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Now as a church we have been journeying through the book of Daniel. This is my desire to bring Gospeliters together with me in the journey of the Bible in the New Testament and also the Old Testament. So we have come to an Old Testament book - the book of Daniel. So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Daniel and chapter 3. I hope many of you, if not all of you, have read Daniel 3 before you’ve come in, because it's a long story. It's a long chapter and as you look at God's Word together, it would have benefited if you have read it as well. So turn with me to Daniel chapter 3.

 

And I begin with an illustration, I begin with this figure – 孙悟空 (Sun Wu Kong). You say what has孙悟空 (Sun Wu Kong) got to do with church? Well, 孙悟空 (Sun Wu Kong) is a fictional character in a novel - Chinese novel called ‘Journey to the West’. And in the life of孙悟空 (Sun Wu Kong), I remember him being trapped in a fiery furnace, where he was supposed to be burned to death by 三昧真火 (San mei zhen huo). Wah… chim ah… the don’t know what trigrams furnace with this supposed supernatural fire that is supposed to burn anything and everything to death. But孙悟空 (Sun Wu Kong) got into the furnace for a long time, but instead of being destroyed, he survived and not only did he survive, he came forth stronger, better and more powerful. He was indeed fireproof. 01:34.6

 

Today we think of 3 young men who likewise were fireproof. They got into a furnace of fire, but instead of being burned to death, they came forth stronger, better. They survived the fire and they themselves were also fireproof. These 3 men were actually young teenagers; they were the friends of Daniel. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are their names. They were thrown into the fiery furnace because Nebuchadnezzar threw them within or inside.

 

The story goes like this: Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man on planet earth. He was a king or a monarch of a super power of his time, Babylon. He captured umm…Jerusalem, he captured Judah and he captured therefore Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and transported them all the way to Babylon. But one night he had a dream. In fact, he had a series of dreams. He had this terrible dream that he was fearful of, that he couldn't sleep, that made him suffered from insomnia after that. He dreamed about this colossal statue. A statue that is huge and majestic. A statue made of different kinds of metal. From gold to silver, to bronze, to iron and iron made of clay and how it was eventually smashed into pieces and into nothingness by a rock hewn from a mountain. Daniel was then called in to interpret this dream for Nebuchadnezzar. And Daniel said, “This dream is about the dreams of kingdoms that will come after you. Nebuchadnezzar you are a powerful man but you are just the head of gold. Your kingdom will not last forever. You will not have a long lasting legacy because right after you, there will be a kingdom of silver - The Medo-Persians and so on and so forth…”

 

Now I suppose Nebuchadnezzar hearing this was not satisfied. He didn't just want to be the kingdom of gold limited to the head. He wanted his legacy; he wanted his kingdom to last forever. So I suppose that's the reason why, when you come to Daniel chapter 3, he… the Bible tells us, he erected a statue - a colossal statue of about 90 feet tall. 90 feet is about 27 metres, that’s about 9 basketball rims’ height. You know, 1 basketball rim times 9 times. It’s a big thing and this is not only big, it's interesting in that it is all made of gold.

 

So here is a ego-maniac, so full of himself. God told me that my kingdom will not last, it will be taken over by silver and bronze and so on, but I defile God. He says in Chinese – 人定胜天 (ren din sheng tian), means human will triumph over heaven's will. He says, “I don’t believe in God, I’m going to establish for myself this monument. I'm going to get all my people to bow down before me, worship me. I’m going to show them my power, and my might and my legacy.” So this is what he did. He erected this monument, he got all the VIPs in Babylon to come. No RSVP required because if you don't come, your head will roll. So everybody came and there before the plain of Dura, before this statue, he had a worship band going on. The worship band would play and when the worship band plays, everybody gathered would have to bow before the statue and to worship it. And everybody obediently followed. 乖乖 (guai guai) (Mandarin words meaning obedient) one… everybody, except for 3 young men whose names are Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. 3 young Jewish men who refused to stand or to bow. They refused to worship because they worship the God of the heavens. They worship the God of the Bible who has told them, you shall have no other gods before me. You will not bow yourself down to any graven image; you shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength. And so they believe that; they believe God, and so they said, “We will not bow.”

 

Nebuchadnezzar naturally was furious, so he summoned the 3 young men before him. When everybody was worshiping the statue and he said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?” (Daniel 3:14 ESV) Those words would have sent shivers down anybody's spine. This is the most powerful man speaking; this is a tyrant speaking; this is a cruel man speaking. He says, “Is it true that you would not obey my instruction?” “If you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15 ESV) Here's a man who has no fear of God. He says, “Obey me because your God can't save you.” 06:51.3

 

And so today we're looking at Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego's amazing faith. I call this “Fireproof Faith”. The kind of faith that survives even when it goes through the furnace of affliction. They had amazing faith because this is how they replied King Nebuchadnezzar. No excuses, no compromise, no asking and pleading for leniency. They simply declared, “We will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18 ESV) We simply won't!

 

Amazing! If you consider that they were young men living in a foreign land, standing before the most powerful man on earth and seeing every VIP just bowing. They did not cower, they did not buckle under pressure. They said, “We will not.” And the reason why they said they will not is not because they felt they were special or they were powerful, but in verse 17, we’re told they declared, “We will not because we believe our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. You determined to send us there, but we believe our God is able. He’s mighty; He’s powerful; He’s capable. He’s above the fire; He’s above the furnace; He’s above you, Nebuchadnezzar. He is able to deliver us, we trust in Him, not in ourselves.”

 

Now, all of us as Christians would appreciate this verse and say, “Yes, we agree. God is powerful and that is what faith is about - believing that He is able.” But what comes next might shock you, because in verse 18, they say, “But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image…” What an interesting connection! We know God is able, but if not… what do you mean by “But if not?” If God is not able? No, that's obviously not his point or their point. They’re saying God is able, but God may not save us from the fiery furnace. God is able to, but He may not choose to. God is powerful, He can do it, but we are not saying He must do it. Because there are things, there are ways of the Lord that are unknown to us and our faith could accept that whilst He can do it, He may choose not to.

 

So if I may paraphrase Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they would say something like this: “We know that God can but not that God must.” Faith is believing that God can, but not presuming that God must do what we expect him to do. See, often times we have this mindset - faith is believing God will do what I expect Him to do. No! Faith is believing God can do what I expect Him to do. Sure! But not presuming that He must always do what I desire, I expect or I want Him to do. 10:13.2

 

Looking at Hebrews 11, it's interesting. We look at this very positive passage in verses 32 to 35. “What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets…” and this is a great chapter of faith, we all know that. Hebrews 11 is called the ‘Hall of Faith’. So what does faith accomplish? Amazing things! They, through faith did this amazing conquest. They conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire. I suppose this is derived from Daniel chapter 3. Escaped the edge of the sword, made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight and women received back their dead by resurrection. Great things! You say, “Pastor, this is what faith is about - believe that God will always deliver us. God will always save us!” And so we go all positive, about… talking about faith, that nothing unpleasant, nothing difficult will happen to our lives. But that's not the right reading of Hebrews 11, because it doesn't stop at verse 35.

 

Verse 32 to 35 - great positive things, but look at verses 36 to 39. Some were tortured - same chapter, no break. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release. Others suffered mocking and flogging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn…, they were killed…, they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - of whom the world was not worthy - they were wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all of these people, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. They were looking to something beyond pleasantries in this life, but all of them, whether they conquered kingdoms or whether they were destitute or wandering, they were all people who believed in God. God could deliver everyone but God did not choose to deliver everyone.

 

So, which category will we fall into? Let’s say you’re sick today - stricken with stage 4 cancer. The doctors have just told you, “You have stage 4 stomach cancer.” How does your faith operate? Well, if you were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you may say this: “I know God is able to save me from stage 4 cancer, but He may not and it doesn't make Him less of a God to me. He can, but it’s not that He must do what I want. I desire healing. I want to be cured, but it doesn't mean that my desires are exactly what He will fulfil because He is God.” Some of us may have the conquest of kingdom experiences. Some of us may be the destitute, wandering experiences. How do you know? There are some people who walk around saying… you know there are pastors, teachers, who go around saying, “I know you'll be healed. I pray for you and you will be healed.” It's not that straightforward folks, because you're not God, you do not know. You say, “Pastor, how do you know he does not know?” Well, unless God specifically said so.

 

James 4 tells me that we are no gods. We must not be presumptuous; we must not be arrogant. He says here: come now… c’mon now, you guys! You guys who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and we’ll spend a year there and trade and make a profit. You guys who presume that you're going to succeed being there and make profit, you do not know what tomorrow will bring. Don’t speak with such presumption, you don't really know. “Instead,” James says, “… you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13-16 ESV) The fact of the matter is, whilst we all know God can deliver, we don't always know He will deliver in every specific circumstance. 14:48.7

 

You don't have a child and you’re praying for a child - it would not be honest for any man to come beside you and say you will definitely have a child. It will be honest of a man to say, “God can give you a child and if it is His will, He will.” If the Lord wills. And faith is therefore not saying God must do as I want, though He can do what I want. So this is a critical statement. If you forget everything about the sermon today, remember this: Faith is knowing God can, but not presuming God must do what we want. He always does what He wants.

 

My point here is from the perspective of a Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Faith is knowing God can but not presuming God must. It can apply to your job situation - can God give me a job? Sure, but does it mean He will give you a job the way you wanted it? No. Can God heal me of my stroke? Sure, but does it mean He will, the way I want it? No. He is God, I am not. His ways are higher than our ways; His considerations are far greater than my considerations. I suppose it is… it is almost like a little child. You say, why…why…why can't God do what I want? Very simple. It’s like a little child saying to daddy and mommy: “Mommy, mommy, mommy, I want to drink Dettol. It’s very nice. So pretty the bottle… (sucking sound) but mommy, can I drink Dettol?” What does mommy say to you? Mummy can say, “You can drink, but you cannot. You must not drink.” “Mommy, why you so unfair! Why don’t you do what I want?” Simply because mommy wants the best for you!

 

So, faith is knowing God can, but not presuming God must do what I want because I realise what I want is not the best. So there are many times, if you look back in your life, you should thank God He doesn't answer you the way you wanted it to be because His ways are higher than our ways. But I know this is so difficult for you to accept. So difficult because the sinful nature in us longs to think of God to be someone who complies with my wants and wishes. We long for that. We wish… you know that's why people are fascinated with the story of Aladdin’s Lamp. Everybody loves that story. And subtly in our minds, we long that we somehow will walk along the beach and kick an Aladdin’s lamp. And we’ll say and rub, rub, rub and the genie will… will… will give me my… my spouse, my husband, my 白马王子 (bai ma wang zi) (Mandarin words meaning prince on white horse), my Bae Yong-Joon (Korean actor) or whatever (laughter in the congregation).

 

I wish… I would have something that I could command and it would do as I wish. That's the way many people look at God, by the way. We want God to do what we want. We want to be able to rub that lamp with 3 strokes of faith and then He will do our bidding. But my friends, the God who created the heavens and the earth is not a genie hiding in the lamp, coming to do your bidding. The God we know of the Bible is the sovereign, omnipotent God who created everything and cause all thing to be existing. And He is sovereign, He is wise and we thank God He doesn't do what we want because what He does is always better. It’s so hard for people to accept this and so tempting for people to want to talk positive. God will always do what I wish. 18:46.2

 

It's so powerful that this man, Norman Vincent Peale became famous, in a sense marketing this ideology. Norman Vincent Peale served as a pastor, but let me say this, I believe he was never a Christian. He was never born again. He worked as a pastor. He worked as a minister but he was never born again. And Norman Vincent Peale is famous for this book – ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’. I mean, he was one of the best sellers of his time. And in this book, he promotes a way of mental exercise whereby he believes if you just think positively, you will get what you want. So this is exactly his philosophy. He taught a form of mental activity called imaging. It consists of vividly picturing, in your conscious mind, a desired goal or objective. It may be a million dollar, it may be a house, it may be a car and then you hold that image until it sinks into your unconscious mind, where it releases great, untapped energies. So somehow he is teaching that when you think enough, you have this clear image in your mind, it will be powerfully manifested.

 

He goes on to say, “It works best when it is combined with a strong religious faith…” Can you believe his words? “Backed by prayer, and the seemingly illogical technique of giving thanks for benefits before they are received.” So he says, think about the Rolls-Royce, think about the car, think about the wheels, think about the headlights, think about how it should look like, the colour even. Think about it, be so clear about the image and then believe it, have some kind of religious faith, then pray and then before the Rolls-Royce comes, you already give thanks. Thank you, I already have the Rolls-Royce. Now, you don't have the Rolls-Royce yet but you do all that, because he believes that when you do this, when the imaging concept is applied steadily and systematically, it will now solve problems; it will strengthen personality; it will improve health; greatly enhance the chance of success in any kind of endeavour. And he calls this: Christian thinking. This is rubbish, wrapped in Christian terms! Norman Vincent Peale. But you know what? It was the bestseller because that's what we all want; what we all crave and lust - that sinful nature in us.

 

It’s not just the power of positive thinking, this kind of philosophy has invaded churches all across the globe today and I think it has come into many Christians’ lives, even amongst us here at GLCC. You could sort of subtly sense it. How? Let me share with you - The ‘Word of Faith’ movement. You say, “What is ‘Word of Faith’?” The ‘Word of Faith’ movement teaches that Christians can access the power of faith or fear through speech, meaning if I name it, I can then claim it. If I say, “In the name of Jesus, you will be healed!” then you will be healed. “In the name of Jesus, you will have a car!” You will have a car because that's ‘Word of Faith’. You…you have so much faith, you confess it, you thank God for it and God will be now bound to give that to you. In simple layman words, it simply is: you can have what you say. You don’t believe this? Let me give you examples. 22:41.5

 

Kenneth Hagin is a well-known ‘Word of Faith’ teacher. He has recently died, last year. And Kenneth Hagin is called the father of ‘Word of Faith’ movement. These are the statements you could easily find if you just go Google, alright? And they are all substantiated, but it says here, “Your confession of faith in God's Word will bring healing. Just confess it and you will get healing or whatever it is you need from God into the present tense and make it a reality in your life.” Hagin claims Jesus told him: “If anybody, anywhere, will just put these positive confession principles into operation, he will always have whatever he wants from Me or God the Father.” With teachings like this, you won't be surprised if thousands of people follow him in his church. It’s a very attractive, appealing kind of teaching to the flesh.

 

He goes on to say, “What do you need?” This is interesting. “Start creating it. Start speaking into it being…into being. Say: “You, cheque book, you've never been so prosperous since I owned you… you're just crammed full of…” You know his cheque book may not have any money, but he says: “You are so full of money… you are so prosperous!” He believes that as you speak to your cheque book, your cheque book actually becomes prosperous! Your bank account really grows! Seriously, why do you work so hard if you believe this? 24:23.2

 

“It used to bother me…” this is even more shocking! He says, “It used to bother me when I'd see unsaved people getting results, but my church members are not getting results. Then it dawned on me what the sinners were doing. They were cooperating with the law of God - the law of faith.” What is the law of faith? The law of faith to him - positive confession. I will be rich! I will be rich and so the… he says the sinners got rich. And he says, “Oh, that's the way! It doesn't matter whether you are a Christian, whether you're not a Christian, as long as you say positive confessions of “faith” (inverted commas), you will be successful.” Amazing Kenneth Hagin. 25:06.6

 

Another name you’ll be familiar with is this man. Anyone knows his name? Benny Hinn. Benny Hinn…uh… some of you who are older, you remember years ago (he) was here with Rodney Howard Browne with the stupid ‘Holy Laughter’ movement. It’s crazy stuff, but this is what Benny Hinn had to say: “Step out in faith now and send your most generous offering, and then begin expecting your own unprecedented miracle. Any man and any woman that raises his or her hand in blessing towards this ministry, I bless that man. I bless that home! I bless that family. Under this anointing, the words I speak cannot fall to the ground. Under this anointing, everything I say, happens.” He sounds like Jesus, you know? He really thinks he’s a little god. By the way, there’re theology, when taken to an extreme, actually says we are like God. We are little christs; we are little gods with the power to call things to existence. The ‘Word of Faith’ movement goes to such a terrible blasphemous extreme. 26:16.2

 

This man might be familiar to some. He is so famous in the States, he is called the… possibly the next Billy Graham. Do you know his name? Okay, he’s not in Singapore. I don't blame you if you do not know. Sorry? It’s written there? Where? Eh… where? I didn’t see it! Okay, TD Jakes. Oh…okay, okay, the fine print lah! I don’t read fine print very well. Okay, anyway… (laughter in the congregation) TD Jakes. He's called Bishop TD Jakes or rather he calls himself Bishop TD Jakes. This is what he says, “It's what you say to yourself that gets you healed. If you say that you won’t be healed, you won’t be healed. If you say that you’re broke, you’ll stay broke. Oh! But I came to serve notice on the Devil… slap somebody and say, ‘You better speak to yourself.’” You know that's what they do in the church there, slap one another, say to yourself, “Eh, you better speak to yourself.” You see, the ‘Word of Faith’ people believe that illness is the work of Satan. You should speak against it and it will leave you. Poverty is the work of the devil, it’s not God’s will. Speak against it, and it will go… go away from you. That's their belief - the ‘Word of Faith’ is often mixed together with prosperity and health and wealth gospel, which is a false gospel.

 

He goes on to say, “My brothers and sisters, the power of life and death is in the tongue.” Total mis- interpretation of this verse! “You can have whatever you say. You gotta speak to stuff or it won’t change. Are you following what I'm saying?” he says. “Did you know that the Bible says, ‘You shall have whatever you say.’” Wow! Can you stand this kind of teaching? “Now, don't you say that if you don’t want no increase. If all you want is what you had, don’t say that anymore. But, if you want something beyond what you have ever seen, shout increase! The power of life and death is in your tongue. When you open your mouth, you release power all over the room! Shout increase!” And… okay everybody come, 1-2-3… (laughter in the congregation). They’re so well trained, they don’t have to 1-2-3, everybody will just say it. And they believe as they say “increase”, their bank account literally will also increase. Anyone with any decent brain would know this is all hope lah, but sad to say, many people leave their brains before they enter the hall. They don’t engage Scripture with a thinking mind and they long to listen to stuff like this.

 

You may not be familiar with Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, TD Jakes but maybe you'll be familiar with this lady. What’s her name? Joyce Meyer. Joyce Meyer essentially says, “Positive minds full of faith and hope produce positive lives. The Lord recently showed me that we can bless or curse the financial seed we sow. We can speak positively about our financial future, or we can say things like, ‘I can't afford it’ and ‘Every time I turn around something would happen to take away my money’. We should water our giving with the water of His word and expect an abundant harvest. Sow your seed and then speak prosperity scriptures over your finances.” I think this is like superstitious religious chant. Mmmmm… (pastor pretending to mumble) I don’t know what… it makes no sense, but they believe that as you speak those words, something magical happens. The genie is activated, you have rubbed him enough, he has to come up and do your bidding and your bidding is to grow my finance. The genie in the lamp syndrome.

 

“We can also speak death to sick circumstances. In other words, we can have something negative happen, and we can cause every serious problems by speaking negatively about it. It may go from sick to dead, especially if we repeatedly talk hopeless, negative and downcast.” The power is in the words, they say. “On the other hand, we can choose to do what seems abnormal to the natural man. We can speak life to sick circumstances and see a complete recovery before Satan has an opportunity to gain a strong hold.”

 

Now, again I know you may not be familiar - Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer, who is another man you may be familiar with? Sorry? Anybody? Or you all are not familiar at all? Joel Osteen. That’s right, I read your mind. And Joel Osteen - super positive guy. I mean he is the mega Colgate Ambassador -wide smile everywhere. I mean, he’s super duper charming, handsome like me…haha… (laughter in the congregation) and he’s so positive he is always giving a positive spin to things. There's nothing wrong about being positive in life. It’s not wrong but when you are dishonest about it, that’s where you’re wrong.

 

He says, “You may think there is a lot wrong with you, but there is also a lot right with you.” Yah, sure, Romans 3 tells us we’re absolutely rotten, do you believe that? Anyway, with regards to the ‘Word of Faith’ movement, this is what he says: “I think Brother Hagin…” - the man we just started off with - the father of ‘Word of Faith’ rubbish. He says, “I think Brother Hagin is chosen of God and he stands in the forefront of the message of faith.” Here is a man who perverts the word ‘faith’ and he says he is at the forefront of faith?

 

He, in many parts of his books, he says, “God has already done everything He’s going to do. The ball is now in your court. If you want success, if you want wisdom, if you want to be prosperous and healthy, you're going to have to do more than meditate and believe; you must boldly declare words of faith and victory over yourself and your family.” So say it, name it, claim it. In the name of Jesus, have it. “If you develop an image…” - Norman Vincent Peale. “If you develop an image of victory, success, health, abundance, joy, peace and happiness, nothing on earth will be able to hold those things from you.”

 

Tell that to those who were sawn asunder. Tell that to those who were burned on the stakes, tell that to Apostle Paul, who suffered afflictions like we could not imagined, tell that to these men. They had no faith? Or you have a wrong understanding of faith?

 

“Whatever your mountain is, you must do more than think about it, more than pray about it; you must speak to that obstacle…” Speak to your cheque book, not enough money… money no enough. You never read 梁志强 (Liang Zhi Qiang) ah? “Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed and prosperous. Stop talking to God about how big your mountains are, and start talking to your mountains about how big your God is.” I mean, these guys are to me ridiculous! I hate it because it makes my God look like a wimp. 33:43.4

 

It’s not about money! It's about God! And if you love God, you will not tolerate rubbish like this. God is not a genie to do my whims and fancies. God is a God who I owe my life and soul to. And I do what He wants, not what I want. And certainly the order of life is reversed with the ‘Word of Faith’ era. I've given you examples overseas, I want to give you example here in Singapore. Please, I want to read your mind. Kong Hee… okay, Kong Hee I spare him today (laughter in the congregation).

 

I want to share with you about Joseph Prince. And I'm not saying things he tells me privately, I don't know him. I'm not trying to tape some secret messages. No, these are from his books, his literature, it's open for you to judge. But I point out to you what he says: “I give thanks to God for my roots in the Word of Faith teachings. It is truly on the shoulders of great men of God like Brother Kenneth E. Hagin that we are able to see further into the Word of God today.” He tells you his roots. He tells you the origins of his belief. He tells you the direction of his preaching and ministry. “He wants to declare… he wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will receive what you are believing for! Every time your faith is strengthened as you hear the Word, release it through your mouth to receive your miracle.” Where would he get this teaching from? You could trace it.

 

“When I first entered the workforce, I began to declare the favour of God in my job. Every time I was given a new assignment, I proclaimed that the divine favour of God was on me. The company began to prosper and I was blessed financially. By the time I left the company to serve God full-time, my income had increased so that I was in the top 15% of earners in my age group in Singapore. Today, you don't have to struggle for favour. Just release it by speaking forth God's Word in faith. On your way to work, say, “God's favour surrounds me as with a shield.”” By the way, the ‘Word of Faith’ teaching has also been transposed into objects. They actually give you bottles of oil that you could use to anoint your car, your house, your exam scripts. I'm not kidding, go search the website… put some oil on your exam script and you get higher marks.

 

I wish I could sell… but I would never do that because of God. But there will be plenty of people who will not hesitate to do that because their God is not God. Their God is their belly, the Bible says. These are Words of Fakes – “You can have what you say!” It’s not Christianity. It is not Christianity. It is not Christianity! It is not the Bible! This is idolatry! God serves me. Faith isn't trying to manipulate God to get what I want. It is not three rubs to get the genie out, but faith is resting in him so that I can have what HE wants. The emphasis - manipulating versus resting. I as the centre of the universe versus He as the centre of the universe. That's how you tell.

 

There’s a very sad story, written in this book – “We Let Our Son Die”, written by a couple called Larry and Lucy Parker. They had a son named Wesley. And Wesley was sick, sick with diabetes. But Larry and Lucy Parker believed in the ‘Word of Faith’ movement. They believed that if they just had enough faith, God will heal their son, regardless. They feel that God would do what they wanted God to do. And so they refused to send their son to see a doctor because they believe that with enough faith, he will be healed. Of course, the son didn't get better, he got worse. They didn't take any medication and he was so sick that he fell into diabetic coma because they refused to give him the insulin that is needed to control his blood sugar. So he… he comatose and even then, they refused. They went to see their church people and they told him, all there is to do is to have enough faith. The whole problem is that you don't have enough faith. And so they kept on delaying seeking treatment for Wesley. And after the diabetic coma, he died.

 

But that's not the end of the story. Even after Wesley died, they refused to accept that reality and instead of holding a funeral service, they conducted a resurrection service. They had a service to anticipate the resurrection of Wesley. Of course, no resurrection took place. They waited for a year. Nothing happened, until eventually the courts tried them and found them guilty of child abuse and murder. When they woke up to their senses, they realised the damage misguided teachings on faith has cost them. It killed their son.

 

I tell you the ‘Word of Faith’ misguided positive confession teachings have killed many lives, spiritually. Many families, many ministries, many churches, many of you, because you're just clinging to that positive hope which is not founded in Scripture. And you know what happens to you? You become bitter, you become angry, you become frustrated with God because you believe God would heal your son and he didn’t and that’s why you said, “God! Why?” And that's why people in droves, when they’re hit with trials and tribulations, they leave their faith because they never really believe God. They just believe in His goodies that were accessed by rubbing it with Word of Faith. They either get bitter, or they get to blame themselves - “I don't have enough faith.” In a mess Christendom is in today is because of this perversion of faith.

 

We…we presume that God must do what we want. And so when you don't get what you want, you act like the prophets of Baal. In the Bible we speak, we learned of the prophets of Baal, they cried out to their god, “God! Send fire! God, send fire…” and when their supposed God didn't do anything, they began to jump higher; they began to shout louder; they began to cut themselves, use what we called in Chinese - 苦肉计 (ku rou ji). Just try to beg a bit of sympathy from their hard-feeling God and of course nothing happened. But that's what they do, stoke up more faith, stoke up more crying. Put in your emotions, get yourself involved and that's what people do in churches today. We got to believe more, we got to believe more, we got to just work ourselves up to a frenzy and when we are at that frenzied, fever pitch, God would then answer and do what I want. Is that the idea of God, presented to you in the Bible? 42:05.7

 

My friends, this is not the gospel. This is a totally foreign, alien and destructive false teaching. My gripe with ‘Word of Faith’ is not that they want money, that's not my issue. My issue is that it makes God look silly! It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. And not only does it dishonour God, it ruins your life, it destroys you. It is a religious Trojan horse. You know the Trojan horse? Presented as a gift, but when you receive it in, in the middle of the night, it unleashes unimaginable destruction throughout the city. And that's what this positive confession thingy is all about. It’s a religious Trojan horse. It destroys and it robs your life because you are now cut off from the God of blessings. You’re selfish, narcissistic, idolatrous and that's not the life God intends for you to have.

 

So my friends, be alert! What is faith? False ‘faith’, real faith, what is faith? False ‘faith’ is presuming God must do what I want; false ‘faith’ is manipulating God with ‘faith’; false ‘faith’ is getting God to obey my wishes but real faith is the opposite. It’s believing God can but He may not want to do so. He has a sovereign choice. Real faith is wanting what God wants and resting in Him. But let me give you a simple comparison to make this even clearer, I hope.

 

False ‘faith’ is saying I know what the future holds. I know God will heal you. I know you will get a car. I know you'll be rich. I know you will be blessed with a big… big bungalow. I know what the future holds. That's not faith. You do not know what tomorrow brings. So what is real faith? Real faith is I know who holds the future. The future may not be exciting; the future may not be pleasant. I may be thrown into the furnace, but you know what? Faith is still saying, I know God holds my future and He is always sovereign and good.

 

False ‘faith’ is saying, I believe only in a certain outcome - healing or riches and so on and so forth. Real faith is saying, I believe in God regardless of the outcome.

 

False ‘faith’ is saying there is no ‘if nots’. It must be this way. Real faith is saying, I accept there will be ‘if nots’ because I'm not God.

 

False ‘faith’ rejoices in what we want. Real faith rejoices in what He wants.

 

False ‘faith’ prays “My will be done.” Real faith prays “Thy will be done.”

 

False ‘faith’ says it is all about me. Real faith says it is all about Him.

 

False ‘faith’ says it is idolatry. Real faith says it is true worship.

 

False ‘faith’ is manipulative. Real faith is restful.

 

False ‘faith’ brings about frustration, anger and bitterness and real faith brings confidence because you know who holds the future. It brings humility because you do not know the future. It brings joy, because you can know that He who holds the future is always working something far greater than you could imagine. He’s always answering us, exceeding abundantly above what we even ask or think. It may not be easy but it's always the best.

 

We’ve this common question: “Pastor, I want to pray the prayer of faith. Now with what you have shared, how can I ever pray with certainty? I mean, if I cannot know what the future will be; if I cannot know what is God's will in every circumstances in life, how can I pray with certainty?” Good question. But let me give you a short answer. My simple answer is, “I believe the prayer of faith is believing God can, but not presuming He must.”

 

When I'm sick, I can pray confidently: “God I know You are able to heal me. I have absolutely no doubt, even if the Doctor says I’m stage 4; if the Doctor says I'm going to be permanently in this state. I know if it is Your will, You can. But God, I'm not going to presume it is Your will. Just like how You gave Paul the thorn in the flesh, I acknowledge You can give me a thorn in the flesh that You have determined to stay. With that, I've certainty. With that, I've confidence. With that, I've humility. With that, I have joy.”

 

Faith… if you forget what I said at all, this is the key statement: Faith is knowing ‘God can’, but not presuming ‘God must’ (do what we want). Why? Because faith isn't trying to manipulate God to get what I want, it is resting in Him so that I can have what HE wants. 47:55.7

 

So the 3 Jewish boys were amazing people. During the period of reformation and revival in Josiah’s time, they have learned much. They have gotten a genuine God-centred faith, so much so that they absolutely believe in the power and omnipotence of God, that He’s able to deliver us but they also believe in a sovereign wisdom of God to say, “But if not…”. And they not only say, “But if not”, they also said, “We are determined to serve Him alone and we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” They are young men who were willing to pay the price. Real faith is willing to pay the price.

 

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? It means that we are willing to follow him. And what does it mean to follow him? It means we are willing to take up the cross, deny ourselves and follow him. The cross is a symbol or emblem of death - of self-denial. And he says, “We are willing to do that. It’s okay if we go through the fire. He is still God and we will pay the price, even if it means we will be burned to ashes.” That's what faith is. It's a giving. It’s an absolute surrender to God rather than the absolute grabbing for myself.

 

It is what Job would have said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” (Job 13:15) Job’s wife said to Job, “Job! Look at your state! Look at this God whom you serve, what have you gotten yourself into? Curse God and die!” Job says, “Though He will slay me, yet will I trust Him.” This is the kind of faith we are talking about! Not the whimsical kind of faith. This is the fireproof faith!

 

It comes across with new light when we look at it this way. Hebrews 11 - without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6) You know what faith is about? It is not to please you; it is to please God. Faith is about pleasing God. Believing and resting in Him, that He is good and He is just; He is right; He is powerful and that those who come to God must believe that He is. Faith is believing God for who He is, even when circumstances don't make sense to me. That's real faith.

 

We said we will have a modern look at the ancient book of Daniel. This book is not about Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego alone. It’s about you and I. It’s about how you and I today live in Babylon. Singapore is Babylon. This 2014 is Babylon in 2014. We have a Nebuchadnezzar that is constantly calling us to bow down before his images. A Nebuchadnezzar that is always exerting pressure on us to say, if you will not comply, we send you to the furnace. If you will not deny your faith, you will suffer loss. If you will not cheat in your business, you will suffer loss, you’ll be sacked. If you do not bow down to those images and idols, you’ll be kicked out of the family. Nebuchadnezzar is always working. If you don’t chase the 5 Cs, you will lose out in life. You will suffer pain and loss as if you are in the fire of affliction. But real faith says, I stay strong. God is my God, I can do no other.

 

So what happened? Well, Nebuchadnezzar naturally was furious, when they flatly refused him, he called his men to tie these 3 young people up and brought them to the furnace to throw them in. What was amazing is that he heated the furnace so hot, 7 times hotter than what it was supposed to be, that when the people brought the 3 men to throw them into the furnace got near, they died. I mean they died out of heatstroke or what, I do not know, but they died. And the 3 men who got into the furnace were absolutely fine. The Bible tells us that their clothes were not burned, their hair was not burned. There was no smell of fire or burning upon them at all and in fact it was interesting, the only thing that was burned was the rope to tie them… which tied them.

 

And the Bible tells us, when Nebuchadnezzar looked in, he could see them walking… ‘Kia Lai Kia Ke’ (Dialect words meaning walking to and fro) (laughter in the congregation). Very ‘Eng Eng Seng Seng’ (Dialect words meaning very free). Wah… this quite bright ah, very nice! But they were absolutely fireproof and Nebuchadnezzar says, “What is happening? Did we…did we throw 3 or 4 men?” “Sir, we threw 3 men.” “Then how come I see a 4th figure? He was as if like he was the Son of God.” Now we do not know whether it was the pre-incarnate Christ or was it an angel. That you can argue till the cows come home, but the reality of the matter is that, God was with these 3 men.

 

Eventually Nebuchadnezzar called them out. He was amazed and he praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and he commanded his entire nation: “No man can speak evil against this God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and I hereby promote them.” The Bible says they were promoted. I think, probably to fire department I.C.s (laughter in the congregation).

 

But it was an amazing turnaround. You see, in our human minds, it is probably better to avoid the furnace. But when you look at the end of Daniel chapter 3, you can't but just… you can't but say: God, it is better that they went through the furnace. See, this is how we often pray: “God heal me.” That's fine, pray with certainty that God can heal you. But if God allows you to be sick still, remember Daniel’s friends. Because as you go through the fire, glorious things happen. The Nebuchadnezzars and the Babylons around you will be amazed. Israel will ultimately be weaned of idolatry. You will see God like never before. And you can experience the reality that God is with you. And therefore on hindsight, when we get to heaven, we can say, “God, it was good that I was sawn asunder.” “It was good that I was staying in dens and caves.” “It was good that I was wandering in the deserts. You did not fail me. You blessed me.” That is fireproof faith, folks.

 

Maybe today you are in the furnace. Life seems tough for you. You’re burning or you think that you’re burning. You wish you could have avoided it all but now God has given you stage 3 cancer; God has given you a child who is handicapped; He has not allowed you to have any baby, though you wanted it so much; your job situation is in a mess; your family has broken relationships that you do not know what to do to get out of it. My friends, God did not fail you. He can deliver you right immediately, but maybe you should just keep trusting Him and see His wonderful ways at the end of it all.

 

Maybe some of you today face temptations. Nebuchadnezzar wants you to bow, in your job, with regards to your faith; with regards to baptism. He wants you to bow. Maybe it's time for us to draw courage and encouragement from the 3 friends, who refused to bow. My friends, today don't believe in wishful thinking, positive confessions, believe in the sure Word of God. The Word of God is our foundation. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What God has said you can stand upon. But what He has not said, don't presume upon.

 

Faith is an amazing gift. And I pray today as a church, we will see the gospel of Jesus Christ in a new light. I can trust God for the fiery furnaces ahead of me because I've seen His love for me back at the cross of Calvary when Jesus died. You know, the love of God for me is undeniable; the sovereignty of God is undeniable; the wisdom of God is undeniable; the might of God is undeniable, if you just look to the cross. And if you could believe God on the cross, you could believe God for your future.

 

Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus when He was in the wilderness being tempted, he did not say, “My will be done.” He said, “Lord, Thy will be done.” When He was in the garden of Gethsemane, he said, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” That was what He wanted but at the end of the day, He says, “Nevertheless, not my will, but your will.” He trusted in His Father. And right before He died, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus would have said with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Will you trust God today? Through the mess in your life, He is working something out. 58:30.5

 

We end with this song: ‘How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord”. It’s laid for us in His wonderful Word. But there's a particular chorus that is so relevant.

 

When through fiery trials, your pathway shall lie.

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt you,

I only design the dross - the impurities to consume and your gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose.

I will not, I will not desert to his foes.

That soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake.

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

 

I’ll ask James to come lead us as we song… as we sing “How Firm a Foundation”.

 

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