Under Pressure
Notes
Transcript
Has anyone ever felt pressured to do something that you might not have done if you were by yourself, but you did because you were with a group of people.
When I was a freshman in college I moved from Maryland to Illionois,
And you might know this Maryland does not really get tornados and if they do there usually pretty small.
But I remember moving to Illinois and the tornados can be a little on the larger side
And so the first big tornado of the year happened and me and some freinds just got out of church (usually good ideas come from church, but this wasn’t one of those times).
And one of my friends says we should go storm chasing.
And all of us are going yeah we should go storm chasing and so we load up about 8 of us in a 5 person SUV and go.
And we are tacking where the tornado is and we are listening to the radio and it says it around where we are and all the sudden the radio started cutting out and I am not sure if it was a post appochaliptic radio station or not but somthing came accross the radio that said this (and it sounded like this)
“If you can hear my voice seek shelter now”
And then out of no where the rain became so hard we could not see and the car was rocking back and fourth in the wind and we began to realize this was an awful idea.
And it only took a 1 second into this to realize this was a terrible idea.
But you know with all seriousness no one forced me to go on this trip, but it was where everyone I was with was doing it, so how could I not.
I mean we are a people where things often times pressure us where we either know this is a bad idea or we just don’t question it because everyone else is doing it.
And so often when that happens we realize the consequences of that once its too late.
And really today we are going to be in Daniel 3 and we will be looking at the pressure that we face in our lives that often pushes us to make bad choices and really choices that push us further from God.
And so before we dive in we will be continuing this series that we are in called “In The Fire, and if you have been with us we have been zeroing in on these four guys named Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abendigo.
and These were men taken from Jeruselum after it was captured, and the past couple weeks we have seen them remain faithful to God, in a place where everything is pulling them away.
And if you were with us last week we saw them actually interpret a dream for the king and really this takes place right after where we left off last week.
So once again we are in Daniel 3 and we have a lot of ground to cover today so look at the first 7 verses. It says this:
Daniel 3:1–7 (NIV)
The Image of Gold and the Blazing Furnace
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
So its really interesting because last week (you might remember that Nebechanezers dream was of a staute that part of it was gold and when Daniel interpreted it he said that it was because Nebechanezers reign would one day end.
And whats interesting, is this takes place right after and Nebechanerzer makes this giant gold statue, and it was his way of saying I am not going anywhere but my kingdom is here to stay regardless of what God says.
And so they build this statue and they command everyone when music plays that they need to bow to the statue.
And so when the music played there was a lot of pressure because everyone would bow and if you did not bow it meant that you were against Babyloin and were a trader and would be thrown into a furnace and killed.
I mean I don’t know about you but thats a lot of pressure.
And maybe no ones threatening to throw you in a furnace, but in our lives like we talked about there is a ton of pressure to do somthing even if its not right.
I love this study that was done in the 1950s (PICTURE) And basically they had 120 participants and they placed each one in a room and told them they were doing a vision test with 7 other participants.
And they would ask them to raise their hand for the letter of the line that matches the line on the other side of the screen.
And the 7 other participants purposly chose the wrong awnser to see one the other person would do.
And almost everytime out of the 120 participants everyone would raise their hand, and then the person being tested would look around and slowly raise their hand.
They knew the awnser was wrong, but they decided everyone else is raising their hand maybe I should?
Can I just pause here and say the pressure we face to make choices that are not right is strong.
because we look around and see others doing it and we think maybe its not that bad.
I mean a lot of times its everyone cheats on a test its just a test!
Everyones trying this, why should’t I?
So what if I rip someone off at work, thats part of my job and everyone else is doing it.
The pressure we face is really strong.
And look at this next part in verses 8 -15 because it says this:
8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.” 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
You know everyone is bowing to this image, and whats interesting is Shadrack, Meshach and Abendnego do not.
And before I go any further, its so important to point out that this was not just a one time thing, but this is something that was most likely a result of them being faithful over and over again.
because in the first week of this series we saw these guys doing what was right to the point they were not eating the food that they were not supposed to.
And we can imagine that time abnd time again they said we are going to remain faithful to our God
And then all of these things prepared them to remain faithful in the big thing.
Because the truth is in life we have a lot of choices (both big and small),
And the decsions we make in the small things often times will effect the decisions we choose in the big moments (whether those desions are for better or worse)
I mean think about it like a diet right?
If you are on a diet your likelieness to stick with it has to do with how often to resist the things that look good right?
So when you say know to the carbs, youll be ready to say no to the desert,
But a lot of times if you go well its just a little bit of carbs and then you go well its just a cake pop,
Well its just dinner
Well its just a couple meals.
And on a serious note a lot of times we might go well this is just a small thing and those small choices prepare us for bigger ones,
Until its easy to find our selves in a place where we look back a year and say I would have never done this.
We need to be faithful in the small parts if we want to be faithful in the big areas.
And we see them make these three men do this and now they are making this huge choice that they know will probably cost them their lives.
And Nebechanzer basically says if you do not bow theres not a god that can resucue you from me.
And look at the next few verses because it says this:
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
You know this is one of my favorite parts of this story.
because they say we do not need to defend ourselves here because first off our God is able to deliver us and secondly even if He does not, we refuse to bow down to this idol you have made.
Can I just say this is a really powerful phrase, becaause a lot of times we like the prosperity gospel where you turn to God and your life has no issue .
But here is the issue with that, because the Bible does not really say that.
Because challenges still happen in life (being in a relationship with God may steer you away from some poor choices but heartache and pain still happens right?)
But heres what faith looks like because they say whether I am delivered or not we will follow our God, and He might not save us here but we know He will go with us.
Its almost like if you were in a desert. Deserts are hot aren’t they?
And we can not last super long int hat type of heat, but heres the thing imagine you found a hose that water was come out of.
When we have water going with us we can last a lot longer.
The hose doesn’t change the enviroment right?
Its still a thousand degrees, but its amazing how the hose makes a difference,
And in our walk with God, He goes with us, but so often instead of just allowing God to move we kink the hose and before we know it we are in this enviroment and we have pushed God away.
And I think there is a really mature posture to say God I want you to be present regardless of if the enviromnt changes or not.
Whether my situation gets better or worse I want to cling to you.
And lets look at this very last part (verses 19-28) and its a little longer but I want us to se the full story. It says this:
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
So Nebekenezer is furius and you can picture him get angrier and angrier
And he actually gets his guards to turn the furnace even hotter and its so hot the people throwing them in die, and they throw them in and whats amazing is the king looks in the fire and their is a 4th person there that looks like the son of God.
and so he yells for them to come out.
But whats amazing is they come out and they do not even smell like smoke.
You know obviusly the amazing part of this story is they are saved but I think the more amazing part is who was in the fire with them, because most scholars believe this was Jesus.
He did not leave them to burn, but he stood in the fire with them and he delievered them.
And whats beautiful is king Nebechanezer this guy who the first week sent a message that God was dead, a guy who tried to openly defy God’s vision he gave him, ends up not having people praise this statue, but say praise their God.
You know as we close I don’t know the things that are pressureing you today.
Maybe its somthing your spouse or (boyfirend or girlfriend) wants you to do,
Maybe its somthing everyone is doing at work,
Maybe your boss asked you to do somthing and you do not have peace about it.
Maybe its something your viewing or doing and you know its not good.
Can I just ask what would it look like to remain faithful when others are going the oppisite direction.
Because I believe God can do some amazing things when we faithfully pursue Him.
Will you pray with me?