I tell you the truth if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Matt 17:20-21
Do you have faith as small as a mustard seed? I do not see any mountains around here for if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can move mountains. How much and what kind of faith is as small as a mustard seed?
This semester I am taking a class in Old Testament. I must admit like most of you my first thoughts were: “Oh boy, I cannot wait, the Old Testament, how exciting! I am from the New Testament Church how much relevance can the Old Testament have. However, my professor, Dr. Tom Jackson, has convinced me that the Old Testament was written for us today. In fact Dr. Jackson claims that the Bible may have actually been written in modern day as there were cars in the Bible, Hondas: For the disciples went out in one accord, a Honda Accord. Cigarettes were used in the Old Testament for Sarah lit on a camel. David rode a motorcycle. He rode Triumphantly.
While not actually written in modern times, the Old Testament is still relevant today. It is full great lessons which can be applied to our lives. To just read the New Testament is to read the end of a story without ever knowing what really was going on in the book or to read a dictionary without definitions. The Old Testament explains the New Testament. It explains what it means to live a life for God.
This morning as we try to understand the faith as small as a mustard seed we are going to turn to the Old Testament for an explanation. We are going to turn to a story most of us probably learned as children. And since today is Youth Sunday I thought it would be especially appropriate for us to learn from an example of some youth. Who says you cannot learn from teenagers?
We have some tremendously gifted youth in our church. Youth committed to following the example of God. I am proud of every one of them and it is my honor to be their youth minister.
The youth in today’s story are just as worthy of praise and admiration. Turn with me to the book of Daniel Chapter 3. This morning I am not going to read directly from the text. I am going to tell you the story Hananiah (han uh ni uh) Misheal (mish ee al), and Azariah (az uh ri uh). I bet you thought I was going to say Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego but their real names were Hananiah, Misheal and Azariah. They were princes of Judah who had been captured and taken to Babylon during the conquest in 607 BC.
King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler. He loved things of beauty, grace and intelligence. He thought that if he surrounded himself such things that others would see him as possessing great beauty, grace and intelligence. So he ordered all the young men who were “without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, and quick to understand” to be brought to him. Now, Hananiah, Misheal and Azariah were finest specimen of young men you have ever seen. I mean fine. Blond blue eyed, tall dark and handsome, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Billy Graham and Albert Einstein all rolled into three very impressive and good looking young men. The chief official brought them into King Nebuchadnezzar’s court and gave them the names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar became so found of them that he appointed them as administrators over the province of Babylon.
Now, not everyone was as fond of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as the king was. Some of their peers, the Chaldeans, were jealous of the attention and recognitions that the King bestowed upon Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So the Chaldeans watched and waited for an opportunity to discredit and tarnish the reputations of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It was a grand festival that provided them the opportunity they had waited for.
King Nebuchadnezzar had had his craftsmen create a colossal gold image. It was probably the image of one of his favorite pagan gods. The statue was huge. It was nine feet wide and ninety feet tall. As customary, a festival of dedication was planned to honor the new statue. Dignitaries from throughout the land came: Satraps (say traps), Prefects (pree fekts), Governors, Advisers, Counselors, Treasurers, Justices, Magistrates and all the officials of the provinces. Everybody who was anybody was there. A herald loudly proclaimed:
This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music you must fall down and worship the image of god that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
The horns played. The flutes, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music played. The great multitudes bowed down and worshipped the image. Everyone that is except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Here was the Chaldeans chance to ruin them.
Immediately the Chaldeans went before the King. O King, live forever, Remember you issued a decree O great King, that anyone who hears the sound of the music must fall down and worship the image of gold and that whoever does not will be thrown into a blazing furnace, O remember great King? Well, you would not believe it but there were three who refused to obey you. O great King, it was those Jews - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Now King Nebuchadnezzar was furious and summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to him. He questioned them,
Is it true Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?” Now I am going to give you one more chance. When you hear the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Well, that did it. King Nebuchadnezzar totally lost his cool. He ranted and raved and he ordered the furnace heated up seven times hotter than normal. He commanded his strongest soldiers to seize Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It was customary in those days for individuals to be stripped before their execution but King Nebuchadnezzar was so furious he ordered that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be executed in their robes, trousers, turbans and all. Off to the fiery furnace they were carried.
The furnace was a large beehive shaped kiln with a hole at the top and on the side. As the soldiers carried Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego up to the top of the furnace, flames shot up into the air killing the soldiers. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell into the furnace. King Nebuchadnezzar hurried around to the side and peered in watching and waiting. As the flames died down, he leaped to his feet in amazement. “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” he asked his advisers. “Certainly, O king.” Look! “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego weren’t on fire, their faith was on fire! It was their faith that had brought the presence of God with them into the furnace. Not a hair on their head was singed. Their robes were not scorched. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered them out of the furnace. They did not even smell like smoke.
Praise be to God! They had faith that said God will save us and even it he does not we still praise, honor and obey him until death. They had the faith that was as small as a mustard seed. They had faith that had survived! How many of us when faced with trials and tribulations stand before God and say “Lord help us but even if you don’t know we praise you and are willing to die for you. Faith that stands solid no matter what the consequences. If you take the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and substitute the trials and tribulations of this world for the king, you have the story of life as a Christian in today’s world.
We are constantly faced with challenges to our faith every day: the strain of financial crises, the stresses and demands of school and work, the temptations of sexual infidelities, the lure of non Christian friends to do participate in questionable activities, drugs, alcohol, lying, cheating. Without faith in God, without Jesus Christ having died for our sins, we can not face the burden of these temptations. We need the presence of God with us in the fiery furnace of life. We need faith as small as a mustard seed. We need the faith that is willing to stand in the face of adversity and evil no matter what the consequences. And with that faith nothing will be impossible.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not just acquire this faith on the day they fell into the furnace. They had a personal relationship with the living God before they faced Nebuchadnezzar. They had learned to pray and worship God every day in everything they did. They practiced using their faith, standing up for what they believed were right. And then when the challenge was the greatest, when death was looking in then in the face, they could stood on their faith and God rewarded them.
Do you have the faith that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had? Do you have a personal relationship with God? Do you know that God loves you unconditionally? That he sent his only begotten son for you! Do you spend time daily in prayer and praise with God? You can have the faith that can move mountains and save you from the fires of hell. Just ask God right now to forgive you for all the times you gave in to temptations, for the times when you turned your back on him and strayed from him. He loves you and is standing waiting with open arms for you to come to him. Just pray right now and commit yourself to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps today your faith is not as strong as you would want. Perhaps life’s challenges are getting you down and this morning you need to commit yourself to be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: to pray and worship God daily, to have a living relationship with the Lord and to practice using your faith. God is listening and is ready to be there with you to face the challenges. Let your faith grow this morning!
If you would like to come forward and make a public profession of your commitment to God or if you have a burden you need to share, I invite you to come forward this morning during the closing hymn. Rev. Stancil and I are here ready and willing to serve you. Please come.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1,2
May we call upon the Lord this morning. He will hear our voice and be with us today. Let us rejoice in his presence. Welcome! This morning we are glad to have each and every one of you with us today for Youth Sunday. It is our honor to be part of this day. If you are a visitor with us today we ask that you please fill out the form attached to the bullentin and place it in the offering plate so that we might get to know you and welcome here to Leesville Baptist Church. If you have prayer concerns or praise we hope that you will also not this on the form that we might add them to our prayer list.
