It is my joy to be here. So many
old friends and new ones and just a delight to be here. Thank you. I'm grateful to your
pastor for asking me. Let's turn now to the book of
Daniel. Daniel chapter 6. Daniel chapter 6 is a written
record of something that actually happened. It is not a made-up
story. These events actually happened
just as they are recorded in God's Word. Most folks know this
account as Daniel and the lion's den. A much better title would
be Jesus Christ Saves Daniel from the lions. The reason I had Brother Wes
read from Hebrews the great hall of fame of faith, did you notice
it said in there there was a man who believed that God could stop
the mouth of lions? Alright, look at Daniel 6, verse
1. It pleased Darius, who was the
king at that time, to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty
princes, which should be over the whole kingdom. Now what that
tells us as God's people is that from time to time, God lets men
have some temporary rule and reign. But that's all it is,
is temporary. They reign over some part of
His creation by His permission for as long as He allows it.
And when it's done, it's done. And Darius was that man in this
time. Look at verse 2. And over these
three presidents of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give accounts
unto them And the king should have no damage. You know, God
holds all men and women accountable. We know that, don't we? Word
teaches that. And God keeps evil men in check
sometimes by letting a man like Darius have the rule over a group
of folks. And it's for his purpose and
his reason and his glory only that it happens that way. Keeps
evil men in check. You see, Darius knew if he didn't
have somebody watching him, they'd steal from him. They'd cheat
him. They'd do him harm, if not outright kill him. Look at verse
3. Then this Daniel was preferred
above the presidents and princes, because of an excellent spirit
was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. You see those two words, excellent
spirit. What is the only thing that set
Daniel apart from all these other princes and captains and rulers
and all these other people? It was an excellent spirit. One
way among many to tell God's people, God's people are gracious,
they're kind, they're truthful. What's going on? They have an
excellent spirit. They have integrity, a work ethic. They're honest. They're even
truthful. What have they got that others
don't? They have an excellent spirit. Folks who fuss and fight
and lie and connive and always trying to figure the angles, they lust after money. What's
their problem? They don't have an excellent
spirit. And it's only by the grace of God if we have one. Look at verse 4. Then the presidents
and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the
kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor fault. For as much as he was faithful,
neither was there any error or fault found in him. Envy and
jealousy is common among those who are around God's people.
If you don't know that yet, you just haven't been around long
enough yet, they'll be coming for you. They want the position
and respect you have, but are not interested in what's required
to earn it, or required to achieve it. Nor are they willing to bow
to the authority of those over them who you will. We understand
God's given us bosses and He's given us folks that have the
rule over us. And it'll be for our good and
His glory. And we're to yield to that. A
major goal of the believer is that others find no fault in
us. Wouldn't it be nice if somebody
would have said about one of us what was said about Daniel?
Those fellows looked at him every way they knew how, trying to
find some way to deal with him, to go to the king and say, Do
you know this about Daniel? And there was no fault in him.
What made him any different? His desire to be like the Lord
Jesus Christ and the grace of God. Pontius Pilate said of our
Lord, he said, I don't know what you fellows are talking about.
He said, I find no fault in Him. Why? Because there was no fault
in Him. And God's people, don't we desire to be that way? Don't
we look forward to the time when we will be? God can always, in everything
we do, find fault, can't He? You ever have just the best motive,
the best intentions, and it all just goes haywire? Why? That's the sin in us. It just
leaks out of every pore, doesn't it? Everything we touch gets
contaminated by sin. However, God's people don't behave
a certain way so God will save them. We behave a certain way
and desire to because God has saved us. That's the difference
in this religious world and what your pastor is preaching to you
here. We're not trying to get saved by what we do. We are given
thanks for being saved by what He has done. Then God gives the excellent
Spirit when He saves us. He gives us that. Look at verse
5. Then said these men, we shall
not find any occasion against Daniel Except we find it against him
concerning the law of his God. Daniel pictures Christ here.
There's no fault in him. It's a it's a great compliment
to Daniel and the grace of God. His only fault in their eyes.
Do you know what it was? This is almost if it weren't
written down here, you just have to think that they couldn't.
This is ridiculous. You know what they you know what
they were saying about him? He worships his God too much. Wouldn't
anybody here like to have that accusation laid to your account? One time I heard a fellow talking
about another member of the fellowship at 13th Street. And he said,
well, he said, I know this about him. He said all he ever does,
he said he's always in church. He said he's there on Sunday
morning, Sunday night. He's there on Wednesday night
to have all these meetings. He's always there. Well, praise God. The man wanted to be and hear
more about the Lord Jesus Christ. Be like Christ. Always be nice. Somebody accused us of that,
didn't they? And that's what these fellows said about Daniel.
They said the only thing wrong with him is he worships this
God too much. If we're going to trap him or trick him, it's
going to have to be about that. He's always going to worship
this God. Look at verse 6. Then these presidents
and princes assembled together to the king and said thus unto
King Darius, the old king lived forever. Oh, beware of flattery. Look out. Look out. And verse
7, all the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, the princes,
the counselors, the captains, we've all gotten together. We've
consulted together to establish a royal statute to make a firm
decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man
for 30 days, unless it's to ask you, old King Darius, he shall
be cast into the den of lions. Now O King, establish the decree
and sign the writing that it be not changed according to the
law of the Medes and Persians, which offereth not. Wherefore,
King Darius, sign the writing and the decree." These evil men,
these envious men, they thought to set a trap for Daniel, and
they appealed to the vanity of Darius to get it done. they tricked
him into signing this decree for an evil purpose. Verse 10,
what did Daniel do? Daniel heard about it, I'm sure.
What did he do? Now when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being
open, as they always were in his chamber toward Jerusalem,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave
thanks before his God as he did aforetime. He knew. Do you all see it there?
Daniel knew. Do you see those two words? Daniel knew. He knew what these men
were trying to do. These men knew the wicked business
they were about. Let me tell you something else.
Daniel is not the only one who knew. Daniel knew, and God knew. God knew what these men were
about, and be assured that no one ever sets about some evil
purpose toward Christ or His people that God is not fully
aware. He knows. He knows. Did you ever have one of your
children? You can just see the little wheels turning. They're plotting something. They're
about to do something they know they shouldn't. And you know,
don't you? You think God doesn't know what
all His children are up to and what all those who would do them
harm are up to? He knows. God knew their plan,
their purpose, and their intent. And be assured, God had the solution
in place Long before these evil men ever hatched their plot. So what did Daniel do? The same
thing we should do when a trial comes our way. He kneeled upon
his knees and prayed. He gave thanks. He gave thanks
for a trial? Yes. It is a privilege of God's
people to be tried by great trouble, real trouble. Our God does not
send small ships into great waters. He'll run us across a creek,
and then He might run us across a stream, and then He might run
us across a river, and then across a little sea before He ever sends
us out into that deep water. He won't send us anyplace. He
won't try us in any way. He does already know that he
has the comfort and the solution and the purpose it will accomplish
by doing so. There's trouble, and then there's
real trouble. And no doubt Daniel had known
some trouble. But what does Daniel do? The
answer is the same thing he always does. He prays and gives thanks.
not out of form and ritual, but out of a constant need and desire. Look at verse 11. Then these
men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication
before his God. Then they came near and spake
before the king concerning the king's decree. Has thou not signed
a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any god
or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast
into the den of lions.' And the king answered and said, The thing
is true according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which
altereth not. Then answered they and said,
Before the king, that Daniel, which is of the children of the
captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree
that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day."
These evil men, can you just hear their voices when they came
before that king and they said, O king who lives forever, that
Daniel. We've got him now. That Daniel. And I'll tell you what, if you
haven't faced somebody like that yet, you may well. We may well
yet. But know this, our God knows
everything that's going on. These men were so foolish and
ignorant to think that King Darius would not realize exactly the
trap that they had set and how they had deceived the king. You
children here. You ever, I think we used to
call it playing a joke. I think now they say you're pranking
somebody. Ever been pranked? Well, it's
not much fun if you're the prankee. And be careful with that, young
people. But it's one thing to prank another
student, somebody else in your class, maybe. But it's another
thing altogether if you get it in your head to think you're
going to play a prank on the teacher. You might want to be
real careful with that. And it's another matter altogether
if you decide you want to play a prank on the principal of the
whole school. Yeah, whoa, whoa. One of the young kids back here
is going. And he's right. You might want to think that
through. Because there's trouble and then there's real trouble.
You might get a little talking to you if you play a prank on
a buddy. You play a prank on the teacher or the principal
of the whole school. Now, you are in real trouble
now. There's trouble and then there's
real trouble. Look at verse 18. Then the king
went to his palace and passed the night fasting. I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself. Look at verse 14. Then the king,
when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself,
he realized he had been tricked. And he set his heart on Daniel
to deliver him, and he labored till the going down of the sun
to deliver him. This earthly king, Darius, he
could not find a way. He could not find a way to deliver
Daniel. Daniel had broken the law. He
had, hadn't he? He had broken the law. We say,
well, it wasn't a good law. He broke it. He broke it, and
the price had to be paid. The penalty had to be applied.
Verse 15, Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto
the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians
is, and that no decree and or statute with the king established
may be changed. I mean, how blind are these fellows? They're standing before the man
who can have them thrown in the pit. And they're going, we got
him, we got him, that Daniel. And they don't understand. Darius
loves Daniel. He cares about Daniel. He doesn't
want to put Daniel in the lion's den. Listen to this carefully.
Beware those who want the law applied to others because they
think they have kept the law. They think because they went
30 days without asking anything that they knew they shouldn't,
that they ought to be made the new president. That's what they
thought. And that's men by nature. We
think we ought to be God. We think we ought to be running
the show. We think we can do it better than He can. Anybody
who wants the law applied to others because they think they've
kept the law themselves, they're called Pharisees. God calls them
workers of iniquity, and Daniel may have technically broken the
law of Darius, but these men were attempting to take Darius
off his throne. That was their goal. It was Daniel
first, and then they were going for Darius. Look at verse 16. The king commanded, and they
brought Daniel. and cast him into the den of
lions. Now the king spake and said unto
Daniel, Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver
thee. And a stone was brought and laid
upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own
signet and with the signet of his Lord's, that the purpose
might not be changed concerning Daniel. Darius admits there that
he cannot help Daniel. Only Daniel's God can. What made
Darius say this about Daniel and his God? Now, we can learn
something from this. We may think we have a boss or
a fellow worker or somebody we meet who is unapproachable. Let me tell you, King Darius
was pretty much unapproachable. But Daniel, a prophet of God,
had been talking to him. He had been telling him about
the God he knew, the God he served. Apparently, Daniel had been telling
Darius, oh, that God the Spirit would enable us, open a door
for us, that we can tell somebody who Christ is. Just what a blessing
it might be about the God we worship and serve, and that some
might see and believe on Christ. Look at verse 18. Then the king
went to his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were
instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went
from him. Darius' typical night was to
go and have the harp players come and the flute players, and
they'd set out a sumptuous feast, and he'd get on his feather bed.
Not tonight. Not tonight. Not tonight. He's troubled. He's troubled. What can we do when we or a brother
or sister in Christ is in real trouble? Anything we can do? Perhaps we could and should do
what Darius did. Maybe we could postpone our pretty
much constant concern about what we eat and drink. I'm not talking
to you, I'm talking to myself here now. We could turn off the
TV and the computer. We can do it without the music.
We could sit or lay in the night for a time and beg our God on
our bed to have mercy upon our dear sister or brother in Christ
who is in real trouble. Perhaps we too would give a similar
result as Darius got. Look what happened. Then the
king arose very early in the morning and went in haste into
the den of lions. And when he came to the den,
he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake
and said to Daniel in this lamentable voice, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,
servant of the living God, is that God whom thou servest able
to deliver you from the lions? Could he do it, Daniel? That's
a lamentable voice. If we really want something,
if you ever have one of your kids when they're little come
and say, you know, it's the ice cream truck. Get the ice cream
truck. Can I get an ice cream? I want ice cream. I want ice cream.
They mean it, don't they? They want the ice cream. I tell
you, If somebody we love is really, really in trouble, we'll find
out about this lamentable voice. Oh God, oh God, oh God, have
mercy upon me, the sinner, the sinner. And Daniel, whom Darius
loved, he ran, he ran. And he cried out for Daniel,
saying, Daniel, if what you told me is true, Did your God save
you from the lions? Look at verse 21. Then said Daniel
unto the king, O king, live forever. It's OK. It's OK. I'm all right. I'm all right. Daniel tells us in the king how
it is that he's all right in verse 22. He says, My God, The
one I've been telling you about, Darius, my God, my God, He sent
me an angel. And He shut the lion's mouth
that they have not hurt me. For as much as before Him, innocency
was found in me. Now, He wasn't saying I was innocent.
He was saying the one who represented me in the lion's den was innocent. And therefore, it was found in
me. And also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. It looks like this has all worked
out just fine, and I didn't harm you by disobeying your law."
Do we understand we've broken the law, all of them. But because
of the one who came into the den with us, he took all the
punishment for it. And therefore, we've done no
harm to our God. And we can go into His presence
one day. He said, My God who sent His
angel, My God who shut the lion's mouth, My God, why didn't they
hurt you? My God. How was innocency found
in you? My God. I've done no hurt or
harm to my King because of my God. God the Father sent the
Son to shut the mouths of our accusers. Our sin cannot hurt
or harm us. It has been put away by Christ. We are therefore innocent before
the Holy God, and I come in the name of my King, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is perfect. One day when we get there, that's
what we say. This is not Bob. I'm not coming with what Bob
did. No, I'm coming because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did.
Daniel went into the lion's den guilty. He came out having the
consequences of sin satisfied. That angel, do you know who that
was? That was the Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel went into the lion's den
guilty and came out having the consequences of sin completely
satisfied. He came out innocent. God took
care of those lions. He did. Look at verse 23. Then was the king exceedingly
glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out
of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of
the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him. Why? Because he believed in God. His God, the true and living
God, the one God, the three-in-one God. Notice this. Daniel did not cry
out or start believing God when he was thrown in that pit. Even
when he thought he'd be thrown in that pit, he didn't go, well,
I better get some religion now. We've seen that before. God prepares
His people long before the trouble comes. Faith and believing is
not given when trials come. It is just revealed. Long before
this trouble, this real trouble, God had revealed Christ to Daniel
so that when the time came, Daniel knew exactly who his hope was and when he needed to cast all
his care upon Him. I've read a lot of stories and
heard a lot of illustrations about Daniel and the lion's den,
but I read about it. Everything I could find to read
about it. It was a pit. And it wasn't all that wide open
at the top, but it was deep. Because a mature male lion can
leap like 12 feet in the air or something. So it was 15, 20
feet deep. And they put Daniel in there.
And they said this King Darius kept 12 to 15 lions in there. And you know how often he fed
them? Just enough to keep them alive. They didn't have a trial by jury
back then. If they brought somebody before
Darius and said, well, we caught him stealing food in there, he
didn't go, well, give him Give him six months of bread and water.
Or put him in jail. No, I said throw him in the pit. Just throw him in the pit. Folks
have this absurd notion that God has some kind of a sliding
scale. No, no. There's only one punishment
in the whole of Scriptures. It's called death. Eternal death. God's going to put people in
a place where they won't do any more harm. Darius put people
where they wouldn't do him any more harm. And they just throw
people in there. Can you imagine twelve lions
fighting over one body? Oh, the dust and the noise coming
up out of that place. And they threw Daniel in there.
And you know what happened? Nothing. Nothing. Daniel hit the bottom of that
pit. I don't know about Daniel, but
if it was me going down that, I think I would have hit the
ground going, uh-oh. It's over. It's over. And I'd
like to think I had Daniel's faith, but I'm not so sure. When Daniel hit the bottom of
that pit, it might have taken a minute to clear his head, and
he looks around and over here is a 900-pound male lion just
eyeballing him. And another and another and he
looks over here and he thinks, they're all over the place. And
all of a sudden he realizes there's this part he can't see here in
front of him. What's wrong? Suddenly he realizes
there's somebody between him and those lions. And those lions are not opening
their mouth, they're not growling, they're not doing a thing but
sitting there. Why? Because the one between Daniel
and the lions has shut their mouths. It's like the three fellows that
got thrown into the... Daniel knew some things now.
He'd seen some things. It was three fellows that got
thrown in a fiery furnace. And do you remember what that
king said? He said, look in there, look, look. He said, we put three
fellows in there and now there's four. He found out who the fourth
one was, didn't he? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And
you remember in the book of Revelation, when John saw our Lord, what
his feet looked like? He said they looked like they'd
been burned in a furnace. Why? Because they had. They had. And if those lions were going
to bite anybody, it wasn't going to be Daniel. But our Lord shut
their mouth. And that ought to be a lesson
for us. No matter what anybody tries
to do to us, no matter how bleak and drab and dark it looks, we
have one with us. We have one between us and the
real trouble. All the stuff going on in this
world is just little stuff anyway. But the real trouble, our sin,
there's one who's got that under control. He's taken it. He carried it up Calvary and
let them nail it to him on that tree. And nobody's ever going
to say to Daniel, well, have you been good ever since? We
don't have to worry about being good. We want to be good. Don't
touch Daniel. But Christ did it for us. He's already done all the good
we need. He's established a perfect, righteous holiness on our behalf. It's ours. And one day we'll
go claim it. So did these evil men get away
with trying to trick the king and bury Daniel once and for
all, get rid of him? Look at verse 24. I'm almost
sorry to have to read this verse. And the king commanded, and they
brought those men which had accused Daniel. And what did he do? They cast them into the den of
lions. And this is, if anybody ever
needed a reason to come worship God and to bring our children
and family with us, here it is. They cast them into the den of
lions, them, their children, and their wives. And the lions
had the mastery of them and break all their bones and pieces wherever
they came at the bottom of the den. When God wraps up this earth
and this world as we know it will happen, Christ is going
to be glorified. And God's people will be rescued,
delivered, and will rest in Christ's glory. And then here's how this
ends in verse 25. Then King Darius wrote unto all
people, nations, and languages that dwell on all the earth,
Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a new decree, a decree
that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble in fear,
not before me, but before the God of Daniel. For he is the
living God and steadfast forever, and his kingdom, that which shall
not be destroyed in his dominion, shall be even unto the end. He
delivereth and rescueth And he worketh signs and wonders in
heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power
of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the
reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. May our
God enable us to do what Daniel did, pray, give thanks, and worship
God. It's a great story. But it's
not a story. It actually happened. Alright.