1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,440 Good morning. It's great to see you. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:07,760 It's great to be together today. If we have not met, my name is 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:11,120 Josh. I have the joy of serving as 4 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:15,120 pastor here at the Garden. Well, this morning we are in 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:20,680 week four of our series through the book of Daniel titled 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,680 faithful in Babylon. And and today we get to this 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,160 fascinating story. This is a jam packed story all 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,080 in Daniel chapter 3 here that that a lot of if you grew up in 9 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,720 church, you know this one because it's in every children's 10 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,040 Bible. This is like one of the the the 11 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,960 the greatest hits Sunday school stories of Daniel's three 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,240 friends in the fiery furnace. I want to suggest to you this 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,960 morning that this isn't just a kids Bible story. 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:56,680 This is actually a profound story about allegiance and the 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,520 way in which fear tempts us to slip out of integrity. 16 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,840 Shortly after I moved to Boston, I was playing host to some 17 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,720 friends who were in from out of town. 18 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,720 They were visiting. And so we were going around the 19 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,040 city and doing all of the touristy things. 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,320 And on this particular day, we had been walking from kind of 21 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:20,040 government Centre across towards the North End and, and something 22 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,160 caught our attention in the Plaza there in front of Faneuil 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,920 Hall. Maybe you've been in that area 24 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,160 or passed through. I feel like normal Bostonians 25 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,760 don't actually ever go there. But but, but on this day, there 26 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,960 was a crowd gathered around a group of St. performers. 27 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,560 And they had they had a jam session, you know, they had 28 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,280 their their portable speakers. And there was this dance troupe 29 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:51,640 of young, extremely fit Jamaican and black guys out there doing 30 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:56,240 this just incredible dance routine with flips and spins and 31 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,520 breaking and all kinds of stuff, along with a generous amount of 32 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,400 crowd work. And we weren't in a hurry. 33 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,280 So on this day, I was like, you know, what's going on? 34 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,600 Let's check this out. So we peeked forward, like, kind 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,880 of what's going on? I, like, kind of found a spot to 36 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,560 peer in between the crowd. And as soon as I did, the MC, 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,200 the dude with a mic calls out. He's like, for this next part, 38 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,120 we need some volunteers. I need a couple of tall white 39 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,240 guys. And he looked right at me. 40 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,000 And I knew at that moment already that I was toast. 41 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,960 Like, like before I had a chance to back away, one of his 42 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,440 associates is there grabbing me by the arm, pulling me into the 43 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,720 middle of the circle. And he's, you know, we're giving 44 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,200 it up for the tall, sexy, rich white guys. 45 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,480 Come on. And so here I am in the middle 46 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,800 of this circle, 200 people downtown Boston. 47 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,560 And in the next few moments, you know, there's a choreography 48 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,040 that occurs, right? You know, step in this way. 49 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,080 He got to do a power Superman stance. 50 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:59,920 And before you know it, I am all of a sudden, I think serving as 51 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:04,880 a backup dancer for what can only be described as a scene 52 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:10,520 that probably like the vibes were Usher, but the cast were 53 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,720 middle-aged, out of shape white guys. 54 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,960 It was it was, it was one of the more embarrassing moments of my 55 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:21,320 life. But I tell you this humiliating 56 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,680 story because it's it makes an interesting point. 57 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,800 And that point is, you know, at no point in this process did 58 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,600 anybody hold a gun to my head, right? 59 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,800 I was not forced to do this, even though if you would have 60 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,160 asked me earlier in the day, what are the probabilities of 61 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,920 you doing a sexy, hip thrusting, gyrating dance in front of 62 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:49,000 strangers downtown Boston, I would have said very low. 63 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,800 It was not on my bingo sheet for the day. 64 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,760 But all of a sudden I ended up in this space where there was a 65 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,880 choreography, there was social pressure, and you take one step 66 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,400 and then you take another step and before you know it, you're 67 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,800 in a space doing things that don't feel like you at all. 68 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,680 And I tell this story because I think it has some parallels to 69 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,840 what we see here in the book of Daniel in chapter 3. 70 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,959 See, in Daniel chapter 3, we find that the Babylonian emperor 71 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:21,680 Nebuchadnezzar, who we talked about a lot last week, has built 72 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:27,160 a giant gleaming 9 story tall golden statue. 73 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,880 He, he set it up and, and then he summons people. 74 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,000 The officials from across the empire, from every people group, 75 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,560 every province, everybody's got to be there. 76 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:42,400 Show up to the plain of Dora to check out this new phenomenon. 77 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,760 Of course, they take the steps. They got an invitation from the 78 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,720 king. And so one after the other, they 79 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,080 all arrive there in the plain of Dora. 80 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,120 Music starts to play. There's the social lubricant, 81 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,160 and then before you know it, a herald gives them their next 82 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,680 step. He says you must fall down and 83 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,920 worship the image. Not only that, but in verse 6, 84 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,840 whoever does not bow will immediately be thrown into a 85 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:19,200 blazing for furnace. Now there's some really 86 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,840 interesting imagery here, especially if you were with us 87 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:26,200 last week when TC walked through Daniel's or the King's vision 88 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,240 that Daniel interpreted, which happens right before this in 89 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,880 Daniel chapter 2. This is fascinating because you 90 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,080 may remember that in in Daniel chapter 2, God gives the king a 91 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,160 vision of a statue. And sure enough, the king is 92 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,040 represented by like the golden head of this statue. 93 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:45,440 But do you remember what happens? 94 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,920 Like the rest of the statue is not made of gold, and this 95 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,000 stone, not carved by human hands, comes tumbling along, 96 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,320 knocks the statue down and supplants it. 97 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,800 God has just given the king a, a, a vision, the emperor a a 98 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,600 kind of a directive of like your Kingdom, your power, your 99 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:11,360 authority is limited. There's an end date on this. 100 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,640 There's a time stamp. You are not ultimate. 101 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,600 So what happens? He receives that in deep 102 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,160 humility and contemplates his mortality and limits. 103 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:27,640 No, he does what emperors do. He's like, let me build a giant 104 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,640 statue, right? Let's cover it in gold. 105 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:36,520 Let's make everybody worship, everybody fall down. 106 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:41,280 And this is the mode of empire that we met last week. 107 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:46,920 The the image tells a lie. God says Babylon is not 108 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,800 ultimate. You're not the whole story. 109 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:55,200 Your Kingdom is partial and temporary and he says what is 110 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,520 God has said is fragile, I call eternal. 111 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,600 What you say is partial, I say is ultimate. 112 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,520 He takes what is afraid and he dresses it up in gold. 113 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,680 And look, this is not just an art project. 114 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:15,600 And the parallels to today are a little uncomfortably obvious, 115 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:21,280 are they not? I don't like getting political. 116 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,600 But like I can't read this and not think about the fact that 117 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,800 like the leader of our country is sending around images with 118 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,360 massive golden statues in Miami posting to social media about 119 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,120 the the massive golden images of himself. 120 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,800 Like we live in a moment that is in some ways very different and 121 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,720 in some ways the lust for power, the grandiosity, the the 122 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:52,000 delusional self promotion. It's as present today as it ever 123 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,040 was. But the point here is, is not 124 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,280 just grandiosity. It's what empire then does with 125 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:05,000 this grandiosity to force control and subjugation the way 126 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:09,800 that it puts pressure on individual people to slip out of 127 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:15,160 their integrity and conform. And I think this is important 128 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:19,320 because, as we talked about last week, we live in a moment of 129 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,000 anxiety that is producing the impulses of empire. 130 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,680 A desire to control, a desire to manage in this stream of fear 131 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:33,000 and control is very much running through at least a significant 132 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,480 portion of the church in America. 133 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:41,600 In this imagination, the church thinks like if we don't take the 134 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,920 country back, then we risk losing it. 135 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,440 It seeks to mobilize us all in a, a political fight to oppose 136 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,880 the forces of, of wokeness, right? 137 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,360 It, it says the, the, the goal here is, is control is making 138 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:03,920 sure that we have our morals, our politicians, our policies, 139 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,760 that we're central. We've got to leverage and 140 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,640 mobilize the architecture of empire to make this happen. 141 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:16,280 Friends, this is the way of the empire, not the way of the 142 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,360 cross. I want to be very clear this 143 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:24,680 morning that this anxiety system that is infected, even the 144 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:28,240 church, it is running through the machinery of the state. 145 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,800 And, and every time this happens, well, I can understand 146 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,200 the anxiety. I can appreciate the discomfort. 147 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,760 When we choose to run on the emperor's playbook, we 148 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,920 inevitably end up losing our own souls. 149 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,120 But as we look at this situation, as we look at this 150 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,720 story in Daniel 3 and the pressure exerted on these three 151 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:01,240 Jewish kids, still young men, they're at the base of this 152 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,560 statue with everybody else facing the pressure to conform, 153 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:10,000 to go along with the music, to, to declare their allegiance. 154 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,400 I think we have to ask, I asked as I sat with this text this 155 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,240 week, where do, where do I feel this pressure? 156 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:20,600 Where does the pressure for me show up to conform? 157 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,840 Like where in my in my soul do I experience the rub, the pull to 158 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:31,160 shift out of integrity and into something that can form 159 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:32,600 something that gets social reward. 160 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,560 And for me, Christian nationalism, while absolutely a 161 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:39,400 problem is, is not the temptation. 162 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,960 And maybe not for you either. I know most of you, many of you, 163 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,640 I don't think that that's the go to for a lot of us. 164 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:53,040 But I know that we live in a moment in a space where perhaps 165 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:57,400 for the first time in a long time, you don't get social kudos 166 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,560 generally for being a Christian, for talking about your faith. 167 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,960 We're a little bit weird, right? There has been a shift from some 168 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:09,480 assumptions, a moment that that the social scientists call 169 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:13,600 Christendom, where essentially naming that you're a Christian, 170 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,720 being a Christian showing up to church was, was a pretty good 171 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,160 move, regardless of what you thought about the spiritual 172 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:21,880 implications of it. Like socially, you've met some 173 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:23,960 people who had some connections, right? 174 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,040 You got some positive kudos from it. 175 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,440 And I can tell you that that has all slid not only because the 176 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,160 social scientists tell me that and say that we are now in a 177 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,680 post Christian moment, but also because I have introduced myself 178 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,000 as a pastor many times in conversation at a party in 179 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,680 Boston and just watch the room like go frigid. 180 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:48,280 All of a sudden, that person who immediately before was talking 181 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,000 freely and sharing about their life start apologizing for 182 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,560 cursing earlier in the conversation as though I'm like 183 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,520 somehow the agent of God to bring retrofusion on you for 184 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,000 saying a four letter word. Like we're, we're in a, a, a 185 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:07,120 different space now where sometimes the social pressure 186 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:11,720 actually runs in the other way, to self edit to hide those parts 187 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:16,640 of our self that don't jive with those around us for fear of, of 188 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,400 what others might think, what others might say, how others 189 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:24,480 might imagine us in the stories they might tell if we were in 190 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:29,080 integrity with our faith, if we were really honest about what we 191 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,360 knew to be true. And this is the question for 192 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,680 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in this text that they faced 193 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,040 this morning. They're on the plane of Doras. 194 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,800 Everybody is following the choreography. 195 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,800 Everybody is bowing. Everybody is stepping to the 196 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:50,400 tune of the King's drum. The question is, what will they 197 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,000 do? Will they too follow suit? 198 00:12:54,800 --> 00:13:00,200 And in fact, they don't. But we read here that after the 199 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,520 instructions are given, after the horn and the flute and the 200 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:09,280 zither and the wire and the harp play that in fact they do not 201 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,880 fall down. And the people around them are 202 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,000 tattle tales. Man, these, these, these folk 203 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,800 out here are some snitches. They immediately come and 204 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,400 they're like, let me tell you what those guys did. 205 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:22,080 They probably didn't like them already. 206 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:29,000 And isn't it true sometimes, like sometimes when we when we 207 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,400 actually stand in our integrity, when everybody else is bowing, 208 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,240 then it makes other people uncomfortable and makes other 209 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,240 people not like us. You know what I mean? 210 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,560 Like I remember working at an employer that will remain 211 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:49,200 unnamed in the previous season of life that had just a super 212 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,720 toxic culture, to be honest. And, and the one way that us Co 213 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:59,840 workers and employees bonded was by talking crap about everybody, 214 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:03,400 right? Everybody was just the bosses, 215 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,880 this, the customers suck that, you know, that other guy that 216 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,160 you know, that was the whole culture, everybody. 217 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:12,960 This was how we connected. And I was part of it for a 218 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,520 while. And then I remember one day the 219 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:20,320 Holy Spirit came in and he was like, you're, you're being 220 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,280 really mean. You're you're gossiping about 221 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,280 people behind their backs. Like this is not an integrity. 222 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,360 This is gross. Like what are you? 223 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:33,880 What are you doing, man? And I, I felt that and I kind of 224 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,040 repented, had to make some apologies. 225 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,400 And then I, I like shifted my communication so everybody else 226 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:41,840 is talking crap about the others. 227 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:47,880 And, you know, I would like say something neutral. 228 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,680 And there's this just this scornful look that comes my way. 229 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:57,000 And well, that was awfully diplomatic, you know. 230 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,120 Now, because I've chosen not to participate, I become at the 231 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,720 centre of the contempt of the scorn. 232 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:04,680 Do you know what I'm talking about? 233 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,880 You felt what I'm talking about. And look, I want to be very 234 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:14,280 clear, because in Daniel Chapter 3, we find an emperor with the 235 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,640 power of the state. He's got a fiery furnace, he's 236 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,680 got soldiers, He's able to take people and throw their bodies 237 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,800 into the fire. This is not an eye roll, a 238 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,440 brunch, right? There are differences. 239 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,360 There are levels to how this kind of power, this kind of 240 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,680 social power can exert itself. And I'm not by any stretch of 241 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,400 the imagination trying to, to, to, to make them all the same. 242 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,680 They are not. What I do want us to be 243 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:46,600 attentive to though, friends, is the ways in which systems of 244 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:53,320 empire, systems of anxiety, systems of evil try to prop 245 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,760 themselves up at the expense of others and use anxiety to 246 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:02,960 control us, to loop us in, to, to pull us out of integrity. 247 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,320 I don't know how that happens for you, but I bet that 248 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,880 somewhere in your life that you feel that pull, you feel that 249 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:15,600 tension, that that tension to hide, to go along, to pretend to 250 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,840 self edit to, to be a little bit more acceptable. 251 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:23,200 And, and you're not likely, I hope, I think trying to avoid a 252 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,600 fiery furnace, right? Your life hopefully doesn't 253 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,280 depend on it right now, in this moment, in this place. 254 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,960 Maybe it's like you're standing in your family. 255 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,400 If that person says that thing and you interject and interrupt 256 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,040 it. And then the judgement that 257 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:46,240 comes from everybody for being the person who disrupted the 258 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,200 status quo, the peace, the tranquility that we've all 259 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:55,000 agreed on is important. Maybe it becomes that stepping 260 00:16:55,000 --> 00:17:00,000 out in your company or in your friend group, deciding to not go 261 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,120 to the strip club for the bachelor party. 262 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,480 And maybe it's that, that small step where you where you just 263 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,359 say, like, look, I'm not over here trying to kick down the 264 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:14,079 statue. I, I, I'm not staging a counter 265 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,960 protest. I just am not going to bow down 266 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:22,440 like this takes me out of integrity and I will stand in my 267 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,680 faith. Sometimes we're called to make a 268 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:28,440 stand. A couple weeks ago, we looked at 269 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,080 all of the options that Daniel and his friends took to 270 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,560 negotiate, to make requests, to, to, to, to, to work within the 271 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,800 system. Sometimes that's an option and 272 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:43,600 sometimes it's not. Sometimes a moment of conscience 273 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,520 and crisis comes where we just have to say, this is the side I 274 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,840 am on. This is what I believe. 275 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,880 And in that moment they're very often is a is a pressure, 276 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,160 there's a cost, there's a consequence if we choose to 277 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:05,320 refuse the pressure to perform the ritual and bow to the King's 278 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,120 music. Here the the cost was high. 279 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,640 The the the scenario was was dangerous. 280 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:18,360 Here, Shadrach, Meshal and Abednego, if they denied this, 281 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:21,880 they were to be thrown immediately into the blazing 282 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:27,000 furnace we read in verse 6. So of course they don't. 283 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,760 We see. And then the king proposes what 284 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,800 I, I imagine from his perspective feels like mercy. 285 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,160 He says, hey guys, look, I want to make sure you're crystal 286 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,600 clear on the consequences of refusing my decree. 287 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,040 I'm going to give you one more chance. 288 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:51,040 And if you defy me, you're done. Straight into the fiery furnace 289 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:55,160 you go. And Shadrack, Michel and 290 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,320 Azariah, they say, look, King, we don't. 291 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:03,800 We don't need another chance. And I love how they respond to 292 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,160 this. It's so powerful. 293 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,240 They say here. Got to find where they say here, 294 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:22,960 they say. In verse #16 we don't need to 295 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,080 defend ourselves before you in this matter. 296 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,240 If we're thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is 297 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,760 able to deliver us from it. And who will deliver us from 298 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,360 Your Majesty's hand? And then comes perhaps the most 299 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:39,360 important and the most significant line in all of the 300 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,200 texts here in verse 18. He's they say. 301 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:49,560 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that 302 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,160 we will not serve your gods or worship the image that you have 303 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,120 set up. So we know what happens in this 304 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:58,760 story. We'll talk about it in just a 305 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:03,240 minute. In this moment, these men, these 306 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:07,760 young men, go against the grain of what everyone else is doing. 307 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,280 They stand up in their integrity. 308 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:15,560 They are faithful, they are courageous, and they are saved. 309 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,680 But I want to be honest. That's not always how this story 310 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,680 goes like that is a true story which occurs. 311 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,160 I believe this really happened in Scripture, but it's not 312 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:34,000 always the way it goes. A Dietrich Bonhoeffer protested 313 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,200 in Nazi journey and he was executed. 314 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:38,680 At the end of Hebrews Chapter 11. 315 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,000 We read this whole history of people who who lived in faith 316 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:47,120 and were killed. There's a, a book that I, I read 317 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,080 growing up called Fox's book of Martyrs, which details story 318 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:54,080 after story of people who lived for their faith with the 319 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,560 apostles too. And, and here's my point in 320 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,240 saying this is that what I'm telling you this morning, what 321 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,280 I'm suggesting to you, what I'm promising you is not a, a get 322 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:08,320 out of jail free card. The, the, the moral of this 323 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,000 story is not like, if you do the right thing, then God will bail 324 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,720 you out and you won't have to pay any consequences. 325 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,600 You are on the right side and therefore you will win. 326 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:21,760 That's actually the story of Christian nationalism. 327 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,080 That's the story of Christendom. That's not the story of 328 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:30,520 Scripture, because what we actually see in this story is, 329 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,960 is that they go into the furnace. 330 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,440 The king is is filled with rage, The text tells us at their 331 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,960 refusal. See earlier, when they were just 332 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:45,920 making some dietary choices that were different, that could 333 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:47,920 happen in private, The king was OK with that. 334 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,360 They were willing to make some accommodations. 335 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:57,880 But this time, this time their defiance demonstrated to all of 336 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:02,840 Babylon that there was another way, a way of not submitting to 337 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:08,000 the king, a way of following another empire, a way of faith 338 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,760 and courage. And that is the thing that 339 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:16,840 scares scared leaders the most, demonstrating that we all don't 340 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:21,640 have to follow, that the emperor doesn't actually have clothes, 341 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,400 that this is actually nonsense. And so when they break free, 342 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,080 it's a tremendous threat to the king of Babylon. 343 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,200 And he says, I will not stand it. 344 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:35,080 They turn the furnace up. They take their strongest guys 345 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,440 and they Chuck them straight away right into the blaze. 346 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,960 And this is so cool because I love this, like it. 347 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:48,880 If, if I were to have thought about how God rescued, how God 348 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,080 intervened in this situation, I don't think I could have come up 349 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:57,320 with such a cool story because God doesn't do what I think we 350 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:58,840 would have prayed for or thought about. 351 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,600 He doesn't like to change the King's heart. 352 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,760 Like the king doesn't stop being an evil dictator. 353 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,120 He doesn't, you know, somehow quiet the blaze. 354 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,280 He, he doesn't like, give them invisibility cloaks so that they 355 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,440 can bail out. They go straight into the fire. 356 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,400 The fire is lethal. It it eats up everyone around 357 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,160 it, consuming even the soldiers that threw them in. 358 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,800 But to these men who have been faithful, all the fire can 359 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,400 consume is their chains, the things that bind them. 360 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:41,160 Those are consumed, and the men stand there free, walking around 361 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,160 in the flame. And this is such a cool moment 362 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,920 in the story. It's so compelling. 363 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,520 In this moment. The king looks in, expecting for 364 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,680 them to be silenced, expecting for them to be snuffed out, 365 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,360 expecting for his his rule and his authority and the fear by 366 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,800 which he exerts control on everyone to be reinforced. 367 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,560 He looks into the fire expecting to see nothing but ash and 368 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:10,480 instead sees not three men before King is like what is 369 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:15,000 going on? And the text records that that 370 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,080 the 4th appears like a son of the gods. 371 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:24,880 Jesus is with them in the fire. Man, I get goosebumps thinking 372 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:26,360 about that. Like is anybody else excited? 373 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,400 Are you guys asleep like this? Come on, this is like this is so 374 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,880 cool, right? Like Jesus meets them in the 375 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:37,120 fire and I wonder, I have to wonder like was Jesus there the 376 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:40,920 whole time? I wonder if that's actually like 377 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,960 he was hanging out. I, I mean, I can tell you this, 378 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,440 I don't think that they experience Jesus if they're not 379 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,480 faithful to their conscience, if they don't risk it, if they 380 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,360 don't enter the fire, They didn't, they didn't get to 381 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:59,720 experience the presence of Jesus before they made a stand. 382 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:06,320 They made a risk. But but Jesus says, man, if 383 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:11,160 you're not ashamed of me on that final day, I won't be ashamed of 384 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,200 you either. And this is what we see here. 385 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,080 These men step out in faith, in courage and believe, not in the 386 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,840 belief that this is all going to work out, that God has a perfect 387 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,080 plan for your life. And then I'm going to end up 388 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:26,360 rich and famous and and healthy and wealthy because I did the 389 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:30,400 faithful thing. They say we believe God can show 390 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,640 up. We think he will. 391 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:37,640 But even if he doesn't, we're going to stand in our integrity. 392 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:42,480 Friends, where does this hit for you this morning? 393 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,760 Where is the pressure in your life to to bow? 394 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:56,040 Maybe just a little to self edit, to minimize, to present a, 395 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:02,040 a version of you forward at, at at work, in your family, with 396 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,160 your classmates or your housemates or your friends, 397 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:10,680 maybe even here in the church. It's like a little bit more 398 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:15,200 attractive in this way where you slip a little bit out of 399 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,640 integrity where everybody else is doing it. 400 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,000 And so you just keep the choreography going and you say, 401 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,560 like, that's not that big of a deal. 402 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:26,880 They could have done that. Daniel's friends could have, 403 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,080 they could have said, well, this is this is just my yoga pose for 404 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:32,720 the day. I'm not really bowing in my 405 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:38,360 heart. I'm standing up, but they said 406 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:43,760 no, this is a line and I'll stand even if it costs me 407 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,640 friends. What might it look like for us 408 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:55,080 to be a community that really believes that following Jesus is 409 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,240 worth it? Like, not because we're culture 410 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,960 warriors and need to attack the other side. 411 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,800 Not because we, you know, are so certain that we have all the 412 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,520 right answers and need to insist and, and battle, but simply to 413 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:13,400 be people of integrity who, who, who deeply read and wrestle with 414 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,560 the scriptures, who follow our Lord. 415 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,960 And then when all of culture is running in the other direction, 416 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:24,560 even if it costs us, even when we say, like, man, I really want 417 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:29,560 a partner right now, but I haven't found somebody who 418 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:34,520 shares my values. Man, I I like, I'm lonely and 419 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,600 I'd love to be having sex with this person right now, but I'm 420 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,000 going to wait on covenantal union. 421 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,520 Where are we going to take those, those moments where we 422 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:47,400 pause and when we say, hey, like, I want to be in integrity, 423 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,440 not, and not because of some social pressure, but because 424 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:54,880 actually I believe Jesus that you are the way, the truth, the 425 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:59,120 life that you know better, that your way is life in flourishing. 426 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,960 And so even if everybody's running in the opposite 427 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,880 direction, I'm going to be faithful and I'm going to follow 428 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,560 you, not because I'm better than them, but because I trust you, 429 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,640 even if it costs me. I want to be faithful. 430 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:18,840 I want to be unbowed, friends, as we enter into a time of 431 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:24,120 reflection and response this morning, where's the rub for you 432 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:27,040 here? Like I know that it's present 433 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,640 for me. I'm not the Holy Spirit up here 434 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,320 this morning trying to to tell you the things in your life you 435 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,800 need to fix. But but if you're listening, I 436 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,360 bet the Holy Spirit is highlighting some things for 437 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:44,440 you. Are you willing to take a stand 438 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:49,000 of courage to be faithful even if people are going in the other 439 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:55,600 direction, to be somebody who is willing to pay a price to trust 440 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,160 Jesus? Friends, I think if we do, we 441 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:03,920 will experience His power, we will experience his presence, 442 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:10,080 and we will be a witness that even the Emperor has to come 443 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:14,240 face to face with and say I cannot control, I cannot 444 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,240 explain. There's something there that's 445 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,560 different. May we be such a people.