Title: The war on worship
Text: Daniel 3
Introduction
The theme of the book of Daniel is the sovereignty of God.
God is all powerful and God is all knowing…and therefore God is to be the object of all of our worship.
The enemy has declared war on the worship of God!
My Title for Daniel 3 is the war on worship.
If you are going to go to war –you must have weapons
What are the enemies of God weapons of war?
1.His weapons of war (v1-6)
4 weapons
A.Idols (v1)
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.”
1.Definition of an idol- any kind of substitute for God
2.examples of idols
3."the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things choke the word making it unfruitful…
4.The war on worship is so big - the idols are going to be big- 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide
5.idols have a way of growing bigger and bigger-until they take over our worship
B.Influencers (v2-3)
“He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials, to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.”
1. What do all these people have in common? They are all influencers. They are all powerful people.
...He then summoned the movie stars, the rock stars, the advertisement executives, the sports stars, the politician’s, the writers, the business people… (everyone who is powerful and influential- to come to the dedication of the image of gold)
2. If the enemy wants to win the war on worship he knows he must have celebrity endorsements
The battlefields for the war on worship are fought in places like movie theaters, concerts, courtrooms, prime-time tv…Hollywood
A third powerful weapon the enemy has is…
C. Certain kinds of Music (v5)
“As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.”
A.the kind of music that makes you want to fall down and worship idols.
The type of music that takes you away from the worship of God.
The type of music that makes you want to do something that God disapproves of…
Would you agree that this is still a big weapon of the enemies of God?
The 4th weapon of war…
D. The threat of Dire Consequences (v6)
“Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
A.The enemy has a way of making things difficult if you don’t worship what the enemy wants you to worship.
How powerful are the enemy’s weapons? (v7)
“Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.”
The War on worship appears lost!
But in V12
“But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon-Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego- who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Three charges are brought against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
1.They do not pay attention to you.
2.They do not serve your gods
3.They do not worship the image of gold you have set up.
A powerful lesson to be learned
What you pay attention to- you will end up serving
What you end up serving you will end up worshiping.
Application: If you don’t like what you worship- stop giving it your attention.
If you want to worship God more –give him more of your attention!
“Furious with rage King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…” (v13)
What weapon is he going to use to get them to change their minds?
1.Idols- “I’ll make the statue bigger.”
2.Influencers- “I’ll have some celebrity go talk to them.”
3.Music – I’ll make the music louder?
No he goes to the best weapon he got!
4.The weapon of the threat of Dire circumstances-
“…if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”(v15)
How the threat of dire circumstances works
The threat of dire circumstances works when the enemy makes your problems look far bigger than God.
But the threat of dire circumstances does not work on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (V16-18)
3 things every believer needs in order to worship God
1.Conviction
“We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.”
A.The difference between a conviction and a preference
A preference is negotiable- a conviction is not.
#1 conviction of every believer
Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
If that is not our conviction we will lose the war on worship!
2.Confidence
They had great confidence in God!
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.”
Confidence comes from conviction!
Any where, Anytime, Anyhow, God is able to save us. God is able to rescue us…
If you can worship God before he rescues you; before he saves you…
3.Commitment
They had a great commitment
But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
It did not matter if God delivered them or not they were still not going to worship the idol..
They had Conviction
They had Confidence
They had Commitment
Everyone one here who grew up in church knows the rest of the story
The king got even more furious…
Demanded that the furnace be made 7 times hotter
Threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in.
Killed the soldiers…
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? They replied, “Certainly, O King.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the son of the gods.”
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Conclusion
The purpose of this passage is to build up our conviction, our confidence and our commitment to the worship of God.
Even though we are going through dire circumstances God has not left us. He is with us. He is willing and able to save us and deliver us.
Will we worship Him before we see the victory or wait until after the victory?
