Daniel Chapter 3 Verse 19

• So the implication here is that before Nebuchadnezzar was speaking softly, possibly calm…maybe not taking them too seriously. “Oh here are three wayward boys, let me talk to them…” But when his personal attention was met with non-conformance, what happens? He blows his stack!

• That’s the thing with the world man…in our age of tolerance and democracy. “Hey, have what you want, believe what you want, but stand for it? That’s hate!” And they blow their stack man! Nebuchadnezzar is a childish man. He’s pouty. He’s prideful. He’s forgetful! I mean just a chapter ago he promoted these three! And when he doesn’t get what he demands…when folks don’t bow to him…what happens? He needs a diaper change! HA. He rages.

• And he makes the command for the furnace to be unusually heated. Why? Because he is screaming man! He’s stomping his feet. The furnace as-in would have done the trick, right? But he is making a tragic point. That he must be exalted by other men…that he is entitled…and we’re going to see what that leads too…folks getting killed. Sin ALWAYS hurts. We NEVER get away with it…Never.

• Wait, Matt. I’ve heard this story. These three make it through. You’re right…but there are others, and there are always others, that don’t.

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 20 – 22

• There it is. These men were loyal, powerful, important…mighty men of valor and where did Nebuchadnezzar’s stupidity take them? His childish entitlement…to their graves! How often we do this also in our own lives. Broken relationships, broken people, busted homes, divided churches…why? Because someone needs a diaper change. Because someone has lost the truth…that we are all servants man…we are not the Most High and therefore our right position is…servant…but folks rejects that and scream “entitled!” Respect me! Serve me! Give me!

• Jesus said that He came to serve, not to be served. Man if we would take up that calling…furnaces would not cook our mighty men of valor but they would prepare wonderful feasts for the body of Christ! Men would not exalt themselves over other men…and women over women but we would love and love to love…we would be thankful and surprised when folks serve us…not offended when they don’t…We would serve in humility and growing stronger and stronger each day…

• Not so for these men. Their days have come to an end…which happens all the time in our own lives if we care to notice and God grant us the courage to repent!

Daniel Chapter 3 Verse 23

• And so Nebuchadnezzar gave the decree that anyone who would not fall down and worship this false idol would be cast immediately into the furnace and these three did not waver. They didn’t run, they didn’t murmur, they didn’t plan or plot…they trusted in the Lord. And when they were found out, they didn’t waver. They were brought in front of one of the cruelest kings of all time, yet they did not waver.

• They were questioned, they were threatened, they were cornered, they were intimidated, they were sold out by their employees, they were hated, they were shamed…in all of that, they did not waver.

• Now they are bound and they are thrown into the fire and they have fallen and yet Daniel does not record for us one moment of instability…man, this is so unlike me so many times! Folks say one sentence that I don’t like and it’s like someone just slapped my grandma!   I get all bent out of shape. Why? Pride man…and the root of pride…is a lack of surrender to the Lord!

• Man, who am I more like in a time of adversity? In a time of offense? Am I more like Nebuchadnezzar? “Heat up the stove man, let’s burn ‘em!” Or am I more like these three? “I do not serve the false god of self and neither will I serve this gold image which you have set up!”

• And man the trials do get this far don’t they? Some start with just something said. A husband offending his wife or the other way around. A co-worker or even a brother or sister at church…something that should not have been said just like this ridiculous decree…fast forward to the confrontation, that doesn’t go too well, then the bondage, then even sometimes we are made to fall…we take the fall man even when we haven’t done anything wrong…who are we more like at each stop on that unpleasant subway ride? Again, do we even care?

• I hope we do because look unrighteousness on the part of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego at any point in this circumstance would have resulted in the worship of a false god and denying the One true God…but look with me and see the result of trust and surrender to the Lord and His ways and His will…

Daniel Chapter 3 Verses 24 – 26

• Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 10, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Now check this out because this is what we see here…Jesus continues there in Matthew Chapter 10. “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

• Who is this standing with the three in the midst of the fire? Precisely, Daniel names Him. This is Jesus! An Old Testament appearance of the Son of Man. A Christophany. Do you think Jesus had this on His mind when He was speaking to His disciples in Matthew 10?   Oh yea! I think definitely. And so why is it that now as these three find themselves in the most fiery, terrible, horrible situation they have ever been in, why is it that now even the non-believers can see Jesus with them? Could it be, that the Word of God is true?

• Could it be that because they have not wavered, they have not sought their own, they have not denied the Lord before men, could it be that now the moment that they have fallen caused by the unrighteousness of other men, could it be that that is the VERY SAME moment they are loose, walking about in the midst of the fire, not hurt, communing the closest with Jesus…to the point that the world even sees it?? Awwww yea! Yet we fight like super heroes against this moment, don’t we!? Why? We lack trust man…we are short on surrender…a living sacrifice? Not so much! A living witness I’ll readily be but take up my cross? Lemme just slip by that one…

• But right here we see it…we find the teaching of Jesus walked out, and we find a spiritual must that is known by very few…that if you really will surrender to the Lord, love Him and worship Him even in the most difficult of circumstance, then you will know the depths of His provision. And a cycle of faith, trust and hope will ignite! Hotter than the fire we see here!

Daniel Chapter 3 Verse 26

• Servants of the most high gold image? Nope. Nebuchadnezzar may have been shaking a little in his Jordans at this point. Why? Well consider this. This is most likely the furnace that was used to melt the gold to overlay the statue! So what? Who cares? What, hold up. The creator of his false image is defeated. Not just the false image itself but its creator…and by Who? The One true God, the Son of Man…oh yea!   Much there that we just don’t have time to discuss…

• But note this. The One true God is coming back, and soon. It’s a mystery as to when but as Madison taught me, when there is a mystery, follow the clues. At what degrees does gold melt? 1,948 degrees Fahrenheit…precisely the year that Israel came back! Zinger! We just figured out Blue’s Clues, dadada Blue’s Clue’s! We just figured out Blue’s Clue’s…because we’re really smart! HA! Just a cool little nugget. Let’s continue…

Daniel Chapter 9 Verse 27

• Ok, who are they with when Neb calls out them? With Jesus right! Yet look at what they do! They obey their worldly authority! What kind of humility is this!? Notice, Jesus didn’t stop them, He was glorified by them! And lookie lookie. Not only are they unhurt, they don’t even smell of fire! What a wonderful truth for anyone who will walk through their trials honoring Jesus man!!!!

Daniel Chapter 9 Verse 28

• Notice, God changed the word of the king, this ridiculous decree is about to be overturned but notice how He did it…not through violent protest but through faithful protest…I love that man! Now there is a time for war for sure but look at this man…God is able…this is an impossible scene yet God loves this opportunity and we give it to Him so very infrequently…

Daniel Chapter 9 Verse 29

• Yea! Wait, um, not good…quite violent but you know what, this is a spiritual truth…folks that seek to trust in self and live for self and deny their Creator and reject the love and grace and life of Jesus, they end up falling to pieces man…and their lives made like an ash heap. Praise God that He is able to bring beauty from the ash heap but there will always be dead bodies man…just like the mighty men of valor…sin always has a price and its always more than you want to pay…

Daniel Chapter 9 Verse 30

• What is the promotion of man worth? When in an instant, it can be taken away…the promotion of God cannot. God is able to build you upon the foundation of His Son and that promotion, will stand!