WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:05.400 Before every blessing, there is always a testing. God wants 2 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:08.119 to see if you can handle what He's about to 3 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:12.960 give you greater responsibility, greater blessing, greater success or prosperity, 4 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:18.559 or spiritual experiences, greater influence. God wants to know can 5 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:21.719 you handle what you've already got before he gives you 6 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:26.839 even more? And God tests you with stress before he 7 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:30.800 trusts you with success. We've talked about this every single week. 8 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:32.039 God wants to see if you. 9 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:32.600 Can handle it. 10 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.320 Jesus explained this principle actually in Luke sixteen. Look up 11 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:40.679 here on the screen. Jesus said this, you must be 12 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:45.960 proven trustworthy in small things before you'll be trusted with 13 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.000 greater things. That's before every blessing, there is a testing. 14 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.560 And if you have not been faithful with what is 15 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:57.280 not your own, who's going to trust you to give 16 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:03.039 you your own? Before God trust you with success, he tests 17 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:07.159 you with stress. Now, so far in this series, we've 18 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:08.359 looked at five tests. 19 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:10.159 Let's put them all up here on the board and 20 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:11.000 see where we've been. 21 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:13.959 We looked at first, when your world is shaken up, 22 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:18.000 that means the test of a major change. We've looked 23 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.040 at when your pressured to conform. Peer pressure is a 24 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:23.799 test in your life. We've looked at when your beliefs 25 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.239 are belittled. And remember we talked to the students particularly 26 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:30.200 about that about at school. We talked about when you're 27 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:33.519 asked to do the impossible. When a boss or somebody 28 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:34.799 in your life says I need you to do this, 29 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:36.040 you go, I don't have the time of the money 30 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:39.040 to do this. That's a test when you're asked to 31 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.760 do the impossible. And then we looked at when the 32 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.760 heat is on, and we talked about the young men 33 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.120 going through the fiery furnace because they refused to bow 34 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:50.359 down to the statue of Nebek and Ezra. Now the 35 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.120 next five weeks, let me show you where we're going. Okay, 36 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:55.200 here's some of the other tests you're going to see. 37 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:57.280 We're going to look at when you need to have 38 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:01.560 a difficult conversation, probably need to know how to do that, 39 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:04.879 when you have to share a hard truth with somebody 40 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:07.719 you love or as in your life, when you need. 41 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:08.800 To have a difficult conversation. 42 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:12.319 Then the next one, when people work against you at work, 43 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.360 at school, or somewhere else like that you maybe even 44 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:15.560 feel like they're plotting against you. 45 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:16.719 We're going to look at that test. 46 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:20.800 When your situation looks hopeless, we're going to look at 47 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:23.280 that is a test in life. God often allows things 48 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:27.080 to get so bad it looks hopeless. And then when 49 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.280 the answer to your prayer is delayed, that's what everybody needs. 50 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:33.560 You need to know the skill of how to handle 51 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:34.919 a delayed answer to prayer. 52 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:36.639 That is a test. This is a test. 53 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:39.479 But this weekend we're going to look at this one. 54 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:44.360 When God tests you with success, I say, wit a minute. 55 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:47.319 I know stress is a test. I know suffering is 56 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:50.120 a test. But success is a test. Of course, it's 57 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:55.719 a test. Have you ever seen success ruin anybody? Oh, 58 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:59.080 of course you have. It goes to their head. They 59 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:04.080 get stuck up, they get you know, it changes their character. 60 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.680 They crack up, they can't handle it. Success has ruined 61 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:10.159 a lot of people. In fact, VH one built an 62 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.680 entire channel of biographies of rock groups that cracked up, 63 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:20.639 messed up, broke up once they got successful. Success is 64 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:22.719 as much of a test in your life is as 65 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:25.120 suffering is. In fact, I will tell you as a 66 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:29.159 pastor and having worked with people now for over forty years, 67 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.639 more people are ruined by success than they are ruined 68 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:37.360 by suffering. You might not think it, but when you're 69 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:41.800 in suffering you go straight to God. But when you're successful, 70 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:48.319 you forget God. And for every you know one nine 71 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.240 people who can handle pain, you can't find one person 72 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:56.840 who can handle fame, and the praise goes to their head. 73 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.240 The Bible talks about this on the screen. Proverbs twenty 74 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:03.159 seven one says this a hot furnace tests silver and gold. 75 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:06.520 But people are tested Read this with me aloud by 76 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.400 the praise they received. Well, did you know that every 77 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:15.360 time you're complimented, this is a test. I tell pastors 78 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:18.480 compliments and criticisms are kind of like chewing gum. You 79 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:20.519 chew on it a little while, but you never swallow it, 80 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:25.480 because both of them can really mess you up. He says, 81 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:29.120 people are tested by the praise they receive. Human beings 82 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:31.879 are the only animal that God created that when you 83 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:37.240 pat them on the back, their head swells. So we 84 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:41.079 want to talk about the danger of pride and arrogance 85 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.639 and ego when you're successful, because it's easy to forget God. 86 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.040 This is just as much a test as all the 87 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.519 tough times you go through and it's one that we 88 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.680 often don't understand. But Daniel chapter four tells us how 89 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.439 King Nebkinzzar that we've been looking at for several weeks 90 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:01.759 now literally lost everything because of his pride, his arrogance, 91 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:02.800 and his ego. 92 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:03.759 Now let's just review. 93 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:07.399 Nebucon Azer is the most successful man on planet Earth 94 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:11.360 at this time. Twenty five hundred years ago, his father 95 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.680 had been the king of Babylon. He was a young 96 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:19.439 general in his dad's army, and he single handedly defeated 97 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:23.360 the Assyrian Empire, which was the most powerful empire of 98 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:25.720 its day. And now all of a sudden, the Babylonian 99 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.600 Empire is bigger than the Assyrian Empire because of this 100 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.639 young man. He comes home the conquering general, and he 101 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:35.279 is a rock star. And at a very early age 102 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:38.879 he's very, very successful. And when his dad dies, he 103 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.480 succeeds his dad. He becomes the Emperor of Babylon. Then 104 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.639 he expands the Babylonian Empire until it becomes the most 105 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:51.120 powerful empire in the world. Of that day, everybody feared 106 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:55.079 nebucan Ezer. And then not only that, he built the 107 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:58.000 most beautiful city in the world, and that day is 108 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.160 called Babylon, and he built what we're called the Hanging 109 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:05.439 Gardens of Babylon for his wife, which were called one 110 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:08.600 of the seven Wonders of the ancient world, the hanging 111 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:11.639 Gardens of Babylon, just like the Pyramids. I mean, it 112 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:14.319 was of that quality. People wanted to just go to 113 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.040 Babylon to see the thing that he had built. And 114 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:20.639 as I said, he became the most powerful man on earth. 115 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:24.279 But neviken Hazer had a problem, and it was his pride, 116 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:26.839 it was his ego he had. You know, some people 117 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.680 have a problem with anger their entire lives. He had 118 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:31.839 a problem with pride, with arrogance his entire life, because he. 119 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:33.720 Had one success after another. 120 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.439 Now, this story, chapter four picks up when he's in 121 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:42.879 his fifties, so he's already well into his leadership as 122 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:46.160 the Emperor's very powerful man, and one night he has 123 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:50.319 a very disturbing dream. Now this is thirty two years 124 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:52.920 after that previous dream that we looked at but he 125 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:56.240 couldn't interpret at which he called in a guy named 126 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:00.519 Daniel to interpret. And so thirty two years later he 127 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:04.319 calls Daniel Baglass, Hey man, I got another weird dream. 128 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:09.920 Can you tell me what it means, and Daniel tells 129 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.959 him he's sad to be the bearer of bad news, 130 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:15.920 but he says, well, King, what this means. Is this 131 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.720 the dream you've just had. It means that God is 132 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:23.480 fed up with your arrogance. He's fed up with your pride, 133 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:28.560 with your ego. You would have nothing if it weren't 134 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:31.439 for God. Everything you got in life, it's because God 135 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:34.240 allows you to have it. And if God didn't want 136 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:36.519 you to have it, you might be homeless on the street. 137 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:39.639 But you've taken all the credit for yourself. And you 138 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:44.160 should have known better, nebuchan Ezer, because God's shown you 139 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:46.399 a bunch of miracles since the Jews have been here. 140 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.120 Remember the one where you know by the way, he 141 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:51.959 built this ninety foot statue to himself. Remember we talked 142 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.000 about that, And that's an ego problem. When you say, hey, 143 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.879 I'm gonna build a ninety foot statue, and every time 144 00:07:57.920 --> 00:07:59.800 they blow the horns, you bow down and worship me. 145 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:05.319 He thought he was God. And then how God saved 146 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:09.160 the three young men, the Hebrew men Shadrakmishak and Abit Lego, 147 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:12.160 and said you went through the fire, and he said, 148 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:15.800 you saw that miracle and and you proclaimed at the 149 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.079 end of that there's only one true God, and you 150 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.079 made this public declaration that God is God and not you. 151 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:24.199 But then you forgot it and you didn't follow up 152 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.560 on that public commitment. And for the last thirty years 153 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.319 you haven't served God. You've been serving yourself. And so 154 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:36.120 your time is about up. Because God gave you all 155 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:39.200 of these chances, and because you haven't humbled yourself and 156 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:42.080 you haven't depended on God, God is going to remove 157 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:44.919 you as the king of the greatest empire in the 158 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:48.799 world for a season of time. And he says, not 159 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.200 only are you going to lose your kingdom, sir, you're 160 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:53.879 going to lose your mind. You're going to actually lose 161 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:58.639 touch with reality. You're going to go insane so much 162 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:01.600 so that you're going to be kicked out of the palace. 163 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:04.080 You're gonna go live in the desert like an animal. 164 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:06.960 You're gonna your hair is gonna get all matted because 165 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.279 nobody's gonna care for you. Your fingernails are going to 166 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:11.679 grow out so long they look like claws. And he said, 167 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:16.120 you're gonna live like an animal because you truly will 168 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:19.919 actually lose your sanity for a period of time. 169 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:24.159 Daniel then says, but here's the good news. Game. 170 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:27.279 You can avoid it all. You don't have to go 171 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:32.679 through this humiliating experience. If you will humble yourself, and 172 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:36.399 if you will listen to God, and if you'll just 173 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:40.080 start honoring God with your success, get this phrase. If 174 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:44.000 you'll start honoring God with your success, you can avoid 175 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:48.759 the fall. Now, unfortunately, the king did nothing about this. 176 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.840 He had the dream, he gets the interpretation, and he 177 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.960 immediately forgets it, and he goes on his way, still 178 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:58.080 living the ego trip, still being it's all about himself. 179 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.600 He procrastinates doing the right thing, nothing Dumble says to himself, 180 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:05.519 and he forgets the whole incident, and so he lost 181 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:11.039 everything he had worked for, the most powerful man, influential 182 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:13.600 man in the world, ended up being homeless and insane 183 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:18.840 out on the streets, out in the desert. But Daniel says, 184 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:21.679 if you'll start honoring God, you can do You'll avoid 185 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.399 it all. But he didn't, so he fails the test 186 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:30.720 of success. Now, let me just say this to you. 187 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.559 You can be expected to be tested in your success. 188 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.679 Whatever level of success you have in life, God will 189 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:39.600 test you. If you pass the test, you get more. 190 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:44.120 If you don't, you get less. Jesus said it. It's 191 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.960 taught all the way through scripture. I don't want this 192 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:49.360 to happen to you. So what I want us to 193 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:52.000 do this weekend is look at this story twenty five 194 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.240 hundred years old. You can read about in archaeology. This happened. 195 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.960 And I wanted to simply ask three questions. Number one, 196 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.840 what gets people into trouble when they start succeeding in life? 197 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.519 Because I see successful people falling by the wayside all 198 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:12.000 the time financially, relationally, mentally, socially, spiritually. 199 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:13.960 What gets us trapped? 200 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.399 And what causes us to get into trouble when we succeed? 201 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:19.720 Number two, I want to ask, what are the steps 202 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:23.480 to recovery after you've failed? Because what Neam what never 203 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.039 can Hazer? Did you need to do too if this 204 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.120 ever happens to you? And number three, what are the 205 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:32.399 things that I need to remember about God that will 206 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:35.519 stabilize me whether I'm going through success or through suffering? 207 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:38.799 And Nebican Hazer learns four things and you need to 208 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:41.360 learn them. You need to memorize them so that whether 209 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:44.120 you're in good times or bad times, these things will 210 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:49.320 stabilize your life. Now, you've heard people say it's wise 211 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:52.720 to learn from experience, but you don't have enough time 212 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:57.200 to make all the mistakes yourself. It's wise to learn 213 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.799 from experience, it's wiser to learn from the experience of others. 214 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.320 That's why we have this book. It's a lot less 215 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:18.480 painful too. 216 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:22.720 If you want to live a life full of purpose 217 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:26.440 and joy, then you need to transform the way you think. 218 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:29.600 And to help you do this, Pastor Rick created a 219 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:32.960 brand new set of scripture cards with fifty two hand 220 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:38.519 selected verses from his series Rethinking your Life. These verses 221 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:41.919 will guide you into a deeper understanding of your purpose 222 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.399 and faith, and you'll find yourself gaining the strength to 223 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:50.559 overcome temptation and conquer discouragement. When you allow God's word 224 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.320 to transform your mind, you'll see your life through his eyes, 225 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:58.360 apply his wisdom, and step into a life of purpose 226 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:02.240 and joy. This set of beautifully designed cards will help 227 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:05.759 you memorize scripture so you can recall God's word when 228 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:09.200 you need it the most. And today, when you give 229 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.879 a gift to help daily hope, take the hope of 230 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.120 Jesus to a world in need. We'll send you the 231 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:18.720 rethinking your life. Scripture card set to say thanks. 232 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:27.399 All right, let's start by looking at what gets us 233 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.200 into trouble when we're succeeding in life. There are three 234 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:33.799 causes of nebuican Ezer's fall and his breakdown. 235 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:34.559 You might write these down. 236 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:37.879 Number one, we get into trouble because Number one, we 237 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:40.399 get comfortable and complacent. 238 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:43.080 With success, we. 239 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:48.879 Get comfortable and complacent. Now, this happens to all of us. 240 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.519 When things are going good, you just get complacent. Daniel, 241 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:57.000 Chapter four, Verse four. I nebic Azer was enjoying a 242 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:02.440 time of peace and prosperity in my kingdom and palace, 243 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:06.960 and I was taking it easy without a care in 244 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.799 the world. Does that sound like somebody who's praying every day? No, 245 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:15.399 let me ask you a personal question. Do you pray 246 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:18.799 more in pain or pleasure? Oh, there's no doubt when 247 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:21.159 you do. You pay pray more when you're in pain. 248 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:24.480 When you're in pain, Oh, God, I need your help 249 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.559 right now. When things are going great, Hey, let's go 250 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:30.080 to the beach. You're not even thinking about God when 251 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:33.639 things are going good in your life. And so it's 252 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:38.080 pleasure that pulls us away. It's the good times when 253 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:41.720 pride creeps in that we forget God. I want you 254 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:44.279 to notice all the personal pronouns in this next statement 255 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:48.360 of nebecan ezer he said. I said to myself, just look, 256 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.639 notice the eyes and the me and the miyes. I 257 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:55.360 said to myself, Okay, you ever talk to yourself? 258 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.360 Oh, you do it all the time. 259 00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:59.919 I said to myself, just look at this great sit 260 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:04.559 of Babylon that I have created. I, by my own 261 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.879 mighty power, have built this beautiful city for my glory. 262 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:10.320 I built it. 263 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:17.519 Just show my power, my might, my majesty, and my glory. 264 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:17.879 Wow. 265 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:22.600 That's quite humble, isn't it. This is a problem right here. 266 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:27.000 Remember the lesson of the whale. When you get to 267 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:30.759 the top and you're ready to blow, that's when they harpoon. 268 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:38.080 You be humble or you will stumble. Niamiah needed to 269 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:41.600 go read Chapter one of purpose Driven Life. The first line, 270 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:46.559 it's not about you, It's all about God, he thought, 271 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:50.120 It's all about himself. Now, throughout the Bible, we're warned 272 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:53.519 constantly about the dangers of pride. The middle letter of 273 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:57.320 pride is what I The middle letter sin is what 274 00:15:58.480 --> 00:15:59.320 pride causes. 275 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:03.279 Sin is the root of all sin, and no matter 276 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:04.120 what the sin is. 277 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:06.440 I know God says don't gossip, but I think I 278 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:09.600 know better than God, so I will gossip. I know 279 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.840 I'm supposed to forgive that person, but I know better, 280 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.399 so I Pride is the renewed I know what God 281 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.600 says about sex, but I'm gonna do my thing. I 282 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.399 know what God says about money, but I'm gonna do 283 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:20.960 my thing. I know what God says about Pride is 284 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.919 the root of every other sin. Pride is the sin 285 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:27.440 that God Satan kicked out of heaven. God hates pride 286 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:30.240 more than anything else in life because it says I'm 287 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:33.519 God and I don't need God. The Bible says pride 288 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.480 goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall, 289 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.240 and Neo and Ebucinezer had a major fall in his life. 290 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:44.039 Look at this verse on the screen Proverbs fifteen sixteen, 291 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.159 verse five. The Lord despises pride. 292 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:48.320 That means he hates it. 293 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.759 You can be sure that the proud will be punished. 294 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:55.279 There are many many verses in the Bible. The Bible 295 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:58.879 says God resists the proud, but he gives grace to 296 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:02.039 the humble. Grace is the power you need to change. 297 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:04.160 If you need to change something in your life, you 298 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:07.160 need to be humble. God resists the proud. It means 299 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.680 whenever I'm prideful, I'm on the opposite side of God, 300 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.119 and my arms are too short to box with God. 301 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:16.079 He's going to win every time. God hates pride. But 302 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:19.160 we get comfortable and complacent with success. Second thing is 303 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:21.640 we don't pay attention to the warning signs. 304 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:23.799 Now. 305 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.799 Often in your own life, when things are going good, 306 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.079 you don't see the warning signs. But in every success 307 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.519 of the seeds of your own destruction. But often the 308 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:40.119 signs are not seen because pride blinds us. You know, 309 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.559 I teach pastors, and I tell pastors all the time, 310 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.920 always being in the spotlight blinds you. 311 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:49.519 And that's true in any area of life. 312 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.759 Right now, in this stage, there are you know, I 313 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:54.119 don't know, several hundred thousand watts sing on me. 314 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:55.279 It's kind of blinding. 315 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.079 If you're in the spotlight all of the time, you 316 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:02.880 can't see clearly, and so it's not good for your soul. 317 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:04.799 That's why I tell pastors, you need to go home 318 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:06.960 and mow your own lawn and change the diapers and 319 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:09.240 do some laundry and wash the dishes and do the 320 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:14.240 stuff that real people do, and do everything like you 321 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.920 just need to keep in touch with your roots. We 322 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.960 don't pay attention to the warning signs. Now, God clearly 323 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.920 warned EBC. He didn't just remove him from office. God 324 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.440 cared enough about this game to warn him. He gives 325 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:31.240 him a dream. He brings Daniel to interpret the dream. 326 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:34.559 Daniel says, this is gonna happen, and you can avoid it. 327 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:39.079 You can avoid this massive fall in your career, this 328 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:45.240 embarrassing experience, if you'll just humble yourself, honor God, stop 329 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:49.519 forgetting God, do the right thing. And so God said, 330 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:52.960 I'm going to warn you in advance. You're about to 331 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.799 lose your kingdom and you're about to lose your sanity. Question, 332 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:01.240 what are the warning signs in your life when you're 333 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:02.160 headed in the wrong direction? 334 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:03.839 Do you even know what they are? 335 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:07.920 You know that what the warning signs are in your life, 336 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:10.279 that you're kind of got en off track, that you're 337 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.160 getting a little prideful, that you're forgetting God. 338 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.759 Do you even know what those signs are? 339 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.480 Conflict could be a warning sign if you're having conflict 340 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:21.000 in a relationship that's a sign you're on the wrong track. 341 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:25.839 Chaos in your life can be a warning sign. 342 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:27.599 Confusion. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing 343 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:30.359 right now. That's a warning sign you're not as well 344 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:34.079 connected to God as you ought to be. You're doing 345 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:35.759 it on your own power, like if it's to be, 346 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.000 it's up to me. Temptation can be a warning sign. 347 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.039 I'm just being tempted at a work, at school with 348 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:44.559 someone or something. 349 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:49.720 That's a warning sign. And God warned, never can as 350 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:51.519 you're gonna lose it all. Buddy. 351 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.839 You're very successful, you're a most powerful, influential, successful guy 352 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:56.920 in the world. But you're gonna lose it all if 353 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.359 you don't change quickly. And Daniel tells the King that 354 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:02.759 he needs to do two things. Now, pay attention to 355 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:06.319 this verse twenty seven. Here's what you do to avoid 356 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:07.799 the humiliating experience. 357 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:09.240 Two things. 358 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:13.279 Repent of your sins and start doing right. Then number two, 359 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:18.039 begin to show merciful kindness to the poor and oppressed. 360 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:23.119 Then God will allow you to keep prospering. If you 361 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.680 want to maintain your success, you need to do these 362 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.440 two things. First, he says, repent. Now we've talked about 363 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:32.759 this word. It just means change your mind, change your attitude, 364 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:36.039 change your thinking. The word repent in Greek is meta. 365 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:40.319 Noya meta means change, noiya means your mind, to change 366 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:42.519 your mind. I used to think this way about my life. 367 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:44.599 Now I think this way about my life. That's what 368 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.480 repent means. You just change your attitude. You got some 369 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:50.839 stinking thinking in your mind. You got to check up 370 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:52.440 from the neck up and you need to go. Oh, 371 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:54.839 that's the wrong thing I've been thinking. This is all 372 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:55.319 about me. 373 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:56.279 It's not. 374 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.400 It's all about God. And the Bible says repent change 375 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:04.279 your mind. Why Because humility is a choice. Let me 376 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.480 say that again. Humility is a choice. It's something you 377 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:10.000 choose to do to yourself. Did you know that Never 378 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:13.759 in the Bible are you told to pray God humble me. 379 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:18.720 Not once in scripture are you ever told by God 380 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:23.000 to pray God humble me. God keep me humble. Doesn't 381 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:28.119 say that, It says humble yourself. It says multiple times, 382 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.319 humble yourself. Humility is a choice. Now, let's just define 383 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.799 these two words, pride and humility. Pride is when I 384 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.119 accept the credit for things that God and other people 385 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:42.799 did through me. Infore me when I accept the credit 386 00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:44.519 that doesn't really belong to me. I couldn't have done 387 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:46.960 it without God, I couldn't have done it without other people. 388 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:50.799 But I'm acting like it all came because of my brilliance. 389 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:54.720 Pride is accepting credit for things that God and others 390 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:58.640 did through you and for you. Humility, humility is not 391 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:03.480 thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. 392 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.799 A lot of people think humility. 393 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:09.640 Means I'm walk around going, Oh, I'm no good, I'm nothing, 394 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:11.640 I'm worthless. I'm just a pile of junk. You're not 395 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:15.079 a pile of junk. Jesus didn't die for junk. You 396 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:18.200 are infinitely valuable to God. Look at the cross. It 397 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.440 shows how much you're valuable. Jesus died for you. That's 398 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:23.599 how valuable you are. But you're also deeply flawed and broken, 399 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:26.680 and you have weaknesses of mistakes and sins in your life. 400 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:30.160 Both are true. You're deeply flawed, and you're deeply loved. 401 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:35.079