And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be
cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom
thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Stand
(While others are bowing, you stand)
The Book of Daniel is a book
in the Hebrew Bible.
Originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic,
it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews
were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC.
The book revolves around the figure of Daniel, a
Judean who becomes chief of the magicians (4:9) in the court of Nebuchadnezzar,
the ruler of Babylon from 605 to 562 BC.
The book of Daniel is almost
two separate books, Chapters 1 to 6 that describe six incidents in the life of
Daniel and his friends (history), and Chapters 7 to 12, which are visions and
prophecy.
a.
Never before in the HISTORY of our country
has there been a time when Christians need to be TAKING A STAND for the things
of God as they do now!
b.
Every
day of life is filled with the challenge of needing to take a stand – From the
“Playground” to the “Workplace” and even into the homes all across this
country.
c.
Every VALUE that this country has been built
on is under ATTACK by Satan’s forces.
d.
Every good thing in our life is a PRODUCT of
someone taking a STAND.
e.
BAD THINGS in life are brought about by
someone taking a STAND, even though, it may have been
for something bad.
f.
Right now we are dealing with things such as:
Same Sex Marriages – The Teaching of Homosexual Lifestyles in our Schools – The
Murdering of Unborn Babies – School Shootings – Aids – The Divorce Rate is at
an Unbelievable High – and the list can go on and on.
g.
All
these bad things have come about because PEOPLE made a STAND! (Bad stand!)
II. PLACES WHERE A STAND
NEEDS TO BE TAKEN.
a.
WITNESSING – This is such a needy area. Jesus left these words for us just
before He went back to Heaven, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world. Amen.”
b. DISCIPLESHIP
Taking a Stand May Require
You To Stand Alone. (Stephen stood up and did miracles and signs among the
people. Acts 6:8-10)
d. Taking a Stand May Require You To Stand Against Error. (Daniel had to STAND
against the decree of the King not to PRAY. Dan. 6:10)
e. Taking a Stand May Require You To Suffer. (Paul & Silas wound up in the
inner most part of the prison fastened in the stocks because they stood up
against the devil’s fortune teller. Acts 16:23)
f. Taking a Stand Will Always Leave A Lasting Impression. (When Jesus took His
STAND here in this WORLD the world has never been the SAME. The CROSS is a
CONSTANT reminder that Jesus came to this world and TOOK A STAND!)
This story isn’t really
about what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego accomplished as great men of faith –
rather it is about God and the fact that he was able to take care of his people
in the midst of a crisis.
God is in control even
during crises. Therefore he is worthy of our trust – he is worthy of our
praise.
We
as parents and grand- parents must take a stand to show more love to our children. If we don’t show more love for our children,
the streets will, the gang-bangers will, the dope dealers will, the pimps will.
Society can put you in jail for whipping your child, but the police can kill
them. It’s something wrong with the story. All black boys and girls are not
bad. It hurts me to see our black, or African American, or what ever we are
going to be called this year, parents in the stores, shopping malls, cussing
their children, are either children cussing their parents and they think it’s
cute. That really hurts. It bothers me to see children call grown-ups by their
first name……..
In our text, Daniel 3 is one of the most dramatic stories in the entire Old Testament. It centers on Daniel’s three friends: Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael - better known by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Daniel himself is absent from the entire account. We can only assume that Nebuchadnezzar deliberately sent him away on "official business." This makes sense for two reasons: 1). Daniel’s testimony was so strong, the King knew he would never bow down to his statue; 2). Nebuchadnezzar may have thought Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego would capitulate if Daniel were not present.An image was erected after Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream. A mighty fortress is the power of Babylon" - that is the message of the statue. It was huge: 90' hi, 9' wide. Made of pure gold. Would be seen for miles. So here in the plain of 'the fortress' is something demonic, harsh and blinding, and the people have to leave their families and work and go to Dura gathering from all the empire - "men of every language" to boost the golden king's ego, and bow. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Nebuchadnezzar
even imported a European "rock" band for the occasion. They
represented the latest
sound of their day. Most of the instruments are Greek musical
instruments imported from Europe. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar was using the latest
music to attract a crowd to these ceremonies. When the band played, everyone
was supposed to bow down and worship the statue. And the penalty for refusal
meant being thrown into a "burning fiery furnace"
There was a time when
you had to make a lot of noise to be heard for Christ. But today, just the fact that you don’t go
along with the crowd will cause you to stick out like a sore thumb. Now the
band started playing and everyone was supposed to bow. But
there were three young boys, young boys that were over the affairs of the
province of Babylon. young boys that would not
bow down. And so they stood. I wonder why these three young boys would
not bow. Was it their dress that made them stand out? Young people you don’t stand out because of your clothes,
just because everybody is wearing their pants on their knees, you don’t have to
do it. Everybody is wearing ten rings on their fingers and can’t
write, everybody has gold in
their mouth and can’t count. Everybody is wearing earrings in their nose, eyes,
tounges, nipples, and God knows where else, you don’t
have to do it. That do not make you different. I
wonder why these three young boys would stand and everyone was bowing. I found
out they were comfortable being in the minority. Young people you have to be comfortable being
in the minority. You may not be popular, but stand. Do you remember Joshua and
Caleb, Num 13:33 When the twelve came back from spying
ten of them the majority, told Moses, we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,
which come of
the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in
their sight. But Caleb and Joshua the minority, stilled the people before
Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to
overcome it. If God is for us who can be against us. Do you remember Rosa Parks, the black woman
in AL. Rosa Parks was not the only black on the bus, tired got on the bus paid
her fair and sit in the front of the bus. The bus driver told her to get in the back of
the bus and she refused. She was comfortable being in the minority. Young
people surround yourself with positive thinking people, if you must hang
around, hang around with other church kids, don’t be afraid to take your bible
to school, and at lunchtime bow you head and thank God for those chicken
nuggets. I wondered if everybody was supposed to be bowing, how did they spot the boys.
The Babylonians quickly pointed out that the three Jews didn't bow down.
That means somebody peeked! Someone was looking around to see whom they could
tell on. Despite being threatened by the most powerful ruler of the time, the
three young Hebrews stood their ground. They refused to bend or bow!
That's
the perfect balance - living the Christian life on the brink. On the one hand,
we know that God can deliver us if He chooses. On the other hand, we are
determined to stand for Him even if He chooses not to deliver us. Jesus still
walks with us in the midst of our storms. The Babylonians believed in
"trial by ordeal." If you were accused of something and the
punishment killed you, they presumed you were guilty. If you survived, you were
presumed innocent. Stand (While others are bowing,
you stand).
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, Yea, though we walk through the valley of the
shadow of death we will fear no evil for he will be with us. 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" Their were some other church folk
their to. Probably explaining to the Lord "Well, it's just a cultural matter, just a
courtesy, and a declaration that we are giving to Nebuchadnezzar the things.
Some times you must feel comfortable being in the minority.
There are two things
of significance here. The first is what happened in the flames. The boys were
tied up and thrown into the furnace, they made it
seven times hoter than it was supposed to be. When
Nebuchadnezzar goes along to see the fun, hear the screams, and watch the
writhing agonies, to his surprise he sees four men in the furnace, not
three, all unbound and unharmed. That was all Nebuchadnezzar was able to see
with the eyes of sight, but what do we see when we
flood this passage with the light of Calvary? Don't we see the Son of God in
the furnace? Do our minds turn to Golgotha? Do we think of how the Lord Jesus
Christ in visiting us entered the lake of fire there for us? The flames of hell
can never go out, but the Lord Christ voluntarily entering Calvary's hell for
us, that we might walk the cool glades of heaven in peace with him, upon the
green pastures and by its still waters for ever and ever. There was the Son of
God in the furnace in Babylon, and he is there to protect every hair on the
heads of his people - with whom he stands in the closest solidarity: Babylon
decides it will hold a festival on the plain of Dura to celebrate its power.
God determines to hold a festival on the hill of Golgotha to commemorate his
grace. While the whole world falls down and is worshipping man, the church, in
the smallest remnant of three boys, stands amazed in the presence of Jesus the
Nazarene. The one who on the cross-entered into the
everlasting fires is present where three gather together in his name.
Immediately there are four. "God is able to save us - but we have no claim
on him that he will save us." If he does not deliver us we will still obey
the Lord: That is the test isn't it? And that is just where we are now. There
is no way that we can worship a golden idol, come what may. What we are
promised is that all grace will always abound, that God will supply all our
need, and that the Son of God will never leave us. Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide)
Jehovah-nissi (the Lord our banner) Jehovah-ra-ah (the Lord my shepherd) If we are placed in the crucible he will be there too. We
have to remember God often puts his people upon the altar and sustains them
there. There is always a furnace for the church. There was a furnace in Egypt,
in Babylon, in Rome, in the 16th century, in the 18th century, and there has
been a furnace in the 20th century, now the 21st century, we can
rest assure, there is going to be a furnace there too. Even when the signs of the appearing of Christ is at hand, because the
antichrist, the Man of sin, has appeared, there will be another furnace for the
church.