Hello friends!
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Welcome to Books of the Book.
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I'm Ty Gibson and we are
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presently engaged in a study of
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the book of Daniel
and with me is my co-host
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James Rafferty.
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So we are in Daniel Chapter 4
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and it is incredible when you
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look at Daniel 4 because the
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book of Daniel, written by
Daniel the prophet and believer.
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A man who was connected
with God with the exception of
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Daniel Chapter 4 because
Daniel Chapter 4 shows us that
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God has an interest in every
one, even if they aren't the
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most ardent believer
or follower of the Lord.
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Everyone who has a radical
conversion experience with God.
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Daniel Chapter 4 was
written by Nebuchadnezzar.
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It is a testimony of his
experience, his relationship
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with God, and how God
has worked in his life.
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God has allowed Nebuchadnezzar
to give this testimony as
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part of this
prophetic book of Daniel.
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It's incredible, yes it's
phenomenal because as we know
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Peters says that holy men
of old spake as they were moved
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by the Holy Spirit.
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The Holy Spirit
inspires prophets and they are
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called holy men.
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Here we have a section of
Scripture that is written by
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none other than Nebuchadnezzar.
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We need to give a little
bit of background here so that
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we remember who this
is we are dealing with.
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Nebuchadnezzar is
a despotic dictator.
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He is responsible for
taking God's people captive and
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enslaving them.
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He has a horrific career record
as a mass murderer and has
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and performed a
genocide no doubt.
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He has moved into villages
and countries and this man is
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no one you would
expect to be penning inspired
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words in Scripture, yet
right here in Chapter 4 we have
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the testimony of King
Nebuchadnezzar chronicling his
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radical conversion.
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You might not even think
that Nebuchadnezzar would be
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saved in heaven unless
you would read this testimony
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which is probably possibly
why God has in His providence
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allow this testimony to be
part of the inspired Scripture.
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But listen to this,
Daniel Chapter 4 and verse 1,
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listen to Nebuchadnezzar.
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"Nebuchadnezzar, the king,
unto all people, nations, and
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"languages that do
well on all the earth,"
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"peace be multiplied unto you."
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That sounds like Paul.
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That sounds like New
Testament introduction to one
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of Paul's epistles.
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This is a changed man, this
is a converted man and do you
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know why this
is a converted man?
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Because the testimony of
Nebuchadnezzar is, I wanted to
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tell you how good
God is, how great God is.
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He made me into a wild
man and I went for seven years
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eating grass while my hair
grew as Eagle feathers and my
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nails grew as Eagle's claws.
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Isn't God good!
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Yeah, it's amazing.
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In other words, it takes a
converted man to go through
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such a horrendous trial and
come out saying God is good.
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We know was a horrendous
trial because down in verse 4,
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he says I at rest in my
house and flourishing in my
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palace, this guy had everything.
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He was surrounded with opulence.
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He could indulge himself
in any earthly pleasures.
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He was the king and yet he
is praising God for taking him
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out of that situation
and by His divine providence
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thrusting Nebuchadnezzar
into a very terrible trial,
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obviously, Nebuchadnezzar
literally lost his mind.
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He went insane according
to his own testimony here.
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Nebuchadnezzar somehow
is able to look upon this
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experience and praise God
because he knows that through
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this experience God has
reached his heart and brought
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him to an
understanding of the truth.
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He knows that God has taken
him out of a false security.
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And earthly security, a
security that is dependent on
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earthly powers or an earthly
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wealth which is all going to
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vanish, he knows that God has
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removed him.
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The reason why he is so
incredibly impressed by what God
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has done is because
Nebuchadnezzar understands
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the pride of his own heart.
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This whole chapter deals
with pride and it ends with
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this testimony that
Nebuchadnezzar gives a
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summation of his testimony and
basically says those who walk
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in pride He's able to abase.
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Nebuchadnezzar
realizes looking back that he,
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even though he was at
rest, even though he was
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flourishing, he was in a
false security, that is what
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we see in the world today.
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Many especially in the
Western countries, we see people
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who are resting in a
false security and one day that
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security will be broken.
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It will be diminished, it
will be gone and there will
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be nothing left.
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God is seeking to reach us
right now and say the things
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you find security in today
are meaningless in the end.
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Absolutely, absolutely!
If you think about it,
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the average Westerner in
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our world today lives at a
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lifestyle level that
might not be too much behind
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Nebuchadnezzar at peace in his
house, flourishing in his palace
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We are surrounded with every
provision we could possibly
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imagine, we probably
have available to us some of
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the amenities of life
that Nebuchadnezzar in his time
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didn't even have in his palace.
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The fact is that we
are at rest in our houses.
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We are at ease in our little
palaces, our little worlds
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in which we do not
feel our need of God.
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We do not feel
our need of His grace.
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The fact is James though,
if we think about this we are
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reading the testimony
here in Daniel 4, of a despotic
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ruler, we look upon him,
and we think of some of the
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horrible atrocities that
he committed in his lifetime.
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But from God's perspective,
really there isn't this
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great
distinction between sinners.
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The fact is, all have
sinned and fallen short of
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the glory of God.
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Nebuchadnezzar reveals
to us a carnality and a
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wickedness that is the
potential of all of our hearts.
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If left to ourselves,
apart from the grace of God,
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there is not a one of us
as human beings who would not
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engage in the same kinds
of things that Nebuchadnezzar
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engaged in as this despotic
ruler filled with arrogance
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and pride.
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He had an inflated sense of
himself, and we too, as sinners
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have an inflated sense of
ourselves in our little worlds.
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We just don't have the
kind of power necessarily
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that he had at his disposal,
but we are all sinners in
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need of this
radical kind of conversion.
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It's true you know, it's fallen
human nature to categorize sin
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to make ourselves out to
be better than somebody else.
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Put these different categories
that God does not see.
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That's what I think is really
profound that Nebuchadnezzar
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is giving a statement here
in verse 1, "to all people,"
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"Nations and languages
that dwell on all the earth. "
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I think what he is saying
is, because we categorize sin
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and because we see certain
people as worse than others,
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Nebuchadnezzar is probably
seen as the worse of all.
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The fact that he is filled
with pride, there is no way
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a nice man can get to
the position he is in,
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and of course he
doesn't pretend to be nice,
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in any sense of the
word up unto this time.
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Even Daniel was made a
Eunuch by Nebuchadnezzar,
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everyone was to serve
Nebuchadnezzar's purpose.
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If they couldn't
serve his purpose they died.
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In that context Nebuchadnezzar
is saying, in essence,
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I want all the world to
know that if God can save me,
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He can save you.
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There is another lesson
here James, in the fact that
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Nebuchadnezzar is
addressing all peoples, nations,
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languages, that dwell
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on the earth in verse 1.
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He is sending out his testimony
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in the form of a letter
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obviously, all over the world.
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The first impulse of a
converted heart, I mean when we
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really see our need and begin
to receive the grace of God
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that transformation that
is wrought in our hearts,
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causes to arise in us an
impulse to bring others in
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contact with the grace of God.
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Nebuchadnezzar is eager
for the whole world to become
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aware of his
encounter with the living God.
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Amen, that is why this
testimony so powerful, because,
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he is making such a
radical transformation.
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He has such a powerful witness
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to share that at his time and
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his level it will have a major
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affect, we do not know how many
people will be in the kingdom
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because of the
testimony of Nebuchadnezzar.
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We do know this, it's powerful.
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overcome, not only by
the blood of Jesus Christ,
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but by the word
of our testimony.
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Not only do we not know
how many people will be in the
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kingdom because of
Nebuchadnezzar's testimony, but
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imagine James, what it is
going to be like on resurrection
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morning when Nebuchadnezzar
is there among the redeemed?
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Also, among the
resurrected saints of all ages.
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There will be those who
Nebuchadnezzar was in fact,
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the person who brought
them into slavery and committed
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horrible atrocities against
them and took their lives.
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They are going to be amazed,
and absolutely gratified to
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see that after that wicked
man had taken their lives,
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he was able to be
reached by the grace of God.
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There he is in
God's eternal kingdom.
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Amen, so Nebuchadnezzar is
having this dream and this time
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as he is troubled by it, verse
5, "I saw a dream which made me"
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"afraid, and the thoughts
upon my bed and the visions"
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"of my head troubled me. "
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He makes a decree this time
to bring in all the wise men
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but he doesn't
threaten them with death.
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So you notice a little
bit of transition taking place
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here in his thinking.
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We have seen him, already
have a dream, where he was very
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angry and want all
the wise men killed.
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Then we saw him move from
that, in his experience, that
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intellectual conviction that
this is truth and Daniel your
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God is the God of gods,
to actually see a witness of
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the Son of Man with
His people in the furnace.
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We know that these two
events really affected him
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in a powerful way.
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The truth and a
witness of the truth.
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Now, as he has his second
dream, of a tree, a great tree,
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that fills the whole earth
and feeds and give shade to all
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these animals, and basically,
is a picture of his nation
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as the provider for and
the power that directs all of
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these different nations.
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He recognizes that God is
ultimately showing him who He
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is and what God
has given to him.
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He is a little bit mellower.
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He brings in his astrologers
and doesn't threaten them
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with death, but he is still
not completely directed to God
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because he doesn't call Daniel
in among these astrologers
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and wise men.
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He waits till the very
last before he calls Daniel in.
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I think he knows that when
he calls Daniel in, he is going
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to receive a clear understanding
of the meaning of his
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vision and he has a hunch,
just like the previous vision,
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that it is not necessarily
going to be exactly what
00:11:09.20\00:11:12.10
he wants to hear.
00:11:12.13\00:11:13.47
He knows that if he
calls Daniel in, it is
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going to be the truth.
00:11:15.27\00:11:16.60
He senses that when he
encounters the truth is going to
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require something of him.
00:11:19.94\00:11:21.28
There is going to be
responsibility involved, and so
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Daniel is his last resort.
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He has curiosity and
wants to know the meaning of the
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vision, but he knows that
Daniel is truly a godly man
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who will tell him the
truth and no doubt a little
00:11:33.25\00:11:36.49
reluctance to
hear the whole truth.
00:11:36.56\00:11:38.36
So he gives Daniel the basic
dream and then he asks Daniel
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to give him the interpretation.
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It is interesting
because it says in verse 19,
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of Chapter 4, that when Daniel,
whose name was Belteshazzar,
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when Daniel
received this dream from
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Nebuchadnezzar, "he was
astonished for one hour and the
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thoughts of his
head troubled him. "
00:11:56.48\00:11:59.25
"The king spoke to him
and said don't let the dream,"
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"or the
interpretation trouble you. "
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Daniel answers,
Belshazzar answers, my lord,
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I really love this, "the
dream be to them that hate thee"
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"and the interpretation
thereof to thine enemies. "
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In other words, Daniel is
reluctant to tell the king, the
00:12:15.53\00:12:20.14
interpretation of the dream.
00:12:20.17\00:12:21.50
Now, I really
believe this is powerful.
00:12:21.54\00:12:23.14
This is a powerful
witness or testimony of a
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believer in God,
because to often,
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as followers of God,
we don't have a reluctant
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bone in our body.
00:12:32.55\00:12:34.18
We just want to tell it like
it is and let the chips fall
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where they may and if you
can't handle the truth then
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that's too bad sir.
00:12:39.55\00:12:40.89
We see here, in the character
of Daniel, a spirit that is
00:12:40.92\00:12:43.26
different, we can see here
a spirit that is concerned.
00:12:43.29\00:12:46.06
Now, if anyone had a
reason to hold something against
00:12:46.13\00:12:48.83
Nebuchadnezzar, or a grudge
00:12:48.86\00:12:50.37
against Nebuchadnezzar it was
00:12:50.40\00:12:51.73
Daniel, he was the one that
00:12:51.77\00:12:53.10
was separated from his home,
00:12:53.13\00:12:54.47
from his family and made a
00:12:54.50\00:12:55.84
Eunuch, made to serve this king.
00:12:55.87\00:12:57.44
So Daniel, deep
down in his heart,
00:12:57.47\00:12:59.94
has the spirit of Christ
00:13:00.04\00:13:01.61
and longs to reach the
heart of the King and is
00:13:01.64\00:13:05.25
reluctant to share.
00:13:05.31\00:13:07.02
Now, I like this because
this reluctance is combined with
00:13:07.05\00:13:10.79
Daniels ardent
desire to obey his God.
00:13:10.82\00:13:15.19
To follow through
with and share the truth.
00:13:15.22\00:13:17.46
This is what
Christianity is all about.
00:13:17.49\00:13:19.66
It's about the spirit of
Christ that possess a meekness
00:13:19.69\00:13:23.57
and an unwillingness to
hurt people, to harm people.
00:13:23.60\00:13:27.47
To discourage people,
but at the same time has a
00:13:27.50\00:13:30.94
truthfulness and
honesty and integrity that wants
00:13:30.97\00:13:34.24
to honor God and do and
obey exactly what God calls
00:13:34.28\00:13:37.51
us to do and say.
00:13:37.55\00:13:38.88
This is the same spirit
that we witness in Jesus
00:13:38.91\00:13:41.85
when He said to His disciples,
00:13:41.88\00:13:44.02
"that there are many things that
00:13:44.05\00:13:46.15
I want to tell you but you
00:13:46.19\00:13:47.66
cannot bear them now. "
00:13:47.69\00:13:49.49
The truth was revealed to
the disciples as they could
00:13:49.52\00:13:52.93
handle it, as they could
bear it because the objective
00:13:52.96\00:13:56.10
of Christ's goal was to
reach their hearts and bring
00:13:56.13\00:13:59.23
them to conversion.
00:13:59.27\00:14:00.74
Not merely to unload the
truth concerning themselves and
00:14:00.77\00:14:05.31
to blow them away and
hurt them and turn them away.
00:14:05.34\00:14:09.01
Daniel is governed by
the same meekness of spirit.
00:14:09.04\00:14:12.61
He is not eager to bring
before king Nebuchadnezzar the
00:14:12.68\00:14:16.22
things that will be painful
and difficult for him to bear.
00:14:16.25\00:14:19.75
But he is eager for
Nebuchadnezzar to receive the
00:14:19.79\00:14:23.26
truth and to be turned to
the Lord, so he follows through
00:14:23.32\00:14:26.36
and does tell the
truth about the matter.
00:14:26.39\00:14:30.07
It is extremely important
for all of us to recognize that
00:14:30.10\00:14:33.70
it is possible, like
Nebuchadnezzar, for us to merely
00:14:33.74\00:14:37.31
have an
intellectual conversion friends.
00:14:37.34\00:14:39.34
Nebuchadnezzar was led
finally to conversion of heart,
00:14:39.37\00:14:43.14
and that is what we are going
to continue exploring as we
00:14:43.18\00:14:46.88
come back after the break.
00:14:46.92\00:14:48.25