How To React When Your Faith Gets You In Trouble?

08/31/2020 How To React When Your Faith Gets You In Trouble?

Series: Daniel - Influencing Culture  

https://vimeo.com/448768228

What Does The Bible Say?

Daniel 3

Do you have any idols in your life?

An idol is anything in your life that you worship or put in place of or above God.

And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:8 NLT)

21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. (1 John 5:21 NLT)

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.

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.” (Daniel 3:1; 4–6 NLT)

Your culture will try to tell you what to believe and how to behave.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 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? 15 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?” (Daniel 3:13–15 NLT)

When your faith contradicts your culture, you will get into trouble.

How Can You Obey?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 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. 18 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.” (Daniel 3:16–18 NLT)

You may have the faith to say, “God is able to get me through this!”

But do you have the submission to say, “if God chooses not to, I will still trust him?”

28 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. 29 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!” (Daniel 3:28–29 NLT)

We affect our culture the most when we have the courage to demonstrate our faith.

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35–38 NLT)

Would people say that you are too good for this world?

Additional Notes:

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1-800-273-8255

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Daniel 2 describes Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue composed of different kinds of metals. The head of the statue was gold. Daniel explained that it represented Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. Other kingdoms (different metals) would replace his. At this, Nebuchadnezzar elevated Daniel in the administration, and issued a proclamation in favor of Daniel’s God. Still, Daniel 3 shows that Nebuchadnezzar had ideas of his own concerning his kingdom and future kingdoms. He built a statue that was all gold, from head to foot, not willing to be content with God’s role for him as one leader in a series of empires. A Babylonian document of Nebuchadnezzar’s time period contains text in which Nebuchadnezzar mentioned erecting the statue and encouraged future rulers to honor and protect the statue and his laws and decrees. Those who did would have a long life and reign. He was determined to consolidate his power in such a way that no kingdoms would come after his. Human conceit is nothing new among the powerful. 

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So where was Daniel during this event? Many have noted that Daniel’s name does not appear at all in chapter 3, and only his three Jewish companions went into the furnace. However, nothing we know about Daniel indicates that he went along with Nebuchadnezzar’s demands. Daniel held a position of higher authority even than his three friends, and their enemies simply may not have dared to implicate him. Also, it is plausible that Daniel was away on other administrative duties at the time. Although the text does not specify, it is also possible that Nebuchadnezzar’s decree targeted the more regional administrators, not those who were more centrally and highly placed such as Daniel. 

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Some lessons and some groups are harder to teach than others. Take heart, however, knowing that the same God who provided for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the midst of the fire accompanies you in your teaching. 

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So, God saved the three Hebrews in Daniel 3. What about all those in the centuries since then that He has not protected? Why does God not always protect all His people in the same way? God’s pattern was to make Himself known among the pagans, to show them that although He had allowed them to conquer His people, He remained steadfastly in control. He made that clear by protecting His three servants. Many have suffered and perished for God down through the years. Nothing indicates that they were less holy or spiritual than Daniel’s friends were. Did God love them less? No, not at all! God works to accomplish His will in the best, most effective way possible. Sometimes that calls for deliverance from the peril; other times it involves staying present with His people as they are martyred for their faith (See Hebrews 11 for biblical examples of both). God is our judge and our protector. We can leave vindication to Him. He knows how to protect His name and His people.  

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Daniel

The Book of Visions

“ ‘In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.’ ” Daniel 2:44

Major Theme

When God’s people had little hope, Daniel provided encouragement by revealing God’s power and his plans for the future.

Background and Purpose

The book of Daniel records the experiences of Daniel and some of his fellow-exiles in Babylon and how their faith in God protected them. It has never been easy interpreting the visions about the rise and fall of several empires, in the second part of the book of Daniel. Jesus took seriously Daniel’s prophecies about Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled most of Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine from 175 bc until 164 bc. See Matthew 24:15

One helpful way of interpreting these prophecies is to see that they may have more than one point of fulfilment:

• In the time of Antiochus

• When the city of Jerusalem fell again in ad 70

• At the final End Time.

Author

Daniel is stated as the author of this book (9:2). Jesus attributed the quotation from Daniel (9:27) to “the prophet Daniel” (Matthew 24:15). Certain scholars do not accept Daniel as the author, nor do they accept prophetic predictions. Thus they date the book as late as 160 bc, which of course eliminates all the prophetic element of the book.

Date

Daniel prophesied in Babylon and probably completed his book just after Babylon was captured by Cyrus in 539 BC.

Brief Outline

1. Daniel’s life at the Babylonian court 1:1–2:49

2. Daniel’s early visions in Babylon 3:1–6:28

3. Daniel’s visions of world empires 7:1–8:27

4.  Daniel’s prayer and vision of the 70 “sevens” 9:1–27

5. Daniel’s visions of Israel’s future 10:1–12:13

Important Events

• Daniel’s three friends survive being thrown into the fiery furnace

• Daniel in the lions’ den

Christ in Daniel

• The “Ancient of Days” is Jesus (7:13).

 Water, M. (2001). The Books of the Bible made easy (p. 27). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishing.

Question 1 of 5

How would you scripturally explain to someone why suicide is wrong?    

Question 2 of 5

Why does ending your life not release you from all your problems?    

Question 3 of 5

What is idolatry?   

Question 4 of 5

What forms do idolatry take in our culture?  

Question 5 of 5

Are we guaranteed that God will deliver us from persecution every time we stand for what is right? Explain.