"DELIVERANCE from the FIERY FURNACE!"

"Daniel 3:8-30"

In the Book of Daniel Chapter 3, there is a story of three men who were sentenced to death by King Nebuchadnezzar for not submitting to his authority. The "fiery furnace" was the ultimate behavior modification tool used by the King to get everyone to obey him and worship his idol gods out of fear of certain death! Who would want to die like that? Who would dare refute the King?

The three men had no fear of man, but they did fear God! it was because the were afraid of God that the furnace was a preferable fate than facing the wrath of the Elohim. Would you choose to be burned alive rather than abandon God? When the trials of life have come knocking on your door, have you buckled under the pressure of adversity? Did you whine, cry and complain or did you remain steadfast, immovable and unyielding while praising and worshipping God?

You have to know that people are watching you and your reaction to tribulation. Your family, friends and co-workers who have heard you declare that you are "blessed and highly favored" time and time again are just waiting to see how you handle your lackluster quarterly evaluation at work, negative doctor's report or unexpected expense from your daughter in college. Yes, my friend, they are watching you to witness your reaction to the "fire."

The man in the midst of the fire is the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can call you out of the fire because He is the same One who put you in! The fire is a type and shadow of "testing, reproving and purging" the things that so easily beset us. In short, all Believers are made "subject" to the fire. John the Baptist said of Jesus, "...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11-12)." 

How does the fire lose its power? The answer can be found in (Daniel 3: 13-18). The fire loses its power when the man's perspective, belief and knowledge of who God is and what God can do or will do to manifest His Will in the earth. God's will is perfect (it does not change because of my circumstances).

This story was never about the three men or the fiery furnace; it was ALWAYS about GOD! It tells the truth about how He goes before us, is in the fire with us and delivers us out of it. It talks about how He had already made provision for us in the midst of the fire by the "name" He had given us in eternity (which is "son"). God's name for you will prevail in midst of your most difficult circumstances and sustain you to the glory of God. Amen...

"The Pitfalls of a MAZE!"

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did in sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh..."

                                                                             (Romans 8:1-13)

A man that pursues the lusts of the flesh is subject to (controlled by and manipulated by these spirits to the point of the inability to recognize what they are doing). Every turn in a maze is met with another wall. In a maze, a lab rat (a man who is reliant on his own strength) never stops moving; he never stops and reflects, he just hits one brick wall after another.

The purpose of a maze is to create suffering and torture. In ancient Egyptian times, mazes were used to bewilder their prisoners. They frustrated, confused and infuriated their captives. A maze is a complex series of passages. These passages themselves fork and eventually do one of only two things: either they come to a "dead end" (Satan) or the passage closes in on the lab rat in a loop with itself or connects with another passage separate from itself that does not provide a solution (escape). There is usually "only one correct path" (the Lord God) in the maze from start to finish.

God's vantage point is the same as the scientist (Satan) who is observing the lab rat he placed inside the maze. The difference is that God can see the way of escape (1 Cor. 10:1-13) while Satan's goal is to keep you bound. God has afforded each of us a way of escape (through the power and authority of the Holy Spirit) from temptation.

God has also given us examples of what has happened to those who have fallen prey to temptation. They become crushed by the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. The only way out of a maze is for the hand of God to reach down, push Satan out of the way and lift you out of your futility with His Mighty Right Hand (Christ Jesus).

"WANTING to Hear versus NEEDING to Hear from GOD!"

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me."

                                                       (John 10:27)

There is a profound difference between "needing" to hear from God and "wanting" to hear from God.

"Needing" to hear from God is a reactionary response, in most instances, to an adverse situation in one's life. Perhaps it involved injury, loss of a job, sickness, debt or loss of life. It is not the desire of the individual to seek God but, in fact, he/she is seeking and "answer" (or more specifically a solution to his/her problem). In essence, the Presence of God or the relationship has very little or nothing to do with this petition. Needing to hear from God has a definitive time limit assigned to it for a response.

Conversely, "wanting" to hear from God does not require an answer or remedy from Him. The encounter has no time limit assigned to it and is solely motivated by the individual making himself/herself "available" to hear from God whenever He decides to make the visitation. Wanting denotes the existence of a relationship between God and the individual. Intimacy, reverence, fear and love motivate the Believer into wanting to be in the Presence of God eternally. Selah...

"The MINISTRY of SUFFERING!"

"This things I have spoken, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

                                                                                                 (John 16:33)

This might be hard to hear for the modern day Christian but "suffering is a ministry!" Jesus gave every Believer the promise that they would suffer tribulation because of His name. Jesus, like Job and so many other patriarchs, was given the "ministry" of suffering as a badge of honor and test for qualification and acceptance into the Kingdom of God.

Suffering goes with the territory. It is the Holy Spirit who administers the test. The ministry has a weightiness (heaviness, pressure) to it. The Hebrew word is "kabod" or "the glory of God through the sheer weight of His majesty, power and might." The suffering gets lighter the closer you get to God because there is a spiritual transference.
God's glory absorbs our pain, agony and despair and turns the anguish into love, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.

Suffering can't be avoided by sleep; it will chase you into you right into your dreams and be waiting for you when you wake up. Suffering begats hopelessness, frustration and turmoil. It also can create dillusions whereby the sufferer can miss the opportunity for an encounter with the Holy Spirit because of their depression and fear.

Did you see what happens? The suffering never leaves, God just changes your perspective, maturity and endurance. In essence, the suffering becomes your "witness" because the suffering is not for you: it is for the people God has assigned to you. Your witness is more than your testimony. Your testimony is a good story but your witness is signed, sealed and delivered by the Blood of Jesus Christ as a testimony of His sacrifice (suffering) so that we may have eternal fellowship with the Father. This is how a sufferer can be free; through the Blood of Christ!

Finally, the weight is also the "world." The world is simply translated "temptation." Jesus said that in this world you will have temptation; but don't be concerned because, I have overcome temptation (the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life). Selah...