September 13, 2026 - Your Storm For Your Enemy
Scripture Reading — Daniel 3:23–30 (KJV)
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.
Sermon Summary
The Storm Is Not About You
Rev. Johnson opened by thanking the saints in the sanctuary and the faithful family on Zoom, and by praying that God would not merely stand by him but speak through him — lifting up Brother Walter, who he believed was praying right where he was. Then he gave out the subject: Your Storm for Your Enemy. We get stuck in our storms and assume the whole thing is about us. It is not. If we can hold on to that one truth, the task gets a little bit easier to carry.
When the Storm Feels Personal
Storms are personal. Some are so horrific you cannot see how you will ever make it out, and we fall apart — losing focus, forgetting every victory God has already given us. Rev. Johnson told on himself: on the way to the operating room for one of his surgeries, he made them stop the gurney. He said he needed the restroom. What he needed was to talk to God. He did not have to pray long, because God was already there and already knew his heart. He wanted reassurance, and he wanted whoever was watching to know that he serves a God who can do all things. He did not lose focus — that storm was still in God's control.
How a King Forgot
About twenty years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that robbed him of his sleep. Somebody said, go call Daniel. The dream was interpreted, and the elated king elevated Daniel and spoke well of the God of heaven. So how do we get from there to Daniel chapter 3? Over time, decisions change. When we start doing a little better, the ego gets bigger. There was a time you could not throw two meals together in a whole week, and now you have a menu — and somewhere in all that blessing, we start praying less. We prayed over the last bowl of cereal; now we do not pray at all. We do not have time for Sunday morning, but let the boss call on Saturday and we roll. The Word says forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. When you start seeing these things, a storm is coming. The king forgot what God had done, built an image ninety feet high, and ordered every knee to bow when the music played, or be cast into the fiery furnace.
Point One: How Committed Are You?
How committed are you to doing the right thing when your friends are watching — even when it may cost your reputation? It is not always cool to be a Christian. That is the pressure our children are fighting: they want to fit in where they can get in, and they do not realize the price of getting on the inside is putting God on the outside. God speaks to us every day. You are driving, and the Spirit tugs at your heart about the person walking along the road — and you turn the radio down and start listing reasons. They look a little dirty. They look a little dangerous. By the time you finish that conversation in your own head, they are two miles behind you.
Point Two: Do You Love Me?
In John 21, Jesus asked Peter the same question three times: do you love me? Peter was in a broken condition, having denied the leader he loved so dearly. Our text asks us the same thing every day. Do you love God enough? Then following Him should not be a question, and neither should where you ought to be on Sunday morning. I love You because You woke me up this morning, gave me a measure of health and strength, a roof over my head, a job, and word that my children and grandchildren are all right. I love You because when my back was against the wall, You spoke peace to my spirit. That is what it means to be a child of God: you may get knocked down, but you do not have to stay there.
Point Three: Worship in the Fire
Before they ever reached the furnace, the Hebrew boys looked the king in the eye and told him the truth: our God is able to deliver us — but even if He does not, we are still not going to bow. They stayed focused, which is the very thing Peter could not do. The king was arrogant and angry, and when they would not bend he called for extra coats to make the burning go faster. They never said a mumbling word. They put the coats on and walked, and the guards had to throw them in. When you know whose you are, you can walk straight into your storm without worrying about the other side, because the God who came in with you will be with you in the middle and waiting at the end. They went into the fire, and they held a prayer meeting in the fire.
Your Storm Is for Your Enemy
That fire was never really about the three of them. A crowd was watching — idol worshippers, people who never darkened a church door — waiting to see how their God would deliver. People are watching you the same way in your next crisis, to see whether you break down, throw in the towel, or curse God and die. So in the storm, learn how to get your praise on. Rev. Johnson gave his own roll call of God's keeping power: people have died of cancer, and he is still standing; seven car accidents in less than two years, and he is still standing; a gun raised and pointed, and they called it a misfire. When God looked at him, He did not see a heap of mess — He saw something that needed to be worked out. The king looked into that furnace expecting three and counted four, and the form of the fourth was like the Son of God. There will always be a fourth man in your fiery furnace, telling the devil he cannot have you. Do not give up on God, because God has not given up on you — the storm is not for you, it is for your enemy.
Key Takeaways
• The storm is not about you. Somebody who does not know God is watching to see how your God delivers — your fire is a witness aimed at your enemy.
• Blessings can make us forgetful. Nebuchadnezzar praised God when Daniel read his dream, then twenty years of ease put a statue where God used to be. Don't let a full cupboard crowd out prayer and the house of God.
• Commitment costs something. Doing right when your friends are watching may cost your reputation, and the price of getting on the inside is often putting God on the outside.
• Worship before you see the way out. The Hebrew boys said they would not bow even if God did not deliver them — praise belongs in the fire, not only after it.
• There is always a fourth man. You may get knocked down, but you do not have to stay there; God walks in with you, stays with you in the middle, and comes out with you on the other side.