The scripture reading comes from Daniel, chapter 3.
Please follow along on the screen or the bulletin.
Starting in verse 1, we read,
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold,
whose height was 60 cubits and his breadth 6 cubits.
He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects and the governors,
the counsellors, the treasurers, the justice, the magistrates and all the officials of the province
to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
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 and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
And the herald proclaimed aloud,
You are commanded, O peoples, nations and languages,
that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music,
you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music,
all the peoples, nations and languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the jewels.
They declared King Nebuchadnezzar,
O king, live forever.
You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,
and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image.
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
These men, O king, pay no attention to you.
They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in fierce rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought.
So they brought these men before the king.
So they said,
And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?
They answered and said to the king,
O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
If this be so, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
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.
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against them.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.
Then he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind them and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments,
and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated,
the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these three men fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.
He declared to his counselors,
Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?
They answered and said to the king,
True, O king.
He answered and said,
But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt.
And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace.
He declared,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come near.
Then they came out from the fire,
and the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together
and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men.
Their hair of their heads was not singed,
their cloaks were not harmed,
and no smell of fire had come upon them.
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said,
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who has sent his angel and delivered his servants,
who trusted in him and set aside the king's command,
and yield up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god.
Therefore, I make a decree,
any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
shall be torn limb from limb,
and their houses lay in ruins,
for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.
Then the king promoted them in the province of Babylon.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you, Soda and Echo.
Good morning, everybody.
It is great to see you,
and it's great to see so many faces we haven't seen for months and months.
It really is wonderful to see you again.
If you are new to Watermark this morning,
my name is Kevin,
and I'm one of the leaders here.
It's great to be with you this morning.
Let's pray briefly and ask God to come and speak to us from His word.
So, Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning,
we come to your word, God,
because your word is living and active,
because the scriptures are not merely the invention of man.
They are your words which are breathed out by you, God.
They are given to us for our good,
that we may know you,
that we may live the life you've called us to live.
And so, God, we come to your word this morning
because we want to hear from you.
We haven't come just to hear the opinions of man.
We haven't come to hear a motivational talk.
We've come to hear from the living God.
And so, as we ponder and reflect on your word,
won't you speak to us?
Won't you encourage us?
God, won't you breathe courage into us this morning?
For those of us, God, who faith is faltering,
for those of us that are facing the challenges
of living in a broken world,
for those of us, God,
that are facing the temptation of compromise,
won't you breathe courage and conviction
into our hearts this morning, we pray.
We pray this in your glorious and your wonderful name.
Amen. Amen.
Sorry, again, if you're at the community center or at home,
welcome to you as well.
Now, we are working our way through the book of Daniel,
and we're about halfway through the series.
And the book of Daniel is all about, really,
the kingdoms of the world
and which kingdom is ultimately gonna last.
And last week, Chris shared Daniel 2 with us.
There's that amazing picture of the various statues.
And the big idea is that,
though there are lots of kingdoms in this world,
ultimately there is one king.
His kingdom is gonna last for all eternity.
That is the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus.
And so that's really what the book of Daniel is all about.
And then the book of Daniel asks us,
in light of that,
those of us that are followers of Jesus,
to live lives of faithfulness,
knowing that God is sovereign.
Remember the two main themes,
sovereignty and faithfulness?
God is sovereign, we are not.
God is faithful,
and therefore we can be faithful to him.
Now, up until this point in Daniel,
things have gone pretty well for Daniel
and for his friends,
for God's people.
They have gone to Babylon,
not their first choice,
but God took them there.
They've been enrolled in the king's college.
They had a kind of issue with the king's food,
but they got through that all right.
And then in chapter two,
Nebuchadnezzar, the king,
has this dream,
and his insecurity gets the better of him,
and so he makes this reckless decision.
He says,
all the wise men,
all the astrologers,
are to be eliminated,
destroyed.
And God, in his mercy,
gives Daniel and his friends insight.
God delivers them,
and they are saved,
and they come out,
and actually at the end of the story,
they are promoted to these
high-ranking positions in Israel.
And so up until now,
things have actually been going pretty all right.
Their faithfulness to God
has been good for them.
But that's about a change.
Because in chapter three,
their faithfulness to God
lands them in a bunch of trouble.
And so,
what we come to today
is actually what every follower of Jesus,
and those that are exploring the claims of Christ,
will come to at some point in their life.
And that is that following Jesus means
that inevitably,
we are going to face the fire.
That could be in your professional life,
it could be in your personal life,
it could be relationally.
Those that want to be faithful
to Christ,
will end up facing the fire.
And so the question
that Daniel 3 wants to ask us is,
how do we become the kind of people
that get the courage
and the conviction
to stand firm
in the midst of the fire?
And so that's really
the main point of Daniel 3.
This is what God wants us to see today.
That following God
will involve trouble.
It will often invite opposition.
But God's people are called
to have courage and conviction,
knowing that only God
can deliver those who trust Him.
And so let's dive in
and see what's going on here.
And so the story starts off
with Nebuchadnezzar building
this massive golden statue.
And the statue is probably
of the god Nebo,
the Babylonian god.
And Nebuchadnezzar does this
for a couple of reasons.
The one is that he's trying
to consolidate power
in his kingdom.
He's trying to unify
all the people in Babylon.
Remember, the Babylonian empire
was kind of the new
superpower of the world.
They had conquered
all sorts of nations,
Assyria, Israel,
the Medes, a whole bunch.
And so Babylon was actually
quite a diverse empire.
There were people
of all sorts of beliefs
and religions and backgrounds.
And that was okay.
But Nebuchadnezzar wants
to unify these around
one central image,
the image of his god Nebo.
Remember, Nebuchadnezzar
is named after Nebo.
Nebuchadnezzar is his name.
And so this is an act
of unification in the nation.
But the other reason
why he does this,
remember the dream
that he has in chapter 2
of this massive statue
and Daniel says,
you, O Nebuchadnezzar,
are the head of gold.
But after you,
there's going to come
another empire of silver
and bronze, etc., etc.
And Nebuchadnezzar hears this
and he's thinking,
wait, you're saying
that I'm only around
for a limited period of time
and then someone's going
to come and conquer
my empire?
Not if I've got anything
to do with it.
And so what he does
is he sets up the statue
where the whole thing
is gold.
Head, torso,
legs, body.
And what he's trying
to do is he's saying
my kingdom is going
to be an everlasting kingdom.
Daniel, you said
I'm only around
for 50 years, 70 years.
Forget that.
I'm here to stay.
In my Babylonian kingdom,
I'm here to last.
And so what he's trying
to do is build
this almost eternal monument
to his reign
that forever people
will know
Nebuchadnezzar was here.
He reigned
and his kingdom
lasts forever.
And so one of the things
that we're meant to see here
is this statue
that Nebuchadnezzar builds
is not just an example
of cultural mythology.
This is Nebuchadnezzar
trying to establish himself,
trying to set himself up
as almost a godlike figure.
He's trying to say
I am God.
He's trying to set up
this monument
to his glory.
Really.
And I don't know
if you remember this
in Daniel chapter 2
that Chris showed us
last week.
After Daniel
and his friends
they have this vision
in the night,
they understand
what the dream
that Nebuchadnezzar has means.
Daniel prays
this amazing prayer.
Look at what he says.
I think we've got it
on the screen
in verse 20.
He says this.
Blessed be the name
of God forever and ever.
God to whom belongs
wisdom and night.
He changes times
and season.
God removes kings
and sets up kings.
Okay, so Daniel
prays this prayer.
Chapter 2.
God is the one
who sets up kings
and removes kings.
Well, I don't know
if you picked up
in the passage
that Echo and Soda
read to us
how many times
it talks about
Nebuchadnezzar
setting up
this image of God.
I think we've got it
on the screen here.
In six times
in just the one paragraph
it talks about it.
He says,
Nebuchadnezzar made this image.
He set it up
on the plains of Dura.
At the dedication
of the image
that Nebuchadnezzar set up.
The image that
King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up.
They stood before
the image
that King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up.
They worshipped
the image
that King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up.
Again and again,
it's almost ironic,
it's almost meant
to be read satirically,
how often it tells us
that Nebuchadnezzar
has set up the statue
and what we meant
to remember
is in the chapter before
Daniel says,
actually there's only
one God
that really sets up kings
and that is
the eternal God.
And so what we meant
to see here
is Nebuchadnezzar
is trying to be like God.
He's trying to set himself
up on the throne
of the world.
He is the one
on the throne
of the superpower
of the world
and he's trying to say,
I am God.
And of course
that means
that not long,
it's not long
before these three
Jewish God-fearing men,
Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego
are going to get
into trouble
because they do not
bow down to
Nebuchadnezzar's God.
And so some Babylonians
take some issue
with this
and they come before
Nebuchadnezzar
in verse 8
and they bring
this accusation.
And verse 8 says
that they maliciously
accused Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego.
And verse 12
we are told that
they go to Nebuchadnezzar
and they say this,
that say these guys
that you have brought
from Israel,
they are a danger
to society.
They accuse them
of intolerance
and bigotry,
of undermining
the social good.
They say these guys
are a danger
to your kingship.
They're a danger
to our society.
They are espousing
views that we
don't agree with
and they bring
this accusation
against God's people.
And so look at
what happens
in verse 13.
Verse 13 says,
Then Nebuchadnezzar
in a furious rage,
he's mad
that these men
have dared
to defy him.
He commands
that Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego
be brought in.
And of course
this sets up
the drama
of the passage.
One of the things
we may need to see here
is that favor
in Babylon
is always short-lived.
And you are not meant
to build your life on it
or bank your life on it.
When we get favor
with society,
that's not a bad thing.
We can thank God for it.
Remember,
Jesus grew in favor
with man
and with God.
It's not a bad thing.
But favor
with the world
is always fickle.
It's always superficial.
And Daniel
wants to show us
that we shouldn't
bank our life
on the favor
of the things
of this world.
And so Nebuchadnezzar
calls these guys in
and he says,
Listen,
I've got a proposition
for you.
If you will just
bow down to my idol
and my image,
all will be well and good.
We'll just forget
this whole unfortunate affair
and let's just go on
with life
as it is.
But if not,
the fiery furnace
awaits you.
Friends,
for those of us
that are followers
of Jesus
or maybe you're looking
into the claims
of Christianity,
maybe you're still
on a spiritual journey
towards faith,
we need to reckon
with the biblical teaching
that those of us
that are followers
of Jesus,
those of us
that are Christians,
Christ is supreme
in the heart
of followers of Jesus.
And part of what it means
to be a follower of Jesus
is that we don't join in
with the worship
that our world espouses.
That doesn't mean
that we don't love our city,
we don't serve our city.
Remember,
one of the points of Daniel
is that God calls
God's people
into Babylon
to put down their roots,
to love and serve the city.
So we should not be
those that withdraw
from Hong Kong
and are antagonistic
or always blaming
or accusing
or telling the government
how bad they are.
No, no,
we have to love
and serve our city.
But as followers of Jesus,
because Christ is first
and supreme in our hearts,
that means we won't worship
the things
that our city worships.
We won't join in
the worship of our city.
As Christians,
one of the ways
that we seek
the good of the city
is by not necessarily
seeking its favor
and its praise,
but by not joining
in the worship
of our city,
but by courageously
and faithfully
living for God
even in the midst
of the city.
And so one of the ways
that we actually serve
and seek the welfare
of our city
is not to blend in
with our city
and just go with the flow,
but to love our city
by being faithful
and standing firm
for him
as we serve our city
and seek its welfare.
And that necessarily
means that at times
followers of Jesus
will be misunderstood.
At times we'll be
accused of things.
There's this amazing verse
in 2 Timothy chapter 3.
This is a verse
that's worth memorizing
where Paul writes
to this young pastor
Timothy and he says,
all who desire
to live a godly life
in Christ
will be persecuted.
And that means
you just need to reckon
with the fact
that if you're going
to be faithful to Jesus
you will not always
be understood
or praised
or admired.
James chapter 4 says,
don't you know
that friendship
with the world
means enmity with God?
And James is not saying
that as Christians
we should always
pick a fight
with our world
and always try
and accuse it
of all sorts of things.
but he's saying
that you can't
serve the idols
of our city
and try and serve Jesus.
You can't love money
and love God.
You can't give yourself
to the sexual ethic
of our world
and give yourself
to Jesus.
Those two things
are incompatible.
But that's what
Nebuchadnezzar wants,
right?
Nebuchadnezzar nowhere
says to the Jews,
listen,
stop worshipping Yahweh,
you've got to worship me alone.
He nowhere tells them
that they can't be Jews.
He says,
no,
you can continue worshipping.
You can continue
praying to Yahweh.
That's fine.
Just as long as you
bow down to my statue
as well.
And if you think about it,
I wonder just how easy
it might have been
for these followers
of God's people
to justify it themselves.
They could have said
things like,
well, you know,
God has put us
in positions of influence.
Who else is going
to witness to Nebuchadnezzar
if we die in the furnace?
I mean,
God has put us here
for a reason.
They could have said,
listen,
if we don't bow down,
we're going to offend
the Babylonians
and then who's going
to tell them
about Yahweh?
I mean,
actually,
for the sake of witness,
we better just bow down
and not offend them.
If it was me,
I think I probably
would have said
something like,
I'll bow down
with my body,
but in my heart,
I'll really be standing up,
right?
No,
friends,
what these men do
is they somehow
find the courage
and the conviction
to go against the flow
and that means
that they are called
to face the fire.
And so once again,
we're faced with this question,
where do we find the courage?
Where do we find
the conviction
to become the men
and the women of God
that will not look
for a fight,
but stand in the face
of the fire?
Well,
look briefly
at the very last few verses
of Daniel chapter 3.
Look at verse 28 with me.
This is after
they've kind of
come through the fire
and Nebuchadnezzar
says this amazing thing.
He says,
Blessed be the God
of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego,
for they trusted in Him.
That's the key word.
They trusted in Him
and set aside
the king's command.
It's amazing
that they are commended
by the king
for defying the king.
That's quite an amazing thing.
Yielding up their bodies
rather than serving
and worshipping my God.
One of the things
that I think
we're meant to see here
is that courage
and conviction
to face the fire
is not a matter
of personality
and it's not a matter
of natural bravery
but rather it's courage
that's born out of trust.
Notice that we know
very little
about these three men.
We know nothing
about their personality.
Were they introverts
or were they extroverts?
Were they go-getter
A-type leaders
or were they quiet followers?
In the book of Daniel
it seems that Daniel
really is the kind of
main character
and these guys are,
they follow his lead.
But we don't actually know
anything about
their personalities at all.
And I think what God
wants to show us here
is that courage
and conviction
is not a matter of
personality,
type,
or your upbringing.
It's born out of
a quiet confidence,
a trust in who God is
and what he's done for us.
Some of us may feel like
I'm never going to be
a bold leader,
someone who stirs things up
and makes a change in society.
That's okay.
But if you can find
the quiet confidence
that comes from knowing
who God is,
God can use you.
And you may face the fire
but God will give you
the courage to stand firm.
And so let's look at
verses 15 to 18.
We're going to focus on that
for a little bit.
We're going to find
three things,
of course three things.
You're only allowed
three points in a sermon.
And so three things
that these guys found
that gave them the courage
and the conviction to stand.
And so the first one is this,
they somehow knew
the power of God.
Look at verse 15 with me.
Nebuchadnezzar brings
these guys in
and he once again
tells them about
all the musical instruments
and he says,
if you will fall down
and worship the image
that I've made,
well and good.
We'll just put this
inconvenient situation
behind us.
We'll just pretend
it didn't happen.
But if you do not worship,
you shall immediately
be cast into a burning,
fiery furnace.
And who is the God
that will deliver you
out of my hands?
What Nebuchadnezzar
is really saying
is who is powerful enough
for you to deliver you
from my great power,
my authority?
And these three men
very simply just say,
well God is.
They answer him
very matter-of-factly.
Look at what they say
in verse 16.
Oh Nebuchadnezzar,
we have no need
to answer you
in this matter.
And what that means
really is
there's no discussion.
We don't even need
to debate it.
The simple matter
of the fact is
God is able to deliver us.
God is strong enough.
We know that you are powerful.
We know that in a human sense
you are the most powerful man
in the whole world.
We know that you have
supreme authority.
But you are not
the supreme authority
in the entire world.
God is.
And what these men know
is that though
Nebuchadnezzar
is supremely powerful
in one sense,
even his power
and his authority
has been granted
by him,
by God,
the one true
and supreme authority one.
What these men know
is that Nebuchadnezzar
is only there
because God
has put him on the throne.
Remember,
it's God who sets up kings.
It's God who sets up kingdoms.
It's God who gives life
and takes away life.
It's God's air
that they breathe.
It's God who upholds
the universe
by the word of his power.
The God that they serve
is the God
who has faithfully
looked after his people.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The one who has
delivered his people
from Egypt
and from Pharaoh's grasp.
The one who delivered
his people through the Red Sea
and brought them
into Promised Land.
The God that they serve
is the God that has
brought them
out of Palestine
and into Babylon
at this time.
And God is supreme
and on the throne.
And so Nebuchadnezzar
looks at them
and says,
who is able to deliver you?
Who is as powerful
as I am?
And they simply say,
well, God is.
Well, God is.
And so friends,
the question for us is,
what do we think of God?
Maybe more importantly
is what do you feel
about God?
Do you know that God
really is the one
supreme authority
on the throne?
Do we know that
not just intellectually
in our heads
but in our hearts?
One of the secrets
of the Christian life
is to be able
to bring our theology,
what we believe about God,
to bear on the reality
of our lives
so that it actually
impacts our lives
in the day-to-day
reality of life.
Carl Johnson
points out that
one of the things
that these men do so well
is they compare
the thing that's
intimidating them,
in this case,
Nebuchadnezzar,
with who God is.
And they actually
do the mental exercise
and say,
well,
let's compare these two
and they come out
knowing God
is supremely
authoritative.
It's one thing
to know theoretically
that God is powerful,
that God created
the universe,
but courage and conviction
are not just born
out of what we know
theoretically
or theologically,
it's actually what we
believe deep in our hearts.
And so the secret
of the Christian life
is to bring that
to bear on our life.
And so friends,
maybe we can ask you
this morning,
what is it that you
find intimidating
or scary?
What person,
what circumstance,
what scenario
that you play out
in your mind,
what institution
intimidates you,
makes you feel afraid?
Friends,
God wants you to know
that those things
may be powerful,
but that your life
is not in their hands.
Your life is in the hands
of the sovereign God.
And so these men,
they know the power of God.
The second thing they know
is the sovereign wisdom
of God.
Now,
this is quite amazing.
Look at verse 18
with me.
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
obviously have this
incredible trust
in God's power
for when Nebuchadnezzar
says,
who is powerful enough
to deliver you
out of my hands?
They say,
well,
God is.
And so look at how
they say it in verse 18.
They say,
our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us
from your hands.
Sorry,
from the fiery furnace.
And he will deliver us
out of your hands,
O king.
But then look at verse 18.
But if not,
be it known to you,
O Nebuchadnezzar,
we will not serve your gods
or worship the golden image
that you've set up.
So look at what they say here.
On the one hand,
they say,
we know that God
is able to save us.
We know that God
will deliver us
out of your hands.
But even if he doesn't,
that's okay.
We know that God
is still sovereign,
in charge,
and glorious
and on the throne.
In other words,
what they're saying is,
even more than God's power
and his ability,
even more than that,
their confidence
is born out of a faith
that in God's sovereign wisdom,
he knows what he's doing
even if the outcome
that God does
is not what they
would have chosen.
They're saying,
we know God
is able to deliver us.
We know God
will deliver us
from your hands.
But even if he doesn't,
we still know
that God is good,
that he's faithful,
that he's sovereign,
that he's on the throne,
and that he is trustworthy.
Friends,
they know that he's good.
They know that he's faithful.
They know that he's powerful.
But what they don't know
is how God
will choose to act
in this particular circumstance.
Do you see that?
And yet,
their faith is steadfast.
They do not waver
in unbelief.
And that means
that they're not tying
their view
to who God is,
nor they're tying
their faithfulness
to God
to any particular outcome.
Their faith
in who God is
rests simply
in who he is,
not in
a particular outcome
that they do
or do not want.
And that's really
what faith is.
Faith means trusting God
for being God,
not because
he will give us
an outcome
that we particularly
want or desire.
We actually see
the same thing
in Acts chapter 12.
In Acts chapter 12,
this amazing situation.
King Herod
is persecuting
the Christians,
because they're
causing trouble,
they're turning
the city upside down.
And so two apostles,
James and Peter,
are arrested
and thrown into jail.
And James
has his head
cut off.
He's beheaded,
right?
That's the end.
And it says that
when Herod saw
how the crowds
loved this,
he decided to do
the same thing
to Peter.
But miraculously,
that night,
an angel arrives
in the prison,
opens up the prison doors,
sets Peter free,
and Peter is a free man.
And the chapter
ends with Herod
dying
and Peter living.
Okay?
So it starts off,
James dies,
Peter's on the way
to dying,
Herod dies,
and Peter gets
set free.
You following?
Now here's the question.
Why does James die
and Peter lives?
I mean,
did James not have
enough faith?
Did he not pray enough?
Was he not courageous enough?
Did he not trust God enough?
No friends,
that's not the answer.
The answer is,
God in his sovereign wisdom
knew what he was doing.
And Shadrach,
Bishak,
and Abednego
know the same thing here.
They've got a desired outcome.
We hope we'll be delivered.
We know God is able
to deliver us.
We know that God
will deliver us
from your hands,
O Nebuchadnezzar.
That may happen through
saving us from the furnace.
It may happen by
dying in the furnace
and going to glory.
God will deliver us
from your hands.
But what we don't know
is how God will act
in this circumstance.
And yet we'll still trust him.
Because we know
that he is faithful.
Friends,
I wonder what you're facing
right now.
I wonder if you want
to just take a moment
to think about
what is the thing
that you're facing.
Will you trust him?
Will you commit
to trusting him
no matter the outcome?
Not just when things
work out the way
that we want,
but to trust him
for who he is.
He's faithful.
He's sovereign.
He's all-powerful.
He's loving
and he's gracious.
We can trust him.
These men trust God's power
and they trust God's
sovereign wisdom.
But I want to put to us today
that these two things,
this knowing in our minds
God's power
and his sovereignty,
is not the main reason
why we make compromises
and why we struggle
for courage and conviction
in the face of the fire.
I don't know what kind of fire
you may be facing.
It may be,
or what kind of compromises
you may be tempted with.
For some of us,
maybe you're dating someone
and they want to pressurize you
to move in together
or to sleep together
before marriage.
And your boyfriend
or your girlfriend
is pressurizing you
and saying,
oh, if you really loved me,
what's going to give you
the courage to stand firm?
Maybe professionally,
your boss
is putting pressure on you
to make an unethical decision
or to compromise somehow.
And it seems like
if you stand up to your boss,
it's the end of your career.
What's going to give us,
what is the reason
why we are tempted
to compromise?
Many of us will know
that God is powerful.
We know that God is sovereign.
It's not our theology
that's the problem.
There's something else
going on in our lives
that leads us
to want to compromise
in the face of great pressure.
When the fire comes
and we are faced
with the furnace,
what is it that really
causes us to surrender?
Well, as we've heard
so many times,
our behavior
and our decisions
are far more shaped
by what our hearts love
than what our heads know.
And that means
that the reason
for our compromises
is not just that
we don't know enough theology,
it's that our hearts
long to feel secure,
to feel safe,
to feel affirmed,
to be praised by others.
And so the longing
of our hearts
actually often leads us
to decisions
more than the theology
of our heads.
The real reason
why we often fail
to do what's right,
to stand for what's true,
to confront what's wrong,
is because actually
there's more of Nebuchadnezzar
inside of us
than we acknowledge
or we like to admit.
I know that might sound
a little intense,
but just think about
how much money,
how much energy,
how much time,
how much attention
do we give,
or our city gives,
to cultivating our own image,
or to seeking the affirmation
and the approval of others?
How much effort and time
goes into cultivating
our image on social media,
or maybe our professional image,
our CV,
or our professional,
yeah,
image in the marketplace?
And so in many ways,
we actually can try
and build up this idol,
this image,
much like Nebuchadnezzar.
Or just,
I don't know if you noticed,
twice,
it talks about how
Nebuchadnezzar,
in furious rage,
is angry
because things don't go his way.
Friends,
do I need to ask
how many of us
have got angry recently
when things have not
gone our way?
When maybe a junior
or subordinate
has defied us?
Or maybe our children
have gone against us?
And if I'm honest,
there's more of Nebuchadnezzar
in my heart
than I like to admit.
As one pastor put it,
it's not just that
we live in a culture
of idolatry,
it's actually that
we are idolaters ourselves.
And so what that means,
really,
is that
we don't just need
to know the power of God
and the sovereignty of God
and the wisdom of God.
Ultimately,
we need to know
the man of God.
The man of God
who went into the fire
with us
and the man of God
who went into the fire
for us.
And so look at the third thing.
The power of God,
the wisdom of God,
the man of God.
And so look at what happens
in verse 24.
Nebuchadnezzar
has never experienced
such defiance before.
He's not used to people
speaking to him like this.
And so filled
with this furious rage,
he orders the furnace
to get heated up
to the max.
And Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
get what they ask for.
And so they are bound up
by rope,
they tied up,
and they are thrown
into the furnace.
And in verse 24,
look what happens.
Nebuchadnezzar
takes up his position
to see these suckers burn.
And to his great astonishment,
he sees them walking around
in the furnace,
unbound and unharmed.
And so look at what it says.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar
was astonished.
He rose up in haste.
He said to his counselors,
Did we not cast three men
bound into the fire?
They answered and said to the king,
That's true, O Lord,
we did.
He answered and said,
But I see four men
unbound,
walking in the midst
of the fire,
and they do not seem
to be hurt.
And the appearance
of the fourth
is like one of the sons
of the gods.
Having thrown these guys
into the furnace
to his amazement,
Nebuchadnezzar sees
that they are
not only not hurt,
they are not only alive
and well,
but there is some divine,
some angelic being
that is in the furnace
with them.
And Shadrach,
Neshach,
and Abednego
realize that
whoever this being is,
his presence
in the furnace
is the reason
why they are delivered.
In fact,
that's the conclusion
that Nebuchadnezzar
comes to.
Look at,
I think it's verse 28,
he says,
God sent his angel
and delivered
these servants
who trusted in him.
Nebuchadnezzar realizes
whoever this being is,
whoever this angel
or this divine being is,
his presence
in the furnace
has rescued them,
has saved them,
has delivered them.
God has sent a man
to save his people.
And friends,
that of course
is the message
of the Bible.
Because God
has sent a man,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
to save his people,
to rescue his people,
to deliver all those
who will trust in him.
Friends,
the Bible teaches us
that the way
that God would save us
is not just by sending
Jesus into the fire
with us,
but ultimately
sending Jesus
into the fire
for us.
Jesus Christ
went to the cross
clothed with our sin
and our shame,
with my sin
and with your shame.
Jesus was not just
bound with ropes,
he was nailed
to the very cross.
And Jesus there
on the cross
faced the full fury,
the furnace
of God's
righteous anger
and his just judgment.
for all the sins
of the world.
Jesus didn't just face
the fury of Nebuchadnezzar
or Herod
or Pontius Pilate
or Caesar Augustus.
Jesus faced
the wrath
of the righteous God
for our sins,
my sins
and your sins,
for my idolatry
and for your idolatry.
And friends,
the great problem
that we face
is not just
the opposition
and the persecution
from people
like Nebuchadnezzar
or your boss
or your parents
or your boyfriend,
the great problem
that we face
is not just
that we are facing
persecution
because we've stood up
to some tyrant,
because we have done
some good.
The great problem
that humanity faces
is that we have
turned our back
on God.
We have worshipped
created things
rather than
the creator himself.
We've rejected God
and now we are destined
for eternal hell
and judgment.
We've set ourselves up
like Nebuchadnezzar
as our own gods.
We have loved
rather than serving
and loving
the one true God.
And that means
that ultimately
all of us
should face
the fire
of God's wrath.
But of course
the whole point
of the Bible
is that God
sent a man.
God sent
not just
an angelic being,
not just one
like the sons
of the gods,
he sent his son himself,
Jesus Christ,
the righteous one,
to come
and to save
and to deliver
those who will
trust in him.
And so what that
means is that
now when we
face the fire,
when we face
the temptation,
when we are tempted
to compromise
and to,
when we are
tempted to
bow down
to the things
that when the
pressure is on,
what that means
is we can look
to the one
who's gone
to the fire
for us.
What it means
is that when God
does bring trials
into our life,
we know that
Jesus has gone
and faced
the ultimate fire.
And our confidence
to stand firm
in him
can give us
the confidence
to stand firm
and to stand up
to the temptations
of this world.
Friends,
we don't need
to preserve ourselves.
We don't need
to save ourselves.
We don't need
to get angry
or scared
or frustrated
when things
don't go our way,
when people refuse us.
We don't need
to establish
a name for ourselves
or establish
an image for ourselves
or build up our image
because our life
is not in our hands.
Our life
is in the hands
of the one
who has gone
to the fire
for us.
Friends,
because Jesus
went into the fire
for us,
he gives us a name.
He gives us a status.
He gives us an identity.
He gives us a favor
that no compromise
in this world
can ever give you.
That no compromise
with this world
will ever secure
for you.
That no concession
that we're tempted
to make
will ever give you.
Jesus gives that
to you
and that means
that we can stand
firm in the flame.
And so,
Julian read it
to us earlier
but look at what
Isaiah 43 says.
God says this,
Fear not
for I have redeemed you.
I have called you
by name
and you are mine.
When you pass
through the waters
I will be with you.
Through the rivers
they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk
through the fire
you will not be burnt.
When the flames
come around you
they will not consume you.
For I am
the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior.
Friends,
following Jesus
will necessarily
involve trouble.
It will at times
invite opposition
and persecution.
But God's people
are called
to have courage
and conviction.
God's people
are called
to stand firm
knowing and trusting
that only God
can deliver us
and save those
who trust in Him.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus Christ
we are so grateful
for you
the one who
delivers us
from the fire
and the furnace
of true affliction.
Jesus,
every one of us
here this morning
in many ways
are facing
our own temptations.
God,
we like Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego
day in and day out.
God,
in the marketplace,
at work,
at home,
in relationships
and our finances
are tempted,
God,
to compromise
and to trust
the systems
of this world.
We tempted,
God,
to add
a little bit
of worship
of the things
of this world
to you.
But God,
we need you.
And so God,
I pray,
won't you build
our faith?
God,
won't you give us
the courage
and the conviction?
Won't you open
our eyes
to see you
for who you are?
God,
won't you help us
to see that you,
Jesus,
went to the fire
for us
and now promised
to walk through
the fire with us.
Jesus,
won't you help us
to see your supreme
power and authority?
And God,
I pray for those
of us here
this morning
that are struggling,
that are maybe
in the very midst
of grappling
with whether
to make these
compromises,
concessions.
Christ,
won't you come
and fill us
with your spirit
and help us
to see you
and know you
for who you
really are.
Jesus,
we desperately
need you
and we need
your Holy Spirit.
So come
and have your way
in our life
and in our hearts
we pray.
Friends,
maybe just
let's take a moment
and just ask
Christ to
come and give you
courage and conviction.
Come and give you
the faith that you
need to walk
with Him
through the challenges
that you face.
It's not just
the theology
that we need,
it's actually
the Spirit
doing a work
in our hearts.
Holy Spirit,
come with you.
come and help us
we pray.
Come and help us
we pray.