Why Me God

Slide #1

Prayer

Most of us start our day out the same...Not to ex-cited about waking up… we stumble into the kitchen and first reach for a cup of motivation… (Our coffee).

We try and sit down for a few minutes… slam down a quick breakfast and think about all the pressing activities and appointments that they need to accomplish during the day.

For most of us…life is like a juggling act trying our best to get everything done on our to-do list each day.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been living for 80 years or just starting out.

Life has a way of pushing us to the limit.

And truth being told…life can at times seem a bit overwhelming can’t it?

On Wednesday nights here at Vista Pointe…about six months ago we finished up a study called “Pursuing Integrity”.

Chapter three of the study was titled “Meeting God in the Furnace”

There we found ourselves meeting up with three Biblical Musketeers of their day…called Shadrach…Meshach…and Abednego.

Slide #2

Each of these three men faced a major decision in their lives. Choose option A…or… B?

By choosing Option A)…The safe choice…they were selfishly saving their lives by…kneeling down and worship a human god (an image)… a god that was created to resemble the nations ruler at that time named Nebuchadnezzar.

Or they could choose Option B)…not so safe… by choosing B…their future was unpredictable…out of their control…possibly even meaning their deaths… by being thrown into a fiery furnace for not bowing down to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

The world in which we all live in today would automatically pick Option A). The safe choice…the safe choice is where there are no commitments…no obligations…no stresses.

But not these men.

These three men believed and trusted in God and refused to bow down to an idol image...

Just like you and I face every day of our lives… these three men were left with a choice to make.

Step out on faith and live for God… or bow down and worship the enemy.

So…Choose God they did…and into the furnace they went…

Slide #3

Read Daniel 3:1-30…

Something great always comes…from those who have faith in God. (vs. 29)

(Maybe we should implement that style of rule in the church today…I bet there would be fewer disgruntled members…less gossip & backstabbing…)

Stepping out on faith and Living for God are not common choices that people make every day.

It takes courage to step out on faith and boldly state that you are a Christian…

Daniel 3:16-18 (read)

After King Nebuchadnezzar had told Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego if they failed/refused to bow down and worship him…He would have them thrown into the fiery furnace…

This is when these three men truly had a decision to make…

And it’s here that we see what kind of courage it does take to claim you are a Christian.

Slide #4

You and I can claim that we are Christians to every one we meet…but our actions are much larger than our words.

If you claim that you are a Christian you need to be prepared to defend what you believe in…because if by luck…no one has questioned you about your faith yet…get ready because if you believe…it’s just a matter of time.

Being a Christian is much more than just asking Christ into your life. (Important…but not all that required)

It’s daily living a God structured lifestyle…

It’s supporting the ministry of the church…by not creating stumbling blocks for other believers to trip over.

It’s waking up each day with the mind set of who can I personally share my testimony with and maybe play a part in them accepting Christ into their life.

It’s daily giving 110% of your life back to Jesus…simply because of what He did on the cross for you..

These three men did just that…they trusted that God would protect them…and even if God didn’t …they were still willing to lay down their lives for Him. (18)

I don’t have a doubt in my mind that every person here today…believes that God exists.

But here’s where it gets tougher…to lay down your life for Him…now that requires a much larger level of commitment.

Laying down your life for Him…is not just a Sunday occurrence…its 365…for your entire life.

I love watching war movies…there is a new movie out called “Act of Valor” It is based around true life events…

I recently watched it because there is a men’s bible study that goes along side of the movie and I wanted to see if we might possibly use it here at VP.

It stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs fighting against global terrorism.

As the men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians,