Sermon Notes

KILLJOYS
Daniel 3:13-28 // Idolatry
 
“You shall have no other gods before me.” -Exodus 20:3
 
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” -Matthew 22:37
 
 
IDOLATRY
 
 
“The human heart is an idol factory” -John Calvin
 
 
SPIRITUAL REALITY:
Nothing will catalyze your growth and joy in God faster than identifying, removing, and replacing your idols with Jesus.
 
 
DANIEL 3:13-28
“Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O 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 the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
 
 
 
1. The Promotion of Idolatry In Our Culture (v.15a)
 
“Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.” -Daniel 3:15
 
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." -2 Corinthians 3:18
 
 
Spiritual Reality: We are formed by whatever we worship.
 
Idolatry: The heart worship of anything above God.
 

"Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. -Romans 1:25
 
"Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?" -Daniel 3:14
 
 
 
2. The Problem of Idolatry (v.15b)
 
“Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands – “ -Daniel 3:15a
 
"In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD - this same King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel." -2 Chronicles 28:22-23
 
 
Idolatry never delivers on its promises and always leads to ruin
 
 
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” -Daniel 3:16-18
 
 
 
3. The Price of Resisting Idolatry
 
Spiritual Reality: Resisting the idols of our culture will come at a cost.
 
 
 
4. The Practices for Fighting Idolatry
 

Theophany
 

“Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.” -Daniel 3:28
 
 
- Trust In Him Daily
 

- Set Aside Your Idols Consistently
 
An idol is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lost it, your life would feel hardly worth living.” -Tim Keller


- Surrender to Him Moment By Moment
 
SERMON IN A SENTENCE:
We fight the idolatry of our hearts by fighting to believe that Jesus is better.
 
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hands are pleasures forevermore.” -Psalm 16:11