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Who is God of Your Life? - Daniel 3 By Iky Gordon

Daniel 3 01/10/2011

Before I start, I'd like to thank you, the cooks and the people who served, praise God
for your work.
I want to throw out a bit of a challenge tonight to all of us in this church tonight about
God and our service for God and where we stand with God.
Look at ourselves, and that's including me, and when we leave this place at Gilgandra,
may we understand who God really is, and is he God of our life?
Because we're living in a world today, people, where Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the devil,
is out like a roaring lion, and he's roaring, he's roaring louder now than he ever did before,
and if we're not making God God of our life, we're not going to stand in these last days
that are coming before us, we're not going to stand.
Because the road's getting rough, the road's getting rough.
I work with the police service, and I've got a big area to cover, and I can see where Satan
is wrecking, ruining the lives of people today, unbelievably.
In a little town where I come from, the town of Brewarrina, the average age for a male
Aboriginal man in Brewarrina is 32, 32 years old, Satan's out like a roaring lion destroying
lives and taking souls to hell, what are you doing?
I've got a couple of readings, I'm going to ask brother Steve to read them for me too
if he would, brother, if you don't mind, you're reading.
Daniel 3, verse 11, And whoso fallest not down, and worshippeth, that he should be cast
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
There are certain Jews whom thou hast sent over the affairs of the province of Babylon,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
These men, O king, have not regarded thee.
They serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Then they brought these men before the king.
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.
Now if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbutt,
sultry, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down, and worship the image which
I have made well.
And 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?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are
not careful to answer thee in this manner.
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.
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visions 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.
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.
These men were bound in their coats, and their hoes, and their hats, and their garments,
and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace was exceeding
hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down into the midst of the
burning fiery furnace.
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, 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.
Amen. Thank you, my brother. May God lead us away through his word, and bless his word
too. It's tonight.
For this story, we heard it many times at Sunday School on our way. We rode up in Bree,
and you read it, and you say, you know, what a wonderful God we have. What a great God
we have. But as you get older, and you're walking in your Christian life, you see more
things in this story. What happened here? You see a picture of, I see a picture of today,
what's taking place today, and I see where I should be in my Christian walk as I read
the word of God. One of the things that caught me eye when I read this, the king said, I
heard the music. The music had to play, the music. Dear friends, today we're living in
a world where music is blinding the eyes of our children, the ears of our children, and
the young people today, they get a beat in the head, bonging in the head, and Satan gets
control of their mind. Dear friends, we're living in a time now where Satan is trying
to take the mind of people today. Mental illness is raging throughout the world today.
Mental illness. Our brothers and sisters that bring themselves to death, that overdose on
drugs, have a mental illness. They're sick. Satan is polluting their minds. And if our
minds are not clear, if we listen to this music, Satan takes control. He leads us around
at his will. And you read that, that music that night would have been unbelievable. Many,
if you read, it says many, many instruments. So that music would have been something that
would have been out of this world, would have been great. And no doubt the minds of the
people would have been, you know, just wanted to bow down to worship this golden image.
And the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abenigo, men of God, men of God. Are we men and women
of God, brothers and sisters? Are we? Or are we just followers, we go to church, but we're
not making God, God of our life? You know, I had a little grandson and he seen him running
around there. I'll bet you if I put some beautiful toys there and an ice cream bucket
full of mud there, and I'll come out and I'll say, son, what do you want? Or he'll go to
the mud and play in the mud. We're like that. Brothers and sisters, God wants to bless all
these children. He wants to bless us all. But we're playing in mud. A lot of times in
our life we're playing in mud. We're in places we shouldn't be in. We shouldn't be in these
places and we're playing in mud. We're missing out on the blessings of God. Many people should
have been here tonight but they're somewhere else, enjoying the places of sin for a season
and missing out on the blessings from God. So it's a serious thing. But these three men,
you couldn't imagine, you couldn't imagine that scene that night, the fiery furnace burning.
You couldn't get near it because of the heat. You read on that the men that took them in
were sucked in because of the heat of the fire. But there's a couple of verses that
really I want to just dwell on a bit. It said, verse 17 says, if it be so, our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us. If it be so, our God whom we serve, number one serve. Who
are we serving today, brothers and sisters? Who are we serving? Are we truly making God
God of our life? If we were put in a situation where our lives could end. I read in a book
about an old lady. She was sitting in a church like this. A bloke walked in with a gun. He
said, I know all you Christians line up to the back wall there. Come on all you people
who believe in Jesus, line up to the back wall. No one would move. This old lady, she
walked to the back of the room, was willing to die for Jesus. What do you say to the rich
young ruler, the rich young man? He said, sell all you have, take up your cross, follow
me. You know what it meant in the old days when you were carrying a cross? You were going
to be crucified on it. That's what it meant. How we're willing to die for God. How we're
willing to die for Christ. Many people throughout the world, dear friends, are persecuted for
serving Jesus. We're in a lucky country. We're not persecuted. We are in some sense,
but we're not put in a situation. But these men were, and they said, the God whom we serve,
he is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and deliver us out of thy hand
O king. They knew their God. They knew their Saviour. Do you know your God? Do we know
our God? Do we know our Saviour? The last verse says, he said, lo I see there are four
aye, and one looks very much like the Son of God. He'll never leave us, brothers and
sisters. He'll never leave us in the lunch. He's always there. And there's a couple of
verses over the next chapter. Daniel 6, your brother will read it again, 6 to 22 of him.
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of Elias.
Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, thy God whom thou servest continually, he will
deliver thee. And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king
sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, that the purpose might
not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and passed the night
fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from
him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste under the den of
the lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice under Daniel,
the king spake, and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom
thou servest continually able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the
king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths,
that they have not hurt me. For as much as before him innocency was found in me, and
also before thee, O king, I have done no hurt. Amen.
Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee, serve him continually.
It is all about serving God. As I look at these readings and compare them to life today,
you know, we are three blokes thrown into the fiery furnace, we had Daniel chucked in
the lion's den, and God delivered them, delivered them, three of them, four of them. You know,
we might not be thrown into the lions, we might not be thrown into a fiery furnace,
but Satan is working today, I believe, in a more subtle, cunning, crafty way. He is
coming in and he is putting things in place in this world today that hinder us and stop
us from serving Christ as we should. I look at my own life as a kid growing up out of
the banks of Albury Warriner on the riverbank. I see a house I lived in with my mum and dad
on the dirt floor with no television. Life was different, life was different. We spent
family quality time around the suppertime at night, dad would read the bible, but Satan
came in and he brought the television in, and time was spent around looking at the box,
the picture, and the time went on, we got a couple of extra channels, more time was
spent watching television. The pubs were opened on a Sunday, never used to be opened on a
Sunday, Uncle Terry can tell you that. Shops started opening on a Sunday. See, Satan is
coming in to take our mind off Christ. He is doing a good job, he is doing a good job.
And now we have got the old star, we can bet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. See, Satan
is putting all these things in place to stop us serving him the way we should. Football,
look how many watched that game today, over 80,000 people. Yesterday there were 90,000
people. He said they were lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Having a form of
Godliness, there is a form of Godliness. People go to church, just like, I don't
know, just like a thing to them. But are we serving God? Are we willing to die for God?
Are we? Dear friends, it is not going to get easier. You heard brother Rick speaking today
about the time that has come, they are going to get harder. I have been with the Lord now
for over 30 years, and I can look back, and today, I tell you what, it is a lot harder
A lot of stuff that is stopping us when we go out to do our ministry, we have got better
motor cars, we have got bitumen roads, but the zeal that used to be there is fading away,
is fading away. See, we are coming to the end of life's journey. This journey soon
will end. Christ will return. What a day that will be. What a day that will be. I am going
to meet these men, those of us who trust in Jesus, we are going to see Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. We are going to see them. What a time, talking about if we can
ask them about the fiery furnace or what. What a day that will be. Dear friends, ask
yourself tonight, is God God of my life? Is he God? Or do I put him on the outside and
say no, I want to do what I want to do, then I will come back and pick you up God later.
I want to go and do this first God, then I will come back later. It does not work like
that. God has got to be God of our life. We have got to serve him. We have got to worship
him. We have got to praise him, day and night. That is what he wants from us. As the going
gets tougher, we get tougher, and the only way we get tougher is in God's Word. See,
he said, Daniel said, the God whom I know and serve. Now, how do we know God? How are
we going to get to know God if we do not read the Word of God? God reveals himself to us
through his Word. You say, I love my wife. I love my wife. Why? Because I know her. I
spend time with her. I know what she thinks. I know what she does because I spend time
with her. The same with you. If you say you know God, do you spend time with him? Do you
really know him? Do you really know him? You know, we come on a tough day. We have never
seen cancer like this, neither have we, amongst our people. You know, it is a frightening
thing. And the last reading I want to share took up a bit of time in the last chapter
of Matthew. Just a couple of verses.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me, in heaven and
in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Why do we think sometimes that we are alone? Why do we think sometimes that, yes, I am
on my own? He said, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world, even to the
end. We are going to be faced with many things ahead of us, brothers and sisters. You young
people growing up, as time goes on, you are going to have many battles serving Jesus.
Do not worry about that. You will have many battles. But remember this, He is always with
us. He will never leave us. He will never let us down. When you are faced with sickness,
with no doubt we will be. When we are faced with death, trials, He is always with us.
He will never let us go. He will never let us down. Remember that. Remember that. You
know, I had a wonderful experience about two weeks ago. I was up at Brewarana and my old
mum rang me and she said, sons, it will never have been asking for you. She wants to talk
to you. It will never use dying of cancer. The only 38-year-old, he had nine little children.
We could even lose him tonight. But he got his deathbed. I shared some good times with
him. He came down to Sydney and we talked about Jesus and about God. He talked about
it but back then he did not accept it. He did not really take it on board. When he asked
for it for me, about two weeks ago, I would not have seen him. He was laying on the bed
for a little fella. His uncle said, I want to tell you something. When he told me, I
remember Moses with the burning bush. God spoke with the burning bush to Moses. His
uncle said, last fortnight I was out in the bush. He said, I sat thinking, he sat on the
quiet. He said, I looked in the distance. He said, I saw this beautiful stone. He said,
more pressure and prettier than all the stones around him. He said, I went over and I picked
this stone up. His uncle, I just kept thinking about God. He said, I sat down. He said, I
just kept out of praying, praying to God. He said, this beautiful feeling of just comfort,
contentment came over me. I had peace within me. I got to be choked up. I said, pray to
God, pray to God. He said, no, uncle, I read every morning, I pray to God and I thank him
for the days ahead of me. And you know, even on these last few days of life, he's enjoying
the beautiful relationship with God, the joy and the peace with God. Brothers and sisters,
if you're away from God tonight, you're missing out. You're missing out on what God wants
to give you. You're missing out. We pray tonight, you know, as we sing our last song,
with time running out, we just pray that we sing our last song. And you look at your own
life and say, where do I stand with God? You may be in a far country. You may be in a place
where you shouldn't be. You might just need someone to pray for you, one of many people
here tonight would love to pray with you. But if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you
tonight, don't put it off. Don't put it off. We want you to surrender for Jesus Christ
tonight. Take him as your saviour. And those of us who are trusting Christ, think of these
four men. The God whom I know and serve is able to deliver me. The God who we know and
serve is able to deliver us from the days that lie ahead, from the hurt, from the all
this stuff that's going to take place with Christ in my vessel like a smileth stormer
until the day he calls me on. We'll sing the old song, I surrender all. We'll ask you
to stand. But dear friends, we challenge you tonight, if you don't know God or you're away
from God, you may be sick and you want someone to pray for you. Don't be frightened to come
forward. Stand at the front with us and after the singing of the hymn, some of our brothers
will pray with you and just spend some time with you.
All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him in His
presence daily give. I surrender all. I surrender all.
They want to give you a new life. Trust Him. Dear friend, if you're bound through drink,
drug, gambling, come to Jesus Christ. Surrender your life to Him. Please surrender.
I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee my blessed Savior. I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender, may we save Your holy life. Let me be the holy spirit,
I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee my blessed Savior. I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender. Now I feel the sacred flame. All the joy of the salvation.
All glory to His name. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee my blessed Savior.
I surrender all.
Father God, we pray for anyone here tonight, Father God, who is lost, outside. Father God,
who is in darkness, we pray that the Holy Spirit will not give them rest nor peace,
Father God, till they come fully. Father God, we pray now for the yearning mercy for those
who travel home. Lord, we thank you for everyone who has come and our brothers and sisters
from all over the state, Father God, we just thank you for these beautiful people. Lord,
we just thank you once again for just all the blessings we've received this weekend,
Lord. And we just pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Before we go, I'd like to thank everyone who took part of the meeting tonight and over
the weekend. I'd like to thank you all for coming. I'd like to thank the Lord, our Lord
and Savior, that we can come together and worship Him and to give Him honor and glory
and to work as a team. Don't forget, teamwork, building the foundation of Christ, it takes
teamwork. It doesn't matter what little job you do or whatever it is, maybe everything
counts. And God blesses those more than those in the background that don't seem to be
taking those, you know, we don't see. God blesses them more than those who are out front
and out at the front and that's been seen. Remember that. Don't think God is not blessing
you. Have a look what God is doing in your life and how He's blessing you. Remember
that, okay, when you're serving the Lord. No matter what, how small it is, He blesses
everything. Okay? It doesn't matter how small it is. And remember, and those, if you don't
know the Lord, I pray tonight that God will touch your heart and show who He is. Because
our God is able to do anything. There's nothing impossible. Amen. So I'd like to have a cup
of tea and mingle together and remember our friendship is, our relationship is forever
in Christ Jesus. It never can be broken. It's only us, ourselves in the vision that breaks
away from that relationship. The God, He says, He'll never leave you or forsake you.
I'll tell you now, if we try to break away, He'll always be there and He'll bring you
back home. I mean, you can't run or hide, there's no place to run or hide. And I'd like
to thank our brother for that thing because he has got a beautiful voice, you know. Now
God will use it. I encourage everyone who's got talent, everyone who's got talent, I don't
care what it is, now God will use your talent. Let Him expand it. So others can come into
the kingdom of God so He can call people, call these people out. He's out there now
waiting to be called. There's so many of them out there. To feel this right, there's
no labors. Amen. Thank God. And thank you for having me and my brother John. We thoroughly
enjoyed ourselves and I hope we can do this once again next year. And all we've been
doing for two days is eating and meeting. Hey, eating and meeting. Hey, food. I'm a
big fella, I like my food but dear, you're too good for me. Too much. But it's been great
and the word has been great. And our brother over here, he's been taping the services and
I think if you give him our number, he'll get it taped to you, is that right? We're
going to, Trevor's trying to see if we can put them on the internet, so if you're on
the internet, that will be easier for everyone. Is that alright? But if you're not on the
internet, you've got to do all the legal stuff. Yeah. Okay, is that alright though? If you
want copies of the messages from brother Rick and I think all of them, all of the messages,
yep. Hope you didn't get me on there doing anything. No. Wipe it off brother, wipe it
off. No. Okay, thank you and this is Gilgandra 2011, signing off, eh? Over for another year.