Sunday, June 9, 2013

The Ultimate Test of Faith

Daniel 3:1-30

Right after King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face (2:46) and worshipped Daniel – he told Daniel “truly your God is God of god’s and Lord of our King’s.” Daniel was then promoted and at Daniel’s request, the King appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of Babylon.

Of course, this is where our story begins, after King Nebuchadnezzar had acknowledged God he decides to make a golden statue 40’ high and 4’ wide – essentially making for himself and the people of the land an idol.

How often do we, like King Nebuchadnezzar worship God maybe even falling on our face in honor and praise of God and then return to our idols - whatever idols you may have in your life.

King Nebuchadnezzar then has all the people of the provinces to come and assemble for the dedication of the statue. The herald then proclaimed ‘You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.’

Someone rats out Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and tells King Nebuchadnezzar that they are in violation of his command to worship the golden statue. King Nebuchadnezzar becomes enraged and demands that the 3 violators be brought before him – and they are. They provide no defense for their violation. They tell King Nebuchadnezzar “If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.* 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

As Christians, we proclaim our faith and seek God in the midst of our everyday life - or at least that is what we tell others and ourselves. But, when we are faced with adversity do we truly trust God? Do we trust God with our lives? Are we willing to die for our faith? In our lives, we will face test as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. We will then have a choice to – will we choose a path that pleases God; or one which dishonors and rejects God.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose the path of pleasing God even in the face of death. Even in our world today, there are those among us who choose to honor God and their faith in the face of death. We call these folks modern day martyrs.

“Samuel Masih was a simple street cleaner. One day, while cleaning a garden in Lahore, the twenty-seven-year-old Pakistani Catholic was accused of deliberately piling garbage against the wall of a mosque. He was arrested and thrown in jail, where he was repeatedly tortured for his faith. While being treated for tuberculosis, which he contracted in prison, a police constable decided to earn a place in Janna’ (Paradise) by killing him with a brick-cutting hammer.

Thousands of miles away, on a beautiful mid-August day, thirty-two-year-old Fr. Jesus Adrian Sanchez was giving religious instruction at a school in the rural area of Chaparral (Tolima), Colombia. An armed man burst into the classroom, ordered him outside, and shot him dead.

Deep in the Brazilian rainforest, a seventy-three-year-old Sister of Notre Dame, Dorothy Stang, was use to living among people who wanted her dead. She had long been trying to protect peasant laborers from exploitation by logging firms and ranchers. One day, while walking to a meeting of poor farmers near the town of Anapu in the western Brazilian state of Parà, two armed men intercepted her on the path. She knew what they were there to do. Taking out her Bible, she began reading to them and, for a precious few minutes, they listened before opening fire. Sr. Stang was shot six times in the head, throat, and body.”[1]

Some of us here today, know better than others the face of adversity and have even faced the threat of death – on the streets of Birmingham, in the jungles of Vietnam, and other places. From a personal perspective, I have faced the threat of fire head on – so I truly understand what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were facing when they refused to worship the golden statue.

See, I was a firefighter for several years, prior to moving to Birmingham. I had trained in smoke houses, which are much more than just smoke and have entered into burning buildings. Of course before I ever entered into the smoke house or a burning building I was trained and prepared and I had all the right equipment. I was covered from head to toe in protective equipment. I had to make sure that no skin was showing and that everything was protected.

You to must be covered! For you see, when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship the golden statue and gave no defense to King Nebuchadnezzar they were covered – covered by their faith in God. Now that is the faith that I want and I’m sure that is the kind of faith that you seek in your lives.

It is often easy for us to verbalize our faith, but are we willing to give up our life for God? Are we willing to die for the Gospel – not figuratively but literally? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced fire and death instead of sacrificing the integrity of their faith.

The decisions you make this week will be governed by one of two things, either inner principle or outer pressure. That is, either by the Word of God or by the world's system. If you allow God's word to dictate your inner principle then you will react to life's fiery furnaces with faith and the result will be deliverance. If you allow the world to dictate your outer pressures then you will react with fear and the result will be bondage. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego lived by inner principle. They got it from the Word of God. Others lived by outer pressure and they had what they tolerated.

We all have fears in our life, but if we are Christians, whom shall we fear. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego teach us that even in the face of death, God is with us – literally!

It actually bothers me when I hear Christians say they are afraid to die or afraid. I just found out a few weeks ago that I will be going on a trip to Israel with my fellow classmates from United Theological Seminary. I was excited to find out about that trip and called my mom to tell here about it. My mom was one who drug be to church as a kid, every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. My mom has never caused me think about her faith – or lack thereof. Though when I called her and told her about my trip, the first question I was asked is “is it safe?” “Should you really go over there, what if something happens?” I wanted to question my mom’s faith at that point, but out of respect and remembering I am her son, not her pastor that I should just let my mom be my mom and let it slide.

My conversation though did make me think about the average church goer. Are they covered? They come and worship each and every Sunday, they partake in the Sacrament’s, they go to Sunday School, and they do all sorts of Church things, but are they covered?

See, God never promises to keep us out of the fiery furnace. John Wesley said this “the God of nature can when he pleases control the powers of nature! The Son of God. Jesus Christ, the Angel of the covenant, did sometimes appear before his incarnation. Those who suffer for Christ, have his gracious presence with them in their sufferings, even in the fiery furnace, even in the valley of the shadow of death, and therefore need fear no evil.”[2]

God did not keep Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the fire. However, Jesus Christ got in the fiery furnace with them. And, the same Jesus Christ will get in with you – whatever fiery furnace you are facing in life. And you, like them, can come out stronger. The Christ of our salvation is the same Christ who loosed their bonds and walked with them in the midst of the flames.

God does not promise you that your life will be easy, or that we will face no adversity. From my perspective, following God’s will, as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did, actually makes things harder on us.

What idols do you have in your life that you are willing to turn away from with the risk of being burnt? Worshipping an idol is not worth risking your integrity for and going against God’s will for your life. We all will face times when we are asked to worship an idol and we have to have the fortitude to say no and say as did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. 17If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.* 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

God will deliver us, sometimes through life and sometimes through death. So, do not fear for your life in the face of doing the right thing, take up your cross daily and follow Jesus Christ. For as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know, it is far better to lose your life and maintain your integrity to the one whom you call Lord, than to sacrifice your integrity for an idol and false god.

This ultimate acct of faith is a witness to what a few faithful followers can do. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego served as a seedbed of the Christian Church.

Amen!





[1]Brinkmann, Susan.The Greatest Story Never Told: Modern Christian Martyrdom December, 5 2008.  http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=30882 Accessed June 6, 2013.
Posted by David Lowe at 6:45 AM 0 comments
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