Idols Don't Save - God Does!

In 1415, don't think any of you were around then were you? 600 years ago John Huff was burned alive at the stake.

John had become a Christian after reading the Bible. He began to write and teach, encouraging other people of his day to turn to Christ and to read God's words.

And having been told to stop his preaching and his writing, John defiantly refused.

And because he wouldn't stop, John was bound by ropes, tied to a stake and burned alive.

And as the flames engulfed him, he prayed this.

Lord Jesus, it is for thee that I patiently endure this cruel death.

In 2012, just two years ago, a church had been ordered to turn from following Christ or die.

Refusing to deny their faith, they ran to their pastor's house for safety.

But having been followed by their persecutors, the house was set on fire and 50 believers perished in the flames.

Now what kind of God is this?

That people would die for him rather than deny him and live.

What kind of God is this?

That people would literally go through the flames for him.

Well, that's the situation we arrive at in Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, faced the fiery furnace,

but they chose death instead of life.

Look at the very end of verse 28.

It says there they were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any God except their own God.

What kind of God is this that is worth risking your life for and dying for?

Well, we're going to meet this God through these events.

First, we meet a God who is worthy of our worship.

A God who is worthy of our worship.

The king's demand is very clear, isn't it?

Verse 5.

As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the zither, the lyre, the harp, the pipes and all kinds of music,

when the band gets going and the conductor starts up at the orchestra,

you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.

Now, given those two options, bow or burn, it might seem quite obvious which one you'd take.

If you want to save your life, well, bow down and worship.

But here's the problem.

Nebuchadnezzar's image is not a real God.

It's a substitute God.

It's not too long ago, you'll remember from chapter 2, that Nebuchadnezzar had the dream.

Do you remember his dream about the great big statue?

Gold head, silver chest, bronze thighs, iron legs, feet made of iron and clay,

and they all represented, the four different metals represented four different kingdoms.

And the dream was interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar, and this is what was revealed to him.

Look at chapter 2 at the very end of verse 38.

Chapter 2, the very end of verse 38.

As the dream is interpreted, he says,

You are that head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar.

You are that kingdom, the head of gold.

But, verse 39,

After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours.

Your kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar, will be crushed and destroyed.

Another is going to take its place,

And ultimately, down at verse 44, chapter 2,

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven

will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed,

nor will it be left to another people.

It will crush all those kingdoms,

and bring them to an end,

but it itself, the kingdom of God, if you like,

will endure forever.

That was the dream that was interpreted to him.

He's been introduced to the true God.

But, rather than worship the true God,

Nebuchadnezzar has set up a substitute God.

Chapter 3, verse 1.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold.

Perhaps he thought if it was all gold,

then his kingdom wouldn't be broken down.

Ninety feet high,

and nine feet wide.

And it's set up on the plain of Dura,

in the province of Babylon,

where everybody could see it.

In an act of defiance,

King Nebuchadnezzar rejects the true God,

and he replaces it with his own God.

This is the God that the nations must come and worship.

Now, Ender Kenny mightn't have the resources

to set up a gold statue for us.

But every day, you and I must decide

which God we're going to worship.

Will it be the God of secularism?

Listen to this quote from a book called

No Gods But God.

He says this,

When we cease to worship God,

we do not worship nothing,

we worship anything.

We do not just eliminate God,

we erect God's substitutes in his place.

He goes on to say that the biblical writers

call these replacement gods idols,

or in this case, it was a statue.

An idol, he says, can be a physical object.

It could be your iPhone.

It could be a property, your house.

It could be an activity,

a sport, or music.

It could be a role, the job that you have,

an institution, the club or society

that you're a member of,

a hope, I wish I was married,

a pleasure, food or drink,

a hero, a sporting star, anything.

We can take and push God out of the way

and replace it with someone else

or something else.

And that's what we've really done.

We've set up our own gods that demand our worship.

Something or someone that we serve

in return for, in the hope that they will

somehow give us happiness, pleasure,

success, security.

And we live for our gods,

in the hope that they will give to us

everything that we want.

Nebuchadnezzar was offering his god

as a god of security.

Worship this god and you will be safe,

you will be well,

you will be in a wonderful kingdom

with a great king over you.

But here's the problem.

They're substitute gods.

They're counterfeit gods.

They're not the true gods.

You see, it's ironic

that the god they must worship

is actually man-made.

Did you see that back in verse 1,

chapter 3?

King Nebuchadnezzar

made an image.

Ninety feet high,

nine feet wide,

and set it up.

And in case we can't see

the contradiction of a god

that has to be made by a person,

the writer keeps on reminding us

right the way through the passage.

So look at the end of verse 3.

We're told there that

all the officials assembled

for the dedication of the image

that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up,

that he made.

And they stood before it.

End of verse 5.

They were ordered

that they must fall down

and worship the image of gold

that King Nebuchadnezzar

has set up.

You know that great big statue

in the middle of the plain over there,

the thing that he constructed

with all the scaffolding around it?

He set it up.

He made it.

End of verse 7.

All the peoples, nations and men

of every language

fell down and worshipped

the image of gold

that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

It's made.

This is a god

that's supposed to be real,

but it's fake.

It's counterfeit.

Listen to the psalmist,

Psalm 115,

Psalms 115:2–8

verses 2 to 8.

What they say about

our so-called gods.

The question is raised,

why do the nations say,

where is your God?

Our God is in heaven.

He does whatever pleases him.

But their idols

are silver and gold,

made by the hands of men.

They have mouths,

but they cannot speak.

Eyes,

but they cannot see.

They have ears,

but they cannot hear.

Noses,

but they cannot smell.

They have hands,

and they can't feel.

Feet,

but they cannot walk.

Nor can they utter a sound

from their throat.

Those who make them

will be like them,

utterly lifeless and worthless.

And so will all

who trust in them.

You see,

just as the people of Babylon

bowed down to this

lifeless statue of gold

to gain security,

if you bow down to this statue,

you're not going to die.

I'll look after you.

You'll have security.

You'll be fine.

So we bow down

to our dead idols

of work,

of relationships,

of sport,

whatever it may be,

to gain success,

to gain satisfaction,

in the hope

that they will somehow

fill us.

But the point is

they're all God's substitute.

They can't give

the eternal security

that each one of us

long for.

They're not the real deal.

They're dead.

And that's why

the three friends

will not bow down

and worship.

Man-made gods

are not worthy

of our worship.

The philosophies

that our society

throws at us.

Forget God.

Don't believe in God.

Go your own way.

Go with your feelings.

Follow the God

of secularism.

Write him out

of your lives.

Don't listen

to the word of God.

Listen to your own word,

to your own mind.

God.

But it's dead.

It's lifeless.

It's not a true God.

So,

we meet the God

who is worthy

of worship

for he is

the one and only

true God.

Second,

we meet a God

who is able

to save.

A God

who's able

to save.

The pressure

to bow down

and worship

continues,

verse 12.

You have

the officials

here who've

been following

the king's commands

but they've noticed

something.

They tell us

in verse 12,

there's some Jews

whom you've set

over the affairs

of the province

of Babylon.

You know those

three characters,

Shadrach,

Meshach and Abednego,

who pay no attention

to you,

O king.

They neither

serve your gods

nor worship

the image of gold

you have set up.

Perhaps they've

become very jealous

of these three

outsiders because

they've all risen

to positions of

power and they're

not in the positions

of power and they

want them kind of

removed.

Well,

whatever reason

for them telling

tales to the king,

it puts them

in further danger

of the fire.

Verse 14,

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,

when you hear

the sound of

the horn,

the flute,

the zither,

the lyre,

the harp,

the pipes,

of all kinds

of music,

if you are

ready to fall

down and

worship the

image I made,

very good,

you'll be safe,

you'll be okay.

But if you do

not worship it,

you will be

thrown immediately

into the

blazing furnace.

then what god

will be able

to save you

from my hand?

Come on,

what god

is so great

that he is

greater than

me?

Bow down

to my god

and I will

save you

from the fire.

Well,

at one level

there's no doubt

that Nebuchadnezzar

could save them

from the flames.

he had the

power to do

that.

That's what

he's saying

to them here.

But that's

not where

these three

guys put

their faith.

Look at

verse 16.

What an

extraordinary

answer to

give when

they're being

threatened with

death itself

in such a

brutal fashion.

Look at

what this

says in

verse 16.

Shadrach,

Meshach and

Abednego

replied to

the king,

O

Nebuchadnezzar,

we do not

need to

defend ourselves

before you

in this

matter.

We don't

even need

to answer

you.

We don't

need to

try and

get out

of this

threat and

try to

explain why

we're not

bowing down.

You see,

our God is

more powerful

than you.

Our God

is a

saving God.

Verse 17,

if we are

thrown into

the blazing

furnace,

the God

we serve

is able

to save

us from

it.

And he

will rescue

us from

your hand,

O king.

Absolute

confidence

and assurance

under such

pressure in

God's ability

to save.

You can

throw us

into the

flames,

that's

okay,

because

our God

is able

to save.

How could

they be so

confident

of God's

salvation?

Well,

for them

history has

proved it.

God had

saved his

people from

Egypt.

God had

saved his

people time

and time

again through

the judges

like Samson

and Gideon.

God had

saved his

people through

kings like

David and

Solomon.

Their whole

history is

an experience

of a God

who intervenes

and saves

time and

time again.

That is

what this

God does.

And that's

the confidence

that we can

have too.

Because God

is a God

who delights

in saving

his people.

He's more

powerful than

anyone or

anything.

After all,

God has

proved it in

history ultimately

through his

son,

Jesus Christ,

who died but

rose again from

the grave,

defeating death.

We have a

God who

saves.

That is

what he

does.

Now,

because our

God is a

saving God,

we can

trust him

with our

life.

verse 18.

But even

if he does

not save

us,

we want

you to

know,

O king,

that we

will not

serve your

gods or

worship the

image of

gold you

have set

up.

Now,

hang on a

minute,

that just

seems like a

contradiction,

doesn't it?

I just

thought you

said that

God is a

saving God.

and now

he's saying,

well,

maybe if he

doesn't save

us,

so does

he save

or does

he not?

Well,

look back

carefully at

verse 17.

Read verse

17 again.

If we are

thrown into

the blazing

fire,

the God

we serve

is able

to save.

They don't

say God

will save

us,

they say

the God

we serve

is able

to save

us.

He might

not save

us from

the flames

of the

furnace.

We might

get thrown

into the

furnace,

we might

lose our

life,

we might

die,

but you

know what?

We know

that our

God even

has power

over death

itself.

And I

think that's

the message

of verse

18.

They are

saying,

you know

what,

you can

throw us

into the

flames,

but we

worship a

God

where even

death

is not

an obstacle

to him.

Now let

me ask

you this,

what God

substitutes

can save

like this?

We can

serve the

God of

pleasure,

we sacrifice

our lives

to the

idols of

work,

but they

can't save

us.

us.

We obey

the demands

that our

gods place

on us,

that we

must do

more,

we must

give more,

but for

what purpose?

They have

no power

over life,

they have

no power

over death,

they can't

rescue us,

they can't

deliver us.

And so the

three friends

refuse to

bow in

worship,

because they

trust in a

God who

is worthy

of worship

and who

is able

to save.

So we

meet a

God who

is worthy

of worship,

a God

who is able

to save,

and we

also meet a

God who

is willing

to die

for us.

These guys

wouldn't bow,

so the

threat has

been carried

out,

verse 22.

The king's

command was

so urgent,

and the

furnace so

hot,

we're told

back in

verse 19,

that it was

heated seven

times hotter

than normal,

it had become

so hot that

the flames of

the fire

killed the

soldiers who

took up

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

to the

entrance of

the furnace.

The flames

just engulfed

them and

burnt them.

And these

three men,

verse 23,

firmly tied

by ropes,

fell into

the blazing

furnace.

It seems

like the

God of

these three

friends is

unable to

save.

Where is

he?

Well,

God has

not abandoned

them.

He's actually

present with

them.

Look at

verse 25.

The three

of them

have been

cast into

this burning

furnace,

and King

Nebuchadnezzar

is peering,

looking into

the flames.

Verse 25,

he says,

look,

can you

see?

I see,

it's not

three,

four men

walking around

in the fire.

They're

unbound

and unharmed,

and the

fourth one,

can you

see it?

It 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.

Who,

who was

this fourth

person

that was

walking around

with them?

Well,

Nebuchadnezzar

tells us in

verse 28

that it was

an angel.

Was it

more than

an angel?

Writers tend

to think that

it was the

angel of

God,

the pre-incarnate

Christ,

present with

the people.

Well,

we can't say

for sure,

but what is

without doubt,

here is a

God who not

only saves,

here is a

God who is

present with

his people as

they go through

the fire.

God didn't

take the

furnace away

from them,

but nor did

he abandon

them in it.

And this is

the kind of

God that we

have.

He is

committed and

faithful to

his people,

to his

servants.

He doesn't

always take

us away,

take the

hardships away

from us.

He doesn't

always remove

the difficulties

of life.

Very often,

and mostly the

case is that

he lets us

walk through

the fire of

suffering,

but he is

always present

with us in

the midst of

our suffering.

Our God is

not just

present though,

as God was

with these

three guys.

He is

willing to

die for us.

Look how

these three

friends emerged

from the fire.

Comes in the

middle of

verse 27.

They've come

out of the

fire and

they're looking

at them,

and look what

they saw.

They saw that

the fire had

not harmed

their bodies,

nor was

there a

hair of

their heads

singed,

their robes

or their

clothes were

not scorched,

and there

wasn't even

a smell

of fire

on them.

Now this

smacks to

me of

complete

and

absolute

salvation.

There's no

sense in

anything at

all that

anything was

lost.

Complete

and absolute

salvation.

salvation.

Now that

can be our

experience too,

but in a

much deeper

way.

You see,

the God

who walked

into the

furnace with

these three

friends,

is the

same God

who walked

into the

ultimate

furnace for

you and

for me.

Jesus

Christ

wasn't

immune to

the suffering

of this

world.

But he

entered into

this world

for you

and for

me,

and went

to the

cross.

But why?

Why did

he have to

do it?

Well,

like

Nebuchadnezzar,

we've all

rejected the

true and

living God.

We've all

from time to

time replaced

him with our

own false

gods,

our dead

gods.

We've all

broken the

first commandment,

gods,

you shall

have no

other gods

but me.

We've all

done it.

And instead

of giving

God,

the true

God,

the worship

he deserves,

we worship

someone else

or something

else.

We've looked

to other

things for

security in

our life.

And God

has made it

very clear

that all

those who

do not

worship

God

will be

judged

and

separated

from God

in hell

for all

eternity.

That's

what will

happen.

But Christ

intervened

into our

world.

He walks

where we

deserve to

walk.

In our

place,

Christ went

into the

fiery furnace

of judgment

for us.

On the

cross,

Christ

suffered the

flames of

God's

wrath.

He took

my sin,

your sin,

on himself

and the

judgment

fell on

him.

He went

into the

heart of

the fire

itself.

He descended

into hell

for us

so that

we don't

have to.

And all

those who

trust in

him,

the fire

of judgment

will pass

by.

And it

will be

like the

end of

verse 27,

where the

fire had

not harmed

their bodies,

nor was

there a

head of

their head

singed,

their clothes

not scorched,

there was

no smell

of fire

on them.

There

will be

no judgment,

there will

be no

condemnation,

there will

be no

separation.

Instead,

complete and

absolute

salvation,

eternal

security,

eternity,

with God

forever

and ever.

You see,

here is the

God who

not only

walks into

the flames

with us,

but he

walks into

the flames

to die

for you

and for me.

Now,

all of this

explains

why

John

Huss,

600 years

ago,

and the

50 members

from that

church

two years

ago,

were willing

to die

rather than

deny their

God.

Like Shadrach,

Meshach and

Abednego,

look at

verse 28,

the end

of verse 28,

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.

as

Nebuchadnezzar

himself would

say at the

end of

verse 29,

for no

other God

can save

in this

way.

They

worshipped a

God who

is not only

able to

save us,

a God

who is

present with

us,

but a

God who

is willing

to die.

Now,

let's just

make it a

little bit

more personal.

Is this

a God

you could

die for?

Is this

a God

I would

die for?

He's

walked through

the ultimate

furnace for

us so that

we may gain

eternal

security,

eternal life

with him.

That means

you and I

can face

into the

troubles of

this life

and know

that he

will never

abandon us.

Sometimes we

may feel the

flames are

raging,

but God

is present

with us.

He will

not leave

you.

He will

walk with

you through

the fire

of the

troubles that

you go

through.

It also

means that

you and I

can face

death itself

and know

that we are

safe and

secure.

For people,

for some,

and maybe

for somebody

here,

those flames

will be

actual,

real flames.

as you

die for

preaching

Christ,

where he

is violently

opposed,

people face

that kind

of death.

But for

those who

go through

those flames,

God will

raise you

up and

take you

to be with

him forever.

Whenever we

face death,

he is the

one and

sure place

to have

our faith.

death,

this is a

God we

can live

for.

This is a

God we

can even

die for

because he

died for

us.

Let's pray

together.

listen to

Jesus'

words.

Jesus

called the

crowd to

him along

with his

disciples and

said,

if anyone

would come

after me,

he must

deny

himself and

take up

his cross

and follow

me.

For whoever

wants to

save his

life will

lose it,

but whoever

loses his

life for me

and for the

gospel will

save it.

father,

teach us

to follow

you.

Teach us

to pick up

the cross

and walk

the path

that you

walked

in the

knowledge that

we are safe

and secure

for all

eternity.

Knowing that

our God

is able

to save

and even

if we

should enter

into troubles

or hardships,

we know

our God

will be

with us

and our

God will

take us

to his

eternal

kingdom

forever

and forever.

Give us

confidence to

stand strong

for you,

that we

would not

bow down

to the

idols of

this age,

but worship

you alone.

we pray

this for

your glory

and for

your honour.

Amen.