The Strength to Stand

Unbreakable  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  33:42
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Unbreakable - week 2

Do you remember the last strange dream you had? We’ve probably all had the dream where you show up to school or work in your underwear. When I was a kid I had so many dreams about being able to fly and being able to run faster by running on all fours like a dog that I believed they were true. I have a friend who once had a dream that he was at work with his uncle who was driving a forklift when all of the sudden his uncle ran over him. With the lift parked on him, his uncle leaned over and looked down at him and started saying, “BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!” He woke up and realized his alarm clock was going off.
Here are a few dreams people have shared on the twitter...
Just woke up from a dream where I was having an argument with my cat because he had decided to move out because he didn’t like the tiny socks I was buying for his paws.
Just had a dream where Mary Kate and Ashley were flying above my vehicle in their private jet sprinkling shaved Parmesan and grated tomatoes into my sun roof.
Just had a dream that Taylor Swift helped me painlessly deliver 2 babies. At home. On a couch. I don’t even have kids.
Had a dream last night that I was playing basketball with a zucchini.
Had a dream that I was trying to buy drinks at a bar but when I tried to get my debit card out it was sliced cheese every time.
I just fell asleep for five minutes and dreamt my computer was a hot pocket.
I had a dream last night that my phone bill went up $18 every time I pressed the snooze button on my alarm.
I had a dream that the world was ending, so I ate thousands of cheese fries as it burned. I woke up feeling full.
Today we are continuing our study through Daniel. If you have your bibles, go ahead and turn to Daniel 2 and we will look briefly at a dream that Daniel interpreted for king Nebuchadnezzar. While you look for Daniel, let’s do a quick review of what we talked about last week. Last week we examined Daniel in the first chapter and watched as he stood tough as nails in his faith. His faith was unbreakable in the face of major culture changes in his life. Similar to the culture we live in, Daniel was living in a culture that was moving further and further away from God.
In a culture that encourages and even demands that we make compromises in our faith as Christ followers, Daniel and his friends showed us how to prepare for these culture shifts by giving us wisdom and insight into the Adversary’s strategy so we can be prepared. We watched as culture tried to rename them. Attempting to strip them of the strength and power given them by who God SAYS they are and telling them they were something that God never said about them. “You’re fat - ugly - worthless.” But Daniel had already made up his mind, because he knew who he was. We said when culture tries to rename YOU, you must remember who GOD says you are.
Then Daniel and his friends were tested. But they weren’t caught off guard by it. In fact, it was their idea! In the same way, we should EXPECT to be tested when we hold true to God’s standards. Just like Daniel we have to decided ahead of time, determine in our hearts, that we will not compromise. And finally, if I want to be tough as nails, like Daniel. Unbreakable. I have to ask myself, will I change the world or will the world change me?
If we stop reading about Daniel in chapter one we might think, “Wow, Daniel and his friends ARE tough. They are survivors!” But they aren’t survivors. Not even close. They are tough and unbreakable because they are MUCH MUCH MORE than survivors! They are literally ON FIRE for God! We are going to be in chapter 3 today, but I want to quickly look at Nebby’s dream to get a little better idea of what they are facing.
In Chapter 2 we learn that Nebby is a very prideful man who is almost impossible to please. He has a dream that deeply troubled him. He probably woke up in a cold sweat. A few months ago I had a dream similar to that. I woke up in a panic and it took a few minutes for me to go back to sleep. His dream bothered him even more! Verse 1 says his spirit was troubled and he couldn’t sleep at all so he called in everyone he thought could explain the dream. Magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers. The dream bothered him so much that he wouldn’t even tell them what it was. “I don’t want any guess work here. If you can interpret the dream you can tell me what it was.
Obviously, nobody could tell him his dream so he decided to execute all of the wise men in Babylon. People who weren’t even there with the king. Including Daniel and his friends. The only one capable of such interpretations is God. After all, he gave the vision to the king to begin with. So God reveals the mystery to Daniel who is able to share with the king. Here is the dream...
Daniel 2:31–35 NIV
31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel goes on to interpret the dream saying that king Nebby was represented by the gold head of the statue and other kingdoms that would arise later were represented by the other materials in the statue. All the kingdoms would eventually be crushed by God and He would set up an everlasting kingdom. So what does this prideful king do next? He does 2 things. He decides to make his own statue, then make everyone worship it. It’s possible that this has nothing to do with the dream he had, but personally I believe it has everything to do with it. King Nebby is acting like fallen humanity as portrayed by Adam and Eve. God created them in his image and shares His plan for them to rule with Him, but then they decide they are going to decide for themselves what is right and wrong and humanity falls into a cycle of ignoring God and ruling over others rather than ruling with God and others.
King Nebby’s actions paint this picture. Ignoring what God says will happen and determining to do it his way instead. He isn’t just going to be the golden head, he will be the entire statue and everyone will worship him. If you don’t, you will be punished. In other words, this gives us a picture of king Nebby’s defiance toward God. Chapter 3, verse 1...
Daniel 3:1–6 NLT
1 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. 2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. 3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 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 and his friends faced an impossible situation that was being forced into their lives by an impossible king. Today we face a cultural shift that demands our worship. There isn’t a physical statue that we are told to bow down in worship to, but there are metaphorical statues all around us. There are king Nebby’s all around the world trying to take away our freedoms and worship them. Our leaders set up statues for us to bow down to. Our biggest danger is the statues we set up in our own lives to worship. What is the thing in your life that has a golden image in your heart and when you hear the trumpet blow you stop everything to worship it?
I tend to be that way with my computer. Sometimes I will turn it on and just stare at it not knowing what to do next. Maybe you get home from work and you see the TV and all the sudden you hear the harp play!
*Harp Sound Effect
Some people worship their kids or their spouse, putting them above God in their life. Money, partying, lust, food. Maybe your phone plays actual music and you bow your head and look to your golden image and worship it. What golden image have you put in your heart that calls out for your attention and takes you from God and the call HE has placed on your life? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who openly opposed Hitler and the Nazi Regime, once said...
Who stands firm? Only the one for whom the final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these, when in faith and sole allegiance to God he is called to obedient and responsible action: the responsible person, whose life will be nothing but an answer to God's question and call.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
God gives you the strength to survive, but He doesn’t just want you to survive. That’s why He also gives you the strength to STAND! When the golden images in your life start playing beautiful, alluring and enticing music, God gives you the strength to STAND. King Nebby ordered everyone to bow down and worship his golden statue, but instead of giving in to the pressure to do what everyone else was doing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship anyone but the one true God. Let’s read a little further...
Daniel 3:7–12 NLT
7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! 10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. 11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
When culture shifts and demands you bow down and worship something other than God or when golden images find their way into your heart and cry out for your attention, standing up begins to get very difficult. Why? If you are taking notes, here are 3 thoughts about why it can be difficult to stand when everyone else bows. Sometimes…
It is difficult to stand because…
WE STAND IN PUBLIC.
All the people bowed down. Except these three. Even without the threat of being thrown into a blazing furnace it is difficult to stand up for something God has placed on your heart when it seems like everyone else disagrees. Everyone else is bowing to the ground worshipping something and you are standing up and standing out. Even though you don’t want to stand out.
I love this picture because it gives a great visual representation of what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced. They may have felt singled out, alone, like every eye was on them. Are we doing this wrong? Is this what God wants? When you stand, you stand in public. The life of a Christ follower is not meant to be lived in seclusion. Give and pray in secret, everything else you do as a Christian is being watched by somebody. And you are meant to be seen to lead other people to God’s light...
Luke 11:33 NLT
33 “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.
So there you are, standing in the middle of a crowd of people bowing to shifting culture and shiny images. Then you start to feel the pressure...
It is difficult to stand because…
WE STAND IN PUBLIC.
WE STAND WHEN PRESSURED.
The astrologers went to the king and tattled on the 3. They face the pressure of the new law, being the only ones to stand, being ratted out, facing punishment of death, and now in the next few verses the king is going to say, “You have one more chance.” Scripture says that the king was furious with them. He flew into a rage. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren’t just regular citizens. They weren’t just wise people who worked for the king. King Nebby had just made them Administrators over the province of Babylon! By the kings appointment, they were over the affairs of the most powerful city in the world. His representatives, if you will.
Daniel 3:14–15 NLT
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?”
Notice this is little “g” god. The king doesn’t know Yahweh, the one true God. He doesn’t know the power of the creator of all things. He thinks that he is more powerful than any god these 3 could call upon.
It is difficult to stand because…
WE STAND IN PUBLIC.
WE STAND WHEN PRESSURED.
WE STAND WHEN PERSECUTED.
When God calls you to stand, people who don’t know Him will persecute you for your beliefs and mock your faith. To these people being a Christ follower is a sign of weakness. “Your silly faith won’t save you because I am stronger than you. Stronger than what you believe in.” The Adversary, Satan, wants you to be afraid of these people and believe that you are weak and God won’t help you. He wants you to see how strong these people are and be afraid of what they will do to you. Be afraid to stand up when everyone else bows down and submits to the idol of the week. Most importantly, he wants you to look at all of the persecution you face and see these people. Our enemy hides behind the people who persecute you, the king, the astrologers, your neighbor. He hides behind them so you will believe they are your enemies. But we know that we are not at war with other people. They are not our enemies.
Ephesians 6:12 NLT
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
In this shifting culture, I know why it’s hard to stand. I know it’s a spiritual battle. How do I fight it? How can I have the strength to stand while everyone else bows? How can I stand back up after I’ve been bowing? How do I face the looming threat of the blazing furnace? What did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do?
Daniel 3:16–17 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.
I have a good way for you to remember what to do. If you are ever on fire; STOP, DROP, AND ROLL. The first thing you should do is stop...
STOP
GOD FIGHTS FOR YOU
You have no need to defend yourself before the people who are kneeling while you stand. You don’t need to explain yourself to the people demanding you compromise with the shifting culture. You serve Yahweh, the one true God. And He is able to rescue you from any of the powers here on earth that are trying to control you with fear. A lot of the imagery used in this story mirrors the exodus story with the Pharoah of Egypt. Remember what Moses said to the people when they were afraid of what would happen to them for following God...
Exodus 14:13–14 NLT
13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
Do your part, stand. But just stand still. Stop what your doing, stop worrying, stop trying to fix it with your own powers and abilities, and ask God to rescue you from the power of the Adversary. Let God save you from the furnace. Sometimes the golden image that got us into trouble in the first place was something we were worshipping and we need to let it go and ask God to rescue us from the power it has over us. Sometimes we face the consequences of our actions and we need saving from that. But what if God doesn’t rescue me? Does that mean I am trusting in Him in vain? Am I wasting my time? The next thing we should do is drop our expectations of God.
DROP
LET GO OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS
I came across a bible study blog written by someone who goes by “Gordon”. In his short devotional post he said...
“If you think about it, probably 95% of your prayer life is spent telling God what He should do. But God didn’t take the fire away. He can, and sometimes does, but in my experience he usually has a purpose in letting people go through the fire.”
They dropped their expectations and were completely surrendered to God’s will, regardless of the outcome.
Daniel 3:17–18 NLT
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.”
Think about how we let our expectations of God dictate our faith. Think about how we sometimes expect God to deal with our blazing furnace. When I think about the things I ask God for, sometimes I am flat out ashamed about my expectations. How often do we pray, “God, whatever you want, just give me the wisdom and strength to face it your way.” Unfortunately, most of my prayers sound more like, “God, make it go away! Don’t make me go through this! Please fix it for me.
Gordon, that I mentioned earlier, also imagined what a prayer group for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego may have looked like:
Prayer Group: ‘Oh Lord, we beseech thee, change Nebuchadnezzar’s heart!’
God: ‘No’
Prayer Group: ‘Oh Lord, don’t let your faithful servants be thrown in the fire… please, think of their families!’
God: ‘I want them thrown in the fire’
Prayer Group: ‘Oh Lord, they’re getting close, um… I command the flames to be gone in Jesus name!’
God: ‘My child, it is my will and desire that they go through the flames - I have something for them but it is only found in the midst of the fire.’
Stop, Drop and Roll. Stop and let God fight for you. Drop your expectations. You can even do a bonus drop like these 3 did and DROP THE MIC! “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.
ROLL
ROLL OVER, TURN AROUND, REPENT, CHANGE YOUR MIND
Change the way you think. When we finish reading the story, everything is upside down. Completely different that what we think should happen. After their little mic drop, the king was so angry that his face became distorted.
This is one artists depiction of what King Nebuchadnezzar looked like before the 3 amigos stood up to him.
Historians believe that after this moment, his face looked like this.
Seriously, he was mad. In fact, he ordered the furnace to be heated up 7 times hotter than normal. It was so hot that it killed the soldiers who threw them into it even though they only got close enough to toss them in. King Nebuchadnezzar might have been celebrating their demise, cursing their disobedience, mocking them, or just quietly watching them enter the flames when everything was suddenly flipped upside down. The insanely hot fire, which had just killed trained soldiers, didn’t even seem to bother Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It burned up the ropes they were bound with, but that was it. They were in there having a tea party with a 4th person. The only way the king could describe the 4th person was that he looked like a son of the gods!
Change the way you think. You aren’t alone, Jesus is walking around with you! You aren’t bound up and held captive by the enemy, your ropes have been destroyed and you have been set free! God isn’t letting you go through the blazing furnace to destroy you, He is using the fire to refine you and reveal His truth to you. In the blog I mentioned earlier, Gordon asks...
“So what was God’s purpose for the flames?”
It was for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego themselves. They were able to experience God! They were able to experience His protection, fellowship and peace when circumstances would state otherwise! Think about your own life... I would suspect that the times when you have experienced God the most have come in the midst of fiery ordeals.
It was for Nebuchadnezzar and those looking on - They got to see that with God you could go through the fire and not be burned. They got to see that they were upheld, loosed and free. They got to see that someone ('a son of the gods') was with them. Never underestimate God's desire to witness to others when you go through a trial!
To quote Beth Moore, she says…
We can be delivered FROM the fire, and our faith is built. We can be delivered THROUGH the fire, and our faith is refined. We can be delivered BY the fire into His arms, and our faith is perfected.” - Beth Moore
Repent means to change one’s mind or purpose. We should change the way we look at our blazing furnace. It is far better to be like these 3 amigos and STAND IN FAITH than to BOW IN FEAR. There is only one who is worthy of your kneeling, and when we kneel to Him He gives us the strength to stand when it matters most. I want to leave you with one final thought, then we will close in prayer...
Ephesians 3:14–19 NLT
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
God, this is our prayer to you today. That you will empower us with inner strength through your Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in our hearts as we trust in Him. That our roots will grow down into Your love and keep us strong. And that we would have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. May each of us experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to fully understand. Thank you for making us complete with fullness of life and your power. We give you all of the glory. Thank you for doing a mighty work within us to accomplish so much more than we might ever ask or even think about.
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