Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
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so
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so
today i want to look at
encountering god’s promotion
a promotion is when you are lifted from
one level to another level
many of you know what it is to be
promoted in your job
or to be promoted in your experience or
to be promoted
from the from the jv to the varsity team
to go through things that lift you to a
higher
level in our
story today from daniel chapter three
a promotion is going to take place
meshach shadrach and the biblical they
are going to experience
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 a divine
encounter
let’s start with the backdrop of the
story
meshach shadrach and abindigo find
themselves
working in a secular culture
they’re 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 many of you tomorrow
will go to work in a pagan environment
where the people you work for and the
people you work with
do not share your christian world view
they do not believe what you believe
they do not act like you act they do not
walk like you walk
they do not talk like you talk but
that’s the world you live in
because you have to provide for yourself
for 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 they were sent to a
babylonian school
it says in chapter one it says that they
were
indoctrinated with babylonian thinking
it says they were even given a
babylonian name
after the name of a babylonian god
so the culture was trying to
de-israelize them
and probably 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 were raised and what we’re taught
to believe
and where we have to live and earn our
money
where we have to live and function and
or the people we have to be around
because
that’s the nature of the job in which
we’re situated
how do you be christian when
the environment you’re in doesn’t
support your christianity
so that’s the situation that’s the
circumstance
that they find themselves in
well something happens in the beginning
of the chapter chapter three
nebuchadnezzar the head of babylon
develops a theo ego
theo is god ego is is your mindset
he he developed a a god
mentality he deified himself
it goes on to say in the first nine
verses you’ll see seven
times discussion about this image he
built to himself
he builds a statue to honor him
90 feet tall and nine feet wide
he not only builds a statue
he comes up with a law the law
says that everybody is supposed to bow
to the statue of nebuchadnezzar
he calls all of his leaders together and
he says i want you
to all to bow and then he gives 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 okay watch
this
now the issue balls around one thing
who you gonna worship it says he built a
statue
and he says you are to worship before
the statue
at the heart of the bible from genesis
to revelation
is this issue of idolatry
let me for those who may not remember
the definition of an
idol an idol is any noun person place
thing or thought that becomes your
source
so any person place thing or thought
that becomes your source
has now become your god anything that
competes
with the god of the bible as the thing
you ultimately look to
as your source is your god rather no
matter whether you
call it your god or not you and i live
in a culture that not only wants
our work they want our worship because
they
often ask us to compromise biblical
values
in order to be accepted or in order to
be promoted
so shadrach meshach and abednego found
themselves
in a dilemma and their career was on the
line
while all of this is taking place
racism reared its ugly head
a racial dilemma takes place
because verse 8 says for this reason at
that time
certain chaldeans came forth and brought
charges
against the jews so some babylonians
brought charges against the jews they
liked the jews
they didn’t want the jews working at the
company and the reason they didn’t like
the jews is one they were jewish
and two they brought their faith to work
see they knew they were followers of god
so let me ask you a question if you were
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
they could not condemn them because of
their work so they had to condemn them
because of their faith
so these three hebrew boys find
themselves on
a dilemma because now the babylonians
who work with them their co-workers
come and say and play politics you know
how politics is in the office
they come and play politics they said oh
oh nebuchadnezzar
you got these jewish guys here and they
won’t bow
oh they come to work they do their job
but you told them to bow to the company
and they’re not bowing to the company
they’re not submitting to the authority
of the company
so nebuchadnezzar when he finds out this
minority group would not bow
he said bring them here verse 13.
bring me shadrach and then they go here
and in verses 14 and 15 he says i’m
going to give you all another chance
and then he asked the question
if you don’t bow 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 hands now that’s the question
the question is i’m so powerful
this company is so strong this
government
is so much in control that if i fire you
you will be fired
and you don’t know anybody who can
overrule my decision
because i’m the man shadrach meshach and
abednego
responded to the king okay see i don’t
know if you caught that
shadrach meshach and abednego responded
to the king
so they either all talked at the same
time or one talk for all three because
it says all three responded
that’s why you need to hook up with some
other christians in your company
so that you’re not standing there alone
okay so they responded to the king
respectfully
we do not need to give you an answer
concerning this matter
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be our god whom we serve is able to
deliver us
you are to look at your occupation as
service to the lord
through the vehicle of that company it
is the lord christ
whom you serve so they say we may work
for you
but we serve the lord the god who we
serve
is able the god who we serve because
that’s what got him in trouble in the
first place
their co-workers knew that they served
the lord
in their job description but most
christians many christians divorce
their everyday work from their service
of god
and these three boys didn’t but because
we
serve him the god who we serve
is able to deliver us
but let’s hear the rest of the story
even if he does not
because there are two things you need to
know about god he’s powerful
so he’s able but he’s sovereign
so he can choose god
must have the option in any situation
to choose what the right thing is to do
at that moment
and sometimes he does not
and you need a theology that covers when
he doesn’t because if you don’t have a
theology that covers when he doesn’t
then you’re going to be mad at him when
he doesn’t because somebody told you
from the pulpit
he’s able so you got to keep both
intention and about both you must say
the same thing
because they say even if he does not let
it be known to you
okay we respect you we’re going to work
for you
we are not going to serve your
gods or worship the golden image
that you have set up because it says in
verse 19
then nebuchadnezzar was filled with
wrath
filled with wrath and his facial
expression was altered
it’s just he’s contorted his control
who do you think you talking to i don’t
care that you said it respectfully
do you know who i am
guess what he does he is so hot no pun
intended
he is so hot he gave orders in verse 18
to heat the furnace seven times more
than it was already heated this is like
your boss saying to you
look if you don’t do this
not only will i fire you i will see that
you never work
in this kind of business ever again
i’m the man you talking about you knock
on bow
because you got some other spiritual
commitment
so the men who brought them to the
furnace the furnace was so hot it
burned them up the bible says the men
who brought them got burned up that’s
how hot it was
they tied them up
in verse 23 and threw them into the
midst of the furnace
still tied up so they tied up their
hands tied up their feet
and threw them in
god didn’t deliver them from the furnace
he let him get fired
but something happens
verse 24 then nebuchadnezzar the king
was
astounded and he stood up in haste
he said to his high officials
was it not three men we cast bound into
the midst of the fire come on now help
me with my math wasn’t it one
two three meshech shadrach and bendy go
they replied to the king well certainly
king we put three guys in there
he said well come here come here come
come here
look through this glass look verse 25
i see four men
loosed and walking around in the midst
of the fire
without harm and the appearance of the
fourth
is like a son of the gods
i can see that you could preach right
here
he says we put in three right
yeah we put in three well how come
and we tied them up right we tied them
up okay
well why am i seeing four
so so if we put in three why four
and how they walking around when we tied
them up
no nobody burned nobody okay watch this
sometimes when god wants to give you an
encounter with him
sometimes he takes you out of it
sometimes he delivers you from it
sometimes you don’t have to worry about
it but sometimes
he wants to take you through it or
join you in it not deliver you from it
sometimes he wants you to see what it’s
like
when you’re in the fire and not being
burned by the fire
you’re in the bad situation at work and
he’s working right beside you
he says i see four and the fourth one
i see looks like somebody straight from
heaven
sometimes heaven wants to join you
in a bad situation without
taking you out of it he just gonna join
you in it
but whether he takes you from it or
joins you in it you have an
encounter with the living god because
you’re supposed to be all
shook up all tied up all screaming and
hollering
and worried and depressed and here you
are walking around the fire
here you are strutting around the fire
here you are moving around the fire
they messing with you at work and you
still walking
they criticizing you at work and you
still praising
they making it hard for you and you
still getting it on why because you know
you’re not by yourself
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cause sometimes he wants you to see what
it’s like
when you’re in the fire with the lord
why why god why are you going to do this
look i need to walk with you i need to
walk with you walk with me
i want you to turn the first peter i
want to walk you through a series of
scriptures
i want to walk you through a series of
you need to know these scriptures in
verse peter
to show you this is not just new old
testament this is new testament
he says in first peter a number of
scriptures that will
change your bad situation at work change
your bad situation at the company
when you have this kind of understanding
of a bad suffering season
in your life he says in first peter
chapter 2 verse 20
he says for what credit is there if when
you sin
you are harshly treated you endure it
with patience
but if when you do what is right and
suffer
for if you patiently endure this finds
favor with god so if you’re doing right
and taking your stand you’re making god
happy
and you’re finding favor with god even
though you’re suffering
look at chapter 3 verse 14. he says
but even if you should suffer for the
sake of righteousness
you are blessed and do not fear their
intimidation i don’t care who they are
or what their title is don’t be scared
of their intimidation
and do not be troubled just because they
talk and smack
and talk and noise if you’re suffering
for righteousness verse 17
for it is better if god should will it
so
that you suffer for doing what is right
rather than
doing what is wrong finally he says in
chapter 5 verse 10
after you have suffered for a little
while the god of all grace
who called you by his eternal glory in
christ will himself perfect
confirm strengthen and establish you
to him be the dominion he gonna call the
final shot
he gonna say where this job situation
works out whether there
or somebody else because remember your
job your government is only your
resource
it is not your source
some of you remember my story when i was
in seminary
working at trailways i was loading and
unloading
buses they came to me because they had a
scam
the scam was when people went out for
lunch
then somebody else would punch him in
after an hour
even though they may stay out three or
four hours and hadn’t been punched in
and so you rotate it and somebody did
that for you you did that for somebody
else
they came and said to me well here’s the
deal this is how you do it this is your
day
to punch somebody else in after an hour
even though they’ll be gone
three hours and then somebody will do
that for you in other words rob the
company of time and money
and and what’s going on so i told him i
said i can’t do that because as a
christian
that that that stealing and that’s not
something i can do
and they said oh no you don’t understand
everybody does it
it’s the way we roll up in here so you
got you got to expect you can’t be an
exception
everybody does it let’s let’s get over
this christian stuff
and and this is how we do it in the
company i said i’m so sorry respectfully
you know i i can’t do that well they
said well since you can’t do that you’re
gonna be unloading a lot of these
buses by yourself when the buses came in
i wind up having to unload a lot of them
by myself because they wouldn’t help me
because i didn’t conform to what they
were asking me to do that was clearly
unbiblical
with the company this went on for weeks
and weeks and weeks i’m discouraged
i’m depressed and i have that same
attitude that we all have some time
god why are you letting this happen to
me when i’m trying to be
i’m trying to be fair to you a number of
months later
i got a call the calling was to come to
the
to the owner’s office or the manager’s
office for trailways
i went in the manager’s office he said
to me
we’ve been having a night supervisor
come around at night
to see what was going on with the night
shift we are very aware
of this this scheme that they’re doing
of punching people in
when they really haven’t come back we’re
also aware
that you were not a participant so what
we would like to do is make you
manager of the whole ship now i didn’t
know
somebody was watching i didn’t know
there was a fourth person in the fire
i didn’t know that something else was
going on
but you have to understand that when god
decides to promote you
it doesn’t matter what men say to you
so it’s time for us to take a stand a
man was on an island one day
and he got he got shipwrecked on his
island and nobody was there he was out
there by himself
and he wasn’t well how was he going to
survive on this island he put some
sticks together to make a little hut
to keep him away from the inclement
weather and he got in that hulk
but through a series of event the hut
caught on fire
so the hut is on fire he’s on his
isolated island
a few days later a boat comes to deliver
him from the island he said well how did
you know i was on the island
oh they said it was simple we saw the
smoke signals you were sending up
to let us know you were here sometimes
god lets you catch fire
but it’s really a smoke signal saying to
god god here’s where i
am and even though i’m in a fire i know
you know
where i’m located so i want you to go
back to work tomorrow
and serve the lord christ i want you to
go back to work tomorrow
and be a christian on your job serving
with excellence
serving the lord but knowing the lord
knows where you’re sitting
he knows how long he wants you there he
knows when it’s time to move
and he knows the bills that you have to
pay and says he is your source
and everything else is your resource you
can lift your head up high
and even if the rest of the folk don’t
like you on the job
you just find you a mesh a shadow rack
and a bendigo
and you take your stand for god because
god
ultimately owns the company let’s give
him some praise
in the midst of your problems
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as often says we live in a dog-eat-dog
world you know you have to
climb over somebody else to get to the
top or to get to the next level
that you think you ought to be in your
career or
in your resources or in your
significance or in your
importance but ultimate promotion
comes from god in fact the scripture
says promotion comes from the north that
is
from heaven’s involvement in history the
best way
to get to the next level and to get
there the right way
is to have god involved in your
promotion
to have god involved in taking you from
where you are
to the next stage of where you ought to
be and guess what
god’s promotion usually comes in the
midst of
or coming out of a test tests
are designed to take us to the next
level just like in school
you took a test midterm final in order
to be promoted to the next grade
so the next time you’re being tested
your faith is being challenged
and you decide to stick with god and do
it his way
keep your eyes open for the promotion
man may give you a pink slip
but god knows how to change the color
and give
you something that you’ll look back on
and say thank you god for the trial
because through it
you’ve taken me to a level i could have
never gotten to
on my own
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foreign
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