Faith Under Fire
from Daniel 3
by Norman Smith

Norm Smith will come up to share the word of God with us. He is a missionary with ABWE to Japan.

He's back in the States to take care of family, which I think is a good thing, but he's living in Wisconsin, so to me that's the promised land, so we're happy to have him. Good morning. It's good to be with you this morning.

I think the last time I was at this church was around 1999 or 2000, so it's been a few years. My wife and I went to Faith and then we started on a journey toward Japan, I believe, in 1998. So it had been as we were getting started, raising support and thinking about this new life that God had called us to in Japan.

So we've spent the last 20 years in Japan and we're back briefly to take care of my mother in law. So you can pray for Susan. She's not with me.

This is the first year before this year, in about 20 plus years of 20, close to 25 years of traveling and sharing ministry together, I think there are about five times that we didn't travel together until this year. And then as she's caring for her mom, she hasn't been able to get out a whole lot, so pray for her. It's been an adventure to be back in the home that she grew up in and kind of trading roles with her mom and all those kind of things.

So do pray for her when you have a chance to think about her. This morning, if you'll turn me to Daniel, chapter three, we're going to think a little bit about trials and difficulties in life. I don't know about you, but it seems like we always have some we don't have very many months go by when it seems like something doesn't happen that causes a few bumps in the road.

And sometimes it seems like there is no road. And I say that's probably where we are right now. People ask us, well, how long are you going to be back in the States? Well, that is completely in God's hands.

We have no control over any part of that. So we are at a point where we always should be, where we're absolutely waiting on God and looking for what he has for us day by day. Daniel, chapter three is one long story and we're going to read all of it, but I think there's some good reminders and lessons for us here.

Daniel, chapter three. Starting in verse one, Nebuchadnezzar, the king, made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then a herald cried aloud to you it is commanded, O peoples, nations and languages that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre and sultry in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp and lyre in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Therefore, at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, o king, live forever. You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, liar and sultry and symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the gold image.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affair of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These men, O king, have not paid due regard to you.

They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they brought these men before the king Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now, if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harpy and salty in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I've made good.

But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you from my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, o Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king.

But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and the expression on his face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning, fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans and other garments and were cast in the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound in the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished. He arose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, true, O king, look.

He answered, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning, fiery furnace and spoke, saying Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire and the satrap's, administrators, governors and the king's counselors gathered together and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power. The hair of their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected and the smell of fire was not on them. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him.

And they have frustrated the king's word and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made an ash heap because there is no other God who can deliver like this. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Let's pray. God, this morning we just thank you for the opportunity we have to open Your word again to be reminded that even in the midst of our trial you are working and you are working to grow us. You are working to proclaim your name is great.

And God, I pray that we would recognize that and join with you in lifting up Your name in the Word around us. This ask in Jesus name. Amen.

So this morning, as you look at this chapter and you see this predicament that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves in, you see that they faced a very real problem. When King Nebuchadnezzar set up this idol and asked that people worship it, there was a very real penalty attached. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not gray about what the penalty was.

It was very clear what would come if they did not bow down. It's important, I think, in our life that we recognize that the trial is very real in our life too. The trials you face are very real.

You have trials every day, every week, every month, every year. Temptations to put your faith in something other than God, maybe in your own strength, in your own abilities and your own finances, in your own work. We have that temptation every day.

And here Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they could have reasoned out and logically considered this idol is not God, right? We would agree with that. There's no God. There So I can do what the king says here and things will go fine with me because I'm not actually worshiping other God.

I'm going to do the motions, but I'm not going to worship anything. I'm just going to do the motions. There's no God.

There I'm not worshiping it. And the God who I worship will understand. They could have reasoned that out.

And I think that's what we do often in our life so well, this is not that big a deal. We can logically work our way around doing what we want to do or what we feel is safest. But they didn't do that.

They understood the trial is very real. John 1633 Jesus tells us that we will have tribulations in this world. The tribulations come from being fully committed to following Jesus.

So the trial is very, very real. But what's important, I think, as we look at this, they recognize the very real trial and the penalty that would come from not bowing down before these gods. They also recognized.

Nebuchadnezzar is asking a question, it's in verse 15, and he says, who is the God who will deliver you from my hands? Who is the God who will deliver you? That's the question that the world is asking today. People all around us are asking that question. Who's going to deliver us? Who's going to deliver you? Okay, you Christian, who is the God who you believe will deliver you? That question's still being asked.

And Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered that by refusing to bow and saying very, very clearly verse 18, we do not serve your gods, we will not worship the gold image you have set up. They were committed to absolute faith in God. And it's interesting because their faith was in God, not in deliverance.

He asked the question, who is the God who will deliver you? Well, we know who God is, but God doesn't promise deliverance from every trial. One of the things we misunderstand and that we struggle with in our own life is that deliverance from the trial is not our greatest goal and it is not God's greatest goal for you. Now, we want that.

We all want the easy life. We want things to go well with us. But you know what God wants? He wants you to be like Jesus.

More than anything else, he wants you to be like Jesus. And one of the tools that God uses in your life to help you do that is the trial. And often the trial reveals something to us, reveals something to me about myself.

God already knows the truth, but sometimes I've deluded myself and I will say, I trust God. Do you trust God in everything? Yes. But then let the trial come and what happens? It reveals the places where maybe we don't trust God as much as we say that we do.

And that's information that we need to know. God already knows that the trial is a tool that God uses to help us grow our faith. The important thing, I think, about the trials, one of the ways that he does this, trials do something.

They force a very real connection between what we believe and our life, where normally, if things are going well, we can kind of separate faith and life. What the trial does is say, no, you can't actually do that. You have to have faith where you live in acts as you saw the church just expand rapidly.

I heard one time someone say, it's amazing how rapidly the church expanded in spite of all the persecution. It's like, oh, no, that's not the way that works. The church expanded rapidly because of the persecution.

God used the trial to spread the church across the globe. It wasn't in spite of it, it was because of it. I think that persecution was necessary.

Trials in our life are necessary because if we don't have trials, what happens? We tend to have comfort. Things are going well. And when things are going well, what happens with our faith is it gets lazy.

Lazy faith means we're not rethinking about it. We don't examine our faith. A lazy faith is an unexamined faith, and unfortunately, an unexamined faith is often an untold faith.

When you're in the middle of the trial and you see God's grace at work, I think you're more likely to tell somebody. But when things are going smooth, first of all, you're not really looking at God. You're not examining your faith, and you're probably not talking about it either.

So God uses those trials to pull us into his story. So the faith is in God, not in deliverance. God is working for an eternal purpose, not just to make your life today better.

And I think we misunderstand that. It's a tool he uses. So the faith in God particularly look at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego here.

They understood that deliverance was not promised. They didn't know what was going to happen. So there were three things that you see here in their answer to Nebuchadnezzar, when he asked, who is the God who would deliver you? They said, we have no need to answer you in this matter, boy.

They had an answer very quick. If it's the case that we're going to be thrown in this furnace, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us. They had absolute faith in God's ability to deliver Him from this trial.

And part of that comes from who they were. Think about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Think about the line of people that they come from.

The Israelites have been challenged throughout the Old Testament, throughout the life of their relationship with God as he chose them and began to teach them what it meant to be his chosen people. He said over and over and over and over again, remember what God has done. Remember who God is.

They remembered. They knew absolutely who God is. See, that's the challenge for us when we go into the trial.

Do you remember who God is? He is the deliverer. He has done that in amazing ways throughout history, bible times and since Bible times, he still delivers. Every time you see someone accept Christ as their Savior, you're seeing a miracle happen, a deliverance from death to life.

God still does deliver. He has always been a God who delivers. He is able.

And we need to remember who God is. When we have trials in our life, there's never a doubt that God can deliver. He is absolutely capable of it.

They knew who God was. They knew his person, his character, his purpose, and they wanted to bring glory to Him, live or die. So they said, our God is able.

They also knew something about the heart of God, they said, and he will deliver us from your hand. They understood God's willingness to deliver. God loves them, god loves us.

We understand that God loves us. God's doing something in our life. God has a plan for us.

When we go through a trial, it's not because God doesn't care. I would say, actually, it's the opposite. It's because God does care.

It's just that his priorities and our priorities are often different things. Our priorities. I want my life to be good today.

God wants your life to be well in eternity. His priority is not just about today. We often make that mistake of thinking, well, this thing that's in front of me right now, that's the most important thing.

God said, no, I'm the most important thing. And for you, your standing before me in eternity is the most important thing. Your ability to be like Jesus is the most important thing.

And if it takes the trial to work on that, god's willing to invest in you, to walk alongside you in the trial. See, that's one of the things they understood. God's ability and God's willingness.

Then you get to verse 18 said but if not if God does not deliver us from this trial, let it be known to you that we will not serve your Gods. We're putting our foot down. We are going to stand and stay firm.

We're committed to the Creator God. They had absolute faith in God's sovereignty. Because sometimes God's answer is, I am absolutely able to deliver you.

I am willing to deliver you if that's the right thing for you. But if you need to go through the trial, here's my promise I'll walk through it with you. Jesus promised those who follow Him, I will never leave you or forsake you.

In the middle of your darkest night, Jesus promises to be there with you. God is able to deliver you. He's willing to deliver you if it's the best thing.

But when his sovereignty requires that you go through the trial, you don't go through it alone. He promises to walk through it with you. Part of what we misunderstand is the purpose that God is working in this life.

God is working eternal purposes in every situation, in every context, in every trial. One of the things that I think is amazing when you think about trials is the result of a trial that's lived well. When you go through your trial and your faith is not lazy, when you go through the trial and you're examining your faith and you're recommitting yourself to God and you're telling people about God's grace, so your faith is told, then what trials do is they give you a story to tell, but it's not your story.

It's God's story. Why do we look at people like Job in the Old Testament and continually tell his story? It's not in spite of his trials, right? It's because of his trials, because he went through the trials and said, even if God slays me, I will still trust Him. I will still serve him.

It's because of his faith in the midst of a trial that we remember Job. Why do we look at Paul and say, man, he was an amazing, amazing man. Was it in spite of the difficulties in life, in spite of the trials? No, it was because of them.

I mean, this crazy man was stoned, left for dead outside the city, and then gets up and walks back in. We remember Paul in part because of the trials that he had to walk through. Shipwrecks and beatings, snake bites.

One of more recent examples, somebody that I've thought about particularly I was younger, had a big impact on me just thinking about what it means to live a life of faith. How many have heard of Johnny Erickson Tata? A few. If you haven't, you need to look her up.

Johnny Erickson Tata I think in the 70s was with some friends. She's probably a teenager, dove off into a river, going swimming and hit her head on a rock and was forever after a paraplegic. Now, she had a rough time getting there, but she eventually got to the time where she recognized God's hand at work, and she recognized God did something in her life.

God glorified himself in her life and it's not in spite of her Johnny Erickson Tata, her story has been turned into books, movies, documentaries. She has spoken to literally millions of people.

Is that in spite of her trial? No. I guarantee you, if that had not happened to her, you would never have heard her name. I would never have heard her name.

It's because of that trial that she was given a platform where she could proclaim how great God is. When you go through a trial and you stand like Job, like Paul, like Johnny, and say, God's grace is sufficient, god's doing something that's bigger than this life and I will trust Him, then your story is connected with God's story in a powerful way. You have a story to tell.

If you live in this life. You may not have the struggles of Job, you may not be shipwrecked like Paul, you may not be a paraplegic like Johnny, but you will face trials. How will you respond to them? Well, if you're like most of us, you'll respond first by complaining.

And hopefully, eventually, after we've complained enough, we'll remember, oh, yeah, but God say, what is God doing? How is God challenging me to examine my faith in this trial, to grow in this moment, to be more like Him, to reflect his glory? How is my story connected to his story? God gives you a story to tell, then the question becomes, are you willing to tell it? Are you willing to tell the story of the God who does allow us to go through difficulties? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they had to be thrown into the furnace and they didn't know that they would come out. But when Nebuchadnezzar asked, who is the God who would deliver you? They said, well, this is the God who is able to deliver us and he is a God who is great even when he doesn't deliver us. And in their case, God did deliver.

And eventually Nebuchadnezzar said in verse 29, there is no other God who can deliver like this. God does do that. He delivers because he is able.

He is willing, but he is sovereign. He's doing something that's bigger than me. He's doing something that's bigger than you.

This morning, I would ask you to examine your faith. It's very likely that you're in the midst of a trial now, sometimes a small one, sometimes a big know. For Susan and I, we have several things that I'm not sure we qualify them as trials, but there's certainly difficulties, there's certainly bumps in the road, certainly things we'd like to complain about, but we have to stop and say, Wait a minute, did God decide to take a nap? I don't think so.

God's doing something. He is inviting us to change and grow. You know, we change and grow through difficulties.

You don't grow very much when everything's going really, really well, because you don't stop and examine your faith, because you don't look to God as much. But you know, when you're going through a trial, one of the things we tend to do is really call out to God. And sometimes God's saying, finally, it's too bad that it took this major trial for you to look to me, but that's what you needed to look to me.

Sometimes that's the purpose of the trial. But I think a lot of times we're human and we tend to be selfish, think only about our life. I think most of the time it's not actually about me.

What God's doing is giving me a trial so that I have an opportunity to speak to somebody else. The trial causes me to examine my life and gives me an opportunity to tell how great God is. And when I do that, God is glorified.

So this morning, examine your faith. Don't let it be an unexamined faith. Don't have a lazy faith, and don't let it be an untold faith.

Trust God's ability, his willingness, and his sovereignty as he works in your life. You are going to have trials, but God walks with you. Let's pray.

God, this morning I want to thank you for the opportunity we have to once again come and just be reminded that you do work in the midst of our trials, in the midst of every difficulty. You are an awesome God who is lifting yourself up, who is changing us from day to day through this amazing process of sanctification to become more like Jesus. God, I pray that you would work in us today to help us as we walk through every trial, to examine our faith, to really have a strong desire to see you glorified in our life.

And God, help us to share with the people around us that you are an amazing God. This ask in Jesus name. Amen.