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??Intro：Look over there! Thousands of important looking men just standing out there in that big open field. What is going on？And look at that man standing tall and proud in his royal robe and shining gold crown! That must be Nebuchadnezzar himself, the king of Babylon. Speaking of gold, can you believe what you're seeing in the middle of this crowd of people! Look at that statue!
??Daniel chapter 3, verse 1 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar had an image of gold made that was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, as tall as an 8-story building! Nebuchadnezzar had ordered every political and military leader to attend the dedication of this statue. So those important people you might have seen that day were princes, governors, captains, judges, sheriffs and all kinds of rulers.
??Suddenly the king's herald cried out, "To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of all the horns, flutes, harps, and other musical instruments, that you fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not bow down to this statue will immediately be cast into a burning furnace." Perhaps some eyebrows went up in shocked surprise, as the people realized that this was more than just a dedication of some statue. This was a commandment to fall down and worship an idol! And they had better be ready to do it, no matter what they thought, or they would die in a burning furnace!
??Gospel：But wait, what is God's commandment about making and worshipping idols？Exodus 20：3-5 says, "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make any graven image (for the purpose of worship). You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them：for I the LORD your God am a jealous God." Why would God be jealous？Because God is the One Who created the world, and everyone in it! He made you! He not only made you, but He has a great love for you. How could God love us so much when the Bible says we are born as sinners, selfish and wanting our own way. God's Word says that sin must be punished by everlasting death and separation from God. You and I sin everyday and we deserve that punishment for sin. But did God give us what we deserve？No, to prove His love for us, God sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ. Galatians 2：20 tells us that Jesus loved us and gave himself to take our punishment for sin. Jesus allowed cruel men to nail His hands and feet to the cross, and then after much suffering, He died. We celebrate Easter as the day that the Lord Jesus came alive again, 3 days after He died! Now the Lord Jesus is alive forever in Heaven, and when you call on Him to save you from your sin, He will! Jesus will give you His everlasting life. Link：After all God has done for you, can you see why He would be jealous that you would forget about Him and worship some lifeless piece of wood, or stone, or even gold？
??But out in the field of Dura, not far from the palace in Babylon, people were being commanded to fall down and worship a lifeless statue of gold, or they would be immediately burned to death in the king's furnace. What would you do？Please men and bow, or please God and burn？Daniel 3：7 says that at the time the people heard the sound of all the musical instruments, "all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up." All the people, every one？Is there no one who loved the true and living God enough to risk their life for Him？The God Whose Son had given His life for them？But wait, look over there! Do you see those Chaldeans running to the king？Let's see if we can hear what they're saying! Oh! They are telling the king that there are 3 Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to worship the image! Can you see the king's face？He is furious! The Bible says that the king immediately sent for the three young men.
??While they are coming, let me ask you：Who did the right thing, the thousands who bowed, or the three who did not？Would you do the right thing even if it meant you might get in serious trouble'shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to stand for God, no matter what!
??Main Teaching：If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you should be willing to stand for God, no matter what happens to you. What does it mean to "stand for God？" It means to stand up for the truth of the Bible, to obey what God says rather than what people want you to do. For example, God says He created the world and He made man in His image. Standing for God means you believe His account of creation in the Bible, not man's ideas of evolution. People may make fun of you or even hate you for standing for God. It may not be easy in this world to stand for God, but remember He is the true and living God, and He has promised a day when He will reward those who stand for Him! God says to love and serve Him with all your heart. Taking time away from computer games and sports to pray and read your Bible is a personal way to stand for God. It is not easy to stand for God, for many times you may feel you are the only one! But remember our Bible verse for today：Deuteronomy 31：6 "Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them：for the Lord your God, he it is that goes with you; he will not fail you nor forsake you." With the Lord on your side, you should be willing to stand for God, no matter what happens to you.
??Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were standing for God and refusing to bow down and worship the king's statue. Are they in trouble？It surely looks like they are in the worst kind of trouble! Can you just hear the people whispering as the 3 young men were led to the king："Are they crazy？Don't they know what is going to happen to them？Why didn't they just bow and make the king happy？After all, in their heart they could really worship their own god. Just one little bow, and they could save their lives!"
??The king knew these 3 young men very well, for they had served wisely in his government. In fact, the Bible said King Nebuchadnezzar had found Daniel and these 3 young men 10 times wiser than all his other leaders. Where Daniel was at this time, the Bible does not tell us. But we know he was not in that crowd or there would have 4 men who did not bow! The king decided to give Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego another chance to bow. So he repeated the warning："At the sound of the instruments of music, you will either bow and worship the image, or you will be immediately cast into the furnace." The king added, "And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hand？"
??To everyone's surprise the young men were ready with their answer："O King Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up."
??Main Teaching：What a bold stand they were taking! Didn't they know what would surely happen to them in the next minute？Yes, they knew very well, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had already decided that no matter what, they would stand for God. If you are a child of God, you should be willing to stand for God, no matter what.
??What is the worst thing that could happen to you because you stood boldly for God？Matthew 10：24 says, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord." Jesus is explaining that as He Himself had to suffer much mocking, shame, hatred, and even death, we as His followers could also expect the same. But our memory verse reminds us that the Lord Jesus will be with us even as we suffer for Him! God promises also that we will be rewarded for standing for Him! This life is very short compared to spending a wonderful eternity with the Lord Jesus! Remembering that you should be willing to stand for God, no matter what.
??No matter what, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had decided they must stand for God. So they didn't even have to think about what to say to the king. In front of the entire crowd of people, they boldly but respectfully answered：" ...we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up, " You can imagine how angry that made the proud king, to think that these foreigners would insult him in front of all his important leaders! Daniel 3：19 says, "Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego：therefore he ...commanded that they should heat the furnace ...seven times more than it was (usually) heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace." So the 3 young men were quickly tied up in their clothes, and with even their hats still on, they were thrown into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. The Bible says that because the fire was so hot, it killed the strong warriors that threw the young men in. So can you imagine what it did to our 3 brave boys？But wait, let's imagine we are standing beside King Nebuchadnezzar as he watches in anger. But suddenly the king jumps up in astonishment! He shouts! "Didn't we cast 3 men bound into the midst of the fire？" The counselors answered, "True, O king." "Well then, why do I see 4 men loose, walking around in the middle of the fire, and they are not even hurt, or seeming to mind the fire？And the form of the 4th man is like the Son of God!" Who was that 4th man？It was the Lord Jesus, Who promised he would never fail us nor forsake us! Remember our Bible verse？The Lord did not spare them from the fire, but He was with them in the fire!
??Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the opening of the furnace and spoke："Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come out!" The 3 young men came out and stood before the king and all the crowd. Everyone gathered close, staring at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in complete amazement. Not one hair of their head was even singed! Not even a faint odor of smoke from their bodies or their clothes!
??Do you see what the true and living God had done, boys and girls？Nebuchadnezzar had gathered all these people to bring glory to himself, but because 3 young men stood for God, the true and living God got the glory! The proud king who had been so full of self-importance now worshipped the true and living God and said to everyone present："Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him and changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own god." Then the king made a decree that if anyone spoke against the true and living God, they should be destroyed. And the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, giving them even higher positions in the kingdom of Babylon.
??If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, are you willing to stand for God, no matter what？He is the true and living God, and remember, your promotion, or reward, will come some day! This week you will be faced with deciding whether you will tell your friends about Jesus, about whether you will spend time in prayer with God and His Word, or play. Maybe you will have to make a choice to stand for God's Word or go along with what the world says. If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, be willing to stand for the true and living God, no matter what ! And remember He promises to give you the strength to do that!
??If you have never believed on the Lord Jesus, you will probably never be persecuted or suffer for Him here on earth. But the Bible says there is an everlasting punishment and separation from God, and that is worse than anything we would suffer here for Jesus. God loves you and longs to have you safely in His forever family, but because He loves you He allows you the time to choose for yourself if you will come to Him. Why not go to "How to Be a Child of God
