NOTES: Unstuck, Part 6
Sermon: Unstuck Week 6- Stuck in Babylon
Text: Daniel 3:8-18
Date: Sunday November 20, 2022
Daniel 3:8–18 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.”
Let’s Connect:
Our modern Babylon:
How to live in God’s favor while being stuck in Babylon?
Our Text Explained:
God’s people are taken to Babylon, to live in exile.
Babylon makes indoctrination a priority.
However, the Hebrews reject Babylon’s food and embrace God’s formation.
Daniel 1:8-9, 8 “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs…”
Daniel 1:17 (ESV)
17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
2 Corinthians 11:2-4, “2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”
Nebuchadnezzar builds a 90ft gold statue
It was more than just a head of gold, but rather the entire figure.
Everyone is required to worship the image.
Daniel 3:15 (ESV)
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?”
This religious mandate was a battle for the heart.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Idol Check: What are we unwilling to give up?
The Hebrews show radical commitment and courage.
In one voice they refuse to bow to any other god.
They faithfully proclaim Yahweh as mighty and sovereign.
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.”
What is it to “bow” to idols?
James 4:7 (ESV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Relate
How to live with favor in Babylon?
1. Remember that we’re in it but no longer of it.
2. Stay humble and submitted to God
3. Faithfully practice Spirit-led disciplines (the activities of Jesus) that equip us to discern idols of the heart.
John 17:14–18 (ESV)
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
The furnace and the Hebrews are fired up:
Daniel 3:25 (ESV)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.”
Challenge:
Stuck in Babylon. Let the Church be fired up!