2023.08.27. Sermon Notes. Our GOD is able, and the Fourth man.
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: The fiery furnace. Three men were thrown into the fiery furnace, and yet, there were four walking in the midst of the Fire. Their faith said, “Our GOD is able”, because GOD said, “HE will never leave nor forsake you.”
We of faith will go through some fiery furnaces, will we stand firm in what we believe?
SCRIPTURES: 2 Timothy 4:5, Deuteronomy 31:6, Jude 1:3-4, Daniel 3 :1-30, Revelation 12:10-11
WATCH IN ALL THINGS, ENDURE AFFLICTIONS, FULFILL GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE.
2 Timothy 4:5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Last week we were looking at TRUTH that comes from the Word of GOD. We read that we are living in perilous times. And as we come closer to HIS RETURN, we will face even more.
But GOD has promised.
HE WILL NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE YOU
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH - FIGHT FOR YOUR FAITH
Jude 1:3-4
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
IN THE DAYS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR
Nebuchadnezzar, made himself as a god, a form of anti-christ, and created a image of himself some 90 feet tall by 9 feet wide
AN IMAGE TO WORSHIP.
Daniel 3:1-30
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3 So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
THE COMMAND, YOU WILL BOW, OR YOU WILL BURN
4 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; 6 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
7 So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
TAKE A STAND, CONTEND FOR THE FAITH.
ACCUSERS OF THE BRETHREN
Daniel’s Friends Disobey the King
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; 11 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
NOTE/THOUGHT: They praised Nebuchadnezzar, and repeated the words that he said.
I worship the ONE TRUE GOD, I begin with praise, and then repeat HIS WORD in my prayer requests.
12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king.
THE TEST
14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?
YOU WILL BOW OR YOU WILL BURN
15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
THE ARROGANCE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR – what god can deliver you from my hands?
FAITH UNDER FIRE - OUR GOD IS ABLE
THEY STOOD THEIR GROUND
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
THEY STATED THEIR FAITH – OUR GOD IS ABLE TO DELIVER US
17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
WE WILL NOT SERVE NOR WORSHIP YOU NOR THE GOLD IMAGE
18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
FAITH AND RELIGION WILL BE TRIED
WHEN YOU ARE PUT TO THE TEST…
WHEN I AM PUT TO THE TEST…
WILL YOU AND I PASS THE TEST OF FAITH?
EVEN UNTO DEATH
Revelation 12:10-11 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
SHADRACH, MESCHAK AND ABEDNEGO'S FAITH WENT BEYOND THE FEAR OF DEATH.
SAVED IN FIERY TRIAL
NEBUCHADNEZZAR WAS FURIOUS – CRANK UP THE FIRE X 7
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
HE SUMMONS HIS GREAT WARRIORS
20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
A FIRE SO FURIOUS, IT KILLED THE KINGS WARRIORS
22 Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT DO I SEE?
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
THEY ARE LOOSE AND WALKING AROUND, WITH A FOURTH MAN, LIKE THE SON OF GOD
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
UNTOUCHED BY FIRE – THE BONDS BROKEN, BUT NOT EVEN THE SMELL OF SMOKE ON THEM.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
A BLAZING REVIVAL
THE KING IS CONVERTED
NEBUCHADNEZZAR PRAISES GOD
GOD DELIVERED THOSE WHO TRUSTED IN HIM
THEY FRUSTRATED THE KING’S WORDS. YOU MUST BOW OR YOU WILL BURN.
THEY YIELDED THEIR BODIES. WE MAY BURN, BUT WE WILL NOT BOW. OUR GOD IS ABLE.
AND THE GOD WHO IS ABLE SAVED THEM.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!
THERE IS NO OTHER GOD WHO CAN DELIVER LIKE THIS!
29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
ONLY OUR GOD IS ABLE!
FOUND FAITHFUL THROUGH THE TRIALS AND LIFTED UP
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.
This last portion of my message are excerpts from Oral Roberts’ message entitled, “The Fourth Man”
*****
The Fourth Man, Oral Roberts
One day Nebuchadnezzar looked upon these gods and saw their lifelessness,
and realized that no power on earth had been able to stand from his onslaught,
so he decided he was god and he proclaimed himself god of heaven and earth.
And as trophies of his victory, he took captive fine young Hebrew princes, like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego.
Who said, ‘We may burn in your fiery furnace, but we will not bow to your image of god”
We may burn but we will never bow.
Let the heathen rage to imagine a vain thing; ‘Our God is able’
Let the angels shout it from the ramparts of heaven; ‘Our God is able’.
Let the preachers proclaim it from their pulpits; ‘Our God is able’.
Let the people of the choir sing it; ‘Our God is able’.
HE has always been a GOD of deliverance.
As for Nebuchadnezzar…
He could not allow these men to remain alive…
Why these men would cause a revival in Babylon!
These kind of men, walking testimonies with the spirit of God in their lives would turn old Babylon upside down in 24 hours.
The world feels it can’t stand people on fire with Jesus Christ.
They’re loose, they’re walking about,
They have no hurt and the form of the fourth one looks like the son of God.
And that SON of GOD rose up to HIS full height and leaping into time and space,
HE raced across the heavens faster than the speed of sound or light,
And before they ever threw the three in the furnace, HE was on the inside.
HE spoke to the flames ‘you shall not burn their bodies or scorch their clothes or singe their hair.’
And when they threw the three bodily into the furnace, they did not know it, they threw them into the arms of the Fourth Man.
Who is this Fourth Man?
I’ll tell you who HE is…
In Genesis, He is the Seed of the Woman,
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb,
In Leviticus, He is Our High Priest,
In Numbers, He is the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night,
In Deuteronomy, He is the Prophet like unto Moses,
In Joshua, He is the Captain of our Salvation,
In Judges, He is our judge and Lawgiver,
In Ruth, He is our Kinsman Redeemer,
In I and II Samuel, He is our Trusted Prophet,
In Kings and Chronicles, He is our Reigning King,
In Ezra, He is our faithful scribe,
In Nehemiah, He is the Rebuilder of the Broken Down Walls of Human Life,
In Esther, He is our Mordecai,
and in Job, He is our ever-Living-Redeemer,
"For I know my redeemer liveth."
Who is this Fourth Man?
In Psalms, He is our Shepherd,
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, He is our Wisdom,
In the Song of Solomon, He is our Lover and Bridegroom,
In Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace,
In Jeremiah, He is the Righteous Branch,
In Lamentations, He is our Weeping Prophet,
In Ezekial, He is the wonderful Four-Faced Man,
and in Daniel the Fourth Man in "Life s Fiery Furnaces."
Who is this Fourth Man?
In Hosea, He is the Faithful Husband, "Forever married to the backslider,"
In Joel, He is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and Fire,
In Amos, He is our Burden-Bearer,
In Obadiah, He is the Mighty to Save,
In Jonah, He is our great Foreign Missionary,
In Micah, He is the Messenger of Beautiful Feet,
In Nahum, He is the Avenger of God's Elect,
In Habakkuk, He is God's Evangelist, crying, "Revive thy work in the midst of the years,"
In Zephaniah, He is our Savior,
In Haggai, He is the Restorer of God's Lost Heritage,
In Zephaniah, He is the Fountain opened in the House of David for Sin and Uncleanness,
In Malachi, He is the Sun of Righteousness, rising with, Healing in His Wings.
Who is this Fourth Man?
In Matthew, He is the Messiah,
In Mark, He is the Wonder-Worker,
In Luke, He is the Son of Man,
In John, He is the Son of God,
In Acts, He is the Holy Ghost,
In Romans, He is our Justifier,
In I and II Corinthians, He is our Sanctifier,
In Galatians, He is our Redeemer from the Curse of the Law,
In Ephesians, He is the Christ of Unsearchable Riches,
In Philippians, He is the God Who Supplies all our Needs,
In Colossians, He is the Fulness of the Godhead Bodily,
In I and II Thessalonians, He is our Soon Coming King,
In I and II Timothy, He is our Mediator between God and Man,
In Titus, He is our Faithful Pastor,
In Philemon, He is a Friend that Sticketh Closer than a Brother.
Who is this Fourth Man?
In, Hebrews, He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant,
In James, He is our Great Physician, for "The prayer of faith shall save the sick,"
In I and II Peter, He is our Chief Shepherd Who soon shall appear with a Crown of Unfading Glory,
In I, II and III John, He is Love,
In Jude, He is the Lord coming with Ten Thousands of His Saints,
And in Revelation, He is the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords!
Who is this Fourth Man?
He is Abel's Sacrifice, Noah's Rainbow, Abraham's Ram, Isaac's Wells, Jacob's Ladder, Issachar's Burdens, Jacob's Sceptre, Balaam's Shiloh, Moses' Rod, Joshua's Sun and Moon that stood still, Elijah's Mantle, Elisha's Staff, Gideon's Fleece, Samuel's Horn of Oil, David's Slingshot, Isaiah’s Fig Poultice (bandage), Hezekiah's Sundial, Daniel's Visions, Amos' Burden, and is Malachi's Sun of Righteousness.
Who is this Fourth Man?
He is Peter's Shadow, Stephen's Signs and Wonders, Paul's Handkerchiefs and Aprons, and John's Pearly White City.
He is a Father to the Orphan, Husband to the Widow,
To the traveler in the night, He is the Bright and Morning Star,
To those who walk in the Lonesome Valley, He is the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon and Honey in the Rock.
He is the Brightness of God's Glory, the Express Image of His Person, the King of Glory, the Pearl of Great Price, the Rock in a Weary Land, the Cup that runneth over, the Rod and Staff that comfort, and the Government of our life is upon his shoulders.
Who is this Fourth Man?
He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the living God!
My Savior, my companion, my LORD, and my KING!
*****
And the question is…Who is HE to you?
FATHER GOD,
We come before YOU with praise on our lips, for YOUR WORD and YOUR SPIRIT speaks to our hearts. We thank YOU for the promises that YOU will never leave nor forsake us, and that YOU will always be with us. Thank YOU that when we go through the fiery furnaces of life, YOU are there, and YOU are able to carry us through. Let us be strong in our faith, that we might stand the tests of time, and remain faithful to YOU FATHER GOD. We ask this in the NAME of JESUS, the fourth man in the fiery furnace, our Savior, Redeemer and Soon coming King. Amen.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Bill
