Sheridan Lake Bible Church
SLBC Sunday March 29, 2026
  • Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)
  • Sing Hosanna
  • Approach My Soul

      • Ephesians 2:8–10KJV1900

  • Crown Him With Many Crowns
  • We Will Glorify
  • There Is A Redeemer
  • Let’s begin this morning with a word of prayer.
    Lord Jesus, we love you today,
    Today we celebrate Your Triumphal Entry into Jerulsalem. As You made Your way into the Holy City, the people waved palm branches, laid their cloaks before You and shouted; “Hosanna to the Son of David”. You fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 as You rode in “righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” You fulfilled Psalm 118:25-26 as the crowds shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!” Even more amazingly, the day You entered Jerusalem was the exact day foretold by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9:24-26 that You would enter Jerusalem 483 years, to the day, after the decree was given to rebuild Jerusalem. You fulfilled the prophecy from Genesis 49:10-11 that the Messiah would come from the Tribe of Judah. You are the King of kings, the righteous Ruler. We praise Your great Name. The Triumphal Entry reiterated for what is becoming clearer to us each week as we travel through the pages of the Book of Daniel, You are the Sovereign Ruler of all of creation. You are El Elyon, the Most High God.
    But Father, as we enter Holy Week, the week leading up to the Crucifixion, and culminating with the Resurrection which we will celebrate next Sunday, we come to the realization that the large crowd that shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” that day, just 5 days later shouted May His blood be on us and on our children” “Crucify Him!” In their shortsightedness, they were expecting a temporary redemption from their enemy, the Roman Empire. You, with Divine eyes looking into eternity, looked pass their temporary bondage to Roman rule, and instead provided redemption from the enemy who controlled the Roman Empire, and who held all of mankind in an eternal bondage. How grateful we are that in Your first coming You didn’t come as the conquering King, but as the spotless Lamb of God Who purchased our salvation with Your blood. That we might experience Sola Gratia, that Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone.
    Father, this morning we continue looking at a mighty king, who had a head knowledge of You, who had already acknowledged Your might and power, but who had yet to surrender his life to You. Father, in my heart this morning, I can’t help but get the sense that there are some listening this morning, whether here in person, or perhaps online, who are exactly where King Nebuchadnezzar was at the beginning of Daniel chapter 4, they know full well of Who You are, and even more than the king, also know You are the Messiah, but that knowledge has not moved from their head to their heart. Father, as we look into Your Word this morning, I pray that the unchanging truths of Your Word will penetrate into the depths of their heart, and that today would be the day they fully surrender to You.
    These things I pray in the Name of Jesus our Savior, Amen
    Would you please turn in your copies of God’s Word to Daniel chapter 4. Our plan this morning is to look at verses 19-37, and we will be reading verses 19-25 shortly, so please have these verses marked and ready for that time.
    As we began Daniel chapter 4 last Sunday morning, we began by looking at The Testimony of a Gentile King. That began with King Nebuchadnezzar Praising the God of Heaven. As we read on, the king took us back in time, at least 8 years earlier, and told the story of the great lengths the Most High God went to, to bring the king to the point of full surrender, where he could experience the great grace of God. This all began with King Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream, a dream that brought with it great fear in the heart of the king. Yet he didn’t fully understand the dream, so he Summoned His Advisors to provide an interpretation of the dream. Based on a historical look at these advisors, it seemed highly unlikely that they didn’t have a pretty good idea of the meaning of the dream, but The Advisor Wouldn’t Provide an Interpretation likely fearing the anger of the king at an unfavorable interpretation. Finally, the king summoned Daniel, the chief of all his advisors. The king knew Daniel had a special relationship with El Elyon, The Most High God, that The God of Daniel was “set apart” from all other gods. This brings us to this mornings passage.
    Would you please stand, in honor of the reading of God’s Word?
    Daniel 4:19–25 ESV
    Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.
    May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word, please be seated.
    The sin that gave birth to all sin is recorded in the Prophet Isaiah 14, when a powerful angel, in fact the most powerful of all the angels, an angel named Lucifer let his pride get the best of him.
    Isaiah 14 recounts the fall of Lucifer, a once glorious angel who became prideful, declaring, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God.' His pride led to his downfall, as God cast him out of heaven. This biblical account highlights that pride not only brings personal destruction but also separates one from God's grace. It serves as a sobering reminder that God lovingly humbles the proud, regardless of their former splendor or authority.
    Unfortunately, pride didn’t end with Lucifer. In fact we see it creep to the forefront once again in Genesis 3, when Lucifer, now called Satan, came on to the scene and tempted Eve to, in pride, seek to be like God, knowing good from evil.
    To a certain degree you could say that pride gives birth to virtually every sin. The half brother of Jesus pointed to the danger of pride when he wrote James 4:6
    James 4:6 ESV
    “….God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
    In our passage this morning we will begin by looking at;
    The Grace of the Humble. Vs. 19 & 20
    Let’s take a moment and read these 2 verses;
    Daniel 4:19–20 ESV
    Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth…
    Interestingly, we read that the dream “dismayed” Daniel for a while. Picture hearing something so alarming that your jaw drops in horror. It could be the diagnosis from a doctor, a phone call from a loved one giving you bad news concerning another loved one, or a whole host of other things. In those moments, time just seems to stand still, in your mind you just can’t imagine this being the final word. That is what was happening in the mind of Daniel at that moment.
    Next we see;
    The Encouragement of the Pagan king. Vs. 19
    King Nebuchadnezzar recognized the dismay on the face of Daniel, dismay of this magnitude is not easily hidden.
    By this time, Daniel had been living in the Babylonian Empire for between 30-40 years. Let’s not forget, he and many others had been kidnapped from their homeland, which had since been decimated. His hometown of Jerusalem had been torn down and burned to the ground, and many of his friends and loved ones had been brutalized, all at the command of King Nebuchadnezzar. Yet we get the impression, based on what we see here and throughout the rest of the book of Daniel, that his alarm was not based on fear for his own safety. While that type of fear appears to be what was at play with the rest of the advisor of the king, that doesn’t appear to be the case in the dismay of Daniel. Daniels dismay seems to come from a heart of compassion for the king. Look at Daniels reply in verse 20; “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!”.
    What was it in the life of Daniel that softened his heart toward the brutal king? Ultimately, I believe it came from;
    The Faith of the Humble. Vs. 25; Esther 4:14
    Daniels great faith has now been on display for 30-40 years. Very likely beginning back in 605 BC as they made their way from Jerusalem to the city of Babylon. When Daniel and his 3 companions determined in their hearts that they would stand firm in their faith of God, and then watched as God blessed them above all the other young men as they trained in the Babylonian University.
    It was solidified in chapter 2, when God gave Daniel the unknown details of the kings dream as well as it’s interpretation.
    Although Daniel wasn’t present at the time, it jumped to the forefront in chapter 3, when the Hand of God protected Hananiah, Misheal and Azariah, from the destructive flames of the fiery furnace. I would imagine these 4 had quite the discussion about the miraculous Hand of God protecting them as they stood firm in their faith in the face of an impossible situation!
    The humble Daniel, even though he had experienced great heartache throughout his life, had come to understand that the God Whom he served, El Elyon-The Most High God, was sovereign and in complete control of all things. While I am sure that he was less than thrilled by some of what he had faced over the years, he trusted God completely. But I believe there was something else at play here, that likely played a role in the dismay we see in verse 19. The same thing we see Mordecai declare to Queen Esther, some 70 plus years in the future.
    In Esther chapter 4, the entire Jewish population was facing possible extinction if Queen Esther didn’t do something. But the queen knew that to approach the king without being summoned could bring about her death. As a result she was filled with fear. Her relative, Mordecai understood her fear, but he also understood the Hand of God, as a result, in verse 14 he told the queen; Esther 4:14
    Esther 4:14 ESV
    For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
    I believe Daniel knew that the sovereign Hand of God was at work, and that God had a very specific purpose for Daniel being where he was in the Babylonian Empire. He trusted God completely and wanted to be used of God in anyway God saw fit. It also appears, as we read through the pages of Daniel, that he had not only forgiven King Nebuchadnezzar, he had also grown to love the pagan king. The dream of the king, here in chapter 4, plus the interpretation God had given Daniel, only strengthened his knowledge that God had a very specific plan. Knowing that plan, he tells the king at the end of verse 25, that all this was coming to pass to bring the king to the point where he knew;
    “.. that The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.”
    But the king wasn’t there yet, so Daniel proceeds to let the king know that he had good reason to be fearful of his dream. For great heartache was knocking on the door of his life. But even in the face of great heartache;
    God Enabled Daniel to See Hope. Vs. 23
    Let’s look at verse 23;
    Daniel 4:23 ESV
    And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze…
    The hope Daniel see’s is in the words “but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze…”.
    I remember as a young boy, as my dad was teaching me how to properly take care of weeds in his flower gardens. My desire was to just use trimmers, it was far quicker and easier that what my dad wanted me to do. Surely my way was better! But my dad pointed out that to properly kill something, you had to pull it out, root and all. In the words, in the words; “but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze…” Daniel knew that God still had a purpose for the king. A God whose power has no limits could yank out the tree, roots and all, quickly and easily, but God made it clear, the stump and roots were to remain.
    Now let’s take a few minutes and look at;
    The Interpretation. Vs. 25-26
    To understand the interpretation, really we need only look at the verses, with minor commentary, as they don’t require a lot of additional explanation.
    Daniel 4:25–26 ESV
    …That you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will. 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.
    To a large degree, the only thing that is not clear is the timeframe. What does “seven periods of time” mean? Most Biblical scholars believe this to be a period of 7 years. This timeline is seen both in the passage as well as some non-biblical historical accounts, which include a several year period of silence, where virtually nothing is written about the king. Plus a Greek historian named Megasthenes writes of something regarding Nebuchadnezzar that was very similar to what Daniel recorded in these verses.
    In the passage, we could see 7 years in “his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.”
    The next thing we see in this Biblical account is;
    Daniel’s Love for the King. Vs. 27
    Perhaps you may be wondering why I chose the word “love” as opposed to “challenge” or “recommendation” or “suggestion”? I suppose I could have used any of those words and they would have accurately portrayed what was taking place in this situation. The reason i chose “love” is, when we truly care for someone, with an unselfish love, if we see them walking a dangerous path that could lead to destruction, our love for them compels us to confront their behavior.
    From a personal benefit standpoint, confronting the king, specifically regarding sin in his life, put Daniel in a pretty precarious situation. Again, Nebuchadnezzar was not a reasonable man. But Daniel had an unselfish love for the king that compelled him to address the sin in the kings life. Thus we read in verse 27;
    Daniel 4:27 ESV
    Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
    Daniel counseled the king in 3 areas.
    Break off sin.
    Practice Righteousness.
    Show mercy to the oppressed.
    Keep these 3 things in mind as we move forward.
    Unfortunately the king didn’t take the advice of Daniel, or if he did, his repentance was short lived. Which leads us to;
    Pride Comes Before Destruction. Vs. 29-33
    In these verses we read of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation. Which we first see in;
    Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. Vs. 29-30
    Look at verse 29 & 30
    Daniel 4:29–30 ESV
    At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
    Notice the repeated personal pronouns in these 2 verses. In verse 28 Nebuchadnezzar is the one identified, which all the personal pronouns are pointing towards.
    (Go through the personal pronouns, highlighting them while reading through the verses.)
    Nebuchadnezzar had more than one palace, probably 2 in Babylon alone. History seems to indicate his favorite palace was the southern palace, which included his main residence and the famed throne room. It is also likely that the southern palace included the famous “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” one of the 7 Great Wonders of the Ancient times. I guess in some ways you can see that personal pride could have welled up inside as you walked on the roof of the palace looking over the majesty of the kingdom and the beauty of the palace. But in this instance, King Nebuchadnezzar was taking responsibility for something the El Elyon, Most High God had done. The king was an instrument in His Hands. Which had now been made clear to the king on multiple occasions.
    Which leads us to;
    Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction. Vs. 31-33
    God had graciously given the king a year to change course, and perhaps for some of that time he had changed course, we don’t really know for sure, but on this day pride got the best of him. Although, to be honest, I tend to think that if there was any change, is was short lived, if any at all. Look again at Daniels loving counsel to him in vs. 27;
    Do you remember the 3 things Daniel counseled the king to change? Break off sin. Practice Righteousness & Show mercy to the oppressed. If he ever showed mercy to the oppressed, or any of these things, it apparently didn’t last long. With that in mind, for turning a deaf ear to the loving counsel of Daniel, and for personal pride in that which the God of the universe accomplished, he was humbled by God. Which resulted in the fulfillment of Daniels interpretation;
    Daniel 4:31–33 ESV
    While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.
    Neither Scripture nor history gives us any indication to how his throne was preserved for those 7 years. Generally, there were any number of high ranking officials that would gladly take over for a king, even to the point that history and Scripture is filled with high ranking officials assassinating rulers to take over the kingdom.
    What Scripture does declare is that the kingdom would be preserved. We see this in vs. 26; but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze…”. The God of heaven preserved the kingdom, perhaps Daniel was the instrument God used to see to it the Kingdom remained secure for the day Nebuchadnezzar would humble himself before the Lord.
    The Restoration of the King. Vs. 34-37
    Let me close out by reading that last few verses of chapter 4.
    Daniel 4:34–37 ESV
    At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His Hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are right and His ways are just; and those who walk in pride He is able to humble.
    In the end, once the king humbled himself before the God of Heaven, God bestowed His grace upon him, and returned him to the position he once held.
    May we, like Daniel, trust in the perfect plan of the sovereign God. May we turn from sinful ways, practice righteousness, show mercy to the oppressed, and be careful to humbly serve God and give praise to Him and Him alone, anytime He accomplishes His will through us.
    Let’s close our time this morning in prayer.

      • Daniel 4:19–25ESV

      • James 4:6ESV

      • Daniel 4:19–20ESV

      • Esther 4:14ESV

      • Daniel 4:23ESV

      • Daniel 4:25–26ESV

      • Daniel 4:27ESV

      • Daniel 4:29–30ESV

      • Daniel 4:31–33ESV

      • Daniel 4:34–37ESV

  • Lead Me To Calvary
  • May the Lord
Sheridan Lake Bible Church
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