A Fear to Overcome our Fears

Now friends, welcome back to our time of worship together, of hearing God and his word, of prayer and of singing praise to him.

I want to begin reading from 1 Peter. Peter was writing to Christians who were suffering, beginning to face persecution.

And as we think about the experience of Daniel, Daniel's three friends, it's helpful for us to hear.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

So Peter says to us, here's our hope as Christians, that through the resurrection of Jesus, we have a living hope and an inheritance that can never be taken from us.

And he goes on to say, he talks about suffering, but in all this, you greatly rejoice.

Though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory and honour.

When Jesus Christ is revealed, we will see three friends whose faith was tested through the fire and it brought praise, glory and honour to the one true God.

So let's sing praise to our God now.

Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.

So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed,

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, lither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music,

all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshipped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At this time, some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews.

They said to King Nebuchadnezzar,

May the King live forever.

Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold.

And that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.

But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty.

They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.

Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

So these men were brought before the king and Nebuchadnezzar said to them,

Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?

Now then, you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music.

If you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good.

But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.

Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him,

King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the god we serve is able to deliver us from it,

and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand.

But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty,

that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

and his attitude toward them changed.

He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual

and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army

to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.

So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes,

were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.

The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot

that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

And these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

Then king Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors,

Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?

They replied, Certainly, Your Majesty.

He said, Look, I see four men walking around in the fire,

unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted,

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

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire

and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors crowded around them.

They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was the hair of their heads singed.

Their robes were not scorched and there was no smell of fire on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise be to the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

who has sent his angel and rescued his servants.

They trusted in him and defied the king's command

and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god

except their own god.

Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language

who say anything against the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

be cut into pieces and their house be turned into piles of rubble

for no other god can save in this way.

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

in the province of Babylon.

So thanks to both of you for your help.

Now let's think together about those words that Darius read for us

in Daniel chapter 3 and thinking about a fear to overcome our fears.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Some of God's people are remembered through history

for their courage and bravery.

Perhaps you've heard of Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna in the second century

who was facing execution for his faith

but was given an opportunity to reject Jesus.

And he said, eighty and six years have I served him

and he never did me any injury.

How then can I blaspheme my king and my saviour?

Or we can think perhaps of Martin Luther in the 16th century

at the diet of worms surrounded by all the powerful figures

of the Catholic Church threatened with excommunication

because of his new understanding of what the Bible taught,

the truth about justification by faith,

the life of repentance and other things.

And Martin Luther said,

It's true for these three friends, isn't it?

When we think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

we think of them facing the fiery furnace

with courage and seeking to honour God.

But it's not the case for most of us as Christians.

We don't find ourselves confronted by those life or death scenarios.

But each one of us in our own different way

will come under pressure to conform,

whether that's our behaviour,

whether that's our patterns of thought or words.

And we will, I am sure, find at times a physical fear

that stops us talking to someone about Jesus, perhaps.

We will feel a fear

that will make us want to blend in with our actions.

So that fear is something that we all have to wrestle with.

The question then becomes,

how can you and I, if we are Christians,

how can we take our stand

to seek to live for the honour and glory of God,

set against the backdrop of the furnace

of public opinion,

which can be ruthless at times?

And the answer is, like these three friends,

we need a greater fear.

We need the fear of the Lord

by which we are willing to submit to him,

to trust in him,

to obey him as king,

to stand in awe of his glory,

of his grace and of his love

so that he would have the loyalty of our hearts.

So we're going to think about that today.

So let's learn from these three friends

who find themselves facing the furnace.

The first thing to draw our attention to

is the image,

Nebuchadnezzar's image.

Now, if you were listening in last week,

you'll remember that in chapter two,

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream,

a dream representing different empires.

And at the top,

there was a statue,

it was the centre of his dream.

And this statue had the head of gold,

which represented Nebuchadnezzar.

And now, what do we see?

We see Nebuchadnezzar making an image of gold,

about 27 metres high

and almost 3 metres wide.

This is a defiant statement.

Saying, my glory will not end.

Here is pride.

Nebuchadnezzar is not someone

who is going to bow to the superior glory

of the God who revealed

the meaning of the dream.

Rather, he wants to assert his own glory,

and greatness.

And so what we see in verses two and three,

the great and the good are summoned

to this dedication of the image.

It's unclear exactly what's going on.

Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar has the idea

of his whole empire

being united together under one religion.

And some of us,

we know this in our countries,

that there is,

and we know around the world,

there is the pressure

from certain governments,

one country,

one religion,

and it leads to persecution for Christians.

But certainly what's going on here

is that Nebuchadnezzar

is putting his power on display.

He is the one who sets up the image,

it's his,

and he is the one who commands worship.

And so what happens?

Verses four to seven,

and the music begins to play,

and the nations,

and the people,

bow the knee.

There is a total and immediate response.

Because here is a test of loyalty

from the most powerful man

on the earth.

And in a sense,

there's a very great incentive given

in verse six.

Whoever does not fall down and worship

will immediately be thrown

into a blazing furnace.

So perhaps there's no great surprise

when the summons comes,

bow or burn,

that the nations and the peoples

bow the knee.

Two related ideas to notice.

First of all,

where is this image built?

Verse one,

he's set up on the plain of Jura.

This is the same place

where the tower of Babel was built.

Genesis chapter 11.

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

And what is the goal of this image?

It's worship.

It's God-like status.

For Nebuchadnezzar.

Do we see what's going on here?

Way back in the Garden of Eden

that the sin of Adam,

pride,

overreaching,

seeking to be God-like,

not content to be an image bearer,

wanting to be God-like.

The sin of Babel.

Let's make a name for ourselves.

Let's show our glory without God.

It's exactly the same sin

that we see in Nebuchadnezzar.

A desire that the self be the centre.

Desire that he have worship

and he have glory.

It's pride.

We've also got a contest of the gods going on.

We've got a battle for worship.

We've got the one true God who deserves worship

and Nebuchadnezzar who doesn't,

but he demands worship.

And so we'll see it with these friends.

Who should we fear?

When we think about stories like this,

it helps us to think

and to pray for the persecuted church as well

because they have a pressure to conform

that is enormous.

There are some of our brothers and sisters in Christ

where the power of an emperor or a ruler

or local authorities or a police

that are trying to demand

that everybody can form a dominant religion

that would seek to quell Christianity.

I wonder if we are aware of

those pressure points for us

when it comes to conforming.

I was listening to a short podcast this week

on a thing called toxic productivity.

And the psychologist on that,

she was saying that,

you know, there is such an,

she didn't use the word idle,

but success is so important.

She says there's a huge pressure on people,

even during lockdown,

to think that unless I've learned a new language,

developed a new skill,

achieved huge amounts in work

or in personal life,

then we are some kind of failure.

And she calls it toxic productivity

because it means people are very stressed.

People find it hard to rest.

And it's a really unhealthy motivation.

But that's one way that we can feel the pressure

to conform and to look to show a successful life.

And there is, of course,

being highlighted for us,

the battle that we all have with pride.

The sin of pride that we look to remove God

from his rightful place of worship,

the central place in our hearts,

to replace God with self,

where we're thinking about our plans

and our priorities.

And we have to deal with that sin.

So we all feel the heat of the furnace in some way,

the experience of Daniel's three friends in some way.

Let's see how they deal with it.

Let's look at the stand that they take.

So while all the nations are bowing down,

you've got in verse eight,

some astrologers who come forward

and denounce the Jews.

And it seems like this is an extreme example

of workplace rivalry.

They are jealous that Nebuchadnezzar

has promoted these foreigners.

And so they want to take down the competition

that they most likely would then be raised up.

Verse 12,

There are some Jews whom you have set

over the affairs of the province of Babylon

who pay no attention to you, your majesty.

They neither serve your gods

nor worship the image of gold you have set up.

They are rejecting your gods.

They won't worship your image.

They keep their own faith.

Nebuchadnezzar, you need to deal with these guys.

And so in verses 13 to 15,

we see a furious king again.

He was furious that his wise men

couldn't give him the dream and its meaning.

Now he's furious again.

So he calls the three friends to him

and he demands their total loyalty.

He gives them an ultimatum.

He says, this is your last chance.

When the music starts playing,

you better bow or you'll go into the furnace.

Verse 15 is another one of those great verses

in the book of Daniel.

When we think about that contest of the gods

and for worship.

Towards the end it is,

if you don't worship it,

you'll be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.

Then what God will be able to rescue you

from my hand.

This verse again is going to allow us to lift the roof off

so that we get to see the one true God,

the only one that King Nebuchadnezzar,

the three friends,

everybody should bow down to.

You know,

he sets the context,

what God will be able to rescue.

He's saying,

your life and death,

it's in my hands,

not your God's hands.

Look at the power of the empire.

Give yourself to the dark side.

It is the challenge being put

to these three men.

Let's pause for a moment.

Here we have three friends

confronted by the force of a furious emperor

who's quite happy to issue death sentences

here and there.

The power of the greatest empire in the world

is behind him.

And they're standing for God.

And that reminds us that standing for God

sometimes can be lonely

in our school or university,

in our workplace,

even in our family,

it can be lonely.

Standing for God

can be costly.

We see the cost involved

for these three men.

They were certainly going to lose their positions.

They were going to lose

all their comfort and security.

They were going to lose

their lives

except for God's miraculous intervention.

So here are three friends

confronted by the greatest physical fear

we can probably imagine.

But how do they respond?

Verse 16.

King Nebuchadnezzar,

we do not need to defend ourselves

before you in this matter.

They're not going to try and defend themselves.

They have made their choice.

They will take their stand.

They have two certainties.

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,

the God we serve

is able to deliver us from it.

And here's their other certainty.

We will not serve your gods

or worship the image of gold

you have set up.

So they're not going to participate in idolatry

and their God is mighty to save.

But they do not know

if saving them now

is part of God's plan.

God is able to save

but they don't presume

that God will save.

But they take their stand.

How are they able to do that?

When life for them

hangs in the balance,

we can almost imagine

them weighing their fears

in the balance.

So it would be unnatural

if they didn't have

the fear of death.

But yet there is a greater fear

in their lives,

the fear of the Lord.

that sense of awe

at who he is

and what he has done

for them.

His greater truth

and reality

so that they would sooner die

than stop trusting

and obeying

their God.

They feel the call

to bow

to the idol

and the risks involved

for saying no

but they have a greater call

in their heart

to bow

to their Lord.

to listen

to his promises

to trust

in his salvation.

That rather than

placing their lives

in the hands

of King Nebuchadnezzar

they place their lives

and their honour

and their identity

in the hands

of God the King.

Faced with the pressure

to give glory

to Nebuchadnezzar

and the fear

of denying him

that glory he demands.

Weighed in the balance

they choose

the greater glory

the eternal weight

of glory

offered

by God

in his word

to those who love

and fear him.

so that greater fear

the fear of the Lord

is always tipping

the scales

of their heart

they choose

what lasts

they choose loyalty

placing themselves

in God's hands

trusting in their

Saviour God

come what may.

It's a wonderful model

an example to us

to think about

how to weigh

our fears

in the balance

because we recognise

of course

fears come

pressures come

challenges

and temptations

come

to fold

rather than

to take a stand

and in those moments

we need to consider

who our God is

what our God promises

as being greater

bigger

higher

more lasting

than

what

any king

or idol

or friend

or promotion

promises.

Now let's think

about

the Saviour

in verse

19

onwards

here is

King Nebuchadnezzar

he's even

more

furious

we see

the king

doing his

worst

to really

punish

these

men

super

heating

the furnace

flinging

them in

and it's

made clear

the details

make clear

that there

is no

human

prospect

for escape

so

in verse

21

they're

bound

and thrown

into the

furnace

we see

it's so hot

that the

soldiers

are killed

verse 23

these three

men

firmly tied

fell

into

the blazing

furnace

but then

comes the

amazement

of Nebuchadnezzar

fury

turns to

wonder

weren't there

three men

that were tied

up and

thrown into

the fire

certainly

your majesty

look I see

four men

walking around

in the fire

unbound

and unharmed

and the

fourth

looks like

a son

of the

gods

a son

of the

gods

this figure

who has a

god-like

appearance

even though

in human

form

comes

and brings

this amazing

rescue

so that when

they're brought

out

in verse 27

I love the

details

the fire

had not

harmed

their bodies

nor was a

hair

of their

head

singed

their robes

are not

scorched

and there

was no

smell of

fire

on them

it's been

nice weather

so we've

had some

barbecues

and if

you've ever

cooked a

barbecue

just to be

near the

fire

means that

everything

is going to

stink of

smoke

isn't it

but for

these three

friends

they're not

singed

they're not

scorched

there's not

even the

smell of

smoke

on them

and the

impact on

King

Nebuchadnezzar

is striking

again

we have

a pagan

king

who turns

to praise

God

verse 28

praise be

to the

God of

Shandrach

Meshach

and

Abednego

who sent

his angel

and rescued

his servants

he issues

a new

decree

very fierce

language

people of

any nation

or language

who say

anything

against the

God of

Shandrach

Meshach

and Abednego

be cut

into pieces

and their

houses be

turned into

piles of

rubble

for no

other

God

can save

in this

way

he recognises

the God

who delivers

the God

who uniquely

saves

and where

does that

recognition

come from

why

does he

end up

praising

God

it's because

in verse 28

of the stand

of these three

friends

they trusted

in him

and defied

the king's

command

and were

willing to

give up

their lives

rather than

serve or

worship any

God

except

their own

God

their testimony

matching up

to that

of

Peter's

letter

in 1 Peter

faith being

seen through

trials

and shining

like

gold

leading

Nebuchadnezzar

to realise

the one

true God

offers

unique

salvation

and this

leads us

to the

hope

of the

gospel

now there's

a danger

here

you know

we must

say

be like

these three

friends

live

with the

fear of

the Lord

that overcomes

all other

fears

but the

danger

is if

we only

say that

our own

failures

will most

likely

crush

us

because

if your

past is

anything

like

mine

you can

think about

times where

you compromise

your beliefs

to fit in

at times

where you

didn't talk

to a friend

about

Jesus

times when

you gave

your heart

to an

idol

and that's

not just

restricted to

our past

that's also

part of

our present

reality

so if all

we had

was be

like

Daniel's

friends

we'd

probably

be

despairing

so let's

finish

while hearing

that that we

are to

fear the

Lord

let's finish

with two

truths

about

Jesus

to give

us

hope

first of

all

Jesus

perfectly

resisted

this

temptation

Matthew

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

tempted in

the wilderness

by Satan

Satan

comes to

him and

says I

will give

you the

kingdoms

I will

give you

all glory

if you

will bow

down to

me

here's

your way

to kingdom

and glory

and power

without the

cross

Jesus

how did

Jesus

respond

worship

the Lord

your God

and serve

him

only

he

resisted

temptation

and the

fear of

the Lord

and that

concern for

the glory

of his

father

that concern

for loving

obedience

would lead to

his active

obedience all

through his

life and

would lead

him to

the cross

where Jesus

would then

die for

sinners and

for sin

he would

die for

all the

times that

we cave

in and

fold

instead of

bringing him

honour

so that by

trusting in

Jesus

that sin

is removed

and we

are regarded

when we are

in Jesus

as if we

are perfectly

righteous

so there

is hope

beyond failure

in the

gospel of

God's

great grace

and here's

the second

way that

Jesus gives

hope

because we

remember that

Jesus went

into another

furnace to

save us

Jonathan

Edwards

in one of

his sermons

compares the

cross

with the

fiery furnace

and he

thinks about

Gethsemane as

Jesus receiving

a preview

of the

divine

wrath that

he's going

to face

on behalf

of his

people

and Edwards

says that

God the

Father

as it were

set the

cup down

before him

which was

more terrible

than

Nebuchadnezzar's

furnace

when he

took that

cup

knowing what

he did

so was his

love to us

infinitely more

wonderful

and his

obedience to

God

infinitely

more

perfect

Jesus

who was

with those

friends in

the fiery

furnace

would again

go into

a furnace

this time

the furnace

of God's

judgment

against sin

this time

not with

us

but for

us

in our

place

as our

substitute

as our

sacrifice

and Jesus

doesn't come

out unharmed

Jesus

dies

on the

cross

and he

does that

to secure

our

rescue

that we

might

stand before

the judgment

seat of

God and

come through

that

unharmed

if our

faith

is in

Jesus

the eternal

life

is ours

if we

are trusting

him

and now

this Jesus

who went

through the

furnace

for us

now he

is God

with us

in our

fiery

trials

that strength

to stand

does not

come from

ourselves

it comes

from Jesus

so let

the fear

of the

Lord

drive out

other fears

and trust

in this

Lord who

is with

us

who is

mighty to

save

and who

has shown

that

in sending

Jesus

forth

within

what

means

to

for

the

session

the

end