FAITHFUL FRIENDS - Part 5b

SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO - BELIEVING FRIENDS!

Let's continue our discovery of insights received from the amazing account of those three Hebrew friends who were unified in trusting and serving God together regardless of threats, a blazing furnace and persecution! (I urge you to read last week's blog.) We saw that BELIEVING FRIENDS ARE COMMITTED TO COMMON CONVICTIONS! Let's pick up right where we left off.

Second, BELIEVING FRIENDS CONFRONT OPPOSITION TOGETHER! - Daniel 3:13-18. On hearing of the defiance of these young men regarding his command to worship the golden image, the King of

Babylon summoned them and gave a personal command to bow down and worship the golden image (verses 13-15). The King had a certain "godless mold" that he wanted to squeeze all the Hebrews into; to push them from worshipping their God to bowing down to his. Be on your guard, for there are modern day influencers that will tempt us to disregard the God of the Bible and to embrace the "god of this world" and of their choosing! When the three Hebrew friends refused this direct command, the King was furious. Have you noticed that when ungodliness and sin are confronted by followers of Jesus, it stirs up trouble, resentments, sin, wickedness, and threats of adverse consequences? It happens today against Christians when we do not yield to the pressures found in this culture that put the squeeze on us to "just get along" with its "political correctness", fashions, and fleshly desires! Everyone of us is susceptible! The Scripture reminds us that Christians - true followers of Jesus Christ - are to be different people! "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD'S OWN POSSESSION. . . .(I PETER 2:9). "Do not love the world nor the things of this world. If anyone loves this world (culture), the love of the Father is not in him" (I John 2:15). The three friends took a stand for God together, staring right in the the face of severe persecution and probable death in the blazing furnace! If we are sincere about living our faith in Christ everyday, we too can expect great persecution! Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you . . .I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. . . .If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. . . ." (John 15:18-19). "Blessed are you when people . . .persecute you. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).

Third, BELIEVING FRIENDS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY JESUS CHRIST! - Daniel 3:19-27. The King, Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with bitter anger against these Hebrew friends for their disobedience and refusal to bow to the image that resentment, hatred and a spirit of revenge overcame him. He ordered the blazing furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he had the young men tied up and thrown into it. We now read, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in utter amazement and asked his advisors, 'Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? . . .Look! I see FOUR men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods" (Daniel 3:24-25). You might ask me, "Do you really believe this story?" My answer is: "ABSOLUTELY!"

I pause here to ask two very important questions!

1) Where is THE GOD of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego - in your life and mine? Is He first place; are we truly committed to His Lordship; are we cultivating a growing relationship with Him? Are we willing to pay the ultimate price for loving and serving Him, like the three Hebrew friends were? On the authority of God's Word I can assure you that if you love and serve Him faithfully, He is here to walk through the Fires with you!

2) Where are the Shadrachs, Meshachs, and Abednegos OF GOD today? Can we truly say with the Prophet Isaiah who told God in Chapter 6, "Here am I, Send me"? (verse 8). Perhaps a spiritual inventory of our lives, faith, commitments, and priorities is necessary to make sure we are among those like the three Hebrew friends!

Here in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before Christ came to earth through the Virgin Birth of Jesus, several miracles took place in this account of the Hebrew young men! ONE of them is the literal appearance of God's Son - The Christ! Yes, Christ, Himself, was walking with the friends in the blazing furnace! His actual appearance on earth in the Old Testament is called a CHRISTOPHONY! It means Christ Himself took on a human form to appear on earth prior to His incarnation.

Do you realize that we have the same opportunity as believers in Jesus to come together with the knowledge that Jesus will be in the midst of our Christian friendships? Jesus said, "For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matthew 18:20). The three Hebrew friends were then removed from the furnace, and they emerged completely unscathed. Now, that is a MIRACLE! There is something about going through the fires of persecution, troubles and even tribulation together that binds friends all the closer!

Fourth, BELIEVING FRIENDS CAN IMPACT AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY! - Daniel 3:28-30. "Then Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in God, defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God" (Daniel 3:28). Making a dramatic change in public policy, the King then ordered that anyone in the kingdom who said anything against the God of these Hebrew friends would be "cut into little pieces and their houses demolished." The three friends bound together as Believing Friends made a striking and truly significant difference throughout the entire Province of Babylon. It was not powerful lobbying, protests, rioting or violence on the streets of Babylon that made the King change his mind. Rather, it WAS THE POWER AND PRESENCE OF THE LIVING GOD in the lives of those who believed in and obeyed HIM! In fact, the King changed the law on who should be worshipped because three believing friends stood up in the Power of the Lord for the God of the universe!

Did you take note that there is only ONE Statement recorded in the entire Bible uttered by these three Hebrew men? But is is a powerful one! It was said in unity with one voice and attributed to all three! Here is their one statement: "Our God is able to save us, IF HE chooses. . .BUT even if he chooses not to, we're still going to serve HIM" (Daniel 3:17-18). WOW!!!!! How often have you or I said (or thought) something like, "If God doesn't answer my prayer the way I think He should, I just can't trust Him or believe in Him?" Or, "If God doesn't stop this adversity in my life, I will not accept that He is good!" Or, "If I continue to struggle after I pray, I will just choose to ignore God and go it on my own", etc. It is such a huge but very subtle lie of the devil trying to convince us that there is no God, or if there is we do not matter to Him and He does not care about us, our needs or concerns! Please follow the example of the three friends we have focused on and say with them, "We're still going to serve Him." Job said, "Though He slay me, I will still praise/trust/hope in Him" (Job 13:15).

Perhaps it is time for you to reach out to the greatest friend - the ultimate friend - who promises to be beside YOU in the midst of adversity. He tells you that He will never leave or forsake you. He is that "other Man" that remains in the fire to accompany, protect, and comfort you and me when we go through fiery trials. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." THAT FRIEND IS JESUS! ACCEPT AND TRUST IN HIM TODAY!