Summary of Flame jumpers
Preamble
Wes does a humorous introduction where he got the crowd laughing over his super ability of being “the human GPS.” It became obvious to the audience that Wes has a terrible sense of direction and he is a clueless navigator. He had to eat a piece of humble pie and admit to his wife she is right when it comes to directions – and he is usually wrong. Wes wants to discuss “being proven wrong.”
Babylonians conquer Israel
During this time in history the Babylonian empire conquered the Mistral nation. The Babylonians destroyed the nation and turned the Israelite people into slaves and moved them from their lands into the Babylonian land. The King of Babylon took young Israelite men and educated them and attempted to turn them into Babylonian civil servants. His idea was to turn the entire nation of Israel into a submissive nation that would submit to the King.
Worshipping a 90-foot statue
Daniel 3:2-12: The King of Babylon decreed that everyone must worship his 90-foot statue. Three Jewish men refused.
Why did these three Jewish men not comply?
Wes points out it would be so much easier to just comply. These three Jewish men remembers that God’s second commandment was to not create idols and that they must not worship anything other than God. If they did worship the 90-foot image they would have sinned against God.
What is sin?
Wes goes into a discussion on the concept of sin. He reminds us that everyone sins. He reminds us that there are not levels of sin. All sin is viewed the same by God.
The three men thrown into a furnace
Daniel 3:13-23: The king questions these three Jewish men. They explain themselves and outline their trust in God and their rejection of the King’s decree. They were tied up and thrown into the fire. But they did not die. Instead they were saved by God and even a fourth person was seen inside the fire — and that person was “a son of the gods.”
God saves the three men
Daniel 3:28-30: The king of Babylon immediately realized who God was and how he is the only God to worship.
Choosing the fiery furnace option
Wes discusses how we are all given choices like this in our own walks with God. The punishments (consequences) we face might not be death but they might affect our relationships with friends, our status at work, or maybe the loss of money. Wes challenges the audience to respond boldly when we are “under the heat of the furnace”. When we face the temptation to sin, we need to respond boldly.
About this Message Series
Our summer message series this year is “Stories BC”! And no we won’t be listening to Pastor Brent Chapman tell personal stories all summer long, it is even better than that. We are sharing stories of people who lived before Jesus Christ, learning from their lessons of faith, generosity, courage and trust in God. Join us each week for a new story!
About the Speaker
Wes Linde is the youth pastor at SouthRidge Church in Langley. He became a believer in his late teens and when God called him into youth pastoral ministries he nodded and said, “that makes total sense!”