Take Courage Part II
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy In Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy In Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome back to another episode of Joy In Every Step. I'm glad you're here. Beloved, when God repeats a message or a scripture it indicates importance and urgency. God will circle back to make sure we get it. Aren't you grateful for that?
Sarita Bernadette:Are you listening? Let's continue looking at courage. Joshua one:nine This is my command: be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. That just delights my heart.
Sarita Bernadette:As was stated in the last episode, courage in the Bible is defined as bold confidence and strength rooted in faith, not the absence of fear, but trusting God's presence and power. Beloved, we can be courageous because God has promised us his presence and his protection. No reason to live in fear. You've probably heard of the three Hebrew boys, or teens as I like to call them, whose story began in the first chapter of Daniel. In Daniel one verse one we see King Nebuchadnezzar take over Babylon.
Sarita Bernadette:In verse three we read: Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility. Young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king's palace. They were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Verse five: The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for three years so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king's court.
Sarita Bernadette:Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the tribe of Judah. Verse seven: The palace master gave them other names. Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. So these young men were the cream of the crop, beloved. They were taken from their homes and brought to Babylon to serve the king.
Sarita Bernadette:Along with being introduced to a new language, they were also expected to follow a new diet. Verse five tells us the king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. However, the teens chose to stick to their diet of vegetables and water since Babylonian food violated kosher laws and was often sacrificed to idols. Consuming that food would have been an act of idolatry. It symbolized submission to the Babylonian culture and we find that the Lord blessed their obedience with superior health, wisdom, and knowledge and that set them apart.
Sarita Bernadette:It set them apart from the other young men in that community. These young men were devoted to God and it showed. I believe the act of refusing to compromise their diet was a precursor to what was coming for those teens. They were being prepared for an even bigger challenge. I believe God prepares us for what he is preparing for us.
Sarita Bernadette:As part of the assimilation process, the teens were renamed by the palace master. We see in Daniel one:seven: Daniel was called Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadroch, Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego. Now let's dig into this piece of the story because I believe it represents a tactic that the enemy uses to separate us from God. When these young men arrived in Babylon, they already had names. They came with special names given to them for a purpose.
Sarita Bernadette:Each name carried with it a testimony to the person of God. Listen. Daniel, meaning God is my judge. God is gracious. God is without equal.
Sarita Bernadette:Azariah: The Lord is my helper. Their new names were ascribed to honor Nebuchadnezzar's gods, little g. Daniel became Belteshazzar, meaning bell will protect. Hananiah became Shadrach, meaning inspiration of the sun. Mishael became Mishak, meaning belonging to Eku.
Sarita Bernadette:Azariah became Ebednego, which means servant of Nego. According to many, the Negro is an intentional corruption of Nibo, the name of a Babylonian god, arising from the Hebrew scribes' desires to avoid giving a heathen name to a hero of their faith. The name, according to this view, would mean servant of Nebo, but they didn't want to go with that because they didn't want to tarnish the name of their god Nebo. Some of you have heard of Mount Nebo, the mountain where Moses was buried. In any event, Nebuchadnezzar's goal was to change their identity and hopefully their way of thinking.
Sarita Bernadette:However, it's plain to see as one reads the book of Daniel that even though their names were changed, their character remained intact. Beloved, we are in this world, not of it. We must be determined to be who God says we are. First John three verses one and two: See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Sarita Bernadette:Beloved, we are God's children now. What we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. We must never forget that we are the twice born children of the living God. As we journey through this life, the enemy will try to get us to let down our guard and conform to the world's standards.
Sarita Bernadette:However, we can weather the tests safely and securely knowing that God himself has promised to be our help. First Corinthians ten thirteen: No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. So as we read on, we see that the king erected a 90 foot golden statue and made a decree. He demanded that all the citizens of the land bow and worship the statue when his musical ensemble played, with death by fire as the penalty for disobedience.
Sarita Bernadette:The music played and the three teens refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's statue and some Chaldeans came along and ratted them out to the king. So he called them into his presence to confront them. He told them they would have another chance and warned them once again of the consequences. Now, what strikes me is that the teens were in here with the king, just the king and the musicians at this point. They could have been tempted to bow there privately out of public view, but they didn't.
Sarita Bernadette:You see, beloved, we must choose to represent the Lord even when we don't have an audience. Daniel three verses 16 through 18: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up. The three teens leaned into their faith in a sovereign God and refused to bow in spite of the king's threats.
Sarita Bernadette:Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand. They trusted the Lord, period, and they stood courageously declaring their loyalty. Be it known to you, O king. We're not doing it. Those are my words.
Sarita Bernadette:They stood on this principle: If deliverance comes, wonderful. But if it doesn't, I'll still bless the Lord. If it doesn't come, we'll still bless the Lord. That's courage. What can the enemy do if we are so committed to the Lord that his consequences become meaningless to us.
Sarita Bernadette:My Lord. Note also the teens made the declaration out loud in the face of danger. They spoke directly to the king. When we profess our faith out loud, beloved, it stirs us. It paves the way for the Lord to act on our behalf.
Sarita Bernadette:Use your words, beloved. Use your words. Use your voice. Back in Daniel three verse 19, the king went into a rage and commanded the teens, 'Be thrown into the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than usual.' That's about 1,800 degrees. The fire was so hot that it consumed the men who lifted the teens into the furnace.
Sarita Bernadette:Then the miracle. Verse 24 of Daniel three: Then king Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, 'Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?' They answered the king, 'True, O king.' He replied, But I see four men unbound walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt. And the fourth has the appearance of a god. Verse 26, Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of the blazing fire and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out.
Sarita Bernadette:Come here. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. Beloved, the king looked in there and realized there was something amazing going on in that furnace. He saw four men walking around unbound and unharmed, with the fourth one appearing like the Son of God. The three teens emerged untouched and unbound, not even smelling of smoke.
Sarita Bernadette:My goodness. That reminds us that God doesn't always deliver us before the fire or before the trial. Sometimes we get thrown in, and he comes in there with us. He delivers us in the midst of the trial. Notice, the fire didn't burn their clothes, but it burned what they were bound with.
Sarita Bernadette:What was holding them down no longer had any power when they were brought out. When they came out of that furnace, they were able to worship and serve the Lord freely. Daniel three verses 28 through 30. Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted him. They disobeyed the king's command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god.
Sarita Bernadette:Therefore, I make a decree. Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb in their houses, laid in ruins. For there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. In the end, the king was led to praise the God of, I like to use their Hebrew names, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Sarita Bernadette:He decreed that there was no other god like their god and no one should speak against him. The three teens were promoted right there in Babylon. Another profile in courage from the word of God. There's a scripture in Isaiah 43 that serves to shore up our courage. It's a promise of God's abiding presence and protection.
Sarita Bernadette:It's an assurance that God walks through our trials with us. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. That's Isaiah 43 verse two. Now Daniel three doesn't tell us that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah knew that scripture, but I believe they knew the promise.
Sarita Bernadette:Deuteronomy 30 one:six: So be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not panic before them, for the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. You've been listening to Joy In Every Step. I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me.
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