MEMORISE: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
READ: Daniel 4:27 -37
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
30 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?
31 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.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
MESSAGE
One day, I was on a prayer walk when I got into a conversation with God. You see, if you were to ask a primary pupil what the origin of a building is, he would say it is in the architect’s mind. A secondary student would say it is in the owner’s mind. Someone who has a bit of deeper knowledge would tell you that the origin of the building started when the owner of the building was born. If you were to consider it more deeply, you would see that if the parents of the owner of the building had never met each other to conceive him or her, the building would never have been built. Then again, if the parents were not born, they would never have met each other and the building would never have been built. By the time you go on and on, you would discover that everything we see in this world originated from God Himself. Every single thing.
Now, look at all things you have. Where do they originate from? From you or from God? Many times, people say, “I worked hard to achieve the things I have. I used my brain well and money came in”. Who owns that brain of yours? There was a professor who always sat in front of my grammar school when I was a student there. If you want to hear real history, all you had to do was just buy him a drink and he will tell you all that you needed to known about the history of any part of the world you asked of, yet he could not remember his own name. It is only by the mercy of God that your brain is still working. It is only by His mercy that you are not homeless today. It doesn’t matter what you achieved, it all came from God and if you decide to raise your shoulders too high He can withdraw it all, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar in our bible reading today. He thought that all he had was achieved by his own wisdom, so God decided to teach him a lesson. God just shifted something tiny in his brain and before anyone knew it, the king was out in the field eating grass for seven years. The moment God had mercy on him and restored his senses, he ceased from praising God, saying “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his days judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” (Daniel 4:37).
PRAYER POINT
Father, I just want to praise you for all that you have given me. I recognize that it is not by any power that I have whatever I have, it is by your mercy. Thank you Lord, for showing me mercy.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 136-138
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 19: O WORSHIP THE KING ALL GLORIOUS ABOVE
1 O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
2 O tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
3 Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
4 Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!
5 O measureless Might, unchangeable Love,
whom angels delight to worship above!
Your ransomed creation, with glory ablaze,
in true adoration shall sing to your praise!
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