Text: Daniel 3-1:30, Title: Hebrews Medium Rare, Date/Place: NRBC, 5/3/09, AM
A. Opening illustration: officers discussion about hot places
B. Background to passage: In 2:47 N proclaims that the God of Daniel the God of gods and the Lord of kings, but then only a short while later, he sets himself up a statue of himself. And thus we get the story of the three Hebrew children.
C. Main thought: We will see three great truths found in the text.
A. No Conversion (v. 1, 13)
1. It is kind of scary that N could see a miracle like Daniel’s dream interpretation, then declare Daniel’s God to be the Reveal of Secrets, then some short time later set up a statue of himself for everyone to worship, and make a declaration of death for those who disobey. Do explain the culture of pluralism, and how this probably added to the problem. It’s kind of scary to think that someone who had seen and experienced the power of God could not become a follower. But these verses are a clear indication that N had not truly submitted to the Lordship of Yahweh. Some of the worst enemies of the kingdom are those who came the closest to knowing Christ. And the punishments and accountability are more severe for those that have seen and not believed.
2. 1 John 2:19, Heb 6:4-9, 4:11, 12:25, Matt 12:45,
3. Illustration: like the church that had 28,000 decisions for Christ, 9600 baptisms, and 123 people who joined the church, “if, over the next ten or twenty years, John Piper begins to cool off spiritually and lose interest in spiritual things and become more fascinated with making money and writing Christless books; and I buy the lie that a new wife would be exhilarating and that the children can fend for themselves and that the church of Christ is a drag and that the incarnation is a myth and that there is one life to live so let us eat drink and be merry—if that happens, then know that the truth is this: John Piper was mightily deceived in the first fifty years of his life. His faith was an alien vestige of his father’s joy. His fidelity to his wife was a temporary passion and compliance with social pressure; his fatherhood the outworking of natural instincts. His preaching was driven by the love of words and crowds. His writing was a love affair with fame. And his praying was the deepest delusion of all—an attempt to get God to supply the resources of his vanity.” –Piper,
4. Talk a little about our claim to exclusivity and truth concept vs. the world’s pluralism and relativism. Explain how becoming a follower of Christ necessarily excludes other followings. The truth is that many people experience the power of God in a crisis situation, but never truly sell out for Christ. Their following is temporary, or sometimes they don’t understand the cost, or their expectations are incorrect, or a thousand other reasons, but they do not connect with Christ. We have countless visitors to our churches that come and go and never are genuinely converted even though they witness the power of God, the preaching of the gospel, and the love of Christ and His church. So what else is required other than acknowledging God like N did? Repentance, volitional obedience, absolute dependence and trust in Christ. And the evidence will follow of the difficult road, the good fruit, the will of God, and the Word. Don’t wait any longer, surrender to follow Christ right now. Tell about Ronnie’s experience with the guy who couldn’t wait for him to stop preaching. You don’t want to be worse than the first.
B. Real Commitment (v. 16-18)
1. This is of course the stuff that legends and heroes of the faith are made of. N had just asked them “who is the god that will deliver you out of my hand?” And they respond that they don’t need to answer him, God is big enough to answer for Himself. Then they tell him to do what he needs to do, because their confidence was not in the king nor themselves, but in God who is more than able and willing to deliver them. But they wanted the king to know that if God didn’t deliver, they would never bow down. And they did it all without a second thought, or a moment to contemplate. Had they had time to think, they may have rationalized everything. Our hearts are desperately wicked, deceitful, and sick. But in their acknowledgment of the possibility that they might die, they let the king know that it would only be because that was the will of God for their lives. And this kind of death brings life, not death!
2. Heb 13:17, 2 Sam 10:12, 1 Sam 17:45-47, Josh 24:15, Esther 4:16, Acts 4:19-20, 21:13, Rom 14:8, 8:36-37
3. Illustration: Tell about the chicken who wanted to show their support of the farmer together with the pig by cooking the farmer a real breakfast while his wife was away—bacon and eggs, "I began to talk to the Lord. I thought I was going to die," see below, the blog entry/comic relief about the new gospel tract that has some Roman Christians cornered by lions in an arena, and the caption says, God has a wonderful plan for your life. “Let us live as people who are prepared to die, and die as people who are prepared to live.” Tell of the Romanian Pastor, Dr. Joseph Tson, p. 46, Boice’s Daniel Commentary.
4. We must keep our hearts pure and clean before the Lord and in tune with the Holy Spirit’s promptings, so that we can be quickly ready with an answer. Our minds can rationalize just about everything. Think of all the things that we could have thought—how will I witness dead; idols don’t really mean anything; is this really that big a deal; God will understand; etc. And of course the application for us is that we should love Christ enough to let goods and kindred go, and this mortal life also, and die for Christ if necessary. You might say, I don’t think I have what it takes to offer up my life…but grace will be given in the same hour. On the day that they put me in jail because I preached homosexuality, grace will be there. On the day that the gun is pointed at you and asked for a testimony, grace will be there. On the day that the terrorist comes to our church, the grace of God will be there for us in sufficient supply.
C. The Fourth Man (v. 26-27)
1. Finally there is deliverance. And it is all open and visible to the king. Two main miracles, Jesus walking around in the furnace with them, and after their emergence, they didn’t even smell like smoke! The literal translation is “son of the gods” or “son of the god.” Jewish scholars call it the Angel of the Lord, but N indicates deity. This is Christ. He thought so much of their courage and testimony, He didn’t just protect them through the trial, He went and hung out with them. Wouldn’t you like to know what they talked about? And when they came out, Christ didn’t just preserve their lives, then let them be shipped off to the ER, but they did not lose a hair to the heat, didn’t even need a shower to wash off the campfire smell!
2. Isa 43:1-3, Matt 10:29-31, 28:20, Luke 21:18, 12:32, Ex 14:13, 2 Chron 20:17
3. Illustration: Hudson Taylor said that he was immortal until God wanted him home,
4. Christ will go through the fire with you! Remember that they are not saved from the fire, but through the fire! Christians are not exempt! But our Deliverer cometh! We can also trust in Him. Remember that deliverance doesn’t always come the way that we want it. But it always comes in the complete loving wisdom-filled, Christ-exalting, timing and proportion of God. It may be the last possible minute for you. Keep waiting! The Fourth Man will come right on time! And when He does deliver, make sure and give Him the glory for it. That is the purpose of this miracle, the purpose of the statue, the purpose if they had been slain, always look for ways to give glory to Christ. Make much of Him because of His deliverance of your very soul.
A. Closing illustration: By the twelfth day of the siege of the Alamo in 1836, Travis knew that time was running out. That Saturday evening, as the sun began to set, he stood before the tired group of Texans who had gathered in the courtyard of the Alamo chapel. He offered them the chance to escape the fortress before it was too late, with the promise that they would go with his blessing. A single Frenchman took him up on the offer, and Travis was true to his word. With a handshake, Travis bid him safe passage through the enemy lines. William Barret Travis drew his sword from his sheath, drew a line in the sand with its tip, and offered his men a final choice. Then he and said to those in the Alamo Chapel courtyard: "Those of you prepared to give your lives in freedom’s cause, come over to me." In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, March 6th, 1836 the Mexican army began scaling the high stone walls of the Alamo. Colonel Travis himself was one of the first to physically engage the enemy. And Travis himself was one of the first to die.
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• N is still impressed, but doesn’t become a servant of the Most High
Several years ago Jeff Strueker was a US Army Ranger posted in Mogadishu, Somalia. Today he is a master of divinity student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. For him Oct 3-4, 1993 were the defining moments of his life. He was one of the troops called on to go into the center Mogadisu to secure a building as part of a larger operation. The movie “Black Hawk Down” came out about a year ago chronicling the events of those two days. In the first trip into the city he and most of his friends got out through a hailstorm of bullets. One man was shot and killed. It was then that he felt the fear. He began to pray. The humvee was painted with blood as they escaped the city with their dead and wounded comrades. The news soon worsened. A helicopter was shot down. The team received orders to return to the melee. Yet, his men understandably couldn’t fight in the bloody humvees. Struecker spent the next 30 to 45 minutes cleaning. No running water. Only sponges and buckets. "I began to talk to the Lord. I thought I was going to die," he said. Feeling his fear grow, he began to ask God to protect him. But his prayer soon changed. "I’ll never forget this for the rest of my life. ... A scene appeared in the landscape of my mind. The scene was Jesus in the Garden. ... He clearly and honestly knew that he was going to die. ... He also showed that he did not want to go to that cross and die. And I knew that I didn’t want to die that night. But Jesus courageously said, ’God, not my will, but yours be done.’ "If I die tonight, that’s fine, as long as your will is done," Struecker said. For the first time in his life, Struecker -- who had been a Christian since age 13 -- was prepared to die. "God spoke to my mind and my heart and said, ’I’ve been protecting you every day of your life,’" Struecker said. "He did not tell me, ’You will live through the night.’ He simply showed me my life has always been in his hands." Struecker and his men returned to the field of fire in Mogadishu that night and fought with a God-given courage. The sergeant first class would later be awarded the Bronze Star Medal "V" for valor. "I fought differently that night than everybody else ... because of my faith," Struecker said. God had given him a "supernatural peace" in the midst of pandemonium, further firefights and an ambush that nearly blew his humvee off the road. "I began to understand God’s omnipotent power," Struecker said. "He was orchestrating every single bullet that was fired that night. ...
