THE FORM OF THE FOURTH

LOYALTY

The Lord Jesus taught that where our treasure is, is where our heart will be.
What we believe gives value to our life is what we would focus on.
And because this is true, The Saviour admonished men by saying:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.

He didn't say do not work.
He told us that a man should work with his hands and the scriptures teach us that if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat.
There is a balance to everything that God teaches.

The Lord Jesus also taught:
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and money.
So what does that mean?
Does it mean that we should try and redefine wealth and say that wealth and rich are two different things?
No, because they are not.
Does it mean be destitute?
No.
It means be satisfied with daily bread.
Proverbs 30:8,9; Matthew 6:11

We have to understand that no one can be loyal to two masters because you will trust in one more than you do the other.
Loyalty.
You will believe that the money is a protector, a strong tower, and a deliverer and this is where your loyalty we be.
You see this in our politicians today how many have turned their backs on people because hording money has become more important to them.
You see that they will spite them selves in order to spite others for money's sake.
Loyalty will no longer be to follow Christ but to follow what you believe will make you wealthy.
The Lord's house is turned into a house of merchandise and marketing.

Whenever I think about loyalty, I think about Jesus.
I think about Jesus Christ first and then I think about Job, Moses, and the Three Hebrew boys.
They are my biblical view of loyalty.
Christ always comes first in my reflections because He is Lord and it is He who said:
For it is written: "Worship The Lord your God, and serve Him only."
Matthew 4:8-10
Be loyal to God above all else.
Because this is what Christ did when He was offered the kingdoms of this world.

The 3 Hebrew boys are one such shining example of not trusting in anything else more than you trust in God.
The 3 Hebrew young men are usually looked at as being brave but loyal is what they were.
As we will see king Nebuchadnezzar accomplished great things worshipping his position, title, and wealth.
But our Hebrew young men had neither title nor wealth yet they accomplished something that no one had, their services, their esteem, their loyalty were sought after by this king.

The record of the loyalty of the three Hebrew men is recorded in Daniel chapter 3.
And what we learn from these young men is that their allegiance was first and foremost to God.
Where it belongs for anyone professing Christ as Lord.

We learn two very important things about these Hebrew men when we study the scriptures about them.
1. Where their treasure was.
2. Where their heart was.

It's recorded that king Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold extremely high, wide, and fiscally impressive.
And that the king sent for all of the princes, counsellors, governors, captains, rulers, sheriffs, treasurers, media , judges and anyone within his reach to be at the dedication of this symbol of wealth.
And the rule was given from Nebuchadnezzar that at the sound of music everyone would bow down and worship this golden image and whosoever did not fall down and worship at the sound of the band would be thrown into a fiery furnace.

Well it is written that there were three who refused to be a part of this ridiculous demonstration.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were those three.

Whenever you have anyone who will stick to what they know is right there will also be those who decide that they would rather go with the status quo or whatever gains them note even if it's wrong.
And those were the ones who went to go and tell the king that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not falling in line with his plan.
O king they cried, there are 3 who won't fall down and worship this system that you have set up!

So Nebuchadnezzar is enraged and in his fury he demands that these 3 boys be brought before him and he asks them," Is it true that you refuse to serve or worship the golden image that we have set up?"
(Paraphrased) for easier understanding:
King Nebuchadnezzar asks: 'Is it true that you boys are not going to roll with our program?'
Are you sure?
Because we can make life very difficult for you if you don't fall down and lick our boots.
If you don't follow us you are going to be put in a position where you won't ever reach your full potential.
You can be excommunicated.
Understand?
The young men answered the king saying: King we don't need to defend our selves in this matter, because whatever you do our God is able to deliver us from it, He will rescue us from your hand.
But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship this system of mammoth mammon that you have set up.

So this response totally pissed king Nebuchadnezzar off.
And he basically told his clones to go hard and heat up the furnace seven times more than it was normally heated.
They got this fire so hot that it burned up the men who were charged to toss the boys in.

I believe the king had done this before many times, tossed folks into the fire who didn't bend when he wanted them to, but he had never had the experience that he was about to have with these particular boys.
Well it's recorded that the 3 young men were bound in their coats, hats, outer garments, completely bundled for baking and tossed into the fiery furnace.

But as the fire burned things didn't go as the king expected, the king jumped up astonished and asked his counsel,
'Did we bind 3 men and cast them into the fire?'
They answered saying,' Yes king?'
The king replied,' I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'
Nebuchadnezzar came near the mouth of the furnace and spake, calling, 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come forth.'

Then the three walked out of the middle of the fire.

These men didn't come forth because Nebuchadnezzar called.
Only God can cause you to walk out of the midst of the fire, no man can do that for you.

All those who were invited and all who gathered to see the 3 who didn't bow down be made toast, saw instead that the fire had no power over them, nor was a single hair on their head singed, neither their garments changed or the smell of smoke on them.
Because instead of bowing down to what they knew was wrong they trusted in God.
This is what Loyalty is.
Loyalty is why Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

Pharaoh couldn't buy Moses with a promise of wealth, fame or a favor.

Many believe that the best life and the way to make it through any situation can be achieved with wealth.
Your best life is one where you respect your self every day that you wake up because you went to bed knowing that you didn't manipulate, bribe, sell your self or con anyone to get what you have.

The witness of these 3 men says that if you don't have wealth or fame you can endure with God.
Christ is love and if you have Christ, you don't need anything else... and if you don't have Christ, it doesn't matter much what else you have.

Job was another man who was Loyal to God and even in the midst of the enemy and his repeated campaign efforts to destroy him, Job would not curse God and die.
Job defended God and not himself.
This is what Loyalty is.

Job stuck to the issue and the issue was not how he was being attacked, the issue at hand is whether God is Faithful and when you stick to the issue, you know where your Loyalty must be.
Study the record of those mentioned today in the scripture and see where our allegiance is to be first and foremost.

Matthew 6:19-24
Daniel chapter 3
The Book of Job

Still Doing What God Told Me To Do.
Loyalty
I will speak for those who do not understand and who cannot speak for them selves and I will not apologize for it.

Proverbs 31:8,9

Love Y'all :)