God is Still Good

Daniel 3:16-18

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Introduction

Recap

As we wrap up this series we’ve been going through the last few weeks, let’s talk a little bit about where we’ve been.

Our scene is set in the book of Daniel, and the big picture is that the Israelites have been taken into exile by the Babylonians. They’re taken into a completely foreign land with its own rules, regulations, and ways of life, and they’re faced with the choice to either conform to the practices of Babylon or remain faithful to God and what He’s taught them.

We’ve also said that similarly, as followers of Jesus, we are faced with tough choices almost daily. The world we live in is a lot like modern-day Babylon in that it has its own rules, regulations, and ways of life that are usually the exact opposite of God’s way of life.

So as we try to learn how to be faithful followers of Jesus in this world, we’ve narrowed the frame and focused on four Israelite men: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The first problem they face is when they’re told to eat the king’s food and drink the king’s wine, which is not allowed according to the dietary rules that God has given them. When they could’ve taken on the identity of Babylon to fit in, they instead chose to MAINTAIN THEIR GOD-GIVEN IDENTITY.

In the second week, we looked again at this story in Daniel chapter 1 but focused on Daniel’s leadership. We saw that when Daniel and his friends faced this decision, “Daniel resolved” not to eat the king’s food or drink the king’s wine. He made a personal decision to follow the Lord and led his three friends to do the right thing. So we talked about how if we’re going to be leaders in Babylon, we will have to look different. If God’s ways look different than Babylon’s, then the people of God should too. And looking different can be a terrifying thing! But through Jesus, God has given us everything we need to lead…we just have to make the personal decision to do it. WHEN WE TRUST IN JESUS, WE CAN BE LEADERS because He gives us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.

Finally, last week we looked at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and how they refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar even if it put them in immediate danger. As we walked through that passage, we landed on a couple of different things. The first was that when God calls us to be leaders, He isn’t calling us to gain vast amounts of followers. He’s calling us to be faithful to Him and follow Him wholeheartedly. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the only people who refused to worship an idol. They didn’t decide to follow God because they thought other people would follow them. They chose to follow God because it was the right thing to do.

The second thing we landed on was that WHEN WE DO CHOOSE TO FOLLOW GOD, OTHER PEOPLE WILL SEE, AND GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED. When King Nebuchadnezzar saw the power of God, he followed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s lead and gave glory to God. When you live your life according to God’s rules instead of the world’s, people can’t help but notice, and our prayer is that as they watch your life, God will reveal Himself to them and draw them close.

Our hope and prayer is that our moments of courage and faith to cling to our convictions from God in the middle of an ever-changing culture will help spark heart change in the people around us.

So tonight, in our last week, we’re going to hone in on one of the more powerful statements in Daniel chapter 3. In the middle of their confrontation, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego give the king a powerful “why.” Why they’re choosing to follow God instead of obeying the king’s commands.

We’re really going to focus on this reasoning they give because it meets us in the middle of a Christian culture that can often put way too much emphasis on God’s gifts and blessings.

Tension

Have you ever noticed in post-game interviews that someone from the winning team will say, “all the glory to God for letting us win this game,” or something like that? Something that implies God was only on the side of the winning team. Have you ever seen the same thing come from the losing team? No, you probably haven’t. And I think this has affected our view of God and how He works in our lives.

Because wasn’t God with the people on the losing team too? Surely God cares about them, too, right? But before long, without even realizing it, we can find ourselves in a place where we’ve forgotten that God is bigger than the gifts He gives us or the things He can do for us. Our minds can be formed to think that God’s goodness is based on His blessings. So we begin to believe that if we don’t have gifts, then God isn’t good. Or if we’re going through a hard time, God isn’t good. Or if something bad is happening to us, God must not love us.

And if we let ourselves be formed by that, then Christianity quickly becomes about what God can do for us and what version of God makes the most sense to us. And it doesn’t always come out that way, but have you ever found yourself only asking for things from God? Do your prayers sometimes sound like “God help me get an A on my test,” “God help me win this thing,” “God help me get a boyfriend or a girlfriend,” and so on. None of those things are bad things to ask for, but if the only thing you’re talking to God about is your requests for things, then you might need to rethink how you view God.

Do you see how quickly our version of God can become about what He can do for us and not about the fact that He’s God? God, in the greatness of who He is, can quickly be diluted into Santa Claus. And here’s what you need to know. Babylon is banking on this. Babylon is hoping and praying that you fit God into this gift-giver box so that they can sell you a “better product.” So as soon as God doesn’t come through exactly as you want Him to and when you want Him to, the world can say, “well, we can give you that. If you do things our way, we can give you an A. We can give you a boyfriend or a girlfriend. We can give you championships.” The world is banking on that sell, and that’s a massive problem for our faith if we’ve made God out to be only as good as His gifts are.

But GOD IS MORE THAN A GIFT-GIVER. He’s bigger than the gifts He can give you. His character is greater than that. So what does it look like to have faith even when things aren’t going our way? What does it look like to still trust God and believe that He’s still good even when it seems like Babylon is going to win

Optional Illustration: But if not. A story about a time something bad had happened, but someone still trusted God.

I tell a story from college about one of my good friends who was a youth minister of the church I was serving at who got a tattoo that said, “but if not…” and you see, at the time, they had their second kid. He was born with all kinds of complications, primarily club foot, and was told he may never walk no matter how many surgeries and Occupational Therapy sessions he may end up going through.

And I said, “Hey, what does that tattoo mean?” and he pointed me to Daniel 3.

Scripture

Reminder from last week: we walk into a time where we have the same king who saw that Daniel and his friends were not like the rest of his court, and yet here, this king has built an idol and called all of Babylon to worship this idol.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego decide that they’re not going to bow down and worship this idol. In fact, they can’t do that because God has commanded the Israelites to worship Him and only Him.

But what’s on the line here is certain death by being thrown into a furnace. They’re facing a pretty severe punishment for not worshipping this idol, but they choose to follow God anyway because they’re not buying what Babylon’s selling. Their faith is not founded on what God can give them. It’s founded on the fact that He is good no matter what because that’s just who He is, and He doesn’t change.

So they don’t bow down. They don’t worship, and they’re brought before King Nebuchadnezzar to give a reason why. And this is where we pick up in chapter 3, verses 16-18.

Read DANIEL 3:16-18

“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.’”

This is what it looks like to have faith even when it seems Babylon is winning. Even when these three guys are about to be thrown into a furnace, into immediate death, their faith remains strong because they know that God is bigger than what He can do for them in this moment. Even when it looks like their faith is being destroyed and everyone who hates the Lord is winning, they hold on. Because they believe GOD IS STILL GOOD whether He saves them or not. They know that God has the power to save them, but even if He doesn’t, He’s still good.

Now, it’s tempting to look at stories like these where God does come through in the end and say, “Well, God does come through. Look at this story. Look at Job, who gets back ten times what was taken away. Look at Lazarus, who was raised from the dead. And we could go on. Why should I need to have faith for when He doesn’t come through?”

Application

There are just two questions I want us to walk away from tonight asking. After walking through these stories in Daniel and talking about what it looks like to follow Jesus in our modern-day Babylon, these two questions will dictate everything else.

IS JESUS ENOUGH FOR YOU?

It may seem like a simple question. It may seem like a tough question. You may know right now, and you may not. But wherever you are, we all need to come to terms with our answer. Because the truth is that if you are going to truly live a life of faithfulness in Babylon, you are going to need a “but if not” faith. There’s no getting past the bad things that will happen in this world.

And on top of that, one day, this world will crumble. The foundation of money, fame, trends, and power will all pass away. Building your life on things like that is like building a castle on sand. When the tide comes in, everything will be washed away. Only one foundation can withstand everything this life can throw at you, good or bad, and it’s Jesus Christ.

WHAT EQUIPS YOU FOR THIS KIND OF FAITH?

The process of strengthening our faith, discipleship, is paved with experiences and relationships. For example, the path to this moment for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is paved with a relationship with God, Daniel, and each other. It’s paved with experiences of growing up in Israel, facing tribulation, and already being faithful in Babylon.

Just like these three men, your current experiences and relationships inform your future, whether you know it or not. What you’re doing, where you’re going, and who you’re with subtly form your opinions, worldviews, and beliefs. It all impacts your faith in more ways than one. So surround yourself with godly people. Gather people around you who love the Lord and will push you to greater faithfulness and obedience. Follow the Lord wholeheartedly with your entire life today so that when the hard times come, you’re already prepared.

Gospel

Because even Jesus said that we will face trouble in this world. In John 16, Jesus says to His disciples, “In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Y’all...you will face tragedy. It may be because of your faith, and it may not, but the truth is still the same. This world is a broken, sinful place, and because of that, we’re going to go through really hard things.

You don’t get a significant other

A loved one passes away

Your parents split up

You never become popular

You don’t make the team

You start to struggle with depression or anxiety or both

Whatever else you can think of or that you’re going through right now

Too many of us have struggled through too many hard things to believe that God is only God when He gives us gifts. Too many of us suffer to think that God is only in the good times.

What if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t get saved from the fire? What if Job doesn’t get back everything that was taken away? Is God still good?

Yes! He is! Because Jesus went through the worst punishment that any human could ever suffer. Not only was He tortured and beaten, and not only did He die an excruciating death on the cross, but because He took all of our sins upon Himself, He suffered complete separation from God. He took the punishment we deserve so we could have a relationship with the Lord.

This is exhibit A for God’s goodness. He loves us so much that He sent His own Son to die on a cross so we could reunite with Him. Because of this radical love, we can say, “Yeah, even if I don’t get exactly what I want, I have Jesus. Even if things don’t work out the way I think they should, I have forgiveness and eternal life. Even if I follow Jesus and still lose everything, there will be a day when I have more than I could ever ask for. I have everything I need in Jesus, and anything else on top of that is just the goodness and graciousness of God. Because Jesus is enough.”

Once you can honestly say that Jesus is enough for me, then the things this world tries to offer you just don’t measure up. That’s how we can stand tall in the face of everything that Babylon tries to promise us. Believing that Jesus is greater than anything we could have and worth losing whatever we might lose is what gives us a “but if not” faith.

Jesus came so that we can have God in all His goodness...not just His gifts. He came so that tonight, no matter your circumstance or whether or not it changes, no matter what persecution you could face for following Jesus, no matter what...you don’t have to bow to Babylon. You don’t have to buy what they’re selling. You can be satisfied, fulfilled, fully known, and fully loved through Jesus. You can know the God of the Universe and know Him intimately. The world can never give you that.

Conclusion

Optional Illustration: Talk about a time someone’s life didn’t go as planned.

Ex: I tell a story about a former student who signed a D1 scholarship to run track at the next level and during her first year at school got a career-ending injury and yet, her primary concern was how to move forward in the faith and grow closer to Jesus. Her circumstances did not break her, even when the promises of success in Babylon did not hold up. She loves God more than His gifts. Her path has been paved toward an “if not” faith.

We’ll never understand why some of the terrible things that happen in this world happen. This world throws things at us that hurt us, wound us, traumatize us, and push us to our limits. When those things start to happen to you, the enemy will start whispering in your ear, “Is God really good? Really?” Don’t listen to that lie. Whatever happens in your life, God is still good because He sent Jesus to die for you. And that’s something the world can never offer. The world will not die for you, but your God did so that He could have a relationship with you. And that’s more than enough.

Let’s pray.