201 The God Who Is

It has been said that what comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. If we have a faulty or limited understanding of who God is, it is not only dishonoring to Him, it’s devastating to us.  It is, in fact, at the root of nearly every one of our problems.

But if you can come to grips with the attributes of God that we will be looking at in this series, you will never be the same.

The reason why I can promise you this is that Scripture makes that very claim. Daniel 11:32 (RSV) says, “...the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”

That verse is validated on multiple occasions in the early chapters of the book of Daniel.

In chapter one, we find Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in exile in Babylon. They were pressed into the king’s service where they faced all sorts of challenges and temptations. Among them was being given food to eat that would compromise their beliefs.

They made a deal with their keeper allowing them to eat their preferred diet, and at the end of the test period, these young men were clearly healthier and stronger than their peers. Because they knew their God, they stood tall and God blessed them. Which brings us to our first point:

Those who know their God display great zeal.

In chapter three, we read how the king, Nebuchadnezzar, built a golden statue and demanded that everyone bow and worship it. Any who would not bow would be thrown into a furnace of fire. The three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused.

When the king learned of it, he gave them a second chance – bow or die. They still refused, saying, “Our God can rescue us from the fire, but even if He doesn’t, we will not bow.”

Here’s our 2nd point: Those who know their God demonstrate great courage.

Nebuchadnezzar was furious and ordered the young men to be bound and thrown into the fire that had been stoked 7 times hotter. But as he looked into the furnace, the king saw, not three men, but four! And the fourth looked like a “son of the gods.” Indeed, it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Himself.

Those who know their God discover a great presence.

Those who know their God sense Him as others don’t sense Him. They see Him where others don’t see Him.  They hear Him when others don’t hear Him.

The king called the men out of the furnace and to everyone’s amazement, not a hair was singed. They didn’t even smell of smoke.

These men who knew their God got the attention of a cynical, skeptical king. He could not deny that they were different and that it was because of their God.

Those who know their God demand a great audience. 

That can and will happen today. As cynical and skeptical as our world might be, when it witnesses people who live compellingly different lives...better lives...more gracious, more courageous, more confident lives...we won’t lack for an audience.

Text: Daniel 1:6-20; 3:1-30; 11:32 

Originally recorded on September 26, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN