The experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego reveal that you will lose nothing in the furnace of affliction except your bonds.

If you die in the will of God you will be raised in the will of God. The deeper your death of obedience the higher will be your ascension into the Glory of the Lord.

Keep your eyes on the reward ahead of you and you will be able, through the wisdom and strength God provides, to remain in the place where God has positioned you. If you are faithful in small things He will entrust great responsibilities to you. Continue trusting in the Lord Jesus and you will take your place alongside the other saints who also have had to endure their pinnacles.

Obedience to God in the inner being of the believer is more of a problem with self-will than it is with the bondages of sin. In the process of sanctification the Holy Spirit leads us to put to death the deeds of the flesh—lust, murder, covetousness, idolatry, occult practices, stealing, lying, and all the other manifestations of the nature of evil, unclean spirits.

Obedience, on the other hand, has more to do with our desire to be ourselves, to be noticed, to succeed, to receive honor, to achieve, to express our own will.

The desire to succeed, to receive honor for an outstanding performance, to achieve a goal—these ambitions are not sin. They are not a violation of the moral law, as are fornication, murder, lying, and stealing. Such ambitions are self. Why does Christ want to interfere with our right to be ourselves? Why must we fall into the ground and die before we can bear fruit?

The answer to this question lies in the destiny of the Church. The Church, the Body of Christ, is destined to be in the moral image of Christ, to be united in Christ in the Godhead, to be coheir with Christ, to be the eternal Temple of God, to be the Servant of the Lord to whom it has been given to judge and liberate the inhabitants of the earth.

The children of Adam are not able to perform such high roles. Only children of God can fulfill these callings. Therefore our first, adamic nature must die so the new Divine nature that has been placed in us can come to maturity and participate in the high calling of the Kingdom of God.

It is not possible that a son of Adam can be saved from wrath, delivered from the bondages of Satan, and then arise as lord of the creation. He would be a monster of pride and self-seeking. He would strive to be above his brothers in the Lord (Luke 22:24).

A further step of redemption is necessary. That step is the re-creating of his entire personality. All that he is must be broken to powder and pounded into the essence of Christ. We are being made part of God Himself through marriage to God's Son. The process is not enjoyable at times but the final result certainly is worth the discomfort.

To be continued.