But If Not

This message is one of the Times Square Pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church. Bow my knee down to the image of the world in Eberkeneser.

If you're fighting a lust or addiction, it may be your furnace tonight. You may be dealing with a problem in your home, that may be your furnace. Some of you are living with the effects of forgiven sin.

That may be your furnace. In other words, God may have forgiven you for a past sin. But the damage of that sin has been done.

And it's irreparable. And your furnace is to live in the effects of that past sin. To follow Christ, my friend, is to have to face all kinds of fiery furnaces.

And you can be offended against Christ. But I want to tell you that there is deliverance from all such offenses. And our deliverance, and listen, our deliverance comes when we accept the truth that God never puts us in the fire unless he knows that we can abide the fire.

Let me say that again. He never puts you in the fire except knowing that he will give you the power and the ability to abide in the fire. What does the Scripture say? 1 Corinthians 10.13 in the NIV.

No temptation has ceased you except his commons of man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond that you can bear.

If it's one degree of furnace or seven degree, he knows how many degrees you can handle. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way that you can stand up in the fiery furnace and not be burnt. Hallelujah.

God wants to put the faith and endurance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in your soul. They fought fire with fire. There was a fire of love burning in their soul that enabled them.

They had a vision of Jesus. They had a vision of the cross. They had a vision of something, and they said, He will deliver us out of thy hand, but if not, we're still not going to change our minds.

And I ask you tonight, have you come to that point of faith and commitment? But if not, I will not be offended with you. But if not, he will be with me in the fire. But if not, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of life.

Psalms 119 and 165, don't turn there because I'm going to have you turn to the scriptures in chorus. But let me read to you Psalms 119, 165. The scripture says, Go to Proverbs 3, and I want to close with this.

Proverbs 3, and then I want to go to Psalms 91. I'm finished. Psalms 321.

Proverbs 321 says, The commandments, the words of the Lord, the law of the Lord, let not them depart from thy eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion. So shall thy life, so shall they be life unto thy soul and grace to thy neck.

Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not be offended. Thy foot shall not stumble. When God sends you into a situation you don't know anything about, or when you have to go into the fiery furnace, thy foot shall not stumble.

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid. Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the destruction of the wicked when it cometh.

For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and he shall keep thy foot from being taken. He shall keep thy foot from being taken out of the way. That situation does not have to be a stone of stumbling, but it can be a rock, a stepping stone.

He shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. In other words, bow or burn. And then the king added a little challenge there in the 15th verse.

Oh hallelujah, I don't know about you, but I'm getting blessed by the word of God. I'm almost ready to quit, but I don't want to. This is it, this is the last one.

Psalms 91, here it is. Brother Victor prayed this in our meeting today, when we prayed about all the things that might be happening around Times Square. Verse 11, for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. In other words, he doesn't want anything that comes your way to be a stone of stumbling. And when you go through it, it says the angel of the Lord will just come right along.

And instead of it being an unexpected thing that trips you up and causes you to stumble, he'll lift you up and you'll step on that stone, hallelujah, to greater heights in the Lord. That's what the angel of the Lord can do, hallelujah. Shall we pray? Let's bow in a word of prayer.

Oh Lord, we thank you. The earth is not beyond concern for his cause on earth. And Christ's body is still on earth, which is his church.

This is the thing that he loves and he cherishes. These three words, now there may be more in your Bible, but King James just uses three words. They said, but if not, but if not, let me back up again.

In verse 17, it says, he will deliver us, the God whom we serve, he will deliver us out of thy hand, O King. But if not, but if not, let it be known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. So go ahead, light the flame, start your inferno, because we're not about to bow.

Now the king, of course, got angry, got so angry at these feathers that he heated the furnace seven times hotter, and he commanded that these three defiant, unbending, Jehovah-lovers, commandment-obeying Jews be cast into the burning, fiery furnace. Now, what I want to deal with in this message is that these three righteous brothers believe not only, as it says in their words, our God whom we serve is able to deliver. They also believe in the God who can keep his people in the midst of the fire.

But if not, is a wonderful declaration of faith, one that many are not prepared to make. And it is the reason that many fall by the wayside. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not doubt God's ability to deliver them.

There was no question about this. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us out from the burning, fiery furnace. But they had something more.

They accepted the divine, sovereign will of God. And they said, but if not, if there is no deliverance out of the fire, there will be no change in our commitment of faith. We will not serve thy gods even if you burn us alive or you burn us dead.

If it be so, we will not bend our knees. You see, they had a faith in God to deliver, but even a deeper faith that God is able to keep us even in the midst of fiery trials. And therefore, these three righteous brothers had a concept of God that many people do not understand today.

They do not have it. They had a concept of God that enabled them to accept God's dealings and actions on their behalf that was based not only on an escape or the possibilities of deliverance or escape from their problem, but they believed in a God who can give strength and power to endure and to remain steadfast and say, even if it doesn't, though God slay me, yet I'll trust him. Hallelujah.

Now, they also were not offended by the fiery trial of their faith. And I want to take you to the New Testament to see a principle in the teaching that Jesus gave regarding this same truth that's portrayed in the actions of the three Hebrew children. And this has to do with taking offense or being offended at the dealings and actions and the will of God in your behalf.

You see, the three righteous brothers did not question the fact that they had to face the fire, nor did they even question the possibility that deliverance out of the furnace might not happen. They were not offended by it. And I want to cite some New Testament examples of those.

And Jesus said to his disciples, he said, before it's all over, you're going to be offended at me. And I want to show you how the three righteous brothers help us have an attitude and have us how we need to grab a hold of this truth and how we need to say, but if not, but if not, Lord, I want you to deliver me out of this fiery trial. But if not, I'm still going to serve you.

Hallelujah. Now, what does it mean to be offended? The dictionary defines it as a feeling of hurt, resentful, angry. Now, you have been offended by another brother or sister.

You have been offended by somebody. And when you are offended, you have a feeling of hurt. You may become resentful.

You may become angry. But then the dictionary also gives us a further description, and it says that to be offended is something that causes sinning or wrongdoing. Now, an offense is also a transgression.

All believers accept the fact that we have offended a holy God and that our offenses or our transgressions can only be forgiven by faith in the blood covering of Jesus Christ. We accept our transgressions against God. But did you ever consider how we view God as having offended us? Now, let me explain what I mean.

When we receive Christ, we have certain expectations as to what he will do for us as a result of our having accepted him. Besides the forgiveness of our sins, besides eternal life, we often come to Christ because we have certain needs, certain problems. It may be for healing.

It may be that you have a difficulty in your marriage. There may be other reasons. You may just be in a desperate situation and you need the Lord not only to save you out of your sins but to save you out of the mess you got yourself in.

Or you may have a life-controlling problem that you want the Lord to deliver you from. It may be a lust. It may be drugs.

It may be homosexuality. It may be something else. And often it's these things, besides salvation, that are the motives and the reasons why we come to Christ.

You see, our needs and our problems often drive us to Christ. And David spoke about this, and there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever. The Lord meets us at the point of our need.

That's the beautiful thing about it. However, once you have come to the Lord, and once you know that He has saved your soul, and you begin to look to Him now to help you in these other areas, and when God does not act or answer towards us in a manner or timetable agreeable to our desires and our prayers, we can get offended at God. It's as if God broke some unwritten law that we had established.

And we say, God, here is a standard by which I want you and expect you to act on my behalf. And when God does not act or answer as we think we should, we often are offended at God. And when we're offended... And listen, don't anybody tell me that you've never been offended at God.

Some of you, at times you have, all of us have gone through times and experiences where you may have not understood it as that, but you were offended at God. And some of you tonight may be here not realizing it, but I pray that the Holy Spirit would speak it to your heart tonight, that you realize that one of the reasons that you're having such a battle and such a struggle is not only with the devil, but you're having a battle with God because you have an offense towards God, and He can free you from that tonight. He can lift that from you if you'll understand it.

And when we're offended at God, it can breed resentment and hurts and questions and doubts. And yes, even wrongdoing. The word offended is also translated throughout Scripture as stumbling block.

1 Peter 2, 6, Christ is referred to as a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. You see, some will react to Christ and His teachings in such a way as to use Him as an excuse or justification for sinning. And listen to me.

If you go out on the street and witness, it won't take you long before you will meet up with somebody, a backslider who is offended at God. He broke or transgressed their laws of expectation, and so they got offended, and it led to wrongdoing. It led to their backsliding.

And here's the way it goes. Lord, you did me wrong. You did me wrong by letting this or that happen to me.

Or you did not solve this problem for me. You offended me, so now I feel justified in sinning against you because I think you sinned against me by doing me wrong. Therefore, to say what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

And Christ, therefore, becomes their stumbling block, their reason, their stumbling block, their reason for falling. Now, let me show you that Jesus knew who and how certain people were offended at Him. And Jesus taught.

He said, it is a blessing. It is a blessing if you will just get a hold of this truth. Blessed is he that is not offended in me.

Instead of me being your stumbling block, I want to be your stepping stone. Go with me to Matthew chapter 11. Surprisingly enough, one of those who was offended by Jesus was none other than John the Baptist.

And I want to talk to you for a little bit about the offense of the works of Christ. The offense of the works of Christ. Turn here.

As I said, I'm reading from King James. We'll pick it up at verse 2. Matthew 11. And now, when John had heard in prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and they said unto Jesus, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Does John look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go back and tell John, show John again the things which you do here and see.

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, and the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have their gospel preached to them. And yes, and by the way, tell John one more thing. Tell John, blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Now, get the picture here. John sits in Herod's prison dungeon, and he's wondering, listen to me, he's wondering not so much as to the works Christ was performing. This was not the first time that John heard what Jesus was doing.

He had already heard, and he basically was sending the disciples to confirm what he had already heard regarding all of these miraculous, marvelous things, the revival that was breaking out, the ministry that Jesus was undertaking as he described it here. He already knew it. And basically the disciples were reconfirming what he already knew.

And so John was not wondering so much as to the works Christ was performing, but he was confused more by the works Jesus was not performing. Now, remember John was a thundering prophet denouncing sin, preaching repentance, and announcing judgment. His ministry gave way to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.

But now he is changed to the bars of a gloomy fortress prison. He is smelling the foul air of a dark dungeon. And John, when he hears about Jesus, he wonders where is the axe? Where is the axe that must be laid to the root of sin? Where is the fan that was to blow away the shaft? It appeared the one on whose shoulder the dove had come to rest had no axe in his hand, had no fan in his hand.

And John wonders where is the fiery spirit which he had foretold? But instead John has heard, and Jesus confirmed it with a visit of his few of his own personal disciples. John hears of miracles. He hears of healings.

The gospel of mercy is being preached. It appears that Jesus is planting and nurturing. He's not denouncing and destroying barren trees.

And so John wonders, after all, if he might have been premature in recognizing or announcing Jesus as the one who was to come. And he says here in the third verse, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? And the word another here really means different. Someone who acts more like John.

Someone who preached more like John. Someone who denounced sin more like John. And who, in John's estimation, is more like the Messiah of the prophecies.

And one who embodied what John preached and that which to him appears is missing in Jesus' preaching. Now, let me make the application. Are you, like John, offended at Jesus because you have expected a different outcome from his message? Now let me explain it.

You may have recently been made aware of the fact that the message of repentance, and I was blessed by the testimonies because I believe I am accurately describing the thoughts, the feelings of some of you that came forward tonight. You've recently been made aware of the fact that the message of repentance and holiness and righteousness and judgment was and is missing in the church today. Most of all, you must have realized it was missing in your life.

It's beyond me to know why anybody keeps coming back to this church if you don't love the Word of God the way we preach it. And so you've been judging your sin. A John the Baptist revival may have taken place in your life.

You've laid the axe to the root. And you've continued to do it as weeds have come up, as the Holy Spirit, and it's not unusual for people. God begins to deal with you on one level, and you get finished with that level, and it's like peeling an onion.

God's getting down to the real rotten core. But some of you once were people who only saw the message of God's grace, and you only went where you could hear it, a message that would make you feel good. But now you also see His judgment as well.

And here's where the offense can come in. It is when we question, when God has opened your eyes to this message, and you look around and you question why God is not exposing false teaching and false doctrine around in other areas or other people's lives or other churches or other places that you came from. Maybe you're confused as to why sin is not being brought to light in a certain situation.

You may be impatient as to why judgment has not come down where you feel it should. You may feel like John the Baptist. And thank God that you do understand that and you feel that way.

But instead of Jesus swaying the axe in certain situations that you're aware of, it may only seem that there is grace and mercy being extended where you feel judgment belongs. And God has shown you His holy anger against sin. He's made you aware, as Brother Bob taught, about the other face of God.

Not only the face of His mercy, but the face of His wrath. And yet others do not appear to regard the Word the same as you do. And now you see in other people a reflection of what you once were.

You may know of specific situations of Christians, even leaders, who are walking in unrighteousness. And the spirit of John the Baptist is now upon you. An axe is in your hand and you carry a fan ready to blow away the shaft.

And I say to you, never, never lay down that axe. Thank God that He has revealed that to you. God is pleased that you feel His judgment against sin.

This is what was missing in your walk with God. This is what caused you to walk in compromise. And now you desire to walk in holiness.

And you want the church to see what God has shown you. You want other people. Maybe you've gone to some of them.

Maybe you've talked to them. Maybe you've pleaded with them. Maybe you've warned them.

But my friend, let me drop a word in your heart tonight. Be careful. Because this is where you can get offended at God.

And this can lead to resentment and wrong attitudes. Because it does not appear that God is acting in situations as you feel that He should. There are people who flaunt God's grace when they should be feeling His conviction.

And this can offend the believer who feels God's thundering judgments. I'll be honest with you. I look around at what's been happening in the body of Christ in some of these situations.

And it seems like things come to light very, very slowly. And I know probably three or four situations right now. David probably knows more than I do.

Situations where we know that there is iniquity in ministries. Heads of ministries, there are leaders that are walking in sin and unrighteousness. We know it.

And sometimes I'll be honest with you and say, God, you're awful slow. You're awful slow at taking care of this. I feel offended.

But we must not be offended by either mercy or judgment. Some people come to the Times Square church. They hear a strong message against sin and they're offended.

They disagree. They walk out. I know.

I've seen them. I've sat here and I've looked out. I've seen them walk out.

And they are just as wrong as John the Baptist. You see, John was right in believing that Jesus must come to judge sin. A Christ without a fan or an axe in his hand is not the biblical Christ.

Jesus denounced as well as announced. He rebuked as well as restored. He preached suffering with salvation.

He pricked consciences as well as lifted burdens. But John was wrong to stumble at Jesus' gentleness. Just as many today who go the opposite extreme are wrong to be offended at the works of Christ in judgment.

Both aspects are the work of Jesus Christ. And in fact, in the 11th chapter, if you still have your Bibles open, look what happened. It says, You see, Jesus woos and he wows.

I mean he woes. Excuse me. He woos and he woes.

He woos us first by his mercy and by his love. And if we do not heed that message, then he says, Look at verse 21. So be careful.

If you don't accept his woo, you'll have to take his woe. Woe unto thee. His judgments.

And the point is this. Let us not be offended at any of the works of Christ. Now, there's another offense that I want to talk about tonight.

And that's the offense of not knowing what the Lord is up to. You know, my wife asks me sometimes, oftentimes, she'll ask me questions about the ministry, what's happening in the ministry, what's happening in the body of Christ at large, what the Lord is doing in our lives. And I have to answer her and say, I don't know.

My 15-year-old daughter asks me questions about the work of the Lord, about what God is doing here and God is doing there. And I have to say to her, I don't know. I've got two children studying for the ministry.

They call me from Bible school. And they've got questions about something that's happening at school or something that's happening here or there. And they look to me for an answer, and I have to say, I don't know.

Now, there used to be a time when I never said, I don't know. I always knew when I first started in the ministry. I always knew.

The more I serve the Lord, the more I walk with the Lord, the less I know. But, you see, when my wife or my family ask me these questions, I've got no answer. I don't know what the Lord is doing, and I have to say, I don't know.

And I get offended. Sometimes I get offended at my wife as if she's a, you know, don't ask me. As if she's the source of the problem.

But, no, I get offended because I don't know. Turn with me to Mark chapter 10. I want you to see the disciples in a similar situation.

They didn't know. Now, we've got a good technique in counseling, pastors. They come to us, we just say, I don't know.

I want to show you this biblical. Mark chapter 10, verse 32. And they were going on the way, and they were in the way going up to Jerusalem.

And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed as they followed, and they were afraid. And I want to stop right there. I'll finish the sentence in just a moment.

I suppose whatever Bible you have, it breaks it up that way. Let me read it again. And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem.

And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed, and as they followed, they were afraid. Now, Jesus walked towards Jerusalem without explaining to the disciples what he was doing or why he was doing it. Apparently, they had come to a point on the road.

They knew that that particular road, when he took it, and the picture I have in my mind, and I believe this is accurate, that when Jesus set his foot on that particular highway leading to the city of Jerusalem, that he went with a determined walk. And he walked on in front of them, and he didn't say a word. And the disciples are following behind him, and they know what's up.

They have an inkling of what's up. They don't know totally, but they have an inkling of what's up. And there's a look on his face that they've never seen before.

This Bible says he set his face as flint to go to Jerusalem. And he didn't say a word to them at first. But they know that there's trouble ahead when they go down that road and if they follow him.

His ministry was accepted in Galilee and the other villages, but when he was going to go to Jerusalem, they knew that it meant trouble for him, and if it meant trouble for him, it meant trouble for them. And Jesus went before them without communication, without explanation, without giving a reason at first. And they were amazed and afraid.

And the disciples followed some distance behind with apprehension, and they said one to another, Where's he going? What's he up to? Where's he going? What's he up to? And they all looked at each other and said, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what he's doing.

What do you think he's doing? Why doesn't he tell us what he's doing? You see, they were offended, and they were afraid. And he takes them, in fact, look what it says. And he took again the twelve and began to tell them what things should happen to him.

And here's how he did it. He's still walking now, and he's saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. And you're going with me.

Behold, we go. I really need that other mic, Steve. Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered.

He's still walking. Under the chief priests and under the scribes. And they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the Gentiles.

And they shall mock him and shall scourge him and shall spit upon him and shall kill him. And the third day he shall rise again. And he keeps walking and he keeps walking.

And they're following. Now, until Jesus took them aside, they followed him in amazement and fear. Because they did not know how to interpret what Jesus was doing in going before them.

And let me tell you something. I sometimes have the same problem with Jesus. He always seems to be going before me and not telling me what he's up to.

But he still wants me to follow him. But to tell you the truth, sometimes I am offended because he doesn't tell me. And especially when I know he's going to Jerusalem.

And I know that I'm going to have to go through the fiery furnace with him. You see, at first the disciples were sure they knew all about Jesus. And they said, man, this is great.

This is fun to follow Jesus. And the reason why a lot of churches preach a fun gospel is because when you just preach, you know, the elementaries of it, it's fun at first. It was wonderful to follow him.

And he performed miracles. The crowds followed him. They felt the acclaim of it as well.

One time they asked Jesus if he was going to, does he pay custom? Does he pay taxes? And you know what he says? He says to one of the disciples, he said, hey, go down to the water and bring in a fish. Here's what he said, Matthew 17, 27. He said, lest we should offend the IRS, go thou to the sea, take up fish, open his mouth.

Thou shalt find a piece of money and pay our taxes. You see, it was a delight at first for the disciples to follow such a Christ. But now they've reached a point, and listen to me, every one of you, if you're going to go all the way with Jesus, you're going to reach the same point.

Where you don't know where he's gone, and you don't know why he's gone where he's gone. And Jesus went before them and they were amazed. You see, there comes these moments in our following Christ where we don't know where or why he's leading us down a certain road.

And it's easy at that point to question his ways. It's easy to stumble at his will. It's easy to be offended by his direction.

Because you see, there is an aspect of following Jesus that chills the heart of a disciple to the core and makes the whole spiritual life grass for breath. What are you doing, Lord? We cry, and he says nothing, but he just keeps on walking and he says, follow me. And it's at this point that he is no longer our counselor.

He's no longer our helper. He seems no longer to be our comforter. But instead he is taking up with leading me in a direction I know nothing about and I'm amazed at him.

And it's at this point that many get so offended they check out and they turn aside from following Jesus. This is exactly what he said. Listen in Matthew 13.

He said, this is the parable of the sower. And one on whom the seed was sown and the one on whom the seed was sown on the rocky places. This is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

Yet he has no firm root in himself. But he endures for a while, but when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. And offended there is also translated other places, falls away.

Now listen to me tonight. If God is doing something in your life now that you don't understand, don't be offended. Trust him.

He will speak to you and he will let you know what's going on. John 16 one says, these things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. And my friend, the longer you follow the Lord and the more you get the teachings here into your heart, the less you're going to stumble and the less you're going to be offended and you're going to be ready for anything.

And the things that come into your life are going to be stepping stones. Hallelujah to greater victories in your life. Turn with me to Isaiah 50.

I want to read just a couple of verses there. Isaiah chapter 50, because here is the same description. Here's the same point that's going on with the disciples.

Isaiah 50, it says, who is among you? Verse 11. Isaiah chapter 50, verse 11 and 12. Who is among you that feareth the Lord? Or is that 10? I'm just checking up on you.

That's good, Kevin. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Now that's the same description that took place with the disciples. Jesus kept them in the dark so they thought when he was going to Jerusalem and didn't tell them.

Isaiah goes on and says, let him trust in the Lord and stay upon his God. Behold all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks. Walk in the light of your fire and the sparks that you may have kindled.

But this trial, ye shall have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. And what he says here when he says, behold all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks. Walk in the light of your fire and the sparks that you may have kindled.

What he's saying is that you can try to find your own solution to the situation you're in. You can go around and get other people, talk to other people and get them to make a few sparks for you, give you a little comfort, shed a little light on your situation. But the Lord says it's not going to change anything.

Because this ye shall have of my hand. In other words, I am the one leading you down this dark road. Ye shall lie down in sorrow.

But my friend, when you do, don't be offended at God if he is the author of your darkness. Because when it comes, endure it. Let him trust in God and stay upon his God.

Endure it because when it's over, you will come to the point of following Jesus with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Hallelujah. God's leading never makes sense at first.

It never makes sense at first until you step into it. And then it begins to make sense. Hallelujah.

Let me talk about one more offense, the offense of the furnace. To one degree or another, all of us face the possible offense or stumbling block of the fiery furnace. The three righteous brothers, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced the furnace of the unbended knee.

Because they took their stand for the Lord. I was going to get into that, but I won't tonight other than to say this. Some of you have already learned this.

If you're going to stand for the Lord, you know you're going to feel heat. You're going to feel heat. And I'll reserve this for another message.

And when you take your stand for the Lord at home or school or job or whatever, or in front of compromising Christians, you'll feel heat like you've never felt it before. And really, you know where the heat starts? It starts with the fire of their tongue. And it goes on from there.

And we have some of this in our church. We have some of this, you know, not in here, but outside here regarding our church. But let me talk to you about the offense, the furnace of Christ's offenses.

And that's what we've been talking about tonight. Matthew 26, 31. Then saith Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me.

All ye shall be offended because of me. In other words, he said there's going to come a situation. There's going to come this trial.

He was talking about the cross. And Christ's suffering brought them into the suffering also of the cross. And he knew that they would be resentful and stumbled by the events of the cross, and so he told them so.

And tonight, you may be going through a situation that can be described as a fiery furnace. And you admit that you have been severely tested and tried. But I want you to know tonight, and this is what is the essence of my message, that a part of that test is to feel that the Lord has offended you by permitting this furnace.

Last Friday night, before the service, I stopped in the hospital in the Bronx to visit a young man that I've known for many years. He's in the hospital. He has AIDS.

And I say this tonight on this tape because I'm going to say it to address it to him, Roy, because I'm going to send him this tape. And I talked to him about this already. But Roy, I want you to know that what you're going through is a fiery furnace.

And I talked to Roy about the fact he knows that God can deliver him. He knows that God can heal him. But I want to say to Roy tonight, and I want to say to any of you that are sitting here tonight, may you have the same declaration as these three righteous brothers.

I know that God is able to heal me. I'm in this fiery furnace of AIDS. And God is able to deliver me.

He's able to heal me. But if not, hallelujah, it does not mean that I'm going to forsake the Lord. I'm not going to be so offended that I forsake Him.

If not, bow down to the image of the world and Nebuchadnezzar. If you're fighting a lust or addiction, it may be your furnace tonight. You may be dealing with a problem in your home.

That may be your furnace. Some of you are living with the effects of forgiven sin. That may be your furnace.

In other words, God may have forgiven you for a past sin. But the damage of that sin has been done. And it's irreparable.

And your furnace is to live in the effects of that past failure. To follow Christ, my friend, is to have to face all kinds of fiery furnaces. And you can be offended against Christ.

But I want to tell you that there is deliverance from all such offenses. And our deliverance, and listen, our deliverance comes when we accept the truth that God never puts us in the fire unless He knows that we can abide the fire. Let me say that again.

He never puts you in the fire except knowing that He will give you the power and the ability to abide in the fire. What does the Scripture say, 1 Corinthians 10, 13 in the NIV? No temptation has seized you except is common to man. And God is faithful.

He will not let you be tempted beyond that you can bear. If it's one degree of furnace or seven degree, He knows how many degrees you can handle. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way that you can stand up in the fiery furnace and not be burnt.

Hallelujah. God wants to put the faith and endurance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in your soul. They fought fire with fire.

There was a fire of love burning in their soul that enabled them. They had a vision of Jesus. They had a vision of the cross.

They had a vision of something, and they said, He will deliver us out of thy hand, but if not, we're still not going to change our minds. And I ask you tonight, have you come to that point of faith and commitment? But if not, I will not be offended with Him. But if not, He will be with me in the fire.

But if not, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of life. Psalms 119 and 165. Don't turn there, because I'm going to have you turn to a few scriptures in closing.

But let me read to you Psalms 119, 165. The scripture says, Great peace have they which love thy will, and nothing shall offend them. Nothing shall offend them.

Go with me to Proverbs. Go to Proverbs chapter 3, and I want to close with this. Proverbs chapter 3, and then I want to go to Psalms 91, and I'm finished.

Psalms 321, excuse me, Proverbs 321 says, My son, let not them, that means the commandments, the words of the Lord, the law of the Lord. Let not them depart from thy eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion.

So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not be offended. Thy foot shall not stumble.

When God sends you into a situation you don't know anything about, or when you have to go into the fiery furnace, thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid. Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the destruction of the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and he shall keep thy foot from being taken. He shall keep thy foot from being taken out of the way.

That situation does not have to be a stone of stumbling, but it can be a rock, a stepping stone. Hallelujah. Finally, Psalms 91.

Oh, hallelujah. I don't know about you, but I'm getting blessed by the Word of God. I'm almost like, I don't want to quit.

I'm ready to quit, but I don't want to. Well, this is it. This is the last one.

Psalms 91. Here it is. Brother Victor prayed this in our meeting today when we prayed about all the things that might be happening around Times Square.

Verse 11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

In other words, he doesn't want anything that comes your way to be a stone of stumbling. And when you go through it, it says the angel of the Lord will just come right along. And instead of it being an unexpected thing that trips you up and causes you to stumble, he'll lift you up and you'll step on that stone.

Hallelujah. To greater heights in the Lord. That's what the angel of the Lord can do.

Hallelujah. Shall we pray? Let's bow in a word of prayer. Oh, Lord, we thank you.

He does not be on concern for his cause on earth. And Christ's body is still on earth, which is his church. This is a thing that he loves and he cherishes.