First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge

You're NOT in control. The world is not OUT of control.
All power is both transient and derived. It comes from God's sovereignty. It's by grant.

You don't LIVE here. You LOVE here.
Our citizenship is in heaven from which the LORD will come again. You can't make a permanent home here.

• “There is a Belshazzar lurking in all of our hearts. We all need God to deliver us from us!” David Helm
• We don’t know why God deals with some more harshly and others with more grace. We don’t know why God administers quick judgment sometimes and offers patient grace other times. All we do know, is that in his perfect sovereignty, he offers grace when and to whom he wants. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar BOTH deserved God’s wrath. They BOTH deserved to suffer the consequences of their sin. Neither of them was worthy of God’s mercy. Things may not seem fair in the world’s economy, but in God’s economy, every ounce of his grace is a pure gift for us to treasure.
• Maybe we too often presume the mercies of God. Maybe we rely too heavily on God’s grace. We think he’ll always deal with us with patient grace like Nebuchadnezzar instead of quick judgment like Belshazzar. Maybe we don’t take our sin seriously enough. Maybe we rely too much on our atonement, knowing our sins have been fully forgiven by the blood of Jesus, that we don’t rightly fear the consequences of our sins. Maybe we falsely believe, like Belshazzar, that we are indestructible.
• “Whenever God brings a man to the end of himself, smashing all his props and wasting his idols, it’s a favorable moment indeed. If he will but see it!” Dale Davis
• The queen remembered Daniel, which tells us that he was just as devoted to the Lord in his PRIVATE life as he was in his PUBLIC life. It tells us that his commitment to the Lord, the way he lived out his life of faith, was consistent whether he had a big audience or not. His position and power changed much over the years, but his willingness to serve the Lord, remained intact and constant.

There is so much unrest in our culture these days. But God wants to give us rest. Peace. He is holy and powerful. We learn this clearly in Psalm 29.

Verses 1-2:
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

Verses 9-10:
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

• God, in his Grace, gave King Nebuchadnezzar a whole year to repent and turn from his pride. God is patient! But he is also just and loving, and therefore doesn't let us stay in our sin.
• Nebuchadnezzar's pride is always getting in the way of him hearing God. When does our pride get in the way of hearing God?
• How has God humbled you in your life?
• All of this happened to Nebuchadnezzar so he would "know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will." (Stated three times in this chapter: verses 17, 25, and 32.)
• Nebuchadnezzar finally "lifted his eyes to heaven" and praised and honored God who lives forever. He looked up! When has God changed your circumstances in a way that you had no choice but to look up??