A Burning Furnace

Daniel chapter 3. We're so prone to look at these as Sunday school stories, and they are this. I'm glad that children can be excited by them, but there are some deeper meanings for those of us who are a bit older in the Lord and in years. Now, the Babylonians have taken over and Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple is destroyed, and many of the key people of Israel are taken off to Babylon, among them Daniel and his friends.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was three square cubits and the breadth of its six cubits, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together under the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then a herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at that time that ye hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and whoever falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore, at that time when all the people heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews.

They spoke and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image, and whoever falleth not down and worshipeth that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These men, O king, have not regarded thee. They serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready, that at that time that ye hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, well. But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

And who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury in the form of his visage, which changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spoke and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

Then these men were bound in their coats, their stockings, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? And they answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth and come here.

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth from the midst of the fire, and the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors being gathered together saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and hath changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language who speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a refuse heap, because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province, of Babylon. Now those of you who are prophetic students recognize here a picture of the future. That will not be our emphasis tonight, but I want to mention it to you.

These three Hebrew children certainly illustrate to us the Jewish remnant during the days of tribulation, when the fires of judgment on this earth are going to be severe, and when the Antichrist is going to erect an image, and when he's going to ask the whole world to worship him in the image, and the Jewish believers will not do it. People often raise the question, where was Daniel when all this was going on? It's obvious he wasn't even there. I don't doubt that Nebuchadnezzar had sent Daniel off on some errand somewhere outside the country, because he was one of the key rulers of the land.

If Daniel had been there, Nebuchadnezzar would never have built this image, but when Daniel was gone, Nebuchadnezzar succumbed to the pride that is in every heart, and he built the image. Just like the church today, as long as the church is in the world today, the Antichrist cannot appear and take over. But once the church is gone, once the Lord has returned and raptured his church to heaven, then the restraint will be removed, and then Satan will be able to perform his masterpiece in bringing out the Antichrist.

But the main lesson of this, I think, to us tonight is very practical. It's a very personal, practical message in this chapter, having to do with this business of being courageous in our faith. We did not sing, and there was no need to if it were available, dare to be a Daniel.

That has to do with another part of the story. But the lesson is the same. Here were three believers who had so yielded their bodies to God that they would not prostrate their bodies before a heathen image, and they had the courage to stand up for their faith.

Now, if you are interested in that kind of courage, if you say tonight, Pastor, I work in an office where I need this kind of courage, or I'm in a family where I need this kind of courage, or I'm in a situation where sometimes it's really hard to stand up for my faith, then let this chapter encourage you. There are in this chapter three promises, and if you will claim these three promises, I think God will give to you and to me the kind of courage that we need to stand up for what is right. If there's one thing that bothers most of us, it's the fact that many times we have failed to stand true to the Lord.

Isn't that right? We've not betrayed him the way Judas did, but many times we've denied him the way Peter did. Sometimes we've denied the Lord by our silence, not by our speaking. Someone says there are times when silence is golden, and there are times when silence is yellow.

There are times when silence is the strongest thing you can do. Our Lord, when he stood before Herod and before Pilate, he spoke no word. There are times when silence is the weakest thing you can do.

So each one of us wants to be strong. We want to stand up for Jesus, and if we claim these three promises, I think we'll be encouraged to do so. Promise number one is the promise of persecution.

Expect it. Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are found back in chapter two of Daniel, when Daniel explained the meaning of the image to the king, and the king said, I'm going to promote you and make you a great man. He said, how about my friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? He said, we'll promote them too.

And so here were these three men who were holding high office in a heathen society. They were there because they were captives. They were the booty of war.

And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were standing true to the Lord. But as in their day, so in our day, there are those who don't want us to stand true to the Lord. And therefore, our first promise is the promise of persecution.

Expect it. Don't be surprised when it comes. If somebody in your office or your school or your job or your family lies about you or tells the truth about you, but does so with an ulterior motive, expect it.

The promise of persecution. Now, the question's often been raised, why in the world did Nebuchadnezzar make this image? It was 90 feet high, and it was gold. I gather it was not pure gold all the way.

It was wood covered with gold. This is the way they made their images back in those days. You remember back in chapter 2 when Nebuchadnezzar had this vision, this dream of the great image? When Daniel interpreted the image, he said this, Thou, O King, art the head of gold.

And I wonder if something didn't go to work in Nebuchadnezzar's heart and mind. He says, Aha, I'm the head of gold. I'm not content just to be the head of gold.

I want to be the shoulders of gold and the arms of gold and the breast of gold and the legs of gold. I'm going to be the whole thing. And so he made himself an image.

And he said, I want you to worship it. This is where persecution comes in. You and I will not worship and serve the gods of this world.

I counted again this afternoon and noticed that 11 times in this passage you find the word worship and several times you find the word serve. Verse 18, Be it known unto thee, O King, we will not serve thy gods. Over here at the end in verse 28, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own god.

Whenever I read this, it reminds me of something that Satan said to Jesus. All of these kingdoms will I give to you and the glory of them if you will worship me. And Jesus said, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.

And Satan said, I didn't ask you to serve me. I just asked you to worship me. And Jesus said, But whatever you worship, you serve.

Now, what is the world asking us to worship? Number one, the world is asking us to worship the creature instead of the creator. It was an image of a man. The world today is worshiping itself.

Wherever you go, you find that the world is worshiping mankind. Now, this is what Romans chapter one talks about. Paul says they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator.

And this is what keeps the world going. Creature worship. Now, I don't want to give anyone the impression that I am against advertising.

I think that advertising helps us to have better products, a greater knowledge of what we're buying and the kind of competition that increases productivity and quality. So I'm not against advertising. But have you noticed that much advertising appeals to the worship of the creature? In other words, you can be the smartest on your block, be the first in your neighborhood to control the world.

You see, this is the way it's going. Most advertising and most propagandizing today appeals to the creature. It has nothing to do with the glory of God, the service of God.

He put up an image of himself. And the reason there's persecution is because we don't want to worship the creature. We want to worship the creator.

Secondly, this image was made of gold. This is the second God that the world is worshiping. The world is worshiping the creature and the world is worshiping gold.

Money. Now, I'm not against money. It's a necessary thing in this world.

It helps to pay your bills. It helps to be able to send out missionaries. It helps to be able to print the gospel.

I'm not against money. But the love of money is what? The root of all kinds of evil. The love of money will make a person break every one of the Ten Commandments.

A person loves money, he becomes an idolater. Money is his God. If he loves money, he'll murder to get it.

If he loves money, he'll steal to get it. If he loves money, he'll use adultery, covetousness, lying. He'll even blaspheme his own mother and father to get it.

And here is an image of gold. You see, we Christians have a different value from the world. We're thankful for the money that God provides, but we don't worship it.

The third God they're worshiping is their own works. They're worshiping the creature, they're worshiping gold, and they're worshiping their own works. You notice as I read the scripture that over and over again the king says, the image which I have set up, the image which I have set up, the image which I have set up.

Men are worshiping the works of their own hands. And this is why there's persecution. You see, you walk into an office and you have different values, and you don't worship the creature, you worship the creator, and you're not going to be enamored of the things that men manufacture, and instantly you find yourself going the wrong way on a one-way street.

The world is on that broad road that leads to destruction. We aren't going in that direction, we're going in the other direction, and so we're bucking up against that crowd. Now, if the three Hebrew officers had been like some of us today, they could have gotten out of this.

You know, some Christians pride themselves in their genius at being able to get out from under persecution. I was chatting with a very fine young man, I admire him, he no longer lives in the Chicago area, and we were chatting one day and he heard me do some preaching. He said, you know, I heard you preaching about this business of suffering as a Christian.

You know, if you bear your witness, if you live for the Lord, you're going to suffer. He said, I've never experienced that. I said, well, I don't know why that's true, but all I know is that Jesus said in this world you're going to have tribulation.

And Paul said, yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. I said, I don't know. All I know is when I was working in an office at a manufacturing company and I took my stand for the Lord, I felt the sandpaper.

I felt the pressure. I felt the heat. Maybe I did it the wrong way, I don't know.

But Paul felt it, and Jesus felt it, and Daniel felt it, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego felt it. You see, if they had been like us, they could have snuck out of this. They could have said, well, everybody's doing it.

How many thousands of people were there, officers, people from all of the provinces of Babylon, the vast network of provinces, and Shadrach could have turned to Meshach and Abednego and said, you know, everybody's doing it. Have you ever said that? Or they could have said, well, we're officers. Our office demands it.

The apostles wouldn't have agreed with that. They said, whether it be right in your sight to obey, we'll leave that for you to decide. We will not obey.

Man, we're going to obey God. Or they could have said, well, we'll just do it once. I mean, it's only one time, just one image.

He's not asking us to do it the rest of our lives. So if we do it once, it's a big state occasion. Or they could have said, well, we'll do it outwardly, but we won't do it from our hearts.

Our hearts won't be in this. But you know, they didn't say that. They faced the furnace and said, oh, King, our God is able to deliver us.

But even if he doesn't deliver us, that's not going to affect our position one bit. If he allows us to be cremated, we don't care. We are going to obey God.

We will not bow down to your image. I appreciate the way that these men stood together. How difficult it would have been had Meshach or Abednego or Shadrach said, well, you two fellows can do that if you want to, but I'm going to go along with the king.

You know, it's a marvelous thing when God's people stand together. One of the most difficult things we have in our churches today is trying to explain the backslider. You're witnessing to somebody about the Lord Jesus, and you say, oh, isn't so-and-so a member of your church? Yeah.

Oh, man, I saw him do this, or I saw him do that. He's a member. Don't talk to me about that.

That's awful. What do you say? Oh, I know all the answers. Well, you don't look at the hypocrite.

But still, it does damage. It really does. I'm glad they stood together, and I'm glad they stood on the word of God.

God's word says, I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And they said, King, you can cremate us.

We don't care. We'd rather be ashes in this furnace than to turn our backs on our God. Promise of persecution, my friend, expect it.

Don't be alarmed when it comes. Don't be surprised. In fact, Peter says this himself.

The apostle Peter, back in 1 Peter 4, says, verse 12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to test you as though some strange thing happened unto you. When the furnace starts getting hot and the persecution starts getting close, don't say, Lord, how come? Say, Lord, you promised this. Here it comes.

The promise of persecution. There's a second promise now, and that's the promise of preservation. Promise of preservation.

Now, when they entered into the furnace, they did not know what God was going to do. Now, this bothers some of the saints who always know what God's going to do. They think the preacher always knows what God's going to do.

Preacher, what's going to happen? I don't know. You don't know. I thought you went to seminary.

I did. I didn't know what God was doing there either. See, they didn't know.

But they had the promise of preservation. In what sense? Regardless of what happened, God would be with them. If they were delivered, God would be with them.

If they were cremated, God would be with them, and they would be with God. There's a beautiful promise over in Isaiah chapter 43. If you've never marked it in your Bible, I suggest you mark it right now.

Isaiah chapter 43. But now, thus saith the Lord who created thee, O Jacob, and he who formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name.

Thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.

When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Now, let me hasten to say that there are servants of God who have seemed to go into the waters and drown. Missionaries have been martyred on the foreign fields.

Servants of God, Christians have gone into operating rooms and they have not lived. They have gone into furnaces and seemingly have been burned. But you see, the thing the Lord is talking about here is the ultimate as well as the immediate.

We as Christians do not judge God's word by the immediate. We judge it by the ultimate. Simple illustration.

You're reading through the book of Acts and you come to chapter 12. And chapter 12 says, Herod laid hands on James and Herod laid hands on Peter and he killed James with the sword. And we say, Lord, why? Here's James, a godly apostle.

Why should he be killed? That's my plan. Don't interfere. And here's Peter.

Peter is being saved for execution and God delivers Peter. Lord, how come you delivered Peter and you didn't deliver James? I know what I'm doing. Just trust me.

I have known Christians to go in for surgery and God miraculously bring them through. Miraculously. Oh, the stories all of us could tell of what God has done.

I have known those same Christians a few years later to go into surgery and it wasn't successful. And someone says, Lord, where were you? Same place I was the first time. I know what I'm doing.

You see, when they went into the fire, number one, the Lord was with them. The king was amazed to discover four people in the furnace. We believe this was our Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of the Lord who had come down to be with them.

You have experienced this. You have walked into the furnace or you have been thrown into the furnace and all of a sudden somebody is there with you. Oh, what an experience this is to wake up in a hospital room and he's there.

Oh, what an experience it is to walk into a mortuary, going through that valley and he's there. Oh, what an experience it is when all of the world has turned the blow torches of persecution, the furnace of persecution upon us and to discover he's there. You see, the first thing he promises is I'll be with you.

The promise of his presence. Something else is true. The fire didn't even hurt them.

Now I want you to know that even if the fire had burned them up, it wouldn't have hurt them. Had God permitted those flames instantly to kill them, it still wouldn't have hurt them. They opened the door and the men who opened the door got killed.

The thing that amazes me about this miracle is that they came out not even smelling like smoke. I can't come out of a Chicago restaurant without smelling like smoke. I've actually had to send clothes to the cleaners from sitting for an hour and a half in a restaurant.

They came out, they had no bruises, they had no burns. I appreciate the fact that not even their hair was singed. That's an encouragement to me.

The promise of preservation. He was with them. Now you can be sure of that.

He protected them. You can be sure of that. Regardless of what the issue is, he'll protect you.

Even if he permits you to be burned to a cinder, he will protect you. Because you see, we don't measure things by today. We measure things by eternity.

But the interesting thing about this furnace experience is he stood with them, he kept them from harm. The only thing that the fire destroyed was the rope. They tied their arms, they tied their feet, and tied their legs, and threw them in.

And the only thing the fire destroyed was the rope. Now I don't know if you're going to know exactly what I'm talking about. I think many of you will.

When you go through the furnace of difficulty, have you experienced the liberty of the Lord? I have. I have found that when you're going through the furnace of persecution and difficulty, because you're standing true to God, somehow he breaks the bonds. Sometimes, somehow he burns the ropes.

And there's a freedom and a liberty. Can you imagine taking a walk with the Lord Jesus through a furnace? I don't know where you walk with the Lord. We sing in one of our songs, when we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way.

Maybe you walk with him and talk with him in the garden in the evening. Maybe you walk with him through the valley. Have you ever walked with him through a furnace? You ever gone through persecution because you've stood true to the Lord? And I tell you, friend, when you do, that fire won't hurt you.

It'll hurt the people who tried to hurt you. That fire can only set you free. Now, if you've never experienced this, I covet this experience for you.

The liberty, the freedom to walk and to talk and to be with the Lord going right through the furnace. The promise of preservation. There's a third promise here to encourage us to stand true to the Lord, and that is the promise of promotion.

Verse 30, Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babel. And you say, hold it, preacher, you've lost me. I stood true to the Lord and got fired.

I had a friend that happened to. He stood true to the Lord and they found a good excuse for firing him. I've known this to happen.

That's not what we're talking about. I would rather be fired outside the furnace and be true to the Lord than be fired inside the furnace and not be true to the Lord. I'd rather the boss fire me than the furnace fire me.

You see, when you're true to the Lord, he says, don't worry about it. You stand true to me. I'll take care of you.

Now, in this particular case, Nebuchadnezzar, the king was so astounded by all of this, he promoted them. He said, your God's the kind of God I want on my side. His motives were not entirely pure.

If this God can do this, boy, I want officers who can get this God to do this for me. We don't look at it with that kind of a motive. How did the Lord promote Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Very interesting.

Number one, they were a testimony for God in front of all these people. Suppose they'd said, oh, let's not go into the furnace. Let's bow down and save our lives.

You know what they would have missed? They would have missed the promotion of their testimony. And yet here it was three men who had the privilege of witnessing to all of these sheriffs, governors, princes, captains, king's counselors, and all of the players of the lyre, and the sackbut, and all the rest of this combo they had there on the plain. Suppose before the service started, these three men had walked up and said, oh, king, live forever.

We see you have a great assembly of idol worshipers here. May we have the privilege of preaching a sermon at some point in this ceremony? He would have said, you're crazy. The Lord had it all worked out so they could be a testimony.

He said, throw them in the furnace. And so the Lord promoted his own glory and promoted their testimony by letting them go through the furnace. Now, somebody here tonight is going through the furnace.

I mean, you've stood true to the Lord, and the furnace has been heated, and people are angry, and the fire is licking away at you, and you're saying, Lord, what's going to come of this? I'll tell you what will come of it. You'll glorify God. God will take your testimony, and he'll magnify your testimony.

Now, Peter says the same thing. We should have just kept our place back there in 1 Peter chapter 4. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to test you as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. Now, get this.

But if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part, he's evil spoken of. On your part, he is glorified.

And you got up that morning and said, Lord, help me to glorify you today any way except the furnace. God says, no, I want to put you through the furnace. It'll purify you, and it'll glorify me.

I'm speaking to somebody right now who perhaps is heading for school this summer or next fall, a secular school, not a Christian school. And you're saying, boy, I get in that lunch room, and should I really bow my head and thank the Lord for the food? There's several ways of doing it. I can rub my eyebrows.

I can drop my napkin and do my praying as I go down. There's just a lot of ways I can. Should I take my stand for the Lord when the kids around me are having a good time with dirty stories? They're talking about dirty books.

Do I take my stand for the Lord, or should I just keep quiet? Don't keep quiet. In a loving, sweet, gentle, kind, unassuming way, take your stand for the Lord, and God will promote your testimony. Some will stoke the fire.

Some will come and say, you know, what you've got is what I want. And as a consequence, they were promoted, not only in their job. That does happen.

That does happen. I was chatting this weekend with a man who was telling me how because he refused to lie on his job, he became the right-hand man to his boss. He said to the boss, I'm not going to lie for you or anybody else.

And the boss said, I'll get somebody to take your place. He said, then do it, but I will not lie. And the result of the whole thing was he became the right arm to that boss and worked at that place for a long time.

And when he was retired, was held in the highest honor. That doesn't always happen that way, but sometimes it does. But the Lord always has something better for you because the furnace glorifies God.

There's the promise of promotion. And you know, when we get before the judgment seat of Christ, he's not going to ask us whether we had our name on the window of the office or if we had a rug on the floor. He's not going to ask us how famous we were.

You know, he's going to say, were you faithful? That's all he's going to ask. Were you faithful? Faithful even unto death. And that's where the real promotion is going to come, isn't it? The real promotion is going to come when we stand before the Lord and he's going to say, well done, good and faithful servant.

Everybody here tonight is worshiping and serving some God, either yourself or your money or the Lord. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your own savior, hear me. Someday you will go through the fire and you'll stay there.

And Jesus won't be there. I'm sorry. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your savior and you die, that means judgment and he won't be there.

But for those of us who are going through the fires of persecution today will never face the eternal fires of punishment tomorrow. Because my Lord Jesus went through those fires for us. Oh, do you see it tonight? The reason he was able to go through the furnace with them and preserve them is because he went through that furnace on Calvary.

And perhaps somebody here tonight has never trusted the Lord. Oh, my friend, I plead with you in love to come and trust him and Christian friend, be true to him. Don't deny him.

Don't turn your back on him. Don't compromise. Stand true to the Lord.

Our God is able, but even if he doesn't, I refuse to compromise. And I can give to you from God's word, the promise that he'll be with you and he'll go through the fire with you. And in the end, you'll glorify him.

Heavenly Father, we don't enjoy the fires, but we know they're good for us. We're glad that the fires of persecution liberate us. We're glad that they bring us into a deeper fellowship of Christ's sufferings.

We're glad, oh God, that they help us to magnify Christ and witness for him in ways we could never have done on our own. I pray for your children who are tempted to compromise, who are afraid, oh God, to stand up for the Lord Jesus. Lord, help us to have the courage to go through the fire, knowing that you're with us.

I pray for those who have never trusted the Lord Jesus, that they might come tonight and trust him. Do a work in all of our hearts, I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.