Freedom In The Fire

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That's code iHeart fifty when you 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.920 sign up at unest dot co for a fifty dollars bonus. 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.080 See terms and conditions at UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.920 The fire is a sign that you're about to bloom. 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:38.399 You're about to blossom. You're going to discover talent, potential, 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:40.240 favor that you've never seen. 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:42.160 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:45.280 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:45.959 the ministry. 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.440 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:50.000 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:53.040 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:54.280 your life. 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.520 Well, God bless you. It's great to be with you today. 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:02.520 I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:06.760 through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media. We'll 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:10.080 keep you encouraged and inspired. I like to start with 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.400 something funny, and I heard about this teenager. He'd just 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:17.120 gotten his driver's license. He asked his father about borrowing 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.480 the car. His father said, son, I'll make a. 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:19.960 Deal with you. 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:23.480 If you'll bring your grades up, read your Bible every day, 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:25.919 and cut your hair, I'll let you borrow it. 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.000 He came back a few weeks later ask about it again. 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.799 Father said, son, you brought your grades up, you've been 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.560 reading your Bible, but you still haven't cut your hair. 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.120 The son said, Dad, I've been thinking Moses had long hair, 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:41.760 Samson had long hair, even Jesus had long hair. The 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.799 father said, yes, son, And they walked everywhere they went 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:49.760 and say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.520 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.000 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:57.800 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:02.000 of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:06.320 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.280 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:15.320 about freedom in the fire. In the National Park in California, 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:19.160 there are these huge sequoia trees. They stand over three 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:23.000 hundred feet tall. They can live over two thousand years. 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:28.640 They're magnificent trees. On the branches, they develop a cone. 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.760 Inside that cone are the seeds to produce new Sequoia trees. 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:37.440 What's significant is those seeds are locked up in the cone. 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.160 They don't just naturally come out over time. 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.200 The seeds can be in the cone hundreds of years 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:44.560 never produce a tree. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.320 The only way the cone will open is through fire. 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:51.320 Lightning will strike, the heat. 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.920 From the fire will cause the cone to open. The 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.480 seeds are able to germinate and become what. 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.680 They were created to be. But I always saw fire 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:00.600 as a bad thing. 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:04.920 Oh man, there's another fire in the forest, not realizing 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:08.200 the fire was all a part of God's plan. It's 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:11.960 how he designed nature to work. One article talked about 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:15.440 how people tried to put out these natural fires for 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:19.920 years as quickly as possible, not realizing that was doing 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:23.239 more damage to the forest. Now there were no new trees. 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:27.760 The fire was necessary for new growth. In the same 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:30.680 way there are seeds that are locked up in you, 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:35.080 seeds of favor, seeds of greatness, seeds of purpose. 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.159 The only way they'll come out is through fire. 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:43.120 We don't like the fire, being uncomfortable, going through things 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:48.720 you don't understand. Business slowed, friend walked away, medical report 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:49.400 wasn't good. 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:50.880 It's easy to get. 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:55.359 Discouraged, water down your dreams. But God won't allow a 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:59.359 difficulty unless he has a purpose for it. There is 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.960 potential locked up in you that will only come out 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:07.159 through adversity. There are gifts and talents that you want 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:12.960 to discover without going through times when it's uncomfortable. David said, 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:17.680 God enlarged me in my distress. He didn't say God 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:21.440 enlarged me in my good times, enlarged me when everyone 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:22.359 was celebrating me. 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:23.560 He said. 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.479 God enlarged me when I faced a giant twice my size. 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.000 God enlarged me when King Saul was trying to kill me. 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:35.400 God enlarged me when my own father didn't believe in me. 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.839 It was in that fire that David discovered talent that 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.120 he didn't know he had. In the fire, he stepped 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:47.080 into courage, favor, greatness that he would have never known 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.760 had he not felt the heat, the pressure, the adversity. 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.560 You may be in the fire now thinking God, what's 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:58.080 going on in my life? This trouble, this child, this 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:02.440 off course, this medical city situation. It's setting me back now. 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:06.000 The truth is it's setting you up. What you can't 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:07.280 see is God. 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:08.719 Is enlarging you. 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.600 You're about to step into new levels of your destiny. 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:15.920 You're going to see new growth, new opportunity, new talent. 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.760 It couldn't happen without the fire. You may not see 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:23.360 it yet, but there's favor in that fire. There's promotion 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:26.159 in that fire. There's freedom in that fire. 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:29.719 The fire is opening up things that you would have 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:34.000 never seen. Don't fight the fire. Stay faithful in the fire. 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:35.520 I've learned. 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:39.960 God will not mismanage your life. He knows how much fire, 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.200 how much heat, how much pressure you can handle. 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:45.000 He controls the thermostat. 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.080 If that fire was going to take you out, he 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:49.200 wouldn't have allowed it. 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.760 You are well able, you are strong in the Lord. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:56.839 You are full of can do power. Keep the right perspective. 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:00.520 That fire is not going to burn you up, leasing 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.680 you into new levels. The fire is all a part 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.120 of God's plan, so you can become. 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:07.839 Everything you were created to be. 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.280 That's why Peter said, don't think it strange when you 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:13.920 face fiery trials. 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:16.000 He could have said when you face. 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:21.400 Difficulties adversities, but he used the word fiery. God was saying, 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.520 sometimes I'm going to let you go through the fire, 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.240 through things you don't understand, things that are not fair. 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.920 You'll be timpty to get bitter upset. But trust him. 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:37.160 In the fire, he's ordering your steps. He's still in control. 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:38.360 He wouldn't have. 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:41.320 Allowed it if it was going to stop you. That 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:44.760 fire is opening up seeds to your destiny. 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.120 Levels you could never reach without the fire. 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:52.480 Sometimes forest rangers will do what's called a controlled burn. 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:57.000 They'll set a fire on purpose to burn off the underbrush. 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.320 They carefully study and plan exactly what needs to be burned. 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:06.080 When difficulties come against us, can seem like things are. 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:08.600 Out of control. I lost my main client. 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:13.800 It's diagnosed with this illness, the pandemic, inflation, gas prices. 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.840 It feels like a wildfire. But can I encourage you? 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:21.360 You're in a controlled burn. God has you in the 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.880 palm of his hand. He sees what you're going through. 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:28.400 He knows who hurts you what you didn't get, what 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.480 wasn't fair. He wouldn't have let you get in. 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.040 The fire if he wasn't going to bring you out 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:37.240 of the fire. The good news is you're not going 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:40.840 to come out the same. The enemy minute to stop you, 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:43.199 but God only allowed it. 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:44.320 So he can promote you. 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.920 The fire is a sign that you're about to bloom. 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:49.679 You're about to blossom. 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:54.240 You're going to discover talent, potential, favor that you've never seen. 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:58.600 Don't believe the lies that the fire is out of control. 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.760 You'll never get well, you'll never meet the right person, 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:03.520 never get out of this trouble. 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:06.080 That fire is coming to an end. 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:11.120 Before the fire ever started, God set the boundaries. He 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:15.560 planned how long, how much, how hot, the strategy. That's 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:20.360 not a random fire, that's a control fire. The enemy 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.560 is not in charge of your life. He cannot do 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:27.320 whatever he wants. You are God's property, You belong to 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:28.400 the most High. 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:32.560 He created you, He breathed life into you. He planned 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.800 your days for good and yes, we all go through 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:37.679 the fire. But God has a. 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:42.160 Comeback for every setback, healing for every hurt, mercy for 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:43.000 every mistake. 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:45.240 You're not doing life on your own. 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:50.320 In the scripture, Satan wanted to test Job, but God 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.720 had a hedge of protection around him. He couldn't just 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.560 go and put Job into fire. He had to ask 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:00.560 God for permission. This shows us that every thing is 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:05.400 a controlled burn. The enemy can't touch you without God's permission. 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.280 And Job was a good man. He honored God. But 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:10.480 he went through all. 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:14.720 This trouble, lost his business, lost his health, lost his family. 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.720 He got so discouraged he sat down among the ashes. 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.079 His wife said, Job just cursed God and die. 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:23.439 She was very encouraging. 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.040 At one point, Job got his passion back. 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.480 He looked up to the heavens and said, I know 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:31.080 my redeemer lives. 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:36.480 He was saying, God, I trust you. I don't understand it. 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.760 It doesn't seem fair, but I know you're still in control. 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:42.800 God not only restored Job. 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.640 Gave him his health back, but he brought him out 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:49.200 with double. Job had twice the sheep, twice the cattle, 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:53.280 twice the joy. The scripture says Job went on to 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:57.160 live one hundred and forty years and enjoyed his children 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:02.000 and grandchildren. Maybe, like Joe, you're sitting in the ashes 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:05.360 looking at what you lost. What didn't work out what 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.679 you're up against. You could easily live discouraged. 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:13.320 Feels like a wildfire. The truth is it's a controlled burn. 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:16.760 God wouldn't have allowed it if you weren't going to 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:21.280 come out better. There are seeds of increase, seeds of healing, 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:24.360 seeds of destiny that are about to open. 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:26.160 And yes, it was unfair. 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:31.320 But when you come out on the other side, like Jove, stronger, healthier, 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:32.920 more confident. 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.040 You're going to say, look what the Lord has done. 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.360 There was freedom in the fire. There were new levels 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:42.920 in that fire. David said, we went through the fire, 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:46.120 and you brought us to a place of great abundance. 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.960 Notice the abundance is on the other side of the fire, 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.080 on the other side of the trouble, the breakup. 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:54.319 The loss is. 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:58.160 An abundance of joy, an abundance of strength, and abundance 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:04.360 of resources is necessary to see the fullness of your destiny. 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:06.960 When my father went to be with the Lord back 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:09.640 in nineteen ninety nine, I was thrown. 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:11.520 In the fire. I didn't like it. 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.360 My whole world was turned upside down. My father and 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:19.080 I were best friends. I'd worked with him for seventeen years. 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:22.400 Now he was gone. Everything felt like it was out 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:26.240 of control, but looking back now, I realized it was 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:31.440 a controlled burn. I was uncomfortable, I was disappointed. What 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.760 I couldn't see is there were seeds of my destiny 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:38.560 opening up in that fire, Seeds that had been locked 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:42.440 up in that cone gifts talents that would have lied 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.760 dormant without the heat. I didn't think I could get 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:49.200 up in front of people I'd never ministered before, but 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:52.120 I discovered ability that I never knew I had. 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:54.719 When my father passed. 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.400 I suddenly had the desire to step up and past 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:01.000 to the church I never wanted to before. For thirty 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.640 six years, he tried to get me up here. Then 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:08.480 overnight it changed. Some things can only be released in 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:11.520 the fire. I wish I could tell you that you'll 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:15.480 reach your destiny with just good breaks, good education, doors 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:16.880 opening people being for you. 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:18.880 But that's not reality. 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:24.360 God uses closed doors, disappointments, betrayals, even loss. 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:28.280 In one sense, we all been in the fire the pandemic. 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:34.080 People have lost, loved ones, couldn't be together, business struggled, loneliness. 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.040 But God wouldn't have allowed us to go in the 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:40.960 fire if he didn't have something better coming don't water 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:44.800 down your dreams. Don't quit believing. This fire is a 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:46.040 sign that new. 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:46.760 Growth is coming. 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.600 You're about to bloom, to see favor. You haven't seen 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.199 doors open that you could never open, to go places 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:58.280 that you've never dreamed. Jolie didn't happen for me. I've 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:01.120 been in the fire a long time. Nothing has worked out. 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:05.440 Don't judge your situation too soon. Your time is coming. 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.680 God has not forgotten about you. He sees you doing 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.600 the right thing when it's hard. He sees you being 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.320 good to people that are not good to you. He 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:19.760 sees you taking the treatment, not complaining, raising those children, 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:24.240 nobody thanking you. There's about to be a shift, a turnaround. 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.000 You've been faithful in the fire. Now you're about to 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:30.720 see favor in the fire. You'll come in into great abundance, 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:36.960 great opportunities, great relationships, great fulfillment. I was eight years 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:40.920 old playing baseball with some friends in my backyard, and 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:44.560 the ball accidentally went over the fence into the neighbor's yard. 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:48.880 They owned this German shepherd that was huge. He was 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.600 the meanest dog ever created. If you looked at him, 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.680 he would start to ground show his teeth like he's 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:56.800 going to tear into you. 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:01.040 We were terrified of him. Fortunately, they kept him in 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:01.880 a fence in the. 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.600 Area in their backyard, a twenty foot square chaining fence. 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:08.320 Had my friends give me a boost, and I looked 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:10.920 over the fence. I could see the dog was in 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:14.480 his cage looking the other way. He's about fifty sixty 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:17.440 feet away. And I very quietly climbed over the fence 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:20.560 and I walked to the ball as gently as I could. 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.800 Right when I got to it, the dog turned and 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:28.160 saw me. He jumped on his feet, growling ferociously. He 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.960 ran toward the gate, bumped up against it, and it opened. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.960 Somebody didn't close it properly. I nearly passed out. 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.200 He took off, running to me ninety miles an hour. 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:42.520 I took off toward that fence, the whole time praying 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.880 the sinner's prayer, God, forgive me of my sins. 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.880 I'm about to come see you. I got to the fence. 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:51.560 I was small, about four feet tall. It was a 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:52.720 six foot wood fence. 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:56.240 I grabbed the top with one hand. All in one. 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.440 Motion, I jumped as high as I could. Somehow I 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:01.160 jumped over that six. 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.560 Foot fence right before the dog got to me. 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:08.440 It's amazing what you can do when you're put under pressure. 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:13.240 When the fire is turned up, seeds you've never tapped 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:17.000 into begin to open up. They say white men can't jump. 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:23.520 That day I got off the ground, y'all, you'll discover potential, courage, strength, 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.840 creativity that only comes out in the fire. 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:29.920 Now, you may not have an angry dog chasing you. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.200 Maybe it's a boss that's hard to get along with, 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.360 or you're dealing with the sickness, a set back in 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:36.400 your finances. 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:39.280 What you do in the fire matters. 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:43.640 How you respond in the pressure will determine whether you 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.400 come out better or whether you get stuck. 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:50.720 You're not going to understand everything that happens. Life's not 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:51.560 always fair. 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:56.120 Sometimes it feels like a wildfire. Nothing's working out. You 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:58.160 have to remind yourself. 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.840 It's a controlled burn. God allowed that fire not to 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:03.640 defeat you, but to promote you. 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:08.720 In the Scripture three Hebrew teenagers wouldn't bow down to 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:12.200 the king's golden idol, and he was furious. He told 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.240 them if they didn't bow, he was going to have 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.320 them thrown into a fiery furnace. 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.040 They still wouldn't bow, They could have been. 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:22.480 Upset God, we're doing the right thing. Now we're about 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:23.760 to be thrown into a fire. 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:25.000 Why is this happening? 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:29.240 Now they understood this principle that it was a controlled burn. 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.040 It looked like the king was in charge. 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:35.240 The truth is he was a pawn in the hands 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:35.719 of God. 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.240 God is not just in control of your life, He's 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:43.359 in control of your enemies. The guards tied the hands 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.960 and feet of the teenagers up and threw them into 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:46.520 the furnace. 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:50.040 That fire was so hot the guards were killed. That 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:52.960 should have been the end. But God won't let you 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.600 go in a fire that he can't bring you out of. 0:17:56.440 --> 0:17:58.560 If it's not your time to go, you're not going 0:17:58.600 --> 0:17:58.879 to go. 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:02.800 Looked in the furnace window and said, didn't we throw 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:06.560 three men in bound? I see four men loosed, and 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:10.560 one looks like the son of God. What's interesting is 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:14.200 the teenagers couldn't see the fourth man. The only ones 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:17.280 that could see it were on the outside. When you're 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.200 in the fire, you may not see what God is doing. 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:24.960 You don't think anything's changing, nothing's improving, But you can 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:27.840 be sure the fourth man is in there with you. 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.119 The beauty of our God is he never lets you 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:32.399 go in the fire alone. 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.000 The king couldn't believe it he had been brought out. 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:38.840 The first thing he said is, from now on, we're 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:40.280 all going to worship. 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.280 The god of Shaddrak Nishek in a bendigo. 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.480 Sometimes you go through the fire so other people will 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.480 see the hand of God on your life. They'll see 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.400 the cancer couldn't take you out. The bad break didn't 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:58.000 defeat you. The betrayal didn't stop your destiny. The scripture 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:02.119 says the king promoted Shadra, Nishak and a Bendigo to 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:06.760 much higher positions in Babylon. The enemy sent the fire 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.320 to destroy them. But notice how God works. He turned 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.879 it around and used it to promote them. Now you 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.760 may be in the fire. Now odds are against you. 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.680 Seems like the sickness, the trouble, the bad break is 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:24.199 going to limit your life. What you can't see is 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:27.359 there's a fourth man in there with you. When you 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:29.679 come out, people are going to see you in a 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:32.840 new light. Seeds that have been locked up for years 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:37.359 are opening up, seeds of promotion, seeds of influence, seeds 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:37.919 of honor. 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:40.520 We pray God keep us out of the fire. 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:44.560 It's hot It's uncomfortable, but you can't reach your full 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:49.679 potential without the fire. The late nineteen fifties, my father 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:53.360 was pastoring a growing church that just built a beautiful 0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:55.639 new sanctuary, held a thousand people. 0:19:56.040 --> 0:19:58.879 He was on the state board for his denomination. Life 0:19:59.000 --> 0:19:59.359 was good. 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.359 My sister Lisa was born with something like cerebral pause 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:06.560 in the doctors told my parents she would probably never 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:08.400 be able to walk or feed herself. 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:09.880 They were devastated. 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:13.359 My father went to a hotel downtown to pray and 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.919 read the scripture, and he saw how Jesus went around 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:20.560 healing people, how when you believe, all things are possible. 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:23.800 He came back to his church with this new message 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:27.080 of faith and victory. He thought they'd be so excited, 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:31.200 but it was just the opposite. Didn't fit into their tradition, 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:36.320 their denomination. There was so much opposition contention. He had 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:39.399 to lead the church, and for years he had poured 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:42.800 his heart and soul into those people. My mother had 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:45.240 lifelong friends that never spoke. 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:45.639 To her again. 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:48.320 He never dreamed he would be put out of his 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:51.679 own church. He could have been upset, God, why did 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.720 this happen? But I've learned don't put a question mark 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:59.199 where God put a period. Some things were not going 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:03.840 to understand right now. The scripture says God makes all things. 0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:06.639 Beautiful in its time, give it some time. 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:10.280 My mother and father went out and started Lakewood with 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:15.280 ninety people on Mother's Day in nineteen fifty nine. Instead 0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:18.639 of the beautiful new sanctuary, they had an old rundown 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:22.280 feed store to someone let them borrow. People said it 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:25.879 would never last, But sixty three years later here we 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:31.600 are still going strong. But my father was very disappointed. 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:35.040 At the time felt like a huge step backwards. But 0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:38.920 what looks like a setback is really God setting you up. 0:21:39.560 --> 0:21:42.440 When you get in the fire, it's because new seeds 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.960 are going to come to life, new talents, new opportunities. 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:49.440 My father couldn't see it at the time. Going through 0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:52.840 the rejection was painful, but if he would have stayed 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:57.040 in that limited environment, he would have never blossomed. That 0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:00.400 fire was necessary so he could step up to who 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:01.520 he was created to be. 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:05.280 Don't fight the fire. There's favor in the fire. 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:08.159 You may not be able to see it yet, but 0:22:08.200 --> 0:22:11.679 the fourth Man is in there with you today. My 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:15.240 sister Lisa is perfectly normal. God healed her she's lived 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:18.480 a healthy life. But think about this, If Lisa had 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:22.560 not been born with that negative diagnosis, my father would 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:25.480 have never read the scripture in a new light, which 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:28.560 is why they ask him to leave. That's how he 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:30.840 stepped into his destiny. 0:22:31.040 --> 0:22:31.800 What am I saying? 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:36.199 We're not going to understand everything God does. Sometimes you 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:37.200 get thrown in the fire. 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:40.840 It doesn't make sense. You have to trust that God 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:45.280 knows what he's doing. He's strategic. He can see things 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:46.200 we can't see. 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:50.199 There are seeds in you right now, potential that you 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:54.800 haven't tapped into, gifts, talents, courage that can only come 0:22:54.840 --> 0:22:56.480 out with the heat, the. 0:22:56.400 --> 0:23:01.800 Pressure, the closed doors, the loss. Comfortable. We don't like it, 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:05.320 but the fire is not working against you, is working 0:23:05.359 --> 0:23:05.840 for you. 0:23:07.000 --> 0:23:09.800 Moses was living on the back side of the desert 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:14.600 in hiding. Forty years earlier, he killed an Egyptian foreman 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:18.280 that was mistreating a Hebrew slave. He knew he was 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:21.159 called to deliver the Israelites, but he got out of 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:24.600 God's timing and had to flee for his life. He 0:23:24.680 --> 0:23:28.399 was discouraged, felt like he had missed his destiny. But 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:30.720 one day out in the desert, God came. 0:23:30.520 --> 0:23:32.520 To him in a burning bush. 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:36.280 He could have come to him in a cloud, very peaceful, 0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:40.400 at a lay, very serene, But God came to him 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:43.679 in a fire. Moses went over to this bush that 0:23:43.720 --> 0:23:47.720 wouldn't burn up. What did God say, Moses, You blew it. 0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:51.600 You made too many mistakes. You missed your destiny. No, 0:23:51.760 --> 0:23:55.679 God said, I haven't forgotten what I promised you. 0:23:55.680 --> 0:23:58.760 You're still going to deliver the Israelites. You're still going 0:23:58.840 --> 0:23:59.840 to lead by people. 0:24:00.520 --> 0:24:04.400 That fire was saying, Moses, you're about to blossom. You're 0:24:04.440 --> 0:24:09.439 about to see new gifts, new opportunities. Like Moses, you 0:24:09.520 --> 0:24:12.160 may think you've missed your chance if you'd only made 0:24:12.240 --> 0:24:16.320 better decisions, been more disciplined. It's been too long now, 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:18.080 those seeds are. 0:24:18.000 --> 0:24:21.359 Still in you. You may have given up, but God 0:24:21.440 --> 0:24:25.440 is not given up. Didn't work out the first time God. 0:24:25.119 --> 0:24:27.960 Sent me as you're burning bush, It's going to work 0:24:28.000 --> 0:24:31.280 out the next time. You haven't seen the best part 0:24:31.280 --> 0:24:34.240 of you. There are seeds our creator put in you 0:24:34.560 --> 0:24:39.240 that he's been waiting to open, blessings, favor promotion. The 0:24:39.400 --> 0:24:44.000 enemy tried to use the fire to stop you failures, mistakes, 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:48.399 but he miscalculated. He thought it was a wildfire that 0:24:48.480 --> 0:24:50.879 he was in charge. The truth is it was a 0:24:50.960 --> 0:24:54.280 control burn. God is going to take that fire and 0:24:54.440 --> 0:24:58.040 use it to propel you into new levels of your destiny. 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:01.280 A friend of mine was he raised in a very 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:06.040 rough environment in South America. Eight years old, he saw 0:25:06.080 --> 0:25:09.680 his grandfather get into a fight and stab someone to death. 0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:13.240 That spirit of violence and anger came on him. 0:25:13.800 --> 0:25:15.560 As a teenager living in. 0:25:15.440 --> 0:25:18.280 The Bronx, he was always in trouble. He ended up 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:22.679 in prison facing a life sentence. He had eighteen counts 0:25:22.720 --> 0:25:28.119 against him. Everything you can imagine, drug trafficking, violent crimes, death. 0:25:28.760 --> 0:25:32.920 It looked like that was his destiny. Sometimes we're thrown 0:25:33.080 --> 0:25:35.280 into the fire, and it's not our fault. 0:25:35.880 --> 0:25:38.680 We didn't choose the fire. It's what we were born into, 0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:41.879 it's how we were raised. He called his mother and 0:25:41.920 --> 0:25:44.879 said he needed a book on spirits. He thought someone 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:46.040 had put a curse on him. 0:25:46.760 --> 0:25:48.960 His mother called this lady that was involved in the 0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:51.400 occult and she sent her son a book. 0:25:51.920 --> 0:25:55.360 He opened it, much to his surprise, it was the Bible. 0:25:56.160 --> 0:25:58.280 He was furious. He didn't want to have anything to 0:25:58.320 --> 0:25:59.000 do with God. 0:26:00.000 --> 0:26:02.160 Next morning he picked it up and began to read 0:26:02.200 --> 0:26:03.760 it couldn't put it down. 0:26:04.240 --> 0:26:06.639 He read the whole New Testament in three days. 0:26:07.359 --> 0:26:10.680 That night, he got down on his knees said, God, 0:26:10.840 --> 0:26:13.640 if you're alive like you say you are in the Bible, 0:26:14.080 --> 0:26:17.000 then come into my cell and save me, and I'll 0:26:17.040 --> 0:26:18.040 serve you the rest. 0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:20.040 Of my life. He went to sleep. 0:26:20.480 --> 0:26:22.840 Five point thirty in the morning, he heard a voice 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:27.840 calling his name, Salvador. He woke up, looked around, nobody 0:26:27.920 --> 0:26:31.120 was there, thought he was dreaming, went back to bed. 0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:33.960 Heard it again so clearly, Salvador. 0:26:34.880 --> 0:26:37.359 He said, I'd taken so many drugs in my life, 0:26:37.440 --> 0:26:39.240 I knew I was going crazy. 0:26:39.600 --> 0:26:40.560 The third time. 0:26:40.400 --> 0:26:43.320 He heard the voice, he realized it was God calling 0:26:43.359 --> 0:26:46.960 his name. His life was forever changed by. 0:26:46.760 --> 0:26:48.840 The grace of God. He only served four and a 0:26:48.880 --> 0:26:49.560 half years. 0:26:49.840 --> 0:26:54.720 Today he's Pastor Salvador Sabina, a great pastor in the Bronx. 0:26:56.080 --> 0:26:59.560 He went through the fire. Now he's on fire. He 0:26:59.600 --> 0:27:00.560 goes all. 0:27:00.200 --> 0:27:04.080 Over the world telling his story. The scripture says, you'll 0:27:04.119 --> 0:27:07.920 go through the fire, but you won't be burned. There 0:27:07.960 --> 0:27:10.480 are things that have come against you that should have 0:27:10.560 --> 0:27:11.760 stopped your destiny. 0:27:12.200 --> 0:27:14.800 But the fourth Man was in the fire with you. 0:27:15.320 --> 0:27:17.960 Even when you couldn't see him, even when you weren't 0:27:17.960 --> 0:27:21.440 making good choices, even when you were running. He didn't 0:27:21.520 --> 0:27:25.240 let the fire take you out the enemy minute for harm. 0:27:25.600 --> 0:27:28.680 He thought it would stop your purpose. He didn't realize 0:27:28.960 --> 0:27:32.920 you are God's property. You belong to your creator. He's 0:27:32.960 --> 0:27:36.960 been watching over you your whole life. Friends, the fire 0:27:37.040 --> 0:27:40.480 comes to us all things we didn't ask for. I 0:27:40.520 --> 0:27:43.479 can't promise you that you'll never have fire, but I 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:45.280 can promise you that you're in. 0:27:45.240 --> 0:27:48.399 A controlled burn. That God knows what he's doing. 0:27:48.920 --> 0:27:52.919 That pressure, that heat is causing your seeds of greatness 0:27:52.920 --> 0:27:56.359 to open up. Don't fight the fire. There's freedom in 0:27:56.400 --> 0:27:59.719 the fire. There's new growth in the fire. When you're 0:27:59.800 --> 0:28:04.320 under pressure, recognize God's up to something. You may be 0:28:04.400 --> 0:28:08.160 dealing with things now that you don't understand. God said 0:28:08.440 --> 0:28:10.960 he's going to bring you through the fire without the 0:28:11.080 --> 0:28:14.120 smell of smoke. You're not going to look like what 0:28:14.160 --> 0:28:17.320 you've been through. When the teenagers came out, not a 0:28:17.440 --> 0:28:20.560 hair on their head was burned. He may not keep 0:28:20.600 --> 0:28:23.320 you from the fire, but he will make you fire proof. 0:28:24.320 --> 0:28:28.320 My challenge is stay faithful in the fire. God hasn't 0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:29.439 failed you in the past. 0:28:29.720 --> 0:28:31.160 He's not going to start now. 0:28:31.600 --> 0:28:34.960 I believe and declare, like Job, You're going to come 0:28:34.960 --> 0:28:38.560 out of the fire with double like David said, into 0:28:38.640 --> 0:28:43.360 great abundance. New doors are about to open. Negative situations 0:28:43.400 --> 0:28:45.360 are turning around, healing. 0:28:45.120 --> 0:28:47.960 Is coming, breakthroughs, promotion. 0:28:47.920 --> 0:28:52.120 The fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name, and if 0:28:52.120 --> 0:28:53.880 you receive it, can you say amen? 0:28:55.640 --> 0:28:56.520 I'd like to give you. 0:28:56.480 --> 0:28:59.600 An opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. 0:29:00.040 --> 0:29:04.480 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I'll 0:29:04.520 --> 0:29:09.440 repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I'll make 0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:10.920 you my Lord and savior. 0:29:12.360 --> 0:29:14.560 If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:29:14.600 --> 0:29:17.360 born again. We'd love to give you some free information 0:29:17.520 --> 0:29:19.480 on your new walk with the Lord. You can text 0:29:19.520 --> 0:29:21.800 the number on the screen or go to the website. 0:29:22.080 --> 0:29:24.680 I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church 0:29:25.000 --> 0:29:26.600 and keep God first place. 0:29:26.840 --> 0:29:29.400 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:32.320 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:32.360 --> 0:29:35.840 podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week. 0:29:36.000 --> 0:29:38.200 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:38.240 --> 0:29:39.720 with those all around the world. 0:29:40.040 --> 0:29:42.800 Visit joelosting dot com or click the link in the 0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:45.000 description to partner with us today. 0:29:45.240 --> 0:29:47.720 We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 0:29:47.800 --> 0:29:49.760 be sure to follow us on social media. 0:29:50.040 --> 0:29:53.320 We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. 0:29:53.600 --> 0:29:54.600 We'll see you next time.