CRAZY PEOPLE TRUST IN JESUS
Daniel 3 & 6
March 24, 2024
Uncompromising faith is believing and acting on God’s Word, no matter what the circumstances.
It’s putting absolute confidence in God’s exceeding great and precious promises and doing what He says even when it looks like it may cost you your life.
Even when you look like a crazy person to the world.
Uncompromising faith is the kind of faith you can see in action, for instance, in the book of Daniel, four men show us what uncompromising faith looks like.
I believe we need more uncompromising faith in our churches and culture.
God wants men and women, boys and girls to stand unashamedly with him, uncompromising in their faith with Him.
Jab 2:
Daniel and his three friends,Rack, Shack, and Benny, you may know them by their formal names (Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendego)…Rack, Shack, and Benny…paint an inspiring picture of uncompromising faith.
Time and again, they faced situations where trusting and obeying God could literally put an end to their lives.
Yet, they repeatedly stayed true to His WORD.
They withstood the world’s pressure and refused to compromise.
You may remember their story: When they were just teenagers they were taken as Jewish captives from Judah to Babylon.
There in Babylon they were exposed to an extremely immoral culture.
Immediately, they began to be confronted with challenges to their faith.
The first challenge to their faith is found in Daniel 1:5, The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
These foods were forbidden by the Old Covenant laws of God.
Yet Daniel and his friends were told they had to eat them for three years to qualify to stand before the king.
To refuse would jeopardize their entire future.
Listen to Daniel 1:8, But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
Instead, he asked the man in charge of the king’s servants for healthier foods that would line up with God’s WORD.
“My job is to fatten you up!” the man argued. “If I don’t, I’m going to look bad to the king. It might cost me my head!”
Right here is where Daniel put his first stake of no-compromise in the ground.
Holding fast to his covenant with God, he said in Daniel 1:12-13, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”
The man in charge agreed, and by the end of the 10 days, Daniel and his friends had proved that believing and obeying God doesn’t cost—it pays!
Daniel 1:15, At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
Have you ever been in a situation when you have had to make a decision to either compromise your faith or stand strong in it?
Most of us have never been in that situation, but many people are.
Many people live the reality of Daniel and Rack, Shack, and Benny.
This morning we are going to look at two stories in the book of Daniel that both teach us to
STAND UNCOMPROMISINGLY WITH GOD
The first is in Daniel 3:13-18 and the second is in Daniel 6:
Daniel 3:13-18
Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
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 deliver us 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.”
For their refusal to obey the king’s decree to bow down to the idol, three charges were brought against them.
- They paid no heed to the king and his commands
- They did not serve the king’s gods
- And they refused to worship the golden statue the king himself had set up
The penalty for their actions was death.
Their response to the king was profound:
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:15-18).
We cannot but be astonished by their faith in the one true God.
Can’t you imagine all the people bowed down looking at these three and thinking, man, are yall crazy or what, just bow down and save yourself a lot of trouble?
Crazy people trust in Jesus and stand uncompromisingly with him.
At the very outset, their response in the moment of trial confirmed three things:
- Their unswerving conviction of the God of the Bible.
- Their confidence in the God who is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.
- And their faith as revealed by their reliance upon the only One who had the power to deliver them from evil.
Their acknowledgment of God over the world’s most powerful king resulted in God’s supreme power being revealed to unbelievers.
Their faith demonstrates that God is able to deliver us from our own problems and trials.
As believers, we know that God is able to deliver.
However, we also know that He does not always do so.
Romans 5 tells us that God may allow trials and difficulties in our lives to build our character, strengthen our faith, or for other reasons unknown to us.
We may not always understand the purpose of our trials, but God simply asks that we trust Him—even when it is not easy.
We also know that God does not always guarantee that we will never suffer or experience death, but He does promise to be with us always.
We should learn that in times of trial and persecution our attitude should reflect that of these three young men: “But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:18).
Without question, these are some of the most courageous words ever spoken.
Jesus Himself said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Even if Rack, Shack, and Benny had to suffer a horrible, painful death in a burning oven, they refused to abandon God and worship an idol.
Such faith has been seen innumerable times throughout the centuries by believers who have suffered martyrdom for the Lord.
I want to share with you, Harikiran’s story that I read in Voice of the Martyrs.
Though predominantly Hindu, India is also home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations.
One bold evangelist is making sure they hear the gospel, despite persecution from both Muslims and Hindus.
Harikiran was born into a Hindu family, but he came to know Christ at age 15 after his sister-in-law was healed from a lengthy illness.
When modern medicine and witchcraft had failed to improve her condition, she and her family accepted a pastor’s invitation to visit his church.
They soon came to know Christ, and Harikiran’s sister-in-law quickly recovered.
“From that day,” he said, “we decided to follow Jesus.”
In his eagerness to share the peace and healing his family had experienced, Harikiran began telling others about his new Christian faith.
As a result, he has faced many challenges over the past couple of decades as he has continued to tell others about Jesus.
He has been arrested three times, jailed for a week, beaten, and harassed by a mob of Hindu activists.
But none of these difficulties have hindered Harikiran from sharing the gospel.
“If we save one woman or one man,” he said, “it will be worth it. Not a single person should be without God.”
Do we have that kind of desire?
Do you think to yourself, every man, woman, boy and girl should be with God?
Are you willing to endure jail, beatings, and harassment to share the Gospel?
Many people are not willing to endure the inconvenience of missing their favorite TV show to share with others.
Crazy people trust in Jesus and stand uncompromisingly with him.
Nebuchadnezzar was astonished that the fire did not consume Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He was even more amazed when he saw not three, but a fourth person with them Daniel 3:25, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
The point here is that, when we stand uncompromisingly with God there may be those times of fiery persecution, but we can be assured that He is with us.
Jesus left us this promise in Matthew 28:20, And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
He will sustain us.
He will ultimately deliver us.
He will save us … eternally.
The chief lesson from the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is that, AS CHRISTIANS, WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO BRING THE WORLD TO CHRIST BY BECOMING LIKE IT. INSTEAD WE MUST BE A PEOPLE WHO TRUST IN JESUS AND STAND UNCOMPROMISINGLY WITH HIM.
Crazy people trust in Jesus and stand uncompromisingly with him.
If we are put before the fiery furnace, we can reveal the One who can deliver us from it.
Remember the powerful, yet encouraging words, of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Our hope when experiencing illness, persecution, or pain lies in knowing that this life is not the end—there is life after death.
That is His promise to all those who love and obey Him. Knowing that we will have eternal life with God enables us to live above the pain and suffering we endure in this life (John 14:23).
The next story we read is in Daniel 6:21-22
Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
Let me give you a little background to this statement by Daniel.
The story of Daniel in the lions’ den, involves Daniel, a prophet of the true and living God, who defies King Darius’s decree that the people should pray only to the Persian king for thirty days.
Daniel, an otherwise law-abiding man, continues to pray to Israel’s God as he has always done.
Evil men, who instigated the decree in the first place in order to entrap Daniel, of whom they were jealous, report him to Darius.
The king is forced to put Daniel into a den of lions where he would be torn to pieces.
King Darius is greatly distressed about having to punish Daniel, and he says to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you” (Daniel 6:16).
God does indeed rescue Daniel, sending His angel to shut the mouths of the lions so they do not harm him.
Daniel is removed from the lions’ den the next day, much to the relief of the king.
One of the chief lessons we learn from this narrative is gleaned from the confession of King Darius himself found in Daniel 6:26, “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.”
For only by faith in such a God could any man have “shut the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33).
As with Daniel, the faithful Christian must understand that God is sovereign and omnipotent and His will permeates and supersedes every aspect of life.
IT IS GOD’S WILL THAT TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. AND AS CHRISTIANS WE MUST BE A PEOPLE WHO TRUST IN JESUS AND STAND UNCOMPROMISINGLY WITH HIM.
Psalm 18:30, “As for God, His way is perfect.”
If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever He allows—is also perfect.
This may seem crazy to the world, but crazy people trust in Jesus and stand uncompromisingly with Him.
It is true that we can’t expect to understand God’s mind perfectly, as He reminds us in Isaiah 55:8-9.
Nevertheless, our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will and believe that whatever He ordains will be for our benefit and His glory.
In Daniel’s case, “no wound was found on him, because he had trusted his God” (Daniel 6:23).
There is more to learn from this remarkable story that makes it relevant to our postmodern culture.
Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:13-14 to “submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him.”
Daniel not only followed this principle, he exceeded it by distinguishing himself as one with “exceptional qualities” (Daniel 6:2-3).
Taking this lesson further, we read that submission to our political authorities “is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk as foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15).
Daniel’s:
- Faithfulness
- His outstanding work ethic
- And integrity
Made it next to impossible for his adversaries to find “grounds for charges against him” (Daniel 6:4).
Instead, they found that “he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”
The world now, as it did then, judges us not by our faith but by our conduct (James 2:18).
How many today could stand such a scrutiny as did Daniel on this occasion?
The story ends badly for Daniel’s accusers, just as it will for those who accuse and persecute Christians today.
King Darius, on the other hand, recognized the power of the God of Daniel, turned to Him in faith, and commanded the people of his kingdom to worship Him (Daniel 6:25–27).
Through the witness of Daniel, his faith, and the faithfulness and power of God, an entire nation came to know and reverence the Lord.
“For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.”
Crazy people trust in Jesus and stand uncompromisingly with him.
- Who brings a Bible into a public school?
- Who shares a gospel even when the world calls him a fool?
- Who’s not afraid to go against culture?
- Who’s not afraid of being canceled and labeled, one of those?
- Who sees the world as a mission field?
- Who talks to Jesus like He’s real?
- Who believes the words in red?
- Who says He’s coming back again?
I’ll tell you who:
