Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow | part 2 (Pastor Jeff Shipley)

Daniel’s Image, the Statue of Gold, and the Coming Kingdom

Now I want you to pay attention it wasn't anything in Israel wasn't the third their military size.

We're gonna be in Daniel chapter 2 this morning. Daniel chapter 2 and 3. Daniel chapter 2 and 3 with just a slight deviation at least in Scripture to Revelation chapter 13. Now, I'm gonna do in the introduction all of chapter 2.

I'm going to talk about all of chapter 2. Because as we all know in proper biblical Harmonetics you can't understand chapter 3 in totality until you have both 1 and 2. And so in Daniel chapter 2 remember we're in about 603 BC the Assyrians have been defeated by the Babylonians and for all you keyboard warriors out there Simply look up Wikipedia.

I'm talking about the same history in your history books. It's the same history in the Word of God. You know why. Because it's history Babylon has come in. They defeated at 605 they defeated an alliance between the Assyrians and the Egyptians under the Pharaoh Necco on the way back from chasing the Egyptians back to their homeland.

King Nebuchadnezzar stopped off in Jerusalem and put Judah Under its thumb as well. They took away with them at that point. They took away with them several of the most elite of the noble families of the Jews for those guys were Daniel Shadrach Meshach and Abednego their Babylonian names and in chapter 3 God's Word continues to use those names so so I.

They took them away, and they educated them to try to make Their culture diminish to accept the Babylonian culture. The idea was that if you took the noble families of the peoples you conquered Inundated them with the culture of Babylon.

There would be a great bridge between the Babylonian and Jewish Empire.

Of course.

We read last week where they were told you have to eat this eat this eat this and Daniel said I tell you what? Give us that food which will not defile our bodies and we can trust in the Lord and God will make us healthier than whatever you people are eating.

And it was true. And Daniel chapter 2 if you read Nebuchadnezzar it's actually Nebuchadnezzar the second and I gave a brief bio of him on your paper. Nebuchadnezzar the second Had a dream and in this dream.

He saw a huge statue. The head was made of gold the bar the head the body and the chest Were made of bronze and so on and so forth on down. I'm not getting in all that right now. We're going to do that in October, but.

Basically.

Nebuchadnezzar was told that head of gold is you. The Medes and the Persians will come after you and then after them Greece and after Greece Rome and then after Rome there will be another set of nations that will rise up but a rock not human by human hands will come out of the sky and Strike that and all of those kingdoms will fall.

But that one kingdom will live forever. And of course that being Jesus Christ now. Understanding that I want you to look at a couple of things. Ladies and gentlemen we in this world today. We in this world yesterday and we in this world tomorrow.

Have a choice to make we have a faith to uphold and we have a hope to show. And I'm going to look at each three of those things this morning and how they relate not just to the past in the present but also to the future as well.

Temporary Idols Versus the Eternal Kingdom

So in Daniel chapter 3 verse 1 it says this King Nebuchadnezzar Made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits in breadth 6 cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Now I want you to understand how much I love Carrie Stanley.

I want you to understand that she I call her Grady now used to call her blondie. But after 17 years her hair has turned gray. That's because of you people not me but we have honored Carrie and we're going to we're going to honor her for all of her sacrifice, but I Promise you this I am never going to build a statue of Carrie and put it out in the parking lot and Have everyone go out there and bow down and worship it.

That would be just a little weird wouldn't it me not so much, but Grady that would definitely be weird. I want you to understand the megalomaniac that Nebuchadnezzar was. He made a statue of himself, and this is what he said.

Everyone's going to gather together. We're going to dedicate this statue and every time we play this song. Everyone's going to bow down and worship that statue now. I want you to know that he made that statue completely out of gold now God had just told him in a dream.

The head of the image you saw was Babylon, but that's going to give way to something else Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar said oh, yeah, God watch this I'm gonna make a statue of me and that statue is going to be all of gold and it's never going to quit.

Ladies and gentlemen the first thing I want you to focus on today is this in your choice to follow God. Are you following things that are temporary or you following things that are eternal you have to understand?

And I know in our lives We have been inundated with this idea that we actually own things guys. You don't own your house. You say oh, but it's paid off. Do you pay taxes? Yeah, you written it. You written it because if you don't pay them taxes what happens?

They don't take it. You don't own it. You don't know your car. You don't own anything.

Everything belongs to the power of this world. The only thing you truly have is that personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the only thing you own is Your choice to make on whom you're gonna serve.

Nebuchadnezzar sat there and said God you said my kingdom's gonna fall. Watch this. Well, I want you just to turn with me for a quick moment to Revelation chapter 13. Revelation chapter 13 specifically verses 11 through 17.

Now we say those are things of the past. That's stupid. That's foolish. No one would ever do that again.

Yeah, well.

Mmm, we create idols all the time. But I'm telling you Nebuchadnezzar's idol is gonna have a 2 .0 one day. Watch this Revelation chapter 13 verse 11 through 17. Then I saw another beast Rising out of the earth.

It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It Exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants. Worship the beast whose mortal wound was healed.

It performs great signs. Even making fire come down from heaven to the earth in front of people and by the signs that is allowed to work in. The presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth.

Telling them to make an image of the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast. So that the image of the beast might even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

Also, it causes all. Both small and great both rich and poor both free and slave to be marked on the right hand or the forehead. So that no one can buy or sell. Unless he has their mark and that is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you this one might talk this one might have special effects. But it's going to be the same thing that Satan has been trying to do since the Garden of Eden. It's going to twist the Word of God in your life and cause you to take your eyes off of Christ and put it Something made of hands in this world to worship.

You have a choice to make this morning and I ask you identify those things in your life. What you're worshiping whether it be your job your home your spouse whether it be your children your grandchildren.

That one's not so bad, but your other one. Are you worshiping something other than Christ? Understand there's going to be a great pressure and there is pressure right now. But there's going to be a greater pressure to conform to the image of the beast.

Look with me back in Daniel chapter 4.

It says this.

Daniel chapter 3 verse 4 it says this. And the herald proclaimed aloud you are Commanded. Oh people's. Oh nations. Oh languages. Do you know that the world will be more united under Satan than it will ever be under Christ in this?

Dispensation. The world will come together under evil quicker than it will. Righteousness. If you don't believe me. Drive past a wreck on the interstate. Everybody's looking but very few are running to help.

If you see in this world today the world loves drama and sin and contention and trials and Tribulations, you know that the news channels the ratings go up. You know when when there's a war or there's some sort of disaster.

Weavering nation language and people because of the total depravity of our hearts. Not the lack of our church attendance the total depravity of our hearts loves chaos and sin. More than they love righteousness if you're gonna make a choice to stand for God you will be the minority.

I Hear so many people talking about minorities today. I always love it when they say well pastor. You don't understand what it is to be a minority.

Pastors there are very few. I am a minority.

But see it's part of the world Strategy church listen to me to divide us by stupid skin color and denominations. Rather than the only two eternal divisions that exist God's people and those who are against him.

That's the only two classes there are. But you eat the porridge and the filth. The world gives you your identity. You've made a choice to have an identity based upon.

Hurt pain.

Tragedy skin color and everything else rather than feel them. That is yours in Christ Jesus. Where are you gonna? Do are you gonna make a choice. If you do understand this you will be in the minority.

Verse 5.

There's an emotional Enticement to walk away from God watch this. That when you hear the sound of the horn pipe liar Dragon harp bagpipe and every kind of music. You are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar Has set up.

When I coach my fighters one of the things I try to get them to understand is that the rocky Balboa? Music. That little goose pumpy feel that when the good guy has been beaten and that that great Protagonist is on the last rope all of a sudden.

Don't don't don't don't don't don't don't don't don't don't. And he's like flexes out. He's like Van Damme, and you know. And he beats up 47 people saves the damsel in distress and goes with. There ain't no music guys.

There ain't no music in fact. I'll be honest with you. We're in the cage. You hear everything and absolutely nothing. Especially when your coach is yelling at you from the corner, and y 'all keep doing stupid things.

You hear everything and you hear nothing. Guys have y 'all ever been to a concert. How many of y 'all went to the monsters of rock concert back in the 80s?

Anybody one.

Sorry I forgot. Wrong church. Y 'all weren't even born in the 80s back in my day. They had this thing called monsters rock concert. They had all these groups come went to the Liberty Bowl fire. You remember the firetrucks.

It was so stinking hot people were passing out. And they were spraying everybody down with the fire hose. It was awesome. Awesome, it was awesome. It was killer music man. Awesome, you know what brought us together.

The music.

Guys listen to me for a second. Music is powerful. Do you know what station I listen to every day 600 a .m. Now this is me. This is not my standard. I'm trying to give you I'm telling you where my weakness is okay.

If I listen to the old music I used to listen to I.

Want to fight.

Am I talking about oh stop it. I'm talking about I want to rip your sternum apart reach in grab your heart while it's still beating and say look mom what I.

Did.

That's what goes through my head. Okay, yeah. Yeah, go back 35 years ago. It's even a bigger. Wow. Listen to me. Some Christian music does that to me now now wait a minute. You're saying oh my god. He's on Christian music.

I'm not talking about the lip. I'm talking about that staccato that beat y 'all know what I'm at. Yeah, I don't know if anybody else's way. Maybe I need to go get it in therapy, but it does that to me right.

I Have to be careful.

Guys.

Understand with it when the world calls you it's not calling you to a redheaded Pitchfork tail dragon big mean scary omen looking piece of puking devil. It's gonna call you as the finest chick you ever saw.

It's gonna call you by an addiction. You can't break on your own. It's gonna call you by the Insecurities you're trying to fill and it's gonna keep her longer than you wanted to stay cost you more than you wanted to pay And destroy you more than you thought it could.

Mark my words.

Guys.

The choice you have to make is Sometimes to do the things you don't want to do. So you can do the things you enjoy doing and part of that thing is this. You're never gonna be able to enjoy life as a child of God if you keep putting God second.

It's never gonna happen. It's never gonna happen. Third thing. Oh, this one's scary. Verse 6 chapter 3. Verse 6. The choice is going to be to stand up also against government enforcements and whoever does not fall down and Worship shall immediately Be cast into the burning fiery furnace.

Now I'm not saying that the state of Tennessee has a furnace somewhere and if you showed up on church on a Sunday morning They're gonna throw you in it. That's absolutely ridiculous.

Today.

Today. Oh pastor, you're exaggerating. Well, see here's the problem with your argument. I've got 5 ,000 years of recorded human history on my side. You've got your opinion 5 ,000 years of.

Recorded facts.

Where at hundreds of different points in human history? Christians were singled out to be tortured to death and killed for their faith. Sometimes by the church I always find that ironic or what people call the church.

Guys, I don't believe I don't. I believe the rapture can happen today. But I do not believe the tribulations. Fixing the start now. I'm gonna give you a prophetic word today, and I'm using that cheek and tongue.

But.

Here's when you know things are gonna get bad. When the government removes the tax-exempt status from churches. You better buckle up. And kids it's a common and it's a common quickly. Most of you in this room will see it happen.

People.

The days of 1980s country kitchen Christians are over. The days of the megachurch are coming to a close. Because you want to see megachurches you want to see churches get pure. I'm gonna tell you how they get pure.

They don't get pure by adding numbers. You know how they're gonna get pure like they've done every time in history. Persecution shows up the church purifies and goes out. It's happened every single time.

Ladies and gentlemen the choice you're gonna have to make sometimes is this. No disrespect. But I must choose to obey God rather than man. That's a scary thing to say. Some of you guys in here want to use this as a red dawn moment with your wife.

Well, honey the antichrist and the beasts are showing up. I've gotta have the newest.

AR -15 with 20 ,000 rounds of ammo and my ghillie suit.

So I can protect the family. Come here, man. You want to protect your family? Quit spending your time and money with guns and put it on your knees. You submit your heart to Christ. Let him take care everything else man.

Now I'm not saying don't protect your home. Okay. I have a BB gun myself at home. Okay. It's a Red Ryder pump-action man. I ain't never put my out, but I'm telling you this. Well, yeah that too, but listen to me.

Listen to me spend time Sharpening the sword of the Word of God in your heart. Last thing on this part verse 8. This is a hard one. Oh. Therefore at that time Certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.

They declared the King Nebuchadnezzar Oh King live forever. Now let me put this to you in a modern colloquialism. They saw that Shadrach Meshach and in at it. Was not gonna bow down to that image ain't gonna do it.

So what did they do? Oh.

Nebuchadnezzar.

Like seven-year-old little telltale girls. Have you ever noticed that like seven and eight-year-old girls are like informers. Never let a seven or eight-year-old girl join the mafia. They will tell everything right away.

But that's what these guys did and here's what they did it for. They didn't do it because they just hated the Jews. They loved the sin that was causing the Jews grief. You see there is an enemy a Church.

Look right here. There is an enemy out there trying to destroy God's people. He can't destroy God. He knows from the Word of God. He's never going to destroy God's Word. His word is tried like silver and fine will last forever.

So the only thing he can do is try to hurt God's children. And so they come and they maliciously attacked and notice what they say. Oh King live forever. Well, that ain't gonna happen. But I'll tell you a lie to get you to like me and I will sell out.

Anybody else to get you to like me? Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever sold out your brother and sister in Christ? Oh, no. I've never called the government and I ain't talking about that. I Ain't talking about that.

You ready?

We.

We really need to pray.

Guys.

Just between me and you. Now you have to picture. We're in the parking lot. Okay, or on the text phone. Hey just between me and you. We need to pray for Robert Bonds.

We do.

I'm not gossiping. I'm just gonna share what I know that is Derogatory about him so that we can now in sin lift him up to God. It's called gossip and you're selling out your brother and sister in Christ.

You want to pray for Robert? Here's an idea go to Robert and say hey brother. I notice you're struggling with this or I feel it. Let me pray for you. Let me hold you accountable. Let me lift you up. Let me build you up instead of tearing you down.

That's how you fight and it's a choice to make. Oh I got something juicy. I got something good. I'm gonna keep it in my back pocket because I'm not gonna destroy the reputation of a brother and sister in Christ to build myself.

That's the choice you have to make sometimes.

A Settled Faith That Says “But If Not”

Guys.

You have a choice to make now. Listen, you also have a faith. You have a have to have a faith. I want you to listen. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they went and told on the king to his credit. Nebuchadnezzar to his credit didn't just take their word for it because he knows who the tattletales are.

Y 'all know who the punks are, you know how the you know, they say hey Bobby. Oh my gosh now what? Right. They come up to you and Nebuchadnezzar to his credit said bring the boys in. And he said I want to be crystal clear about this.

I'm gonna set up that image. The harps are gonna play and you're gonna bow down and you're gonna worship now you say well pastor. This is still a choice. Yeah, but this is different because without the empowerment of the faith of God Almighty You will never make that choice.

It's gonna take a faith and let me demonstrate what that faith is. Are you ready? Watch verse 12. It says this these me I'm sorry verse 16 through 18. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king Oh 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.

But if not.

Be it known to you Oh King that we will not serve your God nor Worship the golden image you have set up. You see they had a settled faith. It wasn't just a faith to walk down an aisle or to pray a prayer in private.

They had hid the Word of God in their heart.

It's them and the faith was settled. It was not washing and coming and going like the tide of the ocean. It was a rock a granite fortress that no matter what the world crashed against it It would not stand.

Do you have that kind of settled faith? Do you have the faith that no matter what? Even if it cost your life. You will not doubt God's power and notice that settled faith. It says God is Absolutely sovereign but his sovereignty is not measured on whether I live or die.

Because God is sovereign and apart from any effects of whatever causality there is. He had contempt for God and I want y 'all to notice this. They had contempt for him. Let me put it to you in 1980s vernacular.

Man, I ain't studying you. Well, we're gonna burn you up man you go for brother. Feel froggy jump. Ain't nothing between me and you but space and opportunity son.

You do what you got to do.

But we ain't gonna bow down to your image. Hmm well pastor that's not very kind. And what would Jesus do. I ain't got to know what Jesus did because in a few verses He shows up, but we'll get to that in just a second.

You have to understand. I want to ask you a question. Is your faith settled. And I also want to ask you this. Do you have an if-not clause in your faith? Dear Lord, I Have a friend. He's really a friend of a friend.

And he had just got some bad news about the cancer word. God, I'm sick of cancer. Sick of it. I still see Stephanie Hanscom sitting right there. Sick of it. Father heal him. Notice what they said. They said we're not gonna do it.

You throw us in the furnace. God's gonna deliver us, you know what that means. It doesn't matter what happens to our bodies. Because if you kill me, I'm just going home. This is not my world. It is temporary.

I'm passing through my faith is an if-not faith. It doesn't matter if not this happens or what if this happens because I know God has a plan for me. It's a plan of good not of evil all the days of my life.

Including the last one when I die. I have a guy who obsessed with dying and I tell him every week.

He comes into my office.

You are going to die. That's my pastoral counseling doing. You're gonna croak. You're gonna kick over. You're gonna go feet and legs up. You're gonna go stiff. You're gonna smell. You're going to.

Die.

But see this is what our problem is. We're so wrapped up in the fear of what if we need to get back to. If not, it doesn't matter. I know that I'm gonna die. Well the world can't. Well if it can't that's all right.

If not, you can't fix me. If not, you can't give me medicine or rated.

If not doesn't matter.

I'm still gonna be healed because when I leave this world and go to heaven there's gonna be no more tears. No more cancer. No more that garbage. I will hear well done now good and faithful servant and I will enter into the rest of the Lord.

Do you have that kind of faith? Well, yeah, I mean I prayed to receive Jesus Christ in my heart as my ward and Savior. I Got the WWJD bracelet. I go to church two or three times a month. That's why your faith is shaken.

Because it's built on things built out of man's hand rather the internal Word of God that should be in your hearts. Where yet? What kind of faith you got? Last thing. You got choice. You got faith. The church.

Hope in the Furnace: Freedom, Justification, and Repentance

Praise God. We got a hope. Said we ain't doing it. Yeah, but you Nazar said hey. Gather them up boys. A couple of thick-necked guys named Gunter and Luigi grabbed him up. Tied him up put a sack over their head.

Took him up and kicked him into the furnace down. They went down. They went. Nebuchadnezzar sitting there. A little gold chair. Looking at the a this ain't the first execution that day. This ain't the first one because the fire had to be heated up seven times hot.

That means it was already hot. That means he had Already been cooking more french fries right. Throwing people in. Also an old nebby goes. Boys, come here. Didn't we throw three cats in there? Yeah. Well, how come I see four and the fourth one looks like the son of the gods?

Uh-huh.

Oh.

You know what our hope is. Three things. First of all, our hope is this. It's freedom. I ain't talking about red white and blue freedom. I'm talking about red freedom. I'm talking about the freedom of Jesus Christ that no matter what happens.

There is nothing this world can do that can take away my rights. That can oppress me. That can harm me that can hurt me. Ah, but that jesus that jesus hope that no matter what happens. The worst thing you can come up with for my life.

Kill my wife my children my grandchildren. The worst thing you could dream up. I'm gonna die and i'm gonna go home and be with them forever. What punk can you do to me?

I got freedom notice.

They went in there bound and everything the world put on them was burned away in the presence of jesus christ. They went in bound, but they were free no matter what. How much freedom do you have in the hope that you have for christ?

Jesus? Look at this. And verse 27 and the satraps the prefects the governor and all the king's councils gathered together. And saw that the fire had not any power over the bodies of those men. Their hair of their heads were not even singed their cloaks were not harmed And they didn't even smell like smoke.

You couldn't even do that. We go to the hunting club. And one of the greatest things about hunt. I'm 55 years old. If I don't ever shoot a deer again, I don't care. But you know what? I love Artie. Knows.

Tell me artie.

Yeah, that's it.

Love it Love it But you can always tell when i've done that. Because i'll come home And gwen will go. Oh.

My god.

Take those clothes.

Outside.

And don't bring them in my house because they smell like smoke. I ain't even been in the fire. I've just been around it and I reek like smoke. These three guys had been in the middle of it and they didn't even smell like it.

Pastor. Will you come here for a second guys? I want to just for a second give you a little demonstration of hope. The word of god tells us in two different doctrines both sanctification And justification that our hope doesn't have to be in our prayers.

Our hope doesn't have to be in our perfection. Our hope is not in our church attendance or money that we give or any other garbage. Our hope is built on nothing less than jesus christ and his righteousness.

It says right here that they didn't even state the word of god tells us in ephesians one that we are to be Holy and blameless. That before the foundation of the world before you were born God called you to be holy and blameless.

And then he did something even more beautiful. He didn't just call you. He chose you. You're mine.

Now.

Here's how before I understood the power and doctrine of grace. The poor understood that. Here's how I always thought. Every sunday I had to be fresh.

Impressed.

And clean and perfect. And as soon I now I don't know about now y 'all people are a lot better christians than I am. Okay I didn't grow up in church. All right, so yo people. Y 'all like real christians.

I'm just up here pretending right? That's how I felt all the time. And i'm sure none of you feel like that. You know I wouldn't pray for like months at a time and I would feel guilty about it and i'm like, oh I suck God doesn't love me no more.

I'm a big fat stupid loser. Can at least one person say they felt like this. I won't feel a lot. Okay one. Okay good. Now now wait a minute. This is why I was a pastor. Pastor and I constantly lived with this understanding.

I constantly lived. With that the effects Of sin on my life stained me.

It.

Soaked me it was constantly hanging on me. And everywhere I go. I was really good At looking at you going. Oh, man. How are you doing pastor? Oh, i'm doing great man. Blessed in jesus or for my pentecostal friends.

Highly faithful. But I was constantly carrying That around on my soul. Do you know what justification is? Do you know what it is not to even have the smell of sin on you. It sits there and says holy.

And.

Blameless now.

This is.

A loaf of bread that I pulled out of the cabinet in the kitchen that i'm sure the cooking girls.

Bought.

And.

I'm going to be gentle. Okay, but I want you to hold this up pastor now watch. Little loaf of bread. You see i'm not sinless. But see I am blameless. You see while this the flesh soaks up my sin. You see I have a covering of the blood of jesus christ over my life.

And even though I still get stained with sin in my head the reality my soul is absolutely clean. Because I have been justified by the blood of jesus christ. Therefore if anyone If anyone knows christ, he is a new creature.

All things have passed away behold all have become new there is therefore now No condemnation to them who are in christ jesus. Have you been justified? Do you have the hope i'm talking about or do you have wishful thinking?

Based upon a prayer at vbs that you're not going to go to hell. Remember this people god's people are not Persecuted because they worship jesus. God's people are persecuted because they won't worship the world.

Let me ask you this. What are you putting your faith in this morning? Are you putting it in a prayer a church a denomination? Are you putting it in the justifying power of jesus's blood? You say pastor i've tried so many times I've read i've i've raised my hand.

But right now I want everybody to bow their heads don't really Close your eyes. And I want you If you've accepted jesus just to slip your hand just slip it up. Don't make a big deal out of it. That is not the gospel of jesus christ.

Gospel of jesus christ says this if you deny me before men, I will deny you before the father. And let me tell you well, I don't know how to do that. Let me tell you if you're really saving the power of the holy spirit to split you wide open.

You ain't gonna have a problem. You might stutter a few steps, but you're gonna be like.

Something changed.

Something different up in me the way I thought reacted then and now but only with the power of the holy spirit.

You are gonna be brand spanking new.

If you have been holy and blameless. Even the stench of sin will not stay on you. And then the last thing is this. I want you to do Christians when we make a choice. We exercise our faith and we show hope.