Gateway Church Live | “Faith-Filled Days” by Pastor Daniel Floyd | August 16

Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Good morning everybody and welcome to Gateway Church. It is an amazing day to be in the house of God this morning. Are y'all ready to worship? There's a fountain I know where blessings overflow.

Living water runs free from the mercy sea. There's a joy I know deep inside my bones. A neverending well where I thirst no more. Rejoice, rejoice my soul. Rejoice, rejoice my soul. Come on, let's sing it. Praise the Lord. Jesus came for me. He set me on my feet and now I'm seeing. Praise the Lord. By the power of his name, I'm free of his shame. So I can see it. Praise the Lord. There's a love I know. Wash me white as snow. Heal this broken heart. anymore. There's no power that can separate forever by his amazing grace. Rejoice, rejoice my soul.

Rejoice, rejoice my soul. Praise the Lord. Jesus came for me. Set me on my feet. Praise the Lord by the power of his name. So I can see that again. Praise the Lord. Jesus came to me on my praise by the power of his name. So I can see Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. There's a man I know hung upon a tree. Gave his life that day on Calvary.

But the grave couldn't hold him. And he can't hold me. I'm alive in Christ and he's alive in me. in Christ Jesus. Praise the Lord. Jesus came for me. Set me on my feet. I will see. Can we say praise the Lord by the power of his name? I'm free So I can see your praise. Hey, praise the Lord. Jesus came to me. Set me on my feet. I see. Praise the Lord. Can we together praise the name of Jesus? You are exalted high in this place this morning. We love you, Lord.

Yes, Jesus. We exalt the name of Jesus across this room, Lord. We worship your name and we praise you for who you are. I am an instrument of exaltation. I was born to lift your name above all names. You hear the melody of all creation, but there's a song of praise that only I can bring. Sing, who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? Come on. He gets all of our praise. There is no one. Sing. Who else? Who else was worthy? There's no one Jesus. There is no one.

Only Jesus. You are the God of the aes. Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place. You healed my brokenness, showing me your glory. So I have songs of thanks not even angels sing. Who else is worthy? There is no one only Jesus. No one else is worthy. There's no more than you. There's no one more than you. Only you Jesus.

Who else is worthy? There is none. Only you Jesus. Who else is worthy? There is none. Only you Jesus. Cuz he is the lamb of God. Anointed one who was and is. He's seated on the throne. You're holy, holy, rightous one. You said his blood. You prove to us Jesus Christ, your holy, holy, lamb of God, anointed one who was and is to come. See it on the throne above.

Holy, holy, rightous one. Thank you Jesus Jesus Christ. We lift it up your holy holy God anointing one is to come. You see your heart Jesus Christ. Who else is worthy? Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Only you Jesus. There is none. Only you Jesus. Who else is worthy? There is none. Only you Jesus. Who else is worthy? Come on, we sing. Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you Jesus. There is no one more worthy. No one more holy. Yes, Lord. We just turn our eyes to you, God.

Lord, there's no one like you. No other name is greater. No other name is higher than you, Jesus. There's nothing like the name of Jesus. Nothing greater. I just want to speak the name of Jesus. over every heart and every mind. Cuz I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus. Oh, I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Till every dark addiction starts to break.

Declaring there is hope and there is freom. I speak Jesus cuz your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. I just want to speak the name of Jesus over fear and all anxiety. To every soul held counter my depression.

I speak Jesus. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Your name. Your name is Your name is here. Your name is Jesus to break every stronghold. Shine through the shadow. Come on. Let's lift our voices. We say shout Jesus from the mountains.

Jesus in the streets. Jesus. Yeah. Jesus for my Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains and Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the dark for every Jesus. I speak the holy name. Jesus. Your name is power. Your name is here. Break every sh.

Your name. Yeah. Heat. We shout Jesus. We shout Jesus from the mountain. Jesus in the street. Jesus over every Jesus. Jesus Jesus. Jesus in the street.

Jesus the holy name Jesus. Come on let's give praise in this place. Jesus. Amen. Amen. Aren't you grateful for Jesus Christ in this place today? Hey, so I'll tell you what. We're not done with worship quite yet, but I am going to ask you if you could have a seat because you know today today on this Sunday is one year since Pastor Daniel took over as lead pastor for our church. So, we've got a video that we put together that's just really highlighting all the ministry that's happened here in the last year through Pastor Daniel, through Pastor Tammy. And you know, we what we thought we would do is coming out of that just worship all together with uniting with all of our campuses coming out just worshiping God and believing in God for what that is coming up next and that the best days are truly ahead of us. Okay, so let's check out this video.

This is an exciting and historic day for Gateway Church. And today, with a full joy and confidence, we appoint Pastor Daniel as a new lead pastor of Gateway Church. And we commission he, Pastor Tammy, and their family into this new chapter of leadership. God's been writing the story of Gateway Church for 25 years. And this story is the story of you because great churches are about great people. And many of you, you've had prayers answered here and you've seen miracles here and you've raised your children here. And some of you maybe have met a spouse here. And I'm just believing that the same God that did all of that is going to keep doing that and even greater things in the days to come. We need every one of you on the mission of Jesus. Why? Because there's a lost and dying world that needs to know the power of the gospel to transform lives.

Set people free. Set them on a mission of purpose. And I'm going to challenge you to join arms and be a part of serving. There's someone wondering right now if life is worth living. And you have no idea that when your smile connected with them as they walked through a door, you thought you were just greeting someone. You were tearing down the barriers. We're creating an atmosphere of love where transformation can happen in the lives of others. Our best days are not behind us. Our best days are in front of us. What God did in the past, that isn't the ceiling, that's the floor. Because the best is in front of us. We didn't walk through hell and high water for it to be wasted. We came to shame the devil, to lift up the name of Jesus, and to take territory for the kingdom of God. Our best is yet to come.

Now I'm on my way to my Can we stand in worship at all of our campuses? From Jackson Hall to Graham Perry, from Prosper to the prison campuses. We're going to lift up and declare that our best days are ahead. Amen. I walk by faith and not by side. I'm pressing on. I'm running toward the bright. I will not fear what I can't see. No matter what may come, I still believe. And I know I know that you're with me. Time and time again I've seen your faithfulness your good and all your promises.

Hey you raised me from the grave. You call me by my name. You set me free. And now I'm on my way to my mistake. My hope is built on nothing less than on your blood and in your righteousness. Declare I have a purpose. You got a plan. You're always working. You're not finished yet. Can we say this? And I know I know that you time and time again. See your faithfulness. Heat. Heat. You set me free. And now I'm on my way to play together.

I know how good you are. I see what you can do. You make the waters. The mountains move back here. You call my name and I'm on my way. Come on. I will not fear the fire. Heat. Heat. You call my name on my way. Time and time again. I've seen your faithfulness. God, you're good on all your promises.

Do we believe this? Let's sing it. You raised me from the grave. You call me by my name. You set me free. And now I'm on my way. Let's declare together again. See your faithful me. Set me free. Now I'm on my way to How many of you believe that the best days are ahead of us? Thank you, Jesus.

Come on. How many of you are grateful for the faithfulness of our God? I was thinking about the scripture that says the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. And I love the psalm that says, "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits." And then he lists some of the benefits that he saves me, he heals me, he redeems me, and he crowns me with loving kindness and his mercy. How many thankful that God is good on his promises? Come on. That he's the God that saves you, heals you, redeems you, and crowns you with loving kindness and mercy. We're so grateful for that. Happy oneyear anniversary, church. We love you so much. 365 days, and we're not going to do days anymore. We're just going to do years moving forward. Um, you know, one of my favorite things that we did over the last 12 months was we got to visit all 10 of our campuses. And, uh, for those of you who don't know, we're one house with many rooms. So, I am going to name all 10 right now. So, they know how much we love them. So, we've got South Lake here. We've got Jackson Hole in Wyoming.

Might be one of our favorites. Um, okay. Okay, we've got North Fort Worth, Dallas, Prosper, Justin, Frisco, Plano, Grand Prairie, North Richland Hills. I forgot to use my fingers and count. Is that 10? Did I do it, Galani? I did it. 10. There we go. I feel like I'm missing someone. Our prison campuses. Yep. favorite in gateway gatherings. Okay, so we really have like 12 or 15. It's just the beginning, guys. Best days are ahead, right? But um we just love you so much. And I just want you to know that God's faithfulness continues. His mercies are new every morning. And when you are obedient to God, he will write the most beautiful stories of your life. So, thank you for loving us and our family so well. and we are excited about the best days that are ahead.

That's right. I was thinking about the message that I preached a year ago and I made four commitments to the church. Number one was that we would love you. Number two is that we would grow you and I warned you. I'd stretch you. Want to see you become everything God wants you to be. Number three that we'd protect you. Said I'd never let anybody be on this platform that didn't have a strong commitment to the word of God and didn't live the life outside of this place that reflected what they preached. and said that um we would lead you and then we ended and I said we just asked one thing back from you that you would make one commitment to us and that is that you would love us back cuz we were new here everybody and can I just say we have felt overwhelmed by the love and the kindness and the affection of so many people at every campus our entire family. Two weeks ago, I had a couple here at South Lake that came over said, "We just wanted to introduce ourselves and meet you. We haven't met you yet, and we want to know, do you feel loved cuz you asked us to love you?" And I said, "Absolutely. We feel um we feel like it's home already and this is family."

And we traveled other places and we're like, "Can't wait to get home. This is home and this feels like family." So, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for creating that kind of space for us. And we really do believe the best is yet to come. And that's not just preacher talk. That is faithfilled expectation for the days ahead. That God isn't done yet. How many of you know that God moves you from victory to victory and glory to glory? So, your best days are never the one you're in. They're they're out in front of you. Because if you're walking with Jesus, it gets, as they would say, where I grew up in the hillbillies of Tennessee, it gets goodter and goodter. Everybody just gets goodter and goodter. Well, let's pray together. Father, we just want to say we honor you above all things, God. It's for you. All things have been created by you, through you, and unto you. And so, you are the centerpiece. You are the great reward.

We we say like Moses, you are our reward. That if you're not going, we don't want to go. We want to be where your presence is. We want to be in the place where you dwell. We believe that you dwell in this house and in these people. And so we're grateful for go you what you are doing and we are full of faith for what you will do ahead because you are the same God that is the same yesterday, today, and forever more. And if you can move mountains and heal bodies and shift culture in the past, you can do it today and you can do it tomorrow. And so we believe you for it, God. We say we are a people of faith that we are not here to check a box to go through religious exercise, but we are people of faith. We believe your word. We stand on your word and with full expectation we believe we will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. And so we trust you because you are great and you are greatly to be praised. You are highly to be exalted. There is no one beside you.

You have no equal as the song says and you have no rival. You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are the wonderful counselor and a mighty God. And you are the one that we worship and we honor in this place. We fix our eyes on you, oh God. We lift our head to the heels from where our strength comes from. It comes from the maker of heaven and of earth. And so we give you honor and glory and all the praise and adoration. And God's people said a big amen. Amen. Come on, one more time. Put your hands together. Oh, let's do better than that. Give Jesus all the honor that he is due. Come on, every location. Come on, take 5 seconds and let heaven hear you. Worthy are you, God. Worthy, worthy. We're glad for today, but I'm excited to get into the word. This new series, Best Days. I'm pumped for it. And so before we get into that, why don't you greet somebody around you, learn a new name, shake a hand, make a friend before you take your seat today.

Well, welcome to church everybody. We do want to say good morning again. Welcome to all of our campuses, everyone joining us online on demand later in the week. Of course, our prison campuses and our gateway gatherings and anyone that may be visiting for the first time or the first time in a long time. We're glad you're here. Come on, every campus. Put their hands together for those that may be with us for the first time in a little bit. Glad you're here. Starting a new series today called Best Days. But before we get into that, I want to bring your attention to a few things coming up this fall. Just want to get it on your radar because you will want to be a part of this at your campus. Number one is this September the 13th, everybody. We're going to do a teaching series called This Is Us. And really, if you call Gateway Home, you're going to want to be in the room for this because we're going to be talking about vision for the future. Um, since we've got here, people are like, "What are your vision for the future?" I was like, "Give me a year and uh let me fill this place out and love on people." And so now we're going to we're going to talk about what does God have for us? Really talking about what what I think from my own theology, what is the purpose of the church? Why are we here? And uh why what mission are we on together? And so we're going to be talking about that. Then September 24th is women's night.

So get registered for that if you haven't yet. And uh and then on October 24th, this is going to be a very special day. Something brand new we're starting as a church and it's called this serve my city. And so the goal of this day, listen, is to mobilize every single person that calls Gateway Home on this one day to serve your city in some way. We'll give you more information. We're going to have lots of projects, lots of opportunities to make a difference to what the Bible says, give a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus. How many of you know that our communities don't need to know what we're against? They need to know what we're for. And we're for the gospel. We're for transformed lives. We're for making a difference in the lives of people. We're for living on the mission of Jesus. And so, it's a beautiful, beautiful way to do that. That's in October. And then, of course, in December, we're going to do Love My City offering again where 100% of that will be given away to local community partners. And then it'll be candle light everybody. And then 2027, just like that. Glad I could encourage you today. And then of course we'll kick off the year with prayer and fasting. 12 days of prayer and fasting. So if you weren't able to be a part of that last year, powerful time, so many answered prayer and uh so so much good stuff coming up. All right? So don't miss out.

Be a part. Lean in. Um but let's pray before we get into the word. Father, we love you and we honor you. Holy Spirit, speak to our hearts today through your word. We believe it has the power to change us and transform us. We don't want to just do church. We want to hear from you. So, we pray this in faith in the name of Jesus. Everybody said, "Amen." Amen. How many of you uh you would admit like me that anytime you go anywhere before you go, you're most likely checking the reviews? Anybody looking at reviews, reading reviews, restaurants, hotels, vacations, resorts, right? Reading the reviews, checking the reviews. Have you ever noticed that they're like there's two extremes? Either it was awful and they're letting everybody know or it was life-changing and the best thing ever and they're letting everybody know. How many of you know that the truth is somewhere in the middle? Like the the honesty like you got the critic that nothing is good, they're giving it a one star. The person that thinks everything is wonderful and you know they're giving it a five star. But some of the most honest are in the middle. They're like a threest star review. They're like, "It was fine.

It was good. Don't think it was great, but it was all right. I'll come back." It was It wasn't amazing. It wasn't horrible. It was just me kind of Okay, some of you have been there. You've been to those restaurants. You've been to that place, right? It's like me. And I was thinking about this and I thought, how many of us maybe if we were given an honest review of our life would give ourselves a three star. Like it's not thriving, but it's not falling apart. It's just kind of meh. I'm getting up, going to school, go to work, do the thing, come home, same routine, dinner, get everybody to bed, watch Netflix for a few minutes, go to sleep, get up and do the next thing the next day, do it over. It's not It's not amazing. Life isn't like thriving. It's not like I'm filled with joy and man, I can't wait to attack the day and it's awesome and I don't want to run away.

just kind of me. There's actually an article written in 2021 by a psychologist named Adam Grant and he gave language to this. He said it's called languishing. He said it's the it's the middle stepchild of mental health that it's not that we're not thriving or flourishing and we're not depressed, we're just kind of languishing. It's life isn't vibrant. It's like we're looking through the lens of a foggy lens. And it's not that we don't know where we're going. We're just kind of stuck and life is moving. We don't feel like we're really moving. There's there's nothing out in front of us that's really thriving and excited for and anticipating and we're not filled with expectation anymore. We're just kind of meh. And I think this so describes Revelation chapter 3, the church at Leodysia. You never read Revelation. John is writing to seven churches in the church at Le Oysia. He says, "This is what God says to you. You're not hot and you're not cold. You're lukewarm." And that turns my stomach.

I'm just giving you the Bible. My name's Daniel. I'm your friend. And I think sometimes if we were really honest and we were to give our faith a one, two, three, four, five star review, some of us would say we'd give it a three star. We're not really thriving in our faith, but it's not like we're walking away from God either. It's not vibrant and on fire, as some would say, and it's not anticipating the good things of God. And it's not one that is so leaned into the things of God, but it's also we're not like walking. We're not like done with our faith. We're just kind of like, eh, like I just I go to church, stand up, sing the four songs, greet someone, sit down, watch the video. He's going to get up and talk for 35 minutes or 40 if he's been off a week. Go home.

There's a Bible laying there. Not really sure I look at it much. turn to it when I'm in crisis and then just keep going. It's not great and it's not falling apart. It's just man, and can I tell you that is not what God wants for you. That's not what God wants for his church. Can I tell you a languishing church isn't a transformational church. that a languishing church isn't a church that changes the world that that makes a major difference in eternal impact with eternal return on the investment of our life. That's not what hap that's not what God wants for you. He wants you to have a faith that is flourishing, that is thriving. That your best days, can I tell you? They're your faithfilled days. Your best days are the days where your faith is on fire. And I I just want to if I could just maybe shake you a little bit today. If I could give you a gentle pastoral shake and go, are you languishing?

Is your faith thriving? Do you look back in your journey of faith and go, there was a time where I was more in love with Jesus, more passionate about my worship, more into the word of God than I am right now? If so, you could have a three-star faith. God doesn't want you to live that way. Matter of fact, without faith, it's impossible to please God. So the only life that is pleasing to God is the life of faith. It's the life where we live according to his promises and his principles and we go allin with Jesus. That is the one that honors God. So I would ask you, you don't have to raise your hand. Is it a languishing faith? Is it a fragile faith? Is it a frantic faith when something hits my life that's bad? God, please, please, please or is it an on fire faith, a thriving, flourishing? Because your best days are your faithfilled days. So, if we're going to have that kind of faith, we got to know what faith is. Hebrews 11 says this, "Faith shows the reality of what we hope for." Here's the phrase. It's the evidence of things we cannot see.

So faith isn't this ethereal thing out here. Faith isn't a feeling that you have during worship. Faith is not goosebumps on your arms and hair standing up on the back of your neck. That's not it. Faith is evidence. In other words, it is an action in your life that when you take it, people around you go, you trust God. In other words, let me say it this way. If I were to follow you around for a day, would I see any any evidence that would stand up in court that you trust God? That's what faith is. Faith is the evidence. It's tangible. It's observable. It's I can see it in your life. Faith is what you all demonstrated today. No matter where you are, if you're seated, I doubt any of you turned around and tested the chair. I don't think you pushed on it and said, "Did building services tighten these bolts? Are these chairs good to go?" No, you demonstrated faith by just being seated expecting the chair to hold you. Your evidence is that you bent your knees and sat down. That's the evidence that you trusted that the chair would hold you.

Are you with me? The same thing is true in your faith. The evidence is whenever you can't see it and it hasn't even come to pass yet, you trust the promise of God and live as though what God said is true, not what everybody else has said is true. And so all of us have been given a measure of faith. Romans 12:3 tells us. It says that we shouldn't think of ourselves more highly than we should. We shouldn't have a bloated view. But what it says we should have sober judgment and we should in accordance with what the faith that God's distributed. So God distributed faith to everybody. You have a measure of faith. Now your job is to grow that faith and to strengthen that faith. But here's the challenging news everybody. You ready? It doesn't grow in comfort. Faith never grows on the mountaintops of life. It grows in the valleys of life. It doesn't grow in the comfortable places. It grows in the uncomfortable places. Matter of fact, faith needs resistance to grow. Just like your muscles don't grow by admiring them, they grow by loading them with a heavier weight and then a heavier weight and then a heavier weight. And that is actually what grows it is the resistance of it. And so you are responsible to grow your faith. And it doesn't matter if you have a little bit

of faith. Bible says the faith the size of a mustard seed can say to this mountain, "Be moved." And it'll be moved. So God has given you faith. Your job is to embrace the growing of that faith. And so if your best days are your faithfilled days, then what do we got to know about a growing faith and a faith that is on fire? I want to share with you four things that I think we learn from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo from Daniel chapter 3. If you've been around the Bible, you may be familiar with this story. If not, it's a fascinating story. Daniel chapter 3 in the Old Testament. If you have a copy of the scriptures, you can turn there. If not, it'll be on the screen. It says this in verse 4 of Daniel chapter 3. It said that King Nebuchadnezzar has created this golden image and he's about to make everybody bow down to it. And this is what we're reading. It said, "Then the herald loudly proclaimed, this is what you are commanded to do, oh peoples, nations, and men of every language." So no matter who you are, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zithther, liar, heart, pipes, and all kinds. So when the band starts playing, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. So here's the picture.

There's a furnace, fiery furnace. King Nebuchadnezzar has said, "You've got to bow down to this golden image, this false god, and whoever doesn't bow down, they're going to be thrown into the flames." So it's either bow or die. That's the choices. And so you have these three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo, and they decide because we serve the one true living God, we're not going to bow down to any golden image. And so they get brought before um the king. And the Bible says this in verse 12 of Daniel chapter 3. It says, "But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon." So time out. They had been brought, Israel's in exile. They had been brought into Babylon, but they had been given positions of authority. So these weren't just somebody on the fringe of the crowd. These were leaders. These were influential people. And it says, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo, who pay no attention to you, oh king.

They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up. Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo." So these men were brought before the king. Thought number one for a growing faith is this. A growing faith expects opposition. You got to know this. If you're going to grow your faith, expect opposition. Expect for resistance to come into your life. These boys, they had to expect opposition. They they knew if we don't bow, we're going to be brought for the king and thrown into the the furnace. And so there's an expectation of opposition. Can I tell you though, the danger of opposition is opposition can get us so narrow-minded and myopic. Opposition can cause us to think, "This is only happening to me. I'm the only one going through this." We can begin to say things like, "God, why are you doing this to me?"

It's like Elijah. He thinks that there he's he's like, "I'm the only prophet left. I'm the only one in the whole nation serving God." And God's like, "Chill out, Elijah. I've got 7,000 people that still bow their knee to G, you know. Okay. So, we get so myopic and thank God, why are you doing this to me? And I would propose that God isn't doing it to you that but God will leverage it if you'll allow him for your good and for your benefit. When have you ever noticed this? Maybe you've been walking with Jesus enough to know this that the moment you decide to go all in, like I'm not going to have a languishing faith. I'm just not going to do like church on the weekend. Just check the box and do the things. We're in, you know, south. That's what we go through. It's how we do it. That and then you just something happens and you go, man, I'm going all in with God. And maybe you start serving and you're reading your Bible daily and you're praying and you begin returning the tide that belongs to God and you go all in. Have you ever noticed that the moment you start going allin for God, it seems like everything starts to push against you?

Because do you think that for a moment that the enemy wants you to move from a threestar review to a fivestar review? Like, do you really think he's going to sit back and be like, "That's amazing. I'm so proud of you. You're like loving God more. You're serving others. You're forgiving and not holding bitterness." No. The moment you begin to get all in and lean into God, the enemy is definitely going to push against you. But here's what the Bible says that what the enemy means for evil in your life, God means for good in your life. Paul told us in Romans, we're going to clap. Let's all clap. All right. Honestly, it's been a year. We should know that by now. If some of us are going to clap, we all clap. Okay. Just saying. Paul said in Romans that God has a way of working all things together for the good of those who love him and are the called according to his purpose. He didn't say God works all the good things.

Said he works all of them if we'll allow him. But too many times opposition hits and instead of pressing in, we back off and go, I I didn't want this. I this is a I didn't want this challenge. But I'm telling you that if you'll lean in, it is actually the opposition that is growing the muscle of faith in you. Me illustrate it this way. So whenever I was doing a lot of races, I was running a couple marathons, half marathons, tons of 10Ks, 5Ks, all that. And in one race, I was actually I was actually running at Disney, running a half marathon. I'd just come through the Magic Kingdom, taking a left, going out the back side of it, and I felt something down this IT band. I felt it, a pain just shoot from my hip to my kneecap. So, I walked for a minute and then I tried to run again and it just wouldn't go. And tried to run again and it just wouldn't go. So, I I was like, I'm finishing and if you if you're not fast enough, they have a bus that picks you up. I was like, that bus will not get me cuz they got to clear you out to open the park. So, I was like, this I'm not getting picked up by this bus. And so, I I hobbled, ran the rest of it, and made it across the finish line. We got back and anytime I got over three miles, my ant would flare again. And I just I couldn't do it every time anytime I ran three miles flare up again. So I finally went to a physical therapist and athletic trainer and I was like, "Hey,

this is what's going on." And he's like, "What's we got to strengthen your IT band." So we got to get the inflammation down and we got to strengthen your IT band. And he goes, "Here's how we're going to do it. We're going to teach you to run a different way." So I had to relearn how I run. And then he said, "I'm going to give you this band." And the band everybody un when it wasn't stretched was about this big around. He said, "You're going to pull that up over both of your legs and then I want you to squat and I want you to do this." And he would just make me do this. And the pain, everybody, I was like, "What are you doing to me?" He's like, "No, I'm helping you." You know what I learned though is the physical therapist wasn't targeting my pain. He was targeting my weakness to get rid of the pain. And can I tell you something? that when God is wanting to grow your faith, he will use opposition in your life. And he's not targeting your pain, he's targeting your weakness. Because if he can strengthen that muscle of faith in your life, it'll reduce the pain in your life. And a lot of us are like, "God, we're praying, God, take the pain away.

God, stop the issue. God, fix the thing." And some guys, God in a miracle moment does it in your life. But a lot of times, God will give you a band and go, I need you to squat and I need you to do some side. I need to strengthen the weak area of your faith so that you can handle what is coming down the road in your life. Can I tell you, God knows your life beginning to end. God stands outside of time and eternity and sees your life beginning to end. So he saw the day you were born, the day you would die at the same time. And so do you not think that God knows what is coming next month in your life, next year in your life, three years from your life? And a good good father, which he is, prepares his children in advance. So it could be that the fire you are walking through right now is developing a muscle of faith in you that you are going to need in 2028. And God is going, I see what's coming. I'm going to get them ready now. But some of us were jumping out and resisting it instead of leaning into it. And so we continue to not get progress. We continue to languish. And it's the same thing over and over. And there's no passion in our relationship with God. There's no fire in our faith.

Could it be because we've stepped back instead of leaned in? Or maybe we thought following Jesus was blessings and all blessings and fairy tales and roses. We just wanted long hair flowy Jesus. Bless children. God's good all the time. Now, he didn't promise to remove the fire. He just said, "I'll show up in the fire when you're in it." Verse 16 says this says that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king on Nebuchadnezzar, "We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, oh king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. Thought number two, a faith on fire is one that establishes convictions.

The these young boys, they were teenagers most likely at the time. These young boys, you can tell from what they said, they had already established in their heart before they ever got in front of the king. This is what we are holding fast to. We are holding firm to some things before we Can I tell you something? The when when you're standing at the door of the fire, that's not the time to figure out whether or not you believe God is who he said he is. When when you're about to be tossed in it, that's not the time to to wonder, do you believe that he's the God that can move mountains and split waters and can take down a Goliath and can open blinded eyes and can cause a resurrection to happen in the life of a dead man? That is not the time. You've got to establish some things before you get into the fire. And these boys had already established, and you see it in the verse, it said, "Oh, king, don't worry about us. Our God is able." And you have to settle that in your heart. Is God able? Is he just a good luck charm, a trinket, an add-on to your life? Or is he God Almighty? The one who spoke the earth into existence in all the universe and galaxies. that he is the God that breathed into dirt and created Adam. He is the God that took a rib out of Adam and created woman. He is the God that caused the red seed apart for the nation of Israel, bought water out of a rock. That he is the God that took down Goliath with a little stone and a sling. That he is the God that

caused Jesus to get out of the tomb and come alive again, proving that he is the son of God. And he is not just stop. He didn't stop at the tomb, but that he built a church in the book of Acts full of the power and the fire and the presence of God that now thousands of years later, we are beneficiaries of our God is well aable. You got to settle that in your heart. You got to have your feet in concrete on that because the winds will blow. I thought this was about our best days. That should be all encouraging. Your best days are your faithfilled days because your faithfilled days can take an awful day and make it your best day because you have the strength of God on the inside of you in the middle of it. They said he's wellable. But I want you to know what they said next because they didn't stop there. And I think this is so important to point out because some of us we want to have an only if faith.

Our God is wellable. parenthesis, only if he spares us out of the furnace. But these young boys had an even if faith. They said, "Oh king, we want you to know our God is able, but if he makes a different choice, we still won't bow before your gods. And only if faith is a transactional faith, God, if you cause the deal to go through, I'll keep worshiping you. If you heal my body, I'll keep honoring you. God, I'll keep attending church if you make this happen for me. God, I'll keep doing this. If my kid would come back through you, I'll I'll keep That's a transactional faith. If you do this, I'll do that. And if you do this, if you scratch my back, God, I'll scratch yours. Can I tell you, God isn't in the back scratching business. He is God Almighty, and we are not. That he is king of the universe, and we are not. We are his subjects, his servants. These boys said, "We serve God regardless. And even if he doesn't spare us, we're not bowing. Even if it doesn't turn out the way I want, I'm not bowing.

I think the world needs some even if Christians that are like, I'm staying in the fight. If I end up in the fire, I know he'll be with me in the fire. But even if, I'm going to keep serving. I'm going to keep praying. I'm going to keep giving. I'm going to keep reading my word. I'm going to keep being a light to those around me. I'm not giving up. I'm not backing down. Come on. Do I got an even if kind of people today? I've got an even if faith, not an only if. This is the God that we serve and this is what he deserves. That we'd settle some things in our heart. Settle some convictions and go, come, they say it in Tennessee where I grew up, come hell or high water. I don't even know what that means. I just know it's bad. I know hell's bad and I know water isn't good if it floods your house. I'm figuring In other words, whatever life throws at me, I've settled some things in my heart, even if I think about Job. Even if he slay me, yet will I serve him. I think about Habach.

No fruit on the fig tree, no produce, no crop, no provision. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I think about Horatio Spafford. 19 1873 Horatio Spafford is living in America with his family and four daughters. He puts his wife and his four daughters on a boat to go across the pond to London. That vessel collides with another vessel. His four daughters die. His wife sends him a telegram that says this. Saved alone. She's the only one that made it. Horatio Spafford would soon after get on a boat and make his way to London. And he would get over the part of the water. He would ask them, "Tell me where the vessel went down. Where are my daughters bodies?" And over that he would write these words. this hymn.

When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, he's on the water. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well. It is well with my soul. That's even if faith, not only if. If you're ever going to grow your faith, if you're ever going to have a faith is on fire, you got to settle some convictions that it's even if God, not only if. The scripture goes on to tell us that then Nebuchadnezzar was furious because they didn't bow and because of what they said.

And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo and his attitude toward them changed because they did have favor with him. That's how they got the positions in government they had. So he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo and throw them into the blazing furnace. Let me say this quickly. Number three, a growing a growing faith, a faith on fire in trust outcomes. In other words, I love the quote by Dr. Charles Stanley, the late Dr. Charles Stanley, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta. He would say this all the time. Maybe his most famous quote. Obey God and leave all the consequences to him. That's the that's the heart of this thought is that a growing faith, a faith that on fire just goes, God, I'll obey you and however it turns out, I leave all the consequences to you. I just know my job is to trust you, to be faithful to you, and to walk with you and you take care of the consequences.

I had this thought too though. Maybe the text doesn't tell us. This is speculation, but just maybe they could entrust outcomes and they had the strength to stand because they stood together. How many of you know it's hard when everybody's bowing and you're standing alone? There was three of them. Could I just put a plug in? It's why you need to be in a group. That's why you need to be in a group. That's why every one of you. You're like, I've read the Bible. Okay. You need to be in a group. Why? You need community. You need people that can stand with you in the fire. You need people that can walk with you in the fire. You need people that'll go, "Keep obeying God. Keep trusting him." You need people that will celebrate with you when you're on the mountaintop. You need people that will laugh with you and laugh at you. Come on, somebody. None of us is that important. Don't take yourself so seriously.

You need people that'll have the joy with you and the sorrow, the mountaintop and the valley and everything in between. They entrusted the outcomes. Let me give you the final thought. Says that King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. So he threw him in the fire. If you know the story, the fire killed the soldiers that put him in because it was heated seven times hotter. And so he leaped to his feet in his amazement and asked his adviserss, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" And they replied, "Certainly, your majesty." He said, "Look, I see four men walking around in the fire unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Now, theologians call this a christophony. It's an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. And so thought number four is this. A faith on fire is one that encounters the fourth man. A faith on fire encounters the fourth man.

Can I preach this to you for a minute? They knew God could save them outside of the fire, but they met him face to face inside the fire. There's a level of knowing God that you can't know outside the furnace. You have to walk through the fire. There's a level of intimacy that you don't get to have with God until you've walked through something with God. until you've been in the fire. They knew about his ability and they had conviction about his ability, but they met him and encountered him inside the fire. Let me say it this way. In the fire is where your theology becomes testimony. Where it goes from I know about it to I've experienced it and now I've lived it and now I have the authority to speak about it. And whenever you have experienced it and lived it and now you have the authority to speak about it and you come out on the other side of the fire and the Bible says that they came out and they did not even smell like smoke.

That the fire only thing it did was singe the ropes that were on their hands and they did not even smell like smoke. Whenever you walk that journey, this is the whole point of a faith that is on fire is that it would go from I know about it, I'm convicted about it to I've lived it, and now I can testify of the goodness of God. And your furnace becomes your pull pit and becomes the place that you declare the goodness of God to the world around you. And they see what it looks like to know Jesus and to walk with him. And I would I would declare over your life, some of you are walking through fire right now. And I just want to say if you'll lean into God, you are coming out of that fire and you will come out and not smell like smoke. And here's what I believe is that a church family, we've been through some fire, but our fire is turning into our pulpit. And it will become the place from which we declare the goodness of God. And our best days are not behind us. They are in front of us. And God is not done with this church. But he will build it. And the gates of hell and the fire of hell will not stand against it. And I would declare and propose that we have come through the fire and we don't even smell like smoke. And we are more full of faith, full of passion, full of faith, full of expectancy for the days ahead.

Our best days are in front of us. We're not done growing. We're not done reaching. We're not done giving. We're not done serving. We're not done telling the world about the goodness of our God who is worthy of all of our praise. Come on. In every campus, give him your very best. Unto the Lord deserves glory and honor. So, Father, we honor you today. We lay our lives before you today. We say you're worthy. We thank you that you are in the fire with us. That we can know you about you on the outside of the furnace, but man, we encounter you in the furnace. So we thank you that you never leave us, never forsake us. I pray for every person today that is walking through the fire right now. Spirit of the living God, would you strengthen them in this moment?

Would they know that you have not left them, you have not abandoned them, you have not forsaken them, but you are in the fire with them, working things for their good and for your glory, strengthening things on the inside of them that they never knew they needed strength for. You are a good therapist. You're not attacking our pain. You are strengthening our weaknesses. So may courage come into them today. Strength come into them today. With every head bowed, every eye closed. Maybe you're here today and you've never taken the most important step of faith that you'll ever take. And that's to surrender your life to Jesus. I don't know how in the world you can walk through a fire and walk through it without God. I don't know how you can live dayto day without the presence of God in your life.

And some of you need to take that step. For some of you, there was a day where you were walking with Jesus, but you strayed away and you know it. You may even show up to your campus, but you know in your heart you're far from God. And today is the day. Today's the day. Draw that line in the sand. Say, "I'm stepping over. I'm fully in with Jesus." We're going to pray in just a moment, and no one's going to come to you or point you out, but if you say that to me, "Pastor, I I need a fresh start in God today." When I count to three, you just shoot your hand up. All right? One, two, three. Just shoot your hand up high. Say, "I need a fresh start in God." I see you. Just keep it up. Keep it up at every campus. God bless you. And you, you can put them down, church. Just pray this out loud for the benefit of those who just slipped up their hand. Just say, "Jesus, I need you. I need you. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I believe you died for me.

I believe God raised you from the dead. Today I make you my Lord and Savior. Thank you for a brand new beginning. In Jesus name." Everyone said a big amen. Amen. Amen. Come on every campus, celebrate those who made that decision. Well, if you're not standing, would you stand up to your feet? I'm going to ask our prayer team if they would to make their way down front or up there in the balcony. If you just prayed to receive Christ, we would love to celebrate that decision with you. And one of the easiest ways to do that simply to come down and connect with a prayer team member and just say, "Hey, I prayed that prayer. I made a decision to follow Jesus today. Or if you want a more anonymous way to do it, you can simply text the name Jesus to 710. Our team would love to follow up. But here's the important thing. Tell somebody. Let somebody know. Maybe you're here today and you need prayer for another reason.

Maybe you are walking through a fire. Let us join our faith with your faith and believe God with you and to carry the burden with you. And so we're going to sing one quick chorus and uh as we do you slip out and make your way down. Let's worship church. You were you are you will be God alone seated on the throne. King of all majesty. You reign in victory. You are You are You always will be God alone. Seated on the throne. Jesus be glorified forever lifted high.

All the glory is yours. All the glory is yours now and forever more. All the glory is yours. All the glory is yours. All the glory is yours now and forever more. All the glory is yours. Amen. Church, can we put our hands together and give God glory for such a powerful message, such an encouraging word for us today? And one more time, can we just honor Pastor Daniel and Pastor Tammy? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for saying yes to an assignment to come here. Guys, aren't you so grateful for our leadership? So thankful for them. And I'm going to share just a couple of closing announcements, but as I get ready to do that, I want to encourage you if you're going through the fire today, if you need prayer for anything, our leaders here at the front, also there in the balcony, we will stay as long as we need to. We love the opportunity to pray for you. Just a couple of reminders. Pastor Daniel mentioned earlier that we all need to be in a small group. And we believe that you actually grow more in circles than in rows. In other words, the weekend service is great, but we want you in community, in relationship.

We want you to have a support system around you. And we're getting ready to kick off our fall group semester. And if you want to get involved in a small group out in the lobby, there's a booth that just says Gateway Groups. And you can go out there and you can find out more information about all the different small groups we have meeting all around the Metroplex. You can even lead a group if you want to. So, stop by there or just text the word groups to 710 and we can follow up with you that way. Also, when you go out in the lobby, you'll notice that we have merch for best days. How many really believe our best days are ahead of us? Amen. And so, you can stop by and grab some of the merch there. And then lastly, if you are new to Gateway Church, again, we're so honored that you're here. Church, can we put our hands together and just welcome all of those that are new. So thankful for you here and we would love to meet you personally and there's an area called connect central which is located out in the lobby. I'll be there along with some of our leaders. We'd love to meet you, shake your hand, answer any questions that you have and so if you have a moment after service, please stop by there. And if for whatever reason you can't, you can just text the word connect to 710 or if you're joining us online, just text connect to 710 and we'll follow up with you there. Let me pray a blessing over us today out of Numbers chapter 6.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. God bless you. We love you and we'll see you next weekend. We have nothing if we don't have you. Come meet us here.

Fill us up. And all we want to be is your vessel. So come fill us up. Oh, come fill us up. And once you've started pouring it out, come on. Oh, don't ever stop. Don't ever stop. We want more of your love. And all we want to be is your best. So come fill us up. Come fill us up. Once you started pouring it out, oh, don't ever stop.