Sunday Worship 11.00 am and 6.30 pm Minister: Dr William (Bill) J M Parker
9. Are You For Real? – Daniel 2:46-3:7 - 12/11/17 (pm)
Daniel
Sermon Date: 12/11/17 (pm)
Are You For Real? – Daniel 2:46-3:7
Main Teaching Point:
An encounter with the living God may result in a superficial turning to God.
Imagine a photographic record of Nebuchadnezzar’s facial expressions in Daniel chapter two. We might see concern
[over his dream, 2:1-3], anger
[when advisors failed, 2:4-13], surprise
[when Daniel requested time to interpret the dream, 2:16], wide-eyed amazement
[as Daniel interpreted the dream, 2:26-45]. Nebuchadnezzar’s behaviour following Daniel’s discourse is even more amazing given he was a pagan. Nebuchadnezzar:
- honoured Daniel (2:46, 48)
- was conscious of Daniel’s God (2:47)
- promoted Daniel’s friends (2:49)
However, there is an alarming postscript at 3:1 – the chapter division can cause us to miss it! Regardless of the time lag between 2:46-49 and 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar eventually …
… forgot about Daniel’s God and rebelled against the truth of his dream (Daniel 3:1). He built a statue. Not to the design of the one in his dream but a statue unlike the one in his dream … and commanded all to worship it. Did Nebuchadnezzar reason Am I only the gold head? No! I will be the whole statue and my empire will remain! It will not be divided. I will unite it!
Nebuchadnezzar foreshadowed the nineteenth century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who said If there is a God how can I bear not to be that God?
Nebuchadnezzar eventually reverted to his old ways.
Superficial and Temporary Responses to God
These incidents show false ways people respond to God:
- A person may have a superficial response to God (Daniel 2:46-47). Just after Daniel’s discourse Nebuchadnezzar’s attention was directed to God. He seemed to convert. But his heart was not changed. Many today are like him. They give the impression they are born-again but their heart is not changed. This may last a lifetime! (Matthew 7:21-23). Do you suspect someone as having a superficial response to God? Pray for them! Is there a possibility you are having a superficial encounter with God? It is a common trap laid by the Devil. This is why we have scriptures like 2 Corinthians 13:5; Philippians 2:12; 2 Peter 1:10.
- A person may have a temporary superficial response to God (Daniel 3:1-7). Nebuchadnezzar’s response to his encounter with God was temporary. A person may ‘get religious’ at a crisis point in life – illness, accident, bereavement, family difficulty, tragedy – and turn to God. But the crisis passes and old ways are resumed. The Bible speaks of such behaviour in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:20-21. Also see 1 John 2:19). Duncan Campbell, the Scottish revivalist spoke of praying with five frightened sergeants before battle. Each ‘converted.’ Two survived but when invited by Campbell to join him in thanksgiving to God, sent the reply Tell Campbell and his prayer meeting to go to hell!
A person may, having returned to old ways, look back at their time of religious interest and consider themselves to be a backslidder. A perilous false security! The real problem is often that the person was not born-again in the first place. No genuine backslider flippantly admits to being backslidden! They know they are rebelling against God and are miserable! (Jonah). God disciplines His children (Philippians 1:6). Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you on this issue? The call is to self-examination.
An encounter with God may result in a superficial turning to God. Let us examine ourselves to ensure this has not been our response to God’s gracious dealings with us.
© Dr Bill Parker 2018