Amen. Well, please open up your Bibles to the book of Daniel.
We'll be in Daniel chapter 3 this morning.
We've made our way to Daniel chapter 3.
And so when you found that in your Bibles, let's stand for the reading of God's Word.
Daniel chapter 3.
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was 60 cubits and its breadth 6 cubits.
He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
And the herald proclaimed aloud,
You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,
and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image
that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
And whoever does not fall down and worship
shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,
and every kind of music,
all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar,
O king, live forever.
You, king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,
and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image.
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
These men, O king, pay no attention to you.
They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in a furious rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought.
So they brought these men before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them,
Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music,
to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.
But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king,
O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace.
And he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.
And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments,
and they were thrown into the burning, fiery furnace.
Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace was overheated,
the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning, fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.
He declared to his counselors,
Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?
They answered and said to the king,
True, O king.
He answered and said,
But I see four men, unbound, walking in the midst of the fire,
and they are not hurt,
and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning, fiery furnace,
and he declared,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together
and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men.
The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed,
and no smell of fire had come upon them.
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said,
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him
and set aside the king's command
and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god.
Therefore I make a decree,
any people, nation, or language
that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
shall be torn limb from limb
and their houses laid in ruins
for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
in the province of Babylon.
This is the holy word of God.
If you would, let's pray once more.
Lord, we have read your word, we've opened it up,
and now we seek your help to understand it.
So we pray, Father, would you give us ears to hear
and hearts to receive your word this morning.
We pray in Christ's name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Amen.
On April 18, 1521,
Martin Luther stood at the Diet of Worms
in front of Emperor Charles V
where he would have to answer two questions.
Question number one,
did he actually write the 25 pieces of literature
that they had assembled there together for their examination,
which according to them contained heretical teachings
against the church and her doctrine?
And if so, question number two,
would he recant?
Luther was already officially excommunicated from the church,
but now he faced an additional threat of the imperial ban,
which would come with it,
the threat against his life.
So Luther, wisely so,
requested a little bit of time to pray.
He retreated and prayed
and came back to face the emperor
and gave one of what I believe is
one of the most moving speeches
in all of Christian history.
He said the following,
Unless I am convinced by the testimony
of the Holy Scriptures
or by evident reason,
for I believe neither pope nor councils alone,
as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly
and contradicted themselves,
I consider myself convicted
by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures,
which is my basis.
My conscience is captive to the word of God.
Thus I cannot and will not recant,
because acting against one's own conscience
is neither safe nor sound.
Here I stand,
I can do no other.
God help me.
Amen.
Don't you love stories like this?
Stories like this from church history
of Christians taking a stand
at risk to their own life.
They move us.
We find encouragement from them
because while we may never
have to stand before the emperor,
if we belong to the kingdom of God,
we will face trials and temptations
and tribulations here in the kingdom of man.
The stories like Luther's
and like Daniel's
and like Shadrach's, Meshach's,
and Abednego here in Daniel chapter 3
this morning show us
what can we expect
as citizens of God's kingdom
living here in the kingdom of man.
The question that I want us to ask this morning
as we look at Daniel chapter 3
is simply what can we expect?
What can we expect
as citizens of God's kingdom
here in the kingdom of man?
What should you expect
if you are a follower of Christ
here in the kingdom of man?
I want to give us three expectations
from Daniel chapter 3.
Three expectations.
Number one, first,
God's people should expect
temptation and tension.
God's people should expect
temptation and tension.
Look there starting in verse 1
of chapter 3.
You remember last week in chapter 2
God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream
of this great image.
You remember this dream?
And the head of the image
was made of gold.
And you remember this
represented Nebuchadnezzar
and it represented
the kingdom of Babylon.
But the rest of the image
it was composed of
these different materials
and these different materials
represented different kingdoms
that would come after Nebuchadnezzar.
This was God's revealed plan
for the future.
Well, it seems like
here in chapter 3
Nebuchadnezzar has his own plan.
He makes his own image.
This image,
if we follow the measurements,
it's about 90 feet tall
and about 9 feet wide
and it's not made up
of different composite parts.
What's it made up out of?
It's all made of gold.
As if to say,
as long as I can,
for as much as I can,
I'm going to rule over my kingdom
and I'm going to get the glory.
We need to understand this image
is an image of pride
and defiance.
Which is interesting
because Daniel tells us
that Nebuchadnezzar
builds this giant golden image
in the plain of Dura,
which is the exact place,
geographically,
where the Tower of Babel
was constructed.
All these years ago
in Genesis chapter 11,
you remember the Tower of Babel
where all the peoples of the earth,
all the nations of the earth
gathered together
in defiance
against God's command
to scatter
and spread the earth,
spread his glory
amongst the earth.
And they gathered together
to say,
let us make a name
for ourselves.
This was defiance
and pride.
History is repeating itself here.
See, there's this theme,
this thread
of pride
and defiance
and self-exaltation
that runs all the way
through human history
beginning with the Garden of Eden
and that will not be
finally done away with
until the return of Christ.
This is characteristic
of the kingdom of man.
So we see here,
this is a man-centered,
self-exalting worship service.
And Nebuchadnezzar sets up.
He gathers all the officials,
all his people,
and he makes a proclamation,
verse 4,
that you are commanded,
O peoples,
nations,
languages,
when you hear the sound
of all of these musical instruments
that I will not read again.
And every kind of music,
you are to fall down
and worship
the image
that King Nebuchadnezzar
has set up.
And whoever does not worship
and does not fall down
shall immediately
face judgment.
They'll be cast
into a burning,
fiery furnace.
Well, verse 7 says,
the music begins to play,
the worship service
has begun,
and all the people's,
nations,
languages fell down
and worshiped
worshiped
the golden image
that King Nebuchadnezzar
has set up,
all the peoples that is
except for three.
The Chaldeans,
they noticed
these men refusing
to bow down
to the image.
And so verse 8 tells us
that certain Chaldeans
came forward
and ratted them out.
They said,
these certain Jews,
Nebuchadnezzar,
who you appointed
over the affairs of Babylon,
sounds like a little bit
of jealousy there,
possibly.
They pay no attention
to you.
They don't serve your gods.
They don't worship
the golden image
that you set up.
And as you would expect,
Nebuchadnezzar
was furious about this.
And he brought the men
in before him.
He said,
is this true?
Do you really not
worship my gods?
Do you really
disregard my command?
Do you really not
bow down to this golden image
that I set up?
But he said,
here's one more shot.
I'll stand here and watch.
And when you hear the music,
if you will bow down
and worship,
then well and good.
But if you won't,
there's a burning,
fiery furnace
waiting for you.
And who is the God
who will deliver you
out of my hands?
And now,
finally,
we get to hear
from Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego.
Verse 16.
Look there with me.
I love how they respond
to the king.
They say,
O Nebuchadnezzar,
we have no need
to answer you
in this matter.
If this be so,
our God,
whom we serve,
is able to deliver
from the fiery furnace.
And he will deliver us
out of your hand,
O king.
But if not,
do you hear that?
But even if not,
be it known to you,
O king,
that we will not
serve your gods
or worship the golden image
that you
have set up.
You know,
this is the only time
in all of scripture
that we hear Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego speak.
And it's here
in this moving speech.
Now these three men,
they give us an example
of what it looks like
to refuse to bow the knee
to anyone
or anything
outside of the one
true God.
Now these three men,
they teach us
how to resist
the idols of our time
and how to live
in the tension
that we all feel
being a citizen
of God's kingdom
here in the kingdom
of man.
Now I'll never forget
when I was living
in Charlotte,
I walked,
I took a walk one day,
I lived down the road
from a Buddhist temple.
And I walked
down the road
and went into
this Buddhist temple
and I saw
lining the walls
were hundreds
of physical idols.
These man-made images,
these man-made gods
that somebody
had to craft
and piece together
with their own hands.
Somebody had to
pick them up
and put them
on the shelf.
From time to time,
somebody has to come by
and dust off
these dirty gods.
They've got to walk
carefully,
they don't want to
bump into the shelf
because if they do,
that god will fall
off the shelf
and shatter into pieces.
But I saw people
in there bowing down
and worshiping
these false images.
And to me,
it seems so obvious.
This is foolishness.
This is empty.
Why are they doing this?
But church,
we need to understand
the truth is that
all of us
are tempted
to worship idols.
All of us
worship idols.
We may never
bow down
to physical images,
physical idols
on a wall,
but I want to be clear
with you this morning.
All of us
are tempted
to idolatry.
Every one of us
is prone
to worship
and serve
created things
rather than
the creator.
That's idolatry.
Idolatry
isn't simply
bowing down
to a physical image
on a wall
or a golden statue
that's 90 feet tall.
Idolatry
is allowing
anyone
or anything
to take
God's rightful place
in our heart.
So we may never
bow down
to a golden statue,
but we may
worship our bank account.
we may
bow down
to the attention
of others.
We may
not ever
bow down
to golden statues,
but we may
make idols
of our spouse,
of our children,
of our grandchildren,
of our jobs.
We may be
drawn to adopt
the idols
of our culture.
You realize
our culture
idolizes sex,
self-determination,
social status,
social approval,
the accumulation
of stuff.
How much stuff
can I get?
The newest gadget,
the newest thing,
the nicer house,
the nicer car.
Church,
whatever it may be,
the kingdom of man
would love
to make anything
the center
of our heart's affection
besides the one person
who rightly deserves
to be there.
We have to
expect this
and resist it.
Not only this,
these three men
also teach us
how to live
in the tension
as citizens
of God's kingdom
living here
in the kingdom of man.
Do you ever feel
that tension?
If you're a Christian,
again,
your identity
is that you are
a citizen
of God's kingdom,
which means
the Lord
is your ultimate authority.
You bow the knee
ultimately
to Him.
But even so,
we live here
on earth,
here in all in all,
South Carolina,
here in America.
We are a citizen
of this physical place
and we live
under earthly authority.
So how do we handle
that tension?
Our statement of faith,
it has an article
concerning civil government
and it says this,
it says,
we believe
that civil government
has been divinely appointed
for the benefit
and good order
of human society
and that public officials
are to be prayed for,
honored,
and conscientiously obeyed,
except only in things
opposed to the will
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is the only Lord
of the conscience
and the prince
of the kings
of the earth.
So on the one hand,
we believe,
along with Paul
in Romans 13,
we believe
that we're called
to honor
and obey
our earthly authorities.
We believe
that they're appointed
by God Himself
and that means
whether or not
we like them,
whether or not
we voted for them,
whether or not
we believe
they have rightfully
taken that place
of authority,
we believe
that we are called
to pray for
and honor
those earthly authorities
that have been placed
over us.
But on the other hand,
we believe
that we must
disobey
any earthly authority
who would command us
to do anything
God forbids
or forbid us
to do anything
God commands.
You hear that?
We must
disobey
any earthly authority
who would command us
to do anything
God forbids
or would forbid us
to do anything
God commands.
Well,
clearly here,
Nebuchadnezzar
commands them
to do something
God forbids
and so they remember
who they truly serve
and church,
so must we.
We would be wise
to expect
temptation
and tension
here in the kingdom
of man.
If we're a citizen
of God's kingdom,
we should expect
temptation
and tension
and second,
we should expect
that when we
resist temptation
and when we resist
our earthly authorities
here in this world,
we should expect
that that will not
be well received.
The second expectation
here for God's people,
God's people
should expect
trials and tribulations
here in the kingdom
of man.
God's people
should expect
trials
and tribulations
here in the kingdom
of man.
You know,
there are some people
who think
that if you are
one of God's people
or maybe if you just
have enough faith
that you won't face
any hardship
in your life.
You won't face
any trial.
If you're right
in the center
of God's will,
all should go well
with you.
You won't face
any issue,
but I want to make
as clear as I possibly
can this morning
that's false.
Story after story
after story
from God's word,
story after story
after story
from the history
of God's people
and church history
tells us that
here in the kingdom
of man,
God's people
should expect
trials and tribulations.
You know,
about a month
after Luther's speech,
the emperor,
you can imagine,
did not receive
that well.
The emperor
condemned Luther
as a notorious heretic
and an enemy
of the state
and he forbid
the citizens
of the empire
from reading
or spreading
any of Luther's ideas
and he even
gave permission
for any citizen
to kill Martin Luther
without any consequence.
His resistance
was not well received.
And here,
after Shadrach
and Meshach
and Abednego
give their speech
in front of the king
in verse 19,
we see again
Nebuchadnezzar
is filled
with fury
and he orders
the furnace
to be heated
seven times more
than it was usually heated
and he orders
some of the strong men
of his army
to tie them up
and to cast them
into the fire
and in fact,
verse 22,
it says,
the fire was so overheated,
his order was so urgent
that the flame
killed those strong men
who took up
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
and these three men
fell bound
into the fiery furnace.
They were persecuted
for their loyalty
to the Lord
and to his kingdom.
And of course,
we know how this story
eventually ends
and we'll get there,
but I'd like to point out
here in the second point
that if their story
ended right here,
with these men
being thrown
into the fiery furnace,
with these men
being punished
and persecuted
for bowing the knee
to the Lord,
if their story
ended right here,
it would be a fairly
common story
in church history.
The extraordinary part
of the story
is not the suffering.
It's the miraculous
deliverance
from the suffering
that's extraordinary.
But the suffering here,
the consequence
for being faithful
in the present evil age,
that is to be expected
for them and church,
for us.
1 Peter chapter 4
tells us,
do not be surprised
when the fiery trial
comes upon you
to test you
as though something
strange were happening
to you.
Don't be surprised
by it.
Expect it,
in other words.
You know,
this sounds strange
to our modern ears,
doesn't it?
Because here
in our current time
and our current place,
here in America
in 2024,
we have it pretty safe,
don't we?
It does seem strange
when a fiery trial
comes upon us,
doesn't it?
But we need to understand
that the comfort
that we enjoy here,
right now,
is not the norm
for the history
of the church,
and it's not the norm
for the global church,
of which we are
a small part.
Open Doors
released the results
of their 2024
World Watch List study.
It's a study
that analyzes
Christian persecution
throughout the world,
and their most recent
numbers show
that on average,
13 Christians
are killed
every day
for professing
faith in Christ.
That's about
one every two hours.
And so,
from the time
we gathered
for Sunday school
to the time
we go out here
to celebrate
and eat cookies,
church,
a brother or sister
has given their life
for professing
faith in Christ.
During their research
period,
they found that
over 4,000 Christians
were detained
without trial,
arrested,
sentenced,
or imprisoned.
3,900 believers
were abducted,
more than 46,000
Christians suffered
some sort of abuse,
nearly 300,000
Christians were
forced to leave
their homes,
go into hiding,
or flee their
country of origin,
and more than
14,000 churches,
Christian schools,
hospitals,
and other buildings
were targeted
last year,
which was a 700%
increase over
the previous year.
I don't share
all of that
to worry you
or to scare you,
but to tell you
that we ought
to expect
this sort of thing
here in the
kingdom of man.
And Jesus tells us
what to expect
in Luke chapter 21.
He told his disciples,
you will be hated
by all
for my name's sake,
but not a hair
of your head
will perish.
By your endurance
you will gain
your lives.
Church,
I just want to ask,
does that sound
strange to you?
I'll give you
another example,
another story,
this one from
the book of Acts,
where Paul comes
to Lystra,
and the Jews
come from Antioch
and from Iconium,
and they come
and they beat him
so badly
that they dragged
him out of the city
and they thought
he was dead.
You know this story?
But it says that
he gets up
and the very next day
he goes on
preaching the gospel,
and then when they
preached in that city
and made many disciples
in that city,
it says he went
back to Lystra
and back to Iconium
and back to Antioch,
right back where
he was just beaten
half to death,
right back where
his enemies
had just come from,
and it says
he strengthened
the souls of the disciples,
encouraging them
to continue in the faith
and saying that
through many tribulations
we must enter
the kingdom of God.
Y'all better believe
that's a sermon
they would not forget.
Church,
we will suffer
on the way
to glory.
We have to expect this.
And that may sound
intimidating,
it may sound
discouraging to you,
but we also
should take comfort,
church,
that for the children
of God
no trial
is wasted.
The very same fire
that the kingdom
of this world
would use
to destroy
the people
of God,
the Lord would use
to refine
the people
of God.
And we just sang
a few moments ago,
didn't we?
When through fiery trials
thy pathway should lie,
my grace all-sufficient
shall be thy supply.
The flame
shall not hurt thee,
I only design
your dross
to consume
and thy gold
to refine.
See,
the enemy,
he intends
the flame
to destroy us,
but the Lord
designs the flame
to purify us,
to burn away
the dross
and to purify
and refine
the gold.
I'll give you
one more story.
I told you
Martin Luther's story,
I'll share another.
This one from
the English Reformation.
It's a story
of Latimer
and Ridley.
Do you know
those names?
Maybe not.
Ridley was
an outspoken
critic of
Bloody Mary
who earned
that name,
if you don't know,
by burning
hundreds of
Protestants
at the stake.
And both
of these men
were arrested
and were tried.
They went to trial
for treason
and for heresy,
which under
Mary's new
reformed heresy
law came with
the punishment,
the sentence
of being burned
at the stake.
And so,
you know,
this might seem
like a good time
to walk it back.
It might seem
like a good time
to beg for mercy,
but instead
what we see
is they faced
this trial
with boldness
and confidence
in the Lord.
Apparently,
during the public
trial,
Ridley would put
a cap on his head
any time the Pope's
name was mentioned.
When they brought
up charges
that Ridley
denied the validity
of the Mass,
he simply said,
Christ made
one perfect
sacrifice
for the sins
of the world.
Neither can
any man
reiterate
that sacrifice
of his.
When the day
came for them
to die,
Latimer
walked slowly
up to the stake.
He was older
than Ridley,
but Ridley
walked straight up
as quickly
as he could.
And when they
gave him
the opportunity
to recant
his statements
against Mary
and against
the Catholic
Church in England,
he said,
so long
as the breath
is in my body,
I will never
deny my Lord
Christ
and his known
truth.
And they
chained these
men to the stake,
they placed a bag
of gunpowder
on their necks
and they lit
the wood
beneath their feet.
Fox's book
of martyrs
tells us
Latimer called
out to Ridley
and said,
be of good comfort,
Master Ridley
and play the man.
We shall this day
light such a candle
by God's grace
in England
as I trust
shall never
be put out.
Church,
how many stories
can we tell?
Now,
the day may never
come for you
to have to pay
a price like that.
It may.
But whatever form
it may take,
while we're here
in Babylon,
church,
we should expect
trials
and tribulations.
Are you ready?
Will you remain
faithful to your Lord?
We should expect
to suffer here
on the way
to glory.
But third,
we praise God
that God's people
should expect
third,
total deliverance
in the end.
God's people
should expect
total deliverance
in the end.
Now,
this was the hope
of Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego.
Let me read it again.
Did you catch it?
Verse 17.
It said,
Our God
whom we serve
is able to deliver us
from the burning,
fiery furnace,
and He will deliver us
out of your hand.
Do you hear that confidence?
But even if not,
even if He doesn't save us
from this burning,
fiery furnace,
even if He doesn't spare
our life
from this present persecution,
we will not worship
your golden image.
See,
their ultimate hope
wasn't necessarily
that the Lord
would deliver them
from this trial,
although they knew
God was able.
their ultimate hope
was that in the end,
the Lord would deliver them
from every trial.
We believe He's able
and that He ultimately
will deliver us.
But even if not
from this trial,
Nebuchadnezzar,
we will never bow the knee
to any God
but the one true Lord.
And we see that God
does something extraordinary
here in verse 24.
It says,
King Nebuchadnezzar
was astonished
and he rose up in haste
and he declared,
Hey,
didn't we cast three men
into the fire?
And they said,
Yeah,
Shadrach,
Meshach,
Abednego,
that's three.
He answered and said,
But I see four men
and they're not tied up anymore.
They're unbound
and they're not suffering.
They're walking
in the midst of the fire
and they're not in pain.
They're not hurt
and the appearance
of the fourth guy
is different.
He's like a son of the gods.
And Nebuchadnezzar
came near to the door
of the burning fiery furnace
and he declared,
Shadrach,
Meshach,
Abednego,
servants of the Most High God,
come out and come here.
So they come out of the fire
and all the king's men
gathered together
and they see that fire,
that fire of persecution,
that fire of this world's punishment
of the people of God,
that fire of suffering
that the enemy would inflict
on those who remain faithful
to the Lord,
that fire had no power
over these men.
Their hair wasn't singed,
their cloaks weren't burnt,
they had no smell of fire.
And in verse 28,
Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed,
things flip completely
on their head,
don't they?
He said,
verse 28,
Blessed be the God
of Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
who has sent his angel
and delivered his servants
who trusted in him
and set aside the king's command
and yielded up their bodies
rather than serve and worship
any God except their own.
Therefore,
I make a decree,
any people,
nation,
or language
that speaks anything
against the God
of Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
shall be torn limb from limb
and their houses laid in ruins
for there is no other God
who is able to rescue
in this way.
And the king promoted
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
in the province of Babylon.
A complete reversal
has taken place.
Do you see it?
This is complete,
total,
miraculous deliverance,
not from the fire,
but through the fire.
God has brought
their ultimate expectation
of deliverance
into the present moment.
It was exactly
as God promised
in Isaiah 43.
When you pass
through the waters,
I will be with you.
Through the rivers,
they shall not overwhelm you.
When you walk
through the fire,
you shall not be burned
and the flame
shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord,
your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior.
What an incredible story.
It's incredible.
But what I want us
to understand
is that as incredible
as this act
of deliverance was,
this deliverance,
this salvation,
this redemption
from the fire
is just a small image
of the greater deliverance
yet to come
in the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
I wonder if you notice
here, church,
that the same cycle
has happened three times now
in the book of Daniel.
We're three chapters in.
It happened in chapter one,
in chapter two,
in chapter three.
They all tell
the same type of story.
Have you seen it?
It's not just
aimless repetition here.
God's people
are in exile.
They are tempted.
They are tested.
They are refined
through the fires
of suffering
and temptation,
but the faithful resist.
Even in the face
of death,
they cling to their identity
as citizens
of God's kingdom.
They put their trust
in the Lord
and despite the enemy's
best attempts
to snuff them out,
they are delivered,
they are exalted,
and God is praised.
Have you seen that cycle?
Have you caught on yet?
Exile,
temptation,
suffering,
salvation,
exaltation.
There's a pattern here.
Church,
this is the pattern
of every child of God
in every age
here in the kingdom of man.
But here's what I want you
to understand,
church.
This is our story
because ultimately
this is Christ's story.
This is our pattern
because ultimately
this is Jesus' pattern.
If anyone was a stranger
in enemy territory,
who was it?
It was Jesus
who was king
of another kingdom
and yet he stepped down
into our fallen world
willingly.
Was Jesus not tempted?
He was tempted
and tried
in every way
as we are
yet without sin.
He faced temptation
to worship
and serve every idol
here in the kingdom
of man that we are.
Satan brought him
up to the top
of the mountain
and showed him
all the kingdoms
of this world
and said,
all this can be mine
if you will bow down
and serve me.
All this can be yours
and yet Jesus
faithfully resisted
and for that church
he suffered
and eventually
he died
on the cross
in our place.
He would not just
walk beside us
in our suffering.
He would take
our place
and suffer the wrath
of God
that we deserved
in our place
as a substitute
in our place.
He bore our wrath,
our punishment.
But church,
death would not be
the end for him.
He would walk
out of the grave
resurrected,
raised to life,
vindicated and exalted
and in his exaltation
God is forever praised.
Do you see the pattern?
This story is ultimately
pointing us forward
to the story,
to Jesus
and to our life
in him.
Church,
our pattern
is Christ's pattern.
By faith in him
we are united
to Jesus Christ.
His life
is our life.
His righteousness
is our righteousness.
His glory
is our hope
and our glory.
So again,
1 Peter chapter 4,
we rejoice
insofar as you share
in Christ's sufferings
so that you may also
rejoice and be glad
when his glory
is revealed.
Or again,
as Paul says
in Romans chapter 8,
that we are heirs
of God
and fellow heirs
with Christ
provided we suffer
with him
that we may also
be glorified
with him.
This is what we ought
to expect
and hope for.
Church,
we can cling
to the promises
of God
in any suffering
in any trial
knowing that
if we have been
united with him
in a death like his
we shall certainly
be united with him
in a resurrection
like his.
We can expect
total deliverance
from every trial
because Christ
has defeated
all our enemies
and he is exalted
and we are one
with him
through faith.
I'll remind you again
of a quote
that I know
I've shared this before,
Charles Simeon.
He says,
we must not mind
a little suffering
for Christ's sake.
When I am getting
through a hedge
if my head
and my shoulders
are safely through
I can bear
the pricking
of my legs.
Let us rejoice
in the remembrance
that our holy head
has surmounted
all his suffering
and triumphed
over death.
Let us follow
him patiently.
We shall soon
be partakers
of his victory.
Do you believe this?
Church,
is this what sustains
you during your trials
and suffering
here in this age?
Nonbeliever,
is this your hope?
Is this what your hope
is in?
If you're hearing this
and you don't know
the Lord Jesus Christ,
I'm sure all of this
sounds very attractive
as a call
to follow Jesus, right?
This is really
appealing stuff
that you'll suffer
here in this life.
Church,
Jesus is worth it
and the end
is certain
and the king
commands you
this moment
to repent
and put your faith
in him.
He has paid
your price
and he has
victory over
all the powers
of darkness
and it's yours
by faith in the king.
If you have
put your faith
in him,
the church,
what do we have
to fear?
What can man
do to you?
What can
separate us
from the love
of God
and Christ Jesus
our Lord?
nothing.
Friend,
what are you
expecting life
to be like
here in the kingdom
of man?
I'd be willing
to bet that
when you
pack up
and you prepare
for a journey
far from home,
if you knew
you were going
to be away,
didn't know
maybe how long,
you would want
to be as prepared
as you possibly
could.
You would want
to know
what to expect.
Stories like this
are gifts
from a sovereign
God through
his word
to show us
what we can
expect in the
kingdom of man
until he brings
us home.
I'll share
one final
expectation
of all of
God's people
here as we
close.
This is our
great hope.
Ironically,
it's the exact
reverse of what
we see happen
here in Daniel
chapter 3.
These three
faithful men
refused to
bow to a
false God
and were
tried for it
and were
found guilty
and were
cast into
the fire.
But when
Jesus Christ
returns and
delivers his
people at
last,
all who
refuse to
bow the
knee to
King Jesus
will be
tried and
will be
found guilty
and will
be cast
into the
lake of
fire.
And instead
of gathering
to worship
the idols of
this world,
in the end,
Revelation
chapter 7
tells us
that all
of God's
people,
a great
multitude that
no one could
number,
from every
nation,
from all
tribes and
peoples and
languages,
will be
standing before
the throne and
before the
Lamb,
clothed in
white robes
with palm
branches in
their hands
and crying
out with a
loud voice,
salvation belongs
to our God
who sits on
the throne
and to the
Lamb.
Church,
that's our
hope.
That's our
expectation.
salvation.
Let's be a
church that
faithfully lives
each day here
in this
kingdom in
eager expectation
of that great
glorious day
in that kingdom
when it comes
in full.
Amen?
Let's pray.
Lord, we
thank you for
the gospel of
Christ, the
greatest deliverance
from our true
danger, our true
enemy.
Lord, our
greatest danger
that we face
is not physical.
Lord, it's our
own sin, our
own guilt, that
we are not
right with you,
that you stand
against us in
our sin.
That's our
greatest danger
and yet, Lord,
you've supplied
the greatest
escape by
sending your
own son in
the likeness of
sinful flesh and
for sin, Lord,
to pay the
price that we
have earned so
that any who
come to you in
faith might know
true life, might
belong to your
kingdom.
So, Father, we
pray that we
would live as
citizens of your
glorious kingdom
even while we
live here in the
kingdom of man.
We pray this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.