There have been countless people the above statement applied to but lets focus on these five men for one second:
Shadreck, Meshack and Abindigo – Daniel 3:1, 4-6, 13-30
Daniel – Daniel 6:7, 10-24
Stephen – Acts 7:54-60
In each case each of these men were in a position to take a serious stand for the Lord or back down and allow a mediocre brand of Christianity (or Judaism) to continue to dominate their culture.
These men had the audacity to take a stand for the Lord in a culture that was simply anti-Christ, kind of like today’s culture. The thing that caught my attention about each of these cases is that these men took a stand despite the consequences that were coming due to their decision.
The three Hebrew men had to face a chamber of fire, in that chamber the Lord showed up for them and spared their lives. Daniel was thrown into a den of lions because of his stand, but the lions weren’t hungry that night and all they wanted to do was keep Daniel company - the Lord showed up for Him. Stephen’s stand seems to be a little different. He was stoned to death, but before he closed his eyes on this life, he peered into the Heavens and Stephen sees Jesus in a very awkward position - standing at the right hand of the Father. Stephen’s act of taking a stand got the Lord attention, so much so that He stood up to watch the audacious act of His servant.
Are we living out a mediocre brand of Christianity today or do we have the audacious ability to take a stand for the Lord in this day which is anti-Christ? The fact remains that the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever is still looking for audacious people like Daniel, like Stephen, like the three Hebrew men.
I pray that the Church - the real Church - would take a stand for the Lord. If we do this He will take a stand for each of us.