We're on, Matt says. I have a message today from Daniel chapter 3. If you'll all please turn with me there in your Bibles. God's Word gives us many, many things wherein we have blessed assurance. Blessed assurance about many things. Just to name a few, God's Word gives us a blessed assurance of the depth of God's mercy and His great love wherewith He loved us. We have blessed assurance in God's word of the power of Christ's blood to cleanse and save from sin, about the security of our salvation, about the promise of God's provision in our lives, many things that we have blessed assurance about, the promise of his power through his grace to enable us to live a victorious Christian life. And something else that we're assured of in God's word is that evil days will come. Evil days will come. We do have a powerful enemy who will come against us at times with great oppression. Paul says, yea, and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. We know that verse. That verse actually causes me to believe that if we're not suffering persecution, then perhaps we're not living godly enough. The evil days will come for the Christian and so therefore Paul exhorts us in Ephesians chapter 6 to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand, withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. And on that note I have a message today from an Old Testament story about standing for God in an evil day. We read in chapter 1 of Daniel's prophecy, the setting here for this story in chapter 3, The story occurs in the land of Babylon, of course, where many Hebrews have been taken captive from the land of Judah and from Jerusalem, after which we read in Daniel chapter 3 and verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three-score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Curiously, by the way, the Bible doesn't tell us what this image looked like. We don't know what it was an image of. Many presume it was an image of Nebuchadnezzar himself. the image that the king had a dream of in chapter two, but there's no reason from the scripture to make that conclusion. So we really have no idea what the image was of or what it looked like. It could have been an obelisk like the towers we see in Egypt or in St. Peter's Square in Rome, Washington, D.C., a Washington monument could have been an obelisk. We do know that its height was three score cubits and the breadth thereof, six cubits. And a cubit is about 18 inches. And so three square cubits, this image was 90 feet tall, which is the height of an average eight and a half or nine story building. And it was about nine feet wide, six cubits is nine feet. Nine feet wide, 90 feet tall. And the text says it was an image of gold. And that, by the way, doesn't mean it was made of pure gold. It would not have been. Nebuchadnezzar did not have enough gold in his treasury to build this thing out of pure gold. This image was no doubt built of wood and then overlaid with gold as idols were typically made in the Old Testament. As, of course, we read in Jeremiah chapter 10, verse three, Jeremiah says, for the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers, let it move. Jeremiah is talking there about idols in general, because this is how all idols in the ancient world were made. And so as the typical idol in ancient times, was graven in wood and decked and overlaid with gold. This also would have been true in Nebuchadnezzar's image. But even at that, it would have taken a lot of gold to overlay an image 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. And so we read there in verse 1, that he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. And by the way, the plain of Dura is in modern day Iraq and it is a wide flat land. And this golden image could probably have been seen from miles around. We read in verse 2 then, Nebuchadnezzar the king sent together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, and the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, saxophone, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. Verse 6, And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. So now we know the purpose for this golden image. This was not just a piece of valuable sculpture to be admired. This was an object of worship, a state-imposed religion, an idolatrous false god to be worshipped on penalty of death. By the way, Babylon already had multitudes of false gods. And so why would they need another one here? I'll tell you why. It's because idolatry never satisfies. Idolatry is always, by the way, a thin coating of gold over worthless wood on the inside. It never satisfies. Those that reject the true God will never, ever be satisfied with their false gods. They'll never be satisfied. Whether their god, their false god is money, or music, or fame, or Islam, or Hinduism, or Catholicism. Idolaters are never satisfied with their false gods because idolatry never satisfies. Something else that we should not overlook here. Notice the use of music here. And hire musicians to draw the people to this false worship. Some people say that music itself is religion neutral, that the sound of music doesn't necessarily matter, but it's the words that are put to the music that really matters. And I say that's not at all true. Music, I believe, is a special aspect of God's creation. It's a dimension of God's creation where man actually does share the image of God. One aspect of being made in God's image is that man has something no other creature in the world has, and that is the ability to create. To create music, art, to invent, including, by the way, the creation of music. Music is an aspect, I believe, of God's creation that has an effect, I believe, in the spiritual realm that is acknowledged as much by the devil's crowd as it is by the people of God. One important aspect, I think, of coming together every Sunday is for us to sing hymns of praise to our God. As Paul says, offering up psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. And we need to remember also, by the way, that God himself is a musician. Job 35 verse 10, Elihu says, refers to God, my maker, who giveth songs in the night. We also need to remember in Deuteronomy chapter 31 to 32, we read that God himself wrote a song and gave it to Moses, commanded him to teach it to the people so they could sing that song. So God himself is a musician. He, of course, inspired David and Asaph and all the writers in the Psalms, other hymn writers to write the Psalms, which we know was the hymn book of the Levites for the Levites to sing and make music at the temple in Jerusalem. Many of which, of course, contain marvelous and extraordinary messianic prophecies that were fulfilled to the letter in the person of the Lord Jesus, especially Psalms like Psalm 22, the Psalm of the Cross, that vividly portrays Christ's crucifixion. Hundreds of years, actually, before the Romans even invented that form of execution. Lucifer, the devil, we know, was also a musician who once led the choirs of the angels of heaven. And I can't define it biblically by chapter and verse, but I know that there are some forms of music that the devil uses to draw people today away from the true worship to the false, as Nebuchadnezzar did in his day. Regardless of the word sung, I believe the music itself The combination of chords, melody, and rhythm does convey, I believe, a spiritual message. Some music undeniably has a distinctively evil sound, which is, I believe, why that type of music, of course, is used in cinema and TV to enhance a feeling of evil and foreboding or to create a mood for a setting, just as King Saul's depression was soothed and assuaged by David playing on his harp. Music itself, I believe, without the words being sung, has the ability to set the mood and the tone of a setting, to alter the mood of its listeners, and to cause perhaps depression or brighten your day. The music itself, I do believe, conveys a spiritual message, and that's why just putting Christian words to satanic-sounding music does not produce Christian music. That's also why I believe parents should pay very close attention the type of music that their children are listening to. There is a type of music today that by its very sound, I believe, can be tagged as the devil's music. And the first thing that children fall into, I think, before falling into drugs and Satanism, is the devil's music. So I do believe music is a spiritual force. Notice here that Nebuchadnezzar, I believe, recognized and implemented that spiritual power of music. He used it to draw the people to this false worship and idolatry the state-imposed religion. And then if that didn't work, he also used the furnace to drive them to this false worship. Verse six, and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. By the way, wicked, tyrannical government always combines allurements and entitlements, entitlement programs with penalty and prisons in coercing the people to submit to their evil. They can't entice them through their socialistic programs into compliance. And they'll threaten them with punishments and pain to frighten them into compliance. Verse 6, Whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast in the midst of a burning fiery furnace. But then we see a very sad verse in verse 7. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sacrament, psaltery, and all kinds of music, All the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had set up. Why did all the people do that? Why did they do that? Why didn't they say, no way, king. Like the tribes of Israel said to the king in 1 Kings 12, no way. We won't pay your high taxes anymore. Every man to his tent. They probably did that because most of the people in this crowd actually had no problem with just serving one more idol anyway. And that's somewhat like the American people are in our day. Like even the churches in our day are doing, surrendering their lordship of Christ to the supremacy of the state. I believe it is true that people will either serve the true God, the one true God, or they will serve tyrants. And in general, a people will typically get the kind of government that they deserve. And a sad fact that has been true of all mankind's dismal history is that the masses of people are not inclined to serve the one true God. And therefore, they are easily coerced into submission to bad law. And it's always, by the way, the few righteous that serve the one true God that are willing to stand up and say no way, and who are persecuted by a wicked government, like we see here in this story. Verse 8, wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king of Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O King, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, sackbutt, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. Verse 12. There are certain Jews, certain Jews, whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regard of thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Notice that these certain Jews had previously been set over the affairs of the province of Babylon. We were introduced actually to these three young Hebrew men back in chapter 1 when they were referred to at that time as still being children. They had been brought to Babylon with the first wave of captives in about 609 B.C. before Jerusalem was completely destroyed in 586 B.C. As we read in 2 Kings chapter 24, we read verse 14 of 2 Kings 24, And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths, none remained save the poorest sort of people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiakim to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land. Those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. That's the first wave of captivity that went over. And so these three, along with Daniel, were chosen and taken to Babylon from among the best and the brightest and the most able and educated of the land. In fact, we then read in Daniel chapter one, that these four were actually taken while yet in their childhood, and they were taken from the royal house of the king. Daniel one verse one. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon into Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his God. And he brought the vessels onto the treasure house of his God. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of the king's seed and of the princes. Of the king's seed and of the princes, verse four, children, children, probably, by the way, meaning in their early or mid-teens, and whom was no blemish, but well favored and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge and understanding science, and as such has had ability in them to understand, to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning of the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names. For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah of Shadrach, to Mishael of Meshach, to Azariah of Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested to the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. And so we read on there in chapter one of Daniel, and we see that even in their, well, even in their youth, all of these four young men refused to defile themselves with the king's meat. We'll come back to that. later. So here then in chapter 3 come the accusers, much like we see actually in chapter 6 with the story of Daniel and the lion's den. These accusers were no doubt envious of the position the king had given them and we also see as in chapter 6 that they may have been actually, it may have been that these counselors, the king had suggested to the king that he enact this very bad law in the first place. and knowing that they would not submit to it. Now in verse 12, they come to accuse. There are certain Jews, Daniel 3, 12. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Verse 13 then. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego They brought these men before the king, and Beknesaret spake, and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready, at what time ye shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down, and worship the image which I have made? It will go well with you. But if you worship not, you shall be cast that same hour into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And then he said, and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hands? He says, I'm giving you boys one more chance here and you better listen or you're going to end up in my furnace. And then he dares to say, and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hands? In other words, what God is there more powerful than I am? We see the pride, the wicked pride that filled this wicked king's heart. The next verse then, though, is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible. I love the answer here. Daniel 3, verse 16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. In other words, we're not concerned, we're not worried about making a careful choice of words here in our answer to your demand. Don't waste your time calling up the band again. We don't need any time to think about it. We already know what our answer is, verse 17, if it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. In other words, one way or another. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Two of my favorite verses in the Bible. In other words, they said, sorry King, we will burn before we will bow. And then was Nebuchadnezzar, verse 19, full of fury. The form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, full of rage. Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace, that these men were bound in their coats, their hoses, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that 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. And then, another good verse here, verse 24, Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, astonished, or turned to stone, I would say. And he rose up in haste and spake and said to his counselors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, true, O king. He answered and said, lo, I see four men loose walking, walking in the midst of the fire and they have no hurt. And the fourth, the form of the fourth is like the son of God. Verse 26, And Nebuchadnezzar came near the mouth of the burning fire furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was the hair of their heads singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. that Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God except their God. Therefore, I make a decree, says Nebuchadnezzar, that every people, verse 29, every people, nation, language would speak anything against, amidst, against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces in their houses, shall be made a dunghill because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. And by the way, I think you probably also should have sent the accusers there into the furnace. as the Law of Moses required. But there are actually many. That's the story. We've all heard the story. It's obviously one of the most famous and oft-told stories in the Bible. There are many great lessons, though, from this story that I want us to glean. I've already pointed out a few of those, including the power of music and etc. But for now, I have four main points I want to make from this story here, I want us to focus on. And the first main lesson actually shows up back in Daniel chapter 1. 1. Overcoming faith is not a function of human adulthood. Even children can be heroes of faith in God�s Kingdom. These three heroes of faith were young men. who we read back in chapter 1, attained their high position in the king's service because even in their youth they determined not to defile themselves with the king's meat. And the prince of the eunuchs was so impressed with them that he elevated them and the king elevated them and that's why they attained their position. We read also in chapter 1, We read further in chapter one and we see that these three, along with Daniel, who was also there, all four of them refused to defile themselves with the king's meat. And why was that? Why would they not eat the king's meat? No doubt it was because the king's meat, it was of an unclean nature. It was of the unclean meats that were forbidden in the law of Moses. And by the way, the King changed their names too, or the Prince of Unix changed their names. They didn't seem to object to having their names changed, but they refused to defile themselves with the King's meat. Why is that? Well, the law of Moses doesn't forbid you to change your name, but it does forbid you to eat unclean animals, etc. And so they would have known from the scriptures that having their name changed was not forbidden in the law. They had actually, these young men had no doubt witnessed in their childhood before they were taken into captivity, what disregard and what disobedience to God's law had done to their homeland, to Israel, which really was the reason, of course, they were taken captive to Babylon in the first place. I believe that we can really easily presume here that their great faith and their great reliance upon their God came through a thorough reading and understanding of God's Word. After all, we know from the Bible, where does faith come from? For faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10, 17. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Their great faith came from knowing and from studying God's word. Same for Daniel. The Lord Jesus, by the way, made it very clear that having ears to hear God's word also means having feet to obey. But the point here is that these heroes of faith were still in their youth when they determined not to defile themselves with the king's meat. And while they were in their youth, they determined not to defile themselves. So even children, the point is, even children can be heroes in God's kingdom. Overcoming faith is not a function of adulthood. There is actually a great misconception, of course, among Christians today that only adults can serve Jesus. It's not a new misconception, it was a misconception of Jesus' very own disciples in Mark chapter 10, and they brought young children to him that he should touch them. His disciples rebuked those that brought them, but when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased. He said unto them, suffer, permit the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whomsoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." Childlike faith to believe what God says. He took them up in his arms and put his hands upon them and blessed them. I think one of the great lies of our time is that all teenagers will rebel. One of the great lies of our time, that all teenagers rebel. I heard this lie propagated many years ago when I was still somewhat addicted to Christian radio. And I heard Dr. James Dobson on his Focus on the Family program, probably back in about 1988. And back when I still listened to Christian radio, which I don't anymore. But I heard him say that all teenagers are going to rebel, they're going to go hate, they're going to go haywire, and they're going to lose their minds for a certain period of time. And we as parents just need to get them through it. Just get them through it, they'll come out of it on the other side. And that's what Dobson was teaching, so-called Christian counselor here. So we just need to, they're going to go crazy, just get them through it. Notice in the story here, it was the adults that failed. All the adults failed. It was the children who were the heroes of faith here. Only a few youths stood their ground. There may have been others, of course, that refused to bow and that were not ratted out to the king. We don't know where Daniel is here in this story. He may have been called away in the king's business. We don't know. But I do know if Daniel was in this crowd, he didn't bow either. No doubt about that. Otherwise, he would never have been given the honor that God bestows on him later here in these chapters. O beloved, the angel called him, beloved of God. As young men in their teens, Daniel and his three friends decided not to defile themselves with the king's meat. And I have good news for all the young people today hearing this message. And that is that you do not have to go haywire and lose your mind when you become a teenager. You don't have to run with the crowd that bowed. You can determine in your youth not to defile yourselves with the king's meat. Right now in your youth, you can determine not to defile yourselves with worldliness, this world, with the devil's music. But you'll need to remember that there is no satisfaction in serving other gods. There's no satisfaction in drugs or alcohol. And by the way, that's why Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones sang their song, I Can't Get No Satisfaction. There's no satisfaction or lasting joy in the allurements of this world. Not only is there no satisfaction in drugs or alcohol or in Mick Jagger's millions, but if you do turn to those things, you will lose your mind and you will go haywire. Those are the very things that cause you to lose your mind and go haywire. Idolatry never satisfies. And by the way, the only true joy in this world is serving the Lord Jesus. That's the only true joy in this world, knowing and serving the Lord Jesus. The point here is that even children can be heroes of faith and make a standing for Jesus. Not only can the young people in this room determine, as did Daniel and his three friends, not to defile themselves with the allurements of this world, but you can, you may one day have to determine, as these three did on penalty of death, that we will not bow down to these false gods, that our God is able to deliver us. But even if He chooses not to, and lets us go through the fire, we'll burn before we'll bow. Point one, overcoming faith is not a function of human adulthood. Point two, is the greatest victories always come out of the worst circumstances. This of course is one of the greatest stories in the Bible. and one of the most well-known, as I said, but we need to keep something very important in mind. And if Israel had not gone into captivity in the first place, we wouldn't have read this story, we wouldn't have this story in our Bible. We wouldn't have this great story of a great victory. Again, Paul admonishes us in Ephesians chapter six, to put on the whole armory of God that he may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. For the Christian, evil days will come. They will come. But without conflict, there can be no victory. Without adversity and resistance, there's really no need for God to empower us to give us strength for our days. Daniel and his three friends would no doubt have preferred to remain in Israel. If they had, we wouldn't have this great story of their great faith. and their even greater deliverance. If Joseph had not been sold into slavery into Egypt by his brethren, he couldn't have engineered their great deliverance some ten years later. What was it Joseph said to his brothers? You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Romans 8.28 really is true. that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Israel turned from God to idolatry, went into captivity, and every nation that turns from God to the devil, as America has now done, will also go into captivity. will be ruled by tyrants that invent tyrannical laws like this wicked king of Babylon did. No nation that has turned its side to the debauchery and abominable immorality of every kind, what the Bible calls the abominable practices of the heathen that America has fallen to, can have freedom or liberty for long. Only slavery, servitude, and captivity. And while many do still want to call America the land of the free, America has in many ways already gone into captivity for the same reasons that Israel did. But I also know that in days to come, things are going to get a lot worse in America. And I believe that America, again, has indeed become the new Babylon, the last days Babylon. That's where these three Hebrew children had to live, and really that's where we now live also. We very much need to see ourselves as these Hebrews were, living in the midst of Babylon. minutes of captivity. It's not good for America, but it can still be good for us who are the called according to his purpose. As we see really literally America leading the nations of the world into the devil's new world order and it's global tyranny and fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And as we do see, you have to see great darkness and evil descending upon America. I believe that we can also expect to see great deliverance for God's people. in particular for those who determine not to defile themselves with the allurements of this world, who determine to say, we'll burn before we'll bow. Greatest victories come from the worst circumstances. Point number three, of course, this story highlights one of the many stories in the Bible that highlights what we've been actually covering in recent weeks, which is that we are to submit to civil rulers only to the extent that they submit to God. And further, when civil rulers commanded us to disobey God, of course, we must disobey civil rulers. Many stories, of course, throughout the Bible portray that lesson. Satan has always usurped the lawful powers of civil government to enact bad law and to prosecute God's people, as took place in this story. In the days of Nimrod, in Genesis chapter 10, state-imposed religion has been a curse on mankind. As we read in Revelation 13, actually, the final battle between the devil and the saints of God is going to be about state-imposed religion. not unlike what we see here in Daniel chapter 3, very similar actually. Paul says in Ephesians 6, though again, that we are to arm ourselves with the armory of God. And as I've said many times, verse 12 in that chapter of Ephesians 6, Paul says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. He's not talking there about spiritual warfare only in the sense of struggling with Satan's spiritual minions and the host of fallen angels that the Bible calls devils. He is also talking there, I do believe, about struggling against the same principalities and powers that he tells Titus in Titus 3 verse 1 to put them in a mind to be subject to, the rulers of this world, governmental authorities. He's talking about struggling with kings and magistrates and civil authorities for the rulers of the darkness of this world in high places against spiritual wickedness in high places and that includes high places of government. Why does Paul say that we're to wrestle against them in one place and submit ourselves to them in another? Because Satan has always usurped the lawful powers of civil government to enact bad law and to prosecute and persecute God's people. In spite of the fact that, for the most part, the preachers of this land are spewing the message from the pulpits that Submission to government no matter what the government tells us to do. Submission to evil. Consent to evil and participation in that evil. Just by the way as the preachers in Nazi Germany did, as instructed by the Nazis. They're lying to their people and teaching that Romans 13 and other passages teach unlimited submission to tyranny. In spite of that fact, this story, and many others in this book, including the tale of the Hebrew midwives, disobedience to Pharaoh's orders to murder the Hebrew baby boys on Moses Day, Rahab's resistance to the local government of Jericho, The people's resistance to the tyranny of Rehoboam, Solomon's son I mentioned earlier. All the way down, of course, the apostles' refusal to be silenced by the wicked rulers in their day who boldly declared in Acts 5.29, we must serve God, we ought to obey God rather than men. All of this shows us that we are to submit to civil rulers only to the extent that they submit to God. Jesus, of course, is, as we've said before, a blessed and only potentate. He's the one that writes our law. His word is our law book. And he said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto him. All these kings answer to him. And every ruler, every earthly ruler, will answer to the Lord Jesus and to his word for how they execute their office. And therefore, we submit to earthly rulers only to the extent they submit to God. Throughout the ages, of course, this principle has often, in every era, put God's people in the position of struggling with earthly rulers, against principalities and powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world. While we do have blessed assurance in God's Word of many things, the security of our salvation, God's provision, God's power through His grace. We're assured in God's word also that evil days will come. We do have a powerful enemy who will come against us at times with great opposition. That also leads perhaps to the greatest lesson from this story. Number one is overcoming faith is not a function of human adulthood. Two is the greatest victories always come from the worst circumstances. Three, we're to submit to civil rulers only to the extent they submit to God. We have a blessed assurance in this story and throughout God's word that God's children never fight alone. God has called us to battle and sometimes to go through the fire, but he's promised also to go through the fire with us. He may send us into captivity, but he will not abandon us and he will go through our trials with us just as he did in this story. These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, verse 23 of Daniel 3, fell down bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in his haste and spake and said to his counselors, Do not we cast three men bound in the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 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. King wasn't quite sure who this was in the fire. We read in verse 28, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants. I say, based on the testimony of the King James Bible, I personally believe this was no mere angel that went into that fire with these courageous young men. It was, in fact, I believe, the Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus. One reason I believe that, of course, is the text here in verse 25. But I also believe that because of the great promise that we read that had been given perhaps a century before through the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 43, verse 1. where Isaiah writes, But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. For when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. God says, when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. God says, I'll be with you when you go through the fire. I believe that was literally fulfilled in Daniel chapter three. Jesus said in Matthew 28, verse 20, and lo, I am with you always, even into the end of the world. We go through the fire, he will go through it with us. Hebrews 13 verse 5 says, be content with such things as you have, for he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Whatever we are called to go through, he will go through it with us. Whatever we may have to endure, the Lord Jesus himself will go through with us. And while these three Hebrews were delivered through the fire and they came out unscathed, Many hundreds of thousands more of Christ's martyred saints have been empowered to go through the fire as it consumed their earthly bodies and delivered them directly into his presence. Here's a testimony of a former nun in the 16th century who rejected the Catholic doctrine and she had received believers baptism by the Baptists in January 15, 1549. We have the record of the account of a woman named Elizabeth, a former nun. She was arrested for possessing a Latin New Testament. Following her denial of the false accusation that she was the wife of the reformer Menno Simmons, who founded the Mennonites, she was taken by two friars and escorted before the council for trial. Some of the questions and answers have been preserved. The council questioned her and said, what did the Lord say when he gave the supper to his disciples? Of course, the question being directed to the Anabaptist rejection of the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. What did the Lord say when he gave the supper to his disciples? He said, this is my body take and eat. She said, very astute nun, former nun, what did he give them, flesh or bread? Council, he gave them bread. Elizabeth, did not the Lord then continue sitting there? Who then could eat the Lord's flesh? And the council said, what do you hold concerning infant baptism? That you should have yourself baptized again? Elizabeth's response, no, gentlemen, I've not been baptized again. I was baptized once on my confession of faith, where it's written that baptism belongs to believers. In other words, her first so-called baptism wasn't baptism. No gentlemen, I've not been baptized again. I was baptized once on my confession of faith. Council, are our children lost because they've been baptized? Elizabeth, response, no gentlemen, far be it from me that I should condemn the children. Council said, do you expect salvation from baptism? No gentlemen, all the waters in the sea cannot save me, but salvation is in Christ. Council asks the question, have the priests power to forgive sins? Elizabeth, Elizabeth, know my Lords, how should I believe this? I saw that Christ is the only priest through whom sins are forgiven. Then she quoted Hebrews 7.21, which says, for those priests were made without an oath, but with this an oath by him that said unto him, the Lord swear and will not repent, that I will be a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. After that response, she was then tortured, with thumbscrews applied to her thumbs and forefingers until the blood squirted out. She cried out to God to ease her pain. The record says that he did ease her pain and that they then put them in her ankles, but she still did not inform on other believers. They wanted her to inform on where the other believers were. On March 27th, 1549, she was put into a sack and drowned. If you want to be baptized, we'll baptize you. That's one of the ways of executing the Baptists. If you read Foxe's Book of Martyrs, of course, which I strongly urge you all to do if you've not done so, you would know that that's one of the milder stories of torture of God's saints before they were martyred, cruelly tortured. of the millions of Christian martyrs that were torturously, mercilessly put to death through the centuries, beginning, of course, with the first martyr Stephen, I do believe that Jesus' promise has held true and steadfast, and not one of Christ's martyrs who suffered, suffered alone, or endured what they went through in their own power. As Paul said in Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And as Deuteronomy 33, 25 says, as thy days, so shall thy strength be. God will empower us with strength to go through whatever we have to go through on a given day. The Lord Jesus will always strengthen us to endure whatever we must endure. And that's again, why some of my favorite words in the Bible are these words. Daniel chapter three, verse 17, if it be so, Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And He will deliver us out of thy hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. We'll burn before we bow. Amen. Let's go ahead and pray. Father in heaven, Lord, I pray that you'd help us all to determine, as Daniel and his three friends did, to not defile ourselves with the king's meat or with the allurements of this world and with the things that Satan puts before us, with worldliness. Help us all, even the young people here, to determine, even as children, to be heroes of faith and to serve the Lord Jesus. Help us, Lord, all to learn from this story and to be encouraged by it And remember that one day when we're called to go through the fire, that you will go through it with us. We pray all these things in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.