Pastor Elwin Ahu
October 31, 2004 - W0444

What does it mean to capture the Spirit of Excellence?  There are some people who have such confidence that they know, no matter what challenge they may face, they are going to get through it okay.  It is not arrogance but rather an inner sense that tells them they will overcome any challenge.  You can see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice, and even feel it when you’re in their presence.  That kind of confidence is what I call a God-centered confidence.

As we continue in our series, A Spirit of Excellence, we will focus on the book of Daniel and three young Hebrew men: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  The Israelites were exiled from their homeland, under the control of the Babylonians, who wanted to convert the Israelites into Babylonians. As part of their conversion strategy, the Babylonians captured these three men, as well as Daniel, and took them out of Israel. To change their identities, the Babylonians gave Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah new names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 

King Nebuchadnezzar underestimated these men’s allegiance to God, for although the king took these men out of Israel, he could not take Israel out of them.  From the very first day of their capture, these men set their minds to remain true and faithful to God.  They even refused the King’s choice of food, remaining faithful to what God had asked of them.  This spirit of faithfulness and excellence earned them favor with King Nebuchadnezzar, so he appointed them to prominent leadership positions.  One day, King Nebuchadnezzar built a 90-foot tall idol and ordered all inhabitants of the kingdom to bow down before it but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down to the idol in obedience to God.  When the King heard they refused, he was enraged.   He had them arrested and ordered them to bow down to the idol or be burned to death.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego remained steadfast and refused to put anyone else before God.  King Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “What God is there that can deliver you out of my hands?”  This was their reply:

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, ‘…we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire…But even if He does not, let it be known to you…that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’” (Daniel 3:16-18)

That took a lot of guts! It’s almost as though confidence was woven into the very fabric of their being and it enabled them to stand up to the King.  The King became furious.  He ordered their legs and their bodies bound before throwing them into the blazing furnace that was made seven times hotter than usual. The furnace heat was so intense that the men who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego up to the furnace were actually burned! Well, when Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were thrown into the furnace, the King witnessed an amazing sight.  He saw, not just three, but four individuals walking around in the furnace.  Their clothing was untied and untouched by the fire. As the King orders them out of the furnace, he sees that not a hair on their head had been singed, their clothes were not burned, and there was no smell of smoke on them.  King Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed by what he had just witnessed that he did a complete turnaround and ordered anyone who did not honor the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego killed.  What the King saw changed his life. What the King witnessed was the kind of confidence, faithfulness, and spirit of excellence that changes lives.

DEVELOPING A GOD CENTERED CONFIDENCE

It’s been said that life is made up of 10% what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it.  Reality is, that during our lifetime, we will experience fires that intensify over time; for example, marriages that fall apart and we believe there is no chance of reconciliation, and loved ones who die and we lose hope.  We become so stressed from the fires of life that some of us live in a state of confusion because problems are thrown at us and we don’t know how to sort them out. Instead, wouldn’t you like to develop the same spirit of confidence and excellence that these three men had...to be able to face any situation with confidence regardless of the outcome?  So, how do we develop that kind of God-centered confidence?  The first thing to do is…

1.     DECIDE EARLY ON WHAT WILL CONTROL YOU.

Whatever controls you will either build your confidence or destroy it.  The book of First Timothy tells us the love of money is the root of all evil and that some who have longed for it have wandered away from the faith.  Money, in and of itself, is not a problem and neither is prosperity but when we love it so much that it controls us, that’s when it becomes a problem. It’s the same with respect.  When we demand respect, it can become a problem because when someone doesn’t respect us, we lose our confidence and allow our lack-of-confidence to affect and control us.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego decided early on that their allegiance belonged to God alone.  Nothing else would take precedence or control them.  The fire meant nothing to them as they said, “Even if he does not…”  Although initially, this story may seem to be about God’s deliverance from the fire, further consideration suggests it is about confidence and control.  

“…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire…But even if He does not…” (Daniel 3:17-18)

“…choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24-15)

King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to control what, when, and how people worshipped. He understood if he captured their allegiance, he would own them and his commands would dictate their lifestyle and eventually their destiny.  The devil is like that.  If he knows what you worship, bow down to, or give your life to, then he knows what controls you and he can dictate your life.  And the scariest thing about it is that you wouldn’t even know it!  If our confidence is based on things or circumstances in our life rather than the Lord, when circumstances change we become insecure and fearful.  On the other hand, when trust in God, no matter what our circumstances, we can be confident that things will be okay.  So, choose early on what is going to control your life…especially fathers because your choice will influence and control your family and house for many years to come.  And in order to build that kind of confidence, you must…

2.     BE WILLING TO SURRENDER.

It’s human nature to want to seize control of our destiny and the outcomes in our lives.  The danger with this kind of thinking is that we supercede God’s will for us.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego faced an impossible situation but they put their full trust in God and surrendered that control. 

“[They] were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes…[The] furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew [the] men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.  But these three…fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.” (Dan. 3:21-23)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had no idea what was going to happen to them.  They didn’t have a vision that told them they’d be released from the furnace, but they trusted God would prevail.  They never struggled, asked for a trial, or appealed.  They had just decided it was best to glorify God, no matter the outcome.  If they survived, God would be glorified.  And, if they did not, they would be with Him.  They were confident that God was in control and that He would be their Redeemer.

·        GOD IS A REDEEMER. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego believed God would take their circumstances and redeem it for His Glory. “[The king] said, ‘Look!  I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”  (Dan. 3:25)

It was in the midst of the fire that the Redeemer appeared.  I believe God was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego all along but He didn’t appear until they were in the midst of the fire.  Don’t ever be afraid of walking into the fire.  Remember God is the Redeemer who can take the worst situation and work it to His glory.  Also, don’t fear the fire because that’s where His image will be clear. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose" (Romans 8:28). 

We need to develop a God-centered confidence, as Job reminds us: “And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.  Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God”  (Job 19:25-26).

Then lastly…

3.     BASE YOUR CONFIDENCE NOT ON WHAT YOU CAN DO, BUT ON WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY DONE. 

The Bible is not an anthology of fairy tales or bedtime stories.  It is about Moses and the Red Sea, David against Goliath, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego overcoming the fires.  They are real stories for our benefit and our hope…to give us the confidence to live with a spirit of excellence.

“Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.  And…the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”  (Dan. 3:26-27)

The best testimony in a courtroom, is an eyewitness and when King Nebuchadnezzar witnessed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the fire (along with the fourth image), he became a believer.  By the same token, the Bible reports eyewitness accounts of events of the past that teaches simple lessons that we can apply to our lives.  It is because of this kind of credible testimony that we can be confident in our God.  

·        LET THE CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL INFLUENCE YOU.

“But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

There was a man who came into my courtroom three months after I became a Christian.  He was a notorious drug dealer with a criminal record that banned him from the state of Ohio, yet when I heard his testimony, I saw a changed man.  So, I dismissed his case.  I met this man again later, here at New Hope. On the day that I gave my own testimony of how God changed my life, he came up to me and said that he had prayed for a Christian judge on that fateful day in the courtroom.  And, now, seeing me at church giving my testimony, he was now certain that God does answer prayers.