1 00:00:01,017 --> 00:00:04,020 This is a reading from Daniel chapter three. 2 00:00:04,070 --> 00:00:06,923 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height 3 00:00:06,923 --> 00:00:09,926 was 60 cubits and its breadth six cubits. 4 00:00:10,043 --> 00:00:13,613 He set it up on the plain of dura in the province of Babylon. 5 00:00:13,730 --> 00:00:16,649 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, 6 00:00:16,649 --> 00:00:20,103 the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, 7 00:00:20,103 --> 00:00:24,257 the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces 8 00:00:24,257 --> 00:00:27,927 to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 9 00:00:28,378 --> 00:00:32,132 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, 10 00:00:32,432 --> 00:00:33,116 the treasurers, 11 00:00:33,116 --> 00:00:36,686 the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces 12 00:00:36,686 --> 00:00:40,790 gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 13 00:00:41,458 --> 00:00:44,360 And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 14 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,162 And the herald proclaimed aloud. 15 00:00:46,162 --> 00:00:49,165 You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 16 00:00:49,399 --> 00:00:53,103 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, 17 00:00:53,119 --> 00:00:56,239 harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are 18 00:00:56,239 --> 00:00:59,959 to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 19 00:01:00,527 --> 00:01:01,978 And whoever does not fall down 20 00:01:01,978 --> 00:01:05,698 and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 21 00:01:06,116 --> 00:01:10,587 Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, pipe, 22 00:01:10,737 --> 00:01:14,691 lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, 23 00:01:15,141 --> 00:01:18,478 all the people, nations, and languages fell down 24 00:01:18,478 --> 00:01:21,564 and worshiped the golden image that came Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 25 00:01:21,648 --> 00:01:25,618 Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and miraculously 26 00:01:25,618 --> 00:01:26,786 accused the Jews. 27 00:01:26,786 --> 00:01:30,090 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar Oken, live forever. 28 00:01:30,273 --> 00:01:33,710 You, a king, have made a decree that every man who hears 29 00:01:33,710 --> 00:01:38,214 the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, 30 00:01:38,548 --> 00:01:42,018 and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image. 31 00:01:42,535 --> 00:01:46,322 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning 32 00:01:46,322 --> 00:01:47,490 fiery furnace. 33 00:01:47,490 --> 00:01:50,627 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs 34 00:01:50,627 --> 00:01:52,345 of the province of Babylon. 35 00:01:52,345 --> 00:01:54,747 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 36 00:01:54,747 --> 00:01:57,317 These men. Okay, pay no attention to you. 37 00:01:57,317 --> 00:02:01,137 They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. 38 00:02:01,221 --> 00:02:05,308 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in furious rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, 39 00:02:05,308 --> 00:02:06,843 and Abednego be brought. 40 00:02:06,843 --> 00:02:09,379 So they brought these men before the king. 41 00:02:09,379 --> 00:02:13,316 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, is it true, O Shadrach, 42 00:02:13,316 --> 00:02:14,751 Meshach, and Abednego, 43 00:02:14,751 --> 00:02:18,421 that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 44 00:02:18,538 --> 00:02:22,442 Now, if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, 45 00:02:22,442 --> 00:02:26,362 lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music 46 00:02:26,663 --> 00:02:30,266 to fall down and worship, the image that I have made well and good. 47 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:31,951 But if you do not worship, 48 00:02:31,951 --> 00:02:35,338 you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 49 00:02:35,572 --> 00:02:38,575 And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? 50 00:02:38,641 --> 00:02:41,928 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, 51 00:02:42,262 --> 00:02:45,798 O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 52 00:02:45,932 --> 00:02:50,453 If this be so, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning 53 00:02:50,453 --> 00:02:53,907 fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand of King. 54 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,777 But if not, be it known to you, O King, that 55 00:02:57,777 --> 00:03:01,731 we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up. 56 00:03:03,183 --> 00:03:05,251 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, 57 00:03:05,251 --> 00:03:09,739 and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 58 00:03:10,190 --> 00:03:13,960 He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated, 59 00:03:13,977 --> 00:03:18,047 and he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, 60 00:03:18,147 --> 00:03:22,051 Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 61 00:03:22,652 --> 00:03:26,005 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, 62 00:03:26,005 --> 00:03:29,692 and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace, 63 00:03:29,726 --> 00:03:32,795 because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated. 64 00:03:32,812 --> 00:03:36,349 The flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, 65 00:03:36,349 --> 00:03:38,418 Meshach, and Abednego. 66 00:03:38,418 --> 00:03:40,820 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, 67 00:03:40,820 --> 00:03:44,057 and Abednego fell down into the burning fiery furnace. 68 00:03:44,123 --> 00:03:47,360 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. 69 00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:52,098 He declared to his counselors, did we not cast three men down into the fire? 70 00:03:52,582 --> 00:03:54,417 They answered and said to the king, true. 71 00:03:54,417 --> 00:03:55,251 Okay. 72 00:03:55,251 --> 00:04:00,273 He answered and said, but I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of fire, 73 00:04:00,540 --> 00:04:05,061 and they are not hurt in the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. 74 00:04:05,094 --> 00:04:09,082 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace. 75 00:04:09,115 --> 00:04:13,670 He declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God. 76 00:04:13,853 --> 00:04:15,655 Come out and come here. 77 00:04:15,655 --> 00:04:19,075 Then Shadrach, Meshach, and a Bendigo came out from the fire, 78 00:04:19,075 --> 00:04:23,062 and the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors 79 00:04:23,062 --> 00:04:27,033 gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies 80 00:04:27,033 --> 00:04:28,318 of those men. 81 00:04:28,318 --> 00:04:31,170 The hair of their heads was not, since their cloaks 82 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:34,374 were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 83 00:04:34,824 --> 00:04:38,995 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 84 00:04:38,995 --> 00:04:43,166 and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted 85 00:04:43,166 --> 00:04:47,520 in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies. 86 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,790 Rather than serve and worship any God except their own God. 87 00:04:51,324 --> 00:04:55,345 Therefore I make a decree any people, nation, or language 88 00:04:55,345 --> 00:04:58,998 that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 89 00:04:59,282 --> 00:05:02,552 shall be torn limb from limb and their houses laid in ruins. 90 00:05:02,852 --> 00:05:06,055 For there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. 91 00:05:06,272 --> 00:05:10,560 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. 92 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:14,964 Well, good morning and 93 00:05:14,964 --> 00:05:18,217 welcome to the weekly gathering of Christ Community Chapel. 94 00:05:18,234 --> 00:05:19,469 My name is Zach. 95 00:05:19,469 --> 00:05:22,922 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm so glad that you're here with us 96 00:05:22,922 --> 00:05:26,059 this weekend as we continue our sermon series. 97 00:05:26,059 --> 00:05:28,461 Looking at the first few chapters 98 00:05:28,461 --> 00:05:31,464 of the Book of Daniel, we're talking about having courage. 99 00:05:32,098 --> 00:05:35,368 In the fire did want to give a special shout out the 10:00 service. 100 00:05:35,368 --> 00:05:37,286 Our fifth grade club is here. 101 00:05:37,286 --> 00:05:38,221 Fifth grade club. 102 00:05:38,221 --> 00:05:41,207 We're glad you're with us. 103 00:05:43,609 --> 00:05:46,763 You know, we're in the midst of an Every Minute Matters theme. 104 00:05:46,763 --> 00:05:47,697 Every Minute Matters 105 00:05:47,697 --> 00:05:51,601 campaign for the next couple of years, because we are a church that is serious 106 00:05:51,984 --> 00:05:56,072 about investing in the next generation, including and especially right now. 107 00:05:56,072 --> 00:06:01,310 And you guys, hey, if you have a Bible, would you open it to Daniel chapter three. 108 00:06:01,561 --> 00:06:04,464 Daniel chapter three take out your phone, your tablet. 109 00:06:04,464 --> 00:06:08,668 How are you going to get to Daniel chapter three if you're here this weekend 110 00:06:08,668 --> 00:06:12,388 and you didn't bring a Bible, maybe you're not super familiar with the Bible. 111 00:06:12,388 --> 00:06:15,391 First let me say so glad that you're here, that 112 00:06:15,391 --> 00:06:18,177 that might have been a pretty big step for you, and I'm glad that you took it. 113 00:06:18,177 --> 00:06:23,449 And everything we have to say this morning is as much for you as it is for anybody. 114 00:06:23,449 --> 00:06:25,201 But we do make Bibles available to you 115 00:06:25,201 --> 00:06:29,072 there in the pew, in front of you, or in the back of the room in East Hall. 116 00:06:29,072 --> 00:06:30,773 And if you want to hold a Bible and follow 117 00:06:30,773 --> 00:06:33,326 along that way, I preach from one of those Bibles, 118 00:06:33,326 --> 00:06:38,364 so I can tell you that today's reading is on 692 and 693. 119 00:06:38,364 --> 00:06:41,567 But by the way, the verses I reference are going to be on the screen behind me. 120 00:06:41,567 --> 00:06:43,770 So if you want to follow along that way, that's fine. 121 00:06:43,770 --> 00:06:46,339 However you're getting to Daniel chapter three, 122 00:06:46,339 --> 00:06:50,726 three points I'm going to use as an outline to guide our time together. 123 00:06:50,726 --> 00:06:51,861 Three points. Very simple. 124 00:06:51,861 --> 00:06:55,798 They go like this I want to show you there will be moments 125 00:06:56,399 --> 00:07:00,620 God is behind them to change the world around you. 126 00:07:00,870 --> 00:07:01,137 Okay? 127 00:07:01,137 --> 00:07:05,274 There will be moments God is behind them. 128 00:07:05,641 --> 00:07:08,361 Changing the world around you. 129 00:07:08,361 --> 00:07:10,163 All right, let's start with the first one. 130 00:07:10,163 --> 00:07:12,598 There will be moments. 131 00:07:12,598 --> 00:07:14,484 We're almost to summer. 132 00:07:14,484 --> 00:07:17,937 And if you're like me and your families, like mine, summer 133 00:07:17,937 --> 00:07:20,990 means vacation is on the horizon. 134 00:07:20,990 --> 00:07:23,309 You're thinking about traveling now? 135 00:07:23,309 --> 00:07:26,312 I've been married for 20 years. Almost. 136 00:07:26,395 --> 00:07:29,549 My wife, Amy, and I have completely different 137 00:07:29,549 --> 00:07:32,552 philosophies for what makes a good vacation. 138 00:07:33,352 --> 00:07:38,491 When Amy travels somewhere, she sees it as a cardiovascular or workout. 139 00:07:39,692 --> 00:07:40,610 She wants to see 140 00:07:40,610 --> 00:07:43,613 everything, do everything, experience everything. 141 00:07:43,613 --> 00:07:48,417 When I vacation, I want a pool and a chair and a book, and that's it. 142 00:07:48,684 --> 00:07:50,336 That's all I want. 143 00:07:50,336 --> 00:07:53,389 I don't want to do anything, on vacation. 144 00:07:53,389 --> 00:07:57,243 And what that means is that usually when we travel, 145 00:07:57,660 --> 00:08:02,148 we're pretty clear on whose trip it is and who's the plus one. 146 00:08:02,365 --> 00:08:03,115 I know you can say, 147 00:08:03,115 --> 00:08:06,169 well, can't you do a little bit of both, but then we're both just miserable. So. 148 00:08:06,169 --> 00:08:09,438 No, somebody gets to plan the trip, and, 149 00:08:09,539 --> 00:08:12,658 we have a 20th anniversary trip coming up this summer. 150 00:08:12,658 --> 00:08:13,259 And based 151 00:08:13,259 --> 00:08:17,597 on, the planning, I know it is Amy's trip and that it is going to be a whirlwind. 152 00:08:18,047 --> 00:08:20,583 So I've already started planning the post vacation. 153 00:08:20,583 --> 00:08:23,302 Vacation for myself. 154 00:08:23,302 --> 00:08:26,522 The thing is, we are two different people 155 00:08:26,522 --> 00:08:28,791 with two different philosophies on vacation. 156 00:08:28,791 --> 00:08:33,980 Which means if I'm going on Amy's trip, there's going to be some tension. 157 00:08:34,380 --> 00:08:37,383 There's going to be some conflict not between us, but between 158 00:08:37,733 --> 00:08:41,220 what I want to do and what we're actually doing now 159 00:08:41,220 --> 00:08:43,823 in a marriage that's not that big of a deal, right? 160 00:08:43,823 --> 00:08:49,262 A little communication, sacrifice, other centeredness, and you can figure that out. 161 00:08:49,262 --> 00:08:52,698 But in culture, it's a much bigger deal. 162 00:08:53,032 --> 00:08:54,534 Now, here's what I mean by that. 163 00:08:54,534 --> 00:08:58,704 In the book of Daniel, God's people are living in exile in Babylon. 164 00:08:58,704 --> 00:08:59,639 They've been defeated. 165 00:08:59,639 --> 00:09:04,143 The enemy has taken them over and brought them to Babylon. 166 00:09:04,143 --> 00:09:08,898 And Babylon is a country with a very different set of values 167 00:09:08,898 --> 00:09:12,301 than the values that God talks about in the scriptures. 168 00:09:12,568 --> 00:09:16,222 It's a polytheistic culture, meaning they worship many gods, 169 00:09:16,222 --> 00:09:19,942 not a monotheistic culture like the God of the Bible. 170 00:09:19,942 --> 00:09:25,731 Once they are a culture of oppression, a culture of domination. 171 00:09:25,948 --> 00:09:29,852 But God's vision for his people in the Old Testament is that they would be a light 172 00:09:30,119 --> 00:09:34,674 to the nations, that that they would win the nations over, through, through 173 00:09:34,674 --> 00:09:39,512 display, saying his glory in the way they live, not through subjugation. 174 00:09:39,512 --> 00:09:43,699 They're two very different cultures, two very different worldviews, 175 00:09:43,699 --> 00:09:45,468 two very different ways of living. 176 00:09:45,468 --> 00:09:49,071 And that means conflict is inevitable. 177 00:09:50,122 --> 00:09:52,558 Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know 178 00:09:52,558 --> 00:09:55,861 that morning when they got up and went to work what was going to happen. 179 00:09:55,861 --> 00:10:00,266 But what they understood was that moments of conflict, 180 00:10:00,449 --> 00:10:04,487 moments of controversy, moments of tension were inevitable. 181 00:10:04,971 --> 00:10:06,656 And Daniel won. It's over. 182 00:10:06,656 --> 00:10:09,025 What they eat here, it's over. 183 00:10:09,025 --> 00:10:11,611 How they worship next week it'll be over. 184 00:10:11,611 --> 00:10:12,445 How they party. 185 00:10:12,445 --> 00:10:15,081 In two weeks it will be over. 186 00:10:15,081 --> 00:10:16,616 How they pray. 187 00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:19,619 My point is, when you're living in a culture 188 00:10:19,769 --> 00:10:23,456 whose value system is diametrically opposed 189 00:10:23,606 --> 00:10:28,577 to the value system of the Bible, when you're trying to follow God 190 00:10:28,577 --> 00:10:31,697 over and against a dominant culture, 191 00:10:31,697 --> 00:10:34,700 conflict is inescapable. 192 00:10:35,117 --> 00:10:38,120 And the thing is, it's not just true in Babylon. 193 00:10:38,521 --> 00:10:41,507 It's true for us. 194 00:10:42,024 --> 00:10:45,027 Our culture is not Babylonian, 195 00:10:45,711 --> 00:10:48,898 but it is antithetical to the gospel. 196 00:10:49,281 --> 00:10:53,552 And that means that if we desire to follow Jesus, we're going to find ourselves 197 00:10:53,552 --> 00:10:54,954 in similar moments. 198 00:10:54,954 --> 00:11:00,142 Maybe not with a furnace, maybe not facing death, but moments nonetheless. 199 00:11:00,326 --> 00:11:05,898 We work at companies, for example, that pursue profit, not principle. 200 00:11:06,866 --> 00:11:07,466 We are in 201 00:11:07,466 --> 00:11:10,736 families where unforgiveness and bitterness 202 00:11:10,736 --> 00:11:14,924 and grudge holding are the norm over and against. 203 00:11:14,940 --> 00:11:18,294 Jesus's teaching about loving and forgiving 204 00:11:18,894 --> 00:11:22,081 our kids go to school systems which teach worldviews 205 00:11:22,081 --> 00:11:25,551 very antithetical to the one that God calls us to 206 00:11:25,918 --> 00:11:30,623 in the Bible, which means conflict is unavoidable. 207 00:11:31,290 --> 00:11:33,325 Let me use another marriage illustration. 208 00:11:33,325 --> 00:11:37,113 Something we try to teach in the premarital class here 209 00:11:37,113 --> 00:11:40,649 at Christ Community Chapel is that healthy couples fight. 210 00:11:41,634 --> 00:11:43,886 When you meet a couple who says to me, 211 00:11:43,886 --> 00:11:46,889 for example, pastor, we never fight. 212 00:11:46,889 --> 00:11:50,943 I just look at them and say, well, which one of you gets their way all the time? 213 00:11:52,011 --> 00:11:54,380 Because that must be what you mean. 214 00:11:54,380 --> 00:11:57,750 Me? Your two different people with two different views on something. 215 00:11:58,134 --> 00:12:00,052 And if you're never fighting about it, it's 216 00:12:00,052 --> 00:12:03,089 because one of you is dominating the other. 217 00:12:03,089 --> 00:12:05,191 That's not the sign of a healthy relationship. 218 00:12:05,191 --> 00:12:08,177 That's the sign of an oppressive one. 219 00:12:08,461 --> 00:12:11,130 Healthy couples fight because two different people 220 00:12:11,130 --> 00:12:14,333 from two different backgrounds mean two different ways of living. 221 00:12:14,517 --> 00:12:18,320 Conflict is, and the absence of conflict is not the presence 222 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,371 of a healthy relationship. 223 00:12:19,371 --> 00:12:23,092 The absence of conflict is the presence of compromise. 224 00:12:24,744 --> 00:12:27,747 It's the same for you and I. 225 00:12:27,947 --> 00:12:30,416 If we live in a culture that is antithetical 226 00:12:30,416 --> 00:12:33,986 to what God teaches in the Bible and we never experience conflict, it's not 227 00:12:33,986 --> 00:12:37,823 because we're the one group of Christians that somehow thread the needle. 228 00:12:37,823 --> 00:12:40,826 It's because of compromise. 229 00:12:41,811 --> 00:12:46,382 And the reason why I say that is because it seems to me when modern Christians 230 00:12:46,382 --> 00:12:50,903 find themselves in any situation like this, we're so shocked. 231 00:12:51,654 --> 00:12:53,539 But we shouldn't be. 232 00:12:53,539 --> 00:12:58,878 The first Peter four tells us to not be surprised when we experience fiery trials. 233 00:12:58,878 --> 00:13:03,482 James chapter one says to count it as joy when we experience trials. 234 00:13:03,482 --> 00:13:07,770 John 16 Jesus himself says, in this world 235 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,923 you will have trouble. 236 00:13:11,841 --> 00:13:13,709 But when we experience it, 237 00:13:13,709 --> 00:13:16,796 we tend to be shocked and we tend to say, God, where are you? 238 00:13:16,796 --> 00:13:18,948 God, what are you doing? 239 00:13:18,948 --> 00:13:21,534 But there will be moments. 240 00:13:22,551 --> 00:13:25,187 It's okay though, to ask where God is. 241 00:13:25,187 --> 00:13:26,822 That's actually my second point. 242 00:13:26,822 --> 00:13:29,809 Not just that there will be moments, but second 243 00:13:30,860 --> 00:13:33,662 that the God is behind them. 244 00:13:33,662 --> 00:13:37,800 There will be moments God is behind them. 245 00:13:37,817 --> 00:13:38,818 Let me ask you a question. 246 00:13:38,818 --> 00:13:41,821 Who drives the action in Daniel chapter three? 247 00:13:42,721 --> 00:13:45,257 Who moves the plot forward? 248 00:13:45,257 --> 00:13:48,327 That's a really important question for understanding this passage. 249 00:13:48,327 --> 00:13:51,497 There are three possible answers to that question. 250 00:13:51,497 --> 00:13:53,182 Let's walk through them. 251 00:13:53,182 --> 00:13:57,319 The first is you could say that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 252 00:13:57,570 --> 00:14:00,573 are the ones who drive the plot. 253 00:14:00,589 --> 00:14:02,391 But is that true? 254 00:14:02,391 --> 00:14:05,394 I mean, do they show up looking for a fight? 255 00:14:05,544 --> 00:14:07,046 I don't think so. 256 00:14:07,046 --> 00:14:10,049 I think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego just show up for work 257 00:14:10,316 --> 00:14:12,151 and find themselves in a fight. 258 00:14:12,151 --> 00:14:16,038 Have they any idea that Nebuchadnezzar had spent the weekend building a statue, 259 00:14:17,523 --> 00:14:17,940 or that he 260 00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:20,943 was going to ask everyone to worship the statue? 261 00:14:20,943 --> 00:14:22,311 No. They showed up to work. 262 00:14:22,311 --> 00:14:25,314 They didn't show up to rub their faith and other people's noses. 263 00:14:25,531 --> 00:14:29,184 They didn't show up to dominate, to argue. 264 00:14:29,451 --> 00:14:32,721 Listen, if you are the kind of Christian 265 00:14:32,721 --> 00:14:35,724 I want to say this because I've been worried about 266 00:14:35,791 --> 00:14:39,028 doing a sermon series in the book of Daniel that for some 267 00:14:39,028 --> 00:14:43,132 Christians, that would embolden you to be antagonistic. 268 00:14:43,132 --> 00:14:47,786 Listen, if controversy and conflict follow you wherever you go, it's 269 00:14:47,786 --> 00:14:50,789 not because you're being courageous or you're being faithful. 270 00:14:50,839 --> 00:14:53,842 It's because you're a jerk. 271 00:14:57,146 --> 00:15:00,716 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are not causing this conflict. 272 00:15:00,749 --> 00:15:03,202 They don't. They don't come looking for a fight. 273 00:15:03,202 --> 00:15:05,120 They're not the ones who drive the action. 274 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,390 The second possibility is the most obvious one that it's Nebuchadnezzar. 275 00:15:08,941 --> 00:15:12,678 That Nebuchadnezzar is the one driving the action in Daniel chapter three. 276 00:15:12,678 --> 00:15:15,414 After all, he's the one that builds the statue. 277 00:15:15,414 --> 00:15:16,849 He's the one who plays the music. 278 00:15:16,849 --> 00:15:20,252 He's the one who wants to tell people who to worship. 279 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:22,938 There's a couple of problems with that. 280 00:15:22,938 --> 00:15:25,674 The first one is that this is not Nebuchadnezzar's book. 281 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,779 It's not about Nebuchadnezzar. 282 00:15:30,779 --> 00:15:32,281 The second problem is 283 00:15:32,281 --> 00:15:35,267 there are a lot of Nebuchadnezzar in this book. 284 00:15:36,118 --> 00:15:38,520 If it's not Nebuchadnezzar, it's Pharaoh. 285 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:40,472 If it's not Pharaoh, it's Cyrus. 286 00:15:40,472 --> 00:15:42,091 If it's not Cyrus, it's Darius. 287 00:15:42,091 --> 00:15:44,610 If it's not Darius, it's Herod. 288 00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:46,528 Not that Herod, the other Harriott Herod. 289 00:15:46,528 --> 00:15:47,880 You get the point. 290 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:53,786 There's a lot of despotic, egotistical, maniacal tyrants in the Bible. 291 00:15:53,786 --> 00:15:54,920 They come and they go. 292 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:56,538 They're not the main character. 293 00:15:56,538 --> 00:15:58,340 But here's the other reason why Nebuchadnezzar 294 00:15:58,340 --> 00:16:02,177 is not the one driving the action in Daniel chapter three. 295 00:16:02,428 --> 00:16:05,431 There were a lot of ways to make him happy. 296 00:16:06,749 --> 00:16:08,150 I mean, after all, 297 00:16:08,150 --> 00:16:11,120 he just wants people to bow. 298 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,973 He doesn't care if you mean it. 299 00:16:13,973 --> 00:16:15,407 Do you know what I mean? 300 00:16:15,407 --> 00:16:17,059 This is a flex for him. 301 00:16:17,059 --> 00:16:19,912 I mean, he woke up that morning and said to his wife or wives 302 00:16:19,912 --> 00:16:22,531 or concubines like, watch how powerful I am. 303 00:16:22,531 --> 00:16:25,617 I'm going to make everybody worship a stupid statue that I made. 304 00:16:26,402 --> 00:16:29,388 This is just a flex, which means he doesn't 305 00:16:29,388 --> 00:16:32,725 care what you're thinking or feeling when you bow. 306 00:16:32,725 --> 00:16:34,343 He just wants you to bow. 307 00:16:34,343 --> 00:16:38,881 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could have said to each other, listen, just bow. 308 00:16:39,048 --> 00:16:40,432 We don't mean it. 309 00:16:40,432 --> 00:16:43,102 It doesn't mean anything. Just do it. 310 00:16:43,102 --> 00:16:47,089 They could have said, hey, let's bow and we'll ask for forgiveness later. 311 00:16:48,107 --> 00:16:48,557 They could have 312 00:16:48,557 --> 00:16:51,710 said, hey, we should bow, because if we don't, he's 313 00:16:51,710 --> 00:16:55,197 going to kill us, and then he's going to give our jobs to Babylonians. 314 00:16:55,197 --> 00:16:58,584 And that's going to make life harder on our fellow Jewish people. 315 00:16:58,584 --> 00:17:00,652 So for their their sake, we should bow. 316 00:17:00,652 --> 00:17:03,839 They could have looked at each other and said, other people in the Bible 317 00:17:03,839 --> 00:17:06,842 did worse than this. 318 00:17:06,992 --> 00:17:10,612 The point is, it didn't matter what they were thinking or what they're feeling. 319 00:17:10,612 --> 00:17:14,283 He doesn't care if they bow, he is happy. 320 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,552 The action of this passage 321 00:17:16,552 --> 00:17:20,305 is not about their unwillingness to please Nebuchadnezzar. 322 00:17:20,305 --> 00:17:21,540 Look at what they say. 323 00:17:21,540 --> 00:17:24,777 By the way, just for proof of this in verse 16, here's what it says. 324 00:17:27,529 --> 00:17:28,647 Shall Shadrach, 325 00:17:28,647 --> 00:17:33,419 Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, 326 00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:37,322 we have no need to answer you in this matter. 327 00:17:37,439 --> 00:17:41,610 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 328 00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:46,231 from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand. 329 00:17:46,231 --> 00:17:47,666 Okay? 330 00:17:47,666 --> 00:17:52,704 But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods 331 00:17:54,123 --> 00:17:56,725 or worship the golden image that you have set up. 332 00:17:56,725 --> 00:17:57,860 Do you see what they're saying? 333 00:17:57,860 --> 00:18:00,295 They're saying, look, Nebuchadnezzar, you can give us one more try. 334 00:18:00,295 --> 00:18:03,115 Three more tries, 100 more tries. We don't care. 335 00:18:03,115 --> 00:18:07,920 We are not going to bow because God won't have it. 336 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,573 You see, they they've read the Old Testament. 337 00:18:11,573 --> 00:18:15,410 They know God said in the Ten Commandments not to worship anyone other than him. 338 00:18:15,410 --> 00:18:19,348 They know God said not to make any graven images. 339 00:18:19,348 --> 00:18:23,719 They've read where God said he was a jealous God. 340 00:18:23,719 --> 00:18:27,923 They they are saying to Nebuchadnezzar, look, man, it's not about you. 341 00:18:28,107 --> 00:18:32,961 Whatever we do to make your you happy, he won't be okay with. No. 342 00:18:32,961 --> 00:18:36,448 It's God who drives the action of Daniel chapter three. 343 00:18:37,015 --> 00:18:40,219 It's God who's not willing for compromise. 344 00:18:40,219 --> 00:18:44,490 It's God who's not willing to look the other way. 345 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:46,158 And you see, he never gets. 346 00:18:49,912 --> 00:18:51,980 He never is. 347 00:18:51,980 --> 00:18:55,167 God is never okay with moral compromise. 348 00:18:55,651 --> 00:18:59,004 God is never okay with corners being cut. 349 00:18:59,004 --> 00:19:03,091 God is never okay with looking the other way. 350 00:19:03,992 --> 00:19:06,979 God is behind the action. 351 00:19:07,412 --> 00:19:09,982 Now let me show you that in one other way, because the most 352 00:19:09,982 --> 00:19:13,802 important verses of this passage are verses 13 through 15. 353 00:19:13,802 --> 00:19:15,721 If you want to know what is God doing, 354 00:19:15,721 --> 00:19:18,707 it tells you here in verse 13, let's pick it up is what it says. 355 00:19:19,975 --> 00:19:22,945 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in furious rage, 356 00:19:22,945 --> 00:19:26,431 commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. 357 00:19:28,917 --> 00:19:31,787 So they brought these men before the king. 358 00:19:31,787 --> 00:19:33,088 And Nebuchadnezzar answered 359 00:19:33,088 --> 00:19:36,992 and said to them, is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 360 00:19:37,142 --> 00:19:41,880 that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 361 00:19:42,414 --> 00:19:45,050 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, 362 00:19:45,050 --> 00:19:49,221 pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music 363 00:19:49,221 --> 00:19:52,708 to fall down and worship, the image that I have made well and good. 364 00:19:52,975 --> 00:19:54,393 But if you do not worship, 365 00:19:54,393 --> 00:19:57,980 you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 366 00:19:57,980 --> 00:19:59,298 Listen to this next line. 367 00:19:59,298 --> 00:20:03,202 And who is the God who will deliver. You. 368 00:20:03,685 --> 00:20:05,604 Out of my hands? 369 00:20:05,604 --> 00:20:07,172 So you can't understand the story to you? 370 00:20:07,172 --> 00:20:08,607 Understand? That's the point. 371 00:20:09,741 --> 00:20:11,727 That's the point. 372 00:20:11,727 --> 00:20:16,698 Nebuchadnezzar says, who is the God who can save you from me? 373 00:20:16,832 --> 00:20:19,885 And everything that has happened up to that point 374 00:20:19,968 --> 00:20:24,840 and everything that happens after that point, is God answering that question. 375 00:20:25,591 --> 00:20:28,827 You see, it isn't Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being put to the test. 376 00:20:29,611 --> 00:20:31,163 It's God. 377 00:20:31,163 --> 00:20:34,800 God wants to be tested. 378 00:20:35,267 --> 00:20:37,953 God wants to be displayed. 379 00:20:37,953 --> 00:20:42,174 God is wanting Nebuchadnezzar to ask that question 380 00:20:42,257 --> 00:20:46,128 so that he can definitively answer it in 381 00:20:46,278 --> 00:20:49,998 moments of testing, in moments of conflict, 382 00:20:49,998 --> 00:20:51,650 not the ones we went looking for. 383 00:20:51,650 --> 00:20:55,487 Not the ones that we caused in our ignorance, but in the ones that come for 384 00:20:55,487 --> 00:21:00,959 us. God knows fundamentally, it is not us who is being put to the test. 385 00:21:01,076 --> 00:21:03,629 It's him. Will he show up? 386 00:21:03,629 --> 00:21:05,147 Will he show out? 387 00:21:05,147 --> 00:21:06,748 What will he do? 388 00:21:06,748 --> 00:21:09,201 And God welcomes the test. 389 00:21:10,585 --> 00:21:13,588 Why? Why? 390 00:21:13,772 --> 00:21:15,657 Well, that's my third point. 391 00:21:15,657 --> 00:21:19,261 Not just that there will be moments, not just that God is behind them, but. 392 00:21:19,911 --> 00:21:22,914 He's changing the world around us. 393 00:21:23,365 --> 00:21:26,635 Listen, this whole story is about God's 394 00:21:26,635 --> 00:21:29,638 pursuit of Nebuchadnezzar. 395 00:21:30,138 --> 00:21:34,643 You can't read this story correctly without understanding that this story 396 00:21:34,860 --> 00:21:40,132 is about God's pursuit of one egomaniacal, despotic, 397 00:21:40,165 --> 00:21:44,269 tyrannical ruler, one guy who's so convinced 398 00:21:44,269 --> 00:21:48,890 of how big and bad he is that he says, who is the God who can stop me? 399 00:21:48,991 --> 00:21:54,746 God does everything he does in this chapter to grab Nebuchadnezzar. 400 00:21:55,097 --> 00:21:55,797 Don't believe me? 401 00:21:55,797 --> 00:21:57,749 Look at the climax. Pick it up in verse 24. 402 00:21:57,749 --> 00:22:00,168 Look at the climax of the story. Here it comes. 403 00:22:00,168 --> 00:22:01,136 Verse 20. 404 00:22:01,136 --> 00:22:01,937 Yeah. Verse 24. 405 00:22:01,937 --> 00:22:04,940 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, 406 00:22:05,340 --> 00:22:07,492 and he rose up in haste 407 00:22:07,492 --> 00:22:12,297 and declared to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the fire? 408 00:22:12,798 --> 00:22:15,317 And they answered and said to the king, true, O king. 409 00:22:15,317 --> 00:22:19,021 And he answered and said, but I see four men unbound, 410 00:22:19,521 --> 00:22:22,557 walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. 411 00:22:22,557 --> 00:22:26,778 And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. 412 00:22:27,362 --> 00:22:29,664 Skip down to verse 28. 413 00:22:29,664 --> 00:22:34,252 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 414 00:22:34,252 --> 00:22:38,957 and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted 415 00:22:38,957 --> 00:22:43,462 in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies. 416 00:22:43,462 --> 00:22:47,149 Rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 417 00:22:47,149 --> 00:22:51,169 Therefore I make a decree any people, nation, or language 418 00:22:51,169 --> 00:22:54,289 that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 419 00:22:54,289 --> 00:22:58,643 and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses laid in ruins. 420 00:22:58,643 --> 00:23:02,364 Listen to this, for there is no other God. 421 00:23:02,597 --> 00:23:04,683 Who is able to rescue in. 422 00:23:04,683 --> 00:23:06,168 This way. Friends, listen to me. 423 00:23:06,168 --> 00:23:07,202 If you're here this weekend 424 00:23:07,202 --> 00:23:11,123 and you are not yet a Christian, you don't have a relationship with God. 425 00:23:11,239 --> 00:23:16,878 Do you see the links he will go to to rescue sinners? 426 00:23:19,464 --> 00:23:20,665 You see, this entire 427 00:23:20,665 --> 00:23:24,352 story is about God putting himself to the test, 428 00:23:24,536 --> 00:23:28,290 God putting himself on display to answer the hard 429 00:23:28,290 --> 00:23:31,293 question of one sinner. 430 00:23:32,327 --> 00:23:34,713 So great is his mercy. 431 00:23:34,713 --> 00:23:37,699 So great is his grace. 432 00:23:38,633 --> 00:23:40,552 For you 433 00:23:40,552 --> 00:23:43,972 now I know you're hard wired to push back against that and go, no, no, no, God. 434 00:23:44,156 --> 00:23:45,357 God wouldn't do that for me. 435 00:23:45,357 --> 00:23:48,059 He doesn't love me that much. You don't know what I've done. 436 00:23:48,059 --> 00:23:48,810 You don't know. 437 00:23:48,810 --> 00:23:51,029 You don't know how much shame and guilt I carry. 438 00:23:51,029 --> 00:23:52,464 Let me ask you a question this weekend. 439 00:23:52,464 --> 00:23:55,500 Did you spend time building a golden statue of yourself? 440 00:23:56,334 --> 00:23:59,237 Did you bring out the stereo equipment on your cul de sac 441 00:23:59,237 --> 00:24:02,090 and command all your neighbors that when the music played, 442 00:24:02,090 --> 00:24:03,742 they should bow down and worship you? 443 00:24:04,709 --> 00:24:05,177 Because if you 444 00:24:05,177 --> 00:24:08,246 did anything less than that, actually, 445 00:24:08,330 --> 00:24:11,333 even if you did that. 446 00:24:12,234 --> 00:24:13,285 God's mercy and. 447 00:24:13,285 --> 00:24:16,288 Grace are coming for you. 448 00:24:16,822 --> 00:24:19,825 This story is not about the courage of three young men. 449 00:24:20,308 --> 00:24:23,311 This story is about the God. 450 00:24:23,395 --> 00:24:26,331 Who leverages his power, 451 00:24:26,331 --> 00:24:29,334 who puts himself to the test 452 00:24:29,401 --> 00:24:33,171 in order to answer the heart cry. 453 00:24:33,588 --> 00:24:35,607 Of sinners. 454 00:24:35,607 --> 00:24:36,858 Let me put a pin in that. 455 00:24:36,858 --> 00:24:38,393 I'll come back to it. 456 00:24:38,393 --> 00:24:40,795 So if you're here and you're a Christian, you. 457 00:24:40,795 --> 00:24:43,798 I got to imagine right now you're going to hold on a second. 458 00:24:43,882 --> 00:24:45,901 This is the logic of the sermon, Zach. 459 00:24:45,901 --> 00:24:50,722 If I'm listening to you, God will put me in awful 460 00:24:50,872 --> 00:24:55,427 testing situations in order to reach other people. 461 00:24:56,244 --> 00:24:59,247 God will put my job in jeopardy. 462 00:24:59,598 --> 00:25:03,351 God will make it so that I'm the black sheep of the family. God. 463 00:25:03,418 --> 00:25:06,288 God will make it so that I've got to go meet with the kids. 464 00:25:06,288 --> 00:25:10,192 Principal God will put me in the moment of testing 465 00:25:10,292 --> 00:25:12,360 just so he can reach other people. 466 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:14,212 How is that fair? 467 00:25:14,212 --> 00:25:15,497 Well, there are two answers to that. 468 00:25:16,648 --> 00:25:18,717 The first 469 00:25:18,717 --> 00:25:20,485 is, is it not true that you. 470 00:25:20,485 --> 00:25:23,488 Desire to see God move in your life time? 471 00:25:26,041 --> 00:25:28,143 People always say to me, pastor, how come we don't see. 472 00:25:28,143 --> 00:25:30,061 God do the things. 473 00:25:30,061 --> 00:25:32,280 Today that he did in the Bible? 474 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,132 Well, I can answer that question for you. 475 00:25:34,132 --> 00:25:36,868 God's power in the Bible and today. 476 00:25:36,868 --> 00:25:39,621 Follows his mission. 477 00:25:39,621 --> 00:25:42,624 Where is God in this story? 478 00:25:42,891 --> 00:25:45,894 He's in the furnace. 479 00:25:46,127 --> 00:25:48,230 If you want to be around 480 00:25:48,230 --> 00:25:51,233 God, if you want to experience 481 00:25:51,233 --> 00:25:55,370 God, if you want to live a biblical kind of life, 482 00:25:55,370 --> 00:25:59,507 not by following the rules, but by experiencing the power of God, 483 00:25:59,608 --> 00:26:02,611 you only get that in the furnace. 484 00:26:04,229 --> 00:26:07,082 We hear stories all the time of what God is doing 485 00:26:07,082 --> 00:26:09,017 miraculously from the mission field. 486 00:26:09,017 --> 00:26:10,252 Forget the mission field. 487 00:26:10,252 --> 00:26:14,689 I hear stories all the time of amazing, miraculous things God is doing 488 00:26:14,689 --> 00:26:21,212 at this church in the lives of Christians who want to join him in reaching people. 489 00:26:23,582 --> 00:26:26,117 So you see, Daniel three is really about this choice. 490 00:26:26,117 --> 00:26:29,120 You want the sidelines, you get safety. 491 00:26:29,904 --> 00:26:32,907 You just don't get to experience God. 492 00:26:33,441 --> 00:26:35,961 Where do you want the furnace? 493 00:26:35,961 --> 00:26:38,029 And you get God? 494 00:26:38,029 --> 00:26:40,548 But here's the second thing. 495 00:26:40,548 --> 00:26:43,285 And let me bring those of you considering Christianity 496 00:26:43,285 --> 00:26:46,288 back into the conversation. 497 00:26:46,488 --> 00:26:50,458 This is exactly what God did to save us. 498 00:26:53,028 --> 00:26:55,013 Don't you see that. 499 00:26:55,013 --> 00:26:58,016 He put himself to the test? 500 00:26:58,550 --> 00:27:01,920 The Son of God came to earth 501 00:27:02,237 --> 00:27:05,457 and stepped into a much hotter furnace, 502 00:27:05,874 --> 00:27:10,045 not a literal furnace built by some guy named Nebuchadnezzar, 503 00:27:10,111 --> 00:27:14,666 but the furnace of God's anger and judgment and wrath. 504 00:27:14,666 --> 00:27:19,671 Jesus put himself to the test for us. 505 00:27:19,671 --> 00:27:21,289 Here's my life. 506 00:27:21,289 --> 00:27:22,474 Here's my dad. 507 00:27:22,474 --> 00:27:23,341 Don't you see? 508 00:27:23,341 --> 00:27:26,127 We killed Jesus because he wouldn't bow. 509 00:27:27,512 --> 00:27:29,698 We didn't want to hear about neighbor love. 510 00:27:29,698 --> 00:27:32,033 We didn't want to hear about forgiveness. 511 00:27:32,033 --> 00:27:34,319 We didn't want to hear about sexual purity. 512 00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:37,322 So we killed him. 513 00:27:37,672 --> 00:27:40,675 He stepped into the furnace of our anger 514 00:27:42,227 --> 00:27:44,729 on our behalf 515 00:27:44,729 --> 00:27:48,416 so that, like Nebuchadnezzar, three days later, we might be on the edge of the seat 516 00:27:48,416 --> 00:27:50,752 or our seats going, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. 517 00:27:50,752 --> 00:27:53,755 Didn't we kill that guy? 518 00:27:56,608 --> 00:27:58,643 The resurrection of Jesus is 519 00:27:58,643 --> 00:28:01,646 God saying to each one of us. 520 00:28:03,631 --> 00:28:05,183 This is the answer 521 00:28:05,183 --> 00:28:08,186 to the question you're asking in your heart. 522 00:28:08,636 --> 00:28:10,221 Do I love you? 523 00:28:10,221 --> 00:28:11,906 Will I forgive you? 524 00:28:11,906 --> 00:28:13,858 Is there a place for you in what I'm doing? 525 00:28:13,858 --> 00:28:18,596 And Christian, it's an invitation to join him 526 00:28:19,230 --> 00:28:22,016 in doing for others what he did 527 00:28:22,967 --> 00:28:25,553 to rescue us. 528 00:28:25,553 --> 00:28:27,839 There's only one main character of Daniel, chapter three. 529 00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:29,190 And it's not the king. 530 00:28:29,190 --> 00:28:30,842 And it's not these three guys. 531 00:28:30,842 --> 00:28:34,312 It's the God who puts himself to the test 532 00:28:35,447 --> 00:28:37,132 to rescue centers. 533 00:28:37,132 --> 00:28:40,135 Let me pray for us, father God. 534 00:28:40,735 --> 00:28:42,320 Thank you for Daniel chapter three. 535 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:46,408 Thank you for this display of your power and your glory. 536 00:28:46,891 --> 00:28:50,245 Thank you even more that it points us forward to a greater 537 00:28:50,245 --> 00:28:54,149 display of your power and your grace and your forgiveness. 538 00:28:55,200 --> 00:29:00,205 An even more courageous young man, your son, who stepped into the furnace 539 00:29:00,205 --> 00:29:03,208 of our anger and of yours 540 00:29:04,142 --> 00:29:07,128 and put you on display. 541 00:29:08,129 --> 00:29:10,765 God, might you speak to the heart right now 542 00:29:10,765 --> 00:29:13,885 of every Nebuchadnezzar in this room? 543 00:29:14,636 --> 00:29:16,638 Who is the God. 544 00:29:16,638 --> 00:29:18,590 Who can save me? 545 00:29:20,642 --> 00:29:23,628 His name is Jesus, 546 00:29:24,028 --> 00:29:26,297 and in his name we pray. 547 00:29:26,297 --> 00:29:26,664 Amen.