Faith in the Fire | Max Porter

Faith is not built when the fire comes. It is formed long before, in the daily decisions that shape our identity in God. In this message, we were reminded that the real battle often begins before the visible trial, and that what we allow into our lives influences who we become.

Through the story of Daniel and his friends, we learned that faith in the fire is not just about surviving hardship. It is about being affirmed in it. God may not always keep us from the fire, but He is always with us in it, using it to reveal His character and strengthen who we are in Him.

In this message, we learned that:

✨ We exist to reveal God’s character, and faith is the foundation of our relationship with Him.

✨ The battle starts before the fire, and what we consume shapes our identity.

✨ Faith that stands in public is built first in private.

✨ God does not always keep us from the fire, but He goes with us through it.

✨ The fire can become the place where the world loses its hold on us.

✨ Our identity in Christ gives us the strength to remain firm no matter what we face.

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Transcript

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Welcome to Mission Orlando's podcast. We hope that through this word you will get closer to Jesus. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you new messages every week. Have a blessed day.

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Like whatever happened during the week just can't follow me in here. And I love it for that. I want to take a moment to thank everybody on the mission team who serves, the worship team, the production team, the connection team, the welcome team, because everybody works behind the scenes to make this beautiful experience happen. So if we can give them a round of applause, please, that'd be wonderful. Especially with everything going on in the world right now, right? I mean, forget just the macroeconomic situations, the war in Iran, if inflation, AI taking over the world. I know there's there's a lot of people in this church contending with their faith at this moment, right? Struggling with health issues, financial issues, family issues, immigration issues. And it reminds me of a time right when my wife and I started coming to mission. So this was in July of 2023, June 2023, so summertime. By the beginning of 2024, I actually lost my job. And losing your job is never convenient, but it was particularly inconvenient at this time because uh we just moved into a new house, so we had a very big mortgage to pay for, and in my house, it was me, my wife, my daughter, my mother-in-law, her mom, my wife's cousin, her son, and we had a second baby on the way. So not a good time to not have income coming in. And we were like that. We were like that for six months, blown through savings, bracking up credit cards, and eventually I got a job, but the job didn't, I mean it helped, but it didn't help us make ends meet. So to the point where about a year after I initially lost my job, we're two weeks away from like zero, like where we have to start having really hard conversations of we have to sell everything, we have to sell the house, we have to move. And as a man, as a provider of the household, that is the hardest thing we can go through, right? And it was and it was it was surreal because this is, I mean, we're talking six, maybe seven months after we committed our lives to Christ. I mean, we just got baptized in November, this happens in like February, and I'm contending in my faith. I'm contending with God, oh my God, I just gave my life to you, right? What's going on? Why is all this happening? Because I confused my calling with comfort, and I was having this conversation with him. And over this year, it just kept breaking down, breaking down. Some days I wake up strong in the faith, other days I'm questioning him, but eventually it gets to the point, again, we're like two weeks away, where I just I break down and I say, God, my faith, I have my faith in you is complete. I have nothing else. And it's not because I'm some noble, faithful person, right? It's because God literally took away all the alternatives, right? He took away the money, he took away my professional title, He uh He took away my identity as the provider of my household. So I came into him and I and since that happened, I told him, Lord, you have all my faith. And my faith wasn't perfect then, it's not perfect today, but I tell that story because at least I could experience what it's like when all you have is faith. Right? So I get down on my knees and I have this conversation with him, and I intentionally accept him, like, God, listen, if you take away the house, if you take away all these things, I trust you. I trust everything's gonna be okay. And a week after I had that conversation, I get a job offer that pays better than any job I've had in my entire life, and all these problems go away. And it worked out perfectly because our God is good and He takes care of us. Amen? We can give a round of applause for God. But here's the truth. Just because it worked out really well that one time doesn't mean it always will. Just because we got to hold on to everything, we got to keep our house, my family was intact, doesn't mean that at some point in the future God won't decide to take all these things away from me again. Right? Because believing in God is not a guarantee that everything is gonna stay the way it is. He may at some point decide to take everything away from us. And many of us believe, you know, if I obey God, if I if I believe in him, I have faith, he's gonna protect me, he's gonna bless me, right? And oftentimes that's the case, but sometimes, believing and following God, he's gonna send you through a fire, right? And that's what I felt like in this moment. I felt like I was walking through a fire. I felt like God was burning away all the things that got in between my faith in him, right? And the reason God does these things is because he's telling a bigger story, right? Our story is just a little one in this grand story, this grand narrative that he's telling everybody, right? It's a story that illustrates his character, not just to us, but to the heavenly realms as well. In 1 Corinthians 4 9, it says, we have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. In Ephesians 3.10, it says, Through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. So if you're ever asking yourself why, right? Why is this happening to me? Or even a bigger one, why does any of this happen? Why are we here? Why did God decide with his infinite abilities to do all the things that he's doing? Here's the answer. We exist to reveal God's character. We exist so that we can illustrate his character to ourselves into the heavenly realms, and God decided that faith was gonna be the mechanism through which that occurs. God decided that the foundation of our relationship with him was gonna be faith. Um, so today we're gonna talk about faith in the fire. And I'm not talking about faith that just survives the fire. I'm talking about faith that is affirmed in the fire. I'm talking about faith that grows in the fire. Because many of you here have experienced the fire before and you're gonna experience it again. You can't control when the fire comes, but you can control who you are when it does. So, to talk about this, we're gonna go in into uh a piece of the Old Testament which has a really interesting backstory. So the scripture we're gonna talk about today can best be referred to as resistance literature. It was literature written for the Jewish nation at a time where it was it was to inspire them to resist compromise on their religion. And this text, it's the book of Daniel, is what we're gonna talk about. The book of Daniel is really interesting because it simultaneously exists in two time frames at once. The story of Daniel takes place in 6th century BC, so during the Jewish exile in Babylon, but it's not written until the 2nd century BC, so it's actually compiled, put together. And in both time frames, the Jewish nation is struggling with a problem. It's struggling with a question that they have, and the question is this Is God still worth my faith if I lose everything? Is it worth me giving up everything I have for my faith in God? So let's let's jump into the story. The book of Daniel, we're going into chapter one. The book of Daniel opens up with Israel being conquered by Babylon, right? By uh King Nebuchadnezzar. And he goes in, he sacks Jerusalem, he pulls out all the people, and then he goes to his court, uh chief court officer, and he tells them, Go find all the young men from all the noble families, all the well-educated ones, and bring them in, and we're gonna make them a part of my royal court, right? They're gonna serve me. He was trying to find basically the future leaders of Judah, bring them in into the fold because he doesn't want to repeat of what Moses did in Egypt, right? He's like, I'm gonna include these guys so there's not this big rebellion in Exodus. So the story itself revolves around four young men from Judah. Their names are Daniel, Hennaniah, Mishael, and Azariah. So the king tells his chief court officer, you know, grab these kids, they come in and they're trying to assimilate them into Babylonian culture, right? Their strategy is okay, we're going to strip them of their identity in Israel, and we're gonna bring them into the fold of the Babylonian culture. And they had three strategies on how they were gonna do this. The first was, it says, to teach them the literature and the language of the Chaldeans. So the Chaldeans are this elite social group in Babylon, so all you need to know is change their worldview, change the content they consume, change their education, help them forget how Israel sees the world and help them see how the Babylonians see the world. The second thing they did was it said the king assigned them a daily portion of the king's food and wine, right? So, you know, try the local cuisine, right? Eating food that was probably offered to idols, uh, probably not kosher, but again, stripping away Israel. And then the last thing they did was they changed their names. In Daniel 1.6, it says, Among those who were chosen were some from Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Meshael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names. To Daniel, the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Meshael Meshach, and to Azariah Abdenego. Right? So again, the king, he could have just massacred all the Israelites, but instead he says, no, no, I want to take him in and I want to redefine them. But in Daniel 1.8 it says, but Daniel resolved not to defile himself. So these young kids, they they pick up pretty early what the king in Babylon is trying to do, right? And they subtly find a way around it, right? They talk to the chief court officer and say, Hey, look, can you just give us some special food on the side so we don't eat this other stuff? And they're able to exist in this elite training camp without losing their identity in Israel. And it ends up working out for them. Um the boys end up being promoted to these like provincial advisors in Babylon. And in Daniel 1.17 it says, To these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. So that's Daniel chapter one. In chapter two, quick synopsis, the king has a dream, kind of freaks him out a little bit. He calls his sorcerers and his astrologers to come in, try and interpret the dream. Nobody can. He gets upset, he decides he's gonna murder all of his advisors, even the ones who weren't there interpreting the dream. Daniel intercedes, he comes in and says, No, no, no, I'll I'll translate whatever uh God was telling you through this dream. And then saves the people. Daniel gets promoted to prime minister and he goes off to another part of Babylon. But where I want to focus this talk is Daniel chapter 3. Because in Daniel chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar erects uh this massive golden statue, right? And he calls the entire nation of Babylon to this statue so that they can bow down and worship it. And it says in Daniel 3, 4 through 6, then the herald loudly proclaimed, nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do. As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lear, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. So, music starts playing. Everyone drops to their knees, starts bowing down to this golden idol, except the three friends of Daniel, right? Hanania, Meshael, and Azariah. They don't bow, they stay standing. Some astrologers see them, they run and they tell the king about it. The king calls them in, and I'm paraphrasing, but he basically says, Look, what are you guys doing? You really think your God's gonna stop me from throwing you in a furnace? Come on, just go back, bow down, we'll pretend like this whole thing never happened. And what happens next is one of the most powerful verses in all of the New Testament. And it's Daniel 3, 16 through 18. And it says, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdenego, the the young Israelites, replied to him, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, your majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. That's awesome. Right? Naturally, the king doesn't respond kindly to this. He gets upset. He tells his palace guards, tie these guys up, get them in chains, heat the furnace seven times hotter than it normally is, and throw them into it. And then in Daniel 3, 22 through 25 it says, The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdenago, and these three men firmly tied just fell into the blazing furnace. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? They replied, Certainly, your majesty. He said, Look, I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. God comes in and he does his miracle. He saves these guys. And naturally the king sees all this and he calls the guys and they just walk out of the furnace, right? All the chains and ropes got burned off, and the king bows down and he now worships the God of Israel, and the rest is history. But the the reason I bring this story up is this is quite literally an example of God delivering someone from the fire, of what it's like to have faith in the fire. And so naturally I read this and I'm like, I I want what those guys have. Whatever they have, I want it. But how do how do we get that? How do you wake up with conviction that if someone threatens my life to give up my God today, I'm not gonna bend the knee? So I went back and started looking for clues, right? What can we learn about these guys? What can we know about them so that we can have that same level of character? And the first thing I understood when I was going back is the battle started way before the furnace. It was way before the idol, way before the music. It actually started way back in Daniel 1, 6 through 7, where it says, Among those were Daniel, Hananiah, Meshael, and Azariah, and they were given new names. It's very subtle. But in Scripture, names are very significant. They're never random, right? Has anybody noticed the habit of God throughout the Old and New Testament to consistently change people's names? If you're like me, I never thought much of it, right? I thought, okay, well, he's God. He can do whatever he wants, right? Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, uh Saul to Paul, Simon to Peter. When Simon to Peter happened, I thought it was just, you know, there are a bunch of guys hanging out. When guys brow out, we like change each other's names, we give each other nicknames. I just thought that's what was going on. But when you look closely, the pattern is very clear. And the pattern is every name change is a declaration of identity in relation to God, right? So Abram means exalted father in the original Hebrew. Abraham means father of many nations, because he was the father of the many nations of Israel, right? Uh Jacob meant deceiver, supplanter, because he stole the blessing from his brother, right? From his dad. Um Simon means uh, what was it? It was unstable and impulsive, but gets changed to Peter, which is the rock. So God names people not based on who they were, but who they are and going to be in him. So now let's go look at Daniel, right? Why is the first thing that the Babylonians change about these guys their names? Because Babylon understood that if you can change how they think of themselves, you can change their entire destiny, right? If you think you're a lamb, you can't act like a lion. So if you change what they're called, you can begin to change what they believe. If you change what they believe, you can begin to change what they worship. Which means the real battle happened way before the furnace, right? I'm gonna give you another example. Daniel, in original Hebrew, means God is my judge. But they change it to Beltishazzar, which means Bel protect his life. Bel is some Babylonian deity. And it's it's the same for the other three guys. All of them had significant meanings, worshiping these gods of Babylon. So again, Babylon comes in, they're trying to strip this identity away from these kids. They're trying to take it away, trying to take Yahweh out of their names. But it doesn't work because even though these kids' identities were changed externally, their identity remained intact internally. And you see it in Daniel 1.8 when Daniel says, or it says, Daniel resolved not to defile himself. Because Daniel and his friends recognize something that's imperative, and it's something that we forget on a daily basis, and it's this. What you consume shapes who you become. What comes in is going to affect your identity. It's going to change who you are. Not just the food, but I'm talking about what you watch, what you listen to, and who you surround with changes your identity. And your identity is what determines if you make it through the fire or not. Which is why when the moment finally came in Daniel 3, and they didn't hesitate, they said, our God can deliver us. But even if he doesn't, still no. I'm still not going to bend the knee. You don't just wake up with that kind of conviction, right? I mean, many of us like to think in our head, man, when that moment comes and my faith is going to be tested, I'm going to feel the Holy Spirit and I'm going to give it. Faith like this is grown in private long before it's tested in public. It's built on defending yourself from subtle corruptions in the world around you, right? It's built through daily decisions, through what you allow in, but most importantly, through who you think you are. Having faith in the fire means not waiting until the fire comes to have faith. Your faith has to be well established beforehand. So that's all great, right? But what does having faith in the fire actually get you, right? Once you set yourself up, what are you gonna get the next time the fire comes around? And let's look at the three guys that got thrown in, right? What happened? The king bound them. He put them in the ropes and chains and he threw them into the fire. And what happens? They walk out free. The fire that was meant to consume them ends up consuming the guys who threw them in. The place that the fur the place that was supposed to prove Babylon's total power ends up being the place where Babylon is publicly humiliated. The fire is where the world loses its hold on you, right? Because the world can't take the heat of the fire, but you can with God. And note that God didn't stop them from entering the fire, right? He could have intervened at any time. He could have, he could have stopped the idol from being built, he could have stopped the astrologers from tattling on them, he could have cut the fire in the furnace, he could have changed the king's mind. He did none of that. Instead, he let them be thrown in. Because God does not always keep his people from the fire, he goes into the fire with them. Daniel 3.25 says, Look, I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. Our Messiah is the only God that has the strength to suffer with us. So the answer to the question, what if you obey God and you still get thrown into the fire? The answer is nothing. Nothing happens. He's with you every step of the way. And if anything, going through the fire is going to remove the world's ability to control you. The strength of these men can be tied directly to their vigilance and protecting their identity in God and not letting the Babylonians strip that away from them. So the way that we have faith that grows in the fire is by putting our identity in who we are in God. So if you guys remember when I lost my job when we were talking about that, um, and I get to the point where I'm praying to God, I'm like, God, I don't care about this house. I don't care about the money, I don't care about the professional title. I'm sitting here before you, and all that I know is that I'm a son of God, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ, and I'm a temple of the Holy Spirit. And that moment, whatever identity I had to be in a having this home and working this job and all that thing, it just got taken away from me. The situation revealed who I really was. The thing that felt like it was going to kill me. I mean, I literally felt like I was gonna die through this process, it ends up being what sets me free. And don't get me wrong, I love our house and I love our things, and I'm so grateful for that God allowed us to keep them. But if tomorrow he takes it all away, I'm okay with it. Because I know him. I know his character, and he's consistent in his character. And that's exactly what happened to the three guys in the furnace. They were thrown in, bound, and changed, and they walked out free. Nothing can hold them anymore. And here's how that identity gets strengthened. And this is what I want to give you guys as a tool to work on. It's a two-step process. The first thing is you declare your identity. You declare your identity, and then God is going to allow opportunities for you to affirm your identity on a daily basis. So every single day I get before God and I say, Lord, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I'm your son. I'm a temple of the Holy Spirit. So when I get out onto I-4 and I'm driving and some maniac almost cuts me off, instead of following him home with the intention of burning his house down, I say, Lord, whatever he's going through, help him get over it before he hurts himself or somebody else. God gives you infinite invitations daily to live out who he made you to be. So now my life looks different than it looks before. I don't watch things I shouldn't watch on the internet. I don't use substances to numb myself. I don't curse people when I'm angry. I don't resort to violence. Not because I'm sitting there and I'm just striving. I gotta stay focused. I can't look there, I can't look there. It's because I'm not who I am anymore. That's not who I am. That doesn't interest me anymore. And I declare my identity daily. I'm vigilant in protecting myself from being assimilated into the ways of the world. So I want to give you guys four declarations to help you affirm your identity so that the next time the fire comes, you're ready for it. And the first one is I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 2.20, it says, It is no longer I who live in Christ, but Christ who lives in me. As Christians, we always speak in the third person, not because of me, not because of you, but because of him. Right? I can't save anybody. I can invite somebody to church, but Christ is the one who saves them, right? Remember in Daniel 2, 26 through 28 it says, The king asked Daniel, Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it? Daniel replied, No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. The second declaration is, I intercede. We get involved in problems. If somebody is suffering or being unjust, we don't just let that happen. It is our job to bring Christ into the situation. Pastor Jose gave an amazing sermon about this on Wednesday, right? We pray for other people. We ask people, what can I pray about? In Daniel 2.24 it says, Then Daniel went to Ariok, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, Do not execute the wise men of Babylon, take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him. Daniel interceded. And then number three, I declare, I live boldly. Because 2 Timothy 1 7 says, For God gave us a spirit, not fear, but of power and love and self-control. I will not be assimilated to the ways of this world. I might be in this world, but I am not of it. I am not going to bend the knee. And Daniel 3.18 says, Remember, we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. And then number four, I declare, I am loved completely. In John 3.16 it says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Christ is proof that you are loved unconditionally. So act like it. Walk around as somebody who is loved unconditionally. And I want to leave you guys with this. Remember what I said about the why behind all this? That everything that has happened, that is happening, and will happen is to glorify God and illustrate his character to us in the heavenly realms? Well, in John chapter 9, verses 1 through 3, it says, As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents, that he was born blind. Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Oftentimes we orientate the fire that we're walking through towards our past, right? Oh, I did this, I sinned, and now I'm receiving punishment, right? But what Christ is telling us in this verse is orientate the fire towards the future and say, wow, I can't wait to see what God is gonna reveal through this. It's not about where you've been, it's about who the fire is going to turn you into. Because listen, the world is gonna give you a bunch of names. They're gonna speak over you, they're gonna label you, right? And it probably happened when you were a kid, right? Parents, teachers, friends, family speaking these words over you. Just like they did to the blind man in John 9, right? Who was that guy his entire life? The blind man. Everybody knew him as the blind man. Not after Christ showed up. After Christ showed up, that label did not apply to him at all. So whatever has been spoken over you, insecure, unlovable, doesn't apply after Christ. Because in Christ, you've been given a new identity. So when the fire comes and it will come, don't sit there trembling, oh my gosh, am I gonna survive this? Stop. Reaffirm, who am I? I'm a child of God, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ, I'm a temple of the Holy Spirit. My faith will not be broken, and I can't wait to testify to the grace and glory of God that's gonna be revealed through this fire. Amen. Amen. If you guys can stand, I'd like to pray for you. Heavenly Father, blessed be your name, Lord. Thank you for today. Thank you for all the fires that you sent us through. Thank you for all the fires you have waiting for us. Lord, we adore you. You are a foundation, you are a rock, and we know that as long as you are with us in the fire, we will not get burned. Lord, I ask for every person in this room, everybody watching online, whatever label, whatever name has been assigned to them from the world, Lord, today you remove it. And today you replace it with who they are in you. Give them a new name, give them the new identity, and remove anything they have that is not directly from you. Help them be born again, help give them a new identity, and help them know your character as you've displayed it to us today, Lord. Lord, we love you. We thank you for the light that you've given us. We thank you for sending your one and only son, and we thank you for all the blessings we've had and will have in your name, in Jesus' name.

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