Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Aug. 24 sermon from Clifford Baptist Church, 6:35 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Daniel, chapter three, verses 13 through 27. And the sermon is entitled when the fire is hot, delivered today by pastor Jeffrey Campbell.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Dimitri.
Dimitri was a pastor of a house church in the former Soviet Union.
One night, the Soviet officials barged into his house, arrested him, and drug him to prison.
While in prison, he was still able to praise the Lord. And one of the ways that he praised the Lord in prison was every morning, he took a piece of charcoal and he took a piece of paper that was there, and he wrote a verse on that piece of paper, dipped it in water, and he stuck it to the cement. His verse for the day. As the guards saw that verse, they come in to check on him. They saw that verse, they would come in and they would beat him and then leave.
Every morning as day broke, Dimitri would stand and sing with his hands held high, a favorite worship song of his through the prisoners that would curse him. They would throw food at him. They would rattle the bars of their cages to drown him out. And it felt like 1,500 prisoners.
One believer, Dimitri stayed in prison for 17 years, until the guards walked in one day and told them this. In 15 minutes, we're going to take you outside and we're going to tie you to a pole.
And in 20 minutes from now, you will be dead.
Those guards came in, took Dimitri by the arms and began to drag him to the prison yard on his way to that promised pole that he would be tied to. The echoes of 1500 prisoners rang out in that courtyard, singing that song of praise that dimitri sang for 17 years. The guards looked at him and said, who are you? And in fear, they turned him loose.
Now you may sit here and say, Jeffrey, that that seems too far fetched to me. This is a true story. They asked Dimitri, who are you? And here was his response. I'm a child of the living God.
Children of the living God. We meet today in a very comfortable place, but we're going to talk about a very real and uncomfortable thing across our globe and maybe even coming to us one day. And that is persecution.
When we think about our help in trouble, what does it mean when the fire gets hot?
It means that your God is still at work. And a very familiar story to you today. Many of you have learned this story and known it since you were young.
But what happens when the threat and the temperature intensifies of what is coming your way?
Daniel, chapter number three is Where I'm going to ask you to go in your Bibles today. Daniel, chapter number three. As we gather around a very familiar story, going to give you a little bit of background because of time purposes and kind of, kind of catch you up on the beginning of chapter number three. It involves three Hebrew men that face intense pressure to bow to a golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Now, these three Hebrew children, you know them by name, but this is just no ordinary statue. This is a statue that the king had made in his likeness that was some 90ft tall and some nine foot wide.
So just for references, those of you that are here in the sanctuary today, if you look up at the top of the church, it's 40ft. Just ask me how I know it's 40ft to the center right there. So double that, double that and some. That's the height of the statue, nine foot wide.
And at Nebuchadnezzar's command, everyone was to bow and worship this golden idol. Well, it has been brought to Nebuchadnezzar's attention that there are some that are not bowing.
And so we pick up Scripture today with a furious king that is mad because these three boys will not bow down and worship this golden idol. You will get four truths today from a message that I have entitled when the fire is Hot.
And I want to tell you something very, very upfront today.
The fire of persecution is nothing compared to the fire of judgment.
And so one day, if you close your eyes in death, without Jesus, there's an everlasting fire that you will face.
But today, for those that are believers that face the persecution, and we're going to talk a little bit through that, what that looks like today. What can we learn when the intensity of what we are going through seems too much to bear?
Daniel, chapter number three, starting with verse number 13, then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Then they brought these men before the king Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, is it true? O Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up.
Now, if ye be ready that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut psaltery and dulcimer and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made. Well, if you excuse me, but if you worship not, you shall be cast the same Hour into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up Point number one. Today, when the fire is hot, just remember, God is able.
God is able. Write down those three words, whether it's in your Bible, in your head. More importantly, write them on your heart to know that God is able when the fire is used as motivation.
Here's what you need to understand.
God is able to deliver.
And when we see that the king opens up in verse number three, the king is angry.
Now remember this, the three men have a position in the Babylonian kingdom of service.
God has blessed them with that. They have stood before King Nebuchadnezzar before. In chapter number one, verse number 19, these three men, here's what it says. And the king continued with them. And among them was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king. In that one verse, these three men under a different name stand before the same king. And they are there and he notices there's something different about them. And in chapter number one, these four, including Daniel, were put to the test over 10 day period.
They would not eat the king's food. All that the king had, they would not eat it. They would eat a mixture of pulse and they would drink water. That's all they had.
In chapter number one, it is proved that these four men over that 10 day period were stronger, they looked better and healthier than any of the king's men.
So look, maybe you're sitting here today and saying, I've passed the test before God. Why do I have to go through this again?
These three men have stood before the king before. They have been tried and they've been tested. Their God has been found faithful and. And yet they find themselves standing before the king.
And here's what the king says in his rage and anger. When you hear all of these instruments starting to play music, here's what you must do. You must bow and worship the golden idol.
Or if you do not, the very same hour, you will be cast into the fiery Furnace.
What an ultimatum, boys. You better bow or else.
And that's what the king says.
These three men answer a question that Nebuchadnezzar asked in verse number 15. Look at verse number 15, and look at the question at the end of the verse that Nebuchadnezzar asked. Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? I am the king of Babylon. There is nobod that will deliver you out of my hand.
Who's going to deliver you?
And very respectfully and politely, the three men don't answer that question because they don't need to. But what they very respectfully say is, king, listen, my God's going to deliver.
Now, this is the Jeffrey version right here. He says, my God's going to deliver.
And if he doesn't deliver, if he chooses not to deliver, my God is still my God.
I. We will. Excuse me. We will not bow down to whatever you have us to do. We will serve our God.
How many of you know that God is able?
All right, Baptist, you got to do better than that.
There you go. Thank you. Thank you.
We know God is able.
But when our faith is put to the test, when our faith is put to the fire, that's really when you find out. Are you who you say you are?
These men were worshiping long before they faced the fire.
And that's what I want to encourage you with today, Church. Far before the fire comes or far before Babylon even invades, these Hebrew boys knew who God was.
They were faithful to God long before they entered the situation.
But not only will he deliver from the furnace, the boy said, God is going to deliver us from your grip.
That means this.
Not only are we not worried about bowing to that idol that looks like you, we're not worried about what you're going to do to us.
Remove us from that grip.
These boys trusted God's will for their life.
And if God chose another way other than what they desired, they trusted God.
Look at me, Church. There are times that we have our own plans wrapped up in our head.
And when things don't turn out like we planned, what do we do?
We say, God, look what you've done.
But these boys say, God, we believe that you're going to deliver us. And even if you don't deliver us, God, we're going to trust that you will get us through this situation. You will get us out of this situation.
And here's what I want to be. A word of encouragement to you today.
Whatever you are facing, whether it's a storm or trial. Even if it doesn't turn out the way that you envisioned it, God is still God, and that has not changed.
And so you just need to trust God to get you through those situations. They wouldn't bow to God because they knew that God was able to deliver.
God is able.
We understand that. We believe that. We know that. But here's our responsibility. We must be people of integrity that live those kind of lives. For far before we face the fiery trial, far before persecution or storms come our way or prison or the valley, we must be people that have been proved to be faithful to God.
And so how does that happen?
It happens through situations just like we read about Clifford Baptist Church. Here is a direct challenge today.
Don't be people who compromise.
We cannot compromise with the world.
We must stand on the truths of God, and God will honor our faithfulness.
Point number one. God is able to deliver. If you write in your Bible, if you circle in your Bible, you need to circle. Underline verse number 17. The God in whom we serve is able to deliver.
Point number two.
Look at verses 19 through 22.
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury. And the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace 17 times more than it was wont to be. He and he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, their hats, their other garments, and were cast in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Point number two.
When we face something, a fire or situation that is extremely hot, punishment usually intensifies.
Punishment intensifies.
Now, I want you to have in your mind that these three boys had in their mind that we're not going to bow for one second.
We're not going to bow one time. We're not going to bow just to get them off our back. We're not going to bow.
It doesn't matter. We're not going to do this, and rightfully so.
But what does that do to old King Nebuchadnezzar?
Oh, that just stokes his internal fire.
So we see in verse number 19 that Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury. And the form of his visage was changed.
Have you ever made somebody so mad that the form of their visage was changed?
I think I've made my mama that mad before. I believe so. I've seen it.
Somebody's made you so mad, it changes the way you look, the way you act, the way you think. Have you ever been that mad? Parents, don't lie to me. Just nod your head. Yes, you have.
Nebuchadnezzar, his rage intensifies. His expressions change. His demeanor changes. Anger moves now, drives everything he does. From this point on, anger is the driving agent. And I'm gonna jump in this, in my sermon. If you deal with anger, just be very careful.
Just be very careful. Submit that to God. But Nebuchadnezzar is very angry. And that is the driving force of his intensity. The furnace now then, is stoked seven times hotter than what it is supposed to be run at. At the highest setting, it's in maximum overload. Now, why? Why is it? Why does it. Because Nebuchadnezzar is angry.
Not only that, they bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
They bind it. There's no way they're going to get out of this. They tie their hands and they bind them so they cannot escape. Why do they bind somebody that they're just going to throw right in the fiery furnace? Because Nebuchadnezzar's angry.
Look what else they do.
They leave their coats on them, their hats, their clothing.
Why do you leave that on somebody? You're going to throw in a fire to make it more quick and to intensify the happenings of the killing of those three boys. We're not even going to strip them down. We're just going to throw them in with everything on so that they experience the harshest form of punishment.
Why they do that?
Because Nebuchadnezzar is angry.
The fire is so hot that as they are commanded to be thrown in, the soldiers that threw these three boys in that fire, the soldiers were killed.
So Nebuchadnezzar was willing to sacrifice his own people, his own men, just to prove a point. You will bow, or else not only will you be killed, but I'll even put other people's lives on the line.
We understand this. The threat of punishment didn't cause Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to bow.
As the king ramps up the temperature and threatens them, that doesn't cause them to bow. But here's what you need to understand. Pressure. When it increases, it Usually causes failure.
When. What happens when the pressure in your cardiovascular system increases?
Your blood pressure goes up, right?
And that could put you in danger.
What happens when the pressure in your ears increase?
When you drive through elevation? How many of you despise that? Right? The pressure in your ear. You swallow and you're chewing gum. You're trying to get rid of this. What happens if that pressure gets too much?
They're going to burst. Your eardrums are going to burst.
Let me ask you this. What happens when the pressure increases on believers?
What happens?
Do they fold?
Do they bow?
Do they quit?
Do they run away?
The answer to that is some people do.
When the pressure on believers increases, here's what believers want to do. Get me away from what's causing that pressure. And most of the time, we believers run.
But this is what these men are teaching us. Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego. The anger of the king is increasing. The urgency with which he wants to carry out this sentence is increasing to these disobedient men.
And what we see is this. God, yes, is able to deliver, but he will deliver you from that situation. As the pressure increases, we often look on the pressure.
We feel the pressure and we say, okay, God, if you're not going to do something, I am. I'm out of here.
We quit.
But what these three men did, they saw the pressure. They saw the fire being turned up. They walked to the fire. They saw the men die. And they are thrown in.
And here is their heart and their mindset. God is able to deliver us from even this.
No matter what God does or what God doesn't do, we're not going to bow down.
We know that God is with us.
Friends, I want you to know that obedience to Jesus Christ in our day is costly.
Now, I haven't stood before a fiery furnace, but I have stood what seems like a firing line between people and situations. It seems like we can never, never get away from things.
I pastor a church. It seems like we never, never quit dealing with death around here.
But guess what? Death is a part of life.
I pastor a church where it seems like every other day I'm getting a new diagnosis.
Okay, God, what's going on here?
And here's what I want you to understand church. We may not face a fiery furnace, but we may face trials that test if we will bow or not, if we will bend or break or not, if we will stay faithful as we face the fire.
The idols which we deal with today may not be 90 foot tall and 9 foot wide.
I've got one right now that's mere inches.
Mere inches.
And we bow to this.
This is an idol.
If we're not careful, the idols don't have to be gold and 90 foot tall in order for Christians to bow down.
Material things, jobs, identity, comfort, entertainment.
I'm grateful for the little part of this world that God has planted me.
I'm thankful for Clifford Virginia.
There are many times in my prayer life I'm saying, lord, thank you. You did not plant me in Las Vegas or by New York City.
Thank you. You did not plant me there.
But here is the reality.
You may think, in little Clifford Virginia, we'll never face the fiery furnace, that we won't have to stand up for our faith because we're in the Bible Belt. Friends, the Bible Belt is leaving.
And I believe the United States will see a day that Christians will not only have to stand up, but they will have to stand out or face punishment.
What about those idols real quickly?
The idol of money, the rich young ruler desired wealth over eternal life.
There are some of us that allow and bow to that idol of money. What about the idol of success, the power? Saul. We read about Saul in the Old Testament. Saul wanted the power.
There are many people, maybe even some in this sanctuary, that desire that. What about relationships? Hey, some people will sacrifice everything they believe. If this man or this woman, this boy or the girl will just date them, I will bow to whatever. If I get the attention of this one person and it's laid down, you know, Solomon done the same thing.
Solomon fell in love with the foreign women.
He had a bunch of them. But what did those foreign women do? The foreign women led him away from his God.
And so, relationships, tradition, busyness.
That's me, the idol of busyness.
The feeling like you've got to do something instead of spend time with Jesus, Mary, and Martha.
So here's my question. In this second point, the punishment intensifies.
Just because we don't have an idol that's 90ft tall doesn't mean that we're not at risk of bowing down to those things that are in our lives.
And so, believers, we must be willing to stand firm in what God is teaching us through his word.
Look at verses 23 through 25.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was stoned and said, and rose up in haste and spake and said, excuse me, to his counselors. Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire. And they answered and said, o unto the king. True, O king.
And he answered and said, lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire. And they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
This is where we like to celebrate.
But here's what I want you to understand. Before God shows up, the three boys had to be faithful as they enter that fiery furnace.
Point number three reminds us this. The Lord is present. I'm going to give away the rest of my sermon.
That's going to be a point in every sermon. The Lord is present.
The guards escorted them. They're dead. Now these boys are in the fire.
And Nebuchadnezzar, feeling the need to do something because his decree has been ignored, throws them in the fire. And he begins to watch them closely.
As he watches them, he is astonished and questions that we only threw three men in there, right?
Because I see four walking around and the fourth is like the son of God.
Nebuchadnezzar himself testifies this that Jesus was in the fire.
That's his testimony.
If you don't know anything about, forget anything about the story. Remember, Jesus was in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar, the least godliest godlessness man in the world, says this Jesus is there.
The son of God is in that fire.
I just want to know what went through his mind when he said those words.
I'm sure it was something like, oh no, I got it coming to me. But it's easy to say and it's easy to see that Nebuchadnezzar testifies that Jesus is present.
But here's what we must understand.
Before the fire, the Hebrew men knew who God was, knew the Lord, and they trusted him. They a lifestyle that would not bend before they faced the fire.
Now listen, you can't just show up to that situation and say, no, I'm not doing this.
It's a day in and day out living and not bowing and only surrendered to our Lord.
And so today I believe they lived a lifestyle and God was present in these teenagers lives far before they reached the fire.
I also believe this, that God works in the furnace.
God works in the furnace.
When it seems like it's too much to bear.
God was at work.
The boys, they were bound and falling down.
And then when Nebuchadnezzar sees them, they are loosed and not hurt.
God works in the fire.
Listen to me, church, Sometimes you've got to be in the Fire to understand that God has loosed you, that God has set you free.
And it's only when you are in the fire that you realize God is working here.
You also need to know this. God shows up.
And I believe, personally, this to be a christophany in the Old Testament. I believe this is Jesus Christ showing up in the Old Testament.
And here's what we see.
This trial was a trial not of boys that were causing trouble.
This wasn't a trial of boys that were ignorant.
This was a trial of faith.
And when that faith trial came, the boys said simply this. We're not going to bow to anyone that's not our God.
We're not going to bow to anything and worship anything that's not our God.
And what a mindset.
When the trial of faith came, we understand the boys did not bow.
Because here's my personal belief. My personal belief is this. If they would have bowed, they would have never seen Jesus in the fire.
And sometimes there are things that come our way. We don't know why, we don't understand.
They're intense. They hurt. They bring pain and suffering. But here's what we need to look for. Look for Jesus in the trial, because he promises us that he will be there.
The presence of Jesus always changes the people in the trial.
Did Jesus make the fire go away?
Did he turn the temperature down?
No. He showed up in that fire.
And when we understand this, that the Lord is present far before we get to the trial, then we can worship him each and every day of our life when we stand for the Lord.
The promise is this. He will walk with you every single day of your life.
Some of you need today to stand strong in the Lord and not in your own strength.
And as you are building that faith and God is giving you the strength for the trial that lays ahead, he's preparing you today.
He's strengthening your faith today.
There's one more point, and that comes from verses 26 and 27.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spake and said, shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth. And hither Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire.
And the princes, governors, captains, and the kings counselors, being gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their heads singed. Neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
Point number four.
What does the Trial change.
The trial changes you and me.
Point number four, believers are refined.
Believers are refined.
As Nebuchadnezzar calls the three out of the furnace. He does so acknowledging they are servants of the Most High God. This fiery trial is what people should see.
It brings God to the forefront of the lives of others and of a tale that is still being told to to this day.
Nebuchadnezzar wanted these boys dead, and God had other plans.
So today, when we think about this very familiar story, here's what I want to challenge you.
Are you a servant of the Most High God?
If somebody looked at you and what you're going through and watched you day in and day out, you kind of like Nebuchadnezzar did. These three boys, he could identify there was something different in their life.
The only way they made it through this fire is because they were servants of the Most High God.
If somebody looks at your life, could they tell that you're different?
That you're not of the world, that you are a servant of the Most High God?
If somebody looked at you, could they tell that you were somebody that was willing to give their life for their faith?
What?
Pastor Jeffrey, you're calling me to give my life for my faith?
If it comes down to it, we must be willing to do that.
If not, we're bowing.
If not, we're bowing.
These three men get a promotion their God has proclaimed all because of one simple thing, all because of their faith, but all because they didn't bow, they didn't bend, and they didn't burn.
Here's what this is not.
This is not a promise to you today that you will be spared the punishment because of your faith.
Right now, if you hopped a jet to a foreign country that hated Christians, your life is on the line.
You need to know that this is not a promise just because he saved the three Hebrew boys that he will save your life. It's not.
This also is not a promise that when you face these trials that there will not be an opportunity that you will bow and you will turn away from God.
I'm looking at people I love and I know and that are part of my church family.
And here's the reality.
Some in this room will bow.
Some watching livestream will turn away because that's the easy road.
The boys did not take the easy road.
What this is is a promise that in the face of persecution, when it gets hot, Jesus will not forsake his people. And it is a challenge to us that when the persecution comes, we must Stand for the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does the refining process do?
The refining process to the metal. If you put a metal into high temperature, the metal melts.
All the impurities are then removed. The metal is pulled out, and it is a stronger, valuable, more durable metal. When that happens.
So you sit here and ask me, Jeffrey, why is point number four, say believers are refined?
Because you will see the fire if you are a believer of Jesus Christ.
And here's what that is doing.
That is trying to see if you are who you say you are.
It's trying to weed out the impurities that don't belong there.
It is trying to purify and make you holy for Jesus and Him alone.
So when those fiery trials come, know that Jesus is with you. But know that Jesus is using them to make you stronger for him and give you a stronger testimony that he may get the glory from your life.
Sometimes a fiery trial is used to refine believers.
It's not intended to make them weaker, but it's intended to make them stronger.
So today, in a moment of invitation, maybe you feel the heat, maybe you feel the heat of a trial, Something that's hard, something that you haven't been able to stand or withstand.
Here's what I'm asking you to do in this moment of decision and before the Lord, how many of us will ask God, remove the things in my life that don't need to be there?
And what you're asking is, God used the fire to refine me, to make me more like you today, believer. Maybe we need to pray that prayer because there are some things that need to be done away with in your life.
This word, sanctification, is an act of becoming more like Jesus every single day.
And sometimes the fiery trials are used in order to do that.
If you feel like you're in the fire, you feel like it's getting hot, you can feel the flames. Here's what I want you to know. God has stepped into that fire with you. Be obedient to him, believer.
If you're not a believer, maybe today you're bound by something other than a commitment to the Lord.
Here's what I want to tell you today. Today, if you're not a believer, you're bound by something called sin.
And sin separates for eternity.
I have no theological backing in this little story I'll tell you. But as a young boy burning leaves in my grandfather's garden, one fall, he looked at me, and as the fire got hotter, he said, back away.
I backed away.
We threw more on it, and he Said, back away.
But then he looked at me and said, this hell is seven times hotter.
I don't know that to be theologically correct in my grandfather's farming mentality. Maybe he pulled it from this story, I don't know.
But here's what he wanted to tell his grandson.
There's a place that's way hotter than this.
If you are without Jesus, you're headed for a fire and you're bound by sin.
I can't do anything to change that.
You and Jesus can.
And here's what I believe. Jesus took your sin, the sin that binds you right now. Jesus took that sin to an old wooden cross and he stretched out his arms because he loved you that much. And he laid down his life for your life in your place. And he died on that cross for your sin, that same sin that binds you.
Not only that, on the third day he rose to give life and grace and mercy to anyone who will believe in him today. If you are bound by that sin, here's what you need to understand. Jesus has loosed it via the cross and he loves you and he wants a relationship with you.
If you will just surrender and say, God, I give you my life.
I will live it in faith. I turn from my sin. I turn to you and I will live my life for you.
Believer, what has you bound?
Unbeliever.
Jesus wants to set you free.
Let's pray.
God, today in these moments, we give you a message about a faithful fiery trial.
God, I don't know what that looks like in fullness today, but for some of us, we have bowed the knee to an idol that is not you, God. We need to fall before you and ask for forgiveness and rise and follow you.
For some in this room, the fiery trial at work or at home because they are a believer.
There's some that spouses in this room that can't talk about Jesus at home.
Because what's at home, oh God, I just pray that you will give them the strength to stand for you.
God, we face a dark world that asks us to bow.
Oh God, I pray for a church that will be so rooted in Jesus that we cannot do that, oh God, that our lives will be lives of truth, of character.
Lord, may you use the intentions of our heart for your glory throughout all our lives.
Lord, search us and know us. God, I pray for that one that is bound by sin.
God, only you can remove that.
God, thank you for what you've already done.
And we pray that that one comes to you today.
God, we give you this time join us here we pray in Jesus name.
Amen.
[00:43:00] Speaker A: Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11am for more information about our church, please call our church office at 434-946-0555.
