Learning Humility the Hard Way - Daniel - Part 4

The ancient city of Babylon without a doubt was one of the most magnificent cities that has ever existed. The city was surrounded by a wall that was over 14 miles long and 136 and a half feet thick.

Think about that now. The city had many elaborate city gates. The most famous of course was the Ishtar Gate.

The Ishtar Gate opened onto the city's processional street that led through the city and down to the temple of Marduk on the other end. It was decorated with 575 enamelized bulls and dragons and lions and these enamelized clay bricks were not just in black and white. They were in color and it made for the most amazing and impressive appearance from afar as these enamelized color lions and dragons and beasts would glisten in the sunlight.

Unbelievable. The king's palace was a gorgeously decorated building with a huge banquet hall, a throne room that measured 56 feet wide by 168 feet long. How'd you like to scrub that floor ladies once a week for the king? Big floor. There was a magnificent ziggurat in Babylon. That's one of those step-like temples that they built.

Many people think and I don't know whether it's right or not but there's speculation it was built on the foundation of the never finished tower of Babel. The one in Babylon had seven steps going up to the top where the temple of Marduk, the city god of Babylon was located and the levels below were adorned with trees and vegetation of all kind. Also in Babylon Nebuchadnezzar built one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Something called the hanging gardens of Babylon. This was a breathtaking structure that was built to make his median queen happy.

She missed her homeland of media. She missed the hillsides of Afghanistan and to make her happy Nebuchadnezzar built for her a mock mountain terrace with all kinds of vegetation that would have been native to her land. It was so impressive that the Greeks when they found it called it one of the seven wonders of the world. This is only a small summary of the grand juror that was Babylon and the man who was almost single-handedly responsible for all of this was guess who? Nebuchadnezzar that's right.

Look he says right here in Daniel chapter 4 verse 30. He says is not this the great Babylon that I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty. Now we know from archaeology that Nebuchadnezzar's boast right here in Daniel 4 was not an idle boast. We know that as one archaeologist put it and I quote the city did indeed owe most of its immortal reputation for magnificence to Nebuchadnezzar. In fact Nebuchadnezzar was so anxious never to have this forgotten that he had his name stamped into almost every brick that was used in the building of Babylon. The bricks read Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon exalted firstborn son of Nabal Palacer also king of Babylon. And friends we are talking about millions upon millions of bricks that some poor slave had to sit and stamp with this thing one at a time in the hot Iraqi sun and he had to stamp millions of these bricks with Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

But Nebuchadnezzar never wanted it forgotten this was his city. Once again the archaeologist Spade has confirmed the scripture writer's pen because archaeology has made the situation here in Daniel 4 entirely believable. In other words it is entirely believable that Nebuchadnezzar would have taken personal credit for the magnificence of the city of Babylon. It is entirely believable that he would have been walking around one night up on his roof and would have been looking over the city and saying is this not magnificent Babylon that I built by my power and for the magnificence of my glory.

Archaeology makes that very believable. Now Nebuchadnezzar's world was going along just fine thank you when all of a sudden almighty God decided to step into Nebuchadnezzar's world and the result was that Nebuchadnezzar was never the same again and that's what Daniel 4 is all about. Not only did God teach Nebuchadnezzar a lot here in Daniel 4 but I believe he's got a great lesson to teach us as well. So let's look Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel here in Daniel chapter 4. Now let's remember that Nebuchadnezzar has had some exposure to the living God of the universe before we get to chapter 4. In Daniel chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar you remember had a dream that none of his wise men could interpret and then Daniel comes in and Daniel tells the king not only the interpretation of the dream but before that he even tells the king what the dream was. This impressed old Nebuchadnezzar.

He was impressed. As a matter of fact Daniel knew he was impressed but Daniel was not about to let him be impressed with Daniel. Daniel wanted to make sure the credit went to the right place so if you look back at chapter 2 verse 27 you will find Daniel saying this to Nebuchadnezzar. He said no wise man or enchanter or magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery the kings ask about but verse 28 there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the days to come and so Daniel made sure that Nebuchadnezzar understood that Daniel's ability to interpret his dream came from God. Nebuchadnezzar was impressed. If you look at the end of chapter 2 verse 46 it says then king Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him and the king said to Daniel surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries or else you never would have been able to tell me all of this. Now old Nebuchadnezzar and Jehovah meet up again in chapter 3 a few years later. Here Nebuchadnezzar had erected a statue of himself big statue gold statue nice statue but he wanted everybody to bow down and worship this statue big problem for Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who said we are not bowing down to this statue and even if our God doesn't save us it's all right we're not bowing down Nebuchadnezzar you know had also made his old fiery furnace and he turbocharged it for our friends threw them in then Jehovah delivered the boys and if you look at chapter 3 verse 28 Nebuchadnezzar said praise be to the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who sent his angel and rescued his servants they trusted in God and they defied the king's command and they were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any other God therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach Meshach Meshach and Abednego will be cut into pieces their houses will be turned into piles of rubble because no other God can save the way this God just did dear friends as we come to Daniel 4 Nebuchadnezzar and Jehovah are not strangers they have run into each other a couple times before but even though Nebuchadnezzar has run into Jehovah a couple of times in the past Nebuchadnezzar has not yet gotten a point you say what point the point that Jehovah is the king of kings and the lord of lords and that he Nebuchadnezzar is merely a pawn in Jehovah's hands that he is merely a pawn who is working out Jehovah's plan and that everything Nebuchadnezzar is everything Nebuchadnezzar has everything Nebuchadnezzar has ever accomplished including the building of his beloved Babylon is all because of the pleasure of Jehovah not because of the power of Nebuchadnezzar he hadn't gotten the point yet if Nebuchadnezzar had gotten the point before there never would have been a Daniel chapter 4 you understand what I'm saying Daniel chapter 4 is Jehovah's intention to deliver the point with such force that Nebuchadnezzar gets it he's tried twice he hadn't gotten through to old Nebuchadnezzar yet but dear friends God knows how to get through when God makes up his mind he's going to get through and if one way won't work God has all kinds of ways up his sleeve to get through to people who he is and he's going to teach Nebuchadnezzar who he is whether Nebuchadnezzar wants to learn it or not and that's what Daniel 4 is all about to put it bluntly Daniel 4 is all about God teaching Nebuchadnezzar humility humbling this man bringing Nebuchadnezzar to the place where Nebuchadnezzar sees himself where he sees his accomplishments where he sees everything he's ever done accurately in light of the true working of the universe in light of who God really is and I also believe that God was trying to bring Nebuchadnezzar to saving faith in Christ and himself and all of that was going on as we come to chapter 4 now let's look and see what happened verse 1 King Nebuchadnezzar to the people's nations and men of every language who live in the world may you greatly prosper it is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs about the miraculous signs and wonders that the most high God has performed for me how great are his signs how mighty are his wonders his kingdom is an eternal kingdom and his dominion endures from generation to generation let's stop there for a second apparently chapter 4 of Daniel was a circular apparently Daniel chapter 4 was a proclamation that was sent out throughout all of Nebuchadnezzar's empire as a matter of fact Daniel chapter 4 is not Hebrew it is Aramaic because Aramaic it was the language of the empire it was a language that everyone in the empire understood and everyone in the empire could relate to and decipher and this is a apparently a a the kind of hear ye hear ye that some guy would have come into town and tacked on the wall and Nebuchadnezzar wanted all of his empire to know what had transpired between him and God and so not only does he begin by telling his subjects of the excellencies of Jehovah but then he goes on to relate to them what he's been through that has taught him this now this makes a lot of sense think about it for a second if what happens in this chapter is really true if he's been out of the kingship for seven years acting like an animal eating grass it seems very logical that now that he's back and having taken the throne back and he's back in his right mind that he would like not only to spread through the empire his newfound faith but he'd also like to write him a little letter and let him know that Nebuchadnezzar was back and so he wrote this as I understand it as a proclamation that he sent throughout the empire and then Nebuchadnezzar goes on to explain what happened to him verse four he said I Nebuchadnezzar was home in my palace one day contented and prosperous I wouldn't bother anybody nobody's bothering me and I had a dream that made me afraid I was lying in my bed and the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me so I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream but when the magicians and the enchanters and the astrologers and the diviners came and I told them the dream they could not interpret it for me finally Daniel came to my presence and I told him the dream his name's also called Belshazzar after the name of my god and the spirit of the holy gods is in him Nebuchadnezzar was minding his own business wasn't bothering anybody and he had this terrible dream that scared him to death and when none of his own wise men could interpret it he remembered aha Daniel and he called him now Daniel's getting to be an older man by now but he's still around and he came in verse nine and I said Belshazzar meaning Daniel chief of the magicians I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery is too difficult for you here's my dream tell me what it means please and then he started to tell him the dream he said I looked and behold me there was a tree in the middle of the land and its height was enormous the tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky it was visible to the ends of the earth its leaves were beautiful its fruit abundant and on it was food for all under it the beasts of all the field found shelter and the birds of the air lived in its branches and from it every creature was fed in the vision I saw while lying on my bed I looked and there before me was a messenger a holy one coming down from heaven and he called out in a loud voice cut down the tree trim off the branches strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit let the animals flee from under it and the birds from under it branches but let the stump and its roots be bound around with iron and bronze let it remain in the ground and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal till 70 times passes for him the decision is announced by messengers the holy ones declare this verdict so that everyone living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and he gives them to whomever he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men now this is the tree dream that I had Belshazzar tell me what it means for nobody else in my kingdom can interpret it for me but you can because in you is the spirit of the holy gods Nebuchadnezzar recounts his whole dream to Daniel then he pleads with Daniel to help him understand it and his his conception of why Daniel ought to be able to do this is that the spirit of the holy gods lives in Daniel well that's close not no cigar but it was kind of close he was on the right track anyway wasn't the holy gods that were living in Daniel but the true God anyway Daniel became visibly shaken look at verse 19 verse 19 says then Daniel who's also called Belshazzar was greatly perplexed for a time and his thoughts alarmed him so the King said Belshazzar don't let the dream worry you tell me what it means I won't hurt you I won't do anything to bother you in his pompousness Nebuchadnezzar said don't be afraid Daniel I won't let anything happen to you and Daniel said hey King it's not me I'm worried about it's you I'm worried about and then Daniel proceeded to tell the King what the dream meant verse 20 the tree you saw that grew large and strong with its top touching the sky visible to the whole earth with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit providing food for all giving shelter to the beast you Nebuchadnezzar are the tree that's you and you become great and strong and your greatness has grown till it reaches the sky and your Dominion to the distant parts of the earth we know from archaeological records that at this time the Empire of Nebuchadnezzar stretched from Egypt to Persia what an enormous Empire you King saw a messenger coming down from heaven and saying cut down the tree and destroy a believe the stump in the grass of the field while its roots remain in the ground and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven let him live like a wild animal till seven times pass over and this is the interpretation o King and the decree of the Most High that he is issued against you you will be driven away from all people you will live like a wild animal you will eat grass like cattle you will be drenched with the dew of heaven seven times will pass over you until you are willing to acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and he gives them to whoever he wants the command to leave the stone with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you are willing to acknowledge that heaven rules you understand what he said he said King you're gonna be cut off you're gonna be driven out in the woods you're gonna act like an animal you're gonna eat grass you're gonna have the dew fall over you you're gonna lose your right mind until you're willing to humble yourself and until you're willing to admit that it's not you who did all of this it was God his pleasure until you're willing to admit that God's in charge not you Nebuchadnezzar and then when you're willing to admit that God's gonna give you your kingdom back and then Daniel has a piece of advice for Nebuchadnezzar verse 27 therefore King be pleased to accept my advice King a word to the wise is sufficient a fool needs to be wrapped on the head listen to what I'm telling you King renounce your sin renounce your sin by doing what is right and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed humble yourself Nebuchadnezzar it may be then that God may choose not to do this to you and your prosperity might continue that was good advice wasn't it real good advice so what did Nebuchadnezzar do all this happened verse 28 to King Nebuchadnezzar 12 months later as the king was walking on the roof of his royal palace he said is not this the great Babylon that I have built as my royal residence residence by my mighty power and by the glory of my majesty did he take Daniel's advice uh-huh no I'm sure what he did is he said Daniel thank you very much for coming I really appreciate you interpreting the green somebody give this man a coke on the way out thank him very much give him some souvenir from coming here to the palace but the king didn't pay diddly-squat worth of attention to what Daniel advised him to do did he humble himself no did he go out and be kind to the poor no did he acknowledge that God was really above him no he didn't do anything what Daniel told him to do would you notice God gave him 12 months to think about it he still didn't do anything one night he was up on his balcony walking around admiring his city haha and saying oh man look at his great city I built verse 31 the words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven and said that's it times up times up Nebuchadnezzar you've had all the time you're gonna get son this is what's decreed for you Nebuchadnezzar your royal authorities been taken from you you will be driven away from your people you will live with the wild animals you'll eat grass like cattle seven times will pass over you till you acknowledge that it was God who gave you the authority God who did by his good pleasure gave you the power to build this city not you until you acknowledge God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and he gives them to anyone he wishes and immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled he was driven away from the people he ate grass like cattle his body became 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 we ought to stop there for a minute you say lawn did this really happen I mean come on I can't accept the fact that God moved in and had to knock Nebuchadnezzar down a couple notches but to drive him out of mankind he ate grass I mean he ate grass come on you really think this lunacy happened I've never heard about anything like this before well dear friends I believe this lunacy happened exactly the way the Bible says and you know what there is a psychological condition that's exactly what's described in the book of Daniel it's called Boanthropy it's not a very commonly seen psychosis but nonetheless it is clinically accepted as a psychological psychosis Boanthropy it's a psychosis where a person believes themselves to be a particular kind of animal and where they go out then and begin to act in the same fashion as that animal and it's clinically accepted I'd like to quote from dr. Raymond Harrison a British psychiatrist and I quote a great many doctors spent an entire busy professional career without once encountering an instance of the monomania described in the book of Daniel the present writer therefore considers himself particularly fortunate to have actually deserved observed rather a clinical case of Boanthropy in a British mental institution in 1946 the patient was in his early 20s his daily routine consisted of wandering around the magnificent lawns and it was his custom to pluck up and eat handfuls of grass as he went along on observation he was seen to be able to discriminate carefully between grass and weeds which is good and upon inquiry the writer was told that the diet of this patient consisted exclusively of grass from the hospital lawn the writer was able to examine him and the only physical abnormality noted consisted of a lengthening of the hair and a coarse thickened condition of the fingernails without institutional care this patient would have manifested precisely the same physical conditions as those mentioned in Daniel chapter 4 from the foregoing it seems evident that the author of the fourth chapter of Daniel was describing accurately and a testable if rather rare mental affliction end of quote this is a psychotic condition that is clinically documented you say all right lawn maybe so but how in the world could Nebuchadnezzar had main control maintain control of his empire for seven years when he was out eating grass well first of all the Bible doesn't say it was seven years some translations do the one I've been reading you've heard me say three or four times says seven times the Aramaic word here literally means times it could be used for weeks it could be used for months it could be used for years any of those are possible translations I don't know how long it was maybe it was seven years maybe it was seven months maybe it was seven weeks I don't know but however long it was it seems reasonable that some people who were loyal to Nebuchadnezzar very possibly even Daniel himself since Daniel understood what was happening to him since Daniel was a high official in the Babylonian Empire since Daniel knew that Nebuchadnezzar one day was coming back to his right mind it's very possible that Daniel got a few people together and they kept Nebuchadnezzar out of the gaze of people somewhere you know I boxed up somewhere in the palace get kept lots of fresh grass on hand for him and and that Daniel ran the kingdom while Nebuchadnezzar was eating grass very possible that some people loyal to him did that you say come on Lon you really expect me to believe this happened give me a break will you well you know what I expect you to believe it happened because I believe it did in fact you know we have some non biblical sources that make reference to this you say really absolutely a fellow named Berosus who was a Babylonian priest lived during the third century BC wrote an extensive history of Babylon mentions that Nebuchadnezzar underwent a all he says is a severe time of illness that's all he says but he says Nebuchadnezzar underwent a severe time of illness towards the end of his reign and another historian named Abidonus who was also a Babylonian a secular historian from Babylon who died in 268 BC also mentions the fact that towards the end of his reign Nebuchadnezzar fell grievously sick for a time now friends in those days you never wrote down anything about the king unless it was good and believe me if these people wrote down that the king was grievously ill you can believe whatever he had must have been a whopper it was not a cold it was not the flu but he must have had something big for a historian to write it down in the official history of the king yeah I absolutely believe this happened and I believe we've got extra biblical confirmation from these historical secular writers that Nebuchadnezzar took grossly ill towards the end of his reign and the gross illness was Boanthropy a clinically attested psychosis where he went out started acting like an animal and eating grass how did it all turn out well verse 34 at the end of that time what time seven months seven weeks seven years I don't know but however much time it was I Nebuchadnezzar raised my eyes towards heaven and my sanity was restored you say how did that happen well how do I know I don't know how did God make him a Boanthropist in the first place I don't know but if God was able to give it to him God was able to take it away from him seems simple enough to me I came back to my own mind my right mind then I praise the Most High God and I said I'm sick of eating grass no that's not here and I said I honored and I glorified God who lived forever his Dominion is an eternal Dominion his kingdom endures from generation to generation all the people of the earth are regarded as nothing God does as he pleases with the power of heaven and the peoples of the earth nobody can hold back his hand or say to him what have you done boy sounds like a gift for different God talking doesn't this isn't the guy who walked around and said look at Babylon the great Babylon that I have made by my great power and majesty that's not the same fellow talking now now we hear some guy saying hey look how awesome look how tremendous God is God gives kingdoms to whomever he wants God exalts whoever he wants God does what he pleases nobody can stop the hand of this God boy this doesn't sound like the same man well it might have been the same man outwardly but there had been a great heart change in this man there was humility there was repentance there was worship there was submission personally I believe there was salvation I I fully expect to see old Nebuchadnezzar in heaven I think God brought this boy right to his knees to such a degree that he really understood who Jehovah God really was and I believe he committed his life to him and in response God not only restored Nebuchadnezzar to his right mind he restored his kingdom to him verse 36 at the same time that my sanity was restored my honor and my splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom my advisors and my noble sought me out and I was restored to my throne and I became even greater than before 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 even the king of the greatest Empire on the face of the earth he is able to humble and so Nebuchadnezzar sent this little circular that today we know is Daniel chapter four to all his empire making it clear that he understood the true nature of God now making it clear that he understood that human accomplishment like building Babylon was only something that came at the pleasure and the will of Almighty God that the final credit belongs to Almighty God not to Nebuchadnezzar that the honor and the glory belongs to God not to Nebuchadnezzar and as a result look what it says in verse 36 God made him even greater than he was before why because as Jesus said everyone who exalts himself will be abased but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted and James says humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up and he took Nebuchadnezzar and lifted him even farther what a great story what a neat thing God did but we still have to answer the question so what yeah that's right I've never built Babylon and God knows I hope I never get Boanthropy so what Lon so what what's the main point of this chapter what is God trying to teach us well I believe it's all in the last verse and those who walk in pride he is able to humble wasn't that the whole point when that what he was trying to do to Nebuchadnezzar I mean it seems to me that humility is the theme around which everything in this chapter revolves before Nebuchadnezzar to be could be saved he had to be humble and no matter how much he had achieved Nebuchadnezzar had God wasn't impressed what God was looking for was humility and no matter how powerful we are and Nebuchadnezzar was powerful don't you kid yourself no matter how powerful we are God has enough power to whittle us down to size and teach us humility and no matter how great we are before we learn true humility God will exalt us higher once we do it seems to me humility is at the center of everything this chapter is all about and so as we close this evening let's ask ourselves a question and that is if humility is what God was out to teach Nebuchadnezzar if humility is out is what God is out to teach me what is humility biblically and how am I gonna get it so I don't have to go through with Nebuchadnezzar went through I mean he learned humility the hard way friends eating grass act like an animal that's a hard way I don't want to learn humility the hard way do you I'm always amazed at what Americans think humility is you ever ask yourself what is the American conception of humility well I can tell you it's not the biblical conception of humility let me tell you first of all what humility is not because sometimes it helps us to understand what something is by understanding what it's not biblical humility does not mean that we demean ourselves and constantly devalue ourselves it doesn't mean that we go around saying all me oh I'm just a terrible good-for-nothing worm I should never been born I'm worthless I'm awful I'm an unworthy creature and I don't understand why God loves me he should have nailed me up to that cross that's where I belong I don't deserve the love of God I'm a worm I'm worthless I'm awful I'm the Drake of society it's not humility may sound nice that is not humility Jeremiah tried that Jeremiah chapter one God came to him God said I got something I want you to do and Jeremiah said oh no Lord I'm just a child I don't know how to speak go by somebody else and God said would you knock it off Jeremiah I don't want to hear that don't tell me that stop that sniveling we got a job to do don't tell me you're a child you're gonna go where I tell you to go and you're gonna say what I tell you today say and I'm gonna fill you with my spirit and I don't want to hear that kind of self-deprecation okay friends I believe that kind of cheapening of our worth as a human being is not humility that is cheapening something made in the image of God that is not biblical humility its neurosis maybe but it's not humility neither does it mean that when we're humble that we can never feel a sense of pride or accomplishment that we've done a good job at something you know have you ever met people who say well if you ever say thank you when somebody gives you a compliment don't ever accept a compliment it'll make you proud don't ever feel good about accomplishing something if you start feeling a sense of achievement and accomplishment in and almost a sense really that you're kind of proud of yourself that you did a good job it's pride creeping into your life I don't believe that friends Jesus said that when we get to heaven one of the things we ought to be looking to hear is well done good and faithful servant there's nothing wrong with being told you did a good job there's nothing wrong with taking a sense of a of accomplishment and a sense of personal pride in that you gave it your best and did something of quality there's nothing wrong in that throughout the Word of God God calls us to a pride in our workmanship and an aspiring to do our very best for Christ he says in Colossians 3 whatever you do do it with your whole heart as unto the Lord and when we finish a project at work when we cook a nice meal when we get an A in school when we teach a good lesson or a good Bible study when we organize a good retreat we ought to feel good there's nothing wrong with that we should have a feeling of accomplishment in pride that we gave God our best biblical humility is a recognition that God is utterly greater than we are and that his sovereign will controls everything that happens on this earth furthermore it is a recognition that everything I ever accomplished is achieved at his pleasure that he gives me the life he gives me the breath he gave me the gifts he gives me the talents he empowers those gifts and those talents by his spirit he works in the circumstances to create the opportunities I even get to exercise my gifts and that anything I achieve using my gifts is only allowed by God because it fit into his plan somehow and that any honor any prestige that he allows me to experience it's his grace to me in short biblical humility is a recognition that all the credit belongs to God all of them and that's what God taught Nebuchadnezzar bottom line he said never never can never yes you did this yes Babylon is a pretty city but the credit Nebuchadnezzar belongs to me not you and when Nebuchadnezzar became willing to admit this and give the credit to God both privately in his own estimation of himself and publicly by writing this letter to his whole kingdom the Nebuchadnezzar became a humble man in the sight of God dear friends Nebuchadnezzar did not have to stop wearing purple robes to become a humble man Nebuchadnezzar did not have to take off his gold jewelry to become a humble man Nebuchadnezzar did not have to give up his throne to become a humble man because humility is not a function of Thrones or riches or clothing or robes or anything else you can be a poor man and be incredibly arrogant you can be a powerless man and be incredibly arrogant humility is an attitude it is a state of mind it is a mentality it is a condition of the heart that says yes I gave it my best and yes isn't it neat what what I've been able to accomplish but I know that it was God who gave me the life to do it God who gave me the gifts to do it God who gave me the opportunity to do it God who gave me the success to do it and sure it feels good to do something successful but Lord you and I both know the credit is yours that's humility and you can be rich and humble you can be poor and humble you can be middle-class and humble doesn't matter it's an attitude you say well long where do I get this kind of attitude the easy way could I suggest to you that we get it from doing three things number one being in the Word of God you know a mountain looks pretty high to you compare it to the stars then it looks pretty puny we look pretty good till we compare ourselves to God we compare ourselves to each other we look pretty good but you get into the Word of God and saturate your self with the Word of God and can start comparing yourself to God and you'll take on a whole different dimension in your own sight as to how big you really are you want to have some humility friends you got to compare yourself to the right standard to get some humility and the right standard is nowhere but in the Word of God where God tells you who he is and tells you who you are want some humility saturate yourself with the Word of God second of all be on your knees one of the greatest places I know to get more humility is on your knees because even the fact of getting on your knees is a humble act it's a way of saying Lord I'm talking to somebody who's bigger and greater than me and that's why I'm on my knees it's a working out of what you learn in the Bible where God says in here I'm bigger than you are and we get on our knees to say you're right Lord I agree with that and I'm coming to you in that spirit and third I believe that we stay humble by keeping in touch with the living God in other words keeping relationship going keeping communication going because God has little neat ways as long as the communication is flowing to keep you constantly aware of how little you really are and how big he really is we need to be comparing ourselves to the right standard if we're gonna stay humble and I challenge you dear friends if you want more humility you won't get it by reading the Washington Post you won't get it by reading Newsweek Time or US News and World Report you won't get it from walking around and talking to all your friends about how they really feel about you you'll get it by going to this book and getting on your knees and letting God show you what you really are like Paul said we need to be careful that none of us think more highly of ourselves than we ought and this is the place where we find out what we ought to think about ourselves humility is what God wants from you what he wants from me and I wonder is this how we see ourselves doesn't matter what your socioeconomic condition is do you understand all the credit belongs to him I'm always amazed at people who say I work for this yeah but who gave you the breath to be alive who gave you the job in the first place you know around Washington these days that's no joke anymore who gave you that job and you kept it this long who gave you the skill and the ability that you're not a babbling lunatic like Nebuchadnezzar was but that your mind works and you're healthy every day and you can go out get up and go to work who keeps you safe on the highways you know people set out every day to go to work they'd never make it you made it who got you there just how we see life is this how we see our accomplishments is this where we direct the credit when it comes our way when we get praised do we say inside of ourselves oh thank you Lord you and I both know the credits yours or do we say hey yeah I guess I am pretty hot stuff I don't believe you always have to go around saying to other people oh well thank you was just the Lord I know it's all yeah it's nice to say that sometime but I don't think you have to the important thing is do you believe in here do you believe it in here or don't you listen one way leads to honor the other way leads to eating grass it's up to you but you know what I have learned God is going to teach us humility one way or the other he'll do it the easy way if you'll let him he'll do it the hard way if he has to I don't know about you folks but I sure would like God to teach me the easy way and if you would God will bless you God will teach you and God will exalt you as you let him teach you may you do that let's pray Heavenly Father thank you for the scripture this evening and you know Lord humility is not an easy thing for us to learn because very frankly most of us like the idea of feeling like Nebuchadnezzar felt that we really did this we really accomplished this we're really pretty hot stuff Lord Jesus remind us this evening that those who walk in pride you are able to humble and Lord I pray for each of us myself all of us that you would teach us what it means to have true humility not deprecation of ourselves God but a sense in which we're able to hold our head up high because we're your children but a sense in which at the same time we understand that Lord it's all of you none of it's really of us the life the breath the health the strength the gifts the opportunities the success ratios that we have it's all your pleasure and so Lord remind us of that this evening remind us that the credit really belongs to you and you alone make that our attitude make that our mentality make that our heart and we might be humble people in your sight so that you can use us so that you can exalt us in due time and thank you for using the Word of God not only to teach these lessons to Nebuchadnezzar but to teach them to us may you make them part of our lives for your glory we pray in Jesus name Amen