Stand Firm

No matter how good it may have looked, no matter the temptation they had stood firm and God blessed them.

Such strong faith and such young men. How many of us need to follow this example of faith?

Just how good did God bless them? 1.20.

In ALL matters, they were ten times better. They knew everything there was to know about this pagan society and its government.

I believe they knew the ins and outs of all their religious rituals and the laws of Babylon.

I believe they knew every false god and its history. But you know what?

They were not swayed. There faith was in the God of gods. The one true God. They stood firm in the face of temptation.

Now we all know the story of the king’s dream in 1.48-49. Because of God’s blessing of Daniel, He and his three friends were set over all Babylon and given great wealth and power.

They were given everything that money could buy. In the eyes of the morally bankrupt society they were in, they had it made.

Do you see a parallel with today’s society? Focus is on the material, status and position. Knowledge is power and power is money.

Satan uses wealth and power to try to destroy a relationship with the Lord.

People today sell their souls for the Almighty dollar.

They compromise their beliefs and morals. They will do anything to get that raise, or promotion, even to the point of turning their backs on family, friends and God.

Let us look at what Daniels three friends did—we all know the story of the fiery furnace.

God delivered the three Hebrew children because they stood firm. They never once wavered in their belief. People who waver in their beliefs are not blessed by God.

There are many Christians today that are swayed by everything. The latest fad full of falsehood is enough to sway those who really don’t know what they believe.

Read 3.18. These young men did not turn their backs on God—even in the face of death.

The king who made them powerful was now demanding compromise. How often do we as Christians come face to face with our boss and compromise our beliefs out of fear?

When we do this, we make our boss and our job more powerful than God.

We allow our teachers and professors to be more powerful than God. We should stand firm in our faith.

No it won’t make us win a popularity contest, but it will please the Maker and the Ruler of the Universe.

What happened to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, because they stood firm? 3.30.

God blessed them again. They were promoted even further In the kingdom.

They passed their test. Do we pass our tests of faith? How many blessings have we missed out on because we compromise?

How many of us face true life or death situation as a test of our faith? Now I know that many Christians in other parts of the world face death because of their faith.

What I am saying though is this, do we in America face death over our faith?

How many of you have ever been told by your boss or anyone else that unless you renounce God you will die?

Let me ask it this way...Do you live your life in such a way that someone could ask you to renounce God or face death?