This is how we rise up.
It's time for The Line of Fire with your host, Messianic Bible scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity. Here to infuse you with faith, truth and courage so you can stand strong in the Lord in these critical times. It's our resistance.
You can't resist us. Welcome back friends to The Line of Fire broadcast. Here to infuse you with faith, truth and courage to help you stand strong on the front lines. I take you back to a message I preached in Kona, Hawaii earlier this year. Friends, do not shy away from obedience because of trials and tests. Do not back away when trouble comes.
Instead say, I was made for this. This is when I get to see God in action. This is when I get to see deliverance. This is when I get to see the faithfulness of God. This is where my faith grows so that the next time I can face 10 fiery furnaces and say, we don't bow down. We need to grow. We can't be stagnant.
Listen, again, I am not a fitness expert but I am a hundred percent sure that you will not develop muscle laying on the couch watching TV. I'm a hundred percent sure. Let your faith grow by going through hard times and rather than backing away and carrying away saying, Jesus let's go through this together. If this is what obedience means, so be it. If this is what faith means, so be it. You know Daniel in the lion's den, a few chapters down from here.
Whoo, what a story. The lions don't touch. The only way you have the miracle in the lion's den is if you're thrown into the lion's den. The only way we have the most famous foundational miracle in the Bible aside from the resurrection, the deliverance from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the only way that happens is it's all over for Israel. Pharaoh and his armies are pursuing. They're behind them.
The seas in front of them. They're all going to die. And Moses tells the people, God tells him in Exodus 14, 13, and 14, tell the people don't fear. What do you mean don't fear? There's a sea here and the Egyptians here and we're all going to die.
Don't fear. Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that he will bring about today. For the Egyptians who have you seen today, you'll see no more again forever. The Lord will fight for you and you will be still.
You go through something like that. You say now I believe even more. Now I've seen the God of resurrection. I've seen the God of the Exodus. I've seen the God of the fiery furnace. I've seen the God of the lion's den. I've seen his faithfulness and it makes you an overcomer in him.
It makes you strong so that it's almost the devil hesitates before he comes after you again because what Satan means for evil, God uses for good. Daniel, same thing. They're trying to take him down and there will be people trying to take you down. And if not people, Satan. So they come up with a plan because Daniel is a righteous man.
They can't find any fault in him. So they come up with this idea well no one can pray to anyone but the king. That's an edict because we know Daniel's going to break it and he's going to pray quite openly in his room. So they said Daniel, look they report on him. Daniel's praying.
What's the penalty? Thrown into the lion's den. And we would understand that the lions are deprived of food so that they're going to absolutely devour and rip apart whatever comes in there. So let's look at the account. Daniel 6, when he learns that the decree had been published, Daniel 6 10, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.
Three times a day he got down and he got down on his knees and prayed giving thanks to his God just as he had done before. I don't care what people say. The worst people can do is kill you. That's the words of encouragement from Jesus. Matthew 10 28, don't fear those who kill the body but can't kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy soul and body and hell. That's the word of encouragement from Jesus. Hey tell me about people. The worst they can do is kill you.
For us that's the worst. He's saying, no, don't fear people. The psalmist is saying, what can people do to me? God's message, what can people do to me?
Daniel this could cost your life. So we're called to obey. We're not called to survive. We're called to obey. We're not called to survive.
We're called to obey. Isn't there a brother Andrew quote? Jesus said, he said there are no closed doors to the gospel as long as once you go through you don't care if you come back. Brother Andrew quote, our Lord said go. He said nothing about coming back. One of my colleagues in India years ago was was told by by Hindu elders, told by Hindu elders, he started winning people to Jesus in his village and the Hindu elders came to him.
He's married with at least one kid by that. They came to him and said if you keep preaching we'll kill you. He said, I came to die. Literally and they walked away. What what what do you say to that?
I came to die. Daniel does what he does because he's a God pleaser. It doesn't mean we're arrogant. We should be humble. We should be gracious. We should be teachable.
But we have one goal, one assignment. Please God. Please God.
Live for him. So royal edict, it's got to be cast into the lion's den. And the king is trying to fight it, but he can't. Verse 16, so the king gave the order and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. The king said to Daniel, may your God whom you serve continually rescue you. A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with blood. And the king said to Daniel, may your God whom you serve continually rescue you. A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his noble so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.
Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating without any entertainment being brought to him and he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. When he came near the den he called to Daniel and anguished wise, Daniel servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, may the king live forever. My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight nor have I ever done any wrong before you your majesty. Kings over joy takes Daniel out. There's no wound found in him because he trusted in God.
Wow. And then the men who falsely accused him get thrown into lion's den and before they even hit the ground the lions are tearing them apart. Oh it's a great story but you don't get delivered from the lion's den.
You don't hear about the angels shutting the mouths of the lions until you're there. I want to encourage you, especially young people, by God's grace there are going to be many many many chapters written in your life. I want to encourage you in the midst of the difficult ones, in the midst of the painful ones, to look forward to when you get to tell the story of God's deliverance. To look forward to what the outcome is going to be.
To look forward to what God does in your life. Sometimes in the midst of trials and tests the pressure gets intense, the emotions are overwhelming, you feel suffocated. It happens but God will see you through. Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 1 and says that they were so pressed.
They were in Asia and it got so bad. He said we felt the sentence of death on us. Some of you already had that happen. It's all over. It's too much.
It's too big. I can't make it. I'm not going to come out of this. I'm at the end of myself. He said we felt the sentence of death. He said but this happened so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. You come to a place when you go through that. When you go through a crucifixion of sorts that you come out with a resurrection faith that you never had before.
So I want to encourage you. Change your attitude towards trials and say God what are you going to do through this? Where's the adventure going to land? What's going to happen? And when the fear is to sail you, you're going to die on the side of the road. It's hopeless.
It's overdue. You're going to be a failure. You're going to fall away.
Recognize that's never the voice of God. God will prepare us. He will warn us.
He will help us. But that terrifying paralyzing, it's all over. There is no hope for you. That's never from God for his children.
I want to tell you a quick story. It's not a heavy suffering story but it's an illustrative story. And then I believe God wants to meet us in worship tonight and bring us to a place of deeper faith commitment. Bring us to a place where young people looking ahead, God willing for decades of life, those that are older looking to the years ahead, that we come to a deeper determination of faith and trust than we've ever been.
And that God gives an assurance for the many right now going through difficult times, for the many right now feeling unbearable pressure. I remember feeling unbearable pressure at 18. I remember 18 maybe 19 years old in college and not wanting to be taking classes and feeling that. I remember the enemy saying you're going to lose your mind. And I look back now I thought that's a trial? I look back at things that a few years ago seemed like massive trials.
I think that's a trial? Because you get stronger. Your faith grows. Your confidence grows. And you realize, hey I've now got a greater track record with God and I can lead others in confidence. I can help others take strong faith because I've been there. We've seen his faithfulness.
We can testify. And sometimes in the midst of crazy situations where it seems everything's going wrong, supernatural peace comes. And everybody around you panicking and you're praising God.
It's all right. Paul on the boat, Acts 27, they're all gonna die. The angel says no one's gonna die.
Paul says God told me. And he's got peace in the midst of the storm. Sometimes in the midst of hell breaking loose against you and everything going wrong you get hit with holy joy.
I don't know if that's ever happened to you but one of the greatest signs in my life of the presence of God from the night that he saved me where I was truly delivered December 17th of 71. One of the greatest signs of God's presence and assurance in my life is supernatural joy. I don't just mean a happiness. I don't mean getting worked up. I mean a supernatural joy that says everything's gonna be all right. All right friends we're gonna take a short break from the message.
We've got one more segment on the other side of the break. I pray it's a blessing to you. Now an important announcement. Let's hear what TriVita customers are saying. TriVita wants you to experience wellness too.
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1-800-771-5584 or online at trivita.com. And now back to the line of fire with your host Dr. Michael Brown ready to infuse you with faith truth and courage. All right we are ready to resume our message. This is the last segment preached in Kona the great YWAM base in Hawaii. I pray that this will continue to minister to you. There's something released in deep worship when we're on our faces sobbing in his presence because he's so good but then there's something released with joy and praise and it struck me some years ago that when that supernatural joy hits, Psalm 16 in his presence is fullness of joy. Nehemiah 8 the joy of the Lord is our strength. Sometimes when that supernatural joy hits the first thing that hits you is everything's gonna be all right.
The devil's a liar. Many of you struggle you think I'm gonna fall away I'm gonna deny the Lord I'm gonna destroy my life and that joy hits and you know it's all gonna be all right. So many years ago my wife Nancy and I were in Italy I was ministering with a missions team I had been with many times before a number of times before. Our older daughter Jennifer was with us she was probably a young teenager. Two young ladies with their babies were with us. Young man that used to travel with me one of our grads from an old school would play piano and sing he was with us and a number of other folks from all the same community all the same community where we lived they were with us but some of them left early so at the end it was Nancy our daughter myself the young man the two young ladies and their babies. So we hang out late with the missionaries precious fellowship till real late at night after the last meeting and get up real early I think we had to leave like five in the morning to get our flight from Sicily to Rome we get on the plane everybody ready to leave we have to wait for two more passengers where do you hold up a whole plane for two more passages passengers it's time to go well when you are in an airport under mafia control you wait for two more passengers we wait a full hour before these two men come on in black suits if that was not the mafia I've never seen it well by the time we get to Rome we're now racing through the airport but you've got all the the moms with the babies and it's hard we're carrying extra stuff by the time we get to our connection it's gone it's gone so I have to go back and forth this airline has to go back and this airline here they can't we have to stay another night we can't the kids are starting to get sick the babies the mothers are now sick okay all right I go over to this airline okay we'll get you back we make a deal that they transfer the tickets back and forth okay we're going to go home we fly into Kennedy airport in New York City and then we have one more flight to get to the state where we live we've got to switch over to another terminal but we have hours so we're hanging out it happened to me my wife's birthday freezing miserably freezing cold outside and we say you know for her birthday let's just get some some yogurt like ice let's just get some it's the other side of the terminal and and then the girls didn't have enough money they had to go back and so we're just sitting around eating our yogurt and then we were like whoa we got to get on the other plane I can't believe we're late so we go running everybody gathers things you got the car seats for the babies the extra luggage the carry-on we had we were loaded down we we go to the terminal and and where we have to go is all the way across the other side of the airport it looks like a mile away well thankfully there are buses that take you except the buses are not working properly and and the line to get on the bus is like two two bus two bus loads long we think by the time we finally get on the bus we're gonna miss the flight i think oh no this is the last thing we needed so one of the guys with us the young man says that's there it's over there let's run for it with the babies and the mothers and people sick now and the car seats and the carry-on luggage let's climb over the fences and go like a mile however long across the terminal to get there so we start running it's the craziest thing and it's freezing cold we're climbing over stuff i'm with my daughter jen and all of a sudden the joy of the lord hits for absolutely no rational reason the joy of the lord hits and i just start praising god and shouting in the parking lot my daughter like dad what are you doing thank you hallelujah i mean joy so we keep going carrying climbing getting and we finally now we're in the road literally traffic light in the road and realize we can't get there there's a wall you gotta we're stuck here all our luggage in the middle of the road the moms with the babies the car seats the a car pulls up i have to slow this down because i have a translator car pulls up with an orthodox jew with a beard right there stops i said to him can you help us he doesn't respond i say to him in hebrew can you help us he nods so i say to him in hebrew my modern hebrew is not as good as my ancient hebrew but i say to him in hebrew quickly we came italy flight delayed babies sick mothers get can you drive he just nods i said get in the car everybody get in the car so we put nancy our daughter the two moms the babies get in the car we'll meet you just get to the terminal they drive off now the two of us are standing there and a police car pulls up so we had the white orthodox jew now a black policewoman and we're standing with the luggage in the middle of the road i said she looks at us i said listen i said it really fast but i'll slow it down for translation i said listen we're in rome flight was delayed we missed our connection with two mothers with the babies the babies are sick orthodox jew took them over to the terminal can you drive us can you drive us she's a policewoman what's she she's not a taxi driver can you drive us she just nods get in the car she backs up across the property turns around and she says is it this airline or that they were related i said it's this one i was actually wrong side of the terminal she drops us off and i say to the young man brad run get there get there i'm sure the ladies are there now get there still with the joy of the lord all over me so he goes running unfortunately he doesn't have his boarding pass because he'd accidentally put it in luggage that he had sent through so he doesn't have his boarding pass i don't have my boarding pass i just asked where's the gate and go running i get to the i gotta go through security without a boarding pass i said listen we the flight delayed in rome it's a mafia it's delayed in rome we got here orthodox jew taking my my wife and kids i got a transport from police can i come through yes they let me through without a boarding pass and i get to the gate and nobody's there except me the flight hasn't left the flight got delayed the flight got delayed they said the flight's delayed i said it's because of me where's everybody else well the orthodox jewish guy had to make a stop left them in his running in his car running while he made a stop brad he tried to do what i do but he's not a new york jew and he wasn't full of the joy of the lord so they didn't let him through they sent him down to luggage to try to find his luggage to get his boarding pass and then we got on the plane and made it home but i remember that joy in the midst of it it made no sense whatsoever and that joy carried me right through with an orthodox jewish escort and a police escort and through security without a boarding pass come on and sometimes in the craziest trials i mean real tests where you think you're not gonna make it and you're ready to crack the joy hits and you and god's telling you everything's gonna be all right all right thanks friends i pray that message was a blessing to you we're doing things a little differently as we come to the end of the year and the christmas and the new year season we've got another great message come your way tomorrow you can get these archived at the courage in the line of fire podcast or the line of fire youtube channel you've been listening to the line of fire be sure to sign up for dr brown's faith-building frontlines newsletter at the line of fire dot o-r-g this is dr michael brown thanks so much for tuning in just a reminder that we are listener supported if we have been a blessing to you if you're being enriched in the word and prayer in your own walk with god through this broadcast then stand with 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