3 Truths of the Furnace

I don't have a long message today, but I do have a true message. It's not an overly deep message, but I have zero doubt in my mind that there are individuals here today that need this simple truth taught to them one more time. I'm going to preach from a very familiar story in the Bible. It gets taught to you — if you've ever went to kids church or Sunday school, it's — they've been kids videos about it. It's, it's a very famous, famous passage, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to go back to those ones, even though we all know the story, that we can still glean from what's there in that.

So I haven't told you where I'm going on purpose, because sometimes if I, if I name a chapter in a, in a book of the Bible, you immediately know the story that's there and you're like, I've already heard it. Chances are you — there's no doubt you have heard this story, but I don't want you to just tune out. See, I feel like every time I come to the house of God, God has something for me, regardless if I'm the one teaching or preaching or somebody else is there. I just come in with a mindset of: God, you have something for me today, so God, let me receive what you have for me today. And I wonder if we could just have that mindset today. It — again, I, I doubt there's going to be anybody in this room that, as I'm preaching, you're going to go, wow, man, Pastor Kevin, he just dropped right there. All right? I, I doubt that's going to happen today because it's not about what I drop, but it's about what God wants to do. His word is true. Isn't that amen?

What do you do when life pulls the rug out from underneath you? You ever slipped on a rug before, or just slipped in general? I remember there was a particular time in our house — for some reason, some of the end caps on the stairs going up, they'd been dusted with some of the overspray from the Pledge landed down on the hardwood below. And uh, yeah, the doorbell rang and I was in the bedroom. I was home alone in the bedroom. The doorbell rings, so I went around the corner and my sock feet. Now you know this is going right. As soon as I turn the corner — I don't remember the fall. All I know is I was on my back asking myself what had just happened. Yeah. Anybody had a moment in life like that? Yeah. That it could have been something as simple as somebody pledging the floor, not wiping up, and you fail. My mother-in-law used to have the stairs on the end of her over there, and royal glenn, she used to just get so tickled because she would polish the last two steps, and as you come down, you went from carpet there to the hardwood, and the same thing — if you had sock feet, you just went airborne.

Life does that sometimes. You're just doing what you're supposed to be doing. You're not doing anything abnormal. I'm not talking about living in gross sin. I'm just talking about you were doing the right things, and all of a sudden — anybody identify with that? What do you do when that happens? Because I feel like if you wait till that moment to have a plan, you're in trouble. Yeah. Don't, don't wait to the moment of — and come up with a plan. You need to have a plan so that when you're there, you're able to handle.

You know, there's, there's a lot of information about stuff that — how you can plan for when you go on excursions and adventures out. There's, there's even a book that's called Worst Case Scenarios, that, that it's just really little humorous to read, all kind of encounters, like how to give a dog the Heimlich maneuver, and it goes through that, how to, how to sweep your finger through their mouth and how to get up under the rib cage and how to squeeze so that you can — you know, if your dog, if a little Fifi is choking, you can help it there. Uh, you know how to give a Heimlich maneuver to a cat? You know, step one: walk away. Step two: look for ammunition box. I'm just kidding. Some of you already composed in the email right now. I don't hate cats. I just don't like cats. There's a difference. You never know what lies around the corner, you know. Things slip up on you.

When I think about this, I think of this remarkable story in Daniel chapter 3. Three guys named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And their life is very interesting. Oftentimes we only take what happens there in chapter three, but you also need to know there was a lot more that led up to chapter three. They didn't just show up and everything was great and grand and all of a sudden they were asked to do what they were asked to do. But hopefully I can present this in such a way to you today that you realize that they're not too different than you and I and what we face every day. So if you have your copy of the scriptures, we're going to go to Daniel chapter 3. It'll be on the wall behind me. I want to talk to you today about this, this title: Three Truths of the Furnace. Three Truths of the Furnace. I'm going to read seven verses, so just, just hang on for just a minute. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. It says: King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue 90 feet tall and nine feet wide and set up on the plane of Dura in the providence of Babylon. Then he

sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial offices — officials, excuse me — to come to the dedication of the statue that he had set up. Now look at your neighbor, say, he's having a party. Man, that was weak. I know it's rainy. I know it's hard to be awake. Let's try that one more time. Look at the other neighbor maybe and say, he's having a party. There you go. He's having a party now. And, and what's interesting about him, he's one of those hosts that wants to be in charge of the party, okay?

Verse three: So he had all the officials come and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And then a herald shouted out: People of all races and nations and language, listen to the King's command. So everybody's like, all right, oh, Neb's going to say something. Verse 5: When you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the zither — I don't even know what that is — layer of the heart pipes and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue. Verse 6: Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Say, oh my. So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bow to the ground and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Now, I don't think anybody in here is confused on the instructions. Anybody confused? No. I think we all got it, right? Nebuchadnezzar has made a statue. We're not really sure what the statue was. All we know is that it was 90 feet tall and nine feet wide. That's, that's pretty big. It would have been one of those things — you can't miss it. It wasn't like you could say, oh, I didn't see that. He kind of took that out of the equation. It was, it was obvious that there was something there. He wanted to draw your attention to. Not only that, he gives a very specific, detailed command as to what you are to do.

Now we see here in this story — and we're going to get to them in a minute, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you — if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they decided they're not going to bow. Now, what's interesting about these three fellows is they've already lost their homeland. They've already been exiled from Israel. They've lost their families. Not only did they lose their, their homeland and lose their families, they lost their identities. Their names had been changed. They were stripped to cause them to lose any sense of their former life at all, their allegiance to this God. And they are living in exile. And it's very likely, to be honest, that they've been made eunuchs as well. I'm sure they didn't go into that willingly. If you don't know what that is, you can ask your mom after church. Sorry, mom.

Now, there's no name given to this god or idol, simply that it was there. Babylon has taken over many cultures, many countries. They have dominated many peoples. And Nebuchadnezzar wants to make sure that he has unity in his kingdom. And he understands how man operates, so he makes it very clear that everybody, no matter where you come from, no matter what land that you were conquered and brought out of, no matter who your mom and dad is, you're going to bow. We're going to have unity in this kingdom, forcing everyone to worship together. He was also reinforcing the fact that he was in charge and that he was in control. He invested a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of resources in this to motivate the people to go along with what his command and desire is for everybody.

Now, they were, they were quite a culture. If you study out Babylon at all, you realize that they had a lot of stuff going their way. It wasn't just a bunch of dummies living way back then. They actually had a lot of things — a lot of, a lot of things that we still even use and incorporate our own society today have their roots been traced back to Babylon. And I love that we see here in this moment, as he is wanting to bring them into the culture, but he's not really given any room for opinions around the matter. He has his mind made up exactly what he wants to do.

Now, you'll notice in the story that there was a number of lists to get repeated, because it's a very artful story that's being told. This is a very impressive gathering of leaders from all nations. And it wasn't enough this to compel you to bow down. He decided that failure to comply would mean that you'd be thrown into a fiery furnace. I don't know — where did that even come up from? Did he just decide there? I mean, he had, you know, a little bad omelette that morning and said, I don't know, what can we do? It wasn't just like, hey, you're going to get slapped on the wrist, or hey, we're going to charge you a fine. I mean, it was, it was straight to the furnace. It wasn't like we — uh, I want you to think about it. He was trying to remove all doubt out of your mind whatsoever that you would go against his command. It wasn't like you'd wait out, say, you know, the fine's only a hundred dollars, I don't want to bow, my back hurts, I'll just pay the hundred dollars. What he was requiring of you was your life. Don't miss that point. What was being required was your life. What was at stake was you'll either conform to what the norm is established by me

or you lose your life. I'm going to say that again: You will either conform or you will lose your life. Ladies and gentlemen, we're living in a world where we face a lot of this same pressure today, that we will either conform to the social norms that are being pushed at us or our life is at stake. Now, you'd be thinking, that's pretty hard, Pastor Kevin. Are you even remotely in touch with the headlines today? Are you, are you even remotely aware of what's coming at us now? I'm not talking about whether or not you're going to get the vaccine, all right? Some of you have just really worked up about this. I just need you to calm down for just a minute, okay? The vaccine is not the mark of the beast. It's not. And there's been vaccines out for a long time.

I know right now, some of you have, for the first time, have paid attention to me. I feel like for the first time today I have everybody's attention in the room. What's he going to say about the vaccine? Here's what I'm going to say about the vaccine: It's your choice. That's what I'm going to say about the vaccine: It's your choice. Choose. If you get the vaccine, I don't have no issue with that. Get the vaccine. If you choose not to get the vaccine, I have no issue with that. It's your choice to make. The choice where I think all of us feel the pressure is when someone says, you must. That's where the pressure comes in. It doesn't have anything to do with the vaccine so much as it has to do with someone saying, you will.

Now, this isn't a message — I didn't go pull up Daniel chapter three and, and, and, and bring the vaccine in with the, the statue. That's not what this is about. If that's what you think this message is about, I'll rebuke you in Jesus' name. That is not what this message is about. I'm talking about the spirit of the day we're living in. There is, there is an agenda that is being pushed, ladies and gentlemen. And this agenda that's being pushed is no different than what, what, what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we're facing in Daniel chapter 3: that you will either conform or you will die.

So I'm coming to you today with three truths from the furnace, because you're going to have to make your mind up, ladies and gentlemen, that you either are all in or you're not. You're gonna have to make a decision. It's going that way. I have been trying my best for the last two months to prepare you so that you know what you are supposed to know, that you know and whom you trust, you know where your foundation is, that you know what the word of God says when it comes to salvation, that you know in these last days what it is you can build your life on, what it is you can't build your life on. Why am I doing that? Because we're being pushed, ladies and gentlemen. We're being pushed. And at some point it's going to get to the point where they will come at you and it will be this: You'll either bow down and conform or you will die. You think they're gonna come in and round you up? Is that what you're saying, Pastor Kevin? They're gonna put a gun their head? That's not what I'm saying. But I'm saying you're gonna be pushed to the point of compromise. And how far are you willing to go? You better know now.

These men — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — had done well in the world in which they had been put, placed. They had advanced, because God does that. Even in less than desirable circumstances, God will still elevate his people. He will, he will. If you live your life dedicated to God, things may not be the way you want them to. I guarantee you, if you had polled Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and you'd ask him, hey boys, things seem to be going good for you in Babylon — are you happy you're here now? I promise you their answer's been, no. We would prefer to be back in Israel. We'd prefer to be back in our homeland. But we'd have not given that option. So wherever it is God has for me in the moment, I'm still going to be dedicated and committed to my God. There's a whole message right there. Because sometimes we think we get the option to back out of a few things because it is less than desirable conditions you're living in. I don't know what Bible you're reading in, but I can't get it when I read the scriptures. It says that you need to be committed to him. He gave his best for you. Why do you refuse to give your best for him just because things aren't going the way you want them to go? You need to know. You need to know where you stand.

Now, they had done well. Because of their elevation and their positions, they had required — have had acquired a few enemies. Because any time you rise up, there's always somebody wanting to push you down. Always. Any time you get just a step forward, there's somebody wanting to pull you back. So when this happens, here's those people. Chapter three, verse number eight: But some of the astrologers went to the king and formed the Jews — formed on the Jews. They said: The King Nebuchadnezzar, long lived the king. You issued a decree requiring all people to bow down and to worship the gold statue when they hear the sound the horn. Verse number 11: That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into blazing furnace. I love how

they go in and say — they haven't named a name yet, but they're just saying, hey, you said that we got to bow, and those that didn't bow, they get burned up. Is that right, King? Live forever. We love you. Verse 12: But there are some Jews — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — whom you have put in charge. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue that you have set up.

Now, that word "in form" there, that's interesting. You guys know I love to dig down and do the word studies in these verses. That word "in form" there, in the King James Version, is, is, is translated "accused." But the original Hebrew word, kerats — k-r-a-s — its literal definition is to eat morsels of anyone, or to chew to pieces. So when you read this, it says they are accused or they are informed. It is like they're literally eating them up alive when they're talking to the king. They're trying to destroy them, and they don't like them, so they're looking for some reason to have them thrown into the furnace. Now, the reason they're so frustrated is because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have been put over them, and they didn't like that. They didn't like that they got the promotion. They didn't like that they got advanced over them. And because of that, they come to the king. They all knew how Nebuchadnezzar could respond. That's why they worded what they did in such a very specific way.

Look at verse 13: Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. Anybody ever seen anybody going to a rage? To hear the kings in the rage. Here he is now. They brought — he says that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the golden statue that I've set up. Verse 15: I will give you one more chance, boys. Maybe you didn't hear. Maybe you misunderstood. I know you are not from around here. So you've been here long enough, I think you'd understood. But now, but just in case — I'm pretty mad. You probably can tell that I'm worked up a little bit. But just in case, I'm willing to give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you'll be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then — I love this, I love this here, how it ends right here's the rhetorical question: And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?

Now consider that statement, right? Because he's the king. I mean, he is like the king. There's, there's nobody going to buck the king there, who he is. So he's asking them a question that they already, in their mind, according to him, should know the answer to: What gods can possibly rescue you from my hand? I don't know what options you have there, boys. Shadrach and Benny, look at me. I'm giving you one more chance. And if you don't take this chance, you don't take this opportunity, then, then what is going to happen? Who could possibly rescue you in this moment?

Now, yeah, these rhetorical questions are interesting, right? This happens a lot in my house, when I look at my daughters, I'm like, do you want to get in trouble now? Am I the only parent that does that? You're looking at me like, yeah, do you want dirty — you're like, are you wanting — when they're little, like, do you want a spanking? Is that what you want? And every one time that, you know, Dad, I was gonna go play, but you know, spanking, I think that's probably — you — I, I opt out for that. Now, they, you know the answer before you ask the question. Or at least Nebuchadnezzar thought he knew the answer to the question before he ask: What god will deliver you? But he is surprised that there are three men who do not treat it as a rhetorical question. Because when you have faith that there is a big God who oversees the affairs of your life, all of a sudden you got options.

Now, we look at this situation, we know the end, so it's unfair for us. But they didn't have the luxury of knowing what was coming next. The only thing they had going for them is they had a relationship with God. And their relationship with God was to the point that they trusted God, even though things had not been ideal for them, even though things had not went the way that they had desired for them to go. When it come down to it, God was still good.

Oh, we got to be careful here, because this is where we get into things that are very subjective, of how, how God really is or is not good. Humanity looks at it and says, how can you say that there's a good God when you don't know my life? Well, you're right, I may not know every aspect of your life. But you're still talking to me. I'll let that sink in. You see, if the enemy would have had his way, you'd have been dead long time ago. If the enemy would had his way, you would have taken your life already. If the enemy would have had his way, you'd be anywhere but in the house of God. But the fact that you are here right now is proof there's a good God. The fact that you are here listening to me today is proof that there's a good guy. You came into this building. You're here right now. God is good. God is good. At some point you got to settle some things inside of you, that God's

goodness is not controlled by your environment, that God's goodness is not controlled by your feelings, and God's goodness is not controlled if everything's going your way. But regardless of what's going on in your life, regardless of what you're facing around, regardless of what has happened to you, God is good. God is good. God is always good, and God will always be good. It doesn't matter if you feel it. It doesn't matter if you like what you're going through. It doesn't matter what happened to you five minutes ago. God, he is good and God is faithful. He is faithful. There's anything I know about God, he's faithful. How can you say he's faithful? Because I'm still here. How can you say he's faithful? Because I can look back across my life to what God has done and where he has brought me through. And yes, there's been things I've faced in my life that I didn't like. And yes, there's even stuff going on right now that I wished were different. But regardless of all of those things, he's still a faithful God. He's still faithful because the sun popped up again today. He's still faithful because I'm here breathing with my own two lungs. He's still faithful because I have an opportunity to be in his presence one more time. He's the faithful God, regardless of whatever else I got going on in my life. My God is good and my God is faithful. My God is good and my God is faithful. My God is good and my God is faithful, come what may. I don't know what the next five minutes hold, but I'll go down telling you: My God is good and my God is faithful.

16: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied: Oh Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, then the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power. Something about that just makes me happy. We already know what our answer is. We don't have to think about it. I don't have to have one more chance at this. We had made our mind up from the moment we heard what you were trying to do. Our God is able. And the first truth you need to know from the furnace is this — if you're taking notes: God is able. God.

I think I'm going to preach. I lost the button today. It's really frustrating because this jacket actually fits. I'm gonna take my jacket off, cause I feel like I need to preach a little bit. God is able. You know, I think it'd be good for some of y'all to write that down and put a posting note up in your car. Put a post in it on the mirror in your bathroom. Put it, put it a few places. Put it on the, the monitor in your, in, in your cubicle at your desk right there. This — those words right there: God is able. Our God is able. Our God is able. And because he is able, I have options. You have options. I'm not locked into something just because everybody else thinks this is the way it's going to be. I refuse to accept that, because my God is able. As long as my God is able, then I have options. I do not have to live in fear. Therefore I don't have to live in defeat. Therefore I don't have to cower down. Therefore I am not going to bow down to that idol. Oh Nebuchadnezzar, let me tell you something: My God is able.

Now, every human power one day find its limits. Most of you know, if you've been here the past few weeks, I've been dealing with this pinched nerve in my neck. So my left arm is nowhere near as strong as it normally is. My Emory Jane — I love her. She's here somewhere. Henry, where you at? Oh, there she is, my sweet girl. She's nine. She'll be 10 in November. Uh, in her mind sometimes she still thinks she's the size of a three or four year old. So she'll come running at me because, you know, Daddy come home and she wants to run up. And here's the deal: I want her to always run to me and hug me like it's the best. It's just great when the kids do that — Daddy's home. And just — so she comes running now, but I gotta, I gotta plan that a little bit better, because sometimes she can hit me like a linebacker. Especially, I got one and a half arms now, so I'm like trying to catch her up there because I wanted to know — yeah, Daddy's day's home. Daddy loves you. But you know, there's going to come a day the arms are going to wear out. For example, my dad's right over there. Dad, wave your hand. I love my dad, but if I ran right now and jumped into my dad — well, I'm pretty sure he'd kill him. It wouldn't kill him. It'd maim him real bad. Because there comes a day you just, you know, you, you can't do that. Yeah. So human power, it'll wear out.

Now here's the deal: real smart, real powerful, real clever — you know, even Nebuchadnezzars are going to find out they have a limit one day. There will be an enemy. There will be a problem. There will be a diagnosis. There will be disease. There will be loss. There will be age. There will be death. But here's what I want you to know. Aren't you — everybody pay attention. I'm gonna pay attention the same as when I mentioned vaccine a while ago. Okay? Maybe I should just start doing that. Vaccine! Everybody like a prayer dog pop their head up. All right, here we go. Like, here

this — this is the truth. It goes along with the truth I told you: God is able. This isn't number two. This goes along — this is, this is one, one, one-A. All right? You ready? Our God's arms have never lost their power. Heaven — he hasn't lost his strength. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. We live in faith, not in fear. And if you need to, if you need help with fear, I gotta go back last Sunday and pull that message up. And some of you said some very kind things about — we don't live in fear. We don't want to have to — I don't have to, I don't have to bow down to that. I don't have to live with that. God doesn't give me the spirit of fear. He gives me love, joy, peace, and a sound mind. He gives me a sound mind in the middle of chaos. I can have my mind. I can have my wits about me, because I know my God stands with me. He hasn't lost any of his power. He hasn't lost any of his strength. He is able — able for, able to do whatever needs to be done in the moment, wherever I am. My God is able. He is there. I don't have to live in fear, no matter what I face. No matter what the problem is. No matter how deep the discouragement. No matter what emotions I'm resting with. Because my God is able to see me through it.

The God we serve is able to reconcile broken marriages. I've seen it happen before in my life, many, many times. He's able to free people from horrible addictions. I've seen him do it. He's able to heal damaged bodies. He's able to forgive the darkest of sins. He can make somebody a new creature. God is able to be there in the greatest need, in the darkest hour, with supernatural power and wisdom. He's able to reach down wherever you are and pull you out and put you on a firm foundation. He's able to, to go into the darkest hour of your life where you feel like nobody's else around you, when it feels like everything is raining down. You need to know these words: My God is able. If you take nothing else away today, they keep that phrase with you: God is able. When you run into a problem and somebody doesn't like you, when things don't go your way, when you're facing adversity, just remember: God is able.

The reason these three men lived in faith and not fear is because they live with a great big God in their life. Do you live with a big God? What do you mean, Pastor Kevin? Well, you know, a lot — a lot of how you, how you process things is what you think about certain — so, so how are you thinking about God? Do you, do, do you, do you live out your life with him being a big God? You know, Jason got up and did an excellent job. He did a great job talking about where God had brought us from. Now, I'll be honest with you: when, when I, when I rewind my mind now, some of that I think I've just buried. I just — I put under the blood of Jesus and let him handle it, because it was — you know, I looked at Mike when he said that, and I said, I don't know — are we really in our right minds? I don't know if we're in our right minds or not. But I look back at how he had been faithful. I, I'm telling you, God brings you through things, through things, because it changes your perspective about him.

Now, I'm going to ask a real simple question, and there's no pressure to raise your hand on this, all right? So no, there's no peer pressure. Matter of fact, for — if you are comfortable, I want you to do this: If God has proven himself at least one time to you — just one time, not multiple — but if he's proven himself to you one time, are you willing to raise your hand? All right, now look at that. Wow. For the most part, the whole room had their hand up, that he has proven himself to you at least once. Then they're not — then I'm gonna follow that up with the question is: What makes you doubt he won't do it again? What makes you doubt? See, I know he can. I know he can. Some of y'all, when, when he threw out that million dollar number while ago, they're like, oh, million dollars. We did a million and three. He said we're gonna do a million next year. Why are you worried if he did it in three? Do you think for a minute then when he said that, God was like, oh Jason, hang on, that's a million bucks? You think God started sweating? No, God didn't sweat. And some of you may have been a little bit nervous. Some of you like, man, should have been home. Rainy Sunday, now I feel all committed to this thing. Now I gotta — what are we doing? The 17th — find something. What kind of God are you living with?

See, here's what I know is the truth, y'all. Okay, here's the truth: I've found that when I am active with God every day, he's a whole lot bigger and more present in my life. It's different than when I keep him on the side. It's different when I keep him in the cabinet, like I do the Advil, and I only pull him out when I'm in trouble. But when I have a relationship with such that I walk with him every day — when I'm, when, when I'm with him in the cool of the morning and before I close my eyes at night

I, I, I talk to him, there's a difference in there. There's, there's something comforting about that, that causes my confidence to rise and my faith and my trust to be in him. And I feel like a lot of the times, the reason some of you are struggling is because you don't have that kind of relationship with God. And he desires so much to have that relationship with you, but he's having to fight and compete.

You see, for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, their focus is not particularly on the size of the furnace. Their focus was on the size of their God. So when Nebuchadnezzar said, you're going to either conform or you're going to die, they said, we're not worried about going to the furnace. Is that furnace — it's small compared to my God. That — matter of fact, that statue, itty-bitty compared to my God. We're not really worried about you, Nebuchadnezzar. We've already made our mind up. We, we, we were with him this morning. I was talking to him already before I got in here. I didn't have to think about my decision. My mind was already made up that my God is able.

See, one thing you need to know about these three young men: they're not people of superficial faith that has emerged because their lives have always been easy. But they had lived through some stuff. And every point around their life was a nightmare that was growing closer to reality, this would happen. But I see in this — to understand their story, to read through the scriptures, to see that these men, they, they went through it. But going through it, they didn't drop their God. They, they somehow kept the perspective that God is able. And I love it, because then, then it gets up and says: If we're thrown in the furnace of — King, we want you to know, our God who we serve is able to save us. But then we get to verse number 18, and it says this: But even if he doesn't — even if he doesn't — we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, be respectful, that we will never serve your gods or worship the ghost that you set up.

So they knew the God that had drowned Pharaoh's army, that knocked down Jericho's wall, the drop of Goliath with that one stone, who brought manna in the morning, who was a pillar of fire, led his people by night, who spoke worlds into existence. His arms had not lost any of their strength. Our God is still able to rescue us. Our God is still able. Which brings us up to truth number two. Because here it is. You ready for truth number two? Our God is able, even if he doesn't do it. Truth number two. Truth number one is our God is able. Truth number two is our God is able, even if he doesn't do it.

Now, this is a noble truth, that our God is able — but able to answer your deepest prayers, to fulfill your fondest desires, able to realize your greatest dreams. But what about when it doesn't happen? I think about what Joe went through. I think about the, the, the intense suffering without relief or explanation. But yet he, in the middle of all that, said: Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. When he is finished trying me, I'll come out on the other side as pure gold. What kind of person can do that? Somebody who has made their mind up, then my God is able. I may not know what I'm going through right now, and I may wish I was out of it — I'm still in the middle of it — but even if he doesn't deliver me, he is still able.

A lot of us are tempted to pray: God, if you'll grant this one request, if you'll give me what I really, really want, then I'll spend the rest of my life serving you. And I'll tell you, that's a weak kind of faith. A real kind of faith to say: God, I wish you would step in and intervene on my behalf, but if you don't, I know you're still able. If you don't answer this prayer, it does not negate your faithfulness or goodness in my life. God, you are still able to do it.

But how many here today have an even-if kind of faith? How many of you have an even-if kind of faith? Maybe your finances are going really bad and you're in debt. Our God is able to provide. But even if he doesn't, do you still stick with him? Maybe there's a job that's not turned out the way you want to. Maybe, maybe you're looking for a job and God is able to make a way. But even if he doesn't, he's still good. Even if he doesn't, he still does. Maybe your health's really bad. Maybe you wrestle with depression so bad you can't even hardly get out of the bed. Our God is able to bring joy. Our God is able to lift the president. Even if he doesn't. Maybe your child's been gone away so long — Jesus specializes in bringing prodigals back. But even if he doesn't, in the moment, he is still good. Do you have an even-if faith?

Often truth is this: that when my day goes well, when I got good things going to my life, then I feel like my faith is well and that my God is good. But when stuff's not going the way I want it to, and stuff hasn't turned out the way that I expect to do, when my expectations have not been met, then all of a sudden my faith wavers and I begin to question whether or not God really loves me. Oh, I wish I had one person that

would say, I did that too. Yeah, yeah. I, I'm like, I don't know, God. I, I don't know. But I'm telling you, he need an even-if kind of faith. God — even if you don't answer. Even if it doesn't go, you know — even if I get a little close to the furnace, even if I begin to bend the knee. God — called — what that is, is called self-absorption and self-preoccupation, which leads to self-pity. Because at the end of the day, the great big idol is always me. The great big idol is me. I want it to go my way. I want it to be the way I expect it to be. I want things to work out in my favor. I want things to go according to my plan. And I got to be careful, because that gets me in trouble and that leads me away from the even-if faith.

They say this to Nebuchadnezzar, and he's deeply moved. These three men: Our God is able. He can rescue us still. But we want you to know that even if he doesn't, we're not going to bend down to you. Even if he doesn't. Even if we go into the furnace, we're not going to bow. Our God is able. And Nebuchadnezzar, in this moment, he's deeply moved by the devotion. He sets them free. He proclaims religious liberty throughout the land. No, that's not the story. That's not the story at all. He says this — verse 19: Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his faith — face became distorted with rage. You ever been there? Yeah. Most of you proud of this. Do you remember when your mama did that? You know, you pushed the button, and then all of a sudden the wrath came.

So here they are in this moment: Oh Neb, we, we — Your Majesty, we want you to know our God is able. But even if he, even if he doesn't do it, we still won't bow down to you. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. I was thinking about that. I mean, how do you know — like, did they have a gauge that was seven times harder, I think? Do y'all think about stuff like that when you read the scriptures? I'm like, how did they know it was seven times hotter? Did they, did they have a thermometer then? I don't think the thermometer was out then. There doesn't — yeah, that's at least one time hotter. Yeah. Did they have to take seven steps back further than it normally was and say, well, in my opinion it's seven times hotter because I'm seven times further back? I don't know. All I know is this dude was so mad, he basically says, I want you to crank it up until the walls melt. And he looks at them.

Now, I don't know about you, but again, I put myself there. I'm there, Terry Freeman. I'm there going, man, he said seven. It's already bad enough. It's hot. It's already bad enough, it's a furnace. But King said seven times hotter now. Yeah, y'all, I don't know how y'all, y'all play this out. But I don't, I don't see them as three guys going — now, they got faith, all right? There's no doubt they have faith. That's what we're talking about, is their faith. But I don't see them whistling going in there. Maybe you do, in your version. I'll let you preach yours. These three men are waiting to be thrown in the flames. And the fate they faced voluntarily, knowing that at any moment they could simply consent — as they're heading in there, they can simply consent. In fact, it's so bad that the, the, the, the fellows that are carrying them in there fall over dead beside them. Don't even — even think, oh, that'd be proof that God's got his hand on you. You think that's what's going through their mind that moment? No, I promise, I promise they were doing their best to maintain their commitment. They stood. They see them collapse and die. There are flames. And then this remarkable thing in verse 24: But suddenly Nebuchadnezzar jumps up in amazement, and he exclaimed to his advisors: Did 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.

See, even-if faith sometimes will take you into the fire. My third truth is this: Truth number one, God is able. Truth number two, God is able even if he doesn't. Truth number three: Sometimes God delivers you in the furnace. Sometimes God will deliver you from the furnace, but sometimes God delivers you in the furnace. I'll meet you in the furnace. And the place where full devotion can meet sometimes lead to a place that's frightening, dangerous, and painful, because it is frightening, dangerous, and painful.

But I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this ending this way. Matter of fact, I want the musicians to come, because I want us to be ready for what God's fixing to do here. But I want you to think on me for just a minute. For the rest of their lives, they were going to remember that moment. For the rest of their lives, they were the only three who could say: There was another in the fire. We went in bound. We went in against our will. We went in standing and trusting, because our God was able. We went in and we were committed, even if. But when we got in the fire, what had us held captive fell off. Oh, don't miss that point. Sometimes the very thing that holding you captive can't be released from you until you go into the furnace. They were

bound on the outside. They went in against their own will. They stood the course. But when they went in, they came out loosed.

I'm speaking to somebody right now. I know I'm not hollering. I know I'm not doing cartwheels. But I hope you don't miss this point right now, what I'm trying to say to you. It turned out that what God was trying to do was take them — because of their faith — to a position by the things that very hell held them captive, he took from them.

None of you — when I think about this for a moment, I wonder: What was the conversation like when they were there? How did it go? How did it go in that moment when they're there, facing their greatest fear, in their greatest challenge, in the moment when it seems like everything's about to be gone? And then that moment God steps in and says: Hey fellas, hey, I want you to know, I'm here with you. We're not told how long they're in the fire. We, we don't know how many minutes it was in there. We don't know to the length it was before the chains fell. All we know is that when Nebuchadnezzar peered in, he said: Hey, when did three that we threw in there bound — oh yes, Your Majesty, it was three. Then why am I seeing four walking around talking? Because there was another in the fire.

There was something else inside of there that only Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego got to experience. Only they did. Because they were symbolic to say: I don't care what the world says I have to do. I will not compromise on my relationship with God. I refuse to cower down and bow down to the pressures of the day. Everybody else around me may bow down. Everybody else may dance to your flute and heart. But listen to me, King: I'm not going to give up, because my God is good. I haven't had a perfect life. I've come through exile. I've come through a lot of things that were uncomfortable. I come through a name change, and my identity has been stolen for me. But there is a line I have drawn in the sand, and this line for me is something I will not compromise and cross over when it comes down to worshipping some other god. I will not allow that in my life.

And I'm wondering today: Is there anybody here who's drawn a line? I know I keep going back to this, but this is such a powerful truth. We can't just keep a certain amount of separation from us in the world. We can't, ladies and gentlemen, we can't. That, that thing doesn't work, because the world just keeps drifting further and further away from God. And if I'm just keeping a six foot separation because I'm separated, then we keep drifting with the world. There has to come something inside of you that says: No. No, I stop here. You can keep going if that's what you want to do. You can keep walking that way if that's what you want. But I refuse to back up. My God is able. My God is able to carry me through anything. But even if he doesn't, I will still not go out. I will still not bow down, because I know that there are sometimes experiences that I will only have by going into the fire.

Could you try again? Some experiences that you will only have in the fire. Now, I don't know what you're going through today. I don't know your problems. I don't know your struggles. I know this: God is able. He is able. If you're facing some overwhelming circumstances in your life, then I would invite you to come down to this altar area, and I would allow the God of all to work with you through your situation, whatever it is you're facing. But know this: Not only is he able, but even if he doesn't, it doesn't negate who he is. But there are some things that you're only going to get loose stuff and the fire, and the fire. So I invite you — they're going to sing. This altar is open.