Stay Standing

Intro

Introduce myself

My name is Andrew, and I am the pastor at Stony Brook Fellowship

Any Stony Brookers here today?

We meet for worship right in this chapel every Sunday morning

I am excited to come during the week and encourage you from God’s Word

You have just started a new school year, with a great theme: “Stand in Victory”

As I was prayerfully considering what to speak on, God brought to mind the story of 3 men who refused to bow; 3 men who stood standing

This is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Or “Rack, Shack and Benny” like I learned from Veggie Tales

We see their story recorded in Daniel 3.

King Nebuchadnezzar is king of Babylon, and the most powerful man in the known world at the time

Full of pride, he built an image of gold and demanded that everyone bow down and worship this idol

Cf. Daniel 3:4-7.

And the people did it! They gave in to the threat of the fiery furnace and they gave their worship to Nebuchadnezzar and his golden image

Except for Rack, Shack and Benny. They stayed standing

They were brought before the furious king, but remained steadfast in their loyalty and worship to God alone.

Cf. Daniel 3:14-18.

Stand With Jesus

Just like Shadrack, Mesach and Abednego, we are called to stand with Jesus and worship Him alone

Cf. Philippians 2:9-11.

This would have been a short story if Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not completely convinced that they were to worship God alone

Likewise, any talk about true worship cannot start with what to avoid; it starts with who is worthy of our worship

To keep to the theme, we must bow before Jesus before we can stand with Him

He alone is worthy of our worship; our knees should bow and our tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

Have you done this in your life already?

Because Shadrach, Meshac and Abednego were true worshippers of the one true God, they were able to stay standing and NOT worship an idol

The world worships differently around you

Worship = what is on the throne of your heart (most important)

No shortage of candidates! Can be yourself, success, fame, money, power, sex, food

The world seeks after these things; they are often objects of worship

If idol worship is still a present threat, how can we be sure that Jesus is the object of our worship?

List of diagnostic questions from Kyle Idleman’s Gods at War:

What has left you most disappointed?

For what do you sacrifice time and money?

What do you worry about?

Where do you go for comfort?

What makes you mad?

What do you dream of?

Whose encouragement means the most to you?

Your answers to these questions will help diagnos the worship of your heart, not just having the right answer

To stand with Jesus will cost you something

Can you imagine the pressure that the 3 men would have faced? With literally everyone around them falling down in worship?

In addition to that, there was the (very real) threat of being thrown into the fiery furnace!

To stand with Jesus could cost them their lives

As students, you know all too well that peer pressure is a reality

Which is one reason why making quality friends is essential!

SCS is a wonderful community that can help

But it isn’t perfect; you aren’t insulated from the world; you will face pressure

Talk about my SYATP experience *constrast with their’s tomorrow*

We may never be called to give up our life to stand with Jesus; but we can expect ridicule, strained friendships, boss overlooking you at work, maybe even pressure from our government....

Will you stand with Jesus, even when it costs you something?

Jesus Will Stand With You

This is what Shadrach, Meshac and Abednego did… how did it go for them?

Well, they certainly weren’t spared the fiery furnace

It was heated seven times hotter; their captors were burned to death when they threw them in!

But then, a miracle

Cf. Daniel 3:24-25.

They were not burned by the fire, but most importantly, they were NOT alone

When you stand with Jesus, Jesus will stand with you

Why is it worth it to give Him your worship? Why does it make sense to worship differently than the world? Why does it add up to worship Jesus when it costs us something?

Because the promise of Jesus with us is worth more than anything we can possibly give up

Even as Jesus was leaving His disciples and ascending into heaven, he promised them “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mat. 28:20b).

No matter what you face in this life, Jesus has promised to be by your side

He sent the Holy Spirit to abide in your heart, and you can survive all that is thrown your way

Share about stillborn daughter; Jesus being in the valley of the shadow of death

Test this truth; you will not be disappointed

Pray