Where Service Meets Sacrifice
Griffith Baptist Church – 3/23/08
P.M. Service
Text: Daniel 3
The Introduction
Elisabeth Elliot writes,
’To be a follower of the Crucified Christ means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss.... The great symbol of Christianity means sacrifice and no one who calls himself a Christian can evade this stark fact. It is not by any means an easy thing to recognize, within a given instance of personal loss, the opportunity it affords for participation in Christ’s own loss." - Elisabeth Elliot
We often talk of sacrifice, but do we really understand the implications?
Do we know what cost means?
Now attach to sacrifice the idea of service or sacrificial service and it gets deeper.
We think making a sacrifice for Christ is coming to church, tithing, reading our Bible or prayer.
o These are things we should be doing because God expects it of us and we do it with joy to please Him.
o Little do we realize that we do these things often with no inconvenience on our part, when we can spare the time, we do them reluctantly and as long as it does not interfere with our lifestyle or personal me time.
o This is the present state of the modern day church
We have detached sacrifice from service and this is a fatal mistake. It is one indication of the lukewarm church and the lukewarm individual.
Well, here we have the true story of three wise Hebrew men who got the idea right that sacrifice and service go hand in hand.
1. The Statue Raised- 3:1
A. In response to the prophecy of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzer wanted to be the whole statue
B. His ego was fed
C. The statue: 90 feet wide, 9 feet thick and 4.5 feet wide
i. The volume is 3,645 cubic feet or 4, 400,000 pounds or 70, 400,000 ounces
ii. Gold was worth $945.30 an ounce on March 19, 2008
iii. 70,400,000 oz. times $945.30 per oz. means the statue in today’s economy would cost approximately $66,549,120,000.
D. What an ego!!!
2. The Worship Required – 3:2-7
A. The call – all important people and authorities in the kingdom under Nebuchadnezzer (2)
B. The congregation – gathered together and standing for the dedication (3)
C. The command – when they hear the orchestra they are to bow and worship the image and understand what the penalty is for non-compliance (4-6)
D. The compliance – the orchestra plays and everyone bows, except . . . (7)
3. The Idol Refused – 3:8-12
A. The Chaldeans nark on the faithful three (8)
B. The report is given in a treacherous tone (9-12)
i. The flattery of the king (9)
ii. The reminder to the king (10-11)
iii. The appeal to the king (12)
4. The King’s Rage – 3:13-18
A. The faithful three are brought before the king (13)
B. The faithful three are given a second chance (14-15)
C. The faithful three make a stand for the Lord (16-18)
5. The Fiery Retribution – 3:19-23
A. Fired up – Nebuchadnezzer hopping mad and the fire heated 7 times more [heated as hot as it could get] (19)
B. Tied up (20-21)
i. It was customary to take the clothes off the accused
ii. This was done in haste and so that was not possible
C. Delivered up (22-23)
i. The furnace was probably open at the top for feeding the fuel for the heat and an opening in the bottom for removing coals and ashes.
ii. The soldiers die from the intense heat, possible by the flames at heat leaping out of the top
iii. The three take a plunge into the furnace
6. The Shocking Revelation – 3:24-27
A. The mystery – The king stands quickly and shocked. He asks for a recount (24)
B. The Messiah – The king sees four men and likens the fourth man to a deity (25)
C. The miracle (26-27)
i. The three walk out on their own
ii. Their bodies were not burned
iii. Their hair was still in place and not one follicle touched
iv. They didn’t even have a fiery smell
v. Everyone is astonished
7. The King’s Response – 3:28-30
A. The declaration (28)
i. The king praises the God of the Hebrews
ii. He acknowledges divine deliverance [angel]
iii. their own God = the king is still not at the point of saying and believing that God is the God, he just has God as a god among other Gods
B. The decree (29)
i. It was a binding pronouncement; the word of the king was law
ii. The Hebrew God must be accorded respect and honor and not be disgraced or dishonored.
iii. The punishment would be dismemberment (common punishment) and destruction of property (will literally be made a toilet) and probably even family.
iv. “there is no other God that can deliver after this sort” – not an acknowledgement of God to be worshipped only, but merely that this is a unique deity that deserves respect.
C. The development (30)
i. The king made the three men to prosper in his kingdom
ii. They were most likely given greater wealth and responsibility in the empire
Transition Statement: In the lives of the three Hebrew men, they recognized and were willing to sacrifice their lives to serve their God. Service and sacrifice are married together perfectly. If we are truly servants of God, there are some principles we have to understand.
Body
1. The effect of your service will be in proportion to your willingness to sacrifice (whole ch.)
A. They would serve God no matter what happened
B. They would be seen as different and focused and thoughtful
C. Verses 12, 16-18 (the only time the three speak in this entire ordeal
D. Sacrifice goes hand in hand with service to God - Romans 12:1-2 - 1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
E. Both service and sacrifice show our faith in action - Philippians 2:17 – Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
F. Patient suffering and service get God’s notice and approval - 1 Peter 2:20 - For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
2. The presence of Christ is best experienced in the scorching trials of service (25-27)
A. On trials and sometime having to put up with them - A missionary was assigned to some remote islands in the Pacific. After three months, he sent a fax to mission headquarters: "I’m being plagued by rats. What shall I do?"
Soon a crate arrived, filled with rat traps.
However, hardly a month later the missionary sent a SECOND fax to headquarters: "The rats won’t take the BAIT. What shall I DO?"
Not long after, a SECOND crate arrived, filled with rat poison.
However, hardly another month passed, when the missionary found it necessary to send a THIRD fax to headquarters: "The rats won’t touch the POISON. Do you have any OTHER suggestion?"
Soon he received another fax from mission headquarters: "We suggest you get used to the RATS!"
B. He did this in the lives of several in the Bible who experienced trials:
i. Christ was in the middle of the fire with them (25)
ii. Christ was seen at the height of the storm when Peter walked on water (Matthew 14:22-33)
iii. He appeared to Hagar as she was fleeing from Sarah (Gen. 16:7-14)
iv. He appeared to Abraham (Gen. 18:1; 22:11-13). These two appearances came at critical times in Abraham’s life. One (Gen. 18) concerned itself with the destruction of Sodom, and the other (Gen. 22) with the last-minute salvation of Isaac.
v. He appeared to Daniel in the lions den and shut the lions mouths (Dan. 6:21-22)
C. Christ promised to be with us in our service - Matthew 28:20 - Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
D. Christ promised to be with us in our service together - Matthew 18:20 – For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
E. Christ promised to be with us when it seems the whole world is against us - Hebrews 13:5-6 - 5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
3. Sacrificial service will always produce an outcome that glorifies God (28-30)
A. We make the mistake of measuring everything by what we can see immediately; tangible results. This is not always a good gauge.
i. It may not produce numbers
ii. It may not produce instant results
B. We still need to serve expectantly and know that God will work someway and somehow.
C. The final heavenly outcome is worth the earthly effort - Luke 15:8-10 – 8Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
D. The reward of faith comes with the constant effort of keeping our attention on God - Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
E. Sacrificial service is never a wasted effort - 1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Conclusion:
Do you believe that service should come without sacrifice?
Jesus said in Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
How much do you really give to Jesus?
What is your attitude in serving Him?
If He were to approach you now, could He say that you serve the same way that we have just described?
