But I Don't Look Like It | Herbert Fontnette | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

But I Don't Look Like It

Herbert Fontnette

Strong Tower Ministries • Jul 21, 2025 • 76 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

Preaching from Daniel 3, Pastor Herbert Fontnette encourages believers that God protects His children even in the midst of extreme trials. Jesus, the 'fourth man in the fire,' walks with us through our afflictions, ensuring that we emerge without looking like or smelling like what we have suffered. Our current furnace of testing is not meant to destroy us, but to prepare us for divine promotion and give us a powerful testimony of God's keeping power.

Themes

God's Protection in TrialsThe Divine Presence of ChristFaithfulness under PressureDeliverance and RestorationPurposeful Affliction

Key Points

1.
God often protects us through trials rather than completely removing us from them.
2.
The fiery furnaces designed by life's hardships cannot destroy us when God is on our side.
3.
Jesus is the 'fourth man in the fire' who steps directly into our struggles and walks alongside us.
4.
While in the trial, Jesus does not leave us bound; He looses us and allows us to walk freely in His presence.
5.
When God brings you through a trial, His deliverance is so complete that you will not even carry the smell of smoke.
6.
People may stand on the outside waiting for you to fail, but God's keeping power will outlast their expectations.
7.
The furnace experience is often the necessary preparation before God releases divine promotion in your life.

Sermon Moments

“The ones that threw them into the fire got burned, but the ones that were thrown into the fire, they were unharmed.”

“God sees your life like it's a parade—He sees everything that's coming.”

“There's a fourth man that's in the midst of the fire with them... You are not in this fire by yourself.”

“If you in the dirt, I'm in the dirt. If you in the ditch, then I'm in the ditch. But wherever I am, He's going to raise me back up.”

“By the time they have come out of the fiery furnace, they may have been in the fire, but they don't look like the fire.”

“I may look like smoke, but I don't smell like it!”

“The promotion couldn't come unless the furnace first came.”

This Week

Offer God a sacrifice of praise today even if you are still waiting for deliverance from your current trial.

Remind yourself daily that Jesus is walking through your trial alongside you, so you are never alone.

Share your story of God's deliverance with someone this week to encourage their faith.

Refuse to focus on those watching for your downfall; keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Reframe your current difficulty as preparation for future spiritual promotion rather than defeat.

Stand firm in your convictions without compromising, trusting that God is able to deliver you.

Take time to remember past victories and recount the specific ways God has rescued and sustained you.

Remember This

Jesus walks with us inside our fiery trials, ensuring that when God brings us out, we won't look like or smell like what we've been through.

A Challenge for You

Give God praise right in the middle of your trial before you even see the full deliverance, trusting that your promotion is on the way.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.