Greg Laurie - Staying Cool when Things Get Hot (09/03/2017)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
Pastor Greg Laurie shares the powerful story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from Daniel 1-3, showing how these young men stayed faithful to God amid intense pressure and a literal fiery furnace. Their early decisions to honor God prepared them to boldly refuse to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's idol, trusting God could save them—even if He didn't. The key takeaway: make firm commitments now so you can stand strong when trials heat up, because Jesus walks with us in the fire.
Staying Cool When Things Get Hot
I want you to grab your Bibles right now. We are going to be looking at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. One of my favorite stories in all of the Bible. The title of the message is, Staying Cool When Things Get Hot. So turn to Daniel chapter 1. And that is where we will begin. But let's have a word of prayer.
Father, now as we open Your Word and look at this amazing story—truly one of the greatest stories ever told—we pray for those of us that have read it before, we have heard it before. That we would see it with new eyes. That we would see, Lord, how these lessons that we can learn from these teenagers from ancient times are so relevant to today. And for those, Lord, who have never heard it, we just pray that You will speak to them through it. We commit this time of Bible study to You now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
You know it's been said, Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don't know what they are made of until you put them in hot water. Maybe you are in hot water right now. And by that I mean, maybe you are going through what we might describe as a fiery trial. Or a red hot temptation.
Here is the good news. You are not the first person to have gone through it. Nor will you be the last. And you are not alone in your trial. Here is something to consider. Going through a trial and or a temptation is actually a confirmation that you are a Christian on the right track.
Trials Confirm You're on the Right Path
If you were to say to me, "You know Greg is a Christian. I can't remember the last time I was tempted." My response would be, "What is wrong with you?" Seriously. The devil will set his sights on those that are a threat to the kingdom of God. So you should not be surprised or shocked if you are tempted. Or if you are tested.
In fact, 1 Peter 4:12 says, "Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Be happy, even if you are insulted for being a Christian. For then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you."
We are told over in 1 Corinthians, "There is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man." In other words, you might be thinking, "No one has ever been tempted by what I am being tempted by right now." Actually, people have been tempted by that before. You might be surprised. "No one has ever gone through the trial I am going through right now." No, actually, there are people who have gone through that trial—and probably worse.
So here before us is an amazing story of three very familiar Bible characters: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They went through a literal fiery trial as they were cast into a furnace of fire because they would not bow down before a false image. It is a story of how they stood up for what was right ahead of time, even at the risk of losing their lives. And that gave them the strength to make this stand later on in life.
Here is what we all need to know. Hardship, temptation, tragedy, the loss of a loved one will come one day into your life. And trials and temptations will come too. So I suggest you take steps now to be prepared for that. Don't say "that will never happen to me" because newsflash, it is going to happen to you. Because life is filled with pain. Now granted, some have more than others. But every life will have some.
Prepare Now Like Squirrels Store Nuts
Sort of like squirrels. You know, they prepare for the future. They store up those little nuts and they have them all ready for when winter comes. And we, like those little squirrels, should gather this truth into our hearts. So we are prepared for when trials come our way.
At the Harvest Crusade this year, we had Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty out. And we had a really interesting conversation in the back room before we went on the stage. And somehow we got on the topic of cooking squirrels. And I have never cooked a squirrel, nor have I ever eaten a squirrel. But as you may know, if you watch the program Duck Dynasty, Phil and his family love squirrels and frogs and all kinds of interesting things that we probably don't eat.
And so somehow we got on the topic of making a squirrel casserole. And I have it on video. Now I want to say, it has no spiritual value whatsoever. It is a random conversation about cooking squirrels. But some of you might be very sensitive to this sort of thing. So how many of you want to see the video? Raise your hand. Okay. How many of you don't want to see it? You don't want to see it. It just drives the key. Ma'am, close your eyes. I am sorry to say you have been outvoted.
So here's Phil and I in our very edifying conversation about cooking squirrels. Look at the screen. (video plays) "Size on record is saying, my brother, that the best meat anywhere, supermarkets, in the wild, tame, is squirrel." "Really? Squirrel, it's delicious." "Is it kind of like oily or something?" "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. No, it's, uh... Why would I compare it to... Mmm... It's hard to compare a squirrel to anything." "He's a rat, Greg. I'm just saying." "You know, in Thailand, they eat the rats. We're just a big rat." "But the bottom line is, he eats acorns." "So you say, well, acorns, he's a vegetarian." "Yeah. So he's not like..." "Yeah. But they are really good. If they're young, you can just chicken fry them. If they're a little older, we make, like, squirrel and dumplings." "Yeah. And a squirrel en grave, we put them in a big black pot." "Wow." "We'll have, like, a... The squirrel, they take the bones out and all?" "No, no. You just fry them and take them out, pour the grease off. You put a layer of squirrel and mushroom and onions, a layer of squirrel and mushroom and onions, and a layer of squirrel." "Yeah. A layer of squirrel. A layer of squirrel." "Put them in the oven at about 300 degrees for about an hour and a half, two hours. And they'll just come right off the bone. They're delicious." "When you skinned it, it was so weird looking on your show. And it still looks like the squirrel, just without the fur." "You know, some animals, when you skin them, there's not much. It's just like the little squirrel. It's like, that is insane looking." "Basically, all they eat is nuts. So they're a very clean animal. And they live in the trees, you know, and eat pecans and acorns. So if you think about it, he'd have to be good to eat. But they're delicious."
Was that a blessing? They eat acorns. And or acorns. Now, I've completely lost my momentum and my message because I showed you that stupid video. All right, so coming back to what we're talking about, moving on from eating squirrels.
Decide Early – Character Is Built in Small Moments
Everyone is going to face temptation. And as you get older, you're going to face greater challenges. So I think it's a good thing to decide now how you're going to face the temptations that will come then. They should not come as a surprise to you. Phillips Brooks said, "Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it's made in the small ones."
So we decide now the kind of decision or stand we're going to make then. It's not unlike building a house. You know, when you build a house, the most important time is when you lay the foundation, and when you put in the electrical, and you put in the plumbing. I know it's more fun to do the design part, and the painting, and the wallpapering, and such. But that is not really essential to the house. Because if you don't get the foundation right, all of the decorating in the world will not compensate for it.
And life is the same. The most important time in our life, in many ways, it's a time of our youth. Because it's there that we set our course, and habits are developed. It's in youth that we determine the course that our life will take. Decisions that will affect us for the rest of our lives. Our career choice, our marriage choice, seeds are sown that will be reaped in the years that are ahead.
And that's one of the reasons why, in our Harvest Crusades, we have continued to reach out to young people. Because the way I see it, is if we miss reaching them, we're missing it all together. Most people make their commitment to follow Christ before the age of 17.
Why Reaching Young People Matters Most
And why is it important to reach a person when they're young? Well, because young people are open to change. They're flexible. They even embrace change. One of the most common things you'll hear a younger person say is, "I'm bored." They like things going on. In contrast, when you're older, you look forward to routine. You look forward to a dull evening at home. Right? You go to the same restaurant, and you sit in the same seat, and you order the same thing off the same menu.
Sometimes I'll go out with my wife to a restaurant, and we've been there before, and she'll ask to see the menu. And I'll say, "Why are you even asking? You're going to order..." And I tell her. And then she goes, "No." And she asks all these questions, and then she orders what she ordered last time. That's what happens when you get older. It's just the way that it is. You take comfort in your routine.
Now here's the thing. You will develop habits in life that can be good or bad, depending on what kind of habits they are. If they're bad habits, then that will be troublesome. If they're good habits, that will be great. As a young Christian, I developed the habit of reading my Bible every day. Of starting the day with the Word of God. That's a good habit. I also developed the habit of biting my fingernails. That is a bad habit.
So we develop these habit patterns that we carry on through life. In the early years, the die is cast, the course is charted, and then the path is followed. Listen. You will decide the evening of your life by the morning of it. The end by the beginning. It's not some mystical thing you have nothing to say about. You decide.
For instance, maybe you're young, and you're not married yet, and you're wondering how you're going to make it to the day of your marriage without having sex before. You might ask the question, "Well what if I'm tempted to have sex before I'm married?" Well, I'm just going to tell you, you will be tempted to do that. But you're going to decide right now what you're going to do when that temptation comes. Not in the back seat of the car, but in the front seat of the church. You decide now. I'm going to live in a certain way. I'm going to set up certain safeguards in my life, and I'm going to be super careful.
Listen. Nobody falls into bed by accident. You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get to that place. And you know exactly what you're doing, and the steps leading up to it. You decide now what's going to happen on that day when temptation comes into your life.
Daniel and Friends' Early Stand in Babylon
Well, coming back to Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel, who are featured in the story. They were ready to face the big stuff later because of decisions they made earlier in life. So let's find out a little bit more about them before we read some verses together.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were teenagers, and they were also Israelites. They ended up as captives in Babylon. How did that take place? Well, through the years, the Jewish people had this propensity to turn to false gods. They would turn from the true and living God and worship the idols of the other nations. And the Lord would raise up prophets to warn them again and again to turn from these idols. But the Israelites didn't listen.
And the Lord even got specific and raised up Jeremiah to tell them if they did not stop in their idol worship, God was going to judge them and allow another nation to defeat them in battle and take them as captives. Not only did God tell them this would happen, He even told them what nation would do it before it happened.
Jeremiah's Warning and Babylon's Conquest
Jeremiah 25:8 says, "The Lord says, 'Because you have not listened to Me, I am going to gather together the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as My deputy. I will bring them against this land and its people and against the other nations near you.'"
But they blew that off. They ignored the warnings of God. And then, just as the Lord predicted, along comes Babylon, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar. He overtakes the Israelites, and he hauls them off to Babylon as captives.
You know, I can't help but think of our own country. I believe the Lord is giving us warnings as well. How long will we continue in America to thumb our nose at God? How long will we continue to mock Christians and mock the Word of God? Do you not think that God could allow another nation to defeat us? Do you not think that we could reap the inevitable consequences of our sin? I am telling you, we could. And I believe the Lord is warning our nation. And as I have often said, I think we have two options before us in America. It is judgment or revival. And I hope it is the latter, not the former.
Well, they were defeated and hauled off to Babylon. Now, it is an interesting thing. God said, "You guys love idols? I am going to give you idols." Man, I am taking you to idol central.
From Manna Complaints to Fiery Furnace
It reminds me of a story of the Israelites after they were delivered by God out of Egypt, and they are making their way through the wilderness. And they are missing the days of the meat and the garlic and the leeks and onions they used to eat back in Egypt. They started saying, "Man, we miss the old food we used to eat. All we have is this stinking manna every day. What is for breakfast? Manna. What is for lunch? Manna. Dinner? Again, manna. Dessert? You got it. Manna. We have tried all of Moses' recipes. Manna-cotti. Manna meatloaf. Manna sandwiches. But manna splits. We have tried it all. And we are tired. We miss the leeks and the garlics and the onions." Man, their breath must have stunk.
But here is the funny thing. But most of all we miss meat. We want meat. And so they were crying out for God to send them meat. And Moses prayed. And God gave them what they wanted. And the Bible says it rained quail out of heaven. And these guys wouldn't even wait until the bird was dead. They were grabbing the live quail and eating them. Now I heard that Ozzy Osbourne once bit the head off a bat. But this is sick. I don't know if it is as good as squirrel. But they were eating quail. And it turned bitter in their mouth. And the scripture says the Lord gave them the request but sent leanness to their souls.
Listen. Careful what you ask for. You might get it. And that is why I always like to say in my prayer, "Not my will but Yours be done." I have never felt I should impose my will on God because I might be praying for the wrong thing. God gave them what they wanted. So the Israelites wanted idols. God says, "You want idols? Folks, I will give you more idols than you can shake a stick at." So off they go to Babylon.
Now they are under the Babylonian captivity. The powerful King Nebuchadnezzar makes a call for some of Israel's finest young men. He wants the brightest and the best. He wants to indoctrinate them. He wants to brainwash them in the ways of Babylon. He wants them to abandon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and instead worship the gods of Babylon. And this is what is happening now in the story before us.
Daniel's Resolve – No Compromise on Food
So let's read Daniel chapter 1. I am going to read verses 1 to 8. And I am reading from the New Living Translation.
During the third year of King Jehoiakim's reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took with him some of the sacred objects from the temple of God and placed them in the treasure house of his God in the land of Babylonia.
Then the king ordered Aspenaz, who was in charge of the palace officials, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah's royal family and other noble families who had been brought to Babylon as captives.
Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men, he said. Make sure they are well-versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good sense, and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians.
And the king assigned them a daily ration of the best food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for a three year period. And so now their names are identified. They would be Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were the four young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah.
And the chief officer renamed them with these Babylonian names. Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. And Azariah was called Abednego.
Now look at verse 8. Very important verse. Daniel made up his mind to not defile himself by eating the food and wine given to him by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead.
So we will stop there. So it is believed by many commentators that the ages of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel were from somewhere from 14 to 19 years old. So they are very young. And these are good Jewish boys. They have been raised by their parents in the way of the Lord. That is reflected in the names that they were given. Because each of their original names contained some form of the name of God, Jehovah.
Daniel's name meant "God is my judge." And he was given a new Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, which means "the god Bel favors." So he was named after a false god. Hananiah, his name meant "beloved of the Lord." His name is changed to Shadrach, which means "illuminated by the sun god." Mishael, his name meant "who is he that is like God." His name is changed to Meshach, which means "who is what the moon god is." And finally, Azariah, his name meant "the Lord is my help." His name is changed to Abednego, which means "a servant of Nego," another false god.
Facing Temptation in Luxury and Pressure
So these young men, their world as they knew it changed overnight. Torn away from their moms and dads. And they are placed in this alien culture of paganism and unparalleled luxury. Up to this point they would have lived in simple conditions. Now they are in the very palace of the most powerful man on the face of the earth, Nebuchadnezzar. And ancient Babylon was a wonder to behold. In fact, the hanging gardens of Babylon are identified as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Babylon was just filled with jaw-dropping opulence.
But there was no reverence for the Lord in this place. Everyone cowered in fear in the presence of this powerful man, Nebuchadnezzar. And I don't know if this has happened to some of you. Maybe your world has changed recently. You were going a certain direction and now you are going a different direction. Maybe you just headed off to college. And that is a whole new world for you. Not exactly a world that is necessarily supportive of your Christian values. Or maybe your business has sent you to a different city. Or you are stationed overseas. Or wherever you are.
But here is what you need to know. Wherever you go, God goes with you. He doesn't live in one place. He is present with all of His children. And you need to also know God has not forgotten about you. Yes Nebuchadnezzar could change their names. But he couldn't change their hearts. They had a God to serve and a stand to make.
And listen. These guys were facing heavy duty temptation. The world was their oyster. They were given the finest education. Before them were the most delicious foods and wine in the entire world. Nebuchadnezzar was hoping that these young men would be seduced by all of this luxury. More than one head has been turned by this for sure.
You know I look at all these young kids that go into Hollywood wanting to be a star. And I think of many of them who made a profession of faith when they went in and got themselves that first job. And I see how many of them have been corrupted by that culture. And they end up sometimes being worse off than some outright non-believers are. And it is a tragic thing. You see this machine of Hollywood that chews these young people up and spits them out wanting to sexualize these young girls and take these young boys and get them going in the wrong direction. It just happens over and over again.
So that is the kind of challenge that Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel were facing. Now they could have just kicked back and said, "Hey man, when in Babylon live like the Babylonians. It is all good right?" But there was a problem. They would not eat of the king's table.
It is interesting. They made a stand in a relatively small area. They said we are not going to eat of this food served at this table. Now why is that? Because in their mind it was a compromise. Look at verse 8. Daniel made up his mind to not defile himself by eating the food and wine given to him by the king.
Now here is the question. How would Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be defiling themselves to eat of this delicious food? I don't know for sure. But I think maybe it is because this food was perhaps forbidden in the Mosaic Law. It might have been things that a good Jewish boy shouldn't eat. Or secondly, it may be because some of these foods were offered to false gods. Maybe Nebuchadnezzar dedicated the food at his table to his God.
But in their minds this was a compromise. Sometimes there are things we simply choose to not do as a Christian. I don't think we should ask the question, "Can I do this and still be a Christian?" Because that is dangerous. When people come up to me and ask, "Can I still do this and be a Christian?" Like what is with that question? What they should be saying is, "I am a Christian. What can I do to be closer to God?"
See the Bible says, all things are permissible, but not all things build me up spiritually. The Bible says, all things are permissible, but I don't want to be brought under the power of anything. So it is not so much, "Can I technically do this and still be saved?" But rather, if I do this thing, is it possible that it could bring me under its power? Or if I do this thing, is it possible that it could be a bad witness to others? Or can I do this thing and still give glory to God?
You know, so I would say, as you are going up for the evening, and you are going to do whatever you are going to do, if you can pray, "Lord, hallowed be Thy name," over it, then you are good to go. Yeah, we are going to go out and party and get drunk? Okay, just pray, "Lord bless us as we party and get drunk." Are you good with that? Yeah, I am. Then you are messed up. Because if you have a working conscience and an understanding of Scripture, you will know that is not something a Christian ought to be doing.
Convictions and Romans 14 Principle
Now here is where it gets really tricky. Sometimes we will have a conviction as a Christian that someone else does not necessarily have. For one person, their conviction might be, "I really don't feel comfortable doing this." And another Christian will say, "Oh, don't be such a wuss, man. Come on. Toughen up. Just do it." Wait a second. The Bible says this. Romans 14:23. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Or as another translation puts it, "Anyone who believes that something he wants to do is wrong, shouldn't do it. He sins if he does. For if he thinks it is wrong for him, it is wrong."
See? So for these guys, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel, in their hearts, they felt eating of the king's table was a compromise. And by the way, that was the way to get ahead in Babylon. I mean, hey, you are invited to the boss's table? And you are going to tell the boss man, "I don't want to eat your food"? There is always a temptation to maybe lower our standards in order to extend our reach. The temptation to maybe cut a corner to advance. Tell that little lie, or cheat on that test, or lie on that resume. You have rationalized it. It will be a good thing. I will have more money to support my family. No. If you compromise now, you will regret it later.
Plus, there was the intimidation factor. This was Nebuchadnezzar, man. With just a word. A snap of his fingers. You would be missing your head. So this was risky. In fact, we know from the account in Scripture that after he captured the king of Israel, he had the king's sons killed before his father. And then he gouged out the king's eyes. So the last thing the king saw was the death of his own boys. That is a cruel man, Nebuchadnezzar. This is the guy they were under. And yet they made this stand for God. And you have to admire it.
And we are going to see how this stand that they made in a relatively small thing helped them to make a stand in a much more difficult thing later in life. Verse 8, Daniel made up his mind to not defile himself. I actually like the King James translation of this verse. It says, "Daniel purposed in his heart." I think that is what we need more of today. Purpose.
It has been said, "Dare to be a Daniel. Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm. Dare to make it known." Are you a person of purpose? Paul wrote to Timothy and he said, "You have fully known my purpose." What is your purpose? In other words, what do you live for? What gets your heart beating? What gets your blood pumping? What fires you up? Everybody lives for something.
Paul said "for me to live is Christ." Paul also said "my determined purpose in life is to know Him." What is your determined purpose in life? To have fun? It is for some people. It is all about having fun. Let's just have fun. I don't care. Let's just have fun. Or maybe you are chasing after pleasure. Or maybe it is all about success. I just want to succeed. I just want to make money.
Well listen. If you chase after those things, it is going to be problematic for sure. You should not be seeking happiness, but holiness. If you seek after happiness, you will end up being a miserable person. The most unhappy people are people that live to be happy. But if you seek to be holy, and by holy I mean seek to be a godly man or a godly woman, then you will find happiness will come in your life as a byproduct.
Don't seek pleasure. Seek purpose. Don't seek success. Seek significance.
The Vegetable Test and God's Blessing
So Daniel struck a deal with the guy in charge. The guy who was serving the food. He said, "Look, buddy. My boys and I, we can't eat this food, okay? So here is what we want to do. You guys all eat whatever you want. And we are going to eat vegetables and water for ten days. And in the end we will see who did the right thing."
Now this chief official actually really admired these four Hebrew teenagers. And Daniel 1:9 says, "God had given the chief official great respect for Daniel." He thought, "You know, I like you guys. You have conviction." You know, when you take a stand for the Lord on principle, a lot of times even non-Christians are impressed. You know, they might say, "Hey, I don't agree with you, but I appreciate it."
I saw the weirdest video the other day. Gene Simmons from Kiss. You know Kiss, the band? Gene Simmons in an interview defending Tim Tebow. And Gene Simmons is an avowed atheist. He is not a Christian at all. I don't know if he even believes there is a God. But Gene Simmons was defending Tim Tebow because of the stand that he made on his conviction. And he was pointing out the hypocrisy and the double standards out there of how if he had been any other faith or religion he would have never been harassed or hassled. But because he believes in Christ, people laugh at him and give him a hard time. And he was sticking up for them. And I thought that is a great example of how even a non-believer will respect someone of conviction.
And I appreciate Tim Tebow's conviction and his faith in Christ. Maybe he is not the best quarterback on earth, but I will tell you what. He is a good representative of our faith. And that is a lot more important than being a great quarterback. But he is pretty good though.
So they asked the chief official, "Look, just cut us some slack. And it will turn out okay." And the guy says to him, "Guys, listen, if this doesn't work out and if you are all sick looking, you know what? I am going to be beheaded. So I hope this works." And Daniel says, "Listen, don't panic. It is organic." All right? Everything is going to be okay. Daniel didn't say that. I threw that in. I want to see if you are paying attention.
So everybody else is chowing down on all this food from the king's table. It was probably really rich and luxurious and the finest meats and squirrels from around the world. And all kinds of cheeses and things to drink. And there is Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel eating. They are like little, you know, bean sprouts and water. And it is like there is no way they are going to be as healthy as everybody else.
But when it was all said and done, they were not only as healthy, they were healthier. So they made the stand in the little area. And this reminds us that a little with God is better than a lot without Him.
You know, what do we really miss as Christians when we get up that merry-go-round of selfishness and drinking and drugs and illicit sex and parties and all the rest? You know, people say, "Oh man, you are missing out. You are such a loser." Okay, I will tell you what. Let's check back with each other in ten years. Okay? I am going to go my way and you go your way. You go party central. I am going to follow the Lord. And I am going to serve God. And let's see how things turn out in ten years. I already know how that is going to end. Because you are going to come through that and you look at the way some people are physically ravaged by the choices they make. Not to mention the effects on their lives and on their marriages and then ultimately on their children. And it just goes on and on.
And so they made this stand in this little area and God blessed them for it.
From Dream Interpretation to the Golden Idol
So here they are. Things are going pretty well. They are hanging out in the palace. They have access to the king. They are actually his trusted advisors. One night the king has a troubling dream. And so he wakes up all of his astrologers and his magicians. They are on the palace payroll. And he says, "Listen guys. I had a dream that freaked me out. And you have got to interpret it for me."
So they say, "Okay. Tell us what the dream is and we will interpret it." He said, "Hey, if you were really legit you would know what the dream is. I shouldn't have to tell you the dream. You tell me the dream and the interpretation." They said, "We don't know what your dream is or was." And he said, "Oh, you are all a bunch of charlatans and liars." And he gave the order, "Everybody has to be executed. All my advisors are to be put to death."
Well, Daniel heard about this. He said, "Listen, tell the king to relax. I will interpret the dream." So Daniel comes down to the king's presence and says, "Okay, king. Here is what you dream. You dream of a giant statue. Right? Am I right?" "Yeah, that is it." "Okay. The statue had a head of gold, had arms of silver, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron, feet and clay. Am I good so far?" "Exactly."
"Okay. Here is what that means. You are represented as the head of gold. You see. And you are going to be overtaken by another nation represented by chest and arms of silver. So one day Babylon is going to be defeated by Cyrus and the Medo-Persians. And then on it is going to go as one force overthrows another."
Well, Nebuchadnezzar was blown away. He says, "Man, you got it. That is exactly what I dreamt." And he said in Daniel 2:47, "Your God is the God of Gods. The Lord over kings. A revealer of mysteries. For you have been able to reveal this secret."
Now, you would have thought right there on the spot, Nebuchadnezzar would have believed in God. Not at all. In fact, he did the very opposite.
The Golden Statue and the Refusal to Bow
Now here is where it gets interesting. Daniel sort of exits the narrative. And the focus goes on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. We do not know where Daniel was at this point. Daniel has interpreted the dream. The king is totally misunderstood. As chapter 3 of Daniel opens, the king has erected a statue. Ninety feet tall. Covered in gold. A statue of himself.
Instead of understanding that the dream was about the demise of his own kingdom. And he is only represented in the head of gold. Instead he makes a whole statue of gold. And then he takes it even further and says, "So this is a statue representing me that came from my dream. And I want everyone to bow down before this statue and worship it." And that was an order that was given to everyone in the kingdom.
He said we are going to have a big celebration. And this became the number one show in Babylon. In fact it was the only show in Babylon. It was called Babylonian Idol. So you would come and you would sing. And there were three judges. No wrong show. No. But this idol show, if you will, involved music as well. That of an orchestra or a band in place. Where the band cranked up the idol theme song for the king. You were supposed to bow.
So imagine the scene now. We are talking about thousands and thousands of people bowing before this image. And there is one problem. There is three that will not bow. Three teenagers. They stuck out like three sore thumbs. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I love these guys. That took courage.
You want to talk about peer pressure. Everybody bowed. Everybody. But these three young men stood their ground. They were good Jewish boys. And they knew what the Ten Commandments were. And they knew that commandment number one is to have no other gods before Him. Commandment number two is to not have a graven image. So this is a violation of two of the Ten Commandments. They thought there is no way. We are going to bow before an image of Nebuchadnezzar. That would be blatant idolatry.
And so the king's advisers rat them out. Now this is ironic because the fact is because Daniel interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar all these advisers lived. But now they rat them out probably because they were jealous of the insights of these things. These three Hebrew holy boys.
So the king summons them into his court. Going to give them a second chance. He thought, oh, they just misunderstood. Besides, I like these kids, man. They are great. They have conviction.
So he said, "Now guys, I don't think you fully understood what I was asking you to do. Because I appreciate you, I am going to give you another chance." Daniel 3:14. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I am going to give you one more chance. If you will bow down and worship the statue that I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments, all will be well. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. What God will be able to rescue you from my power then?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if He doesn't, your majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
And I love that. So let me loosely paraphrase. They said, "Look, let's just get one thing straight. We ain't bowing. Okay? It is not going to happen. So that is the bottom line. Now God may rescue us. And God may not rescue us. But we are still not going to bow."
Standing Firm – No Bowing to Idols
Now listen to this. Every Christian will come to a situation similar to this at some point in life. Is it to bow before a gold statue? Well maybe not exactly. But to bow before something. What is an idol? The Bible says, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." What is an idol? Is it an image I bow before? Of course it is. But listen to this. An idol, or a god with a small g, is anyone or anything that takes the place of God in your life.
So an idol can be a person. An idol can be a relationship. An idol can be your car. An idol can be your house. An idol can be your career. An idol can be your physique. An idol can be you fill in the blank. It is something that is more important to you than God himself. And it is something that you effectively bow before and make compromises in your faith. "Oh man, if I don't compromise here, I will lose this relationship or I won't be able to do this other thing. So I will go ahead and lower my standards."
And they would not bow. Despite the fact that everyone in Babylon bowed, they stood up straight. They figured better to burn on earth and bow in heaven than to bow on earth and burn in hell. For them it was win-win. See, as Paul said, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Win-win. If I live, I will serve the Lord. If I die, I will serve the Lord and go to heaven. So whatever happens, happens. It is in God's hands. And that is effectively what they were saying to the king.
And I will tell you what, he did not like it one single bit.
There is a story from the pages of church history of a courageous Christian during the days of the Roman Empire who was arrested for being a follower of Christ and a preacher of the gospel. And he was told to renounce his faith. This Christian was brought before the emperor of Rome. And the emperor said, "Give up Christ and if you do not, I will banish you." The Christian said, "You can't banish me from Christ. For God says, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'" The ruler said, "I will confiscate your property." The Christian said, "My treasures are laid up in heaven. You can't touch them." The emperor said, "Then I will kill you." And the Christian said, "I have been dead to the world in Christ for forty years. My life is hid with Christ in God. You can't touch it."
The emperor turned to other members of his court and said to discuss, "What can you do with such a fanatic?" I will tell you what you can do with them. Pray we get a lot more of them. This is what we need today folks. People that will make a stand so often. We will compromise. We will bend. We will cave in. Because it is not politically correct. Or it is not popular. Or whatever. But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they made their stand.
Thrown into the Furnace – But Not Alone
Well the king was so mad. In subordination on the part of these three Jewish teenagers. His furnace was hot. But he was hotter. And nobody defies him like this. So the narrative picks up. Daniel 3:19. Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. And he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
They tied them up. They threw them into the furnace. Fully clothed. And because the king and his anger had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, securely tied, fell down into the roaring flames.
I love this part. Look at verse 24. Suddenly, as he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisors, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?" "Yes, they said, we did, your majesty." He says, "Look, I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They are not even hurt by the flames. And the fourth looks like the Son of God."
Well, that is a great story. That is a great story. So the title of this message is Staying Cool When Things Get Hot. You wonder, "Could I ever make a stand like that?" Well, as I said earlier, you make the decisions today about the decisions you are going to make later in life. Tests are going to come.
And know this. God will never give you more than you can handle. Temptation is always graded to the fiber of your life. I mentioned 1 Corinthians 10 a little bit earlier. "There is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man." And then it continues on to say, "But God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it."
Listen, when God lets His children go through fiery trials, He always keeps one eye on them and a finger on the thermostat. He will never let it get too hot. So don't worry about that. "Oh, I could never handle this." Hey, if God put you there, you could handle it. So He knows.
But there will be temptations. There will be trials. There will be hardships. And you may not have the strength today to face them. But when that temptation or testing comes, you will have the strength then. You won't have it before. You will never have it after. But you will always have it when you need it.
Jesus in the Fire – Our Constant Companion
But here is the secret of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The key to their courage and calmness in the fire was their companion. Who was their companion? Take a wild guess. I agree with you. Jesus.
This is what we might describe as a Christophany. A Christophany is a fancy theological word to describe an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. See, Jesus Christ, being God, is eternal. He has always existed. And though He was physically born in the manger in Bethlehem, we know He has always been. He was there with the Father at creation. He has always been and He always will be.
And Jesus makes, I don't know if we want to call them guest appearances, but He shows up in different places in the Old Testament. And this is clearly one of them. Now I don't think that Nebuchadnezzar was saying "the fourth looks like the son of God," because he wouldn't have used verbiage like that. A better translation of it would be, "he looks like a son of the gods." I think Nebuchadnezzar thought it was one of his crazy Babylonian gods.
But I'll tell you this much. That fourth guy walking around in the fire was a force to be reckoned with. And Nebuchadnezzar was impressed and in awe.
Maybe you are in the fiery trial right now. Maybe you are in the hot water of temptation. Here is what you need to know. You are not alone. Jesus is with you every step of the way.
Isaiah 43:2, God says, "When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. When you pass through the rivers, I'll not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze."
Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." So we may boldly say the Lord is my helper. And I will not fear what man will do to me. Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you even to the end of the world."
You know, when people go through hardship, what happens is they have a choice. They are either going to hold on to God for dear life, or in some cases they are going to turn away from God. The testings and trials of life will make you better or bitter.
And I have talked to many people who have lost loved ones. They have lost spouses, and they have lost children. And they have come to me because they know that our son went to be with the Lord five years ago. And they asked me for the answer. "How do you get through it, Greg? How do you survive it?" And often when I say, you know, it is not a what, it is a who. I don't have any special thing to say to you. I don't have any one book I can give to you that will fix this for you. But what you need is Jesus.
I will say to them, "You need to lean on God. He will get you through this." You have got that cancer diagnosis. You lean on the Lord right now. Your marriage is unraveling. You lean on the Lord right now. You have lost a loved one. You lean on the Lord right now. Whatever it is you are facing, you lean on Him. You don't need Emmanuel. You need Emmanuel. You need God with us. And He will be there with you.
He was there with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and He will be there for you as well. You have His word on it in Scripture.
Communion – Remembering the Cross
So the king changed his tune and commended them for their courageous stand. How did they do this? Again, because of decisions and commitments they made earlier in life. What a tremendous story this is. And what a great example it is of making a stand for what is true.
Let me come back to an earlier question I raised, which was, what do you live for? You know, everybody lives for something. Some people live for sports. Some people live for emotional experiences. Other people live for getting that position or getting that possession or getting that relationship or whatever it is.
But the big question is, is that thing that you live for, is that god that you bow before going to be with you in your hour of need? And if it is any god, any idol, anything or anyone else apart from God, I am going to give you the answer. That god will not be there for you. But the Lord will.
And in a few moments we are going to receive the elements of communion together. Now why do we do this? Well because Jesus told us to. And He told us to do it for a reason. He said, "I want you to do this. I want you to take of this bread that represents My broken body, and drink of the cup that represents My shed blood." And Jesus said, "I want you to do this in remembrance of Me."
See, I have a ring on my finger. And this reminds me I am married. There is also a woman that has been in my bed for 39 years. No, but listen. I am kidding of course. But I do not really need a ring to remind me. But my point is, it is there as a reminder, if you will.
Jesus instituted communion, something the church should observe on a regular basis, to jog our memory, if you will, to cause us to remember what we should never forget. And what is that? We need to remember that the way we have this relationship with God is not because we are good people, because folks, we are not. We have this relationship with God because Jesus went to a cross, and died for us, and shed His blood, and paid the price for every sin and every wrong we have ever done.
And because of that, we have turned from our sin and put our faith in Him. Jesus said, "I want you guys to remember this. I do not want you to forget it. I want you to come back to the cross. And I want you to revisit it. And I want you to think deeply about it. And I want you to remember the sacrifice I have made for you."
We also call this the Lord's Supper. You know, supper or dinner, that is for the family. The family gets together for supper or dinner. That is one of the things I like about that show, Duck Dynasty, how at the end they all are sitting around the table eating squirrel or whatever. And how there is always that prayer. And I have noticed in the shows more recently they are praying in the name of Jesus. And thanking the Lord for saving them. And that is such a beautiful thing.
The family gathers together at the dinner table for supper. It is for the family. Now you can invite someone else. But someone can't just walk off the street and walk in your house and sit down at your dinner table when your family is sitting down. No, you have to invite them in.
Well, listen. This is a family celebration. This is our supper. Our dinner. This is a time when we remember what Christ did for us. And this is for family only.
You say, "You mean I have to go to this church?" I am not talking about that family. I am talking about the family of God. Are you a member of the family of God? Listen, you can't be born into it. You have to be born again into it. Just being raised in a Christian home doesn't mean you are in the family of God. There has to be a moment in your life where you turn from your sin and put your faith in Christ.
And Paul even warned, when you receive these elements of communion, don't receive them if you are not a believer. Because if you do, you will eat and drink judgment to yourself.
So if you are a visitor here tonight, first of all, I want to say welcome and thank you for coming. And then I want to say that this is only for Christians. So if you are not a Christian, instead of feeling left out, I have a better idea. Why don't you become a Christian and join us?
Say, "Well, doesn't that take a while? Doesn't that take a while to become a Christian?" No, it really doesn't. It can happen just like that. As you turn from your sin and believe in Jesus.
And if you have never done that, I am going to give you an opportunity to do it right now. To say, "Lord, I am sorry for my sin. I ask You to forgive me for my sin. And I ask You to change my eternal address from hell to heaven. And I choose to believe in Jesus."
And if you are a believer who has maybe gone astray, this would be a great time for you to recommit your life to the Lord as we come to the communion table. Because the Bible says when we receive these elements, we are to examine ourselves. It's a good time to do a little spiritual checkup. And say, "How am I doing with the Lord?" Maybe there is an area of compromise you have entered into. I talked about that tonight. Maybe a relationship. Maybe something you are doing. You know you shouldn't be doing it. This would be the right time that you are going to admit it and repent of it. And ask God to forgive you as we receive communion together.
Okay? So let's bow our heads and I am going to give you this opportunity to put your faith in Christ right now.
Let's all pray. Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the power of the scripture. Thank You for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And now I pray for folks here that may not yet know You. Help them to come to You. Help them to believe in You. Help them to be forgiven by You even at this very moment.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. Maybe you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life tonight. You would like Him to forgive you of your sin. You would like to be certain that when you die you will go to heaven. You are ready to say yes to Jesus. If that is your desire. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want to go to heaven when you die. Would you stand to your feet and I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up. Wherever you are sitting, stand up and I will lead you in a prayer of committing your life to Jesus. Just stand up. You want His forgiveness tonight. You want to become a part of the family of God. You want to go to heaven when you die. Stand to your feet. God bless you. Stand up. Anybody else? God bless you. Stand up.
Now I'm going to lead you in this simple prayer. God bless you too. Stand now. I'll have you pray actually right there in your seat. And then you can receive communion with us. Just stand up there in the back. God bless you. Stand to your feet. Don't be embarrassed. You're among family and friends here tonight. Anybody else? Stand up now. God bless you too. God bless you.
While our heads are bowed still, maybe there's some of you that would say, "Man, I need to come back to the Lord. I need to make that recommitment to Christ." That's your desire. You've been a prodigal or you've been living a compromised life. You need to make this recommitment to Jesus. Stand up now and you can pray with us as well. Just stand up. God bless you. Just stand to your feet. One final moment and then we're going to pray. If you're going to stand, stand now. God bless you too. Anybody else? God bless you. There might be a few more. Stand up. Stand up now. God bless you. God bless all of you.
Now I want you to pray this prayer right where you stand. Again, as I pray, pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you're asking God to forgive you of your sin. As I pray, pray this out loud right where you are. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, but You died on the cross for my sin. I'm sorry for my sin, Lord. I turn from it now. I choose to follow You from this night forward as my Savior and my Lord. As my God and as my friend. Thank You for loving me and calling me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.