10 August 2014
I. Introduction
--
turn in Bibles to Daniel 4:29-37
Daniel
4:29-37 (NIV)
29
Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,
30
he said, "Is not this the great Babylon
I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my
majesty?"
31
The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is
what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been
taken from you.
32
You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you
will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you
acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives
them to anyone he wishes."
33
Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was
driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with
the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his
nails like the claws of a bird.
34
At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and
my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified
him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures
from generation to generation.
35
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back
his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
36
At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were
returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me
out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.
37
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because
everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in
pride he is able to humble.
--
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall -- Humpty Dumpty had a great fall -- And all the
king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again
--
now in this familiar nursery rhyme, we are introduced to the tragic character
of Mr. Dumpty -- we don't know much about Mr. Dumpty, but we do know that he
was evidently a very successful man -- he had risen to the top and found
himself perched on a wall, overlooking life and all that he had accomplished
--
you know that's how the top businessmen in the world judge if they have truly
made it or not, don't you? -- when they have the top office -- the corner office
on the top floor with the large window that overlooks the city -- when they
stand at that window, high above everyone else, and look out at the world
beneath them -- then they know they have arrived -- they know they have it all
together -- they know they are truly successful in life
--
we may not have the opportunity to get the top office in our careers, but we
have other measures to let us know if we have made it to the top or not, don't
we? -- for teachers, it might mean getting a Master's degree and being
recognized as the top teacher in the county for that year -- for businessmen,
it might mean reaching a certain milestone in annual profits or a certain
number of sales for a given year -- for others, it might be an award given from
your peers or from those in authority over you or recognition from the Governor
of others in positions of power
--
regardless, if we are honest, most of us want to be just like Mr. Dumpty in the
start of this story -- we want to be at the top -- looking over life and all it
has given us and thinking to ourselves, "I have made it."
--
Mr. Dumpty was there -- he had arrived -- he was at the top -- but his story
doesn't end there -- something happened, and Mr. Dumpty was unceremoniously
dropped from the top and ended up at the bottom of the wall
--
that happens a lot, doesn't it? -- how many stories have you read of successful
men and women who had risen to the pinnacle of their career -- to the pinnacle
of life itself -- only to have something come in and pull the rug out from
under them -- sending them crashing from the heights of success to the depths
of misery and brokenness, just like Mr. Dumpty
--
now, we don't know what caused Mr. Dumpty to fall, but we've seen a variety of
things take out other leaders in our very own nation -- a few years ago, we
watched as Enron, an American energy company -- one of the five largest
partnerships in the world -- collapsed largely because of the actions of one
man --its founder, Ken Lay
--
at the time Ken Lay was one of the most successful businessmen in the nation --
well-respected -- financially secure -- admired by business leaders and
Christians alike -- pointed to as an example of what a Christian businessmen
should look like -- in fact, I have a book at home on how to live out your
Christian walk in the work-place, and one chapter uses the example of Ken Lay
as a model for us to follow
--
but bad decisions -- unethical decisions -- and, apparently, outright fraud and
deceit, caused Ken Lay to tumble from the top of the business world to the
bottom, fighting for his freedom in a court of law
--
other leaders have been toppled through sexual immorality -- drug and alcohol
addictions -- illegal behavior or ties to corrupt organizations -- there is no
end to the list of things that could cause a person to tumble from the top of a
wall to the ground below -- we see it every single day
--
something apparently happened to Mr. Dumpty -- while he was sitting happily on
top of his wall, enjoying life -- something came along and knocked him from his
perch and sent him falling to the ground
--
but the story doesn't end there -- Mr. Dumpty was not one to stay at the bottom
-- he enjoyed the top -- he wanted back on the top -- he wanted to be repaired
and fixed and restored back to his previous position on top of the wall
--
so he did like a lot of those who have fallen in their lives -- he looked for
help from those around him -- evidently, Mr. Dumpty was of the mindset that the
Government had all the answers -- so he went to the government in his day -- he
went to the king -- the king sent out his horses -- his workers -- the
blue-collar guys -- to see if they could help -- these were the programs and
the projects that the government had in place to help people get back on their
feet again -- but it obviously didn't work -- Mr. Dumpty was still at the
bottom of the wall, broken with no repair in sight
--
so the king sent his men -- the leaders of his day -- the men with connections
and power and prestige and resources -- surely these men would be able to help
Mr. Dumpty and get him back up on the top of the wall where he belonged
--
but they, too, were unsuccessful -- nothing that either Mr. Dumpty or the King
tried worked -- and in the end, all the king's horses and all the king's men
couldn't put Humpty back together again -- he had fallen and he couldn't get up
[sermon illustration based
on/modified from illustration by Dr. Tony Evans at Promise Keepers]
--
this morning we are continuing in our sermon series on the Seven Deadly Sins --
so far we have looked at five of the seven sins -- greed, envy, lust, gluttony,
and slothfulness or laziness -- this morning we are going to look at number six
on our list -- the sin of pride
--
if you have to wonder what caused the fall of Mr. Dumpty, I contend it was
pride -- just as God warns us through the Bible, pride goeth before the fall --
and Mr. Dumpty's pride at being large and in charge -- at being on top of his
world -- led to his downfall
--
this morning we're going to look at the story of another man who found himself
at the top of the world and we'll see what happened to him -- this is the story
of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon -- the ruler of the first world empire --
whose story we find in the Book of Daniel
II. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Nebuchadnezzar
--
before we start looking at this passage in detail, let me give you a little of
the context and background of King Nebuchadnezzar
--
in this book written by the prophet Daniel, we learn about the rise of Nebuchadnezzar
-- under his leadership, Babylon had risen to become a major military and
financial power in the world -- and Nebuchadnezzar was attacking and conquering
all the countries near him
--
at the same time we see the people of Israel living in the Promised Land, but
not living in the promise -- as the kingdom has grown and become successful,
the people turned away from God -- they became nominal God-followers -- going
through the motions, but not really believing -- others completely went away
from God and started worshiping idols and foreign gods
--
and because of this, God's wrath fell on the nation of Israel -- the northern
kingdom has already been carried into exile by the Assyrians, and God used Nebuchadnezzar
as His instrument of wrath and discipline to conquer the nation of Israel --
the Israelites were sent into exile in Babylon -- the prophet Daniel, who wrote
this book, was one of those carried off into captivity early in Nebuchadnezzar's
reign
--
by the time Chapter 4 rolls around, Nebuchadnezzar was at the top of the world
-- he had conquered and now ruled all of the known world -- he was rich beyond
belief -- his capital city was expansive and recognized as one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world -- and spiritually, he wasn't doing too bad,
either -- after the incident with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery
furnace, Nebuchadnezzar had professed faith in the God of Israel -- not
exclusive faith -- maybe not even saving faith -- but he professed belief and
fear and awe at the power of the Lord God Almighty
--
however, God knew Nebuchadnezzar's heart, and so He sent Nebuchadnezzar a dream
to warn him of the danger of spiritual pride and to warn him what would happen
if he failed to repent of his sin and pride and truly acknowledge God and
follow Him as Lord and Savior
--
but, like all men and all nations who find themselves sitting on the top of the
wall, Nebuchadnezzar didn't listen to God's warning in the dream
--
let's pick up with the story now in verse 27 as Daniel completes his
interpretation of the dream and gives God's final warning to Nebuchadnezzar
Daniel
4:27-28 (NIV)
27
Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing
what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be
that then your prosperity will continue."
28
All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
--
what God was telling Nebuchadnezzar was, "You're on the top of the wall --
I placed you there -- and if you want to stay there, you must acknowledge Me
and My hand in your life -- you must turn to me with all your heart, soul,
mind, and strength -- you must repent of
your sins and seek to live in My kingdom and not your own" -- but
the king was stubborn, and refused to listen to God and paid the consequences
for his pride and his sin -- and everything God said would happen to
Nebuchadnezzar happened
--
look at verse 29-30
Daniel 4:29-30 (NIV)
29 Twelve months later, as the king
was walking on the roof of the royal palace
of Babylon,
30 he said, "Is not this the
great Babylon I
have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my
majesty?"
--
ah, here we see the folly of the man living on top of the world -- or, in this
case, walking about on top of the royal palace looking over all of Babylon and all the lands
that he possessed
--
notice the arrogance in Nebuchadnezzar's comments as he looked at what he owned
-- "I have built" -- "my mighty power" -- "the glory
of my majesty" -- I -- me -- mine -- my
--
danger words -- words that let you know that you're straying too close to the
edge of the wall -- and if you don't pull back and remember how you got up
there in the first place, you might just find yourself falling off
--
and that's exactly what happened -- verse 31-33
Daniel 4:31-33 (NIV)
31 The words were still on his lips
when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King
Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.
32 You will be driven away from
people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle.
Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is
sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."
33 Immediately what had been said
about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate
grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair
grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
-- just like Humpty Dumpty, Nebuchadnezzar
fell -- what God gave, God took away -- his position -- his power -- his
finances -- his resources -- even his own sanity -- in one moment, gone --
taken away by God because of Nebuchadnezzar's belief that he had done it on his
own and with his own power
--
God told us in the first commandment that we should have no other gods before
Him -- and that was exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had done -- Nebuchadnezzar had made
another idol out of himself -- maybe not a 90-foot tall golden image like last
time -- but an idol none-the-less
--
by using words like "I" and "mine," Nebuchadnezzar had put
himself in the place of God -- so God pushed Nebuchadnezzar off the wall
--
God had given Nebuchadnezzar twelve months to repent of his sins and turn to
Him -- but Nebuchadnezzar refused -- and in the end, he wound just like Humpty
Dumpty -- one moment he's sitting on top of the wall -- the next he finds
himself falling
--
when Nebuchadnezzar fell, he hit the bottom -- he became a shell of his former
self -- a broken man -- and, unlike Humpty Dumpty, he has no one else on earth
on whom he can call -- Humpty called on the king for help -- but in this case,
the one who has fallen is the king -- and no one on earth can put Nebuchadnezzar
back together again -- there is no one he can even cry out to for help -- his
only hope is in the mercy and grace of God
--
verse 34
34. At the end of that time, -- "at the
end of that time" refers to the seven year time period of punishment that
God had warned Nebuchadnezzar about in his dream
Daniel 4:34-37 (NIV)
34 At the end of that time, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then
I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His
dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to
generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth are
regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the
peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What
have you done?"
36 At the same time that my sanity
was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my
kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne
and became even greater than before.
37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and
exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and
all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
--
for seven long years, Nebuchadnezzar lay at the bottom of the wall -- broken
and battered -- out of his mind -- living in the fields with the animals --
but, finally, he turned his eyes towards the only One who could help -- he
looked towards God and, even in the midst of his insanity and his brokenness,
called out to God for mercy and grace and restoration
--
and God heard the cry of Nebuchadnezzar's heart -- He saw that Nebuchadnezzar
had truly repented of his sin of pride -- so God brought healing and restored
all that Nebuchadnezzar had lost -- his sanity -- his position -- his power --
his resources -- his palace
--
God picked Nebuchadnezzar up out of the pit he had fallen into and placed him
back on the top of the wall again -- what all the king's horses and all the
king's men could not do, God did
--
but this time, the man on top of the wall was not the same -- he had been
changed through the grace of God -- he still had the power and the prestige and
the palace -- his kingdom still stretched from the sea to the mighty rivers in
Babylon -- in fact he even became greater than he was before -- but the pride
and the arrogance and the idolatry were gone -- and, in its place, was
humbleness and respect and true worship for the Lord God Almighty
--
the story of Nebuchadnezzar is similar to that of Humpty Dumpty -- but it is
not nearly so tragic -- Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall and fell, never to get
back up again -- Nebuchadnezzar sat on the wall and fell, too, but he was
raised back up through the redeeming grace of God
III. Closing
--
we are constantly surrounded by stories of modern-day Humpty Dumpty's -- men
and women who rose to power or prestige and who fell to the bottom again -- our
papers and our news stories are filled with their tragic tales -- such is the
fate of those who put their hope and faith in themselves and in the things of
this earth
--
but we are also surrounded by the stories of modern-day heroes of the faith
like Nebuchadnezzar -- men and women who fell, but who put their hope and faith
in the living God and who rose again -- perhaps not to the same positions of
power -- perhaps not to the same levels of income or prosperity -- but to
something better -- to the heights of heaven itself
--
if I had to point to one modern man whose story most closely parallels that of Nebuchadnezzar,
I would have to mention Chuck Colson -- a name that has been mentioned this
week as we remember the 40th anniversary of Watergate and President Nixon's
resignation from office
--
Chuck Colson was one of Richard Nixon's most trusted advisors -- and in his
position, Colson had it all -- he had power -- he had prestige -- he had money
-- he had the ear of the president of the most powerful nation on earth -- he
lived on top of the wall
--
but then Watergate happened -- and Colson made some bad decisions -- some
illegal actions -- and went to federal prison -- the mighty man had fallen off
the wall and landed in a hole -- but, he didn't stay there
--
during the time he was on trial and later in prison, Colson placed his trust
and faith in the saving grace of Christ Jesus -- and, just like Nebuchadnezzar,
God restored Colson to his place of prominence
--
only this time, instead of being in the west wing of the white house, it was as
the leader of Prison Fellowship Ministries -- a place where Colson could use
his new-found faith in Christ to minister to prisoners and give them a hand up
to help them make it to the top of the wall, too
--
pride goeth before the fall, but humility and grace picks us up
--
pride is the bane of our existence as humans -- out of the seven deadly sins, I
think pride is the most dangerous -- some have even contended that pride is the
root of all other sins because pride makes us want to be God in our own lives
--
we say that a sin is a sin is a sin -- but the Bible points out in many places
that God specifically hates the sin of pride in our lives -- in Proverbs 8:13,
we read, "I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse
speech" and in James 4:6, we read that God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble
-- did you
know that the very first sins recorded in the Bible were pride?
-- in
Isaiah 14, we read how pride was Satan's downfall -- Satan started out as
Lucifer, God's anointed cherub -- ordained with every precious stone --
beautiful in all his ways
-- but in
his heart, he was prideful -- he desired more than he had -- and he said,
"I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I
will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the
sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself
like the Most High."
--
Lucifer's pride led him to try to become higher than God -- to take God's place
-- and so God cast him down from heaven and he became Satan
-- and,
then, in the Garden of Eden, it was Adam and Eve's pride that made them take
the forbidden fruit and disobey God -- just like Lucifer, they desired to
become like God -- to know what God knew -- to be equal to Him -- and they took
the fruit and ate it and brought sin into the world
-- our
natural tendency as humans is not to be humble, but instead to be filled with
pride -- and this is even encouraged in our culture -- we're told to take pride
in our accomplishments -- to be proud of our work -- proud of our heritage --
proud of our country -- proud of everything that we do -- and for those kids who
don't quite get it, we even have self-esteem classes so that they can learn how
to become prideful in their own lives
-- to be
proud means that we exalt ourselves and our accomplishments and our lives -- to
be proud means that we put ourselves on the throne of our lives -- to be proud
means that we think we have made it to the top without anyone else's help
-- how do
you know if you have a pride problem? -- listen to yourself this week -- do you
find yourself saying far too often, "I" and "My" and
"Mine?" -- do you find yourself taking credit for your
accomplishments without giving God the praise and glory we owe Him?
-- it
reminds me of the story about the two ducks and the frog who lived happily
together in a farm pond -- these three animals were the best of friends -- they
would spend the whole day playing together in their waterhole -- but, when
summer rolled around, the pond started to dry up -- and as it got smaller and
smaller, it soon became apparent that the three friends would have to move.
-- This was
no problem for the ducks, who could easily fly to another pond -- But the frog
was stuck -- he had no way to leave this drying waterhole and go to another
place to live -- so they thought and thought and, finally, the frog came up
with a brilliant idea -- he told the ducks to find a stick and put one end in
each of their mouths so the frog could hang on to the middle with his mouth as
they flew to another pond
-- they
tried it and the plan worked well--so well, in fact, that as they were flying
along a farmer looked up in admiration and saw the frog suspended on the stick
between the two ducks and said in amazement, "Well, isn't that a clever
idea! I wonder who thought of it?" -- The frog opened his mouth and said,
"I did..." -- and that was the end of that
-- that's
the way of pride -- as soon as you open your mouth and exalt yourself, you find
yourself falling off your wall and flat on your face before God and everyone
else
-- pride is
insidious -- it is so hard to get rid of -- and that's why it is one of the
seven deadly sins
-- so as we
close in prayer, let us pray for humility -- let us repent of our sin of pride
-- and let us turn our eyes off ourselves and focus our gaze on Heaven and on
the Lord God Almighty
-- let us
pray
