If Fire Is Inevitable, Faith Is The Remedy - Pastor Michael Oke

IF FIRE IS INEVITABLE, FAITH IS THE REMEDY

Text: Mat 26:42

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

OPENING MESSAGE:
What would you do if you were paid with suffering for your decision to serve God?
Will you compromise?

Eze 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Will you deny Him?

2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

When fire, suffering, or an unjust punishment is inevitable, faith is the remedy. How? Since Faith will tell you that:
“You may be put into the fire, but it will never burn you”

Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Faith will assure you that:
- “No matter the degree of the furnace, none of the hairs of your head will be lost”

Luke 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

At times, Faith will remind you that:
- “After the thorn, the next is the throne”.
  - James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Ps 30:5 “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

The story of a blind girl sighted by a firefighter on ten stories building during a fire outbreak

SOME TYPES OF INEVITABLE FIRE A BELIEVER MAY PASS THROUGH.
The Fire of Delay.
Whenever you are passing through delay, fear will give you two options:
To give up – Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods…

Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

To go back – Num 14:4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
When you are going through the fire of delay, faith will tell you; “Delay is not denial”
The Fire of Defeat.
When you are defeated, fear will tell you that you should not bother yourself to make further attempts.
Fear will open your hearts to the scornfulness of the enemies as if the winning days are not ahead.
But faith will rise in you removing the dust of shame, sending back to the sender the reproach of the enemies saying; “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. Micah 7:8”
The Fire of Disappointment.
When you are going through disappointment. fear will tell you to wound your life, kill yourself, and destroy your destiny because it is sourced from the devil.
Five things you should know about Disappointment.
Without Disappointment, there may never be an appointment.
God is using Disappointment to correct a wrong choice or decision.
God is using Disappointment to separate you from the wrong people
God is using Disappointment to take your trust away from human beings.
God is using Disappointment to make you firm and upright in Him.
Faith will enable you to see God’s consciousness in your disappointment.
1. Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
The Fire of the Death of loved ones.
The death of a child, wife, or husband at a prime age is a fire! No one prays for it, but then, it does happen.
When fire is inevitable, faith is the remedy.
Ah! Faith is powerful. In the fire of the death of loved ones, faith will be speaking to you simultaneously that truly; “…behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Exo 3:2”
The Fire of Despair.
During the fire of despair (loss of hope) the following happens:
1. The strong lose their strength and become weak
1. The rich tend to become poor.
1. The level of faith drops.
1. The soul of the powerful becomes sick.
Before the lost strength or power can be regained faith has to come in.
Joe 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
THREE THINGS JESUS DID WHEN HIS FIRE BECAME INEVITABLE. Luke 4: 1-8
He refused the bread of Satan. Verses 3-4
1. Deut 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
He refused to worship the devil for world kingdoms. Verses 5-8
1. John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
He did not allow the devil to turn the power of God into an experiment.
1. Deut 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
1. Fear will tell you that there is a test-running to the power of God.
1. But Faith will tell you that there is no test-running to the power of God.
1. Exo 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
You need faith to assure you that you will overcome your fire. However, it takes the grace of God to do that.
Do you desire this wonderful grace?
Altar Call…