Message from Pastor Leo

June 15, 2009

Some of you are facing some really difficult situations right now – layoffs, foreclosures, bankruptcy, divorce, illnesses, diseases, and maybe even the reality of death.  Let me give you some encouragement.  Your God has the final word in every situation and some how, some way, everything He allows will work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Consider for a moment Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who knew they would be thrown into the blazing furnace if they refused to bow down to king Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image.  But they stood firm in their faith, refused to bow down, and confidently declared their allegiance to God alone no matter what the situation might be. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Daniel 3:16  That’s King James for “we’re not full of care, we’re not full of anxiety, we’re not having a meltdown over your threat”.  How did they keep their cool in the face of certain death?  How could they defy the demands of the most powerful man on earth?  Here’s how.

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. Daniel 3:17-18 

These men knew God’s power.  They had a deep relationship with the Lord.  They were confident He was able to protect them – but should He choose not to save them from the fire, He would take them to heaven.  They knew God’s character.  Either way, they’d win.  They believed that life after death was real and that it was even better than life itself. 

This confidence made the king furious!  His face was twisted with rage as he ordered them to be thrown into the furnace.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, 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.  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 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. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Daniel 3:23-27

Jesus saved them from the fire.  But more importantly, Jesus also saved the King.  Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was changed, and He cried out, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Daniel 3:28 God used this situation for good!

Let me ask you – will you hold on to your faith in the midst of the storm you’re facing?  Jesus said, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:12-13

God’s got your back.  There’s no situation too hot for Him to handle.  Nothing overwhelms Him.  And as His child, as one who’s surrendered to Jesus, you can run to Him with all of your problems, no matter how big, how small, or how many.  ALL of them.  Your God has the final word in your situation.

So make a solid commitment to your relationship with God.  Read your Bible.  Get to know God so you can trust Him completely.  Then, when things get tough, follow Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s example and pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.

Read your Bible.  Read it every day and draw closer to Jesus.

May the Lord Jesus Christ Be Magnified!

Pastor Leo A. Giovinetti