Please open your Bibles to the first epistle of Peter in the New Testament. First, Peter one, we read verses one through nine and then in chapter four, verses 12 through 19. First, Peter one, one through nine and chapter four. Twelve through 19. The text for this morning's sermon will be Daniel 3, and as I will be reading the chapter, as we go through the sermon, I won't be reading it at this time. But 1 Peter 1, 1-9 and 4, 12-19 are the scripture reading for this morning. Hear the word of God. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the spirit and obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, You have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet, believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls and moving now to chapter 4 and verse 12. Reading through verse 19. First, Peter 412 again here, the Word of God. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. Here ends our reading of God's holy and infallible word. May he bless that reading for his glory and our good. Let's join to see God's faith. Can you think of a time when you were part of a group of people and everyone else in the group wanted to do something and you knew it was wrong? I say you knew what they wanted to do was wrong, and it wasn't difficult to figure that out. What did you do then? Did you choose for the good and for the right? Did you think to yourself just because they did it or they want to do it doesn't mean that I have to do it that just because they want to do it doesn't make it right? Or did you go along with them? Did you follow the group? Did you do what they wanted to do as well? Boys and girls, when Friends or people your age are doing something and you feel that. You want to do it too, or they want you to do it. That's called peer pressure and peer pressure can be a very good thing if you have friends who fear the Lord. Who want to do what's good? No matter a no matter what age we are, peer pressure can be a problem. If we are with lots of people who want to do what's wrong, it's really hard not to go along with the crowd. If the crowd wants to do what's wrong and you know you ought to do what's right. I've begun by talking about peer pressure this morning because the story in the Bible will consider together the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is even more had a situation that was even more difficult than the peer pressure that I just spoke about. In their situation, they were not not part of a group of people their own age who wanted to do something that was wrong. Instead, they faced a command from the most powerful man in the world. To do what was clearly wrong. And yet God was gracious to them. He helped them to do what was right, and he showed through what happened to these three faithful men that they had done what was right and pleasing to him. There are helpful lessons for us in this story, because we need to know what to do as we face peer pressure to do what's wrong. This true story in the Bible is here to teach us what we are supposed to do when we face peer pressure or temptation of various kinds. Did you ever think about the story of the fiery furnace and those surrounding events happened in a single day? What a scary, tiring day this must have been for Daniel's three friends. This story recorded for us in Daniel chapter three is a display of God's grace in a fiery trial. We'll notice there are four parts to this story. First, we find these three friends of Daniel's at the ceremony for the dedication of the image. Second, we find them on trial before King Nebuchadnezzar. And third, they are thrown into the fiery furnace. And fourthly and lastly, they are in the presence of the defeated king. So the first part of this story tells us about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego at the ceremony for the dedication of the image. Before the events of this chapter are recorded, the last thing we learn about Nebuchadnezzar is that he's amazed, he's in awe at the power of Daniel's God. Remember how Nebuchadnezzar dreamed? He forgot what his dream was. He knew that it was important and he wanted to know what it meant. And the wise men of Babylon, the Chaldeans, couldn't tell the king what he had dreamed or what it meant. And so they were under great threat of being killed. But as he learned about this threat, Daniel prayed to God and Daniel's God, the true God of the Bible, told him what the dream was about and what it meant. That through this dream, God was telling Nebuchadnezzar about the kingdoms that would rise after his. The Babylonian Empire rose and fell. And ultimately, finally, the dream told about God's kingdom that would fill the world and that would last forever. The image in Nebuchadnezzar's dream was made of different metals. Its head was of gold. We don't know what Nebuchadnezzar was thinking after the experience of his dream, but we do know what he did. Now, since I didn't read the story from Daniel 3 as part of the scripture reading, I plan to work through it now. And let me encourage you to open your Bibles to Daniel 3 to read along if that's the best way for you to learn. to read in Daniel 3. I'm going to read verse 1 now about Nebuchadnezzar's real life image. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its width 6 cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. So From this verse already, there are some things that we can learn about Nebuchadnezzar's image. We learn about its size. It was 90 feet tall and it was nine feet wide. These dimensions, this height and this width measurement probably include the high platform or pedestal that this image stood on. And this platform was designed to show how high and how tall this image was so that people could see it. The image probably was covered with gold. And it was probably made of something else inside like wood or some other metal. Gold is very expensive. So to imagine an image 90 feet tall, nine feet wide, made of solid gold. It's very unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar made that entirely of gold. So try to imagine this image, congregation, standing on a large, flat piece of property, the plain of Dura. And if the sun was shining, the light would glisten off of this golden image. People could see it from far away. It was tall and shiny. We don't know if the image was one of a man or one of the gods of Babylon, but we do know that the golden image in his dream, the golden head of that image pointed to Nebuchadnezzar. And so maybe the golden image was a way that Nebuchadnezzar could say, my God has helped me to be the great king that I am. We'll see from this story that there was a really close connection between Nebuchadnezzar, his rule as king and the way that religion worked in Babylon. For Nebuchadnezzar, religion was useful not because it was based on truth, but religion was useful as a way of uniting the people if they worshiped the same gods doing the same things at the same time. The image had been set up and now it was time for a great ceremony so that the people would worship the God that this image pointed to. We read about that the preparation for the ceremony in verses two and three in 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. 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. Imagine all these people traveling from near and from far in order to get to the ceremony on time, the work that they normally do must wait. People in finance and administration and in the justice system and every other branch of government gather at the command of the king. Daniel isn't included. For whatever reason, he wasn't present at this ceremony. That reason isn't told to us. The arrangements have been made. The place has been set and the date and the time have been proclaimed. Everyone who's supposed to be there is there. But before the ceremony begins, a herald, a man with a message from the king, makes an announcement in verses four through six. Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations and languages, 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. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp and lyre and psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations and languages fell down and worshipped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. As part of this ceremony for the dedication of the image, there was special music. All kinds of instruments were included. Horns, flutes, stringed instruments. Now, translators of various English translations have different ideas about the meaning of the words in symphony. This could be a reference to another instrument, a flute or a bagpipe, a stringed instrument, a drum or a cymbal. There are all kinds of possibilities as to the meaning of those words. Nevertheless, all kinds of instruments were part of the special music for this ceremony. Perhaps they played in order to honor the God who was being worshipped. When the people heard the music, they knew that it was time for them to take part in the ceremony. They were supposed to do two things when they heard this special music first with regard to their posture and then with regard to their attitude. So with with their posture, these people were to fall down on the ground. They were to lay with their faces to the ground. And second, with regard to their attitude and what they were to do, they were to worship the God that the image pointed to. And you see it in your mind, in your mind's congregation, the music begins to play. All these government workers and the rest of the crowd that's gathered together face the image, they fall down, they lay face down to the ground, even though they might be wearing their best clothes. These are the instructions for the ceremony. But besides the instructions of what they are to do, there's also a threat of a horrible death for anyone who disobeyed the command. Anyone who doesn't fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the middle of a fiery furnace." What a dreadful, painful death is threatened. Those are the instructions and that's the threat. The music plays. However, three men don't fall down. Three men don't worship the image of gold. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And we ought to ask at this point, why don't they do what the crowd does? Again, it's quite a picture, isn't it? This mass of people prostrate on the ground worshiping the image, but three people standing upright. How they must have stood out visually. Your eyes would be drawn to them if you were observing this. But why is it that these three men don't prostrate themselves, don't worship the image? Well, there are two ways that we should try to answer this question, first, with regard to what God did to make this happen, and secondly, as to what these three men did as well. First, then, as we think about God's activity, It was God's grace that helped these three friends not to fall down, not to worship the image. We need to be very clear, dear ones, that if God didn't help them at that time, they would have fallen down. They would have worshipped just like everyone else did. What's more, We can see how God helped these men in terms of what they thought, what they said and what they did as best as we can interpret it from their actions and their words. What else then did these men know besides the command to worship the image of gold? These men knew their Bible as much of the Old Testament as had already been written. These men knew that the Bible was the place where God revealed his will in terms of what he wanted and what he didn't want people to do. These three friends knew the history of Israel, the nation they were part of. They knew that God had given ample evidence that he hates idol worship and that he punishes it severely. These friends knew the many commands that God had given that expressed clearly that his people were never to worship idols. We read one of them earlier in this service. You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20 verse 3. These men didn't need to think long and hard about what to do and what to say at this ceremony. They knew about what God thought of idolatry. And they cared much more about what God thought and commanded than what Nebuchadnezzar had commanded. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew that what God said was most important. The Bible, the Word of God shaped their priorities. Now, this is true not just for Daniel's three friends. But this ought to be true for all people who fear the Lord, who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That just like the lives of these three men displayed for us in this story, the lives of God's people need to show that our priorities, what is most important to us, is shaped by the word of God. This is the lesson for us who live in this time and this place. The objects, the ideas, the people of this world can be used by the power of the devil to pull us away from God and toward the enemies of God. The people of this world hate God. They won't obey his law. They won't obey his gospel. Just as it is true that there are friends and activities and books and other media that can make it easier for us to serve the Lord. There are many people activities and spiritual forces and ways of thinking that make it difficult for us to serve the Lord. And the way that the Bible describes all these enemies of God is with the term the world. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were aware of the call to serve God, and they were aware of the pull of this world. So, like soldiers who are on guard and alert against the enemy, these three men decided that they were going to serve their God. They were alert to the pull of the world as they lived in the world. They were not afraid of being different. They were willing to deny themselves and serve the Lord. Is there anyone here who needs the reminder of the lives of Daniel's three friends? Are you afraid of appearing to be different from this world? Would your friends be surprised if someone else told them that you are a Christian? Are you afraid of standing out? Are you trying to camouflage yourself to look like this world? Friend, that's a description of anti-Christian behavior. It's not the way of the people of God. It's not the way the followers of Jesus ought to live. If you feel comfortable being hidden in a worldly disguise and you think you're a Christian, you need to know that There are really only two possibilities to account for what you're doing. Either you're not a Christian. Or you're a Christian who needs to repent of great sin. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you also can feel the sting of conviction when you consider the consistency of Daniel's three friends in contrast to your own inconsistency. And yet, even as there's a sting of conviction in this text, there's still reason for great comfort as we consider the lives of these three Jewish exiles. Here's the reason for comfort. The same grace of God that upheld these three friends is available for us, brothers and sisters in the Lord. These men needed God's help just as much as we need his help here and now. And God helped them, though they were unworthy, though they were needy, and he'll do as much for you. There is no reason in God to prevent us from living this exemplary life that Daniel's three friends displayed in this text. Indeed, God is just as willing and able to help you as He was to help Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. What reason, then, this story gives us to depend on Him, to trust in Him for help, as we resolve to serve the Lord, even as we live in this world? Yes, in God there is reason for great hope, great confidence, No matter how dark the world may grow. This leads to a really important caution and word of warning at this point. The secret for knowing what God says in the Bible is reading what God says in the Bible. If you're not reading all of God's Word, the Holy Spirit won't bring a verse to your mind if you haven't read that verse. or heard that verse at some point. The Holy Spirit can't remind you of something that you don't know or that you haven't experienced before. So not only do we need our minds to be filled with Scripture, but we need our minds to be active and involved in discernment as we live in this world, filtering and evaluating the things of this world by God's Word. We need to recognize the pull of this world and the evil ideas, evil words and evil actions for what they are. What I call this is then to be intentional in the pursuit of holiness and the rejection of evil. For God will help you if you resolve to resist temptation and to do what is right. We've seen the three friends at the ceremony for the dedication of the image. In the second part of the story, we see these three faithful men on trial before King Nebuchadnezzar. The men that are not present when their enemies tell the king about what they've done, we read about that in verses eight through 12. Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, Oh, King, live forever. You, O King, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre and psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the gold image. And whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. 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. There are at least two things we need to realize about the way these charges have been brought. The first is that there's a racial component. at play here. The men who brought the charges were Chaldeans of the same nation as Nebuchadnezzar. And they brought the charges against these three friends, largely due to the fact that they were Jews. Second, even though this ceremony was about the worship of an image or the God, the power to which it pointed, The accusers focus on the honor of the king rather than the honor of his God. The accusers tell the story in such a way as to get Nebuchadnezzar to focus on his authority, his majesty, and the rebellion of these men who would dare to disobey his command. And they succeed in getting Nebuchadnezzar emotionally involved. We can see that in verse 13. The Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So they brought these men before the king. Even though the king was very angry, he realized that there was a Babylonian version of office politics going on here. It seems that the Chaldeans hoped that with the fall of the Jews, they would rise in power. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to be sure that the charges were true before he acted. So he asks in verse 14, is it true Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? And in verse 15, he offers a redo. 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." What will these three friends do? The most powerful man in the world has given them an order. I'll give you another opportunity to obey. When you hear the sound of the music, fall down and worship the image. But if you don't, you will be thrown into the fiery furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar asks, which God could possibly save you from that dreadful punishment? It seems that Nebuchadnezzar thinks very lightly of his own God, but far more inexcusably, he thinks lightly of the God of Daniel and his three friends. Remember, congregation, the true God revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar. He revealed Nebuchadnezzar's own thoughts to him in terms of the dream that he'd experienced and then forgotten. What's more, the true God of the Bible had even revealed the future to Nebuchadnezzar through the interpretation that he gave through Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar's wonder and amazement led him to fall and to lie on the ground before Daniel, but that wonder and amazement was short lived. Nebuchadnezzar reacted to the miracle, but his heart wasn't changed. He was the same proud tyrant as before. The king says, this is what will happen if you don't submit to me. And who is the God who will save you from me? How will the friends answer? What will they do? They begin to answer in verse 16. O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. We don't need to defend ourselves. We don't need a do-over. We won't ask you for mercy. If that is the case, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And He will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. This is what one commentator said about the courageous stand these three friends made. This is the religion of principle, and when we consider the circumstances of those who made this reply, When we remember their comparative youth and the few opportunities which they had for instruction in the nature of religion and that they were captives in a distant land and that they stood before the most absolute monarch of the earth with no powerful friends to support them and with the most horrid kind of death threatening them. We may well admire the grace of that God. who could so amply furnish them for such a trial and love that religion which enabled them to take a stand so noble and so bold. End quote. The dedication ceremony was finished, the trial was over, and now the dreadful sentence would be carried out. Verse 19. The Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and the expression on his face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. Nebuchadnezzar was controlled by his anger. The description before us makes him look more like a madman than a king. The furnace was hot enough when it operated normally. There was no reason other than spite to heat the furnace seven times more. And it accomplished no good and only harm. Verse 20 tells us and he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans and their other garments and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. What a dreadful thing it must have been to be tied up and so to fall into a large hot fire. It's difficult to conceive of a more terrible way to die. To fall into a fire with no escape. And there was no telling how these men would land, whether upright or prone. It was a wicked, cruel and senseless, proud way to punish someone. To be burned alive was a sentence far worse than anything imposed in biblical times. To be sure, the bodies of criminals were sometimes burned, but this happened after they were stoned to death. Never while they were alive. Now, if we're revolted by this punishment, by this evidence of sin. Multiply your feelings of disgust and anger at this barbaric punishment by infinity. And you will get some concept of how God feels about sin that's not paid for, not atoned. We read on in verses 22 and 23. Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. What does the Lord want us to learn from this passage in terms of the meaning of the story itself? The Lord inspired Daniel to describe the events with such detail that we would have no doubt that the Lord did a miracle in preserving the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire. The fire was not suddenly naturally quenched by a torrential rainstorm before they were thrown into it. Assuming offenders were thrown into the fire from above, the fire was so hot that the heat that rose out of the top of the furnace killed those strong soldiers who threw these three friends into the flames. Not only did the king impose this barbaric punishment, but he actually watched it being carried out. However, the Lord was also watching and he provided for his faithful servants in their hour of trial. As we read, then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king true, OK. Look, he answered, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire. And they are not hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the son of God. What happened here? Who was the fourth man in the fire? Well, there's there was a conservative, reformed scholar named E.J. Young, who had high regard for the word of God. And he says of this passage, Nebuchadnezzar's exclamation could better be translated a son of the gods, not the son of God. Remember, congregation, Nebuchadnezzar was an idol worshiper. He was not a believer in the God of Israel. He did not have special insight into the doctrine of the Trinity. And later in verse 28, Nebuchadnezzar would say that the Lord sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. We are not told that the fourth person in the furnace was the angel of the Lord. This would be the Old Testament way to explain that the son of God appeared in a human body before his incarnation. The question still stands, was the fourth person in the furnace The pre incarnate son of God. Scripture doesn't say so. So the safest answer we can give is that it's possible, but not certain. What is clear in this account is that there were three men who were thrown into the fire and now there were four and the three who had been bound and fully clothed when they were thrown in were now unharmed. Their bonds were burned, but their clothing did not catch fire. They were walking around in the fire. Now, we're familiar with this story. I trust we've heard it many times. We know how it ends. And so when we encounter a story like this in the Bible, people like us need to work especially hard not to lose the sense of amazement at the miracle that God did. When people would be thrown into a fire like this, Normally, they would burn to death. They would die horribly. But in this case, God did something supernatural. He restrained the power of the fire so that these three friends were not burned. Think about how surprised and how amazed the people watching these men in the furnace must have been. And there was a fourth man, a heavenly visitor there with them in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar reacts to this in verse 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning, fiery furnace and spoke, saying, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came from the midst of the fire. And this brings us then to the fourth part of the story, the three friends in the presence of the defeated king. Presumably, the three friends came out of the lower entrance to the furnace. Presumably, that was the place where fuel was put in and ashes would be taken out. The onlookers were naturally curious to find out if these men had suffered in any way from their time in the fiery furnace. We read on the satraps, the administrators, governors and the king's counselors gathered together. And they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power. The hair of their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. Here was yet more evidence of a miracle that God did. Isn't it true that people normally who have far less exposure to fire have the smell of fire and smoke on their clothing? You could probably tell stories that bear witness to that reality. But this was not the case with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There was no singed hair, no smell of smoke on their clothing at all. Nebuchadnezzar speaks again in verse 28. Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him and They have frustrated the king's word and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any God except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made an ash heap because there is no other God who can deliver like this. than the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar must admit that the God of these three Jewish exiles is stronger than he is. And that is all that Nebuchadnezzar confesses at this time. He commands the people of his realm not to speak against this God. But he doesn't worship their God as his God. Nor does he call the people of his realm to fear and to serve their God as their own. When Nebuchadnezzar says that God is the most high God in verse 26, he's still speaking as an idolater. He thinks that the God of the Jews, he thinks of the God of the Jews as the highest among many gods. Nebuchadnezzar doesn't see God as worthy of worship, the kind of worship that excludes every idol, every rival. After their miraculous deliverance from the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar promotes the three friends. They received even higher positions in the government of Babylon. This story, this true historical account of the image, the fiery furnace and the three Jewish men who served the Lord and who were delivered has been given to us to teach us a very important lesson. Like these friends. Our only hope of making God honoring choices flows out of a saving connection to Jesus Christ. If you're an unbeliever here this morning, the best resolutions that you could make will crumble under great pressure like the kind that these three friends faced. Good resolutions can't save you. Only Jesus can do that. He's the only one who will empower you to make God honoring choices. And for us, brothers and sisters in the Lord. God did not promise that he will always deliver his people when we make good choices that glorify him. Many of God's people have suffered greatly for the choices that they've made. Yes, some of them have even burned to death. And yet, God was with them as they burned, as they suffered. He upheld them. And so they glorified Him, even as they gave their lives to serve the Lord. We don't know what the future holds for us. We don't know how dark the world will get. But no matter what happens, let us lean on the grace of God as these three friends did. Let us look to Jesus Christ for the strength we need moment by moment, trial by trial. Let us live by the Word of God. And so, let us live and let us suffer, if that is the will of God, for the glory of God. He helped Daniel's three friends. And He'll help you too. Let's sing as a resolution to follow in the way of the Lord in Selection 32, Selection 32, the four verses. Gracious God in heaven, you know, the sermon. That's been preached that we have heard. And, you know, the words that we sung. Of a heart confessing a heart that is never turned away from you. You know, the times that we have sought to live in integrity and we thank you for your grace that has upheld us in those times. But even as we sing these words and we pray to you now, we confess that the only one who could ever say these words and sing these words in truth was our Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect one. We never yielded to temptation. Temptation far greater than we will ever experience, so In our need and in our desire to follow the example of these godly men and in our desire to look to our Savior and Lord, we ask for your help and for your strength. That in whatever you have ordained for us. You would help us to be faithful. As you upheld Those men who looked to you needy as an imperfect, though they were, we ask you and we trust you to do the same for us, though we, too, are needy and frail and we have no power of our own to stand. Our power and our strength comes from you. Help us then. To be faithful. And if there's anyone here who doesn't know Jesus as his savior and Lord, we ask that you would make this so clear that such people would come to the savior. For everything necessary for salvation. And also for the grace to stand in time of trial. Receive our thanks for your help in this worship service, please continue with us and be glorified in our worship. Please bring us back together again. This evening, if that is your will once more to learn from your work, please forgive all of our sins. We pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.