Psalms 118:6 it says, "The Lord
is on my side." What's the result of knowing
that? Being established in that? "I will not fear." Oh friend, we live in a world
where a lot of stuff is going on. Is it possible to not be afraid? Many are afraid. It has affected them. Many are very fearful. But when you know that the Lord,
the Creator of the heavens and the earth is with you and for
you and on your side, it sets you free from dread and fear. Fear is a taste of hell. Somebody said, "Where did you
get that?" From the Bible. How many remember 1 John says,
"Perfect love does," what? "Casts out," throws out,
displaces, "fear, because fear has," what? "Torment." That's the same word used to
describe hell. That word "torment." Same word, look it up. Fear is a taste of hell. And it's the same devilish stuff
whether it's a little bit of dread or full-blown panic; it's
just different degrees of the same evil stuff. How many have ever found out
that you dreaded it, you dreaded it, it bothered you, it bothered
you, and when you finally got to it you were like - what in the
world? Even if the bad thing happened,
it wasn't as bad as all the stuff you put yourself through;
in most cases. Torment and vexation - and why
would you be that way? It comes down to a lack of
faith. Of knowing He is with you and
believing He is for you and He's going to keep you and He's going
to take care of you. The more you believe that, the
less you worry. The more you worry, the less you
believe that. You, me, I don't care who it is
- and folks like to think they have all this faith, but the
truth is, many people are low in faith. Low, low. But that's why we are talking. That's why we're talking about
the word of God. That's how faith comes. It feeds us, it stirs us up. I found that the more walk with
Him, the more I get built up in my spirit from His word, I just
don't worry. I just don't worry. Now people wouldn't understand
it. They think you have all these
things going on, you have all these bills coming in, you have
all the staff that has to be paid, you have these TV bills,
you have this, you have that, and the other, and where is it
all going to come from? What if people quit giving? What if people quit coming? What if this? What if that? What if the other? And what if I slip on a banana
peel? You can't live by what ifs. All of this is a trick for the
enemy to get you obsessing about dark things, and the thing of
death makes you subject to bondage. It will put you in prison. Even though you have all kinds
of things you should be happy about and giving thanks about
and enjoying, yet, you'll be sitting there in a cloud about
what might happen, and what if it doesn't, and what if it does? Well, what if God takes care of
you? Your whole life long? What if God takes care of the
churches for year after year and decade after decade? Then they would've been
absolutely no reason for me to worry or fear, so I might just
as well miss it to start with. I know if He doesn't do it, it's
too big for me to do. It's been that way when it was
little. I can just relax and say, "He's
faithful." If I'll do what He tells me to
do, we're going to be in good shape. Is that true with you? I said, is that true with you? That's not just true for
preachers. If you'll do what He tells you
to do and trust Him, which means not fear Him. Not worrying. Many have not made that
connection. I'm going to say something; you
may have to brace yourself. The Lord is not understanding
where fear and worry are concerned. It irritates Him. Is He the same yesterday, today
and forever? How understanding was He of the
disciples when they doubted? Did He hug them and say that's
alright? I know you are struggling with
fear and unbelief. I knew you would. I knew you couldn't help it. Come here, give Me a hug. Is this Bible? Now this is what people think
you should be and you should do, what did He say? "Why did you doubt? Where is your faith?" Is that right? Why? Because there is no excuse for
it. Everybody's getting excited now. People say, "I can't help it." That's a lie. That's just not true, you
believe a lie. Faith is a choice. You choose to trust Him, or you
don't. If you trust Him, you are
sleeping good. You cast all your cares on Him
and you say, "He's with me." Oh, somebody say: "He's with me. He's with me. He's for me. He's on my side. I'm going to be alright." I mean, He's got you this far. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. "What can man do to me? The Lord takes my part with them
that help me." Verse thirteen, "You have thrust
sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me." Psalms 54:4, you could just look
at on the screen. "Behold, God is my helper: the
Lord is with them that uphold my soul." Somebody say: "He's for me. He's with me. He helps me." Psalms 56:9, "When I cry to You,
then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know..." Somebody say: "This I know." This I know, faith knows. Faith is confident. It is not wishy-washy, it is not
vacillating. It doesn't waver. If you are wavering, you're
getting out of faith. If you are in good and strong
faith, you are not wavering, you are not wandering, you're not
questioning, you know! You know. When I cry unto You God, my
enemies will turn back. I know it. This I know. How do you know it? For God is for me. They're not going to whip Him. So what are they going to do? They're going to turn back. Are you sure? I know it. Why? Because He's for me, He's here,
He's with me. They will have to back off. Ha ha! Oh, the devil hates this because
it tears up his playhouse, man. Oh, the devil hates it. Oh, he hates this. He wants you to pretend to be
humble and go, "Well... You just never know what the
Lord is going to do... Well... Well..." Oh, he likes that. It's one of his favorite top
hits. "You just never know." Because that means you have zero
faith in that area. None. Because you can't have faith
until you know. Not know all about how He's
going to do it, but know what He's going to do. Hallelujah. What His will is. Like Brother Bosworth says,
"Faith begins where the will of God is known." That's just another way of
saying, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Romans 8:31, "What shall we then
say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?" I mean, can you hear some sass
in here? Can you hear that? I mean, there is some sass in
here. What? Who? Who can beat us if God is for
us? Who could defeat us, who can run
over us? If God is for us, oh hallelujah. Say it out loud: "If God is for
me who can be against me?" Now we know we have an enemy
that is already against us, so what does he mean? Who can successfully be against
me? That's what he's saying. And the answer is who can
overcome God? Well, then that would be no one. I should've had you just stay
back in Psalms, go to Psalm ninety-one, please. Psalm ninety-one, anybody like
the ninety first Psalm? Anybody got some pages marked
back there? Psalm ninety-one, verse
fourteen. Well, let's back up a little
bit. Let's back up to - how about
verse one? I was going to start at the last
verse. You have to watch doing that,
you wind up in Genesis, because it's all good. Is it all good? It's all amazing. "He that dwells in the secret
place of the most High shall abide," that means you live
there, where? "Under the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord," when it
says I'll say something, you ought to say it yourself. Say it out loud: Together: "He
is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." Then he goes on to say, "Surely
He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from
the noisome pestilence." That's all the traps that the
enemy had set for you. Say it out loud: "I'll be
delivered from every one of them. It said, "He shall cover you
with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust: His truth
shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid..." Say it out loud: "I will not be
afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by
day; Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the
destruction that wastes at noonday." What about all that? What was the thing about all
that? I won't be afraid of it. Come on, say, "I won't be afraid
of it. I won't be afraid of it." "Yeah, but it's happening... Yeah, but it's happening..." Yeah, but I won't be afraid of
it. Why? Verse seven. Verse seven. "A thousand shall fall at my
side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it shall not
come near me." And it's not because I think I
am so amazing, it's because I just have confidence that God
will keep me. He's with me. He's for me. Now, if you don't believe that,
it's going to make you vulnerable. It's going to make you exposed. If you say, "Yeah, but now I
know but some bad thing have happened to some good people... You just never know..." You are in danger. You are exposed because you
don't believe the Bible. "I believe God can do anything
if He wants to..." Well, you don't believe the
Bible. That's not what He told you to
believe. Would it be alright to read
verses out of Psalms and believe it just like it's written? And speak it over yourself just
like - would it be a right to do that? If not, where are you getting
yours from? If this is not what you want. Come on, say it out loud. Somebody needs to say it. I mean with the stuff going on
in the world, do you need to say this or not? Say it out loud: "A thousand may
fall at my side. Ten thousand may fall at my
right hand, but it shall not come near me!" Why? Well, let's keep reading. Let's keep reading. "Only with your eyes shall you
behold and see the reward of the wicked." You will see it, but it won't
happen to you. Why? "Because you have made the Lord,
which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation;
There shall no evil befall you," would it be alright to just
believe this right off the page? "Neither shall any plague come
nigh your dwelling." I don't care what kind of plague
it might be, it is covered in any plague. Say it out loud: "No evil will
fall me. Neither shall any plague come
near my house, or where I'm living." "For He will give His angels
charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." That's everywhere you go. That's everywhere you go. "They shall bear you up in their
hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Do you believe that? Is this just nice sounding
literature or is this truth? You believe it? Somebody say: "I believe it." Somebody said, "I'm afraid of
falling..." Then you are going to fall. "I'm afraid of somebody breaking
into my house... I'm afraid of having a car
wreck... I'm afraid... I'm afraid... I'm afraid..." Is that what this said? Is that what He said? "I'm afraid... Oh, Lord I'm afraid of that
plague... I'm afraid of that arrow... Oh, y'all pray for me..." That does little good praying
like that, because it's a prayer contrary to the Bible. It's a prayer of unbelief. Say it out loud: "He has given
His angels charge concerning me. They will keep me in all my
ways. They will keep me in all my
ways. They will keep me in all my
ways. They will pick me up in their
arms lest I hurt myself." How many believe an angel could
literally just give you a little bit of help, keep you from
falling? Phyllis and I have seen it. You have too? I remember years ago we were
driving somewhere, having a conversation. It was a four-lane - two on this
side and two on this side and a big median in the middle with
the mound of grass and trees. And traffic was moving pretty
quickly and we were just sitting there talking in our car driving
down the road. All at once I saw this dirt
flying up in the air and all this stuff and I look up here
and there and there is this SUV completely out of control, it's
coming up over the median. Other cars have already been
hit. It's coming right towards us. Right toward us. And we didn't have time to pray. We didn't have time to hardly
say - we said, "Jesus." And I don't know how it
happened. Faster than you can blink your
eye, we are on the other side of it. It went through the lane and hit
some other things. We didn't get a scratch. I don't know how it got by us. He's right there. What happened? What happened? How do you explain it? Well, people just try to explain
it away. We saw it, it's right here. It defies the laws of physics. There wasn't enough time or
space for Him to go around us. How did it happen? Just a year or so ago, we're out
somewhere and if I get an opportunity I like to ride
motorbikes in places that I haven't seen before,
motorcycles. And we had a day or two off and
I got a motorcycle and we rode it up through the mountains. Great fun. And I was in the lead and a
couple of guys were behind us, Mike was one of them, and this
giant turkey - I mean, he must've been this big. They get big. He was a big turkey. We're out in the wilderness, in
the wild. Up in a mountainous area. This dude comes flying at
full-bore speed and the next thing I know I am looking him
right in the eye. I thought he's going to knock me
off this motorcycle. Next thing I know, he didn't
even touch me. We got up to the side and pulled
off and those guys said, "I don't know how he didn't hit
you. How did that turkey not hit you? How did he not hit you? He was right there." He was going full- bore. I didn't even feel the wind of
him go by. I didn't feel a brush of a wing
or a feather. How? The Lord got me back so I can
preach to you some more. I reckon that's it. That's a wild thing anyway. How many of you have a story? Come on, how many of you have a
story? I know you do. I know you do. Well, why wouldn't the Lord just
keep doing it? Why would He just keep doing it
for you? Why would He quit? Why would He not do it? Say it out loud: "They'll bear
me up in their hands lest I dash my foot against a stone. We'll tread down the lion and
adder: the young lion and the dragon we'll trample under
foot." Now this is the verse I wanted
to get to. But all this is good. Why? "Because he has set His love
upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on
high," Why? "Because he has known My name." He set his love on me, God says,
and I'm going to deliver him. I want to see how this language
is and get religion off of your head. What did God say? "I will deliver him." Did He say I might sometimes? We'll just have to see? What else did He say? "I'll set him on high. I will deliver him and I will
set him on high," Why? Because he loves Me and he knows
My name. He loves Me and he trusts Me. "He shall call on Me, and I will
answer Him," could you count on this? Come on, say it out loud: "He
will answer me." Come on, say it again. "He will answer me." What did the Lord say? "I will be with him in trouble,"
isn't that what we're talking about? The Lord is with us, He's on our
side. He is for us. He said I will be with him,
where? In trouble. Now if there's anywhere you want
Him to be with you, it's in trouble. I know you'd rather never have
any, so would I, but if you find yourself in some, who
you gonna call? I tell you Who you need to call. And He already said He would
answer. He already said He would pick
up. But see many people say, "Well,
yeah, but you just never know." See, you believe that more than
you believe this. Are there a lot of Christians
they believe all that stuff more than they believe the Bible? Just what we we're talking about
earlier, they have made is of no effect in their life. You don't want this of no effect
in your life. You want this in full effect in
your life. I'll be with him, where? In trouble. What else did He say? "I will deliver him, and honour
him." Similar thing to what He just
said before. I'll be with him, I'll save him,
I'll help him, and I will lift him up. I will be with him in trouble. Didn't just say He said now
remember I'm here, and watch you while you spiral down the drain. Don't forget, I'm here. No. I'll be with him - come on, read
it out loud. Do you believe the Bible saints? He will call on Me, what will
happen? Is this for everybody? No, it's not. It's for those that call on Him,
believe in Him, trust Him - it could be for everybody, but you
can't just skip all of these previous verses. What did He say? Because He set His love on Me,
He knows My name, He trusts Me and He is saying you are my
fortress, right? I live under your shadow. This is definitely somebody that
believes in God. I will be with Him in trouble. "I will deliver Him." Say it out loud: "I will call on
Him, He will answer me. He will be with me in trouble. Every time. He will deliver me and honor me. Every time. I call God faithful, faithful,
faithful." That's where He went on to say,
"With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation." How did you live long time? You have to go back through the
whole Psalm. The arrow didn't get you. The plague didn't get you. Is that right? The pestilence didn't get you. The lion didn't get you. Come on, are you seeing all that
stuff? The snake didn't get you. On and on and on. You made it through every bit of
it. He kept you, His angels kept
you, He delivered you. Next thing you know, you are
old. You've done seen it all, done it
all, is that right? And are satisfied. Now you're ready to go on to
glory, hallelujah. But the wreck didn't take you
out. The disease didn't take you out. You know, there was a minister
some years ago, I won't go into details but he has been gone off
the scene many, many years. This is a couple generations
back. Man, he was, under so much
persecution. And even a lot of church folks
wanted to do away with him. And he said, "Until I finish my
course, I am un-killable." Hallelujah! Why would he say such a thing? I can't be killed. Why? Because he is saying the Lord is
with me, He's helping me do it. Who is going to be bigger than
Him? Who is bigger than His ability
to keep me? Now when I finish my course,
that's another thing. But until then, you can't take
me out, the devil can't take me out, disease can't take me out,
crazy people can't take me out. Because the Lord is on my side! He is with me, He is for me! Hallelujah. Whoa! Hallelujah. Go with me please to the Book of
Daniel. Let's see somebody else that
knew something about the Lord being with them. Daniel three, are you there? Now we're going to read some
verses. May read the whole chapter. What's more important? You going to rush out of here
and go do what? Y'all remember what the Lord
told me that time. The reason I know these things
is because the Lord taught me and corrected me about it. I was in a hurry to leave a
prayer meeting one time and I was getting fidgety and looking
at my clock. Finally the Lord asked me,
"What's your hurry? What are you leaving, and what
are you going to?" Well, He already knows the
answer. He didn't ask you because He
didn't know. And you better be honest because
He knows that too. He knows your heart. I sat there and I realized and
saw why He asked me. I thought I'm in a hurry to
leave prayer and the word to run and go get a sandwich and watch
the news. And when you say it like that,
it really sounds carnal. That's what He told me. Relax. We all have flesh, we all have
flesh to deal with. And the flesh is impatient. Oh, man. But you need to get a hold of it
and say calm yourself down. Just relax. We'll take care of you when and
if we decide to. Daniel 3:1, "Nebuchadnezzar the
king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore
cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the
plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon." This is giant. What do some of your Amplified
things say? How tall is that? Ninety feet? So ninety feet. Out of gold. Now this is something to see. "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the
captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the
sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the
dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set
up." And he is an ruler over much of
the known world. He is called a king of kings. He doesn't have any reason to
kill you or wipe out your city, if he doesn't just feel good one
morning about it. He's total control over all
these realms. And when you get an invite from
the king, you go. Dressed up. And so everybody showed. Verse three, the captains, the
governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, all the
rulers of the provinces. What did they do? They showed up. They, "Gathered to the
dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set
up and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had
set up." And they have gone all out. "Then an herald," a proclaimer,
"cried aloud," and said, "to you it is commanded, O people,
nations, and languages," and there would've been interpreters
echoing all through the crowd in fifty different languages. We're talking about a giant
crowd from the known world. "At what time you hear the sound
of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and
all kinds of musick, you fall down and worship the golden
image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up: And whoso falls
not down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst
of a burning fiery furnace." There ain't going to be no court
date. There ain't going to be no
discussion. You're going in the furnace. So what's the options here? Y'all help me out. What's the options? When you hear the music, what? You bow or you burn. Right? Is everybody clear on this? It's important, we're going to
see this later. It's important that everybody is
clear on this. It's not complicated. And so, "Therefore at that time,
when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the
people..." Somebody say: "All the people." "The nations, and the
languages," what did they do? They, "Fell down and worshipped
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set
up." Now, is this okay? Is this okay for God's people? No, it is not. This is the first thing God gave
them on the mountain, of what we call the Ten Commandments. Let me read it to you. "I am the Lord your God Who
brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. You shall have no other gods
before Me. You shall not make to yourself
any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above or in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down yourself
to them, nor serve them. I the Lord your God am a jealous
God." Now, this is the word of God. You know, I believe we should
still observe these things today. You and I have no business
praying to pictures, or bowing down and praying in front of a
statue. Certainly not anything that
represents another God. Certainly not. "Oh, it's just harmless. I want to show respect." No, it is not. These things, though they may
not be God, they have spirits that are associated with them. No, it's not okay. The Lord said, "You don't
worship any other God and you don't make any kind of image. And you don't bow in front of
it." Well, that's what these Hebrew
men have going over in their hearts and minds when this king
proclaims this. Are you there in Daniel? "Wherefore at that time," verse
eight, "certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews." Have you heard that before? Who is the accuser of the
brethren? This is the tactic of the
adversary always. He is the accuser. You don't want to be that. Say it out loud: "He is the
accuser. I am not an accuser of the
brethren. Nor am I a judge." It's very important. "They spoke to the king
Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. You, O king, have made a decree,
that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of
musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And
whoso falls not down and worships, that he should be cast
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you
set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed- nego; these men, O king, have not regarded
you: they serve not your gods, nor worship the golden image
which you have set up." Now we have a story about them
in the previous chapters in how God supernaturally gave them
favor when they didn't want to eat the king's food. And no doubt some of it was
things that they were forbidden to eat by the same God. And how God supernaturally gave
them favor with those that were over them and ultimately with
this king himself. And the king likes these guys. And he promoted them. He put them in high positions. So he liked these guys. Until now. But nobody defies the king: in
public, in front of this crowd, on your big day. They said they don't regard you,
they have no respect for you, they don't serve your gods, and
they don't worship your golden image which you have set up. "Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage
and fury," this really set him off. He, "Commanded to bring
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men
before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to
them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not
you serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have
set up?" Is it true? Now, a lot of guys, this
conversation would not even be in the Bible. He would've just thrown them in. Why are we even having this
conversation? He likes them. At least he used to. He appointed them in these
high-level positions, he liked them. He is going to do something
different than he normally does. He is going to be magnanimous
and give them one more shot. He is showing how merciful he
can be. Otherwise, they would've just
been thrown in. And he's giving them a chance to
talk to him. Is it true? You don't serve my gods? You don't worship the golden
image I have? And it already said he is
furious. And what happened? "Now if you be ready that at
what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp,
sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, you
fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if
you worship not," if you don't, "you shall be cast the same hour
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that
God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Oh, now when the devil talks
like that, you can get ready to shout. You hear anybody talking like
that you ought to say, "Say it again." And then step back. Get some distance between you... You know, the Lord gave us that
hangar, it was a miracle. And Brother Jesse, I talked to
him not long after that and I told him we got our hangar. They were believing with us and
we were believing with them. And he got a hangar down in New
Orleans where he is. And they had told him that same
thing. They said, "The preacher will
never get a hanger. Your God can't do that." Guess what he's got? Oh man, it made them mad. In fact, it was such a deal - it
just had to go up and up and up beyond airport authority to
higher levels of government, and the people that opposed them are
now in jail. "You'll never have that
preacher. Your God can't do that." Well, yes, He can. And He did. Say it out loud: "He can, and He
did." That's what He said. Who is that God going to deliver
you out of my hands? In other words He is saying I am
god in this situation. Your life is in my hands. Ain't nobody can deliver you out
of my hands. You do it, or you die right now. Now this is awesome. This is why this is in the Book. "Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we
are not careful to answer you in this matter." Say what? The guy is already fuming. Furious. What did they say? We don't need any time. We don't have to think about
this. We don't have to deliberate
about any of this. We have your answer right here. "If it be so, our God Whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and
He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you,
O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the
golden image which you have set up." Now a lot of people
misunderstand this and create doctrines that are contrary to
the rest of the Bible. Let me read this to you from, I
believe it's the Easy-To-Read translation. The Easy-To-Read says, "If you
throw us into the hot furnace, the God we serve can save us. And if He wants to, He can save
us from your power. But even if God does not save
us, we want you to know, King, that we refuse to serve your
gods. We will not worship the gold
idol you have set up." Bad translation. It is not even a translation. I hope you understand what I'm
talking about. Bad. It doesn't merit to be called a
translation because it's not what the text said. It's what they think it meant. I don't want somebody telling me
what they think it means when I'm reading the Bible. I want to know what it said. What was said. I got the Author living inside
me. He will tell me what it means. Now there's a reason why I'm
taking time to do this. You have to watch a lot of these
modern translations. A lot of them are not really
translations. They are paraphrases. And you need to check it against
what you know to be a solid source. The King James is pretty good,
not perfect, but of course you understand this came from Greek
and Hebrew. Oh, somebody didn't like it that
I said it wasn't perfect. I know some people think King
James is the one Jesus used. And I like it, you know I do. I use it all the time. I think it's a wonderful
translation. But, you ought to go into the
history of the King James version and how it happened. It's an eye-opener. You realize men are involved. And the Lord to helped them, but
you have the Author. Now you know I like Young's
Literal. And there are reasons why I like
it. He is the author of Young's
Concordance. He actually knew something about
the language. One of the most highly regarded
scholars. His translation is not easy to
read, and I like that because it's accurate. He didn't try to tell me what he
thought it meant. Sometimes it doesn't work very
well in English, and I like that too, because I know he's not
trying to fill in the blanks. Do you want to hear the Young's
Literal translation? Verse fourteen, "Nebuchadnezzar
has answered and said, 'Is [it] a laid plan, O Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego - my gods you are not serving, and to the
golden image that I have raised up you are not doing obeisance?" Is this a plan you had? Now hear the language. Verse fifteen, "Now, lo, you are
ready, so that at the time that you hear the voice of the
cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and the
symphony, and all kinds of music, you fall down and do
obeisance to the image that I have made! And lo, you do no obeisance - in
that hour you are cast into the midst of a burning fiery
furnace; who is that God who does deliver you out of my
hands?' Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have answered, yea,
they are saying to the king Nebuchadnezzar, 'We have no need
concerning this matter to answer you. Lo, it is," now this is the
emphasis in verse seventeen, lo it is, and verse eighteen and lo
not. But you have to find out what
questions they are answering. Two things: lo it is. "Our God Whom we are serving, is
able to deliver us from a burning fiery furnace; and from
your hand, O king, He does deliver. And lo - not! Be it known, O king, that your
gods we are not serving, and to the golden image you have raised
up we do no obeisance.'" They're answering his questions. He gave them two options. If you bow down, I am not
throwing you in. If you don't bow down, I am
throwing you in. And what God can deliver you? And they are answering it. If you throw us in, our God is
able to deliver us and He will deliver us. And lo not is what? If you don't throw us in -
that's what he is saying. If you don't throw us in we're
going to tell you, we are not serving your god. Now if you say if God doesn't
deliver us we're not going to serve your idol, is really
unnecessary. If you throw us in, we want you
to know we're not serving that idol. Of course you're not. You are burnt to a crisp. Friend, there's a reason why in
taking time to do this. Faith does not say God is able
to deliver me, and He will deliver me. But if He doesn't... No, no, no, I know a lot of
people believe it and I understand why, because the
Scripture, some translations, they even make stuff up. But no. The answer is if you throw us in
there our God is able and He will deliver us. If you don't throw us in, he's
telling them I'm going to throw you in if you don't bow. Even if you don't throw us in,
we're not going to do it. We are not going to bow down. Hallelujah. Many people have been executed
by kings over the generations. Over less stuff than this. Why is this story in the Book? Why are they different from all
these other untold millions that have been slaughtered? What is different about them? God just decided to do this
because He knew it would make a good Sunday school story? Hebrews eleven, you don't have
to turn there, just put it on screen for us please. Hebrews 11:32, "What shall I
more say?" Anybody know what chapter we are
in? Hebrews eleven. This about faith? He said, "For the time would
fail me," he told about the faith of Abraham. Told about the faith of all
these others and he said, I don't have time to tell you
about the faith of, "Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of
Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets,"
about what they did. And verse thirty-three who what? "Who through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire," that's these
boys. And "violence," the word
actually literally is "power," the power of the fire. How did they do it? Didn't say God just decided to
do it, their faith was the thing that was different from all the
thousands and millions over these generations that had been
slaughtered and killed by the whimsical dictates of kings. What's the difference here? The fact that they wouldn't do
it and they stood up in front of the king and said we don't care
what you say or do, we are not bowing to this thing. And if you do throw us in there,
God can do it and He will do it! Oh come on, somebody say: "He
will do it. He will do it." Come on, say it out loud: "He
will do it. He will do it." "Yeah, but what if He doesn't." If you believe that, you're not
in faith anymore. You are wavering, you are
vacillating. What did the Bible say? Don't you think you'll receive
anything of the Lord. Now friend, don't say, "Well... It's a matter of
interpretation." It's a lot more than a matter of
interpretation. If you believe this and try to
live this way, you're going to suffer defeat after defeat after
defeat. "If God wants to heal me, He
will. But if He doesn't, if He decides
He likes it better with me broke and sick..." There is zero faith there, none. Nothing for Him to work with. Friend, you have to put your
nose in this Book. You have to spend time with Him
in prayer until you get to know His will about some things. It's not His will for anybody to
perish. And if He told His people you do
not bow down to any image, and they take Him seriously and they
say okay, you told us not to do it, we're not going to do it,
and they stand up and say God is big enough to deliver us from
you o king and He will do it, do you think God is not going to
come through for them when they have the faith to boldly declare
He can and will? Oh somebody say: "He can and He
will." Hallelujah. Now I know people that doubt
don't work like this. They think you are arrogant. You think you're something. That's just how faith sounds. I know it sounds strange to some
people, but that's how faith sounds. Did we just got through reading
Psalm ninety-one? It may happen to a thousand over
here, ten thousand, but it won't happen to me, it won't come to
me. "Well who do you think you are?" It's not about who I think I am. It's about this Bible that I
believe. Young David, looking up and
saying, "You come to me, Goliath, with a spear and a
shield. I come to you in the name of the
Lord. I am going to take your head
off! I'm going to give your body to
the birds today!" "Well, we'll go try... We'll give it our best shot... Well just whatever the Lord
wants..." No, no faith. You don't know what the will of
God is. And you can have no faith. Faith knows the will of God. No, you don't how He's going to
do it, you don't know all those things, but you know it's God's
will for you to be saved. You know it's God's will for you
to be filled with the Spirit and have the gifts of the Spirit. You know it's God's will for
your bills to be paid. And to have a good life. You know it's God's will. You know it's God's will. You know that. You know is God's will to
protect you and keep you and deliver you. You know that. The Bible is full of that. And all this stuff that people
think they are being humble, they are being deceived. And the enemy is robbing them,
because they are having no faith. Can you see this? Let's keep reading. They said we don't need any time
get back with you on this. We're ready right now, our
answer is ready. If you throw us in there, our
God Whom we serve is able, and He will deliver us. If you don't throw us in, we're
not going to bow down. Not now, not tomorrow, not next
month. We're not going to do it. Well, the King is not accustomed
to being talked to that way. He was, "...full of fury, and
the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach," see,
I was telling you earlier, he's trying to save them. He liked them at one time. That's all gone now. You don't give the king lip in
public at the unveiling of his big gold statue. He, "Commanded that they should
heat the furnace one seven times more than it was," normally,
"wont to be heated." It's not enough to just be hot. "And he commanded the most
mighty men that were in his army," his special forces, "to
bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into
the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in
their clothes, their hosen, and their hats, and their other
garments," want to make sure they burn real good and for a
long time. So he wrapped them up and all
these garments. "And were cast into the midst of
the burning fiery furnace." What do you think is going
through their mind? These great big guys grab them,
you could feel the heat of that thing from way over here. And the closer you get to it -
and, "Because the king's commandment was urgent, and the
furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men
that," had a hold of them that were throwing them in. They are overcome, and they're
gasping, and stumbling and falling, but with their last bit
of strength, they heaved them inside. What's going through their mind? They have a mind just like you. There was no Book of Daniel,
yet, who knows how this story turns out. They know what they believe. We know according to Hebrews
eleven they are not doubting, they are believing. We know that. So they are believing. But you still have your head. What do you think? I can tell you, you know how
faith works with all of us. We're thinking okay, God. Okay, God. Now would be a good time. We're getting close. Oh, God. Oh, God. And they fell out and died and -
oh God! You remember what the man said
with his son that had the fits? He said, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." You still have your head. And as they fell down tied up
into these glowing coals, this is a furnace, this is something
you could melt steel with. White hot, glowing, and they all
fell down in there. And they realized it's not hot. It's not hot. What do you think? We don't know all that was going
on inside of that furnace with these three guys, I'm pretty
sure one of them said I told you. I told you. I told you! We told him, didn't we tell
them? We told them. God will deliver us! He will. We told them! So here they are, the only thing
that fell off of them were the ropes. Phew. "Nebuchadnezzar the king was
astonied," he got up off his throne in a hurry and he said
hey, hey. Didn't we throw three guys in
there? In the midst of the fire? They said, "True, O king." I think by this time an amazing
hush has just fell across the whole vast crowd. And the people in the back are
going what, what, what? They're not burning. They didn't burn. Huh? No. They're walking around inside of
it. I didn't hear you're right, what
happened? They are not burning. And it goes back through all the
translations and all the different languages. And you hear all the different
responses in the different languages. Huh? No burnie? No burnski? No el-burno? Like Brother Hagin, I know some
Spanish: taco, burrito, enchilada. He said, "I see four men loose,"
they tied them up real good, "walking in the midst of the
fire, and they have no hurt," and this fourth One, he looks,
"like the Son of God." Was He with them? In trouble? Did He deliver them and then set
them on high and honor them? Is He the same God today? Would He be the same God to you? Has He changed? Will He ever change? No. But you have to have faith like
them too. You have to be bold enough. Now don't misunderstand, don't
just pop off and say God's going to do things He didn't tell you,
or that is not in His word, you will experience disappointment. But if He said it in His word,
or He said it to you by His Spirit for real, not just you
making stuff up, then you can be bold and say the Lord will do
this. Hallelujah. If He told you - no need to say,
"Well we'll wait and see if it happens..." Then you don't believe what He
said. Do you remember Zacharias when
the Angel came down? And you know his wife had not
been able to conceive and they're getting older. He said, "Your wife's going to
have a child. You're going to have a child." And what did Zacharias say? "How will I know this?" And boy, the Lord shut his
mouth. That was it. He was drawing pictures and
making notes for the next nine months, is that right? That was the wrong answer. He said, "We're old." See, he's not believing it. What is it time to do what the
Lord says you're going to have a baby, what do you need to say? We're going to have a baby. Is that right? When Mary encountered the same
situation, she was curious as to how it could happen without a
husband - that's a legitimate question. But she wasn't asking in
unbelief. She just never heard such a
thing. And the Lord told her, the Lord
told her through the angel, "The power of the highest is going to
overshadow you. The Holy Spirit is going to come
on you." Does she understand all that? No, you don't either. What did she say? "Behold the handmade of the
Lord. Be it unto me according to Your
word." In other words, what's going to
happen? We're about to have a baby. Right? She believed it. You have to be bold. Faith is bold. Not arrogant, but confident. Oh, hallelujah. And if you believe enough to
talk this bold, talk this strong, God is going to come
through this strong. Do you believe it saints? Look at it again. We threw three of them in there. There's four. And verse twenty-six,
"Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery
furnace," of course, the thing is still raging hot and he,
"said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, servants of the Most
High God," could you come here? Could you come out and come
here? "Then Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, came forth out of the midst of the fire." Is this honor? Is this lifting you on high? They came walking out there. Yeah, we can come out now. What do you need King? "The princes, governors, and
captains, and the king's counsellors, saw these men," now
he had the leadership of the known world gathered to show off
and impress them with his big gold image. And God used it to show them His
power. And every one of these took this
back. Did they have a story to tell
when they got back home. They saw these men, "Upon whose
bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head
singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire
had passed on them." You couldn't even smell anything
burned or smoking on them. Like it had never happened. Somebody say: "Like it had never
happened." "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said,
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Who has
sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in
Him," we know they trusted in Him. They weren't wavering and
doubting, they were believing. "And have changed the king's
word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor
worship any god, except their own God." Then he made a decree. "I make a decree, every people,
nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in
pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because
there is no other God that can deliver after this sort." Oh, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Stand on your feet.
