Proof You Are Never Alone

You're Not Alone  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  41:28
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Proof You Are Never Alone
Series
-- Death Is Final for Some
taken from Acts 20:21-31
here we learned:
The Holy Spirit helps us know how to get ready, and it all goes back to the Word of God.
Here’s how:
We must receive our ministry for God's Word.
We also must recognize the value of God's Word.
We must remember the urgent need for God's Word.
as we prepare for our final Good-bye.
-- Alone, Yet Not Alone
Last week we learned how it is possible to be alone, yet not alone.
We learned that 99 percent of all people have been lonely at one time or another in their lives. But we were reminded that as a believer we are never alone because of the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
We learned about the reality of loneliness and the remedy for Loneliness.
An action item that was given was ....
The Believer is one who must find value and meaning in all of the realities of life, and that includes the reality of loneliness. Jesus was lonely, but He did not waste it. He used it to wrestle before God in prayer, and He gained a victory that enabled Him to go to the cross with both peace and joy.
Every one of us is obligated to follow Christ and use our solitude for the glory of God and the good of mankind. We need to stop wasting our loneliness and begin dedicating it to God.
The final part in this series is Titled — “Proof You Are Never Alone”
You see God made us several promise. One of them can be found in Psalm 23:4
The Promise
Psalm 23:4 NASB95
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
The promise that the Father will always be with us and we are never alone.
I want to spend some time with you today share a few stories about some folks who stood on their faith and survived certain death.
Daniel 3 Fiery Furnace
Our first story comes from the Book of Danial the 3rd chapter.
Here we find 3 Hebrew men, who were taken to Babylon as prisoners of war
We find that Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold.
Then the king called everyone together and Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.
“But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” — Daniel 3:4-6.
Daniel 3 Fiery Furnace
However, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego those Hebrews, decide to be disobedient and to not bow down to the kings golden image.
Of course the tattletales of the kingdom ran and told the king.
and in verses 14 and 15 the king responds

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?

15 “Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But 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?”

and our Hebrew boys stand on their faith in the God that they serve. The one and only true God, the Creator of all. Our Father and stated in verses 17 and 18 “ “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
“But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:17–18 NASB95
17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
let me repeat verse 17 for clarity they were refused to orders of the king. This was surely a death sentence.
Daniel 3:17 NASB95
17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
one way or they other they were going to be delivered
of course the king became enraged and order the furnace to be turned up. But the 3 Hebrew Boys stood firm.
Let me read the rest of the story as it is written:

Then these men were tied up in their atrousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

22 For this reason, because the king’s command was aurgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.

27 The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their ctrousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

29 “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.”

I believe that the day is coming very soon, in which we will all be called to stand firm in our faith, remembering the promise of our Father, that we are never alone.
Now for our next confirmation that we are never alone, lets look at chapter 16 of Daniel
Here we find that Babylon has a new king named Darius.
Now Daniel, one of the Hebrew taken captive in the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat of Isreal, was well like by King Darius so much so that the haters, plotted to set him up.

“All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.

it should be noted that they also knew that Daniel would not follow these new rules because the knew he only prayed to the one and only living God.
so it was that they snitched to the king that Daniel was being disobedient to the king’s order and Danial was taken before the king.
now the king he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him but the others continued demanding the king issue the order that Daniel be tossed into the lions den as proclaimed.
Now it was the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.”
so in verse 16, the order was given and Daniel was sealed in the lions den.
Now it is written that the king was up all night fasting and that he fled from sleep. Now the king as it states arose every in the morning and we haste went straight to the lions den to check on Daniel.
In verses 20-23 these words are written ....

When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!

22 “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”

23 Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Focus in on verse 22
“My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”
Not only was the faith of Danial on display but seems as even the king was praying to the King of Kings for Daniel’s safety.
but here is the kicker, those that had stirred up the mess, them and their families were tossed into the lions den.
We are never alone. God promised that He would never leave nor forsake us.
Next we have a guy named David, who took on a giant named Goliath ..
David and Goliath
1 Samuel 17:12-51
12-Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.
14- David was the youngest of the eight sons and his job was to tend to the sheep. While his three oldest brothers were at war with Saul against the Palestines.
One day his fathers sends him to the front with supplies for his brothers. While he was there the two armies came out in battle formation and a Palestine giant from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words for forty days in a row, causing the army from Isreal to run and hide.
David was appalled and after meeting with the king, Saul granted him permission to go up against Goliath.
For the battle David took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
Now remember I am only providing you with the Cliff notes of this story, so you may want to go read the story in its entirety.
The story ends when Goliath comes out to meet David on the battlefield and his reactions says it all. Starting at verse 41.
1 Samuel 17:41–44 NASB95
41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”
Now David, had a reply of his own …
1 Samuel 17:46–47 NASB95
46 “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
David’s words speaks volumes about his faith in God.
As he reached into his bag drew out a stone from his pouch and with a single stone took down the giant.
Thing is that this is not the first time David stood alone but he wasn’t alone. Need I remind you of David’s statement in verse 36 and 37.
1 Samuel 17:36–37 NASB95
36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”
God has been with David throughout his life. Protecting him.
David was never alone, even later in his life when he sinned against God.
Matthew 26:36-46 Jesus in garden
Matthew 26:36–46 NASB95
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” 39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”
Even Jesus in His human form flt alone, but He was never alone, and as heirs to the Kingdom, neither are we.
Points ...
All those mentioned above followed God faithfully.
God did not remove them from the trial.
God walked with them through the trial.
{{PRAY}}
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