Trust in the Lord Who Rescues
Living in Babylon: An Exposition of Daniel

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Good morning church! We’re continuing our series in the book of Daniel. This morning, we’re in Daniel, chapter three. We’ve entitled the series, “Living in Babylon.” You will find the word, “Babylon,” reoccurring from Genesis to the book of Revelation. It’s symbolic of the world’s government, the world’s economy and the world’s religion. It’s synonymous with the world. So, living in Babylon is like saying living in the world.

The Jewish people had been conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian King; he had taken them into exile into Babylon. They’re living as exiles away from their home and all things are new in this foreign land. As we were reading through this book, we were contemplating and thinking about what it means for us as believers, because this world is not our true home. We are citizens of heaven and we are people made for eternity with Jesus, but for this season, we’re still living in this world, so we’re still living in Babylon.

What can we learn from the book of Daniel about how to live in Babylon? That’s how we’ve been getting at the book. The observation I want to make is, when I’m reading any book of the Bible, I’m looking for God. Where is God? What can we learn about God here? The Bible is primarily a book about God. There’s a lot of stories here about people and so forth, and it teaches us a lot about people and about history, but it’s primarily a book page by page, revealing more and more about the character of God, the person of God. And then, ultimately, the highest revelation of the Bible is the person of Jesus, Who is the fullest and most complete and supreme revelation of who God is and how we might know God.That’s what I’m looking for, and Daniel, I want you to look with me. I’m looking for where God is at work and where is Jesus, because He’s the ultimate purpose for us reading the Bible. The bible is the written Word, but He’s the living Word.

How can we look for Jesus? That’s what I’m asking as I’m looking at chapter three. Thank you, band, for that song. The band has been trying to find a place to put that song for years. They were waiting for me to preach chapter three, in the book of Daniel; this is the only place we can use this song.

We’re talking about trials today, talking about fiery trials, hard things because sometimes as believers living in Babylon, we go through times of suffering. We go through times of difficulty and we need help to know how to live in those times. We need help on how to keep the faith and how to live. We’re going to be looking at the story, in chapter three, on how we can continue to rely on the Lord Who is able to rescue.

As we look at Chapter three, the Lord delivered three Hebrew exiles from the fiery furnace, and He caused even the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar to exalt Him as the most high God. As we look at this today, I believe that we can place our trust in the Lord as the God who rescues. This is what we see here. He is the God who is able to rescue. How can we place our trust in that God, in the God who is able to rescue?

We’re going to be looking at the text today. You cannot leave the church today, saying you wish they would read the Bible more, because I’m getting ready to read the Bible to you. I want the Holy Spirit to speak to us right now.

From Daniel, Chapter three. I’m going to read the whole chapter, and I might make a few comments along the way. This is the story of the three Hebrew children being thrown into the fiery furnace. After we hear this, then we’ll listen for three ways that we can trust the Lord to rescue us from the fiery trial. So let’s read:

Daniel 3:1-30 (ESV) 1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 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 have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, 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?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 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. 18 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.” 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: 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 in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”

(These notes were dispersed through the scripture by Pastor Gary:) In verse 1, the plain of Dura is a plain just a little bit south of Babylon itself. I want you to notice, in verse 2 and 3, the repetition of “King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” He set this up. It’s a man-made image. It was his idea and he set it up. They were to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up and whoever did not fall down and worship would immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace. There are certain Jews who you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon. These guys are obviously jealous of these three men. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace. I don’t know what happened, but I heard an old preacher talk about this some years ago, and he said that he felt like God leaned down at that point, and asked, What did they say? He took note.

Three ways to trust the Lord who is able to rescue.

How to trust in the Lord who is able to rescue: 1. Understand that He often calls you to face a fiery trial.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had already faced the trial of being separated from their home, carried away as exiles when they were just teenagers, educated at “Babylonian U” for three years learning the Chaldean language and literature and, now, they’ve been elevated and they were leaders in the provinces. But on this particular day, they didn’t really mean to draw attention to themselves. When the music played and all the people bowed down, they were standing over to the side, and they did not bow to him. The Chaldean officials that were jealous of them saw it and brought it to Nebuchadnezzar’s attention.

You know, sometimes God calls you out and He calls you into a fiery trial. You might think, You know, I came to Christ. I became a believer to get out of trouble so I could have a better life. Listen, it is a life full and abundant, overflowing. It is a better life, but we still live in Babylon. When you live in Babylon, you live under Satan’s reign. This world system is under his reign, and this world system is sinful and fallen. Bad stuff happens to good people in Babylon. I want to be honest with you . I don’t want to give you a false faith. I want to give you a faith that will endure. God called these three men to go into the fiery furnace for Him. He called them to that moment in time, and they were to face Him.

I don’t know what you’re facing today. Some of you may be doing really well right now and you will file away this message for a future moment. I guarantee, though, if you’re not going through a season, you know someone who is, and maybe you can apply it to them and help them with it. Many of you today are going through a season of suffering; you are going through a season of trial, of difficulty. And you might be saying, God, where are you? God, get me out of this. God, I don’t I don’t know where You are. Be aware that God has never left His throne. God is still God and, sometimes for his own purposes, He allows us and calls us even to a fiery trial.

These three men were ready for that possibility. When you look at this passage I have already pointed out to you, it keeps saying that Nebuchadnezzar set up this image, he set up this situation. He set up this place where they were to worship this false idol. It doesn’t seem to me to be an accident, that in chapter two he had a dream of an image that had a golden head on a silver torso, a bronze middle section, legs of iron and feet of clay, mixed with iron. That was last week. The interpretation of the dream was that Babylon was the head of gold. This doesn’t seem to be an accident.

In chapter three, he goes out and builds himself an image of gold. He seems to be doing it to try to unify all these different people groups and different languages because he’s got a vast kingdom . They all come from different backgrounds, and he is trying to rally them around one thing and he comes up with this golden nine-story tall statue, maybe like a totem pole because it’s so narrow. Maybe the image is of Nebuchadnezzar himself; historians suggest that during this time period there might have been some rebellion on the outskirts of Babylon and he was trying to do this to unify everybody. So, this was like a call to loyalty; he has set it all up.

These three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were influential leaders. They had already predetermined that they would not bow down to idolatry, as that would be breaking the second commandment. The first commandment says, “Thou shall not have any gods before me.” The second commandment says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor the likeness of any form that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” They have decided , listen, we’re in Babylon. We’re going to do our jobs, and we’re going to do it with excellence. These were good men, faithful men. They were to navigate Babylon. They had predetermined that if it costs us our life, we will not bow down to a false idol. They had drawn the line in the sand and they had decided this. This is interesting. I want you to think about this. The quality of the faith that they had was, whether God delivered them or not, they were not going to disobey him.

Now, I don’t know what the quality of your faith is, but the best way to test your faith is to go through a season of suffering and trial. Through a difficult season, you find out what is really the quality of your faith.

If you want to test gold, you put it in a furnace and all of the impurities rise to the top. The goldsmith sloughs off those impurities, so that all that’s left is pure gold. But this process takes some heat; it takes some temperature and fire to do that.

The bible says that your faith is like gold. God wants to purify your faith because He cares more about your character than He does your comfort. He’s making you like Jesus. If He would send His one and only Son to suffer for us and to die on the cross, then He might call you to go through a season of suffering so that your faith is increased, it is tested and it grows. As you declare your faith through suffering, sometimes He calls us to go through seasons of difficulty.

These three men were ready when the time came. They knew what to say. They had predetermined that they would obey their God. In the book of John, this is Jesus speaking,He says, John 16:33 (NLT) “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Here’s what He is saying; here on earth, here in Babylon, you will… He doesn’t say, maybe you will.

Of all the promises of Jesus, this is one that most people don’t care much for. He promises that here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. Why? Because you still are living on the battle lines. There’s a day coming when He will rescue and deliver us from every trial, every sorrow and every tear will be wiped away. Do you believe that there’s a day coming like that? This is the time, though, where your faith is being tested. This is the time when the genuineness of your faith is being revealed.

Don’t you want to have a good story to tell when you get to heaven? Guys, we like to compare scars. Hey, check this scar out. Wait a minute, here’s a scar I got back in 1969. You guys will do that. I don’t know if ladies get together and share their scars. I have several ladies shaking their heads. Scars are kind of like trophies. I got through that with God’s grace. Sometimes it calls you to a fiery trial. He says you will have trouble, but know this; I overcame Babylon. I overcame the world.

1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” Do not be surprised at the fiery trial. You know, maybe he had Daniel chapter three in mind when he wrote that. Don’t be surprised when trouble comes. You’re still in Babylon. Trouble will come and sometimes He will call you not to go over it, around it or underneath it. He will call you to go through it. He wants you to get through it this time. Sometimes, He will call us to a fiery trial.

1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV) “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Sometimes sometimes he calls us to go through the fire.

Polycarp, a disciple of John the Beloved, was a man who lived in the second century ad. Many see him as in the line of discipleship that led to Ignatius, who was another influential author and writer. John the Beloved, was a pastor in the Church of Ephesus. Toward the end of his days, after he came from the Isle of Patmos from that season of being exiled there, a young man named Polycarp grew up under his ministry. John the Baptist passes away and goes to be with the Lord. Polycarp was now in his eighties. At this time, the Roman Caesar declared himself a god. As a test of unity and as a test of loyalty, every person in the Roman Empire is asked to come into the public square and burn incense to the Roman Caesar and declare Caesar as Lord. It was a test of their Roman citizenship and their loyalty. It was sort of like, I pledge allegiance to the flag; something like that. It was no big deal, except if you’re a believer and your name is Polycarp and you have been discipled by John the Beloved, a disciple of Jesus Christ. Polycarp is in his eighties now and he comes into the public square. And as the story is told, the Roman governor in this province knew that there was the possibility that Polycarp might not go along with it. Polycarp was so well thought of that he begged him, Look, it’s no big deal. Just just burn the incense and say, ‘Caesar is Lord,’ and you’re out of here. People were lined up. Can you picture it there in this public square? Just burn the incense, okay, and you are good to go back to do whatever you were doing. But

Polycarp was called “Old Camel Knees,” because he was on his knees so much in prayer. He was a pillar in the Church of Ephesus. He came up to the altar, and I’ve written down what he’s quoted as saying, When he came to that point when it was his turn, he says, “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong.” Polycarp goes on to say “How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked.” Polycarp would not burn the incense. He would not say, Caesar is Lord, so they burned him at the stake. And then they pierced him with a spear and killed him. His last words were these, “I bless you Father for judging me worthy of this hour, so that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ .” Old Polycarp. Old Camel Knees. He was over 80 years old. He died in the public square because he would not say, Caesar is Lord.

This is faith. This is the faith of the three Hebrew men. This is the faith of people throughout the centuries that call Christ their Lord. We are Americans and we are spoiled. We say we suffer because it was too warm in church that Sunday. It was too cold or it was too hot. The music was too loud or it wasn’t loud enough. It needed more bass or there was too much bass. How about some bluegrass? How about a few more hymns? How about some country music? I needed a little bit more rock n’ roll. This is what we complain of. This is what we think being a Christian is. It’s about scorecards and where the church can entertain.

There are more Christians around the world being martyred for their faith in this generation than any generation in 2000 years. We are quietly over here, unaware, because of the freedom that we’ve been given by our forefathers and, really, by our Lord Jesus. When we go through a trial, it breaks our faith. The least little thing, we stumble. But, sometimes, God calls us to suffer.

Here’s the amazing thing. Wherever there is suffering in the world, where Christians are suffering in the name of Jesus, revival breaks out. The blood of the martyrs waters the tree in the church. Wherever Christians are dying for their faith, revival is breaking out because their true faith is being revealed as they reveal their faith in Christ.

I’m not saying that we should all be sitting here saying, Okay, Lord, I’m ready to suffer. I’m not praying that prayer. I don’t want to suffer. I’m not saying that. What I am saying is this; don’t be surprised when you’re facing a fiery trial. Often, the Lord will call you to go through it in His name in order to prove your faith and to give glory to Him.

I’m preaching through the book of Daniel. We’re not playing; we are trying to learn from the faith of our forefathers. I believe that, when the Jewish people read this, no matter how hopeless they may have felt, they would say, Wow, we can stand up. We can keep the faith no matter what the challenges are. That’s the quality of faith I want. I want the faith of Polycarp. I want the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; the kind of faith that says, God is able to deliver me from this. But even if He chooses not to deliver me, He is God and I’m not. I’m going to trust him.

Here’s the second way that we can continue trusting in the God who is able to rescue.

2. Look for His presence in the midst of trials. Look for his presence in the midst of trials. Here’s old Nebuchadnezzar saying, Who is the God who would deliver you out of my hands? I’m all powerful here.Look at me. I’ve built a big statue. I have set that whole thing up. I’ve got every instrument. I even have some bagpipes from up in Britain.

I don’t know who you relate to in a story like this. You’re probably like most of us. You relate to one of the three Hebrew children (men). I feel like , you know, if the time were to come and someone said to me, You must say, Caesar is Lord, I feel like I would say, No. Jesus is Lord. I’m trying to relate to them but very few people relate to Nebuchadnezzar. I think, though, most of us are probably more like him. Here he is; he set this whole thing up. He’s his own God. These boys (men) are about to ruin the whole thing for him. He has planned this whole thing and these three guys are about to ruin it. If you read the story, there’s more about his emotions when they say to him, Our God, who we serve, is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. He will deliver us; He’s able to deliver us from the firing furnace. He will deliver us from your hand . They are thinking, whether they burn or not, He is delivering them because they believe in the resurrection. They believe in life eternal; either way, they will be delivered. They will not bow down to his idol. They determined that they were going to do what God says, even if He decides that we must burn because He is God and they were not. This is what they had decided. It’s ruining it for Nebuchadnezzar.

I’ve got seven grandchildren. My youngest one belongs to my oldest son, Stephen.My youngest grandchild belongs to my oldest son. His name is Ryder; he’s going through a season right now, when he doesn’t get his way, he gets mad. He sticks his tongue out and makes an ugly face. I think that’s what Nebuchadnezzar is doing right here. He wants to give them a second chance. You guys are some of my best counselors; I want to give you a second chance. He doesn’t give people second chances, but he does with these guys. When you hear all the instruments play, you bow down and we’re good, ok? This is what King Nebuchadnezzar says in verse 15, “Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, 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?” They don’t bow down. This is what they say,in verse 16 “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 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. 18 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.” Verse 19, “Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed…” We are more like him than we are anybody else in this story because we want our own way; that’s the definition of sin. Sin is choosing your way rather than God’s way. Sin is saying, I am Lord of my own life. I am king of my own destiny. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was king. He thought he was in charge, but he’s about to find out otherwise.

So, Nebuchadnezzar decides to throw them in the fiery furnace. I was thinking about this, if God was going to rescue them, why did they have to be put in the fiery furnace anyway? He could rescue them without having to be put in the fire first. If you read on, they were bound. Tie those boys up with the best knots you have. So were tied up and bound. Then, it describes how they were clothed. They were clothed in their robes or cloaks and, apparently, they were wearing their turbans. You can see the picture of them bound and thrown into the fiery furnace.

I ask questions when I’m reading a text. Why was there even a fiery furnace there to begin with? Do you ask questions like that when you read? Why is it there? I’m thinking it was there because it was like a kiln that they had built, a huge kiln where they could melt metal in order to build the statue. I’m thinking that’s why it was there. Maybe they came to Nebuchadnezzar and said (I’m just kind of giving my thoughts on the back story here) Do you want us to tear the kiln down, clean up the area and make it nice? Maybe Nebuchadnezzar said, No, leave the kiln. I might need that for something. Just in case somebody doesn’t bow down, which I can’t imagine that anybody would do, we will keep that thing burning. Let’s keep that thing burning; we’ll throw them in there.

The kiln has an opening at the top and then has a door on the side. What they do is they fan air into the hole, making it hotter and hotter so it would melt metal. I think it was there to build a statue. That’s the best I can come up with. I’m thinking, maybe, he’s upon a podium, kind of like I am, and he’s got the fire in the kiln. He gives them a second chance to bow down when they hear the music. So, the music is cued and they do not bow. The king orders to heat the burners seven times hotter. The Hebrew men are bound and thrown in; the guys that throw them in the heat, catch fire and die by throwing them in there. When they go in, they fall, bound into the fiery furnace. I’m thinking, God really let’s them get bound and get thrown in; He allows the whole thing to happen before He rescues them. They went into the fire.

I remember when I first planted this church. I talked to the Lord; I can’t figure out how to quit my job and go to seminary because I don’t have the money to do it, and I’ve got debts. I can’t figure it out, but Lord, if you take everything I have, I’m going to obey You. I didn’t mean it. Well, I sort of meant it. But, I thought if I say that to Him, He won’t do it. He did right up to the point. He let me keep my house right up to the point. Anyway, I’m not going to go into that whole story, but I was in a desperate place. Lord, I’m going to obey you, no matter what. Even if you take everything I have. You know, I was making these “real man faith” kind of claims.

These Hebrew men wanted Nebuchadnezzar to know that their God was able. Whether God saves us or not, they are not going to bow down to his idol. He lets them get thrown into the fire. He calls all these guys, these satraps and governors. I don’t know what a satrap is but I like saying it. He got them all together, and he says, (paraphrase) Wait a minute now, when I counted, I counted three. Did you count three? I counted three. Yeah, I’m pretty sure we have three guys in there. Now, I’m seeing four. Are you seeing four? Yeah, we’re seeing four and they’re walking around. They’re just in there walking around.

That’s pretty crazy to me. Someday when we get to heaven, I’ve got a lot of questions I want to ask particular people, but I would like to get with these three boys and ask them, What were you doing in there, walking around?

Remember that old preacher that I was telling you about? I heard him preach this part; he said, “God looked down from heaven and He said, ‘What did they say?’ They said, ‘Jesus, come down here and get in that fiery furnace with them.’ I’m not sure who this is. Nebuchadnezzar says, “I see one whose appearance is like the son of God.” I don’t believe he had a trinitarian theology, so I’m not sure if he knew the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. I don’t think he did, but he saw something divine there. He saw something particular, peculiar and special about this fourth one. He later says it was an angel of the Lord. Well, so I’m not sure because he wasn’t sure.

Is this an angel of the Lord? Is this a christophany? Do you know what a christophany is? A christophany is when Christ Himself appears in the Old Testament. There are many places in the Old Testament where it would say, “an angel of the Lord spoke.” But then, He speaks in the first person and you realize, Oh, that actually was the Lord.

When He goes to Abraham and they were getting ready to go down to Sodom, He begins to talk in the “first person” here. There are many places in the Old Testament that theologians call a christophany, which is an appearance of Christ before He was born in the flesh. Never was there a time that Christ was not. Do you understand that? There’s a time when Jesus began, as the son of God, born to human flesh, that happened 2000 years ago. But there never was a time when the Son of God did not exist. So He may be the one, I prefer to believe, that is in the fiery furnace, the pre-existent one, the one who appears here because whenever they are thrown, bound, into the fiery furnace, it says they were unbound. It never mentions who untied them. I’m thinking that He did. They’re walking around in there.

When you’re going through a season of suffering, Jesus will be right there with you, closer than a brother, closer than any friend. He will be right there with you. People who have gone through trials, people who have gone through suffering and they’ve declared their faith will say, You know what? It was hard, but there was a sweet time with Jesus. I feel like I could touch Him. I felt like He was actually sitting in the room with me. I felt like, as I lay in that hospital bed,He was sitting right there at the foot of my bed, rubbing my feet. I have heard this over and over again. When you go into the fiery furnace, when you go through this time of suffering and trial and you keep on believing, He is always right there. Sometimes you have to walk through the fire but He will unbind you and you will walk around.

Noticed that they don’t come out of the fiery furnace yet. I find that interesting. They’re just in there walking around. Someday I’m going to ask, Hey , guys, what were you walking around and talking about; you and Jesus, you and that fourth person who looked like the son of God? What were you talking about in there?

It kind of reminds me of the story of Job. That’s a hard story to read, isn’t it? He lost everything. His faith was tested; his wife, well, she wasn’t much of an encourager. She said, Job, why don’t you curse God and die? He set out of there, with sores all over his body, weeping and crying before the Lord. In the scripture, in the book of Job, he says, “though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”

When you pray to God, do you see His hand or do you see His face? Do you pray to Him for who He is and what He has done for you or do you pray to some “celestial Santa Claus,” that you offer up your laundry list. Every time you pray it’s, I want, I need, I want I need, I want, I need…” Job says that even if He slays me, He’s my God and I will trust him. It must be that He wants me to come on home early.

These three Hebrew men said that God could deliver them. He is able, but even if He doesn’t deliver them, they are going to obey Him. He is their God.

What’s the quality of your faith? Do you believe for what he can do for you or do you believe because of who He is? What’s the quality of your faith when you go through times of trial? He is present. Jesus, when He was tempted in the wilderness, the third temptation goes like this; Matthew 4:9-11 (ESV) “And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold,angels came and were ministering to him.” If you want the angels, you must go through the wilderness. If you want to experience His presence, you must keep the faith when times are hard. At times like this, look for him. Look for his presence. Remain.

Maybe these three Hebrew children (men) were remembering what Isaiah had written when they were thrown in the fiery furnace. Isaiah spoke of this; the Lord was speaking through him saying, Isaiah 43:1-2 (ESV) …“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Psalm 46:1 (ESV) “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” If you want the angels, you must be willing to walk through the fire. They are on the other side; I’ll meet you there. You see, Christianity is made of sterner stuff. It’s not some flaky, flippant, you know, “stroll through the garden smelling the roses.” There are times of great joy but there are times that we go through difficulty and we need to know that our Savior is there with us and He’s ready to walk through it with us.

Here’s the third way that we can continue trusting in the God who is able to rescue.

3. Believe that He is ultimately able to rescue you from every trial.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fiery furnace. I like how they came out; they don’t come out on their own. Nebuchadnezzar invites them to come out. This is interesting to me. We’re good. We’re good; we are just walking around in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar came near and he said, 26 “Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” He’s getting it right now; he remembers who they are. He says two things: come out and come here. I like that. They didn’t come out until he told them to. They were just walking around. He says to come out of that fiery furnace and come here and they did.

All of the leaders gathered around and did an examination. 27 “And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men.” They had no blisters or burns. They looked at their hair and the hair of their head was not even singed. There was no eyebrow hair out of order. It kind of reminds me where Jesus said that the Father knows even when one sparrow falls to the ground and He even knows the number of the hairs on your head. Not one hair was singed. They kept leaning in and examining. Their clothes didn’t catch fire. They didn’t smell fire on them. There was no evidence that they had even been in the fire. God had brought them through.

God is not only able to rescue, He’s able to save to the uttermost. He brought them through. Nebuchadnezzar had been wanting them to worship the God that he had set up, but here he is, in Verse 28, worshipping their God. Look at what he says, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.” Here’s the old pagan king; its role reversal time. You know what? I will worship your God. That’s what he does right here. He describes what’s happened. He says, “who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him and set aside the king’s command.” In other words, they just decided not to obey me. They decided to obey Him and they yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any God except their own God. So, here he is, worshiping the one true God, the most high God because of their stance, because of the way they went through the fiery trial and kept the faith.

Then, Nebuchadnezzar makes a decree in verse 29, “Therefore I make a decree: 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 in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” He promotes them in verse 30, “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”

Psalm 22: 4-5 (ESV) 4 “In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.” I don’t know what you’re going through today. I don’t know what you might face today or even tomorrow. I know this: Sometimes God calls you to a fiery trial, and it’s a time where He personally will lean in and be closer to you than at any time in your life if you will call on Him and look for Him. If you will say, I will believe in you. I trust in You to give me the strength. You go through it and He will ultimately deliver you from every trial.

Do you believe this? Do you believe that you will live with Jesus forever? Do you believe that there’s an eternity after this life? You see, every one of us will face a day, someday, where God will call us home. This life is not permanent. When you’re passing through, as exiles living in Babylon, He is the God who rescues and He will rescue.

Psalm 34:19 (ESV) “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” He will deliver. Galatians 1:4 (NLT) “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.” In Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT), we read, “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” He came and walked in the fiery furnace for us. He walked in our place. He died on the cruel cross for us in our place and He has rescued those of us who believe. For this season, we are still living in Babylon, and as we do, know this: He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. He is able to deliver us from every trial. Sometimes, He causes us to go through it for His namesake. Amen.

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, first of all, I pray for the person that’s here today, that might have come in far from You but would come to faith today. If that’s you, my friend, I would ask you to pray with me right now. Pray a prayer, asking Jesus to forgive you. You might pray like this, what really matters is the faith in your heart, not as much as the words, Lord, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe that He was raised from the grave and lives today and I invite Him now to come and live in my life. Forgive me of my sins and to make me a child of God. Rescue me. Be my rescuer, my deliverer, my Lord and my Savior. If you’re praying that prayer right now, believing, He is the God who rescues. He’s the God who delivers and He will save you. Some of us are here and we know that we’re believers; we are Christ followers, but maybe we’re going through a time right now where we have doubted. We have been questioning. Why am I going through this time of discouragement? Why am I depressed? Why did I get bad news from the doctor? Why is my marriage in trouble? I don’t know what you’re going through, but I do know this; we live in Babylon and sometimes He calls us to go through a season of fiery trial, but He will not leave you. Ultimately, He will deliver you. Would you turn your mind and your heart to Him this morning? Say, Dear Lord, I renew my faith. I renew my commitment to You. I have determined to follow You and obey You no matter where You call me. In Christ’s name. Amen.