                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                     Bringing Christ Into Your Crisis!

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By David Wilkerson
January 1, 1996
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          Go with me to the plain of Dura near Babylon, where
          King Nebuchadnezzar had summoned every leader -
          governors, princes and sheriffs - from his far-flung
          empire. Imagine the sight - multitudes of people
          dressed in their various native garb, speaking many
          languages. And they all had gathered for one purpose -
          to honor the gods of the king!

          Nebuchadnezzar had erected a huge, golden image ninety
          feet tall. And now these leaders, having made their way
          to the great plain of Dura, were to bow in worship as
          soon as the royal orchestra began playing. It was that
          or death!

          But three Hebrew men - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego -
          refused to bow. These men had been taken captive from
          Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and brought to the palace of
          Shushan. Here they had been trained in the language of
          the Chaldeans and, along with Daniel, had been
          appointed as leaders in the government. Now, all around
          them, men from other nations were bowing to the golden
          image, conforming to the king's decree. But they would
          not!

          Jealous leaders reported this to Nebuchadnezzar - and
          when he heard of it, he flew into a rage. He thought,
          "How dare any member of my own government stand against
          me in disobedience!"

          It was not unusual in those days to punish violators of
          the king's decrees by casting them into a burning oven.
          Jeremiah speaks of "...Zedekiah and...Ahab, whom the
          king of Babylon roasted in the fire" (Jeremiah 29:22).
          No doubt, Nebuchadnezzar was used to seeing bodies
          thrown into an open furnace - to see the instant flash
          of the burning bodies and smell the stench of burning
          flesh. Now he was in such a rage, he ordered his
          soldiers to stoke the furnace seven times hotter than
          usual!

          When the guards brought the three Hebrew men before the
          king, Nebuchadnezzar bellowed, "So - you refused to bow
          before my god when the music sounded. Well, I'm going
          to let you try it again. You should know the fiery
          furnace is burning seven times hotter. And if you don't
          bow this time, you'll be thrown in and roasted!"

          You can be sure these three men could feel the heat of
          the white-hot furnace from where they stood. And they
          probably saw the strong soldiers falling exhausted as
          they stoked the furnace, overcome by the intense heat.

          These Hebrew men didn't want to die. They were human
          beings, like you and me. Anyone would be crazy to want
          to die roasting in a fire! Yet these men had an
          incredible faith placed in their hearts by the Holy
          Spirit. And so they replied to the king, "O king, we
          don't even have to think about our answer to you. We
          will not bow! Our God is able to deliver us. But even
          if He doesn't, we will not worship the image."

          You know the rest of the story. Word probably spread
          about the great burning, and curious multitudes
          gathered the way crowds did for Old West hangings.
          People strained just to get a glimpse of these men who
          had dared to disobey the royal decree - and who would
          be roasted alive!

          Soon the royal party arrived. The king took his seat -
          a safe distance from the heat, but close enough to
          witness the actual burning of the bodies. "Will these
          rebellious fools never learn?" he probably thought to
          himself. "Shortly, three more rebels will be nothing
          but ashes!"

          Then the three Hebrew men were brought in, bound hand
          and foot. The mightiest soldiers in the king's army had
          picked them up and were carrying them to the mouth of
          the furnace to cast them in. But the flames were so
          hot, the soldiers began to fall themselves, one after
          another - slain from the heat!

          Somehow, the three Hebrews were finally cast into the
          oven. But the king was puzzled. There had been no
          sudden flash of roasting bodies, no smell of burning
          flesh. He peered into the fire - and he was astonished
          at what he saw!

          The three Hebrew men were walking about on top of the
          coals - as if they were walking on rose petals! The
          fire had only burned their bonds - and now their hands
          were raised, praising God. Nebuchadnezzar turned to one
          of his associates and said, "How many men did we throw
          in there?"

          "Three, O King," came the answer.

          "But I see four!" the king replied. "And none of them
          is burning. None is even hurt. And one of them has the
          appearance of the Son of God!" (see Daniel 3:24-25).

          Now, how could a heathen king recognize the Son of God?
          It was because Christ's glory cannot be hidden!
          Whenever angels appear in Scripture, they are dressed
          in white and shine with a heavenly brightness. Yet this
          bright One was no seraphim; it was not Gabriel, nor
          Moses nor Elijah raised from the dead. This was Jesus
          Himself - and He was brighter than that seven-times-hot
          flame!

          Beloved, this testimony came from heathen lips: Christ
          appeared with the Hebrews in their crisis! And talk
          about a life-or-death situation. This was the crisis of
          a lifetime - a hopeless circumstance according to the
          flesh, one that demanded a miracle. But Christ walked
          in beside these men, comforting them. He came into it
          with them to rescue and deliver them!

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                     This Message Is All About How You,
                     I and Every Believer Are to Bring
                          Christ Into Our Crisis!

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          Jesus did not come into the Hebrews' crisis to impress
          the heathen king. He had already done that in a
          previous chapter. When Daniel interpreted
          Nebuchadnezzar's dream, the king had declared, "...Of a
          truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord
          of kings..." (Daniel 2:47). But how soon he forgot
          this!

          No, this was not an evangelistic visitation. God knew
          the heart of the vacillating king - and He knew that
          miracles impress heathen minds only for about three
          days. Rather, Jesus came into these men's crisis for
          one reason - for their sake alone! He came to comfort
          and rescue them because He loved them. The Lord of
          glory committed Himself to them in their hour of crisis
          - because they were totally committed to Him!

          The truth is, our Lord does not commit Himself to every
          man's crisis. Scripture says when He was in Jerusalem
          at the Passover, "...many believed in his name, when
          they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not
          commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
          and...knew what was in man" (John 2:23-25).

          Jesus knows the deception that is in people's hearts.
          He knows many are willing to acknowledge Him as God -
          but are not willing to commit the keeping of their
          lives into His hands!

          It is one thing to believe Jesus is God and Savior -
          but quite another to commit everything to Him. To
          commit means to "entrust or give charge." So,
          commitment to Christ is all about giving your life to
          Him completely - entrusting your whole being to His
          care. And, in turn, He commits Himself to those who are
          totally committed to Him!

          We live in a society bogged down by one crisis after
          another. Whom do you know who is not facing a crisis or
          hasn't just come out of one? Personally, I know many
          Christians who are facing deep troubles that threaten
          to overwhelm and ruin them.

          What kind of crisis are you facing? Is it spiritual,
          financial, mental, physical? Is it in your marriage,
          your job, your business? I am talking about
          circumstances so serious, only a miracle can get you
          out - a situation that looks hopeless! When you are in
          such a crisis, you need Jesus to come into it and walk
          through it with you. Only the Son of the Living God can
          solve your problem - can do the impossible - can rescue
          you out of your furnace of affliction!

          You may answer, "Yes, I need Jesus to walk with me
          through this. I need Him to come into my crisis as He
          did for the Hebrew men. But how can I do that? How can
          I get Him to commit to my crisis?"

          You can do it in the same way Shadrach, Meshach and
          Abednego brought Christ into their crisis. These men
          made three notable commitments:

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                     1. They Committed Themselves to a
                      Pure, Undefiled Lifestyle in the
                        Midst of a Wicked Society!

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          "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
          defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor
          with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of
          the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile
          himself" (Daniel 1:8).

          The word defile here suggests "freeing through
          repudiation." Daniel was saying, in other words, "Any
          compromise of my standards will rob me of my freedom!"

          So Daniel committed to eat only beans and drink only
          water for ten days. No filet mignon from the king's
          table - no expensive wine. When he told the prince of
          eunuchs this, the prince answered, "You're going to
          cost me my life! You'll look sickly at the end of ten
          days. Your cheeks will be sunken - and the king will
          surely notice! Here - eat just a little meat. You need
          the protein. Drink the wine to build up your blood. Eat
          some of these sweets to give you energy!"

          As I studied this passage, I wondered: "Why did Daniel
          go on this kind of fast? These Hebrew men weren't
          vegetarians." The answer probably is that, before going
          to the king's table, the wine, meat and delicacies were
          blessed by idolatrous priests. Therefore the food was
          ceremonially unclean to the Jewish youths.

          Yet I believe Daniel and these others had something
          more in mind - that their commitment went way beyond
          ceremonial uncleanness! What I am about to tell you
          didn't come from any commentary. I believe the Holy
          Spirit revealed it to me. Why did these four Hebrew men
          refuse to eat the king's food?

          First, these men had been taken captive along with
          thousands of their countrymen. Now, the prophet
          Jeremiah had encouraged the Jewish captives to settle
          and build in Babylon for seventy years, until God would
          bring them back. But, in keeping with Israel's history
          of backsliding, the people likely were swept up with
          the covetousness rampant in that land. No doubt, Daniel
          and his friends saw how quickly and easily these early
          captives had compromised. The fast life of Babylon had
          ensnared them!

          These four men must have been shocked beyond belief at
          what they saw when they first arrived in Babylon. There
          were brazen harlots on the streets, pagan shrines and
          altars on every corner, open drunkenness and debauchery
          everywhere, officials and leaders staggering down
          streets, dimwitted and stupefied from wine and alcohol.
          It was a society so loose, immoral and full of cursing,
          these four men's spiritual sensibilities were assailed!

          Now, Daniel was a student of the prophets. He had
          Jeremiah's writings with him, and those prophecies
          ultimately led him to conclude that Israel would be in
          captivity for seventy years. He knew they were living
          in an important time in history. So, sometime during
          their introduction to Babylon, Daniel and made a
          commitment with "...the men that were with me..."
          (Daniel 10:7) - the three other Hebrews who stood with
          him both in body and in spirit.

          I imagine them having a conference, sharing their grief
          over Israel's compromise. Then Daniel stands up and
          says:

          "You saw what I saw on these streets! Yet, what seems
          so shocking to us now will soon be normal among our
          people, if we do not determine to live differently. It
          won't be long before our countrymen will look, talk and
          live like the Chaldeans. Everyone will be caught up in
          sensuality - our shepherds seeking ease and prosperity,
          our leaders settling for compromise. Our synagogues
          will be full of mixture, defilement, double standards.
          Everyone will hold to a form of faith, but will lose
          all power with God.

          "We have to take a stand! God is going to need voices
          in this time of backsliding. We're going to have to lay
          our lives on the line - lest the light of Israel go out
          completely!"

          So the four made a commitment. They told each other:

          "We dare not compromise. We dare not adopt these moral
          standards. We dare not soil our spirits with pagan
          music, alcohol, a devilish lifestyle. We dare not let
          the spirit of Babylon taint our faith. We will be
          separate. And we will be disciplined in our walk of
          faith!"

          These four Hebrew men remained free by repudiating the
          Babylonian lifestyle. It was not merely an issue of
          food - it was something that encompassed their entire
          lifestyle. It was about having a hidden life of
          separation!

          Yet these men did not go about preaching their way of
          life to others. They did not advertise their
          disciplined walk. It was strictly a matter between them
          and God.

          I ask you: When God was ready to speak to that nation
          and its people, whom did He choose to be His
          mouthpiece? Who became the Lord's voice - His untainted
          testimony to a doomed empire? It was these four
          committed men!

          As I look at our own doomed society, I see a nation
          disintegrating so fast it's appalling. And that
          includes the body of Christ! The church has been
          infiltrated by the Babylonian spirit - a message of
          mixture, with multitudes conforming to worldly
          standards. I cry out often in my secret closet, "Oh,
          God, where are Your voices in the land? Where are Your
          people who live separated lives - who'll stand up and
          speak a prophetic word? Where are Your unbending
          spokesmen?"

          In this time when everything around us is crumbling,
          where are such voices? Where are the congregations, the
          believers who will step out and be a voice for God on
          their job, within their family, in their daily walk?

          That is what the four Hebrew men asked themselves. And
          it is why they committed themselves to a pure
          lifestyle! Their bold decision - and their testimony of
          a holy walk - had to have made an incredible impact on
          little Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel. It may have been
          what inspired the 43,000 who later stood strong.

          Yes, these four men's holy lives raised up a godly
          remnant! Beloved, you cannot be a voice for God unless
          you lead a separated, holy life! God cannot use you if
          your heart is soiled and tainted by this wicked age. It
          takes a decisive commitment!

          I ask you: When you're in a crisis, do you cry out,
          "Lord, where are You when I need you? Aren't You
          committed to my deliverance?"

          But what if the Lord should say to you, "Where are you
          when I need a voice? I need voices in these sinful
          times, pure vessels through whom I can speak. You say
          you want Me to come to you in your crisis - yet you
          remain a part of the wicked, worldly system. Tell Me -
          are you committed to My purposes?"

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               2. They Committed to Become Seekers After God
                              - Men Who Pray!

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          "And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer
          and supplications... And I prayed unto the Lord my God,
          and made my confession... And whiles I was speaking,
          and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my
          people Israel..." (Daniel 9:3-4, 20). Here is the proof
          - these were praying men!

          You see, the first commitment they had made - to live a
          separated life - had to be backed up by a second
          commitment, to be seekers after God. Indeed, it is
          impossible to live a holy life without spending much
          time on your knees, seeking God for the power and
          authority to lead such a life.

          Don't be mistaken - faithful praying will not keep you
          out of a crisis. On the contrary, it will most likely
          bring you to a fired-up furnace and a lion's den. But
          prayer will prepare you to face it all with trust - to
          become a living sacrifice for Jesus' sake!

          Daniel's praying led him straight to the lion's den.
          And this test came years after that of the Hebrew men -
          when Daniel was in his eighties! This may frighten you,
          if you wonder how long it will be before you stop
          having crises. Perhaps you thought you'd learned all
          your "important" tests after a certain number of years
          in the Lord. Yet here God is allowing one of His
          greatest prayer warriors - a man of a quiet, tender
          spirit - to face the crisis of his life after decades
          of faithful intercession!

          Beloved, the testing ends only when Jesus comes - or
          when you die in Christ! The time will never come when
          you no longer have to face a fiery furnace or a lion's
          den. That won't happen until you lay your head on His
          bosom!

          This is why prayer is so important. You can make a
          commitment to live an undefiled life - but that
          commitment is impossible to fulfill without also having
          a commitment to seek God. All the convicting sermons,
          all the powerful books on holiness, all the
          exhortations in the world can't keep you committed to a
          separated, holy life. Everything will fail - unless you
          have committed yourself to be a dedicated seeker after
          God!

          A few weeks ago I went to the Father asking, "Lord, why
          do You require prayer for everything? Why is it You
          won't do anything except by prayer?"

          The Lord answered, "David, it is impossible to love Me
          without seeking Me. How can a child of Mine say he
          loves Me when he neglects Me for days on end? Prayer is
          the barometer of devotion to Me. True love will draw
          you to My presence!"

          Of course, faith must be sparked by the Word of God;
          after all, faith comes by hearing. But once faith is
          sparked, prayer sets it aflame! It explodes our faith.
          Talk about a furnace turned up seven times hotter:
          Prayer turned up the faith of the four Hebrew men until
          it was hotter than the fiery flames!

          When King Nebuchadnezzar called those men out of the
          furnace, he said: "...Blessed be (your) God... who hath
          sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted
          in him... and yielded their bodies, that they might not
          serve nor worship any god, except their own God"
          (3:28). Again, the testimony came from pagan lips:
          These men had yielded their bodies to God!

          Yet they had done this long before they faced the
          furnace. You see, prayer is the process of yielding up
          our bodies to the Lord - of becoming a living
          sacrifice. And these men sacrificed daily in this way.
          They remained in prayer for days, weeks, becoming
          intimate with the Lord.

          After a while, they understood that to die was gain.
          Death would only bring them closer to Him whom they so
          loved!

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               3. They Made a Commitment to Wholly Trust God
                              - Live or Die!

                    ------------------------------------

          "Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them...if ye
          worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the
          midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God
          that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (Daniel
          3:14-15).

          These men were facing the worst possible crisis any
          human could face. If God didn't come and deliver them
          by a miracle, they were dead!

          And that's exactly the kind of crisis I'm talking about
          with you. Perhaps you have a severe physical
          affliction. Maybe your marriage is in a crisis beyond
          your power to solve or heal. You say, "I've prayed,
          I've fasted, I've done everything. If God doesn't come
          on the scene now, I won't make it!"

          What will bring Christ into your crisis? He comes when
          you make the same commitment the three Hebrew children
          made: "(They)...said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we
          are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be
          so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from
          the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out
          of thine hand... But if not, be it known unto thee, O
          king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the
          golden image which thou hast set up" (verses 16-18).

          In other words: "It looks hopeless. Without God
          performing a miracle for us, we are dead. Yet our God
          is able to deliver us from this fiery crisis! But even
          if He doesn't, we still will not quit on Him. Live or
          die, we will trust Him!"

          Beloved, this is the kind of faith that causes angels
          to rejoice and blesses the very heart of God. It is a
          faith that says, "Lord, I am convinced, fully
          persuaded, that You are able to deliver me. If You just
          speak a word, it will all be over.

          "But, if not - I'm not going to run. I won't accuse You
          of abandoning me. I will remain faithful and true. Your
          ways are higher than mine, Lord - and my life is in
          Your hands. Though You slay me, yet will I trust You!"

          This is what brings Christ into our crisis - the full
          confidence that He is able to rescue and deliver us out
          of any crisis! It is a confidence that, no matter what
          comes, we are in His hands.

          Please understand - God could have delivered these
          three men in any number of ways. He could have simply
          changed Nebuchadnezzar's mind. Or, He could have
          allowed them to escape. After all, Moses had escaped,
          as had Joseph and David.

          Yet these three Hebrew men had a special kind of faith
          that the Lord responds to very quickly: They had faith
          in the faithfulness of God! They were persuaded He
          would do what was best for them and for His own glory.

          That is why you do not see them "claiming their rights"
          as believers. Nor did they spend their time trying to
          build up each other's faith by quoting promises. No,
          they went with quiet dignity toward the furnace,
          saying, "God is able! But if not..."

          Undoubtedly, this last phrase will make many people
          indignant. I can almost hear them saying: "Oh, no,
          pastor - that is negative! It leaves room for doubt. We
          should only say, 'God is able' - period!"

          I believe with all my heart that the Lord is able. I
          believe He could speak a word and deliver anyone in a
          moment. Yet, consider this: If these Hebrew men had not
          been able to say, "But, if not..." - if they had not
          had such faith - what would they have done in their
          moment of crisis? Would they have begun protesting the
          closer they got to the fire? Would they have ended up
          crying, "God, You failed to keep Your Word. You let us
          down!"

          No - they were prepared to die! They could say, "Lord,
          even if I have to suffer - if my body ignites and my
          burning flesh fills the air with stench - I will go out
          trusting You. I will believe You, even if I don't get
          the answer to my prayer!"

          Most of us don't have a faith that would use the daring
          words these men used: "But, if not..." I ask you - what
          will you do if you don't get your answer? Will you
          accuse God of failing you, of not loving you? What a
          tragedy to go into your furnace crying, "God, where are
          You? You've failed me!"

          The three Hebrew men went into the fire with their
          bodies already dead to the world. They were able to
          offer their bodies joyfully, as living sacrifices. And
          Jesus literally met them in their crisis! What an
          incredible reward - to have Christ walk with them
          through their most difficult time.

          What do you think they said to Jesus when He showed up
          in the furnace? "Oh, thank You, Lord! Thank You for not
          letting us feel the pain. Thank You for giving us
          another chance - for a few more years!"

          No - never! I believe they said, "Lord, take us with
          You! Don't leave us here. We have touched the ecstasy,
          the glory - and we don't want to go back! Walk us home
          to be with You." They would have preferred to be with
          Him! Jesus knows this kind of heart - and it is to such
          that He commits Himself.

          Are you able to say, "Lord, walk me home"? Perhaps
          you've never learned to commit your body, your
          business, your marriage, your crisis into God's hands.
          Yes, we are always to pray in faith, believing that God
          will answer; yet we are to trust Him completely with
          our situation, saying in our hearts, "But if not, Lord
          - I'm still going to trust You!"

          Pray with me now: "Lord, You are able to deliver me
          from this fiery furnace. But if not - I will still
          believe! Even if I have to go on in this horrible trial
          - if I have to face more suffering, more testing - I
          commit everything to You. Just come and walk through it
          with Me!"

          I promise you - Jesus Christ will come into your
          crisis. He will take you by your hand and lead you
          through the fire!

          I consider the coming of Christ into my crisis to be
          the greatest answer to prayer possible - because when
          He comes, His presence lifts me above all my pain, all
          my hurt, all my confusion. When Jesus appears at your
          side, He takes you by the hand and makes you stand
          strong.

          Hallelujah!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

          This material is solely for personal use and is not to
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          on its web page. You are free to download, copy, print
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          link this site to reference these messages.

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