Oak Hill Church of Christ 5-15-22 Message: "When It's Hot"

Oak Hill Church of Christ member, Alvin Dillard, delivers a message on the importance of keeping the focus of life and thoughts on God, even in difficult personal situations.

The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego illustrate the value of staying true to God's Way in life's adversity and struggles. It is tempting for a person to turn to what appears to be the easy solution to a problem, even if it means abandoning values and beliefs.

God suggests to the believer that a key element of living a good and righteous life is the struggle against what appears to be easy or less painful, and toward the act of self-sacrifice in God's name. The result, as shown by the three in the story, is deliverance from suffering in a transcendent way.

It may be the case that God will deliver you supernaturally from your struggle, or it may be that God will deliver you through that struggle, giving you something even more valuable for having resisted the temptation of betrayal. As it says in Daniel 3:17-18, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will still not serve your gods..."

Have the courage to stand up and declare that no matter what happens, you will still not betray God and serve evil in any of its forms, and God will deliver you from much more than fire.