3 Men Who Walked Through Fire Series

3 MEN WHO WALKED THROUGH FIRE

Dan. 3:1-30, Msg.

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: CONVERSATION WITH THE TAXI DRIVER

1. People love to visit the Promised Land. Jack visited for the first time and as soon as his plane landed, he got a taxi to take him to his hotel.

2. The taxi driver was very friendly. Jack asked the driver, "Say, is Israel a healthy place?"

3. "Oh, yes, it really is," the driver answered, "When I first came here, I couldn't say even one simple word, I had hardly any hair on my head, I didn't have the energy to walk across a small room and I even had to be helped out of bed every day."

4. "That's a remarkable story, truly amazing," Jack said, "so how long have you been here in Israel?"

5. "I was born here."

B. TEXT

King Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue, ninety feet high and ....ordered all the important leaders...to the dedication ceremony. A herald then proclaimed, “When you hear the band strike up...fall to your knees and worship the gold statue. Anyone who does not kneel and worship shall be thrown immediately into a roaring furnace.” 4-6 [The King was told], “...there are some Jews here—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who...won’t worship the gold statue you set up.” 13-15 Furious, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered [them] to be brought in. “I’m giving you a second chance...If you don’t worship it....Who is the god who can rescue you from my power?” 16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if He doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” 19-23 Nebuchadnezzar, his face purple with anger...ordered the furnace fired up seven times hotter than usual....Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, bound hand and foot, fully dressed from head to toe, were pitched into the roaring fire....The furnace was so hot, flames from the furnace killed the men who carried [them] to it. 24 Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?” 25 “But look!” he said. “I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!” 26 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the High God, come out here!” 27 All the [officials] gathered around...them and discovered that the fire hadn’t so much as touched the three men—not a hair singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them! 28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him! They ignored the king’s orders and laid their bodies on the line rather than serve or worship any god but their own. 29 “Therefore I issue this decree: Anyone...who says anything against [their] God will be ripped to pieces ...and their houses torn down. There has never been a God who could pull off a rescue like this.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Dan. 3:1-30, Msg. (abridged)

C. THESIS

1. We’re still in the Burly Series. Today we’re looking at having moral & spiritual Courage.

2. Title: “3 MEN WHO WALKED THROUGH FIRE.”

I. THE GOLDEN IDOL

A. THERE ARE GOLDEN IDOLS IN EVERY GENERATION

1. Then – it was A 90 ft. idol made of gold.

2. Today, there are many issues our Government has made legal which in God calls immoral and wrong. Examples:

a. Abortion, b. No-Fault Divorce,

c. Alcohol/Tobacco/Drug Abuse,

d. Prostitution, e. Euthanasia,

f. Pornography, and g. Sex outside Biblical Marriage.

INSERT HERE IMAGE OF OVERLAPPING CIRCLES https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1792&bih=1045&ei=VzQ5YKObB4iesQWJw62oDQ&q=overlapping+circles&oq=overlapping+circles&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQsQM6CAgAELEDEIMBUIoMWIk2YMNNaABwAHgAgAFbiAGuCZIBAjE5mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img#imgrc=_7N6ZIVlwg3DvM

GOD’S LAWS GOV’TS LAWS

3. POINT: JUST BECAUSE A GOVERNMENT LEGALIZES SOMETHING DOESN’T MEAN IT’S MORALLY RIGHT! It’s what God thinks about it that really matters. Some laws are immoral and wrong in God’s sight, and wrong behavior, if not repented of, will be judged at the Judgment Seat of God.

4. Evolution & atheism are the central idols we are commanded to bow down to. They are false. All biological life has a design to it; creation is designed by a vast intelligence. It’s orderly and complex. Those two things are not the result of chance, but the results of an Engineer.

5. The way God designed things in the beginning is the way He intends for them to work. Paul termed altering God’s design as going “against nature” (Rom. 1:26, KJV); deviations from it are sinful. The norms taught in the Bible are the pattern for all time. God intends us to live holy lives & obey His Word.