He can , He Will, buf if not

We are going to briefly read a portion in chapter 1 and then camp out for the rest of our the time in chapter 3 of the book of Daniel for this morning. In here we find Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar(Nebuchadnezzar II) was a famous king. In biblical history, Nebuchadnezzar is most famous for the conquering of Judah and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. Secular history records Nebuchadnezzar as a brutal, powerful, and ambitious king, and the Bible, for the most part, agrees. He is considered the greatest king of the Babylonian empire and is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

For those that recall the Study of Jeremiah, Pastor outlined some of the military strategy Babylon employed after conquering a people group. That plays out at the beginning of Daniel 1.

Daniel 1:1–4 (ESV)

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

When we arrive to chapter three, it is clear that Nebuchadnezzar’s thoughts are on himself. He is a proud and vain man, I’ll suggest he has a bit of a god complex.

Daniel 3:14–18 (ESV)

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? 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?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 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. 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.”

He decrees for a statue to be built and for everyone to worship and bow at the appointed time. Instead of being rewarded for their refusal to serve and worship the golden image, these Hebrew men are faced with the threat of death—"…

If you recall verse 15

—"…if you will not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?"

What does a man in bondage and in the fire desire for and pray for? Freedom! What does this man do when weeks turn into months and months into years and that freedom does not come?

By raise of hands how many of use have heard of the author Phillip Yancey? He’s a mainstream evangelical author. In the late 80s he published a book called "Disappointment With God”. He wrote

We dare not confine theology to seminary coffee shops where professors and students play mental badminton. It affects all of us. Some people lose their faith because of a sharp sense of disappointment with God. They expect God to act a certain way, and God "lets them down." Others may not lose their faith, but they too experience a form of disappointment. They believe God will intervene, they pray for a miracle, and their prayers come back unanswered. [Philip Yancey, Disappointment With God, page 26.]

How did Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego stay on their feet in the middle of a situation that had caused others to stumble and fall?

I. THEY WERE MEN OF CONVICTION – What’s interesting here is that Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to give them a second chance, but there response is incredible in light of the situation.

Daniel 3:16 (ESV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

This response was done out of convenience or comfort, there’s nothing comfortable in this situation. the very verse before this Nebuchadnezzar warned them what was to come should they failed to bow and worship as he instructed. Their actions were a product of conviction. These men didn’t need to test if their behavior needed to accommodate their circumstance. They didn’t waiver in what they believed to be right and wrong…they refused to blackmail God or bargain with Him. As if we have anything to bargain with! They were motivated by what pleased and honored God.

I don’t know how many of you do this but as I study the word I try to visualize the scenarios. How would I act if I was in the crowd or even in the main stage. I’m sure that the devil whispered in their hearts and minds to compromise. He may have suggested something similar to the following: "You know that this image is nothing, so just bow your body but remain standing on the inside? You can give them what they want without changing what you believe." Such action dethrones God and enthrones self. It is idolatry. We cannot compromise actions without grave consequences. Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego knew what they believed and stood firm on those beliefs. Their deep certainty concerning God’s will meant that they valued God’s commandments above their own lives. Don’t mistake what I’m saying here they did not choose death, but neither did they run from it.

Victor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist-psychiatrist who survived the Nazi concentration camps in WWII. After the holocaust, Frankl goes on to write Man’s Search for Meaning, which takes his experiences at the Nazi concentration camps and combines them with his life’s work as a psychiatrist.

“The most depressing part for prisoners was thinking about the uncertainty surrounding how long they would be in camps. Because of this, man wasn’t able to aim for the ultimate goal in life and ceased living for the future. Man who had lost faith in his future was doomed, and he let himself decline and become the subject of mental and physical decay.”

“Man lives by looking towards his future. And this is his rescue in his most difficult moments of existence.” II. THEY WERE MEN OF CONFIDENCE

Daniel 3:17 (ESV)

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.

Confidence = a certainty that enables reliance. These men were motivated by faith in God’s ability. They served a God who was able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that they could ask or think. I’m sure they were learned young men in the history of their ancestors.

Maybe they remembered how the Lord introduced himself to Abraham Gen:17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty...”

or maybe they remembers Psalm 68:19-20 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.”

These men were able to stand because they had an unshakable confidence in God’s ability. III. THEY WERE MEN OF COMMITMENT –

Daniel 3:18 (ESV)

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.”

There are times when we must place heavy emphasis on "He is able" or "He will," but in this age of feel good religion there is a need to stress "But if not." This is my problem with most mainstream evangelicals lies. The words "if" and "but" are terms of unbelief. They are quick to amen the "He is able," but are unwilling to sound an affirming amen for the equally important "but if not." Many in their ranks are disappointed with God, because He did not perform according to their commands.

The response of these three Old Testament men all the more remarkable. Their "but if not" prevents the story from being turned into a false promise that God will save every faithful person from suffering and death. By declaring, "He is able" we honor the power of God, and by saying, "But if not," we give place to the sovereignty and wisdom of God. We place our lives into the hand of God without regard for the outcome and thereby rob Nebuchadnezzar of his ability to crush integrity and silence truth.

Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego did not die because they failed to believe God, but because they refused to deny what they believed. Church history, from its beginnings under the Roman Empire to present day a history of martyrs is capture in Foxe’s Book of martyrs.

Mike Yaconelli Christian author/satirist wrote:

The great mush god has no theology. He’s a Cream of Wheat divinity. He has no particular credo, for this god is not a jealous god. You can invoke this god to start a (escort girl’s) convention. He’s the god of the Rotary, the god of the optimist, the protector of the buddy system. The mush god is a serviceable god whose laws are written in sand—amenable to amendment, qualification or erasure. This god will make any agreement you wish and will declare all alliances holy.

Little wonder that the mush god of contemporary Christianity would never ask us to experience discomfort or deprivation for the sake of the Kingdom. This is the result of an over emphasis on God’s power to the neglect of His sovereignty.

Admittedly, the writer of Hebrews 11:33-40 tells us of men something of men:

Hebrews 11:33–40 (ESV)

who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

The author does not commend them for their unbelief, but for their FAITH.

Their faith did not prevent them from suffering and neither did it guarantee their comfort. Their faith prevented them from caving in under the pressure to give up the convictions of their heart.

CONCLUSION The thing that gave value to their deliverance was not the deliverance itself which was amazing, but their unconditional commitment to God prior to their furnace experience. (See Daniel 3:28.) It’s our commitment to God through the trial that gives validity to our testimony, not merely the positive outcome. Our faith is not proven by prevention, but in the crucible.

Our commitment to God should be unconditional. God is more than able to deliver us, but if He chooses not to exercise His power on our behalf, then we must trust His wisdom. The man that emphasizes God’s power to the neglect of His sovereignty will be disappointed with God and fall. If there is no miracle let’s still believe God is able and trust His wisdom. He is too powerful to fail and too loving to allow unnecessary suffering. If He does not deliver us from momentary affliction, then be convinced that He has granted you and me the opportunity to serve a higher purpose. Therefore we are God’s servant whether He delivers us or not.