Continually making a stand for Jesus this year

Continually making a stand for Jesus this year- It is so important that we continually put Jesus Christ first place in our life and that we are always prepared to stand up for Him and for our faith

-We must never allow our trials and other people (peer group pressure) to discourage us from living whole heartedly for the Lord-Today I will be looking at four young men who refused to compromise in their faith, even during great tests and trials- Jesus Himself said,“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

- Today I will be looking at the lives of these 4 young men who continually stood up for God

Daniel Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego

- When we read about these four young men in the book of Daniel we can learn much from their lives and be greatly encouraged

- I will begin by looking at the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in chapter three of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament

- I will commence by looking at the first six verses and verses 8-9, 12 and 13 of Chapter three“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” (Daniel 3:1-2)

“So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” (Daniel 3:3)

“Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” (Daniel 3:4-6)

“Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!” (Daniel 3:8-9)“There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O King, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:12)

“Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. (Daniel 3:13)

This now brings me to the first point that we can learn from this passage of Scripture

1) We will at times be persecuted and even rejected when we choose to stand up for Jesus and to live a God glorifying life

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

In chapter 13 of the book of Acts we see that many people were coming to Christ in Antioch but then persecution arose for the word sake,“But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” (Acts 13:50)

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image that I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and your fall down and worship the image which I made, good! But if you do not worship, you will be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? (Daniel 3:14-15)

This brings us to another thing that we can learn from this passage of Scripture

2) That we all at times will be put in situations where we are asked to compromise our values and to disobey the Word of God – The ways of the world are often so different to God’s ways

We then have a choice – Do we please man or God

FEAR IS SO OFTEN A KEY STRATEGY THAT THE DEVIL USES TO CAUSE CHRISTIANS TO COMPROMISE IN LIFE AND TO MAKE WRONG CHOICES

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, 0 King.” (Daniel 3:16-17)

A third thing that we can learn from this passage of Scripture is that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego had absolute trust in God’s ability to deliver them

3) We must simply just choose to trust God in every situation in life and just do what He would want us to do, knowing that with Him nothing is ever impossible and that God knows what is best for us

In the book of Proverbs we read,“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“But if not, let it be know to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. (Daniel 3:18-19)

Here we see that even if they were to die Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego would not compromise their faith and values – They wanted to honour God with their lives rather than pleasing man

4) We must be continually committed to standing up for our faith and doing what is right even when it is hard to do so at times – GOD HAS OUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART – He loves us and is always willing and able to help us – We must continually put our trust and confidence in Jesus Christ

WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT IF WE CONTINUALLY SEEK TO DO GOD’S WILL IN OUR LIFE, IN THE LONG RUN WE WILL BE BLESSED

Jesus Himself said,“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

“And he commanded certain mighty men of valour who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” (Daniel 3:20-21)“And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” (Daniel 3:23)

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, “True, O King.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:24-25)

We see in this passage of Scripture that the pre-incarnate Christ was with the three young men during their fiery trial in the furnace keeping them from being hurt

5) We can be assured that Jesus will always comfort us and be with us during the fiery trials of life. He promises to never leave nor forsake us – He is able to keep us safe during the storms of life and is continually interceding and praying for us

Jesus said, “... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:20)

“And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counsellors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.” (Daniel 3:27)

6) In this passage of Scripture we see the ability of God to supernaturally protect us and to keep us safe when we walk in humble trust and obedience

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” (Daniel 3:28-29)

Here we see the impact that our lives can make on others when we stand up for our faith and refuse to compromise. King Nebuchadnezzar now has a clear understanding of God’s power and ability to deliver people and that there is no other God that can deliver like Him

7) As we stand up for our faith others will be influenced to come to Christ as they see our commitment to Him and God’s faithfulness towards us. For with God nothing will be impossible

Jesus said,“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see you good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

“Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.” (Daniel 3:30)

PROMOTION

Finally we see that as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego continued to remain faithful in their walk with God, they received a promotion from King Nebuchadnezzar. As long as we stay faithful in our walk with the Lord, we will ultimately gain favour with men and see God raising us up to do great things for His glory.

The Apostle Paul wrote,

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

God has much in store for every believer’s life

I will now finish by quickly looking at the life of Daniel• Daniel had an excellent spirit and loved God• Daniel was committed to honouring God with

his life• Because of his integrity Darius the king gave

thought to setting Daniel over the whole realm• The other Satraps and 2 governors then sought

to find some charge against Daniel to pull him down

• But they could find no charge or fault because he was so faithful

“Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever!”

“All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counsellors and advisors have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.”

- The satraps and governors only wanted to see Daniel removed because of God’s favour upon his life

- KING DARIUS THEN ESTABLISHED THIS DECREE AND SIGNED IT

- Even though Daniel knew of this decree he refused to stop praying to God – His trust was always in God – He loved God and did not fear man“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” (Daniel 6:10)

As Christians we can be assured that nothing can ever happen to us apart from the will of our Father in heavenJesus Himself said,“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29)“Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31)

- The satraps and governors told King Darius of what Daniel had done in still praying to his God

- Reluctantly King Darius, because of the decree that he had made, had Daniel put into the lions den

• But God protected Daniel from those hungry lions

• When King Darius awoke in the morning he went in haste to the lions den and cried out, “... Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”(Daniel 6:20)

• “Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!”

(Daniel 6:21

“My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O King, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:22)

“Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:23)

SO IN CONCLUSION WE HAVE A GOD WHO LOVES US WITH A PASSION AND WHO IS BOTH WILLING AND ABLE TO DELIVER US OUT OF ALL THE TRIALS AND CHALLENGES THAT WE WILL ALL AT TIMES EXPERIENCE IN LIFE

GOD IS ABSOLUTELY FAITHFUL – We can depend on Him

FOR THIS REASON, May I encourage you to always stand up for the Lord in every circumstance as He has the best plan for each of our lives and our best interests at heart – God knows what is best for our life – We must never allow a fear of man to stop us from fully embracing all that God has planned for our life

As we continually live for the Lord, God will raise us up to do great things for His glory, “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20)