THEY WOULDN'T BOW OR BURN!!

June 5  “They Wouldn’t Bow or Burn”  Daniel 3:14-18               (Read Entire Chapter for Background)

**Please Pray for me… dealing with a stomach issue… Thank you for your prayers…**

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”  (Daniel 3:14-18)

If you have been around church very long, you have heard of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  If you remember, he had built an image, a golden idol, and when the people heard a mixture of music, they were to stop what they were doing and bow down to this golden image.  This was the “Law of the Land,” decreed by the King.  Anyone who refused to bow down would be thrown into the fiery furnace.  As the story goes, there were three young Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that refused to bow down to this image, so, the King ordered that they be thrown into the furnace.  The courage that these young men displayed was very great, for many reasons.  They had a choice.  They didn’t have to die. All that they had to do was to go against their God and please the King.  They had the courage of their convictions and they said, “NO!”  “We will not bend, we will not bow and we will not burn!”  If there ever was a time when we needed courageous young men and women, it is the times that we are living in, right this minute.  These three men had the courage to tell the King and his minions, “WE WILL NOT SERVE YOUR GODS, NOR WILL WE WORSHIP THE GOLDEN IMAGE WHICH YOU HAVE SET UP!”  They let the world know where they stood and were willing to face whatever came.  Because of Jesus and His selfless act on Calvary, for you and I, don’t we owe this lost and dying world, an example of being true to our convictions and, by faith, refuse to deny or waiver in our commitment to God?  Nebuchadnezzar said, “Bow!”  They said, “NO!”  Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone that calls themselves a Christian, had the courage of their convictions, and would stand up for God, even in the face of personal peril!”  They could have turned away, denied their God and saved themselves, yet they understood about commitment and they understood about obedience and they claimed the commandment: “Thou shalt have no other god’s before me!”  Satan is doing a “bang-up” job among God’s people today.  These young men were willing to burn for their convictions.  You see, this world, and Satan want you to waiver and to doubt and to fail in your spiritual growth and commitment, therefore displaying a poor example for this lost and dying world.  Are you bowing to the gods of this world?  Are you wavering in your faith?  Are you ready to stand in the face of the pressure to bow to the idol and to experience the “Fiery Furnace” of this life, or are you committed to stand strong and to stand up to the “Powers and Principalities of Outer Darkness,” and refuse to “BEND, BOW OR BURN?”  I pray that you are re-committing yourself to God and claiming His Promises for your life and are refusing to “Bow” to this world’s enticements and demands, EVERY SINGLE DAY!  He promised that He would take care of us, when we remain committed, just like he did for these young Hebrew men!  God loves you!  He created you so He could have fellowship with you!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused… Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!! (Re-post from August 2020)