Finding Comfort in Christ’s Presence: The Missing Link of the Cross

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:00] It's coming up soon. Tell them what it is, Graham.
[00:00:02] Elevation Nights 2026 coming up.
[00:00:05] Now, my son Graham has been on probably like 75 or 80 of these nights.
[00:00:11] They're incredible. You can go to elevationnights.com right now, February 24th through March 5th.
[00:00:17] Me, Graham, Elevation Worship, Holly, Abby, Elijah, our whole family, our church family, and you.
[00:00:24] Are you coming to Elevation Nights? I want to see you there.
[00:00:27] Now, there is some limitation.
[00:00:29] The tickets are going quickly.
[00:00:31] So I need you to go to elevationknights.com, February 24th through March 5th, and find out if we're coming to a city within 100 miles of you.
[00:00:39] I want to sing Graves into Gardens with you.
[00:00:41] I want to sing Gyro with you.
[00:00:42] I want to sing Trust in God with you.
[00:00:44] I want to sing Praise with you.
[00:00:45] I want to preach God's Word to you.
[00:00:47] I want to see God move in your life.
[00:00:49] I'll see you soon at Elevation Knights.
[00:00:51] Can't wait to meet you in person.
[00:00:54] I'm so glad you're here.
[00:00:56] It's great to see you in the presence of the Lord today.
[00:01:11] I want to share this Scripture from Isaiah 43, verses 1 and 2, a promise I have never preached about before, but it has meant a lot to me personally through the years, and I think you'll see why. The prophet says,
[00:01:23] But now this is what the Lord says, He who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel.
[00:01:32] Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine.
[00:01:41] When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.
[00:01:53] The flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Today I want to talk to you from this subject. The title of this message is
[00:02:07] Not Something, But Someone. Then for a subtitle to the message, we're going to call it Still In It. High-five four people you can reach and say, Still In It. Please put it in the chat as well. Still In It. Still In It.
[00:02:31] Welcome today to our eFam around the world. Wherever you are, God is with you.
[00:02:37] Still in it. You may be seated.
[00:02:39] Somebody shout, still in it.
[00:02:48] Well, thank you so much. 46 looks good on me. 46 years old. 46 and still not fixed.
[00:03:08] Now, this is ridiculous. Y'all are a disobedient class. I didn't tell you to sing this.
[00:03:14] It kind of goes along with what I was going to say to start the sermon.
[00:03:56] Forty-six years old, I've been preaching for 30 years, and then I've been pastoring for I'm still learning how to do this. I'm not saying that like humble pie. I am still learning how to do this. Even sometimes I realize that the way I've been doing it is completely wrong,
[00:04:16] and then I try to correct and let the Lord speak to me when that happens.
[00:04:20] It happened a year or two ago. I was praying so hard for God to give me my sermon points.
[00:04:25] I'm kind of OCD about my sermon points. I don't care as much about matching my clothes, but I like all of my message to match. I like it all to start with the same letter.
[00:04:34] I like for it all to have the same cadence. I like for it to have an arc. I like for it to have continuity. I like for there to be layers to the message, and I want to present something
[00:04:42] pretty when I preach. The Lord spoke to me in my preparation one time and said, "'I didn't die for pretty. I died for people.'" You're so worried about your points. You keep praying, "'Lord, give me my points. Give me my points. Give me my points.'" He said,
[00:04:59] "'I want you to shift that and start praying not for the points but pray for the people.
[00:05:05] and if you'll pray for the people, I'll give you the points. The points are what you care about, and the people are what I care about. If you'll pray about what I care about, I'll give you what
[00:05:14] you need." Ever since then, it shifted me so that when I sit down to preach, I picture people, some that I know, some that I've invented, some who are a composite sketch of many individuals
[00:05:30] that I've met through the years. I bring Tom to the table. All you've been through and all God has done in your life. I tell myself if this isn't true for Tom, it isn't true for
[00:05:41] anyone because of what you've been through. I tell myself when I'm preparing a sermon that even if they don't all start with the letter N, it's okay, because somebody in the room is going through Parkinson's, and they don't care anything about my points. Somebody in the room just got a
[00:06:06] a promotion, and they don't really care about my points either. They just think about that paycheck. They're just thinking about that vacation they're going to be able to take now.
[00:06:13] They don't think about all those people they're going to have to manage now. They didn't think about that part when they prayed for the promotion, but they're going to find out real soon, so I need to get them prepared for that promotion. They don't care anything about the points.
[00:06:24] Instead of focusing on something to say, I've learned to focus on someone to say it to.
[00:06:32] Always remember that God gives you influence in life not for some thing but for someone.
[00:06:39] Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.
[00:06:45] If you seek the kingdom, you get the things thrown in like a prize at the bottom of a Happy Meal.
[00:06:51] But if you seek the things, you miss the kingdom, and the things aren't even the things you think they're going to be. Many of us live our entire lives thinking there is a thing that will make
[00:07:05] us satisfied. We think there is a thing that will make us confident. We think there is a thing that will make us feel finally happy. We think there is a thing that will make us feel secure. We think
[00:07:15] there is a thing that will bring us joy. Things can bring for a little while. It works until it doesn't. A thing can be a thing, but the thing has a thing that is only the thing until the thing is
[00:07:30] just a thing. The thing can do the thing until the thing is just a thing. What I'm trying to say is, it's someone, not something. I'm preaching to someone today who is going through something
[00:07:44] very difficult in your life. You say, That's generic. I'll be more specific.
[00:07:49] You are still in it even though you thought God brought you out of it. That's why we are surprised sometimes by the fiery trials. In 1 Peter 4, verse 12, the disciples said, "'My friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you as though
[00:08:15] something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." Did you see the progression in the text? He said you're going to rejoice when his glory is revealed,
[00:08:33] but don't be surprised when the fire comes to test the proven value of that which your life is built upon. I won't spend very long in that, because in the book of Isaiah, in a different
[00:08:45] context. The prophet is speaking to someone, or actually a group of people, who are in exile because of their sin and disobedience. The Lord has allowed them to be carried away into Babylon for a while to bring them back to himself forever. The Lord allowed them to be carried away
[00:09:06] for a little while in order to bring them back to himself forever. In Isaiah 43, verse 1, two of the most hopeful words that can appear in Scripture, where the prophet says, I know you've been a long way off. I know you're in a strange place. I know you're in a situation
[00:09:26] that you are not equipped to deal with, and I know it's your fault. When you open Isaiah 43, verse 1, get ready to shout, but now. I think those two words should be our first point,
[00:09:39] But now and as a matter of fact, let's just focus on one word now Somebody shout now you whispered it like you were gonna get in trouble if you said it loud you won't get in trouble
[00:09:50] Say it loud now Say it to your past say now Say it to your shame say now Say it to that stuff from childhood. You're still dragging around say now Say it to the people who rejected you but some God's bringing somebody else to replace them say now
[00:10:07] Say it to the side of you who worries about the future so much that you can't concentrate on the present.
[00:10:14] Say, now.
[00:10:15] I feel a now anointing rising up in this place today.
[00:10:18] I feel that the Lord has anointed me for your now.
[00:10:21] I know I didn't know you 15 years ago, but God put you here now.
[00:10:26] I know there have been some times in your life that you wish you could get back, but now.
[00:10:31] If I could nominate two words from the text to turn on the lights and encourage somebody, I would nominate, but now.
[00:10:38] The but lets me know something came before it that was going to cancel it out.
[00:10:42] The now lets me know it's not over and it's not too late.
[00:10:46] The but lets me know there was something that was blocking me.
[00:10:49] The now lets me know there's something bigger that's breaking through.
[00:10:53] Somebody shout, but now.
[00:10:55] I better calm down, because this is just my first point, but I came to announce now to somebody.
[00:11:02] I came to get you out of your pity party today.
[00:11:04] I came to get you from thinking about when you're 70 years old.
[00:11:07] You're 17.
[00:11:08] Somebody shout now.
[00:11:10] I came to preach to a student section to tell you you don't have to wait until later to have an impact for God.
[00:11:15] Shout now.
[00:11:17] I came to say you're called right now.
[00:11:19] I came to say you're chosen right now.
[00:11:21] I came to say you're wise right now.
[00:11:24] I came to say your life doesn't start when you go to college.
[00:11:27] You have a ministry on your campus now.
[00:11:30] I need a 16-year-old to shout now.
[00:11:32] need an 18-year-old to shout now. I need an 80-year-old to shout now. I need a midlife crisis 46-year-old to shout now. Now, Jesus. I need you now." But now… Two beautiful words. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, wouldn't go to the gate,
[00:11:56] and Martha came to Jesus and said, If you would have been here, my brother wouldn't have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. I'm not going to make you shout the whole sermon, but let's just keep it
[00:12:09] going for a little while. Shout, but now. Every time the Devil tries to drag you back to your past, but now. Every time he tries to drag you back to your shame, but now. This is what the
[00:12:30] Lord says. This is what the Lord says. He who created you? Jacob. He who formed you? Israel.
[00:12:44] Do not fear. Somebody needs to hear that. Do not fear. You say, You brought me all the way out here just to tell me something that simple? Do not fear. No.
[00:13:00] I brought you all the way out here so God could tell you something that simple, because if I say it, who cares? I don't know what you're facing.
[00:13:12] But if God says it, and he only knows what you're facing, but he knows the plans he has for you to give you a hope and a future… See, it's not saying something. It's someone saying something
[00:13:28] that gives it the power. If someone says to you, "'It'll be okay,' it may mean nothing, but if somebody who lived through the death of a spouse says to you, "'When you lose your spouse, it will be okay,' it's not something they said. It's
[00:13:47] someone who said it." But now this is what the Lord says. There's the thing he says, don't fear. There's the one who said it, the Lord. I love the Lord, because only he can tell me
[00:14:04] something that ridiculous, and I have to submit to it. If you tell me, don't be afraid… I love when people give me advice about pastoring the church. Just let the Lord lead you. That means a
[00:14:16] lot, considering you've never done it before. I appreciate it, but I appreciate the fact that the one who knows where he's taking me is the one who's speaking to me. I also want to point out
[00:14:31] not only the phrase, but now, but I want to point out the phrase in verse 1 where he says, I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. Our first point is, but now. Our second point is,
[00:14:46] by name. Yes, they're all going to start with the same letter, because I still like my points.
[00:14:53] The Lord is working on me. When the Lord is speaking this verse, he's speaking it to the nation of Israel. It's interesting that in order to deal with their panic, in order to deal with
[00:15:07] their pain, he speaks to their past. He says, He who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel. You may be confused and think God is speaking to two different people, and he kind of is. The interesting thing about God calling them by name is that Jacob
[00:15:26] is both a name and a nation. Israel is both a name and a nation. By this point, when Isaiah is prophesying, they have become a nation in captivity, but he calls them from captivity, and he calls them Jacob, and he calls them Israel." He calls them by name.
[00:15:53] But the interesting thing is that Jacob's name was changed to Israel when he wrestled with God and did not let go. So, you would think that by the time God calls them by name, he would no longer speak to Jacob, only call them Israel. However, God is not uncomfortable
[00:16:12] with bringing all of who you are into the season of your life you're in. For every nation God built, there is a name that comes along with it. For every Israel God raises up, there is a Jacob
[00:16:28] that comes along and rides shotgun in the car. For everything God does in your life that is awesome, there are some other things you bring along in the process you wish he would get rid of.
[00:16:40] and so when God says, I have called you by name, Jacob, I have called you by name, Israel, he is speaking to both parts of me, not only the part of me… I can tell this is a little
[00:16:54] too fancy, so let me say it a little bit simpler. God knew you when he named you, and so when God calls you, he calls you Jacob. He calls you Israel. One speaks to all you have been.
[00:17:08] One speaks to all that you will be, and God calls both to come forth." That's why you don't have to be afraid when you're still in it. When there's a situation in your life that you thought God would have delivered you out of… I'm going to work on this for a moment,
[00:17:25] because it can confuse you to the point where you think the event is your identity.
[00:17:33] When you struggle with a certain thing or you have struggled with a certain thing, The event becomes the identity. This even happens to entire families. Because of the brokenness a family can experience, which is an event, we will say things like,
[00:17:48] I come from a broken home. The only issue I have with you calling the home broken is that God might want to call it blessed. Don't let the fact that there was some brokenness in
[00:18:02] your past or even in your present. Let's be honest. Some of us… It's not I come from a broken home.
[00:18:08] My home is still broken, but it's still blessed even though it's still broken.
[00:18:19] So, be careful of people who give you partial testimonies. A partial testimony goes like this.
[00:18:27] I was struggling with depression, and God delivered me from depression. The problem I have with your testimony is I know you still cry sometimes. The problem I have with your testimony is I know it sounds good on a microphone, but you are still struggling to live it out on Monday.
[00:18:45] The problem I have with that testimony that God delivered me from anxiety makes the person feel like, if they still feel anxiety, that God has failed them in deliverance, but feeling anxious doesn't mean God has failed. Feeling is not failing, so that when you feel you have failed,
[00:19:11] it does not mean you have failed, because God, the one who created you, God, the one who formed you, God the one who named you. God the one who makes nations out of names. God knows my Jacob even as
[00:19:25] he calls my Israel." Does it make sense out of my mouth like it does in my head?
[00:19:36] He said, I called you by name. I think I want to demonstrate this. Let's say right now in this sermon I was thirsty and I was like, I need some water. I'm making my need known. I need some water.
[00:20:03] Thank you, Chunks. Now watch that. I got the water. Thank you. I appreciate it.
[00:20:12] Chunks, I'm just grateful for you. I got the water, but I wonder… Watch this now.
[00:20:23] All I did in that situation was I made the need known. I didn't say, Chunks, I need some water. I didn't tell him I was going to do this in my sermon or anything like
[00:20:35] that, I just kind of figured somebody… All these people that love me and sang me Happy Birthday, you're not going to let me stand up here and go, you want to bring me some water? But the Lord said,
[00:20:49] when I called you… Look at this. This is a powerful word. He said, verse 1, I have summoned you by name. Summon is a powerful word. It's a specific word. It's not a word like,
[00:21:04] I wish someone would. Summon means God knows who he wants to do it. This is what I want you to see.
[00:21:17] But now, by name, Israel, Jacob, Jacob, Israel, all the parts of you that sit in that seat with you, all of the parts of you, all of the parts of your home, all of the parts of your family
[00:21:30] situation. The Lord said, When I called you, I summoned you by name. Holly, would you please bring me some water? This is what's great about it, because she doesn't mind bringing me the water.
[00:21:47] Verse 1, she said, I have summoned you by name. You are mine.
[00:21:58] I don't know what would happen if I asked your wife to bring me water.
[00:22:03] You might be offended, and she might have an attitude. She might spit in it. I don't know your wife like that, but she's mine. When I summoned you… I could get used to this. That's
[00:22:20] a good feeling. I wonder if this summoning thing only works when I'm preaching a sermon.
[00:22:27] I'm going to try to summon out at home. I summoned her by name, and she brought me the water.
[00:22:34] so I've got the water from my wife, but then there's something I can get from her that I don't really want to get from him. She can hold my hand.
[00:22:50] Everybody is turning red in the church. I'm just talking about this. Watch this.
[00:22:57] I've got the water, and I bet, because it's her, she'll give me some sugar too.
[00:23:05] That's all right. Don't be jealous about it. Get in some marriage counseling. You can get some sugar too, because she's mine. When I just asked for the thing, when I called for something, I got the thing. But when I summoned by name, I didn't just get the thing. I got someone.
[00:23:38] Nothing against chunks, but there is an intimacy to this thing that is not there for that thing. I need the one to come to me in my low moments who will not only bring me the water,
[00:23:52] but who will watch this walk with me, because after this water is gone, I still need somebody to walk with me. I'm going to help you, because some of the things you've been praying about in
[00:24:05] your life, you just keep asking God to give you the thing, the thing, the thing.
[00:24:10] So, God, get me through this situation. So, God, change this circumstance. So, God, take away this pain. So, God, give me this advance. So, God, give me this favorable outcome." You can call for the
[00:24:23] thing. You can ask God for something, or you can ask for someone. You can get somebody to bring you water, or you can have the water and the walk, because there will be times in your life where
[00:24:37] you might be standing at a Red Sea, and you might need someone to show you what to do at that Red Sea. If all you have is the thing, all you're ever going to be is stuck at the sea.

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:24:50] If you learn to call on the God of Moses, the one who opened up the oceans and said, I need you now to do the same thing for me."

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:25:06] I don't just need something. I need someone. The Lord said, I've called you by name. I have summoned you by name. I have called you by name, which means that when he called you, he knew you had what he needed you to have,
[00:25:27] so don't freak out about the situation. If he summoned you for it, you're the one for it.
[00:25:35] Selah. Pause and think about it. I called her to be with me because I knew she had what I needed for what I wanted to prove. This is why the Lord says, Do not fear, because I knew what I put inside of you when I summoned you.
[00:25:55] Here's the other thing. He didn't just call Israel. He called Jacob too.
[00:26:01] So, when he called you to do it, he knew where you would be right now.
[00:26:09] Go back to the history of this for a moment, would you?
[00:26:12] I already alluded to it.
[00:26:14] He said, "'Do not fear.
[00:26:15] I have redeemed you.
[00:26:16] I have summoned you by name.
[00:26:17] You are mine.'" But verse 2 is really what I wanted to preach about, because this is where I think so many of us are.
[00:26:23] "'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.'" Just like he can call you by name, you can call him too.
[00:26:36] When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. Now, this is not just nice things
[00:26:43] God is saying so you can sleep better at night. These are actually historically anchored events that God's people have seen him do in the past, but they haven't seen it firsthand just yet.
[00:26:55] It's one thing to hear that God opened up an ocean. It's another thing to stand in front of one and believe him to do it now. It's one thing to believe that God can do it for your friend,
[00:27:06] but it's another thing to believe he's calling your name. I love the promise, because he's reaching into the history, things they've heard about God doing and speaking to something they're about to see him do. Now watch this. This is really good. He said,
[00:27:25] When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. I think every word of that is important.
[00:27:37] First of all, he says, when, not if. We have to be careful promising people stuff God did not promise them. We have to be careful claiming things as promises from God that are really just preferences of our flesh. The Bible would be a lot easier for me to preach
[00:28:02] if I could write it how I want. I wish there was a workaround for this water you're walking through, but there may not be. So the Lord says, There will be times when you walk through the waters, and I will be with you, and when
[00:28:17] you pass through the rivers… These are two different incidents, by the way. One can be found in Exodus 14, where the people of God crossed through the waters, the ocean, the Red Sea.
[00:28:28] Also, you may want to read in Joshua, chapter 3, how they crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now Joshua, get ready to lead these people." And the Lord did all of that for them. But will he do it for me?
[00:28:43] Isn't this the question we wonder when we come up on the situation?
[00:28:46] Will he do it for me? Can he use me? I understand how God can use them. Remember, He summoned you by name, but now by name. He says, When you walk through the waters… Here's the part I couldn't figure out. In verse 2 he says,
[00:29:09] When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze.
[00:29:16] What I couldn't figure out is, if I'm in a fire, why am I walking?
[00:29:22] Let's just take a vote. How many of you… Fire on both sides. Just going to slow it down to a cool walk. How many of you would vote that there is a better way to get through the fire
[00:29:44] than walk? The fire represents something you're going through, and the walk represents someone you're doing it with. The Lord said the reason you cannot do what he said in verse 1, do not fear, is because you are so focused on something you have forgotten someone.
[00:30:13] Now you're running all around how to do this. Now you're trying to escape situations. It's not something. It's someone. The someone who is with you in the fire is none other than the God who
[00:30:28] created you and formed you and knows you and called you by name, but now in the fire I'm beside you. It must take faith for you to walk through fire. It must take faith for you to
[00:30:43] slow down the pace a little bit. It must take faith for you to come through this like, I know it's going to be all right." It must take faith for you to continue in what God spoke to
[00:30:52] you, even though you don't feel his presence. I wish we had an example somewhere in the Bible of when someone was in the fire and God did something about it.
[00:31:15] Should I use Jonah? No, Jonah was in the belly of a fish. I don't think we could use Jonah.
[00:31:21] Let's call on the three Hebrew boys to find out about how God, but now, calls me and summons me by name, because he said, when you're in the fire, you will not… That's my third word, is not.
[00:32:01] So, I've got now. I've got name. I've got not. He said, but now, when you walk through the fire, I have summoned you by name, and you will not be burned. I don't know if you're getting good
[00:32:14] notes from this message, but this is prophetic for somebody. Let's check on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Let's check on King Nebuchadnezzar, who erected a statue 90 feet tall made of gold, nine feet wide, and said, Everybody hear the sound of the music and bow to the statue I made
[00:32:36] of myself. There were three boys who were exiles in Babylon who said, We will not bow.
[00:32:46] And the king said, We'll see about that. What if, verse 15, when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the zither, the lyre, the harp, the pipe, and all kinds of music, if you're ready
[00:32:57] to fall down and worship the image I made, that's good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you
[00:33:12] from my hand." You're about to find out, because it's not something… See, he's a king

[00:33:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:33:23] who made a statue, and that's a thing. It's 90 feet tall, and it's nine feet wide, and it's made of gold. But God is not a something. He is God. He's a someone.

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:33:39] What god will be able to rescue you? Here we get the names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:33:46] They replied to him, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it.
[00:34:04] That is something he can do. God can get you out of debt. That's something he can do. God can restore your relationship with your daughter. That's something he can do. God can give you freedom from the craving. That's something he can do. It's a thing he can do, because he's God,
[00:34:25] and there is nothing that is impossible to God. So God can do this thing, whatever the thing is.
[00:34:31] He can reduce the prison sentence. He can cause the marriage to have love again.
[00:34:36] He can heal the pain in your body. God can give you a better job. God can move you to a more

[00:34:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:34:42] favorable part of the office. God can do the thing, but I didn't come to get a thing for my situation because things change, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
[00:35:09] If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to do exceeding abundantly

[00:35:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:35:19] above all we ask or think, and he will deliver us from your majesty's hand. But even if he doesn't… We're doing the grown-up Bible today. We're doing the, He did not take my panic attacks away. I had one last night, but I came to church and praised him

[00:36:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:36:00] anyway, because he's the one who got me through it. I'm preaching that. Can we preach that?
[00:36:10] The even if-ness of Jesus. We want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not, but now by name

[00:36:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:36:27] will not. What's your will not? Even if the feeling stays, I have faith to walk through it.
[00:36:38] Even if they walk away, God walks with me. What's your will not? I've told you mine before.
[00:36:46] The Enemy torments me a lot of times with feelings that my entire ministry will end in failure.
[00:36:53] Many do. Yet I made a decision one day that it may end in failure, but I will not live in fear.
[00:37:08] I just won't do it. I don't plan to fail. I don't pray to fail. I'm preparing not to fail, and I'm taking every precaution, but if something happens and it ends in failure… There was a time where I was terrified to get on the stage and speak in public,
[00:37:28] and that's kind of important for me to do. You're like, What? Were you 12? No. I'm talking about when I was in my 30s, and I would have to get up and do it. A lot of times, the only way I could get through the first five minutes was to grip the
[00:37:43] sides of the pulpit real hard. But I will not stop preaching just because I have to preach.
[00:38:01] See, I want you to have some conviction in some area of your life that even if… I will not. You know this story about Daniel and the lion's den. He wasn't even in there.
[00:38:16] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in there. Daniel went to the lions' den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went to the furnace. Then we want to preach those things and expect God to bring us out of our situation by 5 o'clock today. What I love about the Scripture I gave you…
[00:38:38] Listen to this. When they said, We will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up, it gave me a picture.
[00:38:47] It's okay to feel it, but don't kneel to it. I may feel lust, but I don't kneel to lust.
[00:39:06] Everybody wants to preach about the stuff we want God to take away. Take away anxiety. Well, deal with your lust. Some of your anxiety is dealing from your lust, because you crave what you can't have and you want what you don't have, and now you're lusting after stuff you're not
[00:39:18] supposed to have, and you're anxious because you can't get it because God doesn't want to give it to you because it's not meant for you to have it. Stop praying about anxiety so much.
[00:39:29] Start controlling comparison. I want this fruit, but I'm attached to this root. That ain't going to work. It's going to keep growing and growing and growing and growing. Do not be afraid.
[00:39:50] Yes, Pastor, I agree with that. I want the Lord to remove fear from my life.
[00:39:55] But you might have to change some of what you watch before you fall asleep at night.
[00:40:01] If they are killing people while you are falling asleep, you're not going to be counting sheep at 3 a.m. Man, it's fine. We watch normal TV too. I'm not telling you all I watch is The Chosen,
[00:40:15] but I'm saying that you may have to make some adjustments. What does this have to do with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They said, we will not kneel even if the fire gets hot.
[00:40:32] By the way, the Lord did not promise that it would not be hot. He did not promise that you would never feel… Stop holding God to promises he did not make. God did not say you would never
[00:40:52] feel stressed. God did not say you would never feel lonely. You will feel lonely sometimes, especially if you follow Christ. You're going to feel ostracized, left out, uninvited. You're going to have FOMO and… Why are y'all laughing at that? When we grew up, it was FOMO. It was
[00:41:13] fear of missing out, and we were scared that everybody was off doing something fun without us when we grew up. But now they have proof of missing out. It's looking at all the pictures and scrolling at all the stuff. Yeah, they're there without me, and they didn't ask me. There
[00:41:28] they are right there. I see them right there. It's going to be some flames.
[00:41:36] I just want to talk to you today, because I'm so sick of it. I'm so sick of the preaching that is not based in a real promise. The moment I tell you, shout, and he'll bring you out, you just
[00:41:58] lose your voice. Now I shouted, and now I have laryngitis, and I'm still not out, and I'm still dealing with it, and I still have to be disciplined.
[00:42:09] So now I shouted, and I'm still not out, but the beauty of Daniel 3 is they said he will.
[00:42:17] We just don't know how he wants to do it yet. We are not going to bow to this pressure, even though we don't know how God is going to do it. Read the Bible with me.
[00:42:29] Even if he does not, we want you to know we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. I told my friend, when I preach this part, I'm just going to let it come out
[00:42:40] however it wants to come out. Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in the army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach,
[00:42:54] and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.
[00:43:07] The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace." Firmly tied, bound with ropes.
[00:43:22] Now I know why the Lord left the fire on. To burn the ropes off and set them free.
[00:43:31] God will use a fire to set you free. That's not the verse I wanted to preach either. Verse 24 says, Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked the advisors, Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? They replied,
[00:43:59] "'Certainly, your majesty.'" These are some real sycophants. They've built the dude a 90-foot-tall statue. He's compensating, and they're going along with it. They said, "'Certainly, your majesty.'" "'Yes, sir.' All three of them. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. All three of them,
[00:44:17] just as you requested.' He said, verse 25, "'Look, I see foremen that we tied up and threw into the fire. We tied three. We threw three. I see four." This is like a math impossibility.
[00:44:52] So, we threw three. I see four walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed.
[00:45:02] The fire did not kill them. It only took off what was holding them. I see four walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods, Because he was. It was Jesus in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[00:45:34] We might as well not guess like Nebuchadnezzar. We know his name. It was Jesus. We know he is the fourth man in the fire. We know it was Jesus, the bright and morning star. We know it was Jesus,
[00:45:49] the Lamb who was slain from the foundations of the world. We know it was Jesus. Just like it was Aaron's branch that budded, it was Jesus. It was Jesus in the fire. There were three men,
[00:46:01] and there were four men. I see a fourth man who looks like a son of the gods.
[00:46:07] So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, God can do something, but it's not something I'm confident in. It's someone I'm confident in.

[00:46:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:46:19] If I was confident that there would be no fire, my faith would fail me now. If I was confident that there would be no water, my faith would stop short. But my faith is not in something,

[00:46:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:46:32] but someone, and I know his name. Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here! So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
[00:47:23] Wait a minute. Three went in. Four walked around. Three came out.

[00:47:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:47:38] Three came out. That means there's someone still to declare.
[00:47:51] I don't know what's your fire, but there's someone. It hurts, but he's in it. Made me cry, but he's in it. Not what I expected, but he's in it. He's in it. He's in it. He's in it.
[00:48:22] Some people say he's still in it. He's still in it. God is not done with you. God will make a house visit to Babylon. God will make a house visit to a prison. God will make a house visit
[00:48:41] to the belly of a fish. God will make a house visit. He's still in it. He's still in it.
[00:48:50] He's still in it. Even though I made the mistake, my God will make a way.

[00:49:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:49:06] But now I have summoned you. Summoned. Not something, but some. God called you.

[00:49:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:49:29] You hear me, bro? He called you, and he called your Jacob just the same

[00:49:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:49:40] as he is calling your Israel. It's not something. It's someone.
[00:49:50] Now, stand to your feet wherever you are, even if you're only joining this message online.
[00:50:00] When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.
[00:50:10] Wind lets me know that the trial is guaranteed. Don't be surprised at the fiery trials.
[00:50:16] As a matter of fact, don't be surprised if this entire sermon at 3 o'clock doesn't even feel like it was for you. Don't be surprised by it when you walk through the fire.
[00:50:30] But, Holly, my confidence is who I'm walking with. Listen to me. If there is something you thought God was going to do in your life and it is not happening or it is not happening on schedule,
[00:50:50] the word of the Lord is your confidence is not something. It's someone. That's what he said.
[00:50:58] He said, I will be with you. That's how I can walk through fire. That's how I can walk through failure. That's how I can walk through struggles. Because he… By name.
[00:51:17] Father, it is my sincere prayer that this message today will go far deeper than a head knowledge.
[00:51:27] It is my sincere hope today that we will not hear this as a candy-coated, placebo message of principles to help us survive just another six days. My prayer is that we would not hear this message with a false expectation of a delusional deliverance that leaves us doubting
[00:51:52] even more on the back end, but my prayer is that we would see the fourth man, the one who is still in the fire. I prayed as I prepared today, Lord, for someone who is still in it.
[00:52:10] I was praying for something to say, and you gave me someone to say it to. You're still in the fire, and so is he. Jesus never left that fire. He's still in it. Whatever fire you face today,
[00:52:28] he is your fourth man. You can talk to him. You can walk with him. You can cry with him.
[00:52:36] You can process your pain with him. Not something, but someone, and his name is Jesus, the one who will never fail. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail.
[00:53:15] pray for you about and if you'd like to support the ministry financially you can click the give button now and help us continue reaching people around the world for jesus christ thanks again i'll see you next time