Sermon: The blazing furnace

Dan 3 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
-They would not bow. Dan 3:12,15-16
We have compromised long before we get to the point of the threat of life and death. "It's no big deal. Everybody's doing it." "I'll do it in secret." Dan 1:8-9, 17-19; 6:19-20 They had been serving their God day by day, continually making sacrifices for Him, keeping their eyes on Him. If I'm failing I'm the small things, I will fail in the big things.
-They would not bend. Dan 3:16-18
They knew that God could save them. They had heard the stories of old, of miracles, of God's great power. They trusted God completely. Do I have an unbending Faith in God? They didn't know if God would save them, but they still stayed strong. Even if He didn't save them, He's still God.
Even though things in my life haven't gone the way I want, God is still God, the one true God, and I need to trust Him and love Him completely. They didn't make their obedience contingent upon God doing what they wanted.
-They would not burn. Dan 3:25-27 They reached out to God and praised Him. Just as miraculous as the fourth man in the fire is Jesus showing up to live a perfect life and die for us, so that we may have life eternal with our wonderful God.