9/29/2015. Week Thirteen. Network: ICC_Guest1 Password: icchadavar

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1 Week Thirteen Network: ICC_Guest1 Password: icchadavar

2 Review: Is it reasonable to believe in miracles? God verifies His existence through miracles to get our attention We have learned about pride Bowing down was a political issue Nebuchadnezzar said he was more powerful than any other god 2 Thess 2:4 1Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Review: He exalts himself above everything that is worshipped Nebuchadnezzar is serving as a type of the anti-christ Office politics and revenge This is a choice we will be facing As a Christian we are called to suffer Nebuchadnezzar was testing them and God was testing them

3 Review: God was preparing them for this moment There was a clash of worldviews happening 18For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18) Daniel 3: Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire? They replied to the king, Certainly, O king. 25He said, Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!

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5 I. Daniel 3: ) There were four persons instead of three in the furnace 2) Not one of the persons was bound 3) All four persons were walking around in the fire 4) All four persons were unhurt. 5) The fourth person looked like a son of the gods" Fiery furnaces can loose our bonds and set us free. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego lost something in the fire not their coats, not one hair of their heads. The fire did not hurt them, but it snapped their bonds. Blessed loss! A true Christian s losses are gains in another shape. Many of God s servants never know the fullness of spiritual liberty till they are cast into the midst of the furnace. (Spurgeon) I. Daniel 3: ) A Theophany? 7) Angelos = messenger 8) Theophany = appearance of God 9) The angel of the Lord accepts worship

6 Daniel 3: Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here! Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. 27The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. J. Daniel 3: ) The invited guests were eye-witnesses of this miracle 2) They were eye-witnesses to God s majesty and power 3) God shows up in the midst of the trial to comfort them Daniel 3: Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

7 Daniel 3: Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way. 30Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had issued what he thought was a rhetorical challenge to the heavens: What god shall deliver you out of my hands? To his utter horror he discovered there was a God in the heavens who could do precisely that a God to whom Nebuchadnezzar s threats meant nothing. That God had identified himself with the men in the fire, loosed them, and delivered them. Once again God had invaded Nebuchadnezzar s world, and he was demanding the emperor s attention. There is an important matter of principle here. God is a great deliverer but he will not deliver us from having to make our own decisions. This is not because he is impotent but because he wants us to be strong. The development of our character depends crucially on the fact that we make responsible decisions before God for ourselves.

8 1) Our choices define us in a way that nothing else can 2) It is the countless little decisions all along the way 3) Filled with the Spirit = a moment by moment choice to yield our will to the will of God 4) Promises from God indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2Tim 3:12) For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (Phil 1:29). 4) Promises from God And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master Matt 10:22-24).

9 4) Promises from God If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:18-19). 4) Promises from God For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:20-21). 4) Promises from God Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

10 4) Promises from God Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5:10-12). 5) This is not the most perfect world, but it is the most perfect way to the most perfect world 6) If we re going to claim God s promises, let s claim all of them 7) Where s Daniel? K. Typology 1) Hermeneutics is the science and art of biblical interpretation 2) 10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes (Hosea 12:10 KJV)

11 K. Typology 3) Figures of speech: Similes (resemblance) Metaphors (representation) Allegories (comparison by representation) type = a figure, or a picture or a preview of something coming in the future K. Typology 4) God, in His sovereignty, deliberately sets up people, places, situations and events that prefigure or paint a picture of important events that will happen later in His plan 5) Examples: the sacrificial system the tabernacle the priesthood the brazen serpent K. Typology 6) The law of first mention 7) Burnt offering vs. sin offering 8) Sweet savor offerings: burnt offering meal offering peace offering 9) Sin offerings: sin offering trespass offering

12 K. Typology 10) a burnt offering is a free-will offering 11) the firstborn belong to the Lord 12) Types: how long was Isaac dead to Abraham? who carried the wood up the hill? they walked in agreement God will provide for Himself a lamb where was he offered? in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided Hebrews 11: By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18it was he to whom it was said, IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED. 19He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. Isaiah 43:1-2 1But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

13 K. Typology 12) Fire is an image of the tribulation 13) There is a group of believers that are preserved through the fire 14) There is a group that are removed before the fire

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15 Questions We see God in Scripture: in the pillar of fire, in the burning bush and now here, in the fiery furnace Do I see trials and afflictions as opportunities to bring God glory (in other words, to cause others to see Him as He really is) or do I view them with irritation and questions like, "Why me Lord?"?