We've been talking about not breaking faith with God and learning that it can be a tricky thing. Moses and Aaron fell short, but Ezra didn't and was well rewarded. Today, we consider the Fire Walk Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego experienced. It is another example of how to speak boldly about God and stick to that knowledge of Him, despite what appears to be disastrous consequences.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were young Jewish men who'd been captured and taken to the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. They, like their peer and friend, Daniel, had walked with God even in the foreign land and the Lord made sure they'd been exalted, receiving great respect, responsibility and titles.
Yet, one day, the Babylonian king asked them - along with others - to bow down and worship a golden idol. The three men refused, as to do such would be an insult to God and His instructions to worship no idols or other gods. They didn't mince words with the king, according to Daniel 3:16-18 - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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. 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.”
These men put their lives in God's hands and were willing to endure a blaze to make sure they did not dishonor God by breaking faith with Him. Imagine if they'd complied with the king? Keep in mind that prior to this situation, the king had learned of God's greatness through Daniel, who relied upon God for wisdom to interpret the king's dream. Thus, if they'd bowed, they'd have made God look less than He was in front of king Nebuchadnezzar and his entire court. After all, how could people who believed in the powerful God of Daniel, disobey Him? They may have also cheapened God's glory and fame if they'd tried to negotiate to do something that fell short of bowing so as to preserve their lives. Instead, they stood resolutely in their knowledge of God and even acknowledged that He had the right to save or not save them. They feared Jehovah more than they feared a man, albeit that man who was the most powerful monarch in the world at that time.
Could you or I do the same in similar circumstances? Would we staunchly refuse to do what we know would bring disrepute to our God and sully His name? You may think you have the answer and that's fine. If you don't yet have an answer, that's okay too. The key thing to take away is that when you get to a fork in the road, be mindful that you may have to choose to do the fire walk in order to preserve the glory of the God you claim to serve. Ask the Lord to give you the capacity, strength, and zeal to do so in order to not break faith with the Lord where necessary.
May the Lord help each of us to stand in our faith, in our knowledge of God Almighty, even when everything and everyone around us wants us to choose to break faith with Him. May we experience the glorious miracle these three men experienced of being visited by the fourth man in the fire and coming out of the fiery pit without any evidence of the test they'd been through. And as was the case in Nebuchadnezzar's court, may our fire walk bring great glory and praise to God, IJMN, Amen.
See you at Noon EST for fellowship. God bless you.
CLOSING PRAYER
Hallelujah! The Lord has brought us to the end of another hour of fellowship.
Father, we thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. Thank You for guiding and teaching us today. Thank You for kindly bringing us together to honor You with our worship and prayers for others.
Take all the glory, Lord, IJMN, Amen! I call on You to meet the needs of today's participants in Your unique way. That it will be known that You alone are God. May they open their mouths to rejoice in You and testify to Your glory. Remember their seeds sown in tears and grant them the harvest, which they reap in great rejoicing (Psalm 126:5).
IJN, I have prayed, Amen.
LAST 10 MINUTES
Think about today's message. Could you stand down a king like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Could you make the choice that is mindful to not dishonor God's name and fame before others? It might not be easy to answer this question but there is one thing we can all do and that is to pray for the grace to honor God no matter the circumstances.
Lord, we come before You today and ask for the capacity, strength, and zeal to make the choice that preserves Your glory. That we may stand firm and stare down the fiery pit, never breaking faith with You, IJMN, Amen!
The will of God shall be done. He hears our prayers and has promised to be found by those who earnestly seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13).
From PBS -‘Heavenly Father, we come boldly before you now in the Name of Jesus, asking you to help us. Lord, enough is enough! There are too many elected officials and judges in our lands who are putting their self interests, ignorance, and greed above the needs of the people they have sworn under oath before You to serve!
They are choosing to be willfully obstinate and push lies and divisions amongst the people, to keep them bound, hopeless, sick, broke, in fear and angry. Dear Lord, they even use your Name as a shield to justify their wickedness!
Father, break every stronghold right now in the Name of Jesus! Break the powers, cults, deceivers, authorities, traitorous allegiances, insurrections, terrorism, and every system of corruption that have enabled these wicked rulers and their support systems to flourish and exist. Bind all of their hidden and open plans to sow chaos, destruction, deception, fear, prejudice, violence, death, and lies into our environments and lives!
Bring the reigns down of continuously elected corrupt officials, and close their abilities to be re-elected. Prevent them from putting others in their place to do their bidding as well!
Usher in good stewards! Let your healing, restoration, angels, and breakthroughs go forth!
Let the fruits of Your Spirit— love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control—in addition with wisdom, understanding, discernment, perseverance, and trust—go forth!
Under Your Will, Authority, and Power, clean out and purify everyone and everything needing release from the captivities and influences of these wicked rulers and their powers.
The earth is literally crying out Lord! Help it and all of your creations, great and small. Break the greed and ignorance of mankind, and the works of the enemy, from destroying and hurting the planet any further. The animals, plants, organisms, waters, air, and grounds need justice too. We were instructed by You to be caretakers of the earth—bring in the changes needed Lord right now!
We were made from the dust of the earth, and need to be better stewards of it!
You know all of the issues that are happening in our lands, and we know that You will never turn a blind eye to our needs and requests. We thank you right now for the destruction of every stronghold in our governments, elected officials, judges, policies, policing agencies, and laws!
In the name of Jesus, we take authority over every spirit of timidity — for God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control!
We shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday!
Therefore, we establish ourselves on righteousness, in conformity with God’s will and order; we shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for we shall not fear!
Thank you Jesus for the victory over fear, corruption, and oppression! We are more than conquerors in, through, and by Christ Jesus our Lord!
In Jesus Name we pray, Amen!’
Lord, God Almighty, You are the Maker of heaven and earth. The Creator of what we see and don't see. Your power is inexhaustible. Your strength is never ending. Your splendor and goodness endure forever. Hallelujah!
Joel 2:28 - “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Father, today I lift up those in need of Your healing grace. Father, pour out Your Spirit on them just as You promised in Your word. For those who are carriers of Your Spirit have direct access to You. Jehovah Ropheka, the Healer of men. Pour out Your healing spirit into those looking to You for their healing. Stun them and others that they will testify to Your glory and it shall be known that You and You alone are God all by Yourself.
IJMN, Amen.
From BI - Lord, I pray for MM, TB, PC and all those struggling with addiction. They are Your children Abba and I pray You break the chains of addiction. Open their eyes to see the hope and future that is theirs through Christ. Shield them from temptation and grant them strength to fight back when they feel overwhelmed. Lord, lead them away from bad influences. Shine a light unto their path and lead them to You. I pray for healing and restoration to be their portion IJMN Amen.
Lord, I lift up A, M, and B to You.
God, I pray that their lives become filled with Your presence and goodness. That they walk with You the rest of their lives, IJMN, Amen.
From BI - Heavenly Father, You dispatched Your angels to set free Your servant Peter. I pray that You send Your angels to set free victims of human trafficking. I pray for rescue, freedom and healing for those that have been enslaved by this evil practices. Take away their pain. Lord, give them the ability to see and experience the abundant, rich and satisfying life that Jesus wants them to have through Him. Transform them Lord and renew their minds. I pray that perpetrators of human trafficking continue to be exposed and brought to justice IJMN Amen.
Psalm 138:8 - The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me. LORD, your faithful love endures forever; do not abandon the work of your hands (CSB).
Heavenly Father, I want to lift up those who feel abandoned by You. Those who may not be sensing Your warm embrace at this moment.
God, Your word lets us know that You love all whom You have created. And You show loving kindness to both the righteous and unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).
Lord, remember that Your love endures forever. Please place Your hand upon those who are feeling far apart from You right now. Help them understand that You are with them and continue to love them despite all their flaws. May they experience Your love today and be reassured that You have not and cannot forget them, just as You promised in Isaiah 49:15. Do not abandon the works of Your hands, IJMN, Amen.
PRAYER TIME
And now, let us turn our attention to praying for people. I don't know about you, but people have prayed for me and I've been blessed for it.
I hope you will do the same for someone else over the next 25 minutes.
May the Lord guide all of us to pray aright and bless others.
Praise be to God Almighty. The Lord of lords who is exceptional in all His ways.
Thank You, my Father, for You are steadfast and true. He who cannot lie, has never lied and will never lie.
All glory belongs to You, IJMN, Amen.
Father, I thank You for my family. Thank You for laughter and prayer. Thank You for the not so rosy moments and how You use them to teach us good lessons that we can rely on in the future.
Please bless my loved ones. Cover them under the shadow of Your hand now and always IJN, Amen!
From BI - My King of kings.
Lord of Lords.
Alpha and Omega.
My provider Jehovah Jireh.
My Rock and Defender.
Carrier of my joy.
Beautifier of my destiny.
Thank You for all You have done for me, all You are doing and all You are going to do in my life and destiny. A million tongues would not suffice. Thank You!
Lord, I thank You because indeed, we do not war alone. Thank You for kindly sending the friends that are closer than a brother. Thank You that in every situation, You send helpers to hold our hands and act as a vessel of Your word.
Glory be to Your Holy Name.
As for the people You kindly allowed me to lean upon this week, I call on You to bless them, Father. Let no need they have go unanswered. Answer their prayers beyond their requests and imaginations, IJMN, Amen.
Jehovah Jireh, You are God all by Yourself. El Gibbor, You alone are worthy of all the praise!
Thank You for showing me great mercy this week. When I didn't know what to do or what to say, You kindly led me to Your word and I could lean on it.
Then, You answered prayers and made a way where there seemed to be no way.
Thank You, my King! The Waymaker!
From BI - Baba God, Your baby has returned to give You all praise, honour and adoration. Thank You for being my refuge and salvation. Thank You Lord for never taking away Your love. Thank You for making my joy to be full. You do so much than I can count. Thank You my Abba Father for it all!
PRAISE TIME
Glory be to the living King.
We need to take the next 25 minutes to worship our God together.
Let us give Him all the praise!
From C - I recently moved and the Lord put me in a building filled with believers, now as someone who’s faith journey hasn’t been the lightest I know why the Lord did this and I welcome it, but at the same time it has been hard, maybe because now I’m weary of folks who Bible thump and are quick to throw judgement to others who do not show the same faith, belief or mentality. But in it all I pray that the Lord guides me and uses me to help with the rampant antiintellectualism happening. The racism, misogyny and other ills that are disguised as “Gods love” and “Christianity” because I know one thing for sure Christ congregated with the least of society and He loved them. My prayer is that their narrow minded ways change.
From C - Blessed and wonderful God thank You for this Friday and this P&P meeting
Lord we come to you today to thank you for all your faithfulness, grace and blessings for your loving care towards us. Lord I want to uplift this P&P meeting all the issues that will be brought to your feet, believing that your answers to our needs will be yes and amen. Bless those whose faith is waning, that they’re renewing, the sick and broken hearted, the grieving and the hopeless, that You pour into them what they need! There’s no God like you we thank you and we bless your name In Jesus name amen
From eC - Amen and good morning ladies!
From CD - So on time!!!
The sermon guiding me today is Dr. Dharius Daniels, "Talk that talk." Pastor asked, "Are you talking about or to your mountain(s)? Because, if you don't talk to your mountain(s), your mountain(s) will talk to you and your biggest mountain is the mountain in your mind!!"
From BI - Thank You my Abba for waking me to see this great day that You have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Ever so thankful for Your mercy, grace, forgiveness, provisions, favour and so much more. I have seen the Lord’s goodness, His mercy and compassion. Lord, You are so good to me and I praise Your holy Name. You alone are worthy of all praise. Thank You Lord!
Thank you for today’s word sis @FFJ. Our God is a consuming fire. If God is with us, who can be against us. Nothing can ever separate us from His love. God is faithful and will never give up on us so let us not give up on Him. May God grant us strength and patience to remain steadfast and obedient in our faith IJMN Amen.
From M22 - Thank you for today's word sis @FFJ.
Today's word really resonated with me as I have been struggling mentally not to break faith with God due to external pressure. I have been praying to God to guide me for a major step I want to take before the year ends but I am being pressured by a family member to take the same route that made me make terrible mistakes last year. I have been waiting for God's answer, direction and timing and it has not been easy because this person expects me to quickly do things exactly the way he envisions it for me. I have been trying to forgive myself for wasting last year and since the year started I have been holding on to God to guide me.
I have cried, prayed, relapsed and even wished everything could just end but I still chose to wait on God's guidance. I know I should not be writing all of this here but I am just tired and this is the only community that has been there for me spiritually. I look forward to a day where I won't have to go through this daily pressure and I will be happy. God sees how much I want better for myself and it breaks my heart that I am been labelled lazy and incompetent because I choose to let God hold my hand through this year.
I have been praying to God to hold my hand through the major step I want to take. He sees my heart and he knows I don't want to break faith with him while I wait.
I am exhausted mentally and physically and I don't know what else to do than pray and wait. There's no one to support me through this experience and everyone is just telling me what to do.
Please I would appreciate everyone's prayers as I am the very edge. Thank you