
Christ Jesus. And you know what he said? Everything
that was gained to me, now I count it lost, dung, and ruined, that
I might win Christ and be found in him. Oh, to be found in him. When Saul of Tarsus was taught
who God is, you remember what he said? Lord, what would you
have me to do? And then he said, O wretched
man that I am. Especially in salvation, when
we consider what salvation is and who salvation is, and who
accomplished our salvation, We have to say that all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing in the business of accomplishing
salvation. What part did you contribute
to your salvation? Tell me! What part did you contribute
to your salvation? In the accomplishment of it?
Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! In redemption? We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. In righteousness, blessed is
the man to whom the Lord imputed righteousness without works.
In reconciliation, God was in Christ, reconciling us unto himself. You see, in salvation, we contribute
nothing. You see, it is set this way that
he might receive all the honor and glory. In regeneration, the
new birth is from above. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. He cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. In him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we are complete. Christ
is all and in all in salvation. Do you see that? Our part is
nothing. We receive everything as a gift
of God's free grace. Sovereign, sovereign grace. Now look down at verse 37. Now
I, Nebuchadnezzar, put your name right there if you're a believer.
I can say this in my heart by God's grace. I, Tom, old Tom
Tom, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven. He's the
High King of Heaven. All whose works are truth, His
ways judgment, and those that walk in pride, God is able to
save. That proud, religious, hard-hearted
Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, he was no match for the King
of Kings. Nebuchadnezzar learned that God
is able to abase the sinner. That God is able to save the
sinner. God is able to strip the proud heart, the hard-hearted
sinner, and to make him know that God is God. And when God
strips a man, when God breaks a man, God who begins a good
work in you, He'll finish it. He'll finish it. You see, there
must be a stripping before there's a clothing. Isaiah, we find this
in Isaiah 61. He clothed me with the garments
of salvation. He covered me with the robe of
righteousness. There's got to be a stripping
by the power of God before there's a clothing. There must be a humbling
before there is a healing. There must be a breaking of the
heart before there is a mending of the heart. He's not, then,
of a broken heart. He saved us such as be of the
contrite spirit. You know a broken heart is the
only useful thing. A broken wheel you cannot use.
A broken down engine in your car you cannot go anywhere. A
broken and shattered plate is no good to eat your dinner on.
And you can go on and on and on and on. The only thing that's
useful is a broken heart. He's nigh them of a broken heart.
Save us such as be of a contrite spirit." You see, our God is
able to save to the uttermost. Our God is able. Underscore that
word. He is able. God is able. He has all ability, all power,
and all authority. God is able. What's He able to
do? He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him. In Jude, We read, He's able to
keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence
of God's glory. What He's able to do? He's able
to accomplish and perform all that He had promised. Our God
is able. That's the lesson we need to
learn. those that walk in pride, He is able to abase. Here's the
last thing. Nebuchadnezzar learned that the
Lord our God is worthy of all honor and glory. He says, I praise
and extol and honor the King of Heaven. The King of Heaven,
the High King of Heaven. You see, The only place a sinner
will worship is at the throne of the Almighty Sovereign God. That's the only place a sinner
will worship. The Father seeketh such to worship
Him in spirit and in truth. This is the eternal occupation
of every believer. The Lord Jesus Christ is worthy
of all honor, glory, blessing, now and forever. Turn back to
the Revelation one more time. I'll let you go with this. I'll send you home with this.
Revelation chapter 1. The Lord Jesus Christ is to be
praised, extolled, and honored. That is, He is to be worshipped
at all times. Revelation chapter 1 verse 5,
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the first begotten of
the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved
us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, hath made us
kings and priests unto our God, his father, to him be glory and
dominion. Same language, isn't it? Same
God. Glory and dominion forever and
ever. Now turn to Revelation 5. Revelation
5, verse 9, And they sung a new
song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, to open the
seals thereof. For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, tongue,
people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld and heard
the voice of many angels round about the throne, at the throne
of His dominion, and the beasts and the elders, and the number
of them was ten thousand times ten thousands and thousands.
What were they saying with a loud voice? Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive all power, riches, honor, wisdom, strength,
honor, glory, and blessings." You see, the same God. And every
creature which is in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth,
such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
Blessing, honor, glory, and power unto him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. And the four beasts
said, Amen. The four beasts there are typical
of God's servants, His preachers. And the four and twenty elders,
typical of the church of the Lord Jesus, redeemed with His
blood, fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever. Oh, my soul. May God give us grace in our
heart. to worship Him, to esteem Him,
to honor Him, to believe Him, to love Him. Oh, may God be our
teacher. God's our teacher. We're coming
to Christ. We're coming to Christ for salvation.
May God give us faith in our heart to do so.