God's People Stand

We do have an opportunity to look to scripture for our help, and I'd like to introduce this sermon with the title. The title is, God's People Stand. God's people stand. And if you have your Bibles, I invite you once again to turn to Daniel chapter 3. Let's turn back to Daniel chapter 3. This is where we'll continue our study in this chapter. This is the deliverance of three young men from evil, simply stated. If you look at history of this time, we are coming to three individuals here who find themselves at a need to stand.

It's very likely that these three young men of God were still in their teenage years. You can imagine that. And here they are, finding themselves standing before a raging fire, a fire which would have its purpose to swallow them up. Yet, God had other plans, and it would be the deliverance from the very hand of God that they would now encounter. Let me just say, we come to a story like this. This is a story of deliverance. We come to it really with one purpose in mind. And that is to establish the fact that even in the face of the most difficult fiery trials, God still reigns.

He still reigns. And this is what we have to ask ourselves today. Do we believe that? We need to settle that answer now, well in advance, before we come, before such a fire as this. Do we believe that? I wonder if we believe that. I ask myself that. Truly believe that. In a world in which we look around today, a world which is looking to effectively remove any confidence, remove any hope, remove any joy from our lives, where we find ourselves in a world effectively looking to instill doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, and fear. You know, I consider myself a pretty optimistic kind of person. I think God put optimism, baked it into me. I'm a pretty positive thinker, but if I'm being fully open, wow!

When I look at the world today, and I look at and hear some of the things that is going on, and we interact with each other on these things, I'm finding it difficult, more and more difficult, to remain optimistic and to push away some of these feelings of uncertainty. But I and you, we have to remind ourselves, no, God is still on His throne.

And as simply as that sounds, it is going to be the key which will help God's people persevere until the return of Jesus Christ. And what it is in a remarkable way, this story of deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and their great story of deliverance from the fiery furnace, it really should mean so much to us. Because what we see in this past deliverance, in all the aspects of it, it is absolutely a precursor to the end time events that we're going to face in the future.

Let me give you a little background here of chapter 3. I'll give it by way of reminder. This is God's people. God's people, this is at a time in which evil forces seemed to be winning. Daniel and his people have been taken away from their homes. They were living in a strange land under an evil authority. At this point in history of Babylon, we see the conquering of Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered Judah, ransacked Judah, captured Judah's king, King Jehoakim, took all of God's people into captivity. Then there became a wave in which some of the exiles were brought back to the homeland.

If you look at history, the historical account is that there were three waves of exiles that were brought back in the first wave. Then we have the story recorded for us of Daniel. And our three heroes here, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which were among them, brought back. They no longer had their families. They no longer had their temple. They no longer had their worship. Very little at all. They would have been tempted to think that God has lost out. If you really put yourself there, who's winning at this point? Well, you might be tempted to say that Satan is winning and God is losing.

But Daniel wants to record these things in order to reassure God's people that even in the face of disaster, even when all the external fabric of our lives is going away in our livelihood, God still remains God. And we still have access to His strong hand.

And if we're with God, there will be nothing that will hinder us from persevering to the return of His Son. And again, so Daniel writes this story, and it's to galvanize in God's people then, it's to galvanize God's people today, that while the kingdoms of the world for a time will seem to be winning in their opposition to God and His work, there is absolutely nothing out of control.

And God is still absolutely in control. Fundamental, simple truth that we have to believe in, believe in. And so we want to look at this past trial that these three young individuals faced in the context of what's going to happen future to us with a future suppression, a future fiery furnace, if you will, that God's people will face prior to Christ's return.

How would you move through an event such as this? You'll be asking yourself that.

So let's read this together. Daniel 3. Let's just read. We have a little bit of the foundation here. Let's just go and read verses 1 through 6, if we will, just to set our foundation again.

Daniel 3 verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold. Now this image whose height was 60 cubics its width, six cubics. It was set up out on a plain, the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Verse 2, King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together his counsel, if you will, his congress, who were made up of the satraps, administrators, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, all the officials of the provinces, to come out to Dura and to the dedication of this image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

So there in verse 3, the congress, if you will, of Nebuchadnezzar, they gathered together for the dedication of the image that the King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before now this image of Nebuchadnezzar. Verse 4, verse 4, then a herald cried aloud, and he said, To you it is commanded all peoples, all nations, all languages, that at that time, at the time you hear the sound of this orchestra, the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the sultry, the symphony of all kinds of music. But when you hear that, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And, verse 6, whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast immediately, immediately into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. So let's just stop there. So what an announcement here from the herald. I'm sure it was sent chills down their spine. You know, they're standing before this great statue, and they're also feeling a little heat on the backside at that moment. So let's really try to, you know, you come to this kind of scene so often in the Bible, and it can seem very remote to us. You know, this whole scene of being out in the desert, and the just plains, and standing before a big statue, and a fiery furnace. That seems so remote and so removed, and it is from our 21st century thinking. So I want to kind of do my best to kind of create a scenario, use my imagination, and I want you to contribute with your thinking, to try to really bring this in, and what this might look like in our day and age. Let me give it a shot. Now, there came a time in which there was a lot of chaos around the world, and the ruling authorities have determined that it's in the best interest of the country, and in fact all the nations, to come to some sort of harmony or unification around a higher belief, a more noble belief or purpose. After all, this is justified because if you look at history's past, you will see that a nation was at its best when it was united around one common ideal or one common belief system. So the governing authorities, in recognizing that and looking at the chaos, decide that they're not seeing any conformity, and there's so much chaos that there needs to be something that unites us, brings us together, maybe a unification around a common symbol or belief.

And so it's going to be necessary to bring about the harmony that they're looking for, for all to participate and to be a part of it. But as God's people are analyzing the workings of the government, it's going to become quickly obvious to all those with God's true spirit that to participate in this program is going to mean a compromise to God's way or to God's law, okay? A violation in that way. Again, it's going to be made clear to God's people that to do so, to be part of this harmony program, is going to be to defy God.

We don't know what that might be. It might be simply giving allegiance to someone or something other than God. It might be part of the unification might be to go to a six-day work week, right? And maybe have a common Sunday day of rest or worship.

Again, I'm going to need you to participate in your mind. Use your kind of imagination of what could be where God's people would recognize this is not the program I can be a part of. But regardless, the ruling authorities have made it clear that they need all individuals to be a part of it in order for the harmony to take place. So they're going to have to put a little pressure, if you will, to garner the proper allegiance. Perhaps the best way to organize all the peoples will be by a certain number. Maybe initially it's the social security number. Maybe it's a number that's assigned to us. There's going to have to be some kind of organizing or tracking that will take place just to see where how the program is being participated in. And that way they can ensure that everyone is in participation. So there will be some monitoring system within the homes of the family just to make sure that the program is successful. And so with that, there has to be some incentive and some perhaps penalty involved for those who are hesitating to bring about the harmony that they're looking for. Perhaps they could put pressure on those unparticipating individuals along the lines of their employer. Some pressure there to get in line and to start participating. Perhaps it could be those students that are in education. You know, it could be made known that to participate in our university, it's going to require participation in the governmental harmony program, whatever it may be. So it may affect your future and income and a way to support yourself in that way. And if that's not enough, perhaps they need to install some consequences with probation, maybe even imprisonment of some sort just to get the attention. And perhaps those who are just dead set against the harmony, quote harmony, that they're looking for, it may just need to eliminate those individuals altogether. So would you sign on considering all those things and all those pressures? Dad, Mom, you may be strong, but what about your kids and the suffering that they may go through? Granddad, Grandma, how would you lead your family in this way? Will you give your allegiance? You know, especially when you do not have income coming in and now maybe you're restricted on where you can shop, and so there's limited food or no food available. And God forbid, loss of freedom and loss of life, even. So you begin to think about, whoo, I can see the temptation, even within God's people, to start to rationalize perhaps a little bit of allegiance to this harmony program. Now, those of you with better imaginations, that might not be so helpful, but I did the best I could. And what I'm trying to do is to really bring this whole notion of this statue and this king, this evil king, that's locked away, seemingly locked away in history's past, and bring it to today and bring it to our future today.

So let's, as you kind of think about that, I want to give you a little information here with regards to the scene and this image that's here in verse one, image of gold. We don't know if it was gold plated or gold through and through, but regardless, this would have been a valuable piece of work here. Very likely solid gold, solid gold. Remarkable when the sun hits this kind of image. And just the grandeur of it all, six cubics tall, six cubics wide, huge image.

If you look at this area, this Dura area, there are actually some trees out there that they call date palms.

How many know what a date palm is? Okay, if you gave some nods. Huge! These date palms are some 80 to 90 feet tall.

And these date palms, these trees, just tower over these plains. Like you could see these from from miles away. And if you were going to come underneath one of these palm trees, it's just incredibly awesome in your eyes. And so Nebuchadnezzar built this image that was right alongside in its statue with those. So this would have been towering over the landscape of the day.

Some 15 times approximately the height of an average man. 15 times. So there was a vastness to this gold statue here.

I always thought this would be a statue of Nebuchadnezzar, but actually if you read the text, it doesn't say that. It doesn't indicate that it was his head up there. I don't know, for so long I always thought the story I just assumed, but perhaps it wasn't. I don't know, it could have been his head up there. It could have been a statue of a god of the time, you know, lower G god, perhaps. But you know, perhaps it might even be difficult to see what it was from that that distance away.

Where there's some ambiguity to it, you don't quite even know what it is.

In a sense, that actually might be beneficial in bringing men and women along who were maybe hesitant to give their allegiance to this statue. You know, some might come out there as commanded and say, well, what even is it?

And some might say, well, it can be whatever you think it is. You know, I like to think of it as simply symbolic of our harmony that the king is trying to bring about. We all want harmony, right? So I like to look at it as really just a symbol of peace. But you can project your belief onto it, whatever you think it might be best. You know, just project whatever is best for you.

And it can be that. It's a real 21st century kind of theme to it, you know, whatever you want it to be. It doesn't have to mean to me what it means to you. What's important, we've had all this chaos and the king is trying to bring us together to bring harmony. So we need to honor this. We need to reverence it, of course. We need to, dare I say, show our worship to peace and harmony. A false peace, a false harmony, if you will. It's really just a focal point. So why don't you, you know, get behind this? Why don't we all get behind this and rally together?

So this is a real call out to the future scene, a future to us, because the biggest threat to God's people at that time will be the fact that you and I are not going to have to give up everything of our beliefs. What's going to be asked of us is just to compromise a little, right? That's the way Satan works. It will not be, you know, if someone says, we're going to need you to, we're going to do a six-day workweek and you're going to have to work on the Sabbath. Many of us would say, no, I'm not doing it. We know the value of the Sabbath. We know that we're to honor it and respect it and it's God's, the Lord's, it's God's day, you know.

But perhaps maybe we'll just have to make a little bit of compromise in the beginning hours of the Sabbath, you know, or we're just going to need you to start a couple hours earlier or, okay, you don't have to work, but I need you to at least check in and we just need you to do a few managing things, you know, to be a part of the system. So when thinking about the future, don't be thinking, you know, small compromises. I cannot make even the smallest compromises to that which I know is against God's will and against his law.

When Satan sees God's people make small compromises, he knows, I got him, I got her.

Because that's the beginning. Once he can get us with a small, he can build upon it. In our human nature, if we stretch a little bit outside of God's will, and then to stretch a little bit more is always a little bit easier, right?

So zero compromise here.

You don't have to forsake all your beliefs, but just come and join us as we look to bring harmony to the earth, you know.

So that's the image. What about the strategy here? Interesting strategy. You know, there's kind of a marketing strategy here. You'll notice there beginning in verse five, we do have this music. I got to tell you, music's powerful. We know music's powerful. Music's powerful for the positive. It can get us our minds, our hearts in line getting ready to study God and get ready for worship. It can turn a bad day into a good day. So there's such a positive aspect about music. Well, guess who also knows that fact? Satan the devil knows that. And you will find that music and setting a kind of scene, an environment that is joyous, seemingly joyous, and there's music. And so they'll surround that which is dark with all kinds of light to enter into our eyes and our ears, all of our senses. Very strong marketing technique here by Nebuchadnezzar. And we know who's ultimately behind this evil king. So there's a celebration. Man, is it hard not to participate in celebration. After all, for a quote, good cause, a good cause to bring everyone together.

Music's playing. Now, for those that don't quite get the beat, there's a little other motivation here with a fiery furnace here. And it's an immediate consequence, it says, the text says.

So perhaps this fiery furnace was pretty close by. So you have rewards and punishment here to control behavior. And if you look into any psychology books, it's that simple. Rewards and consequences always go hand in hand to control behavior. And that's going to be the end goal, is to control men and women's behavior away from God and to worship something that's other than God. So incredible technique here, and it really speaks to the human psychology.

So verse 3, they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had stood up, had set up there.

All the music, all the fanfare, they're finally standing there before this image. And if you allowed yourself to compromise enough to even be there, you know what they say is you don't even want to get up to the line. So here's God's law, and there's the line. You don't even want to get close. There's great danger. Well, I'll just go out there. I'm not going to bow down to it, but I'm just going to go out there and see.

That could be compromised, you see. So you don't want to even get close to compromise.

Well, I guess if I work up to this time, it's, you know, whatever it may be, what compromise you might have. Well, perhaps I could just tell a little bit of an untruth to kind of get out of this situation, you know. After all, God doesn't want me to be in prisons because I can go ahead and still do his work. So if I'll tell a little bit of untruth, so you're getting right up to the line. Because what no doubt happened, there would have been those in this crowd that may have determined I'm not bowing down. But imagine, and maybe it started this wave that started at the image, and you're looking out at this image. So many people there, and the beginning ones begin to bow, and you're seeing the wave come to you. Chords of men and women all bowing, and the waves getting closer and closer to you. And all of a sudden, it gives me chills just to think about that. The pressure to at that moment when the wave hits you to give in, to kneel, to something other than God. Incredible pressure. And if you allow that wave to pass, then you're the one standing. So here are these three young men, and the waves coming, right? And they're standing, and they're standing, and all those kneelings begin. You know, the whispers begin, and there they are. And all the council then identifies who's standing.

And it happens to be these three young men there. The herald had already made the announcement. So all those standing, well, they're determining their own consequence, right?

They were to fall down. In fact, everyone, peoples, nations, languages, all of them, were to fall down and worship the gold image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up here. And in the midst of this group of, no doubt, thousands and thousands, God's peoples stand here.

This is the trial before the triumph, and I think it's going to come to every one of God's people.

Expect a trial, a heavy trial, to come to test us. A trial before the triumph.

All these things are asking us to bow down to them. Some of the things that the psychologists say contribute to compromise are the fear of rejection.

You know, the fear of being alone or pointed out from the crowd. Is that a weakness of yours?

You have a fear of that, being having the spotlight, fear of rejection.

Another area of compromise is tolerance. Perhaps you have a weakness in this. It's sympathy.

Sympathy to indulge in beliefs and practices that differ from God's way.

You have a heart that likes to go along with everyone and likes to bring peace and harmony and not go against the grain. You have a sympathy or a tolerance for people. You care about them and you don't want to make them feel bad. That's a risk area of compromise.

Maybe a third is just pleasure. You don't have a very high pain tolerance. You don't have a very high pain tolerance.

And so that drives you to participate in compromising situations. Or maybe the last might be laziness, indifference.

Just indifference. You don't have the spiritual muscles. You haven't built those over time to even fight for what you believe. You believe it, but you didn't exercise it prior. So you kind of have some spiritual muscle. You're just kind of lethargic. A little bit of laziness to fight.

So those are some of the contemporary challenges that face these young men. They will face us in the future. Perhaps you might be able to relate to one or two of those. Those are areas you need to bring to God now. You need to strengthen now. Perhaps it's all four. Take a look at whatever trial God's giving you today in lesser scale and start to engage in not compromising today. This is where we're building our muscles. This is where we're making sure that we'll make the right decision when the fiery trial occurs. So the trials we have today are so effective toward that. We thank God for these trials today because they're effective to help us in the future.

So we're going to be asked to stand under incredible persecution and pressure. So they notice those standing. Verse 9, they go to King Nebuchadnezzar. Verse 9, O king, live forever. That is setting up the king as eternal. He's a god in their eyes. Oh king, you're the eternal king, right? Playing to the king's pride. You, O king, you've made a decree that everyone who hears the symphony shall fall down and worship the gold image. And whoever doesn't, verse 11, shall be cast in the midst of the fiery furnace. But we'll have you know, king, verse 12, there are certain Jews whom you set over the affairs of the province of Babylon. Now we're not questioning that decision, king. We're just letting you know that you did it.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you, and they don't serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up. Let's stop there. What a what a prick to his pride. You know, you gave them this, and this is how they repay you.

You know, wow. I don't know what I would do, king, but that's not making you look too good. You know, they're not giving you any respect at all here.

Yeah, and it's interesting to think about tone of voice. We heard this in the opening message.

There's a few ways you can kind of read this. You know, verse 14, is it fury at this? You know, the king no doubt had a relationship with these three. Perhaps had some kind of heart toward them, was friendly toward them, and even perhaps had a relationship with them of some sort. But the Nebuchadnezzar spoke to him. Is it true? Verse 14, is it true? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Is that true? That you won't serve my gods or worship the image of God? That I set this up. You know, verse 15, when you hear the music, we were very clear, the herald was very clear of what you must do. Fall down and worship the image which I have made, and that will be good for you, young men. And we made it so clear that if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And then, which was so interestingly brought out in the opening message, and then, you know, who's the God that will deliver you from my hands?

I don't know. I think I agree. It's almost like there's almost a fatherly kind of approach here. I don't know if he was screaming at the top of his lungs in anger at this very moment, at this moment. Now, fury's going to come, but he had set them over the affairs. He had given them favor. Were y'all just not sure of the instructions? You know, I want to remind you what they were.

Perhaps you couldn't hear them amongst all the people, you know.

By the way, just as a side note, so I want to state this so I don't forget in the end.

Very important when you think about the future. When these things start to happen, and you see the unification of evil happening around you, just know, and I think I can, on the strength of Scripture, put forward this story after story in the Bible, our responsibility is to not necessarily try to dismantle the monuments.

There are some, depending on how you are built, your first initial reaction is, well, let's just go take a sledgehammer to this golden image. Let's get rid of it, you know.

God might ask you through his Spirit to engage in that kind of human endeavor, to tear down, to demolish whatever's before you. It's a real, it's a real forward, it's a real physically forward response that God's people can have sometimes, and I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong, but I want you to consider, sometimes we can be distracted by trying to dismantle the monuments. Sometimes we can get caught up in refusing to go into the furnace, not realizing that it will be in the furnace that God will manifest himself.

You know, we can get caught up and distracted about not even getting, not, you know, keeping ourselves out of the furnace, and it might be in the furnace where God is going to do his work.

Something to think about, you know, so much in, when we get to this moment, so much is going to be out of our control. A sledgehammer is not going to be our weapon of choice. It's going to be Scripture, it's going to be God's Spirit, those are going to be our weapons that we'll have at that time.

As in times past, it may be, it may be the only way that God will bring forth his people and his church through its purpose and towards its purpose is to go through the furnace. The very thing that we might run from might be the very thing that will make us and fulfill our purposes. So it can be a total different way of thinking sometimes. So you'd be thinking, thinking it in the way God thinks. So verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, you know, they're not, it doesn't seem like there's a struggle or, as was mentioned, a very peaceful response here, right? Oh Nebuchadnezzar, we have no we have no need to answer you at this time, you know. I always wonder if I'm going to have the right words to say. Maybe the right words will be nothing at all, you know. Christ employed that response in a moment before his crucifixion, we note. So there's not some big theological diatribe here. Very plain, plain spoken. Verse 17. Verse 17. You know, if we're thrown into the fiery furnace, if that's the case, verse 17, our God whom we serve, He's able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. Make no doubt. But, verse 18, if not, let it be known, perhaps their voice, you know, in their teenage years, lowered a little bit, maybe a little bit more bold here, let it be known, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. What a moment.

And again, just know, on the strength of Scripture, this is the very scenario that's going to come to God's people in one manner or another. Let me show you. Keep your marker here. Keep your marker here. Revelation 13, verses 11 through 17. Let's turn there. Revelation 13, verse 11 through 17 here. Here it is. Here is a future image that God's people in the future will be commanded to bow down to. And the command is going to come from a beast power, a governmental king, if you will, inspired by the dragon himself, Satan the Devil. Here it is. Revelation 13, beginning in verse 11.

John writing of this future time. Then I saw another beast coming up out of earth.

This beast had two horns like a lamb, so very deceiving, and spoke like a dragon.

And he exercises all authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it, this is the whole earth, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. So there's going to be miraculous power that this end time power will have.

He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by the signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling all those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, and the image of the beast should both speak and cause many who would not worship the beast to be killed. Verse 16, he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their hand and on their foreheads that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Let's stop there. I don't know if there's a more direct example of the future end time event that we're going to face than what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are going through, right? Have remarkable here. And so this is why we say the past recording is the thing that prepares us for the future here. This will be future to us. It's past to us as we read about the three young men. It's future to God's people still today. And the harmony of all the peoples. There's no distinction.

Great, small, rich, poor, free, slave. It's going to be a unification agenda.

And there's going to be consequences to those who don't get in with it. You're not going to be able to buy or sell. That means your employment is going to be affected. Your means to get through life with food and what you need to do. Your very existence is going to be in jeopardy. Unless you receive the mark, unless you give your allegiance to something other than God. We don't know what this mark is exactly. It's interesting, and many have noted this in the past.

We find the reference to the head and the hand. So whatever this allegiance is, it's going to seek to find worship. And it's going to seek to have us bend in our thinking and our doing. You know, the head and the hand and our thinking and our doing.

It's going to look to find allegiance totally in the way we think and the way we in all of our activities here. And the struggle will be not to feel the fear and pressure of this beast influence here.

When we say you're going to have to have fear of God at the very foremost of your heart and mind, this is at the very essence of what we're talking about here. If we fear anything other than God, we are done for in this moment. So we have to put our fear, our reverence, our worship toward God and God alone. So back to Daniel 3. Let's finish up with the story here in the short time we have left. Daniel 3 beginning in verse 19. Now, if Nebuchadnezzar had a father-like feeling toward these young men, that quickly has vanished. Now it's nothing but fury. Daniel 3 verse 19. Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury. The expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That's why I think he was more in a fatherly posture, and now that has changed. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And I also think that's why he has such a guttural response of anger. Whenever you have a connection or perhaps even a kind of relationship or love for individuals and they betray you, you know that fury really burns deep. Deeper than someone if you were just at arm's length. So I think there was some relationship here, and that speaks to the response of heating up this furnace. Verse 20. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army, bind Abin, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, cast them into the fiery furnace.

And when these men were bound in their coats, trousers, turbans, and other garments, they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, right away, get them in there. The furnace exceedingly hot. The flame of the fire actually killed those men of valor who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to throw them in. They killed the king's men. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. It's over for them, right?

Well, God has a different plan. In the midst of the of the furnace, verse 24, Nebuchadnezzar looks on, and he's astonished. Verse 24. And he rose in haste, saying to his counselors, Wait, did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? True, O king! True, O king!

Well, look, verse 25. I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they're not hurt.

And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Amazing. What a witness there. What did we say earlier? God often makes the biggest impact on society by allowing his people to go into the furnace, because it's in the furnace that Christ will manifest himself.

Approaching the opening, verse 26, Nebuchadnezzar comes near, and he speaks, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's listen to this, not my servants. Servants of the Most High God come out, come here, and they came from the midst of the fire. Remarkable. And all the congress, they're all there.

In verse 27, they begin to poke at the three men, smelling them. There is no smell of singed hair, or their garments weren't affected. No smell of fire on them, it says.

Hair, not even one hair was harmed there. And then we have this great summary statement here, as we work to a conclusion. Verse 28 and 29. Nebuchadnezzar spoke. And here is what God's people, what God is doing through us. This is the result that we are to have, and God gets all the glory.

Nebuchadnezzar spoke. Can you imagine? There will come a time in which even the most evil of kings will speak these words. Verse 28. Blessed from the lips of Nebuchadnezzar, if you can imagine, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him that they have frustrated the king's word and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve or worship any god except their own. Therefore, King Nebuchadnezzar says, I make a decree now for all people, the nation, all language, which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, will they shall be cut into pieces, and their homes and houses shall be made as an ash heap, because there is no other god who can deliver like this. Let's stop there. Does this challenge you today, this morning? I know it challenges me. Again, the whole purpose of the book of Daniel, you know, you have all this this prophetic, really scary and fearful images and what's going to happen future to us, but then you have these stories that are just inserted all throughout Daniel. God's saying, hey, I'm still in control. I'm still here. Don't give up. Turn to me. Look at my servants, you know, been still with them. I'll be with you to the end. God will bring forth his people, his church, to the end, even if it's through the fire. So today, like our three heroes, may we be let it be known.

We will not compromise. We will not serve their gods that they have set up. And maybe it be today in all ways that God's people stand.