WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.060 I'm coming to our scripture reading now and I'm going to invite one of our congregation, Anne Norrie, to come and to read to us some verses from Daniel chapter 3. 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:11.060 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.799 He set it up on the plain of Jura in the province of Babylon. 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:51.539 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 00:00:51.539 --> 00:01:05.599 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.599 And they stood before the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.419 And the herald proclaimed aloud, 00:01:14.019 --> 00:01:24.879 You are commanded, O peoples, nations and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe and every other kind of music, 00:01:25.259 --> 00:01:30.119 you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:37.099 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace. 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:47.219 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe and every kind of music, 00:01:47.699 --> 00:01:54.979 all the peoples, nations and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:57.560 In verse 13, 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:04.539 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in furious rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be brought. 00:02:04.540 --> 00:02:07.620 So they brought these men before the king. 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:10.939 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:18.180 Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:26.080 Now, if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe and every kind of music, 00:02:26.420 --> 00:02:30.439 to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:36.099 But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace. 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.800 And who is the God who shall deliver you out of my hands? 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:44.099 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:47.900 O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 00:02:48.579 --> 00:02:54.400 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.560 and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:06.280 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:10.000 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, 00:03:10.480 --> 00:03:14.640 and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:19.080 He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated, 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:23.960 and he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:26.760 and to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.580 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats and their other garments, 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:35.740 and they were thrown into the burning, fiery furnace. 00:03:36.980 --> 00:03:40.120 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:44.980 the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:51.819 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell bound into the burning, fiery furnace. 00:03:53.179 --> 00:03:56.699 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. 00:03:57.019 --> 00:03:58.339 He declared to his counselors, 00:03:58.839 --> 00:04:01.799 Did we not cast three men bound into the fire? 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:04.719 They answered and said to the king, 00:04:05.299 --> 00:04:06.179 True, O king. 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:08.419 He answered and said, 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:13.060 But I see four men, unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:14.819 and they are not hurt, 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:18.439 and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.379 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning, fiery furnace. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:24.199 He declared, 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:28.259 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, 00:04:28.780 --> 00:04:30.120 come out and come here. 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:34.860 Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out from the fire, 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.379 and the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's counselors 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:45.100 gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:48.240 The hair of their heads was not singed, 00:04:48.659 --> 00:04:50.139 their cloaks were not harmed, 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:52.800 and no smell of fire had come upon them. 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:55.839 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.600 Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:02.860 who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:06.680 who trusted in him and set aside the king's command 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:12.120 and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:14.480 Therefore I make a decree, 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:20.639 any people, nation or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.720 shall be torn limb from limb and their houses laid in ruins, 00:05:25.460 --> 00:05:28.620 for there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.519 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:34.379 in the province of Babylon. 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:35.480 Amen. 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.379 We're working our way through the book of Daniel on Sunday mornings, 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:44.300 and in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:45.939 sacked Jerusalem, 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:48.740 and he took a number of young men, 00:05:48.840 --> 00:05:50.879 especially from the professional classes and others, 00:05:51.420 --> 00:05:55.000 to Babylon to make Babylon into an even greater city than it was. 00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:59.439 And so there, the Lord's people are put into exile. 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:01.620 They're taken from the city of God, Jerusalem, 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:04.139 and sent to exile in the city of Babylon. 00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:07.899 And so exile is a condition across the Bible. 00:06:08.039 --> 00:06:14.180 Exile is really just the state of not being where God made you to be. 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:18.240 Exile is any time you are away from the true city of God, 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:20.719 living in what St. Augustine called the city of man. 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:23.839 And so there's a sense in which we're all in exile, 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:29.139 because we are not living in the garden city of God that he made us to live in, 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:30.299 to dwell with him in his presence. 00:06:30.419 --> 00:06:34.419 And so until Jesus comes again, this life is an exilic life. 00:06:34.539 --> 00:06:37.479 And the New Testament says that every single Christian, 00:06:37.659 --> 00:06:40.299 every single believer in the Lord is living in exile, 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.279 living in the midst of a Babylonian age. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:47.500 And the question we've been asking every single week of this passage, 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:51.039 of this book is, how does a believer in the Lord, 00:06:51.500 --> 00:06:53.639 if you're a believer today, how do you live faithfully, 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:58.119 with wisdom, with hope, in the midst of exile, in the midst of Babylon? 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:03.719 Another way to say it is that to live in exile is to live in a time and an age 00:07:03.719 --> 00:07:07.899 before Jesus comes again, where you're surrounded by idolatry, 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:12.759 where people in the city center their lives on something other than the true God. 00:07:13.239 --> 00:07:15.560 And the Bible says that's not just a city problem, 00:07:15.679 --> 00:07:18.979 that's a problem in every human heart, that we're all struggling with that, 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:22.279 centering our lives on something else than the real God, 00:07:22.419 --> 00:07:23.699 than the true God that made us. 00:07:24.239 --> 00:07:27.679 And that's the condition of being Babylonized or living in exile. 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:31.099 So let me say it like this, an idol is an idol. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.739 You know you have an idol when there is anything in your life 00:07:33.739 --> 00:07:35.139 that is more important to you than God. 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:39.180 And you know you have an idol when there's anything in this life 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:41.680 that absorbs your heart more than God does, 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:44.259 that takes your imagination over more than God does. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:47.240 Anything that you chase after, 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:50.519 that you want that thing to give you what only God can give you, 00:07:51.039 --> 00:07:52.099 that's idolatry. 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:56.599 And this is a book about that. 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:57.939 It's a wisdom book as well. 00:07:58.919 --> 00:08:02.740 And it's a book that's saying how do you live wisely in an age 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:06.639 where you're surrounded by idols, always being tempted and drawn back to idolatry, 00:08:06.780 --> 00:08:09.920 and you're wrestling with the idolatry in your own heart. 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:16.420 In Daniel chapter 1, Nebuchadnezzar put Daniel and all these folks into a formation program, 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:20.240 and it's so that for three years they were going to be trained in the wisdom of Babylon. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:25.579 And instead, at the end of that story, God gave Daniel and his friends great wisdom. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:29.500 And so you see from the beginning, this is a book of where does real wisdom come from? 00:08:30.379 --> 00:08:32.939 And the story tells us it's a gift from God. 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:35.819 You've got to look to God to get wisdom. 00:08:37.199 --> 00:08:42.600 Three principles we've already looked at for how to live faithfully in the midst of a Babylonian age. 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:45.539 I can give you them in 30 seconds. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:47.259 Don't worry, I won't re-preach them. 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.480 Number 1 and 2 was Daniel chapter 1, be in the world but not of it. 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.159 How do you live faithfully in a Babylonian age? 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:55.419 Be in the world but not of it. 00:08:55.819 --> 00:08:57.299 Don't separate yourself from the city. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:58.319 God put you here. 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:00.179 Seek the peace of the city. 00:09:00.459 --> 00:09:03.120 Love Edinburgh just like Daniel loved Babylon. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:05.360 And yet, don't be of it. 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:06.299 Don't give your heart away. 00:09:06.839 --> 00:09:07.500 Don't assimilate. 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:09.139 Don't give your heart to idols. 00:09:09.319 --> 00:09:11.339 Fight, resist, starve your idols to death. 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:14.779 Principle 3 last week, get wisdom. 00:09:14.939 --> 00:09:19.100 And wisdom is just the ability to know how to navigate such a complex world 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:21.339 with courage, with justice, with righteousness. 00:09:22.659 --> 00:09:23.919 Let's find a fourth today. 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:25.579 What's the fourth principle? 00:09:26.459 --> 00:09:31.719 We'll find it through looking at the image, the furnace, and the fourth man. 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:33.919 So first, the image. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.419 Now this is a famous story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 00:09:38.419 --> 00:09:43.199 It's a bedtime story, though it contains some pretty horrible details. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:48.220 I remember growing up watching the Veggie Tales version of this story. 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:50.759 Some of you that grew up in the church may know that. 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:56.120 Instead of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it was Rack, Shack, and Benny. 00:09:57.460 --> 00:10:03.279 I also listened to Eric Alexander preach through Daniel as I'm studying for the series, 00:10:03.439 --> 00:10:05.960 the famous Scottish minister of the past generation. 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:09.259 And he said that his mother at night would say, 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:12.560 let me tell you the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and off to bed you go. 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:14.160 So I like that. 00:10:14.280 --> 00:10:14.660 That's good. 00:10:16.180 --> 00:10:19.759 We know that lots of people know this story, the story of the fiery furnace. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.559 And maybe you don't, and that's okay. 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:26.220 But because of that, we tend to make this story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.299 By the way, Daniel is nowhere to be found in this story. 00:10:29.439 --> 00:10:31.399 We take a pause from Daniel himself here. 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:34.519 And of course, this is a story about a test of faith. 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:35.720 And the question here is, 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:43.679 will you refuse to bow down to the golden image in the culture before you, 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:46.620 even if it costs you everything? 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:50.940 Would you refuse to bow down to whatever golden image the culture is putting before you, 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:53.159 even if it's going to cost you your life? 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:57.240 That's the clear question of the chapter, and we'll get there in just a minute. 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:01.019 But before we get there, when you look at all the stories in Daniel, 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:07.560 they are all actually bookended by not Daniel, not Shadrach, not Meshach, not Abednego, but Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:10.399 He's, in some sense, the central character. 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:14.240 And this story starts with Nebuchadnezzar and ends with Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:16.139 And we're following Nebuchadnezzar's story. 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:18.399 As much as we are anybody else in this book. 00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:23.700 And so, in verse 1, we find out Nebuchadnezzar makes an image of gold, 00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:25.600 whose height is 60 cubits. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:27.440 That's 90 feet, 9 feet wide. 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:29.639 And there's a backstory here. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:30.379 What's the backstory? 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:34.659 That's that, if you were here last week, you'll remember that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:37.220 And in the dream, he saw an image. 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:40.960 But in the dream, the image had a head of gold, 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.220 and then a body of different materials, all the way down to clay feet. 00:11:44.220 --> 00:11:49.860 And Daniel said, Nebuchadnezzar, God is telling you, you are the head of gold. 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:51.879 But you've got clay feet. 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:53.180 Your kingdom's not going to last. 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:57.440 It was a thousand-year prophecy telling Nebuchadnezzar, you are not the climax of history. 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:00.399 You are the greatest power of world history thus far. 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.419 But you need to humble yourself before the real God. 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:07.500 You flip over to chapter 3, and what happens? 00:12:07.819 --> 00:12:12.159 After having a dream where he was the head of gold in the dream, 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:16.000 now he makes a statue that's 90 feet tall of all gold. 00:12:17.079 --> 00:12:21.779 And that means that what Nebuchadnezzar's doing is he's rejecting God's prophecy. 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:23.459 He's doubling down. 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:27.439 He's saying, your God said, my kingdom's going to crumble. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.020 I'm here to say, my kingdom will last forever. 00:12:30.660 --> 00:12:35.280 He turned just the head of gold from the dream that had a chest of silver, 00:12:35.420 --> 00:12:37.920 it had a core of bronze, it had legs of iron. 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:39.860 He's saying, no, no, no, it's gold from top to bottom. 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:42.120 For a thousand years, my kingdom will reign. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:43.380 He's doubling down. 00:12:43.540 --> 00:12:50.120 He's saying, though your God says he raises up kingdoms and he casts them down, 00:12:50.400 --> 00:12:52.300 I'm saying, I will last forever. 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:53.540 That's what he's doing here. 00:12:53.539 --> 00:13:00.659 And that means that Nebuchadnezzar's response in this story is one where there is zero change 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:01.839 at the level of the heart. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:04.480 So he's heard the prophecy. 00:13:04.699 --> 00:13:05.799 He's acknowledged it. 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:07.559 He was called to humility. 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:10.099 And he's saying, I reject that. 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:13.779 And he's doubling down on his pride and saying, I will not change. 00:13:13.939 --> 00:13:15.159 It's not an intellectual issue. 00:13:15.819 --> 00:13:17.279 It's a heart issue for him. 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:19.879 And probably a good amount of time has passed. 00:13:19.959 --> 00:13:21.659 And he's been able to think about it. 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:25.079 And he said, no, my kingdom is my God. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:26.959 And so he builds this great statue. 00:13:27.079 --> 00:13:31.139 Now the people, if you read the commentators on this, they will ask, what is the image? 00:13:31.339 --> 00:13:34.319 That's one of the famous questions people ask about Daniel 3. 00:13:34.459 --> 00:13:36.100 What exactly is this statue? 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.159 And famously, if you read through the whole text carefully, you will find that it never 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:41.679 tells you. 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:44.939 It doesn't say a word about what the image actually is. 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:45.839 What was this image? 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:51.960 Some people go down to verse 14 and they say, when Nebuchadnezzar says, is it true of Shadrach, 00:13:52.040 --> 00:13:57.440 Meshach, and Abednego that you won't bow down, you won't serve my gods or worship the golden 00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:58.500 image I've set up? 00:13:59.540 --> 00:14:05.040 You go to a verse like that and it's saying, when these three refuse to bow down before the 00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:09.000 image, Nebuchadnezzar says, you won't worship my gods or the image. 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:14.600 Is he saying the image was a representation of all the gods that he worshiped, all the 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.740 gods of Babylon in sort of one go? 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:18.259 Maybe. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:24.960 What that would mean is that Babylon is a pluralist society, just like Rome was, just like 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:26.299 Edinburgh or London or New York. 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:31.220 And that's that Nebuchadnezzar was saying, you can worship any god you want in my kingdom, 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:36.120 but the one thing you must not do is worship one god only. 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:40.720 I'm coming after you because I've said, look, I don't care if you worship the Lord, Yahweh, 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:43.860 but you better come and bow down toward all the gods as well. 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:46.679 So they're being pressured because of pluralism. 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:48.399 What does pluralism say? 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:53.120 It says, you can worship whatever god you want to in private, but when you come into public, 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:56.360 you need to worship and bow down to the gods of the age. 00:14:56.659 --> 00:14:57.419 That's pluralism. 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:01.940 And I think that is there, but think about the dream. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:03.720 What is Nebuchadnezzar doing? 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:09.060 He's saying, Daniel, you told me it was just the head of gold, but I'm here to say it's 00:15:09.060 --> 00:15:09.720 the whole body. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.320 And I think what the image really is, it may not literally be an image of Nebuchadnezzar 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:20.259 himself, but it is at least an image of his kingdom, of all that represents him, of his 00:15:20.259 --> 00:15:23.320 glory, his power, his might, everything we talked about last week. 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:25.620 If you were here, he said, you are the golden head. 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:28.240 And Nebuchadnezzar says, no, I am the golden body. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.320 And my kingdom is going to last forever and ever. 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:39.940 And that means, that means that the image is a visible representation of his own self-glory 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:45.100 and his own attempt to divinize himself and make himself into a god. 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:51.200 And I think that this passage is trying to talk to every single one of us today and help us 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:58.580 to realize that the essence of sin, the essence of all that is wrong in this world, is that 00:15:58.580 --> 00:16:00.779 every human heart wants to divinize itself. 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:08.460 And really, at the bottom of all of our souls, there is a 90-foot golden statue that says, 00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:10.080 I want to be my own god. 00:16:10.800 --> 00:16:12.320 I want to self-justify. 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:13.300 I don't want to be saved. 00:16:13.299 --> 00:16:14.159 I want to save myself. 00:16:15.079 --> 00:16:16.699 I don't want to bow down to the real god. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:18.039 I want others to bow down to me. 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.000 And Nebuchadnezzar is showing us the real essence of sin here. 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:23.699 That's, it's self-glory. 00:16:23.839 --> 00:16:24.559 It's playing god. 00:16:25.579 --> 00:16:29.939 I love what St. Augustine, it's hard not to quote St. Augustine a lot in this series because 00:16:29.939 --> 00:16:34.079 he wrote so much about this very issue and theme of idolatry. 00:16:34.699 --> 00:16:39.799 He says it like this, what is pride but a perverse desire for height? 00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:41.779 I've said that many times. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:45.679 What is pride but a diverse, perverse desire for height? 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:46.159 You know? 00:16:48.319 --> 00:16:49.220 No, of course. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:49.980 What does he mean by that? 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:50.720 Not physical height. 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:56.199 He says, what is pride but a perverse desire for height in forsaking the real god, him, 00:16:56.519 --> 00:16:58.600 to whom the soul ought to cleave? 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:06.359 And then he says, instead of, instead, we believe we are the beginning and the purpose of our own lives. 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:10.079 That self-divinization, it's at the heart of all idolatry. 00:17:10.179 --> 00:17:15.279 It's underneath the worship we give to money or power, romance, whatever it may be. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:17.579 It's actually that we want to be God. 00:17:17.639 --> 00:17:18.579 We want to play God. 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:22.759 And we all build these statues in our hearts to ourselves. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:27.319 Think about it, how it expresses itself, I think, in small ways all the time in our lives. 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:30.139 Can you see yourself in this? 00:17:30.659 --> 00:17:32.439 We need to be right. 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:44.240 We need to be able to look down our noses at the other political party, at those others for their morality, their theology, whatever it may be. 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:47.340 We need to be able to catch other people making mistakes. 00:17:47.460 --> 00:17:50.059 I need to be able to catch other people making mistakes and point it out. 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.259 We need to post that picture. 00:17:53.259 --> 00:18:02.000 We can't stop taking pictures and say, I need to post this picture to curate my own golden statue, the image of who I want people to think I am. 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:07.740 We need, we crave to say, I'm so busy. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:08.579 How are you? 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:09.460 I'm so busy. 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:19.599 Because being exhaustion by way of busyness is a badge of honor by way that we think we're more important than everybody else is because we're so busy. 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:21.220 We have so much to do, right? 00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:28.900 And these are just the smallest ways that you can see that there is a golden statue to ourselves, of ourselves, at the bottom of every single heart. 00:18:29.860 --> 00:18:35.420 Augustine, again, in his famous book, The Confessions, he tells, it's his testimony, really, his story. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:45.279 And he tells the story of when he was a little kid and he was out in the forest with some other guys and he would take pears from this orchard. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:51.059 And he says, I would take the pears and in an age of hunger, I would not eat them. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:52.920 In an age of hunger, I would not hoard them. 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:57.160 In an age of hunger, I wouldn't stash them away for when the famine was coming from my family. 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:00.559 He said, I stole the pears and I would just throw them on the ground. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:02.819 And he said, I'll just get rid of them. 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:04.819 And he said, and here's how he describes it. 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:06.079 This is a paraphrase. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.920 He said, I just wanted to do it to know I could do it. 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:13.720 But I wanted to be able to say, I'm powerful, I'm independent, I make my own rules. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:23.880 And then he writes, every sin is ultimately about the pleasure of playing God, of setting myself against divine order, against divine life, against God himself. 00:19:24.560 --> 00:19:25.560 It's the essence of sin. 00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:28.759 It's not just an issue of bad habits in the Bible. 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:35.680 The real issue is that really what's going on in the bottom of all of our souls is just a pride that worships self. 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:38.160 And Nebuchadnezzar is putting that on display for us. 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.220 Now, I've got to move on. 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:41.160 This is our long point. 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:42.160 We have two short points. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:51.800 But if you remember from week one, the Tower of Babel, Genesis 11, was the beginning of the Babylonian kingdom. 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:54.039 The Tower of Babel is proto-Babylon. 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:55.860 It's where Babylon was first established. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:56.740 And there, what happened? 00:19:56.980 --> 00:19:58.820 They built this great tower to the heavens. 00:19:59.300 --> 00:20:01.259 They said, let us make a name for ourselves. 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:02.460 And who was there? 00:20:02.560 --> 00:20:06.240 All the nations, all the peoples gathered around this great image. 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:12.160 It was a collective image, a golden statue to the heavens, whereby they said, we will go to the heavens. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:13.400 We will make a name for ourselves. 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:14.700 We will slay God. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:18.079 Pride at the heart, the human heart of all the nations there gathered. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:23.200 And if you read Genesis 11 carefully, it says in a moment, it's supposed to make you laugh. 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:25.200 I don't think many of us do when we read it. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:30.759 But it says that as they built a tower to the heavens, God came down to look at it. 00:20:31.120 --> 00:20:32.440 Because it was so tiny. 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:35.080 And he had to come all the way down to find it. 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:36.180 It was so small. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.160 And it's supposed to make you laugh in Genesis 11 when you read it. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:40.460 And what did God do? 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:41.940 He scattered them. 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:43.460 He confused their languages. 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:48.860 He said, you will no longer gather as one people across the world because your pride gets so bad. 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:53.640 You're so self-divinizing that I can't put you all in one place together. 00:20:53.640 --> 00:21:01.400 Nebuchadnezzar, in verses 2 to 7, gathers all the nations, all the languages, all the peoples. 00:21:01.620 --> 00:21:03.580 He builds a great tower to the heavens. 00:21:03.860 --> 00:21:04.540 You see what's happening? 00:21:04.600 --> 00:21:06.180 He's trying to reverse Babel. 00:21:08.520 --> 00:21:09.800 Babel was proto-Babylon. 00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:11.000 Here he is in the heart of Babylon. 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:13.000 And he's building the new tower of Babel. 00:21:13.180 --> 00:21:14.060 But it's all about him. 00:21:14.120 --> 00:21:17.140 And he's bringing all the nations, all the languages, all the peoples together. 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:22.700 And if you look at verse, as Anne read for us, you look at verse 2, 3. 00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:30.000 It says that all the prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, justices, magistrates, officials came together to worship. 00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:31.440 And then verse 3. 00:21:31.860 --> 00:21:36.940 Then the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, justices, magistrates, and all the people gathered together. 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:39.240 It happens again down at the end. 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:41.640 And in verse 4, it says, 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:45.860 When you hear the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, every kind of music. 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:51.259 Again, when you hear the Lorne hype, well, not Lorne, whatever the musical instrument was. 00:21:52.040 --> 00:21:56.420 By the way, I don't think this is saying bagpipes are Babylonian per se. 00:21:57.860 --> 00:21:58.259 No. 00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:04.220 When they're played from 10.30 to 11.30 on Sunday mornings outside, they are Babylonian. 00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:05.819 Every other time, they're okay. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:11.019 You see, in other words, as one commentator notes, 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:17.519 the repetition, when you read it, is supposed to sound almost like a child is telling you this story. 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:20.059 The prefects, the governors, they all gathered. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.099 The prefects, the governors, the satraps, they all gathered. 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:23.740 The lyre, the bagpipe, the horn. 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:25.420 The repetition is funny. 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:27.900 It sounds like a silly way to write a story. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.279 And the point, just like at the Tower of Babel, is to say, 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:32.620 Look at this silly man. 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:34.420 It's to say, 00:22:34.860 --> 00:22:38.080 You trying to reverse Babel when God had to scatter humanity. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.100 He came down and laughed because of your pride. 00:22:40.600 --> 00:22:42.960 And all the nations, all the languages, they're all gathered. 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:44.220 God laughs. 00:22:44.800 --> 00:22:45.779 But He's patient. 00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:49.660 And the question today for all of us is really this. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:51.060 It's trying to get us to say, 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:54.660 Who am I that I would put myself 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:56.160 in the place of God? 00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:59.660 To say that I am the Lord of my own life is silly. 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:00.840 It's silly. 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:01.720 I didn't make myself. 00:23:01.820 --> 00:23:02.480 I'm not the point. 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:06.240 Secondly, briefly, the furnace. 00:23:06.540 --> 00:23:09.560 Now, when you challenge the authority of a man 00:23:09.560 --> 00:23:12.360 who has built the entire world around himself, 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.000 like we saw last week, 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:15.500 he's incredibly fragile. 00:23:16.100 --> 00:23:17.620 One little poke at him. 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:19.580 You know, all the nations can worship him, 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.240 but if three men don't, 00:23:21.659 --> 00:23:22.539 he gets furious. 00:23:22.679 --> 00:23:23.319 He's very fragile. 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:25.439 And in verse 19, 00:23:25.639 --> 00:23:27.699 it says that when they refused to bow down, 00:23:28.099 --> 00:23:30.139 his face was distorted with rage. 00:23:30.199 --> 00:23:31.779 It describes him like a beast, 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:34.939 his face snarling with rage. 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:35.899 And so, 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:36.799 Shadrach, Meshach, 00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:37.240 and Abednego, 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:39.019 Daniel's three friends, 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:40.339 they refused to bow down. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:41.059 And obviously, 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:42.500 the question here is, 00:23:42.919 --> 00:23:44.839 will you refuse to bow down 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:45.720 to the golden image, 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:46.779 whatever it is in this world, 00:23:46.879 --> 00:23:47.440 in this life, 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:49.819 and remain faithful to God 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:51.519 even at the threat of death, 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:52.839 even if it's gonna cost you everything? 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:54.159 Will you be faithful 00:23:54.159 --> 00:23:55.700 in the midst of a Babylonian world? 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:59.399 But it's important to put that in context for a second. 00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:02.099 The furnace is a symbol in the Bible 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:03.919 in a couple of ways. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:05.220 They're threatened. 00:24:05.419 --> 00:24:06.619 If you don't bow down, 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:07.980 I'm gonna throw you in a fiery furnace. 00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:09.119 The furnace is a symbol. 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:10.559 And first, 00:24:10.699 --> 00:24:12.579 it's a symbol for just that, 00:24:12.919 --> 00:24:14.919 the suffering that can come into your life 00:24:14.919 --> 00:24:17.739 because of pressure to bow down to idols. 00:24:19.419 --> 00:24:20.979 The pressure to capitulate. 00:24:21.219 --> 00:24:24.639 The pressure to receive judgment from others 00:24:24.639 --> 00:24:27.259 because you refuse to follow the gods they follow. 00:24:28.179 --> 00:24:29.879 And that's one symbol of the furnace, 00:24:30.139 --> 00:24:30.859 the clear symbol here. 00:24:30.959 --> 00:24:33.659 And anytime God's people in the Bible are in exile, 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:35.279 that's part of the symbolism. 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:37.259 So Deuteronomy chapter four, 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:38.819 verse 15 to 22 says that, 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:42.519 Egypt was the furnace in which Israel lived. 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:44.720 It calls Egypt the furnace. 00:24:44.879 --> 00:24:45.819 Babylon's now the furnace. 00:24:45.939 --> 00:24:48.539 Any place where there are all sorts of gods around you 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:50.740 and they're putting pressure on you to bow, 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:53.359 lest you be judged, burned, destroyed. 00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:54.939 That is one image. 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:57.740 I think that's getting us to ask, by the way, today, 00:24:58.059 --> 00:25:01.359 if you're a believer in this room 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.119 and you're walking through life in the city, 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:04.099 working, living, 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:07.279 and you never feel pressure, 00:25:08.159 --> 00:25:11.519 you never feel like you're faced with a hard decision 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:12.939 that's asking you, 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:15.219 am I going to bow to this or stand up? 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:17.519 If you walk through a city like Edinburgh 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:18.959 and you never feel that pressure, 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:21.139 it could be an indication 00:25:21.139 --> 00:25:23.379 that you're not only being in the world, 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:24.279 but also of it, 00:25:24.939 --> 00:25:27.839 that you've already started to give over to the idols. 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:29.720 In other words, 00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:30.659 in a city like Babylon, 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:31.359 a city like Edinburgh, 00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:32.059 a city like Rome, 00:25:32.139 --> 00:25:33.179 a city like New York and London, 00:25:33.639 --> 00:25:35.619 there should be pressure on us 00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:38.419 where we're always having to work with wisdom 00:25:38.419 --> 00:25:39.220 to say, 00:25:39.659 --> 00:25:41.939 what do I do in this very difficult situation at work 00:25:41.939 --> 00:25:43.659 that's calling me to sin, 00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:44.720 that's calling me to bow down 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:46.339 before something that is not the real God? 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.639 But the other way that the furnace, 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:51.099 the other thing the furnace symbolizes 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:53.480 in the Bible is just suffering in general. 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:55.399 So the image of the furnace 00:25:55.399 --> 00:25:56.519 is used throughout the Bible 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:57.680 to talk about suffering. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.680 Think about the New Testament. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:01.279 When you enter into suffering, 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:03.740 it can be a furnace to you 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:05.700 either that refines you, 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:07.799 smelts away the dross 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:09.240 where you become a person 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:10.480 of more hope, faith, and joy, 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:12.220 or it will break you. 00:26:12.299 --> 00:26:13.039 It will burn you. 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:14.299 It will destroy you. 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:16.740 Suffering has one of those two capabilities. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:19.859 Here's the key moment of the whole passage, 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:20.500 the whole sermon. 00:26:21.639 --> 00:26:23.400 It's in verses 15 to 16. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:25.799 And Nebuchadnezzar here says, 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:26.720 when you are ready, 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:27.980 you hear the sound of the music, 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:29.559 you fall down, 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:31.299 you worship the image that I have made. 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:32.220 But if you don't, 00:26:33.159 --> 00:26:34.899 you will be cast into the fiery furnace. 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:36.139 And then he asked this question, 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:38.059 who is the God 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:40.359 who would deliver you out of my hands? 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:42.519 That's the question of the passage. 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:44.220 Who is the God 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:45.720 who could deliver you out of the furnace? 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:47.879 Who is the God 00:26:47.879 --> 00:26:49.599 who could deliver you out of suffering? 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:50.779 Who is the God 00:26:50.779 --> 00:26:51.759 who could deliver you 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:53.039 out of, 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:54.319 even in some places, 00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:56.319 the condemnation of martyrdom, 00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:58.159 dying for standing up for your faith? 00:26:58.519 --> 00:26:58.960 Is there a, 00:26:59.139 --> 00:26:59.859 Nebuchadnezzar saying, 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:00.940 is there a God out there 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:02.680 that could deliver you from that, 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:04.000 from the furnace, 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:04.759 from the furnace of, 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.899 the fire of suffering 00:27:05.899 --> 00:27:07.639 that comes into each one of our lives? 00:27:08.019 --> 00:27:08.960 And what do they say? 00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:10.819 In verse 17 and 18, 00:27:10.819 --> 00:27:11.399 they say, 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:13.539 we don't need to answer this question. 00:27:14.639 --> 00:27:15.500 And then they do. 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:17.640 If this be so, 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.960 if we have to die, 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:20.460 our God whom we serve 00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:21.660 is able to deliver us. 00:27:22.819 --> 00:27:23.619 He's able. 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:24.200 Okay, 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:24.960 first they say, 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:26.900 God is able to deliver me. 00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:28.839 God is able to deliver us 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:30.019 from any type of suffering 00:27:30.019 --> 00:27:30.740 in this life, 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:31.960 any type of furnace, 00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:32.920 any type of circumstance. 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:34.079 But then the key, 00:27:34.220 --> 00:27:34.720 verse 18, 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:36.539 but if not, 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:39.200 and do you see what they're saying? 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:39.839 They say, 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:40.059 look, 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:42.740 we know God can save us 00:27:42.740 --> 00:27:43.960 from the fiery furnace, 00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:45.620 but he may decide not to. 00:27:46.740 --> 00:27:48.059 And we may just have to die. 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:50.940 And that means that 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:53.120 what they're teaching us is, 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:54.980 they're saying, 00:27:56.140 --> 00:27:56.579 Nebuchadnezzar, 00:27:56.759 --> 00:27:58.920 we trust God for who he is, 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:00.200 not what he gives to us. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.079 We trust God and want God 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:04.279 for who he is, 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:05.620 not the benefits. 00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:08.100 We're not calling upon God 00:28:08.100 --> 00:28:08.500 and saying, 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:08.840 well, 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:11.100 if you were to deliver us 00:28:11.100 --> 00:28:11.680 out of suffering 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.740 in a really hard circumstance 00:28:12.740 --> 00:28:13.360 out of the fire, 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:14.579 then we might trust you. 00:28:14.619 --> 00:28:14.899 It's saying, 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:15.899 we trust God 00:28:15.899 --> 00:28:17.319 because he is God 00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:18.819 even if he chooses 00:28:18.819 --> 00:28:19.779 not to save us 00:28:19.779 --> 00:28:20.339 from this moment, 00:28:20.699 --> 00:28:21.479 from this circumstance. 00:28:21.659 --> 00:28:22.959 And that gives us 00:28:22.959 --> 00:28:23.879 our fourth principle 00:28:23.879 --> 00:28:25.959 of living in exile. 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.619 And it's this, 00:28:27.419 --> 00:28:29.199 to live faithfully 00:28:29.199 --> 00:28:31.039 in the midst of idolatry 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:31.979 in a city like ours, 00:28:33.139 --> 00:28:34.799 God has to be 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:35.799 the apple of your eye. 00:28:37.099 --> 00:28:38.359 God has to be the point. 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:40.319 God has to, 00:28:40.659 --> 00:28:41.679 you have to be growing 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:42.340 into a person 00:28:42.340 --> 00:28:43.740 where it's not Christianity 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:44.660 you follow, 00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:46.759 but God is the desire 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:47.279 of your heart. 00:28:48.120 --> 00:28:49.000 It's not a religion 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:49.860 that you're after, 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:51.039 it's Jesus himself 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:51.740 that you want. 00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:54.340 Where God is who you want, 00:28:54.560 --> 00:28:55.299 where you can say, 00:28:55.660 --> 00:28:57.799 even if I have to walk 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:58.980 through every fire 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:00.440 and never be rescued, 00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:02.000 God is enough for me. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.299 God is who I was made for. 00:29:04.779 --> 00:29:06.440 God is who I actually want. 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:08.640 And the point of this 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:09.880 is to ask the question today, 00:29:10.420 --> 00:29:12.019 for all of us, 00:29:12.100 --> 00:29:12.860 there will come a moment 00:29:12.860 --> 00:29:13.600 where suffering 00:29:13.600 --> 00:29:14.480 will not cease. 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:17.080 In every one of our lives, 00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:18.299 we will enter into the furnace 00:29:18.299 --> 00:29:20.360 and we will not come out of it 00:29:20.360 --> 00:29:20.880 in this life 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:21.580 at some point. 00:29:22.100 --> 00:29:23.240 And the question is, 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:25.440 is the Lord enough? 00:29:27.620 --> 00:29:29.620 Is it God that you want 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:31.259 or is it just the religion? 00:29:32.840 --> 00:29:34.180 Is he the apple of your eye 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:35.039 in the days of your youth 00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:36.840 and in the days of old age 00:29:36.840 --> 00:29:38.519 when you're going to walk 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:39.000 through the fire 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:40.240 and not come out of it 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.259 unscathed but burned? 00:29:43.360 --> 00:29:43.700 Of course, 00:29:43.860 --> 00:29:45.400 there we're talking about death 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:46.580 and every other fire 00:29:46.580 --> 00:29:47.840 that you might walk through 00:29:47.840 --> 00:29:48.340 in this life. 00:29:49.860 --> 00:29:50.860 What does Nebuchadnezzar say? 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:51.080 He says, 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:52.779 do you have a God 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:53.820 who is enough 00:29:53.820 --> 00:29:54.900 to take you through the furnace? 00:29:55.580 --> 00:29:56.940 What God could there be 00:29:56.940 --> 00:29:59.100 that could deliver you 00:29:59.100 --> 00:30:00.000 from my hands, 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:00.600 from the furnace? 00:30:01.100 --> 00:30:02.360 Is there a God like that? 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:03.799 I love the line, 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:04.859 and I've heard many say it, 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:06.000 sometimes when you enter 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:06.579 into the furnace, 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:08.079 that's the moment 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:08.859 where you realize 00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:10.079 you don't know Jesus 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:11.399 is all you have 00:30:11.399 --> 00:30:13.220 until Jesus is all you need. 00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:14.460 You don't know Jesus 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:15.399 is all you need 00:30:15.399 --> 00:30:17.680 until Jesus is all you have. 00:30:18.659 --> 00:30:19.519 Sometimes when you enter 00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:20.000 into the furnace, 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:21.139 there is nothing left 00:30:21.139 --> 00:30:22.359 but to say, 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:23.879 is God enough for me? 00:30:25.139 --> 00:30:25.740 And he is. 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:26.879 He is what you need. 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:28.059 See, the question, 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:29.159 let's go to the third, 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:29.779 the close. 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:31.700 Nebuchadnezzar says, 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:32.640 is there a God 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:33.539 that could deliver you 00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:34.360 from the furnace? 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:35.519 And we see here 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:36.259 the fourth man. 00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:38.500 So in verse 19, 00:30:38.779 --> 00:30:39.559 Nebuchadnezzar, 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:42.519 he raises the temperature 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:43.380 of the kiln, 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:44.059 the fires, 00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:44.860 so hot, 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:45.819 seven times hotter 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:47.400 that even the soldiers 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:48.920 that take these guys there 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:49.960 die just trying 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:50.819 to get close to it. 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:52.720 And then, 00:30:52.860 --> 00:30:54.600 out of the mouth of babes, 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:55.279 after asking, 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:56.120 is there a God 00:30:56.120 --> 00:30:57.019 who could deliver you? 00:30:57.600 --> 00:30:59.240 Nebuchadnezzar lifts up his eyes, 00:30:59.299 --> 00:31:00.240 he looks into the furnace, 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:01.319 and he says, 00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:02.940 did we not cast three men 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:03.940 into the fire? 00:31:04.359 --> 00:31:05.700 But I see a fourth 00:31:05.700 --> 00:31:08.140 who has the appearance 00:31:08.140 --> 00:31:09.740 like a son of the gods, 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:10.779 verse 24 and 25. 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:12.920 And then he says 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:13.680 in verse 28, 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:15.839 God delivered you, 00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:16.559 Shadrach, Meshach, 00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:17.220 and Abednego. 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:18.759 God sent his angel 00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:19.579 to deliver you, 00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:21.059 to deliver his servants. 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:21.339 Now, 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:23.259 who is this, 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:23.880 this fourth? 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:26.240 One like the son of the gods, 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:27.420 one in an appearance 00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:28.579 like a son of the gods. 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:30.919 And then Nebuchadnezzar himself 00:31:30.919 --> 00:31:32.039 says he is an angel. 00:31:32.899 --> 00:31:34.299 In Genesis 18, 00:31:35.379 --> 00:31:36.899 three men showed up 00:31:36.899 --> 00:31:38.000 to Abraham's door, 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:39.579 and it said, 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:40.399 one of the three 00:31:40.399 --> 00:31:42.019 was the angel of the Lord, 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:43.240 and Abraham bowed down 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:43.919 and worshiped him. 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.539 In Exodus chapter 3, 00:31:46.699 --> 00:31:48.439 there was a bush burning, 00:31:48.740 --> 00:31:49.720 consumed a thicket 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:50.419 and flames 00:31:50.419 --> 00:31:52.000 on top of Mount Sinai. 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:53.720 And in Exodus 3, 00:31:53.779 --> 00:31:54.079 it said, 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:55.559 out of the bush 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:56.519 that was burning, 00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:57.919 yet not consumed, 00:31:58.259 --> 00:31:59.539 walked the angel 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:00.139 of the Lord. 00:32:00.659 --> 00:32:01.039 He, 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:02.919 in the midst of the flames, 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:03.759 yet not consumed. 00:32:04.359 --> 00:32:06.419 And you come to Daniel chapter 3, 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:08.019 and you realize 00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:09.179 that this is 00:32:09.179 --> 00:32:10.579 the angel of the Lord, 00:32:10.659 --> 00:32:11.679 one who entered 00:32:11.679 --> 00:32:12.399 into the fire 00:32:12.399 --> 00:32:13.759 but was never consumed, 00:32:13.879 --> 00:32:15.819 just like Exodus 3. 00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:17.599 And that means 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.839 with the church 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:19.960 for 2,000 years, 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:20.799 we say today 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:22.180 that this is 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:23.519 a pre-incarnate 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:24.500 manifestation 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:25.299 and condescension 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:26.779 of the Son of God Himself. 00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:28.759 This is the one 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:30.279 who would take on flesh 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:31.899 as Jesus Christ 00:32:31.899 --> 00:32:33.159 in the Gospels, 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:34.460 walking through the fire 00:32:34.460 --> 00:32:35.740 with Shadrach, 00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:36.180 Meshach, 00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:36.659 and Abednego. 00:32:38.099 --> 00:32:40.319 And Nebuchadnezzar asked, 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:41.759 is there one 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:42.500 like the Son of, 00:32:42.659 --> 00:32:43.919 is there a God, 00:32:44.139 --> 00:32:44.720 I should say, 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:45.839 who will deliver you 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:46.460 out of the furnace? 00:32:46.980 --> 00:32:47.599 And here we see 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:48.460 that the Son of God 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:50.039 who walked through the fire, 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:51.680 yet was not consumed 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:53.500 in the Old Testament, 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:55.299 is the very Son of God 00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:56.859 who chose to enter the fire 00:32:56.859 --> 00:32:57.819 and be consumed 00:32:57.819 --> 00:32:59.599 for us at the cross. 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:00.500 Why? 00:33:00.619 --> 00:33:01.639 So that we could be rescued 00:33:01.639 --> 00:33:03.379 from our little golden statues 00:33:03.379 --> 00:33:04.319 at the bottom of our hearts. 00:33:05.339 --> 00:33:06.399 The very one 00:33:06.399 --> 00:33:07.619 who delivered Shadrach, 00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:08.019 Meshach, 00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:08.440 and Abednego 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:09.319 in this moment 00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:10.259 is the one 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:11.319 who was so consumed 00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:12.460 by the fires of hell 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:13.659 for you at the cross 00:33:13.659 --> 00:33:15.159 so that He could rescue you 00:33:15.159 --> 00:33:16.319 from the golden statue 00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:17.579 that you worship of self. 00:33:18.579 --> 00:33:19.419 And you see 00:33:19.419 --> 00:33:20.339 how much Jesus Christ 00:33:20.339 --> 00:33:21.559 solves the great dilemmas 00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:22.500 we face in this story. 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:24.619 When He went to the cross, 00:33:24.679 --> 00:33:25.379 He was burned. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:26.639 He went to hell itself 00:33:26.639 --> 00:33:27.179 for us 00:33:27.179 --> 00:33:28.740 so that the judgment 00:33:28.740 --> 00:33:30.319 our self-glorification 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:30.899 deserves 00:33:30.899 --> 00:33:32.000 would die with Him. 00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:33.619 He can rescue you 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:34.539 from all your pride 00:33:34.539 --> 00:33:35.559 and forgive you for that. 00:33:35.859 --> 00:33:36.299 But then, 00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:37.659 you know, 00:33:37.679 --> 00:33:38.059 think about it. 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:38.799 Through this furnace, 00:33:39.379 --> 00:33:39.799 the very thing 00:33:39.799 --> 00:33:40.539 Nebuchadnezzar needed 00:33:40.539 --> 00:33:41.559 so much in his life 00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:42.960 that Shadrach, 00:33:43.059 --> 00:33:43.419 Meshach, 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:44.259 and Abednego had, 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:45.119 he never had. 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:45.879 And that's this, 00:33:46.159 --> 00:33:47.479 a relationship with God 00:33:47.479 --> 00:33:48.559 that can secure you 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:49.139 in this life. 00:33:50.279 --> 00:33:50.439 You know, 00:33:50.479 --> 00:33:51.239 when Jesus goes 00:33:51.239 --> 00:33:51.899 to be burned 00:33:51.899 --> 00:33:52.799 in the fires of the cross, 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:54.099 He makes a way 00:33:54.099 --> 00:33:55.419 so that you can know God, 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:56.699 have a relationship with God, 00:33:56.979 --> 00:33:58.099 make God the point 00:33:58.099 --> 00:33:58.759 of your life 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:00.539 so that when you enter 00:34:00.539 --> 00:34:01.899 the fire of suffering, 00:34:02.159 --> 00:34:03.299 you'll not be burned 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:03.899 ultimately. 00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:05.299 Isaiah 43 00:34:05.299 --> 00:34:06.519 is all about this. 00:34:06.579 --> 00:34:07.059 What does it say? 00:34:07.919 --> 00:34:08.719 With Him, 00:34:08.839 --> 00:34:09.559 you can walk through 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:10.420 every fire 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:11.619 and not be burned. 00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:11.960 How? 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:13.360 Because you know 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.340 that you've got 00:34:14.340 --> 00:34:15.760 the one you were made for. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:17.039 You've got Him, 00:34:17.260 --> 00:34:17.639 God. 00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:20.480 And if the next event 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:20.940 of suffering 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:22.360 takes everything from you, 00:34:22.820 --> 00:34:23.960 and it's going to one day, 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:26.159 one day the suffering 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:26.460 will come 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:27.400 that will take everything 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:28.539 that we know 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.099 in this life, 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:31.260 you've got the God 00:34:31.260 --> 00:34:32.420 for whom you were made. 00:34:33.320 --> 00:34:34.920 And when that day comes, 00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:37.240 because Jesus is all you have, 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:37.860 you will realize 00:34:37.860 --> 00:34:38.659 Jesus is all I need. 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:40.240 That's what the cross 00:34:40.240 --> 00:34:40.740 does for us. 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:41.539 And the third thing 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:42.099 it does for us 00:34:42.099 --> 00:34:43.859 is it changes the meaning 00:34:43.859 --> 00:34:44.339 of suffering 00:34:44.339 --> 00:34:45.159 in your life now. 00:34:46.839 --> 00:34:47.779 Suffering in this life 00:34:47.779 --> 00:34:48.479 can be, 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:49.299 the New Testament says, 00:34:49.379 --> 00:34:50.479 a refiner's fire. 00:34:50.879 --> 00:34:51.019 You know, 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:53.019 it can melt the vices 00:34:53.019 --> 00:34:53.619 in our lives 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:54.819 and bring out faith, 00:34:54.879 --> 00:34:55.439 hope, and love. 00:34:55.919 --> 00:34:56.319 Actually, 00:34:56.699 --> 00:34:57.619 the surprising word 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:58.239 of the New Testament, 00:34:58.719 --> 00:35:00.079 suffering can bring you joy. 00:35:00.419 --> 00:35:00.599 Whoa. 00:35:01.639 --> 00:35:02.659 And how? 00:35:02.799 --> 00:35:03.819 Because when you have Jesus, 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:05.399 when you are walking 00:35:05.399 --> 00:35:06.139 through the fire 00:35:06.139 --> 00:35:07.459 with the one 00:35:07.459 --> 00:35:08.299 who appears here, 00:35:08.739 --> 00:35:09.039 like the, 00:35:09.339 --> 00:35:09.519 oh, 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:10.319 Nebuchadnezzar said, 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:11.539 like the son of the gods, 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:12.820 he is the son of God. 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:13.400 When you walk 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:14.380 through the fire with him, 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:16.120 he actually gives you 00:35:16.120 --> 00:35:16.580 the ability 00:35:16.580 --> 00:35:17.800 to take on joy 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:18.760 in suffering, 00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:19.519 to be refined 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:20.539 instead of just a crumble. 00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:22.420 Modern Western people 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:24.039 do not, 00:35:24.100 --> 00:35:25.080 we do not collectively, 00:35:25.260 --> 00:35:25.800 sociologically 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:26.920 suffer very well. 00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:28.539 We live lives 00:35:28.539 --> 00:35:29.039 of comfort 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:29.559 and abundance 00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:30.660 and we don't expect 00:35:30.660 --> 00:35:31.180 to suffer 00:35:31.180 --> 00:35:32.120 and so it's so tough 00:35:32.120 --> 00:35:33.140 for us when we do suffer. 00:35:33.700 --> 00:35:34.100 But of course, 00:35:34.160 --> 00:35:34.840 we know it's coming. 00:35:36.240 --> 00:35:37.160 And this passage 00:35:37.160 --> 00:35:37.720 tells you about 00:35:37.720 --> 00:35:38.460 the only way 00:35:38.460 --> 00:35:39.220 to get through it 00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:40.199 and that's 00:35:40.199 --> 00:35:41.019 to make 00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:42.179 the Lord 00:35:42.179 --> 00:35:43.380 himself 00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:43.880 the apple 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:44.420 of your eye. 00:35:45.619 --> 00:35:46.260 He's got to be 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:46.880 the one you desire. 00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:47.760 You got to ask God, 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:48.880 help me desire you, 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:49.519 want you 00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:50.780 more than anything else 00:35:50.780 --> 00:35:51.280 and I'll close 00:35:51.280 --> 00:35:51.800 with this word. 00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:54.780 Remember I said 00:35:54.780 --> 00:35:55.159 at the beginning 00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:56.980 that the bookends 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:57.539 of this story 00:35:57.539 --> 00:35:58.599 are all about Nebuchadnezzar. 00:35:58.720 --> 00:35:59.260 It's been that way 00:35:59.260 --> 00:35:59.679 all throughout 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:00.480 and you come back 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:01.039 at the end 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:01.760 of this chapter 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:02.900 to Nebuchadnezzar 00:36:02.900 --> 00:36:04.039 and at the very end 00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:04.500 of the story 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:04.940 it says, 00:36:05.240 --> 00:36:06.119 Nebuchadnezzar said, 00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:07.859 your God 00:36:07.859 --> 00:36:08.859 really is a God, 00:36:08.940 --> 00:36:09.719 really is God 00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:11.099 and blessed 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:11.739 be the name 00:36:11.739 --> 00:36:12.420 of your God 00:36:12.420 --> 00:36:13.679 and you start 00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:14.139 to think, 00:36:14.659 --> 00:36:15.460 is Nebuchadnezzar 00:36:15.460 --> 00:36:16.559 beginning to get it? 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:17.319 God has been 00:36:17.319 --> 00:36:18.199 speaking to him 00:36:18.199 --> 00:36:19.000 over and over again. 00:36:19.059 --> 00:36:19.440 We'll see that 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:20.380 especially next week. 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:21.779 But then in the next verse 00:36:21.779 --> 00:36:22.559 Nebuchadnezzar says, 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:24.119 now if anybody 00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:24.940 fails to worship 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:25.679 the God of Shadrach, 00:36:25.759 --> 00:36:25.960 Meshach, 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:26.359 and Abednego, 00:36:26.619 --> 00:36:27.599 they are to be torn 00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:28.159 limb to limb. 00:36:28.539 --> 00:36:28.759 Okay, 00:36:28.819 --> 00:36:29.380 so you realize 00:36:29.380 --> 00:36:30.900 he didn't get it again 00:36:30.900 --> 00:36:32.699 and of course again 00:36:32.699 --> 00:36:33.659 he made it all 00:36:33.659 --> 00:36:34.279 about himself 00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:35.220 again 00:36:35.220 --> 00:36:36.780 and he just inserted 00:36:36.780 --> 00:36:37.700 the God of Shadrach, 00:36:37.780 --> 00:36:38.019 Meshach, 00:36:38.060 --> 00:36:38.400 and Abednego 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:39.640 into his golden statue 00:36:39.640 --> 00:36:40.160 picture 00:36:40.160 --> 00:36:41.100 and said, 00:36:41.220 --> 00:36:41.320 okay, 00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:42.280 well now that's 00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:42.940 the God we'll worship 00:36:42.940 --> 00:36:43.500 but it's ultimately 00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:44.220 about my power 00:36:44.220 --> 00:36:44.700 and glory 00:36:44.700 --> 00:36:45.580 so I'll rip your limbs 00:36:45.580 --> 00:36:46.600 off if you don't do it. 00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:49.240 He didn't repent 00:36:49.240 --> 00:36:51.920 and what's on offer today 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:52.720 for some of us 00:36:52.720 --> 00:36:53.040 in this room 00:36:53.040 --> 00:36:53.700 for the first time 00:36:53.700 --> 00:36:54.600 but for all of us 00:36:54.600 --> 00:36:55.019 again 00:36:55.019 --> 00:36:56.920 is to recognize 00:36:56.920 --> 00:36:57.960 and ask the question, 00:36:58.880 --> 00:36:59.740 can you say 00:36:59.740 --> 00:37:02.340 I am a self-divinizing 00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:03.900 worshiper of the golden image 00:37:03.900 --> 00:37:05.360 of my own self-glory 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:06.340 in the bottom of my soul? 00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:06.980 Can you say that? 00:37:07.059 --> 00:37:07.400 Can you say 00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:08.039 that is me? 00:37:08.539 --> 00:37:09.400 That is who I am. 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:11.340 I exist to worship me 00:37:11.340 --> 00:37:12.039 and I know it 00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:12.900 and I struggle with it 00:37:12.900 --> 00:37:14.019 and I don't want it anymore 00:37:14.019 --> 00:37:14.920 and I want to be rescued 00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:15.420 from it 00:37:15.420 --> 00:37:16.980 and I love what 00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:18.100 Martin Lloyd-Jones says. 00:37:18.200 --> 00:37:18.620 He says, 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:20.200 the trouble with many of us 00:37:20.200 --> 00:37:20.600 is that 00:37:20.600 --> 00:37:22.039 we've not really repented. 00:37:22.240 --> 00:37:22.900 We've been convicted 00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:23.800 of sins 00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:26.400 but not of sin. 00:37:27.559 --> 00:37:28.460 We've been convicted 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:29.539 of lots of little things 00:37:29.539 --> 00:37:30.120 we've done 00:37:30.119 --> 00:37:30.819 and we've said 00:37:30.819 --> 00:37:31.819 I've made mistakes. 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:33.039 That was a bad point 00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:33.719 of my life. 00:37:34.259 --> 00:37:36.139 I struggled with that then 00:37:36.139 --> 00:37:37.819 or I struggle with this today 00:37:37.819 --> 00:37:38.559 but he says this, 00:37:39.339 --> 00:37:39.900 we're sorry 00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:41.079 for the things we've done 00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:42.460 but we have to be sorry 00:37:42.460 --> 00:37:43.579 for what we are. 00:37:44.659 --> 00:37:45.659 For who we are. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:47.659 Self-divinizing, 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:49.039 self-worshiping people 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:50.299 that stand against 00:37:50.299 --> 00:37:50.980 the living God 00:37:50.980 --> 00:37:53.920 and the last word 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:54.559 is this. 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:55.900 The irony of 00:37:55.900 --> 00:37:57.579 this story 00:37:57.579 --> 00:37:58.319 is that 00:37:58.319 --> 00:38:00.219 Nebuchadnezzar 00:38:00.219 --> 00:38:01.400 almost definitely 00:38:01.400 --> 00:38:03.440 sends Shadrach, 00:38:03.500 --> 00:38:03.779 Meshach, 00:38:03.819 --> 00:38:04.079 Abednego 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:05.380 into the fiery furnace, 00:38:05.860 --> 00:38:06.559 the very furnace 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:07.199 that he used 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:08.599 to forge the golden image. 00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:10.139 This is the furnace 00:38:10.139 --> 00:38:11.799 that he made the idol out of 00:38:11.799 --> 00:38:13.480 that he sends them into 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:14.079 and instead 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:15.340 of vindicating 00:38:15.340 --> 00:38:16.159 his idol 00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:16.920 in this moment, 00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:17.920 the furnace 00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:18.900 exposes 00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:19.779 his powerlessness. 00:38:20.880 --> 00:38:21.599 The very place 00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:22.179 that he chose 00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:23.219 to build an image 00:38:23.219 --> 00:38:23.639 of himself 00:38:23.639 --> 00:38:24.119 to worship 00:38:24.119 --> 00:38:25.099 is the place 00:38:25.099 --> 00:38:25.659 where God 00:38:25.659 --> 00:38:26.519 upstaged him 00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:27.799 and demonstrates 00:38:27.799 --> 00:38:28.500 that God 00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:29.179 is the true God 00:38:29.179 --> 00:38:29.940 not Nebuchadnezzar 00:38:29.940 --> 00:38:30.360 and that means 00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:30.920 that this furnace 00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:31.719 is not only 00:38:31.719 --> 00:38:32.360 an image of suffering, 00:38:32.500 --> 00:38:32.980 it's an image 00:38:32.980 --> 00:38:34.079 of Nebuchadnezzar's heart. 00:38:35.219 --> 00:38:36.639 The fire burning 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:37.299 at your heart 00:38:37.299 --> 00:38:37.860 Nebuchadnezzar 00:38:37.860 --> 00:38:38.500 is an idol 00:38:38.500 --> 00:38:39.599 but God 00:38:39.599 --> 00:38:40.219 is coming 00:38:40.219 --> 00:38:40.960 into his heart 00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:41.299 you see 00:38:41.299 --> 00:38:41.779 and saying 00:38:41.779 --> 00:38:43.299 you're exposed, 00:38:43.719 --> 00:38:44.099 repent, 00:38:44.299 --> 00:38:44.900 bow down, 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:46.719 cast the image down, 00:38:46.799 --> 00:38:47.579 worship the real God. 00:38:47.920 --> 00:38:48.779 Let me ask you today, 00:38:48.839 --> 00:38:49.559 will you do that? 00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:51.480 Can you say that? 00:38:51.559 --> 00:38:52.799 I'm self-divinizing 00:38:52.799 --> 00:38:53.420 but I don't want 00:38:53.420 --> 00:38:53.860 that anymore. 00:38:54.099 --> 00:38:54.900 I want to be rescued. 00:38:55.839 --> 00:38:56.420 And cast down 00:38:56.420 --> 00:38:56.940 all the images 00:38:56.940 --> 00:38:57.679 and bow your knee 00:38:57.679 --> 00:38:58.400 to the real God. 00:38:58.500 --> 00:38:59.319 He'll give you everything. 00:39:00.460 --> 00:39:01.119 Let us pray. 00:39:02.259 --> 00:39:03.199 Lord, we thank you 00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:04.299 for this story, 00:39:05.079 --> 00:39:05.960 famous story, 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:06.819 how powerful it is 00:39:06.819 --> 00:39:07.539 and we pray now 00:39:07.539 --> 00:39:08.900 that you would expose 00:39:08.900 --> 00:39:10.259 our idols of self 00:39:10.259 --> 00:39:11.099 and give us 00:39:11.099 --> 00:39:12.579 a far better hope 00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:13.079 and that's 00:39:13.079 --> 00:39:13.940 to know you, 00:39:14.019 --> 00:39:14.599 to be with you, 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:15.400 to walk through fire 00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:15.960 with you, 00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:17.019 to have you 00:39:17.019 --> 00:39:18.139 as the apple of our eye, 00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:19.299 the true joy of our hearts. 00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:20.799 So do that work in us now 00:39:20.799 --> 00:39:21.579 as we sing 00:39:21.579 --> 00:39:22.659 in Christ's name. 00:39:23.159 --> 00:39:23.380 Amen.