Discovering Destiny (Part 77): God Will Get In The Fire With You
Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future. Yesterday, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow. Today, the king turns up the heat.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT
"But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever."
Luke 10:20 Mirror
"It's time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven's perspective."
1 John 3:10 Mirror
"There is a very visible and vast difference between living one's life from your God identity or from a fallen man's mindset."
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Daniel 3:19-20 NLT
"Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace."
Daniel 3:21-23 NLT
"So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames."
Daniel 3:24-25 NKJV
"Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, 'Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?' They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.' 'Look!' he answered, 'I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'"
Supporting scriptures:
Hebrews 10:35 TPT
"So don't lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward!"
Isaiah 43:2 AMPC
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you."
Genesis 50:20 AMPC
"As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day."
Isaiah 54:17 AMPC
"But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord."
Hebrews 13:5 TPT
"Don't be obsessed with money but live content with what you have, for you always have God's presence. For hasn't he promised you, 'I will never leave you, never! And I will not loosen my grip on your life!'"
Psalm 91:15 AMPC
"He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."
Setting the Stage:
Earlier this week, we left three young men standing in front of the most powerful king on earth. They had just told Nebuchadnezzar, "we do not need to defend ourselves before you." They told him their God was able to save them, and then they said, "But even if he doesn't," they still were not bowing. Nebuchadnezzar was a man used to watching whole crowds hit the ground on his command. He was not used to hearing no. The Bible says he was so furious that "his face became distorted with rage."
He did not cool off, and he did not offer another chance. He "commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual." Then he called for "some of the strongest men of his army" to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not even give them time to change. They threw them in "fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments." The fire was so hot that "the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in." The strongest men in Babylon never made it back from the door of that furnace. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, "securely tied, fell into the roaring flames."
The king had a front-row seat. He was waiting to watch three men burn. Instead, he "rose in haste" and turned to his counselors. "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They said, "True, O king." Then the king answered, "Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire." The ropes were gone. Nobody was hurt. And there was a fourth man in the fire.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Expect The Enemy To Turn Up The Heat When You Take A Stand For God.
Look at what happened the moment they refused to bow. The king did not reconsider. He did not calm down. He "commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual." Nebuchadnezzar gave the order, but make no mistake about who was really behind it. The enemy was the one turning up the heat. And notice this. The fire did not get hotter because they did something wrong. It got hotter because they did something right. In my last message, I said, during the livestream: the pressure comes so you will fold like a lawn chair. The enemy cranks up the heat on the people who stand, hoping the pressure will do what the threat could not. But look at how this story turns. That furnace was never hotter than the moment they went in, and that is exactly when the fourth man showed up.
How this applies to you:
-- The enemy turns up the heat when you take a stand.
-- Nebuchadnezzar did not crank up the furnace for the people who bowed. He cranked it up for the three who stood. The pressure came because they stood for their convictions.
-- When you face a bad situation in faith, the enemy will try to make it worse. He wants you to buckle under the pressure and quit before the promise shows up.
-- I have taught you this before: the devil only attacks those worth attacking.
-- The heat on your life is not proof that you missed God. Many times, it is proof that you are right where God wants you.
-- When the pressure is the strongest, your breakthrough is the closest. The hottest moment in that furnace came right before the fourth man appeared. Don't quit when it is the hottest, because the enemy only turns it up that high when he knows your breakthrough is right around the corner.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and no amount of heat can cancel what He already wrote.
-- The writer of Hebrews said, "So don't lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward!" When the enemy turns up the heat, hold on to your faith.
2. A Hotter Fire Does Not Make Your God Any Smaller.
Let's think about this for a minute. The fire was already burning. Let's call that level one. Nebuchadnezzar cranked it up to level seven. For what? All fire needs to be to kill you is fire. Level one would have done the job just as fast as level seven. So why turn it up? Because the king wanted a show. He was painting a picture. The enemy is a master of perception. He wanted three young men to look at that fire and decide their God was too small for it. But Isaiah said, "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you."
How this applies to you:
-- Seven times hotter is still NOT too hot for God. The enemy is always going to attempt to make it look worse than it is.
-- The enemy will always try to make your problem look bigger than your God. He turns up the volume, adds a few more threats, and paints the worst picture he can in your mind.
-- A bigger fire does not mean a bigger defeat. What it means is a greater testimony.
-- The bad report, the layoff notice, the bill, the betrayal. The enemy wants you to measure them by how hot they look, but you measure them by how big your God is.
-- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego never asked how hot it was. They had already settled the only question that mattered: "the God whom we serve is able to save us."
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and He already accounted for every degree of heat you would face.
-- Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on the thermostat. The enemy deals in perception, but you live by revelation.
3. God Can Use The Fire To Burn Off What Had You Bound.
Look at what the fire actually did. The king's men "tied them up and threw them into the furnace." The fire was so hot that it took out the strongest soldiers in Babylon before they could step away from the door. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell in "securely tied." But a few minutes later, the king was looking at men who were "loose, walking in the midst of the fire." Think about that. The fire that was supposed to destroy them burned the only thing that was holding them. What the enemy meant for destruction, God used for freedom. Joseph said it this way: "you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good."
How this applies to you:
-- The attack backfired on the attacker.
-- The fire did not touch the three men who stood for God, but it took out the king's best soldiers. I have taught you this before: the attacks of the enemy often backfire on him because of God's protection.
-- The ropes went into the fire, and the ropes did not come out. The fire burned what bound them, but it did not burn them.
-- While we would love for God to always deliver us before we get into fiery situations, some things only come off in the fire.
-- While I'm not saying that God is creating bad situations to teach you a lesson, I am saying God knows how to use a hard season to set you free from what was holding you back.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and He can use the very fire meant to stop you to move you forward.
-- Isaiah said, "no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper." The weapon may form, and the fire may get hot, but it cannot do what the enemy sent it to do.
4. God Will Get In The Fire With You.
Then the king jumped to his feet and asked, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" His counselors said, "True, O king." Then he answered, "Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Three men went in. Four men were walking around. Oral Roberts famously preached about the fourth man in the fire: we serve a God who will get down in the fire with you. They were not walking around by themselves, and they were not in a hurry to get out. They had company in the fire.
Look at who noticed. Nebuchadnezzar did not know the God of Israel, and he had no idea what Jesus would look like. But he knew he was not looking at an ordinary man. He said, "the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." I believe that was Jesus, showing up in the fire hundreds of years before Bethlehem. The king could not name Him, but we can. When God gets in the fire with you, even the people who threw you in can tell Someone showed up.
How this applies to you:
-- You are not in the fire by yourself.
-- God did not keep them out of the furnace, but He met them inside of it. Sometimes God delivers you from the situation, and sometimes He shows up in the middle of it.
-- God has promised, "I will never leave you, never! And I will not loosen my grip on your life!" God is more committed to you than you are to you.
-- When you know God is in the fire with you, you stop rushing to get out. No matter how bad the situation is, you are no longer panicking because you know God is with you.
-- The psalmist said, "I will be with him in trouble." God did not say He would wait for you on the other side of trouble. He said He would be with you in it.
-- When God shows up in your fire, even the people who don't know Him will see Him. Your fire becomes your testimony.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and the fire is not where your story ends.
-- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went in tied up and ended up walking around free with the Son of God. If you don't bow, you won't burn! Tomorrow, the king calls them out of that furnace, and you are going to see what God does with men who do not even smell like smoke.
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that I am never in the fire by myself!
When the enemy turns up the heat, I keep standing!
When the pressure is the strongest, my breakthrough is the closest!
I will not fold under pressure, because my mind is made up!
A hotter fire does not make my God any smaller!
I measure my problems by the size of my God!
What the enemy meant to destroy me, You use to set me free!
No weapon formed against me shall prosper!
You will never leave me, and You will never loosen Your grip on my life!
When You are in the fire with me, I walk around free!
Jesus is the fourth Man in my fire!
The fire is not where my story ends!
In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus' name. Amen!
This is Today's Word. Apply it and prosper!
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