Daniel 3:13-18; Galatians 5:22
Intro self
We’re wrapping up a series today on The Fruit of the Spirit and how living out the things that Paul talks about in Galatians 5 impacts our relationships. And so today we get to look at one last element of the Fruit of the Spirit. Today we’re talking about (SLIDE) self control.
Self control. I'm curious what comes to mind for you when you hear that word. Do you cringe a little bit? Do you think about all of the things that you are not supposed to do? Do you think about all the rules that you've had to follow either in your childhood or even throughout your life? Do you think about all the things that you wish you could say, or you HAVE said, that upon reflection, you think, ohhhhh, man, maybe I should have kept that one to myself?
On the surface, self-control can seem like it’s all about restriction. And depending on how we’re wired, we might not love that. We can feel some resistance to this one.
But maybe self-control is more...interesting than that. Maybe it’s less about not doing the "wrong” thing, whatever that means to you, and maybe it’s more about what it looks like to do things that show we are being fiercely led forward by the Holy Spirit.
That’s why I was so drawn to the scripture that we read today, the story we usually refer to as “The Fiery Furnace”. It is very possible that you know this story— When I was telling someone last week that we were preaching on this Scripture, they said, “yes! I know this Scripture!” My daughter was once in a musical here at St. Luke’s called “It’s Cool in the Furnace”! So it’s a familiar one, but I want to examine what’s going on here a little bit deeper than the Sunday School story we know. Because to really understand the ways that self control are on display here, we need to understand the context of the whole thing.
This is a story of people who were exiled. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, along with Daniel, this book’s namesake, are trying to navigate what it looks like to survive and thrive in a place that is unfamiliar and sometimes even hostile because of who they are and what they believe.
Now, they’re actually doing a pretty decent job overall. The King has looked at them with favor, they are in many ways part of the inner circle...BUT—they are still different. And their differences keep causing tension. And to be clear—this isn’t just uncomfortable. It’s not just an awkward family dinner conversation. There are literal life and death consequences for the disagreements that they hold. Today we’re talking about the fiery furnace...maybe you know the
whole “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” one too...THAT is what it’s like to be them in this world.
And so they have to figure out how to navigate this and how to be in relationship with each other. And as they figure that out, they are living self control out in real time. Division and conflict are a constant part of their story, but even as complicated and challenging as that is...God is at work, in them and through them.
And that’s even true in this moment of chaos that we read about today. When we enter this story, we see the King, Nebuchadnezzar, and he is FURIOUS. He’s set up this giant statue and has given clear orders—when you hear a certain kind of music, you bow down and worship. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, when that music plays, it's go time. There’s no discussion, the king is not taking feedback on this idea, THIS is how it works.
And people seem to be following this...except for our three guys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They don’t bow to this statue, because they don’t worship ANYONE but their God. These are faithful Jews. And so it doesn't matter that there’s a decree. It doesn’t really matter what might happen to them. Who and how they worship is a non-negotiable.
News of their resistance makes its way back to King Nebuchadnezzar and it’s not pretty. His anger is
overwhelming and any relational capital that these three have disappears in an instant. They’ve gone from the inner circle...to be sentenced to a certain death.
And SOMEHOW, in the middle of all of this...these three faithful people are able to practice remarkable self-control. And we see it in this one, simple, absolutely profound statement that they make back to the king. Here’s what they say (SLIDE):
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter.” Daniel 3:16
We have no need to present a defense to you in this matter.
We're not going to argue. We’re not trying to prove anything. We are simply going to trust God and act in that trust.
When I say self control can be bigger than a list of dos and don’ts, THIS is what I’m talking about. THIS is the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. A response like THAT is what this fruit can look like.
Self control gives us some really unique and powerful tools to use as we navigate the things that can be so complicated in our relationships and our world. Self control helps us choose a different way, a middle way between extremes, again and again, even when it’s hard. And so I want to look at
just a few of them with you, so you can take some practical things from this story into your own story.
One of the tools that self-control gives us is (SLIDE) Self Control gives us freedom to live out our authentic self.
I want you to put yourself in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s shoes for a second. Think about all the different ways you could respond to this king. Look, if it’s ME there...we're not remaining this calm. I would LOVE to believe that about myself, but let’s tell the truth in church today. It is FAR too easy for me to escalate an already tense situation; to try and win the argument; to prove myself. To just make matters worse by losing control.
And if you’re anything like me, you might read this Scripture and think, right...so then how did they DO this? How do they look this king in the eye, someone who wants TERRIBLE things for them, and have this level of self-control?
A lot of it comes down to the fact that these three men knew who they were and whose they were. Their identity as God’s people was never up for debate. The ways they practiced their faith were never on the table as something that they were willing to give up. And so they don't need to be impulsive. They don’t need to either try and match the King’s energy or get all passive and dishonest to try and make him
happy. There’s no need to go to those extremes because they don’t need to be anyone except exactly who they are.
Henri Nouwen once wrote about the importance of choosing what he calls “the solid place” when it feels like everything is falling apart: (SLIDE) “You have to trust the place that is solid, the place where you can say yes to God’s love even when you do not feel it. Right now you feel nothing except emptiness and lack of strength to choose. But keep saying, “God loves me, and God’s love is enough.” You have to choose the solid place over and over and return to it...”
Self control helps us choose the solid place and live FROM it. From a place that knows who we are. From a place that is sure of God’s love for us. And from a place that lets the Spirit do it’s work.
And when the Spirit is working in us like that, it helps us see things a little differently. It changes our perspective. (SLIDE) Self control helps us pay attention to the important things.
I heard a sermon a decade ago that I’ve never forgotten. It was by Mark Labberton, former President of Fuller Theological Seminary, where I attended, and an absolutely incredible preacher. It was a 45 minute sermon on these first few chapters of Daniel, and I distinctly remember being
on the literal edge of my seat the entire time. And as he worked his way through this piece of Scripture, he talked about what he called “the mesmerizing rhythms” of the Babylonian kingdom that they had found themselves in. And there were a lot of these: there were feasts and excess and musical calls to worship, as you heard in today’s Scripture. There was a lot of exciting stuff. And with that excitement...also came distraction. Also came a lot of mixed messaging about what could create a good life and how to be in relationship with each other.
Hearing that sermon then and reflecting back on it now reminds me that we don’t have to live in an ancient Babylonian kingdom to understand the constant quest for our attention. There’s so much that can distract us. So many voices; so many shiny things. And when we start letting those distractions, whatever they look like, take up more and more of our attention...it does something to us. It gets in the way of our relationships flourishing, it makes it harder to care about people, it can make us reactive in a way that just isn’t healthy.
And the opposite is true too. When we know which voices to listen to...when we let the Holy Spirit guide our focus to who and how God would have us be, it gives us the strength to navigate the tough stuff together. It lets us be
compassionate even when we might not want to be. It empowers us with truth to stand up for what’s right even if there are consequences.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego don’t get to this place of calm, controlled, response on their own. This is ALL God. The fact that they can show up the way that they do in this moment is an incredibly clear indicator that the Fruit of the Spirit is growing in them. And the ways that we respond are clear indicators too.
You know, my experience with how the Holy Spirit works is that it’s a pretty constant source of truth-telling in my life. And it loves to show me what I need to know about myself, through the way I show up in the world. And this particular fruit of the spirit, self control, it really has a way of showing us both where the Spirit is already at work in us...AND where we NEED the Spirit to work in us. ((SLIDE) Self control shows us where the Spirit is already at work, and where we need the Spirit to work.)
Nowhere do we see this more clearly in this story than in the incredibly dramatic contrast between King Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego. Because the King is almost a caricature of what the OPPOSITE of self-control would look like. He gets whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. Nothing is held back ever. And when he DOESN’T
get what he wants, as you can see here, he explodes! He’s filled with rage, he’s ready to take out anyone and everyone who might dare defy him. He’s unpredictable and scary and not particularly fun to be around.
And I’m not telling you all of this so that we can judge the King. I don’t want to go down that road because I think we’ve all BEEN the king. Obviously not with a literal fiery furnace, but I have been that full of rage in my heart before. My insides have been totally out of control like that. And the times when I have the most regrets in my life, the moments that I absolutely wish I could redo...are the times when I’ve had all the clear indicators that I need the Spirit to work in me, to listen, to recalibrate...and I’ve chosen to ignore them.
It sometimes seems easier to ignore those warnings, those indicators...but you and I both know that ignoring it doesn’t actually fix it. In fact, ignoring it can actually make it so much worse.
I had a friend in college who lived two hours away from our school. And one Sunday night, when she got back to our dorm after a weekend visit home, she said it was a rough drive. There were weird noises. There were strange lights coming on. The noise kept increasing in volume as she drove.
So I asked her, “what did you do? Did you pull over, did you need to get towed to a repair shop?”
She told me, with complete sincerity and innocence, “Oh, no. I just turned the radio up so I didn't have to hear that noise my whole drive.”
Still not a mechanic, but to my fellow car owners, please do not do this. I can confirm it is not good for your car.
But also, to my fellow humans on this journey of life and faith...please do not do this with your souls. Please do not ignore when the Spirit gives us that little nudge, that noise, that indicator to get our attention to see where we might not be in control. Don’t ignore it. Let’s let ourselves be brave enough to pay attention and respond.
Because self control is bigger than just an individual pursuit. (SLIDE) Self control is a witness to God’s work in us. Nebuchadnezzar witnesses how God is working in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the moment they have this confrontation to the instant they are rescued from the furnace. God’s work is all over the whole thing.
God’s work is all over the place now too, and we have the holy opportunity to be the ones who shine a light on it, just by living our lives.
I think that’s maybe one of the most powerful points of this whole study on the Fruit of the Spirit. Because it’s true that we can’t control the people we are in relationship with. We can’t control MOST of what goes on in the world, even as we engage as faithfully as we can. But what we absolutely CAN do is cultivate the work of the Spirit in ourselves. We can hold on SO tightly to Jesus, we can be SO open to what the God wants to do in our lives and if we do THAT, it WILL make a difference. It WILL tell a better story. It WILL be a witness to what who God is and what God is up to.
Can you imagine what our world would look like if every single one of us decided to be absolutely committed to and open to what the Holy Spirit wanted to do in our lives? I believe with my whole heart that we would see positive change. I believe with my whole heart that if we as God’s people commit to cultivating love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control...ALL the Fruit of the Spirit, that our world WOULD look more and more like Jesus.
Sometimes all we have to do is let ourselves receive what the Spirit wants to give us. And I can’t think of a better place to receive than the communion table. Where there is grace. There is kindness. There is love that wants to be multiplied. Today I hope that as you come to this table, you will really
notice the Spirit’s presence in this simple act of eating bread and drinking juice. And that you’ll let yourself remember that as we receive, this work of the Spirit can flow through us and out into our world.