God Rules in the Kingdom of Men

As all of us know, if we watched television at all over the last week, it's pretty hard to avoid the political conventions that are going on here in the United States. This past week, the Republican Convention occurred in Cleveland, and next week, a Democratic Convention will take up most of the week held in Philadelphia. And then, of course, after that, as we now have a couple of candidates who are going to be vying for the presidency of the United States, we'll have months and months of more campaigning until we finally get to November, and ultimately there will be an election. And yet, what we've been enduring is somewhat sad, because what we've heard is a lot of name-calling, a lot of accusation, a lot of criticism, a lot of distortion, and certainly a certain level of lies, a lot of personal opinion, and mostly self-promotion. That would be my summary description of what I've heard. And all of us know that the system, even the Democratic system that we have here in this country, is based on competing. It's based on competition, which is not exactly the way that God would like and would want for things to be done. Of course, we do want to realize that whoever becomes president of the United States, in essence, a leader of the free world, whoever becomes their next president, you know, that is a big deal. It's a big issue. And I would think that we have to realize, clearly, the Creator God is not only watching what's going on in this age and at this time, but He's directly involved in such a monumental, in a sense, world-altering or maybe even world-shaping selection.

Now, which person running for the highest office in the world, or in this land, anyway, which person can truly bring about what they promise? Lots of promises, lots of things handed out, but which person, any of them that have run in the past or who are running right now, which one can really bring about what they promise? And I think all of us know the answer to that.

We have to ask ourselves, is this violent and terrorized world today going to see a tremendous change and there will be great peace and safety? Because that's even a way that the end time is described. A time of, if they say, peace and safety, is that really the case? Are we going to come out of this and hope and be able to solve problems and have peace and safety? Or will we continue to see a decline in the power and the eroding away of most of the marvelous blessings and freedoms that God has granted this marvelous land that we live in? See, that's actually kind of two different directions. You know, having solution, coming out with peace and security, or having a continued decline of the impact that the people of the United States are able to have around the world. Of course, God is the one who brought about the tremendous prominence of the descendants of Joseph, of Ephraim, and Manasseh. Most of us are pretty well versed in that. We're well aware of the history the Bible reveals and of the blessings that God chose to give to a commonwealth of nations and then to one great nation. And we can see, and if we look back over our lifetimes, I certainly look back over the last 60 years, and I see some extremely prominent times here in the United States.

In the 70s and the 80s and the 90s, it was clearly seemingly much more stable, much more secure than what we've seen in the last 10 or 20 years.

But God's the one who has brought that about, and it was because of His promise, His promise to Abraham and to Abraham's descendants. And we realize that this is, in a sense, where the United States and Britain are described in the Bible.

I want to talk about not so much the elections, but I want to talk about what kind of government really needs to solve this world's problems. You know, I don't intend on certainly encouraging you to vote one way or the other. That's not my purpose at all, whether or not you even chose to vote. That's not what I'm wanting to discuss.

As citizens of the United States, we have that right. That is something we could do. But is that something that has a great deal of meaning? There are many congregations or many different church organizations who try to promote their idea of what they think the answer would be to try to direct the elections that go on, even the national elections that go on in this country. But did Jesus direct His followers to correct this world as it is? Or did He tell us to look elsewhere? Did He tell us that we have much to look forward to? I simply want to remind all of us today, and as we hear so much of this, pretty much just consuming all of the television news and anything you might hear on the radio, it's all going to be in some way affected by the election over the next few months. I want to remind all of us that it is God who rules in the kingdoms of men. Now, He's allowed Satan to deceive this world, but there are very clear verses in the Bible that allow us to understand that there is security, there is refuge, there is peace in knowing that God does rule in the kingdoms of men. I want us to begin here in Psalm 75. In Psalm 75, we have a chapter that gives us insight into God's rule over the governments of man. There have clearly been times in the past that we can read about where God has intervened and where He has directed not only specific countries, but even specific empires, world-ruling empires. In a sense, you could say that's kind of where the United States fits today. We are a tremendous influence around the world.

And so, should God or would God be interested in what's going on in an election? I think He would. Here in Psalm 75, this Psalm says, we give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks. Your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds.

Verse 2, at a set time that I appoint, I will judge with equity. In essence, it appears that if Asaph was the author of this Psalm, he's kind of breaking in and writing in a way that appears that God is saying this. At the right time, I'm going to intervene. I'm going to bring about judgment from God. It says in verse 3, from the earth, when the earth tatters with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. That's good to think about. Whenever things seem chaotic, whenever they are in confusion, whenever there is world disorder, God says, my pillars are very steady. My principles can be depended on. He goes on in verse 4, I'm going to say to the boastful, don't boast. I'm going to say to the wicked, don't lift up your horn. Don't lift up your horn on high or speak with insolent neck. God says, you know, there's a way that seems right to a man. Self-promotion, boasting, arrogance, criticism. That's the way this world thrives. That would be described as the way of the world. And yet, he says in verse 6, it is not from the east or from the west, not from the wilderness comes lifting up. He describes in this verse, well, it's not from the east or the west, not from some other location that someone can be lifted up, but it is in verse 7, God, who executes judgment, putting down one, talking about a ruler or leader, maybe even a wicked, boastful leader, which could apply to many people around the world. But I'm thinking more so of the United States. It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. For in the hand of the Lord, there is a cup with foaming wine well mixed. He will pour a drop from it, and all the wicked of the earth will drain it down. But he says in verse 9, in a more kind of positive tone, I will rejoice forever. I will sing praises to the God of Jacob, and all the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Now, the verses I'm focusing on, of course, are in verse 6. And in verse 7, that simply puts out, points out that God, you know, puts down one ruler, and he allows another to rise, or he lifts up another according to his purpose and according to his plan. I have two points that I want to make in this sermon today. The first one is simply that the gospel of the kingdom of God is clearly a gospel about the government of God. That's what we proclaim. That's what we are charged with a commission We want to understand righteous government. We want to understand how it is that God will rule, but how it is that it is very closely tied together with our existence as a part of the church and with our proclamation of what we say is the good news. You don't have too many good news items in our news almost on any given day. Most everything is bad news. Most every day you've got some kind of destruction. So that's the first thing I want to focus on. The second thing is simply that pride and arrogance will be brought low. And whenever you see that, you know, you can identify that usually pretty easily in others. Maybe we don't see it as clearly in ourselves, but we want to think about it. We want to think about how, you know, the pride and arrogance will, in a sense, bring us low. So first of all, as I mentioned, the gospel that Jesus preached was about the kingdom of God. We know that. Matthew 24, 14 is our in a direct commission to the church. The gospel of the kingdom. What kingdom? Well, a kingdom that God has prepared, and he is preparing and predicted thousands of years ago. A kingdom that we proclaim as a government from God. In Mark chapter one, we've used this verse many times in our seminars, but I'll just quickly read it here in Mark chapter one. It says, after John was arrested in verse 14, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the kingdom, or complaining the good news, the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near or is at hand, and what we should do is repent and believe in the good news. Believe in the good government, the good kingdom that is going to be brought to this earth. Of course, in Revelation 11, you see this maybe a little more graphically in Revelation 19, but in Revelation 11, in essence, when you read kind of a summary in Revelation 11, John gives a summary because it shows that, well, the kingdoms of this earth are going to be deposed, and a new king, a new government, a new system that will work is going to be set up. In verse 15 of Revelation 11, the seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and forever.

And it says in verse 15, the 24 elders are singing, we give thanks, O Lord, God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. Even though the nations raged, your wrath has come in the time for judging the dead and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and all who fear your name, small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth. That's a very clear description, in essence, kind of in a summary and not going through all the details of how the message that we proclaim is a message of the kingdom of God. It's a message of the government that God is going to bring and restore to the earth.

I want us to go back to the book of Daniel because 2,500 years ago, Daniel was written and or thereabouts, at least in that general area, but in the book of Daniel, you find Daniel writing some specific prophecies that there was no way for him to even understand them. And he was even told, even though when he asked, I want to know what this is about, he would later be told, this is not for you. This is not going to happen in your lifetime. At least a little bit of it started to happen during the very end of his life, but clearly the things that were for the time of the end, they weren't going to happen at all until the time of the end. And so here in Daniel chapter 2, I want us to go through a couple of sections here of Daniel chapter 2, because this is a this is the illustration of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Now Daniel, at this point, was a captive. He was enslaved in Babylon. He had been taken out of Judah as Judah, the capital Judah in Jerusalem, had been overthrown. They had been overthrown by Babylon. And the king, King Nebuchadnezzar, was the one who was involved in that overflow, and the one who was involved in carrying many of the vessels from the temple, some of the goblets, and all the other gold and silver, and different accoutrements that were there. They took them He took them to Babylon. But here in chapter 2, you see the king having a dream, and of course, it scared him. He was scared because he didn't know what it meant. He didn't understand it. And of course, he does as a gentile king. And again, we want to recognize that this King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was the king of a world ruling at the time empire. His reaches covered most people on earth. And so this was a big deal. He was an impressive person. He was an impressive leader because, as Jesus would describe the world outside of what God would want, he says they rule over people. They ruthlessly rule over people. That's what he told his disciples. He said, you're not to be that way. You're to learn a totally different way. But here in Daniel chapter 2, I want us to drop down because after no one could tell Nebuchadnezzar what the dream was about, and of course he was asking not only for the interpretation, but he was asking insanely for, well, you got to tell me to dream too, otherwise I'm going to kill all of you. But he had that authority. He had that opportunity, apparently. So in verse 17, Daniel went to his house. He informed his companions, and in Ia, Michelle, and Azariah, he told him to seek mercy.

Seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Vandalon wouldn't perish. And so, amazingly, you know, they would bring this to God. And in verse 19, it says, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.

Daniel, was Daniel proud about that? Was he self-confident about it? Was he overpowered with his own sense of vanity or arrogance? Well, we'll later see that, no, that wasn't the case at all. He knew that the only way he would understand what this dream was, and what its interpretation would be, that if God, that he prayed to, and that his friends prayed to, gave him the answer. So in verse 19, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven, and he said, Bless be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons. He deposes kings, and He sets up kings. See, this is what Daniel would come to understand from what this dream was about, and how it was that this was a really far-reaching dream, because it was going to deal with a king that was the ruler of the empire, that ruled the world at the time, and the successive world-ruling kingdoms that would follow Medo-Persia, and then Greece, and then Rome. That was going to cover the next thousand years of human history.

And yet you see Daniel recognizing and just thanking God that he's the one who deposes kings, and the one who sets up kings. He gives knowledge to the wise, and knowledge, or excuse me, wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what's in the darkness, and light dwells within. Now, this is an amazing revelation that Daniel has had from God, not only about this dream and about what's going to happen, but he has come to comprehend an understanding of the great Creator God that, you know, perhaps had been a little shaken whenever Judah went into captivity. You know, I think he realized from what he prayed later that, well, we're here because of our sins. We're here because we didn't honor God. And yet right here, I'm sure he's thankful to be reminded that the God of Abraham was the God who could reveal even impossible things like this. So if we drop down to verse 26, Daniel, of course, is brought in. And the king says to Daniel, are you able to tell me the dream that I have and the interpretation? And in verse 27, you see how Daniel wisely answered this world ruling monarch, this tremendously powerful and ruthless king. He says in verse 27, no wise man, no enchanter, no magician, no diviner could show the king the mystery that the king is asking. What you're asking is impossible. In a sense, he was almost saying, you're crazy. There isn't any way any of your folks could tell you what it is that this dream was and what it meant. But in verse 28, he proclaims to Nebuchadnezzar the ruling leader of Babylon, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. And so Daniel could give him the information only because God had given him understanding. And he said there is a God in heaven who's telling you not only something about yourself, but something about the end of the age. He's the one who looks down the next two or three days to him. If a thousand years it has a day to God, he's looking at the next two or three days. He can tell you what's going to happen, but it says there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and he's disclosed this to Nebuchadnezzar. You're dreaming the visions of your head as you lay in your bed are these. So to you, O King, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter. And the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what it is to be to me, or excuse me, what is it is to be. But in verse 30, he says, as for me, as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being. He said there's no way I could come up with any of this. I might want to and I might bring up some fairy tale, but if it doesn't match your dream, then that's not going to help. He says, as for me, this mystery is not revealed to me because of my own goodness, because of my own wisdom more than I have than any other. But in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and then you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

And so Daniel pointed out to him that the one who knows, the one who knows who should be in charge, the one who knows is going to be in charge next and next and next, the one who knows what's going to be needed at the end of days, is the one who's revealing me secret. So in verse, you see the humility that's revealed here, and I'm not going to read through the entirety of this for time. You can easily read this chapter. It's pretty clear. But what we see is that the dream involved this great image. And the image had a head of gold and a chest and arms of silver and middle and thighs of bronze and legs of iron and feet of iron and clay. Again, we're familiar with that description, and many times we've done graphics that are quite interesting to be able to think about. Well, what is it that is meant by these different things? And yet in verse 34, it says, with this image, as you looked, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and a stone struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them to pieces. And then the iron and clay and silver and bronze and gold were all broken in pieces and became like the shaft of the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of the stone could be found. But in verse 35, the stone that struck the statue became the great mountain that filled the whole earth. See, brethren, Daniel was talking to, in a sense, the leader of the world. He was talking to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He was revealing to him what it was that God had told him. And yet, what is it that he's pointing out? Well, he's pointing out that there are going to be a number of successions of human governments that are going to rise and fall, and that I will have some involvement in, but ultimately a kingdom and a government from God will overtake all of those. And of course, in verse 38, he says to King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold. And so he gave the image in somewhat of the description of what he had just explained. He gave that some structure. He said, you're the one who's the first one. You're right now a world-ruling king, and you are great, and Babylon is great. And Babylon was, as far as the city itself, was a tremendous fortress, and it was seemingly unable to be entered and unable to be overtaken or overthrown. Now, that's going to happen because God would predict it, but certainly it didn't seem like it to Nebuchadnezzar.

But I want to drop down to verse 44, because in a sense this brings us to today, because it brings us down, verse 42, to the toes of the feet, being part of iron and part of clay. The kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. That's a description that we would place on whatever type of a European union might rise with a connection to a Roman system that, you know, we are yet to see exactly how it occurs. But in verse 43, as you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another, and they will not hold together, just as iron doesn't mix with clay. But in the days of those kings, at the very end time, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Nor shall this kingdom be left to other people. It will crush all of men's kingdoms and bring them to an end. It will stand forever, just as you saw, that this stone was cut from the mountain, not by hands, and that it crushed the iron and bronze and clay and silver and gold. The great God has informed the king what's going to happen. This dream is certain. This interpretation can be trusted. See, that's what Daniel could very confidently tell Nebuchadnezzar. And yet, of course, in a sense, that is an outline of world history of the last 2500 years. The different world-ruling empires that would rise and fall under God's direction. The rise or the raising up of different revivals of the Roman Empire that would come down to the very end of one last revival, the one described as mixed with iron and clay.

See, now verse 44, verse 35, they describe the government of God. They describe what we celebrate at the Feast of Tabernacles every year. What we look forward to with Jesus' ruling on earth, what we read in Revelation 11, or excuse me, Isaiah 11, is where we have a very good description. Isaiah 11 describes how it is that a descendant of Jesse would become the ruler. And, of course, this is talking of Jesus Christ, and that the Spirit of God would be upon him. And he would judge with righteous judgment and with righteousness and faithfulness. He would govern the world, and ultimately the knowledge of God would cover the earth as the water covers the sea. Isaiah 11, 1 through 9, describes all of that. We could back up and perhaps look at Isaiah chapter 9. Isaiah chapter 9, again, and I'm simply pointing out how that our message, our message is a message about government, is a message of understanding righteous government, of pursuing righteous government, of yearning for the time when Christ would come and set up the kingdom of God. Here in Isaiah chapter 9, again talking about Jesus, Isaiah 9 verse 6, child has been born for us, his son has given to us, an authority, authority, rulership, government leadership will rest upon his shoulders. And of course, he is named wonderful and counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, his authority, his government, shall grow continually and there will be endless peace. For the throne of David and his kingdom, he will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore the zeal of the Lord of Host is going to achieve that. See, brethren, that's what we should identify with. We want to identify with not only the king of that kingdom, but with the government that he's going to righteously bring to this earth. And of course, that is the message that Jesus proclaimed. Now, as I mentioned, the second thing that I want us to keep in mind is that the descriptions we find and so much of this here in Daniel, of the rulership that is based on human information, whether it's knowledge, whether it's wisdom. Mr. Parks went over very clearly several different types of wisdom that are described in the Bible. I think we can identify where Nebuchadnezzar was coming from. Here in Daniel chapter four, the second point that again we want to understand here is that pride and arrogance is essentially the way that you see human government operate.

That pride and arrogance is going to be brought low. Now, you could clearly say it's going to be brought low by the coming of Jesus and the coming of the installation of the government of God. But see, all of us, as we yearn for that time, we are engaged by our subjection to that government today. See, that rule of God over our lives, each one of us have that as a personal identity. But I want to go back here to Daniel chapter four because in Daniel four, you see a record of Daniel continuing to work with Nebuchadnezzar. I believe Daniel was there in Nebuchadnezzar's court for, I'm not sure, the time frames. I know it was, I think, a number of decades. He was there. He was there until Nebuchadnezzar would be overthrown and Belteschazzar would become the leader, his son. And then later, he would be overthrown and Babylon would be given in crisis to the Medo-Persian Empire. You read about that in Daniel chapter five.

But here in chapter four, you find another dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. And of course, this was a different dream. It had different image. It was an image or a dream about a tree upon my bed in verse 10. This is what I saw, a tree at the center of the earth. Its height was great. Again, I'm not going to go through all the description of the dream and all the detail of it. Except what it says in verse 14 is that eventually, he says in verse 13, I continued looking and there was a holy watcher coming down from heaven and he cried out, said, cut down that tree, chop off its branches and strip it of its foliage and scatter its fruit and let the animals flee from beneath it and the birds from its branches, but leave it stump. Leave its stump and roots in the ground with a band of iron and bronze and the tender grass of the field. See, now this dream was about a tree and about a tree that was going to be chopped down and it was going to be then banded and maintained and would eventually get a sprout again. But whenever, you know, well, I should go on in verse 16. It says, let his mind be changed from that of a human. Let the mind of an animal be given to him and let seven times or seven years pass over him. The sentence is rendered by decree of the watchers and the decision is made or given by order of the holy ones in order in verse 17 that all who live may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. He gives it to whom he will and he sets over at the lowliest of human beings. Brethren, that's a description of what God's power was going to be bringing about in the life of this world ruling king Nebuchadnezzar. That's a description of how God does rule in the kingdoms of men. And what this dream had as far as a message was that, you know, so that everyone would come to know how God is involved. Now he's the one who is able to cause kings to be deposed or cause them to rise. Kings or presidents, rulers, especially on the, in a sense, world ruling stage. Babylon was, the Medo-Persian Empire was, Greece was, Alexander the Great was, even though his life was a relatively short one, the Roman Empire 500 years of Roman rule over an empire that God allowed to rise. But in the order that everyone will know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and he gives it to whomever he will, he sets over it the lowliest of human beings. So even though people look up to presidents and kings and rulers and prime ministers and certainly they want the respect and following their people, you can't always say, and certainly when you look at different rulers around the world, you can't say that, you know, many of them fit righteous characteristics. Many of them fit in rather base descriptions and clearly, you know, God has the ability to bring this to pass.

So in verse 19, when the dream, this is verse 18, the dream that I King Nebuchadnezzar saw, now you, O Belteshazzar, talking to Daniel, tell me what it means. Since all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to tell me, you're able because you're endowed with the spirit of the holy gods.

See, Nebuchadnezzar had realized, and perhaps he had to have it brought to his attention, I think he did, he had to have this mention to him, or perhaps he would be reminded of what Daniel had said before. But in verse 19, unlike the first vision and the one that was pretty positive, and at least somewhat pleasing to Nebuchadnezzar, who elevated Daniel tremendously, he said, boy, if I tell you what this means, this is going to be trouble. Daniel was severely distressed for a while. His thoughts terrified him. He wondered if when I say this, am I just going to kill my own life? Am I going to have my life taken from me? Because what I have to say is not very flattering to Nebuchadnezzar. So in verse 22, he eventually says, it is you. Okay, talking about the tree represents you. Okay, you have grown great and strong, your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, sovereignty to the ends of the earth. So again, you've been allowed to become a world dominant leader. Whereas the king in verse 23 saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven and saying, cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave it stump and roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze and the grass of the field, let him be bathed with the dew of heaven. Let him have a lot like the animals in the field for seven times. Verse 24, this is the interpretation, O king, it's a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king. You shall be driven from human society. Your dwelling shall be among the wild animals. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen. You will be bathed with the dew of heaven and seven times will pass over you until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdoms of men and gives it to whomever he will. See, this was a lesson, as I mentioned earlier, I'm very sure God knows what's going on right now. I'm very sure he knows what he wants to happen here in this country and around the world because he very clearly knew. Dealing with Nebuchadnezzar and part of what he was conveying in this activity but then also in this recording for us is for us to be mindful, mindful of our commitment and devotion to the only kingdom that will last. The only one that has hope, the only one that will bring about peace and prosperity. And of course you can read through the rest, verse 28, on down to the end of the chapter. You read about this happening to Nebuchadnezzar.

This is really almost sad because after about a year, it says in verse 29, at the end of 12 months, Nebuchadnezzar is walking on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon and the king said, Isn't this magnificent Babylon which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty? It doesn't appear very humble to me. You know, it appears that he was so vain and arrogant, so filled with pride, and so consumed with his office and the power that that office could wield. It says in verse 31, While the words were in the king's mouth, the voice came from heaven and said, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared the kingdom has departed from you.

You shall be driven away from human society and your dwelling will be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox. Seven times will pass over you until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdoms of men and he gives it to whomever he will. Again, he repeats this numerous times in this book, this glorious book, that God inspired Daniel to write down these visions and dreams and visions and dreams and interpretations for us to be reminded that the kingdom that we are pursuing and a government that we love is one that is going to put to shame the kingdoms that God allows to rise or fall in this world.

And so, in a sense, you know, this tremendous punishment was going to come upon Nebuchadnezzar and after the period of time that he was, in a sense, out of office, it appears that his underlings continued to maintain stuff. It doesn't say too much about that. Historically, I don't know if there's a lot of information at all, but it says in verse 34, when that period ended, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven and he said, my reason returned to me.

See, it would appear to me, you know, what God allowed to happen to Nebuchadnezzar was that he simply removed the spirit in man. He just became like an animal. And, you know, that may or may not be right, but that appears to be one way of understanding this. And he even said, I bless the most high in praise and honor the one who lives forever. His sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty. His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing.

He does what he wills with the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. And there is no one who can stay his hand or say to him, what are you doing? Well, at least right then, sounds like he had learned a little bit.

It took seven years. But nonetheless, Nebuchadnezzar came to this. At that time, in verse 36, my reason returned to me. His rulership, majesty, splendor, was restored to me for the glory of the kingdom.

My counselors and Lord sought me out. In verse 36, I was reestablished over my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. And I, verse 37, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the God or King of heaven. For all his works are truth, and his ways are justice, and he is able to bring low those who walk in pride. See, again, you know, whenever you watch political conventions, you know, it's remarkably soaked in pride. Pride and arrogance and personal opinion. And as we described earlier, that's what we see going on in this world today.

If we drop down, well, I won't even go through chapter 5. You can read through that if you'd like. Chapter 5 is about Belteshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son. And, of course, he's the one who saw the handwriting on the wall. He's the one that needed to bring Daniel back in, find out what does this mean. And, of course, what it meant, maybe we can just read the conclusion what it meant in verse 30 of chapter 5. In that very night, Belteshazzar the Chaldean king was killed, and Darius the mead received the kingdom, being about 62 years old.

So that was the conclusion to the head of gold of the statue that Daniel had interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar earlier. So we won't go through that. So we won't go through that. I think we should perhaps get to what is it that is members of the Church of God today? What do we learn from this? Well, the two points that I've made are simply that God does rule in the kingdoms of men.

He rules over who is allowed to rise up and who is allowed to be deposed. He's got that under control. I don't think he needs my help.

But we also see, as we read about this incredible activity with Nebuchadnezzar, you know, those who walk in pride will be brought low. And Nebuchadnezzar was the primary example of that. Being a world ruling king, he could easily be brought down. And even when he was restored, I don't think you find that he was, you know, truly coming to fully understand God, even at that time, although he clearly understood more about what God was able to do, the God that Daniel worshiped, what God wanted, perhaps, of him.

What does God want us to see in this? Well, we clearly see when Jesus was brought before Pilate. Let's go to John chapter 18. John chapter 18. Jesus, at the end of his earthly life, had achieved what his mission was the first time he came to the earth.

He had lived a sinless life. He had performed miracles. He had proclaimed and announced the kingdom, the government that's going to take over the whole world.

And when he was brought before Pilate, he was asked in verse 33, are you the king of the Jews?

He answered that in verse 36. He says, my kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, then my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from here. I think he made it very clear. And of course, Pilate concluded he knew, verse 37, so you are a king. Yes, Jesus was a king. He will be a world-ruling king, the king of kings and lord of lords whenever he returns. And see, brethren, that's what we want to keep in mind whenever we think about the devotion and the loyalty and the commitment that each of us made as we were drawn into a relationship with Jesus Christ and allowed to be a part of the Church of God, and made a commitment to deny ourselves. Here in Luke chapter 9, I see several, couple of different statements in Luke 9 that are about our commitment to God.

But I want to read chapter 9, Luke 9 verse 21.

Jesus ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, the Son of Man is going to undergo great suffering. He's going to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes. He's going to be killed on the third day. He's going to be raised. And now this was something that Jesus tried to tell his disciples, in a sense, over and over again. This is just one of the places where he said, this is what's going to happen. I'm here as the Lamb of God. I'm here. I'm going to sacrifice my blood, but I'm going to suffer and yet I'm going to be raised from the dead. In verse 23, he said to all of them, if any of you want to become my followers, then let them deny themselves and take up their own cross, their cross daily, and follow me. See, there are numerous other descriptions of the type of commitment and devotion that we are to have as we enter into a relationship, a covenant relationship with God. We are to follow Jesus Christ. We are to bear whatever burdens we are asked to bear. We are to deny ourselves. It involves a surrender of our lives to the King of the kingdom and government of God. And we're praying. We're praying for the solution. We're praying for Jesus to return. Of course, Peter, we jump over to Matthew 19. You see that in a similar kind of discussion, actually, this is when Jesus was talking to the rich young ruler.

He told him he needed to, if he wanted to have eternal life, he needed to keep the commandments of God. But in verse 27 of Matthew 19, Peter said, look, and we've left everything, we follow you. What are we going to have? See, now Peter hadn't finished the race yet. He'd have hardly even begun the race. He wasn't even involved in the race. He didn't even know what the race was yet. But he said, well, I mean, we've been following you for the last three years. We've been involved in learning, however well they were learning.

But Jesus said, well, truly, I tell you, the renewal of all things. When the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you will, who have followed me, will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses and brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers and children and fields for my sake shall receive a hundredfold, and we will inherit eternal life. See, this is what Peter wanted to know, and more so, perhaps, it's what we want to know. If we devote ourselves to Jesus Christ and the becoming Kingdom of God, which we're clearly told to seek that Kingdom, to seek that government, to understand the difference in the rulership of Jesus, which is, as we said, in justice, in righteousness, and in faithfulness, in peace, as opposed to the rulership of pride and arrogance and domination. You know, that's what people look to. If we truly understand that we are in submission and in surrender to Jesus Christ, then our yearning for the real kingdom and our true citizenship is in that kingdom, and not in trying to rescue the kingdoms of this world that are doomed.

We don't have any way to do that, but sometimes we can get off course and confused, and in some ways, you know, we may not understand exactly how much influence this world has on us. But the people of God are called to be a royal priesthood. We're called to be a holy nation.

Our mission is to proclaim the work that God has called us to proclaim. That's in Peter. But I want to conclude here in the book of Philippians, because in Philippians, you see, in Paul directly stating to the church, you see how it is that he had nurtured many of these people. He had been originally sent to the church, the city of Philippi, that would later, in a sense, house the members of the church who would make up the Philippian church. You read throughout this book. It's a very positive book. It's a very, you know, it seems that the Philippian people were a very loving, a very generous, a very, what you would seem to say, is a sound and mature congregation. And yet here in Philippians 3, he says even in verse 15, let those of us who are mature be of the same mind. So that is a part of what we focus on, understanding what the Bible reveals about God and his rulership over the kingdoms of men, what it says about his desire for us to seek humility and the faithfulness that comes from God instead of the arrogance of this world. It says in verse 17, well, let's go ahead in verse 15, let those of us who are mature be of the same mind. If we think differently than that, then this too, God can reveal to you and we let us hold fast to what we have attained. Brethren, in verse 17, join in imitating me and observe those who live according to the example you have in us, for many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. And I've often told you of them, and now I tell you, even with tears, they're in this destruction and their God is in their belly. Their glory is in their own shame and their minds are set on earthly things. Paul warns them what to get away from, what to recognize, what to see. This is not godliness, but he says in verse 20, our citizenship is in heaven. Our devotion, our loyalty, our commitment to the kingdom and government of God, right now, that's yet to be brought from heaven to this earth, and it will come when Jesus returns. But he says our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there. And we are expecting his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So we've been commissioned to proclaim the government of God, the kingdom, a rulership that's going to come and overthrow the kingdoms of men. So we want to not only thoroughly understand our devotion and commitment to that, but we want to actively be engaged in doing anything we can to promote the completion of the work that God wants us to do in this age, and that he would usher in this righteous kingdom that we see so aptly described many, many times in the book of Isaiah, numerous other times in others of the prophets. But that's exactly how it is that God is going to bring about the solution. We can appreciate that, we can enjoy that, but we don't want to be sidetracked by the misinformation that is so predominant and so available in this world. So I hope this reminds all of us simply that God rules in the kingdoms of men.