Turn with me to Daniel chapter 3. We’ve been studying through the book of Daniel, and we’ve been looking at three amazing young men. Four amazing young men, rather. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These young men are willing to stand in the face of tremendous evil and stand for God. Chapter 3 is the historical account of what happened when a wicked ungodly king desired to make himself God. And what would three of these four young men do? Daniel wasn’t there.
He must have been out about business with the king. But Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had been appointed to be leaders in the province of Babylon. Home territory for wickedness. And we’re going to read the account of what Nebuchadnezzar is doing. Those of you who were here last Sunday remember that Nebuchadnezzar had been revealed to Daniel, the dream that he had. And Daniel also had been given the interpretation of it by the Lord. And he shared it with Nebuchadnezzar. And Nebuchadnezzar had been so impressed that at the end he said, Your God is the God of gods. But it wasn’t the God of Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, eventhough Nebuchadnezzar was acknowledging that God stood above all the other gods, because he was able to reveal and then also interpret his dream, yet Nebuchadnezzar was not ready by any sense of the word to bow the knee to this God. And instead what he had done is he had built a giant statue that stood 90 feet tall, 9 feet deep. He plated it with gold. I don’t know for sure. I don’t think it was solid gold, but it may have been.
Looking where God strategically put chapter 3 right after chapter 2, where the head of this giant statue had been the gold head that was representing the Babylonian kingdom. And Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of that kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar made this statue to represent Babylon rules all. To get the loyalty of his subjects, he gathered all the leadership of Babylon that was present. Like I said, evidently Daniel wasn’t there because there was no mention of him. Let’s read Daniel chapter 3.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
Let’s just bow in prayer.
Dear Heavenly Fathers, we come before you, Lord, I pray that you just speak to us through your word. Lord, help us to apply your word and the truth of your word to our lives. This we ask in Jesus’ name.
One of the questions that many people are asking about the events of this last week is why did not God spare Charlie Kirk’s life? When President Trump was attempted to be assassinated last spring in Butler, Pennsylvania, the bullet was being directed to the same area of President Trump’s torso, that is his head and neck area. At the last minute, President Trump turned his head and went the different way and the bullet dinged his ear. He wasn’t even scheduled to look at that particular, they weren’t supposed to put that particular information up on one of the big boards, but they put it up early. And President Trump turned to look at it to explain to the people what it meant. He was not supposed to turn, but he did. Why didn’t God have Charlie Kirk turn right as the bullet was fired so it would have missed his neck and carotid artery and he wouldn’t have died just about instantly? God’s in control.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that God was in control. They knew the power, they knew the authority of God, but they didn’t know what God was going to do with this particular situation. All they knew is that they were called to be faithful. They were called not to bow the knee to this golden idol, and a lot of Bible scholars believe it was an idol of Nebuchadnezzar himself, where Nebuchadnezzar was going to say, look at me, Daniel said the head was the Babylonian kingdom, I’m the head of the kingdom, worship me and worship my gods. They wouldn’t bow. All they had to do was bow.
Wasn’t that a bigger thing, right? Who’s really going to care in all of the nation of Babylon? There weren’t even any other Jews evidently there except those three. So who’s going to care? Who’s going to see and who’s going to report if they don’t bow? God will know. And God had shown them that He is the true and the living God. He is the one that had called them out of darkness into the light of His Word. He had given them as part of their Hebrew names, His name. Hananiah, God is gracious. Mishael, God saves. God is who God is. And Azariah, God saves.
They couldn’t prevent the Babylonians from calling them the Babylonian names they’d given them, which all had the names of their gods. But they did not have to live their lives like Babylonians. They could live their lives like those who were following the true and the living God and hang on to their names that God had given them.
God is gracious. God is who God is. And God saves or delivers. So whatever God would do, that was God’s choice, but they were willing not to bow because to bow would be to acknowledge that they didn’t trust in God. A lot of people ask Charlie Kirk, why do you always put yourself in situations which can be dangerous? You’re in open areas talking to thousands of kids. Why do you do that? You don’t have secret service coverage.
You’ve got some of your own personal staff to try and protect you and a lot of times when they bring a venue in, they’ll have police there or whatever, but it’s not like having the secret service or the thing that the president and his cabinet members have to watch over them. Why do you do it? Because he had a message to bring. A lot of people think it was just a political message.
At the heart of his message was the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it was interesting, as I mentioned earlier in the service today, the question that he got right before he was assassinated, that he answered was, what is the gospel? How does Mormonism differ from what you believe about the Bible? And he gave them an answer. He gave them a true answer.
Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Charlie wasn’t afraid of what people could do to him, but he wanted to do what God wanted him to do. As these three men are standing, and everybody else, there’s a lot of people at Nebuchadnezzar’s dedication of his statue, everybody who’s got any significance and importance in the whole country, it appears, except Daniel. And they’re all falling flat on their faces. Because Nebuchadnezzar says you have to. Even if I don’t believe it, I’m still going to fall down, because I don’t want to die.
But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will not bow the knee, because they will not bow the knee to that false statue and that false god that it represents, because they serve the true and the living God, and they stand for Him. And as you look around, it’s going to be very evident there’s only three people standing in the whole place. And it’s also evident that the people want to report them as soon and as fast as they can, because evil always wants to bring to the attention of other evil that which is good, and try and get it silenced and out of the way.
I think it’s interesting, the events that transpired, Nebuchadnezzar gives them the second chance. Maybe you didn’t understand my command. Maybe you didn’t understand what I was saying. So I’m going to tell you again. All these instruments, listen to them again. When they play, you bow. And they say, they can play all day long. Do not bow.
So he tells them to do something very interesting. He tells them to heat the furnace up seven times hotter than it was before. It becomes so hot, that when the men take them down, and it’s evident from the text, these are not just wimpy guys. These are big, burly guys, the strongest, the best soldiers he’s got, are taking these guys down to cast them into the fiery furnace.
They get them down to the entrance of the furnace, they throw them in, and they’re consumed by the flames. It is so hot that they are killed. The ones bringing them down to cast them in. And then an amazing thing happens. Jesus appears. This is what’s referred to as a pre-incarnate appearance, a theophany of the Lord. And Nebuchadnezzar says, did we not cast thee into the flames? Why are there four? And the fourth has the appearance of the Son of God.
I want you to know, the Lord is with you wherever you go. I sang that song, that every one of us is going to go through different circumstances. Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire. But every one of us goes through the blood of Christ. If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ today, we’ve all got something in common. Jesus is with you. The minute that bullet struck Charlie Kirk’s neck and he began to bleed out, Jesus was with him. His wife said it best, when Charlie died, he got to look into the face of Jesus because he was there. Some of you may have loved ones who were believers in Christ that passed away. And it’s amazing to see the peace that is there in death because Jesus is there. We have nothing to fear. And that’s what enables us to do the impossible.
You realize a man like Charlie Kirk could have chosen any direction in life and compiled a fortune. I mean, he was a brilliant guy. Stop and think about it. He started Turning Point USA when he was 18 years old. Eighteen! I was listening to Jack Hibbs talk and Jack Hibbs would have him on his program. He had got a little podcast deal where he interviews people. And he had him on that program a couple times. And he said that one time he was having him on the program and he said, Charlie, I really want to have you talk about the World Economic Forum and its impact on the world government.
Charlie said, I don’t know anything about it. So what he did is he went home before he got on Jack’s program, which I think he was supposed to be there in a day or two. That’s all he had time to prepare. And he said, by the time Charlie came on the program, he knew more about the World Economic Forum than most people that are involved in the World Economic Forum. And he began to talk about the World Economic Forum and how that was tied into a one world government and how it was leading and what it was doing to destroy our freedoms and our values and to destroy everything that God stood for. And he began to talk and lay it all out.
And a little later, Jack was talking to Charlie and he said, Thank you so much for all you’ve done. And he said, No, you don’t realize. Now I’ve got a problem.
And he said, What’s the problem? Everybody wants me to speak all over the world about the World Economic Forum. And I only had two days to study it. That was Charlie.
God gave him an amazing mind. He gave him an amazing ability. He gave him an amazing drive. His wife said it best. When Charlie put his mind to something, he never took his mind off it. It was going to be done and completed. And he kept to the task. Unlike me, who gets sidetracked every five minutes by something. So why would God take him home? Because God chose to take him home.
There’s an interesting statistic that was just published. This is only less than a week after Charlie died. Last year, there were 11,000 Turning Point chapters on college campuses around the world. And 9,000 high school chapters around the world. That’s 20,000 chapters. There have been applications sent in to Turning Point for 38,000 new chapters to be opened up in colleges and high schools.
When Charlie’s wife said, you don’t know what you’ve done. She meant, you don’t know how you’ve opened the gates for God to work. We need to pray that Christians’ focus will be right. That we won’t get sidetracked by politics, but rather we will keep our eyes on Jesus. Just like the three men in the fiery furnace. Politics was all around them. They were in the midst of living politics. They had responsibility to be over the provinces of Babylon. That’s how political their lives were.
But their focus was always on Christ. And when it interfered, when politics interfered with Jesus, they chose Jesus. A lot of people today, they say you can’t be a politician and be a Christian if you don’t really walk with Christ, because compromise is the way of a politician.
We’re called to be people of principle, not people of preference. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were men of principle. Their principle was based upon the principles of God’s Word. There is one God, one faith, one Redeemer. And we follow Him. It wasn’t based on preference.