Even If: Confident Trust Like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego

``I'll do it if I'm comfortable. I'll trust you if it's convenient. Hey, I'll trust you as long as I'm safe. And I came to tell you, it is hard to walk by faith and play it safe at the same time. As a matter of fact, I dare say it is impossible. You cannot walk by faith and walk by safe at the same time. The Bible does not say that the just shall live by safe. It says the just shall live by faith. [00:13:37] (25 seconds)  #ChooseFaithOverSafety

And faith, I am convinced, is spelled r I s k. Faith is spelled risk. Don't tell me you've taken a step of faith when you got a contingency plan. Don't tell me you've taken a step of faith when you got the harness and you got the rope and you got a backup plan just in case it doesn't work out. Faith is spelled risk. And when you take the risk, it proves if your trust is in God. [00:14:03] (30 seconds)  #FaithIsRisk

And that's when it hit me. I think that's a metaphor for all of us because we actually think that safety is what brings us peace. We think that it is comfort that keeps us calm. Most of us think that if we had control, we would find rest. And I came to tell you today that true rest is found in trust. It is not found in your comfort. It is not found when you have control. True rest comes from trusting in God. [00:10:59] (32 seconds)  #RestInTrust

Do you know the enemy wants the same today? All he wants is your your bow. They refused to eat the food from the table because they said, hold on. You don't get my appetite. And they refused to bow down because they said, hold on. You don't get my allegiance either. There are some places where I draw the line and I draw the line on what I allow in me and who has my heart and has my allegiance. I refuse to bow down. [00:39:16] (34 seconds)  #RefuseToBow

Trust can stand there as you turn up the furnace seven times higher. Trust can stand there as you bind my hands and you bind my feet, and I did the right thing, but I end up in the wrong place. Oh, who is that for today? Don't you make the enemy make you think that if you always follow God's will, everything's gonna be perfect in your life. The devil is a liar. Look at these three Hebrew boys. They did not compromise. They did the right thing, and they still ended up right in the furnace, but their confident trust was in God. [00:47:51] (34 seconds)  #TrustInTheFire

This is why you gotta know what battle to fight. Some of y'all are fighting the people that did the harm to you. You better stand still and trust god. God knows when to send the wind. Vengeance is mine, says the lord. I ain't gotta worry about trying to get back at you. I just gotta keep trusting in my god because he'll show up in the fire. If he doesn't pull me out, he'll show up after you throw me in, and he'll deal with you. [00:49:32] (28 seconds)  #StandStillTrustGod

In other words, Daniel said, you brought me here but I made some decisions before I got here. You already changed my name, whatever. I know who I am. That's a labor you're trying to put on me. But I'm very careful about what I allow to get in me. Because I know that whatever I consume, I will become. [00:30:57] (24 seconds)  #YouBecomeWhatYouConsume

That's not what Nebuchadnezzar does. He calls them in and says, I'm a give y'all one more chance. Maybe you didn't hear the music. Maybe you got arthritis even though you're too young for it. So watch this. I've given you favor and promotion. I'm giving you one more opportunity. Are you gonna hold on to your conviction? Are you gonna compromise and bow? Are you gonna be faithful? Are you gonna just bow and say, man, who's gonna know anyway? [00:43:38] (50 seconds)  #HoldYourConvictions