But If Not

If you have your Bibles, follow along with me in just a moment.

In Daniel chapter 3, we're going to be looking at Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention Daniel 3 · chapter mention

! And don't panic.

I know everybody's seeing those 30 verses.

I'm not going to keep us here beyond 1230.

So, but a few years after I got out of seminary,

I was serving a church south of Louisville, Kentucky,

and I received a phone call from a former church member

where I had served as youth pastor during my seminary days.

Unfortunately, the phone call wasn't to get acquainted again

and catch up on old times, but to share with me

that one of the youth that had been in my youth group

had been killed in a car accident.

What made that a bad situation even more troubling

was that it was the pastor's son.

Now, he and his wife, they had not been able to have children,

and so they had tried for years to adopt.

And a little bit later in life, to start a family,

they were able to adopt a little boy,

and they named him Matthew

because Matthew means a gift from God.

And so they treated that child like he indeed was a gift from God.

And they raised him in the church

and to believe in God and to live for the Lord.

And he was a good young man.

He was.

He honored his parents.

He honored the Lord.

And he grew up to be a big boy

who went to college to play football

at one of the Baptist colleges in Kentucky.

And he had come home over the Christmas break,

dropped his laundry off at the house,

and took off to hang out with some friends.

His parents never even saw him.

And then that night, he was coming home,

and he got off the side of the road a little bit too far in a curve,

and he overcompensated and came back across the road

and went off the road again.

If he had just stayed off the road on either occasion,

he would have been fine.

But he tried to steer it back onto the road again

on an oncoming car, hit him in the side,

and killed him instantly.

You know, at times in our lives,

it's hard to understand the will of God, isn't it?

At times, it's very difficult to process

and wonder the things that God does or allows.

And maybe sometimes it's even harder to understand

the things that God does not do.

You know, we go before God, and we pray in faith,

and we ask him to protect.

We ask him to heal.

We ask him to save our loved ones who are lost.

And to work in our lives and situations and circumstances

that we may be struggling with.

And we ask God to come into our lives

and to work in a way that only he can do.

And we come knowing that God is all-powerful, almighty,

and he can do it.

But there are other times when God doesn't answer us

in the manner in which we hope.

He doesn't answer us in the way we've asked

or even depended upon and trusted.

The healing that we pray for doesn't come.

The door doesn't open.

The person we love doesn't get better.

Situations didn't change.

And we wonder in situations like this,

Matthew was given to his parents as a gift.

And after 18 years, he was taken away from them.

And it's hard to understand why God would allow

something like that to happen.

And so we have faith in God.

We know he's all-powerful, almighty,

and he can do all things.

But it's in moments like this that we struggle to have faith.

It's moments like this that really challenge our faith

and to understand the Lord.

And that's why today we're going to be looking at Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

And everybody here, if you grew up in church,

or if you've been in church any period of time in your life,

this is going to be a familiar Bible story lesson to you.

But I want to take it to a new level today, hopefully.

It's not just a story about three young Jewish guys

in a fiery furnace that we learned about in Sunday school.

It's a story about faith

and how we can have faith in the Lord

even when he doesn't answer our prayers.

Or he doesn't answer them in the way we hoped,

that we had cried out for,

we trusted,

or maybe we don't even see him working at all.

We don't see it.

We know God is always working in our lives,

but we may not understand it.

And so this is a story about taking our faith

as children of God to a new level,

trusting his plan and his will

in our lives when it's hurtful.

It's painful.

You know, it's difficult for us to cope with and deal with.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God could save them.

They had no doubt about that.

They knew God could,

even though their nation had been defeated by the Babylonians

and they had been exiled,

you know, to live in Babylon,

they still trusted and believed that God could do this.

But their faith wasn't based on that.

Their faith wasn't based on the fact that God would do what they asked

or what they needed or what,

or from their eyes,

and what they wanted.

Their faith was based upon who God was,

his character,

his holiness,

and that he is the only one true God.

And they were willing,

we'll see in just a moment,

to say,

our God is able to deliver us,

but even if he doesn't,

we will still worship him.

And that's what I want us to talk about today

as children of God,

is how we can take our faith to a whole new level.

How we have faith in God

in the midst of the struggles,

in the midst of the pain,

in the midst of the suffering,

in the midst of the silence.

How do we say,

our God is able,

but if not.

But if he doesn't.

We're still going to trust him,

we're still going to worship him,

and we're going to give our lives fully and completely

to him in all things.

So, before we jump into our scripture this morning,

in Daniel chapter 3,

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

I want us to go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we thank you for the day.

Thank you, Lord, for this nation.

Thank you for the freedoms that we have here

to assemble together as the body of Christ

and to worship you.

But thank you even more

that your son died for us,

that your son bought our freedom from our sin,

that we might be cleansed,

we might be forgiven to be in a right relationship with you.

And I pray, Lord, today as we study your word,

that you'll speak to each of our hearts.

For those who are facing challenges,

difficulties,

hardships,

or maybe struggling with faith,

I ask, Lord,

that you are here

with us

and that you're speaking to us,

helping us to feel your hand upon us.

And we thank you for that,

and we praise you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So I know we've got 30 verses here,

but we're going to shorten it a little bit.

I'm going to, well,

I'm not going to shorten it too much,

but I'm going to break it up

and not read it all at once.

But just so you know,

this is taking place in Babylon.

It was a customary in that day

when a nation conquered another nation

that they would come in

and they would find the wisest,

the most educated,

the most skilled,

and they would uproot them

and relocate them somewhere else.

It helped keep from uprisings

and rebellions

as they did that,

and they would mix them

and mingle them

with other peoples.

That's why the Samaritans

were hated by the true Jews

because that very thing

had taken place in Samaria

where a lot of the people were Jews,

but then other people were brought in

and they mingled,

and then none of them

could trace their lineage

directly back to being a pure Jew.

And so that's why

in the New Testament days

we see such a hatred

towards the Samaritan people

by the Jews.

So let's look at the first 18 verses

at this time together.

King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue

90 feet tall and 9 feet wide,

and he set it up on the plain of Dura

in the province of Babylon.

Then he sent messages

to the high officers,

officials, governors, advisors,

treasurers, judges, magistrates,

and all the provincial officials

to come to the dedication

of the statue he had set up.

So all these officials came

and stood before the statue

King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then a herald shouted out,

People of all races and nations

and languages,

listen to the king's command.

When you hear the sound of the horn,

the flute, the zither, lyre, harp,

pipes, and other musical instruments,

bow to the ground

to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.

Anyone who refuses to obey

will immediately be thrown

into a blazing furnace.

So at the sound of the musical instruments,

all the people,

whatever their race or nation or language,

bowed to the ground

and worshipped the gold statue

that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

But some of the astrologers

went to the king

and informed on the Jews.

They said to King Nebuchadnezzar,

Long live the king.

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.

That decree also states

that those who refuse to obey

must be thrown

into a blazing furnace.

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

that you have set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar flew

into a rage

and ordered that Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abednego

be brought before him.

When they were brought in,

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?

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?

Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego replied,

Oh Nebuchadnezzar,

we do not need

to defend ourselves

before you.

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.

Now listen to this.

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.

You know,

after being defeated

by the Babylonians,

you know,

a lot of the Jews,

the skilled,

educated,

individuals were moved.

And Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego,

along with men like Daniel,

were identified

as individuals

who had great wisdom

and leadership abilities.

So they were given

responsibilities

within the Babylonian Empire.

And then,

Nebuchadnezzar

builds this gold statue,

90 feet high.

That's the size of a nine-story building.

And nine feet wide.

And he orders that everyone,

when the music is played,

that everyone would bow down

and worship the gods

that King Nebuchadnezzar

had designated

or that they worshipped

in that area,

which was not the God of Israel,

not, you know,

Yahweh.

And so,

he commanded them.

And he made it very clear

what would happen

if they did not.

This wasn't a suggestion.

It wasn't a request.

It was a command

and made it very clear

that if they did not bow,

immediately,

they would be thrown

into a fiery furnace.

You didn't have time to think.

If you didn't bow down

right now,

you're being thrown

into a fiery furnace.

So Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

they knew the command

and they knew the consequences

very clearly

of that command.

And the scriptures

don't tell us

that they got together

and talked about it,

but they may have

because there's three of them

and they were all in agreement.

they were not bowing down

to that statue

because they knew

the laws of Israel

and that God had given them

to not have any images,

any idols,

to bow before no one

besides God himself.

And so,

they were not going

to bow down

to this statue.

And that tells us

something really important

here in the scripture

that we don't need to miss.

That sometimes

this type of faith,

this type of allegiance

to God

and dedication to God

has to be determined

in advance.

We can't wait

until we're face to face

with the situation

and then all of a sudden

try to muster up

the courage

to stand for the Lord.

We have to decide

in advance,

maybe today,

right now,

what we're going to do

when we're confronted

with compromising

compromising our faith,

maybe compromise

to not honor the Lord

but to adopt the practices

and the customs

of our culture.

You know,

we may never be asked

to bow down

before a gold statue.

I can almost guarantee

that you won't.

But the world still puts

a lot of pressure

on us,

doesn't it?

It pressures us

to remain quiet,

to blend in,

to compromise

what God has called us

to be and to do.

God has called us

to be set apart

and to be different

from the world

and yet there's all

this pressure

from the world

for us to blend in

and to be just like

everyone else,

to make comfort

a God

or entertainment

our God

or to strive

for success

as if that is

the most important thing

in our lives.

But God has called us

not to get entangled

in the things

of this world,

to be set apart,

to be different

and to honor Him

and to not go along

with culture

and we may think

well the whole world

is going this way

and I'm just one person.

But I want you to notice

as we'll continue

in the scriptures

in just a moment,

these three guys

took a stand

and you will see

when we read

the final verses

the impact

that those three guys,

they were willing

to die

and if it weren't

for God delivering them,

they certainly would have

but their faith

made a huge difference.

Our faith today,

it may not change

the world

but our faith today

can change those

around us.

It can change

our families,

maybe friends,

neighbors,

those around us

who see us

living for the Lord

and not compromising

our faith,

not adopting the

beliefs of this world

that we live in

and as our nation

drifts further and

further away

from the foundation

of which it stands,

we need Christians

taking a stand,

not necessarily

being obnoxious

and loud

but just to live

out your faith

and not compromise

what God

has certainly

called us to do.

Well,

when Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

when they refused

to bow,

there were those

just like with Daniel

who were jealous

of them,

they wanted maybe

their leadership

position

and so they went

and they told

Nebuchadnezzar

that they had

refused to bow

and reminded him

of the consequences

of that

and Nebuchadnezzar

became furious.

He was a pretty

prideful kind of guy

and when he spoke,

everybody listened

because if you didn't,

he would do away

with you

and so he was used

to getting his way

and so he asked

them a question

that was really

important.

He says,

who is the God

who will deliver

you out of my hands?

I mean,

he's already

conquered Israel

and he feels like

he's conquered

the God of Israel

so he's asking them,

what God

are you believing

in now?

Who's going

to deliver

you from me?

And then their response

is one of the

strongest responses

in all of Scripture

of faith

and trust

and worship

of God.

You know,

they said

the God

that they served,

the God

of Israel

would deliver

them.

They believed

that God

could rescue

them

from the furnace

and from the power

but then

what they continue

to say

takes the story

to a whole

new level

because their

faith

wasn't just

based in God

doing what

they asked.

their faith

was in

God alone

and they said

our God

will deliver

us

but even

if he

doesn't.

Let that

sink in a minute.

How much

of our

worship

or our faith

is God

taking care

of us,

providing for us,

answering prayers?

How much

of our

loyalty

and allegiance?

our faith

but what if

we stood

on the edge

of a fiery

furnace

and we knew

we were getting

ready to go

in?

You know,

their faith

was even

if he

doesn't,

we still

will worship

him.

You know,

this is sometimes

where we struggle

in life,

don't we?

When we

pray,

we cry out

to the Lord,

we ask God

to work

and we move

and he either

says no

or maybe

he's remained

silent

for the moment.

Maybe we're not

hearing,

maybe we're not

seeing,

maybe we're not

feeling him

do anything.

And it's a real

challenge

to maintain

faith,

isn't it?

The hard part

is trusting

God

when he's

not doing

what we

think

we need

him to do.

we think

he needs

to do

this

or move

in this

way

or act

in that

way

or deliver

us from

this

or open

this door

for us

or change

the situation

and we

think,

God,

you need

to do

this

and it's

real hard

to maintain

faith over

a period

of time,

maybe years,

maybe decades

that we've

been praying

and God

has not

answered

in the manner

in which

we want

him to

or in

the way

we think

he should.

But true

faith,

true worship

of Jesus

is not

based on

him doing

what we

ask him

to do.

True

faith is

knowing that

God knows

what we

need far

more than

we do.

God

knows

what he's

doing in

our lives

and he

may be

preparing us

for something,

he may be

putting us

through

difficulties,

hardships,

so that

he's

rooting out

pride,

materialism,

unforgiveness,

a hard

heart.

He may be

preparing us

for work

like he

was Joseph

to get him

ready for

something and

we have to

learn to

come to

him even

when we

don't

understand,

even when

it's painful,

even when

it's sacrificial

and it

cost us

something to

stand and

worship him.

Now, what

we're going to

learn next,

and I know

we're running

short on time,

but I won't

charge any

extra,

is God

may not

deliver us

from the

fire,

but he'll

be there

with us

in the

fire.

So let's

look at

verses 19

through 29.

Nebuchadnezzar

was so

furious with

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

that his

face became

distorted

with rage.

He commanded

that the

furnace be

heated seven

times hotter

than usual.

Then he

ordered some

of the

strongest men

of his

army to

bind Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

and throw

them into

the blazing

furnace.

So they

tied them

up and

threw them

into the

furnace,

fully dressed

in their

pants,

turbans,

robes,

and other

garments.

And because

the king

in his

anger had

demanded

such a

hot fire

in the

furnace,

the flames

killed the

soldiers as

they threw

the three

men in.

So Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

securely tied

fell into

the roaring

flames.

But suddenly

Nebuchadnezzar

jumped up in

amazement and

exclaimed to

his advisors,

didn't we tie

up three men

and throw them

into the

furnace?

Yes,

your majesty,

we certainly

did,

they replied.

Well,

look,

Nebuchadnezzar

shouted,

I see four

men,

unbound,

walking around

in the fire

unharmed,

and the

fourth looks

like a

god.

Then

Nebuchadnezzar

came as

close as he

could to

the door

of the

flaming

furnace,

and he

shouted,

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

servants of

the most

high god.

Pay attention

to that.

Remember

earlier he

said,

what god

is going

to deliver

you?

And now

look,

because of

their faith,

look what

he's saying,

servants of

the most

high god,

come out,

come here.

So Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

stepped out

of the fire,

then the

high officers,

officials,

governors,

and advisors

crowded around

them and saw

that the fire

had not

touched

them.

Not a hair

on their

heads was

singed,

and their

clothing was

not scorched,

they didn't

even smell

like smoke.

Then

Nebuchadnezzar

said,

praise to

the god

of Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego.

He sent

his angels

to rescue

his servants

who trusted

in him.

They

defied

the king's

command

and were

willing to

die rather

than serve

or worship

any god

except their

own god.

Therefore,

I make

this decree.

If any

people,

whatever their

race or

nation or

language,

speak a

word against

the god

of Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

they will

be torn

limb from

limb and

their houses

will be

turned into

heat of

rubble.

There is

no other

god who

can rescue

like this.

You know,

Nebuchadnezzar

had ordered

that the

fire be

heated up

seven times

hotter

than normal

and he

found the

strongest of

his soldiers

to bind

them and

throw them

into the

fire.

Now,

at that

moment in

time,

you might

think,

and these

poor,

young,

naive men,

they could

have just

bowed.

They didn't

have to

pledge allegiance

in their

heart,

did they?

They could

have just

bowed before

that statue

and gone

on about

life and

lived happily

ever after.

Nobody would

have known.

They could

have apologized

They could

to God

later and

asked for

forgiveness.

It looked

like they

had made

the wrong

choice.

It looked

like they

had put

their hope

and faith

in the

wrong thing.

They're

getting ready

to be

thrown

into a

fiery

furnace and

there is

no hope.

But wait.

The scripture

flips it

upside down

and shows

us real

quick.

Nebuchadnezzar

goes to the

furnace and

there's a

door where

he can look

in the

furnace and

what does

he see?

he doesn't

see three

dead corpses

laying there

burning.

He sees

four men

walking around

in the

furnace

unbound

and unharmed

and the

fourth

it said

look like

a god.

God didn't

keep them

from the

fire did

he?

He didn't

prevent them

from this

challenge.

He didn't

prevent them

from being

thrown into

the fire

but what

he did

is he

met them

in the

fire.

And you

know there

are times

in our

lives when

God lets

us go

through the

fires because

he needs

to do

something in

our lives.

He needs

to mold

us, shape

us, root

some things

out of us

or prepare

us for

something he

has for

us to do.

And you

know your

greatest testimony

as a child

of God is

not that

God prevented

you from

ever going

through the

fires.

your greatest

testimony is

that God

met you

in the

fire and

that God

walked with

you in

that fire

and God

took care

of you in

that fire

and God

worked according

to his will

and accomplished

the things

that he

wanted to

accomplish in

your life.

You know

today maybe

you're praying

for something

and you're

believing that

God is able.

Keep praying.

Keep trusting.

Keep asking

praying because

God is able.

And Jesus

told us in

the parable

of the

persistent

widow keep

coming to

him and

praying.

But also

in our

prayers ask

him to

develop our

faith to a

new level.

That our

faith is not

based on a

God just

taking care of

us and

making our

life good

and easy

and perfect

but that our

faith is built

on a God

that even if

he doesn't

deliver us

even if he

doesn't heal

us even if

he doesn't

heal our

loved ones

we're still

going to

worship him.

You know

because he

is a God

he is the

only one

true God

Jesus Christ

is the only

true God

and he came

to this earth

to die

for us.

He took

all of our

sin upon

himself and

took our

place and

one day

we'll be

able to

spend eternity

in heaven

and maybe

we'll care

about some

of the

answers but

probably not.

We'll probably

just get there

and that song

I can only

imagine I

know I

won't be on

my face on

the ground

before Jesus

Christ and

all the

heartache all

the hardships

all the

difficulties that

we've gone

through in

this lifetime

they're going

to seem like

nothing compared

to being in

the presence

of Jesus

Christ.

So today

as we close

I want you

to think about

asking God

to give you

that kind of

faith

to believe

that my God

is able

but even if

he doesn't

I will not

compromise

I will not

leave Christ

I will still

worship.

Let's go

to the Lord

in prayer.

Father

we come to

you today

and we thank

you for your

word.

We thank

you for your

truth.

We thank

you for this

example for

us in

scripture.

We ask

Lord that you

give us that

type of faith.

Give us that

type of faith.

that even

in the heartache

even in the

difficulties

even in the

sacrifices

that we will

still worship

you.

We thank

you for that

and praise

you in

Jesus name.

Amen.