Fiery

Introduction

Today we are starting a series called Lord We Need You. I have been praying a lot in preparation for this day and what God would have me to teach about for the next few weeks and I kept being drawn to the fact that Christians in America do not truly rely upon Christ because all of our needs are accessible in abundance for so many of us that the question is “why do I need God? I have everything I need and I pretty much can get anything that I want.” and I believe that this time in the pandemic has opened my eyes and probably so many of us of the liberties and the needs like food that could be stripped from us at any point in time. I think of the food and meat scare at the beginning of the pandemic where everyone was frantically buying months worth of groceries, worried about their jobs (and many still are), providing for their families, having a roof over our heads, and some people have lost everything during covid, and even the worry of losing our own life due to a virus. This series is about certain stories within Scripture that point us to put our full dependence upon Christ, and our need to stop depending upon ourselves instead of Him.

Tonight we are going to look at a story in Scripture that many of us know very well but I think we overlook what we should be learning from it because we overlook the passage altogether like when people say that most car accidents happen close to home because of the familiarity of the area causes us to pay less attention to our surroundings. I believe that’s how it is with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Open your Bibles to Daniel 3 as we look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their full dependence upon God to deliver them from certain death. Give background on the dream and Daniel before reading the full story.

The King’s Command (3:1-7)

The king wanted a united government, religion, and people because of his dream in Chapter 2 but God was not going to allow that to happen.

The Chaldean’s Charge (3:8-12)

This was an attempt to overthrow the Israelite people because of their greed of position related to the King.

This charge was supposed to enact the end of the ability to worship the Israelite God altogether in Babylon.

The King’s Offer (3:13-18)

The King’s Wrath (3:19-23)

The King’s Astonishment (3:24-27)

The King’s Announcement (3:28-30)

Application

Civil Disobedience

It’s only okay to be disobedient to authority when it is contrary to God’s authority and these times are VERY RARE.

Suffering

Suffering is going to happen in the Christians life. Our faith is not one that hasn’t been met with opposition before and it isn’t going to be that way now. Not because we aren’t showing others love but because it flies in the face of culture and Satan’s plans for the world.

In the midst of suffering (in this case a fiery tribulation for the sake of God) the Lord is in the midst of it WITH US.

Suffering actually brings us to a deeper fellowship with Christ (Phil. 3:10 “My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death”

Fear God more than men

The king’s ideal of a central worship point in his country was based upon the reaction of fear of man and his institutions. If anyone disobeyed they would be killed on the spot. But Matthew 10:28 says “Do not fear those who can kill the body, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Because of their fear of their God being greater than that of the king they were delivered from the fiery furnace.

The need for faith

Faith is so important in application of this story. These young men were so bold to stand up AGAINST something like a powerful man on earth but even more bold to stand up FOR the God of the Scripture and their people’s ability to worship in Babylon.

Deliverance

Ultimately the faith that these men showed in God’s sovereign plan showed a powerful king that the question asked “who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” turned into the king who bowed in reverence to that God saying “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.”

God’s deliverance was complete and total in the midst of fiery trials only burning off the things that had bound them up in the first place.