THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND OBEDIENCE – Ps Danny Brancatisano
SCRIPTURE – Daniel 3:16 – 18
They replied: “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve can deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
When you read the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, one thing is apparent: they were fully persuaded. Nothing could make them bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue – no threats, no consequence, no punishment. They were fully persuaded of the promises of God and in their faith and obedience to him.
When life gets heated, we need to have the conviction and persuasion of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
God can rescue me from this hardship. Even if he doesn’t, I will not bow down.
God will restore my relationship. Even if he doesn’t, I will not bow down.
God can. God will. Even if he doesn’t. I will stand tall, and He will get my worship!
Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon from around 605 BC to 562 BC. He was known as a violent man who was prone to anger and wickedness and would stop at nothing to secure his control of Babylon. Under his rule, the Neo-Babylonian empire was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world. As Babylon grew and its power became greater, the culture was known to be centred around elevating humanity – namely Nebuchadnezzar, over the place of God.
Shortly after appointing Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to positions of power, Nebuchadnezzar made a huge golden statue (90 feet tall and 9 feet wide!), and commanded people of all nations to bow down and worship it—or else be thrown into a furnace.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down, and Nebuchadnezzar’s guards reported them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king gave them another chance to worship the statue, and he asked if he threw them into the furnace, “what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
They replied: “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve can deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Nebuchadnezzar responded by cranking up the heat on the furnace, binding Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and throwing them in. The furnace was so hot it killed the men who threw them in REF Daniel 3:22.
The king famously remarked: “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods” REF Daniel 3:25 and told Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out of the furnace. They were miraculously unscathed, and King Nebuchadnezzar decried that anyone who said anything against their God would be cut to pieces.
In King Nebuchadnezzars time, he ordered all people to bow down to his statue. In today’s culture, we may not have huge statues that people worship, but we do have idols that we make the centre of our lives and work everything else out (including God!) around it.
Definition: An idol is when something or someone becomes more important to us than God. By that definition even good things can become idols when we make them the ultimate things in our lives. Anything, or anyone, can become an idol if we place the value for that thing/person above our value for God. In ancient times that would have looked like bowing down to worship a golden statue. Modern day idolatry looks different, but it’s still common. Remember, anything that becomes more important to us than God is an idol. And if we are honest, that list can get long!
Have time to discuss as a group what idols in today’s culture can look like. Use the following examples & questions as a guide to help generate discussion around what an idol in our own life could be.
Identity, Wealth, Status, Relationship, Family, Children, Technology, Work, Intimacy, Comfort, Influence.
- Where Do I Spend Most of My Time?
- How Do I Spend My Money?
- Where Do I Get My Joy?
- What’s Always on My Mind?
Throughout the week, spend some time in prayer asking and seeking what is an idol in your life. Idol worship today might look different, but it still exists. We shouldn’t let anything, even a good thing, take the place of God in our life.
In the midst of PRESSURES, we face in today’s culture, we need to be people of conviction, who have faith in the power of God, are obedient to His purposes & trust in the person of Jesus!
And pressure will come! We might expect a fully persuaded conviction would cause breakthrough. Not necessarily. When Nebuchadnezzar heard Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s words of defiance, he did not back down either. He turned up the pressure. Things got even hotter REF Daniel 3:19.
Things may be heating up in your life – family & relationship breakdowns, health problems, anxiety, mental challenges, financial hardship, failure, disappointments, loss etc…
Maybe you took a stand for God, but things just got worse, and you’ve found yourself staring down a fire like you’ve never seen before. Maybe you thought God would save you from the fire. You prayed and believed God would save you from the fire. But it remains.
But don’t give up. Remember, when life turns up the heat, God does too!
But now, says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” REF Isaiah 43:1-2.
God isn’t always going to save you from the fire. But He will bring you through it. When you walk through the fire of cancer, sickness, divorce, financial ruin – you shall not be burned.
Nebuchadnezzar made the fire so hot it killed some of his strongest soldiers REF Daniel 3:22. Fire is deadly – for some. But you will not be burned. If you are fully persuaded of the promises of God, and have full faith and obedience to him, you will not be destroyed.
You expected the miracle outside the fire. You thought God would save you before things went that far. But maybe for you, the miracle is in the fire.
According to the promise of Isaiah 43, Jesus will walk with you in the fire. Whatever the pressure or heat you may be facing, you will have a tangible sense of his presence. Jesus reveals himself in the fire. In the fire, we receive deeper revelation of power of God, have opportunities to activate our faith & obedience, and experience full trust in the person of Jesus – this is the ultimate miracle!
- Share with each other a time of heat/pressure you have experienced and how that caused you to dig deeper into faith & obedience to God.
- Have some time to pray for each other, in areas that you are continuing to believe to see breakthrough in. Pray that we would be a people of Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego conviction: God can. God will. But even if he doesn’t, He still gets my worship!
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RESOURCE REF: NIV Bible, Bible Hub Definitions, Life message