A Fiery Furnace | Daniel 3 | Pastor Kyle Alison

What do you do when God doesn’t remove the fire? In this powerful message from Daniel 3, Pastor Kyle explores the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and reminds us that faith isn’t trusting God because of the outcome—it’s trusting Him because of who He is. Discover how God often reveals His presence most clearly in our hardest moments, how the fire can burn away the things that keep us bound, and why Jesus is still walking with His people through every trial today.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Amen. How's everyone doing tonight? How many people ready to keep this thing going? So about five years ago, I found myself, I was in, I was in, I didn't find myself, I was in Klamath Falls, Oregon, which is down kind of the central area right by California, where you can like throw a baseball and hit California. And then in Klamath Falls, there's not many seasons. There's a cold season and then there's a really hot season. But during the hot season, there's a third season in Klamath Falls, and that is wildfire season. Now, do we have wildfires over here? I just want to know. We got them. Oh, great. I'm so glad to hear that. It's my least favorite time of the year because usually it would start right after July 4th. We all know why. And it would last usually a week or two. And the thing about Climate Falls is it's in this basin. So it's basically in a hole. And there's mountain ranges all around us. So because of that, because of smoke liking to eventually kind of settle down as it gets colder, Climate Falls just becomes this place for a week or two every single year where the smoke just settles in. And we'll we'll see a little smoke, we'll smell something, and we'll be like, I wonder where the fire is coming from. Coming from this time. Well, about five years ago, on July 6, 2021, there was a fire that started that they believe was arson. But it started only 10 miles out of the city. And because of the drought that we were in, and because of the winds that was picking up really bad during that time, that fire really quickly grew. And it became known as the bootleg fire. And during that time, it actually at one point became the biggest fire active in all of America. And to this day, it is one of the largest in Oregon's history. It's over 400,000 acres. It was terrible. Basically, we stopped having blue skies and we started having orange skies. And that's just what it was for pretty much well over a month. We just had orange skies. Like it was a little more orange in the morning, a little more orange at night. And then in the middle, it was just regular orange. And it got to a point that people uh companies wasn't allowing their employees to work outside because the conditions were so bad. The smoke was bothering people's asthma. It was bothering people's uh with their like their eyes and stuff like that. Even I was having trouble with my eyes. I remember at one point I was in Verizon and I was sitting down in a room about this big, surrounded by windows, and I could look across from me to where Derek is standing now in the back, and I could see a layer of smoke inside the building, even though we had AC and filters and all this stuff. It was absolutely terrible. How many people here love hearing stories of miracles? Stories of God healing, stories of restoring marriages, doors opening in people's lives, and seeing God answering prayers. We love miracles, don't we? We love seeing God breaking through in people's lives and seeing things we thought were dead come through to life through Jesus. See, what we don't love is the fire that often comes before the miracles. You see, the miracles, they are amazing, but yeah, how many here know that often in order to have a miracle, we first have to face some fire. Can I tell you today that there will always be fires in our life, won't there? Both big and small, whether they be financial, whether they be related to our health, relationships, family, spiritual fires. And the thing is, like, even though we know they are coming, we know they are going to happen. They are inevitable because of the sin of the world, right? Here's the problem. Usually, even though we know it's going to happen, the second trouble starts brewing and we're like, oh, this is about to get bad, what's the first thing we do? God, get me out of here real fast, right? Lord, help me extinguish this fire as quickly as possible. I don't want to deal with this, Lord. But let me ask you this. What if some of God's greatest miracles don't happen before the fire? What if they happen in the middle of it? Tonight we are looking at one of my favorite passages of scripture. I love it so much I got a tattoo of it, right? So I really like this one. We are going to be in Daniel chapter 3. It's known by a lot of people as the fourth man in the fire, or by what I am entitling today's message, the fiery furnace. To kind of lead up to where we're gonna jump in, we see that King Nebuchadnezzar, he is a king, he's kind of hot and cold. Man, there's moments that like him and God's doing great, and then there's moments that he is just being real dumb. This is one of those dumb moments for King Nebuchadnezzar. It says that he builds this massive golden idol. And to describe it, we're not talking about this little like Buddha or something that I that I would have seen overseas. We're talking 90 feet tall with a diameter of over nine feet wide. This thing was huge, and he commands uh all the officials and all the leaders in Babylon to come to this one place where the idol is, and he says, You have to bow down and you have to worship this idol. So, here pretty soon, everyone shows up at once. They start playing instruments, it's sounding pretty good, not as good as our band, but it sounds okay. And they say, We want everyone to bow down now, and everyone bows down. All but three men. Three young men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Now I call them men, but some of you guys would actually call them boys. Because here's the thing scholars believe that these three young men were anywhere from 17 to 25 years old. They were high school to college age boys, and these three men they refuse. And they say, No, we're not gonna bow down to the idol. So when the word gets back to King Nebuchadnezzar, he is furious and he calls them to him. And that's where we're gonna pick up in verse 13 of Daniel 3. It says, then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will 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 will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what God will be able to rescue you from my power? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, Oh Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. It says he will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But get this. Open our hearts and our ears for what you have for us. Lord, we are here to be challenged, to be convicted, to be encouraged, and to be lifted up to become who you want us to be. Lord, have your way in this message in Jesus' name. We pray. Everything says, Amen. They say, but even if he doesn't. My first observation today, I have two. The first one is this faith doesn't require a guaranteed outcome. Someone say guaranteed. See, I love the response that these young men give because it contains both confidence and it contains surrender. They say, our God is able. That is the confidence. But then they say, but even if he doesn't, that's surrender. Can I tell you today, if you want to have real faith, you must have both confidence and surrender. Because notice what they say. They didn't say, God's definitely going to save us. They didn't say, man, it's a good thing we have this all figured out. God told us what he was going to do yesterday. They didn't say, we know exactly how this story ends. Instead, they say God is able, but even if he doesn't, it's not going to change what we want to do. You know how many people know that it is really easy to be confident when you're not being tested? Right? I'll tell you what, it is really easy to stay strong and stick to the diet the day before the diet starts when you just had three McChickens. Amen? Can I tell you, it is really easy to have hope in your sports team for this next season. You can ask Tony in the back. He thinks his Packers are going to the Super Bowl every year. It is easy being confident when you know the outcome. It's easy being confident when you are not facing a fiery furnace either. See, it gets difficult when the furnace gets lit. And I remind you today that real faith isn't trusting God because of what he will do. Real faith is trusting God because of who he is. See, unfortunately, too many Christians today, we want to tie our faith to our outcomes instead of to God. We say, if God heals us, I will trust him. If he provides, I will trust him. If he restores my relationship, then I'll trust him. If he answers my prayer exactly the way I want it to be answered, then I'll trust him. But hear me, that is not biblical faith. You see, biblical faith doesn't say prove it, then I'll trust you. Biblical faith says, I trust him before I know the outcome. Church, faith isn't believing God would do what you want. Faith is believing God is still good even if he doesn't, amen? See, faith isn't confidence that the fire will go away. Faith is confidence that God will be with you in that fire. You see, faith isn't knowing how the story ends, it is knowing who is writing your story today. See, faith isn't trusting God because you understand his plan. Faith is trusting God because you know the character of the God you serve. See, Romans 8.28 says this. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Church, I hate to break this to you. But not everything's gonna go perfectly good, is it? Can I tell you though, God is still good in all things? Habakkuk, it reminds us in Habakkuk 3:17. It says, even though the fig trees have no blossoms and there are no grapes on the vine, even though the olive crop fails and the fields lie empty and barren, even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in the Lord of my salvation. So why does Habakkuk still rejoice, God, when everything is going wrong? It's because he realizes that faith was never meant to be anchored in your circumstances. Faith is to be anchored in the character of God. Church, if you get nothing else from tonight, get this. You don't need to know what God is doing if you know who God is. We all have something in our life. It always happens. We might be feeling outmatched, outnumbered, we might be feeling overwhelmed. It might be a diagnosis, maybe it's a financial burden, a family situation, a ministry challenge. There's always something that is pushing against us and fighting us. Something that feels stronger than you, whatever it might be. But remember the size of your problem never changes the size of our God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were standing in front of the king. They were standing in front of a furnace and what appeared to be certain death. Yet their faith remained steady because their confidence wasn't in the outcome, nor a miracle. It was in God. Let's keep on. Daniel 3, verse 19. It says Nebuchadnezzar was so furious at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. It says he commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men's men of his army 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 in his anger had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, it says the flames killed the soldiers. These were the strongest men in his army. It killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. They replied, Look, Nebuchadnezzar said, shouted, I see four men unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed. And the fourth looks like a god. Here's my second observation today. Sometimes you don't see Jesus until you step into the fire. Someone say, until. See, this is so powerful, and this is so relevant for us today. You see, we see these young men outside. They were by themselves, they were the only ones there until they get thrown into the fire. Only then do they see a fourth man show up. See that when the king made his threat, they didn't see Jesus. When they were tied up, they didn't see Jesus. When they were marched up towards the furnace, they hadn't seen Jesus yet. When they were thrown in into what should have been certain death, they hadn't seen Jesus yet. But the moment they landed in the very place they feared most, there he was. Walking beside them. Church, can I tell you today that sometimes you cannot see what God is doing until you're standing in the middle of the very thing you've been asking him to remove. See, they never saw Jesus before the fire, but they did see him in the fire. I think it's so important because most of us spend our whole lives praying, Lord, help me avoid this fire. Nobody asks for hardship, for suffering, for pain. But today I'm here to tell you that there are some revelations that you're only taught in the fire. You see, something happens when you get tested. You learn that God is your peace when life starts falling apart. You learn that God is your strength when yours starts to run out. You learn that God is your comfort when grief starts to overwhelm you. And you learn that God is enough when everything else fails. See, that doesn't happen before the fire, that happens in the fire. We see it in Isaiah 43, 2, it says, When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. It says, when you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, and the flames will not consume you. Notice the promise here, church. God never promised we'd avoid every fire. See, the promise was never the absence of fire, the promise was his presence in the fire. How many people have ever heard of Corey Temboom? I read about her in school. She was a young lady that her and her sister Betsy she helped hide the Jews during World War II from the Nazis. And they were quite successful for a very long time helping with this rebellion, keeping the Jews as far away from the Nazis as possible, trying to help them get out of the country. Until one day her and her sister were discovered by the Nazis and they were arrested. After arrested, they were then taken to a concentration camp named Ravensbrook. And there, as you guys could imagine, terrible things happened to her and her sister in this concentrate concentration camp. It says that when they arrive at the barracks, this is how she described it, she got into the barracks after weeks of traveling, only to realize that the barracks, A, obviously were not very nice, but B were infested with fleas. How many people know that is worst case scenario? They hated the fleas. Corey talks about how she would pray and pray, Lord, please kill me if you must, but get these fleas out of the barracks. She begged with God to remove the fleas. But the fleas, after over a year, never left. But about a year later, she discovered something. Because after a while she realized, you know, the guards actually go in every other barracks in the camp, but they never go into ours. And one day she was overhearing guards talking about it and realized the reason why they never went in her barracks was because of the fleas. You know, during that year, Cory and Betsy they were not only able to openly read scripture to those there in their barracks, but they were able to pray for the women. They started holding Bible studies, they started seeing these young Jewish women come to know Jesus. Accept him as Lord and start seeing the gospel starting to spread in the concentration camps all because the guards didn't want to go into the barracks, so they didn't know what was happening. See, the very thing they begged God to remove was actually the thing that was protecting them all along. See, at the very time same time that they couldn't see it, they only realized when they got to the other side what God was actually doing. Let's wrap up the story. Daniel 3 26. It says that Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out. Come here. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officials, the officers, the governors, and advisors crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothes was not scorched. They didn't even smell like smoke. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's commands and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any God except their own God. Worship team you can make your way up. See, that's what Daniel 3 teaches us. And can I tell you the best part of this story isn't the fact that the three boys survived, even though that's pretty cool that they did. It's that they trusted God, no matter the circumstance. See, when God is in the fire, the fire doesn't have the final say in your life. And he is always in the fire with you. Some of you need to hear this today. Being in the fire is not proof God has left you. Often it's proof that he is closer than you could ever realize. One final thing that I've heard this story so many times, I've heard it preached so many times. Just for the right moment. When Nebuchadnezzar looks into the furnace, he doesn't see the men lying down, does he? He sees four men walking around, not panicking, not screaming, nonchalantly walking around. So he calls them and they come out of the furnace, and he realizes they are not affected at all by the fire. I think it's so cool. They didn't even smell like smoke. They were not affected at all by the fire. Except for one thing. Did you notice that one thing that God allowed to get burned by the fire? They're ropes. See the fire that was meant to destroy them actually set them free from the bondage that had trapped them. I tell you today, church, that sometimes God doesn't remove the fire because he's using it to remove chains in your life. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's pride, maybe it's bitterness or self-reliance, or maybe it's sin that you've carried and just let in your life for too long. And he's ready for that fire to burn it up. See, the furnace only destroyed what it kept them bound, what the enemy meant for destruction. God turned it and used it for freedom. We conclude with this. I don't know where each person is tonight, but maybe tonight you are facing a fire of some kind. Maybe you're standing in front of one. Maybe you're bound by sin. Maybe you're bound by lies from the enemy. Maybe you're just at a place that you're doing okay, but you're like, God, man, if you could just give me a little more faith. How many people know we just need a little more faith sometimes, every time? And you're standing there and you're just saying, Lord, I need you. See, Daniel chapter 3 reminds us that God does not always keep us from the fire, but he's always going to be with us in it. Even though we might not see him before the fire or around the fire, if we keep trusting in him, you'll discover he's been with us all along. Here in a minute, we are going to have a time of altar call where I will be able to invite you guys up for prayer. And can I tell you, I'll just mention this right now. A lot of people think coming to an altar is a sign that you're struggling with something or there's weakness in your life that you need to overcome. I tell you, every person here should always be looking for the opportunity to come to the altar. We all need a little more strength. We all need a little more encouragement. We all need that opportunity to just come to God, whatever it might be, whether things are going great or not going great, there's always an opportunity. I'll tell you, anytime the altar is opened up, I'm there. So why shouldn't I get another portion of blessing from the Lord? First, I want to talk to any person here who maybe you've never surrendered your life to Jesus. Because can I tell you that the greatest fire any of us will ever face is not a financial fire, a family issue, or a health issue. Often it is the reality of our sin. But here's the good news. Jesus already stepped into that fire for us. Amen. My favorite scripture is Romans 5.8 that says, But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. I love it because it reminds me every day that he chose me before I ever had the opportunity to choose him. So with every head bowed and eyes closed, I want to remind you today that Jesus took your sin, he took your shame, he took your punishment upon himself at the cross so you could be forgiven and made new, freed from the chains that held us bonded bond. Maybe you're here today and you've never given your life to Christ. Or maybe you're here and you can recognize that you've allowed yourself to drift away. Regardless, if that is you tonight and you want to give your life to Jesus and surrender it, will you just raise your hand right now so I can pray with you? Thank you. Church, will you just repeat this prayer after me? Jesus, I know I need you. I know that I have sinned. Today I turn from my old life and place my trust in you. Forgive me, change me, help me follow you every day. Thank you for loving me and saving me. In Jesus' name.

unknown 30:47

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

Will everybody please stand with me today? Tonight I'm gonna give you that opportunity to come to the altar to receive something from the Lord. I'll tell you right now, if you're here and you were just looking for a touch for an answer, whatever it might be from God, and you hear the altar call and you're like, hey, that doesn't really apply to me, God doesn't care about what I'm talking about. You can still come forward and he'll still meet you where you're at. But today I want to give each person an opportunity to grow in our faith and to let Jesus lead us through whatever fire you are going through today. So today, if you are coming into church and you are feeling tired, if you are feeling overwhelmed or outmatched by whatever is happening in life, just want you right now to raise your hand. If your hands are raised, I just want you to keep it up. Just keep it high. If you're here today and you have asked God to remove a fire in your life, but today you are now saying, actually, Lord, I want you to meet me in this fire. If that's you, I want you to raise your hand as well. Keep that hand raised. If you're here today and you are carrying sin that you want God to help you overcome, whether it's fear, anxiety, bitterness, discouragement, or depression, and you are ready for God to break those chains. If that is you, I just want you to also put your hand up. If you are here and you're like, Lord, I'm just ready for a little more faith. I just want a little more, a little more strength, a little more encouragement. If that's you, I want you to put up your hand as well. If your hand is raised today, now is the time for God to do something special in your life. Today can be a day that changes your life forever. If your hand's raised, I'm just gonna ask you to take a step of faith and just come down to the altar right now. Every person with their hand raised, there is something amazing. I'm not saying it's a theology, I'm not saying that it's some kind of biblical truth, but there is something special when we step out in faith and we say yes to God and we come forward to him and we push ourselves into what he is doing. Those who are ministering in prayer, will you guys come forward and start praying for each person? Church, I want you guys to start driving in. I want you guys to start reaching out to God, diving in deep. He is ready to do something. There are people here that's gonna start praying to you to start ministering you. Here's the thing I want you to remember: do not leave until you get what you want to get. Stay here until you and God have connected in whatever way He wants you to connect. There's people over here as well that need prayer. Church, we are here to believe that the same God that walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through the fire is the same God that is here today, ready to walk through you. Lord, I just pray for every person here. Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus that you are going to start connecting with every person. Wherever they're at, whatever they're dealing with right now, Lord, I pray that you just connect with them in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray for whatever miracle they are searching for, you will connect with them in that way. Lord, whether they need to walk through the fire ready, you're ready to get rid of the fire, whatever it is. Lord, I pray against cancer in the name of Jesus. I pray against depression, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Lord, we're seeing miracles performed today. Lord, may today be a pillar in their life, a place that they can look back on and say, I was never the same after tonight. I was changed forever in the name of Jesus. Just keep praying and pushing in church. We're just gonna be praying, we're gonna be worshiping, we're gonna let God continue to do what only He can do in Jesus' name.