What Will It Take To Make You Move

What Will It Take To Make You Move

Scripture Reference: Daniel 3: 23-25 (KJV)

Daniel 3: 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

The first thing that I want to do today is shed light on the fact that when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego went into the furnace they were men and not boys. (Daniel 3:12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of 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.)

These were not little boys that did not have the capability of making responsible decisions by any means. They were men appointed to prestigious positions in the kingdom.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that when they first came to the kingdom that they were not boys (Daniel 1: 6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.)

What I am saying however is that the time had passed and they had matured and were fully aware of what they were getting themselves into. They were not some unlearned children just doing what they were taught and acting mechanically to the traps set by Satan.

The reason that I want to clear that up is because if we continue to call them “the three Hebrew boys that went into the fire”, we lose some of the real value of this lesson.

Actually it should be quit obvious that these were men and not boys because it says so right in the scripture. {Read the scripture again}

The fact that they were men means a great deal to this lesson. The fact that they were men shows that they were responsible adults making decisions based on what they had learned to be true. They were fully aware that they had a choice and were intelligent and successful enough to make sound decisions.

Another reason that this is so important is that some of us have become really too intelligent for our own good. For instance, we often have conversations with new converts that we should never have.

I truly enjoy gathering with some of my well versed and well read friends and we talk about all of the things that challenge us about the bible.

However we should always understand that some conversations are not meant to be had until our understanding and steadfastness in the Lord has reached a certain level

On the other hand I love to talk to my 6 year old about the bible and honestly I think I learn more from her because she is truly sincere with her heart.

However if I were to be really challenged by the enemy and I asked my 6 year old what to do she would give me an answer based on her heart with really no experience and doctrine and all of the other things that go with it.

On the other hand if I were to ask one of my bishop friends how to handle the same situation I would get a completely different view but the bottom line is that they would both end up telling me to trust God.

These Hebrews knew the value of trusting God well

Many of us miss this very valuable lesson all too often, we are led to believe that we are ready to challenge the enemy even though we are only new converts and we really have no understanding of the word.

Others of us are fully matured in the word of God (or at least we should be) and God has given us everything that we need to be ready for battle but we don’t feel the need to stand up for what we know to be true about the word of God. (Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.)