I'm deeply inspired and lifted up as I scan this beautiful assembly of God that I have the privilege of being a part of. We're studying the book of Daniel. And bear with me because I need to, before we get to the second chapter, verse 47, we need to be reminded of what has happened just prior to this 47th verse in the first chapter. You know, of course, if you've been here and heard each message, you know that Israel about 600 years before the birth of Christ, had fallen into filthy idolatry. And the people who were allowed to be in charge of the worship on the Temple Mount were some of the most evil people on the face of the earth. And God has to deal with this. Nebuchadnezzar, just before he became king, made a visit to Jerusalem. This was not just some kind of a accidental thing. He believed that he would find some of the most well educated some of the smartest people on the face of the earth. He also knew that his bureaucrats had become absolutely full of luxurious living. They lived a luxurious life and they became very lazy physically, emotionally and mentally. And he needed some advisors who had brains and who had the answers. So he had Nebuchadnezzar just before he went back because his father had died and he would become king. And we know of four people by name that he took back with him, Daniel and his three companions, not long after he had made the beautiful dedication that he would not eat the king's food. He would not, because God had given him a diet, And he would follow it and he would not take one bite. And there was more than one reason. I'll just give you one. Most of the things that the king ate were dedicated to false gods. And Daniel knew if he ate it, he'd be recognizing these false gods. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. He was troubled. with a dream. He called in all of his bureaucrats, his hacks, that he knew were just hangers-on, that's all, and he brought them in and said, I have a request. I don't think he used the word request. I have a demand. I want you to do two things, my bureaucracy, Tell me the dream and tell me the meaning of the dream. They said, we can't do that. No one requires a person to tell the dream. And he said, you had better get my dream and tell it to me and give me the meaning of the dream. answer of why I had the dream and the meaning of the dream, I'm going to have all of you killed. Well, Daniel and his two companions were in the school that, Daniel was probably about 16 years old and his companions, and he had to do two things in that school. He had to learn the Chaldean language, and he had to be taught the things about the Babylonian government. So they couldn't do it. Daniel was allowed to go before the king and said, don't kill anybody. Give me some time and I'll get you the dream. and I'll interpret it for you. So he and his three companions had a fervent prayer meeting, fervent. And when you are faced with things that you cannot deal with, have a fervent season of prayer. And thank God if you have two or three people that can join with you in that prayer. Daniel gets the answer from Almighty God. He tells the king his dream. The king had seen a great image made of gold, the head, and as he made his way in the metals down, the metals become less and less until he got to the foot and the toes and the toes were part iron and part clay. So he told him his dream. And in verse 47, here is how Nebuchadnezzar receives what Daniel has told him. The king answered unto Daniel and said, oh, of a truth, It is. Your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of secrets seeing thou does reveal this secret. Now it looks like this king is really gotten himself right with the true God. He hadn't. You see, unless God does it, You can admire what other people are able to reveal to you, but you can only have a personal, not secondhand, but first, a personal relationship with Almighty God and Nebuchadnezzar had not reached that place. But the king rewarded Daniel, and this was part of God's plan, The king made Daniel a great man in Babylon, gave him many great gifts, made him a ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors who were all the wise men, the men that he had been being taught by, and the ones who were a bunch of quacks and false, Daniel has put over them. Well, you know this is going to cause some real jealousy, some real problems. What I'm gonna say now, it sounds like I'm trying to be egotistical, God knows I'm not. One of the things that I do not like to be publicly honored, it's not something that you want, but for some reason, in Tripoli, Wheeler's Air Force Base. I was given the award of the Airman of the Year on that base. And believe me, it stirred up jealousy beyond anything I could say to you. One man was so jealous that I worked in an office And he went through my personnel file, and he couldn't find my shot records. So he went to the major, who was one of my supervisors, and said Matthews had not been taking his shots. Well, I was told when I first went in, you keep a copy of that shot record in your billfold. So the major called me in. Matthews, I hear that you have not been taking your shots. And I pulled out my shot record out of my billfold. And I would not want to have been present when the major got a hold of that guy. One other thing, the blessings of God. My wife had come over to Tripoli. If I had been in the service only four years, then she'd have to pay her way back to the States, and we couldn't have our household things moved free. But by being in headquarters, and there's politics very strongly in the military. I got them to extend me for three months. By doing that, I had been in the military over four years. Therefore, my wife and Melody and Pam came back free of charge and all of our household goods were moved by the government and brought back to Van Buren, Arkansas. I'm just saying that when you have special privileges, you're going to be very, very much not liked by a lot of people. They're not big enough to believe that They could also have those blessings if they were not such little tiny people in their thinking. Think big. And when somebody is blessed, say hallelujah, praise God. I thank God you've been promoted. I thank God you've been blessed. Well, the king blessed him. gave him great honors. And Daniel turned to the king in verse 49 and said, now I have three of my special friends with me. Would you also give them a place? And so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were put over the affairs of the province of Babylon, and Daniel sat in the gate of the king. They were given special honors, these three friends, plus the fact that Daniel was over everything except the king himself. Now, Nebuchadnezzar is very, very much impressed. He even calls Daniel's God, the God of gods and Lord. But look, it isn't just a little while till he absolutely forgets what had happened. And that's where we begin verse one of the 63rd chapter of the book of Daniel. And Nebuchadnezzar, the king made an image And I think I told you in previous Lord's Day, I know I did, that the first six chapters of Daniel were written in Aramaic and not in the Hebrew language. And so when we come to the word, the king made an image, What you have to do to get the full meaning, you have to get the Hebrew and then see how that Hebrew is translated into Aramaic. So what is the meaning? There has to be something like this image is made. There has to be some kind of a, more than just some kind of artwork. This was a huge image. Some even say it was 90 feet high. And he made this image, and the word image in the Aramaic means that which will so impress you that it will change your attitude. And so the idea was that the king wanted these people's attitude to be changed. because they had the wrong attitude toward Daniel, they had the wrong attitude toward Babylon, they were a bunch of little bureaucrats. So the king made this image of Go and it gives the dimensions in cubits and then he put it up in the plains of Duran and we don't know where that was but somewhere near Baghdad. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together, and he gathered, and you can read all of these different offices. From every office in the government, he had them come forward to be the first ones to bow down to this image. And all the rulers, they were under Daniel, under Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they are called upon and commanded by the king to come to dedicate this image. That means that this image was just a piece of metal until it was dedicated. Then it became consecrated. The king wanted this image to be consecrated. And all of these people, and I'll not read all of their different offices that they filled, but they were there and they were in charge of all these offices on a daily basis. And the last part of verse eight, and they stood before the image and Nebuchadnezzar that he had set up, And then suddenly a herald comes. Now what in the world is a herald? This was someone with a very loud voice. And he came announcing, come we're going to dedicate the great image. Come now, do it now. The king says either come have it done or you'll be put in the fiery furnace. And the herald cried out, To you it is commanded, O people, and nations and languages, that at what time you hear, and they have a whole orchestra of different musical instruments, and I'll not read all of them in verse five, but they have every musical instrument that was available to play so that the music would, when it started, they'd bow down to this image. And whoso falleth not down and worships shall be the same hour cast in the midst of the fiery furnace. It's interesting when you go back and study the Aramaic, language that this was inspired in, and what the meaning of the word worship means. The Aramaic word it comes from is the same word that the word mosque, that the Islam have, that it is a, that's what the word mosque means, a place to worship Allah. And so it came from the same word here, that's where they got the word mosque. And shall the same hour be cast in the midst of the fire furnace. Wherefore that at that time, when all the people heard the sound of this orchestra, all this music, they fell down and worship the golden image, verse seven. that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore at that times, certain Chaldeans, these were the natives who had been in charge until Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were put in charge. They came near and they accused the Jews because they would not fall down and worship. And especially they hated Daniel Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But there's something very, very unusual. Listen now, about chapter three, Daniel is nowhere to be found. This is only my belief. You can find something better, be happy with it. Daniel does not show up. He's not there at the dedication of this image. I believe, and this is what I have come to satisfy my own thinking, that the king knew that Daniel would not bow down to this image. So I believe the king sent him on some kind of a journey to get him away from the area where the people would fall down and worship because he needed Daniel. And he knew that Daniel would not bow down. And so I believe that he, the king got Daniel away from this area where they could not see him whether he bowed down or not. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, oh king live forever. Have a long, prosperous life, King Nebuchadnezzar. You know, they say this to royalty still. King or queen, may you live forever. They're saying this to make him feel good, that they're really loyal. Thou, O King, hath made a decree. We have read bright everything that you said, and we've read your decree, and we've looked at it with a microscope. Here's what you decreed, King Nebuchadnezzar, that every man that shall hear all of my orchestra playing shall fall down and worship. THE IMAGE. AND WHOSO FALLETH NOT DOWN AND WORSHIP THAT HE SHALL BE CAST INTO THE MIDST OF THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE. DOING SOME EXTRA RESEARCH, I CAME INTO THE AWARENESS that this furnace was not just some unusual routine furnace. It was a furnace made to show people what it'd be like if they did not worship the gods of Babylon. They would be thrown into this fiery furnace. It was a picture of what we'd call hell. And so the king said, if they don't worship, they'll be thrown into my gods, plural, little g-o-d as eternal place of punishment. And king, oh, they must have enjoyed this. This must have been the best day of their life. There are certain Jews when thou set over the affair, you've put them over the affairs of Babylon. They're reminding him that they had taken their jobs away and given them to these Jews. And they were just waiting to find some way to get rid of these Jews. You put them over the provinces. O king, they don't have any regard for you. They serve not your little G-O-D-S, and they will not worship the image which thou has set up. And Nebuchadnezzar went into a rage. And fury, he became so angry that he forgot everything about what Daniel had done and what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had done. He was angry. And as we study the book of Daniel, we'll find that this king has some very serious mental problems. And when he got stirred up, he went, pardon me for using this illustration, but you get the point, he went crazy to bedbug. And Nebuchadnezzar began to rage and had fury and he commanded, bring me Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They brought these men before the king. And Nebuchadnezzar still is angry and burning with his temper. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said to them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you will not serve my, G-O-D-S, that I have set up? Now, if you be ready that at what time you hear the sound of my orchestra, if you fall down and worship the image which I have made, but if you worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, the hell I believe in. And who is the God? that shall deliver you out of my hands. He should not ask that question. Because you see, he didn't believe there was, even though he had seen it manifested and even confessed it. It was a fake confession. It was emotional only. It's gotta be spiritual. As brother Phil was praying today, I noticed he, instead of saying, Father, I feel it. He said, Father, I faith it. You see, feeling something is not gonna last. That's the reason a lot of marriages don't last. Starts out with a real strong emotional attachment. But as the time goes by, that doesn't last. And when it's gone, And I could go on about that, but you get the point. Verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful. We don't even consider what you're saying to be of any validity. We're not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, if you're going to throw us in the furnace, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us. I like that song. He is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee and so on. is so be our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, from your hell that you believe. He will deliver us out of your hand, oh king. And I love this verse. But if not, if he chooses not to deliver us out of the furnace, Be it known to thee, O King, that we will not serve your G-O-D, little G-O-D-S. I know he's able to deliver us. If he chooses not to, he's still God. And sometimes we have to stop and remember that in our lives. Then Nebuchadnezzar, he got even more angry. And the form of his looks was changed against Shadrach, Hezekiah, and Abednego. Up to now, he had had respect for them and thought they were great, but he's so angry that he loses all the respect he had for all the good things they had done in the kingdom. Therefore, he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace, one, seven times more than it was water was usually heated. As I did some research in the Babylonian religion, the word seven here is important. because they believe there were seven demons that stood around this furnace. And these seven demons were from the false God and they guarded this sacred in their eyes and the eyes of the Babylonians They heat it seven times. Every one of these demons put a little more fire in this furnace. And he commanded the most mighty men, send me the most muscular, strong men that we have in our kingdom. They're in the army. We know they're great men, they're strong men. tell them to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the fiery furnace. And these men were, they took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and they bound them with their coats and with the socks and their hats or actually with a turban and other garments And they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the King's commandment was urgent, he didn't want them to wait. He wanted them thrown in there. He was so angry, I want them out of the way. And the furnace exceeding, it was exceedingly hot. And the flame of fire slew those men. that took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was so hot that these men who threw them in was burned to death just by standing at the opening that these three children of God were thrown in. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was astonished. Suddenly his anger and his fury subsides and his feelings changes totally and he becomes astonished. There's another song that's good. Our God is an awesome God. And Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, rose up in haste and spake and said to his counselors, these two bit bureaucrats he had, Did not we cast three men bound in the midst of the fire? And the answer said to him, yeah, that's right, King. And he answered and said, look, I'm looking in that furnace and 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 to the Son of God. This is the pre-incarnation body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus went in with them. And that's what I'm depending on. That wherever I'm cast, he will never leave me. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He'll be there. And Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. And look what a change has come over him emotionally. Ye servants of the Most High God, Come forth, come here. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth in the midst of the fire. And all of these two-bit bureaucrats found out that the clothes they had them bound in was not burned, and there was no smell of fire that had passed on them. And Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed, great things be said. The God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel. He's kind of downgraded it a little bit now. It's not the son of God anymore. He's just an angel. You see how people that go by emotions, how they can't, they can't stay on a high. It'll leave, that's all you have is an emotion. And what I wanna say now is something I hope that you don't think is out of place. When I was, I guess I was about 10 years old, went to a church service and it was a Pentecostal church and this woman was, that was preaching, at the end she said, all of you who wanna get the Holy Ghost, you come forward. And there were three girls that I had to go to the bus stop, the school bus stop. And they just absolutely kept me scared all the time. because they promised me they were gonna take my clothes off of him. Well, they were the big, I mean, they started shouting and jumping at the invitation. I thought, praise God, I won't have to worry about them anymore. Didn't change them a bit. Thank you for laughing. It's okay to laugh. As a truth, I told somebody recently that I thought I would write a book but I'd be afraid to. I'd be afraid I'd get sued. So they suggested I write it and then let my wife sell it after I die. I'm not writing it. and yielded and have changed the king's words and yielded their bodies. They gave their bodies to the Lord that they might not serve or worship any God except their own God. Therefore, now he's got carried away again. Therefore, I make a decree that every people, nation and language which speak anything amiss or other than contrary against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut into pieces. Isn't he an extremist? He's got a mania of some kind. Shall be cut to pieces and their houses be made dunghills because there is no God other than the God that delivered after this sort. And the king promoted. Uh-oh, more jealousy coming on. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the prophecies of Babylon. Tonight, God will go with you through the fire, whatever it is. And I can't promise you that you'll be delivered, but I promise you that he's still your God, no matter what, he doesn't change. And most of us here have been through the fire and we know what can happen. He will be with us. We won't be there alone. You're not alone. And if you've gotten to where you're so negative that you think you are alone, start thinking again. God is with you whatever happens. Praise God. Stand and sing. His name is wonderful. Let's all stand. His name is wonderful. His name is wonderful. His name is wonderful. Jesus, my Lord. He is that mighty King, Master of everything. His name is wonderful, Jesus my Lord. He's the Great Shepherd, the Rock of all ages. Blessing to be able to have this lady come forward and wanting her body to become the body that Jesus can take care of all the weaknesses in her body. By the way, if you remember in one of the services, I think it was, I can't remember which service it was, Sandy, Marie Greene came forward and was anointed. She had her eye surgery today. Do you remember what we said? We're putting your eyes into the hands of God. Her daughter called and said the surgery went well, and they were on their way home. To the fire.