A Quiet Confidence in God

The scripture reading comes from Daniel, chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Please follow along on the screen or the bulletin.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold,

whose height was 60 cubits and his 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 counsellors, the treasurers, the justice, the magistrates and all the officials of the province

to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counsellors, 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 worshipped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

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

They declared King Nebuchadnezzar,

O king, live forever.

You, O 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 fierce rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought.

So they brought these men before the king.

So they said,

And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?

They 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 them.

He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.

Then he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind them 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 overheated,

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

And these three men 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.

He declared,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come near.

Then they 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.

Their 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 yield 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 lay in ruins,

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

Then the king promoted them in the province of Babylon.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Soda and Echo.

Good morning, everybody.

It is great to see you,

and it's great to see so many faces we haven't seen for months and months.

It really is wonderful to see you again.

If you are new to Watermark this morning,

my name is Kevin,

and I'm one of the leaders here.

It's great to be with you this morning.

Let's pray briefly and ask God to come and speak to us from His word.

So, Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning,

we come to your word, God,

because your word is living and active,

because the scriptures are not merely the invention of man.

They are your words which are breathed out by you, God.

They are given to us for our good,

that we may know you,

that we may live the life you've called us to live.

And so, God, we come to your word this morning

because we want to hear from you.

We haven't come just to hear the opinions of man.

We haven't come to hear a motivational talk.

We've come to hear from the living God.

And so, as we ponder and reflect on your word,

won't you speak to us?

Won't you encourage us?

God, won't you breathe courage into us this morning?

For those of us, God, who faith is faltering,

for those of us that are facing the challenges

of living in a broken world,

for those of us, God,

that are facing the temptation of compromise,

won't you breathe courage and conviction

into our hearts this morning, we pray.

We pray this in your glorious and your wonderful name.

Amen. Amen.

Sorry, again, if you're at the community center or at home,

welcome to you as well.

Now, we are working our way through the book of Daniel,

and we're about halfway through the series.

And the book of Daniel is all about, really,

the kingdoms of the world

and which kingdom is ultimately gonna last.

And last week, Chris shared Daniel 2 with us.

There's that amazing picture of the various statues.

And the big idea is that,

though there are lots of kingdoms in this world,

ultimately there is one king.

His kingdom is gonna last for all eternity.

That is the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus.

And so that's really what the book of Daniel is all about.

And then the book of Daniel asks us,

in light of that,

those of us that are followers of Jesus,

to live lives of faithfulness,

knowing that God is sovereign.

Remember the two main themes,

sovereignty and faithfulness?

God is sovereign, we are not.

God is faithful,

and therefore we can be faithful to him.

Now, up until this point in Daniel,

things have gone pretty well for Daniel

and for his friends,

for God's people.

They have gone to Babylon,

not their first choice,

but God took them there.

They've been enrolled in the king's college.

They had a kind of issue with the king's food,

but they got through that all right.

And then in chapter two,

Nebuchadnezzar, the king,

has this dream,

and his insecurity gets the better of him,

and so he makes this reckless decision.

He says,

all the wise men,

all the astrologers,

are to be eliminated,

destroyed.

And God, in his mercy,

gives Daniel and his friends insight.

God delivers them,

and they are saved,

and they come out,

and actually at the end of the story,

they are promoted to these

high-ranking positions in Israel.

And so up until now,

things have actually been going pretty all right.

Their faithfulness to God

has been good for them.

But that's about a change.

Because in chapter three,

their faithfulness to God

lands them in a bunch of trouble.

And so,

what we come to today

is actually what every follower of Jesus,

and those that are exploring the claims of Christ,

will come to at some point in their life.

And that is that following Jesus means

that inevitably,

we are going to face the fire.

That could be in your professional life,

it could be in your personal life,

it could be relationally.

Those that want to be faithful

to Christ,

will end up facing the fire.

And so the question

that Daniel 3 wants to ask us is,

how do we become the kind of people

that get the courage

and the conviction

to stand firm

in the midst of the fire?

And so that's really

the main point of Daniel 3.

This is what God wants us to see today.

That following God

will involve trouble.

It will often invite opposition.

But God's people are called

to have courage and conviction,

knowing that only God

can deliver those who trust Him.

And so let's dive in

and see what's going on here.

And so the story starts off

with Nebuchadnezzar building

this massive golden statue.

And the statue is probably

of the god Nebo,

the Babylonian god.

And Nebuchadnezzar does this

for a couple of reasons.

The one is that he's trying

to consolidate power

in his kingdom.

He's trying to unify

all the people in Babylon.

Remember, the Babylonian empire

was kind of the new

superpower of the world.

They had conquered

all sorts of nations,

Assyria, Israel,

the Medes, a whole bunch.

And so Babylon was actually

quite a diverse empire.

There were people

of all sorts of beliefs

and religions and backgrounds.

And that was okay.

But Nebuchadnezzar wants

to unify these around

one central image,

the image of his god Nebo.

Remember, Nebuchadnezzar

is named after Nebo.

Nebuchadnezzar is his name.

And so this is an act

of unification in the nation.

But the other reason

why he does this,

remember the dream

that he has in chapter 2

of this massive statue

and Daniel says,

you, O Nebuchadnezzar,

are the head of gold.

But after you,

there's going to come

another empire of silver

and bronze, etc., etc.

And Nebuchadnezzar hears this

and he's thinking,

wait, you're saying

that I'm only around

for a limited period of time

and then someone's going

to come and conquer

my empire?

Not if I've got anything

to do with it.

And so what he does

is he sets up the statue

where the whole thing

is gold.

Head, torso,

legs, body.

And what he's trying

to do is he's saying

my kingdom is going

to be an everlasting kingdom.

Daniel, you said

I'm only around

for 50 years, 70 years.

Forget that.

I'm here to stay.

In my Babylonian kingdom,

I'm here to last.

And so what he's trying

to do is build

this almost eternal monument

to his reign

that forever people

will know

Nebuchadnezzar was here.

He reigned

and his kingdom

lasts forever.

And so one of the things

that we're meant to see here

is this statue

that Nebuchadnezzar builds

is not just an example

of cultural mythology.

This is Nebuchadnezzar

trying to establish himself,

trying to set himself up

as almost a godlike figure.

He's trying to say

I am God.

He's trying to set up

this monument

to his glory.

Really.

And I don't know

if you remember this

in Daniel chapter 2

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

that Chris showed us

last week.

After Daniel

and his friends

they have this vision

in the night,

they understand

what the dream

that Nebuchadnezzar has means.

Daniel prays

this amazing prayer.

Look at what he says.

I think we've got it

on the screen

in verse 20.

He says this.

Blessed be the name

of God forever and ever.

God to whom belongs

wisdom and night.

He changes times

and season.

God removes kings

and sets up kings.

Okay, so Daniel

prays this prayer.

Chapter 2.

God is the one

who sets up kings

and removes kings.

Well, I don't know

if you picked up

in the passage

that Echo and Soda

read to us

how many times

it talks about

Nebuchadnezzar

setting up

this image of God.

I think we've got it

on the screen here.

In six times

in just the one paragraph

it talks about it.

He says,

Nebuchadnezzar made this image.

He set it up

on the plains of Dura.

At the dedication

of the image

that Nebuchadnezzar set up.

The image that

King Nebuchadnezzar

had set up.

They stood before

the image

that King Nebuchadnezzar

had set up.

They worshipped

the image

that King Nebuchadnezzar

had set up.

Again and again,

it's almost ironic,

it's almost meant

to be read satirically,

how often it tells us

that Nebuchadnezzar

has set up the statue

and what we meant

to remember

is in the chapter before

Daniel says,

actually there's only

one God

that really sets up kings

and that is

the eternal God.

And so what we meant

to see here

is Nebuchadnezzar

is trying to be like God.

He's trying to set himself

up on the throne

of the world.

He is the one

on the throne

of the superpower

of the world

and he's trying to say,

I am God.

And of course

that means

that not long,

it's not long

before these three

Jewish God-fearing men,

Shadrach, Meshach

and Abednego

are going to get

into trouble

because they do not

bow down to

Nebuchadnezzar's God.

And so some Babylonians

take some issue

with this

and they come before

Nebuchadnezzar

in verse 8

and they bring

this accusation.

And verse 8 says

that they maliciously

accused Shadrach,

Meshach and Abednego.

And verse 12

we are told that

they go to Nebuchadnezzar

and they say this,

that say these guys

that you have brought

from Israel,

they are a danger

to society.

They accuse them

of intolerance

and bigotry,

of undermining

the social good.

They say these guys

are a danger

to your kingship.

They're a danger

to our society.

They are espousing

views that we

don't agree with

and they bring

this accusation

against God's people.

And so look at

what happens

in verse 13.

Verse 13 says,

Then Nebuchadnezzar

in a furious rage,

he's mad

that these men

have dared

to defy him.

He commands

that Shadrach,

Meshach and Abednego

be brought in.

And of course

this sets up

the drama

of the passage.

One of the things

we may need to see here

is that favor

in Babylon

is always short-lived.

And you are not meant

to build your life on it

or bank your life on it.

When we get favor

with society,

that's not a bad thing.

We can thank God for it.

Remember,

Jesus grew in favor

with man

and with God.

It's not a bad thing.

But favor

with the world

is always fickle.

It's always superficial.

And Daniel

wants to show us

that we shouldn't

bank our life

on the favor

of the things

of this world.

And so Nebuchadnezzar

calls these guys in

and he says,

Listen,

I've got a proposition

for you.

If you will just

bow down to my idol

and my image,

all will be well and good.

We'll just forget

this whole unfortunate affair

and let's just go on

with life

as it is.

But if not,

the fiery furnace

awaits you.

Friends,

for those of us

that are followers

of Jesus

or maybe you're looking

into the claims

of Christianity,

maybe you're still

on a spiritual journey

towards faith,

we need to reckon

with the biblical teaching

that those of us

that are followers

of Jesus,

those of us

that are Christians,

Christ is supreme

in the heart

of followers of Jesus.

And part of what it means

to be a follower of Jesus

is that we don't join in

with the worship

that our world espouses.

That doesn't mean

that we don't love our city,

we don't serve our city.

Remember,

one of the points of Daniel

is that God calls

God's people

into Babylon

to put down their roots,

to love and serve the city.

So we should not be

those that withdraw

from Hong Kong

and are antagonistic

or always blaming

or accusing

or telling the government

how bad they are.

No, no,

we have to love

and serve our city.

But as followers of Jesus,

because Christ is first

and supreme in our hearts,

that means we won't worship

the things

that our city worships.

We won't join in

the worship of our city.

As Christians,

one of the ways

that we seek

the good of the city

is by not necessarily

seeking its favor

and its praise,

but by not joining

in the worship

of our city,

but by courageously

and faithfully

living for God

even in the midst

of the city.

And so one of the ways

that we actually serve

and seek the welfare

of our city

is not to blend in

with our city

and just go with the flow,

but to love our city

by being faithful

and standing firm

for him

as we serve our city

and seek its welfare.

And that necessarily

means that at times

followers of Jesus

will be misunderstood.

At times we'll be

accused of things.

There's this amazing verse

in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

This is a verse

that's worth memorizing

where Paul writes

to this young pastor

Timothy and he says,

all who desire

to live a godly life

in Christ

will be persecuted.

And that means

you just need to reckon

with the fact

that if you're going

to be faithful to Jesus

you will not always

be understood

or praised

or admired.

James chapter 4 says,

James 4 · chapter mention

don't you know

that friendship

with the world

means enmity with God?

And James is not saying

that as Christians

we should always

pick a fight

with our world

and always try

and accuse it

of all sorts of things.

but he's saying

that you can't

serve the idols

of our city

and try and serve Jesus.

You can't love money

and love God.

You can't give yourself

to the sexual ethic

of our world

and give yourself

to Jesus.

Those two things

are incompatible.

But that's what

Nebuchadnezzar wants,

right?

Nebuchadnezzar nowhere

says to the Jews,

listen,

stop worshipping Yahweh,

you've got to worship me alone.

He nowhere tells them

that they can't be Jews.

He says,

no,

you can continue worshipping.

You can continue

praying to Yahweh.

That's fine.

Just as long as you

bow down to my statue

as well.

And if you think about it,

I wonder just how easy

it might have been

for these followers

of God's people

to justify it themselves.

They could have said

things like,

well, you know,

God has put us

in positions of influence.

Who else is going

to witness to Nebuchadnezzar

if we die in the furnace?

I mean,

God has put us here

for a reason.

They could have said,

listen,

if we don't bow down,

we're going to offend

the Babylonians

and then who's going

to tell them

about Yahweh?

I mean,

actually,

for the sake of witness,

we better just bow down

and not offend them.

If it was me,

I think I probably

would have said

something like,

I'll bow down

with my body,

but in my heart,

I'll really be standing up,

right?

No,

friends,

what these men do

is they somehow

find the courage

and the conviction

to go against the flow

and that means

that they are called

to face the fire.

And so once again,

we're faced with this question,

where do we find the courage?

Where do we find

the conviction

to become the men

and the women of God

that will not look

for a fight,

but stand in the face

of the fire?

Well,

look briefly

at the very last few verses

of Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Look at verse 28 with me.

This is after

they've kind of

come through the fire

and Nebuchadnezzar

says this amazing thing.

He says,

Blessed be the God

of Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego,

for they trusted in Him.

That's the key word.

They trusted in Him

and set aside

the king's command.

It's amazing

that they are commended

by the king

for defying the king.

That's quite an amazing thing.

Yielding up their bodies

rather than serving

and worshipping my God.

One of the things

that I think

we're meant to see here

is that courage

and conviction

to face the fire

is not a matter

of personality

and it's not a matter

of natural bravery

but rather it's courage

that's born out of trust.

Notice that we know

very little

about these three men.

We know nothing

about their personality.

Were they introverts

or were they extroverts?

Were they go-getter

A-type leaders

or were they quiet followers?

In the book of Daniel

it seems that Daniel

really is the kind of

main character

and these guys are,

they follow his lead.

But we don't actually know

anything about

their personalities at all.

And I think what God

wants to show us here

is that courage

and conviction

is not a matter of

personality,

type,

or your upbringing.

It's born out of

a quiet confidence,

a trust in who God is

and what he's done for us.

Some of us may feel like

I'm never going to be

a bold leader,

someone who stirs things up

and makes a change in society.

That's okay.

But if you can find

the quiet confidence

that comes from knowing

who God is,

God can use you.

And you may face the fire

but God will give you

the courage to stand firm.

And so let's look at

verses 15 to 18.

We're going to focus on that

for a little bit.

We're going to find

three things,

of course three things.

You're only allowed

three points in a sermon.

And so three things

that these guys found

that gave them the courage

and the conviction to stand.

And so the first one is this,

they somehow knew

the power of God.

Look at verse 15 with me.

Nebuchadnezzar brings

these guys in

and he once again

tells them about

all the musical instruments

and he says,

if you will fall down

and worship the image

that I've made,

well and good.

We'll just put this

inconvenient situation

behind us.

We'll just pretend

it didn't happen.

But if you do not worship,

you shall immediately

be cast into a burning,

fiery furnace.

And who is the God

that will deliver you

out of my hands?

What Nebuchadnezzar

is really saying

is who is powerful enough

for you to deliver you

from my great power,

my authority?

And these three men

very simply just say,

well God is.

They answer him

very matter-of-factly.

Look at what they say

in verse 16.

Oh Nebuchadnezzar,

we have no need

to answer you

in this matter.

And what that means

really is

there's no discussion.

We don't even need

to debate it.

The simple matter

of the fact is

God is able to deliver us.

God is strong enough.

We know that you are powerful.

We know that in a human sense

you are the most powerful man

in the whole world.

We know that you have

supreme authority.

But you are not

the supreme authority

in the entire world.

God is.

And what these men know

is that though

Nebuchadnezzar

is supremely powerful

in one sense,

even his power

and his authority

has been granted

by him,

by God,

the one true

and supreme authority one.

What these men know

is that Nebuchadnezzar

is only there

because God

has put him on the throne.

Remember,

it's God who sets up kings.

It's God who sets up kingdoms.

It's God who gives life

and takes away life.

It's God's air

that they breathe.

It's God who upholds

the universe

by the word of his power.

The God that they serve

is the God

who has faithfully

looked after his people.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The one who has

delivered his people

from Egypt

and from Pharaoh's grasp.

The one who delivered

his people through the Red Sea

and brought them

into Promised Land.

The God that they serve

is the God that has

brought them

out of Palestine

and into Babylon

at this time.

And God is supreme

and on the throne.

And so Nebuchadnezzar

looks at them

and says,

who is able to deliver you?

Who is as powerful

as I am?

And they simply say,

well, God is.

Well, God is.

And so friends,

the question for us is,

what do we think of God?

Maybe more importantly

is what do you feel

about God?

Do you know that God

really is the one

supreme authority

on the throne?

Do we know that

not just intellectually

in our heads

but in our hearts?

One of the secrets

of the Christian life

is to be able

to bring our theology,

what we believe about God,

to bear on the reality

of our lives

so that it actually

impacts our lives

in the day-to-day

reality of life.

Carl Johnson

points out that

one of the things

that these men do so well

is they compare

the thing that's

intimidating them,

in this case,

Nebuchadnezzar,

with who God is.

And they actually

do the mental exercise

and say,

well,

let's compare these two

and they come out

knowing God

is supremely

authoritative.

It's one thing

to know theoretically

that God is powerful,

that God created

the universe,

but courage and conviction

are not just born

out of what we know

theoretically

or theologically,

it's actually what we

believe deep in our hearts.

And so the secret

of the Christian life

is to bring that

to bear on our life.

And so friends,

maybe we can ask you

this morning,

what is it that you

find intimidating

or scary?

What person,

what circumstance,

what scenario

that you play out

in your mind,

what institution

intimidates you,

makes you feel afraid?

Friends,

God wants you to know

that those things

may be powerful,

but that your life

is not in their hands.

Your life is in the hands

of the sovereign God.

And so these men,

they know the power of God.

The second thing they know

is the sovereign wisdom

of God.

Now,

this is quite amazing.

Look at verse 18

with me.

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

obviously have this

incredible trust

in God's power

for when Nebuchadnezzar

says,

who is powerful enough

to deliver you

out of my hands?

They say,

well,

God is.

And so look at how

they say it in verse 18.

They say,

our God whom we serve

is able to deliver us

from your hands.

Sorry,

from the fiery furnace.

And he will deliver us

out of your hands,

O king.

But then look at verse 18.

But if not,

be it known to you,

O Nebuchadnezzar,

we will not serve your gods

or worship the golden image

that you've set up.

So look at what they say here.

On the one hand,

they say,

we know that God

is able to save us.

We know that God

will deliver us

out of your hands.

But even if he doesn't,

that's okay.

We know that God

is still sovereign,

in charge,

and glorious

and on the throne.

In other words,

what they're saying is,

even more than God's power

and his ability,

even more than that,

their confidence

is born out of a faith

that in God's sovereign wisdom,

he knows what he's doing

even if the outcome

that God does

is not what they

would have chosen.

They're saying,

we know God

is able to deliver us.

We know God

will deliver us

from your hands.

But even if he doesn't,

we still know

that God is good,

that he's faithful,

that he's sovereign,

that he's on the throne,

and that he is trustworthy.

Friends,

they know that he's good.

They know that he's faithful.

They know that he's powerful.

But what they don't know

is how God

will choose to act

in this particular circumstance.

Do you see that?

And yet,

their faith is steadfast.

They do not waver

in unbelief.

And that means

that they're not tying

their view

to who God is,

nor they're tying

their faithfulness

to God

to any particular outcome.

Their faith

in who God is

rests simply

in who he is,

not in

a particular outcome

that they do

or do not want.

And that's really

what faith is.

Faith means trusting God

for being God,

not because

he will give us

an outcome

that we particularly

want or desire.

We actually see

the same thing

in Acts chapter 12.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 12,

Acts 12 · chapter mention

this amazing situation.

King Herod

is persecuting

the Christians,

because they're

causing trouble,

they're turning

the city upside down.

And so two apostles,

James and Peter,

are arrested

and thrown into jail.

And James

has his head

cut off.

He's beheaded,

right?

That's the end.

And it says that

when Herod saw

how the crowds

loved this,

he decided to do

the same thing

to Peter.

But miraculously,

that night,

an angel arrives

in the prison,

opens up the prison doors,

sets Peter free,

and Peter is a free man.

And the chapter

ends with Herod

dying

and Peter living.

Okay?

So it starts off,

James dies,

Peter's on the way

to dying,

Herod dies,

and Peter gets

set free.

You following?

Now here's the question.

Why does James die

and Peter lives?

I mean,

did James not have

enough faith?

Did he not pray enough?

Was he not courageous enough?

Did he not trust God enough?

No friends,

that's not the answer.

The answer is,

God in his sovereign wisdom

knew what he was doing.

And Shadrach,

Bishak,

and Abednego

know the same thing here.

They've got a desired outcome.

We hope we'll be delivered.

We know God is able

to deliver us.

We know that God

will deliver us

from your hands,

O Nebuchadnezzar.

That may happen through

saving us from the furnace.

It may happen by

dying in the furnace

and going to glory.

God will deliver us

from your hands.

But what we don't know

is how God will act

in this circumstance.

And yet we'll still trust him.

Because we know

that he is faithful.

Friends,

I wonder what you're facing

right now.

I wonder if you want

to just take a moment

to think about

what is the thing

that you're facing.

Will you trust him?

Will you commit

to trusting him

no matter the outcome?

Not just when things

work out the way

that we want,

but to trust him

for who he is.

He's faithful.

He's sovereign.

He's all-powerful.

He's loving

and he's gracious.

We can trust him.

We can trust him.

These men trust God's power

and they trust God's

sovereign wisdom.

But I want to put to us today

that these two things,

this knowing in our minds

God's power

and his sovereignty,

is not the main reason

why we make compromises

and why we struggle

for courage and conviction

in the face of the fire.

I don't know what kind of fire

you may be facing.

It may be,

or what kind of compromises

you may be tempted with.

For some of us,

maybe you're dating someone

and they want to pressurize you

to move in together

or to sleep together

before marriage.

And your boyfriend

or your girlfriend

is pressurizing you

and saying,

oh, if you really loved me,

what's going to give you

the courage to stand firm?

Maybe professionally,

your boss

is putting pressure on you

to make an unethical decision

or to compromise somehow.

And it seems like

if you stand up to your boss,

it's the end of your career.

What's going to give us,

what is the reason

why we are tempted

to compromise?

Many of us will know

that God is powerful.

We know that God is sovereign.

It's not our theology

that's the problem.

There's something else

going on in our lives

that leads us

to want to compromise

in the face of great pressure.

When the fire comes

and we are faced

with the furnace,

what is it that really

causes us to surrender?

Well, as we've heard

so many times,

our behavior

and our decisions

are far more shaped

by what our hearts love

than what our heads know.

And that means

that the reason

for our compromises

is not just that

we don't know enough theology,

it's that our hearts

long to feel secure,

to feel safe,

to feel affirmed,

to be praised by others.

And so the longing

of our hearts

actually often leads us

to decisions

more than the theology

of our heads.

The real reason

why we often fail

to do what's right,

to stand for what's true,

to confront what's wrong,

is because actually

there's more of Nebuchadnezzar

inside of us

than we acknowledge

or we like to admit.

I know that might sound

a little intense,

but just think about

how much money,

how much energy,

how much time,

how much attention

do we give,

or our city gives,

to cultivating our own image,

or to seeking the affirmation

and the approval of others?

How much effort and time

goes into cultivating

our image on social media,

or maybe our professional image,

our CV,

or our professional,

yeah,

image in the marketplace?

And so in many ways,

we actually can try

and build up this idol,

this image,

much like Nebuchadnezzar.

Or just,

I don't know if you noticed,

twice,

it talks about how

Nebuchadnezzar,

in furious rage,

is angry

because things don't go his way.

Friends,

do I need to ask

how many of us

have got angry recently

when things have not

gone our way?

When maybe a junior

or subordinate

has defied us?

Or maybe our children

have gone against us?

And if I'm honest,

there's more of Nebuchadnezzar

in my heart

than I like to admit.

As one pastor put it,

it's not just that

we live in a culture

of idolatry,

it's actually that

we are idolaters ourselves.

And so what that means,

really,

is that

we don't just need

to know the power of God

and the sovereignty of God

and the wisdom of God.

Ultimately,

we need to know

the man of God.

The man of God

who went into the fire

with us

and the man of God

who went into the fire

for us.

And so look at the third thing.

The power of God,

the wisdom of God,

the man of God.

And so look at what happens

in verse 24.

Nebuchadnezzar

has never experienced

such defiance before.

He's not used to people

speaking to him like this.

And so filled

with this furious rage,

he orders the furnace

to get heated up

to the max.

And Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

get what they ask for.

And so they are bound up

by rope,

they tied up,

and they are thrown

into the furnace.

And in verse 24,

look what happens.

Nebuchadnezzar

takes up his position

to see these suckers burn.

And to his great astonishment,

he sees them walking around

in the furnace,

unbound and unharmed.

And so look at what it says.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar

was astonished.

He rose up in haste.

He said to his counselors,

Did we not cast three men

bound into the fire?

They answered and said to the king,

That's true, O Lord,

we did.

He answered and said,

But I see four men

unbound,

walking in the midst

of the fire,

and they do not seem

to be hurt.

And the appearance

of the fourth

is like one of the sons

of the gods.

Having thrown these guys

into the furnace

to his amazement,

Nebuchadnezzar sees

that they are

not only not hurt,

they are not only alive

and well,

but there is some divine,

some angelic being

that is in the furnace

with them.

And Shadrach,

Neshach,

and Abednego

realize that

whoever this being is,

his presence

in the furnace

is the reason

why they are delivered.

In fact,

that's the conclusion

that Nebuchadnezzar

comes to.

Look at,

I think it's verse 28,

he says,

God sent his angel

and delivered

these servants

who trusted in him.

Nebuchadnezzar realizes

whoever this being is,

whoever this angel

or this divine being is,

his presence

in the furnace

has rescued them,

has saved them,

has delivered them.

God has sent a man

to save his people.

And friends,

that of course

is the message

of the Bible.

Because God

has sent a man,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

to save his people,

to rescue his people,

to deliver all those

who will trust in him.

Friends,

the Bible teaches us

that the way

that God would save us

is not just by sending

Jesus into the fire

with us,

but ultimately

sending Jesus

into the fire

for us.

Jesus Christ

went to the cross

clothed with our sin

and our shame,

with my sin

and with your shame.

Jesus was not just

bound with ropes,

he was nailed

to the very cross.

And Jesus there

on the cross

faced the full fury,

the furnace

of God's

righteous anger

and his just judgment.

for all the sins

of the world.

Jesus didn't just face

the fury of Nebuchadnezzar

or Herod

or Pontius Pilate

or Caesar Augustus.

Jesus faced

the wrath

of the righteous God

for our sins,

my sins

and your sins,

for my idolatry

and for your idolatry.

And friends,

the great problem

that we face

is not just

the opposition

and the persecution

from people

like Nebuchadnezzar

or your boss

or your parents

or your boyfriend,

the great problem

that we face

is not just

that we are facing

persecution

because we've stood up

to some tyrant,

because we have done

some good.

The great problem

that humanity faces

is that we have

turned our back

on God.

We have worshipped

created things

rather than

the creator himself.

We've rejected God

and now we are destined

for eternal hell

and judgment.

We've set ourselves up

like Nebuchadnezzar

as our own gods.

We have loved

rather than serving

and loving

the one true God.

And that means

that ultimately

all of us

should face

the fire

of God's wrath.

But of course

the whole point

of the Bible

is that God

sent a man.

God sent

not just

an angelic being,

not just one

like the sons

of the gods,

he sent his son himself,

Jesus Christ,

the righteous one,

to come

and to save

and to deliver

those who will

trust in him.

And so what that

means is that

now when we

face the fire,

when we face

the temptation,

when we are tempted

to compromise

and to,

when we are

tempted to

bow down

to the things

that when the

pressure is on,

what that means

is we can look

to the one

who's gone

to the fire

for us.

What it means

is that when God

does bring trials

into our life,

we know that

Jesus has gone

and faced

the ultimate fire.

And our confidence

to stand firm

in him

can give us

the confidence

to stand firm

and to stand up

to the temptations

of this world.

Friends,

we don't need

to preserve ourselves.

We don't need

to save ourselves.

We don't need

to get angry

or scared

or frustrated

when things

don't go our way,

when people refuse us.

We don't need

to establish

a name for ourselves

or establish

an image for ourselves

or build up our image

because our life

is not in our hands.

Our life

is in the hands

of the one

who has gone

to the fire

for us.

Friends,

because Jesus

went into the fire

for us,

he gives us a name.

He gives us a status.

He gives us an identity.

He gives us a favor

that no compromise

in this world

can ever give you.

That no compromise

with this world

will ever secure

for you.

That no concession

that we're tempted

to make

will ever give you.

Jesus gives that

to you

and that means

that we can stand

firm in the flame.

And so,

Julian read it

to us earlier

but look at what

Isaiah 43 says.

God says this,

Fear not

for I have redeemed you.

I have called you

by name

and you are mine.

When you pass

through the waters

I will be with you.

Through the rivers

they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk

through the fire

you will not be burnt.

When the flames

come around you

they will not consume you.

For I am

the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

your Savior.

Friends,

following Jesus

will necessarily

involve trouble.

It will at times

invite opposition

and persecution.

But God's people

are called

to have courage

and conviction.

God's people

are called

to stand firm

knowing and trusting

that only God

can deliver us

and save those

who trust in Him.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus Christ

we are so grateful

for you

the one who

delivers us

from the fire

and the furnace

of true affliction.

Jesus,

every one of us

here this morning

in many ways

are facing

our own temptations.

God,

we like Shadrach,

Meshach and Abednego

day in and day out.

God,

in the marketplace,

at work,

at home,

in relationships

and our finances

are tempted,

God,

to compromise

and to trust

the systems

of this world.

We tempted,

God,

to add

a little bit

of worship

of the things

of this world

to you.

But God,

we need you.

And so God,

I pray,

won't you build

our faith?

God,

won't you give us

the courage

and the conviction?

Won't you open

our eyes

to see you

for who you are?

God,

won't you help us

to see that you,

Jesus,

went to the fire

for us

and now promised

to walk through

the fire with us.

Jesus,

won't you help us

to see your supreme

power and authority?

And God,

I pray for those

of us here

this morning

that are struggling,

that are maybe

in the very midst

of grappling

with whether

to make these

compromises,

concessions.

Christ,

won't you come

and fill us

with your spirit

and help us

to see you

and know you

for who you

really are.

Jesus,

we desperately

need you

and we need

your Holy Spirit.

So come

and have your way

in our life

and in our hearts

we pray.

Friends,

maybe just

let's take a moment

and just ask

Christ to

come and give you

courage and conviction.

Come and give you

the faith that you

need to walk

with Him

through the challenges

that you face.

It's not just

the theology

that we need,

it's actually

the Spirit

doing a work

in our hearts.

Holy Spirit,

come with you.

come and help us

we pray.

Come and help us

we pray.