Continually making a stand for Jesus this year

1
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 1032-33)

2

• 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

3

• 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 31-2)

4

• 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 33)

5

• 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 34-6)

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 38-9)
• 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 312)

7

• 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 313)
• This now brings me to the first point that we
  can learn from this passage of Scripture

8

• 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
  312)
• 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
  1350)

9

• 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
  314-15)

10

• 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 Gods 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

11

• 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
  316-17)

12

• A third thing that we can learn from this
  passage of Scripture is that Shadrach, Meshach
  and Abed-Nego had absolute trust in Gods 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 35-6)

13

• 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 318-19)

14

• 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 GODS WILL IN OUR LIFE, IN THE LONG RUN WE
  WILL BE BLESSED

15

• 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 724-27)

16

• 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 320-21)
• And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
  Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the
  burning fiery furnace. (Daniel 323)

17

• 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 324-25)

18

• 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 2820)

19

• And the satraps, administrators, governors, and
  the kings 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 327)
• 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

20

• 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 kings 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 328-29)

21

• 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 Gods 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 Gods faithfulness towards
  us. For with God nothing will be impossible

22

• Jesus said,
• Let your light so shine before men, that they
  may see you good works and glorify your Father in
  heaven. (Matthew 516)
• Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and
  Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. (Daniel
  330)
• PROMOTION

23

• 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 320)

God has much in store for every believers life
24
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

25

• 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 Gods favour upon
  his life
• - KING DARIUS THEN ESTABLISHED THIS DECREE AND
  SIGNED IT

26

• 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 610)

27

• As Christians we can be assured that nothing can
  ever happen to us apart from the will of our
  Father in heaven
• Jesus Himself said,
• Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?
  And not one of them falls to the ground apart
  from your Fathers will. (Matthew 1029)
• Do not fear therefore you are of more value
  than many sparrows. (Matthew 1031)

28

• 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

29

• 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 620)
• Then Daniel said to the king,
• O king, live forever!
• (Daniel 621

30

• My God sent His angel and shut the lions
  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 622)
• 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 623)

31

• 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 320)