Committed

This morning, if you have your Bible,

turn with me to the book of Daniel, chapter three,

and we're gonna look at a few verses,

beginning in verse 13,

we're gonna read verses 13 to 18,

and then we're gonna focus just on three verses,

verses 16, 17, and 18, in just a few moments.

And I wanna preach, as the theme of the morning is today,

this entire day, about committed, being committed.

I hope you recognize, I'm sure you do,

there is a big, big difference

in saying that you're committed to something,

we call that profession,

and actually being committed to something, right?

There's a huge difference in what I say sometimes

and what we sometimes see acted out in life.

I can't tell you how many times as a pastor

I've stood at a wedding altar

and gone through vows with folk

and heard them, sometimes they request

to do their own vows,

and they read these lofty statements

or have them memorized

about how they're gonna be soulmates forever,

and they're gonna always share everything,

and they're gonna be trustworthy.

And of course, the traditional vows,

you know how that goes,

about in sickness and in death,

in joy and in sorrow,

and prosperity and adversity.

And we make these promises and say,

man, you are the one for life.

And believe it or not,

I've seen some of those contracts ended

literally in seven weeks.

I've seen many of them fall by the wayside

in less than five years.

And sadly, many, many of them,

by the time they reach 10 years or 20 years,

they've just said, you know,

we're gonna have to call it quits,

and we're gonna go our way.

And I don't mean this to put guilt

on anyone here who might be in this category.

I don't say it for that reason.

But I've even seen folk at times

make that commitment not once,

but twice and three and four,

and as many as five times.

I've known folk who've just been married

innumerable times,

and they make that same promise.

And sometimes the ending of those marriages

really and truly wasn't their fault.

But it's pretty obvious

that we don't take seriously sometimes

the commitment that we make with our mouths.

Isn't that right?

Those of you who are football fans

know that every year,

guys, toward the end of the school year,

they begin to make commitments to universities,

to Clemson, to Furman,

to South Carolina or Alabama or whatever school.

And then once the season gets underway

or is about to get underway,

they're about to go to college,

they seemingly have a change of mind and heart,

and they break those commitments

and end up playing somewhere else.

Or they go that first year,

and they discover they're not gonna be

on the field that first season,

and so they back away,

and they sign with another school

after they have met the requirement,

the NCAA.

They recommit to another school.

And of course,

we've seen it in church as well, right?

When I first started pastoring back in 1977,

if you were someone who was committed to the church,

you know the word we used then?

We don't hear much about this word anymore.

We called it faithful.

We would say,

that person is a faithful church member.

And of course,

there was a slogan that went along with that,

and most of you in here who are my age

or a little bit younger even,

you know that expression.

We used to say about those people,

they're here when?

Every time the doors are open, right?

That's what it required to be faithful.

You were there Sunday morning,

and those are the days we had Sunday night

and Wednesday night

and Tuesday or Thursday night visitation,

or they engaged in other ministries of the church,

and we said,

those are the faithful few, right?

Well, about 20 years ago,

I began to recognize that the definition,

practically speaking,

for faithful had changed.

This is long before I left the pastorate

on a full-time basis.

And I began to notice,

and I heard ministers say,

and even heard it from the mouths of members,

that really and truly,

if you showed up once or twice a month,

you could be considered faithful

because you were maintaining

some type of tie with the church, right?

I want to show you a picture this morning.

When you see this picture in scripture,

you're going to go away saying,

man, that is what committed is all about.

There won't be any argument about,

well, these guys were faithful,

and they were committed

in their relationship with God.

Let me set the stage

before I read the passage.

It's the year 586 B.C.

shortly thereafter, okay?

Nebuchadnezzar has marched

into the city of Jerusalem in Judah

for the third and last final time.

Before he's left devastation in his path,

but this time,

he utterly destroys Jerusalem.

The walls that have protected the city,

they're torn down.

They'll stay that way for 70 years.

The scripture tells us

that he killed literally thousands of folk.

He ransacks the temple,

desecrates the temple.

His soldiers go in

and take out the golden and silver vessels.

They spit literally

on the religious life

of the land of Judah.

He leaves nothing behind

but the crippled,

the maimed,

and the elderly.

He takes the brightest

and the best,

and he transports them

from Jerusalem

back to Babylon.

He has plans

for these young men.

He's going to incorporate them

into an administrative program,

teach them Babylonian culture,

and make them productive citizens

of his kingdom.

Among those who were enlisted in that program

are four names you will recognize,

Daniel,

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego.

Well,

they make it in this program.

They're faring well,

and sometime afterward,

Nebuchadnezzar,

an egomaniac,

by all rights,

comes up with this idea.

He's going to establish

a god of gold,

place it in the plain of Dura,

and at a certain time,

music is going to sound,

and he demands

that all of his subjects

bow down and worship

this god of gold.

Now,

obviously,

he knows

if he's the one

who has had the idea

of this god,

and he's the one

who has commissioned

the building

of this god,

and he is the one

who has issued

the order

that all subjects

bow and worship

this god of gold,

the chunk of gold

in Dura

is not really the god.

Who's the god?

He's the god,

right?

It's all about people

obeying him

and worshiping him

and doing what

he tells them to do.

Well,

the Bible tells us

that there were some

who refused

to bow and worship

this god of gold,

and that's where we pick up

our Bible reading

this morning.

Look with me

to Daniel chapter 3,

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

and we're reading

from verse 13

and following.

Then Nebuchadnezzar

in furious rage,

you know why he's furious?

He could not believe

that anybody

would defy him.

Look,

he's the most powerful man

from the human perspective

living on the planet

at this moment in time,

and he well knows that.

He's furious,

enraged,

and commanded

that Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

be brought.

So they brought

these men

before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar

answered and said

to them,

is it true?

He can't believe it.

Is it true,

O Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

that you do not

serve my gods

or worship

the golden image

that I have set up?

Now if you're ready

when you hear

the sound of the horn,

pipe,

lyre,

trigon,

harp,

bagpipe,

and every kind of music

to fall down

and worship

the image

that I have made

well and good.

But if you do not worship,

you shall immediately

be cast

into a burning,

fiery furnace.

Listen to this next statement.

And who is the God

who will deliver you

from my hands?

Now that's arrogance,

isn't it?

And who is the God

that can deliver you

out of my hands?

He's not asking

because he wants information.

That's a rhetorical question

of the highest order.

In his mind,

there's not a God.

You see,

he's already conquered

a lot of neighboring nations.

And those nations had God.

And those people

in those nations

appealed to their God.

But God wasn't able

to help them.

In fact,

the truth is

the people of Judah,

some of them,

no doubt men like these

in the story,

they had appealed to God.

God,

save us.

Don't let this happen.

Let us repent.

We know this is because

of our own wrongdoing.

But God,

spare us somehow.

And so Nebuchadnezzar

is just reminding them,

you prayed once

and God didn't rescue you.

And so if you

are counting on him

to come to your aid now

and rescue you

from this fire,

you had better

think again.

Look at verse 16.

We see the response.

Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego

answered and said

to the king,

O Nebuchadnezzar,

we have no need

to answer you

in this matter.

Now look up

and listen for a second.

If you hadn't already

read this story,

would you have ever

anticipated that response?

I mean,

to be honest,

you're looking in the face

of an angry man.

The Bible tells us

in other verses,

the veins in his neck

were protruding,

his face was as red as fire.

He'd ordered

that the furnace

be heated

seven times hotter

than normal

and they could look

in his eyes

until he meant business.

This is a rather

curt response,

wouldn't you say?

To the most powerful man

on the face of the earth,

we have no need

to answer you

in this matter.

Verse 17.

If this 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 to you,

O king,

that we will not

serve your gods

or worship

the golden image

that you

have set up.

Would you bow

with us this morning

in prayer?

Father,

I pray today

that you would give us

an insight

into the commitment

of these three

Hebrew men.

I pray,

Father,

that their fate

this morning

would challenge us

to be more committed

for we make this prayer

in Christ's name

and for his sake

alone.

Amen.

This morning,

I want you to

examine with me

for just a few moments

their response

because there are

three things

about their response

that I think

absolutely indicate

the reality

of their faith

and their commitment

to God.

The first thing

I'd have you to notice

is this.

they acted

instinctively

on their convictions.

Now,

I don't know

if you're somebody

who takes notes

or not,

but if you do,

I want to encourage

you to write that down.

These three points

this morning

are all rather short

and I'd encourage

you to write that down.

Here's how you know

the reality

of their faith

and their level

of commitment.

They acted

instinctively

on their convictions.

You say,

Pastor,

what do you mean?

Their response

in verse 16

is a clear indication.

They were saying

Nebuchadnezzar

to Nebuchadnezzar

the following.

Nebuchadnezzar,

we don't need

to think about this.

We don't need

to pray about this.

We don't need

to go and consult

a rabbi about this.

We don't need

to convene

a Jewish caucus.

We don't need

to consult

with anybody.

We don't need

any time

to rationalize

about our answer.

In fact,

we don't even need

to talk to you

about this

any longer

because it's

a foregoing

conclusion.

One translation

has it this way,

we're not careful

to answer

thee in this matter,

O king.

In other words,

our minds

are made up

and the only way

their minds

can be made up

at this point,

having just been challenged

and recognizing

he means business,

is that they're acting

on instinct

and that instinct

is based

on previous convictions

that they have come

to hold.

I want to tell you

something.

I hope every person

in this room

is living

on the basis

of convictions

that you have

processed

and accepted

into your life

because I want to tell you

something.

If you wait

until you're there

in the face

of trial,

you're likely

to make the wrong

decision.

They said,

we don't need

to think about it,

we don't need

to pray about it.

How many times

have you ever said

when you knew

something was wrong

already?

Well,

let me pray

about that.

It's a way

of buying time,

right?

But they don't need

to pray about it.

You know why?

Because from the time

they were little bitty

boys growing up

in Jerusalem,

their parents

had raised them

on what were known

as the ten words.

I hope you were raised

on the ten words.

For the Jew,

you know what that was?

It was the ten commandments.

From the time

they could walk

and they could talk,

they had been taught

this,

thou shalt worship

the Lord thy God

and him only

shalt thou serve.

Thou shalt worship

no graven images.

They already

had accepted

that as fact

and believed

in their heart

that if they were

to be obedient

to God

that God existed

and if they were

to be obedient

to him

there could be

room for no other

God in their life.

So it was a

foregone conclusion.

You can ask

all you want,

you can threaten

all you want,

but our minds

are made up.

We know how we feel.

We know what we believe.

We believe

in the single God

Jehovah Yahweh

and we're going

to worship

he and he alone.

Isn't it amazing

at times

how we know

the right thing

to do

but we have

trouble doing it?

I was asked

to be on a panel

years and years ago

at Anderson University

and it was a panel

of preachers

and professors

and students

and the question

was how do we

determine the will

of God

and when my time

came to speak

I remember clearly

as though it were

yesterday what I said.

I said you know

what I found in my life

it's not too hard

to know what God

wants me to do

the problem is

in doing it.

Isn't that true?

About 99%

of everything

I'll ever encounter

in life

God has already

told me in his word

he's given me

precepts

and laws

and commandments

that hey

here's how you act

here's what you do

I don't have to think

about murdering somebody

because I already know

it's wrong

I don't have to think

about stealing

I don't have to think

about committing adultery

I don't have to think

about slandering

or coveting my neighbor

because already

the scripture

has given me

conviction on which

I'm able to build

my life.

You know what

I'm surprised

I'm a little surprised

that if these men

had been Baptists

like so many of us

they might have said

well you know what

give us two days

to get back with you

on this.

I mean

they'd have felt

the heat of that furnace

and they'd said

well you know what

maybe we should

rethink this

a little bit.

I mean

you're gracious

you've given us

a chance to

comply with your orders

maybe that's God

opening a door.

Have you ever

seen us do that

kind of thing?

Where we know

clearly what we ought to do

and clearly what is

out of bounds

and what is in bounds

but we want to

think about it

and we want to

pray about it

and we want to

find a rationale

that we can somehow

dress up spiritually

and come away saying

well maybe this is

the will of God

for my life.

In fact

I know some folk

who probably would

have reasoned like this

well you know what

that idol of gold

is just gold

and it's not really

God

none of us really

believe it's God

and I can bow

and I can bow

I can ask

we ask to the

most powerful

men in the world

in terms of what

he asked me to do

but I don't have

to really worship

I mean I can just

look at the God

and I can bow

and I can pretend

to worship

but I don't have

to worship in my heart

and so I really

won't be worshiping

God

if I do what

he asked me to do

or they might have

said well

you know what

God wants me

to bring him glory

in fact

Isaiah had

already said that

that our purpose

in life is to

bring God glory

and so he might

have said well

you know what

God wants us

to bring him glory

and all my life

I've lived to bring

him glory

but if I die

I can't bring him

glory

so maybe

God doesn't want

me to die

he wants me to live

and go on

bringing him glory

right

they'd have found

perhaps a convenient

way to do

absolutely the right

thing

so it all

boils down to

this

if we're to

make right

decisions in life

we've got to

have right

convictions

let me hastily

ask you this

what are your

convictions about

God

you have any

convictions about

God

are there things

in your life

that you believe

about God

and it doesn't

matter what

comes your way

I'm not going

to change those

ideas because

these are

convictions that

are founded upon

truth that I've

read and studied

and been taught

in the word of God

and nothing is

ever going to

change that

what are your

convictions about

God

what are your

convictions about

marriage

I mean

every person here

I'm telling you

you better have

some convictions

about marriage

that you can act

on instinctively

because I'm going

to tell you something

temptation in that

realm of life

will sneak up on

you

it'll come out

of nowhere

and if you

don't already

know what

you believe

and what

you're committed

to

and have

conviction about

that

you're going

to fall prey

to an adulterous

relationship

somewhere out

there in the

future

what are your

convictions about

church

do you have

any convictions

about church

when you came

here and you

said I want to

be a member

at First Baptist

Church

if you've come

in the last

25 years

I know that

Fred Stone

would have looked

at you and said

have you got a

relationship with

the Lord Jesus

Christ

have you

repented of

your sin

and trusted

him as your

savior

and are you

going to live

for him

and they may

have asked

you to sign

the church

covenant

there's an

understanding

with most

churches

and I would

take it here

at First

Baptist

that if you

come here

you're not

going to just

have your name

on the roll

of the church

that you're

going to be

actively involved

that you're

going to gather

regularly for

worship

that you're

going to be

faithful in your

tithes and

offerings

that you're

going to use

your gifts

to the glory

of God

that this church

might accomplish

its mission

what are your

convictions about

the church

are you committed

to the church

so the first

thing I'd have

you notice is

they acted

instinctively

on their

convictions

but there's a

second thing

I want you to

notice

they had a

high view

of God

as being both

able and

active

and both

those words

are important

they had a

very high

view of

God

our God

is able

and our

God

is active

listen to

what they

said in

verse 17

our God

whom we

serve

is able

to

deliver us

he is

able

to

deliver us

able

indicates

he is

able

to

deliver us

indicates

he is

active

he is

both

able

and

he is

active

he is

willing

to

intercede

in our

behalf

I'm going

to tell you

something you

may not

agree with

this morning

but I

believe with

all my

heart I'm

right

in the

church

in this

day in

which we're

living in

the United

States

at any

rate

we are

suffering

from a

crisis

of faith

now I

don't want

to insult

anyone here

but I

want to be

straight with

you today

we're not

certain anymore

not in what

we say

but in how

we practice

our faith

what we

really do

believe about

God

there was a

time when I

was a boy

I want to

tell you I

would go to

prayer meetings

cottage prayer

meetings the

church prayer

meeting at

my church

and I

would hear

the leaders

of our

church and

the men and

women of our

church pray

and I want to

tell you

something I

had a clear

understanding when

I listened to

them pray as

a little

boy those

people believe

that God

can and will

answer they

had a belief

that God was

able to do

anything and so

they asked him

to do anything

nothing was

off limits

and when I

look at the

heroes of faith

in the scripture

those men of

God in the

scripture in the

biblical era

that's what they

believed about

God they

believed the

exact same

thing about

God that

Shadrach

Meshach

and Abednego

believed about

God our

God is

able David

a teenage boy

didn't go out

to face a

nine foot

giant not

believing God

is able

Daniel one

of these

men's friends

and cohorts

did not allow

himself to be

thrown into a

den of lions not

believing God

is able

Moses didn't

lead hundreds

of thousands

thousands of

men and

their families

out of

captivity in

Egypt without

believing our

God is able to

do anything

but I've got to

tell you today

in the church

whether we want to

admit it or not

we have a crisis

of faith

we're not exactly

sure any longer

that God is

really able

if you don't

believe it

listen to us

pray

what are you

asking for

we hardly ask

him with faith

and persistence

to do the

impossible

right

we want to

make sure that

we frame our

prayers somewhere

there in the

realm where

well that's

probably doable

for God

we pray

anemic prayers

we pray

what the

biblical writers

would consider

namby pamby

prayers

ask God

nothing

kind of prayers

you see it in

how we deal

with problems

when someone

in the church

today is going

through a struggle

in their marriage

what do we do

we want to rush

to get them to a

marriage counselor

we want to rush

to get a book

in their hand

we want to attend

a seminar

if you hear me

saying those

things are bad

you're hearing me

wrong

what I'm telling

you is this

there was a time

when we knew

our kids

or our grandkids

or people

in our circle

of friends

was in trouble

you know what

we'd do

we'd fall on our

face and we'd say

God save them

God save their

marriage

God save our

country

God save our

boys on the

battlefield

God do this

God do that

we weren't afraid

to ask him

because we had

confidence

our God

is able

I'm going to

tell you something

today

if you could

come to

recapture that

spirit and

mentality in your

mind and heart

and come to a

place that you

believe that God

is able

it would

absolutely

revolutionize

your spiritual

life

and your

church's

life

amen

if we could

just come to

see our

God is

able

not only that

our God is

able but our

God is

active

he not only

can do it

many of us

today still

think he

can do it

maybe

intellectually

but you know

what we also

think if we're

honest

that he's

probably off

hiding in the

shadows and

the wings

there are

a ton of

Christians

today who

have this

kind of

mentality

God did

some mighty

things to

begin with

he created

and framed

the universe

he put it

all in

motion

and then

guess what

he did

after the

Bible had

been written

he just

kind of

meandered

off to the

sidelines

and he's

over here

and he's

hiding in the

shadows and

the wings

and he's

started the

ball rolling

but now it's

just kind of

left up to

us

and we're

kind of

on our

own

and we're

doing our

thing

and maybe

every blue

moon

he will

intervene

into our

lives

can I tell

you

that's not

how the

men of

scripture

thought and

believed

that's not

the God

they were

committed to

and that's

the reason

Elijah in

first Kings

18 is not

afraid to

look up into

the heavens

and call

down fire

from God

that's the

reason he's

not afraid

to say

God

I'm begging

you to

show these

people once

and for all

who you

are and

do it by

sending down

fire

he believed

that God

who we should

serve is one

who is able

and active

in intervening

in our

lives on a

daily basis

do you believe

that

thirdly

they were

fully committed

to God

as Dabo

Sweeney likes

to say

they're all

in

look at

verse

18

but if

not

be it

known to

you

O king

that we

will not

serve

your gods

or worship

the golden

image that

you have

set up

but if

not

now

look up

and listen

you know

what some

of you are

probably

thinking

right now

if you're

skeptical

and you're

reading the

way I

often am

you're probably

thinking

their faith

wavered a little

bit there

didn't it

but if

not

in other

words

maybe he's

not able

to deliver

no

their faith

didn't

waver

what they're

expressing

here

is an

understanding

of how

God moves

and works

and has

worked

and will

continue to

work in

our world

it is an

expression of

their confidence

in the

sovereignty

of God

their faith

is not

wavering

when they

say but

if not

in other

words if

he doesn't

deliver us

what they're

saying is

this

that we

have looked

at human

history and

understand that

God is

sovereign we

don't call the

shots he

does and

God is free

to do whatever

God desires

to do and

it may be that

he desires to

save us to

prove to you

he is God

and if so

to God be

glory and we

praise him

but it may

just be that

God in his

sovereign wisdom

will recognize

it would be

better for us

to perish in

the fire as

a proof of

the reality of

our faith and

he will not

rescue us but

know this whether

he rescues us or

he doesn't rescue

us we are

committed to

serving him

and him

alone I

want you to

understand something

friend every time

we pray God

does not answer

the way we

desire that he

would answer or

hope perhaps that

he would answer

I want to show

you a passage and

I'm going to ask

you to turn to

this passage if

you have a

Bible you have

a device that

you can look a

passage up I

want you to read

this because I'm

almost through the

message look with

me to Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11 it's

one of my favorite

passages in all the

word of God and I

don't care who you

are here today if

you're a member a

visitor you want to

read this passage on

your own look with

me to Hebrews 11

35 to 38 would

you find that if you

have a Bible or a

device Hebrews 11

35 to 38 now

while you're

turning it up let

me set the stage

how many of you

know Hebrews 11

well you've read a

lot of times raise

your hand real high

if you're familiar

with this a lot of

you in the

sermon that's what I

suspected some

people call it God's

hall of fame some

people call it God's

who's who some

have called it the

roll call of faith

because what he does

here is my favorite

verse is verse 6

where he says

without faith it is

impossible to please

him because those

who come to him

must believe that he

exists and he is the

reward of those who

diligently seek him

it's a list of all the

great people in the

scripture of faith and

people that God has

rescued but wait a

second we overlook

these closing verses

I want you to look

with me to verse 35

the middle of the

verse and I want to

read it for you

some were tortured

refusing to accept

release so that they

might rise again to a

better life others

suffered mocking and

flogging and even

chains and imprisonment

they were stoned let

that sink in they

were sawn in two they

were killed with the

sword they went about

in skins of sheep and

goats destitute afflicted

and mistreated of whom

the world was not worthy

wandering about in

deserts and mountains

and in dens and caves

of the earth you know

what it says look up and

get this not everybody

who walked with God was

faithful to God God chose

to rescue well some of

them were sawn in two

they were boiled in oil

they were crucified

upside down they were

stoned to death they

were run through with a

sword they were beheaded

many of them escaped to

live lives that we would

deem miserable living in

caves among dead people

they wandered and then the

writer of Hebrews says

the world was not worthy of

faithful soldiers of the

cross who gave their life

to the Lord Jesus men and

women of deep deep deep

conviction and that's what

Shadrach Meshach and

Abednego were saying we

don't know if he's going to

rescue us or not we don't

have question number one about

his ability or that he could

we just don't know his

sovereign will so if we die

we die if we live to God be

the glory that's a picture of

what commitment looks like

right I pastored full time for

40 years 40 years I was on

staff about four years prior to

that I've been doing interims

now four years so you do the

quick math about 48 to 50 years

I've been involved in ministry I

can tell you without hesitation

today what has discouraged me

more than anything else in

ministry it is not adversity

from the enemy and it is not

adversity from within I was

fortunate I was always in

situations where people loved

me and cared for me and

supported me so it wasn't that

that's what you're thinking you

know what it was you was seeing

people who one day were on fire

for God and six months later you

couldn't have found them with a

seeing eye dog I mean people who

would just be so on fire and then so

cold so apathetic people who drifted

in church and out of church and to

another church and another church and

another church and another church

people who were giving great

testimonies of praises one day until

tragedy struck or they lost their job or

child went wayward or something

happened or somebody disappointed

them and then they just drifted away

drifted away that was the most

heartbreaking thing I dealt with the

last 50 years of my life just trying to

get my head around it when I was in

Statesville the year was 1978 or 9 I'd

been at Western Avenue about two years

there was a man and his wife in our

congregation by the name of Bob Byrd

his wife Shirley they had a 19 year old

boy who was in the service he came home

on leave they lived on Lake Norman he's

in a boat by himself and they're going

across Lake Norman and he's turned to

the left watching skiers in an adjacent

boat sadly he didn't notice a concrete

embankment came out into the water and

he hit it going really fast and the boat

just disintegrated they fished his body

out of the water called EMS rushed him to

Charlotte Memorial Hospital I got a call

early that evening went to their side we

just prayed till about 2 in the morning

God please save Mark about 2 in the morning

Bob turns to me in faithful Christian says

Ralph you just need to go home you got to

preach in the morning your hour from home

go home I got my car went back home

broken-hearted for my friend next day

after I preached I went back to Charlotte

by then he had begun to stabilize a little

bit they thought well we think he's going

to pull through we're not certain next 48

hours will be crucial 48 hours later they

said well he has stabilized but he's in a

deep deep coma and frankly we don't know

if he'll ever come out of it we can't keep

him here at Memorial though because his

life his bodily injuries are not threatening

at this point so they moved him to a

convalescent home in Huntersville North

Carolina Bob worked in Charlotte at a

architectural firm and every day he would

pass close by Huntersville get off the

interstate go to Huntersville see his son

going to work his wife Shirley would go

around noontime she would stay with him

several hours she would read to him hold

his hand and just talk to her son try to

get him to wake up it's now been 18 months

one Wednesday night at the prayer meeting I

see them and I say could you come by the

office for a minute we go by my office I

sit down in a couch and they sit down and

couch and chair beside me and I just said

how's it going I hadn't had a chance to

just talk with you privately for a while

how's it going how you dealing with Mark's

injury and I'll never forget that

conversation over 40 years ago he just

began to just cry uncontrollably he looks

up and he says pastor it's the hardest

thing we've ever gone through said mostly

it's killing me how it's killing his mama he

said and this is what we're praying we've

begged God we've told God God if you would

let Mark wake up if you'd let me just even

if he doesn't stay alert if he could just

wake up one more time he could look at his

mother and tell her he loved her that he

hurt her and and just give her some reason

to hope we've told God God we will love you

and praise you and serve you until the day

we die and then he just dropped his face in his

hands and he wept after about 45 seconds he

looked back up wiped the tears away and this is

what he said I'll never forget it and we've also

told God God if he never wakes up if he never says

another word if he dies tomorrow if he lives 10 years we

promise we're gonna love you and serve you forever

another 18 months passed and three years after that

accident Mark Byrd went to be with the Lord Jesus Christ he

never woke up he never spoke a word but his two parents honored

that commitment and they've been faithful to their Lord ever

since that day they never wavered in their faith they were just

like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Lord if you'll do this but

if not if not now that's commitment are you committed to God like that are

you committed to your spouse and your family like that are you

committed to the body of believers here at First Baptist Pickens like

that I'm gonna tell you this is a moment of truth for this church

because for 25 years you've had unity and solidarity and you've been united by a

great preacher and a great man but he's left us he's retired and this is a

time where we'll see what you're made of this is a time for you to pull

together more than you've ever needed to pull together in the last 25 years it's

a time for staff people to step it up it's a time for deacons and leadership to

step it up it's a time for Sunday school teachers to step it up it's a time for

everyone who names Christ as their Savior and is a member of this church to say you

know what it's not time for me to loaf it's not time for me to take a walk in

the park it's not time for me to be missing in action it's a time for me to

to be on deck all hands on deck it's a time for me to do my part it's not a time to

observe it's a time to participate it's not a time to watch it's not a time to sit

it's a time to be active I'm gonna tell you something God has gifted you and

blessed you and you owe it to him and to this church to do your very best for

him this morning we're gonna have a song play to him play and during that time I

hope you'll prayerfully consider the commitment that God would have you make

today mostly to him if you'll make the right commitment to him these other

commitments will fall in place amen what would God have you do it may be that you

look at your life and you say well I've gotten slack in my faith man COVID COVID has

given us a mentality that it's okay for us to walk away from church to be away from

church and I understand that there was a need for us at one time there may come a

need in the future for us to say you know what we're gonna worship in a

different fashion but if there was ever a time right now today that we need to be

found faithful in God's house it's this day let's bow together in prayer father

lead us and guide us today to not just put checks on a card but to really think

about what role we can play and how you've gifted us and what we can do for your

kingdom whether it's with a one or with Sunday school or music whether it's to

serve behind the scenes in a helping role God let us be our best for you let us have a

great faith Lord and believe that you're actively involved in our lives Lord I pray

today that we would be as committed to you as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego for we make

this prayer in Jesus name and for his sake amen

you