Daniel 3:8-18, The Courage To Stand

turn in your Bibles to the Book of Daniel this morning we're going to be looking again at Chapter three we continue in verses 8 through 18 and a message I'm in Title II the courage to stand in this book we have so many great themes including courageous believers and confidence in God Daniel chapter 3 we're gonna be looking at verses 8 through 18 let's pray Heavenly Father we know that we live in a world where it sometimes requires Lord that we persevere that with courage we deal with accusation and confrontation Lord we know that we live in a world where people don't necessarily know you or love you but also Lord we know that we live in a world where people are constantly soliciting us to turn away from you to deny you or ignore you and so Lord we pray that by your Holy Spirit you will strengthen us for the task at hand to be able to live Lord as believers in a world that's filled with idolatry but also unbelief so Lord we pray that you'd prepare our hearts Lord we pray that you would wash us and cleanse us that Lord you would purify us by your Holy Spirit that Lord we would hear and understand and obey your word in Jesus name Amen Daniel chapter 3 beginning in verse 8 therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews they spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar Oh King live forever you O King have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn the flute the harp the lyre the psaltery in Symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the gold image and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace there are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon Shadrach Meshach Abednego 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 the Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury gave the command to bring Shadrach Meshach Abednego so they brought these men before the King Nebuchadnezzar spoke saying to them is it true Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up now if you're ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn the flute the harp the lyre the psaltery in Symphony with all kinds of music and you fall down and worship the image which I have made good but if you do not worship you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace and who is the God who will deliver you from my hands Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king o Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to end are 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 O king but if not let it be known to you O king that we do not serve your gods nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up our chapter began with the flamboyant King Nebuchadnezzar he built a gigantic gold statue on the plains of Dura in verses 1 through 7 the King orders and summons the politicians in verses 2 & 3 he makes a proclamation in verses 4 and 5 and when the Babylonian band plays all present are to bow down and worship the gold statue rebellion and disobedience to the king read the state will be met with a most severe penalty all who refuse to bow down will be cast into a burning fiery furnace alive in verses 6 & 7 and now the chapters attention turns to three faithful men in verses 8 through 23 Shadrach Meshach Abednego later in the chapter Nebuchadnezzar will make an amazing discovery in verses 24 and 25 gazing into the raging fire who appears Shadrach Meshach Abednego but also there is a divine supernatural being with them in verse 25 and at the urging of the king three men will later walk out of the fire absent harm not even the smell of smoke on their garments in verses 26 through 28 and with this discovery and and witnessing the children of Israel's deliverance the King will issue yet another decree that if anyone speaks against the god of shadrach meshach and abednego they will be put to death in verses 29 and 30 the King will then promote them to an even higher position of honor and authority and rule in this passage and in this chapter we learn what we've come to learn almost in every single chapter of this book and also of the Bible itself that there's two kinds of faith there is the faith that is tested and there is the faith that is untested when the Bible is going to make it clear that an untested faith is really an unreliable faith for these young men they either will obey the Lord or they will obey the king it becomes a type and a picture of our lives as Christians as followers of Jesus as lovers of God we are going to constantly face the reoccurring theme of obedience to the Lord or obedience to the world and the flesh and the devil the political and the religious leaders have already made their decision they will remain predictably loyal to the state invariably the people that we surround ourselves with and the culture in which we live we'll predictably choose not to honor God not to love Jesus not to obey the Lord but what about Shadrach Meshach and Abednego you see you know because you've read the book and you understand the story that they are going to be delivered in their moment of trial and it might cause you to think something that is entirely incorrect you might think because they're going to face a future deliverance that there is no pain and that there is no suffering that there's no difficulty that's going on inside of their heart and you would be absolutely wrong I want you to place yourself in their position as they have to face this trial and this difficulty imagine what's going on inside of their heart and then on in the hearts of their families and in the hearts of the people that matter they will stand together they will trust the Lord and I want you to understand this they're going to stand together and they're going to stand trusting the Lord even though the outcome of obedience at this point in their mind is unknown you know how it's going to turn out but they didn't you know in your heart what the Bible has revealed about your life barring a rapture you're going to die barring a rapture you're going to be placed in the ground you are going to awaken from the dead one day you are going to live forever somewhere you know the outcome even though there might be times when you don't necessarily think about the outcome of your life and so we begin with courage when accused look again at verse 8 it says therefore remember what therefore means in light of what we've already learned in the chapter at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews they spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar Oh King live forever this apparently is the greeting that was mandatory and standard in addressing the king you okay have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn flute harp lyre psaltery in Symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the gold image and whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace there are certain Jews whom you've set over the affairs of the province of Babylon Shadrach Meshach Abednego bees men Oh King have not paid due regard to you they're going to make two accusations one of them patently false the other one true here in the accusation o King they have not paid due regard to you that's just simply not true Shadrach Meshach and Abednego have regarded the King in every way that's appropriate short of disobeying God it is true they do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up and remember what we've already learned that this group of people called the Chaldeans came from southern Babylonia and constituted a kind of priesthood that served in the inner circle of the king and were in charge of divination they were in charge of charting the stars they were in charge of making sure that they were in constant communion with their gods and goddesses and you'll remember that in the earlier chapter they owe their life to Daniel and to Daniel's friends they appear to be motivated by jealousy for some reason again they'd forgotten that the faithfulness of Daniel and his friends have resulted in their life and the word translated accused means interestingly enough in the original language it means to bite or devour in pieces and so the the idiomatic expression came to mean an accusation with malice or injury by malice slander there was something about the elevation of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that poisoned the spirit of at least some of their peers and the accusations like I said included failure to regard the Kings commands failure to serve the Kings gods failure to worship the Kings statues and so when you look at the beginning of verse 12 in that expression there are certain Jews whom you've said over the affairs of the province of Babylon there is almost certainly the flavour of anti-semitism a prejudice and even an accusation in part that seems to include the king you did this they're using the J word in the most malicious way possible they don't share our heritage and so think about the after you say and the charges what are they being charged with they're Jews they're not like us they don't share our blood line if they don't share our heritage they don't share our religion they don't share our loyalties they've betrayed the king and they've betrayed the state remember I've already told you that this statue is like an obelisk it's 90 feet tall if it is a representation of marrow Daath who is the Babylonian deity or if it's a representation of Nebuchadnezzar whatever this representation represents implied in their refusal to bow is not just rebellion and disobedience it's treason to the state it's treason to the king it's treason to his authority they've made it clear according to the Chaldeans that their first loyalty is to their God I want you to see this in all of its profundity these religious Jews have come right out and said our first loyalty is to the God who created heavens and the earth and when you live in a world where the first loyalty belongs to your boss or to your job or to your family and don't get me wrong I'm I grew up in a world where there was extreme loyalty to the religion that you grew up in and there's an extreme loyalty to family and some of you have been put in the most difficult of positions because you've grown up in a world where you're supposed to honor your mom and your dad your brothers and your sisters the family in which you grew up in and so when they accuse you of putting God and Jesus in the Bible before your family it is a kind of a bitter pill to swallow let me just ask you a blunt question have you ever been melissa Slee a key used of something that may have been true it may have been partially true have you ever been maliciously accused of loving God loving Jesus loving the Bible caring about God and Jesus in the Bible more than you care about your husband more than you care about your wife more than you care about your children because you knew intuitively that there was something inside of you that knew that your house your home was supposed to be a christ-centered home not a child-centered home not a culturally centered home the accusation contains elements of truth but for the Chaldeans this is sufficient that they must not be allowed to live but their charge of treason like I said is misguided but their charge of idolatry is absolutely certain the children of Israel have been told repeatedly that idolatry is forbidden it can't be a part of their life in Exodus chapter 20 I have repeated in almost every single message you shall not have any other God before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven of above or in the earth beneath or that which is under the water of the earth you shall not bow down to them you shall not bow down to them you shall not bow down and serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God unquote God is sufficiently singularly impressed with the fact that your love your loyalty singularly belongs to him the Bible isn't saying you can't love your wife and you can't love your husband and you can't love your children you can't love your country you can't root for the home team it's not saying that but what it is saying is that your affection and your love and your loyalty should be so singularly focused on the Lord that all of your other affections appear like disinterest or even hatred compared to the affection that you have for God the choice for these men is between Nebuchadnezzar and the one true eternal self-existent God and so the repeated instruction is our loyalty our love our affection must singularly remain with the Lord Jesus Christ jealousy racism self-serving scheming all of these things have united together to motivate the Chaldeans to accuse these Jewish men and you have to wonder well what were they doing weren't they bowing it's sort of like a church when someone says every head bowed and every eye closed and every head sort of sort of peeks up and looks around to see what's going on it should come as no surprise that Christians face constant accusation and the source of the accusation includes the people that we care about it includes our own flesh it it includes the world in which we live in which stands in opposition to God it includes Satan whose very name means accuser you live in a world where there's no shortage of accusation of people who are trying to bring blame against you and so make no mistake about it there's going to be a constant and reoccurring theme of people ideas and suggestions that you should turn from God that you should turn from your belief in God you should turn from your zeal and affection and love and loyalty of the Lord but were to stand fast in the Lord we're to continue to trust the Lord and so what if the test is difficult would trust the Lord what if the test is a matter of life and death were to trust the Lord we take our stand with Jesus no matter how difficult the trial no matter how strong the temptation no matter how vicious the threat over and over and over again there are repeated commands and promises for those who will remain strong and faithful in Psalm 37 3 it says trust in the Lord and do good so shall you dwell in the land and verily you shall be fed it says in proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 trust in the Lord with all your heart you know this one lean not to your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him he will direct your paths in Isaiah chapter 26 verses 3 and 4 that says you shall keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in thee trust ye the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength in proverbs 29:25 it says the fear of man brings a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe the Lord acknowledges that sometimes it feels impossible to not be afraid to not be overwhelmed so what do we do when we face similar circumstances and we will face those circumstances it may not mean a battle of life and death it may be something a little bit less it might be the affection of the people that you care about it might be the job that you have the Lord says fear not for I have redeemed you I've called you by name you are mine in the book of Isaiah chapter 43 verses 1 and 2 when Isaiah was telling the people of Israel that there was going to be a judgment that was going to come that there was going to be a punishment that would have to be endured that there would be a timeout that they would experience but that God was going to return them to the land he was going to return them to the place of favored status that there is going to come a time when they're going to make their way out of the bondage out of the captivity and they're gonna make their way back into the land he says when you pass through the waters he's talking about the rivers Euphrates and Tigris and all of the bodies of waters between Babylon and Jerusalem that when you pass through the waters I will be with you through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned and the flames shall not consume you isaiah 40:3 1 and 2 they were gonna need to find their way back to the place where they belonged then sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we've distanced ourselves from God in our relationship with God in our fellowship with God in our communion with the Saints in our ability to minister to one another encourage one another and provide for one another we find ourselves isolated and alone but God's calling us back to friendship and fellowship and then we talk about courage when confronted look at verse 13 then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury gave the command to bring Shadrach Meshach and Abednego so they brought these men before the King Nebuchadnezzar spoke saying to them is it true Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up now if you're ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn the flute the heart the lyre the psaltery in Symphony with all kinds of music and you shall you fall down and worship the image which I have made good but if you do not worship you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace and who is the God who will deliver you from my hands I want you to see what's happening the King's rage and fury is evident just like when you decided to become a Christian and the king of this world Satan absolutely was not good with the decision that you made he was not good with the decision because you had had a lifetime of rebellion and disobedience and enjoyment and now all of a sudden you're gonna go to church on now all of a sudden you're gonna open your Bible now all of a sudden you're gonna say there's such a thing as right and wrong and good and evil the King demands that they be brought to him he and relie asked if the charges are true are they guilty of treason did they knowingly refuse the Kings order did they knowingly refuse to bow to the golden image but I want you to know something in the accusation and in the confrontation the king doesn't wait for a reply he doesn't wait for a defense he angrily insists that they prove their innocence in verse 15 so the King by the way is offering these faithful men one more chance to save their lives now I want you to pause and think about that for just a moment he's offering them one more chance and remember if you know this King from chapter 1 in chapter 2 this is not the king who's in the business of giving second chances this is a king that when he says something he expects it to be done rebellion and disobedience is met with swift catastrophic consequences I suspect it was their honesty it was their integrity it was their wise and faithful stewardship of all that had been entrusted to them that even in this state of rage and fury he offers them one more chance but I want you to note something else this esteem didn't create in the Kings mind an excuse for treason that given all of the goodwill that had been built up for this King it wasn't a good enough reason and so they're faced with a choice they're gonna obey or they're gonna disobey George Switek said quote he that would not die when he must and he that would die when he must not are both of them cowards alike there comes a time when you must do what you must do the Kings question is provocative look what it says and who is the God who will deliver you from my hands again remember chapter 1 and chapter 2 this King has experienced a supernatural revelation from the true God of heaven and the true God of heaven has revealed himself at least at one time in his life and so this is the ultimate expression of selfishness self our against this is arrogance run amok indeed who is that God in that statement the King reveals his deep conviction that he's greater than the gods he's greater than the gods he believed in he's greater than the gods that he himself served and sacrificed and worshipped the King elevates himself above the gods and goddesses and the supernatural beings who occupy the visible world and the invisible world it's a statement that if you squeeze this statement it reveals the arrogance and the pride that fuels his rage and anger no God not even the mysterious God of Daniel no God even the eternal invisible all-knowing God of Daniels revelation isn't going to be able to spare these faithful followers if Nebuchadnezzar or wants them dead and so Nebuchadnezzar is saying what Satan will often say if I want you dead you'll be dead but nothing could be further from the truth because your life isn't hidden in the hand of God you belong to the God of heaven there are voices that will tell you that your safety and security is dependent on your husband your wife your job your income the affections of your children the world in which you live that your life is determined by the things that are around you that you think are important but guess what your life is really hidden in Christ the King believed with all of his heart that his claim was true but sometimes God will take up the foolish tests that wicked men devise and wicked Kingdom Nebuchadnezzar says who is the God who will deliver you for my hands and there's god in heaven saying I'm your huckleberry do you wanna do you seriously want to do this do you want to challenge the true and the Living God to display his power and His Majesty and his authority this is a good time to ask a different question what does the Bible say about testing God believe it or not there's two things that the Bible says about testing God the first thing that the Bible says about testing God is go ahead and do it in what sense the Bible encourages believers to test God concerning tithes and offerings and and generosity that the Bible says because there were people who were who were not honoring God in worship and he says then test me test me you keep everything that you have because you think that you have to have it that I won't take care of you but I'm gonna challenge you I'm gonna invite you to test me to see if you really trust me that I really will take care of you but there's another Hebrew word for test in the Bible it's the Hebrew word not kah which means to put to the test or to try or to tempt it's used in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 16 where God commands Israel not to test him quote do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did it massa this second unacceptable kind of testing is when doubt leads to demand something of God it's when doubt demands something of God and God is under no obligation to feed your unbelief God is under no obligation whatsoever the Bible actually gives us the opposite command it says don't test the Lord your God as you did it Messiah trust him believe him and then look what it says it's courage absent conditions in verses 16 through 18 Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king and you should you should pause here for a moment because these are the only words in the whole Book of Daniel mentioned by Shadrach Meshach and Abednego this is the only statement that we have in the whole book from them o Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter if that is the case in other words the boast if that is the case our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace in that single sentence there are four words that I want you to look at it's the first two words in verse 17 our God and then that it's the second two words in the sentence is Abel our God is able our God is able I want you to note something about these words the words are collective it's shared by all we don't we don't learn that it's Shadrach who's speaking or me Shaq or Abednego it seems to be a chorus that they all proclaim the three men acknowledge God's power and supremacy the three faithful men acknowledge the Kings ability to make good his threat in verse 17 the God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us from your hand O king no matter how this ends King it's gonna be good for us because let me just put it a little bit differently we're left with the strong sense that they're faithful witnesses reinforced by a godly friendship with one another again there's no sense that any single word is said but it's collectively said now can you imagine you're there there Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and they say our God is able and one of the guys go speak for yourself dude timeout there's three of us here you say what you want to say and I'm gonna say what I want to say but we're not left with that impression at all there is consent each and every one of them is going to stand with the Lord there's a united voice theirs is a united message theirs is a united resolve can you imagine what will happen in our world once Christians say with the United voice that Jesus is the Lord that they give the United message that the gospel is true that sinners can experience grace and mercy and love in the person of Jesus Christ that there's a God in heaven who changes us and with the United resolve we declare you know what we are no longer going to worship any golden images that are set up by the king by the way this experience in Babylon is going to cure the Jews forever of idolatry they're gonna have other issues and they're gonna have other problems and they're gonna experience great difficulties but this is going to literally burn the desire for idolatry out of their system this defiance isn't fueled by hatred for the king or contempt for their accusers their faith is firmly established in the revelation that God gave by Moses and then was confirmed by God's prophetic instructions and promises and then it's strengthened by fellowship think about what's happening the Bible says we're not going to do this and then United together they can collectively say we're not gonna do this can you imagine how much easier it is to stand when you stand together when a husband and a wife agreed that they're going to honor God when a husband and a wife and a family agree that they're going to honor God can you imagine how much easier it is when we collectively as a church say we are going to honor God it's important to stand with people who share our convictions briefly these men refuse to defend themselves but they also remind the King that is evil boast is incorrect God is able to save them but whether he chooses to save them or not they basically say this that's in God's hands it's up to God to decide that so think about what's going on in the text they're going to remain loyal to the Lord their God no matter what think about all of the challenges that people make as they're in a hospital room and their husband or their wife or their child is dying of cancer and they begin to negotiate with God if you do this then I'll do that if you will do this then I'll do that if you will save me if you will relieve me if you will bring the pressure and take the pressure off of me I'll do this or I'll do that these guys don't do that at all no king or earthly ruler can compel worship our rights do not come from the state they are given by God and God has made it clear that even the state can't compel worship it cannot demand worship it cannot insist on worship let me be blunt the state cannot insist that Christians do what the Bible forbids the state cannot forbid what the Bible demands let me repeat it the state cannot insist that Christians do what the Bible forbids the state cannot forbid what the Bible demands well what if they do they can punish us they can take away our property they can take away our freedom they can execute us but they cannot make the truth a lie and they cannot make a lie the truth and these three men will not beg for their lives they say either way we win it was J Wilber Chapman who told his students have plenty of courage God is stronger than the devil we are on the winning side whenever you say what the Bible says is true even though people say it's not true whenever you affirm the truth you're in good company it's interesting to me there replot contains no conditions that is they make no conditions with the God of heaven or even with the king of the earth they make no conditions with the God of heaven or with Nebuchadnezzar and one of two things seems certain either God will deliver them org or God will deliver them through martyrdom God's going to deliver them from this or he's not going to deliver them they are going to perish in the fire at this point each option seems equally plausible and this is interesting CS Lewis said quote courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point which means the point of highest reality courage courage isn't simply a virtue but the form of every virtue at the moment that it is tested is your faith real is your God real is your confidence real is there a God in heaven is there a Jesus on the throne is your salvation secure and this is precisely what's happening in this chapter because this story is a test of faith in verses 1 through 12 and the courage of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego is the demonstration of faith in verses 13 through 18 and their deliverance will become a picture of the vindication of faith in verses 19 through 30 it was Francis J Roberts who said the coward seeks release from pressure the courage the the courageous pray for strength unquote faith and courage in order to be faith and courage must be tested in the New Testament after Jesus rose from the dead the disciples were made bold by the Holy Spirit the religious leaders demanded that they not teach or preach in the name of Jesus and in Acts chapter 4 verse 29 the Apostles prayed quote and now Lord take take of their threats or deal with their threats be aware of their threats and help your servants proclaim the message with all fearlessness that was their prayer the prayer is be aware of what they're doing but help us fill us Dorothy Barnard said quote courage is fear that set its prayers unquote I'm afraid I know pray I'm not as my I'm not as afraid as I was Paul reminded Timothy quote for God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 one translation puts it this way quote God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us the Spirit gives us power love and self-control GK Chesterton wrote quote courage is almost a contradiction in terms it means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die unquote so what is courage it's the divine nerve to go forward at the Lord's bidding in spite of the threat and in spite of the obstacle and so what's happened to our three faithful friends they're faced with the threat but look again at verse 18 those three strange words but if not we're gonna be delivered through the fire or not I want it to sink into you at this point because they don't know they have every reason to believe that once they get tossed into that fire whatever God had in mind for them in terms of reward it's there but if not why is this important to you I want you to think carefully about what the text is teaching us God can be trusted even when we don't know the outcome God can be trusted even when we don't know the outcome will God provide for me will God save my marriage will God heal my body will God get me a job will God find me a place to live will God protect my children will God save this country will God let me live whatever it is whatever it is whatever it is you're uncertain you're uncertain about the outcome you're uncertain about the outcome you can't predict the outcome you can trust him the faithful response of these faithful men put the king into an even greater rage he orders the furnace to be heated up seven times hotter than usual I actually did a little research the laws of physics and the limits of their technology would have made that impossible it's hyperbole he couldn't technically make the fire seven times harder or hotter but it's hyperbole with a purpose the king is going to do everything in his power to make good his threat he is going to order the soldiers to move quickly to bind the prisoners and execute the Kings commands and the disobedience of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego is more than a difference of opinion it's more than civil disobedience it's more than just rebellion and disobedience against the king this is a cosmic clash of the world view and we're sometimes tempted to postpone our obedience we'll say look I'm not going to be thrown into the fire can you imagine if Shadrach Meshach and Abednego had wives or children or family or friends I'm sure could you imagine they're they're going you don't need to do this we can do this some other way we've got to figure out other way we've got to figure out another way that you can honor God or please God and you don't have to die we've got to figure out another way to get past this we stumble over the sacrifice we we don't want to pay the cost of obedience we think that the pleasure will outweigh the pain the gratification will outweigh the sufficient grace and we forget we forget that obedience brings blessing in Luke 11 28 obedience brings long life in first Kings 3:14 obedience brings happiness Psalm 112 verse 1 obedience brings peace and proverbs 133 if that's true I think that it's fairly certain that disobedience can shorten our life and disobedience can be grievous so what did we know don't be discouraged in your obedience to Christ don't be surprised when you experience malicious accusation don't let uncertainty about the outcome of what's happening caused you to change your mind we sometimes think that our faithful friends didn't experience suffering because they're gonna be delivered but the persecution is going to bring pressure it's gonna bring difficulty it's gonna require courage the writer of Hebrews says let us lay aside every weight and sin which so clings so closely to us and let us run with endurance the race that set before us looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith so courage is gonna require commitment to Christ then how does Jesus just describe that commitment if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whoever will save as we'll lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it in Matthew 16:24 James adds in chapter 1 verse 12 blessed is the one who remains steadfast under trial for when he stood the test he'll receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him obedience to God is going to find these three men taken to a blazing furnace but what these men find in the furnace will change everything forever in the furnace they're going to encounter a fourth man it's a tale of perseverance preservation further elevation God has unfinished business with Daniel's friends and it could very well be that God has unfinished business with you let's pray Heavenly Father Lord sometimes it's difficult to lay aside the weight and the sin which clings to us so closely Lord it's hard to run with endurance the race that's set before us Lord we know that it's easy to stumble and we look down at our feet on the track in which we are running and it's hard to keep our head up looking towards the finish line and yet lord I pray I pray I pray that we would come to the realization that an untested faith is probably an unreliable faith and that it makes perfect sense that every once in a while you're going to squeeze to see what's inside of us you're going to squeeze and discover what comes out not because it's a mystery to you Lord but because it's a mystery to us or the people around us it will reveal the truth about what's inside of our heart Lord is ours a confident faith is ours a persevering faith is ours a faith that will stand the test and so Lord again I pray that by your Holy Spirit you would remind us and awaken within us a deeper love and a profound commitment to Jesus as we know that we're gonna wake up in a world that's going to maliciously accuse us and so again Lord I commit these men and women to you Lord I pray that you would strengthen them for the task at hand so that the face with courage the rest of this day in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Calvary South Denver

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Keywords: Calvary Chapel, Gino Geraci, Christianity, Bible Study, Daniel, Book of Daniel, Church, Denver, Colorado, Calvary South Denver, CalvaryCSD, Calvary CSD

Id: yZEqt6_t518

Length: 57min 25sec (3445 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 24 2018