Tony Evans - Culture (10/04/2020)
Pastor warns that in a post-Christian America that's lost its "homefield advantage," the idol of culture pressures believers to conform, but like Daniel and his friends, we must draw a firm line—refusing to defile ourselves—and trust God to be with us in the fire or the lions' den.
This series is on American idols. One of the things that the Bible makes clear is that when we choose competing gods, we jeopardize ourselves, our families, and even our nation. America was founded on the premise that faith in God would have to be a key component to the wellbeing of the nation. And only to the degree that we worshipped the God of the Bible could we experience the freedom that this nation so passionately desired.
But we have wandered far from that commitment. We have wandered from that faith. We have chosen competing gods to our detriment. It’s our hope that this series will draw all of us back to the one true God so that we can have the peace and unity that our country desperately needs at this time.
There was a time when Christianity in America had homefield advantage. That is, the Judeo-Christian ethic and worldview dominated the environment. Everybody wasn’t a Christian, but they respected Christianity.
So during those years when we were enjoying the homefield advantage, you could pray in school and it was okay. You could quote Scripture, even read Scripture in classrooms in the public school because it was okay. People weren’t trying to take the Ten Commandments off the wall in legal locations or cancel prayers before sporting events because we had the homefield advantage.
However, over this last generation, we have been progressively losing homefield advantage. Now Christianity is no longer the normative worldview in the culture. It is being resisted and rejected in every direction of our society.
In our passage today, God’s people had lost homefield advantage. Because of their rebellion and sin against God, God allowed in 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar to descend upon Jerusalem, ransack it, and slaughter gobs of people, and then lift people out and bring them to the pagan culture of Babylon.
There are three stories in this book that are well known that will help me introduce to you what we’re facing today—this idol, the idol of culture, where the society wants you to worship it instead of worshipping the one and only true God. Everybody is affected and is being sought to be influenced by the idol of culture.
The Idol of Culture and Its Pervasiveness
So I want to alert you to this idol, and I want to give you the secret for not worshipping it because it is so pervasive you can worship it and you don’t even know you’re worshipping it.
Daniel finds himself now with his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar knows if he’s going to get the most out of these boys, he’s got to de-Israelize them and pro-Babylonize them. He’s got to rip away from them their godly background and inculcate within them a secular Babylonian way of thinking.
So in order to accomplish this he picks the best of the best. He says intellectual, good-looking, youth with no defect. Why? Because he’s interested in generational impact.
So you parents need to know that the culture is after your kids—the generational impact. So he brings these four, among others, to Babylon, and the first thing he does is relocate them.
You see, he knows as long as they live in Israel they might keep running into the true God. He had to relocate them in order to indoctrinate them. So this wasn’t just going to school; it was going to school to learn the religious worldview behind the educational information that was being handed out in the University of Babylon.
The culture has created an idol that is being formed through education. But not only are our kids being reindoctrinated—you and I are being reindoctrinated. And the major educational tool that is reindoctrinating even us as adults is the media.
The media is the contemporary idolatrous mechanism to introduce us to the idol of culture so that we are reintroduced to another way of thinking. Things that used to shame you 20 years ago don’t shame you today. Stuff that was hidden on side streets is now on the front screen, and you don’t have an option if you’re going to watch TV for it to pop up sometime because the culture has used entertainment and the fun it brings to dull our senses about the standards of God.
So now what used to not be okay is now okay because we are entertained by it. The jokes may be filthy, but because they’re funny they know they can get us to laugh and dull our sensitivity. Why? Because they are creating a god of culture.
They’re trying to de-Christianize and pro-humanize the society, and we have lost homefield advantage because it now dominates, it now dictates, it now indoctrinates, it now accommodates.
Daniel’s Resolve: Refusing Defilement
And then they tried the zinger—it was a zinger. They said we want you to eat our food and drink our wine. Okay? Eat our food and drink our wine. We’re going to entertain you. Like we’re going to entertain you.
The food and wine was not just food and wine. It says in verse 8 Daniel made up in his mind he would not be defiled by the king’s choice food. In other words it wasn’t just eating and drinking; it was adopting the lifestyle, the lifestyle of the pagans.
‘Cause when you eat and drink you eat and drink as part of a religious party. It was part of the evil living of the day so it involved immorality, it involved greed, it involved drunkenness—because see the Babylonian god let you do what you want to do.
See that’s why people don’t want the Christian God ‘cause He don’t let you do what you want to do. He doesn’t let you do what you want to do how you want to do it as you want to do it because the Christian God has a standard and calls us to the standard.
See the reason why folks don’t want Christianity is they don’t want God telling them what to do. So in order not to have God telling me what to do I will keep religion eat and drink but I won’t eat and drink to the biblical God. I’ll create a cultural God that will let me eat drink and party hardy until I can’t party no more.
And so that was the entertainment of the culture using religion to justify lifestyle. Daniel made up in his mind he would not defile himself.
Now let me not go too fast. Let me start with what he did do. He did go to the king’s school for three years. He couldn’t control what people called him so he had to wear the king’s name ‘cause that’s what they were calling him.
He was now getting ready to be employed by the king’s business ‘cause he was going to work in a secular job for the king Nebuchadnezzar okay? So he has to adapt to the new reality that he’s no longer in Israel. This is no longer his mama’s nation. He’s in a secular culture.
And the reality saints is that’s where we are. Shouldn’t be here don’t want to be here but get real—that’s where you are.
You are now living in non-Christian America. That’s where you are okay? But even in non-Christian Babylon he made up in his mind there are some things I won’t do. I will not defile myself. I’m not going to sleep around I’m not going to get drunk I’m not going to be a bad employee. I am not going to contaminate myself ‘cause I need my God more than I need y’all.
So he made up in his mind I will not defile. I am not going to contaminate myself with worshipping the culture just because everybody else is in the culture. We have too many Christians who haven’t decided to draw a line in the sand. I’ll do this I’ll do this and I’ll do this but we ain’t going there. We ain’t going there.
Now he did it respectfully. He said may I not. He made up in his mind privately I’m not going to defile myself but then he went and said may I not defile myself. So he was being respectful but he was determined.
If he had to go down the ladder he was going to go down the ladder not to be defiled not to lower the standards of God to satisfy the idol of culture or the desire—here it is watch this—for success.
Watch verse 9 and I’ll go to the next story. Verse 9 says now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander. Oh everybody wants favor everybody. Everybody wants favor.
But God did not show him favor until he drew the line. See we want favor without drawing a line. We want blessing without drawing a line. We want the supernatural but we won’t draw the line.
He drew the line and then he got favor. Says God gave him favor more than all the other youths.
The Idol of Self: Bowing to the Image
That’s number one. Number two chapter 3 three Hebrew boys. There’s one word that shows up over and over and over and over and over—and did I say over?—in chapter 3.
I will read the Word in a number of places where it shows up. Verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar made an image. Verse 3 at the end of it the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Verse 3 again the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
And then it says the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up again. Verse 5 the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Verse 10 worship the golden image. Verse 12 the golden image which he had set up.
Verse 14 the golden image which he had set up. Verse 15 fall down and worship the image I have made. Verse 18 the golden image that you have set up.
What’s the word? Image image. Folk are concerned about their image. Nebuchadnezzar built a statue—watch this—to himself. This is called self-worship the idol of you the idol of self.
People worship themselves. They don’t want to answer to God so they answer to themselves; that’s why they got “my truth.” Praising those we emulate even though the ones we emulate aren’t worth the praise.
Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were asked to bow to image bow to image. Three Hebrew boys said—Nebuchadnezzar said in verse 15 now if you’re ready at any moment when you hear the sound of the music you can worship the image.
But then he gave them a warning ‘cause he was their boss. He’s the king. If you do not worship you will immediately be cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hand?
Shadrach Meshach and Abednego replied to the king. Okay all three of them talking at the same time they say O Nebuchadnezzar we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
Since you said which God—our God verse 17 whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire. And He will deliver us out of your hand O king.
Okay so you ask which God? Since you asked our God. But don’t stop there—our God whom we serve. Not our God whom we talk about. Not our God whom we go to church to worship with.
Our God whom we serve on the job is able to deliver us. Oh but that’s not all they say. They go on to say but even if He does not—‘cause God is also sovereign.
So even if He does not let it be known to you O king that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
They drew a line in the sand. “We will work for you but we won’t worship you. We’ll be employed here but don’t ask us to bow to the deity of your image.” So they said we’re not going to bow to the company. We’ll work in it we won’t bow to it.
Well Nebuchadnezzar is ticked off. He’s ticked off. He makes the fire seven times hotter. Now you don’t need to make no fire seven times hotter to burn your body up but that’s how hot he was. He was hot so he made the fire hotter. Threw them in.
Verse 24 then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood in haste and he said to high officials verse 24 was it not three men we cast bound in the midst of the fire?
They said to the king certainly O king. He said well look I see four men loosed walking around in the midst of the fire without harm and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
Oh I wish I had some time to preach. The Bible says that they tied them up and put them in the furnace. So let me stop right there.
When you take a stand for God it doesn’t always mean you won’t get fired. When you take a stand for God it does not mean you will not face suffering persecution and opposition.
They took a stand for God and still were thrown in the fire. Oh but why could they take that stand knowing they’re going to be fired? Because they had enough Bible in them to know that Isaiah 43 verses 2 and 3 says when you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you.
So they got thrown in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar looked through the window. He called his assistants he said now wait a minute we threw three in here right? I’m counting right—one two three right.
Well why am I seeing four folk? That’s question number one. Question number two we tied them up didn’t we? Well why are they loose in the fire? Number three we made it seven times hotter didn’t we?
Well yeah you did. Well help me out here. ‘Cause why they walking around in the fire?
I wish I could promise you if you take your stand for God you won’t get fired. You don’t bow to the idol of image and you won’t be challenged.
I am telling you you won’t be there by yourself. That the living God if He doesn’t bring you out of it will join you in it. See some of us are waiting on God when God’s waiting on us to draw the line.
The Idol of Power: Daniel’s Prayer in the Lion’s Den
Finally finally finally chapter 6 last story. In verse 3 then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.
Oh wait a minute. He’s working on a secular job ‘cause he’s now in a post-Christian culture and he’s advancing. And the reason he’s advancing even though he’s working on a secular job is even non-Christians recognize an extraordinary worker.
But like in any job he had some haters. It says that these men said we need to find verse 5 a ground of accusation against him. We got to find something wrong with him.
But they couldn’t find anything wrong with his work. So they said this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.
In other words we can’t criticize his work. Ah but he’s that committed Christian guy. We’re going to find something wrong and we’re going to use his faith against him.
Can’t criticize his work so they came up with a law that says you can’t pray to any other God for 30 days except to the king. And the king liked that law ‘cause it fed his ego so the king signed it.
So now prayer has been kicked out of the public square. You can’t pray. Can’t pray to anybody else but to the king. Can’t pray on the job you can’t pray at school you can’t pray to any other god. It’s now the law of the land.
Verse 10 now when Daniel knew the document was signed he entered his house. Now in his roof chamber he had windows open towards Jerusalem. And he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day praying and giving thanks before his God as he had been doing previously.
Mmm. The law says you cannot pray to any other god except to the king for the next 30 days. Daniel had Psalm 55:17 which says evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan and He hears my voice.
So he had developed a pattern of three-a-day prayers. The law says you can’t do this anymore. And so they found out he was still praying and told the king and he got thrown into the lion’s den and let’s see what happens.
The next day the king came verse 20 when he had come near the den to Daniel he cried out with a trembling voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel Daniel watch this servant of the living God whom you constantly serve has He been able to deliver you from the lions?
And Daniel answered and he said to the king my God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me inasmuch as I was found blameless before Him.
King I’m all right down here. Lions are nice pillows my pillow. The lions are nice I’m doing good down here.
He brought Daniel out of the lion’s den. Then he went and took the haters and cast the haters in the lion’s den. And the Bible says and then the lions got hungry.
Ain’t been hungry all night but now the lions got… What I’m trying to tell you is God didn’t deliver Daniel until he drew a line in the sand I’m going to pray ‘cause I know I need God more than I need y’all.
And since I need God more than I need y’all I’m going to talk to God ‘cause I’m going to need Him when you throw me away to the lions.
Brothers and sisters we have lost homefield advantage. But now that we’re on pagan territory you are called to be salt and light. You’re not called to fake it to make it.
You are called to responsibly kindly lovingly but clearly represent the Christian faith and then watch God do His thing. But you won’t watch it unless He sees you draw a line in the sand.
The idol of culture is devastating because what it does is it makes our history our backgrounds our race more central to our meaning than God ever intended them to be. When we allow society to dictate the rules rather than the God of the Bible of how we view ourselves and how we view others then it will begin to act as a deity controlling our decision making defining our being and ultimately destroying our lives.
God has created a multiplicity of cultures because He’s created a variety of kinds of people. Putting it in its place we all then can be unique and give glory to God. Taken out of its place it becomes a destructive idol that unravels us at the core of our being.
Let’s put culture in its proper place and it is not the place of God.