You Don't Look Like What You've Been In

“You don’t look like what you’ve been in”

Daniel 3:14-27

The story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego is a familiar story that most people admire and love to tell because it reveals to us what steadfastness and courage can do in the life of a child of God. The three Hebrew boys are an encouragement to those of us who try our best to stand on the word of God. They stood on the word of God together even in the face of danger when King Nebuchadnezzar sent a decree throughout the land that mandated all of the people of the land to bow down and worship his golden image when the music is played. He commanded that all of his subjects bow down to his god because he desired that his god would be the god of the land. However the three Hebrew boys stood on the word of God that said, “Thou shall have no other God before me.” They would not sell out to Nebuchadnezzar even though the king had blessed them with status position and power. They would not give in even if it meant their lives. They would not be bought by a few dollars. (No, no!) They had already determined for God I live and for God I’ll die. And so when Nebuchadnezzar finally realized that these boys were serious he decided, “Well, I guess I am going to have to show these boys that you don’t bite the hand that feed you. I tell you church these boys were brave soldiers in the army of the Lord. Not even the possibility of being burned into a crisp would make these boys give in to the king and step off of the word of God. And it amazes me, Manasseh, how so many people these days will forsake the word of God for position status and power. It amazes me that for so many people God’s word is taken for granted. If the word says that thou shall have no other God before me, that means the god of money, the god of status, the god of friend, the god of fraternity, the god of sorority, the god of pastor, the god of husband, the god of wife, the god of children, the god of self, and/or the god of career should not ever come before Him. The three Hebrew boys stood firm on God’s word and God rescued them from the hurt harm and danger of King Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace.

Church I am impressed at the fact that these boys stood on God’s word without wavering. And they are an example for us because we all should stand on God’s word without wavering. The Holy Ghost is here to help you to stand on God’s word without wavering. The Holy Ghost will help you worship Him in spirit and in truth because that is God’s word. It will help everything that has breath to praise the Lord, because that is God’s word. The Holy Ghost will give you the faith to bring the tithes into the storehouse, because that is God’s word. It will help you to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love you enemies, and everything else that may be hard for you to do that is in God’s word. So these three Hebrew boys are worthy of merit because of their faithfulness to God’s word. However within the realm of this story, I am most impressed with God. Their preponderant characters seem to overshadow the story, but the main character of the text is still God. This periscope is about what God is worthy of, who God is supposed to be, how God should be viewed, where God is supposed to be in our lives, and how God rewarded those who diligently sought Him. I love what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego does in the face of conflict and controversy but I am most impressed with God.

Can you fathom a fire set seven times hotter than normal not devour anything placed in it? The normal temperature of fire is 650 degrees Celsius. So these boys stood within a furnace that was 4550 degrees Celsius and walked out without a hair singed. Just the heat from a fire that hot could damage something, but these boys were in these violent flames and walked out without a blister. They are in the fire but the fire does not harm them. They are in the fire but the fire cannot scorch them. They are in the fire and the fire is much worse than usual but they walk out of the fire in good health, good spirits, good attitudes, and with good looks. The smell of smoke did not even make itself present upon their clothes. They walked out of the fiery furnace as a representation of the power of God. And it is all attributed to God. God protected them. God proved himself to them. God proved to Nebuchadnezzar that no weapon formed against a child of the true and living God shall prosper. And most importantly God showed everybody in the land that there is no other God but Him. And because of God they did not look like did not look like what they had been in. And church if the truth were told correctly their story is also our story. Because we all have been thrown into the hot flames in life and the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego has been there to help and protect us.