SATURDAY 23RD JUNE 2018 DEFIANCE IS ALLOWED!

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SATURDAY 23RD JUNE 2018
THEME: DEFIANCE IS ALLOWED!
MEMORISE:
But Peter and John answered and said unto
them, Whether it be right in the sight of God
to hearken unto you more than unto God,
judge ye.
Acts 4:19
READ: Daniel 3:13-26
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and
fury commanded to bring Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought
these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spake 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?
15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye
hear the sound of the cornet, 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 a burning fiery furnace;
and who is that God that shall deliver you
out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
answered and said to the king, O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to
answer thee in this matter.
17 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.
18 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.
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury,
and the form of his visage was changed
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
therefore he spake, and commanded that
they should heat the furnace one seven
times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 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.
21 Then these men were bound in their
coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their
other garments, and were cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Therefore because the king's
commandment was urgent, and the furnace
exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew
those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, fell down bound into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was
astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake,
and said unto his counsellors, Did not we
cast three men bound into the midst of the
fire? They answered and said unto the king,
True, O king.
25 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.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the
mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and
spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, ye servants of the most high God,
come forth, and come hither. Then
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came
forth of the midst of the fire.
MESSAGE
The narrative in today's Bible reading
highlights one of those instances where we
can go against secular and religious
authority. This story tells of how Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego refused to obey the
law of the land. There is time for everything
under heaven. There is a time when in order
to obey the law of God, you have to
disobeyed the law of the land. These three
young men were accused and found guilty
of religious anarchism. In simple terms, they
were tagged criminals because they were
found guilty of breaking the law, and the
penalty for this was death by burning.
Nevertheless, these young men defied the
threat of tortuous death in a fiery furnace.
Their attitude made it seem as if they had
listened to the teaching of Jesus Christ in
Mark 9:45-46, where He said;
“And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is
better for thee to enter halt into life, than
having two feet to be cast into hell, into the
fire that never shall be quenched: Where
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched.”
As seen in Acts 4:19, a similar act of defiance
was exhibited by the early disciples. Peter up
to the religious leaders of that time, giving
them a rhetorical question to ponder on. He
asked for their advice on whom to obey:
earthly leaders or God. Beloved, you need to
be defiant whenever you are asked to go
against the law of God. The time to stand up
for your faith and values is when you are
asked to go against it.
If at the expense of standing up for God,
you melt in the face of threats to your life,
comfort or career, you cannot call yourself a
Christian. Are you in a situation where you
are compromising on the truth? Are you
falsifying records in your office or business
to make more money? Are you collecting
bribes before you do your work? Are you
covering up for corrupt colleagues or
friends? If you find yourself in such
circumstances, you need to search deep
within your heart and choose whom you
will serve today. Serving God means every
moment of your day, every action that you
take and every utterance that you make are
viewed as service to Him. Always be
conscious of the fact that your actions at
your place of work or business counts as
service to God. Your attitude towards
everyone around you is also a service to
God. I pray that the Holy Spirit will convict
your heart and enable you to stand up for
Jesus every day.
ACTION POINT:
Read Joshua 1:8 meditatively and pray for
God’s wisdom to apply His law to your day-
to-day activities.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Chronicles 1-3, Acts 15:36-16:15
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 16: STAND UP! STAND UP FOR JESUS
1. Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
Ye soldiers of the Cross;
Lift high His royal banner,
It must not suffer loss.
From vict'ry unto vict'ry
His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished
And Christ is Lord indeed.
2. Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict
In this His glorious day!
Ye that are men, now serve Him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger,
And strength to strength oppose.
3. Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone:
The arm of flesh will fail you;
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armour,
And watching unto prayer,
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.
4. Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor's song
To him that overcometh
A crown of life shall be;
He, with the King of Glory
Shall reign eternally.