Bound in the Fire: Three Men, One True God, and the Courage to Stand

I would just say I'm so grateful for you all you know the Bible says enter his courts with Thanksgiving uh actually says enter his gates with Thanksgiving and it's courts with praise is anybody thankful today I'm so thankful that we get to be here I'm thankful for what God's done I'm really thankful for who God is I want to just take a moment because I'm just I'm humbled I'm in awe that you showed up today at church but we're also joined with people all over the world literally people who are joining us online do you guys want to know where people are joining us from all over from carlbad California to clamo Falls Oregon Pennsylvania to New Mexico we've got people from the Country of Texas watching right now we've even got our friends Journey Church we've got a team a mission team

right now in Uganda watching us right now we want to say God bless you we love you this team has been serving Jesus in Uganda it's night time in Uganda right now so they've already had Church they've praised the Lord they got to go to iganga Uganda where where we got to help plant a church there they are serving the least of these yesterday they serve disabled kids all day I mean that team is amazing we love you we're so grateful that you're here let me just see if I I missed anybody else here oh we got Southern Oregon here let me just see if tell me where you're watching from and I'll mention where you're watching from right now all right uh we've got people from all over Central Oregon watching uh we've got wow I mean we've got people let me just see here the coast the coast of Oregon come on

somebody um we got all over we're just extremely grateful and I just wanted to mention that just because we've got church family not just in the room but church family around the world because when you believe in Jesus there one day you're going to discover there are no names of churches in heaven there's just one church it's the bride of Christ and Jesus absolutely loves his bride we want to be for the church so when even Kara mentioned Central Oregon shall be saved we're not just wanting journey to grow which we do we want every Church to grow we want this place to be exploding we want new churches to come here we want to see so much more and we just believe that in so many different ways and I'm just I'm grateful that you're here I believe God has a message for you and so I want to just pray real quick that you would receive that message and then I

want you to get your word out as we get ready to get into God's word Lord would you speak to your people for such a time as this Lord it it is with a grateful heart that you're allowing us to live at this time may we not take it for granted that while we have air in our lungs may we praise you Lord may we make much of our Lives I know there's confusion even in this room Lord what are you going to do with my broken life with where I've been what I'm going through but you are a redeeming God you are a great God remind us in your word today the potential that what you did before you can do it again I am believing the best days are still ahead of us I thank you Jesus this is the Lord's day which reminds us of your resurrection that anything's possible so I ask humbly in the mighty name of Jesus Christ that your Holy Spirit would speak to All Hearts your word is alive we're ready to

receive it today in Jesus name if you're in agreement would you shout amen amen if you brought your Bibles would you take it out right now if you brought your Bibles take out your word if you don't have a Bible may I suggest we want to give you one as a gift we will before you leave today if you don't know where your Bible is you don't have your Bible may we please give you one as a free gift so that you would get into God's word take out your Bible hold in the air like you care somebody all right hold in the air everyone's going to shout even those watching online you can comment if you would like everyone's going to shout word when I count to three one two three word we're getting into God's word so that God's word will get into us you know there always seems to be something new a new language a new shiny thing always seems to be something new last week we were reminded that it seems like

we just woke up and the culture shifted overnight but if you go to the Bible the Bible actually tells us there's nothing new Under the Sun there's actually nothing new as the the late Billy Graham once said he he said The Human Condition Remains the Same so it might look like there's something new it might look like there's there there's something happening that's new out there but all we have to do is get into God's word and recognize that what we're going through is nothing that we need to fear we do not need to fret we don't need to wonder what's going to happen next whether it be our lives or the world that we're living in we have to trust God and we need to turn to the promise of his word so many times people repeat patterns in history when if you would just learn

God's word and Obey God's word you wouldn't reap the consequences that you're experiencing in your life God wants you to be blessed he wants you to prosper he wants you to have hope the Bible is really clear he has a plan for your life because he made you he loves you and as we learned even last week you are the best of the best the very very best there's nobody like you nobody they might look like you they might sound like you you might have similar skills and talents but there's no one quite like you with your story with your past with what you're going through and God wants to use you right now we're going through the Book of Daniel so if you would find the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament in a section of books called the the book of prophets and Daniel will be right in that place where I want you

to turn there and go with me last week we learned about the Israelites who were continually led by kings that didn't follow the lord too often these Kings did what was evil in the sight of God and there's really only two options when it comes to the Lord obey his word or ignore his word and it's the same choice for us today you can obey God's word or you can ignore God's word and generation after generation they turned away from God's word they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord they sought the things they can see they saw the false gods of the other nations and they they started giving into those things instead of turning and trusting in the true word of God and over time God allowed them to be T taken captive by the Babylonians under the leadership of King Nebuchadnezzar he

comes into the southern Kingdom Judah and he takes them by force and that's what we looked at last week that Babylon represents more than just a place which archaeologists have discovered that it is modern day Iraq but it's more than just a place it's a spirit that still exists today that word Babel if we go to the Hebrew word means confusion that Spirit of confusion is to literally change our identity so it was with the Babylonians of the days of Daniel they took what was valuable the silver the gold the young people who were smart and strong and the whole goal was to change their identity to infuse them to infiltrate in them a new language a new education even

going so far as giving them new names we see in Daniel 1:7 when they were given new names the four major characters the chief of the Unix gave them names here's the new names Daniel which means God is my ruler Daniel was given the name belisar if broken down looking at the Babylonian name belisar it means Bell protects the king Bell being the lady the lady protects the king so we see a shift in identity that who you used to be serving the one true God used to be your ruler now you going to serve the king then we go further and we see haniah he called

Shadrach mishael he called mesac and Azariah he called abedo today we're going to look at these three men hananiah mishel and Azariah I want you to see what God can do when you're willing to stand for the truth these three seem to follow Daniel they seem to be under the shadows of Daniel they did what he did and we see haniah Michael and Azariah they seem to also grow up in Godly homes they too were raised under the word of God they stood for the truth and we even see through their very names haniah the very name means Yahweh which is the Lord is gracious God is a god of Grace he's the Lord of favor that's what hananiah means

but his new name Shadrach means the command of Aku the command of Aku Aku was the Babylonian god of the moon so you're to give a decree to the Moon God now just think about the moon for just a moment it will give you an idea of how the enemy actually operates the moon does not actually give light it just reflects light it is the Sun that is the True Light Giver so it is with the Lord who is our light but the enemy is a deceiver he disguises himself in light as Paul would say to the Corinthians he's a disguiser he he wants to reflect the light and now the enemy sneaks his way into hanah's life and says haniah the one that you used to receive the favor of God the light of God the gift of God now you're going to command and give the

decrees of the Moon God Aku Mish I love this name Mish it simply means who is like God what a cool name who is like God there's one true God who is like him what a cool name Michel who is like God you can go back to the promises of God's word and see he's the Creator that speaks it happens who is like that God who is like the god that preserved Humanity through Noah who is like God that met with Abraham like a friend who is like God that was the great sacrifice for Isaac who is like God that he was wrestled with Jacob who is like God that he would be with Joseph in the pit and in the palace and in the

prison who is like God his name was changed from mishel to mesach which means who is like like Shaq not Shaquille O'Neal but who is like Shaq a goddess of wine Shaq would be the equivalent of the Greek god Aphrodite a goddess of pleasure to this Hedonism of of do what feels good so many people today miss the truth of who God is for the things of this world that offer pleasure but then they fall short of a God that's not

real so mishel goes from who is like God to who is like Shaq and then finally we have Azariah which whose name means helped by God God is my helper and he's given a new name Abednego Abednego simply means a servant or a slave of Nebo or nebu Nebo is the god of wisdom in the Babylonian culture the one that you would want to receive words from that before you went and did something you would seek nebo's counsel to to discover should we go take this land or should we do this and so they they served all of these gods and make sure you note this lowercase G they aren't the true God they are man-made Gods the over time

they they created these gods in their own image not they were not discovering that they were made in the image of God so here we have this Babylonian culture that not only wants to confuse them on who God is ultimately the enemy wants to confuse us on who we are if you are confused on who you are you will be confused who God is because the Bible says there's one God and you are made in His image and he loves you so much so now you've got Daniel haniah mishael and Azariah they're in a foreign land we would call them exiles they're not at home they're not near the temple they've been raised in the truth but now here these young men these young men they have to figure out who are they is their faith strong enough to live in a place like Babylon we too today are living in

Daniel days you have to be determined can I live for the Lord even when no one else is when the world conforms to what they think matters most will I give in as well so it was in Daniel chapter 1 they were brought before the king to eat the King's food to drink the King's Wine and the Bible says that Daniel resolved himself not to defile himself with the things of the world not to defile himself with the things of the king culturally speaking the food more than likely was sacrificed to idols and then presented as a feast for food and it reminds us just because something looks good just because something even tastes tastes good or maybe it even feels good does not mean it is good for

you Paul would write about this in the New Testament says just because it's permissible doesn't mean you have to do it just because it's legal just because it's available just because you can doesn't mean you should it doesn't mean it's going to benefit your life so Daniel says I don't want to eat the King's food and so he just requests can we just eat vegetables or something from the earth for 10 days test us to see if we're any different from those that eat of the King's table they allowed him to do just that and after 10 days he was not like the rest they were the best so we read in Daniel 1: 19-21 the king spoke with them and among them none was found like Daniel hananiah mishael and Azariah therefore they stood before the king and in every matter of wisdom and

understanding about which with which the king inquired of them he found them to be 10 times better better 10 times better now you're going to find throughout the Book of Daniel this apocalyptic type writing numbers will be written later in the book as we get to the prophetic section you're going to see that there's this AOC uh apocalyptic metaphoric pictures it's on the tip of my tongue now 10 as we'll see even with the number seven today with the fire there's biblical meanings here 10 represents order it represents a complete order these guys although they're in a foreign land although they are surrounded by

Babylon these guys are 10 times better may I just declare that over your life you're probably better than you even understand you are because when you have the favor of the Lord you don't need the intelligence of the world you don't need the riches of the world you don't need the strength of the world you don't need the good looks of the world you just need a god of favor here they are they're 10 times better than The Magicians the enchanters that were in all his kingdom and Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus now we're we we're we're told in chapter one it gives us Insight that Daniel will Outlast many leaders this is important to see at the beginning that where you are now is not where you're going to eventually

be you know when you're young it feels like getting old is so far out there until you're old and you realize that was fast but when you're young like 40 just feels like forever away and super old we found with our kids we can't ask questions like oh do you have a young teacher or old teacher because our kids will say like old like well like how old like I don't know like 40 maybe like I'm like you mean a super super duper young teacher that's crazy young are you kidding me that's great so Daniel he starts off young but we're told by the end of chapter 1 eventually when he's old he's going to outlast many leaders in Chapter 2 we're told in verse one in the second year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar had dreams his Spirit was troubled and his sleep left him then the king commanded that The Magicians the enchanters the sorcerers and the calans be summoned to tell the king his dream so they came in and stood before the king now King Nebuchadnezzar he experienced what so many people experience today it's a lack of sleep he was stressed he was worried he had these dreams of uncertainty he was filled with fear this is what happens to so many of us when we do not have Clarity when we do not have certainty when we do not understand the truth what begins to happen is we're tormented now if you've ever met someone that doesn't sleep for so many days they're not the most joyful people they are the most angry people which is exactly what happened to King

Nebuchadnezzar so he called all the people that he thought could give him a revelation of this dream in in today's terms we would see this as divination he called those who could read horoscopes those who could read the stars in the sky he called those who claimed to be psychics he called those who could call upon the spirits all the things that we have in our culture today with tarot cards and horoscopes and Ricky readings and the things that people seek spiritually it's nothing new it's a false spirituality and it might seem like the truth and it might seem like wisdom at different times this is what King Nebuchadnezzar called upon he called upon the ways of the world he called upon the wisdom of this world not the wisdom of God and he was frustrated because it did not

alleviate the anxiety that he was going through and in his anger we're told in Daniel 2:12 because of this no one could answer his dream the King was angry and very Furious and he commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed there are times in your life that you will reap the consequences of someone else's decision this can be because of politicians this be could be because of peers at your work this be could be because of your boss you did nothing wrong but you're going to reap the consequence of their decision we felt that a lot the last four years we're trusting in the leaders to make the best decisions but what they

decide I don't get to determine what happens next Daniel is grouped in these wise men so he's been given a sentence of death now I want you to see what Daniel does because Daniel does not complain he does not protest he does not tell everyone on social media his feelings how different he feels than the than the king he he does not whine about this he does not sit on his hands and do nothing he goes to the king and he asks for some time do you know you will never get what you don't ask for some of you are just waiting some of you are even complaining about where you are at work some of you are just stuck with where you are in a relationship let me just just tell you and you may not get it but let me tell you you won't get

what you don't ask for Daniel just simply ask for some time and the King grants him the favor of time and he goes back to haniah mishel and Azariah he goes back to his three friends and they don't decide to protest or Revolt or do something dumb but instead here's what they do they pray that's when you know you've got some good friends you pray when you don't know what to do you pray and they prayed that Daniel would receive the mystery of this of this dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had and that very night how good is God that he answers prayer that very night Daniel was given a revelation of that dream so he comes to King Nebuchadnezzar he says I can answer what your dreams all about so he begins to explain you had a dream

and in your dream there's this great statue and Daniel 2 ver 32 Daniel explains the head of this image was a fine gold its chest and arm arms of silver its middle and thighs of bronze its legs of iron and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay Daniel tells the king these different elements of the statue represent different kingdoms you King Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon represent the head of gold and the kingdoms after you represent each element going all the way down eventually to the feet with which is the divided Kingdom of clay and iron and that Kingdom will be weak and it's from this Revelation that King Nebuchadnezzar it says in verse 46

then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and he paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him the king answered and said to Daniel truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries for you have been able to reveal this mystery then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon Daniel verse 49 says made a request to the king and he appointed Shadrach meach and Abednego over the Affairs of the province of Babylon but Daniel Daniel remained at the king's court you can take note of that Daniel remained at the king's court right next to the king's

side do not be mistaken Aken When leaders like politicians or in the case of the leaders today celebrities of all kinds musicians actors athletes when they State something that sounds so similar to what you worship it can sound really good and it can sound really similar in fact it could even be the same language you use when it comes to your faith but I want to warn you it's not genuine and there's no lasting fruit what I mean by that is I I see Christians today and I've got to even watch my own heart when someone you really look up to or someone who's really talented good-look or has been doing something for a while that's better than the rest when they say

something like oh I want to thank God for this or I want to thank Jesus or I I want to just say God bless you or or we hear some language like this I want to warn you that that's not what makes someone a worshipper you can come to church you can even pray a prayer out loud you can even raise your hands and not be a worshipper Jesus paints just a really simplistic picture he says you can tell a tree by its fruit and fruit takes time A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit in Galatians chapter 5 Paul simply says sin leads to death but when you believe in Jesus the Holy Spirit changes you your you're no longer who you used to be you are who God's

making you be by the power of the Holy Spirit you produce the fruit of the spirit which is not something you could do on your own now you're producing love joy peace kindness goodness gentleness self-control things that you never thought you could do but God's doing it through you and I warn you of what King Nebuchadnezzar does because it's still being done in today's culture we get too excited over other people talking about God than over who God actually is we've got to actually go to the root of who God is and the reality is I'm going to give thanks to God no matter who's giving thanks to God I don't need a king or any other person to tell me that he's the God of all gods and the Lord of all Kings I can testify to that

King Jesus is King above all Kings and he's Lord above all Lords and one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord chapter 3 starts off with the reminder of the depth of the fruit of King Nebuchadnezzar's life look at chapter 3:1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits that's 90 feet and its breadth six cubits that's 9 feet wide he set it up on the plain of dura in the province of Babylon it's doubtful that this statue was of the king himself some like to imagine this we use modern day examples do you remember when the United States invaded Iraq which is where Babylon actually was at the time

of this and they came into this place because of mass weapons of destructions and or did I say that right weapons of mass destruction uh do you guys remember that phrase and we go into Iraq and and one of the things that was found all over the major cities were these ginormous statues of Saddam Hussein and I can vividly remember watching on the news the people taking ropes and pulling down these massive statues falling right in the same land of Babylon but more than likely King Nebuchadnezzar did not erect a statue of himself or we don't have archaeological facts that showed during this era of the syrians the Babylonians or even the Persians this Mesopotamian era that Kings would do such a thing what they

would often do is erect great statues of their Patron God this is what we would call Idols Idols are man-made things and so they would take their Patron God and the bigger and the better it would show the value of their great God that this God was on their side and so they would see throughout the land whoever God was greater they would be victorious wherever they would go and so this is actually true we can go back to God's people when when God's people uh had a theocracy when God was the ruler of his people he simply said follow me and everything will be okay you don't need to have the biggest army you don't need to have the strongest army you don't need to have the best weapons if you follow me I will bless those who bless you I will curse those who curse you no

one could come against you no land no Nation no people could come against you so we know the reason that the Babylonians were able to invade the Israelites in Judah is simply because they IGN Ed God's word when God was for them no one could touch them but in this particular case you've got this new nation that's just Uprising really fast and they're strong and they're taking over all of these other nations and undoubtedly King Nebuchadnezzar erected the god of Nebo his Patron god of wisdom that's who he sought for words I want to warn you today too many people are seeking the wrong place for wisdom and I need I mean no shame I mean no guilt upon that because some of us

are just doing what our parents did some of us are doing what we've always done some of us are just hoping reaching out for some wisdom so you seek a horoscope or you seek a tarot card or you seek some wisdom somewhere other than the true wisdom of God and the Bible is clear in the Book of Proverbs the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom you really want wisdom in your life seek God for who he really is so more than likely we've got erected here this massive God of Nebo and he calls upon all the people of the lands Daniel 3:2 King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather all the who's who's and the what's whats of all the lands he gathers together all the governors all of the Mayors all of the officials all of the administrators from all over different nations that Babylon

had conquered and they came to this one place and they see this great big statue which by the way would have been pretty awesome a 90 foot statue of gold imagine the artisanship the creativity imagine the the the the the contractors and the workers that had to melt all that gold and then we're told in Daniel 3: 4-6 here's the rules everybody's here and the herald proclaimed aloud you are commanded oh peoples Nations and languages that when you hear the sound of the horn the pipe the liar the Trigon the harp the bagpipe and every kind of music could you imagine how big that band would have been I mean next week we're going to bring some of the harps the pipes the Liars the

trigons how many of y'all play the Trigon we're looking for some Trigon players we're going to keep seeking that out the harp the bag pipes one of our own here our business administrator Heather she plays the bag pipes so when when that music plays this harmony this melody of this this massive band they came together the rule is you are to fall down worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace as you might susp suspect as we're studying The Book of Daniel and we understand Babylon and this Spirit of confusion and how the enemy Works he takes that which is good and he uses it for evil he has done this with music for

a long time some speculate that Satan was actually a worship leader in heaven and instead of giving glory to God through music and the the meditations of of the hearts of all those other created Angelic beings instead he wanted to worship himself we've got to be really careful about what we listen to and what we allow in our minds the enemy loves to use Music the enemy loves to take that which can be good that which should be used for God which is music music helps Usher us into a place of worship but instead of worshiping the true God that we would get our eyes off of the true God and worship the things that we can see and some might say well that sounds a little extreme today we don't worship idols and false gods today well all you got to do is have the discernment of God

himself the Holy Spirit and you will see things in a totally different way you will see that we worship the same things that they worshiped in the days of old we want Power money and sex these are the things that typically come around generation from to generation if we don't see that God created us to have a right relationship with him and with each other to love God to love others if we miss that we will miss what God created including music so the expectation has been set when the music play you bow or you're burned it's that simple you bow down or you're burned this is where you see what kind of a faith you have if you're going to be thrown into the fire would you be willing to stand for that which is

true would you be willing to go through a greater suffering even to the point of death for what you believe I want to warn you when you stand up for the truth not everyone will celebrate your decision you'll look like you're doing something wrong when everyone else is doing what they think is right Daniel chapter 3:8 therefore at that time certain calans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews I appreciate the colorful language that we find in the Book of Daniel when you do what is right eventually you will be accused I can't exactly tell you why except for it's a spiritual biblical

truth when you do what is right eventually you'll be accused and it won't even make any sense you're simply trying to do what's right in your workplace you're trying to do what's right in your school you're trying to do what's right in your family you're trying to do this right in your city or your state or your country or wherever it is and you might be maliciously accused and if that hasn't happened it's just a yet when you do the right thing you will be accused and I know this because in the Book of Revelation said of the enemy Satan he's an accuser day and night night and day that's all he wants to do is accuse he wants to remind you of what you used to do he wants to remind you of who you're not he wants to just spew

lies upon your life and that will come in so many different forms sometimes it's who you used to be sometimes it's not even a truth at all it is so hard when someone maliciously accuses you of something you didn't even do when you stand for the truth you've got to know why you're doing it or else you won't be willing to do it in Ephesians 610 when we see Paul writing to the church and we're told this finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might I want to declare over your life God wants you to be strong you're meant to be strong do not be mistaken is not you mustering up this strength on your own be strong in the Lord so just preach to your neighbor for a second just say be strong be strong come on be strong be

strong yes be strong be strong come on someone needs to be strong here's why verse 11 11 put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to say it with me stand against the schemes of the devil the devil is trying to trap you deceive you and even destroy you and you need to know who you are before you enter that moment when you're getting ready to be knocked down and when the devil tries to bring you down you've got to do everything you know what to do which is to stand sometimes you don't even know the answers you don't know the why but you do know the who it is the Lord that makes me strong enough to stand I will not bow down to the idols of today I will stand I will not do what

everybody else is doing I will stand I will not cave into the new names that people have given me I will stand I don't care if everyone's doing it I don't care if it looks better or even feels better I will stand for the truth even if I have to die I've got to be determined do I take Jesus at his word pick up your cross daily and follow me or am I going to do my own thing do I believe Jesus what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul or will I just go for the things of this world you've got to determine today are you willing to stand that's your place where you say yes Pastor come on I'm with you let's do it we're living in Daniel days you've

got to determine today what do you believe and why do you believe it some of you here today you've been confused for too long God brought you here in this moment to say you don't need to be confused anymore Jesus made it clear he's the way the truth and the life he's a good friend he's like a Good Shepherd that will go after the lost sheep he's like a good father you've never had before when you mess up and you waste it all he's just going to bless you with more love he's going to wrap you with his identity he's going to show you who he is let me just tell you when you trust in the Lord you know what to stand for and Shadrach mesach and abedo they've got to be determined are we willing to stand and they did just that they're they're they're brought in verse 12 there are certain Jews they're told here's the accusations whom you've appointed King Nebuchadnezzar over the Affairs of the province of Babylon

here's who they are Shadrach Meshach and Abednego these men oh King pay no attention to you they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you've set up now I just want to tell you when you're accused it will often come with exaggeration and I'm serious you'll be you'll even in your own heart say like where'd you get that Shadrach mhach and Abednego they've been serving the king Faithfully they're just not willing to bow down to a false god because they believe in a true God and their faithfulness in the true God made them great government employees they were hard workers they were promoting what they did but now they're being persecuted for their faith so you've got got to be willing to stand even if you're persecuted so now

they're given an option from King Nebuchadnezzar that looks like a merciful god because he do didn't throw them into the fire he's going to warn them one more time bow or burn look at verse four 15 now if you're ready King Nebuchadnezzar is giving them the ultimatum when you hear the sound of the horn the pipe the liar the Trigon the harp the bagpipe every kind of music to fall down and worship the image that I have made this is man-made that I have made it's well and it's good do what's good to everybody but if you do not worship what everybody else is worshiping you shall immediately be cast into the burning fiery furnace and who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands come on do you like that question who is the god is you know he would have said in Hebrew

mishel but who who what kind of God do you have because I have Neo do you see how great my God is he's 90 ft by 9 feet that's a big God where's your God H and I could only imagine Shadrach meach and abedo they're they're they're ready to preach it but this is what we're told in verse 16 Shadrach Meshach and abedo answered and said to the king oh Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter if this be so our God whom we serve is able to Deliver Us From The Burning fiery furnace and he will Deliver Us out of your hand O King but if not be it known to you oh King that we

will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up in rooted which every person that considers Journey Church their home should go through rooted rooted is an amazing experience where you get to know others and you get to know God and you get to know what God's plan is for your life and rooted the principle you learn of this experience is called the double fisted faith in one fist you hold to the promise that God can and will deliver you you hold fast to that promise you grab that fist you hold tight to that promise my God can and my God will that's why we say Central Oregon shall be saved we can look back in history the same God that when the Israelites came against the Red Sea and mountains on either side an enemy approaching it is

my God that parted the sea and allowed them to walk on dry land that same God got them to the Jordan River in which he stopped it at the time that it was overflowing so they can get into the land that he promised that's my God my God is the god that says just walk around the walls and it will come tumbling down my God is the god that uses a little boy to slay Goliath that's my God he did it before and he'll do it again I'm believing that's my God he he shall do it he will do it that's my God hold on to the promises declare it out loud speak it loud and proud but the other fist that I hold fast to if he doesn't answer my prayer the way I prayed it if he doesn't do it the way

that I thought he should do it I will not give up on this God and do what the whole world is doing I will not conform to the patterns of this world I will be transformed by the renewing of my mind that I might test what the perfect will of God is the double fisted face says my God can and will but even if he doesn't he's still God and I will always serve him for eternity because just as Paul said for me to live as Christ and if I die that's just a game so go ahead and throw me into the fire go ahead and test my God cuz you're not testing me now I just I need to paint this picture for us Church please pretty please Shadrach meach and Abednego they did not protest the king there was not a

revolt against the evil way of the king can we just see this clearly that these guys did not get out the word of God and beat people with the truth because they bowed down to false gods they didn't shame them they didn't guilt them they didn't get on their high horse soap box and say we're better than everybody else no this is what they did they stood for the truth and people could see the that they stood for the truth when you live like Jesus and you love like Jesus it will be clear you don't need to share a meme or a real or comment on every political post I don't care how dumb that person is if the whole world bows down to nationalism you don't have to do it we are citizens of Heaven you start acting

like it I I I love our country you should vote it is a great privilege we have that God has blessed us with if you don't know who to vote for you just be praying until you mark it on your ballot you be praying and you get involved and you get engaged but you do not act like the world you got a problem with the way the world is you do what Daniel haniah Mish and Azariah did you get into politics you go change it don't just criticize those who are in leadership the higher they are in leadership the easier it is to tell them how easy it is to do their job these guys now simply just stand for the truth they don't condemn people with the truth like Leonard Raven Hill said a man who is intimate with God will not be intimidated by man a man who is intimate

with God is Not intimidated by man in a world of confusion we've got to be clear on who our God is so let's finish this up then verse 21 these men we know these three men and were Bound in their cloaks their tunics their hats and their other garments and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated it says it was seven times overheated it was perfectly completely hot the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach Meshach and bedo and these three men Shadrach Meshach and Abednego fell bound everyone say bound bound into the burning fire furnace let me just stop right there for just a moment and say some of you are bound today you are stuck could be a

generational curse of your life it could be an addiction it could be something you keep coming back to I don't know if it's something you're looking at or something you're putting into your body but some of you are bound you're stuck financially emotionally relationally spiritually you are bound but I need you to see the gospel truth of who our God is although they were thrown into the fire bound we see in verse 23 they're bound thrown into the fire verse 24 then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished he went from Angry to astonished and he rose up in haste he declared to his counselors did we not cast three men bound Into the Fire they they were in Chains they were bound there was three they answered and said to the king true O King he answered and said but I see

see four men Unbound walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt and the appearance of the fourth is like this is the only way King Nebuchadnezzar could describe it he's like a son of the Gods your faith gets real in the fire that's when you really see who God is James says that you ought to start counting all the tri in your life and find it Joy because your faith is actually being tested if your life is just easy and you've got it figured out what kind of faith is that faith in the fire is determined to say even if I die I know where I'm going to be Paul told the Corinthians that

when you believe in Jesus to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord so you don't fear death too many people have so much they're fearing today these guys went into the fire with Faith they went into the fire bound but just like Jesus Promised in John chapter 6 that when you abide in him and his word abides in you you know the truth and the truth will set you free people want to find Freedom in all the wrong places Jesus said it's hearing his word it's obeying his word that you're actually truly set free this is what I believe this is a conviction this is going to be my opinion based upon theological understandings of this I think this is a christophany I believe this is Jesus walking with them in the fire Jesus is eternal he has been he is and will forever be God when he revealed himself

as a man he came incarnate as a child through a woman this was to break the curse just as he promised in Genesis chapter 3 but I believe Jesus is revealing himself here later King Nebuchadnezzar doesn't know how to describe it later he says it's like an angel it was like an angel and there are other places in the Old Testament that Jesus is described as an angel of the Lord who else could this have been it could have been an angel it could be the Holy Spirit our Our God's described in the book of Hebrews as an all-consuming fire they went into the fire when they came out the Bible says in Daniel 3 their hair was not singed their clothing was not burned and their chains were gone when you walk with Jesus Through the Fire it's a refining it gets rid of that which was holding you back you

really see what's important one person I didn't get to mention I think he's watching this service he told me last night is Dr Scott Stevens he's the one that broke his neck where the surgeon said that he shouldn't be alive but he's alive and well and he couldn't be here today because of the extreme pain he's going through and this is what this is the this is the way he reframed his pain we talked about this at Pursuit night this past Thursday reframe your pain he says I know God is healing me because my nerves are alive so although he's in pain and he's not liking what he's going through well I know this is good because I can feel it you know sometimes there's a shift you go through the fire and all God's doing is he's refining you you know when you get that cancer diagnosis or you get that diagnosis that things are not going to get better you get that divorce notice or whatever the case is and and

you look at it through the lens of the world it looks like it's over you look at it through the lens of Faith you need Jesus if that draws you closer to Jesus I don't mean to speak this over you in any negative way maybe that was a gift you get to depend on God you get to let the world know that it's not about the things of this world the false wisdom or the things of this world so we see with these men Paul writes to the Roman Christians you know how hard it would be a Christian in Rome at the time when he writes this he says we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering is not wasted it produces endurance endurance will produce character and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through

the Holy Spirit who's been given to us may I just say this God's love is greater than suffering so if you have a choice of what to do in the suffering I want to encourage you today surrender in the suffering don't reject God don't remove God receive the gift of his love in your heart that you know what matters most I finished with the words of Jesus to you my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me there are a lot of voices vying for your attention right now could you just be still and hear from Jesus he brought you here not to leave you the same I want to ask you today have you received Jesus to be your lord and your savior there's one true God and he's revealed himself through the person Jesus that by believing him you get the power of the holy spirit with all eyes closed in this moment of just seriousness would you close your

eyes I want to ask you right now if you want to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible says you will be saved but if got to be sincere from this day forward you choose to follow Jesus to believe in him to trust in him no matter what if you want to receive the Forgiveness of your sins and even greater the gift of eternal life today would you just raise your hand up nice and high and say that's me I want to receive Jesus I want to believe in Jesus I'm done doing it on my own praise God keep your hands up praise God and if you got your hands up you could even look at me I just want to celebrate you and say praise God yes yes amen so proud of you see from this day forward you've got a God that's with you he will never leave you and never forsake you this is the beginning of greater things anymore just WR where you are just pop your hand up

and keep it up yes praise God come on listen this is a day that will change everything this is the most important decision you can make to follow Jesus the most important decision it changes the trajectory of your eternal life anybody else with eyes closed and the seriousness of this moment I just want to State a reality at this church that I love that God's doing in this generation at this time and in this region men that give their hearts to God where the enemy is trying to castrate men just like in the days of old creating Unix and say that men are dumb that men don't have a place that men have to be fools that men have to

give in their sexual desires may I just say men of God when you follow him you will change a generation you will break curses that have been upon your life and you will bless the generations after you for a thousand Generations so men that raise their hands today may I just say God is pleased with you he loves you and he wants to use you to change the world stop doing what you've been doing and start following Jesus it's that simple but it's going to be that hard is there anybody else here you're never too young you're never too old you never made so many mistakes you can't be forgiven anybody else just raise your hand nice and yeah come on let's go come on it's never too late to say I'm taking this

seriously I'm going to be a Daniel in a Daniel's day for for those who raise their hand all across the room if you've ever believed in Jesus can we just pray this out loud prayer is talking to god it's listening to God it's just a conversation with god continually it's not stopping when we say Amen it's not the end of a prayer it just means I believe what I just prayed that's what that means it means let it be so so pray this out loud with me Lord Jesus Jes I believe in you forgive me of my sins I Repent I receive the Holy Spirit reive I receive your grace reive and I receive eternal life I receive ET now just in this moment I want to pray over you right [Music] now Lord I pray that we would not be like Nebuchadnezzar and just speak it with our mouth or be remorseful of our

sin but we would repent that we would change our thinking and want more of you in our lives thank you that in the days that we're living you're giving us an opportunity to live more like you help us Jesus by the power of your Holy Spirit to accomplish your will on Earth just as is it in heaven I thank you for all this time that we got into your word I know will not go void so light your church on fire for such a time as this in Jesus name amen and amen