In the Middle of It All

OPENING SCRIPTURE:

(Daniel 3:24 KJV) "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, 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."

I. THE ENEMY’S AGENDA

The enemy has an agenda. He wants to destroy those who call on the name of the Lord. The enemy wants to take away the things that are most important in life.

For years we have been taught that this creature called the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, the prince of Darkness, etc. has the ability to impose certain things on our lives. We have held that any bad thing that happens in life is a direct result of what the devil is doing to us. If our finances are in shambles, the devil caused these things to happen. If our body is sick or afflicted, it is the devil that brought these things to us and attached them to our lives.

I want to say, this morning, the devil receives way too much credit and God receives far to little glory.

There is a plan that is a work in the life of a child of God.

(Psalms 138:8 NLT) "The LORD will work out his plans for my life-- for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me."

It’s amazing how these words were recorded, just before the psalmist wrote:

Psa 139:1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

II. BETWEEN THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

I was reading some interesting facts. God is so precise in his doing’s I believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and is profitable. I want to say that not only is the scripture profitable, but would assert that its placement in the context of the whole Bible is ordered. If for no other reason, but that there are points and lessons to be learned from arrangement, as well as context.

Did you know that the longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117.

Nestled in between the longest and shortest chapter of His Word is Psalm 118. It just so happens that this is the middle chapter of the Bible.

There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118. If you were to add the chapters together, that would be 1188 chapters.

Guess what the middle verse of the Bible is. It’s Psalms 118:8.

Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

III. The 3 men in the fire

Returning to our lesson this morning we find that there was an intervention of heaven on the behalf of his children.

There are several things I want you to note about these 3 men.

A. There was NO promise of a rescue.

B. NOT FROM…

1. …the situation,

2. …the surroundings,

3. … the circumstances,

4. … the PRESENCE OF the problem.

C. BUT IN…

1. HELP ALWAYS COMES AT THE END OF THE BATTLE

IV.WHAT WILL BE HELP TO YOU?

“SOMEBODY SHOUT HELP!!!”

A. Help is not the same for every person.

B. Help is not the same in every situation

C. Help is not always recognizable at the moment, but it IS for sure.

WHY? Because GOD IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK. In the MIDDLE OF YOUR SITUATION. In the MIDDLE OF YOUR LIFE. In the MIDDLE OF YOUR PROBLEM. He IS IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL.

I HAVE A WORD FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK.