Willow Ridge Sermons

September 7th, 2025 • "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." – Deuteronomy 31:8

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Creators and Guests

Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

Sermon audio from Sunday services at Willow Ridge Church.

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most

recent sermons and more. Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library

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Good morning. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Daniel

chapter 3. In Daniel chapter 3. If you're a first-time guest, I want to echo what Pastor Dave

said. We are so blessed to have you here. We want to thank you for being here and for worshiping with

us. At the end of the service, I will be back here to this table, back to my left. It's got a black

tablecloth on it, along with my wife. We would love for you, on your way out the door, if you could

just stop by for just a moment, so that we could speak to you, that we could thank you personally,

maybe learn your name and get to know you a little bit. And if you had any questions about our church,

we would love to answer those for you. And as we dive into God's Word, whether you're a visitor,

you've been coming here for a couple weeks, or you're a member, if you do not have a Bible,

we have some Bibles that are located on that table as well. We would love to give you one of those. If

you don't have a Bible, our gift to you, one of the greatest gifts and greatest joys of my life is

to be able to give you a copy of God's Word, where we find truth and we find a hope of who God is and

God's desire and God's plan for our life. And so we would love for you to stop by there. At the end of

the service, we do partake as a church together, the Lord's Supper, on the first Sunday of the month.

And so at the end of the service, we will be doing that together. So if you did not get your elements as you

came in, we have some that are on the table right here directly in the back. So at any point in time, you

can get up and go and grab those. And that is for if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, whether you are a

member here or not, we would love to have you partake in this with us. And we'll walk through some of those

details at the very end of the service. We'll be in Daniel 3 today. We're going to cover all of Daniel 3 today.

A very maybe common situation or story that we've heard of in the truth of God's Word from the Old

Testament. And we will work all the way through that. But I want to read kind of a focus verse to draw our

hearts and point toward what God's going to be doing here in Daniel 3 as we look at Deuteronomy 31 8.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear

or be dismayed. Would you pray with me? God, we thank you. What a wonderful privilege and opportunity

it is to open your Word. God, to be here and to gather with your people. God, I pray that all that

we do, that all that we say would bring glory and honor to your name. God, I pray that we would be

faithful to your Word to not try to make it say what we want it to say, but through the power and the

leading of your Holy Spirit. God, you would reveal the truth of your Word. You'd reveal the truth of

who you are. And that, God, you would call us to repentance, that you would call us to obedience,

and Lord, maybe even for some here to call us to salvation. So, God, be with us as we study your

Word. May you be glorified in all that is said and all that is done. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Well, today we are going to look at the story of the fiery furnace. Now, I want to emphasize this as

we get into these, because sometimes if you're new to studying God's Word, and let me kind of explain

what we believe and what we understand as we read through this, we're going to see some miraculous

works happen and take place in this, when we do not believe that there's not one word of this that

is mythology, that there's not one word of this that's not true, that we believe that what is written

here happens with actual historical people, that it is factual, and that we can hold this as true.

It's not teaching us just some simplistic moral lesson, but it's teaching us the truth of who God is,

and then how do we respond to this holy God, who's the holy God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego, and he's the God that is here today as well. And so, as we dive into this, it's the

truth not of just what happened then, but it's the truth of what is happening today. And as we get into

this, there's a theme that is going to infiltrate Daniel chapter 3, and it's this concept of idolatry,

of idolatry. If you listen to, and we've talked through this series, and I hope you're enjoying

studying through Daniel as much as I'm studying through Daniel, but one of the themes that we've

been talking about is that we are called to be God's people in a culture that is godless.

It's not that God isn't here, it's not that God isn't moving, but the heart, the attitude, the

posturing of the culture, like we do not live in a culture that overly screams to, points to,

and surrenders himself before God. But a phrase gets used that there's this concept that we are

growing more and more in a non-religious state. And I actually don't believe that to be true.

Because mankind at its core, mankind at his core, at her core, is very religious.

We all have set within us this concept of worship. And in everyone, regardless of what culture we find

ourselves in, regardless if we're a follower of Jesus or not, we're really good at worshiping.

The Christian, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, the atheist, the agnostic, we all worship.

The question becomes, do we worship the true living God of the Bible,

or do we worship some false substitution that we've created?

And when we read through God's Word, we find that the common practices of the day then are the common

practices of the day now. That when men and women turn from the true living God,

they find themselves things from creation in the created world to worship.

And that's what the Bible refers to as idolatry.

And when we worship a false substitute of God, what we end up doing is we embrace and accept and

elevate our sinfulness. That's the picture that we see. So when you look and you see polytheistic

religions, right, at the core of them, when you study them and begin to understand them, the God who

you're called to worship is the God that you desire based off the needs and wants of your circumstances

in the moment. So you choose. You create. You're lacking money? Well, there's a God of money that you can

worship. You're lacking family and you desire family? Well, there's a God of the family that you can worship.

Oh, there's not a God that falls into your capacity, what you think, then create your own God.

In an atheistic or agnostic worldview, those who follow that worship,

what we understand in our mind, and what we've reasoned within ourselves,

and so our knowledge, our ability, our lack of faith becomes what we set our heart and pursue.

But when it comes to worshiping the living God of the Bible, you and I must face the reality,

and this is what's difficult. This is what the world has such a hard time when it comes to Christianity.

When the world, when it comes to Christianity, you and I, if we're going to worship the true living God of the Bible,

then you and I have to embrace two things that we don't want to embrace.

We have to embrace our inadequacy. Our inadequacy. Our inadequacy to understand,

to save ourselves, to control our own lives and situations. Like, we have to come before God and

say, "I'm inadequate." It's the surrender that we come before Him. I'm inadequate to save myself. I'm

inadequate to control my life. I'm inadequate to understand. So I put my faith, my hope, and my trust

in you because you, you are beyond adequate. You are sufficient for all that I need.

So Christianity comes and says, "We have to embrace our inadequacies, but we also have to

embrace the fact that we're sinful." That we're sinful. That every human being

who has ever walked the face of this earth, other than Christ Jesus himself, is sinful.

The Bible tells us there's not no one, not one who is good.

So we've got to embrace this about ourselves. Now, when we talk about idolatry, while every world

world religion or world view, does not require that you bow before a statue like we'll see today

in Daniel 3. Every secular religion, every secular world view has its idols.

And the call, whether it's a positioning of the heart, or a positioning of the mind,

calls us to surrender to it.

God hates idols.

God hates idolatry.

God hates idolatry. I had the opportunity to sit in this morning in the discipleship hour with our

kids' ministry. And me and Dawn and Stephanie doing a great job of teaching these kids. And it was

funny, and we were laughing together. And if you're one of the kids who was in there with us, I want

you on the way home, I want you to tell your parents about some of the funny laws that happen all over

the world that we learned about today and talked about today. Like, I did not know this until today.

All right, you ready for this? In Missouri, there is a law that is written that you cannot wrestle

a bear. Right? We learned that. It's part of what we had. And they were pulling to because we were

going to talk about the Ten Commandments. And we looked at the first four commandments of our

right relationship with God and what this looks like. And a beautiful time of watching these kids

process and learn and understand of what this means and to have discussions about this

in there. And parents, I'll tell you now, I'll tell you the question that was asked,

but I will not violate the sacred moment that we had in the room. But the question was asked,

of the rules that you have at home, which ones are difficult for you to follow?

And I'm going to tell you, they started sharing their heart and confessing their sins. And it was

really good. And I just wish some of our small groups might have the same transparency that I

saw this morning, right? It was an openness and a willingness of what we're working there. But when

we talk about idolatry, we see God's heart against idols and idolatry in the Ten Commandments.

In fact, most civilizations, most civilizations throughout the course of the world, whether

they're Christian or not, there's some aspects of these because it's embedded in us, because we're

made in the image of God, that these are things that are wrong and we should not do them.

So as big as these are, there's one commandment to do not murder. There's one commandment for do not

commit adultery. There's one commandment for do not steal, right? We see these and you think like,

these are important things, but God in his perfection says, I need to give one commandment and this is

what we're gonna have and this is what this is gonna say. But concerning idolatry, it's so important to

the heart of God, God gives us two. Two commandments. And not only that, he gives it commandment number one

and commandment number two. Right at the very beginning, commandment number one, you shall have no other gods

before me. None. None. Not a tiered list. I'm God. Okay, and then the second, he says you shall not make,

he uses statues as the word, carved images, and then specifically gives examples

from creation and then bow down and worship them. So God says, no other gods before me. And then he says,

and in the created order, do not take anything that the creator has made and make it into an image

so that you can worship. God hates idols and we should too. God hates idols and we should too. But the

problem is, the world keeps making them. And the problem is, oftentimes we keep running to them.

This isn't just a pagan world problem, but that we find that there are those who

profess Christ as Lord and Savior, but yet we have a list of idols that we chase after and that we pursue.

At one point in time in the history of the United States, Princeton University was one of the leading

schools in the world for sound doctrine and theology. And during that time, there was a professor there by the

name of Dr. Andrew Blackwood. He was a professor of religion at Princeton. He was a professor of religion

at Princeton from 1930 to 1950. He served there for 20 years, a long, long time ago. I could not find the date

of this quote, but if we look at when he served as professor, he stated this while he was professor.

So at the earliest, this quote came 75 years ago about the culture that he lived in in America then.

And I would say concerning idolatry, it is very prevalent. It is very relevant. It is very

real to where we find ourselves today. Here's what he said. Dr. Andrew Blackwood, professor of religion.

America has these following gods. Self, money, pleasure, romance, amusement, sports, and education.

No later than 1950, if we did an assessment on the culture that we find ourselves today,

it's a list of the same idols that people chase after. So let's look and see how we can stand firm

and confident. When the world and everyone around us wants to pursue the idols of this world.

What it looks like for us to stand firm, but also what it looks like for God to be faithful.

So join me. We're going to read Daniel 3:1 through 7.

It says, "King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold,

whose height was 60 cubits, and its breadth six cubits.

He set it on the plain of Dura in the providence of Babylon.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar went to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the

treasurers, and all the officials of the providence to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers,

the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the providences gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

And the herald proclaimed aloud, "You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,

that when you hear the sound of the horn,

pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music,

you were to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon,

harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down

and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up."

Let's talk a little bit about creating idols.

So Nebuchadnezzar builds and establishes for himself and for his people an idol.

I think there's some things about idols that we have to agree upon if we're going to move

forward about the understanding of the fact that we serve the all-powerful God.

Number one is this, that idols don't make themselves.

Idols do not make themselves.

We make idols.

We are very good at making idols.

Journey through the Old Testament.

You see, time and time again, we make the idols.

Number two, idols are powerless unless we give them power.

It's a statue.

It's a rock.

It's gold.

It's a location.

Where does its power come from?

We give them power.

Now, it's important to see that there is an aspect of self-glorification that we find in

Nebuchadnezzar, but in reading his story, a biblical historian about this, that they believe that

Nebuchadnezzar's goal in building this idol.

Now, remember, Babylon is conquering people from all around them.

It's the largest world power at the time.

And it says that he called all peoples and all nations to come.

And so what historians believe is that what Nebuchadnezzar is doing here in this is he's

trying to to build this idol to establish national unity.

So here's the third thing about idols.

Oftentimes, idols are made for and from good things.

What does he want?

He wants unity.

He wants unity to happen.

He wants like peace and control, governmental institution to be able to leverage itself right

here in the moment.

Like if I were to say to you, like this country is unified, right?

That's not a bad thing to think about.

That's not a bad thing to have.

That's not a bad thing to pursue.

But within this, within doing it, oftentimes, idols are taken from good things and made idols.

But also idols demand your allegiance.

They demand your allegiance.

Your idol does not want to be third on the list.

Your idol does not want to be the backup plan for you.

Idols demand allegiance.

And in verse six, we see the allegiance of what's there.

So it says, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

What does that demand?

That's allegiance.

Bow to me or die.

So people bow.

People bow is what we see.

Whether they want to or not, they bow.

The characters that we've seen so far from Judah, from God's people, are Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But they were not the only ones who were taken from Judah and brought to Babylon.

There are many others who were there, so they believe that when it comes time to bow before the statue,

that many of God's people, who know who God is, who understand God's expectations for them,

because of the external circumstances and the external pressures and the sinfulness of their heart,

they bow down before the statue.

So let's keep reading verses eight through 15.

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 that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music

shall fall down and worship the golden image.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the providence of Babylon,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These men, O king, pay no attention to you.

They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in 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, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music

to fall down and worship the image that I have made well and good.

But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

Listen to these words.

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

Let's talk about taking a stand.

The band plays.

The music happens like clockwork.

Everyone begins to fall down.

Except three.

If you are curious, by the way, where is Daniel during this?

Was Daniel one of the ones who bowed and surrendered?

No.

We draw that conclusion from what we find.

So where is Daniel within this?

If you remember that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were put in the providence of Babylon,

but the belief is that Daniel and his position would have been traveling all around the area of Babylon and beyond.

And so the belief is that Daniel is not a part of this initial crowd of what we find.

But fair to say, we know that Daniel's a man of godly character.

And that if he would have been there, there would have been a fourth.

But the band plays and everyone falls down.

Except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Now the Chaldeans, and you've heard that description be used so far several times in Daniel.

These are Babylonian people from southern Babylon who for years have been major players in politics,

dating all the way back to the establishment of the Babylonian Empire.

So these are influential people.

These are the makers and shakers of what's going on.

And so they come and they say, listen, there's these three Jews who do not obey you,

and they do not do what you said for them to do.

Now you said if they don't do this, you'll kill them.

You'll kill them.

Now here's what idolatry does.

Nebuchadnezzar knows these three men.

Politically speaking, they're more than allies.

There's a closeness of what's there.

He understands of who they are.

If you don't know, read Daniel 1, Daniel 2, and you'll begin to see the connection of what we had.

He had trusted them.

He had promoted them.

He gives into his word of what he says.

He gives into the pressure of others.

And he calls them before and says, did you not do this?

You better do this.

Or here's what will happen.

Here's what idolatry does.

He says, you better succumb, not to your conviction, but to the pressure of the world.

And when it comes to taking stands against idols, remember Blackwood's List.

Self, money, pleasure, romance, amusement, sports, and education.

There won't just be people who ridicule you.

There'll be people who turn on you.

There'll be people who hate you.

There'll be people who slander your name.

There'll be people who want to kill your reputation.

And in parts of the world, still today, beyond what you and I could possibly imagine, bow to the idol or die.

What happened then is still happening today.

And in the forgetfulness of the world, the world who rallies in desperation oftentimes and says, we need something, we need God.

Nebuchadnezzar, his question in verse 15, the ignorance, the forgetfulness, the arrogance, and who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?

Well, let me answer that for you, Nebuchadnezzar.

The same God who told you, Nebuchadnezzar, the same God who interpreted your dream through a young Jewish boy in Daniel, that's the God who will deliver.

That's the God who will be faithful.

Do you remember him?

You see, Nebuchadnezzar forgot.

But praise the Lord, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not.

Let's look at verse 16.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king,

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

We'll talk about that in a second.

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 on his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

You see, I believe that he wanted them, not for just their sake.

I believe that he desperately wanted them to want what he wanted.

He was annoyed, he was aggravated, but now we see the expression on his face changed.

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

And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

and to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace.

Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and other garments.

They were thrown into the burning, fiery furnace.

So let me pause right here.

What he does is, like, go get all their clothes.

Put it all on them.

It's kindling for the fire.

Because the king's order was so urgent, the furnace overheated, and the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning, fiery furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.

He declared to his counselors,

Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?

And they answered and said to the king,

True, O king.

And he answered and said,

But I see four.

I see four men unbound,

walking in the midst of the fire,

and they are not hurt.

And the appearance of the fourth,

get this,

is like a son of the gods.

If I don't get you, I don't know what does.

Being courageous and confident.

Two things I want to point out.

Two examples of what we see with this.

Look back, verse 16 and 18.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king,

O Nebuchadnezzar,

We have no need to answer you in this matter.

If this be so,

our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace,

and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

But if not, be it known to you,

our king, that we serve.

We will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

Here's what they're saying.

First thing,

we don't need to give you an answer.

We showed you what our answer is.

Why would we not do this?

Why would we not bow down to your idol?

Because you know who we are.

And that's not what we do.

The second thing they say to the king is we believe and we hold that God is able to deliver us.

God is able to save us.

Understand this from a flame that's so hot

that as those who are throwing them in approach it,

they die.

We believe that God can deliver us.

We believe that God can save us.

But then they say a third thing.

But if he doesn't.

If he doesn't.

Because he, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know that they don't control the hand of God.

And even if he doesn't save us from the furnace,

we know who he is.

And we will not bow down to your idol.

Folks,

that's courage.

That's courage of faith.

That's confidence in God.

He is able.

But even if he doesn't,

we will obey him to our death.

What would you do?

Thought a lot about that.

For myself this week.

Would I justify a compromise?

What would I say?

You know, while everyone else bows,

I'll bow as well.

But I'll pray to God.

Would I say in the moment?

My testimony of faithfulness is greater than beyond today.

So I will choose to compromise in who I am

so that I can live for the glory of God for tomorrow

and the day after that and the week after that and the year after that.

With being able to stand far from the furnace but feel the heat.

Would I have the faith?

Would I have the courage of faith?

Would I have the confidence in God to say,

I will not bow to your idol?

I will not bow to your idol.

I will walk with courage.

I will put faith in God that he will deliver me.

But the truth is,

even if he doesn't deliver me through the cross of Jesus Christ

and the fact that the tomb is empty,

that he will deliver me.

And that he will deliver me from this body and this place

for all eternity with him.

And eternity is greater than a thousand tomorrows on this earth.

What does that look like?

And then in verse 24 and 25,

we see what theologians call, I believe,

what we see is what's known as a Christophany.

Christophany.

Verse 24,

The Nebuchadnezzar was astonished

and rose up in haste.

He declared to his counselors,

did we not cast three men bound into the fire?

Just put yourself there for just a moment.

You're seeing your mighty men die.

And you're like,

all right, wait a minute.

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.

I know Daniel's with him,

but they're not there.

He's not here right now.

There's four.

And they answered and said to the king,

O true king,

and 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.

What Christophany is when we see these in the Old Testament.

Because you see,

while Christ,

as a man,

was born,

it's Christmas we celebrate,

but as God,

he's always been.

He's God of creation.

He's God who returned.

He's on the throne.

This is who he is.

And several times in the Old Testament,

we see this imagery.

Sometimes it's described as

like the son of man

or like an angel.

But I believe that it's Christ.

I believe

what we see

is we see Jesus.

And here's where I think

it plays for you

as you and I

make the decisions

about the idols

and about the things

that we face.

I think it's important

to notice

and define right here

that Jesus did not save them

from the fire.

One note,

just bear with me for a second.

They went into the fire.

I imagine

these men

in the greatness

of their faith

and have the faith

that they had

and the greatness

of the faith.

I imagine

those knees

got a little weak

the closer they got.

I bet

their knees

got a little weak

when they begin

to see other people

falling around them.

I bet

they would

crying out to God,

praising God,

praying to God.

And they went

into the fire.

Jesus didn't save them

from the fire

but what Jesus did

is Jesus saved them

through the fire.

And he saved them

through the fire.

How?

Because he

was there

with them.

Here's how the world

wants to get you

and I

to cling

to the idols

of this world.

they appeal

to the

circumstances

of where you

find yourself in.

And they say,

see

where's

your

God

now?

And folks

let me tell you

where he is.

He's right

there

with you.

Even when

the fire

is real.

Even when

the pressure

is hot.

He's

right

there

with you.

Let's close

26 through 30.

We got our

third,

fourth,

and fifth

graders in here

kids.

I appreciate

you guys

hanging with us.

Alright?

We'll close

with this.

Then Nebuchadnezzar

came near to the

door of the

fiery furnace.

He declared,

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

servants of the

Most High God,

come out and

come here.

Then Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

came out from

the fire,

and the

satraps and

the prefects,

the governors,

and the king's

counselors gathered

together and

saw that the

fire had not

any power over

the bodies of

those men.

The hair on

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

him and set

aside the

king's command

and yielded

up their

bodies rather

than serve and

worship any

god except

their own

god.

Therefore,

I make a

decree,

any people,

nation,

or language

that speaks

anything against

the god of

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

shall be

torn limb

from limb

and their

houses laid

to ruin,

for there is

no other

god who is

able to

rescue in

this way.

Then the

king promoted

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

in the

providence

of Babylon.

Let's

close with

this.

Not

another

idol.

Not

another

idol.

Nebuchadnezzar

is amazed.

I mean,

just imagine.

Their

hair's not

burnt.

Their

cloaks

aren't

singed.

They don't

smell like

smoke.

This is a

miracle.

And he

acknowledges that

their god,

the same god

that interpreted

his dreams,

saved them.

he blesses

their god.

He offers

a blessing

to their

god.

He makes

a declaration

about their

god.

We're

heading in

some positive

direction

here.

But

Nebuchadnezzar

never

surrenders to

their god

and continues

to acknowledge

the other

gods.

Here's what

can be

the positioning

of the

heart

when it

comes to

idolatry.

It's not

God over

these,

it's God.

It's not

Jesus over

these,

it's Jesus.

He doesn't

want to be

on a list,

he doesn't

want to be

on a ranking,

he doesn't

want to be

on an

order.

the focus

of all

that we

are.

Jesus

demands

all of

you.

Jesus

demands

all of

me.

Deuteronomy

6, 5

and Matthew

22, 37

love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart,

soul,

mind,

and strength

with all

of who

you are.

in Taiwan

and in

India,

there are

lands that

are filled

with idols,

filled with

gods.

You need

something?

There's a

God that you

can pray to

that they

believe will

give that

to you.

You need

something and

there's not a

God to

provide that?

Well,

then make

your own.

in Taiwan

as they

practice

their

idolatry,

they also

practice

ancestry

worship.

So pray to

your grandma

if you need

what grandma

had.

There's

idols upon

idols.

And when you

share Jesus

with them,

when you

talk about

Christ,

it's not

that he is

a God

that goes

with all

of the

rest,

it's that

he is

the God.

The God.

In Taiwan,

when you

profess Jesus

Christ as

your Lord

and Savior,

the next

step is

baptism.

And the

church in

Taiwan will

not baptize

you until

you go to

your house,

you clean

up all your

little statues,

all your

little idols,

all your

little trinkets

of the

things you

worshiped

before,

put them

out on a

table,

take a

hammer,

and literally

crush them

one after

the next,

one after

the next,

one after

the next.

Because if

not,

Jesus

is just

another

idol

to be

put on

the

shelf.

Here's

what I

think

Nebuchadnezzar

did.

Well,

I'll

acknowledge

your God

and I'll

bring him

in with

mine.

That's

crazy,

right?

That's

crazy.

You see,

our idols

here are

not statues

of elephants.

They're not

golden towers.

their self,

money,

pleasure,

romance,

amusement,

sport,

and education.

Let me ask

you,

is Jesus

just

something

else

on your list?

or is

Jesus

all?

And from

him,

from him,

I find

who I

am.

From

him,

I receive

the blessings

so that I

can give

back to

him.

From

him,

I find

my joy.

From

him,

I find

my peace.

From

him,

I find

my rest.

From

him,

I find

contentment.

You see,

all of the

things that

I've tried

to make

idols,

they are

no longer

idols

because they

come

from the

creator

and it's

him

and him

alone

that I

worship.

Jesus

demands

all of

you

mind,

soul,

heart,

and

strength

because he

gave

all of

himself

for you

that you

might be

saved

for

eternity

with him.

In just a

moment, the

band's going to

come back up

on stage.

We're going to

go into a

time of

response and

time to

worship.

We'll be

preparing our

hearts for

partaking in

the Lord's

Supper

together.

I encourage

you to

take this

time to

worship and

to praise

him,

to take

this time to

come before

him and

confess sin

that you've

stored,

that you've

held precious

in your

heart,

time to do

as he's

commanded us

to, to

forgive others

that have

hurt us,

that have

wronged us,

as we

acknowledge

what he

did for

a group of

idol-worshiping

rebels.

He died on

the cross so

that we might

be saved.

Would you

pray with me?

God, what a

joy it is to

see, to be

reminded of, and

to experience the

faithfulness,

Lord, of who

you are.

God, I

thank you.

What we can

begin to

understand is

that you're

not just a

God who

saves from,

but God,

you're a God

that saves

through.

You've got

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego.

They walked

out of that

furnace with

a testimony,

with a

story,

with a

truth of

of who

you are

and what

you had

done.

They

couldn't

reason

themselves

from the

flames.

They

couldn't hide

themselves

from the

flames.

They could

not save

themselves

from the

flame.

So,

Jesus,

you came

and you

stepped

into

their world,

into that

fire,

and you

walked with

them,

and you

encouraged

them,

and you

spoke with

them,

and you

saved them.

and now

their story

is not

a story

Nebuchadnezzar.

It's not

a story

about

Shadrach,

about

Meshach,

about

Abednego,

but it's

a story

of you.

You

are a

God

who

saves.

And you

came,

and you

gave your

body

on a

cross,

and took

the punishment

that we

deserve.

And through

the spilling

of your

blood,

those who

put our

faith and

hope and

trust in

you,

our sins

are forgiven,

and we're

made clean,

and we're

made new,

and we're

saved,

not just

for a

moment,

but for

eternity.

Lord,

do in

what only

you could

do.

May we

glorify

you.

It's in

Jesus' name

I pray.

Amen.

That's it

for this

week's

message.

Be sure

to check

back next

week for

a new

episode.

And in

the meantime,

you can

visit us

online at

willowridgechurch.org

or by

searching for

Willow Ridge

Church on

Facebook,

Instagram,

and YouTube.

Thanks again

for listening.

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