Thursday, October 1, 2015

Fireproof your Certainty

I am finding out lately that living a godly life isn’t always as easy to do as it is to preach.  I have not stumbled greatly in my walk, but even though I already knew that when we make a conscious effort to be holy and oppose the kingdom of darkness, the devil doesn’t always tuck his tail and run.  One thing is for certain to me this morning, a godly life brings opposition, a godly life sometimes causes uncertainty to creep in, and a godly life brings hard choices.
The one thing I can tell you by watching the evening news these days is that we are living in very uncertain times.  We have a financial system that cannot seem to find a solid foundation, it’s up one day down the next.  People are losing their homes, retirement savings are being decimated, unemployment abounds, and the cost of living is going through the roof.  Not just in our country, but all over the world.
We are getting very close to an administration change again.  Our current administration is terrible in my opinion and I personally have uncertainty regarding many of the possibilities for the next one. 
We live in a different society that we did 10 years ago.  Our country has always been a bastion of liberty. Liberty is freedom with responsibility.  One of the greatest truths about our country was that we understood our responsibilities and we took them seriously.  But today freedom has changed from liberty to license.  We now live in a social environment that views freedom as a license to do anything I want to do – and you can’t do anything about it.  More than 150 years ago, French Historian Alexis De Tocqueville observed this truth, as he travelled America to discover why the American experiment was so successful, he noted, “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” 
And he also noted that “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.”
It’s sad, but true; our society believes that freedom is more of a license to do what we want rather than a liberty that carries with it responsibilities, and the things our society still sees as responsibilities are not defined by a faith and morality.  That is why we see today a nation that has ceased to be great, while Russia takes our place to defeat the evil ISIS, because she has ceased to pursue goodness by the power and strength of the Living God.
We are living in challenging and uncertain times.  As we view these things, it is easy to focus only on these changes and uncertainties and become discouraged.  And at time we may even question, “Where is God in all of this?”
But we can see from His word that it is often in times of uncertainty that God shows up in unbelievable ways.
Daniel 3:1-30
In this passage of scripture, these three young men are striving to follow God, to live godly lives, the best they can as foreigners in this pagan society that worshipped multiple gods and was filled with people that were all about themselves.  Does their situation sound familiar? It sounds a lot like how Peter told us we are to live: 1 Peter 1:17 – “live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”
They knew God and had a reverent fear of Him and this helped them to live in a way that glorified the Lord.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, going about living there lives, doing their job, when times start to change.  They didn’t change, but their culture, society and circumstances changed and that made their beliefs stand out and brought about opposition.
Living a godly life will bring opposition.  This seems counter intuitive to us.  If we are living a godly life, shouldn’t we have an easy life?  Well, here is the problem with that thinking.  We confuse a blessed life with an easy life.  I fully believe that God will bless us as we live a godly life.  God’s Word speak about this all throughout.
God blesses us as we live godly lives, lives that show we “walk in his ways.”  But blessing does not always equate with ease of circumstances.  There are times when God does bless us with peaceful circumstances, but being blessed by the Lord is more about experiencing peace in His presence regardless of the circumstances that surround us.  God’s blessing is often finding comfort in the midst of Suffering.
2 Corinthians 1:5 – “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."
John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Living a godly life does not guarantee ease of life. In fact, it guarantees just the opposite.
2 Timothy 3:12 – “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”
We need to realize that as we strive to live a godly life, we are going to face opposition and persecution, especially during times of change and uncertainty.
Not only does living a godly life bring opposition, but living a godly life will bring hard choices.
These three young men had to make a choice.  They had to choose between worshiping a false idol and staying alive or worshipping the living God and most likely losing their physical life.
Now, we could make rationalizations and argue that God has given us this physical life as a gift and we should do all in our power to save our life for God’s glory, so in this case it might be ok just to outwardly bow down but not to really worship inwardly.
Exodus 20:4-5 – "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God”
Revelation 2:10 – “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
That is a tough choice for these young men.  They know what God wants them to do, but that means death.
It is not too often in this country today, that we are facing a choice that is going to risk our life, like these young men.  In many other parts of the world they do, however; Muslims who seek to live a godly life in Christ face death.  While we don’t typically face life and death choices based on living a godly life, we still face choices that are hard and could greatly affect our life.  What do you do with hard choices?
That is the choice that these 3 young men are faced with.  What choice do they have, really?  Dishonor God by bowing down and live or honor God by refusing and die.  These guys made the hard choice and the consequences were severe.
We respect that kind of stand, but really how do you make those kinds of choices in the heat of the moment like that?  I can tell you this: the responses that we make to hard choices we face that concern how we live a godly life are not made on the spur of the moment.  You have to be prepared in advance to make right choices in those moments.  We need to prepare ourselves to live godly lives in times of change and uncertainty.
And to truly live a godly life requires that we know who we believe in.  Look at what these three say to the king.
Daniel 3:17 – “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it”
They knew who they believed in and served.  They knew that the God they served was good.  They knew that the God they served was able.  They knew who it was they had put their trust and their hope in and it shows up in their actions.
They didn’t serve themselves.  They didn’t serve the king.  They served and believed in God almighty, a God who is powerful, who is able, and who is mighty to save.  They knew the God they believed in.
Who you believe in Matters!  It is not just about having faith or believing in something greater than yourself, it matters what and who you believe in.  I could put my hope in an idol, but it has no power to save me.  I could put my hope in a god that I make up, but that “god” is not able to do anything that I could not do myself.  People put their hope in things that offer no hope.
Even God is astounded by this. Listen to what He says in Isaiah 44.
Isa 44:6-7, 9, 13a, 14-15, 19
6 "This is what the LORD says--Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.  7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come--yes, let him foretell what will come.
9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless…
13 The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker…
14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. 15 It is man’s fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. …
19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"
Who are you serving?  In whom do you believe?
Is it the one true God who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ and showed His power by resurrecting from the dead never to die again?
Or is it a block of wood?
  • A block of wood in the form of our self?
  • A block of wood in the form of our job?
  • A block of wood in the form of our desires?
We say we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, as the God who came and put on flesh, the God who always was and always is and always will be, the God who resurrected from the dead to never die again, and the God who offers eternal life to all who put their trust in Him.
If we really believe in a God who is so able, then how is it that we end up worshipping other things in our actions?
So often we are like, I am like, those Pharisees that Jesus said this to in
Matthew 15:7-8
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
The reason is that we are not preparing ourselves well.  We need to be growing deep in our relationship with the Lord, in knowing truly who it is we believe in, not just knowing about who we say we believe in. When we really know Him and trust Him, He enables us to stand in the face of all things knowing that He will watch over us and protect us and if not in this life, then for the next life which is far, far more important and permanent than the life we live right now.
How do we prepare ourselves?  How do we prepare ourselves to live godly lives?
Peter tells us:
2 Peter 3:18 to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
We grow in our grace and knowledge of Him through Bible Study, prayer, worship, and service.
Peter tells us to “crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” - 1 Peter 2:2
Make corporate worship a priority.  Stating out of church worship service for extended periods of time will only weaken you in your ability to live godly lives.
Read the Word of god daily and set time to pray and establish a relationship with the God you say you love.
Start serving the Lord through the church or in your neighborhoods by being a light for His truth.
All of these actions will help us keep our focus and that divine perspective that each of us need and will prepare us to live a godly life even in uncertain and challenging times.
As we are prepared and actually do live a godly life, We are going to find that living a godly life not only brings opposition and hard choices, but that living a godly life brings blessing and peace
Even as we face opposition and hard choices.
These 3 young men had a great peace as they went to what appeared to be certain death.  But let’s look at the end of this story after they are thrown into the blazing furnace.
Daniel 3:24-30
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, O king." 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.
These three young men were able to stand firm in the strength and power and might of the Lord, trusting Him fully, even unto death, and God blessed them and glorified Himself by saving them out of the fire.
Our God is mighty to save!
But the even more amazing thing is that these young men trusted Him even if they died. That is the peace that God gives that surpasses all understanding.  Listen, there are many who will go to their death and suffer for living a godly life.  The apostles did, many missionaries throughout history have, and the way things are going some of us may too.
But we need to understand that peace and certainty does not depend on the fires that rage in our lives, our peace certainty depends on whether or not we experience His presence in the midst of those fires.

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