Adrian Rogers - When Faith is in the Fire
Be finding the book of Daniel and be finding the third chapter of that book of Daniel. While you’re finding it, let me tell you about an ancient Christian. This man’s name was Athanasius. And Athanasius was a bold, strong Christian and he would take stands and other people would say he is arrogant or he is stubborn or he is narrow minded. The emperor’s name was Theodosius. And Theodosius said to Athanasius, «Athanasius, the whole world is against you». Athanasius said to Theodosius, «Then, Athanasius is against the whole world».
It takes courage, it takes courage, my friend, to stand alone. But more and more and more you’re going to find that is necessary to learn to stand alone in the day and the age in which we live. And if it is necessary now in your office, in your school, on your team, in your neighborhood. If it is necessary now as the days get darker, how much more necessary will it be for your children? So I want you to learn to stand alone and I want you to teach your children to stand alone. Not out of stubbornness, not out of arrogance, not out of narrow-mindedness, but to stand up for Jesus and to stand on the principles of God’s Word and to stand for those things that are true and righteous and just and the things that will last throughout time and eternity.
Now let me read to you some Scripture here, Daniel chapter 3 verse 1 through verse 7, «Nebuchadnezzar, the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and breadth six cubits: 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 unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, 'To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye shall fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth 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 cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell downward worshipped the golden image the Nebuchadnezzar the king set up».
Now let’s just pause there. We’re going to pick up the story in a moment, but already you’re recognizing it’s the story of three Hebrew children, who were thrown into the fiery furnace, and which of us has not known that story for a long, long time. We learned it when we were in Sunday School about these three Jewish boys who would not worship that image were thrown into the fiery furnace, because they wouldn’t budge and they wouldn’t bow, and we found out they also would not burn. And they came out of that fiery furnace, and we’ve all rejoiced in that story.
My friend listen to me, that is not just simply what has done, it is a record of what God is doing. And it is not merely a record of what God has said, it is a record of what God is saying, and you’re going to find yourself very soon in a fiery furnace, some incendiary circumstance. Before long, if you are a Bible believing Christian, you’re going to find out that your faith will be in the fire and it will be necessary for you, like these young men of old, to stand alone. Now Nebuchadnezzar was an ego maniac; a megalomaniac. He was stuffed full of a sense of his own importance. So great was his ego, so great was his self-worship, that he had an image made of himself and demanded that everyone would bow down and worship that image.
I want you to see that gigantic image as it stood out there on the plains of Dura, like some missile on a pad, waiting to be launched. And I want you to hear the command given that everybody is to bow down and worship that image or else you’ll be thrown in a fiery furnace. That’s all they needed. When the band struck up, there were thousands who hit the dust and fell down in obeisance before that golden image. Did I say all? No, there were three there that day who would not bow and they were, indeed, because they stood alone, thrown into a fiery furnace.
Now, this has great, great, great relevance for you, for me, today in this age in which we live and more and more and more relevance will it have. Because, you see, Daniel is a book of prophecy and Nebuchadnezzar is a type, a picture, an illustration of the antichrist. Did you hear that? There is coming a man who will one day rule the world as Babylon was ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. He will be the devil’s Messiah. He’s called in the Bible, «the beast», he’s called in the Bible, «the man of sin», he’s called in the Bible, «the lawless one», he is called in the Bible, «the wicked one», he is called in the Bible «the antichrist». All of these are different appellatives, names, descriptions of one incredibly wicked human being who may now be living, who will one day rule the world during a period the Bible tells of as the Great Tribulation.
Now the evolutionists believe that man sprung from the beast; man we are headed to the beast. That beast is the antichrist. Now, you say, «Well what does that have to do with me? I don’t have to worry about the antichrist? Don’t I understand the Scripture to say that when the Christians are taken out of the world, then the antichrist will come»? That is true. I believe that. But I want you to put in your margin First John chapter 2 and verse 18. Don’t turn to it, just jot it down and let me share it with you. The apostle John said even in his day, «Little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists». Did you get it? «Many antichrists, whereby we know it is the last time».
That is, the more you see antichrists, the spirit of antichrist that’s in the world, the more you realize that you’re living in the last time. Now this man is a picture of antichrist himself. There are three things I want you to see primarily as we look at this story. We see the story of these three men: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to the king’s image. And first of all, as we learn to stand alone, I want you to see the very furry that these boys faced. I mean the pressures that were upon them.
Now again let me show you that Nebuchadnezzar does picture and stands for the antichrist. Let me give you some interesting things. For example, the Nebuchadnezzar made an image of himself and told everybody to worship that. Put in your margin Revelation chapter 13 and beginning in verse 13. Just listen to it now because time is short and I’m going to go fast. You jot these Scriptures down and I’ll share them with you. Revelation chapter 13 verse 13 to verse 15, «And he,» it’s speaking of the antichrist now, not Nebuchadnezzar. This is way back in the last book of the Bible. Not the book of Daniel, but the book of the Revelation.
Listen to it, «And he doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire to come down from Heaven on Earth in the sight of men and deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the Earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by the sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed». Nebuchadnezzar says, «I’ve got an image here, if you don’t worship it you’re going to be killed».
The antichrist is coming, he’s going to make an image, more incredible than the one Nebuchadnezzar made, and if those people of that time will not worship that image, they will be killed. An interesting use of the number sixes here, look in chapter 3 verse 1, «The king made an image of gold whose height was threescore cubits». How many is threescore? Well, that’s sixty. «And the breadth,» of it was what? «six cubits». And how many pieces of orchestration were in the orchestra? Look in verse 5, «At what time you hear the sound of the cornet,» that’s one, «the flute,» that’s two, «the harp,» that’s three, «the sackbut,» that’s four, «the psaltery,» that’s five, «and the dulcimer,» that’s six. All through this thing, you find «six, six, six».
Well, what is the number of the beast, the antichrist that’s going to come? Revelation chapter 13 and verse 18, «Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man, and the number is six hundred threescore and six». Six, six, six. And so what I’m trying to say is this, that there was a man named Nebuchadnezzar. He is a type, a picture, a prophecy and illustration of the antichrist that will come. Antichrist will come. One day he will set up an image. One day he will use the number 666 to cause universal worship. But in this day and in this age in which we now live, the spirit of antichrist is already in the world; there are many antichrists. And if people in that day must stand alone, so must we in this day stand alone, and there will be incredible pressure.
Now I want you to see what ole Nebuchadnezzar did so long ago to try to get people to conform, because this basketball team will face these same pressures, these businessmen will face these same pressures, this choir will face these same pressures. May I give you five? Here they are: first of all, there will be emotional enticement. Look in Daniel 3 verse 5, «At what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image».
The Babylonian orchestra began to play. There was incredible music. You see, what does music do? Music touches the emotions. Music is a gift of God. We have great, great music today. And my heart was stirred. I worshipped. I praised. I thought. I learned. I resolved as I listened to the music today. But the devil also knows the power of music and Satan is using music today like never before to enforce his diabolical plans upon the world. Satan is a master musician. The Bible even speaks of Satan as having tabrets or pipes in him. When he speaks, it’s like majestic music. Now, his music can be hideously beautiful or it can have a demonic beat, but it is Satan’s tool as never before.
See first of all, Satan wants to capture a generation by music and who will deny that there is emotional enticement? But wait a minute, not only emotional enticement, secondly there is social inducement. The Bible mentions in verses 2 and 3 that everybody was doing this. And in Daniel 3 verse 4, the herald cried aloud, «To you it is commanded O people, nations, and languages». Everybody is going to be doing it. And if you do not fall in line, if you do not step in time, if you do not do what you’re told to do in this day and in this age, you’re going to be looked upon as an odd ball. We’re moving quickly to a one-worldism, a one-world government. The America that we have known is being diluted and being absorbed into a generation and into a globalism spurred on by global gullibility of those who will not stand alone and stand for what is right.
Now, watch it. First of all, there’s emotional enticement: there’s the music. Then there’s social inducement: everybody is doing it. And then there is government enforcement. Look if you will in Daniel 3 verse 6, «And whoso falleth not down and worship it, the same shall be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace». Now the government in that day and the government more and more in our day is trying to squeeze everybody into a mold and say that, «You cannot stand for this thing or you cannot stand for that thing. We will arrest you for contempt of court or we will take away your tax exempt status. We will do this. We will do that, because you are in the way of the progress of peace».
And friend, Jesus said in John 16:2, «In the last days, there’s coming a time when those who kill you will think they do God a service». There’s a man named Jim Luce who has an organization called Fundamentalists Anonymous, that is, «I was once a member of a Bible-believing church». Now they use the term fundamentalist with a sneer as a pejorative term. «And I finally came out, I extradited myself from that form of mind control,» that’s what they call it, «and now for other people who were once caught up in this kind of an organization, here is a way to liberate yourself and to free yourself». Now that’s not so bad, you just have to pity those people and feel sorry for them. But I want you to get the mindset. I want to quote what he has said.
Now listen to it, he’s speaking of you, if you’re a Bible-believer and here’s what he says, «They have a mindset of seeing the world in black and white, good and evil, that is very totalitarian and authoritarian. We think it is a mental health problem and when translated into the political arena, it is a democratic problem». He’s just simply saying friend, «When you stand up and say the Bible says, 'And this is wrong and this is right, ' you’re mentally sick. There’s a mental health problem and when it becomes a mental health problem, then it becomes a democratic problem. These are the people standing in the way of world peace».
Now if you think that’s a joke. Friend, you go to the former Soviet Union and find all of those who were cast not into prison, but into mental health hospitals, because they dare stand up and say, «This is wrong and this is right and we will not go along». And so, not only was there this governmental enforcement, there’s going to be spiritual defilement. You see, the devil was behind all of this. Look in Daniel 3 verse 6, «And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth». Now learn this about the devil, learn this about the devil, learn this about the devil: the devil does not want casualties, he wants converts. The devil wants to be worshipped and the antichrist that comes, he wants to be worshipped.
Again, Revelation chapter 13 verses 7 and 8, «And it was given to him,» that is antichrist, «to make war with the saints and overcome them,» that’s governmental enforcement, «and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations and all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world». And that’s the power. That’s what we’re up against, my dear friend. We’re up against emotional enticement. We’re up against social inducement, governmental enforcement. We’re up against spiritual defilement. And it is in the world everywhere, everywhere, everywhere! It’s in this city, it’s in your city, wherever you are listening to this program today, and you’re going to have to learn to stand against it.
Second thing I want you to see now. The very first thing is what I call the furry they faced. The second thing I want you to see is the faith that they followed. I want you to see what it was that helped these three young men to stand alone because these are the things that you’re going to have to have and you’re going to have to have in the hearts and lives of your children. Now begin in verse 13 if you will, Daniel chapter 3 and verse 13 through 18, «Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and furry commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king and Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, 'Is it true, oh, 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 at what time ye hear the sound of the coronet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye 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 the burning fiery furnace.'» Now notice the spirit of antichrist here. Notice the contempt he has for God, «'And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? '» Now folks, here’s where it gets good. «Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.'»
Now when he says, «We’re not careful», that is, «We don’t have to hesitate, we don’t have to study about it, we’re not worried about it, we don’t have to ponder about it». «'We’re 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 now notice this, hallelujah, «'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.'» Now suppose we’re there, and we say, «Now boys, let’s give you some advice, you’re in a tough spot. I mean your faith is about to be in the fire. Now fellows let me just tell you what to do».
Now here’s the average carnal Christian speaking, «'When in Babylon, ' what 'do as the Babylonians do.' Go along to get along. I mean after all, it’d be a whole lot better for you to compromise a little bit here and live a little longer so you can do some more good, than just simply to be stubborn and to stand up, and after all Christians are supposed to get along with everybody and everything, including the devil himself. So just don’t stand alone». But these men did and how did they do it? By the faith that they had. Now I want you to notice the faith they followed. And I want you to notice three things about that faith.
Number one, it was a settled faith. Look if you will in Daniel 3 verse 16. In verse 16 they said, «We’re not careful to answer you O king». We don’t have to get in huddle. We don’t have to ponder it. We don’t have to say, «Now, king, give us a night to sleep on it. We don’t have to have a committee meeting». You know what I believe these boys had done. I believe these boys had already been in a revival meeting. I believe they had been in a revival meeting before they were carried away captive. Under good king Josiah there’d been a revival in the preaching of Jeremiah. They had God’s Word hidden down in their heart. They already knew what was right. They already knew what was wrong.
Let me tell you something, dear friend, there’re too many of you spending too much time trying to make up your mind what you’re going to do about this thing and this thing and this thing and this thing. One of the greatest things I have learned in life is one big decision will keep you from a lot of little ones. Just make one big one. Have you ever, you and your wife, gone out to supper one night and you pull out the driveway and she says, «Well, where you want to go»? «Well, what do you want»? «Well, I don’t know. What about so and so»? And you’re steering the car all over the neighborhood like this. You go here and then you, look folks, if you know you’re going to thus and such a place when you come out you just turn and go, right? I mean you made one big decision, then the rest of it’s just automatic. And so it is in life when you make a certain decision.
When you say, «This is right and this is wrong». And then when Nebuchadnezzar says, «What are you going to do»? You say, «Hey, I don’t have to think about it. I don’t have to think about it». Their faith was a settled faith. I’ll tell you something else about it, it was a strong faith. Look in Daniel 3 verse 17, they said, «Our God is able»! You better believe that. Man I’m telling you, you better believe it. You better believe when he says, «Who is that God that shall deliver thee»? You better believe there is a God who said in Psalm 50 verse 15, «Calleth on Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee. I will».
My dear friend, that’s the word of a holy God. He will deliver us. If He doesn’t deliver us through the fire, friend, He’ll deliver us in the fire. But He will deliver us. «Have faith in God, He cannot fail. Have faith in God, He must prevail. He watches or His own. Have faith in God. Have faith in God». But here’s the point I want you to learn and this is most important. That faith that was a settled faith. We don’t have to worry about it. We don’t have to consult about it. That faith which was a strong faith, «Our God is able».
Now you listen to me dear friend. It was a steadfast faith. Now here’s something very interesting. In Daniel 3 verse 18, he says, «'But if not, '» look at it, «'But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.'» «Now, God is able to deliver us. We don’t have any doubt about that. And He will deliver us, no doubt about that. But if not, we’re not going to serve your gods. We’re not going to worship your image». Now what does «if not» mean? Does that mean, if God is not able? Not at all. Does that mean if God does not deliver us? No, that’s not what it means. It means if, in this situation, we be turned to bacon, if when you throw us like chips of whatever into a fiery Vesuvius, we’re consumed, if that’s the way it works out, fine. We’re still not going to worship your god, Nebuchadnezzar.
Now they don’t have any doubt as to God’s power; that’s not the point at all. It may happen that God in His sovereignty may want these boys to die in the flames. You can die in the flames. Now let me ask you a question: does your faith have an «if not» clause in it? Our God is able to deliver us, we all like that. We all believe that. But if He doesn’t, are you still going to serve Him? Now folks right now we’re getting down to the gritty part of the nitty right here. I want you to turn with me to Hebrews. Just stay there in the third chapter of Daniel and turn with me this time, we’re going to take a moment here, and turn to Hebrews, that’s back toward the back of the Bible. In Hebrews chapter 11.
Now this is very important, very important in standing alone. You know all of us like the story of these three men in the fiery furnace. Why? Because they came out. We like it, but now I want you to listen. In verse 32 to verse 35, a preacher’s running out of time here and so he says, «What shall I more say, for time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae, of David and of Samuel and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again».
Boy now if we just stopped there we’d say, «Boy, sign me up. Where do I sign? Man I like that. You mean, God, just victory after victory»? That’s the most wonderful thing and we love the stories of Daniel and the lion’s den. Oh, how we love that. We love the story of David and Goliath, how we love that. We love the story of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. How we love that. We love the story of our Lord raising the dead and healing the sick. We love those stories. We love the story of how Peter came out of prison. We all love those stories. But friend, it doesn’t end there.
I want you to continue to read now. And in Hebrews 11 verse 35 down to verse 39, «And others,» oh boy, it’s the «and others» that’s going to get you right now. «And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection». Friend, if God doesn’t give you what you want, He’ll give you something better than you want. Now you listen to me, «And others had a trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment». Well, you say, «Well they were put in prison, but they got out after a while». Oh? Look at verse 37, «They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy, they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. These all, having obtained a good report through faith».
You say well if they’d just had enough faith, they’d been delivered. Oh no. They got an A on the report card through faith and they were not delivered in the way that you and I would call deliverance. These three Hebrew boys, they knew. They said, «Our God is able and He’s going to deliver us. But He may not keep us out of your fiery furnace and He may not keep us alive in the furnace, that’s okay. We’re still not going to bow. We’re not going to budge». Now, my dear friend, you listen to me and listen big, straight, and tall and plain. It is one thing to have faith to escape. It’s another thing to have faith to endure. It’s one thing to be sick and have faith to be healed. It’s another thing to be sick and not be healed and still praise God. And that takes greater faith. That takes greater faith. All of these by faith received A+ on their report card. They received a good report.
My dear friend, it is one thing to be delivered. It’s another thing to die and all by faith. And there better be an «if not» clause in your contract with God. Our God is able to deliver us, and if He doesn’t deliver us it’s not because He can’t. You read there in the New Testament where James was put in prison by Herod and Herod cut off his head. Then Peter is put in prison and God delivers Peter out of prison. Therefore, God could have delivered James, but he did not deliver James, but he did deliver Peter, and why? Well, you can ask Him when you get to Heaven. Friend, I just want to tell you that God is sovereign. God is a sovereign God and God knows what is best and God may not always deliver you from your trials and your tribulations and your temptations and if He doesn’t, what are you to do? Just stand. Just stand by faith.
Now, let me tell you what faith is. Faith is not primarily receiving from God what you want; it is accepting from God what He gives. Did you hear me? Not primarily receiving from God what you want; it is accepting from God what He gives. And these boys, they had what kind of a faith? It was a settled faith. «We don’t have to worry about it». Friend, it was a strong faith. «Our God is able. And it was a steadfast faith, even if He doesn’t deliver us, we’re not going to bow, we’re not going to budge, we’re not going to bend. We may burn, but our God will deliver us out of your hand, Nebuchadnezzar».
Now, folks, I want to tell you, we just have some sort of little fairytale faith where we think that somehow at the last moment the Lone Ranger’s going to come riding over the hill and deliver us. That’s not necessarily true, but I want to tell you, my dear friend, that there’s a God in Heaven who’s going to take care of you in the fire, through the fire, or whatever. I love Romans 8 verse 35 through 37, «Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, 'For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things, in all these things, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.'»
Friend, we didn’t win with a field goal in the last two seconds. «We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us». Now, finally, and very quickly, and I’ve spent too much time on the first two points, so I’m just going to give you the synopses of the last point. I’ve talked to you about the furry they faced. I’ve talked to you about the faith they followed. I want to talk to you for just a few about the fellowship they found. And you can go read the story when you go home. But what happened. They’re bound. They’re thrown into this fiery furnace. This furnace is heated seven times hotter than it’s ever been heated. Why the men that threw them in are burned with such burns that they cannot survive. And there are these three boys down there in the fiery furnace.
Our young people here sing a little musical called «It’s cool in the furnace». There they are, walking around in the furnace. After a while, Nebuchadnezzar decides he’ll go down and have a look. He’ll see how these three rebellious young men who would not bow and would not budge are doing. Read Daniel 3 verses 24 and 25. When he looks down there, he said, «Hey, wait a minute, didn’t we put three men in the fire. Why,» he said, «I see four walking around down there and the fourth is like the Son of God, like the Son of God». Are you listening?
Friend, what happened when they got down there? Three things. First of all, the Bible says that the bonds, the ropes that were put on them were all burned off. There was not even the smell of smoke in their clothes. I wish I could say that when I come home from the barber shop. Not even the smell of smoke in their clothes. Listen to me, the only thing the fire burned off of them was what the world had put on them. If you go through the fire, God’s just cleansing you. He knows how to cleanse you. The times you’ll grow the most are when your faith’s in the fire. I can tell you that’s true.
Now, look, there was the cleansing of the saint. I’ll tell you something else, there was the companionship of the Savior. Jesus, Jesus will never ever, ever, ever, ever be closer to you than when you take a stand for Him and say, «No matter what anybody else is going to do, dear Jesus, I’m going to please You. And Lord if it costs, Lord, if I’m cast in the fire, Lord, if I’m hated, castigated, refused, spurned, ignored, killed, Jesus, I’m going to stand for You».
I’ll tell you Jesus will move in and lock arms with you and walk through that fire with you, my dear friend. If you want Jesus Christ to be real, you stop being a candy-legged Christian, Sunday morning benchwarmer, and start to stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ. And there’ll be the companionship of the Savior. And last of all, and I wish I had time just to speak about an hour on all three of these.
There’ll be the conviction of the sinner, there will be. Ole Nebuchadnezzar looked down there, and he said, «What’s happening here? Why aren’t they burned up»? Because their God delivered them. Those Babylonians worshipped the fire god. That’s what it’s all about. His name was Isbar. Ole Isbar wasn’t like Jehovah. Nebuchadnezzar had to admit it. There’s no God like our God. Do you know when this world is going to start having respect for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible? When you and I, by the grace of God, stand alone. You better teach your children friend, because the spirit of antichrist is already in the world.
Let’s bow in prayer. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. You won’t even begin to stand against the antichrist, you won’t even begin to stand if you don’t have Christ in your heart. Are you saved? You can’t teach your children, if you don’t know. Are you prepared to teach your children what’s right and what’s wrong? Are you? And can you truly teach them what is right and wrong if you are not a child of God? If you’re not certain that you’re saved, would you like to be saved, would you? Would you like to know that you really do have life? Jesus said, «I’ve come that you might have life». Could I lead you in a prayer? We’ll call this prayer the sinner’s prayer. And you can pray and accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You can do it right now. Would you pray this prayer?
Dear God, I know that You love me. Thank You for loving me. And I know that You want to save me. Jesus, You died to save me and You promised to save me if I would trust You. Jesus, I do trust You. I believe You’re the Son of God. I believe you paid for my sin with Your blood on the cross. I believe that God raised You from the dead. And now I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me. Come into my life. Take control of my life and begin today to make me the person You want me to be. And Jesus, give me the courage to make it public. Help me never to be ashamed of You. In Your name I pray, Amen.