Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Stand, Part 5: Standing Firm in the Fire

Episode Date: August 30, 2014

When we’re pushed to our limit, we have a choice to make. Will we choose the path of least resistance or will we have the courage to take a Stand? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, welcome today to all of our life churches, our network churches, and those of you all over the world at church online. Today, we're in week number five of a message series called Stand, as we're looking at five different stories in the book of Daniel. If you have your Bibles with you today, we're going to be in Daniel chapter three. And the good news is, I'm actually going to team teach this message with your campus pastor. And in our network churches, I'm going to team teach with your network pastor. It's a great honor to conclude this series, team teaching with the person who leads and shepherds you every single week. I'm calling this message standing firm in the fire. The reality is, right now a lot of you, unfortunately, you're going through a very difficult time.

My pastor used to say it this way. He said, you're either coming out of a hard time, you're in the middle of a hard time, or you're going into a hard time. A lot of us, as Christians, we just don't want to believe. that we should ever really suffer. But Jesus himself said this. In John 1633, he said, in this world, you will have trouble. Jesus just said it, you will have trouble. But take heart, for I have overcome the world. I don't know what it might be for you, but right now, I know a lot of you may be battling one fire or another. It could be a financial fire. It could be a health-related fire. It could be a relational situation. It could be that your job is unstable or you've been searching for a long time and you just

can't figure out why things won't get better. You're doing everything that you know you should do and yet you're still struggling. What do you do when you're in the middle of the fire? Well, I want to read you just a verse of scripture that will help establish our direction today. I pray it speaks to you. Then I'll introduce our story in Daniel and then you'll get to hear from your campus pastor. 1. Peter 1-7 says this. These trials, whatever you're going through, these trials will show that your faith is genuine. As you endure these trials, they will show the quality and the depth of your faith. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So, when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. Peter said these trials will reveal your faith. It will show that your faith is genuine. In fact, if you're taking notes today, here's our key thought.

Write this down. A faith that's tested is a faith that can be trusted. A faith that is tested is a faith that can be trusted. In fact, today we're going to look at a faith that is tested in the lives of three teenage boys, probably 14, 15 or so years of age, named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abindigo. If you were here in the early weeks, we talked about King Nebuchadnezzar, and really how evil he was. At one point, he decides to make a giant statue until everyone in the kingdom you need to bow down and worship this gold statue, which was 90 feet tall. Okay, that's 30 yards straight up into the air and nine feet wide. I don't know about you, but I think the king is compensating for something. Did I just say that? I think I did.

You call it what it is. That is a really tall statue. And he says to every government leader, every advisor, every judge, every magistrate to come to the dedication, and in Daniel 3, verses 4 through 6, the herald shouts out. When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zitherer, lyre, harp, and pipes, and all other musical instruments, he tells us to bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. Bow to the ground to worship the statue. Then he says, in verse six, anyone who refuses to obey will what? They will be immediately thrown into the blazing furnace. Anyone who does not obey will be thrown into the blazing furnace. If you read on in verses 12 through 15, you're going to see everyone is bowing low. Everyone is bowing low,

except for three teenage boys who continued to stand firm, even when there was a trial that could cause them to be thrown into the fire. Because a faith that is tested is a faith that can be trusted. And all of our life churches and network churches, would you join me and show honor to your pastor? So we have a few campuses and network churches joining us today, so I want to welcome you guys. If I haven't met you, my name is Chris, and I'm the pastor here at the OKC campus. Life Church. This week, I have the honor of wrapping up this series with not just one of the greatest

stories of faith in the book of Daniel, but honestly in all 66 books of the Bible. And I just think it appropriate that I think Craig's just done an amazing job with this series. But the truth is, man, every single week, he stands on the stage and preaches life-changing truth. And so can we just honor our senior pastor Craig today for all that he pours into us? All right, so quick moment of honesty. How many of you in the last 14 days have had what you would consider a really bad day? Anybody's have a bad day.

You end the day. You need a bath or whatever you do on bad days. One of my jobs as your campus pastor is to help you feel that your life isn't as miserable as you think it is. And so I was online this week and I found some images that might help just accomplish that I'd like to share with you. This first image I like to call, hey guys, pass it to me. I'm open. That's going to sting. This other one, I really don't know how this happens, but I like to call this, I'm sorry, you only wanted to tire rotation?

How does that happen, people? Now, this next one, let's just look at it for a moment. I don't know if you have to like parallel park, bar just filled with cars, but I'm pretty sure the captain of this ship is saying, oops, my bad. This is not a good day. And lastly, I like to call this one, bro, I thought you strapped him down. That's just not right. That is so wrong. is a bad day.

You know, in this story, we have three teenage boys that are facing what looks to be a pretty bad day. And there are some qualities that occur within our faith when we are facing seasons of trial or for today's purposes, the fire. And I really believe in my heart that you are here listening to this message on purpose, and I believe that God is going to speak to you specifically as to you. Why would God allow us to experience some of the challenges that we experience? Three qualities of faith we're going to talk about today as we are navigating through the fire. If you're taking notes, write this down. Faith obeys God instead of following man.

Would you write that down? Faith obeys God instead of following man. man, everyone is bowing, three boys are standing. Scriptures say in verse 16, Shadraq, Meshach, and Abedigo replied to him, King Nebuchadnezzar, I love this. We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. How cocky is that? 14-year-olds staring down a king and imminent death saying, you know what, king?

We don't even have to even give you an answer because this is not between us and you. This is between us and God. faith obeys God instead of following man they didn't have to pray about it they didn't have to think about it they didn't have to fast about it they didn't have to take the dramatic circumstance over the life and post it in graphic detail on facebook and ask for consensus of what should I do they had one predetermined plan and that was obedience to God period that's it we will be obedient to God no matter what. Faith obeys God instead of following man.

I think it would be so easy for them to just kind of rationalize away compromise. Think about it. You know, everyone's bowing and they could just say to each other, all right, look, just bowed down, pretend you're worshipping this 90-foot ridiculous statue, but in our hearts we're singing manifesto, right? We believe in the one true God and that's just, you know, we'll just fake it. Or they could say, you know, just worship the idol. And then tomorrow I'll wake up with a lot of guilt. And I'll do what I've done before.

And this may hit home for some of you. I'll just ask God to forgive me. How many times do we do that? Or maybe it's, you know what? It's just rational thought. If I don't bow, I'm dead. And if I'm dead, who is left to tell all of these people that Jehovah is the one true God? therefore, maybe I should just compromise this one time.

But they didn't do that. There is a predetermined outcome, and that was going to be that we will honor and obey God, and we will not follow what everyone else is doing. I promise you, if you are a follower of Christ, and you are truly trying to follow after God's call for your life, Satan, your spiritual enemy, will give you ample opportunity in this world, even today to compromise what you know to be true and what you know to be his purposes for you. But we will not listen and we will not go there because our faith focuses us on an audience of one.

The hottest fire I've ever been through, and I know many of you know my story and my wife Cindy's story. Some of you may not. But it all played out about 13 years ago when my marriage was the, this close to just ending. And I had, I'd betrayed her trust. I was unfaithful to her. And there was this season of just utter pain. And it was all my fault. And I remember in that first, I'd say week and a half, Cindy, she felt like she needed to get away. Specifically, she said, I need to go, I need to hear from God. If I'm going to insert my into the hell of rebuilding that which is currently broken, I have got to know from him that he

will be with me. I need a word from God. And she drives down to South Texas where we're from and visits some family and friends, goes to a couple of churches. And within the course of three days from three different people, none of whom knew each other and some of whom didn't even know who Cindy was, three people came up to her out of nowhere and said, hey, I don't know, this may be really odd, but I really feel like the Lord's put a verse on my heart to tell you. And all three people had the exact same verse. To make it even crazier, it wasn't even a well-known verse. Frankly, it came out of a book that half of you don't even know exist in the Bible. It's in a book called Habakkuk. You're saying, now, Chris, you're lying to me because Habakkuk is a fish.

It's not a book. No, that's halibic. Habakkuk is actually a book in the Old Testament by a minor prophet. And the verse was in chapter 2, verse 3, and it went like this. For the vision is for the appointed time. Though it linger or delay, wait for it. For it will surely come to pass and will not delay. three different people, three different days, spoke this obscure verse, not over my wife, but over our future.

Because that was God's word saying to us, not only am I with you in this fire, not only am I going to do a work in your marriage, but there is a vision that will come to pass at a later date. It won't delay. It'll come just in time where I'll use the pain of today's challenge. to bring hope for someone else's challenge tomorrow. And good meaning, God-loving people who loved us, passionately and profusely begged us to keep our story a secret. Don't tell people.

It's like public relations suicide. Like as if I'm not a loser already. Like how can I make it any worse? You know what I'm saying? And so a couple years later, the work and the ferocious healing of God in our lives was unspeakably powerful. And the opportunity came for Cindy to publish a book called Healing Your Marriage When Trust is Broken.

And following that, Pastor Craig gave me the opportunity to stand on this stage and to preach a sermon about our story, followed by television interviews and blogs and radio interviews. And today, I look back, and I couldn't even count the number of people that have emailed or called us saying, you know, maybe our story didn't end the same that yours ended, but I cannot tell you how much you being honest about your hurt brought hope into mind. And church, I'm telling you, there's going to be seasons where God is going to call you to do things that good meaning people are going to say you're absolutely crazy. But faith in the fire, what does it do? It obeys who? It obeys God. It doesn't listen.

to the comments of the consensus. We obey God and Him alone. The second thing, write this down, is that faith obeys in spite of what it sees. Faith obeys in spite of what it sees. Daniel 3 in now verse 17. They speak to the king. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,

the God whom we serve is what? Is able? More help me out. The God whom we serve is able. and to save us, and he will what? He will rescue us from your power, your majesty, no matter what I see. I believe that not only is my God all powerful, but did you get the second part? But I believe that my God is willing to save me.

And there's a big difference between God just being able to do something in my life and God wanting to do something in my life. And no matter what do the circumstances look like in your world, we believe that like for some of you in the last month, you've left the doctor's office with the diagnosis that has absolutely rocked your world. So what do we do? A, we trust God. But the second thing is, our faith has to rise in those situations. And you believe with everything in you that my God is not only able to heal, but I believe my God is willing to heal. Now what he actually does, well, that's up to him.

but he has called us to pray and believe prayers of faith. Maybe for you, you are looking at a dangerously low checking account. So what do you do? One, you sell the C-Doo. Second, you get a job, any job. Third, you believe with everything in you that my God is willing and able to be my provider. What's his name? Jehovah Jira.

He is my provider. You have maybe a relationship absolutely falling apart like I did. And so what do we do? What does our faith do? Our faith has to grow and say, I believe that my God is willing and able to restore. Church, there is so much doubt in a room like this. And I think we are so often lured into the thought that the things that we allow ourselves to think and the things that we allow ourselves to pray,

and the things that we allow the circumstances around us to define, God is not confined to the things that I see, people. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and he is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than you would ever dare ask him for. So why would we doubt? Our faith says that God is with us, and our faith believes no matter what we see.

see. I want to tell you a continuation of a story I started telling you a couple weeks ago. For those of you and more, this is going to be new to you. Bill White is a guy that I met five years ago attending our church, struggling. And one of the most honest guys I know. And he invited me into his struggle. Chris, I don't know what I believe about God. Bill, this is a safe place to wrestle with that. He felt at times that God blessed everyone around him more than he blessed him, like he felt forgotten at times by God. And over the course of years in conversation and prayers and just friendship, something started to change in his heart and in his spirit. And I would say that this wave of gratitude just kind of poured over his life. And he began to be so grateful for the

things that God had given him, started serving. He didn't make much money, but what he made, he gave as much as he could a way to people in need, to the church and the tithe. And a few weeks ago, he walked in and served every morning. He gets here about 6 a.m. to start making 400 gallons of coffee because you people have issues with coffee. And so that was Bill's ministry, is helping support your addiction. And then he sat in this chair and he worshipped at the 8.30.

And then he went home and two hours later he breathed his last breath. Now, prior to that day, there were two things Bill was believing God for. And he talked to me about it multiple times. One, he was believing that a son and his daughter would love Jesus and they would be planted in this church. And Royce and Stacey love Jesus and they are planted in this church. The second thing was a bit taller of an order. and that is that his brother, who was not a believer, and to say he was not excited about coming to life church

would be the understatement of the year. But somewhere along the way, he would come into this room, and he would hear the message of Jesus. But then his life ended. And I met with the family that following week, and I asked him a specific question. I said, do you want me at the end of my sermon at the funeral, to present the gospel of Jesus?

and to give people the opportunity to respond, to which his brother James, without hesitation, said absolutely. Not because he believed in Christ, but with everything in him, he knew that Bill did. And that's the only way we can honor his life. And so the end of his funeral, I stood right here, and I presented the message of Christ. And the first one to respond to surrender their lives to Christ, he was sitting in this chair, was his brother James at his funeral, who prayed and accomplished that which Bill never stopped believing would happen. Now, did it happen the way Bill thought it was going to happen? Of course not.

Did he think it would take his death to save his brother? No. But make no mistake, the things that God's put in your heart to believe for, God will probably take a path very unlike what you think he's going to take. But that's what makes him God and you not. And that really leads us to, let's just get kind of honest with the hardest question in all of this. What if God doesn't do what you are believing for him to do? What if you're believing God to heal someone and they die?

What if you're believing God to bring your kid back into faith with Christ and they seem to be sucked farther into addiction and rebel? against God. What do you do then? Because that is where some of you are living right now and you know it. I want you to write this last thought there. Faithful obedience is our responsibility. The outcome is God's. This is so key. Living out what God has called us to do, the life he has purposed you to live, that is your job, and that is where your job ends. What God does after that is where his job begins. Our job is just to be obedient, just to be faithful, and how he plays it out is entirely up to him. Daniel 318. I love this. Now, remember, these boys staring down a king, I believe that my God is able.

I believe that my God is willing. And then what does they say in verse 18? But even if he doesn't, I believe my God will save me. I believe my God wants to save me. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never, We will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue that you have set up. We will do what is right before God and we will trust him with the outcome. And folks, it's super easy for us to listen to this story and say, well, duh, of course they will, because we know the outcome.

We know they're going to be rescued because we're several thousand years removed. We got three young boys that are facing a really hot oven about to become crispy critters. They don't know what God is going to do, but their faith is unwavering. Because they know intimately the goodness and the power and the heart of their God. And so in response to their insolence and rebellion, what is the king do? For the first time, King Nebuchadnezzar orders that the furnace bestoked seven times, hotter than normal. He orders that the strong soldiers would bind their hands and would then throw them into the furnace. They will, they're going to be killed. And the furnace was so hot, the Bible actually

describes that as the soldiers were throwing the boys into the furnace, that the soldiers died instantly, not in the furnace, just on the outside of it. That's how hot it was. And so seemingly they get thrown to their death, but God. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and he rose in haste and spoke to his counselors. Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said, True, O king, look, he answered.

We see how many? We see four men loose. walking in the midst of the fire, they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like who. It is like the Son of God. This is not the New Testament. This is not Acts. This is not Ephesians. This is Daniel.

This is, as Craig mentioned last week, this is a Christophany, the son of man himself. Listen to me. God will show you his power in all kinds of different ways through the course of your life. but you will know his presence, the tangible reality of the presence of Christ best when you are in the fire. Some of you need to hear that today. We threw three boys in, and now we see four men loose. And you know, the scripture says that they were unharmed and they were unburned and their robes weren't burned. But there was actually something I believe in looking at this text that actually did burn.

And I need for some of you to hear this. the Bible says that they were loose when they were thrown in there remember they were bound and as they looked in they saw four men unbound the fire burned that which bound them

why is that relevant because some of you are facing a fire right now some big some small and you are begging God to deliver you from this suffering you are begging God to end this season of challenge, to end the season of hurt, to end the season of trial. But could I just propose that perhaps, even as we just saw in this story, that the very thing you want God to remove from you is the very mechanism God wants to use to set you free?

20 years of addiction. And I'm facing the most excruciated. trial of my life, hurting the people that I love the most. And the very thing that I begged God to remove from me was the very thing God used to liberate me. Don't minimize what the presence of God in the circumstance of your hurt will accomplish. God will use all things, remember, to work together for his good. And so we conclude. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, praise be to the God of Shadrach, Mishak, and Abedniko. See, when God shows up and you're hurt, the world will look on and God will be glorified.

They will see you, but they will glorify God. They will say, praise be to the God of Jason, who was set free from addiction and never went back. Praise be to the God of Samantha, who stood by her. husband when she didn't have to and God has made their marriage better than new. Praise be the God of Jonathan. Who begin to honor God with their finances. When you stand in the midst of a battle, people looking on, they will see you, but they will honor God. Praise to be the God of Shadrach Mishak and Abedekh, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants. They trusted in him and defied the king's commands and were willing to give up their very lives rather than serve or worship any

God except their God. When your faith is tested, that is a faith church that can be trusted. All of our campuses, would you join me in prayer today? Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you that in the shifting sands of our life's circumstances that your word is like a boulder of granite. It is our foundation. It is immovable. It is sharper than a double-edged sword and is productive for transforming us. God, let us be honest with ourselves and with you today with that which you are calling us to do. In an attitude of prayer today, so many of us are facing trials of some kind, some really big and some may be subtle, but they all feel significant to you and they all matter to God. And I wonder how

many of us hearing this message would have the courage to say, God, I'm not asking you to deliver the trial from me. I'm asking you to deliver me through the trial. I'm asking you to be with me during the hurt. I'm asking you to form within me the character that you want formed as I walk through what we have already been promised that we would experience in sharing the sufferings of being a follower of Jesus. We have to count the cost. It's part of the journey. How much? How many of you would have the courage to say, God, don't deliver me from it, deliver me through it, and form your faith and your character in me. If that's your honest and courage prayer, would you lift your hand before God today at all of our campuses, hands going up all over the place?

Father, I thank you for the faith of your people. We ask that you would grow our faith beyond the state that it's currently in. And in the midst of our hurts, in the midst of our struggles, God, help remind us that not only you are good, but you haven't changed. You are still the God that heals. You're still the God that transforms. You're still the God that raises the dead and breathes the life into that which is lifeless. And so as we sit in our hurt and our struggle, we thank you that you are present with us and that your faith will be formed in us. As we continue to pray today, there are some of you that are experiencing hurt, but you don't really have anybody to turn to because Christ isn't first in your life.

Maybe you go to church, maybe you know about God, maybe you know about Jesus, but knowing about Jesus and going to church isn't what we are called to. We're called to be followers of Jesus. We're called to abandon everything and place him first. You want to talk about trial and fire. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born for the purpose to die, for your sin, not for His, but for yours, and for mine. And Scripture accounts in the Garden of Gassimony, hours before his torture would begin, that the anguish of his impending death was so stressful

that the Bible accounts that he literally perspired blood. He even called out to the Father and said, Lord, if it's possible, would you take this cup from me yet not my will but yours be done? Why on earth would he endure such pain for you? The Bible says for the joy set before him. what is that joy? It is this moment. The opportunity that for some of you hearing this message, the reality that Christ is not first in your life would be the most prevalent thing in your heart and that you would not only believe in him, but you would respond to him. You would receive what he

did on the cross 2,000 years ago to pay for your sin. The Bible says anyone who calls out on the name of the Lord will be saved anyone. That means you. And so what do you do? do you're just going to have to be super courage you're going to have to be super courageous to say you know what god you are not first in my life i need you to forgive my sin and today i say yes and i surrender my life to you at all of our campus if that's your prayer would you boldly lift your hand right now meet me me i keep it up for just a minute i want to see you here and here and here in the back right over here to my left others of you both you guys together right over here to my left right over here on my left right here in the back others of you right here i see your hand lifted high bro others of you

to give you my life right here and here. I see your hand. Others of you. Jesus, I surrender it all. I surrender it all. All of us together praying with those saying yes to the greatest gift ever given, the grace of our Savior, Jesus. Pray this out loud with me. Father, I need you.

I have sinned. I'm asking you to save me. Jesus, I believe you died on a cross I deserved to pay for my sin. and I receive your grace, I surrender my life, fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I could serve you always. In Jesus' name, I pray. Can we make a little noise today and celebrate with those praying to say yes to Jesus? So good.