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Music

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Daniel chapter 3

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this may be a story some of you are familiar with or maybe not

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but nonetheless it's a good story it's one of those stories that every time I

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read it or kind of stumble back on it again it's like oh this is good we need

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to

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we need to talk about this it's it's a good story because it's it's kind of

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rich in imagery in our in our imagination as we as we begin to think

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about the what's going on in this story it's it's really beautiful and there's

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there's good application for it in our life it connects with us good this is

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this is one of those stories there's a handful of those in scripture that just

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really seem to connect and and this is one of them really there are several of

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these good stories here at the beginning of the book of Daniel Daniel 1 through

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6 if you're looking for something to read this week I would encourage you to

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read those chapters because that whole whole beginning the first half of

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Daniel there is beautiful kind of how this unfolds and would make a good movie

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but nonetheless somebody's probably made a movie out of it but we'll be in Daniel

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chapter chapter 3 this morning we'll pray and we'll talk a little bit and then

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we'll we'll eventually get to our text Daniel chapter 3 verse 15 but let's

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pray God we come to you we thank you for this land that we have to live in this

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land of freedom dear Lord I thank you that we can come here today and we can

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read your word and we can sing these songs dear Lord without fear dear Lord I

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pray that we would never take this this freedom for granted but dear Lord I pray

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that is a nation that you would have mercy on us that we'd be a nation that

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seeks you and dear Lord we hadn't done too good a job of that God maybe even

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amongst Christians we haven't done too good of a job of standing up for you and

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living for you but I pray God that you would pour out your spirit on this land

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that you'd send revival on this land dear Lord that we would be men and women

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who seek you as individuals and as a nation I pray God that as we look at

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your word today that you had hide me behind the cross that I'll be able to

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preach and teach in a way that brings glory and honor to you and I pray that

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you'd free us from our worries and distractions and thoughts of the world

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but that in these few minutes that we would just hear from you today meet us

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where we are dear Lord we need you and I ask these things in Jesus name amen a

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little bit of a history lesson God's people were living in the land that he

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had given them but but things were not good for God's people and it was it was

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because of their disobedience they continually would find themselves into

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trouble and eventually the 12 tribes of Israel would split into into two separate

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groups the northern tribes retained the name of Israel there were ten of them

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and then the southern tribes there were two of them and they were referred to as

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Judah in the scripture well God's people were disobedient and I see it told them

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earlier in the scripture look if you if you follow me I'm gonna bless you but if

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you're disobedient to me I'm gonna curse you and that's exactly what happened

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eventually the Assyrians came in about 722 BC and they overtook the ten

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northern tribes that were referred to as Israel and and Judah had a couple of

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good kings and so they kind of helped get God's people back on track but but

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ultimately the southern two tribes failed to Judah fail as well and around

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586 BC the Babylonians who were the superpower of the day came in and they

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overtook what was left of God's people and and by this point God's people had

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been scattered all around into the foreign lands and we see that in some of

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the later books and in the Old Testament and the Babylonians come in and deported

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many of these people who were living in the south and and and and took them back

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to Babylon and and when they took them back they didn't really have much of a

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choice they were foreigners living in a foreign land and you can imagine the

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difficulties there you can imagine how that must have felt I mean I believe

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that we could probably only imagine if somebody were to come in here today and

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take you and say okay I'm taking you to another place to a foreign land that

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speaks a different language with different customs and you're gone just

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like that and that was that was what happened to God's people and this is

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where we see the book of Daniel taking place now there was a king of Babylon at

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the time and his name was Nebuchadnezzar you'll see a lot about him in the first

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parts of the book of Daniel and what the the officials of Nebuchadnezzar were to

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do is they were to get some of the some of the stronger men so some of the

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stronger men that they had captured and deported and brought over here they were

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to take some of these men and they were to make sure that they were fit to serve

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on the King's Council in the King's Court they were they were going to be

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those who were going to essentially be servants of the king and so they had a

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certain diet they were supposed to eat and and they were to make sure that that

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they learned the language so that they could speak well obviously they're in a

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new place a new language they had to learn it and so so the best of the best

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were supposed to be picked out and they were supposed to be ready and prepared

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to serve in the King's Court and there were four that are mentioned here early

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on in the book of Daniel one of them is Daniel the other one is Hananiah

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Michelle and Azariah and these four men were chosen and after they were chosen

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it was pretty clear that they were godly men we see that as we read through the

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book of Daniel these were these were godly men who feared God and who served

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God and who wanted to remain obedient to God and so so these men were were blessed

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by God as a result of that early on in the book of Daniel it says that they were

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ten times wiser than the King's wisest men and so God had blessed Daniel with

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the ability to interpret dreams and the the the wisdom of Daniel and and

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Hananiah Michelle and Azariah was great and so these men were certainly

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prominent in the King's Court now perhaps you're not familiar with those

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names you you may know the other three other than Daniel by the name of Shadrach

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Meshach and Abednego their names were changed once they were brought into a

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foreign land names that would be more fitting for that land and as we begin to

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read through this story we see that Nebuchadnezzar was probably not so unlike

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the other kings of the day and and and there were certainly many gods that were

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worshiped in those lands and God had certainly told his people though should

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have no other gods before me you worship me I am God I am one I am God alone you

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worship me and don't worship any other gods and Daniel and Shadrach Meshach and

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Abednego were godly men they appeared to be men who feared God and who served God

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well King Nebuchadnezzar decided to erect this huge statue of gold so huge in

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fact it was about 90 foot tall and about nine foot wide so this was quite the

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statue that the King had erected and the King sent out a decree throughout the

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land he said okay this big statue is here it is set up and whenever you hear

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the music play he lists a bunch of instruments whenever you hear this the

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instruments play whenever they begin to make music everybody of every tribe and

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every nation of every language everybody it don't matter who you are it don't

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matter if you come from the tribe of Judah it don't matter if you were born

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and raised in Babylon whoever you are wherever you're from

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Nebuchadnezzar is the king he's made this giant gold statue and when the

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music sounds every one of you better bow down to this statue or else or else you

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will be thrown into a fiery furnace you're gonna be burned alive this is

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the command of the king you will worship the statue that I have set up or you

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will be thrown into the fire well as we see when you read through the book of

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Daniel you'll see that Daniel and Shadrach Meshach and Abednego are not

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fazed by the by the the possibilities of what may happen to them if they don't do

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what the king says because they are well aware that they serve God and so they're

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not so much concerned about King Nebuchadnezzar and his commands whatever

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they may be or whatever consequences they may suffer well there was a group

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there Chaldeans that we see in the scriptures and it says that they took

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this opportunity to bring these charges against Shadrach Meshach and Abednego

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because guess what they wouldn't do well they wouldn't bow down to the golden

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statue why they weren't gonna worship some statue they weren't gonna worship

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false gods they weren't gonna worship the gods of that land because they

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worshiped Yahweh the God of Israel so these Chaldeans went before the king and

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they said look King you know may the king live forever you're good King you're

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awesome and what you say is right and everything you say is good but the king

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we hate to tell you this but there's some guys here and they well they're not

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they're not bowing to this statue that you have set up they're not doing what

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you have said and King you said that those who won't bow to this statue were

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gonna be thrown into a fiery furnace well when King Nebuchadnezzar heard

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this news he was he was furious he went into a furious rage that here the king

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the highest official in the land that someone would say we're not gonna do

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what you say to do so the king calls for Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and he

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gets them in there and he says look now here's the deal here is this statue I am

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the king and I'm telling you what to do and you're gonna do what I tell you to

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do or I'm gonna throw you into the fiery furnace and in Daniel chapter 3 at the

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end of verse 14 listen to what the king says at the end of excuse me at the end

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of verse 15 here he says at the end of verse 15 and who is the God who can

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rescue you from my power so the king's pretty full of himself here he says I am

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the king I am the one in control I am the one who has all power I am the one

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who has all authority and you're rejecting me and my power and my

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authority for your God you're gonna choose your God over me and what does he

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say and who is the God who's could rescue you from my power what Nebuchadnezzar

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is saying there is I'm more powerful than God there is nobody who is more

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powerful than me I've got the power and authority to kill you and there is no

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other God in this world who can do anything to help you well those are

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pretty strong words Nebuchadnezzar is treading on thin ice right there boy if

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God had been God I might would have just struck you down right there but praise

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the Lord God smarter than me God says okay I'll show this man he says who is

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the God who can rescue you from me and so God being brilliant as he is he

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answers that question for Nebuchadnezzar he shows Nebuchadnezzar his power let's

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read verse 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king Nebuchadnezzar

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we don't need to give you an answer to this question okay what's the question

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who is the God who's gonna rescue you that's the question that he asked him

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and they said we don't even need to give you an answer to this question and why

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here's why verse 17 if the God we serve exists then he can rescue us from the

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blazing from the furnace of blazing fire and he can rescue us from the power of

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you the king now it says here if the God we serve exists Shadrach, Meshach, and

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Abednego didn't have any doubts it's not like they were saying well I thank God

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for real but I'm not sure if he exists he can save us I don't think that's what

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they're saying there at all I think they're saying that for the sake of the

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king because the king had just said what God can rescue you and they're saying

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okay it's our God who can rescue you and if he exists he's gonna show you you

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might not think he exists you may question whether or not he exists but

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I'll tell you this the God we serve can rescue us from you king we're not

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worried about you you think you have the power you think you have the authority

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but King we want to tell you you were just a man but we serve God and the God

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we serve can rescue us from this fire what a beautiful beautiful passage for

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us to think about today the God we serve can rescue us from the fires that we are

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up against he could do it now there are lots of fires in our life now I hope

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that none of us are ever thrown into a literal fiery furnace maybe that day will

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come if it does we need to remember this story but nonetheless there are things

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that we may call fires in our life trials in our life difficulties in our

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life things in our life that are really tough that feel like they are going to

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overwhelm us and they're going to consume us and they are going to destroy

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us but we need to remember that time and time again through the Word of God that

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we see that God can rescue his people from their fires he can rescue us from

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the fires of bad health he can rescue us from the fires of those who come

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against us he can rescue us from the fires of fear whatever the fires are

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that sometimes rage on our lives we serve a God who has the power to rescue

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us he is greater than all that comes against us he is greater than anyone who

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comes against us and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego remind us this morning that

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we have a God who has the power to save us no matter what we are going through

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so they said look look King we don't care what you say you don't believe our

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God is real but we serve a God who can rescue us from you and we're not worried

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about your power because he is more powerful than you are listen to this

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next part here verse 18 but even if he does not rescue us we want you as King

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to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up

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now this is a good verse for us to remember too we serve a God who can do

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whatever he wants he has the power to work miracles and sometimes he does he

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has the power to deliver his people and sometimes he does but sometimes it may

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not be God's will to work in the way in which we are asking him to work it's not

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a it's not a limit to the power of God it just is simply that some things are

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not the will of God some things that we desire and that we think and that we

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want are not the will of God but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we're not

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going to give up on God they said we serve a God that we know that we love

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that we trust and he is all-powerful and he can do what he wants to do and if he

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wants to save us King that he will save us but even if he does not even if he

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does not deliver us from this King we will never turn from him that's what

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they're saying King even if God does not save us in the way that we might want to

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be saved right now we will not turn on our God we will not turn to you we will

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not turn to false gods we will not turn to anything else because God is our God

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and we will stand by him and what a beautiful word for us to consider today

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because there are fires in our life and there are difficulties in our life and

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there are hardships in our life and there are praise prayers that we pray

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that sometime God doesn't answer them in the way that we want and things that

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linger on and go on for days and weeks and months and years that we wish would

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in and sometimes we may say why God are you there do you care God but what we

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need to say God I don't understand why this is going on I don't like this God

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this is difficult I wish you would make it in but God I know you are God and

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even if you don't answer my prayer the way I want God even if you don't save me

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from this sickness God even if you don't get me a better job God even if you

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don't restore my marriage God you are good and I will not turn away from you

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that's what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said their very life was on the

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line but these are men who trusted God and loved God do we have that type of

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love and trust for God in our life are we willing to be that bold today are we

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willing to recognize who God is and say this is our God there is no one else we

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can turn to that's what they told the King look we serve a God who's mighty

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powerful way more powerful than you so we're not worried about you King who

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knows our God might just deliver us from this but even if we don't even if he

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doesn't we still love him we're still gonna praise him well they told the King

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this you can imagine how the King took this how dare they question his

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authority how dare they speak back to the King in such a way so the King is

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furious at this point so he gets his strongest soldiers the scripture says

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and they time up now you can imagine the strongest strongest soldiers probably

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probably tying them up pretty tight he gives command he says I want you to heat

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up that furnace hotter than it's ever been seven times hotter than normal I

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want you to heat this thing up I want it to be a blazing fire so they do just

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what the King offered they get some of the soldiers they begin to take Shadrach

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Meshach and a bed to go up to the door of the furnace well the fire is so hot

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by this point that the ones that are taking Shadrach Meshach and a bed to go

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up to the fire burn up and their Shadrach Meshach and bed to go go right

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into the midst of this blazing hot furnace they're thrown in there bound

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tied up still wearing the clothes they were wearing and lo and behold as King

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Nebuchadnezzar watches on he calls out to those with him and he says how many

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people do we throw in that fire didn't we throw three people into that fire

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then why is it that I see four people in the fire and they're not bound these men

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were bound they were tied up by my strongest soldiers but yet there are

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three men walking around in the fire but not only three there are four the King

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says we threw three men into the fire but there's four men in the fire and he

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says and one of them looks as though he is the son of God or a son of the gods

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that is to say there's a divine being there in the midst of the fire with

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them now you can imagine that this caught Nebuchadnezzar by surprise and he

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calls out to him he calls out to him here a couple of verses down verse 26

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Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called

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Shadrach Meshach and Abednego you servants of the most high God come out

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so Shadrach Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire here's a God he wasn't

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even willing to acknowledge here's a God that King Nebuchadnezzar had said that

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he was better than that their God couldn't do anything to him and how does

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he refer to the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego he says those who are

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of the most high God come out of the fire and any sense of command throughout

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the whole land he says anybody who says an offensive word against the God of

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Shadrach Meshach and Abednego may their limbs be torn from their body and may

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their homes be made as a garbage dump because there is no other God like the

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God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego what a powerful story for us to think

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about today because there are fires in our lives and there are difficulties in

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our lives and there are hard times in our lives and there are times that we

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are called to stand up for God these men were willing to stand up for God knowing

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that they were going to be thrown into a furnace of fire and too many times we

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are not willing to stand up for God because we are afraid it might hurt

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somebody's feelings or it might might cause trouble with us and our families

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or at our jobs and we're just too ashamed to speak up yet these men were

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willing to speak up with their life on the line and this is the example that you

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and I need to look to that we need to be men and women who are not ashamed that

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when the world comes out of us telling us what is right and what is wrong oh

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you don't need to listen to the Bible it's old-fashioned that's not relevant

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to us anymore here's the new way here's what's cool here's what's right here's

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what the world said is good that we have the bonus to say we're not worshiping

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that junk we're not worshiping the gods of this world we're not worshiping the

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lives of this world we are going to stand by the Word of God because God's

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Word is right and too many times what the world does is wrong and we have to

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be men and women of God that are like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego men and

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women who say I am ready to go through the fire for you Lord I am ready to

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stand up for you God and here's the most beautiful thing is it's not always easy

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I'm gonna tell you it's not always gonna be easy now God is with us God gives us

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the words to say God gives us the strength but that doesn't mean that when

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we stand for God that it's going to be easy the New Testament is full of people

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who stand for God and it's not easy they're on trial they're in prison there

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are some who lose their very lives for standing up for God we still see it in

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our world today I'll tell you brothers and sisters in Christ it's not easy to

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stand up for God and it doesn't mean that it's not going to result in a

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difficult time sometimes it does but here's the beautiful part about this is

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that God is with us just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went through the

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fire we go through fires in life but they weren't alone there was another in

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the fire God was there with them and whatever form he took I don't know but

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it was God who was there with them in the fire that day it was God who walked

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with them in the most difficult time in their life it was God who walked with

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them and we need to learn that kind of trust maybe some of you have discovered

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that in your life that there is there is nothing worse than when we are suffering

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in this life there is nothing worse than when when sickness is just eating

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up our bodies there's nothing worse in life than when our families are falling

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apart our marriages are falling apart there's nothing worse in life when

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there's conflict and when there's hard times there's those those things are

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real and they're serious and they hurt and they're difficult but there's

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something beautiful about those times for the brother or sister in Christ

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there's something beautiful in those times for the child of God because if we

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really seek God's Word and we really love God then it's in those times that

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we begin to pray to God and we begin to call out to him and we begin to trust

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him and depend on him more than ever and I suspect for some of you in this room

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today you could probably tell me a story about how you were as low as you could

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possibly be but you turned to God and you called to him in the midst of your

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fire and there was God the presence of God and there's peace and there's joy

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and there's comfort that comes even in the midst of our fires when we trust

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God there's probably some of you in this room today and you're looking for that

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peace and that comfort and your fire is raging on I don't know what it is I

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don't need to know what it is but I know that there's some in this room because

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life is hard for all of us and there's some fires that are raging on in your

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life today and you need some peace and you need some strength and I'll tell you

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you'll get it from the presence of God because just as Nebuchadnezzar said that

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there is one like the Son of God who is there with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

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I'll tell you today that there is the Son of God Jesus Christ who is with us

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today in our fires that Jesus Christ died on a cross for you and I so that

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we would not have to walk through our fires alone but though but that so our

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sins could be forgiven so that he could strengthen us so that he could restore

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us so that we he could make us better men and women and prepare us for our

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eternity so that when we go through the fires we'll be unaffected because we'll

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know that God is greater than whatever we are up against and Shadrach, Meshach

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and Abednego were thrown into the fire with their clothes on and yet at the end

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of the story it says they came out and they didn't even smell of smoke whatever

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your fire is today that you think you can't go through by the power of God

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he'll be with you he'll deliver you maybe he'll deliver it deliver you from

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it in this life maybe sometimes the way God delivers us is by taking us to the

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life to come but when we trust in Jesus Christ the fires that we are up against

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they will not consume us when we give our life to Jesus Christ and trust him

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as our Lord and Savior he delivers us we're unaffected just as Shadrach, Meshach

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and Abednego were unaffected for all of eternity we will reign victorious with

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Jesus Christ and what a beautiful story this is for us today what a beautiful

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example to teach us how to trust in God and what a beautiful example of how God

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shows up when we need him the most he wants to show up for you today if you'll

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call out to him and seek him let's pray dear Lord we come to you we thank you

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for these good words and I pray that you would bless these words dear Lord I

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pray that as we battle against the things of the world dear Lord there are

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always things that are that are that are pushed on your people dear Lord things

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of the world that we are called to accept and just to to to essentially

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worship dear Lord and praise these things but dear Lord we don't want to be

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those who praise the things of the world dear Lord Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

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did not praise the things of the world they did not praise the gold statue they

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did not praise King Nebuchadnezzar God they praised you so God let us not

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celebrate and rejoice sinful things in our world today God let us be those who

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are bold enough to stand up for you God I pray that you would help us to trust

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you like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did that we would not we would not doubt

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you for a second dear Lord God I pray that we come to you with our fears and

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our and our troubles and our and our difficulties dear Lord that we pray for

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your deliverance and for your guidance God but even if you don't answer our

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prayers the way in which we ask God even if things don't work out the way we want

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God we will not turn from you I pray that we would be those today that would

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not turn from you God maybe there's some here today and they've never put their

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faith and trust in Jesus Christ God maybe they've been walking through the

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fires of life and they feel like they're about to burn up dear Lord I pray you

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today that they would know that Jesus Christ is your son that he gave his life

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on the cross that his blood was shed so that our sins could be forgiven so that

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you could give us deliverance and peace in the midst of our fires so God I pray

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that if there are some that do not know Jesus today that they would repent of

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their sins turn from their sinful ways and turn to Jesus God maybe there's

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some in here today and they are yours but nonetheless dear Lord those fires in

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life they come there are seasons dear Lord where life is tough and maybe

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there's some here today and they're in a tough season I pray dear Lord that they

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would know that they are not alone as they walk through the fire that just as

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you were with Shadrach Meshach in Abednego that God you are with us today

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that you walk with us and I pray God that if there are some who are

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struggling that they would seek you that they would call out to you God that that

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they would feel your presence today that they would feel your peace that they

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would feel your joy that you would encourage and I ask these things in

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Jesus name amen