07/12/2020
Decision: Obeying Christ, Whatever The Cost
They were 1,500 miles from home. Who would know? Who would care? But they knew God was watching, and as young men they dedicated and committed themselves totally to God. These young men are named in the Bible: Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had conquered Jerusalem and had taken these Jewish youths captive. But these young men knew assertive discipline. They refused to eat of the king’s meat and drink of the king’s w**e, because the king’s food had been offered to idols. They knew it was against the law of God.
Nebuchadnezzar had become powerful and egotistical. He decided to build a statue to himself, a big image—90 feet high, made of gold. Then he called his subjects from many of the countries of the Middle East to come to the plain of Dura. There he said, “When you hear the trumpet sound, and hear the music play, and see the flags coming, and see the marching of the soldiers, I want all of you to bow down and worship the image. If you don’t, I am going to throw you into flames of fire. You will be burned up” (Cf. Daniel 3:5-6).
God says, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give [you] a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). It was only after their decision that God intervened and delivered.
The king, standing back so that he wouldn’t be burned, looked into the furnace. He was astonished at what he saw. He said, “Lo, I see four men … and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:25). Three men had been thrown into the fire, but the king saw four men in the furnace.
God is with His people in the fiery furnace. He is with His people in times of temptation, trouble and trial. “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39), the Scriptures say.
The way the three men went into the fiery furnace—calm, self-possessed, joyful—it was clear that God was with them. And when the king ordered them taken out, they came out with their heads high. Not a hair was singed. Their clothes didn’t even have the smell of smoke on them. The king bowed down before them and said, “Your God is the true and the living God.” And he decreed that no one should say anything against the God of these three young men who dared to look death in the face and say, “I believe.”
That is what Jesus Christ did. The night before He went to the cross, He knelt down with His disciples and prayed all night. And He sweated drops of blood. The next day He went to that cross for us, so that we could have everlasting life.
He went to the cross, He died and He rose again so that we might be forgiven of our sins. If you have a doubt in your heart or mind that you are ready to meet God, you had better settle it. Repent of your sins and say, “Lord, I need You.”
Then by faith receive Him. The word faith means commitment. That means you totally surrender for the rest of your life to Jesus Christ, not only as Savior but as Lord. You surrender your personal life, your body, your mind, everything to Him.
Then follow Him and serve Him and obey Him—whatever the cost.
Read the full details:
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-10-why-serve-god-malachi-313-18
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