Well, as you know, we are studying the book of Daniel I'm sorry. I just got a news update. That's weird Russian this is it's a big deal Russian president Vladimir Putin issues unconditional ceasefire and Calls for withdrawal of all forces
Says he has had a religious awakening and from now on will live only for the glory of King Jesus who is Lord of Lords and Savior of sinners I don't believe that do you that? That did not happen But something stranger than that happened 2500 years ago King by the name of Nebuchadnezzar ruler of all the world as far as he knew he was not aware of any lands and he was not the ruler of And even with that position of power there was no Army that he was aware of that he was not the commander of there was absolutely nothing that could threaten him his town his city had his Castle had a huge wall around it, but that's not enough And so he built another wall around the whole city and that wasn't enough And so he built a enormous wall around the countryside But actually even went over the Euphrates river so his country could not be siege The water was running to it. They had farms inside that beautiful hanging gardens his wife like flowers and so it created one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world Beautifying the the city of Babylon. He was the greatest king that he knew of that had ever existed, but it couldn't sleep well and he had a nightmare and He called for Daniel who had interpreted his nightmares before and And he said Daniel, this is what I dream. I dreamed that there was a huge tree and Under the shade of this tree all kinds of animals lived and they they nested in the branches and they lived under it shade And they were also happy but then the The tree got cut down And there's nothing but a stump left in the stump stayed there for seven times and Daniel went white as a ghost and he goes. Oh, no And somehow and this is about 30 years after the last chapter we read by the way somehow in that time Daniel had become Affectionate toward the king and he said oh king made this dream come true for your enemies, but not for you For you are the tree All nations of the world live under the peace that you brought. It was a piece brought by you know conquest but we're not gonna go there and Everything is at peace because of your kingship, but something's gonna happen the Lord's gonna cut you down and You're gonna have the dew of heaven letting your hair for seven times. We don't know what seven times is Could be a short is seven weeks. It could be as long as seven years. It's probably around seven months or maybe seven seasons Which would be about a year and a half we really just have no idea Look for seven times you're gonna be out number of perfections complete You'll be out eating grass Just living outside And the king goes huh Okay, and Daniel says please I beg you repent Repent of your pride don't ask the Lord the Lord he said through our Jeremiah He says when I give warnings if you'll repent then then I'll relin and not send everything I warn you of and the king goes huh? Okay, thanks. It was much to bed a Year later I gave him a year to repent a year later He's up walking on his outer wall and he's just feeling it Am I not the king of everything? I have seen By my own hands. I have built this wonderful beautiful kingdom and here's a voice from heaven saying It's all about to be taken away from you You were a fool you did not repent and because you have taken credit. It's all gonna be taken away from you The king was struck with madness And this madness he believed that he was a cow about that sounds weird almost sounds made up But I knew I knew of a guy. I guess he's still there in Whitfield's mental illness institute and Jackson Mississippi who we call they took too much LSD for years believed he was an orange and all it was rolled around Begging people not to peel him. So things happened. We just don't know but King Nebuchadnezzar was struck with madness and he believed that he was a cow and he lived outside and he didn't groom himself And his hair grew long and his nails drew long and he ate grass Until his sanity was restored to him And when his sanity was restored to him he read he Forclaimed these words he wrote a track a track He wrote a track and sitting out all over Babylon Worship the king of heaven For he alone is truly God So please stand as we read these words of the tract the King Babylon read wrote and I want you to see that pride is the most Forpugnant of all sins and only God can heal it Here's the word of the Lord at the end of the days I had Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven and my reason returned to me and I blessed the most high and I praised and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom We're at last from generation to generation All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing and And he does according to his will among all the host of heaven and Among all the inhabitants of the earth and None can stay to stay his hand or stay to him. What have you done? At the same time that my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom my majesty and Splinter returned to me and my counselors and my Lord sought me and I was established in my kingdom and even more greatness was added to me Now I Nebuchadnezzar Praise and extoll and honor the King of heaven For all his works are right and his ways are just and Those who walk in pride he is able to humble This Father reading of God's word all men are like grass and All of our glories like the flowers of the field The grass withers and flowers fall but not God's word God's word stands forever. You may be seated
Pride is the most repugnant of all sins It's the well spring of all sins and only God can heal it Let's start out here talking about what you know what's wrong with a little pride? Why is pride the first of the seven deadly sins? Why would God hates pride so much he says in Proverbs 16 that He who is arrogant of heart is an abomination to me And those who know Hebrew better than I do say that work the particular word Translated abomination is There's many words you can use and that one in particular is just the vile list of them all That's a word that God reserves for those who sacrifice their children to Molek That was an abomination Having a prideful arrogant heart is an abomination to me Why? What what makes it so bad? Is there's a lot of confusion about it? I'm I was thinking about that this morning actually in the shower You know the for whatever reason the song about the you two song about Jesus Hitler Martin Luther King is pretty funny group and they named the song pride Like what's wrong with pride and the reason they're the problem with that is we confuse pride with a lot of things pride is not self-confidence Pride is not a self-respect pride is not joy in the work of your hand a lot of times we'll say you know you spend all day mowing the yard and trimming it and weeding the gardens and you look back and you go you take pride in it You know and that's not the that's not the pride we're talking about that's actually enjoying the work of your hands That's very godlike god did that or you can you know look at your children and take joy in them that they've grown up that they made it and You know there's a lot of graduating going on right now and and people are taking pride in their children It's not a simple kind of pride It's it's a joy that their children and adults and those aren't the things we're talking about We're talking about exalting yourself over God and others Talking about exalting yourself over God and everybody else and it really is the the root of all sins what was Adam's Sin, why did Adam sin because he wanted to be like God? He didn't want to listen to God He didn't want to submit to God. He wanted to be like him. He wanted to be equal with him And we do that all the time we we want the credit We want to be considered the the masters of our fate. We want the credit for what has come from our hand And so we're basically we're committing the sin of plagiarism You know, we're taking credit for something someone else did Back in the 19th century it was a slave named Nathan Greene and Nathan Greene Gave was was the slave of a Lutheran minister and they kind of became friends and the Lutheran minister Took a sip of Nathan Greene's whiskey one night and said man, I can't that's amazing. How did you make that? It's so Nathan Greene or uncle uncle Nearest as he was known Taught him how to make whiskey the whole process how to distill it the ingredients the recipe that you know the amount of time It takes taught him the whole process and Daniel Traged and became known as one of the greatest you know became in his little region that he had a really good recipe for whiskey and he taught it to a guy named Jasper Daniel and Jasper or Jack as his friends called him Came one of the wealthiest people of his generation Billions of billions of dollars have come in through the Jack Daniel's whiskey family You think any of that you think a single penny of that came back to uncle Nearest or his family? Of course not it was stolen it was just taken from it and That's what we are doing every time we look over something and say without Thanksgiving this is the work of my hands I Did this we're taking the glory away from God we're plagiarizing We're plagiarizing it when we when we take pride take credit for Who we've made ourselves to be? We're taking the glory away from God It doesn't take long to understand that right? I mean when did you tell God? Hey, by the way, I want to be born in America Is that okay if I'm born in the 20th 21st century when America's really prosperous and there's It's pretty easy for me to work my way up. Did you have that conversation? I have a friend who's a he was a division one athlete top one percent of the athletes in the world and He He did 23 of me the little genetic test. You know, he's really into it and he got his results back and he sent You know send it to every place you can send it to find out all the health stuff from it And he was just crushed he was crushed to find out that he had the particular gene that was common among professional athletes And I was like well, yeah Look at you And he goes, I thought this was just due to my hard work Now he did work hard But I know a lot of people who worked hard. I don't know anybody else who looks like him. You didn't ask for that DNA You did not request it You did not build the schools in which you were educated You did not hire the teachers that taught you you did not take out the parents that raised you you or not the reason you survived COVID How many of you had COVID? How many of you survived it? Why? Why did you survive it? A million P Americans died from it a million? Why not you? I know you don't know the answer because nobody knows the answer I mean most of the people who died were older but not all of them and some most of them have pre-existing conditions But not all of them and you don't know why you survived it because the doctors who studied it every day for the last three years Don't know why you survived it So you certainly didn't do that on purpose If you don't even know what you did So who gets the glory for that? How often if you think God that you didn't die from that? It wasn't your work God says the problem is not that he's prideful over it or he's mad about it But you're forgetting who you are You're his beloved children You survived COVID because he loves you and he wanted you to and And you're not giving him the glory for it and by not giving him the glory for it You're you're changing yourself. You're changing your own heart. You're corrupting it. You're bending it Pride ruins our relationship with God because it makes us basically forget him We're not able to enjoy anything when good things happen. We say what's about time? I deserved it When bad things happen we just look at everybody else that it didn't happen to and raise our fists and go well It's better than him. Why me and not him? Pride ruins us Pride ruins our relationships with each other Pride means that pride is not thinking that you're good. Pride is not being You know self-confident or taking joy in your work pride is thinking that you're better That you're better It's not enough that you be pretty. You have to be prettier. It's not enough that you're smart You have to be smarter. It's not enough that you're righteous You're more righteous You look down on the people around you You take the credit away from God and you steal it for yourselves and then you immediately look down on everyone else who hasn't received from God Would you receive the great example of this in the critics choice awards this year? There's so many awards. It's hard to keep up with them, but this one had enough of a scandal that I remembered it not the slapping The critics choice awards Jane Campiano. He's a wonderful director of my beautiful movies She received a award for the best director And so she got up on stage. I don't know if she'd had too much to drink or what but she's going around Probably let's just assume she's going around and she's like talking about everybody in this proud and and thanking them and thinking everybody who's Who's helped her over the years and then she sees Venus and Serena Williams and you know, they were part of a big movie this year or there was a big movie made about them and She points them out and she says you know, thank you for paving the way for so many women. You have really been a role model for women, but You didn't have to compete against the men like I did What's she doing? You me you me I want to make sure everybody knows that I've done better than you
That's the way we live, isn't it? Somebody drives by in a nicer car where they're a bad person. That's why they got that We were at a charity auction last night and people were paying just ridiculous prices for things really were on one table paid $500 for shot for a shot of fireball You could buy like 20 bottles not that you want to but anyway, you know for charity and at one point Bianca looked at me She goes I just assume everyone in here is embezzling It couldn't make that money. Honestly, right because I have worked hard and been honest and I don't have that kind of money me them me them Paul talks about that spirit and first Corinthians chapter 4 he says what do you have that you didn't receive? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why are you bragging about it like you earned it?
Everything we have is from the grace of God Straight from his hand. He is the father of every good work every good gift and Prize worst form the form of pride that Paul is talking about there the form of pride that Jesus regularly talked about a spiritual pride It's a pride that makes everyone around you live in your dis approval Everybody around you feels your disapproval because they're not as serious or as good or as holy as you are And there's no denomination that's free from that right you know that right You know pinnacles those things they really they think they look down at everybody who doesn't speak in tongues and Presbyterians look down at everybody who does I mean it doesn't matter what what denomination are from we all have things that were falsely proud of and It's a terrible trap when you get in that you don't even you don't even know that you're doing it. I feel sorry for them Jesus Jesus told a parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector you remember that two men went to the temple to pray One was a Pharisee and elicited his eyes to heaven and prayed loud so that everybody could hear and thank you God That you saved me. Thank you God that I'm I'm righteous. Thank you that I'm not even like that guy I mean that sounds awful, but it's parable We all say that thank you guys. I'm not like that guy. I mean I'm better than him. I come to church every week I fast every week I pray I give a tenth of everything that I earn
I feel Jesus then says but the tax collector all the tax Did it with beat his breast and said God have mercy on me a center God have mercy on me a center and Jesus says it was a tax collector that went home justified And I feel sorry for the Pharisee. I mean he's doing everything right He is having devotionals every day He is giving away money. He is praying. He's doing everything right But he lacks the one thing He lacks the understanding of who God is and who he is Everything he does is useless And he doesn't understand why he's not getting what he deserves pride is it destroys us spiritually between us and the Lord It just the cancer pride is destructive Not only destroys our relationship with God or destroys our relationship with each other because again Like I said, it's it's divisive pride Proverbs 6 verses 16 through 19 says the six things are an abomination to the Lord There are seven that he finds the testable. What's number one? haughty eyes haughty eyes You know exactly what they look like you just had a pair of eyes appear in your mind didn't you? Ericant eyes looks upon others as just not white as good as me
Pride is what always causes divisions Pride runs relationships because you're always waiting for the other person to admit they're wrong Pride runs Families because they're because because people are always competing with each other Pride runs individuals I'll never forget going through setting captives free a Program for those who are struggling with pornography and it said that I think it's less than about less than eight Start talking about the importance of confessing your sins here people around you community and he said a Lot of people will die from pornography. They'll be destroyed by it Not because of the pornography, but because of the pride They will not ask for help It's that pride that just looks at other people and says Why are you the way you are and we throw our disapproval upon you know, is that me? Am I proud? I'll find myself being like Elizabeth Betis and And pride and prejudice there are so few people that I love and even fewer that I approve of Is that me? I got a few questions just to ask and examine ourselves if if this sin is if it's so Cancerous if it's so toxic and destructive we need to know if it's us, right? Well, how do you view others? Do you view them with disapproval or delight if someone else has? Good fortune are you jealous or are you delighted for them? I experienced one of the most righteous minutes of my life this week I was on the golf course with Jeremy Ferrier We had a pastor's retreat over at Shanger Live everybody from the Presbyteria was there and and Jared we were on part three and Jeremy and I are Kind of neck and neck as to who's the worst golfer in the Presbyteria. We're right there neck and neck and neck and and he hits the ball and He had a really good shot much better than he usually is and it hit the green and we were had a uphill view of it And honestly, I'd already gone and I missed the green. So when he hit the green I was mad and It started rolling straight at the hole and The closer we got to the hole the matter I got Until it went in the hole And when for some when some reason when it went in the hole I was so happy for him I just jumped up and down snapping his picture yelling for him I was and I was like there wasn't a hint of jealousy like I know I'll never be able to do that I was just happy for him that he had that moment Do you know that feeling of being happy genuinely happy for someone else? That when you're in a conversation with someone else do you do you listen to them and show concern for them an empathy for them or do you just wait to talk? When you see something that needs doing Trash on the grounds You go over and pick it up and throw it away or do you get angry that no one's done that yet? When you see something wrong do you When someone does something for you do you immediately thank them or do you look for what's wrong and? Really, I mean the two words that someone is proud can't say Thank you and I'm sorry Are you able to say those words? I mean someone has truly been with the Lord can thank you. I got thank you note here from prison here in Oklahoma I'm in Helen Oklahoma. I don't know where that is But do you send me a thank you note a card went to the trouble of buying this card. I didn't have much money It's in jail and spilling it out because I offered to come preach for them. That's all I did make it offer I don't even know where it is. I didn't go. He was so blown away that I was offered that he sent me a thank you note I think I had been converted He doesn't have a sense of He doesn't have a sense of of entitlement He's delighted that anyone would know he exists are you proud toward others? Are you proud toward God? You know this no one else can answer these questions about you. Are you joyful and overwhelmed by his grace? Or are you angry that he hasn't given you what you deserve? Are you light? Knowing that you are in his hands Or are you anxious because you're really worried he's going to get the future wrong and If you he would just let you have that steering wheel everything would be fine. What's deep down? What is deep inside there is a sense of wow? Thank you God or is it a sense of what's wrong and it's about time? Do you have a problem with pride?
Yes, you absolutely do If in your heart you answered that question no, then you were deeply in trouble
There's one pastor told a story about having a woman knock on his door and the woman came in and he graded her and she came in She said pastor I'm sick of this confession of sin every Sunday. I want you know. I haven't sinned in ten years He said are you proud of that? Because of course I'm proud of that because got you if you don't have a problem with pride I feel really sorry for you because you don't Even know how bad it is But if you do I got good news for you God promises to humble the proud He promises that anyone who humbles themselves in the sight of the Lord he will lift up He humbles us no one else can't I want you know, I need to Parents especially you I need to talk to you for a second. He does not anywhere in the Bible states our job to humble other people And I think that's a real danger Honestly, we we we tend to get into this habit of every word that comes out of our mouth as a correction for someone else constantly correcting our spouse constantly correcting our children never Praising them never just enjoying them never listening to them. It is not your job to humble the proud God does that. You can't do it Be wise if you stop crying God humbles the proud That's the last thing that never can either says All who walk and pride he is able to humble and that's good news for us What did God do how did God humble never canes are he let him act like he really was never canes was acting like a beast in His heart. He was a beast eating up everything that he saw taking taking taking Never giving thanks never of being joyful just being a beast and And God said okay, I let you act like a beast. Let me show the world what you are You're an ox Go live like one There's a great children's story We got where the same thing kind of happens. There's a child in the story. His name is used to scrub Identify with you some scrub Share play a chess mat or anything else against me. I'll my name will probably be used to scrub on the screen I get his him and he was selfish and he was greedy and all he ever thought about was himself and He went in to a cave one day and he saw there's a dead dragon there and used this He didn't think about all the people with him He just started trying to get that gold into his pockets and he fell asleep And he fell asleep on a dragon's treasure thinking dragon-ish thoughts and when he woke up he was a dragon And at first it was kind of fun to be a dragon you can scare your friends get people back But after a while you get lonely And the dragon began to miss friends And he wanted to change and he couldn't And one night he sees that the God figure in the story aslin and and aslin said Well, you need to undress and so he used to rip off his skin and there was another skin under it And he ripped off his skin and there was another skin under it and he kept doing it until aslin said you don't have to let me undress you And he took his finger now and he poked it into his heart and used to say it hurt it hurt
ripped a skin off of him and that's what it feels like to have God home with you It hurts And he rips the skin off of us Because he loves us What what does he do? He reveals to us that the beautiful message of the gospel It's not it's humility without despair. It says when I was the most Intolerable when I was the most dragon-ish then you loved me That's the importance of Ephesians 2 and the reason why I quote it to you so often when you were Dad in your transgressions and sins because of the great love with which he loved you He made you alive together with Christ He loved you then Take a deep drink of that Take a deep drink of this gospel that both humbles us and gives us incredible security You are more sinful than you ever feared Everything you taught you pollute And you were more loved than you had ever hoped The Lord of the universe in itself is just delighted with you And he was he He's crazy about you Jesus was rich. He was in heaven. He was in his castle. He was on his throne But he became poor for you. He he poured himself out for you You I've tried to make yourself into a God so God himself made himself into a human and we even went further than that He made himself less than human as AF 52 says that Jesus was so marked He did not look like a human He went down to the beast like level for us To raise us up so that we could live with God That is the message that humbles the proudest You're so broken that God himself had to die to fix you And it elevates the poorest You are so loved That God himself would die to fix you. I'm so proud. I'm so proud He did he had to do that to humble me and I'm so loved That he would do that to humble me
Jesus our Lord in heaven. We pray that you would humble us now that you would show us The relationships that we've been in that we've let pride destroy show us The places where we have taken credit for what you have done Give us the joy of those who are overwhelmed that they have found a love that they can never deserve Forgive us for our silly foolish pride and remind us that we are your children That you laugh and sing over us. We pray in Jesus name