SERMON NOTES

Subject: “But, If Not”

Speaker:               Dr. A. Burge Troxel

Date:                      November 12, 2006

Scripture:             Daniel 3:1-30

Introduction:

God can rescue you, BUT IF NOT, what will you do?

I’m concerned that we have heard so many messages about God’s: Miracle working power, Healing power, Providing power, Delivering power

That sometimes we just take for granted that God will: Heal every sickness, Meet every financial need, Open every prison door, Put back together every broken marriage

But, sometimes God does not heal! Sometimes God does not perform a miracle! Sometimes God does not repair the broken home! Sometimes God does not provide financial relief!

WHAT WILL YOU DO IF THE ANSWER IS NO? DOES NOT DELIVER? DOES NOT HEAL?

Sometimes we become so conditioned to the fact that God will say yes that we don’t know what to do when He says no!

 I know God CAN heal, I know God CAN put my home back together, I know God CAN provide my financial need,

BUT IF NOT:, I’ll still love Him!, I’ll still trust Him! I’ll still serve Him!

I KNOW GOD CAN, BUT IF HE DOESN’T I’LL STILL SERVE HIM!

God can rescue me, BUT IF NOT, I will serve Him no matter what knowing that He will be with me until the end!

WE are going to see this morning – Three Teens in Babylon

1. Have Biblical Convictions

2. Have Biblical Confidence

3. Experience Biblical Comfort

I.     Do you have Biblical Convictions like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? - Dan. 3:1-15

“Biblical Convictions are basic biblical principles which we purpose to follow, no matter what the cost!”

Daniel 3:5

“As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.”

Image – 1x10 – Platform

Plains of Dura – 6mi SE of Babylon

Where’s Daniel?

Daniel 3:6

“Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Daniel 3:12

“But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon— Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego —who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Daniel 3:15b

“. . . But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

Summary/Transition

The teens not only had Biblical Convictions, but they had Biblical Confidence

II.    Do you have Biblical Confidence like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? – Dan. 3:16-18

“Biblical Confidence is faith in God’s sovereignty and goodness without demanding a particular outcome.”

They said:

We know that God is able to deliver us out of the fiery furnace

We know that God can send angels from heaven to bear us up and out of this crowd

We know that God could kill each and every one of our persecutors if He so chose

We know that the same God that opened up the depths of the Red Sea so our forefathers could walk through on dry ground can also keep us from a measly furnace!

We know that our God is able to deliver us, Oh king,

BUT IF NOT, WE STILL TRUST HIM!

And, this statement was made BEFORE they knew what the outcome would be!

For all they knew, they were speaking their final words!

For all they knew, they were writing their own death sentences!

For all they knew, they would wake up in glory!

But, it’s as if these men were saying:

Oh king, just in case we die in this furnace and don’t get a chance to tell you again, let us make ourselves crystal clear:

We will never bow down to a graven image!

We will never serve your gods

We will never forsake our experience!

We will never turn our backs on God!

We don’t know what’s going to happen in 5 minutes, but let us just say right now that we know God is able, BUT IF NOT we still worship HIM!

Daniel 3:17

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.”

Daniel 3:18

“But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Job 13:15a

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; . . .”

Matthew 26:39

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

1 John 5:14

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Illustrate

I wish somebody in this place would just stand up right now and say:

• I don’t know what tomorrow holds!
• I don’t know if God’s going to heal me or not!
• I don’t know if God’s going to deliver me or not!
• I don’t know if God’s going to meet my financial need or not!

But, devil, just in case I don’t get another chance to tell you this let me say it one more time:

I KNOW GOD’S ABLE, BUT IF HE DOESN’T I STILL WORSHIP HIM!
I KNOW GOD CAN, BUT IF NOT, I STILL SERVE HIM!

If I die in the furnace, that’s okay, because I’ll just wake up shouting on the hills of glory, so just in case let me tell you one more time:

I WILL TRUST HIM NO MATTER WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS!

Summary/Transition

Because the teens had Biblical Convictions and Biblical Courage, they experienced Biblical Comfort

III.  Do you have Biblical Comfort like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? - Dan. 3:19-30

“Biblical Comfort is the certain knowledge that Jesus will be with you in the midst of your ‘fiery furnace.’”

The fourth man (3:24–30)

1. The discovery (3:24–25): Looking into the fire, an amazed Nebuchadnezzar sees two incredible things:

a. The three men are still alive (3:24–25a).

b.Another man has joined them, and he looks like a divine being (3:25b).

2. The deliverance (3:26–28): At the king’s urging, the three men walk out of the fire, not even smelling of smoke.

3. The decree (3:29–30): Nebuchadnezzar imposes the death sentence upon anyone who speaks against God, and the three men are promoted to higher positions.

Daniel 3:24

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.”

Daniel 3:25

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Daniel 3:27b

. . . “They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”

Matthew 28:19-20

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Conclusion:

Daniel 3:29

“Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

God can rescue me, BUT IF NOT, I will serve Him no matter what knowing that He will be with me until the end!

Daniel 3

What a dramatic story this is! Imagine three Jewish men daring to defy the ruler of the world, and daring to be different from the thousands of people in Babylon! Though this event took place over 2,000 years ago in far-off Babylon, it has lessons for us today.

I.     The Practical Lesson

There is a twenty-year interval between this chapter and the events in chapter 2. As you can see, Nebuchadnezzar’s heart has not changed one bit. He admitted in 2:46–47 that Jehovah God was a great God, but this truth never really got to his heart. He praised Daniel and Daniel’s God, but he did not repent of his sins and trust in Him. As a result, the king tried to force the entire empire to be idol-worshipers, which, in the long run, actually meant worshiping the king. After all, was he not the “head of gold” in the image he saw in his dream? (2:38) Then why not make an entire image of gold (probably wood covered with gold) and glorify the king even more? This is the way the human heart operates when God is not honored: man glorifies himself and tries to make everybody worship him.

Naturally, the three Jewish officers could not follow the king’s orders. Romans 13 tells believers to obey rulers and laws, but Acts 5:29 and 4:19 make it clear that no Christian is to disobey the Lord by obeying the government. When the government tries to control our conscience and tell us how to worship, we obey God rather than human beings, regardless of the cost. It was not easy for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to stand their ground as everybody else bowed down when the music played, but they refused to budge. Some of the other wise men (v. 8) took this as an opportunity to accuse the Jews, and the king was enraged when he heard that his decree had been disobeyed. Knowing that the three men were good men (and friends of Daniel), he gave them another chance, but they remained firm. They would rather burn than turn! So, into the furnace they went, bound with their own clothing. Three promises stand out in this story:

A.     The promise of persecution.

Christians should expect the furnace of persecution if they are wholly dedicated to Christ. “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you” (1 Peter 4:12ff). The world hates us, and Satan sees to it that the furnace gets “stoked up” seven times hotter. Of course, the three Jews could have made excuses and gone along with the crowd. Instead, they stood with one another and with the Lord, trusting God to glorify Himself either by their life or by their death. Christian, expect persecution; God promised it (Phil. 1:29; John 15:18–20).

B.     The promise of preservation.

God will never forsake His own when they go through the fiery trial. He may not keep us out of the furnace, but He will go with us and bring us through for His glory. Read Isa. 43:2 for God’s promise to you. When the king looked into the furnace, he saw four men—and one of them was Jesus Christ. Christ walked with them; He loosed their bonds; He kept them from being harmed; in fact, they did not even smell of the fire when they came out (v. 27). The secret? Their faith—Heb. 11:30–34.

C.     The promise of promotion.

These men were actually better off for having gone through the fire. For one thing, it gave them opportunity to walk with Christ and suffer with Him. It is worth danger and trial to know how near the Lord can be to us. The fire set them free from their bonds, just as suffering for Christ today gives us joyful liberty from sin and the world. Their experience glorified God before others (1 Cor. 6:19–20), and the king promoted them and gave them honors. First the suffering, then the glory (see 1 Peter 5:1, 10–11).

II.     The Doctrinal Lesson

In the Bible, “Babylon” is more than a city or an empire; it represents a system. It is God’s name for Satan’s system in this world. Babylon started in Gen. 10:10; it was the work of Nimrod, that “mighty rebel against the Lord.” Babylon stands for our rebellion against the Lord and our substitutes for what the Lord gives us. In Gen. 11 we see Babel in its rebellion against God, a human attempt at worldwide unity politically and religiously. This is what Nebuchadnezzar wanted to accomplish with his great image; he wanted to unify his kingdom under one government and one religion. But this whole scheme was man-centered; there was no place for God at all. And it centered around gold. This whole Babylonian system is Satan’s counterfeit, opposing God’s truth, and seeking to capture the hearts, minds, and bodies of people. Actually, the name “bab-el” means “the gate of God.” It pretends to be the way to heaven. In truth, it is the way to hell. We see the final development of this false system in Revelation 17–18, the material, cultural, and religious systems of the world all united in one world federation. God will permit this “one world” system to grow, and then He will destroy it once for all. It is important that you know the difference between God’s truth and Satan’s lies, between true Christianity and Satan’s “religions.” True believers are not to be a part of this worldly system (Rev. 18:4–5). Like the three Hebrew men, we must take our stand against Babylon and bear witness to the truth of God’s Word.

III.     The Prophetic Lesson

We have here a picture of events in the last days. Note, first of all, that Daniel was not present when these things took place. Undoubtedly he was away on official business for the king, and the king took advantage of his absence to erect his wicked idol. This illustrates the rapture of the church: when the church is out of the world, then Satan will be able to carry out his diabolical plans for enslaving the minds and bodies of men.

Second Thessalonians 2 and Rev. 13 both make it clear that Satan will have a “heyday” after the Christians are raptured and taken to heaven. For one thing, he will raise up a world ruler, the Antichrist, who (like Nebuchadnezzar) will conquer the nations and establish a totalitarian government. The church will be gone, but there will be 144,000 Jewish believers sealed by the Lord and protected from Satan’s devices (Rev. 7:1–8; 14:1–5). The Antichrist will set up his own image and force the world to worship it (see Rev. 13), but the faithful Jews will not bow down. Like the Hebrews in Babylon, the 144,000 will serve God and God will protect them. It is interesting to note that the image of King Nebuchadnezzar is identified with the number six (sixty cubits high, six cubits wide, Dan. 3:1), and the image of Antichrist is identified with his number, 666 (Rev. 13:18). It is this image that Jesus called “the abomination of desolation” in Matt. 24:15–22.

So, Dan. 3 is a prophetic forecast of Israel during the tribulation period, after the church has been raptured. Nebuchadnezzar represents the Antichrist; his image represents the image of Antichrist that he will erect; and the three Hebrews represent the believing Jews, the 144,000 who will be protected during the Tribulation. It is likely that these Jews will read Daniel 3 and understand it and know that their God will go into the furnace of tribulation with them and bring them out again for His glory.

Every day we can see our present world moving toward unification. There are hundreds of organizations and agreements that bind nations together these days. There will one day be a “United States of Europe,” and the leader of that organization will become the last world dictator, the Antichrist. The stage is set. “The coming of the Lord draws nigh.” Before Jesus returns, we Christians may have to go through the “furnace of fire,” but we need not fear, for He is with us. And far better to go through a furnace of fire than to live in a lake of fire for all eternity.

[1]

I.     Three Men and a Test (3:1–30)

A.     The flamboyant Babylonian monarch (3:1–7)

1.     The project (3:1): Nebuchadnezzar builds a gold statue that is 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.

2.     The politicians (3:2–3): The king summons all his political leaders to attend the statue’s dedication.

3.     The proclamation (3:4–5): When the band plays, all those present are to bow down and worship the gold statue.

4.     The penalty (3:6–7): All those who refuse to bow down will be cast into a blazing furnace.

B.     The faithful men (3:8–23)

1.     The threat (3:8–15)

a.     The astrologers’ report (3:8–12): The king learns that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have refused to bow.

b.     The king’s reasoning (3:13–15): He offers the three men a second chance.

2.     The testimony (3:16–23)

a.     The three men’s answer (3:16–18): “We will burn, if need be, before we will serve anything other than God.”

b.     The king’s anger (3:19–23): He orders the young men thrown into the furnace, which has been heated seven times hotter than usual.

C.     The fourth man (3:24–30)

1.     The discovery (3:24–25): Looking into the fire, an amazed Nebuchadnezzar sees two incredible things:

a.     The three men are still alive (3:24–25a).

b.     Another man has joined them, and he looks like a divine being (3:25b).

2.     The deliverance (3:26–28): At the king’s urging, the three men walk out of the fire, not even smelling of smoke.

3.     The decree (3:29–30): Nebuchadnezzar imposes the death sentence upon anyone who speaks against God, and the three men are promoted to higher positions.

[2]

INTRODUCTION

I’m going to preach about something tonight that’s not very popular.

In fact, when you hear my opening remarks, you might think that I’m questioning God’s power, but please bear with me.

I’m concerned that we have heard so many messages about God’s:

• Miracle working power
• Healing power
• Providing power
• Delivering power

That sometimes we just take for granted that God will:

• Heal every sickness
• Meet every financial need
• Open every prison door
• Put back together every broken marriage

But, sometimes God does not heal!
Sometimes God does not come through with a miracle!
Sometimes God does not repair the broken home!
Sometimes God does not provide financial relief!

And my question tonight is one that’s not popular, and not often considered, but one that must be asked nonetheless:

• WHAT WILL YOU DO IF THE ANSWER IS NO?

• WHAT WILL YOU DO IF GOD DOES NOT DELIVER?

• WHAT WILL YOU DO IF GOD DOES NOT HEAL?

Sometimes we become so conditioned to the fact that God will say yes that we don’t know what to do when He says no!

But, tonight it may serve us well to take stock of our experience and say:

• I know God CAN heal,
• I know God CAN put my home back together,
• I know God CAN provide my financial need,

BUT IF NOT:

• I’ll still love Him!
• I’ll still trust Him!
• I’ll still serve Him!

I KNOW GOD CAN, BUT IF HE DOESN’T I’LL STILL SERVE HIM!

I.) OUR TEXT THIS EVENING IS A VERY FAMILIAR ONE.

You’ve heard this preached many times.

I’ve preached about:

• The fourth man and the fact that He’s still in the furnace just waiting for us when we go through the trial
• The courage of (3) men who gained the favor of God through separation
• The furnace designed to destroy actually delivered them

But, as I was re-reading this passage some time ago, something jumped out at me that I’d never noticed before.

It’s a simple statement, one consisting of only (3) words, yet it speaks volumes about the character of these young men.

They said:

• We know that God is able to deliver us out of the fiery furnace
• We know that God can send angels from heaven to bear us up and out of this crowd
• We know that God could kill each and every one of our persecutors if He so chose
• We know that the same God that opened up the depths of the Red Sea so our forefathers could walk through on dry ground can also keep us from a measly furnace!
• We know that our God is able to deliver us, Oh king,

BUT IF NOT, WE STILL TRUST HIM!

And, this statement was made BEFORE they knew what the outcome would be!

• For all they knew, they were speaking their final words!
• For all they knew, they were writing their own death sentences!
• For all they knew, they would wake up in glory!

But, it’s as if these men were saying:

Oh king, just in case we die in this furnace and don’t get a chance to tell you again, let us make ourselves crystal clear:

• We will never bow down to a graven image!
• We will never serve your gods
• We will never forsake our experience!
• We will never turn our backs on God!

We don’t know what’s going to happen in 5 minutes, but let us just say right now that we know God is able, BUT IF NOT we still worship HIM!

I wish somebody in this place would just stand up right now and say:

• I don’t know what tomorrow holds!
• I don’t know if God’s going to heal me or not!
• I don’t know if God’s going to deliver me or not!
• I don’t know if God’s going to meet my financial need or not!

But, devil, just in case I don’t get another chance to tell you this let me say it one more time:

I KNOW GOD’S ABLE, BUT IF HE DOESN’T I STILL WORSHIP HIM!
I KNOW GOD CAN, BUT IF NOT, I STILL SERVE HIM!

If I die in the furnace, that’s okay, because I’ll just wake up shouting on the hills of glory, so just in case let me tell you one more time:

I WILL TRUST HIM NO MATTER WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS!

----

[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Da 3:1.

[2]Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible (Da 3:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.