I love the worship, communion and bible focused preaching. The speaker spoke on Daniel 3 with Daniel 1-2 as background covered the previous two weeks. The sermon really was just brought to life out of the scripture itself. It wasn't played up with some fancy style. Pastor Pat Lazovich simply preached from the Word of God trusting that the stories of God working in the past were enough and that we would find ourselves in the story just as the pastor did.
Recently I have come to appreciate and really connect with the Old Testament books about Israel's time in exile especially Nehemiah and Daniel. It is just amazing how through hundreds of years of prosperity and ups and downs of judges and kings how much Israel sinned. But it wasn't until the time of exile that some serious changes happened. Israel and many of the leaders made a big turn and really came to believe and follow God alone during exile. This is a great example of how what we want in pleasure and prosperity is often actually not good for us eternally. For Israel sinned greatly in times of prosperity but turned back to God in a time of great trial as the people of Jerusalem and Judah were sent into exile in Bablyon.
But God was still sovereign and still with Israel working for their salvation all the time and also in exile and in their time of trial.
I think I have recently been feeling how we as Christians are a minority and really are a people in exile in a foreign land on the earth. For no nation on earth is God's nation and none are righteous and holy like God and his kingdom. Daniel 2 is a great reminder of the spiritual reality of earthly kingdoms vs God's kingdom as Daniel interprets the dream of the king of Babylon.
Daniel 2
36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
God alone is in control. God gives dominion temporarily to men and to nations but they will all pass away. Christ has risen and his kingdom is here and now and yet still yet to come in its fulness as we know from Revelation. God's kingdom will reign forever. Yet for now it may seem hard to see God and his sovereignty when people and nations and idols are everywhere. But we must remember we are foreigners in exile away from our true home and our King Jesus. But he has come and will come again.
The real question is will we believe?
And will we follow God?
Or will we follow the world and the powers and idols that rule the earth?
That is the same question that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah 3 jews in exile faced and their very lives were at stake if they followed God.
Yet their simple decisions and life of prayer and faith built them up so that they could face this great test. And they were faithful.
Daniel 3
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliverus[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
These men gave a great example of faith. For they believed in God, they worshipped him alone even at the risk of their death. And they prayed and believed God could and would save them. Yet they acknowledged the possibility God wouldn't save them and still trusted that God was greater!
Even if the story ended there or those 3 men died for their faith in action it would be beautiful. And so Jesus and the 12 apostles and many more died for faith in God. But in this case and sometimes God works to reveal himself through mighty works:
Daniel 3
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the firehad not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
But I pray we would trust not in being saved from the fire but in God who's kingdom will never end. For either way in our life or death God is glorified and we live with him forever! God I ask you to strengthen my faith daily that in life or death I would trust you and follow you alone.
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