Standing

Daniel chapter 3 this morning, please. Daniel chapter 3. While you're turning there, thank you so much.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention Daniel 3 · chapter mention

! I want to thank Pastor for allowing me to be here this morning. I want to thank you for showing up, even though you knew I'd be here.

It is a joy to be back here again, and a joy to see so many familiar faces, and a joy to see faces I don't recognize.

So, if you don't know me yet, count your blessings, and come up after service and introduce yourself.

If I don't search you out, and I'd like to make some new friends, it's always good to make new friends.

Always good. We are back here living in Lincoln. We moved back from eastern Iowa, just south of the University of Iowa,

Boo Hawkeyes, to out here, back to Lincoln this last May, and it's kind of different.

I mean, where it used to be a six-hour drive to come over and preach here, we now can make it in about five minutes.

This is nice. And there's a Scooters along the way.

Did you know you can get coffee at Scooters today? Anyway.

And yes, we stopped at the Scooters on normal on the way here today, and so I am very, very caffeinated.

So, I asked Brother Matt when I should be shooting to be done. He said 1025.

I'm not sure, having this much caffeine in me, if the message will make it that long or not.

Oh, it will. Yeah.

Nevertheless, it is good to be here. Thank you so much for being in the house of the Lord this morning.

If you found your place in Daniel chapter 3, and I certainly should have given you enough time by going on like that,

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

would you stand with me, please, for the reading of God's Word this morning?

I'm going to read just a few verses throughout the chapter.

We're going to read Daniel chapter 3, verse number 1.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

The Bible says,

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits.

He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Now drop down to verse number 4.

Now drop down to verse number 12.

There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon.

This is men speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar and tattling, if you will, on other people.

Set over the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These men, O king, have not regarded thee.

They serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Then they brought these men before the king.

Verse number 16.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered after the king was enraged at them and accused them,

answered and said to the king,

O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee 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 thine hand, O king.

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods,

nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

We're going to pray.

And after we pray, I'm going to bring a few thoughts on standing.

Standing.

Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you so much for the beautiful, beautiful morning that you've given us.

Lord, we thank you for the fellowship that we enjoy when we come to church with each other,

the time that we can chat, the time that we can strengthen each other.

Lord, we thank you for the song service and how we can join together and lift up our voices to you in praise.

Now, Lord, I pray that you would bless the preaching of your word.

Lord, Holy Spirit, that you would fill me, that you would guide my mind, that you would control my words,

that I would say only those things that are said according to your will and in your power.

I pray that you would move amongst the seats here this morning, that you would speak to people's hearts,

that they would hear beyond my voice, to hear your still small voice speaking to their hearts.

Lord, I pray that you would convict us, that you would encourage us,

that you would strengthen us in you this morning.

Father, we pray especially if there's anyone here who does not know you as their personal Savior,

that today would be the day that they know the joy of sins forgiven.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in a bad situation.

You've got to remember the context of what's going on here.

We're used to living in a society where if we don't agree with something,

we have options to go and to make protests.

We have options to go and speak our minds at places.

We have options to vote and change the people that we have elected to serve us.

Because that's truly the way our government is set up.

Our government is not set up to rule over us.

Our government is set up.

We elect people to go to represent us,

and the government is actually supposed to serve us.

Now, your opinions on how that may or may not be working

is not necessarily applicable

because that's the way it's supposed to be set up for us.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not have that kind of situation.

They were living under an absolute monarchy.

Nebuchadnezzar was the supreme ruler,

and he was set up so that whatever he said happened.

There was no appeal.

There was no court of going back and trying again.

There was no right to speak your mind

or to seek redress somewhere else.

Whatever he said happened.

In our story, he had set up a huge golden image,

and he had commanded that worship was to be made toward that image

as if it were worship to him and of him.

In many of the pagan cultures that we read about in the Bible,

the supreme rulers were considered as gods.

This was true in Egypt.

This was true in Babylon.

This was true in Assyria.

The people that were in charge,

the absolute emperor and king,

was not only considered a ruler,

and he was an absolute ruler,

and often a tyrant,

and often very, very cruel,

but he was also considered a god,

and worship was made to that ruler.

Well, this put Shadrach,

these three Hebrews,

into a very delicate position

because they were in exile.

You've got to remember,

Babylon had come in,

they had conquered,

they had taken spoil,

they had taken prisoners,

and they had hauled them off to Babylon.

Babylon.

These were three young men

who found themselves isolated in a foreign land.

They were surrounded,

not by familiar scenes,

not by familiar places,

not by familiar people,

but they were surrounded

by things entirely strange and different.

They were surrounded by people

of a different language.

They were surrounded by people

of different society.

They were surrounded by sights and sounds

and landscapes with which

they were not familiar.

And they were surrounded by people

of a different religion.

They found themselves very isolated.

Now, they were not the only ones

taken from Judah and from Israel

into this captivity.

Nevertheless, the number in comparison

to the number of people living in Babylon,

the number of those in exile,

was very, very small.

Babylon was a very, very large city.

So you can imagine

that they felt quite intimidated.

You can imagine they felt

very out of place,

much a fish out of water.

And you can imagine

that the temptation

was very, very strong

to just go along to get along.

Keep your head down.

Don't make waves.

Don't make trouble.

Just keep quiet.

Fly under the radar, as it were.

But that's not the kind of thing

that Shadrach and Meshach

and Abednego were made out of.

That was not their character.

They were faced here

with this tremendous decision

because the decree had come down

from Nebuchadnezzar.

And to disobey was a sentence of death

that you would be thrown

into a burning, fiery furnace.

And this was no metaphor.

This was no illustration.

This was no,

well, it might happen

after you make 14 different appeals

in the courts.

As we're familiar with the story,

we know that this was something

that was an immediate thing.

You disobeyed.

You died.

So in the midst

of being out of place,

in the midst

of being terribly intimidated,

in the midst

of being threatened

in their very lives,

we find that Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abednego

when faced with a crisis point,

and oh so often

when we're reading

these stories in the Bible,

we are reading about people

who come to a crisis point

in their lives.

And sometimes multiple crisis points.

Because that's the way life is,

isn't it?

You're living your life.

You're going about your business.

You're doing things

you've normally done.

And all of a sudden,

sometimes we see it coming

and sometimes it's upon us

with no warning at all.

All of a sudden,

there is a crisis point

in our lives.

And we have to make a decision

just like Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego

had to make a decision.

We have to make a decision.

How am I going to respond to this?

What is my decision going to be

when I am faced

with this crisis point

in my life?

And when we look at

Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego,

we find that they chose

to stand.

They chose to be different.

They chose not to go along

with the crowd,

not to go along

with their society,

not to go along

with what would be

the obvious pressure

and intense pressure

upon them.

But Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

chose to stand.

Say,

why would they do

something like that?

The first thing I want you

to notice is that

standing is commanded.

Standing is commanded.

You see,

there was a problem

with these three

young Hebrews.

What Nebuchadnezzar

was telling them to do

was in direct opposition

to what their God

had told them to do.

It was not something

that they could just gloss over,

they could pass by,

but rather it was something

that was in direct violation

of what they had been taught,

the way they had been brought up,

and what God had revealed

to His chosen people.

In Exodus chapter 20,

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

verse number 4,

the Bible says,

to the Hebrew people,

to the Israelites,

thou shalt not make

unto thee any graven image

or any likeness

of anything that is

in heaven above

or that is in the earth beneath

or that is in the water

under the earth,

thou shalt not bow down

thyself to them

nor serve them,

for I, the Lord thy God,

am a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity

of the fathers

upon the children

under the third

and fourth generation

of them that hate me.

Again, in Ephesians chapter,

excuse me,

I started to jump ahead

of myself.

That's what caffeine

will do to you.

So these young Hebrews

knew what God had commanded.

They also knew

what Nebuchadnezzar

had commanded

and the crisis point

came when they had

to decide,

which direction do I turn?

But they decided

that I am going to stand

for what God has told me.

I am going to stand.

Oh, it's as if the apostle,

as the words of the apostles,

it is better,

we must obey God

rather than man.

So they stood

before the king.

We'll say,

what that's,

you know,

that's Old Testament.

Now,

that still applies

to us today.

We're not to be involved

in idolatry.

We are not to bow down

and worship other images.

We are not to have anything.

You thou shalt love

the Lord thy God

with all thy heart,

with all thy soul,

with all thy might.

He is supposed to be

first in our lives.

Well, I don't have

a statue in my apartment.

I don't have an idol

in my house.

No, but some of us

have idols

that aren't necessarily

graven images.

Some of us have an idol

of our career,

of our job,

of our income.

Some of us have an idol

of our leisure time,

our recreation.

Some of us have an idol

of sports.

Oh, I just got in trouble,

right?

Some of us have an idol

of our car,

believe it or not.

I've known people

who would not serve God

because they had to take

care of their car.

Their possessions

drove them.

Their off time

drove them.

Their career

drove them.

And, friend,

whatever we put

before God

in our life

becomes an idol.

Our relationship,

our family,

believe it or not,

our relationship

and our family,

while very, very important

and while something

that God tells us

we should treasure

and God shows us

how we should live,

if we start putting

our relationships

and our families

above God,

our families

just became an idol.

We have to make sure

that we're serving God first

and that we're doing

what God wants us to do

in dealing with

everything else

in our lives.

So we may not have

the same graven image

that they had

to bow down to,

but we do have

the danger

that we could

make ourselves

an idol.

We could decide

just like them

that when we're faced

with a crisis point

just like them,

we could make

an opposite decision.

We could decide

that I'm not going

to stand for God.

I'm not going to do

what God wants me to do.

The world out there

would like us

to live a certain way.

Society out there

would like us

to do exactly

what they do.

They would like us

to fit in,

to blend in,

to go along

with the crowd,

to bend our opinions

and our thoughts

and our actions

to the way society is

and if we disagree,

to keep our mouths shut.

They would like that.

And so we're faced

with that crisis point.

Are we going

to just go along

to get along?

Are we going to bow

to Nebuchadnezzar's idol?

Or are we going

to stand for God?

Because standing

is commanded to us

just as much

as it was commanded

to them.

In Ephesians chapter 6,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

the Bible says,

Wherefore,

take unto you

the whole armor of God

that ye may be able

to withstand

in the evil day

and having done all

to stand.

1 Corinthians chapter 15,

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

verse number 58,

Therefore,

my beloved brethren,

be ye steadfast,

unmovable,

always abounding

in the work of the Lord,

for as much as you know

that your labor

is not in vain

in the Lord.

So we are faced

with the same problem,

the same crisis point,

and we are faced

with this multiple times.

I mean,

a person only has

to turn on the news.

A person only has

to check out social media

to find out.

A person, really,

you don't even have

to do that.

You could just live

your life and go about

to find out

that society just wants,

is going one direction,

and that direction

is not God's direction.

And there is

a tremendous pressure

upon each and every

single born-again person

to just shut our mouths.

Keep quiet.

Go along with the society.

Go with the flow.

Not be different.

Not point anything out

that's wrong.

Just, again,

fly under the radar.

And that temptation

is pretty strong.

Let's face it.

There are a lot of folks

that we could probably

talk about,

we could probably think,

we might even be thinking

about right now,

and sometimes that person

may be us

who was faced

with a crisis point

and didn't stand.

Not one of us is perfect.

Not one of us

should look down

at somebody else

because all of us

are faced with

these crisis points,

and sometimes we succeed,

and sometimes we fail

because we're human,

and we mess up.

But we should look

at these three Hebrews,

and it should stir our hearts

that we should also

want to stand

as they stood

in the face

of a dark generation,

in the face of a world

that is going against God,

and quite frankly,

always has.

We think we face new things,

but the truth of the matter is

it's a recycled version

of everything

that every Christian

and born-again believer

has always faced.

It may be more intense.

It may be using new methods

and ways of going about things,

but it's the same thing

that everybody

has always faced,

always a temptation

to be quiet,

always a temptation

to sit down,

always a temptation

to go along,

always a temptation

to cave in

and compromise.

Nevertheless,

we are commanded

to stand

and to stand for God.

We are commanded.

Jesus looked at us

as it were,

looked at His disciples,

said,

ye are the light

of the world.

That's what we're

supposed to be.

We're supposed to shine

out the love of God

to a lost and dying world.

And if we are shining

that light,

there are going to be things

that are scurry away

in the darkness

that do not want

to see that light

nor appreciate that light

nor go to that light.

Nevertheless,

we are to shine out

that light.

But the temptation

and what we're,

I don't want to say forced,

but threatened to do

is to put our lights

under a bushel.

And of course,

all the kids down

at Junior Church

know the song,

This Little Am I,

I'm going to let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel,

No.

And that's easy,

it's easier to sing that

when you're a kid.

It's a little bit harder

when you're an adult

and you're dealing

with neighbors

and you're dealing

with family

and you're dealing

with work

and you're dealing

with society in general.

Nevertheless,

that's what we're called

to do.

We are called

to be the light

of the world

and shine Jesus' light.

We are called

to stand,

to stand for something,

not to stand up

and say,

this is what I am

or this is what I think,

but rather to stand up

and say,

this is what God says

and here I stand.

So standing is commanded,

not only that,

but standing is conspicuous.

Standing is conspicuous.

You can,

when I,

I don't know about you,

but when I read the Bible,

when I read in general,

my mind works

by making it almost

into a little video.

I see the events

as I'm reading.

I see the events

happening in my mind.

It becomes less

just cold black words

on a white page.

It becomes more

of a video in my mind

and it stirs my heart sometimes

and it challenges me sometimes.

I can see this scene

as it's set forth

in the Bible.

I can see this huge idol

set up in the middle

of a plain

because that's where

it said it was.

It's the middle of a plain

and in the Midwest,

we know what plains are,

don't we?

I can see this huge idol

set up in the middle

of this huge plain.

I can see thousands

and thousands of people

surrounding this idol

and they're milling

and if you've ever been

in the midst

of a large crowd,

you understand what I mean.

They're milling

and they're talking

and there's just this,

this constant hum

and buzz

of conversation

that you have trouble

making out

any particular words

because there's so many people

and there's so many conversations

and there's so much movement

that everything just blurs

into one continuous hum

of activity

and noise

and then the music

starts playing.

I don't know

if it came from a platform

next to the idol,

if it came from different stations

around the outside,

wherever it was,

the music started playing

and again,

if you've ever been

in a crowd

that's gathered together

for a specific reason,

before things start,

there's this constant hum,

there's this constant activity,

this constant rustle

of conversation,

but as things start,

that dies down.

It becomes quieter

and in my mind,

I see that movement

of that huge crowd still

and I see the conversation,

the hum of thousands

of people talking,

I hear it quiet

and in my mind's eye,

I see starting

maybe closest to the idol

or maybe closest to wherever

the music was coming from,

I see row after row

after row of people

falling to their knees,

facing this idol

and falling to their knees.

Just perhaps a wave

moving outward

from the idol.

Thousands of people

kneeling down,

except for three.

Can you imagine

what it looked like?

everybody's knelt down,

all in the surrounding area

and who knows

how large this plane was

or how many thousands

of people may have been there

and in the midst

of all these people

kneeling down

stood three figures.

You can imagine

that they drew

a lot of attention

and a lot of attention

immediately.

They stood out.

They stood up

and they stood out.

There was no hiding,

there was no drawing back,

there was no camouflage,

there was no standing

in the corner

and hoping nobody noticed.

They were on the spot.

Now the funny thing

about this is,

as I mentioned earlier,

they were not the only people

taken into captivity.

They were not the only Hebrews

and I doubt very much,

I have no way of proving this

by the Bible,

just my supposition,

so if you want to disagree

with me,

you're perfectly welcome

to disagree with me.

But I've got to imagine

that there were other Hebrews

there in that huge crowd

along with them,

but there were only three

that stood.

There were other people there

that were under the same command

to stand as these three,

but only these three stood.

In my mind's eye,

again,

I imagine somebody

who was maybe,

before the music started playing,

Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego

were surrounded by other Jews

because we tend to congregate together,

don't we?

With people of like faith,

with people of like backgrounds,

they came from the same place,

they spoke the same language.

You can imagine

that they would congregate together

even in the midst of a crowd.

And these others

knelt down.

And these three stood.

I can imagine in my mind's eye

somebody kneeling down next to them

and you'll forgive me,

I'm not going to kneel down

because once I kneel down,

I may not get back up.

But I can imagine

that they knelt down

and they looked up

and there are those three standing

and say,

Shadrach!

Shadrach,

what is the matter with you, man?

Can you not see

what's going on here?

Get down!

This is not good.

You are making the rest of us look bad.

Do you know

that King Nebuchadnezzar,

he's going to throw you in the furnace?

Do you not realize this?

And if he wants to

just because you're standing,

did you know

he might throw me in there too

even though I'm not standing?

What is wrong with you?

Can't you just get down?

Okay, don't kneel down all the way.

Can you at least crouch?

Can you at least go halfway?

Okay, you don't have to go

all the way to kneeling.

But can you at least,

you know,

maybe bend at the waist?

Do something.

Help me out here.

And I can imagine Shadrach

looking at him and saying,

what are you doing down there?

Why aren't you up here with me?

That's not where you're supposed to be.

You're supposed to be here.

You're supposed to be standing next to me.

You're supposed to be standing for God

just like me.

Can you imagine the pressure?

The pressure from knowing that what they were doing

carried the death penalty?

The pressure of knowing that everyone was looking at them?

Because there was no hiding amidst that crowd.

The pressure of knowing that other people

who should have been supporting them

and should have been standing with them

weren't.

That's a tremendous amount of pressure.

And yet in the middle of all that pressure,

in the middle of all that

intimidation,

these three men

stood strong.

You know, I've often heard

through the years that I've been saved

when people are talking about this,

I've often heard them talking about

the three Hebrew boys

or the three Hebrew children.

Can I share with you that I don't care

what age these people happen to be?

These were men.

It takes someone of character

to stand in the midst of that kind of pressure.

It takes someone of extreme character

to stand in the midst of intimidation.

It takes somebody

with a fervent love for God.

It is so easy to say,

I love God.

Stand and show me.

You can kneel and say,

I love God.

I don't believe you.

Quite frankly, the other people

kneeling next to you

don't believe you either.

There are times

where if you are going to say something,

you need to do something

to back it up.

It's time,

there are times

you have to put actions

to your words.

You know the old saying,

your talk talks

and your walk talks,

but your walk talks louder

than your talk talks?

I hope I got that right.

It's an old saying,

but it's true.

We often think of people probably

whose walk does not match their talk.

I was working in a factory one time.

Years ago,

I worked in a factory.

I worked there for 15 years

and I worked with a variety

of different people.

And there was one woman

I was working with

and she was a profane woman.

She was,

for lack of a better word,

she was vile.

I'm sorry,

that sounds really,

really harsh,

but that's a good descriptive word.

She was wicked

and her mouth was wicked

and her actions were wicked

and her opinions were wicked.

And I think you get the idea.

Working in a factory,

you can imagine,

it got pretty bad.

Well, one day,

the door opened up

and I was able to witness to her.

You got to look for your opportunities,

especially when you're at work

because my time is being paid for

by my employer.

But I saw an opportunity

and I took it.

So I witnessed to her

and she looked at me

and she said,

oh yeah,

I accepted Jesus Christ

as my personal savior

when I was a child

down in,

I think she said Missouri.

And I will tell you the truth,

she had,

I'm surprised she didn't get insulted

because I stood there

with my mouth hanging wide open.

Do you believe her?

It's not my place to judge her.

It's really not.

But can I tell you

that the way she acted

and what she told me

didn't match.

What we say we are

should be evident

by what we do.

People should never be shocked

to find out we're a Christian.

People should never be shocked

to find out that we love Jesus.

Everything about us,

the Bible calls it

our conversation.

When we think of conversation,

we think of what we say.

The Bible,

when it uses the word conversation,

means the entirety of our being.

Everything about us that speaks.

And our actions speak,

as the saying,

again,

saying goes,

our actions speak louder than words.

They should never,

people should never be surprised.

Our actions,

what we do,

should always match up

with what we say.

If we do that though,

we're going to be conspicuous.

We're going to stand out.

And we are going to have pressure

and sometimes intimidation

against us

because standing

can be a lonely thing.

Being,

nobody really likes

to be conspicuous,

do we?

Nobody really likes

to be the only one standing.

But if we're going to stand for Christ,

there are going to be times

we are the only one standing.

If we're going to do

what God wants us to do,

there are going to be times

when we are conspicuous

because nobody around us

is going to stand with us.

It's going to happen.

Standing is conspicuous.

Not only that,

but standing is condemned

by the world.

Standing is condemned

by the world.

We already mentioned

how these three Hebrews

knew that they were going

to be thrown into a fiery furnace

if they stood.

They knew the condemnation

that they were facing.

And as we go on

with the story,

which we won't read

for time's sake,

as we go on with the story,

we find out that indeed

it did happen.

They were brought

before Nebuchadnezzar.

They were condemned

and they were thrown

into the furnace.

They were condemned

by the world.

And if we stand,

if we stand and say,

nevertheless,

we are not going

to bow down.

We are not going to do

what you told us to do.

We are going to obey God

rather than man.

There are times

where the world

is going to condemn us.

The world is going

to dislike us.

We are going to hear

harsh things.

We are going to suffer

unjust actions.

The events of the last

couple of weeks

should certainly show us

that this is the truth.

It doesn't take a great

deal of memory,

does it?

We've had an illustration

brought to our eyes

within the last couple

of weeks

that just standing

for what is right

and being conspicuous.

I don't think there's

anyone that can doubt

that the person

I'm speaking of

was a very conspicuous

person.

That very often

when we do that,

we are condemned

by the world.

We will be yelled at.

We will be unjustly accused.

We will be hated.

And sometimes,

sometimes it comes down

to the ultimate price.

Oh, this is America.

It can't happen.

It happened two weeks ago.

Not only that,

but yes,

this is America.

But I'm telling you

right now,

today,

it is happening

all over this world.

Have you heard

about the Christian villages

being burnt down?

Check it out.

You're not going to find it

on CNN.

But check it out.

There are people

that are standing up

for Christ

that are suffering

martyrdom today.

Now as a boy,

I had to drive a,

drive.

They didn't let

junior high kids

drive the bus.

I had to ride

a bus

to school.

And it just happened

that on the way out

and on the way back,

there was a broadcast

by a man named

Paul Harvey.

Who remembers Paul Harvey?

Good,

I'm not the only

old one here.

Okay.

I just insulted

half the congregation

right there.

What do you mean me?

What?

What?

Okay,

you get a pass.

Paul Harvey was fun

to listen to.

He was,

and he was interesting.

But there was times

where he had a commentary,

and part of the commentary

he used this phrase,

it is not one world.

Can I tell you

that because we're Americans

and we're used to

the way things are here,

that's not the way

it is in all the world.

It is not one world.

Standing is condemned

by the world,

and standing for Christ.

Well,

how can standing for Christ

be condemned by the world?

We're just trying

to show them God's love.

We're just trying

to show them

that they can be saved.

We're just trying

to help them.

Nevertheless,

because the world

hated our Lord,

we shouldn't be surprised

if they hate us

just because we love

our Lord.

2 Timothy,

in chapter 3,

the apostle Paul writes,

Yea,

and all that will live

godly in Christ Jesus

shall suffer persecution.

Just because we stand

for God

and we obey God,

we shouldn't be surprised.

As a matter of fact,

we should expect

that we will suffer persecution.

Jesus himself said

in the Gospel of John,

If the world hate you,

you know that it hated me

before it hated you.

If you are of the world,

the world would love his own,

but because you are not

of the world,

but I have chosen you

out of the world,

therefore the world

hateth you.

Remember the word

that I said unto you,

The servant is not greater

than his Lord.

If they have persecuted me,

they will also persecute you.

If they have kept

my saying,

they will keep yours also,

but all these things

they do unto you

for my name's sake.

Because they know not

him that sent me.

Standing for God

is not appreciated out there.

Standing up and saying,

No, this is right,

and no, this is wrong,

because that's what

this book says.

Not because that's what

society says.

Not that's because

what science falsely

called says.

But because this book

says so,

and because God says so,

this is right,

and this is wrong,

because it says it in here.

That is hated.

Saying,

No, I will not

just go along.

I will not be a sheep

that is led by the world.

I will be a sheep

that is led by my Savior.

That is condemned

by the world.

That is hated

by the world.

Say,

Brother Scott,

you are not encouraging me.

So far,

you've talked about

being conspicuous

and everybody knowing

what we are.

So far,

you've talked about

standing being commanded

and that I'm supposed

to obey God,

but because of that,

it's going to be conspicuous

and I'm going to stand out

and I'm going to be different

and people are not going

to appreciate it

because it's condemned

by the world

and I may have to suffer

for standing for God.

Oh,

that we could suffer

for Jesus.

I am so sorry,

but we have lost

the value of suffering

as a church.

We have lost

the fact that

suffering for Christ

is one of the greatest things

that we could possibly do.

We think that God

is out there

to just shower down

blessings upon us

and to make our lives easy

and to make our path clear

and to make the sun shine

upon us every single day

and let me ask you,

what are we doing for Him?

We want so much for Him

and oh,

He is so generous,

isn't He?

Oh,

He is so loving.

Oh,

He is so much better

to us

than we ever could consider,

than we could ever expect,

that we could ever dream.

He is so much better

to us.

And what do we return

to Him?

Brother Scott,

I don't know why

you're preaching

to me that way.

I'm in church Sunday morning.

I'm giving up

my Sunday morning.

Congratulations.

Say,

what about you,

Brother Scott?

I'm in the same boat

you're in.

Believe me,

before I preach this to you,

I preach it to me.

before I ask people

to kneel down at the altar

and get right,

I have to get right myself.

What has it cost you lately

to stand for God?

What has it cost me lately

to stand for God?

What has it ever cost me

in my entire life

to stand for God?

Have I ever had somebody

in my face

because I stood for God?

Yes.

Cursed me out?

Threatened my job?

Yes.

20 years ago.

20 years ago.

I am ashamed to say

it's been that long.

I don't enjoy

somebody getting my face.

I'm not talking about

being irritating.

I'm not talking about

being a jerk.

Okay?

Please get me,

don't think you gotta go out there

and be that Christian

that rubs everybody

the wrong way.

Just standing for God,

vocally,

publicly,

living our lives

righteously

should be enough

for somebody

to get upset with us.

Unjustly.

Again,

this is not a license

to be a jerk.

Say,

Brother Scott,

you are still not

encouraging me.

Last point.

And all God's people

said amen.

Standing is not only

condemned by the world,

but standing is

commended by God.

I want you to notice,

most of us who have been

in church for a while,

we know this story

forwards and backwards.

We know that the Hebrew men,

these three Hebrews,

stood for God.

We know that they were

condemned by the world.

We know that they were

thrown into the fiery furnace

and we also know

that they were delivered

miraculously.

That God was there

in that furnace with them.

That they came out

of that furnace

with their bonds

burnt off

and not even the smell

of smoke upon them.

If you have ever been

outside to a bonfire,

you know exactly

how hard that is

not to smell smoke.

I don't know

what it is about me,

but I seem to be

a smoke magnet.

If I'm outside

at a bonfire,

if I sit on this,

the bonfire's right here,

if I sit on this side

of the bonfire,

the smoke goes this way.

So because nobody enjoys

having a face full of smoke,

I get up and I move around

to this side of the bonfire

and guess what happens?

The smoke goes this way.

I don't understand it,

but there it is.

And if you've been

around somebody,

if you've ever been

around somebody

who smokes a lot,

you know that it

clings to you.

That smoke from the bonfire

will make you smell

for a little bit.

Smoke from somebody

continuously smoking cigarettes

clings to them.

It gets into their pores.

And yet these three men

came out of that furnace

and the smell of the smoke

did not even cling unto them.

Why is that?

It's because God commended

their standing for Him.

They stood for God

and God stood with them.

We go through the Bible

and we read time

after time after time.

In this very book,

we read about Daniel

standing for God

and refusing to pray

only to Nebuchadnezzar,

but praying to God

as He always had done

and being thrown

into a den of lions

and God showed His commendation

of Daniel standing,

even though the world

condemned Him

and threw Him

into the den of lions.

God showed His commendation,

His approval

of what Daniel did

by delivering Him

from the lion's den.

And all of us would say,

oh, I want to have

God's commendation

on my life.

If we want to have

God's approval

on our life like that,

you've got to realize

we're going to have to go

through that condemnation first.

You don't get delivered

from a furnace

you were never in.

You don't get delivered

from a den of lions

that no one threw you into.

We need to change

our minds about condemnation

and we need to change

our minds about suffering

and we need to change

our minds about hardship

and look at it like

I am suffering for God.

I'm not suffering

because I did something stupid.

I'm not suffering

because I was difficult.

If I can honestly say

I'm suffering for Jesus,

we should look at that

as a commendation

and look for God

and what God is working

in us and through us

to do through that

and look for a way

that we can give

a lasting testimony

to how good God is.

Say, Brother Scott,

they were condemned,

they were thrown in,

they were delivered.

That's a wonderful thing.

I want to see that.

Sometimes you're not delivered.

Sometimes you're not delivered.

Turn back real quick,

if you will,

to Acts chapter 7.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 7.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 7,

Acts 7 · chapter mention

we have the story of Stephen

in the early church.

In Acts chapter 7,

Acts 7 · chapter mention

Stephen was hauled

before the Jewish council,

was hauled

before the Sanhedrin,

and he was condemned.

He stood before them

and he preached to them

and he laid it down.

He stood upright,

he stood firm,

and he glorified God.

Say, what did that get him?

Verse number 57.

They cried out

with a loud voice

and stopped their ears

and ran upon him

with one accord

and cast him out of the city

and stoned him.

That's what it got him.

It did not get him

a miraculous deliverance.

It did not get him

an instantaneous healing.

It did not get him freedom.

He stood for God

and it got him stoned.

Say again, Brother Scott,

you're not encouraging me.

I want you to consider

three other verses

before you tell me

that Stephen wasted his life,

before you tell me

that Stephen was not

commended by God,

before you tell me

that Stephen's suffering

was for nothing.

I want you to consider

three other verses.

Verse number 50,

well, four verses.

Look up at verse number 55.

But he, that being Stephen,

he, being full of the Holy Ghost,

looked up steadfastly

into heaven

and saw the glory of God

and Jesus standing

on the right hand of God

and said,

behold, I see the heavens open

and the Son of Man

standing on the right hand of God.

I would say that's a commendation.

I would say that that's something

I would long to have.

I would say that that is

Jesus Christ commending

what Stephen has done

and rewarding him

beyond anything

that most of us

can ever expect

to be rewarded with.

But that's not

the only commendation

that God showed

for Stephen.

In Acts chapter 8,

Acts 8 · chapter mention

notice if you will

in verse number 4,

therefore,

what's that therefore

refer back to?

The martyrdom of Stephen.

Stephen being stoned.

Therefore,

they that were scattered abroad

went everywhere

preaching the word.

See,

at first,

the church in Jerusalem

stayed in Jerusalem.

but that was not God's plan.

God's plan was for Christianity

to be spread out.

They were supposed to go out

into all the world

and preach the gospel.

But they huddled close together

and so,

through Stephen's persecution,

they were sent out.

They were scared

and they ran,

but as they ran,

they preached the gospel.

Turn now,

if you will,

to Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

Say,

how do you know

they preached the gospel

because of Stephen?

Acts chapter 11

Acts 11 · chapter mention

and verse number 19.

Now they which were

scattered abroad

upon the persecution

that arose about Stephen

traveled as far as

Phenis and Cyprus

and Antioch

preaching the word

to none but unto the Jews only.

And some of them

were men of Cyprus

and Cyrene

which when they were

come to Antioch

spake unto the Grecians

preaching the Lord Jesus Christ.

Stephen died

testifying and standing

for the Lord Jesus Christ

and God gave him

that tremendous vision

and that tremendous thing

that he was able to see

and the approval

that he was able to see

even before he died.

But more than that,

because Stephen stood for God,

God used that

to accomplish his purposes

in the church

to see the gospel preached

far and wide.

Why?

Because one man stood.

Because one man stood.

Brethren,

I just have one question

for us this morning.

And I do mean us.

One question.

Will you stand?

Will we stand?

Will I stand?

You know,

it's going to be

a whole lot easier

when you come to that crisis point

to make the right decision

if you make the right decision

before you come to the crisis point.

If you know what you're going to do

before you get to that crisis,

it makes it so much easier

to make the decision

during the crisis.

So I ask you again.

Will you stand?

Normally, right now,

I have everybody

bow their heads,

close their eyes.

I do.

Normally I do.

Not today.

Not today.

If the Holy Spirit

has moved in your heart

and you say,

Brother Scott,

I will stand for Christ.

Stand up.

Don't look around.

Don't see who's saying sat.

Don't.

It's none of your business.

You worry about you.

Praise God.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.