Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.crossbridgemt.org/sermons/64903/the-most-high-rules/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] I greet you in the name of Jesus this morning. It is good to be here. What is the Lord speaking to you today?

[0:30] I want to start in Isaiah this morning.

[0:43] I want to look at the greatness of the God that we serve. And I want to look at how he is in control of all things.

[1:12] He is the everlasting God. He is the creator of the ends of the earth. He fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding.

[1:26] You can turn to Isaiah 40. You know, we talk much about trusting our God.

[1:38] Having faith in him. Praying and bringing our needs to him. And unless we know this God, unless we know who he is, and we know that he is forever, how can we trust him?

[2:05] If we don't know him, that's why we don't trust him. If we don't trust him, let me say it the other way around.

[2:16] If we don't trust him, we probably don't know him. Isaiah 40.

[2:35] I'm not sure how much we want to read here. We could read the whole chapter. He's talking... Maybe we'll just start here.

[2:49] Let's start. We'll try to move kind of fast. But let's just start in verse 1.

[3:25] And we know that this verse 3 is a prophecy of John the Baptist.

[3:39] And, you know, there's... We'll be coming across more prophecies here. But remember that every prophecy in the Scripture either has been fulfilled or will be fulfilled.

[3:56] The Word of God stands forever. The Word of our God, it will not change. The Word of our God will be fulfilled. You know, we live in a day when men want to reject the Word of God.

[4:11] And I want to look at some of that here because we'll be looking at a time when Israel went into captivity and all of that and how men rejected the Word of God.

[4:28] But today we also have men that reject the Word of God. And, you know, quite some time ago I made a list. And it's just, you know, just what came to my mind and just a few.

[4:43] But, you know, in the Bible, I mean, you know, there's men that you know, that you know their name, and they rejected what God was saying.

[4:57] And we'll be looking at an instance of that. But one name I have written down in the Old Testament is, remember when David, he had been running away from Saul, and then Saul was killed in battle.

[5:14] After that, Abner, Saul's general, he set up Saul's son to be the king. Abner knew that the Word of God was that David would be the king.

[5:28] And later he came and he confessed that and he helped bring the kingdom to David. But an example of a man that he knew what God had said and he kept right on going in what he wanted.

[5:45] You know, and I've lived long enough, I've seen men that have known the Word of God and they've known the will of God. And they rejected it and they walked away from it.

[5:57] And it brings total disaster to a man's life to do that. I won't say their names, but I have a few names written down here. And if, you know, and I could share to you what happened.

[6:12] But there was a man that I used to like to hear preach the gospel. And that was when I was young.

[6:25] And, you know, there came a time. There came a time when he rejected what he knew was right and he walked away from God.

[6:42] And he died living in sin. And there's others. But let's look here.

[6:52] Let's continue going. Verse 5. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

[7:09] You know, he says this and then he reinforces it with the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. You know, and today we know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

[7:25] And it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto every good work.

[7:36] And yet we have men rejecting the word of God. Verse 6. The voice said, cry.

[7:46] And he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass. All the goodliness thereof is as a flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth.

[7:58] Because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it, surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth. But the word of our God shall stand forever.

[8:14] Humanity is as a grass. You know, and there's a verse in Daniel. We might come across it yet. I don't know how far we'll get today. But there's a verse in Daniel.

[8:25] He's talking to the wicked king. And he says, And the God in whose hand thy breath is, you did not glorify him.

[8:36] Today do we realize that our breath is in God's hand. Our life is in his hand. We're only here because of God.

[8:50] And let us not squander the day of salvation.

[9:03] Let us not mock our God by rejecting his word. Let us not turn our back on what he is saying. While we are...

[9:27] Let me see. While we're on that subject, Let me find here...

[9:39] It's in Jeremiah. In Jeremiah.IE So what happened here is the children of Israel had gone into captivity, and there were some left in the land, and they thought they wanted to go to Egypt so they would be protected from the king of Babylon.

[10:42] And so they came to Jeremiah, and they asked Jeremiah, what should we do?

[10:54] What are you saying? What is the Lord saying? And Jeremiah had prophesied against Israel and against many other nations, that they would all go into captivity to the king of Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar.

[11:20] And God had spoken this. And then they came to Jeremiah. After the carrying away, there were some people left over in the land.

[11:35] And they came to Jeremiah, and they said, we think we should go to Egypt. Will you ask the Lord for a word that, you know, what we should do?

[11:50] And so Jeremiah, Jeremiah sought the Lord, and the Lord answered and said, no, if they will stay in the land, he will protect them.

[12:04] If they will stay in the land and trust in him, he will keep them in safety. Well, there was a false prophet in chapter 28, and he came and he prophesied how that Israel would gain its freedom again and so on.

[12:31] And it ended up that these people left and they went to Egypt, and God allowed them to be destroyed in Egypt.

[12:42] Why? Because they rejected the word of God. Because they rejected the word that Jeremiah had brought to them.

[12:53] And, you know, as I was thinking of that, I wondered, you know, in Jeremiah 17, we all know that verse, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

[13:13] Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart. I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

[13:29] You know, I was just wondering, you know, as Jeremiah looked at this, and here there were men that claimed to be prophets. There were men that claimed to have a word from God.

[13:43] And they prophesied the opposite of what he was saying. Is that when God brought this to him? But in chapter 17, Jeremiah 17, 5, there's a verse here.

[13:59] He says, Jeremiah here prophesying by the word of the Lord.

[14:17] He's saying that the man that trusts in man, the man that trusts in the arm of flesh, his heart has departed from God, and he is cursed.

[14:30] Why? Because he's trusting in humanity. He's trusting in the strength of a man and not in the power of God. Verse 6, He is like a heath in the desert.

[14:59] He's out in the desert. And in that desert, it is brown. And it is, there's, there's, you know, just here and there you'll find a couple trees. There's, there's, I mean, you wonder how anything can live out there.

[15:17] Then says this man, he will be out in the desert and he won't even see when good comes. Why? Because he's out there in the parched places in the wilderness, a land that is not inhabited.

[15:30] It's not fit to be inhabited. But then verse 7, Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is.

[15:42] For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, shall not see when heat cometh. Butterleafs shall be green, shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

[16:01] This is the righteous man. This is the man that trusts in the Lord and who puts his hope in the Lord. No matter what comes our way, no matter what situation we're in, we trust in him and we trust him with our life.

[16:22] It says that we will be like a tree planted by the waters. You know, the desert, that's why it's a desert.

[16:33] There's no water there. That's why there's nothing growing there because there's no water. But this, but the righteous man, he's like a tree planted by the river and heat can come, drought can come.

[16:51] But what does it say? Her leaf shall be green and will not be careful in the year of drought. It won't, you know, the year of drought, it doesn't matter.

[17:03] There's still water. There's still nourishment. There's still, there's still life. And it will not cease from yielding fruit.

[17:15] That's a righteous man. Yes, that trust in the Lord and not in humanity. Now, let's continue here in Isaiah 40.

[17:32] 40. Verse 10.

[17:47] He's talking about our God and the kind shepherd he is and how he cares for his flock.

[18:16] Now, let's read verse 12. Who hath measured? Talking about God. He's asking the question or he's saying, well, he's asking the question, who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and meted out heaven with a span?

[18:35] Who has done this? Who is it? And he comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

[18:46] Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom did God take counsel? And who instructed God?

[18:58] Who taught him in the path of judgment and taught him knowledge and showed to him the way of understanding? That's the greatness of our God. Yes.

[19:09] Yes. Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as a small dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing, and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts are of sufficient for a burnt offering.

[19:28] All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity. The nations are as a drop of a bucket, and here in that little drop we find us.

[19:43] We find us. Yes. To whom then will ye liken God, or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

[19:54] And the workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold and casteth silver chains. You know, he's talking about how men make idols.

[20:06] You know, we have this great God, and he gave us his word, and he wants us, he wants to walk with us. He wants us to walk with him and to know him.

[20:18] He wants us to live for him, and he will use us and direct our path.

[20:33] But so many people end up worshiping idols. You know, this morning as we were here, as we were singing, were we worshiping in spirit and in truth, or were we singing and trying so desperately to cover up the hidden things in our life?

[21:03] What is an idol? You know, and I think I talked about this here some while ago, but when we have a wrong view of God, when we think of him as less than who he is, when we think of him as that he is like us, he changes his mind, and he can be talked into allowing a little this and a little that.

[21:36] You know, that is how the serpent came to Eve, and he said, yea, hath God said. You know, when we follow after that and we allow that to change our life into something that is not right, into something that is not what God would have, we're following idols, we're worshiping idols.

[21:58] Now, verse 22. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. The inhabitants thereof are his grasshoppers, that stretches out the heaven as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in, that bringeth the princes to nothing.

[22:17] He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted. Yea, they shall not be sown. Yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth, and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

[22:35] To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, who hath created these things that bringeth out their hosts by number?

[22:49] Look at the stars. Look at the hosts of heaven. Who has created them? And says here, their hosts by number, he calleth them by names.

[23:01] God calls the stars by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power, not one faileth. Why saith thou, O Jacob, and speaketh, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

[23:21] You know, this is very prevalent in our day. Men saying that, you know, in their heart, you know, they might not openly say it, but they live it by their life, that they believe that God does not see, or God overlooks.

[23:37] God overlooks their sin. God overlooks the hidden things in their heart. God overlooks those things. God overlooks the deceptiveness of the heart, a heart that is not right, a heart that is full of self and selfishness, serving self instead of God, a heart that says, my way is hid from the Lord.

[24:15] That's a heart that is deceived. Verse 28, Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, he fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding.

[24:38] You know, we can talk about God, God, and we can try to lift him up, we can try to describe him, we can try to talk about his greatness, but it says here, there is no searching of his understanding.

[24:53] You know, in the best that we can comprehend, we can only comprehend a fraction of what are the greatness of our God.

[25:04] And then why do we find it hard to trust him? Why do we find it hard to pray to him and trust him that he will care for every situation?

[25:24] Has thou not known, has thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding, he giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increases strength, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

[26:14] You know, I love to see the strength of youth. I love to see that. I love to see young men, you know, and you go hiking up a mountain with a young man, he'll leave you behind, right?

[26:31] But listen what he says here, even the youth shall faint and be weary, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

[26:42] Yes. Yes. Are we waiting upon our Lord? You know, I think so often, you know, we say we wait upon the Lord, but we're like King Saul.

[26:56] You know, he, Samuel had told him seven days, and then I will come and offer a sacrifice. And, and he just didn't wait quite long enough.

[27:07] And he offered that sacrifice himself. He was disobedient to God. You know, sometimes it seems that God might be late.

[27:20] You know, how often, you know, the people in, in, in Jesus day, they thought Jesus was late when he came to Lazarus tomb four days after he had died.

[27:32] Yes. Yes. Four days after he had died. But he was right on time.

[27:46] He was right on time. He was right exactly in the will of God. They shall renew their strength.

[28:00] They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Yes.

[28:11] Hallelujah. Okay. Okay. So I think I want to go to the book of Daniel now.

[28:28] And there's so much here we could, I wouldn't mind covering about, about three or four stories here in the book of Daniel.

[28:43] Well, we'll probably just cover a couple of them or just pick out some highlights.

[28:57] But here we have the book of Daniel. It starts with Judah going into captivity. And, you know, the prophecy had been given.

[29:09] Isaiah had prophesied way back to Hezekiah. He had prophesied to King Hezekiah that, that someday that the king of Babylon would come and he would, he would destroy the city and he would take everything that is there.

[29:27] And, and, and he would take the people captive. And now that prophecy had been, had come to pass and was fulfilled. And as they were taking the people captive and, and so on, the king spoke to one of his masters and he said that he wants him to pick out some of the best young men and, and bring them to Babylon.

[29:52] And, young men that can be taught the language and, and the customs of the Chaldeans and the wisdom of the Chaldeans. And they can be taught in the ways of Babylon.

[30:05] And so Daniel finds himself as one of those. He finds himself being taken.

[30:17] And, and, and y'all know the story and, and we'll just pick out some things here and there, I believe. But the first thing that they faced was, you know, the, the, the food and, and they brought meat and this meat was offered to idols.

[30:36] And so Daniel, knowing that it was offered to idols, he knew he couldn't eat it. And, and he and his three friends, they refused to eat it.

[30:50] But let's notice here, there's, so verse nine, it says, now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

[31:07] So here we have Daniel standing up and, and saying, you know, that we don't want to eat of your fine meat and your wine.

[31:20] And normally this would not at all have been considered, but God went ahead of them and he had already brought them, brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

[31:37] And so when he made this request, prove thy servants 10 days and let's see. And so the, the, the, the, um, the prince of the eunuchs, he went along with him and, and God worked in this matter.

[31:55] And he took care of them. It goes on. And we have the king having a dream.

[32:05] And the king demanded of his wise men, you, you tell me the dream.

[32:20] You tell me the dream and you tell me the interpretation. You know, and I, I think here, I think the king was wisening up a little bit to these wise men, you know, we, and we know how it works.

[32:36] People can come up with all sorts of good sounding things. But when he told them, you have to tell me the dream. And then you tell me the interpretation.

[32:48] None of them could do it. Even though they profess to be wise, even though they profess to have supernatural powers, they could not do it.

[33:01] But then Daniel, Daniel said, give me a little time and I will do it. Yes, I will do it.

[33:11] And he did. Daniel and his three friends, they came to the Lord and they prayed to God and, and God gave him, God gave him the dream.

[33:23] And the interpretation. So I think we'll, I think we'll just keep going for sake of time.

[33:52] We all know this dream. I might read here. When Daniel was giving the interpretation, he said, this is the dream in verse 36.

[34:03] And we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of heaven has given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

[34:20] You know, you know, and so Daniel was telling the king that what you have, you have because of God. What you have, you have because God chose to give it to you.

[34:36] And there were prophecies that, that the prophets that prophesied very specifically about, about King Nebuchadnezzar and how he would, how he would overtake Judah and, and many other nations also.

[34:56] But then, next, we have in chapter three, we have the king making an image and demanding that all people bow down to this image.

[35:14] Well, so we have a problem here. We have Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They knew that being faithful to God, they could not bow to this image.

[35:34] And it doesn't tell us where Daniel was at, but these three were there. And when everybody else bowed, there were three men standing there.

[35:46] And of course, immediately the report went and, you know, I imagine that there were people in, in authority in the kingdom that didn't like these three men because they, they had places of authority.

[36:01] And yet they worshiped other, a different God than what the Chaldeans did. But so when they were brought before, before the king, he told them, he gave them another chance.

[36:17] He gave them another chance. And then he says, in verse 15, he says that he will give them another opportunity.

[36:37] And he says, if they will bow well, but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. furnace.

[36:48] And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? You know, just look at this. It, to me, it sounds like a direct challenge to God.

[37:03] Who is that God that will deliver you? Well, they said, they said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

[37:17] If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

[37:31] But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not bow, we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou hast set up.

[37:44] Now let's look a little bit at what they answered the king here. They said, first of all, our God, whom we serve, he is able, he's able to deliver us.

[38:01] He's able to deliver us. And you know, when we get into that fiery trial, and everything, it turns against us, and it looks so dark and gloomy.

[38:13] You know, we, we are with them so far, right? And we will say, our God is able to deliver me. Okay? Well, let's see if we are with them the rest of the way.

[38:36] Our God is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, if our God allows us to burn, if our God allows us to burn, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve your gods.

[38:59] You know, are we with them to this point? At this point, they did not know that God would, would come and be in the furnace with them and would preserve them and protect them.

[39:17] They did not know, but they knew that God would deliver them from the hand of this king. king, and so, when it looks like you're going into that furnace and there's no escape, are you with these three men?

[39:42] They said, well, king, you know, it doesn't matter whether we, whether we burn or not, it doesn't matter.

[39:52] We will not bow. You know, I'm sure the temptation came, you know, we could just kind of bow, you know, we could just, you know, kind of let on as if, you know, but yet, or like some people, I've heard this, oh, we can, we can do this and whatever and then afterward, we will just confess and, and, and tell God we're sorry and then we'll, we'll, we'll go on again being a Christian.

[40:21] I've heard that. But you know, that's not a true heart. That's not a heart that is totally yielded to God. That is not a heart that, that, that is just completely surrendered to the will of God and trusting him completely.

[40:48] Well, when Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was full of fury and the form of his visage was changed against them.

[41:00] You know, I believe, you know, he knew these men. He had seen them before and he knew they were friends of Daniel and so he gave them another chance and he wanted to, to, he wanted them to, to live.

[41:21] He wanted them to survive this. But when they refused and they told him, when they said this to him, his visage was changed.

[41:33] He was turned against them and he was angry and he commanded they should heat the furnace seven times more. more than usual.

[41:47] And he commanded the most mighty men to bind them and to cast them into the furnace. And because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[42:07] And these three men, they fell down bound into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. And when they fell down in there, just imagine this, here's this furnace and here's dead men laying around it because they came too close when they threw in these three men.

[42:28] King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and he rose up in haste and he spake and he said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?

[42:45] They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire and they have no hurt and the form of the fourth is like the son of God.

[43:04] Jesus came and he walked with them in the fire. He was with these three men in the fire. You know, if we will trust him, if we will walk with him, it doesn't matter.

[43:18] It doesn't matter what comes our way. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what, where we find ourselves in the future. If we are walking in the will of God, he will be with us.

[43:32] Yes, he will be with us in the fire. He will be with us wherever we find ourselves, whatever situation we face. He will be with us and he will accomplish his will.

[43:48] Well, well, it ended then that in verse 28, then Nebuchadnezzar spake and he said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who has sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him and have changed the king's word and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own god.

[44:20] Therefore, I make a decree that every people, nation, language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made a dunghill because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.

[44:41] Then the king promoted them. You know, so he made this decree that no one is allowed to talk against this god.

[44:52] But, you know, why? Why didn't he decide to make this god his god?

[45:03] He stopped short. You know, the king, he saw the power of god and he saw that god was more powerful than his gods.

[45:16] He saw that there is no other god like this god. But yet, he would not bow, he would not worship the true god. Well, chapter 4.

[45:30] You know, I find this most amazing. much of chapter 4, how would you say?

[45:42] It's the words of the pagan king. It's the words of King Nebuchadnezzar. And he starts with Nebuchadnezzar, the king, and all people, nations, languages that dwell in all the earth.

[46:05] Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God has wrought toward me.

[46:19] How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom kingdom. And his dominion is from generation to generation.

[46:32] So here is Nebuchadnezzar talking about this great god. And notice what he says here in verse 3 of chapter 4. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

[46:46] It's everlasting. It's not like Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom that, you know, he became king, I believe, when he was in his 20s probably.

[46:58] And he was king for what, 60 some years or something. And then he was gone. And his kingdom was over with.

[47:10] And someone else took over. God is not that way. God is not that way. But he is king of kings and lord of lords.

[47:23] He is the one that his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And his dominion is not only for one generation but from generation to generation on and on from eternity to eternity.

[47:40] You know, we didn't read it but that image, that dream that he had and the image, you know, in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.

[47:55] You know, that stone that came rolling out of the mountain and destroyed the kingdoms of this earth. But Nebuchadnezzar is recognizing the great king, our God.

[48:10] And he goes on and he talks about this dream that he had. and how he again called the magicians and everybody and verse 8, but at the last Daniel came in before me whose name was Belteshazzar according to the name of my God and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods and before him I told the dream saying, you know, and I find it again here, you know, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that God was the holy God.

[48:50] He acknowledged that God was above his gods. and he told him his dream and this time it was the dream of the great tree.

[49:09] The tree grew and was strong and the height thereof reached into heaven and the sight thereof to the ends of all the earth and the leaves were fair and the fruit thereof much and in it was meat for all.

[49:21] The beasts of the field had shadow under it and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the bowels thereof and all flesh was fed of it. Verse 13, I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed and behold the watcher and the holy one came down from heaven.

[49:37] He cried aloud and said thus, Hew down the tree and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves and scatter his fruit. Let the beasts get away from under it and the fowls from his branches.

[49:51] Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth even with a band of iron and brass in the tender grass of the field and let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

[50:07] Let his heart be changed from man's and let a beast's heart be given unto him and let seven times pass over him. And here, Nebuchadnezzar is proclaiming this.

[50:21] This is after this all happened and he's proclaiming this to the people. And then verse 17, This matter is by the decree of the watchers and the demand by the word of the holy ones to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will and setteth up over it the basest of men.

[50:52] You know, I find it very profound what the heathen king had to say and you know, just look at this.

[51:09] The word of the holy ones, the word of God came to the intent, this was the reason for it, that the living may know that the Most High rules, that the Most High God, he rules in the kingdoms on this earth and he gives it to whomsoever he will and he set us up over it the basest of men.

[51:38] He sets up whoever he decides and we could talk about that but we won't. But in other words, the king is acknowledging that God is in charge, that God is in charge over the kingdoms of this earth and he sets up rulers and he brings down rulers.

[52:04] Well, Daniel, Daniel gave him the interpretation and of course, you know, this interpretation, it was that he was the king, that he was the tree and he would lose the kingdom and be driven out for seven years.

[52:28] He lost his sanity. let's read. Let's start in verse 24.

[52:39] This is the interpretation, O king, this is the decree of the Most High which is come upon my Lord the king that they shall drive thee from men and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field.

[52:53] They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven and seven times shall pass over thee till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

[53:12] And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

[53:25] And then wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee. Break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.

[53:42] You know, Daniel gave him advice and he told him what to do that possibly the judgment of God would be put off. But then we have twelve months later.

[53:55] The king, he was out and he was walking in the palace of Babylon. It's not this great Babylon that I have built. And you know, Babylon was an exceeding great city.

[54:09] I didn't really write it down and bring the facts about it, but I remember a few. One is, so it was, it had the four walls and each wall was 15 miles long.

[54:25] That's how big the city was. And that wall was, I think it was 300 feet high and it was, I forget the feet how wide it was, but it was wide enough for six chariots to run abreast across this wall.

[54:47] and the river Euphrates came in and there were gates where the river came in. There were towers all the way around.

[54:59] This city was built that it could be defended and it was impossible for an enemy army to come into this city. And so here we have the great king.

[55:13] This is Babylon that I have built. I have built this. And in that moment, the voice of God spoke that the judgment of God was coming upon him.

[55:33] In the last half of verse 32, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

[55:48] And in that same hour, it was fulfilled upon him. And now, seven years later, here he is. Nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes to heaven and his understanding returned.

[56:03] And he blessed the Most High. And I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

[56:15] And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.

[56:26] And none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time, my reason returned unto me.

[56:36] And for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me. And my counselors and my lords sought unto me. And I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

[56:50] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

[57:05] You know, I don't know that Nebuchadnezzar, it almost sounds like he actually came to the place here, and he actually turned to God, and he worshipped him.

[57:16] I hope that's so. But it says, I, Nebuchadnezzar, I praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

[57:33] You know, King Nebuchadnezzar, he was the ultimate when it came to pride. You know, he was a self-made man. He had gotten the kingdom when he was 20 some years old, and he conquered all the lands.

[57:48] You know, and he did not give God the glory. You know, God gave those other kingdoms to him, the kingdom of Egypt, the kingdom of Judah, and many other kingdoms.

[58:00] God had given them to him. But now finally, you know, we looked at various instances, but finally now, we have the king humbling himself.

[58:19] He was God humbled him, and now, now it says, I bless the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation, and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and no one can stop him or even ask, what are you doing?

[58:58] You know, I don't have anything in my notes necessarily, but in our day, where are we at today?

[59:10] Can we still acknowledge that he is over all, that he sets up kings, and he brings down kings, that he is above all, he is above all the rulers of this world, he knows what's going on in our day, and God has a plan and a program for this end time, you know, and Israel is in the center of it, and you know, Iran is promising to destroy Israel, you know, they don't believe this Bible, if they would believe this Bible, if they would just read it, they would know that they will not be successful, God said, he that blesses Israel will be blessed, he that curses Israel will be cursed, God has brought back the people of Israel into the land, he has raised up this nation, and it will accomplish its plan in

[60:12] God's plan in the end times here, and I believe God is protecting Israel, there's been many miracles, that God has shown that he is protecting Israel, you know, our nation has teetered a little bit in its support for Israel, but in reality, God is in control, and if God is in control, his will will be accomplished, you know, it's openly, it's in the news, it's everywhere that, you know, if Iran is afraid, if Trump is elected, then they can't attack Israel anymore, and their nuclear will be destroyed, and they might be destroyed, but if

[61:14] Kamala gets in, then they're fine, who's in control here, our God is in control, our God is in control, I believe God has a plan in this election, I believe God has a plan for Israel, God has a plan for Iran, and if Iran continues to try to destroy Israel, probably Iran will be destroyed.

[61:52] Let me ask you the question, do you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomsoever he will, do you know that the most high rules in the Middle East, do you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of Iran, and in the nation of Israel, and in our nation, and in all nations, God has a program, he has a plan for this end time, and he will fulfill it, man will not change it, the devil is trying to stop it, the devil is trying to defeat it, the armies of hell are arrayed against the plan of God, but they will all be defeated, they will all be defeated, the word of

[63:02] God, it will be fulfilled, you know, the prophets had said that Nebuchadnezzar would come, and he would take Israel into captivity, and we don't have time to look at it, but Jeremiah prophesied that after 70 years, the land enjoys its Sabbaths for 70, 70 Sabbaths, 70 years, and then they will return, and he even names Cyrus as the king that will do that, and so we have here, the children of Israel were in captivity, and Daniel, he understood by the writings of Jeremiah that the time was coming, was coming now, but you know, they were still in Babylon, they were still captive in Babylon, but then there was also God had prophesied that the king of Babylon would take Israel into captivity, and they would serve him and his son and his son's son, so here we have, and we don't have time to look at it, but you all know the story of

[64:27] Belteshazzar, the king, and the handwriting on the wall, and the handwriting on the wall, and all that, so he was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and here he was in this great city with, you know, it was impregnable, there was no way for the enemy to come in, and he threw this big party, and everybody was drunk, and they got the vessels that came out of the temple, the holy vessels, and there they were, worshipping idols and drinking wine out of the vessels out of the temple of God.

[65:17] What they didn't know, the great river Euphrates, somewhere up the river, the enemy army dug it out and bypassed the city.

[65:34] In the middle of that party of drunkenness, the enemy army marched in, and the kingdom went to the Medes and the Persians.

[65:56] You know, God, God's will will be fulfilled. The prophecies in this book will be fulfilled.

[66:09] Many have been fulfilled, but the ones that have not been fulfilled, they will be fulfilled. And we're living in those days when we will see the fulfillment of many prophecies.

[66:28] The armies of hell are arrayed against the church, and they are arrayed against the will of God and what God is doing, but they will be defeated.

[66:42] They will be defeated. You know, Daniel was brought in to read that handwriting on the wall.

[67:13] Daniel was now possibly in his 80s, 85, 86. He wasn't afraid of the king, this young king that had so defied God.

[67:34] He reminded the king that he knew all these things. He knew about the history of Nebuchadnezzar. He knew about the dealings of God with Nebuchadnezzar.

[67:47] He knew all that. And then in chapter 5 and verse 23, he says, And the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.

[68:06] Do we realize today a couple things? Do we realize that our very breath is in God's hands?

[68:23] Do we realize that our ways are before him? Whatever you do, wherever you go, your ways are open before him.

[68:38] Does your life glorify God? Do you glorify God by the life you live? Are you trying to hide?

[68:50] Are you among those that, oh, God doesn't see? Oh, God overlooks my sin. Oh, it really doesn't matter.

[69:01] Are we recognizing God as the almighty God?

[69:13] Do we recognize God? Do we know the question that we read over and over in this account with Nebuchadnezzar?

[69:25] Until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomsoever he will. Do we realize that God is in control?

[69:39] Do we realize that God is in control of the election? Do we know that God wants to control and direct your life? Do we realize that God has a plan for each one of us?

[69:58] And if we will walk a surrendered life with him, he will direct our path and he will use us in his kingdom, in his everlasting kingdom.

[70:11] His kingdom is from everlasting to everlasting. You know, do we see that this kingdom is so much greater than anything we could ever be?

[70:26] We build our own kingdom. That's all we have. The best we could do is have a kingdom like Nebuchadnezzar. This is great Babylon that I have built.

[70:39] But it was destroyed. But if we live for the kingdom of God, we can be a part of this everlasting kingdom that will never come an end.

[70:57] We can be a part of this kingdom. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He is no fool that gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

[71:16] Might that ever be before us? That to be a part of this kingdom and to live a surrender life to our Lord Jesus, the King of glory, is so much greater than anything we can do in our own strength, in our own will, in our own power, in our own self.

[71:41] What are we living for today?

[71:56] Are we living for self or are we living for the King who endures forever? Whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

[72:09] Hallelujah. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you are the King of kings and Lord of lords, that you are an everlasting king.

[72:26] Your dominion is from everlasting to everlasting. And Lord, you set up rulers and you bring down rulers. You give it to whomsoever you will.

[72:38] And you are in control. Your dominion is an everlasting dominion. Your kingdom is from generation to generation. It has always been.

[72:50] And we can be a part of it in our generation. And then it will go on to the next generation until the day you return. Lord Jesus, help us to have this heavenly vision, to have a vision of our part in your kingdom.

[73:11]  We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.