Discover the Power of One, Part 3

The most important part of chapter 3 is not the fact that these three young believers walked in the middle of the fire without a single hair of their head was singed. But the most important part of this story is that those three young believers would not compromise their convictions even at the thought of death. Welcome to Leading the Way with pastor and author, Dr. Michael Youssef. Up next, experience one of the most fascinating events in the Bible. Young men facing death sentences and yet saved through their faith and their faithfulness because they purposed in their heart not to defile their commitment to God. Remember that Leading the Way is a listener supported worldwide gospel ministry made possible through your generosity. Learn how you can join Dr. Youssef and the team in reaching the world through the Open Door campaign.

Visit ltw.org. Now though, Dr. Michael Youssef turns our attention to the unburnable men. There is a lesson in the Christian life that we seem to have to learn and relearn and relearn and you would think that we'll get the message. What is that lesson? The lesson is this, that we often stumble over God's blessings. We stub our toes in it and we fall flat on our faces. Why? Because we never understand nor comprehend nor we learn the lesson that with every blessing that God gives you, with every blessing that God gives me is a dangerous time.

You say, Michael, wait a minute. How can you say the times of blessings can be dangerous? The times of blessing is what we pray for. Times of blessings is what we look forward to. Times of blessings are the things we are looking forward to. How can you say they are dangerous times? I want to tell you why they are dangerous because with every blessing that you receive from the hand of God, there is the word test written all over it. With every blessing that you and I receive from the hand of God, we have a choice and the choice is this.

Do we stumble over it and we fall down or do we use it as a stepping stone to grow upward and onward? That's the question. If you forget everything today that I'm going to say, don't forget that one. Write it down. Memorize it. In the heavenly realm, there is a heavenly FedEx.

It's not that I'm recommending this company, but it's the one that's best known I guess. And when you get that Federal Express package on your door from the hand of God, God is saying in that package, test, test, test. We all know that tests are not the best and most favorite thing for any student. But you see, tests have a reason.

They are designed by the education system for a reason. That's why in some failed education system, they're trying to take away testing. But tests are very important because they take the diligent. Test helps the prepared student to do well and then progress to the next level. But the same test for the negligent and the students who didn't study and the student who was derelict in their comprehension of the subject matter, they'll fail.

See, that's the purpose of the test. Now I want you please to turn with me to Daniel chapter 3. Daniel chapter 3 is a classic example that when the test came, Nebuchadnezzar stumbled over his blessing while Daniel's three friends passed the test with flying colors.

Why? Because they were always prepared. They were always on their guard. Because they were always ready for the test that comes with God's blessing. I want you to think with me about three things in this chapter here. Three things, Daniel chapter 3. In verses 1 to 15, you see the stumbling on God's blessings. Then in verses 16 to 27, you see the standing on God's promises.

And then 28 to 30, you see the sentimentality of cheap repentance. There is a stumbling on God's blessings. Daniel chapter 2, we saw how Daniel came when nobody could tell the king what the dream was and he had been having nightmares night after night, night after night. He was troubled and nobody could tell him what the dream was, what the interpretation was.

Finally, Daniel comes in and he tells him what the dream was and what the interpretation were. The king of Babylon had witnessed a great supernatural miracle of God. The king of Babylon saw with his eyes, heard with his ears what nobody has seen, namely the power of Jehovah God intervening in the life of people.

He saw and he even said, there is no God like Jehovah. But instead of letting this blessing be a stepping stone so he can grow in his knowledge of God and move from one point of glory into another, he stumbled over it. He stumbled over the blessing.

He stubbed his toe in it and stumbled. His pride took hold of him and then he decided to make a grotesque image, possibly of that dream that he was having, possibly it was of himself, possibly one of his gods. And he put this grotesque image of 90 feet high, 9 feet wide and he said, bow down to me.

In fact, Nebuchadnezzar foreshadows Nietzsche's sentiment when he said, if there is a God, how can I bear not to be that God? And Nebuchadnezzar looked at the statue and says, baby, I am worth it. I deserve the best in life and began to sing how great I am. Now, before you start condemning the king of Babylon, I want you to focus with me just for a little bit. I want you to think with me because I think most of us when we experience a little bit of success, when we receive some blessing from the hand of God, when we accomplish something in life, when we achieve some achievement in life, our natural inner thinking, listen to me, we are not probably brazen enough to verbalize it, but we think it that we, I am God's answer to humanity. I am the great.

Now I'm the greatest. You know what we're doing? Listen to me. Here's what we're doing. We are stumbling over the blessings that God has given us. When you begin to think that way, you are stumbling, it's the beginning of your stumbling on your blessings.

Now, that does not only happen to individuals, it happens to churches, it happens to nations. Listen, there is no nation that has been blessed by God in the course of history like this nation. But now we are stumbling all over our blessings.

We really are. The founding fathers trusted in God and God, true to his promises, blessed this nation like no other. So what does this generation do? Many forces are working to remove the very God who blessed us out of public life. They are stumbling over the blessing. They are removing Bible and Bible monuments out of public places. They are suing Christian preachers for preaching the truth. They are throwing kids out of schools if they pray.

They are breaking the laws and legalizing sin and abomination, all the while thinking that these blessings that we have today is due to human ingenuity. Now I want to tell you something. Whenever I hear somebody on television, whether it be a politician or a commentator or something talking about the indomitable human spirit, I want to puke. And that's not a good thought, but it's true. Like the Becket Nasser of old, they saw the hand of God, but they want to forget it and they want to replace it with the hand of man. And so the Babylonian dust pot said, everyone must bow down to me.

You see, I am convinced that even if the three friends did not in their heart bow or believe in the statue and they just bowed and went along with the crowd, they would have been all right. I think the Becket Nasser was the founder of this idol of tolerance that we have today that everybody has to worship. Kids are forced in schools to worship the idol of tolerance. They will tolerate any god but the God of heaven. They will tolerate any group but the Christians. They will embrace any faith except the one true faith.

They will accept any new-fangled idea except the truth. In fact, they have their own fiery furnace prepared for those who disagree with them, prepared for those who would not go along with them. And those fiery furnaces are known as scorning, ridicule, ostracized, ignored, stumbling over God's blessings right in front of us, secondly standing on God's promises.

Look at verses 16 to 27 of Daniel 3. When the king said, bow down, the three friends said, we bow out. When the king said, you must worship me, they said, no way.

When the king said, I'll give you a second chance, they said, no chance. In many ways, our world is like that of Nebuchadnezzar. The actors are different but the principles are the same. Our society is perplexed.

It really is. Our society is troubled when they see someone walks out on a lucrative business deal for moral reasons. They are perplexed and they are troubled when they see those who should bow down stand up. They are perplexed and they have names for these people who stand up. They call them intolerant, they call them narrow-minded, they call them bigots, they call them ignorant, they call them unintelligent, they call them religious fanatics, they call them out of the mainstream. All designed to intimidate us into worshipping the image.

All designed to make us bow down to their idols. But when their persuasion doesn't work, they resort to greater punishment. I want you to listen to what these three friends said in verses 16 and 17.

I want you to listen to them with a new appreciation for those words. Here's the guy who just said to them, you're on your way to be barbecued, okay? And here's what they said, oh, Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

Forget about the second chance. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able. The God we serve is able. The God we serve is able.

Do you want to say it with me? The God we serve is able to save us from it. And he will rescue us from you, O king.

Wow. Here's a problem with most Christians or those who claim to know Jesus. Here's a problem, is that we sing God is able, but then we live our lives as if he's not able at all. We pay an assent to the fact that he is able. But then we never do anything to prove that we really believe that he is able.

These three friends stood on God's promises. As long as the devil knows that you are not willing to sacrifice anything for God, he knows that you don't really believe that he's able. As long as the devil knows that you are afraid to part with some of your comfort, that you are afraid to part with some of your possessions, that you are afraid to part with some of your reputation, he knows that you are only saying that God is able.

As long as the devil knows that we are afraid of physical death, he knows that we are not sure about those words, God is able. Standing on the promises of God says, look at verse 18. He's what standing on the promises of God says. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have set up.

Man alive. Listen to me. Standing on the promises of God means not just speaking the words, but having confidence. Standing on the promises of God is not positive affirmations that you have to say to yourself to convince yourself that they are true, but it is an unconditional surrender to the will of God. You know, the devil has sold us a lot of bill of goods, and the Christians have bought into them.

And they're too many to number right now, but I'm going to tell you about the chief one. Okay, you ready to hear it? The biggest deception that Satan has managed to sell the believers is that they can't prolong their lives. He really did.

He really did. A lot of believers think that they can't prolong their life. Listen to me. Here's what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verse 27. Who of you, said Jesus, by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Who of you by worrying you can add a single hour to your life? Now listen, we are commanded by God to be stewards of the bodies we have. We are commanded by God to pray for healing, to take the medicine, to follow the doctor's directions, to do all these things, because these are all part of God's plan.

But nevertheless, we can never prolong our lives. Let me tell you something else that is of uttermost importance. If and when you choose to truly believe the words of Jesus, that you are going to be so freed up. You're going to be so freed up. You're going to be so liberated.

You are going to soar with eagles. You're going to war on and not be weary. And those three friends, I said, our God is able. Our God is able. Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, we trust in the promise of God. He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.

You can't touch me. We are anchored in the rock of ages. We are unshakable and immovable because God got us in his hands.

Even if we die, we reign and rule in the universe with him. The stumbling on God's blessings. The standing on God's promises.

And finally, I want to show you the sentimentality of cheap repentance. When the three friends were thrown into the fiery furnace, oh, everyone was anticipating to smell the odor of burning flesh. But the only burning flesh that they saw was the soldiers who threw them in. But instead, they were walking in that oven.

Now this is just a measure. Some of you have seen the pizza oven. Well, just kind of go up about six feet.

You know, make it bigger. And the fire comes from the other side. And here's this walking in that oven like it's a park. It was like a beautiful garden. They're walking in the oven that was heated seven times. The fiery furnace turned into a beautiful garden. Do you know why?

Do you know why? Because our God is what? He is able to turn the place of pain into the place of joy. He is able to take the place of suffering and turn it into the point of glory. He is able to take the place of death and turn it into a garden of life.

Our God is what? And the king said, I heated that oven seven times. They're not burning.

What's going on here? I made sure that only three thrown in. But I see a fourth one. And he doesn't look like anybody I've ever seen before. That's when they did not know what somebody looked like. They said, it looks like the son of the gods.

I mean, they just didn't know what to say. A pagan doesn't understand that he was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. And he says, oh, the fourth one.

He just doesn't look like anybody I've ever seen. Oh, by the way, King, do you know who this is? Remember in your dream in chapter two, you saw the stone that's not cut with hands that smashed the image and then it grew and filled the earth?

That's him. I made sure that their hands and their feet are tied with ropes. Oh, don't you understand, King? Ropes burn in fire.

But not here. And once again, Nebuchadnezzar concludes a second time that Jehovah is a true God. And yet, his belief, still emotional sentimentality, is just effect by the miracles that he had seen. His heart had not changed yet.

He will in chapter four. You see, God had to hit Nebuchadnezzar by the two by four when he finally says, okay. I know there are a lot of people who become broken before God when they need something from God.

And that's all right. God uses that as an opportunity to speak to us. But the question is, would you forget your brokenness the moment you get what you want from God? Or will it change your heart? And will you submit your will to God's will and receive forgiveness and eternal life from his hand?

The choice is yours. The question to those who know Jesus, the question to everyone who claims to know Jesus is this. Do I trust in God? You say, Michael, I trust God. Okay. The next question is, are you willing to use his blessings instead of a stumbling block for you to fall all over it to be a stepping stone to the next point of glory?

Only you can answer that question and only I can answer that question for me. What tangible, quantifiable sacrifice will I make so that I not only say in words but declare in my belief system that my God is able? Thank you for listening to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. And if you'd like to hear this message again or maybe you'd like to look and listen through the message library visit us at ltw.org. And then when you're there, click the Listen link.

It's right near the top of the page. You can also use the Leading the Way app. You can connect through your favorite podcast platform.

You can even ask your smart speaker to play Leading the Way podcast. All right, as you look at the available content, one that I want to encourage you to take a close look at is a podcast from Dr. Jonathan Youssef. It's called Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef. Serving as a pastor in Atlanta, Jonathan, the youngest son of Dr. Michael Youssef, looks at current cultural trends and questions through a biblical lens, always making sure that the truth of God's word is the priority.

He tackles subjects that are often avoided in churches, even when these topics drive life and culture and they need to be addressed. Jonathan engages with respected Christian leaders and mentors to help you live a passionate life for Christ in a world gone mad. Once again, the title of this life-changing podcast is Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef. And you can subscribe through your favorite podcast platform. The website, again, so that you can learn more about the podcast and also get additional subscription details is ltw.org. Well, our time is just about gone for this episode. Hey, but the invitation is open for you to join Dr. Michael Youssef for the next Leading the Way. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.