Jack Groppel is a motivational speaker who works with various kinds of leaders to hone optimum performance. On one occasion, at his training center in Florida, he was working with a group of NFL linebackers. He gave them an assignment. They were to run to the fence at the perimeter of the center and then run back to base camp. Groppel then added one final, important detail: a wild boar had been spotted in the forest that morning. He explained how dangerous wild boars can be and told them to be on high alert.
Now, in preparation for the activity, Groppel had planted a cameraman along the forest trail, who hid behind the bushes. When the massive linebackers came around a bend, the cameraman began to snort and rustle the bushes. Here’s what happened (show Jack Groppel NFL video). The football players each turned tail and ran, squealing like schoolgirls.
Jack Groppel had a completely different reaction when he gave a group of CIA operatives the same assignment. When they heard the snorting and rustling, each operative got into combat position, drew his gun, and stood his ground. This time the cameraman was the one who ran away, afraid he might get shot, after which the CIA operatives completed their assignment.
When Jesus sent his followers out to spread the news of His Kingdom, he said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore… be on your guard…” (Matthew 10:16-17). Tell me, are we going to turn tail and run like those NFL linebackers, or are we going to complete our mission as Christ’s followers even in a dangerous environment?
You see, it is no longer popular to be a committed Christian in our country like it used to be. In fact, Christians who take a stand for Christ find themselves increasingly under fire in our culture.
Just this last Tuesday (September 3, 2013), Todd Starnes reported on Fox News that a family-owned, Christian bakery, under investigation for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, has been forced to close its doors after a vicious boycott by militant homosexual activists.
Last January, Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, made national headlines when they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Klein told Starnes that he has nothing against homosexuals, but because of their religious faith, the family simply cannot take part in gay wedding events.
“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” Klein said. “I don’t want to help somebody celebrate a commitment to a lifetime of sin.”
The lesbian couple filed a discrimination suit with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and told their story to local newspapers and television statements. Within days, militant homosexuals groups launched protests and boycotts. Klein told Starnes he received messages threatening to kill his family. They hoped his children would die.
To make matters worse, the Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries announced last month they had launched a formal discrimination investigation against the Christian family. Commissioner Brad Avakian told The Oregonian newspaper, “Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, but that doesn’t mean that folks have the right to discriminate. The goal is to rehabilitate. For those who do violate the law, we want them to learn from that experience and have a good, successful business in Oregon.” In other words, the state of Oregon needs to rehabilitate and reeducate Christians like the Kleins, or so they believe.
Aaron Klein said what’s happened to Sweet Cakes By Melissa should be a warning to other Christians across the nation. “This is a fight that’s been coming for a while,” he said. “Be prepared to take a stand. Hopefully, the church will wake up and understand that we are under attack right now.”
Just last month, New Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that two Christian photographers who declined to photograph a same-sex union violated the state’s Human Rights Act. One justice said the photographers were “compelled by law to compromise the very religious beliefs that inspire their lives.”
Denver baker Jack Phillips is facing possible jail time for refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding. The Colorado Attorney General’s office filed a formal complaint against Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop. A hearing before the state’s civil rights commission is set for later this month.
In Indianapolis, a family-owned cookie shop faced a discrimination investigation after they refused to make rainbow cookies for National Coming Out Day. &
A T-shirt company in Lexington, Kentucky, found itself at the center of a Human Rights Commission investigation after they refused to make T-shirts for a local gay rights organization. (Todd Starnes, Todd’s American Dispatch, “Christian Bakery Closes after LGBT Threats Protests”, www.foxnews.com, September 3, 2013)
This is the culture to which Christ has sent us with a mission to make disciples, i.e., to equip people to follow Christ so that they KNOW him personally, GROW in their relationship with him, and SERVE him as he has gifted them to serve.
The question is: How do we accomplish that mission in such a hostile culture? How do we do what Christ has called us to do in a context that opposes much of what we stand for as followers of Christ?
Well, we can learn much from believers throughout the ages who served the Lord in much more hostile situations. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Daniel 3, Daniel 3, where three Hebrew young men are forced to live out their faith at the threat of their very own lives.
Daniel 3:1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. (NIV)
In the previous chapter, God informed Nebuchadnezzar that he was only the head of gold (Daniel 2:38) in the great statue that represented all the kingdoms of the world till the end of time. Four other empires were to follow in the course of history, but Nebuchadnezzar is not satisfied with being just the head. He wants to be the whole thing. He wants his empire to last forever, so he makes the whole statue out of gold in direct defiance of God’s revealed will. Nebuchadnezzar defies the living God, and he forces his entire kingdom to do the same.
Daniel 3:2-7 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (NIV)
Everybody, from the highest government official to the lowliest slave, was to fall down and worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold. Now, this put God’s people in a quandary, because idolatry was expressly forbidden in God’s law (Exodus 20:4-6; 34:14). Under no circumstances were God’s people to bow down to any image.
Now, I suppose if I were there, I could rationalize my compliance with this ungodly demand. “After all,” I might say to myself, “this is not really idolatry. I’m only making a political statement, showing my loyalty to the king. God knows my heart. I may be bowing down on the outside, but I’m not worshipping Nebuchadnezzar’s image on the inside. Besides, what good can I do if I become a crispy critter in Neb’s furnace?” I’m sure there were many Jewish captives in Babylon that made similar excuses and bowed down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image, but THREE did not!
Daniel 3:8-12 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.” (NIV)
Perhaps, the astrologers were prejudice against the Jews, or they were jealous of the promotion to high office that Nebuchadnezzar gave to these particular Jews. Whatever the reason, the Babylonian astrologers wanted to make sure Nebuchadnezzar knew that three of his officials refused to bow down to his statue.
You see, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose to obey God even at the risk of their own lives, and that’s the attitude we as God’s people must have today. No excuses. No compromise. If we’re going to accomplish our mission and do what Christ has called us to do in a hostile environment, then we must…
COMMIT OURSELVES FULLY & COMPLETELY TO GOD.
We must resolve to do what God asks us to do no matter what it costs. We must determine in our own hearts to obey Him even if it means losing our lives.
This is what many of our brothers and sisters have to do all over the world. Just last year (2012), Mission Network News reported on a series of questions church planters with Asian Access (or A2) in a south Asian country ask new believers who are considering baptism. Due to safety concerns, Asian Access does not mention the country's name. The country is predominantly Hindu, but over the past few decades Christianity has grown in popularity—especially among poor and tribal peoples. These are the seven questions asked to help determine a new convert's readiness to follow Christ:
1. Are you willing to leave home and lose the blessing of your father?
2. Are you willing to lose your job?
3. Are you willing to go to the village and those who persecute you, forgive them, and share the love of Christ with them?
4. Are you willing to give an offering to the Lord?
5. Are you willing to be beaten rather than deny your faith?
6. Are you willing to go to prison?
7. Are you willing to die for Jesus?
If the new convert answers yes to all of these questions, then A2 leaders invite that person to sign on the bottom of the paper that of their own free will they have decided to follow Jesus. But here's the risk: if a new convert signs the paper and is caught by the government, he or she will spend three years behind bars. The one who did the evangelizing faces six years in prison. (“South Asian nation struggles to shape itself”, Mission Network News, 1-17-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s the price many of our brothers and sisters are asked to pay in countries much more hostile to Christianity than ours. Even so, Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds in many of those countries primarily because of such a commitment on the part of Christ’s followers.
My dear friends, if we’re going to equip people to follow Christ in a hostile environment, then we must have the same kind of commitment ourselves. We must commit ourselves to full and complete obedience no matter what the cost. Then we must…
COMMUNICATE THAT COMMITMENT
We must communicate it clearly and respectfully whenever God gives us the opportunity. We must boldly profess our faith and speak up for what we believe to whoever asks us a reason for the hope that is within us. That’s what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did. When Nebuchadnezzar demanded of them an answer, they were not afraid to speak of their commitment to the one and only true God.
Daniel 3:13-15 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 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? 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?” (NIV)
Nebuchadnezzar elevates himself above all gods, including the one true God, YHWH, the God of the Jews, and he gives Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego a second chance. They can either bow or burn. What do they do?
Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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. 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.” (NIV)
They make their allegiance to God very clear. Even if He chooses NOT to deliver them, they will not disobey Him. Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man on the earth, and most other men would have trembled in his presence, but not Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They boldly proclaimed their faith, declaring to the most powerful man on earth that their God was more powerful than he, and that their God would deliver them; but even if He does not, their God is still worth serving just because of who He is.
They had the courage to communicate their commitment even in the face of death, and that’s what we must do if we’re going to multiply disciples of Christ in a hostile environment. We must boldly proclaim our faith in the One True God, who alone is able to save, and who alone is worthy of our worship even if He doesn’t save.
Philip Yancey, in the NIV Student Bible, tells the story of Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, a Hasidic leader during the early days of Russian Communism. The rabbi had spent much time in jail, persecuted for his faith.
One morning in 1927, as he prayed in a Leningrad synagogue, secret police rushed in and arrested him. They took him to a police station and worked him over, demanding that he give up his religious activities. He refused. The interrogator brandished a gun in his face and said, “This little toy has made many a man change his mind.”
Rabbi Schneerson answered, “This little toy can intimidate only that kind of man who has many gods and but one world. Because I have only one God and two worlds, I am not impressed by this little toy.” (Philip Yancey, in The NIV Student Bible, Zondervan, 1996)
The courage to boldly proclaim our faith comes from fearing God more than we fear people. Now, we may not have a gun in our face, but so often we fear the ridicule and rejection of others.
If that’s the case for you, then take Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s words to heart. Some time ago, he was speaking to the Knights of Columbus Council in Baton Rouge where he said, “God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools and he has not been disappointed. If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.” (Penny Brown Roberts, “Scalia: Faithful Live for Christ,” www.theadvocate.com; www.PreachingToday.com)
It’s the only way we are going to accomplish the mission Christ gave us to do in a hostile environment. We must have the courage to remain committed to Christ no matter what, and we must communicate that commitment to anyone who asks, even if they are some of the most powerful people in our world. Finally, if we’re going to equip people to follow Christ in places where that is difficult, we must…
COUNT ON GOD TO SEE US THROUGH.
We must trust the Lord for the results of our witness and commitment. We must depend on God’s presence to accomplish His plan in our fiery trial. That’s what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did.
Daniel 3:19-23 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 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 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, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. (NIV)
Nebuchadnezzar, hot with fury, throws Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into a furnace so hot it kills those who put them there.
Daniel 3:24-25 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.” 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.” (NIV)
Or the Son of God Himself! I believe the 4th person in the fire is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity.
You see, God Himself walks with us through the fire to ultimately deliver us through it. We saw that on the cross!
Philippians 2 talks of Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (or held onto), but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8).
Jesus entered into our death, the penalty for our own sin, to deliver us through death into eternal life! God is not some far-off, aloof super-being, untouched by our pain. No! God himself entered our pain to deliver us through it. All we need to do is depend on Him even in the midst of our pain. All we need to do is trust Him and He will ultimately save us from the pain of our sin.
That’s what He did for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. You have to remember that the Jews were in Babylon because they had rejected God in the first place. They had turned from the true and living God to serve idols, so God sent them away into Babylon. But look at God’s grace in dealing with those who depend on Him even as they experience the consequence of their own sin.
Daniel 3:26-27 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, 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. (NIV)
The fire didn’t even singe one hair on their heads. There was no smell of smoke on them. The only thing the fire did was burn the ropes that bound them (vs.25). Oh what grace! God Himself enters our pain with us, and then uses it to set us free! As a result, God is glorified and His plan is accomplished.
Daniel 3:28-30 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. 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.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (NIV)
Nebuchadnezzar praises God and promotes Daniel’s friends, which gives them an even bigger platform to proclaim the greatness of our God. My dear friends, trust God to do the same thing for you in your pain. Trust God to be with you in your pain and then use it to set you free to glorify His name.
Hawa Ahmed was a Muslim student in North Africa. One day, she read a Christian pamphlet in her dorm and decided to become a follower of Christ. Her father was an Emir (i.e., and Islamic ruler), so she expected to lose her inheritance because of her conversion, but she was completely unprepared for what happened.
When she told her family she had become a follower of Christ and changed her name to Faith, her father exploded with rage. Her father and brothers stripped her naked and bound her to a chair fixed to a metal plate to which they had attached an electric chord.
Faith asked them to at least lay a Bible in her lap. Her father responded, “If you want to die together with your false religion, so be it.” One of her brothers added, “That will show that your religion is powerless.” Although they had bound her, she was able to touch a corner of the Bible. She felt a strange peace, as though someone were standing beside her.
Her father and brothers pushed the plug into the socket – and nothing happened. They tried four times with various cables, but it was as though the electricity refused to flow. Finally her father, angry and frustrated, hit her and screamed, “You are no longer my daughter.”
Then he threw her into the street, naked. She ran through the streets, humiliated and in pain. People looked at her, curious rather than shocked. Shaking and tearful, she ran to a friend. Her friend let her in, clothed her, and gave her shelter.
The next day, her friend asked neighbors what they had thought when they had seen Faith running naked through the streets. “What are you talking about?” they asked. “The girl had a wonderful white dress on. We asked ourselves why someone so beautifully clothed had to run through the streets.” God had hidden her nakedness from their eyes, clothing her in a beautiful white dress. Later, Faith became a full-time missionary with Every Home for Christ, spreading the gospel around the world. (Guido Kuwas, Global Revival News, 12-17-01; www.PreachingToday.com)
God is still in the business of using His people in hostile situation, not only in the 6th Century BC in Babylon, but right now in the 21st Century all over the world. Let Him use you today right here in Lyons, Kansas, America.
Sure, it’s becoming harder and harder to live out our faith here in America, but that’s no reason to shrink back in fear. Instead, let’s commit ourselves fully to God, communicate that commitment, and then count on God to accomplish His plan in our lives even in the midst of our pain. It’s the only way we’ll accomplish the mission Christ gave us to do.
