THE MISSION, MINISTRY, MYSTERY AND MESSAGE OF THE FOURTH MAN IN THE FIRE

TEXT: DANIEL 3:24-30 KJV

Daniel 3:24-30 KJV

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, 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.

²⁵He 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.

²⁶Then 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.

²⁷And the princes, governors, 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.

²⁸Then 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.

²⁹Therefore 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.

³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

• Introduction
• Background to the text
• Establish the person of the ‘fourth man’ in the fire.

1.   THE MISSON

• This was a divinely given assignment.
• It was an assignment of national, global, and forever importance.
• It was an urgent and a high-priority mission.
• It was a mission to PROTECT, DELIVER, and PRESERVE from harm and danger.

Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son  of  her  womb?  Even  these  may  forget, yet  I  will  not  forget  you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

2.  MINISTRY:

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is EVERY of his activity upon the life, mind, and heart of every man.

This is the capture of every divine activity of the spirit.

Here; He came

To Strengthen, Empower, Help, and provide Divine Companionship.

Isaiah 43:1-6 ESV

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, people in exchange for your life.

 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

3.   MYSTERY

• There was an Unseen, Unknown and an Undercover power of God.

• This was an Unusual, Undetected and Undeterred presence of God

• It’s was a mirage to the enemy

• This is the mystery that Bamboozles, Disorientates, Confuses, Perplexes and

Discombobulates the enemy

Ecc. 11:5 MSG..,

Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, So you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does.

Romans 11:33 KJV

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways PAST FINDING OUT!

4.   THE MESSAGE:

• This was a ‘Stay Clear’ Notice
• It’s a Touch-Not warning
• It’s an Off-Limit barricade
• This was a ‘Back Off’ Order
• It’s a No-Flight zone to the enemy
• It bears the message of ‘Take Your Hands Off’.

Psalms 105:14-15 KJV

14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

It’s A Message of:

• Identification
• Support
• Solidarity
• Validation
• Ownership

This was an imprint from the throne room.

It was a bold STATEMENT from heaven.

This was an AUDACIOUS MESSAGE from divinity to humanity

This message altered the devil’s ‘Negative’ decree and forced another proclamation to be made and…

Daniel 3:29-30

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.

There was a CHANGE of STORY, POSITION and STATUS,

Their lots changed

The destinies changed

Their influence attained GLOBAL RELEVANCE and ACCLAIM