Pressure With Purpose
Bishop Henry Fernandez Preached on 3/9/2026Isaiah 48:10
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46:15
Summary
Bishop Henry Fernandez explores how God uses seasons of pressure and affliction to refine our character and restore our true identity, urging believers not to escape the furnace before God has finished His work.
Key points
- •Many believers mistake seasons of struggle for punishment, but God often uses the 'furnace of affliction' to refine and purify our character.
- •Maturity and spiritual completeness require staying in the process rather than trying to escape uncomfortable seasons or manufacture 'short success.'
- •Identity is formed in hidden, secret places rather than the spotlight; the wilderness is a place of alignment where God prepares us for future greatness.
- •True identity in Christ requires a death to ego, pride, and self-centered living, allowing God to burn away impurities to reveal the value within.
Scripture
Trials
Spiritual Growth
Purpose
Discipline
Character
Life application
When facing a difficult trial this week, instead of asking God to take it away immediately, pray 'God, what do you want to burn out of me in this furnace?' and commit to staying in His process until His work is complete.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you allowed social trends or the opinions of others to define your worth instead of God's Word?
- Are you currently in a 'hidden season' where it feels like God has slowed you down? What might He be trying to speak to you in that quiet place?
- What 'impurities' (pride, insecurity, or self-centeredness) do you feel God is currently refining in your life?
- Why is it dangerous to come out of the furnace before God has finished His refining work?
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Full transcript
0:00Verse 10
0:02is where I will focus this sermon on
0:05this morning. Read it with
0:07understanding.
0:09Read it as if God is talking to you.
0:14Come on, read.
0:24Father, open our eyes today to see
0:29to see who we truly are
0:32in you.
0:34Strip away every false narrative.
0:39Silence every voice that contradicts
0:42your word.
0:44Refine us,
0:45shape us,
0:47and prepare us for the greatness you
0:50have already written
0:53in our destiny.
0:55And for this, we ask in Jesus' name.
0:59Amen. Come on, let's celebrate him this
1:02morning. If you believe
1:04that he's doing a new thing in your
1:06life, please be seated.
1:09I want to use simply this morning a
1:12subject, pressure with purpose.
1:17Pressure
1:19with purpose.
1:24This is a special day for someone this
1:27morning.
1:29Whether you're in the building or you're
1:31streaming,
1:32this is a special day for you.
1:36Because you've been wrestling with
1:38certain things. You've been questioning
1:40God. You've been
1:42trying to find out why
1:46are you in the situation you're in.
1:50In fact, you have questioned God
1:54numerous of times.
1:56What's purpose
1:59of this season?
2:01Why are you in the season that you are
2:06in?
2:07And so,
2:09you are desperate. You're saying, "God,
2:12I want to get out of this season. I want
2:15to get out of this situation. I want to
2:18get out of this space that I am in."
2:24So, it's very important that you don't
2:27escape the process
2:29that God has taken you through.
2:32Please, don't do that.
2:35Escaping the process is going to cost
2:38you. Many people are sabotaging their
2:42destiny by escaping
2:45uncomfortable seasons.
2:48I get it.
2:50The season that you're in, it's
2:52uncomfortable,
2:54but could it be that God has designed it
2:58for a purpose?
3:00You see, maturity and completeness
3:03can be achieved through life processes.
3:08When you don't know who you are
3:12and where God is taking you, then the
3:16world will give you your identity.
3:21The world will trick you into believing
3:25you are someone else.
3:28And that whatever you're going through
3:30is because of certain things maybe in
3:34your past, but could it be that God has
3:37designed you to be exactly where He
3:41wants you to be.
3:44Whenever you hear the name Israel, as we
3:47read in the book of Isaiah a few moments
3:49ago,
3:51the name Israel scripture, it refers to
3:55God's covenant people.
3:59His covenant people.
4:02You and I need to understand that God
4:04has a covenant with us. Regardless of
4:07what you're going through, there's a
4:09covenant that God has made with you.
4:14That he'll never leave you. He'll never
4:16forsake you. In Isaiah 48, God confronts
4:19his people about their hypocrisy.
4:25They confess him with their mouths,
4:28but in their hearts,
4:30it tells a different story.
4:34The thing you need to know about Israel
4:36is this, they were called by his name,
4:40by the name of the Lord, yet they
4:42allowed culture to shape them.
4:47These were God's
4:50elect, God's covenant people, yet they
4:54allow the system and the culture
4:57to determine who they are.
5:01You see, this is where many of us as
5:03believers are today.
5:05We declare that we belong to Christ, but
5:08we measure our worth by social trends,
5:13the opinions of people, the applause we
5:16get from the crowd, and material
5:20gain.
5:22We let the world define our beauty, our
5:26success, our relevance, and our
5:28influence.
5:30It's all about the world, and especially
5:33especially with modern technology today,
5:36we have allowed the world to trick us
5:39into believing that our worth comes from
5:43the things we express
5:45externally.
5:48So, if you drive a big car, you live in
5:50a big house, you dress, then you've got
5:53a bag that's worth $5,000,
5:57you're successful.
6:00And so, when you're in a season where
6:03you are battling and fighting for your
6:05life,
6:07maybe it's a health crisis, maybe it's a
6:10financial crisis, maybe it's a family
6:13issue, a relationship problem,
6:16automatically, you you think you start
6:18saying, "God can't be with me. I'm not
6:21blessed because of the drama I'm going
6:25through."
6:26We've allowed society
6:30to brainwash us into thinking what
6:32success
6:33>> [snorts]
6:33>> looks like.
6:35We let the world define our beauty, our
6:37success our
6:39our relevance, and our influence.
6:42Romans 12:2 tells us,
6:45"Do not be conformed to the pattern of
6:49this world,
6:51but be transformed by the renewing
6:55of your mind." The way you think.
6:58Cuz if your mind is not renewed by the
7:02word of God,
7:03it will be programmed by the world. It's
7:07going to be programmed by the world.
7:10Israel's problem
7:12was not that they lacked a calling. They
7:16were called by God. Just like you and I
7:18today, we're called by God. That was not
7:22the problem with Israel.
7:25It was that they forgot their identity.
7:30They forgot that no matter what
7:32situation you're in, you're still a
7:35child of God.
7:38Even when you're in the furnace, even
7:41when you're in the fire, even when
7:43you're being tested, you are still a
7:46child of God. Genesis 32:38,
7:51Jacob's name was changed to Israel.
7:56MEANING ONE WHO STRUGGLES with God and
8:00prevails.
8:02Don't miss that.
8:04Jacob who struggled with God,
8:07and he prevailed. He
8:10He said, "I WILL not let you go
8:14until you bless me." I don't know who
8:17I'm talking to this morning.
8:21That even in the furnace, even in your
8:24testings, even in your trials, you are
8:28saying to God, "Though you slay me,
8:32yet will I trust you. I'm not going to
8:36give up. I'm not going to break. I'm
8:39going to stand firm on the word of God.
8:42Come what may, it doesn't matter what I
8:45am going through. I'm going to serve God
8:48until I die. I'm going to honor him. I'm
8:53going to worship him. I may be crying. I
8:56may be hurting, but I'm going to serve
8:59the Lord with all of my heart." Come on,
9:02am I talking to anybody in this room
9:05today?
9:08>> [applause]
9:09>> You see, the name of Israel speaks of
9:12our identity. For those of you who feel
9:16like you're struggling at a place God
9:19ordained. Notice, God ordained. Could it
9:22be
9:24that the struggles and the battles that
9:26you're fighting right now, that God has
9:29purposefully designed it
9:32for a greater cause?
9:35NOT EVERY STRUGGLE comes from the devil.
9:40>> [applause]
9:46>> Let that settle in your spirit for a
9:48moment. Not every struggle comes from
9:51the devil. Not every fight that you're
9:53in was orchestrated by the devil. COULD
9:57IT BE THAT GOD SAW something in you and
10:00in order for that something to come out
10:03of you, he has to put you into a
10:05situation to refine you. Oh, glory to
10:10God.
10:12So, DON'T FORGET WHO YOU ARE.
10:16And don't let your circumstances
10:19change
10:21who God says you are.
10:251 Peter 2:9, it declares you are a
10:27chosen generation.
10:30You are chosen. Look at your neighbor
10:31and say, "You're chosen."
10:34Yes. Yes, you are chosen. I don't care
10:36what you're going through.
10:38I don't care what you've been battling
10:40for the last 12 months. I don't care how
10:43March started for you. You are chosen. I
10:47don't care what you don't have. I don't
10:50care who's fighting against you. I don't
10:52care what battles you're fighting. You
10:55are chosen. And if God chose you, nobody
10:59can disqualify you.
11:04You're a chosen generation.
11:06You're a royal priesthood. You are a
11:08holy [snorts] nation, God's special
11:12possession.
11:14So, you are not random. No, you are not
11:17random. You are not an accident. You are
11:20not what your mistakes say you are. You
11:25are who God says
11:28you are.
11:30You see, God will always confront his
11:34people with truth
11:36>> [snorts]
11:36>> before he reveals himself.
11:40In Isaiah 48, the prophet calls Israel
11:44stubborn,
11:47stiff-necked,
11:49brazen,
11:51like some of us today.
11:54Look to your neighbor and say, "You know
11:55you're stubborn."
12:04I don't want to start no fight up in
12:06here.
12:10You know you're stubborn.
12:15Israel was a stubborn group of people.
12:21And today, we are the called out,
12:25God's prized possession, and we're
12:28stubborn.
12:30He says, "We're stubborn." And that
12:32sounds harsh. I understand it,
12:36but it was love speaking [snorts]
12:39truth.
12:43Are you hearing me?
12:44It was love speaking truth. God said in
12:47verse four that their neck was like
12:51iron, stiff. They would not turn to him.
13:02He said, "Your forehead was like
13:04bronze." In other words,
13:09>> [snorts]
13:10>> I grew up.
13:11Every now and then, my mom would go and
13:14she'll say, "Get it in your head."
13:18In other words, it's nothing good is
13:20penetrating your brain.
13:23That's the problem with Israel.
13:26God spoke
13:28to them because their identity cannot be
13:32restored
13:34without honesty.
13:37What you need to understand is that God
13:40sees something in all of us and he's
13:43going to confront us with truth.
13:47At times he's going to say to us, "You
13:49know you're acting a fool."
13:54"You know you're better than that."
13:57"You know you're wasting your time."
14:01"Come on now."
14:03"You're trying to play me, right?"
14:06But God is not mocked.
14:09Whatsoever you sow, you are going to
14:15God will confront us with truth and
14:17he'll put us in the furnace
14:21to perfect us. Many believers want
14:25affirmation without correction.
14:28Hebrews 12:6 says, "For the Lord
14:31disciplines
14:33the one he loves." You see, rejection or
14:37correction is not rejection. Conviction
14:40is not condemnation. It's preparation.
14:46>> [applause]
14:47>> John 15:2 it says, "Every branch
14:52that does bear fruit, he prunes."
14:57Could it be the cutting off of friends
15:00and the cutting off of your support?
15:03Could it be that God is pruning you?
15:08Could it be the reason why you're having
15:10so many losses is because God is saying,
15:14"I'm pruning you."
15:19I'm perfecting you.
15:22Because ladies and gentlemen, pruning is
15:25uncomfortable.
15:27Refining is uncomfortable. But both are
15:30necessary before God uses you in the
15:34kingdom.
15:37So, I'm encouraging you today to stop
15:39interpreting the refinery as punishment.
15:45I don't know who this is for. God's not
15:47punishing you.
15:49Cuz the core of today's message comes
15:52from Isaiah 48:10.
15:56When I read this,
15:58it caught my attention.
16:01He says, "I have refined
16:06you
16:07in the
16:09furnace
16:13of affliction."
16:15Why would God choose
16:20a furnace
16:23to refine us?
16:27Cuz we want we You see, we want a
16:28process that is easy, but God says, "I
16:32have refined you. I have put you in the
16:37furnace
16:39for a reason." And could it be that God
16:42has placed you into that spot that
16:45you're in because he's trying to perfect
16:48you?
16:50He [snorts] did not say, "I destroyed
16:53you in the furnace. I abandoned you in
16:56the furnace. I punished you in the
16:58furnace without a purpose."
17:01He placed you there. He said, "I refined
17:05you."
17:06You see, refining removes impurities,
17:09but preserves value.
17:14You have to understand that gold does
17:16not fear fire
17:19because fire reveals its purity.
17:27See, some of you are misinterpreting
17:29your season.
17:31Some of you are catching real hell and
17:33you don't understand, but could it be
17:36that God saw something deep on the
17:39inside of you? Could it be that the best
17:42version of yourself has yet to come to
17:46full
17:50It has yet to come to fruition, but God
17:53says, "I got to burn some stuff out of
17:56you. I got to operate on you. I got to
17:59pull some stuff out of you."
18:05Cuz you see, you're in this furnace
18:07today and you're thinking God is
18:09punishing you.
18:11That God forgot you and God is against
18:14you, but he is not according to James
18:17chapter 1 2 to verse 4. He says,
18:20"Consider it
18:22pure joy."
18:24I I know you don't like that. I know it
18:26doesn't make sense. Consider it
18:29pure joy when you face trials because
18:33the testing of your faith produces
18:36perseverance and let PERSEVERANCE FINISH
18:40>> [screaming]
18:43>> You want TO FINISH? WELL, you got to let
18:46PERSEVERANCE FINISH THE work of God in
18:51you to mature you to completion.
18:56You see, the refinery is not
18:59where God buries you.
19:03It is where he builds you.
19:06See, God will hide you and refine you in
19:10the secret place
19:12before he places you in the spotlight.
19:17Psalm 91 verse 1, it says, "He who
19:21dwells
19:29He WHO DWELLS
19:32in the secret place.
19:34The secret place is not praise and
19:37worship.
19:38The secret place is not when you're
19:41having a wonderful good time and you got
19:43money in your pocket and your love life
19:45is working out fine. It's not when
19:48you've landed the best job. It's not
19:50when everything is working well in your
19:53life. The secret place is the furnace.
20:01He who dwells in the secret place of the
20:03most high
20:05shall abide under the shadow of the
20:09almighty. That's the secret place.
20:12That's the secret place, my friends.
20:15Many want visibility without
20:18development.
20:21You want to be seen.
20:25Especially in the culture that we're in,
20:28you want clicks, you want likes.
20:31You want to come out of the secret place
20:33way before God is finished with you.
20:40Because you just want to parade. You
20:42want to show off. You want to show that
20:44you're successful. I've got a job. I got
20:46a man. I got a woman. I got children. I
20:49got money in the bank. I got a great
20:51career. But he who dwells
20:54in the secret place of the most high.
20:58COULD IT BE that God is operating on
21:01you? Could it be that God is working on
21:04you in the secret place? Some of you
21:07want a platform without the process.
21:11Some of you want a crown WITHOUT THE
21:14CROSS.
21:16And you want the glory without growth.
21:21But you see, identity is shaped in
21:24hidden places.
21:28See, the problem with many of you, the
21:30reason why you have short success,
21:35is because you came out of the secret
21:37place too quickly.
21:42>> [applause]
21:43>> Short success.
21:45You look successful for a moment. You
21:48you were glowing for a moment, but God
21:51wasn't finished with you.
21:56You see, the wilderness is not
21:57abandonment, it is alignment. Some of
22:01you are in a hidden season right now,
22:05and I know it feels uncomfortable. It
22:08feels restrictive. It feels uncertain,
22:11but it is not punishment.
22:15God is preparing you.
22:17So, Isaiah reminds Israel
22:20of their lineage. You belong to God. You
22:24belong to the seed of Jacob, of Judah.
22:27You belong to the seed of King David.
22:30You belong to the lineage of Jesus
22:33Christ. In Ephesians 1:4 and 5, it says
22:38that you are a chosen You're chosen in
22:41Christ before the foundation of the
22:44world.
22:45So, you and I, we carry spiritual
22:47authority.
22:49We carry that spiritual authority.
22:52So, I want you to shift your perspective
22:55for a moment
22:57and see the furnace that you're in.
23:01Whatever you're dealing with right now,
23:03see it as God preparing you
23:07for something greater.
23:11See
23:12that you are a diamond
23:15that God is forming under pressure.
23:18You're steel that he's strengthening
23:21under heat.
23:23And you're a believer that he's maturing
23:26through testing.
23:28You see, if God is allowing the pressure
23:30in your life, it's because greatness
23:32requires your ability to endure
23:37pressure.
23:39You got to go through the pressure.
23:42You got to go through the pressure.
23:44The furnace is temporary.
23:47The glory is permanent.
23:51Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For
23:55our light and momentarily troubles
24:00are achieving for us an eternal glory
24:04that far outweighs
24:08them all." It's It's for a moment.
24:12Don't you come OUT OF WHERE GOD PLACED
24:14YOU.
24:15It's for a moment.
24:17It's important that self dies for YOUR
24:21IDENTITY TO SHINE.
24:25You have got to be willing to say, "God,
24:27use me, work on me, try me, test me,
24:33prove me this day."
24:36For your identity to shine. The greatest
24:39barrier to discovering who you are in
24:42Jesus Christ, watch this, is
24:44self-centered
24:46living.
24:48So many of us, we make ministry and
24:51church all about us.
24:54We make our marriages about us.
24:57We make our business all about us. We
24:59make our money all about us.
25:03It's self-centeredness.
25:05But Luke 9:23 tells us if anyone would
25:09come after me, let him deny
25:14himself and take up his cross
25:18daily.
25:20The scripture did not say take up your
25:22cross because then that suggests it
25:24could be once in a while, but every
25:26single day
25:28you and I have to take up our cross
25:31daily because identity in Christ
25:34requires death to ego.
25:39Pride has to burn.
25:42Insecurity has to burn.
25:45Could it be that God has placed you
25:49in an environment
25:51and he's hiding you?
25:53As that scripture, please put up Isaiah
25:5648 again, verse 10.
25:58Could it be that God has designed a
26:02specific place for you
26:06called the furnace?
26:09Could it be, he says here in verse 10 of
26:13Isaiah 48, "See, I have purified
26:20you in the furnace
26:23of affliction."
26:25Here's the challenge, and I try to close
26:27with this this morning.
26:30You're in the furnace.
26:34But the furnace
26:36is not outside of the place God has
26:39prepared for you.
26:41Let me say it again.
26:43You can't say you're in the furnace
26:46but you're walking outside
26:49of the furnace.
26:52This is not the furnace. Come on,
26:54picture it in your mind.
26:57Displaying yourself to the world,
27:00trying to act or impress people
27:05that you're a finished product
27:08is not the furnace.
27:11Why some of you are losing your godly
27:14influence and your power
27:16is that you are an unfinished
27:19individual.
27:24You're supposed to be in the furnace.
27:29Cuz that's why you didn't like that
27:30verse. You didn't like the verse. You
27:32didn't like verse 10. God is saying, "I
27:35have
27:36purified you."
27:39GOD HAS PULLED YOU into the furnace.
27:44And the truth is, he's hiding you. I
27:48KNOW THAT'S NOT INVITING. I know that
27:51doesn't look well. IT'S NOT POPULAR IN
27:54OUR SOCIETY BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO BE
27:57JUST HEARD. You want to be heard and
28:01seen.
28:10But God is saying,
28:12"I have prepared
28:14the furnace for you.
28:17I prepared it for you."
28:23Here's the challenge.
28:26If you're like me,
28:28I don't like the ER.
28:34I don't like to go to doctors.
28:37There's just an eerie feeling about
28:39hospitals.
28:42And when you go to the hospital, you
28:43have no idea what they're going to find?
28:49They're running your blood or pulling
28:51your blood and they're going to be
28:53testing your blood. No one likes to be
28:57in the unknown.
29:02When you're sitting there and they're
29:03pulling your blood
29:06and you're hearing this annoying
29:09sound.
29:14I was in the ER sometime last year.
29:19I wasn't feeling well
29:21and I drove myself to the
29:23doctor. I was at the office. No one knew
29:26about this and I took myself to the ER.
29:30Cuz it was a
29:31something I picked up some virus.
29:34And I got to the ER
29:37and they have me in there
29:39and they're checking everything
29:41and
29:42put that sound back, please.
29:44And this sound
29:49and they had me hooked up to stuff
29:51>> [snorts]
29:51>> and all of a sudden it stopped.
29:57And I swear to you I thought I died.
30:02I'm not lying. I swear.
30:05I said, "Oh Jesus."
30:08I looked at the monitor cuz I thought I
30:10flatlined.
30:11>> [laughter]
30:13>> I'm serious, man. I'm saying, "What
30:15happened?"
30:16That's the problem with the furnace.
30:21Have you ever been in a season
30:25where God knocked you out?
30:29You're not in control.
30:34And you're hearing things and seeing
30:36things and you're
30:38panicking and you're full of anxiety
30:42and you're saying, "God, why? Why? Why?
30:45Why am I in this season?" It is the
30:48unknown. You know, when you go to the
30:50hospital and the blood test results come
30:52back, it's the unknown. Your pressure is
30:54high. Everything about you you're so I
30:58mean, it you you're frustrated because
31:00you're like, "God, what is going on?"
31:03Could it be that God
31:06will slow you down for a minute
31:11and say, "I need to talk to you.
31:16I need to pour something in you.
31:20You're not at your best self.
31:24How dare you talk about you want to get
31:27married?
31:29You are sick.
31:33There's a lot going on with you.
31:39Come in the furnace.
31:49This is not about people anymore.
31:53You don't have to pretend
31:55anymore.
31:58Cuz I know you're pretending for the
32:00applause.
32:02This is for me now.
32:06This is between you and me.
32:11The Father is seeking
32:15true worshipers.
32:18Those who will worship him not for
32:20people to see,
32:24but for me to be glorified.
32:31I'm going to use some of the problems
32:34that you're dealing with to perfect you.
32:38So, when you come out of this,
32:42folks who've been dogging you out,
32:46people who
32:48wish you ill,
32:52people who have already written you off,
32:56when you come out of this,
32:59they're not going to recognize you.
33:09Because
33:12the very same way Jesus went in
33:15the grave,
33:19and he took care of every
33:22one
33:24of our problems,
33:25our sins,
33:29and on the third day,
33:32what was a grave,
33:35now became the furnace
33:39for all of us.
33:41The question now is,
33:44whoever you are this morning,
33:47if you stay long enough in the furnace,
33:51when the Father calls for you,
33:54and he says, "It's time. Come.
33:58Come.
34:02Come.
34:04>> [music]
34:05>> This is my beloved son.
34:08This is my beloved daughter.
34:11Who've been tested, who've been tried.
34:15He or she is now ready to be used for my
34:18honor and for my glory.
34:21Because no weapon formed against them
34:24will ever prosper.
34:26Because I have worked on them in the
34:29furnace. I have purified them in the
34:33furnace. They are now MY AGENTS ON THE
34:37EARTH bringing kingdom culture to the
34:41streets. Somebody give God praise,
34:44honor, and glory.
34:49Stay
34:52where God
34:53has planted you.
34:57Don't you come out
34:59of the furnace. Don't you come out
35:02of the place where God
35:05has designed to prepare you.
35:07Thank you. I don't know who this word
35:09was for this morning.
35:11>> [music]
35:12>> But if you feel
35:14>> [applause]
35:14>> like you're in the furnace
35:17and you needed this message and you need
35:19prayer, I want you to come down to the
35:21altar
35:22and I want to pray with you as the
35:24worship team is preparing
35:27and setting the tone. I want to pray for
35:29people all over the auditorium and those
35:32of you who are streaming.
35:34You feel like you're in the furnace this
35:36morning. You feel like
35:37for the last month or since the
35:39beginning of the year
35:41God is testing you. I'm telling you
35:45he's using the furnace
35:48to perfect his will in your life. Come
35:51on. Come on. Let's worship him. Let's
35:53worship him. Let's worship him.
35:55Let's worship him. Come on. Squeeze your
35:57way in.
36:00God bless you. God bless you.
36:03>> [singing]
36:04>> God bless you. God bless you.
36:06>> [music]
36:09>> Please sing. Sing.
36:13>> [music]
36:14>> Come on. Closer. Closer.
36:16Closer.
36:18>> [music and singing]
36:20>> Sing it. Sing it.
36:23Sing.
36:24Sing it, please.
36:26>> [music]
36:31>> Thank you, Jesus.
36:34>> [singing]
36:36[music]
36:41[singing]
36:46>> Thank you, Lord.
36:48>> [music and singing]
36:48>> glorify
36:52>> [singing]
36:52>> Thank you, Lord.
37:00Thank you, Lord.
37:02Thank you, Lord.
37:07Thank you, Lord.
37:11>> [music]
37:19>> Thank you, Lord.
37:22>> [music and singing]
37:28>> Now, listen to me. I'm about to pray for
37:31you.
37:33But, I want you to hear me clearly this
37:36morning.
37:37Isaiah 48:10
37:41should be the scripture
37:43you use to carry you through
37:47the season that you're in.
37:50The furnace
37:52was not the devil's plan. In other
37:55words, the season that you're in,
37:58it wasn't the devil
38:00who orchestrated it.
38:03God designed it, and I get it.
38:06It doesn't make sense.
38:09Why would God
38:11put you through whatever you're going
38:14through? Why would God do that? I get
38:16it. I understand that. See, cuz when
38:18you're in human form in the flesh,
38:21that's how we think.
38:23But the verse and the sermon today is
38:26telling us that God will put you in the
38:28furnace
38:30to refine you.
38:33To perfect you.
38:35To transform you. To change you.
38:38So you have a choice this morning. Do
38:40you want to be transformed
38:43or do you just want to look like you're
38:45making it?
38:48There's a difference.
38:50That's why I demonstrated it.
38:52You [music] see,
38:53you can be hidden in Christ
38:56or you can get out of the season that he
38:59has you in
39:01just because you want to prove that oh,
39:03I'm happy. This false sense of
39:04happiness.
39:06I want to be happy.
39:08I want I want I want I want everybody to
39:10see me happy. I want to I just want to
39:11be have fun. I just want to uh,
39:14you know, have all my my life together.
39:17I want to have money. I want to have
39:18material things to brag and to boast.
39:22Are you going to live the next season of
39:24your life and the next half of your life
39:26to impress people or to glorify God?
39:31Come on now.
39:34Some of you are allowing yourself to get
39:37physically sick because you are
39:40stressed.
39:43You are stressed over something you have
39:46no control over.
39:49None.
39:52Give it to God.
39:55And let him refine you
39:58in the furnace
40:00of affliction. Many are the afflictions
40:03of the righteous.
40:06But God will bring you out every time.
40:12You stay in there.
40:15You stay in there.
40:18For whatever God is doing in you, you
40:21stay in the furnace.
40:24I have to stay in my own furnace. I'm
40:26preaching to you my own story.
40:29The furnace is not
40:31comfortable.
40:33It's uncomfortable.
40:36People judge you.
40:39People misunderstand you.
40:42People sum you up.
40:45In the furnace
40:47sometimes you don't know who to trust.
40:53In the furnace, you got people who smile
40:55in your face and stab you in the back.
41:00In the furnace, the same people you feed
41:03are the same people who betray you.
41:07Oh, the furnace is not comfortable.
41:11It's very uncomfortable.
41:13Not a nice place.
41:17But it's for his glory.
41:20Stay where God has planted you.
41:24Whatever situation it may be
41:26don't you come out
41:29until he's finished with you cuz here's
41:30the truth.
41:32The best version of yourself will only
41:35come from
41:38a completed version of you.
41:42You are no good for anybody
41:46if God don't first work on you.
41:50See, there are many of you at this altar
41:53right now. The problem with you, you try
41:56to fix everybody else
41:59but yourself.
42:02Spend the rest of your life fixing you.
42:06God, fix me.
42:09Work on me.
42:11You ain't got no time meddling in other
42:13people's business.
42:15Come on now.
42:17You should be focused on God. What do
42:19you want to burn out of me? What do you
42:22want to change in me
42:26so that I can be the best man, the best
42:30woman, the best fiance, the best wife,
42:33the best husband, the best parent, the
42:36best worker, the best employee, the best
42:40employer, the best
42:43kingdom citizen.
42:46Let God use you.
42:48Let him work through you
42:50in the [music] furnace. Lift your hands,
42:52everybody.
42:54Lift your hands.
42:55Father,
42:57thank you for those who are streaming
42:58today.
43:00I pray
43:03Holy Spirit,
43:04as you brought this word through your
43:07servant this morning,
43:09that you'll help all of us
43:12to not see
43:14the furnace as a place
43:17where you are punishing us.
43:21And that it translate
43:23to you
43:26uh
43:28kind of inflicting
43:30uh wounds on us and making us feel that
43:33our past sins are catching up with us
43:36and that we're unworthy.
43:39But God, we must recognize
43:42that we're in a season
43:45where you are perfecting us.
43:47God, touch that woman, touch that man
43:50today.
43:52And let this message be confirmation
43:56that you're still working
43:58through them.
44:00You're still working on them.
44:03And that God, this season is going to
44:06produce greatness.
44:08If they can just endure, if they can
44:10just hold on, if they can just trust in
44:13you with all of their heart and lean not
44:16to their own understanding, God, they're
44:19going to come out of it as pure [music]
44:21gold. I pray, Father, in the name of
44:24Jesus that your perfect [music] will
44:27will be done in their lives today. Thank
44:29you for healing. Thank you for
44:31delivering them. Thank you for
44:33confirming your word in them today,
44:36reassuring them
44:39that even in the furnace,
44:41even in the fire,
44:43even in the affliction,
44:45even in the setback,
44:47you're still with them.
44:49You're still with them. You're still
44:51with them. You're still working on them.
44:53So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
44:54Thank you for the breakthrough. Thank
44:56you that I see them somewhere in the
44:58future and they look a whole lot better
45:01than they look right now. Thank you that
45:04you're preparing them for greatness in
45:06the future. And we give you praise,
45:09honor, and glory
45:11for this sermon, this word, this service
45:13today.
45:14Thank you for your people as they
45:16[music] come out each and every week and
45:18every Wednesday
45:19to learn more of your word and to
45:22continue to walk out kingdom culture.
45:25Bless every person [music] whether they
45:27hear or streaming.
45:29Give us an incredible week, we pray.
45:32And for that, we give you all the
45:34praise, the honor, and the glory in
45:37Jesus' name. Amen. Come on, let's give
45:40them praise. Let's give them praise.
45:43Hallelujah.
45:45And together we lift our hands and
45:47pronounce the blessing.
45:49>> [music]
45:49>> It's our declaration. Please say it with
45:51me. Faith in God will move mountains out
45:56of our lives. God bless you. We'll see
45:58you on Wednesday.
46:00And don't you ever doubt what God is
46:03doing in your life. Have a wonderful
46:05day. God bless [music] you. Have a
46:06wonderful day. Thank you.
46:08Clean my hands.
46:12Purify my heart.