If - Part 2

Scripture: Daniel 3:12-18; 1 John 4:11-12, 20; Romans 10:8-10

In the lesson tonight, we are going to examine the IF situations that pertains to our hearts.

Again, this is part two of “IF”.

Two weeks ago, I shared with you that I wanted us to think about what the word “IF” truly means as it relates to defining how we interact with God.

I shared with you that when we say to God we are “willing to do something for Him “IF” He first does something for us first,” that is not how we approach God with the expectation of receiving anything from Him.

As I told you the other week, placing a condition on something we are willing to do for God only after He first does something for us is the true definition of pride, which will hinder our fellowship with God.

Now here’s the sad part: when we do this, what we are telling our Father in heaven is that we won’t obey you, unless you do something for us.

In part one I shared with you how pride impacts how we respond to our “IF” moments, and tonight we are going to set pride aside and examine the “IF” moments that pertains to our hearts.

As a reminder, “IF” is defined in the dictionary as “a conjunction used to indicate the circumstances that would have to exist in order for an event to happen.”

It applies preconditions that must exist in order for something else to happen.

In part one I told you that most of the promises in the Bible have conditions, and the word “IF” speaks to those conditions.

How we walk in our faith with God is dependent on how we use the word “IF” when we are standing in faith according to what He has told us in His word.

When we use the word “IF” when thinking about our fellowship with God, it speaks volume as we are either standing in faith or we are standing in pride (doubt.)

Also, when Jesus used the word “IF” in the New Testament, it was always on man’s side and never on God’s side. This is because God has made everything available to us, but it is up to us to take advantage of it.

Now before moving on, I want to make one final and very important point.

Our response to the “IF” scriptures have an impact on our fellowship with God, not our relationship with Him. What do I mean?

I am going to use Jaleesa as an example. Jaleesa is my daughter. That’s our relationship. However, the degree to which she complied with what I asked of her growing up often determined our fellowship and our walking in agreement.

Now this is very important. You are God’s son. You are God’s daughter. Your response to the “IF” scriptures will not affect your status as a son or a daughter, but it does affect your fellowship with our Father.

It’s in the fellowship that prayers are answered. It’s in the fellowship that healing manifests. It’s in the fellowship that we receive His provision.

In part two of this lesson, we will be examining “IF” situations pertaining to the heart.

Now I want to start with the story of the three Hebrew boys who we all know well, which are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem and took it into captivity. Upon beginning his rule over the Jews, King Nebuchadnezzar chose young men in whom there was no blemish.

These young men were skillful in all wisdom, gifted in knowledge and understanding science, and had the ability within them to stand in the king's palace.

Four of these young men were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. While you may remember the story of Daniel and how he survived being thrown into the lion’s den, tonight I want you to see the story of the other three Hebrew boys and how their hearts, how their fellowship with God, as His servants, impacted how they responded to the king’s command.

In Daniel chapter three, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image which he commanded everyone to worship when they heard the signal (or the sound coming from musical instruments).

So, the first time the signal was given, everyone fell down and worshipped the image except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they did not worship the image, it was reported to the king. In other words, somebody snitched on them.

The king, of course, summoned the three Hebrew boys to him and ordered that they worship the image. We are going to pick up the story in Daniel 3:12.

Read Daniel 3:12 (KJV)

12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

In this verse we can hear the accusers as they complained to the king? Accusers here is just another word for are modern day snitchers and haters.

You think about it, these 3 men have high positions under the king, and the ones that are telling on them are probably jealous, so now they found the best opportunity to get them in trouble, in hopes they could probably take their position.

Notice in the verse that they didn’t say they had ignored the king’s commandment, but that they had ignored the king.

Reminds me of when I was a kid with my brother and sister. If me or my brother did not do something, my sister was the reporter. Daddy didn’t you say that we had to do this and if we didn’t we would be in trouble? He would say yes. Well so and so didn’t listen to you. Next thing we know, she come back talking about Dad want you.

I can think of several times feeling like the three Hebrew boys.

Read Daniel 3:13-18 (KJV)

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

First of all, I don’t believe the king initially believed the accusers. After all these are men that who chose to be over certain provinces of the kingdom. He trusted them to take of what he set them over so why would they ever disobey?

You know how it is when somebody tell you about someone else who they know well, they can’t believe they would do whatever the other person is saying they did so what do they do? They find out for themselves.

The king wanted to find out for himself if what these reporters had told him was true.

Now I am sure the king did not expect the response that the three Hebrews gave them.

In these seven verses, “IF” is used four times. King Nebuchadnezzar used it twice, and the three Hebrew boys used it twice.

The King told them that “IF” they were willing to worship the image all would be well and I know that these who told me about you, was just making it up.

However, “IF” they would not bow down, then they would immediately on the same day be cast into the fiery furnace.

In their response, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not hesitate or need time to “weigh their options.” They told the king, “IF” God chose to deliver them He could and would.

But here is the heart statement we read in Daniel 3:18 “But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.”

They believed in God and that was enough. This is the fellowship I talked about earlier. They knew that only the God of Jews was to be worshiped and they were in complete and uncompromising agreement with that. And that’s why they would not bow.

They did not need to pray about it. They did not need to confer with Daniel about it. They did not need extra time to consider their option. They knew when they were summoned that they would not submit to the King’s request or his threat.

They would not do it because in their hearts they believed God. In their hearts there were no “IF” situations that they could face that would lead them to turn their backs on God. Do you see that?

There was no situation that they could EVER find themselves in that would be so bad that they would even consider turning their backs on God.

Think about this, these 3 men were not seasoned “old men”! They were young men who walked closely in fellowship with God! Even when looking at their own personal death in the face, they would not give in and break their fellowship with God!!!

They understood that I would rather be burnt up now and on my way to heaven than to bow down to the king’s image and be burnt up in hell for eternity.

When we have settled our hearts as it relates to our fellowship with God, whenever we face “IF” situations that requires us to rebel against God or against something He has commanded us to do, it’s becomes a no brainer. Our response is already set. We do not back down.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stated for everyone to hear that even “IF” God did not save them, they would not worship the king’s image.

Now I want you to think about this, they knew that God could deliver them. But they also knew that if He didn’t, He was still God and His word was true!

Many in the church today don’t believe that God’s word is true because they don’t see it manifesting in their lives.

Some people immediately give up on God because they did not receive something they were looking for from him, so they stop coming to church, they stop praying, they stop reading their bible.

Now just because they stop, doesn’t stop his word from being true.

I want to make two points about this. First, God’s Word is true even if we never see it manifest in our lives. And that leads me to the second point: the truth of God’s Word is not the issue.

Our fellowship with God, our agreement with God and His Word, is the issue. And this is the truth that the “IF” statements shines a light on, and makes transparent, every single time.

How we respond to the Word of God makes what we believe about His Word transparent or clear.

As we look at the following scriptures, I want you to think about this fact: an “IF” situation only truly exists when the person believes they have an option.

If, as a child of God walking in fellowship with Him, you are bound to follow His will, then there are situations where you do not have an option. In those situations, it’s a heart issue.

If your heart is aligned with God’s heart, actually let me say it this way, if your heart beats with God’s heart, the decision is already made for you, and that means that the “IF,” whatever it is, is not an issue. Let me show you.

Read 1st John 4:11-12, 20 (KJV)

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

What is the “IF” situation? The “IF” situation is whether or not we love God and His love being perfected within us. We know that God loves us because He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could have a relationship with Him.

The question is not “IF” God loves us, it’s “IF” we truly love Him. In these verses we see the answer. “IF” we truly love God we must love our fellowman.

The word “ought” in the Greek means “an obligation, a debt to be paid.” Because God showered His love upon us, the debt that we owe God is to share His love with others no matter the person or the situation. That’s the first proof of our love for God.

So, we are not allowed to hate our fellowman regardless of how hateful and deserving they are!

For example, I’ll use sister Roberta’s favorite person which is our current president.

A lot of people hate some of the things he has done and has said, but we are not allowed to hate him no matter how deserving that hate might be.

We can dislike the things he has done, but we are not to hate him or anybody.

Look back at verse 20 that we read. It says I am a liar if I say I love God, but I hate my brother. So, you see in this situation, there is no “IF” for a Christian. There is no choice as it relates to loving others.

Some people actually get angry about this scripture and start searching for loop-holes because for some people, they prefer hate, verses love, when it comes to certain people, but I want you to know tonight, there are no loop holes.

You still have to love, even if it’s just love at a distance.

Let’s look at some other verses. Turn to Romans 10:8-10.

Read Romans 10:8-10 (KJV)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

I know we look at these verses as verses on how to become saved.

However, these verses are also about relationship. How many of you know that there is no fellowship without relationship, and the relationship starts with our accepting Christ!

There are those that believe with their hearts that they are going to heaven without ever having accepted Christ.

I’m a good person so I’m going to heaven. I helped a homeless person last week, so that should be good enough for me to get in. I donated money to a church, so that should secure my ticket to heaven. But what does the Bible say?

Think about it. The scriptures we just read, were written by a man who started out persecuting Christians before getting saved, so if anyone would knows the truth, Paul would.

Paul wrote to the Romans that “IF” we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, then we shall be saved.

Now notice this Bible Study class. Salvation has two requirements. The first thing we must do for the salvation to be complete is to say with our mouth that we believe Jesus is the Son of God.

The second thing is that we have to believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead. Right. And when we do this, what we are saying is there is no other way to Heaven than through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is a true “IF” statement for everyone because everyone will have to make this choice.

You don’t make this decision, by just being nice, you don’t make this decision, by giving to the homeless or donating to a church.

Paul laid out the guidelines in these scriptures. In this “IF” situation, we decide our eternal home.

It should be uncomfortable to us when hearing people talk about going to heaven without accepting Christ.

Sometimes we need to burst peoples bubble and let them know based on what we just read, it’s simply not possible. Let’s look at Galatians chapter six.

Read Galatians 6:7-9 (KJV)

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

In church we hear from the pulpit how God rewards those that serve Him, those that serve any “old kind of way!” I want you to see the “IF” in this scripture from verse 9.

The writer says that we will reap what we sow, good and bad. Now as it relates to the good, there is a condition.

He wrote that we should not get weary in doing well because we will reap our reward “IF”. The “IF” says that we will be rewarded “IF” we faint not. In other words, we will receive our reward if we do not give up.

You see, once we make the choice to serve God, we also have a choice in how we do it. How we serve God is truly decided on(guess wear)in our hearts.

If you have ever heard someone try to motivate someone by telling them to put their “heart” into it, then you understand what I am saying. Whether we serve faithfully until the end or get tired, frustrated and quit, it all goes back to our hearts!

We have a choice as to how we serve. The “IF” in this verse speaks to those moments when we get tired, and it’s telling us to keep fighting. It’s telling us to keep pushing forward or as others say, keep it pushing.

Do not ever give in because the moment we do, we lose.

I want to go back to the Old Testament as we get ready to close out this lesson.

Remember the story we started with from the book of Daniel?

I want to go back in history and share a couple of verses that I believe led the three Hebrews boys to remain firm in their fellowship with God because they understood what was at stake “IF” they allowed themselves to consider the king’s alternative.

Remember, they were of the Children of Israel so their history dates back long before they existed. The teachings that they had learned that made them respond the way they did had been handed down verbally in writing.

They knew what God had done and they understood the penalty for turning their backs on Him. They knew what Moses had told the Children of Israel (their ancestors) in the book of Deuteronomy.

When Moses warned them of everything they would experience in the Promise Land, he told them the following:

Read Deuteronomy 4:29-31 (KJV)

29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

From a historical perspective, they knew they could not turn their backs on God because they knew what would happen. In these verses Moses told them they would rebel, but he also told that “IF” they sought out God, they would find Him, “IF” they sought Him with all their hearts!

Also, I believe they knew the story of David when he transitioned His Kingdom to his son Solomon.

Let’s see what David told Solomon.

Read 1st Chronicles 28:9 (KJV)

9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

David told Solomon that he was to serve God with a perfect heart and a willing mind.

I believe David was talking to us as well. We need to serve God with a perfect heart for him and a willing mind.

If every Christian had them same intentions stated in this scripture, are churches would stay full.

There would be no, I don’t want to do this for so and so at the church. You are not doing this for so and so at the church. Because you are serving God, anything you do at the church, you are doing for him and when you serve him with a perfect heart, you not trying to question anything, you just do it willingly. Right.

David also told Solomon that God searches all hearts and therefore “IF” he sought God, he would find Him.

Then he warns him and tells him that “IF” he forsakes God, God would cast him off forever.”

Now those are two big “IFs!” This too was part of the history that the three Hebrews boys had learned. So, they knew what the decision was that they had to make even before being presented with the options which were not really options for them.

As we close tonight, I want you to see what happened with the three Hebrew boys. They entered the fiery furnace not knowing “IF” they would come out, and coming out was not on their minds.

They were solely focused on serving God even if it meant their deaths. Most of us know the story but I want us to read what happened.

Let’s go back to Daniel 3:24-26.

Read Daniel 3:23-26 (KJV)

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

They entered the fiery furnace knowing who they served and not knowing if they would come out. They entered the fiery furnace because in their minds the offer from the king was not really an offer.

His “IF” was not their “IF” because in their heart they knew they only had one choice, so “IF” was never a concern for them.

Remember, “IF” only becomes relevant when someone believes they have options as to their response.

Now how many of us would have been willing to go into that furnace to be burnt up for the Lord?

We holler and scream when we are frying bacon or sausage and that grease pops on our hands. How are we going to handle a furnace?

We didn’t read it but keep in mind, because the king was determined to burn them up, he had his men make the furnace 7 times as hot, and as they threw the three Hebrew boys in the furnace, the kings men got burnt up on the outside while the three Hebrews boys were on the inside not even breaking a sweat.

The king even said, how are they walking around and are not hurt.

You see when our hearts are aligned with God, when our hearts beat with His heart, in some situations there is no “IF” because our decision, like the three Hebrew boys, is already made.

You may be facing your own furnace situation, and things about to get hot, but keep in mind, always put your trust in God whether he will give you an escape or not, because in the end, he still taking care of you. Amen.