Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Trusting God in the fire. None of us want to be in the fire.
Some of you are in the fire right now. It's a terrible place to be. But we're going to learn. That we have to trust God in The fire. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
Throughout the Bible, we see countless examples of God's power and faithfulness coming through to save His people when all hope seems lost. But today on the verdict, we're considering those moments in life when it seems that God has not come through. when our prayers seem to go unanswered.
So let's join Pastor John Monroe for the start of a lesson titled Trusting God in the Fire. These are rich lessons as we study the book of Daniel and learn from these young men in a very hostile and pagan culture. Although they're in Babylon, Babylon is not in them. These are men who are strong in their faith in the Lord. They are true to the word of God.
They are wise beyond their years. Last time we learned, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are commanded by King Nebuchadnezzar. along with everyone else in Babylon, to bow before his graven image. They know. This is a breach of the Ten Commandments.
So they refused to bow. They fear God rather than fearing Nebuchadnezzar. and they're prepared to meet the consequences of their actions. Listen now as these men trust God in the fire. Today, we continue our study in Daniel chapter 3.
We looked at the fascinating story of Shadruk. Meshach and Abednego being delivered from From the fiery furnace. These brave men refused to bow to to Nebuchadnezzar's image. and we are prepared To pay the consequences of refusing to bow before the image of the most powerful man in the universe then, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And in God's grace, they were delivered from the fiery furnace.
They stand as incredible examples to us. examples of integrity Examples of courage, examples of faith. They refused to bow, because those made in the image of God must never ever bow to any man made image. And the first lesson we learned was don't compromise your internal convictions when faced with external pressures. We all know about external pressures on us, sometimes to do that which is wrong, to do that which is expedient, to compromise.
But we must never compromise our internal convictions when faced with external pressures. There are external pressures on all of us to conform to our culture, to bow to idols, to go along with the crowd, but these men dared to be different. Any compromise? In your life, Are you compromising in the face of external pressures or with God's strength? Are you standing true today?
standing true to what you believe is right, standing true to your internal convictions, irrespective of the external pressures on you. The strongest man The strongest person in the world is the person who is prepared to stand alone. because of their internal convictions because of what they know is right. The second lesson we learned And it's a wonderful one, is that God is able. God is able to do the impossible.
Our God is able to do all things. Men can be thrown into a fiery furnace and delivered from the furnace. God Who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth? God is a God who can do the impossible. That's why, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are people of hope.
In the midst of seemingly overwhelming odds against us, we do not despair. In the darkest of nights, in the fieriest of furnaces, in the deepest of waters, we believe that our God is able He is able to do the impossible. And that great truth strengthens our hearts It deepens our convictions and it deepens our love for this great God. Who is able? to do all things.
But I don't know about you, but as I preached last week and as I Read again this week, Daniel chapter three. About this amazing deliverance from the fiery furnace, and listening to this great truth, and reminding ourselves that God is able. I must confess I had a nagging doubt in my mind, a doubt that grows larger and larger, and I don't think I'm the only person that has this doubt. What? about that situation.
where it appears that God has not come through. Where God, it appears, has not been able. Where God has not delivered us from the fiery furnace. We prayed. We have believed in faith that God is able to do the impossible.
but our prayers have not been answered. God, it seems, has not come through for us. What then? Today we want to deal with that question. With some of the mysteries and the enigmas of life.
I've given this message then the title Trusting God In the fire. None of us want to be in the fire.
Some of you are in the fire right now. It's a terrible place to be. But we're going to learn. That we are to trust God. In the fire.
As we think about the situations where sometimes God Appears not to deliver us. Let's open our Bibles then to Daniel 3. We looked at that last week. And we're going to look And reread just part of the amazing story of the fiery furnace, which is familiar to us. and I will break in to the text again in Daniel three That's Thirteen.
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 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I've set up?
Now, if you are ready. When you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, backpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down. And worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship You shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar. We have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, 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. 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 up.
Tremendous words, aren't they? One has to learn first of all this morning. Trust God. Even when you don't know His purposes and plans. Trust God.
Even when you don't know his purposes and his plans.
Now, what's the context here? Nebuchadnezzar. Is giving these three Jewish men another opportunity to serve his gods and worship the golden image. He hears that they're not bowing down to his image. He's already given the command: if you don't bow down, you're going to be thrown into the fiery furnace.
And then, to his surprise, he's given this report: these three men. Pretty high in your administration, O king. You may recall them Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And can you imagine their audacity? They are not bowing down to your image.
And Nebuchadnezzar wants to personally interview these men. He's met them before, remember? When they were students at the University of Babylon, we saw in chapter one. He knows that they're not Babylonians. He knows that they do not worship the gods of Babylon.
And so he gives, as it were, another opportunity for them to bow down before his image. And he repeats the dire consequences of not worshiping the idol. The end of verse fifteen. But if you do not worship His words are unmistakably clear, unambiguous. You shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
And then he asks this rhetorical question. Who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? Meaning there is no one. in the universe, more powerful than the gods of Babylon. There is not a God in the whole universe who can deliver you.
I'm going to throw you in. to the fiery furnace if you don't bow down, and I guarantee There is no one, there is no God. Who can? deliver you. No God greater than Babylon's gods is the point.
Now in verse seventeen Notice that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Do not question the power of God to deliver them. Verse 17. If this is so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. They do not question the power of God to deliver.
They know that the true and the living God, the Creator of the universe, is much more powerful than these false gods of Babylon. They don't question His power. As godly Jews, they know the history of Israel. When God's power is displayed, They know their ancient ancestors had once been slaves in Egypt and God had done a mighty thing, a powerful thing, delivered them through the Red Sea, and the mighty foes of Pharaoh had been conquered. They remember the Battle of Jericho.
Do you remember the story of the little Teenage boy David taking on the giants. Goliath the Philistine, and with one little stone bringing him crashing down. They know the stories of faith, they know their history. They have also seen God at work before. In chapters one and two, as we've learned.
They know their gods. And they know that God is able to do all things. Our God is able, is their theme that they say to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Now remember, he's the king. Remember, he is the most powerful person in the universe. He's conquered the Assyrians, he's conquered the Egyptians, he's conquered. Jerusalem. He set the temple on fire.
He has taken them captives all the way back. To Babylon, present day. Iraq has power, isn't it? And these three young men are going to be defying him. But notice.
Although they do not question God's power They are submissive. To God's purposes. This is key. They don't question God's power. But they're submissive to God's purposes.
Verses seventeen and eighteen are key. They don't bow to the image, ah, but they do bow before God. If this be so, 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. But if not, That's it. But if not, if he doesn't deliver it, we want you to know this, O king, that we still will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you've set up.
What a great truth. If No it's Here is mature faith. These three men recognised that God's power If we can say this reverently, God's power is limited by his purposes. They know that God has the power to do anything He wants to do. that God has the power to deliver them from the fiery furnace, but they recognize that they don't always know the purposes and the plans and the will of God.
So they are prepared to accept the consequences. They say, yes, we believe our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, but even if He doesn't, We still are not going to bow before you. We're still not going to compromise. Our internal Convictions when faced with this external pressure to conform, to go along with the crowd. God has the power to deliver us.
And we believe that he will deliver us, but if not We still believe in God. We still believe that God And God alone is sovereign. They are prepared to accept the will of God for their lives, even if that means death. itself. They trust in God.
They believe that God will deliver them. But whether He does or does not deliver them, they will still submit to God's will. Do you get the point? Even in the increasing pressure of the situation, as Nebuchadnezzar commands the furnace to be heated up seven times. They still Trust.
Got it. What's the lesson for you and me? It's very simple to state, very difficult to accept. In the ups and downs and the fiery trials of life, trust God. at all times and in all situations.
Throughout Scripture, we have this great principle: the just, the righteous, shall live by what? Live by faith. You're facing some tremendous pressure on your life just now.
some terribly difficult situation, a family crisis, possible financial ruin. We're told this week of some serious medical problem that you have?
Some ministry challenge.
some marital difficulty, some work situation. Here is the word of God to you this morning God is able to do the impossible. But you are to trust God. I am to trust God even when we don't know his purposes.
So here's the key question. Are you willing to trust God and depend on God and commit your whole life to God even when His purposes are different from your own desires. Do not answer it too quickly. You prepare to do that? Or do you make your obedience to God And your faith in God contingent upon God doing what you want.
And what will make life more comfortable for you? or easier for you. Don't we try sometimes? to use god to manipulate God Daniel 3 reminds us we are to trust God. in every situation At all times.
Not just when it's convenient, not just when it's easy. But when they Fire is very hot around us. It is then that the strength of our faith and the strength of our convictions are truly revealed, trust God. at all times in the null situations. They're ready to obey God, these men.
Whether God chooses to deliver them from the fiery furnace or not Sinkler Ferguson writes, The profound truth is that they found their object. of affection in God Himself, not in what God could do for them. Yeah. They say they know God. They refer to this God whom we serve.
This was not the first time they had an experience of God. They had walked with God. They were men of faith. They knew the word of God. They were men of prayer.
Men who were strong. And so when the pressure comes, they don't even, in a sense, need to think about it. They know that their top allegiance is not to Nebuchadnezzar, is not to conform. With everyone else, but to do what is right and to trust God irrespective of the circumstances. Just think of this situation.
with little baby Kai. The year when Other than a few days, he was never at a hospital. What did we do as the people of God? We cried out to God And what did we ask God for? We asked God for His healing.
We ask God with all of the medical problems to graciously Reach down and heal this little boy. that his parents Anna and Lewis believe that God is able absolutely. We did. But I praise God they also recognized what these men recognise, but If Not And my little Kai slipped from time into eternity. His parents, Louis and Anna, did not abandon their faith.
No, we are still going to trust God. Do we believe that he can heal my little boy? Absolutely, we believe that one hundred percent. But if he does not, We still will commit our lives and this little boy into the hands of the all sovereign God. That's what Job says, the Lord gives.
Who gives life? Who gives a child? Who gives you employment? Who gives you your mental capacity? Who gives you your athletic ability?
Who gives you the capacity to make a lot of money? To do well, it comes from a sovereign God. The Lord gives. Everything we are and have comes from the hand of a gracious God. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, says Paul.
And in all cases, blessed be the name of the Lord. No, that's hard, isn't it? That's mature faith. To trust God. Even when you don't know his purposes.
And plants. It is true that sometimes God delivers us from the fire, but at other times He delivers us through the fire. What would you prefer? Of course, to be delivered from the fire. Who wants to be In the fire.
But in either circumstance, God, It's April. and in all cases We must, as our Saviour did in the Garden of Gethsemane, submit to him and say, not my will. But thine Be done. Because we know this. That our sovereign God, our all-wise God, our all-loving God, is working out His purposes in our life.
It is true. As the Apostle Paul could say, that all things work together for good to those who love God. Psalm 138, verse 8: The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. And as I commit my life to Christ, and as you commit your life to Christ, we have this assurance. that even in the midst of the fire, that God is at work and God is miraculously in ways that we don't understand in the enigmas and mysteries and riddles of life and the unexpected situations that come to us so quickly in a split second and can turn our lives upside down in all cases, God.
is in control. How do you respond? When God chooses not to answer your prayer, You believe that God is able to heal? But if not. You believe that God is able to turn around that dreadful situation in your life?
But if not. You believe that God is able to touch the heart of that special person in your life, but if not. God sometimes, for his own reasons and purposes, does not deliver, does not heal, does not act in the way that we desire. But we must never ever. Demand that God does something for us.
That God must act in a certain way because that's what I want. I remember watching one of these T V preachers On television, and he was saying to the congregation that they should all throw away the hearing aids. That they had. I don't really should try that sometime, shouldn't they? You're a hearing aid.
Throw it away, God's going to heal you. And I thought, that's amazing. Such preaching, if we could call it that. removes all mysteries. From her face.
reduces faith to the to a second rate salesman making a pitch. and demonstrating That they believe that they are in charge of their life rather than the lesson that we've learned over and over again in Daniel: that God and God alone is in charge. and that God is sovereign. And that the God who made us has plans and purposes for our lives, and sometimes He graciously reveals them to us, but so often the Christian life and so much of life is a step by step daily trusting on God that that will keep me humble and that will keep me looking to God, who I must acknowledge is in charge. And to trust God in these circumstances In a very real sense, it is even greater faith.
God is able to deliver us out of the fire and take us out of that situation, but what if not. God is able to do anything. God is able to do the impossible. We understand that. We understand His power.
But let us humbly acknowledge that we do not always understand his purposes. and his plans. But will you today trust God?
Well you know Humble yourself. And accept God's will. and God's purposes for your life. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us.
From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you trust God even when you don't know His purposes and plans for your life? It's easy to trust God in times of prosperity. But what about in times of adversity? These men are going to experience that God is there in the darkest of nights, in the deepest of waters, yes, in the fieriest of furnaces.
Take time today to worship this great God, to reaffirm your faith in Him. Be strong. Be courageous. If God is for us, who can be against us? Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict.
I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
