Even If
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· 11 viewsSermon on standing faithful to God even if everyone else bows the knee to the world and its idols
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Even If
Even If
This sermon is one of many that have been on my mind over the last year, and in the last few weeks the Lord has compelled me to preach it today.
About 8 years ago a friend of mine, Steve Canfield, preached a sermon where he used the illustration of squeezing an orange. In that sermon he pointed out that when you squeeze an orange you get orange juice, because orange juice is what’s inside an orange. His point was that when life squeezes us, what comes out is what was already inside. You see the stress and circumstances that we experience reveal what we often keep hidden from others.
Circumstances reveal what’s hidden inside
I think we can all agree that in the last 11-12 months, we and our country have been squeezed… and what we have seen is what was already inside. The circumstances and stresses of the last year have revealed what we were keeping hidden from others.
As a Christian, I haven’t been surprised at the ungodly and immoral attitudes that have surfaced in our country. For decades, in the church, we have lamented and pointed out the secularization of the culture. We have acknowledged the spiral of immorality in our country so much that it just makes sense that people who don’t know Christ would act like they don’t know Christ. So, there shouldn’t be a surprised expression on our faces when the world acts like the world.
But, the church, Christians, have been squeezed too… and as we have been squeezed I have been brought time and time again to Daniel 3 as an example of what our faith should like in the face of crisis, struggle, and difficulty.
Context: Daniel 3
Daniel 3 happens about 20 years after Daniel 2…We find 3 Israelite men in the crowd of Babylonians who have been gathered to bow down and worship a golden image that the king Nebuchadnezzer had built.
In order to understand the reason for Nebuchadnezzar’s building this statue, we have to go back to the previous chapter in which he (Neb) had dreamed of a statue, the head of which was of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the middle portion of bronze, the legs of iron, and the feet and toes of iron mixed with baked clay. As Daniel interpreted the dream, the head represented the glorious kingdom of Babylon, the silver a less glorious but stronger kingdom (that of the Medes and Persians) that would follow Nebuchadnezzar’s, the brass a still less glorious but stronger kingdom (that of the Greeks), and the iron the strongest but basest kingdom of all (that of Rome). At the end of this history, a rock, representing Christ, would strike the world’s kingdoms, destroy them, and then grow to fill the whole earth.
So, in a likely effort to demonstrate his power, and his intent for his kingdom to rule forever, rather than be succeeded by those from his dream, Nebuchadnezzer has built a 90ft. statue that is all gold. A statue that represents only him, and only his power. A statue that rejects the God-given interpretation from Daniel, a rejection of the rule and reign of God for the rule of reign of man.
According to Daniel Daniel 3:4–6 (CSB), after the statue was built and the people were gathered in the plain of Dura…
“4 A herald loudly proclaimed, “People of every nation and language, you are commanded: 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, you are to fall facedown and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”
“4 A herald loudly proclaimed, “People of every nation and language, you are commanded: 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, you are to fall facedown and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”
So, the instruments played and the people of Babylon fell face down in the worship of their great king… everyone except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three Israelite men did not bow. When the other leaders and court officials saw this they took the news to the King. The rest of the leaders and court didn’t like the Israelites, and this was the opportunity they had been looking for to get them out of the way. The King was furious, and he had the men brought to him.
Daniel 3:13–14 (CSB) says…
“13 Then in a furious rage Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?
“13 Then in a furious rage Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?
The king takes their standing as an act of defiance against his gods. It’s ironic that he has built a statue that defies the vision God has given of the future of his kingdom, only to now threaten the lives of 3 men who defy his rule because they are staying faithful to the one true God.
These men were honoring the commands God had given them long ago through the prophet Moses in Exodus 20:1–6 (CSB)
“Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.”
They refused to bow, but because he liked Daniel and these three men Nebuchadnezzer gives them one more chance…
Daniel 3:15 (CSB) the King gives them orders again…
15 Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire—and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?”
15 Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire—and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?”
I love what comes next… before the music plays and the opportunity to bow to the idol Nebuchadnezzer has made comes, the three guys respond this way.
Daniel 3:16–18(CSB)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
Their response enraged Nebuchadnezzer so much that he forgoes the second chance, and has the furnace pushed to its max and throws the young men in.
Daniel 3:19–23 (CSB)
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, 20 and he commanded some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, 20 and he commanded some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Daniel 3:24–25 (CSB)
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king. 25 He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king. 25 He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Daniel 3:26–30 (CSB)
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel, and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30 Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel, and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30 Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
The example of these three men is what I would like to call an “Even If” faith. They were committed to being faithful to God, even if He didn’t do what they knew was possible. They were more committed to God than they were to their own lives and dreams.
The had true faith over fear… you know the phrase; we have heard this phrase used in different ways in the pandemic for almost 11 months.
But, this is what true faith, that is greater than fear, looks like. Faith that is greater than fear is a faith that says “Even If” things don’t go like I want, or how I have prayed… I will stand strong and be faithful to God.
Unfortunately, unlike these three men in the book of Daniel, there are many who claim to be Christians that have a “What If” Faith.
What If Faith
What If Faith
The what if-ers are more focused on what might happen, or what could have happened, than on who God is and what He has done.
The what if-ers are more focused on what might happen, or what could have happened, than on who God is and what He has done.
They are like waves in the ocean being tossed around from one worry to another with every passing headline or social media post. The what if-ers deal in unknowns rather than trusting fully the one that they do know.
Another group that I have noticed are those that have what I am calling an “Only If” faith.
Only If Faith
Only If Faith
These only if-ers are at peace only if things go a certain way.
These only if-ers are at peace only if things go a certain way.
The only if-er will stand strong and stand for the Lord only when the world and things in it are like they believe they should be. The danger for the only if-er is that like the “what if-er” he focuses on circumstances rather than on God. Instead of focusing on what could or might have happened, the “only if-er strives to create certain circumstances so that God can work, or so that he can be ok. Instead of trusting God regardless of the circumstances, he believes that the circumstances are what is most important.
But, like we have seen in the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
Christianity is not a circumstantial religion, but a confident faith in the God of the circumstances.
Christianity is not a circumstantial religion, but a confident faith in the God of the circumstances.
Faith over fear is when you stay faithful to God regardless of the circumstances. Faith over fear is bigger than a virus, and it’s not dependent on an election. Faith over fear is really “Even If” faith. And even if faith chooses to obey Jesus and His Word in every situation, regardless of the consequences and the outcome.
"Even if faith” doesn’t get caught up in the “whataboutism” and “either or cancel culture” of today. What I mean by that is that even if Christians don’t pick one concern of God’s over another, and they don’t determine faithfulness by political lines. Even if doesn’t dismiss real issues and needs by pointing out other needs. Even if Christians walk a third way, the way of Christ and will find themselves standing with those who stand with Jesus on each issue.
Even if faith stands against the world because it stands with Christ
Even if faith stands against the world because it stands with Christ
Even if faith stands against the world… but it only stands against the world because it stands with Jesus. (This is key)
Even if faith doesn’t look for the crowd and support from others as the basis for standing strong. No, even if faith stands strong with God, and lives for His approval and applause.
Even if faith follows the way of Christ in every situation and does so regardless of the consequences.
Only if, and what if, faith find hope and confidence in the circumstances and opinions of others. Whereas even if faith trust in the promise of God to save, and knows that the approval of God is the only approval that satisfies.
Even if faith knows and trusts that God will never forsake you, and that He will be with you through the fire.
God will never forsake you
God will never forsake you
These three men knew the Scriptures, and they believed the God who spoke them. They believed and practiced verses like Deuteronomy 31:6 (CSB), which says,
“6 Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”
They trusted that God would be with them, even if He didn’t deliver them from their circumstances. And, like we see in Daniel 3:24-25, God is with you through the fire.
God is with you through the fire
God is with you through the fire
The promise to never abandon you means that God is with you through the most difficult and disappointing situations. He is with you when you are hurt, discouraged, and even persecuted. You don’t have to be afraid in the face of impossible or overwhelming circumstances, God is with you.
I am afraid that we often associate the presence of God with what I would call the really big or public moments. It is easy to read through Daniel 3 and then look for the magnanimous or monumental moments for you to stand up and be bold for the Lord. And I believe that when those monumental and public moments come, you are to stand strong even if you are alone.
However, the large public moments like the one we see in Daniel 3 was the result of hundred and thousands of moments of ordinary obedience in the life of these men. And just like these men, your even if faith is build on the day to day obedience to God in the ordinary moments when no one else is looking.
Even if faith begins with obedience in the ordinary
Even if faith begins with obedience in the ordinary
Worshipping false gods and bowing to idols is an everyday opportunity, not a once in a life time moment. These guys stood on the foundation of a life of obedience when they stood in the face of the King. Even if faith is obedience in all of the ordinary and small moments… Even if faith doesn’t wait for the big moment, it takes each moment captive for the Lord.
The circumstances that we see in Daniel 3 happen on varying levels every day in our lives. These moments to bow and turn from God occur overtime there is pressure to disobey the Bible, give in to peer pressure, go along with the guys at work, or like share and follow someone online.
Whenever you are pressured to do something (or not to do something) that you know by the teachings of the Bible to be wrong (or right), your situation is that of these three men and your responsibility before God is the same also. You must do the right. You must not bow to the world’s demands, even if the consequences are costly.
James Montgomery Boice, Daniel: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2003), 44.
There are too many Christians waiting to slay a Goliath, to be a Daniel, or stand for the whole world to see… But God doesn’t use those who seek the spotlight.
In fact, in recent years we have seen a host of popular Christian personalities all. But, if you want to be like the men who stood in the face of a furious king and his fiery furnace, then you must know it starts with being faithful for God, not the approval and applause of others.
We don’t follow Jesus for likes, shares, and heart emojis. This is real life, and every moment counts… in the kingdom of God there are no small moments and big moments, there is only faithful and unfaithful, repentant and unrepentant, selfless and selfish.
We are prone to wait and daydream for the life and death moments, but the truth is that the moments that matter are the ones happening over and over again every day
Even if faith begins with obedience in the ordinary
Even if faith stands with the Word in the midst of the world
Even if faith stands with the Word in the midst of the world
You cannot stand with Jesus if you don’t stand on the Word, and Jesus doesn’t go against His Word. You cannot mistake grace and compassion for condoning and permission.
Marriage is between a man and a womanChildren are to be desired and a primary goal of marriageLife begins in the womb, and should be advocated for in all manners of injustice. Justice is what God says it is, and justice is a priority of God’s people. Gender is given by God, directly related to the biology of your body, and not determined by what you think or feel on the inside. Gender has a purpose and you cannot fulfill your God-given purpose if you go against your God-given biology. Right & Wrong (objective truth vs. subjective truth) exists, and they are defined by who God is, what He does, and what He says.
This means that even if others who claim to follow Christ go against the Word, you stand with Jesus. Standing with Word means you have to reject whataboutism, partyism, and the either or cancel culture. It means that you give credit where it is due- and that means where someone or a group agrees with Jesus; and you condemn where it is due- where someone or a group disagrees with Jesus.
Christians are not called to support anything other than the cause of Christ. We are not called to identify with a party or any other group. We are to call all people and all groups to identify with Jesus.
Even if faith trusts in the providence of God
Even if faith trusts in the providence of God
Daniel, and here in Daniel 3 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted in the providence of God. They were slaves in a foreign land. At every turn they honored the laws and demands of those who ruled over them, unless the commands went against the Word of God.
They trusted that God would take care of them, and that however He chose to act it would be right… even if He did not act on their behalf. They trusted that His actions were always on His behalf and right in everything He did.
Trusting in the providence and sovereignty of God is foundational to an even if faith.
Even if faith points others to Christ
Even if faith points others to Christ
In the moment these men pointed the king and all of those who were listening and watching to the one true God. In the midst of a culture that was unsure about the truthfulness of its own gods, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego pointed to the truthfulness of their God with the sacrifice of their own lives.
The foreshadowed the faithfulness of Jesus with their own faithfulness.
When tempted to bow to a false god, these men pointed forward to Jesus who didn’t bow to Satan when tempted in the wilderness. They pointed forward to Christ by obeying God to the point of death in the blazing furnace. Jesus didn’t forsake the truth of who He was, He stayed obedience to the plan to save the world by being beaten, and crucified for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus could have been saved from the cross… but like Psalm 22 teaches us… the moment when it seems the Lord has forsaken us, is the moment when the Father reveals His presence and His plans for us.
These men pointed to Christ by setting their hope on the joy that comes from doing the will of God. Which is what we are also called to do:
Hebrews 12:1–2 (CSB)
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Even if faith looks to Christ as the example and as the goal.
In summary,
4 ways to practice an even if faith
4 ways to practice an even if faith
Point others to Christ
Point others to Christ
Trust in the providence of God
Trust in the providence of God
Stand with the Word in the midst of the world
Stand with the Word in the midst of the world
Build a foundation of obedience in the ordinary
Build a foundation of obedience in the ordinary
Closing Time & Response
- Repent of a what if or an only if faith
- Commit today to an even faith
- Join together and pray at the steps, go to the back and talk to one of our ministers about knowing Jesus, being baptized, or joining our church.
After the service… Bracelet, tshirts, etc