Impossible Deliverance
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning to completely trust God's power for deliverance from persecution.
Text: Daniel 3:19-30
Date: 10/15/2017, the Evening service.
Series: "Daniel: Divine Dominion and Deliverance" Part 10
Description:
As we finish the amazing story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their refusal to bow down and worship Nebuchadnezzar's great golden idol, we witness the king's fierce wrath and his attempt to execute them. In a familiar story, we see the trio thrown into an over-heated oven with the expectation they would instantly be incinerated. But that would not happen. They were joined by a fourth man in the midst of the furnace and emerged without even a singed eyebrow. We will draw wonderful lessons from the rich details of the story and make applications relevant to Christians of any age. But most importantly we will see God as the Great Deliverer who protects His people, and relishes impossible situations like this one. For the more impossible the situation, the more impossible the deliverance and the more glory to God!
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Daniel 3:19-30.
A. Context
B. Nebuchadnezzar's fury, vs. 19-23.
1. Nebuchadnezzar's animated reaction, vs. 19.
a. The fierceness of Nebuchadnezzar's anger.
b. The ferocity of evil.
c. The impossibility of human escape.
2. Securing the prisoners, vs. 20-21.
a. An over-abundance of force, vs. 20.
b. And over-abundance of clothes, vs. 21.
3. Nebuchadnezzar's silly error, vs. 22-23.
C. The "friend" in the flame, vs. 24-25, Dan. 3:15.
1. Nebuchadnezzar's surprise, vs. 24.
2. The fourth man, vs. 25.
a. Nebuchadnezzar sees an amazing sight.
b. Describing the "son of the gods".
i. A solitary vision.
ii. The identity of the fourth man.
D. The miraculous deliverance, vs. 26-30.
1. A change of temperament, vs. 26a.
2. Describing the deliverance, vs. 26b-27.
3. Nebuchadnezzar's about face, vs. 28-30.
a. A blessing for the God of Israel, vs. 28.
b. A warning for the people of Babylon, vs. 29.
c. Reward for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, vs. 30.
III. Application: reasons to trust God!
A. True discipleship is costly.
1. Those who stand will most likely need deliverance.
2. The attacks of the enemy can be ferocious.
B. God never forsakes His children.
1. The freedom in the fire.
2. Where the bonds are lost.
C. God meets us in the furnace!
1. Finding Jesus in the flame, Psa. 23:4, Heb. 13:5, Matt. 16:18.
2. Jesus remains in the furnace, James 1:2.
IV. Conclusion
