The theme that I wanted to highlight in this sermon is about how we live and through our living how we proclaim to the others the way we live, that is why I have titled it as, “Live God Aloud.” The scripture that I have taken is from Galatians 1:24 that states, “And they praised God because of me.” These are words spoken by Paul the apostle as a testimony to the church at Galatia since his life was wretch before his conversion and now having seen the change people begin to praise for his marvelous change. Can these same words be spoken on our behalf or will people look at us say why was this individual born? It is important for us to consider it. There are three important decisions to be made in order for our lives to be a testimony. I want to explain these decisions from the lives of three young men of the Old Testament namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
For our better understanding lets us turn to the book of Daniel chapter 3 and few verses from there: Daniel 3:13-30
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!"
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Having read the entire passage let us get to the first decision they took:
I. Choice against Chance:
Life has wide range of chances and it is the right decision of choice that will lead us into the consequences. If we make a wrong choice we suffer negative consequences whereas if we make the right one we enjoy the positive consequence throughout. The three young men whom we have chosen was given a chance to spare their lives from the raging king but they made a very great choice of disobeying the king and was unwilling to bow to the golden image. Daniel 3:15 reads
“Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
The king said if you guys obey me it is very good, he is giving them a chance, then he also cautions them and gives them a threat and a challenge as to which God will rescue them from his hand. They have a chance to live and the life that they enjoy was a good one since they were selected from the big gang of the Israelites and they were given special training in all the aspects of the Babylonians and were given prominent position in the king’s palace along with Daniel their friend. It is indeed from the point of the world what they were to do is a foolish act which will let them loose all privileges and be in the bad books of the king if they just fall before the image it can save their life, position and still be in the higher status. But these young men were not driven by their impulse to live a fake life instead they made a choice to live for God probably a mad choice but what made them choose this leads to the second decision of their lives.
II. Conviction against Compromise:
One of the reasons why there is dissatisfaction in many peoples life is because they end up doing what they don’t prefer or rather forced to do it cause it might be their source of livelihood but let me remind you that it is important that we need to live by conviction and such a life is thoroughly a challenge and indeed a blessing. If people live compromising lives they only live but cannot tell anything worthwhile. What were these young men convinced about? Lets us look into the scripture:
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
They were thoroughly convinced that their Lord God can save them and even if he doesn’t then they were not willing to bow down, I am sure this is a strong conviction, till they die. They were pretty sure that their Lord could rescue them from fire, that is there surety since if this God could lead them from a refugee status to the status of the official in the king’s court this is nothing too big for their God. Therefore they were convinced and were not willing to compromise. How do we live? Are we living with convictions or living a compromised life? I am sure in the West there is whole concept called Compromised Living where young folks live together and experiment if they could sustain such life style but God doesn’t want us to be involved in anything of that kind. These young men stand an example for their convicted life and never gave room for compromise, I am reminded of the song sung by Amy Grant which says, “Better wise up, better think twice, never leave room for compromise.” What is our decision: to live convincingly or to live compromised?
III. Covenant against Commitment:
The three young men who decided having a right choice and living with conviction also had the covenant to live to please God and not be careless. Covenant is beyond commitment since anyone committed to anything can call off their commitment but covenant is a commitment till one of the parties who made the covenant passes away or cease to exist. Whereas the covenant with God it is only us who will cease to exist and not God since He is eternal. Most of the time we do not like to covenate to anything since it is a matter of responsibility and accountability. But covenanting was not a task for these men since it was their commitment not to defile themselves with the king’s food that led them to the position they were in, Daniel 1:17, to these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. It was their covenant keeping that made them to this level. Do we have such a commitment to covenate with God?
22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
The furnace was seven times hotter, it killed the soldiers but it did not kill the young men, let me help you understand that as covenanted Christians when we go through hell, God goes along with us and the people around us witness the scene though sometimes we may not be aware. That is why this chorus, “If you catch hell don’t hold it, go ahead…go ahead…” is more appropriate. Your covenant to God can make you a winner and draw lot of people to the side of God. Let me give you another insight, usually when we come out victorious from a trouble it is quite natural that we share the testimony, but here it is contrary since it is the king who shares the testimony on behalf of these three young men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
The king’s testimony was great and awesome and he also promoted them in the province of Babylon. It is the price for their covenant to hold to God that brought such an awesome testimony along with the visible benefits of job promotion. Are we covenanted to God come what may? Let’s examine, it is worth to be covenanted to God since he will never lets us to shame. If they had been careless they would have survived but not made an impact. What about you are you surviving or covenanted to make a lasting impression?
In conclusion I would say as young people you have a tremendous chance – what is your CHOICE? You have immense opportunities to go compromised, are you convinced to compromise or are you convinced to live convincingly? What is your CONVICTION? Are you committed to God or are you covenanted about things concerning God? What is your COVENANT? If you really want Galatians 1:24 to be a reality you need to make the Choice, be Convinced, and be Covenanted. May you have a life that will tell of God’s goodness. God bless you.
Rev. Marcus
