Now friends, welcome back to our time of worship together, of hearing God and his word, of prayer and of singing praise to him.
I want to begin reading from 1 Peter. Peter was writing to Christians who were suffering, beginning to face persecution.
And as we think about the experience of Daniel, Daniel's three friends, it's helpful for us to hear.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
So Peter says to us, here's our hope as Christians, that through the resurrection of Jesus, we have a living hope and an inheritance that can never be taken from us.
And he goes on to say, he talks about suffering, but in all this, you greatly rejoice.
Though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory and honour.
When Jesus Christ is revealed, we will see three friends whose faith was tested through the fire and it brought praise, glory and honour to the one true God.
So let's sing praise to our God now.
Daniel chapter 3.
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.
So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up and they stood before it.
Then the herald loudly proclaimed,
Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, lither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music,
all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshipped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
At this time, some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar,
May the King live forever.
Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold.
And that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.
But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty.
They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.
Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
So these men were brought before the king and 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 then, you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music.
If you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good.
But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.
Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him,
King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the god we serve is able to deliver us from it,
and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand.
But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty,
that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
and his attitude toward them changed.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual
and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army
to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes,
were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.
The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot
that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
And these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then king Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors,
Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?
They replied, Certainly, Your Majesty.
He said, Look, I see four men walking around in the fire,
unbound and unharmed, and the fourth 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
and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors crowded around them.
They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was the hair of their heads singed.
Their robes were not scorched and there was no smell of fire on them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise be to the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
who has sent his angel and rescued his servants.
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.
Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language
who say anything against the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
be cut into pieces and their house be turned into piles of rubble
for no other god can save in this way.
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
in the province of Babylon.
So thanks to both of you for your help.
Now let's think together about those words that Darius read for us
in Daniel chapter 3 and thinking about a fear to overcome our fears.
Some of God's people are remembered through history
for their courage and bravery.
Perhaps you've heard of Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna in the second century
who was facing execution for his faith
but was given an opportunity to reject Jesus.
And he said, eighty and six years have I served him
and he never did me any injury.
How then can I blaspheme my king and my saviour?
Or we can think perhaps of Martin Luther in the 16th century
at the diet of worms surrounded by all the powerful figures
of the Catholic Church threatened with excommunication
because of his new understanding of what the Bible taught,
the truth about justification by faith,
the life of repentance and other things.
And Martin Luther said,
It's true for these three friends, isn't it?
When we think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
we think of them facing the fiery furnace
with courage and seeking to honour God.
But it's not the case for most of us as Christians.
We don't find ourselves confronted by those life or death scenarios.
But each one of us in our own different way
will come under pressure to conform,
whether that's our behaviour,
whether that's our patterns of thought or words.
And we will, I am sure, find at times a physical fear
that stops us talking to someone about Jesus, perhaps.
We will feel a fear
that will make us want to blend in with our actions.
So that fear is something that we all have to wrestle with.
The question then becomes,
how can you and I, if we are Christians,
how can we take our stand
to seek to live for the honour and glory of God,
set against the backdrop of the furnace
of public opinion,
which can be ruthless at times?
And the answer is, like these three friends,
we need a greater fear.
We need the fear of the Lord
by which we are willing to submit to him,
to trust in him,
to obey him as king,
to stand in awe of his glory,
of his grace and of his love
so that he would have the loyalty of our hearts.
So we're going to think about that today.
So let's learn from these three friends
who find themselves facing the furnace.
The first thing to draw our attention to
is the image,
Nebuchadnezzar's image.
Now, if you were listening in last week,
you'll remember that in chapter two,
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream,
a dream representing different empires.
And at the top,
there was a statue,
it was the centre of his dream.
And this statue had the head of gold,
which represented Nebuchadnezzar.
And now, what do we see?
We see Nebuchadnezzar making an image of gold,
about 27 metres high
and almost 3 metres wide.
This is a defiant statement.
Saying, my glory will not end.
Here is pride.
Nebuchadnezzar is not someone
who is going to bow to the superior glory
of the God who revealed
the meaning of the dream.
Rather, he wants to assert his own glory,
and greatness.
And so what we see in verses two and three,
the great and the good are summoned
to this dedication of the image.
It's unclear exactly what's going on.
Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar has the idea
of his whole empire
being united together under one religion.
And some of us,
we know this in our countries,
that there is,
and we know around the world,
there is the pressure
from certain governments,
one country,
one religion,
and it leads to persecution for Christians.
But certainly what's going on here
is that Nebuchadnezzar
is putting his power on display.
He is the one who sets up the image,
it's his,
and he is the one who commands worship.
And so what happens?
Verses four to seven,
and the music begins to play,
and the nations,
and the people,
bow the knee.
There is a total and immediate response.
Because here is a test of loyalty
from the most powerful man
on the earth.
And in a sense,
there's a very great incentive given
in verse six.
Whoever does not fall down and worship
will immediately be thrown
into a blazing furnace.
So perhaps there's no great surprise
when the summons comes,
bow or burn,
that the nations and the peoples
bow the knee.
Two related ideas to notice.
First of all,
where is this image built?
Verse one,
he's set up on the plain of Jura.
This is the same place
where the tower of Babel was built.
Genesis chapter 11.
And what is the goal of this image?
It's worship.
It's God-like status.
For Nebuchadnezzar.
Do we see what's going on here?
Way back in the Garden of Eden
that the sin of Adam,
pride,
overreaching,
seeking to be God-like,
not content to be an image bearer,
wanting to be God-like.
The sin of Babel.
Let's make a name for ourselves.
Let's show our glory without God.
It's exactly the same sin
that we see in Nebuchadnezzar.
A desire that the self be the centre.
Desire that he have worship
and he have glory.
It's pride.
We've also got a contest of the gods going on.
We've got a battle for worship.
We've got the one true God who deserves worship
and Nebuchadnezzar who doesn't,
but he demands worship.
And so we'll see it with these friends.
Who should we fear?
When we think about stories like this,
it helps us to think
and to pray for the persecuted church as well
because they have a pressure to conform
that is enormous.
There are some of our brothers and sisters in Christ
where the power of an emperor or a ruler
or local authorities or a police
that are trying to demand
that everybody can form a dominant religion
that would seek to quell Christianity.
I wonder if we are aware of
those pressure points for us
when it comes to conforming.
I was listening to a short podcast this week
on a thing called toxic productivity.
And the psychologist on that,
she was saying that,
you know, there is such an,
she didn't use the word idle,
but success is so important.
She says there's a huge pressure on people,
even during lockdown,
to think that unless I've learned a new language,
developed a new skill,
achieved huge amounts in work
or in personal life,
then we are some kind of failure.
And she calls it toxic productivity
because it means people are very stressed.
People find it hard to rest.
And it's a really unhealthy motivation.
But that's one way that we can feel the pressure
to conform and to look to show a successful life.
And there is, of course,
being highlighted for us,
the battle that we all have with pride.
The sin of pride that we look to remove God
from his rightful place of worship,
the central place in our hearts,
to replace God with self,
where we're thinking about our plans
and our priorities.
And we have to deal with that sin.
So we all feel the heat of the furnace in some way,
the experience of Daniel's three friends in some way.
Let's see how they deal with it.
Let's look at the stand that they take.
So while all the nations are bowing down,
you've got in verse eight,
some astrologers who come forward
and denounce the Jews.
And it seems like this is an extreme example
of workplace rivalry.
They are jealous that Nebuchadnezzar
has promoted these foreigners.
And so they want to take down the competition
that they most likely would then be raised up.
Verse 12,
There are some Jews whom you have set
over the affairs of the province of Babylon
who pay no attention to you, your majesty.
They neither serve your gods
nor worship the image of gold you have set up.
They are rejecting your gods.
They won't worship your image.
They keep their own faith.
Nebuchadnezzar, you need to deal with these guys.
And so in verses 13 to 15,
we see a furious king again.
He was furious that his wise men
couldn't give him the dream and its meaning.
Now he's furious again.
So he calls the three friends to him
and he demands their total loyalty.
He gives them an ultimatum.
He says, this is your last chance.
When the music starts playing,
you better bow or you'll go into the furnace.
Verse 15 is another one of those great verses
in the book of Daniel.
When we think about that contest of the gods
and for worship.
Towards the end it is,
if you don't worship it,
you'll be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.
Then what God will be able to rescue you
from my hand.
This verse again is going to allow us to lift the roof off
so that we get to see the one true God,
the only one that King Nebuchadnezzar,
the three friends,
everybody should bow down to.
You know,
he sets the context,
what God will be able to rescue.
He's saying,
your life and death,
it's in my hands,
not your God's hands.
Look at the power of the empire.
Give yourself to the dark side.
It is the challenge being put
to these three men.
Let's pause for a moment.
Here we have three friends
confronted by the force of a furious emperor
who's quite happy to issue death sentences
here and there.
The power of the greatest empire in the world
is behind him.
And they're standing for God.
And that reminds us that standing for God
sometimes can be lonely
in our school or university,
in our workplace,
even in our family,
it can be lonely.
Standing for God
can be costly.
We see the cost involved
for these three men.
They were certainly going to lose their positions.
They were going to lose
all their comfort and security.
They were going to lose
their lives
except for God's miraculous intervention.
So here are three friends
confronted by the greatest physical fear
we can probably imagine.
But how do they respond?
Verse 16.
King Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not need to defend ourselves
before you in this matter.
They're not going to try and defend themselves.
They have made their choice.
They will take their stand.
They have two certainties.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,
the God we serve
is able to deliver us from it.
And here's their other certainty.
We will not serve your gods
or worship the image of gold
you have set up.
So they're not going to participate in idolatry
and their God is mighty to save.
But they do not know
if saving them now
is part of God's plan.
God is able to save
but they don't presume
that God will save.
But they take their stand.
How are they able to do that?
When life for them
hangs in the balance,
we can almost imagine
them weighing their fears
in the balance.
So it would be unnatural
if they didn't have
the fear of death.
But yet there is a greater fear
in their lives,
the fear of the Lord.
that sense of awe
at who he is
and what he has done
for them.
His greater truth
and reality
so that they would sooner die
than stop trusting
and obeying
their God.
They feel the call
to bow
to the idol
and the risks involved
for saying no
but they have a greater call
in their heart
to bow
to their Lord.
to listen
to his promises
to trust
in his salvation.
That rather than
placing their lives
in the hands
of King Nebuchadnezzar
they place their lives
and their honour
and their identity
in the hands
of God the King.
Faced with the pressure
to give glory
to Nebuchadnezzar
and the fear
of denying him
that glory he demands.
Weighed in the balance
they choose
the greater glory
the eternal weight
of glory
offered
by God
in his word
to those who love
and fear him.
so that greater fear
the fear of the Lord
is always tipping
the scales
of their heart
they choose
what lasts
they choose loyalty
placing themselves
in God's hands
trusting in their
Saviour God
come what may.
It's a wonderful model
an example to us
to think about
how to weigh
our fears
in the balance
because we recognise
of course
fears come
pressures come
challenges
and temptations
come
to fold
rather than
to take a stand
and in those moments
we need to consider
who our God is
what our God promises
as being greater
bigger
higher
more lasting
than
what
any king
or idol
or friend
or promotion
promises.
Now let's think
about
the Saviour
in verse
19
onwards
here is
King Nebuchadnezzar
he's even
more
furious
we see
the king
doing his
worst
to really
punish
these
men
super
heating
the furnace
flinging
them in
and it's
made clear
the details
make clear
that there
is no
human
prospect
for escape
so
in verse
21
they're
bound
and thrown
into the
furnace
we see
it's so hot
that the
soldiers
are killed
verse 23
these three
men
firmly tied
fell
into
the blazing
furnace
but then
comes the
amazement
of Nebuchadnezzar
fury
turns to
wonder
weren't there
three men
that were tied
up and
thrown into
the fire
certainly
your majesty
look I see
four men
walking around
in the fire
unbound
and unharmed
and the
fourth
looks like
a son
of the
gods
a son
of the
gods
this figure
who has a
god-like
appearance
even though
in human
form
comes
and brings
this amazing
rescue
so that when
they're brought
out
in verse 27
I love the
details
the fire
had not
harmed
their bodies
nor was a
hair
of their
head
singed
their robes
are not
scorched
and there
was no
smell of
fire
on them
it's been
nice weather
so we've
had some
barbecues
and if
you've ever
cooked a
barbecue
just to be
near the
fire
means that
everything
is going to
stink of
smoke
isn't it
but for
these three
friends
they're not
singed
they're not
scorched
there's not
even the
smell of
smoke
on them
and the
impact on
King
Nebuchadnezzar
is striking
again
we have
a pagan
king
who turns
to praise
God
verse 28
praise be
to the
God of
Shandrach
Meshach
and
Abednego
who sent
his angel
and rescued
his servants
he issues
a new
decree
very fierce
language
people of
any nation
or language
who say
anything
against the
God of
Shandrach
Meshach
and Abednego
be cut
into pieces
and their
houses be
turned into
piles of
rubble
for no
other
God
can save
in this
way
he recognises
the God
who delivers
the God
who uniquely
saves
and where
does that
recognition
come from
why
does he
end up
praising
God
it's because
in verse 28
of the stand
of these three
friends
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
their testimony
matching up
to that
of
Peter's
letter
in 1 Peter
faith being
seen through
trials
and shining
like
gold
leading
Nebuchadnezzar
to realise
the one
true God
offers
unique
salvation
and this
leads us
to the
hope
of the
gospel
now there's
a danger
here
you know
we must
say
be like
these three
friends
live
with the
fear of
the Lord
that overcomes
all other
fears
but the
danger
is if
we only
say that
our own
failures
will most
likely
crush
us
because
if your
past is
anything
like
mine
you can
think about
times where
you compromise
your beliefs
to fit in
at times
where you
didn't talk
to a friend
about
Jesus
times when
you gave
your heart
to an
idol
and that's
not just
restricted to
our past
that's also
part of
our present
reality
so if all
we had
was be
like
Daniel's
friends
we'd
probably
be
despairing
so let's
finish
while hearing
that that we
are to
fear the
Lord
let's finish
with two
truths
about
Jesus
to give
us
hope
first of
all
Jesus
perfectly
resisted
this
temptation
Matthew
chapter 4
tempted in
the wilderness
by Satan
Satan
comes to
him and
says I
will give
you the
kingdoms
I will
give you
all glory
if you
will bow
down to
me
here's
your way
to kingdom
and glory
and power
without the
cross
Jesus
how did
Jesus
respond
worship
the Lord
your God
and serve
him
only
he
resisted
temptation
and the
fear of
the Lord
and that
concern for
the glory
of his
father
that concern
for loving
obedience
would lead to
his active
obedience all
through his
life and
would lead
him to
the cross
where Jesus
would then
die for
sinners and
for sin
he would
die for
all the
times that
we cave
in and
fold
instead of
bringing him
honour
so that by
trusting in
Jesus
that sin
is removed
and we
are regarded
when we are
in Jesus
as if we
are perfectly
righteous
so there
is hope
beyond failure
in the
gospel of
God's
great grace
and here's
the second
way that
Jesus gives
hope
because we
remember that
Jesus went
into another
furnace to
save us
Jonathan
Edwards
in one of
his sermons
compares the
cross
with the
fiery furnace
and he
thinks about
Gethsemane as
Jesus receiving
a preview
of the
divine
wrath that
he's going
to face
on behalf
of his
people
and Edwards
says that
God the
Father
as it were
set the
cup down
before him
which was
more terrible
than
Nebuchadnezzar's
furnace
when he
took that
cup
knowing what
he did
so was his
love to us
infinitely more
wonderful
and his
obedience to
God
infinitely
more
perfect
Jesus
who was
with those
friends in
the fiery
furnace
would again
go into
a furnace
this time
the furnace
of God's
judgment
against sin
this time
not with
us
but for
us
in our
place
as our
substitute
as our
sacrifice
and Jesus
doesn't come
out unharmed
Jesus
dies
on the
cross
and he
does that
to secure
our
rescue
that we
might
stand before
the judgment
seat of
God and
come through
that
unharmed
if our
faith
is in
Jesus
the eternal
life
is ours
if we
are trusting
him
and now
this Jesus
who went
through the
furnace
for us
now he
is God
with us
in our
fiery
trials
that strength
to stand
does not
come from
ourselves
it comes
from Jesus
so let
the fear
of the
Lord
drive out
other fears
and trust
in this
Lord who
is with
us
who is
mighty to
save
and who
has shown
that
in sending
Jesus
forth
within
what
means
to
for
the
session
the
end