Courage in Babylon

Many of you may be familiar with Desmond Doss. If you're familiar with the movie Hacksaw Ridge that came out in 2016, it won some awards and it's a very, very popular movie. But if you know about Doss, he was drafted in the U.S. Army in World War II and he was a pacifist.

He interpreted the Bible in a way that wouldn't allow him to carry a gun. So he loved his country, he wanted to serve his country, so he joined a medic squadron. And his pacifism made him a target of all kinds of ridicule. If you watch the movie, you'll see he was mocked and nobody trusted him. And he was serving in the field of Okinawa when the Japanese trapped them in a unit on top of a cliff.

And many of the men were wounded and Doss knew that if they stayed there overnight, nobody would survive. And they didn't have access to any rescue units and there was nobody to be able to get them off the cliff. So he decided to pull together. Thank you very much. He decided to put together a series of pulleys and ropes and found a stretcher.

And by himself crawling in sniper fire, dodging the enemy's fire, he retrieved every wounded soldier in his unit, one at a time, and lowered them to safety. And President Truman recognized Doss as one of the bravest warriors in World War II, claiming that 75 men owed their lives solely to his courage. Truman did something never done before. He awarded Doss with the medal of armor to a man who never picked up a gun. Wow.

Great things in the world are accomplished through courage. We can have great intentions, but they only come to pass through taking steps of courage. And that's what we're going to look at today in Scripture. Now, how many of you would call yourselves courageous people that you're just naturally brave? I think most of us here are scared of something, you know.

I think most of us would say, I'm not a naturally brave or courageous person. But why is that? Because it's something that has to be learned. It's something that has to be developed inside of us. And Daniel 3 shows us that courage is an essential quality of those who shine in Babylon.

Just to give you, if you're new with us today, we're walking through Daniel and we were talking about shining in Babylon. How do we shine in a world that is dark? How do we shine in Babylon? How do we shine like the sun when everything else around us is dim? And in Daniel 3, we see courage as an essential quality for those who would shine in Babylon.

In one of the most famous Bible stories, if you grew up in church, and even if you haven't grown up in church, I'm sure you've heard the phrase, the three Hebrew children or the three Hebrew teenagers shout. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and in this story we see courage as substance and that which sustains it. It's a story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego where everything else that could have gone different ways, they stood in courage. So I'm going to give you a little formula here and we're going to talk through this. Courage equals confession plus conviction.

Courage equals confession plus conviction. And just to let you know, you have some notes in your bifold if you want to pull those out and follow along. I'm not sure if the team back there can give us a little bit of light in here because I had somebody last week say, I had a hard time writing down notes because I can't see. So if we can't offer a little more lights, that would be great, but if we can't, that's okay. So if you'll follow along with me in Daniel 3, and if you have your Bibles, pull out your Bible.

Some of you are Bible people, right? You love your Bible. I see some notes over there, amen? Put those down in your Bible there, your sword. Get your swords out.

And it says, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its breadth 60 cubits, meaning that it was 90 feet tall by 90 feet wide. This is a huge statue, huge on the hill over the city. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication and the image that he had set up. And the herald, which is the person who proclaims the good news, right, proclaims aloud, You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages. And this is a very important phrase.

We're going to come back to that. So if you want to underline that phrase there, that he commanded all peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the lyre, the trigon, the harp, the bagpipe, and every kind of musical instrument, you are to fall down and you are to worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast in a fiery furnace. Now I want you to notice, and I'm just going to call him Neb for short, okay, because Nebuchadnezzar saying that over and over again is like a tongue twister. So let's just talk about Neb for a minute, how hard-headed he is.

Because last week he had this great dream, you know, about this scary dream. In fact, it woke him up in his sleep because he had this image of different types of material, different types of metals. And this one little rock fell and crushed the entire statue. And Daniel gave him the interpretation of that vision saying that all the kingdoms of the world will fall except one. And that rock stood for Jesus Christ as we see in the New Testament.

He is the rock. He is the rock that stands forever and ever. And all other kingdoms will pass away. And how does he respond? Nebuchadnezzar responds with amazement.

And he says this in verse 47 of chapter 2. Truly your God is God of gods and the Lord of kings and the revealer of mysteries. And you have been able to reveal this mystery. Wow, he's God. He is the real God.

But just a chapter later, he's building this big statue to himself. Why is this statue to himself? Because it was made of pure gold, meaning that his kingdom was higher than God's kingdom. That he was building an everlasting kingdom that would be forever and ever. It would be his kingdom on earth.

It's amazing how people have short-term memory when it comes to God. The power of God happening in their lives. And then a minute later, they're rejecting God or putting themselves above God or not trusting God. So clear today how that happens. And if you note, going back to verse 4, all people, nations, and language.

That's a very important phrase because remember in week 1, I talked about in Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel, where God, where the people, the human race, had united in setting up a tower, declaring their independence from God. And God in his mercy scattered the people, the world in that time. And they became tribes, tongues, and nations. The very next chapter, Abraham is promised that he will be the father of many nations. Meaning that one day, those nations would be brought back together under the name of Yahweh, the name of God, who Abraham is the patriarch that was chosen to be the father of the sons and daughters of God.

And then in Revelation, we see a fulfillment where John looks and sees a vast throne of people praising. You can't even count the number. Every tribe, every tongue, and every people gather around the throne proclaiming, worthy is the lamb who was slain. But here in Daniel 3, we see that Nebuchadnezzar usurps that. We don't see anywhere.

This is not just a little battle that took place in a story. This is not just a little piece of history. This is a really big deal. This is a big battle because what is happening here is that Babylon is usurping the power that only God has by bringing the whole world together before this statue. It's an epic battle.

It's not a sideshow. It's not some kind of primary battle. It is symbolic of Babylon today. And he's usurping. It's a parody, so to speak.

The opposite of what God wants to do to bring every tribe and tongue together in the end. And here Nebuchadnezzar is bringing every tribe and tongue under him. That they will bow down. So how does the story go? Verse 7.

All the instruments start playing and everyone bows down. And many scholars say there were probably millions of people. And I was trying to figure out a way to kind of give you a picture of that. So I found a bowing down on line of a Muslim population. And I want you to imagine millions and millions and millions.

I mean, probably a million people is what scholars say, bowing down towards this great statue. And then... About 20-200 yards away, let's just say 200 yards away, these young men stand up. How awkward would that be? That they would just stay standing, looking, you know, hey, here I am.

You know, three men, they're teenage boys, okay, they're probably around 15 years old at average, it's probably their age group, and here's Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they're standing awkwardly, nervously, but bolt upright, standing strong with their faces facing the king. Where's Daniel in here, though? Well, some people would say, you know, did Daniel bow down? Was Daniel a part of that? No, what we know is that Daniel was in the higher court, he was promoted to the king's court, so he probably was either away on business or taken on some other task, or he could have possibly been on stage, but regardless of where Daniel was, if Daniel was there, he'd probably be standing with the rest of them.

Let's just be straight about that because of the powerful stories of Daniel in the Bible, we know that he stood strong as well in the face of what wasn't of Yahweh. In Daniel 3.13, though, for the sake of this story, we're looking at these three. 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 Shad, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my God or worship the golden image that I have set before you? And, of course, they respond, of course, you know, we're standing here, right? We're not going to bow down. And then I think it's interesting that he does this. This is an evil king, you know, this is a tough guy.

This is a guy who threatened to murder people. He must really like them. They must be stand-up guys because he gives them another chance. He says, you know, I'll tell you what, I'll give you another chance. Here's what you'll do when you hear the sound, every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made you.

That's well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into the burning, fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you out of your hand? Okay? So he's like kind of mocking them a little bit.

And I love how they respond. He said, O king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. Whoo! Could you imagine standing before the most powerful king in the world at the time saying we don't have, there's not even a negotiation about this. There's nothing to talk about.

There's nothing to deliberate. Our minds are made up. There's only one thing to do. And 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. And I love these next words.

But if not, but if not, let it be known. Be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship. See you next time. The golden image that you have set up. Wow.

Literally everything you need to know about Christian courage is found in those three verses and we're going to dig into that. The first thing I want to tackle is confession. Courage's confession is Jesus is the only Lord. Our confession, our courage confession is Jesus is the only Lord. Now, here's here's a theory and I think this is very true as to why Nebuchadnezzar was so mad when he got so angry at him.

Because remember back in verse two, he fell down in 47 in chapter two, verse 47, that is, he honored their God, but they weren't honoring his God. How dare you not bow down to my God? I bow down to your God. This isn't fair. It doesn't make sense, right?

So, so he's, he's very angry and it was not their faith in God that caused the problem. Nebuchadnezzar didn't have a problem with Yahweh. He just had a problem when they refused to honor his authority and his God's. If you're going to, if you're going to honor, if I'm going to honor your God, you're going to honor my God. And nothing has changed today because in Babylon faith in Jesus is not the problem.

It really isn't. It's the assistance that he is the only way to salvation that is the problem and that his way and his authority is the right way. As the Bible tells us, as we believe in as Christians, you will never get in trouble for saying that Jesus is your personal savior. And that's not an issue with culture and society. You could say that all day long and there's no problems there.

But when you start to say that there is no other name under heaven given among man by which one can be saved, that's when it becomes a problem. That's when it becomes hard. Or he alone sets the rules of right and wrong when it comes to sexuality, when it comes to morality, when it comes to money. Now, when you start entering that area, there is a problem. There's a problem.

That's when it becomes a serious issue. And our society says, you know, you're free to marry traditionally. That's not a problem. Just do that. If that's your thing, if you want to abstain from sex before marriage, that's your thing.

But don't you dare label me as a sinner. Don't dare tell me I'm doing something that my choice is sinful. How dare you bow down to my, not bow down to my sexual preference. How dare you not prostrate yourself during my pride week because, you know, I'm okay with you and your personal savior, but why won't you bow down to me or affirming that my way is just as valid as Jesus? You should do that or culture will rip you apart.

I'm going to put you and I'm going to punish you. It may not be throwing you in the fiery furnace, so to speak. Maybe. One day. Not yet.

But you may be attacked. You may be thrown into some kind of symbolic fiery furnace. You may lose your job. You may be boycotted in your business. You may lose trophies.

You may lose throwback. Thank you. It's the same old spirit of Nebuchadnezzar working today as it was back then. We all know of these small businesses, if you just look back in current events, small businesses have been sued. Their businesses have been sued because of what they believe.

They want to participate in certain ceremonies and practices that they found objectionable. Yet they were sued and they're no longer working. And when I look at these cases, almost in every one of these cases, the person weren't rudely about it, they weren't bigoted about it. They just said, you know what, I respect your opinion, and I expect where you are, I respect where you are. This is a free country, you can do as you please.

But my personal conviction goes against what you're asking me to do. And because they wouldn't bow to the image, they were sued and shut down. Let's get a little political here. One of President Biden's advisors has indicated that if the Equality Act is passed, if you're familiar with it, that's kind of sitting in Congress today, which mandates social acceptance of these things, like equality, then religious organizations and churches who don't honor it, their own practices would face substantial tax penalties and even fines. You can have your Christian convictions, but you need to keep them in the closet.

Because the moment you fail to bow down in homage where you aren't, where you're supposed to, there's the fiery furnace for you. The fiery furnace for you. Or something I'm not just picking on the left. Let's just talk about the right for a minute. Some in our society are like, hey, you know, how dare you criticize America?

How dare you imply that we need to be judged that we're sinful people? America is special. America is the new Israel. America is God's chosen people. And in the name of nationalism, in the name of patriotism, we have put that above our God.

And just because someone is good for our country doesn't make them our savior. In fact, former President Trump even said this not too long ago, and I think this is the most spiritual thing that Trump has ever said, you know, okay? I'm just being honest. He doesn't say a lot of things that I would approve of, okay? He says our country needs a savior right now, and our country has a savior, and it's not me.

It's someone much higher than me, much higher. He got that one right. Oh, it's much higher than you, Trump. It's way up there. And our society says that we are fine to say that Jesus is our savior, but how dare you say that Jesus is the only way to heaven?

Look, y'all all know America's pastor, Oprah, you know? Yeah, everybody loves Oprah. Everybody's viewing Oprah, looking to Oprah to get advice. Here's what she said about it. There are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity.

I'm a free-thinking Christian who believes in my way, but with six billion people here on the planet, I can't possibly be the only one. That can't possibly be. The Dean of Stanford University a few years back forced a group of Christian students to stop proselytizing, to start sharing Jesus in their campus and he said you are fine to be Christians and to gather together weekly to worship, but you are not allowed to try to convince others that they that they can only be saved through Jesus and and then he said this and I quote all the all faiths are equally valid as religions it's nothing new it's just like Nebuchadnezzar's day you can practice any Christian teaching as long as you bow to our gods as well as long as you submit to our gods that they want to edit faith they want to edit the Bible this is nothing new guys this is this is not new in fact you go back into history we have the Thomas Jefferson Bible if you know anything about the Thomas Jefferson Bible you can see it in the Smithsonian you'll see that parts of the Bible everything with miracles are cut out of it because in Jefferson's day the academic world had turned against that the kind of beliefs and miracles it was considered unfashionable and uneducated to believe miracles but these enlightened thinkers thought that morality in that the morality of Jesus Christ was awesome man they love the Sermon on the Mount they thought that's the greatest moral treaties we can ever have they build everything on that but but but when you start talking to talking about the miracles of Jesus they're just leftover relics of superstition in medieval past so Thomas Jefferson literally cut out every supernatural passage in the New Testament across the mall in the museum you'll see the slaveholders Bible which they cut out parts slaveholders would cut out parts of the Bible that claimed that slaves were equal to them so this is nothing new and in today if it were today if it were today people would probably be cutting out pieces about sexuality and identity and things like that in the Bible it's nothing nothing new again our culture says it's fine to worship Jesus just edit out the things that don't really connect with Babylon we need to be careful with those things but but here's if you're a follower of Jesus that's not an option if you're a follower of Jesus he is Lord if he's not Lord of all he's not Lord at all he's got to be completely Lord and people make following Jesus like a rental car contract where I can say you know I received the salvation of Jesus but Lord of my life I'm going to wait till later for that you know I'm going to check off maybe you know I'll wait for the insurance and I'll wait for the you know I don't know if I need all of that and we we pick and choose how we want to live life I'll accept Jesus as Savior but I won't accept him as Lord that that that he is that that what he says is and it doesn't change he's either Lord or he's not you're either fully We surrender to Him, or we're living in rebellion to Him. There's no other way. He gives us no other option.

If God is the only God and He's the only one who can save, for us to make that clear, or not make that clear, rather, is not only cowardly, it's cruel. It's cruel to people who don't know the Lord. I'm glad that my airplane pilots, when they fly, know what they're doing and have something to guide them. Could you imagine a free-thinking pilot that says, you know, let's throw out the tower today. I'm thinking free and open, you know, like the Oprah philosophy, you know, just thinking, okay, we can...

Hey, there's a little building over there and a little thing. I can zoom around that, and I can connect, and maybe I can land right in the middle of these two places. And no, we have towers set up so that they can guide us safely. And if Jesus is the only way, then whether or not people make it safely to eternity depends on our courage to tell the truth. It does.

And because these guys stood when everyone else bowed, even though they got thrown into a fiery furnace for it, an entire empire got to see the power of God work. They were a demonstration. God got to show off His glory as a result of them being thrown in a furnace. So what will future generations say about our courage? What will future generations say about our testimony?

Because literally their eternal future depends on the courage we have in the present. Are we courageous? That's courage. That's what courage is. Secondly, courage is conviction.

That I believe that God can, I expect that God will, and I trust Him if He doesn't. Now, as we get into the back half of this message, let's unpack those three statements there, okay? First of all, Christian courage believes that God can. The first thing I notice in Scripture with this particular story is these kids no doubt knew the power of God. They knew God was sovereign.

They knew God was in charge. They knew God was way bigger than the situation that they were in. And in verse 17, it says, Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. All the other million people out there on the plain were thinking, Oh my goodness, look at these wimpy little kids up here standing up. What are they going to do?

And I'm sure they were looking at Nebuchadnezzar and saying, Look at that little wimpy king compared to my big king. They had a mentality there. This is where courage begins. God is bigger. God is bigger than your problems.

It's that simple. Whatever you're going through, however big your problem, God is bigger. There's a little song we used to sing growing up in church. God is bigger than the boogeyman. How many of you remember that song?

God is bigger than the boogeyman. He's bigger than Godzilla. He's bigger than the monster on TV. Oh, God is bigger than the boogeyman. And he's big.

He's watching out for you and me. Jesus. We have to have faith like a child. The simplest truth of the message that we're being given today, as far as courage, is that God is bigger. God is greater than your problems.

He's greater than your sickness. He's greater than cancer. He's greater than your lost job. He's greater than broken marriages. He's greater than your friends, your sin, your shame.

And He was even greater than the grave. He conquered the grave. And if you are a child of God, or you're His child, nothing happens to you without His permission. In fact, every hair that falls from your head, oops, there's two or three just fell right now, He knew that that was going to happen. He orchestrated that to happen.

He knows. That's what the Word of God says. And Christian courage believes that He can. Christian courage also expects that He will. We live with expectation that He will do it.

We pray with boldness that He will do it. In verse 17, He says, And He will deliver us from your hand, O King. How did they know that? They didn't know that because verse 18 says, But if not, I'm sure there was a little bit of question there. They didn't know.

They didn't get around in a huddle with God and God says, You know what? I'm going to pass the ball over there. You know, you're going to be in the end zone and you're going to block over here and we're going to make that happen. All of you football people right now are waiting to get home to watch football to help you out there a little bit. No, it didn't happen.

But they had a suspicion in their heart that God was up to something. God was bigger and God was greater and God was going to pull them through. They understood God's goodness and His willingness to showcase His glory in their name, in His name, in response to what they are doing and how they were stepping in. Many of the great feats of the Bible are done in response, and not in response to a direct command of God, but situations like this. No promise guaranteed.

We don't know how it's going to turn out, but we believe. We know He can. 1 Samuel 14 is a prime example of that. Jonathan and his armor bearer are roaming through the woods and in the kingdom at that time in Israel, only two people had swords. Jonathan had a sword and King Saul had a sword.

And they stumbled across 20 Philistines fully armed and just Jonathan and his little humble armor bearer. One sword against 20 swords. And what does he say? He says this to his armor bearer. Jonathan said to the young armor bearer, Come, let us go over to the outpost of the uncircumcised men, meaning the Philistines, and perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf.

Perhaps? Wait, wait, wait, God. Jonathan, do you want to talk to God a little more? You say, perhaps? What if he doesn't?

But Jonathan understood the exact same thing that David stood when he says, I am convinced I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Not some day in heaven. I can see it now. Not in the sweet by and by one day. I can see it now that God can intervene in my life and my family and my friends and my family.

Ministry now with the evidence of His goodness. He is available to me now. I am convinced in my heart that He will work on my behalf and He will show off His glory when I am courageous and I stand up and I am brave in a world that shames me, in a world that is against me. He will interact. It's not just a someday reward of heaven, it's a reward now.

And we know the story of Jonathan and the miraculous defeat of those soldiers and other stories throughout the Bible. Think about how many miracles Jesus did that weren't even planned. The woman with the issue of blood, for instance. It's clear in the Gospel of Luke that Jesus was not planning to heal anybody at that moment, but this woman audaciously with bold faith, with everything that's in her, pushes through the crowd just to get a touch of His cloak. If I could just touch His garment, His hanging garment, if I could just get a piece of it.

And what did Jesus do? He stopped when she touched Him and said, Who touched me? And the disciples were like, What are you talking about? There's people all around me. I've never seen such faith in my life.

And she was healed because she was bold. Bold faith doesn't just believe that He can. Bold faith expects that He will. We've got to believe that He will. Not to say that God's, you know, a magic genie in a lamp, and if we rub them right, He'll just honor our every wish, because sometimes He says no, and sometimes He says wait.

But as this story shows, and other Bible stories, God rewards those who take a dare on His goodness. A dare on His goodness. He expects that He will. So my question for you, where do you need to take a dare? Where do you need to step out?

Maybe it's reaching out to share your faith with somebody at your work or in your school, even if it's really, really awkward. Or maybe it's taking the courage to stand, even if it costs you your job, or costs you everything that you have. Or if you serve in politics, maybe standing for what's right, even though the media may be against you, and maybe your party will be against you. Maybe it's persevering in prayer, a prayer request that you have, that you're just believing God's goodness to break through in that situation. How about boldly choosing to keep a child, even though you're too young, to raise a child?

And you're alone. Or choosing to keep pressing into your marriage, although it seems like all is lost, even though it's difficult and it seems like there is no solution to the problem, pushing through. Maybe it's calling an estranged family member, a friend, and start that process of reconciliation, asking forgiveness, or giving forgiveness to that person, or confessing a habit. Maybe you're dealing with pornography or an addiction of some type, and just taking that first step. And that's right.

With a trusted friend, even though I'd rather conceal it and keep it hidden, or maybe it's stepping out and God has been putting on your heart to give a financial gift and you're just like, I just, I don't know God, I don't, and it scares you to death, but you know it's God. Will you take the dare? Will you take that dare? Whatever that dare is, are you willing to dare? And finally, Christian Courage trusts him if he doesn't.

It trusts him if he doesn't. Those are the greatest words in the story right there. But if not, but if not, I trust that he will, 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. Even if he doesn't deliver us, even if we die, I'd rather die in the flames with just him than live in a palace with you, O king. I'd read, I believe that God was, was not only big enough to protect them from Nebuchadnezzar, they believe that knowing him was better than anything that they could ever give up.

That he is enough. Courage believes not only that God is bigger than the opposition, but also better than the alternative. That believes that he is enough, that there's nothing in this world that can compare to knowing God. If I go through the fiery furnace, I know that he is with me. Sometimes you take a stand and God delivers like Jonathan and David, and sometimes you take a stand and you suffer like Jesus did.

The question you have to ask yourself, if he let you go into the fire, is he enough for you? Is he enough for you? The only way you'll have the courage to suffer for what is right is if you believe knowing Jesus is enough. That's the only way you're going to have the courage to do it. Let me show you, as we're closing, let me show you from this story why he is enough.

And not just for these three Hebrew teenagers, but he is enough for you, okay? And this story is a promise directly to you. Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression in his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And he ordered the furnace heated seven times more hotter than usual. In fact, when they gathered the boys up and they began to throw them in there, the soldiers themselves, it was so hot that they ended up dying.

They ended up dying. So Nebuchadnezzar expected them to burst into flames immediately. That's how hot this situation was. But in verse 24, it says the king, Nebuchadnezzar, was astonished and rose up in haste. And he declared to his council, did you not cast three men bound into the fire?

And they answered and said to the king, true, O king. In verse 25, and he answered and said, but I see four men unbound. That's king. He there, unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. In other words, the only thing that burnt from them were their chains.

Nothing else was such, and their appearance was that of the Son of the gods. From our New Testament perspective, we see that this is a foreshadowing of Jesus. This is Jesus. And then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning, fiery furnace, and he declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. And then they came out.

And then in verse 27, it says, The king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men, that their hair, the hairs of their heads, were not even singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. And there was a fourth man in the fire with them. And because of that, they came out of the flame totally unharmed. This whole scene is a pre-figure of Jesus Christ. Jesus was thrown in the fire of judgment for us.

And because He did, we came out totally unharmed from judgment. All the judgment was cast on us. We deserve it. We are sinners. We've done things that God could not even look upon.

But because of Jesus Christ, praise God for Jesus Christ, because of Jesus Christ, there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Even the hair on our head is unsinged with judgment because of Jesus. The clothes smell perfect because of Jesus. No smoke. No burn.

Only the ropes of our bondage to sin are burnt away. Amen? Amen? And what that means is this. If He went into the ultimate fires of judgment for you, the cross, and He kept us totally safe and free from harm there, don't you think He'll keep you from whatever lesser fire you're going through?

Will He not do that? Someone once said, Don't search for a faith that will keep you from the fire, but for a God that will keep you in the fire. The God who died for you in the fire is the God who can keep you in the midst of the fire. And as we land this message, the presence of God was with these three Hebrew teenagers in their furnace. And His presence will be with you in the furnaces of life, into which He puts us also.

Let me show you the ending here. Look at this. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Holyroam. Hello, Who was sent, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him and set aside the king's commands and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god.

So now he's praising God. And therefore, I make a decree. Look at this, look at this. 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 laid to ruin, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.

Hallelujah. And the story ends with Nebuchadnezzar commanding all the people, the nations, the tribes, and the tribe to gather together, to gather together and worship. Worship Yahweh, worship the one and true God. We have a picture of this in Revelation. In verse 9, it says, After this I looked, chapter 7, verse 9.

Apostle John said, And there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. And they were wearing white robes, meaning unsinged, unharmed. That's you and me. And were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out with a loud voice, Salvation, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

Now, the world will not be unified by the greatness of some earthly kingdom. It will not be unified by Babylon, Great Britain, America. You insert. It will not come to greatness through those things, but by a Savior who went through the flames of judgment. But who humbled Himself on a cross so that we could truly come out unhinged and unscarred.

Because of His blood, He makes us 100% safe from harm. And we will help move the world to that worship by determining to bow only to God, to Jesus our Lord. And get up every day believing that He can, expecting that He will, and trusting that even if He doesn't, even if He doesn't, He's still Lord. And the end is good. Amen.

Amen. Hallelujah. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that, man, it just preaches itself.

It's relevant today in every way. Perhaps there are people here today that are wavering in their testimony about Jesus. Or they took a back seat to Jesus, maybe. They aren't courageous enough. They feel conviction in their heart that, you know, Jesus should be number one.

I should be courageous and I should stand for him, but maybe it's hard. Some of you here, you're ready to take a dare, but you're scared. You're scared. Father, I pray that you would give us the courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That, God, that we would have confession and conviction, Lord, over our world today.

But you have a heart for this world, Lord, that you gave your life for it so that none should perish but all should come to eternal life, Lord. I pray that you would inspire our spirits to move forward, to take steps of courage, to take steps of faith. That we have some world changers in here today and are just one step away from courage, taking that one step of courage to be able for you to show off your glory on their behalf. Fill us with your Spirit, Lord. Show us, Lord.

Encourage us, Lord. We praise you, Lord. For others here today, maybe you've never even taken the first step to Jesus, just receiving Jesus as your personal Savior. He said that I give my life and what greater love is it than for someone to give their life for a friend. He gave his life for you.

When you were and are in sin, he gave his life for you. And if you confess your sin to him and receive him as Lord of your life, you will be saved. If that's you today and you want to give your life to Jesus, his arms are wide open and he's ready to receive you today. Would you pray with me? Would you do that?

Father, I am a sinner. I've done wrong things, Lord. I've done things that are despicable in this life, Lord. But God, I trust in you as my Savior. Come into my heart.

Come into my life. Or maybe there's someone else who's walked away from God. Lord, Lord, I've walked away from you. I've done it my own way. And I'm sorry.

I tried to make you my Savior, but you weren't my Lord. Will you be Lord of my life? I receive you, Lord. As Savior and King, come into my heart. You say you make me a new creation.

Make me a new creation today. No longer the old man or woman, but a new person. That I'm born again. Thank you, Lord, for doing this. Thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross for me.

Can we just worship and praise the Lord? Thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross for me. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me of my sin, Lord. A past, present, and future all is wiped away.

Everything is wiped away. Thank you, Lord, that my clothing is no longer stingy and stinking of smoke, Lord. But it is clean and made new. And I'll wear a white robe now. Praise Jesus.

In your name, God, Savior and King of the world. Amen.