Collierville First Baptist Church

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Good evening.

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I'm so glad that you're here tonight. Does everybody have the correct set of notes?

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We're in Daniel chapter three tonight, not Daniel chapter two.

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If you're here last week, we went over to Daniel chapter two.

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So this is Daniel chapter three. The title for tonight's study is a test of faith.

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A test of faith.

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Let's begin with a word of prayer. Do we need to get some more chairs? Everybody got enough? Everybody got a seat?

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Okay. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity we have to open the Bible to Daniel chapter three and look at one of the most fantastic stories in all the Bible.

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We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the principles and the truths that we will draw from this chapter in the Bible.

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And I pray, Heavenly Father, that you would give me the anointing and filling of the Holy Spirit that I might teach your word in the proper way.

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I pray you would use your word to shape our values and to get us ready for what may be coming down the pike in the future.

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Lord, we love you.

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And we want to stand for you whether it's easy or hard.

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So, Lord, would you please speak to us and train us tonight in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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All right. A test of faith.

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A test of faith refers to, obviously, to a difficult experience or a challenge that reveals the depth and the sincerity of a person's commitment to the Lord.

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Now, I'm sure that in your life, as you think back in your life,

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you have had some tests of your faith.

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Some you may have knocked it out of the park and done it. You've honored God. You've honored His name.

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But others you may not have done quite as well.

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This is not about heaping guilt on anybody. This is just truth. We're going to look at some very important principles tonight that will help you in the present and the future. So we're not going to look in the rearview mirror.

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We're going to look out the front windshield. Okay.

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So, by facing the challenges that come our way and not giving in to despair or fear, a believer can strengthen their faith and develop some spiritual muscle.

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Okay. Can I just be honest with you? If we don't develop some spiritual muscle, we're not going to be ready when the time comes for the challenge.

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Pete Hegseth met with all the generals and admirals and really gave them pep talk about being ready for war.

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I'm going to tell you, I'm going to be honest with you. There is a spiritual war taking place in our world today.

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And we have got to get ready to get out of the stands and onto the field and get ready to do battle in this spiritual war.

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Now, I'm not trying to sensationalize anything. It's right there in the Bible in Ephesians chapter six. If you don't believe me.

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Just flip over to Ephesians chapter six, just a moment. Ephesians six.

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Look at verse 10 through 12. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

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Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

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For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

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Therefore, take out the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm.

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That's war language.

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And we got to be ready to fight in this spiritual battle.

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Now, the true test of what happens when we face these tests of our faith is not what we say.

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Talk is cheap.

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The true test of how we do in these tests of faith is what we do, our actions.

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Now, there are some examples and about many, many, many, many examples in the Bible of great men and women of God who face tremendous tests of their faith

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and they pass those tests.

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In fact, Hebrews chapter 11, verse seven right there in your nose, "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen,

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in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

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Now, let me ask you, we're in a series on Sunday morning entitled "Perfect Ending." We're going verse by verse through Matthew chapter 24 and 25.

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And I preached an introductory message to that series where we dealt with biblical prophecy.

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Now, let me ask you a question. Many people in our culture today look sideways at the idea of biblical prophecy. They don't want to study it. They don't want to look at it. But what if Noah had been like that?

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Look what the Bible says, "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen."

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In fact, it would be over a hundred years before the flood would come.

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But God said, "Get ready for the flood." He prophesied that there would be a flood. Did the flood come? Yes. Did God give Noah advanced warning so he could prepare an ark for the salvation of his family? Yes.

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What did the ark picture? It pictured the salvation that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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So Noah believed in the importance of prophetic truth.

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And I'm going to just be honest with you. If you don't believe in the legitimacy of prophetic truth,

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you are painting yourself into a corner.

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I encourage you, pay attention to what's happening in the world and what God is up to.

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Now, notice this.

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So Noah, he had a test of faith. Can you imagine what it was like?

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It had not rained on the earth at this point.

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No rain.

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The earth was watered by mist.

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And Noah was told by God, "There's going to be a flood." And he believed God. And he started building this gigantic ark.

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And he was not by the Mediterranean Sea or anything. He was in the middle of the land.

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And can you imagine the ridicule that he received?

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But you know what he did?

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He kept on sawing. He kept on nailing.

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And he built an ark.

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And as a result, his family, eight people, was saved from the flood.

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Now, look at Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17 to 19. "By faith Abraham, when he was tested," he was tested, "his faith was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. It was he to whom it was said, "And Isaac, your descendants shall be called." And he considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which also he received him back as a type.

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Now, what was Abraham's test?

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Well, God gave Abraham and Sarah a baby when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old.

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A miraculous baby.

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I've gone to a lot of hospitals to minister to young families who've had their first baby. I've never been to the hospital for somebody who was 100 years old and 90 years old. Ever, ever, ever, ever. I don't ever expect to, okay?

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And then God said, "I want you to take this son of the promise." I promised him to you, but I want you to take him and I want you to sacrifice him to me on Mount Moriah.

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And you know what? Abraham did was a test of his faith.

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And so he took Isaac, he carried him to Mount Moriah,

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and he took him to the top of Mount Moriah, put him on an altar, and was about to drive a knife into him and offer him as a sacrifice to God.

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Do you know what he believed?

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Here was his test. Do you believe God or not? Will you obey God or not? And he obeyed God and God stopped him and God sent a ram that was caught in the thicket to offer as a sacrifice in the place of Isaac, his son. That ram was a picture of Jesus.

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So here are two examples of a test of faith.

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Both of these guys did exactly what God told them to do,

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and God honored them.

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So in our text tonight, we are presented with a major test of faith.

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Remember, it occurred about 2,600 years ago in the land of Babylon. Now, in chapter 2, we talked about the four major kingdoms that were prophesied by God.

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And God said there's going to be the kingdom of Babylon.

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And after the kingdom of Babylon, there would be the Medo-Persian kingdom. After the Medo-Persian kingdom, there would be the kingdom or the empire of Greece. And after the empire of Greece, there would be the Roman Empire.

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And now, we're looking at a time when the Babylonian Empire was in full swing.

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Okay?

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2,600 years ago. Now, remember Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC

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had taken a group of young Hebrew young teenagers,

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and they were the top of the heap. They were the best of the best.

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And he took them and brought them to Babylon,

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and he was going to use them in his kingdom.

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And so, these guys were Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah.

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Now, remember, Nebuchadnezzar, when he brought them to Babylon, he renamed them with Babylonian names named after the gods of Babylon.

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Shadrach, Meshach, Nebednego, and Belshazzar.

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So, these three guys, Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Nebednego, faced a major clash of worldviews,

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and they experienced the ultimate test of their faith.

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We're going to look at that tonight.

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Now, number one, I want you to see the king's command.

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In Daniel 3, verses 1-7. Now, by the way, the reason I give you these notes

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is so, number one, you'll have them. Number two, you can turn around and teach this to somebody else.

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You got my notes.

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I would encourage you to get a notebook,

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and to put these in a notebook. And when we get through with the book of Daniel, you will have a verse by verse exposition of the book of Daniel.

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Okay?

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May come in handy in the future.

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Chapter 3, verses 1-7. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, made an image of gold.

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Do you remember Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, right?

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He told all of the high muckety-mucks in his kingdom who were supposed to be able to interpret dreams and tell the future and all that kind of stuff. He told them, "I expect you to interpret this dream, but I'm not going to tell you the dream."

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And I'm telling you, that wigged them out.

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And finally, Ariok, who was a part of what really, Nebuchadnezzar was the right-hand man over a segment of his kingdom,

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went to Nebuchadnezzar and said, "Hey, there are some young Hebrew men here who can interpret dreams."

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And Daniel was brought in, and Daniel got with Michel, Hennonai, and Azariah, and they began to pray and ask God to reveal to Daniel the dream and the interpretation, and God did.

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And Daniel went to Nebuchadnezzar, and he told him the dream and the interpretation.

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And Nebuchadnezzar was blown away,

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absolutely blown away.

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And remember, the interpretation was, there was a composite figure or statue

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that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about.

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The head of gold, the arms chest of silver, the torso or the belly and the thighs of bronze,

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and the legs of iron, and the brittle toes that were made of clay and iron, which never adhered to each other.

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And here's what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, and I think it sort of lodged in his mind. He said, "You, O king, are the head of gold."

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Now notice what Nebuchadnezzar does here. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of what?

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Of gold.

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The height of which was 60 cubits, and it's with six cubits.

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Now that is 90 feet tall,

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that is nine feet wide.

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90 feet tall, nine feet wide. This is a monstrosity of an idol that he created, okay? Now, I don't think it was solid gold. It's probably like some of the instruments that they had in the temple that were made of a special kind of wood, plated with gold, covered with gold. And I'm sure that's what this was.

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He set it up on the plain of Jura in the province of Babylon.

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Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image or the idol that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

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So Nebuchadnezzar issues an invitation.

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Come and we're gonna have a dedication of my idol.

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Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces

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were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

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And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

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Then the herald loudly proclaimed,

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to you the command is given, O peoples, nations, and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, lyre, trigon, sultry, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

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Now that idea of worship tells me that Nebuchadnezzar looked upon this colossal image as an idol, a false god.

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Now, when you're in a polytheistic culture,

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like Babylon, they have many gods.

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And to add another god to their list of gods is no big deal.

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If you go to India today,

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you'll notice that there are millions of gods,

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millions of gods, and to add another one, in fact, when you share the gospel with a person from India, you have to make very clear that Jesus is the one true God.

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He's the one savior for the whole world.

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And you gotta clarify that, or you really confuse people.

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Look at verse six, "But whoever does not fall down "and worship shall immediately be cast "into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire."

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I would say that Nebuchadnezzar is pretty serious about this, right?

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"Therefore at that time when all the peoples "heard the sound of the horn, the flute, "the lyre, the trigon, the sultry, bagpipe, "and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, "and men of every language fell down "and worshiped the golden image "that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up."

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Now, several years have probably passed since Nebuchadnezzar had the dream, and Daniel told him the interpretation and the dream.

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Evidently, Nebuchadnezzar, because think about what Daniel had prophesied to him.

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It's a biblical prophecy.

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He said, "You are the head of gold on this dream "that you had, this composite figure that you dreamed about. "Yours is a kingdom, and you're a mighty king."

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But the dream interpretation said, "You're not gonna last forever.

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"There's another kingdom coming right behind you, "the Medo-Persia kingdom.

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"And then there's another kingdom "coming right behind the Medo-Persia kingdom.

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"And there's another kingdom coming after Greece,

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"and it would be the Roman Empire."

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And I think Nebuchadnezzar was trying to consolidate his power.

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He wanted to make sure that he had people around him who were loyal to him, and there was a real connection, between Nebuchadnezzar and this idol that he had developed and put up on the plain of Dura.

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It's like this. If you don't bow down to this idol, you are defying Nebuchadnezzar. And I'll show you that in just a moment.

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So surely this was a tribute to one of his gods,

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and he was uniting his kingdom religiously.

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Now Daniel's three friends,

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Shadrach, Meshat, and Abednego,

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received one of these show up or else invitations.

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Remember, after Daniel had given Nebuchadnezzar the dream and the interpretation,

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Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel and Shadrach, Meshat, and Abednego to important positions in the kingdom of Babylon.

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And so they were a part of the leadership of Babylon that was invited, or should I say commanded, to come to the plain of Dura.

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At the sound of the music, everyone on the plain of Dura

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bowed the knee and they worshiped this colossal idol, except three people, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

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Can you imagine all these people bowed down before this idol, worshiping this idol,

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and three boys, three young men now, three young men standing, ramrod straight,

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worshiping the God of heaven.

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And we're gonna worship that idol.

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They're gonna worship God.

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Well, the Chaldeans rushed to tell Nebuchadnezzar

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about these three guys that refused and defied his command.

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And he got hot, I put here, no pun intended.

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Somehow, somehow, I don't know how it happened.

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But believers in the American church have bought into a watered down version of the gospel.

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We really have.

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We've been led to believe that if we believe in Jesus, everything's going to be great.

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God will see to it that we have no diseases,

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will be free from pain, discomfort,

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and any inconvenience that you could imagine. He will make our lives smooth and easy if we believe in Jesus.

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Let me ask you, where did we get that idea?

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We did not get that idea out of the Bible.

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It's not in the Bible.

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I like what John Orkberg said. He said, "Where did Jesus say to his followers, God has a wonderful plan for your life, and that involves a great house and attractive spouse, a terrific job, a wonderful car, and an endless succession of easy days."

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No, let me tell you what Jesus said. This is what he said to his disciples,

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and it applies to us. In Matthew chapter 24, verse nine, and we'll be looking at this this coming Sunday.

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Then they will deliver you to tribulation

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and will kill you,

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and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

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I mean, you don't have to look far and wide to see that this hatred of the Christian faith

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is worldwide and it's here in America too.

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You realize

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that the number of martyrs, people who have been killed because of their faith in Christ

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is exploding across the world.

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It's exploding.

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I'm gonna tell you what I believe. I believe Charlie Kirk was killed more for his Christian faith than he was his political beliefs.

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I believe that.

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Because we live in a culture that is relativistic,

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a culture that believes that I've got my truth, you got your truth, and my truth is just as viable as your truth.

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Let me tell you, the culture hates the idea of absolute truth, absolutely hates.

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Look at John 15, verses 18 and 20. "If the world hates you," Jesus said,

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"you know that it has hated me before it hated you."

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Remember the word that I said to you, "a slave is not greater than his master. "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. "If they kept my word, they will keep yours also."

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I'm telling you, the storm clouds of persecution are gathering.

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They're already in lots of parts of the world.

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They're gathering here in America.

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You need to expect a clash of worldviews. Now, for everybody in this room and everybody watching live stream,

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I would encourage you to have a biblical worldview.

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One of our core values in this church is the Bible is our final source for faith and practice.

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Non-negotiable, okay?

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And when you have that kind of core value,

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you can expect that your faith will be tested.

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It will.

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Now, secondly, I want you to see, not only the king's command, but I want you to see the daring defiance.

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I've sort of hinted at this already, but let me just read this for you.

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Verses eight through 12, "For this reason, "at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward "and brought charges against the Jews."

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Now, this is what blows my mind.

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These Chaldeans had their necks saved because of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Ben-Gom.

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And now they're turning around and they're playing the tattle tale.

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Hey, we saw these three Jewish exiles over here and they refused to bow down to your idol, O king.

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So they brought charges against the Jews. Verse nine, "They responded and said "to Nebuchadnezzar king, O king, live forever.

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"You, O king, have made a decree that every man "who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, "and all these instruments." I'm tired of reading about those instruments.

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And all kinds, "It's to fall down "and worship the golden image.

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"But whoever does not fall down and worship "shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire."

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Verse 12, look at it. "There are certain Jews whom you have appointed "over the administration of the province of Babylon, "namely, Shadrach, Meshach, and Ben-Gom.

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"These men, O king, have disregarded you.

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"They do not serve your gods "or worship the golden image which you have set up."

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Now think about this.

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Why did those three Jewish exiles, young men now, young men, were in Daniel chapter three, okay, Daniel chapter three. Why did these three young Jewish men,

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what gave them the courage to stand Remrod straight and not bow down and worship this idol that Nebuchadnezzar the king had built? (Congregation Murmuring)

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Well, I've written down some things here that I'm speculating, but I think I'm pretty safe in this speculation.

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I said in bottom of page three, "I would suggest to you that their commitment "to the one true God could be traced back "to their biblical training in Israel."

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Because if you go and you read Deuteronomy chapter six, you read about how Jewish families were responsible, Jewish moms and dads were responsible for training their kids in the faith.

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Maybe their parents spent countless hours teaching the law to them.

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Maybe the parents made them recite the 10 commandments from memory.

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They knew what was right and they knew what was wrong.

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What's the first commandment of the 10 commandments?

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"I shall have no other God before me."

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And what was Nebuchadnezzar trying to force them to do, worship another God.

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I believe that's why they were able to have the courage to defy the king.

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And do what God wanted them to do.

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Now don't forget, there was another test that these young Jewish men experienced when they first got to Babylon.

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You read about it in Daniel chapter one, when they first came and the king wanted them to eat the king's food and drink the king's wine, remember?

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But Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah, that's their Hebrew names, or Belt Shazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Bennego,

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they refused to eat the king's food and drink the king's wine.

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And I believe that's where they, that was another test for them and they passed the test.

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Can I tell you, look at me, look at me. Every test of faith you pass

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makes you stronger for the next one.

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It does, I'm telling you.

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But this is a point where many modern believers crash and burn, because they don't prepare for these tests of faith.

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Then when they're faced with the pressure to compromise,

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they have no firm values and no non-negotiable convictions. You have some convictions.

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You have convictions about what's right and what's wrong.

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Listen, if you study your Bible,

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you should have some very strong set of convictions.

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Now look at this, I put a little box here

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listen, the time to prepare for a test of faith is now.

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Not 30 minutes after you're presented the test of faith,

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you prepare now. Faith is not a spare tire that you only remove and use when you have a flat.

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Read the word, read the word.

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Come to church, pray for the Lord. Pray with renewed vigor, seek first the kingdom of God in his righteousness. Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Now, not when the test appears.

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And this brings us to the, I think is the heart of this important chapter.

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My favorite part of the chapter.

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Look at the bold response. Look at Daniel chapter three verse 13 to 18.

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Okay, so Nebuchadnezzar now knows that he's got three Jewish exiles who have buted him.

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They've said no, they refuse to worship his idol. Now look at verses 13 through 18. Then Nebuchadnezzar enraged page four, enraged in anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then these men were brought before the king.

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Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that you do not serve my, on your notes, on your notes, circle the personal pronouns here. Notice it, that you do not serve my gods, circle the word my.

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You do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I circle the pronoun I.

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I have said that.

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Now, if you are ready,

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at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, there's all those instruments again,

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and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image that I've made very well.

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But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. And look at this, and what God is there who can deliver you out of my hands, and circle the word my.

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See, it's all about Nebuchadnezzar.

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Nebuchadnezzar was intimately connected to this idol that he had created there on the plains of Dura.

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So to reject the idol is to reject Nebuchadnezzar.

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Verse 16, oh, I love this.

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You just think I've been fired up. I haven't been fired up yet.

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Bennego replied to the king.

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Oh, Nebuchadnezzar,

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we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.

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If it be so, our God, notice capital G,

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our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire.

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Our God is able.

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He can do anything.

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You can throw us in here, and our God, if he chooses to, can deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire.

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But I love this part.

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And he will deliver us out of your hand, oh king.

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You're talking about bold.

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It's bold.

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Verse 18, don't miss it. But even if he chooses not to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, let it be known to you, oh king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

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Would to God that every Christian

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in the sound of my voice, every Christian in America had that kind of backbone.

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It would say, I'm only worshiping one God,

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the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Well, you can guess it, the king was furious.

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And he told some soldiers to bring the three young Hebrew men to him and he told them, look, either you bow or you burn.

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I love the response.

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And we need to remember God is able.

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When your faith is being tested and compromised and being pushed down your throat,

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you can't be all over the map.

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You can't stand on a wishy washy faith.

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I despise wishy washy faith.

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Your faith must be strong, it must be vibrant

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and you must declare your faith openly.

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That's what I liked about Charlie Kirk.

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And he wasn't afraid to tell anybody where he stood.

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That's why the Sunday after he got killed, I said, this is not the time for the church to play it safe.

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It's not a time for us to clam up

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because we don't want to offend anybody. Let me tell you, truth is offensive.

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It's offensive.

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It always has been offensive. It always will be offensive.

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But I would rather stand on truth and please God

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than to compromise and not pleasing.

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Martin Luther, the reformer, was brought before the Roman Catholic hierarchy

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because of his unwavering stand on the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

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And he was threatened by the Catholic hierarchy

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to either recant or else.

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Here's what he said.

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"My cause shall be commended to the Lord "for he lives and reigns "who preserve the three Hebrew children "in the furnace of the Babylonian king.

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"If he is willing to preserve me, "my life is a small thing compared to Christ.

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"Expect anything of me except flight or recantation.

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"I will not flee, much less recant.

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"So may the Lord Jesus strengthen me."

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I like believers who have courage and boldness.

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Number four, look at the shocking penalty.

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Verses 19 to 23. Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath.

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His facial expression was altered towards Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

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He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

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I mean, this king was ticked.

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He was gonna burn these boys up into crispy critters. Okay?

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And then the Bible says in verse 20, he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to type Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the blazing fire.

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How hot was it? Well, look at this. Verse 22, "For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego."

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But these three men,

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

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Now I'm sure Nebuchadnezzar thought, "Well, I can wipe my hands of those three Jews."

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Not so quick, my friend.

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Nebuchadnezzar was powerless

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against these three courageous young Jewish men.

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In his mind, he cannot conceive of a human being being so committed to something that they would be willing to die for it.

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He had no authority over these three men who were prepared to sacrifice their lives for what they believed.

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Into the fiery furnace, they were tossed.

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Number five, look at the amazing miracle.

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Verses 24 to 28, I love this part.

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I would love to have a picture of Nebuchadnezzar's face here.

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Or video, yeah. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste and he said to his high officials,

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"Was it not three men that we cast bound into the midst of the fire?"

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They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look, I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."

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Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, come out, you servants of the most high God." Boy, how he changed, huh? How he changed, huh?

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And come here.

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Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire.

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The satrets, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

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Man.

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Verse 28, Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, I love this part, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who put their trust in him, violating the king's command and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any God except their own God."

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I think he got something wrong.

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I think Nebuchadnezzar got something wrong.

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I don't think God sent an angel to the fiery furnace.

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I think the Lord Jesus, pre-incarnate Christ stepped off its throne in glory and manifested himself

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in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were bold and courageous and stood for him. And I think Jesus said, "Cool it, cool it."

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And I believe that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the Lord Jesus Christ had fellowship in that fire.

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Man, wouldn't you love to... Don't you look forward to going to heaven one day and sitting down with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and say, "Tell us about the fire."

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Now, let me say this.

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Some people would say, "Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't suffer.

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They weren't burned.

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None of the hairs were singed.

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Their clothes were not destroyed. They didn't suffer."

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Listen, look at me and I, tell you something. They didn't suffer in the fire. They suffered before the fire

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because they had to make a value decision.

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They had to decide in their minds and hearts, in their spirits, "We're gonna stand with the one true God,

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regardless of what it causes,

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regardless of how painful it might be to be thrown into a fiery furnace.

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We're gonna stand with God."

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I'm gonna tell you, it was the hardest test of faith they had ever faced,

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but they had to make that decision before they were cast into the fire.

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God didn't deliver them from the fire. He delivered them through the fire.

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What an amazing demonstration of the power of God.

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Now look, there are three attributes of God you need to understand.

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God is omnipresent. He can be everywhere at the same time.

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He could be in carnival.

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He could be in heaven.

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He can be in China. He's everywhere at the same time. He's God.

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He is not only omnipresent, he is omniscient. He knows everything.

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He knows everything you think.

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He knows everything about it. The Bible says he even knows the number of hairs on your head. And he's also omnipotent.

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That means he's all powerful.

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Over and over, you studied scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

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The Bible says that God, nothing is impossible with God. Nothing, nothing.

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What an amazing demonstration of the power of the one true God. And you know what? It's a great demonstration of the power of God. The power of the one true God. And you know what? It got Nebuchadnezzar's attention.

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You gotta come back next week.

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The next week's gonna be real interesting.

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Nebuchadnezzar sort of got the big head again.

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And God has to bring him back down.

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And he does it in a very unique way. We'll read about it in chapter four next week. But look, number six, the powerful result.

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Look what Nebuchadnezzar decreed. Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap in as much as there is no other God who is able to deliver in this way.

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Then the king calls Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

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So God was glorified and these boys received promotions.

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Now, the conclusion tonight is very important. I want you to really lock in with me now, okay?

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The question is not if your faith will ever be tested.

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The question is, when will your faith be tested? Maybe yours will be in the business arena. Maybe you're a business person and your company forces you, tries to force you to compromise your Christian values to make more money for the company.

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Or maybe you're in a biology class.

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They're trying to ram evolution down your throat.

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Or maybe, just maybe it happens on the youth athletic field,

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the pressure to compromise and you have a test of faith.

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You believe in Jesus Christ.

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Yet there are times when you will be asked to bow the knee to someone or something that is seeking to usurp the Lord's place on the throne of your heart.

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How will you handle these strong challenges to your faith? I love what John Lennox wrote.

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He wrote, "There's an important matter of principle here.

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"God is a great deliverer, but he will not deliver us "from having to make our own decisions."

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This is not because he is impotent, but because he wants us to be strong.

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The development of our character depends crucially on the fact that we make responsible decisions before God for ourselves.

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For God to decide force would be to dehumanize us and essentially turn us into amoral robots.

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to make up their own minds as to whether they were going to put God first.

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That does not mean they had no guidance.

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Their guidance was all the accumulated experience of God's trustworthiness up to that fateful moment.

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They therefore had decided to trust him once more,

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no matter what it cost them.

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Then God convincingly vindicated them. (Paper Rustling)

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I want you to hear the prayer.

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Not every believer who has a strong moral backbone and strong faith, not every believer is delivered.

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered by God, but Polycarp wasn't. (Paper Rustling) Kathy and Ed were in a part of the world where Polycarp ministered.

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And the authorities, Polycarp was a pastor.

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He was a bold, committed pastor. He loved the Word of God. He loved the gospel.

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And the authorities tried to get him

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to recant his faith, his belief in Christ.

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They said, "If you don't do it, "we're gonna burn you at the stake."

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You know what?

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Polycarp refused to recant his faith in Christ.

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And before they burned him at the stake,

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this is what he prayed.

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"O Lord God Almighty, the Father of thy beloved "and blessed Son Jesus Christ,

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"through whom we have received the knowledge of thee,

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"the God of angels and powers of all creation,

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"of the whole race of the righteous "who live in thy presence.

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"I bless thee for that thou hast granted me this day and hour

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"that I might receive a portion "amongst the number of martyrs "in the cup of thy Christ "unto resurrection of eternal life, "both of soul and body "and the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit.

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"May I be received among these in thy presence this day

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"as a rich and acceptable sacrifice,

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"as thou didst prepare and reveal it beforehand "and hast accomplished it, "thou that art the faithful and true God.

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"For this cause, yay, and for all things I praise thee, "I bless thee, I glorify thee "through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, "thy beloved Son, through whom with him "and the Holy Spirit be glory, "both now and for the ages to come, amen."

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Hey, could you pray a prayer like that when you're about to be burned at the stake and he was burned at the stake?

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I wanna read you something out of Lennox's book here.

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He said this, I'm reading from this book.

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"In my visits to Russia, particularly in the years "immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall,

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"I came across people who had suffered detention "in the Soviet Gulag.

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"The first such man I met had spent several years "attained in the Siberian labor camp "for the crime of teaching children from the Bible.

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"He described to me that he had seen things "that no man should ever have to see.

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"I listened thinking how little I really knew about life

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"and wondering how I would have fared "under his circumstances. "As if he had read my thoughts, he suddenly said," and this is what the Soviet guy said to him,

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he said, "You couldn't cope with that, could you?

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"Embarrassed, I stumbled out something like,

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"no, I'm sure you're right.

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"He then grinned and said," and this is what the Soviet guy said to him, "nor could I.

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"I was a man who fainted at the sight of my own blood,

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"let alone that of others,

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"but what I discovered in the camp was this," and boy, this is worth the price of you coming tonight.

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Here's what he said to John Lennox,

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"God does not help us to face theoretical situations,

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"but real ones.

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"Like you, I couldn't imagine how one could cope "in the gulag, but once there I found that God met me, "exactly as Jesus had promised his disciples "when he was preparing them "for victimization and persecution."

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Maybe you say it's not pastor, I couldn't do that.

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I love what he said.

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God doesn't prepare us for theoretical situations.

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But for real ones.

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I would pray that every person in this room, every person watching live stream who names the name of Jesus,

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that if the authorities came to you

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and they said something like this, we're gonna throw you in prison

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if you don't reject your faith in Christ.

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Or we're going to take your life

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or the life of your wife or your kids

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if you don't recant your faith in Christ.

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I would hope and pray that in that moment,

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the resurrected Christ would meet you and give you a strength that you don't think you have.

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And that you would stand like these three Hebrew young men did

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when the musical instruments started

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and everybody else bowed, but they didn't. Hey, your faith's gonna be tested.

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It may be a minor test,

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but one day it's gonna be a major test, it's gonna be the ultimate test like these boys faced.

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Stand for Jesus.

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Let me pray.

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Heavenly Father, thank you so much

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for Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.

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Thank you for Daniel who recorded this story, put it in the Bible.

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And Lord, I pray that you would help us

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to prepare for our test of faith now.

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Don't let us wait until the test is upon us. Lord, we love you and we wanna stand for you. We wanna be able to say like, "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego." We're gonna serve our God and if he delivers us fine, but if he doesn't, we're still gonna serve our God in Christ's name, amen. Thank you and God bless you.

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(Congregation Murmuring)