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Are the furnaces being stoked?

The reference being made here is to the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and the furnace found in the Book of Daniel 3:1-28…

In this account we find King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, decides that everyone under his rule must bow down to a huge statue he has had made to represent his own version of a god. This was his way of forcing all his subjects to follow the deity he chose to worship and follow after.

The king proclaimed an announcements be made that, all the people must bow down as soon as they hear the sound of all the musical instruments, and worship the gold idol. King Nebuchadnezzar further decreed that, whoever did not bow down and worship this idol would be thrown into a very hot furnace. 

That is where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come into this account. As Jewish worshippers of Jehovah, they were bound by their faith in God (the same God that Christians worship) who declares that He is the only true God, and it is a sin for His followers to worship any other gods. So as the crowd obeyed the kings orders and bowed low, they stood out for all to see when they refused to bow down.  Their enemies and rivals quickly brought this news to the king.

They reported how some Judeans who were important officials had ignored his order. And of course they made sure King Nebuchadnezzar was made aware of their names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. At this report King Nebuchadnezzar became very angry, he called for them to be brought before him. And Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t worship my gods? And that you won’t bow down and worship the gold idol I have set up?”

(The rest of the story is there for you to read in the Book of Daniel chapter 3. It is a wonderful account of how the one true God honors those who are prepared to take a stand for His true deity and authority. For a Creator God has full power to overrule any of our earthly authorities that are simply part of His creation. They are no different then you or I.) 

— As King Nebuchadnezzar planned to cast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, into the furnace he had made for their destruction, God took those same fires of destruction, and made them instead, a blaze of conviction, correction, and truth. For as God preserved those His servants, He also showed the king that He is the one true God and as a result the nation’s rules changed from demanding false worship, which leads to destruction, to the decree that the Lord God Jehovah, was to be respected and honored in every nation that King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over.

–– You may ask, “How does any of this apply to me?”

— The same spirit that was leading King Nebuchadnezzar to attack the brave followers of God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and cause them to deny their allegiance to the one true God, this same spirit is now moving many people in authority to pass regulations and laws that threaten Christians with punishment for taking a stand in public for what God’s Word tells us is true.

                       If we will refuse to bow to the laws and regulations that transgress God’s Law, we also must be prepared to suffer the consequences of angry authorities. And just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our God is able to deliver us, and more than that, He is able to turn hearts to the knowledge of the one true Creator God.

It will take great courage, and being prepared for strife and sacrifice, for the struggle is against a spirit of deception and denial of our one true God.

I will close with a question, “Is your church prepared to stand and proclaim that Romans 1:18-32 is God’s Word for us to accept as truth that can set sinners free?”

— It’s not about HAVING TO preach from these verses, it’s a question of, if the Holy Spirit led you to, would you risk it?

— These verses target all kinds of sin including; greed, hatred, jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, gossiping, pride, boasting, and disobedience. Now you may well not rile the authorities by teaching against these sins but watch out for the backlash when you include the sins from Romans 1:26&27, where it states that it is a sin for women to have sex with other women, and men to have sex with other men.

There are many in my country who would claim that as hate speech, and try to silence any who would repeat it.

— “Where are the furnaces?” you might ask. There have already been fires in other places where Bibles were burnt, as the people who burn them find God’s Word offensive. Unless the direction of things change, it won’t be long before a real attempt will be made to ban the Bible for what people will claim is hate speech contained in God’s Word.

Are you prepared to stand for God’s truth, or for safety’s sake bow to the authorities when this happens? (KK)