STAND FIRM (Part 2): Under Pressure

Children’s Church

Simon Says Illustration

Introduction

Last week we began a series called Stand Firm: Endure in Faith!

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:10–13 “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Our spiritual battle continues to this very day…and so does the need for us to “take up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand”…and “to stand firm!”

Daniel 3:13–18 ESV

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. 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. 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.”

1) There is Pressure to Bow Down!

Daniel 3:1–7 ESV

1 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. 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.

There is one obvious note here that God wants us to know in this text: King Nebuchadnezzar set up an image. (Mentioned 6 times in 6 verses)

This guy was the conquering king of Babylon…at the time…arguably the most powerful man on earth!

In His authority, he shaped and reshaped cultures.

In His authority…he desired for people to worship the image that he saw within himself….a larger than life, god-sized King Nebuchadnezzar!

This man had determined that his own glory needed to be recognized, idolized, and immortalized!

And anyone who thought otherwise was no longer needed in his kingdom and in his realm…so you either bow or you will burn!

The king has gathering those of influence…he has declared his desire…he has dictated his direction…and he has determined the demise of those who will not bow!

What would you do in this situation?

Would you recognize his authority and gladly bow?

Would you revere his position and bow?

Would you fear his wrath and bow?

Would you rationalize the consequences and bow out of fear…thinking, but what else could I do?

Would you follow the king, the crowd, and the culture and bow?

Do you compromise and bow now so you may have a chance at displaying faith later? What would you do? What could you do?

You may think…well, I’m glad I don’t really have to make that choice…BUT the fact that King Nebuchadnezzar had the desire to be worshipped is nothing new.

We live in a world that provides plenty of opportunity for us to either elevate ourselves and demand recognition or to give our attention away to someone or something that thinks your life is better with them in it.

When our attention is on worthless idols (including ourselves), it is off of the One True God.

This is where a broken world and our broken flesh wants our attention to be.

The pressure is real! When we refuse to bow down to societal demands it can get heated.

If you choose to keep your eyes on God and to stand…the more you stand firm, the more heated it can get.

In our broken world, there are consequences for holding firm to faith…but that’s ok because the world and this life only has a short window over our circumstances…

A FIRM FAITH IS FIRM BECAUSE IT IS BUILT WITH ETERNITY IN MIND!

We must not sell out nor rationalize the diminishing of our devotion to Jesus for cheap comforts in a decaying world.

You may find a comfortable couch in the landfill, but is that really where you want to spend your time and energy?

2) Prioritizing God Will Make You Stand Out!

Daniel 3:8–18 ESV

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.” 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. 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. 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.”

Bowing down to cultural pressures is not the only option!

When we choose to Stand Firm and endure in the faith…we will likely stand out!

We do not stand out just for the sake of standing out (though that is what the culture tends to think).

We stand out because we know that we must not bow down to anyone or anything outside of the One True God.

We do not stand in defiance to the culture…we refuse to bow down out of devotion to our Lord!

For far too long, church-goers have continued to bow to societal pressures and compromised on social issues because anything less was labeled as defiant, uncaring, cold, hateful, archaic, extreme, fanatical, etc.

The reason we are no longer a Christian nation is because the church prioritized the of the perspective of the culture over the Holy and Righteous Precepts of God!

When the Mainstream Church was called out for standing up…it felt the pressure to step back and step out of the public arena…

But most of the Christ-followers who remain standing…do so, not out of heart of defiance to the culture, out of a heart of devotion to God!

Real Christians don’t bow to society, they humbly stand before God.

The world sees this as arrogance, and we must be careful to not to be arrogant, but rather to be humble yet firm.

Our confidence must be in God and nothing else, including ourselves.

The statement in vs. 16-18 does not show disdain for the king, it shows devotion to God.

The tone should not be understood as spiteful, but yet humble faithfulness to God.

The more we stand firm in our devotion to God, the more we will stand out, and the more hostile our broken world becomes.

3) In the Persecution, Jesus Shines.

Daniel 3:19–29 ESV

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. 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. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

While we remain faithful in the midst of societal pressure and facing the consequences for standing firm in our faith, Jesus is revealed to those around us.

Jesus didn’t just show up in the flames, He was there the whole time.

It was just that the people who didn’t know God couldn’t see him until the faithfulness of God’s people was pressed.

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 ESV

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

The lost world, with hardened hearts, need to see Jesus and know that He is real.

Jesus tells us that we are being sent as sheep in the midst of wolves, but this ultimately for His glory and His purpose. (Matthew 10)

For Hanniah, Mishael, and Azariah they were spared from the heat of the fire, but more importantly lives were changed through their firm faith and their willingness to humbly face the flames of offended idolatry.

CLOSING

IF THE LOST WORLD IS GOING TO SEE THE REAL JESUS, THEY NEED TO SEE REAL FAITH ON DISPLAY, ESPECIALLY WHILE THINGS ARE HEATING UP AND WE ARE FACING THE FIRES OF A LOST WORLD.

I DON’T WHERE YOU ARE THIS MORNING…MAYBE YOU ARE FACING THE PRESSURES OF THE CULTURE…OF FAMILY…OR FROM YOUR OWN FLESH…BUT MY ENCOURAGEMENT TO YOU IS THIS…STAND FIRM AND KEEP YOU EYES FIXED ON CHRIST WHO AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH!

DON’T BOW DOWN…DON’T FEAR WHAT MAN MAY DO TO YOU…STAY HUMBLE…REMAIN FIXATED ON CHRIST…STAND FIRM!