yeah yeah yeah Oh in this And that grows from day to day. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning. Safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms, I am blessed peace with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms, Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. Now, good folks, welcome to our Thursday evening Bible study. And as you can see, our scenery tonight is a wee bit different. We have moved into the prayer room. And I really hope that it will not be too long before you'll be able to join with me in this very room and we'll be able to seek the Lord in prayer. And there is no place like the place of prayer. There's no place like the prayer meeting. And we pray that God and his sovereignty will soon allow us and permit us to come again to this wonderful place. But in the meantime, we're here in the prayer room tonight, and we're turning to Daniel chapter three, please. And I want to read to you a wonderful incident from scripture, and it's a story about Daniel's three young friends, three very courageous young Jewish men. And folks, let's remember this is a true story. This is not make-believe. This is not myth. It's not legend. This is not a fairy story that you tell to your children before they go to sleep. No, this is not a bedtime story at all. This, folks, is a true story. And this, what I'm about to read to you, really happened. So, turn with me to Daniel chapter 3, and we will begin to read at verse 13. Daniel 3, verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made? Well, But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?' Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. You see, friends, these three young Jews, they remembered the first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. And they remembered the second commandment too, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. So they remembered the law of God that said that they were not to worship any other God, but the true God, Jehovah, and they remembered that they were not to fall down and bow down before some graven image. And that is why they refused to do so. Let's read on. Verse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. The word wont there means the usual custom. So the furnace here has been heated seven times hotter than it normally would have been. The temperature was seven times hotter. Verse 20, And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Hebrews chapter 11 refers to what happened in Daniel chapter 3. So if you could turn over in your Bible to the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. And there's just one verse in that chapter that refers to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It's verse 34. Hebrews 11 verse 34. And notice the first words in the verse. Quenched the violence of fire. Quenched the violence of fire. Who was it that quenched the violence of fire? It was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Or folks, to be more accurate, it was the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He quenched the violence of fire. What a God. we serve. And we're going to bow for a brief moment in prayer before the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Our dear Father in heaven, we come before thee and we thank you that you are the Most High God. And we are so glad tonight that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men. and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Father, we're glad tonight that thou art sovereign, that thou art in supreme control of everything that happens in this world. Everything that happens on this planet is under your supreme control. Now, dear Lord, we thank you that we can gather around your word this Thursday evening And we thank you, Lord, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. O help us, Lord, to realize the value of your word. May we realize, Lord, in these days how precious the Bible really is. O God, give us more of a hunger for it. Forgive us for our lack of hunger, our lack of appetite for your word. O Lord, increase our hunger for it, and increase our appetite for it. And Lord, as it were, help us to bring our knives and forks to the word of God tonight. Feed us, we pray, on the finest of the wheat, and may the Lord Jesus be glorified in it all, because it's in his dear name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Folks, the title of this study tonight is The Fourth Man. I would like to speak to you this evening about the fourth man. What am I referring to or who am I referring to? Well, we've read the account tonight in Daniel chapter 3 of the young Jewish men in Babylon and how they were thrown on ceremoniously into the burning fiery furnace. But the amazing thing about this story is that there was a fourth person, the fourth man. There was a fourth individual in the burning fiery furnace. And I'd like to speak to you about this person, this wonderful man, this fourth man. And I'd like to point you towards him and share some thoughts with you regarding him. Our text is verse 25 of Daniel chapter 3. Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no heart. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Nebuchadnezzar, that proud tyrant, gave the orders for the three men to be hurled into the furnace. And when they were hurled in, he was astonished. The word the King James Bible uses is astoni, but it just means astonished. He was amazed. He was astounded to see four figures walking in the fire, not just three. And the modern versions of scripture, which, by the way, I have no time for, and if you use a modern version of scripture, I would advise you to get rid of it as quickly as possible and to get yourself a King James Bible. But the modern versions, they translate it as this. Nebuchadnezzar saw one of the gods or one that looked like a son of one of the gods. But the good old authorised version says, it was the Son of God. And folks, who is the Son of God? None other than the lovely Lord Jesus Christ. And you see this fourth man that I want to speak to you about tonight, he's no ordinary man. Rather, he's an extraordinary man. In fact, he's the man Christ Jesus. He's the man of Calvary. And I want to talk to you about this wonderful man this evening. This wonderful man is none other than the Son of God. Let me leave three thoughts with you this evening. Many Christians today are going through trials. And indeed, every one of us as Christians at one point or other in our lives, we're called to go through trials. And the old saying goes that if you're not in the middle of a storm, you're either about to go into a storm or you're coming out of a storm. As believers, we're often in storms, but the fourth man is always with us in the storm. And the fourth man, the Lord Jesus, he was with these three young Jews in the burning fiery furnace. And folks, I know that some of you who work in the hospitals, some of you are in the furnace right now. And I just want to commend you for the work that you're doing. Let me speak to Christians who are working in hospitals at the moment, hospital staff who are believers. I want to encourage you that we are holding the ropes for you. And I know that there are those of you who are working in ICU wards and in HDU wards, and you are In the burning fiery furnace at the present time, you're in the furnace right now because you have your PPE. gear, your personal protective equipment. And I've been speaking to some of you and you've been telling me how hot it is when you've got that equipment on, when you've got that protective gear on, that protective clothing. The temperature inside it is so incredibly hot and it's so difficult for you to work. Friends, I want to say we who are praying for you have nothing but admiration for you. And I want to tell you that as you are in the midst of the burning fiery furnace in the hospital, I want to encourage you, child of God, that the fourth man is with you. The Lord Jesus is with you. He is with you in the furnace. The fourth man is with you, just as he was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Babylonian furnace all those years ago. Take heart, believer, as you serve God in the NHS, as you serve God in today's hospitals, Be of good courage. Remember that the fourth man is there with you in the furnace. He's with you every step of the way. Now, three thoughts to encourage your hearts this evening. First of all, let me say that the fourth man waits for you in the furnace. And then secondly, let me say the fourth man walks with you in the furnace. And then we'll finish off with one final thought. The fourth man watches over you in the furnace. First of all, then, the fourth man waits for you in the furnace. The lovely Lord Jesus Christ waits for every believer in the furnace. You see, folks, the Lord Jesus is in the furnace right now waiting for you and for me, who inevitably will have furnace experiences as we travel along the narrow way. Yes, praise God, the fourth man, the Lord Jesus, waits for us in the furnace. He's there already, folks. You see, when you go back to Daniel chapter three, you realize that only three men were cast into the furnace and only three men came back out of the furnace. So what about the fourth man? Well, obviously he's still in the furnace. He wasn't thrown into it and he didn't come out of it. Therefore, he must Logically, he must be still in the furnace. When you think about it logically, he has to still be in the furnace. And that's exactly where he is, dear friends. And for those of you, brothers and sisters in Christ, who are in your own personal burning, fiery furnace, I want to tell you that Jesus is in the furnace with you. He's always there in the furnace with his people. And you see, when you arrive in your burning, fiery furnace, you always find that he's there before you. Jesus has got there before you, the fourth man. Blessed be his name. He waits for you in the furnace. You see, the Lord Jesus gave a wonderful promise to these three young Jews in Babylon, and it's found in Isaiah chapter 43 in verse 2. Notice what the fourth man promised to the three young Hebrews. Isaiah 43 verse two, when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. That's the promise of the fourth man, our wonderful saviour, the eternal son of God. That was the promise that he gave to the three young Jews in Babylon. And you see, Jesus is a man of his word. He always keeps his word. He's the perfect gentleman. He's not like ordinary men who don't always keep their word. And the best of men are men at best. And folks, isn't the reality that there are many, many good men even who aren't always able to fulfill what they promise. But you see, the greatest of all men, the Lord Jesus, he always keeps his promises. And he promised to the three young Jews that he would be with them as they walked through the fire, as they would be in the burning fiery furnace. He would be waiting for them before they arrived, and he would be with them during their time in the furnace. I want to tell you, brother, sister in Christ, that the Lord Jesus gives the same promise to you tonight. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. You've got a sovereign protector, and his name is Jesus, and he's the fourth man. The fourth man waits for you in the furnace, Then the fourth man walks with you in the furnace. The fourth man walks with you in the furnace. You see, it says in Daniel chapter three, verse 25, that the Lord Jesus was walking in the midst of the fire with the three young Jews. Walking in the midst of the fire. Proverbs chapter 6 verse 28 asks the question, can one go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned? Well, the answer to that question is yes, because Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they walked on hot coals in the burning fiery furnace and they weren't burned. You see, folks, that furnace in Babylon might as well have been a palace because the fourth man was walking with them in it. And it's wonderful just to think that they were no longer bound. Those three young Jewish men They were no longer bound in that furnace. Before they ended up in the furnace, they were bound. That's what the passage tells us. Nebuchadnezzar's guards, his servants, they bound Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They tied them up. But as soon as they arrived in the burning fiery furnace, as soon as they hit the floor of that furnace, Their bonds were loose, the cords were burned away and they were free. And friends, at the moment, we all feel like we're bound, don't we? Let's be honest. Over this past month, I have felt like I have been bound and I'm sure you felt exactly the same. We have been locked down and we have been really spending most of the time in our homes. or our gardens. Yes, we've been going for walks and getting fresh air, and that's sensible to do anything else. To literally lock yourself in the house and not go out through the front door would be just suicidal. It would be the height of foolishness. The Lord has made us that our bodies need fresh air, they need sunshine, and they need exercise, and to do anything else would be madness. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our bodies are stronger than we think and able to withstand more than we give them credit for. But dear folks, it has felt very much like we have been bound. I suppose it's felt a wee bit like we've been in prison the last month. But isn't it wonderful that the fourth man has been with us? the Lord Jesus has been with us. And those times whenever we've been very low and our spirits have been very low during this past month and perhaps even physically we haven't been in the best of shape and you know, isn't that the way it affects us? So often our mental state can affect our physical state and it has been difficult this past month. But the fourth man has been with us. And there has been in the midst of the valley experiences, praise God, there's been the mountaintop experiences, when the fourth man has walked with us in our 2020 furnace. These days are they who in the conflict dire, boldly have stood amidst the hottest fire. Jesus now says, come up higher, washed in the blood of the Lamb. That was the hymn that was sung at my grandfather's funeral. It was his favourite hymn, and my what wonderful words they are. You see, dear friends, what does it matter how hot the furnace is that we have to go through while we're here on this earth? All that matters is that we are washed in the blood of the Lamb. The fourth man waits for you in the furnace, and the fourth man walks with you in the furnace. But let me finish this evening, friends, by saying that the fourth man watches over you in the furnace. Yes, the fourth man, the Lord Jesus Christ, blessed be his name, he watches over us in the furnace. You see, our text says, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt. Don't you just love those words? They have no hurt. The fourth man was watching over the three Jews in the furnace, and therefore they had no hurt. No harm came to them. Verse 27 expands on this. These men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed. No harm came to them in the burning fiery furnace. Their bodies weren't harmed because the fourth man was protecting them physically. And it's amazing, you know, how even in our day and age, 2020, it's amazing how the fourth man is still protecting the bodies of his people. and how even in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, how that he has healed the bodies of those who have contracted the virus, and even those folks who have been at death's door, the fourth man has brought them back and he has restored them to health and strength. Hallelujah, what a saviour. I want to tell you that those of you who are working in our hospitals and you're in the furnace, and you're in the most dangerous places, the most dangerous areas in our hospitals, right in the midst, right in the centre of where the suffering patients are who are suffering with the coronavirus, and you're very near to them. I want to tell you that the fourth man is with you and he's there protecting your bodies just as he protected the bodies of those three young men in Babylon all those years ago. Their bodies weren't harmed. No hurt came to their bodies. And it says that no hurt came to their hair. That reminds us, of course, of the words of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament. You remember when our dear Redeemer said that not a hair of your head shall be harmed. Jesus knows the number of our hairs, and that's amazing in itself. And he cares so much for us that he said that not a hair of your head will be hurt, will be harmed. Casting all your care upon him, the verse says behind me, for he careth for you. Jesus cares for our bodies, he cares for our very hair, and he even cares for our clothing because, you see, it tells us in Daniel chapter three that no hurt came to the clothes that the three young Jews were wearing. And I want to say, dear friends, that in spite of the furnace experiences that we go through in life, no hurt will come to our clothing. No harm will come to our clothing. And I'm not so much speaking about our clothes that we wear, the clothes that we wear over our bodies, our shirts and ties and our trousers and jumpers and whatever it is that we wear physically. But I'm speaking about our spiritual clothes, our spiritual clothing. And you see the book of Isaiah, the prophet, chapter 61 speaks there in verse number 10, and it says, he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. I want to tell you, dear believer, that no matter what the furnace is that you go through, I want to say that no hurt, no harm can come to that beautiful garment of salvation that Christ has freely given to you. No damage can come to that beautiful robe of righteousness that he has given to you. It will always be there. It will never, never be damaged. It will never change. no matter how hot the furnace is that you go through. And one day you will stand before the throne, clothed in righteousness not your own, the glorious spotless righteousness of the Lord Jesus. And it is that beautiful garment of our blessed Saviour's righteousness that he wove for us during his earthly life with his perfect sinless life, You will stand on the other side. You will stand before your Saviour, clothed in that garment of salvation, and you will be forever with the Lord. What a wonderful Saviour he is. Thank God tonight for the fourth man. the fourth man who waits for us in the furnace, the fourth man who walks with us in the furnace, and the fourth man who watches over us in the furnace. clothed in garments of salvation, at thy table is our place. We rejoice and thou rejoicest in the riches of thy grace. It is meet we hear thee saying, we should marry, bein' glad. I have found my once lost children, now they live who once were dead. Let's just bow, dear friends, for a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for being with us in our study of thy word. And we, Father, just want to praise you, Lord, that you are the supreme governor of the universe, the supreme ruler of the universe. And we think of Nebuchadnezzar, the tyrant. But Lord, we thank you that you put this tyrant in his place. And you showed your power and you displayed your ability before that tyrant king. And Lord, there are tyrants and evildoers in our world today, and evil men and dictators who would try to dominate us and control us and deceive us. But we thank you, Lord, that you're able to deal with today's tyrants, and we pray that you would do so. Our Lord, we thank you for the day that's coming when all tyrants will be put in their place forever, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Oh, how we thank you for the Christ of God. How we thank you, Father, tonight for the fourth man, May your people this evening be encouraged. Now, Father, bless us, watch over us until we meet again around your word. Watch between us, we pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. He leadeth me, O blessed one, O words with heavenly comfort from. Whatever I do, whatever I be, still tis God's hand that leadeth me. by His own hand He leadeth me His faithful follower I would be for by His hand He leadeth me Sometimes with scenes of deep blue, sometimes where Eden's flowers bloom, I want to hear your troubled sea still tip its hand that leadeth me. by His own hand He leadeth me. His faithful follower I will be, for by His hand He leadeth me. Lord God, No rarer were glory while contented. Whatever love I see, since did I have them. He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me. His faithful follower I will be, for by His hand He leadeth me. And when my task on earth is done, when by thy grace the victories won, is ♪ For by His hand He leadeth me ♪ He leadeth me ♪ He leadeth me, He leadeth me ♪ By His own hand He leadeth me ♪ His faithful follower I will be ♪ For by His hand He leadeth me