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The King and the Beast · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted
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  Speaker 1: up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel 4.3 Lord, as you elevate my life, increase also
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  Speaker 1: the humility in which I live by. Help me to
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  Speaker 1: continually understand that everything I have is a result of
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  Speaker 1: your goodness and not of me being in control. Continue
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  Speaker 1: to put checkpoints in my life that will alert me
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  Speaker 1: when my heart is becoming prideful and conceited. Protect me
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  Speaker 1: from the madness that can occur when I think that
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  Speaker 1: my splendor and open doors around me came from my
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  Speaker 1: strength and by my wisdom alone. May my life serve
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  Speaker 1: as a billboard that publicly displays and proclaims your goodness
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  Speaker 1: to everyone who sees me. I acknowledge today that It
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  Speaker 1: is you, and you alone, that brings fulfillment and success
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  Speaker 1: into my life. When I lose focus, I will thank
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  Speaker 1: you in advance for realigning me like Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4,
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  Speaker 1: so that I can see you with a clear and
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  Speaker 1: sober mind. Today, I thank you that the beast of
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  Speaker 1: pride and arrogance has been overcome by by the precious
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  Speaker 1: power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for making prayer a priority in your day. To
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  Speaker 1: learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The King and the Beast In our last story, Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 2: and Abednego refused to worship the statue Nebuchadnezzar set up
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  Speaker 2: and were thrown into the fire as punishment. The flames raged,
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  Speaker 2: but they were unharmed. The Lord had protected them, and
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  Speaker 2: Nebuchadnezzar awed at the power of their God. In this story,
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  Speaker 2: Nebuchadnezzar will come in contact with his inner beast and
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  Speaker 2: come to realize the true nature of his relationship with God,
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  Speaker 2: inspired by the Book of Den.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
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  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
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  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
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  Speaker 3: to get a copy of the Jesus book, simply go
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. In our last reading, we heard
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  Speaker 3: about how God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the
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  Speaker 3: fiery furnace. They refused to bend or to bow to
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  Speaker 3: the king's idol, and God used their faithfulness to make
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  Speaker 3: his glory known once again to Babylonians' kings. In today's reading,
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  Speaker 3: we'll learn how Nebuchadnezzar is humbled by the Almighty God
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  Speaker 3: with whom he continues to wrestle. His descent into madness
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  Speaker 3: like an animal will finally bring him to a point
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  Speaker 3: of confession and acceptance that there is no other God
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  Speaker 3: but Yahweh, the Lord. Let's listen now to the reading
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  Speaker 3: of God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the ancient world, conqueror of kingdoms, and
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  Speaker 2: slayer of kings, came in contact with the living God.
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  Speaker 2: He learned from the wisdom and favor of Daniel. He
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  Speaker 2: witnessed God protect Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace.
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  Speaker 2: So the mighty king praised the Lord of heaven and earth.
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  Speaker 2: He sent a decree forth to the people of Babylon, saying,
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  Speaker 2: He is the Most High God. His kingdom is an
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  Speaker 2: everlasting kingdom. Yet the mind of King Nebuchadnezzar was still
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  Speaker 2: fogged by years of pride and warmongering. He knew of
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  Speaker 2: God's mighty works, but had not yet come in contact
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  Speaker 2: with the personal reformation of his spirit. The king would
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  Speaker 2: soon learn the weight of God's power.
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  Speaker 1: It was late.
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  Speaker 2: The night was heavy upon the horizon. Clouds covered the
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  Speaker 2: stars above, and the east wind blew violently through the valley.
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  Speaker 2: Thunder rolled in from the distance, and the city was
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  Speaker 2: stirring beneath. King Nebuchadnezzar tossed and turned in his bed,
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  Speaker 2: tormented by yet another dream. He saw a tree sprouting
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  Speaker 2: forth from the earth. Its height was tremendous and its
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  Speaker 2: trunk was strong. Its branches reached beyond the clouds for
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  Speaker 2: all the world to see. Its leaves were deep and
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  Speaker 2: beautiful green. Its fruit was abundant and provided food for
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  Speaker 2: all the lands below it. Animals found refuge in its shade,
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  Speaker 2: and the birds of the air made its nest in it.
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  Speaker 2: THE KING WATCHED AS THE HEAVENS OPENED UP AROUND IT,
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  Speaker 2: AND A VOICE BOOMED FROM THE SKIES, SAYING, CHOP THE
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  Speaker 2: TREE TO THE GROUND, STRIP ITS LEAVES AND SCATTER ITS FRUIT,
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  Speaker 2: BUT LEAVE THE STUMP AND BIND IT WITH IRON, LET
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  Speaker 2: IT DWELL WITH THE BEASTS AND BECOME LIKE THEM. SO
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  Speaker 2: KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR WATCHED AS THE MIGHTY TREE WAS SLICED BY
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  Speaker 2: THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD, AND ITS BODY FELL TO
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  Speaker 2: THE EARTH, SHAKING IT FOR MILES. The king woke up
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  Speaker 2: in a terror. He was sweating and could not get
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  Speaker 2: the image of the tree's lifeless stump out of his mind.
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  Speaker 2: The king sent for his wisest counselor, Daniel. He described
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  Speaker 2: the dream in great length, leaving no detail out. Daniel
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  Speaker 2: listened intently to the king, growing more and more concerned
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  Speaker 2: with each detail. The king was frantic as he described
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  Speaker 2: the dream. Something in his mind had snapped, and it
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  Speaker 2: was clear what was about to happen. The king could
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  Speaker 2: sense the look of alarm on Daniel's face. Do not
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  Speaker 2: be frightened, the king said. Tell me what it means.
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  Speaker 2: I pray that this dream is for your enemies and
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  Speaker 2: not for you, Daniel said softly. However, that may not
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  Speaker 2: be the case. Daniel sat the king down and began
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  Speaker 2: to interpret its meaning for him. The mighty tree is you,
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  Speaker 2: my king. Your greatness has spread across the land. Your
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  Speaker 2: kingdom is the source of food and shelter for all
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  Speaker 2: on the earth. However, the stump is also you. You
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  Speaker 2: will be humbled, my king. You shall be driven to
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  Speaker 2: the wilderness because you have yet to learn of true humility.
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  Speaker 2: You have yet to understand that it is God who
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  Speaker 2: raises a king. Yes, you know of God now, but
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  Speaker 2: you still oppress and murder. You seek your own gain,
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  Speaker 2: and you destroy all you desire. Turn from this, and
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  Speaker 2: there may be hope for you. King Nebuchadnezzar smiled at
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  Speaker 2: Daniel and sent him away. He feigned repentance. He feigned benevolence. However,
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  Speaker 2: the king continued to do all that seemed good in
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  Speaker 2: his eyes. He was consumed with self-worship. A year had
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  Speaker 2: passed and the king was walking on the rooftops of
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  Speaker 2: his palace. The sun was peeking over the horizon and
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  Speaker 2: his entire country was painted with beautiful colors of gold
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  Speaker 2: and white. He breathed in the fresh air and said,
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  Speaker 2: Look at all I have built with my majesty. While
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  Speaker 2: the words were dancing out of the king's mouth, a
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  Speaker 2: voice fell upon him from heaven. Nebuchadnezzar, your kingdom shall
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  Speaker 2: be stripped from you. You shall dwell with the beasts
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  Speaker 2: until you truly know that it is the Most High
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  Speaker 2: who rules all kingdoms. And in that instant, a madness
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  Speaker 2: came upon the king. He writhed and panted like a dog,
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  Speaker 2: and his mind wandered into a place of true insanity.
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  Speaker 2: He ran like an animal into the wilderness and lived
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  Speaker 2: among the beasts. Over time his hair grew long and
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  Speaker 2: his nails grew like claws. He ate grass like an
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  Speaker 2: ox and was greasy and wet with the filth of
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  Speaker 2: the earth. For seven years Nebuchadnezzar was mad like an animal.
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  Speaker 2: His beastly demeanor revealed the sickness that had been in
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  Speaker 2: his heart all along. He was a beast of a king.
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  Speaker 2: He followed every debased desire that came into his heart.
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  Speaker 2: He murdered and stole. He raped and he pillaged. He
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  Speaker 2: was a beast long before the madness. Many years had passed,
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  Speaker 2: and Nebuchadnezzar was wandering the forest in the coolness of
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  Speaker 2: the morning. He was ravaging on plants and berries when
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  Speaker 2: the sun peered in through the treetops. The beast lifted
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  Speaker 2: his eyes towards the sun, and the warmth of God's
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  Speaker 2: mercy saturated him. His mind began to clear. He saw
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  Speaker 2: God for who he truly was, generous and marvelous. Nebuchadnezzar
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  Speaker 2: emerged from the wilderness, and his throne was restored to him.
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  Speaker 2: He now ruled with a clearer mind. His reason had
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  Speaker 2: returned to him, and he used his newfound wisdom to
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  Speaker 2: rule with humility.
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  Speaker 3: Today's scripture begins with a reminder of all God had
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  Speaker 3: already done to make himself known to King Nebuchadnezzar. The
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  Speaker 3: strength and wisdom of the young men like Daniel who
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  Speaker 3: served God, how God had protected the men in the furnace,
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  Speaker 3: even the king's own decree that the people would worship
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  Speaker 3: only the Lord. And yet, even with all of this,
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar's heart was not where it should be. God ultimately
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  Speaker 3: does not look to our words or outward appearance of belief.
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  Speaker 3: He looks to the heart, straight to the heart. And
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar's heart was still focused on his own interest and
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  Speaker 3: his personal glory. He was full of pride. So, once more,
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  Speaker 3: we find the king disturbed with a dream. He saw
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  Speaker 3: a great tree that gave shade and food to all
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  Speaker 3: the animals. It stretched out far and wide, a majestic sight.
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  Speaker 3: But then God's voice came down from heaven, commanding the
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  Speaker 3: tree to be cut down, its stump and roots bound
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  Speaker 3: to the ground where it would remain to live with
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  Speaker 3: animals and plants. But then God's voice came down from heaven,
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  Speaker 3: commanding that the tree be cut down, but its stump
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  Speaker 3: and roots bound to the ground where it would remain
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  Speaker 3: to live with the animals and plants. The dream clearly
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  Speaker 3: symbolized someone, and the king was greatly troubled. He first
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  Speaker 3: called his wise men and astrologers, but they had no answers.
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  Speaker 3: So he summoned Daniel, who received the interpretation from God.
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  Speaker 3: He told Nebuchadnezzar that the tree was the king himself.
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  Speaker 3: His vast empire was indeed majestic, providing for people the
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  Speaker 3: world over. But the king needed pruning. His lust for
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  Speaker 3: power and praise were clouding his vision. And though he
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  Speaker 3: had seen God work and even had some appearance of belief,
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar had yet to acknowledge the supremacy of God and
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  Speaker 3: submit truly to him. Because of this, He would be
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  Speaker 3: driven away from society, forced to live like a wild animal.
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  Speaker 3: His mind would go mad and his outward state would
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  Speaker 3: mimic his inward baseness. But God in his mercy would
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  Speaker 3: restore the kingdom to Nebuchadnezzar when he recognized God for
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  Speaker 3: who he was and humbled himself before him. The king
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  Speaker 3: heard the interpretation but did not change his heart. One
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  Speaker 3: year later, as he was walking on the roof of
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  Speaker 3: his palace, filled with pride for his accomplishments, God's word
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  Speaker 3: came to pass just as Daniel said. The king was
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  Speaker 3: overtaken by madness, and for seven years he lived like
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  Speaker 3: a beast of the field, until finally he looked to
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  Speaker 3: the heavens and his sanity returned. God had broken this man,
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  Speaker 3: but this was not an act of cruelty. It was
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  Speaker 3: a work of grace, the reaching out of a loving
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  Speaker 3: God to bring this man to himself. Though he was
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  Speaker 3: not an Israelite, Nebuchadnezzar was created for the purposes of God.
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  Speaker 3: And it had always been God's heart for every person,
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  Speaker 3: including this man, to turn to him. Here we see
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  Speaker 3: our great God going to great lengths to reach one man.
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  Speaker 3: This man had such great power and influence that his
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  Speaker 3: life would have tremendous repercussions and echoes throughout all of history.
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar testified to God's greatness. And in Daniel 4, 34,
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  Speaker 3: We read some of his words about the Lord. His
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  Speaker 3: dominion is an eternal dominion. His kingdom endures from generation
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  Speaker 3: to generation. At last, the king had humbled himself before
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. And just as God had promised, the kingdom
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  Speaker 3: was restored to him. The ripple effects of his transformation
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  Speaker 3: would be felt in the Babylonian kingdom and even beyond
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  Speaker 3: in the centuries to follow. Dear God, we are reminded
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  Speaker 3: in this story that you will go to great lengths
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  Speaker 3: to bring us to yourself. Lord, may we humble ourselves
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  Speaker 3: before you. And we pray that our lives would always
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  Speaker 3: reflect your love and grace. May we repent of our
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  Speaker 3: sin and submit to your will and live in the
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  Speaker 3: abundance of life in Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
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  Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like you. Your support
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: today is so important that we want to thank you
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: for your gift by giving you a copy of my
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: book called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: guide that shows how every book in the Bible points
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: to Christ and how you can better read and understand
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: the Bible. And How God's Word Transforms Our Lives. So
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: to get your copy of the Jesus book, simply go
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: you for your support.