In 1415, don't think any of you were around then were you? 600 years ago John Huff was burned alive at the stake.
John had become a Christian after reading the Bible. He began to write and teach, encouraging other people of his day to turn to Christ and to read God's words.
And having been told to stop his preaching and his writing, John defiantly refused.
And because he wouldn't stop, John was bound by ropes, tied to a stake and burned alive.
And as the flames engulfed him, he prayed this.
Lord Jesus, it is for thee that I patiently endure this cruel death.
In 2012, just two years ago, a church had been ordered to turn from following Christ or die.
Refusing to deny their faith, they ran to their pastor's house for safety.
But having been followed by their persecutors, the house was set on fire and 50 believers perished in the flames.
Now what kind of God is this?
That people would die for him rather than deny him and live.
What kind of God is this?
That people would literally go through the flames for him.
Well, that's the situation we arrive at in Daniel chapter 3.
Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, faced the fiery furnace,
but they chose death instead of life.
Look at the very end of verse 28.
It says there they were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any God except their own God.
What kind of God is this that is worth risking your life for and dying for?
Well, we're going to meet this God through these events.
First, we meet a God who is worthy of our worship.
A God who is worthy of our worship.
The king's demand is very clear, isn't it?
Verse 5.
As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the zither, the lyre, the harp, the pipes and all kinds of music,
when the band gets going and the conductor starts up at the orchestra,
you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Now, given those two options, bow or burn, it might seem quite obvious which one you'd take.
If you want to save your life, well, bow down and worship.
But here's the problem.
Nebuchadnezzar's image is not a real God.
It's a substitute God.
It's not too long ago, you'll remember from chapter 2, that Nebuchadnezzar had the dream.
Do you remember his dream about the great big statue?
Gold head, silver chest, bronze thighs, iron legs, feet made of iron and clay,
and they all represented, the four different metals represented four different kingdoms.
And the dream was interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar, and this is what was revealed to him.
Look at chapter 2 at the very end of verse 38.
Chapter 2, the very end of verse 38.
As the dream is interpreted, he says,
You are that head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar.
You are that kingdom, the head of gold.
But, verse 39,
After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours.
Your kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar, will be crushed and destroyed.
Another is going to take its place,
And ultimately, down at verse 44, chapter 2,
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed,
nor will it be left to another people.
It will crush all those kingdoms,
and bring them to an end,
but it itself, the kingdom of God, if you like,
will endure forever.
That was the dream that was interpreted to him.
He's been introduced to the true God.
But, rather than worship the true God,
Nebuchadnezzar has set up a substitute God.
Chapter 3, verse 1.
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold.
Perhaps he thought if it was all gold,
then his kingdom wouldn't be broken down.
Ninety feet high,
and nine feet wide.
And it's set up on the plain of Dura,
in the province of Babylon,
where everybody could see it.
In an act of defiance,
King Nebuchadnezzar rejects the true God,
and he replaces it with his own God.
This is the God that the nations must come and worship.
Now, Ender Kenny mightn't have the resources
to set up a gold statue for us.
But every day, you and I must decide
which God we're going to worship.
Will it be the God of secularism?
Listen to this quote from a book called
No Gods But God.
He says this,
When we cease to worship God,
we do not worship nothing,
we worship anything.
We do not just eliminate God,
we erect God's substitutes in his place.
He goes on to say that the biblical writers
call these replacement gods idols,
or in this case, it was a statue.
An idol, he says, can be a physical object.
It could be your iPhone.
It could be a property, your house.
It could be an activity,
a sport, or music.
It could be a role, the job that you have,
an institution, the club or society
that you're a member of,
a hope, I wish I was married,
a pleasure, food or drink,
a hero, a sporting star, anything.
We can take and push God out of the way
and replace it with someone else
or something else.
And that's what we've really done.
We've set up our own gods that demand our worship.
Something or someone that we serve
in return for, in the hope that they will
somehow give us happiness, pleasure,
success, security.
And we live for our gods,
in the hope that they will give to us
everything that we want.
Nebuchadnezzar was offering his god
as a god of security.
Worship this god and you will be safe,
you will be well,
you will be in a wonderful kingdom
with a great king over you.
But here's the problem.
They're substitute gods.
They're counterfeit gods.
They're not the true gods.
You see, it's ironic
that the god they must worship
is actually man-made.
Did you see that back in verse 1,
chapter 3?
King Nebuchadnezzar
made an image.
Ninety feet high,
nine feet wide,
and set it up.
And in case we can't see
the contradiction of a god
that has to be made by a person,
the writer keeps on reminding us
right the way through the passage.
So look at the end of verse 3.
We're told there that
all the officials assembled
for the dedication of the image
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up,
that he made.
And they stood before it.
End of verse 5.
They were ordered
that they must fall down
and worship the image of gold
that King Nebuchadnezzar
has set up.
You know that great big statue
in the middle of the plain over there,
the thing that he constructed
with all the scaffolding around it?
He set it up.
He made it.
End of verse 7.
All the peoples, nations and men
of every language
fell down and worshipped
the image of gold
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
It's made.
This is a god
that's supposed to be real,
but it's fake.
It's counterfeit.
Listen to the psalmist,
Psalm 115,
verses 2 to 8.
What they say about
our so-called gods.
The question is raised,
why do the nations say,
where is your God?
Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever pleases him.
But their idols
are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
They have mouths,
but they cannot speak.
Eyes,
but they cannot see.
They have ears,
but they cannot hear.
Noses,
but they cannot smell.
They have hands,
and they can't feel.
Feet,
but they cannot walk.
Nor can they utter a sound
from their throat.
Those who make them
will be like them,
utterly lifeless and worthless.
And so will all
who trust in them.
You see,
just as the people of Babylon
bowed down to this
lifeless statue of gold
to gain security,
if you bow down to this statue,
you're not going to die.
I'll look after you.
You'll have security.
You'll be fine.
So we bow down
to our dead idols
of work,
of relationships,
of sport,
whatever it may be,
to gain success,
to gain satisfaction,
in the hope
that they will somehow
fill us.
But the point is
they're all God's substitute.
They can't give
the eternal security
that each one of us
long for.
They're not the real deal.
They're dead.
And that's why
the three friends
will not bow down
and worship.
Man-made gods
are not worthy
of our worship.
The philosophies
that our society
throws at us.
Forget God.
Don't believe in God.
Go your own way.
Go with your feelings.
Follow the God
of secularism.
Write him out
of your lives.
Don't listen
to the word of God.
Listen to your own word,
to your own mind.
God.
But it's dead.
It's lifeless.
It's not a true God.
So,
we meet the God
who is worthy
of worship
for he is
the one and only
true God.
Second,
we meet a God
who is able
to save.
A God
who's able
to save.
The pressure
to bow down
and worship
continues,
verse 12.
You have
the officials
here who've
been following
the king's commands
but they've noticed
something.
They tell us
in verse 12,
there's some Jews
whom you've set
over the affairs
of the province
of Babylon.
You know those
three characters,
Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego,
who pay no attention
to you,
O king.
They neither
serve your gods
nor worship
the image of gold
you have set up.
Perhaps they've
become very jealous
of these three
outsiders because
they've all risen
to positions of
power and they're
not in the positions
of power and they
want them kind of
removed.
Well,
whatever reason
for them telling
tales to the king,
it puts them
in further danger
of the fire.
Verse 14,
Nebuchadnezzar
said to them,
Is it true,
Shadrach,
Meshach and
Abednego,
that you do not
serve my gods
or worship
the image of gold
I have set up?
Now,
when you hear
the sound of
the horn,
the flute,
the zither,
the lyre,
the harp,
the pipes,
of all kinds
of music,
if you are
ready to fall
down and
worship the
image I made,
very good,
you'll be safe,
you'll be okay.
But if you do
not worship it,
you will be
thrown immediately
into the
blazing furnace.
then what god
will be able
to save you
from my hand?
Come on,
what god
is so great
that he is
greater than
me?
Bow down
to my god
and I will
save you
from the fire.
Well,
at one level
there's no doubt
that Nebuchadnezzar
could save them
from the flames.
he had the
power to do
that.
That's what
he's saying
to them here.
But that's
not where
these three
guys put
their faith.
Look at
verse 16.
What an
extraordinary
answer to
give when
they're being
threatened with
death itself
in such a
brutal fashion.
Look at
what this
says in
verse 16.
Shadrach,
Meshach and
Abednego
replied to
the king,
O
Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not
need to
defend ourselves
before you
in this
matter.
We don't
even need
to answer
you.
We don't
need to
try and
get out
of this
threat and
try to
explain why
we're not
bowing down.
You see,
our God is
more powerful
than you.
Our God
is a
saving God.
Verse 17,
if we are
thrown into
the blazing
furnace,
the God
we serve
is able
to save
us from
it.
And he
will rescue
us from
your hand,
O king.
Absolute
confidence
and assurance
under such
pressure in
God's ability
to save.
You can
throw us
into the
flames,
that's
okay,
because
our God
is able
to save.
How could
they be so
confident
of God's
salvation?
Well,
for them
history has
proved it.
God had
saved his
people from
Egypt.
God had
saved his
people time
and time
again through
the judges
like Samson
and Gideon.
God had
saved his
people through
kings like
David and
Solomon.
Their whole
history is
an experience
of a God
who intervenes
and saves
time and
time again.
That is
what this
God does.
And that's
the confidence
that we can
have too.
Because God
is a God
who delights
in saving
his people.
He's more
powerful than
anyone or
anything.
After all,
God has
proved it in
history ultimately
through his
son,
Jesus Christ,
who died but
rose again from
the grave,
defeating death.
We have a
God who
saves.
That is
what he
does.
Now,
because our
God is a
saving God,
we can
trust him
with our
life.
verse 18.
But even
if he does
not save
us,
we want
you to
know,
O king,
that we
will not
serve your
gods or
worship the
image of
gold you
have set
up.
Now,
hang on a
minute,
that just
seems like a
contradiction,
doesn't it?
I just
thought you
said that
God is a
saving God.
and now
he's saying,
well,
maybe if he
doesn't save
us,
so does
he save
or does
he not?
Well,
look back
carefully at
verse 17.
Read verse
17 again.
If we are
thrown into
the blazing
fire,
the God
we serve
is able
to save.
They don't
say God
will save
us,
they say
the God
we serve
is able
to save
us.
He might
not save
us from
the flames
of the
furnace.
We might
get thrown
into the
furnace,
we might
lose our
life,
we might
die,
but you
know what?
We know
that our
God even
has power
over death
itself.
And I
think that's
the message
of verse
18.
They are
saying,
you know
what,
you can
throw us
into the
flames,
but we
worship a
God
where even
death
is not
an obstacle
to him.
Now let
me ask
you this,
what God
substitutes
can save
like this?
We can
serve the
God of
pleasure,
we sacrifice
our lives
to the
idols of
work,
but they
can't save
us.
We obey
the demands
that our
gods place
on us,
that we
must do
more,
we must
give more,
but for
what purpose?
They have
no power
over life,
they have
no power
over death,
they can't
rescue us,
they can't
deliver us.
And so the
three friends
refuse to
bow in
worship,
because they
trust in a
God who
is worthy
of worship
and who
is able
to save.
So we
meet a
God who
is worthy
of worship,
a God
who is able
to save,
and we
also meet a
God who
is willing
to die
for us.
These guys
wouldn't bow,
so the
threat has
been carried
out,
verse 22.
The king's
command was
so urgent,
and the
furnace so
hot,
we're told
back in
verse 19,
that it was
heated seven
times hotter
than normal,
it had become
so hot that
the flames of
the fire
killed the
soldiers who
took up
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
to the
entrance of
the furnace.
The flames
just engulfed
them and
burnt them.
And these
three men,
verse 23,
firmly tied
by ropes,
fell into
the blazing
furnace.
It seems
like the
God of
these three
friends is
unable to
save.
Where is
he?
Well,
God has
not abandoned
them.
He's actually
present with
them.
Look at
verse 25.
The three
of them
have been
cast into
this burning
furnace,
and King
Nebuchadnezzar
is peering,
looking into
the flames.
Verse 25,
he says,
look,
can you
see?
I see,
it's not
three,
four men
walking around
in the fire.
They're
unbound
and unharmed,
and the
fourth one,
can you
see it?
It looks
like a
son of
the
gods.
Nebuchadnezzar
then approached
the opening
of the
blazing
furnace and
shouted,
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
servants of the
Most High
God,
come out,
come here.
So Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
came out
of the
fire.
Who,
who was
this fourth
person
that was
walking around
with them?
Well,
Nebuchadnezzar
tells us in
verse 28
that it was
an angel.
Was it
more than
an angel?
Writers tend
to think that
it was the
angel of
God,
the pre-incarnate
Christ,
present with
the people.
Well,
we can't say
for sure,
but what is
without doubt,
here is a
God who not
only saves,
here is a
God who is
present with
his people as
they go through
the fire.
God didn't
take the
furnace away
from them,
but nor did
he abandon
them in it.
And this is
the kind of
God that we
have.
He is
committed and
faithful to
his people,
to his
servants.
He doesn't
always take
us away,
take the
hardships away
from us.
He doesn't
always remove
the difficulties
of life.
Very often,
and mostly the
case is that
he lets us
walk through
the fire of
suffering,
but he is
always present
with us in
the midst of
our suffering.
Our God is
not just
present though,
as God was
with these
three guys.
He is
willing to
die for us.
Look how
these three
friends emerged
from the fire.
Comes in the
middle of
verse 27.
They've come
out of the
fire and
they're looking
at them,
and look what
they saw.
They saw that
the fire had
not harmed
their bodies,
nor was
there a
hair of
their heads
singed,
their robes
or their
clothes were
not scorched,
and there
wasn't even
a smell
of fire
on them.
Now this
smacks to
me of
complete
and
absolute
salvation.
There's no
sense in
anything at
all that
anything was
lost.
Complete
and absolute
salvation.
Now that
can be our
experience too,
but in a
much deeper
way.
You see,
the God
who walked
into the
furnace with
these three
friends,
is the
same God
who walked
into the
ultimate
furnace for
you and
for me.
Jesus
Christ
wasn't
immune to
the suffering
of this
world.
But he
entered into
this world
for you
and for
me,
and went
to the
cross.
But why?
Why did
he have to
do it?
Well,
like
Nebuchadnezzar,
we've all
rejected the
true and
living God.
We've all
from time to
time replaced
him with our
own false
gods,
our dead
gods.
We've all
broken the
first commandment,
gods,
you shall
have no
other gods
but me.
We've all
done it.
And instead
of giving
God,
the true
God,
the worship
he deserves,
we worship
someone else
or something
else.
We've looked
to other
things for
security in
our life.
And God
has made it
very clear
that all
those who
do not
worship
God
will be
judged
and
separated
from God
in hell
for all
eternity.
That's
what will
happen.
But Christ
intervened
into our
world.
He walks
where we
deserve to
walk.
In our
place,
Christ went
into the
fiery furnace
of judgment
for us.
On the
cross,
Christ
suffered the
flames of
God's
wrath.
He took
my sin,
your sin,
on himself
and the
judgment
fell on
him.
He went
into the
heart of
the fire
itself.
He descended
into hell
for us
so that
we don't
have to.
And all
those who
trust in
him,
the fire
of judgment
will pass
by.
And it
will be
like the
end of
verse 27,
where the
fire had
not harmed
their bodies,
nor was
there a
head of
their head
singed,
their clothes
not scorched,
there was
no smell
of fire
on them.
There
will be
no judgment,
there will
be no
condemnation,
there will
be no
separation.
Instead,
complete and
absolute
salvation,
eternal
security,
eternity,
with God
forever
and ever.
You see,
here is the
God who
not only
walks into
the flames
with us,
but he
walks into
the flames
to die
for you
and for me.
Now,
all of this
explains
why
John
Huss,
600 years
ago,
and the
50 members
from that
church
two years
ago,
were willing
to die
rather than
deny their
God.
Like Shadrach,
Meshach and
Abednego,
look at
verse 28,
the end
of verse 28,
they trusted
in him
and defied
the king's
command
and were
willing to
give up
their lives
rather than
serve or
worship any
God except
their own
God.
as
Nebuchadnezzar
himself would
say at the
end of
verse 29,
for no
other God
can save
in this
way.
They
worshipped a
God who
is not only
able to
save us,
a God
who is
present with
us,
but a
God who
is willing
to die.
Now,
let's just
make it a
little bit
more personal.
Is this
a God
you could
die for?
Is this
a God
I would
die for?
He's
walked through
the ultimate
furnace for
us so that
we may gain
eternal
security,
eternal life
with him.
That means
you and I
can face
into the
troubles of
this life
and know
that he
will never
abandon us.
Sometimes we
may feel the
flames are
raging,
but God
is present
with us.
He will
not leave
you.
He will
walk with
you through
the fire
of the
troubles that
you go
through.
It also
means that
you and I
can face
death itself
and know
that we are
safe and
secure.
For people,
for some,
and maybe
for somebody
here,
those flames
will be
actual,
real flames.
as you
die for
preaching
Christ,
where he
is violently
opposed,
people face
that kind
of death.
But for
those who
go through
those flames,
God will
raise you
up and
take you
to be with
him forever.
Whenever we
face death,
he is the
one and
sure place
to have
our faith.
death,
this is a
God we
can live
for.
This is a
God we
can even
die for
because he
died for
us.
Let's pray
together.
listen to
Jesus'
words.
Jesus
called the
crowd to
him along
with his
disciples and
said,
if anyone
would come
after me,
he must
deny
himself and
take up
his cross
and follow
me.
For whoever
wants to
save his
life will
lose it,
but whoever
loses his
life for me
and for the
gospel will
save it.
father,
teach us
to follow
you.
Teach us
to pick up
the cross
and walk
the path
that you
walked
in the
knowledge that
we are safe
and secure
for all
eternity.
Knowing that
our God
is able
to save
and even
if we
should enter
into troubles
or hardships,
we know
our God
will be
with us
and our
God will
take us
to his
eternal
kingdom
forever
and forever.
Give us
confidence to
stand strong
for you,
that we
would not
bow down
to the
idols of
this age,
but worship
you alone.
we pray
this for
your glory
and for
your honour.
Amen.