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We read as our text the beginning of the well-known story of the three Hebrew boys being thrown in a fiery furnace. Because of their idolatry, Israel was captive in the great kingdom of Babylon and ruled by its mighty king, Nebuchadnezzar. The Bible says that Nebuchadnezzar's army had made three trips to Jerusalem to bring back captives from the Jewish people and on the first trip, he had taken the smartest of the young men to be trained to become leaders in his kingdom. Among those bright young men were four Hebrew boys who faithfully served the God of Israel, named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These young Hebrew boys were given Babylonian names and Daniel was known by the name Belteshazzar, the other three are better known by their Babylonian monikers of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. All four were eventually placed in various leadership positions in the kingdom of Babylon.

In the 3rd chapter of Daniel, we find a strange scene unfolding. King Nebuchadnezzar suddenly decides to erect a great golden-covered image. This great statue was immense, measuring some 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. And after this image was built and placed in a prominent spot, a decree went out from the king that all the local rulers of the provinces of the kingdom -- both far and wide -- had to come attend the dedication of the image. It was not until they assembled on the appointed day that they learned the real reason why they had been called. The music was about to start playing and the king's herald informed them that at the sound of the music, everybody must bow and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They were then informed the somber news that if anyone refused to bow themselves and worship the golden image, then they would be cast into a fiery furnace and killed.

For those of you who are not familiar with the story, I'll clue you in to the ending. When the music played, everyone bowed in worship except the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When it was told the king that they refused to worship, he offered them a second chance, but when they refused again, he heated the fiery furnace up seven times hotter and had them cast into it only to find that God delivered them and the fire only served to kill the guards that threw them in and to sever the ropes that were binding them! And then when the astonished king peered into the flames, he was shocked to see another angelic figure with them! When they came out of the fire, not a hair was singed and their clothes did not even smell like smoke and Nebuchadnezzar had learned that the God of Israel was much more powerful than his kingdom!

This story provides an awesome picture of God's people living in this world and every preacher at one time or another has preached it from this standpoint. This world has an image that they want you to seek after and bow to. They want you to dance to their music and obey their commands. They want you to follow and surrender to their will for you life. They want you to be swayed by peer pressure and the threat of the fires of persecution if you do not act, look, think, and talk as they do. But God is looking for some people who will follow Him and worship Him only! He is looking for some people who will not bow to this world's image or ways! He is looking for a people who would rather perish in the fires of persecution than just go along with the godless crowd! God is looking for a people that stands out -- not blends in! He is looking for a light on the hillside, not a lamp under a basket! And only those who will stand with a backbone to the demands of this world are worthy to be called "sons of God!"

And let me clue you in on something: this world can breathe their threats and give their persecution and make fun of the way Apostolic Christians live, but have you ever stopped and counted in the story after the three Hebrew boys came out of the fire? There were four in the fire because God Almighty had joined them there, but when they stepped out of the flames, only three came out. That means God is still there in the flames! When you stand up for what is right and are cast into the flames of persecution and the fires of other's godless opinions, then you are closer to God than you've ever been because He's already there! He's still in the fire and as long as you trust Him and obey Him, He will not let you fall or perish!

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But, today, let's go back to the first part of the chapter and get back to the whole idea that popped into king Nebuchadnezzar's head in the first place. I said earlier that it was strange that he would do what he did. It was strange that he would set up this golden image. And the closer you look at it, the stranger it becomes.

First of all, in the previous chapter, Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream and none of his magicians or sorcerers could tell him his dream or interpret it. But the prophet Daniel was able to stand before the king and not only tell him the dream but also what it meant. The dream was of a great statue and image and the head was of gold and the chest and arms of silver and the belly and thighs of bronze; legs of iron and feet of iron and clay. And Daniel told the king that the golden head represented the great king of Babylon, himself. And that the other levels of the statue represented other kingdoms that although would not be as powerful or as great as his, yet would take over the world after the fall of Babylon. Daniel finished the interpretation by saying:

The "great God" was the true God of the universe, the Jehovah God of Israel! And Nebuchadnezzar's response was awe and respect:

And then Daniel was promoted to a high position in the kingdom and he in turn asked for the promotion of his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego the ones who ended up not bowing before the golden image.

How strange that after getting a glimpse of the true God of Israel's power that Nebuchadnezzar would so soon erect another false god and command worship to it! And even stranger when you realize that what Nebuchadnezzar had done was that he took the image given by God in a dream that represented his future and changed it to match what he wanted instead. God had said the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and the great kingdom of Babylon, and yet there would be other kingdoms that would rise after him and take his place, but God's will was not pleasing to Nebuchadnezzar so he erected an image that was all of gold, symbolizing his will for his life that his power and reign would never end.

Because of this correlation from chapter to chapter and because we are never told that the golden image was the likeness of some specific false god already in existence, many Bible scholars believe that what Nebuchadnezzar set up for others to worship and bow to was an image of himself. Not in the image of how God Almighty had presented him, but in the image of what Nebuchadnezzar wanted and desired most. Simply put, when the rulers of the provinces got to the dedication they were shocked to find that they were going to be bowing to a likeness of the Babylonian king. It was an idol in his very own image.

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There is a very popular show on television the past few years called "American Idol" but the singers of that show are not really the idols of America. And make no mistake about it -- Americans have their idols. Most Americans bow and sacrifice more money, time, and worship to the false gods of money, sports, and entertainment than they ever give to serving Jesus Christ. And yet I must admit that those three false gods are not the greatest idol of America. The greatest "American Idol" -- and the one that is the greatest danger to the church of the Living God today -- can be found by looking in the mirror. Today the greatest form of false worship is the unabashed worship of "myself." Most people today bow before and submit to their own will and their own way of doing things. And if others don't go along with such a declaration, then they are quick to cast those around them into the fires of their chastisement and abuse. Like Nebuchadnezzar, most people today have performed the curious act of raising up and worshipping "an idol in their own image."

An idol in my own image: I'll do what I want to do and nobody's going to tell me what or how to do it! I'll live my life my way and making my decisions and I'll do only what I think best serves me and pleases me. And the golden image of our self will goes up and we give the commands for all around to bow before what we want! It's a sign of the times, because Paul wrote Timothy that in the last days:

Is not this passage a portrait of the average person on the street, today? And yet all of these things are the result of people only loving themselves and their money. They erect a golden idol in their own image and they serve it with all of their heart and the rest of the sins are just results from that decision! Isaiah prophesied about this day when he said:

Isaiah said that "everybody is doing their own thing and what makes them the most happy regardless of what others may feel or regardless of what the Great God in Heaven commands." And such is the attitude of most people today: we'll do as we see fit and don't anybody dare tell us different and we won't listen if you do. Truly the American Idol of today is really the Babylonian idol of old: it is that one that we have made in our own image!

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I must admit that sometimes it's easy to preach about what's "out there" and ignore what's "in here." The truth is that the biggest idol found in the true church of God today is also "an idol in my own image." We can thunder against the worship of self out there but we must admit that it can easily slip into the pews and set itself up for worship!

In our other text, we read of Paul writing to the church in Philippi and the Apostle is explaining why he has not yet sent a minister to preach to them and answer their questions. And he writes that he will send Timothy when he can and that he has no other person to send because:

What a sad and yet shocking scripture this is! Even in the Apostle Paul's day, the greatest problem was people serving themselves rather than Jesus Christ. People putting their priorities over God's priorities. And sadly, the Apostle Paul had to make the statement that with the exception of Timothy, "they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ." He is not writing about the heathens of his day, but of Spirit-filled believers. He is writing of people that, like the ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, had had the Almighty God revealed to them and yet in the next chapter of their life erected an idol in their own image. The Spirit of God was living inside of them to tell them and direct them in the will of God for their lives and yet they had decided to erect another symbol -- an image that did not reflect the image of God for their lives but rather their will and their desire. They had repented of their sins, been baptized in the name of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit only to bow their knee at a false god, the image of themselves! These Christians had been saved only to fall aside in the "worship of self."

It sort of reminds me of some of the disciples of Christ that had their excuses as to why they could not do more for God's cause:

These were "disciples" or people who claimed to believe in and follow Jesus Christ, but notice their excuse as to why they couldn't be completely sold out to Him and do more for Him: "let me first," and "But Lord, . . . me first." They claimed to serve Him, but they had a "me first" attitude! They were in the presence of the very image of God manifest in flesh, and yet they were bowing a knee in obedience to another god, the god of "me first." They -- in the presence of God Almighty -- had set up an idol made in their own image!

There just may be those of us here today who have done the same thing. We claim to be believers and followers of Christ and yet really we bow more often to the idol of our own image and self will. We pray when it is convenient. We come to church only when it is convenient in our life to do so. We worship only when we need something or things are going right in our life. We only witness if there is a personal interest in somebody coming to God. We set up our schedule and put everything in first: work, personal time, family, and fun and then we see if God can fit in somewhere. When we are more faithful to the morning news and the cup of coffee in the morning than we are to spend time with our Savior whom we claim to so closely follow, then we are only fooling ourselves: we are unabashedly worshipping the idol of our own will.

If we are not careful such idol worship will slip into the church services as well. God's promises are conditional. He will do such and such if we do such and such. But if we are not careful, we will forget that His promises are also commands. If He is the king of our life, then His word is not just helpful suggestions but are direct orders for His followers to obey. If we are not careful we will find ourselves like the majority of so-called Christians in this world: only obeying a command if we think that the fulfillment of the promise is worth the sacrifice. Some believers only worship God when they want something. They only come to church when they feel that they need something. They only get passionate about His kingdom when they are in a desperate situation or in a state of lack. Such religious motions are the worship of self, not God. When people are confronted with the commandments of God and immediately have the excuse "I cannot do that," then they are bowing before an idol curiously created in their own image. They are saying that doing what I want to do is more important than what God has commanded me to do. The excuse we use is that "we're busy" but really we are busy doing what we want to do. What is priority in our life gets done and what is not doesn't and many of us readily sacrifice our time to the idol of our own image and then don't have much left over for Him!

And such an attitude of worship of our own self will over the things of God has led us to a Christianity that has forgotten about what serving Christ is really about. Jesus said:

If you are truly following Christ then you must "deny yourself and take up your cross" and "lose your life for His sake." That means that it no longer matters most what you want for your life. That means that the golden image, Nebuchadnezzar, of what you want your life to be must come down and you must care more for what God Almighty wants for your life. A cross was created for one purpose: the death of human flesh, and yet we wear them around our necks and still do what we want to do as opposed to what God wants to do. Such actions are not taking up your cross. Your taking up your cross is not measured by how many emblems hang on your walls, but how much of your will is still alive in your life. Jesus didn't call you to serve Him on your terms, but rather to come and die.

Christianity, generally speaking, has forgotten this command of Christ. Every Sunday preachers take the pulpits afraid to deal with any issues or sins that might require a change in the lives of hearers and instead package the gospel and Christianity with a pretty bow and ribbon in an effort to win the popularity of the masses. Such is not a true Christianity. Jesus didn't come to run for president; God is in not popularity contest. Saying such things might sound harsh today because it is not preached much in modern times, but we need to be reminded that God is not here to hear your opinion of how things should be in your life. The church is not here to make you feel good, but rather it is a place for you to come and die to your will and become alive again in His will! That is the purpose for the cross and an altar!

Some people don't regularly attend church because they do visit a service, all that they notice are what they don't like. They don't like the songs or the style of music. They don't like the way the preacher preaches. They don't like the decor; they don't like the way so and so worships. They don't like the sermon thought; they don't like the length of service. They don't like the starting times. They are looking for a church where it's all about them. And the danger comes when we as followers of Christ and particularly the preachers of the Gospel begin to care what such people think about such things. Don't get me wrong: I think a church should be friendly. I think that the mercy and grace of God should be preached alongside the commandments of His Word and just as hard. But at the same time, this is not a place that is entered into a public popularity contest. If we are pleasing to God, then we're probably not going to do everything like this world thinks. If this is a place where the Holy Ghost of heaven is comfortable, then it might not be the most comfortable place for the person living in sin. And so I must remind you that if our worship pleases Him, then let the critics criticize. If our music exalts Him, then let them hold their ears. If I am preaching what He has commanded me to preach, then let those who would bow at the golden image of their opinion whine and get aggravated. You cannot have a church that is pleasing to God and this world at the same time. It will either please one or another!

More than anything my prayer is that this would be a place where One God and only one is worshipped: Jesus Christ! That it would be a place where you come and die to what you think and find out what He thinks. This should be a place where you can lose your mind and find the mind of Christ. This should be a place where the high places of our altars of self are torn down and He alone is worshipped! Most of you would shrink in horror if there were literal statues of saints positioned around the room, but let us also be careful that we do not lift up the golden image of our own personal opinion in here in the spirit! Be careful that you do not bow to the curious idol made in your own image!

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My message is hitting home today and it is a hard message because it is a violent one! I'm trying to tear down the idol in your life. And when it's an idol that you have made and that looks like you, many people take offense. But if it's an idol -- even one made in your image -- it must come down if He is to be King of Kings in your life!

The key words of this religion of the worship of self is "I, my, mine, myself, and me." I am speaking of religious conversation as in "the Bible says that we should do or be such and such" and then we respond with such keywords as "but I think" or "that is not what I do." Be careful of such a spiritual vocabulary in the house of God and before you use such terms again in God's house, consider this:

True Satanic worship is not setting up candles in a circle and drawing some five-pointed star on your forehead and reading from Anton Levey's book. All that nonsense was thought up by pagans and heathens as jibber-jabber substitutes for serving the true God of the universe. While I believe that Christians have no business with Ouija boards and palm readers, because the Bible forbids such things, we must understand that doing those things is not technically "Satanism." The Occult, yes, but not really the worship of Satan.

Do you remember when Peter was rebuked by Jesus and called Satan? It was not for burning candles and making brews that Jesus rebuked him, but it was when Jesus was trying to tell the disciples how He was going to be crucified and beaten and suffer many things at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders:

It was when Peter's will went against God's will that Jesus turned and rebuked him calling him "Satan!" And so true Satan worship is the exaltation and obedience of your own will over the will of God. That's how the devil got his start in the beginning in heaven. He began existence as a blessed angel that worshipped God, but we find that he began to say:

Did you hear the catch phrases? "I will ascend" and "I will set" and "I will sit" and "I will make." This happened not in hell. Not in a séance. This happened in the heavens in the dwelling place of God. You see, true Satanism is when you claim to abide in the dwelling place of the Almighty and yet you decide to do things your way! We are never more like Satan than when we bow a knee to the idol of our own image! And we are never more like Satan than when we do it in the presence and house of God.

Now compare the attitude of Satan with the attitude of Christ:

Satan said, "I will exalt myself and my will above God"

Jesus said, "not my will but thine be done."

And Satan tried to lift himself up and fell and Jesus fell to His knees and was lifted up! Who are we the most like in our worship and in our praise!? Do we bow before His will for our life, or an idol that we have created that bears a strange resemblance to our own image!? Even in the house of God and in His mighty presence, of whom does our actions resemble: Jesus' or Satan's?

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Nebuchadnezzar had an encounter and experience with the Almighty God of heaven. But he instead decided to put up an image of his own will and his own desires, rather than conform to the will of God. We must take care that we do not do the same thing in our conversion to following Christ. You cannot serve God with a "me first" mentality. Either He is Lord of All or He is not Lord at all! To follow Him involves a cross and a dying out to our self will. Someone who pretends to follow Him without denying themselves are only fooling their self. There are blessings that come with serving God, but we must take care that we don't just serve Him for the blessings. We must never forget that even if a commandment has no apparent blessing attached, we must still obey. The call is to obey and give all and through that to be blessed, not to be blessed and then obey.

There were those followers in Jesus' ministry who only followed Him for -- as He said -- "the loaves and the fishes." They desired the miraculous and the power and they wanted to see the blessings. But the miraculous and the supernatural power was passed on to only those who would deny themselves and give everything to follow Him. Those who experienced the power that resurrected Him in their lives were those who first experienced the death and burial of their old man's will and of their old image.

The sad truth is that modern Christianity has created a generation of "seekers" not "followers." People are seeking a real experience with God. They are seeking miracles and gifts and signs and wonders and I believe in all of those things. But we are to seek first "the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." We are commanded to follow Christ and die out to our fleshly desires and walk in His righteousness and once we get those things the signs and wonders will follow. If you want all that God has for you today, you must give God all that you have. To bow before Him we must first stop bowing before an idol of our self will.

I close with this:

The true call of following Christ is found in His thrice-repeated question to Peter: "do you love me?" We should follow Christ not because we want something or not because we want to miss judgment and hell fire, but rather because of our genuine love for Him and His kingdom. And so I would like to finish this sermon by asking you the question "do you love Jesus?" Don't answer out loud but rather inwardly take stock. The famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 reveals to us what true love is. Let me read a portion of it to you before you answer the question again:

True love "does not demand its own way." It does not say "it is this way or else." It does not say "if you don't bow before the image of my own will, then I will cast you into the fires of persecution and anger." The simple truth is that we cannot love Jesus and bow before the idol made in our own image. We cannot love Jesus and yet demand that He meet our criteria and our conditions.

And so I ask the question again: "do you love Jesus?" And if your answer is like mine and somewhat truthful, you will probably say with me "yes, I love Him, but not as much as I should!" And so as I am finished with the message, I'm going to play music today, but this is not a call to come worship at an idol of your own image, but rather the call is to come and worship Jesus Christ. The call is to surrender our will to His. The call is to bow before His will in our lives. The call is to truly fall in love with Him over and over again. The call is to come tear down the idol of your own making that looks strangely like you. Come and fall in love with the King of Kings! Come and follow Christ!