Take A Chance on Conviction

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome to God’s living room,

I don’t think it is a anything new or shocking to anyone here that we live in morally relativistic society. Moral relativism is the dominant value. The majority of people do not like the concept of absolute truth. So I’m going to ask you a question and if your answer is yes just simply raise your hand. Now don’t look around and see what everyone else is doing. I am just asking for your opinion. And God knows whether you are giving me your opinion or someone else’s. So here is the question: Is toleration a good thing? It’s really a bad question isn’t it. Because if by toleration you mean that we are to carry each other’s burdens and to love one another like Jesus did, then that is a good thing. Jesus didn’t necessarily approve of people’s behavior but he saw them as people of high value. But if the working definition of toleration is that anything goes and no one has a right to say anything against something then it is bad. Our world doesn’t like the concept of absolute truth. But still there are some expectations of truth. For example in the medical field if you or I or loved is to go in for heart bypass surgery we certainly are expecting that the surgeon will know the difference between an artery and vein. That the surgeon will know that the arteries and veins all carry blood but there is a big difference between the two. When we go to the pharmacy we expect that the pharmacist will give us our medication and not mix it with some pills that look really close to the same. When we go to the grocery store we expect the weight of the meat to be accurate. When we got to the gas station to buy gas we presume that we are actually getting a gallon of gas for the price and not .997 gallons. In track and field, if you are a man and want to run the marathon in the Olympics there is a qualifying standard of 2:19 flat. Not 2:19:01. You could win your countries marathon, be the national champion but unless you have run a 2:19 flat or better you are not in the Olympics. Our culture has flipped a good word “tolerance,” and made it to mean anything goes. People set their own rules. In our day there is no such thing as boundaries because there are no absolutes. And I want you to know that just because the majority of people don’t accept something as true doesn’t make it any less true. If the majority voting on discounting the law of gravity, gravity wouldn’t cease. Because of the lack of absolutes our society is swaying back and forth and is going to hell in a hand basket.

So how do we fix our culture? How do we fix them out there? Well it begins by fixing us in here. We as individuals must embrace God’s truth instead of keeping it at a distance. We must live by God’s standards the way Jesus did. And just how do we do that? Today, I want to take us into the Bible into the true life stories of four guys in the book of Daniel. They are: Daniel. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. And these three lived in a world much like our own, an anything goes, “Wild on Babylon.” Daniel 1:3-5 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. They were recruited to go to the Harvard of their day. They were the lottery pick of the smart people. It was to be a 3 yr period where they would become indoctrinated and en-culturated into Babylon. Now each of the four had a portion of God’s name in their name so that every time they heard their name they had an opportunity to remember whose and who they were. But King Nebuchadnezzar changes their names to Beltashazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as if to say “whose your daddy now?” That’s how anti the true God this culture was. They were being asked to be subjected to pagan decadence and just conform to the culture, check this out: “because everyone is doing it.”

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. People of conviction draw a line in their heart ahead of time, to honor the deepest value and connections of God. That’s point one. People of conviction draw a line in their heart ahead of time, to honor the deepest value and connections of God. Now we don’t know exactly what it was that the four were asked to eat that was going to defile them but they were people of conviction. But Daniel decided to draw a line in the little things before the big things would come and some big test would come. People of conviction draw a line in their hearts a head of time. That means that when you get to the party and some one hands you a joint or a rock or crank you already now you are not taking it. When that hot babe and some ripped guy shows up you already know what you are going to do and what you are not going to do. It means that when a business deals that needs just a little falsification to become final you already know you are going to live honestly before God who sees all things and others who see only some things. It means that when you are in crowd of people and they are starting to talk about some one who isn’t there you already know what you are going to do. What decisions are you facing now? We must honor God in our everything goes world. We need to draw a line in our hearts that will not allow us to even consider crossing over into dishonesty and deceitfulness. We may have made some mistakes in the past but now, starting today we are drawing the line in our hearts to keep Godly values.

Now King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge ego. In chapter 3 he makes this 90 foot statue of gold and makes this narcissistic law that says as soon as anyone hears music they are to bow down and worship before the statute and anyone who doesn’t will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Daniel 3:8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up." The homegrown scholars, the people of the hood, were jealous of these foreigners and wanted their revenge. King just so you know these guys you have brought in from the other country are intolerant of your wishes and law. Today if you and I have convictions like absolute truth we become the object of intolerance. To have absolute truth today is to be narrow minded, intolerant, homophobic, unloving, hateful, old fashioned, out of touch. Now keep in mind that truth is not based on my opinion, my feelings, or majority vote. Truth is anchored to a person, a person named Jesus. John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And he backed it up by rising from the dead. It would be hateful not to tell people the truth. Imagine some campers were lost out in the woods. It is dusk. They all know they need to go north. They get into a disagreement about which way is north. Does the camper with the compass keep his mouth shut out of fear of seeming to be arrogant or intolerant? He has the compass and the need of survival leads him to speak. There is a north you know. God’s Word , his standards, his boundaries are north.

People with conviction courageously speak the truth in love, not obnoxiously but respectfully. Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. In another passage Jesus asks us to speak the truth in love. People with conviction courageously speak the truth in love, not obnoxiously but respectfully.

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are people of conviction so the music sounds and there is not a snowball’s chance in hell they are bowing down to worship this statute thing. And the hometown scholars run off to the king and tattle. And King N. is royally ticked off. He brings the three in. What don’t you get? Big statue - 90 feet tall. I know you can see it. Loud music, I know you can hear it. And then you bow down and worship. Got it. I’m going to give you another chance, even though I shouldn’t but you got it right. Big statue. Loud music. Worship. But the three say, King that is an awesome statue. I don’t know who made it but the artistry is amazing. The music - it’s loud we like the beat. In fact, it’s on our I-pods already. But the worship thing, our hearts are reserved for the true God. Furious King N. calls for the furnace to be stoked seven times hotter than normal. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are bound by the soldiers and tossed into the furnace. The furnace is so consuming hot that the soldiers who throw them have their lungs melt and they die on the spot. King N. looks from a distance into the furnace and this is what he sees:

(Daniel 3:24-26) 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." 25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego step out of the fire. They were not singed. Have you ever smelled burned hair. It is horrific. That‘s why I‘m like this. Actually there is a story there but we aren‘t going there right now. They didn‘t have blisters. Their skin wasn‘t charred or falling off. They weren‘t in horrific pain. They didn‘t even smell like smoke. This is miraculous. This is God stuff. The is from the one who is the truth. This is from the one who is in the furnace with them.

People of conviction trust that God’s truth will prevail in the end. That’s point three. People of conviction trust that God’s truth will prevail in the end. People of conviction don’t try to fight the whole battle, don’t have the answer to every question, don’t get obnoxious but are confident that God will take care of it. There are some tough things that happen in our world and that happen to us. And I don’t mean to make light of any of those things or of anybody’s pain but in the end God will prevail. This is what the three said before they were thrown into the furnace because they knew that in the end God would prevail. Daniel 3:17,18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 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 you have set up." God is the inventor of chlorophyl, photosynthesis, DNA and tons of other things we haven’t even found out about yet. He is the one who put the capacity to love and feel and laugh in our hearts. He is the one who gives the power to forgive, conquer death. The King we serve is able to save and people of conviction live like that. Even if he doesn’t save us from this particular situation, he will save us in the end. There is high anxiety in our culture because we aren’t anchored to anything, not sure about anything, but when you are sure about the truth you have conviction, and the ability to live in a way like you have never lived before. God is able to deliver me but if he doesn’t it is because he has a better plan.

I’ll be honest, I need our help. I sometimes forget that God is going to prevail and try to take matters into my own hands. And I think there are a lot of us who are like that. Let’s be there to encourage each other with the truth. Let’s draw a line in our heart ahead of time so that we don’t disconnect ourselves from God and his values. Let’s speak the truth courageously and in love. And remember, remember, even when it doesn’t look good (remember Good Friday) that in the end God will prevail. I pray that you and I will anchor ourselves in the truth of the person and word of Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Let’s wrap this message up by singing My Hope is Built on Nothing Less