FAITH UNDER FIRE
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: FAITH UNDER FIRE
Main Scripture: Daniel 3:1-30; Isaiah 43:1-2
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Pastor Ryan unpacked the short phrase we see in Hebrews 11:34, “By faith…they quenched the flames of fire…” If you were raised in church we all know who that is referring to, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Three young men from Jerusalem were taken to Babylon and now facing a difficult ultimatum. Bow to a golden statue and worship everything it stands for or courageously take a stand for their loyalty to Yahweh and pay the price in a fiery furnace. Spoiler alert: they are thrown into the furnace but don’t burn, not even smell like smoke. For thousands of years, the Christian church has found inspiration and courage from these three men. The pressure for us to bow to unholy and ungodly beliefs is ever-increasing. Pastor Ryan encouraged us to not bow, not to be afraid, and keep our faith in God. We are reassured that if we go through the “furnace” God will be right there to deliver us.
Notes:
Two kingdoms occupy and influence this world, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. For our story of faith today, we go to Daniel 3 where these two Kingdoms collide. In this collision, three men belonging to the Kingdom of God are tested and tried by a literal furnace of fire. The challenge is to bow in worship of a man and his gold statue or take a stand to remain faithful to the one true God in the face of death…
Background
Taken from Jerusalem, captives in Babylon, under a Babylonian indoctrination process
V. 1-3
In chapter 2, Daniel interprets a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar where he is the head of a statue covered in gold.
Every theologian believes this dream inspired the creation of this statute in chapter 3.
The statue was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, fully covered in gold. This was the king’s arrogant statement declaring his greatness over all the kingdoms in the dream.
V.4-7 the institution of state religion
Who was the statue and worship for? Some theologians say the Chaldean god Nebo (or Nabu) because King Nebuchadnezzar’s name means “May Nebo protect my boundary.” Other theologians say it was a gold statue to set up worship to himself because there is no dedication to a particular god.
The fact that the officials were commanded not only to fall down before the image, but also to worship it, indicates that the image had religious and political significance. Pentecost, J. D. (1985). Daniel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1338). Victor Books.
V.6 Forced worship is not true worship because it’s not formed by the bond of love.
Music is associated with and used as an aid for worship. The king was appealing to all senses and conditioning their worship.
V. 8-18 The accusation and trial of God’s faithful witnesses
A decree is a law to be obeyed, so this solidifies that this was a political move to enforce their worship or else pay the price with their lives.
The Jews were being targeted and had a reputation for not serving the local gods.
V. 14 the king at least goes to the source before believing the accusation.
V. 15 “And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” This was a mistake by King Nebuchadnezzar. This is when the matter became a conflict between Nebuchadnezzar and Yahweh!
V.16-18 A bold statement of faith. Some of the most powerful scripture verses you will read in the Bible.
The three men submitted their lives to God in complete faith and trust.
Obeying God was more important than living. That’s devotion.
V.19-23 The Furnace
The language here is very descriptive, helping us grasp how intense this drama was between them.
Furious, face distorted, fire heated 7 times, the strongest men, fully clothed so plenty of fire combustible items, the soldiers died because It was so hot and thrown into the roaring flames.
A low fire would have increased their torture by extending the duration of the punishment. A hotter fire would be expected to kill them instantly. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to display publicly the cost of rebelling against his authority. Pentecost, J. D. (1985). Daniel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1339). Victor Books.
V. 24-27 There’s another in the fire
This is why our main scripture in Hebrews 11:34 says, “By faith…they quenched the flames of fire.”
When God’s people go through the fire, He goes through it with them.
I can testify that God goes through the fiery furnace of persecution.
V. 28-30 glory to God
When we persevere through the fire people will see the faithfulness and power of God.
Application
The Culture of Babylon
In the Bible, Babylon stands for a system that is blatantly anti-God and seeks to replace God.
Polytheistic culture. A belief that there are many gods. In Babylon, they believed they can coexist and be served equally.
We live in a type of Babylon where God is no longer at the center of our lives, our homes, our government, and now even in certain churches.
God and His word are not revered, respected, or followed.
Like Babylon, our society is focused on serving our own self-interests. This is the spirit of the antichrist and opposes what Jesus taught. Jesus says if you want to be my follower you must deny yourself and follow me. This focus on self-indulgence and selfish ambition is demonic, further influencing society to abandon God’s view to serve self-interests. (See James 3:15-16 NLT).
The Pressure to Bow
The pressure to bow and conform to the world’s culture is to be unfaithful to God. The world wants us to abandon what we believe to be right and true. To abandon our commitment to God and go with the tide of culture. (I thought we are supposed to be true to ourselves and our convictions…unless it’s God???)
The pressure to be unethical at work. The pressure to fit in at school. The pressure to agree with friends. The pressure to cross lines in relationships. It starts with these smaller things.
We’re being pressured to bow…by affirming, accepting, and agreeing with unbiblical positions and lifestyles (Marriage, Gender Identity, and Sanctity of Life) If we don’t align and affirm then in the furnace of public slander, cancellation, and threats we go!
James Reimer
Kirk Cameron
Reverend Brandan Robertson (example of one who bows to culture and misleads people)
If we won’t bow, laws will be put in place to force our compliance or pay the penalty. King Nebuchadnezzar did this and thought he trapped everyone. But he found out God is the ultimate judge and ruler over all kingdoms and trials!
The Faith to Stand
Be true and faithful to God
Faith entrusts our lives in the hands of God, no matter the outcome.
Faith chooses God and the furnace over compromise and comfort.
We love God, we love the truth, and we love people too much to agree with a lie.
Faith in God doesn’t exempt us from fiery trials. We need to be prepared for persecution and conflict when we stand with God and His Word
Let’s not stand alone. The holy church of Jesus Christ needs to stand together!
2 Timothy 2:22-26
The Faithfulness of God
Isaiah 43:1-2 NIV
God is with us in the middle of the furnace
The trial is painful but experiencing the goodness and faithfulness of God on another level makes it worth it.
The faithfulness of God through our fiery furnace brings glory to God.
God never leaves nor forsakes us
The Comfort of Jesus
Jesus warned us so we would not be caught off guard wondering why this is happening to us and give us a sense of peace.
John 15:18-19 NLT
John 16:33 NLT
John 17:13-19 NLT
The helper, counselor, and comforter, the Holy Spirit is with us!
Close: What King Nebuchadnezzar discovered was he could get more cooperation from the nations he captured by allowing them to keep their gods. Sometimes, he even worshipped them too. The king was always able to rule the gods until he met the little nation of Judah and their God, Yahweh! The God of Judah, our God, calls for exclusive worship! Our God has no rival and this world is his footstool. Yahweh created Nebuchadnezzar and taught him many lessons, like who is really in charge of all kings and kingdoms. That’s our God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, worthy of the world’s worship whether they worship Him or not! We need to remember that “the name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
Discussion:
What did God use in this sermon to speak directly to you?
What did we learn about God in this story?
How did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, show faith in this story?
What are we being pressured to align and agree with that goes against God’s Word and will?
Take a moment to read and share what is encouraging about Jesus’ words to the disciples and us in John 15:18-19; John 16:33; and John 17:13-19.
What other notes did you write down that you would like to share?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!