Thank you. All right, let's open your Bibles
to the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel. Chapter three, Daniel chapter
three. If you know what's in this chapter,
you'll know why we chose that song to sing. The flame shall
not hurt me. This is another story of a king
who had a big religious pull-down. like we looked at a few weeks
ago, remember? The story of a chosen few, chosen few, to know the true
and living God. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
at this time, whom, here's a little side note, was one of those seven
heads of the beast. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Babylon carried away Israel,
do you remember? Babylon, the Jews were carried
away captive into Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was a great king.
Daniel, this is the book of Daniel. Daniel is the prophet. Daniel
proved to be a man of great wisdom and insight, discerner of dreams. You know that story, how that
he revealed the king's dreams to him and was promoted by the
king. Well, there are three Jews. Look
at chapter 3. I'm sorry, chapter 2. I'm just
amazed. The last verse of chapter 2 and
chapter 3 are virtually identical. I was going to read that one.
Chapter 2, Daniel, who represents the Lord Jesus
Christ in these preceding chapters, requested of the king that he
set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province
of Babylon. Daniel sat in the gate of the
king. Daniel chose these three, handpicked by Daniel, which is
a picture. of the Lord Jesus Christ, choosing
his disciples, choosing whom he will to be over the affairs
while he sat on the throne. But these three, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, three Jews, all right? Chapter three. Here's
the story. This is where it begins. Nebuchadnezzar,
the king, made an image of gold. whose height was threescore cubits
and the breadth thereof six cubits, ninety feet tall, ten feet wide,
about the size of Oral Roberts' prayer tower. Set it up in the plain of Dura
in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains,
the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, the
rooks, just anybody and everybody and somebody. He got them together
to come to the dedication of the image, politicians, entertainers,
stars, and athletes. Sound familiar? To come hear
this, to come bow to the image. Verse three. that the king had
set up. Then the princes, the governors,
the captains and judges and treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, all the
rulers of the province, don't want to leave anybody out, you
know. And they were all gathered together under the dedication
of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. And they
stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried
out. Some fellow cried aloud and said,
Do you that is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that
at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the
harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, the dulcimer, the electric guitar,
the drum, all kinds of music, that you fall down and you worship
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, has set up. While the
band plays and the choir sings, everyone come forward and bow
to Billy, I mean God. It's amazing, isn't it, how things
don't change. Absolutely amazing. Why doesn't the world see this
as such a clear commentary on things? And I'm reading it. And I'm reading it, and besides,
it's hid. It's hid to the wise and the prudent. Read on, verses
6 and 7. So, and they said, and what they
did was threaten the people. Verse six, "'Whoso falleth not
down, and worshipeth, shall the same hour be cast in the midst
of a burning fiery furnace.' Therefore, at that time, when
all the people heard the sound of the cornet, the flute, the
harp, the saxophone, the trumpet, and all kinds of music, all the
people," all the people, the nations, the language, and the
language, the world, the world, "'fell down and worshipped the
golden image.' that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had set up. So all
the people worshipped this golden image. All right, what was this
image? Bear with me to Psalm 115. Psalm 115. It was some kind of idol. We're not sure what it looked
like. I just have a feeling it was in the image of Nebuchadnezzar. Don't you? A man. Psalm 115, but I believe this
image didn't have any hands or feet. Look at Psalm 115. It's always in keeping with God's
words. And let's read it. Verses 1 through 8. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us. Now, this is the cry of the true
worshipers of God, God's true people. David, a man after God's
own heart, a man that worshiped God in spirit. and in truth,
that is, according to the Word of God, not according to the
edicts and the mandates and the commands and the superstitions
and the traditions of men, not according to the denominations
of men, according to the Word of the living God. David, a man
after God's own heart, is a man who worships God according to
the Word of God, not according to what anybody
says at any time, no ideas, thoughts, or opinions of man. David said this, now not unto
us, but unto thy name. Here's a true man, Joe Parks.
Unto thy name, first thing out of his mouth, give glory. What are you doing this for,
David? God's glory. You see that, Sam? For thy mercy,
that's what we need. Thy truth's sake, that's what
we need. Because that'll keep you from
bowing down to the idol. Look at verse 2. Well, the heathen
says, well, where's your God? Where is now their God? The heathen
says to God's people, to David and those who worshiped as David
did, where is now their God? Well, here's David's answer.
I love this. This is my favorite scripture. Verse 3, Our God is in the heavens. He's not on earth. The earth
can't contain him. What's he do, David? Verse 3,
Whatsoever he hath pleased. Not what men let him do, but
what he pleases according to his will, not their will. Verse
4, Their idols, verse 4, are silver and gold, the work of
men's hands. Though they have mouths, but
they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but
they smell not. They have hands, but they handle
not. Feet have they, but they walk
not. Neither speak they through their throat. Well, those that
make them are just like them. Blind, dumb, can't walk, but
they can. So is everyone that trusteth
in them. What's that? Now, we bring this up often here,
don't we? And you may think I make too
much of it. And someone may get offended
by constantly bringing this up. But let me ask you this. Do you
understand the difference between the God of this generation and
the God of the Bible? Doesn't that passage of Scripture
reveal to you the difference between an idol a God man makes
up, which can't do anything unless
they let him do it, and the God of the Bible. And
I'm not going to quit saying this and using these illustrations
until everyone in here understands and believes that there is but one God and
every other is an idol. And you've heard this. Men, preachers
by the millions, use this saying, God has no hands but your hands,
no feet but your feet. That is the most popular saying
in Southern Baptist religion and all others for that matter.
God has no hands but your hands, no feet but your hands. That's expressly what Psalm 115
says. So can you discern, do you have
the understanding, young people, the youngest of you, Sarah, the
youngest, can you understand that when somebody says that,
that they're not talking about the God of the Bible, that he's
a false prophet, and the God they're talking about is another
God, he's an idol. You understand that, Joseph Aaron,
when somebody says that? And while they may say, well,
this is just an expression, just a figure of speech, just a harmless figure of speech. No, it's not
harmless. It's utmost blasphemy. And it's not a slip of the tongue,
a Freudian slip. slip of the tongue, it's absolutely
the belief of men's hearts that God does what they want him to
do and can't do anything unless they let him. That's an idol. And salvation is to know the
truth. If that is someone's God in here, how important is it? Our Lord said, our Lord Jesus
Christ, again, John 17, 3, this is life eternal. This is evidence
of eternal life, of regeneration, that they might be the only true
God. God. All right? Do you at least
understand in your head that God does what He will, with whom He will? according
to his will, and he has hands. Let's turn there. You know where
that is? Oh, well, it's all the way through
the scripture. But Isaiah 45. I want you to mark this if you
have a Bible. Commit it to memory. Mark it.
We quote this constantly. Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45, and I remind you that
God keeps reminding us all through the Scripture. All through the
Scripture. Passages like Isaiah, He keeps
reminding us, I'm God, there's none else. I'm God, there's none
else. I'm the Lord, there's none else. There's no God with me.
There's no God with me. Why does He keep saying that? Because this is salvation, to
know, first of all, to know the true and living God, His character,
His attributes, His power, His glory, His honor, His ways, the
truth of God. All right? And Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 45, verse 5, I am the Lord, there is none else. Here
it is again. There is no God with me, beside
me. I girded thee, I clothed everybody,
though they don't know me. Verse 6, "...that they may know
from the rising of the sun, the east, and from the west, that
there is none beside me. I am the Lord, there is none
else. I form a light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create
evil. I, the Lord, do all these things." Look at verse 9, "...woe unto
him that striveth with his Maker, that argueth with his Maker."
Shall let the potsherds strive with one another, but shall the
clay say to him that fashioned it, What makest thou? he hath
no hands? Shall the thing which God made
say to he who made it, he let not have any hands? A slip of
the tongue, figure of speech, Can this be emphasized too much?
Do we make too much of it? Let's turn back to the book of
Daniel. All right? Back to the book of Daniel. Ah, my. I did not plan it this
way. The message on the radio was
along these lines. This message, I... In the mouth
of two or three witnesses, the thing is established. What? That
God is God. All right, and I was going to
have you turn to Daniel 5, my favorite passage. Verse 35, but don't turn, just
write it down. And Daniel 5, 23, and Daniel,
and other passages in Daniel. Well, this is the true living
God. This is the unknown God. the
unknown God. So here this command came, here
in Daniel chapter three. This command came that everybody,
when the music played and while the choir sang softly, everyone
came forward and bowed to this God with no hands and led him
into their heart and accepted him as their personal idol. Everybody but three fellows. or chosen. We read about it in
Isaiah 43, didn't we? You're my witnesses, three fellows,
whom I have chosen that you might know me. Isn't the Word of God
wonderful? How it goes together. Daniel and Isaiah lived apart,
generations apart. They didn't speak to one another.
The same one spoke to them. Three guys, three fellas, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Everybody bowed but these three.
Well, surely everybody can't be wrong with three. Just three
men be right. Yes, they are. You'll see about that. All right,
look at it. Verses eight through twelve.
Wherefore, at that time, certain chaldean, certain, certain, Chaldeans
came near and accused the Jews, and spake and said to the king
of the... Now, these are these ungodly men that were before
ordained to condemnation, and we're going to see three who
were ordained to eternal life. Certain Chaldeans came near and
accused the Jews. They spake, said to the king,
Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever! Thou, O king, thou hast
made a decree that every man shall hear the sound, and so
on and so forth, shall fall down and worship the golden image.
and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be
cast in the midst of a burning fire." What they're certain Jews, whom you've said over the affairs
of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, certain
men, they've got certain names. These men, these three, O king,
and look at this, three things, they have not regarded thee,
nor served thy gods. or worship the golden image which
you've set up. Certain Jews, yes, certain Jews,
they don't regard you as king. They say, so what else is? And they don't regard your God.
They say he's just an idol. And they refuse to bow to it. They won't gather with us. Well, everybody's here but those
three, and they won't meet with us. Why, they say all of us are
wrong, and they're right. There's a little cult down there
who's talking about one God, one Lord, being sovereign. All
they talk about is Him being sovereign, sovereign, sovereign,
sovereign. And they said we're of God and
the whole world life in wickedness. That's what they said, King.
And they said that every man's in His hand, including you, king.
They said that you're not really king at all, that you're a puppet,
and that this God turns your heart with us wherever He will,
that you do what that God says. And the way we worship, they
say, is idolatry. What you going to do about these
three? The king got mad. Did you get the picture? Are
you reading between the lines? This is exactly what people say
today about certain Jews, a true Israel. They that worship God in what?
Mary. What? Rejoice in Christ. What? No conflicts in the flesh. Certain Jews, which regard not
any king but one. which do not serve the God of
the people, but the God of the Bible, which say there's but one way,
one Lord, one faith, one way. And Nebuchadnezzar was religious. Back in chapter 2, remember when Daniel revealed
his dream to him, he got religion. He said, he said, now, back in
chapter two, he said, now, of a truth, Daniel, your God is
a God of gods and Lord of kings. And he just, he said, God's sovereign. Did he believe it? He had to
acknowledge it. Well, he got religion. Until
these three fellows refused to join up. He got mad. He's religious, but
he got furious on hearing about this. Look at verses 13 through
15. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage
and fury, commanded to bring... Have you ever seen somebody in
a rage and a fury when you're speaking of things that I just
spoke of? I have. I've stood in this pulpit
and seen the faces. Rage and fury. I've stood in
other pulpits. I've stood on the street. I've
stood at the workplace and seen rage and fury come over religious,
good, nice, religious people when they hear about God being
gone. Rage and fury. And if they had
a gun or a knife, you heard of road rage? This is religious
rage. If they had a gun or a knife, They kill you. They used to. Christ said, back then, they
did. But just declaring God's God
and everything else, everyone else is an idol. Then Old Man Ebenezer, verse
13, 13, 13. And then he brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
before the king, verse 14. Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said
unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not
usurp my gospel, nor worship the golden image which I have
made for you. Now, my God wants every man.
He's not willing to... He's going to give you a chance. He'll give you another chance.
Look at verse 15. Now, if you'd be ready. Now,
we're going to play one more verse. We're going to play one
more verse on the Cornet, the flute, the harp, the saxophone,
the soprano, all kinds of music. What do you reckon they're playing? Well, he says, one more verse
and you fall down. And in case someone thinks I'm
being sacrilegious right now, I am. I am. Just like Elijah of old. Where's he gone? Maybe he's sleeping. Maybe he's on the john. And I make fun of this. I'm making
fun, I'm poking fun. Because I got a funny guy, if
you ask me. An armless, legless, mouthless
guy. That's a funny guy. Well, he says he'll give you
one more chance. We play another verse now. He
says, you're going to fall down and worship the image which I've
made. If you don't, you'll be cast, you're going to go to hell.
You're going to go to hell. Can I tell that illustration
again about the farmer and the preacher? I like that. That's
my favorite. Such a clear illustration of
the foolishness of man's notion of God. Remember that young preacher
who was holding a revival and went to the house of some farmer,
you know, encompassing a cup of sea of land, established apostolate,
you know, to come to their meeting and put in their five dollars.
I mean, except Jesus. Well, this preacher went to the
farmer's house and said to the farmer, Come on down to the meeting,
Farmer Jones. We're having a meeting about
tent revival. Won't you come down and let Jesus
save you? And the farmer said, Nope, don't
want to. I kind of took the young fellow
back, you know. Don't want to. You better let Jesus save you
now. You're lost and you let Jesus save you. No, don't want
to. Well, if you don't, Farmer Jones, he'll
send you to hell. Farmer said, nope. Nope. Won't do that either. I'm not
going to let him do that either. He wants to save you. Won't you
let him? No. Well, he'll send you to hell.
No. No. I won't let him do that either. He tries to save me. I can prevent that. We try to
damn me. I can prevent that. If he can't save me, if he's
so weak he can't save me, you see, then he must be too weak
and he's not going to be able to damn me. That makes good horse sense,
doesn't it? God says, I kill, I make alive,
I raise up, I cast down, I save, I damn. Well, look at verse 15
now. He said, We're going to cast
you into the fiery furnace. And he said this, here's the
last line of verse 15, Who is that God that shall deliver you
out of my hands? We're going to see. We're going
to see. We're going to see that God's got a whole lot bigger
hand. Matter of fact, we're going to see you don't really have
any hands. You don't really have any hands. All right? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Now, they didn't have to think twice. The king gave them another
chance. Now, you don't want to think about this. You go home
and pray about it. I don't have to pray about this.
Look at it. This is what they said of one
accord, verse 16. Sound like there's all three
in agreement, doesn't it? And all three of them said the
exact same thing. They answered the king and said,
O Nebuchadnezzar, we don't have to be careful in answering about
this matter. We don't have to stop and think about what we're
going to do here. We don't have to pray about this. Verse seventeen, if it be so,
if you throw us in the furnace, if we If we suffer for the truth's
sake, well, that's just what God said would happen. If we're hated by all men for
His name's sake, that's just what He said would happen. If
we have to go through the fire, that's what God said would happen.
But this God also said that the flame won't touch us. Throw us
in there. Go right ahead. Our God is what? Wants to and can't. trying to accept us. Tell us
about your God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Tell us about Him.
Now, if you could stand up here and
preach this without shouting, there's something wrong with
you. When God said to Isaiah in chapter 4, He said, Cry aloud. Get up on the roof. and cry,
why shall I cry? Behold your God. It's about your God, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Our God is able to save, to keep,
John, to keep, to present us thoughtless. Is that the God you want, John
Davis? Do you want one that can't? that wants to is not able, who's
willing but it's up to you. Is that the God you want? Not
me, because I'm unable. I, by nature, am unwilling. I'm
helpless, hopeless, without strength. I'm condemned already. The soul that sins must surely
die. I've sinned and come short of the glory of God. I want a
God that says, Who is he that condemneth?" Christ died. A God that says, It's not even here. That's hardshilling. That's failing. No, it's salvation. You make men, you make men, you
make men what? You make them worshippers is
what you make them. You make them thankful. Won't you? Preaching like that.
Won't make men want to sin and make them want to thank God.
It's for sinners out here. We are God's able. Look at verse
seventeen. These fellows are not free willers,
they're God-willers, aren't they? They've read Ezekiel thirty-six,
although it's written after this. Look at verse seventeen. He says, Our God, whom we serve,
is able to deliver us. That's his name, Deliverer, from
the burning fire of burning. And he will deliver us out of
your hands. old king small pay. See that? But if not, no wait a minute,
but if not, if we go into that furnace, if we die, be it no will of you, that we're
not going to serve your God. We're not going to worship the
golden image that you set up. We're not going to do it by God. You know where the term bigot
came from? Bigot, by God. That's where it
came from. You're a bigot. We're not going to worship with
you by God, by God's grace, by the name of our God. Well, look at verse 18. We're not going
to worship and serve your gods and bow down. Verse 19. We're
not going to join in your idolatry. We're not going to do it. Though
the whole city, though the whole nation gather together in one
big meeting, that's fine. You do what you... We're not
going to do it. We're not going to meet with
you. Things haven't changed, have
they? I saw a newsflash the other day.
on the news. You may have seen this. If you
see this, it's where the Lutheran and Episcopal, so-called church,
join together. Might as well. Well, they all believe the same
anyway, haven't they? They don't believe like Luther did. Well,
no, the whole world joins together in one big ecumenical movement.
And they call it a New Age religion. a one-world order. Is there two more here? Go and
join with me and say, we're not alone. Is there two or three
gathered together in here? For the glory of God, he refuses
to bow, to disidle the men of Nazareth. Sam, how about you? Who's on the Lord's side? Everybody's
concerned about man's rights, and man's will, and man's having
a chance, and man's decision. Who's on the Lord's side? Who's
in this thing for the glory of God, huh? Will you stand with
me? Three of you? Oh, they'll cast us in the furnace.
That's all right. That's all right. Because look
at this. Salvation is of the Lord. Oh,
they'll cast you in the ocean. A whale will swallow you. But
that's all right. Salvation's up on the Lord. That's
a good job, because it can't stomach the Calvary. Well, look at verse 19. Old Nebuchadnezzar,
he really got mad now. Full of fury. His face changed. His countenance changed from
that sickening, surface, sweet smile you've seen. And he against
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Who did he hate? Says against Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego. No. Remember when Christ said,
it's not me you hate, or it's not you that they hate. Remember
that? He said that they're going to
say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake.
They're going to hate you. Time's going to come when they
kill you, they do God a service. They're going to cast you out
of their synagogue, speak evil against you. A disciple's not
above his master. They hated me, they'll hate you,
but it's not you they hate. It's God. It's God's Word. It's God's Christ. It's God's
way. It's God's salvation. That's what they hate. It's not
you. You're just repeating what you've read. You're just repeating
what I told you to say. It's not you they hate. It's
me. I'll deal with them. Don't take matters into your
hand. Don't fight back. Them's is mine. I'm going to
repay, sayeth the Lord. They're fighting me, and you
can't fight God. I cast you in the furnace. I'll
be with you. Verse 20. They commanded mighty
men. Verse 19. Commanded to heat the
furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And
men are willing for murderers and rapists and robbers and all
that go to hell, but they want it seven times hotter for a sovereign
grace. It's so. Verse 20. He commanded the most
mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, cast them into the burning furnace. Nebuchadnezzar could well represent
Satan, the god of this world, prince of kings. prince of the
power of the earth, the evil one who would have all men worship
him or his image, his religion? Well, isn't this relevant to
what we've been studying? I did not plan this. Well, the
image of the beast who binds men and women, Paul said to Timothy
that it leads them captive at his will, captive to his way
of worship and And his ministers, these mighty men, represent ministers
of Satan who have transformed themselves. He says they're wolves
in sheep's clothing. He said they transformed themselves
into what? Ministers of righteousness, angels
of light. Robes and smiles and all that. But the demons, the wolves. And they bind men. He sends it out to bind men to
this way. OK? Does that make sense? Sure
does. Binds and makes them captive
to them and him and sin and falsehood to men. All right, look at verse
21 through 23. So these men, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, were bound in their coats. their hoes and their socks,
their hats. They didn't have time to take
their shoes off. They jerked them up and bound
them with a rope around them and were cast in the midst of
the burning fiery furnace. And verse 4, verse 22, it says,
because the king's commandment was so urgent, or that is because
he said, do it now, get them. Get those three by them now and
grab them. It was urgent. The furnace exceeding hot, says
the flame of the fires, slew those men that took up Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Do you see that? What that represents? Evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, but they won't
deceive God's elect. And they're going to be destroyed.
God's going to handle them. He's going to handle these men that
bind people. You want to have one of these
ministers, these angels of light, and it says the flame was so
hot the flame slew them? Well, verse twenty-three, these
three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound
into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. They were actually
thrown into a literal fire. This is no parable, this is no
tale, this is no cunningly devised fable, as Peter said. No, sir,
this is true. And they were bound and thrown
into a literal fiery furnace. And what does this all represent?
For all of God's people who trust the true and living God, who
worship Him and Him alone, refuse to bow to the God of this world,
the idols of this world, the object of Satan's wrath. And
they're cast in the fiery furnace of affliction and persecution
for the gospel's sake, for the truth's sake. But wait a minute. These men said God was able to
save them to the uttermost. But now here they are in a furnace.
I mean, they're literally in a burning, fiery furnace. which
is with man. With man, it's impossible to
be saved from death. With man, it's impossible. You
can't be thrown into a literal fire and escape being consumed. Can you? With man, that's impossible.
It sure is. But with God, with... In other words, if God is with
you, All things are possible. Surely they're going to be consumed.
And you know, believers go through terrible trials just like the
world, but perhaps worse. Sicknesses and sorrows and disease
and death and calamities and so forth. Believers are not exempt
from that. If anything, they have worse
trials to wean them from this world. Well, the world goes through
these things. Many, if not most in the world,
go through fiery circumstances and situations, and it consumes
them. It consumes them. They're consumed
with hate and bitterness and wrath and anger and bitterness
against God and unbelief. But what does it do to believers? cast them into the fiery furnace
of trials and afflictions and so forth. It just burns away
the cross and reveals the gold. And there were believers, literally,
like these men who stood at a stake, proclaiming the name of their
God, the true and living God, and they actually burned to death
I said, if you just renounce this sovereign God, if you just
renounce this particular redemption, if you just renounce this religion, this one-way faith we talk about,
and join up with us, we won't burn you. We won't do it. We
can't do it. By God. And they burned them. You'll read the accounts. Brother Ed, most of them, if
not all of them, died with a smile on their face. How? Because Christ said they wouldn't
taste death. Flame won't burn. For your body is consumed, it
won't really burn. Let's look at that. It says in
verse 24, They fell down and burned into
the fiery furnace. Now, this furnace was such that it was
built in such a way that the king could see it. I believe
it was kind of like an arena, you know, back then, just like
the Romans and the gladiators and all that. They'd toss the
believers into the den of lions and the kings and all the people
loved it. Just like they are today. They
love the sight of blood and so forth. Now, we don't have, well,
we do have arenas. But anyway, the king is courting
the people and all that, just love to see people tortured.
And the king could see down into this burning fiery furnace. The
men, you know, threw them in down there below. They got consumed. Well, the king saw three, and
all of a sudden it says in verse 24, he was astonished. He saw
him throw these three men, he says, and he was astonished,
surprised, rose up, and hey, jumped up out of his seat. and
said unto the countess, Make a, what? Didn't we? Didn't we? How many did he throw in that
furnace? How many? Didn't we? Three? Didn't
we throw three in that furnace? And they said, Yes, king. Verse
twenty-four. And it's true, O king. He said,
Well, I see four. Loose. Didn't we bind them? Yeah. They're
loose. What, they're three? Yeah. Now
there's four. And they're loose. And look at
them. And they had no hurt. Well, they looked like they even
having a good time. And the fourth of the four, I
tell you what, the fourth one looks like. Son of God. It's my favorite passage in all
about, isn't it yours? And it's wonderful. You've been in the furnace, this
is wonderful. You believe you're this God,
this is wonderful. It's the greatest thing you ever
had. I see four. Thank God for that
fourth man. Salvation's in the fourth man.
This fourth man. You see, these three were just
men. They were just men. And it wasn't because of their
faith. It wasn't because of... It was because this fourth man
was in there with them. Jesus... Who is this fourth man?
How did he know? Barbara, how did he know? He
said, it looks like the Son of God. Well, he's never seen the
Son of God before. How could he say this? The answer
of the tongue is of the Lord. He doesn't know the Son of God.
He doesn't worship the Son of God. Well, God made him say it.
He's the Son of God. And every knee is going to bow
and every tongue confess. Do you see the God of the gospel
in all men? Huh? God of this world blinds
men's minds and sets up an image to worship. There's no God at
all. And the whole world worships this idol, this image. But God,
who's rich in mercy, for his great love where he loved a few,
hath quickened us together, hath chosen us to be, yea, before
the foundation of the world, chosen us in Christ. Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God, predestined by God. to know and worship the true
and living God, to be found in Christ, with Christ in that great
day. Not having their own righteousness
which is of the law, but the righteousness of Christ. They
had coats on, didn't they? These fellas had coats on. When they came out, they still
had the coats on. Must be a good coat. Even the fiery wrath can't get
through it. That's the robe of Christ's righteousness
and his shed blood, and he sends his Holy Spirit to reveal the
true God to his people, to turn them from idols to faith in Christ. And don't they go through great
trials and afflictions? Believers do. And the world thinks
it's the judgment of God upon them. This is happening to you
because God hates you. No, it's not. It's because God
loves you. And he's going to get glory out of them. It only
removes the dross and refines the gold until they come out
of that furnace more bold than ever to say, Seize! Seize! God rest his soul. And it's all because of the fourth
man. They came out. How many came out? Look at it.
Verse twenty-six, Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the
fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shedreck, Meshach, and
Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come forth, come hither.
Then Shedreck, Meshach, and Abednego came forth in the midst of the
fire. Three came out. One stayed in. Three were not consumed. One statement, you see the gospel. God spared not his own son. He spared us. We don't have to
go through the fiery furnace, but his son did. Went through
hell on Calvary's cross for his people, so we won't have to.
So we won't have to. And he died, so we won't have
to. Because he said, he that believeth in me shall never die.
Oh no, they'll never die. Look at verse 27. It tells us
that. Princes and governors and captains
and kings and counselors gathered together, saw these men, they
saw them go through this fiery trial. And then they came out
and looked at what they witnessed. It says, And upon whose bodies
the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed.
John, not one hair of the head will be singed." Who's our head? Christ. Isn't He said, and the
hairs are numbered? Have you ever thought about that,
Sam? He's got His people numbered.
Not one of them is going to be singed. Read on. The hairs of
their heads. Neither were their coats changed. I told you these
were good coats. They'll last. They still got
them on. They had them on when they went in. They had them on
when they went out. I bet from that day forward, they never
wanted to take them off. Let me take your coat. No. No. I'd be naked. You always wear
that coat, Shadrack? Yeah. I love this coat. This is my
hope. It's got me through the fire.
It's my protection. Christ's righteousness. What's
your righteousness, sinner? That robe that Christ made for
me. Here's another one. I've got another one. I don't
want it. I'll keep this one, thank you. It's going to get
me through. A dear brother and friend of
ours, Brother Nyberg, laying on his deathbed. Literally, he
was going to die. And he said he looked through
his life to find something that could give him some assurance,
something to give him some assurance. And his sins were ever before
him, and his life had come short of doing what he should do. But
he said this one verse of Scripture came to his mind lying there.
Psalm 32, "...Blessed is the man to whom thou wilt not impute
iniquity." imputed righteousness. He laid there and thought, I
can die. I'm covered. God's got me covered. Here, we've got some religion
for you. It'll make you suitable to God. Don't want it. It's got holes all in it. I've got it. And look at this. Wasn't a smell
of fire. Not a smell of fire. Barbara, I bet they smelled sweet. But I bet they smelled of myrrh
and aloe and cassia and a rose of Sharon, perhaps They had that
fragrance on them, and that lily of the valley was all over them.
Sweet-smelling savor, no smell of smoke. And God's people, someday,
when He presents them thoughtless before the presence of His glory,
they will smell just like Jesus Christ. There won't be one sin
upon them. Not one. Not one. Why, the world smells
bad to God. They test Him out of everything.
Their self-righteousness smells bad to God. Like filthy rags. What's your hope? Huh? What's your hope? My boy. Mine's in the fourth man. In the fourth man. Salvation's in
the fourth man. That's my hope. He's my hope.
And like old Roland Hill. You remember that story? I love
this. Old Roland Hill. Years ago, preacher said he dreamed
he died and went to glory. And one of the angels stopped
him at the gate. This is just a dream. Good illustration.
One of the angels stopped him at the gate and said, Roland
Hill, he said, What right have you
got to come in this holy land? And Roland said, I got no right at all. He said,
I'm not here on my rights, but I'm here on the rights of another,
the righteousness of another. And I'm with him. the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, Come, now I'll take
you and be accepted in the blood. So that's my hope, and that you're
assured of. I've got a coat on, and I'm not
bound, I'm free. The Son is set me free. And I
walk by faith, not by sight. All right, Brother Joe, what
was that number? 298. Pay attention to the words. Let's
sing this. 298. Let's sing the first and the third verses,
okay? Especially pay attention to the
chorus. It says, Some through the water,
some through the flood, some through the fire. I would change
that. All through the fire. All right, let's sing the 1st
and 3rd verses. In shady green pastures, so rich
and so sweet, Where the waters do flow, face
the weary ones face God leads his dear children along Some
through the waters, some through the flood Some through the fire,
but all through the blood Come to great sorrow, but God gives
a song In the night season and on the days of awe So sorrow,
be gone, and sing the song, God leads me home Through grace we've conquered,
defeated our foes, God's been good to our children of old. Some through the water, some
through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the
blood. Some do grace our hope, but God
gives us all In the night season and all the day long. Thank you for listening.