By James Hunt
SBS Upper School Bible Teacher
What would happen if the Lord appeared physically in your presence? What would happen if the Lord appeared physically in your church, group, or even at home in front of your family? Rather than speculate about what might happen, we can look into the Scriptures to see what happened when the Lord did appear to someone. Consider the following verses:
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.’ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ‘Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” ~ Genesis 17:1-4
“And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” ~ Luke 5:8
“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ~ Isaiah 6:5
We see in Scripture the very same response from Joshua, Samson’s parents, the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John, and many others. Do you see a pattern? Why did each one see or hear the Lord and then fall down as dead or tremble in panic and fear?
Because GOD IS HOLY.
A.W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy, said “Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is.”
He also said this: “It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the twentieth century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.”
That leads us to two questions: Do we fear God? Can we create culture around us that is godly if we do not fear God?
The answer from Scripture is clear: only those who fear God change the culture for good! In Daniel 3, we read about the amazing story of three young men who feared God; and because they feared God, they did not fear the king nor the fiery furnace.
Think through Daniel 3 through the lens of the following principles.
1. THERE WERE ONLY three in the crowd who would not bow.
Begin by looking at the first three words, “there were only.” The first principle to understand is that those who fear God are always in the minority. Own it and stand!
Matthew 7:13-14 records the Lord saying, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
In Revelation 21:5-8, Christ in His glory says, “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
There are no cowards in heaven. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were the only three and they stood with courage. Consider also Noah and his family, Moses and Aaron, Esther, so many of the prophets, John the Baptist, and the heroes we read of in Hebrews 11, the faith hall of fame–the brave minority. Firmly fix in your mind the idea that you will almost always be outnumbered when called to serve and obey God. Those who fear God are always in the minority. Own it and stand!
2. There were only THREE in the crowd who would not bow.
The second principle comes the word “three.” Those who fear God need one another to stand. Find your squad! Psalm 119:63 says, “I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.” The Apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy 2:22, gives Timothy this command: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” In Acts 3:1, we see Peter and John walking together toward the temple. Consider if Peter had been alone—would he have addressed the lame man? Would the amazing events in chapter 3 have ever happened?
The key word in Daniel 3:16 is “we.” “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.” You can read about this amazing four-man squad in Daniel chapters 1-2. The principle is that those who fear God need one another to stand.
3. There were only three IN THE CROWD who would not bow.
The next principle is found in the following three words, “in the crowd.” Those who fear God are brave and obedient everywhere—even in Babylon! The fear of God that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego learned inside the family of God, they lived outside the family of God. There was no church persona and world persona. They were the same everywhere.
The Lord said in Matthew 10:32-33, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
StoneBridge School is a place where the mandate and culture of the community produces young men and women who fear God. Those who fear God are brave and obedient everywhere, even in Babylon! The question we impress upon our students is, are you intentionally preparing yourself to go out into the crowd and stand firm? We must all ask the same question.
4. There were only three in the crowd WHO WOULD NOT BOW.
Finally, consider the last phrase, “who would not bow.” Those who fear God would rather die than bow down to an idol. We all have or will face challenging trials, we will at some point experience the heat from the fiery furnace. Paul writes in his letter to Timothy that “indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
I challenge you to memorize and repeat often the words of the three brave young men from Daniel’s story—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who feared God and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”(Daniel 3:16-18)
Their example demonstrates how only those who fear God can truly change the culture for Christ.
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Consider the following three corrective drills to refocus and align your attitude toward right thinking:
CORRECTIVE DRILL 1: Prepare yourself!
Luke 12:4-7 – “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
CORRECTIVE DRILL 2: Present yourself!
Romans 12:1-2 –“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
CORRECTIVE DRILL 3: Position yourself!
Proverbs 13:20 – “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
