We are in the book of Daniel. We are in chapter 6. In chapter 5, we saw the story of the writing on the wall. And we saw that there is a line that a person can cross, and it becomes too late to turn back. So stay far from that line. Don't push it up to the edge. Don't try and see how far you can go. There are a lot of people who want to know what is the margin? What's the cutoff point? How far can I go before disaster strikes? That is the wrong question to ask. That's like saying, how hard can I hit myself in the head with a hammer before I'll knock myself unconscious and do serious damage? Well, what a stupid question. How much poison can I ingest before I get sick? That's a stupid question. Don't try to see how far you can go without disaster striking. There is a line that you can cross beyond which you can't turn back. Don't push it. Stay back from that line as far as you can. Go the other way. I cannot count the number of young people who have asked, how far can I go? You know, like sexually, how far can I go? Well, you can go all the way to Missoula, Montana, but it's a mistake. All right? Don't go in the wrong direction. The goal should be to be pure, to be holy, to be obedient to God, not see how much you can get away with. Is that clear? Chapter 6. This is God's word. It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel and his conduct of government affairs. But they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally, these men said, we will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God. So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said, O King Darius, live forever. The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors, and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next 30 days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lion's den. Now, O King, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed. So King Darius put the decree in writing. Now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room, where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree. Did you not publish a decree that during the next 30 days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lion's den? The king answered, the decree stands in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed. Then they said to the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day. When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed. He was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians, no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed. So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. The king said to Daniel, may your God, whom you serve, continually rescue you. A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him, and he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight, nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in his God. At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion's den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language throughout the land. May you prosper greatly. I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom, people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved this story. Daniel in the lion's den. Isn't this a cool story? Here's a guy who, because he's doing the right thing, is thrown into a pit that is filled with ferocious lions. And if you wonder how ferocious they are, please notice what happened when the other people were thrown into the pit. A whole group of folks thrown in, and they don't just go for one of them. They devour all of them before they even reach the floor. They catch them in the air and destroy them. I had a German Shepherd named Wolf when I was a teenager, and he was a cool dog. had to go out of town with my parents and I asked my scoutmaster if he would be willing to feed Wolf while I was out of town. My scoutmaster said, sure. He was a vet from, you know, he fought in Vietnam, tough guy. And he said, sure, I'd be happy to. Now, my dog, Wolf, had been with me on Boy Scout camping trips, so my scoutmaster knew the dog and the dog knew the scoutmaster, but I said, okay, you need to come to my house and Let me introduce you to the dog. Oh, I know Wolf. I said, no, no, no. But you're going to be coming to our house. It's different when we're out camping somewhere, because that's not his territory to protect. You need to come to my house and let me introduce you to Wolf and assure him that you're supposed to be there and that you're going to be feeding him while we're gone. He said, OK, well, I'll try and get by. Well, he never made it by. And so once we were gone, he came to the house. to feed the dog. Wolf wouldn't let him get near the pen. Wolf was, I mean, all the hair on his back standing up and he's ferociously barking and showing his teeth and making it very clear, you don't come near me. So my scoutmaster decided I need to make friends with this animal. And he went and shot a rabbit and skinned it and brought it as a peace offering. Wolf, as he came closer to the pen, was still acting absolutely like he was going to eat Pete alive. Pete was the scoutmaster's name. And so Pete was like, it's all right, boy. Wolf, I know you. You're a good boy. Good boy. Here you go. And he threw this rabbit over the fence. Wolf caught it in the air. And Pete said, I've never seen anything like it. He said he didn't just bite it and chew it and eat it. He said it was like he swallowed it. He said he caught it as I threw it to him, and it just went, and was gone. And he said, and immediately, he said, I mean, within a couple of seconds, Wolf was going, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And he said, now here, I'd just given him the rabbit. And he still was acting like he wanted to eat my body. Pete didn't come back to feed the dog. My aunt, who was in her 80s, had to feed the dog. And of course, the dog was totally docile and friendly to my aunt because he knew that she lived there and he was supposed to take care of her. These lions made my German shepherd seem like a wimp. I had one dog. He was tough. This was a den of lions, plural. Whole families, multiple people tossed down into the pit, didn't make it to the bottom of the pit. Think about that. That's what Daniel was facing, and he knew. You think he was pretty much in charge of the kingdom, and yet he didn't know about the lion's pit? He didn't know what kind of lions do we have? What is a lion? What do they look like? He knew exactly what these lions were about. He knew how ferocious they were, how numerous they were, and that anybody who went in there was going to be dead meat, literally. But when his life was on the line, he knew that it is better to die than to disobey God. Please understand that. It is better to die than to disobey God. And so Daniel did what he always did. He prayed. Now, at the start of the chapter, I want you to see Daniel, who told Belshazzar, it's over for you. And sure enough, Belshazzar was destroyed. He was killed. And a new king took over, a foreign king. As the government changed, Daniel's position did not change. He was still the servant of the Most High God. And he was still the same honorable, hardworking man that he had been under the previous king. So, it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom with three administrators over them. of whom was Daniel. Daniel was one of three guys who oversaw 120 guys, who oversaw the kingdom. And the king was so pleased with Daniel that he wanted to make him the guy who was over the three. Alright? So in other words, the king would still be king, but Daniel would be running everything. He was that kind of guy. The satraps are made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, verse 4, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They were unable to do so. They're trying. Here's a team of people doing an audit, OK? And they're looking for something that they can accuse Daniel of. Why? Jealousy. Pure and simple. Jealousy. They can't stand the fact that Daniel does a better job than they do. Two stories, quickly, about My oldest brother, Bill, who is an exceptional man, has many things in quality with Daniel. He's an internationally renowned surgeon. He's been a, I mean, all kinds of acclaim and awards and accomplishments. I mean, he's a phenomenal individual. Years ago, my middle brother, John, was renting an apartment from one of Bill's colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. And this doctor that my brother John was renting from had invited his tenants to a party celebrating New Year's, I think, and in the process had a little bit too much to drink. And he said to my brother John, I hate your brother Bill. John said, which was an unusual thing. People don't usually talk that way about my brother Bill. He said, why? And he said, First of all, because he's the best. He said, we've been in competition ever since Harvard. And he said, and he always wins, because he's better than I am. But he said, but secondly, this is what really gets me. When he beat me for thus and such a job, he named the position. When he beat me for that job, he immediately contacted me. and said that he wanted to work with me and to please let him know if there was anything he could do to help. And he said, and he means it. He said, he really cares about me. And that just makes me sick. Because he doesn't just beat me, then he turns around and is nice to me. Other people would gloat. I'd sure gloat if I'd beaten him. But he really wants to help me. How do you think that makes me feel? It's pretty nice when that's why people hate you, is because you're nice. Oh, he's such a Boy Scout. Folks, let me tell you, if the worst they can say about you is that you are scrupulous, hardworking, and do your best, and are compassionate toward others, that's a pretty good thing. Second story, also about my brother. At the end of his time, in that position that he had won over the other guy, they had their traditional roast, where they make fun of the guy. Whoever has had that office for a year, they then roast at the end of the year. Kind of a tradition there at Harvard. They find little idiosyncrasies, little things that, flaws that the person has that they can point out and laugh at. You know the two things that they found to mock about my brother? Number one, he's always on time. Very punctual. Number two, he is always well-dressed. Now, if those are your flaws, you're doing pretty well. Daniel was that kind of guy. Here's a team of people combing over his performance, and they could find nothing. Nothing. Nothing. that he was doing wrong. He was not negligent. He was not corrupt. He was totally trustworthy. Here's a hardworking, honest guy who does his job really well, and they know it. And they're like, surely there's something hidden. Why? Because there's something hidden in their lives. They know if somebody combed over their records, they'd find corruption here and dishonesty there and carelessness there. They can't find that with Daniel. And so they decide the only way, the only way that we can get him in trouble is if we can create a conflict between his job and his obedience to God. because we know that he's more loyal to God than he is to anything else. That's the only way we could find fault with him. Years ago, I was listed as a reference for someone who wanted to go to work with the CIA. And so the CIA came to visit me. And I had forgotten all about the fact that I had agreed to be a reference for this person who was going to apply for a position with the CIA, but lo and behold, one day I'm in a parking lot and this guy comes up to me and he says, Jim Wood? I said, yes. He said, I'm with the federal government. He just flashes the ID and then puts it away. And my first thought, I don't know what your first thought would be, my first thought was, I paid my taxes. Why else would the government want me? And I said, how can I help you? Do you know so-and-so? I said, yes. And then it was like, oh, oh, I know what this is about. I'm supposed to be a reference. And so they began asking questions. How long have you known them? In what capacity? What are they like? What's their character? And we got to a question that said, is this person part of any radical organization? And I said, just the church. And they kind of looked at me like, OK. And they said, can you imagine a situation where this person would be disloyal to the United States government? And I said, the only situation where I believe this person would go against the United States government is if there was a conflict, a direct conflict, between the United States government's directive and the Lord Jesus Christ and His commands." This person looked at me and said, there'd be a number of us in that situation. And I said, well, I'm glad to hear that. Asked a few more questions and then said, all right, thank you very much. And then I stupidly asked a question that was just, I walked right into it. The guy's standing there in his navy blue. And I said, can I ask you one thing? How did you find me? I think God just put it in my heart to ask that question to make that guy's day. He looks at me and he's, that's our business, sir. I love it. Let me tell you. These folks knew the only way for Daniel to get in trouble is if he had to choose between loyalty to the king and loyalty to God. So they had to create a situation through deceit, through trickery, in order to try and create that conflict. They went to the king and they said, The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors, and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next 30 days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lion's den. Was that true or false? Absolutely false. How do we know that? Because who was one of the three top guys? Daniel. Had Daniel agreed to this? Absolutely not. So this was a lie. It was a law based on a lie. By the way, Roe v. Wade, which struck down all those laws around the country against abortion, was based on a lie, more than one lie, as a matter of fact. But both the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court and the companion decision, Doe v. Bolton, both of them were based on lies by the attorneys that were promoting the abortion thing. Lies, absolutely documented lies. I'll be happy to fill you in if you have questions about that. But I want you to understand this business of lying in order to get the government to make stupid decisions is not new. It goes way back in time. It is a tactic routinely employed by people who hate God. And that's what was happening here. So, the king foolishly, foolishly, Said, OK, if all of you are for it, I'll approve it. It's just a 30-day deal, and it exalts my position. I was saying to someone last night at dinner, if you want to impress me with your spirituality, tell me that you really enjoyed my message. I say that to my embarrassment and kind of half-joking, but the fact of the matter is, when people come up to me after I've spoken somewhere and they say, oh, that was wonderful, I think, what an insightful and spiritually mature individual you must be. Now that's pathetic. That is really sad if I'm such a sucker for flattery. But the fact of the matter is, most of us tend to like the people who like us, right? If somebody says, oh, you are so smart, you think, well, you're pretty smart yourself. Right? Isn't that true? People who like us, we tend to like them. We think, well, they have good taste in friends. The king was flattered by the lies of his officials. And so he adopted this stupid law that says, for the next 30 days, I'm the only one you can pray to. Just for 30 days. But it's kind of a 30-day, let's get our game on. We're going to focus now on who's really the greatest in the land. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the savviest of them all? That would be me, wouldn't it? And he goes for it. He seals it. He says, that's a good rule. I like that. 30 days, everybody prays to me. That's good. OK. Yep. I'm the man. I'm in charge. They weren't saying, hey, would you please give authority to us for 30 days? They're saying, oh, King, we think you are so great that for the next 30 days, we think everybody everywhere ought to just honor you. Oh, 30 days of honoring me, I like that. Stupid! When people come to you and they try and tell you how wonderful you are and how great you are and how you deserve more honor and attention, you better realize that is probably not motivated by the Holy Spirit. And if you get all enthused about people's flattery, you got a problem. Is that clear? And I'm telling you, I have to be on guard. After all these years, now I have learned if people tell me that they see an aura around me, I know they're nuts. Remember that if you were thinking of telling me you see an aura. Do you know what it means if you see an aura around me? It means you're getting a migraine. All right. It may mean your electrolytes are off, but whatever. It definitely doesn't mean anything spiritual about me or you. Except maybe you're demonized. Now, when Daniel learned, verse 10, that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God. Here's the key phrase, say it with me. Just as he had done before. A number of years ago here in our country, some lint-for-brains judge decided that he needed to ban the display of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse in Alabama. Stupid. I mean, absolutely moronic, absolutely evil. Well, we've got to get rid of the Ten Commandments display. Suddenly, there's a national uproar about, you know, we've got to have the Ten Commandments on display. Most of the people who were concerned that we needed to have the Ten Commandments don't know the Ten Commandments. They couldn't tell you what the Ten Commandments are. I mean, there's a, do not kill. It's in there. Something about false witness and something about adultery. By the way, you are likely not to remember the commandments you have trouble keeping. It's not that you don't keep them because you don't know them, it's that you'd rather forget certain ones. I participated in a survey where we asked pastors to please list the Ten Commandments. Very embarrassing. Very embarrassing. Not only couldn't get them in order, but most of them left out covetousness. Oops. Wonder why. Well, because that just doesn't seem very serious. No, it's because you're a bunch of covetous people. Now, when they're finally dragging off the Ten Commandments display, one of the lint-for-brains defenders of the Ten Commandments monument was literally screaming, and this was all captured on video camera, screaming, get your hands off my God! Excuse me, I think there's something in the Ten Commandments about not making graven images. But this guy somehow feels that if you take away a graven image of the Ten Commandments, you're taking away my God. Well, stop worshiping the statue, buddy. Do you understand how messed up we are? Most of the churches that were upset because we don't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse in Alabama don't have a display of the Ten Commandments in their church. Is that clear? Why do we think it needs to be on display in the courthouse but not in our church? Now, should we be able to have a display of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse? Absolutely. Do we have to have a display of the Ten Commandments in our church? No, not necessarily. We don't have to have it at the courthouse either. What matters is not having a display. What matters is having obedience. Daniel didn't say, they've made a law against praying. They can't do that to me. By golly, I'm going to stand in the window and pray out loud. Daniel simply continued to do what he'd been doing all along. He just kept doing what he'd been doing. I used to say to my dad, what if this happens? What if that happens? He'd say, well, we just keep doing what we've been doing. Because if you're not doing the right thing, you need to start doing the right thing. And if you are doing the right thing, why would you want to quit? So Daniel didn't suddenly become a man of prayer. He simply continued to pray, as he had done before. They had made a law against Daniel doing what he was already doing. which was the right thing to do. Let me tell you, when your government starts making laws against doing the right thing, you got a government that is in trouble. We got a government, by the way, that's in trouble. Now, they went to the king, and the king immediately realized he'd been had. But he also realized that he had to uphold the law. It's nice when government officials realize that they have to keep their commitments and uphold the law. When you're in that situation, you need to be careful what kind of laws you pass, what kind of commitments you make. There is so much here I'd like to go into. But let's get to the punchline. Daniel is thrown into the lion's den, and he spends all night with the lions. That does not say he slept. It does say that the king couldn't sleep, because the king was so worried about it. But all night long, Daniel's with the lions, and the angel of the Lord shut the lions' mouths. There's a wonderful passage where God sent one angel against the enemy army, and the angel killed 185,000 soldiers in one night. 185,000 soldiers. Do the math. How many soldiers per minute is that? 185,000 soldiers killed by one angel in one night. Now you know why every time in scripture that people see angels, they don't go, oh, how cute. When they see angels in the Bible, they go, ah, ah, ah. And the angel's first words over and over in scripture is, don't be afraid. Well, the lions were. When the angel went in there and said to the lions, shut your mouth, they went, get there, meow. And all night long, Daniel is surrounded by ravenous beasts that he knows are ferocious. And they're all just kind of looking at him. I'd like to be able to eat him. Me too. Let's don't. Morning comes how long do you think that night was? Think about you're in a pit with a bunch of animals Doesn't smell good down there Done Doesn't provide a great environment for rest But God protected him and when morning came The king came This is a picture, by the way, of what happened with Jesus. It's just one of innumerable foreshadowings. But he is in a place hewn out of rock with a stone rolled over the entrance and the king's seal on the stone. so that he can't be let out. Can you think of anybody else who was put in a place, carved out of stone, stone rolled over the entrance, and the government official puts a seal on there to say you can't go in or out? Jesus, of course, was buried. And they rolled a stone over the entrance, and they put a seal. But Jesus came out. alive. And so did Daniel. Daniel comes forth and his enemies got thrown in. And his enemies were destroyed. Tell you something, no matter what the cost is, you and I need to trust and obey. What if Daniel had been thrown into the pit and the lions had killed him? Well, that would have been really sad. Yes, it would have. Even the king would have been sad about that, but not Daniel. He would have been fine. You know what happens to you if they kill you for doing the right thing? You go to your reward. Jesus says, when they persecute you, and some of you will be persecuted to death, Jesus says. They persecute you, you'll still be fine. They can't harm you. They can kill you, but they can't harm you. They can injure you, but they can't harm you. Because whatever happens, God will use for your good and his glory. And it's your enemies who are going to be destroyed. Daniel would not have been destroyed if the lions had eaten him. He would have been dead, but he wouldn't have been destroyed. You and I need never fear doing the right thing. Never be afraid to obey God. Be afraid not to. You do what God tells you to do. no matter the cost, trust and obey.