If There is a God...

Introduction

Why are we here? Who or what is our worship for? Do we have a relationship or a religion? Is our character that of God or man? What are we more concerned about? Are we more worried about what man thinks or God knows? Have we have a genuine conversion experience or just a spiritual diversion? Are we a modern day version of Nebuchadnezzar?

Focus Passage: Daniel 3:1-7

Outline

A misuse and abuse of power

Power, strength, and glory were given but misused

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines meglomania as great or grandiose performance, an outburst of wildly extravagant commercial, a delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur. This is a perfect personification of who king Nebuchadnezzar was. He was the king of the world. God has blessed king Nebuchadnezzar with all that he had. He had made him the most powerful king. He had given him the strongest kingdom and largest kingdom. He, by all means, was powerful, strong, and lifted up. However, all this went to his head. He ignored two truths that Daniel had already told him.

The first truth that he ignored was that he did not make himself. All that he was, was because of God and God alone. It is God who raises one up and brings one down. Outside of God, Nebuchadnezzar was nothing.

Daniel 2:37 (NASB 2020)

37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the honor;

Again, Daniel restates this truth, bringing an emphasis to king Neb that he was nothing outside of God.

Daniel 2:38 (NASB 2020)

38 and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

Understand that we are the same as king Nebuchadnezzar. We are nothing apart from God, through Christ. We are what we are because the Lord has made us, gifted us, and placed us where we are. May we all truly understand the words of Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB 2020)

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

This truth was plainly stated by our Lord to His disciples and thus to us contemporaneously...

John 15:4–5 (NASB 2020)

4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Not only did Nebuchadnezzar ignore the truth that he wasn’t God and that all that he had was given to him by God, he also ignored the fact that his kingdom would be short lived.

Daniel 2:39 (NASB 2020)

39 And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.

May we all realize our time on this earth is limited. We are but a breath away from eternity. We are but a breath away from eternal life or eternal death. As James states, our life is but a vapor. It is hear today and gone tomorrow. We are a speck of dust on the time line of eternity. With all this said, Nebuchadnezzar, like many today, ignored these two truths: He was and we are what he was and we are because God made us and blessed us. He was and we are nothing apart from the Lord Jesus.

How do we know Nebuchadnezzar was a megalomaniac? How do we know that many are living this same life, even if it is a subconscious state of being? Look at the evidence before us. He did not acknowledge any of what God had told him, rather he wished to defy and rebuke what God had told him. The facts are before us within the text.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 21: Daniel (Totalitarianism)

So the opening seven verses of chapter 3 state no less than six times that Nebuchadnezzar set up on the plain of Dura a massive statue entirely of gold. Nebuchadnezzar’s own name appears seven times. We are left in no doubt that Nebuchadnezzar foreshadowed Nietzsche’s sentiment quoted earlier, “If there is a God, how can I bear not to be that God?”

Nebuchadnezzar had the power, the strength, and the glory, but rather than using this to honor and glorify God, he wished to make himself a demigod. Not only did he misuse his power, strength, and glory, he was blessed with more.

Wealth was given but misused

Nebuchadnezzar was not only powerful but wealthy. He was the most wealthy person on the face of the earth at this time. His wealth is shown through his erection of this 90’ tall x 9’ wide statue of pure gold. He had amassed a fortune. Rather than using this money to honor God, as we are called to do, he did was many do today, honored himself. God had told him to take care of the poor within his kingdom.

Daniel 4:27 (NASB 2020)

27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: wipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’

Rather than repent, be a good steward, he wanted to make a name for himself. This is a perfect picture of why the kingdom he was king of was created in the first place. Just as they, he wanted to make a name for themselves and reach heaven.

Genesis 11:4 (NASB 2020)

4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”

How many of us are guilty of that today? God has blessed us, but rather than taking those blessings and blessing others, we just squander it away on a lavish lifestyle, materialistic possessions, and creating our own tower and city of babel?

Nebuchadnezzar not only abused his power and wealth, but he also abused something else trying to make himself God. He abused the influence he had.

Influence was given but misused

King Nebuchadnezzar had great influence. He was looked at by his countrymen as a demigod. If he spoke, they had to listen. He was the final word from an earthly standpoint. Yet he used this influence to build his own kingdom rather than God’s kingdom. He, like many today, are about a kingdom of self. He wanted to build a kingdom that not even God himself could destroy. It is as the words of Captain Edward John Smith, of the Titanic, God Himself could not sink this boat. God made little of Captain Smith’s words, as the Titanic hit an iceberg, sank within three hours, and killed more 1500 people.

May we learn to be influences that lead people to God rather than leading them to be followers of self. Many people quote a phrase, To thine own self be true. They quote it as if it is biblical. The exact opposite of this is true. These words were quoted from Anton Levae, the founder of the church of Satan. God tells us a different story.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB 2020)

9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

As John the Baptist states, I must decrease and He must increase. Let us be an influence alright. Let us influence others to trust in and honor God.

Not only do we see a misuse and abuse of power, but we see a...

Religious conviction without spiritual conversion

It seems there is a plague that was present in Nebuchadnezzar’s life that is inundating the church today, religious conviction without spiritual conversion. What do I mean by this? These are those that have tasted the heavenly gift but turned away. The author of Hebrews states it this way...

Hebrews 6:4–6 (NASB 2020)

4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

It is possible to be convicted, go through the motions, and yet turn away. Now, let me tell you what I did not say. I did not say, nor do I entertain the idea of some that one can loser their salvation. What I am submitting to you and stating to you is that one can have a religious experience and not a spiritual change. This is what Nebuchadnezzar had. As we find in our text, He had

A confession without conversion was made

King Nebuchadnezzar confessed that Daniel’s God was above all other gods.

Daniel 2:47 (NASB 2020)

47 The king responded to Daniel and said, “Your God truly is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.”

He acknowledged God, but he didn’t knowledge him for who He was. He believed in God, but it takes more than just belief. As James writes

James 2:19 (NASB 2020)

19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

So, what we see is that Nebuchadnezzar confessed but was not converted. We also find in this process that

A heart was shaken but not renewed

Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was shook to the core with conviction but not renewed. He falls at the feet of Daniel when he finds the answer to a dream that was keeping him from sleeping. He claims God as the God of gods and Kings of kings. However, he was convicted to the point that he cried out to God to save him. This is where many are today.

Nebuchadnezzar had a spiritual diversion not a true conversion

Often, we find those within and without the church that have a spiritual diversion within the church. They become faithful attendees, maybe even participate in events and activities. They participate in bible studies and even gain knowledge of Christ and the Scriptures. They become churchy or religious. They learn the church answer. They even begin to fight their addictions and doubts. However, its just a diversion. Eventually, over time, they go back to their old ways. They stop attending church. They lose interest in the bible. They fade out of attendance and commitment. Why? Because they had a diversion not a conversion. This is what happened with Jesus and many of His disciples.

John 6:66 (NASB 2020)

66 As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him.

This is also what John was talking about when he wrote

1 John 2:19 (NASB 2020)

19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us.

Not only did he have a diversion, but he had his worship all messed up. He did what many do today.

Nebuchadnezzar responded to man not God

Nebuchadnezzar had all the elements of worship that was needed. When he erected that statute in the plain of Dura he was undeniably signifying worship of man toward himself and not God. He was about the ambiance of it all. He was a megalomaniac and was about the applause of man. This is how many in the church today are. They are about the show and not worship. As we look at the setting before us, we find a great example of a show of worship but not true worship.

There was the dedication (v.2).

Daniel 3:2 (NASB 2020)

2 Nebuchadnezzar the king also sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

There was the worship team (v.5)

Daniel 3:5 (NASB 2020)

5 that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.

There was the act of worship

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 21: Daniel (Totalitarianism)

All this, however, simply provided a veneer for the deepest blasphemy: This worship was man-centered, not God-honoring. Nebuchadnezzar, not God, was the object of worship. The lie was substituted for the truth of God; the “creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25) was to be adored.

As we look at this, we find two warnings to take to heart. First, blaspheme can be adorned and hidden within the acts of religion. Second, there is grave danger in thinking worship is about personal preference and aesthetic. What’s important about worship is not all the pomp and circumstance or personal preference. What is important about worship is the object of worship. Are we here to worship man or God? Who or what are you worshiping? If you are here to worship anyone or anything outside of God, your worship is blaspheme. Your personal preference of worship is of no importance. What is of importance is how God has told us to worship Him.

John 4:24 (NASB 2020)

24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Conclusion

Are we here to worship God or man? Are we more concerned with how we worship than the One we are here to worship? Have we truly had a spiritual conversion or just a diversion? Have we come to a genuine relationship with Christ or just a religious experience? When you worship God, is it in Spirit and truth or eye service for man?