You can’t die for Jesus if you won’t live for Him right now.

In your life, Satan and his demonic forces are going to win a few battles, and this has probably already happened. BUT, know that we have won the war.

How? Through the resurrected Jesus Christ.

We have hope because the next time Jesus comes to earth, he isn’t going to be beaten to death or scolded or persecuted. He is coming back as the ruler of the earth. The devil can win some battles, but he will not win the war.

Sometimes we walk through a fiery furnace in our lives, but the good news is that we don’t have to walk through it alone. Jesus is right there with us, and sometimes, friends are there with us too.

Daniel 3:13-16 says,

“Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.”

To provide a little context, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone in the city to bow down and worship his gods when the music played, and these three men refused to do so.

In the passage above, their faith needed no explanation because they had already made up their minds. They had already determined in their hearts that they were willing to die for their faith in God and that they would do it together.

You cannot and will not be able to do this alone. You have the power of God in you to do this, but it is also important to find people who will encourage you in this.

For these three men, I do not doubt that this is a sticky situation – socially speaking.

“They might make fun of me. I’ll be embarrassed. They might say no. I could get in trouble.”

Think about this, though – there are actually people out there who really do get persecuted and put in prison for following Jesus.

Yet, you’re scared of rejection and scared that people will think you’re strange?

Be that weird girl/guy who owns their devout life to Christ. Maybe you won’t be super popular or maybe you’ll face rejection, but when you focus on these things, you are focusing on a temporary present. Your reward in Heaven will be great and you WILL get a “well done” from God.

At one point in Vietnam, people would pour boiling water down the throats of Christians and women would get their breasts cut off in Sudan if they were followers of Jesus.

Take advantage of your situation and tell people about Jesus. Be thankful for the freedom and privilege you have to openly talk about God.

Unfortunately, sometimes, it doesn’t feel like there is a way out of the furnace.

Daniel 3:17 says,

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand.”

Note they say “He is able” and “He will.”

Then, is verse 18, the Bible says,

“But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

These guys are BOLD.

My pastor in Morgantown preached a sermon on this scripture and when he read those last two verses, the entire congregation was on FIRE. We were all losing our minds because their boldness was crazy awesome.

In whatever trial you have been through or are going through, you might feel like you can’t find God because there is so much going on. You might be wondering why you feel so alone and abandoned in your trail.

But I’m told that as Christians, we don’t go off our feelings. We live by faith. We obey God’s word regardless of how we’re feeling… because our feelings will deceive us. Your faith will not.

These boys are telling the King that either way, they win – what a mindset.

In verse 23, the Bible tells us that they fell once they got into the fiery furnace. And Verse 24 says that King Nebuchadnezzar saw four men in the fire.

They were on their knees even in the fire. Why?

Because they weren’t going to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s god; they only bowed to one God – the true King of Kings.

Even when those big and strong men were killed as they were pushing them into the furnace, the three boys kept walking. They knew what was happening, but they trusted God anyway – what confidence!

This is the same God we serve today – the God who saved them in a fire, who saved Daniel in the lion’s den, who healed the deaf and blind and made the lame walk.

You can’t die for Jesus if you won’t live for Him right now.