Genesis 9:8-17
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Discussion Guide |
When God calls us into redemption of the world, we sometimes don’t like what we’re called to do, but if we obey Him we will find that God has gone before us, that His grace is more generous and patient than we thought, and that the life we saved was actually our own. Didn’t Jesus say something like this? “He who loses his life, for me and for the gospel, will save it,” (Mark 8:35).
Most of us admire Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for their courage; but behind their courage is a value that keeps them standing tall. This is more, then, than a story of how to stand up in a moment of decision; it’s also a reminder that obedience might cost us all we have. This sermon will examine that tension and help us understand explore what kept these three on their feet.
It’s been said that you can’t have the right friends if you don’t have the right enemies. In this popular story, we are called to confront our enemies in the Name and power of God. But our posture is not one of anger or violence, but one of humility and complete trust that “God will hand our enemies over” in His time and in His way. Our battle is not for our sake, and it is not in our armor, but in His “so that the whole world will know that there is a God and that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s,” (17:46-47).