Identity Theft - 3

Identity Theft - 3

Subject – Know Your Identity by Knowing Your God

By Rick Welborne

Daniel 3:13-18 (NLT)
¹³  Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,
¹⁴  Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
¹⁵  I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
¹⁶  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
¹⁷  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
¹⁸  But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” 

--Last week we looked at Identity Theft and how it has infiltrated so many areas of our everyday lives…today we will look at how we must fight against this enemy who is trying desperately to rob from us.

John 10:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--Most everyone in this room would do everything in your power to keep thieves out of your house and away from your possessions but we freely let in the thief into our hearts and minds. Media.

--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are beautiful examples of how we do not have to let that happen and how we can take a stand against the onslaught of the enemy. How did they do it?

1. They knew Who their God was.

--At this time King Nebuchadnezzar has made a decision that universal idolatry would be carried out by a decree of the king and whoever would not honor it would be judged.

--This sounds so much like what is going on in America…a president can write an executive order about gender identity and expect everyone to just accept it as law. Bathroom choice. Where’s the compassion?

--Let’s think this thru…we may have a few thousand who are struggling with this…men who want to use the women’s restrooms and we want to change the laws in every state to make them feel comfortable.

--What about the millions of women and young girls who would be terribly uncomfortable with this crazy decision…what about their emotions and what about their rights.

--I can tell you, if I saw a man going in the restroom after my wife and daughter just went in…I would definitely feel that manly protection need kick into gear. Nope!

--What am I saying…what I am saying is this, we should not and hopefully will not accept everything that this world tells us we have to comply to…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t feel that way.

--The apostles did not feel that way when they were told to stop speaking and preaching in the Name above every name and that is the Name of Jesus.

Acts 4:17-19 (NLT)
¹⁷  But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.”
¹⁸  So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
¹⁹  But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?

--The three Hebrew young men and the apostles knew who their God was and they were not about to compromise what they knew in their hearts and in the Law.

--We, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must know Who our God is and we must know our identity is found in Him, not what people try to make Him into.

--Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our God is the Great I am, our God is consisting of the Trinity…Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. Listen to these Names of God:

Almighty, Alpha, Amen, Angel of the Lord, Anointed One, Author and Perfecter of our Faith, Beginning Branch, Bread of Life, Bridegroom, Carpenter, Chief Shepherd, The Christ Comforter, Consolation of Israel, Cornerstone, Dayspring, Day Star, Deliverer, Desire of Nations, Emmanuel, End, Everlasting Father, Faithful and True Witness, Foundation, Fountain, Friend of Sinners, Gate for the Sheep, Gift of God, Glory of God, Good Shepherd, Great Shepherd, Guide, Head of the Church, High Priest, Holy One of Israel, Horn of Salvation, I Am, Jehovah, Jesus, King of Israel, King of Kings, Lamb of God, Last Adam, Life, Light of the World, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Lord of Lords, Master, Mediator, Messiah, Mighty God, Morning Star, Nazarene, Omega, Passover Lamb, Physician, Potentate, Priest, Prince of Peace, Prophet, Propitiation, Purifier, Rabbi, Ransom, Redeemer, Refiner, Refuge, Resurrection, Righteousness, Rock, Root of David, Rose of Sharon, Ruler of God's Creation, Sacrifice, Savior, Second Adam, Seed of Abraham, Seed of David, Seed of the Woman, Servant, Shepherd, Son of David, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of Mary, Son of the Most High, Stone, Sun of Righteousness, Teacher, Truth, Way Wonderful Counselor, Word, Vine

--He is the One we better stay connected to. Do you know Who your God is?

Psalm 9:7-10 (NKJV)
⁷  But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.
⁸  He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.
⁹  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.
¹⁰  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 

2. They knew who was not their God.

- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that King Nebuchadnezzar was not their god and he was not the one in whom they found their identity. Though they were slaves in a foreign land they knew God’s promises.

--Nebuchadnezzar was the King of Babylon…though they were in captivity…listen to this promise:

Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NIV)
¹¹  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
¹²  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
¹³  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
¹⁴  I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

--What was this saying to them and what is it saying to us? God will show up in the middle of what this cosmos is trying to force down our throats and we do not have to conform to their demands.

--Keeping your identity may mean a turning up of the heat, it may mean you are singled out to be the one targeted. That’s ok if you understand “If God be for you, who can be against you?”

--These guys knew that serving God may cost them something, in their case it may cost them everything! They knew that whether by life or by death, they were not going to forget who they were in God.

--They knew that ultimately the One to Whom they would bow their knee would not be King Nebuchadnezzar but to the Lord God Almighty…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

 --The earthly king could only affect their earthly life but many of us are looking for something better…we are looking for a city whose Builder and Maker is God. Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 10:28 (NIV) ²⁸  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew their identity was in God and not Nebuchadnezzar. 

3. They knew they could trust God even in the fire.

--When you know Who your God is and you know who your god is not…you are in a better place to trust God in the fire. I pray that our faith increases more and more.

--After serving God for such a long time and studying the Word for all those years I have concluded that God does not always answer the way we want Him to or as quickly as we want Him to.

--People tell me that all we have to do is believe and receive. Many today would say these Hebrew young men did not have faith by their response to the king:

Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT)
¹⁶  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
¹⁷  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
¹⁸  But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” 

--When they said “but even if He doesn’t” they were not speaking faith or were they? These boys just might die…die trusting God.

--Listen to Job and Jesus…they knew their identity in God and knew they could trust Him no matter what.

Job 13:15-16 (NIV)
¹⁵  Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
¹⁶  Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless man would dare come before him! 

Matthew 26:42 (NLT)
⁴²  Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”