Bow Down or Burn Up

ME:

Shelly working at Mylan

She worked in the sales dept.

Was asked to entertain clients after hours (Rest. and Bars)

We knew this didn’t feel right (Holy Spirit)

She refused to do it ...

We had to stand for our godly principles/ show our godly character/ live out our godly morals

She was fired!!!

Looking back we can see God was IN IT with us!

Really, all that happen was “we lost a job.”

NOT hurt physically, NOT killed!

It hurt Internally (ROCKED US) ..... But God mended the hurt.

Protected us Physically ...... Healed us internally!

HE WAS IN THE PAIN with us!

Transition Statement: Have you ever faced a situation where you had to stand for your godly principles/ stand for your godly character/ live out Your godly morals?

WE:

We have all heard of people in other countries who have been murdered/martyred for the faith.

The young lady in the columbine School shooting :Cassie Bernall was asked if “she believed in God.” (VALEEN)

She said YES!

The shooter asked WHY?

Her response, “BECAUSE I BELIEVE.” (Bold Faith)

I believe she knew WHO she was and WHO’S she was!

Daughter of the most HIGH GOD, She was ROYALTY, she was LOVED!

What would your response have been?

What would your answer have been?

When you are asked to go against your godly principles/ your godly character/ your godly morals it comes down to this question ..... DO YOU BELIEVE?

Do you know who you are to the Father?

Transition Statement: There are stories in the scripture (of those of the faith) who have had to answer this question! DO YOU BELIEVE?

GOD:

Turn to Daniel 3:1-27

Some parts of it we will read through fast

Some of it we will SINK into those verses.

Read Vs 1-3

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather 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. 3 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.

King received the idea from Chapter 2 (Images of gold)

(2) The empires top officials called together.

Read Vs 4-7

4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 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. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 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.

“FALL DOWN & WORSHIP”

Stated 6 times in the first 15 verses

Fall - Means: an act of submission to someone

If you don’t you would be thrown into the “burning fiery furnace”

Typical Babylonian punishment

Read 8-12

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O 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. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 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.”

Chaldeans don’t like the Jews (God’s people)

Ratted them out

Read 13-16

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 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? 15 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?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

King is mad

The king asked a question to the 3 Jews

Doesn’t allow them to answer.

Strikes up the band and tells them to fall and worship

Vs 15 “And who is the God who will deliver you?”

The word deliver means - set free/liberate

What the king is really saying, “Your God may be able to reveal and interpret but He cannot deliver you from death.”

Vs 16 I love their response to the KING

“We have no need to answer you in this matter.”

Looking at some of the words in Hebrew it could read somewhat like this ....

“It is not necessary to reply to you regarding this matter.”

THAT’S BOLD FAITH!

Saying to the King ....

“Do you know who we are?”

“Do you know who we belong to?”

Vs 17 they tell the King .....

Read Vs 17

17 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.

The God we serve and Worship is ....

ABLE to deliver us (Can suspend the law of nature)

AND HE WILL! (Not if He is willing)

HOLY CONFIDENCE: Knowing Who you are! and Whose you are!

They understood who they were (Jews)

They understood who’s they belong to (God)

Here is the defining moment ...... (BUT!)

Read Vs 18

18 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.”

But if he doesn’t ....... In the words of a great theologian of our day, “AIN’T GONNA DO IT!” (Sarcasm)

Read Vs 19

19 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.

King is beyond MAD (Face contorts)

Heats up the Furnace to the max

Read Vs 20-22

20 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. 21 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. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

“CAST” (20) Thrown (21) are the same word meaning “To be placed”

Some of the guards died but not the 3 Jews

Read Vs 23

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

THEY FELL!!!!! into the fire

Same word “Fell” found in the previous passages.

An act of submission to someone

Here is the kicker ...... They FELL “INTO” the fire.

This word “into” means “in the midst of” “Middle of”

They fell in the midst of the fire or the middle of the fire.

They didn’t fall because they were pushed ….

They fell because of who was in the fire (JESUS)!

They fell as an act of submission to someone. WHO?

JESUS

Transition Statement: God was in the Fire breaking the law of nature to set free/liberate/deliver his Children!

YOU:

Who is His children? THOSE WHO BELIVE!

Those who will not fall to other idols of worship

Those who will not compromise their principles/character/morals

Those who know who they are and whose they are.

Son’s and daughters of the most high God

Royalty

Those who have BOLD FAITH! (Ain’t gonna do it!)

Transition Statement: This is who God desires you to be!

ME:

He desires you to be someone who understands “Who you are in Him!”

When you understand who you are in God ....

You will not worship any other god’s

You will not compromise your principles/character/morals

You have BOLD FAITH! (Ain’t gonna do it!)

You know you are a SON/DAUGHTER of the most high God

You know you are ROYALTY

You know you are LOVED

Once you know this you can say to the ENEMY, “Do you know who I am?”

STOP UNLESS …

(If I feel they are not getting this turn to Ephesians 1:3-11 )

Ephesians 1:3–11 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,