Transcription
Welcome, YouTube family. My name is Joanna, and thank you for tuning in today. If you haven't already, please subscribe to our YouTube to stay up-to-date each week. We believe God has a powerful word for you today. So, let's dive into this amazing message.
Well, if you're taking notes, the title of my sermon is "Faith is Blazing." Faith is blazing. And what it means is to have a blazing faith is simply it means to have a faith that can stand the fire. I have a question for you, Radiant Church. Can your faith stand the fire? I'm asking two, two of y'all. Okay, I'm praying for the rest of y'all. We gonna try this again. Can your faith stand the fire?
Okay, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. 20 of y'all. Um, let's try this side of the room. Can your faith stand the fire? Let's go. Let's go. You want a faith that can stand the fire? Because you're going to go through fire. You're going to go through hard times. You're going to go through flames. You're going to go through furnace seasons. And God is strengthening you in such a way that your faith can stand the fire. God's not just looking for weak Christians. He's not looking just for for easygoing Christians. He's looking for Christians that can stand the fire. And why do you have to be able to stand the fire? Is because Jesus allows you to go through fire.
I would even say this, that our God likes the fire. That's why when he was talking, uh, with Moses, he was talking through a burning bush. When he responded to Elijah, he responded with fire. When he was leading his people, he led them by fire. God likes fire. You will go through fire. And if you have blazing faith, it won't destroy you. It'll only strengthen you. When you have blazing faith, the fire actually activates your faith. It activates your anointing, and it activates your calling. My question is, when you go under the fire, do you get better or do you get bitter? Do you get better or do you get worse?
The fire should actually strengthen you. And I want to tell you something about Christianity. Christianity is better under fire, and it's better under persecution. Yeah. Come on. You're better in the fire. And blazing faith just means that your faith is hotter than the enemy's fires. And what is fire? Fire is pressure. Fire is pressure. When you go through this life, you will go through pressure. The enemy is going to bring pressure. He may bring pressure through fear. He may bring pressure through a lack of finances. He may bring pressure through media. He may bring pressure through politics. I don't know how you're going to have pressure, but the fire is pressure. Whenever you're going through fire, you're going through pressure.
Yeah. Come on. But I want you to know, you're not going through alone. God has a purpose, and he has a plan. Come on, somebody.
Well, if you have your Bibles, go to Daniel chapter 3. Daniel chapter 3. And as you get ready to turn to Daniel chapter 3, I just want to give you a little context of the text we're going to read. Um, whenever a king went to war with another king, and that king defeated another king, they would say, "We won because our God is better, and our God is greater, and our God is stronger." And they would enslave the other nations' people. And they took 45 Hebrews and enslaved them. And whenever they would enslave them, they want to strip you of your name, your identity, and your God.
And this is what was happening with Nebuchadnezzar. He was stripping them of their name, their identity, and their God, trying to make them serve his God and his false idols. And this is what would happen, um, um, um, whenever a country or a nation lost in war. So now we're going to go to Daniel 3:33 and we're going to read. And I just want you to look at this. This is an amazing. If I don't say nothing else, if I just read this passage and said, "Amen," it was worth the trip to church. But we're going to do more than that today, if that's good with y'all.
Daniel 3:13, it reads, "Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him." He's furious because he found out they didn't bow to his golden image, his false idol god. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you have refused to serve my gods and to worship the ghost statue that I have set up? And I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue." Yeah, that's just like the devil trying to give you another chance to bow. I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instrument. So, he said, he got a whole band. It was like a pep rally. He said, "But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the the burning furnace." So if you refuse to bow to my God, you'll be thrown into the burning furnace. And then what God will be able to rescue you from my power? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, come on. Come on. If you," this is where it started preaching, "we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
If we are thrown into the burning, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if he don't, come on, somebody. Even if he don't, we will make it clear to you, in other words, we ain't stuttering, bro. Your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the ghost statue that you have set up. Hey, we're going to make it clear to you. We ain't bowing."
Verse 19, Nebuchadnezzar was so fierce with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And the reason why he was so furious because he had promoted these boys that his face became distorted with rage. He was like, you know what I'm saying? Looking crazy. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind them. So he got his strongest soldiers to bind them, tie them up, to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, and because the king in his anger, he demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. But suddenly Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisors, "Then we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?" "Yes, your majesty, we certainly did," they replied. "Look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted, "I see four men unbound walking around in the fire unharmed. And the fourth looks like a god." Then Nebuchadnezzar came close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God." This boy preacher already. Look at him. "Come out. Come here." So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, advisors crowded around them, and they saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothes were not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke. Wow.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego." He sent his angels to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's command and were willing to die rather than to serve or worship any other god of their, any other god except their own. Therefore, I make this decree. Now, look at the king making this new decree. If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, we need this decree back. Speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They will be torn from limb to limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no God who can rescue like this." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to an even higher position in the province of Babylon. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. This, we, we going to preach. Can we preach?
All right, let's preach. So we have this situation where these boys are brought into this Babylonian culture, and the king made a statue. It was 90 feet tall, which is like nine, it's like nine stories high. This is how high it is. It's nine stories high. So if you went to a hotel nine stories high, it's like 9 ft wide. So it's kind of weird to be that tall and it just be 9 ft wide. It was kind of like chicken leg a little bit. It was like kind of, you know, flimsy a little bit. But nevertheless, this was his image. And he said, "Everybody in my nation will bow to this golden image." And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, "We ain't bowing to nothing but God."
But the king wasn't there. I'm going to tell you who was there. And I'll tell you who's always there. Whenever you, whenever you decide to not bow to something, I'm tell you who was there. The snitches was there. And the snitches did what snitches do. What do snitches do? They snitch. They snitch. So they went and snitched to the king. And they was like, "Hey, your little Hebrew boys that you promoted said they ain't bowing to your God." And he said, "Oh, they going to bow. They going to bow." So he comes and he's like, "Hey guys, we're going to play this music." And he said, "When we play this music, I'm going to give you another chance to bow. Now, if you don't bow, I just want you to know you're going to be thrown into a fiery furnace. And there is no God that can save you or rescue you from my power." Yeah.
So, you're going to bow. So, all of a sudden, they look at the king and they said, "King, we ain't bowing. We're not bowing to your God. We're not bowing to your image, and we're not bowing to your ways." And it's about time for some of us to stand up and say, "We're not bowing to this world. We're not bowing to this. We're not bowing to that. We're not bowing to fear. We're not bowing to worry. We're not bowing to anxiety. We're not bowing to depression. We're not bowing to worry. We're going to stand tall. There's a time to stand tall. I'm standing tall on the promises of God. I'm standing tall on the word of God. I'm standing tall on the Spirit of God. I ain't bowing."
And as you go all throughout the Bible, all you see is the devil trying to make somebody bow. And why does the devil want you to bow so bad? It's because when he used to be the worship leader in heaven, he would watch all the angels bow to God. And when he wanted to be like God, he said, "Now I want people to bow to me." And because he's not, he don't have a physical body, he wants you to bow to him through false idols and false gods because he takes an indirect bow because God only takes a direct bow.
And they said, "We ain't bowing. Thank you for the promotion, King, but we ain't bowing. We ain't going. We ain't bowing." And you have to draw a line in the sand and say, "I'm not bowing to the things of this world. I'm standing for God. And only God is worthy of my bow. Only God is worthy of my worship. Only God is worthy of my praise. I ain't bowing. I ain't bowing to any of these things." They said, "We're not bowing." And then the king did whatever the, the king did what the devil always do when you refuse to bow. When you refuse to bow, let me show you the devil's tactic. The Bible says he heated up the furnace seven times hotter. Wow. Seven times hotter. He didn't know seven was a prophetic number because heaven, seven is a number of completion. And God was going to completely deliver his people out of the hands of this evil king. He didn't see that. He was prophesying when he heated up the furnace because God was coming to deliver his people. Seven is the number of God. And God will show up at this furnace.
They said, "We ain't bowing." And it was seven times hotter. And maybe you're going through life right now and you're in the furnace season, and it's seven times hotter. Maybe you don't have the income to pay your bills, and it's seven times hotter. Maybe you're going through mental anguish, and it's seven times harder. Maybe your family's going through something that's seven times hotter. And here's the good news about it being seven times hotter. That just simply means you haven't bowed yet. You haven't bowed. Because if you bow, the devil will turn down the heat. But when you don't bow, he keeps turning up the heat. So devil, keep turning it up because I'm not bowing.
And then they said something so powerful. They said, "We know that our God is well able to deliver us." And I need you to know the same. He's well able to deliver you. He can deliver you from any attack, any storm. Maybe you're going through hardship. He can deliver you. Maybe you have a heartbreak. He can deliver you. Maybe you're fighting in your mind. He can deliver you. Maybe you're having nightmares at night. He can deliver you. I know my God can deliver me. In other words, I know the power of my God, and I know what he's capable of, and I don't have to be afraid of the furnace or the flames, 'cause I know my God can deliver.
They said, "But even if he don't, we still won't bow." And I want to tell you something, church, you got to have an "even if he don't" faith. Even if he don't, I still won't bow. Even if I don't get the house, I still won't bow. Even if I don't get the car, I still won't bow. Even if it don't go my way, I still won't bow. Even if I don't get a positive medical report, I still won't bow. I'm going to stand tall on the things of God. Even if he, I still won't bow. Even if he, I still won't bow.
They said, "Even if he don't, you got to have 'even if he don't' faith." Now, why do you have to have 'even if he don't' faith? It's because if you believe he can deliver you, that means you believe in his power. But if you don't have 'even if he don't' faith, that means you don't believe in his person. I don't just believe in the power of God, but I trust in the person of God. And I trust God even if he won't and even if he don't, because I trust him. Yeah.
And I know that there are some mountains that God will remove. But I also know there are some mountains God wants me to climb. I know there are some storms he will remove. But I know there are some storms he will make me walk on because he's doing something in me and through me. Even if he don't, I trust in his power, but I trust in his person even if he don't.
And the thing is, sometimes he won't. And it appears, it, it will appear like he won't. The Bible says, "The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper." The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper. What does it mean to prosper? It means succeed. The Bible says sometimes the weapon will be formed, but the weapon won't succeed against you. But I got a question for God. My question for God is this: If the weapon won't prosper, why let it form? Come on. And God says, "The reason why I let the weapon form is because the same weapon the devil makes against you, I'm going to use that weapon against him." Goliath brought a sword to kill David. David killed Goliath with his own sword because the weapon he formed against David was actually forged against him. Whatever the devil forms against you, God is going to forge against him because the same dudes that was storing them in the furnace, they caught on fire and they were burnt by the flames. The same people that was trying to throw you in the furnace, the same people that was coming against you, the same people that was talking about you, the same people that surrounded you, God was surrounding them. They were trying to defeat you, but God was defeating them. They were trying to fight you, but God was fighting them because a weapon is formed not against you, but it's forged against them. Oh, give God a shout of praise.
So, sometimes the weapons form, church, and what is a formed weapon? That means that you did lose the job. Maybe a formed weapon is you got a, a negative medical report, and they said that you're going to be sick, or maybe you got a sickness, or maybe you got a cancer, or maybe something wrong with your body, and you get this medical report, and guess what it is? It's a formed weapon. Yeah. Maybe your kids got in trouble. It's a formed weapon. And I know sometimes it's easy to get afraid with a formed weapon, but don't be afraid of a formed weapon. And you could be looking, you like, "Well, what did the doctor say?" I don't care what the doctor said. What did God say? And if God be for you, who could be against you? And if God says you're healed by his stripes, who can make you sick? If God says he's protecting you, who can harm you? If God says he's going to make it happen, who can stop it? Just because it's formed doesn't mean it's going to prosper. The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper. God is with you. He's for you. He's not against you. And sometimes God will let the enemy heat up the furnace, but not so you can be burned, so he can be burned.
So, so, so, so at this particular time, something so powerful happened. And what happened was they said something to the king. And I don't know if they knew what they were saying. They said, "King, we don't have to answer you in this matter. We don't have to answer you." So, he came and he made these statements. He said, "I'm going to throw you in a furnace. What God can deliver you? And what God can deliver you from the power of my hand?" And they said, "We don't have to answer you." My question is, why would they say they don't have to answer him? I'll tell you why. I don't know if they knew or not, because God had already answered the king. And I want you to know, you don't have to defend yourself because God has already defended you. You don't have to protect yourself because God has already protected you. You don't have to cover your reputation because God has already covered your reputation. You don't have to fight for yourself. God already fought for you. The battle is the Lord's. God's already did it. They don't have to respond to the king because God already responded to him.
So good. Well, where, pastor, we read the Bible and we didn't see God say anything to him. It's because we didn't look close enough. Here's what the king said. He said, "We're going to throw you in the furnace." Then he said, "What God? What God could stop it?" Then he said, "What God can rescue you from the power of my hand?" And these were the king's threats and statements, and he was looking for a response, and the boys said they didn't have to answer. And I'm going to tell you why they didn't have to answer. It's because God had already answered. Well, pastor, preacher, how did God answer? It's because their real names wasn't Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Those were the names that that king gave them in Babylon. These are Hebrew boys. Their real names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And now I want to show you what those names mean. Put my graphic on the screen. The king said, "I will throw you into the furnace." And Hananiah means, "Yahweh has been gracious." In other words, when you try to throw me in the furnace, Yahweh has been gracious. His grace has saved me. I'm saved by the grace of Yahweh. He said, "What God?" In other words, what God can stop this? And Mishael's name is, "Who is like our God?" Who is like our God? I'll tell you what, God. Who's like our God? Our God can do it. Our God can save us. Our God can rescue us. He said, "Who can rescue you from my power?" And then Azariah's name was, "Yahweh has helped." In other words, Yahweh has helped. Yahweh is going to preserve us and save us and rescue us. Yahweh has helped. Now, check this out. He didn't say Yahweh will help. He said Yahweh has helped. Which means before the king ever had a flame, God had already named them. Before the king ever lit a flame, God had already called them by name. And their name was the answer to his flame. Their name was God responding to them, saying, "If you throw them in a furnace, I will be gracious. You want to know what God? This God. And if you want to know who can rescue them, I'm going to help them." And this is the gospel.
This is the gospel. Because without Christ, we would be thrown in a furnace called hell. But we won't be thrown in hell. You want to know why? It's because Yahweh is gracious, and by the grace of God, we are saved. Yeah. And who's like our God that would that would come and save us and go on the cross and bleed for us, and then he hasn't helped or it isn't he will help, he has helped. And the Bible says Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundations of the earth. Which means before we ever had a problem, we already had a savior. Before we ever had pain, he had already paid the price. Before we ever went through a storm, he had already sent Jesus. God says, "I'm not just going to fix it. I already fixed it. I'm not going to just handle it. I already handled it. I'm not going to just show up. I've already showed up." And some of you guys are thinking you're fighting for victory, but I need you to know you're fighting from victory. The battle has been won. You're fighting from it, not for it. God's already done the work. He's already done the work. He's already made it happen. He made it happen on your behalf. He already took care of you. He already avenged you. He already protected you. He already healed you. Some of you guys are praying for healing. It's already done. Some of you guys are praying for victory. It's already won. God is with you. And if he be for you, who could be against you? You're not fighting for it. You're fighting from it. God's done it already. He's done it already.
So now these boys go, and I just want to show it to you. They go step to the king, and they go up to the king, King Nebuchadnezzar, and they, and I can just see it in my head. Just imagine them. They're going up to the king. They walk up to him, and they walk up to him. They're like, "King, we want to make it clear to you. We ain't bowing." And even if he don't, even if he, Lord, even if he, even, even if he don't, we ain't bowing. And if I was him, I would have liked, and we ain't gonna bow, King. I would have stomped because I would have believed this is the part of the story where God comes and intervenes. So God, right here, I stood up. I stood in my drive and stomped. This is when God supposed to show up. It's timing. But God didn't show up. God, hold on. Where? Hold on. Hold on. Where is God? Silent. Because the teacher is always silent during the test. And it was all fun and games, but then these boys actually got tied up. And I thought I got tied up. Okay. I stood my ground. I preached. And I would have been like, "Okay, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Come. You better come get me. Quit praying. Quit, quit praying. Like, come on. Like, like I'm really going to the furnace." And they were actually thrown in the furnace.
Now, there's something so beautiful. There is a, there is a historical recording of this, and the historical recording says that when they was thrown in the furnace, they started singing praise to God. They started singing praise to God in the furnace. It's one thing to stand on God before you get thrown in the furnace. It's one thing to say you won't bow. It's one thing to say, "I'm gonna make it clear to you, King," but it's a whole another thing to worship in the fire. Anybody can worship in the front, but can you worship in the fire? Anybody can worship when it looks good, but can you worship in the fire? Anybody can worship when you've been blessed, but can you worship in the fire? Anybody can worship when God says yes, but can you worship in the fire? Anybody can worship when it goes your way, but can you worship in the fire? Anybody can worship when they're winning, but can you worship in the fire? God's looking for some blazing worshippers, some people that can worship under fire. And I would say, you're not a real worshipper if you can't worship in the fire. They worship in fire.
And my question would be for God is all throughout the Bible, it's like this: God, why did you let this happen? Why is it this way? Why did you let this happen? They didn't supposed to actually get thrown in the furnace. Why did you let it happen? And I believe God would answer us and say, "It had to happen. The fire had to happen. The flames had to happen. The anxiety had to happen. The storm had to happen. They had to come against you. It had to happen. They had to lie on you. It had to happen. They had to betray you. It had to happen. They had to plot against you. It had to happen. They had to lie on you. It had to happen. Why? Because it's the fire, and it's designed to burn everything off of you that can govern you to the next level. It had to happen. And all throughout the Bible, it had to happen. Daniel, you had to go in the lion's den. It had to happen. Gideon, they had to surround you. It had to happen. Moses, you had to go through the Red Sea. It had to happen. Paul and Silas, you had to go in prison. It had to happen. And why did it have to happen? Because if you didn't go through prison, the prisoners wouldn't know that your God can kick open the prison doors. It had to happen. They had to fire you. It had to happen. When would you start the business? It had to happen. It had to break your heart. It had to happen. You wouldn't have found your husband. It had to happen. And everything the devil tried to use against you, God is going to use against him. It had to happen. You had to grow without a father. It had to happen. Jesus, you had to go to the cross. It had to happen. Because if you didn't go to the cross, we would have never resurrected. It had to happen." Someone say, "It had to happen." Say, "It had to happen."
Oh, give God a 10-second praise break in this place. It had to happen. It had to happen. God said the fire had to happen because you are being refined. You are being strengthened. And you're being purified in the fire. Yes. The fire isn't designed to work against you. It's designed to work for you. It had to happen. If I didn't go through the fires that I went through, I wouldn't be here right now. It had to happen. One of the things when we started our church, we started our church outside with no money and no microphones and no equipment. And we used to be sad about it, but it had to happen because God said, "I needed a purity in this church and a holiness in this church and a fire in this church." It had to happen 'cause y'all ain't bougie. Y'all ain't cute. I don't need a microphone. I don't need a stage. I preach this gospel outside. I preach this gospel in the rain. Why? It had to happen. The fire authenticates you. It had to happen.
And sometimes God won't deliver you from the fire, but he will deliver you in the fire. And everybody I see in the Bible, when God delivered them, they was in something. Yeah. Daniel was in the lion's den. Jesus was in the grave. Moses was in the sea. David, David was in the field faced by a giant. Everybody was in something when God showed up. And if you're in this room and you're in something right now that's too big, that's too hot, and too hard, I want you to know you're not in it alone because God gets in it with you. It had to. It had to happen.
If you have your Bibles, go to Isaiah chapter 48. It had to happen. Isaiah 48. Isaiah 48:10, and it reads, "Behold, I have refined you." This is God. "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." So good. Okay, I'm cool with that. This the part I'm not cool with right here. "For my own sake." "For my own sake," he repeated. In other words, he said, "I'll let you go through the fire of affliction for his sake." I'm like, hold on, Jesus. I agree to that. He said, "I will do it." "How should my name be profaned, and I will not give my glory to another?" Here's what he's saying. He's saying that I allowed you to go through the furnace of affliction. I did it on my own. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Wait a minute. Let me put some Jesus in it. Pastor KJ been preaching that the devil and the evil king going to throw me in the furnace, but you're going to step in with me. Now, you just said that you're going to take me to the furnace of affliction. There's a contradiction somewhere. What's happening? Is it God taking you through the fire or is it the enemy? Which is it? I want to tell you this way. It's two different fires.
Wow. We had a fire here in town the last couple of days, and I have firefighter friends, and if that don't pan out, I watch firefighter shows, so we good. And what happens is whenever there's a wild forest fire, the devil brings those, those wild forest fires like, like in your life when there's a wild forest fire, the devil brings those. What the firemen would do is they would go and cut a line. And when they cut this line, it's called a fire line. They cut it, and then they light what's called a backfire. Yeah. And it's a control fire. And they light this control fire. So when the wildfire meets it, it stops it from burning. The Bible says our God is an all-consuming fire. So what God does is he comes in your life, and he cuts a fire line in your life. And when they cut the fire line, what are they removing? They're removing everything that's combustible. They're removing leaves and grass and paper and anything that the wildfire can burn. They're removing everything that's combustible. And God comes in your life as a consuming fire. He's removing everything that's combustible. He's getting rid of your ego and your pride and your jealousy and your anxiety and your guilt and your lust and your pornography and your alcoholism. He's getting rid of all of that as he's cutting this line in your life, as he's cutting this boundary line. So when the wildfire comes, it has no fuel. Wow. Because all of that brokenness in your life is fuel for the wildfire. Wow. But not only does he cut a line in your life, he now sets a fire right here on the line. So now he burns everything around this line. And when he burns everything around this line, when the wildfire meets it, it has nothing to burn and it goes out or it goes a different direction because it has nothing to burn. God said he lit a backfire in your life to get rid of the pride, the anxiety, the bitterness, the jealousy, the offense, and all the things that's not of him. So when the devil sends his flame, it has nothing to fuel it.
And this is why when those boys in the fire, the Bible says the only thing that got burnt was the ropes that was tying them. And I want to prophesy to somebody. Maybe you're in the furnace, and maybe you're in the fire. God said it won't harm nigh and it won't hurt you. All it's going to do is burn off the ropes that are tying you up because God did a backfire for you. He said, "I set you on fire so when the enemy's fire came, it had nothing to burn." Jesus said it this way: "When the evil one came, he found nothing in me." Nothing burnable. None burnable. See, you're only getting tore up by the fire when you have fuel for it. But when you let God, the consuming fire, burn away the fuel, the anxiety, the depression, the fear, the anger, the lust, there's no fuel for the devil's fire. Can we give him a shout of praise? God sets a backfire. So, some of you guys are in a fire, but it's not the fire from the enemy. It's a fire from God. He said he tests you through the furnace of affliction. And he lets you go through things to purify you, to refine you, to sharpen you, to purify you. So now you're ready for your furnace season. The furnace season is only bad when you have fuel for the devil's fire.
So good. When you don't have no fuel for that fire because God cut a line in your life, he cut a boundary in your life, then you're going to be in the furnace and you won't get burned. The Bible says that they were walking around in the fire. They were just chilling. Walking is the sign of peace. They ain't running, jumping, kneeling, ducking, bowing. They were walking. They were chilling. This ain't burning us. We good. Why? Because they had already been burned. A firefighter will tell you that when something has been burned once, it can't be burned twice. And if the Holy Spirit and fire has burnt you, there's nothing the enemy's fire can do against you. Now, we get towards the end of this scene, and they're thrown in the fire. They're walking around. They're untied. Why are they untied? Because God will untie you in the fire. Why? Because he will set a table for you in the midst of your enemies. Right in front of the people that was backbiting and hating and coming against you. God said, "I will untie you and have you walk in peace right in front of their face in front of the fire." He showed the king, "You, there's nothing you can do to hurt my people." Yeah. There's nothing you can do to hurt my people. Right in front of the people that tried to destroy them, God set them free and delivered them. God will deliver you right in front of the person that made you bound. That's right. And he delivered them. And they're walking. But then the king jumped in amazement because he saw something so crazy. He said, "Didn't we throw three in the fire?" And then he said, "Look, there's four in the fire, and one looks like a son of God." I want to tell you something, church. This is theology right here. That wasn't an angel. Scholars believe that was Christ. That when the three got thrown in the fire, Christ was in the fire with them. I want you to know something. When you're in the fire, you're not in the fire alone. Jesus gets in the fire with you. Jesus gets in the furnace with you. Jesus gets in the flames with you. And we believe this is the first time we've seen Jesus on the scene, that Jesus got in the fire with them. And the king was confused. It's like this old viral video, and it's going and it's going around online, and it's like, you know, you get your kid and you're like, "Okay, child. Johnny had three apples. He put three apples in the furnace. How many apples are in the furnace?" Four, Johnny. Like, you know, like, like, like it's one of those kind of moments. Like the king put three people in the furnace. How many people in the furnace? It was four in the furnace. There's another in the fire. There's another in the fire.
And what you have to know is the furnace is not a prison. It's a platform. Because God said, "Will my glory not be shown?" It was a platform for the glory of God. Because if God didn't allow them to go to the furnace, when was the king going to eat his words? Wow. The king went from being against God to being a gangster for God. Who's going to deliver you from our hands? Fast forward. Anybody talk about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb to limb. God said, "I'm going to need you to change your tongue. I got your, what God can deliver you? This God right here. I got you, King. I got you." And he had to eat his words. It was the platform. And guess what that would have done? There was a decree that was established that if anybody came against their God, they were allowed to worship. And if anyone came against that God, he said, "Man, I'm going to tell you, limb to limb. Your house will be a rubble." How do you go from fighting against God to fighting for God? It's because God let his people's furnace be not a prison, but a platform. Could your fire be a platform for your co-workers? Could your fire be a platform for your children? Could your fire be a platform for your kids? How do you know that this isn't a platform? You could be looking at it as punishment. God said this is a platform so God can get glory. Maybe your sickness is to show your friends that he's a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. Lord, it's not a prison. It's a platform.
And when the king saw this, the king says something as my MD comes up. The king says something so powerful. He said, "Three went in the fire." Three went in. When you look at this, three went in the fire. Four was in the fire. The king called for them. He said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego." He said, "Come here." He said, "Come here." And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the furnace. I want you to know something, church. God will always allow you to walk out of the furnace. He will always let you walk out. I know you're probably in a furnace, and it's hot, and it's flaming, and it's seven times hotter, but I want you to know God will always let you walk out of the furnace. And he called them out of the furnace. The king said, "Hey, hey, come." Three walked in, four was in the fire, but three walked out the fire. So my question is, if three walked in the fire, four was in the fire, and three walked out the fire, where's the fourth man in the fire? The fourth man never left the fire. He stayed in the fire. And I believe he stayed in the fire to let Radiant Church know, the next time you go through a fire, I'm already waiting for you. The next time you go through the fire, I'm in here standing with you. The next time you go through a fire, I'm already waiting on your behalf. I don't know when you'll go through a fire, but I know Jesus is already in the fire waiting on you to come in so he can untie you and walk you in the fire and make sure you're not harmed. He's already in the fire. Before you even get there, he's in the fire.
And then the Bible said their hair wasn't singed. Why I say their hair wasn't singed? Because anytime you've been around fire, uncle used to barbecue. Here's when you know somebody can barbecue. They got these little brown sandals. You can see the feet through. When somebody wears those, they can cook. So if somebody making you a barbecue, making you barbecue, you look down at their feet. They got these little brown sandals with the little slits in them. That brother can cook. Okay, that's how you know. And when my uncle used to barbecue, man, you would go by the grill, but you would leave everything on. You would smell like that barbecue. Your hair be singed, your fingernails, your clothes. And the Bible says that their hair wasn't singed and their clothes weren't scorched. Which means God said, "Not only am I going to let you go through the fire, but I'm not going to let the fire go through you. I'm going to make sure you're not singed. I'm going to make sure you're not scorched. I'm going to make sure that the fire don't get on you." Which means when you walk out the fire, they won't even be able to tell you went through it. Some of you guys walk out of the furnace of addiction, and people are going to be like, "You could have never been addicted to drugs. You could have never been in alcoholism. You could have never been in pornography. You could have never dealt with anxiety because we can't even smell it." The Bible says they didn't smell of smoke. In other words, I don't look like what I've been through. And I don't smell like where I came from. I don't look like what I've been through. And I don't smell like what I came from. Why? 'Cause I smell like the presence of God. I smell like the fragrance of God. I smell like the Spirit of God. I don't even smell a smoke. And you won't either. When God gets in a furnace with you, you won't even smell a smoke. Why? Because his fragrance is so much louder than the smoke.
But then the scripture said they didn't smell a smoke. And then it reminded me of the most dangerous part of a fire. Any firefighter will tell you the most dangerous part of a fire isn't the fire. It's the smoke. It's the smoke. More people in a fire died from the smoke than they ever do the fire. And why do they die of the smoke? Because it has carbon dioxide in it. And all of a sudden, that smoke gets inside of your mouth and inside of your lungs, and now you can't breathe. It's called the silent killer. And it gets in there where you can't breathe. And some of you guys have been through anxiety and depression and fear, and it's been squeezing you so hard you can't even breathe right now. And then it blinds you. Now you can't see, and you can't walk, and you can't escape because you can't see. And some of you guys have been in the furnace, but it's not even the fire. 'Cause God handles the fire. It's not the fire that gets you. It's the smoke. Because now you can't even see how to get out. It's the smoke. God handles the fire. But what do you do with the smoke? The fire is the cost. The smoke is the effect. The fire is what they did to you. The smoke is when you lay down at night, and it's now you look in the mirror and don't know who you are. Now you forgot what God said about you. Now you forgot the promises that God spoke over you. Now you forgot the healing that God's done in you. It's not the fire, it's the smoke.
And I want to tell you, you have a God that don't only deliver you from the fire, but he frees you from the smoke. That when you let God in the furnace, you will come out. You won't even smell a smoke. That you won't be blinded. That you won't be choked. That you won't be suffocated. That you won't smell of smoke. It's not only the fire, it's also the smoke. And some of you guys in this room have been attacked by the smoke. When now you're wrestling with your own thoughts, and you don't believe God can do it, and you don't believe he can heal you, and you don't believe he can restore you, and you don't believe he can deliver you, and you don't believe he can break these generational curses off of you. It's the smoke. But I declare that our God is not only stopping the fire, he's clearing the smoke. And if you've been under fire or if you've been breathing smoke, I want you to know that God's not done yet. There's another in the fire.
Wow, what a powerful message. We hope it blessed you. Make sure to share with your friends, your family members, and your co-workers so that they can be blessed as well.