There's a man in history, I'm not sure if you've heard of him before, his name is Athanasius. He, in the fourth century, was in a great battle in the church against a heresy that was spreading throughout the church that was ravaging the churches, was being taught and being bought and received in these churches called Arianism. Arius was the leader. And he was teaching that Jesus Christ was merely a man. He was denying the divinity of Christ. And so we have this man, Athanasius, who was strongly opposed by the church. He himself was opposing this heresy. He had to flee for his life over five times, living in exile over a period of 17 years. It seemed as though he was alone against this false teaching spreading through the church. And his name, as we look back in history, his name in Latin, we call him Athanasius Contra Mundum. Athanasius, against the world. So it seemed that he was standing against the world. And this false teaching, perhaps sometimes you feel as though you are alone standing. Perhaps the church feels like a minority standing against the world. But we have this man, Daniel, who seemed to be alone, but he wasn't alone. He certainly didn't think he was alone. He knew that his God was with him. His God was with him in the king's court. His God was with him in the lion's den. And children, you probably have heard the story as well. You heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were thrown into a fiery furnace. Where was Daniel thrown into? The den of lions. Maybe you're told, dare to be a Daniel. Be courageous like Daniel. We're going to look at Daniel. We're going to see how he was a very courageous man. A man of great faith. But we're going to look at Daniel's God. Even though Daniel was commended for his faith, in Hebrews 11, verse 33, it says that these great men of faith, now we know it's speaking of Daniel when it says, shut the mouth of lions, as though Daniel did it. But it wasn't. It was God. God shut the mouth of lions with Daniel in the lion's den. We're looking at this series here on preparing for suffering with the lions. What does that look like for us? We're not having any fear of lions there in a den waiting for us to be thrown into. But we'll see what kind of lions we face in our lives and how we can face them with the lions. And we're gonna see, again, we're not looking so much at Daniel and his courageous faith, but we're seeing how great is God. whom Daniel believed. We're going to see three things here. How God hears our prayers and pleas just as God heard Daniel's prayers. We're going to see how God shuts the mouths of lions and how God delivers and rescues. So as we review the story of Daniel with the lions, Daniel in this kingdom of Persia we're gonna see how it first began, this kingdom. Remember how Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the kingdom of Babylon with Nebuchadnezzar? But now here we have an entirely new kingdom, an empire, taking over Babylon, and we have Darius, or sometimes pronounced Darius, and sometimes that's maybe, to some historians, just a title. But here we have in chapter six, verse one, Darius is quickly setting up his kingdom. He has 124, sorry, 120 satraps. Who are these satraps? They were the ones who were responsible over the provinces of the kingdom. 120 of them. And then he has three high officials of whom Daniel is one, and these were the presidents to whom these satraps would give account. And these are the ones who would take all the tribute to the king, Darius, all the funds, the money, the taxes, they would all come to the kingdom of Darius into his treasury and they were responsible for that work. So Daniel was among them. And how is he described here? He became distinguished above all the high officials and satraps. He had an excellent spirit in him, an excellent spirit. And so Darius wanted to take Daniel and set him above as the highest official over the whole kingdom. And yet we had the satraps, we had these officials, these presidents who became very jealous of Daniel, this Jew who had been exiled. Now at this point he was an old man, over 80 years old, but he was a man that they knew it was gonna be hard to find any ground against them. They sought, though, in verse four, sought to find ground for complaint against him, but they found no ground, no fault, no error. He was faithful. There was nothing that they could find on Daniel. Imagine that, 80 years of this man's life, 70 years in exile. And they had nothing from his past that they could bring up. How many people now today who are going into elected office or whatever, people will find something in their past, but they can find nothing. What a testimony of this man. And I speak to men here. At your age, would people say of your character, of your reputation, that it's above reproach, blameless. Would that be with your work colleagues, with your neighbors, that people would have nothing on you, finding no fault, no error. By the grace of God, children, you're growing up. Your character is being shaped that when as you grow older, people would find nothing on you. Because you have lived your life before God blameless. Doesn't mean that you're sinless. But there's no ground of accusation against you. Faultless reputation. So in verse 5 we see, if we could not find anything against Daniel, the only thing we could find is in connection with the law of his God. Of his God. And so they came up with this sinister plan to try to catch him. And so they went to the king and they said, O king, live forever. And they said, now establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition of any God or man for 30 days, except to you, if anyone is praying to anyone except you, for you to be above all the gods. If anyone's praying to any other God, anyone except to you, let him be cast into the den of lions. That was their plan. And so according to the laws of that day, in contrast with Babylonian empire, Nebuchadnezzar can make a law And that was law. And he could change it any time. The Persians, when they made a law, even the king had to submit to it. It could not be revoked. You see how it's repeated over and over that that law that is made, that is signed, cannot be revoked. Once it is established, it cannot be changed. And so this law is inciting the people to false worship. And there's a confusion. With manly laws in our day. For Christians, when they read Romans chapter 13, and they see that we are to subject ourselves to respect our ruling authorities. We are to give them their due. But does that mean that all things are going to be lawful? What they make as laws, in all things are we to obey them? When we read Matthew 22, verse 21, we see Jesus take a denarius with the inscription of Caesar, and I have a loonie here, and I see a Canadian maple leaf. We see also the inscription of Queen Elizabeth. Now, the coin in that day that Jesus took was the inscription of Caesar, and so if anyone was holding on to that that belonged to Caesar. It was his, so taxes are due to Caesar. It was his, the coin was bearing his image, it belonged to him. But what about us, who bear the image of God? We belong to God. So Jesus says, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's. What belongs to God? What is his due? It's worship. It's prayer. And so if this law given by Darius says, pray to me alone, was Daniel going to pray to him? When God's due is prayer to him alone, worship to him alone. Daniel could live these 70 years in two pagan empires, and he was blameless, he was faultless, and he was not going to disobey God. He was a man who prayed. He did respect the king, but here was a man who would worship his God exclusively, worship him alone, the king of all the kings of the earth. So when Daniel heard that this ordinance was signed, this injunction was being implemented, what did he do? He went back to his home, he knelt down with the door open, facing Jerusalem, and he prayed. He prayed to his God in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, and it says here, just as he always did. This was his custom in verse 10. As he had done previously. This was not something he did that was in rebellion against Darius. This was something that he was doing every day. Praying to his God. In the morning, at noon, in the evening. It was his custom. And these satraps and the presidents knew it. And they saw him doing what he normally did, and they went to the king with this report. And so we have Daniel, though he's praying, he knew that there were consequences. He was going to go to the den of lions that day that he prayed. but he was continuing to pray and to lift up his pleas to his God, because he knew that his God would hear him in heaven. And there was a particular moment in history here where, going back to King Solomon, when he dedicated the temple, and he was speaking of a time where the people of God would be put in exile. And it says here, I'm gonna read to you 1 Kings 8, verse 46 to 50. And think of Daniel, who perhaps knew these words, and that he would continue to pray according to these promises. If they sin against you, for there is no one who does not sin, and you are angry with them, and give them to the enemy so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy far off and near, as though Solomon as he prays this, knew that this was going to happen inspired by the Holy Spirit. And he says, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they had been carried captive and repent and plead with you in the land of their captor saying, we have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly, if they repent, with all their mind, with all their heart, in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and prayed to you toward their land, just as Daniel was kneeling down toward Jerusalem, according to this promise. The city that you have chosen, the house that I built for your name, then here in heaven, your dwelling place, their prayer, and their plea, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carry them captive, that they may have compassion on them." Here was a man, Daniel, who prayed and pleaded with his God, facing Jerusalem, knowing those promises, that God would forgive them. would heal their land and bring them back. Daniel never went back, but they did go back after 70 years. And he prayed faithfully morning, noon, and evening. And I wonder about your custom, your prayer life. Is it a short prayer in the morning? Is it a short prayer in the evening? Or is it a time where you come before God, you get on your knees, you bow down before God, and you plead with Him for the forgiveness of your sins, for the healing of what is broken, even in our land. Are you praying and pleading with God as Daniel did? Is it your custom? Because when time comes, when our government may say things like, no more worship, no more public worship. What will you do? Will you be like Daniel and do what is your custom? And do as it says here in verse 10, as he had done previously. Do you know that in North Korea, if you are in any of these camps, in prison, even looking up, to heaven is seen as a prayer will be punished. But would you continue praying? Would you continue worshiping? This is the custom of Daniel, even though he knew he would go to the lions. Well, when Darius heard that from the satraps and the president that this is what would happen to Daniel, he was not keeping this law. He was distressed. He was distraught. And it says he realized in verse 14, he realized this and he was in distress, so he set his mind to deliver Daniel. He labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Because Darius loved Daniel. He saw him as a faithful overseer of the kingdom. And so he was trying to save him, do whatever he could to spare him. The satraps reminded him that the law could not be revoked. And so Daniel was taken. He was cast into the den of lions. And while the door was still open, Darius calls out to Daniel and he says to him, may your God whom you serve continually deliver you. He had this hope that his God would still be able to spare him. Do you know the name Daniel means God is my judge? That's his Jewish name, Daniel. His Babylonian name was Belteshazzar, but Daniel means God is my judge. And what happened with Daniel when he was in the lion's den? Was God a judge over him? Would he vindicate him as that stone was rolled to shut that den closed tight according to the ordinance and the signet closing and sealing that door? When Daniel was in that lion's den that night, he most likely slept very well. But Darius was throughout the night in distress He spent the night fasting, no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. And so when he woke up that morning, he went in haste to the den of lions, and he came to Daniel and he cried out, oh Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions? Is God your judge? Is God your advocate? Has he delivered you? And he hears the voice from the den. O King, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth. They have not harmed me because I was found blameless. God is my judge and I am blameless. I've done you no harm, O King. Daniel, God is my judge. He was found blameless. When we think of these satraps and the presidents who had only malice against Daniel, they were trying to find anything, any ground of accusation, any fault, they couldn't find any. And in that day in the Near East principle, those who brought false accusations against someone, they would receive the same punishment that they plotted. What did they plot? That Daniel would be put in the lion's den. And instead, Daniel was removed from that lion's den, unharmed, and they, with their wives and their children, were thrown in. And as before they even hit the ground, the lions devoured them and broke their bones in pieces. You know the word malice that we saw there in Daniel chapter three? It's like a beast wanting to devour their prey. That's what they wanted to do to Daniel, and yet that is what the lions did to them. And in our culture today, we have people that are having that malice in their hearts. We call it cancel culture. And they will go after people, online, trolling, and they want to destroy people's lives. And they will go to people's homes. They will threaten them. That's the kind of hatred that people have against you who worship God, who pray to God. And yet, is God not our judge, our advocate, the one who will judge for us? And Darius recognized it. The God was for Daniel. And what he did with Daniel is he acknowledged his God in verse 26. He makes a decree and all the royal dominion, the people who are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel. All the nations were to fear his God, for he is a living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven. He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. Would that be for us today in our land, that our prime minister would acknowledge this living God, our God, who has dominion from sea to sea. It is in our coat of arms, in Latin, A hundred years ago, in 1921, we have the words inscribed. It's a quote from the Bible. Psalm 72, verse 8. He, that is God, has dominion from sea to sea. Would that our politicians, our lawmakers, acknowledge this. We have God's word inscribed on pillars, on the walls, on our parliament buildings and our justices. Would that they'd acknowledge this, but recognize that it was just through one man. We may feel alone as minorities here in Canada, or you feel alone in your office, or you feel alone in your neighborhood, but look at what God did with one man, one faithful man, Daniel, and turn the heart of the king to acknowledge his God. Would that God do that in our land. The world is watching. It's watching you, watching me, looking for any fault, any faltering, any error, and we are sinners and we acknowledge our sin. We confess our sin, we repent of our sin. But to see if there's any blame, any ground, and yet we have a world that doesn't recognize this God that we worship, a God who delivers us from the lions when we seek to do what is right. You know, Peter speaks of suffering. Peter, the apostle who wrote this first letter, he speaks of suffering. If you suffer, let it be for doing what is right. Not for doing what is evil. In chapter four, verse 19, he says, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. So if we are to suffer, let it be as Daniel was, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. As the godly saints of old, they suffered for doing what is right. Let it be. And as we prepare for suffering, We're not going to face lion dens. We're not gonna be cast into coliseums where in the early church, the coliseum was full of people cheering on the lions and devouring Christians. This is not what we are facing. But what we know we are facing today is the lion, the devil, and we suffer. when we stand against the devil. What does the devil do in his roaring? He accuses. He accuses the brethren. That is the meaning of his name. The devil is the accuser of the brethren. He accuses them day and night. He seeks to find fault, find ground. And while we are praying, to God. He hears our prayers. He advocates for us. He delivers us from this roaring lion as he encircles us, seeking someone to devour. First Peter also says, what should we do when we are hearing the roar? When he is seeking someone to devour, we resist him. We stand firm in the faith. because we know the same kind of sufferings that we are experiencing in resisting him is being experienced by our brotherhood and our sisterhood around the world. That is what we know is the den of lions for us today. This roaring lion seeking to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, and as we do, we are suffering. This is our everyday den that we are in, resisting the devil. And what has God done with the devil? He has shut his mouth. He is the accuser. He roars, but he has no accusation, no ground against us. When Jesus Christ died on that cross, it says that he disarmed the devil. He has no weapons against us. There's no condemnation against us. So he has nothing to say, though he will roar and he will accuse. But it's all in vain. So that's speaking to Christians who are trusting in God. And if anyone here is not, and there is a lion roaming around seeking someone to devour, and he will devour. He will destroy. unless you call on Him to deliver you from Him. To call on the Lord God to deliver you from His enemy and our enemy. You will be saved. You pray to God in the name of Jesus to deliver you, to save you from the devil, from your sin, and you will be delivered. In the book, Pilgrim's Progress, as we close here, if you haven't read it, there's a part of The story where for Christian, he's on a pilgrimage to the celestial city, and he finds himself knowing that there is this palace beautiful, a place where he can lodge for the night. And as he approaches, he hears the roar of lions. And he's terrified. And there's this man called Watchful, he's the porter of the palace beautiful, and he assures Christian, not to be afraid, because the lions are chained. And all he has to do is walk straight on the path. Not to fear their roars, but just walk on the path until he reached the palace beautiful. You will hear the roar of the lion. You will hear the accusations. You will hear, but do not be afraid if you are in the lion's den with the lion, because God hears your prayers. He has shut the mouth of the lion, and he will deliver you from him. Let's pray. Hear our prayers, O Lord, when we Forget that we are no longer condemned. That we have been justified. There's no longer any ground against us from the devil. Father, prepare us more and more for suffering. That we know that we are suffering when we're resisting, standing firm against the devil. And we pray, Father, that you will cause us to walk along that path, not turning to the right or to the left, but continuing in that path of holiness, that highway of holiness, that we might find ourselves reaching Mount Zion, the celestial city, and that you will finally, as our judge, save us in that consummate salvation. Father, in this journey of faith, we pray that you would find us faithful and that you would be glorified as we pray to you. In Jesus' name, Amen.