This morning I want to encourage you to understand that sometimes your best witness is to take a stand.  Sometimes the best way to glorify God and give a positive witness is to say “no.”  Sometimes the event that will bring someone to Christ is a rough encounter with a Christian who stands up for what is right.

              Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and others found that civil disobedience often brings change in society.

              Stubbornness and the willingness to take a stand are often what is needed for people to come to Christ.

              When a person comes to Christ, they come to be saved from their sin.  If they do not want to be saved from sin, if they do not think that what they are doing is wrong, if they have no desire to change, then they can never be truly born again. 

              My preference is to love people into the kingdom.  I would like to be kind to my neighbor, help those around and see everyone become a Christian because they see how we love one another.

              But some people could care less how much we love one another.  They sin and don’t care.  They create fear.  No one stands up to them, so they travel down the road of life in a spiritual daze, thinking things are better than they are.

              They lie and ask you to lie.  They cheat and ask you to cheat.  They do things that are illegal and expect you to go along with them.

              I do not want to condemn these people, I want to see them saved, their lives changed.  I want them to meet Jesus.

              If they are going to meet Jesus, they may only do so if you take a stand for God, for what is right.

              At least, that is the story I see from Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego.  We see a progression in their lives that mirrors what many of you face each day.

              The person in authority does something ungodly. Nebuchadnezzar builds an idol to be worshipped.

              This person demands that those under or around him do the same.  Nebuchadnezzar asks all to bow down to the idol.

              The Christian comes to the attention of the one in authority.

              Someone may rat on them.

              It might be direct.

              Here, the three men are reported to Nebuchadnezzar by others, no doubt, jealous of their position.

              The Christian respectfully defies the wrong, giving testimony to God.

              These men tell Nebuchadnezzar that their God is able to save them.  But even if he doesn’t, they will not bow down.

              The heat is applied.  In this case, literally.  They are bound and thrown into the furnace.

              The witness is confirmed.

              God is with them in the furnace.  Nebuchadnezzar sees this.  Because the three men made a connection with their faith earlier, Nebuchadnezzar sees that their safety is a result of their faith.

              If we don’t tell our children that they cannot play in the street or drink antifreeze, we are doing them a disservice.  There is a time to be quiet and a time to speak up.

              No one will change unless confronted with the need for change. 

              I challenge you, “Stand up, stand up for Jesus ye soliders of the cross.  Lift High the royal banner, it must not suffer loss.  From victory unto victory, his army shall he lead.  Till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed.”