Standing in Faith

Welcome

Happy 4th of July!

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Daniel 3:14–18 NKJV

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Intro

Kiss the Toes

Some believe the statue was built in the fifth century; others believe it was built in the thirteenth century. Either way the bronze statue of Peter in St. peter’s Basilica has been a tourist hotspot for centuries. When tourists and worshipers come to the statue, many kiss or rub the toes on the statue’s right foot. The bronze toes have been worn away from centuries of adoration and curiosity.

A decree has never been issued to worship this statue, but few seem able to resist the temptation.

Nebuchadnezzar’s statue stood taller and loomed larger than this statue in Rome, and he attached a life or death decree to worship this statue.

When his people heard the music, they were to bow their knees in worship. And if they didn’t, they would be cast alive into a burning, fiery furnace. If awe didn’t motivate them to worship, fear surely would!

But three Hebrew prisoners of war believed in no other god but Jehovah and declared that He was the only one worthy of worship. This trio was not about to bow to any statue, no matter how gold or how grand. When the music started and everyone bowed, they heard it, and they stood up! They stood up and stood out, if you will - like a Pepsi can in a Coca-Cola truck!

And old King Neb’ followed through on his threat to cast them alive into a burning, fiery furnace. He knew they would be alive going in, but he never dreamed they would be alive coming out.

But they were because they were not in the furnace alone; there was a fourth man in the fire.

Contemplating the Topic

Let’s go back a ways, first, though...

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that disrupted his sleep, and he couldn’t remember what it was about. When his wise men could not tell him the dream and its interpretation, he ordered all of them to be slain. Sound perfectly reasonable, right?

When the palace guards came to execute Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel pleaded for time to pray and seek the answer from God.

And it was in prayer that God revealed the king’s dream to Daniel.

Daniel explained that God had given Nebuchadnezzar a glimpse into the future political systems of the world. Daniel ended his explanation by saying that the God of Heaven was going to set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed or conquered. It would crush all other kingdoms into nothingness and it would stand forever.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s Image

Bow to Worship

It’s important to understand this Nebuchadnezzar person.

The Babylonians actually treated him as a god. He would gladly accept their worship, and at times, he even demanded it.

And it’s reasonable to assume that Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had inspired the king to create a golden statue that stood sixty cubits high (about 90 ft.). The Bible doesn’t describe the image other than to give the height and width. Many assume it was a statue of Nebuchadnezzar himself. But it may have been a statue of Marduk, or maybe even something as simple as an obelisk or pillar.

So he placed this golden image in the plain of Dura in Babylon. He assembled the leaders from around - satraps, governors, prefects, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all. And at the sound of the music, they were all ordered to bow and worship the image. And everyone present knew what would come with you disobeying the king’s order to bow. Immediate death. This king really likes the drama and effect of immediate death!

Before the creation of this golden image - some say even up to twenty years earlier - Nebuchadnezzar declared Daniel’s God to be above all…

Daniel 2:47 NKJV

The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”

But we can’t be sure just how strong or complete the king’s revelation was.

The rising question that comes out of this is: What was Nebuchadnezzar’s motivation for crafting the golden image?

Was he attempting to make a new “wonder of the world”? Was he trying to test Daniel’s God?

It may be that the image of gold was his way of boasting that his kingdom would last forever.

I want to offer you something that I’ve found to be eternally true: If you want to thrive in the Kingdom of God, if you want to be used of God, if you want fresh oil of anointing on your life, then your kindgom has to come down!

You could argue that forcing his subjects to bow to the image was also his means of ensuring all his subjects were submitted, which was a problem for Hebrew men because it would have required them to violate their submission to God by idol worshiping.

Cast in Fiery Furnace

We know that the penalty for not bowing and worshiping the image was to be immediately cast into Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace.

While the Bible doesn’t give us much of a description of what the exterior of the furnace may have looked like, it does give us some information about how it was built:

It could have the heat level adjusted, because the king ordered it to be seven times hotter (Daniel 3:19).

It was hot enough that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers nearby (Daniel 3:22). Again, this guy loved immediate death!

We know that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “fell” into the blazing furnace, the Bible says (Daniel 3:23). So it would seem that we are now looking at an open pit type of furnace.

It was open enough that Nebuchadnezzar could look into the furnace (Daniel 3:25).

It was large enough for four men to stand upright and walk around in (Daniel 3:25).

The Enemy Has Idols for Us to Worship

Now this story relates to us in a very important way today. And I’m going to tell you how.

Nebuchadnezzar sets aside valuable time and delegates manpower to creating and placing this golden statue before the people. He takes care to be sure that it is crafted how he wants it and is attractive to anyone who sees it. And then he stands before the people and says, “I know that many of you have worshiped other things, but I know what it is you need to worship. I have found what it is that you need to turn to! I have it! Here - worship this!”

Can I tell you today, that the enemy of our souls says the same thing to us every day, because he is setting up idols in this world for us to worship!

{insert gods people worship in the world}

But Paul instructed the Romans:

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The world puts pressure on Christians to bow to modern morals of an anything-goes society where the biblical teachings of righteousness and separation are labeled as bigoted intolerance and outdated standards.

There’s a book that was written about righteousness that is titled The Utter Relief of Holiness. And I’ve never heard it put a better way!!! The goodness of God FREES US from everything that PLAGUES US!

Satan tries to deceive us into accepting the gods of this age - WE MUST NOT BOW!

DON’T GIVE IN! DON’T BUDGE! HOLD THE LINE AND DIG YOUR HEELS IN FOR JESUS!

When all the other kingdoms fall (like Daniel dreamed), the Kingdom of Christ is going to be the only one left standing! And because you dug your heels in and sold out and lived out your life for Him, YOU’LL BE STANDING THERE WITH HIM!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Refused to Bow

So then, there was a band of sorts that began to play. And people started bowing in worship, all around… with the exception of Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Aside from everyone else, they remained standing.

Since these three Hebrews were devoted servants of God, their refusal shouldn’t have surprised anyone there, including Nebuchadnezzar.

And that’s the thing… our walk should inform people of what they know we believe. For people we are around often, they should know and be able to tell that we are living to please God, we’re striving to live righteously.

The King Threatened Them

Shortly after all of the music had stopped, there were some Chaldeans that quickly approached King Nebuchadnezzar and reported to him: “Hey king! SHADrach, MEshack, and ABEDnego have done decided that they’re not going to bow!”

Okay, maybe that was a little too Arkansan. Let’s read it:

Daniel 3:12 NKJV

12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

So obviously, these people were full of jealousy and animosity toward the Hebrew people, and they were really describing in full detail to the king what was going on here: they didn’t serve his gods, they didn’t worship the golden image so much work had been put into, they DIDN’T OBEY.

And at this point enraged, Nebuchadnezzar called for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought to him. And he severely warned them again of the consequences if they kept refusing to bow (which is unusually gracious - remember: he loves immediate death!).

They Still Refused to Bow

But impressively, remarkably, Nebuchadnezzar’s rage nor his threatening moved the three young men. I want you to listen closely to this... Without any hesitation, they said, defiantly:

Daniel 3:16–18 NLT

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.”

WOW.

I want to highlight something I feel is pretty important, here. The decision not to bow was not made in the spur of the moment. It was the outgrowth of living a life that was totally devoted to God!

It was the same dedication that caused them to join Daniel in purposing “in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8). It was the same consecration they made while they were bound and heading to exile Babylon. Without a doubt, Deuteronomy 6:4 was in their spiritual DNA!

We Must Stand Strong in the Face of Temptation

This story we are looking at today is one of the classic Bible stories of childhood. It has inspired generation after generation of Christians to stand strong in the face of temptation.

Regardless of the temptation that comes to us, we need to follow the example of the three Hebrew men and remain strong in our determination to live for God.

But even without the temptation, we need to be able to stand strong in this world when out God and The Truth are challenged.

Apologetics

And that means that we need to know why we believe what we believe. Ask yourself that question: Do I know why I believe what I believe???

That has to do with apologetics. That’s an important word you may have heard before. Many people have heard the word but wonder if it has to do with learning to apologize for being Christians, or perhaps attempting to make other people sorry they got into a discussion with us about religion. But it doesn’t mean “to apologize,” at least not in the way we normally experience an apology.

“Apologetics” comes from the Greek word apologia, which means “defense.” And doing apologetics is speaking in defense of the faith, or providing reasons for belief. It involves untangling the many misconceptions that people lug around due to their upbringing or due to things that they have knowingly or unknowingly learned from culture about religion.

If I could put into a nutshell what it is that apologetics does: there’s all of this junk and rubble that our world has strewn in between people and God. Things like:

“If God is real, why is there so much evil in the world?”

and “How do you know for sure there is a God?”

and “Don’t all religions lead to the same God?”

also “If God is real, and homosexuality is sin, then why are some people born gay?”

and “How can you have belief in God, but also understand science and the theory of evolution?”

Oh, and “Why is God so morbidly violent in the Old Testament?”

All of these are parts of that rubble that has been strewn through people’s minds, blocking them from God. And apologetics is what makes a clearer path. It’s answers to those questions.

And this is not just a subject only for pastors or those intellectual bible students and professors in colleges. We need to know why we believe what we believe! From oneness to holiness to salvation to why there is evil in the world to why we didn’t come from baboons!

And so I want to make a suggestion today: become a student of truth! Check out books by Josh McDowell.

This is important, because these three men were strong in what they believed, and culture and society, or some king were not going to break them away from the truth. If anything, they were going to convert the world to truth!

But If Not

They Refused to Bow Despite the Consequences

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were very familiar with Nebuchadnezzar’s temper tantrums. They had been trained in Babylon and had served as officials in the province of Babylon.

They were fully aware that with this guy, consequences would always follow disobedience. They weren’t delusional and they didn’t think that they would be spared because they had served the kingdom or because of who they are.

They Trusted God Not Knowing the Outcome

The three of them boldly told him, “The God we serve has the power and can deliver us from the fiery furnace. And somehow, He will deliver us from your hands. But, know, O king, if He chooses not to deliver us, we will still not serve your gods or bow to your image.”

I’m not sure there could be anything said to Old Neb’ that would be more offensive to him than this!!!

But the power of this story is in the fact that the men took a stand, not knowing what the outcome would be.

Your maturity in discipleship isn’t growing if, at some point, you haven’t took a stand.

They knew God could deliver them. God could send a storm and put out the fire. He could strike Nebuchadnezzar down with a lightning bot, if He so chose. He could teleport the men to a safe place - kind of like He did with Phillip in the Book of Acts. Or He could choose to level the city with an earthquake.

And they didn’t doubt His power. They knew God could. They told the king He would deliver them out of the king’s hand in some way - even it the furnace was their gateway to Heaven.

You know, he probably was thinking, “There’s no way to take down these servants of Jehovah! There’s no way to win!” I wonder if that’s what Satan feels like sometimes! I want it to be! The world needs to feel like it can’t do anything but be overcome by the Christians!

They knew God could save them. The problem was, they didn’t know how He would do it. They were out on a limb.

Have you ever faced a terrible situation in life - perhaps you were facing bankruptcy or a terminal, fearful illness - and had the sweet assurance from God that everything would be alright, but did not know how God would bring it to pass? Did you think of different ways that God would move? Did you decide that your half-backslidden brother or sister would give you a winning lottery ticket? Or that your great uncle Dan would leave you a million dollars? Or that you would win the Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes? Or the final x-ray before your surgery would show the cancer was gone? Or that the FDA had just approved a new wonder drug for your illness? Or that your nephew is a perfect match to donate a kidney to you?

We’ve got to remember sometimes that God’s thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. And He will always surpass our expectations. He may not always answer our prayers the way we would like, but He will always come through and His purpose will be accomplished in us and through us.

And if you haven’t been around here just a very long time, don’t be surprised if God does something around here that goes beyond what your imagination can come up with!

I hope that those of us that have been here a while have started to come to expect that our God is going to do the miraculous! It’s His nature!

We Must Stand in Faith Even If Things Do Not Seem to Work Out in Our Favor

Life will continually throw situations at us that will try our souls.

I know that it’s not the most positive thing you’ve probably ever heard, but it rings true: Someone once said that life is best defined as how we respond to pain and struggle.

What we face may not be nearly as challenging or dramatic as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s fiery furnace. Our trials may be more subtle. But for sure, they will come. And somehow we must reach a point where we are anchored in the Rock of Christ Jesus and nothing the devil sends our way will cause us to let go of our faith. We’ve got to grab ahold of the “even-if-He-doesn’t” faith of the Hebrew men before Nebuchadnezzar.

Their answer to the king was immediate. They had determined many years before that they would not bow to the pressure of the Babylonian society and culture. And just the same, we must decide - if we haven’t already - to remain steadfast and sure, regardless of what society does, or our future holds.

And I want to add this: don’t be surprised if, as time goes on, you have to make more and more hard decisions for your home and your family with regard to our world and the culture. But it’s important, if we are going to remain steadfast.

Since they continued to refuse to bow, Nebuchadnezzar had the Hebrew men bound and thrown into the fire. The fire was so hot that it killed the soldiers who were executing them.

But to his amazement, the fire had no effect whatsoever on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Instead, the king saw four men walking around in the fire. In astonishment, he asked:

Daniel 3:24–26 NKJV

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.

And God honored the consecration of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They stood firm, their confidence resting solely in the power and might of God.

What is this consecration word about, you might ask?

consecration:

Cleansing someone or something from sin and ritual impurity, and then dedicating the person or thing for a specific purpose.

The Lexham Cultural Ontology Glossary

It’s cleansing and dedicating. And then re-cleansing and re-dedicating!

In Trusting God Even When Life Hurts, Jerry Bridges states that, in the arena of adversity, the Scriptures teach us three essential truths about God - truths we must believe if we are to trust Him in adversity:

God is completely sovereign.

God is infinite in wisdom.

God is perfect in love.

Let me try to put it a little different way: God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God. They didn’t know how God would provide for them. They just knew that He would. But even if God chose not to deliver them from the fiery furnace, they were still determined to honor and worship the one true God.

Conclusion

Internalizing the Message

Trust in God has to be based in a relationship with Him and not on the situation you may be in.

We have to fully understand that God’s love for us is total; He loves us so completely that He cannot love us anymore than He already does! His love is based on His character, not on anything we have or have not done. And because He loves us, He only wants what is best for us.

In His wisdom, He knows what is best. We don’t. And that’s hard to remember all of the time. He sees the beginning and the ending. He allows us to go through troubles and trials to help us grow and become more like Him.

And think of this: because He is omnipotent (all-powerful), He has the power to do anything He chooses. And so, with that, no matter how dark the situation may seem, God is still in control and will do what is best for us! Somebody, you need to hear it: God is still in control!!!

We can rest confidently in His love, knowing that he will work all things for our good.

Think of the worst thing that could have happened to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: They could have immediately died like the soldiers and been transported instantly into the presence of God. But instead, God brought them through the fire without the smell of smoke. They received the honor of a pagan king and gave Christians throughout the ages a story that has comforted and challenged them, too.

We, too, can stand in our faith, no matter the circumstances.