The fiery furnace of Persecution

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We have all more than likely heard about the 3 men in the fiery furnace.
Lets add a twist to the story, shall we?

Setting:	Present-day Apostolic church.

 Daniel|3:4  Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O
people, nations, and languages,
Daniel|3:5  That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down
and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

The world is telling is what the "norm" is.  We are to do this or that..
if we do not obey the rules of the world, then.....

Daniel|3:6  And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same
hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

We are being cast into the burning fiery furnance of " persecution."

Certain Chaldeans came walking up to "King Satan" one day and complained.
 
"Oh king, they cried.."
"We have some news for you....hehehe"
"You know those Oneness people?  Well when you say to dress immodestly,
they aren't doing it.  When you say to curse like a sailor, they aren't
doing
it.  When you say, go have pre-marital sex, drink, do drugs, guess what?"
Satan: "what?"
"hehehehHEHEHHEhhh they aren't doing it"
Satan: "What about my pet idol, TV?"
"NOPE, they altered the channels and only watch *gag* spiritually
uplifting videos."
satan: "Michael Jordan?"
"You kidding me?  They are talking about that God guy who kicked you 
out of.....!"
satan: "ENOUGH!"
satan: " What about cars?"
"Cars?  The way they dance around their churches, you can see who they
are worshipping."
satan: " and that is?  Ughhhh..never mind...I just reminded myself."
 
Daniel|3:13  Then Nebuchadnezzar in his  rage and fury commanded to bring
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the
king.

Daniel|3:14  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?

Daniel|3:15  Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of
the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds
of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but
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?

satan: "I know you Apostolics...you aren't that perfect...you hide tv's
in your homes, run around in immodest clothing, divorce like it is going
out of style.....tell you what, I hear that you do these things so I am
going to give you a second chance at accepting my offer.."


Daniel|3:17  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.  Daniel|3:18  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.

"listen up satan, we don't do those things you wish we did.  we are
committed to our God, our savior!  100% Jesus!"

So, the Apostolics were casted into King Satan's fiery furnace of
persecution.

Later on that same day......

satan: "wow...that baby was burning...just look at my guards..."
" yes master, they look like marshmallows."
satan: " lets see what those Apostolics look like...
*GASP!*  Billy Bob, come here and look in the fire..."
satan: "those tongue talkers are still alive!  and check this....
There is someone else in that fire..and it looks like.....NO WAY!!!
First he casts me, then he comes down and picks on me some more!"
satan: "Obviously these guys got it going on....I will just sit here and
wait until they slip a little....Grrrr!"

Me again people....
Notice when the three were cast into the fire, God was with them IN
the fire. He wasn't standing outside the fire, he was IN the fire.
Today, the world is trying everything to make us become more like
them.  Results of this can be seen around the Apostolic movement.
Satan has threatened we who live Holy lives with a fiery furnace of
persecution if we do not live his way.  The three men chose God
over the world.  When they were persecuted, God stood there, right
by their sides in the midst of it all.  I feel within all my heart that
if
we bow just a little to satan's idols and golden images, then when we
are cast into the fiery furnace anyways, I feel that God might still be
there
but He might be standing outside the fire and not by our side.
The worst senario is that we bow totally to satan and he showers us with
"the norm" and makes us feel welcome to the world.  When we choose
God over satan 100%, we are going to suffer somehow.  We are not acting
like the world anymore.  The world will hate us, they will reject us,
call us
funny names, lie about us.....they will cast us into a fiery furnace of 
persecution.  Remember that when we are suffering, we are suffering 
for Christ sake.
  When it comes times for me to suffer, I want
God to be standing right by my side in the fire, and not outside the
fire, waiting for me to totally accept him.


 Chris Sterrett
sterrett@juno.com
-------------------------------
Apostolic Bible Church
Acts2.38@juno.com