Encountering God's Promotion, Part 1

You and Dr. Tony Evans is if we refuse to compromise. Things can get really hot really fast when God wants to give you a dividing line in the situation will have to choose between God's this is the alternative with Dr. Tony have other speaker, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the urban alternative hostility toward Christian is becoming more and more common in our society that supposedly values tolerance today. Dr. Evans will tell us a Bible story that has some uncomfortable similarities store shifting culture. Let's join him with the story of the bird that was flying south as the bird was flying south to try to get away from the harsh winter weather.

It started too late and it found itself caught in a tremendous blizzard and snow and ice before it could get far enough so it's wings began to freeze and weigh it down until finally the bird could fly no more due to the icing of the wings and it crashed on the ground in the form it lay there, frozen, unable to move because of the cold in the eyes and the snow that had accumulated. It was in a hopeless situation while it lay there shivering along comes a cow. The cow relieves itself on top of the bird.

So now the bird has two problems it's frozen and in the stinking situation because the manure of the cow was now covering so things appear to be going from bad to worse was in the midst of that when an awesome thing began to happen but will of the maneuver began the mail base on the bird so stinking situation was reversing a frozen situation. The bird got so excited about the fact that the ice was melting due to the manure pile. It was on then begin the scene sounds of joy when along came a cat. The cat heard the singing of the bird that was under the manure pile until he got to the bird and the cat ate the bird. Now there are a number of lessons in this story. Lesson number one is everything that puts manure in your life may not be your enemy, but another lesson is that everybody who tries to take my new life may not be your friend. Another lesson is when you find yourself in the manure pile. Keep your mouth shut. They also feel like you that you will frozen dirty situation. A situation that no matter what happens, things are getting worse. I want to look at encountering God's promotion. Promotion is when you are from one level to another. Many of you know what is to be promoted in your job or to be promoted in your experience, or to be promoted from from the JV to the varsity team to go through things that you to a higher level in our story today from Daniel chapter 3, a promotion is going to take place me shack shadow rack and the Bendigo they are going to ask variance a promotion but it will not come without a trial.

They're going to encounter God in a bad situation.

Now some of the things I am going to say from this passage will not feel right and will not be comfortable but that's okay because the more uncomfortable it is, the better possibility for divine encounter. Let's start with the backdrop of the story may shack shadow rack and the Bendigo find themselves working in a secular culture there in Babylon, Babylon is an evil pagan and idolatrous country because of Israel's sin. God told Babylon to invade Israel and they brought out many of the young people back into Babylon to live and to work. Daniel, along with the three Hebrew boys are part of the group that was bought from Israel to Babylon, and now they have to live their life and do their work in a non-Christian environment where the people you work for and the people you work with not share your Christian worldview. They do not believe what you believe. They do not act like you asked, they do not walk like you walk they do not talk like talk, but that's the world you live in because you have to provide for yourself or your family and you will find yourself in an unrighteous environment that was the three Hebrew boys. They found themselves working for the federal government because they were administrators in the regime of Nebuchadnezzar, who was the governing head of Babylon, so they were government employees working for a pagan government. So whether you work for the government or you work for Apple or where you work for Amazon or whatever companies you work for, that does not share your Christian values. This passage is for you because that is the context that me shack shadow rack and the Bendigo find themselves. It's like a young person who grows up in a Christian home with the Christian schools all their life, but now find themselves in a pagan secular college that tries to undo everything.

Mama and daddy and Christian school try to teach them for all of their lives.

A lot of things happen to bring these boys to this point they were sent to a Babylonian school. It says in chapter 1 it says that they were indoctrinated with Babylonian thinking it says they were given given a Babylonian name after the name of a Babylonian God. So the culture was trying to be Israel lives them and probe Babylon guides them trying to take their mindset from the rearing of their faith to the raising of the culture and so you and I like the three Hebrew boys are caught in a cultural tension how we will raise and what we are taught to believe in where we have to live in earnest money when we have to live in functioning for the people we have to be around because that's the nature of the job in which was situated you be Christian when the environment you're in, doesn't support your Christianity. When the environment that your income is trying to move you away from your faith as colleges do with you and me and our children. And as the society does with people of God. That's the situation that's the circumstance that they find themselves in or something happens in the beginning of the chapter. Chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar the head of Babylon developed a feel eco-feel is God.

Ego is is your mindset, develop a a God mentality. He deified himself. It goes on to say in the first members is roughly 7 times discussion about this image to himself. He builds a statute to honor him 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.

Not only bills a statue. He comes up with the law. The Lord says that every body is supposed to bow to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar because all of his leaders together and he says I want you all to bow and to give a warning in verse six whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire get what if you don't worship, you will burn. If you don't worship we will put you in the fire and I do mean you will be fired if you do not submit to the law of this company. This coaching and this government, then you're going to have to pay the consequences for not compromise the right answer for the characters in our story seems pretty obvious, but when Dr. Evans continues our message just a moment to talk about why we have so much trouble making the same kind of choice, even when our lives aren't on the line, but first I want to tell you about a brand-new book 20 is written the goes hand-in-hand with the lessons and practical principles we been learning about this week. The book is called kingdom encounters and ended Dr. Evans explores how our lives can be changed forever when we experience a connection with God. The goes beyond simply knowing about him those connections often happen in the most unlikely times and places in this book can help you realize that even when you feel like everything's going wrong, you might be right where you need to be for a kingdom encounter with God. Dr. Evan says it happened in the lives of many. We read about in the Bible and it can happen for you as well for a limited time where packaging this life-changing book along with the entire divine encounters collection on both CD and digital download.

You can get them all as our gift when you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching coming to this station and available around the world. Just visit us today@tonyevans.org or call us. They are night at 1-800-800-3222 to make the arrangements. I'll have her contact information for you again after part two of today's lesson and this also husbands and wives.

The source of our thorny believers. Understanding the concept of grace, meaning spiritual battles there all important subjects seem as different as night and day surprise you to know there's a common thread running through all you can discover what it is like taking the respondent's and Tony Evans training center 151. Dig into the powerful themes of this book and make new discoveries about what Jesus death accomplished how to maintain home church spiritual armor is all about.

The course includes custom content from Tony not available anywhere else work at your own pace. Collaborate with other students get your specific questions answered online for connecting the Tony Evans training center Tony Evans.it's like having a seminary on your smart phone or other device. Start today Tony Evans.now the one thing you will worship it says it will be a statue and he says you are to worship before the statute the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is this issue of idolatry that may for those who may not remember the definition of an idol and I is any person, place, thing will thought that becomes your source. Anything that competes with the God of the Bible as the thing you are ultimately look to as your source is your God no matter whether you call it God or not. So he says I want everybody in the company. Everybody who works for me. All my administrators all my manages and supervises to bow before the image or you will pay the consequences. The issue on the floor is not their work the issue on the floor is not the excellence in their performance of their duties. The issue on the floor is not how well they do what they do. The issue on the floor is if you will. You will have to be owned by us and when it comes to your belief system.

You addressed your belief system to the company rules you must worship not just work here. You and I live in a culture that not only want our work they want to worship because they often ask us to compromise biblical values in order to be accepted in order to be promoted and so they find themselves in a culture that wants to compete with God. They want to limit God by becoming the final decision-maker leverage God by controlling your space and they want to localize God they want to become God in your life. Many of the conflicts we find in our families relate to our work where in battles because we have sold our souls to the Korea rather than to the Lord. We think because we have a big day on MBA or Masters degree that somehow that should give us the right to marginalize God for the sake of Korea that sometimes it is the passion for money that causes us to compromise, because if I can compromise I can make more money and so many of us today find ourselves often caught between the decision of our worship of God and our worship about career or the worship of education for the sake of our Korea and we are willing to compromise biblical values because we believe that that company or that degree is our source, given everything because this degree of goal provide for me, this company will provide for me this career is going provide for me it is not source. So if I got a do some shady to satisfy my source and I'm gonna make the adjustment necessary and goblins. Because after all, God don't have to live in the real world it would be similar that I got to work for this company and then want to promote me gone to church on Sunday but I got to go to go with the sinful people, so Shadrach me shack and Abednego found themselves in a dilemma in their career was on the line while all this is taking place. Racism reared its ugly head and Rachel dilemma takes place because verse eight says, for this reason, at that time certain champions came forth and brought charges against souls and Babylonians brought charges against the do they like the Jews want the Jews working at the company and the related like the Jews is when they were Jewish, and to brought their faith to work today knew they were followers of God? If you are accused of being a Christian on your job, would there be enough evidence to convict you or would you be found innocent of all charges, because your faith is very vague.

You know it, but nobody else does, they were clearly followers of God, and they were Jewish. A bad combination in a secular work environment but they couldn't be condemned by the pool work. See, sometimes Christians will say that Christians do bad work and play people up discriminating against me because of my faith or my race when it has to do with your poor work habits you don't show up on time. You don't do good work. You know you don't finish the job you don't do it with excellence and so that there would we get confused they could not because of that work. Samantha condemned the because of their faith. So these three Hebrew boys find themselves on the limits because now the Babylonians work with them. Their coworkers come and say and play politics. Politics is in the office they come and play politics.

They said all Nebuchadnezzar you got these Jewish guys here and they won't bow make the work they do the job but you told him about the company not bowing to the company did not submitting to the authority of the company.

So now the Knesset when he finds out this minority group would not bow.

He said, bring them here. Verse 13 bring me shack Shadrach. Abednego, here and in verses 14 and 15 effect on the give y'all another chance. Maybe. Maybe your coworkers align maybe they don't like you like boys and young adult, a good job for me but I ask you all about how to give you another chance. If you don't verse 15. If you do not worship you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire, and what God is there who can deliver you out of my then asked the question. The question is so powerful.

This company is so small.

This government is so much in control, that if I fire you, you will be fired and you don't know anybody who can only my decision on the man you have any contacts who can overrule me what God is there who can overrule me because I'm on the big man on campus on the cheek man in charge show you don't know anybody who can overrule me so you better bow your source that this is a difficult situation to be put in afterwhile.

I got a condo I got a house I got insurance to pay I got her feet some kids you know I got I got a plan for retirement.

I did lose his job.

You'll even put me Nebuchadnezzar you to put me in a trick bag you to put me in a catch 22 because my job is on the line and the only criticism has nothing to do with my work is got to do with my meaning. I refused to treat you like you God. So let me make something inextricably clear before we go on and that is when God wants to give you a divine encounter. He will often allow you to be put in a situation where you will have to choose between God's between the God of education or the God of Korea or the God of money he will often put you in a situation where it's tricky because it's costly put us in the fire, you don't have to play the company again illegitimately because once you do that you send this company is muscles.

This boss is my fourth I got to play the game. Maybe compromise the fate not be strategic about talk about about compromising your faith. If God lets you go through the fire, you have to understand the only reason it happen.

If it had passed through his fingers first. Nothing negatively happens to you when you are spamming for God that God done have to approve first let me say that again because this is theology. You need to know if you are serving the Lord and he let things go south on you.

He had to okay because the sovereign and located it means this is and if it is for me that have Dr. Tony Evans reminding us God is ready to give us a divine encounter when we choose to turn to him. You can dig deeper into this life-changing truth when you take advantage of the special double resource package I mentioned earlier Tony's brand-new book kingdom encounters and is complete eight message series divine encounters as a reminder both the book and audio package on both CD and digital download can be yours with our thanks when you make a contribution to help us keep this listener supported program coming your way. You can get all the details and make you requested Tony Evans.org again that's Tony Evans.org or call our 24 hour resource Center at 1-800-800-3222 a friendly team member is standing by ready to assist you with your resource request 24 hours a day.

Again, the number 1-800-800-3222. We know the tough times are inevitable, even if were right in the center of God's will on Monday. Dr. Evans will explain why they might be inevitable because we are in the center of God's will. I hope you will join us for the alternative with Dr. Tony Evan is advising her of an alternative is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like