THE MAIN IDEA
The power of God is manifested through the faithfulness of God’s people. Faithfulness is demonstrated when … 

WE ANSWER TO CHRIST ALONE
As servants of the king, Shadrach, Meshach, and  Abednego had to answer to the king. In the same way, we all have to answer to governing  authorities (Romans 13:1). However, before we answer to any authority, we must all answer to  Jesus Christ first and foremost! Because, when Jesus comes back, He will return as Judge, and  we will all have to give an account for our lives (2 Corinthians 5:10). And even if none of us  want to be reminded of this truth, we can be thankful that we have been reminded. Because every  day that the Lord gives us is another day of mercy and another opportunity for repentance. We  answer to Christ alone, but He answers us over and over again with mercy. 

WE TRUST IN CHRIST ALONE
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were completely  confident in God’s ability to save them from the furnace. Where is such faith to be found today?  It is appropriate, good, and maybe even necessary to pray that God increase our faith (Mark  9:24). And because great faith is something that God desires for us to have, we can be confident  that God will respond positively. We can have faith that God will increase our faith. We must  never doubt that God is able to deliver us from any danger or harm, even in supernatural ways.  But we should also trust that God will employ natural ways to deliver us too. Most of all,  however, we must trust that God knows what is best for us and for this world, no matter what the  outcome may be. And we can have faith like that because Jesus Christ will always save His  people in the end, no matter what the outcome may be today. We can trust in Christ alone. That  is true faith. 

WE WORSHIP CHRIST ALONE
Finally, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrated  faithfulness in that even if God did not choose to save them from the furnace, they refused to  bow down to idols. They were determined to worship God alone, even if it cost them their lives.  And that may be where the rubber meets the road when it comes to faithfulness. There may be  times when we find ourselves “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23). Worshiping God with the congregation may be the last thing that we want to do. In those  moments, we might miss Sunday service, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it. Jesus  understands. But we must not make it a habit, because that is Satan’s desire and plan. In those  seasons, we should seek our brothers and sisters in Christ (BASICs) to provide support and help. We go through those struggles because of sin (our own sins as well as the sins of others). But  God allows those struggles to grow our faith in Christ alone (Romans 5:3-4). Because only the  hope that we have in Christ Jesus will never fail us. And for that, Jesus Christ alone is worthy of  all our worship. Of course, He will always show up in our worship when we worship Him in the  Spirit and in truth. But when we find ourselves walking through the valley of the shadow of  death but are determined to worship Jesus Christ alone, one way or another, the power of God  will be manifested in our lives because of faithfulness. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION
We were created to worship God in community. What challenges can make it difficult to do  so?