So we're in Daniel chapter 3 this morning. And we'll start reading in verse 7. Daniel 3, we'll start reading in verse 7. Our text will actually consist of verse 8 and forward, but we need to back up and get a little context for this morning's message. So those willing and able to, I'm going to ask that you stand please as we share together the reading of the Word of God. Beginning in verse 7. Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trojan, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and men of every language fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. For this reason, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trident, the psaltery, and the bagpipe, and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. But whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace, a blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have disregarded you. They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and anger, gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now, if you are ready, at the moment that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trojan, the psaltery, and the bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. and what God is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire. And he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Alright, pray with me. So Heavenly Father, we come before You after reading such a fantastic and incredible stand that men took for Your kingdom. Father, I pray that You would somehow be able to take these faltering lips of this preacher this morning and somehow be able to communicate a message, a message that is from you, not from me. A message that your spirit will be able to take and to use, to instruct, and to perhaps bring about some fortitude and some courage that we need as men of God as a house of God. We too live in a culture in which there are many false gods being worshipped and a culture where there are false images being presented. I pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help us to recognize the falseness and the lies that the devil is constantly throwing at us, trying to deceive us. trying to give our allegiance to Him and defy our love for You. We find You to be a very patient God because there are many times that we fail, more often than we would like to admit. But nonetheless, Your love is unconditional. You will never leave us and You will never forsake us. The blood of Jesus Christ has bought our souls, paid for in full. We will forever be a child of God, and your forgiveness is infinite when we fail. Now God, loosen the grip of the world that it has on us as we came in, perhaps, into this house with many other thoughts, many other problems, many other distractions. We've gathered together today to worship you and to bow our heads before you and to seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit. And for His counsel we plead. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you and please be seated. And so, where do you find yourself in this passage of scripture that we just read? Do you see yourself anywhere in this passage, you know, do you see yourself standing firm? Do you see yourself standing strong? Do you see yourself with an unshakable faith in your God that you would not in any way back down? You know, if you have any testosterone flowing through your body, I would think that as a man, that there would be a part of you that would say, you know what? I'd like to have that kind of courage. I'd like to have that kind of fortitude. This is a manly passage that we're reading here. And when you read it, it should appeal to your masculinity. Really and truly, when you see what's going on here, you should be saying to yourself, that is the kind of man that I want to be. I think most of us have an innate desire to live for something that is bigger than we are. Something that is more important than our own lives. To accomplish something that is bigger than ourselves and to leave behind some kind of a legacy. Our culture today has been stripped of its manliness. Men have been stripped of their manliness. And our culture deems manliness as something that is toxic and something that is dangerous and something that is destructive. And so what our country wants to do today is to feminize men. to feminize them. Our culture has been ravaged by feminism and it's an ideology that wants to strip men of their vitality and I believe their innate natures. Feminism I will lay as the foundation, the main problem of our culture today. It is why our culture is as messed up as it is in terms of its sexuality. Feminism has destroyed our country and I believe that it is of satanic origin. Feminism at its core rejects the God-ordained rules of men and women, and it has brought our country into a state of confusion and self-destruction. God saw the feminist movement before it ever started. Before it was ever known as a feminist movement, God saw it coming. As a matter of fact, He referred to it in the book of Genesis. You may remember the passage. It's in Genesis chapter 3 and in verse 16. where God says in his talking to the man and the woman after they disobeyed him, and he turns to the woman and he says to the woman, I will greatly multiply your pain and childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children, yet your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you. So what does he mean by that? In the context here is the beginning of the feminist movement. The ESV, the latest version of the ESV, I believe more correctly translate this, which says that the woman's desire shall be contrary to her or your husband. Our version says four, but when you look at it in its context, its context is that of conflict. There's going to be conflict between the husband and the wife. For she has born within her a sin nature and a desire to rule even over her own husband. This is what the scripture is saying here. The initial reaction of wives is to rebel against their husbands and get their thoughts and their ways and their ideas and their goals and explain to him why his ways are never going to work. Over and over, the Bible reminds wives to be subject to their husbands. Why do you think that is in there so often? Because of Genesis, the principle laid down in Genesis chapter 3. And now because of the feminist movement, it has become necessary that every time we talk about this subject, that we have to remind ourselves That the Bible does not demean or in any way deny the equal value of both sexes, and the equal dignity of each sex, and that both genders are due equal respect. But submission is not a rule of inferiority. And it does not mean that the woman is a doormat, but it is a rule of order. God's order for the family. Submission. It's a tough word. Unfortunately, today, the feminist movement is promoting the skewed idea that equality is in every aspect of life. And it has successfully distorted the true nature of manhood and womanhood. And we are reaping the consequences today of men who are calling themselves women and women who are calling themselves men. This is the end product. This is where you are going to wind up. And instead of recognizing and celebrating God's given unique roles and strengths for women and men, we have equated them and called them everything is the same, not according to the Word of God. Today, feminism is elevating personal autonomy and self-fulfillment as a way to happiness. Above all else, autonomy and fulfillment have become little gods, totally disrespecting God's design. The result is the weakening of men. That's what we have today. Passive men instead of warriors. Passive men instead of leaders. Passive men instead of strong men. and men who are willing to stand up and to fight for what is true and right and good and moral. The church has been permeated with the same false mentality and we're allowing now women to take leadership in our churches. It's not unusual today to find churches calling women as pastors and women as preachers today, totally in violation of teaching of the pure word of God. And so we have men today who are sitting in their pews who are not committed fully to God and yet they're not fully committed to the world. Do you know what it means to be not fully committed to God and not fully committed to the world? It means to be an in-betweener. You know what the Bible calls an in-betweener? The Bible calls an in-betweener lukewarm. Lukewarm man. Lukewarm man. We've been intimidated by the feminist movement. We've become lukewarm Christian men. And what I want to do today, I want to point out Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These were men who stood up. These were men who were willing to die for what they believed. I want us to turn on the hot water of God's faucet and let it spew out on our hearts and warm us up a little bit. And so we find in verse 7, as we continue with our study, Therefore, at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trident, the psaltery, the bagpipe, and all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and men of every language fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. For this reason, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews." Stop right there. So what's going on here? Nebuchadnezzar had made this huge image, right? It was 9 foot wide, 90 feet tall, covered with gold, sat out on a plain where the sun could actually glisten off of it so that you could see it for miles around. It was an incredibly beautiful piece of artwork. It was majestic and it was intimidating at the same time. Now I want to remind you from last week's sermon that this was not something that happened overnight. This was something that was a construction project that probably took months if not a year or more to build at this particular time. Everybody knew what was coming. Everybody saw it being built. They didn't perhaps understand all the details, but they knew that it was being built and they knew why it was being built. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw it coming. They knew, they knew that they were going to have to make a stand. They knew that when they saw it being built. One of the things that Jesus Christ did in his ministry over and over was warn his disciples of what was coming. He told them over and over, do not be deceived, be prepared, over and over and over again to get them ready for what was going to come. Right? He didn't want them to be surprised. He didn't want them walking around with their head in the sand. And just as surely as these three warriors were assessing the world in which they're living today, we have to assess the world in which we're living too. So why? So that when we see evil, we will not be deceived, but we will be prepared to face evil and to call it what it is. The world is calling evil good and good evil today. That's nothing new. It's always been that way. Satan is the god of this world. That's the way that he operates. That's the world in which we live. But, beloved, we cannot let the world dictate to us what is called evil. We find what is called evil in the Word of God. We find what is called good in the Word of God. In the matters of morality and right and wrong, these are not matters of majority rule. These are not social conventions. Men are not women and women are not men. They are different. Beloved, we cannot ignore evil. We cannot let bygones be bygones. And I'm not saying that you have to go out here and you have to hunt down evil. That's not what I'm saying. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm not saying that you need to stand on the street corners and condemn some scantily clad woman out there. That's what I'm saying. I'm not saying that you need to burn down abortion clinics. I'm not saying that at all. I'm not saying that with you out here and chase down evil. That's not what I'm saying. But I am saying that when there is evil in your sphere of influence, You need to stand up for what is right and what the Word of God says and declare it. Now, it's not going to make you popular with your boss, it's not going to make you popular with your co-workers, it's not going to make you popular with your supervisors, it's not going to make you popular with your friends, it's not going to make you popular with your relatives, it may not make you popular with your wife, and it may not make you popular with your children, to be quite honest with you. It will make you popular with God and you will win His favor. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taking their stands. And they didn't end with a megaphone. And they didn't stand in the crowd and say, don't bow down, don't bow down. This is a false idol. That's not what they did. They didn't do that. They simply stood for what was right. That's all they did. They stood for what was right in the sight of God as best as they could determine it. So they saw it coming. What did they do? How did they prepare? Let's take a look at what happens next in our text. So it says in verse 8, For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews, and they responded and said, O Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live forever. The scripture says here that they brought charges against the Jews. The scripture says in the King James Version that they accused the Jews. In the Hebrew, interestingly, it says they ate them piece by piece. In the Hebrew, it says they devoured them little by little. What does that mean? It makes it clear that they did not come just to report to the king that they didn't bow, but they came with a malicious and a spiteful attitude to report to the king what they saw. They were filled with hatred and they were filled with rage toward these Jewish young men. The Chaldeans were very vindictive. That's what it says there. The Chaldeans hated these young men. They did not believe that these three young men deserved to be ruling over them. They did not believe that these three men should have authority over them. First of all, these three people were Jews. They were not Chaldeans. Second, they were young, 20 years old at the best. And these men were far older than that. And therefore, they thought themselves possessing far greater wisdom than these three little childish Jews. And thirdly, thirdly, these Jews were in positions because of Daniel, not because of the king. They understood that it wasn't the king that put these three men over them. It was Daniel's request by which the king honored that made them have authority over these older men. That was the problem. The scene isn't just about Jews, about Jews not bowing down to their idol. It was about getting rid of somebody whom they hated because they had to be submissive to them. This is nothing less than pure vindictiveness and vengeance and disguised as devotion to the king. It was a disguised devotion to the king. Look at verse 10. You, O King, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trojan, the psaltery, the bagpipe, and all kinds of music is to fall down and worship the golden image. But whoever does not fall down and worship all, shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have disregarded you, and they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up." The charges that were brought against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were true. They did not bow down to the image. That's true. The motivation was not to honor the king. The motivation was to destroy these men who were holding positions of authority and power over them, which they desired. This is nothing new and you can rest assured today the same hatred will be demonstrated towards you when you take a stand for that which is right and good. People are going to feel condemned when we stand for what is right and good. You say, do you know why that is? Because right and good and justice have built within them moral authority. When you stand for what is right, good, and just, you are exercising moral authority. You cannot separate that which is good and right and just from having and exercising moral authority. Now, what that means is that good and right and justice automatically condemns, right? It automatically condemns that which is wrong and evil and just. That's why evil hates good. Evil knows what moral authority is, and that it's being exercised over it, and evil will always rebel against moral authority, and especially that which is good. We cannot be surprised when people dislike us, or ostracize us, or say things that hurt our feelings, or do things that hurt our feelings. We have to embrace the reality that this world hates us. We cannot be disappointed or discouraged when it does. Jesus told his disciples, the world will hate you. The world will hate you. The question becomes, how can we not be disappointed? How can we not be discouraged? when the world hates us. How do you remain positive? How do you remain upbeat in a world that's maligning you and lying about you and trying to destroy you? How do you do that? How do you handle that? You'll handle it the same way that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego handled it. You pray for them. You may not realize this, But this is Old Testament practice. As a matter of fact, in Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18, you see the principle. Notice what it says in Leviticus 19, 18. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself, I am, the Lord. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were very well acquainted with the Old Testament. They were well acquainted with Leviticus 19.18, to love your neighbor as yourself. It's not just a New Testament commandment. Now Jesus came along and certainly He clarified it and added extra meaning to it when He taught us in Matthew 5.44, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Yeah, I believe this is one thing these men did is they were praying for these people. These men were prayer warriors. You go back to Daniel chapter 2. You remember what happened in Daniel chapter 2? You remember how they responded to the king's command? to kill all the spiritual advisors. The Bible says that Daniel got together with these three men, and they began to implore God to listen to their prayers. As a matter of fact, in Daniel 2.18 it says, so that they prayed, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. They prayed! when they heard what was going to happen. These men thought they were literally going to die and they prayed and they cried out to God and I don't imagine that they were praying nonchalantly. I don't think they were just out there casually praying, indifferently praying that their lives would be spared. I rather suspect they were praying rather passionately. I rather suspect they were praying rather desperately. I suspect that they were praying rather fervently and they were down on their knees if they weren't down on their faces. They understood, and this is what I want to get to, they understood the true meaning of the battle. This is where men start being men. These were spiritual men. They knew that there was more at stake here than just their lives. You see what I mean? Here's what Paul said. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Beloved, when we understand that we are up against what the Bible calls the rulers, the powers, the forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness. in the heavenly places. You don't pray nonchalantly. You don't pray indifferently. You realize you are in a war. And when you get into a fight with someone and your testosterone is flowing, you're at full attention. You're at full alert. You're ready for the conflict. And this is how we must be praying. I said, well, what are you trying to say? I'm saying that this wasn't just about the Chaldeans hating the Jews, which they did, but what was really going on here was a spiritual attack, a spiritual war. Just as surely as the demons motivated the Pharisees to attack Jesus, the demons are motivating the world to attack you. Do you believe that? Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, and this is what he said to the Pharisees right to their face. You are of your father, the devil. And you want to do the desires of your father. He is a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature. He is a liar and the father of lies. Think about what Jesus is saying there. He's talking to this Pharisees. He's looking at them eyeball to eyeball, and he says, you of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. Does that not sound like Jesus understood what the battle was really about? He understood the nature of the conflict. The conflict wasn't just with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It was much greater than that. He was ultimately in conflict with Satan himself. There is a spiritual dimension to every aspect of your life. You are being influenced, if not directly influenced, by demons who want to take you away from the Lord and service to Him. Every encounter that Jesus had with the world, He ultimately had to deal with the devil himself. There is a spiritual dimension to your life. Jesus wasn't looking for a fight. The fight came to him because he stood for what was right and good and moral and what was righteous. That is when Satan will bring the fight to you. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood for what was right and the fight came to them. They didn't go look for it, but they were maligned and they were hated. So how do you know when you're under attack? First of all, you will know you're under attack when you have a strong desire to return to your old lifestyle, or at least to compromise, or to take up the ways of the world. Do you remember what happened to Israel when they had been in the wilderness for a little while and they got tired of eating the manna? And they decided what? They wanted to go back to Egypt. They wanted to go back to the old ways, right? They wanted to go back to Egypt because there they had everything they wanted, right? Satan tries to tempt us with the past. It may be something you did. It may be something that you didn't do. It may be an old song. It may be an old habit. It may be an old relationship. It may be a disappointment. It may be an easier life. I don't know. I don't know. Sometimes it's easier just to give into the flesh and go ahead and do what we want to do and say what we want to say rather than resist and surrender to the will of God. Surrender to the will of God. That's what we're talking about. Secondly, Knowing you're under attack when prayer becomes a battle, and that happens a lot, and I speak from my own experience. Satan has a way of making everything in life feel like it's urgent. Satan has a way of making everything in life feel like it's more important than anything else, than getting on our knees before God. And he loves to fill our lives with things that seem so important, You ever feel like it's impossible to pray? You ever feel like it's impossible to pray? That's by far where Satan has his greatest success. We must not forget that prayer is like oxygen. And just as surely as your body needs oxygen, prayer is oxygen to your spiritual life. You know, we're all capable of demonstrating a Christian lifestyle, living the Christian lifestyle on the outside, but on the inside, we're like Jesus said, we're dead man's bones. There's nothing actually going on inside. There's nothing there. We're not alive. Lack of oxygen. Lack of prayer. It's like being a Pharisee. They looked impressive, right? They were going through the motions, right? They looked like they had it all together, right? But inside, Jesus said, you're full of dead man's bones. You're nothing. You're nothing. For the Christian prayer energizes the inner man. Why do you think the disciples came to Jesus and said, Lord, teach us how to pray? Why do you think they said that? Because they knew there was a connection between Jesus Christ being on His knees and praying to His Heavenly Father and the life that He lived and the energy and the power in His life. He knew prayer was the connection. Lord, teach us to pray because we understand what prayer plays in your life. Teach us to pray, God, like You do. You can tell when you're under spiritual attack, when you don't want to help anybody, when you don't want to minister to people, when your whole life is turned inward. Jesus said this is the second commandment, that you should love your neighbor as yourself. That was the commandment against being spiritually lazy. That's what that was. Being spiritually lazy. You see, we're energized when we help other people. But you say, man, it's so tiring. It interferes. It's sacrificial. That's the nature of spiritual warfare. War is not comfortable, and war is hard, and we're truly in a spiritual fight. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw what was coming, and they knew they were going to have to take a stand. They knew that. They were not deceived by the world. Beloved, you've got to take note of the world in which you're living and be prepared to fight. Be prepared to stand for what is right and good and just, and do not be afraid of confrontation, but embrace it. Embrace it. If you're lost, the day is coming when God is going to bring some charges against you. There will be far greater charges than what they brought against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, because when God charges you with something, beloved, it's going to be right. The Bible says there is one righteous, no, not one. That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that the wage of sin is death. You're going to be guilty, and you're going to be completely guilty. And you are not going to be able to work your way out of it. You have no hope outside of Jesus Christ. Eternal hell is where you will be. And right now God is offering you the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and shed His blood in your place. And Satan, all of his demons, and all of hell are trying to convince you that now is not the time when it really is. Your desires don't love you, your lies don't love you, but Jesus does. Your lusts don't love you, but Jesus does. He died on the cross to give you eternal life. I'm going to ask Brother R.D. to come and help us with an invitation to him this morning. Satan is a liar. He's going to do everything in his power to keep you lost. He is. God is doing everything in his power to give you eternal life. Would you stand with me please as we prepare for this invitation? Let's pray together. Father, we thank you so much for this day that you've given us to be gathered together in your house and to worship you and to read your Word. And not just to read your Word, Heavenly Father, but to have it applied to our hearts. You're a mighty and a powerful God. You know, Heavenly Father, what I need. You know, Heavenly Father, my faults, my weaknesses, my desires, there's nothing hidden from you. My heart is laid bare before you, as well as the heart of everybody in this building today. You know, Heavenly Father, where they may have cut you off, you know where they may have said to the Holy Spirit, no, Holy Spirit, I don't think I want to go there. You know what's going on in this room, in this house, in this hour. I don't. And quite frankly, it's not my concern. My concern is my own heart. And the concern of everybody else is their own concern. But Heavenly Father, you can revive us and you can bring us into your presence. You can restore us and you can renew us. And you can forgive us. And so that's why I come to you today. And I pray, Holy Father, that you will inspire us with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These were men who looked upon their culture and faced it head on. And I pray, Holy Father, that we will have the same kind of courage to stand for that which is right and good and just. And that, yes, Father, we will embrace the reality that Jesus said the world will hate you. But our comfort and our defense against the world that hates us is we love them. We love them and we pray for them and we lift them up to you and we call upon you, Heavenly Father, to bless them. And now, oh God, bless us. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.