Do you know people who have taken a stand for what they think is right and have won the victory? No matter if it meant life or death, there have been those who were willing to stand for the truth. I want to share with you some of those people who have stood up for what they believe in by laying down their lives, which paved the way for future generations to finally get something done to change the world for the glory of God.
First of all, look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego. They served God and no other and eventually got arrested and brought to King Nebuchadnezzar. They were told to worship the king’s false god or be thrown into the fiery furnace. However, because they feared the True God of Heaven, they did not bow down to any other god except the God of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
When they were thrown into the fiery furnace, a fourth man showed up, the Christ!
Like I said, if you don’t bow, you don’t burn! They did not deny God, so God did not forget about them!
More specifically, the Bible says that not a hair that was on them was singed. That is how great God is! Now, you all know what it means when the Bible says, “Touch not mine anointed” (1 Chronicles 16:22).
Consider Richard Wurmbrand as an example. He was the man who stood for God when Communists were taking over Romania. The Communists told the people of Romania not to worship the God of the Bible. When Richard came to a church, he noticed that Communists were trying to get all the pastors to back their ideology. These professed “Christians” were backing the Communists in what they were saying to the people of Romania.
Because Richard would not stand down, he went up to the pulpit and in front of all the people, including the Communists, and said, “Today, we as ministers are being asked to work with our new government for the good of the country. But how can we respect a government that denies the existence of God? Denies us the reading of the Bible and shuts down the places in which we meet to worship? Such a government deserves not our support, but our pity! Shame on the cowardice that does not stand to defend our God! The people of Romania need us more than ever! It is for God that this church was built, it is for God!”
Although Richard suffered many years of torture and being put in prison, God still did not forget him and an entire international ministry was birthed because of it!
See! God does not forget about his kids and those who stand for Him!
Last, but definitely not least, consider William Wallace. He wanted freedom for all the people of Scotland. When the King of England (Edward Longshanks) took over his land, he fought back with his army and was pretty successful. When William Wallace was captured by the English for treason against the King of England, they said to him that he must confess allegiance to the king or be purified by pain, which meant a horrible death. Despite this, William would not bow!
William Wallace did suffer a painful death, but because of his willingness to sacrifice his own life, the people of Scotland came together. As a result, they won their freedom! Although it meant the giving of his own life, the result was freedom for Wallace’s people, and that came after his death.
The point of today’s story is to stand for God in everything we do. If we stand for God, God will stand with us. If we do not deny God, God will not deny us (2 Timothy 2:13).
