Transcription
[Applause] Oh, it's really good to be back. If you have your Bibles, let's open them up, because uh, God's word is more powerful than anything I can say about it. Amen, church. So Daniel chapter 3 is where we're headed. I smiled as I got Daniel chapter 3, because 13 years ago, Daniel chapter 3 was the very first passage I ever preached in my entire life. Bless my heart. I look back on those notes; they were rough. I've gotten better since then, but the reason I smiled the most is because I just cared so much about these three men who stood for their faith when everyone else was asking them to bow down to something else. Sound familiar? It was such a powerful picture. I was so passionate. I can remember if I closed my eyes, I couldn't even remember where I gave this message.
And the funny part was, in the audience was a man by the name of Francis Chan. So he had had a profound impact on my life up to that point. If you don't know him, that's all right, but he asked me afterwards to go to coffee, and I was like shaking, so nervous. The feedback, and he leaned in, he said, "God's gifted you, and you're either going to use this gift for him and he'll be glorified, or you're gonna use it for you and you're gonna search for an applause, and you're gonna search for people to like you, to be impressed with you, to be satisfied by you." In church, can I just tell you and remind you of this: God's gifted you too, and you're either gonna use it in such a way where God is so glorified as you stand for your faith, or you're gonna use it for you, and you're gonna continue to struggle. I love these boys. They teach us something about that moment, but I also want to pray.
Because in that coffee conversation with Francis Chan, he gave me this wisdom too. He said, "Oh, by the way, you might be able to persuade an audience, but God does the life transformation." So I don't know what your expectation was coming to church, but if you're coming just to be inspired, I'll do my best, but man, if you're showing up to church hoping for more hope, hoping that God would give you the gift of faith that you could stand strong for your faith and even be known for it—see, because the truth is, you're going to make a difference in this world by being different than the world—so I hope you're coming expectant. Would you pray with me, and not just listen to me pray, please? Because I want to see big things. I don't want to just motivate a crowd; I'd rather see God transform us into a people who could stand for our faith too. So would you pray with me?
Oh, Father God, I feel like each of us has something different to bring to You. So even in this moment of silence, I pray that we would—whether it's seated in our home, seated in this auditorium, wherever we're at, God—I pray that we would just talk to You, go to You with precisely where you're at, trusting that You care and that You're listening. Hear our prayers, Lord. Give us the gift of faith and help us walk away changed for Your glory. Free us, Lord, from being merely aware of ourselves, we pray. And all God's children said together, "Amen."
Daniel chapter 3 says this: "King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold 60 cubits high and six cubits wide." I looked it up; that's 90 feet by nine feet, which is basically three [9-foot objects] stacked on top of each other, minus nine feet really. And he set it up on the plane of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial officials—basically, who's who—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, "Nations and people of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, 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." In other words, he says this: "Bow or die."
Therefore, verse seven: "As soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes, and all kinds of music, all the nations and people of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up"—or so they thought. Can you imagine the picture, right? 90 feet high, nine feet wide, music plays, everyone who's everyone in unison just begins to bow. Everyone—or so they thought. Verse eight: "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, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, 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"—you notice the jealousy—"there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon"—we learned about that last week—"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.'" It's like they're poking at his pride. "You gave them this, and they're not listening to you." Do you hear all the "you" in there? What's his response?
Verse 13: "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 when you hear the sound of the horn, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready"—in other words, he's giving them a second chance. I can imagine the audience being shocked at this—"if you are ready now 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?'" What a great question.
Verse 16: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him with one of my favorite speeches from the Bible: '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.'" Everyone gathers, music plays, everyone bows, and then there's these three guys standing for their faith who give this profound speech. But I want to ask you this: Why did they stand? What did they know so that we can learn how we too can stand for our faith even today?
Well, first thing we know is this: They even say it, and as they give their speech of faith, they say, "The god we serve." They served God alone. Point one: They served God alone. You see, because they believed God is real. Now that seems really obvious, right? Well, God is real. Yeah, yeah. But it was so real that it even affected their actions. How about you? God is so real, so powerful, they knew Him so much that it even affected their actions. When they go to talk about themselves, they say, "The god we serve." That's who we are; we're just servants of the one true God. And you know what else they knew? They knew the seriousness of idolatry. They knew the Ten Commandments. Remember those? Exodus chapter 20 says this: Listen to how specific God is; it even says this: "And God spoke all these words." Exodus chapter 20, verse 3: Listen to it. "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth below or the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands." See, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that they couldn't serve God and bow down to an idol, even if it would cost them their lives.
Now, as Christians today, surely we don't have the same problem, right, church? I mean, surely no one is stacking three beans on top of each other, do you know what I mean, and forcing us to bow down—or are they? See, I think in reading this passage, my heart leapt because I believe idolatry is still just as dangerous today for us as it was for them, and it's only problematic because, have you noticed, it's far more subtle. You see, no one may be building 90-foot statues and telling us to bow down, but you know what has become really normal in our culture, and I'm not saying that it's bad, but I just want to warn us to be very, very careful with it. See, we're not building up 90-foot statues, but you know what we are building up? Social media platforms notifying me that someone notices. Again, I'm not saying that it's evil; I'm not saying that it's bad, but we have to be so careful because it's become so normal in our culture to build a profile. We have to be so careful, church. I've been studying this passage and praying for us, praying for our hearts, because I believe idolatry is everywhere. We have to be very careful with it. In fact, Tim Keller defines an idol this way: "An idol is anything more important to you than God; anything that absorbs your heart; is anything absorbed—did abso—you know your heart lately? It's anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything you seek—here's where we got to be even more careful—to give you what only God can give you." It's easy to run to people for security; it's easy to focus on a future job for safety, right? Matt Chandler, a pastor down in Texas, says, "Comfort is the god of our generation." See, if we're going to serve God alone, we also have to acknowledge all the different idols that are around us, tempting us every single day of the week, because we could absolutely miss it, and then we're not suddenly serving God alone, and then it's going to be very difficult to stand for our faith when we're not aware of everything else that we're standing for.
But as always, what I love about preparing sermons for you, Willow, as God always does it first through me, and I sat there quietly and I said, "Lord, okay, what is it for me? Idols? What am I bowing down to? So if I'm not standing for You, what am I bowing down to?" And I'm gonna tell you one came up, and it seemed to affect every decision that I make. You ready for it? The idol I bowed down to most to serve is me. Anyone else? It's going to be difficult to stand for our faith when we're serving our self-comfort, when we're making decisions, financial decisions based on our own comfort. It's going to be very difficult to serve God alone if what we're thinking about is how it will affect us. It's going to be difficult to see anyone outside of yourself in this moment or serve your family if what you're thinking about is you. In fact, a friend of mine told me that before she was equipped for ministry, she heard this one sermon that changed her life. Do you want to know what the sermon was? It was this—and I believe it's the very sermon that Francis Chan was getting at—my very first sermon I ever gave, with this message. When he says this: "It's not about you, church." You ready for the message I believe God wants to deliver through my willing mouth in this moment? It's this: "It's not about you." What are you thinking about? What's coming to your brain? That's not about you either. It's not about you. I know I've already said it a few times, but I have something else to add: Not about you, your marriage; not about you. Can I tell you how free you would be in your marriage if you took that one? It's not about you, your kids; not about you, success; not about you, your gifts; not about you, the changes at Willow; not about you. It's not about you. Will you receive this word, church? See, these boys stood because, even in that moment, weren't just wanting to point for themselves; they understood this truth: It's not about them; it's all about Him. If you want to know how to stand for your faith, you serve Him alone, which means you need to lay down the idol of yourself. It means you must die to yourself. I've been studying Philippians, the one where it's like, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition"—good luck on your own—"do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit; rather in humility value others above yourself." It's not about you. Serve God alone. Lay down any other idol. Why? Because that idol will disappoint you. You will disappoint you. But here's where it gets really sweet: We have to acknowledge the idol. Don't skip this part. Don't just take a note about it. No, no. Are you willing to lay down that idol—your own comfort, even your success, Ethan? What have you been putting before God? What—what's on the tip of your—the government stuff? Lay it down. It can't do for you what you've wanted it to do for you; it can't save you; it can't fix what's gone wrong with your soul. But I know the One who can, and so did they.
Look with me, chapter 3, verse 17: We're back to Daniel. Okay, here we go. Are you ready, church? Are you ready? Are you awake? Oh, come on, you're hungry. I love it. Here we go. Here we go. Listen to them, verse 17: They're speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar. "We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter." Verse 17: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the god we serve is able"—the god we serve is able—no other god is able to deliver you; He can't deliver you; a future job can't deliver you; you can't deliver you. And while we're on the subject of "you," I just want to speak very briefly to parents, because this is the word God's been doing in me. God also isn't calling you to deliver anybody else. And some of you have been carrying the weight and the burden of someone else's faith, and I want to tell you, yes, God has entrusted them into your care, but you need to hold them, not simply control them. Why? See, they served God alone. Why? Because here's what they understood: God can and will deliver. It can't? He can't? She can't? You can't. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego not only knew that God can deliver—look at the text—"the god we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he"—what does it say next?—"will deliver." Do those almost seem like—it seems like it gets really specific. God can deliver, and by the way, if you didn't know, He will deliver. Beth Moore had some great thoughts on this one when she says, "Yes, He will deliver. He will either deliver from trials, through trials, or by trials. From trials." Sometimes the way that God delivers us is He simply just plucks us right out of the hardship. Yes, and amen, and thank you. But can I tell you, oftentimes throughout scripture, it's the second one: through trials. And this is true all throughout scripture, if you notice. God doesn't just typically remove people from hard things, likely because He's wanting to transform them through those hard things. So let me ask you: How do you think God might be wanting to transform you into a person of trust even through this? He sometimes delivers through the hardship. Like with Noah, remember that guy? He didn't just stop a flood, but He did deliver him in the midst of the waves. We'll get to Daniel chapter six. He didn't stop him from going into a lion's den, but He did—but He did deliver him with the beasts at the side. And here we are: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He doesn't rescue them, as we'll simply find out, from a fire; He transformed them right in the midst. Listen to their words, verse 18: "But even if he does not"—oh, two of my favorite words, and it's so different than our normal words. What are our normal words? "But what if? But what if this happens?" Have you heard this in your mind? "But what if I never…? What if he or she…? But what if this happens?" What if will breed fear for the rest of your life. Even if breeds faith, because even if your "what if" comes to pass, God can and He will deliver. Will you receive this truth today? He either delivers from, delivers through, or by trials. See, what would have happened—by the way, this would be a good story if we just stopped here and talked about their faith and their willingness to stand; it would be great—but what would have happened if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have burned to ashes? They would have understood this third part. See, they got to experience the God delivering them through, but sometimes we get delivered by our trials and into our loving—into the loving arms of our Father. Friends, I was just at a funeral this week, and I got to experience this firsthand. Sometimes God delivers us by trials and into His loving arms, and it's in that moment, if you've experienced death or loss, then you get to know this truth: that these are those moments when our faith, by the grace of God, becomes sight. Is that good news? We have hope because God delivers us from, sometimes; sometimes He delivers us through; and He'll even deliver us by trials into His loving arms. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were free. So why does He deliver? And here's why, if you're wondering: First, serve God alone. Second, because He can and will deliver. And can I tell you why He wants to deliver you? Why this message matters? Because He delivers so we can walk in freedom, church. Are you walking in freedom? Nebuchadnezzar sees the freedom in these men, and he tries to bind them up. Let's pay attention. Verse 19 says this: "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"—look at this—"he sees the freedom in them; they're free before the fire. Even if we go into the fire, we're free. So what is—what does Nebuchadnezzar do? He ties up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and threw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, were bound"—look what—look what he's doing—"bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the fire so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, firmly tied"—have you seen all the emphasis? What Nebuchadnezzar trying to restrict their freedom—"firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace." Why? Because, if you don't know it, suffering is inevitable, but freedom is possible. And sometimes our freedom matters because it's not just for us; sometimes it's through us for the sake of someone else.
Verse 24: "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leapt to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, 'Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?' This is so good. They replied, 'Certainly, Your Majesty.' He said"—are you ready?—"Look, I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound." Did you catch it? Unbound. You know what that means, church? You don't have to be out of the fire to find your freedom. The only thing that was burned in the fire was anything that bound them before the fire. Freedom is possible for you now. Oh, and if maybe you're listening to this sermon, you're going, "Yeah, freedom sounds good. Where do I even look for it?" Good, look into the fire that you're facing. Nebuchadnezzar did, and this is what he found: Verse 25: "I see how many men? Four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Church, you are not alone in the fire. Do you believe this? [Applause] You're not alone. And for those of you that knew that, let me remind you: You're not alone. Who was this fourth person? Commentators…
Debate was this fourth person, uh, Jesus? As a lot of the commentators suggest, I would say yes. But to play it safe, we'll say it's a reflection of God, Emmanuel, which is God with us. You are not alone in the furnace of your lives. In fact, these boys were free before they went to the fire; they were free while they were in the fire; and ultimately were free because this was not the only fire God faced.
Church, if you've been leaning in and you feel restricted in this season, know this: God can and God will deliver you. Why? Because Jesus, fully God, fully man, came to earth. He experienced trials of many kinds, and he understands what you're going through. Have you felt betrayed in this season? Jesus understands. Are you tired? He understands. John chapter 4: He sat down by a well; he was tired too. Jesus understands.
But not just that. See, Jesus himself was tempted in every way, yet was without sin. And in his death on the cross, he was thrown into the ultimate furnace of God's wrath. And this is how we can ultimately be delivered and set free. Would you receive this truth? When we put our trust in Jesus, none of the wrath due us for our sin comes to us because it was already poured out on him. And then he resurrected from the dead, proving that he is God and he can make dead things live; he can make us alive again. Church, bring our heartbeat back.
And then, as if that's not enough, complete freedom from having to people-please all the time, from having to make your life about you, serving yourself and your desires all day long—he frees us from all of that. And then he gives purpose to all of your pain. Tim Keller put it this way: "I have to say, as you go through many furnaces of many kinds, remember this: the trial you're facing is a cooler furnace. This is not being punished for your sins because Jesus was thrown into the ultimate furnace for you." If Jesus went through the ultimate furnace for me, I can go through anything I face for him. If we trust in him, any furnace we face, guess what? It'll only make us better. Our character's relationship to trials is like gold's relationship to fire; it'll only make us better. See, Jesus suffered not so that I might not suffer, but so that when I suffer, I become like him.
Church, if you remember Jesus Christ being thrown into the furnace for you, you will sense his presence with you in your trials, and it will turn you into gold. What are you going through, church? Bring it to him. Stop trying to do it on your own; you don't have to. He shows off his power through Daniel chapter 3 by giving these boys the gift of faith to go: "We serve God alone, not what the culture asks me." Church, who will you serve? Lay down your idols; they can't deliver. But our God not only can, church—believe it today—he will deliver. And he does it so that you can be free again. Would you walk in that freedom? Would you walk out of this place—whether you're in your home, this building—would you walk out free? He made it possible because you can be free before the fire; you can be free right in the midst.
A dear friend of mine just found out it is cancer, and I looked at her. I heard a conversation she had, and she said, "I met so much peace." I said, "How?" She said, "Because I am a willing participant in whatever God wants to do in my life. How about you?" She said, "I already got to tell two people in two waiting rooms; I already got to tell them about hope, and they're dying too." Guess what, church? This world needs hope. Are you living like you have it, or are you searching to find it somewhere else? It's not gonna work. Serve God alone; he can, he will, he has. Why? So you can walk free. Let's praise him for it.
Heavenly Father, I thank you that we don't have to be bound by our circumstance; we don't have to be bound by selfishness anymore; we can be free. So I thank you, Lord, for the gift of freedom, and I thank you for sending your Son, dying the death we deserve and rising to prove that we can have life. We thank you, Lord Jesus, and all God's church prayed in unison. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Megan, for the powerful reminder of our great God, who's a God of deliverance, and he'll deliver us either from the fire, or through the fire, or ultimately by the fire. But we believe in a God of deliverance that ultimately will lead us to freedom. Remember the words of Jesus: "When the Son sets you free, my friends, you are free indeed." Let's walk in that freedom this week. Next week we'll also continue our journey through Daniel; our senior pastor will be back with us next week as we continue this series. But we hope you have a fantastic week. Thanks for being with us this weekend. Have a great [Applause] save week.