Faithful Resistance

Amen. Well, please open up your Bibles to the book of Daniel.

We'll be in Daniel chapter 3 this morning.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

We've made our way to Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

And so when you found that in your Bibles, let's stand for the reading of God's Word.

Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was 60 cubits and its breadth 6 cubits.

He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

And the herald proclaimed aloud,

You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,

that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,

and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image

that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

And whoever does not fall down and worship

shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,

and every kind of music,

all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image

that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.

They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar,

O king, live forever.

You, 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.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

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.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in a furious rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought.

So they brought these men before the king.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace was overheated,

the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning, fiery furnace.

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.

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.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning, fiery furnace,

and he declared,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.

And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together

and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men.

The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed,

and no smell of fire had come upon them.

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said,

Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him

and set aside the king's command

and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god.

Therefore I make a decree,

any people, nation, or language

that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

shall be torn limb from limb

and their houses laid in ruins

for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

in the province of Babylon.

This is the holy word of God.

If you would, let's pray once more.

Lord, we have read your word, we've opened it up,

and now we seek your help to understand it.

So we pray, Father, would you give us ears to hear

and hearts to receive your word this morning.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

On April 18, 1521,

Martin Luther stood at the Diet of Worms

in front of Emperor Charles V

where he would have to answer two questions.

Question number one,

did he actually write the 25 pieces of literature

that they had assembled there together for their examination,

which according to them contained heretical teachings

against the church and her doctrine?

And if so, question number two,

would he recant?

Luther was already officially excommunicated from the church,

but now he faced an additional threat of the imperial ban,

which would come with it,

the threat against his life.

So Luther, wisely so,

requested a little bit of time to pray.

He retreated and prayed

and came back to face the emperor

and gave one of what I believe is

one of the most moving speeches

in all of Christian history.

He said the following,

Unless I am convinced by the testimony

of the Holy Scriptures

or by evident reason,

for I believe neither pope nor councils alone,

as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly

and contradicted themselves,

I consider myself convicted

by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures,

which is my basis.

My conscience is captive to the word of God.

Thus I cannot and will not recant,

because acting against one's own conscience

is neither safe nor sound.

Here I stand,

I can do no other.

God help me.

Amen.

Don't you love stories like this?

Stories like this from church history

of Christians taking a stand

at risk to their own life.

They move us.

We find encouragement from them

because while we may never

have to stand before the emperor,

if we belong to the kingdom of God,

we will face trials and temptations

and tribulations here in the kingdom of man.

The stories like Luther's

and like Daniel's

and like Shadrach's, Meshach's,

and Abednego here in Daniel chapter 3

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

this morning show us

what can we expect

as citizens of God's kingdom

living here in the kingdom of man.

The question that I want us to ask this morning

as we look at Daniel chapter 3

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

is simply what can we expect?

What can we expect

as citizens of God's kingdom

here in the kingdom of man?

What should you expect

if you are a follower of Christ

here in the kingdom of man?

I want to give us three expectations

from Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Three expectations.

Number one, first,

God's people should expect

temptation and tension.

God's people should expect

temptation and tension.

Look there starting in verse 1

of chapter 3.

You remember last week in chapter 2

God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream

of this great image.

You remember this dream?

And the head of the image

was made of gold.

And you remember this

represented Nebuchadnezzar

and it represented

the kingdom of Babylon.

But the rest of the image

it was composed of

these different materials

and these different materials

represented different kingdoms

that would come after Nebuchadnezzar.

This was God's revealed plan

for the future.

Well, it seems like

here in chapter 3

Nebuchadnezzar has his own plan.

He makes his own image.

This image,

if we follow the measurements,

it's about 90 feet tall

and about 9 feet wide

and it's not made up

of different composite parts.

What's it made up out of?

It's all made of gold.

As if to say,

as long as I can,

for as much as I can,

I'm going to rule over my kingdom

and I'm going to get the glory.

We need to understand this image

is an image of pride

and defiance.

Which is interesting

because Daniel tells us

that Nebuchadnezzar

builds this giant golden image

in the plain of Dura,

which is the exact place,

geographically,

where the Tower of Babel

was constructed.

All these years ago

in Genesis chapter 11,

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

you remember the Tower of Babel

where all the peoples of the earth,

all the nations of the earth

gathered together

in defiance

against God's command

to scatter

and spread the earth,

spread his glory

amongst the earth.

And they gathered together

to say,

let us make a name

for ourselves.

This was defiance

and pride.

History is repeating itself here.

See, there's this theme,

this thread

of pride

and defiance

and self-exaltation

that runs all the way

through human history

beginning with the Garden of Eden

and that will not be

finally done away with

until the return of Christ.

This is characteristic

of the kingdom of man.

So we see here,

this is a man-centered,

self-exalting worship service.

And Nebuchadnezzar sets up.

He gathers all the officials,

all his people,

and he makes a proclamation,

verse 4,

that you are commanded,

O peoples,

nations,

languages,

when you hear the sound

of all of these musical instruments

that I will not read again.

And every kind of music,

you are to fall down

and worship

the image

that King Nebuchadnezzar

has set up.

And whoever does not worship

and does not fall down

shall immediately

face judgment.

They'll be cast

into a burning,

fiery furnace.

Well, verse 7 says,

the music begins to play,

the worship service

has begun,

and all the people's,

nations,

languages fell down

and worshiped

worshiped

the golden image

that King Nebuchadnezzar

has set up,

all the peoples that is

except for three.

The Chaldeans,

they noticed

these men refusing

to bow down

to the image.

And so verse 8 tells us

that certain Chaldeans

came forward

and ratted them out.

They said,

these certain Jews,

Nebuchadnezzar,

who you appointed

over the affairs of Babylon,

sounds like a little bit

of jealousy there,

possibly.

They pay no attention

to you.

They don't serve your gods.

They don't worship

the golden image

that you set up.

And as you would expect,

Nebuchadnezzar

was furious about this.

And he brought the men

in before him.

He said,

is this true?

Do you really not

worship my gods?

Do you really

disregard my command?

Do you really not

bow down to this golden image

that I set up?

But he said,

here's one more shot.

I'll stand here and watch.

And when you hear the music,

if you will bow down

and worship,

then well and good.

But if you won't,

there's a burning,

fiery furnace

waiting for you.

And who is the God

who will deliver you

out of my hands?

And now,

finally,

we get to hear

from Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego.

Verse 16.

Look there with me.

I love how they respond

to the king.

They say,

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

from the fiery furnace.

And he will deliver us

out of your hand,

O king.

But if not,

do you hear that?

But even 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.

You know,

this is the only time

in all of scripture

that we hear Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego speak.

And it's here

in this moving speech.

Now these three men,

they give us an example

of what it looks like

to refuse to bow the knee

to anyone

or anything

outside of the one

true God.

Now these three men,

they teach us

how to resist

the idols of our time

and how to live

in the tension

that we all feel

being a citizen

of God's kingdom

here in the kingdom

of man.

Now I'll never forget

when I was living

in Charlotte,

I walked,

I took a walk one day,

I lived down the road

from a Buddhist temple.

And I walked

down the road

and went into

this Buddhist temple

and I saw

lining the walls

were hundreds

of physical idols.

These man-made images,

these man-made gods

that somebody

had to craft

and piece together

with their own hands.

Somebody had to

pick them up

and put them

on the shelf.

From time to time,

somebody has to come by

and dust off

these dirty gods.

They've got to walk

carefully,

they don't want to

bump into the shelf

because if they do,

that god will fall

off the shelf

and shatter into pieces.

But I saw people

in there bowing down

and worshiping

these false images.

And to me,

it seems so obvious.

This is foolishness.

This is empty.

Why are they doing this?

But church,

we need to understand

the truth is that

all of us

are tempted

to worship idols.

All of us

worship idols.

We may never

bow down

to physical images,

physical idols

on a wall,

but I want to be clear

with you this morning.

All of us

are tempted

to idolatry.

Every one of us

is prone

to worship

and serve

created things

rather than

the creator.

That's idolatry.

Idolatry

isn't simply

bowing down

to a physical image

on a wall

or a golden statue

that's 90 feet tall.

Idolatry

is allowing

anyone

or anything

to take

God's rightful place

in our heart.

So we may never

bow down

to a golden statue,

but we may

worship our bank account.

we may

bow down

to the attention

of others.

We may

not ever

bow down

to golden statues,

but we may

make idols

of our spouse,

of our children,

of our grandchildren,

of our jobs.

We may be

drawn to adopt

the idols

of our culture.

You realize

our culture

idolizes sex,

self-determination,

social status,

social approval,

the accumulation

of stuff.

How much stuff

can I get?

The newest gadget,

the newest thing,

the nicer house,

the nicer car.

Church,

whatever it may be,

the kingdom of man

would love

to make anything

the center

of our heart's affection

besides the one person

who rightly deserves

to be there.

We have to

expect this

and resist it.

Not only this,

these three men

also teach us

how to live

in the tension

as citizens

of God's kingdom

living here

in the kingdom of man.

Do you ever feel

that tension?

If you're a Christian,

again,

your identity

is that you are

a citizen

of God's kingdom,

which means

the Lord

is your ultimate authority.

You bow the knee

ultimately

to Him.

But even so,

we live here

on earth,

here in all in all,

South Carolina,

here in America.

We are a citizen

of this physical place

and we live

under earthly authority.

So how do we handle

that tension?

Our statement of faith,

it has an article

concerning civil government

and it says this,

it says,

we believe

that civil government

has been divinely appointed

for the benefit

and good order

of human society

and that public officials

are to be prayed for,

honored,

and conscientiously obeyed,

except only in things

opposed to the will

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who is the only Lord

of the conscience

and the prince

of the kings

of the earth.

So on the one hand,

we believe,

along with Paul

in Romans 13,

we believe

that we're called

to honor

and obey

our earthly authorities.

We believe

that they're appointed

by God Himself

and that means

whether or not

we like them,

whether or not

we voted for them,

whether or not

we believe

they have rightfully

taken that place

of authority,

we believe

that we are called

to pray for

and honor

those earthly authorities

that have been placed

over us.

But on the other hand,

we believe

that we must

disobey

any earthly authority

who would command us

to do anything

God forbids

or forbid us

to do anything

God commands.

You hear that?

We must

disobey

any earthly authority

who would command us

to do anything

God forbids

or would forbid us

to do anything

God commands.

Well,

clearly here,

Nebuchadnezzar

commands them

to do something

God forbids

and so they remember

who they truly serve

and church,

so must we.

We would be wise

to expect

temptation

and tension

here in the kingdom

of man.

If we're a citizen

of God's kingdom,

we should expect

temptation

and tension

and second,

we should expect

that when we

resist temptation

and when we resist

our earthly authorities

here in this world,

we should expect

that that will not

be well received.

The second expectation

here for God's people,

God's people

should expect

trials and tribulations

here in the kingdom

of man.

God's people

should expect

trials

and tribulations

here in the kingdom

of man.

You know,

there are some people

who think

that if you are

one of God's people

or maybe if you just

have enough faith

that you won't face

any hardship

in your life.

You won't face

any trial.

If you're right

in the center

of God's will,

all should go well

with you.

You won't face

any issue,

but I want to make

as clear as I possibly

can this morning

that's false.

Story after story

after story

after story

from God's word,

story after story

after story

after story

from the history

of God's people

and church history

tells us that

here in the kingdom

of man,

God's people

should expect

trials and tribulations.

You know,

about a month

after Luther's speech,

the emperor,

you can imagine,

did not receive

that well.

The emperor

condemned Luther

as a notorious heretic

and an enemy

of the state

and he forbid

the citizens

of the empire

from reading

or spreading

any of Luther's ideas

and he even

gave permission

for any citizen

to kill Martin Luther

without any consequence.

His resistance

was not well received.

And here,

after Shadrach

and Meshach

and Abednego

give their speech

in front of the king

in verse 19,

we see again

Nebuchadnezzar

is filled

with fury

and he orders

the furnace

to be heated

seven times more

than it was usually heated

and he orders

some of the strong men

of his army

to tie them up

and to cast them

into the fire

and in fact,

verse 22,

it says,

the fire was so overheated,

his order was so urgent

that the flame

killed those strong men

who took up

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

and these three men

fell bound

into the fiery furnace.

They were persecuted

for their loyalty

to the Lord

and to his kingdom.

And of course,

we know how this story

eventually ends

and we'll get there,

but I'd like to point out

here in the second point

that if their story

ended right here,

with these men

being thrown

into the fiery furnace,

with these men

being punished

and persecuted

for bowing the knee

to the Lord,

if their story

ended right here,

it would be a fairly

common story

in church history.

The extraordinary part

of the story

is not the suffering.

It's the miraculous

deliverance

from the suffering

that's extraordinary.

But the suffering here,

the consequence

for being faithful

in the present evil age,

that is to be expected

for them and church,

for us.

1 Peter chapter 4

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

tells us,

do not be surprised

when the fiery trial

comes upon you

to test you

as though something

strange were happening

to you.

Don't be surprised

by it.

Expect it,

in other words.

You know,

this sounds strange

to our modern ears,

doesn't it?

Because here

in our current time

and our current place,

here in America

in 2024,

we have it pretty safe,

don't we?

It does seem strange

when a fiery trial

comes upon us,

doesn't it?

But we need to understand

that the comfort

that we enjoy here,

right now,

is not the norm

for the history

of the church,

and it's not the norm

for the global church,

of which we are

a small part.

Open Doors

released the results

of their 2024

World Watch List study.

It's a study

that analyzes

Christian persecution

throughout the world,

and their most recent

numbers show

that on average,

13 Christians

are killed

every day

for professing

faith in Christ.

That's about

one every two hours.

And so,

from the time

we gathered

for Sunday school

to the time

we go out here

to celebrate

and eat cookies,

church,

a brother or sister

has given their life

for professing

faith in Christ.

During their research

period,

they found that

over 4,000 Christians

were detained

without trial,

arrested,

sentenced,

or imprisoned.

3,900 believers

were abducted,

more than 46,000

Christians suffered

some sort of abuse,

nearly 300,000

Christians were

forced to leave

their homes,

go into hiding,

or flee their

country of origin,

and more than

14,000 churches,

Christian schools,

hospitals,

and other buildings

were targeted

last year,

which was a 700%

increase over

the previous year.

I don't share

all of that

to worry you

or to scare you,

but to tell you

that we ought

to expect

this sort of thing

here in the

kingdom of man.

And Jesus tells us

what to expect

in Luke chapter 21.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

He told his disciples,

you will be hated

by all

for my name's sake,

but not a hair

of your head

will perish.

By your endurance

you will gain

your lives.

Church,

I just want to ask,

does that sound

strange to you?

I'll give you

another example,

another story,

this one from

the book of Acts,

where Paul comes

to Lystra,

and the Jews

come from Antioch

and from Iconium,

and they come

and they beat him

so badly

that they dragged

him out of the city

and they thought

he was dead.

You know this story?

But it says that

he gets up

and the very next day

he goes on

preaching the gospel,

and then when they

preached in that city

and made many disciples

in that city,

it says he went

back to Lystra

and back to Iconium

and back to Antioch,

right back where

he was just beaten

half to death,

right back where

his enemies

had just come from,

and it says

he strengthened

the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them

to continue in the faith

and saying that

through many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God.

Y'all better believe

that's a sermon

they would not forget.

Church,

we will suffer

on the way

to glory.

We have to expect this.

And that may sound

intimidating,

it may sound

discouraging to you,

but we also

should take comfort,

church,

that for the children

of God

no trial

is wasted.

The very same fire

that the kingdom

of this world

would use

to destroy

the people

of God,

the Lord would use

to refine

the people

of God.

And we just sang

a few moments ago,

didn't we?

When through fiery trials

thy pathway should lie,

my grace all-sufficient

shall be thy supply.

The flame

shall not hurt thee,

I only design

your dross

to consume

and thy gold

to refine.

See,

the enemy,

he intends

the flame

to destroy us,

but the Lord

designs the flame

to purify us,

to burn away

the dross

and to purify

and refine

the gold.

I'll give you

one more story.

I told you

Martin Luther's story,

I'll share another.

This one from

the English Reformation.

It's a story

of Latimer

and Ridley.

Do you know

those names?

Maybe not.

Ridley was

an outspoken

critic of

Bloody Mary

who earned

that name,

if you don't know,

by burning

hundreds of

Protestants

at the stake.

And both

of these men

were arrested

and were tried.

They went to trial

for treason

and for heresy,

which under

Mary's new

reformed heresy

law came with

the punishment,

the sentence

of being burned

at the stake.

And so,

you know,

this might seem

like a good time

to walk it back.

It might seem

like a good time

to beg for mercy,

but instead

what we see

is they faced

this trial

with boldness

and confidence

in the Lord.

Apparently,

during the public

trial,

Ridley would put

a cap on his head

any time the Pope's

name was mentioned.

When they brought

up charges

that Ridley

denied the validity

of the Mass,

he simply said,

Christ made

one perfect

sacrifice

for the sins

of the world.

Neither can

any man

reiterate

that sacrifice

of his.

When the day

came for them

to die,

Latimer

walked slowly

up to the stake.

He was older

than Ridley,

but Ridley

walked straight up

as quickly

as he could.

And when they

gave him

the opportunity

to recant

his statements

against Mary

and against

the Catholic

Church in England,

he said,

so long

as the breath

is in my body,

I will never

deny my Lord

Christ

and his known

truth.

And they

chained these

men to the stake,

they placed a bag

of gunpowder

on their necks

and they lit

the wood

beneath their feet.

Fox's book

of martyrs

tells us

Latimer called

out to Ridley

and said,

be of good comfort,

Master Ridley

and play the man.

We shall this day

light such a candle

by God's grace

in England

as I trust

shall never

be put out.

Church,

how many stories

can we tell?

Now,

the day may never

come for you

to have to pay

a price like that.

It may.

But whatever form

it may take,

while we're here

in Babylon,

church,

we should expect

trials

and tribulations.

Are you ready?

Will you remain

faithful to your Lord?

We should expect

to suffer here

on the way

to glory.

But third,

we praise God

that God's people

should expect

third,

total deliverance

in the end.

God's people

should expect

total deliverance

in the end.

Now,

this was the hope

of Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego.

Let me read it again.

Did you catch it?

Verse 17.

It said,

Our God

whom we serve

is able to deliver us

from the burning,

fiery furnace,

and He will deliver us

out of your hand.

Do you hear that confidence?

But even if not,

even if He doesn't save us

from this burning,

fiery furnace,

even if He doesn't spare

our life

from this present persecution,

we will not worship

your golden image.

See,

their ultimate hope

wasn't necessarily

that the Lord

would deliver them

from this trial,

although they knew

God was able.

their ultimate hope

was that in the end,

the Lord would deliver them

from every trial.

We believe He's able

and that He ultimately

will deliver us.

But even if not

from this trial,

Nebuchadnezzar,

we will never bow the knee

to any God

but the one true Lord.

And we see that God

does something extraordinary

here in verse 24.

It says,

King Nebuchadnezzar

was astonished

and he rose up in haste

and he declared,

Hey,

didn't we cast three men

into the fire?

And they said,

Yeah,

Shadrach,

Meshach,

Abednego,

that's three.

He answered and said,

But I see four men

and they're not tied up anymore.

They're unbound

and they're not suffering.

They're walking

in the midst of the fire

and they're not in pain.

They're not hurt

and the appearance

of the fourth guy

is different.

He's like a son of the gods.

And Nebuchadnezzar

came near to the door

of the burning fiery furnace

and he declared,

Shadrach,

Meshach,

Abednego,

servants of the Most High God,

come out and come here.

So they come out of the fire

and all the king's men

gathered together

and they see that fire,

that fire of persecution,

that fire of this world's punishment

of the people of God,

that fire of suffering

that the enemy would inflict

on those who remain faithful

to the Lord,

that fire had no power

over these men.

Their hair wasn't singed,

their cloaks weren't burnt,

they had no smell of fire.

And in verse 28,

Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed,

things flip completely

on their head,

don't they?

He said,

verse 28,

Blessed be the God

of Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

who has sent his angel

and delivered his servants

who trusted in him

and set aside the king's command

and yielded up their bodies

rather than serve and worship

any God except their own.

Therefore,

I make a decree,

any people,

nation,

or language

that speaks anything

against the God

of Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

shall be torn limb from limb

and their houses laid in ruins

for there is no other God

who is able to rescue

in this way.

And the king promoted

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

in the province of Babylon.

A complete reversal

has taken place.

Do you see it?

This is complete,

total,

miraculous deliverance,

not from the fire,

but through the fire.

God has brought

their ultimate expectation

of deliverance

into the present moment.

It was exactly

as God promised

in Isaiah 43.

When you pass

through the waters,

I will be with you.

Through the rivers,

they shall not overwhelm you.

When you walk

through the fire,

you shall not be burned

and the flame

shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord,

your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

your Savior.

What an incredible story.

It's incredible.

But what I want us

to understand

is that as incredible

as this act

of deliverance was,

this deliverance,

this salvation,

this redemption

from the fire

is just a small image

of the greater deliverance

yet to come

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

I wonder if you notice

here, church,

that the same cycle

has happened three times now

in the book of Daniel.

We're three chapters in.

It happened in chapter one,

in chapter two,

in chapter three.

They all tell

the same type of story.

Have you seen it?

It's not just

aimless repetition here.

God's people

are in exile.

They are tempted.

They are tested.

They are refined

through the fires

of suffering

and temptation,

but the faithful resist.

Even in the face

of death,

they cling to their identity

as citizens

of God's kingdom.

They put their trust

in the Lord

and despite the enemy's

best attempts

to snuff them out,

they are delivered,

they are exalted,

and God is praised.

Have you seen that cycle?

Have you caught on yet?

Exile,

temptation,

suffering,

salvation,

exaltation.

There's a pattern here.

Church,

this is the pattern

of every child of God

in every age

here in the kingdom of man.

But here's what I want you

to understand,

church.

This is our story

because ultimately

this is Christ's story.

This is our pattern

because ultimately

this is Jesus' pattern.

If anyone was a stranger

in enemy territory,

who was it?

It was Jesus

who was king

of another kingdom

and yet he stepped down

into our fallen world

willingly.

Was Jesus not tempted?

He was tempted

and tried

in every way

as we are

yet without sin.

He faced temptation

to worship

and serve every idol

here in the kingdom

of man that we are.

Satan brought him

up to the top

of the mountain

and showed him

all the kingdoms

of this world

and said,

all this can be mine

if you will bow down

and serve me.

All this can be yours

and yet Jesus

faithfully resisted

and for that church

he suffered

and eventually

he died

on the cross

in our place.

He would not just

walk beside us

in our suffering.

He would take

our place

and suffer the wrath

of God

that we deserved

in our place

as a substitute

in our place.

He bore our wrath,

our punishment.

But church,

death would not be

the end for him.

He would walk

out of the grave

resurrected,

raised to life,

vindicated and exalted

and in his exaltation

God is forever praised.

Do you see the pattern?

This story is ultimately

pointing us forward

to the story,

to Jesus

and to our life

in him.

Church,

our pattern

is Christ's pattern.

By faith in him

we are united

to Jesus Christ.

His life

is our life.

His righteousness

is our righteousness.

His glory

is our hope

and our glory.

So again,

1 Peter chapter 4,

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

we rejoice

insofar as you share

in Christ's sufferings

so that you may also

rejoice and be glad

when his glory

is revealed.

Or again,

as Paul says

in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

that we are heirs

of God

and fellow heirs

with Christ

provided we suffer

with him

that we may also

be glorified

with him.

This is what we ought

to expect

and hope for.

Church,

we can cling

to the promises

of God

in any suffering

in any trial

knowing that

if we have been

united with him

in a death like his

we shall certainly

be united with him

in a resurrection

like his.

We can expect

total deliverance

from every trial

because Christ

has defeated

all our enemies

and he is exalted

and we are one

with him

through faith.

I'll remind you again

of a quote

that I know

I've shared this before,

Charles Simeon.

He says,

we must not mind

a little suffering

for Christ's sake.

When I am getting

through a hedge

if my head

and my shoulders

are safely through

I can bear

the pricking

of my legs.

Let us rejoice

in the remembrance

that our holy head

has surmounted

all his suffering

and triumphed

over death.

Let us follow

him patiently.

We shall soon

be partakers

of his victory.

Do you believe this?

Church,

is this what sustains

you during your trials

and suffering

here in this age?

Nonbeliever,

is this your hope?

Is this what your hope

is in?

If you're hearing this

and you don't know

the Lord Jesus Christ,

I'm sure all of this

sounds very attractive

as a call

to follow Jesus, right?

This is really

appealing stuff

that you'll suffer

here in this life.

Church,

Jesus is worth it

and the end

is certain

and the king

commands you

this moment

to repent

and put your faith

in him.

He has paid

your price

and he has

victory over

all the powers

of darkness

and it's yours

by faith in the king.

If you have

put your faith

in him,

the church,

what do we have

to fear?

What can man

do to you?

What can

separate us

from the love

of God

and Christ Jesus

our Lord?

nothing.

Friend,

what are you

expecting life

to be like

here in the kingdom

of man?

I'd be willing

to bet that

when you

pack up

and you prepare

for a journey

far from home,

if you knew

you were going

to be away,

didn't know

maybe how long,

you would want

to be as prepared

as you possibly

could.

You would want

to know

what to expect.

Stories like this

are gifts

from a sovereign

God through

his word

to show us

what we can

expect in the

kingdom of man

until he brings

us home.

I'll share

one final

expectation

of all of

God's people

here as we

close.

This is our

great hope.

Ironically,

it's the exact

reverse of what

we see happen

here in Daniel

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

These three

faithful men

refused to

bow to a

false God

and were

tried for it

and were

found guilty

and were

cast into

the fire.

But when

Jesus Christ

returns and

delivers his

people at

last,

all who

refuse to

bow the

knee to

King Jesus

will be

tried and

will be

found guilty

and will

be cast

into the

lake of

fire.

And instead

of gathering

to worship

the idols of

this world,

in the end,

Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

tells us

that all

of God's

people,

a great

multitude that

no one could

number,

from every

nation,

from all

tribes and

peoples and

languages,

will be

standing before

the throne and

before the

Lamb,

clothed in

white robes

with palm

branches in

their hands

and crying

out with a

loud voice,

salvation belongs

to our God

who sits on

the throne

and to the

Lamb.

Church,

that's our

hope.

That's our

expectation.

salvation.

Let's be a

church that

faithfully lives

each day here

in this

kingdom in

eager expectation

of that great

glorious day

in that kingdom

when it comes

in full.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Lord, we

thank you for

the gospel of

Christ, the

greatest deliverance

from our true

danger, our true

enemy.

Lord, our

greatest danger

that we face

is not physical.

Lord, it's our

own sin, our

own guilt, that

we are not

right with you,

that you stand

against us in

our sin.

That's our

greatest danger

and yet, Lord,

you've supplied

the greatest

escape by

sending your

own son in

the likeness of

sinful flesh and

for sin, Lord,

to pay the

price that we

have earned so

that any who

come to you in

faith might know

true life, might

belong to your

kingdom.

So, Father, we

pray that we

would live as

citizens of your

glorious kingdom

even while we

live here in the

kingdom of man.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.