He is Still in the Fire//Week 1//Redemption

He is Still in the Fire: Intro - Persecution

Various Passages October 18, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. Today starts a series that I always wanted to do because of the impact that these

truths have had on my personal life in shaping me into who I am today and in

getting me through some of the toughest times of my life!

1. It is a series that I actually thought about doing next summer but it seemed to

me the timing should be now in light of what has happened in 2020 in so

many people’s lives!

2. It is a series about trials and we are calling it “He is Still in the Fire!”

3. We are at a good breaking point in Ephesians to step aside and do a sidebar

series. But we will pick back up in Ephesians after this series and the

Christmas series!

B. 2020 has been a very difficult year for many of us.

1. I personally feel it has been my second toughest year of ministry in my 35

years of ministry!

2. Many in our body have experienced various different trials this year that have

been deep and personal to them: health issues, death of spouse or family

member, financial struggles from loss of job or cut backs, relational struggles

with mates, family or friends, emotional struggles with depression, isolation

and Covid fatigue, abuse is on the rise this year both verbal and physical!

The list can go on

C. My desire with this series is twofold:

1. Help us gain God’s perspective on our trials!

2. Secondly, I am hoping God would speak to many of us personally regarding

what He may be doing in our lives at this time through the trials we are going

through so we can have specific wisdom on what we need in order to

navigate our trials.

• I want to start our series this morning regarding the idea of

II. Religious persecution

A. Religious persecution simply means suffering for your beliefs in Jesus and His

word!

B. I start here for three reasons:

1. First, we are living in a culture where the pressure against us for our spiritual

beliefs has been growing ever since I was a child.

a) In my lifetime, I have seen our culture move from sharing many of the

values we embrace as Christians, to accepting them as one of many

possible values to now where many believe our values are the core

problems in our culture, and they must be deconstructed.

b) So with this progression in my lifetime, “Where do you think things will

be 10 to 20 years from now”?

(1) I believe that we are slowly but steadily moving in a direction

where Christians here in the United States will need to believe in

Jesus at a greater cost than we know today.

2. The second reason I start here is because what we learn about responding to

persecution is foundational to the way we respond to any trial we may face!

3. Third, in Acts 19 we learn that there was great spiritual pressure upon the

Ephesus church as the worship of Diana was central to the spiritual and

commercial life of that city.

a) Also, the Roman emperors who ruled at that time believed they were

gods and demanded that the subjects of the kingdom worship them.

C. The good news is this – it appears that even until the book of Revelation where

Jesus had a special letter for them they remained faithful and suffered for Him in

the face of this spiritual pressure against them.

• So the question I want to ask today is this:

III. What does it take to be faithful in persecutions?

A. Turn to Daniel 3.

1. At that time, the king had set up emperor worship and if you did not worship

him, you would be killed instantly!

2. King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a large image of himself and called all the

leaders of his kingdom together! Listen to what was said: read 3:4-6.

3. As a result, all of the people that were there fell down and worshipped the

statue expect for three young Jewish men whose Babylonian names assigned

to them were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego!

B. Listen to how the king responded: read 13-15

C. The way these men responded is what it will take to be faithful when we are faced

with persecution for our beliefs, and actually it is what it will take for us to be

faithful when we are faced with any trial so we do not miss the benefits those

trials have for us.

1. Listen v16-18

2. There is a faith here that is greater than name it claim it faith.

a) It is a faith that says I am going to trust God and continue to worship

Him whether or not He gives me what I want and that for which I am

trusting Him!

b) It is a faith that trusts God and His sovereignty no matter what the

outcome is and not a faith that says if I trust Him then I will get me out

of these circumstances!

c) It is the kind of faith that pleases God!

3. Listen to Hebrews 11 the way he closes this great chapter on faith – read

Hebrews 11:32-39

D. Listen to what happened –

1. Read Daniel 3:19-27

2. God walked in the fire with them and protected them

E. That is the point of this whole series that God promises to still be in the fire with

us in our trials. We need to trust Him no matter what the outcome is, no matter

how He chooses to deal with us and glorify Himself through our trials!

• This week I want to encourage you to do two things:

IV. Application

A. Start to trust Jesus with the little trials in your life because that is where the

spiritual muscle of faith grows. If we can be faithful in the little trials, we will be

faithful in the big trials. But if we are unfaithful in the little things, we will never

be faithful when the big trials come.

B. If you have never offered up your entire life as a living sacrifice to Jesus, willing

to die to obey Him, yes even obey Him to the point of death make today the day!

1. Read Rev 12:11

a) We love to claim the blood and bring the Word of God against Satan, but

if we are not willing to obey to the point of death, then Satan has a place

to get to us!

b) Where ever we are unwilling to die for Jesus is something that Satan can

use to keep us from living fully for Jesus!

2. Bottom line to make it through any trial it goes back to the basics of trust and

obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey!

3. Simply if there is anything we are hanging onto that is the thing Satan can use

to destroy us!

C. Listen to this, as it is still true! Isaiah 43:1-2

D. The reality is that He is there in your fire right now! Would you recognize that,

acknowledge Him and trust Him with a faith that will trust and worship and obey

Him no matter what the outcomes are!