Suppose God Doesn’t Do It

I extracted this from Warren Wiersbe's sermon, "Suppose God Doesn’t Do It".

Read Daniel 3 - It tells of how King Nebuchadnezzar threw God's men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace because they did not bow down to the golden image. They emerged unscathed and the king acknowledged that God is indeed God.




Everyone has faith. It only depends on what kind of faith one has. Taking a lift takes faith. Believing in an article in a magazine takes faith. Living in a high-rise flat takes faith. Driving a car takes faith.

There are four kinds of faith:-
1. Gullible/ Credulous faith - obey if it is popular
2. Cowardly faith - obey if it is safe
3. Commercial/Bargaining faith - obey if it is profitable
4. Confident / Courageous faith - obey if it is right

1. Gullible/ Credulous faith - obey if it is popular

Nebuchadnezzar manipulated the emotions through music (v.5) - propaganda.
When TV shows some artiste claim how a product made her lose weight, people buy.
When statistics show more people use a certain brand, people are convinced.

Application: Do we sometimes do something just because everyone else does it, regardless of what the Word of God says?

2. Cowardly faith - obey if it is safe

Only three Jews stood firm. An estimated 70,000 Jews were deported at the time the Book of Daniel was written but they did not have the same kind of faith.

One who fears God will not fear anything else.

Application: Do you find yourself rationalising out of obeying when obedience to God would mean sacrifices? I had been postponing the re-starting of prayer meetings in my school because I was concerned about persecution from my bosses. O Lord, please forgive me.

3. Commercial/Bargaining faith - obey if it is profitable

Some Christians say, “I will believe and obey God if He will do something for me”. What did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego say to the king? "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

Commercial faith is like this:- “I believe because He answered my prayer.” or “I believe because He healed me.” Whimpering saints complain about what God did not give them. They are judging God by what He does, not who He is. This is a sin. Look at Job – What if you lost your wealth, family, health, everything? He did. Yet his response was, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” Job 13:15

Application: WOULD YOU STILL LOVE HIM, TRUST HIM AND OBEY HIM IF HE DID NOT GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANTED?

4. Confident / Courageous faith - obey if it is right

Real Bible faith is not “I know God will give me what I want”. It is not even “I know God will deliver me.” It is obeying God in spite of consequences, even if there is NO answer. We don’t hand God a contract.

It is better to go into the furnace of fire being true to God than into the lake of fire because you haven’t trusted Him.

I would rather be true to Him and go to the grave than be promoted by men and lose God’s “Well done!”

Application: Will I obey without condition? Will I obey even if the consequences are severe? Will I trust Him even when I lose everything?

It isn't easy, is it? May the Lord help us to have courageous faith!


Haw Ling