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I checked out the live stream of a local church Sunday night and came into the middle of a sermon one of the church elders was preaching.  He was in Daniel 3 where King Nebuchadnezzar had told some non-compliant Hebrews that they would be best served to bow down to his gods of gold lest they become participants in a human marshmallow roast.  In verse 17, the famous 3 known in Sunday schools through the years as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, reply to the King, "17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”- NKJV

Admittedly, I came in to the middle of this brother's sermon too late to fill in the contextual blanks, but I heard enough to make me cringe.  He was pointing out that the phrase, "if not" in verse 18 has to point to the idea "if you don't throw us in the furnace" as opposed to "if God doesn't deliver us from the fiery furnace."  On the surface the preacher does make a good observation and this can have far reaching ramifications for the importance of faith.  In this brothers view, the 3 hebrew boys must have meant "if you do not throw us in the furnace" because "if God doesn't deliver us from the fiery furnace" doesn't make sense to the end of their reply, "let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."  In his estimation, why would the 3 say "we will not worship your gods" if God does not deliver them from the furnace? Well, of course they won't if they are burned to a crisp.  So the "if not" has to mean "if Neb doesn't throw them into the furnace." 

From a grammatical standpoint, my brother seems to be correct because the "if not" in verse seems to parallel the "if that be the case" in verse 17.  "If that be the case" points to King Neb throwing them into the furnace (which it seems to be), then the "if not" would naturally point to the opposite of the "if that's the case." So according to this preacher, "if not" has to mean "if you don't throw us in the furnace."

Now let it be said that there are translations that replace "if not" with "if he doesn't". For example, the NIV reads "¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[b] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ 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.”

You probably are asking," what's the difference."? The important thing is they had faith in God right?  Well, according to the local preacher, It's not a displayf of a strong faith if they would even entertain the idea that God would not deliver them from the fire. In his view, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego believed unequivocally that God WOULD deliver them. 

Now, the only reason I ever would have noticed this exposition of scripture is due to the fact that my own pastor, Matt Chandler has quoted it several times in the past year in the context of his own fight against brain cancer.  Keep in mind, I heard Matt refer to it not in sermon but more or less in coversation or testimony of what he is facing. One such instance was on the LIFE today show with James Robison ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvRCXSPqhN4  )  Chandler harkened back to the Old Testament account of the 3 Hebrews. Chandler said "(they said,)He can (deliver us) He will, and even if He doesn't, and that's where I stand, I believe He can (heal me), He will, and even if He doesn't (I will still have faith in God).  

Apparently, according to the earlier preacher, it's not a strong faith to say "even if he doesn't).  God delivering you from whatever is because of the strength of one's faith.  He then began to tell a story of his own personal healing from a dehabilitating back problem where God supernaturally healed him.

Now, I would never argue against one's personal healing experience, because it is true that God often heals supernaturally and often in response to one's prayer.  My point of contention with what the earlier preacher said is the misapplication and potential misinterpretation of Daniel 3.  To say that one's healing is tied to the quality of one's faith is simply false.  The reason we know this is from scripture itself.  As far as what the "if not" points to, I am still undecided.  But it's a huge leap to create a whole theory of biblical faith and to say that people die without God's healing because they didn't believe enough. 

I hope to expound on this in more detail next time.  Blessings, Rob

(In 2008 as a contributing blogger for firstnetchurch.com, I wrote a series of posts on worship.  In just a short time, much has changed. I am no longer in full time ministry and firstnetchurch is no longer online. Until recently I thought my blogs were gone forever since I had not backed them up, but thanks to the miracle of internetarchive.org I have recovered them.  I'm always hesitant to read something I wrote in the past because I am my own worst critic.  It's very strange to read these because I was writing from a perspective of a worship leader and now 2 years have passed since leaving my post at Harmony Baptist Church. God has me on a journey and I don't know where it's taking me. Reading these have rekindled a desire that burned strong just a couple of years ago, and I hope they are of benefit to anyone else who might read them.  Blessings, Rob)

Originally postedJanuary 14th, 2008

“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10

Months ago, I had the privilege to attend the National Worship Leader Conference sponsored by Worship Leader magazine in Austin, Texas. There, I was not only informed of new trends, technologies, and ideas, but I found myself spiritually refreshed most of all! One of the workshops I attended was led by experienced worship leader and author, David Edwards.

The title of this workshop was “5 Things Every Worship Leader Should Embrace”. I won’t cover those five areas in this post, but I would like to share the one point that greatly challenged me as a worship leader, and as a worshiper.

If we are going to lead people into the throne room of Christ, which should be our loftiest goal as worship leaders, then as Mr. Edwards instructs, “We must know the way in”.

I have chosen “doorkeeper” as my blog title, because that is the essence of our job description as worship leaders. Doorkeepers do not guard the entrance to the throne room like some kind of “bouncer”. Our responsibility is not to take measures to keep people out, but instead do anything in our power to show them the way in to the presence of Jesus! There is many practical ways that can assist us in doing this, and many blogging opportunities to explore them with. However, pragmatism is worthless when it comes to leading people to worship, if you haven’t worshiped the very One you are hoping to lead others to.

If leading people into the presence of Christ is our job description, then a true commitment of apprenticeship to Christ is the resume’ which speaks of our qualification to do so! For if we are not pursuing God in all of the aspects of life He has given us, then we find ourselves on the outside of His throne room desperately crying out to know what the inside is like!

In the Old Testament only the high priest could enter the room known as the “holiest of holies”, but because of the work of the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ, we have access to God and His Holiness! Furthermore, we are not limited to time and space when it comes to experiencing His presence! There are no limitations we must overcome but one. That one limitation is ourselves! As the first man Adam severed the relationship with His creator through self-reliance, so we also weaken our own relationship with Christ through our need to be in control.

We’re not in charge 

The need to “control outcomes” is often a confining characteristic of a worship leader. We somehow get the idea that what we do in our own power is going to bring great revival to the hearts of sinners. We might think that a particular song, a certain spoken word, or a fashionable blazer will be the catalyst for true worship in the church. But true worship will only occur when the worshiper encounters Christ. It is only the presence of a Majestic King that causes the angels to “prostrate fall”!

You might not have voted for our president, and disagree with everything he’s done, but if you get the chance to meet him face to face, you will probably set aside your feelings to revel in the honor of meeting the President of the United States! Because in that moment, you recognize his position, power, and influence!

Much greater honor, fear, and awe we experience through a genuine encounter with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

As a worship leader, my desire for those who have been entrusted to me is that they will find their way into the throne room of Christ and see Him for who He is! If this desire is to be proven authentic, then certainly I will have found my way into His presence every waking moment of each day.