The full audio lessons for Daniel as they are being taught are here:
https://basictraining.org/all-audio-messages/?enmse=1&enmse_sid=275
Thanks to "The Book of Daniel" 2013 movie for some of the scenes.
Notes mentioned are here:
https://basictraining.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Book-of-Daniel-April2024.pdf
We're going to start Daniel chapter three. Let's read the first seven verses and then let's look at what God will do to reach a soul, to bring them into the family of God.
“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plane of Dura in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges and magistrates and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald cried aloud: ‘To you. It is commanded all peoples, nations and languages that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the psaltery, in symphony, with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that the King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.’ So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre in symphony, with all kinds of music, all the people, nations and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” Daniel 3:1-7
What will God do to Reach a Soul?
And of course, as we'll see, moving on from verse eight, there were three who disobeyed. And that, of course, was the three friends of Daniel. But at this point, before we get into looking at these verses, note the seven points that we have on that first page about the lengths to which God will go to reach a soul and save that soul.
1) First, he brought Daniel and his company to his attention in chapter one. You'll remember that they put the task of not eating the king's food, not drinking the king's wine. There was anything wrong with the food or the wine, but the fact that it was always offered to a false god before it was brought to them.
2) Secondly, he gave Nebuchadnezzar a problem that seemed to have no solution in the dream that none of his wise men could interpret. God puts obstacles in front of people and allows affliction in the lives of people to wake them up to their need.
3) And so, point three, the dream was then told and interpreted by Daniel with the prayer backing of his three faithful friends. And so once again, Daniel comes to the attention of Nebuchadnezzar is like every time he has a problem, this guy solves it and God is directing his attention to someone who has the ultimate solution to life, and that is faith in the True and the Living God.
4) Point four in chapter three, God is going to allow the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar to bring the friends of Daniel to the forefront by their act of civil disobedience. And we'll see that as we go through to verse 12 in this chapter.
5) Point five, in a fit of rage, Nebuchadnezzar commands the three to be cast into the superheated flame. This only serves to reveal God's power to protect them, as well as giving Nebuchadnezzar a brief glimpse of the Lord Jesus with them in the fire. So why does God keep working in this way with Nebuchadnezzar? Because Nebuchadnezzar is not only going to come to faith, but he’s also going to write a testimonial about how God finally reached him that would be sent out in all the provinces, once again, reaching all the way from India to Africa.
6) Point six, finally proving that “pride goes before the fall,” as we're told in Proverbs 16:18, he strikes Nebuchadnezzar with a beastly insanity right at the very point of his boast about his own greatness. He was reminded six times that “The Most High rules in the kingdom of men.” Either there's going to have to come a point of humility and a breakthrough of light into the darkness, or there's going to be a sealing of the conscience of that person beyond the point of no return.
7) Point seven, Daniel made it clear that Nebuchadnezzar could avoid all this by simply humbling himself before God in Daniel 4:37. But it took seven years of imposed humiliation. Pride is a difficult thing to break, and we're going to study in a few moments the doctrine of pride, which is really the doctrine of arrogance.
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