Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:04] This is Pastor Chuck Allen, and thanks for joining me on another weekday podcast. You know, we occasionally think about what it must have been like to be one of those people in the Old Testament, because in our minds, we have these pictures of the stories we've heard from the time we were little boys or little girls. So picture this. You're 17, 18, maybe 20 years old. You've been ripped from everything you know from your homeland, gone. Your family, who knows where they are. Your name. They won't even let you keep that. They call you Shadrach now. And your friends, Meshach and Abednego.
[00:00:41] Those aren't your real names. Those are the names your captors give you. Names that honor their gods, their system, their way of seeing the world. You are the ultimate underdog. But here's what's beautiful about underdogs. They have nothing left to lose, which makes them, well, dangerous.
[00:01:01] So, King Nebuchadnezzar. And we can just maybe pause there, right? Nebuchadnezzar. Even his name sounds like power, doesn't it? Like empire. Like, I own everything and I own everyone.
[00:01:14] He builds this statue 90ft tall, 9ft wide, all gold. And he says, I love this. And from the new living translation, he says, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.
[00:01:35] Wow.
[00:01:36] When you hear the music. Bow music was supposed to make you worship the empire.
[00:01:42] Now that. That's fascinating music. This beautiful, transcendent thing twisted into a tool of control.
[00:01:51] But here's what the empire didn't count on.
[00:01:54] These three young guys had been listening to different music their whole life.
[00:02:02] They. They'd been hearing the song of a God who doesn't share glory with anyone, anything, especially some golden statue.
[00:02:13] So the music plays. Everyone bows. Everyone. Well, except these three kids, who probably looked around and thought, really, seriously, we're doing this.
[00:02:22] We're bowing to a golden statue because of a song and just because we were told to do it. And word gets back to Nebuchadnezzar, and he's stinking furious.
[00:02:33] Because nothing threatens an empire like someone who won't bow to it, someone who won't participate in the lie that the empire is ultimate reality. He calls them in. He's probably thinking, they're just kids. They'll crack. They'll apologize, they'll bow.
[00:02:48] But listen to what they say. And this is stunning. Again, from the new living translation. If we're thrown into the blazing furnace. The God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue that you've set up.
[00:03:12] Even if he doesn't. I mean, that's powerful. Four words that just kind of blow the king's mind. Even if he doesn't.
[00:03:21] Those four words, they change everything because they're not making a deal with God. They're saying, God, if you save us, then we'll be faithful. They're not saying that. They're saying, we're going to be faithful regardless, no matter what happens.
[00:03:36] That's not a religious transaction. That's love.
[00:03:39] That's trust so deep it doesn't need guarantees.
[00:03:43] So into the furnace they go. And Nebuchadnezzar, this dude who owns nations, who commands armies, he looks into the fire, and he sees not three dudes, but four walking around unbound, unburned. And he says, and the fourth looks like a God.
[00:03:59] A God in the fire with the underdogs. See, here's what Empire never understands. God doesn't rescue us from the fire.
[00:04:11] God meets us in the fire.
[00:04:14] God doesn't remove us from our struggles. God shows up in the middle of our struggles. These three dudes didn't walk out of that furnace because they had strong faith. They walked out because they discovered that the fire couldn't touch what really mattered. Their fear was burned away. Their need for approval from the empire was burned away. Their concern about what might happen to them was burned away.
[00:04:39] But they. They. They walked out free.
[00:04:42] And here's what I love about this story.
[00:04:45] When they come out, the text says they didn't even smell like smoke. They didn't even smell like smoke. Think about that. Not a hair was singed, not their robes, Nothing. The fire that was meant to destroy them had no power over them. So if you're feeling like an underdog today, my friend, if you're feeling like the empire is demanding that you bow to its golden statues to success, approval, consumption, fear, whatever form they take. Remember three teenagers who discovered that the God of the universe likes to hang out with underdogs in impossible situations. And maybe, just maybe, the fire you're afraid of is actually where you discover you're more free than you ever imagined. I'm Chuck Allen, and thanks for listening to the weekday podcast. You know what? Go live in peace today. I'm really grateful you join me. Bye now.
[00:05:37] Sa.
