WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.280 I have a problem with pride, and although I don't 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:06.419 know most of you, I'm assuming you do as well. 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:09.279 I guess you don't come across as arrogant or 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:12.179 boastful, and I hope I don't either. Pride can 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:14.619 look like that, can't it? It can be the obvious 00:00:14.619 --> 00:00:19.879 form, loud, in -your -face arrogance. And it 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.300 looks like that, I think, for Belshazzar, the 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:27.120 king in this passage. But more often, pride hides. 00:00:28.829 --> 00:00:32.950 It lurks in the darkness, hiding underneath other 00:00:32.950 --> 00:00:36.869 more noticeable sins, pushing them to the surface 00:00:36.869 --> 00:00:40.009 while it stays in the background. And all the 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:41.549 time that pride does that, all the time pride 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:45.149 remains hidden, it is particularly powerful. 00:00:46.570 --> 00:00:51.130 In some ways, it is the mother of all sins. And 00:00:51.130 --> 00:00:54.969 while we wrestle with pride's children, Other 00:00:54.969 --> 00:00:57.789 sins in our life, we can be blind to the matriarch 00:00:57.789 --> 00:01:01.250 herself. But do the opposite. Drag pride out 00:01:01.250 --> 00:01:04.290 into the light and you find it begins to lose 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:09.010 some of its power. And then as pride loses its 00:01:09.010 --> 00:01:12.469 grip on us, all sorts of other sins and struggles 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:16.510 begin to weaken their hold as well. This pride 00:01:16.510 --> 00:01:20.599 is the big one. And what this passage does, I 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:23.140 think, is to push our pride into the light of 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:28.260 the gospel to give us hope. So orientation first. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:31.299 We're in Daniel 5. Nebuchadnezzar, the famous 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:34.180 guy, he's dead. Verse 1 tells us a bloke called 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:37.379 Belshazzar is king in his place and he has set 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:40.920 himself up against the Lord of heaven. That's 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:44.780 Daniel's take on him in verse 23. That's a way 00:01:44.780 --> 00:01:49.390 of saying he's proud. And as this chapter shines 00:01:49.390 --> 00:01:52.689 a light on his pride, notice first how stupid 00:01:52.689 --> 00:01:57.049 it is. First, Belshazzar throws a massive party 00:01:57.049 --> 00:02:00.129 in verse one, but later on in the passage in 00:02:00.129 --> 00:02:02.370 verse 30, we discover that as he's doing that, 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:05.849 as he's hosting this great gathering party for 00:02:05.849 --> 00:02:09.069 so many people, the army of the Mesan Persians 00:02:09.069 --> 00:02:14.280 was literally surrounding his city. He is actually 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:17.180 at the crucial moment of a desperate battle for 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:20.719 survival. And at that moment, he decides to get 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:24.000 drunk with his nobles and his army officers, 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:28.680 who probably had better things to be doing. Historians 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:31.800 tell us the Babylonians were overconfident in 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.319 the city walls. They thought Babylon itself was 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:39.840 unbeatable. And Belshazzar's pride makes him 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:44.580 act like a fool. on the eve of the turning point 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.439 of his kingdom and indeed of history. Then it 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:50.800 gets worse. Verse two, while Belshazzar was drinking 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.400 his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:55.879 and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, 00:02:55.979 --> 00:02:58.840 had taken from the temple in Jerusalem so that 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:01.080 the king and his nobles, his wives, his concubines 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:08.180 might drink from them. No matter what your religion, 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:12.099 Belshazzar, bleeding, all sorts of things, to 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:16.620 use the holy temple vessels from a sacrosanct 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:20.159 space for a drunken party is, in anyone's book, 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:24.680 a proud scorning of the gods to whom that temple 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:29.860 belongs. It is also really foolish. Belshazzar's 00:03:29.860 --> 00:03:32.460 gods of gold and silver that he praises in verse 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:35.639 four haven't been much use to him or his people 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:40.060 in the... Heavy defeat after defeat he's receiving 00:03:40.060 --> 00:03:44.039 from the Persian Empire. Daniel says in verse 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.080 23, your gods cannot see or hear or understand. 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:54.020 Belshazzar's pride makes him worship like a fool. 00:03:55.259 --> 00:03:57.620 And then Daniel confronts the king about his 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.800 pride. What he does in verse 17 to 21 is to retell 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:03.840 the story of chapter four, which I'm sure you're 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.400 familiar with. Nebuchadnezzar, the king then. 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:11.120 refused to heed a dream that God gave him, boasted 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:13.879 about how great he was, and was then humbled 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:17.300 by God by being driven mad and driven out of 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:19.459 his kingdom, out from his throne for a period 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:22.120 of time. Now, Belshazzar, his son, knew all of 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.339 that. He was, I presume, there when it happened. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:30.600 The lesson was obvious. Humble yourself before 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:35.420 this God, before the Most High. But unlike his 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:40.699 father, Belshazzar refused to listen. Maybe you 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:43.920 had kids in your class at school who were overconfident, 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:46.139 thinking they're great, don't listen to the teacher, 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:49.540 just mess around. Belshazzar's that kind of kid, 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:54.240 grown up, but not grown up very much. Verse 22, 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.639 but you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:00.600 yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.639 you've set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.300 His pride makes him refuse to listen and learn 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:14.100 like a fool. And because he won't turn from his 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:18.019 foolish pride, God's judgment falls on him. God 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:19.699 miraculously writes on the wall of the banqueting 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:22.759 hall. The writing says, mene, mene, tekel, parsin. 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:24.879 The wise men of Babylon, they can't understand 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:28.060 it. There is no true wisdom apart from God. But 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:31.019 Daniel comes in and he can. Mene, he says, God 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:33.300 has numbered the days of your reign and brought 00:05:33.300 --> 00:05:36.810 it to an end. Those gods of gold will not keep 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:40.189 you going. Tekel, you have been weighed on the 00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:43.529 scales and found wanting. Your rejection of God 00:05:43.529 --> 00:05:47.810 means he rejects you. Perez, your kingdom is 00:05:47.810 --> 00:05:50.170 divided and given to the Medes and Persians. 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:54.029 Those famous city walls won't guarantee your 00:05:54.029 --> 00:06:00.399 future. And that very night, he's killed. Now, 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:02.240 listen, I think it's easy for us to laugh at 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.720 this proud and foolish king throwing a party, 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:07.500 showing off his greatness, thinking gods of gold 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:09.819 are going to protect him, ignoring the only God 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:12.220 who could when his city is surrounded and he's 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:16.259 literally about to die. But my guess is at the 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:22.339 time, none of that felt silly to him. It's only 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:26.220 when God's word shines a light on it. That's 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.879 the moment that human pride looks and feels ridiculous. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.920 I can laugh at this king, but just because my 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:37.379 pride might not look exactly like his, maybe 00:06:37.379 --> 00:06:40.439 it's less blatant, less on the surface, that 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:46.680 does not make my pride any less ridiculous. My 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:51.540 pride can hide behind perfectionism. Of course, 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:53.959 that's not why I think. I want to get everything 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.139 just right. I think I'm just trying to do a good 00:06:57.139 --> 00:07:02.839 job as my family suffer. But sacrificing others 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:05.699 in order to achieve a perfect result in my work 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:12.839 is ridiculous. My pride can hide behind prayerlessness. 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:16.839 Of course, that's not why I think I struggle 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:19.100 to pray. I think the reason I struggle to pray 00:07:19.100 --> 00:07:21.689 is because I'm too busy. or too distracted, or 00:07:21.689 --> 00:07:25.610 too lazy. But deep down, I'm too proud to pray 00:07:25.610 --> 00:07:30.509 more than I do. If I felt my weakness, my true 00:07:30.509 --> 00:07:34.589 dependency, desperate need for the Lord Jesus, 00:07:34.689 --> 00:07:39.689 I would pray more. My pride can hide behind anxiety. 00:07:41.610 --> 00:07:44.069 And don't mishear me, anxiety can have many causes, 00:07:44.189 --> 00:07:46.829 including physical ones. It's not simply down 00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:50.709 to sin, but my anxiety can come from acting like 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:55.730 I need to manage the future. To provide for my 00:07:55.730 --> 00:07:59.089 family in this or that potential imagined future 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:03.410 scenario, that is God's job. My shoulders are 00:08:03.410 --> 00:08:06.089 not... big enough, broad enough to carry that 00:08:06.089 --> 00:08:09.810 load. And if I take God's job in my pride, it's 00:08:09.810 --> 00:08:12.410 no wonder the weight crushes me into anxiety. 00:08:15.009 --> 00:08:18.449 Pride hides in the darkness of my heart and it 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:22.350 conceals itself behind other sins and struggles. 00:08:22.930 --> 00:08:26.189 And as it lurks there in the darkness, my pride 00:08:26.189 --> 00:08:33.090 whispers, I'm reasonable. I'm sensible. Other 00:08:33.090 --> 00:08:35.789 sins might be out of order, but looking after 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:42.250 number one is just sensible. So if I want to 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:46.009 repent of my prayerlessness, if I want to lose 00:08:46.009 --> 00:08:48.990 my perfectionism, I need God's word to shine 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:52.570 its light where my pride lurks. Drag it out of 00:08:52.570 --> 00:08:55.710 the shadows. Show me how foolish it really is. 00:08:58.370 --> 00:09:00.909 Daniel 5 does that, but it doesn't only say, 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:07.269 turn from foolish pride. A bare command is never 00:09:07.269 --> 00:09:10.090 much help for people like you and me. If I'm 00:09:10.090 --> 00:09:13.190 simply told to turn from my foolish pride, I'll 00:09:13.190 --> 00:09:15.110 either be too proud to listen like Belshazzar, 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:18.610 or I'll try to turn from it through my own willpower, 00:09:18.669 --> 00:09:20.629 tell myself I'm strong enough to do better this 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:22.649 time around. Well, that's just another form of 00:09:22.649 --> 00:09:26.830 pride. So Daniel 5 says, turn from foolish pride 00:09:26.830 --> 00:09:31.350 by trusting the humble king. Turn from foolish 00:09:31.350 --> 00:09:35.070 pride by trusting the humble king. There's a 00:09:35.070 --> 00:09:37.450 contrast here, isn't there? Between Belshazzar 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.649 and his dad in chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar humbled 00:09:40.649 --> 00:09:44.730 himself. Belshazzar doesn't. What's the turning 00:09:44.730 --> 00:09:47.429 point? What's the difference? What's the moment 00:09:47.429 --> 00:09:51.929 that changes for Nebuchadnezzar? It's not when 00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:55.879 he goes mad. His madness was God's just punishment 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:59.279 for his mad pride. The turning point comes, if 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:00.799 you've got a Bible, you'll find it for yourself 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:05.519 in chapter four, verse 34. What happens there? 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:10.519 We're told he raises his eyes to heaven away 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:13.200 from himself. And the scripture says that is 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:17.480 the moment when his sanity is restored. And what's 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:21.279 the first same thing he does? I blessed the most 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.320 high. and praised and honored him who lives forever. 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:29.740 See, Nebuchadnezzar came to a point of realizing 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:32.879 we can only turn from our foolish pride if we 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:37.720 turn towards something better. And so Daniel 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.639 5 shows us the most high God in all his power. 00:10:42.340 --> 00:10:45.220 It's easy to miss this. Don't forget what we 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:47.799 are witnessing in this chapter because The Bible 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:50.279 almost sort of skims over the historical detail, 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:53.259 but this is basically the end point of perhaps 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:55.720 the greatest world empire there had ever been 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:59.019 up to this point in history. Daniel 5 is where 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:02.100 it finishes. In verse 30, Babylon is done forever. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:09.440 Why? Verse 26, because God has numbered its days 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:14.970 and brought it to an end. If you know the wider 00:11:14.970 --> 00:11:17.129 story of Daniel, you might remember that's exactly 00:11:17.129 --> 00:11:21.350 what God said he would do back in chapter two, 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:25.190 that famous dream Nebuchadnezzar has there of 00:11:25.190 --> 00:11:28.629 the giant statue with different chunks made up 00:11:28.629 --> 00:11:32.570 of different elements. He said then, God said 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:36.070 that he would break the Babylonian empire like 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:38.169 the golden head of that statue in the dream was 00:11:38.169 --> 00:11:41.529 broken. And this is him doing it. This is God 00:11:41.529 --> 00:11:46.610 keeping his words. Daniel showing us the most 00:11:46.610 --> 00:11:50.309 high doesn't just rule kingdoms. He rules history 00:11:50.309 --> 00:11:55.230 and there is none that can stay his hand. Well, 00:11:55.289 --> 00:11:59.350 seeing that, seeing the most high, paying attention 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:03.490 to the way that Daniel elevates and lights up 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:08.730 the Lord reminds us that we are very low. That 00:12:08.730 --> 00:12:13.250 title for God, the Most High, particular characteristic 00:12:13.250 --> 00:12:17.269 of Daniel and his book, reminds us that we are 00:12:17.269 --> 00:12:22.750 very low. It punctures our pride. But that's 00:12:22.750 --> 00:12:26.129 not quite enough because our pride is so subtle, 00:12:26.149 --> 00:12:29.669 so adept, it can even hide behind low self -esteem. 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:35.429 If God's greatness just shrivels us, we stay 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:38.970 focused on our shriveled nature. thinking a lot 00:12:38.970 --> 00:12:42.789 about how weak and ineffective we are focused 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:47.289 still on ourselves. So as God breaks the kingdom 00:12:47.289 --> 00:12:49.929 of Babylon and starts to fulfill that dream from 00:12:49.929 --> 00:12:52.289 chapter two, he's pointing us as well to how 00:12:52.289 --> 00:12:55.909 that dream ends. If Daniel 5 is the first bit 00:12:55.909 --> 00:12:58.230 of the dream coming true, the head breaking, 00:12:58.450 --> 00:13:00.470 we're supposed to remember the end of the dream, 00:13:00.649 --> 00:13:04.080 what happens. at that moment because it works 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:08.100 like this first babylon breaks and then persia 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:11.360 breaks and then the greek empire breaks and then 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:14.019 the roman empire emerges and in that dream of 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:17.340 chapter 2 we're told in those days the roman 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:19.860 days the god of heaven will set up a kingdom 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:25.340 that will never be destroyed and when jesus steps 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:28.659 onto the scene of history he announces the kingdom 00:13:28.659 --> 00:13:32.389 of god has come near Repent and believe the good 00:13:32.389 --> 00:13:38.090 news. Repent, turn from your foolish pride. How? 00:13:38.409 --> 00:13:43.029 By believing the good news. By believing the 00:13:43.029 --> 00:13:46.549 good news that the most high God has used his 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:50.330 power, all the power that we see in Daniel, with 00:13:50.330 --> 00:13:54.549 a posture of humility and a purpose of love. 00:13:57.610 --> 00:14:01.940 The one king. Who could honestly have said, is 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:04.840 not this the great world which I have built as 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:07.720 the royal residence by my mighty power for the 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.740 glory of my majesty? Nebuchadnezzar's words from 00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:13.299 chapter four. The one king who could actually 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:16.799 have said that instead says, I have come not 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.620 to be served, but to serve and to give my life 00:14:20.620 --> 00:14:25.399 as a ransom for many. The one king who could 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:30.460 fairly have grasped equality with God. That thing 00:14:30.460 --> 00:14:33.639 that Nebuchadnezzar and his son stretched for, 00:14:33.820 --> 00:14:37.120 instead emptied himself by taking the form of 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:39.679 a servant, by being born in the likeness of men, 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.320 being found in human form, humbled himself by 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.259 becoming obedient to the point of death, even 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:50.960 death of the cross. The fact that God is most 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:55.559 high means that we are very low and should not 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:58.639 be proud. But the fact that God the most high 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.240 uses his power to stoop very low in order to 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:07.500 lift us means that we are greatly loved and don't 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:12.419 need to elevate ourselves. Here's the glorious 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:17.080 gospel truth. My pride could never lift me half 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:22.519 as high as God has placed me in Jesus. With a 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:25.639 king like him, we don't need to steal his job. 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:33.769 Sometimes you'll come across the true idea that 00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:37.950 pride is us pushing God away. That's real. But, 00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:40.070 you know, it's also our way of coping with the 00:15:40.070 --> 00:15:43.450 aftermath. It's our way of coping in a world 00:15:43.450 --> 00:15:45.570 without God or where we're acting like there's 00:15:45.570 --> 00:15:48.610 no God. Because if he's not looking out for me, 00:15:48.669 --> 00:15:50.889 if we've, as it were, got rid of him from our 00:15:50.889 --> 00:15:53.169 minds, well, then I'd better look out for myself, 00:15:53.370 --> 00:15:58.740 right? That's why to our fallen natures. Pride 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:02.379 feels so sensible where other sins might feel 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:08.500 silly quite quickly. Pride feels right all too 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:13.179 easily because in a world without God, it's unavoidable, 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:17.139 essential. But because we don't live in a world 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:22.019 without God, it is deeply foolish, most especially 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:25.389 for God's people. Because God is not only ruling 00:16:25.389 --> 00:16:28.970 our world, he's caring for us. All the power 00:16:28.970 --> 00:16:33.070 of the Most High given in a posture of humility 00:16:33.070 --> 00:16:38.970 for a purpose of love. So, brothers, sisters, 00:16:39.269 --> 00:16:45.230 unleash the gospel on your pride. When God's 00:16:45.230 --> 00:16:48.789 word shines a light on our hearts, pride is going 00:16:48.789 --> 00:16:50.990 to scuttle through a dark corner like a startled 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:55.470 spider. It'll crouch behind some other sin or 00:16:55.470 --> 00:16:58.289 struggle and say, look at that one, ignore me. 00:17:00.669 --> 00:17:04.309 I think this is held true for me in pastoral 00:17:04.309 --> 00:17:07.869 ministry. People come and talk about their sins 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:11.430 and their struggles. The one that we tend to 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:16.680 find hardest to admit is pride. We don't want 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:20.059 to admit that pride lies at the root of our other 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:22.400 sins, our anger, our gossip, our prayerlessness. 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:25.640 I think because in our redeemed nature, we do 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.420 sense that our pride is ridiculous and ridiculous 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:33.220 sin feels shameful. Surely we should be better 00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:38.200 than this by now. But the gospel came. The gospel 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:42.900 comes for ridiculous sinners like you and me. 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:47.589 Jesus came. to take the judgment and the shame 00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:52.470 that our pride earns. His message to all who 00:17:52.470 --> 00:17:55.309 receive him is not, I'm king, you're not, so 00:17:55.309 --> 00:17:59.769 kneel and knuckle under. It's, I'm king, you 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:03.650 don't have to be. So be free from acting like 00:18:03.650 --> 00:18:06.049 you are and killing yourself in the process. 00:18:08.529 --> 00:18:10.910 And the turning point for us in our struggle 00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:13.890 with pride. And therefore, in our struggle with 00:18:13.890 --> 00:18:17.549 a hundred other sins that cover pride over, the 00:18:17.549 --> 00:18:22.230 turning point for us is even more potent than 00:18:22.230 --> 00:18:25.009 it was for Nebuchadnezzar, because he saw the 00:18:25.009 --> 00:18:28.289 most high God in his power. That's kind of all 00:18:28.289 --> 00:18:33.490 he saw. We see him in Jesus, using all of that 00:18:33.490 --> 00:18:37.069 power in a posture of humility for a purpose 00:18:37.069 --> 00:18:42.890 of love, stooping low to lift us high. In the 00:18:42.890 --> 00:18:46.589 light of a gospel like that, to a God like that, 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:51.029 you and I, we can safely admit our ridiculous 00:18:51.029 --> 00:18:55.730 pride to him. We can admit how it drives other 00:18:55.730 --> 00:18:58.470 sins, admit how it plays into other struggles. 00:18:58.490 --> 00:19:03.769 We can admit. And then we will admire. We will 00:19:03.769 --> 00:19:08.950 admire the Lord Jesus. Praise him, magnify him, 00:19:09.109 --> 00:19:13.880 exalt him, delight in him. Ultimately, it's praise 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:23.200 that kills pride. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:29.380 we are ridiculous in our sin. Thank you that 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:33.039 the Lord Jesus moves towards ridiculous sinners 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:40.460 in power and grace. Thank you that he willingly 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:45.670 takes our shameful rebellion and inflation of 00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:50.890 ourselves on himself on the cross. And now serves 00:19:50.890 --> 00:19:56.170 us remarkably as king so that we don't have to 00:19:56.170 --> 00:20:00.690 fake the job ourselves. And we pray for the power 00:20:00.690 --> 00:20:03.890 of that gospel to go to work more and more deeply 00:20:03.890 --> 00:20:09.049 in our hearts to free us from pride and all that 00:20:09.049 --> 00:20:12.200 it breeds. And to make us a people of praise 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:18.140 for the most high God. In his name we pray. Amen.