S - Daniel Pt. 3 (Daniel 3: 1-30)

Daniel 3:16–18 NIV

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 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. 18 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.”

Have you ever faced a challenge? What is the greatest challenge you’ve ever faced? have you ever done the fluffy bunny challenge? Or the cinnamon challenge? Or the tortilla challenge?

I think the tortilla challenge is one of my favorites. Have you ever played bop it before? Where you have to take this toy and you play a very fast version of Simon says and you repeat everything it does?

Those are some challenging things people get a chance to do sometimes. Those are funny challenges. Have you ever had to face anything really challenging? Something that pushed you to grow up quick, or made you stronger physically or mentally?

Let me ask you a different question:

Has your faith ever been challenged?

What does that mean? Had anyone ever pushed back on the fact that you believe in God? Has anyone openly challenged you and said something like: The God you believe in isn’t real? Probably not right? I’m sure it has happened to some of you guys, but we don’t go around just telling people that what they believe is false, we share the Gospel with people, we love people, we invite people the church. But we don’t just look at people in the face and say: You’re wrong and you’re going to hell. Jesus didn’t do that to people He was sharing the Gospel with.

Other people typically don’t do that to us either. I have had people tell me that I’m delusional because I believe in God. In other words, someone has told me before that I shouldn’t believe in God because they don’t think He’s real. But that happened to me in High school. That was like 10 years ago.

But, although you will rarely hear someone tell you specifically that God isn’t real, it does not mean that the world does not challenge your faith. Your faith can be challenged in all sorts of ways. One way, is when people on social media, the news or even in person they clearly state that God isn’t real, that you are a fool for being a Christian, or something along those lines.

The other your faith is challenged is the most common way:

The world opposes God’s Word.

What does that mean? It means that the people around you may never tell you to your face that God isn’t real, but they will push back on what God says, push back on what God does, and will encourage you to turn away from God with your actions.

Today we are going to see that Daniel’s friends are strong Christians, but the world and the people around them will try to make them turn away from God.

Why don’t we sit together for Daniel chapter 3 and we’ll see what we can learn from it today:

Daniel 3:1–7 NIV

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, 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. 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

So King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 1 saw how God was helping Daniel and his buddies. In Chapter 2, the king sees how God answers prayer and spoke to him through Daniel. And even though the king has seen how God works, he still refuses to acknowledge that God is there.

God is holding His hand out to king Nebuchadnezzar and is saying: I love you, I want to be in a relationship with you, I want you to follow me. And God even shows the king how strong He is and that God is worth worshipping and following. Instead of recognizing God as the true King. Nebuchadnezzar builds a statue of himself and he asked everyone in the kingdom to worship him.

Can I just say that we do the same thing? What? Pastor Luis I have never build a statue for everyone to worship! I don’t ask people to bow down to me whenever I play music and I am not like this king.

You may never build a statue for people to worship, but we do create a very specific image of ourselves on social media so that people can like what I put up there. Instead of building a statue, we sometimes present ourselves in a way that isn’t real so that people can be pleased and like the fake version of us.

We might not play music so that people will bow down and worship, but we do want people to hop on our tik tok and like my dances or on instagram and like my videos and make this space online about me. See, the king never told anyone it was a statue of him, but it sure was. And if it wasn’t a statue of the king, it was the statue of another god the king wanted other to worship.

now, I’m not saying that having social media is wrong, but I am saying that if we build and create things that give US honor and glory instead of giving GOD honor and glory we are just like this king.

Sometimes the world challenges our faith by giving us other God’s to worship.

Obviously it is not like the god’s of the old testament. We don’t believe in statues or holy paintings, we don’t do sacrifices anymore. But our gods look different.

gods of today:

Things

Substances

People

Culture

Now our gods look like things: our computers, game system, phones or social media. Instead of sitting with God every day, we sit with that and worship that. Maybe technology isn’t your thing. But it could be your house, your car, the money in your pocket, clothes or make up. Things aren’t bad. But they can be if they replace God.

Sometimes our gods look like substances. Alcohol, drugs, coffee, food, medicine. Because I desperately need THAT to operate instead of God. That doesn’t mean coffee, food or medicine is bad, but we shouldn’t abuse those things or depend on those things more than God.

Sometimes our gods look like us. Celebrities, political figures, social media influences and even ourselves. We spend more time with those people instead of spending some time with God.

Sometimes our gods look like the culture. What does that mean? Whatever is popular, that’t what I’m going to follow. I will follow the culture even if it tells me that killing babies is ok. I will follow the culture even if it tells me that I get to identify however I want although God is the one who gives you your identity as a gift. I will follow the culture even if they tell me to disobey my authorities. Guys, I know that the adults in this room ARE NOT YOUR PARENTS. But if you obey them, God will bless you. And our older folks in the room. Has your supervisor ever asked you to do something absolutely dumb? Don’t follow the culture, follow God.

Our faith is challenged by a culture that tells us it’s better to sin than it is to follow Jesus.

And that’s what the king. he looked at the entire country and said, Don’t worship God, worship me instead.

Daniel 3:8–12 NIV

8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 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.”

When you follow God, some people will pick on you. They’ll make fun of the fact that you are a Christian. They’ll try and put you down. They will. But that doesn’t matter. There’s this song by Forrest Frank I like and it says:

All my friends just wanna be famous Living life with a lot of time wasted I choose You, You're what's missing I choose You, now I'm different Everyone's saying that I'm crazy Good thing they're not God who made me So let 'em talk, it don't phase me I'm gonna give You all my praises

The truth is, people who’s opinions don’t matter very much have a lot to say about you and the things you do. But there are others in your life who matter a whole lot more. One of those is God. What does He think? It doesn’t matter of others think its funny that I go to church, God thinks it’s great! It doesn’t matter if other people think it’s weird that I read my Bible, God has something to say and He wrote it down.

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It does not matter what others think of me, Because the God of the universe loved me so much He sent His son Jesus to pay for my sins and to give me new life. His opinion is the one that matters to me, Because He thinks I am worth it.

Why don’t we see what happens next in the story?

Daniel 3:13–15 NIV

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 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? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, 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?”

The King then tried to force these guys to worship the new statue. And this is what they said:

Daniel 3:16–18 NIV

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 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. 18 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.”

They looked back at the king and said, you can kill us, you can try to scare us, you can make other people hate us but it doesn’t matter. Why? Because God will protect us from you. But verse 18 is what blows my mind the most. Even if God doesn’t protect us, He is still God. This is interesting, we have seen a lot of stories in the Bible on how Christians come out on top if they do what God says. But we rarely think about: What if God’s answer is no this time?

Sometimes God answers our prayers with no. these guys could pray to God and say: God this king is being mean, can you protect us from this guy? And God could’ve said: Nope, not this time. That’s hard isn’t it? It’s hard to think about. How many times have you prayed and God said no?

I think we can miss out on the bigger picture. God will say no to us sometimes. And sometimes it’s out of love. Because He has something better for us. What these verses are trying to teach us is:

We should trust in God no matter the outcome.

God could say yes, He could say no. But just because He says no sometimes does not mean He stops being God. God is still in control, God is still sovereign, God is still all powerful, and God still loves you.

But let’s see what happens next:

Daniel 3:19–20 NIV

19 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 20 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 Daniels 3 friends were thrown into a furnace because they refused to do what the king asked. but after while of being in the fire this happens:

Daniel 3:24–28 NIV

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” 25 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.” 26 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, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 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.

The king tossed them into the fire to be burned alive. I couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like to be in that situation, but what happens next is crazy. The king looks into the furnace and he sees 4 guys in the furnace instead of 3. Remember, He only threw 3 people in there, but when he looks he sees 4. What? What is this?

Then the king describes the other man:

Daniel 3:25 NIV

25 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.”

Who was that? The king believes it’s an angel, but I believe it was Jesus Himself in that fire. We notice very clearly that God does not prevent Daniel’s friends from being thrown into the fire, Instead God goes into the fire with them. Isn’t that interesting? See, I know sometimes God says no to prayer, but just because He said no it does not mean that God has abandoned you, It does not mean God has left you all by yourself.

God protected these 4 guys from the effects of the fire, but He sat in the fire with them. What does that mean for us? That sometimes we will have to sit through life, sometimes life is going to hurt, sometimes life will bring it’s problems and sometimes God will NOT make them go away. But you better believe that if God does not take away your hurt, your pain and your problems that God will be with you through all of it.

The book of Hebrews teaches us that God also feels what you are going through. He does not make you go through all on your own. So is God worth following? Yes he is. Why?

Because He is worthy.

Because He will protect you and even if He doesn’t He will always be by your side.

Hold on to Jesus friends. He will always be with you.

I am reminded of another instance in the Bible in which someone else prayed to God, and God did not answer His prayer.

The Bible tells us this story:

The night before Jesus was going to be crucified, or killed. He took 3 of His disciples with Him to pray. And this was Jesus’ prayer:

Matthew 26:39 NIV

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

What does that mean? Well, what do you do with a cup? You drink out of it. what’s your favorite drink? Imagine you had a cup of that in front of you right now. Would you drink it? heck yeah I would! Well, the cup that Jesus was talking about was a bad cup. It represented His death on the cross. So Jesus is looking up at the father and He prays:

“God, if there is another way I can save people from there sins, let’s do that instead. I don’t want to die.”

What do you think God’s answer was? He said there’s no other way. How do we know? Because Jesus died on the cross for us. Jesus took that pain on His back, and He payed the price we could not pay. And thanks to that sacrifice, you and I have access to eternal life. But you must decide to follow Jesus.

You know what I love about Jesus’ prayer? the last part:

Yet not as I will, but as you will.

In other words Jesus says: But instead of doing what I want, let’s do what you want. Why what God wants?

Because what God wants is always better than what we want. God wants to be in a relationship with you and you might be fighting it. You might be trying your hardest to get away from it and you might be trying with everything that you’ve got to get away from God. But God has done everything He can to show you that He loves you.

And tomorrow you might decide to keep running from God but I can promise you this. In the same way in which God was in the fire with Daniel’s friends, God will be with you everywhere you go. So if you ever decide to stop running from God, let’s talk about that.

I want us to listen to a song, and during this song I want you to do something. I want you to pray. Pray anything you are thinking or feeling. As a matter of fact, if you want me or house parent to pray with you, come up to the altar and one of us will pray with you. Let’s pray for a moment.

Song: Another in the Fire hillsong

If you don’t know what it means to follow Jesus, Let’s have that conversation today.