Unwavering Faith: Standing Firm in God's Grace

I felt that the Lord just wanted to encourage anyone that's been praying for these people for a long time. If you've got someone on your heart that's been really stubborn and you're like, "Come on, it's time!" My mom and I, we've been praying for my dad for four years. We haven't got him yet, but there's time.

The Lord showed me an image of dominoes, and it was our witness and our example that we can be setting—just the love, the joy, everything that we can be doing, those conversations—just setting up little dominoes one after the next. We don't know, just like we don't know what seeds are going to be planted, and we don't know when that domino is going to get pushed over. Then suddenly, this whole path that you've been paving, this example, this witness that you've been living by example for Jesus, it pays the whole path for this loved one that you've been praying for.

I just wanted to encourage you that through God, Father, I just want to pray for continued confidence, courage, and energy for those that are just taking a bit longer. Lord, we praise you that you've already got them in your hands. We praise you for working. We praise you that salvation is in your name, like we were singing. We trust you in that; no need to strive. So, I pray for peace, Lord, on your people as we do your work here. Readiness in our feet, keep anointing us and appointing us, Lord, in your name. Amen.

Amen, guys! Would you like to take a seat? Take a seat. Thank you, worship team! Thanks for the worship team; they're amazing.

So, hi guys! Welcome to Slip Mats. Any new bits here? Give me a wave. It's actually scary if you know; you don't feel like you need to give me a wave, but if you'd like to wave, I'm waving back at you. Thanks, Helen!

It's easier for you today; we've got Hannah and Hannah. We've previously had Helen and Helen, so they like just pairing duos. Yeah, we're just making it easy for everyone. Now we've got Hannah; we can only pair her with a Hannah. It only works that way.

Lovely to have you here! If you are new today, please fill in one of our 20 Adventure cards on your seat. There's a post box at the back by our info corner. We'd love to get in touch with you. Those emails actually come through to me, and I'm just going to send you a little "Hi, welcome" email. So, please feel free to do that and get in touch with one of our team. Myself, there's a welcome team around if you've got any questions or anything we can help with. It's just great to have you here.

Yeah, so I have just some practical stuff. I've got some bands in marriage. I love bands! I need to, um, yeah, I feel very responsible, very official actually right now. Thank you.

So, let's just pull them up. Lovely.

I publish the bands on marriage between Abigail Rose Davies and Aaron William Saturn. This is the first time of asking. If anyone knows any reason in law why they may not be married, please let us know.

So, you're actually getting married in like three weeks? Oh wow, that's rapidly! I'll pray for them.

Yeah, let's do it. I would love to. Father, we want to lift up Abby and Harry—he goes by Harry, even though his name is Aaron—and you know all his names.

So, Lord, we just want to lift them to you in their wedding preparations. I'm sure it's busy and chaotic, but we pray for joy over them in this time, that you'd put down distractions and just remind them of what this is about—becoming one in you. Father, protect them in this time, and we pray and we want to give them joy.

We're actually going to come here in a few weeks, so they're members of certain... absolutely, Lord! I pray that their church family would be surrounding them in this time, praying for them, supporting them, and we just lift them to you this morning.

Lovely! Have we got any more official announcements? No official announcements. Toilets are still on the go. Anyone there? Anyone interested? They're looking really good. We'll pop a little video on the socials. It's not safe to send everyone around there, but it's good; there are walls now. We love walls; that's good!

Yeah, I think there's going to be some heating soon. Yeah, it's small wins, isn't it? You've got to celebrate them.

But what we're going to do now is have a little time just to say hi to the people next to you. Maybe talk about, like, are you going to watch the football? What did you think about the fireworks? What are you doing else today? Just have a little chat, make yourself known, and then in a moment, we're going to hear from the wonderful Adrian for our word today. Go have a chat!

Next week, foreign. Thank you, Hannah! Bless you.

Thank you! Well, good morning, everybody! How lovely it is to see you all and that you've made it here rather than staying at home to watch the football. I'm really impressed!

I personally am a strong football fan, and I love to watch my heroes play football. The nice thing about watching matches live is that you really get the tension of the moment, don't you? You really get, "Oh my goodness me, is our team going to score? Are they going to let a goal in?" When you watch it live, you can really, really feel the tension.

But I also enjoy—I'm being a bit sad—I also enjoy watching the highlights. When you know what the result is, you can sit back, you can relax, and you can watch it knowing that you are either going to win or lose or draw. It doesn't matter what the result is, but you know it, therefore you don't feel the tension.

The reason I'm telling you that is because we're looking at summer heroes, and I'm going to be talking about three of my heroes from the Old Testament. The reason I mentioned about when you're living through the moment, you really get the tension, is that when you know the result, the tension seems to fade. It's a bit like when you watch a film for the second time through or you read a book—you know what's going to happen, therefore you miss the feel of, "Oh my goodness me, are they going to escape from this? What's going to happen?"

When I was asked to be able to do this talk and say, "You can choose any of your heroes from the Old Testament that you like," I suddenly thought, "My goodness me, it's full of people who've been successful for God, and it's full of people who've messed up but still been used successfully for God."

I'm going to choose three people who didn't mess up and were used successfully for God, but there was a real pressure point of tension in their life. It's a familiar story to many of you. I'm going to be talking about three men: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These three men—slightly digress now—I can't always get out of my head what Jay John said one time when he called them "Your Shack, My Shack, and a Bungalow." That was so that I could actually remember them in my mind. That came to me as I was looking at this, and I thought I shouldn't really say that because it's a bit irreverent, but there we are.

These three men are mentioned in the Book of Daniel, and they only come a handful of times, so it's not a great deal we know about these three people really, other than they were placed in a very, very tricky position.

We read about them in Daniel chapter three, and before we have our reading, I think I'd like to open in prayer, if I may.

Father, would you still our hearts as we come to your word? Your word is truth; your word is bold and still speaks to us today. May what I have to say today be what you want me to speak, and may the people listening have ears to hear and hearts to respond for the glory of your name, Jesus, and for the furthering of your kingdom. Amen.

So, let's go to Daniel chapter three. A bit of a long reading; I might skip a few bits of it, but here we go.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned all his creepy cronies and said to them—sorry about that, that's what my version says—he summoned all these people: listen to fat traps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations, and men of every language: as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the zither, the lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music"—that must have been quite a racket, really, when you think about it—"You must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down in worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."

A little bit later, I'm going to verse 8 now. At this time, some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O King, live forever! You've issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of all those instruments must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down in worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who pay no attention to you. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."

The King was not best pleased with this. Furious with rage, he summoned these three young men, and they were brought before him. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is this true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good! But if you do not worship, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"

I'm going to stop there because this is the tension point. The trouble is, we know this story; many of you will do in this room. You'll know what the ending is, and the pressure of this particular point in the story may well get lost as you read through it and eventually realize—and I'm not going to give a spoiler alert to those who don't know it—but they are thrown into the furnace, and they survive.

That's not what I want to focus on. I want to focus on this point on how they must have felt and what was going on in their lives right now. Because to all intents and purposes, these three young men—and they were young; they weren't very old at all—they were fit, they were educated, and they were well-schooled. They were quite capable because what King Nebuchadnezzar had done was he had really ruled the whole empire.

Some time before this, he had gone towards Jerusalem, besieged it, and destroyed the city and the temple, bringing back some of the articles. He had taken people with him—young people who he knew could serve him well in his court—and these three guys were three of those people.

So, to all intents and purposes, for these three guys, whose names are not actually Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—their names, as mentioned earlier, were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—that's the names they were given when they were born. But when they were taken into captivity, they were given different names.

Now, that means a lot to the Jewish people because your name reflects who you are. So what the king was trying to do was take away their identity.

What we've got here are three young men facing a really difficult decision, and who could blame them if they had chosen a different decision than they made? Because, as I said before, to all intents and purposes, they could appear to have been abandoned by God. God had allowed them to be taken into captivity. They were far from home, they were far from family, they were far from God, it would seem, and far from hope.

Who would blame them if they'd have said, "O King, we've got a good job in life at the moment. We're doing quite well. You've put us in a good position, and although we don't actually worship you, we will bow down to this statue. We will worship you now, and if you can forgive us and let us get on with our lives, we'll do that willingly and gratefully."

That would seem quite reasonable in the circumstances in many ways because in those days, whoever won the battle was seen that their god was greater than the people who lost the battle. So to King Nebuchadnezzar at that time, the god of the Jews was nothing because the Jews were nothing. He'd conquered them, he got them into captivity; his gods were to him more powerful.

So if the Jews are bowing down to him and his gods, their God clearly is not all-powerful and not mighty to save. So they're faced with a really difficult choice.

Let's hear what their reply actually is. Their reply is in verse 16. You can imagine probably what happened here is they might have said, "Okay, King, you've given us this choice. Let's have a little chat about it." They all got into a little huddle and said, "What are we going to do? How should we answer this question? Should we stick to our guns or should we refuse?"

Here's what they replied: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, our God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

Now, that was seriously brave. Again, real tension because they knew what that answer meant for them. They knew that that answer would infuriate the king; they'd be bound and tied and thrown into that fiery furnace, and they had no idea what the outcome was going to be.

The words they used were, "Our God is capable of saving us, but if he doesn't, we're still going to worship Him." Considering the circumstances of their lives and how things looked for them at that present time, what a statement of faith that is!

When you consider that it would appear that God had left them, abandoned them to their own devices, and that this king, who had the most powerful empire of the known world at that time, was telling them, "Bow down to me or you're going to die," they said, "No, we still choose to worship our God."

That's incredible! That's immense! What courage! What strength under pressure! What immense faith! And what an example to us! Just hold that point: Our God can save, but if he doesn't, we're not going to bow down or buckle to anyone else.

Why would they say that? Why would they have such faith at that time when all things around them suggested that God was not really doing stuff?

Well, I think there are some hints in scripture. There's nothing to say how these guys knew this. There's no prophecy written to suggest that they'd had a word from the Lord to say, "Stand strong; I'm going to deliver you." None of that is recorded, but we can make certain assumptions that I think are quite important here.

Because they were educated people, because they were well-schooled, they would have known the history of the Israelite nation. They would have heard about God and how he rescued them from Egypt. They would have heard about great heroes of their faith before them: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David—all the way through. They would have known that in the history they'd have been taught that.

But I think there's also something else they would have known because the reason that they were in captivity at that time had been prophesied. God had mentioned it earlier, and he had said, "You will be exiled to captivity because of the sins of your forefathers."

You see, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not there by chance or coincidence or bad luck; they were there by God's design. You can read about the sins of the kings that caused this in the book of 2 Kings in chapters 20, 21, and 22. It mentions all the things those kings did that caused God to banish them, and he gave a prophecy—a totally and utterly specific prophecy.

I'd like to look at one of those prophecies in Isaiah 39. We've got that slide, please. I can't read that.

Let's move. This is Isaiah talking to the king. Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: the time will come, surely, when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left," says the Lord. "And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Now, that's quite specific! I am confident that these three young men knew that prophecy, and they knew that they were there by design—that God was in control. Yes, they were suffering the punishment their forefathers brought upon them, but they also knew that God was in control of events because he'd orchestrated this one.

It's horrible to think, actually, that they were eunuchs. That's a strange thing because that means then the end of the bloodline goes as well, doesn't it? But they still stood strong in the faith, and the reason they did that is because they also—and I want to find my notes on this so I make sure—their refusal to worship the image was in full submission to God and his commandment that we read about in Exodus that says, "You shall have no other gods before me."

This commandment says, "You shall not make an idol in the form of anything in heaven or on the earth or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands."

That commandment was also being outworked in this event because Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and others were being punished for the sins of their fathers. But God was going to show them love to a thousand generations if they kept his commandments. They decided to keep his commandments.

This is not just a specific commandment for them to follow but a commandment with a wonderful promise that follows obedience to it. They understood that God's promise of love was greater than the furnace they were facing. They would rather face the fiery furnace, knowing precisely the manner in which they would die, rather than the wrath of God for failing to obey his commands.

This is why these young people are heroes to me because there was no guarantee they were going to be saved. They were living a life which seemed far from God, and God appeared to abandon them, but they still stood strong to his commands.

What a lesson for us today! Because there's a mirror image going on here, I think, in today's society. Because all the time that they were working well for the king and doing what the king wants, he tolerated them. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences, but they made their stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is and who you are, and that means you're full prone.

When the temple was first opened all that time ago, when the glory of God came, everybody fell flat on their face. This is what our God is, and they were prepared to face the fiery furnace rather than that because they knew that if they had to face the wrath of God, that was worse.

And that's why these guys are heroes to me.

So, what's the application for us today? Well, it's quite simple. Although they lived in a time when God seemed to be unimportant to the powers that controlled the world then, and he was deemed not to be Almighty or all-powerful—because after all, hadn't the Babylonian Empire defeated God's people, ransacked their city and temple, and enslaved their people?—showed that their gods were more powerful than theirs.

Do we not live in similar times where our leaders don't worship God above all else? They treat us that do as second-class citizens, whose thoughts and ideas are deemed to be outdated and irrelevant to our modern, progressive society.

The church and Christ's followers are seen as an anathema to them, and we are vehemently disliked by many people. According to them, our God has been disproved by the advances of science and the outspoken atheists who seem to hold sway in our media.

The education system teaches no God in creation, and other faiths are promoted and given prominence. Have we not, as a nation, let foreign gods from other faiths be worshiped in this land openly without challenge? And yet our God is mocked, ridiculed, and his name is used as a cuss word in books, films, and throughout the media.

For those three young men, all the while they were doing what the king wanted, all would be well. But as soon as they made a stand, they said to suffer the consequences. But they made a stand for God.

The thing is, they also would have known, surely, if they'd have known that prophecy from Isaiah, they would have known Isaiah chapter 6.

And Isaiah chapter 6 is where Isaiah has a vision of the Lord in his throne room, and Isaiah falls down, saying, "Woe to me! I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips." They knew that coming into the presence of a mighty God absolutely shatters us.

If you also want to know what coming into the presence of God means, read Revelation, where John sees the Son of Man before him and falls down as if dead. You see, coming before the living God, it says in Hebrews, is actually a fearful thing. God is Almighty and all-powerful.

I've known people who think that they can actually barter with God. They can argue with him and say, "When I get to meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." But the problem is, when you do get to meet God, you realize just who he is an