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??Introduction：
??"Not again!" the servants might have cried, as they scrambled to knock on doors throughout the palace realm. "Your majesty, King Nebuchadnezzar, has ordered all the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers to come at once! Hurry, for he has had another troubling dream. He will expect you to show him the meaning of the dream."
??But Daniel 4：7 says "Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers：" and the king told them his dream, "but they did not make known" the meaning of it! Why couldn't they？??Gospel：Because they didn't know the true and living God Who had sent the dream! The Creator of the whole world and all that is in space is a holy God, and everything He does is right. And although God lives in a beautiful perfect place called Heaven, He sees and knows everything that goes on in His world. He knows the heart of every person, whether they believe in Him or not. Those who do not believe in God are separated from Him forever but not because God desires that. He wanted King Nebuchadnezzar and all his wisemen to believe in Him. That was why God had sent the king the first dream about all the kingdoms of the world.
??God created you too! And although He knows every good and bad thing about you, He loves you. God's love was shown in the greatest way possible when He sent His perfect Son Jesus to take your punishment for sin. Jesus willingly died on the cross to take your place, so that you could one day have a place in Heaven! John 20：31b says, "that believing you might have life through his name (Jesus)." When you believe that you are a sinner and that Jesus died for you, you can ask Jesus to come into your life and save you. He'll do it, and He'll give you His everlasting life, the kind you need to live in Heaven. If you have never believed on the Lord Jesus, God wants you to believe in His Son Jesus. And God wanted King Nebuchadnezzar to believe in Him. That's why He kept sending those troubling dreams.
??But do you think the king's wisemen asked the true and living God about the dream？
??No, they did not believe in Him. They worshipped idols. But there was one man in the kingdom that did believe in the true and living God. Daniel 4：8 says, "But at the last Daniel came in before" the king. Don't you wonder why the king called Daniel last, when it was Daniel who had given the understanding about the king's other dreams？
??We don't know why Daniel was last, but we do know that God showed Daniel the clear meaning of the dream.
??The king told Daniel that in his dream he had seen a tree in the middle of the earth, and it grew so tall and strong and wide that it reached to heaven and could be seen all over the earth. The leaves and fruit from the tree fed all the creatures, birds and people of the world. But suddenly a messenger from heaven came down and said, "Cut down the tree, cut off the branches, shake off the leaves and scatter the fruit." But leave the stump of the tree with a band of iron and brass. The stump will be out in the tender grass of the field." The king went on with the details of the dream. As he told the dream, he could see Daniel's face changing as if he had seen a horrible picture. The king said, "Belteshazzar (Daniel's Chaldean name) don't let the dream trouble you!" But the truth is, the dream troubled Daniel deeply, for he knew it meant trouble for the king.
??"O king, " Daniel said sadly, "If only that dream could be for your enemies and not for you. You saw a tree growing strong and tall whose height reached to the heaven, and it could be seen by all the earth. You saw it provided food for all. That tree is you, O king, for your kingdom is grown and become strong, and you rule to the end of the earth. Then you saw a messenger from heaven who said, "Cut the tree down , and destroy it, yet leave the stump of the roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and the stump will be wet with the dew of heaven. This is you, O king, and this is the decree of the most High. Your kingdom will be cut down, and they will drive you from men, and you will live with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven and seven times shall pass over you, til you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever he will."
??Does this sound dreadful？Daniel then pleaded with the king, "Please accept my counsel now：break off your sins and start doing right; start shewing mercy to the poor, and maybe God will give you peace a little longer." Daniel knew King Nebuchadnezzar was a proud king who did not acknowledge the true and living God. He knew God was resisting the proud king, and planned to judge him. Daniel begged the king to say "no" to pride and humble himself to do the right thing.
??Main Teaching：If you know the Lord Jesus as Savior, say "no" to pride! Pride is bragging on yourself and not God. It is thinking too much about yourself. Our Bible verse for today reminds us of the danger of pride. I Peter 5：5 says, " ...be clothed with humility; for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble." Do you ever feel upset because you didn't make the best grade in your class？Do you pout if you are not chosen for the part you wanted in the school play？Do you ever feel that you are better than someone else？Those are all signs of pride. If you know the Lord Jesus as Savior, say "no" to pride!
??Daniel was trying to help the king understand his need to put away his pride and be humble before God. With the terrible warning of the dream, do you think Nebuchadnezzar will listen and humble himself before the true and living God？??The months went by, and it seems nothing changed. Nebuchadnezzar was still doing fine, his kingdom was prospering, nothing had changed. Perhaps the dream was forgotten. One day about a year after the dream, the king was walking around in his palace admiring his splendid house and gardens and looking out over his kingdom. He said, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built...by...my power, and for the honor of my majesty？" Oh, the king was filled with so much pride in himself!
??Main Teaching：If you are a child of God, say "no" to pride! Pride is the opposite of being humble. The Lord Jesus showed us how to be humble when He was here on earth.
??He served others instead of Himself, and He always gave glory to His Father in Heaven.
??Philippians 2：8 says, " ...he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." The Bible also says, "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again." (I Peter 3：23) Even when the Lord Jesus, King of Heaven, was cursed and mocked, He did not rise up in pride or anger. If you have believed on Jesus as your Savior, let Jesus be your example. When you know you are feeling pride rising up inside, ask yourself, "What would Jesus do？" How would Jesus react if He were not chosen by the teacher？??What would Jesus do if He only had old clothes when others had new ones？What would Jesus say if He made the best grades in the class？Pray, asking God to clothe you with humility, and then do what you know Jesus would do. Jesus would say "no" to pride.
??King Nebuchadnezzar had been warned about his pride, but he chose not to humble himself. While he was right in the middle of bragging on himself and saying, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built by my power..." the Bible says " ...there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king, to you it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from you. And they shall drive you from men, and you will live with the beasts of the f ield：they shall make you eat grass as an ox, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will."
??Sure enough that same hour Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of his palace into the open field. Can you imagine this proud king suddenly acting like an animal, getting down on his hands and knees, putting his head down and munching on grass？No wonder he was put out of the palace. Everyone must have said, "The king has gone insane." But it was even worse than that. The Bible says his hair grew out like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws, and his body was wet with dew. "God resists the proud" , our memory verse said. If we do not humble ourselves, God has His way of breaking our pride!
??We don't know how many days it was, but the Bible says, " ...at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. And all the inhabitants of the earth are...as nothing：and he does according to his will...At the same time my reason returned to me; and...I was established in my kingdom. Now I praise and honor the King of heaven...Those who walk in pride He is able to bring down."
??Now the king was bragging on God, and not himself! God restored Nebuchadnezzar to his position, and even allowed him to have more honor. The king had learned his lesson on humility!
??Challenge：If you know the Lord Jesus, will you this week say "no" to pride？This week you will be tempted with pride. Maybe someone will make a better grade or beat you in sports. It may be that your teacher or parents will embarrass you by correcting you in front of others. Pride is also when you feel inside that you are better than others because you make better grades, or look nicer. When you feel pride rising up in you, will you say, "What would Jesus do？" Then pray, asking God to clothe you with humility and to help you think, say, and do what Jesus would do.
??Invitation：If you have never believed on the Lord Jesus, it is probably pride that is keeping you from admitting your sin and your need of Jesus to save you. Why not humble yourself right now, realizing that you will be lost from God forever if you do not come to the Lord Jesus. God has made no other way for your sins to be forgiven. Go now to "How To Be a Child of God."
