Fighting Against the Flames
Daniel 3:1–30
A person once said that there are only two things that you need to worry about:
Whether you are healthy, or whether you are sick!
If you are healthy, you have nothing to worry about BUT if you are sick you have two things to worry about:
Whether you are going to get better, or
whether you are going to get worse!
If you get better, you have nothing to worry about BUT if you get worse you have two things to worry about:
Whether you’re going to live, or
whether you're going to die.
If you live then you have nothing to worry about, BUT if you die then you have two things to worry about:
Whether you're going to heaven, or
whether you're going to hell.
If you're going to heaven, you have nothing to worry about, BUT if you're going to hell, you have two things:
WHETHER IN Utter darkness or IN THE MIDST OF THE FIRE!
This morning, we will be addressing the idea of fighting against the flames. I would like to look at an event that we are all familiar with that happened many years ago. Our text this morning will be from the 3rd chapter of Daniel.
Daniel 3 beginning in Verse
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3 So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
This is a little bold, isn’t it? What purpose is this going to have? Look at the size of it. It’s made to brag…. TO SHOWOFF.
He invites all these people to come see it. The king doesn’t want anyone to miss this monument that is being set up for him.
We think about our own lives.
I’m sure we come in contact with people today that view themselves a little more important than others. More importantly, they view their own actions as important. Anytime they say to you, “I can do whatever, I want.”
What are they saying about God in their lives? They’re viewing themselves more important than anyone else—including God, our creator.
In verse 4 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
5 that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up;
6 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
When you hear these instruments playing, you need to fall down and worship the golden image.
Notice how PERSONALLY the King gets involved in this. He goes to all the trouble of having a HUGE idol built where everybody can see it. That’s pretty plain. Not only is the image there, you are to be in awe: O, Nebuchadnezzar, how powerful you are! There are examples of false gods, but this king, Nebuchadnezzar, himself has made this image that he wants people to worship.
We think about people in our lives today who may value their car more than anything. They value their jobs more than anything. It would really be the same thing as this golden image. If we let something stand in our lives that is more important than our worship to God, if it is more important than what we realize what God deserves.
Then he sets aside a special day when everybody is to come and bow down to that idol. And then he makes a major musical production to announce when everyone should bow down. This musical extravaganza was all about glorifying an idol.
Apparently Nebuchadnezzar isn’t sure that his command will be obeyed. He’s not sure everybody is going to bow down to his idol, so he makes absolutely sure that everybody
knows that if they DON’T bow down to this idol...
there’s a price to be paid. You see, this isn’t just about an idol. This is about a King and his desire to force his VALUE SYSTEM on his people.
at verse 7: So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
He’s IMPOSING his pagan lifestyle on an entire people.
And he’s doing it because he can. He’s rich and powerful and he can definitely hurt you if you oppose him. It’s kind of like the powerful people of our day who say –
You WILL accept homosexuality.
You WILL accept foul language in everyday conversation.
You WILL accept public shaming, sarcasm, and acts of revenge.
You WILL accept all kinds of immorality.
Because if you don’t except these things then... there will be a price to be paid. You’ll do it or it’ll cost you your job or maybe your business or maybe your income.
The rich and powerful in our society tell us that if we don’t bow down to THEIR altar... they WILL DESTROY YOU.
And so everybody bows down. It’s not worth the hassle and they don’t want to pay that kind of price for saying “NO”. Everybody bows down. Everybody, that is, except 3 YOUNG MEN from Judah – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
REMEMBER WHAT Isaiah 5:20 SAYS: They call evil good, and good evil!
Now, I’m going to drop down to verse 12 of our text in Daniel 3 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Hum? Tattletales! People saying, “Do you know what they’re doing over there? There are people that don’t worship.” So Obviously…. there are some people blabbing to the king. Basically, they’re saying, “Do you know that there are people who don’t follow your god.”
Notice Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction in verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So, they brought these men before the king.
If you’re Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and you’re brought before the king you might be thinking “Uh oh!”
He is the king.
So, I am sure we would immediately start thinking about REASONS WHY WE DIDN’T OBEY THE KING’s DECREE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!
We didn’t because…
You’d be thinking of all different kinds of reasons why you didn’t do it.
Things like -
We didn’t because we didn’t hear the sound.
Or, we didn’t know the decree APPLIED TO US ALSO.
We think about people today.
They give every reason why they do what they do.
In verse 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them,
“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?
SO HERE YOU ARE in front of the king.
You’re asked a straight forward question.
Is it true that you chose to ignore my decree?
What would your response be?
Today we may be asked
just a simple question by our own friends—are you a Christian?
Or, do you think that you really need to attend services?
Or, just any type of question like this?
The king is asking: Did you ignore my decree?
In verse 15, Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
Notice again the question King Nebuchadnezzar asked Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – at the end of verse 15.
This question and how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answer that question is the focus of the entire story.
“Who is the God who will deliver you?”
And how did they answer the question?
Their SO IMPORTANT ANSWER to the KING is found in Verse 17 “OUR GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king”
(PAUSE)
Do you believe that?
Do you believe that your God is mighty to save?
Do you believe that your God is able to deliver you?
When the king threatens them, their response is one of the most powerful declarations in Scripture:
“Our God is able to deliver us… But even if He does not, we will not bow.”
This is mature faith:
- Faith that trusts God’s power
- Faith that submits to God’s will
- Faith that refuses to compromise
The reason why so many church goers struggle in their faith is because ... they don’t. They don’t believe in a God who will have their back. They don’t believe in a God who cares.
They don’t believe in a God who is able TO DO ANYTHING, so when trials and struggles come along they can’t stand up.
All they can do is kneel in submission.
If you don’t believe God can do things in your life... you can’t win. You have already lost. And Satan has already won.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were saying in vs 18 “We may not win... but we WILL NOT lose. Our God IS able to deliver us.
And then they said: “BUT IF NOT (if God decides that He isn’t going to save us today) be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Even if God decides not to rescue us from our fiery furnace we will not bow down. We will NOT surrender. We will NOT dishonor our God no matter what the price.
Our God is mighty to save. Our God is able to deliver us.
And when God steps up to defend us, there’s no power on the face of the earth that can withstand Him.
Romans 8:39 "nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I can visualize Nebuchadnezzar sitting in his throne smugly watching as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown in the fiery furnace. I can see him smile as he believes he has won. He was so angry with them for choosing to obey THEIR GOD instead of him he had the furnace increased to seven times its normal heat BUT then he glances through an opening in the furnace and ... he begins to rise from his seat. A look of shock crosses his face as he asks if they’d only thrown 3 men into the fire.
Someone says “yes, only 3.” But as he looks into the furnace and he sees FOUR MEN. Where’d the 4th guy come from?
The king heats the furnace seven times hotter — because the world always increases pressure when you refuse to bow.
But notice what happens:
1. They are thrown in bound… but the fire sets them free. The ropes burn off, but their bodies are untouched.
Sometimes God uses the fire to burn away what was holding you.
2. A fourth man appears in the fire.
Nebuchadnezzar sees someone “like a son of GOD.”
God doesn’t just rescue from the fire — He joins His people in it.
You may feel like you’re in a furnace right now:
- A furnace of stress
- A furnace of grief
- A furnace of pressure
- A furnace of uncertainty
But the God of Daniel 3 still steps into furnaces.
We read in verse 25 of the text “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
The Bible tell us, when we’re faced with our own fiery trial, God will be there beside us.
Here in THIS BIBLICAL ACCOUNT is a king basically saying, who is that God that shall deliver you?
He was putting fear into them. There’s no way that your God is going to deliver you from what I can do to you!!!
Isn’t it ironic that the TITANIC which had the statement made about it that even God Himself couldn’t sink it? This ship never made it to its destination on its maiden voyage. Hum? A little irony there.
In verse 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. We are going to do what God wants us to do.
How would you answer the question
who is your God that is going to help you?
Do they know the final ending?
Do they know that there will be no harm to them? No.
Do they know that the king is going to be upset? Yes.
Do they know that there’s a decree saying they will be thrown into a fiery furnace? Yes.
I can only IMAGINE what the heat would be like IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRE.
This was a “God moment” – this was a time when I believe God was setting them up. He was putting these guys in a position where they had to make a choice.
And God does that a lot in Scripture.
I hope you noticed that they come out without even the smell of smoke.
God doesn’t just deliver — He restores.
Some people go through fire and carry the scars forever. These men walked out without the smell of what they survived.
God can bring you through something so completely that people won’t believe you ever went through it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faced with a harsh decision, a time when God
had set them up to endure for righteousness.
Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us of a promise that God makes repeatedly throughout the Bible
“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
This is a promise you can rely on. But this promise is only yours if you are His child. If you’ve sensed the need for a God who will stand there beside you.
God’s offer is simple to accept:
Believe in Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Jesus as your Lord and Master and then be buried with Christ in the waters of Christian baptism In the name of the FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT for the REMISSION of your SINS.
INVITATION
