Marcus Mecum - You're Going To Make It
If you got your Bibles, turn with me Daniel 3. We are going to be talking over the next few minutes on, «You’re going to make it». You are going to make it. Why don’t you say that with me? Say, «I am going to make it». One more time like you mean it. Say, «I am going to make it». Look at the person sitting next to you and say, «You’re going to make it». Look at the other person and say, «You’re going to make it». Come on, let’s say it together, «We’re going to make it». We got this. Not maybe, not we might, not we hope to, not there’s the possibility of. «You are going to make it in Jesus' name».
Daniel 3:19, «Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And he spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers their turbans and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell down, bound in the midst of the fiery furnace. Then the king was astonished, and he rose in haste and spoke saying to his counselors, 'did we not cast three men bound in the midst of the fire'? And they answered and said to the king, 'true, o king'. 'look, ' he answered, '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'».
Nobody avoids the fires of life. Everybody that’s listening to this message, will experience the burn. Real fears and hot tears are a part of life. And I know that this might sound crazy, but you can learn to be grateful that you made it to the fire. Now, stay with me for a minute. The story tells us that there were others who never made it to the fire, that there were people who died at the door, right? The king’s three strongest men, these were men of valor, these were men of capability, and the Bible says these three men died at the door.
So, the real miracle is that you’ve made it this far. Because by all right, you shouldn’t even be here today. It’s a miracle, really, that you didn’t fall of the deep end. That you were so close to the edge and that didn’t slip in and lose everything is the miracle. You know the weakness should have got you. You know that poor choice, that poor relationship should have got you. You know that poor upbringing should have got you. Your enemies should have got you. You should have never made it. Others did not make it, but you’re here, you showed up, and the presence of God kept you. The presence of God was stronger. His keeping grace preserved you somehow, someway and you ought to thank God for the fire because others died at the door.
Now, think about it. These three of the king’s men were the mightiest, they were men of valor, so these were voted the most talented. They were the most likely to succeed in the high school yearbook. The votes were tallied, they had the advantage. If anyone should have made it, it should have been them, but they died at the door. No one expected you to make it, but yet, here you are serving God, doing the best that you can to love Jesus. You haven’t given up yet, you haven’t quit yet. And I’m like you, I don’t like the fire any more than anyone does, but I’ve learned to be grateful that I didn’t die at the door. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the smartest. I wasn’t the one that would be the first choice. I was expected to fail at times. I was not expected to make it, but yet, here we are really no explanation other than God chose to preserve, and protect, and sustain us by his sovereign grace.
And so, we have to learn to say, «God, thank you». I’m still going through it, I still got stuff I’m working on. I’m still in many ways working through the things that I’ve gone through in life, but yet, I’m here. There’s a miracle in being here. Next, notice that the miracle started at the door, but you can’t let go of it in the fire. God would have never brought you through the door for you to be devoured by the fire. I’m not here to say that the fire isn’t real, I’m not here to say that it doesn’t hurt. I know at times you feel like there’s not much more you can take or even wonder: can you really make it? And so, I don’t wanna preach to your mind because your mind is going to convince you this is just preacher talk.
I wanna talk to your spirit, and in your spirit, I came to say, you’re going to make it. You are going to make it. And not only are you going to make it, but something good is going to come out of what you’re going through. It sounds crazy to say that because I can look back at times, there were no visible, tangible reasons to see any good thing that would come out of the furnace or fire I was facing. But somehow, God helped me to get not just in it, but helped me to realize, as I was going through all of those things, he was going to bring me out and I would look back and say, «My God, there’s so much that I am today that you gave me that’s good and wonderful, and beautiful. Had you not let me go through that, I would be half the man I am today».
And so, it is with you. The things that you have been through, somehow, someway God has brought good out of it. It’s the sand that gets in the shell of the oyster and irritates it and produces the Pearl. It’s the coal that’s under the pressure and the heat of the earth that produces the diamond. In other words, you’re not only coming out, but you’re coming out blessed, you’re coming out stronger, you’re coming out with a greater blessing, you’re coming out with a greater anointing, greater joy, greater peace. The miracle that starts at the door, don’t let go of it in the fire. So, it says that they bound them, and they threw them in the fire, which I think is a bit excessive. You’re already throwing them in the fire, what’s the point of binding them?
But the enemy never attacks you on one level, he attacks you on multiple levels at the same time. That’s the struggle. It’s not that I don’t have this thing that’s going wrong, it’s when they pile up and it’s like it’s going wrong here, and it’s going wrong here, and it’s going wrong here. So, it’s intimidation and then humiliation. It’s deception then temptation. It’s my personal failure and then the betrayal of the people that should have stood by me. He binds us and he burns us. And the burn, many times, is not average, it’s the seven times greater type burning that they talked about, more painful, more intense that you imagine. And this is where I like to talk to people that wanna be real in church for just a minute. Because someone is facing an attack that is greater than you ever imagined.
The attack is more severe, the pain is deeper, the night is darker, the hurt is heavier. And I like that the Bible admits that they were in the fire and then, see what it says, that they fell down bound in the fire. I know we wanna be faith people and you’re more than a conqueror through Christ, and this is our victory even our faith, and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. And I preach that with the best of 'em, but I wonder if I could get anybody to be real enough for just a moment to say, «When I was in the fire, I didn’t stand feeling full of faith, I didn’t stand worshipping, I can’t wait to open up my Bible, I didn’t stand, no, I fell down bound in the fire. I went into the fire, and I lost faith. I went into the fire, and I lost hope. I went into the fire, and I turned my back on the one who had brought me all that way».
You see, the truth is, it’s in the fire if you’re not careful that the enemy gets the edge on you. What happens? You wanna have courage, but you can’t find it. You wanna have strength, but you can’t find it. You wanna worship, but you can’t find it. You wanna pray, you wanna open up the scriptures, but you’re in the fire. That’s one thing that you’re in the fire, but now you’re down in the fire. I think that this is where we miss it, that it’s very unusual for you to go through the real fires of life stranding. That’s how we hear other people talk, that’s how the sermon comes across, that’s how we imagined our life would be. That’s how we imagined we would be, just dancing and praising God and going through the fires of life unsCathed. But the Bible always brings up the parts of people’s lives that we like to skip over, and that is they fell down bound in the fire. The king opens the door, he looks in and he sees them loosed and walking around.
So, the very thing that was meant to kill them is the thing that loosed them, liberated them, and freed them. So, the truth is, the reason you’re down in the fire is because there are things that you went into the fire with, if you don’t get loose from or you don’t let go of, you’ll never get out of the fire. Let me say it like this, there are mindsets, behaviors, habits, ways of thinking that you take into the fire, that’s why you fall down, that’s why you’re bound. And those are things that you don’t know it yet, but they’re holding you back from where God wants to take you. Those relationships, they’re holding you back from where God wants to take you. And you’re down in the fire, and the plan of God is that through that thing you’re going through, you’re going to be loosed from the things that would have ultimately held you back.
And this is the part of the story, not that I love the most, but almost. This is number three of my top three favorite parts of this story. That all the people that took pleasure of them going into the fire, ended up having a front row seat in them coming out of the fire. So, you’ve been to hell and back, a lot of people want to just focus on that you’ve been through the fire, that you’ve been through the struggle, that you fell down, that you were bound, that you missed it, that you messed up, that you made a mistake, that you didn’t become or perform the way you thought you would during that critical moment in your life. You should have made the right choice, you made the wrong choice. You should have gone one way, you went the other way. I get it, I get it. And most people wanna just focus on that. But here, we get the opportunity to focus on the back part and the back part is important.
So, you’ve been through it, but you’re back, you’re here, you made it. And every now and then you’ve gotta give yourself permission to say, «I have been there. I missed it. I fell down in the midst of the fire, but I didn’t stay down,» and you can get up and you can be free, and you can come out. And all the people that thought you would never make it get to see you persevere, push through, not quit, not give up, keep on walking. And so, you’re hurt, you’ve cried, but you’re still fighting is the point. And this is where God shows off our furnace moments.
Now, this is my second to favorite point of the sermon. It says that, «The evil king called them out». So, sometimes, the devil has to admit he’s underestimated you. God did not raise their hand, God made the evil king raise their hand. Not only is God going to make sure you get the victory, but God’s going to make sure the enemy is the one who lifts your hand. Because if you look at the story, a lot of people would say God brought them out and God elevated them, and that’s true, partially. But God took it one step further, and I love this part about God, he made the evil king do it. And this is clear in scripture that this is how God does it.
You could go to Acts 16, Paul, they’re arrested for preaching the gospel, they’re beaten within literally stripes of almost dying. They only could handle so many beatings and they were on the verge of death in those beatings. They were imprisoned, humiliated, embarrassed, made an open spectacle of these men in the middle of the crowds in that city. They’re thrown in prison. They realize that they’ve went beyond the scope of their authority, they slip back in at night, the authorities slip back in at night and say, «Hey, we messed up. We’re gonna let you go». And they wanted them to slip out secretly in the middle of the night.
And Paul says, «No. We’re not leaving this prison. We’re not slipping out in the middle of the night in secret. You publicly beat us, you publicly scorned us, mocked us, and embarrassed us. When we come out, we’re coming out the same way we went in and that’s publicly and in broad daylight. And not only are we coming out, but we’re not gonna stop preaching about Jesus Christ and him crucified».
God could’ve just opened the prison doors. God could’ve just shook the earth like he did for Simon-Peter. But no, God said, «Every now and then, I’m gonna send the very one in that tried to destroy you, defeat you, cause you to not make it. I’m gonna send that very spirit back in and cause that one to bring you out». Or the Bible says it like this, «When the enemy steals something from you and he’s identified, he has to give back seven times what he’s stolen».
So, not only is he figuratively under your feet, but if you’ve lost something in life, the enemy, not God’s gonna bring it back. God says, «Okay. I’m gonna make the enemy bring it back. I’m gonna make him restore it». I love what John Wesley says, «The devil is God’s devil». They’re not equal. Right, it’s not light and darkness, they’re just out there trying to work it out. The only reason there’s any level of the enemy having a foothold or stronghold in our life is because we’ve yield it to him. But they’re not equal. The devil is defeated, he is a defeated foe. Which, by the way, Jesus crushed him under his feet which means he’s got brain damage, and he don’t even have the keys to his own house. You have the right to not only come out but to demand the enemy be the one who raises your hand.