 Please open in your Bible, if you will, to Daniel chapter 3. Daniel chapter 3. So I was recently speaking in Calvary Chapel out in Rancho Cucamonga, and when the service was over, this lady came forward with her teenage son, and she said, Pastor Larry, would you pray for my son? I said, I'd be glad to pray for him. I said, what's going on? And she said, well, my son is in a public high school in Rancho Cucamonga. And she said, this week, the teacher walked in the classroom, about 30 students in the room, and said, hey, let's have a discussion on the same-sex marriage. The teacher said, is there anyone in the room who does not agree with same-sex marriage? She said, my son, he raised his hand, and he was the only one in the room who raised his hand. She said, immediately the whole class and the teacher turned on him. She said, will you pray for my son? We want him to stand up for what's right, but we don't want him to become a target. Dear ones, I can't tell you how many times in the past few months I have heard stories like that. In our day, in our time, it is increasingly difficult to be a Christian. It seems like the only unprotected group in America are the Christians. Other people can say whatever they want and do whatever they want, but dare a Christian pray or speak up for what they believe is right. All of a sudden, everybody turns on them and they become the target. We live in days like we've never seen before. These are crazy times when people call good evil and evil good, they call light darkness and darkness light, where they call right wrong and wrong right. I believe there are so many of God's people, so many of you here today. What you just need is a word of encouragement. It says it's okay to be a Christian. It's okay to be a believer. It's okay to stand up for the Lord. As I was praying about what the Lord was having to share with you today, He so strongly directed me to Daniel chapter 3. The final of this message is standing up in a fallen world. Standing up in a fallen world. You know what is truly amazing? What can happen when God finds just one person who will stand up for what is right, who will do what is right, and who will have the courage to stand for Him, such as the case of the true story of a man in church history named Telemachus. Telemachus lived about 300 years after the time of Christ. He lived in an area known as Asia Minor, modern Turkey. He was a simple, humble, quiet man who tended his garden. He minded to his own business, and was working in the garden one day. He felt the Lord speaking to him. He felt a strong inner impression go to the city of Rome. At first he thought it was his own imagination. He thought it was himself. But the impression kept coming, and he didn't want to be disobedient to God. So he packed a few belongings, and he started out on his journey. It took him several weeks on foot to get to the city of Rome, the largest city in the world at that time. When he arrived in the city of Rome, there were more people than he'd ever seen before, and as he stepped into the street, it was almost like he stepped into a river of humanity, and he was swept along with a group of people, and within a few minutes, he found himself sitting way high up in the famous Roman Colosseum. And as he was sitting there, he'd never seen so many people gathered in one place at one time, and he looked down into the middle of the arena, and all of a sudden these two men, these two gladiators, they came out with swords, and they faced the emperor's box, and they said, we who are about to die salute you. He'd heard about these gladiator matches. He'd heard about these men killing each other just for the entertainment of the people, but he could not believe what he was seeing with his own eyes, and something deep inside of him rose up. This isn't right. And so right there in the middle of the stands, he stood to his feet, and he shouted in the name of Christ, stop. Well, of course, they didn't stop. They kept fighting, and Telemachus, he was serious. This was wrong. Nobody was doing anything, and so he made his way down the long steps until he came to the retaining wall that dropped into the arena, and again, he shouted out at them in the name of Christ, stop. Well, many people in the crowd, they thought he was joking, they thought he was a plant, they began to mock him, but he was serious. So he dropped over the retaining wall onto the dirt floor of the Coliseum, and he made his way out toward the gladiators, and as he approached them, he shouted at them in the name of Christ, stop. One of the gladiators wheeled around, and he thrust Telemachus through with a sword, and he dropped there on the floor of the Coliseum, and died in his last earthly words, or the words in the name of Christ, stop. The historians tell us that something amazing happened. The gladiators stopped fighting, and a hush came across that Coliseum. All of a sudden, way high up in the stands, one man got up from his seat and left, and then another, and another, and another, until in a few moments all 100,000 people had emptied the Coliseum. The year was AD 391, and historians tell us it was the last battle to the death that gladiators ever fought in the Roman Coliseum, all because one person, just one person, had the courage to stand up in their fallen world. Before us in the Word of God today is the story of three young men who were like Telemachus. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and as we read their familiar, encouraging, inspiring story, it gives us the inspiration, the encouragement to stand up for God in our fallen world. As we study the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego today, I want you to notice three qualities about their lives, three things about their lives that allowed God to use them in such an impacting way. If you happen to have a piece of paper and a pen, I would encourage you to jot these things down in these verses so not only can you go back and study this, but you can share what you've learned with others. Three things about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Number one, we're going to see their unbending commitment. Number two, we're going to see their unwavering courage. And then number three, we're going to see their unshakable confidence. The first thing that we see about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that allowed God to use them is their unbending commitment. That's what we see in verse 1 to 12. In Daniel chapter 3, beginning in verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its width was 6 cubits, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Stop there for a moment. Who was Nebuchadnezzar and what was it that he was doing? Well, as you read and study the book of Daniel, he discovered that Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful ruler on the planet and Babylon was the richest country, the most influential country in the world, one of the most massive empires in all of human history. And Nebuchadnezzar built this huge image of all gold. Who was he making that image? Well, you remember in Daniel chapter 2, he had a vision. It was an image of an image that had four metals on it. It had a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a midsection of bronze, and then legs and feet of iron and clay. And Daniel gave the interpretation that this was a preview of what history was going to be like that the Babylonian Empire, which was the head of gold, would be followed by the Medes and the Persians, which was the chest and arms of silver, which would be followed by the Greek Empire, the midsection of bronze, which would be followed by the Roman Empire, the iron and the clay of the legs, the thighs and the feet, four empires. And Nebuchadnezzar says no, not four, just one. All gold. Back in chapter 2, verse 38, you, said Daniel, are the head of gold. And Nebuchadnezzar said there are not going to be any other empires. My empire is going to be the only empire. I am the most high. I'm not going to listen to God. I'm going to defy God. I'm going to set myself up as God. And so he built this massive idol on the plain of Dura, just south of Babylon. It was all flat. So you could see this idol from everywhere. 60 cubits high, 6 cubits wide. A cubit is a foot and a half. So 60 cubits high, 90 feet tall. It was as tall as a nine-story building. Huge pedestal with an image of Nebuchadnezzar on the top. Verse 1 again, So Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was 60 cubits, 90 feet tall. And its width was 6 cubits, 9 feet wide. And he set it up in the plain of Dura, just south of Babylon, in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates. Sounds like Washington, D.C. And all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, they gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud to you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, and the sultry, in symphony with all kinds of music, that you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be immediately cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. So at that time when all the people heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, and the lyre, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, that all the people of the nations and languages, they fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Here they are on this flat plane, hundreds of thousands of people, and they're standing, the music starts playing, and they all fall down, all except three. Berset therefore at that time certain Chaldeans, certain Babylonians came forward and accused the Jews, they spoke, and they said, King Nebuchadnezzar, you, O King, live forever, you, O King, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and the sultry and the symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship this gold image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. But there are certain Jews whom you set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 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. Amazing. Among the thousands and thousands and thousands of people there were three who said we are not going to bow. They had an onbending commitment, a commitment to serve the one true and living God. Their God had said, you shall have no other gods before me. You will not make any image and bow down to that image. And they and only they said we will not bow to the idols of our day. Idols? Say, well, you know, we're sophisticated, we're educated, we don't get down on our knees in front of gold, the images or whatever, maybe so, but we have our own idols. Things are idols. People are idols. Ideas are idols. Say, well, I don't get down on my knees and worship a golden statue, but you know what? For some people their house is their idol. Their car is their idol. Their boat is their idol. Their things are an idol to them. They've taken the place of God. I'll never forget when we were pastoring down in Orange County, one day on a Saturday I was going for a walk in the regional park near our home, and as I was walking through the park, all of a sudden I discovered that day they were having a car show, you know, and they had all these hot rods and expensive cars and they had them out on the grass and I thought, oh, my two young boys would love this. So I go home and I get Jeremy and Brian, you know, they're at that time they were seven and five and we're walking among all these cars and they're like, oh, isn't this cool? That's amazing. We look at the color of that car and of course all of these cars, they have these signs on do not touch, you know, and we're walking along all of these cars with my little five-year-old. He looks up at me and he says, these are their gods, aren't they? Oh, man. I thought, wow, out of the mouths of babes, things can become idols to people. But not only things. People are idols to people. Celebrities, superstars. There are television stars or movie stars, whether they're athletes or entertainers. People in our world worship those kinds of people. I fear for our young people. Sometimes I see them looking up to some sports figure and they almost worship him as some sort of hero and he might be able to play some sport very well. But he's so ungodly, so wicked, so immoral and people sit in front of the screen and oh, they're so and so. But what about their lives? And people of our world, they bow down to things. They bow down to famous people and they bow down to the ideas of the world. What's an idol in our day? Listen, the theory of evolution. It's not a fact. It's not even a good theory. But you go to a university and you better say you believe in evolution or it's trouble for you. And so people bow down to that idol. The LGBT, same-sex marriage. Listen, you better bow down to that idea because if you don't bow down to that idea, all of a sudden you become intolerant, ignorant, hateful. You become the target. Listen, the world tries to get you to bow down to its ideas, to its idols. But Paul says in Romans 12 and verse 2, don't be conformed to this world. I like the J.B. Phillips translation. It says, don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. The world wants to get you to bow down to that idol. And what I find amazing in this story, back in verse 7, all the people of the nations fell down. Not just the Babylonians, the rest of the Jews. Now somebody asked a good question here. Did Daniel bow down? No, he didn't. Daniel probably was someplace in another part of the kingdom doing business so he wasn't there because he definitely wouldn't have bowed down. But it wasn't just the unbelievers bowing down to the idols. It was God's people who were also bowing down to the idols. They were going along with the crowd. You know, it's so easy to go along with the crowd. It is much more difficult to stand up for the truth. I read recently of an amazing study that was done among a group of teenagers. And what an enlightening study. What they did is they gathered together thousands of teenagers and they grouped them in tens and they put them in a room by themselves. And in this room on the wall, they had three lines. One line was a foot long. One line was two feet long. Another line was a foot and a half long. And the responsibility of each group was to decide which line was the longest line. Only here's what they did. Before they let the group of ten go into the room, they pulled away nine. And they say, when you go in that room, we want you to say the shortest line is really the longest line. You know, that's not true. But say the shortest line is the longest line because we want to find out what the tenth person will do. We want to find out if the tenth person will go along with the crowd or whether the tenth person will say, no, that's not true. And here's what they discovered. When they did that, they discovered 90% of the kids would go along with the crowd and say, you know, the shortest line is really the longest line. When they knew it wasn't true, listen, we need people in our day, in our age, in our time like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who have an unbending commitment who say right is right and wrong is wrong and light is light and dark is dark and good is good and evil is evil. We need people, we need people like a pastor named Stuttered Kennedy in the last century, the beginning of the last century as a pastor over in England. And he got assigned as a chaplain in World War I and he went over to France from the trenches of France. He wrote a letter to his young son and he sent it home and he told his wife, I want you to read this letter to my son. In part, here's what the letter said, quote, the first prayer I want you to learn my son is not God keep daddy safe. The first prayer I want you to learn son is God make daddy brave. And if daddy has to do hard things, make daddy strong to do them. Life and death don't matter my son, right and wrong do. We need more men like that who understand it's right and it's wrong and I'm not going to bend to the world telling me something that's not true. We need more people like Aaron and Melissa Klein up in Gresham, Oregon, they're Christians. They own a bakery. All of a sudden a lesbian couple walks in and says we want you to bake a cake for our same sex wedding and they say no. The result? The result? They're sued. They end up having to pay a $135,000 fine but they didn't listen because they stood for what was right. We need more people like Kim Davis back in Rowan County, Kentucky that clerk in the judge's office who when they said we want license for seeing sex marriage she says I'm not going to issue them and she went to jail because of it but she had an unbending commitment. We need that in our day. We need people who have an unbending commitment like a man named Eric Little. His story is immortalizing my favorite movie, a movie called Chariots of Fire, a 22-year-old young man from Scotland who was such a fast runner in the 100-meter race that he got to go to the 1924 Olympics in Paris. So he got to Paris so excited to run this race only he discovered that the preliminary heats for the race were on Sunday. He believed Sunday was the Lord's Day. It was devoted to God. It wasn't your day, it was his day and so he refused to run on Sunday. People accused him. You're legalistic, they said. They accused him. You're unpatriotic, they said. He was brought in before the coaches. They tried to pressure him. Even the government officials from Scotland tried to pressure him. These papers tried to pressure him, but he wouldn't budge. Eric Little said at that time, if I know something to be right, something that God wants me to do, I will follow it even if it means being laughed at, facing hardship or suffering loss. The friend said of him at that time, what he knows to do right, he is doing. Looking either to the right or to the left, not yielding one jot or one tittle of conviction for approval or applause he should be admired. Well, he wasn't able to run the 100 meter race, but another runner inspired by his courage said, why don't you take my spot in the 400 meter race. A race that was four times as long. He never even trained for it before. The day of the finals, he went out to the starting line as he was walking out to the starting line. One of the other runners handed him a piece of paper. It was a note. When he opened the piece of paper, he looked down and he read these words. It says in God's book, those who honor God, he will honor them. Eric Little trumpled up that note in his hand. He got down in the starting blocks. The gun went off. He ran the race of his life, and not only did he win a gold medal, he set a world record. Why? Unbending commitment. Those who honor God with their commitment, he will honor them. A second thing that we see in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is not only their unbending commitment to stand up for what was right, but their unwavering courage to not be intimidated by those who would threaten them. This is what we see in verse 13. Verse 18, notice verse 13, Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury, he gave the command, you bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, so they brought these men in before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke and he said to them, is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods, you do not worship the gold image which I have set up. Now, if you are ready, at the same time you hear the sound of absolute heart, lyre, sultry, and symphony of all kinds of music, and you fall down and you worship the image which I have made, then good. But if you do not worship, if you don't bow down, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they weren't going to be intimidated by this man. Think of it for a moment. This is the most powerful ruler on the planet. The city of Babylon, the kingdom of Babylon, was rich beyond describing. The city of Babylon, listen, the walls were 15 miles by 15 miles by 15 miles by 15 miles, 60 miles around the walls of the city. The walls were 30 feet high, 87 feet thick. They would do chariot races on top of the walls. Four chariots ride they would race. They had the hanging gardens of Babylon. This rich, powerful man calls you in and says, you're going to bow. You're going to bow. But the Bible says, listen, the fear of man is a snare. But those who trust in the Lord, listen, they're never going to be put to shame. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they wanted to please God rather than please men. And so God was going to use their life like a young medical student named Bethany Fox. Bethany Fox, she wanted to be a surgeon. She wanted to be a doctor. And so she got a scholarship to Johns Hopkins University back in Massachusetts. And she worked her way up until she had an opportunity to get on one of the elite surgical teams in America to work with one of the world renowned surgeons. And so she went in for a tryout. And her job in the surgery was to observe what was going on and to count the number of sponges that were used in the surgery. So she's carefully watching the doctor and she's counting all the sponges and she counts up 11. The doctor's ready to close. She looks down at the tray and there are only 10 sponges on the tray and you don't want a sponge sewn up inside of a person causes infection, even death. And so she said to the doctor, she said, excuse me, sir. She said, you used 11 sponges. There are only 10 sponges there. He looked at her and he said, no, I didn't. I only used 10. She said, excuse me, sir, you used 11. He snapped at her. Who do you think you are? I'm a world renowned surgeon. I'm telling you, there are only 10. In that moment she was faced with a choice. Her whole future or to stand up for the truth. She took a deep breath and whispered a prayer. She said, excuse me, sir. She said, there were 11 and you're not going to sew that person up until you get that 11 sponge out. All of a sudden the doctor smiled at her and he said, look down at my foot. He pulled his foot off the floor and underneath his foot was the 11th sponge. He had intentionally pulled it out, dropped it on the floor and covered it with his foot because he wanted to find out if she had the courage to stand up for him. He smiled at her and he said, you can be on my team now. That's how Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were. An unwavering courage. It doesn't make any difference. Who's threatening you? What they're threatening you with? I'm going to stand for what's right. I'm going to do what's right. And so you see in verse 16, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they answered and they said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you on this matter. In other words, we don't even need to think about it for a moment. We can tell you exactly how we feel and how's that verse 17. We face our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us from your hand. But if not, even if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image in which you have set. Listen, how could they have such unwavering courage? Because they knew this book says if God is for us, what? We can be against this. If God's on our side doesn't make any difference what the threats are, doesn't make any difference what people are saying, or who's saying it? God is greater than all of them. We're putting our life in God's hands, not your hands. And I like it in verse 18. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, we will not serve your gods nor will we worship the golden image which you have set. We're not going to go along with a crowd and we're not going to bow down unwavering courage. Reminds me of Martin Luther when he was brought in and put on trial and he stood there with boldness and he said, I cannot and I will not recant. Reminds me of that early church father named Athanasius. Athanasius was brought in before the emperor and threatened and the emperor said to him, listen, Athanasius, the whole world is against you. He said, well, if it is the world against Athanasius then it is Athanasius against the world. Not going to budge. If everybody in the world goes along with what's wrong, there's one man on the planet said Athanasius who's going to stand up for what is right. It's like the early church father John Chrysostom in the fourth century. He also was brought in before the emperor. The emperor said to him, you better stop saying that or I will confiscate all of your treasures. Chrysostom replied, sire, that you cannot do for my treasures are in heaven. The emperor said to him, well, then I will banish you. I will drive you from men and you will have no friends left. Chrysostom replied that you cannot do either for I have a friend in heaven who said I will never leave you or forsake you. Oh, the emperor was furious. I will slay you then, said the angry emperor. Nay, but you cannot do that either, said Chrysostom, for my life is hid with Christ and God and nothing can separate me from His love. How awesome, how wonderful, such unwavering courage. That is what we need in our day. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego may not only have an unbending commitment and an unwavering courage, but thirdly, they had an unshakable confidence that God was going to be with them, that God was going to help them, no matter what it was they had to go through. That's what we see in verse 19 to verse 25, verse 19, then Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury. The expression of his face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Ah! And he spoke and he commanded that they heat up the furnace seven times more than it is usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of Valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats and their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the fire was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. I'm sure Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wished God would have delivered them from that fiery furnace. They never would have had to go in it. But God in his wisdom, he allowed them to go into the fiery furnace. It is true God can deliver from a fiery furnace, but he allowed them to go in this fiery furnace. It didn't matter to them, though, because they still trusted God. There are many Bible teachers who think, and probably so, that the reason why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had such faith in God at this point is they were thinking of part of the prophecy of Isaiah. Perhaps you remember this little phrase in Isaiah chapter 43, verse 1-3, where Isaiah said, Thus says the Lord, Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers they will not overflow you. Listen, when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, nor shall the flames scorch you, for I am the Lord your God. How awesome. I like what Pastor Chuck Smith said. He said God didn't deliver them from the furnace, He delivered them in the furnace. And dear ones, it seems like we're headed into a fiery furnace. It seems like things are heating up all around us, and it's more and more difficult to become a Christian. More and more people see us as an alienated group, and we're a target to so many people in the media and so on. Listen, God could deliver us from the fiery furnace, but even if not, He's going to deliver us in the furnace. I like what Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 12. He said, Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing had happened to you with this rising persecution and difficulty around us. Some Christians, you know, they're like, oh, wow, I can't believe this. You know, all you have to do is just read church history and go around the world. You know, we've had 200 years of having it easy in America. Throughout most of church history, Christians have not had it easy, and in many places in the world, they have not had it easy. And now it's our turn. Now it's our turn. And like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we might find ourselves in the fire, but our faith and trust, listen, is in God. He's the one that is going to keep us in the midst of what we're going through because in going what we're going through, listen, we are not alone. Oh, this is awesome. Look, look at verse 24. The King Nebuchadnezzar, all of a sudden, he was astonished, and he rose in haste and he spoke to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire and they answered and said to the King, that's right, King, true King, but look, he answered, I see four men loose, not bound anymore. They're walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Who is the Son of God? His name is Jesus. Yeah, we can applaud for him for sure. I've got to imagine the God the Father is in heaven. He's looking down at these three courageous young men who stood up among the thousands and said, Lord, our life is on the line, but we're committing ourselves to you. And he turns to Jesus and he says, get down there and stand with him. Here's a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. He comes to stand with them. Dear ones, I wish we could get out of the fiery trial. Don't think we're going to. But here's what I know, no matter what fiery trial we're in, Jesus is going to be with us in the middle of that trial. He said, I will never leave you or forsake you and he never will. I love the story that's told about a group of Christians in the former Soviet Union. There were about 30 of them. They got together in these secret Bible studies knowing every time that they gathered together to worship and study, that if anyone found out they would die, they would be executed. Well, one day they're holding a Bible study and all of a sudden one of the government officials breaks in and he catches them. And so he takes out a piece of paper and he starts writing down the name of every single person, all 30 of them. And he counts them up 30. And when he's done counting them up, the leader of the group, he says to him, excuse me, sir, there's one name you forgot. He said, no, I didn't forget any names and he counted around there's 30, there's only 30 on the list. The guy says, no, there's one name you forgot. You got to write down one more name. The Lord Jesus Christ. Because we are not alone. He is here with us. Dear ones, in the midst of whatever is ahead for you and for me in your personal life, here in our nation, the one thing you can be sure of is Jesus will never leave you. He will never forsake those people who have a commitment and a courage and a confidence like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Well, what happened? So awesome. Verse 26 to 30. Then Nebuchadnezzar went near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and he spoke. He said, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the most high God. I'm not the most high. Your God's the most high. Come out and come here and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They came from the midst of the fire. The satraps, administrators, governors and the king's counselors gathered together and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power. The hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected and the smell of fire was not on them. I have a word for this. Wow! It was amazing. When I was a kid growing up the garage and our house it caught on fire. The firemen came and got it on and everything. But for years after that the whole house smelled like smoke. And here Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego not even one hair was singed. Not a thread of the garments of their clothes was burned. And they didn't even smell of smoke. What a miracle! Verse 28, Nebuchadnezzar spoke and he said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants who trusted in him for they have frustrated the king's word and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any God except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or language everything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made an ash heap because there is no other God who can deliver like this than the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. I have a word for this. Wow! It's amazing what God can do when someone will say, No, I won't bow. I'll bow along with the crowd. What if Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would have bowed and gone along with the crowd and wanted to please men rather than God? Totally different story. But because they had an unbending commitment and an unwavering courage and an unshakable confidence they made a difference in the world that they were a part of and we can make a difference in the world that we are a part of. We can stand up in our fallen world and be a testimony for God. You say, Pastor Larry, are you talking about protesting? No. Pastor Larry, are you talking about being defiant and yelling and screaming and making a scene? You're doing the right thing. Sometimes it can be done in the most quiet simple, humble way. It's like the story of a teenager named Tiffany Clark. I finished with her story a few years ago. Tiffany Clark, the school district she was a part of, declared that every school in their district was a no prayer meeting. So that meant that students were not allowed to bow their heads or close their eyes to pray whether out loud or silently. After the edict was handed down none of Tiffany's Christian friends would pray at lunch anymore. Even though Tiffany was very popular, she was a cheerleader and even though she knew defying the edict might cost her her spot on the squad, she wanted to honor God more than be popular. So without fanfare she just bowed her head and silently prayed before lunch. The first day no one noticed. But the second day a lunch room monitor spotted her and told the administration. Tiffany was immediately suspended for three days and she was told when you come back you cannot bow your head, you cannot close your eyes, you cannot pray over your lunch. Well, Tiffany would rather obey God rather than men. So when she came back three days later she went into the lunch room without saying a thing. She was bowed her head and closed her eyes and quietly prayed for her food. She was immediately brought to the principal's office. This time she was suspended for two weeks and she was removed from the cheerleading squad. Huge price. But that second time the courage the conviction of Tiffany it had an effect on others and all of her friends got inspired. We need to do something. So two weeks later when Tiffany came back all of Tiffany's friends and Tiffany they went into their lunch room and they all bowed their heads and began to pray. The lunch room, man, there's too many heads. He couldn't write down the names fast enough. All of the parents found out. They took it to the school board and within a few days voluntary silent prayer was restored in her school. Pretty awesome. Pretty amazing thing. I'm talking about being mean, rude, nasty I'm not talking about that. I'm just talking about doing what's right. Man, when I go to a restaurant I'm going to pray for my food. I don't care what people say. We're going to pray in school. We're going to do what God asked us to do. Listen, we're not going to bow to the idols of our day. We're not going to go along with the crowd. We're going to stand up in our fallen world knowing that when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did it when the early church did it God made a difference. When John Chrysostom and Athanasius and Martin Luther and all these great men and women of God of God before us when they did it made a difference. Dear ones, I've come with a good message for you today. Be encouraged. Be encouraged. Stand for the Lord. It's not an easy thing to do, but stand for the Lord right where you are and He's going to use you.