Attack On Idols- Pride
Attack on idols – Week 4: Pride
Week 4 of Attack on Idols we are in Daniel 4, where we look at how Nebuchadnezzar’s pride led to his fall, but his humility led to restoration. Pride resists correction, hoards credit, and forgets God’s role in success. God will humble what we refuse to surrender. Attack pride by practicing humility — receive feedback, share credit with others, and give all glory to God (Philippians 2:3–4).
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Man, that’s that’s good stuff right there to see and to and to uh just realize you’re a part of, right? Uh you might have been able to see from the video there were several of us that were on that first trip and and to know that that we had a small little part of a church that has now been planted and has been going on for a couple years and that people are adding to it. They’re having to go to new space cuz they want to make room for more. One more. Right. you got it. They want to make room for one more. So, just seeing that um is awesome. And just know that when you give at the rock, then you’re helping make things like that possible. Um and they talked about three baptisms, which is really exciting, but it made me realize that you might not know this yet. Our baptistry has water in it. Like, we’ve been waiting for water to get in there since we did this remodel, and it’s full now. And uh I don’t know if anybody’s scheduled to get baptized tonight. I don’t know if anybody’s planning it, but I just want you to know it’s available and it’s ready. And um and it’s good, man. I’m excited about being with you tonight.
Uh I have not been at our Thursday night service for 2 weeks. And I feel um like like woo, you know what I mean? Like like happy hour is good. And it’s good to come and to be here and to be a part of it. And uh I hate that I had to miss the last two weeks. Uh, but I know you were in good hands. I know between Clay and AJ, a great word was preached over the last two weekends and great things happened as they as we talked about this this thing of attacking idols. Um, that that the series is about the idols that we tend to serve, the idols that we tend to have in our life. And remember, an idol is anything that takes the place of God. And and so we’ve said we’ve got to attack these idols and and get rid of them. That that we have to attack the idol of conformity. We have to attack the idol of of control. We have to attack uh the idol of image. Those are the three that we’ve hit. And man, we’ve hit on some hard things. And and I’m going to hit something again hard today.
And I just want to remind us all, this is important for us to hear. What I’m saying, what the guys have said over the last couple weeks, it’s not an attack on any individual, it’s an attack on the idols in our life. And it’s time to go to war. Today, we’re going to go to war against the idol of pride wi-i, which is going to make us ask this question, am I prideful? And there’s a couple easy ways to answer that, right? Like the person who immediately said, “Yeah,” probably has a lot of humility in their life because they’re, “Yep, yeah, I got to recognize it.” If you immediately say, “Well, maybe that probably means we have pride in our life as well.” Right? If you said, “No chance.” Well, you need to repent, right? But but let me let me make it easier on you. Let me make it harder on you. Let me give you a test.
A test that that I put together. There’s no scientific data on this. Okay? This is just a test that I came up with and then took it for myself cuz I felt like it would help me know if I have pride in my life or not. So, I’m just going to ask you 10 questions and you just answer it yourself. Here’s the way you answer it. If you answer yes, do this, right? And you don’t have to physically do it if you don’t want somebody to see your answers, okay? Um, but you can, but it’s just a tally mark that you just go if it’s a yes, think one. If if you say no, don’t add any. And see on a scale of a test uh, that’s 10 questions long, how many times do you actually say yes to that issue? You see what I’m getting at? So, so here it is, and I’ll throw the questions up on the board.
Question one of the test confession. Do I struggle to admit when I’m wrong? It’s yes or no. Okay. Uh pride resists confession. Humility owns it. Question two. Uh do I reject or avoid feedback, correction, or advice? Yes or no? Do I do I do I give excuses? Do I reject it or do I take it in? Pride rejects wisdom. Humility craves it. H how about this one? Credit. Do I regularly say I instead of we? Yes or no? Pride takes credit. Humility shares credit. Conversations. Do I interrupt, dominate, or steer conversations back to me? Do I end up becoming the subject of the conversation? Pride loves the spotlight. Humility shines it on others.
Competition. Do I feel envious or bitter when others succeed? Yes or no? Pride sees others as com competition. Humility celebrates others. How about this one? Comparison. Do I compare myself to others or to feel better or worse? Pride measures worth by comparison. Humility. Trust God’s grace. How about this one? Weakness. Do I hide or downplay my weakness? Yes or no? Pride says I’m good. Humility says I need to grow. Or how about this one? Service. Do I believe some task, positions, or people are below me. Uh, pride ranks things humility stoops to serve. Recognition. Do I crave attention, praise, or recognition? Pride feeds on applause. Humility gives it freely. Last one. Glory. Do I take credit for my successes or do I give glory to God?
It’s a test for you. But but I will tell you I took the test. And for me I was five out of 10. Somebody else Katie will always be honest, right? Anybody else want to admit that you are five or more? Seven. Something like that. 12. Right. Right. And you might go, “No, no.” And here’s what I would say. If it’s five or more, then then there’s a pride problem. Right. And and I’m I am confessing that tonight. I’m standing on stage saying I’m five out of 10. And there’s areas that I have pride issues in my life. All right, I know that maybe you’re you’re three or four. Well, okay. Well, that means there’s some areas where there’s some pride. Even if you’re only a one, it means there’s area that I need to grow, right? We all have this issue of pride. Some of us just at a level one, some of us at a level five, some of us at a level seven, some of us at a level 10. And we need to attack it because what we know from scripture is pride comes before a downfall.
That when you allow pride in your life, when you have this idol of pride, it will lead to destruction in your life. We see that from the book of Proverbs. We see that in the book of Daniel when we look at Daniel uh chapter 4. And I want to encourage you to go there. Daniel chapter 4. We’re going to be in it for a long period of time. All right? Uh so it’s going to be a uh like like not on the screen. I’m encouraging you to to go there to read it yourself uh to to follow along. And I’m going to make it easy on you, okay? If you have the Rock app, all right? And if you don’t, use the QR code, download it in front of you. We just made a sh a a a a shift in our our Rock app where if you go to the Rock app, there’s a button on the bottom that says sermons or at the top it says attack on idols. You click either one, it’ll take you to a bunch of sermon resources. It’ll take you to blogs. It’ll take you to transcripts of the sermon once the sermon’s done. It’ll take you to the reading plan. It’ll take you to the Bible. All you got to do is hit Bible and it’ll immediately pull up uh Daniel chapter 4 in your Uver app, which a lot of you use the Uver Bible app. So, so here’s what I’m challenging to do. Let’s be people of God’s word. Let’s open it up for ourselves. Paper version or digital version. Let’s look at it and let’s see what it has to say.
Because in Daniel chapter 4, what you’re going to see is a story about Nebuchadnezzar and his battle with pride. We’re going to see that pride was an idol in his life. And I’m going to take some time to read 26 verses. It’s going to be a little bit of reading. All right? So follow along in in your phone, in your Bible. Close your eyes and listen. Visualize it. Do what you need to do. I’m going to give a little bit of commentary in it. But I’m going to save the application to the end because when we get done with the scripture, I have three ways that we can simply humble ourselves and attack the uh the idol of pride. So So here’s what it says. It’s Daniel 4 uh starting in verse one. It reads like this. It says, “King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation language throughout the world. peace and prosperity to you. I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the most high God has performed for me. How great are his signs. How powerful his wonders. His kingdom will last forever. His rule through all generations.”
Let me pause there real quick. All right, this is important to catch that Nebuchadnezzar is saying, “Hey, listen, man. I got to tell you how great God is.” And then he goes to tell you how bad his life was. All right? That you need to see that he’s going, “Man, I want to give praise to God.” And the reason I want to give praise to God is because the testimony I want to share. It’s important to understand he’s getting ready to tell a testimony of what actually happened in his life and why he’s given praise to God. Let me keep going. Starts in verse four. I Nebuchadnezzar was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity. But one night, I had a dream that frightened me. I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon so they could tell me what my dream meant. When all the magicians, the enchanters, the astrologers, the fortune tellers came in. I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. At last, Daniel came before me and I told him the dream. He was named Belchazar after my god and the spirit of the holy gods is in him. And we’ll come back to that. I said to him, Belshazar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means.
that that when you look at those last two verses, what we really see in Nebuchadnezzar is he’s a man who’s spiritual. Understand this. He is polytheistic in his in his faith system. If you’ve been with us the last couple weeks, you see him in chapter one seeing good things in Daniel and Haniah, Azeriah, and Mishael. All right? In chapter two, you you see him going, “Oh, wait, wait. I need to honor God because these things are going to happen.” All right? And then all of a sudden he falls away in chapter three. And then chapter three he’s like, “Oh, I’m all into God.” And now we start in chapter four and he’s not again. Like he’s spiritual. He’s like wanting to know a little bit about God, but his heart’s not surrendered at this point. All right. So much so we see it that he says that Daniel the spirit of the gods like he doesn’t even understand like true holy god only one god. See, every other god is nothing but a fake idol. There’s only one God. It’s only one. And that’s what we’re going to see here.
It goes on. It says this, “While I was lying,” this is verse 10, “While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade. The birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from its tree. Then I lay there dreaming. I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted, “Cut down the tree, lop off its branches, shake off its leaves, scatter its fruit, chase the wild animals from the shade and the birds from the branches. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. And let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field for seven periods of time. Let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a human. For this has been decreed by the messengers. It is commanded by the holy ones so that everyone may know that the most high rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses, even the lowliest of people.”
I’m not going to try to explain all that, but I just want you to see it that he has this vision of a giant tree that is great, that is fruitful getting cut down and then a vision of some of somebody living wild amongst that stump and in the grass. That’s his dream. Then he goes on and says this verse 18, Belcheser, that is what the dream that I had, King Nebuchadnezzar had. Now tell me what it means for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” Upon hearing this, Daniel, also known as Belshazar, was overcome for a time, frightened by the meaning of the dream. Then he said to then the king said to him, “Belshazar,” don’t be alarmed by the dream. What does it mean?
Again, I got to pause right here because this is a really important thing. The king of the known world, the guy who was like in charge, has this dream. Daniel hears about it. Daniel knows what it means, and he’s like, “I don’t want to tell you what it means.” like he knows this is bad for the king. He is frightened because he’s like, “King, you’re about to be judged by God. This is what this dream means. I don’t want to tell you this dream.” But notice what Belshazar or excuse me, what what Nebuchadnezzar says. Nebuchadnezzar says, “Tell me the dream. I want to know.” And guys, I think this is so critical. This happened 2500 years ago. But I think it plays into our day like so real today that so many of us are afraid to tell people the truth when they need to hear from God. Yet people are desperately wanting to hear the truth from God. Yet it’s Christians. We’re like, “I’m afraid to tell them the truth.” Yet people are saying, “Would you please give me something that is real?” Do you see what I’m getting at right now? Like I think we live at a time where people are so tired of the lies that they’ve been fed. They’re saying, “Give me some truth, even if it’s tough to hear.” And guys, I have some truth tonight about pride that will be tough to hear. But I pray that if we hear it, not from my voice, but from the voice of the Holy Spirit, I pray that it leads us where we need to go.
Verse 19, Belchesar replied, this is the middle of the verse. I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, not to you. The tree you saw was growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves and was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade. The birds nested in its branches. That tree, your majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great, and your greatness reaches up to the heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth. He’s saying, dude, this is you. Verse 23. Then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven, saying, “Cut the down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump and the roots in the ground bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals of the field for seven periods of time.” This is what the dream means, your majesty, and what the most high has declared will happen to my lord, the king. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow. You will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time, which means seven years, will pass while you live this way until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.
This is going to happen. Verse 26, but the stump and the roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules. He’s saying when you have learned, when you figure it out that God is in charge and you’re not, when you finally humble yourself and let go of your pride, then you’re going to get back what God has given you graciously already. But you’re going to have to decide when are you going to humble yourself? And you would think, you would think when the king hears this, you would think that he’d be like, “Okay, what do I need to do?” Right? Daniel says this in verse 27. He says, “King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor.” and perhaps then you will continue to prosper.
Do you see what Daniel does? Daniel says, “Listen, king man, if you’ll repent, if you’ll heed my advice, if you’ll stop sinning, if you’ll do what is right, God will relent and God will will keep you in the position that you’re in. Will you make a change? Will you let go of pride and humble yourself? And that’s my challenge to myself. Remember, I’m a five. And to all of us, will we humble oursel tonight? Because if you want to attack the idol of pride, you do it through humility. You want to attack the idol of pride, just do it through humility. And and and you might go, “Okay, Josh, but how do I do that? How do I humble myself? The way that we humble humble ourselves is let let me give you three ways. Okay, there’s a lot of ways, but let me give you three ways that you’ll find right here in the next couple of verses.
The first way is this. Attack pride, the idol of pride, by humbling ourselves to receive feedback and correction. I I asked that earlier in the pride test and some of you probably said, “I’m not good at handling feedback or correction.” I honestly think all of us struggle a little bit with feedback and correction. That the last time somebody came and gave you feedback on the job, in relationships, on the field, uh coaching, whatever it might be, did you immediately feel your temperature rise? Then you have a pride problem. Okay, that the bottom line, if our temperature immediately rises, and I get it, the minute somebody comes and gives a little bit of correction is my first thought, but there’s a pride problem. If somebody gives a little bit of feedback, a little bit of correction, like, hey, when you said this, man, this sounded like, and you’re like, well, yeah, but you don’t understand. That’s a pride problem. When when somebody says, “Hey, you probably ought to stop doing that.” It’s going to eventually hurt your life. Ah, not me. Like, I won’t let that happen. Like, think about it this way. When your parents come and say, “Hey, I if you don’t start cleaning your room or doing your chores or or whatever they say, I’m going to take your phone or your keys away.” And if you don’t make the change, means there’s a pride problem.
that that your boss comes and says, “Hey, if you don’t start showing up for work on time, then I’m going to have to fire you from the job. If I don’t make the change, there’s a pride problem. Why won’t I make a change?” Because it’s like, “Well, I think better.” Um, if you don’t stop abusing alcohol or abusing that drug, you’re going to lose your family. Maybe your family has said that and you’re like, “Ah, it’ll be okay. I’ll just hide it from him. That’s a pride problem. See, Daniel looked at Nebuchadnezzar and he said, “Listen, make a change.” And Nebuchadnezzar is like, “Ah.” Like, is that really going to happen? It’s a pride problem. And And I think today’s the day that we go, man, I’m done with the pride problem. I’m going to I’m going to start receiving feedback. I’m going to start receiving correction. I’m going to listen. I’m not going to make an excuse. I’m not going to say a butt. I’m not going to say, “No, that won’t happen to me.” I’m not going to say, “Yeah, but look at everybody else.” No, I’m going to listen.
And maybe I could challenge this this way. There’s going to get real touchy. You ain’t going to like it. Maybe we should look at your spouse. Maybe you should look at your spouse and say, “What could I do to be a better husband? What could I do to be a better wife? And accept the feedback. Look at your boss. What can I do to be a better employee? And accept the feedback. Look at a mentor. Look at a friend. Hey, what can I do to to be better at this? And receive the feedback. Ask your pastor, “What what can I do to to be better at the receive the feedback?” Or how about this? Just ask Daniel. I actually think Daniel might be the best person to go to. If you go to Daniel, Daniel tells us how the corrective measure Daniel gives us the feedback. He says this, if you’ll see it, it’s verse 27. Might be up on the screen for you. I don’t know, but if it is, you’ll see it. If not, look at it in your Bible. Says this, King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what’s right.
Man, how do I humbly accept feedback, receive feedback and correction? Here’s three ways. It’s right there in the verse. One, accept the advice. Listen to it. Proverbs says this. Proverbs 11:2, “Pride leads to disgrace, but humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 12:1, “To learn you must love discipline. It is stupid to hate correction.” That I’ve got to accept the advice. I got to listen to what Daniel has to say. And then what does Daniel say? Daniel says, “Stop sinning.” Like, he couldn’t get more blatant. He looks at Nebuchadnezzar and says, “Stop sinning.” And guys, can I just echo his words for a second that I think I just think what would happen in this world if those who claim Christ would stop sinning? What what would happen in our families? What would happen in our church? What would happen in our community if all of us who claim Christ would go, “I’m going to do my best not to sin.” Now, listen. I know none of us are perfect. We’re going to sin. But we don’t have to live in the same habitual sin all the time, guys. That is wrong. That is non-Christian. That is anti-Bible. That is saying yes to Jesus for your love, maybe for your salvation. No to Jesus for his lordship.
And and we talk about Jesus. We’re on fire for Jesus. What would it look like if we said, man, I I just want to live for Jesus and I want to say no to sin. Romans 6:12 says, “Do not let sin control the way you live, and do not give in to your sinful desires.” 1 John 3:9 says, “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning because God’s life is in them.” So, if we’re going to claim Jesus, let’s let go of pride and let’s say no to sin. Am I alone on this? Are you with me? Can we say no to sin? Can we recognize the sin in our life? Can we recognize it and say, “I’m going to say no. I’m going to say no to sin. I’m going to say no to anger, arrogance, bitterness, coveting, despair, envy, fear of man, foolishness, greed, hardiness, hatred, hypocrisy, idolatry, impatience, ingratitude, jealousy. I’m going to say no to sin. I’m going to say no to lust, to malice, pride, rage, selfish ambition, stubbornness, unbelief, unforgiveness, unholy thoughts, unthankfulness, vanity, worldliness, hard-heartedness, false humility, scoffing at God, forgetting God’s work, and trusting in self. What would it look like if I said, “I’m going to say no to sin, to backbiting, to blasphemy, to boasting, to cursing, to deceit, to false witness, to filthiness.” Gossip, grumbling, heresy, judging others unrighteously, lying, mockering, murmuring, perjury, profanity, quarreling, ridicule, scoffing, slander, swearing falsely, unwise speech, vulgarity, idle words, and taking the Lord’s name in vain. You see what I’m getting at? What would it look like if I said I’m going to say no to abuse, adultery, bribery, brawling, craftiness, cruelty, defrauding, denying Christ, divisiveness, drunkenness, extortion, fornication, gambling, gluttony, homosexual practice, immodesty, injustice, manipulation, murder? What would it look like if I said no to oppression, partiality, perversion, rebellion, robbery, self-gratification, sexual immorality, sorcery, stealing, treachery, violence, witchcraft, wrongdoing, exploitation, coveting? What would it look like if I said no to sin?
to disobedience to parents, neglect of prayer, neglect of scripture, withholding good, neglect of the poor, neglect of worship, disobedience with giving and tithing, failure to forgive, failure to love my neighbor, failure to do what’s right. And you might say, Josh, why did you go through a hundred sins? because I’m hoping through the Holy Spirit that he pointed out the one that you need to stop doing. The one that I need to stop doing because it’s pride that says, “Ah, he’s not talking about me. I need to heed his advice. Stop sinning. Do what’s right.” And you know what happens when you don’t do what’s right? You sin. I sin. James 4:17, remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
How do I get rid of pride? I receive feedback and correction. I am willing to say we, not us and not not me. I’m willing to say we instead of I. I’m willing to say we when we succeed. See, it takes a team to accomplish things like anybody understands this. If you follow Attack on Titan, that this is the first lesson Aaron learned when he became a scout. that he learned, wait, I I I’ve got to learn we, not I, not me. That he was out with Levi and Levi kept going, quit thinking on your own. Trust the group. Together, we can win. By yourself, you will lose. Any sports team knows that. That it takes all of us, guys. As a church, it takes all of us. That it takes every one of us. I have people come up to me, and I’ll just say this, and because I’m going to stop you from doing it. I have people come up to me because some people hear that October is pastor appreciation month. Don’t appreciate me. Appreciate every one of our pastors, every one of our staff members, every one of our VIPs, and everybody who calls the Rock home. Because here’s the reality. We don’t have one pastor at the Rock Church. We have over 5,000. Because if you take the number of people who attend, we are all the priesthood of believers. We all do pastoral work in our daily lives as we live. It takes all of us because alone we’re not successful.
See Nebuchadnezzar, he claimed glory on his own. He said this as he looked out across the city. He said, “Look at this great city of Babylon.” This is verse 30. I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence. I I’ve built it, man. Nobody builds anything on their own. Even if you’re a business owner, you didn’t build it on your own. Somebody dreamed it with you, maybe you brainstormed it with somebody else and somebody had to come buy your product. You can’t do it on your own. You want to fight pride? Say we when you succeed, humble ourselves. Don’t be selfish. Don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take interest in others, too. And then lastly, I got to say this because I’m way over time. Going back to verse 30. How do I fight pride? I humbly give God glory. I humbly receive feedback and correction. I humbly understand it’s we, not me. And I humbly give glory to God.
I’m going back to verse 30. The very end of it said he built this beautiful uh built this beautiful city as his royal residence to display my majestic splendor that he said this is about me and my majesty and my splendor. And the minute he said that, God judged him and the rest of the dream came true. Then immediately he went mad. He he got pushed out into the wilderness. When he got out into the wilderness, that that he he lived out in in the fields. All right? A and for seven years it says that his hair grew long like feathers, that his fingernails grew like claws of an eagle, that he ate the grass, he ate from the wild. He lost his mind because he took glory onto himself. Again, for my Attack on Titan people, it reminds me of kind of the end of Attack on Titan when Aaron was kind of like in in the rumbling stage and he’s just like out of control. that that’s Nebuchadnezzar out of control, just lost because he took glory on his own. And guys, here’s what I can say and is that when we live in pride and walk in pride, God will humble us. He will humble us. So you can be humbled by God or you can humble yourself before God.
See finally Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses. The last verse of chapter 4:37 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the king of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.” [Music] Do you want God to humble you or do you want to humble yourself before God? Tonight, I’m coming off the stage because I’m just one guy at church and I need to humble myself. And I really believe we need to humble ourselves because of everything I’ve said tonight and I believe something hits. And I believe tonight is a night where as a church we need to say now I’m going to receive correction and feedback. I’m going to stop sinning. Whatever that sin is, I’m going to stop it. I’m going to give it to God. And here’s the beauty of the gospel. Jesus forgives. He forgives all things. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. He can forgive you and he will forgive you if you with an earnest heart will come and just give it to him. Now, as that act of grace, we then walk in obedience. But it starts by saying, “Jesus, I give this to you. I humbly come before you.” And for some of you, it might be accepting him for the first time in your life and taking that step of baptism. and some of our baptism team is right over there and they’d gladly receive you and help you take that step. There might be some of you who do that.
But but what I’m going to call a lot of us to do is to actually put action with it tonight. And I’m going to challenge us as a church to come forward to get down on our knees. Nothing magical up here, but it’s a way of putting action with it and saying, “I’m going to bow down and I’m going to humble myself.” And I just want us to fill the front of this room tonight, bowing before the Lord, humbling ourselves, asking for forgiveness, repenting of sin, living for God, and thanking him, and giving him glory because of the great things that he can do in your life and has done in your life. And and so I can promise you I’m going to be up front on my knees and I invite not one, not two, I invite the church. Let’s respond. Will we be humbled by God or will we humble ourselves before him? Humility is going to happen. We get to decide how. So I invite you to come forward to humble yourself and to pray. Let’s do this right now.
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Attack on Idols: Pride
Daniel 4 – Practicing Humility in a Prideful World
Have you ever been warned that something would be taken away if you didn’t make a change?
Maybe it was your phone if you didn’t listen to your mom.
Maybe it was your scholarship if you didn’t raise your grades.
Maybe it was your starting position on the team if you didn’t perform.
Maybe it was your promotion if you didn’t close the deal.
Maybe it was your house if you didn’t pay the rent.
Maybe it was a relationship if you didn’t change your ways.Those warnings sting because they force us to face the truth: change is required. And yet—so often we don’t change. Why? Sometimes it’s because we’re unable. Sometimes because someone else outperforms us. But most of the time the reason is simple: pride.
Pride is an idol that creeps into every part of our lives. It whispers, “You’re fine. You don’t need help. You don’t need to change.” But Scripture teaches us something radically different: we attack the idol of pride by practicing humility.
The Pride Test
So how do you know if pride has taken root in your heart? Try this quick self-check:
Confession – Do you struggle to admit when you’re wrong?
Pride resists confession. Humility owns it.
Correction – Do you avoid feedback or advice?
Pride rejects wisdom. Humility craves it.
Credit – Do you say “I” more than “we”?
Pride takes credit. Humility shares it.
Conversations – Do you interrupt or dominate conversations?
Pride loves the spotlight. Humility shines it on others.
Competition – Do you feel envious when others succeed?
Pride sees rivals. Humility celebrates.
Comparison – Do you measure yourself against others?
Pride compares. Humility trusts God’s grace.
Weakness – Do you hide your weaknesses?
Pride says, “I’m good.” Humility says, “I’m growing.”
Service – Do you think certain tasks or people are beneath you?
Pride ranks. Humility stoops to serve.
Recognition – Do you crave attention and praise?
Pride feeds on applause. Humility gives it.
Glory – Do you give God the credit, or keep it for yourself?
Pride steals glory. Humility gives it.
How did you do? If you’re like me, you saw yourself on that list more than once. That’s okay—the good news is that God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
Pride in Daniel 4
The story of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 is a living example of the danger of pride.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream—a warning from God—that shook him. Daniel gave the king clear correction and a chance to change:
“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 4:27)But the king didn’t listen. Pride blinded him. Instead of humbling himself, he doubled down. And the consequences were devastating.
From Nebuchadnezzar’s story, we learn three ways to attack the idol of pride in our own lives:
1. Receive Feedback and Correction
Nebuchadnezzar’s downfall could have been avoided if he had listened. Pride makes us uncoachable, unteachable, unwilling to change. Humility, on the other hand, leans into correction.
Think about it: there’s nothing more frustrating for a coach than an athlete who refuses to be coached. For a leader, nothing is harder than a team that won’t follow. For a pastor, nothing is more heartbreaking than people who hear truth but ignore it.
So ask: Am I willing to receive correction?
Practical step: Ask your spouse, your boss, your coach, your pastor: “What’s one thing I can do to grow?” And when they answer, don’t defend yourself—receive it with humility.
Scripture backs this up:
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2)
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1)
“If anyone knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (James 4:17)
2. Say “We” Instead of “I”
Later in Daniel 4:30, Nebuchadnezzar proudly declared:
“Is not this the great Babylon I have built… by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Do you notice the problem? I, my, me.
Success isn’t wrong—but pride makes us forget that we never achieve success alone. Every business leader relies on employees and customers. Every athlete relies on a team. Even in ministry, no one builds a church alone—it’s always “we.”
At The Rock, our pastors often introduce themselves simply as “one of the pastors.” Why? Because this church isn’t about one person’s title or platform. It’s about all of us—the pastors, the VIPs (volunteers), and the thousands who call this church home.
When we shift from “I” to “we,” we practice humility. We remember the truth of Philippians 2:3–4:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
3. Give Glory to God
Nebuchadnezzar’s pride climaxed when he claimed glory for himself. And in that moment, God humbled him by sending him into the wilderness—living like an animal until he finally looked up to heaven and acknowledged God.
Here’s the lesson: God is patient, but He will not share His glory. Pride will eventually be judged. But humility leads to restoration.
When Nebuchadnezzar finally humbled himself and gave glory to God, his sanity and kingdom were restored:
“At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.” (Daniel 4:34)
You and I are nothing without God’s grace. Every gift, every opportunity, every breath is from Him. To attack pride, we must continually give glory back to Him.
Respond: Attack Pride, Practice Humility
Let’s circle back to the pride test. Where did you see yourself?
Wherever pride shows up, remember: God’s grace meets us when we humble ourselves. You don’t have to stay stuck in pride. You can attack this idol—today—by practicing humility.
Receive correction without defensiveness.
Celebrate success by saying “we.”
Give all glory to God.
Because when pride is dethroned, humility opens the door to God’s wisdom, blessing, and grace.
✨ Reflection Questions for This Week:
Which pride test question hit you hardest?
Who could you ask for honest feedback this week?
How can you intentionally give glory to God in your successes?
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Small Group Curriculum: Attack on Idols
Small Group Curriculum – Week 4 PDF
Series: Attack on Idols
Week 4 Title: Pride
Main Scripture: Daniel 4:34–37 (NLT)
Big Idea: Attack the idol of pride by practicing humility.1. Connect (Icebreaker)
Option A (Fun): Share a funny or embarrassing story when pride got the best of you.
Option B (Thought-provoking): Why do you think it’s so hard for people to admit when they’re wrong?
Transition: Pride is one of the most dangerous idols we face. Let’s talk about how we can attack it by practicing humility.
2. Discover (Scripture & Discussion)
Read Daniel 4:34–37 (NLT):
"After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever… When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom… Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”Discussion Questions
What warning signs of pride do you see in Nebuchadnezzar’s story?
How did God use humility to bring him back to reality?
What are some everyday ways pride shows up in our lives?
How can practicing humility make your relationships stronger?
Dig Deeper Scripture: Philippians 2:3–4 (NLT) — “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.”
How does this verse redefine what true greatness looks like?
Who in your life could you intentionally put first this week?
3. Respond (Application & Prayer)
Personal Application
Which pride test question from the sermon hit you the hardest?
What’s one concrete step of humility you can practice this week?
Group Prayer Prompt
Pray for God to reveal hidden areas of pride in each heart.
Ask Him to give the group grace to walk in humility and reflect Christ.
Challenge for the Week
Memory Verse: James 4:6 (NLT).
Next Step: Choose one pride test question and intentionally practice humility in that area this week.
⏱️ Designed for 45–60 minutes:
Connect (10–15 min)
Discover (25–30 min)
Respond (10–15 min)
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AYNOR
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