Fire Part 3, Fiery Furnace by Pastor Rob Ketterling.
All right, today we continue our fire series with a classic; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace. And earlier this week on Twitter I called it The Three Amigos and the Fuego Furnace. But you, know, hey, just having a little fun. This is a great story. If you did not grow up in Sunday School, this is one that you're going to love to hear about. And those of you that grew up in Sunday School and you know this story, this is just a classic. There's so much good here, and I want to point out some things. And we are going to read the whole chapter of Daniel Chapter 3. So if you have your Bibles, you can turn there. And I thought about it. It's a lot of scripture, but it tells the whole story, and I just want you to hear the whole thing and to be able to settle in and grab ahold of it.
I'll give you a little history of what's going on. God's people, the Israelites, okay, just so you know, God chose the Israelites, the Jewish people, so that he could bring Jesus to forgive us of our sins. So he was protecting this people group all throughout history so they could get to the moment that they would bring forth Jesus. We find the Israelite people, the Jewish people, they are in captivity. God does not want them to be in captivity, but that's where they are, and they are in that Babylonian empire. And as they're there, we see these three people, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, have a moment where they have to stand up for God. That's what we are going to look at here.
But we also see that there were other people that were taken as slaves to serve in the Babylonian empire. You may know of Daniel; Daniel and the lion's den. So these people are serving in the courts of the king in Babylon, and they are not supposed to be slaves. God wants to set them free eventually, but he's still very much involved in their everyday life. And that's where we pick up the story here. King Nebuchadnezzar is the king, and listen to what it says in chapter 3, verse 1.
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
That is an amazing story. We could just stop right there, but there is still more time, so let's go. All right.
Okay, just so you understand, the king, the king was an absolute monarch. He had absolute power. He had the ability according to this text, he had the ability to destroy people with an army that could cut you down. He had the ability to bulldoze your house and make it nothing but a pile of rubble. He had apparently a furnace that he could kill you and throw you in. If you know Daniel Chapter 6, he had a lion's den that he could throw you in and kill you. This guy was powerful.
And you've got to understand these guys are defying somebody who is the ultimate authority in the land according to what people believed. This guy had major, major power. And in the text you see that it lists all the people, the magistrates, the prefects, all these people. It is listing them over and over and over again to show you how powerful this man was, and how amazing it was that these three guys go and defy the king. If ever there was peer pressure, there was peer pressure in this situation, because anyone who was anyone was there. Okay? So in the midst of this, they say, "We are going to stand up." And it's unthinkable that they would stand up and say, "We are not going to bow. We're not going to do this. We are going to stand up and say what we believe in."
And it's interesting that in verse 8 it says that people came to the king and reported that they weren't bowing. Have you ever noticed that when you stand up for God, people report it? They report it. In Daniel Chapter 6 it talks about Daniel not bowing down in another situation, and it says people went and reported it. People will always report it. You stand up for God, and they are like, "Hey, they are not doing it."
I can remember people, when we were using the school our church used to be in a school, and we'd set up and tear down and we had portable church. And I can remember somebody calling the school district saying, "Hey, I don't know if you know this, but there is a church that meets in the school on Sundays, and I thought there is separation of church and state, and I wanted to call and let you know that they are in the school."
And they are like, "We know they are there. They pay us rent."
But they had to call. They had to make sure they let it be known, like, hey, hey, they are out there doing that.
Maybe you pray at your workplace and you pray over your lunch. I guarantee you somebody would go, "Hey, hey, they are praying. Can they pray?"
"What are they doing?"
"They are praying over their lunch. Is that legal in our company?"
"Well, it's their lunch. Did they force you to pray?"
How many know, people will say it. "I don't know. Can they do that?"
So that's what's going on. They are saying, "Hey, they're doing this. They are doing this. And we noticed they are standing up. They are standing against the crowd."
Now, it's interesting, it's interesting, if you're older than 30, 35 years old, you grew up at a time where if you stood up for God, it wasn't really that noticed. It was the norm. How many know what I'm talking about? It was the norm. You grew up. It was just assumed that you were a person of faith. It wasn't abnormal that you would believe in the things of the Bible and you'd want to stand up for God. But now today if you stand up for God, it's something that stands out. You are noticed. If you have conviction, if you have belief, if you have a stance on anything, it will stand out, because the world is coming against anyone that wants to stand up for the things of God.
I'm telling you, if you don't believe that, ask Pastor Louie Giglio who was invited to pray at the president's inauguration and said yes, and then people, people started looking through his old sermons and said, "He said this, and he said that. I can't believe you're going to have a guy like that, a pastor that would actually preach that from the Bible pray at the inauguration. Uninvite him. Don't let him pray." Because people came around and reported it. So he has to step back.
If you don't think people are still watching today and standing up for righteousness doesn't make you stand out, think about Chick fil A. You know, "Chick fil A, this is what they believe, and somebody said this, and we are going to go after them!" Come on, lighten up. It's a chicken sandwich.
Mozilla, you know, you stand up for anything, people, people, they heard it, they found it, they saw it. They'll report it, they'll let you know. That's what's happening here. Put it in context.
So they report these three. And we don't know where Daniel is. I was trying to figure out where in the world is Daniel. Because we know Daniel was part of this group of guys. And the best thing that we can figure out is that Daniel was probably on a diplomatic assignment and he was out of the area. Otherwise he would have stood up, too, for God. So Daniel in all likelihood is out of town. He's on a diplomatic assignment when this happens, and these three people are put on the spot. And to me that makes this story more believable, because Daniel doesn't always have to be the super hero for every story. Does that make sense? Somebody's like, "Where's Daniel? I don't know if I believe it."
I believe it even more because it's not like, "Here I am to save the day!" You know what I'm saying? It's like it's their moment. Daniel is not there. And Daniel is letting you know that everybody has a moment. Everybody gets their moment. And the question is will you stand up for God or not?
Now, a couple things I want to point out, and a lot of pastors will preach this passage and they will just use this point. And I don't want to miss this point, but there is a couple more that I want to give to you. But the first thing is in verses 17 and 18 they said, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.
They said, "We know that God can do the miraculous. We know that God can do the powerful and we believe that he can. And so we are not bowing to you. And even if he doesn't do that, we still are not bowing to you. It doesn't matter. We are not bowing. We know who we are loyal to." It's the "but if not," okay?
Now, if you remember, earlier in the year we had the four chairs. You know, the young Christian, the child Christian, the young adult, and the mature believer. The young adult would answer this question. He would say like, "Okay, God, I'm going to stand for you, and I'll be loyal if you protect me." Okay? He puts conditions on it. And he says, "So I'm going to stand for you, and I need a miracle. I need the idol to fall down, okay? So when I stand, you have it fall down. If it doesn't fall down, I'm out, I'm kneeling." Okay, that's the young adult Christian.
The mature believer says, "God, it doesn't matter, I'm standing up. I know you can do this, I know can you do that." Okay? Their loyalty to God is not based on an outcome, but any outcome. Okay? That's maturity. It's not based on this outcome. It's "Anything you choose, God. I'm loyal." Okay? You need to realize this. You stay loyal to God no matter what. It doesn't matter what the outcome is. That's in his hands. You stay loyal no matter what. You just serve him. And you don't put conditions on your loyalty. You say, "God, wherever you're taking me, I'm in for the journey. I'm in for the journey."
You say, "What if I lose my job?" Who cares if you lose your job? You're not on this earth to have a job. You're not there.
God's saying, "Be loyal to me."
Who cares about that job? And you let God prove himself faithful and see how he rewards you. I'm just saying, you stand up for him. You say, "Well, will I get a better job?" Any outcome. You don't know. They got promoted; you may not.
But I tell you what, you know what you'll get? You'll get to sleep at night. You'll have the respect of your friends and your family. You'll have your integrity. And you know what? God will give you rewards that will be better than money, and whatever he doesn't pay up on this side of eternity, he always settles on that side of eternity, and he's going to say, "Well done." So you just serve him no matter what it is. And don't sit there and look at a pros and cons list. Living for eternity outweighs anything that could ever be on that side. Living for eternity just outweighs it, and that's what we are going to do. So even if God doesn't deliver us in this way, we're serving God, no matter what.
That's part that's one thing. The thing that stood out to me, though, for us and for our church and for this generation, especially 30 and under, in verse 14 it says, And Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true..." And I want to focus on that. "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...? Is it true? Is it true that you would stand against me?"
And I want to tell you that the attack that the enemy is leveling against this generation that wants to stand up for Christ, the attack that you get is like, "Is it true? You really believe that? Wow! Wow! I can't believe you believe that."
I remember I was standing up and defending my faith and recently a guy looked at me and he goes, "Wow, I didn't know you guys still existed. Wow! Is it true you really believe that? Wow, I thought you guys were gone."
And I was like, "No, there is only two billion of us on the planet that believe the Word of God." Okay, but that's the attack. That's the attack.
In Genesis Chapter 3, give me a little leeway here, okay? Think about the devil talking to Adam and Eve. "Is it true? You're not going to touch that? Wow! Is it true? You really think that God... Hmm, if you were enlightened you'd touch that. Wow! Is it true you're going to be obedient?" Think about it. That's been his attack.
Jesus in the wilderness. "Is it true you're really going to the cross, huh? Wow, I could give you a shortcut. Is it true you really want to stand up? Wow! I'd take the easy way."
Okay, if that's stretching it a little bit, Acts 19, no stretching at all with this. The Apostle Paul is at the church of Ephesus. Ephesus has this temple of Artemis, okay. Temple of Artemis, roughly 24,000 people could go and worship at one time. Okay, so the Apostle Paul is establishing the church there, and they are starting to lose people to Christianity, and the people get upset because Artemis is their god. Artemis is their temple, and they've got all sorts of bad things going on. And they have this special deal going on with selling idols and all this, and they are losing money and they're losing control over the people. And I'm telling you what, any time the world says, "Is it true?" they want to have control over you and they want your money. "Is it true? Really? You believe that? Wow!"
And so here's the thing I want to point out, just because the leaders, just because the authorities, just because the scientists, just because the political parties, just because the president, just because whoever says it, doesn't mean it's true. They will throw that, "Is it true? It's undeniable. You can't dispute this fact. It's indisputable. These facts are true." Okay, I want to tell you, you can't believe what the leaders will say all the time. Sometimes they have a hidden agenda. I'm just telling you.
In Acts 19:35, it says, The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Fellow Ephesians, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash."
Think about that. He's basically saying in front of 24,000 people, "Guys, this guy Paul, he doesn't know that this is we all know that, right? Consensus says, 97 percent say this. This is it's settled law. This is the truth."
And that's the way the world attacks us. You have to learn to stand up for what you believe in because "Is it true?" is the sarcastic, just attack against you, and the world will come after you. I'm telling you right now, the world is coming. "Is it true?"
And I'll give you a few of these things. Now I'm saying this: We're not going after the world. In case you didn't know, in River Valley Church we don't say, "Everybody grab your sign, we are going to picket!" How many know, we don't do that. We are just saying be the salt. Be the light. Be different. Stand up for God. Love God. Okay? But the world is coming at us. The world. And you better be ready for this, because it's going to only intensify because they want to come at us. "Is it true?" This is why it bothers them: We believe there is one God, that there is one way to heaven. That's it.
We don't believe like if we were to say, "All roads lead to God, and anything will work."
Then they'd say, "Okay, good for you. We stand in line."
But as soon as you say in the area of salvation, they say, "Is it true? Is it true that you really believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven? Wow! Is it true?" As soon as you say that, that's like fighting words to the world. And they come after you, like, "Really? You believe that?"
You say, "Yeah, I really do. Acts 4:12 says, Salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. And I believe that. I believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through him. But the beautiful thing is he forgives everyone, including you. You could get in on this. And I believe this."
"Wow! I didn't know that you believe that. Is it true you believe creation? Wow! I thought you did you go to college? Wow! Wow! I never thought you were from Kentucky, you know. Wow!" Whatever, I just threw that out there. Sorry. Kentucky. All right. Nothing against Kentucky.
"Science says, the majority says. I mean, really! I can't believe you believe that!"
I'll say to people on evolution versus creation, I'll say, "Well, what if God created the earth in an aged state? I mean, Adam and Eve weren't embryos; they were adults. What if God created an aged earth that was ready to sustain them? What if it's intelligent design and he created that? What if God spoke and, bang, it happened? I mean, what about the unexplained first cause? What about the fact that we have missing links? What about there is nothing in intermediary forms; halfway monkey, halfway man? What about all this?"
They are like, "Wow! I can't believe you believe that. Is it true? Wow!"
Traditional marriage. 'Wow, is it true that you really believe marriage is one man, one woman?"
I started saying to people I believe in the classic definition. I like Coke classic and I like marriage classic. I believe in the procreation definition. I believe in the historical definition. I believe in the living illustration of how much Christ loved the church definition.
And they shame our teens into trying to believe something, that anything can qualify as marriage because, "Is it true? You would really believe that?"
"Yeah, I really, really believe that. I really believe that's what's best."
"Wow. Is it true that you believe life begins at conception? Wow! Really?" And even though science is starting to show that life begins at conception as we get to look inside the womb, they ignore science because it doesn't work for them that way. But they still use, "Is it true? Wow! Hmm."
Is it true? I'm telling you what, you got to learn to defend your faith and stand strong and don't let the tone some of you can hear the tone. Right now you're like, "That's exactly how my uncle talks to me." You know, my neighbor, my coworker, whatever.
All right, here's the thing you've got to understand: Verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter." Now, one translation says, "We don't have to be careful in how we answer you. Okay? What they are saying is, "We know what we believe in."
Now, we are going to be gracious in our answer, and I think this is something key for us. Let's be full of grace when we answer. We should never go, "Yeah, I believe it. Why? You want to do something about it?" No, don't do that. All right? Just say, "I do believe this. I believe it. Jesus Christ changed my life and I believe this, and I believe this to be true." And we can be gracious. But we don't have to be careful.
How many know the world has got the church answering so careful? They are kind of like, "Do you believe salvation is only in the name of Jesus?"
We are like, "Well, when you talk about salvation, do you mean salvation salvation, or other stuff, because I believe heaven is good, and heaven's good and we can all agree heaven is good. Don't we all want to go to heaven?" There you go.
And they're like, "I don't think you answered the question."
"Next question, please."
You know, like, really? I mean, we are so careful. We're like, "What do you mean salvation?"
Okay, I don't have to be careful. I have to be gracious, but I don't have to be careful. I believe this. Yes, I really do. And if I love you, I'll tell you the truth and I'll answer this with as much grace as I can give you, but I believe this. And I don't have to be careful. And Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are like, "We don't have to be careful in this. We don't have to be careful. We can just say it like it is because we believe this. There is no backing down.
I Peter 3:15 says, But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. That's how we should do it. Gentleness and respect. But I tell you what, I got the answer. I know what I believe, and I'm going to say what I believe, and I'm not backing down. But how many know the world wants to give us excuses, excuses and excuses. And a lot of Christians grab excuses like they are greatest gift that God has ever given us, and it's a sad thing.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't use any of these excuses. And they might sound familiar to you. "Well. You know, hey, guys, we're not in our homeland anymore. We are actually in Babylon. So, you know, when in Rome, do as the Romans, you know. If we were home, if we were in Israel, we totally wouldn't do this. But being here, you know, after all."
If that's your attitude, guess what? You're never home. Okay? Hebrews 13:14 says, For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. So guess what? You're always looking for your place. Okay? Don't let your location determine your loyalty. We are loyal everywhere.
Then we use the excuse of we're elected officials. "We've been elected. You know, we're elected. You know, in politics separation of church and state. I mean, you know, we are elected. We are over a lot of territory, and we can kind of leave our faith at home. And so when we're in the office we've got to kind of put that and compartmentalize that." And we have all sorts of political leaders using that excuse.
Well, you're saying, I'm not in politics. Well, guess what? People say, "Well, he's our boss."
They could have said that. "He's our boss. We work for the king."
"After all, I don't want to make the boss angry. So we'll go along with it. We will kind of do it. You know, he's our boss. He's our boss."
They could have said, "Well, on the inside we'll be standing up like crazy. On the outside we'll bow down, but on the inside total rebellion. We'll be standing up and the king won't know it, but we'll just kneel down and on the inside totally not agreeing with this."
Man, think about that. We do it on the inside. "I don't really believe that. I just kind of go along with the thing. You know, I just kind of go along."
They could have used this excuse: "You know what, I'll lose my influence. If I stand up, I'll lose my influence. I could lose my job. And after all, the job pays well and now I'm a Kingdom Builder because of that. If I lose my job, then I can't be a Kingdom Builder. Surely God would not want me to do that. After all, we're trying to raise five million dollars. And so God would really want me to be a Kingdom Builder, so I can't lose my influence. So, you know, I've got to stay there. As a matter of fact, I would never want to lose my life. If I lost my life, that would be horrible. Because how many know a dead Christian can't do any work, so you've got to stay alive if you want to make a difference."
How sad. How sad. If you think sinning makes you more effective for God, think again. Yet we use these excuses so easily. Tertullian said "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." What if we live dead and say, "Hey, guess what? We are standing up for God no matter what. We are standing up for God no matter what."
It would be so easy for the young lady in Sudan. That young lady is in prison right now for becoming a Christian and gave birth to her baby while she was in shackles. And they are going to execute her for standing up for Jesus Christ. And it would be really easy for her to say "Hey, what good can I do in this country if I die? I mean, I'm just going to go along with it, and I'm just going to live to fight another day."
They didn't use that excuse. What if they'd said, "Well, we'll repent later. It is not like it is a lifestyle. It's just one moment. We will just do it this one time. Then we'll repent, tell God we're sorry, and then we'll move on."
What if they would've said, "Everyone is doing it. Everyone's doing it. I mean, the pressure; the consensus, the scientists, the respected leaders. Man, everyone's doing it. We've got to do it."
I thank God they didn't. I thank God they stood up. I thank God that they had a backbone, and they said, "We're standing up, we don't care." And I think the amazing thing is, of course, in this story God delivers them. We know from the book of Hebrews that other people didn't get delivered in the same way, but they still got delivered. And I love it that they are getting thrown in the fiery furnace, and you need to just picture that with me. How many know, they had to have been nervous just like you and I would have been. When you have your moment to stand up for God, let me guarantee you your heart will race, your palms will be sweaty, and all your saliva will be gone. And you'll be standing there, and all the rational excuses will be rolling in your mind. You're a teenager at school. "Do you really? Is it true?" You're at the workplace. "Is it true?" You're in your neighborhood. "Is it true?" And all that, and I'm telling you what, you need to stand up. They were just like us.
And there came a moment when they were going to the furnace, I guarantee it, they were like, "It's been a pleasure serving with you. It's been a pleasure being your friend, and I'll see you on the other side of eternity. See you later." And all of a sudden they got closer and like, "Guys, I'm not feeling any heat. Guys, I'm feeling overwhelming peace. Are you feeling this peace? Are you feeling what I'm feeling? This is incredible! I think our rope they just died. The rope they're dead. We're alive! This is incredible! Who's this coming towards us? Oh, my goodness. This is incredible!"
And here's what I'm thinking, like, how in the world did God look in that moment that he looked incredible in the midst of fire? Did he look like air conditioning? I don't know. I don't know. But in that moment I'm telling you what, there was a peace, there was a joy, there was an incredible experience that they experienced with God. They had no guarantee. But I think God was like "Look at them standing up! Look at them! They are going to be an example for me forever and ever and ever. Kids are going to learn about them forever and ever and ever. Some of them are saved that way. Some I'm going to bring right into eternity. They are going to die by the fire and they will be hugged by me. But either way, they are going to come into my presence." Man, amazing things.
And here's the thing. It doesn't matter what the circumstances look like. God is in control. God is in control. Grab that from that story. Doesn't matter what the circumstances look like. God is in control. And if the world comes against you, "Is it true?" with joy you can say, "It's true." With grace, but with joy, "It's true, I believe this."
They may walk away shaking their head, but inside they are shaking in their boots because they are like, "How can these guys believe that? How can that young lady believe that? How can they really live that way?"
Man, that's how we need to live for Christ. That's how we need to live. And it's only going to get harder and harder. And so if you're under 30, I want to pray a special blessing on you. If you're older than 30, I'm telling you, you've grown up in a day and age where it was easy. Moral majority. Many of you remember the moral majority. Man, it was easy. You could go to a political rally, "Moral majority!" Now it's not there anymore. Under 30 faces a whole different pressure than if you're over 30.
So if you're under 30 here and at all of our campuses, go ahead and raise your hand. I want to pray for you right now. Under 30. I'm praying for everyone, but specifically under 30, I want to pray a blessing on you.
So, God, you see these hands that are up now. They are under 30. They are living in a world that says, "Is it true? I can't believe you would believe that. There should be many ways to God." And they are going to stand up and say there is one way to God. They are going to say, "Is it true you really want to save yourself for marriage?" Yes, it's true. That's the way they want to live. "Is it true you really believe in God's definition of marriage?"
"Yes, it's true. But I'm not mean about this. I just love what God said."
God, I pray they have the strength to stand up for you, they would have the ability to catch the attention of the world around them because of the way they live gracious lives, godly lives, lives that stand up for what's true, God. And I pray a blessing on them. May they have the backbone and the ability to stand up for righteousness. May they never deny you. Never, never deny you. May they remember if they are ashamed of you, you will be ashamed of them. That's not the way they're going to live. They are not going to live that way. They are going to live with boldness and confidence and the ability to say, "I believe this, and I love you enough to tell you the truth, and I'll be gracious. But I will always stand true for my Savior.
So blessings on them. May they stand true for you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen, amen.
