Do Not Bow!

  

"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." Daniel 3:16-18

   A day is gonna come [very soon] where your leadership skills will need to take full force. If you're not strong, you will wither away like a dying plant. Leadership is an important thing to grasp. We need to be able to separate right from wrong. Everyone else might be going in one direction but that doesn't make it the right direction. Everyone else might be doing one thing but that doesn't mean you should do it also. Once God has separated you from this world and has made you holy, you need to continue living holy. Live by the Word Of God and walk as the Holy Spirit leads.

    It may be hard but soon you will have to stand up and say "I will not bow!"  Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendego was put into a fiery furnace because they would not bow to the image that king Nebuchadnezzar set up for them to worship. These three young men had great faith in their God. They honored the words of the Lord and because of that they would not bow. Even if the Lord did not rescue them, they said, we still will not bow to your image. Why were they so opposed to this image? Most people would say that they should have bowed for that simple occasion. But the thing was that the God of Shadrach, Meschach and Abendego commanded them that they should not bow to another god. They had standards that were set by God and they could not allow someone to lower them.

   Nebuchadnezzar threw the three young men into the fiery furnace and lit it 7x hotter. After a while later he asked a servant, 'Didn't I just throw three men into the fire?' Nebuchadnezzar saw four men walking around in the furnace unharmed and one was like the son of God! You see, God will rescue you but stay true to His word and His commandments.
 
   Shadrach, Meschach and Abendego did not bow to that image. Today, In our world there are so many images around us whispering 'bow.. Bow..' Do not bow to these images that are set up for you to worship. Yes, they will put you in the fire for your disobedience but God is able to deliver you. Do you honor the commandments of the Lord your God? Then do not bow.
 
   There was a woman in the UN building one day. She was a Christian. The people around her were in trances getting ready to perform a New Age Satanic activity. This woman called upon the name of Jesus Christ and the work of the devil was halted. They could not 'channel' whatever they were trying to 'channel.' I'm sure that they were upset with her but she could not bow down to the devil, the God she serves is too great. She could not sell her salvation to make other people happy.

   Sometimes you will have to get a large group upset but you cannot bow. You must stand strong and rely on Jesus, your Lord to keep you. They will try to hurt you because you disrupted their environment. Don't follow the crowd and bow, listen to the voice of Jesus speaking to you and do what He says to do. 

When your coworkers pressure you to do something wrong? Do not bow!

When a friend tells you to cut a class? Do not bow!

 When the government says to deny Jesus? Do not bow! 

 Do not bow to their imagery.