Gateway Church Sermons
Saturday 13th July | Session 1 | Richard & Victoria Stamp | Daniel 3
Good morning, gateway. How's everybody doing? Good. Everyone sleep well? Good, me neither. Great to be together. As Matt said, this is such a high point for us to church. Just an important time. Somebody asked me last night, "What's your hope for the weekend?" And I was thinking about how God always speaks to us on Sunday mornings through his preached word. But actually, just having this time as a kind of slightly more unhurried moment for us to be in each other's lives. Just allows space for the spirit to talk to us, not just through what happens here, which is going to be important, but actually as we interact with one another as well. So I really just want to encourage you to press in to relationship and community and pray for one another, and love one another, and listen to one another, and just let God speak to us through one another as well. I'm not sure God's got plenty for us this weekend. As you know, our theme for the church for the year, as Matt said, is God of refuge. And as Matt mentioned, that's our theme for the weekend as well. We preached through that earlier in the year through the Psalms. And the message of that series and the message this morning is that our God, listen to this. Whatever condition of soul you're in is an ever faithful, unchanging, rock-steady, faithful, committed, safe fortress for us to run to and to cling to in every season of the soul. We need to believe that and to find refuge and to find salvation in him. And this morning we're going to continue that theme. As Matt said, Vicks and I are going to do this together. So the way that this is going to work is I'm going to take us through a story from Daniel 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace. And so in a moment, Vicks will come and she'll read the passage, and then I'm going to pick out some themes that highlight God as our refuge. And then Vicks is going to tell some quite personal stories actually about how God has been our refuge as a couple and as a family over the years. And as she does so, and as we do so, we've really been praying this week that this will cause faith and courage and strength to rise up in you. Faith encouraged to trust him in and out of season and strength to know that our God is good and that he is near you and that he's working out his perfect plan in your lives. So let's read Daniel 3, Vicks come and help us with this. I'm going to read some excerpts, some excerpts, so it'll come from the screen behind me, you can follow along with that. I just want to kind of set the historical scene before Vicks does. It's about 600 BC when Israel have been conquered and taken captive by the Babylonian Empire. And they've been marched across Asia Minor and made to settle in Babylon. The king of Babylon at this time is a man called Nebuchadnezzar, and this story involves three young Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Three Jewish captives who are friends of Daniel and who've risen up to hold up administrative positions in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. That's the background. Vicks, why don't you read for us? Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide, and set it up in the province of Babylon. He summoned all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So all the provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. Then a herald loudly proclaimed, nations and peoples of every language. This is what you are commanded to do. As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. At this time, some astrologists came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "May the King live forever. Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace." But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who pay no attention to you, your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up. Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. And Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?" Now, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, backpipe, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I have made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what God will be able to rescue you from my hand? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into a blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it. And he will deliver us from your majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know your majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly your majesty." He said, "Look, I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Mishach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, come here." So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire and the governors and royal advisors crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair on their head singed. Their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the god of Shadrach." They trusted in him and defied the king's commands and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own god. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble for no other god can save in this way. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Thanks, Vic. Wow, what a story. Perhaps before we consider all the amazing elements of what's going on here, I should probably confess that of everything in here that should cause wonder in my heart, the thing that caused me the greatest consternation is that in verse 5, it turns out the thing I most love about Scotland wasn't even invented in Scotland. Anyway, let's recap. It's 600 BC. You've got these three young Jewish boys. You've got this mighty Babylonian king who does what kings in the Bible so often do. He's built this huge golden statue and he's trying to consolidate his power by getting all the people of the land to unite under one religion and to bow down to the statue. This thing is huge. I was thinking about this in the week as well. It's about the same size as the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, just towering over the city. It's one of the biggest statues in the world and this is gold as well. It's a pretty impressive statement of his power. It would have been quite terrifying to see, I'm sure. And he says, "When the music plays, when the bagpipes go, you bow down." And then he starts a fire and he says, "Well, and if you don't, it's into the fire with you." And so these three young men say, "Well, we're not doing it." And consequently, as the bagpipes play, they get chucked into the fire. But while they're in the fire, they're accompanied by a divine figure, which amazes Nebuchadnezzar so he lets them out. And they come out completely unharmed with the storytellers, not even smelling of smoke. Nebuchadnezzar repents and he praises God and then he promotes these three men to positions of great power in the kingdom. It's really Hollywood word there. I should make a film about this. But I want us to look at three things that the story tells us about our God of refuge and how this should put fire in our bones for him. First thing I want us to look at is he's the God of refuge who rescues his people. Listen again to the statement of faith from these three young men. King Nebuchadnezzar, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it. We know that. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or the image of gold that you have set up. Our God is able to deliver us. But even if he doesn't, we will trust him anyway and we will not bow down to you. That phrase has just been buzzing around in my head now all week. It's why I chose this passage to speak from even if he doesn't. It's an incredible statement of faith and trust in the God in whom they have a deep and abiding faith and trust. And I think this is what God is looking to honor. He's looking to honor that kind of faith in us, to trust that his ways are above our ways. And that even at times when it seems that he's not in control, even at times when you can't understand why he would let you or others go through trials, that even then we might join with these guys. We might have such faith in his ability and such confidence in the wisdom of his plan that we also might say, I believe that my God can save me from this situation. But even if he doesn't, even if it doesn't look like I think it should, I will not bow down to another. Even then, I'll trust you. He honors that type of faith. You might be facing a situation like that even now, or you may do at some point in the future. God may allow you and I to face a furnace of our own in his wisdom and in his shaping of us. Sometimes that's the very tool he employs to form your character and to shape your heart. He is, after all, the pot and we are the clay. This is his sometimes strange but wise work in our lives. But in spite of it all, he has a plan to rescue and to save if we will only wait on him and defiantly trust in him even as we face the fire. So I'm going to tell you a story from of my own personal furnace. It's a time when I experienced several pregnancy losses. It is our story as a couple, but this part of the journey was very personal to me. Some of you may be thinking, "How is this going to apply to me?" But this is a story for anyone in this room, whether you're man or woman, because it is a story of idolatry. What will you worship more? And of testing and of trusting. And it may be a familiar and painful story to some. And I want to recognize how painful it can be when you're waiting and you hear of how God has met someone else's longing. But your arms are still empty. And there were days in this season where I let grief and bitterness get the better of me. So remember, I didn't know what God was going to do when I walked into this season. So the story is not one of giving birth, but finding peace in the struggle and trusting God, even if he doesn't. Now, all I've ever wanted to be was a wife and a mum. And actually, probably one of my deepest fears was that I would never be a mum. That kind of took grip of my heart in my teen years. And in the early years of our marriage, I had major surgery. I had an ovary that converted to a massive tumour, so that had to be removed. At that time, the anxiety grew a little bit more. Thankfully, the tumour was benign. Then three miscarriages followed. The first miscarriage was unexpected. I found out I was pregnant the day that I miscarried. The next one was anticipated, and we were ecstatic when we found out that I was pregnant. But around about 10 weeks, an emergency scan showed there was no heartbeat. And we were sent home to wait for nature to take its course. It was a sad, heartbreaking and empty expectancy. And the last time I found out I was pregnant, again, I found out it was unlikely to progress. It was potentially life-threatening. They thought it was ectopic. Pregnant won't be pregnant. And I was literally stunned. We went to the hospital, which caused even more confusion. Blood tests, yes, you're pregnant, scan, can't find it. And for about 10 weeks, I had an unexpected pregnancy. I was monitored backwards and forwards to the hospital. So coming towards the end of that time, it was the week, the Sunday before the week, where they were going to decide what to do with me, how to treat me. The treatment sounded like it was going to be pretty grim, to be honest. I had an opportunity to share our story in church. So still pregnant, but with an empty womb. I shared, I confessed to faith, that God will provide somehow, and I drew a line in the stand to fear. Even if he doesn't, I know that he is good and faithful. He will sustain me. And within 24 hours of standing and drawing that line of confessing, the pregnancy passed naturally. Throughout this season, I learned to surrender, even if he doesn't. I will trust. It was a battle for my heart and my mind, for my affections, and the Holy Spirit encouraged and taught me. I even managed to find gratitude for the lost pregnancies, knowing that somehow they had irrevocably changed my character and my faith in God. And I also knew that one day, if I became a mum, I would be a better one for these losses. So after the last miscarriage, I was on a beach called Hope Cove. And here, I finally and fully surrendered my desire for a full womb. I took two pebbles. I buried one in the sand, one in my pocket, and I prayed. I confessed my fear and grief. I reaffirmed my faith that even if he didn't, I would trust him. I would cling to him, my God. He'd met me in the fire, and he'd rescued me. He comforted me, and he gave me strength to stand. Little did I know that in my womb was the stirring of life, a pregnancy that was brought to the point of delivery. Now remember, I didn't know what God was going to do. As I lived those moments, only God knew the beginning from the end of the trial, but he alone gave me the strength to stand and say, "Even if you don't, I will trust you, God." So whatever your grief or trial, whether you're man or woman, there is a promise that is ours, you can know God is your refuge. Even if God doesn't deliver you, you can trust him. He only does good things, and we need to trust that his plan is perfect in our trials. He is always looking for faith. It is a choice, and it is in your gift to be able to say, "Even if you don't, Lord, yet I will trust you." And so I suppose the question is, what are you facing right now? What are you hoping for? What are you loving most in your life? What are you desiring? What might you face in the future that will require you again to steal yourself, to run, to our God of refuge, and to trust him as he works out his sovereign will for your life? Even if you don't, even if you don't, yet will I trust you? He's always doing something. He's always doing a healing, saving, delivering, rescuing work. When the fires rage, trust him. He's all wise, he's all faithful, and he's always good. The second thing I want us to look at is the God of refuge who is near to us. Verse 24, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leapt to his feet in amazement." He said, "Look, I see four men walking around the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, and the governors and the royal advisors crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was even a hair of their heads singed. Their robes were not scorched, and there was not even a smell of fire in them. Verse 29, Nebuchadnezzar declares, "For no other God can save in this way." No kidding. A few years ago, I was in Matt and Grace's kitchen with a group of people, and I was telling jokes, and I was holding courts, and I was just loving life. And John said to me, "Rich, you're on fire." And I was said, "Yeah, I know." And he said, "No, you're actually on fire." And it turns out that I'd accidentally rested my arm on a candle on their kitchen table, and my jumper was a flame. Anyway, fast forward, a few seconds in a glass of water and a scorched jumper sleeve, and most of the hair of my hand had been singed right off. We are frail people. It doesn't take a lot of heat to knock us off our perch and set us a flame. It certainly didn't mean that night. Three men went into a fire so hot that it killed their guards and they came out without a single hair on their heads singed. Such is the power and the protection of our God. Isaiah 43, verse one to three, says this. This is a promise spoken over Israel, and it's spoken over you, even today, by the same God who delivered these guys from the fire. Do not fear. It's one of the most commonly taught things throughout the Bible. Do not fear, for I've redeemed you. I've summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Amazing. Who was the fourth person in the fire with them? Some say it was an angel. Some say it was a Christophony, a physical appearance of Christ before His incarnation. But whoever it was, it was that they were sent by God as a sign of His presence and His protection in the fire. God is near to us, even in these moments of distress, even when we don't feel it. And this truth should remind us that even in the fire that we needn't be overwhelmed, when we face trials and difficulties, not a hair on their head was singed. They didn't even smell like smoke. That's an odd detail to record in the Bible, unless God wants to make the point that His salvation is comprehensive to the uttermost. There is no part of you that can't be saved. That's the gospel. A Savior who comes to us and walks with us, even in the fire, and He delivers us and restores us. And we walk clear of the fire. We don't even smell like smoke. That's His grace to us, Gateway. His promise of restoration is for you, even in the fire. Psalm 23, verse 5, "You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, even in the presence of our enemies, or in the fire, or wherever we face hardship and trial. He doesn't just always whip us out of trouble, but He does promise to be with us in it. In the presence of my enemies, you lay a table for me. He comes and He dines with us. He says, "Be still, I am God. The battle doesn't belong to the archer, or the swordsman, or Nebuchadnezzar. The battle belongs to me, and I'm near to you. And I'm doing something in you through this situation. Now rest, eat, know my peace in the battle." So my health is an anvil that God uses to shape me. I have aspirations of being able to describe myself as a healthy person. But the reality is, I live with a couple of long-term health conditions that need managing. I have learned that God sustains me. He provides for my needs, and He is with me. So I have a connective tissue disorder, which is small, but it presents many daily little challenges for me, chronic aches and pains, muscle cramps, a bleeding disorder that means my blood doesn't clot properly, fatigue, joints that pop in and out of sockets and things like that. It's nothing too major, but it can make me move a little bit slower and think a little bit slower, and it makes me a little bit less dexterous as well. It's a painful and it's a mild inconvenience that over the years we've learned to accommodate as a couple. If I don't care for my body properly, it could become debilitating. I also have asthma, and in fact these last two months, I've been a little bit under par after a really nasty chest infection at the beginning of May that my body just hasn't been able to shake and I'm on medicines at the moment to see if we can boot it out the door. So to manage these conditions, I take daily medications, I do daily physiotherapy, and I'm advised to exercise regularly to maintain my lung health and my physical strength. Through my health, I have learned to offer acceptance and surrender, and to live where my boundaries have settled. There is a humility that this acceptance breeds. I can't do everything. I've been trained in perseverance and dependency on God. Every time I walk into the hematology oncology department for an appointment, I catch my breath. My God is with me. Whenever I've waited for an emergency assessment with an exacerbation of asthma or severe pain or if I've knocked myself and I might be bleeding severely, fear lurks. Will I be seen in time? Am I safe? My God is with me. He brings me peace in the chaos. And I'm not alone. We have brothers and sisters who are carrying a far heavier burden than I with their health. Thinking about Becky Durbin in Missouri, who's got advanced esophageal cancer and is undergoing really physically costly treatment across loving and serving her family and her church. Scott Markson is in Barbway, who's got lymphoma. He's a type of blood cancer and he's enduring ongoing burdensome treatment that means he's away from his home for extended periods of time. And these two are proclaiming God's faithfulness and looking to him for provision. And then closer to home we've got Morris Chabamba. He was in hospital for months. I heard that he's now home. He's having this ongoing complaint that has been really difficult to treat as well as other major health needs that means he has to have frequent dialysis. He's been separated from his family and his church community, but he has patiently been praising God for sustaining him and waiting for healing. It is tempting to think that when these types of difficulties come, you're abandoned. But the truth is, God has not failed you or discarded you. Seek the Lord, ask him, "What are you doing in me, Lord? How is this anvil in my life shaping me? How can I surrender to your power and your presence today?" We can be confident. God is working in all things for the good of those who love him and for his glory, because our God is near. This section of the story ends with that beautiful declaration of witness in testimony from Nebuchadnezzar. He sees the figure in the fire, protecting the three men, and he says, "For no other God can save in this way." Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king himself, saw a gateway we need to see. It's even in the darkest night, stand. Trust in our God of refuge who is near for no other God can save in the way that our God saves. The third and final thing I want us to see in this passage is he's the God of refuge who restores us. The story starts with three faithful men willing to trust God and to surrender to his sovereignty. The story ends with their salvation and their restoration. And right at the end of the story, they get promoted to an even higher position in the kingdom. And I think this too evokes images of the gospel rescued from the fire, forgiven, and honored by a king and raised up to all the riches of the kingdom through all the trial, through it all. God was looking for faith. And he honored it by saving Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and by restoring them to a better future, and recommissioning them for a new task of ruling in the kingdom, even when it doesn't look like it. He's doing something of glory in us. Yes, so the final story, as newlyweds we were church planting in a small market town called Brackley up in Northamptonshire. Now to be honest, it was a really challenging season. We had all the pregnancy stuff going on, my emergency surgery. We had a time of sofa surfing. We had a really dramatic house purchase chain collapse on us that meant we were homeless. We had job challenges, both of us. It was just a time of real challenge. You know that phrase, "Life isn't like a battle. It is a battle." It was a battle. We were planting with a small group of faithful friends who were also going through their own challenges. So the church plant wasn't actually going anywhere very fast. It was a spiritual battle, but we continued to faithfully meet weekly, worshiping, encouraging one another, breaking bread, walking the streets, praying for God's kingdom to come in Brackley. After about 18 months, we'd persevered, and we were ready to start meeting on a Sunday as a gathering. But one by one, the core team of friends were disbanded. It was job offers, marriages, overseas missions. These were all really good, and God-given opportunities had opened up. But the changes led to the team either moving away or being prevented from moving to Brackley. God was moving us all on. In that season, we were led down here, and you can see how that's worked out for us. Like God clearly had a plan for us as a family. But at the time, that plan was imperceptible. And to be honest, it was all quite confusing. It felt a bit like a battering, followed by a slammed door with a detour. "Lord, what is coming on?" It was difficult to make sense of it at the time. We'd invested everything into that season, and we had nothing really to show for it. Looking back, though, it is clear to see that God had a purpose and a plan. After about 10 years or so of being down here, we bumped into somebody who was in a church in Brackley. It was a church plant. And we said, "Oh, we love Brackley. We used to live there." And they were like, "Yeah, it's amazing, actually. We planted this church, and it's gone really, really well." But we know that there was a group of people, church partners, who prayed. They turned the soil over spiritually so that when we went in, there were obstacles that had spiritually been removed. And we were like, "That's us!" We were that group of faithful Christians that you say went and plowed the ground ahead of you. And it's on their website, even, the story of their church springing up. How kind of God to allow us to see the fruit of that difficult season a decade on, to help make sense of the Brackley story a decade after we've left it. So in His goodness, we are settled in Paul. Our family now is loving Him together on a mission with this glorious gateway community family. His plans are perfect, and His Word does not return to Him empty. If you are in a season where things don't add up or make sense, hold on. He is faithful to complete the work that He has started in you. Matt actually said something in a sermon a few weeks back that really hit me. It wasn't a particularly new idea, but it was just very timely for me, and I really do believe for us as well. He said that we must not live like functional atheists. We must not live and face life like there is no God. We have to live out lives of trust at all times, and in every situation exercising faith in the God of refuge, looking for opportunities to grow our faith in Him, looking at the daily challenges of life and saying, "This is the moment today that I am going to bury that pebble on Hope Cove. I'm going to trust in you, even if you don't." We need to trust in our Father who is in heaven in faith that His wise plan involves allowing us to face highs and lows in which He shapes, and He molds, and He disciplines, and He is working through all these things to bring about good for yours and my heart and glory to His name. And He is near to you. He is near to us. This weekend, He is near to you, and He is saving you, and He is rescuing you, and He is commissioning you for His good purposes every day of your life. Psalm 23 again, the Psalm verse 3 says, "He guides me along the right paths for His namesake." For His namesake. He promises to be near us and to guide us along the paths that are right for us, and such is His ability to do so that He has staked His own reputation on it. He guides me along right paths for His namesake. Man alive, we should have confidence in that. Gateway in this season of life and over this weekend and over the season of life ahead of us. He is doing something. We need to know that of great value and wisdom. He is leading you in the right paths for your life for His namesake. Wait on Him. Our God is a God of refuge who meets us in our pain and is near to us. He is with us in the fire. He is leading us in right paths, and He is a God of victory over it all. Let faith rise up in you. Our God of refuge is near, and our God of refuge has a perfect plan to redeem, to restore, to rescue, and to recommission you for His wise purposes. Shall we pray? Lord God, I thank you that you have drawn us, your people, away to this place, this holy moment. And I ask that as we fellowship together as we learn more of your word, more from you, would you please draw alongside us? Whether we need your rescue, your nearness, or your restoration, would you please be with us? Would you please teach us and redeem us and encourage us and strengthen us and do us good? That we would return all glory and honour and praise to your name alone, King Jesus. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]