Daniel 3:17-18, 24-25 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will delivers 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.
..........................
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and
spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound
into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king,
True, O king.
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 the Son of God."
As you may have observed, in the next day or so Hong Kong which has been under British rule for over 150 years will be returned to Chinese rule. To some this represents freedom and for others there is still a great deal of uncertainty and unanswered questions as to if it is freedom indeed. Only time will tell!.
Here in U.S., we are preparing to celebrate the Fourth of July,
America's Independence Day, yet, there is a question that arises in my mind, Are we really free? Yes, the documents say that we are all free, but in spite of it all, many of us remain bound... on the inside,
spiritually.
The 4th of July represents a day that we gained freedom from outside control, but yet on the inside America continues to fight for freedom. Since the Declaration of Independence was signed some 200+ years ago, there have been fights to gain independence for Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and the fights continue. Even today we see Congress and the courts overturning laws and other acts of the legislature that were set in place as man's attempt to give equal freedom to all. Yet, if the truth be told, we shall never gain true freedom in this country from the outside until it has been gained on the inside. For it is not until we are at peace with God that our inner freedom shall have been gained. This truth and this truth alone will set us free. No peace treaties, no alliances, nor any amount of weapons can give us the inner peace and freedom that exist within God.
As we examine our scripture this morning, many of us know the story of the three Hebrew boys who were placed into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the golden image of the king. The king being like many of us, in our worldly state, tried the threat of bodily harm to persuaded / force them to bow, but they refused to bow to any other god. We must realize that we cannot bow to everybody else's gods, but trust solely in our God. For you see, God has promised all of us that are His, deliverance from the things of this world. What that means for us is that when placed in the 'fiery furnaces' of life that God will either remove us from the furnace or take the heat out of the flames (make us fire proof). Yet, though it all we must continue to stand on the truths of God. We must never bow before the little 'g' gods of this world. But we will never do this unless we trust God, even unto death. Romans 8:35 ask the question, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" The answer that is returned is that nothing shall separate us from the love of God, not even death!
Shedrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow, thus they were then bound and tossed into the fiery furnace which had been heated seven times hotter. The heat was such from the furnace that those mighty men who had been appointed to toss them in were slain by the intense heat thereof. These men of God look like lost causes and it would seem as if all hope is now gone.
BUT..........
God will always show Himself strong at the darkest hour of our lives
and this case is no exception. As the King Nebuchadnezzar peered into the fire, he had to question himself and the ones around him, "Did not we cast three men BOUND into the midst of the fire?"... But "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." What God has loosed, No man can bind! (I believe that there was a hot time in the furnace that day and it wasn't the fire!!!)
There are 2 very important points that must be brought out here.
FIRST, for those who belong to God and walk in His ways and truths,
though we be bound by men, we shall always be free in Him. The three Hebrews were bounded from head to foot by the order of the king, but the king was amazed as he looked into the furnace and saw that they had been loosed (by the King of kings).
SECONDLY, is that whenever we are going through the fiery furnace
experiences in our lives, we can be sure that Christ will be right
there with us, taking the sting out of flames and rejecting the fiery
darts of the devil. Just like the king they will always be amazed at
the power of God to deliver His people.
Have you placed your hope and trust in God? Do you believe that, "If
it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace" (of our jobs, our homes, our marriages, our families, etc., etc.) and will deliver us from the hands of the enemy. If so, then you are free indeed.
The greatest bonds that have ever bound me, the bounds of sin, have been broken by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. It's through His blood that I've been set free.
Do you know that there are many times in our lives that we don't
understand why God allows us to go through our trials, and
tribulations, but look at the end of the story of these three boys who
trusted in God:
1) They were allowed to worship their God and not the images of the
king.
2) The king decreed that if any people, nation, or language said
anything amiss against their God, they were to be cut into pieces
and they houses made dunghills.
3) The king promoted them to greater positions.
Truly, what a mighty God we serve!
Have a Blessed Day... Be PRAYERFUL and THANKFUL for all things!!!
Edward Price