Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Friday, November 9, 2018

Audio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reachmanyradio/thoughts-in-worship-11-09-2018

This is devotional thought number 9 in our devotional series, “The Protest is Not Over: Transformation is Key to Reformation.”

“Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.” (Daniel 3:28–29).

Amen! The hardened king, Nebuchadnezzar blessed the God of heaven. This is wonderful! Then, he went overboard (not-so-wonderful).

Here’s the short version of the story: Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon erected an idol to prop himself up and fuel his narcissism. Pride and narcissism are bad enough, but his drive to such was related to God giving him a dream that predicted his kingdom's fall to a weaker power. In symbol, metals and other materials represented subsequent kingdoms, until Jesus’ kingdom of glory forever ends all earthly empires. Babylon was represented by gold in his dream. So, in order to thumb his nose at the divine prediction and demonstrate his perceived eternal dominance, he erected a solid gold idol in the plain of Dura. And, get this: he commanded everybody to worship his image. You need to avoid all earthly powers who command your worship. When three Hebrew young men chose to worship God alone, and refused to bow to the king’s pressure, they were cast into a fiery furnace, through which Jesus Himself delivered them. Are you with me so far? When the king recognized God’s supreme authority and power, he blessed God’s name. Great! What happened next was not great at all. King Nebuchadnezzar took his newfound zeal for God too far. He then passed a law that required worship of God. Those who would not fall in line, anywhere in the world were to be cut in pieces, and their homes destroyed. Nobody can compel worship!

We have seen this kind of evil, overreaching behaviour many times in history. One time of note was when the power in Daniel 7 destroyed three nations (Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths), because they did not believe in the church’s view of Jesus and the Godhead. So, here again; while the theology of the teaching regarding God may have been on point, the merciless act of attempting to compel others to hold the same view or die, is unbiblical. The church has so much blood on its hands. For 1260 long years, those stalwarts, who only wanted to worship and praise the Lord according to Scripture and the dictates of their consciences were massacred. And you know what? The Bible predicts that this will be attempted again. A strange church/state alliance will be created as former protestants and catholics create a new version of the power that destroyed the lives of so many of the reformers according to Revelation 13.

We are living during a time when religious intolerance will grow to a level never before seen, even though the Lord has not sanctioned a one world government or given authority to any church or state to be His mouthpiece or army to enforce worship. That is where things are going. We must protest such movements. We must hold up the banner of religious freedom at all costs. We must allow God to open hearts through the power of His Spirit, and not accept the strong arm of religio-political powers to compel conscience.