All right, Bible's out. Let's get them out. Get them open. Daniel chapter three. If you don't have a Bible, we'll put them on the screen. But our hope is that you come with your Bible every week. Have it open, have a pen. We're people of the Word. We want to bring our lives underneath the word. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to offend almost everybody in this room today. So if I don't get to you, just be patient. We'll try to be equal opportunity offenders. But we've got a great text. It's both, both so challenging and so encouraging at the same time. So Daniel Chapter three. Let's just get right into it. But before we get into chapter three, we need to remember how chapter two ended. So let's look at the last kind of closing of chapter two. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. So Nebby gets it. I'm sure it's just smooth sailing from here on out. Like he kind of understands. And it's just going to be revival from this point forward. Then you get to chapter three, and this happens next, right after he says that King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits, about 90ft, and its breadth 6 cubits, 9 to 10ft. So it's big. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the providence of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps and prefects and the governors and the counselors and the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, all these important people and all the officials of the Providence to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the Providence gathered from for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the herald proclaimed aloud, you are commanded, O peoples, nations and languages. So this is a broad. Like the empire of Babylon has taken people over. So there's a lot of different cultures and languages represented there. And this is, this is a broad command to peoples nations, languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down in worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So how does Nebuchadnezzar go from, you're the. Daniel's God is the God of gods. You know, he's Lord of kings. Like, he's. He's like this recognition of the supremacy of God, the true God, and then right, the very next chapter, he makes this statue. Like, we read that and be like, how does that happen? Where's the disconnect? But that's. No Babylonian would have a problem with this. There's not a problem recognizing Daniel's God along with all the other gods. See, that's the thing about a pluralistic society. They don't have a problem with one more God. Right. I don't have a problem acknowledging your God. Daniel, he really helped with that dream pinch. That's great. But I can recognize him and his power as long as I kind of recognize all the other gods. And a pluralistic society never has a problem with one more God. And we'll acknowledge your God as long as you acknowledge our God. And that's kind of how you get along. And you can be a Christian as long as you're not one of those Christians that think everyone else is wrong. Right. You ever feel that it's the exclusivity of Christianity that's really culturally offensive, that Jesus is the only way of salvation, that the God of the Bible and Allah are not the same God. Mormons aren't on our team. There's objective truth. Like, you start talking like that, then it's like you're getting offensive. And it's okay if you're a Jesus follower and you can go to church and you can do your thing, as long as you also kind of embrace these cultural values, you're also affirming and you're also like, support these kind of lifestyles. And you're often like, there's this pressure, like, I don't care if you're a follower of Jesus, as long as you're also a follower of Babylon, as long as you're also a follower of our context. There's a lot of pressure. You ever feel that pressure? You kind of feel the tug to kind of almost like this mob like mentality, like, you gotta do this, you gotta say this. You can't say that. You gotta think like this. And if you don't, you might get canceled. Like there might be consequences of that. You ever feel that pressure? Do you think they were feeling pressure? Like, if you don't bow down, we're gonna burn you alive? Alright, so maybe this has something to teach us, but let's get some context to what's going on here. So in chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar gets this dream interpreted. And it's this image, this figure, and it represents different kingdoms and, and the top, the head was representing Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. But the vision was, hey, after you, Nebuchadnezzar's gonna come another kingdom, then another kingdom, then another kingdom, and finally this everlasting kingdom. So Daniel delivers the interpretation of the dream to the king of like, hey, your kingdom's not gonna last forever. All right, Daniel, thanks for that advice. Thanks for the tip. I'm going to try to prevent that from happening. And he makes a statue. But what was the part that represented King Nebuchadnezzar in the vision made of. Does anybody remember gold? And what is Nebuchadnezzar's statue made entirely of? Gold. You know what he's saying? It's like, no, my kingdom will last forever. I'm going to prevent that from happening. Like, Daniel, I love the insight. You gave me a head start. I'm going to get ahead of that problem. And I, and I'm gonna establish my kingdom as an everlasting kingdom. And this isn't so much like, this is a political move. Like, politics is about gaining power and keeping power. And he's saying, hey, everybody needs to bow down to me. And what I say, like, one way to protect your kingdom is to say like, everybody do what I say. Like, I'm gonna get ahead of this and we can have unity as long as our unity is based on my plurality and my power. But that's what he's calling. And there's this political move now. We read this and think like, that's crazy, like, we don't build statues to ourselves. That's ridiculous. We have websites for that, right? We have social media. We could post our image for everybody to see. But we're not asking people to bow down to that. That would be ridiculous. We just Want you to hit the like button or the love button. And if we know you saw my image and you didn't like it, we're kind of worked up a bit, right? We want people's recognition. And this is what, like, who's Nebuchadnezzar out for? Who's he worshiping? Himself, you know? But everyone else is kind of out for themselves as well because they just don't want to die. That's their highest goal. And I will bow down to whoever's in power. I'll kiss that ring. I don't want to die. I'm just going to like, who's ever in power. I'll do what they say. And who's in power? Isn't that the question? Isn't that the question? But everybody's doing it. Like, as soon as the band strikes up, everybody does it. And there's this pressure, you feel it to just go along. It's what everybody's doing, right? I mean, it happens here. Everybody excited for the men's Women's discipleship gathering. And you're like, oh, I guess we're clapping. Yeah, I'm excited. I just kind of crowd, like, there's so many things in our society that you just kind of go, there's mob like mentality and we have sheep like instincts and we feel this pressure. Like, all of us are wired to want to fit in. Like, we have a wire for belonging. And we don't want to be the only person in the teacher's lounge that can't talk about that TV show. So we got to watch the show, right? And we don't want to be the only one that doesn't know about this latest thing. And we don't want to be the only one who doesn't think that way. We want this belonging. And the way you find belonging is just going to go along with things. And we feel it as parents. Like, I don't want my kid to be the only one on the team without a Nike bag. I mean, the persecution. You gotta have a Nike bag, right? Get along with it. No, I don't want my only kid to be the one that's only leaving. Excuse me. I don't want my kid to be the only one leaving practice early to go to church. I don't want my kid to be the only one who's not engaging in that. Like, we want this belonging. What do you think happens to a corrupt culture when Christians just go along with it? Or maybe let me frame it this way. What do you think happens to Christians that just go along with the corrupt culture. Let's keep reading. Verse 8. Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, o king, live forever. So they're on his agenda. What's he doing? I'm trying to establish my kingdom that lives forever. Yep, we want you, king, to live forever. But that's not what the dream talked about. You, O King, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the hornpipe, lyre, trigun, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the providence of Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O King, pay no attention to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. So there is some clear jealousy happening on here, right? We're not so bad that they're not bowing down, but these are the people that took our jobs. Because you remember, like in chapter one, they get elevated. They get put before all these other, you know, magicians and enchanters and sorcerers and advisors to the king. And so they're kind of telling on them because they want to see them be brought down. But notice the contrast in this text. I mean, you get this long list of governors and prefects and counselors and treasurers and justices and magistrates and all the officials. And he repeats it several times because all the important people are at this dedication. These are the people of status. These are the people with power. And yet it's three exiles that stand up to the king, and all the people in power just kind of go along with it. And what we'll see by the end is real power does not lie in positions of status, but in people of faithfulness. I don't think you're hearing me. Because this has application to us and where we place our hope. Real power does not lie in positions of status, but of people of faithfulness. Should have been an amen, but that's not where you're at. Press on. There we go. It's late. It doesn't count. But I still appreciate it. I still appreciate it. Touches my heart. All right. When it comes to living faith, we're going to get. Curl your toes, okay? When it comes to living faithfully in an unfaithful culture, it should be evident that we don't worship the same Things like, they didn't have trouble making their case. These guys aren't bowing down. Like, it was evident, hey, we're all doing this. They ain't doing it. Like, we're all living this way. They're not. We're all believing this. They don't. Like, there's an evidence of their difference. There wasn't trouble making that case. Now, they weren't protesting, all right? They weren't like, we got to get this statue torn down. They shouldn't be doing this. This is wrong. They weren't protesting. They were exiles in Babylon and Babylonians are going to babble. That's what they're going to do. Like, this is not a surprise. They weren't protesting, but they weren't participating, which is a type of protest. This is a type of protest and faithfulness. Hear me out. Faithfulness in an unfaithful world creates a contrast. It creates a contrast, and a contrast creates conflict. You could say it shines a light. It shows something different. We're doing this, they're not. They're doing this, we're not. And it creates this contrast. And in this contrast, you find conflict. In fact, Jesus warned us about this. This is what Jesus said in John 15. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before. It hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world. Therefore the world hates you. He's saying, hey, if you would go along with the world, guess what? The world is not going to have any problems with you. Nobody's gonna be bothered with you. You'll fit right in. But I called you out of the world. I called you to take up your cross and follow me. I called you to take the narrow road. And if you do that, you follow somebody the world killed. Guess what? They're gonna have a problem with you, too. Like, when you start to live differently and you create this contrast, it's gonna bother people. In fact, look how Nebuchadnezzar reacts. Verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in furious rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Faithfulness in an unfaithful world can be frustrating to unfaithful people. People, it's exposing. You're not doing what I said to do. Do you think what I said to do is wrong? Yeah. Right. It creates it. Like we've felt it, right? When somebody starts talking about a show and you're just like, yeah, I don't watch that show. And it feels like, are you telling me that I shouldn't watch that show? I'm feeling judged now. And you're kind of like, yeah, I don't think you should. Right. Hey, we're not going to that tournament. We can't make it. It's on Sunday morning. We go to church. Were you saying that I shouldn't go either? Right. You're making me feel bad because I'm making like perhaps. Right. Like anytime you create this contrast, people don't like that. It's like I'm feeling judged. I'm feeling like my decisions are being critiqued and this is uncomfortable for people. And when you expose other people's bad decisions, you might get yourself thrown in the fire. You might get yourself canceled. You might get yourself, you know, not invited, disincluded. You might get yourself killed. Guys, this isn't like a back then thing. It's starting to feel like a more new thing for us. Like, because for so long we've grown up just kind of connecting the idea of Christianity and America together. And more and more our country is more post Christian and everybody's talking about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Right. Without doing an explanation of every hot take he's ever given. He boldly professed Christ and he boldly proclaimed a biblical sexual ethic. There's two genders. Homosexuality is sin. And that got labeled hate speech. And you need to be silenced. Does anybody think you need to be silenced? Are you a disruption to corruption anywhere? Has fitting in become the lifestyle of the Christian when it should be standing out that we don't say things because that might be offensive? And in a pluralistic society, the worst evil you could do is offend somebody. So if you have exclusive beliefs and you believe in right and wrong and objective truth and Jesus is the only way that's going to get you in trouble. And it may be new for us, but it's not new for Christians. Throughout history, even today in this world. In fact, since 2009 in Nigeria, over 50,000 Christians have been killed for being Christian. How do you think you would do if you lived in Nigeria? How do you think you would do if you were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Bow or burn. Bow or burn. What's it gonna be. And here's what's disturbing. We're in a situation right now where it's like, okay, somebody got assassinated for saying things that we say. Should we stop saying those things? Like, there's this pressure. This is to conform or to silence. How would you do? Maybe, Maybe that's another thing we think about a lot. But remember, faithfulness in the big things is built on faithfulness in the little things. And the opposite is true too. So listen to me now. Church compromise in the big things is built on compromise in the little things. Do you ever look at our society and be like, how did we get here? It's crazy town. Like, we don't know what a man is. We don't know what a woman is. We got men playing women's sports. We got like all kinds of sexual perversion. Like this crazy. How in the world did we get here? You ever wonder that? You ever hear the phrase and one thing led to another. We didn't get here overnight. I recently was told about this story where there's some outrage because one of the NFL teams has some openly gay cheerleaders on their squad. And it's like, we can't have that. Like, we're just compromising and giving in to evil. And that's evil, guys. It's NFL cheerleaders. They've been violating a biblical sexual ethics for decades. Now we got a problem with it. Like, we don't want gay cheerleaders. Give us the half naked women we're used to. It's really easy to kind of get upset about these extremes. But it's like, we gotta look like there's something underneath that. Like, there's something that that's built upon. We have to look at ourselves. Cause we wanna fight this, like, perverse culture. Transgenderism. Are you kidding me? That's crazy. This homosexuality is ridiculous. Like, how do we fight that while we dress our daughters up like prostitutes for prom? Church people? And you're like, I can't believe he just said that. We're in this situation because people stop saying it. And certain sins got normalized. And then out of those normalized sins, you get these shocking sins. Like, oh, how did that happen? And guess what? Those shocking sins are going to be normal to your kids. It's a whole lot. Did I say something? I missed it? What? Oh, yeah, buddy. We're just getting started. It is like, it's tough to look at yourself. Like, it's super easy to get mad at the sins of this world and not the sins of our own heart. Like, we can be frustrated with how sexually perverse our world has gotten when we grew up watching Will and Grace and laughing about it. It's like, how did that get normalized? And we have to look at ourselves. Because church, I'm telling you, it's a whole lot easier to bow down to the king's statue when your stomach's full of the king's meat. And to hear this talk about revival, it's revival. People are waking up. I hope so. I hope so. I pray for that often. But revival is not just about hating the evil in our world. Yes, hate the evil in our world. But if we're just mad about everything they're doing and we're not disgusted with our own sin and we're not willing to look in the mirror, that's not revival. It's not revival. And revival is not about, we gotta fix our country. Revival is about fixing our worship. And all the problems we're dealing with is a worship problem. All our problems in our country, our society, it's cause we worship the wrong things. We love the wrong things. It's about worship. It's a worship problem. And God's saying, return to me, return to me. You know why you got this problem that you're in Babylon, you didn't worship me. All these problems that you're trying to fix, it's about worship. And you'll be surprised when you return to me how those problems get resolved. We have to get the irony of this story, and to get the irony of this particular story, you have to understand the history of behind it. The reason that the Israelites are in Babylon is because when they were in Israel, guess what they were doing? Worshiping Babylonian gods. So what's the punishment? Hey, if that's who you want to worship, go have your fun. And now the irony. You're in Babylon and you're being forced to worship Babylonian gods. And the only way out is to worship the true God. But it's hard to think that because like, when we were in Israel, we would do it freely. And now we're here, we're in captive, we're slave to our own sins. And it seems like they're the ones in power and we gotta do what they say. And it's like, no, you don't. Not even in Babylon, not even to the king. The only way out of this mess is to worship the true God. And I'm telling you guys, there is a mess in our world and the only way out of it is, is to worship the true God. And the people of influence are not the people in status. There is power in the individual who is faithful, no matter the consequences. Let's read verse 15. He says, now, if you are ready, when you hear the sound, the horn, the pipe, the lyre, the trigon, the harp, the bagpipe, and every kind of music to fall down and worship the image that I have made. Well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast in the burning fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? Little foreshadowing there. But here's what's interesting. What was the punishment for not bowing down to the statue? Not a tricky question. Yeah, death, right? What did. Did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego bow down? Why didn't he kill him? Why does he just throw them right in? Because, guys, death isn't the ultimate goal. Conformity is the ultimate goal, right? So these come to Nebuchadnezzar and they're like, hey, did you not bow down? We're going to strike up the band again and I'm going to give you another chance. And if you do it this time, all's good. Like, we'll just. We'll just forget about the whole thing ever happened and you'll be fine. Why is he giving this chance? Because he's not just out to kill them. He's out to conform them. There's this pressure to conform. You guys track with me on that. Like, that's the goal. I don't want to just kill you. I want you to be a Babylonian. But their response is super telling. And really the lie at the end or the threat is, if you don't join us, you're all alone. Like, what God can save you? Everybody's doing it. Like, there's no God that can rescue. If you don't join in what everybody's doing, you're alone and you will lose. And that's a lie. And here's what they say next. This is awesome. Verse 16. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. Now stop here because this is important. Guys, hear me now. Being faithful to God does not require being understood by people. This is really important because some of us are just trapped in this need to be understood. I want you to get it. I need you to know why I didn't do this and why I do this. I need to justify myself to people that don't see it the way I see it. And we just feel this, like, I have to be understood. But, guys, other people aren't our judge. We don't give an account to them. And this is so beautiful. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Like, I don't have to answer you. Like, I don't care if you don't get it. I don't care if you don't understand. I'm not giving an account to you. And to be a Christian, you need to be willing to lose your reputation. Some people might think you're a bigot, or you're ignorant, or. Or you're unloving. And our response is like, I don't have to answer you. Like, you don't have to get it. I'm not ultimately going to give an account to you. And then he says this. And this is killer. This is. He says, if this be so, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. This is awesome. They're just, like, facing death like, we ain't doing it. I don't care if you throw us in the fire. I don't care if you burn us alive. Ain't happening. And you know where you can go. That was my ad lib. Like, he just. It's in there. It's between the lines. But there's this kind of. This bold, like, we're not doing it. That ought to fire you up. This is faithfulness in the face of consequences. And it's not conditional. It's not like, oh, God, if you get me out of this pinch, I promise, you know, I'm never gonna do that again. Like, it's not this kind of negotiation with God. It's like, no, whatever God does, I'm with him, right? He saves us, he spares us. He's God, and he's worthy to be worshiped no matter what. Even if it doesn't go that way. What mattered to them was obedience more than deliverance. What mattered to them was obedience more than deliverance. Guys, listen. One of the gods of our culture is pragmatism. Like, if it works, great, right? If it works for you, then do it. Whatever works for you, you can figure it out. But it's not about getting results. It's about being faithful to God, no matter the results. That's what it's about. Because He's God. Now, here's some. There's some interesting language going on here. If you look back at verse 17, 18, he's saying, if this be so, our God whom we serve is what able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace? And he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we're not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you've set up. So he's able to do something. He will do something. And even if he doesn't do that, and it's like, what does that refer to? Is it like, even if he doesn't do what we say he will do, or is it even if he doesn't do what we think he's able to do? Here's what he's saying. Our God is capable of saving us from any circumstances you put into us. But even if he doesn't, which we know he's able to do, he will spare us from your hand. What's going on here? Cause they're not just looking at the moment, they're looking at the big picture. Like, even if you kill us, we win. They trust the promises of God through Jeremiah. He says, I know the plans I have for you. Not plans to harm you, but to prosper you. They know the vision that was just told to Nebuchadnezzar in the last chapter. Nebuchadnezzar, your kingdom doesn't last forever, right? There's gonna be another one after that, and another one after that, and another one after that. But we know which kingdom does last forever. It's one cut from stones, not by a human hand. It's the kingdom of God, and it lasts forever. And we're part of that kingdom. So go ahead, kill us. We live forever. Like, they had a confidence beyond their circumstances that gave them boldness in their circumstances. Do whatever you want. We're good. We have faith. He knows how it ends. So put it this way. Trust God in your circumstances by trusting God beyond your circumstances. This life just. It's not all there is. It's not all there is. And what is Nebuchadnezzar threatening them with? Death. Like, the end of this life? It's like, well, that seems kind of final if this life is all there is. Here's what Jesus says. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that, have nothing more they can do. And you're like, nothing more. That seems like quite a lot, right? But I will warn you Whom You. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear him, who after he has killed. So there's something after death, has the authority to cast you into hell? Yes. I tell you, fear him. So this life isn't all there is. And there's some good things that can happen after death. And there's some bad things that can happen after death. And he's saying, don't fear this temporary people. Don't buy into temporary power, temporary threats, temporary death. Fear the Eternal One who is powerful over it all and has power over eternity. He's saying, direct your fear there, guys. The fear of death enslaves us. It enslaves us. When you think this life is all there is, you're a slave to it because you live for it. I gotta win now. I gotta get everything out of it now. I gotta be fulfilled now. I gotta get my joy now. I just gotta get it all. Like, now is all that I have. So I'm just. I'm just a slave to it. But this life isn't all there is. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't fear death because they feared God. Or you could put it this way. They didn't fear death because they feared God. God and his promises were more real to them than their fiery furnace. The fiery furnace is pretty real. But the promises of God were stronger in their heart. They knew that that wasn't the end. And God shows us just how it really is. Let me finish. Let me finish the chapter. Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury. And the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats and their other garments. And they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king's order was urgent. And the fiery. The furnace overheated. It wasn't the only thing overheating. Nebby was overheating. He's just emotionally just racked. He's just making some rash decisions, Right? And the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell, bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, did we not cast three men into the fire? They answered and said to the king. True, O king. He answered and said, but I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. And the appearance of the fourth is like the son of the gods. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace and declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God. It's like. Now you get it. You remember. Come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps and prefects and governors and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not, not had any power over the bodies of the men. The hair on their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire came upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, and who trust in him and set aside the king's command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any God except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree. Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses shall be laid ruins, for there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the providence of the Babylon. Now, a few things to point out. Notice that there is a change in Babylonian national policy. There was a decree. Everybody worshiped the statue. Then after their faithfulness, there was decree. It's like, nobody talk bad about Daniel's God. There's a switch in national policy. But this isn't a story about Babylonian revival because they continue to be awful. Like, the book will continue. They don't get it right. They're gonna keep being Babylon. But you do see an impact. This is, and I would say secondarily, this is about personal faithfulness and the impact that it has. Like, if you're faithful to God, it does have a public impact. It does make a difference. Like, just don't do that. Don't engage in that. Don't go there. Don't talk, like, be different. Create a contrast. And we get frustrated in this world. It's like, why do they keep scheduling you sports on Sunday mornings? Because y' all Keep going to them, right? Why do they keep making such trashy TV shows? Because y' all keep watching them. Why do we just keep engaging in these things? He's saying, create. Create a contrast. And there is power in personal holiness to make a public impact, but that's secondary. The main point of this text is about God's ability to save. You see it so clearly in this story. Why do they describe all the clothes that they're wearing when they throw them into the fire? That these men were bound in their cloaks and their tunics and their hats and. And there are other garments. What do we know about all that material? Yeah, it's combustible. But then you get over and you see that. Where am I at? That this fire had no. Had any power over their bodies of these men. The hair on their heads were not singed, their cloaks were not harmed. No smell of fire had come upon them. Like it just had no impact on them. And he makes this clear contrast that God is able to miraculously save. You are clothed in fire material. It didn't even sing your hair. You don't even smell like fire and church. I'm telling you, we are clothed in sin. That damns us to hell. It'll light, it'll burn. But because of Jesus Christ, there's not a trace of sin on you. You don't even smell like a sinner. It had no effect. Like, this is clearly telling us about God's ability to save. And there is a lesson in how he saves them. He could have just like, shot some lightning bolts, dropped down there. Ain't happening. Flung a sword, and we'd have a great Bible story, right? He could have directed the heart of the king that we know he does. In proffered, he could have just led Nebuchadnezzar's heart to say, like, no, these guys get a pass. They've helped me out in the past. The whole dream thing, they don't need to do that. Doesn't apply to them. But he doesn't. Instead, what does he do? He joins them in the fire. He enters their consequences, their judgment. That sound familiar? And Nebuchadnezzar doesn't know how right he is in verse 29. Look at verse 29 again. Therefore, I make a decree. Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, their houses laid to ruins. For there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. He doesn't know how right he is. Because, yes, anybody that does not recognize the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, there is judgment for you. And if you want unity, all the peoples, nations and languages, here's how you find unity. Not bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar's image, but bowing down to Daniel's God, the one true God. Because someday every tongue, tribe, and nation will worship him. And there is no other God who can rescue in this way. What other God enters our consequences? What other God takes on our judgment and punishment? Our God, Jesus Christ got on a cross and took our punishment for us. And we can climb out of the fire because he got in it. Like this is showing us how great our God is. And listening, knowing that empowers us to be faithful in the face of a lot of pressure from an unfaithful world. Because Jesus Christ didn't just save us from the consequences of death, he saved us from the fear of death. Nebuchadnezzar did not have any influence over Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He didn't scare them. And a fiery furnace would be pretty scary. But who did they fear more? God. Who did they trust more? God. Did they believe in his everlasting kingdom? Yes. That gave him boldness. It's the boldness from faith that our God wins in the end. Do you have that kind of boldness that's rooted in that kind of faith? To live is Christ and to die is what gain? Oh, death, where is your victory? Where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory over sin through Christ Jesus our Lord. What can separate us from the love of Christ? Death? No. We're more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Do you have that kind of swagger as a believer in a broken world? That's like, you can burn me alive. I don't care. I ain't doing it. I'm not going along with that. Do you have that kind of swagger from a faith that's rooted in Christ Jesus and his finished work on the cross? Do you believe his promises? Because here's what's going to happen in communion, guys. We got to get this right. Every time we take communion, it's like pouring gas in the tank. You're reminded of who Christ is and what he's done, what he's accomplished. And you're also reminding what it cost him. And if they hated him, what do you think they'll think of you? But what has he done for you? He's finished. You're forgiven. So I want us to take some time. When you look at cracker and some juice that represents Christ's sacrifice for us, slow down. Think about what it's saying, think about what it means. And you're partaking of communion. I want it to be a meaningful declaration. So before you take communion and before you stand to sing, I want your standing to sing. To say, I'm with Jesus, no matter the cost, no matter the consequences, no matter what anyone else thinks with Jesus. He's my savior. He's my king. And even if the cancer takes me, and even if I lose my job, and even if people misunderstand me, and even if it costs me financially, even if it costs me socially, I'm with Jesus Christ. And if you got a church of people saying that, then that kind of personal faithfulness will make a public impact. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you would wake us up, wake us up to who you are and what you've done. That we would stop fiddling around with lukewarm devotion and we would take a stand, no matter the cost. But not in our own strength, but because of your promises that we would no longer fear people on this side of the grave. We no longer fear those who could put us in the grave. But we would be so captivated by you, who has taken us out of the grave and given us life and life everlasting. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.