The God in the Fiery Furnace
Notes
Transcript
Last message of the sermon series
How to stand for the truth..in the workplace
Where do I draw the line? Company supports ungodly causes and lifestyles?
The two extremes:
Quitting your job because you disagree with the policies of the company
Supporting the ungodly policies
If you are unsure about this, then you need to:
Repurpose Your Life Toward God’s Purpose
That means you should be a good Christian witness wherever you are, even at the workplace.
St. Paul said in Colossians 3:23...
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
Oh, pastor Ramon, you are mistaken.. Paul was talking about Christian Ministry.. no let me read the previous verse:
22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
Our real employer is God. You should fear Him not your human employer.
What if you are being forced to compromise, then stand for God and His word and He will take care of you.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.. from Daniel 3
Back story:
They have been violated --
They lost their national identity - explain
they lost their personal identity - explain: their real names are Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. replaced with Pagan names..
The enemy can take what is precious in the eyes of the world but he cannot take away your faith in God. They may take away your name, but they cannot take your identity with God.
Hananiah - To Protect
Mishael - Who is Like the Mighty One
Azariah - Yahweh will help.
Your real worth and identity comes from God.
So let’s look at the story of these three.. Shadrach, Meshach and AbedNego - easier to pronounce,, let’s call them Rach, Shach and Benny.
They won’t bow down to the golden image.
those who worshipped the gold image helps us better understand the plight of people in today’s world — they blindly follow the crowd — they’ll do anything to survive..
problem is not the lack of faith — rather the object of their faith..
bowing would have destroyed their witness.
Lesson on how to be a witness for Christ in the secular world:
Refuse to conform to the world and its gods.
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.”
they forgot what Daniel and his friends did for them..
the unbelievers of our time have forgotten that this nation is founded on Biblical principles and values.
they try to rewrite history, that America is not a Christian nation.
Live on borrowed capital — it is godliness and faith in God that saved and preserved this nation.
Nebuchadnezzar gives these men a chance to recant, to still do what he wants..
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?”
There is a threat, what do you do?
Note that the king insulted God.. the battle belongs to the Lord.. no need to defend God.
2. Resolve to confess God before men.
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.”
Notice what they said:
they could have compromised,, and just told the king ‘OK, if that is what you want, we will bow our knees but we will not bow our hearts” - if they had done that, it would have destroyed their witness...
their words are few, carefully chosen, even respectful, but what they said is enough to be strong witnesses for God
They trust God’s power
Did they doubt?
they trust God’s will
But we will obey the Lord no matter what the outcome may be,, and we will not presume on what God will do
What happened next?
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.
Nebuchadnezzar’s state of mind --- the men will not feel the pain
Something amazing happened next:
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.”
3. Reveal the Glory of God
The fourth person in the fiery furnace.
Jesus stands by our fiercest trials:
Paul:
16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
Jesus also provides the Helper
19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.
God rewards faith. But He does not always perform miracles.
Stephen - a good way to end this sermon series. (background)
Are you ready to give your life for Jesus?
When persecution comes?
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Stephen found his life.
54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Jesus was with him until the very end.. will welcome him
57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Saul turned to Paul.
God is glorified..
Why was the story of Rach, Shach and Benny included in the scriptures? For the same reason he included the faith experiences of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the apostles ---- to encourage us in our fight against our enemies - the flesh, the world and the Devil.
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.