Standing Firm: Faith Over Worldly Pressure

"Daniel chapter 3 we're going to begin right here at verse 1 where we read Nebuchadnezzar the King made an image of gold whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon now we're doing a series through the Book of Daniel so if you've been with us at all before you know some of these characters already you understand that Daniel and his companions were taken away as captives sort of forced refugees taken to Babylon and they were put in the civil service there so they've worked for the government of this king named Nebuchadnezzar." [00:00:08]

"Now you think something that that's a weird dimension is it's much more like an obelisk don't think Statue of Liberty think Washington Monument probably with the face are kind of stylized impression on it but it was an image made at least on the outside entirely of gold why is this significant because in the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream only the head was gold the chest was made out of silver the belly was made out of bronze the legs were made out of iron and those different materials and different body parts represented different kingdoms." [00:02:28]

"Can you imagine collectively how great the pressure was for everybody to bow down to this particular image media the impressiveness of the art of the of the image itself and then the peer pressure itself all worked together now I want you to take this away from the plains of Babylon 2,600 years ago and I want you to transfer it here to santa barb ellonija right here and right now oh yeah to santa barb ellonija right here right now and see what an incredible picture this is of the leader so to speak spiritually speaking I believe Satan himself can be said to represent Nebuchadnezzar right here in the fact that Satan presents an image before humanity that he says bow down to you ever thought about that you know the world all around us the culture the music the media the important people the successful people the cool people they all present to us a message this is who you should be bow down to this image and almost always that image has nothing to do with God or with His Son Jesus Christ." [00:08:10]

"Romans chapter 8 verse 29 says this that God's people are predestined to be conformed into the image of his son God wants you God wants me to become more and more like Jesus he wants us to be conformed into his image not the image that the Nebuchadnezzar's of this world may set up that the media and the music and the culture and everything else pushes upon us but the image of Jesus Christ himself which simply says to me and it says to you as well that every day I want to become more like Jesus I want to love more like Jesus love I want to be strong more like Jesus wrong I want to be wise more like Jesus wise I want to be committed to God's truth mars-like jesus was I want to live my life in sacrificial service the way Jesus did that's an image that God wants you and me and everyone who's a follower of Jesus Christ to be conformed to." [00:10:58]

"On top of all the culture and media influences and all of that work together make a very persuasive on top of all of that there was also the law the power of government refusing to worship that image was seen as treason it wasn't just seen as a religious thing it was seen as treason against the government of Nebuchadnezzar and this is a heavy thing for us to consider because on the one hand we see in this the way that governments love to use religion to sometimes manipulate and oppress their people can't you see that going on some places around the world today government's love to latch on to religion and I would say we've got Ohio able to hold two things in two different hands ready for this as Christians sometimes we got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time." [00:12:50]

"Listen the little stuff matters a lot because it's in the little things that we make a stand for Jesus Christ that God builds within us the character and the courage to stand for greater things so that's what they said let it be known to you O king no excuse no justification that they didn't resort to one of thousands ways that they could kind of excuse it all no they stood boldly before God and what would become of them well again that's for next week and I know you read ahead most you know the story anyway but pretend you don't know it and we'll come back next week and see what God did in the lives of these men but let me conclude rest with these points very simply number one we don't bow down to the image that the world pushes upon us lays Jen would God raise up a brand new new generation of followers of Jesus Christ that are steadfast in their career and I'll just say let the world do what the world's gonna do we will follow Jesus." [00:34:29]

"Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king o Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this manner 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 Nebuchadnezzar do you expect us to grovel do you expect us to beg for our life do you expect us to make excuses no let me tell you something Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you he says in verse 16 and then in verse 17 our God whom we serve is able to deliver us Nebuchadnezzar you challenged us you said who is the God who can deliver us from your hands I'll tell you the God who reigns in heaven Yahweh the Covenant God of Israel that God is able to deliver us from your hands he can do it and they were absolutely steadfast in that trust." [00:29:23]

"Shadrach can God deliver you from the fivers absolutely can I don't doubt God's power at all but they would not presume to know God's will because well Nemec what if God doesn't preserve you from the fire first so we're still gonna honor him and serve Him they had the attitude that is also expressed in the book of Job where job said though he slay me yet will I trust him ladies Jemma's I look at Christianity today I think we need a infusion of this kind of spirit because what I see in so much of Christianity today is God I Love You God I'll serve you God I'll honor you as long as you do what I expect you to do but if you don't play ball with me God well then now we need to keep our firm trust and God can work miracles and he's a miracle working God but if the miracle doesn't come we're still gonna love him we're still gonna serve him." [00:31:28]

"Father in Heaven we just simply pray that you would impress these things deeply upon our hearts and Lord I just simply pray that God first of all you'd give us greater discernment to see all the subtle ways and the obvious ways that the world would press its image upon us and Lord we want to resist it with all of our mind the Lord we want to bow down and worship Jesus and we so long to be transformed to be conformed to his image you predestined us to be conformed to the image of your son so do that work in us give us that courage give us that strength in you Lord God we pray in Jesus name Amen." [00:36:38]

"Do not judge the situation by the Kings threat and the heat of the burning fiery furnace but by the everlasting God in the eternal life which a way to do not let flute harp and sackbut fascinate you but hearken to the music of the glorified men frown at you but you can see God smiling on you and so you are not moved but if you never sense God smiling upon you if you have no real relationship with him then what power do you have to stand in that day where your challenge to compromise you have none God was real to these men and that's why they made the stand now there's something else very revealing in this look at verse 15 Nebuchadnezzar said who is the God who will deliver you from my hands I imagine and Nebuchadnezzar being absolutely enraged when he says this who is the God who will deliver you from my hands now once you notice this he doesn't say this I want you to know that Yahweh the God of Israel is absolutely unable you to deliver you from my hands he makes his argument against all gods there's no God who can well Nebuchadnezzar what about your Babylonian gods I don't care about the Babylonian gods none of them can deliver you from my hand either this shows you what Nebuchadnezzar truly worshiped do you think Nebuchadnezzar worshipped that obelisk in the desert no what did Nebuchadnezzar really worship at the end of the story himself isn't that just it ladies gentlemen we rebel against God when we go our own way when we bow down before the idols of this world when the image that the Nebuchadnezzar's of Santa Babylonia put up in front of us when we bow down before them it's just another way to worship self and that's exactly what Nebuchadnezzar did well how's this gonna turn out look at verse 16." [00:27:54]

"Listen Daniel his friends everybody else in Babylon they had no sadness it was Nebuchadnezzar alone but as a democracy we have a role in the function of government and we must not yield that we must use it wisely and biblically and unto the glory of God we should use that voice that God has given us so you see what I said about being able to walk and chew gum at the same time we don't put excessive hope in the government because the kingdom of God does not arrive on Air Force one but neither do we abandon government we say listen we don't want the government to encourage to build these things that would make people bow down before idols according to the picture in the metaphor that we find here in Daniel chapter 3 but the price was heavy verse 6 says that he prepared a burning fiery furnace and everything we know from Nebuchadnezzar both from the Bible and in secular history tells us he was the kind of guy who would use it so there it stands everybody bow down again I can only imagine the pressure on those three Jewish young men Shadrach Meshach and Abednego to bow down sometimes the biggest thing compelling them to do it would just be the fact that everybody else was doing it are you like me sometimes you get a little bit frightened at yourself how much you can be motivated by everybody else is doing it it's a frightening thing sometimes I think we're all still in junior high school where we desperately live for the attention or the affection or the approval of peers around us it's a tough thing rooted deep inside us but there has to come a place for every man or woman who will be a follower of Jesus Christ to be willing to say I'll stand against the crowd I'll push against the current it doesn't matter to me if everybody else is doing it everybody else may bow down to that stat but I want to be of a different sort." [00:15:37]