Here is a video from a Senior Chi Alpha WSU Vancouver member speaking about her recent missions trip. Enjoy!
The Prophetic Promise of Daniel 3
In June of 2011, me and a friend put together a small youth conference called "Set Apart" hoping to encourage a generation to live set apart for Christ. Recently, at a college bible study the topic of being called out to live holy ("set apart") lives. This has gotten me to revisit a message I gave one of the nights of the conference on Daniel 3, that I would like to share with you all. If you haven't read Daniel 3, i recommend reading it, as it is very prophetic of the time in which we live. Daniel 3 tells the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the idol King Nebuchadnezzar was forcing Babylon to worship. Daniel 3 shows three men who are living set apart and are living out true faith. Here's a quick recap of the story: King Nebuchadnezzar (I'll just call him King Neb from here on out) made an image of gold, ninety feet high in Babylon. He then commanded the people of all nations and language to fall down and worship the image of gold whenever they heard the sound of music. Whoever refused would be thrown into a blazing furnace. (Daniel 3:1-6) When the music sounded, all the people fell down to worship except three Jews (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), who King Neb had set over the affairs of Babylon. So King Neb summoned the three and gave them one more chance. The three refused, saying that they're God is able to save them from the furnace. But even if he doesn't, they would not worship the idol. (3:7-18) King Neb grew furious and ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than normal. He then commanded his strongest soldiers to tie up the three and throw them into the furnace. The fire was so hot that it killed the soldiers who threw them in. King Neb then asked in amazement, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?.. Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." So King Neb, called the three out of the fire and saw that the fire had not harmed them, their hair wasn't singed, their robes weren't burned, and they didn't smell of fire. Then King Neb gave praise to the God of Israel. (3:19-28) There is a lot of prophetic things happening in this chapter that applies directly to our lives today. The first thing, is that today has been known as a present day Babylon. Babylon being a nation that worshiped idols and rejected God. In Babylonian culture, idols were frequently made and worshiped. Today, this present day Babylon, is constantly trying to erect idols in our lives. Society is telling us what to spend our time and focus on. There's so much emphasis on things like wealth, fame, sex, drugs, alcohol... the list goes on. These things end up becoming the focal point of our lives as we spend all our time seeking these idols instead of seeking after God. The world tells us what to worship and when and if we don't there's always a risk involved. There's a high chance that our faith would affect everything. We become scared to live set apart because we don't want to lose friends. We don't want to be mocked. We don't want to be an outcast. We think these things of the world are what we need to get through life... And so our focus turns from God to things of the world. We as a generation need to choose whether we're going to follow God our worship the idols of this world. As a young man in this generation, I understand the desperation the youth have for something meaningful. We're desperate for purpose, for acceptance. The world says that they can give us that through things like sex, drugs, partying... There's so much pain and need in the hearts of people. A people who think that nobody understands their pain. That if you understood what I was going through, you'd understand why I need these things... I get it, faith is risky. What if you give everything to God and in your time of need He doesn't show up? What if you look like fool. There's so much at stake. Faith costs something. Jesus talked about the cost of following him. That we would be persecuted by the world. But if we live with our minds set on the pain of the present, we will fail to see the hope of the future. We will fail to realize the promises God made to us. He is faithful to every promise he's made. With that being said, lets continue with our story from Daniel. Oh, here's a quick side note. It's said that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were put in charge over all the affairs of Babylon. This is a call to us christians today. We have authority over the things of this world in the name of Jesus Christ. We have a responsibility. We have authority over the affairs of the nations. To bring the name of Jesus to every corner of the earth. To love others. To see nations turn back to God. Back to the story, King Neb offers the three men of faith one last chance to worship idols. They show true faith here. Faith that their God is bigger than whatever the enemy might throw at you. That he is able to save you. And even if he doesn't, they choose to remain faithful to that promise. So King Neb orders the fire made 7 times hotter. The number 7 has extreme significance in the Bible. The number 7 is the number of perfection. In the case of the furnace, this signifies that the furnace was made in essence as hot as it could get. In other words, there's nothing hotter than it. It represents the most extreme fire or trial you can go through in life. The risks of faith just went up. What if God doesn't show up now when the stakes are so high? But as we see from this story, there's a fourth man in the fire with them. A man who looks like the Son of God. And they were all walking around unbound (free) and unharmed in the midst of the fire. Jesus, the Son of God, was with them in the fire. They're chains were gone and they weren't harmed. Praise be to God! And that's just what King Neb did. He praised the God of Israel. Also, the fire or furnace represents refinement. We see a promise in the book of Isaiah that applies to this: "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43: 2-3 The fires that we go through in life refine us. They strengthen our character. No matter how high the risk of living set apart for God. No matter what we go through in life. We have this promise from God. That even at the most extreme trial, He is with us. He walks with us through the fire. He breaks every chain. He keeps us safe. Its a prophetic promise for today. Before my Grandpa died, his last words to me were "Stay close to Jesus." A person's last words show the most important thing they want you to hold onto. At the end of our lives, we'll come to realize, if we realized it now, that Jesus is the point of it all. He's the most important thing. There's nothing you can do in life that is more important than living for Christ and spreading his name to everyone you meet. And we can hold onto the promise that if we live for God, set apart from the world, that he's there with us through everything the world could throw our way. Hold onto Jesus. Run to Him. Cause He's all you need. And He's with you through all the days of your life. Praise be to God! Reign In Me
Your ways are higher than my ways Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts And your words are power and truth So Lord I look to You Your voice shatters the darkness Your love casts out all fear And your presence is where I want to be So Lord I look to You All my ways and all I have I count it all as loss I joyfully surrender to You God So reign in me Lord, reign in me I give You all of me All of me You awaken my dreams to life You turn my sorrow into dancing And you sing over me Your perfect peace Lord I look to You You break the chains that I've carried You shake my very foundations You love to save me You love to save me So reign in me Reign in me I give you all of me All of me You fill this place With your fire with your grace You come like the rain You wash away all shame You're here in this place Lord we lift up your name Falling like rain Lord we love to sing your praise Lord send me Lord send me You are all I need You're everything |
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