Skip to content I Dare You: Submit! - Part A Oct 7 · 26 min ...more
I Dare You: Submit! - Part A
October 7, 2025 · 26 min
What happens when you see yourself in the light of who Jesus really is? Discover how that encounter can transform your heart—and your life.
Series Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast October 7, 2025 · 26 min · Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast
What happens when you see yourself in the light of who Jesus really is? Discover how that encounter can transform your heart—and your life. ...more Show the full description Show less What happens when you see yourself in the light of who Jesus really is? Discover how that encounter can transform your heart—and your life.
Series Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
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Skip Heitzig ministers to over 15,000 people as senior pastor of Calvary Church in Albuquerque. He reaches out to thousands across the nation and throughout the
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0:01 Welcome to connect with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've tuned in today. Here at connect with Skip, we believe there's no substitute for knowing God through his word, and we wanna help you stay grounded in0:12 his truth no matter what's happening in the world around you. That's why we've created the 30 k 30 day challenge, a free daily email series designed to help you read, understand, and0:24 apply the bible in fresh ways. Every day, you'll receive a big picture overview of a New Testament book along with key bible passages to focus on, a prayer to guide you, and practical0:36 tools to help you put God's truth into action. It's free, it's easy to join, and it can make a lasting impact on your spiritual growth. Sign up now at connect with skip dot com. That's0:48 connect with skip dot com. Now here's today's message from pastor Skip.0:53 It's often said the truth is stranger than fiction. And chapter 4 of the book of Daniel is a good example of that. It is really 1 of the weirdest1:05 episodes in all of the Bible. It is the state of the union message from King Nebuchadnezzar to all of the people under his authority and domain.1:18 The state of the union is an American tradition. It goes all the way back to our constitution, where in article 2, it says the president of the United States shall, from time to time,1:30 inform Congress of the state of the union. So it's been a tradition since our first president, George Washington. The average length of the State of the Union message in American history is1:42 5000 words. George Washington gave the shortest of all, 833 words. Harry Truman gave the longest in 19 46, 25000 words.1:53 Nebuchadnezzar's State of the Union in chapter 4 is around 1200 words of a man who encountered God and what he writes about this episode in his life. It is monumental.2:07 Can you imagine a president of the United States getting on national television in front of the Congress giving a State of the Union message and beginning something like this? Distinguished members of2:19 Congress, citizens of the United States, and people of the world. God has spoken to me. A silence would fall over that room. The White House staff would be2:31 scrambling of what to do next. What is he going to say? This is unusual. This is unlikely. And then he would say something like, the God of2:43 heaven has gotten a hold of me and shown me his plan, not only for the world, but for my life. Everybody would be going, uh-oh.2:57 Essentially, in chapter 4 of Daniel, that's what we have, the state of the union as seen by Nebuchadnezzar after God has gotten a hold of his life. It is a3:08 remarkable section with a remarkable story about a king who makes a remarkable statement. A little bit of history.3:20 25 to 30 years have passed between chapter 3 of Daniel, where we ended last week, and chapter 4 where we begin. So this3:32 means since there was a gap of 16 years between chapter 2 and 3, that it's been 45 years since Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, received that first3:43 dream and the interpretation from Daniel about successive world governing empires. Now, somebody in reading through the book of Daniel might say,3:56 doesn't this king cop a clue? I mean, God has spoken to him dramatically in a dream in chapter 2. In chapter 3, there was this miraculous4:07 deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. Why is he even not believing at this point? Why is this4:19 all necessary? Well, if you were to follow Nebuchadnezzar's journey so far, spiritual journey, he was challenged, He was moved,4:32 and he was impressed by the episodes in chapters 2 and 3. But you can be challenged and yet not changed. You can be moved and yet not motivated. You can be impressed and yet not4:44 pressed to do anything about it. We used to call these Alka Seltzer Christians. They bubble up really quickly, but they fizzle out as quickly. Nebuchadnezzar gets4:56 all excited in chapter 2, but he quickly forgets about it. And in chapter 3, evidently, he has forgotten the lessons that God was trying to get ahold of him with. Like the old5:08 saying, you can put a pig in a parlor, and it will not change the pig, but it will certainly change the parlor. Up till now, Nebuchadnezzar hasn't really been5:19 changed. I say until now. Remarkably, he is. And it is such a remarkable story and a long 1 that we're gonna cut it in 2. Part of chapter 4, we look at5:31 this week. Part of chapter 4, next week. The great lessons we learn in the words ahead of us are simply that God can get ahold of anyone and utterly change him or5:43 her, even a politician. I know that's hard for some of you to believe, but it can happen. Number 2, it shows us our role and responsibility5:54 as believers to the authorities around us, and the challenge will be for us to submit. So we're going to look, beginning in verse 1 down to verse 18,6:06 at a remarkable section, a remarkable story, and a remarkable statement. Verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king. To all6:17 peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to declare6:29 the signs and wonders that the most high God worked for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders. His kingdom is an6:41 everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my6:52 palace. It's a remarkable section because it's the only portion of scripture written by a pagan king or at least a 1 time pagan king. It's in the7:04 first person. I, me, my. This is what I saw. This is what I experienced. It is the king's personal account where he deals with the most high God, he says7:16 in this verse. The episode that we read this week and next week is an episode that rattled King Nebuchadnezzar to the core of his being. And I would7:28 say that any authentic contact with God must eventually be demonstrated in the life of the person who's made contact. It has to change you somehow.7:40 It has to somehow humble you. Find a proud person who claims to know God, and you have found a liar. When Isaiah the prophet encountered7:52 God, he said, woe is me. I am undone. When Peter understood that Jesus was who he understood him to be, he said, depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. He saw himself8:04 in the light of who Jesus was, and it changed him. Like the old saying, if your religion hasn't changed you, maybe it's time for you to change your8:16 religion. We have, in effect, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, changing his religion from that polytheism that he8:27 knew to believing in the true God. That's how I see it. And this is his testimony, his personal encounter. Few things are more powerful than your own verbal8:39 personal testimony of how God has worked in your life, your spiritual journey. I'll never forget going to 1 of my high school reunions, and I think it was the first 1,8:50 and letting people know that I was a Christian and seeing the shock written on their faces. You're kidding, they said. And then I watched even9:02 better when I said, and I'm a pastor. But I got the shock of my life when I saw 1 guy I recognized from my9:14 senior high school class, John Booth, football player, partier, mister popular, cynic, come run to me with a smile on his. I'd never seen him smile. I'd seen him grunt,9:27 but he smiled, put his arms around me, and said, God bless you. I'm a Christian too. I thought, no way. Is there somebody9:39 that you consider hopeless or beyond reach, somebody that you wish were with you today, and you think, you know what? I don't think it will ever happen. Don't you think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego might have thought9:50 that about Nebuchadnezzar? Hebrews 7 tells us, He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to him by Christ. Or as Spurgeon put it, He's able to save to the10:02 guttermost. Pull people right out of the gutter. Also, this is a remarkable portion of Scripture because Nebuchadnezzar is the only person in the Bible with the condition that will be described10:14 in the verses that we're about to read. He exhibits a form of insanity, psychic, not a psychic, a psychotic disorder10:26 known as insaniazoanthropica, a. K. A. Boanthropy or zoanthropy, where a person believes himself or herself to be an ox or a wolf, some animal10:37 form. In fact, not only does the Bible record this, but there are 2 places in secular history, 1 by Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian who10:49 quotes a Babylonian historian by the name of Barossus, saint, citing that Nebuchadnezzar had this malady. The other by a Greek historian, 2 6811:00 BC, by the name of Abadinus, who mentions that this occurred historically, where Nebuchadnezzar, his life is reduced to that of an animal for a period of years.11:14 Also, look at verse 3 once again. Nebuchadnezzar says, How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His11:25 dominion is from generation to generation. Now there's gonna be more of this praise toward the end of this chapter. This is the only Psalm of praise written by a Gentile11:37 king.11:38 This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to pastor Skip's message, think about this. If we really are living in the last days, wouldn't you wanna know? The bible doesn't leave us guessing about the11:50 future. It offers clear prophecies, solid truth, and real hope to anchor your faith in uncertain times. That's why this month, we'd like to send you 2 resources from pastor Skip,12:02 the bible from 30000 feet 2 CD teaching from Daniel and his booklet, are we living in the last days? These explain key end times passages, how they apply today, and how to12:13 live with confidence in Christ. They're yours when you give 25 dollars or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Request yours at connect with skip dot com slash offer or call12:25 809 2 2 18 88. Let's return now to today's message.12:31 There are portions of the Bible written by a Gentile. Luke was a Gentile, gave us the Gospel of Luke, the book of Acts. But these come from the lips of a12:42 pagan king who acknowledges the God of heaven, and his words sound more like King David than King Nebuchadnezzar. Written probably 8 years after the12:54 episode occurred, He is now recovered. He is sane, and he sits down to write this. God got ahold of Nebuchadnezzar in the nick of time. According to history,13:06 he was toward his latter years of his reign. The older age had set in. Babylon was now flourishing. He had made his dreams come true. The kingdom was at peace. He was flourishing in13:18 his house. He was at rest. He had it made, but God got ahold of his life in the nick of time. Didn't God do that? The nick of time. The13:30 thief on the cross. The nick of time. I met a man several years ago from Japan. His name was Mike Kohama. Interesting story. He was a pastor in13:42 Tokyo, but in his early years, he was a kamikaze pilot for the Japanese Air Force. Now, obviously, he didn't fly his mission because I met him. His mother was a Christian,13:53 a devout believer who prayed for her son every day, but Mike hardened his heart against the Lord. 2 weeks before he was to fly his kamikaze14:05 suicide mission, the war ended. Put him in sort of to a depression, a tailspin. He went on a search, and weeks later, he gave his14:17 life to Jesus Christ. And he says, in the nick of time. And now or after that, he's in heaven now, but he served for many years as a pastor in Tokyo. A14:28 remarkable section. To church.14:45 Saw a dream which I saw a dream which made me afraid. Terrified would be a better translation. And the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.14:57 Therefore, I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me that they may might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans,15:09 soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream, but they did not make known to me its interpretation. Sound familiar? Sound a lot like chapter 2, an episode15:20 45 years prior to this? But at last, Daniel came before me. His name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my God. In him is the spirit of15:32 the holy God. And I told him the dream before me, saying. He calls Daniel Belteshazzar because at that15:44 time in his life, in his testimony, he was polytheistic, but he says in him is the spirit of the living God. Here's a thought. If this is a true15:55 conversion, just think we're gonna see Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon in heaven. That is such a crazy awesome thought. That's the16:07 embracing mercy of God. Now look at verse 9. Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret16:18 troubles you. Explain to me the vision of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation. These are the visions of my head while on my bed. I was looking, and behold, a tree16:30 in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to the heavens. It could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its16:41 leaves were lovely. Remember, Nebuchadnezzar was flourishing or growing green in his palace. Its fruit abundant, and in it was food16:53 for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed,17:06 and there was a watcher, a holy 1 coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus, chop down the tree and cut off its branches, strip off its leaves,17:18 and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it and the birds from its branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump and roots in the earth.17:30 Bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the17:42 earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man. Let him be given the heart of a beast, and let 7 times, most would see that as 7 years, pass17:54 over him. 45 years prior to chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. This is now the second dream for this king.18:07 It says he was in his palace at rest at ease. I sort of picture hands behind the head, feet up on a pillow, thinking, ah, this is the life, man. I've got it made. And then he just sort of fell asleep18:19 and had 1 of those dreams. And when he woke up, even though the first dream was 45 years ago, he must have thought, this is going to be a bad day, isn't it?18:31 The dream he had 45 years ago was the dream of successive empires, head of gold, chest of silver, stomach and thighs of bronze, legs18:43 of iron, feet of iron and clay. This dream is different in that it shows the future of King Nebuchadnezzar personally, and God speaks to him through this dream. It rattles him.18:55 I've never had a dream from the Lord, at least 1 that I'm conscious was from the Lord. I've had plenty of exciting dreams, but usually from a late night pizza with onions, something like that. But this is a dream from19:07 God. And I've known people who've had dreams. I know a woman who did not believe in Christ, and she had a dream of Jesus 1 night. She got out of her bed,19:19 tears in her eyes, fell to her knees, committed her life to Christ, and she is still walking with the Lord to this day. Very dramatic. I've read the accounts of people19:30 in Africa and in the Middle East, especially Muslims who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, hundreds of them, because of dreams. The testimony of 1 man who goes by19:42 the name of Timothy was a young man from Egypt. He believed in the Sufi sect of Islam, a very mystical Islamic group. At age19:54 14, Timothy became an evangelist for this sect, went out to the streets, tried to win people to the Sufi belief system in Islam. But according to Timothy, it wasn't enough. His20:05 heart was empty. He wanted what he said, intimacy with God, and he was not getting that. 1 night he went to sleep, and he had a dream. He said, and I'm20:17 quoting, 1 night Christ appeared to me and said in a tender and sweet voice, I love you. I saw how obstinately I had resisted him all of20:29 these years and said to him in tears, I love you too. I know you. You are eternal forever and ever. Close quote.20:41 And young Timothy gave his life to Christ. Now when you read of a dream or you hear of a dream that somebody gets, it doesn't mean that person is more special or more spiritual. In fact, he could be20:53 the least spiritual, And God has to use strict, stringent means to get ahold of that person. For example, Pharaoh in the Old21:05 Testament had a dream from God. Remember the 7 cows that ate the 7 fat cows? Laban in the book of Genesis, not a spiritual guy, got a dream from God.21:18 The Midianites saw a dream of a loaf of bread tumbling through their camp, a dream about Gideon who would be used by God to overthrow the Midianites. Pilate's wife,21:30 Pontius Pilate's wife, had a dream about Jesus Christ and warned her husband, leave this man alone. I've had dreams about him, troubling dreams.21:41 Look at verse 7. The magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, soothsayers came in. He calls in the Babylonian god squad, all the psychics, Miss Cleo21:53 and all of her gang. And you wonder, why does he do this? I mean, they failed in chapter 2. Why does he do it again? Can I just say we are creatures of habit?22:06 This is Babylonian protocol. This is what he's always done. This is what he does. I think some of us are very similar to this. Probably, if you were a worrier a22:18 year ago, you're a worrier today unless God has done some dramatic thing in your life. If you struggled with greed and lust in the past, you probably still are, again, unless God has done a dramatic work22:30 in your life. Finally, he calls Daniel in. After these guys failed the test, Daniel comes in with the right answer. Why didn't22:42 he just call Daniel first? I don't know. Daniel could have been away on business and just showed back up in town, or perhaps he was afraid to call Daniel22:54 first. Maybe he remembered 45 years ago in chapter 2 when Daniel came in, and it wasn't good news. You, O king, he said, are the head of gold, after you will arise23:06 a kingdom inferior to yours that will take over. So, you know, no news is good news as far as Daniel is concerned. It's sort of like that today, the same reason that23:17 other religions are tolerated and Christianity is not. Everybody likes sort of the spiritual thing and the let's have the coexist bumper sticker, and we just transcended love and peace. But23:29 we don't want the guy who comes in and says, you need to repent of your sin. So Daniel wasn't there, but finally he comes in. And23:41 look at verse 9. The king says, Belteshazzar, that's Daniel's new Babylonian name, chief of the magicians, because I know that the23:53 Spirit of the Holy God, singular, is in you, and no secret troubles you. Explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its24:04 interpretation. You know, believers live in a fishbowl. We are constantly being observed and evaluated by unbelievers. Nebuchadnezzar had watched24:16 Daniel for years in his kingdom. He said, I know that no secret troubles you. The word means baffles or literally reduces you to distress. Daniel,24:28 I've watched your life, and I noticed that nothing rattles you. You don't get stressed. Nothing causes you to panic. Here's a man, Daniel, who's lived with his eye upon God rather than on24:40 the circumstances, and unbelievers notice that. They're watching you.24:46 We're so glad you joined us today for Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember to request pastor Skip's 2 CD teaching from Daniel, bible from 3000024:58 feet, and his booklet, are we living in the last days? They'll give you clarity and confidence about the days ahead. And they're yours when you give 25 dollars or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig.25:10 Call 809 2 2 18 88 or visit connect with skip dot com slash offer. And while you're there, sign up for the 30 k 30 day challenge and take your bible study25:21 deeper. Come back next time for more verse by verse teaching of God's word here on connect with Skip Heitzig.25:49 Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
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Flight 1SAM1 - Part C Skip Heitzig
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