Live Free with Josh Howerton - Step Out of the Furnace | Ep. 440 | Friday, October 11, 2024

Episode Date: October 11, 2024

What keeps you from living with deep conviction and God's confidence? The metaphor of fire burning away obstacles signifies spiritual purification and freedom. Walking through challenges with Jesus can lead to transformation without any lingering smells of smoke. Trusting in God's supernatural power while in the fire can bring healing and the breaking of bonds that tie you to a fresh start in life. What kind of ropes have you bound up and need Jesus to burn them up? For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.com. church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Happy Friday, everybody. Hope you've had a great week. We have been walking through a story here on the Daily Drive all this week from Daniel chapter three. You can find it in the Old Testament section of the Bible. And just to kind of refresh, well, we're talking about these three guys,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedigo, who were high officials in the empire of Babylon. Well, they catch the ire of their egotomaniac boss, King Nebuchadnezzar. for not bowing down to this nine-story golden god that he had set up and commanded everybody in the kingdom to bow down to. Well, these guys worship the only true and living God, and in spite of the threat of execution, they don't bow down. They remain standing. And we left off yesterday with Nebuchadnezzar having them thrown to a blazing furnace with a sneer about the God that they worshipped. Well, let's pick it up in verse 24. But suddenly, as he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement,

exclaimed to his advisors. Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace? Yes, we did. Your Majesty. Look, Nebuchadnezzar shouted. I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They aren't even hurt by the flames. And the fourth looks like a divine being. That'd be Jesus.

Verse 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted. Shadrek, Nishak, Abendigo. Servants of the Most High God. Come out. here. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedigo stepped out of the fire. Let me read that again. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the princess, prefects, governors, and advisors crowded around them, and they saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair

on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke. Every time I read that, it gives me goosebumps. I love a couple of things in there. Remember how they had been tied up and thrown into the fire? And then how the king saw that they were now walking around unbound. Their bodies had not been harmed. Their robes had not been scorched.

Not even the hairs in their heads had been singed. The only things that got burned up were the ropes that held them back. And to me, that's such a cool picture. Because I believe there are times that God would allow us. you and me to go through a fire, to set us free. Maybe it was some kind of bondage to a habit or an addiction that had you bound up, tied up, for so many years, and maybe the fire was even a consequence of your own bad decisions, but how many of us have gone through a fire that forced us to humble ourselves and finally

lean into God, and the result was those things that held us back got burned away, and we were finally free. The other thing I love is what is said in verse 27. that there was no smell of fire on them. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, nor had even the smell of smoke clung to them. That's pretty amazing. I mean, I can roast marshmallows on a campfire

or have fajitas at a restaurant smell like smoke for a week, right? It just clings to me. But on the other side of this fire, even the smell of smoke had not clung to them. You know, some people who have been through tough stuff go through their life, angry, bitter, always playing the victim card. But there are other people who have gone through a fire, and you would never know it. Because they don't go around smelling like smoke.

I think of a friend whose husband had an affair several years ago. It was an intense fire. Lots of pain, lots of trust rebuilding, didn't result in a restoration of the marriage, but God walked with her through the fire. And these days, she doesn't even smell like smoke. I think of another friend who was neck deep in an eating disorder when she was younger, but God walked through the fire with her, and these days you'd never know it, because she doesn't even smell like smoke.

I think of a guy who I know who was abused by his dad countless times, but you'd never know it because God brought healing to his heart in these days. He doesn't even smell like smoke. Only God can bring us through a fire and write a new story with our lives. What happens in that furnace? It's simply supernatural. I mean, there's no other explanation. I mean, this is Red Sea parting, Gideon's army,

Walk on the Water, Resurrection from the Dead kind of stuff. And Nebuchadnezzar recognizes it. Check this out, verse 28. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and the Bedigo. He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's commands who were willing to die rather than serve or worship any God except their own God.

Therefore, I make this decree, if any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshik, and Abindigo, they will be torn limb from limb and their houses will be crushed into heaps of rubble. He hadn't caught the compassion thing yet, because there is no other God who can rescue like this. And then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshik, and Abedigo, to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

So what is it that keeps you from living with deep conviction? What keeps you from having the confidence to live the kind of full life that Jesus came to give you? There's a few good honest questions we all need to ask ourselves, such as, What would I do if I weren't afraid? That's a great question to ask yourself. What would I do if I weren't afraid? As well as, what other things besides God am I bowing down to these days? What kind of ropes have me bound?

What needs to be burned away in my life? From what do I need to be rescued from? And if you're going through a fire right now, you need to know that someone is in the fire with you too. And his name is Jesus. And whether it's from the fire, or through the fire, or by the fire, he will deliver you. And I hope you have a great weekend,

and I'll catch you back here on Monday. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.combe. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out?