From Burnt to Blessed Part Two

Monumental Moments

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

March 23, 2025

From Burnt to Blessed Part Two

Let’s turn to Daniel 3. We’ll have the passage up on the screen if you prefer reading along that way. Most of us are probably familiar with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace. We remember how Nebuchadnezzar erected a 90 foot idol and commanded everyone to worship it when they heard the music play and threatened to throw them in a fiery furnace if they didn’t worship the idol.

When Nebuchadnezzar heard that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren’t bowing down, he gave them one more chance to bow down before his idol and these three young men had the courage and conviction to tell the king that they didn’t need to pray about or be careful about their answer. It was a hard no. They would bow their knee to no one other than the God of Israel.

When everyone else was bowing, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood. They were probably in their late teens, maybe early twenties, and yet they had developed the kind of character that didn’t bend or conform to what the crowds expected. Don’t think because you’re young you have to conform to what your peers expect. Daniel writes that those who know their God will be strong and do exploits. These men knew their God. Don’t think because you’re young you can’t do exploits for God.

In his rage, Nebuchadnezzar had the oven heated seven times hotter than it normally would be – so hot that those who threw the young Jews into the fire were killed. But when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he is shocked by what he sees. Let’s pick it up in verse 24.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵ He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 

If you’ve ever been near a fire or someone smoking you know that the smell of fire clings to the body and clothes for a long time. Years ago our son Matthew had to do a community project for school so he worked for a couple hours helping Habitat for Humanity restore a home that had been gutted by fire. Everything was burnt ashes and smelled of smoke. When Matt got done he smelled like smoke. It’s what fire does.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out with no smell of fire. No smell of smoke. Obviously the miracle is that they survived the furnace at all, but God brought them out without even the smallest bit of the fiery trial clinging to them. Their hair wasn’t singed. Their clothes weren’t burnt. And there was no smell of smoke on them.

This image of the smell of smoke is a metaphor for the things that can cling to us after we’ve gone through a trial of some kind. We live in a world of fires, the devil is an arsonist, and we will go through fiery trials. Sometimes God allows His children to go through the furnace. And sometimes in His wisdom God prescribes for His children to go through the fiery furnace. Satan hopes to use fire to destroy believer’s lives and faith, God uses fire to refine and purify His children’s faith and lives.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen you love. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Peter was writing this to a church that was going through the furnace of suffering but you don’t smell smoke coming off this church. They greatly rejoice even while experiencing a brief time of grief. The fire is testing the genuineness of their faith which is more precious than gold.

Peter says “various trials”. Trials come in various forms and various heat levels. They are real and they burn. But even in fiery trials – which include things like a friendship that goes up in smoke. A marriage that burns to the ground. A loved one who calls to tell you they’ve been diagnosed with cancer. Or getting that call yourself.

It includes the burn of betrayal. And the seven times hotter furnace of trauma. These are real and the Bible doesn’t deny that. But God is able to take us from burnt to blessed. He is able to bring us to the other side with no smell of smoke.

1. Jesus is the fourth man who walks through the fire with us

Nebuchadnezzar says didn’t we throw three men in? Why do I see four men walking in the fire and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

God doesn’t say we’ll never have to go through the fire – but we have His promise that He will be with us. Jesus will walk with us through the fire, through the trial, every step of the way. There is nothing more precious or more strengthening than knowing we aren’t in the fire alone. Jesus walks with us and will bring us safely through.

2. God wants to replace the smell of smoke with the aroma of Christ

For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are

perishing. 2 Cor. 2:15

I wish we were like Shad, Mesh, and Abednego coming right out of the furnace with no smell of smoke clinging to them, but honestly sometimes when we go through the fire we come out the other side burned and smelling a little bit like smoke, or a lot like smoke!

I don’t know about you, but when someone who said they were a friend burns me, I struggle with feelings of bitterness. Don’t sit there looking all holy – you do too! My mind tends to want to replay the hurt over and over again. There’s a part of me that wants to burn them back…or at least see them get theirs.

That bitterness, that desire for vengeance (let’s call it what it is) it’s not the aroma of Christ, it’s the smell of smoke. The only way to remove it and replace it with the aroma of Christ is through forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of the sweetest words in the world to the Christian. Jesus purchased forgiveness for us on the cross. The only reason we as sinners are accepted by God and have relationship with Him is because we have been forgiven.

And guess what? Forgiven people forgive people. To forgive isn’t to deny the hurt, it’s to absorb the hurt. It’s to acknowledge there was a real debt and then to tear that debt up. That’s what Jesus did for us on the cross.

¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Col. 2:13-14

Jesus tore up the record of debt that stood against us. We can tear up those far lesser records of debt that others owe us.

In more serious cases this doesn’t mean that all consequences are removed. If someone lies to us or breaks trust, we withhold trust from them until over time they are able to rebuild it. If someone is abusive, it’s right to take yourself out of that situation and not continue to be abused.

Forgiveness isn’t primarily for them – it’s for us. So that the smoke of bitterness doesn’t choke us.

We could go on with other forms of smoke: the smoke of fear and worry is removed and replaced by trust in God. The smoke of selfishness is removed and replaced by empathy and compassion. The Holy Spirit works in us to make us smell like Jesus wherever we go.

3. God wants to use us to help others go from burnt to blessed

Nebuchadnezzar went from burning with anger to burning with passion for their God:

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar still has a tendency to motivate people to worship by threat of death but hey, at least now he’s tearing people limb from limb for Jesus glory!

S, M, and A are promoted. They go from burnt to blessed, but we don’t want to miss the bigger picture. They didn’t just bless themselves, they blessed Neb the very guy who hated them, raged against them, and tried to kill them.

We live in a world of fires and the people who burn us were no doubt burned somewhere. Burned people burn people. When we smell like smoke, we leave the smell of smoke on other people. Our bitterness influences our friends to be bitter. Our doubt and unbelief influences people around us to doubt and disbelieve. We don’t want to pass on our second hand smoke.

I appreciate songs that are written well. Kelsea Ballerini has a song titled “Second Hand Smoke” about her parent’s fighting. She sings in part:

Sometimes I would hear 'em screaming When they thought that I was sleeping
They'd just fight about whatever, I don't know if they ever had a reason

Am I the product of a problem that I couldn't change? Got his eyes, got her hair
So do I get their mistakes?

I know that you can't walk across a bridge that's already burned, so
What am I supposed to do?, I can't help that they chose
To breathe it in, but I don't wanna choke On that secondhand smoke

There’s enough smoke in the world. Smoke of hatred, anger, unforgiveness, cruelty, unfaithfulness, lying, division, and injustice. God has a better plan for our lives: if we are willing and available God wants to use us to spread the fragrance of Christ to a world that needs him so much. Not only moving our lives but moving other lives from burnt to blessed.

Let’s sing and then pray.