Fire & Faith

INTRO - In our message last week Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar both his dream and its interoperation.

Daniel proved his faith in God and was rewarded by the king.

Like Daniel, Christians are challenged to follow through with what the Bible commands.

Today I plan to challenge you.

Chose wisely to how you plan to respond to what God commands.

If your heart chooses God, you’ve already committed to obedience.

If your head is in it, you might be saying, “I want to wait and see what God wants before deciding.”

God actually wants both; heart saying yes and head saying what.

God is not looking for impulsive followers that don’t use their head, nor self-seeking people that only serve God when it works for them.

So, I challenge you:

“What are you going to do with this mornings message?”

Look at 3:1-7

The king went from wanting to worship to wanting to be worshiped!

Poor Neb was really a mess!

ILL - In a preaching study resource by Rodney Stortz, whose work is a great help to me preparing this series, he tells the story of Brian Sternberg.

I was only a few months old at the time, so I have to give this to you second hand.

Brian set a pole vault record and made sport headlines at 19 years old. Then on July 2, 1963 his life was changed forever.

Brian took a bad fall during a practice session and was paralyzed from the neck down.

Nobody expected Brain to live very long, yet he passed away May 23 2013.

Brian was a Christian and the accident challenged his faith.

Brian thought God would heal him. Yet, less than a year later he penned in Look magazine:

“Having faith is a necessary step toward one of two things. Being healed is one of them. Peace of mind, if healing does not come, is the other. Either one will suffice.”

Brian’s test of faith weren’t done.

About a decade later a group convinced Brain that if he had “enough faith” God would heal him.

That is, instead of believing in God, believe in faith.

Brian lost sight of God’s sovereign nature and focus on his own human ability to muster up more faith.

Our passage today reminds us to stand up against the fiery trials of life.

Can you imagine the sight of a giant gold statue in the middle of a desert?

The sun is beating down, gold gleaming all surrounded by a huge crowd of people.

Suddenly the sound of instruments of all sorts blare out in the open and all the people fall down to worship except three.

In the middle of a sea of people stand three, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

So Says the Supreme Sovereign vv8-12

The young men approach the furnace. They feel the heat on their face. Were they tempted to change their line of thinking?

Did they rationalize, “Well, certainly God does not want me to die.”

Today people might say, “Well, they don’t yet understand our believes. We don’t want to offend them and ruin our witness. For now, lets just pretend to worship with them.”

Some might say, “God is slow to anger and quick to forgive. Let’s bow down now and ask Him to forgive us later.”

Others might say, “We bow on the outside, but kneel on the inside.”

The young men might had come up with any number of ways to get out of going to the furnace.

They might had found any number of excuses to justify their disobedience to God.

We compromise under pressure even when it’s nothing like facing a fiery death.

Our society compromises the commandment to keep the Sabbath day to go shopping.

Even Christians murder babies because of pressure of “unwanted” children.

Adultery includes all kinds of sexual immorality, yet Christians fall into sin because of they way our society tempts and make all sorts of excuses like we just mentioned.

Yet Biblical faith begins with, “I accept Jesus as Lord and Savior” and says “yes” to God from there forward.

There is no compromising God’s sovereign commands.

Remember Abraham:

Hebrews 11:8 CSB

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.

“He went” Abraham didn’t want a list of things from God before going, he just did what God said and went.

Back to our story vv. 13-15

Nebuchadnezzar has a temper. The young men must had be scared.

They trusted God to do His will and know that might mean they die in the furnace. I’d be scared too.

Yet, look at how the young men respond.

Secure with the Supreme Sovereign vv.16-18

When things go well for me its easy to say, “May God’s will be done.”

Yet, what if God wills something that you don’t want?

ILL - In our study of working with different generations we learned that growing churches change in order to reach the next generation.

Also, we learned that the changes we must make do not sit so well with us.

For example, we like our worship center decorated like this and we like the colors and familiarity.

God put us to the test and we did the hard work of learning about a generation that is not attending this church.

God never questioned our hearts; I know we all want to see people come to know Jesus.

However, God is still putting us to the test.

The young men give us insight to how to respond.

If God saves us great, but if God lets us burn, then glory to God.

“We still with do what God wants even if it hurts us personally.”

Job put it this way:

Job 13:15 CSB

Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him.

For the three men, the first part easy—deliverance.

The second part proves their faith.

For Christians, we agree with deliverance. God can do all things.

I admire people with faith that knows God can do all things.

Yet, sometimes people are afraid to believe God will deliver them because of the disappointment they will experience if he does not.

Some wrongly claim that God does not move because lack of enough faith.

Mustering up more faith by willpower is not biblical; God gives faith and what He gives is enough.

Look here, according to this passage we know:

Gods sovereign will is what determines the outcome.

It is not “having enough faith” or possessing a rabbits foot.

God is not a genie who is bound to do our will just because we have faith.

Without faith, sure nothing is possible. Don’t twist Scripture.

God will not be mocked.

It is God’s will in His Word that should control our faith:

John 15:7 CSB

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.

Jesus knows this as we see from His own words:

Luke 22:42 CSB

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

If Jesus knows that God’s will is not always in line with ours, that says a lot—the right thing may not be what we want.

Look at vv.18-22

Nebuchadnezzar was not pleased.

He was so made he was pleased to see the young men burn.

But, what happens?

Read vv.23-25

ILL - Haines Creek Baptist Church spent tons of money on their buildings. From the upstairs balcony to the front platform, white pews were spotless and even the BIG Bible was placed just right.

The people attending the church loved their building and put lots of money into keeping it the way they wanted it to look.

The people paid to keep the church just how they remembered it and wanted it to look.

Until they began to die, then they few left could not pay the electric bill or keep the building in repair.

Then comes The Fellowship Church.

David Miller, pastor, good friend saw what might be done to reach the community.

His homework discovered lots of families in the area not attending church.

They went to work, closed down, gutted the worship center and made it into something that connected with the community.

Today that formerly dead ministry is thriving. It took the death of the church to bring life to thousands of people.

David entered the fire when he wanted to make big changes. In the end, he walked with Jesus and today people look on and say, “I see God at work in that church.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remind me of what Paul says in the NT:

2 Timothy 4:17 CSB

But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

God uses the young men to get to the king.

Listen to how Nebuchadnezzar responds.

vv.26-30

Neb goes from being super opposed to the young men to praising God.

Does this mean things always turn out good for us?

No, but the Bible does help us to understand:

Hebrews 11:32–35a CSB

And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

That first bit all sounds great, but look at the last line and what follows:

Hebrews 11:35–38 CSB

Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

These people all lived by faith, yet not all things turned out so nice for them.

Yet, all of these people are in God’s Hall of Fame.

It’s easy to make a big deal out of a miraculous cure, but the Lord’s Hall of Fame includes them along with the ones who trust in God’s sovereign plan.

The next verse brings it together:

Hebrews 11:39 CSB

All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised,

All were people of faith, yet some have to wait to see their reward.

I have to believe that churches that trust and do what they can to reach people for Jesus are like these people of faith.

Not all churches will see a great crop, but those that try will know richer blessings, some now, but all when the stand before Jesus as say:

“We did all we could to bring people to you.”

Calvary shows us the extent of God’s love for humanity.

The cross is why we can try to do more for bringing others to Jesus than we do to appease our likes and what pleases us.

When our focus is on the cross, our faith will not fail even when faced with making difficult choices.

When our answer is “Yes, whatever you want Jesus” it take faith to do what goes against our human desires.

I opened with a challenge.

Will you do what God wants when it is not what you want? Will you rejoice in God’s will or draw attention to your own?

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