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Teaching podcast from the Eagle Community Church of Christ in Mont Belvieu, TX.
So thankful for Ryan filling in last week, I told him I spent all class period just fixing whatever he said. I didn't know what he said, just assumed it needed fixing. He took that well as a joke, of course I didn't, and I know he did a wonderful job. I know he did a wonderful job of the sermon because I listened to it, so I know you were blessed. Today, we are we are back in the tell me the story series.
John Gunter:Again, life lessons from scriptures, greatest moments, and today we're talking about a a familiar story, the fiery furnace. Now, this is an interesting story. I told him in class, this is my favorite VeggieTales episode. How many of you have seen VeggieTales and the chocolate bunny and all of that? So every time I read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, because of VeggieTales, they are Rack, Shack, and Benny.
John Gunter:And so that that helps me, I think it helped kids, that's why it was so catchy. But this is an important story as we get into this, because Daniel and his friends were taken from their their homes in Judah and taken to Babylon. They were given new names and even trained in Babylonian ways, and so all of their life has been turned upside down. It has been flipped upside down, and I can't even wrap my mind around being placed in another country, and being told, you're no longer John, we're going give you this name. You can no longer practice your things, you have to do things the way we do them.
John Gunter:And so, we're going to start just with a little bit here in Daniel chapter three. 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 Dura in the province of Babylon. Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasures, the justice 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. If you read this account in Daniel, you'll pull your hair out because he keeps saying the same people over and over.
John Gunter:I wanna say all y'all. He called them all. Okay? But he wanted everyone to see the image that he had set up. And in verse three, then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the counselors, the treasurers, you hear this, and 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 that the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
John Gunter:You getting the image yet? You getting the picture? They were there, and they saw it. And the herald proclaimed aloud, you are commanded, peoples, nations, and 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 whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
John Gunter: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. You think there was that one guy saying, well, hear the pipe and the liar, bagpipe, am I getting all of these before I do this? Absolutely not. This was not about true love or true worship, this was about fear. If you don't do this, you are going to die.
John Gunter:And so, that is that is the setup for all of this. And again, we get back in in Daniel chapter one, the king assigned them a daily portion of the food they that the king ate. This is talking about Daniel and his friends. Okay? Rackshack and Benny.
John Gunter:And the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We don't even know them by those names, do we? Of the tribe of Judah, and the chief of the eunuchs gave them names, Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
John Gunter:But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank, therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself, and God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief the chief of the eunuchs. And so, what we see in chapter three is preceded by this in chapter one. Daniel has already decided in his mind that he's not going to just fall in line just because of his circumstances. He has already decided he is not gonna defile himself with the food he knows he shouldn't eat, and so before he ever gets before any of them ever get to the fiery furnace, they decide in their mind they are going to continue to worship God. And so, they get to Daniel chapter three, and Nebuchadnezzar builds this golden statue, the choice is simple, but very costly, bow and save your life, or stand and burn.
John Gunter:But what we see with this is courage in the fire comes from faithfulness before the fire. And so, is all about the preparation they took before the situation ever came in hand. Do you see that? Well, we kind of live life in in fear that something might happen. Well, you shouldn't live life in fear of that, you should be preparing all the time, deciding now, how am I going to live my life?
John Gunter:And so, in verse eight, as we read eight through 12, therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jew. They declared to king Nebuchadnezzar, oh king, live forever. Boy, I just want to slap him, don't you? I shouldn't say that as a preacher. But you know what they're doing.
John Gunter:Right? You know the story. You know what they're doing. Oh, king, live forever. You, oh king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn pipe I don't know why they're writing like this.
John Gunter:Okay? Liar, 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. Do you think the king needed to told what he'd already said? Well, they're just laying it on thick.
John Gunter:But they said, 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. And so, what are they trying to do? They're trying to have these men killed just because they are not falling in line with these things. And so, this courage that they have built up, they have built up previously, they have built up to this moment where it's gonna the rubber meets the road, we might say.
John Gunter:How many situations do you find yourself in where your faith comes right head to head with something you know you shouldn't be doing? Have you prepared for that moment when you go, oh, this might not be the popular thing. People may not like me, or maybe it's something in private where you know you just know I shouldn't be doing this even if no one ever knows. Have you prepared for that moment with your faith? And so storing up God's word, I believe, shapes convictions in you.
John Gunter:In Psalm one nineteen, I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, oh Lord, teach me your statues. Do you hear the heart that comes from this psalm? I I want to know more. I want your word in my heart.
John Gunter:With my lips, I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies, I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word.
John Gunter:And so, I say this, if you wait until the fire to decide what you truly believe, you have waited too long. When the fire comes, you should have already been preparing, reading, desiring to grow closer to God, to know him, to know his word. Anybody ever been in a situation and a word from scripture, or a word from a song that pointed back to scripture came to mind, and that helped in the moment. You see, that preparation, that putting God's word into you in the past has helped in the present. You see that?
John Gunter:But often, we're just so scared, we're worried about the thing, let's and I love that we pray that we're you know, nobody bothers us when we come and worship. That's fine, that's great, I hope nothing happens, but guess what? If something happens, God is still with us. Thank you. God is still on his throne.
John Gunter:Amen? I'm going make you all a vocal church if it's the last thing I do, because I love it. We should say amen to that. Because again, if we're only worried about, hey, God is with me when everything is going right and I'm not facing the fire, what kind of faith is that? What kind of desire is that?
John Gunter:I I just want God to give me good things. We talked in class this morning about that kind of view of God is like viewing God as Santa Claus. A celestial Santa. I'm I'm good, give me good things. Were these guys good?
John Gunter:Yeah. Did they have faith in God? Absolutely. Did evil come? Yes.
John Gunter:But guess what? They were prepared. Just like the psalmist here, I will delight in your statutes, I will not forget your word, because I have prepared. I have desired that. That is within me.
John Gunter:And so, again, if you wait until the fire to decide what you truly believe, I believe you have waited way too long. So starting in verse 13 of Daniel chapter three, Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that 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, oh Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up. Now, already knows the answer to this.
John Gunter:Now, if you are ready when you're when you're when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, you get it. Okay? A harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music to fall down and worship the image that I have made well and good. He basically said, here's your last chance when you hear this. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace, and who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?
John Gunter:I love a good old testament challenge to God, because it is in the moments where it seems like there is absolutely no way that anybody can fix this situation, guess who walks through the door? It's like a good Marvel movie. You know at the end of the movie, the avengers are gonna win. Right? Even if half of them disappeared the last movie, they're coming back.
John Gunter:And when you hear the music, when you feel the feeling, you get the goosebumps, the hair stands up, you know, here we go. I love a good old challenge to God. Who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? What's he saying? There's nobody greater than me.
John Gunter:There's no way you can get out of this. Who's going to do it? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, oh Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. How many of you have ever had a moment where the holy spirit put a filter in place for just a second? I really wanna say this, and you hit a brick wall, and like, oh.
John Gunter:Sometimes we need a little extra blessing of that, don't we? 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. Oh, that's faith. He will deliver us, o king.
John Gunter:But if not but if not, be it known to you, king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up. Oh, I get chill bumps with that. Because how many times is it even the Not the fiery furnace, I I doubt if I had asked for a raise of hands, anybody has been in this exact situation. Anybody? No?
John Gunter:That person? No. But how many times is it the little bump in the road that that our faith kind of goes haywire? I'm not sure what I believe anymore. Can't believe that happened to me.
John Gunter:Can't believe they don't like me anymore. Little bitty things. These people were facing sure death in a fiery furnace, and their answer is, our God is able to deliver. Now, what you see there is whether or not he decides to deliver, we're choosing him. Did you hear that?
John Gunter:Whether or not he decides to deliver us from this thing, we're choosing him. That's what they're doing. That's what we ought to do in every situation in life. How many of you have been in some hard situations? Yeah.
John Gunter:I don't Just a story, I can look around and see faces right now, different medical issues, some people have lost loved ones. Life is a collection of good and bad things. Right? That's just what you get. You have to prepare, you have to decide, you have to say, my conviction is before the thing comes up.
John Gunter:Because when the thing comes up, and it will, then what are you going to do? If you have prepared beforehand, you are ready. That doesn't mean when the trial comes, when the storm comes, that you're just excited about it. Now, we understand that through the storm there is growth, is there not? We learn things, God is still able to work.
John Gunter:Now, if the story had ended differently, we could still say what faith they had. They didn't go back on their conviction, they believed until the last moment. Hebrews eleven one says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. They had no idea what God was going to choose to do, but they had faith. I don't know what their day to day life looked like.
John Gunter:I don't know how God showed up for them, or how they viewed that, but they had a faith that said this, I don't know what's gonna happen, I don't know how God is gonna work, but I am still choosing him. God can deliver us, but even if he does not, we will not serve your God. And so, faith trusts God's leading no matter where the path goes. Can you say that? Because it's real easy to follow God when you feel like everything is going your way.
John Gunter:Alright? Everything is good, you almost feel like you may not say this, but you almost feel like, well, I've been good, that's why I'm blessed. Nothing is happening. But can you allow God to lead you even when the path goes a different direction? I have really been in Psalm 23 lately, and sorry if you were there Wednesday night, but we talked a little bit about it.
John Gunter:But this has become and I know it's one of the probably everybody knows this, but it's just it had new meaning for me lately. You ever done that with scripture? Just come back to it and like, oh man, it says so much. It begins like this, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.
John Gunter:The only way that this works, you're not just saying the Lord is my shepherd, you are submitting and allowing God to lead you wherever the path may go. See the faith of the psalmist here, of David. He he makes me lie down in green pastures. He's taking care of me because he's just said, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. What does that mean?
John Gunter:God's going to take care of everything that I need. Now, he may not take care of everything I want. Anybody's wants bigger than their needs? Yeah. A little different list.
John Gunter:But he leaves me beside still waters, he restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You see, this is not about me, this is about God. Right? Because I have chosen, I have the conviction that that God is who I'm going to follow. The word sheep has fallen into negative repute in our culture, hasn't it?
John Gunter:Everybody needs to be a leader, if you're a sheep, it's negative. Sometimes sheep is negative. But you need to learn to follow God, church. One more time. Alright?
John Gunter:You need to learn to follow God, and this is how you do it. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. I heard a preacher one time say that last line, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
John Gunter:And he said, God is packing. That's protection. But look, this is David saying, I'm gonna follow you, you're gonna take care of my every need, and then verse four, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He understands that just because I follow God, just because I submit to him, doesn't mean we're gonna get the wide open highway with no speed limit, and everything is going great. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, what, church?
John Gunter:Say it out loud. We're even scared to say that. Why now? Nobody's going to attack you this morning. What does it say, church?
John Gunter:I will fear no evil, because God is with me. For you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. He understands that God is giving me the victory. The storm is still there, but God is going to give me the victory.
John Gunter:You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows, I've got more than I need. Surely, and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. How in the world can he say, goodness will follow me all the days of my life, when he knows verse four will happen, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Because he has allowed God to lead him. Faith in God.
John Gunter:I don't know how God's going to work, but I know at the end of the day, God's got me. Does he have you? Does he have you, church? Because it's one thing to be on the fence about that, it's another thing to have the attitude and the understanding that God has me no matter what is happening in life. Because that is when God shows up.
John Gunter:That God is still within the storm. He's within that valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes we feel like God is here with me when everything's going great, but God, you're far from me when things aren't going well. Even the Psalmist will say that. Right?
John Gunter:They'll speak that way. That's the way we feel. God, you must not be with me, but in the midst of the storm, I think God is there. The scripture does not say no evil will come. It says, I will trust in God no matter what comes, for you are with me.
John Gunter:Yes? Verse 19 of Daniel three, 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. This is a man throwing a child's fit. Keep laying on the wood. Right?
John Gunter:I'm mad. They they stood up to me, and I don't like it. Heated seven times more than it was usually heated, and he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Why I say that?
John Gunter:They wanted to add as much flammable fabric as they could. Right? Because I'm mad, and this is going we're going to make a point out of this. 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, 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.
John Gunter:He declared to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the fire? I hope that's rhetorical. He might have been in such a rage that he's like, how many did we throw too many people in there? Did we not cast three men bound into the fire? They answered and said to the king, true, O king.
John Gunter: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. Somebody say amen. Because God showed up. God promises his presence through the fire, through the storm. Like the casting crown song, I will praise you in the storm, and I will lift my hands.
John Gunter:Because God is still there in the midst of the storm. Now, he didn't have to decide to do it in this way. He could have allowed them to be killed, and their statement of faith would still be true. Did God still have them if they died at that moment? Say yes.
John Gunter:Of course, he did. Does God have you if something tragic happens in a few minutes, and somebody passes away? Say yes. Because if you walk with an attitude, understanding that no matter what happens, no matter what storm comes, no matter what thing you have to persevere through, God has you, that will allow you to live a life of faith that I think you want to live. If you desire to to know God in this intimate way, and to follow him.
John Gunter:Isaiah forty three two, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the waters, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. God is with us through fire and water, and the safest place to be is in the fire, if that's where God is. How many times does the fire come, does the storm rage, and we think, I'm alone.
John Gunter:But if God is there, if you have faith in him, that's the safest place to be. Amen. Don't fear that, cling to God. Understand that your faith draws you closer, and I want to be with him. Amen?
John Gunter:In verse 26, then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, he declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God. What happened? Why the change? Come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire, and the satraps, the prefect all of them.
John Gunter:Okay? All of them. The king's counselors gathered together, and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. Does that tell you something about your God? Boy, you are quiet.
John Gunter:Let's speak up. My goodness. My favorite places to preach was when I did prison ministry, and those folks were in the word all week. They were in the word more than I was, because they had plenty of time. And they wanted some they wanted some Jesus on Sundays, and we said something like that, and they said, amen.
John Gunter:What about these people that got all your freedom? You're to say amen today? Let me read this one more time. They saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. Boy, howdy.
John Gunter:We're going have to bring some folks in, or hire some actors or something, I don't know. The hair of their heads was not sins, 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. Can you say amen to that? Amen.
John Gunter:What a blessing of faith And we get to follow, that we get to see that even the king is touched. Praise God, they didn't listen to me. I was an idiot. I see now that that this is the most high God that they would they they wouldn't even they set aside the king's command. Therefore, I make a decree.
John Gunter:Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb. He's still hot, I think. He's still angry. And their houses laid in ruins for there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. He asked, who is the God?
John Gunter:And they said, our God. Who is the God who has the power to do this? And they said, my God is. Whose God can help out in your life? My God can.
John Gunter:Who's a God that's gonna answer your prayers? My God can. Do you have confidence in that? Because that's a different feeling, isn't it? Whose God can possibly do this?
John Gunter:And we say, my god. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in the province of Babylon. What a story. What a flip flop. We go from one extreme to the other.
John Gunter:I'm gonna kill you, I will kill anybody who touches them. Right? And then at the end of the day, they end up with a promotion. Boy, I would have promoted them too. Probably handed them the crown on my head is what I would have done.
John Gunter:Let me get out of the way here. I know what I said just a few minutes ago. Because if he can do that, what else can he do? Now, let me ask you this, if God would allow them to be burned in the fire, did that fire have any power over those men? Did the king win at the end of the day if what happened was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego perished in that fire?
John Gunter:Absolutely not. Because their faith their faith in God ruled the day. It was front and center. It was what happened. First Peter one, in this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, and glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
John Gunter:Do you understand that living life is an opportunity to have your faith tested? To walk through the storm, both small and large, and come out on the other side better? Some of sometimes, we all we do after we have gone through a large storm is dwell on the storm. Maybe it's a terrible decision we made, and we created the issue. Guess what?
John Gunter:God is still there. Maybe it was something you didn't see, you didn't have anything to do with, maybe it was a health scare, someone passed away. Guess what? God is there. He's got you.
John Gunter:And through the testing, the tested genuineness of your faith, boy, I don't like the testing necessarily, do you? That's like praying for patience. Right? And then you get the meme, God, give me patience. No.
John Gunter:Not opportunities to be patient, I've had plenty of those. Give me patience. Right? We don't want to do the work to get to the end result. Right?
John Gunter:K? You know if you've put in the work, you see the end result. I started the the beginning of the summer. My boys, before they could ever watch TV or screens, they have a list of things they have to do. One of the things they love soccer, you know, both my boys play soccer.
John Gunter:I have them doing a ten minute video every day. Ten minutes, can you do it? Right? Logan started out just fussing, can't do it, this is too hard, there's like 22 drills in ten minutes. It's quick, repetitive.
John Gunter:I mean, you're going from one thing to the next. And then all of a sudden, we start practicing as a team, and he gets out there and he realizes all those ten minutes a day things are working. And now he's excited, and now if the dude is in the living room, he's got a ball on his foot kicking it off the couch, because he's seen the progress. He went from whining saying, there's no way I can do it, to being confident, and knowing that he can. And that is exactly the story for us.
John Gunter:There's no reason to fear and say, well, I can't do it, there's no way. Start preparing now. Just like these guys did. It didn't begin at the entrance to the fiery furnace, it began way back when they had the opportunity, when they were moved to this place, and they said, even in this place, we're going to praise God. We're going to follow God, we're not going to go away from our convictions, we're still going to praise Him.
John Gunter:So when you come through the fire, don't just talk about the heat, talk about the one who was with you. When you have that story that you're still holding on to, and let me just encourage you, let it go. But praise God for the way he was with you through the storm. Matthew 10, verse thirty two and thirty three, so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my father who is in heaven. You've got to decide.
John Gunter:Is this going to be who you follow? James one twelve says, blessed is a man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. And so today is a call to stand. Today is a call to prepare for the trials of life. Today is a chance to say, I'm gonna follow God.
John Gunter:I'm gonna follow God just like our marriage vows, right? In sickness and in health, you don't choose, well, just in health. I like Katie, you know, better when she's healthy. Yeah, I do. She likes me way better when I'm healthy.
John Gunter:I tend to be a a baby, not that all men do that, but anyway. In sickness and in health, in good times and bad, today is an opportunity to choose, am I going to follow God? And so, you have a need this morning, we're gonna offer an invitation. Today is a chance to bask for the prayers of this church. To say, hey, I'd like to have the courage that these men have.
John Gunter:I don't wanna I wanna live a life of faith. I wanna be that kind of person that when that thing comes, and people come to my house trying to encourage me, and they walk away encouraged, I wanna be that person. You've met that person, haven't you? Or maybe you haven't put on Christ in baptism and you wanna begin that walk. Today is the day.
John Gunter:Now is a chance. Could you begin a new life with him to have all of these people encouraging you as you go to walk in love and to experience the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ? Whatever your needs this morning, would you come as we stand and as we sing?