12 March 1997

The book of Prophecy. So Last week, we reviewed vision ng King. Chapter 3:1-7, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits width six cubits and set it up on the plain of Dura to the province of Babylon. Then he put Nebuchadnezzar the king sent where to assemble the satraps, prefects and the governors, the counselors and the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governor, the counselors the treasurers, the majestrates and all the rulers of the provinces where assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald loudly proclaimed, " O peoples, nations and men of every language: But the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, all kinds of music, you are to called down and worship to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire." Therefore at that time all the people have heard the sound of the horn, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

So here a very simple event in the life of the three friends of Daniel. It is a strange in this chapter somehow or other we don’t understand why, what’s curious in this verse 1-7, Let’s read from verse 8-10, 11, 12. Verse 8, For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. v.9, They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "O king live forever! "You yourself, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. v.11, "But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. v.12, "There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These me, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up." The king built a statue and image and then what did he do? He ask what? He ask everybody in his kingdom to worship this image bowing down to it and what strange in v. 1-12? Do you see anything strange there? Not being there? Who’s not there? Daniel somehow is missing. Maybe Daniel, he was on vacation or something like that, he was just missing. So what can we learn? It’s a simple story we teach it in Sunday School, what can we pick up? We want to teach you how to read your bible so that even on your own… simple story, what principle can we get? Knowing the story. You know to be able to get the principle, the first thing we do is you look at… if I ask you, what’s the keyword in v. 1-12, what would you say? Okay one could say worship, So one topic might be worship. Any way that’s the easy one so you always pick the easy one if you see an easy one do it. So the basic idea is worship, and therefore what kind of worship is it? It’s the wrong kind probably because its being done by the pagans and it is I think very relevant to today. Take a look at some of the principles that we can see about false worship, worship that the pagans do. It is really strange that chapter 3 comes right after Daniel revealed the dream to this king and when he had revealed it to the king, the king had actually promoted him and the king said very nice things about God. Do you noticed that there is no president in the entire world if you hear the president’s speak they will never say anything bad about God, will they? No, they will always make nice statement about God, so this king in chapter 2, "Surely! Your God is a God of Gods and a Lord of Kings and a reveler of mysteries and yet one chapter later we don’t know how many month or years gone by this king decides to put up an image. What did we learn in chapter 2? What is now different between the image that he now set up and the image that he saw last week? …. And those represent what? Kingdoms, four different kingdoms basically if you were the king how would you have felt after Daniel told you what your dream is? Would you felt good? Why not? So if you were the king that does not sound good. So as we will learn about this king he began to now set up an image, an image of pure gold. As you read it, what is the first characteristic that you see in pagan worship or false worship? There is a imposition, false worship basically it forces conformity, you have to command, if you don’t command it nobody will do it. You see freedom will free will comes a prize, what’s the prize? We fight for that, some people die to have freedom to do what they want to do and with that if God gives that to us, if God gives you free will what prize is associated with free will? You know God if he wants us to give us free will He gives us the freedom to make the wrong choice but with freedom when God designed us to be free men with free will that means one of the price that has to be paid is you must now allow them to make their own decision and sometimes their decision can be wrong, painfully wrong. Once you’re being force what’s the problem? Rebellion, resentment, What are you really producing when you are asking people to conform? What kind of person are you produce? Fear. Sometimes we don’t know it, we do force conformity. What does it produce, what kind of a person under this kind of a system, what kind of person will it produce? The first characteristic that’s why they drill it in the army is 1) You stop thinking, you do things by what you called rote, what’s rote, a fixed pattern remembering something without really thinking about it, just do it, that’s one of the first thing it produces. What else, that kind of a system does it produce? Okay, none thinking and yet resentful people, why would they resent, who would they resent? The authority okay, what else? Low self esteem, a hypocrite that’s what it produces, it produces a none thinking fearful resentful hypocrite. Someone that will look good when you are around but when you’re not around… This kind of system is fault worship, what’s the second thing it forces conformity and along with forcing conformity, what is the other thing that it does? It is mandated to do it, what does conformity mandate? Obey blindly, remove your free will, what’s the only thing that you can actually force? The only thing it can force you to do is to have an external ritual, it focuses on the outside, on the behavior, on the action because it cannot even touch the inner attitude it focuses on external behavior. If its a force conformity what do you know about false religion? It is form by man’s thoughts, the king dreamt it up, he was the one who made the decree, and it went directly against what? What did he forget? He forgot God’s word. Go now to the new testament, is false worship still here? Very much alive, let’s go to Jesus first and see this exact pattern being criticize by Jesus himself. Thousand of years later, Jesus Christ in Matthew, let’s go to Matthew 15:1, Then some Pharisees and describes this was the priest and those who transcribe the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem saying, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? What was the tradition that was involved? They should washed their hands when they eat, if you study about the Jews at that time, why did they need or make a law to washed their hands before they eat? Basically, the Jews they go out, they go to the market place, they shake hands with the gentiles… what happened in their mind, they become unclean, desecrated, therefore they forced them to washed their hands. What was the question of the Pharisees designed to do? They were criticizing them so they would conform. What’s the major issue as far as traditions are concerned? Look at v.3, And He Jesus answered said to them, "and why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" See tradition only becomes bad when it forget God’s word, when it is now in conflict with God’s word, when you put it ahead of God’s word if you put more importance to it than God’s word. I think Jesus deliberately told his disciples so that this confrontation come about and then Jesus gave an example in v. 4-6, According to Jesus, please look at your Bible very carefully in v.4, Who said, ‘Honor your father and mother according to Jesus?’ What Jesus is saying, the one who wrote the Ten Commandments is God. Therefore if you violate the scripture we are violating God’s word. V.7, Once you put tradition higher than God’s word what does Jesus now say? You hypocrites! That’s what it produces rightly did Isaiah prophesied. V.8, The people honor me with their lips but their hearts is far away from me but in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men. This kind of worship produces hypocrites. Notice it has to do with worship, "You honor me with your lips but your heart is far away from me in vain, are people worshipping in vain? Yes! Why? Because they teach man’s doctrine rather than God’s word. So therefore if you want to know whether your worship is true or false one of the first question you ask yourself, if its biblical, if its man invented. Everything that was thought to us was done by rote. Again Jesus elevated the bible… "Rightly did Isaiah prophesied." Long time ago this was already happening and its at the core of knowing God worship is at the core of someone who really has knowledge and faith in God therefore what is true worship? Obviously, according to Jesus, these people honor me with their lips but their heart is far away from me, what’s the first thing God looks at? Your heart, what must be right with your heart? If one is conforming being forced what was the other one must be? You got to have a willing heart willing to come. When you become born again one of the greatest differences is at now on Sunday you want to go to worship or do you have to go to worship? Is there a difference? Very big difference, but in some cases you all still there, it was a striking contrast for me to go to Singapore to go to a church there and to see the worship service at 2:00, I was shocked, you know worship service at 2:00 and the people were lined up at 1:00 to worship God, Are they eager to go or are they being forced? They’re eager, in sharp contrast the worship service that begin at 9:30 half the people come at quarter to eleven. Do you understand what I’m saying? Why the difference cause we learn the false kind of worship and up to now let us carried over. It’s a ritual that a lot of people do but there’s no heart. It’s amazing to see people wake up 4:30 in the morning to go to a beach picnic but finely its extremely difficult to wake up for a 9:30 service.

Go back to Daniel, we’ll pick up another major principle about worship,the three young men who came they were accused, Daniel 3, They were accused by this guys these people are not worshipping. Let’s look v.13, Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave order to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then this men were brought before the king and Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear this, then you will fall down and worship the image I have made. But if you will not worship and here’s the conformity you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of a blazing fire. Then what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands? Look at the answer of the young men. They answered O’ Nebuchadnezzar we do not need to give you an answer. V.17, If it be saw our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of a blazing fire and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if he does not let it be known to you O king, that he are not going to serve your god or worship the golden image that you have set up. What can we learn here? Were these three men worshipping the image? No they refused why? Because they had been thought well they knew God’s word. What we need to pick up here is simple, it covers true worship is not external, not ritualistic, it covers the entire life, it is not involving only ritual, it covers my entire life, my entire attitude towards God word and what does it mean it covers the total life not just rituals true worship demands complete obedience to God’s word, it is manifested. How do I know that I’m worshipping God? I obey his word, and you know God make it very clear the Bible. Let’s go to Exodus 20, where God gave the commandments. What did God tells Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego as well as Daniel as well as we. v.1, Then God spoke all these words: v.2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. The first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." The first thing God defined in his commandment is what. He first define who we will worship. If I ask you based on this verses, who is God? What would you say? Notice, I am God, and how does he describe himself… in other words the real God, the one who said, Honor your father and mother, the God that Jesus refer to is the God of the old testament, He’s the God of the Jews, He’s the God who took out the Jews from Egypt, He’s the one who separated the red sea, that’s the God we are talking about no other and its the first issue about God. It is God, it is number one: You shall have no other God before me, another translation of before is beside. There is no one like me, I’m the only one, that defines who to worship. The second commandment defines how we should worship? The manner of worship. Let’s read v.4&5, "You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth you. You shall not worship them or serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the father on the children on the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. What God is saying? The second commandment is not like the first. It’s different, He’s talking now about the manner of worship. The first thing you should never do, "You shall not make for yourself an idol or a graven image is another translation of an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth and what is the command there? You shall not worship or bow down to them or serve them, don’t bow down to them. What was the king ask them to do? Bow down to an image. Did the king know, some people they say, but I’m not worshipping this image this only a representation of God. That’s not the issue here, the issue is not whether this is a correct representation or not, that’s another issue but the issue is what did God say? How does God want you even if, assuming that this is the proper, this is God, this is a proper representation of God. I’m not worshipping this image, okay I’m worshipping the one but the one that you are worshipping is telling you, "Don’t worship me here, don’t do that !" and yet we insist on doing it and we like to invent our own, "No this is really god, it represent that." when that person is telling you, ‘Don’t do it’ and we like to do it, we like to multiply it, because we have the concept is like this, if you have one God, all the pagans, what do they do? If this god may not able to do everything, what do they do? they have multiple god, if you have many it makes god useless, it makes ineffective. You know what you’re doing? You’re insulting God and your violating His word. Even if it were a correct representation God is telling you, "Don’t worship me like that, I don’t like that." and God has a reason, and do you know this is the only commandment of God that carries a curse not only on you but on four generations after you. It carries a curse, it’s the only command and if we don’t think it’s serious, the way we worship God is serious. The second thing is any image that will make or idol cannot possibly represent God in the… you know why? The image, any kind of image it will always lie. What is God? John 4, God is Spirit, tell me make an image of a Spirit. That’s the real God in John 4, Jesus said, " You worship that which you do not know. God is Spirit, therefore a spirit God demands worship in spirit and in truth, and number two it is not truth, you know why? Because it lies, any image will be a lie, why? Because it’s a false representation of God, it cannot represent. Can you see God’s mercy in there, can you see God’s goodness, can you see God’s greatness? None. Even if your life is at stake, some people they do it because they are conformed by the pressure of the world. We checked God’s word, you check the origin, then you follow God because if you worship like this no wonder how our generations have been cursed. God cannot blessed there’s a cursed on fourth generation.

Turn to Psalm 115, It’s one of the greatest insults to God, to the greatness of God, to put Him on a puny statue. Psalm 115, Not to us O Lord, not to us but to thy name give glory because of thy loving kindness, because of the truth. Why should the nation say where now is their god? V.3, But our God in the heaven, He does whatever he pleases. Look at the contrast in v.4, down, their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hand, they have mouth but they cannot speak, they have eyes but they cannot see, they have ears but they cannot hear, they have noses but they cannot smell, they have hands but they cannot feel, they have feet but they cannot walk, they cannot make a sound with their throat. V.8, Those who make them will become like them now, everyone who trust in them. Obedience to God’s word, did you know that if you disobeyed God what do you have in your heart? What kind of sin is disobedience? Let me end with the nice example, it is such so important because many Christian do not understand what worship is. 1Samuel 15, It’s a story of Saul, Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to annoint you as king over his people over Israel; now therefore he gave him the best advice there is as far as worship is concerned. Listen to the words of the Lord. V.2, I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, I will set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now, what I want you to do Saul is to go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has and do not spare him but put to death both man, woman, son, infant, ox, sheep, camel, donkey. Seek and destroy everything. Now what did Saul do? Look at v. 9, Saul and the people spared Agag the king and the best of the sheep etc. and were not willing to utterly destroy them but everything despite and worthless, they utterly destroyed. Then God sent Samuel, look at v.13, Samuel came to Saul and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord, I did what God told me to do but Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears? And what did Saul say, "They have brought them from the Amalekite for the people spare the best sheep and oxen, why? To sacrifice to the Lord their God. Did they obey God? Partial obedience and then they rationalize, why will we kill all of this, See they wanted the best to sacrifice to God, sometimes we hear, you will give your best to God right? You know that’s not exactly truth. God does not want your best, what you think is best, that’s not what He want, what he want is for you to obey what he says. Is there a difference? Yeah! Cain and Abel, did both give their best to God? What’s the difference between Cain and Abel? God rejected Cain, God accepted Abel you know why? Because Abel did what God told Him to do, Cain he did it his own way, he invented his own sacrifice just like this guy, I sacrifice to the Lord the best sheep. I sacrifice to God, I’ll make this so the people can remember God but it’s all man made. Never following or ignore God’s instruction. Look at v. 20, Why then did you not obey in v.19, but rush to spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. V.20, Saul said to Samuel, ‘I did obey the voice of the Lord and went on the mission. V.21, What did he do, But the people took some of the spoil sheep and oxen. The important statement about worship v. 22, Samuel said, ‘Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord, behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed that the fat of rams. V.23, For rebellion is like the sin of divination and in subordination is as iniquity and idolatry because you have rejected the word of the Lord. We want to stress to everyone what’s real worship? Worship is obeying God’s word completely not partially, not if God said, kill all of them what should you do? Kill all. Look at Abraham, in Genesis 22, Abraham, offer your son to me, the son that you love and burn him for me. Notice Abraham, he went, v.5 of chapter 22, Abraham said two young mans stay here with the donkey, I and Isaac will go beyond there and we will worship God. God had told him, "Kill your son!" what does worship mean? I obey God. That’s why worship is not only on Sunday, everyday, worship is everyday, you cannot go to church and your living in adultery, you refused to give up that woman, you cannot go and worship God. That worship is useless, it’s insulting to the God who can see your heart. It is equally insulting to bow down before the all sort of idols when you know the true God is saying, don’t do it, take your stand, followed God, worship Him in spirit and truth. It does not matter who else is worshipping you some other way and if you’re living in adultery or there’s sin in your life or whatever it is what can you do so that your worship can be real so that its not lip service what would you do? you repent and then you obey. And God says, "I am the Lord your God, that’s what you need, I am God only me. No man will take this place. Many of us need to repent, many of us need to do something like the three young boy they obeyed even if it meant death. What ever it means, if you’re going out with a none believer and God says, "Don’t marry a non believer." What should you do? Repent, obey God. If you’re used to lying about something, if you’re living a lie open up change your mind. Repent worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.