Welcome to this week's posting of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that everyone is having a very good week.
Today, we will be studying one of the more familiar stories in the Bible. If you went to Sunday school as a child, you heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the firey furnace.
If you remember, Daniel and his companions were taken into captivity in Babylon. Even though they were in a strange land and on their own, they determined that they were going to serve the Lord and do right no matter the cost. Their committment is strongly challenged in our story this week.
King Nebuchanezzar built a large statue. He wanted everyone in the kingdom to bow down in worship towards the inage when the music began. Everyone bowed down except for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel would not have bowed down. I assume he was away on the king's business when these events occurred.
The king was furious that the three men would not bow to the image. He told them that if they did not bow, they would be put to death. The three men said that they belived that God would deliver them. However, even if God did not see fit to provide deliverance, they would still not bow to the image.
The king had the three men thrown into the furnace, and something miraculous happened. They were not harmed. In fact, Nebuchadnezzar saw them walking around, and there was a fourth man in the fire who was like the son of God.
The king brought the three men out of the fire. He praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for doing such a marvelous thing.
So, what can we learn from this story? I believe that there are at least three areas that we can focus on. First of all, the three Hebrew men were not afraid to stand up for their belief in God. They would not obey the king even if they were to suffer a gruesome death. They stood firm for the Lord.
Many of us will face challenges in our lives when it comes to the area of standing up for our faith in Jesus Christ. Some will be called upon to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Lord. When we are called upon to compromise our faith in Jesus, we need to remember the example of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. We can remember the words of Peter that it is better to obey God than men. We are not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The second thing that I want to point out is the attitude of the three men. They belived that God could deliver them, but they were ready to die if that was necessary. Their lives and destiny were totally committed to the will of God. This needs to be our attitude. Whatever the Lord has for us, we must trust that He is doing what is best. Even if we face death in this life, we know that Jesus is always with us, and He will take us to be with Him in the Father's house when we pass from this life.
This leads us to the third point that I want to make. There was a fourth man in the fire. Many Bible scholars believe that this was a preincarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus. He came to be with the faithful in the time of trial . When we are going through the roughest times in life, we can rest in the fact that Jesus said that He would never leave us, and He will never forsake us. He will deliver us in this life or the next, but He will never leave His friends nor forget about them. Amen.
Prayer Requests And Other Matters
This has been an interesting week. First of all, the Lord provided me with a car. My brother sold me his car, and I am thankful to the Lord and to my brother. The storms were not bad, and I thank you for your prayers.
Please continue to pray for an end to the Covid 19 pandemic. Pray that the sick will quickly recover.
Pray and work for an end to racism and hate.
Pray for peace in this world. Pray especially for peace in Yemen this week.
For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in Taiwan and Togo. Pray that many will experience the love of Jesus.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Friday. The verses will be posted on Monday, and I hope to have a dog book review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment