Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201507A
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00:01 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire
00:05 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire 00:09 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire 00:14 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire 00:19 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire 00:25 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire 00:31 Philosophy's Achilles Heel An answer in the fire 01:31 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time. 01:35 God's book, The Bible 01:38 Still relevant in today's complex world 01:44 It Is Written 01:46 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 01:59 >>Chris: Over the course of the last two weeks, we studied and saw, in Daniel chapter 02:03 two, that the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, was so impressed by the fact that 02:09 Daniel had not only revealed the contents of his dream, but was also able to interpret 02:15 that dream. As matter of fact, the Bible records that the king actually commanded that 02:22 they should offer incense to Daniel. These are the very words confessed by 02:28 Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2:47, 02:47 When you think about the the utter impossibility of guessing the dream, it is a 02:52 very persuasive event to establishing God's very existence. It was so 02:57 convincing, that the king was convinced that Daniel's God was able pass the most 03:03 difficult of tests, and that He was indeed worthy of the title "God of gods" and Lord 03:11 of kings." And so as the result of that one test, the weakness of the Babylonian 03:17 gods and system of worship was exposed, and the power of the God of the Bible was exalted. 03:26 Yet,as we continue our study of the book of Daniel, we will see, amazingly enough, that 03:33 the king would revert back to the worship of gods that he confessed were actually 03:39 inferior to the God of Daniel. As we think about what happened in Babylon as 03:45 recorded in Daniel 2, the king was not the only one who had witnessed the power of the God 03:52 of the Bible to reveal the dream: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were Daniel's 03:59 friends,they were there also. 04:04 In our study today we will draw a sharp contrast between the king's response to the 04:10 revelation of the dream and the response of the three Hebrew boys. In the course of 04:15 our journey today, we are going to learn something very important about God, and about 04:22 human nature. We don't know for certain just how much time elapsed between the dream in 04:28 chapter 2 and the events of chapter 3. The events of Daniel 2 took place around 603 04:36 to 602 BC, which is just a little over two years after Nebuchadnezzar became king. It 04:43 is possible that the setting up of the image occurred several years later around 04:49 594/593. In Jeremiah 51:29, the prophet records that in the 4th year of Zedekiah, the 05:01 king of Judah made a journey to Babylon. It is possible that this journey was 05:08 undertaken in reply to Nebuchadnezzar's summons found in Dan 3:2 in which the king 05:17 sent word to gather all of the magistrates and administrators of his kingdomto Babylon. In 05:25 any event, the amazing events of Daniel 3 must have occurred at least several years after 05:32 Daniel 2 but not before the amazing events of Daniel chapter 4 which we will study 05:38 next week. What this means, is that enough time went by in order for the king to weigh 05:47 and consider how the amazing revelation of the dream of chapter 2 would impact his 05:55 life and the direction of the nation of Babylon. So, let's take a look at how the king 06:02 related to the dream that no one but Daniel could reveal and interpret. I want you to 06:10 remember; at first the king was incredibly impressed with Daniel's God, the God of the 06:17 Bible. Yet, after the passing of time, the Bible records these words found in Dan 06:26 3:1-7: 08:16 Imagine the scene with me. While basking in the thought that he represented the head 08:22 of gold, the king wasn't satisfied with the fact that inferior kingdoms would 08:29 eventually take the place of Babylon. So, instead of submitting himself to the 08:36 divine will and plan of God, he fought against it. Instead of accepting the 08:43 interpretation of the rise and fall of nations after Babylon that were represented in the 08:50 dream by the various metals, the king decided to make the entire image of gold. It was 08:58 his attempt to demonstrate that Babylon would, in fact, not fall but live forever. 09:08 Next he would invite representatives from all over his kingdoms in order that 09:15 these nations might also support his ambitions about Babylon's unending reign. 09:28 Nebuchadnezzar's rejection of the will of God and attempt to bring security in his realm 09:35 through king worship, led to some disastrous results. Those who occupy positions of 09:44 authority and are interested in extending their power and influence, Nebuchadnezzar's 09:51 experience demonstrates that if we choose not to submit to the will and plan of God, we 09:58 will end up worshiping and exalting ourselves. Please take note, in the first seven 10:07 verses of Daniel 3, six times the Bible records the fact that king Nebuchadnezzar set 10:13 up the golden image.Later in Daniel three, the setting up of the image is mentioned 10:20 three other times in verses 12, 14, and 18. Nine times in this chapter, the Bible 10:25 emphasizes that Nebuchadnezzar set up the image. It would seem, that the Bible is 10:32 sending a clear message. As the one who set up the image, he is the one who is being 10:40 worshipped. Although this is certainly narcissistic, persecuting those who refuse 10:48 to worship the image the king set up in his honor by throwing them into a burning 10:54 fiery furnace is certainly much more disastrous than his own self-worship. The Bible 11:02 paints a dark picture here of those who were once enlightened choosing to reject 11:09 the light of God's word and find fulfillment in the gratification pride and 11:15 ambition, especially at the expense of others. It would appear that for 11:23 Nebuchadnezzar, confessing that Daniel's God, the God of the Bible, is the true God is 11:30 one thing, but submitting yourself wholeheartedly to Him is quite another.While the 11:37 king was intellectually convinced that Daniel's God was the true God, he did not 11:43 submit himself to the God of heaven. Theactions of the king represent the actions of 11:50 many people today. People, who are convinced and convicted of the truth of God's existence 11:59 and of the truth of the Scriptures, yet, do not submit themselves to God's revealed 12:06 plan in their lives. It is this fact that explains why there is a majority of 12:13 contradictory religious views today. It is not because the God of the Bible lacks the 12:20 ability to overwhelmingly convince those opposed to Him that He is the true God. He 12:27 certainly did that with the king and the wise men of Babylon. And as we continue on 12:33 in this series you will find Him doing it over and over again! 12:41 Why so many contradictory views? Because God leaves people free to chose. A choice 12:48 to either serve Him or not to serve Him. However, if we reject Him and his plan, by 12:55 human nature, we will end up worshipping someone or something else. It is this, 13:03 that then creates all of the contradictory religious views that we find in our world 13:09 today. Notice something else. There is a sharp contrast between the methods of 13:16 Daniel's God, the God of the Bible, and Nebuchadnezzar's methods. In giving the dream, 13:24 and then revealing its content and interpretation to Daniel, the God of the Bible uses the 13:30 power of intellectual and spiritual wisdom that appeals even to those like the king 13:37 who have all kinds of prejudices against Him. Think about it. Before Daniel 13:43 revealed to the king the dream and its interpretation, there is no way that the king ever 13:49 would have stated that Daniel's God is the true God. Yet, through the power of 13:55 probability revealed in declaring the dream, the interpretation of the dream 14:00 and its historical fulfillment, the king freely confessed that Daniel's God is 14:08 the true God. However, although Daniel's God has power to enlighten and convict 14:16 those who do not know Him, He does not use the power of force or coercion in order to 14:24 compel people to worship Him. The king's rejection of Daniel's interpretation of the 14:29 dream in Daniel 3 is proof of that. Let's contrast that with the king's methods. In Daniel 14:40 3, the kingassembles dignitaries from all over his realm. He first tries to 14:48 seduce the allegiance of his subjects to bow down to the image through the power of 14:54 music. Yet when that fails, he forces them to bow down and worship it on the threat and 15:04 consequence of death. Nebuchadnezzar and the gods of Babylon delight in power, 15:11 which is the major weapon that they use in order to coerce their people into worship and 15:18 loyalty. Friends, it is not might that makes right. Although the God of heaven, 15:27 the God of the Bible, possess infinite power, his power is in the service of His wisdom, 15:36 justice, benevolence, and love. He does not take any pleasure in forced or coerced 15:46 worship. He wants us to love and serve Him out of an intelligent appreciation of 15:54 who He is; He wants us to serve Him because we are free to do so. 16:04 And so in Babylon, the music played, people bowed down. But not everyone. The three Hebrew 16:11 boys refused to bow down. They desired to be faithful to the God of heaven. Once the king 16:19 found out that these three men did not bow down to worship the golden image that he set, 16:26 he immediately called for them. Let's read Daniel 3:14-15 and see what happened: 17:23 The implication behind Nebuchadnezzar's challenging question is that there is no 17:28 such God that exists. It's as if the king is saying, "If He does in fact exist, then I 17:35 defy Him and His ability to do anything on your behalf."Yet, it's ironic that several years 17:44 earlier he told Daniel that your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings; and the 17:51 reason back then for his conclusion was that no one but the true God could reveal this 17:56 secret. Oh friends, listen, this story demonstrates to those who directly challenge 18:05 the existence of God, just like king Nebuchadnezzar did, do so, not because God has not 18:12 revealed Himself to them with unmistakable evidence, but because they have rejected the 18:19 true God and have begun to worship other things. What is it that they worship? 18:25 Ultimately, when we reject the existence of God and declare that our ways are better than 18:34 His ways, we are in turn worshipping ourselves. Yet, self-worship is disguised as 18:43 the worship of whatever image they have placed in their lives that replaces the true 18:48 God. It could be science, art, music, philosophy or any other list of things. Thus, 18:58 Atheists, agnostics and even other religious leaders who scoff at the existence of God, 19:06 or at His ability, love and power, may be doing so because they want to stifle their 19:14 previous convictions about the overwhelming evidence for His existence. They are following 19:21 after the footsteps of the king Nebuchadnezzar. 19:30 Let's now look at how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego responded to the king's 19:34 challenge. This is found in Dan 3:16-18 20:16 What is it that gave these three young men this much confidence in their God, that 20:22 they would be willing to stand by His revealed will even in the midst of the greatest 20:29 pressure that was brought upon them? If the existence of God was a fairy tale, or if indeed 20:36 the Babylonian gods were stronger than the God of the Bible, then, certainly these 20:41 young men would not be willing to face death in order to protect something that they 20:46 intrinsically knew to be false. Yet, they were willing to face death rather than 20:56 dishonor their God. They were no doubt familiar with passages such as Isa 43:1-3, 21:09 which state: 21:45 Friends, the reason they could trust in this promise had already been demonstrated back 21:51 in Daniel 2. You see, if their God could reveal the content of the king's dream, the 21:57 interpretation of the dream, and the incredible historical fulfillment of that dream, 22:02 then they could confidently say "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the 22:10 burning fiery furnace" should He choose to do so. The highly improbable nature of revealing 22:17 the events of the king's dream in Daniel 2 impressed them with the thought that God can 22:24 use His ability to do highly improbable things like protect them from the flames. And 22:32 that is exactly what God did. As a matter of fact, this was a case of fire "selectively" 22:40 burning everything else except their hair and clothing. While the flames engulfed the strong 22:46 men who threw them into the furnace, Daniel records that these three Hebrews didn't 22:54 even smell like smoke. And once again, we see God revealing Himself to the king. 23:02 Listen to what happens when the young men are thrown into the furnace, as found in 23:08 Daniel 3:22-25, 24:06 Beyond just protecting and saving the three Hebrews, God desired to make an impact and 24:12 difference in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. The Bible is clear that one like the Son of 24:18 God.Jesus himself walked in the fire with the young men. What this story suggests about 24:26 the character of God is absolutely astounding! First, God was doing all He could to 24:33 reach the king and open his eyes to who God truly was. In addition, was a very important 24:43 lesson for those three Hebrew young men. They believed that God existed. They had a 24:50 relationship with God and knew that God could deliver them from their troubles, but God 24:59 did not deliver them from their troubles, did he? No, He didn't deliver them from it, 25:07 but rather walked through it with them. And here is the power of this story. God is 25:22 doing all He can to reveal Himself to us today. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to 25:32 be in relationship with Him. He wants to save us from this planet that seems to be 25:38 spiraling out of control. And here is the guarantee that He has made.In whatever trial we 25:44 face, in whatever problem we are dealing with, in whatever challenges are on the 25:50 horizon.He will walk through that trial with us. He exists. He is real. And according to 1 26:03 John 4:8, He is love. He desires a relationship with you.with me. Today is the day 26:17 to not only acknowledge that he exists, but today is the day to enter into relationship 26:26 with Him. 26:30 Heavenly Father we thank you that you have revealed yourself in a mighty way. An 26:35 now, as we see you revealing yourself, we come to and ask that you would give us the 26:43 strength to enter into a relationship with you, to trust you, to follow you all 26:49 the days of our life. We pray in Jesus name, amen. 27:04 Dear friends, isn't it amazing how God revealed himself over and over again to king 27:11 Nebuchadnezzar - that He might enter into a relationship with king Nebuchadnezzar, that He 27:20 might save Nebuchadnezzar from his sins. What's even more amazing is that God continues 27:23 to reveal himself today. He's revealed himself in his holy word, He's revealed himself in 27:28 the world of nature, all in an effort to enter into a relationship with you -- to 27:34 enter into a relationship with me, that He might save us That we would be prepared to 27:40 live with Him forever in his kingdom that will never end Today, I would like to offer 27:47 to you a book, "The Thought Makers". This book will engage you in reading about thought 27:55 makers throughout time and how they were led to acknowledge the God of the bible. Here's 28:03 the information you need to receive today's offer. 28:56 >>Chris: Philosophy's Achilles heel -- it has been a journey that we have taken together to 29:01 look at how God has revealed himself over and over again with one goal in mind - to 29:08 enter into relationship with each and every one of us. If you happen to have missed any 29:15 of this series, you can go to our Youtube page - www.youtube.com/IIWCanada. And 29:23 there you can watch any of "Philosophy's Achilles heel" or any other program that we 29:28 have produced. I hope you are finding God's love in your life through seeing Him reveal 29:36 Himself in His word and through the world of Nature I'm glad you joined us today, 29:42 I encourage you to join us again next week. Until then remember, It Is Written, man 29:49 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of 29:54 God. 29:57 $$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-11-19