Peace in the middle of the storm . . .

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Daniel 3:24-25
All I want to write tonight is a simple truth: When you do what God says to do and you have to pay a price you will not be alone. God will be there with you, right in the fire with you.
That is all I truly have to say.
Go and read all of Daniel 3. There you find the story of three young men, in the service of THE King, who were under great pressure to serve the king's gods. How much pressure? Well go all the way back to the beginning of the book of Daniel. These three men were the brightest and finest of the Hebrew children who had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar:
“3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; 4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.
Did you catch it? They were taken from their families and homes. Their names were changed. They were given names which had meanings which supported the Chaldeans the people who captured them. Their education was changed so that they learned the language of the Chaldeans. Their food was changed as well as their clothing (do you think they were allowed to continue wearing the clothing of their homeland when they would stand before the king?). In short . . they were given a whole new identity.
Well almost . . . they still had not started to worship the gods of the Chaldeans. At least, not until now. Now they were supposed to bow and worship the gods of the Chaldeans instead of the one and true God. Perhaps we can learn something about how we loose our identity in Christ.
First we are taken from our Christian family . . . and by that I do not mean your immediate family. I define family as being all those who are in Christ. That is my true family, all those who do his will. That is how Jesus defined HIS family (Matthew 12:46-50). Then our names are changed. In our culture we are given nicknames, shortened versions of our own names. Or even worse we are called things that no child is . .. . stupid, an idiot, a fool, worthless . . .. Our clothing is changed, we do what the fashion leaders dictate. We let the world around us define how we dress. We learn how to speak to fit in. We curse because others do. We call God's name like we would a dog's. And finally we feed on what is given to us to eat . . . remember the Chaldeans gave them meat, and wine . . . remember they were taught the education of the Chaldeans, their beliefs and understandings.
So what's next for us . . . but to now serve the world's gods.
I was trapped for 3 hours in a traffic jam when people crowded the streets to get to the super bowl Ravens football victory celebration. So many people there they had to turn people away. I have yet to attend a church where people were regularly turned away because there was no more room inside.
What gods are we serving. Whatever gods they are it is a whole lot easier when we have been transformed to what the world looks like, sounds, and lives. It is a whole lot harder to then resist and worship the one and only God. It is a whole lot more difficult to say that Christ is the way to the Father. It is a whole lot more difficult to say Christ is God. It is a whole lot more difficult to say I will only be obedient to Him and Him alone. It is a whole lot more difficult to DO His will and to live it out where we live.
Yes the Hebrew boys, like us, were under a tremendous amount of pressure. But they stood firm. They withstood the pressure. And how? They chose to rely on the word of God. They chose give Him their lives . . . literally. They put His reputation, His truth on the line.
Son and daughters, brothers and sisters know this: God LOVES to be God! God LOVES to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He LOVES to show up and be with you right in the middle of the fire. As my favorite artist, Rabito sings “Paz en la media de la tormenta” . . . Peace in the middle of the storm.
Was it you that is thrown into the fire? You alone will not be in the middle of the fire. God will be with you when it is His word that you are standing in obedience to! You are not in the fire alone! The son of God is there with you. And when God is there . . . well, what can fire do to you but only burn up the rope which you are bound by.
My responsibility and yours is to rely upon God's word and do what He says and only what he says. Stand up and do not agree to do what is not God's word. Don't bow to the pressure. Get closer to God and watch Him stand with you in the fire.
Got Word?
Love yah,