Title: The Furnace and the Sky
Text: Daniel 3.19-30
MP: Jesus is always with us, if only we have the eyes to see him.
Intro:
Part of what fascinates me about the Bible is that it shows me how to see the things that I cannot see. Seeing
C.S. Lewis said it so well: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks with us in our sorrows, and shouts to us in our pains.” Now matter the circumstance, he is always there – But how we perceive him changes. Much like that old poem “Footprints,” just because Jesus is walking with us, doesn’t always mean we’ll see two sets of tracks. Developing the ability to see him and to see what he is doing in our lives will help us to understand when life takes the turns it does. We’ll see that in this morning’s lesson.
- Carnegie & the Libraries – Seeing the simple need. (The guy who lent the books, following with it, etc…)
o Andrew Carnegie’s education and passion for reading was given a great boost by Colonel James Anderson, who opened his personal library of 400 volumes to working boys each Saturday night.
- In the Furnace with Rack, Shack, and Benny
- Rich Mullin’s “You meet the Lord in the furnace, long time before you meet him in the sky”
- Elisha’s servant (2 Kings 6)
- Poland…
- Refining Steel (Bessemer Process) – How Carnegie made his money!
May want to use the Poland odyssey as an illustration.
You need to see three things:
1. You need to see what to do – and we saw that last week. (Men of Issachar)
2. You need to see what you have to through (They went into the furnace)
3. You need to see who is going to go through it with you.
The thing about the Bible that fascinates me is that it teaches me how to see. As a Christian, of course, it is my desire to see the Lord – but frankly, I don’t want to wait to die before I do that. The texts we read are designed to show us who God is and learn to appreciate him for who he is. This morning, is no exception.
But I have to warn you; the thing about seeing clearly is that what is seen isn’t always what you want to hear. Earlier we read a song that I think captured it so well: ‘You meet the Lord in the furnace, long time before you meet him in the sky.’
I don’t like furnaces. The Good Lord knows I even keep our thermostat down in the winter! If I’m honest with myself, my hope is that I’d see the Lord in his glorious return – but I’ll skip his presence in the daily tragedies that we call life. I want to avoid those things that will be used to shape me. Now, if it were up to me, this Christian life would be nothing but one mountaintop experience after another. I’ll skip the valleys thank you.
But as good students of the Bible, we know if we try to live that, we’ll precisely miss out on being with the very Lord we claim to we want to see. As the psalmist says, ‘Yea, even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” What? Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff – two devices of correction like, say the belt and the wooden spoon – they comfort me.
Walking with the Lord involves valleys, furnaces, and other things we’d like to avoid. But in this morning’s text, I want to show you that we need to go there. The struggles, the failures, the tests are precisely where we will meet the Lord, a long time before we meet him in the sky.
As we read the story, I want to highlight the Lord’s presence in the furnace. I want you to see where the Lord is when things get tough, and I want you to see the implications of that. You’ll remember from two Sundays ago, what led up to this point. The King had this plan to set up an idol that was 90’ high. And then, in one of those community building events, he said, when the bagpipes start playing, everybody is bow down and worship. Well, that’s what just about everybody did – everybody except for our three friends Rack, Shack, and Benny. So, the King thought, maybe they just didn’t hear – and he gave them a second chance. Um, guys – when you hear the music, just get down on the floor and do your thing.
“King,” they said, “Our hearing is just fine. Problem is – we’re not going to do it. Our God is a lot bigger than a 90’ high statue. He’s able to deliver us. And, if not, it’s still just the wrong thing to do.
If you have your Bible, turn to Daniel 3 or else look in your bulletin and follow along.
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Did you see the Lord in the furnace? That phrase – the Son of Man – I know somebody in the Gospels who used to call himself that quite a lot. If, as we believe, that in the beginning was the Word, and that word was Jesus, then the fact that he isn’t going to be ‘born’ for another 500 years shouldn’t concern us. Jesus has always there been there from the beginning. Yes, Nine out of ten bible scholars surveyed would tell you the same thing. These three boys? They saw Jesus!
Well, if these boys saw Jesus in the furnace, then I’d like to suggest you three things you need to see to.
1. You need to see what to do.
We covered much of this last time, so I’m not going to dwell on it other than to say this: If Jesus is the Word, we need to know the Word in order to recognize him. This book is holy, not because of the ink or the paper, but because it tells us what Jesus wants. And, if that’s the case, we need to know it. Jesus was with these boys in the furnace because those boys knew the Word told them ‘No other gods.’ No matter what the world might say, you just don’t bow down.
And again, as I said last time, the world rarely rewards you for doing what is right. It doesn’t like to be told what to do. There are so many ways in which this world will be in rebellion, there’s little need to seek such opportunities out. But when it comes to decide if you will follow the world or do what the Lord asked, well, that’s when you have to choose.
Keeping this in mind, we come to the second point.
2. You need to see what you have to go through
You guys have been with me long enough to know that I don’t go in for all the ‘sweetness and light’ bit of our faith. I don’t think Jesus is a Precious Moments figurine. That little baby who was born in a manager was described just eight days later as ‘a sword who will pierce your soul.’ Nobody I know who has really met Jesus thinks he’s a nice guy. In the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis has one of his characters say of Aslan, “He’s not a tame lion.’ Jesus is not some porcelain doll on a shelf.
The implication of that is simple. If you’re going to follow a tough guy, things will get tough. Please don’t think that if you are signing up to be with Jesus that you are going to avoid the furnaces. Twenty centuries’ worth of martyrs will tell you, Jesus is more likely to get you into the furnace than to get you out.
But understand this – things may not be easy, but they will be better for it precisely because of the furnace.
Rack, Shack, and Benny had no desire to be fried in this Babylonian furnace. Standing in front of that furnace it was pretty clear what was going to happen to them. But, it was even more clear what they had to do. It’s amazing to me that these guys were as clear on the law as they were on the Scripture – in fact they saw the law even more clearly.
They knew the fire they faced down here was nothing. As Jesus would say later, “Don’t fear those who can kill the body but cannot touch the soul. Rather, be afraid of those who can kill the soul and the body.” [Matt 10:28]
These things we call ‘trials’ are the very things that God uses to shape us to what we need to be. These short fires teach us to avoid the eternal ones. Touch a stove once and you’ll learn. Learn to go instead towards the light, and you will be raised up!
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were promoted precisely because they showed the backbone to stand up to evil. Do you think they tolerated graft and corruption in their territories? They knew what was right, and because they were willing to die for it, the King recognized something in them.
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There’s a story we alluded to in the responsive reading that you should read when you get the chance. In 2 Kings 6, there is a prophet named Elisha, to whom God has revealed the movements of his enemy, the Syrians. He knows their every move, and so he’s able to tell the king where to put the soldiers. One day, the Syrians get so fed up with this that they decide to go after Elisha. Elisha knows what’s up, because God has told him, but he stays put. So, he wakes up one morning with 10,000 soldiers camped all around him. Needless to say, his servant is a just wee bit concerned about the situation. What are they going to do?
Well, Elisha looks around and sees what needs to be done. The soldiers? They’re irrelevant. He knows enough of his history to know that God will deal with them. So what does Elisha do? He prays that his servant’s eyes would be opened. And they are. All the sudden, the servant can see that the angels camped around them outnumber the enemy. The Syrians are blinded and walked right into the center of Jerusalem, where they are captured, bound, shackled, and then returned unharmed to Syria.
Elisha knew what to do, precisely because he could see. He could have run, he could have hid – but he stayed put, because ultimately he knew God wanted him to go through this trial. Maybe just so his servant could have that eye-opening experience, maybe so God could teach those Syrians a lesson about meddling in another country’s affairs, maybe so Elisha could learn to stand; Maybe all of the above. But one thing is clear – as real as the danger was, God’s provision was even more real, and that brings me to the last point.
3. You need to see who is going to go through it with you.
I’m not saying that you should seek out the furnace, but don’t avoid it either. Remember that furnaces turn simple clay in beautiful glazed earthenware pots. It changes simple iron into hard steel. The very process of going through the trial is what tempers us, shapes us to be what God would have us be.
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In my case, my furnace was Poland. Twelve years ago, I wanted to spend the traditional European summer in Poland, and so I went. Well, I got as far as Danzig – Gdansk in Northern Poland, where I decided to get on a bus. I spent a wonderful morning in Westerplatte, where a German speaking Pole was telling us where he was when WWII began. I was translating for some Americans, and having a blast. Well, on the way back, I got sloppy. I had three bags, one of which held about $2K in plain old American dollars, my computer, my train tickets, my plane tickets, and my passport. Two hands, three bags – bad combo. I realized which one I had left on the bus just as it pulled away.
That was a not a fun moment.
I spent the rest of the day vainly attempting to get the bag back. No joy. I knew I needed to get my passport, so I sold my watch for the train fare to Warsaw. Here I was, in a country where I couldn’t speak the language, with no money, no place to stay, and no documents to even say who I was. Oh yeah, you could feel the heat.
But you see, this is precisely where God stepped in. By some “coincidence,” I just started to talking to a gentleman on the train. Ironically, his name was Henryk ‘Gut’ (good), and as we got to talking, it turned out he had gone to school in Ann Arbor, near where my parents where from. I don’t know why, but he decided to take me in. He gave me a place where I could get back on feet – I even convinced a bank to give me a credit card.
I could have called my parents, but I didn’t. I know for a fact they would have taken care of me, but something inside me told me not to. Okay, it was probably the $40 fee to receive a wire, but something inside me said to go through this furnace.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light. When I went to Prague, I switched countries the same day the credit card company decided my credit card must have been stolen. I didn’t eat for two full days – but oddly enough I kept a roof over my head. When I finally got the Czech Crowns I needed to go into a restaurant, I savored that dish like no other.
But you know what? When I got back, I realized that I really could make it on my own. I wasn’t a little boy any more – and it took that trip to prove that. Had I not gone through the furnace, I never would have understood that. Had I not had that man to go through the furnace with me, I don’t know if I would have made it.
These furnaces, they aren’t pleasant, but they shape us and mold us. And we have this confidence – that we don’t go through them alone. Henryk Gut was a good man, but there is one who is far greater.
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Isaiah tells us that Jesus was well acquainted with grief. He can walk with us through the fire because he has already been there. Grief? Jesus wept for his beloved Jerusalem. If only they would listen, he’d cry. Pain? You try hanging on a cross for six hours. Loss? As bad as the cross was, the worst part was being forsaken by the father. Oh he knows what you’ve been through and what you’re going through. He’s been there, tempted but never fallen. He can get you through.
C.S. Lewis said something profound that I want to leave you with. He said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our sorrows, and shouts to us in our pains.” If we would know the voice of God, we may need the volume. But no matter what happens, he’s there. That’s all the comfort I, for one, really need.
Turn my heart to your decrees,
and not to selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
give me life in your ways.
18 Open my eyes, so that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
From Ps 119
Talkin’ Daniel in the den of the lions, talkin’ Jonah in the belly of a whale / Talkin’ three Hebrew children
And they’re standing in the furnace, a fiery furnace
But the fire didn’t burn them, and the lions didn’t bite
And the Lord reached down and you can be sure
That everything turned out right
Oh, you’ll meet the Lord in the furnace
Long time before You meet Him in the sky
Where you are ain’t where you wish that you was
Well your life ain’t easy and the road is rough, but
Where you are is where He promised to be
From the ends of the world to every point of need
CHORUS
Meet Him in your time of trial
Meet Him in your hour of prayer
You can reach out and I’ll bet that you’ll find that He’s right there
Where you are, however grim it may seem
This is real life baby - this ain’t no Hollywood dream
And where you are no matter what you may face
You’re gonna find out real soon what they mean when they say
CHORUS
Meet Him in your time of trial
Meet Him in your hour of prayer
You can reach out and I’ll bet that you’ll find that He’s there
But the fire won’t burn you and the lions won’t bite
And the Lord will reach down and you can be sure that
Everything will turn out alright
Oh you’ll meet the Lord in the furnace
Long time before You meet Him in the sky
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Meditation “Where You Are” (Rich Mullins)
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #217
“Abide with Me”
Welcome
Announcements
Morning Prayer [See Insert]
*Responsive Lesson [See Right]
*Hymn #64
“Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow / Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise him above, ye heavenly host / Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Scripture
Sermon
“The Furnace and the Sky”
Invitation Hymn #383
“How Firm a Foundation”
*Benediction
*Congregational Response
May the grace of Christ our Savior / And the Father’s boundless love
With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
RESPONSIVE LESSON
Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,
It is to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in our bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.
For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Job said: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God.’ Though he slay me, still I’ll trust in Him!
Then Elisha prayed “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
What then are we to say about these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Cor 4:1, 4;1 Cor 13:12;2 Cor 10:7;2 Cor 4:8-12;Rom 8:28;2 Kg 6.17; Job 19:27, 13.15;Rom 8:31-39
MORNING PRAYER
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all
things in thy well beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of
lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided
and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together
under his most gracious rule; Begin with us, reign over us and fit us to live with you and through you by forgiving us our sin.
PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SIN
O Lord, Rule over us, reign within us we pray.
Lord you are a good king who watches out for his children. We thank you for the health you have afforded each of us in this place. We thank you for the blessings of friendship and the blessings of provision you have given us your followers. Lord, Our Sovereign, you are in control of our bodies, and we pray that you would choose to act in our behalf. Lord, we pray especially for those we know, asking you to bring healing and strength, comfort and guidance and peace to Susan, Irene, Warren, Pete, Martha, Emma, Cindy, Lee, Mark, and these too we pray.
PRAY FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS
O Lord, Rule over us, reign within us we pray.
Lord, as King we know that you desire peace on your earth, We know that it is your will that all should come to live in harmonious abundant life with you. We ask that you would let us partake in your will. Begin with us here at Long Branch. Fill us overflowing with your love that we might pour ourselves into our neighbors. Use this church we pray. Use this country, too, we ask to bring glory and honor to your name. Bless those who rule over us and teach them to govern as you would. Bless our enemies, bless and protect our troops, and bring peace wherever they would meet we pray.
PRAY FOR YOUR COUNTRY AND CHURCH
O Lord, Rule over us, reign within us we pray.
We praise you know by returning the prayer you once taught us, saying: Our Father …
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SAT 12/2 (7pm) / Sun 12/3 (3pm) Christmas In Middleburg, Concert At Emmanuel Episcopal (Middleburg)
SAT 12/9 (6pm) Christmas Dinner & Card Exchange
SUN 12/17 Cantata @ Middleburg (“Celebrate the Child”)
SUN 12/24 10am Regular Morning Service @ Long Branch
5:30pm Candlelight Service @ Middleburg
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, 20 and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25 He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:19-30
