No Worries , Faith in the Midst of the Fire

I like the Lord and turn down the heat but instead he came into the fire and took the heat for them. Sometimes when you're in your hardest time is hard to feel his presence but I want to present with you to shearing below to hear Allen's message from an old church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in a series called new, you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource available to you right now for your donation this month to shearing the as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer.

Contact us@shearingthe.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program now let's get started with today's teaching years Alan Wright set up and I don't deal with this fear but instead he found himself mocked by the very idol that it set up. Jeremiah prophesied it in Jeremiah 1014 every Goldsmith is put to shame by his idols for his images are full and there is no breath in them.

If I had an idol of it needing everybody's approval and that one person doesn't approve instead of the idle serving me. I gotta serve idol and you become weary, trying to serve it were read all the more because it places a greater and greater demand on you know the words you you put idol in its place and it turns rambunctious as look you still don't have enough approval.

You've tried your heart as you've done your best is still everybody's approval and so now is going to try to force you into a kind of bondage and slavery existed to try harder. Or maybe you just need to despair of it all. That's what an idol exhaust to Isaiah 46 is powerful prophecy of verse 1L bows down Nebo stoops. These are pagan deities, idols, the idols are on beasts and livestock these things, you carry are born as burdens on weary beasts. They stoop they bow down together, they cannot save the burden by themselves going to captivity was describing an is describing idols. That is, the people going to captivity them to carry the idols with them and they have to turn them up this way and then strap them onto the beasts of burdens in order to transport them because I really saying that if you make an idol you got to carry it in a heavy, but he says listen. The Mayo house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel been borne by me from your birth carried from the womb, even to your old age.

I am heat and the gray hairs I will carry you I have made and I will bear and I will carry and save you carrier idols. But God carries you what happens is when you have these idols. It it it put such a demand on your attention and time and energy and resources that it robs you of your awareness of the presence of God and he is with you and he loves you so intensely and so much and so the only one who actually can cure all of your worries is put to the side of your mentality and your vision is set instead on these idols that claim, so much so, in other words, idols damaged our relationships with one another than what God I don't know why does Cano minas thinking about the fear being in town and I love going to the fair is a little boy and when I was in our ninth or 10th grade I was going to go to the fair on Friday night in Greensboro and my best buddy, John was going to come to pick me up where we go to the fair and that John had his driver lies about that time I did so as you come pick me up and go the fair and and and he didn't. He didn't show up badges at home and and 1/2 hour went by hour went by, and after our noun.

I have had shown it was before Dave cell phone that is called over to his house and his mother answered the phone. I said while looking for John to come pick me up. She said well it must've been some confusion because he's gone to the fair with so-and-so and I knew that my buddy who had been such a good buddy to me, but I knew that there were these couple other guys that were in his eyes. The most popular guys and in school and and what I found out later was opportune to go with them. They come up so he just went and so I missed the MS affairs on deeply scarred by this, but I still go to the fair with whoever I want to go today you know I'm going to fair what you think I did to my friendship with him right. I was still remain friends but and do my best to forgive; but in that they've communicated that the idol of being the most popular guy in school has arisen that sacrifice this relationship, you know what idolatry is built is I you ever been talking to somebody and while you're talking to them in a room full of people there there looking at you in there looking away, looking around in the low back.

You look around to see if there's somebody else a little more interesting than you that's there. And on top idols will do to your heart.

You be talking to God didn't. Your attention is diverted hard to see him start and there was presence.

It's hard to start the lesson is hard to appreciate him. It's hard to worship him when your heart is taken away by other allegiances by golden calves, father, other sites by the thing about the need for others approval by this that is no wonder that God variously called idolatry, adultery, spiritual adultery loves you is not for you. He doesn't go away from that our attention can be diverted and we can miss the presence of God and in the midst of this big fanfare of huge golden idol and everybody worshiping the idol there.

These three men may shock Shadrach Abednego refused to bow down well.

They said to him, they explain, they said we don't really even need to talk to about this.

Look at verse 16 oh Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. There is that we don't really even need to talk about this is that because if you throw us and our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand.

Okay, but if not, be it known to you okaying that we will not serve your God or worship the golden image that you set up there with her saying was our God can save us from this fiery furnace are God will save us from this fiery furnace.

But no matter what were knockabout onto your idols were to worship the Lord my God can my God will but no matter what time will praise still as a great faith statement right there. My God can heal this cancer, my God will heal the cancer but no matter what I'm going presence to my God can bring home the wayward child, my God will bring home the wayward child, but if it didn't happen the way I think is going to happen. I'm still the love and praise him because he is my God, my God can fix this marriage, my God will fix is married but even if he doesn't, and it didn't go the way that wanted to go.

I'm in a praise and worship him because he's my God I can get out of this financial bind and God will get me out of this planet. But even if he does, worship God because he is my God, not my finances.

In other words, what they're saying is it we have had our hearts captured by a higher affection than anything that you could ever set in that affection that we have from God's certainty that we have a hell really is and how lovely isn't how powerful he is and he is the one true God that is taken hold of us to such a degree.

We really don't even need to talk about the opportunity to worship your idols because we feel safer in our love for God even if when the fire than we do bowing down to an idol who has no life that's out on the and and what happens is such a great scene in then the holding backfires on them right you are listening to shearing the line will have more teaching in a moment from today's important series ever wish you could be a child again ever long for the simpler days when your biggest financial worry was counting the money in the shoebox eliminates the end ever long for the more carefree times when you wish the long summer days would never end. If you've ever long to be like a child again.

Author Alan Wright has some good news. You can Jesus invitation to become like a little child means it's possible when you make a gift to shearing the like.

To date, will send you a special bundled gift that includes two audio messages that will help you banish worry and a copy of Alan Wright's book, childlike cards that will lead you into the freedom and wonder of childlike faith.

Most of all, when you make a gift to shearing the like today� Broadcast the love of God to tens of thousands of people every day is shared when you get to Shang about this practice is only possible because of recent financial support. When you get to the wall, we will send you today's special affect happiness in this tier as I banks from sharing the right ministries, 877-544-4860 or come to my website sharing the right leg listening to shearing the line is teaching now continue you once again is Alan Wright stories about weight when criminals make bad mistakes.

It is backfires on it is just funny videos funny stories that one Amanda Colorado Springs robbed corner store at gunpoint.

Cashier put cash in the bag and the Roberts bottle bottle of scotch that he demanded as well and the cashier refuse and I don't believe you're 21 and they got and I dispute his age, until finally the robber relented and showed him his driver's license was a lot of police station that the SBA request of the robbery victim to study the lineup of five people in the suspect was last of the five in-line each mail I was requested to step forward and say the words, give me all your money and say I need some change in quarters nickels and dimes I was sick spoke of the crap in the first four spoke the phrases correctly, but when is the last man turned her side.

He stepped forward and blurted out.

That isn't what I said so there is so furious that he's got some people I don't want to turn the heat up. I said yes your Royal highness will turn it is still not found on my nose and I bow I now turn it up again. Yes, your Royal wonderfulness will turn up again.

How dare them to find my third time. Yes, your Royal stubbornness, we will turn third time. Still, he is furious and says turn up 1/4 time for six until seven times hotter sevens the number of completion.

He said it was as high as you can possibly be. We see what happened was when he opened up the door to the furnace to throw in the section on Dragon Abednego was so hot that the flames leapt out and destroyed the henchmen of the Babylonian king he ought not of turned it up so hot it backfired on which kind of makes you think about Adam and Eve in the beginning when the devil turned up the heat, the serpent slithered in to see them lured them and they send and the devil thought it one, but immediately God turned to the serpent and Kirsten and said you might've bruise his heel. But the seed of the woman is going to crush your head, and the story just keeps going along this case backfired on him all the time. Story of Joseph where just like the heat just keeps getting turned out that devil lures the brothers to throw Joseph into a pit. Then they turn up the heat and sell them into slavery and then he gets turned slave masters wife falsely accuses him and then they turn up the heat again and all of hell is rejoicing that Joseph was thrown into prison planet. God seemed to be thwarted, but it backfired because he was promoted to all of Egypt and save the known world, including his own family such that through Jacob's lineage.

The seed of the woman would live and one day crush the serpent's head makes you think of Moses and Pharaoh had just turned up the heat and said all of his chariots and horsemen after him pinned him against the Red Sea than the Red Sea opened up. It was just more of the enemy to be swallowed up in all backfired on them on just makes you think about the day that the Son of Man started his ministry. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness of 40 days he just kept getting turned all throughout his ministry, and religious leaders persecuting him and political leaders in their defiance against him.

One day he experiences the real sheets and they began with a false trial turn up the heat, spit upon him. Turn up the heat scourge him turn up the heat, put a crown of thorns on his brow, turn up the heat nailed his wrists turn up the heat in Deyo's ankles to the cross, turn up the heat while all the demons of hell are persecuting the son of God, the sinless one who hangs upon Ross in that moment that he breathes his last.

It looks like hell has one and it was all had backfired on the devil himself, because he who knew no sin became our sin that we trust in him would become his righteousness, and be forgiven and become his children about whole-grain with him forevermore and tell you all backfired on the as a whole another sermon right there and then Nebuchadnezzar is more mystified now that he was when Daniel interpreted his dream because he sees that there are four men in the fire walking around on on their more free in the fire than they were outside of and I noticed that though I would like to have the fourth man appear before I get in the fire that in this story. The fourth man does not appear until there in the fire. Sometimes we spend so much time fearing the fire, not realizing the fourth man is already in there waiting on us to unbind us walk around with this. I like the Lord to turn down the heat, but instead he came into the fire took the heat for them.

Sometimes when you're in your hardest time is hard to feel his presence but I want to tell you, today you can know that is present with you next week.

Andrew Brunson's book, God's hostage is going to come out and we all to read it because is a missionary and our denomination lives up the street and many of you been praying for him because he was incarcerated for 735 days in a Turkish prison is a missionary who just love Jesus and love turkey and I spent a good bit of his adult life there with his wife, Lorraine, and they were wrongly incarcerated. She was released and he stayed in prison until the prayers of literally millions and he was released last October, but listen is very honest and he said that while he was in the squalid prison. The uncertainty was the greatest trouble of all, and he said that he wanted to think that he was just going have this supernatural joy like Paul had in prison he said but it didn't come to him immediately for a long time.

He suffered and he said he became exceedingly discouraged and began wondering about spent in his whole rest of his life there never seeing his family again and he said it one point he got so discouraged she considered suicide and so is Rio's overseas suffered really suffered and I haven't read the whole book.

It had been skimpy seven but the Spartans got my attention. He said that when they got to be at some of his worse.

He said he started reading the writings of Richard warm bronze, a Romanian pastor who was imprisoned and tortured for 14 years under the communist regime.

Now that Romanian pastor taken Jesus words to rejoice and be exceedingly glad of the direct command and chose to rejoice by dancing in itself, in spite of the horrors that he was facing. And Andrew said that he decided to do the same. I can barely get through without weeping his brother. He lives up the road and blackmail. He said I felt no joy in my body was weak and my spirit sat but there was something about one brand story that captivated me and he said he said each day I would leap around the courtyard never help no matter how much I didn't feel like doing it or how hot the sun or how cold the rain danced and he began to experience more of the intimate presence of God.

When asked what he thinks is going to come of all this in a Wall Street Journal article that came out this week. Article said that Brunson believes ordeal was part of God's plan to raise millions of people around the world. He said he would pray for me and that is happened and he concluded. And this is I think exactly right by praying for me. Actually, God was using me as a magnet to draw prayer into turkey.

The regime has brought turkey, he said in the very difficult times doing all the name of Islam. All this repression Islam. Islam is slow and that's creating the conditions he said for many people to turn away from Islam. What then Munson said millions of targets will become Christians as wonderful father and then have the words there is in the searing adversities of life and in our bed a few years.

There is a great temptation to set our own idols as if they have some kind of life to give us.

But if you set up an idol. It will turn and make you more worried than you were before the answer to my idol of needing others approval was not to work harder to get everybody's approval so I can finally rest the answer was to crush the idol of approval is I don't need everyone's approval because of our he found approval and be accepted in the beloved in Jesus Christ. No matter what I've accepted by hand and everything else pales in comparison. Once an idol comes down and loses all power in your life and if we're the ones who set up these items were the ones that can take them down to the good news of the gospel is a draft of your idols act like they have power don't have any real power in the power of the gospel of the grace, the Lord Jesus Christ to make every one of them toppled even today, and when they do, you will discover the presence of God in the midst of whatever troubles you are going through because, beloved, no matter what. There is another in the fire and that's the gospel right you're listening to ensuring what a great message today, another in the fire from the series. No worries supported today's teaching in Allen is back here in the studio with a parting good news thought for the day. Here in just a moment. Watch the way a one-year-old sleeps, not a care in the world or listen to the belly laugh of a toddler finding joy in the simplest things little children don't know the meaning of dread Tuesday freedom, wonder, and trust come naturally to little children. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be like a child again.

Here's the good news you can.

Jesus invitation to become like a little child means it's possible when you make your generous donation ensuring like today will send you a special bundled gift that includes a two message audio CD that will help you manage worry and a copy of Alan Wright's book a childlike heart that will lead you into the freedom and wonder of childlike faith. When you partner with shearing the you enable us to share the grace of God.

People everywhere to make your gift today and rediscover the piece of a childlike heart shared when you get to write test is only possible because of recent financial support. When you give today. We will send you today's special affect happiness in this tier as I banks from sharing the right ministries, 877-544-4860 or come to my website sharing the right leg back here with Alan Wright so I grew up in church I grew up around the things of God.

Right my voice or about idols and I always thought they really know my mind at least not the things you put on the shelf and literally bow down and worship right but somehow all these years I still can't get up in my mind figured out till I hear this message from Alan Wright is the message you are doing today another in the fire, transformational message and a source of a worry free life titles that you make to relieve your worries always like if this that I just won't worry anymore exactly and we could put so many things in that blank right if I just make enough money. I won't worry any extra what we find out-of-court whatever you put in that blank because it's not God, it will not satisfy, and instead it will make you more anxious when you try to get ultimate life from something that can't give you ultimate life, what would you do it'll make you more anxious so that answer to a lot of anxiety is just get rid of the idol and it's so wonderful about me checking Shadrach Abednego that their refusal to bow down to the idol, put them into a place where they discovered that in the worst happen. There was another in the fire with them and they'll be God's presence with each one of our listeners whatever you're going through God's grace is sufficient, Alan Wright's daily searing the devotional in your inbox each morning when you sign up sharing the who, Archie, this is been sharing the light right listener supported production of sharing the