Amen so
Daniel chapter 4 of course is a very
Famous passage of scripture probably most people in the room are familiar with it
If you're not, you know, it doesn't take very long until you're preaching on it
And it's just a very, you know, one of my more favorite stories that I read, you know
Whenever you read that part about Nebuchadnezzar, you know being put out in the field and you get that visual of you know
His ego his hair growing as eagle feathers and his nails becoming like eagle claws and him
You know eating grass his oxen
I mean what a sight to see a man of such, you know power and dignity and majesty brought so low
And humbled in such a way
but what he had with the problem with Nebuchadnezzar and what he had was he had a
Dismissive attitude. I mean he received a very clear warning from the man of God and from God directly
I mean he was given a vision, you know
God doesn't do that to just everybody and God gives him this very powerful vision that troubles him so much
That he has to bring in all these men to try and interpret it when he finally has interpreted, you know, it's it's a strong
Warning like hey, this is you're headed for trouble, you know
nothing good is going to come of the direction that you're headed and of course he develops a
Dismissive attitude and that's what I want to preach to you about this morning is the danger of a dismissive
Attitude the danger of having a dismissive attitude and what do I mean by a dismissive attitude?
Well, if you think about at the end of the service I often say thank you for coming everybody
We are dismissed right and what am I saying and saying? Well, it's over, you know, you can disregard the service now
It's it's done. It's finished and sometimes we as human beings we can develop a dismissive attitude towards things by just saying, you know
Well, I'm not gonna pay attention to that. It's over. That's not gonna it no longer has any you know power with me
It's never it's not going to be something that I regard. Okay, it's you disregard it
You're dismissive
and this is the example that we see of Nebuchadnezzar and
He starts out now
I believe that Nebuchadnezzar is a saved man and I believe that this passage we see him
Become a believer that he actually become that will meet Nebuchadnezzar in heaven. In fact, he'd probably be an interesting guy to talk to you
So but the example of Nebuchadnezzar, he's a lost man who is dismissive of the warning that he received, you know
So we could apply this attitude to people out there who are unsaved
You know the unsaved ought to be careful about how dismissive they are with the gospel and
Because there's going to come a point
we know where you hear it and you hear it and you hear it and you hear it and if you continue to
Disregard it and you decide not to retain God in your knowledge and just dismiss it out of hand over and over again
There just might come a time when God decides to dismiss them as well
Well, you know that's not the case with Nebuchadnezzar
Of course, we understand that he got saved and we read about the process of him getting saved in this chapter
Now if you read you say well, I'm not so sure about him being saved
Well, look at verses 1 through 3, okay
And and tell me these aren't the words of a saved man Nebuchadnezzar the king unto all people nations and languages
That dwell in all the earth peace be multiplied unto you
So first of all, you know
He's trying to get this message out to everybody and it kind of reminds me of the charge that we have as New Testament
believers to preach the gospel to every creature
And that that is something that he wants to accomplish as well
He says in verse 2 I thought it good to show the signs the wonders that the high the high God
Okay hath wrought toward me. How are his how great are his signs? How many are his wonders?
Okay, so he's saying who was it that showed these signs and wonders to him. It was the high God now notice
You know verse 37 as well. He says now, okay
So he's at the end of the story saying now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, right?
He's single. It's singular. He's saying the high God the king of heaven all whose works are truth and his ways judgment
So you're starting out with the introduction him, you know telling what he's about
You know going into and he's giving his introduction and he's extolling the high God
Right and now it towards the end. He's also extolling the high God of heaven
Compare that with verse 9 where he's in the story where he's looking back at this time and telling the story and he says in verse
9 Oh belt the Shazz are master of the magicians because I know that the spirit of the holy gods
plural is
In thee and no secret troubleth thee tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen the interpretation thereof
So he's looking back at this time in his life in chapter 4 and he and when we look back
There's a time when he's just saying oh, he's just one of the holy gods
But on the ends after the story has run its course, you know, he's saying the high God
So I believe that's evidence in the language of the chapter itself that points to the fact that Nebuchadnezzar is saved now
You don't have to agree with me on that. You know, you could say well, I kind of doubt it
You know that and it's one of the you know, the the minor points of Scripture, you know, it's not essential, you know
But that's my opinion. I believe he was a saved man
So in Daniel, he interprets the dream
Here in verses 20 through 26 and the king is given a clear warning right of the direction
That he is headed and the punishment that is going to be doled out to I mean
It's just spelled out plain as the nose on his face that hey, you know
God's gonna deal with you and it's not gonna be pretty and he's being given a very stern warning, right?
What's that warning again? We kind of talked about already. He says they shall drive the first 25
they shall drive thee for men and I dwelling shall be with the beast of the field and they shall make thee to eat grass as
Oxen and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven and seven times meaning seven years shall pass over thee
So that won't know that thou most I God rule if in the kingdom of men and give it to whomsoever he will man
I wouldn't want that for seven minutes and he got it for seven years out there and people seeing and what if what if you know?
What a reproach
I mean imagine the kids seeing that all the all the laughing and scorn that must have gone on while this is taking place
But despite this warning, you know very specific very clear warning
Nebuchadnezzar continues in his pride and is punished in the exact same manner that was foretold
He hears the warning and he just continues right on in his pride and it says in verse 28 and all this came upon the
King Nebuchadnezzar now it's talking about
You know everything that just happened the the dream the prophecy the interpretation all of this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar
Verse 29 at the end of 12 months. He walked in the palace of the ballad of the kingdom of Babylon
So maybe at the first, you know, he might have said whoa, I should take heed
We don't really know but after the process of time 12 months a year later is when things finally start to play out
You know, maybe he wasn't dismissive right away, but we know that you know time has a way of dulling our hearing
You know, we start to you know, we say we hear a warning. We know we're warned
Don't do this again. If you mess up, that's it
You know, you're gonna be punished in some way shape or form and for a little while, you know, we're on eggshells
We're being real careful about how we do things because we don't want the hammer to come down on us
but after time people get lax and people start to let things go and they kind of slip back into their old ways and they
Become dismissive of the warning that they have they get a dismissive attitude and that is a very dangerous thing to do
Because then the punishment does come
But of course we know the story here and fortunately he learns his lesson the hard way and he is restored
You know goddess merciful unto him doesn't just leave him out in the out there and to eat grass for the rest of his life
Like some kind of an animal gives him back his mind and he and he humbles himself and it comes back versus 34
And onwards where he receives his kingdom
But here's the thing about this. You have to read the story and wonder could he have avoided those seven years?
I mean, that's seven years wasted in my opinion. I mean, what could he have done in his kingdom with seven years?
It probably could have accomplished a lot
I mean if I were to come to any one of you and say hey
We're just gonna take seven years of your life away, you know, that would probably upset you
You know and you got to wonder what would happen if you just given heed to the warning, you know
he would have been able to hang on to those seven years and done something and never had to suffer this punishment and
that's that what this is showing us is just how quickly people become complacent and
Careless and
Dismissive over time. It's at the end of 12 months, you know, he reminds me of you know
The proverbial know-it-all teenager right the one that just got it all figured out, you know
They'll listen to mom the listen to dad as they're coming up, but they hit a certain age and all of a sudden
It's like hey, I got this. I got it all figured out. I don't need any more help
I don't need any more any advice and they start to become dismissive
I'm not saying all of them do but I'm saying this is a prevalence e among young people
They get to a certain age where they start getting treated like an adult the world starts to call them adult
You know, even though they might not be doing everything an adult does but they develop a very know-it-all attitude
And what do they do? They become dismissive of their elders. They stop listening to mom and dad
They stop listening to the preaching they stop listening to the Word of God and they become dismissive
But here's the thing, you know
You have to understand when you develop this attitude the danger of having an attitude like that whether it's as a teenager
as a full-grown adult whether it's that's a as a child or an employee or you know
Just a Christian who's serving God
when you develop this attitude of just becoming
Dismissive and just doing your own thing and not giving heed to the Word of God not listening the preacher not listening to the parents
not listening to the Bible and the counsel of the Lord and just
Dismissing everything and thinking you've got it all figured out that nothing's going to happen
And excuse me that does not excuse you from the fact that everyone reaps what they've sown
There's no escaping from that law in life
you know the the law of reaping and sowing is just a fact of life and that can work for you or that can work against
You and the danger is when we can develop a dismissive attitude is that we start we start sowing to the flesh
we start to say I know the Bible says that but
So what I'll be alright
What's the worst that could happen?
Well, do you really want to roll those dice and find out because I don't
Because we've seen other people in our lives if we've been paying attention where they have taken that chance and often it hasn't turned out
Well for them because they reap what they've sown
Bible says in Galatians 6 be not deceived. God is not mocked for whatsoever a man
Soweth that shall he also reap for he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption
He didn't say maybe he didn't say you might he didn't say hey if you sow to the flesh
You know God might just let you go ahead and reap that harvest
He said you shall reap of the flesh you shall reap corruption
But he that soweth the Spirit shall reap of the Spirit
Shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting
So that's a prompt that's a warning and a promise in the Word of God
That you know if you don't develop a dismissive attitude if you give heed unto the things that you're instructed
By your parents by the Word of God on the job
You know by whoever it is that has something to share, you know to have some kind of authority in your life
You know if you give heed to those things
The promise is that you can reap
You know righteousness holiness. You know not gonna have a bad harvest and
This that you know, that's kind of a whole nother message in and of itself this idea of reaping what you've sown
Hey, we go out people that have sown bad seeds in the past that harvest comes due and there's no escaping it
You know as the saying goes you can't you can't soul your wild oats and then hope for a crop failure. It's gonna come do
So what you can do in the process even while you are reaping a bad harvest is start to sow good harvest a good seed
I heard a preacher put it this way once and I always think about it
He talks about he's from the south and he there I guess they're really big about grass over there
which is this green stuff that grows anyway, but
But they have different, you know, some people really get in their lawns and they different have had different types of grass
You know, I really I like the st. Augustine, you know, it's the one I picked out if I ever want to have a grass
But he was talking about I guess over there the joys of grass. I don't know if he's you know, I didn't look that up
Maybe he's pulling my leg or something
But he's saying look some people had the crabgrass some people had you know
The Kentucky bluegrass but the grass that everyone really wanted was the joys of grass
that was the really popular stuff and
The way you would grow this grass is you wouldn't just tear up all the old grass and put the new grass in
This grass would this joys of grass could just grow outgrow everything else
It would just kill everything else over time and it would just it would eventually just have a whole grass yard full of that grass
So what do you what he's saying you do is you just go out and you put a little bit here and you put a plot
of joys you here and a plot of joys you here and a plot of joys you here and then you just sit back and wait
Water it and over time that joys
It just takes over and pushes everything else out of the way and that's a great analogy for life when it comes to this idea
Of reaping and sewing and reaping and sewing sewing and reaping, you know
We might have some crabgrass in our life and there's really nothing we can do about it. It's there. We got to look at it
We got to mow it. We got to deal with it. It's the bad seed that we've sown in our past
but in the meantime
We can start putting down little plots of joys in our life and we can wait and let that other harvest
You know run its course and then in time
You know, we'll have a nice yard
We'll have the nut level on that we want and that's a good way to approach life if we've got a bad harvest coming do
You know people often follow this trap. They just throw up their hands and they just say what's the point?
I've already made so many mistakes. I've already you know, messed everything up so badly. I might as well just just go right on doing that
But that's not going to make things easier. I mean, do we really think that's gonna make life easier?
Just keep sowing bad seed
course not
And we should learn from that not make those mistakes again and start to sow some good seed in our lives because nobody is
Excused from this law of reaping and sewing and that's why having a dismissive attitude is so dangerous
Especially we're when we are those that have and I talked about this a little bit in
Deuteronomy the other night when we are those that have knowledge of right and wrong when we are the one those that have been you know
Come up in a godly home or a part of a Baptist Church that preaches the Word of God
You know where we've read the Bible we understand things
What that does is it makes us accountable and if you would we looked at it the other day
Actually, you know what just go over to go over to Daniel 5 and just stick keep over there
I'll get through this point quickly. We've touched on this the other night, but
Accountability when you when you understand and know right from wrong when you know what the Bible says when you've been taught and instructed
You know that just makes you all the more accountable and all the more
subject to this law of reaping and sowing
because you know better and we looked at it the other night in Luke chapter 12 where Jesus said the servant which knew his
Lord's will and prepared not himself
Neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes
But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes
So he got the servant who knew everything he was supposed to do and did it not he says he'll be beaten with many stripes
They're both getting beaten, but the guy who was ignorant who didn't even know what he was supposed to do
No one told him no one came to him and said hey, did you this is your Lord's will and he did it
Not he'll be beaten with few stripes
It's the knowledge the understanding of what we're knowing right from wrong and what we're supposed to do
when we do it not that makes us more accountable and
More sub and subject to a more severe punishment. I
Mean that's kind of what we saw in Nebuchadnezzar, right?
God comes gives them this vision a man of God comes and says this is the vision
This is exactly what's going to happen if you continue on and you know, I'm kind of getting my head myself
But you could see in that passage if you notice Daniel is kind of imploring him
Hey, you know break off thy sins by righteousness if it be a you know, a continuing of thy tranquility
You know, he's kind of warning the king saying hey, I don't want this for you
Right, but the king, you know, he's got this vision. He's got the interpretation. What is he he's accountable
He knew his Lord's will he knew what was gonna happen
He knew what he was going to reap if he went and sowed that seed and he sowed it anyways
And that's a pretty severe punishment if you ask me, I mean he's out there eating grass
Like the ox, you know and basically
loses his mind
And I believe that God even to this day
strikes people with madness
Maybe not to that degree and people and you know, this is especially true of people who reject the gospel over and over again
You know today is the day of salvation for a lot of people we go knock on some people's doors
And we say hey, this is your chance, you know, and they'll say I'll do it later
I know what it says, but not today. I'm not interested
I understand exactly what you're telling me that
Salvation is by grace through faith that I'm a sinner that I need a Savior and I understand that they get it
They know what it means to be saved and they say no, I'll do it later. Look. They don't know if later is gonna come
God just might say well, you know what next time someone comes to your door knocks on it. You won't understand it
You won't get it
Because no man come into the Father except
Except no man cometh unto the Father except he be drawn
I'm butchering it right except he draw him right you have to be drawn of the Spirit the Spirit gives
Understanding the Spirit of God comes upon people when they hear the preaching of the Holy of the Word of the Word of God
The Holy Ghost comes and ministers to their heart
You know someone might come next time and bring the same exact message
Well, there's no Holy Spirit to minister to bring those words home and make it known
You know, so accountability, you know makes you all the more or
Or knowing the right from wrong. Excuse me makes you all the more accountable and being accountable compounds the consequences of disobedience
If you're there in Daniel 5, I think Nebuchadnezzar son is a great case in point
Did Nebuchadnezzar son is somebody who?
Should have known better
Right and we see a similar thing happen to him where God does some frightens him with some
Vision or some like much like his father, you know, and he sees the handwriting come in the wall
You know
they
went out and they took the vessels of the Lord out of out of storage and
They felt they were drinking and getting drunk and praising the gods of silver and of stone. They're taking God's vessels and
Worshipping false gods with them and getting drunk with them
and then if you know the story he sees the writing that a man a man's hand right on the wall and
It says, you know Miki Mini Mini Tiku you farsen and he doesn't understand
What's being written but the Bible says even if you read the story that his knees?
They they they quaked his knees were slapping together. You ever been that afraid
No one wants to raise their hand. Maybe no one has been that afraid
I've been that afraid
They didn't knock but man my legs were shaking
My dad's like hey once you climb up that tree take this gas can this is my dad
Take this gas can and go up that tree and pour it on that termites nest out on that limb
So he's got me out there on this limb like and it's probably only like 20 feet up only 20
What's the worst that could happen when you're holding on to a five gallon can of gas and I'm out there just trying
You know, you probably can't see my knees, but my legs are just shaking. He just starts laughing
I love it when you're letting shake like that. That's funny. I mean, that's how scared this guy was Nebuchadnezzar son
He was so scared that his knees were just clacking
And he says here in Daniel verse 5
Channel chapter 5 verse 17. Excuse me, then Daniel answered and said before the king let thy gifts to be thyself
Remember he had said to him. Hey, if you tell me what this writing is, you know
I'm gonna put a gold chain upon your neck. You'll be third in the kingdom
And Daniel says you know what?
You go ahead and just keep your gifts and I reward to another yet
I will read the writing under the king and make known unto him the interpretation. O thou King the Most High God
Gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor and for majesty that he gave him
For the majesty that he gave him all people nations and languages trembled and feared before him whom he slew
He and whom he would he slew and whom he kept he would he kept alive and whom he would he set up and whom
He would he put down but when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened in pride
He was disposed from his kingly throne and they took him from his glory his glory from him
You know, it's no incident. It's no coincidence that that Daniel's reminding him of all this
He's saying I'll read the writing but let me just let's just review real quick. Let's talk about your dad for a minute. I
Want to remind you something that's what he's doing here
and he says in verse 21 and he was driven from the sons of men and his heart was made like the beasts and
His dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven
Yeah. Yeah, I know Daniel. What's the writing say? I
Brought you in here. Tell me the right way. Tell me about my dad
Well, there's a reason till he knew that the Most High of God ruled in the kingdom of men and he appointed him over him
Whomsoever he would and thou his son O Belshazzar has not humbled thine heart though thou
newest all this
He's saying everything I just told you you knew
You know what happened to your dad you were there
You know, he was probably alive when dad was out
eating grass like an ox
Like a madman what happened to dad? Oh, he disobeyed God. He got proud. He disobeyed the God of heaven. Oh
He knew all this and what was he he was accountable
But that was lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven
You see the difference here between Belshazzar
Nebuchadnezzar son and Nebuchadnezzar is that Belshazzar wasn't given a second chance was he?
He just drops the hammer on him. You don't see Daniel and pouring with him. He just says you knew all this
Keep your prize. Keep your promotion. You're done
Because you knew all this you're accountable man
He
Knew everything and he wasn't in a second chance because or even a direct warning really
Like his father. I mean Nebuchadnezzar was warned. I believe Nebuchadnezzar could have avoided that
But he got dismissive. He got a dismissive attitude and so to Belshazzar
He got real dismissive a dismissive attitude about everything that happened to his dad
And you know what? I bet if we were you know, this is all conjecture
But I bet if we could go back and see everything that played out
I bet those years that you know, Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar was out there eating like a you know
Just going mad and losing his mind and going through all that that his son might even been afraid said boy
I don't want to mess up like that. I sure don't want to make that mistake
He might even said that
But this is what time does to us time passes on dad dies goes off the scene. Now. I'm King
What was that about? Oh, yeah. Well, you know, maybe that was something else
With dad that whole ox thing and you know Eagles like hair like Eagles feathers. Maybe that was something else
Maybe that would you know, maybe he just had you know, some bad pizza before bed or something
You know, he just made up some excuse. What's he doing? He's getting dismissive. That's what time does to us
We get dismissive about the things that we know better about
And he wasn't given a second chance. He wasn't given a direct warning like Nebuchadnezzar was
Because the example of his father was his warning
That was his warning. This is what happens to people that get a dismissive attitude Belshazzar
That's your warning. You had a perfect example of what happens and what did he do? He disregarded it?
If you would turn over to Proverbs chapter 26 Proverbs chapter 26
and when you get to Proverbs keep something there, we're gonna come back once or twice this sermon, but
You know belt a shot Belshazzar had no excuse
You know, he saw everything that happened to his dad
God doesn't give him a dream
God doesn't send a man of God to warn him about what's got what potentially could happen to him
He just goes about his merry way and next thing, you know, there's a handwriting on the wall and then within it within a day
He's dead
If you read the rest of the story he dies
immediately after that practically
And here's the thing
You know these type of things happen, you know when these type of things go wrong in people's lives when people's lives take a sudden
You know sharp turn for the worse
It's not a coincidence and it's not an accident
Now I'm saying of course there are accidents
I'm not saying every time something bad happens in somebody's life. They get in a car wreck or they get sick or something
That oh, I guess you didn't read the writing on the wall or you know
I'm not saying that but I'm saying when we can you know when a person could step back and see God's hand just judging them
You know, it's not because God's just up there toying with you. There's a reason why God's chasing people look there in Proverbs chapter 26 verse 2
As the bird by wandering as the swallow fly by flying so the curse causeless shall not come
You know, the curse doesn't come to you like a bird
Doesn't just become you know, a bird just wanders about wherever it will and wherever it lands it lands
It's not just want you know, the curse doesn't just wander into your life
The judgment doesn't just fly by you one day and now it's something you have to deal with it comes with for a cause
There's a reason why people get judged
There's a reason why Belshazzar his his days were numbered. It was it was over for him
Because he knew better because he was accountable and it's the same with us
The more we learn the more we know the more accountable we become and if we be grow
Dismissive and get this attitude of I know better
It doesn't really matter. What's the worst that could happen the curse causeless shall not come but mark went down it will come
It's gonna come for a reason go over to Proverbs chapter 29
I
Actually go over 2nd Peter chapter 3 Proverbs 29 is probably something I've quoted so often from this pulpit that everyone in here has got
It memorized he that being often reproved
Hardened at this neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy
Someone keeps telling you. Hey knock it off. You're gonna
Something bad is gonna happen. Don't do this. Don't do that. Don't do this. Don't do that
I'm gonna correct you. I'm gonna correct your warning warning warning warning. Okay, that's it
Now you're destroyed suddenly
But it's not without a cause and it's not that you haven't been warned. The problem is that people grow dismissive
Whether it's about salvation whether it's about the what some sin in their life their attitude, whatever it is
And what we don't want to do how does this happen if you'll say that how does that even begin to happen to somebody
How does somebody fall into just becoming so dismissive of God that they just seem to know better than everybody?
Just brush everything off and not see where they're headed. I
Think a lot of the reason is if you're there in second Peter second Peter chapter 3 is
A lot of people take the long-suffering of God as a license to sin
They say Oh God's merciful. He'll forgive me. I'll just do this and I'll just ask God to forgive me later
That's not gonna fly
He may or may not give you mercy. He may or may not I
Don't want to take that chance I think a lot of people get a dismissive attitude towards the warnings of the Word of God
Because of the fact they think that God's long-suffering that I can just get away with ever. I want I'll get saved later
I know God loves me. I'll just go live my life and do what I want to do and and and and I'll get saved later
Look at second Peter chapter 3 verse 1 this second epistle beloved
I now write unto you in
both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance that be be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the
Holy prophets and of the commandments of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior
Knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers
Walking after their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation for this they are willingly
Ignorant of that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water
Whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished
But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
People just think Oh God's long-suffering
God hasn't done anything. I've been getting away with this for so long
What's he gonna do about it? It seems like God's not gonna do anything
You know and God's like, you know
I heard a good analogy about this is that it's kind of like the difference between an on-off switch and a dimmer switch
Some people think God has a dimmer switch
That God just slowly gets angry
That God just slowly loses patience with people and you can kind of see it coming
I don't know that I necessarily would would interpret it that way
I think God's more like an on-off switch. I think the lights are on you could see everything that's going on
You know exactly where you're at and thinking what and you don't have to you don't see it getting darker. Everything's bright
God's giving you plenty of opportunity
To look around and take it all in and figure things out. And if you don't one day the lights just go out
And all of a sudden that long-suffering ends and now it's time for judgment
Now it's time for God to have to do some some, you know, take care of business with his children
And
Look at what Peter's imploring these people to do here
He's saying be mindful of the words of the holy prophets of old and of the commandments of the Apostles
he's saying pay attention and be mindful of the word and of the commandments and
Don't let these scoffers in the last time convince you that God just doesn't care
That God doesn't see that God's not really paying attention
That's what the world wants you to think
What are you following all those rules for why are you going to that church? Why are you why are you dressing that way?
Why aren't you coming out with us? Why aren't you running the same excess of riot as you used to run with us?
Why aren't you why have you changed? Why are you different you actually believe that look man? We're getting away with it. Everything's fine
We've been doing this for a long time. Where is the promise of his coming?
scoffer is what they are and
They want to just bring you along and convince you that God's just not gonna do anything about it
But what they're forgetting is what God has already done remember the flood I
Mean, that's a pretty big example. I
Mean how much of a land how much of a marker do you need to figure out who God is and what he how he handles?
things
The flood we're only eight everybody died except eight people
It just kills everyone
And don't forget what he's going to do
You know look at there at the end there the verse 7 the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word
the same words that brought the flood
Are kept in store reserved unto fire
Against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, you know, God flooded it once you know what he's gonna do
What he's gonna do next he's gonna torch the place
He's gonna engulf it in flames
And we're just out so winning the other night. We were looking at some old truck
We were looking at some old truck. Oh, wouldn't that be nice to have it? Someone made the comment. It's all gonna burn
I came into that
Well that puts things in perspective, doesn't it?
I don't think I can live without that. Well one day you won't
And no one will everything you see is gonna get turned to ash
But that's who God is it's not that God has just forgotten like oh, yeah. Well, I wasn't supposed to judge things down here
It's just that he is long suffering
But we shouldn't just take that long suffering as well. Let's see how long I can get away with it
You know, god hasn't struck that match yet in my life. So i'm just gonna
Just see how far I can push the envelope with god because after all god's long suffering
But you don't know where that line is. We don't want to find that out
Go over to first thessalonians chapter five
So
I guarantee every person that's developed a dismissive attitude towards god
And disregarded the warnings of scripture
Even when they knew better
And thought oh the long suffering of god is just going to see me through this and i'll get right later
I guarantee you every single one of them were taken by surprise
When judgment finally came
They got out of bed that morning thinking they're just going to continue on their merry way
Commit the same sin that they've been doing
And and just continuing down with the same dismissive attitude that they've had
They and they thought oh just another day and then bam
God showed up and did something
And they were taken by surprise look at first thessalonians chapter 5 verse 2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night
For when they shall say peace and safety
Oh god's not going to judge god's love
It's peace. It's safety. Where is the promise of his coming? Everything's continued since the day of our since the fathers have passed
Nothing's going to change. Come on
lighten up
Peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them
Sudden, it's sudden because they're not expecting it
And
He says as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape
But ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief
You're the children of the light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness
Let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober
Let's mind our p's and q's
Let's let's take heed to the commandments and the words that have been spoken unto us
and and apply them in our lives and and
And be careful
Let's walk on eggshells with god
Let's go ahead and get on the straight and narrow
Because we are of the day we are not of the night. Let us watch
Let us be sober for they that sleep in the night and they that be drunken are drunken in the night
They're they're they're in the darkness. They know not at what they stumble
So
You see the destruction that comes upon these people there in verse three it comes and it's called a sudden destruction
Because of the fact that they were not expecting it
Not because god has a short fuse because god does not have a short fuse. The lord is long suffering. It's true
He is full of compassion and tender mercies. He's very long suffering with people
But there is an end to that fuse
There is a point where you know what it god does start to judge and every single person that experiences that
Says well that was out of nowhere
That came out of left field. I didn't see that coming lord
And god says well you should have because I warned you
And that's really the disservice that a lot of false prophets do to people
This is the danger that they pose with their false message of god's not mad at you
God doesn't get angry. We're all under grace
You know we can get it we you know, there's now therefore no condemnation to them which are in christ. Jesus
Who walked out after the flesh?
You know, that's the danger there because all they're doing is just letting you go oh, I guess everything's okay. Meanwhile, you don't hear
On that fuse of gods and then one day it's just boom and you hear that
Then we pay attention
And they think oh well god's not mad at anyone the bible says god is angry with the wicked every day
Every day now does he is he whipping every single one of them every day? No, but he's angry with them
Go over to uh, go to isaiah chapter five isaiah chapter five
Don't take the long suffering of god as a license to sin
Be mindful of what we've heard the warnings that we've received from the preaching and the teaching the word of god
And and and and walk the narrow path be mindful of it don't forget it
Don't develop a dismissive attitude towards the things of god
The bible says in isaiah chapter 55 verse 6
Seek the lord while he may be found and call ye upon him while he is near
May he be found and call ye upon him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the
Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
God's willing to pardon, but there's got to be some forsaking on our end.
Maybe we're in a place in our life where the fuse is this short and we know it.
Maybe the bomb's already gone off.
Maybe God's already starting to deal with us.
That doesn't mean it's over, folks.
It just means it's time to forsake our way.
It's time for us to forsake those thoughts.
It's time to return unto the Lord.
That's the whole point of God's chastening, is to bring you back.
The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance, the Bible says.
God's just always trying to bring us back when we get out of sorts with him.
If you're being chastened, that really should be an encouragement to you that you are born
again.
That's evidence of your salvation.
What's evidence of the salvation?
That if you go out and live a wicked life, God judges you?
He chasteneth every son who receiveth.
There's not a son who chasteneth not, and if you be without chastisement, then are you
bastards and not the sons, the Bible says in Hebrews 12.
But you know what?
People need to seek him while he may be found, and they need to call upon him while he is
near.
That always reminds me of people who just dismiss the Gospel out soul winning, and it's
sad.
They just say, I'm busy.
I'm cooking.
Did you hear what I said?
I asked you if you knew if you were going to heaven.
You said no, and I said I could show you from the Bible how you can be 100% sure, but you're
busy cooking?
Oh, the dogs?
You think that's going to fly with God?
I wonder how many people are going to hear that when they stand before God at the judgment
throne.
Oh, Lord, let me in.
Sorry, I'm having dinner right now with my kids.
Sorry.
Don't have time to hear you.
You had your chance.
But God is merciful.
God wants to abundantly pardon.
So we don't want to just get this idea.
We understand that God isn't just some hot head up in heaven with an itchy trigger finger.
Just like, who can I get next?
Which one of them has got it coming?
That's not God, right?
But we don't want to go to the other extreme and think that he's just some sappy pushover
either.
If you've got something in Proverbs, go over to Proverbs 15 if you've still got something
there.
God looks down.
He's angry with the wicked every day.
He's trying to reach them.
He's saying, seek me.
Here I am.
Call upon my name.
Call upon me while I'm near.
I will abundantly pardon.
He's not just up there, well, you're wicked.
You're going to hell.
You're wicked.
You're going to hell.
I'm done with you.
It's not like that.
Look at Proverbs 15 verse 11.
I think about this verse a lot.
Hell and destruction are before the Lord.
I mean, we step back and we think about hell sometimes and we go, man, hell is such a terrible
thought, and it is, and we don't even like to think about it.
We don't like to preach sermons about it.
We don't like to read about it because it's such a horrible place and no one wants to
even think about it.
Even if we know we're saved and we're not going there, we don't even like to think about
that place.
We don't like to think about the fact that probably people we know and love are going
to go there if they don't get saved.
We say, wow, that's a real burden to us, and it is.
I'm not making light of it.
This says that hell and destruction are before the Lord.
God sees it all.
God sees the people that are there.
God sees the people that are going to be there before they're even there.
God hears them and God sees them, and they're before the Lord.
Hell and destruction are before his eyes continually, and that's why it goes on and says how much
more than the hearts of the children of men.
God sees hell and says, I want to reach them.
Who will go for me?
Who will stand in the gap unless I should consume them?
That's what he wants.
God is not just some hothead in heaven just pushing people into hell.
The problem is is no one will bring his message and save the people that would get saved.
He wants to abundantly pardon, but we don't want to take it to that extreme and just get
this idea that God's just up there just to drop the hammer on us anytime we step out
of line.
God's just up there, this mean old man with a bat.
Just give me a reason.
That's not God, but there is a line that we can cross with God, and we don't want to find
out where that is.
That's the warning.
But let's not go to the other stream either and think that God's just some sappy, dopey
old man that we can just push over, that we can just pull one over on.
The old man, he doesn't see what's going on and gets sneaky.
I love it when people, especially younger people, get sneaky.
It's because they think they're being so sneaky and it's just all over their face, the sneakiness.
They're coming in the door and it's like, you know.
I remember when I was trying to be sneaky and just getting busted being sneaky.
Like, oh, surely they won't notice.
Because they think mom or dad are just kind of doing things.
It's like they don't realize, I see you over there.
I know what you're doing and I'm going to call you on it.
We don't want to think that that's God.
That somehow if we can just be a little sneakier, if we could just be a little craftier, then
maybe we'll just get away with it.
God sees everything.
The Bible says the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
So he's not just this sappy pushover who's just too fond of his creation to destroy it.
Oh, I just love it so much.
God's destroyed it once, he'll do it again.
That's why it says in verse 10, if you're still there,
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way, and he that hateth reproof shall
die.
Oh yeah, God does see hell and it bothers him.
You know, that part of him that is compassionate and long suffering and doesn't want people
to go there, he sees it in the hearts of man are before his eyes so much more so.
But the preceding verse, it says, Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way,
and he that hateth reproof shall die.
Make no mistake about it, as much as God wants to abundantly pardon, if they don't get pardoned,
that's where they're going.
And it's the same way in our life.
Make no mistake about it, you can sow to the Spirit and reap life everlasting.
You can sow good things in your life and reap good things in your life by living for the
Lord and not developing a dismissive attitude.
But if you develop one, mark it down that you will reap of the flesh destruction.
So I think, you know, everyone get that's the thrust of the message.
Don't develop a dismissive attitude towards God in whatever area of life or whatever stage
of life you're in.
Don't develop that because it's dangerous, because there's consequences that are sure
to come.
And often those consequences are just built right in with the disobedience.
You know, the built-in consequences of sin.
Sometimes God doesn't even have to do anything.
We just get involved in something we shouldn't, and it takes care of itself.
The punishment's right there with it.
You know, we start smoking.
This is a good example.
You just start smoking.
You're like, oh, I wonder if God's going to judge me.
Well, maybe when you get lung cancer, you go, well, I guess I'm reaping what I've sown.
Yeah, that's God judging you.
That's his law.
It's in place.
Those of us that understand this, you know, those of us that go, yeah, this is all right.
This is true.
And we've been acting accordingly.
You know, we should, we should, we understand this, but let's, let's desire and endeavor
to be like Daniel.
And this is what I want to close on.
If you would go back to Daniel chapter four, I should have you keep something in Daniel
all morning.
Let's be like a Daniel.
Look, we know this.
We understand this.
Maybe it's a refresher.
Maybe we need it.
Maybe some of us were getting a little dismissive and just need to be reminded, hey, this is
who you're dealing with.
This is God.
You know, he chases, he judges, he has a limit.
You can't be sneaky around him.
Don't get dismissive and everything will be okay.
But if you do, you know, look out.
We get it.
We understand that.
So let's, those of us that do, let's go ahead and just endeavor to be like Daniel.
Look at Daniel chapter four, verse 19.
And Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was a stony for one hour.
When he heard the vision, and he was given, told to interpret this for me, Daniel.
It says his thoughts troubled him.
The king spanked and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream and the interpretation thereof
trouble thee.
Belteshazzar answered and said, you got it coming, Nebbe.
Everything you got coming you deserve because you're just a big puffed up whatever.
No, that's not his answer.
That's not his attitude.
His attitude was, my Lord, the dream be thee them that hate thee.
He's seeing what's coming and going, this is terrible.
I gotta tell this guy that his kingdom's gonna be taken from him and he's gonna go lose his
mind and go eat grass like an ox.
I mean, that's bad news.
No one likes to deliver bad news.
And he's going and he's dishing out some bad news this time.
He's saying, Lord, let the dream be thee and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
I don't want this for you, king.
He says, but it says there his thoughts troubled him.
You know, it should bother us that people are going to be judged unnecessarily.
Why am I even preaching this morning?
Why am I preaching this sermon like this?
Because I don't want anyone in here to be chastened or judged by God unnecessarily.
I don't want any of you to have to pull an ebbie.
Let that be to your enemies.
Let to be those that hate thee, not to you.
Let somebody else get judged.
So let me warn you about the dismissive attitude and the dangers of it, because I don't want
that for you.
I don't want you to be like Nebuchadnezzar.
It bothers me.
And you know what?
It should bother every one of us that there's people out there that are going to be judged
unnecessarily.
It should bother every one of us, every single one of us, that there's somebody out there
that's going to hell that wouldn't if we would just go preach the gospel to them.
If we would just take some time out of our busy schedule and go out there and just knock
their door and say, do you know today if you died, you'd go to heaven.
There's people out there that would get saved if we would go.
And praise God for everyone that goes.
We need to never lose sight of that.
That's why we do what we do week in and week out.
Because it should trouble us that people are going to be judged unnecessarily.
And we don't want to develop this, again, this idea that God is somehow just calloused
to the fact that people are going to hell or that his children are going to get judged.
He says in Ezekiel 33, As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his way and live.
Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Say why?
Why are you going to do this?
You don't need to do that.
You don't need to be judged.
You don't need to suffer this punishment.
You don't need to, I don't, I'm not going to be, I have no pleasure in your death and
your destruction and your judgment.
He wants people to turn.
So here in our text in Daniel 4 9 or 4 19, he says, you know, his thoughts troubled him.
And obviously he was so troubled by it that finally the king has to speak up and say,
Daniel, just tell me, I could tell you, you know, something.
What is it?
You know, what's wrong, you know, lay it on me, Daniel.
That's what he says.
Belteshazzar answered and said, he didn't hold back.
Let's be like that with Daniel.
Let's be like, let's be like Daniel in that way.
Let's not, let's preach the truth.
Belteshazzar answered and he said, yeah, it troubles me.
You know, it's so troubling.
It's such bad news.
I probably shouldn't even tell you is that attitude we should have.
What if I had that attitude as a preacher, you know, first Corinthians five is pretty
rough.
You know, the Bible says this over here and the Bible says this over here and you know,
that's pretty bad news.
And I surely would want to cramp anyone's style or bring anybody down.
So you know, we're not going to, we're, I'm not going to preach that.
No, I'm going to be like, Daniel, I'm just going to preach it for your sake.
You know, keep me right, you know, as a preacher, but also to make sure that you don't suffer
unnecessarily so that if you do go ahead and disregard God, if you go ahead and get a dismissive
attitude and disregard the things of God and the preaching, the word of God, then it's
not on my hands, it's on yours.
He preached in the truth.
And that's what we need to do.
The Bible says in Jude chapter one, others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,
hating even the garments spotted by the flesh, you know, and some we should have compassion
is what it said to Jude.
Others, you know, we should save with fear and warn them.
You know, we're all, you know, likely I'm sure 99% of everybody in this room is saved
this morning, and I don't need to save you from hell, but let me go ahead and try and
save you this morning from the chastisement of God in your life.
Let me go ahead and try and save you from the judgment of God in your life this morning
by putting a little fear in you.
Not fear of me, but fear of God.
Because, you know, the fear of man is a snare, but the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
If I can get people to know what the Bible says and say, look, we should probably be
afraid of God, then people can start growing in the Lord, and they can move from the place
of being afraid to the place of doing things out of love, and so on and so forth, but we
got to start somewhere, and fear is the beginning of wisdom.
He's saying, look, the dream be to them that hate thee and the interpretation of thine
enemies.
It's good to save people with fear too.
It's good to challenge people sometimes when we're out there and say, hey, look, what you
just said is wrong, and the Bible has a different answer.
You need to hear this.
And if they refuse it, say, okay, but just know that the Bible says, out of your words
out of your own mouth, that you're going to hell.
That's not always the easiest thing to do, and we want to use tact, of course, but that
is the message.
Others save with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
And if some have compassion making a difference.
That's what Daniel did.
He's saying, look, the dream be to them that hate thee and the interpretation thereof to
thine enemies.
And he's saying, that's a compassionate attitude that Daniel has, and that's what we want.
If you would, let's go over ahead and turn over one last place, 2 Corinthians chapter
2, 2 Corinthians chapter 2.
So if we understand all this, we understand the dangers of having dismissive attitude,
we get it, then the challenge this morning is to be like Daniel, to go ahead and preach
the truth, whether they like it or not, and to save some with fear and with others to
have compassion.
And it should bother us that people are being judged.
Now here's the thing.
In this idea of having compassion, I believe the way we could really do this is the fact
that the way we could kind of play this out in our life is that we don't have to go out
of our way to offend people.
I feel like sometimes people get this attitude like, let me just go out of my way to try
and offend somebody.
Even if what we're saying is right, even if what we're saying is true, it's biblical,
it's righteous, let me just go out of my way to see if I can trigger this person.
I know they don't like the Bible.
I know they don't like God.
I know they don't like the fact that I'm a Christian.
So let me just rub their face in it a little bit.
And where do you see this?
On Facebook.
Right?
That's where you see a lot of passive-aggressive kind of things.
They know if I post this on my Instagram or whatever, that somebody's going to be mad.
Someone's going to put a frowny face on it.
But here's the thing.
You don't have to go out of your way to offend people.
It will happen naturally.
You know what I've discovered?
If you just live your life for the Lord, if you just try to keep yourself out of hot water
with the Lord and live as you should, godly in Christ Jesus, it's amazing how people
will just naturally be offended.
If you like offending people, living for the Lord is the best way to do it.
And you don't have to put hardly any other effort into it.
You don't have to put up the passive-aggressive post.
It'll just happen by your life.
Why?
Because man by nature is contrary to the word of God.
Man's nature all on its own is contrary to the word of God.
So when they see you living for the Lord, when they see you doing the right thing, and
they ask you a question, you give them a biblically sound answer, that alone is going to bother
them.
That alone is going to trigger them and offend them.
And all you did was try to show them some compassion.
If you're there in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 15,
For we are unto God a sweet saver of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish.
To the one we are a saver of death unto death, and to the other a saver of life unto life,
and who is sufficient for these things.
You know, I don't have to try to preach a sermon to offend people.
If I just get up and preach the word of God, I will be a saver of life unto life to some
people and of death unto death to others.
People will walk in here and they'll have a nature that is already contrary to the things
of God.
So when I present the things of God, they come into conflict and they're offended.
It's the same way in our life.
If we just live a godly life, it's going to rub against the grain with some people.
It's going to rub the fur the wrong way.
You know what, the cat can turn around, as the saying goes.
So let's not get caught up in trying to just offend people.
Let's be like Daniel.
Why?
Because we understand the danger of a dismissive attitude that people adopt out there.
We understand where people are headed.
We're like Daniel, we can see the writing on the wall.
We know what that means.
We can interpret the dream and say, look, this is what's coming to you.
So what should be our attitude?
Or should it be, hey, let me try and help this person out of compassion.
Let's focus on not letting the old judgment, or excuse me, let's focus on not letting our
old nature, because by the way, just because you say it doesn't mean everything's brand
new.
All things are new in Christ.
Until you die and go to heaven, you still have this flesh to deal with.
We still have this old nature to fight every single day.
Paul said, I die daily.
He said, I bring my flesh into subjection, lest when I have preached others, I myself
should become a castaway.
He said he had to do that every single day.
He had a fight that he fought every day with his own flesh.
And you have that too.
Just because you're saved doesn't mean it's over.
Now you're at war.
There's two natures in you now when you're saved.
Which man are you going to feed, the old man or the new man?
That's the question.
So don't fall into this trap of developing a dismissive attitude and focus on not letting
that old nature bring judgment upon yourself by adopting that attitude.
Let's go ahead and pray.