Daniel 3: Courage in the Fire!
Thank you again for joining us some worship today.
This is me Time We Gather in the house and we take the Lord's supper and we worship together and
blessing and I thank you for being part of that blessing with us Daniel chapter 3 today.
I'm excited about this one. This is I don't know man. This is one of those ones you just you want to get into it some good stuff. So let's just go ahead and jump right into the scripture. We'll have prayer time after we read the scripture animal dive right into the meat of the word Daniel chapter 3.
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold is height width 60 cubits and its breath six cubits and he said it on the plain of dura in the province of Babylon then King neberkenezer sent to gather the satraps prefix and governors the council's the treasures the justices the magistrates and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image of King the damage that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up in the satraps the prefix the governor's the counselors the treasurer's the justices the magistrates in 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 King Nebuchadnezzar it setup and the herald proclaimed allowed. You are commanded o people Nations and languages that when you hear the sound of the horn pipe liar Dragonheart bagpipe and every kind of music you are a Fall Down and Worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar is set up and whoever does not fall down and worship. Yahweh mediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. Therefore as soon as all the people heard the sound of the hornpipe liar. Try again harp bagpipe and every kind of music all the peoples Nations and language has fell down and worshipped the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Therefore at that time certain chaldaeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared the King Nebuchadnezzar King live forever. Uo King have made it a tree that every man who hears the sound of a hornpipe Flyer trike and harp bagpipe and every kind of music child Fall Down and Worship the golden image and whoever does not fall down and worship chubby cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have a pointed 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 you have set up. The Nebuchadnezzar in a furious rage commanded that Shadrach Meshach and Abednego be brought so they brought these men before the King Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them is it true Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that you do not serve my gods and worship the golden image. I have set up. Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the hornpipe liar Trigon harp bagpipe in every kind of Music Fall Down and Worship the image. I have made well and good. But if you do not worship you shall immediately be cast into the burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hand? Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the King 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. Oh King, we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. When Nebuchadnezzar was filled with Fury and the expression on his face was changed against Shadrach Meshach and Abednego any order the fiery furnace the furnace heat up seven times more than it was usually heated. Any ordered some of the Mighty Men of his army Divine Shadrach Meshach and Abednego to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. The nice men were Bound in their cloaks their tunics their hats and their other garments and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 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. And these three men Shadrach Meshach and Abednego fell down into the burning fiery furnace. When King Nebuchadnezzar was a mannish. Andros up in haste any declared Louis counselors Did we not cast three men bound Into the Fire? They answered and said to the king o true king true king 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. The Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace any declared Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Servants of the most high God come out. And come here. Then Shadrach Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. The safe trips prefix the governor's the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had not had any power over the bodies of these men. The hair of their heads was not singed their cloaks were not harmed and no smell of fire Came Upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said blessed be the god of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who is 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. 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 house is laid in Ruins where there is no God. No other God was able to rescue in this way. Then the king promoted Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon about with me.
father we we look at this story and it's a favorite and it's a a cherished one. Father remind us that this is a missionary story proclaiming your greatness in your glory among the foreign people that it's a a story of of how you rescue and even if you don't rescue in the way we think is appropriate.
You always rescue us to yourself. Fathers week we dig into this. I pray that you would put me aside all together that you would you would speak the word of Truth to us and to our hearts that you would moving us that you would convict us. And it would just speak to us. Jesus name I pray amen.
I was excited to get to do this one this week because this was seriously one of my favorite stories as a kid. Like this was I don't know just one of the stories I always always enjoy mostly because of the fire in the burning. I think that was the reason why I liked it as a kid like there was something about that that was intriguing as a little boy.
All boys tend to like to play with fire. And so this was an intriguing story because of that and I remember as a kid reading the story and sing it kind of like an adventure story. Right? It was it was almost like a comic book epic that you were these guys that could escape fire. They were superheroes in some regard as a child is kind of how I sought my head. They they were they were able to withstand the super villain Nebuchadnezzar and his big fiery furnace, which was like his death ray of the time. I guess. I don't I don't know but That was the image I had of my head is a 789 year old boy. An unfortunate I think some of us want to keep on to that like it's is with the store we love and we want to hold on to those sorts of things to me. There's so much more to this than just that that picture. We hadn't Sunday school that picture we had from Vacation Bible School. This passage of scripture is really very parallel to what we looked at in chapter one the Legos side-by-side with each other. They here are her men of God confronted with a choice to follow the world or stay true to their God. They stay true to their got here and that's important for us to see details about the statue in verses 1 through 7 kind of go through those first the statue was put up in this unique location. It wasn't just a random statue in a random Place write the word Dura means wall or Fortress in Aramaic. And so here it was are going to put up the statue on the plane where there had been a wall or a fortress the plain of dura. So it's a little bit reminiscent to some extent the Genesis chapter 11 in the Tower of Babel. This year is this place where we're going to gather up all the people of all the nations in this one location the special place. There's a little bit of that going on here. And it's also a little bit reminiscent of the statue from chapter 2 of Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar's dream number he knew he was the golden head Daniel told him that well now he's maybe wanting to be the whole golden statue. Is he's putting it up in the in the line of of dura solid gold image and I can't imagine like I did the math roughly eighteen in a cubit 60 cubits in feet all the solid gold statue right ft wide that's a lot of gold, right? This is just a lot of anything but here wasn't he puts it up in the solid gold image rather than the mixed media. So so Nebuchadnezzar is in some regards looking here to unify is Kingdom Rosso exalt himself while doing it. Second is anybody who's anybody this is? This is bigger than any ribbon-cutting ceremony the city of Martinsville will ever see, you know, you get all those ribbon-cutting ceremonies and his all the dignitaries. They bringing everybody. I'm Amazed. I'm always amazed at the number of state representatives like Peggy Mayfield and Rod Bray and and he's got that show up to cut a ribbon to open up a new shoe store. I could they pull in the mayor they pull in the city council and everybody that they bringing everybody. They can that they look that makes him look important. Right never can answer is done. Just that prefix safe trips counselors treasurer's everybody that he can bring in and make it look important and feel important.
Please done that. This isn't just like this dedication service about unifying the kingdom is a government. Right. He's also trying to unify the kingdom. and the government to religion We're going at The Bow Down and Worship the statue that your king how many times it said that the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up that Nebuchadnezzar had set up that never keeps coming back in here. Right then. It's about this unification in religion to the government.
And it's also about putting those allegiances on public display.
If you're not.
Or this Idol, you're not for Nebuchadnezzar. If you're not for Nebuchadnezzar, you can't be for this is it it's intertwined the government in the religion here. You're not patriotic. You don't fall and worship this Idol.
Everyone was expected to participate no matter what?
Or think your sisters huge concert to coincide with this dedication service.
Music impacts people emotionally very much. So is as we were coming off the platform it just finished singing oceans. Like we learned that song as I think there's a praise band. I think the week my dad passed away, right? So that song Always conjures up some emotions, and I know where Dad's at so I'm cool and I am safe and secure, but I remember like that song Bringing up emotions. A song we played at my father's funeral. I was going to go literally buy a loaf of bread and that song came on and Kroger. All the world and I'm standing in the bread aisle crying like a like a toddler cuz that's how powerful songs can be emotionally music and be emotionally to us. And so Nebuchadnezzar knows this he's not he's not an idiot. He's not a fool here is using this. She's got this emotional and psychological effect on the people. It stirs up things inside of us when we hear music and it's hard to separate a motion from experience when this happens and it becomes really difficult. Then the Think Through The Experience logically when we have this emotional connection as well. Was this really what it should have been can I separate the emotion from the logic here and make sure I'm looking at things clearly. Luther's this exact time of submission and worship When the Music's Over We All Fall Down we do this and then boom there it is. 6 is a very specific manner in which the worship has to be done if you fall down. After Fall Down and Worship late prostate your over and then when you think about the death sentence
That goes along with it that that you're dead if you're not worshipping. There's a death sentence to be thrown into this fiery furnace. Miss interesting the very end of this verse 7
when the time came it appeared that everyone had fallen down and worship the eyeball Idol Nebuchadnezzar made. I don't know how many people were there.
But it looks like everyone participated. We know three guys didn't. But my guts and never more than three guys not participating because there were three guys not participating and then some fellows watching those three guys.
It doesn't seem to get brought up very often. Then. It's just was curious moments for me is I'm studying this this week the 2nd. But you're only look at all of this. We see what's going on. We're going to be confronted is Believers in Christ. We are going to be confronted by the idols of this world. And I was not going to be this ridiculously huge golden statue necessarily, right? But you're going to be confronted by the idols of this world.
Re4 long time one of my Idols was new Ford trucks man. You could look at it in a Ford truck guy since I can remember hop in the cab, right? That's just how I was and then you'd see a new Ford truck and it was like, I want the new for you know, and that was where I was at and it can become an idol. What do I do to get that object? That's what idling is idolatry becomes what do I do to get something?
Some of the idols in our lives may come and go and nobody will ever see him delivered even know that they were there some will be very public. And you will have to decide where you stand and what you're going to do. If we truly claim to be citizens of the kingdom of God citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We must remember that we are Exiles here just like that in that regard the we are Exiles here. We are missionaries. This is our mission field. We have been cast out from home which we want to get back to and we're going to be confronted with the idols where we are Exiles at the idols of this world.
Verses 8 through 12. We see the Cataract Meshach and Abednego Don't Fall Down and Worship. I think this is interesting to talk about to this wasn't some big huge Outburst. This wasn't some Dynamic display. This was just them not doing it. Everybody else was doing it and they just didn't. I have a really quiet peaceful moment of civil disobedience in some regard.
Okay. And here wait, I'll get up in a second. They just didn't.
But it did appear like everybody else had so I'm assuming that this crowd must have been large. And it was hard for them to stand out even standing up when everybody else is laying down because it was such a big crowd. It appeared that no one out that everyone had done it. And there were people watching them. People watching Shadrach Meshach and Abednego for the purpose of maliciously accusing them of not worshiping of measures Idol. These certain Aldean's. Or some kind of officials in Babylon. You don't know what their motivation was. Motivation could have been just we don't like the fact that the Jews have been elevated higher than us these captives here. We are from Babylon. We have been loyal to Nebuchadnezzar no matter what. We're his yes men, and these guys are not but they've been elevated above us. We know that from the end of chapter 2 Shadrach Meshach in a Bendigo or elevated by the because Daniel had said, would you please Elevate them if you're going to honor me as well?
We don't know their their motivation. It could have been that you just been there were Annie Semitic. We don't think about that but antisemitism is Run Deep from scripture forward. We just like Jewish people. And that could have been part of week with there. So many things that could have been we're speculating at best as we think about their motivations. What we do know is that they had a plan. They were watching and looking to set these guys up. This was planned. You don't just come up with this out of nowhere. We can see that just that they had a plan and They carried it through and it was strategic plan and it had evil intent. We want to harm Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. We want to get rid of them. We want them out of office. At least chaldaeans go to Nebuchadnezzar in a Buttery mop you would approach any.
person of Royal status in a very cautious manner anyway, you know, I guess there's a list of like 40 some rules with you ever have an audience with the Queen of England has 40 some rules like you have to follow and how you speak to her how you address her is all they're all listed like it's who's your who's your pages of this other things are just not supposed to do. They're following that but the way they're following it. Is a little bit different there their kind of that hold didn't you say what kind of that buttering up kind of aspect of it here reminding him of everything. He said about worshiping the idol. I just want to make sure I'm getting it right can cuz I'm lower than you and you are so mighty and they're they're kind of kind of doing this and then inverse 12, they just flat-out rat out. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, but there are these men O King who pay you no attention. It's not about the idle at that point, right? But they didn't pay any attention to the idol, which they didn't. But it was they didn't pay any attention to you and Nebuchadnezzar ziggo. They ignored you.
And you appointed them to have certain things to do. And so this point he's feeling disrespected and know this or just as important for us to understand that that is a follower of Christ even when you're doing the right thing. They're going to be people to look to find the flaw and you doing the right thing. They're going to be people who are going to criticize you for doing what's right God's people will be criticized by the people of the world no matter what we do. We should expect we should anticipate it. We should just know it and then we rely on God. To take care of it when it happens.
I find it interesting to note that how much Nebuchadnezzar has changed from the end of chapter 2. Write the end of chapter 2. He was lifting these guys up. You was elevating them. Your God can do everything. Nobody's going to speak ill of your guide and then here at the beginning of Chapter 3 of saiki forgot chapter 2 happen. Oh, yeah.
What we don't know is how much time has transpired. We kind of know that from about chapter 1 of of Daniel till the end of chapter 6 of Daniel's about 70 years. We don't know how much time to spend in between these stories. Daniel's apparently nowhere present at this. I don't know where Daniels at. He's a working as a kind of an emissary on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar. He could have been sent someplace and not there at this time of why's he would have been standing with Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, but he's not there.
He's very different here though at the beginning of chapter 3 from the end of chapter 2. He was very humble or the one true God at the end of chapter 2 in here in chapter 3, he seems to forgotten all of that in at this point. Neberkenezer has gotten so full of himself that he's drinking himself even with God because it in it because of the she's got a kind of save face in front of everybody, right? And so the first 13 we see that that that he's got this need to save face. Eberson to rage any question Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and he says his what they have said is what the child and said, is that true? And then he doesn't want an answer before you got a second chance. I'm going to give you a second chance to worship this Idol. You better do it this time. No, God can rescue you from this fire.
And who is The God Who deliver you out of my hands limited as her if this point is saying? My wrath is greater than a God's Wrath. Nebuchadnezzar's wrath is greater than the wrath of God almighty. Arnab, you miss this one. Not it in here is is where unfortunately we are often more like Nebuchadnezzar than we are Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Shadrach Meshach in a Bendigo in this story really were probably not. I'm I tend to be more Nebuchadnezzar like then Shadrach Meshach and Abednego like he's thinking more highly of himself than he should he's positioning himself in a manner as if he controls the future of all the people And all the Nations under all the languages.
Your thought about the fact that the fiery furnaces come like condemning people to hell.
A parallels that just a little bit. He thinks he's that high at this moment that he has that power and that Authority.
In our own simple arrogance, we can do the same. We allow our pride to trick us into thinking that our future is in our hands rather than in God's hands.
We claim to believe that God is in control, but we live in a manner that indicates that we are in control.
We should ask the same question that Nebuchadnezzar asks here. But we need to ask him a little different manner. We need to ask who's the guy that would deliver me from my own hand. Who will deliver me from my own Pride who will deliver me from my own arrogance Who deliver me from my own sin? The answer is the one that Shadrach Meshach and Abednego gave it is the Lord God Almighty. That is the god who delivers me and I need that Deliverance everyday.
416 the three Jewish young men answer Nebuchadnezzar by saying we have no need to answer you but someone they're saying, you know our character, you know, who we are, you know, where we stand with, you know, the answer you're asking it just to save face. We know this about you. other not rude and disrespectful in it, but you know us well enough to know we shouldn't have to answer this. Nebuchadnezzar had already seen the mighty power of God, right? He seen in chapter one with with the food. He seen it in Chapter 2 of the interpretation of the dream and somehow he keeps forgetting it.
And because he keeps forgetting that he's arrogant enough to ignore the might and power of a holy God.
verse 17 here
If this be so our God whom we serve is able to Deliver Us From The Burning Fire and he will deliver us out of your hand O King. But if not be it known to you Old King that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image of setup versus 17 and 18 here. Take us back really to chapter one again. These three young men would not defile themselves in front of God would not be defiled by worshipping this false idol your Shadrach Meshach and Abednego refused to defile themselves at all. And they refused of the five themselves with groupthink. We think about this here's their ass to to defile themselves first by worshipping an idle, but everybody looks like they're lying down everybody looks like they're falling down to worship the sink and they don't They escaped the defilement of groupthink. Where will everybody else is doing? It must be right?
Russian we pull into that group think too often. We got to watch ourselves and be cautious of not defiling ourselves with groupthink.
And the way they continue to answer there in 18. I love this 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 our hand or out of your hand. No King, but if not yet known to your king that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image of set up. Again, going back to chapter 1 martyrdom is preferable to defilement.
Giving up your life for the sake of Jesus Christ is better than the filing yourself before him.
These men have figured it out. I confess this morning a small group. I'm not there yet. I would love to be able to stand next to Paul the Apostle and say to die is to gain Christ. I'm good with that.
I get it like it makes sense to me, but the process I'm not sure I'm ready for that. But I know what's on the other side. I I don't feel insecure about that.
In my head, I think I have a lot to live for.
The only thing I have to live for is Christ who died from me.
This idea of martyrdom. Is preferable to defilement is prevalent scripture Joshua 24:15. We like to think of a lot. It is this kind of an idea and Joshua 24:15. Hiciste speaking here. He says if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord choose this day whom you will serve whether the gods of your father's served in the region beyond the river with the gods of the amorites and whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua says that to us all in Philippians 1:21 for me is to live for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
See these statements make some courage from the Holy Spirit.
And in this purge doesn't come if you're not grounded in the word of God, and if you're not so off salafist, but if you're not solidified in your face. Three things are happening here. Right God's servants about only to him. We will bow to no-one if we're truly God's servant. He is the only one worthy of our worship. And so we want to worship him only and fully about only to him God's servants trust in his Sovereign purposes. No matter the potential outcome that idea of sovereignty and God isn't just a God's in control, but the god establishes things and he chooses what happens and he gets to choose because it's his anyway to choose from it's not ours.
3 we see the God's servants trust in God's power and protection and leave what happens to God's plan.
Find it interesting here. They know what's going on. They see this reference. I worked a couple of different Summers and some scrap yards are we actually melted steel and we melted aluminum. We we we had fiery furnaces remember looking into that white hot flame. For the aluminum. I didn't get to work the Iron and Steel side. Thank goodness. Cuz that fires 20 250 degrees and hotter. The aluminum side is only 1250 degrees. All right little difference, you know a little cooler in the aluminum room. And I'm looking into that white hot flame and thinking this. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego face and they were okay with it because no matter what happens. Is in control it's it's not our life. Anyway, it's God's life. He's just blessed me with for this moment. And if he takes it away from me find it was his to take
Nate Saint missionary in Ecuador partner with Jim Elliot many of you know that name. He said it like this. You said the way I see it we ought to be willing to die. In the military we were taught to obtain that to obtain the objectives. We had to be willing to be expendable. missionaries must face the same expendability search here. This is not a person in this room is not called to be a missionary. If you are called of Jesus Christ and saved by his grace. You are called to be a missionary. We must call on God to give us the courage to face the dangers of this world. Verse 19 is removing on Nebuchadnezzar's raid shows up again in the heat of any heat up the first of the point that it's just overheating and his guards getting dressed in her many many layers are some possible to to protect them from the Heat and Flames but it didn't work. I always thought that was amazing to me. So there's this furnace. I don't know how big it is, but there's always a top of a furnace in the bottom. I remember my grandparents had a an old converted coal burner furnace down in the basement in every once in a while. I'd have to go down there for something that thing there's a bottom part in the top part and you could scrape all the Ash and Ross and all the nastiness out of the bottom. You stoked it down there and the heat rose up to the top. So he's these men are at the top and they just they just roll up. Poem into the flame, but is there fraud him into the flame the guys doing the throwing or dying? The Flames are so hot coming out of the top of that thing.
The kingsman dyed bring Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Into the Fire. I can't even know how big it was, but they probably drop and land in the bottom. lni stand up America's are shocked. You can see whatever his viewing position is. He can see into the flame at the bottom of this furnace and he shot and he and he gets up and he says did we not cast three men in the fire, but I see for Unbound. Walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt in the appearance of the fourth man is like a son of the Gods. Now the big question always comes up. Who's the fourth guy? I can stand here confidently today in front of you and say I have no idea. I really don't know. There's a couple of words. I wanted to find for you though before we we talked about this just a little bit. These are these are nice big $2 words, right? So you're getting for free today. The $2 words are theophany and Kristoff in me. theophany theophany christophany christophany Bo meaning God Cristo meaning Christ a theophany is when we have in the Old Testament a visible presence of God, you think of Moses and the burning bush The Burning Bush was a theophany the visible presence of God, when you think of the Tabernacle in the smoke in the cloud that led the Israelites that's a theophany of visible presence of God.
We see actually a theophany a little bit in the New Testament when we see Jesus's baptism and we see the dove and we hear the voice of God. This is my son. With whom I am. Well pleased. That's a theophany a Christ off Annie or christophany is a subset is a type of theophany. It in in in that it is a time in the Old Testament and which we see the second part of the Trinity of the second person of the trinity knot second part II person. Alright, so first we need to remember to ourselves. Jesus was around in the beginning with creation. He was not just come up and Luke Chapter 2. Alright, Jesus was eternal. We know that almost christophany Zyzz it there a little bit more controversial. There are people who have studied this way more than me. Whom I respect a great deal. Who disagree on this? I I can read to Scholars. Know that I agree with a lot both of my I think are equal in their scholarship and he will say I don't believe there is a christophany in the Old Testament. I believe there are Kristoff and he's in the Old Testament. I can't say if this was Jesus a lot of people want to say that I telling you I do not have the scholarly knowledge to say that I can say that it was the presence of God. This is a theophany. I do believe that but this was the presence of God here who walked these men out of the fire.
God is visibly present with his people in this.
What's amazing here? And think about this God didn't deliver them from the fire.
But he delivered them Rue. fire that's important. Is it our lives? That's when it happened. They're going to be times that we want to just escape the fire all together now because they know I got a purpose or you going through the fire.
I got you. I'm going to protect you. I'm going to keep you safe, but I need you to go through it.
To the fire had no effect on the men who I'm sure had an emotional spiritual effect on the man but had no physical effect on the men write their hair wasn't singed. They didn't smell of smoke. The clothes are all intact. And Nebuchadnezzar recognizes something. He recognizes that the God who saves Shadrach Meshach and Abednego is more powerful than any guy he could ever put up on a statue someplace out in the plain of dura.
And in that he sees that the Jewish young man here Shadrach Meshach and Abednego trusted God and God Alone. And he declares that anyone who speaks anything against the god of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. Who's the same as the god of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the one true God God the Father God the Creator anyone who speaks ill of them will be executed in a horrible Manner and their households will suffer the same fate. And then he Rewards. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego
This is Nebuchadnezzar's third encounter.
with the one true God But in each encounter he acknowledges the one true God. He confesses to know the power of the one true God but understand this. is convicted but the one true God is much more power from his conviction isn't always the same as conversion.
We can be convicted of a lot of things and never really convert out of it. It's Christ who converts us, it's God in our lives. Does Nebuchadnezzar. Just never appear to be converted. It doesn't turn on that image is still there. Right. You still doesn't seem to do this. He's still in his head. Doesn't think the kingdom will end if he will reign forever. He's badly mistaken. There's only one Eternal Kingdom and that is the kingdom of God. Believers understand this
we will be confronted by the idols of this world. We are going to be criticized by the people this world. We're going to be challenged to worship the false gods of this world. We're going to have to be courageous. In the face of the danger this world we must be confident that the Lord is with us no matter what happens in this world. We're passing through here. This is not our permanent place.
Close out today. I want us to think about this as we read through and study through the Book of Daniel. What are things that we should look at it as this is a missionary book. Is your hair men? Or taking the word of God through their life through their message through their conviction the lost and dying world. Daniel 3 Shadrach Meshach and Abednego
They're taking got God's purpose has always been for him to be glorified among the Nations. They're doing it.
Is I'm in a world that's going to confront me with all these things.
How am I living that out? What am I doing? We're going to have our time of invitation.
All the action challenge, how are we going to look at it? And we're going to ask ourselves these question.
Maybe you're feeling all to something bigger and better. Maybe maybe God is dealing with you in some way that if there's something you need to do something you need to get rid of maybe you just need to know that God is there for you? Maybe it's just time to say yes, I believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior. He was born of a virgin. Sent to the Earth to to live a sinless life gave his life up for me to pay for the sin that I cannot pay for died and rose again on the third day. He will return as my king. I need to confess that publicly today. I don't know where you're at. I don't know what God's calling with you to do cuz we think about this today. We think about these men in the missionary world. It's giving them all sorts of dangers. Seek out the Holy Spirit ask God speak to you and how you can be courageous in the fire. Following snake you so much. We thank you that when we are confronted and criticize when we are challenged. That you give us the courage to face the dangers of the world. That we can be confident in you no matter what happens to us here. Follow me. Thank you. But sometimes you don't rescue us from the fire, but you rescue a through the fire.
Can you do that For Your Glory? and for your might father I pray that is we take this time to reflect this time to do business with you, too. Respond to the word you would continue to speak to our hearts.
Victorious convictus thank you so much for changing our lives. In Jesus name I pray.