Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” – Daniel 3:16-18 ESV
Warrior;
When we read the Bible, we are reading history. We are reading about things that happened, IN THE BEGINNING, reading about people who succeeded and people who succumbed, people who soared and people who stumbled. However, there is also much prophecy in the Bible. According to “The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy” by J. Barton Payne, there are 1,239 prophecies in the Old Testament and 578 prophecies in the New Testament for a total of 1,817. These prophecies are contained in 8,352 of the Bible’s verses. Since there are 31,124 verses in the Bible, the 8,352 verses that contain prophecy constitute 26.8 percent of the Bible’s volume. According to George Konig; “The Bible contains 1,817 individual predictions concerning 737 separate subjects found in 8,352 verses. These numerous predictions comprise 27 percent of the 31,124 verses in the whole of the Scriptures. Generally, the Bible is said to be approximately 30% prophecy, although many of the prophetic verses have already been fulfilled historically. With all that said, we are living in END TIMES and much of what was talked about in the Bible, is coming true now, we are living through it. We can find solace in these ever-darkening times to understand that this is WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT, and now we are to be ABOUT IT! For the word of God is living and active…discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Leader, these three Hebrew boys, give us an example of how we are to be as children of God in the days that they were in literal Babylon, while we live today in figurative BABYLON. God is telling us, it is time to decide. “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”. (Revelation 3:16) We are living in a time, where we are called to CHOOSE; “If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.” (Joshua 24:15 MSG) Matthew 25, Jesus states he will gather up all people when he returns to the earth as King (31). He will then divide them into two groups, the sheep, and the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left (32). He will then say to the people on his right, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father! (those who lived a truly converted life and obeyed God) Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world.” (34) Christ will then turn away from the sheep and state to the “goats” or those who are on his left, “Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!” (Matthew 25:41). This parable is about the time of the judgment. The sheep are symbolic of those who follow and obey Christ, while the goats represent those who chose not to follow Jesus and His example on earth (a witness). Choose this day are you going to be ON THE RIGHT, or ON THE LEFT?
Conduit, God is in control and God is allowing for these TRIALS and TRIBULATIONS, we can no longer separate God from the rest of our life- the TIME IS NOW TO be about JESUS and HIS WORD. There is going to be no elected official, no politician who will save AMERICA from the destructive course we are on- the only answer IS JESUS and HIS WORD. Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6:2b-5) Does this sound familiar? This is America today, in the name of SOCIAL JUSTICE we are moving away from God, moving away from HIS WORD, JESUS. There is NO JESUS, NO PEACE, in all the street marches, in all the ‘Defund’ this, and ‘Cancel’ that. We need to go back to the basics to our LORD, to OUR WAY, to OUR LIFE! (John 14:6) After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (John 6:14) After conducting Beethoven’s magnificent Ninth Symphony, Arturo Toscanini brought down his baton to a burst of applause. The audience roared its approval. Toscanini and his orchestra took repeated bows. When the cheering finally subsided, Toscanini turned back to his musicians and leaned over the podium. In a staccato whisper, he said to the orchestra: “Gentlemen, I am nothing. Gentlemen, you are nothing. But Gentlemen, Beethoven-Beethoven is everything, everything, everything!” Whether it’s Toscanini or the apostle Paul, whether it’s BLM, Republicans or Democrats or some social justice hero, these people are nothing. I am nothing, you are nothing, we are nothing- But Christ is everything. Today LIVE, LIKE IT IS ABOUT JESUS!
