We've been going through a series on Abraham on Sundays, and a few weeks ago we went over, in a few messages, Abraham's greatest test, and it was a doozy. He was challenged on a human level, in a way that most of us would never in a million years ever want to face. He was commanded to sacrifice his own son, and God is the one who gave him the test. You know, as you think about that test, there's some aspects to it, there's some layers to it that are part of what give it the, I guess the impact it had. He said, and this is the Lord said, and it is recorded for us in Genesis 22 too, take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. And so, Part of that test and what Abraham had to reason through was basically this, do you believe my promise, this is God speaking to Abraham figuratively, to be true regarding your son being the person who the covenantal promises would come through? That was part of that test. Obviously another aspect of that test would be Would you be willing to give up the most cherished thing in the world to you because you love me? That is obviously a big part of what that was. And those of us who have family, especially children, it's hard to even imagine the potential level of anguish going through his mind as he drew close to that mountain and he knew that the moment was coming. But Abraham was rewarded with something very special. He was privileged to see, as he was willing to obey by faith, God's providing hand, Jehovah-Jireh. In fact, that's recorded for us in Genesis 22, 14. Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide. And if you have a King James verse, it says Jehovah-Jireh. And it is said today, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. It shall be provided. And what the phrase means is the Lord will see to it. He will be faithful. And it reminds us that God is faithful and he is trustworthy. He cannot break a promise. His word has to be true. And so in the moment of need, he provides what is needed and that's what he did in this situation. There's a ram stuck in the thicket and that ram proved to be the substitute for Isaac in that case. You know, this test occurred at a time in his life where he grew, Abraham grew to become a man of principle and to really come to take God at his word. And that's why he passed the test. In fact, it started almost 20 years earlier, and there's debate how old Isaac was when he was sacrificed, but 20 years before this, even at the birth of Isaac, this is how Abraham was thinking. It says, Romans 4.18 captures it this way, who contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations. According to what was spoken, so shall your descendants be. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, his circumstances, already dead, since he was about 100 years old, nor the deadness of Sarah's womb, but, and this is key, he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strengthened in faith, or through faith, and he gave glory to God because he was fully convinced that what God has promised, he was able also to perform. And so since he believed God and he didn't waver with the birth of Isaac, when a much more deeper test came 20 years later, he didn't bat an eye because He was fully convinced. And really the question in our minds almost daily to some extent is this very thing. Are you fully convinced of what God has promised he's able also to perform? What is at stake here is the character and ability of God to honor his word. Does he fail in some capacity? Does he drop the ball? Is that even possible? And so that's really the reality of faith as we have this divided up in three sections today, the reality of faith, the result of faith, the reward of faith. And here is the reality. God will test your faith. I've said it multiple times, if your faith is valid, you should expect it to be tested. I mean, what is the point of having faith in something if that object can't be tested? And this is where trials comes in. If you read James, it says the trial of your faith Versions say the testing of your faith, and that's exactly what it is. But when it comes to trials of life, there's no shortage in them, and they're of various kinds. James brings this out. And they're of various sources. You know, there's trials, they come into your life for various reasons and sources, all of which have to be approved by God at the front office in order to take place. You know, Satan, for example, is a source. We know from the book of Job that the reason he was tested to the degree he was is because Satan challenged God in the context of Job. He claimed that if God pulled the plug on Job, that Job would reject God and even curse him to his face. And yet, God says, okay, we'll see. And Job was hit with an incredibly challenging trial. and provided lessons in that trial that Job needed to see, that Job's friends needed to see, that Job's wife needed to see. And in the end, God was vindicated, as he always is. You know, Satan was part of the equation when it came to Peter on the eve of Christ's crucifixion being tested. Jesus told Peter ahead of time, he says, and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for you that he might sift you like wheat. And that's exactly what Peter needed in his life at that time. You know, Peter was devoured in the sense that he stated emphatically that he would be faithful to follow Christ even unto death and that he loved Christ more than the other disciples and so forth. and yet he miserably failed, he denied the Lord three times, and yet God in love restored him, and that's who God is. And we know from the epistle of James that trials are something we fall into, and really the source of the trial ultimately isn't the issue. You can have trials from the injustices of life, from less than stellar circumstances, from things that you desperately want to be different. You have trials from poor decisions you make as we, there's a fixed principle in life of reaping and sowing. You could have medical trials, financial trials, relational trials, circumstantial trials. But the highest character of a trial, if I can put it this way, is when you receive one from the hand of God himself. And the test involves something of inestimable value, something you love more than anything else in the world. And so really, in essence, we could capture Abraham's trial this way. Do you love the Lord your God, should say with all, your heart, all your soul, and all your mind? Simply because he's God, simply because he's worthy to be worshipped for who he is, and the indisputable fact that he loves you beyond measure, and he can only function in a way that is consistent with his love in your life. That is the reality. Now there's countless reasons to worship him. He's worthy of everyone's praise. The fact that you're here today and breathing air is cause enough for you to praise God because without, he could pull the plug on that in any second. In fact, in all things he's to receive the preeminence because through him all things consist, including you and me. But are you willing to worship him when the potential outcome on a personal level is very costly? Is there a limit to your worship, if you will? You know, it seems, at least in part, to some degree, in all tests, in all trials, we receive this question, do you love something else more than God? And obviously, the degree of that's gonna depend on the nature of the trial. But your view of God, and its perceived worth in your eyes, enters in at some point. And in some trials, that simply is the point. And God made that clear to Abraham. He says, really, do you love me more than your son? You know, when Joe was in Rochester, as we were there even a year ago, this weekend, sang and listened to has these lyrics in it. The song is called As Long As You Are Glorified. Shall I take from your hand your blessings and then welcome any pain? Shall I thank you for days of sunshine and grumble in days of rain? We're all guilty of that. Shall I love you in times of plenty and then leave you in days of drought? Shall I trust you when I reap a harvest, but then the winter winds blow, then doubt? See, the reality is at some point, God is probably gonna test you in a way, or in an area that's near and dear to you. It's near and dear to you. This was true of Abraham. In fact, God even acknowledged the test as such. He went out of his way to remind Abraham as he gave him this test, now take your son, your only son, whom you love. It's not like God wasn't aware of what Isaac meant to Abraham, and yet he asked him to sacrifice him. Your only son whom you love. See God, though he already knew this, desired to know what was in Abraham's heart. But oftentimes, since God knows that, he knows everything, we don't really know what's in our heart until, though, that there's a test. We've seen this in the past. When Moses was reviewing things before the nation of Israel, went into the promise line, he said, and you shall remember the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you. There was a purpose in it, to test you. What? To know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And a large part of that time was miserable failure. So he humbled you, he allowed you to hunger. He fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And you see, that was the test for them. David recognized this, and David's prayer was this, in Psalm 139, search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties, and see if there's any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting. He said in Psalm 26, examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my mind and my heart. Are these things that ever enter your brain? Do you ever wake up in the morning and say, you know what, Lord? I want to just see what I'm made of today. It wouldn't take long for me to figure that out, or God to figure that out. But this is what David wanted. He had a heart after God. And this is really what we should want. He should be our all in all, the focus of our life, and the whole reason for getting out of bed in the morning. But God is in the business of probing our hearts through testing. Again, not for his benefit, but for yours and mine. And in Abraham's case, it was to show that in spite of the degree of testing, God is faithful. He's Jehovah Jireh, he's the God who saw to it. And there's also a upside to the test in the sense that it gives you an opportunity to be rewarded by your faith. God wants your life to count, he wants my life to count, he wants us to hear some words of affirmation at the judgment seat of Christ, well done, thou good and faithful servants. And so we're gonna see an aspect of that coupled with another aspect of that in the book of Daniel, chapter three. This is a very familiar story. It's when the nation of Israel was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and hauled off to Babylon and God, in his sovereignty, allowed Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to be placed in positions of influence in Nebuchadnezzar's administration. And the question they faced is, though they were part of that administration, would they be true to Almighty God? And so a test arises. And you gotta realize Nebuchadnezzar had a serious God complex. He thought he was God and he wanted to be worshiping God. And part of that was a dream that he had here in Daniel chapter two, which Daniel interpreted. He had some dreams that kept him up at night. We can start in the beginning of chapter here. It says, now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. And the king gave the command to the magicians and the astrologers, the sorcerers, the Chaldeans, to tell the king the dream. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, I've had a dream and my spirit is anxious to know the dream. So the Chaldeans spoke to the king and Aramaitic, oh, king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream and we'll give the interpretation. But the king Answered and said, no, my decision is firm. If you don't make known the dream to me and its interpretation, you'll be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made an ash heap. Such a kind, compassionate guy, so understanding. However, if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation. And they said, are you nuts, King? Let the King tell us service and dream, and we'll give you an interpretation. The King answered and said, I know for certain that you would gain time because you see that my decision is firm. If you don't make known the dream to me, there's only one decree for you. For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time is changed. So tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation. And they answered, verse 10, there's not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter. Therefore, no king, lord, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It's a difficult thing that the king requests, and there's no other who can tell to the king except the gods whom dwelling is not with flesh. And so for this reason the king was angry and very furious, that's kind of his MO as we'll see, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out and the killing began. So Daniel gets word of this and Daniel talks to the guy that's doing the killing, verse 16. So Daniel went and asked the king to give him time that he might tell the king the interpretation. And Daniel went to his house and he made a decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, otherwise known as Shadrach and Abednego and Meshach, and his companions that they might seek the, I love this, seek the mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret. So Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. And so God was faithful. Verse 19, the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. And he just praises him. Verse 20, blesses the name of God forever and ever for wisdom and might are his. He changes the times and the season. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom. to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. And he thanked him, verse 23. I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers, you've given me the wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's demand. So Daniel goes into the king, and the wise men are spared, because he gives him the interpretation. And we can pick it up and, Verse 31, You, O King, were watching, and behold, a great image, and this great image whose splendor was excellent stood before you, and its form was awesome. And this image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. And you watch while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron and the clay and the bronze and the silver and the gold were crushed together, and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is the dream. Now we will tell you its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, for God of heaven has given you the kingdom, the power, strength, and glory. And wherever the children of man dwell, or the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heaven, he has given them into your hand and has made you the ruler of them all. You are this notice head of gold. And it goes on to explain. He gets the dream interpreted and Nebuchadnezzar's head swells even more. He's the head of gold, he's the king of kings. So what does he do because he has a god complex? Well, he decides to make a statue of himself made of gold. Chapter three, verse one. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits, that's 90 feet. It's width was six cubits, that's 90 feet. 10 feet, and he sat upon it in the plain of Dura, he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon, and the king Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together all the do, all the mucky mucks of the kingdom, satraps and administrators, blah, blah, blah. to come and dedicate the image which King Nebuchadnezzar set up. So the satraps, the administrators, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the officials of the province gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up. And they stood before the image that he'd set up, and the herald cried out, to you it is commanded, O peoples and nations and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the orchestra, we'll leave it at that, that you fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of the burning fire of furnace. Nothing voluntarily going on here, is there? You're either gonna do this or I'm gonna kill you. That's how it is. So you really didn't have a choice in the matter. You had to either do it or die. And so all the big wheels gather, they play, and boom. You know, when it comes to God, you know, God wants people to worship him. But that's a legitimate request. We read from Jesus in John 4, 23 and 24, the hour is coming and now is where the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. And notice the Father is seeking such people to worship him. And notice, when it comes to God, you must worship him, and you have to do so in spirit and in truth. You know, in Alaska this last year, and I've mentioned this before, there was a guy that said, came in and said, I, you know, how did he say it exactly? He says, I refuse to believe in a God that's gonna send me to hell because I don't worship him or worship his son. And as we talked, I said, you know, what he was missing was that God was throwing him a lifeline. What he didn't see is that he was worthy of hell in the first place, and God wants to save him from that. He thought he was something that was nothing. He thought any God that demanded worship wasn't worth his time, because in his own mind, he's equal or even higher than God, and that's a problem that mankind has. And that's what happened. And so really, the decision facing all mankind is really the same. What do you think about the Christ? But they have a wrong perception of God when they don't want to worship Him because God is reaching down in love trying to save you from a hell you deserve to a heaven you don't. It's like you're drowning. It's not like someone comes along and says, I refuse to let you save me. I'm going to drown instead. It's really the mindset. And the reason we're drowning is because of sin. We know the law tells us this. Whatever the law says, it says to those who are in the law, to what end? That every mouth may be silenced and the whole world become accountable or guilty to God. We're all accountable to Him. So the purpose of law is that we become conscious and painfully aware of our sinful condition. David was aware of this. He said in Psalm 51.5, Lord, I've been a sinner from birth, from the moment my mother conceived me. You're born in Adam. You're born in sin. No one has to teach you how to sin. I noticed with five grandchildren this weekend, there were some sin natures in the mix, demanding things their way. They weren't taught that at all. In fact, if far from training, they're going to become little savages. I love them, but That's the way it is. So the law is designed to be a curse to those who seek to be justified because they can't do it. We read that in Galatians 3.10, for as many of the works of the law are under a curse, why? It's written that cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are in the law to do them. We've all swung and missed, that's just the way it is. And it's not an issue of you haven't done the big one, because you've lied and that's enough. James 2.10 says, whoever shall keep the whole law and stumbles in one point, and the Bible says, let God be true and every man a liar, you're guilty of breaking the whole thing. And that whole, the Spirit of God is in the world today trying to get you to see that you're guilty before God so that you would go to Jesus Christ. Galatians 3, 24 says, therefore the law is our tutor, our schoolmaster, our school bus to what? Bring us to Christ. Because we come to the conclusion that I can't keep it. I deserve God's judgment. I can't save myself through keeping the law. And Christ, the reason he's the answer is because he redeemed us from the curse of the law because he became a curse for us. He kept the law perfectly. He wasn't under the curse, but he chose to become a curse for us and then he went to the cross and died in our place and paid the penalty you and I deserve to pay. Colossians 2.14 says he canceled the record of charges against us and took it away by nailing to the cross. That is the ultimate demonstration of law. And so this guy who refuses to worship a God that's gonna send him to hell for not believing in Christ doesn't realize he's sending himself to hell because he's not accepting the payment that Christ made for him. On that cross, Christ died for him and for you and for me. He took our whole list of sins, called them up in advance, and he paid them in full. And to prove that God accepted his payment, he rose again from the grave. He lives forevermore. So the cross satisfied the holy wrath of God so that salvation could be received by anyone, free, if they're willing to take it. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone. It's guaranteed. if you're willing to come to him on his terms, and it couldn't be any easier. It's simply accepting a gift that he's offering in love. Jesus said, wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. The smallest gate narrows the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. And so the admonition is to enter through the narrow gate, which is Christ, because you're born on the broad road that leads to destruction. I don't care if you're immoral. I don't care if you're moral. I don't care if you're religious. The end is the same. It's hell. And yet God provided a way out, the narrow road, in Jesus Christ who died in your place and paid for your sins. And the moment you put your faith in him, the Bible says you pass from death to life. You're on the narrow road and the outcome is guaranteed. But everyone's gotta make a choice. To reject Jesus Christ and his offer of salvation is to have a place reserved for you for all eternity in the lake of fire. And all you have to do to get out of it is to trust Christ. Well, that same concept is gonna be turned on its head here in this chapter, because there's three guys here that don't bow down, and you know them well. And so verse eight says, Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews, and they spoke to the king and said, Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, blah, blah, blah, the orchestra, should fall down and worship the gold images. "'and whoever does not fall down and worship, "'shall be cast in the midst of the burning fire furnace. "'There are certain Jews,' and this is designed, "'this is anti-Semitism on display here, "'they're saying it with disdain, "'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, nor worship the gold image "'which you have set up.' "'So Nebuchadnezzar just took it in stride,' verse 13. in rage and fury, gave the command to bring these guys here, and he gives them a chance. He likes these guys. He says, verse 15, now if you're ready, at the time where you hear the orchestra, you can fall down and worship, but if you don't, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of the burning fire of furnace, and who is God who will deliver you from my hands? Well, that was the challenge right there. And guess what, you were gonna lose, Nebuchadnezzar. And I love the answer in verse 16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said, you know, old Nebuchadnezzar, we got no need to answer you in this matter. We don't even have to think about it. We don't have to think about it for half a second. It ain't going to happen. Where are we? 17, thank you. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fire first, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not, we do not and won't serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. And so the three men did not even consider bowing down to the graven image of Nebuchadnezzar. He's got a complex, he wants a public display of his godhood, he wants everyone to worship him, and they say, no way, Jose. And it's interesting, they had purpose in their hearts to honor the one who was in fact God, who cared for them and allowed them even to prosper in these circumstances, and even giving him the very air they were breathing by grace. And you see, they knew what God commanded. They knew that you shouldn't make a graven image. They knew that there should be no gods before God. And so they say, we're not doing it. We don't have to answer you in this manner. You know, as I thought about that this week, I thought, well, how? I mean, here the stakes are fairly high. You're going to get thrown into a furnace. I mean, we will excuse our disobedience in a heartbeat for something far less Steak-wise, it's even an issue. Ugh. But Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and he says, you heat this thing seven times hotter, verse 19, full of fury. Seems to, again, be his MO. And the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he spoke and commanded that the heat furnished seven times more than it was usually heated. Now let's evaluate their faith for a second here. I call this the resolve of their faith. They had no qualms about God's ability to deliver. Zero. Verse 17, our God whom we serve, that was their purpose in their heart, their purpose to serve him, is able to deliver us from the burning fire of fervors. We have zero qualms, we have no doubt about it. God is able to deliver us. And you know, I'm sure if I were to take a survey and you're in a trial and I would say, do you think God is able to deliver you? Is there anyone here would say he's not? I don't think so. He's able, nothing's too hard for him. He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above. But you know, when the test is there and we're no longer in theory mode, sometimes that can change. I mean, when circumstances are bleak, the moment requires immediate deliverance, there's no apparent visible confirmation that it could happen. Do you really believe it then? And most of us would probably say what? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know, right? But they believed it. I mean, how else could they remain so calm in the midst of these kind of circumstances? I mean, you don't want to tangle with Nebuchadnezzar. He's going to throw you in a fire that's seven times hotter than it was five minutes ago. And they're saying, you know what, King? We're not doing it. It's not like they were going, well, King. No, they just simply said it. And you know, in our tribal affliction though, are we like that? Do we remain calm? Do we believe that God will deliver us? There's no money, there's no job, there's no help, there's no you fill in the blank. Do you believe God is gonna deliver you? No, I don't. I've been there more times than I can count. But you see, they state unequivocally that God will deliver them. Verse 17 again, that's the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver him. And now it's he will deliver us from your hand, okay. First they talk about the potential and then they affirm it by saying he will deliver us. And God can obviously deliver from oppression and persecution. I mean, God can because God is God, end of story. And it's easy for us to even encourage one another and tell each other that God can deliver us when circumstances are rosy, when there's no suffering, when there's no negative circumstances. I mean, God love your brother. He'll take care of you. We'll see you later, right? And it's easy to even encourage others that have a problem. God's sovereign over Bill's cancer. He'll take care of it. But then there's me in the middle of the night thinking, well, God's sovereign over my daughter's troubles. She fights sometimes blood sugar issues in her pregnancy. I do that. I can say that. But then all of a sudden, what if it's my troubles? Can I say the same thing? What if God does not want to do what we know he can do? Then what? We know God can cure, we know he can repair. But you see, there's three little words here, kind of jump off the page, don't they? Verse 18. But if not. See, we're not God, we can't really demand God do anything for us. God's in charge. But if not, then what? And they made it clear. You know, even if it doesn't happen, King, let it be known to you that we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up. See, if the words, three words, but if not, show up, are you still gonna love your savior? Are you still gonna seek to honor him? Are you going to remain unwavering and your willingness to trust him when the three words show up or potentially show up, but if not. Now we know in this case they were ultimately delivered. But they didn't know that when they said that. And God can maybe deliver you in a way that you don't expect. You know, God can deliver you from a trial and it might be physical death. That'd be a way to be delivered once and for all. See, they acknowledge that God may not deliver them in an anticipated way. They acknowledge that. That doesn't mean they didn't have confidence in God, but they're acknowledging that God is God and they aren't. In fact, I've had to use this verse to explain to people, Psalm 34, 19, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all. But the deliverance might be physical death. Because what are you being delivered to? Heaven. See? You can read that, right? That could be God's deliverance for you. It could be heaven, the ultimate deliverance. That's the means. And he's going to be faithful to do it. You know, your times like mine are in God's hands. Your days like mine have been numbered on earth. He's determined how long you are gonna live on earth, as he has with me. And when your time's up, you're gonna be delivered. Delivered via angels into the very presence of God, because absent from the body is present with the Lord. So that's coming, and you'll be permanently delivered from the trials of life. You'll exit this planet and enter into eternity and in his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. But you know what's impressive here is the resolve is there and their faith in almighty God even though they state but if not. Now would your faith stagger here? They were convinced in their mind that Jesus does all things well, whether he delivers them or not. Is that where you're at in your thinking, in your current trial, in your current whatever, no situation, no, I don't have this situation? They were content to leave it in his hands. I think one of the hardest things I've had to do in the 25 years I've been a pastor is to encourage those when their but if not becomes their reality and their faith fails with it. What is it that these men possess that sometimes we do not? Your thought of this verse right here, when Jesus gave a parable, and he was extremely gracious, and everyone at the end of the day got the same wage, and they got upset with him, and he says, is it not lawful for me to do with what I wish with my own things? Isn't God, if you belong to God, is it not lawful for him to do with you what he deems appropriate? The beauty of it is, is because you can never be separated from his love and everything that touches you, has, as part of that equation, his love. But you know, when you recognize this principle, and you couple it together with the fact that he makes no mistake, and Jesus does all things well, you can keep waiting upon him, you can keep resting in him, even if it's but if not. You know, their attitude was, well, if God doesn't deliver us like we'd expect, our faith isn't gonna be stumbled, our confidence in him is not gonna be shaken, and we're gonna love him anyway. Is that your approach or are you more like that dude in Alaska that says, I refuse to worship a God that's gonna send me to hell for not believing in his son? See, you can have the essence of that mindset when you're not willing to wait upon him and you actually impugn the integrity of God. Can you say to yourself that my God is able to heal me if he decides it's best? But if not, I will not forsake my devotion to him? God can undo this circumstance by speaking a word, but if not, can you say I will not waver? When you're stuck in a place that there's no light at the end of the tunnel whatsoever. They were boldly declaring to the king, we know our God so well, we're prepared to accept his sovereign will, even if it doesn't fit our expectation, even if we don't understand exactly what he's doing. Are you there? Does that describe you? Is your faith in God unwavering? Is your loyalty to God out of worship for who He is and what He's amazingly done for you in love and providing all things that pertain to life and Godliness, is that enough for you to stand firm? Or have you put limits on your devotion to God? Abraham didn't bat an eye. I want you to sacrifice your only son whom you love. He didn't bat an eye. It says he got up the next day and took off. I mean, isn't it fairly common in our own life when something trivially happens we get upset with God? I'm cooking. We're going to cook Thanksgiving dinner and the oven quit. I mean, some people completely unravel over a red light that lasts too long. No one in this room. The car stalls, someone snubs you in a way, so you lash out and communicate your displeasure to somebody, but ultimately, since you're not acknowledging God's sovereign care for you, somehow he's part of the equation, whether that's overt or covert. And we conclude that somehow God failed us because my life isn't exactly going like I think it should. And you hear these guys are facing the ultimate test, if you will, and they're not batting an eye. You know, even if not, even if he doesn't deliver us king, I got news for you. We're not gonna worship that stinking image and we're not serving your gods. And they were respectful. It reminds me that the test of faith is always confronted with a choice. You can either take the high road or the low road. And again, on a practical sense, this was no easy test. Their lives are clearly on the line. I mean, the prospect of being thrown into a fire, that's real world. It's not like, well, okay, I'm gonna miss a day of work here. No. I mean, think of how easy it would have been for them to avoid the awful death. Just bow the knee. Easy street awaits. They already had nice positions in the administration. God had given them wisdom so they were elevated in the king's administration. They had a high place already. I mean, look at, a lot of their other comrades were ripped from their homeland and had probably very difficult circumstances to live in. And they could have said, you know what? What's a little bow before the golden image? Like one commentator said this, Nebuchadnezzar did not demand that they deny their faith, only that they bow to his image. In the days of the early church, the mere offering of a pinch of incense to the emperor would spare many from martyr, from being thrown to the lions. All you do is, yeah, all right, Caesar's Lord, I'll go on with an easy life. And they said no, and they're thrown to lions in the Colosseum. I mean, these people were willing to die for their Savior because that was worth it to them. Does that register in your brain at all? You know, faith in God's principles always involves a risk on one hand, but absolutely no risk on the other. And I say God's principles here because there's people that have misplaced faith and move on on something that they hope is true, the hope will work out. But God has never promised that it would. I believe that God's gonna deliver me from cancer. Can you show me the word of God where God said he'd deliver you from cancer in time? He's never made such a promise. And so there's many stories of people where they put their faith in something but it's not a biblical principle. And they wait on the Lord for a promise that he never gave. And sometimes they even refuse medical intervention when it would work, failing to see that maybe the deliverance would come through what God would provide through the medical intervention. But the risk of faith, if you will, is not knowing how something's going to pan out in time. The lack of risk is knowing that God never fails and Jesus never makes a mistake. That's why it's not risky. The risk is you don't know how it's gonna turn out, but the lack of risk is Jesus doesn't make any mistakes. So on a human viewpoint side, we could say it this way, if there's no risk involved, no faith is necessary. I mean, if you see the path ahead, what's the trust the Lord for? But if you don't see it, well then there's risk. You have to make a decision. You have to wait upon the Lord. It's easy to walk by sight if it's all laid out for you. On the other hand, with eternity in view and knowing the character of God, there's no risk involved because Jesus does all things well. And so that's why I captured it that way. You know, Abraham, it says, went out. He didn't know where exactly he was going. God directed his steps and he directed him to Canaan land. And then when he got there, there was a surprise. The Canaanites were there, which are horrible people. Oh, I didn't think this was part of the creation. I thought you were gonna take me to the promised land. I don't know, this guy isn't real neighborly. I don't know if I really wanna be here, right? And these guys were willing to stand on the truth of the word of God. They knew what was right and what was wrong, and the opposition came. Abraham moved out by faith and there was opposition, because there's always opposition in a sin-cursed world when you're willing to move out by faith and what God has promised. If you live godly in Christ Jesus, you will suffer persecution. But Abraham advanced from one test to the next, and it culminated with the greatest test of all. But there was always some opposition to overcome, some difficulty to be faced. What was interesting about these guys, well there I did say it then, there's no risk involved, no faith is necessary, if we can see the path ahead in time, we're walking by sight. But God chose to deliver these men, but not from the trial, but through it. They were thrown into the fire. You know, a lot of scoffers think that God should not allow his kids to go through any difficulty. I mean, that happened with Jesus right before he raised Lazarus. Someone that said, could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind kept this man from dying? What a loser savior he is. And yet God had a plan in the trial. There was a plan in Lazarus dying so he could be raised so God could be glorified. So he didn't prevent the trial from happening. And then he's doing the same thing here. God could have easily prevented these men from being flung into the furnace, but he had something much better for them. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all. This is an opportunity for him to put himself on display. I mean, none of us look forward to afflictions and God allows afflictions in our lives because how can you have deliverance apart from an affliction? You gotta have some affliction or there's nothing to be delivered from. And God's got a plan in his deliverance in the affliction that is part of his glory and part of your growth and development. This is how you get to taste and see that the Lord is good. It's kind of like my son-in-law comes home and he brings baked goods from his bakery, pastries that are crazy good. But it's one thing to know they're good, and I know they're good, it's another thing to taste them. And that's kind of like the affliction the Lord allows. You can't taste and see that the Lord is good apart from going through affliction. How do you taste and see that he's good? You know, one of the objectives God has for you and me is communicated in 1 Peter 2.9. You're a chosen generation, you're a royal priesthood, you're a holy nation, you're his own special people. To what end, purpose clause, you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous of life. We're here to proclaim his praises. And that is done through trials and his deliverance that you experience. You know, these three men were special. They were set apart for God's purpose to proclaim excellencies in a very special and unique way. What an honor. You know, they could have stopped and said, well, wait a minute, you know, how can we get the throne? Where's Daniel anyway? Daniel skipped this whole thing. He's out of, you know, they didn't say that. It's easy to look around and say, well, why do I have to go through this, right? So like what Peter said to the campfire was so important. Peter seeing him, and that's John, said to him, well, what about this? Because Jesus just explained to Peter that he's gonna have a horrible way to die, upside down on a cross. He says, what about this dude? Jesus said, that's none of your business. If I will that he remain till I come, what's that to you? You follow me. You know, God's got a trial for you, and you might look at him and say, well, I want that trial. Well, that's not your trial. Your trial is your trial, and God's got his purposes for you in it, just like he does for me. Because God had a plan for these three young men. I like one author stated this way, James went from prison to the executioner's block. Peter went from prison to a prayer meeting. Peter won 3,000 souls, Stephen received 3,000 stones. God had a plan for the first martyr Stephen, God had a plan for Peter to be used. God's got a plan for all of us. It's tailor-made just for us so we can proclaim His excellencies. He doesn't deal with us on a mass productions basis. He delivers some from trial. He delivers some through the trial. He decides what you receive or don't receive. But He always does it well. All our days have been numbered. It's all designed for His glory. And so can you trust the Lord when the outcome isn't what you want? or what you think it should be. They said, you know what, our times are in the Lord's hands, but if not, Nebo, we ain't doing it. And so the question on your handout is this, will you faithfully entrust yourself to the Lord when you are facing the reality of it, but if not? That's what it is. When you don't get what you long for, when something that is dear to you is stripped away, when you lose a loved one, when the job doesn't come through, when the mate doesn't come through, or the mate leaves, or when you don't make the team, or your health fails, the list is endless. You know, Abraham's faith in God was so strong, he didn't bat an eye when God told him to sacrifice his son. Now he speculated, but he knew that God couldn't fail. In the back of Abraham's mind, I'm speculating, was the three words, but if not, I will still trust, accounting that God's able to raise him up, even from the dead. He's thinking, wow, he might be thinking, there's no way God really wants me to do this. But he goes, well, if he does, I've already thought it through. He can't break his promise. If he has to raise him from the dead, well, then he's gonna raise him from the dead. End of story. See, the prospect of God not being true to his word never crossed his mind. God's word is true. He said, the promise is coming through Isaac, so if he wants me to sacrifice my son, I'll do it. Someone, and I don't know who, wrote this poem. If all my days were summer, how could I know what my Lord means by his whiter than snow? If all my days were sunny, how could I say in his fair land he wipes all tears away? If I were never weary, could I keep close to my heart? He gives his loved ones sleep. Were no graves mine, might I not come to deem that the life eternal is a baseless dream? And here's the cool thing about their willingness to go through the trials, the reward of the trial. Whoops, I forgot to read the rest of it. My winter and my tears and weariness, even my graves may be his way to bless. I call them ills, yet he can surely be nothing but love that shows my Lord to me. That's a man that has thought through things and recognizes who his Savior is. But here's something special, right? The pre-incarnate Christ chose to walk in the fire with them. Verse 21, and then men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, their other garments, and they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up these three men and threw them in. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished. And he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound in the midst of the fire? And they answered and said of the king, true, O king, look, I see four men loosed, walking in the midst of the fire, and they're not hurt, and the former of the fourth is like the son of God. You think they were rewarded in a special way in this trial? Are you kidding me? And here's the reality, Jesus never lets his children suffer alone. Never. It's not who he is. See, we're told in Hebrews 11.6, without faith it is impossible to please God. He who comes to him must believe that he is. That's what these guys did. And guess what? He's a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. Were they rewarded? I mean, in the furnace of affliction is where Jesus draws the most close. Psalm 34, 18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. But it wasn't until they were in the middle of the fire that the Lord showed up. He joined them, and he walked with them in the fire. They acted in faith and he responded appropriately to be there right with them in the fire. I was reminded of 2 Timothy 4, 17, Paul right before his head gets chopped off. He said, The Lord stood with me, and not only that, he strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and all the Gentiles might hear, and guess what? I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Did he taste and see that the Lord was good? Yeah. But if he didn't purpose his heart to stand and take a stand for Christ, he never would have experienced it. That's the beauty of it. And you know, God was in control of the flames. They burned with a strange discrimination, 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. Here we have a change in attitude, don't we? Servants of the Most High God come out and come here. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire. and the sad straps and all the rest of them gathered together and they saw these men whose body noticed the fire had no power, the hair of their head wasn't singed, their garments weren't affected, and there wasn't even smell of fire on them. Why is that? One anonymous writer said this, and this makes perfect sense. High in rank and honor was the Babylonian god Isbar, the god of fire. Before the eyes of the king and prince, the governor, captains, and counselors, this god must be defeated. The king had challenged defeat by his own action. Remember, he said, who's going to deliver you from me, he said. And now the defeat is overwhelming. On their own ground Jehovah has met these ardent believers in the God of fire and they find that he is present not merely as a tribal God in Palestine but as the God of heaven and earth in Babylon also, is able and willing to deliver only three of his children as to help 30,000 if it were needed. That's who God is. Let's suppose for a moment that the three men had come out with the marks of fire partially upon them, or even the smell of it, that here and there the fire had singed either body or garment. What would have been the attitude of the fire worshipers? Something like this. Ah, well, it's true. Isbar has not been able to destroy them, but he has at least left his mark upon them. They will wear these clothes no more. Their friends will scarcely recognize them as the men they once were. The smell of the furnace will not soon leave them. They have not come out scatheless. Our Isbar is still a god to be reckoned with. They will not be so ready to disobey the king's mandate another time. They will not come out of the furnace. It may be a second time as easily have done this time. And so the whole moral effect of the protest of these Hebrews would have been discounted. The dexterity of the world in evading direct issues of this kind is marvelous. But in this case, evasion was impossible. Not one loophole of escape was left them. In awe, they had to admit that Jehovah had conquered and the miracle was perfect and unquestionable and that the smell of fire had not passed on. The three brave fellows of the Most High. Pretty powerful, huh? What a great reward they had. You know, if they would have chose to bow the knee to that golden image, they would have escaped judgment from Nebuchadnezzar, maybe even been promoted on a human level, but look what they would have missed out on. You ever look at your trial that way? Lord, thank you for this trial. I get to see something of you that I wouldn't see apart from this trial. Have you ever told the Lord that? You know, Job, in the middle of his trial, says, though He slay me, I'm gonna trust in Him. Can you echo those words? Here the king was blown away, and he was humbled. And how did it end? Verse 30, then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So not only did they honor their Lord, but they got a promotion on top of it. You know, when it comes to you and me, there's always something in this world that's gonna demand our worship. It's gonna demand our worship. There's always a test. The world system we live in is designed to thwart your growth in Christ and get you to worship something other than God. Walk this way, come on. Satan's saying, worship me instead of God. It's always there. And it might not be a furnace. Or maybe we could say it this way, the form of the furnace might change, but the fact of it will never change. There's always something getting you to blow off God and sell him out and bow the knee to something that doesn't matter. See, your devotion to the truth and the one who loved you and gave himself for you will always be tested. Always. And so the question is, is have you placed limits on your willingness to trust God with the details of life? Somehow, in some way, that's part of every trial that we encounter. Invariably, I'm asking the question, is it about me or is it about the Lord? Can you join the faithful like Abraham and say, go ahead and take my Isaac? Take my family, take my help from me. but I can still sing it as well with my soul because I've got a savior that can never fail me. Paul said I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I consider that our present sufferings aren't worthy to be compared to the glory that's gonna reveal in us. How real is that to you? How real is that to me? Just an impressive story, isn't it? They said, our God's able to deliver you, and he will deliver us, but if not, guess what? We're with him. Are you aligned with these three guys this morning? Where's your resolve this morning? Do you have the same resolve that they do because of who God is and what he's provided in love? These are great verses. This guy had a rotten job. Israel was a mess. He says, though the fig tree may not blossom or the fruit be on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation because that's where my hope lies. What an encouraging story about three men that are recording the pages of scripture for all eternity, because they resolved in their mind that God was worth it, and that he was faithful, and their lives were just not all that important relative to his honor. What a way to think, huh? See, and that makes the sacrifice that you make for Christ special in a sense that, wow, why wouldn't I sacrifice for him? He's got me. He loved me in spite of me. He provided me a full and free salvation. I'm gonna with him for all eternity. And he promised that the sufferings of this present time are worthy to be compared with the glory that's coming. So why wouldn't I honor him? Well, I got, you know, I got a lazy boy that needs some work. The battles are there, but there's no one that's gonna go and stand before the Savior and say, Well, I wish I would have spent more time in my lazy boy. Am I right or am I wrong? We have an amazing God. Let's, by the grace of God, choose to serve him. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your grace. Thank you for this story. Thank you for the example they are to us of resolve in the face of difficulty. Because they deemed that you were worth it. You were worthy of all the honor and praise that they could muster. Even if you weren't going to deliver them, it didn't matter to them. And maybe we have that same mindset. What a privilege they enjoyed to know that you walked with them in the fire. You were there for them. Your grace was sufficient. You never gave them more than they can handle. And they had an opportunity to honor you. I pray that we would see life in light of eternity, that we'd see it from your perspective. We'd see that time is fleeting. The days are short. The time is short. And we just present ourselves to you as a living sacrifice and allow you to work innocent through us so that your will can be done and you can be honored, as that is our privilege. So thank you for the study this morning. We pray in Christ's name, amen.