When Faith Is in the Fire | Part 1

In this day and age, we'll be right back to It's Supernatural! Welcome back and Abednego, who refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's idol. This story reminds us that we will face immense pressure to bow down, yet we must stand alone. If you have your Bible, turn to Daniel chapter 3, as Adrian Rogers reveals how to stand when faith is in the fire.

We'll be finding the third chapter of that book of Daniel. While you're finding it, let me tell you about an ancient Christian. This man's name was Athanasius. And Athanasius was a bold, strong Christian.

And he would take stands and other people would say he is arrogant, or he is stubborn, or he is narrow-minded. The emperor's name was Theodosius. And Theodosius said to Athanasius, Athanasius, the whole world is against you.

Athanasius said to Theodosius, and then Athanasius is against the whole world. It takes courage. It takes courage, my friend, to stand alone. But more and more and more you're going to find that it is necessary to learn to stand alone in the day and the age in which we live.

And if it is necessary now in your office, in your school, on your team, in your neighborhood, if it is necessary now, as the days get darker, how much more necessary will it be for your children? So I want you to learn to stand alone, and I want you to teach your children to stand alone, not out of stubbornness, not out of arrogance, not out of narrow-mindedness, but to stand up for Jesus and to stand on the principles of God's Word and to stand for those things that are true and righteous and just and the things that will last throughout time and eternity. Now, let me read to you some Scripture here. Daniel chapter 3, verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, the breadth thereof six cubits, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent together together the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackput, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye shall fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore, at the time when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackput, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up.

Now, let's just pause there. We're going to pick up the story in a moment, but already you're recognizing it's the story of the three Hebrew children who were thrown into the fiery furnace. And which of us has not known that story for a long, long time? We learned it when we were in Sunday school about these three Jewish boys who would not worship that image were thrown into the fiery furnace because they wouldn't budge and they wouldn't bow and we found out they also would not burn. And they came out of that fiery furnace and we've all rejoiced in that story.

But my friend, listen to me. That is not just simply what God has done. It is a record of what God is doing. And it is not merely a record of what God has said. It is a record of what God is saying and you're going to find yourself very soon in a fiery furnace, some incendiary circumstance. Before long, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, you're going to find out that your faith will be in the fire.

And it will be necessary for you, like these young men of old, to stand alone. Now, Nebuchadnezzar was an egomaniac, a megalomaniac. He was stuffed full of a sense of his own importance. So great was his ego, so great was his self-worship that he had an image made of himself and demanded that everyone would bow down and worship that image. I want you to see that gigantic image as it stood out there on the plains of Duras, like some missile on a pad waiting to be launched. And I want you to hear the command given that everybody is to bow down and worship that image or else you'll be thrown in a fiery furnace. That's all they needed. When the band struck up, there were thousands who hit the dust and fell down in obeisance before that golden image.

Did I say all? There were three there that day who would not bow. And they were indeed, because they stood alone, thrown into a fiery furnace. Now, this has great, great, great relevance for you, for me today in this age in which we live and more and more and more relevance will it have because, you see, Daniel is a book of prophecy and Nebuchadnezzar is a type, a picture, an illustration of the antichrist.

Did you hear that? There is coming a man who will one day rule the world as Babylon was ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. He will be the devil's Messiah. He's called in the Bible the beast. He's called in the Bible the man of sin. He's called in the Bible the lawless one. He is called in the Bible the wicked one. He is called in the Bible the antichrist. All of these are different appellatives, names, descriptions of one incredibly wicked human being who may now be living, who will one day rule the world.

During a period the Bible tells of as the great tribulation. Now, the evolutionists believe that man sprung from the beast. Man, we are headed to the beast. That beast is the antichrist. Now, you say, well, what does that have to do with me? I don't have to worry about the antichrist. Don't I understand the Scripture to say that when the Christians are taken out of the world, then the antichrist will come? Well, that is true.

I believe that. But I want you to put in your margin 1 John 2 and verse 28. Don't turn to it. Just jot it down and let me share it with you. The apostle John said even in his day, little children, it is the last time, and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists.

Did you get it? Many antichrists, whereby we know it is the last time. That is, the more you see antichrists, the spirit of antichrists that's in the world, the more you realize that you're living in the last time.

Now, this man is a picture of antichrist himself. The three things I want you to see primarily as we look at this story, we see the story of these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to the king's image. And first of all, as we learn to stand alone, I want you to see the very fury that these boys faced.

I mean the pressures that were upon them. Now, again, let me show you that Nebuchadnezzar does picture and stands for the antichrist. Let me give you some interesting things. For example, the Nebuchadnezzar made an image of himself and told everybody to worship that. Put in your margin Revelation chapter 13 and beginning in verse 13.

Just listen to it now because time is short and I'm going to go fast. You jot these scriptures down and I'll share them with you. Revelation chapter 13, verse 13. And he is speaking of the antichrist now, not Nebuchadnezzar. This is way back in the last book of the Bible, not the book of Daniel, but the book of Revelation.

Listen to it. And he doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire to come down from heaven on earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Nebuchadnezzar says, I've got an image here if you don't worship, but you're going to be killed. The antichrist is coming. He's going to make an image, more incredible than the one Nebuchadnezzar made. And if those people at that time will not worship that image, they will be killed. An interesting use of the number six is here.

Look in chapter 3, verse 1. The king made an image of gold whose height was threescore cubits. How many is threescore? Well, that's 60. And the breadth of it was what? Six cubits. And how many pieces of orchestration were in the orchestra?

Look in verse 5. At what time do you hear the sound of the cornet? That's one. The flute, that's two. The harp, that's three. The sack foot, that's four. The psaltery, that's five.

And the dulcimer, that's six. All through this thing you find six, six, six. Well, what is the number of the beast, the antichrist, that's going to come? Revelation chapter 13 and verse 18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and the number is six hundred threescore and six.

Six, six, six. And so what I'm trying to say is this, that there was a man named Nebuchadnezzar. He is a type, a picture, a prophecy, an illustration of the antichrist that will come. Antichrist will come.

One day he will set up an image. One day he will use the number 666 to cause universal worship. But in this day and in this age in which we now live, the spirit of antichrist is already in the world. There are many antichrists. And if people in that day must stand alone, so must we in this day stand alone. And there will be incredible pressure. Now, I want you to see what old Nebuchadnezzar did so long ago to try to get people to conform.

First of all, there will be emotional enticement. Look in verse 5. At what time you hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sack, but the psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the golden image. The Babylonian orchestra began to play. There was incredible music. You see, what does music do? Music touches the emotions. Music is a gift of God. But the devil also knows the power of music. And Satan is using music today like never before to enforce his diabolical plans upon the world. So Satan is a master musician.

The Bible even speaks of Satan as having tablets or pipes in him. When he speaks, it's like majestic music. Now, his music can be hideously beautiful or it can have a demonic beat, but it is Satan's tool as never before. Satan wants to capture a generation by music, and who will deny? Who will deny that there is emotional enticement?

But wait a minute. Not only emotional enticement, secondly, there is social inducement. The Bible mentions in verses 2 and 3 that everybody was doing this. And in verse 4, the herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages.

Everybody is going to be doing it. And if you do not fall in line, if you do not step in time, if you do not do what you're told to do in this day and in this age, you're going to be looked upon as an oddball. We are moving quickly to a one-worldism, a one-world government.

The America that we have known is being diluted and being absorbed into a generation and into a globalism spurred on by global gullibility of those who will not stand alone and stand for what is right. Now, watch it. First of all, there's emotional enticement. There's the music. Then there's social inducement.

Everybody is doing it. And then there is government enforcement. Government enforcement. Look, if you will, in verse 6. And whoso follows not down in worshipeth, the same shall be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. Now, the government in that day and the government more and more in our day is trying to squeeze everybody into a mole and say that you cannot stand for this thing or you cannot stand for that thing. We will arrest you for contempt of court or we will take away your tax-exempt status.

We will do this, we will do that because you are in the way of the progress of peace. And, friend, Jesus said in the last days, there's coming a time when those who kill you will think they do God a service. There's a man named Jim Luce who has an organization called Fundamentalist Anonymous. That is, I was once a member of a Bible-believing church.

Now, they use the term fundamentalist with a sneer as a pejorative term. And I finally came out. I extradited myself from that form of mind control.

That's what they call it. And now for other people who were once caught up in this kind of an organization, here is a way to liberate yourself and free yourself. Now, that's not so bad. You just have to pity those people and feel sorry for them. But I want you to get the mindset, I want to quote what he has said.

Now, listen to it. He's speaking of you, if you're a Bible believer, and here's what he says. They have a mindset of seeing the world in black and white, good and evil. That is very totalitarian and authoritarian. We think it is a mental health problem. And when translated into the political arena, it is a democratic problem. He's just simply saying, friend, when you stand up and say the Bible says, and this is wrong and this is right, you're mentally sick. There is a mental health problem, and when it becomes a mental health problem, then it becomes a democratic problem. These are the people standing in the way of world peace.

Now, if you think that's a joke, friend, you go to the former Soviet Union and find all of those who were cast not into prison but into mental health hospitals because they dare stand up and say, this is wrong and this is right, and we will not go along. And so not only was there this governmental enforcement, there's going to be spiritual defilement, spiritual defilement. You see, the devil was behind all of this. Look in verse 6, and whoso falleth not down, and worshippeth. Now, learn this about the devil. The devil does not want casualties. He wants converts. The devil wants to be worshipped, and the antichrist that comes, he wants to be worshipped. Again, Revelation chapter 13, verses 7 and 8, and it was given to him, that is, antichrist, to make war with the saints and overcome them.

That's governmental enforcement, and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the land slain from the foundation of the world. And that's the power. That's what we're up against, my dear friend. We're up against emotional enticement. We're up against social inducement, governmental enforcement. We're up against spiritual defilement, and it is in the world everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. It's in this city.

It's in your city, wherever you are listening to this program today, and you're going to have to learn to stand against it. Second thing I want you to see now. The very first thing is what I call the fury they faced. The second thing I want you to see is the faith that they followed.

I want you to see what it was that helped these three young men to stand alone, because these are the things that you're going to have to have and you're going to have to have in the hearts and lives of your children. Now begin in verse 13, if you will. Daniel chapter 3 and verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Then they brought these men before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready, at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made well. But if ye worship not, ye should be cast the same hour into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Now notice the spirit of antichrist here. Notice the contempt he has for God, and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

Now, oh, folks, here's where it gets good. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Now, when he says we're not careful, that is, we don't have to hesitate. We don't have to study about it. We're not worried about it.

We don't have to ponder about it. We're not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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.

But now notice this. Hallelujah. 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. Now, suppose we're there, and we say, now, boys, let's give you some advice.

You're in a tough spot. I mean, your faith is about to be in the fire. Now, fellas, let me just tell you what to do. Now, here's the average carnal Christian speaking, when in Babylon, do what? Do as the Babylonians did. Now, go along to get along.

I mean, after all, it'd be a whole lot better for you to compromise a little bit here and live a little longer so you do some more good than just simply to be stubborn and to stand up, and after all, Christians are supposed to get along with everybody and everything, including the devil himself. So just don't, don't, don't stand alone. But these men did, and how did they do it? By the faith that they had. Now, I want you to notice the faith they followed, and I want you to notice three things about that faith.

Number one, it was a settled faith. Look, if you will, in verse 16. In verse 16, they said, we're not careful to answer you, O king. We don't have to get in a huddle. We don't have to ponder it. We don't have to say, now, king, give us a night to sleep on it.

We don't have to have a committee meeting. You know what I believe these boys had done? I believe these boys had already been in a revival meeting. I believe they had been in a revival meeting before they were carried away captive under good king Josiah.

There had been a revival in the preaching of Jeremiah. They had God's Word hidden down in their heart. They already knew what was right.

They already knew what was wrong. Let me tell you something, dear friend. There are too many of you spending too much time trying to make up your mind what you're going to do about this thing and this thing and this thing and this thing.

One of the greatest things I've learned in life is one big decision will keep you from a lot of little ones. Just make one big one. Have you ever, you and your wife, going out to supper one night, and you pull out of the driveway, she says, well, where do you want to go? Well, what do you want? Well, I don't know. What about so and so? I don't know.

What about so and so? And you're steering the car all over the neighborhood like this. You go here, and then you can... Look, folks, if you know you're going to this and such a place, when you come out, you just turn and go, right? I mean, you made one big decision, then the rest of it's just automatic.

And so it is in life. When you make a certain decision, when you say this is right and this is wrong, and then when Nebuchadnezzar says, what are you going to do? You say, hey, I don't have to think about it.

I don't have to think about it. Their faith was a subtle faith. And coming up tomorrow, we'll hear part two of this important lesson. But maybe today you have questions about who Jesus is or what He means to you, how you can begin a relationship with God through Christ. Go to our Discover Jesus page at lwf.org slash radio.

There you'll find resources and materials that will answer questions you may have about your faith. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety, you can call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD to order when faith is in the fire. You can also go online to lwf.org slash radio or write us to order at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Be sure to sign up for our daily heartbeat emails and you'll get daily devotions and message links sent straight to your inbox.

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