WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:07.060 It's really nice to be with you here in Brunsfield. Today I bring greetings from St. Columbus Free Church. 00:00:07.700 --> 00:00:13.080 And this is a great part of the world, Brunsfield. I grew up in Brunsfield. 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:17.660 Great place to be. On Forbes Road, actually. 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:24.920 And so I've always known this church was here and has been a witness to the gospel for many years. 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:26.620 And I'm very glad to be with you. 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:30.960 So we'd covet your prayers for our own church as well. 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:39.400 We are in the midst of refurbishment and we're not due to be back in the building for a little while. 00:00:40.160 --> 00:00:42.380 We're worshipping in the hub at the moment, which is good. 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:47.700 We're kind of recapturing the hub for the gospel because it used to be a church, of course, and it's no longer. 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:54.540 So that's been great. But we are kind of longing for our own building and to be back in it. 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:56.619 So we bow your prayers for that. 00:00:57.879 --> 00:01:00.859 But we're going to look for a little while this morning at Daniel chapter 3. 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:03.519 You had it gloriously read by David Susha. 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:06.280 Much better than I would have read it. 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:10.739 And it's a great passage and it's a great story. 00:01:11.539 --> 00:01:14.079 And the great thing about the Bible, I think, for us, when we come to the Bible, 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.760 the great thing about it, whether it's Old Testament or New Testament, 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:19.980 that it's never out of date and it's never irrelevant. 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:22.120 And I think that's for two reasons. 00:01:22.459 --> 00:01:25.400 One is very obvious because it's the Word of God. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:27.099 It's the living Word of God. 00:01:27.179 --> 00:01:29.739 God's alive and this is the Word he's given us. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:33.400 This is what he wants to communicate to us with, his Word. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:36.159 And so it's relevant, obviously, at that level. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:42.219 But it's also relevant, I think, because it talks about God who is living. 00:01:42.759 --> 00:01:47.200 He's alive and it's a declaration and an explanation of his character. 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:49.640 But it also deals with people. 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:51.200 So it's about God. 00:01:51.299 --> 00:01:52.379 It's kind of simple, really. 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:53.719 It's about God and it's about people. 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.739 It's about God's story for humanity and God's rescue for humanity. 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:01.599 But it's about people and it's about God. 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:03.019 And God doesn't change. 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:05.679 And actually, people don't change. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:07.199 Circumstances change. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:08.419 Cultures change. 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:09.620 Time changes. 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:14.419 But I think fundamentally and primarily spiritually, we don't change. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:20.599 So there's a huge amount we learn when God unpacks the lives of people 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:24.240 because we can see him speaking to us and say, 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:25.780 well, I recognize that. 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:29.960 And we can see characteristics and traits and things in people 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:32.579 that are hugely significant. 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:34.600 And challenging for us. 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:40.280 And we plug Christ and the gospel and the rescue of Jesus Christ 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:42.939 into all of our understanding of God's word. 00:02:43.040 --> 00:02:45.660 So I'm going to do a short character study, 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.800 character studies of the people in this chapter. 00:02:49.260 --> 00:02:50.780 And they're all kind of different. 00:02:50.780 --> 00:02:55.560 And I hope that we can see things negatively and positively, 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:57.039 maybe challenged. 00:02:57.180 --> 00:03:00.879 I don't know many of you, so maybe there'll be things that I don't know about 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:01.520 in your lives. 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:03.199 I'm absolutely sure that's the case. 00:03:04.659 --> 00:03:08.500 And things in my own life that we look at from this chapter and say, 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:10.659 well, God has challenged me about that in my life. 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:15.979 And God is wanting me to refocus my own thoughts on Jesus Christ 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:17.680 and what it means to belong to Jesus Christ. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.960 So can I start with Nebuchadnezzar, the king who's in this story? 00:03:22.420 --> 00:03:25.540 And obviously you've learned a little bit about him already as you come up to here. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.920 But what we see, and the great thing about Nebuchadnezzar in this story, 00:03:30.379 --> 00:03:33.260 or throughout Daniel, is that God's working with him. 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:33.819 Okay? 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:35.000 God doesn't abandon him. 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:36.960 And God is patient with him. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:44.700 And in this chapter, I think if you were to use one characteristic to describe Nebuchadnezzar, 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:48.180 I think it would be that he's completely self-absorbed. 00:03:49.140 --> 00:03:52.319 He's entirely self-focused. 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:54.460 He loves himself. 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:56.659 And he's hugely powerful. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:57.860 Power is a dangerous thing. 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:00.379 And he loves the power that he has. 00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:06.819 And he is interested in what his life can be like and how great his life can be. 00:04:07.060 --> 00:04:14.400 Can I just ask you to flick back with me to the previous chapter, to Daniel chapter 2 and verse 36. 00:04:14.519 --> 00:04:18.379 Remember, he's given a dream in the previous chapter, which Daniel interprets, 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:22.699 which is a message from God for Nebuchadnezzar. 00:04:22.699 --> 00:04:26.219 But in verse 36, this was the dream. 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:27.339 This is Daniel speaking. 00:04:28.039 --> 00:04:30.139 And now we will interpret it to the king. 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:32.519 You, O king, are the king of kings. 00:04:32.979 --> 00:04:33.379 Stop! 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:35.680 That's it. 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:39.579 He doesn't listen to anything else in the dream from that moment on. 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:42.180 He has heard what God has said. 00:04:42.919 --> 00:04:46.199 You, Nebuchadnezzar, are the king of kings. 00:04:46.539 --> 00:04:47.699 I'm the man. 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:49.419 I'm the one. 00:04:49.659 --> 00:04:50.719 And that's from God. 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:52.659 God has said, I'm the king of kings. 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:54.459 He doesn't listen to anything else. 00:04:55.659 --> 00:05:01.740 His ears are closed to the God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might. 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:03.120 He doesn't listen to any of that. 00:05:04.379 --> 00:05:06.860 You, Nebuchadnezzar, you're the man. 00:05:06.980 --> 00:05:08.060 You're the king of kings. 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:09.980 And that suited him greatly. 00:05:10.539 --> 00:05:13.800 And he just went away and thought about that. 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.339 And thought about his position and thought about his power. 00:05:16.339 --> 00:05:20.079 Remember, he was a really most powerful man in the world at the time. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:29.699 I mean, his country was a dominating country and had defeated many nations around about. 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:31.539 So he had a huge kingdom. 00:05:32.019 --> 00:05:41.319 And it was a huge political task for him and governmental task for him to keep control of all these different nations, all these different peoples. 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:47.740 And this just bolstered what he felt about himself, how powerful and significant he was. 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:58.660 And so he thought, having received this dream of a plan to control and to govern and to keep all of these different subservient nations, 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:02.199 servile nations that were around about him under Babylon's care. 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:08.479 And so he thought of this great plan to make an idol. 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:10.259 We're not told what the idol was. 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:11.860 It may well have been of himself. 00:06:12.719 --> 00:06:13.560 I'm not sure. 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:22.019 But he builds this great idol and he encourages out too weak a word. 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:36.639 He demands that all the nations, all the subservient nations, and there's a humorous pomposity about the chapter where the writer almost mocks the significance of Nebuchadnezzar, 00:06:36.779 --> 00:06:45.219 repeating all the instruments that need to be sounded and all the different people that need to respond when these instruments sound. 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:52.800 And they are all to bow down wherever they are to his idol, to his God. 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:56.800 And it was a display of his power. 00:06:57.440 --> 00:06:59.640 It was to be a display of his control. 00:07:00.280 --> 00:07:03.400 I am the sovereign here and you do what I say. 00:07:04.020 --> 00:07:07.580 It was a reasonable syncretism that he was engaged in here. 00:07:07.760 --> 00:07:09.560 You can worship your own gods the rest of the time. 00:07:09.640 --> 00:07:11.320 You can worship God of Israel or whoever. 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:16.040 But when I say, and when the sound of music comes, you bow down. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:17.800 And you bow down because I'm king. 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:22.360 And if not, there's this kind of underlying threat that you'll just be burnt alive. 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:26.360 It's malevolent kind of threat that he has here. 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:29.740 And it was an ostentatious display of power. 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:32.259 His idol was half the size of the Scott Monument. 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:32.879 It was big. 00:07:33.420 --> 00:07:36.639 It wasn't just a kind of biddly wee small idol. 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:37.379 It was really big. 00:07:37.539 --> 00:07:39.039 So everyone could write. 00:07:39.039 --> 00:07:40.139 It was on the plains of Juras. 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:41.639 It was in a flat piece of land. 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:48.379 And there was a remarkable amount of organization that would be involved in this display of power. 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:52.579 It was to encourage conformity among the people. 00:07:54.039 --> 00:07:57.819 But also to instill a big brother mentality. 00:07:57.819 --> 00:08:03.899 So that people would tell on others who didn't worship. 00:08:04.159 --> 00:08:06.219 Which is exactly what happened. 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:08.500 A sense of mistrust. 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:09.420 A sense of power. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:11.339 And a sense of control. 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:15.959 He was showing himself to be utterly self-absorbed. 00:08:16.100 --> 00:08:20.620 And wanting to maintain this king of kings state that he had. 00:08:20.779 --> 00:08:21.699 He believed from God. 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:24.360 But he was resisting God all the time. 00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:26.240 You see he chose not to listen. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:30.879 And you know what the rest of the dream declared and spoke about in terms of a kingdom. 00:08:31.039 --> 00:08:32.519 In terms of who God was. 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.360 But his ego was bigger than God. 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:37.779 He had this huge ego. 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:40.439 And he was hugely independent. 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:43.460 And he was the center of his own existence. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:54.840 And the situation he found himself in allowed him to be one who was self-fulfilling to the very end degree. 00:08:56.040 --> 00:08:57.800 And that's what we find with Nebuchadnezzar here. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.220 Interestingly God continues to deal with him. 00:09:01.300 --> 00:09:01.780 It's great. 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:03.860 And we're thankful for that. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:05.220 God's incredible patience. 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:07.399 But sometimes. 00:09:07.680 --> 00:09:11.540 And I don't for a moment think any of us really like Nebuchadnezzar. 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:12.379 I certainly hope not. 00:09:12.540 --> 00:09:14.000 We don't have the opportunity. 00:09:14.300 --> 00:09:16.040 I always think power is a dangerous thing. 00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:17.300 And I wonder what. 00:09:17.660 --> 00:09:19.660 I certainly wonder what I would be like if I had any power. 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:21.460 Power is not a good thing. 00:09:22.019 --> 00:09:25.440 But there's a reflection sometimes of our condition. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.700 When we think of Nebuchadnezzar and the way he treated God. 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:31.200 I think even with regard to God's word. 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:33.540 I think it's easy for us as Christians. 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:41.839 And this is a very wide link in many ways between Nebuchadnezzar and ourselves. 00:09:42.079 --> 00:09:46.259 But we can be selective listeners to God's word in the way that Nebuchadnezzar was. 00:09:46.839 --> 00:09:51.039 And we can choose to listen to the bits of God's word that really suit us. 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:52.319 That we really like. 00:09:52.819 --> 00:09:58.839 That actually confirm us in our selfishness and in our self-centeredness. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:01.699 And yet we can attribute that to God. 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:04.660 And that's sometimes an easy thing for us to do. 00:10:05.020 --> 00:10:07.680 We can be selective in our listening to God's word. 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:08.860 I really like that. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:10.900 I love that bit about love and forgiveness. 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:14.780 But that stuff about justice and mercy and sacrifice. 00:10:14.920 --> 00:10:15.900 I'm not so keen on that. 00:10:16.660 --> 00:10:19.040 And I don't think that's what God's speaking to me. 00:10:19.460 --> 00:10:22.680 And we can sometimes attribute to God's will. 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:24.740 Actually, what is really what we want to do. 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:28.500 And we just want God to rubber stamp what we want to do ourselves. 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:30.639 And we resist his lordship. 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:34.220 And that is exactly what Nebuchadnezzar was doing. 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:38.220 He listened to the little bit of the dream that suited him. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:44.879 But he was resisting the sovereignty and the lordship of God in his life, which God went on to deal with. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.580 And that can be easy for us to do also. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:57.240 We can manage God and manipulate God so that we are still at the center of our lives. 00:10:57.379 --> 00:10:59.399 And we are at the center of our decision making. 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:01.419 And that God isn't lord. 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:13.399 And there's a challenge then for us as we recognize the depth of self-absorption that we face in our own hearts and lives. 00:11:13.839 --> 00:11:21.099 And the great need for God's grace and God's forgiveness and God's love and sacrifice in all that we do. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:22.099 So Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.259 Then there's Daniel, of course, in the story. 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:27.240 No. 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:28.199 No. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:30.000 Actually, Daniel's not in this story. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.379 And we forget about that when we come to this account. 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:35.000 He's not in the story at all. 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:36.460 Well, this is the book of Daniel. 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:38.580 We've expected Daniel to be here. 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:40.360 But Daniel's nowhere to be found. 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:46.500 The guy whose name, the attribution of the name of the book is his. 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:47.740 And yet he's not in the story. 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:51.259 You know, like you go down to England, the premiership. 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:56.100 And Manchester United and Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. 00:11:56.179 --> 00:11:57.580 You expect them to be top of the league. 00:11:58.139 --> 00:11:59.580 The first three places, they're not there. 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:00.460 They're not to be found. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:01.720 It's strange. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:02.440 What's wrong? 00:12:02.540 --> 00:12:03.700 But it's Leicester City. 00:12:05.900 --> 00:12:09.360 And so Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are the kind of Leicester city of this story. 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:11.960 They're there at the top. 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:13.000 They're important. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:14.300 And they're significant. 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:16.980 They're the Old Testament equivalents. 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:19.360 And we love the story of Daniel. 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:20.980 We love the story of dare to be a Daniel. 00:12:21.420 --> 00:12:22.259 And it's great. 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.860 I'm not so sure about striving to be a Shadrach. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.120 It's the same kind of oomph about it as dare to be a Daniel. 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.820 But actually, it's very important. 00:12:30.920 --> 00:12:34.500 Because this story of Daniel isn't about Daniel, ultimately. 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:36.100 Or primarily. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:39.800 And it isn't about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ultimately. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.279 It's actually about God's grace. 00:12:44.420 --> 00:12:46.620 And God is the main player in the story. 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:53.080 And there are different characters and important individuals, unique individuals, significant individuals. 00:12:53.080 --> 00:13:02.240 But this is about God's redeeming power and his grace and his glory at work in these people's lives. 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:04.160 And that's a great encouragement to us. 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:06.240 We don't need to be Daniels. 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:09.160 We don't even need to be Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegoes. 00:13:09.420 --> 00:13:12.340 Or the equivalent Babylonian names that were given. 00:13:13.280 --> 00:13:15.080 We are just ordinary punters. 00:13:15.560 --> 00:13:16.340 We're ordinary people. 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:23.440 But God, in his grace and in his glory and his goodness, transforms our ordinary lives. 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:27.740 And we can be tremendously useful in his service. 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:33.639 Then I want to come briefly, before we look at the lads themselves, to the astrologers. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:35.500 And this is just a very small, short point. 00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:42.740 But just as Nebuchadnezzar's main characteristic in the story is self-absorption. 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:47.700 And then you have the astrologers whose great downfall here is pride. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.799 Not pride, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar. 00:13:50.899 --> 00:13:51.919 Pride and self-absorption. 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:53.139 But jealousy. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.279 They don't come across particularly worthy. 00:13:57.419 --> 00:13:58.980 And it's a miserable characteristic. 00:13:59.659 --> 00:14:00.139 Jealousy. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.480 In anyone's lives, particularly within the Christian community. 00:14:04.560 --> 00:14:08.879 It's a horrible thing to see and to experience and to know in our own hearts. 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:14.200 These powerful people didn't like Daniel. 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.860 They didn't like his rise to power. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:21.620 They didn't like the influence that he had over Nebuchadnezzar. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:28.980 And they wanted to see him completely destroyed. 00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:30.779 And they wanted to get rid of him. 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:31.720 They hated his position. 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:33.360 They hated his nationality. 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:34.639 They hated his faith. 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:37.779 And they hated his success. 00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:43.159 But rather than attacking Daniel, they know that he's got friends. 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:48.519 And they know they can get to Daniel through them and through what they are doing. 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:52.179 And they very subtly set a trap for them. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:59.299 And it's filled with jealousy and it's filled with destructiveness, which we should note. 00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:01.539 They use destructive language. 00:15:02.099 --> 00:15:11.339 In verse 12, they say to King Nebuchadnezzar that these guys don't care about you in any way at all. 00:15:13.079 --> 00:15:14.299 They are... 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:15.539 If I can find it, yeah. 00:15:16.079 --> 00:15:19.459 These men have no time for you whatsoever. 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:25.159 And they don't bow down to you in their lives and in their worship. 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:26.539 Sorry, I was going to the next chapter. 00:15:26.659 --> 00:15:27.620 That's why I couldn't find it. 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:29.779 I'm next week's sermon already. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:34.779 And so there's this rage within him. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:38.340 They pay no attention to you, O Daniel. 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:41.120 They pay no attention to you, O Nebuchadnezzar. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.360 They don't worship you. 00:15:42.560 --> 00:15:43.480 They don't serve you. 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:52.259 They subtly remind Nebuchadnezzar that they are Jews, that they come from a defeated nation. 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:55.960 They don't even use their new Babylonian names. 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:58.000 They use their old Jewish names. 00:15:58.220 --> 00:15:59.299 And it's all very subtle. 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:01.740 And it's all very racial. 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:06.279 And it's all very religious antagonism. 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:16.399 It seems that anti-Semitism was as alive and well then as it is now, as we've seen in the newspapers over the last number of weeks. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:25.340 But that jealousy is to bring destruction to the people, bring destruction to their lives. 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:31.280 And jealousy in our lives is a very quick explanation for us. 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:38.200 Jealousy is a very destructive thing in our own lives, particularly within the church family. 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:50.400 When we are jealous or covetous or disloyal or manipulative, it can be very subtly tearing us apart. 00:16:50.820 --> 00:16:53.259 And it is from the pit of hell. 00:16:53.860 --> 00:17:01.660 Remember and recognize anything within the Christian community that separates us from one another, whether it be jealousy or pride or anything else, 00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:04.480 it comes from the pit of hell. 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:08.620 And we're doing Ephesians this morning in our morning worship. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:18.279 And the whole core of that letter is about what Christ has come to do is to unite all of heaven and earth together under him. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:20.559 So there's unity bringing together. 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:25.640 And from the very beginning, Satan has sought to divide us from God, separate us from God and from one another. 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.660 And so it's a great challenge. 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:30.559 But now let's come to the lads very briefly this morning. 00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:33.160 What a situation they find themselves in. 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:37.400 They must have been under great temptation. 00:17:38.060 --> 00:17:42.100 They had risen to this great position of authority and significance. 00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:44.540 And they knew God had brought them there. 00:17:45.320 --> 00:17:48.420 And they must have been tempted. 00:17:48.700 --> 00:17:53.040 Well, if they weren't, I certainly would have put myself in their shoes to just keep a low profile. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.360 Let's just not say much just now. 00:17:56.060 --> 00:17:59.160 Let's just be under the radar. 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:05.120 And we can compromise on this one, surely, because it's not like he's stopping us worshipping our God. 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:09.740 We can just turn up and when all the sound of music starts and we'll do a little bow down. 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:11.080 But we'll not really mean it. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.100 We'll not really worship his idol. 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:16.940 God has surely brought us to this place. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:18.440 He doesn't want to rip us away from here. 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:21.000 Now he's placed us here. 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:32.000 We'll just quietly do what we're commanded and we'll have great influence as leaders, as political and dynamic leaders in this nation. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.480 That must have been a great temptation. 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:45.559 But what we see in these guys' lives, and I think it's a great characteristic for ourselves, and one which we often lack, is tremendous courage. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:54.859 Because they recognized, and the story that we had earlier of Joseph was very relevant as well to this, is there was a line in the sand for them. 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:59.980 There are some things that we can compromise on in our lives, in our lives in the world. 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:11.599 But here we recognize and see that for them and for their people, idolatry was always the great sin of Israel. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:14.059 And it was the great sin that had driven them into captivity. 00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:20.240 And they simply could not bow down and worship a false God. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:28.220 There comes a time in our lives, in our relationships, in our choices, in our interactions with the world, 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:40.700 where we must stand up and be counted, where we must recognize that our faith and the honesty and the significance of our faith is being challenged. 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:48.200 And these guys stand up here, although there's great potential risk for them so to do. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:54.720 They have a great relationship with their God, and they love their God. 00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:59.000 I think the verses 16 to 18 are some of the best verses in the whole Bible. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:03.000 O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:07.039 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve, or it can be translated, 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:12.599 our God is able to save us, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:17.240 But even if he doesn't, we just want you to know we're still not going to bow down. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:23.420 That's a fantastic apologetic for their faith. 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:26.360 And they are standing with great courage. 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:27.640 They know their God. 00:20:27.820 --> 00:20:29.279 They love their God. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:30.940 They serve their God. 00:20:31.360 --> 00:20:36.759 He is someone they know intimately and personally in a covenant relationship. 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:38.539 He's saved them. 00:20:38.620 --> 00:20:40.080 He's redeemed them spiritually. 00:20:40.320 --> 00:20:41.000 He's forgiven them. 00:20:41.380 --> 00:20:45.800 And they have this unswerving loyalty to him, which is tremendous. 00:20:47.340 --> 00:20:48.720 There's no pride. 00:20:49.320 --> 00:20:51.080 There's no spiritual kind of arrogance. 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:54.819 There's no naming and claiming of a deliverance. 00:20:55.299 --> 00:20:56.199 God, we serve you. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.000 They didn't know the end of the story at this point. 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:01.359 It wasn't that they were saying, this is easy. 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:02.879 God's going to take us out of the fire. 00:21:03.399 --> 00:21:05.500 And martyrdom was a real reality for them. 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:12.379 They had no knowledge at this point that they were going to be set free in a miraculous way as they were. 00:21:12.740 --> 00:21:16.899 They didn't call down the divine waters to quench the flames. 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:19.399 They didn't make an ultimatum with God. 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:21.640 Well, God, we're going to be loyal here. 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:23.900 And you've really got to deliver us. 00:21:24.080 --> 00:21:25.380 You've got to show your power. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:28.900 They simply said, look, if he delivers us, we love him. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:30.259 If he delivers us, that's great. 00:21:30.540 --> 00:21:36.640 If he doesn't, we're just going to let you know we'll be burned alive, but we're not going to bow down and worship your idol. 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:40.720 And that needs astonishing, astonishing courage. 00:21:41.060 --> 00:21:45.000 It's the most, I think it's the most unmanipulative thing I've ever read. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:50.820 They don't in any way try and manipulate God to kind of reward them for what they're doing. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:22:00.120 They simply state it as it is in humility and they have faith in their God, not in the circumstances they find themselves in. 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:09.519 Or they don't question or test God and say, we will carry on serving you, but hey, man, you've got to deliver us from this fire. 00:22:10.959 --> 00:22:12.799 The solution wasn't theirs. 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:14.659 They left the solution to God. 00:22:14.660 --> 00:22:20.580 They simply trusted him in the bleakness of that moment and in the fear of that moment. 00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:22.860 They knew God was good. 00:22:24.580 --> 00:22:30.279 I think there's obviously great lessons for us there, which we'll briefly come to. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.460 Theirs was a polite rebellion. 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:35.580 I like the idea of rebellion. 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:37.820 I like it. 00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:40.540 I like the whole concept of rebellion. 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:44.279 But in a grace-filled way. 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:45.319 Okay? 00:22:45.639 --> 00:22:52.779 And I think sometimes we mix up rebellion as Christians with just being a pain in the neck. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:54.740 And I don't think that's what it means. 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:57.619 They didn't seem to seek any confrontation. 00:22:57.980 --> 00:23:03.000 There wasn't any petitions that they laid out about how terrible it was to worship idols. 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:04.000 Don't worship idols. 00:23:04.139 --> 00:23:04.980 It's a bad idol. 00:23:05.399 --> 00:23:06.799 They just got on with their life. 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:09.700 And there's a graceful subversion about them. 00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:11.779 There's a sweet sedition. 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:14.460 They were divine dissidents. 00:23:15.380 --> 00:23:17.920 But they reflected the grace of God. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:19.700 They were quiet revolutionaries. 00:23:20.840 --> 00:23:26.880 And their radical behavior was obedience. 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:29.460 Was simple obedience. 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:31.559 They didn't want the front page. 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:33.980 They didn't want to be dramatic and miraculous. 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:35.880 They simply were obedient. 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:39.180 And that was the most radical thing they could do. 00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:43.180 And it outworked in what happened, of course. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.200 And I think we learn. 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:48.080 I hope we learn from... 00:23:48.080 --> 00:23:53.120 I certainly learn from the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:24:06.839 The importance of not compromising to whatever it is that is challenging us to put something else other than God at the center of our lives and hearts, 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:09.500 which is, of course, idolatry for us. 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:20.459 There doesn't tend to be big, ugly idols that we are asked to bow down and worship physically in our postmodern, sophisticated, scientific society. 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:23.900 There are many other things that take the place of God in our hearts. 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:26.000 Very simple, invisible things. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:34.660 And unless we are willing to be courageous and stand up for Christ Jesus in these matters, 00:24:35.120 --> 00:24:41.380 then we will find ourselves falling in love with all kinds of idols that take his place. 00:24:41.380 --> 00:24:49.660 There's a phrase that has just been rumbling around my mind for a long few weeks now, 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:53.200 which is that we will always find time for the things we love. 00:24:54.040 --> 00:24:56.000 We will always find time for the things we love. 00:24:56.760 --> 00:25:05.740 And that is reflected in our relationship with Christ and the preeminence and the priority he has in our lives. 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:10.180 If we love him, if we understand him as he is, we will make time for him. 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:18.259 And very often when we think about that, we are challenged by actually what we idolize, what we spend our time. 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:21.799 I'm not speaking about things we have to do, like work. 00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:31.180 But the things that we choose to do will often reflect the condition of our hearts and the priorities and the choices that we make in our lives. 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:36.519 So these were guys who were not blustering Christians. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:41.080 They simply were dependent and quiet and real in their faith. 00:25:41.560 --> 00:25:48.160 And they had a great trust in the goodness of God despite the bad circumstances they were in. 00:25:48.220 --> 00:25:50.480 And I think that also for us is the great challenge. 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:55.759 How many of us are tempted to say, you know, I thought I was going to be a Christian. 00:25:55.900 --> 00:25:56.920 I thought life was going to be great. 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:05.960 And when trouble and difficulty and trial and darkness comes into our lives, we question God's goodness. 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:08.800 And we say, well, why will he do this? 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:21.600 And we recognize that our trust is actually in our circumstances and in the pleasure of our lives rather than the God himself who is good and gracious and kind and gentle. 00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:35.719 We often spend time telling God what he should do, how he should rescue, that he must rescue, that he must change my experiences and my circumstances. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:49.039 And yet here we have this remarkable faith of these guys which says, look, I may burn alive here, but I'm not going to bow the knee to this idol. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:27:06.920 And that's a backbone and a courage that our 21st century society, Western society probably struggles with a little bit, which focuses so much on, you know, self-fulfillment and having a great life and da-da-da and all these things. 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:09.420 So the lads are a great example. 00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:12.720 And I'll just finish with our amazing God. 00:27:13.060 --> 00:27:19.620 And we must finish with this because that's the whole point of the story here is that God does intervene. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:24.700 God is with them and he walks with them in the fire. 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:27.960 And Nebuchadnezzar recognizes that. 00:27:28.100 --> 00:27:30.140 He's not an ignorant man. 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:32.980 It's not that he doesn't know that there's a God. 00:27:33.060 --> 00:27:34.920 He's already had clear indication of that. 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:39.140 And he knows that God is involved in these guys. 00:27:39.259 --> 00:27:40.360 Like, he still isn't a believer. 00:27:41.340 --> 00:27:49.820 And, you know, you'll see in the next chapter he goes on and continues to pat himself on the back for being the greatest man that ever lived. 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.480 So God has to really humble him. 00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:57.300 But nonetheless, he does see that God is there. 00:27:57.299 --> 00:28:11.619 And this concluding section is really written in such a way to remind us that it's utterly and completely a miracle of God. 00:28:12.399 --> 00:28:17.099 There's nothing that's noted in this section that is insignificant. 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:21.980 So you've got the, you know, the real rage of the king, the most powerful man in the world. 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:24.159 He is the one who's powerful. 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:27.500 Well, he's going to destroy these guys, the upstarts. 00:28:27.560 --> 00:28:28.440 Who do they think they are? 00:28:28.700 --> 00:28:30.080 And he's going to destroy them. 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.180 He's so angry at what they've done. 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:35.320 And so he heats up the furnace seven times hotter. 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:39.560 Remember, when it was seven times less hotter, it still burned people alive. 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:44.820 So it's seven times more hotter and it burns people alive and the people that throw them in. 00:28:45.320 --> 00:28:46.560 So it's really hot. 00:28:46.800 --> 00:28:49.460 And he doesn't care about the soldiers that are burned alive. 00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:57.039 And there's this lovely little phrase which reminds us that he throws them into the fire and he throws them in with all their clothes on. 00:28:57.799 --> 00:29:01.720 And with their turban and with their cloak and with all these loose fitting clothes. 00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:05.819 Now you might, that's just an insignificant piece of information. 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:11.819 But it is quite interesting because they would have gone up just in an instant in that fire. 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:13.559 All the clothes. 00:29:13.660 --> 00:29:14.579 It's not like they went in naked. 00:29:14.740 --> 00:29:15.920 They've got all these added clothes. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:18.980 You know, turbans and coats, they burn quickly. 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:20.140 They burn easily. 00:29:20.340 --> 00:29:25.120 So they're all wearing all these things and the soldiers are burned up. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.320 They're tied up. 00:29:26.800 --> 00:29:30.560 There's no way this could be a kind of magic trick. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:33.019 There's nothing in here that allows for that. 00:29:33.600 --> 00:29:38.779 And then, of course, they throw three people in and there's four of them in the fire. 00:29:39.380 --> 00:29:41.420 Someone with them in the fire. 00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:48.820 And, of course, Nebuchadnezzar recognized that as God, as a pre-incarnate recognition of Jesus Christ. 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:49.880 It may be one of the angels. 00:29:50.080 --> 00:29:52.200 But God in his presence is there. 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:53.720 And they come out. 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:55.779 Now their hair isn't singed. 00:29:57.380 --> 00:29:59.019 Their robes weren't scorched. 00:29:59.320 --> 00:30:00.720 There's not even the smell of fire. 00:30:00.800 --> 00:30:04.360 Have you ever been in a room that's been ablaze and you come out? 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:07.580 Oh, your clothes and your turban and your coat and everything else. 00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:08.620 Oh, smell of fire. 00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:09.440 Nothing. 00:30:09.580 --> 00:30:10.160 Nothing like that. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:10.720 There's nothing. 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:14.380 It's a complete and absolute and total miracle. 00:30:14.600 --> 00:30:21.160 God is the one who has protected them for everyone to see at this hugely significant time. 00:30:23.300 --> 00:30:31.440 And there's a great, we finish with that great recognition of the nature of Jesus Christ and his rescue. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.320 He comes into their experience. 00:30:36.560 --> 00:30:38.840 He walks in the fire with them. 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:40.639 Now, you can broaden that. 00:30:40.679 --> 00:30:43.039 See, that's exactly what Jesus Christ does. 00:30:43.439 --> 00:30:45.799 When the word becomes flesh. 00:30:46.379 --> 00:30:47.720 He walks with us. 00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:50.839 He knows what it's like to be a punter. 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:52.839 He knows what it's like to be ordinary. 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:55.279 He knows what it's like to live in this world. 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:57.599 He lives the life that we should live. 00:30:57.599 --> 00:31:07.240 And more than that, he goes into the fire of God's wrath and God's judgment and our hell to deliver us. 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:10.680 So, he goes into that to redeem us. 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:21.600 But you can add to that as well, I think, by saying, but not only does he do that to free us from the judgment that we deserve, but also in this life. 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:25.399 And we read at the beginning of the service in Isaiah 43. 00:31:25.399 --> 00:31:37.219 But I think that Isaiah 43, by the way, I think this is a direct fulfillment of that prophecy that he will, when you, you will not be burned though you walk through the flames. 00:31:37.719 --> 00:31:39.079 And I will be with you always. 00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:48.919 But I think there's a picture there of our Christian lives so often for us, is that he is with us in the fire, not from it. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:50.639 Now, that's an old application. 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:51.299 I know that. 00:31:51.699 --> 00:31:54.319 But I think it's a valid one, a really valid one. 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:57.359 That he doesn't say, you're going to have a fire-free life. 00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:59.639 You're going to have a problem-free life. 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:01.179 You're not going to get burned. 00:32:01.399 --> 00:32:02.599 Well, you're not going to get burned. 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:05.319 But you are going to be in the fire. 00:32:05.319 --> 00:32:13.279 And it is going to be, there is going to be, for us in this life, suffering and difficulty and struggle and battle. 00:32:13.419 --> 00:32:22.000 But he says, I am with you in it for your peace, for your protection and spiritually for your healing and for your wholeness. 00:32:22.379 --> 00:32:23.700 Now, that is not an easy thing. 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:33.980 And I don't in any way say that glibly or cheaply or by any means try to undermine people's suffering and difficulty. 00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:35.240 Far from it. 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:37.259 People go through terrible things. 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:40.140 We've been praying about some of the things that people are going to do. 00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:43.140 Christians in Syria and in other places, going through terrible things. 00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:44.660 They ask their question, where is God? 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:45.579 Why is God? 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:59.039 Unless we hold on to his goodness and his ultimate rescue, his rescue in the situation now so that we can glorify him in it. 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:04.839 But obviously, ultimately, his rescue in the new heavens and new earth, which is great, which is going to be wonderful. 00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:07.279 Then we lose everything. 00:33:08.159 --> 00:33:13.019 Because if you start thinking, if I start thinking God isn't good, he's not really good. 00:33:13.399 --> 00:33:17.480 He's actually evil, which is the only thing we can say. 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:30.519 If we're blaming him for not being good in the way that he's treating us in our lives, then we are left really confused and in a really difficult place spiritually. 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:36.799 And we want to hold on because no greater love has a man than this that he lays down his life for his friends. 00:33:36.860 --> 00:33:39.339 And that's what Jesus Christ has done so that we might live. 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:49.519 So the key to all of this, in many ways for us, is listening to the whole of the interpretation of the dream Daniel got in chapter 2, 00:33:49.899 --> 00:33:57.419 which finishes off with this great prophecy of the God of heaven who will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, 00:33:57.819 --> 00:33:59.740 nor will it be left to another people. 00:34:00.679 --> 00:34:03.319 That we are citizens of that kingdom now. 00:34:03.919 --> 00:34:08.799 That we belong and that there's an eternal dimension to that kingdom. 00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:14.820 which is going to be outworked in a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. 00:34:15.640 --> 00:34:17.880 And he is the one who holds the keys. 00:34:18.420 --> 00:34:19.260 He is important. 00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:22.600 And it is great to belong to him in that kingdom. 00:34:22.820 --> 00:34:23.440 It's a battle. 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:24.519 It's a struggle. 00:34:24.660 --> 00:34:27.700 We'll be asked to do things that we find difficult. 00:34:27.980 --> 00:34:32.600 We'll be asked to stand up and be courageous, particularly maybe in the society in which we live today. 00:34:33.100 --> 00:34:34.340 But he is worthy. 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:36.980 He's worthy of us serving him. 00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:42.199 And there's not another way to life and to life in all its fullness. 00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:43.139 There isn't. 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:45.019 There's not another way. 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:51.039 And if there is, come up, tell me about it, and I will bow down and I will worship you. 00:34:51.039 --> 00:35:01.539 If there's a way to eternal life that you can show me, that you have, that is different from Jesus Christ and his goodness and love and grace, 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:05.800 I will worship you because you'll be worthy. 00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:08.779 Let's bow our heads and pray. 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:12.820 Father God, we thank you for your truth and for your grace. 00:35:13.140 --> 00:35:17.040 We know it's difficult for us to acknowledge your lordship. 00:35:17.340 --> 00:35:21.300 We battle with so much selfishness and pride, sometimes jealousy. 00:35:22.580 --> 00:35:25.880 We battle with our own significance. 00:35:26.700 --> 00:35:31.500 We battle with struggles and difficulties and heartache and loss. 00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:37.460 We don't understand why you treat some people seemingly the way that they are treated. 00:35:37.619 --> 00:35:40.340 We don't understand why our lives sometimes are so good. 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:54.800 We simply hold on to this great knowledge of your goodness, perfect goodness, and of your grace and commitment to us in coming to walk in the flames, 00:35:54.900 --> 00:36:02.320 to walk in the fires of life, but also to walk through the darkness of the flames of hell, 00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:19.000 to redeem us and save us from that desperate separation that is the future of those who do not know or bow the knee to their creator and Lord and Jesus Christ. 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:26.059 So help us to be humble like Shadrach, Bishach and Abednego, quiet in our subversiveness, 00:36:26.840 --> 00:36:31.300 gentle, graceful, respectful, but really steely and strong. 00:36:31.300 --> 00:36:38.080 And using our lives as an opportunity, even when difficulties arise, 00:36:38.640 --> 00:36:46.500 to witness and worship and point people to Jesus Christ and help us to do that in your name. 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:47.740 Amen.