Faith in the Fire

Introduction

Good morning. And happy Father’s Day to whom that applies. I trust that many of us have many wonderful and fond memories of a father or a fatherly act or person in our lives, someone who really touched us, someone that we could lean on, someone that would be our support even in times of trouble or heartache. I’d like to ask you to reach forward into the pew before you, or perhaps under your chair, and look at the song we sang a few moments ago. It’s number nine in the supplement book. You are my strength. It’s in the supplement book. Number nine. You are my strength. You are my strength. You are my shield. You are my help, my deliverer. You are my rock. You are my hope.

You are my all, my redeemer. You are my light. You are my guide. You are the song I am singing. You are my smile. You are my peace. You are the joy of my living. And praise God that he allows us to be called children of His. Amen?

Praise God that He allows us to be called children of Him. Amen. If you’ve ever wondered what type of faith you have, I have a couple options for you. Do you have the faith of a spare tire? You know, that’s the kind of faith that comes out only when you’re kind of in need of an emergency. And then I gotta tell you, a lot of people have the spare tire of faith. Have you ever seen someone down on their luck? What do they say? I just gotta pray to God for this. I’m stuck, I’m down and out, and I have nowhere else to turn. Now, the fair question would be: have they turned to God before that? And if not, why not? If God is the God who can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, as Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 3, then why haven’t we been relying upon him until that point?

But maybe that’s not our faith. Maybe we have the faith like a wheelbarrow. That is, it’s easily upset and must constantly be pushed forward. Does anyone have a faith like that? Or what about a bus? Is our faith written only when it happens to be going the way we want to be going anyway? You see, that’s not real faith. That’s just us being us, us in desperation in the case of the spare tire. And in case of the bus, that’s just us going our own way, not being bothered to be directed by the Lord. And so I’d like to ask everyone this morning what type of faith do you have in God? And this is quantifiable to the degree that we can see in certain moments it will come out.

I’d like to commend everyone for being here this morning to come together to worship and praise God. But this is the easy part. We’re coming together to encourage one another to love and to good works. We’re singing praises with fellow Christians. This is easy. But what about when things get hard? What about when our faith is in the fire? I had a cool graphic. There it is. I think it’s neat. What about when our faith is in the fire? I want to talk about three Bible characters this morning. And you may know them or you may not. If you look with me in Daniel chapter 1, we’re introduced to them. Do you know them? They’re Daniel, four characters counting Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah. You know those three, don’t you?

Besides Daniel? Maybe you’ll know them in just a bit. But let’s get a little bit of feeling for who these men were and talk about what happened at their moment, their crux of faith. Where they had to decide, will I follow God? Or will I have any type of insufficient faith? That which does not believe in the God who so earnestly desires that all men be saved. We see in Daniel chapter 1, beginning in verse 5, the king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years. At the end of that time, they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Michel, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.

Now look at me at verse 7. You may be a little bit more familiar with these names. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names. Daniel, he called Beltashazzar. Hananiah, he called Shadrach. Mishel, he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. Perhaps now we’re a little bit more familiar with these characters going by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And what we’re going to see in this story as we move throughout the book of Daniel into chapter 3 is that this is truly a great Bible story of faith. And we think of it as a story, but it’s real. This truly happened. The inspired record of Scripture tells us this happened. I gotta wonder what we’re working towards. Is would I have the faith that these men did?

1. Who Was Their Deliverer? The God of Heaven

Because you’re gonna see just how tough life can be. If you look forward then to chapter 2 and verses 14 through 18, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has had a dream. And in verse 14, we see then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Ariok, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Ariok the king’s captain, why is the decree of the king so urgent? Then Ariak made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time that he might show the interpretation to the king. You see, Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream, and he wished for it to be interpreted. Except he wouldn’t do the favor of telling others what his dream was.

He said, If you can truly understand my dream, you can also tell me what it is. Now, who has the power to see that type of thing? Any man? Certainly not. But God could. And Daniel knew that. Note what happens in verse 17. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Meshel, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery. So that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. And note verse 19. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. So what was the issue? Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were facing danger.

They would be put down. Their life would be extinguished if they could not understand and interpret the king’s dream. And so who did they turn to? Did they say, Let’s get together, let’s think of the best explanation that we possibly can. Now who did they turn to? The God of heaven. Who was their deliverer? The God of heaven. And so as we see, Daniel correctly interprets the dream, and we reach this part in verses 48 and 49. When Daniel has been promoted, and I’ll read verse 46. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. And note the power of these men’s faith. The king answered and said to Daniel, Truly, your God is God of God and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.

Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. This is a wonderful time. And you see in verse 49, Daniel made a request of the king. And he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel remained at the king’s court, and you say, This was a victory for faith. These men stood tall, they relied on God, and he was there for them. What a great story, isn’t it?

2. Sin Never Stops Knocking at Our Door

But you know, sometimes in life we face these moments of fiery temptation. These fierce struggles, and we get over the hurdle. And then guess what’s next? A seemingly bigger hurdle. A larger problem. A greater debt. You see, the Christian faith isn’t one that just you have a battle and you fight off this man named Satan and you go on cheerfully on your way, and all is well. True faith in God. That God is, that God is our deliverer. That he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. That’s a faith that endures any and all trials and tribulations. So, what type of faith do I have? Here we have this wonderful story. Do I have the faith that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had? That story was pretty easy.

Let’s try a second one. Read with me, beginning in verse 1 of Daniel chapter 3. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Durah in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. This is important. Do you see that? All those important people are gathered together in one room. And the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, 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, in 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 it gets worse.

Look at verse 6. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And so verse 7 seems as a natural consequence of this king’s commandment with the force of a fiery furnace behind it in verse 7. 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. And you’ve got to think for a moment. Well, isn’t it just the end of chapter two that Nebuchadnezzar finally realized Daniel’s God is God? That he should not be constructing an image, let alone constructing it, and commanding that all the people of every language and nation would bow down before it?

What’s the deal? And you realize sin never stops knocking at our door. But our faith must also be standing behind it, ready to keep it closed. We need to remember that when times of sin have been confronted with us, and when we have overcome it, to not just celebrate the victory, but to thank God for it and to pray for to him for strength in the next one. And you see beginning in verse eight that certain Jews, you can imagine who those would be, disregarded this commandment. Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. You, O king have made a decree. Verse eleven, 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. What are they saying? They don’t obey you. They are not following you, they are not obeying you. Something better be done about this. After all, you can’t just ignore the king. Can you imagine the pride of this king? And we could do a sermon perhaps on King Nebuchadnezzar himself. But can you imagine to have these men who were his appointed officials, who Daniel had just asked for? And they had received these prominent positions within the Babylonian kingdom. And to hear that they would not just bow down and worship him.

Well, you know it’s going to happen. In verse 13, the Nebuchadnezzar commanded in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now, if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, notice what he says. But if you do not worship, as the verse continues, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace, and who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands. He gave him a chance. He says, We’re going to play it, we’re going to give you an opportunity right now.

You can make this all go away. And if we consider for a moment, this really is a pretty good deal. You think about it, you know what? Sadrach, Meshach, and Amendigo, no hard feelings. Just do it now. Does it remind you of anything? Any Bible story? Maybe Matthew chapter 4, where Satan was tempting Jesus. And that third temptation, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, is just fall down and worship me, and all these kingdoms will be yours. Of course, Jesus got a far better deal than these men did. They were just keeping their regular post in the kingdom. But what would they do? What would these men do? And we’ll set up the lesson following this reading. In verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, imagine saying this, 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 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. In fact, it was so hot. Then verse 22, 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.

3. Their Faith Was Resolute

What are these men doing? Their faith in God compelled them to make zero compromise. Not once, not in one form, not in one single way. And what I want to notice this morning is that their faith was resolute. Do you remember verse 12? Do you remember the charge that was given against them? There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the fairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, these men, O king, pay no attention to you. This was known. They didn’t just hide it. It wasn’t hush-hush. These men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would not compromise. It didn’t matter what was set before them. It didn’t matter that a fiery furnace was waiting for them. Who would know better than these three men that Nebuchadnezzar would not take this well?

4. Their Faith Was Uncompromising

And yet, they did not even flinch. How can that be? Well, why would they do it, maybe? Well, did you notice that of all the people in this kingdom who got the attention? These three men who didn’t do what everyone else was. It didn’t matter that the state of the kingdom might have been comprised of Jews who were compromising their faith. It doesn’t matter that it might have been a people of other lands and nations who had other gods who said, you know what? It’s just, it’s not worth my life. I’m going to bow down and worship it. But that didn’t matter. And you notice in verse 16, they also showed that their faith was uncompromising. What was it that they said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter?

Yikes. Can you imagine before the king saying, we have no need to answer you? Yeah, yeah, we’ve disobeyed you, but this isn’t really between us. We’re not going to bow down, so we can kind of get on with the punishment. Or you can let us go. Think about how unmoving and unwavering their faith was. I realize that my faith sometimes falls because I think something’s too hard. Think about all the reasons that our faith suffers. All the reasons that might characterize our faith as weak or not true faith in God. Think about all the excuses they could have used right here and right now. How about it’s useless to resist? They’re somewhere around the furnace. They’re right in the king’s presence. Why not just why not just do it?

I mean, after all, certainly God’s gonna understand you had no choice. Well, what about this one? What about? You know, didn’t Shadrag, Meshach, and Abednego realize they could have more influence with the Christian community if they would just bow down and stay alive? Because if they were alive, they could teach people about the real God. And if they’re thrown into a fiery furnace, their usefulness in this life is over. Well, they didn’t compromise their faith for that reason. Well, what about? You know, death is just too much to ask. This isn’t what God wants from me. God doesn’t want this. God has blessed us. We met together. Remember Daniel in chapter 2? Daniel got the interpretation of the king. They had prayed to God. Surely God doesn’t want us dead.

Why don’t we just go along with what the king has to say? And you know what? It’s all going to work out. Because maybe we can repent later. You know what? God does not want this from me. But that’s not what they did. I want to make an important point here. Please notice with me that these men were of great faith. Amen?

They were still cast into the furnace. These men obeyed God and physically faced the consequences for it. Being a Christian does not excuse us from the physical consequences of proclaiming our faith in God. God did not desert them. And as we’ll see this great story of faith, God truly was their deliverer. But physical consequences may and will come to Christians, even devout ones, even ones who pray and read their Bible and come to church. God is not a deliverer of the physical, he is the deliverer of the spiritual. He wants to save our souls, not our bank accounts or our pride or even our health. Yes, God may do all those things for us. He may bless us, he may give us great jobs, he may give us a great portion of health, but God is interested in the spiritual man.

5. Their Faith Was Complete

And may we never grow weary in doing good because of something happening to this box that is containing what God truly cares about on the inside, which is my soul. You see, these men understood that. And you see that in verse 17. Notice their answer. I put up on the keynote here that their faith was complete. And notice their explanation in verse 17. 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, let it be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. And that’s really kind of the issue that they had.

They said, our God can deliver us from this. And we have that mindset too. We think no matter what’s ailing me, my faith is complete. I believe in a God who created the heavens and the earth with just a spoken word. God can do everything. But notice that second part in verse 18. It’s so crucial to our faith. But if he doesn’t do what we know he can, we still won’t do it. They understood God is all powerful. But that God cares about the eternal man. And I think about my faith, and I have to consider when I’m going through struggles and I’m trying to decide where is God in my life? Where is he in the midst of all these shootings and all these political agendas that are truly spiritual changes in our world?

6. Their Faith Was Triumphant

Where is he? Why is this happening? And those are good questions to ask, and we should pray over them fervently. But the most important matter is that we know God seeks our soul. God desires my faith. And my faith should not be shaken by anything that I think God should do. Because God is in control and God has a plan. My life and my faith in God should not be wavered by anything physical. My life and my faith in God is with you who can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. And we see in the beautiful part of this section that their faith was triumphant. Pick up the reading with me in verse 23. Right after the flame had killed some of those men who took them up because of how hot it was, and these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 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 into the fire? And 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 declares, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedno 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.

The 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 yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any God except their own God. Verse 30, then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Even in the face of the scorching hot furnace. These men were unwavering in their faith. And I have to think to myself, what kind of faith do I have? When my job puts me in a place where there is no church, what would I do then?

When a family member doesn’t believe in God, and it impacts me going to church. What will I do then? When my job forces me to work, when the Lord’s people are gathering together and I should be with them, stirring one another up to love and good works. What will I do then? What kind of faith do I have? Do I have a faith that compromises the minute it’s put to the test? Do I have a faith that perseveres through the constant struggle and knockout, dragged down fight we have with sin each and every day. Consider with me the words of Hebrews chapter 11. You know what a lesson on faith we need to be in Hebrews chapter 11. Consider this interesting man. You know him in Hebrews chapter 11, beginning in verse 23.

Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 23. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith, Moses, when he was growing up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. For he was looking to the reward. You see, when we have a true faith, it’s complete. It trusts in God, it knows what God is offering. It’s far better than anything this life has. Know what Moses loved more, though, in verse 26. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.

The reproach of Christ, brothers and sisters, that is not a good thing. Reproach. We don’t say, hey, bring reproach upon me, please. You know, I was having a good week, but you know what will make it a little bit better is if a bunch of people come and argue with me. If a bunch of people come and make fun of me, they belittle me. I just need, I just need someone’s reproach to make me feel good. But Moses shows the reproach of Christ is greater than the treasures of Egypt. Why? Look at the last part of that verse. For he was looking to the reward. Faith knows that not only does God exist, it’s not only the some sort of intellectual acknowledgement that God is there, but that, look at verse 6.

Look at Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6. This verse says it all. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Consider the challenge before me today is what type of faith do I have? Do I illustrate the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28? If you’ll turn with me to Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had this faith. And you’ll see it in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Verse 26, so have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops, and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Do you see that that’s what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did? They weren’t afraid of what Nebuchadnezzar could do because they knew God was who to trust in. God was who to fear. God was their everything, and so he should be for us too. What type of faith do I have? Do I have a faith that truly leans on the Lord? I’ll know when I’m tested. I’ll know when my faith is confronted with or put directly into the fire. But consider with me for just one more moment why I would lean on the Lord. Because with God, we can get through anything. God is not only our Heavenly Father in name, but we have the creator of the heavens and the earth who desires not only for us to be saved, but for us to communicate our problems, our needs, our desires to Him.

Conclusion

Do I even have the faith that will stand up and shine in the midst of darkness? Or do I have one that when faith is tested, when the fire comes, that I no longer show myself as a Christian? Strong challenge that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego put before us. And I wonder often in doing this lesson and thinking about it, do I have a faith even close to that? Of all the suffering that’s going on in the world around, I have it pretty easy here. And yet my faith gets bucked and sin creeps its way and wins its battles with me sometimes too. That needs to stop. Because we have a God who we can lean on, and we have a God who just wishes for us to be with Him eternally.

Will we believe Him? Will we obey Him? Will we submit to Him with every ounce and fiber of our being? Consider this morning where your faith is. Has your faith shown itself enough to consistently and constantly say, Not my will, Lord, but yours be done? If not, the time to start is today. The devil wants us to wait. He wants us to linger. The time to obey is now. If we can help you in any way, shape, or form, come forward now as we stand and sing the invitation song.