In the Fire With the Lord - Part 1

Going tonight to get up in the drama of how God delivered Shadrach me shack and Abednego from the fiery foods have you considered why today on Turning Point.

Jeremiah offers reasons why God delivered the gunmen from the farm and what those reasons mean for us from his series, and Daniel introduced today's message in the file we often together, rejoice in the truth that God is with us that is promised to be with us wherever we go. But here's something we forget. Sometimes he goes into the fire with us to just go with the scent of the good places these places but in fact I don't know about the rest of you but I've been in the fire a little bit, and I've sensed the presence of the Lord, more so in the fire than any other place that's him because he's more present, it's because the fire causes us to realize his presence and sensitizes us to his powerful involvement with us and everything that's called life today will see an illustration of that as the Lord enters into the lives of three men who have stood up for him and now he's about to stand up with them and be their God. So here we go. Now back to the story of Daniel and his three buddies Daniels not present during this time, but Shadrach me shack and Abednego our centerstage and they're about to be introduced to the Lord of the fire some years ago someone to what they call the window syndrome that is you find out when you get older. According to my friend is problems like blades on a windmill in your standing next to the blade one hits you and you just about how to get out of the way of that one and another one comes before you can move and get you again and it just keeps getting you the older you get, the faster the windmill turn. I don't know if you notice that that's true that's true to life illustration. As we get older as we grow older problems have a tendency to begin to multiply and I don't have courage to be press on with the description of those kind of things you know they say their five signs. Baldness bifocals bridges, bulges and bunions. If you find that those things are multiplying in your life in the windmill syndrome is already started. In fact, it's in full sway.

I don't want to too much more about that, except to say there's one thing that binds all of us together in the faith that is we all have problems. Every single one of us.

I want to ask the absurd question. Is there somebody here doesn't have a problem because we all have this one thing we can be sure that we share in unity we all have problems. The tremendous thing about the word of God is that it teaches us how to deal with doesn't take away shows us how to deal with learned in this text by just go back quickly give you the outline of the chapter. It's this way dedication ceremony verses 1 to 3.

The decree command in verses four through seven devious conspiracy verses eight through 12, the direct confrontation. Verses 13 to 18 and the divine conservation verses 19 to 30 how God gets three Jews great big mess.

I now I want us to do three things as we study this.

First of all to look at the record of their delivery. Secondly, the reasons for the deliverance.

And thirdly, the results of the text of the story very quickly and then draw from the story. The salient lessons that are available to us. First of all, the record of their deliverance. Notice in verse 19 at the beginning of the verse. The anger of the king, then all of this ageless chain. There was only one thing in Babylon that was hotter than the furnace about he was. He was angry. In fact the Scripture says the form of this message was changed and he was mad and angry face is what it means is contorted. He was so mad I will see his cross is suppose supremacy had been disregarded by these three young men and resolved to take vengeance against him he would get even with them define one thing you learn about maybe could measure which is almost always a egomaniac leaders and that is a hot temper, and secondly, there are always men of superlative notice measures Amanda superlative.

He had never been built to be the tallest and covered with gold make the prettiest and most expensive wedding party and invite normal ordinary people. He invited the aristocracy all the highbrow people to come to the dedication that was the way you did egomaniac, and then when you pronounce judgment on those who were not going to obey made it the worst possible judgment. You think that was being burned alive in the furnace and he said seven times. Maybe could measure was a man superlative most expensive and most influential everything had to be the best in his anger was just boiling well that leads us to be actively looking. Beginning in the second part of the 19th verse he spoke and commanded that they should keep the furnace seven times more than it had been usually needed any commandant of the most mighty men that were in his army were divine Shadrach me shack and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. These men were brown coats and stockings and turbans etc. etc. fire was exceedingly hot now dictating he sees out of perspective. Now is not even thinking.

Because what he wants to do is talk to these poor guys if you want to torture me. Don't eat the furnace seven times hotter than it normally is make the furnace just so they have to die slowly I mean in the furnace is hot is that slow the guards you can imagine that under normal circumstances, the three Jews were in the last know what hit just as soon as they hit fire, but he wasn't thinking.

You see, he was so mad he lost control and he ordered them to be thrown in. This furnace got the strongest men that he could find any said line them up. We understand the furnace as it was constructed and that was kind of potbelly thing with an opening in the top and the strongmen notice how well they're dressed, you know, the Québec party in their best, they knew this was a big thing and so they dressed, I think that's is about those Jewish boys even though they knew they were about one of their disobedient solely followed what they could probably have a dress code for the party and so they follow the dress code, all dressed up in a good club please.

Strongmen may take them to the mouth of this huge furnace which now has been heated seven times hotter with but some kind of petroleum may have made. It was so that when they gathered them up and took them to throw them in the fire. The guys were killed right. That's the activity of the king. I want to notice. Thirdly, the amazement of the king. Verses 24 and 25 and maybe could measure the king was astounding.

He rose up and hastily spoken.

He said his counselors, we put three guys in their what I see for walking in the midst of the fire and they have no hurt in the form of the fourth is like a son of God. Verses 26 to 28. It must be acknowledgment of the king Nebuchadnezzar came near the mouth and he spoke and said, come forth etc. etc. in the princes and governors and all the rest of Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach me shack and many don't other words acknowledge their God, and then I want you to notice. Lastly, the announcement of the king versus 29, 30. I make a decree that every people shall worship shall not speak anything against the God of Shadrach me shack and Abednego in verse 30 tells us that he promoted them to a higher rank. Now that's the record of the story just as simple as it can be just as clearly as you can read it. That's the outline the anger of the king, the activity of the king, the amazement of can be acknowledgment of King and the announcement of the king record of their deliverance all but that's just part of what I want safety, I want you to notice. Secondly, the reasons for their deliverance and therefore why were they delivered from the fire.

I like to suggest to you the first of all, they were delivered because of their absolute commitment to God. Their absolute commitment to God. Notice what it says back in verse 16 Nebuchadnezzar we are not careful to answer the in this matter. The secret to success in the Christian life always has been, is now and always will be absolute obedience to God's word on anything conformity to his rule.

They said in this matter because absolute commitment is God. We know what he said is no reason to discuss it with one a dialogue with you.

We don't want to get into a discussion with you. We know what to do and were going to do it because our commitment is absolute God is not like Joshua said in the Old Testament and the 24th chapter. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. I found a phrase in the song that I'd like to get all the young people just to make it a little thing for you to hang your hat on spiritual I found it in Psalm 100 made some 57 I like to recommend to you as a means to get absolute commitment to God. In Psalm 108. The psalmist says this all my heart is fixed. Psalm 57 he says it this way.

My heart is still God, my heart is fixed. That means that it is. There was no room for any movement that there was absolute served commitment to God.

There was no room for any movement at all. Fixed heart. That's why God delivered those three Jews had absolute commitment to God not secondly they had absolute confidence in God. They said to the king. God is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace for 70 we know God is able to take care of us in this situation. I want you to notice that they realize that God's will might be different from what might be pleasant, but they did not make their own obedience contingent upon God doing that which was here's where we fall so short of this particular standard. So if you just get me out of this mess. I'll do this will help me through this problem. I'll do what you want me to do what I'll go to the mission field. It you will not make me do this and that but here were men of God who had absolute confidence in God didn't try to rewrite the script. They just said Lord we don't know for sure what you're going to do what we believe in you that you're able to do what needs to be done and we are absolutely in confidence in your ability during the days of the Inquisition someone made this comment about a martyr. I saw a martyr at the state, the flames could not excrete shape nor death, his soul call. I asked him whence his strength was given.

He looked triumphantly to have an answer. Christ is all that's right 90 seconds. Nothing close to it. Just total absolute unreserved confidence in God's ability. God delivered to notice.

Thirdly, that they not only had absolute confidence in God with absolute courage. God verse 18 says we will not served by God's, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Now remember when we were studying the first and second chapters and we were dealing with Daniel in a similar situation when he was asked to eat the king's meat and he refused to do it and I said to you, then, especially young people that whatever God gives us something that's hard to there always seems to be a list of reasons for is not always seems to be there available to us and we have a heart assignment. Here's the list of reasons why we shouldn't do it. Even though God's*just think for a moment about these three children. First of all, Daniel was out of town, where he was, but we just know is not in the third chapters not mentioned one time most scholars believe he was away on the king's business, so he wasn't there to give them a bad time if they did the wrong thing and they knew the terrible punishment that was awaiting them.

Surely you wouldn't expect them to give up their own lives to such a terrible death coming after all an opposite and they were in a situation where they had great opportunity to move up into the sea in the hierarchy of the Babylonian kingdom and the king. Obviously they would get promoted and not even keep responsible positions in the king wanted they might lose their whole realm of authority. Lord I really need to do this because you know me in this place responsibility and if I don't do this, maybe I'll lose this place and the Lord will you be no but they didn't do a good absolute courage for God.

I am told that when the executioner went behind Jerome brought one of the early martyrs to set fire to the pile where he was.

Jerome said to him, come here and kindled a fire before my 45 such a site I would never come to this place.

When I fully opportunity to escape the fire was kindled in front of him and he began to sing a hymn, which soon was finished by the consumer. Absolute courage Martin Luther on his way to excommunication it. What we know now warms appeared before King Charles V and the Roman prelate all the princes assembled said this might cause shall be commended to the Lord for he lives and reigns who preserved the three Hebrew children in the furnace of the Babylonian king if he is unwilling to preserve me. My life is a small thing compared with Christ expect anything of me except flight or recantation, I will not leave much less recaps only the Lord Jesus, strengthening." Proverbs 29, 25, says the fear of man brings a snare, but whoso trust within the Lord shall be saved.

Absolute courage that I want you to notice.

Fourthly, absolute consciousness of God when we see the children in the fiery furnace walking around in the fire talking with the Lord what I want you to notice. That is where they got acquainted.

They knew the Lord before the Lord was very present with them, even in the moment of their audience with the King during the confrontation, the presence of God was there. Isaiah prophesied 150 years before this time in the 43rd chapter when Val passes through the waters, I will be with the rivers, they shall not overflow me when Val walk through fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame and I'm sure that promise was in their heart and in their mind and they were conscious of the presence of the Lord Algeria. Some Italian martyr wrote from his prison a little before his death. These words he said. Who would believe that in this dungeon I could find a paradise so pleasant in a place of sorrow and death. I find tranquility and hope in life and where others leave. I rejoice because my Lord is with me. Conscious of the presence of God.

You know what people tell me and I found it true to some measure my own life when we're in the deepest trials in the hottest furnace. We are more conscious of the Lord's presence than any other time in our life is not true that is just a figment of our imagination. That's because I believe in my heart that the Lord draws near to us at such a time as that they were conscious of God will match the record of their deliverance and the reasons for their deliverance and I want to look lastly at the results of their deliverance. Why were they delivered and what happened now because of that there are six wants to notice. First of all, that when they were delivered. Result number one there is executed.

Verse 22 the king's commandment was urgent furnace exceedingly hot flame of fire. Some of those men that took up Shadrach me shack knowledge you notice an interesting thought that the soldiers who fell down outside where there was no fire were killed while the Hebrews who fell down inside where there was a firework that interested me is to kill them getting killed himself, and is quite often true that when God puts us in the furnace of fire and he puts it through difficult trials, and we think it's the worst thing that it would happen to us and maybe our enemies are out there in the flame so that the flames were jumping up around in the process of the fire.

God takes care of her enemies to that was the first result there enemies were executed.

I want to go to second their bonds were eliminated.

Notice verse 21. These men were in their coats, their stockings and determine they were cast into the midst of the burning furnace numbers 25 and maybe could measure said hello I see four men what's the next word class loose. They were now their free you know that the only thing that burned out measures furnace was his own stroke. The only thing that was consumed in the fire was the rope belong to the Babylonian empire that they use the titles guys out and serve to burn the cards which what they were bound and set them at liberty. Isn't it true that often our hearts are enlarged by the very troubles that our enemies desire to use to destroy instead. This is oftentimes the fire so that we think is going to consume us when we come out of it.

On the other side, we discover that in the process of the testing we have literally been liberated and set free all the things that we thought were so important and so worth writing about been burned away.

All of a sudden we stand for you: we wonder how did I ever get so tied up with all of these things went through the fiery furnace. I discovered really don't need anything. Well, this is back to the whole issue that we talk about periodically here and that is that when we go through difficulty. God usually teaches us in a far deeper level than we can ever learn in times of prosperity and wellness.

We don't want to ask for those moments we don't want to seek for them when we don't have to.

They come normally naturally but I can tell you I probably grew more and learned more about my faith. During the outside with cancer, some 20 years ago than any other time in God draws near to us and because of the hurt in our life.

We listen in a way that we have never listened before some of you know what I'm talking about welcome to take a break for the weekend. I hope you will get to church this weekend. Where the Bible is taught in Christ is lifted up, make your presence felt by getting involved in serving. That's the greatest thing you can do. Make sure you gather your children with you and get the church that's vital.

This is not a replacement for church. This program is to encourage you to be in church on the Lord's day run television over the weekend. Many of you know that if it happens to be on the air when you're in church just DVR it and watch it at your convenience and that will be a blessing to you as well.

I'm sure am so thankful for the opportunity I have visit with you every day and I hope you join me again right here in this crustacean when we begin next week. Programming the message you just from the shadow Mountain and Jeremiah the senior pastor would love to live and help to the point is touching your life to the point, PO Box 338, San Diego 92163 visit our website David Jeremiah/writing you a copy of this series on the sequence from the prophecies of Daniel writing. You can also download the Turning Point of my bone and my final template for the key Turning Point ministries instantly exit programs. It was just go to David Jeremiah don't join us Monday as we continue the series that handwriting on your own Turning Point with David Jeremiah for taking time from teaching