When the Fire Get hot, Keep Standing

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Daniel 3:16–18 ESV

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Introduction

I want us to spend this morning here in Daniel Chapter 3.

The Lord put this passage on my heart a few weeks ago..

then last week Pastor Justin used it as well and the Lord reminded me of it..

And the message I origionally thought I was going to preach from it, is not the message I want us to look at today.

but its a message that I believe is timely and very needed

Its message of caution, and awareness in our curent climate

A warning, if you will, that I believe God wants us to hear today.

Especially going into this fall with the general elections and all the chaos that is happening in our world.

Bow

We are living in a world that is increasingly putting preasure on the church

on the body of christ

on you and I

to bow our knee to culture and the ungodly ways of this world

To lay down our biblical beliefs and morals..

and To embrace and serve their ideas, thier concepts, and thier ungodly rules.

to forsake our faithfulness to gods word and the comandment to have no other gods before him.

Its a time when the enemy has launched a full scale attack against the kingdom of god

and is actively and agressively recuriting Gods people to turn thie back on god and instead give thier allegance to his kingdom..

A time where we now have satan clubs in schools..

and satanic statues in public places..

The enemy is now very open about gaining the loyalty of those in this world for himself..

Todays World

We are living in a time, when what was once common sense is not longer common sense…

We are living in a time when what was once moral, is no longer considered moral

a time where biblical morals are now relagated only to religous fanatics

And if you stand for biblical morals and ways your considered and extremist..

The fallen

And their have been some in the church

entire denomonations even

who have given in

and bowed thier knee to culture

to ungodliess

to things against the word of god instead

and in an attempt to be relavent and not offend..

To gain tractions, numbers, and influence..

have embraced and welcomed ungodliness into thie very doors pulpits

and give a stamp of approval for their members to do the same.

Remind

But I have come to remind you this morning the words of paul..

that we as believes are to be

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Ephesians 6:11 ESV

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

that though the enemy is seeking our allegance

We have chosen to serve the God of all creation

The king of kings and lord of lords

and today I encourage you to redeclare that we, the bride of Jesus christ

will not bow our knee to culture

will not give in to serving the wickedness of this world.

But we will stand firm in truth and declaresGods ways are still as relavent today as they were the day he declared them in his word!

THAT HOLINESS IS STILL THE WAY GOD EXPECTS HIS PEOPLE TO LIVE..

WE HAVE TO DECIDE WE WILL STAND WHEN WE ARE FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BOWING AGAINST GOD OR THE FIRE OF LIFE..

The Story

When we come into the story in daniel 3

The people of israel are in babylon

They have been taken into captivity

they had turned there back on god in the promised land.

and refused to live the way he told them too

and he has allowed them to be conquered and taken captive by the babylonian empire

Idol

and when chapter 3 opens

the king, Nebuchadnezzar

has made a large golden idol

the bible tells us its 60 cubit tall, around 90 feet

and 6 cubits wide, around 9 feet

and its make of gold

and we dont know if the idol was a statue of himself

or of one of the many baylonian gods..

but he has set it up in the plain of Dura

and gathered all of the providential officials

and demanded that when they hear the music they are going to bow and worship it or be cast into the furnace..

Choice

We are living in a time where this we are seeing a simalar choice reflected in our current culture..

the rulers and lleaders of this world..

have set up thier own agendas..

their own rules..

thier own decreess..

demonoic decreess..

Things that go against the very word of god..

and have made the declaration..

You will eiether embrace what we have said..

or your going to pay the price..

End Days..

the boojk of revelation tells us this will happen in the last days..

that there will come a time where we will either take the mark of the beast and serve the enemy or you will pay the price..

You will be unable to buy and sell..

Today

Today.. christians are paying a rpice for standing on the word of god..

against the evil of this world..

being outcast..

canceld..

losing jobs and positoins..

all for their faith..

and this will only get worse as time goes on..

The story continued..

Worship

So this plays out..

He gathers the leaders

all the officals

and they play the music

and they bow and worship..

but their is a problem..

didnt bow

Some of the leaders come to the king after this event and tell him..

us.. sir.. we have an issue..

their are some jewish boys..

who when the music played..

they didnt bow..

they just stood thier..

they didnt do what you, the king, comanded them to do…

Upset

Obviously the king is very upset

so he called shadrach, meshach, and abindago to come before him

and he confronts them..

and he look what he asks..

Daniel 3:14 ESV

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?

And evidently, the king chalks this up to a communication problem..

because He says..

Listen..

im going to give you another chance..

So when you hear the music, bow… and worship the image I have made..

If not… Im going to cast you into the furnace…

and who is the god who will deliver you from my hands..

Anwser

You know the story…

We know thier anwser..

Daniel 3:16–18 ESV

they said..

Listen…

We serve a god.. who is able to dleiver us from your furnace..

but even if he doesnt..

we still wont serve your gods…

Gods Comands

You see the reason these three were even here..

was because they were smart..

They were considered the best of the best in israel..

so when they were taken into captivity they babylon tried to brainwash them into the babylonian ways

to make them officals in their land..

BUT THESE GUYS KNEW THE TRUTH..

THEY KNEW WHAT GOD SAID IN THE LAW..

Deuteronomy 6:13 ESV

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

THEY KNEW THE The first comandment

You shall have no other gods before me

AND THE SECOND COMANDMENT

You shall not make idols

they knew that God was the only one they should worship

and thier fear of the lord was greater than thier fear of the fire and king..

and so when given the option to serve the idols and bow thier knee..

THEY CHOSE TO STAND....

You and I are being given a choice

I want to tell you this morning..

You and I are living in a culture and time where we are being forced to stand for whats godly

or to bow to whats not..

We are being forced to choose between gods comands, his word, and his ways, or the ways of the world and culure..

and the consequence for refusing to bow to culure is the fire of persecution..

And its only going to get worse..

BUT GOD HAS CALLED US TO STAND FIRM..

TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL OUR HEART..

TO SERVE ONLY HIM..

AND TO TRUST IN IN ALL OUR WAYS..

LIKE THE THREE HEBREW BOYS..

WHEN THE TIME COMSE TO BOW.. WE HAVE TO STAND

The Story Continued..

The fire

We know what they said..

they refused to bow..

and the fire just got hotter..

the bible says the king had it increased seven times hotter..

so hot, that when they went to throw them in..

it killed the gaurd..

but the boys didnt flench..

They were tied..

and thrown into the fire..

Jesus

But then something happened..

something unexpected, at least for the king..

when the king looks into the furnace..

Hes confused..

and he says..

hey.

didnt we throw three people in their..

But their are four unbound people in their.

walking around

and the forth is like the son of the gods..

Calls them out

so he calls them out..

and everyone gathers aroudn them..

and sees that the fire had no affect on them..

that thier hair was not singed..

that they didnt even smell like smoke..

Promotion

and instead of dying in the fire..

God is glorified

and they are prmomoted…

because they were willing to stand..

Quick observations..

I want to point out a few quick observations that I think we should gleen from this story..

1. The three Hebrew boys went through the fire because they Stood for god, not because they were ungodly..

Daniel 3:18 ESV

But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

I think many christians, especially in america..

think they serve god nothing bad will happen..

youll never endure anything..

but this is the opposite of the new testament story..

if we serve Jesus..

we wil face trials and eprsecution..

and god will allow it..

2. God allowed them to go through the fire..

God didnt spare them from the fire

Daniel 3:17 ESV

If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

They even said..

We know God can spare us..

but if he doest we still wont bow.. allow them to walk through the fire..

because the fire had a purpose..

and in the middle of the fire he was present..

3. God was with them in the fire

Just like the disipcles in the boat and the storm, Jesus was with them..

Daniel 3:24–25 ESV

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.” 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.”

when we decide to stand for Jesus..

He is present in the fire that comes..

Stephan

Remember Stephan?

He goes before the jewish leaders and declares jesus.

and then is martyred for it..

And the bible tells the story of when he is being stoned..

He looks up and who does he see..

Jesus..

Jesus

Jesus promised he would be with us..

and ever present help..

We may walk through fire but we wont walk through it alone..

And he has already over come the fire..

4. The Fire had no power to hurt them

Daniel 3:27 ESV

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.

The king throught he could kill them..

but the bible tells a different story..

They came out and didnt even smell like smoke..

This is not to say we will never be hwrmed by what we endure..

but rather..

that God is greater.. and stronger.. than those who think they can destroy us..

and their meathods..

God controls weather the fire burns or not..

its in him we put out faith when we face the fire..

5. God used the fire to reach the surrounding people..

The fire had a purpose..

Daniel 3:29 ESV

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.”

The fire had a purpose..

Everyone who say..

was witnessed too about who the real god was..

Who was the almighty..

When we walk through fire..

People are watching..

and the way we walk through it will show them who God is..

6. They came out more blessed than they went in

Daniel 3:30 ESV

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

the fire threatened to take everything..

but they came out with more than they went in with..

Even if the fire takes our life..

were going to come out better off..

because theire is a prie awaiting us after this life..

its eternal life..

What are you going to do when the fire get hotter?

When you face times fo descision…

and you have to choose to stand for god or bow for culture and the enemy..

what are you going to do?

Will you stand?

Cassie

April 20, 1999

Cassie Bernel was sitting at a table in high school..

tell story....

She lost everything for standing for her faith..

We mnay never face something that drastic..

but we also may…

what will you do if that you?

will you stand?

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