Participants:
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000084S
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00:01 Music...
00:30 James: We are moving on up. 00:32 Yvonne: Yeah... All: Laughter. 00:34 James: So, we've come from Daniel 1... 00:36 spent a little time there... 00:37 Daniel 2... spent a little time there... 00:39 now we're in Daniel 3 00:40 and we're going to see an amazing connection 00:42 between Daniel 2 and Daniel 3... 00:43 an amazing practical connection in relationship to 00:47 our own experience with God and how that works. 00:51 There were some amazing insights 00:53 that we were talking about in the last meeting with the image 00:56 and how it represents different parts of our own lives... 00:59 our own lives... our own decisions... 01:00 the way we walk with God... 01:02 and we'll see that playing out in Nebuchadnezzar's life here 01:05 as we move into Daniel chapter 3, 01:07 but we're also going to see some amazing parallels 01:10 to end-time prophecy. 01:11 Yvonne: Hmmm... 01:12 James: When you get into the book of Revelation, 01:14 sometimes the reason why it's so difficult 01:15 is because people don't refer back to the stories in the Bible 01:19 and if you could refer back... 01:21 if we had to do it all over again, I would say, 01:22 "Let's do Daniel first and then we'll do Revelation... " 01:25 because that would have laid a really good foundation 01:27 for understanding some of the symbols from Revelation 01:29 and so, when you read Revelation... 01:32 if you can refer back to these stories, 01:33 ah... there's a treasure house of understanding 01:36 that can open up and that's what we'll do too, 01:38 we'll make that connection between those two. 01:39 Yvonne: Yes, that's good. 01:41 James: So, we'll probably spend at least a couple of sessions 01:43 right here in... in Daniel chapter 3. 01:44 Yvonne, would you like to lead us in a word of prayer? 01:46 Yvonne: Sure... "Father God, 01:48 thank You so very much for these beautiful, beautiful 01:51 insights that you're giving 01:53 and we just praise You Lord for Your Holy Spirit 01:55 in whose... 01:56 one of whose functions is to lead us into all truth, 01:59 so, we just thank You Lord 02:00 and we ask you to continue to bless and guide and direct, 02:03 in Jesus' name, amen. " 02:05 All: Amen. 02:06 James: All right, so, Daniel chapter 3... 02:08 let's just start out here, Jason, 02:09 and read a few of these verses, 02:11 let's read Daniel 3 and let's start with verse 1 02:14 and we'll read all the way through to verse 7. 02:17 Jason: Okay, "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, 02:22 whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. 02:27 He set it up in the plain of Dura, 02:30 in the province of Babylon. 02:32 And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together 02:35 the satraps, the administrators, 02:39 the governors, the counselors, 02:40 the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, 02:43 and all the officials of the provinces, 02:45 to come to the dedication of the image 02:47 which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 02:50 So the satraps, the administrators, 02:52 the governors, the counselors, 02:54 the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, 02:56 and all the officials of the provinces 03:00 gathered together for the dedication of the image 03:03 that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; 03:04 and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 03:08 Then a herald cried aloud: 'To you it is commanded, 03:12 O peoples, nations, and languages, 03:14 that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, 03:17 flute harp, lyre, and psaltery, 03:25 in symphony with all kinds of music, 03:29 you shall fall down and worship the gold image 03:31 that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; 03:33 and whoever does not fall down and worship 03:36 shall be cast immediately 03:38 into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ' 03:40 so at that time when all the people heard the sound 03:43 of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, 03:46 in symphony with all kinds of music, 03:49 all the people, nations, and languages 03:52 fell down and worshiped the gold image 03:54 which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. " 03:56 James: Wow! Yvonne: Hmmm... 03:57 James: You know, music is a universal language 03:59 and it sounds like 04:01 there's a lot of different people groups here, 04:03 but the one thing they'll have in common is... 04:05 they all hear that music and when they hear that music, 04:07 they're going to bow down and worship... 04:09 that's the sign... that's the indicator... 04:11 that's the mode... 04:12 that's what Nebuchadnezzar is using here. 04:14 One of the first questions you have to ask yourself is, 04:16 "What in the world is this guy doing?" 04:18 I mean, he was just like, on fire for God... 04:22 he's was on fire, like, 04:23 "Your God is the God of gods... " 04:25 I mean, he's worshipping Daniel, 04:26 he's like... "This is... there's no... 04:28 Daniel, you're number one right now, 04:29 and your friends... yeah, bring them in too... 04:32 I mean, whatever you want, you're going to get it, 04:34 I'm going to give you cars... 04:35 I'm going to give you your own private jet... 04:36 you get everything... " right? 04:38 "You got everything... " 04:39 and now, he is making an image 04:41 which is what he was shown... the image... 04:43 but he's making it all of gold. 04:44 Yvonne: Hmmm... 04:46 James: He's making it all of gold 04:47 and if there's one point that I think is really important here, 04:50 to emphasize and clarify and that is 04:52 intellectual truth alone 04:54 is not going to take us all the way with Jesus. 04:56 Yvonne: Right. 04:58 James: There are a lot of people who know the "Bible" 05:00 actually, it reminds me of a verse in James 05:03 where it says that the devils know the Bible. 05:06 They believe... and what do they do? 05:08 They tremble... 05:09 so, just knowing the Bible... 05:11 people say, "Well, I know the Bible, I... " 05:13 naw... no... no... 05:17 God is... and I think this is really powerful... 05:19 it's beautiful... 05:21 God is actually tracking us through 05:22 Nebuchadnezzar's experience to help us to understand 05:25 how to go deeper than just the Bible. 05:26 That's what we need. 05:28 We need to know how to go deeper than the Bible. 05:29 Another thing that's... 05:31 that's coming out here that I really love, 05:32 is, God doesn't give up on us when we give up on him... 05:36 Nebuchadnezzar is kind of like turning his back 05:39 on the real truth that God showed him 05:41 and it was... wow! talk about a powerful... 05:43 like, this was powerful 05:45 and yet God sticks with Nebuchadnezzar... 05:48 God works through this with Nebuchadnezzar... 05:51 what we're going to see here in this story is powerful 05:54 in relationship to how God is patient with us... 05:56 and how God works through our trials... our difficulties 05:59 even when we neglect to live up to that truth that we have, 06:01 so, if there are Viewers out there who feel like, 06:03 "Man, I've known all this truth and I've turned away from God... 06:06 and it's no use now... " 06:07 no, you need to... you need to take note of this story, 06:09 this is a powerful story 06:11 and Nebuchadnezzar has... we know this... 06:14 one of the issues that Nebuchadnezzar has 06:16 is... he has anger issues. 06:18 Yvonne: Yes. 06:19 James: He has anger issues... 06:20 he gets so upset with his wise men, 06:22 he was going to kill them all... 06:23 that's in Daniel chapter 2 and now in Daniel chapter 3, 06:25 we're going to see him get angry again. 06:27 God can deal with our anger issues... 06:29 He can take out all of our issues... 06:30 He can work through all of that and get us... 06:32 get us completely knit with Him... heart, soul and spirit. 06:35 So... 06:36 Jason: He seems like he was an Extremist... 06:39 like, and I know, as we continue to go on, 06:42 we'll see even more of that... 06:43 he's... on this side he's extreme... 06:45 then on this side, he's extreme... 06:47 and he didn't really find... 06:49 you know, for a while, he didn't find the middle ground, 06:52 so, he seemed like an Extremist 06:54 and it's interesting here too in Daniel chapter 3 and... 06:58 and verse 2 06:59 where he starts naming all the people that he sent word to, 07:02 I mean, this is like... 07:04 everybody who's anybody in the kingdom... 07:07 you know, so all the pressure... 07:09 imagine the pressure that you have on... 07:12 you've got these governors... 07:13 you've got the satraps... the administrators... 07:15 you've got everybody who's anybody... 07:17 just it's like you have the whole White House 07:20 just coming out and saying, 07:22 "Okay, now, this is what's going to happen... 07:24 this is what you have to do... 07:25 or else you're going to the fire. " 07:28 Ivor: You're going to the Babylonian Grammys. 07:30 All: Laughter... 07:32 Ivor: "And here, the ultimate Grammy goes to... 07:36 Nebuchadnezzar!" 07:37 Clapping... 07:40 James: "Everybody, the music is playing... 07:41 hurry up... hurry up and comply... " 07:43 Jason: Yeah... yeah... 07:44 James: That's a really good point, Jason, 07:45 and I think we should elaborate on that a little bit. 07:48 Nebuchadnezzar is an Extremist 07:51 in the bad and in the good supposedly... 07:54 you know, whatever way he goes 07:56 and Nebuchadnezzar is a perfect illustration of us 07:58 and we are imbalanced and extreme 08:01 and that's the way we go... that's the way society goes, 08:03 our tendency is to be extreme one way or the another 08:06 and we tend to swing in those extremes and we see that and... 08:10 but I loved how you set us up for... 08:12 only God can really bring us to balance. 08:13 Isaiah 30 verse 21... one of my favorite verses... 08:17 "You'll hear a voice behind you saying, 08:19 'This is the way, walk ye in it... ' 08:21 when you turn to the left 08:23 or when you turn to the right. " 08:24 So, we tend to turn to the left and to the right 08:26 and God tends to speak in to us in those times 08:30 and help us to get... to find that balance. 08:31 Any other thoughts here? 08:33 Yvonne: One things that I was going to say... 08:36 He... when He gets the word from Daniel... 08:39 the interpretation from Daniel, 08:41 he falls on his face prostrate before Daniel, right? 08:47 James: It says he worshipped him in King James. 08:49 Yvonne: Oh, okay, yeah he... yeah, here it says, 08:52 "He falls on his face prostrate... " worship... 08:55 and so, he's showing this ultimate respect. 08:58 This is what he's trying to get from his subjects... 09:03 "I'm the one now... fall down and worship me 09:08 as... as represented by this image of me. " 09:14 So, "worship me" and that's again... Satan... 09:18 that whole thing of worship... 09:20 who or whom are you going to worship? 09:23 It's all about worship 09:25 and that's what he's showing in chapter 3. 09:28 In chapter 2, he's falling down before Daniel and... 09:33 and he is uplifting the God of heaven 09:36 but then, how quickly we forget... 09:38 James: Yeah. 09:39 Yvonne: And in chapter 3... "No, worship me... " 09:42 you know, your God is the God of gods... 09:45 your God is this and that... 09:47 but now it's "Worship me... " 09:49 So, I... I think that you know, 09:52 one application that we can make with this is, 09:54 you can't rely on yesterday's insights, 09:57 you have to have fresh relationship with God 10:00 all the time 10:02 because otherwise you're going to fall into 10:04 a whole other kind of worship. 10:06 Ivor: And many say this... 10:08 Ivor is smiling because he has an important point. 10:10 Yvonne: Laughter. All: Laughter. 10:12 Ivor: You know, what God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar 10:20 through Daniel... was prophecy. 10:22 Yvonne: Right. 10:23 Ivor: And what Nebuchadnezzar does in Daniel chapter 3 10:27 is... he changes prophecy. 10:28 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Ooooooh! 10:30 Ivor: He's like... I'm going to present... this is 10:32 and what he presents is false prophecy... 10:34 what he presents is false prophecy. 10:36 James: It is... this king is not going to last. 10:38 Yvonne: Right. 10:39 Ivor: And... so that's on the prophetic sense 10:43 but in a practical sense, 10:45 how many of us who live in false prophecy? 10:46 James: Yeah. Yvonne: Unpack that. 10:49 Ivor: Okay, you know... 10:50 "Man, I'm going to be a hip-hop rap musician... 10:57 I'm going to have money, fame... 11:01 this is what I'm here for... this is my destiny... " 11:06 and God's like, "No, that's false prophecy. " 11:09 Yvonne: Hmmm... 11:10 James: "Let me show you your destiny. " 11:12 Ivor: Yeah, "That's not your destiny... 11:13 that's not who I called you to be... " 11:15 and how many of us are living false prophecy? 11:17 And the picture looks all gold 11:19 like, "Oh man, yes... " 11:21 and God is like, "No... that's not... 11:23 that's not what I told you... 11:25 is that what I told you? 11:27 Come on, do we need to go back to Daniel 2 11:29 for me to show you that 11:31 what I want you to do is humble yourself... 11:34 it's to become like dust, to become nothing 11:37 so that I can use you to do something. " 11:39 Yvonne: Yes. 11:40 Ivor: And so, yeah, it's... 11:42 it's like, how many of us live out 11:44 what we think is going to... what looks like gold to us 11:47 and then, want other people to bow down 11:51 to what we see as our future. 11:53 You know, "Hey, this is... 11:56 so, you need to bow down because this is what I'm going to do" 11:57 and God's like, 11:59 "That's not the plan I have for you... " 12:00 you know, so there... 12:02 we take us over to Revelation chapter 13... 12:04 we see that there's an image that is set up 12:07 and this is paralleling what happens in Revelation chapter 13 12:11 and Babylon ultimately sets out false prophecy 12:14 and many a people are... end up deceived 12:17 because they end up believing 12:19 a false version 12:21 of what's supposed to happen in the future. 12:22 Yvonne: Hmmm... 12:24 James: And many times God does have to do that, 12:25 I really love these thoughts that you guys are sharing. 12:27 Many times God does have to bring us back 12:30 to remind us of Daniel 2. 12:32 Do you remember Nebuchadnezzar? 12:34 How frustrating it was to be troubled 12:36 and to have no answer? 12:38 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 12:39 James: You remember what it was like 12:40 to seek the wisdom of the world 12:42 and to have no one that can help you? 12:43 All: Hmmm... hmmm... 12:45 James: Do you remember what it was like to be at the end 12:47 so frustrated that you're ready to just wipe people out? 12:49 Do you remember what that was like? 12:50 You know, so, the trials that we go through 12:53 are to remind us that the way we build the future 12:56 and the way God builds the future... 12:58 the way that we direct our steps and... and look in... 13:02 and the way God does are different 13:03 and we need to trust God for our future and not ourselves. 13:06 Yvonne: Yes... yes. 13:07 James: Nebuchadnezzar, I think, is naturally afraid 13:10 to come to an end at the head... 13:12 the head part comes to an end. 13:14 I think that because God has put eternity in our hearts, 13:17 that all humanity has that fear 13:20 and so, God wants to belay... 13:22 He wants to comfort, in a sense, that fear 13:25 by showing up, "Hey, you know, 13:27 I've got a plan for you... 13:29 you've got a future and a hope... 13:30 you're going to rest in Christ 13:31 and you're going to have eternal life again... " 13:33 and giving us that then... 13:35 then he says, "Now, are you going to trust Me 13:37 with your future? 13:38 It's not coming to an end so just trust Me... 13:40 just trust Me... 13:42 we'll walk through this together. " 13:43 Nebuchadnezzar loses that trust just a little bit. 13:46 I think part of his issue is... 13:48 you know, in worshipping Daniel, 13:50 he's still going through a human being... 13:51 and he's not going directly to God... 13:53 he's still going through a human being 13:54 and when you worship people, 13:56 no matter how good they might be... 13:58 no matter how helpful they might be... 14:00 you're going to want to be worshiped also 14:03 because it's just... it's just an outward... 14:05 the reason why we look at people and we give them so much, like, 14:08 you know, adoration and worship 14:10 is because we want adoration and worship also 14:12 and in a sense, our superstars 14:16 and our connection with our superstars make us great. 14:18 Ivor: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 14:19 James: And that's why we do it... 14:21 you know, "Yeah, my basketball team... 14:22 my football guy and my team... and my... my... " 14:25 and then when they lose... when they let us down we say, 14:27 "Oh, you know... we... " because it's personal for us 14:29 and so, we want people to see us as winners... 14:31 we want people to see us with... "Yeah... wow... okay... " 14:35 so, that's part of why we worship people... 14:38 why we worship people 14:40 and it's a natural inclination that God wants to remove 14:42 because people will always let us down. 14:44 Yvonne: Always... 14:45 James: They're always going to disappoint us 14:46 but God will never disappoint us 14:48 and this is the lesson that God is trying to show Nebuchadnezzar 14:51 and each one of us as we go through this. 14:52 Yvonne: Yes. 14:53 Ivor: Yeah, I'm going to add another thought here 14:55 that would again bring in another dimension 14:57 and then we can again go back and forth 14:58 between these dimensions 15:00 but we see here that Nebuchadnezzar makes 15:03 an entire image of gold. 15:04 You remember back in Daniel chapter 2 15:07 that Daniel had said to Nebuchadnezzar, 15:10 "You are this head of gold... " 15:13 he said, "You're a king of kings... " 15:14 he used that term, "You're a king of kings 15:17 and you are this head of gold. " 15:18 In Ezekiel 26 verse 7... 15:21 if I can have one of you... 15:24 or you know what? Let me just... 15:25 I'm going to pull it up on my computer here real quick, 15:28 so, Ezekiel 26 verse 7... we talked about this before, 15:31 "For thus saith the Lord GOD; 15:34 Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, 15:39 a king of kings, from the north, 15:42 with horses... chariots... 15:44 horsemen... companies, and much people. " 15:46 So, when Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar, 15:48 "You are this head of gold... " what he's saying is, 15:50 "Nebuchadnezzar, you... king of kings... 15:54 a king from the north... 15:56 are this head of gold. " 15:57 James: Hmmm... hmmm... 15:58 Ivor: So, when Nebuchadnezzar makes this entire image of gold 16:02 what you're looking at... 16:04 is an image of the king of the north. 16:05 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 16:07 Ivor: Now, Nebuchadnezzar's thinking... 16:09 "I'm the king of the north... " 16:11 but Nebuchadnezzar doesn't even realize 16:14 that the image he has up there is not even an image of himself. 16:19 James: Hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 16:21 wow... 16:23 Ivor: So, when you go back to the book of Exodus, 16:27 God had instructed Moses to make two Cherubim 16:31 that stood on either side of the Ark of the Covenant. 16:34 Yvonne: Right. 16:36 Ivor: Those Cherubim were made of all gold. 16:40 One of those Cherubim we know was Lucifer... 16:44 and when you go to Isaiah chapter 14... 16:46 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 16:48 James: And by the way, Ezekiel 28 tells us 16:49 that one of those Cherubim's was Lucifer. 16:51 Ivor: That's right... and when we go to Isaiah chapter 14, 16:54 and I think we should just read that, 16:55 let's go Isaiah 14 and... you can hold your place there 16:58 and just have one of you turn to Isaiah 14 17:00 and read verses 12 to 14. 17:03 Jason: 12 to 14... Ivor: Yes. 17:06 Yvonne: You have it? Jason: Hmmm... hmmm... 17:09 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! 17:13 how you are cut down to the ground, 17:15 you who weakened the nations! 17:17 for you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, 17:20 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; 17:23 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 17:26 on the farthest sides of the north... '" 17:28 and so... the 14th... 17:30 "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, 17:33 I will be like the Most High. " 17:35 Ivor: So, when we look at that image in Daniel chapter 3, 17:39 that image is really a reflection 17:43 not of Nebuchadnezzar himself 17:45 but of the true king of Babylon, right? 17:48 Yvonne: Hmmm... 17:49 Ivor: That's an image of the king of the north. 17:52 James: Hmmm... hmmm... 17:54 Ivor: And James when I talked about how there's this like... 17:57 this line of... 17:59 you're talking about God's mercy to Nebuchadnezzar, 18:01 but at the same time we're seeing, 18:03 "Hey, this image is pure wicked, it's pure evil... " 18:06 it's like, God is trying to remove Nebuchadnezzar... 18:09 "Nebuchadnezzar, you don't want to be the personification 18:13 of who you're being the personification of 18:15 which you don't even realize 18:16 you're being that personification. " 18:18 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 18:19 Ivor: And you would think that God would be like... 18:21 "Oh, you're the personification of this person... 18:22 well, I'm going to treat you ill... 18:24 okay, and this is what's going to happen to Satan 18:26 and this is what's going to... " 18:27 no... He's trying to work with the individual 18:29 separating him from the position 18:32 that he doesn't even realize... "I'm king of kings... 18:37 worship this great image that happens to measure 60... 18:41 60 cubits and 6... " whatever it was... 18:44 he doesn't even realize what he's doing. 18:46 Yvonne: Right. 18:47 Ivor: And God's trying to win him... 18:49 He's saying, "Nebuchadnezzar... no, you... 18:51 you don't want to... this is not right, 18:53 you don't want to go there 18:55 and so, what Daniel 3 is showing us 18:58 is once again helping us to understand 19:01 what happens in Daniel chapter 11 19:04 right, because you have the king of the south 19:07 attacking the king of the north... 19:09 the king of the north attacks back... 19:10 defeats the king of the south... 19:12 turns the attention to Jerusalem... 19:15 seeks to enforce the wine of Babylon... 19:18 then hears a message... 19:21 remember Nebuchadnezzar chapter 2... 19:23 Daniel chapter 2 verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar is troubled 19:29 because of the news that he hears... 19:31 news regarding the north and the east 19:34 and so, what does he do as a result of that? 19:36 In Daniel 3, he sets up an image 19:39 and commands all to bow 19:42 and what you're going to see is that 19:44 by the time we get to Daniel 11, you'll be like, 19:47 "Oh... oh... oh yeah, this is the exact history 19:50 that we're following that happened literally 19:52 it's now supposed to happen spiritually 19:54 at the time of the end. " 19:56 Yvonne: Hmmm... James: Yeah, definitely. 19:57 Yvonne: That's good. 19:58 James: So, we're seeing a lot of the principles here 20:00 that are being developed as we go through this... 20:01 one other thought that I just want to touch on here... 20:06 why does... 20:07 why does Nebuchadnezzar make the image all of gold? 20:10 Because he's afraid... 20:11 he's fearful of the end of his kingdom 20:14 so, fear is a motivator... 20:16 it's not a good motivator but fear is his motivator 20:19 and a lot of people in this world are afraid... 20:21 the fear is something that was instilled in us 20:24 from the fall... 20:25 Adam and Eve in the garden... hiding from God. 20:28 "Why were you hiding?" 20:29 "We were afraid and we hid ourselves... " 20:30 and fear is something that love removes. 20:33 Perfect love casts out all fear 20:35 and so God is in the business of removing 20:37 the fear of this world and replacing it with His fear 20:39 there's a difference between the two... 20:41 and that's what we're going to see with Nebuchadnezzar. 20:43 He ends up being filled with this holy fear... 20:46 with this gospel fear rather than with this human fear... 20:50 with this natural fear that we have... and... 20:53 Yvonne: You think he had a combination of fear and pride 20:57 and the pride... 21:00 the fear of losing his position and a lot of times with... 21:07 even politics like what we see now... 21:10 power... 21:11 a lot of it is about power... 21:13 so, you've got the pride and you've got the fear together 21:19 and if he had... if he had given his heart to God 21:22 both of those things would have been separate 21:25 but he didn't. 21:27 James: And we can't deal with those two principles 21:29 without God's help. 21:30 Yvonne: That's right. 21:32 James: They'll take over and control us... 21:33 they'll make us do things and say things... 21:34 and we see that in the political world today. 21:36 I mean, when you look at some of the stuff that's coming out 21:38 and it doesn't matter what side you're on, 21:40 you realize how ridiculous it is 21:43 and you feel... "Why did those people... 21:44 why did they say that... why did they do that... 21:46 why did they lie... why did they... d... d... d... " 21:47 because of pride and fear 21:49 and so it just leads from one thing to the other 21:51 until finally it's all blown open... 21:52 there's nothing else you can do... 21:54 that's where pride and fear takes you. 21:55 Yvonne: Yes. 21:56 Ivor: You know, you look at Nebuchadnezzar's fear 21:58 of the end of his kingdom 21:59 right, and he utilizes his own fear to get others to worship 22:08 so, "You will die if you don't do this... " 22:12 James: Fear breeds fear. All: Hmmm... 22:14 Ivor: But it's powerful because look how God speaks 22:16 to Nebuchadnezzar... 22:18 he's like, "Nebuchadnezzar, you seem to be fearful of the end 22:21 and of death... okay... 22:23 why don't you go ahead and throw those three guys 22:25 into the fiery furnace... " 22:27 he throws them in and it's like, 22:32 "Wait, what? 22:33 that's the very thing I'm afraid of... " 22:37 and God is in essence saying to Nebuchadnezzar, 22:42 "If you serve me, you don't need to be afraid. " 22:44 All: Hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... 22:46 James: Let me show you what that looks like... and I think 22:48 I'm going to jump ahead now, we can read the verse 22:50 but I think that's one of the reasons 22:51 why Nebuchadnezzar is so angry 22:53 after he counters these three guys... 22:55 he gets angrier... his veins start popping out... 22:58 his countenance has changed... 23:00 I think it's because he sees... 23:01 they have something that he doesn't have. 23:03 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 23:04 James: Something that led him to do what he was doing... 23:06 but they're just like, 23:07 "Ah... whatever you do... we're not afraid. " 23:09 He's like, "You're not afraid? Are you... 23:11 did you hear what he said?" 23:13 You know, he says, 23:14 "Are you sure you heard what I said?" 23:16 Let's get into that... let's just read a few... 23:17 we got a few moments here, let's read... 23:19 let's start here in... who'd like to read verses... 23:22 let's see, verse 8 23:24 and we'll read all the way through here to verse 13. 23:30 Yvonne: Okay, "Therefore at that time 23:33 certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. 23:36 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, 23:38 'O king, live forever! 23:40 You, O king, have made a decree 23:42 that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, 23:44 flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, 23:47 in symphony with all kinds of music, 23:50 shall fall down and worship the gold image; 23:53 and whoever does not fall down and worship 23:55 shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 23:58 There are certain Jews 24:00 whom you have set over the affairs 24:02 of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; 24:05 these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. 24:09 They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image 24:12 which you have set up. ' 24:14 Then King Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, 24:17 gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 24:20 So they brought these men before the king. " 24:22 James: All right, so, right here 24:24 the first thing I think we're dealing with is pride. 24:26 Yvonne: Oh yeah. 24:27 James: Pride is first... 24:29 "What do you mean there's people that aren't bowing down 24:31 and worshipping, you bring those people... " 24:32 he's... now he's angry... 24:34 because of pride 24:35 but as we get to the next verses, 24:36 we're going to see now that his anger even increases 24:39 because he starts seeing in them lack of fear... 24:42 they've got something the king doesn't have. 24:45 The king... the king doesn't have what they've got. 24:47 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 24:49 James: I think that... that we've got to remember that 24:51 in our practical Christian experience 24:52 that when we encounter people, God wants to give us His peace. 24:56 The peace of the gospel is powerful 24:58 and Satan is angry... he wants to take that away. 25:01 When people see that we have peace in the midst of anger 25:04 they're going to see that we have something 25:06 that they don't have. 25:08 That's the way it was with Paul and Silas 25:09 when they were in that prison 25:11 and they were beaten and they were put in shackles 25:13 and they were put in the inner prison 25:14 and when all of that took place, 25:17 all of the prisoners and the prison guards 25:20 heard men who weren't moaning and groaning and swearing... 25:24 they were singing praises to God 25:27 and they were like, "Whoa... " 25:29 and then there was an earthquake, of course, 25:30 because, you know, what does it say? 25:32 "And God inhabits the praises of His people... " 25:34 so He comes down and inhabits those praises... 25:36 so the doors fly open 25:38 and the first thing that Paul says to the prison guards, 25:41 "Do yourself no harm... " 25:43 Yvonne: Right. 25:44 James: The first thing that Daniel says is, 25:45 "Don't hurt the wise men of Babylon... " 25:47 so, Christians are other-centered... 25:48 they're other-focused... they're... 25:50 they're... they're out-focused not in-focused, 25:52 they're focusing out... thinking of others 25:54 and at the same time, their... 25:56 their testimony in the midst of trial 25:59 is one of praise and trust in God. 26:02 Ivor: In the face of anger. 26:04 James: Yeah, and so the Jailor says, 26:05 "What must I do to be saved?" 26:07 Yvonne: Right, because he's going to kill himself. 26:09 James: And what he means by that... 26:10 he was going to kill himself but also he was saying, 26:12 "What must I do to be saved?" 26:13 and what he means by that is not, 26:15 "What must I do to join your church 26:16 and believe the 28 Fundamentals?" 26:17 What he's saying is, 26:19 "What must I do to have an experience like that?" 26:21 Yvonne: Right... right... "I want what you have. " 26:23 James: "I want what you have. " 26:25 Ivor: It's just interesting in Daniel 11:44, the Bible says, 26:30 "But tidings out of the east and out of the north 26:32 shall trouble him... " 26:34 talking about the king of the north... 26:35 "therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, 26:40 and utterly to make away many. " 26:42 Yvonne: Hmmm... 26:44 Ivor: This event... whatever this is... 26:45 talking about Daniel 11:44 26:47 parallels exactly what we're looking at in Daniel chapter 3. 26:49 Yvonne: Hmmm... 26:51 Ivor: You're not afraid 26:52 that I'm going to do everything to instill my fear in you... 26:58 James: To intimidate... 27:00 Ivor: To intimidate 27:01 and what... how the three Hebrews stand with this 27:05 is an object lesson for us at the end of time. 27:08 James: It's... it's powerful because it's the gospel 27:11 and it's the gospel in times of the east and the north 27:13 and it's going to be the gospel here 27:15 and that gospel gives us the peace 27:17 to stand in the midst of the fiery storm... 27:18 in the midst of fiery trial. 27:19 God wants to put... instill the gospel into our hearts. 27:22 Yvonne: Yes. 27:23 James: Yeah, the parallel is really powerful, isn't it? 27:24 Ivor: Yeah. Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 27:26 James: So, we're going to... 27:27 we're running out of time here so, we're going to... 27:29 we're going to hold up right there at verse 13 27:31 and we'll pick up with verse 14 27:33 into the second part... 27:34 I'm going to say... the "Fear" part 27:36 of Nebuchadnezzar's anger. 27:37 Right now, he's in the "Pride" part of anger 27:39 and in these next verses 27:40 we're going to see him get into the "Fear" part of anger 27:42 and we'll see how... how... why that happens... 27:45 it's a powerful, powerful testimony. 27:48 Yvonne: So we have a little cliffhanger. 27:49 James: We have a little cliffhanger. 27:50 All: Laughter... 27:52 James: It's a good stopping place. 27:53 Yvonne: That's right, that's right... it's good. 27:55 James: Lots of good stuff right here, praise God. 27:56 Yvonne: Amen. |
Revised 2020-05-18