INTRODUCTION:
A. We need to draw a line of conviction & then determine in
our hearts we will never descend below that line.
1. There is a constant battle between two conflicting items: compromise
& conviction. When external pressures come, how to we respond
to them?
I. THE CHALLENGE OF FAITH (3:1-12)
A. THE CEREMONY (3:1-3)
1. Nebuchadnezzar's monument is 90 feet high & 9 feet wide.
Set up in the plain of Dura & all classes of rulers come out
to honor this image.
B. THE COMMAND (3:4-7)
1.This royal orchestra had wind & string instruments. When
the music started everyone is supposed to bow down & worship
this massive image.
2. Nebuchadnezzar says, "Worship the image" but God
said, "You shall have no other gods before Me." The
dilemma: worship the image or God?
a.Most young people are like those in v.7 - they conform to standards
of men rather than have a conviction for God. (Cf. I Jn.5:21)
C. THE CONSPIRACY (3:8-12)
1. Accusations are brought by "certain Chaldeans" against
the three young men. People will not compliment you when stand
for truth but will viciously accuse.
a. Two choices: either be intimidated & not stand or not bow
to the idols of the ungodly.
b. They are in adverse circumstances, away from home, godly family
& godly influences - no one would ever see them.
(1) If you don't live for Jesus where you are, you wouldn't live
for Him no matter what the circumstances were!
2. Knowing the price of disobedience, these young men stood while
everyone else was bowing - that's character - conviction when
everyone else is compromising.
a. They could have used excuses like, "Our destiny is in
Nebuchadnezzar's hands" or "Everybody's doing it"
or "Have to stand alone, without Daniel's help"
II. THE CONSISTENCY OF FAITH (3:13-23)
A. THE COERCION (3:13-15)
1. The king gives them another chance to obey but he warns them
if they don't bow down, they would be cast into a burning, fiery
furnace.
a. The king has already forgotten the same God who revealed dreams
& visions to him in Dan.2 so God uses these young men to teach
the king about the God they worshiped.
B. THE CONVICTION (3:16-18)
1.They had faithfully served the king as far as they could so
they express their faith that God will deliver them but if He
doesn't, they still weren't going to bow down!
a. Too many have a faith of convenience but these young men had
a deep & abiding faith in God.
C. THE COMPOSURE (3:19-23)
1.In a court full of spineless flatterers & men-pleasers,
these young men confounded & confused the king & turned
him into a raging, out-of-control madman.
a. Having rebelled against his decree twice, he was so furious
he had the furnace turned up seven notches hotter.
(1) When the soldiers come to throw them into the furnace, they
didn't fight against them - we see the composure of young men
who have a deep, abiding faith in God.
III. THE CONQUEST OF FAITH (3:24-30)
A. THE COMPANION (3:24-25)
1. When the king looks in furnace, he sees 4, not 3 persons -
not bound but loose - Not lying down but walking around - not
burning but completely unhurt - not scampering for the exits but
walking around inside.
a. The fourth person, who was "like a son of the gods",
is not Jesus but an angelic being (Cf.v.28)
(1) Just as God watched over them, He'll watch over young people
today who stand (Cf. Heb. 13:5; I Cor. 10:13)
B. THE COMMENDATION (3:26-28)
1. The king said, "I just have to bless the God of these
young men who wouldn't compromise & wouldn't worship any other
god"
C. THE CHANGE (3:29-30)
1. The young men are promoted. What made the king change from
v.15 to v.28? Three young men who dared to be different, who wouldn't
budge, bend, nor burn.
a.There will be fiery tests today but in triumph or tragedy, God
is in complete control & through the conquest, God gets the
glory (v.28)