Private faith the text was already read but I want to read again just verse 14 with you Daniel 3 14 that says this Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them is it true ostradrach meshech and Abednego do not ye serve my gods not worship the golden image which I have set up.
I hope you understand it's a challenge for me to preach in Portuguese for you at the first time and for Thiago as well to translate so bear with us please foreign dear brothers and sisters the desire of this Fallen Society it is that our faith and convictions should be limited to the private sphere family or religious community okay essence.
This wicked uh organizations what they want is for us to limit our faith in our private Realm videos we live in a moment for uh a place to seek a place for private uh realm and private places where the culture where the churches is set is constantly losing her influence.
In the world the Christian of our time has been focused on itself and for many the Christian faith is limited to places of worship only Affairs the faith is simply an event it's an experience of event is restricted to.
It seems like that the modern church has restricted its own faith through the uh private places and many other reasons why the church is making her faith A Private Matter only the hostility of the wicked Society.
Even the unworted unwarranted desires being like the world in hazardous Expressions because of this pressing reasons the church seeks a place of comfort by trying to be accepted in the world her very important role to be Salt and Light in the world.
So let us now Define what private faith is so the meaning of private faith is what is public becomes private influences what is that General influence turns to be a particular influence so private faith is.
Pluralism particular and detriment to a public because of State pressure fear of persecution and retaliation or by the influence of pluralism faith is forced to be limited to this fear of family and religious community never to the public realm the marketplace but we as the Church of Christ we cannot and must not submit ourselves to this.
Is dear brothers and sisters we are watching in the world a death of Christian Christianity in the West is you see the England is the land of John John Owen Baxter and many others Dr Martin joins Dr Martin Francis.
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Now it's a country post-christian country
The Europe is a continent post-christian now Kings now is the land of Richard Dawkins because the church has made her faith private it is only from from start point of a return of faith in fluency influencing the world and not being influenced by the world.That we give glory to God due to him and we will transform this Society with our witness and preaching oh how relevant for today are the words of Jesus in John 17 it says I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world why did Jesus pray like that asking God not to take out of the world.
Jesus wants them to stay in the world let's use Matthew 5 to understand this let your light so that your light so shine before man yeah so that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven what is my point here.
Have you asked yourself before why don't you go straight to heaven when you get converted why do you have to stay here when we are converted because we have a mission we have a a influential role in this world Jesus call us the salt and the light of the world.
When he Compares us with the salt the salt has two attributes so first you want to preserve akini contest so the meat one is taken from the animal there's something in it gives us a it uh potrifies it gives a bad smell it so they can preserve the meat yes.
That's the function of the church the presence of the church in society the presence of the Christian in one place of a Marketplace for example has a role to refrain evil in society and sin in society the second function of the salt to give taste to food that's the reason why the church is.
To give a sense of meaning to influence the society influencia familias to influence families to dictate rules and when we when we have our faith in with private places you're not doing that so brothers and sisters we were bought with a high price [Music].
We must have the courage to live out our faith publicly we cannot give in to the pressure of the pluralistic world and accept everything without standing firm with our Christian faith as a Christians we are distinct and we have absolute values exclusively dodging moving to suspects and exclusivity in so many aspects.
You know the biggest the one of the main problems of the church is exclusively when Jesus says in John 14 I am the way he uses the definite article if he had used the undefined uh article a or n now is so indefinite article and we wouldn't.
Have any problems with Society at all because Jesus would be
One among among their ways but when he uses the definite article duh it is I am the only way foreign [Music] [Music] the text says as thou has sent me into the world.Even so have I also sent them into the world brothers and sisters God Jesus saved us for us to go beyond our private realm in public and to witness our faith in the world in public.
And then we can find that in the text of Daniel that we just read let's go to the background of the text pay attention to this so Babylon is the main Empire of the of its time more or less in 600 BC Babylon Babylon invaded Jerusalem and brought people into its Empire pay attention because this is very.
Important for you to understand now foreign common people that were brought to Babylon foreign special types of people that were brought to Babylon principal means classes professionals especially the kind of professional people like Artisans militaries like soldiers students professors jealous young people magistradus magistrates principles.
The most important that they were influencers so they took this class of people and forced them to live in Babylon why which is to submit them through culture assimilation so what is the meaning of cultural assimilation modifications is the process of the modification of the culture of that individual.
Or a people so that they may adapt to the new culture because the Babylonians knew him that even after Conquering the nation Aroma is they had to distinguish between to Exile them from governing them is tragedy then was to have dominion over them by make them assimilate their.
Culture so this includes to remove the resistance of the conquer Nation dominance by the means of teaching the men conquer people such as people soldiers and all of those kinds of kind of peoples early cities they would live in Babylon is they would be influenced by the culture.
With the purpose that in one or two generations they would assimilate completely their Customs ethics values and traditions because of for this reason they would lose their own culture beliefs and values yes as a result they would not resist the demands of the Empire.
And to make it to our time they would not resist the modern state that exactly what is happening today churches have been influenced by secular Concepts Tendencies secular Tendencies and secular ideologies he is pluralism and this only happens when our faith is subjugated to pluralism.
It is presented just as another as another alternative among others and through the pressure of this wicked societies modern Wicked Society because of the pressure of the state and media little by little many are losing their values their moral ethics and their group of beliefs is.
Many churches are submitting to this by assimilating the culture now you see pastors that are defending more than States than the church pastor is that defend more political parties than the kingdom of God they're preaching more about the culture than the word of God.
They are being submitted by assimilating the culture of Babylon mode the modern church is losing its identity foreign that's why I'm it's it's a joy for me to be here and see a church like this in the worship the worship here meaning of the tradition the old traditions are being kept here Aquila is not so spiced what our forefathers our fathers our.
Puritans just fought with their blood my sinful is uh but unfortunately that's not reality of them most of the churches here in America and among those in Exile was Shadrach Meshach and Abednego is and with this story that we will develop the team of private faith is.
So dear brothers and sisters how does the faith become private silent how does the enemy work to make that happen sort of footnote here is behind everything that we just talk about is our enemy there's not much preached about in in the churches talks about so much about the Sovereign.
God the sovereignty of God it seems like the devil does not exist I ended up it's so good that Dr Baker wrote a book about Satan them we need to know our enemies so that we can fight against him so how does the faith become private in Daniel 3 verse 14. let's read it again Nebuchadnezzar spake.
And said unto them is it true oh Shadrach Meshach and Abednego do not ye serve my gods now worship the golden image which I have set up president now pay attention brothers and sisters built a huge statue is more or less 88 feet and put it at the Public Square a very very public space.
And the statue was surrounded by an orchestra and he ordered that everyone who was there in this public space while the music was playing they should right away bound Down and Worship the image.
The Babylonians had many gods and for each God has a name many gods with many names but it's interesting that this image did not receive any name is give us a hint a tip to what this statue represents to new verse in verse 14 it says this is.
Do not ye serve my gods nor worship the golden image which I have set up some some Hebrew Scholars give a better translation for this text is this word for nor should be translated as a different ways but the better translation will be not nor but through or by which is the translation for this verse 14 would.
Be this President sound pay attention is it true do not serve my gods through or by worshiping the golden image which I have set up complete did you understand what's the point here it makes sense that the way that the image does not represent a God is seeing.
Fire you still but indeed many gods and the values and beliefs essentially of the Babylon culture is so for this reason while they're worshiping the statue of Nebuchadnezzar will say you were worshiping all the other gods principlements especially the Babylonian Gods.
Pluralism therefore that statue was a symbol of ecumenism and pluralism knew that his capital city was much National immunity it was a pluralistic Nations and there are many people from different lands with different religions.
And all of them had different religions and different gods okay okay foreign religion and its values that were commanded by the state it's more like this in private you can worship your own God but in public the gods of Babylon says.
If I put you now you haven't understand I think you will understand now in other words I'm not asking ask you to abander your biblical view of aversion are you biblical view of marriage your biblical view of family as long as they are private just for yourself became publicly I'm only demanding that.
Publicly Concord you agree yeah and even participate with the red definition of these themes or else or else you will be accused of hate crimes in violation of civil rights in Brazil we have uh crime of opinion.
If you give an opinion that is against the state you can be in jail problems no one would have a problem with the state not profess the exclusivity of their faith or the exclusive exclusivity of their God there is if you want to live well with the states you have to make your faith private.
And adopt religion pluralism see my point here is worship the god of Israel but in public you must worship other gods your value in the way by which you live in public must be like everybody else brothers and sisters you must realize that this is happening in our generation.
Too um the same pressure is happening our days so that we may turn our faith A Private Matter you can profess your faith in private but in public that's the Satan strategy for our society.
Through the assimilation of culture make you to make your private your faith private now let us see the response of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego okay what they did before the pressure is in how as Christians we should imitate and copy them and it's not Joe Biden there are not before Joe Biden at least don't judge there are before Nebuchadnezzar in Peru.
