Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000058
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00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy... ♪
00:15 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy... ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 ♪ all the praise ♪ I must admit tonight 00:23 that I'm convinced that most of us really don't 00:26 believe God is able. 00:28 Because if we did we would spend less time worrying if we 00:31 really believe God is able. 00:33 We'd spend less time telling folk off, getting people told, 00:36 setting folks straight, if we believe God is able. 00:39 We wouldn't give up so quick because of a doctor's 00:42 diagnosis if we really believed that God is 00:45 able to work miracles. 00:47 We wouldn't give up on prayer so easily if we really 00:50 believed that we serve a God who is able to exceedingly, 00:54 abundantly and above all we could ever ask or think. 00:58 The three Hebrew boys said, We know God is able 01:03 to deliver us. 01:05 But if not, we know he can do it, but if not, we're still 01:12 not going to serve thy gods or worship your golden image. 01:15 We know God can deliver us, we know God can save us, 01:18 we know God can deliver us from the drama 01:19 we're experiencing, we know God can deliver us 01:23 from our financial deprivation, we know God can deliver us 01:25 from this illness, but if not. 01:31 We know God can deliver you from that drug habit. 01:34 We know God can deliver you from that sexual addiction. 01:38 We know God can remove that cancer. 01:41 We know God can provide a job. 01:43 But if not, and that's how we have to get in our lives. 01:50 We must get to that point that if God delivers, 01:53 praise the Lord. 01:55 If God doesn't deliver when we want, praise the Lord. 01:58 But in the good times, praise his name. 02:01 In the bad times do the same. 02:02 In everything give the King of kings all the thanks. 02:07 I will worship the God of Heaven and Earth. 02:09 I will worship the God of Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and 02:13 Joseph, Miriam and Moses, Enoch and Elijah, 02:15 Rachel and Rebecca. 02:18 I will worship the God of you and me, because he's Jehovah 02:22 Jireh, my provider, Jehovah Raphe, somebody knows 02:27 he's a healer. 02:28 Jehovah Shalom, he is my peace. 02:31 Jehovah Nissi, he is my banner. 02:33 So Nebuchadnezzar gets mad. 02:35 He demands the fiery furnace be turned up 02:38 seven times hotter. 02:39 It's getting hot up in there. 02:41 Everything was done to make sure that the three Hebrew 02:45 boys were dead, and dead quickly. 02:48 In fact, the Bible says that because the furnace was much 02:50 hotter than usual that the very ones who threw the Hebrew 02:53 boys in the fiery furnace were killed by the flames 02:55 of the furnace. 02:57 Lesson number three: Be careful about fueling the 03:00 flames for somebody else, because the flames will 03:03 reach and grab you. 03:09 Too many of us are busy setting traps for others, 03:14 waiting for other folk to fall, and the same traps we set 03:19 for others are often the same traps 03:21 we fall in ourselves. 03:23 I can't get a witness in this place. 03:25 You can be so busy turning folks against somebody else. 03:28 You got to be careful that the same folk don't turn on you. 03:33 Let me tell you, if somebody's in the corner talking about 03:35 somebody else, you better believe when you walk six 03:37 paces they're going to be talking about you. 03:40 "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. 03:42 Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The lies 03:45 we tell on others, the gossip we spread on others, the dirt 03:48 we do to others will come back and get us. 03:51 Be sure your sins will find you out. 03:55 Now, let's talk about this furnace. 03:59 It's probably a brick kiln, since most buildings in 04:08 ancient Babylon were constructed of bricks. 04:10 It may have been burn bricks. 04:11 Kilns were cone-shaped structures of bricks. 04:14 The fuel was a mixture of oil and chaff. 04:16 Now, burns are classified. 04:18 Science students, you know this. 04:21 Burns are classified according to the amount of tissue damage. 04:25 First-degree burns are the least severe and affect only 04:28 the outer layer of the skin, the epidermis, causing 04:31 pain and redness. 04:33 Second-degree burns extend to the second layer of the skin, 04:36 the dermis, causing pain, redness and blisters 04:38 that may ooze. 04:40 The third-degree burns involve layers of skins, and many also 04:43 damage the underlying bones, muscles and tendons. 04:46 The burn site appears pale, charred and leathery. 04:49 Though there generally is no pain in the area because the 04:52 nerve endings have already been destroyed, because of the 04:55 nerve damage, third-degree burns may result 04:58 in less pain than first- or second-degree burns. 05:03 Fourth-degree burns extend through the skin and fat into 05:06 the underlying muscle and bone. 05:11 This is what Nebuchadnezzar planned for the 05:14 three Hebrew boys. 05:14 He commanded the furnace to be made seven times 05:18 hotter than normal. 05:20 Now, the increased heat in the furnace was produced by an 05:25 extraordinary supply of crude oil and chaff. 05:30 And while many believe that this increase in heat was 05:32 because Nebuchadnezzar wanted the boys dead and dead 05:35 quickly--listen to me--the purpose of this extraordinary 05:38 command was probably not to increase the punishment. 05:43 Because an increase of heat in the furnace would not have 05:46 increased the torture of the victims. 05:49 Because remember, third-degree burns are less painful than 05:52 first- or second-degree burns because the nerves have 05:55 already been attacked. 05:57 But the king increased the heat to prevent 06:00 any possible intervention. 06:05 What do you mean, Dr. Byrd? Ellen White says that 06:10 Nebuchadnezzar felt that it required more than 06:13 ordinary power to deal with these noble men. 06:17 She says Nebuchadnezzar's mind was so strongly impressed that 06:20 something unusual would interpose in their behalf, so 06:25 he intensified the heat and his strongest men were 06:30 ordered to deal with this. 06:34 In other words, Nebuchadnezzar sensed--you know, 06:38 you've got a feeling? 06:40 Nebuchadnezzar had a feeling that something might 06:45 happen to come to the three Hebrew boys' aid. 06:52 Next lesson: even the enemies of God know the power of God. 06:58 The devil is no match for God. 07:05 Put God on the front line of your life. 07:09 Put him on the front line of your life, and watch God win. 07:13 There's power in the name of Jesus. 07:16 Salvation in the name of Jesus, healing in the 07:20 name of Jesus. 07:22 Get thee behind me, Satan. 07:23 I command they, Satan, in the name of the Lord, to pick up 07:28 your weapons and flee for God has given me authority 07:33 to walk all over thee. 07:35 What a mighty God we serve! 07:39 Demons tremble at the name of Jesus. 07:43 Satan's imps are fickled at the name of Jesus. 07:45 Jesus, sweet Rose of Sharon. 07:48 Jesus, Lily of the Valley. 07:51 Jesus, Way Maker in the midnight hour. 07:55 Jesus, company keeper in my lowly hour. 07:59 Jesus, tuition payer at the student accounts line. 08:03 Jesus, my protector at night. 08:06 Jesus, my shield from the arrows of life. 08:11 Jesus, my defender from my enemies. 08:14 Jesus, my protection from the enemy "in me". 08:20 Oh, I feel like preaching tonight! 08:22 If God be for us, who can be against us? 08:29 Because no weapon formed against you 08:32 is going to prosper. 08:33 It won't work because greater is he that is in you than he 08:39 that is in the world. 08:42 Jesus. 08:44 Here's Nebuchadnezzar. 08:47 Who is this that I now see walking in the fiery furnace? 08:51 I thought I threw three men in. 08:55 I now see four. 08:57 And the fourth looks like the Son of God. 09:02 It's Jesus. 09:03 Let me tell you all something. 09:05 Preachers, teachers, storytellers and church folk 09:09 all give reasons for why Jesus showed up in the 09:12 fiery furnace. 09:14 But let me tell you something. Know this. 09:16 Whatever they say, make sure it's rooted in this: Jesus 09:20 will always be with you in the worst of your trials. 09:25 Whatever you think is so dark that you're going through, 09:28 know this: Jesus is going to be there with you. 09:32 I don't care how bad or hot it gets in your life, Jesus 09:36 is going to be with you. 09:38 My favorite text of scripture is I Corinthians 10:13, "There 09:42 hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: 09:47 but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 09:53 above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also 09:56 make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 09:59 God always provides a way of escape. 10:02 He may not come when you want him, 10:04 but he's always right on time. 10:05 Think about it. 10:06 Think about it, expand your mind. 10:08 We don't know if Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego even knew 10:14 that Jesus was with them in the furnace. 10:19 Remember now, the Bible says that Nebuchadnezzar 10:23 saw four men loose. 10:25 That's what the Bible says. 10:27 The Bible does not say that the three Hebrew boys 10:31 saw a fourth man. 10:33 In fact, the Bible says in verse 26 that when 10:37 Nebuchadnezzar commanded the men to come out of the 10:39 furnace, only Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 10:42 came forth. 10:44 Let me tell you something. 10:48 Sometimes we are aware of Jesus' presence in our trials 10:51 and tribulations, and sometimes we're not. 10:55 But know this: I'm a witness that he's there. 11:01 I've also learned in my life that there are different kinds 11:05 of furnaces in our lives. 11:08 There's the furnace that men prepare, the furnace that 11:14 Satan prepares, and sometimes there are even 11:18 furnaces that God prepares. 11:22 Getting hot in here. 11:24 God allows and sometimes prepares these furnaces 11:27 because God ultimately is trying to save us. 11:30 Hebrews 12:6 says that God chastens those whom he loves. 11:33 If you're a child of God, friend of mine, get ready for 11:35 the furnace, because you're gonna get thrown in it. 11:38 Furnaces of life are not fun, though. 11:42 Nobody raises their hand and says, "Let me in 11:47 the furnace, God. 11:48 God, I want to be your spiritual guinea pig." No. 11:53 We're rather feel good all the time. 11:57 But everything good to you is not good for you. 12:00 Furnaces aren't fun. 12:03 But they're good for us. 12:04 Why? 12:05 Because the furnaces of life prepare us, prune us, prod us, 12:07 position us, arrange us, and then rearrange us into what 12:14 God would have us to be. 12:16 And just like gold and silver are placed in the furnace and 12:19 purified through the process, you have to go through the 12:21 fire to come out pure as gold. 12:23 And when the Lord has sent you through a small 12:27 furnace--listen to me good. 12:29 When God sends you into a small furnace and then God 12:33 sees big results, God will then later place you in a 12:37 greater furnace down the road, because God knows you 12:40 will stand for his glory, hallelujah, somebody. 12:42 I say it all the time: the higher the level, 12:46 the higher the devil. 12:48 I know in my life, as God takes me to higher heights 12:51 in him, the devil also has a higher attack. 12:56 God brought these three Hebrew boys to a greater faith by 12:59 preparing them with tests in less dramatic areas. 13:03 Think about it. 13:04 These three young men stood firm when they were offered 13:07 unclean foods in Daniel 1. 13:10 God saw their obedience and he blessed them. 13:14 That gave the three Hebrew boys, friends of mine, the 13:17 courage to obey God in Daniel 3 when the stakes 13:20 were much higher. 13:22 Because every round goes higher and higher. 13:25 What you deal with today is a greater attack than what 13:29 you should have dealt with yesterday. 13:31 In fact, God never really uses anybody in a great way until 13:35 he first takes that person through the furnace 13:38 of affliction. 13:40 Ask Joseph. 13:42 You can't rule in Egypt as the governor of a country until 13:45 you're first thrown into a pit by your brothers and sold for 13:47 20 pieces of silver. 13:49 Ask Elijah. 13:50 You can't stand on Mt. 13:52 Carmel in power until you sit at the dry brook of Cherith 13:56 in humility. 13:58 Ask David. 13:58 You can't lead the nation of Israel until you've learned 14:01 how to watch some sheep in a wilderness. 14:03 Ask Paul. 14:04 You can't be the greatest writer of the New Testament 14:06 church until you go blind on the road to Damascus. 14:10 Sometimes a setback is a setup for comeback. 14:16 There's no exaltation without conflicts. 14:21 There is no conqueror without a battle. 14:24 In fact, no battle, no blessing. 14:27 The good news about battles and blessings is that the 14:30 greater the battle, the greater the blessing. 14:35 No test, no testimony. 14:38 And I have found that too many folk are testi-lying 14:41 instead of testifying. 14:45 But when you've been through the fire, been through the 14:48 flood, seen lightning flash, heard thunder roar, you'll 14:53 know that it was nobody but Jesus that brought you out. 14:58 Tonight are you waiting for something big before you 15:03 start to obey God? 15:07 Is your life filled with so many small compromises, 15:10 yet you tell yourself that you will stand firm when 15:12 it really matters? 15:16 But if you can't take the test now, then how you 15:19 gonna survive later? 15:21 How are we going to be able to stand in the time of trouble? 15:24 Think about this marriage. 15:25 I was looking at this carefully this week. 15:29 Think about it. 15:30 Could it be that Nebuchadnezzar was a type, a 15:33 model, an example, a type of the beast as recorded in 15:37 Revelation 13? 15:39 After all, the books of Daniel and the Revelation, they are 15:42 companion prophetic books. 15:45 Think about it. 15:46 Nebuchadnezzar is forcing the whole world into one 15:48 idolatry of religion. 15:50 Could it be that the fiery furnace is a type of the 15:55 tribulation that the people of God will endure? 15:58 Could it be that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are types 16:03 of God's people who will be preserved in the fiery time of 16:07 trouble because they have been sealed by the blood 16:09 of the Lamb? 16:13 I don't know. 16:15 But this I do know. 16:18 When the Lord has sent you through a small furnace and 16:22 seen big results, he will place you in a greater furnace 16:27 somewhere down the road. 16:29 What am I saying? 16:30 It's gonna get worse. 16:32 Everybody say it's gonna get worse. 16:34 Look what the Lord told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 12. 16:38 He told Jeremiah, stop whining, because people didn't 16:40 receive him and his message. 16:42 Stop whining. 16:43 God says, Jeremiah, if you think it's bad now, stick with 16:45 me long enough and you'll know that things are going to 16:47 get a whole lot worse. 16:49 Let me tell you something. 16:51 If you live for Jesus, you're going to be persecuted, you're 16:56 going to be talked about. 16:58 You're going to be hated on. 17:00 You're going to be lied on. 17:01 You're going to be misrepresented, you're going 17:04 to be misunderstood, mistreated, misperceived. 17:07 You will be discouraged, you will go through fire. 17:10 It will get hot, but you must hold on. 17:15 Let me give you this final point, last lesson. 17:18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were free in the fire. 17:22 All the fire did was burn the things that had them bound. 17:36 The Lord used the fire to loosen these men from the 17:40 ropes that held them. 17:43 When the fires of persecution and affliction come into your 17:46 life, know, listen to me good, that God is just freeing you 17:49 from some of the things that have had you bound 17:52 in your life. 17:55 When you're in life's fiery furnaces, the flames will burn 18:00 away the ropes of doubt. 18:03 Ropes of lust. 18:06 Ropes of adultery, fornication, pornography. 18:14 Ropes of low self-esteem, low self-expectation, 18:17 low confidence. 18:18 Ropes of guilt, bad attitudes, bad habits, self-confidence, 18:21 self-dependence. 18:23 Ropes of egoism. 18:23 God will put us in the fire so we will realize where 18:29 our help comes from. 18:32 I will lift up mine eyes until the hills from whence 18:36 cometh my help. 18:38 My help comes from the Lord. 18:40 The three Hebrew boys were thrown into 18:43 the fiery furnace bound. 18:44 They couldn't help themselves, they had 18:47 no alternative but God. 18:49 That's the way, friends of mine, we're saved. 18:52 You will never be rich enough to buy your salvation. 18:55 You will never be good enough to deserve your salvation. 18:58 You can't earn it, you can't work for it, it has to be 19:01 something that God does for us. 19:03 And that's what the trial by fire does. 19:06 You will get to the point in your life when you're in the 19:09 fire that you will look at yourself with contempt, 19:11 knowing that your righteousness in the sight of 19:13 God is but as filthy rags. 19:14 And all of the efforts to save yourself, to pull yourself up, 19:18 you get to where you just throw it all away, stop 19:21 depending on yourself, and start looking to God. 19:24 And you say, Lord, you must help me. 19:26 God, you must save me. 19:28 I'm not worthy, Lord, I'm not equal to you, 19:31 Lord, I'm unworthy. 19:34 That's the way you have to be saved. 19:36 Trust in God. 19:38 Look to God and away from yourself. 19:41 That's what the fiery furnace does. 19:44 It burns and snaps those personal bindings that bind 19:48 you to yourself so you can be free in Jesus Christ. 19:52 And you're not living for yourself anymore in your 19:54 strength, but you're now living in the strength and 19:57 life of Jesus, where you find out that you are more free in 19:59 the fire than you were outside the fire. 20:04 Verse 25 says, "And they have no hurt." Not only did the 20:14 fire not kill them, but it didn't even burn them. 20:19 God allowed them to go through the fire, but he did not allow 20:22 the fire to go through them. 20:25 Verse 27: "The fire had no power, nor was a hair on their 20:30 hair singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the 20:33 smell of fire passed on." You know how when somebody smokes 20:38 you can smell the smoke in their clothes? 20:43 No hair burned, no fire smell, no nothing. 20:47 That's just like God. 20:49 When God does a thing, God does it complete. 20:52 God's not a half-God, God's a full God. 20:55 When God does something, God does it completely. 20:57 Not even a smell of fire on their clothes, not a hair on 20:59 their head seared, singed or burned. 21:01 God doesn't do anything halfway. 21:03 God is a full God. 21:04 Think about it, you all. 21:06 God never touched a sick man and helped him a little bit. 21:09 God never cast out some devils and left some of the demons in 21:13 a man to torment him. 21:14 God never just healed one eye and left the other eye blind. 21:17 God never unstopped one ear and left the other ear deaf. 21:23 God does all things well. 21:24 God does things fully and completely. 21:28 And that's a word for somebody tonight. 21:31 The good word is that the good work God hath begun in you, 21:35 he will continue it until his coming. 21:38 If you're walking through the fiery furnace, the furnace may 21:43 be frightened, but you were not brought to it for 21:46 destruction, but you were brought to it for growth, 21:48 because understand, God didn't allow it for your hurt, but 21:52 God allowed it for your good, because all things work 21:55 together for good through them who love the Lord. 21:59 Even though the flames may come, they will only free you 22:02 from what binds you. 22:04 You may be in the fire, but there's one with you. 22:08 When you walk through the fire you won't be consumed. 22:11 When you pass through the waters, he'll be with you. 22:13 When you climb high mountains, he'll carry you. 22:15 When you cross low valleys, he'll deliver you. 22:18 And when you cry out in despair, God will save you. 22:22 When Nebuchadnezzar saw Jesus in the flames, what he feared 22:27 earlier is now realized. 22:32 What he was afraid of when he made the furnace seven times 22:35 hotter has now come to fruition. 22:38 Why? 22:39 Jesus showed up. 22:42 Jesus shows up. 22:44 You all know the cliche. 22:46 Jesus shines out. 22:48 He showed up at the Red Sea and made a dry highway out of 22:51 rushing waters. 22:53 He showed up at Babylon's lion's den and shut 22:55 the lion's mouth. 22:56 Showed up in Babylon's fiery furnace and provided 22:58 air-conditioning in the fiery furnace . 23:00 Showed up at the wedding of Cana and made water 23:02 into wedding punch. 23:10 Showed up at the New Testament countryside and became Mr. 23:16 Publix, Mr. Kroger, with two fish and five loaves of bread. 23:20 He showed up at the Sea of Galilee and showed Peter how 23:24 to walk on water. 23:25 He showed up at Peter's house one day and healed the 23:28 paralytic who came down through the roof. 23:31 That's what he did for them. 23:34 Can I tell somebody what he's done for me? 23:39 He showed up and woke me up this morning. 23:41 He showed up and started me on my way. 23:45 He showed up and put food on my table and clothing on my 23:49 back, a roof over my head, made a way out of no way. 23:52 He showed up in my life. 23:54 And when my enemies came to eat of my flesh, 23:57 they stumbled and fell. 23:58 He showed up in my life, gave me a beautiful wife, gave us 24:02 two beautiful daughters, gave us a wonderful student body 24:06 and a wonderful church. 24:07 But most importantly, he showed up at Calvary one day, 24:13 and he told the devil, you didn't create them, I did. 24:19 You don't love them, I do. 24:21 You can't save them, I can. 24:22 You won't sacrifice your life, but I will. 24:27 Jesus paid it all. 24:30 All to him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, but he washed 24:32 it white as snow. 24:34 There is no furnace in this world that's too hot 24:38 to keep God out. 24:41 We don't face the fiery furnaces of life alone. 24:43 God is with us. 24:45 I said God is with us. 24:47 Emmanuel, God with us. 24:49 Somebody knows, do I have a witness, 24:52 that Jesus is with us. 24:53 Jesus was the fourth person in the fiery furnace with the 24:57 three Hebrew boys. 24:58 Jesus was the third person in the Philippian jail with 25:02 Paul and Silas. 25:03 Jesus was the second person with John on the Isle of 25:06 Patmos, and Jesus was the first person to conquer death, 25:09 hell and the grave. 25:12 And I'm so glad troubles don't last always. 25:16 I'm so glad that we may endure for a night, but joy comes 25:21 in the morning time. 25:23 And I'm so glad that after the rain, 25:26 the sun will shine again. 25:28 I'm so glad tonight. 25:29 One day the wicked will cease from troubling; I'm ready. 25:36 The weary will be at rest. 25:38 I'm glad tonight that I serve a God who believes 25:43 in comebacks. 25:45 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. 25:49 His mercy is everlasting. 25:52 His truth endures to all generations. 25:55 Oh, it's getting hot up in here tonight. 25:59 But tonight I'm hot in Jesus. 26:02 PB: Thank you very much for tuning in and watching 26:05 Breath of Life today. 26:06 We do hope that you were blessed by our ministry and 26:09 that we gave a healing word in a hurting world. 26:13 In order for Breath of Life to continue ministering, 26:16 we need you. 26:17 We need your prayers. 26:18 We need your support. 26:21 We want you to know that any and all donations, small or 26:22 great, they are sincerely welcome and appreciated. 26:27 To contact us or to make your donation, please feel 26:30 free to give us a call at 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:36 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 26:40 Newbury Park, CA 91319. 26:53 Feel free to log onto our web site at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:03 >: The Breath of Life gift offer this week is "Help in 27:04 Daily Living," a practical guide to everyday blessings by 27:08 renown Christian author Ellen G. White. 27:10 The book contains four powerful chapters on having 27:13 true and lasting relationships, developing 27:15 godly characters, walking a practical daily faith that 27:18 brings blessings, and staying the course of being a light in 27:22 the darkness until the Lord returns. 27:24 You'll discover the benefits of trials, the importance of 27:27 little things, the influence of living a consistent 27:30 Christian life, and the joy of the Lord. 27:32 "Help in Daily Living" is yours for a gift of $5.00 or 27:35 more. 27:36 Just call our toll-free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:39 That's 877-265-6333. 27:43 Please have your credit card ready when you call. 27:45 Or you may write us to request your copy. 27:47 Just send your check to Breath of Life, P.O. 27:50 Box 340, Newbury Park, CA 91319. 27:54 Break out of the ordinary life and into the extraordinary 27:57 life God intended for you to live. 27:59 Get your copy of "Help in Daily Living" today. 28:03 ...sometimes a setback is a setup for a comeback... 28:11 ...be careful about fueling the flames for somebody else 28:14 because the flames will reach and grab you... 28:17 ...God allowed them to go through the fire, but he 28:19 didn't allow the fire to go through them... 28:23 ...God never touched a sick man and helped him 28:25 a little bit... |
Revised 2015-02-06