When the Heat Is On — Part 4

Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. I'm so glad you're here. Today we're going to continue our series called Unshakeable. Rick is taking us through the Book of Daniel, and that's so we'll be equipped to handle whatever curveball life throws at us, even the most difficult trials. And we're going to jump right in. Here's Rick with the final part of a message called when the heat is On.

If I trust God, when the heat is on, if I have faith in the furnace, number four, God will make sure I come out unharmed. He'll make sure that I come out unharmed. Now, even before Nebuchadnezzar, King Nebuchadnezzar thought up this dumb idea of making a statue, an image to himself. God already knew what was gonna happen. God had already planned the outcome. He wasn't worried. And because God wasn't worried, he's sovereign. The three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are not afraid either. And here's what happens in the story. Look at this on the screen. Verse 26. Then, after they had thrown him in the fire, Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace, okay? And he shouted, shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the most high God. Where'd that one come from? Hello. We've had a pagan king converted right here in front of everybody else. He's going, obviously, their God's the real deal. My God's fake. My God's phony servants of the most high God. He's saying this in front of everybody else. Come out. Come out at once. He's saying, like Richard Dawson, come on down, you know? So it says, the three men stepped out of the fire. Notice, Nebuchadnezzar wisely did not invite the fourth man out. He's afraid of that guy. I know Shadrach, I know Meshach, I know Abednego. They're guys I've had as governors for 15 years, okay? So you guys can come on out. The rest of you stay in there, please, okay? Because he doesn't want to have to face that. The fourth man in the furnace, and they come out. And then it says this. Then the princes and the prefects and the governors and the advisors, these are all the co workers of these guys, crowded around them and saw that the fire had not even touched them. Not a hair on their head was singed. Their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke. Shoot, I smell like that after barbecue hamburgers. Had to go take a shower. They didn't even smell a smoke. Nothing had touched them. You know, I was thinking, I titled this series on the life of Daniel. Unshakable. These guys are not just unshakeable. They're unbakeable, okay? They're unbakeable. I mean, they can't be hooked by the king and they can't be cooked by the king. They're just God's on their side, and God makes sure they come out unharmed. Okay, Number five. Fifth thing in the text that tells us this. If I trust God when the heat is on, when I show faith in the furnace, number five, it will bring unbelievers to. To God. Wow. It's a testimony. It's a witness. It will bring unbelievers to God. How you handle pain, how much you trust God when you're in pain, when you are under pressure, when the heat is on in your life will probably be your most powerful witness and your most powerful testimony in your life. You're not much of a witness when everything's going good in your life, but when you're faithful to God and you trust God implicitly and explicitly, when you're in pain, you're under pressure, you're in the fire, and people go, how are they doing that? How are they handling that? That is a witness. That is a testimony to God, and this pain can be used in your life mission. Now, these guys really impressed the king. And again, he's the most powerful emperor of that age. And notice what happens. Verse 28. Then the king said, praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to rescue his servant. He didn't know it was Jesus who sent his angel to rescue his servant. They trusted in him. Those four words. They trusted in him. When I die, I want you to put those four words on my tombstone. He trusted in him. And I hope that one day when you die, we can put him on your tombstone. You trusted in God. There is no greater epitaph for your life than that you trusted in God. They trusted in him. That's the highest compliment. They trusted in him. That's why they're coming out unharmed. And Nebuchadnezzar says, they defied my command. I'm the most powerful guy in the world. I'm leading the biggest empire of the day. They defied my command and they were willing to die rather than serve or worship any God except their own God. Question, what are you willing to die for? Have you ever figured that one out? Have you ever sat down and make a list of what you are willing to die for? Because if you don't know what you're willing to die for, you can't really live. You're not ready to live. You're just existing until you know what's worth dying for. There are some things in life that are worth dying for. Have you figured that out yet? Cause if you haven't, you're living down here at this level of life rather than up here at the highest level of life. You're existing. Jesus said, I've come that you may have life and have it abundantly. And one of the keys is to know what's worth dying for. They were willing to die. You know, it's interesting to me that in botany, some seeds only sprout, only germinate after a forest fire. This is true. There are a lot of plants like this, trees and plants. Good example, the jack pinecone tree, which is over in the New England area of America. They're all over. Jack pine cones are everywhere. Jack pine cones have the seeds in the cones, but the resin on the cone is so tight, they can't get out and they won't sprout. And only if there is a forest fire. When that intense heat comes, it melts the resin off that pine cone, the seeds drop out, they germinate, and a whole new generation of jack pine trees are grown. They only grow after they've been through the fire. Now, this is true. A lot of different plants. Manzanitas in the mid Southwest, you know, it's true. In Northern California, the famous redwood trees. I grew up in the redwoods in a little town called Redwood Valley. The redwoods are the largest living organism on the planet. They can grow 400ft tall, they can grow 2,000 years old. And yet the redwood tree seeds in those cones only really open up when the heat is on. And when the heat's on and the fire comes, the pine cones release, or the redwood cones release their things, and they germinate and they grow. And some of the greatest things that happen in life are only gonna come out of the fire in your life. New life springs out of fire. Now, here's what happens in this story. Look at the next verse. Verse 29. Nebuchadnezzar says this. Therefore I make this decree. He's got a new decree. Now. The first one was, everybody bow down to me. Here's the new decree. If anyone says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They will be put to death, and their houses will be destroyed. Well, he hadn't lost his dictator quality yet, obviously. Okay, he's offering capital punishment. We would not do that. Okay, okay. You have a right to believe whatever you want to believe, and I will support you in that right. But the bottom line is, he goes, okay. He's just saying, nobody's gonna dis the true God because this is the real deal. This is the real God. And he says, so you're not gonna. Nobody's gonna badmouth the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He says, there is no other God who can save anyone like this. Friends, 2,500 years later, that statement is still true. There is no God who can save you except the real God. Who are you looking for to be your rescuer? Who are you looking for to be your deliverer? Who are you looking for to save you out of your crisis, out of your fiery furnace, out of your deep waters when you're going under the last? Who are you looking for? Are you trying to save yourself? That one isn't gonna work. You looking for the government to save you? Are you looking for popular culture to save you? Some reality show? There is no other God that will save you. And you need a savior, which is why we have Christmas. For unto you is born this day a savior who is Christ the Lord. Believe me, if you didn't need a savior, God wouldn't have wasted the time sending one, and Jesus wouldn't have died on the cross. There's no other way you're getting to heaven with. Without a savior. If you could, he wouldn't have wasted the time in sending his son. You need a savior. There is no God. No other God. Nobody's gonna bail you out. Nobody's gonna rescue you. And you're not gonna be able to rescue yourself out of every problem you have in life. You need a savior. And so he's right on this. He's saying, there's no God who can save you. And. And then notice the rest of the verse. It says, then the king promoted. Here's that word again. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon. We started this series saying, before every success, there is a test. He tests you with stress before he trusts you with success. And every time you pass the test of life, you get promoted. And they're gonna be promoted five or six times in this story. I don't want you to Miss any in this series because we're covering all of the major crisis of life, major change. This one happens to be when the heat is on. Now, finally, there's one more thing. If I have faith in the furnace and if I trust God when the heat is on, number six, God will reward my faith in heaven. God will reward my faith in heaven. There are going to be rewards given out in heaven for how much you trusted God. This has nothing to do with your salvation. It has to do with after your salvation, how much you trusted God the rest of your life. Now, the Bible says we're all builders. We're all architects. You're a builder. You're an architect. You say, of what? Of your life. You are designing and building your life. You. You can build a good building or a bad building, a strong or weak building. You can build a strong life or weak life. You're building your life. And the Bible says that God gives you the permission to do whatever you want. You get to choose two things. You get to choose the foundation of your life. What am I gonna build my life on? And you get to choose the building materials. And the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 3, you can build it on stuff that won't burn up, strong rock and precious jewels, or you can build it on stuff that'll just burn up right away, wood, hay and straw. So you get to choose the foundation of your life, and you get to choose what you build your life on. But it's gonna be tested. And here's what the Bible says. First Corinthians 3, verses 10, down to verse 15. Each of us must be careful how we build. He's talking about our lives. Because Christ is the only solid foundation. Don't build an unpopular opinion. Build it on Christ. Whatever we build on, that foundation will be tested by fire. You might wanna circle that. It's coming. You're gonna go through the furnace. We'll be tested by fire. And here's the test. If what we build in our lives is left standing, we will be rewarded. There are gonna be rewards in heaven. But if what we've built is burned up by the fire, we will lose our reward. Yet we will be saved. Like someone escaping from flames. What's he saying there? He's not talking about your salvation. Once you are saved by Christ, you are eternally saved. You can't be unsaved. If you've given your life to Christ, you're never gonna lose your salvation. You, no matter what you've done, once you are born again, Into God's family. You can't be unborn. Once you are saved, you will always be saved, no matter how bad. It's like my kids. My kids are my kids. They might do all kinds of bad stuff. They're still my kids. We might break the fellowship, but we can't break the relationship. Cause they will always be my kids. I can't deny that. They were born in my family. So you're never gonna lose your salvation once you've given your life to Christ. But you can lose your rewards. And the Bible makes that very clear. And as your pastor, as your spiritual coach, who loves you, who wants to help you, I want you to have great rewards in heaven. How do you get them? By trusting God in the fire. By doing it his way. By caring more about what God says than what everybody else in the world says. God is watching to see. Are you gonna listen to him? Are you going to listen to the people around you? Let's bow our heads. So as we close, I've got one question for you. Where are you feeling the heat today? Where are you feeling the heat today? Financial pressure, job pressure, Sexual pressure, Peer pressure at school or at work. The pressure to conform and do what everybody else is doing and worship the wrong images and idols in our culture. Where are you feeling the heat these days? I wanna challenge you to pass this test the way these three guys did. So pray this prayer in your heart, in your mind. You don't have to say it aloud. Say, dear God, you know the problems I'm facing right now. And you know the fire that I'm gonna go through in the days and years ahead that I don't know about yet. And I'm gonna be like these men. I'm not gonna worry about defending myself when I'm attacked. And I'm gonna remind myself, God, that you have the power to save me and deliver me no matter how big the problem seems. But, God, not only do I believe you can, but save me. I believe you will. You've promised to. You've said, when you go through these problems, you'll be with me and you'll save me. So I wanna thank you in advance that you're gonna help me through the darkest, deepest days of my life. And Lord, I just wanna say to you, like these three men said to you, even if you don't take me out of the problem, I'm still not gonna serve the false gods. I know what's worth dying for. And I'm not gonna worship the false images of our culture, no matter what anybody else thinks. And God, I'm gonna trust you to do these six things that you did with these young men. God, I'm gonna ask you to walk with me through the fire. And I know you will. And I'm expecting you to walk with me through the fire. I'm not alone. The days I'm going through now and the days in the future, I'm not alone. And I'm expecting you to burn off the things that are tying me down. It may be memories that I've held onto that are wrong. It may be misconceptions and false beliefs that are wrong. Burn em off Lord. It may be your relationship that's wrong. Whatever it is, God, it's a habit. Burn it off of my life. I'm asking you to give me a new freedom. I do not want to be manipulated by the approval of other people. I want to be fearless. I want to be willing to stand for you. I don't want to be a stuck up, I don't want to be a kiss up, I want to be a stand up kind of person. Thank you that you have promised that I will come out unharmed, that people won't even be able to smell the smoke on me. And God, I'm asking you to use my pain and use the problems I go through to bring unbelievers to you. Give me a faith that other people want to imitate. Help them see me trusting you when things don't make sense and it caused them to want to trust you. And Lord, I'm going to trust your promise that I will be rewarded in heaven for every time I trusted you, when I didn't understand it, when it didn't make sense, when it seemed unpopular, and Today, whether the first or the the 5,000th time, I say to you, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, become the manager of my life. Be the Lord, the CEO, the president, be the chairman of the board in my life. I want your plan and your purpose for my life, not my own. And I wanna use me. I want you to use me to bring your plan and your purpose to others. And I humbly ask you to accept me into your family. And I pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen. You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There's something real about sharing your commitment. So write me rickastorrick.com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ and I'll send you some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus. And I'll also pray for you. God bless you.

Hey, thanks so much for joining us today here on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. You know, as we look at the unprecedented things going on in our world today, it is so clear that we need to be equipped with the biblical wisdom that gives us power to handle whatever life throws at us. So that's why Pastor Rick created a life changing Bible study called Unshakeable and it's based on the Book of Daniel. In these eight powerful video lessons, Rick will teach you how to handle life's most difficult trials and situations and how to thrive under extreme pressure, how to pray the kind of prayers that God answers. And this video study includes a workbook. It's perfect for individual or small group Bible study. Please request your copy today. When you give a gift to help Daily Hope take the Word of God to people around the world. You just go to pastorrick.com to get your copy. That's pastorrick.com or just text the word hope to 70309. Again, the word hope to 70309 and thanks so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope means so much to us because it helps us share the hope of Jesus Christ to people all around the world. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's Word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.