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Nebuchadnezzar, This is Why You Never Mess With God · Off The Kirb Ministries

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  Did you know that in the Bible there was a very famous man who
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  completely lost it because he thought he was better than God?
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  King Nebuchadnezzar was probably the most powerful man on earth
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  at one time. He spent 35 years of his life
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  conquering the entire world, and at the time we meet him, he had
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  just finished creating the world's first empire.
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  And boy was he proud of himself. One day, while Nebuchadnezzar
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  was at ease in his palace, flourishing without a care in
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  the world, out of nowhere, sudden dread overwhelmed the
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  king when he saw a certain vision.
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  In the vision, King Nebuchadnezzar sees a vast tree,
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  a tree that is so tall it reaches the sky, so impressive
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  that it's visible to the rest of the earth.
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  This tree, unlike any other, provided shade for the animals,
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  and all the creatures of the earth were fed by its fruit.
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  But here's what made Nebuchadnezzar uneasy.
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  We are all being watched. A watcher or an Angel descended
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  from heaven and began to chop the branches, the leaves, the
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  fruits, and eventually the entire tree down.
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  Are you picturing this right now?
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  Here is this tree which surpassed every other tree on
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  earth, and in an instant it was removed and all that remained
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  was the stomp, which according to the vision was then plated by
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  bronze and iron. In other words, it was to be
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  kept alive and it was to be protected for another time.
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  Things then get even worse as Nebuchadnezzar in his vision was
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  shown a man who was transformed into a grass eating, field
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  dwelling animal and this man then remained in that state for
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  seven years. It is almost incredible how this
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  colossal man went from flourishing on the outside to
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  being troubled on the inside. So troubled was Nebuchadnezzar
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  by the vision that he called the wisest man in the palace, but
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  none of them could interpret his dream except for one man,
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  Daniel. However, Daniel did not have
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  good news to share. So bad was the fate of this king
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  that Daniel spent one hour astounded by what the vision
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  really meant. Eventually Daniel was able to
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  compose himself, and he painted the picture very plainly for the
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  king. This great big tree that is
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  visible to the whole world is you, Nebuchadnezzar.
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  And just like in the vision, God is going to shake you off that
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  throne of gold, and he's going to make you eat grass like an
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  animal. Because just like the tree, your
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  pride was large, so your fall will be equally large.
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  But listen to me, God did not just leave Nebuchadnezzar
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  without hope. He actually offered him a door
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  of exit from this swift judgment.
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  The Bible says. Therefore, O king, let my advice
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  be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by being
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  righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.
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  Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.
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  Did you catch that? In other words, this doom was
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  not final. The writing was not yet on the
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  wall. God was extending His hand of
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  grace to Nebuchadnezzar one more time.
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  He had one last opportunity to avoid this calamity and is all
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  he had to do was repent. But did he?
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  No, 12 whole months went by, there was 365 opportunities to
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  turn from this sin and to humble himself, and yet King
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  Nebuchadnezzar did nothing. Am I the only one who thinks
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  this sounds very familiar? All God has to do is simply
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  place His finger on an area of your life and He could shake you
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  to your very core. It only takes one letter, one
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  doctor's appointment, one knock on the door, one text, one phone
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  call, one second and you could be brought to your knees for
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  days, months and even years. Every single one of us has had
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  those defining moments in our life.
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  And in the moments of that crisis, maybe you yourself have
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  even said these very words. Something has to change.
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  That's it. I'm going to turn my life
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  around. I will be the man of God you
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  want me to be. I will be the woman of God
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  you've been calling me to be. And we often say these things in
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  the heat of the moment. And then the sermon ends.
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  Time goes by. The crisis is over and you
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  forget all the vows you once made, all the lessons you
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  learnt, and that sense of urgency to repent grows fainter
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  and fainter until in the end, absolutely nothing changes.
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  That, my friend, is exactly what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar
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  one year after you received this startling vision from the Lord.
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  After that long extension of grace, here we find King
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  Nebuchadnezzar filled with pride, strutting around the
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  palace as if he was untouchable. Like many of the men of today,
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  he believed I am the greatest look at everything I've ever
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  built. And while the words were still
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  in his mouth, he heard a voice from heaven echo.
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  King Nebuchadnezzar, the Kingdom has departed from you.
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  And just like that, the strings of his mind unhinged and he
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  became like a wild animal. His fingers grew like claws, his
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  hair matted like birds feathers, and the king who ate the finest
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  delicacies in the land was now left outside covered in
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  rainwater and was instead eating grass.
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  The fact is, this guy's God brought that man down.
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  Oh, he can do it. He has done it.
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  He will do it, and he is still doing it today.
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  OK, yes, he might not be doing it in the same way that he did
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  with King Nebuchadnezzar, but you mark my words, he is still
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  humbling men and women today. Oh my dear friend, if there's
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  one thing you Remember, Remember this.
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  God's mills grind slow. Yes, God is patient with us for
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  a season. For a season He will let you
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  continue in your sin and pride. But when the time comes, when
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  the clock strikes midnight in your life, He does not delay and
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  his judgement cannot be stopped. The Bible says my spirit will
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  not always strive with man. I don't want to speak foolishly,
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  but as I've been speaking, I wonder if God has been dealing
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  with you because for someone today, it is very likely the end
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  of the line. It could well be your last
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  opportunity, your final call. You've heard God speak to you
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  many times before, but you've delayed.
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  Do you know this wasn't the first time that God spoke to
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  Nebuchadnezzar? God tried to reach him several
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  times before this very occasion, but each time God's voice got
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  quieter and quieter in Nebuchadnezzar's ears.
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  So I'll ask you again. Like Nebuchadnezzar, have you
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  heard God call you many times before, but you have delayed?
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  Do you remember the first time you realized that if you die
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  tonight, you'd be separated from God for all of eternity?
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  Do you remember the first time it dawned on you that you were a
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  Sinner? You were guilty, you were
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  condemned before a holy God whom you will stand before one day
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  and give an account. Did you cry when you heard the
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  message of the cross for the first time?
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  That though you have done wrong, though you have made so many
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  mistakes in life and sinned so greatly, there was One who loved
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  you enough to die in your place and pay the debt for your sin
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  with His very blood so you could be forgiven.
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  Can you remember the day when the scales of your eyes were
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  lifted and the evidence was presented before you so clearly
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  that you knew that this man, Jesus Christ was totally
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  different from all of the men? In fact, He alone was the one
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  who could say I am the greatest, because He alone is the only one
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  to rise from the dead. Can you remember when the voice
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  of God was loud? It was so loud in your ears.
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  Come to me, I'll save you. I'll wash away all of your sins.
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  And then as time went on, it got quieter and quieter, fainter and
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  fainter, until you couldn't hear it at all.
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  I don't know what God is calling you to do right now, whether you
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  are to come to the cross for the very first time and you like
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  Nebuchadnezzar, you need to repent because you do know that
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  our story does have a happy ending.
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  No one is too far gone, not even King Nebuchadnezzar, because
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  after the seven years were up, he realised the error of his
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  ways and he humbled himself and he was eventually restored to
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  the throne. I don't know if you are already
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  saved. And what God is telling you to
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  do in this particular message is in fact to obey Him, because for
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  so long you've ignored His voice when He's told you time and time
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  again to give up this thing. He's laid His finger on a
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  particular area in your life and said, lay it aside, Dedicate
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  yourself totally to me, but you've continued to go your own
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  way. Well, whatever it is, I'll
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  finish with this big statement. There is nothing more solemn,
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  more serious, than to hear the voice of God, to be touched by
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  him, to be troubled to the very core, but then to delay.
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  Because as time goes on, the more you hear that same message
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  over and over again, no longer will it trouble you, but this
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  time, rather, it will make you angry.
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  And then as time passes over and over again, eventually this very
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  same message doesn't anger you. It doesn't trouble you.
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  It doesn't touch you. You're actually bored by it
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  because you've delayed for so long.
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  Oh, my dear friend, God will not strive with man forever.
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  And if you continue to sit on the fence, there will come a day
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  when you will hear nothing. That's why one of the most
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  foolish things in the world is when a man or a woman says, I'll
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  obey the voice of God when I'm older.
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  When I'm older, I'll become a Christian because do you know
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  something? Do you know what else comes with
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  old age? Hearing loss.
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  And when God speaks to you in those final moments of life, you
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  won't hear a thing. So today, today if you hear His
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  voice, don't delay and turn to the living God.