“Daring To Be Different”
Daniel 3:16-18
THE BOOK OF DANIEL
Background
Who: The name Daniel means, “God is my judge.”
Where: He was carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
When: Nebuchadnezzar was the King of Babylon 605 – 562 B.C.
Why: The King respected Daniel and the others, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, but gave very little thought to their God.
What: But by the power of God through the four men, God showed the King who was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords by taking away his kingdom and power for seven years.
Message Points
1. Dare to be different. Numbers 14:24 Joshua 14:8,14
2. Present yourself to God. Romans 12:12
3. I’m not going to bow to you and/or your idols. Exodus 20:22-23 Psalms 115:4-8 Isaiah 44:6-17
“He will deliver us from your hand O King” Daniel 3:17b. In order to be delivered, God has to prepare you for the stand. Psalms 37:23-24 tells us: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. and He delights in his ways. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Knowing this would or should cause us to be different. And if we just rest here for a few minutes, we’ll talk about being different amongst our brothers and sisters or the church with all the changes going on in the world or for that matter in the church. The writer in the book of Jude verse 4 tells us: “For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turned the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. So we can see that some folk need to be different. We see in Romans 12:1-2 the writer tells us: “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” This brings us to Daniel; Beltshazzar, Hananiah; Shadrach, Mishael; Meshach and Azariah; Abednego. They were brought in and being put under a human scope, God stepped right in and started working. Chapter 1 verse 8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself, also his three companions. Nebuchadnezzer wanted to teach them wisdom, but Daniel asked that they be tested for ten days with nothing but vegetables and water “being different.” Now to fast forward, the King was pleased and accepted, but God graciously gifted his servants with knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom and to Daniel was granted understanding in all visions and dreams.
Chapter 2 – The king had a dream and wanted to know what it meant without telling anyone the dream, the dream was troubling his sleep. The king faxed, paged, emailed, called and even overnighted all of his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers, none could tell the king his dream and it’s meaning. Upset, the king made a decree to just kill them. Daniel (being different) called his prayer partners and together they called God and God answered. Let’s talk about the others. Oh by the way, Daniel did reveal the meaning of the king’s dream and the king was able to rest. He even promoted the brothers once again (daring to be different), God showed up and showed out.
Chapter 3:16-18 in the first part of this letter we spoke of being different. Now we will talk of the daring. Daniel is not present here but you can best believe that he didn’t bow down. What about you? When your friends aren’t present, will you be swayed by these idols? Remember the past 2 chapters that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were brought in from their comfortable home minding their own business all the way from Pleasant Grove to Washington D.C, to the king’s home and the king tried to change them, but God made the king promote them as different men over the affairs of the province of Babylon. The king thought, hey if I can get this like that, then I’m going to make them all bow down to my image and me. [These 3 vs’s speak to us today saying and telling us that there is only (1) King that we will or are to bow down to]. Philippians 2:10-11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under all the earth that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” To the glory of God the Father.
So when all your so-called friends who want you to come to the parties to have a few drinks, meet some ladies or men, give you some “smoke” to help stimulate you, dare to be different. When your boss at work wants you to take a bribe because he doesn’t like another or some others because he has a power-chasing attitude, stand, because as sure as you don’t, he will revert to others to do his dirty work with you excluded. The furnace is going to be turned up, so dare to be different. When your family bows down to the things of this world and these gods, and they tell you that if you don’t you’re going to miss-out. Tell them “see ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.” Dare to be different. When you’ve been taken and put through hell from all of the above. Just when you think it’s all you will have to deal with, here comes the church. Deacon so-and-so wants you to do everything his way. And when he says, but you go to his house and the doors are falling off the hinge windows broken house ain’t been cleaned but he wants to come up to the church and run it. Sister Amen wants you to help her because her husband/boyfriend or her lady lover ain’t doing her right because she wants a baby. But she has all the answers as to why the church isn’t growing. Then to think that’s it, here is comes, some of the associate ministers are trying to get you to go against God’s appointed and that if you don’t they’ll turn up the heat. After all they never liked you anyway because you dared to be different. Stand, turn to them all, and tell them the words from verse 16a “I have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, the God whom I serve is able to deliver me from your burning fiery furnace. And if he doesn’t right now, I know he can and he will.” Tell them all to bring it on.
“I’M GOING TO BE DIFFERENT.”
THE WAY OF THE CROSS
