Show Up Or Shut Up About God

There are a lot of people in the world who love to talk about God. They love to pontificate about God. They love to tell people about their belief in God. Today I want to talk to you about this.

Show up or shut up. When it comes to God, just show up or shut up.

Or I could call it show and tell with God. We're going to read a story, and in this story we're going to see some guys who were not just talking about their faith. Oh, no. Oh, they were walking about their faith in a big way. In fact, they were so countercultural that they were willing to stand for what they believed in in a sea of humanity that believed in nothing. And what happened was these, these three Hebrew boys in the city of Babylon, or the nation of Babylon, they are, the whole nation is commanded. When Nebuchadnezzar made an idol.

More than likely an idol of himself. Because, you know, it's easy for leaders to be narcissistic as well as psychopathic and all kinds of other pathologies.

When I play, when my orchestra plays the music, everybody bows down.

Now you got to understand, if you, when you read the book of Daniel, in Daniel, chapter one.

The Babylonians, they take all these.

These Hebrews as into captivity as slaves. And one of the things that they were to do was to fatten these boys up. And Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego made a request not to eat the king's meat. And the kings drink the king's wine and the king's meat was like unclean things that the Hebrews were not allowed to eat and stuff that was offered to idols. And they're like, we can't do that. So they made a request, they didn't demand, they made a request to just eat vegetables and drink water. And the scripture says.

They did a test for 10 days, drank, ate vegetables, drank water, and they looked healthier and more vibrant than all of the other slaves put together. And they got promoted. So you can imagine if you're in an environment where everybody is basically a low class to no class citizen, and all of a sudden you stand up and say, I'm going to be different. And then you get promoted above other people. You know, there's some jealousy out there. You know, you're gonna have some haters and everybody ain't gonna be a celebrator. Can I get a witness? Well, this is where we come to the story. So Nebuchadnezzar in Genesis, chapter three, builds the title, plays the music, everybody's bowing down except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I can imagine the guys who they replaced said, bro, those guys the king gave our job to. The eve is about to be old. We about to get our jobs back. They went like lightning, like speed. King Nebuchadnezzar, Those boys you gave our jobs to. Yeah. They ain't even bound down to your idol. And when the music played, they just acted like they couldn't even hear it. Okay, so that's where we are in the story. Now I'm going to start reading.

And it says, In Daniel, chapter 3, verse 12, there are certain Jews. These are guys. Run and tell the king, there are certain Jews whom thou hast set 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 has set up. And Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they brought these men before the king. Now, it's interesting when you stand for what you believe in against culture, and it always makes people mad. Why you gotta. I mean, can't we just disagree? Can't we just agree to disagree, huh? Can't we just shake hands and say, okay, you believe one thing, I believe another thing and keep it moving? No, no, no, no, no. See, and I shared this yesterday when I was recording. People talk about, oh, you're so intolerant. You religious people, you're so intolerant. You Christians are so intolerant. Tolerance is an intolerant word. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about how tolerance, in order to be tolerant, you must be intolerant? You can't be tolerant and not be intolerant. If I tolerate flowers, then I can't tolerate weeds. I have to be intolerant with weeds, right? If I tolerate health, I'm intolerant with disease. If I tolerate safety, then I'm intolerant with, like, danger. So you can't. There's no such thing as complete tolerance. Like, they try to pretend there is. All these people who love the virtue signal and try to act like that somebody's a bigot or, Or. Or.

Whatever, hates people just because they disagree. It's so insane. But they basically made Nebuchadnezzar. He lost his mind. He went crazy. That dude, he lost. He said he was so mad. It said, it says, then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they brought these men before the king. And Nebuchadnezzar said unto them, is it true, El Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, do you not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

He clearly liked these boys and they were clearly doing a good job. Because he said, now if ye be ready, at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the syphet, the psaltery, the 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 the burning fiery furnace. And then he asked this question, and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? I believe that that is the pressing question on the minds of everybody who's watching. Every so called follower of Christ, every so called believer, the question on their mind is, who is that God that you say you believe? While you're marching into church right after arguing with your spouse and then walking in the door talking, praise the lot.

Who is that God? Your next door neighbor is wondering, who is that God you say you serve? The people who you owe money to and you have not paid. And you're talking to them about the fact that you serve a God of abundance. They're wondering, who is that God you say you serve? And you ain't even paying your bills on time. You're not even taking care of your own children. Like, who is that God? You're like, what kind of God are you serving? I'm telling you right now, it's time for you. If you're going to misrepresent God, stop talking about him.

I wish I had some help in here.

It says, who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Now, they didn't just tell him. They showed him and told him they put their money where their mouth was. Not that there's any money.

But they realized that their walk talk and their talk talk, but their walk talk louder than their talk talks. And here's what they said. Now verse that was verse 15, verse 16 says, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said unto the king, o Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. What does that mean? We don't have any anxiety over our answer. So that answer in itself showed them who God is. How they said, our God is a God who eliminates fear. He doesn't just eliminate fear of life. He also eliminates fear of death. He eliminates my fear of anything you think you might be able to do to me. And I am not afraid to give you the answer to the question that you ask. Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? The God that's going to deliver me out of your hands is a God that eliminates fear. And I am not afraid. And I am telling you, if you are walking through this life afraid and you are afraid to stand on the principles of the word of God, maybe you just need to shut up. If you ain't going to show up.

Huh? Don't just tell people what you believe better. Somewhere, sometime, somebody going to have to show somebody something. Well, he said. He said, our God's a God who eliminates fear. Do you know how many times throughout scripture the Bible talks about not being afraid? Joshua, chapter one. I think it's verse number nine. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, for the Lord thy God is with thee. Whithersoever thou goest, oh, fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. Like all throughout scripture, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. All throughout scripture, we are told over and over and over and over, there's nothing to fear. Why do you fear? Why do people fear? They fear because they're worried about the outcome.

They're afraid of the dangers in the path. They're afraid of the size of the giant, the heat of the fire, the depth of the water. They're so afraid of the physicality of life.

That they don't really trust into the giver of life. They don't really trust in the giver of life.

And he said, we're not careful to answer thee in this matter. So the first answer is.

God who eliminates fear. So verse 17, it says, if it be so. In other words, if you throw us into the burning fiery furnace, if it be so, our God whom we serve. I love that part that gave me chills. He said, I serve a personal God. He didn't say, if it be so. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the God of my fathers is going to deliver us out of your hand. He said, our God whom we serve. And see, one of the problems a lot of folk have. They've been going to church their whole life. They've been reading, they've been. They've been praying, they've been listening to Sermons. They've been singing praise songs and they've been walking around in the faith of Grandmama, them.

Mom and them daddy, them the preacher and the deacon and the Sunday school teacher. And they have no faith of their own. They've not taken God at His word on their own. But he said, our God whom we serve. I love the fact that the scripture says God is personal.

I love the fact that over and over and over in scripture that it shows us repeatedly that God is a God of people. He's a personal God. He went and talked to Abram. He went and talked to Jacob. Like he's showed Joseph a dream and the interpretation of a dream. God wants to have a. It was such a great day in my life when I realized that God was no more interested in talking to the preacher than he was in talking to me. If I'll study His Word, he'll show me his secrets, just like he'll show them to somebody else. And so he said, our God whom we serve. What does it say? I think it's job 42. 5. He said, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the earth, but now mine eye seeth thee.

That's so good. Like the God that I serve. I'm not serving the God because my mom served him, even though my mom served him. That's not why I'm doing it. I'm not the God that I serve. I'm not serving because my brother, Pastor Michael golden, serves me. No. Even though I've got a brother who's a bad. That has nothing to do with it.

It's not because I heard somebody say one time these boys said, our God whom we serve. Let me ask you a question. When you talk about God, are you talking about the God you yourself or the God you know about from somebody else?

Who you talking about? Show. I'm talking about show up or shut up. Like, it's time for us to demonstrate who God is and stop just declaring who God is. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us. There's another answer. I serve a God who's able.

Do you remember what the scripture what God asked Abraham, is anything too hard for God? Is anything too hard for God? I want you to think about, is anything too hard for God? No. He said, our God whom we serve is able. I am glad that I don't serve some old man upstairs sitting in a rocking chair who can't help me.

When I'm in trouble. I'm so glad that I don't serve an old man upstairs. The man upstairs. Like, I don't know who the man upstairs. I don't. I don't serve a man upstairs. I serve a God in heaven. And there are no stairs to heaven, and God is not a man.

I got a little attitude.

He said, our God whom we serve is able. So God is personal. He's. God eliminates fear.

He said he's a God, that he's a God that eliminates fear. He's a God that is personal. He's a God that's able.

Oh, you know what? I missed one. It says. It says, if it be so, our God. No, even before he said that, he said.

In verse number 17, if it be so, our God whom we serve, we are not. No, he said.

In verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the King, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Who is that God that's going to deliver you out of my hand? He is a God that demands a declaration if you are serving the God of the universe. He does not have secret service Christians on his payroll.

God demands a declaration. You got to open your mouth and say something and stand for good and for God. Like, I get it. It's not popular. It's less popular today than it's ever been to stand for right.

That's why it's more important now than ever to stand for right. And so then he said, our God is personal. Our God is. I mean, he's able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will. So not only is our God able to deliver us, but he's also willing to deliver us. Now, you know what I love about that combination? That's the most powerful combination that exists in the universe. Able and willing. See, I know a lot of people who, when I'm in trouble, they willing to help me. They just ain't able.

I know some folk who are able to help me, but guess what? They just ain't willing. It is such a beautiful thing to find Able and Willing in the same person. And the God we serve, the real. Like, in a real relationship with Him. He is both able and willing to deliver us out of any difficulty and to use us for whatever he put us here for. And there's no man that can stop us. There's no circumstance that can stop us. There's no coup. There's no organization that can stop us when we are serving God. His purposes will be accomplished.

We are not careful to answer this matter. But our God whom we serve is able to deliver us and he will. Now I want you to notice this next part. And he will.

Deliver us out of thy hand, o King, verse 18. But if not.

Be it known unto thee that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou set up. He said we serve a. But if not God, what does that mean? That means he's sovereign. It means he's willing and he's able, but he don't have to. See, here's part of the problem. We've turned God into a genie and a lamp.

And. And then when we rub. And the lamp is the Bible, and when we rub the jeep lamp and God don't do what we told him to do, then we mad. I'm mad at God. And then we act like, well, God understands. Are you mad at Him? No. I'm gonna tell you something. No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't understand that you're mad at him. Because when you're mad at him, then you think you're no more than him and you're attempting to replace Him. And God doesn't understand when humans try to replace him because it's not possible.

Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us and he will. But if he doesn't, we're still not bound down. Let me ask you a question. When you show up in the marketplace and you're talking about God, are you talking about the God who you can tell, like who's your puppet? Are you talking about the God who's your genie and the lamp? Are you talking about the God, the sovereign God of the universe that the scripture talks about in Psalm 113 when it says, but our God, he is in the heavens. Or 116, our God, he is in the heavens, and he hath done whatsoever he hath planted, pleased.

Whatsoever he hath pleased, he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And whatsoever his soul desireth even that will he do. God's gonna deliver me. He's able to. He's willing to. But if he doesn't, I'm gonna serve him anyway. This is a very different concept than this. Modern day God has your best interest in mind. He's gonna do everything you tell him to do. And he's gonna be there for you. Don't worry. God's gonna come pat you on the head, make everything all right. That ain't what the Bible says. It says he's able and says he's willing. But it also says, but if not, we still ain't gonna bow down.

We don't like the idea of serving a God who is sovereign.

It's okay that he's sovereign over you as long as he's not sovereign over me. Let me have that. I got that.

Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us. And he will deliver us out of that hand, O king. But if not, we will not worship. Bow down and worship the golden image which thou set up then. Verse 19 was Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury. And the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In other words, he went from. Okay, guys, I'm going to give you all another chance. Because I know clearly y' all either didn't understand. Or maybe y' all were busy doing something. You had your airpods in and you couldn't hear the music. So I'm going to give you another chance. So we going to play the music for you again. And when you bow down to the idol this time, then everything's gonna be all right. They said, oh, no, no. We heard the music.

Yeah, we understood the command. But, see, we serve a God who told us, don't do that. And I am way more concerned with pleasing him than I am with pleasing you. So we ain't gonna bow down. So whatever you gotta do, just go ahead and do it. Cause this, who you're dealing with.

That's a whole nother way to play right there, huh? Hey, watch this. The form of his visage was changed. So he was all smiling and talking to him. And then he went like.

His nostrils started flaring. He started humping. Don't they know I'm the king?

Hey, hey, hey. You, you, you. You go make that furnace seven times hotter than it's ever been heated. I'm gonna kill them seven times deader than anybody's ever been killed.

Like, when you stand for right, it'll make narcissists lose they mind. Yeah.

And.

He was hotter than a pack of firecrackers on the fourth of July. He was hot.

And he says. And then it says.

In verse 20. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach. Oh, no. Let me read. Finish reading. Verse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury. And the form of his vicious was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace 17 times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army. I mean, they were stronger Than me. Okay, Y' all didn't get that one. Okay.

Y' all were supposed to laugh at that. That. That did not land well. And it's live. I can't edit it out. So hopefully on YouTube, somebody laughed somewhere in the world. Okay. All right. So, most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats and their hosen and their hats and their garments and their. And their other garments and were cast into the midst of the burning fire. Furnace. It says he took the most mighty men that were in his army and told them to bind Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Do you think they tied. They took a little piece of string and just come here, man. I believe they were, like, put it on him. They was trying to cut off circulation and everything. They tied them up lock, stock, and barrel.

And they fix and throw them in. They fix and throw them in the fire. And don't forget, now the fire is seven times hotter. Okay? I just want to make sure we're on the same day. And it says.

Therefore, because in verse 22, the king's commandment was urgent and the furnace 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, bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Now, that's a really fascinating part of the story. This puts the sovereignty of God on display. They are not talking about God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ain't saying nothing, but they show in the world who their God is. The scripture says, okay.

In the Bible, there are three different types of fire. You all know that, right? There's three different types of fire in the Bible. Okay? So remember, Moses was a shepherd. He's out there taking care of the sheep. He's probably getting some. Some. Some briars or something out of their wool. And one of the lambs said, moses, fire. And Moses, oh, I declare some fire. That didn't happen either. Okay, but there's a burning bush on fire.

But the bush is not consumed. And God starts talking to Moses out of the burning bush. Huh. That's interesting. So there's a fire, but there's no smoke, and the leaves are not consumed. That's called fire. That doesn't burn. That's the first type of fire. Y' all remember that, right? Y' all Remember? Read about that? Okay. Second type of fire.

Fire that burns. This is the kind of fire that Elisha called down from heaven to consume the captain and his 50. If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee in thy 50. And fire came down from heaven and consumed me in thy 50. And the king, Assyria was so stupid, he sent 51 more dudes to go. The one guy made it out of life said, hey, Elijah called down fire. Well, go get 51 more, y'. All. Go tell him I said, come down quickly. Yeah, that's gonna make it better. Elijah called down fire from heaven again on another 50. Want to escape? He said, well, send 50 more. The third captain, he was smart. He said. He said, elijah, Elijah, bro, I'm just doing my job. He said. He said, I know you're a man of God, but me and my men, we don't want to die with fire out of heaven today. So if you could just please come talk to the king and not kill us with fire from heaven, we'd appreciate it. Right? That's called fire that burns. So we got fire that don't burn. That's Moses fire. We got fire that burns. That's Elijah fire. And now in this story, we got a new kind of fire. This is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Fire. This fire that burns some folk and don't burn other folk. Now, that's an amazing fire right there. It burns some folk. It was so hot that it killed the men that threw them in. But then the scripture says they fell down, bound. What do we learn from that? God controls the principles. Fire burns because God said so. And the fire that doesn't burn doesn't burn because God said so. And the fire that burns some folk and don't burn other folk is because God said so. And right is right because God said so. And wrong is wrong because God said so. Y' all with me? And. And men marry women because God said so. And women marry men because God said so. And that's all a marriage is, because God said so.

Okay, I'm just saying. God said so.

Fire burns. Some folk don't burn. Other folk watch out for that kind of fire. I want to be the kind of folk it don't burn. So watch what it says. It says.

These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, verse number 23, fell down, bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, 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 unto the son of God. Huh. Who is that God that will deliver you out of my hand? He is the God that shows up for me, with me when I am in trouble to show you who he is.

I wish I had some help in here. Oh, Lord.

He's like, I know. This fire just killed my most mighty men.

And we threw these dudes in there, and then they fell down, and the fire only burned off their ropes.

What in the world? I'm talking about a God who took pleasure in showing the enemies of God's people who God is, and says.

In verse number 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded, rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, did not we cast three men bound to the midst of the fire? They said, true, O king. And he. He answered and said, lo, see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt. The form of the fourth is like unto the son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and he spake and said, shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Time out, Nebuchadnezzar. Sounds like you got the answer to your question. Servants of the most high God, come forth. Come hither. So they didn't tell Nebuchadnezzar who God was. They showed Nebuchadnezzar who God was. And see, we've been talking about God for far too long. It's time we started showing folk who our God is, that he's worth standing for, that he's worth speaking out and speaking up for. We need to like. It's about time we started acting like our God is able and willing. Okay, y' all tracking. It says, come forth. Come hither. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes and the governors and the captains and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies the fire and had no power, nor was the hair of their head singed, Neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire passed on them. What.

Kind of. Who Is that God that shall deliver at my hand? He's a God that delivers. He is a God that delivers.

And the scripture says the eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking to show himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards him. God is looking for somebody.

Who he can show up and show out for. Somebody who ain't just talking about God, but somebody who's walking about God y' all tracking. And it says.

In verse number.

28, there it is. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him and have changed the king's word and have yielded their bodies. That reminds me of something.

Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hand? He is a God who's worth yielding to.

Do you remember In Romans, chapter 12, where it says, I beseech you, I beg you. Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Why, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And I've heard people say this, but I'm gonna help you with it today.

Well, God has a perfect will. And if you miss his perfect will, then you can find his good will. If you miss his good will, then you can find his acceptable. That is goofy as a box of rocks. There's no universe in which that's what that means. First of all, it doesn't say it's perfect, good and acceptable will. It says that you may prove what is that good. So it's first good, then it's acceptable, then it's perfect. Oh, God has a reason for his order. You understand that, right? So God's goodwill. Perfect will and acceptable will are not three different wills. They're all the same will. What does that mean? Well, what it means is good is what God knows. His will for your life and my life is. He knows his will for your life and my life is good. Acceptable is what God desires.

What he knows his will is for us. He desires us to accept it. And it's acceptable to us when we accept God's will as good. Even when it's painful, even when it's difficult, even when it's hard, even when it costs. When we recognize that God's will is good and we accept it. Then God's will is perfect. That's why it says you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It's not three different wills. It's. It's the same will. But now everybody understands everybody else's part in the situation. Okay? And so who have yielded, sent his servants and yielded their bodies that trusted in him, and they've changed the king's word, yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree. Okay, here he comes again. I make a decree that every people, nation, language which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill. Because there's no other God that can deliver after this sort. Huh? That's amazing. God is willing to show your enemy who he is when you stand up for him and show up for him and stop just talking about him. And then it says, then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the province of Babylon. They got another promotion. Why? Because they were willing to stand for God and show the world system who their God is. Not just talk about him, but show them who he was. Now it's your turn and my turn to do the same thing. So let's show up or shut up about God. I hope this video blesses you. I hope it helps you take your life to a whole new level by trusting in the God.

Who set everything up in a way that works according to his plan. In the meantime, in between time, we'll see you on the next video. Stay blessed by the best. Bye for now.