TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - July 11, 2025 - Daniel 3:19-23 - Faith Friday: Into the Fire

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

On this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, we step into the heart of the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. As the rage of King Nebuchadnezzar boils over and the flames are stoked seven times hotter, we witness the cost of unwavering faith in the face of tyranny. Why did God allow His faithful servants to be cast into such a deadly trial? And what does their bold stand teach us about trusting God when the heat gets turned up in our own lives? Join us as we explore Daniel 3:19–23 and discover the power, purpose, and peace of standing firm when the fire is at its fiercest.Join the leading community for Conservative Christians! https://www.FaithandValues.comYou can partner with us by visiting https://www.FaithandValues.com/donate, calling 1-800-576-2116, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961.Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves!https://www.AmericanReserves.comIt’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today!https://www.amazon.com/Final-Day-Characteristics-Second-Coming/dp/0578260816/Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/final-day-10-characteristics-of-the-second-coming/id1687129858Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. https://www.sacrificingliberty.com/watchThe Fauci Elf is a hilarious gift guaranteed to make your friends laugh! Order yours today! https://tru.news/faucielf

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Morning Manna and welcome to Faith Friday. Every Friday, we devote our attention to the subject of faith. Of course, anytime you're studying the word, you're studying faith. But we put a special emphasis on faith every Friday. And so we've been for several weeks, we've been in the book of Daniel, and we didn't have a Faith Friday last week because of the 4th of July holiday in America, but the preceding week we were in Daniel chapter 3, which is about the fiery furnace. 23, which is about the fiery furnace. Now today we're going to pick it up at verse 19 and go to verse 23, and then next week we'll finish it up to the end of the chapter, verse 30.

Let's pray. Almighty God, our wonderful Father, oh Father, hallowed be Thy name. Father, we love You, we adore You, we praise You, Father, hallowed be thy name. Father, we love you and we adore you. We praise you, Father. Father, teach us faith. Teach us a rich, deep understanding of true faith. Come Holy Spirit and bless your people.

In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. What a privilege it is to be here with you along with hundreds of other people from around the world that are checking in with us today. Just a few of the countries, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, and others that have joined us as well as well as all points across the US and Canada where we gathered together live here on faithandvalues.com to study the Word of God together. It's a ministry of faith and values fellowship and we are so privileged to have you here. We're picking back up our study of faith here on Faith Fridays with a passage from Daniel chapter 3. So if you'll turn your Bibles to there, we're

going to read 19 through 23 here. I'd like to remind you at the end of our lesson today, we'll be participating in the Lord's Supper, so be sure to have bread and either red wine or grape juice available to join us for the Lord's table. We would be privileged to have you with us for that as well. Daniel chapter 3 verses 19 through 23, then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury. He was upset with the three Hebrew boys 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 want to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meeshack and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosins, their hats, and 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 fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell downbound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." God bless the reading of his word today. Amen. There's a lot there in these verses. then in these verses. Because there's so much to cover, I'm not going to recap the first 18 verses that would take

half of today's lesson. So I'm going to pick up at verse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was want to be heated. Okay. Remember, this is Faith Friday. We're looking for principles of faith. A lot of people read these verses and they would say,

well, this is about persecution. It is about persecution, but it's about faith to overcome persecution. That's the lesson here. So Nebuchadnezzar was enraged. Why was he enraged? Well, in the preceding verses, he had ordered everyone, when the music starts playing, when the orchestra strikes up the first note,

your responsibility is to fall down and worship this idol I have made of myself. That's your job, folks. He's talking to everybody. It's like the who's who of Babylon is there. That's right. I mean, this is a big deal. And you've got the king there, and he's brought out his image, his golden image, and he's given the command, play the music, you fall down, you worship. Well, everybody did it but three,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Amenachal. So that's where we're at now. So Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury, his countenance was changed against the three young Hebrew men. He spoke, he commanded that his men should heat up the furnace seven times more than it's usually heated. What do we see here? Well, the king's reaction, full of fury. It indicates a profound and intense rage that went beyond simple anger. It wasn't just ticked off. Now this is a rage, right?

This is blind rage. This is pull your hair out rage. I mean, lose your mind anger. He's furious. He's lost control of himself. He's furious. He's lost control of himself. When you're full of fury, you've lost control of yourself. You can be in control of yourself and be angry, speech, of your thinking. That's where he was at. So we know what ignited that fury, the refusal of the three Hebrews to to bow down and worship the image. And so he saw that as an act of defiance. They saw it as an act of obedience.

They were obedient to their king. He was furious because he was not their king. That's what set him off. He was furious because he was not their king. That's what set him off. The recognition, they had a king higher than him. Right. See, he saw it as rebellion, they saw it as obedience. Yes. So his fury was so

hot and consuming that it it physically altered his appearance. Okay, his face was contorted. His face is blood red. The veins in his neck are showing. He's furious. You wanna get out of his way. Somebody's gonna get hurt. So his face was contorted. He's indignant.

He's, like I said, out of control that his authority had been challenged by his servants. These are not even outsiders. These are people, three men from not only in his kingdom, but in his palace. This is mutiny. This is mutiny. This is rebellion. And he's thinking, if I allow this to go on unpunished, this rebellion will spread throughout my kingdom. So his pride now demands of himself, you have to punish these three men.

You have to show everybody here because the entire government was there. the the entire government was there. From the prime minister. The cabinet down to the. The district manager of the. Sewage department. To the dog catcher the dog catcher. The dog catcher, they were all there, the entire government. So Nebuchadnezzar's like, I can't allow this to go unpunished.

There has to be severe punishment. The transformation of his countenance highlights the blinding nature of his pride and the explosive consequences when human arrogance is confronted with divine faithfulness. Amen. So obviously his fury was directed at the three Hebrews. It was a personal targeting of those who dared to disobey his explicit command.

What does this mean for us? Well, the disciples of Christ should recognize that intense rage often signals a refusal to acknowledge God's truth, and it reveals a heart that is consumed by a desperate desire for control. Nebuchadnezzar was not used to people disobeying his commandments. He was in control. See, I see narcissists everywhere now. Doc, this guy was, this dude was a supreme narcissist. The problem is he was egged on by the people around him too.

That's right. It was his other staff, other palace people said, you know those guys Shadrach, Meshach, and Bennego? They're not worshipping you, King. He wasn't even aware of it until they brought it up. That's right. But man, once he did, man, he was on fire after that. That's right.

Sounds like someone we know in politics today. What we see here, Doc, is an inevitable conflict between human pride, seeking absolute worship, and then genuine faith that worships only the Lord. There's a conflict. This story is in the Bible because it really happened. It's not a myth. It's not a fairy tale. This really happened, but it's in the Bible because it's an example of the human condition. This goes on in the world. Every day somebody is enraged that a Christian is refusing to worship the world.

Yes. And how one day things will be going great, and the next day the political wind shift and it's something else. It can change in a day. It can change in a day. But God's deliverance is also available as well as we're gonna find out in our story. Yes. One time, Doc, this was sometime in the late 80s. I was working in Washington, D.C. for a television network. And the chairman of the board and the board of directors took the key management team to lunch. This is in downtown Washington.

Okay. Again, it's late 80s. Ronald Reagan was, I don't know if Reagan was still there or maybe George Herbert Walker Bush was there sometime in that era. And anyhow, at the lunch table in the restaurant, a conversation started on on a conversation started on social behavior that is accepted by society but not accepted by God. And a woman sitting there said, so who does this hurt? Who does this offend?

In other words, she was like, what's the big deal? Why is there a debate about this? And I spoke up and just said three words, a holy God. I still remember the reaction. I still hear the forks dropping to the plates. I brought God's name into the conversation. I brought God's name into the conversation, and the atmosphere cooled, and the atmosphere towards me and that organization chilled.

Why? I identified myself. Yes. You decided to stand. Yes. and not worship the golden eye. That's right. So Nebuchadnezzar's intense rage signaled a refusal to acknowledge God, to acknowledge God's truth, and people who respond this way reveal that they have a heart that's consumed by a desperate need, desire for control. That's why I said Nebuchadnezzar was a narcissist.

He had to control. What are we learning here? Faith in God and obedience to God will provoke rage in some people. Their emotional reaction reveals their rebellious hearts. So the next time you have to stand for Jesus Christ and there's a reaction, don't be shocked. Just say to yourself, okay, you, those of you who just responded with anger, you just revealed yourself as rebellious. You don't have to say anything to them. They vowed it themselves.

They're rebellious against God. Therefore, he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was to be heated." I hope Osha didn't know about this. Yeah, this was a workplace safety issue. And I have, did you notice with the commentators and stuff, Rick, how they tried to downplay the idea of it being heated seven times. So it wasn't really seven times because that would be just extreme heat. It was just an expression, just you know something they used to say back then and everything. I think it was seven times hotter. Yeah it is because that's what the word said. He was so mad. He said I'll heat that baby up. Heat it up. I don't care how hot we had it.

Make it seven times. That's right. So Nebuchadnezzar issued a command to demonstrate his unchecked authority. He gave an extreme command to let everybody there know, I can do anything I want to do. What I want to do right now is bring about swift and decisive retaliation against these three Hebrews. To heat the furnace seven times more was an act of extreme cruelty, the desire to inflict maximum

pain and destruction on these three rebels. He wasn't content with just burning them. He was intent on singeing them into ashes. That's right. Annihilating them. Right. Annihilating. Making them disappear. They don't exist. See, if they just burned, you might have to haul their charred skeleton out of the furnace.

But if it's seven times hotter, even the bones have burned up. So it was illogical. It was excessive. Why? Because he was in a rage. And why was he in a rage? Because he was rebell a rage. And why was he in a rage? Because he was rebellious against God. He was furious that somebody had a God higher than, had a king higher than him.

So he demanded an unnecessary intensification of the fire, a desire for completeness, see seven. Seven, the number of completeness. Perfection in destruction. Total annihilation. Not only of the men, but of their faith. See, he was gonna burn up their faith also. He was determined to annihilate their trust in God, their worship of God.

I'll burn up their faith. Regular heat in this furnace will only burn their bodies. I'm going to burn their faith. So that was a desperate attempt to terrorize others, to crush future dissent by making an example of these three Hebrews. Pure vindictiveness. A desire not to just punish, but to demonstrate to all the other people his unlimited power and the futility of resistance against him. You know, nations do this in military attacks.

We'll bomb you into oblivion. We'll show every other nation, don't mess with us. We'll teach people there's no way to reject us. It's the same spirit. When pride and and rage combine they lead to actions that are irrational and cruel. They lead to actions that are irrational and cruel. When pride and rage are combined, they produce actions that are both irrational and extremely excessively cruel. Yes.

Yes. If you are the victim of emotional or physical cruelty, know that the person that is inflicting the pain on you is a rebel against God. That's right. They're trying to hurt God, but you're the closest that they can get to him You are the representation of God on earth and your obedience to him Angers them and so they inflict pain on you No offense it's really not about you. It's about the God that's in you. Yes.

That's who they're attacking. The God who is in you. So have a different perspective on the person who's attacking you. It's really not about you. Don't take it personal. They're attacking the God who is in you. So Nebuchadnezzar, he's demanding total absolute subservience of all officials. He's telling them, I'm temporarily insane right now. But you are still expected to carry out my insane commandments. Is this what's happening? You know, people are like, oh, he's lost his mind.

I know, but he's the king. We have to obey the insane king. That's a lesson for everybody. When a leader loses her, his or her mind, you are not obligated to follow their irrational commandments. Because they're not commandments produced in sanity. But what's happening here, the extreme measure of heating up the furnace seven times, it's setting the stage for a demonstration of God's power. Yes.

The intensity of the fire is directly proportional to the glory of God's divine rescue. Yes. This is, we're getting into shouting time now. this. This is this is what we're getting into shouting time now. God's in heaven looking down say yeah heat it up never can answer heat it up never go on nebby do it do it heat it up do 10 times i'll show my glory 10 times greater. So by demanding that the fire be seven times hotter, Nebuchadnezzar unknowingly provided the environment for God to display a miracle that would be impossible

under normal circumstances. Ponder that one. Think about that one today. The miracle that God desired to do was not possible if Nebuchadnezzar did not lose his mind. Right. God, he uses insanity for his glory. Okay, so 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. ago, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Not just a furnace. It's not just a fiery furnace. It's a burning fiery furnace.

It's hot. Just to be clear, it's not just any furnace. That's right. That's right. Now, there are some really significant faith lessons in this verse. It highlights Nebuchadnezzar's deliberate powerful of the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries, the

revolutionaries, the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries, the task. He specifically chose the most mighty men from his army. Today, they'd be special forces. They were army rangers. They were Navy SEALs. He chose them. he said, get my special forces, get my commandos. He is in his insanity now. He is now risking the lives of his strongest soldiers. Yes. But because he's lost his mind at this point, there's no rational thinking. But obviously that insanity is viral because everyone obeyed. Yes, because they were mice. They were little mice. Most people are mice.

They're not men, they're mice. They have no courage. I think it shows that when a leader is insane, the nation is insane. Yes, it does. The whole nation. That's what happened to Germany. How did Germany, of all nations, temporarily lose its mind under Hitler? Because Hitler was insane.

So he chose the mightiest men. Why? Why did he choose the mightiest men. Why? Why did he choose the mightiest men? Because of his order to heat up the furnace seven times. Yes. He couldn't just have, I'm thinking of Barney Fife, for the TV show, Mayberry. All right. He couldn't have a little wimp carrying Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego to the furnace and toss them in when the fire's seven times. He's got to have the strongest men he's got. Right. So this was a message to everybody else, too. I'm, you know, I'm using my best men here. You better line up on this. I'm bringing out my B-2 bombers. That's right. Okay. I'm bringing out my B-2 bombers. I'm not going to go there. I just stay out of politics. Okay. This is why governments, kings, and presidents use maximum military strength. It's not just for the intended target, it's for everybody else. Yes. I will use the strongest tools I've got

to bring you into submission. So he needed soldiers with exceptional strength and courage. Look, everybody here, you've approached a fire at some point in your life, whether it's a campfire or a bonfire or a furnace. You know the heat when you get close to it. You know that there's a place where you can't cross the line. you can't get any closer to it. The heat is overwhelming.

This furnace was seven times hotter than normal. These soldiers had to get close enough to the entrance to toss three men into it, not only into it, but into the middle of it. They didn't just shovel them in, they went flying in. The only way to get them into the middle was to make them airborne. I hadn't thought about that before, Doc.

Those soldiers couldn't walk them into the middle. They had to pick them up by the back of the neck and the seat of their pants and say, you're going to fly. I can't get any closer, but you're going to go in there like a glider. So he's demonstrating his overwhelming power. He's telling everybody resistance is futile. I'll use everything in my possession to enforce my rule. But this is common human tendency to use overwhelming force when confronted with spiritual resistance, believing that physical power can conquer faith. It happens in homes when one spouse is a believer and the other one isn't.

It happens in organizations, companies. It happens in governments. Any place where there are people, there are people who are submitted to God and there are people who are in rebellion. The ones who are in rebellion are quite willing to use overwhelming force. Doesn't have to be physical, but they're willing to use overwhelming force to crush spiritual resistance. That's right. The fact that he chose the mightiest men is actually a sign of his desperation.

Amen. He wanted to ensure that no human force could possibly intervene to prevent the execution of the three men. Nobody's going to jump out of the crowd and go, don't do this. No, you'd have to take down the mightiest men in the kingdom. You get yourself thrown in the furnace. These guys are strong enough,

not only to each one carry a Hebrew, but they can carry a Babylonian in their other arm. Yes. But what we are to learn here is that even the strongest human power is ultimately subservient serving to God's will, unknowingly setting the stage for God's glory. The mightiest men, it represents the pinnacle of human strength, and yet they are mere mere instruments in the hands of a tyrannical ruler. The choice of the mightiest men, it sets the stage for a display of divine power, that the mightiest are powerless in the face of God.

are powerless in the face of God. And they all will learn it on Judgment Day when Christ comes back. The nations of the world unite to fight God. They're not fighting the state of Israel. Don't believe that garbage that these Christian Zionists teach that all the armies are going to surround the nation of Israel. That's not what state of Israel. So then to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. signifies the complete deprivation of freedom of these three men and the rendering of these three Hebrews to make them utterly defenseless. They were in a state of helplessness. They were unable to save themselves. If the king had sent just some regular guys, they might have been able to fight their way out.

But he sent the mightiest men. But I'm going to show you something in just a moment. So this was intended to ensure the binding. They were tied up. They were tied with bonds, ropes, whatever they use. They were tied up. They could not resist, they couldn't flee, they couldn't struggle. It made it certain they would be tossed into the furnace.

This is really important, the binding. They've lost the ability to defend themselves. They've lost the last chance to fight and get out of this mess. It's a complete surrender to this insane king. But the men, here it is watch this their passive acceptance of being bound without physical resistance Spoke of their unwavering faith and trusting God's ultimate sovereignty Yes

Doc it's like Jesus willingly going to the cross. Yes. These men willingly went into the furnace. You really didn't need to bind them. No, they were going to do it. They were going to do it. They were going to do it. What they had decided was we are not going to fall down and worship that idol.

And the irony is the ones binding him were in more bondage than they ever were. That's the irony. They were the ones who were in bondage. So the binding of the men, this is meant to be a public spectacle, to humiliate the men. Send a clear message to everybody in the audience. If you're thinking about opposing Nebuchadnezzar, you better think again. That's right. better think again. That's right. But it also speaks of Nebuchadnezzar's planning for their destruction. He left nothing to chance. He's like, no, not only am I going to send my strongest men, but I'm going to have them tied up. The ropes or whatever they used could have

been chains, were meant to be instruments for their deaths to ensure that they could not escape the fiery inferno. the fiery inferno. It was a symbolic preparation of their sacrifice. They're now human sacrifices. Nebuchadnezzar is now sacrificing humans to his idol. The binding of the three men speaks of Nebuchadnezzar's belief that he had them completely under his control, unaware that God was about to demonstrate his superior power.

See, Nebuchadnezzar didn't believe in God. Right. How could he be aware that God was going to do something when he didn't even believe in God? He had no idea that he was an actor on the stage playing his part that would bring about the glory of God. He's reading his lines and he's unaware of it. So, the very means intended to ensure the destruction of the Hebrews became a part of the miracle. Why am I saying this? Because as we will learn later, the bonds were consumed while the men remained. There's a take that one home today.

That's right. God allowed them to be bound in order to see his glory made manifest. Sometimes God will allow you to be bound by your enemies. When he frees you, he will burn up the chains and Save you In the world will look at and go the bonds are gone, but the believer stands Think about that today folks whatever the has, whatever you are bound up with, start thinking about, hmm, did God allow this to happen so I can bring him glory? People

see me tied up right now. I'm unable to save myself, but I am not going to deny my God. He's going to do a miracle, and He's going to burn up these chains, these ropes, and I am going to be standing here, and I won't even have the smell of smoke on me. They had profound trust that their ultimate faith rested in God's hand, not their ability to resist., he cast them in. This was forceful, decisive. He threw them into the heart of the inferno, not just inside the door, but the center. So the Bible says burning fiery furnace is to emphasize the extreme heat, the terrifying appearance and heat of this instrument of death. It's terrifying. I mean, this isn't a campfire. This is a big structure,

big enough to put three men in it. So Nebuchadnezzar intended this to be the end of the rebellion, a declaration to all onlookers that defiance had met its fatal consequence. But the casting of the Hebrews into the furnace represents the ultimate test of their faith. What do I mean? Their lives were literally placed in the hands of Almighty God. It can't get any worse than this. Somebody more powerful than you has tied you up and thrown you into the middle of a fiery furnace.

How bad can it get? Where do you go after that? But this is to teach us, folks, listen, sometimes God allows His faithful sons and daughters to face extreme fiery trials for the purpose of demonstrating His power and his presence in impossible situations. It's not just his power, it's his presence. Are you in a fiery trial right now. There are two things I know when we're in those situations we we are crying out for deliverance. We want to get out of the furnace, but before you get out of the furnace, God has something he desires you to know and to experience his presence in the furnace

Until you experience his presence in the furnace, he's not going to release you from the furnace Come to the place that you rest in the furnace, where you rest in his presence, in his protection, and you realize, this is the closest I've ever been to God, and we're in a furnace. The closest I've ever been to my maker, it's in a furnace. This doesn't make sense. Glory. I had goodness. Wow. Praise God. Do you welcome the furnace? Do you welcome the presence? He's the presence. He desires us to experience his presence where he can look at you in the fire and say, don't feel anything, do you? I'm here. I'm here. I'm here with you. Nothing's going to hurt you. Praise God. Nobody's going to hurt you. I'm going to burn up the ropes that have you bound. I'm going to lead

you out of this fiery furnace. And you're not going to be charred. People are going to be amazed at your condition but they're going to glorify me the Lord. But you my dear son or daughter will never forget the day I entered the fiery furnace and stood with you in your trial, in your test, your father was here. That's what he desires for us to know. So we've got this stage is set for this dramatic moment where there's a pivot in the narrative, where human power reaches its limit and divine power is about to be revealed as unlimited. Nebuchadnezzar doesn't have any more bullets in his gun.

He shot them all. He heated up the furnace. He got his mightiest men. That's it. And God's saying, that's all you got. That's it. But watch this, Nibby. So you've got the people who are watching all this.

They're all going, oh, this is bad. Those three boys. Oh, I feel so bad. I feel sorry for them. Oh, they're burning up right now. They had no idea that they were about to see a great divine miracle that people would be talking about thousands of years later. For thousands of years, people have talked about this miracle. The moment that is that human eyes, human will, human reasoning would say this is the moment of defeat for the men was precisely when God's intervention became the most evident. Hallelujah, yes.

Sometimes God waits until there is no way to explain how you got out of it. I hope this gives you hope and courage and strength if you're in a fiery trial. I hope it gives you the strength to persevere knowing maybe the moment hasn't reached yet in your trial where there is no hope for you. That's when your father shows up. He's waiting, smiling. Who's this for?

Well, it's for the benefit of the unbelievers. Your benefit is you have a deeper relationship with them. For the unbelievers, they see a demonstration of his power and glory. Nebuchadnezzar's intention was to destroy the Hebrews. God's intention was to deliver them and to reveal his majesty through the very means that Nebuchadnezzar intended for their destruction.

God uses your enemies, weapons and tools intended for your destruction. God uses your enemies weapons and tools intended for your destruction and he uses them for his glory. So you've got this contrast the mighty men and the bound Hebrews. the mighty men and the bound Hebrews. It's in the moment of extreme human weakness and vulnerability that divine power is most gloriously revealed. Yes. So we're reminded that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness and that he can use the very instruments of our suffering to demonstrate his majesty. You see the faith that, the folly of human power when it sets itself against God.

God used his most mighty men to bind and cast God's faithful servants into a fiery furnace. Yet the greatest human strength was utterly powerless against God's sovereign will. That was the that was the best Nebuchadnezzar could do. could do. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they did not resist being bound. They did not fight against being cast into the furnace. No. They quietly submit it to the persecutors in the face of certain death because they had unwavering trust in God that He was able to deliver them, whether by saving them from the fire or through the fire. That's where you and I have to get our faith. That's where you and I have to get our faith.

If you're going through a fiery trial right now, ask the Lord, what's your plan? How can I cooperate with you in this plan? What's the lesson you're seeking to teach me? Lord, use this fiery trial for your glory." He will use it, submit to it, submit to his plan. So the moment when the Hebrews were thrown into the burning fiery furnace is precisely when God chose to reveal His presence. You hear what I just said? When we're on our way to the fiery furnace, we're crying out to God, Oh God, rescue me,

help me. Don't let them do this to me. God didn't show up until they were in the middle of the fiery furnace. What does that teach us? He does not always remove us from our fiery trials but he promises to be with us and He promises to transform the places meant for our destruction into platforms for his glory So we are we are supposed to stand firm even when facing extreme consequences for being obedient

to God. That's right. I know I'm over. I'll try to go faster. I want to finish this up. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosens, and their hats, and their other garments, and they were cast into the midst of the fiery furnace, burning fiery furnace. Once again, burning fiery furnace. It's repeated. By the way, if you didn't know this, it's a burning fiery furnace. It's repeated. Oh, by the way, if you didn't know this,

it's a burning fiery furnace. It's like the Holy Spirit writing the book. Hey, let me repeat this. It's a burning fiery furnace. The three men were bound in their coats, their hosen, their hats, their garments. Hosen, Doc, what is that? Is that the tunics, cloaks?

Right, yeah. It's been a long time since I went to the men's clothing store and bought a Hosen. So I know. I from our German heritage, Rick, I just keep thinking leader Hosen, you know, held them up with suspenders and everything. But let's just say that they were fully clothed, head to toe. There's no question about, you know, when they're thrown in the fire, because it says later on they weren't even scorched. There wasn't even a singe on their clothing. And that's why this is in the Scripture right now. Right. It seems like an insignificant

detail. All right. Oh, for some reason the Holy Spirit, when he inspired Daniel to write this story, said also, don't forget to mention they were fully dressed. Hosen and all. They got it all on. Okay. So the listing of their clothing sets up a really important theological point. The fire's power was precise. It destroyed only what needed to be destroyed, the bonds. But it preserved the identity of the faithful men. Hallelujah.

Glory to God. You know, normally, people who are going to be executed are stripped naked. Hey, one last act of humiliation before we kill you. The last thing you're going to remember is you were naked before an audience of people. That's how we want you to go out of this world. But in this case, Nebuchadnezzar tossed them in fully clothed. But God had a purpose in this.

Right. Could it be, Rick, too, that the reason why they were still fully clothed and everything is because Nebuchadnezzar made the decision quickly and rashly and not even given time for preparation of their execution. But he was carrying out God's plan. Right. Oh yeah, I agree with that. Because the Lord wanted us to know that the chains,

the ropes, the bondage burned up, but the clothing didn't. Just so you folks know, these weren't fireproof suits or anything. These were probably made of wool, right? And I don't know if you've ever seen wool catch fire, but it burns fast. I mean, really fast. There's no... Once it gets started, you can't stop it. It burns so fast. That's right.

So it says that they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. What's the mist? The middle. They're tossed in. They go in head first. You're going, you're gonna fly. And they're tossed into the middle

of the burning fiery furnace. The hottest, most dangerous part of the fire, where destruction would be absolute. So the middle of the furnace represents the completeness of their ruin from a human perspective, the maximum intensity of the flames. And you know Nebuchadnezzar told those mighty men, you get them into the middle. You toss them as hard as you can toss them. I want them to land right in the middle of that fire.

fire. So, in the midst, in the middle of the fire, tells us that God's presence is not reserved for safe places, but it manifests itself in the crucible of persecution. I don't understand this principle. I mean, God, God's with us at all times, but he makes himself known. The greatest, the most, the deepest when we are in the middle of the fire. Yes. It's a profound truth. That when we face our deepest trials and most intense persecution, God does not stand aloof, away, far off. He meets us in the center of the persecution

where the danger to us is the greatest and he meets us there to sustain us and to display his power. The fire was intended to consume the men, but it became the place of God's revelation. No trial, no matter how intense, can separate you no longer are lonely. You realize, He's with me. The world has tried to isolate me, but the Lord is with me.

Verse 22, therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, we tell you one more time that thing was hot. It's. The king's commandment was urgent. They get it done, get those guys in there. You snap his finger, do it. I want to see him fry. his finger, do it! I want to see him fry. He did not intend or expect to see a miracle because he didn't believe that there was a God. He had no idea what was about to happen.

The flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Mighty men were instantly consumed by the fire when they cast them into the furnace. Instantaneous, slew those men. Instantaneous death. They were killed by the heat, not the flames, by the heat. – Just the heat. – And these were the mightiest men. So you have this irony. The mighty men who possess physical human strength to bind and cast others

into the flames were themselves destroyed by the heat, the peripheral heat. So the fire was the intended tool of destruction, but it became an instrument of justice. Understand that. God will use the very tools that your enemies are using to destroy you, and He will turn around and use it to punish them. Yes, the fire was made by man, but the judgment came from God. That's right. All right, last verse. I know we have to get to communion. I wanted to get to verse 23. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound.

So, there's a repetition. These three men, So there's a repetition these three men All right, these scriptures are report repeating These three men Shadrach Meshach and Bindigas make sure we know who these people are It repeats burning fiery furnace To make sure we understand Just where they were tossed They fell down bound.

As far as Nebuchadnezzar was concerned, yeah, I lost my commandos, but those three rascals, I saw them fall down in the furnace. I got it done. I'll get me some new commandos. I'll promote some men after lunch. But those three guys are dead. They fell down. Nebuchadnezzar saw them fall down. I told you guys, I told you to go down. Now you're down. I saw you fall down. Who's the boss? Who's your daddy now?

That's what's in Nebuchadnezzar's head. You wouldn't be in there if you had fell down and worshiped my image. Yes, in verse 10, back in verse 10 chapter 3, that was the command to fall down before the idol. Yes, so now they have fallen down before the fire. Nebuchadnezzar thought he won. Yeah, he's like, hey, I'm ready for lunch, let's go. They fell down now. Uh-huh. Hey, I'm gonna strike, I'm gonna tell the orchestra play another tune. I bet everybody falls down. So, it just doesn't get any worse for these guys.

They're tied up. They've tossed in the fire. They have fallen on their face. Where can it go from here? They fell down, down. That demonstrates their submission to God's will and their acceptance of the consequences of their obedience. They weren't screaming. Nothing here that they were screaming. Nothing saying, oh God, why did you do this to me?

Why didn't you, why did you allow them to do this to me? No, they were calm. They didn't know if God was going to rescue them from the fire. They just said, whether he does or whether he doesn't, we're not bowing down to you, Nebuchadnezzar. They said, we know he's able. We don't even, there's no doubt. We know he's able.

But whether he's going to do it, we don't know. But we're not bowing down to you. That's what we do know. We're not bow bound down to you. That's what we do know. We're not bound down to you. So they've fallen down bound. If there was a coroner there, that's when he started to write the death certificate. OK, I'll go ahead and sign.

They're done. Somebody has to say, excuse me, sir, don't sign that yet. Why? They're back up. They're standing up. And there's now four. There's not three. And we'll get to that next week.

So they were tossed into the mist of the burning fiery furnace. Once again, we're being told again, they're in the middle of this thing. There's no way out. I'll save this for next Friday. All right. Well, I hope you've picked up a good lesson of faith today to continue to stand even when the political winds shift and go in different directions. And so there's the opportunity to stand up for your faith in every situation.

We're going to enter into the Lord's table at this time. So if you've got bread and either red wine or grape juice prepared, we're going to ask the Lord's blessing on that here in just a moment. So we'll give you an opportunity to get prepared for that. We often get asked, well, who may participate in communion? And as a general rule, we say that those who are confessing believers in Jesus Christ and been baptized from water according to scripture, you're welcome to participate in the Lord's Table. We invite you to do that because Jesus said you should do it and do it often. There is no forgiveness as such in the Lord's Table in itself, but in preparation for the Lord's Table, we always approach with pure hearts and pure hands. And we always take a moment to reflect

on our own personal lives to make sure there's nothing between us and the Lord as we enter into the Lord's table. So before we ask the Lord's blessing on the elements, Rick, would you lead us in prayer at this time and that the Lord would just watch our hearts. And if there's anything that's standing between us and him that we would confess it and let's get it taken care of right now. Would you pray for us? Yes, sir.

Holy father, father, we come to you with humble hearts with contrite spirits, acknowledging that we are sinners and we are saved by Your grace, that we have placed our faith in Christ to save us, to forgive our sins. And Father, we have faith that we will not be tossed into the fiery furnace on Judgment Day. So Father, we repent of all sins that we have done and we ask for your forgiveness. I ask that our sins be washed in the blood of Jesus. Remember them no more and lead us closer. Be with us.

Reveal your divine presence with us today in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, amen. Thank you, Rick. Appreciate that. If you have the elements of the Lord's table, we're going to ask the Lord's blessing on it this time and let's enter into it. And I would just encourage you, don't neglect this. If you've been putting it off, don't do it anymore. Make it a part of your regular worship experience. Maybe the devil's whispered in your ears, you're not worthy, or whatever it might be. Just he's

a liar anyway. Ignore his lies. If you've made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ, we welcome you to participate in the Lord's table and encourage you to do so. Let's pray and ask the Lord's blessing over this. Almighty God in your tender mercy, you gave your only begotten son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. He offered himself and made once for all time a perfect sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He instituted this remembrance of his passion and death, which he commanded us to continue until he comes again.

And so, Father, we ask you to bless and sanctify with your Word and Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine that we may partake of his most blessed body and blood. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed once for all upon the cross. Therefore, let us keep the feast. Hallelujah. On the night that he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples saying, take eat. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ was given for you, preserve your body and soul to everlasting life.

This is the bread of heaven. Take and eat in remembrance that Christ died for you. After supper, Jesus took the cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink this all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me. The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which shed for you. Preserve your body and soul to everlasting life. Drink the cup of salvation in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for you and be thankful. Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world,

and blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This sacrament is the gift of God for the people of God. Feed on Him by faith with thanksgiving that Christ died for you. Praise God. You know, Rick, there's a lot of podcasts out there, a lot of talk shows and things like that. But I have yet to come across another podcast or program, Christian program where we where they do a live period of time of the Lord's table. I don't know if any maybe there is but I don't know of any, maybe there is, but I don't know. They certainly don't make a big deal about it, do they? For us, it's an integral part of worship for us. And we don't take it lightly, and it's not just something ceremonial or something religious. Jesus said, do this often.

And I feel it's unfortunate that the modern church de-emphasizes the Lord's table. For us, we put it front and center, because that's what it's all about, folks. This is our life. When Jesus said, this is my body, this is my blood, he didn't stutter. He didn't quibble about it.

He said, if you want to partake of me, you have to partake of the Lord's table. Yes. So we don't take it lightly folks, neither should you. And so we put it out front for everyone to know, because it's important to us. Yes. Doc, one final thought related to today's lesson. If you are suffering, know this, that when we suffer for our faith, we are entering into the suffering of Christ at Calvary.

You can't get any closer to him. When you suffer for him, you enter into communion with him. That's right. Okay. I've had to learn this principle. When I pray over the years, I desire to be closer to you. That what he was saying was, and you'll have to suffer. Are you willing to say yes, Lord? Are you willing to say, yes, Lord? Are you willing to say, yes, Lord? Knowing that He will allow the enemy to set up the fiery furnace for you.

He'll allow the enemy to tie you up and put you in ropes and bonds and chains that you can't get out of. He'll allow the enemy to toss you into the middle of the furnace, and then he'll walk in there with you. Are you willing to do that? Rick, I don't believe he walked in. I believe he was waiting there for them. I like that. He was there. He arrived early. That's right. And that whatever suffering you're going through, God's already there. He's been there. Yes, I like that. He's been there. He arrived early.

What took you guys so long? Oh, boys, good to see you. Take your coat off. A little warm in here, isn't it? You won't be needing those ropes. Yeah, let me take those ropes off of you. All right, everybody. Be blessed. Enjoy the weekend. Spend time with the Lord, get close to him. Set aside time dude, but just be

quiet. Just be quiet so he can speak. Have those conversations with him. He likes to talk. Yes. And he really does. He likes to talk. And he loves people to listen to him. Ask him questions. He'll give you answers.

Have a conversation with him. Turn your prayer from religious to conversational. Talk to him, express your thoughts, your feelings, ask questions, and then be still and wait on a reply. Got to go. Love you. God bless you. Be sure to help us by sharing morning manna with friends. God bless you. We love you and we'll

see on Monday.