This morning, if you have your Bible,
turn with me to the book of Daniel, chapter three,
and we're gonna look at a few verses,
beginning in verse 13,
we're gonna read verses 13 to 18,
and then we're gonna focus just on three verses,
verses 16, 17, and 18, in just a few moments.
And I wanna preach, as the theme of the morning is today,
this entire day, about committed, being committed.
I hope you recognize, I'm sure you do,
there is a big, big difference
in saying that you're committed to something,
we call that profession,
and actually being committed to something, right?
There's a huge difference in what I say sometimes
and what we sometimes see acted out in life.
I can't tell you how many times as a pastor
I've stood at a wedding altar
and gone through vows with folk
and heard them, sometimes they request
to do their own vows,
and they read these lofty statements
or have them memorized
about how they're gonna be soulmates forever,
and they're gonna always share everything,
and they're gonna be trustworthy.
And of course, the traditional vows,
you know how that goes,
about in sickness and in death,
in joy and in sorrow,
and prosperity and adversity.
And we make these promises and say,
man, you are the one for life.
And believe it or not,
I've seen some of those contracts ended
literally in seven weeks.
I've seen many of them fall by the wayside
in less than five years.
And sadly, many, many of them,
by the time they reach 10 years or 20 years,
they've just said, you know,
we're gonna have to call it quits,
and we're gonna go our way.
And I don't mean this to put guilt
on anyone here who might be in this category.
I don't say it for that reason.
But I've even seen folk at times
make that commitment not once,
but twice and three and four,
and as many as five times.
I've known folk who've just been married
innumerable times,
and they make that same promise.
And sometimes the ending of those marriages
really and truly wasn't their fault.
But it's pretty obvious
that we don't take seriously sometimes
the commitment that we make with our mouths.
Isn't that right?
Those of you who are football fans
know that every year,
guys, toward the end of the school year,
they begin to make commitments to universities,
to Clemson, to Furman,
to South Carolina or Alabama or whatever school.
And then once the season gets underway
or is about to get underway,
they're about to go to college,
they seemingly have a change of mind and heart,
and they break those commitments
and end up playing somewhere else.
Or they go that first year,
and they discover they're not gonna be
on the field that first season,
and so they back away,
and they sign with another school
after they have met the requirement,
the NCAA.
They recommit to another school.
And of course,
we've seen it in church as well, right?
When I first started pastoring back in 1977,
if you were someone who was committed to the church,
you know the word we used then?
We don't hear much about this word anymore.
We called it faithful.
We would say,
that person is a faithful church member.
And of course,
there was a slogan that went along with that,
and most of you in here who are my age
or a little bit younger even,
you know that expression.
We used to say about those people,
they're here when?
Every time the doors are open, right?
That's what it required to be faithful.
You were there Sunday morning,
and those are the days we had Sunday night
and Wednesday night
and Tuesday or Thursday night visitation,
or they engaged in other ministries of the church,
and we said,
those are the faithful few, right?
Well, about 20 years ago,
I began to recognize that the definition,
practically speaking,
for faithful had changed.
This is long before I left the pastorate
on a full-time basis.
And I began to notice,
and I heard ministers say,
and even heard it from the mouths of members,
that really and truly,
if you showed up once or twice a month,
you could be considered faithful
because you were maintaining
some type of tie with the church, right?
I want to show you a picture this morning.
When you see this picture in scripture,
you're going to go away saying,
man, that is what committed is all about.
There won't be any argument about,
well, these guys were faithful,
and they were committed
in their relationship with God.
Let me set the stage
before I read the passage.
It's the year 586 B.C.
shortly thereafter, okay?
Nebuchadnezzar has marched
into the city of Jerusalem in Judah
for the third and last final time.
Before he's left devastation in his path,
but this time,
he utterly destroys Jerusalem.
The walls that have protected the city,
they're torn down.
They'll stay that way for 70 years.
The scripture tells us
that he killed literally thousands of folk.
He ransacks the temple,
desecrates the temple.
His soldiers go in
and take out the golden and silver vessels.
They spit literally
on the religious life
of the land of Judah.
He leaves nothing behind
but the crippled,
the maimed,
and the elderly.
He takes the brightest
and the best,
and he transports them
from Jerusalem
back to Babylon.
He has plans
for these young men.
He's going to incorporate them
into an administrative program,
teach them Babylonian culture,
and make them productive citizens
of his kingdom.
Among those who were enlisted in that program
are four names you will recognize,
Daniel,
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego.
Well,
they make it in this program.
They're faring well,
and sometime afterward,
Nebuchadnezzar,
an egomaniac,
by all rights,
comes up with this idea.
He's going to establish
a god of gold,
place it in the plain of Dura,
and at a certain time,
music is going to sound,
and he demands
that all of his subjects
bow down and worship
this god of gold.
Now,
obviously,
he knows
if he's the one
who has had the idea
of this god,
and he's the one
who has commissioned
the building
of this god,
and he is the one
who has issued
the order
that all subjects
bow and worship
this god of gold,
the chunk of gold
in Dura
is not really the god.
Who's the god?
He's the god,
right?
It's all about people
obeying him
and worshiping him
and doing what
he tells them to do.
Well,
the Bible tells us
that there were some
who refused
to bow and worship
this god of gold,
and that's where we pick up
our Bible reading
this morning.
Look with me
to Daniel chapter 3,
and we're reading
from verse 13
and following.
Then Nebuchadnezzar
in furious rage,
you know why he's furious?
He could not believe
that anybody
would defy him.
Look,
he's the most powerful man
from the human perspective
living on the planet
at this moment in time,
and he well knows that.
He's furious,
enraged,
and commanded
that Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego
be brought.
So they brought
these men
before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar
answered and said
to them,
is it true?
He can't believe it.
Is it true,
O Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
that you do not
serve my gods
or worship
the golden image
that I have set up?
Now if you're ready
when you hear
the sound of the horn,
pipe,
lyre,
trigon,
harp,
bagpipe,
and every kind of music
to fall down
and worship
the image
that I have made
well and good.
But if you do not worship,
you shall immediately
be cast
into a burning,
fiery furnace.
Listen to this next statement.
And who is the God
who will deliver you
from my hands?
Now that's arrogance,
isn't it?
And who is the God
that can deliver you
out of my hands?
He's not asking
because he wants information.
That's a rhetorical question
of the highest order.
In his mind,
there's not a God.
You see,
he's already conquered
a lot of neighboring nations.
And those nations had God.
And those people
in those nations
appealed to their God.
But God wasn't able
to help them.
In fact,
the truth is
the people of Judah,
some of them,
no doubt men like these
in the story,
they had appealed to God.
God,
save us.
Don't let this happen.
Let us repent.
We know this is because
of our own wrongdoing.
But God,
spare us somehow.
And so Nebuchadnezzar
is just reminding them,
you prayed once
and God didn't rescue you.
And so if you
are counting on him
to come to your aid now
and rescue you
from this fire,
you had better
think again.
Look at verse 16.
We see the response.
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego
answered and said
to the king,
O Nebuchadnezzar,
we have no need
to answer you
in this matter.
Now look up
and listen for a second.
If you hadn't already
read this story,
would you have ever
anticipated that response?
I mean,
to be honest,
you're looking in the face
of an angry man.
The Bible tells us
in other verses,
the veins in his neck
were protruding,
his face was as red as fire.
He'd ordered
that the furnace
be heated
seven times hotter
than normal
and they could look
in his eyes
until he meant business.
This is a rather
curt response,
wouldn't you say?
To the most powerful man
on the face of the earth,
we have no need
to answer you
in this matter.
Verse 17.
If this be so,
our God
whom we serve
is able to deliver us
from the burning
fiery furnace
and he will deliver us
out of your hand,
O king.
But if not,
be it known to you,
O king,
that we will not
serve your gods
or worship
the golden image
that you
have set up.
Would you bow
with us this morning
in prayer?
Father,
I pray today
that you would give us
an insight
into the commitment
of these three
Hebrew men.
I pray,
Father,
that their fate
this morning
would challenge us
to be more committed
for we make this prayer
in Christ's name
and for his sake
alone.
Amen.
This morning,
I want you to
examine with me
for just a few moments
their response
because there are
three things
about their response
that I think
absolutely indicate
the reality
of their faith
and their commitment
to God.
The first thing
I'd have you to notice
is this.
they acted
instinctively
on their convictions.
Now,
I don't know
if you're somebody
who takes notes
or not,
but if you do,
I want to encourage
you to write that down.
These three points
this morning
are all rather short
and I'd encourage
you to write that down.
Here's how you know
the reality
of their faith
and their level
of commitment.
They acted
instinctively
on their convictions.
You say,
Pastor,
what do you mean?
Their response
in verse 16
is a clear indication.
They were saying
Nebuchadnezzar
to Nebuchadnezzar
the following.
Nebuchadnezzar,
we don't need
to think about this.
We don't need
to pray about this.
We don't need
to go and consult
a rabbi about this.
We don't need
to convene
a Jewish caucus.
We don't need
to consult
with anybody.
We don't need
any time
to rationalize
about our answer.
In fact,
we don't even need
to talk to you
about this
any longer
because it's
a foregoing
conclusion.
One translation
has it this way,
we're not careful
to answer
thee in this matter,
O king.
In other words,
our minds
are made up
and the only way
their minds
can be made up
at this point,
having just been challenged
and recognizing
he means business,
is that they're acting
on instinct
and that instinct
is based
on previous convictions
that they have come
to hold.
I want to tell you
something.
I hope every person
in this room
is living
on the basis
of convictions
that you have
processed
and accepted
into your life
because I want to tell you
something.
If you wait
until you're there
in the face
of trial,
you're likely
to make the wrong
decision.
They said,
we don't need
to think about it,
we don't need
to pray about it.
How many times
have you ever said
when you knew
something was wrong
already?
Well,
let me pray
about that.
It's a way
of buying time,
right?
But they don't need
to pray about it.
You know why?
Because from the time
they were little bitty
boys growing up
in Jerusalem,
their parents
had raised them
on what were known
as the ten words.
I hope you were raised
on the ten words.
For the Jew,
you know what that was?
It was the ten commandments.
From the time
they could walk
and they could talk,
they had been taught
this,
thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God
and him only
shalt thou serve.
Thou shalt worship
no graven images.
They already
had accepted
that as fact
and believed
in their heart
that if they were
to be obedient
to God
that God existed
and if they were
to be obedient
to him
there could be
room for no other
God in their life.
So it was a
foregone conclusion.
You can ask
all you want,
you can threaten
all you want,
but our minds
are made up.
We know how we feel.
We know what we believe.
We believe
in the single God
Jehovah Yahweh
and we're going
to worship
he and he alone.
Isn't it amazing
at times
how we know
the right thing
to do
but we have
trouble doing it?
I was asked
to be on a panel
years and years ago
at Anderson University
and it was a panel
of preachers
and professors
and students
and the question
was how do we
determine the will
of God
and when my time
came to speak
I remember clearly
as though it were
yesterday what I said.
I said you know
what I found in my life
it's not too hard
to know what God
wants me to do
the problem is
in doing it.
Isn't that true?
About 99%
of everything
I'll ever encounter
in life
God has already
told me in his word
he's given me
precepts
and laws
and commandments
that hey
here's how you act
here's what you do
I don't have to think
about murdering somebody
because I already know
it's wrong
I don't have to think
about stealing
I don't have to think
about committing adultery
I don't have to think
about slandering
or coveting my neighbor
because already
the scripture
has given me
conviction on which
I'm able to build
my life.
You know what
I'm surprised
I'm a little surprised
that if these men
had been Baptists
like so many of us
they might have said
well you know what
give us two days
to get back with you
on this.
I mean
they'd have felt
the heat of that furnace
and they'd said
well you know what
maybe we should
rethink this
a little bit.
I mean
you're gracious
you've given us
a chance to
comply with your orders
maybe that's God
opening a door.
Have you ever
seen us do that
kind of thing?
Where we know
clearly what we ought to do
and clearly what is
out of bounds
and what is in bounds
but we want to
think about it
and we want to
pray about it
and we want to
find a rationale
that we can somehow
dress up spiritually
and come away saying
well maybe this is
the will of God
for my life.
In fact
I know some folk
who probably would
have reasoned like this
well you know what
that idol of gold
is just gold
and it's not really
God
none of us really
believe it's God
and I can bow
I can ask
we ask to the
most powerful
men in the world
in terms of what
he asked me to do
but I don't have
to really worship
I mean I can just
look at the God
and I can bow
and I can pretend
to worship
but I don't have
to worship in my heart
and so I really
won't be worshiping
God
if I do what
he asked me to do
or they might have
said well
you know what
God wants me
to bring him glory
in fact
Isaiah had
already said that
that our purpose
in life is to
bring God glory
and so he might
have said well
you know what
God wants us
to bring him glory
and all my life
I've lived to bring
him glory
but if I die
I can't bring him
glory
so maybe
God doesn't want
me to die
he wants me to live
and go on
bringing him glory
right
they'd have found
perhaps a convenient
way to do
absolutely the right
thing
so it all
boils down to
this
if we're to
make right
decisions in life
we've got to
have right
convictions
let me hastily
ask you this
what are your
convictions about
God
you have any
convictions about
God
are there things
in your life
that you believe
about God
and it doesn't
matter what
comes your way
I'm not going
to change those
ideas because
these are
convictions that
are founded upon
truth that I've
read and studied
and been taught
in the word of God
and nothing is
ever going to
change that
what are your
convictions about
God
what are your
convictions about
marriage
I mean
every person here
I'm telling you
you better have
some convictions
about marriage
that you can act
on instinctively
because I'm going
to tell you something
temptation in that
realm of life
will sneak up on
you
it'll come out
of nowhere
and if you
don't already
know what
you believe
and what
you're committed
to
and have
conviction about
that
you're going
to fall prey
to an adulterous
relationship
somewhere out
there in the
future
what are your
convictions about
church
do you have
any convictions
about church
when you came
here and you
said I want to
be a member
at First Baptist
Church
if you've come
in the last
25 years
I know that
Fred Stone
would have looked
at you and said
have you got a
relationship with
the Lord Jesus
Christ
have you
repented of
your sin
and trusted
him as your
savior
and are you
going to live
for him
and they may
have asked
you to sign
the church
covenant
there's an
understanding
with most
churches
and I would
take it here
at First
Baptist
that if you
come here
you're not
going to just
have your name
on the roll
of the church
that you're
going to be
actively involved
that you're
going to gather
regularly for
worship
that you're
going to be
faithful in your
tithes and
offerings
that you're
going to use
your gifts
to the glory
of God
that this church
might accomplish
its mission
what are your
convictions about
the church
are you committed
to the church
so the first
thing I'd have
you notice is
they acted
instinctively
on their
convictions
but there's a
second thing
I want you to
notice
they had a
high view
of God
as being both
able and
active
and both
those words
are important
they had a
very high
view of
God
our God
is able
and our
God
is active
listen to
what they
said in
verse 17
our God
whom we
serve
is able
to
deliver us
he is
able
to
deliver us
able
indicates
he is
able
to
deliver us
indicates
he is
active
he is
both
able
and
he is
active
he is
willing
to
intercede
in our
behalf
I'm going
to tell you
something you
may not
agree with
this morning
but I
believe with
all my
heart I'm
right
in the
church
in this
day in
which we're
living in
the United
States
at any
rate
we are
suffering
from a
crisis
of faith
now I
don't want
to insult
anyone here
but I
want to be
straight with
you today
we're not
certain anymore
not in what
we say
but in how
we practice
our faith
what we
really do
believe about
God
there was a
time when I
was a boy
I want to
tell you I
would go to
prayer meetings
cottage prayer
meetings the
church prayer
meeting at
my church
and I
would hear
the leaders
of our
church and
the men and
women of our
church pray
and I want to
tell you
something I
had a clear
understanding when
I listened to
them pray as
a little
boy those
people believe
that God
can and will
answer they
had a belief
that God was
able to do
anything and so
they asked him
to do anything
nothing was
off limits
and when I
look at the
heroes of faith
in the scripture
those men of
God in the
scripture in the
biblical era
that's what they
believed about
God they
believed the
exact same
thing about
God that
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
believed about
God our
God is
able David
a teenage boy
didn't go out
to face a
nine foot
giant not
believing God
is able
Daniel one
of these
men's friends
and cohorts
did not allow
himself to be
thrown into a
den of lions not
believing God
is able
Moses didn't
lead hundreds
of thousands
thousands of
men and
their families
out of
captivity in
Egypt without
believing our
God is able to
do anything
but I've got to
tell you today
in the church
whether we want to
admit it or not
we have a crisis
of faith
we're not exactly
sure any longer
that God is
really able
if you don't
believe it
listen to us
pray
what are you
asking for
we hardly ask
him with faith
and persistence
to do the
impossible
right
we want to
make sure that
we frame our
prayers somewhere
there in the
realm where
well that's
probably doable
for God
we pray
anemic prayers
we pray
what the
biblical writers
would consider
namby pamby
prayers
ask God
nothing
kind of prayers
you see it in
how we deal
with problems
when someone
in the church
today is going
through a struggle
in their marriage
what do we do
we want to rush
to get them to a
marriage counselor
we want to rush
to get a book
in their hand
we want to attend
a seminar
if you hear me
saying those
things are bad
you're hearing me
wrong
what I'm telling
you is this
there was a time
when we knew
our kids
or our grandkids
or people
in our circle
of friends
was in trouble
you know what
we'd do
we'd fall on our
face and we'd say
God save them
God save their
marriage
God save our
country
God save our
boys on the
battlefield
God do this
God do that
we weren't afraid
to ask him
because we had
confidence
our God
is able
I'm going to
tell you something
today
if you could
come to
recapture that
spirit and
mentality in your
mind and heart
and come to a
place that you
believe that God
is able
it would
absolutely
revolutionize
your spiritual
life
and your
church's
life
amen
if we could
just come to
see our
God is
able
not only that
our God is
able but our
God is
active
he not only
can do it
many of us
today still
think he
can do it
maybe
intellectually
but you know
what we also
think if we're
honest
that he's
probably off
hiding in the
shadows and
the wings
there are
a ton of
Christians
today who
have this
kind of
mentality
God did
some mighty
things to
begin with
he created
and framed
the universe
he put it
all in
motion
and then
guess what
he did
after the
Bible had
been written
he just
kind of
meandered
off to the
sidelines
and he's
over here
and he's
hiding in the
shadows and
the wings
and he's
started the
ball rolling
but now it's
just kind of
left up to
us
and we're
kind of
on our
own
and we're
doing our
thing
and maybe
every blue
moon
he will
intervene
into our
lives
can I tell
you
that's not
how the
men of
scripture
thought and
believed
that's not
the God
they were
committed to
and that's
the reason
Elijah in
first Kings
18 is not
afraid to
look up into
the heavens
and call
down fire
from God
that's the
reason he's
not afraid
to say
God
I'm begging
you to
show these
people once
and for all
who you
are and
do it by
sending down
fire
he believed
that God
who we should
serve is one
who is able
and active
in intervening
in our
lives on a
daily basis
do you believe
that
thirdly
they were
fully committed
to God
as Dabo
Sweeney likes
to say
they're all
in
look at
verse
18
but if
not
be it
known to
you
O king
that we
will not
serve
your gods
or worship
the golden
image that
you have
set up
but if
not
now
look up
and listen
you know
what some
of you are
probably
thinking
right now
if you're
skeptical
and you're
reading the
way I
often am
you're probably
thinking
their faith
wavered a little
bit there
didn't it
but if
not
in other
words
maybe he's
not able
to deliver
no
their faith
didn't
waver
what they're
expressing
here
is an
understanding
of how
God moves
and works
and has
worked
and will
continue to
work in
our world
it is an
expression of
their confidence
in the
sovereignty
of God
their faith
is not
wavering
when they
say but
if not
in other
words if
he doesn't
deliver us
what they're
saying is
this
that we
have looked
at human
history and
understand that
God is
sovereign we
don't call the
shots he
does and
God is free
to do whatever
God desires
to do and
it may be that
he desires to
save us to
prove to you
he is God
and if so
to God be
glory and we
praise him
but it may
just be that
God in his
sovereign wisdom
will recognize
it would be
better for us
to perish in
the fire as
a proof of
the reality of
our faith and
he will not
rescue us but
know this whether
he rescues us or
he doesn't rescue
us we are
committed to
serving him
and him
alone I
want you to
understand something
friend every time
we pray God
does not answer
the way we
desire that he
would answer or
hope perhaps that
he would answer
I want to show
you a passage and
I'm going to ask
you to turn to
this passage if
you have a
Bible you have
a device that
you can look a
passage up I
want you to read
this because I'm
almost through the
message look with
me to Hebrews
chapter 11 it's
one of my favorite
passages in all the
word of God and I
don't care who you
are here today if
you're a member a
visitor you want to
read this passage on
your own look with
me to Hebrews 11
35 to 38 would
you find that if you
have a Bible or a
device Hebrews 11
35 to 38 now
while you're
turning it up let
me set the stage
how many of you
know Hebrews 11
well you've read a
lot of times raise
your hand real high
if you're familiar
with this a lot of
you in the
sermon that's what I
suspected some
people call it God's
hall of fame some
people call it God's
who's who some
have called it the
roll call of faith
because what he does
here is my favorite
verse is verse 6
where he says
without faith it is
impossible to please
him because those
who come to him
must believe that he
exists and he is the
reward of those who
diligently seek him
it's a list of all the
great people in the
scripture of faith and
people that God has
rescued but wait a
second we overlook
these closing verses
I want you to look
with me to verse 35
the middle of the
verse and I want to
read it for you
some were tortured
refusing to accept
release so that they
might rise again to a
better life others
suffered mocking and
flogging and even
chains and imprisonment
they were stoned let
that sink in they
were sawn in two they
were killed with the
sword they went about
in skins of sheep and
goats destitute afflicted
and mistreated of whom
the world was not worthy
wandering about in
deserts and mountains
and in dens and caves
of the earth you know
what it says look up and
get this not everybody
who walked with God was
faithful to God God chose
to rescue well some of
them were sawn in two
they were boiled in oil
they were crucified
upside down they were
stoned to death they
were run through with a
sword they were beheaded
many of them escaped to
live lives that we would
deem miserable living in
caves among dead people
they wandered and then the
writer of Hebrews says
the world was not worthy of
faithful soldiers of the
cross who gave their life
to the Lord Jesus men and
women of deep deep deep
conviction and that's what
Shadrach Meshach and
Abednego were saying we
don't know if he's going to
rescue us or not we don't
have question number one about
his ability or that he could
we just don't know his
sovereign will so if we die
we die if we live to God be
the glory that's a picture of
what commitment looks like
right I pastored full time for
40 years 40 years I was on
staff about four years prior to
that I've been doing interims
now four years so you do the
quick math about 48 to 50 years
I've been involved in ministry I
can tell you without hesitation
today what has discouraged me
more than anything else in
ministry it is not adversity
from the enemy and it is not
adversity from within I was
fortunate I was always in
situations where people loved
me and cared for me and
supported me so it wasn't that
that's what you're thinking you
know what it was you was seeing
people who one day were on fire
for God and six months later you
couldn't have found them with a
seeing eye dog I mean people who
would just be so on fire and then so
cold so apathetic people who drifted
in church and out of church and to
another church and another church and
another church and another church
people who were giving great
testimonies of praises one day until
tragedy struck or they lost their job or
child went wayward or something
happened or somebody disappointed
them and then they just drifted away
drifted away that was the most
heartbreaking thing I dealt with the
last 50 years of my life just trying to
get my head around it when I was in
Statesville the year was 1978 or 9 I'd
been at Western Avenue about two years
there was a man and his wife in our
congregation by the name of Bob Byrd
his wife Shirley they had a 19 year old
boy who was in the service he came home
on leave they lived on Lake Norman he's
in a boat by himself and they're going
across Lake Norman and he's turned to
the left watching skiers in an adjacent
boat sadly he didn't notice a concrete
embankment came out into the water and
he hit it going really fast and the boat
just disintegrated they fished his body
out of the water called EMS rushed him to
Charlotte Memorial Hospital I got a call
early that evening went to their side we
just prayed till about 2 in the morning
God please save Mark about 2 in the morning
Bob turns to me in faithful Christian says
Ralph you just need to go home you got to
preach in the morning your hour from home
go home I got my car went back home
broken-hearted for my friend next day
after I preached I went back to Charlotte
by then he had begun to stabilize a little
bit they thought well we think he's going
to pull through we're not certain next 48
hours will be crucial 48 hours later they
said well he has stabilized but he's in a
deep deep coma and frankly we don't know
if he'll ever come out of it we can't keep
him here at Memorial though because his
life his bodily injuries are not threatening
at this point so they moved him to a
convalescent home in Huntersville North
Carolina Bob worked in Charlotte at a
architectural firm and every day he would
pass close by Huntersville get off the
interstate go to Huntersville see his son
going to work his wife Shirley would go
around noontime she would stay with him
several hours she would read to him hold
his hand and just talk to her son try to
get him to wake up it's now been 18 months
one Wednesday night at the prayer meeting I
see them and I say could you come by the
office for a minute we go by my office I
sit down in a couch and they sit down and
couch and chair beside me and I just said
how's it going I hadn't had a chance to
just talk with you privately for a while
how's it going how you dealing with Mark's
injury and I'll never forget that
conversation over 40 years ago he just
began to just cry uncontrollably he looks
up and he says pastor it's the hardest
thing we've ever gone through said mostly
it's killing me how it's killing his mama he
said and this is what we're praying we've
begged God we've told God God if you would
let Mark wake up if you'd let me just even
if he doesn't stay alert if he could just
wake up one more time he could look at his
mother and tell her he loved her that he
hurt her and and just give her some reason
to hope we've told God God we will love you
and praise you and serve you until the day
we die and then he just dropped his face in his
hands and he wept after about 45 seconds he
looked back up wiped the tears away and this is
what he said I'll never forget it and we've also
told God God if he never wakes up if he never says
another word if he dies tomorrow if he lives 10 years we
promise we're gonna love you and serve you forever
another 18 months passed and three years after that
accident Mark Byrd went to be with the Lord Jesus Christ he
never woke up he never spoke a word but his two parents honored
that commitment and they've been faithful to their Lord ever
since that day they never wavered in their faith they were just
like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Lord if you'll do this but
if not if not now that's commitment are you committed to God like that are
you committed to your spouse and your family like that are you
committed to the body of believers here at First Baptist Pickens like
that I'm gonna tell you this is a moment of truth for this church
because for 25 years you've had unity and solidarity and you've been united by a
great preacher and a great man but he's left us he's retired and this is a
time where we'll see what you're made of this is a time for you to pull
together more than you've ever needed to pull together in the last 25 years it's
a time for staff people to step it up it's a time for deacons and leadership to
step it up it's a time for Sunday school teachers to step it up it's a time for
everyone who names Christ as their Savior and is a member of this church to say you
know what it's not time for me to loaf it's not time for me to take a walk in
the park it's not time for me to be missing in action it's a time for me to
to be on deck all hands on deck it's a time for me to do my part it's not a time to
observe it's a time to participate it's not a time to watch it's not a time to sit
it's a time to be active I'm gonna tell you something God has gifted you and
blessed you and you owe it to him and to this church to do your very best for
him this morning we're gonna have a song play to him play and during that time I
hope you'll prayerfully consider the commitment that God would have you make
today mostly to him if you'll make the right commitment to him these other
commitments will fall in place amen what would God have you do it may be that you
look at your life and you say well I've gotten slack in my faith man COVID COVID has
given us a mentality that it's okay for us to walk away from church to be away from
church and I understand that there was a need for us at one time there may come a
need in the future for us to say you know what we're gonna worship in a
different fashion but if there was ever a time right now today that we need to be
found faithful in God's house it's this day let's bow together in prayer father
lead us and guide us today to not just put checks on a card but to really think
about what role we can play and how you've gifted us and what we can do for your
kingdom whether it's with a one or with Sunday school or music whether it's to
serve behind the scenes in a helping role God let us be our best for you let us have a
great faith Lord and believe that you're actively involved in our lives Lord I pray
today that we would be as committed to you as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego for we make
this prayer in Jesus name and for his sake amen
you