Another in the Fire, Daniel 3:16-28

Introduction

Several years ago I was with my family on vacation. One of the destinations for our vacation was Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

We had a great time. I couldn’t wait to ride as many roller coasters as I could. Mama and Daddy alternated going with me on the big roller coasters that went upside down.

They had to alternate because of my other two brothers. Austin, my youngest brother was way too small to ride anything like that. Adam, my middle brother, had never ridden any of those types of rides and really had no desire.

As we went through our day, we went back to Alpengeist. Alpengeist was one of my favorite rides on that trip.

Mama said that she would go with me to ride it. This time, I really wanted Adam to come with us. After a little bit of persuasion, he got in line with Mama and me. While we waited, he vacillated between going on the ride and not going on it.

I think one of the things that helped him stay in line was that Mama and I both were with him. Even on the roller coaster, we could both sit beside of him. Our presence gave him confidence in going on that ride.

I firmly believe that he would not have gotten on that ride if Mama and I had not been right there. It was our presence that helped him give him confidence and courage.

The spiritual life is a bit of a roller coaster as well. There are many ups and downs, curves and loop de loops. In our own strength and ability, I see that this is nothing that I would want to do on my own. Thankfully, I am not on my own and neither are you.

This is the message of our text today. Let’s begin by reading our text.

Read Daniel 3:16-28

Prayer

God you are truly worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. You are great and powerful, ruling and reigning over all creation. You are merciful and loving, always abounding in grace.

We are grateful for moments like this when we have the opportunity to worship you by submitting to your words as it is proclaimed.

We pray that you would do a mighty work in us as we encounter you in your Word:

Draw the lost to yourself and save those who repent and believe.

Correct those in error and help them to return to you. Afflict those who have grown too comfortable.

Heal the broken hearted. Bind up the broken. Strengthen the weak.

Call us to action.

O God, pray the you will use me in whatever way seems right to you. I pray that you will give me the words that we need to hear and give me the confidence to proclaim them boldly.

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus the Christ.

Amen.

Daniel is one of my favorite books of the Old Testament.

It’s written detailing some of the events that occurred during the time of the exile.

At the very beginning, we are introduced to four Hebrew young men: Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael.

The Babylonians went through a process to redefine those that they took into exile. They would give them new jobs/responsibilities. They would give them new places to live. They would also change their names.

Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar. Hananiah was given the name of Shadrach, Azariah was given the name of Abednego, and Mishael was given the name of Meshach. To decrease confusion, I’ll refer to three from our text today by their Babylonian names.

In our text today, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are challenged in their faith. This challenge would call for them to respond. How would they respond? What do their actions teach us about these moments?

Let’s take a closer look at our text and see what we can learn.

Steadfast Faith (Vv. 16-18)

Let’s begin by looking at verses 16-18. Here we see steadfast faith on display.

Let’s make sure that we remember what has gotten us to this point in the story.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue built of himself.

The plan was simple: call all the people that can possibly come to Babylon, have a band begin to play music, and at the sound of that music everyone will bow down toward the statue.

The statue was to represent King Nebuchadnezzar. Anyone bowing down toward the statue was understood to be worshipping the king.

The day comes and everything occurs as King Nebuchadnezzar expects it with one significant exception: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego DID NOT BOW.

King Nebuchadnezzar summons these three young men to his presence and explains to them what is going on. He also tells them that if they don’t bow down; they will face death by being thrown into a fiery furnace.

I can’t help but think that King Nebuchadnezzar thought that hearing this from him would lead them to worship.

Verses 16-18 give us a different response.

They say that it does not matter; they will not bow.

They believed that God could save them if it was his will.

Verse 18 has always stuck out to me. they say that even if God doesn’t save them; they still won’t worship the king or any of his gods.

This is some strong faith.

I want to ask you, how strong is your faith?

How would you respond in this moment?

Early church history is full of people who were questioned by the Roman authorities.

They were threatened with severe punishment or even death for their faith in Christ.

Many people had said that they would be faithful but in the moment of persecution, their faith waivered.

We need people who know what they believe and will stand firm on those convictions.

It begins with salvation—repentance and faith.

Repent of your sins.

Put your faith in the crucified and risen Savior for salvation.

This gives you the firm foundation to built upon.

Next, you need discipleship. You need to spend regular time in God’s Word.

Individual discipleship

Read for information—study it, get to know it.

Read for transformation.

Communal discipleship—are you taking advantage of these opportunities?

The only way to develop steadfast faith is by building upon it and continuing every day.

Sometimes the Godly Way is Hard, Even Unpleasant (Vv. 19-23)

Now, look with me at verses 19-23. In most made up stories, the good guys are celebrated for their courageous decision. In this story, the faithful ones are headed directly toward a very trying situation and the king makes it even worse.

Verse 19 says that King Nebuchadnezzar got so made that he had the furnace heated SEVEN TIMES hotter that normal. This was intended to be a brutal and complete punishment and death.

The fire was so hot that when the guards threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire; the guards died because it was SO HOT.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into this fiery furnace because they would not deny their faith.

There are going to be moments where our faith takes us through experiences and maybe even to places that are unpleasant. It may even be places that we don’t want to go.

There are numerous stories of people whose faith led them to very unpleasant places

There are currently 42 countries in the world that severely restrict the practice of Christianity. To profess faith in Jesus can lead to losing your family, civil penalties and even jail time.

There are currently 26 countries that are hostile to Christianity. Faith in Jesus can lead to extreme persecution and even death.

Most of us are not going to end up being severely persecuted but we will find that our faith will lead us into difficult times.

What will you do when you are faced with those hard times? This is where the third point from our text comes in.

We Are Not Alone (Vv. 24-25)

If we look at verses 24 and 25 we see something amazing.

In verse 24 we see that King Nebuchadnezzar looked over into the furnace to see the ashes of these three Hebrews. He was astonished at what he saw and checked with those around him. Everyone confirmed that he had three, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into the fire.

What shocked him was that he now saw four in the fire and they were unhurt, unbound, and walking around in the fire.

The fourth was more than just a man—he was a divine figure.

God was with them in the very midst of the fire. There was quite literally ANOTHER IN THE FIRE.

The God that they worshipped and served is the very same God that we worship and serve.

In Psalm 23 were told,

“The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need”

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow death, I will fear no evil for he (God) is with me.”

Psalm 139:7-8 says Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

In Hebrews 13:5 God promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Over and over in scripture, we are told that God is faithful and will never leave his children. We can trust that if we find ourselves in the midst of a deep, dark valley; God is with us.

Salvation is Found in God Alone (Vv. 26-28)

Look back at our text once more. Here is these verses we see that King Nebuchadnezzar comes to realize a very important gospel truth. Salvation is found in one God; that is the God as revealed in the Bible.

Not once has any other God been able to save.

No other philosophy are lifestyle has led to salvation for all who place their faith in it.

King Nebuchadnezzar learned that salvation is found in our God alone.

This is a message that our world needs to hear.

No one can earn their own salvation.

The world offers so many different beliefs but God is the one and only way.

We need to proclaim this truth to anyone who will listen.

God is the only one who could save Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God is the only one who could save me. God is the only one who could save you. God is the only one who can save, PERIOD.

Conclusion

I don’t know where you currently find yourself today.

Perhaps, you are on the mountaintop and things are going well for you—praise God! I pray that you can enjoy this experience as long as possible.

Perhaps, you are dealing with a trial. God is there; right in the middle of it with you. Trust in God, he will never fail.

He will always be that other one in the fire with you.