DANIEL 3 THE FIERY FURNACE2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Daniel 3 The Fiery Furnace

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

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We're looking at a very familiar portion of scripture to us. It's the account of the fiery furnace and Daniel's three friends that were tossed into the fiery furnace. And so these things will be very familiar to you, but I think there's important application for us in a couple different ways as we look at this account.

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First of all, chapter 3 and then as we look at chapter 4 next week really deal with authority and submission. And so it's a subject we're going to be talking about this week and next week. Authority in regards to King Nebuchadnezzar, but also submission as it comes to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

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as well as King Nebuchadnezzar. Next week in chapter 4, he's going to learn a very hard lesson about submitting to the Lord. And even though he is the king, he has to be submitted to God. And he's not submitted to God here in chapter 3, and that's why the account reads the way that it does. Because he is full of himself, he is promoting himself, and he is not submitted to God.

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On the other hand, we have Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they're submitted to God, but they're not submitted to the king when he requires that they disobey God. And so we see this important lesson for us in regards to authority and even those who have authority, they need to be in submission to God.

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but also those who are in submission, that is, those authorities that have been placed over us, we are to be submitted to them, but only to the extent that their laws and their rules and what they expect of us is in agreement with God's Word. And when they require that we disobey God, well then that's when we must submit to God over human authorities.

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But there's another aspect of this as well. If you're familiar with the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you'll understand what I'm talking about. These guys did not walk into this situation knowing what they were getting into. Everybody was called, then the command was given, and they had to make a choice.

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They had a moment to make a choice. They had a few seconds to make a choice to decide what they were going to do. And in those few seconds, they determined the right course of action and how to be obedient to God rather than be obedient to King Nebuchadnezzar and his command.

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And I point this out and I share this because for the past couple of months, if you've been around a little bit, perhaps you've seen some of the things that I've put on my blog from time to time, there's been a real sense of urgency on my heart to deliver and encourage the body of Christ to be ready, to be prepared. That there's a great need for us as the body of Christ to

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to get ready for what God is going to be doing next. And we don't really know what that is. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it could be tomorrow, God changes everything. If you think about the people of Japan, those missionaries who are there,

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They went and they are there. They're going about their routine of sharing the gospel, church service, much like you and I are familiar with church service. But in one day, everything changed. And now they're there in the midst of a whole new situation. And if I were in their shoes, I would be thinking, man, I wish I would have prepared myself a little bit more. I wasn't ready for this.

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And then bringing it back to the context of us here at Living Water in Corona, California, where would we be if tomorrow there was an 8.9 earthquake? Would we be ready? Would we be prepared? Now, I'm not talking about the physical things, food and water and those types of things. I'm talking about spiritually. Would we be ready for the work that would need to be done spiritually?

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for the work that God would want to do in the hearts and the lives of our neighbors and our family members, would we be ready to be faithful to God under those kinds of circumstances?

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And so I want to take this opportunity as we look at Daniel chapter 3, as we talk about authority and submission, and there's some important points there for our normal everyday lives, I also want to highlight and underscore the need to be ready because normal everyday life is not guaranteed, and tomorrow everything could change. And so now is not the time to be messing around with sin or goofing off or being wishy-washy in our Christian walks.

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We are living in the last days and we know things that will continue to get worse. And there's a great need and maybe God does want you to go to Japan. Maybe He's calling you to go. Are you ready? You need to get ready. There's a need for those who will be willing to go, those who God will call to go.

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But maybe God hasn't called you to go. Maybe God has something else in store here. And we need to be ready. We need to be prepared. Because like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we could wake up tomorrow and the whole context of life has changed. Everything that we know is now different. Will we be ready to minister to the gospel? Will we be ready to stay faithful to God? Even when it's really difficult for us. Will we be ready?

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as we see in this account, they were ready. They had a few moments to make a decision, and they chose to be faithful to God. And so we'll pick up the story here in chapter 3. Let's look at verse 1. It says,

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Verse 3.

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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. And so here in chapter 3, verse 1, we find that Nebuchadnezzar makes this huge statue.

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made out of gold. It was probably actually made out of wood and then overlaid with gold. Probably was not solid gold, but he makes this huge statue, 60 cubits high, which would be the equivalent of about 90 feet high and six cubits wide or nine feet wide. And so it would be this massive statue.

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Just for a little bit of perspective, if you're familiar with Castle Park, you might be familiar with the Dragon's Tower. It's one of those that shoots you up straight up in the air. That tower is 100 feet tall, and so it's roughly the same height of this statue that Nebuchadnezzar had built and made out of gold there in Babylon.

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So as you're driving down the 91 and you see the dragon's tower there at Castle Park, you can be thinking about and picturing that's about how big the statue was that was set up there in Babylon. It was a massive, impressive statue or image that he had put up. And then he goes on to gather all the authorities throughout the kingdom.

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And it lists them several times just to make sure that we get the point. All those who had authority, those who had roles of prominence, those who were important in the kingdom, they were all gathered before this statue. And so they're standing there in the plain, looking at this statue towering over them. And as they're there, the command is given in verse 4. It says,

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Verse 1.

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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 worshipped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And so here's really the basic story. King Nebuchadnezzar sets up this image. He calls all the leaders from all the nations, all the regions where he has authority, and

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He calls them all to this place where the image is set up and then the command is given. When the music plays, guys, you're all to bow down and worship before this image. Now we don't know exactly what this image is, if it's an image of King Nebuchadnezzar or if it's an image of one of the gods that they worshipped. That's not specified. But obviously here, what is being required is idolatry.

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He's requiring all of the people throughout all of the regions, all of those leaders who came to this place, to bow down and worship before this image. Now there's a little bit of an incentive to bow down before this image, in that he says if you don't, then you're going to be tossed into the fiery furnace. And so the choice to make is to worship God, or to be thrown, not to worship God, to worship this image, or to...

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be thrown into the fiery furnace. And so all of these people from all these regions have to make this choice. They're basically threatened. Either you do what we say, King Nebuchadnezzar says, or you be put to death. Worship this image or be thrown in the fiery furnace. We often wonder, what would we do if we were put in that kind of situation?

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You know, you look back at some of the accounts from Columbine and those places where they were given that opportunity, you know, curse Jesus and live or hold fast to him and die. We don't usually face those every day, but we need to be ready because tomorrow everything could change for us. All these leaders of all the regions, they come and they're there before the statue and we'll find out in just a moment, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are with them.

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They get summoned to this meeting. They walk into this meeting, probably not knowing what to expect, but they hear this command and they're beginning to think, what did God say in his word? You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not bow down to images. They were not to practice idolatry. That was clear. And so already in their minds, they're thinking, okay, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? How do I handle this? What do I do?

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quietly looking for the exits, right? Are they properly posted? Are they well lit so we can get out of here if we need to? What are we going to do in this situation? Because the choice is either worship this image or be put to death. Verse 8, Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever.

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Verse 2.

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There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs 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. And so here the tattletales run into King Nebuchadnezzar. These certain Chaldeans, they suddenly realize that

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These Jews were not bowing down whenever the music played. They realized, hey, these guys, they're not obeying the king. They're not worshiping this image that has been set up. Everybody else is bowing down, but there these three are standing up. And so they go and tell the king and they greet him with the normal custom of the day. Oh, king, live forever. They remind him of the command. Hey, remember, king, you made this command.

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When the music plays, everybody is to bow down before this image and worship it. And whoever doesn't, they will be cast into the fiery furnace. And so they're accusing the Jews of not worshiping. They're accusing the Jews of disobeying the king. Is it okay to disobey the king? Well, in this context, absolutely it is. Because the king had now required...

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That they disobey God. When it comes to authority, you can check this out for yourself in Romans chapter 13. God requires that us as believers be in submission to the authorities that have been placed over us. That is authorities in the workplace, authorities in our city, our county, our states, our country. We are to be submitted to the authorities that are over us.

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It's God's will that we be submitted to them, that we obey, that we walk in agreement with the laws of the land, that we are not just doing whatever we want to do. But there comes a time when the commands of the authorities that are over us are contrary to what God has commanded. And that is the exception. That is the time that we are able to disregard the authorities that God has placed over us

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In submission to God, in obedience to God. And that's what we find here in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And so these people notice, hey, they're not bowing down to the image like the rest of us. And so they bring it to the attention of King Nebuchadnezzar. And they tell King Nebuchadnezzar, they say, these guys have not paid due regard to you. There's respect that's due to King Nebuchadnezzar because he is king.

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There's honor that's to be given to him because of his position, because of his role as the king of Babylon. But they have not paid their due regard. Again, in the same way, you and I are to give the due regard to authorities over us.

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Whether it be in the workplace or whether it be in our government, whether it be within the family, whether it be within the church. We're to give due regard for the authorities that God has placed over us. And we are to obey the authority until that authority requires us to disobey God. And so they've not paid due regard to you, King Nebuchadnezzar. They don't serve your gods. They don't worship the golden image which you have set up. Verse 13.

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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?

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Now if you are ready at the time, you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, and symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have 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? King Nebuchadnezzar here is furious. So he says, bring those guys in.

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And they bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Now it's right about this point that many begin to think, hey, wait a minute, where's Daniel in this account? How come he's not being brought in with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? And there's lots of ideas about where Daniel is. We don't really know. The Bible doesn't say. I believe it's safe to agree or to understand Daniel's probably absent.

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Maybe part of his role, he was sent out by the king. Maybe part of his role, he's not part of that gathering that was required to bow down. We don't know for sure. But here is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They're mentioned by name. They're part of those who were summoned to this meeting. They were commanded to bow down. They refused. And now Nebuchadnezzar is furious. It says that in rage and in fury, he summons for them. He's really upset.

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This is something that is bothering him greatly. What? They're not obeying me? What? They're not doing what I said? It's very common for those in authority to respond this way when there are those that disobey. And so he calls them in and he says, Guys, is this true? This is what these Chaldeans have told me. Is it true? Are you not bowing down before the image? And then...

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Even though he's enraged, he gives them another opportunity. He gives them one more shot, a second chance. All right, guys, we're going to try this again. They're going to play. And as they play, if you'll bow down and worship, okay, good, everything's fine. We won't pursue anything further. But if you don't, you'll be cast immediately, he says, into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace.

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And so again, the threat is given to them. It's reiterated right there personally by the king to these three. These guys are amazing examples for us. They were ready. They were prepared to hold on and to be obedient to God at all costs. And if that meant that they had to be summoned before the king, they were willing to do so. Have you ever been summoned before God?

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A person of authority? It's quite nerve-wracking. It's very difficult. If you've ever had to stand before a judge, perhaps you could relate to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. That feeling of standing there and there's this great authority over you right in front of you. They have power over your life. That's the position that these guys were in. King Nebuchadnezzar had full authority, full power over them physically.

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And he could do anything to them that he wanted to do. And he gives them this command. Bow down when the worship starts, when the music plays. Worship the image that I have set up. Amazing example for us. Kind of in contrast to this, I think about Peter. I think we're more like Peter sometimes. You know, there's the little girl in the courtyard. She says, hey, aren't you one of those guys? You were with Jesus, weren't you?

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He just crumbles. He falls apart. No, I wasn't. He's calling down curses upon himself. I promise. I swear. I wasn't with Jesus. I don't know the guy. That's a good contrast, don't you think, to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They're standing before King Nebuchadnezzar, but how many times are we more like Peter where there's a little bit of opposition, you know? There's just a little bit of a question and we're waffling. We're flaking.

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And again, that's why I take this opportunity to remind you to call on the body of Christ, myself included, we need to be prepared. We need to be ready. We don't know what tomorrow holds. And like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we could wake up and be in an entirely new situation and have just instants, moments, seconds to make our decision about

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about whether or not we will be faithful to God. We need to be ready. We need to be prepared. So they're standing before King Nebuchadnezzar. He gives them one last chance. And he kind of gives a little bit of a challenge there in verse 15. He says, who is the God who will deliver you from my hands? Here you get a little bit of an understanding into the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar. Here's a guy who has full authority.

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Unlike the kingdoms that would come later, when he gave a command, whatever the command was, be it funny or weird or extreme, that command was obeyed. There wasn't a choice. There was no litigation. There was no, you know, House or Senate to veto or to block the law or the command. What he said went. Now later on, we'll find out in Daniel chapter 6,

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The Persian Empire, they had a slightly different system. The king signed the command into law, but he didn't have the power to revoke that law. He wasn't able to just do whatever he wanted. But King Nebuchadnezzar was. And so he's got this great power. He's lifted up in pride and he says, Who is the God that can deliver you from my hands? I've got all power. There's no God that can deliver you from me. King Nebuchadnezzar says.

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And I believe this is a big part of why the account goes the way that it does, why God worked in the way that he did in this account, because this was God's attempt to speak to King Nebuchadnezzar. Back in Daniel chapter 2, we saw it a couple weeks ago. Remember, God spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream. Next week in Daniel chapter 4, we'll see God again speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream.

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chapters 2, 3, and 4 are really about God reaching out to King Nebuchadnezzar and revealing himself to this king. Now here he's of the opinion there's no God greater than him. He thinks, I'm the best. I've got the most authority. Nothing, nothing can protect you from me. That's his opinion. That's the state of his heart.

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Who is the God who will deliver you from my hands? Well, God's about to show him who the God is who will deliver them from his hands. Look at verse 13. I'm sorry, verse 16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

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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. So now we get to hear from these three guys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

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They're standing before the king. Again, if you've ever had to, you know, if you've been summoned before a person of authority, you get a little bit of a sense of what this was like for them. And yet here they respond with boldness. This is a very intimidating situation and there's some serious threats being laid upon them. But basically they say, hey king, we don't answer to you.

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We don't answer to you. Now, it wasn't with attitude or they weren't just trying to be disrespectful. They were stating the truth. The reality is, King Nebuchadnezzar, we don't answer to you. They said, we have no need to answer you in this matter. We don't have to explain to you why we're not bowing down before the image. Because we are submitted to God, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

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And his commands override your commands. We don't answer to you. And so they declare, God is able to deliver us. The God that we serve, King Nebuchadnezzar, he's the one who can deliver us from your hands. He can take care of us. He's big enough to handle it. They go on to say, and God will take care of us. He will preserve us through this. But then they go on to say,

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Add in the just in case clause. But even if God doesn't save us from your hands, know this, we will not serve your gods. We will not bow down before this image which you have set up. These guys were strong. They were firm in their commitment. They were ready. They had a few moments to make a choice. They made it. They said, we're going to be faithful to God even if it costs us our life.

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They believed in God. They knew, hey, God's big. He can preserve us. He can take care of us in this situation. But even if He doesn't, that doesn't mean that we'll stop serving Him. Even if God chooses not to protect us through this, we're still going to serve Him. We're still going to be faithful to Him. We're not going to serve the gods of King Nebuchadnezzar. Again, these guys are a great example for us.

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Do you have this type of commitment to the Lord? Is this your heart in regards to God? That you will be faithful to Him no matter what? Of course He's able to preserve you through the housing market crash and the financial situation of our nation. Of course He's able to preserve you through earthquakes and tsunamis and all kinds of things. But whether He chooses to or not...

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Will you be faithful to the Lord? Will you be faithful to serve God? To obey God? These guys refuse to worship the image and they say, we don't have to answer for this. We don't have to explain this to you because we're serving our God. And you're requiring us to disobey God. And so here these guys make this firm stand.

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Whether God saves us or not, we are going to be faithful. Verse 19 says,

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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.

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Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and they were cast into 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 into the midst of the burning fiery furnace."

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Now the furnace that's being described here seems had an opening at the top

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And so they would be taken maybe up some stairs or up to this other level. They would be dropped in from the top. And then the mouth of the furnace was at a place where King Nebuchadnezzar could see it. And so if you want to think about it in kind of primitive terms, you know, being dropped down from the chimney. And then there, as you look in the living room at your fireplace, that's a miniature version of the furnace that was there in Babylon. And so they were dropped in from the top.

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They were bound and they had all their clothes on, everything that they were wearing. They were bound just as they were. And then King Nebuchadnezzar gets some of his best of the best, the mighty men of valor from his army. And he says, all right, you guys throw them in. After he says, heat up the furnace seven times hotter than normal. Again, we see King Nebuchadnezzar is full of fury. He is really upset. He is outraged.

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Over the idea that somebody would not obey him. Now authorities are given authority by God. In fact, God told the prophets that he was giving authority to King Nebuchadnezzar. It was God's doing. God gave King Nebuchadnezzar authority. Authority is given to whomever God chooses for whatever reasons he chooses. All authority is from God. Now what...

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People in authority do with their authority is not necessarily of God, but they're given that authority by God. And King Nebuchadnezzar has taken this authority and he is rebelling against God. He's fighting against God. And the idea that someone would disobey him infuriates him. So he heats up the furnace seven times hotter than normal. He's going to make sure these guys don't survive the fiery furnace.

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He gets the strongest of his men to throw him in. He's going to make sure they don't escape. This is his best shot. Nebuchadnezzar here is throwing everything he has at putting these guys to death. Making sure the furnace is really hot. Don't make sure it's like a nice warm spa for them, like a little sauna or something that they just kind of kick back. No, make sure it's really hot. You've got to make sure that these guys will be dead upon impact. And you want to make sure...

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These guys haven't studied Kung Fu or nothing and they're going to get away from the guards. And so get the strongest, get the best from the army. He's given his best shot here at putting these guys to death. So they take him up to the top of the furnace. They cast him in. The fire is so hot that the guards who are throwing them in are killed. And so you can understand that the fire is not just a little bit warm, but it was a very intense flame that was burning

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bursting forth from this furnace. And they're dropped in. Nebuchadnezzar maybe has a little bit of an angry smirk on his face. I showed them. See? Nothing could save them. I'm the man, King Nebuchadnezzar's probably telling himself. Puffing himself up more with this authority that's gone way to his head. But then...

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As King Nebuchadnezzar, probably gloating, probably, he's still upset at these guys, but, you know, he's happy that he was able to give them what they deserved. He's looking at the furnace, probably hoping for a little bit of screaming, maybe some agony. Watch him get consumed. And he notices something strange about the furnace. Look at verse 24. It says, Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished.

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And he rose 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. Now King Nebuchadnezzar is blown away. He's looking, but he's not seeing what he expects to see.

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You ever have one of those moments that you gotta like check, you know, maybe pinch yourself or something? Am I really seeing what I'm seeing? Is this for real? He's looking, he's like, I thought there was only three. He's beginning to doubt himself. Already part of God's work in his heart. King Nebuchadnezzar, you don't know everything. You're not perfect. You're not God. He's like, I could have swore we put three guys in there. He's thinking Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego,

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Was it Abed and Nego? Was that four people? No, it was three people. What happened? He asked his counselors. I'm sure that took a little bit of humility there. He's like, hey guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing? Didn't we throw three guys in there? He's so freaked out about it. He gets up in haste. He runs to the furnace. He's like, I know we threw three guys. I see four guys. None of them are bound. They're walking about in the midst of the fire.

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He says, I can hear singing. They're singing Ring Around the Rosie. No, I'm just kidding. They're walking about in the midst of the fire. They're loose. And there's four of them. This defies all logic. Nebuchadnezzar can't make sense of this. And he says, the fourth one is like the Son of God. The Son of God. Now, he probably didn't understand what he was saying. But we understand what was going on. Jesus was there with them. There in the flame, in the fire. In the midst of the burning fiery furnace...

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They experienced the presence of God. For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, this was a glorious thing. They were faithful to God. God protected them. God preserved them. Amazing work. Verse 26, 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.

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Amazing. King Nebuchadnezzar calls them out. He says, hey guys, come out here. They go out of the furnace. They

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They stand before King Nebuchadnezzar. All the counselors and administrators that are around, they gather around. They want a closer look. What in the world is going on here? How is this happening? And they're checking him out. They're saying, look, the fire had no power over these guys. Now here's Nebuchadnezzar on a power trip, furious that anybody would dare to not do what he required.

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He did the best that he could. The strongest men, the hottest fire, throws them in. But the fire had no power over them. Again, power, authority is given to whomever or whatever God chooses. You remember that situation where Jesus was before Pilate. And Pilate tells Jesus, hey, don't you know I have the power to put you to death?

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Jesus says, well, you wouldn't have power except for the power that God gave to you. It's God who gives power. It's God who gives authority. The fire didn't have power over them because God decided, nah, I'm going to make an exception in this case. The fire can't touch these guys. Now, that's not the rule. The rule is when fire is placed in contact with something, it's consumed. But God chooses what the fire has power to do.

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This is the God that we serve. He's the creator. He's in full control. He gets to choose who has power, what has power, what hurts, what harms, what is accomplished. The fire did not have power over these guys. They were faithful to the Lord and God was faithful to them. Now, let me ask you to consider something. Would it have been wrong for God to allow them to die? Think about that for a second.

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Would it have been wrong for God to allow them to die? If God had allowed them to die, would this chapter still be in the Bible? Would this be like a defeat of God or something? Would this be a story if they had died in the fire that would not be worthy for us to consider or study? I ask the question because, well, let's apply it to today's context. Earthquake in Japan. Many people died.

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Is that wrong? Is God at fault somehow? Does that make it a bad story? Does that mean that God has failed? People look at these tragedies, people look at these things and they try to come to conclusions about God based on these things. Many of those who died in Japan were believers. Is that wrong? If Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had died in the fire, what would that mean? You see, we look at these things with such a limited perspective.

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Again, I suggest to you that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were preserved in the fire, not primarily for their own sakes, but for King Nebuchadnezzar's sake. Because clearly, chapter 2, chapter 4, God is actively reaching out to King Nebuchadnezzar. He is actively revealing himself to King Nebuchadnezzar. He wants King Nebuchadnezzar's attention. He wants King Nebuchadnezzar to turn to him and submit to him.

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That's what God wants with everybody. But here what we have recorded, we see very specifically God's calling out to King Nebuchadnezzar. And so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they're preserved in the fire and they go on to serve the Lord. And that's fantastic. But whether they died or not was really not the point. God was working in King Nebuchadnezzar's heart. It's kind of like Stephen, the martyr. There in Acts chapter 7, he's put to death.

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He's faithful to God. To the very end, he's faithful to God. Even in the midst of the Jews throwing stones at him, with his last breath, he's honoring the Lord. He's glorifying God. But he died. Is that wrong? Did God fail? Absolutely not. And in fact, it was through Stephen's death that Saul's heart really began to be tormented. And so it was through Stephen's death that God was speaking to Saul.

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and preparing him to be transformed into the Apostle Paul. In the same way, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they're there in the furnace. If it would have been more effective in the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar for them to die, then God could have just let them die. But if it was more effective for them to live, for the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar, then God says, I'm going to let them live. I'm going to preserve them, and it's going to be a testimony, a witness to King Nebuchadnezzar.

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Was it wrong that Jesus died? Did God fail him? Absolutely not. Of course not. It's through his death that we have salvation. Jesus said, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. But there was no other way. Again, I share with you the need for us to be ready and to be prepared. Because we don't know what tomorrow holds. The ministry that God has in store for us tomorrow may be way different than what we think tonight. It may involve our death.

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It may involve our survival. It may involve what we would consider to be severe tragedy. It may involve disease. It may involve car accidents. It may involve promotions and raises. We don't know what God has in store for us. But we need to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego where we're submitted to God to the point that whatever you want, God, we're going to obey you no matter what it means and no matter what it costs. One last example in John chapter 9, the disciples...

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looking at a blind man, said, hey, Jesus, who sinned? Was it this guy or was it his parents that he was born blind? They believed that you could sin in the womb and so perhaps he sinned before he was born and that's why he was born blind or maybe his parents sinned and that's why he was born blind. And Jesus tells them it's neither. He was born blind so that the works of God may be revealed. God is reaching out to a lost and dying world.

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And he calls us as his servants to be used by him, to be willing, to be faithful to him. He may preserve us. He may not. That's his choice. He knows best. Our job is to be submitted to him. Even if it means that all the dreams that we had for ourselves, they're gone. That's not even possible anymore. Remember what Jesus said? He said, look, if you want to follow me, you got to die to yourself.

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If you try to save your life, try to hold on to everything that you want, what you have, you're going to lose everything. But if you lose your life for my sake, you'll find it. Because life is more than just what happens here on the earth. There's the whole rest of eternity to think about. And so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego at that moment went into heaven, or actually Abraham's bosom at that time, but you get the point. They went on into eternity. Great. They were a witness to the end. They were faithful martyrs.

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If they're preserved through the fire, great. They're faithful witnesses to God even longer in this life. Through tragedy, through rescue, through salvation, through God preserving them. Whatever the case, they were willing. It doesn't matter whether we live or die, whether God saves us or not, we're going to be faithful to God. That was their heart. They were submitted to God no matter what. Verse 28 says,

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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.

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Because there is no other God who can deliver like this. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. And so now King Nebuchadnezzar makes this incredible declaration. He declares to all of the region, remember all those people who are called to worship this image, he makes the declaration to everybody, saying, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They delivered him, sorry, the other way around. He delivered them,

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They trusted him. They served him. They yielded their bodies. They yielded their... They gave their bodies in faithfulness to God. Their willingness to yield their bodies spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar's heart. He saw they were willing to put their lives on the line to not worship any other god except their own god. And so he makes a decree. He says, look, no god can deliver like this god.

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Now, he's not all the way there yet. He's not all the way where he says, man, I want that God to be my God. But he says, nobody can speak bad about their God. Because this God did some amazing things today. So nobody talk bad about them or your house is going to turn into ashes. And then he promotes them. You see, God was speaking through Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to King Nebuchadnezzar. Now,

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I've been talking about the need to be ready and prepared. There's that urgency and we don't know what tomorrow holds. But on the other side of the coin is the reality that tomorrow may be just like today. And there might not be a tragedy. There might not be a crisis here in California in our lifetime. It might not happen. But what if God wants to use you to bring your boss to this same declaration that King Nebuchadnezzar makes?

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Would you be willing to consider that for just a moment? You know, there's some severe attacks against you. There's some antagonism. There's some threats. There's lots going on in the workplace that are against you. There's great temptation to, well, to kind of waver in like the little areas. To waver in the commands that God has given to you. To kind of compromise a little bit here. Not real big things, but maybe some little things or maybe some big things.

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But there's this pressure upon you. What if God wants to use you and he's saying, you be faithful, yield your body, yield your job, give it all up. If it means that's what's required to be faithful to me because I'm going to be speaking through you to your boss, to your supervisor. What if that was the case? What if God wanted to use you to speak to your parents or to your president? Big context, small context, whatever the case may be.

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See, again, it comes down to authority and submission. The reality is that God has all authority. And there are authorities that have been placed over us within the family, within the workplace, within the government, within the church. And those authorities are to be submitted to God, but we know how it is. Many times they are not. But God loves them. And He's reaching out to them through you.

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And that might mean that He preserves you through some severe trial with their attacks against you or some other trial that's happening in your life. Or it might mean that you die in the fiery furnace and your faithful witness to the end was the testimony that ministered to them, that gave them the opportunity to be saved. Whatever the case may be, we need to have hearts like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who would yield our bodies

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Who would present ourselves to God and say, Lord, whatever you want, we want to be faithful to you. The worship team is going to come up and lead us in some worship. And as they do, I would ask that we consider, is this my heart? Is this where I'm at? That I am yielded to God. Saying, Lord, here I am. You want to send me to Japan? I'll go to Japan. I may not like it. I may not be comfortable with it. I may not be excited about it, but I'll go. If it means, Lord, that you want me to be faithful and be a shining light...

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and endure the difficulty in the workplace, Lord, then I will do that. Lord, if it means that it's going to cost me my life to be faithful to you, Lord, I'll do that. Lord, if it means you're going to provide for me and protect me and give me great victory in these areas, Lord, I'll do that. I'd much prefer that. Lord, I suggest you do it that way. But whatever you want to do, God, it's about your authority and my submission to you. But you see, if we wait...

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If we wait until the last minute to try to make that decision, oh, it's going to be tough. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they started back in Daniel chapter 1. Remember when they determined not to defile themselves? Back in the training days, they said, we're going to be faithful to God. In the same way, we need to be in training right now, preparing for what's next, for what God wants to do next in our lives.

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If we wait until the boss calls us in, if we wait until the earthquake happens, if we wait until there's that emergency, if we wait until that situation and then decide, okay, now let me think. Do I want to serve God or not? We're going to be in trouble. We need to make the decision right now. And again, that's why I say there's an urgency. We need to be ready. We need to be prepared.

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Now is not the time to be messing around with sin, to be goofing off, to be casual Christians, to be lukewarm, to be slacking off. But we need to be engaged in a real relationship with the Lord. Building ourselves up in Him. Letting Him mold us and shape us. Letting Him do the work in us. That when our fiery furnace comes, we'll be ready to stand. And you can rest assured, your fiery furnace will come. Your faith, your commitment to the Lord will be tested. Will you be ready?

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Let's worship the Lord together and make sure that our hearts are submitted to Him. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.