Firewalkers Daniel 3:1-30 (KJV)1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall 1 deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, 2
3 4 and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon. INTRO: I Believe that everyone here tonight would want a fresh anointing, a new level of authority & effectiveness in the kingdom That is the reason we are here, we recognize the need of fresh oil in our lives In this day & hour we must have fresh fire in our lives The devil is no longer hiding in the closet, he is in your face w/every ungodly thing you can imagine We can t be neutral, neither can we fall back on past experiences, we must contend for the miraculous, we must contend for power We must contend for the glory of God in our midst. We must have fresh fire. David Said: I shall be anointed w/fresh oil We say!: We must be anointed w/fresh oil A great story of the in the bible is where Sampson retaliates against the philistines, he goes & gets 300 foxes ties them together in pairs, 150 pairs Then he puts a fire between their tales & turns them loose into the standing corn of the philistines. I don t think he had to try to encourage them or motivate them to run. Hey when your tails on fire nobody has to ask you to move
5 6 When you have fresh fire in your life you don t have to be begged to worship God, or Pray, or Fast, You just want to. You just want to read the word, You just want to go to church How many here want to be on fire for God? I found out that it s real easy to say God I want to be on fire for you I want to be use for your glory, while forgetting that if you want to be on fire you have to Let Him Stick You in the Fire Until those foxes had come into contact w/the fire they were no threat to the enemy, after they had come in contact w/the fire they caused mass destruction every where they went, they left a trail of fire behind them. Hey The devil doesn t care how much you shout, jump, dance, talk in tongues, if you haven t got any fire your no threat to him. Many people mistake emotionalism for the fire: Many people mistake sincerity for the fire: Many people mistake passion for the fire: The truth is Fire will make you emotional Fire will produce sincerity Fire will make you passionate. (BUT THAT S NOT THE FIRE) Most people think of the fire as something exciting, fun, where people are jumping up & down & running around, shouting & dancing. Hey The fact is, fire produces all of that but fire doesn t come that way: Your Fire Comes by Walking Through the Fire I m Talking to a Group of People Here Tonight Who Are Fire Walkers Fire has one main characteristic, it burns, it hurts: There are many different kinds of fire: The Fire of attacks on your ministry, The fire of divorce, The fire of being a parent w/your child on drugs, The fire of sickness, The fire of attacks on your mind, or your emotions. The fire of financial problems
7 8 Some of you here tonight have been going through the firey trial of your life: & I m here to tell you, to keep walking, don t look back, don t be discouraged your gonna make it. Your going through because your mind is made up From a God perspective the outcome of your fire is to prepare you for a place of greater effectiveness & greater influence. Some of you here tonight are walking & talking miracles of the power of God, You are here because you kept on walking. The flames were leaping all around you but you kept on walking You could have been dead,, some say you should have been dead others didn t make it (like the 3 mighty men who threw the hebrew boys into the furnace) but your still here because you kept on walking. From the devils perspective (the fire is to steal your faith, to make you doubt Gods word, His intent is that you will become so affected by the natural circumstances that you will believe what you see & feel more than what God has said. 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1Peter 4:12 Dear brothers, do not be surprised, as if it was something strange, if your faith is tested as by fire: 13 But be glad that you are given a part in the pains of Christ; so that at the revelation of his glory you may have great joy.
9 10 Hey In this Story: We see 3 Hebrew children & how they went through the fire, & came out loosed w/no smell of smoke on them & how they were promoted, for us that was the crowning moment of the story, but we need to realize that the true crowning moment was not at the end but in the middle. It was when the presence of Jesus was so manifested to a heathen Idol worshipping king: I see four men loose walking (In the midst of the fire) & the form of the fourth is like unto the son of God. What we need to see The best part of the story was not at the end but the middle It wasn t when they came out (but it was while they were walking through) the midst of the fire. Hey the world doesn t need to see A so called super Christians who never go through anything, never experience loss or heartbreak, never fight a battle, never weep over broken dreams. They need to see real people who are in this world but not of this world, who are able to go through the same things that the world goes through, but they don t quit, they don t lose it, they don t commit suicide, they don t end up in a mental institution. And the only explanation for the difference is they walk thur the Fire w/ JESUS Hey just like that heathen King the world is watching us while we go through the fire. While our focus is on the end Their focus is in the middle
11 The world needs to see some FIREWALKERS in the church Isa 43:1-2 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. I am talking to some firewalkers Zech 13:9 I will bring the third part through the fire and refine it as silver is refined and try it as gold is tried. I m talking to you firewalkers, somebody here has one more step, just one more thank you Jesus Just one more tear & your coming out, Just one more Halelulla & (your coming out better, Your coming out stronger, Your coming out w/ bolder faith, w/a stronger testimony. w/ a fresh fire). Your coming out with a personal revelation of the Church greater than you ve ever known. 12 You went in sick but your coming out healed You went in wondering if you were even called but your coming out with an inner confidence You went in w/your mind confused but your coming out w/your mind made up Fruitfulness & effectiveness that is going to blow your mind. You went in crying, but your coming out with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But remember this: The revelation is in the middle Hey they didn t care or even realize that they were going thru the fire. As long as Jesus was with them they forgot what they were going thur they had to called out Dan 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
13 You can reach a place in God where in the midst of the fire your fellowship w/god becomes so real & so deep, that you don t want anything to disturb it & your mind is not on getting out anymore because you re so consumed w/just knowing Jesus better Oh I wish I had some Fire Walkers Right Now You don t care what your going thru All you want is to get close to the Lord