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Discussion Forum : Devotional Thoughts : THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR...PART 5

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endlessjoe
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Joined: 2010/10/26
Posts: 157
University of Calabar Nigeria

 THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR...PART 5

TEXT: DANIEL 4: 29-31; 2CORINTHIANS 12:7-8

"At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom
of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that
I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power,
and for the honour of my majesty?While the word was in the king's
mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee."

"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance
of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above
measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might
depart from me."

It seems good to us and the Spirit of the living God to yet place more emphasis on certain points from this Epistle by a man, who saw what pride is capable of doing to a man. Here, the king walk in pride on the roof of his place. From the top of the roof of his house, where he could see almost the whole city of Babylon. He got overwhelmed by the beauty of the city and ascribed the credit thereof to himself by saying, "... Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?"

He surmised proudly, " Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" Put differently, God heard him saying to himself, "Look how great Babylon is! I built the royal palace by my own impressive power and for my glorious honor!"

These words sent up to heaven a picture of a proud man...God, by these statements, immediately sensed pride in king Nebuchadnezzar. Pride can be noticed from the words utters by any man. When a proud man talks, it is noticeable. Let a man open his mouth and his pride would be betrayed forthwith. What we call testimony before the congregation sometimes is a sheer manifestation of pride. Whenever we catch ourselves talking profusely about our achievements without an emphasis on the grace of God, pride is immediately noticed.

We have seen servants of God that said, "But when I prayed...when I arrived...when the demons saw me miracles happened! Come to my church and i will make you prosperous! I have come to kill poverty and the devil from your life. If you just see me, I will prophesy! If you read my books and listen to my messages, your diliverance is settled!"

Me, I, etc dominate their messages...whenever we make arrogant statements of this kind, heaven takes note of us and tags us as proud and arrogant. Swiftness or aptness to talk about our achievements, successes in ministry, spiritual life and anything that tickles men's fancy, could be noticed as pride by God.

Even the gospel itself can be preached out of pride and arrogance. Imagine a preacher saying that because he has been made a priest and king by God, he would not have anything to do with the poor and people of low status. Heare what peter says: (1Peter 3:15)

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear:"(KJV)

"Enthrone Christ as Lord in your heart. If anyone asks you to give an
account of the hope which you cherish, be ready at all times to answer
for It, but courteously and with due reverence."(Knox)

The simple admonition here is that whenever we are asked about our faith, our answers should be given in meekness and fear....courteously and with due reverence! Thus should the gospel be preached. The word of God should be thought with and in boldness and assurance but not in disregard to the spirit of meekness and courtesy.

So, a man can become proud over anything and thereby utters arrogant words that may end him in God's displeasure. Let us see what follows the king's arrogant quiet thoughts and words:

"While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar,to thee it is spoken;
The kingdom is departed from thee."

Anytime proud words are found in our mouths, we lose touch with the kingdom! The kingdom leaves and stays far away from the zone of the proud and unbroken. Friends, has the kingdom( anointing, utterance, power and divine authority) departed from you because of pride? It is time we watch our utterances. "...Oh king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken...concerning you it has been decreed...'The kingdom is departed!'" Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. The kingdom lives with those who are humble. Let our words be seasoned with grace and salt! Amen!

May God touch our tongue, thereby preventing us from this monster and virus, that can send a king into the wilderness from the palace and place him amongst the bruth beasts...this king was the most humiliated person in the history of man! Pride goes before a fall. In the next segment of this meditation, we shall turn our attention to Paul in the light of the second text under consideration. To be continued.


_________________
Emeka Joe Uzosike

 2014/11/21 16:41Profile





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