Mission Hills Church
What does it mean to follow Jesus in a culture that thinks faith itself is irrelevant? And how do we live by faith in a culture that thinks the very question marks us as out-of-touch and out-of-step with the modern world? As fresh as this issue might feel right now, the truth is that God’s people have always faced this same dilemma. Join us as we find insight and encouragement for this all-important question from the book of Daniel.
Daniel 3:1 NIV
We thrive when we remember that God rebukes arrogance and rewards humility.
Daniel 3:2-7 NIV
Thriving as God’s people requires identifying our conditioned patterns of response.
Daniel 3:8-12 NIV
How we respond when people don’t listen to us is like a humility dipstick.
Daniel 3:13-15 NIV
Humility grows when we remember that our success is not a sign of our greatness.
Daniel 3:16-18 NIV
There are three parts to this statement:
a - "God is ABLE to deliver us from the blazing furnace"
b - "God WILL deliver us from our hand"
a' - "but even if He does not, we will not bow"
If we think that b & c go together, this seems confusing, but actually, a & a' are meant to go together to form one statement: "God is able to deliver us from the furnace, but even if He chooses not to, we will not bow" (this is called a chiasm)
this is a two-part statement of faith. They are expressing faith in God's power and trust in his wisdom of how to exercise that power.
Between the parts of that statement of faith, is another statement of faith: "God will deliver us from your Majesty's hand"
They're answering Nebuchadnezzar's question: "what god is able to rescue you from my hand?"
They don't know how God will do this, but they were ok with being miracled out of the furnace or murdered into heaven. Either way, they knew God was going to deliver them out of the king's hand.
We thrive when our trust in God's greatness overshadows our fear of the furnace
Greatness = God's ability coupled with His character
Furnace = the threats the world uses to keep us in line
How do we develop that kind of trust? Four ingredients:
1. Relationship
2. Prayer
3. History
4. Community
Daniel 3:19-30 NIV
This story isn't a blueprint for escaping the furnace, it's a blueprint for facing it.
When our trust in God's greatness overshadows our fear of the furnace, God's greatness goes viral
When God's greatness goes viral, this sets the stage for God to do remarkable things.
Questions to ponder this week:
1. What’s your “furnace” right now?
2. What concrete step will you take this week to grow your trust in God? (relationship/prayer/history/community)
3. Dig deeper: what are some conditioned patterns of response you're struggling with?