Knowledge.
Courage. Covenant.
Daniel 3:1-7.
You ever had one of those dreams where you’re standing
in front of a crowd of people, naked?
That must’ve been what it felt like for Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah; you may know them better from their Babylonian names,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.
There they were standing amid the masses gathered all
around the golden image that rose nine stories.
These masses weren’t your ordinary ol’ huddled masses.
They were high ranking officials from all over the vast kingdom of Babylonia,
which spanned from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, including parts
of modern-day Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and more.
By command of king Nebuchadnezzar, they gathered to
dedicate the huge gold image set up by Nebuchadnezzar.
Whenever the symphony started to play, that was their
que, by decree of the king, not to stand up and dance, but to stop and drop in worship
of the golden image.
And everybody did, just as they were commanded... everybody
except Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
One moment they were blending in with the crowd, the
next, they were standing above the crowd, feeling naked; defying one king,
honoring Another.
Daniel 3:8-12.
Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. 9
They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O
king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute,
harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down
and worship the gold image; 11 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall
be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews
whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you.
They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”
KNOWLEDGE.
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, stood when everyone else
bowed.
They defied the king.
They honored God.
But how did they know?
How were they so sure that they should break the law
of man, defy the king, and face an immediate horrifically painful death?
Knowledge. They knew the Word of God.
Exodus 20:3-5, Dt. 5:8-9, You
shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not
make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth; 5 you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I,
the Lord your God, am a jealous God...
They knew the reason they were in this
mess, the reason they were taken captive, was because their nation had turned
from God and bowed to idols.
They were warned repeatedly that this would happen.
About a century earlier, the Lord, through Isaiah
prophesied: Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your
house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be
carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7‘And they shall take
away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will
beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of
Babylon.’ Isaiah 39:6-7.
Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego were some of the eunuchs Isaiah prophesied about.
Later, the Lord through Jeremiah warned: This
whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will
serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. But when the seventy years
are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of
the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it a
perpetual desolation." Jeremiah 25:11-12.
It happened exactly as the Lord predicted. The land of
Israel became a barren wasteland, while Babylon was beautiful and bountiful, with
the hanging gardens of Babylon being one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. However, just as the Lord predicted, now the reverse is true. Israel is
beautiful and bountiful and Babylon is a wasteland in ruins.
THEY WERE WARNED, BUT THEY REJECTED KNOWLEDGE.
Hosea 4:6, My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you
have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Jeremiah 4:22, For
My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly
children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but
to do good they have no knowledge.
Isaiah 5:13,
Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they
have no knowledge...
INSTEAD, THEY (AND WE) SHOULD DO
THIS:
Psalm
119:11, Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 119:105, Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path
Psalm 119:165, Great
peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend
them.
John 6:63, The
Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have
spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
Matthew 4:4, Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.
Matthew 22:29, Jesus
answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures
or the power of God.
Hebrews 4:12, For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Joshua 1:8,
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall
meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that
is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then
you will have good success
Psalm 1:1-3,
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot
on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his
delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and
night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its
fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
James 1:22-25, But be
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word
and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for
he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he
was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of
liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a
doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
HEARING MUST BE FOLLOWED
BY DOING OR IT WILL DIE
Romans 10:17,
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
James 2:17, 20, 24, 26, Faith
without works is dead.
The Word works if you work the Word.
Well, yeah, but Doug, it was way different back then,
it was clearly spelled out for them: Thou shalt not bow. But nowadays,
it’s not so clear, the Bible doesn’t address the complex issues we deal with today.
Oh really? Or maybe it does and we’re just ignorant of
His Word, or as guilty of ignoring His warnings as they were back then.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of
God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
***NO TIMESTAMP***
THE
WORD OF GOD IS TIMELESS THEREFORE EVER TIMELY
ALWAYS
IN ALL WAYS
ANYTIME
AND EVERYWHERE
Whatever your situation God’s Word has a solution.
2
Peter 1:2-4, Grace and peace be multiplied to you in
the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as
His divine power has given to us all
things that pertain to life and godliness, through
the knowledge of Him who called us by glory
and virtue, 4 by which have been given
to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that
through these you may be partakers of the divine
nature, (Zoe Life) having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust.
Okay Doug, fine, if the Bible has all the answers, prove
it. What does the Bible say about hot topics we face today? Like, LBGTQ...
Gender, abortion, Israel, Climate change, borders, wars...???
NOTE: Are you wondering what this has to do with Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego, not bowing before Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image?
They had enough knowledge of the Word of God to apply it
to their current events and recognize, a time to stand and a time to bow.
Do we?
Let’s see.
Always remember: hard Truth must come softly, saturated in His Love.
LBGTQ+
Genesis 1:27-28,
So God created man in His own image; in the image
of God He created him; male and female
(two genders)
He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to
them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the
earth and subdue it; have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over
every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Man was created in image of God to have authority
over every other living thing (not other people) on earth. No
earth worship. No animal worship.
Genesis 2:18-25, God
created woman from the womb of man, so to speak, from his rib.
God brought the female, to the male, and
performed the first marriage.
THE PRECEDENT SETTING
PROTOTYPE.
Just to be clear God says: For this reason, a man (male) will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife (female),and they (those two) will become one flesh. Genesis 2:24; and then He repeats it in, Matthew 19:3-5, Mark 10:6-9, Eph. 5:31, 1 Cor. 6:16.
Matthew 19:3-4,
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife for any reason?” 4 Jesus answered, “ Have you not read
that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
Then Jesus expands it and says:
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, FOR LIFE.
In Malachi 2:15-16, He explained that He did
this because He desires Godly offspring and hates divorce.
Yeah, but Doug, that’s the perfect example, but
we don’t live in a perfect world. Lot’s of Christians are divorced and
remarried. So, what’s wrong with two same sex folks that “love” each
other?
God knew you’d ask, and addressed this in no uncertain terms in his Word.
Always remember: hard Truth must come softly, saturated in His Love.
Romans 1:18-32. Day
after day, from the beginning creation reveals evidence of the Creator, so all
are without excuse. (Psalm 19:1-6).
Yet, there are those who willingly choose to reject
the Truth and believe the lie.
Romans 1:26, For
this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women
exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for
one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in
themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29
being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God,
violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32
who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such
things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those
who practice them. Romans 1:18-32.
1 Corinthians 6:9, Do you not know that
the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,
nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
Jude 1:7, In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
Always remember: hard Truth must come
softly, saturated in His Love.
ABORTION
Exodus 21:22-25,
“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, (not
fetus) so that she gives birth prematurely,
yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s
husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But
if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn
for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Harming the child in the womb was considered harming a
life. Life for life, eye for eye...
Psalm 139:13-16, For
You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I
will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame
was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, and skillfully
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. (NLT: in the dark of
the womb). 16 Your eyes saw my substance,
being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the
days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Life begins at conception.
Proverbs 6:16-19,
These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an
abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying
tongue, hands that shed INNOCENT blood, (what
is more innocent than a baby?) 18 A heart that devises
wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A
false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among
brethren.
Matthew 18:10, 14, Take
heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you
that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is
in heaven... 14 So, it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that
one of these little ones should perish.
Matthew 19:14,
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not
forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Psalm 127:3-5, Behold, children are a
heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the
children of one’s youth. 5 Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them...
Deuteronomy 30:19, I
call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life
and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your
offspring may live.
ISRAEL
God offers a blessing to all who bless Israel, and a curse to all who curse her.
Genesis 12:3,
“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make
your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 2 I will bless
those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all
the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Thank you Israel for giving us our Savior.
The recent war between Israel and Iran was named, Operation
Rising Lion. It came from, Numbers 24:9 ‘He bows down, he lies
down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he
who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.”
God brought Israel into the land and
promises to keep her there. To stand against that, is to stand against God:
Ezekiel 37:21, ‘Thus
says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from
among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every
side and bring them into their own land;
Zechariah 2:8,
For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which
plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
Isaiah 11:12, He
will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of
Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the
four corners of the earth.
Jeremiah 24:6-7, For
I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this
land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I
will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I
will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord;
and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they
shall return to Me with their whole heart.
Amos 9:14-15, I
will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
They shall build the waste cities and
inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant them in their land,
And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
Zechariah 10:9-10,
“I will sow them among the peoples, and they
shall remember Me in far countries; they shall live, together with their
children, and they shall return. 10 I will
also bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria. I
will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, until no more
room is found for them
Zechariah 12:10, “And
I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the
Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom
they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and
grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. John 19:37, Revelation 1:7,
Romans 11:26, And
so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out
of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
Isaiah 66:8,
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made
to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children.
On May 14th, 1948, the nation
of Israel was reborn, just as God had said.
CLIMATE
Genesis 8:22,
While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and
summer, and day and night Shall not cease.
2 Peter 3:4 ..
In
the last days, scoffers will say... all things continue as they
were from the beginning of creation. ...10-13 But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a
great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth
and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all
these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy
conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of
God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat? 13Nevertheless we, according to
His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells.
Global warming on steroids will happen after
the rapture of the Church, the seven year tribulation and the Millennial reign
of Christ, then it’ll all be burned up, renovated with fire, to make way for
the new heaven and the new earth.
So, that will happen at the minimum of 1,007
years from now, if the rapture occurs today.
Until then, while the earth remains, seedtime and
harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease, all
things will continue as they were from the beginning of creation.
God set the times and the seasons and man is not big
enough or powerful enough to altar that, no matter how many gas guzzling cars
he drives or grass eating cows he feeds.
BORDERS,
Deuteronomy 32:8,
When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated
the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number
of the children of Israel.
Acts 17:26, From
one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
The Lord judges those who divide up borders of His land, Israel. Joel 3:2.
Borders are God's idea.
Commonsense personally and nationally:
We
lock our doors at night, not because we hate our neighbors, but because we love
our family.
WARS
Matthew 24:6-8, You
will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.
These things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All
these are the beginning of birth pains.
As birth pains, these signs will increase in intensity
and frequency.
The looming Ezekiel 38 War is on the horizon. That
war happens near the rapture of the Church. So, dear Church, lift up your head for
your redemption is near.
If you don’t know Jesus, today
is the day to remedy that. Hebrews 3:7-8, Isaiah 55:6.
Knowing God’s Word is so important that
He used His Son as the ultimate object lesson.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us. John 1:1,14.
Then Jesus (the Word) said, I AM, the Way,
the Truth, the Life, no one comes to the Father, but by Me. John 14:6.
Do you know, the Word? (That
Word, know, means to know personally,
passionately, deeply as a covenantal marriage).
If not, now it’s time to bow.
Let’s pray.
Jesus, our Lord, Master, Savior, we bow
before You now.
Search our hearts, some of us know You and
love You.
Some of us only think we do, but we only
know about You, a little.
Please convict our hearts to burn with passion
to know You now.
So, we don’t burn eternally, later.
Then, if You will, please use us to help
others to know when to stand, and when to bow, so we all may stand before You
and hear You say, “Well done” and not those dreadful words, “Depart from Me, I
never knew You.”
Thank You Lord.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
Call or text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
Facebook: Church at WPV
Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling
Watch online:
Facebook: A Time to Stand a Time to
Bow, Daniel 3:8-30.
You Tube: A Time to Stand a Time
to Kneel, Daniel 3:8-30.
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
No comments:
Post a Comment