Faith in the Fire: A Review of the Sermon on Daniel 3

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Yes.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yes.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
There's my guy right there.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Beautiful, crisp fall day.
[00:05:01] Isn't it amazing out there?
[00:05:03] Can't wait for fall fest.
[00:05:04] Y'all stand and join us in worship.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Christ is my firm foundation The rock on which I stand When everything around me is shaken
[00:05:23] I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus.
[00:05:33] He's never let me down.
[00:05:37] He's faithful through generations.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I've still got joy in chaos I've got peace that makes no sense So I won't be forever numb I'm not held by my own strength
[00:06:24] We stand for the heavenly season So why would He fail now?
[00:07:41] Faithful through generations So why would He fail?

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Oh, He's our firm foundation Cornerstone Solid rock Rain came wind
[00:08:37] I came with you, my house was built on you

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I'm saved with you, I'm gonna make it through Rain came with glue, my house was built on you I'm saved with you, I'm gonna make it through

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I'm gonna make it through My house was built on you You're my foundation The rock on which I stand
[00:10:04] I've never been more glad As I put my faith in Jesus He's never let me down He's made all through generations So why would He fail me?

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Amen.
[00:10:54] Thank you, Lindsay.
[00:10:55] Man, isn't it a gorgeous day here in Uptown here in Charlotte?
[00:11:00] So, so much fun today we're going to have.
[00:11:03] It's going to be...
[00:11:04] Man, it's going to be great.
[00:11:06] We've got some exciting, exciting news about Soup for the Soul that we're going to announce at the end of the service.
[00:11:14] But I think it's going to be so encouraging to all of you.
[00:11:16] I know I'm encouraged by some of the reports that I've gotten.
[00:11:20] We're beginning today collecting for Operation Turkey Blessing.
[00:11:24] We're going to be serving there as well.
[00:11:26] and so many opportunities coming up in the life and in the heart of our church as we serve the city and as we go forth with the gospel and make him known here in Uptown and we're so glad that you're a part of that and here with us today and Pastor John's with us this morning it's going to be an awesome awesome morning hey look around and see if there's somebody you don't recognize today shake hands with somebody make them feel welcome here at First Baptist Charlotte
[00:12:11] Hey everybody online, we're so glad that you're here with us this morning.
[00:12:14] It's gonna be a super cool morning.
[00:12:16] Let me tell you something that you can do, especially if you live in the uptown area.
[00:12:19] As soon as church is over, we're having a thing outside that we're calling Fall Fest.
[00:12:24] So we've got a chili cook-off, we've got soup,
[00:12:27] We've got all kinds of things happening out there.
[00:12:29] We've got fire pits for s'mores.
[00:12:33] We've got games.
[00:12:34] We've got bounce houses for your kids.
[00:12:37] And you still have time to come make it.
[00:12:38] I hope you'll come join us today here at First Baptist Charlotte.
[00:12:41] You can find all the information on charlottefbc.org.
[00:12:46] Let's continue and worship everybody.
[00:12:48] Let's sing about that cornerstone, Christ, the solid rock, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:12:55] Let's enter in together this morning.
[00:13:20] My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest rain But wholly trust in Jesus' name Sing that with me if you will.
[00:13:50] My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' love and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest rain But wholly trust in Jesus' name
[00:14:17] This is it right here.
[00:14:18] Christ alone.
[00:14:23] Cornerstone.
[00:14:25] We make strong.
[00:14:27] And what?
[00:14:28] Through the storm.
[00:14:32] Through the storm.
[00:14:34] He is Lord.

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Amen.

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Lord alone.
[00:14:45] In every situation.

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
When darkness seems to hide His face I rest on His unchanging grace In every hot and stormy day My anchor holds within the land My anchor holds within the land

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
God is the Lord God is the Lord God is the Lord God is the Lord
[00:15:55] Lord of all Christ the Lord God of all We make strong in the Sabbath day

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Proclaim this.
[00:17:17] Sing.
[00:17:18] Dress.
[00:17:23] Thank you for the cornerstone this morning.

[00:17:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:18:08] Amen.
[00:18:15] The name of Jesus Christ my King What a beautiful name it is Nothing compares to this What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus
[00:18:43] In one heaven without us So Jesus, You brought heaven down Sin was greater, love was greater What could separate us now?
[00:19:10] What a wonderful name it is
[00:19:11] What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus Christ our King What a wonderful name it is
[00:19:26] Nothing compares to this What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus
[00:20:37] The heavens are roaring The praise of your glory For you were raised to life again You have no quarrel You have no evil war
[00:21:08] The Lord is the King

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
What a powerful name it is.
[00:23:13] What a powerful name it is.

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
The name of Jesus Christ, my King.
[00:23:24] What a powerful name it is Nothing can stand against What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a beautiful name it is What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus Christ our King
[00:23:53] What a beautiful name it is, nothing compares to this What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
God bless you everyone.
[00:24:23] You can take a seat.

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I will go with me to Daniel chapter 3.
[00:25:00] We'll be in Daniel chapter 3 and verse 1 here in just a second.
[00:25:03] Daniel chapter 3 and verse 1.
[00:25:06] We're going to talk this morning about faith that walks through fires.
[00:25:10] Faith that walks through fires.
[00:25:14] We had this experience, and if you have children and we're teaching them ever to swim, then maybe you've had this same experience.
[00:25:21] When our kids were growing up, when we would be at the pool, they would get to a certain age where they would want to jump off the diving board, but they weren't really sure about it.
[00:25:33] I don't know if you've ever had that experience with your kids, or maybe you had that experience growing up.
[00:25:37] So they would they would get to that point where it's like it looks like it's fun to jump off the diving board but they're still you know not really that confident in their swimming ability and that kind of thing and so what we would do to try to help them get over that fear of learning to jump off the diving board is we would go into the deep end right and we would get under the diving board and we would say jump
[00:26:00] Well, I'll catch you, you know, and then they would do the whole thing where it was like they'd get up to the edge and like, okay, I don't know.
[00:26:08] I don't know if I'm going to do this.
[00:26:09] And then, okay, yeah.
[00:26:11] And then we'd say, you know, I don't know if this was us kind of like doing reverse psychology.
[00:26:15] It's like, it's fine if you don't want to jump, okay?
[00:26:18] Get off the diving board.
[00:26:19] Let somebody else jump.
[00:26:20] It's okay.
[00:26:21] You don't have to do it.
[00:26:21] And they're like, no, I want to do it.
[00:26:23] And so, and then they would just kind of try to work up the courage.
[00:26:27] And then eventually,
[00:26:29] After all of that, you know, talking and cajoling and hemming and hawing, they would jump into the pool and we would catch them and they would see that everything was going to be okay.
[00:26:40] But it wasn't until like they really trusted that we were going to catch them, like we're really confident that we were going to catch them, that they would actually take the leap, right?
[00:26:51] That they would actually jump when they were certain that we would catch them.
[00:26:56] And the same thing is true, the Bible tells us throughout, the same thing is true about our relationship with God, that real faith is backed up by real courageous obedience.
[00:27:11] If you really trust God, if you trust His sovereignty, you trust His power, you trust His goodness, then you're going to show that you trust that by taking Him at His word and doing what He says to do.
[00:27:24] And we can go through times of fear and
[00:27:27] Anxiety and challenge and opposition because we trust God.
[00:27:34] We can still bank on Him and we can go through those storms in our life because we trust that God is going to be faithful on the other side.
[00:27:44] That's when we need faith the most.
[00:27:47] Faith is for fires.
[00:27:50] When you're going through a difficult season in your life, when you're going through a painful or challenging
[00:27:54] Faith is for the fires of cancer or losing a job or facing opposition or pressure to stay silent in the culture or go along to get along with your buddies.
[00:28:10] That's when you really need faith.
[00:28:13] That's what we're going to see in Daniel chapter 3 is we're going to see faith that walks through fires.
[00:28:19] Look in the Bible there, Daniel chapter 3 verse 1.
[00:28:22] In order to prepare for our study, we're going to read all the way down through verse 12.
[00:28:27] This is what God's Word says.
[00:28:30] King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its breadth 6 cubits.
[00:28:37] He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
[00:28:41] Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
[00:28:56] Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
[00:29:06] They stood before the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
[00:29:10] 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 are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
[00:29:31] And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
[00:29:38] 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 King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
[00:29:55] Therefore, at that time Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
[00:30:02] They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, O King, live forever.
[00:30:05] 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.
[00:30:15] And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
[00:30:21] There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:30:29] These men, O King, pay no attention to you.
[00:30:33] They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
[00:30:38] May God bless the reading of his word.
[00:30:40] Four things I want us to see in this story this morning about faith that walks through fires.
[00:30:45] The first thing is this.
[00:30:47] Faith that walks through fires refuses to compromise its convictions.
[00:30:52] Faith that walks through fires refuses to compromise its convictions.
[00:30:58] the story we've been going through in the book of Daniel the people of Israel have been taken out of their homeland in Judah in Jerusalem they've been brought away into exile and captivity in Babylon and Daniel and his three friends that we are introduced again to here
[00:31:14] in chapter 3 have been faithful to the Lord.
[00:31:16] They've refused to compromise.
[00:31:18] They've refused to go along to get along and to be assimilated into Babylon.
[00:31:23] And because of that, God has blessed them.
[00:31:25] He's given them grace.
[00:31:26] He's given them favor.
[00:31:27] They have been elevated into positions of prominence and influence there in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar.
[00:31:33] They have trusted God.
[00:31:35] They have been promoted as a result of it.
[00:31:37] And they now have influence.
[00:31:39] But now they're going to face some challenge.
[00:31:42] and some pressure to again conform to the Babylonian way of life.
[00:31:47] Nebuchadnezzar sets up this image of gold in the plain of Dura.
[00:31:54] Remember last week, if you were here, the king had a dream about a giant image and the giant image had a head of gold and a chest and arms of silver and then a waistline of bronze and then legs and feet of iron.
[00:32:09] And it was told to him that this image represents four kingdoms that are going to be smashed by the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is going to grow, fill the entire earth, and last forever.
[00:32:21] And Daniel said, You, O king, are the head of gold.
[00:32:24] That's your kingdom right now, the Babylonian empire.
[00:32:27] But it's going to fall, and it's going to give way to a future empire when it falls.
[00:32:33] Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold.
[00:32:34] And so now, in response to what has happened in chapter 2,
[00:32:39] Nebuchadnezzar sets up this 90 foot tall golden image it's a giant image like in chapter 2 but it is gold all the way through there's no silver there's no bronze there's no iron it's gold all the way through and it shows us that King Nebuchadnezzar is trying to resist God's revelation to him he's he's in a sense saying no I'm not going to let what God said is going to happen happen
[00:33:05] My kingdom's not going to fall.
[00:33:07] And he's trying to unite the empire together to prevent revolt against him so that his kingdom will last.
[00:33:14] And so he sets up this image and he says everybody here, doesn't matter what your background is, what your ethnicity is, where you're from,
[00:33:23] When we play the music at this dedication service, you are to bow down and you are to worship this image.
[00:33:29] Now, let's be clear about what Nebuchadnezzar is doing.
[00:33:31] He's not telling them this is the only religion that you can have.
[00:33:36] He's not telling them this is the only way that you can worship.
[00:33:39] He's trying to add to what they currently worship.
[00:33:43] He's not trying to take away from it.
[00:33:45] That's what he's trying to do.
[00:33:47] He's not trying to subtract their own devotion and worship life, but he's saying, hey, listen, what you currently worship, whatever God it is that you currently worship, that's great, but add to that this golden image.
[00:34:01] And in a pluralistic society like they had there, that wasn't an issue.
[00:34:07] In our day and age, we face the same kind of thing.
[00:34:10] is wanting to pressure us to compromise our convictions and the world is more than happy for us to worship and to be devoted to Jesus so long as we don't give him exclusive devotion and exclusive worship.
[00:34:25] The world is pressuring us.
[00:34:27] They're saying it's just fine if you worship Jesus, but we want you to add to Jesus our definition of what love and tolerance is.
[00:34:35] It's more than fine that you worship Jesus, but we want you to add to Jesus our definition of what gender, marriage, and family looks like.
[00:34:44] We're more than happy for you to worship Jesus, but we want you to add to Jesus our notions of what justice is, or our notions of what nationalism actually looks like.
[00:34:53] The world is fine for us to worship Jesus as long as Jesus isn't elevated above everything else, and as long as He's just in line with everything else that the world wants us to be united under.
[00:35:05] And that's exactly what's happening here.
[00:35:07] We have here in this story, if you catch the languages being used, as he's commanding all the peoples, all the nations, all the languages to worship this golden image.
[00:35:16] This is a counterfeit Great Commission.
[00:35:19] God has told us that we are to go out into all the nations, preach the gospel, and have people bow the knee to Jesus and worship Him as Savior.
[00:35:28] And Nebuchadnezzar here is mimicking the Great Commission and he's giving a counterfeit Great Commission.
[00:35:34] What he's doing here would make 1950s and 1960s evangelists blush.
[00:35:42] I mean, the invitations that they gave
[00:35:45] Didn't compare at all to, hey, Nebuchadnezzar says the exact same thing, right?
[00:35:49] You're either going to bow or you're going to burn.
[00:35:52] And he's trying to get all of the people to be united under this false image.
[00:35:59] This is exactly what, honestly, is very similar to what's happening at the Tower of Babel.
[00:36:05] He's trying to get them to unite together in rebellion against God.
[00:36:09] All the peoples, all the languages.
[00:36:11] And so he invites all the officials to the dedication service.
[00:36:15] It's not the entire kingdom, we're told.
[00:36:18] It's all of these officials in the government who are brought there.
[00:36:22] Daniel, for some reason, is exempt.
[00:36:24] We don't know if he's away on business or it's only certain lower levels of government officials that are required to come to this service.
[00:36:33] But the officials are there.
[00:36:36] They're gathered together at this dedication service.
[00:36:39] And they're told to, when the music plays, everybody bow and worship the image.
[00:36:44] And most everybody is willing to play the game.
[00:36:48] In fact, it's remarkable.
[00:36:51] Historians think that there were almost upwards of 4,500 to 5,000 people from Israel who were taken away into captivity.
[00:37:02] Okay?
[00:37:03] We're told about four who bucked against the trends.
[00:37:08] 4,600 brought into exile.
[00:37:13] We know the names of four of them.
[00:37:16] Okay, because everybody else was willing to go along to get along.
[00:37:20] They're like, hey, listen, no problem.
[00:37:23] We'll bow down and we'll worship the image.
[00:37:25] Just don't kill us.
[00:37:27] You know, people have faced these kinds of pressures before.
[00:37:30] There was a Fox News reporter several years ago after 9-11 and with the subsequent wars and conflicts that we had after 9-11 who were in the Middle East reporting and were captured by Islamic terrorist group.
[00:37:46] And the Islamic terrorists told them, if you want to live and you don't want to die, then you'll convert to Islam.
[00:37:53] And so the Fox News reporters
[00:37:55] Converted to Islam and then when they were rescued and they were brought back to the United States and they were asked about it they said yeah we just we pretended like you know we sang the songs and we prayed the prayers and we pretended like we were converted because we didn't want them to kill us but we we never actually converted to Islam that that's the kind of pressure that these people are facing here either add to what you're currently doing or at least pretend that you're going to worship this image and don't make a public stand for
[00:38:25] Jesus.
[00:38:27] Fear and ideological unity can keep people under control.
[00:38:33] It's what they're trying to do here.
[00:38:35] Again, it's what people are trying to do in our culture, trying to get us to add to Christianity, whatever it may be, that will help us to kind of fall in line with the crowd and everybody else around us.
[00:38:48] Nebuchadnezzar holds the power of death, and so the pressure to compromise convictions is very strong.
[00:38:56] Now, in our day and age, most of us are never going to face the command to bow to a golden image or face being thrown into a fiery furnace, but we do face the pressure to retreat away from our convictions.
[00:39:11] Some people have written, Christian commentators have written that one of the pressures that we face as Christians, and many of us could probably give testimony to times in our life where we've done this, is what they say is retreating down the rabbit hole.
[00:39:26] What they mean by that, the phrase that we used when I was growing up was the Christian bubble.
[00:39:31] And it was just, you retreat down the rabbit hole, which means you just surround yourself in this Christian bubble where the only people you ever come into contact with, the only people you ever relate to, the only people you really have any kind of relationship with are other Christians and safe Christian spaces, and so you're never in contact with the culture, you're never in contact with the world, and so you're safe.
[00:39:54] Now, you don't have any influence.
[00:39:56] You're not helping the world, you're not really showing real love to the world, but you are safe, or you think, from the temptations of the world.
[00:40:03] You retreat down the rabbit hole.
[00:40:05] We face that pressure.
[00:40:07] We face the pressure to go along to get along.
[00:40:09] You don't want to be one of those crazy Christians, do you?
[00:40:13] Believe in Jesus, but just be one of the normal ones.
[00:40:16] That's the way that people talk.
[00:40:18] We face pressure to be silent and to not speak up and to not share our convictions, to choose the easy way.
[00:40:26] And oftentimes, we can sacrifice our convictions for the sake of convenience.
[00:40:33] We can sacrifice our convictions for the sake of convenience.
[00:40:36] We live in a hostile culture that wants everyone to conform to its ideology.
[00:40:42] The truth is, for many of us, if you say, well, John, I've never really been put in that position.
[00:40:51] Paul says in 1st Timothy, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will face persecution.
[00:40:59] All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will face suffering.
[00:41:03] You say, I've never faced persecution.
[00:41:05] I've never faced opposition.
[00:41:06] Well, could that be because you've retreated into the rabbit hole and you're not actually trying to stand up for your convictions in the culture?
[00:41:15] We may not face this because we always choose to go along to get along.
[00:41:21] Here's the good news.
[00:41:21] We live in this setting, but we're not the only ones who've ever been put into these kinds of pressure situations.
[00:41:29] The good news is that our Lord Jesus, He succeeded when He was placed in a very similar situation.
[00:41:36] Jesus faced a similar temptation.
[00:41:38] The evil one said to Him, I want you to bow the knee, and I want you to worship me, and if you do, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the earth.
[00:41:46] But Jesus doesn't take
[00:41:48] The easy way out.
[00:41:49] What Jesus is doing in the temptation that he faces with Satan is Satan is giving him three opportunities to bypass the cross and to say, hey, listen, I know the reason that you've come into human existence is to reclaim all the kingdoms of the earth.
[00:42:06] Well, why don't I just go ahead and give those to you now?
[00:42:08] If you'll bow the knee to me, I'll give these things to you and we can avoid the whole bloody mess.
[00:42:13] He says, if you are the Son of God, then do this.
[00:42:17] And Jesus says, no, I'm going to go through the cross.
[00:42:19] That's the way that I'm going to win back the kingdoms of the earth, is through the cross.
[00:42:23] And it's the exact same temptation they gave him on the cross, right?
[00:42:26] They walk by, they wag their tongues, and they wag their fingers at him, and they say, if you are the Son of God, then show us by getting down off that cross.
[00:42:35] And if he did, then we would go to hell.
[00:42:38] Christ does not take the easy way out.
[00:42:40] He accepts the cross.
[00:42:42] He refuses the temptation to bow to something other than God.
[00:42:45] And the truth is, as we see in this passage, in Christ, we have the power by His Spirit to resist the pressure to compromise our convictions.
[00:42:57] It's not just in Christ, but with the help of His community.
[00:42:59] Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego are not facing this alone.
[00:43:02] They're facing this together.
[00:43:03] They're drawing strength from one another, and we can choose faithfulness as well.
[00:43:09] These three men, they refused.
[00:43:10] They could have made excuses.
[00:43:13] People make these kinds of excuses all the time.
[00:43:15] They could have said, you know what?
[00:43:18] God's opened the door for us to have this influence right now in Babylon.
[00:43:25] And so if we'll just pretend, we'll bow our knee right now, we'll get down and we'll bow down in front of this image.
[00:43:31] In our heads and in our hearts, we'll know we're worshiping God.
[00:43:35] But outwardly, everybody's going to think that we're worshiping this image.
[00:43:38] But it's better for Israel in the long run if we keep these positions of power and these positions of prestige.
[00:43:43] It'll give us the ability to have more influence down the road if we just compromise a little bit here.
[00:43:50] We face those same kinds of temptations.
[00:43:53] Well, if I just go along to get along at work and my boss likes me, then maybe he'll promote me and I'll have more money to give to the church.
[00:43:59] I'll have more money to provide for my family.
[00:44:02] The truth is,
[00:44:04] Real conviction does not care about the consequences.
[00:44:08] It does what is right regardless.
[00:44:12] And that's what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do here.
[00:44:15] They refuse to compromise their convictions.
[00:44:18] Now, how do they do that?
[00:44:19] Faith that walks through fires refuses to compromise its convictions.
[00:44:23] But secondly, we see that it trusts that God will deliver now or later.
[00:44:29] It trusts that God will deliver now or later.
[00:44:31] Look what the Bible says there in verse 13.
[00:44:34] The Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought, so they brought these men before the king.
[00:44:42] 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?
[00:44:51] Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the hornpipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.
[00:45:01] But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
[00:45:05] And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?
[00:45:09] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
[00:45:17] If this be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
[00:45:28] But if not,
[00:45:29] Be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
[00:45:37] We're told that these Chaldeans, these are wise men, these officials in the king's court
[00:45:43] They come forward and they attack Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:45:46] And the attack that they're giving is a satanic attack.
[00:45:50] The Bible says that Satan is the accuser who accuses God's people day and night.
[00:45:56] These men come forward and they accuse Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:46:00] And they say that they're not listening to you, O king.
[00:46:03] And Nebuchadnezzar gets hot, okay?
[00:46:05] Like he's angry.
[00:46:07] And because he's hot, he says, I want you to heat the furnace seven times hotter.
[00:46:12] and he calls like his army Rangers together and he says alright I want you to bind these men and I want you to go throw them in the fire and the fire is so hot we're told that either because of exposure to the flames or smoke inhalation or whatever the the most mighty men in Babylon who are throwing them into the furnace they get killed as a result of their exposure to what is happening that's that's what we're told
[00:46:41] In this story, Nebuchadnezzar is angry because he's not used to being told no.
[00:46:47] He's not used to being rejected.
[00:46:50] And so he gives them a second chance and he's sure they'll back down and he says to them,
[00:46:55] Who is the God who will save you from my hands?
[00:46:59] Now this phrase, who is the God who is going to save you and where is your God, is a phrase that the prophets tell us throughout the Bible that the pagan nations will say to Israel when they are in exile.
[00:47:14] When they seem forsaken by God, that they'll be asked by these pagan nations, where is your God?
[00:47:19] If your God is with you, why is he not here stepping in and intervening?
[00:47:23] Why is he not rescuing you?
[00:47:25] That's what Nebuchadnezzar asks.
[00:47:27] Where is your God?
[00:47:30] And it would be easy for these three to think to themselves, well, that's a great question.
[00:47:35] Where is he?
[00:47:36] How has he allowed all of these awful things to happen to us?
[00:47:43] It's the way lots of people think when they face suffering.
[00:47:47] When they face suffering, they think, God, where are you?
[00:47:51] God, why are you allowing these things to happen?
[00:47:53] And there are many people who can blame God for all kinds of things.
[00:47:57] They can blame God for cancer.
[00:47:58] They can blame God for their singleness.
[00:48:00] They can blame God for the tough breaks that they have in life.
[00:48:03] They don't know how to wrestle with God being powerful and loving and them going through these difficult circumstances.
[00:48:10] Several years ago, I was pastoring in Middle Tennessee, Nashville area, and I was told the story of a local private Christian school in our region that had a football team.
[00:48:21] And one of the varsity players, a kid that was loved by everybody in the school, during one of the games they had was running down on a kickoff play, and he was kind of somebody who was supposed to bust up the other blockers so that people could make
[00:48:37] The tackles and as he went in to try to bust up the wedge he injured his neck and he ended up being paralyzed and was in a coma and as he was there in the hospital in this coma the students from that school were obviously shaken up by everything that had happened and and were really wrestling with it and and so what they decided to do is they decided that they were gonna do this like
[00:49:04] We've done all the things that we know to do, and it's not making one bit of difference.
[00:49:32] Like, does this Christian thing really work?
[00:49:36] This isn't working out the way that we thought.
[00:49:39] And so many people have this idea that if things go bad in my life, then somehow God has abandoned me.
[00:49:48] But these three, they trust God's promise to deliver them from suffering.
[00:49:56] They trust God's promise to deliver them from death.
[00:50:03] but they but they also understand he may choose to do that right now but he may also choose to do that later that's what they're trusting now the reason why they trust that God is going to deliver them the reason why they have that rock-solid confidence is because he's done it before and he promises that he's going to do it again listen what the Bible says in in Deuteronomy chapter 4 I know some of our Sunday School classes looked at this
[00:50:29] Deuteronomy chapter 4 when God is describing the Exodus when he delivers his people from a foreign land in Egypt and brings them out the way that he describes that Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 20 is but the Lord has taken you and brought you out of what the iron furnace
[00:50:49] Out of Egypt to be a people of his own inheritance so you are this day and so they they Shadrach Meshach and Abednego recognize God has brought us out of the furnace once he's promised throughout the prophets when we go into exile again he's going to bring us out he is going to deliver us they're rock solid in their confidence he's delivered us before out of the iron furnace he will deliver us again out of the iron furnace but here's the bottom line true faith
[00:51:16] is confidence that God's deliverance is best whether it's immediate or whether it's eternal.
[00:51:24] I think I've said this to you multiple times over my time with you, but just to make it very clear, being healed of cancer
[00:51:35] and living another 20, 30, 40, 50 years is incredible and we should ask God for it and we should trust God to do it.
[00:51:43] But it's not better than 50 million years in the presence of Jesus with no more tears.
[00:51:49] And so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say, listen, yeah, God can do this.
[00:51:55] He can do it.
[00:51:57] But if He doesn't, we're still not bowing down because we know that He's got something even better for us in store.
[00:52:04] We trust that He's going to deliver us whether He does it now or later.
[00:52:08] So faith that walks through fires, trust that God will deliver now or later.
[00:52:13] Number three, faith that walks through fires experiences God's presence.
[00:52:19] It experiences God's presence.
[00:52:21] Look what the Bible says there in verse 19.
[00:52:25] Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury.
[00:52:27] Again, he gets hot.
[00:52:29] And the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:52:33] He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it usually was heated.
[00:52:38] 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.
[00:52:44] 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 because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated.
[00:52:54] The flame of the fire killed those men.
[00:52:57] We took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:52:59] And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning, fiery furnace.
[00:53:06] And King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.
[00:53:09] He declared to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?
[00:53:15] They answered and said to the king, True, O king, he answered and said, But I see four men, unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt.
[00:53:25] and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
[00:53:31] Faith that walks through fire trusts that they will experience God's presence, that they will experience God's presence.
[00:53:40] One of the things that's remarkable about this story, especially this section of the story, is that we see once they are thrown into the fire, that's
[00:53:56] The moment that God is closest to them.
[00:54:01] And what's remarkable is the way that this great reversal that God does because it looks like on the outside siding with God is the least safe option here.
[00:54:19] Right?
[00:54:20] If you side with God, you're going to be thrown into the fiery furnace.
[00:54:23] So this is the least safe option.
[00:54:25] And it looks like siding with Nebuchadnezzar, that's the safest option.
[00:54:30] And yet the loyal servants of Nebuchadnezzar get killed as collateral damage.
[00:54:39] And those who side with God are in the long run protected.
[00:54:44] And not only are they protected, but
[00:54:48] They experienced the presence of God in a way that they had never experienced the presence of God before.
[00:54:54] The fellowship, none of us would ask for this, but the fellowship that we can experience in the midst of pain and suffering with God is on a different level than the fellowship that we get to experience with God when everything is just going okay.
[00:55:15] And there in the fire,
[00:55:18] and it's remarkable we are told that the Son of God is in the fire with them.
[00:55:23] Nebuchadnezzar, he's a pluralist, he worships multiple idols, he's a pagan.
[00:55:30] He doesn't get exactly what's going on but he looks inside and he says, we threw three in there, there's four in there and the fourth who's walking around with them looks like a son of the gods.
[00:55:43] He's asked the question, right?
[00:55:44] This is what's remarkable about this passage.
[00:55:46] He said to them earlier,
[00:55:49] When I throw you in there, what God is going to be able to save you?
[00:55:52] Where's your God at?
[00:55:54] And we see exactly their God is right there with them.
[00:55:59] He's right there with them in the fire.
[00:56:02] He sends His Son to walk through the fire with them so that they are not burned.
[00:56:08] As one preacher said, the same voice that would later say, be still and the waves would obey, said, be cool and the flames obeyed.
[00:56:17] Nebuchadnezzar we're going to see at the end of the story Nebuchadnezzar utters this phrase which is remarkable he says no God is able to save like your God no God is able to save your like your God what does that mean there's only of all the the the pantheon of gods out there that people worship there's only one God in human history and human existence who's like I'll get down there with my people and go through what they're going through
[00:56:46] There's no other God like that.
[00:56:49] There's no other God who says, I'll be down there in the fire with you.
[00:56:54] There was a poem that a soldier after World War I, after all the pain and loss and just bloodshed of that war, a Christian soldier wrote a poem about
[00:57:10] God being with his people in the midst of tragedy and suffering.
[00:57:14] He wrote it based on the story of Doubting Thomas, but the story, the poem, I think, speaks to this story as well.
[00:57:21] This is what it says.
[00:57:23] If we have never sought, we seek thee now.
[00:57:26] Your eyes burn through the dark, our only stars.
[00:57:30] We must have sight of thorn pricks on your brow.
[00:57:33] We must have you, O Jesus, of the scars.
[00:57:38] The heavens frighten us, they are too calm.
[00:57:41] In all the universe we have no place our wounds are hurting us where is your balm Lord Jesus by your scars we claim your grace if when the doors are shut you draw near only reveal your hands that side of thine we know today what wounds are have no fear show us your scars we know the countersign the other gods were strong but you were weak
[00:58:10] They rode, but you stumbled to your throne.
[00:58:15] But to our wounds, only God's wounds can speak.
[00:58:20] And not a God has wounds, but you alone.
[00:58:24] We have a God who walks through the fire with his people and for his people.
[00:58:31] Jesus doesn't just sit in heaven, look at the problem of human suffering and injustice in the world.
[00:58:38] and say well let them deal with it.
[00:58:39] Jesus becomes part of the problem so that he can become the solution.
[00:58:44] He gets down into this fallen broken existence and he dies on the cross for our sins and he walks away from death just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walk out of the fiery furnace and he promises that if you are one of his children he will never leave you, he will never forsake you and that nothing will separate you from his love.
[00:59:06] Not even death.
[00:59:08] That's why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trust that their God is going to be with them in the fire because they've read Isaiah 43 verse 2.
[00:59:18] God promised, I will be with you when you pass through the waters.
[00:59:22] When you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
[00:59:25] You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you.
[00:59:31] Faith that walks through fires experiences God's presence.
[00:59:34] And then last, faith that walks through fires shows God's greatness to the world.
[00:59:39] Faith that walks through fire shows God's greatness to the world.
[00:59:42] Look what it says there in verse 26.
[00:59:44] Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace and he declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.
[00:59:53] Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire, and the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of these men.
[01:00:03] The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
[01:00:10] Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
[01:00:15] 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.
[01:00:26] 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 in ruins for there is no god who is able to rescue in this way.
[01:00:38] And the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
[01:00:43] The result of this story is
[01:00:45] A pagan king sings the praises of the one true God and acknowledges his superiority.
[01:00:52] It's an amazing turn of events.
[01:00:55] And again we see a glimpse at the Great Commission.
[01:00:59] Nebuchadnezzar here commands every people, nation, language to fear God and then there's judgment if they will commit blasphemy against God.
[01:01:10] These three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walk away from death to the praise of God from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.
[01:01:20] And that's what happens at the cross.
[01:01:22] Jesus walks away from his tomb so that the praise of God will be advanced among every people, tribe, nation, and language.
[01:01:32] And so go against the tide.
[01:01:34] If we go against the tide, if we have faith and we walk through the fires,
[01:01:39] Then we have the opportunity to show God's greatness to a world that needs to see it badly.
[01:01:45] And here's the bottom line.
[01:01:48] The bottom line is the world will not see the greatness of God if we're holding on to God when everything is going well in our lives.
[01:02:02] They're not.
[01:02:04] They're not going to see that.
[01:02:06] They are going to see the greatness of God
[01:02:09] When things are not going well and we're going through pain and we're going through chaos and we're able to, in the midst of that pain, say, God is enough for me.
[01:02:23] I had a friend of our family, a couple that I had mentored the husband, and they went as missionaries to the Middle East and had to come back home about four years ago now because she got cancer.
[01:02:36] And she died of cancer just over a year and a half ago now at the age of 34, four children at home.
[01:02:46] And she went through a long, long battle with cancer.
[01:02:51] The night before she died, the night before she died, they were in the hospital room, her husband and then basically this young adult Sunday school class, other couples and young adults.
[01:03:06] And so there were a dozen people in her hospital room the night before she died.
[01:03:12] She couldn't speak at this point.
[01:03:14] And they decided to have a worship service.
[01:03:17] So they were playing worship music on a phone and they were singing praises to Jesus.
[01:03:23] And she was awake during this time and tears were rolling down her face as she worshiped God silently through tears.
[01:03:32] And after she died, about three weeks later, there was a Muslim nurse
[01:03:39] In that hospital who had been serving her while she was in hospice care.
[01:03:45] And she saw one of the friends that had been in that room and she said to her, that was the most unique experience I've ever had in a hospital to see the way that y'all were singing while your friend was dying.
[01:03:59] Listen,
[01:04:01] The only way that people are going to ask us to give them a reason for the hope that we have is when we look like our hope is in God when we have no earthly reason to have a hope in God.
[01:04:13] When we show the world God's greatness the world is going to say, I want some of that.
[01:04:20] And so faith that walks through fires shows God's greatness to a world that needs us to stand up for it.
[01:04:29] We can have faith that walks through fires because our God goes through them with us, He goes through them for us, and He comes out unscathed on the other side.
[01:04:41] As the old hymn said,
[01:04:44] Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood.
[01:04:52] Put your faith in Jesus and He'll walk through every fire that you ever have to walk through.
[01:04:58] Let me ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes.
[01:05:01] I'm going to pray and then we're going to stand and sing and have a moment of invitation and response.
[01:05:07] I'll be available here.
[01:05:09] There'll be pastors available here at the front if you want to talk to somebody and
[01:05:13] Listen, if you need to give your life to Jesus today, we'd love to talk to you about that.
[01:05:17] If you need to talk with us about baptism or joining with our church and getting on mission with us as we declare God's greatness to our city and to the world, we'd love to talk to you about that.
[01:05:27] If you're struggling right now and you need somebody to pray with you and to pray that God, you're going through some kind of fiery circumstance right now and you need us to pray with you, we'd love to pray with you.
[01:05:36] If you want to come here and pray at these steps or have somebody, one of your brother and sisters in Christ to come pray with you, whatever it is that God's laying on your heart, this is the time for us to respond.
[01:05:49] My prayer, my hope, my challenge is that we, First Baptist Church Charlotte, would have a rock-solid faith that helps us to get through every fire that we're facing, that will refuse to compromise, that will trust that God's plan is good, whether He shows up the way we want Him to right now or He does it later.
[01:06:13] That in these seasons we're going to experience fellowship with Him like we've not been able to experience in other times.
[01:06:20] And that we're going to be able to show how great He is to a world that needs to see it.
[01:06:25] So Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that You would help us to have that kind of faith, confidence in You.
[01:06:33] We'll stand up for our convictions.
[01:06:36] We'll trust Your plan.
[01:06:39] We'll experience sweet fellowship with you and we'll show the world what they need.
[01:06:45] So Lord, I pray right now that you would work, that you would act.
[01:06:48] Father, anybody in the room, anybody who's watching online, if they need to put their faith in Jesus for the first time today, Lord, I pray that they would do that, they wouldn't log off, they wouldn't leave this room without putting their faith in Jesus.
[01:07:02] And Father, for those who have trusted in Jesus, that you would strengthen their faith
[01:07:08] Before they leave today, because Lord, You are with us in the fires.
[01:07:14] We thank You for that.
[01:07:15] In Jesus' name, Amen.
[01:07:17] Would you stand to your feet?
[01:07:18] We're going to sing.
[01:07:18] If you have a decision to make, you come right now while we sing.

[01:07:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Blessed assurance Jesus is mine He's been the fourth man in the fire Time after time Born of His Spirit Washed in His blood
[01:08:09] And what he did for me on Calvary was more than enough And I trust in God, my Savior, the one Who will never fail He will never fail
[01:08:38] I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail.
[01:08:53] He will never fail.
[01:09:00] Perfect submission, all is at rest.
[01:09:10] I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps So this is my story This is my song Praising my risen King and Savior all the day

[01:09:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I trust in God, my Savior One Who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God, my Savior One

[01:10:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
We will never fail.

[01:10:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I I sought the Lord, and He had

[01:11:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I sought the Lord I sought the Lord
[01:11:10] I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust

[01:11:45] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The answer I sought the Lord
[01:12:18] My Savior

[01:13:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Let's thank the Lord for what He's done this morning.
[01:14:01] Thank you, Lord.
[01:14:02] Yeah.
[01:14:05] Man, Pastor John, thank you so much.
[01:14:08] God's Word is so rich and so for us today.
[01:14:12] And man, we have so much to be thankful for here at First Baptist Church Charlotte, right here in the heart of Uptown.
[01:14:20] And we believe God's got some amazing things to do.
[01:14:22] And thank you so much, Pastor John, for that proclamation this morning.
[01:14:27] Thank you.
[01:14:28] We have got such an exciting day ahead of us.
[01:14:31] I'm just going to have you remain standing.
[01:14:32] This is not going to be long.
[01:14:34] We have got some exciting things happening just outside of this door.
[01:14:38] If you would, really quickly, Tyron and his team of amazing people here at our church have done such an amazing job.
[01:14:44] Would you thank them?
[01:14:51] We're going to have some fun outside.
[01:14:53] And even if you're going to the football game, you've still got plenty of time to hang out with us for a little bit, have some food.
[01:14:59] And I promise you our hot dogs are a lot cheaper than theirs are, okay?
[01:15:03] But it's going to be an awesome day.
[01:15:05] And listen, we are right in the middle of Operation Turkey Blessing.
[01:15:10] It starts today.
[01:15:11] and we were talking as a staff are we asking too much of our church are we asking too much and having been here a long time the one thing i can say well there's many things i can say is this church always responds to gospel opportunities and that's what this is it's not just a can of green beans it's an opportunity for us to minister to some amazing people and provide a thanksgiving meal that they might not otherwise have so we're collecting today
[01:15:40] The big ol' can, that's what I call it, the big ol' can of green beans, 50 ounces, not 49, 50 ounces.
[01:15:49] Let's see, three pounds, two ounces, cut green beans, and I said earlier this week,
[01:15:56] Nothing says, I love you, neighbor, as providing them a little bit of extra fiber, right?
[01:16:01] Okay?
[01:16:02] So we're collecting these green beans.
[01:16:04] And listen, if you didn't bring them today, that's okay.
[01:16:07] We're collecting green beans for the rest of the week.
[01:16:10] So you can bring them the rest of the week or next week if you come.
[01:16:15] We also need yams, the 40-ounce can of yams.
[01:16:19] And Lindsay, somebody could, you grab this thing for me so I can hold this.
[01:16:23] Thank you.
[01:16:24] Then week three, we're collecting a bag or a box of stuffing.
[01:16:29] And then on the fourth week, we're collecting finances for turkeys.
[01:16:34] The turkeys are $20 each, so if you give $100, you're going to give five families a Thanksgiving meal.
[01:16:40] So just be thinking and praying about that over the next several weeks, and we would really appreciate it.
[01:16:46] on our church app all the information is there under events or you can go to charlottefbc.org forward slash events you can find all the information there for Operation Turkey Blessing and how you can help minister to families in need right here in our own community right
[01:17:02] It's going to be really cool and I cannot wait until we're out there distributing those bags of food to those families.
[01:17:09] Hey listen y'all, I told you we had some exciting news.
[01:17:12] So Kate, one of our young adults, several weeks ago as we were sort of sharing with some of our young adults about some of the things we wanted to do, Kate reached out to me and said, Mark, I have an organization that I'd like to turn you on to.
[01:17:24] And let's see if we can do something about this sock collection.
[01:17:29] You guys know we're having today Soup for the Soul, S-O-L-E. And I challenged our staff and I challenged our church, let's collect 2,000 socks.
[01:17:40] Well, I'm happy to tell you
[01:17:42] that Kate turns us on to an amazing organization called Johnny Slick.
[01:17:46] They are a nonprofit organization that ministers to young kids and they do some amazing things.
[01:17:53] She turned us on to this lady by the name of Kara who then turned us on to Bombas.
[01:17:57] Bombas donated 1,000 pairs of socks and this church provided 1,153 pairs of socks.
[01:18:07] 2,153 socks.
[01:18:11] that we are providing for our community.
[01:18:13] Look what God can do when we pool our resources and we come together as a family.
[01:18:19] Over 2,000 pairs of socks.
[01:18:21] And so thank you to Kate.
[01:18:23] Thank you to Johnny Slick.
[01:18:24] Thank you to all of our organizations, to Bombas Socks.
[01:18:27] We're not just giving socks.
[01:18:29] We're giving Bombas, right?
[01:18:31] Those things are the bomb.
[01:18:32] Yes, I know, dad joke.
[01:18:33] Sorry about that.
[01:18:34] But so thankful for what God's done and what He's about to do.
[01:18:39] Well listen, we're about to go have some fun outside.
[01:18:42] Please don't get in a hurry.
[01:18:44] Stay, hang out with us, have some food, enjoy some games, and let's have a great time together.
[01:18:49] Let me pause just for a moment and bless the food, and then I'm going to dismiss you to go outside and have some fun.
[01:18:54] Father, in Jesus' name, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Lord, we internalize what Pastor John just shared with us, and we pray that we would not just internalize it, but that we would go out and make it alive in our lives as we go out to win the city of Charlotte, to win uptown, to win our communities, to win our neighborhoods with the power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[01:19:15] Thank you so much.
[01:19:17] Lord as we go outside and have a little bit of fun together I pray that you would bless the fellowship seal us together if there are any people out there on the streets any of the folks that are visiting with us today Lord I pray that as a church we would embrace them bring them in and may this event be a bridge to the gospel for your sake and for your glory bless this food bless this fellowship in Jesus name Amen God bless you everybody