2/1/14

From Ben Fronczek... Fireproof Faith Daniel (part 3)

Fireproof Faith Daniel (part 3)

by Ben Fronczek

One Sunday the minister of a particular congregation walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon he introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, he told the congregation that the minister, an old man now, was one of his dearest friends who he knew since he was a boy. He wanted the old preacher to take a few moments to greet the church and say a few words. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

“A father, His son, and a the boy’s friend were sailing off of the Pacific Coast,” He began, “When a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized. The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.

The aged minister continued with his story, “Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the lifeline. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son’s friend was not. He had to make a decision. “As the father yelled out, ‘I love you son!’ He threw out the lifeline to his son’s friend.

By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of the night. His body was never recovered.” By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister’s mouth. “The father,” he continued knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus but he could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into eternity without Jesus.

Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save his son’s friend… With that the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. Their minister again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon… I will finish the rest of this story at the end of my sermon.

This story, and the sermon today where we will see what Daniel’s friends did in Daniel 3, prompt me ask the question, ‘How much do I believe and trust in God? And how much do I believe in and trust in what the Bible says?’ Would I compromise my faith and what I believe about God, salvation and heaven in such a situation?

As Christians we are under constant pressure to compromise our beliefs in our culture. Often we are tempted to compromise our beliefs because of subtle pressures that come our way as we interact with others, or while watching TV or while in front of your computer. Or even when we are behind the steering wheel. How well do you stand up under pressure to do what everyone else is doing and ignore God’s will for us? It seems as though God’s people have always had this kind of pressure to compromise their faith. Today I would like to look at how Daniel’s Jewish companions in Babylon named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood their ground and trusted God no matter what the consequence were.

Read Daniel 3 (Click on verse and read)

In Exodus 20:4-5 God commanded,

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”

I think this story was more about how much Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed in God and His word than how they were saved. Here we see where their convictions lay; they would not bow down to that statue even if it meant death, because they believed it would displease our Lord God.

They probably recognized the fact that bowing down and worshipping idols was the very reason why God allowed the Jewish nation to fall to Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon in the first place.

I have been reading Jeremiah which was written when Nebuchadnezzar was outside the gates of Jerusalem and about to destroy it. In desperation the Jewish people asked, ‘How come Lord?’ God answered them through the prophet Jeremiah. He told them it was because they turned away from Him the living God of Heaven. In Jer. 11 He says,

“¹¹Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries. ¹²Then the people of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols and burn incense before them. But the idols will not save them when disaster strikes! ¹³Look now, people of Judah; you have as many gods as you have towns. You have as many altars of shame—altars for burning incense to your god Baal—as there are streets in Jerusalem.”

These three young men may have even heard Jeremiah preach these words and here they were with this king telling them to bow down before another graven image. They couldn’t do it. They would have rather died in obedience to God in that fire than do something that they knew would displease Him.

Later on Jesus would say,

“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mt. 10:28

What I see here is what I like to call ‘Fireproof faith’. Fireproof faith is being completely submissive to God’s will no matter what the consequences.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s faith was not so much in their deliverance, but rather in their God. It was of the same kind as Job’s, who said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” They knew that if God deliver them, His name would be vindicated and honored. But they probably also believed that if they died, at least they did not compromise their faith.

Having faith like this involves trusting in God and His word, no matter what the situation and what the outcome.

Having Faith does not mean that we will know or understand what God is doing or the specific purpose of the trials we encounter. It involves being ready and willing to follow Him and His decrees, all the time, especially so when we don’t know why we are being tested.

In this miracle, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered from the flames, or more accurately in the flames. They were set free in the flames.

There is no suggestion here or anywhere else in Scripture that believers will not experience trouble and suffering. But the believer has an advantage; it is in times of suffering and trouble when the Lord is so much more present to help us or at least comfort us. So we just need to trust Him!

A fellow by the name of Rich Mullins wrote: “You meet the Lord in the furnace a long time before you’ll meet Him in the sky.” Doesn’t it seem like we draw closer to God in times of trail more than any other time?

One of the early church fathers, John Chrysostom, lived in the late 4th and early 5th century. One day he was brought before the emperor and commanded to renounce Christ. The emperor threaten him saying if he would not renounce Christ he would be banished from the country forever—he would be separated from his father’s land for the rest of his life. John responded, “You cannot. The whole world is my Father’s land. You cannot banish me.”

The emperor then said, “Then I will take away all of your property and treasures.” John replied, “You cannot, for all my true treasures are in heaven.”

The emperor then said, “I will send you to a place of absolute solitude where there is not one friend for you to talk to.” John said, “You cannot, for I have a friend that is closer than a brother to me. He is my elder brother, Jesus Christ, who has promised to be with me always—to the very end of the age.”

In anger the emperor then said, “I will then take your life.” John said, “You cannot. For my life is forever hidden in Christ with God.”

Chrysostom was of the same spirit as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

I am not sure if we will ever be called upon to die in a fiery furnace or if we’ll be martyred if we follow Christ. My guess would be, we will not. But we are called out to act and live like a Christian on all occasions no matter what the consequences. .

Otherwise we compromise our faith. Are there pressures and situations that make living life for Christ difficult and sometimes costly? Yes, but hopefully it is during those times that we are identified as disciples of Jesus.In times of testing, God’s people must fight fire with faith.

APPLICATION: How fireproof is your faith? Is your belief and faith in Christ strong enough to meet the challenge of a personal tragedy? Of unanswered prayer? Of criticism? Of personal threats? Of a loss of health? Of loss of possessions? Of persecution? Or loss of a family member? Let these three young men be an example an example for us and an encouragement to fight fire with faith.

NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY:

‘After the worship service was over and the preacher finished up his sermon the two teenagers went up and sat at the old man’s side. “That was a nice story,” the boys politely said., “But we don’t think it was realistic for a father to give up his son’s life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian.”

“Well, you’ve got a point there,” the old man replied glancing down at the worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, he once again looked up at the boys and said, “It sure isn’t realistic, is it? But I’m standing today to tell you that the story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His only son for me. You see… I was the father in my story and your Preacher here was my son’s friend.’

You see that old minister believed God and His word. He had no doubt that his son was in heaven He trusted God’s word. He had what all of us as Christians should have and that is an unshakeable faith.

For more lessons click on the following link:
http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... 1 Peter 3.19, spirits in prison

1 Peter 3.19, spirits in prison

Percy asked who the "spirits in prison" are that are mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19. Somewhere around 414 AD Augustine wrote his fellow-bishop Evodius about this section of scripture. Over and over again he confessed its difficulty and several times he urged his friend to ask other wise people to comment on it. I think Peter had his nerve when he said Paul wrote some things difficult to understand (2 Peter 3:16). In any case, Augustine thought that "the spirits in prison" were men who were in the bonds of moral darkness and ignorance.

I tend to the view that they are the spirits of those to whom Noah preached. They are spirits in prison while Peter writes but they were very much alive when Noah preached to them. In 4:6 Peter speaks of the gospel being preached "to them that are dead." I don’t think he meant that the gospel was preached to men who had already died. They were dead while Peter wrote but when the gospel was preached to them they were living.

In chapter 3 Peter returns to something he has already mentioned in 2:18-24. He insists there that if suffering is to come, the Christian servants should make sure it is suffering they didn’t earn. It is better to suffer for righteousness sake than to suffer (be punished) for evil-doing. In 3:13-22) he returns to that (especially verse 17).

There are three suffering situations in that section. There is the (possible) suffering of the Christians (3:14), the suffering of Christ (3:18) and the suffering of the antediluvian rebels (3:20).

The rebels in Noah’s day suffered at the hand of God for doing evil and the outcome was not blessing but imprisonment after this earthly phase of living. Jesus Christ suffered in this earthly phase of living but he did it for good because he did it for God and the result was resurrection and enthronement (3:21-22). The Christians are to take their choice. If they choose good they will (possibly) suffer (3:14) but the end result is salvation beyond death (proclaimed in their baptism) because they are raised with Christ (3:21). Their baptism is a commitment to obedience (3:21) and the antediluvian baptism is the outcome of a commitment to disobedience. The antediluvian baptism resulted in death and imprisonment and the Christian baptism results in life, renewed life to God through the resurrection and glorification of Christ.

If they should suffer even worse trials than they’re suffering up to now (1:7) and are martyred at least they won’t have died at the hand of God as Noah’s peers did. Nor will they die to God. Some saints who may already have been martyred (compare 4:6) suffered the fate of Jesus Christ who was put to death in the flesh (3:18, 4:1). But the gospel had been preached to them (compare 1:12,25) that though they would suffer as men in the flesh they would live unto God in spirit (4:6).

Yes, but if the spirits in prison are really the pre-flood peers of Noah how is it that Jesus preached to them (3:19)? I suppose he could have done it between his death and resurrection. What he would have preached, why to that specific group rather than everyone or some other group would remain a complete mystery. And the purpose for which he preached to them would be another mystery. To give them a "second chance"? Why them and not all? Why them when Genesis 6 describes them as so wicked that God "repented" of having made man?

Following many others my guess is that he preached through Noah who, Peter tells us, was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:6). We’re told that the Spirit of Christ spoke through the prophets (1 Peter 1:11) so his Holy Spirit surely spoke through Noah. So maybe we should capitalize "spirit" in 3:19 and make it the Holy Spirit, plain and simple.

But that’s probably too simple. The "flesh" very often in scripture (and especially in Paul) speaks from a moral perspective and suggests something sinister—the "flesh" is all that is opposed to God (Romans 8:5-8 is a single illustration). But it doesn’t always suggest that. It can suggest human vulnerability and weakness. Paul speaks of Christ being put to death in weakness and made alive in power (2 Corinthians 13:4) and Peter speaks of him being put to death in "flesh" (there’s no definite article) and made alive in "spirit". Flesh and spirit in Peter probably speak of two modes of existence. "In (the) flesh" was Christ in his vulnerability and in spirit is his existing in divine power, beyond vulnerability (that would be where 3:22 comes in). Perhaps Peter (who knows about Christ’s pre-existence, 1 Peter 1:20) is saying that by virtue of his divinity Christ was able and did indeed preach through Noah to those who now while Peter writes are spirits in prison.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.

From Mark Copeland... Perilous Times And Perilous Men ( 2 Timothy 3:1-13)

                    "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"

                Perilous Times And Perilous Men (3:1-13)

INTRODUCTION

1. Paul often warned his brethren of difficult days ahead...
   a. He foretold of a coming apostasy - Ac 20:29-30; 2Th 2:1-3
   b. Likewise he told Timothy of such things - 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:1

2. Paul's words to Timothy in 2Ti 3:1-13 are especially helpful...
   a. They describe the "perilous times" that are to come
   b. They warn of the "perilous men" that we are to avoid during such
      times

[Lest we think that Paul's words are only for those living just before
Christ returns, let's take a close look at what is revealed about
the...]

I. PERILOUS TIMES TO COME

   A. THE COMING OF PERILOUS TIMES...
      1. It will be "in the last days" - 2Ti 3:1
      2. This phrase often used to describe the gospel dispensation or
         Christian age
         a. Used by Joel, and applied by Peter - Ac 2:16-17; cf. 2 Pe 3:3
         b. Used by the writer to the Hebrews - He 1:1-2
      3. Similar phrases are also used to describe the times in which we
         live
         a. "the ends of the ages" - 1Co 10:11
         b. "the latter times" - 1Ti 4:1
         c. "the last hour" - 1Jn 2:18
      -- Since the cross of Christ we have been living "in the last
         days"; therefore we should therefore expect to experience the
         "perilous times" of which Paul wrote

   B. THE NATURE OF PERILOUS TIMES...
      1. As described in our text - 2Ti 3:2-5
         a. People will be lovers of themselves and money
         b. They will be boastful, proud, and blasphemers
         c. They will be disobedient to parents
         d. They will be unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving
         e. They will be slanderers, without self-control, brutal
         f. They will be despisers of good, traitors, headstrong and
            haughty
         g. They will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
         h. They will have a form of godliness, but denying its power
      2. Compare with those in Paul's day - Ro 1:28-32
         a. People were filled with all unrighteousness and sexual
            immorality
         b. They were filled with wickedness, covetousness and
            maliciousness
         c. They were full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and
            evil-mindedness
         d. They were whisperers, backbiters, haters of God and violent
         e. They were proud, boasters, inventors of evil things and
            disobedient to parents
         f. They were undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving
            and unmerciful
         g. They approved of those who practice things deserving of
            death
      -- What Paul said would occur "in the last days" already existed
         in his day!

[Note well:  It is the conduct of people that creates "perilous times",
and we are certainly living in such times today!  What then should be
our concern for living "in the last days"?  According to our text, there
are...]

II. PERILOUS MEN TO AVOID

   A. MEN LIKE JANNES AND JAMBRES...
      1. Who will lead gullible families and women astray - 2Ti 3:6-7
         a. Through trickery and deceit ("creeping into households")
         b. Through appealing to the lusts of their victims - cf. 2 Pe 2:3,18
         c. While their victims are ever learning, they never come to
            the knowledge of the truth - cf. 2Ti 4:3-4
      2. Who themselves resist the truth like Jannes and Jambres - 2 Ti 3:8-9
         a. Though not mentioned by name, it is thought these two men
            were among the magicians and sorcerers who resisted Moses
            and Aaron - cf. Exo 7:11,22; 8:7,18
         b. Those who resist the truth are of corrupt minds, rejected in
            regard to the faith - cf. 1Ti 1:19-20; 4:1-2
         c. Whose folly will eventually become evident to all, as
            happened to Egyptian magicians - cf. Exo 7:12; 8:18; 9:11
      3. Such men will grow worse, deceiving and being deceived - 2 Ti 3:13
         a. Their profane and idle babblings will lead to more
            ungodliness - cf. 2Ti 2:16
         b. Their messages will spread like cancer - cf. 2Ti 2:17
      -- This sounds like many TV evangelists, liberal theologians,
         college professors

   B. MEN UNLIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL...
      1. A man whose doctrine and manner of life is easily followed
         - 2Ti 3:10
         a. As the Corinthians were encouraged to do - 1Co 4:17; 11:1
         b. As the Philippians were encouraged to do - Php 3:17
      2. Whose purpose, faith, longsuffering, love and perseverance is
         well documented - 2Ti 3:10
         a. As he reminded the Philippians - Php 3:8-14
         b. As he reminded the Corinthians - 2Co 11:23-28
      3. Who endured persecution and affliction, as would others living
         godly lives in Christ Jesus - 2Ti 3:11-12
         a. Paul was awaiting his death by Nero in writing these words
            - cf. 2Ti 4:6
         b. Peter also knew that he would face an unnatural death for
            his faith - cf. 2Pe 1:14
      -- What a contrast between the apostles like Paul, and many false
         teachers today!

CONCLUSION

1. It is evident that we are living "in the last days"...
   a. Many people are certainly just like those described by Paul
   b. False teachers abound just as Jesus, Paul, and others warned
   -- We truly live in "perilous times", with an abundance of "perilous
      men"

2. How will we survive living "in the last days"...?
   a. By avoiding those who reject the truth and lead astray by
      appealing to our fleshly desires
   b. By carefully following the doctrine and manner of life of men like
      the apostle Paul
   -- It may mean persecution, but the Lord will deliver His faithful
      disciples!

What kind of "men" are we following in these "times" in which we
live...?

From Gary... B1

Common sense is the stuff of brilliance. The message of this little cartoon is simple- be what you are supposed to be. What are you supposed to be? One who follows Jesus of Nazareth, who is called the Christ. So, then, it would be a good idea to listen to HIM!!! The following is a brief passage from what is commonly called "The Sermon On The Mount"...

Matthew, Chapter 7

7  “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.   8  For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.   9  Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?   10  Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent?   11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!  12  Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

  13  “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.   14  How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.

  15  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.   16  By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?   17  Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.  18  A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.   19  Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.   20  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.   21  Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.   22  Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’   23  Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

  24  “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.   25  The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock.   26  Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.  27  The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

OK, this is just one portion of Jesus' teaching, so if you want the whole story, read chapters five and six as well. But, lets just focus in on just verses 24f.. What Jesus says to do- DO! Your life will be like someone's house founded on a firm foundation; A ROCK that can't be moved, no matter what comes your way. Want to be a Christian? B1!!!

1/30/14

From Ben Fronczek... Mission Impossible Daniel (Chapter 2)

Mission Impossible Daniel (Chapter 2)

(By Ben Fronczek)

In our last lesson I talked a little about how and why Daniel and a few other Jews were in Babylon. The Jewish nation had turned their back on God and the covenant they had made with Him during the time of Moses. In that covenant God had told them that He would greatly bless them for their faithfulness, but if they turned their back on Him and the covenant they had made they would eventually suffer dire consequences. As far back as the time of Moses God predicted that the Jews would one day do just this and so God told them that one day He would allow a king and a kingdom they did not know to come in and destroy their nation and all but a few would survive. God also told them that some of the survivors would even be carried off and they would serve the king that captured them. All this took place about 587BC as predicted..

As we looked at Daniel chapter 1 last time, we read where the king ordered his servant to choose some of the finest young men, who had been captured, who were somewhat wise and showed a aptitude to learn so that they could be trained to serve in the royal palace. Daniel and is 3 companions were chosen and they were given new Babylonian names. The king also provided them with food from his own table. This may have seem like a blessing to those who had just come out of a city that was besieged and nearly starved out during a time of war, but for Daniel and his companions they just could not eat the kings food. Daniel and his companions were obviously young men that had a good upbringing and were some of the few that remained faithful to the Lord. So they made a decision not to defile themselves by eating the kings food. As the story goes God honors their loyalty and commitment to Him and the Mosaic covenant and blessed them with good health and more wisdom than any in Babylon. That leads us to chapter 2. Read 2:1-13 (click on and read)

It seems to me that king Nebuchadnezzar was no fool. He had all these magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers in his service (on the pay role as it were) and so after having this disturbing dream he tests to see if they were scamming him and playing him for a fool. After calling them in he demands that they not only tell him what he dreamt but also what it meant. If they didn’t he’d have them torn limb from limb for being phonies.

Well these guys were frantic, and they even admitted that there was no way that they could tell the king what he dreamt. They said no king ever made such a request.

At that point the king sees them for who and what they really were… a bunch of phony charlatans who were mooching off him. So in anger he sends the order out to have all these so called ‘wise men’ executed in Babylon. Read 2:14-24 (click on verse and read)

Being in the company of the wise men, Daniel and his 3 companions were to be rounded up with the others to be executed. The text goes on to say that Daniel spoke to this commander with wisdom and tact. – I think its important how we talk to others… The NASB says that he spoke with discretion and discernment. The KJV says the he answered with counsel and wisdom.

How we speak to another can make all the difference in a stressful, difficult time of peril. All too often we are quick with our tongue and shoot our self in the foot when we need to be careful and think before we speak.

Proverbs 13:3 says, “Proud fools talk too much; the words of the wise protect them.”

Even at a young age Daniel was wise enough to see this. I wonder if he memorized some of those proverbs written by Solomon? Maybe he did!

After finding out what was going on, Daniel goes to the king and asks for a little bit of time so that he could come back with an answer. Here we see Daniel stepping out on faith. Not only is he bold enough to confront this powerful king who was obviously upset with all the wise men, we also see that Daniel believed that the Lord would help him with this problem.

Where the other magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers said that it was impossible, Daniel said ‘give me a chance.’ Why and how could Daniel believe that he had such a chance to do this? Because Daniel knew the scriptures, and Daniel knew that his God and our God can do amazing things, and will bless those who are truly faithful to Him as He had already done for Daniel and his companions and for others throughout the Bible (e.g.).

So Daniel returns home and tells his three friends what’s going and asks them to pray. And what happens? God shows Daniel what the kings saw in his dream and what it meant. After thanking and praising God he returns to the king and tells him that there is a God in Heaven who knows all and has revealed to him what the king saw in his vision. Read 2:25-49 (click on and read verse)

So what did the King see in his vision? He saw a great statue with a head of gold, with a chest and arms of silver, with a belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet part iron and part clay, and then he saw a stone smash it all to bits. That stone became a mountain and would last forever.

What does the image of this great statue represent? Well Daniel lets the king know that the God of heaven had revealed the future to him in that vision. Each section represented a different kingdom or empire. The gold head represented him, this king and the Babylonian empire. The empire to follow depicted as silver would be a little inferior representing the Medo-Persian Empire. This would be followed by the Greek empire seen as the bronze section, followed by the Roman Empire first depicted by the iron legs and then the feet of iron and clay as the Roman Empire as it deteriorated. And finally the empire that would outlive them all and last forever (that is the church and the kingdom of God) that was the stone that would strike them all down and grow into an everlasting mountain.

At this explanation Nebuchadnezzar is not only awed and blown away, this great and powerful king humbles himself and falls prostrate before this young man Daniel.

As I said earlier, this king was no fool, Daniel had produced the goods. Because Daniel gave God the glory and credit right from the beginning, rather than himself, Nebuchadnezzar recognized God for who He is; the God of gods, and Lord of Kings and praised Him as such.

Daniel is promoted to rule over the entire province of Babylon and was placed in charge of all its wise men. Sounds a little like the story of Joseph to me.

So what lesson can we take away from this story today?

I believe we can learn some principles that can help us handle predicaments which seem way beyond our own ability. You may not have a king demanding you to tell him what he dreamt last night and what it means but we all face our own crisis that seem beyond our ability to solve on our own. Maybe it’s a health issue you or a loved one has, maybe it’s your marriage, or a financial problem, maybe a disastrous relationship problem, or a habitual sin problem and you can’t seem to fix yourself or stop on your own.

#1. I believe God’s work is most obvious when it our situation becomes humanly impossible. All too often we take God’s involvement and blessings for granted.

But when we’ve done all that we can do or we are face with what may seem like an impossible situation, we have a heavenly Father who loves us who we can turn to.

Daniel understood that a humanly impossible situation can only be resolved with divine help. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the trials he faced he wrote,

“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us… “ 2 Cor. 8-10

No matter how impossible a situation may seem it is important for us to turn to God for help.

In Mark 10:27 Jesus said, “All things are possible with GOD!”

#2. When you don’t know what to do or how to do it, PRAY! Ask others to pray for you as well. Over and over when in difficult situations we see men and women of God praying for themselves and for one another. James wrote that if we lack knowledge or wisdom we should pray for it. But he also goes on to say,

“⁶But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

#3. God wants us to believe and trust in Him, even if we don’t understand how He can fix things. That’s what we call faith. And that kind of faithful prayer will see results. Such prayers of faith will eventually produce praise. Praise from you and praise from others.

#4. When things like this happen when we see God resolving great problems, our faith grows. Our faith grows from trial to trail, from faith to faith. I believe Daniel and his 3 friends grew stronger with each passing trial, and they needed to because they would have more trials to come. Likewise we are to grow stronger from trial to trail, from faith to faith. I believe sometimes God may allow certain things to happen in our life hoping that our faith will grow stronger.

#5. Miracles like this not only build our faith, it opens eyes of others as well, just like it opened the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar who praise our Lord in Heaven. Sometimes it’s not all about you.

So whatever you face you need to remember that there is a God in Heaven and He is able.

Eph 3:20

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

For more lessons click on the following link:

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLD

HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLD

Overcoming a sexual addiction is not the same as overcoming “the world”. To see a pleasing increase in your capacity for patience is not the same as overcoming “the world”. To gain ground in the pursuit of moral excellence is not the same as overcoming “the world”. To overcome “the world” is to overcome a world and not just to gain ground against specific wrongs! To overcome “the world” is to experience complete triumph over it and not simply to fight it. To “overcome the world” is to leave that “world” and enter into “the new creation”.
“Look, I have overcome addiction to alcohol—see? I have overcome ‘the world’.” And what of those who are in the Lord Jesus but still struggle with alcohol, bitterness, pride, lust, envy, ill-temper or whatever? Have they not overcome “the world”? And what of the other sins that you haven't left behind—do these show that you haven't overcome “the world”?

We will continue to be sinners until the world is better and what we call “free” will will truly be free. For how can we at a serious level speak of free will when we are capable of choosing what we know is evil and unlike the Lord Jesus? There’s an important tension here in life as we now live it. It’s clear that “free will” is in some respect a reality or the Holy One would not call us to heartfelt obedience. Yet, if knowing the sweet and strong will of God for us we still wrestle for moments or perhaps weeks to respond in obedience. How could a will completely free, will to disobey our Holy Father? But all of this though very important leads us away from what I’d like to pursue. I just want you to know that I know that I don’t know very well what I’m talking about. It isn’t that it is obscure—it’s that it’s too deep and complex. We don’t have enough breath to dive deep enough and stay down long enough to come back up fully satisfied.

It isn’t simply that we don’t live what we know. We don’t know what we know!

My guess is that there only a relatively few believers lived comfortably in the pig-pen before the blessed God, like a great lion confronted them and barred their way as they strode further down the road to perdition. My guess is that many of them by God’s grace were good girls or boys and without any jarring experience, in a smooth and almost “natural” transition, took Jesus’ hand when he offered it to them in the gospel. They were morally aware and decent before they ever entered into a faith union with God in Christ.

There are multiplied millions like you throughout the world who have not yet come to our Lord and who do not know there is a Lord to come to. God has always been and is at work in the lives of the nations [Acts 14:15-17; 17:24-29]. We’re not competing with non-Christians in a moral competition, to see who gets the best score. Our obedience is not obedience to the moral law; it is the obedience of faith in the Lord Jesus [Romans 1:5; 16:25-26] and that means that we respond in Christ-imaging righteousness. Paul would insist in Romans 6:1-8 that we are not to forget the meaning of our baptism and what took place there.

The cross of the Lord Jesus is the place where God reconciled us to himself and reconciliation to God means that our lives and purpose are reoriented and realigned with the heart of God.

The “obedience of faith” is how the “world” is overcome. Not merely specific sins—“the world”! In what way is “the world” overcome and in what way are our specific sins overcome by faith?

The faith that conquers “the world” is not simply our subjective act of inner believing. It’s the internalizing of truth that is true whether we believe it or not, truth about Jesus; it’s the glad embracing as true what God’s work in Jesus is and means. For our point at this moment, in entering into him by faith we enter into a full identification with the one who slew “the world” [Galatians 6:14].

The entire pagan “world”, religious, political or social and the corrupted Jewish “world” were the creations of sinful humanity. The beauty and goodness of the creation and the strength and wisdom of the authorities and powers that God created for the advancement of life in and under his grace and guidance—all these were corrupted and became avenues and instruments to express the alienation between God and his human creation.

Among the many things the death of the Lord Jesus did is this: it exposed and sentenced “the world” for what it truly is—God’s good creation as seen through the eyes of “the prince of this world”, God’s good creation as it is construed by all those who are enslaved to and by the “god of this world” [John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4].

Only Jesus of Nazareth refused to join the war against God, only he saw life and all that goes with it as life to be lived in joyful devotion to God. His absolute devotion to the Holy One exposed the powers for what they were and they slew him for it. This was no surprise to him for he came to do his Father’s will and to give his life a ransom for humanity [his entire life that culminated in his death]—Matthew 20:28; 1 John 2:2.

He chose to die [John 10:11, 17-18] knowing that in dying he would defeat the powers [John 12:31-32; Colossians 2:15] and in this absolute obedience to the Holy One he would be granted absolute power to guide and rule the world [Ephesians 1:17-23; Philippians 2:5-11]. But in dying he not only did the will of the Holy Father, it did it to rescue the human family [Galatians 1:3-4].

However we “explain” the “atoning” process, the NT writers place the dying of the Lord Jesus at the heart of it. He gives his life to ransom us, he carries our sins up on to the tree [1 Peter 2:24] and he gives himself for us [Ephesians 5:2].

All this to say, he is himself the conqueror of “the world” which is anti-God, anti-holiness and anti-life [John 16:33; 1 John 2:15-17] and when by faith in him we embrace him we embrace all that he is and means—we triumph over “the world”.

We don’t triumph over “the world” by becoming sinless. We triumph over “the world” by embracing the Sinless One, by trusting his judgment on sin; all sin, including our own sin. In believing in the “world’s” Conqueror we approve of the sentence he passed on “the world” and so it is by and on his cross the world is not only crucified to him—it is crucified to us [Galatians 6:14].

By faith in him, which is generated by his faithfulness his crucifixion becomes our crucifixion and our relation to “the world” has definitively ended [Galatians 2:19-20; Romans 6:7].

And so we hear 1 John 5:4. Because by his grace we believe who and what we believe we conquer the entire anti-God “world” and are now part of a “new creation” [2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 1:29].

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.