Deny the resemblance of the devil; refuse to fear adopting Christ’s values. You can be surrounded by hundreds of people and be the only one saying no to sin. When the Bible speaks of putting on the garment of Christ and following Christ, these are instructions that require self-denial.

Consider the scene of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Millions of people were in the city under Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar represents the first Adam, your lust, your carnal desires, your pride, your secrets.

Nebuchadnezzar embodies that particular carnal desire that doesn’t want you to be unique or stand out from the crowd. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego distinguished themselves among the millions who bowed before the king’s graven image. Hundreds of thousands bowed before this image, yet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego stood firm. They said:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 (NKJV)

They declared, “We will not, we will never bow to any other God made by human hands. Our worship is to God; we will not bow to your threats, we will die for what we believe.” In that moment, they denied themselves. They renounced themselves. They denied themselves. They took up the cross: the cross of tribulations, the cross of public execution, the cross of public humiliation, the cross of being thrown into a fiery furnace.

The day you stand up for Jesus is the day you qualify to take up the cross. How, then, will you begin the journey up the hill of death if you do not renounce the worship of Nebuchadnezzar’s king? If you do not renounce the worship of the world’s systems? Until we are ready to come out of the world’s system, until we stop conforming to this world’s systems, how then will we be transformed?

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

It is through tribulation following our self-denial that we reach the door to glory, where we die to self, where we die to the systems of this world; then we will be elevated to dimensions where God’s visibility is made known to humanity. Denial of the first man, the first Adam, is the beginning of bearing our cross of tribulation, our cross of submission to the guidance of God’s Spirit.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14 (NKJV)

The Bible says that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were threatened with death. They were told that if they did not bow to the king’s graven image, they would be killed. Fast forward to the New Testament; suddenly, Jesus says the same thing. That at the moment you deny yourself, at the moment you sever yourself from Jezebel’s allure, from the seductive spirits of the world’s systems, then you will take up your cross. And when you take up your cross, you will lose your life. You will destroy your flesh.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25 (NKJV)

From Greek to English: interlinear scripture analysis: “For whoever may want to save his soul (psuche) will destroy it. But whoever would destroy his soul (psuche) for My sake will find it.” At the moment Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego denied themselves and embraced God’s holiness and righteousness, they immediately began the journey toward the hill of death. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his men to heat the furnace seven times hotter.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.” Daniel 3:19 (NKJV)

Fire is the door to glory; fire is the gateway to the dimensions of God. Fire is the access point to the glorious movement of God. No man can be used by God if he has not gone through the fire of the Almighty, for it is in God’s fire that we encounter Jesus. The fourth man entered the fire.

“Look! 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.” Daniel 3:25 (NKJV)

The fourth man did not appear while they were outside the fire. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego denied themselves, took up the cross of tribulation, and were cast upon the hill of death, Golgotha, the place of execution, the place of skulls. Every believer must go through Golgotha, the place of skulls, the hill of death, for an encounter with Christ. It is a place where you lose your natural life. Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego took up their cross.

Essentially, they were Hebrews (Jews). In other words, they can be likened to today’s born-again believers. If we were to put it in modern terms, they represent today’s believers in Christ, and they were ready to meet the Lord in the fire. Do you not know that Jesus appears in the fire?

No one enters the fire of the Almighty without first losing their natural interests, natural desires, and natural visions in pursuit of Zion’s realities. As long as the Word of God is not seen in your visions, you will not enter glory.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

It is not only about hearing; it is about perceiving. It is the acceleration of the spirit. How can they accomplish the works of God when they cannot see God, how can they express the mysteries of God when they cannot hear God?

They must first enter this dimension. They must first enter the fire where the fourth man is. Jesus was very clear about what it takes to come after Him. Who is Jesus? Jesus is the second man. Jesus is the last man.

If anyone desires to come after Jesus, they must abandon the first Adam. They must give up the factual, delusional, deceiving realities of the first Adam. This person must rise into dimensions of reality where freedom is the bread of life, freedom from mortality, freedom from flesh and blood.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 (NKJV)

This text is an excerpt from the book “THE JOURNEY TO THE HILL OF DEATH” written by JOHN ANOSIKE.

We invite you to read the following article, “THE FLAMING SWORD.”

Renounce yourself. Renounce yourself. Renounce yourself. Renounce yourself.