“The Fiery Furnace” - Daniel 3:16-18 (ESV)

GREETING:

We are back!

I am excited and looking forward to spending the rest of the year with you guys because we get to examine God’s Word…

I honestly can not think of anything that is more worth while… than opening up God’s Word and seeing how it is calling, instructing, teaching, and showing us how to live…

and not just simply live so that we do not get in trouble or make mistakes… but to live an abundant life…

John 10:10 (ESV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

ABUNDANTLY = “In a manner marked by great quantity or degree; and it will be extraordinary and beyond what you or I could imagine or create for ourselves…”

In other words, John 10:10 is telling us… that he came into the world… so that you and I could have an abundant life… a life that is characterized by joy, peace, wisdom, guidance, love, compassion, faith, hope, grace, mercy, and a mission that is bigger and beyond anything that we could have ever imagined or created for ourselves…

Your life changes when you place your faith in Christ…

you go from SINNER to SAVED

you were WRETCHED and you are now RIGHTEOUS

your life was MUNDANE and it is now MISSION MINDED

You went from ABANDONED to ADOPTED

And this is why I get excited about reading God’s Word with you… because it reveals to me the way.. the truth.. and the life… and it tells me that I can have a life that is not average… but abundant…

John 10:10 was just a warm-up… not even our main passage… so before we go any further, would you please pray with me…

TRANSITION - PRAYER

But before we dive into the main passage… would you please pray with me…

Father… thank you for your grace, mercy, and forgiveness that you show us each and everyday…

Malachi 3:6 (ESV)

“For I the Lord do not change…

Lord… even when it is difficult… you are faithful…

Even when we turn away from you… you are faithful…

Your attitude… your character… is not based on how I act… For you have always been and you will always be…

Help us to understand you word this evening… fill us with your Spirit… guide our steps and hearts towards you… in your Son Jesus name we pray these things… AMEN….

TRANSITION - INTRO:

We are stepping into a brand new series where we will be looking at and examining the Book of DANIEL…

We will be spending 4 weeks in the book and I am excited for what God has in store for us…

I love looking at the Old Testament… because every time I dive into it… it shows me without fail… that God’s Word is still relevant… real… and applies to me today…

Here are some background details and context about the book of Daniel…

CONTEXT

I am giving you guys context because…

CONTEXT gives us CLARITY about the CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING the STORY…

THE BOOK OF DANIEL

The book of Daniel means “God is my Judge”

The book of Daniel is made up of two halves… the first half are chapters 1 - 6 and they contain narratives and stories from the lives of his three friends:

Shadrach

Meshach

Abednego

3. The first half (chapters 1 - 6) show us how we as Christians - followers of Jesus - should being living our lives as strangers and exiles in a world that is not our home…

In other words, the first half of Daniel helps us answer the question… “Is it truly possible to live a life that is pleases, honors, and glorifies God… when I am surrounded by so much sin and temptation?”

4. There are 12 chapters in the book of Daniel and 9/12 chapters provide us with revelations that Daniel received through dreams and visions. Daniel was God’s mouth piece to the Jews and Gentiles - declaring God’s current and future plans…

5. Daniel chapter 1 tells us that the Babylonians took over Jerusalem… making Daniel a captive…

The king looked at the captured people and said… I want young individuals without blemish, of noble or royal birth, good appearance, skillful in all wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and able to stand in confidence at the kings palace… When you find these people… I want to teach them and educate them in our language and culture… and we will even give them new names… Daniel and three of his friends were selected to be part of this group…

Daniel 1:7 (ESV)

And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

The Babylonians did this practice to eliminate the previous culture and to quickly cement and established a new culture… eliminating push back and attempting to brain wash the captives into truly thinking they were truly Babylonians… and not longer a part of their previous culture…

TRANSITION - CURRENT PASSAGE

Fast Forward Daniel 3:16-18… our main passage this evening… and follow along with me…

Daniel 3:16–18 (ESV)

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.”

You may be asking yourself… what is going on here… what is happening? I am glad you asked…

You see in the previous 15 verses… King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold that had the height of about sixty cubits - about 90 feet or a 10 story building - that he commanded the people to worship whenever they heard music… but when the music played… Daniels three friends would not bow down and worship the golden image… Therefore the king is furious and brings them in his presence and asks them.. “If you do not worship my image… you will be cast into the fiery furnace… and if that happens… what god will deliver you out of my hands”?

They respond by saying the OUR God will deliver us out of your hand… but if not, we will still not serve your gods or worship the golden image…

this leads us to point #1 which is…

POINT #1: You CARE about the things that COST you something

Story/Illustration:

Buying Brooke’s Wedding Ring - LaRosas Pizza

1st Wedding ring I bought Brooke: $5,000

It cost me everything that I had saved over the past several months… The COST was heavy but it did not compare to how much I CARED about her…

FAMILY - WORKING

Parents work hard - endless hours to make sure that there kids have a opportunities and are well taken care of… and it COST them there time, effort, and energy… sometimes they have to work 2-3 jobs… it COST them to do things for you… but they do it because they CARE about you…

You CAN’T say you CARE about CHRIST… but it has COST you NOTHING to follow him…

Daniels friends… Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego new that following God would COST them everything… their very own lives… but they did it because they truly loved and CARED about the LORD!

QUESTION: How has it COST you to follow CHRIST? How would others know that you truly CARE about CHRIST?

POINT #2: Not SEEING what is NEXT… is not an excuse and it does not mean that you get to EXIT…

Behind every EXIT is a multitude of EXCUSES…

It would have been easy for these three men to say… well, we will bow down just this once so that we do not enter the fiery furnace… I mean, God knows our hearts and if we bow down just this once… it is no big deal…

Everyone else (nations) are doing it… so God will let this one slide… I mean bow down one time or be consumed by a fire… this one seems obvious… God will understand…

Those who have a SECURITY in their SAVIOR… do not need to SEE the next SCENE…

Jeremiah 17:7 (ESV)

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

TRUST = Reliance & Confidence

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a reliance and a Confidence in the LORD… that was not shaken by any threat or circumstance… that was not shaken when death was presented to them… and was not shaken even when they could not see the outcome…