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Oct 04, 2020

Talons to Treasures (Click for Resources)

Passage: Daniel 4:1-37

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: Daniel

Category: Grace Brevard

Keywords: discipline, pride, joy, forgiveness, humility, repentance, restoration

It is easy and tempting to spend our puff ourselves up by building and displaying our personal resumes which pridefully prove to others (and to ourselves) that we are, because of our effort, valuable. All of this makes us appear full and satisfied when the truth is that, on our own we are empty and agonized, yet in Him we are valuable not because of what we’ve done but because we are His beloved children, and our “successes” are actually a gracious gift from Father. The empty way of life creates fear and anxiety because I never feel like I am enough and what I have can easily be taken away from me; while the second Gospel mentality sees that Jesus gave up his fullness and became “empty” on the cross so that I could be filled with Him and His righteousness, which draws me into joy and thanksgiving.

GBV Livestream 10/4/2020 from Grace Brevard on Vimeo.

Order of Worship

PRELUDE: Music Special - Perfect Love

WELCOME  / ANNOUNCEMENTS / OPENING PRAYER:

CALL TO WORSHIP: Philippians 2:5-11 

MUSIC: 

  • Almighty God 
  • Just as I am 
  • O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go

READING: Jeremiah 9:23-24

MESSAGE TITLE: Talons to Treasures 

CENTRAL TEXT: Daniel 4

BENEDICTION: Jude 1:24-25

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • 1 Cor 4:6b
  • 1 Peter 5:6-7
  • Luke 12:19-21
  • James 4:10
  • Rom 12:3
  • Philippians 2:1-11
  • Prov 16:18
  • Psalm 10:3-6,16

ILLUSTRATIONS:

 

Discussion Questions:

Here is potentially a way to discover your specific pride-type:

1) How you view/treat God.
When/Why do you feel like he’s doing things wrong?

When you hear God is totally Sovereign?

You might tell Him “You can’t tell me what to do”

or “You are doing things wrong! Do it my way!”


2) How you view/treat others.
Do you see people in vertical relationships (above and below one another) or horizontally (all equals)?

What people do you tend to think negatively about?
It may be based on their:
Spirituality, Finances, Culture, Politics, Tweets

This often will go beyond what they are doing and into WHO they are.


3) How you view/treat yourself.
There are Two-Faces of Pride, both growing out of being overly focused on yourself

1) Elevation - “I’m better” - When do you find yourself as thinking about how “great” you are (especially compared to that person)?


2) Dehumanization - “I’m terrible” - This sneaky side of pride is revealed in me thinking how bad I am...but it’s still all about me.


Pride begins on the inside and bears fruit on the outside, so that your outsides (actions, relationships) reveal what is already true on the inside.
How is that true in Nebuchadnezzar turning into a “beast”?

How does our pride turn us “into a beast”?
(our outsides reflecting our insides)


Read 4:34-35.
Rather than wallowing in the state of our pride-condition we are invited to join Nebuchadnezzar in repentance and healing.


Why is God disciplining the pride out of us? (4:17)


How is this actually very freeing rather than a burden?
(i.e. how is my demanding my kingship actually a burden?)


In the end Nebuchadnezzar was Uber-Restored. Not just restored back to his original self, but was even “added” to.

How is this a reflection of what Christ does for us?

(The Gospel says that we aren’t just forgiven and left clean but God adds the Righteousness of Christ into us.)


James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.


Do you see the glorious inversion that the Gospel does?
- When we insist that we are kings, we become beasts.
We are stripped of the very things we are seeking.

- When we acknowledge we are beasts, God makes us royalty.
We are overwhelmed with the thing (love) we want most.