But even if…

Build Connection

In December of 2018, in the city of Chengdu, China, police officers surrounded Early Rain Covenant Church in the middle of the night. They arrested over a hundred members. Their pastor, a man named Wang Yi, was taken into custody and eventually sentenced to nine years in prison. His crime? He refused to register his church under government control. He refused to stop preaching the gospel the way he believed God called him to preach it. He refused to bow.

Before they came for him, knowing they eventually would, Wang Yi wrote a declaration to be released to his congregation if he was ever imprisoned. Listen to what he wrote: "I firmly believe that this suffering is a blessing bestowed by Christ."… that is not a man who stumbled into hardship.

Create Tension

If we were all arrested right now and you had the choice of denying Jesus and going free or remaining steadfast in your faith and face years in prison, what would you choose? I would like to think we would all choose steadfastness? But how do you know what you would choose?

There is evidence in your life right now that shows which decision you would probably make. I want to talk about that this morning and maybe help you work on making the right decision.

Provide Solution

We have been working our way through the book of Daniel in a series entitled, “Daniel: Faith that oulasts empires.” Today we will be seeing what Daniel 3 has to teach us.

Daniel 3:1–7

“1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. 3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. 6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” 7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.”

I want to stop here for a second and identify something we will miss if we are not paying close enough attention.

We see the King makes a statue 90 feet tall and nine feet wide.

First I want to tell you what I don’t think it is…It is not a statue of a human, of himself.

If it was of a human being, it would look greatly disfigured. It’s measurement makes it look like a 4x4 36” tall.

So if it was not just a statue of a man what was it as statue of. Well we don’t know, the text doesn’t say.

Maybe it looked something like this (Washington Monument)? I use this image because it’s hight is 10x’s it’s width, just like the kings statue.

What made the King build a gold statue anyway?

I think he got the idea from his dream in chapter 2…

Remember his dream and it’s interpretation? A statue of a man with a head of gold, chest and ares of silver, midsection and upper legs of bronze the lower lets of iron and the feet of iron and clay. Remember what he says in

Daniel 2:36–38 “36 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. 37 Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 38 He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.”

What he decided to do was take the dream God gave him and fashioned it to something he liked better!

Instead of ruling as God decreed, he want to rule forever!

This is an important lesson for us.

Don’t let your pleasure try to override God’s purpose!

This is what we see in this story. God’s purpose wasn’t giving him the outcome he desired so he was going to force it!

What are some of the things we force?

Relationships - we see a relationship and instead of finding God’s purpose in that relationship we seek our own pleasure!

Sometimes we ask what are we getting out of this relationship insead of asking what we can add to it!

Job - God provides a job, and we make it about money, status, power and influence when God wanted it about servitude.

Your job is not just how you make money but how you give God glory!

1 Corinthians 10:31

“31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Finances - A lot of us give God his 10% or maybe even 20-30% but then figure the rest is for our pleasure!

Can I just say…That is the greatest deception the devil has pulled over christians in recent history!

Excess isn’t success but regress if not surrounded by Holiness.

In chapter one we saw a group of teenage boys determined not to defile themselves with the Kings food. In chapter 2 we saw that when they were presented with the impossible, they went to prayer mode, not panic mode!

Now we see three of these teens face another impossible decision, worship a false god or die!

Daniel 3:8–18

“But some of the astrologers* went to the king and informed on the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments.* But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.””

I want to look at two things these three teen/young adults said…When commanded by the King to bow, they first said, “we do not need to defend ourselves…”

Evil will never understand righteousness!

We are to be able to give a reason for the hope we profess, 1 Peter 3:15 “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

As a Christian you will never win an argument against evil.

HERE IS WHY, as Christian’s we use Truth as our foundation, evil only manipulates truth so until you are standing on the same ground you will never convince them of truth.

The second thing they say that we can learn from is three simple words, “But even if…”

They are putting their hope in God, also convinced that if God’s plan is for their death in the fires of an ungodly furnace, they would rather face mans judgement instead of God’s!

These are words we should hide deep in our hearts and minds. Make them part of who we are!

Unfortunately too many Christian’s like three other words…”I would never.” As in I would never do that!

I would never points a finger at someone else, whereas But even if…points your hope in God.

The final thing we see is what their trust in God got them.

How many see that their trust in God got them thrown in to a furnace?

That’s not what I see!!!

Let’s read,

Daniel 3:19–30

“Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god*!” Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke! Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.”

When you don’t look at the whole story you only see the fiery furnace and their salvation from that furnace.

But what does vs 28-30 say?

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.”

Their trust in God not only saved them from the furnace, but also brought glory to God and their promotion!

If we just look at the immediate we forget God has better things in store for our future!

Revelation 21:3 “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.*”

Encourage Change

Are you living out God’s purpose or trying to turn it into your own pleasure

Are you living a “But even if…” life?

The best way to keep from worshipping a false God is to be actively worshipping the One True God.