You may be seated, take your Bibles, turn over to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 3 this evening, Daniel... And I read this story, I don't know if it's true or not, and sometimes I read these stories and I question whether the story is true, but I'll just tell you the story, you can determine whether it's true or not. There was a man one time who was driving, he saw a sign in front of the house and that sign said, talking dog for sale. And so he stopped his car and he rung the bell and the owner answers the door and tells him that the dog is in the backyard. And so the guy goes into the backyard and he sees a mutt there just sitting there and he looked at the dog and he said this, he said, Do you talk?" Was he surprised when the dog said, yep. And the guy recovered from the shock of hearing this dog talking. He said, so tell me, dog, what's your story? And the dog looks up and says, well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. And I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA that I could talk. So in no time at all, they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders because no one figured a dog could be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for over eight years running, but the jetting around from place to place really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger, so I decided to settle down. So I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security. Wandering near suspicious characters and listening in, I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals. He then said, I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired. And the guy was amazed. And so he goes back in and he asked the owner what he wants for this talking dog, to which the owner replied, I want $10. And the guy looked at the owner of the dog, he said, $10? That dog is amazing. To which the owner replied, I'm selling him for $10 because he's a liar, he's never done any of those things. Don't know if that story's true or not. Daniel chapter three, I was reading a story of an individual that he told a story one day that he was out with his son. Oh, we got a problem already. There you go, we good, okay. I thought I sounded a little different, now I sound a little more, Sophisticated, there we go. I read the story of a fellow one time, he was out with his son and they were out in the country and they were climbing in some cliffs and as they were climbing in some cliffs he heard a voice from above him yell, hey dad, catch me. And he turned around to see his son Jack joyfully jumping off a rock straight at him and the problem was that his son had first jumped and then he yelled, hey dad, catch me. In an instant, this whole situation became a circus act and he was barely able to catch his son and they both fell to the ground and for a moment, before this individual could get his breath, he finally looked at his son and he said, why did you do that? Give me one good reason why you jumped before calling my name." To which the son responded with a calm nature. He said, because, you're my dad. You're my dad. The fact was that his son was based, his whole assurance was based on the fact that his father was trustworthy. He could live his life to the hilt because he could trust his father. We come to an interesting passage here in Daniel chapter 3 and I believe we can almost apply that same thought here in Daniel chapter 3 that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could do what they did because they trusted their father. They believed him. They believed what he what He had said, and they believed that He could take care of them. In fact, here in verse 18, the Bible says, 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. Verse 17, He said this, Because He is able. I'll tell you this evening, we have a lot of things going on in our world, and let's face the fact, if we keep an eye on the news, sometimes we can become trouble. We kind of get worried sometimes. Sometimes we wonder, I caught just a bit of the news, I've been keeping an eye on what's taking place in Israel, and now things are going on in the northern sector. It has been for a while, but things seem to be ramping up just a little bit. Now Iran is really starting to talk, and whether this talk or there will be action, we don't know. But I turned off the radio and I thought to myself, I'm so glad that God's in control. I'm glad he's in control. I don't know what's going to happen. Who knows? By the end of this week, we may be in heaven. I don't know. And I'm okay with that. But when it's all said and done, the question is this. These individuals knew that God was able to take care of them. And can I remind you of this tonight, that God is able to take care of us. So we come to this passage here in Daniel chapter 3. It's a very familiar passage. And look, if you will, at verse 19, the Bible says, Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spake and commended them that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in the army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace. Then these men who were bound in their coats, their hose, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was a stone, and rose up in haste, and spake and said to the counsellors, Did we not cast three men bound in the midst of the fire? And they answered him to the king, True, O king! And he answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the former, the fourth, is like the Son of God. Every time I read this pastor's scripture here, I almost have to chuckle just a little bit. Anybody that's been around a fire, and certainly this was a hot fire, and the Bible says the men that cast them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire died. I've always chuckled a little bit when Nebuchadnezzar's looking into the fire and says, I see some individuals walking around in the fire. It's an amazing passage of scripture here, we see that Because of these men's faith, because of these men's ability and their courage that they possessed, that God blessed them in a great way and preserved their life. These individuals were willing to give up themselves, willing to give up their life, because they understood that He is able. I want to preach a message this evening, if I may, and I've tried not to be too long here, and it's simply this. to get on fire for Jesus. How to get on fire for God. As I said a few moments ago, we certainly live in some very interesting days, and can I tell you, if there ever was a time to be right with Jesus, today is the day. If ever there's a time to be on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ, now is the hour. We certainly do not know what the future holds, but I'll tell you this much, things are getting exciting out there, Who knows, by the end of this week, end of this month, it may be longer, we may be standing before the Lord Jesus Christ. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if we could hear those words, well done thou good and faithful servant. If we as individuals could stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and certainly He knows we're not perfect, and certainly we make mistakes, but as we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, He could look at us and He could find us faithful on fire for Jesus. Again, I want to speak this evening for a little bit on how to get on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's ask the Lord to bless. And Father, we're so thankful for this evening you've given us. We're thankful for your blessings. We're thankful for the opportunity that we have to look at your Word. And I pray tonight as we look at these three individuals, these individuals that had courage. These individuals that were willing to stand and not bow, willing to give up their life for what was right. I pray that we'd search our own hearts tonight. I pray that we would ask ourselves that same question. Lord, are we on fire for Jesus? Again, I pray I wouldn't say anything that I shouldn't say. I pray that I would be led by you. And again, I'll thank you for it. In Jesus' name, Amen. Let me ask you a question this evening. Are you on fire for Jesus? Are you on fire for Jesus? Can you say truthfully as you search your own heart tonight that, you know what, I am on fire for God? Have you ever had one of those mountaintop experiences? Maybe a special speaker comes in, maybe pastor preaches a message and the Lord touches our heart, He hits our heart, and we come to the altar, we get right with God, We go back to our seats and we go home and we make some decisions, we change some things in our life and we get to the place where we say to ourselves, you know what, it's just special to be right with Jesus. I just feel like I'm on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. It feels as if His presence is enveloping us. It seems as if His presence is near us. It seems like we're full of love, we're full of joy that we cannot contain. It seems to us that, you know, church is sweet, walking with God is special, and everything that we do, our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, we're just on that mountaintop. Just a special place to be. Seems like every thought has to do with Jesus. It seems like we just can't go too far without spending some time in prayer. We get excited about coming to church. We get excited about our fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hope that we've all been there, and I hope that you're there tonight. I hope tonight you can say, you know what, it's just special being a Christian. It's just special being a child of God. I just love being near the Lord Jesus Christ. But I think if we're honest, sometimes we're just not where we need to be. I feel like sometimes we come to the place where maybe our quiet time is just not what it needs to be. Our prayer life is just not what it needs to be. Sometimes it seems as if we come to church, we come in, we walk out those doors and there was just nothing there. It seems like maybe our fire has diminished. We look around at other Christians and it seems like they're on fire for Jesus. They love to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. We look at other individuals and they come in the doors and they're excited to open up God's Word. We hear from other people and it seems like every word out of their mouth has to deal with the Lord Jesus Christ and His goodness and His grace and His love. And we think to ourselves, oh, if I could just be like them. If I could just be in that place where I'm on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes we look and we see new converts come in. Individuals that have just gotten saved. Individuals that have just accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Man, they're just on fire for Jesus. Man, you talk to them, and there's just that glow about them, there's just that warmth about them, and they're a newcomer, and they don't know much, but you look at them, and you say to yourself, man, they just... I remember that day when I got saved, and how I just couldn't help but think about them. I couldn't help but tell other people about the Lord Jesus Christ. I couldn't wait to get into church. I couldn't wait to open God's Word and to hear from Him and to be able to speak with Him back and forth. And we look at those days and we say, oh, if only we could have that love and that fire for the Lord Jesus Christ that we once had. We kind of liken it to a young couple that are engaged. We're in the middle of that process right now, and I'm still trying to talk my daughter out of it, and I'm working on it. I'll be honest, I'm failing right now. But they, you can just tell they're just in love. Sometimes we'll be laying there, and I'll tell my wife, I'll say, it's one o'clock in the morning, why are they still talking? Why are they still on the phone? Why don't they just go to bed? But we remember those days, don't we? Remember those days when you were dating your spouse and writing those love letters? All times, all days, all hours of the day, you were thinking about them, they were thinking about you, you'd go somewhere and you'd think, oh, my wife would like that. I remember bringing stuff back to her and bringing flowers and bringing, And then you take a couple that's been married for 40, 50 years and he walks in the door and slams the door on her as she walks in. And we remember what it once was like. Sometimes the Christian life is like that too. Sometimes the more we've been with the Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes things just become mundane. Sometimes we forget how special it is to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes we forget how wonderful it is to come to church and to hear from God. Sometimes we forget how great it is to be able to get on our knees and to speak to our Heavenly Father. And we get to a place where we have lost that fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. We come to that place where we've lost that desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ work in our life. To do something special in our life. To do something special with our family. To do something special in our church. To do something special in our community and across the world. We've lost that desire and that fire to see Jesus Christ do something special in our life. We come to a very interesting passage of scripture tonight, Daniel chapter 3. I would imagine everybody here has heard it at least once or twice. I remember growing up and hearing that story over and over again in Sunday school. One of my favorite stories, I remember hearing my dad tell me the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. One of my favorite stories in the Bible. Shadrach, whose name was changed from Hananiah Meshach, whose name was changed from Mishael and then Azariah, was changed over to Abednego. We're familiar with the story, we're familiar with their courage, and certainly we are amazed at God's protection over these three individuals tonight. Let's face it, as we think of these three people tonight, Sometimes we face a lot of pressures in the Christian life, do we not? We face a lot of pressures when we try to do our best to walk with God. It seems oftentimes like the world is trying to do its best to push us its way. It seems as if the devil is trying his best to persuade us to go his way. Sometimes we just don't give enough credit to our flesh, as pastor spoke about this morning, that is so puffed up that wants to do things its own way. I think everyone here tonight could say this, that sometimes it's just hard to live the Christian life. Sometimes it's hard to be the Christian that we need to be. Sometimes it can be difficult. Here we are warring with the world, here we are warring with the devil, and here we are warring with our own flesh. You think about that war that we have with the world, certainly that's probably why Jesus told us this, that we are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may be able to prove what is that good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. And then we certainly have that war with the devil, that's why I believe the Lord told us to be sober and to be vigilant because our adversary, the devil, he's like a roaring lion, he's walking about seeking whom he may devour. Then we have that struggle with the flesh. I heard one person one time say this, I can't help it, the devil made me do it. I think if we were honest, often times we don't give enough credit to our own flesh. I believe that's why the Lord Jesus said, "...for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit lusteth against the flesh, and they are contrary the one to the other, and because of that you cannot do the things that ye would." So with the conflict with the world, and our conflict with the devil, and our conflict with the flesh, how is it that we can stay on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ? We look around and it seems as if our country is going contrary and moving quickly in the wrong direction. We look around and we see Christians that have fallen by the wayside. Individuals that at one time were faithful to the things of God, faithful to the house of God, faithful to their service to God, have quit. They have fallen by the wayside. They have given in to the world, they have given in to the flesh, they have given in to the devil. I believe that's why we need this story that we read about tonight. I believe that this story here tonight teaches us how we can get on fire for God and how we can stay on fire for God. Now get this now, we must understand that the devil and the world and the flesh, they want to extinguish our fire for God. The devil can think of nothing better than to, you know, he's okay if you want to come to church, he's okay if you want to play the part of a Christian, but the devil doesn't want somebody on fire for God because when somebody's on fire for God, great things happen for God. Souls are saved, lives are changed, and certainly the devil, and certainly the world, and certainly the flesh, they don't want us on fire for God, but that's where we need to be. In this day and age that we live, what we need is not Christians that are doing nothing. We need some Christians that say, you know what? I'm going to do what God wants me to do. In this world we live, we don't need some Christians that are as cold as ice. We need some Christians that are on fire for God. There are people out there that need Jesus. There are people out there that are hurting. There are people out there that are discouraged. There are people out there that are puzzled with all the things that are taking place. And what they need is they need some Christians that say, you know what, hey, I may not be much, I may not have much, but one thing I can have is this, I can be on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. I can be the soul winner that I need to be. I can be the father that I need to be. I can be the mother that I need to be. I can be the grandparent that I need to be. I can be the church member that I need to be. I can be on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. So how do we get on fire for Jesus? I think the first thing that we see in this passage is this, if you want to get on fire for God, you need to be different. You need to be peculiar. Of course, the Bible speaks about that word peculiar, and we don't like using that word. I remember in school, the last thing you wanted to hear from somebody was that you are peculiar. But that word peculiar doesn't mean simply this, it means to be special. But we see here that we are to be different. We are not to be like the world. We are to be different. Now, as we look at this passage of Scripture, I'm not exactly sure why Nebuchadnezzar did what he did. Certainly, as you read about Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar was a man full of pride. Nebuchadnezzar was an individual that got what he wanted to get, but in this passage of Scripture here, we see that he built a golden image some 90 feet high, And he set himself up as a god that needed to be worshipped. And the decree that went throughout all the land was this, that when the music began to play, that everyone was to bow. And if you did not bow, then that meant death in a fiery furnace. Now for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, this was a serious dilemma. It simply meant this, the decree said either you bow or you burn. I can imagine as this decree came across and as they heard this decree, there was something that came into their mind. Now, what am I going to do here? Am I going to do what's right or am I going to do what's wrong? Am I going to follow the crowd or am I going to follow Jesus? Let's face the fact, we all face those same things in life as well. Sometimes we are put in situations and we have the opportunity to stand for the Lord Jesus Christ or we have an opportunity just to follow along with everybody else. But sometimes we have the opportunity to share the Lord Jesus Christ and sometimes we could just say, you know what, I'll just be silent. And here was this situation, here was this dilemma that they were in. The same temptations that we face in this day. We see in this verse here, this passage of scripture, they could have just guarded their position. Look, if you will, at chapter 2, verse 49. These were important people. These were not nobodies in the kingdom. In chapter 2, verse 49, the Bible says, Then Daniel requested the king, and he set up Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel said, in the gate of the king. At this point in their life, they were somebody special in society. I mean, for them to disobey meant that they could lose their position in the community. Not only could they have guarded their position, but they also could have avoided persecution. I don't know about you, I can think of a lot of ways to die. Burning's not one of them. That's not the way I'd like to go. Often times, not often times, once in a while I'll look at, if you've ever read the book, Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Trail of Blood, there's a book called Martyr's Mirror and you see individuals, Christians from the past that have been burned at the stake for their convictions and for their beliefs. Sometimes I try to place myself there as they're being burned at the stake and I think to myself, what a terrible way to go. Could you imagine the individuals as the decree comes across? Hey, you can stand up for your convictions and burn or you can just go along with everybody else. They could guard their position. They could avoid persecution. They could conform to their peers. You know, everybody else is doing it, everybody else is bowing. We don't agree with it, I don't believe it, but you know what? We'll bow like everybody else does. We'll look just like everybody else. Let's face the fact today, the problem with Christianity is this, that quite often Christians are more concerned about what other people think than what God thinks. A lot of times we base our decisions not upon God's Word. We don't base our convictions upon Bible doctrine, we base our convictions upon what everybody else is doing. What everybody else thinks. A preacher from yesteryear said this, he said, see only one thing, care for only one thing, live for only one thing, be swallowed up in only one thing, and that thing is to please the Lord Jesus Christ." What great words of advice! Our whole life should not be about us. It should not be about the things of this world. It should not be about pleasing our flesh. Everything that we do should be about pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ. At our job site, it's about pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ. As we raise our family, it's about pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ. As we are faithful to Him, it's about pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ. It should be our desire in everything that we do to glorify Him. Is that not what Revelation chapter 4 and verse 11 says? We were created to bring pleasure to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we were created. I don't know about you, but my flesh likes to do a lot of things, but my flesh is contrary to the things of God. So who do I listen to? And here's Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and a decree comes across that says, hey, when the music begins to play, and everybody is to bow, they could have said, you know what, hey, I got position, I'm not gonna lose it. I got popularity, I'm not gonna lose it. My peers are doing it, and so I'm going to do it. There's going to be persecution if I don't bow, so I'm going to bow. But that's not what they did. They were all about pleasing God. That should be our desire as well. Let me ask you a question, Knight. Is everything you do about pleasing God, every decision you make, Every action you take is about making sure that God is honored and God is glorified. A great missionary of the past whose name was David Brainerd. He was an American colonial missionary to the Indians and if you did not know this, he was an individual that died at the age of 29. His diary revealed a young man who was intensely committed to God and Brainerd once said to the great Jonathan Edwards, I do not go to heaven to be advanced but to give honor to God. It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, whether I have a high seat or whether I have a low seat there. My heaven is to please God and to glorify Him and to give all to Him and to be wholly devoted to His glory. That should be our desire as well. to bring glory to him. And here was three individuals, they said, you know what, everybody else is doing it, and I got position, and I have popularity, but you know what, I'm going to do what is right. Look what we see here, they were separated individuals. They were willing to be different than everybody else around them. I don't know about you, but I don't like to be, you're going to say, well you can't help it anyways, but I don't like to be looked at as being weird. Some of you are like, it's too late, you're already there. I don't like to be the odd, odd individual in the crowd. I don't like to be, you know, the individual that stands out. But the Bible says here that they were a separated individual. Nobody wants to be different, but hey, that's what the Lord's called us to do. We are to be different. And by the way, if you're a child of God, you are different. Whether you like it or not, and whether you want to say it or not, you are a testimony to the lost and dying world. Whether it's a good testimony or a bad testimony, you are a testimony. It's at Corinthians chapter 6, the Bible says, "...wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord." And so we see here that they were separated individuals. They were going to look different. They were going to talk different. They were going to think different. They were going to stand out. And by the way, that should be our desire as well. I'm going to stand out for the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm going to stand out, I'm going to be different. And by the way, the Bible calls us to be different. Matthew chapter 5, the Bible says, you are the salt of the earth. It also says in that same passage that you are the light of the world. Remember in Sunday school, maybe you didn't and I spent so long as I was saying, I'm going to get it wrong here. I'm just not going to try anymore. Hide it under a bushel? No, I'm going to let it shine. There we go. I knew I had it somewhere deep down in my mind. I'm going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Can I tell you something? We are to let it shine. We are to let what God has done for us shine to a lost and dying world. We're to be the salt of the earth, we're to be the light of the world. The Bible says, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Not only were they separated, they took a stand. They took a stand. I can only imagine, I don't know, maybe I got too good of an imagination here, but everybody's bowing and Think about it here that music begins to play and everybody stops what they're doing, everybody starts to bow down. They all knew that Nebuchadnezzar was full of pride. But everybody starts bowing down and they're all doing what they're supposed to do and all of a sudden a guy peeks up with his right eye and whoa, there's three guys, they're just standing up right there. Can you imagine? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they stood. Everybody else bowed, but they stood straight. Think about it today. Christians everywhere in our country are bowing down to the world. They're bowing down to the flesh and they're trying to mend and to be like the world. Can I tell you what we need is some Christians that say, you know what, I'm going to stand up. I'm going to be different. I'm going to let people know what Jesus Christ has done for me. We need a place where we stand up. We stand up and we speak up. Stand for the Bible. Stand for the Word of God. Stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Stand for our convictions. That's why the Bible says, therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of Can I tell you tonight, there are some things that are worth standing for. There are some convictions that are worth standing for. The Word of God is worth standing for. what Jesus Christ has done for us and how He desires for us to live. It's worth standing for and being unmovable. So many Christians today, they're moved by the ways of the world. They're moved by their flesh and how they feel. No, we need to stand up. The Bible says that they were separated, that they took a stand. They had a desire to be different. If you've read the story of an animal, it's called an ermine. I think that's how you say it. And ermines are animals that are covered with a beautiful snow-white fur, and they are prized for their coats that they wear. When hunters go after these creatures, they will find their dens, and they will put filth and mud all around the opening, and when the hunters turn their dogs on these ermine, the animal will run for their dens. But when they come to their dens and they find their dens full of dirt and filth, they will refuse to enter and as a consequence, they are more easily caught. Why? Because they refuse to get dirty. In fact, there's a motto that comes from this animal which simply says this, death before defilement. And can I tell you tonight, that's what we need, that same level of commitment in our walk with God. Hey, no matter what, I'm going to stand. No matter what people may say, no matter what people may think. You say, well, people say something and people will look at you funny. Can I tell you, can I tell you, hey, I'd rather stand with God any day. That's what we need. We need some Christians just going to stand. Stand for what is right. Stand for the Word of God. We see here these individuals here, that they were peculiar, they were different. And if you're going to be on fire for Jesus, you've got to be different. You can't be like the world and be on fire for Jesus. You can't do that. To be on fire for Jesus, you have to be different. Not only that, but if you want to get on fire for God, you have to be determined. You have to have a purpose. I love Daniel chapter 1 verse 8. The Bible says, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. I get the context of what is taking place here. They refused to bow before this idol. And the Bible says that there were those that are around him that they were jealous. Everybody else is bowing and here's these three Hebrew men, they're not bowing as the king told them. And we know the story, as we read the story here, that they were brought before the king and Nebuchadnezzar even gave them a second chance. Earlier on we see that they were peculiar, they were different, now we see here that they were determined to stand. That's what we need. We have to have some determination. Before we said this, it's hard to be a Christian sometimes. We face pressures all around us. We have peer pressure, and we have the world that is pressing down on us, and there's so many opportunities to do the wrong thing, and to say the wrong thing, and to think the wrong thing, and to look at the wrong thing, and there's so many things out there that are pressuring us. We just need to have some determination. You know what? I'm going to stand for God. Some determination. You know, the world may go a different direction, and they will, and there will be some other individuals that may go the wrong way, but I am determined to stand. Ephesians chapter 6, the Bible says this, Wherefore, take on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. As we look at this pastor's scripture, they face some things. And by the way, the closer I believe we get to the Lord Jesus Christ coming, we're going to face some things. And sometimes we as individuals, we say, I just don't understand it. Why is it that people get so mad at Christians? Well, you know what? Jesus said they would. You know, sometimes we get surprised. We look out there, and I understand, it's kind of a shock. We look out there in the world today, we say, man, things are getting worse. I just can't believe it. Really? The Bible says they would. The Bible says things would get worse and would wax worse and worse and worse. I know it surprises us, but it shouldn't, you know, confound us like, what's going on? We know that. Sometimes we are pressured and sometimes we face what we may call persecution. These individuals here, they faced accusations. Look at verse 8, if you will. The Bible says, "...wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews." Over in verse 12, the Bible says this, Every time I read that, it reminds me of my younger brother. You know, you do something and your younger brother's right there to make sure that he tells your parents about it. Yeah, you think, yeah, I remember, maybe I shouldn't share this story, but when I was in high school, there was an individual in my high school, and it was a pretty good sized school, not as big as Finley, I think we had like 380, but in my class, there was another individual that had the same name as I did. Nathan Starr was his name. And would you believe it, this guy was a great student. He had some of the best grades you could, he made the paper all the time. Nathan Starr, top five, it was great. And my dad did not know that there was another Nathan Starr there. Now I didn't lie, I didn't say it wasn't me, but I didn't tell him it wasn't me. He'd come home and he'd pat me on the back, good job, keep it up, thanks dad. Hard work, hard work pays off, yeah. Yeah, he had good grades, he was a top notch student. And it worked for a while until one day at supper, my dad, my brother was struggling a little bit there like we all did, and he said something to this effect. He said, you need to work on your grades. And my brother looked over at my dad and he said, well, what about Nate? What about him? Well, he's doing okay. And I still remember my brother. No one you're reading about in that paper, that's not the same person. That's what's taking place here. That's what these individuals are doing right now. They're coming up before Nebuchadnezzar. Come on, Nebuchadnezzar. We're such loyal, loving individuals. We love you, Nebuchadnezzar. You're the greatest. You're wonderful. And you know what? There's three individuals. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. There's some Hebrews out there. They're not doing what they're supposed to do. They even said they're going to go against the kingdom. Going against Nebuchadnezzar. They faced accusations, and by the way, we will face accusations. Don't let that discourage you. I'm not going to serve Jesus anymore because people, they're accusing me. They accuse Jesus of things too. I mean, if they hated Jesus, guess what? They're going to hate us too. The Bible says, yea, all those that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. I don't see might. Shall suffer persecution. Now, we have to be careful because sometimes what we feel is persecution isn't really that bad. I mean, they're beheading Christians in the Middle East right now. They're shooting people in China right now for serving, for loving the Lord Jesus Christ. We haven't got there yet. But we do face some accusations. We will face some persecution. But you know what? Jesus stood for us when He died on the cross. I certainly believe that we can stand for Him because He died for us. And they face some accusations. They face some interrogation. Could you imagine as they stood before the king? We read these stories in the Bible. They're standing before the king. He's the most powerful man in the world. Nebuchadnezzar. He's the individual that came into their hometown, took them captive. He's the man that's in charge and here they stand before Nebuchadnezzar. I truly believe that Nebuchadnezzar gave him a second chance because he kind of likes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I could be wrong, he maybe did not like them, maybe he didn't care about them at all, but remember now, he's already had some run-ins with Daniel. In the previous chapter, he listened to Daniel's advice and Daniel said, hey, there's three guys that are pretty good, pretty sharp, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and the king, Nebuchadnezzar, he put them in the place that he put them. And I believe that because of who they are and the character that they had, that where they were at, things were going pretty well in that sector. I think Nebuchadnezzar said to himself, hey, come on, guys. I kind of like what you're doing. There's no problems where you're at. You're in charge, and everything's running well there. And hey, let me give you a second chance. Nobody's looking around. Why don't you just bow? Why don't you just, hey, bend the knee a little bit there? Nobody has to know. I'll give you a second chance." But I like these three individuals, they said, no, no. We're going to stand. These three men stood, they were determined, they were purposed to stand for God. What a great question we need to ask ourselves tonight. Christian, will we stand for Him? Now let's face it. I'm guilty of this, we're all guilty of this. We read stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into that fiery furnace. We read stories about Daniel being thrown in the lion's den. We read these great stories and we say to ourselves, yeah, I'd do the same thing. I'd be a David, I'd face Goliath. I'd be a Daniel and I would pray like I had before. I don't care if I get thrown in the lion's den. I'll be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I don't care about that fiery furnace. But we know the end of the story. Right? Remember Paul Harvey? And now you know the rest of the story. We know the rest of the story. We know what took place with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God preserved them. God walked with them in the fire. David killed Goliath. Daniel walked unscathed out of a lion's den. Gideon had victory. And we can go on. The list could go on and on and on. We know the rest of the story. Oh, I stand. Let me ask you a question. Are you standing for Jesus now? Are you standing for Him? If Jesus were to come tonight, would He find us unashamed of Him? Would He find us determined to follow Him? The Bible says over in 1 Peter chapter 3, "...but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as of evildoers, that they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." Are you standing up for Jesus now? Are you talking about Him now? Do you give a tract now? Do you share the gospel now? Do you tell people how good Jesus is now? Oh, I'd stand up like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Are you standing when it's easy? Man, they had accusations thrown against them. They faced intimidation. Hey, if you don't bow, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you'll burn. You'll burn. Let me ask you a question. Will you stand, no matter what? Will you be determined to stand for the Lord Jesus Christ? The Bible says they were on fire because they were peculiar. They were on fire because they had a purpose. Very quickly, if you get on fire for God, you'll be preserved. Look at verse 19, if you will. I actually looked down at verse 23. The Bible says, "...and these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound in the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king, with a stone, and rose up in the haste, and spake and said unto his counsellors, Did we not cast three men bound in the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto him, O king, true, O king. And he answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walked in the midst of the fire, and they have no herd. And the fourth of the fourth is like the Son of God." You get on fire for God, you'll be preserved. You might be preserved from the fire, you might be preserved in the fire, or you might be preserved after the fire. You see, when we go through the fire for the Lord Jesus Christ, He will be honored and we will grow as a result of this. Has anybody here Has their spirituality got better when you're on the mountaintop? I would say everybody here, their spirituality has grown in the midst of fires. In the midst of struggles, in the midst of difficulties, that is when God is honored and glorified and that's where we grow in our Christian life. 1 Peter chapter 4, the Bible says, I'll close with this, I've read the story one time of a lady by the name of Elizabeth Elliott. She wrote a book called Passion and Purity, and she's an individual whose husband, Jim Elliott, was a martyred missionary in Ecuador. And she went on with this, she said, on their first date with Jim Elliott, one of the martyrs there in Ecuador, What a great first date to go to a church meeting, huh? They went to a missionary meeting at Moody Church in Chicago late in April. The speaker was one of the daughters of the famous missionary to Africa, C.T. Studd, and she told of her father's last hours. She said he lay on his cot gazing around the little hut of his and his few possessions. And he looked at all his kids and he said, I wish that I had something to leave each of you. But then he said this. He said, but I gave it all to Jesus a long time ago. What a question to ask ourselves tonight. Are we willing to give it all to Jesus? All to Jesus I surrender. All to him I freely give. What our world needs tonight, what the lost needs tonight is some Christians that say, you know what? I'm going to be on fire for Jesus. I'm going to be on fire for Him. I'm not going to worry about the flesh. I'm not going to follow the flesh. I'm not going to follow the world. I'm going to honor and glorify Him with my life. That's what the world needs. That's what our churches need. That's what those around us need. They need to see some Christians and say, you know what? I'm going to be on fire for Jesus. But you just can't stand up and say, I'm going to be on fire for Jesus. It's going to cost a little bit. We're going to have to be different. We're going to have to be determined. That's the only way we can be on fire for Jesus. Let's bow forward and pray. Father, we're so thankful for this evening you've given us. We're thankful for your blessing. Lord, what a great example these three individuals were. Individuals that were willing to give up their life for what they believed. They were determined that they would stand. I pray that maybe we'd have some Christians here tonight. Hey, there's not any of us here that are perfect or we all make mistakes. There's times that we Say the wrong thing, we do the wrong thing, but Lord, we understand that you could use us in a great way if we're willing to change some things in our life. Lord, that we can be different, we can be determined to stand for you. I pray we'd have some Christians here tonight to say, no matter what, I'm gonna stand for Jesus. I pray now again you'd bless this invitation and we'll thank you so much for it. In Jesus' name. Amen. Let's all stand with...