Daniel: The Fiery Furnace (Week 4)
Preacher: Daniel Erasmus
Worship:
As you spend time in worship this week, listen to the song That’s The Power by Hillsong Worship. Hold to the fact that there’s no power like the mighty name of Jesus as you reflect on the furnace you may be facing.
Check-in:
Share with the group if you had an opportunity to speak life into a situation or a person in your world this past week.
Synopsis of message: The Fiery Furnace
On Sunday, Pastor Daniel unpacked Chapter 3 of Daniel, which could translate into the following question: “Is the fire burning inside of you stronger than the furnace you are facing?”
We saw how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced an ultimatum from King Nebuchadnezzar. The king told them to worship the idol that he set up or they would be thrown into a blazing fire. The three men had confidence in God, whether God saved them from the king’s hand or not. Because they refused to worship the king’s idol, they were bound up and thrown into a fiery furnace, which was heated seven times hotter than usual. The king was amazed to see a fourth man walking around in the fire with them. When they came out of the fire, their bodies were not harmed, their hair and robes did not burn and they did not even smell like smoke. The king acknowledged that no other god could save his people in this way. He promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Our culture today is also throwing ultimatums at us. Pastor Daniel shared three lessons that we can learn from Daniel’s three friends.
- Their conviction was greater than the culture of compromise: Conviction is where you stand. We cannot have conviction if we do not have revelation that comes from God. Conviction evicts the intruder.
- They had confidence in God (a God-confidence) over the chaos: Do not throw away your confidence (Hebrews 10:35). In a culture of chaos, we need people of God with boldness.
- There is purpose in the furnace: There is no man-made furnace that can change your God-given purpose (Daniel 3:24-30; and Genesis 50:20).
If you feel like you are in a furnace, or if you are challenged to bend or bow down in compromise, you need to change your posture and physically STAND. The fire inside of you needs to be stronger than the furnace around you.
Discussion questions:
- Reflect on your perspective of the culture we are currently living in. How is that perspective influenced by the truth that God is at work and in control?
- Share with the group a difficult season that you have endured. How could you have embraced that season as being something you were made for?
- Consider the situations and people in your world that you can speak life into. In the upcoming week, what can you do to speak life into those situations or to those people?
Additional resources:
- The Life of Daniel (bible.com)
- The Fire (bible.com)
- Trusting God’s Plan in the Fire: Lessons From the Book of Daniel (bible.com)
- Jesus in All of Daniel (RightNow Media)
