If you have your Bibles, follow along with me in just a moment.
In Daniel chapter 3, we're going to be looking at Daniel chapter 3.
! And don't panic.
I know everybody's seeing those 30 verses.
I'm not going to keep us here beyond 1230.
So, but a few years after I got out of seminary,
I was serving a church south of Louisville, Kentucky,
and I received a phone call from a former church member
where I had served as youth pastor during my seminary days.
Unfortunately, the phone call wasn't to get acquainted again
and catch up on old times, but to share with me
that one of the youth that had been in my youth group
had been killed in a car accident.
What made that a bad situation even more troubling
was that it was the pastor's son.
Now, he and his wife, they had not been able to have children,
and so they had tried for years to adopt.
And a little bit later in life, to start a family,
they were able to adopt a little boy,
and they named him Matthew
because Matthew means a gift from God.
And so they treated that child like he indeed was a gift from God.
And they raised him in the church
and to believe in God and to live for the Lord.
And he was a good young man.
He was.
He honored his parents.
He honored the Lord.
And he grew up to be a big boy
who went to college to play football
at one of the Baptist colleges in Kentucky.
And he had come home over the Christmas break,
dropped his laundry off at the house,
and took off to hang out with some friends.
His parents never even saw him.
And then that night, he was coming home,
and he got off the side of the road a little bit too far in a curve,
and he overcompensated and came back across the road
and went off the road again.
If he had just stayed off the road on either occasion,
he would have been fine.
But he tried to steer it back onto the road again
on an oncoming car, hit him in the side,
and killed him instantly.
You know, at times in our lives,
it's hard to understand the will of God, isn't it?
At times, it's very difficult to process
and wonder the things that God does or allows.
And maybe sometimes it's even harder to understand
the things that God does not do.
You know, we go before God, and we pray in faith,
and we ask him to protect.
We ask him to heal.
We ask him to save our loved ones who are lost.
And to work in our lives and situations and circumstances
that we may be struggling with.
And we ask God to come into our lives
and to work in a way that only he can do.
And we come knowing that God is all-powerful, almighty,
and he can do it.
But there are other times when God doesn't answer us
in the manner in which we hope.
He doesn't answer us in the way we've asked
or even depended upon and trusted.
The healing that we pray for doesn't come.
The door doesn't open.
The person we love doesn't get better.
Situations didn't change.
And we wonder in situations like this,
Matthew was given to his parents as a gift.
And after 18 years, he was taken away from them.
And it's hard to understand why God would allow
something like that to happen.
And so we have faith in God.
We know he's all-powerful, almighty,
and he can do all things.
But it's in moments like this that we struggle to have faith.
It's moments like this that really challenge our faith
and to understand the Lord.
And that's why today we're going to be looking at Daniel chapter 3.
And everybody here, if you grew up in church,
or if you've been in church any period of time in your life,
this is going to be a familiar Bible story lesson to you.
But I want to take it to a new level today, hopefully.
It's not just a story about three young Jewish guys
in a fiery furnace that we learned about in Sunday school.
It's a story about faith
and how we can have faith in the Lord
even when he doesn't answer our prayers.
Or he doesn't answer them in the way we hoped,
that we had cried out for,
we trusted,
or maybe we don't even see him working at all.
We don't see it.
We know God is always working in our lives,
but we may not understand it.
And so this is a story about taking our faith
as children of God to a new level,
trusting his plan and his will
in our lives when it's hurtful.
It's painful.
You know, it's difficult for us to cope with and deal with.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God could save them.
They had no doubt about that.
They knew God could,
even though their nation had been defeated by the Babylonians
and they had been exiled,
you know, to live in Babylon,
they still trusted and believed that God could do this.
But their faith wasn't based on that.
Their faith wasn't based on the fact that God would do what they asked
or what they needed or what,
or from their eyes,
and what they wanted.
Their faith was based upon who God was,
his character,
his holiness,
and that he is the only one true God.
And they were willing,
we'll see in just a moment,
to say,
our God is able to deliver us,
but even if he doesn't,
we will still worship him.
And that's what I want us to talk about today
as children of God,
is how we can take our faith to a whole new level.
How we have faith in God
in the midst of the struggles,
in the midst of the pain,
in the midst of the suffering,
in the midst of the silence.
How do we say,
our God is able,
but if not.
But if he doesn't.
We're still going to trust him,
we're still going to worship him,
and we're going to give our lives fully and completely
to him in all things.
So, before we jump into our scripture this morning,
in Daniel chapter 3,
I want us to go to the Lord in prayer.
Father, we thank you for the day.
Thank you, Lord, for this nation.
Thank you for the freedoms that we have here
to assemble together as the body of Christ
and to worship you.
But thank you even more
that your son died for us,
that your son bought our freedom from our sin,
that we might be cleansed,
we might be forgiven to be in a right relationship with you.
And I pray, Lord, today as we study your word,
that you'll speak to each of our hearts.
For those who are facing challenges,
difficulties,
hardships,
or maybe struggling with faith,
I ask, Lord,
that you are here
with us
and that you're speaking to us,
helping us to feel your hand upon us.
And we thank you for that,
and we praise you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So I know we've got 30 verses here,
but we're going to shorten it a little bit.
I'm going to, well,
I'm not going to shorten it too much,
but I'm going to break it up
and not read it all at once.
But just so you know,
this is taking place in Babylon.
It was a customary in that day
when a nation conquered another nation
that they would come in
and they would find the wisest,
the most educated,
the most skilled,
and they would uproot them
and relocate them somewhere else.
It helped keep from uprisings
and rebellions
as they did that,
and they would mix them
and mingle them
with other peoples.
That's why the Samaritans
were hated by the true Jews
because that very thing
had taken place in Samaria
where a lot of the people were Jews,
but then other people were brought in
and they mingled,
and then none of them
could trace their lineage
directly back to being a pure Jew.
And so that's why
in the New Testament days
we see such a hatred
towards the Samaritan people
by the Jews.
So let's look at the first 18 verses
at this time together.
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue
90 feet tall and 9 feet wide,
and he set it up on the plain of Dura
in the province of Babylon.
Then he sent messages
to the high officers,
officials, governors, advisors,
treasurers, judges, magistrates,
and all the provincial officials
to come to the dedication
of the statue he had set up.
So all these officials came
and stood before the statue
King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then a herald shouted out,
People of all races and nations
and languages,
listen to the king's command.
When you hear the sound of the horn,
the flute, the zither, lyre, harp,
pipes, and other musical instruments,
bow to the ground
to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.
Anyone who refuses to obey
will immediately be thrown
into a blazing furnace.
So at the sound of the musical instruments,
all the people,
whatever their race or nation or language,
bowed to the ground
and worshipped the gold statue
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
But some of the astrologers
went to the king
and informed on the Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar,
Long live the king.
You issued a decree
requiring all the people
to bow down
and worship the gold statue
when they hear the sound
of the horn, flute, zither,
lyre, harp, pipes,
and other musical instruments.
That decree also states
that those who refuse to obey
must be thrown
into a blazing furnace.
But there are some Jews,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
whom you have put in charge
of the province of Babylon.
They pay no attention
to you, your majesty.
They refuse to serve your gods
and do not worship
the gold statue
that you have set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar flew
into a rage
and ordered that Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego
be brought before him.
When they were brought in,
Nebuchadnezzar said to them,
Is it true,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you refuse
to serve my gods
or to worship
the gold statue
I have set up?
I will give you
one more chance
to bow down
and worship the statue
I have made
when you hear the sound
of the musical instruments.
But if you refuse,
you will be thrown
immediately
into the blazing furnace.
And then what god
will be able
to rescue you
from my power?
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego replied,
Oh Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not need
to defend ourselves
before you.
If we are thrown
into the blazing furnace,
the god whom we serve
is able to save us.
He will rescue us
from your power,
your majesty.
Now listen to this.
But even if he doesn't,
we want to make it clear
to you, your majesty,
that we will never
serve your gods
or worship the gold statue
you have set up.
You know,
after being defeated
by the Babylonians,
you know,
a lot of the Jews,
the skilled,
educated,
individuals were moved.
And Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego,
along with men like Daniel,
were identified
as individuals
who had great wisdom
and leadership abilities.
So they were given
responsibilities
within the Babylonian Empire.
And then,
Nebuchadnezzar
builds this gold statue,
90 feet high.
That's the size of a nine-story building.
And nine feet wide.
And he orders that everyone,
when the music is played,
that everyone would bow down
and worship the gods
that King Nebuchadnezzar
had designated
or that they worshipped
in that area,
which was not the God of Israel,
not, you know,
Yahweh.
And so,
he commanded them.
And he made it very clear
what would happen
if they did not.
This wasn't a suggestion.
It wasn't a request.
It was a command
and made it very clear
that if they did not bow,
immediately,
they would be thrown
into a fiery furnace.
You didn't have time to think.
If you didn't bow down
right now,
you're being thrown
into a fiery furnace.
So Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
they knew the command
and they knew the consequences
very clearly
of that command.
And the scriptures
don't tell us
that they got together
and talked about it,
but they may have
because there's three of them
and they were all in agreement.
they were not bowing down
to that statue
because they knew
the laws of Israel
and that God had given them
to not have any images,
any idols,
to bow before no one
besides God himself.
And so,
they were not going
to bow down
to this statue.
And that tells us
something really important
here in the scripture
that we don't need to miss.
That sometimes
this type of faith,
this type of allegiance
to God
and dedication to God
has to be determined
in advance.
We can't wait
until we're face to face
with the situation
and then all of a sudden
try to muster up
the courage
to stand for the Lord.
We have to decide
in advance,
maybe today,
right now,
what we're going to do
when we're confronted
with compromising
compromising our faith,
maybe compromise
to not honor the Lord
but to adopt the practices
and the customs
of our culture.
You know,
we may never be asked
to bow down
before a gold statue.
I can almost guarantee
that you won't.
But the world still puts
a lot of pressure
on us,
doesn't it?
It pressures us
to remain quiet,
to blend in,
to compromise
what God has called us
to be and to do.
God has called us
to be set apart
and to be different
from the world
and yet there's all
this pressure
from the world
for us to blend in
and to be just like
everyone else,
to make comfort
a God
or entertainment
our God
or to strive
for success
as if that is
the most important thing
in our lives.
But God has called us
not to get entangled
in the things
of this world,
to be set apart,
to be different
and to honor Him
and to not go along
with culture
and we may think
well the whole world
is going this way
and I'm just one person.
But I want you to notice
as we'll continue
in the scriptures
in just a moment,
these three guys
took a stand
and you will see
when we read
the final verses
the impact
that those three guys,
they were willing
to die
and if it weren't
for God delivering them,
they certainly would have
but their faith
made a huge difference.
Our faith today,
it may not change
the world
but our faith today
can change those
around us.
It can change
our families,
maybe friends,
neighbors,
those around us
who see us
living for the Lord
and not compromising
our faith,
not adopting the
beliefs of this world
that we live in
and as our nation
drifts further and
further away
from the foundation
of which it stands,
we need Christians
taking a stand,
not necessarily
being obnoxious
and loud
but just to live
out your faith
and not compromise
what God
has certainly
called us to do.
Well,
when Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
when they refused
to bow,
there were those
just like with Daniel
who were jealous
of them,
they wanted maybe
their leadership
position
and so they went
and they told
Nebuchadnezzar
that they had
refused to bow
and reminded him
of the consequences
of that
and Nebuchadnezzar
became furious.
He was a pretty
prideful kind of guy
and when he spoke,
everybody listened
because if you didn't,
he would do away
with you
and so he was used
to getting his way
and so he asked
them a question
that was really
important.
He says,
who is the God
who will deliver
you out of my hands?
I mean,
he's already
conquered Israel
and he feels like
he's conquered
the God of Israel
so he's asking them,
what God
are you believing
in now?
Who's going
to deliver
you from me?
And then their response
is one of the
strongest responses
in all of Scripture
of faith
and trust
and worship
of God.
You know,
they said
the God
that they served,
the God
of Israel
would deliver
them.
They believed
that God
could rescue
them
from the furnace
and from the power
but then
what they continue
to say
takes the story
to a whole
new level
because their
faith
wasn't just
based in God
doing what
they asked.
their faith
was in
God alone
and they said
our God
will deliver
us
but even
if he
doesn't.
Let that
sink in a minute.
How much
of our
worship
or our faith
is God
taking care
of us,
providing for us,
answering prayers?
How much
of our
loyalty
and allegiance?
our faith
but what if
we stood
on the edge
of a fiery
furnace
and we knew
we were getting
ready to go
in?
You know,
their faith
was even
if he
doesn't,
we still
will worship
him.
You know,
this is sometimes
where we struggle
in life,
don't we?
When we
pray,
we cry out
to the Lord,
we ask God
to work
and we move
and he either
says no
or maybe
he's remained
silent
for the moment.
Maybe we're not
hearing,
maybe we're not
seeing,
maybe we're not
feeling him
do anything.
And it's a real
challenge
to maintain
faith,
isn't it?
The hard part
is trusting
God
when he's
not doing
what we
think
we need
him to do.
we think
he needs
to do
this
or move
in this
way
or act
in that
way
or deliver
us from
this
or open
this door
for us
or change
the situation
and we
think,
God,
you need
to do
this
and it's
real hard
to maintain
faith over
a period
of time,
maybe years,
maybe decades
that we've
been praying
and God
has not
answered
in the manner
in which
we want
him to
or in
the way
we think
he should.
But true
faith,
true worship
of Jesus
is not
based on
him doing
what we
ask him
to do.
True
faith is
knowing that
God knows
what we
need far
more than
we do.
God
knows
what he's
doing in
our lives
and he
may be
preparing us
for something,
he may be
putting us
through
difficulties,
hardships,
so that
he's
rooting out
pride,
materialism,
unforgiveness,
a hard
heart.
He may be
preparing us
for work
like he
was Joseph
to get him
ready for
something and
we have to
learn to
come to
him even
when we
don't
understand,
even when
it's painful,
even when
it's sacrificial
and it
cost us
something to
stand and
worship him.
Now, what
we're going to
learn next,
and I know
we're running
short on time,
but I won't
charge any
extra,
is God
may not
deliver us
from the
fire,
but he'll
be there
with us
in the
fire.
So let's
look at
verses 19
through 29.
Nebuchadnezzar
was so
furious with
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
that his
face became
distorted
with rage.
He commanded
that the
furnace be
heated seven
times hotter
than usual.
Then he
ordered some
of the
strongest men
of his
army to
bind Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
and throw
them into
the blazing
furnace.
So they
tied them
up and
threw them
into the
furnace,
fully dressed
in their
pants,
turbans,
robes,
and other
garments.
And because
the king
in his
anger had
demanded
such a
hot fire
in the
furnace,
the flames
killed the
soldiers as
they threw
the three
men in.
So Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
securely tied
fell into
the roaring
flames.
But suddenly
Nebuchadnezzar
jumped up in
amazement and
exclaimed to
his advisors,
didn't we tie
up three men
and throw them
into the
furnace?
Yes,
your majesty,
we certainly
did,
they replied.
Well,
look,
Nebuchadnezzar
shouted,
I see four
men,
unbound,
walking around
in the fire
unharmed,
and the
fourth looks
like a
god.
Then
Nebuchadnezzar
came as
close as he
could to
the door
of the
flaming
furnace,
and he
shouted,
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
servants of
the most
high god.
Pay attention
to that.
Remember
earlier he
said,
what god
is going
to deliver
you?
And now
look,
because of
their faith,
look what
he's saying,
servants of
the most
high god,
come out,
come here.
So Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
stepped out
of the fire,
then the
high officers,
officials,
governors,
and advisors
crowded around
them and saw
that the fire
had not
touched
them.
Not a hair
on their
heads was
singed,
and their
clothing was
not scorched,
they didn't
even smell
like smoke.
Then
Nebuchadnezzar
said,
praise to
the god
of Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego.
He sent
his angels
to rescue
his servants
who trusted
in him.
They
defied
the king's
command
and were
willing to
die rather
than serve
or worship
any god
except their
own god.
Therefore,
I make
this decree.
If any
people,
whatever their
race or
nation or
language,
speak a
word against
the god
of Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
they will
be torn
limb from
limb and
their houses
will be
turned into
heat of
rubble.
There is
no other
god who
can rescue
like this.
You know,
Nebuchadnezzar
had ordered
that the
fire be
heated up
seven times
hotter
than normal
and he
found the
strongest of
his soldiers
to bind
them and
throw them
into the
fire.
Now,
at that
moment in
time,
you might
think,
and these
poor,
young,
naive men,
they could
have just
bowed.
They didn't
have to
pledge allegiance
in their
heart,
did they?
They could
have just
bowed before
that statue
and gone
on about
life and
lived happily
ever after.
Nobody would
have known.
They could
have apologized
They could
to God
later and
asked for
forgiveness.
It looked
like they
had made
the wrong
choice.
It looked
like they
had put
their hope
and faith
in the
wrong thing.
They're
getting ready
to be
thrown
into a
fiery
furnace and
there is
no hope.
But wait.
The scripture
flips it
upside down
and shows
us real
quick.
Nebuchadnezzar
goes to the
furnace and
there's a
door where
he can look
in the
furnace and
what does
he see?
he doesn't
see three
dead corpses
laying there
burning.
He sees
four men
walking around
in the
furnace
unbound
and unharmed
and the
fourth
it said
look like
a god.
God didn't
keep them
from the
fire did
he?
He didn't
prevent them
from this
challenge.
He didn't
prevent them
from being
thrown into
the fire
but what
he did
is he
met them
in the
fire.
And you
know there
are times
in our
lives when
God lets
us go
through the
fires because
he needs
to do
something in
our lives.
He needs
to mold
us, shape
us, root
some things
out of us
or prepare
us for
something he
has for
us to do.
And you
know your
greatest testimony
as a child
of God is
not that
God prevented
you from
ever going
through the
fires.
your greatest
testimony is
that God
met you
in the
fire and
that God
walked with
you in
that fire
and God
took care
of you in
that fire
and God
worked according
to his will
and accomplished
the things
that he
wanted to
accomplish in
your life.
You know
today maybe
you're praying
for something
and you're
believing that
God is able.
Keep praying.
Keep trusting.
Keep asking
praying because
God is able.
And Jesus
told us in
the parable
of the
persistent
widow keep
coming to
him and
praying.
But also
in our
prayers ask
him to
develop our
faith to a
new level.
That our
faith is not
based on a
God just
taking care of
us and
making our
life good
and easy
and perfect
but that our
faith is built
on a God
that even if
he doesn't
deliver us
even if he
doesn't heal
us even if
he doesn't
heal our
loved ones
we're still
going to
worship him.
You know
because he
is a God
he is the
only one
true God
Jesus Christ
is the only
true God
and he came
to this earth
to die
for us.
He took
all of our
sin upon
himself and
took our
place and
one day
we'll be
able to
spend eternity
in heaven
and maybe
we'll care
about some
of the
answers but
probably not.
We'll probably
just get there
and that song
I can only
imagine I
know I
won't be on
my face on
the ground
before Jesus
Christ and
all the
heartache all
the hardships
all the
difficulties that
we've gone
through in
this lifetime
they're going
to seem like
nothing compared
to being in
the presence
of Jesus
Christ.
So today
as we close
I want you
to think about
asking God
to give you
that kind of
faith
to believe
that my God
is able
but even if
he doesn't
I will not
compromise
I will not
leave Christ
I will still
worship.
Let's go
to the Lord
in prayer.
Father
we come to
you today
and we thank
you for your
word.
We thank
you for your
truth.
We thank
you for this
example for
us in
scripture.
We ask
Lord that you
give us that
type of faith.
Give us that
type of faith.
that even
in the heartache
even in the
difficulties
even in the
sacrifices
that we will
still worship
you.
We thank
you for that
and praise
you in
Jesus name.
Amen.