TITLE: BUT IF NOT
TEXT: Daniel 1:1-4; 3:16-18
TOPIC: God’s Sovereignty, When The Miracle Doesn’t Come
16Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18“But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
(NASB)
What does a man in bondage long for and pray for? Freedom! What does this man do when weeks turn into months and months into years and freedom does not come?
It would have been easy to blend with their new culture and to rationalize their accommodation of the Babylonian lifestyle with its idolatry and promiscuity. These men had done nothing to deserve their present situation, so why should they stick their necks out for a God who couldn’t keep His people out of bondage and refused to answer prayer?
In his book "Disappointment With God," Philip Yancey wrote:
We dare not confine theology to seminary coffee shops where professors and students play mental badminton. It affects all of us. Some people lose their faith because of a sharp sense of disappointment with God. They expect God to act a certain way, and God "lets them down." Others may not lose their faith, but they too experience a form of disappointment. They believe God will intervene, they pray for a miracle, and their prayers come back unanswered. [Philip Yancey, Disappointment With God, page 26.]
Instead of being rewarded for their refusal to serve and worship the golden image, these Hebrew men are faced with the threat of death—"…if you will not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" (v. 15).
How did Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego stay on their feet in the midst of a situation that had caused others to stumble and fall? May I suggest the following for your consideration.
I. THEY WERE MEN OF CONVICTION – In response to Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to give them a second chance, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, ’O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this" (v.16).
Their actions were not the product of convenience or comfort, but of conviction. They were men of made up minds who did not need to test the wind to determine if they needed to change their behavior to accommodate their current circumstances. They had no need to defend what they knew to be right and they refused to blackmail God—"if you get the king off our backs, then we won’t bow." They were motivated by what was right and by what pleased God.
I’m sure that the enemy of our souls suggested compromise. He may have suggested something similar to the following: "You know that this image is nothing, so just bow your body but remain standing on the inside? You can give them what they want without changing what you believe." Such action dethrones God and enthrones self. It is idolatry. We cannot compromise actions without grave consequences.
· I’m reminded of the story of the Bedouin who was eating dates as he lay in his tent in his bed. The candle was burning beside the bed, and he took a date and bit into it and found a worm in it. He lay the date aside and took another date and bit into it, and there was another worm. His solution? He blew out the candle and in the darkness he ate the rest of the dates.
Watered down preaching may offer a user-friendly god to the world, but it does nothing to address and eliminate the worms that are destroying contemporary society.
Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego knew what they believed and believed what they knew. Their deep certainty concerning God’s will meant that they valued God’s commandments above their own lives. They did not choose death, but neither did they run from it. Victor Frankl, a survivor of German death camps and no stranger to courage declared, "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how." These men were able to remain standing because they were men of conviction, but they were also men of confidence.
II. THEY WERE MEN OF CONFIDENCE – "…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king" (v.17).
Confidence = a certainty that enables reliance. These men were motivated by faith in God’s ability. They served a God who was able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that they could ask or think. He is the one who introduced himself to Abraham as Almighty God (Jer 32:17) and of whom Jeremiah declared, "nothing is too hard for Thee" (Jer 32:17). They were absolutely certain that God had the ability to deliver them from or out of their dilemma.
These men were able to stand because they had an unshakable confidence in God’s ability.
III. THEY WERE MEN OF COMMITMENT – "…our God whom we serve is able…and He will…but if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (v.18).
There are times when we must place heavy emphasis on "He is able" or "He will," but in this age of feel good religion there is a need to stress "But if not."
Here is where I lose 95% of the Charismatic branch of the Church. According to them, "if" and "but" are terms of unbelief. They are quick to amen the "He is able," but are unwilling to sound an affirming amen for the equally important "but if not." Many in their ranks are disappointed with God, because He did not perform according to their commands.
Such a backdrop makes the response of these three Old Testament men all the more remarkable. Their "but if not" prevents the story from being turned into a false promise that God will save every faithful person from suffering and death. By declaring, "He is able" we honor the power of God, but by saying, "But if not," we give place to the sovereignty and wisdom of God. We place our lives into the hand of God without regard for the outcome and thereby rob Nebuchadnezzar of his ability to crush integrity and silence truth. We join the ranks of those honored by Jesus in Matthew 23:35—"all the righteous blood that has been shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah." "RIGHTEOUS BLOOD!" These men did not die because they failed to believe God, but because they refused to deny what they believed. Church history, from its beginnings under the Roman Empire to present day Sudan has countless stories of faithful witnesses who have stood firm to the end.
According to John the revelator, the tribulation saints overcame the dragon and his angels (Rev. 12:7), "…because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death" (Rev. 12:11).
Jesus’ word to the Church in Smyrna was:
"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).
Doesn’t God have the ability to stop such a thing from happening? Yes! "But if not?"
· There is a scene in the Lion King when Simba, nearly mature, is visited by the ghost of his father, and old Mufasa says to him, "Simba, you’ve forgotten who you are. You are so much more than you’ve become." I think Jesus would say that to His Church, to us. You’ve forgotten who you are and more importantly, you’ve forgotten who I AM.
Oprah Winfrey’s little "g" god is more interested in your happiness than in your holiness. Like Mr. Wipple’s Charmin, this god is soft. He demands nothing of anyone, comes in bubble wrap and has no sharp edges that might offend anyone. He is the great mush god concerning whom Mike Yaconelli wrote:
· The great mush god has no theology. He’s a Cream of Wheat divinity. He has no particular credo, for this god is not a jealous god. You can invoke this god to start a hookers’ convention. He’s the god of the Rotary, the god of the optimist, the protector of the buddy system. The mush god is a serviceable god whose laws are written in sand—amenable to amendment, qualification or erasure. This god will make any agreement you wish and will declare all alliances holy.
Little wonder that the mush god of contemporary Christianity would never ask us to experience discomfort or deprivation for the sake of the Kingdom. This is the result of an over emphasis on God’s power to the neglect of His sovereignty. (See Is. 46:10; Daniel 9:35; Psalm 115:3.)
Admittedly, the writer of Hebrews tells us of men who "by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection…" (33-35a). He also tells us of those who "died in faith, without receiving the promises" (11:13) and of "others" who "were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection" (35). He includes "others" who "experienced mockings and scourgings, … chains and imprisonment" (36). He goes on to mention those who were "stoned…sawn in two…put to death with the sword" (37). He indicates that "they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground" (37-38). In conclusion he declares, "And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised" (40). He does not commend them for their unbelief, but for their FAITH. Their faith did not prevent them from suffering and neither did it guarantee their comfort. Their faith prevented them from caving in under the pressure to give up the convictions of their heart.
In Acts 16:22-24, Luke tells us that Paul and Silas were beaten with rods and then thrown into prison where they were placed in stocks. Years later, while writing to the believers at Galatia, Paul described the scars left by this event as "the brand-marks (stigma) of Jesus" (Gal 6:17).
Instead of being put off by suffering the early church rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:42) and the term "martyr" was a term used to refer to the heroes of the faith.
What these people believed was more valuable to them than their lives. They would rather die with integrity and faith, than live in compromise.
CONCLUSION
The thing that gave value to their deliverance was not the deliverance itself, but their unconditional commitment to God prior to their furnace experience. (See Daniel 3:28.) It’s our commitment to God through the trial that gives validity to our testimony, not merely the positive outcome. Our faith is not proven by prevention, but in the crucible.
Our commitment to God should not be conditional, but unconditional. God is more than able to deliver us, but if He chooses not to exercise His power on our behalf, then we must trust His wisdom. The man that emphasizes God’s power to the neglect of His sovereignty will be disappointed with God and fall. Woe be to the man who says to God, "I will serve you if." If there is no miracle I’m still going to believe God is able and trust His wisdom. He is too powerful to fail and too loving to allow unnecessary suffering. If He does not deliver me, then I am convinced that He has granted me the opportunity to serve a higher purpose. Therefore I am God’s servant whether He delivers me or not. May God bless you as you take this stand!
