HSS_2020_Q1_EP04

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

I am excited about this series

on the book of Daniel.

We've already been blessed
in amazing ways.

If you've missed anything,

go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess;

you can watch the series so far.

I'm also excited because one

of our team members, Travis,

is going to be teaching today.

What a great study on Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abed-Nego,

unashamed to take a bold stand for God.

And I'm thankful for each one of you.

Here we've got our team,

but we've got a team around the world,

now in 212 countries around the world.

We're so thankful for each one of you

and how God is using you

to be a witness to those around you.

Here are just a few notes we've received.

Lusingu from Tanzania writes and says,

"What Hope Sabbath School

is doing is transformational."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) That's better than informational,
right?

"Lives are being changed

from the comfort of our own homes."

Well, I'm glad you're comfortable there,

Lusingu, in Tanzania.

"Long live Hope Sabbath School,"

and we say, "Long live King Jesus," right?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) But we're going to keep sharing

the Word of God until we see Jesus coming

in the clouds of glory.

Here is a Nigerian named Shandy

writing from Dubai, so we've got

an international group here.

"I want to thank you

for the weekly spiritual food.

Though I have a Bible study guide,

I enjoy listening to and watching

you explain the Bible.

May the Lord bless you all."

Well, you're a long way

from home there in Dubai,

but I'm just so thankful, Shandy,
that you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

Here's an old-fashioned note;

this is written on real paper.

This is not an email, "I thank God,"

this is from a donor in California

in the United States,

"for Hope Sabbath School.

I love all of the young people

who make up the class.

They seem like very special people to me,"
and we say...?

(Team) Praise God!

(Derek) Glory to God! (How can that be?)

"It's such a blessing to study with you.

I love hearing the letters sent in

from all over the world," I do, too.

"It's a wonderful thing

to know that God is blessing lives,

and I want to give a small donation

that can help the Word of God

to go to many people.

I feel I'm a little bit

of a missionary, too,"

and a donation of 2,000 dollars.

(Team) Wow.

(Derek) So, we're all part

of a great miracle of God,

and we can all do something.

And I want to thank all of our partners
who are part

of this great ministry together.

We're all part of a great miracle.

Darddius writes from Kenya,

and Darddius says, "I'm from Nairobi,

and since I first saw

Hope Sabbath School, I've been listening

to the wonderful discussions;

it's been such a blessing to me.

I feel moved, closer to God."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) That's what this is for, right?

"Thanks so much, Hope Sabbath School team.

Continue blessing more souls

so that Jesus can come soon," Amen?

(Team) Amen.

One last note, from Lorna in New York,

United States of America.

Lorna writes, "Hello,

brothers and sisters in Christ."

(Team) Hello!

(Derek) I'm very encouraged

to find your Bible study, accidentally.

One day I was searching
for a Bible sermon.

I try to watch every day,

but the activities of everyday,

sometimes it's not possible,

but I love the theme songs.

I already told several people

about Hope Sabbath School.

I download some of your theme songs
on my phone;

what a great way to memorize

the Bible," Lorna writes.

"A great Bible study,

never found anything like it;

everyone is involved. Thank you."

Well, Lorna, I've got good news for you

there in Long Island, New York;

we're going to sing

a new Scripture song for this series.

We've actually been singing it

for the past three,

so we hope you've already learned it,

but it's from Daniel, chapter 2,

verses 20 to 23, word for word,

the prayer of the prophet Daniel.

And as I was thinking about Daniel

being about 20 or 21 years old,

I thought, I'm going to ask

one of our team members to sing

who's about the same age.

So, Adison, come up here

and help lead us in this song.

Just imagine, just a young man

called to a place of great responsibility.

And we're going to sing the song together.

Let's sing it right now.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Amen. I can just imagine

(thank you, Adison) the prophet Daniel

hearing us walking along

in the Kingdom of God

singing, "Blessed be...,"

and he says, "Hey, that's my prayer."

We hid that in our hearts,

and it's a life-changing message.

Travis, now, as we begin, why don't you

lead us in prayer as we study

this powerful chapter together?

(Travis) Let's pray; Father in Heaven,

we're grateful to come here today

and study an amazing testimony

of three Hebrew men

who had to face a fire.

And I pray, Lord, that You'll

give us practical wisdom.

Send us Your Holy Spirit, because we each

will face a fire in our lives,

and show us, Lord, through the Bible,

through this story,

how we can face this fire

when we stand with You.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Travis) Have you enjoyed

this series of studies?

(Derek, Team) Powerful. Yes.

(Travis) Today we're going to be studying

about a statue that was placed

on the plain of Dura

in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

And as we start this study,

we want to keep in the back of our mind,

what are practical ways

or practical lessons we can

take from this story to apply to our lives

when we face similar situations

as these young men do in this story today.

So, Gladys, if I could have you start

by reading Daniel, chapter 3:1-7,

and we want to ask ourselves

why do we think Nebuchadnezzar ordered

this building of this statue?

So as we listen to Gladys read the verse,

why would Nebuchadnezzar
build this statue?

Let's answer that question.

(Gladys) I'll be reading

from the New International Version,

Daniel, chapter 3, verses 1 through 7:

(Travis) Wow. So why do you think

Nebuchadnezzar ordered

the building of this statue? Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) In a previous study,

we learned that he had a dream

where he saw an image,

but it had different metals,

and it represented, when Daniel

shared the interpretation from God,

that his kingdom would be succeeded

by a series of inferior kingdoms

and eventually that God

would reign the whole Earth.

So it's possible that in his mind

he wanted his kingdom to extend forever.

And so, where in the first dream

his kingdom was represented

by just a head of gold,

here he has a whole image of gold,

which means, "Babylon

will be here forever."

So it seems like he's trying

to take history into his own hands

and just say, "I will be around forever.

My kingdom will last forever."

(Travis) So you think

this is in opposition

to the dream, maybe, that he had.

(Tricia Lee) It seems that way, yes.

(Travis) Jason.

(Jason) Also, in the dream,

at the end there's a stone
cut out without hands

that crushes the feet,

but in this case, instead of having

his image be crushed,

he actually requires all these leaders

to bow down and worship his image,

which definitely was also

not part of the dream.

(Travis) Billy.

(Billy) Also, that whole fiasco
with that dream,

people heard about the dream,

so I think he also wanted

to establish his dominancy

in that, "Well, what happened in the past,

it's not going to happen anymore.

Here is the statue."

So I think he wanted to quell

certain rumors that he's not

going to rule forever.

And by having that statue,

was him establishing his dominion over...

(Travis) So this might have been

a credibility thing, right? Anybody else?

(Derek) You know, some Bible scholars

of Bible history say that there was

a rebellion in the empire about that time,

and that this was a way of calling all...

Because it sounds like anyone
who was anyone

was told to be there.

It was like a pledge

of allegiance to his rule.

The challenge is, he could have

done that in other ways.

So, you've got this mixture now

with the dream he had,

so he's kind of getting mixed up.

He could have had them come and say,

"We'll be faithful to you,"

and that would have been acceptable.

But, like some said,

he's made this image of gold,

and he's saying, "No, I'm going

to guarantee my kingdom will be forever."

(Travis) So Nebuchadnezzar
might be saying,

"My kingdom's not going to fall.

It's not going to be destroyed
by that stone."

So, what other stories in the Bible

can we think of where people

are relying on human province? Marcus.

(Marcus) One story that I can think of

is the Tower of Babel.

The Tower of Babel was constructed

because man did not believe

that God would never destroy

the earth by a flood again.

So they made a tower

so that they could say,

"Oh, if the flood rises up to here,

we have a tower that's higher."

So they, again, it was constructed

based on man's thinking that he could do,

not trusting in the Lord.

(Travis) Not trusting in God's promise

to not destroy the earth
with a flood. Jason.

(Jason) The famous story

of Abraham and Sarah,

I mean, a well-known story

as far as trusting in human strength

to conceive a child when God

already told them that a child was coming.

So, definitely an oldie but a goodie.

(Travis) Right. Gladys.

(Gladys) I was thinking

of Abraham and Sarah as well,

but in the story when they

were going to Egypt.

And he didn't trust God enough
to protect them.

He was like, "Just say you're my sister."

(Travis) Anybody else? Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I believe it was David,

but it was time--it might not have been--

but it was a time when God had told

the people not to count yourselves,
don't have a census.

And we're so used to censuses today,

but back then they were counting people

to understand their ability to fight wars

and if they could win wars.

And their ability didn't align

with the numbers they had
amongst themselves,

but that God and the heavenly angels
were fighting for them.

And there was a time when they actually
did go against God's Word.

They counted themselves,

and they actually had to suffer
the consequences of that.

And God had to remind them, "It's
not the numbers you see here;

it's the numbers that are in Heaven
that are fighting for you."

(Travis) Kim, one last one.

(Kim) I remember when Jesus

predicts that Peter would deny Jesus,

and Peter said, "No, Lord,

even if I were to die,

I would not deny You."

But Peter ends up denying Jesus

because he trusted in his own strength.

(Travis) Jesus told him that, "Satan's

going to sift you like wheat," right?

So standing in our own strength

is not a good thing, is it?

(Team) No.

(Travis) So why do you think

it took so long for Nebuchadnezzar

to fully trust God? Alex.

(Alex) He had so much wealth and power,

he felt like he built

this whole kingdom on his own.

And so he felt that all this

was under his control.

So, putting his trust in somebody else,

I think, was probably hard to do.

(Travis) And he didn't have, maybe,

a real good understanding yet

of God through experience, right? Adison?

(Adison) Along those same lines,

he didn't want to, resisted acknowledging

that his accomplishments were vanity,

and that they were doomed to disappear.

(Travis) His accomplishments might work

God's accomplishments, right? Jason.

(Jason) This was a lifestyle.

I mean, he was king of kings.

I mean, he was in this culture of royalty,

so of course he's seen his father,

his father's father do this thing,

so he kind of took it upon himself

to lead in that same way,

just the way he was brought up.

(Travis) So he had maybe

just an intellectual knowledge

of who God was, right,

but he needed a deeper understanding

of who this God was.

Daisy, you had a comment.

(Daisy) Yes, I just wanted to add

that sometimes we as humans,

when things are going smoothly for us,

we tend to depend on our own self

or whatever thing that we think
is helping us,

and then we leave God out of the picture.

So it's like he didn't need God
for anything

because he had whatever he needed.

So God was out of the picture.

He trusted in his wealth

and power over the people.

(Travis) Are you saying that sometimes

we can be guilty of the same thing?

(Daisy) Oh, we are.

(Travis) One last, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) I was just thinking,

chapter 2, I know chapter 3

comes right after chapter 2,

but there's been a time span.

So he's had time to forget

the fact that there was
just an amazing dream

that was reiterated to him
and the interpretation.

(Travis) Right, because he fell prostrate
before Daniel

after Daniel revealed the dream, right?

(Stephanie) Right, but it also says

in chapter 2, when he was
talking about God

he was saying "your God."

So now it doesn't surprise us,

or it shouldn't surprise us, right,

that he's kind of forgotten that,

and he says, "I'm going
to change history."

(Travis) So he's actually setting

his authority above that of God.

Wow, thank you for that.

Let's move on to the next section

of our study, the command

to worship the golden image.

And, Alex, if I could have you read

Daniel 3:8-15 - actually, could I

have you read Daniel 3:2 first?

(Alex) Sure, and I'll be reading

from the King James Version;
Daniel 3:2 reads:

(Travis) So I have a question:

Was the decree or was the message

he sent out to come and worship an image,

or was it just to come to a dedication?

I'm just asking the question,

because it seems to me that the invitation

was to come to a dedication,

not a call to come and worship

and a threat to be thrown into a fire.

But then it turns, and if you'll

continue reading 8 through 15,

we'll see what happened.

(Alex) Sure, and again I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Team Member) Personal.

(Travis) Yeah, it does seem like

he's testing the authority

of God here, doesn't it?

What do you think about that?

(Gladys) That was a challenge.

He was challenging God.

(Tricia Lee) It even sounds like,

at first, when these accusers come forward

and say there are "certain Jews,"
it's like, "Okay."

Then he hears who it is,

he's like, "Wait a minute,

these are the good guys

I have over my province,"

so he kind of gives them another chance.

Like, "Okay, is it true
what they're saying?

Here's your chance to prove it wrong."

But to your point, he still

doesn't want to be challenged.

He still does not like that,

and he's now put on the spot,

and everyone's watching

to see what's going to happen.

(Travis) So think of some times in history

where others have been challenged

with forced worship or forced
into adultery. Alex?

(Alex) I think Jesus, He was

tempted by the devil up on the mountain.

(Travis) Yeah, He was tempted.

But where they were forced

to do something contrary,

and we can look all through history,

not just biblical history. Marcus.

(Marcus) I think of Martin Luther

and the Protestant Reformation.

He was forced to recant

that men and women have the freedom

to be in direct contact

with God through Jesus Christ.

So, once he had studied the Scriptures,

he realized that the Catholic Church

was not the entity to dispense grace.

And that was a time when Catholicism

was to force people to worship
in a certain way.

So Martin Luther faced

that same forcing of consciousness

that is being done here.

(Derek) And, you know,

that was a challenge for him

because that was his church.

In fact, that was the Christian Church.

I think the Reformers,

they didn't want to leave the Church.

They wanted to call the Church

back to faithfulness to the Word of God.

And it was only when that was resisted

that they had to say, "We must

honor God rather than man."

And, of course, Luther,

God miraculously preserved

to help continue to lead the Reformation.

But many Reformers, men and women,

laid down their lives

just for wanting to honor God.

(Travis) Anybody else you can think of

in history that faced...? Laurel,
did you have?

(Laurel) I was just thinking

about shortly after Jesus
ascended to Heaven,

the early Christian Church

and what Paul used to do

to those who followed Jesus,
God of heaven,

instead of just keeping up

with the traditions of the Jews.

(Derek) His name was Saul

back then, though, right?

(Laurel) Yes, he was Saul.

(Derek) He was changed, but you're right.

He says he forced them to blaspheme

and say, "Down with Jesus,"

and of course, those that didn't,

he said he put them to death

and cast his vote against them.

That's a powerful illustration.

(Travis) And we know there were many

during the Reformation

that were burnt at the stake

and gave their lives, right,

for the gospel truth.

One more, anyone?

(Derek) Back to history,

you've got the Colosseum,

during the early days of Christianity

where they were fed to lions

and set fire as human torches.

So I think all through time

Satan, because he's behind it all, right,

he wants people to worship him.

You read, Isaiah, you know,

"I will be like the Most High."

So he's behind all of this forced worship,

and down through the ages

the faithful followers of God

have said, "We'd rather die

than bow down to a false god."

(Travis) So why is this story

relevant for us today?

And, Stephanie, I'm going to have you read

from Revelation for us,

Revelation, chapter 13:11-18,

but let's answer that question.

Why? Why is it relevant today?

Is there something coming in the future?

Are we going to have to face
similar circumstances?

(Stephanie) I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Travis) Wow, and we're given warning

in Revelation 14 to avoid this mark

and not worship the beast of this image.

By the way, is this going

to be a 9-foot and 60-foot tall statue?

(Team) No.

(Travis) No, it doesn't

have to be a statue on the plain

of Dura in Babylon.

The image represents a person

or somebody else who is against

the authority of God,

kind of like Nebuchadnezzar was.

It set themselves against God.

(Derek) I know we've got to go
back to Daniel,

but I just want to say, we did

a whole series on Revelation,

and so our viewers can go

to hopetv.org/hopess

and watch that series.

We also, Travis, have a series

of chapter-by-chapter Bible studies

on Daniel and Revelation

at hopebiblestudy.org.

So I just want to let our viewers know

because there's a lot we could study there

about the beast and the mark of the beast,
which is important.

But I think your parallel
is really important,

and that is the test they faced back then

is the test that faithful followers

will face in the end time.

(Travis) And the important thing

is how to pass that test.

And we're going to learn more about that,

the test of fire, as we move on.

And, Jason, if I could have

you read Daniel 3:16-18,

we're going to read

about this test of fire.

(Jason) My pleasure, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Team) Amen. Wow.

(Travis) What impresses you

as you hear the testimony

of Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abed-Nego? Gladys.

(Gladys) I just love the certainty
that they had.

They were like, "We don't

have to answer you about this

because, yes, it is true,"

basically that's what they were saying,

"We did not bow down,

and we will not bow down,

and God will be able to deliver us."

But my favorite part is that they said,

"But even if He doesn't,

we will not bow down."

So their certainty and their faith
were just unmovable.

(Travis) Adison.

(Adison) I just reaffirm

what Gladys was saying,

but it's just amazing; like, they had

just so much confidence

in the God that they served.

They didn't say, "Oh, our God

might be able to save us

or deliver us out of your hand."

No, they spoke with just a certainty
that's beyond measure.

(Travis) Daisy.

(Daisy) I wanted to add

that they spoke with so much boldness.

I mean, you're talking to the king,

a powerful king over an entire empire.

There's nobody who has been

more powerful than this king
that's existed,

but yet they have this boldness to speak.

I mean, a lot of times

we want to do the right thing,

but it's like we're lacking

that courage to speak up.

But for some reason

they were able to speak up.

And I think, I must believe the power

of the Spirit was in them

to give them that boldness

because there's no way...

(Travis) That had to be the only way.

I was thinking of those words,
"but if not,"

and as I started to think about that,

it came to my attention

that there are two other people

in the Bible who said something similar.

One was Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,

and He said, "Lord...

(Derek) "If it's possible,.."

(Travis) "Take this cup from Me,

but if not, Your will, not..."

And remember Job?

"Even if You slay me, I will trust You."

And I read something when I was

reading the book of Job just recently,

and he said he loved the Word of God

more than food itself.

And I thought, "Wow,

what an amazing thing,"

And these three boys

had the faith of Jesus.

They had the faith. Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) Fear is a powerful motivator

because it was pretty effective

for everybody else who was bowing down.

No doubt they had their own centuries

of traditions that were ingrained in them

that they were willing to turn on

at the sight of the fiery furnace

and this furious king.

And it just goes to show

that a living relationship with God,

like, God does not try

to control us through fear.

And that, as strong as fear

can be as a motivator,

there is something more beautiful
than that.

God's love, the faith

that He cultivates inside of us

through that living relationship
and connection,

fear doesn't have any space there.

(Travis) "Perfect love casts out..."

(Tricia Lee) "Perfect love
casts out all fear,"

and you can see that that's
what was at play.

Of course a fiery furnace
should scare you,

but, "Perfect love casts out all fear,"

and they were able to stand

on what they knew to be true

and the God that they served.

(Travis) We have more hands raised,

but we have to move on.

Adison, I'm going to have you

read for us from Daniel 3:19-23,

and we want to just see

why the attitude of Nebuchadnezzar

changed so quickly.

(Adison) Reading from the King
James Version:

(Travis) Wow. So what details in the story

emphasize the severity of this fiery test?

What details do we have ?

(Tricia Lee) It was hot.

(Travis) It was hot, how hot?

Hot enough to kill the mighty men.

(Marcus) Right, they were strong men,

very strong, and it took them.

(Travis) Anything else?

(Derek) I don't think

it's technically possible

to be seven times hotter,

but it's just like, "Hotter

than you've ever made it hot."

It's almost reflecting his rage,

and as was pointed out,

the super-heated air kills the soldiers

who were trying to throw them in.

So there's an intensity of the test

that's startling to us.

(Travis) So it's testimony time,

so I would want somebody to share

a testimony of when you

faced a similar trial.

(Derek) Similar like being thrown
into a fiery furnace?

(Travis) Similar like a test, though,

I mean a test, a fiery test,
yeah, anybody?

Have you ever been tested? Adison?

(Adison) I think, for me, the biggest test

that I ever went through in my young life

was when my parents separated.

And it was just like it burned.

It just burned a part of me.

I thought I would have some kind

of permanent damage from that experience,

and the Lord brought me through,

and He walked me through the flames.

(Travis) Wow. Amen. Anybody else,

a test where you...? Daisy.

(Daisy) I was just thinking back,

and I remember in school

I was struggling with math.

I'm sure a lot of people

can relate to that,

but I was struggling with that a lot.

And then the teacher had offered

to have extra classes,

but it was going to be on Saturday.

And I knew Saturday was the Sabbath,

and I couldn't go and take the class,

you know, the extra classes
that could help.

And so I said, "Well, I'm

just going to have to miss out on it.

And I know I'm still struggling
with this course,

but I'm going to fail it,

and I'll just do my part

and study after the Sabbath.

And so I did that for that whole semester,

but somehow, I don't know how,

I passed the class,

and I actually did better

than a lot of people in that class.

And it surprised me because I didn't

even go to take the test,

but God saw me through, and I passed.

So I think God has a way

of bringing us through

when we decide to stand for Him.

(Travis) And He brought Adison
through, too,

because here he is on Hope Sabbath School,

and we're grateful for that singing
for us here.

Well, we have to move on.

We're going to talk

about the Fourth Man in the fire.

Daisy, could you read Daniel 3:24-25,

and then, Kim, I'm going

to have you read 26-27 after that.

(Daisy) I'll be reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Travis) Why would he think

that He looks like God?

Had he ever seen God before?

(Derek) I think it's the same, Travis,

as how he reacts after the dream

in Daniel 2 is interpreted.

It's like, "There is

a supernatural Being at work here."

And, you know, some translations

say "Son of God," and some say

"son of the gods,"

but that's all the same thing
in his language.

This is not one of the guards

that fell in with them.

There's a divine Being in there,

and that's the only way to explain

why they're all walking around

loose and unharmed.

(Travis) Thank you, Derek.

So, Kim, I'm going to ask you

to keep reading, 26 and 27,

and we want to see

how this affects the people,

the presence of this Fourth Man

affects the people who are present.

(Kim) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Travis) So how does the presence

of the Fourth Man affect those

who are standing around there?

Do you think it made an impact?

(Tricia Lee) Of course! Yes!

(Derek) It suddenly struck me, Travis,

that the presence of the Fourth Man

also protected King Nebuchadnezzar

when he came to the mouth of the furnace

because the soldiers had been killed

by the super-heated air.

(Travis) Wow, yeah, I never
thought of that.

(Derek) So he's, like, having an encounter

with the Son of God,

and the same Son of God who protected

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego
is protecting him.

(Travis) And Nebuchadnezzar ends up having

to face his own fire, doesn't he,

later on in the book of Daniel.

(Derek) He does, but I never
saw that before;

He must have protected him
as he went there.

(Travis) And we don't know

how close he got to the fire.

(Derek) It says he came to the mouth -
that's close.

(Travis) That should be close.

Stephanie, did you have a comment?

(Stephanie) Yeah, I was just thinking

that it was all set up,

in that all of these leaders were there,

and all of them witnessed God's power.

All of them witnessed God's power.

(Travis) So you're saying

that when we can stand for God

with the faith of Jesus,

that God can use us

to be an example to others.

(Stephanie) I love this part

because I see that when the three stood up

the Fourth showed up,

and God will do the same thing for us.

When we stand up...

(Travis) "When three stood up,
the Fourth showed up."

(Jason) Preached a sermon right there.

(Stephanie) God is faithful.

He is the same yesterday, today
and tomorrow,

and He'll do that for us.

(Travis) I don't know if there's
a connection,

but the third angel's message

in Revelation is don't get

the mark of the beast - three.

When three stands up,

the Fourth shows up.

Okay, well, we need to keep moving.

Sometimes God delivers us from the fire;

other times He delivers us
through the fire.

And still other times

He delivers us after the fire.

So let's share some examples

of those who faced death unafraid,
trusting in God

that their ultimate deliverance was sure.

Share some examples from the Bible. Jason.

(Jason) Well, I think about Paul

as he was writing to young Timothy

saying that he was poured out
like an offering

to a point that he was secure in his faith

in God through Christ

that he would see better days.

And, therefore, he would go to the ends

of the earth sharing the gospel

even if his life was on the line.

(Travis) Somebody else. Alex.

(Alex) I think of Daniel

a little bit farther in the story,

Daniel 6, in the lions' den.

He faced that, and God

brought him through that trial.

(Travis) Right. Jason?

(Jason) Thinking of Paul,

I think of one of the people

who Paul was at his death,
which was Stephen.

When Stephen was facing his death,

he was speaking before the group

who was growing increasingly more angry,

and he actually had an experience

where he could see Jesus, the Son of God.

He had like a divine experience

as he's giving his last message,

the last message of warning

and mercy for these leaders present.

(Gladys) Peter.

(Travis) Peter?

(Gladys) He lived a life

of so many trials, even to death.

He said, "No, I'm not worthy of dying..."

(Travis) His was after the fire,
wasn't it?

(Gladys) Yeah, after the fire.

(Tricia Lee) I think about Esther.

(Travis) Esther, oh, yes.

Esther, she's a very good example of that.

(Marcus) I think about David,

for all the battles he went through,

and, of course, Psalm 23,

"Yea, though I walk through the shadow

of the valley of death,

I will fear no evil;

for Thou art with me."

(Travis) "For Thou art with me."

(Derek) Travis, from church history,

I had the privilege some years ago

of going to the birthplace of Jan Hus;

we call him John Huss, you know...

(Travis) A martyr burned at the stake.

(Derek) He was a leader

of the Christian Church

whose only crime was believing

that they should have the Bible

in their own language.

And I was so impressed;

he even wrote Scripture songs

like we sing on Hope Sabbath School

to help the people memorize Scripture.

And the church leaders tricked him

into coming somewhere,

saying he would be protected,

and then he was burned at the stake.

So sometimes we're delivered
from the fire,

and sometimes we go through the fire.

He gave his life, but he's

going to be delivered after the fire.

"The dead in Christ will rise first."

(Travis) I read somewhere

that the blood of the martyrs

was the seed of the Christian Church.

Amazing, amazing stuff.

Okay, we've got to keep moving on.

The response of King Nebuchadnezzar,

obviously he's going to have
a response, right?

Jason, I want you to read,

if you would, please, Daniel 3:28.

(Jason) Daniel 3:28, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Travis) What are your thoughts

about King Nebuchadnezzar's confession?

(Gladys) I think, like Stephanie
was saying,

later, even after this amazing event,

he's still saying "their God."

He's not even acknowledging

or accepting Him as his God.

He's still saying, "Praise be

to their God," it's incredible.

(Travis) Interesting. Daisy.

(Daisy) I was thinking

of how King Nebuchadnezzar

set up this whole entire thing

for his own pleasure and his own glory,

but the glory ends up going to God.

And he has so many witnesses

to see that, "Hey, you're not the man,

But God is the Man."

(Travis) Billy.

(Billy) It's more like the mindset...

The best way to describe it

is that different regions

and different places had their own gods,

so there was a competition

between the different gods.

It's almost like I have my own team,

you have your own team,

and you think my team is better
because, what?

Nebuchadnezzar has been conquering

all those other teams,

so he's like, "My god is better."

But then the God of Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abed-Nego was the underdog.

So finally he had to acknowledge them,

but still, he's still loyal to his team.

He hasn't taken the God

of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego yet

under His wing because he still thinks

that, "It's their God, and I have my god.

He's the leader of their team,

and I have the leader of my team."

So he just acknowledged the fact

that he was beaten.

So I think he just made
that acknowledgement.

(Travis) And at that point

he probably had no choice, did he?

I mean, as it was mentioned
by Stephanie,

the leaders were all around.

They saw it; they witnessed it.

(Daisy) And just adding to what he said,

because you remember his statement

that, "Then what god

will be able to rescue you from my power?"

So at that point we saw which God

was able to do that.

(Travis) Yeah, it didn't take long

for God to reveal Himself. Jason.

(Jason) He's still a little confused

because he says, "They have

frustrated the king's word,"

"they" being Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego,

not realizing it's not really them

that frustrated the king's word.

They're just the conduits

of what God has been doing.

God's the One who did this,

the God who made heaven and Earth.

(Derek) But yet He uses people,
doesn't He?

That's what we've been learning
in this study,

that He uses women and men

who are open to surrender to His will

and refuse to bow down or to compromise.

(Travis) Refusing to compromise,

that's just powerful. Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) I know we're going
to get to it later

because in a few verses we'll see

that his heart really hasn't changed much,

but in a way I kind of don't buy it.

I think that this amazing thing
has just happened;

everyone is speechless,

and in a way it's kind of, like,

"Man, I can't let this steal my big show.

I have to find something to say,"

and he just starts talking.

You know, "Praise be to this God,

not my god but to their God."

He just has to find something to say

because he doesn't really

acknowledge that he's wrong.

He doesn't say, "It was wrong

for me to bring you all here;

I never should have tried
to build this statue."

It's as if he's kind of shifting
the attention,

"Look, a spectacle! We just saw
something amazing!"

And I know we'll read a little bit more

about how we know his heart
wasn't changed,

but in a way it's like

he still has a lot to learn

despite this great encounter.

(Travis) Right, and he

continues speaking, too.

He makes two declarations,

and, Laurel, let's read about that,

if you would read for us

from Daniel 3:29-30, and let's see

what the declarations are

that he makes here to these boys.

(Laurel) All right, I'll be reading

from the New American Standard Bible:

(Travis) Wow, so what are your thoughts

about these two declarations? Marcus.

(Marcus) Basically King Nebuchadnezzar

has no right to threaten people,

who may or may not believe,
with death, okay,

because basically what he's doing

is he's elevating himself

above the Lord God.

As a temporal king, he is

elevating his own ideas

of forced worship again.

It's forced worship again,

it's just in a different form.

(Travis) You mean, God doesn't
want forced worship?

(Marcus) Correct, that's exactly
what I was going for.

God never forces worship.

He never compels worship.

He wants our own devotion from our hearts,

and He wants us to be loyal to Him

out of love for Him,

not out of forced worship.

(Tricia Lee) It's like it's his own way

of trying to regain control
of the situation.

Like, "I lost control

because these young men stood up to me,

and now I'm going to try

to regain control by making these decrees.

But I'm still going to cut
someone in pieces,"

you know, if this, that, and the third.

(Travis) Adison, you had a comment?

(Adison) I was just going to reiterate

God never compels the obedience of men,

and so Nebuchadnezzar was

doing himself a big disfavor.

(Travis) You guys are right,

God doesn't force His worship,

and God wants an intimate relationship,

so God forcing His intimacy on us,

we have a word for that.

(Derek) That's not what He wanted.

(Travis) When someone

forces intimacy on someone,

we have a word for that.

I'm not even going to mention it,

but we know, and God doesn't
do that; He respects...

(Team) Our choice.

(Travis) Right, our choice.

Anybody else have a comment?
Yes, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) He does make

the declaration that there is no other God

that can deliver from this sort,

and that was true; he did recognize that.

And I believe that, just as it was

with Saul to Paul,

God is working mercifully

with Nebuchadnezzar each step of the way.

(Derek, Team) Yes. Right.

(Travis) We have to keep moving on.

So, what are your thoughts about Daniel

not being in the picture? Yes, Adison.

(Adison) The three, Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abed-Nego, they were

not to rely on Daniel but rely on God.

(Travis) So you're saying Daniel

was maybe a mentor to them.

(Adison) He was a mentor.

(Travis) And so now they are

facing a test without their mentor

by their side. Alex.

(Alex) The same kind of thing,

it's like we all tend

to have a Daniel in our lives,

and we need to prove

that we have that intimate relationship

with God in and of ourselves,

that we can stand on our own

without our Daniel being around.

(Travis) So we have

to have the kind of faith

that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had.

So how do we get this kind of faith,

this courageous faith.

Tricia Lee, would you read for us

from Hebrews 11:1-6?

We want to talk about

how we can develop a courageous faith

to be able to stand the test of fire

that we will each have to face one day.

(Tricia Lee) I'm reading

from the New King James Version:

(Travis) Wow, great testimonies

of men who had faith, who trusted in God.

Marcus, if you'll read Ephesians 2:8,

I'd appreciate that, another testimony

of courageous faith; it's a gift of God.

(Marcus) I'll be reading

from the King James Version of the Bible,

Ephesians 2, verse 8, and it reads:

(Travis) Wow, so faith

is a gift from God.

And two more verses,

Gladys, if you would read Hebrews 12:1-2,

I added it to the lesson.

Where do we get this faith from?

(Daisy) I love this one.

(Gladys) The New International Version,
Hebrews 12:1-2:

(Travis) "Fixing our eyes on Jesus,"

fixing our eyes on Jesus,

that's how we can obtain it.

Do you think Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abed-Nego fixed their eyes on Jesus?

(Derek) Well, they were looking forward
to the Messiah.

We have a great advantage.

(Travis) Because we have the story.

(Derek) We have the story,

but they're looking forward in faith

to the promised Messiah,
the promised Savior.

But I really appreciate

what you are bringing out

because some people might think,

"Well, I don't have very strong faith."

That is not your responsibility.

Faith is a gift; now, we can
develop that faith;

we can practice that faith,

but faith, just like salvation or grace,
is a gift of God.

So then we just say, "God,

strengthen my faith; give me more faith."

(Travis) So I want a couple of examples

of what we've learned

for the last three lessons.

How can we stand in the face of adversity?

With what we've learned from Daniel,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,

how can we stand when we face

this adversity that each of us

will have to face?

What did we learn?

What examples can we take?

Takeaway examples, short ones,

what can we learn?

(Gladys) We have to know who God is,

and like it said in Hebrews,

know that He exists.

And from that we draw the strength.

When we go through trials,

remember what He had done for us,

and then we trust in His promises.

(Travis) Trusting in God, okay. Marcus.

(Marcus) I would say the fear of God

is the beginning of wisdom.

So the Hebrew boys and Daniel

all feared the Lord,

but they feared the Lord in that they gave

honor and respect and glory due His name.

And a wise person once said,

and I don't know if I'm going to quote

this exactly correct, but that wisdom is

the ability to do and say

that which God or Jesus would do

and say in every situation.

(Travis) So do as Jesus would do. Jason.

(Jason) Emmanuel, God is with us.

(Travis) God is with us, so keep God

with us all the time. Tricia Lee.

(Tricia Lee) The best preparation

is the preparation that comes
before the trial.

(Travis) So we want to be ready
before the fire.

(Tricia Lee) We want to be read by having
that relationship with God.

(Travis) If Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego were just trying

to get ready before the fire, they
would have fallen, wouldn't they?

(Tricia Lee) Yeah, it wouldn't
have been as good.

(Travis) It wouldn't have been
a good outcome.

Anybody else, what else have we learned
from the stories and examples?

Lessons we can take with us

as we depart from here, this lesson study,

so we can stand in the fire? Daisy.

(Daisy) I like the words that Daniel used,

that he purposed in his heart.

So if anything, we can learn

we should purpose in our hearts now

that we want to stand for God.

We cannot do it in our own strength,

but God empowers us

through His Holy Spirit

so that our desire to do good,

He gives us the strength
to actually do it.

(Travis) So purpose in our hearts, pray,

stay close to Him, keep a good diet,

we learned that from them, right?

Study the Word of God because they had

the Word of God hidden in their hearts;

they wouldn't defile Him.

Thank you so much for this study;

it was a real blessing.

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) It was a blessing,

and there's a lesson for us today.

And I saw more hands raised,

maybe your hand was raised over there

wherever you are around the world.

I want you to share what you're learning

with those around you

because we also can be a witness,

even before kings and leaders,

but also before family members

and neighbors we can be a witness.

Let's pray together; Father in Heaven,

we've learned relevant lessons

from this ancient story.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
did not compromise.

They chose to honor You

no matter what the cost.

And, God, we're inspired
by their testimony,

but we want to go beyond inspiration.

We want to live courageous faith

that we've studied about,

that faith, which is a gift from You,

just like salvation is a gift from You.

We pray You would strengthen our faith

because when we stand

courageously for You,

lives around us are blessed.

So, Lord, let it happen

for the honor of Your name,

we pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

You've got a mission assignment now.

Go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

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