Good Morning Sunshine! You Are Able To Walk Freely In Fire! 

Daniel 3:13-14,16-19,21-22,24-25 NIV ~ “Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, [14] and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? [16] Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. [17] If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. [18] But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” [19] Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual [21] So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. [22] The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, [24] Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” [25] He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

If you don’t get anything else today, get this! Serve God and nobody else! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were resolute in their stance to not serving another God! The first three Commandments of the Ten Commandments are very clear, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the Earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” Exodus 20:3-5)! They were determined and unwavering, for they said, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is well able to save us, and even if He don’t, we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up. Period! I want you to be this sure in serving your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 

You need to know that there are going to be folks that are going to get mad at you for choosing not to obey and serve them, but you be strong and be of good courage, for you have God on your side and He won’t let a hair on your head fall, nor will you smell like the smoke from the fire that you were in! They were literally thrown into the fiery furnace for choosing to be obedient to God instead of obedient to King Nebuchadnezzar. Your obedience is going to cost you something, and it may be your life! Again, they said, it doesn’t matter if you throw us in fiery furnace, we serve a God who can save us from you, but if He doesn’t, we still are not going serve and worship your gods, (I can imagine them saying, do what you gotta do, because we ain’t changing our minds!) I’m sure this made the king even angrier than he was before! 

You see here in America you are free to pray and worship God anytime you want. (And yet so many of you chose not to.) But in some countries, it’s a crime against the law to worship, and those Christian are met with persecution, imprisonment and punishments, they may even lose their lives. But I believe that they are like, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, they were resolute in their stance on not serving another God! They chose to obey God than be accepted by society! What will be your stance today? So out of pure anger King, Nebuchadnezzar had them bound by their hands and feet and threw them in the fiery furnace and because of the heat was seven times hotter than usual, the men that he had to throw them in furnace got killed by that same fire that he wanted to take them out with! You see you don’t have to do anything to those who wrong you, God will take care of it! For they were wholly covered, protected and completely unharmed! 

But God! The king got anxious, and he couldn’t stop thinking about them in the fire and when he went to see if they were gone, he noticed a fourth man! He asked wasn’t there three of them that we put in the fire? And they said yes, then how is there four men, unharmed, unbound, unbothered and walking around in the fire, and the Fourth Man looks like the Son God! My God, even your enemy can see God is with you! Notice where they got their deliverance, it was in the fire that they were freed from the ropes that bound them.  God may deliver you in the fire from the things that are trying to bound you, you just have to be assured that God is with you! What King Nebuchadnezzar planned for evil, God turned it around and used it to draw him to God! When the King saw this, he called them out of the fire, promoted them and changed their positions! Won’t He Do It! He will never leave or forsake you and wherever you go, He goes! God is with you before the fire, in the fire, during the fire and after the fire, and the best thing about it, you don’t look or smell like smoke!

Think about this, when you look back over your life, can you tell when you saw God the clearest? For me, it was in my times of difficulty, especially when I was walking through the fires of life! You see when you are cast in the fire, you don’t always know if or how you will survive, but what you can be sure of, God is Able! Even if He doesn’t move then, it’s not because He’s not able, He just has a greater plan that needs to take place! But I need you to understand this one thing, you are required to endure and be willing to be subjected to the fires of life for the Glory of God! 

Sometimes it may seem like He is not there, but He is always there, and when you chose Him over others, they may not see Him, but you have to have faith and know that He is there! You see, it was in the fire that He was revealed to the others that He had been there all along! You see God is most evident in the hardest times of your life because those are the times that you have to trust Him the most. I know when you first get in that hot fiery furnace you might not think He’s with you, but I want you to look back over your life and remember how you came through last time, now look around, He is there walking with you right now! It’s in this fiery furnace that He’s growing and grooming you, and making you look more like Him! 

When you walk through the fire, your faith is deepened, your faith trusted is your faith that has been tested in the fiery furnace and this is where your character is strengthened, and God’s love for you is ever present because you are in His Presence! So don’t fear the flames, just breathe, because you can walk freely in it with Jesus Christ right next to you! I’m not sure if they saw Him at first, they just know what them had bound was loose and they were not consumed or killed by the fire, they were free to walk around, God didn’t just send someone to protect them, He came alongside them and ensured them that they were not alone in this matter, and He is doing the same thing for you too! I can hear them with my Holy Ghost ears praising God for delivering them in the fire! Don’t give up in the fiery furnace, walk freely in the fire, for you won’t be scorched by the flames! 

Now, I want to leave you with this last thing that really ranged out to me today in a different way, and I want you to think about it too. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego said, “But even if he does not” (verse 18). This one line takes this scripture from talking about God’s Protection and to speaking on God’s Power!  This was a faith move! Remember what I said about your faith earlier, “faith trusted, is faith that has been tested.” Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego had faith that God could save them, they showed you that they believe this by their actions, they trusted God enough to say that even “if You do not save us, we still choose You!“ They chose punishment from man, rather than be disobedient to God’s commands! Could you face the fiery furnace and accept the fate that God might not save you, even though you know that He can? This is a whole another level of faith and obedience that you should be striving for! Can you take this kind of stand for God today, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we did, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are for the Lord’s.” Romans 14:8!

Let’s Pray: 

Father, Thank You! Thank You for always being there for me! For never leaving or letting me go! Thank You for loving me in spite of me! Father, teach me how to be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego whose trust in You was completely steadfast and unwavering, as they stood before the king and refused to bow down and give up cave under the pressure that was being poured on them. Father, I want to be like that, that I will acknowledge You and Your Sovereignty, Power and Presence, even if it cost me my life. Father forgive me for the times that I worshipped You based on my perception of what You did or did not do. Father, forgive me for my unbelief, strengthen me where I need it the most, for I want to worship You before there’s a fire, when I’m in the fire, when the fire’s extinguished, or if You should choose to take me home through the fire, no matter how, I choose You! Father, help me to be okay with the uncertainties that I face in my walk. Father, I want to be able to truly say that I know that my God has the power to save me but even if You don’t, I will not bow down to another. Father, help me to stand firm in the midst of everything and leave the outcome totally in Your Hands. Father I know that Only You can set me free and give me freedom! You’re not only the Fourth Man walking around in the fiery furnace, but You are also the Only One who endured the fiery trial of the cross for me. Father Thank You for purchasing me with Your Blood! Father, Thank You for being present in every season of my life, in the fire and out of the fire You have been there with me and I’m grateful! Father, it is because of you, that I don’t have to be afraid to live, and I don’t have to be afraid to die. Father, Thank You for Your Mercy and Grace that continues to flow in my life. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ. Amen! 

Blessings…

Love, Minister Jean