When Life Gets Hot!

When Life gets Hot!

Am Service October 18th 2009

Daniel 3: 10-18

Introduction

There was a Pastor, who after the usual song service, stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he began to preach, he briefly introduced a guest minister who was in service that day. In the introduction, the Pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak, and he told this story.

A father, His son, and a friend of his were sailing off of the Pacific Coast, when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized.

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. The aged minister continued with his story, "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the lifeline. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son’s friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. "As the father yelled out, ‘I love you son!’ He threw out the lifeline to his son’s friend.

By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of the night. His body was never recovered." By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister’s mouth. "The father," he continued knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into eternity without Jesus.

Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save his son’s friend… With that the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The Pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon… Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man’s side.

"That was a nice story," stated the boys, "But I don’t think it was realistic for a father to give up his son’s life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian." "Well, you’ve got a point there," the old man replied glancing down at the worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn’t realistic, is it? But I’m standing today to tell you that the story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His only son for me. You see… I was the father and your Pastor was my son’s friend."

You see that old minister had Faith, He had what all of us as Christians should have and that is an unshakeable faith. As Christians we all have faith, but we don’t all have an unshakeable faith. Our subject for this morning is about "Having Faith when life gets Hot."

When life really gets hot, when it comes down to trusting God or getting bitter and angry and just give up on your faith.

When the hot times come, it is a major test to our faith, and today I want us to learn five things we can do to get through those times when life gets hot.

Read Scriptures: Daniel 3:10-18

I. When Life gets Hot, we need a faith that cannot be threatened or intimidated.

Vs. 16 “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.”

The king was trying to scare them, intimidate them. They let the king know he didn’t shake their peach tree

This is the same spirit of fear and intimidation Goliath tried to put on David; Sennacherib (king of Assyria) tried to put on Hezekiah.

God has given us victory over this spirit - “God has not given us spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind”.

Our young people need a faith that does not bow to the pressures around them, adults need a faith that will cause them to stand for Jesus on the job, on the street, in public