Deliverance

Deliverance

Daniel 3:4-6 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Bow or Burn. 

King Nebuchadnezzar the world’s greatest ruler calls for worship. The worship of the image that he himself has set up in defiance of the true God, who had revealed to him in a dream (Daniel 2), the succession of worldly kingdoms and nations until the end of time. That dream, shown to Nebuchadnezzar, was an image of different metals, with his   own kingdom being represented by a head of gold.The different metals in the image represented the succeeding kingdoms following the overthrow of Babylon itself.

No!! No!!! 

Nebuchadzezzar would not agree to God’s plan and in total defiance he set up an image of complete shimmering gold and calls for worship. 

Three godly young men,Shadrach, Meshach and Abdenego who hold positions of influence and leadership within the realm of Babylon, men who are ministers of the most High God, now choose to disobey the King’s command. They refuse to bow to the golden image.

Will they burn in the fiery furnace? 

The wrath of the kingdom of satan is stirred up against these men who refuse to disobey God. 

Jealousy is stirred...anger and bitterness surface among their Babylonian peers. The Chaldeans quickly seek out the King. They had been watching and waiting to destroy the ministry of these three young men. Now is their opportunity or so they think.

vs 8 “Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews” The word accused here means "to devour pieces of them." These Babylonians didn’t just report the three your men’s lack of worship to the King. They verbally tore them apart. Their hearts with filled with revenge, jealousy, hatred and bitterness. They wanted to see God’s men destroyed.

These three young men, though holding positions of trust in the Kingdom of Babylon were representatives of God and ministers for Him.They remind me that God has called and chosen me to be a minister for him. He called me to the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:18 “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” 

vs 12 “There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” These men were known to be worshipers of the true God. 

The King is filled with  rage and fury, and like satan seeking to devour God’s people, he sneers at God and taunts Him with the power he, the King himself has.

vs 15“But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

“I sought the LORD & He heard me & delivered me from all my fears” Psa 34:4

Surrender. Complete surrender to God’s will. These young men knew the Bible promise of deliverance and they knew how to apply this promise to their lives. They didn’t *name it and claim it*. They didn’t demand from God to keep them  from the fiery furnace. They surrendered totally and completely to how God would deliver and when He would deliver. They surrendered to His timing and how God would fulfill the promise in their lives. They didn’t instruct God as to how He should fulfill the promise.

God doesn’t always promise to deliver us before the fiery furnace. Sometimes He chooses to deliver us in the midst of the fiery furnace. How often I want God’s deliverance to be according to my heart’s desires and to not be fully surrendered to Him.

Isa 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

Ps 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

Dan 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

They have submitted their lives and their wills to God. They fully trust in Him. 

So often in life I find myself in the midst of fiery trials. Life’s circumstances, other people’s choices that leave me hurt and reeling, consequences of my own choices and the results of sin. I could cry out, “Why God??? Why???.” I could claim the promises of deliverance and feel God never pulled through for me. Why didn’t He deliver me before I was thrown into it all? 

In all things God has a purpose. Rom 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

I Peter 4: 12,13 “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”

Before the three godly men were thrown into the fiery furnace they were bound. 

Daniel 3:20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

So many things in life have me bound.I am bound by lies.I am bound by fears. My thoughts, my feelings, my circumstances, my past trained responses, my faulty view of God’s character. They are all lies and fears that hold me in bondage and keep me from experiencing freedom.

God promises to bread those chains...to unbind me when I am bound.

Ps 107:14 “And he brought them out from darkness and the shadow of death, shattering their chains.”

I may be bound up and I may find myself in the fiery furnace but God promises to be with me in the furnace of affliction and he promises ultimate deliverance in His time and in His way. How often God uses the fiery furnace to actually burn off the cords that bind me. There is a purpose in the affliction.

Isa 48:10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

He promises to be with me in that fiery furnace Dan 3: 25“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.”

Isa 43:2 When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you

The fiery furnace burnt off the cords that bound them and held them captive. Christ was with them in the furnace. They were not alone. 

Full deliverance...not just partial ... they received full deliverance. As they stepped out of the fiery furnace not only were their cords burnt off but they stepped out with out even the smell of smoke on them. It was complete victory. Nothing burnt or singed. Total deliverance.

Dan 3:27 “And they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”

The result? Total glory to God.

Daniel 3:28 “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angeland delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”

I may find myself bound by lies, bound by fears, bound by life’s circumstances but God has a way of burning off those cords that hold me so tight. He allows me to experience the fiery furnace. Why? To bring complete deliverance to my life. He doesn’t always prevent me from experiencing the fiery furnace. He wants to use the furnace to burn away the cords that bind me tightly. He wants me to walk around freely in that furnace with Him. He wants me to step out totally healed and delivered without even the smell of the smoke of my experience hovering over me or with not even a hair on my head singed. He wants full and complete glory of who He really is, a God of goodness and other centred love, to be seen by all as a result of my experience. 

When satan brings those into my life who wish to devour me to pieces and through their words and influence seek to destroy the ministry of reconciliation God has called me to and thus I find myself cast into a fiery furnace. I can know for sure that only glory to God will be the result. I can know for sure that the ministry of reconciliation will only be enlarged as a result. God calls me to trust Him during the times of fiery afflictions. For He alone will bring deliverance in His way and in His time. 

Rom 12:12  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare

1 Kings 8:44,45 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.”

Battles...they are God’s battles...not mine.

God hears my prayers and God maintains my cause.

God wins my battles against my enemy. 

How does this enemy work against me?

Rev 12:10 
“...for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

1 Peter 5:8
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Luke 22:31
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.

John 8:44 
“... He ( the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

John 10:10 
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...”

Matt 4:1 
“ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil”

Satan tries to devour me, sift me, he wants to see me destroyed and he steals from me. He uses accusations, lies and deceptions and temptations. This is a spiritual warfare. It is a battle fought in my mind.

Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

There are two kinds of spiritual warfare, offensive and defensive. 
In defensive warfare satan launches his fiery darts that God asks us to quench through the shield of faith. Eph 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

These fiery darts come in one of three forms; temptations, deceptions/lies and accusations. Satan builds a platform of desires and lusts within me from which he can tempt me.

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

As satan hurls his darts of temptations towards me God calls me to surrender to Him. 

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
To submit is to surrender. Give it to God and only then will God be able to strengthen me to resist and for satan to flee from me.

Ephesians 4 is telling us to put off our old sinful nature and in verse 27, it tells us that we can give the devil a foothold in our lives through sin:
"Neither give place to the devil."

Satan shoots his fiery darts of lies and deceptions at me. 

2 Corinthians 11:3 
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled (deceived) Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

2 Cor 10:3-5 
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ"

“Countless believers are living in defeat because they have been deceived. The enemy has deceived them and caused them to believe and live a lie. If we allow deception to take hold, strongholds can then be formed in our minds. Strongholds are incorrect thinking patterns based on falsehood. Demonic spirits love to use these strongholds to their advantage against a child of God. Strongholds have tremendous power to affect our feelings and emotions. Many blood-bought children of God Almighty feel guilt-ridden and worthless because they don't see themselves they way they ought to. Many Christians feel unloved and not good enough to be accepted by God because they see Him wrongly. Their perception of Him has been damaged and causes them to see Him as a distant and cruel taskmaster instead of a close loving Father who longs (deeply desires) to have an intimate loving relationship with them!” Robert .L.

Satan throws dangerous darts of accusations at me. He tries to bring up my past sins and failures. He wants me to feel guilt ridden, full of shame and to carry around a sense of failure. He wants my past to cripple me. He desires for me to feel worthless and inadequate. He wants me to think my life is meaningless and I have no purpose and that it is pointless to be alive.

Zech 3:1-5 I was given another vision. This time Joshua the high priest was standing in front of the Lord’s angel. And there was Satan, standing at Joshua’s right side, ready to accuse him. But the Lord said, “Satan, you are wrong. Jerusalem is my chosen city, and this man was rescued like a stick from a flaming fire.” Joshua’s clothes were filthy. So the angel told some of the people to remove Joshua’s filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, “This means you are forgiven. Now I will dress you in priestly clothes.” I spoke up and said, “Also put a clean priestly turban on his head.” Then they dressed him in priestly clothes and put the turban on him, while the Lord’s angel stood there watching.

Jesus says to satan, “Satan you are wrong” To me Jesus says “..you are forgiven.”

Satan’s fiery darts in warfare that he hurls at me are temptations, deception/lies and accusations. 

In spiritual warfare the of God is defensive. It protects me from the darts.One of the pieces of the armour is the belt of truth. It is defensive. It protects me. 

Eph 6:14 
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth

God has equipped me with one piece of offensive weaponry to tear down the strong holds in my mind based on the lies, deceptions and accusations of satan and the platforms of desires he works his temptations from. 

Eph 6:17 ” And take .....the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

John 17:17 Your word is truth

God wants me to be protected by truth and to defend with truth.

God wants truth in my heart. He wants truth deep within.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

The Plague of My Heart

The Plague of My Heart

1 Kings 8: 38-40 “ whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.”

These words are part of a prayer that Solomon offers up to God at the dedication of the temple. 

God alone knows my heart.He knows what is deep inside.He knows my thoughts, my feelings, my pain, my hurts and my heartaches. He knows my joys and my smiles. He knows my sins. God you are calling me to also know my own heart ...you are calling me to know “the plague of my heart”.

Ps 139:23, 24 “ Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. “

Lord what is the “plague of my heart”? You have promised that I shall know the plague of my heart through prayer... the verse does not say “might know”...but it is a certainty...I shall know. You have promised forgiveness to those who know “ the plague of their hearts”.

“Sin is the plague of our own hearts; our in-dwelling corruptions are our spiritual diseases: every true Israelite endeavours to know these, that he may mortify them, and watch against the risings of them. These drive him to his knees; lamenting these, he spreads forth his hands in prayer.” Matthew Henry

“The disease of the heart of man is sin, and particularly indwelling sin; the sin of our nature, which has its seat in the heart. Every sin is a disease, as is clear from what the Psalmist says, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, and healeth all thy diseases (Ps. 103:3). Here diseases and iniquities are represented as the same; and the healing of these diseases is signified by the forgiveness of iniquity.” Gill

Isa 1:4-6 "Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity,A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters!They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to angerThe Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more.The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment."

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

O Lord the deceitfulness and wickedness of sin is like a terrible disease in my heart. I am desperately sick and in need of healing and I don’t even understand the full extent of my disease. I need you Lord.

Jer 17:4 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Ps 6:2 “Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are troubled.”

Ps 30:2 “O LORD my God, I cried unto you, and you have healed me.”

Jer 30:17 “For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord...”

Isa 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

1 Peter 2:24 “ "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."

Jesus brings healing to the “plague of my heart”. His wounds on the cross heal me. They bring me a life of righteousness.

My Mind goes to the man in John 5 who was paralyzed for 38 years. Diseased and dying and totally unable to help himself. He isn’t even looking for healing from Jesus. His whole focus is on healing from another source. He is hopeless and helpless. Jesus, bending over him, asks this question, “Wilt thou be made whole?” John 5:6 Jesus asks me the same question. Do you want to be made whole? Do you want the plague of your heart removed? Do you want to be healed?

“Through the same faith we may receive spiritual healing. By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was the impotent man capable of walking. There are many who realize their helplessness, and who long for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God; they are vainly striving to obtain it. In despair they cry, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Rom. 7:24, margin. Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, "Wilt thou be made whole?" He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe His word, and it will be fulfilled. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is "dead in trespasses." Eph. 2:1. He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.” D.A 203

Lord heal me today. Set me free.

Eyes of Love

Eyes of Love

I have run out of time this morning and I so need to tweak this...anyway..here goes...

1 Kings 8:28,29 "Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place."

God’s eyes.....His eyes are open...Solomon prays that God’s eyes be open towards the temple where the prayers of God’s people ascend.

Are His eyes open to me? What does He see in my eyes? What do I see in His eyes? What does God see?

Heb 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Jer 16:17 " My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes."

Prov 5:21 "For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths."

God so longs for me to come before Him in prayer and to just be fully open with Him. He already knows the dark places of my heart.There is nothing that He doesn't already know yet he still loves me. He already knows the depths of sin I have chosen yet His eyes connect with mine. His heart calls me to be open. To not shut down or shut Him out. He calls me to let Him in.

Ps 34:15 "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry."

1 Peter 3:12" For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers.."

God has such care and protective love for me. He is nurturing. His eyes are full of love.

Job 36:7 "He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous..."

God looks at me...He listens to me..His attention is not diverted. 

Ps 33:18 "But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.."

God is love. God looks at me with love in His eyes. I can see that love. His eyes are deep and tender and pure. His heart yearns over me and He longs for me to be responsive to His look of love. He cares so much that He never takes His eyes off me. He is fully attentive to me as I talk to Him in prayer. His eyes are watchful towards me, nurturing and thoughtful. He knows me in my deepest places of darkness and pain and sorrow and hurt yet He loves me. His eyes are full of compassion.

He calls to me to lift my eyes up and to look back and emotionally connect with him, the lover of my soul. He calls to me to love Him back. He calls me to respond.

He says to me “You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes.” Song of Sol 4:9