Okay just have your Bibles with you here tonight and turn with me please to the book of Daniel chapter 3. Daniel chapter 3 as we look at the subject tonight. Standing when things get heated. Standing when things get heated. And things certainly get very hot in chapter 3 of Daniel as we come face to face with Nebuchadnezzar and his idolatrous image. But three men who would not bow. In fact, there's a little outline that John Phillips has in his commentary for this chapter, it's worth keeping in mind, about these three men. He says, they would not bow, they would not budge, and they would not burn. That's good, isn't it? They would not bow, they would not budge, and they would not burn. Well, we want to look at this tonight, at this courageous stand that these men took and draw some lessons for us in this age in which we live. Now, in Chapter 1 of the Book of Daniel, we remember that Daniel was there as really the leader of these three men and that they had his leadership to rely on to an extent, but now these three men must stand alone. And it's often, isn't it, that in our lives we may be encouraged and inspired by a godly leader or a godly friend or individual around us, but there comes a time when some of those props may be removed in the providence of God and we have to learn to stand for ourselves. But wonderful to see that these men who were up to this point largely in the background, they're not afraid to come forward and take their own stand for the Lord. Let's read the text first though before we get any further. Let's read from verse 1 down to verse number 18 and we'll be looking at those verses tonight, Lord willing, and then next week again, Sunday evening, we'll be continuing on with the rest of the chapter. The Bible reads in verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was threescore cubits and the breadth thereof six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Jura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather 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. Then the princes, the governors and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the councillors, the sheriffs and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together under the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the King had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then in herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, solvery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up, and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. Therefore, at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, 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. Wherefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O King, hast made a decree. Interesting, isn't it, how people are very quick to want to uphold an ungodly decree. Not a good law, but a bad law. That every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sachet, 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. 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. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar 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, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sacred, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made well. But if you worship not, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?' Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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 thine hand, O King. But if not. Key words, 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. Verse 19, Nebuchadnezzar was really blessed to hear that. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And we know probably the rest of the story there. But let's have a word of prayer now and ask the Lord to help us. Father, we thank you for the example of these three men tonight who would not bow the knee to the great idol that Nebuchadnezzar set up. Father, we are constantly confronted with the gods of this age. And Lord, they are huge. They are gigantic. And Lord, the world would pressure us to yield to bow the knee of allegiance, Lord, and in so doing spit in your face. But Lord, we pray that we might have the heart of these men, Lord, that we would be willing to stand uncompromisingly, Father, for you and for the truth, even if that means, Lord, that we have to go through the fire. Help us in this day when we are living in a society that is increasingly hostile to the stand that we would seek to take. Lord, hostile to the truth. Fill our hearts with valour, courage, strength. Lord, help us not to sell out on the truth, but to stand for you. So, Lord, bless each heart tonight and courage as well. We pray the next generation to be firm and Lord to lay hold of the truth and to stand in this day of great compromise. So we look to you now Lord to speak to us and to help us as we as we open these, as we open the scriptures together in Jesus name, Amen. Richard Wormbrand who was persecuted very severely for his faith in communist Romania, made this statement. He said, a man really believes not what he recites in his creed, but only the things he is willing to die for. A man really believes not what he recites in his creed, but only the things he is willing to die for. We have before us examples of men who were prepared to die for the truth, men who were prepared to pay the supreme sacrifice if that be God's will, rather than bow the knee to the idolatrous image. And so these men serve as a wonderful example to us of what it means to stand for the Lord in a world that is hostile and antagonistic to our faith. And I want us to observe four lessons tonight about the godly stand that these men took. Firstly, in verse one through seven, I want you to observe the catalyst for their stand. What were the circumstances? What was the catalyst that led to these men taking a stand? Well, there was a number of events that took place. In verse one, we see there was the construction of the idol. the construction of the idol. We have the details of the idolatrous image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. It says in verse one there, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was three score cubits and the breadth thereof six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Jura in the province of Babylon. So we have the materials, the dimensions and the location of this idol outlined for us in this verse. Now this was a huge idol. 90, sorry, three square cubits high and six cubits wide. That would equate to about 94 feet high by nine feet wide, or if you work in metres, 28 metres high by 2.7 metres wide. To put that really in terms we might understand, that would be around eight times the height of the ceiling of our church here, okay? Can you imagine an idol that tall? Okay, so take the ceiling here, 3.5 I think it is roughly, eight times that height, that's the height of the idol, and it was overlaid with gold. This would have been a sight to behold. It was set up in a plain called Jura. We don't know the exact location, although interestingly they have done archaeological excavations in modern day Iraq, which is around the city of Babylon, and have found a plain with what appears to be some sort of pedestal or stand that could potentially be the place where this massive idol was set up. But whatever, we know that this area was selected in the province of Babylon, it was somewhere there in the vicinity of the city of Babylon and no doubt it was selected for both visibility and assembly so that it could be seen from a long way and also so that great multitudes could assemble. As we think about this idol, we may discern a bit of a purpose behind this. What would be Nebuchadnezzar's purpose in constructing this idol, this magnificent image? Well, let me give you a couple of suggestions. I believe that he was doing this to exalt himself. The exaltation of Nebuchadnezzar was certainly in view. And it's very possible that the idea for this came actually from the revelation of the previous chapter. You remember how God had given a divine revelation to Nebuchadnezzar in that dream, which was interpreted by Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar was depicted as what? The head of gold. And Nebuchadnezzar, rather than being humbled, he was humbled momentarily in that chapter, but it was not a humility that brought him all the way to submission to the one true God. Rather than being really truly humbled, he really caught a hold of that idea and thought, well, I'd like to be more than just the head of gold. I'd like to be completely all gold. And, you know, it's probably likely that he constructed this image as a depiction of himself. That was not an uncommon thing for them to do. In fact, it's not actually uncommon in totalitarian regimes today to have leaders who take on godlike status. Interesting, isn't it? In the so-called atheistic regimes, which is supposed to be a system of non-belief, as they displace the God of the Bible in its place, you have some leader rise up and he begins to take or try and claim for himself godlike characteristics. You have that in North Korea with the so-called eternal emperor and basically where you have the worship of the emperor. We see that in Hitler's Nazism and the worship of men. huge, sometimes sculptures and edifices are constructed to try and give the leader there the appearance of deity and greatness. You know, this is the natural progression of idolatry. If you read Romans chapter 1, you'll find that the deification of man goes hand in hand with the worship of the creature. Okay, when you displace the one true God, In its place, you have the worship of man, the deification of man, man rises up in that vacuum and you have the worship of idols. Interesting, isn't it? In our so-called sophisticated West, okay? And where we are, we're apparently, we are too sophisticated now to believe in an ancient idea of a God and we've displaced the God of the Bible out of our society by and large. It's interesting, isn't it? In its place, we really have just ancient religion repackaged where you have the deification of man, worship of man, and also increasingly the worship of idols, witchcraft, Eastern religions, all filling the void. So the exaltation of Nebuchadnezzar was no doubt a purpose behind this, but I think also it would be fairly safe to say that Nebuchadnezzar was seeking to unify world religion. There's a broad representation of people there. He had a vast empire and you'll notice that there's all the people from the various nations, languages. So this would have been quite a feat to assemble that vast multitude of rulers from all over the provinces of Babylon and no doubt there was an agenda behind this to bring some sort of unity to religious belief. Now in this, it's interesting as we think about Daniel being a book of prophecy that deals a lot with prophecy, I think we could see Nebuchadnezzar as a picture of the Antichrist here, who will eventually demand worship in the tribulation period. But you know, the despotic rulers down through the centuries have sought to control the masses under their rule by taking control of religion. And so this is what Nebuchadnezzar no doubt is trying to do, trying to bring a certain measure of unification, submission to one icon there and some sort of allegiance ultimately to his throne. So there's the construction of the idol and this was a part of the catalyst that would lead to the stand these men took. Then we have the call to the idol in verse 2 through 3, okay? And here the invitation goes out to the ruling class. It's interesting that it's not all the population that is invited, but in particular the rulers, the governors, those who are in positions of leadership. And this goes out to the whole empire. Then we have in verse 4 through 6 the coercion to the idol, okay? There's coercion now to worship this image. The Herald proclaims in verse four there, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, solvery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whosoever falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. This is constrained, isn't it? This is trying to constrain people with the threat of death to worship. Now you cannot command worship or you should not command worship but this is a feature of when you have the state seeking to rule the consciences of the people. The edict here is clear, bow, says Strauss, or burn. And we need to understand that true religious liberty does not come out of paganism. It doesn't come out of atheism or even state-run churches by and large. And as much as people today in our nation will jump up and down and say we need religious freedom and religious liberty and freedom of speech, you cannot have all those blessings if you remove the Judeo-Christian foundation. It's an absolute foolish thing. Religious liberty as we have known it in the West is largely due to the fact that we've been blessed with spiritual awakenings, spiritual revivals, where the word of God has deeply impressed the consciences and the hearts of the society, in which the societies in which we live. So you will not get religious freedom out of an atheistic system. As much as they may try and promote it or try and prop it up, you can't prop up religious freedom on an atheistic foundation. And more and more, the further our nation pursues the religion of humanism, the deification of man, paganism, it's just repackaged paganism, we can expect more and more attempts to dictate what people can believe and even what they can think. Indefinite attempts have been made, aren't they, in our nation to pass legislation that would seek to coerce believers to bow the knees to the idols of perversion and wickedness. You will accept this lifestyle, and in Victoria now, they're trying to push laws through that will potentially make it illegal to take the Bible to people in certain lifestyles and say you need to be converted. They say that's bigoted quackery, said the governor, not the governor, the premier. But we shouldn't be surprised. All we're doing as a nation is going down the Romans 1 staircase. It's the staircase of progression, not progress upward, the staircase to hell. That's what it is. We need a progressive government. Yeah, progress all right, straight down to hell. That's what it is. Interestingly, music is associated with the worship here. I don't think it would be too much of a stretch of an imagination to suggest this was not godly music. You don't get godly music out of paganism. I've lived and heard the Hindu music and it's horrible. just demonic, hollow, not even tuneful, just clang, clang, clang, clang. But the music is brought in there to try and invoke feelings of worship and to try and produce religious sentiment in the people and also to signal that when the time was to bow to the idol. So this was the catalyst leading to these men taking a stand. Then there's the compliance to the idol. Notice in verse seven that the broad majority whether they truly believed in it or not, decided to conform. Verse seven, therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbar, psaltery and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations and the languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Now you're gonna stand out as three men in a vast crowd if you're not gonna bow with all the rest. And just mark it down, please, that if you are going to take a stand for the Lord against some of the great idols that are being erected in our nation today, the idols of lust and perversion, and even these idols, unfortunately, to which many of God's people are, if not outright bowing to them, choosing not to take them on. Be prepared for the fact you're going to stand out as a sore thumb for not going along with the broad majority that simply choose for political expediency or for pragmatic reasons to bow the knee to those idols. Now, I don't think we would be really into this to suggest that there were very likely other Jews there. Because in chapter one, you remember in chapter one when they were confronted with the temptation to not be defiled with the king's meat, do you remember how most of the Jewish men there just went along with it? It was just Daniel and his three friends that said, no, we will not be defiled with the king's meat. You know, it's no different today. Standing against the satanic idols of our day usually means standing alone or with the minority. Someone came to a man by the name of Athanasius in early church history. He was a man who vigorously defended the deity of Christ against popular heresy that was sweeping the churches at that time, denying the deity of Christ. And someone came to him and said, Athanasius, don't you understand that bishops are against you? Don't you understand that the church is against you? He said, don't you understand the world is against you? And Athanasius replied, then I am against the world. And it's better to stand alone and have the Lord with you than to compromise with the crowd and be without him. Let's get the picture here. Okay, you may be devoid of people who will stand with you. There may not be very many around you, but far better to stand alone or stand with a few and have the Lord with you than to conform with the crowd and be alone without him. So we have the catalyst. their stand, the events that led to the stand they took. Then number two we have the criticism of their stand in verse 8 through 12. Their stand predictably attracts criticism. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and what? Accused the Jews. That word accused in the Hebrews very strong word has the idea of to bite or chew. They were vicious, they were bitter in their attacks against them and violent opposition can be expected when we take a stand against idolatry and compromise. Thou O King, they said, has made a decree. Interesting, isn't it, how people, there's always plenty of people out there who want to remind a government of evil laws, to make sure that evil laws get upheld. They're not interested in upholding things like taxation law or other good laws, but if there's an evil law passed, hey, king, you've passed this law, you better uphold it. Now, they leveled a three-fold accusation at these three men, a triple accusation. Look at it there in verse 12. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Now notice the threefold accusation. These men, O king, have not regarded thee, that's the first accusation, they serve not thy gods, there's the second accusation, number three, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. So they accused him firstly of disloyalty. They said, these men have not regarded thee. Now in a sense that was true, but that wasn't actually the central point of these men. These men were standing against an idol. In actual fact, they were some of this king's most loyal, trustworthy subjects. Do you remember in the previous chapter, Nebuchadnezzar could not even trust his own wise men. When they said, King, tell us the dream and we'll tell you the interpretation. He said, you've prepared lying and corrupt words for me. These men here, these three men, along with Daniel, were undoubtedly the most trustworthy subjects he had, the most faithful and loyal subjects in his entire realm. But do you see the nasty twist to the accusation here? And be prepared for this. People will try and make your stand, which is ultimately out of loyalty to the Lord. They'll try and make that stand into something personal. They haven't regarded you, King, this is a personal thing. Now, when you take a stand for the Lord, it will invariably cause offence on a personal level with some, though in reality you are simply seeking to be true to your conscience before the Lord. You know, these men would obey any reasonable command, I believe. But it's amazing, isn't it, how you can be a loyal person, you can be respectful of an authority, but you can all of a sudden be labelled as disloyal if you will not compromise. You're dishonouring my authority, you're disloyal to me as your authority. Hang on a second, I'm not disloyal at all to you, if you give me a reasonable request, that is not outside of what the Word of God would teach, I will gladly submit. But I must remind you, whoever you are, that my allegiance and loyalty is first to the Lord Jesus. And if you ask me to do something outside of the Word of God and something that will violate my conscience, you are no longer functioning within your God-ordained scope of authority. You have stepped over the line into an area which only God should have a say about. And it can happen today even in churches where you have pastors say, you need to be loyal to me. I'm sorry, we're not going to be loyal to any man if he steps outside of this book. And don't you ever, as much as we encourage respect for authority, as much as we would encourage you to have the right type of loyalty to a leader, don't you ever in the name of loyalty back down one iota from the word of God. So be aware of that. They haven't regarded thee. In actual fact, these men were so honouring of Nebuchadnezzar. They were his, they were faithful. But he had crossed a line, and you need to be very careful, and we need to be very careful, that we do not encroach on that area called individual soul liberty, the area of conscience. We believe that every believer is a priest before God. They can have direct access. You're not the priest, pastor. They have direct access with the open Bible to God, and if they say, I believe before the Lord with my conscience, this is what I must do, we need to be very careful before we override that. So they accuse them of disloyalty. So when you're true to your conscience before the Lord, you will just be aware that there will be an attempt made to make it personal. You're being disloyal to me. No, I'm not, I'm just trying to honour the Lord. No, no, you're dishonouring me. Now really what it comes down to for you and I is a choice as to whom we're more willing to offend, man or God. Now I'm not saying that we need to be obnoxious and actively seek to unnecessarily cause offence. I think we have a good example, don't we, in both these men and even in Daniel, in his stand he took in chapter one, that they were tactful, they were respectful. We see that Daniel appealed to his authorities and was very wise in his handling of the situation. He wasn't obnoxious, he wasn't brash and foolish. So we don't need to be unnecessarily objectionable But we do have to get to this point, are we more willing to offend man or God? Christ demands that we as his disciples be loyal to him above all else, doesn't he? Even if that cuts across the closest and dearest of human ties at times, Luke 14, 26. So they accused them of disloyalty. Then they accused them of defiance and disobedience. They serve not their gods, nor worship golden image and that was true, it was true, but you see how they try and make it personal again, which thou hast set up. See King, this is an act of rebellion against you, they're being disloyal to you, I mean you've set this idol up and just look there in your face and but these men just simply would not serve the idols of Babylon, they were not prepared to break the first and second commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me and thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. So the criticism of their stand, just mark it down, as you take a stand for the Lord, you will not bow the knee of compromise to the idols of this world, you will attract criticism and opposition. Number three, the confrontation of their stand. Verse 13 to 15. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury. Nebuchadnezzar, you don't have to read much about his life to realise very quickly he is allergic to the word no. Commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, then they brought these men before the king. Interesting, it seems that these men who accused them were the ones who had the privilege of summoning them to the king. They brought them before the king. We've got them. Now the king, let them have it. Nebuchadnezzar asked them, is it true, or he obviously got his composure enough to ask a question, is it true of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Do you not serve my gods and worship the golden image which I have set up? Now he doesn't wait for an answer, this is not a question looking for information, it's a question of exasperation and anger. And oh, how the world hates it when we refuse to be conformed to its evil ways. Oh, how the wrath of the world can be released. You know, it can be surprising, can't it? You can be dealing with maybe someone in your work who can be outwardly very nice and congenial, and all of a sudden they just find out they see a track line in your car or something, and all of a sudden they start to treat you differently, and the wrath and the anger that can be unleashed on the child of God, the world hates it when you will not bow the knee to its evil ways. Now think about this for a moment. We have the advantage of knowing the end of the story and I think sometimes we lose the impact of this. Try and rewind the story here and put yourself in the crowd. Okay, we read this, oh yeah, okay, we know they're going to get out of the fiery furnace later. Listen, at this point in time when those men stood before the king, they were staring death in the face. They're going to die for this. What an awesome test that would be to stand to be summoned in the presence of the most powerful monarch in the world at that time. Vast empire, tremendous power, and to know that that man who is enraged has, humanly speaking, the power to exterminate your life. I wonder how we would go in that situation. confrontation of their stand. We see the king's offense don't we in verse 13 and 14, he took offense to this. And then in verse 15 we see the king's offer, this was probably the greatest test to their convictions. It's one thing to be viciously persecuted but it's another thing to be offered the easy way out. It's another thing isn't it to say just you can sidestep the cross here in your life, You can step around this crucifixion experience. There is an easy way out. It's got the hiss of the serpent on it, doesn't it? Get down off the cross. The King offers them an option of compromise. Now this man, he could have just said right off with their heads, killed them straight away. But it's interesting, isn't it, that the world is so focused on, look, they're happy to extend superficial mercy so long as you will bow the knee of compromise. In fact, the world seems to get a special delight, special delight in seeing the Christian lower the flag of separation. Just come down a bit, lower the flag, just conform. That really, really blesses their hearts, blesses them, no end. If you'll just, just don't be so absolute, don't be, look, look, I remember a guy came to us once and we were preaching on the streets in Bathurst and he was a Christian, a professing Christian and he said, you're going to put people off doing this. Preaching like that and you're going to give the gospel a bad name and you're going to put people off. Just simmer down. Just lower the flag. worked at a sawmill at one point in time, and the boss came to me and said, look, we've had a good week or good month of production. We want to just reward the men. Let's go down to the – we're going to shout everybody a bit of a meal down at the family they called it. It was a particular pub in Bathurst. It ruins families, but they call it the family. And, you know, I said, oh, look, I don't go into pubs. And he said, oh, no, don't worry. He said, you don't have to drink. He said, just come along, have a glass of Coke and hang out with the guys. And we said, look, no, we didn't try and make a big noise about it. He said, look, no, we won't be coming. And boy, how that rattled around the whole workplace. And the supervisor walked into the lunchroom where we were sitting and said, oh, poor little boys can't drink. And we said, no, it's not that we can't drink, we won't drink. Oh, but how the world hates it when you won't just, okay, that's fine, don't drink, but just come on our turf. They would have been happy with that. Oh, but actually, in a sense, they wouldn't be happy with that because once they've got you there, then comes the next part, oh, look, just one glass. That's why it's best to exercise separation and don't step foot into a compromise situation because the world will not be content. Don't believe the lie, young people, that the world will say, just come this far and we'll be content. No, they'll want to drag you all the way into the gutter. That's what they want to do. Now, the promise of personal peace and preservation in exchange for compromising on the truth is a powerful temptation, isn't it? Self-preservation is very strong in all of us. Very strong. And to take the easy road in these situations and to sidestep the cross is what will naturally be in line with the bent of our human nature. He said, look, we'll get the dolesome at cranking again. sackbut, all kinds of music, and we'll give you another opportunity to enter into the ecumenical worship service and we're going to all be... Listen, I wonder what sort of, I just, as I pondered on this, I thought what sort of advice would these men have received from 21st century rock and roll Christendom? Look, look, I'm in this situation that, you know, they require it of me, I've got to, apparently I've got to attend Diversity Day. And, you know, what would you say? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they come to the quasi-preacher of the 21st century. What do we do? The king says that we've got to bow the knee to the idol. He'd probably say, look, just have a sway with the sackbutt and a dance with the dulcimer. And join in the ecumenical gathering in a spirit of love. But anything but separation. Just don't separate. Just have a tap with the trumpet, dance with the dulcimer, sway with the sack butt and just go through the motions and don't, but don't stand out like that. Don't be so absolute. Just anything but separation. That's the word that's no longer allowed anymore, is it? Offer of compromise. Number four, the courage of their stand. Verse 16 through 18. The courage of their stand. Boy, can you see their boldness and their courage? Shadrach, Meshach, verse 16, Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. That's pretty absolute, isn't it? God give us some people today who I'm not talking about being brash in a fleshly sense, not brashness, but have Holy Spirit boldness. And some men and women of God who do not have a price tag on their convictions. And when it comes to things we can legitimately submit to, to the powers that be, the authorities in our lives, we will submit with God's help and with the right spirit. But when they step over the line and ask us to sell out on our convictions, we're going to put a sign there that says, not for sale. Every man has his price, they say. And the point you're willing to sell out is the point of compromise. These men would not have a prize tag on their ministry. You know it's interesting, on their stand, C.H. Spurgeon in his, you're familiar with his ministry, but he was drawing great, great crowds even as a young preacher. He preached to thousands every Sunday. In fact, I've heard that he even would sometimes ask some of his regular folk to refrain from coming to the evening service so there could be seats for all the unsaved people to come and hear the gospel. And at the same time there was a man who was a contemporary of Spurgeon in America who was in the show business and his job was to fill big tents, make money. And he heard of the success of this young preacher, wrote to him and offered him a tremendous sum of money if he would come over, didn't fly in those days, but come to America and just come and say something in his tent to fill the tent up. Spurgeon wired back. and just simply said, read Acts chapter eight, I think it's verse 26, which is, thy money perish with thee, for thou thoughtest that the gift of God could be purchased with money. Just one verse of scripture said, read Acts chapter, I can't forget the reference, I think it's in chapter eight, and the man would have read that. But isn't it good when there are men who are not going to sell out? Not gonna sell out on their godly convictions. So notice the courage of their stand. Look at their bold reply. Look at a few things here. It was a forthright reply, wasn't it? Forthright. We are not careful to answer in this matter. There was absolutely no hesitation in their reply. Now it was still given in a respectful tone. Okay. They said there, O Nebuchadnezzar. All right. Verse 18, O King. So there's a spirit of respect, a spirit of tact. But there was absolutely no hesitation in their reply. They would not pull any punches on this matter. There would be no room for negotiation on their convictions. You know, we live in a day-to-day where everything has to be discussed over coffee. half the time the discussion's not good and the coffee's not good either. But now I'm all for, I'm not saying there's anything wrong, I'm not talking here about believers getting together to encourage one another and to edify one another, I'm talking about this thing where this whole spirit, where there's something very clearly set out in the Word of God, it's thus saith the Lord, but it's always going to be up for discussion. And there is a time to discuss things. There's a time to work through things. But may I say that when it comes to the clear stands that we are to take on the Word of God, we do not really need to enter into endless discussions about them. We just need to say, look, when it comes to this matter, we're not going to hold any punches on this. We're not going to hesitate in our answer. We are so apologetic today for taking a stand for anything. So apologetic. We try and lace it all the time with careful language and soft language because we're so scared of offending people. Now again, this doesn't mean we need to be brash, obnoxious. These men didn't rail on the king, they simply made it clear where they stood and would not budge. So it was a forthright reply. And we need to get back to some of that straight, just being straightforward, gracious, humble, but straightforward. This is where we stand. I love that about some of the older generation. Talk to them about something like casual drinking. And it's just, it's like they don't even, it doesn't even phase them, the arguments. It's just, boom, the line's there and you're not going to make it move. It was a faith-filled reply. Can you see that in verse 17? See their faith? If it be so, our God whom we serve is able, look at those words, our God is able, that's faith, isn't it? To deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. And notice in verse 18, now these key words, but if not. You know, this is a really, the example of these men's faith is really, really amazing. because it was a mature faith that really included two elements, that they believed in the ability of God, God is able, there was absolutely no questions in their minds, that God had the power to deliver them, that God could turn this situation around, there even seemed to be a measure of assurance that he would, they said he will deliver us, even if that may be by death, death is still a form of deliverance for the Christian. They believed in the ability of God, our God is able, do you have faith like that? When you're confronted with an impossible situation, our God is able, God can turn this situation around, we need to have that sort of faith to believe that God can do miraculous things. But this is where the maturity of their faith really comes out, in those words, but if not, they believed in the sovereignty of God. in the sovereign rulership of God. They said, we believe without a doubt that God can, whether he will or not, that's in his hands. So there is no if in their minds as to God's power and ability. The only question mark in their minds is to do with whether it was God's will or not. So they were in no doubt that God could deliver them, but they didn't know if he would deliver them. And that's mature faith, isn't it? That's the sort of faith we need. Lord, we believe you can turn this situation around, this situation where I am being reproached for the stand I'm trying to take for you, but Lord, even if my reproach is never taken away, I will still remain faithful to you. Lord, if this, I believe you can heal. I believe that you could heal this disease in my body. But if not Lord, if in your sovereign will and your wisdom that is far beyond my comprehension, you choose not to Lord, I'm still gonna be loyal to you. I'm still gonna be faithful to you, no matter the cost. That's real faith, isn't it? So often we're happy to believe God and follow the Lord as long as he does everything according to how we see it. according to our desires. No, but this is real faith. This is mature faith. Lord, I have no doubt in your ability and I'm asking you for this. I believe you're a miracle working God. There is no limit to your power. But if not, Lord, if you and your wisdom decide not to do this for whatever reason, I'm still gonna be faithful to you. So can you see that these men didn't put conditions on their allegiance to God? No conditions on their allegiance to God. So their response, the courage of their stand, it was a forthright response they gave, a faith-filled response and a fixed response, verse 18. 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. Boy, we need to learn to just be fixed on some things. Just be fixed, unmovable, uncompromising, unbending in your stand for the Lord. Under no circumstances would they bow the knee to this idol. Nebuchadnezzar had given them two options. But to these men there was only one option, honour God and face the fire. One option only. Illustration is given or a story, I believe it's a true story of a Korean Christian not too long ago who was taken by the communists in North Korea. He was determined to make a public, sorry, the communists determined to make him a public example. And so the soldiers commanded the entire village to appear in the town square. And a communist soldier led this young Christian to the centre of the town, put a pistol to his head, shouted, denounce Jesus Christ and embrace communism or die. Amazing, isn't it, how the world just wants, just renounce, just bow the knee. The young man looked around at the crowd, raised his head toward heaven and shouted, I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe. The gun went off, he was dead. Fixed. These were men who wouldn't bow. Nor would they budge when the pressure came on. And as a result, in their case, God would so move that they would not burn. And God would turn the whole situation around for his glory. But we see the resolve in these men's hearts. If God came through as he was able to turn the situation around, well. But even if God decided in his wisdom to allow these men to be martyrs, to go through to death, they still would not be moved from where they stood on the truth. So there's the challenge for us tonight, standing when things get heated. As we walk with the Lord, the heat's going to come on. We're going to face furnaces of affliction, fiery trials, confronted with the gigantic gods of this age, coerced or an attempt made to coerce us to yield and to compromise. But may God help us to have, like these men, some steely resolve. We will not bow to your God. We have one God, and we will be loyal to our Saviour above all else. So let's pray. Father, we thank you tonight for these men, for their courageous example. Lord, it's relatively easy in a way to talk about these things here where we all are in one heart together on this. But Lord, as we go out of these doors to face the week, Lord, the solicitations of the enemy in the workplace, the pressure to be conformed to this world, the spirit, Lord, even just the spirit of this world that seeks constantly to conform us, we're going to need your strength, your courage, your boldness, Lord give us that mature faith that on the one hand has no doubt as to your power and your ability to work in our situations but Lord at the same time that spirit of submission, Lord to surrender to your sovereign will and your wisdom which is far above ours and so we look to you. So Lord give us, we pray in this church, men and women who will stand not in the strength of the flesh, not in pride but just in godly humility, know what the Word of God says and not move. We ask these things in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.