Series: When Cultures Collide
Topic: Remember
July 14, 2002
Daniel 5
"Then Daniel answered before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty; and because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him; whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him; he was driven from among men, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored." Daniel 5:17-23, RSV
History forgotten
Sin continued
Lessons that need to be learned and remembered from generation to generation
"Love God and love your neighbor" (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27-28)
truth that dates back farther than Jesus
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." (RSV)
Leviticus 19:18 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." (RSV)
This morning we discuss the first part of this: Love the Lord your God, and the four ways to express this love.
1. Love God
A. Honor
Deuteronomy 6:1-2 "These are the commands, decrees, and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children, and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life." (NIV)
Ill. Vladi, Had trouble with this concept.
Means to show "reverence" and "respect"
Ill. Fire. I respect fire. I’m not "afraid" of it. It is useful, but can become deadly in overabundance.
Exodus 20: 2-3 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me." (RSV)
Show honor by [putting God first]-traditionally told this, but... Even if we have a list of things with God at the top, they can still get in the way and our loyalty or dedication to these things can detract us from loving God. We are called to make God the "everything" of our lives. "Have no other gods before me."
B. Obedience
Deuteronomy 11:1 "Love the LORD your God and always obey all his laws." (GN)
John 14:15, 21 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. . .He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." (RSV)
Ill. How we admire the obedience a dog shows to its master! Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the forest. His faithful friend understood, for that’s exactly what he did. Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot where the dog had been left. But he didn’t move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master’s word. With tearful eyes, the dog’s owner said, "I always had to be careful what I told him to do, because I knew he would do it."
[Our Daily Bread. Http://www.sermonillustrations.com.]
Ill. Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I’m going to leave. And while I’m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I’m away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees.
He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, "What happened? Didn’t you get my letters?"
You say, "Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We’ve even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have ‘letter study’ every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters." I think the president would then ask, "But what did you do about my instructions?" And, no doubt the employees would respond, "Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!"
[Swindoll, Charles. Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242. Http://www.sermonillustrations.com.]
C. Worship
Psalm 117:1 "Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!" (RSV)
Psalm 22:23 "You who fear the LORD, praise him! all you sons of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!" (RSV)
Revelation 19:5 "And from the throne came a voice crying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great."" (RSV)
Worship is expressing [verbally] our love for the LORD. Praise is verbal worship.
Ill. Commercials equate love with giving diamonds, gifts
My least favorite holiday- Christmas. We’ve taken the greatest expression of love, Emmanuel, God with us, and reduced it to a commercialized offering of possessions. We even have rankings in how we give. The closest friends and relatives get the more expensive gifts while those we know less get the least expensive gifts. Can you even remember what you got last year, or the year before, and who gave it to you?
Gifts are never the expression of love, but "icing on the cake". Where would a relationship be if gifts were given void of any written, or verbal expression of love? How would you know your spouse really loved you if all they ever did is give you gifts, but never said, "I love you"?
Hosea 6:6 "I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than have them burn offerings to me." (TEV)
Your spouse may admire the gifts you give, but you want to know what really gets remembered: the long walks, holding hands, an attentive ear, a gentle kiss, a comforting touch, and a word that expresses appreciation.
’How do I love thee? Let me count the ways’
[Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)]
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Worship is about expressing our love openly, in word and deed.
Worship is love in action.
D. Purity
1 Peter 1:14-16 "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."" (RSV)
1 Thessalonians 4:7 "For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness." (RSV)
Respecting what God likes and avoiding what He doesn’t.
Conclusion:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." (RSV)
